A silence hung in the air, so heavy that one would have thought that Grey might want to break it just to free them of the awkwardness.
But he didn’t.
He let it sit, and he stared through Breejah’s soul like his gaze was a dagger and the time between them was one twist of his wrist after another.
—
[GreyDominion: OH SHIT HE DID IT! WHAT A MADLAD]
[SpellSeeker: You know, every time you hype him up like this it’s basically just begging to get him killed, right? This man is insane. Does he know anything about Muse Incorporated? If he [REDACTED]]
[PressingAlarm: Muse Incorporated is a very reputable company. What are you trying to imply? ]
[GreyDominion: Somebody get this fucking bot out of here.]
[PressingAlarm: I am not a bot]
[GreyDominion: Could have fooled me with that stick up your ass.]
[PressingAlarm: You’re the bot. You literally have his name in your user. How much did you pay for that? He said something without any evidence at all and you just take it at face value?]
[GreyDominion: Oh yes, please tell me more about how someone from a Cracked World is paying to have someone defend them. Riddle me that one, bot]
[PressingAlarm: I don’t care who you are or what you’re doing here. But don’t just say stuff without reason. You can really harm someone’s reputation]
[GreyDominion: OH NO! The big bad corporation might get their feefees hurt]
[PressingAlarm: Corporations have employees that are people too. Do you have any idea how many people are employed by Muse Incorporated?]
[FinchTheDiddler: Oh brother, can somebody mute this bot? I’m trying to enjoy a show here and you’re making my ass itch]
[SpellSeeker: The bot is right about one thing, though. Muse Incorporated is reputable, and that’s because they fiercely protect their reputation everywhere.]
—
Breejah cleared her throat and her expression became more serious.
"I don’t know what it is you’re talking about, Grey. But Muse Incorporated can’t take kindly to this sort of slander."
"Oh..." Grey nodded and Breejah sighed a breath of relief again before he spoke once more. "... Good thing I don’t give a fuck."
Grey turned and started to walk away. "Hey, chat. Who’s Muse Incorporated’s biggest ops?"
—
[SpellSeeker: Probably Best Of Incorporated]
—
"Best Of? That’s their name? Well, that sounds just about right to me. Hey, Best Of, you have 30 seconds to send me a better contract than the one you did before. I’ll shill all your products for the next day while I clear Chapter two and give you a shout out when I clear the first arc. Free of charge. I just want to say fuck Muse Incorporated."
Grey hadn’t even finished his words when he got a ding in his inbox. He saw the contract; it was a stripped-down version of what he had received from them before.
Grey grinned and accepted it.
An instant later, a box floated down from empty space. He opened it and there was a pair of Black Forces and a headband in it. The Black Forces looked exactly like his other pair, and the headband had the logo of a purple eclipse on it.
It must have been the logo of Best Of.
Grey put it on and slid the shoes on, grinning ear to ear.
"Why thank you."
Breejah’s eyes bulged. "Grey Temolt, this is a mistake."
"A mistake, you say?"
Grey turned back to find that Breejah had grown in size, the hairs on her spider legs standing tall.
"Ooo, scary. This whole half-monster thing you’ve got going on is a huge turn-off. I’d say shave your legs, but I really don’t think that’s going to help. So how about you hide behind the bar."
"Do not do this, Grey Temolt," Breejah said coldly.
"I told the noodle head to go fuck himself. What makes you think I’d fear you?"
"You have no idea what you’re doing. As easily as we can make a path to the end of arc one for you, we can just as easily take it away."
"Good luck, bitch."
Grey turned and walked out. Just as the doors were about to slam shut, he turned back one more time and gave her a middle finger.
Reaching back, Grey tightened his fancy new headband.
Was it fancy at all? Nope.
Did it matter? Also nope.
But to his surprise, his Black Forces weren’t just a replica at all.
—
Name: Shadow Forces
Rarity: Mythical
Class: Vanguard
Accepted Type: Linear; Branching
Rejected Type: Recursive; Resonant
Description: Dance of the madmen, howls of the free. These shoes are not to be worn by the weak and faint of heart, they will eat you alive. But should you be able to keep your mind clear and your chest light, the glowing lane at the end of the tunnel will lead you to curb stomping catharsis.
Abilities:
Shadow Retrace. Leave trails of shadow steps in your wake and return to them at the cost of 1 Stamina per Retraced Step or 100 meters traversed.
Lingering Haunt. Duplicate one’s shadow ahead of battle and send it out onto the battlefield. The location of this shadow will form a Shadow Node where the user can instantly teleport at any given time. This shadow will persist so long as it has not been destroyed and can be combined with one’s original shadow at any given time.
Shadow Meld. Fuse one’s body into the hidden plane that is the World of Shadows for both stealth and defense. For every second Shadow Meld is active, use 10 Stamina.
Madman’s Waltz. Collapse every active Shadow Node and Retraced Step at once. The user strikes from all of them simultaneously in a single indivisible instant, each strike carrying the full weight of the original.
—
Not only were they Vanguard Class instead of Vector Class, but there was also an extra ability at the end, "Madman’s Waltz".
Grey grinned. Had this Best Of Incorporated tried to screw him over at some point? Almost certainly.
Did he give a damn right now?
No.
Muse wanted him to die publicly and in humiliating fashion?
He would make sure their stock tanked to fucking zero.
Grey flashed and vanished.
His destination? A city that he wasn’t aware was currently being besieged by one of his worst enemies.