Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 23

Chapter 221

The party ran to the tower because the sky had turned black during the day. It was the blackest day, which happened from time to time, with everything that was once normal being turned into insanity, with people only able to describe it as hell being unleashed.

Suddenly, several large rocks started screaming in pain. The absolute horror shook Iratus, and he could see everyone else showing signs of distress. Eventually the rocks stopped screaming and the tower came into view, but before anyone could run to it, blades rained down around the group, and a ball of slag and blades landed nearby. The metal ball then hovered in the air, and the random blades that rained down floated in the air as if they were on strings.

Everyone scattered as the blades were swung around. Iratus ran to the slag ball and took a stab at it. He stabbed and fell forward as the blade did sink into the metal, which broke and cracked at the stab. Iratus had to use all of his effort to take his sword out of the ball, and by the time he did, several of the puppeted swords came around and started to swat at the mouse boy.

The swords didn't stab too hard, but the force at which they came knocked Iratus prone. Resonantia came by and managed to grab one of the blades, and it really was on some sort of invisible string as it was yanked back and nearly took the shark girl off of her feet. Another blade wrapped around her arm, the invisible string pulling tight. The blade landed on the ground and pulled Resonantia to her knees, and while she was trying to stand back up, the large metal ball that had been floating in the air rammed into her and knocked her down too.

Ignis had her black hair tied up in a ponytail, and she wielded her crowbar as she ran out of the tower. She managed to reach the floating metal ball and bash dents into it. Clamor and Tempestas had already reached the tower and were yelling something, but an oppressive weight hit everything nearby; even light would sometimes flicker into darkness. The sounds within the area were silent; Iratus couldn't even hear his own heartbeat.

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Chapter 222

The silence was only for a few seconds, with everyone's weight returning to normal as well. Venatio, Victoria, and Fractura were covered in cuts as the majority of the puppeted swords were attacking them, but soon they dropped to the ground and started to transform into slag because Ignis, Iratus, and Resonantia mauled the metal ball enough for it to lose its form. With the metal slag ball collapsing into a pile of bad iron, everyone was free to move to the tower.

Iratus made sure everyone entered before entering himself, where Clamor pushed him against the wall.

Clamor, "Why were you engaging that thing, and why didn't you just run? You put everyone in danger."

Iratus pushed the old rabbit man off of him.

Iratus, "Escape didn't look possible with swords hitting us and the metal thing slamming into Resonantia."

Iratus realized that there was a lot of screaming and, after looking around, found that the screaming was coming from the walls, with even the sounds of banging on them, like someone was trapped within the walls. He could even make out a few words from the screaming to suggest that people were stuck inside the walls.

Iratus trailed off, "My God."

Victoria, "If you didn't see, I couldn't even move. I'm bleeding everywhere, and guess what? You didn't even try to save us."

Clamor, "You just stood there. Did you ever think about running?"

Victoria pointed to her neck, revealing a mark.

Victoria, "I had some sort of string around my throat, so I couldn't."

Clamor, "Because you just stood around!"

Iratus looked over at some of the others, trying to cover their ears, for the screaming walls were not just loud but unnerving. Obviously, the chickens were brought inside before Iratus's group showed up, and the chickens would just cluck around without a care in the world.

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Chapter 223

Tensions seemed to die down as everyone stood in silence as the wailing of the walls kept everyone stressed. Iratus would look out from time to time to see random objects or strange creatures of clear supernatural origin pass by.

Iratus, "Are those strange animals normal or are they, like, part of this event?"

Fractura, "Define normal?"

The hyena man was bandaging everyone who had cuts.

Venatio, "Like the animals that appear on every world."

Fractura, "Hardly every world. Heck, since they all are so similar, they shouldn't even be considered normal."

Aestus was taking the situation the worst until the conversation about animals cropped up.

Aestus, "Why would animals from different worlds that look the same not be normal?"

Fractura, "All life is like a blob; give it time, and all the blobs split, and then a bunch of dice are rolled for those that split off. Each result adds some random feature. So, at random, why are all of these animals so similar? The only answer biologists have is that it isn't normal."

Venatio, "That was a terrible way to explain evolution."

Iratus, "I am aware of evolution; we selectively bred war foxes after all. Also, we've found the bones of long-dead beasts and their descendants, but slightly different."

Venatio, "Close enough."

Fractura, "Hardly."

Resonantia, "What about that metal ball?"

Iratus, "Or the ebonies, or any other weird stuff we've seen."

Fractura, "All of what you call monsters are just normal beasts. They are quite strange, but still natural creatures none-the-less. Now about the ebonies, I honestly don't know. Ancient goatfolk history describes those things pretty well. Probably just animals from ancient times."

Venatio, "Or people. One of them held a lantern, if I remember correctly."

Fractura, "The metalball is called a Floating Slag. Been a long time since I've seen one of them. These blackest days—I don't recall if I've told you—are the result of the Prime Black Hole this place uses. To keep things short, Nexus Prime is mining literal reality, with reality being the Prime Black Hole. The Floating Slag and other things are just fragments of a reality that isn't real, or rather never was."

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Chapter 224

Twenty minutes passed and the screaming still didn't stop, the sky was still black, and strange occurrences still plagued the group. From phantom silhouettes to winds with the voices of people talking on them. Some of the winds spoke a language Iratus could understand, and he made out a few of these winds.

"I claim sanctuary!"
"Abandon ship! Something bad is happening to it!"
"Some sort of cable?"
"...disappointed in this year's nobles"
"These creatures are a pest, and it is better to kill them all before they multiply out of hand."
"Dance to the music."

Each of these ghostly voices was distorted but seemed to be genuine, unlike the screams from the rocks and the walls in the tower.

Iratus, "When does it end?"

Venatio, "Shouldn't be too much longer now."

Clamor, "Hopefully."

Iratus's ears twitched as a new sound came into being. He reached out his senses to the best of his abilities, which was difficult given the non-stop crying and banging of the walls. Something was clawing around the window from above, and from the looks of it, several of the others noticed it too. Iratus and Fractura looked out the windows, but the windows and slits were too small to see out of.

After a few looks, Ignis and Resonantia volunteered and went up the stairs to see if they could get a better view. After some time, Resonantia came down, yelling.

Resonantia, "There are creatures trying to break in. They have already cracked some of the stones on the window."

Iratus, "Then we need to shoot them off. Have Ignis come down and grab a pistol, then you, her, and Victoria can get them down. I'll cover you." He turned to the adults and asked, "Can one of you come outside with us to deal with the threat?"

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Chapter 225

Clamor, "Are you insane, kid? The only safe place is within buildings."

Fractura, "That's mostly true. Also, I really don't care what happens to your little place here, so I'm not going out there."

Iratus turned to Venatio, who shook her head.

Iratus, "Fine then. Aestus, you'll help too."

Clamor, "You are going to get people killed."

Iratus, "Creatures are trying to break in, and you would let them in, for what?"

Clamor, "If that's how it is, then so be it. Let them break in, but we need to stay inside."

Iratus, "Oh no, I understand. You old people need to take a breather. Stay here and rest your old bones."

Tempestas grabbed the third pistol and joined Iratus's group.

Tempestas, "You forgot to ask me."

Fractura, "Woh, hold on. Who let her have a weapon?"

Clamor, "Put that gun back, woman."

Iratus, "Well, I say keep it."

Fractura, "She captured my friend. I'm not trusting her with a weapon."

Clamor pulled out his sword, while Fractura pulled out his baton.

Iratus snapped his fingers, and Ignis raised her pistol while the other girls raised their own weapons.

Iratus, "Our tower, our rules. If you do not like that, then I suggest you leave."

Clamor, "Girls, you must see reason. You can't let our enemy be armed."

Victoria, "I've been in worse places than her and killed for less."

Resonantia, "So much for a God-fearing man. We forgive those who wrong us, not damn them."

The screams coming from the walls were still going and still banging on the walls.

Clamor, "She is a threat to us all!"

Iratus rolled his eyes.

Iratus, "We are going outside now. Don't lock the door behind us."

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Chapter 226

Outside, with Aestus at the door and everyone wearing ear mufflers, the group looked around the tower.

Ignis, "Here there be monsters!"

And several gunshots rang out. Iratus stood back, ready, as the girls came back to the front of the tower and stood their ground next to him. Two ragged and bloodied bodies twitched, with a third mangled body crawling and climbing around the tower. These three wore the familiar grainy gray masks that belong to the strange monsters of the same name.

Iratus, "Gray masks, again?"

The badger woman made a squeak and then said,

Tempestas, "No! They took the image of them!"

Iratus took another look at the mangled gray masks and saw that they did look like her former allies, clothes and all, if not tattered.

Iratus, "Just what are gray masks? You guys didn't answer last time."

Resonantia, "Does not matter, for we already know. Imagination."

Tempestas, "But they can steal bodies, sort of."

There was a rush of adrenaline from Resonantia as she fought her former killer, Tacitus, who had become a gray mask. This revelation clearly affected her.

Ignis and Tempestas raised their guns and fired off until their clips were empty, and while the two on the ground tried to block with their bladed hands, they died all the same. The third one, the otter woman, climbed down the tower with Aestus shutting the door. Victoria and Resonantia fired their ranged weapons at the gray mask, who weaved and bent their body to dodge.

The creature ran to the ground, and when Iratus prepared to meet it, he was stabbed from behind. He turned around to see nothing there, but there was something wrong with the air, as if the space was darker. It was a shadow; the light was hitting something invisible and casting off a shadow.

Iratus, "Invisible man!"

Victoria fell over, as she too was the victim of a shadow man.

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Chapter 227

Resonantia ran forward and tackled the gray mask woman to the ground as Iratus swatted the darkened air, trying to hit the shadow. The ground beneath the group and around the tower switched into a blazing rocky landscape. The footwraps could only absorb so much heat before Iratus felt pain.

He gritted his teeth, dived in for an attack, and struck something fleshy. He pulled and cut into the being, and a gout of blood sprayed everywhere. Several gallons, much more than could fit inside a person, pooled all over the ground. More blood filled the ground as Ignis smashed the other one, most likely in the head.

Resonantia and Tempestas were pushed back by the gray mask, which twisted and moved its body like a ballad dancer to avoid and maneuver around the two. Iratus came in with his sword, but the creature coughed up his blade with the knife-like blades that protruded from her knuckles. The two girls from behind pulled out swords and then stabbed the gray mask repeatedly until it died, with the badger girl stabbing the most ferociously and the most desperately. The land would switch back to normal as well. Aestus opened the door and was about to help until she saw that the fight was already over.

With the threats dealt with, the group made their way back inside.

Once inside, Resonantia turned to the badger girl and asked,

Resonantia, "What do you mean gray masks steal bodies?"

Tempestas, "Gray masks are similar to those shadow people we fought out there. However, they do have some powers that we outsiders don't know about. They can wear the bodies of the recent dead."

Fractura, "Still needs someone to manifest the imagination from."

Iratus, "What does that mean?"

Tempestas, "Gray masks exist so long as there is someone to imagine them. Even manipulating corpses requires someone's mind to imagine it."

Iratus, "Because that makes sense. I can't wait to hear what you think of Karma."

Tempestas, "You mean luck? What?"

Iratus, "Literally, made some dude immune to being shot at!"

Tempestas, "Yeah, it sounds like everyone else had too much karma."

Iratus, "I give up!"

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Chapter 228

A few more minutes passed. And everyone was getting tired of waiting.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Mysterious voice, "Greetings."

It sounded odd and almost metallic, but worst of all, it was a perfect fit for the mental image of a stereotypical deceiver. Everyone looked at the door.

Mysterious voice, "I bring good news. Come and open the door, and I can aid all of you."

Clamor and Fractura looked out the window.

Clamor, "I don't see anything."

Fractura, "I've heard of these kinds of things before. A voice of authority in the blackest day. It would be best to ignore it."

Clamor, "An actual demon! Begone from us!"

Mysterious voice, "Come open the door. I cannot aid you unless you open the door."

It knocked on the door again, with the two men at the windows still not seeing anything.

Iratus, "Is it malevolent?"

Fractura, "Probably. Being outside is the worst thing that can happen."

Mysterious voice, "Don't any of you wish to return home?"

Iratus, "And how would you accomplish that, uh, scary voice?"

Mysterious voice, "Come outside."

After a pause, Iratus spoke up again.

Iratus, "Can you even hear us?"

There was another pause, with the screaming walls still in effect.

Mysterious voice, "Are you not curious about the mystery of the blackest day? Are your lives so magical that what this chaos offers is mundane? Just walk outside, and all the knowledge you seek will be yours."

Everyone stood still and continued to remain silent.

Mysterious voice, "The gray masks are back, and I can help you deal with them. Kollektivi is my enemy too."

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Chapter 229

Fractura, "The actual what? Who is Kollektivi, and why are you referring to them when talking about the gray masks?"

Venatio, "It sounds like he is saying that Kollektivi is the gray masks."

Fractura, "And what does that mean?"

Iratus, "The gray masks are this Kollektivi person; don't you listen?"

Tempestas, "If the gray masks are involved, then it may not be a person."

Fractura, "No...imaginary people do not exist."

Aestus, "But the gray masks...?"

Fractura, "Are not people. They are your dreams made real, your fears, and your hopes, and thus take the forms of folk and man. Imaginary people are a myth. Overly religious types call them demons, but they are myths and nothing more."

Venatio, "They are often called the Infection of the Imagination, and Fractura is right; they do not exist."

Iratus, "Imagination monsters are imaginary people, and you people have not made the connection?"

Fractura, "We are off topic. Kollektivi is probably some sort of mind thing or a creature birthed from the Prime Blackhole."

Mysterious voice, "Let's retake Nexus Prime. Come outside, and we can free everyone. We could save everyone!"

Clamor, "Shut up!"

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Chapter 230

There was a brief moment of weightlessness, and everything was set back in place. The bits and pieces of the metal ball were gone, along with every other abnormal thing, except for the massive pool of blood on the ground outside.

Iratus, "Let's see if the farm is still fine. I'll try to grab the chickens."

Victoria, "Our enemy is still out there, and we need a plan to find her."

Clamor, "How about you just leave the woman alone? You lot have done enough damage and caused enough death as is."

Victoria, "Excuse me? Determinationis's group were skulking around our tower and kidnapped that old fox lady over there."

Clamor, "And what, are you going to galivant around dangerous areas until you find her? She will find you, and you'll be dead. From what I saw, she didn't seem like a threat to us until we busted into her home twice, you guys."

Iratus, "We can't let another group wander around here without knowing if they are a threat or not. Imagine going out to hunt and then being ambushed by that group."

Clamor, "You invaded their home! You are the one in the wrong, and I'm disgusted that I was part of it."

Resonantia, "You're not making sense, grandpa."

Clamor, "I've followed this kid everywhere he asks, and it has always ended badly. I'm not going anywhere with him anymore, and neither should any of you."

Venatio, "So the correct thing to do was for you not to come rescue me?"

Clamor, "As if we could have known of your capture. Honestly, we still don't know much about you, and you could be just as bad as the badger woman over there."

The badger woman gave a growl.

Venatio, "You really are a tactless, dirt-licking, maggot-meat-eating, piss bag, you know that?"

Iratus was already struggling to hold together his wall of discipline, as he was very self-conscious about the decisions he had been making.

Iratus, "Let's all calm down. If you don't like my decisions, then you can stay at the campsite and we won't bother you."

Clamor, "You're going to get people killed, and I am trying to help you."

Iratus, "You are not helping your case. I respectfully ask you to get out of the tower."

Clamor, "I guess this is why the other train folk tried to take control of this situation; you really are just a dumb kid."

After Clamor left the tower, Iratus turned to the other three guests.
 
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EPISDOE 23: END

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Episode 23 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 14
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork, minor damage), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet
Weapons: Long Sword, 3x Knifes, Short Sword
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 33 oval copper coins, 7 small silver bricks, 6 gemstones, 20 fine silver coins,20 fine gold coins

Wounds: Shoulder, stab wound (minor), Right Leg, minor burns (superficial)

Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, a lot of animal bones, 3 glass jar, 1 fish net, fishing gear, primitive sewing kit, trowel, woodcutting axe, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, some of sheets, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, some medical supplies, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), a strange device (Gameboy-like device), lots of wooden planks and boards, wood glue, sandpaper, compass, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, lots of rope, a large barrel, some ink, 1 papyrus paper, 3 hide paper (parchments), 80 cloaks and other clothing materials, some alcohol, some primitive medicine, some fabrics, 6 carts, 11 tattered tents, skin drum

Armory: 10 wooden spears, 56 short swords, 53 knifes, 25 daggers, 34 metal spears, 2 hand bombs, 21 rusted weapons, many armor pieces, ruined metal armor, box of unknown ammo, 4 hunting traps, 3 snares, 2 pistols, 12 unknown bullets, 5 extra pistol ammo.
Aestus: leather vest, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword
Victoria: scrap metal Breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, flashlight
Resonanita: breastplate, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar

Treasure: 88 oval copper coins, 33 oval silver coins 74 ancient metal coins, 40 fine silver coins, 44 fine gold coins, 23 fine copper coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a handful of sparkling glass beads, a small wooden trinket box, a collection of delicate, hand-painted porcelain charms, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, 157 copper lion coins, 25 silver lion coins, 14 gold lion coins, 165 wolfen metal coins

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools), Guest Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding)

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in)

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Special documentary on Nexus Prime #34, 16 Broken Tower documents

Year 0, Day 85

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(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(some time ago, Ascendance) The young Victoria looked at her burning house with her dead parents and siblings inside.

Soldier 1, "We missed one."

Soldier 2, "Leave it; our jobs are done here."

Victoria's look of sadness turned to anger as she watched the small squad of soldiers move out, and she followed their wagon deftly and silently until they were in the middle of the forest and night fell. Four men were asleep, with one on watch. Victoria moved forward like a cat, taking almost ten minutes to reach the wagon, where she took a familiar-looking crossbow as well as a knife. She then moved away and got back into the brush, though this time she caught the attention of the man on watch. She hid well with her enemy, looking into the wilderness and not seeing anything.

Victoria waited for some twenty minutes before raising her crossbow and taking aim. Before she fired, she stopped to look over at another raccoon person wearing clothes with brushes stitched into them. This person exhaled and took aim with their own crossbow at the man on watch. Victoria was shocked but held her demeanor, knowing that someone had sneaked up on her.

Mystery man whispering, "Don't let us stop you."

Victoria, "Us?"

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Extra Story 2

(some time ago, Ascendance) A younger Ignis walked out of the primitive buggy and looked across the port to see a large battleship.

Ship Captain, "Miss Yang, you're late."

Ignis would join the rest of her classmates, and her teachers and ship captain would give a tour of the ship.

Ship Captain, "This is the future of naval warfare, the beginning of its kind."

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Extra Story 3

(some time ago, Sanctum) Resonantia took her hands off the horse's reins and aimed her bow. She fired the arrow into a target and didn't get too close to the center. She pulled around to where some other youngsters, such as herself, were waiting on their own horses.

Youngster 1, "I still don't know why we are learning to ride horses. Almost all war is fought on the seas."

Resonantia, "We still need to defend the homeland when armies land."

As the young ones conversed, in the stand, several fancy-dressed people watched the show.

Person 1, "I can't be the only one to be disappointed in this year's nobles, right?"

Person 2, "Peacetime leaves room for children to play instead of work."

Tacitus, the very old rabbit man, spoke up next.

Tacitus, "I am sorry, my lords, if these children have underperformed. However, I should remind you all that the so-called revolution is gaining popularity among the population, and the people need to be assured that we are all listening and trying to improve their lives."

Person 2, "Pfft, let the rabble rebel, and we can purge our nation of these rebels. It is a win for us to get rid of troublemakers in our nation."

Person 3, "During the rebellion, we should kill the capitalists as well and claim that they were part of the revolt. Those bastards are gaining too much independence and are influencing the people away from our control."

Resonantia came up to salute.

Person 2, "Well done, my dear. Take a break, and we can finish up with the contract."

Tacitus, "Contract?"

Person 1, "That shark woman, Resonantia, is being setup to inherit the province of South Ferrous."

Person 2, "We see if the Heartsteel family can be controlled better than what we have now. No offense to your family, Mr. Rustbane."

Tacitus, "None taken. My family has not owned South Ferrous for almost a hundred years."

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Extra Story 4

(some time ago, Harmony) A young Aestus watched the foreigners speak. They were three people, each a priest of a different religion, trying to convince the tribal elder that his people should convert to their faith.

Elder, "I fail to see how our faith is in the wrong, but I believe everyone gets to speak, no matter how offensive. So, who is up first?"

The first priest was dressed in royal-like green clothes and told tales of the prophet, who foretold many different events that came true. He told of how all people need to submit to the star-eyed god or face hellish wrath.

The second person wore extremely fine silk robes and talked about the teachings of the golden man and how everyone must abandon their desire to ascend to the heavens or face the souleaters of the inferno and be enslaved.

The third person wore cheap robes that were made with travel in mind. This was the only female among the group, and she talked about how the Savior died to give choice meaning and the message she spoke of: peace and love to all. She said she only came by to speak of the savior and that if the elder's people ever needed help, they should contact the Church of the Divine One and they would receive any aid they needed. She said that in addition, that elder's tribe needed to prepare for the drought that would be in the next wet season. Everyone, from the people present to the other priestsprovence , laughed at the woman, with even the elder being insulted and banishing the woman from the tribe.

One year later, Aestus witnessed the female priest back with missionaries handing out bibles and teaching others to read while the elder apologized for the harsh treatment last time and thanked her church for the food when the drought hit.
 
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Extra Story 5

(some time ago, Providence) Every house was big and massive, filled to the brim with countless family members. Every house had a scribbling room, bathhouse, and garden area. However, near the outskirts of the city stood a humble house, and inside was Iratus, with no other children living inside.

Iratus sat alone, trying to make wooden figures, for off to the side was a large closet with numerus wooden figures, some he made, some he bought. It was a quiet life, but also lonely, as he sat alone like this most of his days.

He looked out one day to see the large houses and the many children playing, and then looked back to his own room, silent and depressed. He gave a sigh and grabbed a paper-made book with rules for a fantasy RPG system, which he read only for himself.
 
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