002 Fortune and Hope

Freezing winds met Illio as he took the first few steps outside the flat. The dark gray skies above greeted him with a light sprinkle while he briskly made his way to the nicer part of the city.

This bleak weather felt like a reflection of the inner turmoil within Illio. The ever growing rains and lack of sunlight almost gave him a sense of peace and comfort as the emotional connection between the weather and himself made it seem like he wasn't alone in his suffering.

Nevertheless he didn't let it bother him. His next shift at the garbage disposal company wouldn't start for another few hours so this was a good opportunity to earn a quick buck by relieving people of their wallets.

After a short walk and a few more turns, Illio was met with a fast pace crowd, desperate to get out of the growing rain. He joined in the walk on the busy street and did his best to not be too noticeable as he walked side by side the soon to be victims.

Minutes of walking and scanning crowds went by and for an expert like him, it was more than enough time to find easy targets to steal from. Person after person went by Illio and after a quick bump and an apology, they went on their way as if nothing happened. The occasional insult would fly towards him but he never let it bother him.

Their reality took the form of an inconvenience while the truth behind it was that Illio was running out of space in his pockets from all the wallets he kept accumulating.

An hour or so of this repeated cycle passed by faster than he realized. It was the first time in a long time that he had stolen so many wallets. Was it boredom? Perhaps greed? Who knew, what mattered was that it was time to go and sort through what he collected.

Just as he was going to call it a day and go back to the flat, Illio's eyes grew big as he had found the jackpot of the day!

A tall tailor suited well looking man with short kept hair passed by him. In one hand he held a briefcase and the other a phone to his ear. He was the very definition of well off.

It couldn't get any easier than this thought Illio to himself.

A slight bulge in the back pocket let him know that there was a wallet in need of rescuing and he was all to happy to comply.

As he walked closer to the unknown man, Illio couldn't let go of an uneasy feeling crawling into his chest as he began hearing whispers of the conversation the man was having:

"Yes I have it."

"…"

"Don't worry, about it, it's taken care of. Just think of it as a loophole."

"…"

"I'll send someone over with it, just handle them and we can move forward with the project."

After overhearing the conversation Illio's curiosity got the better of him and his mind began wandering.

What was this man involved in?

Did it matter?

No and yet why was he feeling like he should quit right now instead of stealing from him?

This wasn't the first time he had stolen so guilt and fear that would plague anyone committing crime had left him long ago.

Would this bite him back later? Could getting caught by this man kill him?

It was unlikely but based off the conversation the possibility wasn't quite off the table.

Tried as he might, he couldn't shake the uneasiness but eventually after some struggle, Illio cast those feelings aside and caught up to the man.

He already had nothing so getting caught and turned into the law would only benefit him. This was his resolve.

As the handsome stranger stopped at the red signal of a cross walk, Illio made his move without hesitation. A casual walk by and bump and he left before anyone could notice.

The man was so caught up in the phone conversation that even he failed to see what had happened.

Now that another wallet was in his collection he headed home looking like any other person who was minding their business.

~Cliiiick~

With a struggling twist, the stuck door opened and a wave of heat poured out from his flat to greet him.

It may be cold outside but the shoddy apartment he lived in was right next to the boilers for the complex.

Originally it was a workroom meant for the residential handyman but after being begged and taking mercy on him, the landlord allowed Illio to modify and lease it.

Being poorly built and constructed as a tool room instead of a living space, when the intense heat the boilers generated reached its peak, no amount of cold could stop his place from becoming an oven, much like now.

Suffering from the annoyance of a lack of proper climate control, Illio sincerely started praying that he lifted enough money off of people today to at least settle the electric account.

After closing the door, four steps were taken and he plopped down on the floor next to his pillow and sheet he used as a blanket. One by one he began taking out wallet after wallet and sorting them.

Before long a total of 45 wallets were neatly laid out in front of him. While it was an excessive amount and far more than his usual haul, with how advance technology had become, there was a good chance he would get close to nothing from this much.

Currently most wallets were equipped with a magnetic safe fail bomb. When it stops receiving a signal from the individuals phone or personal device, the chip inside the wallet overloads by releasing a magnetic charge to fry all credit card chips.

It was a near perfect system however to prevent theft however the principle "Cash Is King" was alive and well in this day and age. Thus the occasional individual still carried a few cash notes here and there so it was important to put oneself into the best position possible to get a lot of money when pickpocketing.

An eager joy filled Illio as he began the task of examining what he made off with.

Time went by and after 30 minutes of digging around the joy turned into disappointment as his profits summed up to $50 dollars and a coupon for a free tea at a trendy new spot.

This much risk for only little reward. With that amount of money, he would be lucky if he could pay his built up electric debts.

Despite this Illio's face still contained traces of hope as the only wallet remaining was the one from the rich looking individual.

Letting go of a breath he was unconsciously holding in, Illio reached forward with a shaky hand and pulled out the contents of the sleek black leather wallet.

Opening the bill fold caused his heart to drop down to his stomach as he witnessed something he presumed to be impossible.

It was empty.

Panic quickly filled him as his thoughts began racing.

"Was this a decoy?!"

"It can't be, why would he carry it?"

Illio in a wave of frantic desperation began tearing out every seam that held the expensive leather wallet together and his miniature panic attack paid off.

A hidden pocket was revealed, better yet Inside were two items.

Folded cash notes totaling $1000 dollars and a black metallic card with an inscription on its back.

The sight of the money alone made him want to cry all over again, however this time they would be tears of happiness. He couldn't though; Enough tears had already been cried to fill several lifetimes.

Instead he swallowed all emotions and began meticulously began calculating how long he could stretch those $1000. After a few moments he judged that by spending the bare minimum on food, rent, and utilities, he could stretch that total three months.

Essential time he could use to finally not worry even if it was for a short period of time.

Being lucky enough to find that large amount of money was the first positive thing that had happened to him in years. Once Illio's racing heart settled, he remembered about the card that was also with it and he put the money down and grabbed the heavy black metallic card.

At first glance there was nothing special about it however when he slid his thumb over it, the card came alive as if it was waiting for his touch.

A soft glowed shone forth following the heat from his thumb and it illuminated a single word from the front of the card:

"CHRONOS"

~Thump Thump~

His heart began racing at the possibility of what this could mean.

The tech giant was known to have limitless value, and anything from them is bound to be worth something.

Turning the card over in excitement, he felt the inscribed groves and swept over them with his thumb just as he had the front of it.

In the same fashion, the card lit up as well and new words filled it.

"Use To Redeem (1) Free CHRONOSPHERE and set up"

~Thump Thump~

His eager heart pumped hearted than before, a great smile overtook his face, and for the first time in years, Hope filled his eyes.

He didn't want to let out a scream but he couldn't help it!

"YEEEEEESSSSSS!"

Finally after a lifetime of misery, something good came to him.

He had been fantasizing about becoming a player in SOS and making millions from it for so long, and now…now that was a real possibility.

Hope began blossoming at the realization that if he can push through and make it in game, there would be a chance to find and rescue his sister.

"Just wait for me a little longer Aiya…things are finally turning around."