cp6

At first, it was a passing fancy.

I spotted the boy in the darkened alleyway by chance. A petty thief, I had assumed. What dispelled that notion were his eyes… Eyes of determination. The boy wasn't aimlessly wandering through life. He had a goal. He had hope.

Hope for what, I could not glean.

From what I could tell, all his future would hold was a life of destitution—destined to be born in the slums, destined to die there. Yet, his demeanour hinted otherwise. His eyes were intelligent, and he diligently surveyed the wealthy passersby with perceptive calculation.

Then, it was curiosity.

It was rare to find someone with such a spirit. I had invited him to join me in my carriage as a test. He was to stay at the royal castle as my guest. If he had acted like a child, I would have tossed him back out on the street without hesitation.

What I received was a most fascinating reaction. He was a little confused but quickly accepted my offer. Although reserved during conversation, he deftly deflected my prying, guiding the conversation towards other inane topics of little consequence. I had expected to know every detail about him by the time we reached our destination. The only thing that I learnt was that he knew more than he let on.

He seemed to have a handle on my character. Despite my attempts to act like an easygoing and benevolent princess, I noticed he chose his words carefully around me.

We were both playing fools on a stage where we were the only ones in the audience. What a farce.

Next, it was amusement.

How long would he uphold his guileless façade? Living in a palace with luxuries abound every corner, lavished with greater extravagance than he could've ever hoped to know. Who wouldn't indulge in such comfort when coming from such a poor background? Apparently, Climb did.

Show me your true nature. Show me that you're like the rest of them. All humans were animals, no different from beastmen who acted on instinct.

That intelligence that you relied on to survive. Abandon it. It was not necessary here. Nothing was after your life, and food is aplenty. Water runs clean. Maids are at your beck and call. Everything is provided for. You don't need to think about anything…

That is what I wanted from him.

A little experiment of mine.

I wanted him to prove it.

One lifted from nothing and given everything. I wanted it to destroy him.

Where was his pride?

Where was his gluttony?

Where was his sloth?

This was surely a God-given right. Those eyes that I regarded in the slums. Eyes that anticipated the future. Wasn't this what you were waiting for?

I waited for the tutors to report that he was skipping lessons. I waited for the maids to complain that his room was constantly found messy. I waited for the residents to protest at his uncouth manners.

Nothing.

I was perplexed.

He continued to carry out his days with the same determination and diligence as he would've in the slums. If not, he doubled his efforts.

He acted as if this was to be expected. As if this was just another step for him in the grand scheme of things.

Now, it's something entirely different.

I had just witnessed an execution carried out by his hands. I could tell, he did it out of a sense of duty. But not towards the victims of the murderer; He wasn't angry at the criminal.

Climb just grabbed onto the opportunity I provided.

I racked my head, trying to make sense of his actions. There was not a chance that he savoured the act of killing, and if anything, he loathed it.

I didn't force him.

He… forced himself.

But why?

This boy. Climb. He was an anomaly. The one thing that I have yet to comprehend.

What makes him tick? What motivates him? What scares him? What excites him?

Which was why, whether it be a passing fancy, sating my curiosity or curing my boredom, I called for his presence. During this private setting, I hope to lay bare our true natures. This performance we are playing ends today.

Therefore, at this moment, he stood before me.

Climb.

I made no attempt to hide the smile that split my face. If he was going to be honest with me, I should at least attempt to return the favour.

"Why did you kill him?" she asked, "If not out of a sense of justice for his victims, what then?" This was the Renner I knew. A disconcerting smile on her face, eyes that pierced the depths of my soul. Her portrayal on a screen did not do her justice. Experiencing this kind of scrutiny in real life was crushing.

Has she decided to end her sweet act, just like that? If I recall correctly, she only adopted it after taking Climb in. What could've caused her to stop so prematurely?

Her gaze was intensifying the longer I kept quiet. I'd already messed up canon. Of course, I did. The original Climb wouldn't hurt a fly. She just saw me execute a man. Though, wasn't this the outcome she was probing for?

"I killed him because it was convenient, Renner." Her eyes narrowed at my words. "You made it too convenient for me."

She leaned back in her chair.

"Enlighten me, Climb. Why would you kill solely on the basis that it's convenient?"

I had to choose my words carefully. I could easily be branded as an unhinged psychopath if I didn't. I can't bullshit my way out of this one; she's forced my hand. There was only one path forward.

What I'm about to do is risky. Incredibly so. The future I know of will be utterly unrecognisable after this little spiel.

I should have known that I could not imitate the original Climb perfectly. I had hoped that the changes to the canon would be minimal. Just a week after meeting Renner, it's already going wrong. Fine. If the future is going to change, I'm making sure I exploit it for what it's worth.

Making up my mind, I look towards Renner's increasingly impatient face.

"Renner, unfortunately, I will not be able to reveal everything right now. I will disclose what I can. You must understand this. It is both for my own, and to an extent, your own safety." She sneers at my disclaimer.

"If you are compromised by some third party, I can exercise what little influence I have. Whomever they are, they cannot reach you in the Valencia palace." I shake my head.

"I appreciate the thought, but this has nothing to do with that."

"What? You think so lowly of me that I can't be trusted?"

I grin at her assumption.

"Princess Renner. You have no idea how high in regard I hold you."– She really didn't –"But aren't you forgetting that we had met just a week ago?"

She sat in contemplative silence.

Time to take my shot.

"You're misunderstood, right?" She looked up at me. "You cannot relate to others. To you, everyone must seem like idiots." her eyes narrow at my 'observation' that hit the nail on the head.

"What are you implying?" Here it is, the critical moment.

"Just as your intellect alienates you from others, the burden of knowledge isolates me." It was cringy, but playing our similarities will hopefully endear her to me.

"I cannot help but think of the people around me, going about their daily lives, as anything other than mere characters in a storybook." Even after a decade, I had hardly interacted with anybody in the slums; they were all irrelevant mob characters. Here, the only person relevant to the plot was Renner. My survival relied on her, not the extras. Renner continues.

"You spoke of my intellect. Were you made aware of this though your unnatural 'knowledge'?" She asks. I nod in response.

"Renner, what would you do if you knew of a possible future? Assuming it is pliable, would you try to preserve it? Would you deviate from it?"

"You have prophetic visions?" she asks incredulously.

"If that is the term you wish to use." Good. She was drawing her own 'sensible' conclusions. I didn't want to explain it myself, there's a possibility that I could say something too outlandish (even by this world's standards).

"That is interesting indeed… But what does this have to do with killing that man?"

"I am not only bestowed with prophetic visions. I am sometimes presented with other kinds of knowledge. One of the fundamental pillars of this world leads me to believe that killing other beings is beneficial to me." Before I could continue, Renner interrupted.

"Killing other beings… makes you stronger."

…

I was stunned. Where did she pull that conclusion from?! I haven't even begun to explain levels or experience, and she hits it spot on.

"Yes… How did you manage to figure that out?"

"Well, when the man mentioned that he had killed hundreds of children, your first words were to ask if he was strong."

"Just from that?"

"An abridgement of my thought process. Is something wrong?" she tilts her head teasingly. I felt the tense atmosphere in the room easing at her words. This chat was turning out to be more fun than I expected.

"Once again, I must revaluate my impression of you." I shake my head.

She giggles.

"Thank you for the compliment, Climb." I couldn't tell if she was genuine or not, though I didn't really care. Her smile was bewitching.

I'm convinced. If I was going to wreck canon anyway, I was going to do it right.

"Renner. If I am to divulge this information to you, will you do one thing for me?"

"Hmm. It depends. Will the information place me in a perilous situation? Will some divine god of knowledge smite me?"

I sigh at her satirical comment.

"Noth-" I pause, "…Actually, if things go wrong, we might as well be." Renner turns her head towards mine, on her face, an unreadable expression.

"What do you mean, Climb?"

Time to put that script I drafted to work. I raise both my arms in false bravado.

"I will hereby declare my prophecy!" I announce. "A calamity shall befall this world. It is inevitable. The strength of Players from Yggdrasil are far beyond our comprehension. Death incarnate shall descend," – This was too much fun– "and along with him, the Gates of Judgment: The Great Tomb of Nazarick. Filled with creatures unlike anything this world has seen before, they are unified under one goal: to take over the world. They shall crush any opposition in equal measure of cunning and power. There is little resistance this world can offer. Renner… that is the future I saw." I looked at the girl opposite me, who, for once, had an expression of awe on her face.

"I will not ask you to 'save' the world out of some naive delusion. I am asking you, as the only one in this goddamned world who understands you," I kneel in front of her and reach my hand out to her.

"I desire a place amongst the new world they shall establish. I do not wish to be simply trampled underfoot. Alone, I am too small to achieve such an ambition. If you lend me your intellect, I will offer you my knowledge. Where you plot and scheme, I will build upon it. When you long for company, I shall be your friend. I may not be your equal just yet… nobody is. But I swear, I will become one. I implore you, Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself; will you be my accomplice?"

I bow my head and stare at the ground. I could only hold my breath and wait for a response.

…

…

I heard some shuffling.

…

My hand remained still outstretched. I felt a knot tie itself in my gut.

…

Then, I felt Renner's gentle hand resting in mine.

She had taken my hand.

…

"Accomplice makes it sound like we're going to be doing bad things… I quite like it. I look forward to working with you, Climb." I look back up at her.

Ah, she truly was beautiful. In every sense of the word.

AN: Climb and Renner's (dubious) relationship begins! A little different than canon, what butterfly effect will it have on the world? What will they do to prepare themselves for the prophesied calamity? Climb might have kept some important details from Renner… let's hope he doesn't regret it. Thanks for reading!