Dead Man's Luck

Warren's breath thinned, and his body started to shrivel up as his chest heaved for more air. It had been one minute, one minute since he had been running for his life.

*SNAAAP*

A few of the trees next to him completely snapped in two, the force of the wood hitting the ground sending vibrations across the forest.

Warren bit his lip and crouched down, avoiding the next volley of cut down trees. Lucy was fast, so fast that it seemed the Goddess was toying with him. But why?

Although Warren was sure he could be killed at any moment, there was one thing keeping him alive. The fact that it was just a simple game of tag. If Lucy wanted it so, Warren would be shredded into two pieces by the Goddess' feline tail. It was odd that a silly game was keeping him afloat, but at the same time it was that more intense.

All Warren could do was think and move, and sometimes he could not even do that as more tree trunks were thrust at him like mere sticks.

It was impossible to win.

Alas, the boy always had a plan, and if he could make it to the location he had in mind. It was for sure his win.

"Oh Brother, you should know that your vessel is tiring."

The blur of black came rushing forward, the humongous Cat appearing right before Warren. It jutted one paw out to tag him. Warren gritted his teeth and fell backwards with the little force he could muster in that split second.

The paw had barley missed taking his head off, and as he fell back, his legs no longer had support.

Warren felt extreme shots of pain as he tumbled down the hill, his landing even worse as he smacked against a tree.

Through the excruciating impact, he still focused on a single goal. Now, he was only a few steps away. In his mind he tried his best to remember where he had put it on that day.

The day he watched his sister slay her first Magical Beast.

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- 1 year ago -

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"Citrus I don't thi-"

"SHHHHHHHH!" The girl hissed back with force. Warren blinked a few times as he watched his sister swirl back around. "I don't care if it's not a good idea, I need to form a Spell or the Junior Academy will drop me."

The duo were crouched behind a slight hill, the bulge putting a natural barrier between them and the small Grey Wolf laying quietly.

The wind was blowing toward them, masking their scent as they approached it. It was Citrus being the one to keep the other quiet, something Warren had never thought was possible.

He swallowed down his anxiety, the first Beast he had seen right before him, and his sister planned on killing it.

For starters, it was odd for a seven year old and a four year old to be this far out of their village, but it was even weirder that they were hunting Beasts.

Well at the moment, more like stalking.

"Don't you have <World Shift>, you should be fine Ci-"

She put a finger over her brother's lips, "Quiet, it's awake."

The small wolf-like creature rose from its belly, the green irises searching around the small prairie. Its fur was almost metallic like, as if small needles of steel came from the creatures skin.

Warren knew full and well what could happen to them if they messed up, even if a GreyWolf was only a Rank E monster, it was still deadly.

Beyond the prairie, lied the entrance to the forest, the place where they had came. As such, the Grey Wolf caught scent of their bait, a small bathing cloth they had hung on a tree branch.

A low growl came from the Beast, it was on the alert now, except it had it's back exposed to the duo.

"How do you plan on making a Spell from killing that?"

Citrus exhaled heavily, "Look I get you always ask questions but you should know this."

Warren cocked his head, not wanting to tell her he was more than twice her age and someone who got isekaid, "I'm just curious."

Citrus rolled her eyes, "Look, you can only form a Spell if you have a Basis for your Magic, the Basis forming after your imagination and personality."

Warren nodded, "Yeah I know that."

Citrus karate chopped him, "Wait till after." Warren winced and held back tears, cursing his small frail body.

"As I was saying, you need a Basis. My Basis is that I like to be first, the fastest, and hate losing at tag."

Warren agreed with her while fighting through the pain.

"There are three ways to make a Spell, you either gain one naturally through control and imposing a Law, by reading a grimoire, or by mistake."

Warren cocked his head, "By mistake?"

Citrus grinned, "Sometimes messing up allows you to form a Spell, and once you form one it will be put into your Codex Crystal."

Warren raised an eyebrow, "A codex what?"

Citrus patted her younger brother on his head, "It is a crystal given to you after you form a Basis from the Kingdom. It allows you to see your status, Fey count, and Spells."

"Status? Like a video game?!" Warren was intrigued now.

"No idea what that means but if it's what you see it as then yes." Citrus had kept her eyes on the wolf the entire time, and even now she did not falter.

Warren pointed at the Grey Wolf, "Then how are you gonna use that?"

Citrus smiled, "Spells are usually made in combat, and can become a trial run. I already have an idea for a Spell, I just need to create it and give it a name, then it's final."

Warren stopped talking, his gaze seeing his sister unsheathe a small black blade. It was the one she got for her birthday. Warren rolled his eyes, "A kitchen knife?"

Citrus shrugged, "You know I can't cook, better use if for something worthwhile."

Warren sighed, understanding that fighting was indeed in the Gambit family blood.

Warren looked over his shoulder than back at the wolf. In the time he turned to look back, his sister was gone.

She was using her almost world shattering power. Teleportation Magic, something she had formed after she passed their Father in speed. She was so quick on her legs it was breath taking, and now she could teleport, truly frightening.

Before the Grey Wolf could even react, a swift gash had formed on its hind leg. It was not getting away now.

The Rank E Beast cried out in pain, its howl reaching out for help.

Citrus took this time of weakness to strike again, Only, the wolf evaded with ease. It had tricked her, drawing her in close to observe its attacker.

Warren looked closer, seeing that the wound it had was not even flesh deep, a single trickle of blood flowing down its leg.

It was a ploy, and Citrus fell into it. She knew she had a three second cool down on her <World Shift> and now she had to face the wolf without it.

She reinforced her body using Fey, pulling the Mana like power out of her soul, hardening her skin.

The Grey Wolf was quick as it lunged forward without a second to spare, a blur of its claws as it slashed Citrus' arm.

Warren wanted to cry out, but he knew that he might become a target if the Wolf sees him.

The cut however bounced off, Citrus grinning as she successfully thwarted it's attack.

"Nice try!" She yelled as she disappeared. The Wolf took note and backed up as far as it could in the few seconds it had.

Although it was too late, Citrus materialized right in front of it, swiftly arcing a kick in the wolf's direction. Her boot caught the creature's jaw, pushing it back with sheer force.

Warren was in complete shock, unsure how his sister who always sat inside reading romance novels was this good at fighting. He wondered if he could be this good in time.

Fighting was a huge factor in becoming the strongest person of this world, and if he wanted to meet his Mother, he would definitely have to fight strong opponents.

The Wolf stumbled from the attack, its quickness easily being matched without fail. The creature stood it's ground and howled again, this time something was different.

A small red glow began to encase it's body. Warren felt his heart sink. The Grey Wolf was not just any Beast, it was a Magical one, the difference something anyone would fear.

Magical Beast had the ability to draw in Fey, meaning if a the beast was ranked high enough, it could easily wipe out Mages like nothing.

Now that it had showed its true colors, the Rank E Grey Wolf was now a Rank D Magical Beast.

Citrus did not falter, she knew that even if the Beast had an affinity for Magic, it would only be able to buff its strength or speed, as canine Magical Beasts could only do so.

Citrus used her Spell again, using the time within her Magic to get behind the wolf, as she came back, she found herself looking at its snout. It had successfully guessed were she would appear.

The creature flung its claws outward, Citrus holding the knife up to protect herself. The blade broke in two, the long cutting blade now without its point.

Warren started to run, the boy sprinting full speed toward his sister. He would not let her die, four or not he could not sit idle.

"Stoppp!" Citrus screamed, "I got this, so just stay put brother."

Warren had froze, unsure of what to do.

Citrus smiled, "Hehe, time to show off a little bit."

Citrus disappeared once again, the air growing still as the wolf honed in.

A second later, the wolf lashed out, and Citrus had materialized right where it had guessed once again. A sudden urge of fright fell over Warren, she was done for.

But, as if time had stopped, she disappeared again. Then it seemed to resume and the claws of the wolf hit nothing but air. Citrus came forth from behind the creature and dug the broken blade handle into its back .

Warren was taken aback, completely in shock.

The wolf swiftly spun around, but Citrus had gone again. She reappeared once again behind the creature, and this time she wielded the pointed blade.

She aimed for the back of the head.

Soon after, the wolf fell silently, its body slumped against the grass.

Citrus rose her hand to the sky and screamed, "Heeelllll yeahhh!"

Warren was still in confusion, wondering what she had just done.

Citrus looked at her brother and grinned, "Told you Warry."

"How did you do that?!" Warren asked without hesitation.

Citrus gripped her wrist in pain, "Well with <World Shift> I can disappear for five seconds, and the cool down is three, so it occurred to me." She threw up a thumbs up, "What would happen if I only disappeared for a single second? Wouldn't that mean the cool down was even less than that."

Warren thumbed his chin, he understood it immediately. It was simple actually, if she had a three second cool down after five seconds, if she only used it for one second, wouldn't the cool down be significantly less, to the point she could do it again almost within the same instance.

He finally grasped how Spells were made, as he was told, Spells are just a more controlled version of the Base.

"I think I'll call it <Blink>," Citrus collapsed to her knees in exhaustion. "Because I'll be gone before you can blink, haha."

She heaved for more air, even if she was a prodigy the fact she was still a young girl was evident.

"Hey Warry," She looked up at him. "Let's bury the blade so we can say we lost it."

Warren crossed his tiny arms, "We? I was going to tell Mother you did."

Citrus giggled, "Yeah I guess you're right." She inhaled with force and sighed, "Just know this little brother, you might be a genius, but you aren't the only one who can think."

Warren nodded, "I know dumbass."

Citrus winced, "That's some harsh language for a four year old."

Warren shrugged, "A GENUIS four year old."

They both laughed together and after they stood, they watched as the Magical Beast turned to red dust, a small purple orb where it once was.

Warren looked up to see his sister watching the trees as wind blew by.

"What's the matter?" He asked seeing her eyes glimmer.

Citrus picked up the blade and the orb, "I'm just really happy."

Warren eyed the magic orb, "Why 'really' happy?"

She looked back at the dust that floated away, "I was faster."

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-present-

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Warren somehow dodged another swipe from Lucy, the Goddess slightly annoyed that she could not kill the child she was chasing. It was because she had pride that she did not devour the mortal child with ease.

She was also interested, intrigued by why her "brother" had picked a human over all the other races. The Fairies would have been a way easier vessel to accustom to his Magic.

Unless the boy was special, and which led the black cat wanting to wait it out, to see what would happen.

Warren on the other hand, was a complete and utter disaster. His mind fogged by so many questions.

What could I do in real life against a God? Why was I even running? Where was the knife? How many times did I almost die? Can I get reincarnated a second time?

The last question struck him like a hammer, and the devilish smile came rushing back to him. He stopped at another ledge, the hill being far deeper down than the last.

Without a second to spare he leaped off, but before he hit the incline of rock he grasped an outstretched limb. As he did, the same tree was cut clean in half.

His smile grew even wilder, he was having the time of his life. Even if there was the fact that if he messed up, he might lose it forever.

"Hahahahaha! Come on Lucy, show your dear old brother a good time!"

Warren caught himself on a pile of bushes, the tree only inches from crushing his hand. The child dove away as the front paws of the cat came crashing down, an eight foot wide crater forming on impact.

She was trying to kill him after all, exactly what he wanted. Warren slid behind a tree, his gaze looking for something familiar.

He locked onto the tree in front of him. He got lucky once again. He was out of breath but he fought through the exhaustion.

A few seconds later he had to once again rolled away from more collapsing lumber. This time however, he hopped up with a blade in his hand.

Lucy stopped in her tracks, seeing the dark dirty knife in his grasp. She was confused, as the curved metal had no handle, a small trickle of blood running down Warren's arm.

"Splendid brother! Do you finally want to show some fight. Come at me with that weak vessel, I will crush you."

Warren whistled, "Seems like someone hates me."

Lucy hissed, "Why of course, you flaunt your prowess to everyone of the Silver City, acting as if just because you have luck on your side you are unstoppable. Time and time again you make a mockery of Gods with actual power. As I have beat you thousands of years ago, I will beat you today."

Warren kept his wicked smile, "Looks like that settles it then, I win."

Lucy's eyes widened as she cautiously searched around her, "I see no way you can win brother?"

Warren bent down to touch his toes, an act that usually led to something worse.

Lucy watched Warren raise the knife, "See ya Lucy, sorry to make a fool of you once again."

The Goddess growled, "What are you-"

Warren plunged the knife into his chest.

The world seem to stop as it dug cleanly past his skin and pierced his heart. Warren cried out in pain as he collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Lucy blinked in confusion, "What?!"

Warren coughed, blood spurting from his mouth, "You cant win in a game of tag if the other person isn't even alive."

Lucy scoffed, "How absurd, I will simply touch your dead body."

Warren exhaled, "Well according to our wager, you have to tag me, if I recall, that is not my corpse."

Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief, "All of this for a silly wager?"

No one answered, Warren breathing his last breath before she even finished her question. He had died from shock and the immense pain.

In a sick sense of things, Warren had won.

As his soul left his body, he gave his first wish.

Then, he got up and took the blade out of his chest, "Oh by the way I am not your brother, just his friend."

Lucy rose an eyebrow, "Wha-"

Everything turned black, the wheels of time churning as they screeched to a halt. Like machines made of cogs, the wheels began to slowly reverse their direction and existence itself began to rewind. Warren and Lucy were forcefully thrown backwards in time.

Warren opened his eyes, and as he did he tripped over an outstretched tree root. He fell face first into the dirt.

A slight tap touched his shoulder, "I win!" Citrus said with excitement. She laughed and patted Warren on the back, "Maybe next time, I'm just too fast."

Warren still had his nose planted in the earth, his entire soul taking in the soft, annoying, and triumphant voice of his sister.

He began to cry, without holding nothing back he balled to his hearts content. He had gotten lucky once again.

"Wha-wa-huh?!" Citrus was confused, it was the first time in ages she had seen her brother cry like a kid.

A river of tears and snot came from Warren, the boy hugging his sister as if he had lost her. Citrus just awkwardly hugged him back, unsure of what to make of her brother's fit.

"Um, okay?" She said as he continued his stream of tears.