The Hunt

***

"She won't say anything." Shane turned his attention to Two as he spoke to Nova. "And you can't force me to hurt a child."

Nova nodded in response, understanding the soldier's moral ambiguity. He knelt before the little girl. "Uhm...Two, was it? My name is Nova, if you had forgotten. Could you tell me why you followed me?"

Surprisingly, she replied. "Please find Seven."

"Seven...?" He recalled Ruthless mentioning the number, well, name.

"Anything else?"

"He must be starving..."

Following the end of the conversation with a sigh, Nova glances back at Shane who appeared to be absent minded. Then suddenly, he heard a blip.

[ Main Quest

The Retribution: Gather The Gifted.

Wrath: Vacant

Greed:???

Gluttony:???

Sloth:???

Envy: ???

Pride:???

Lust:???

*Completion: (0/7)

*Failure: N/A ]

A certain sense of thrill and giddiness shot through the man's chest, and without warning, he began to laugh. Shane remained calmed but confused, however Two stared at the mad man, embedded with anxiety. Nova's cackle echoed around the factory, sounding back and ringing through his own ears.

"Lunatic..." Shane mumbled.

His laughter died down and Nova sighed a breath of relief as he grinned deviously at Shane. Above the soldier's head, the system appeared to have updated.

[ Status Window

Name: Shane Rushton

Status: Nonchalant

Shane is gifted. ]

[ Shane is eligible to assist in Project:Karma. Once Shane joins, Shane will become a Guest, and the Participant will become The Host. Would the participant like to attempt at inviting Shane?

YES/NO? ]

[YES] was pressed immediately without a second thought, and he was greeted with a few more windows.

[ Shane(Guest) is required to pledge his life to the Host. ]

[ Shane(Guest) will be assigned to the Sin of the Host's choice once the requirement is completed. ]

Nova clicked his tongue. How was he going to get a cold hearted man like that to pledge his life to him?

'No matter. I'll dwell on it later. For now...' His attention cycled back to Two.

"We'll help you find Seven, whoever it is."

"We?" ,interrupted Shane. "I'm not about to go on a silly goose chase around the whole of MLC for a person I don't even know the appearance of."

Two frowned. "There is a Seven imprinted on his wrist...?"

"That's not going to be enough. This one is all yours, Nova. If you need me, I'll text you an address."

After moments of doubt, a look of assurance grew onto Nova's face. This was his mission that only he could complete. With [EoJ], he'd be able to find anything, given the higher level of eyesight. he and Shane exchanged numbers, and the soldier departed. Nova sat on a pile of old clothes, then said to Two, "Before we begin, I'm going to take a nap."

Two gave a glance of understanded and left. "I will return."

***

Two days had passed before Nova woke up. Much rather, had been woken up. The persistent clanging in the background of his sleep was enough to wake him up. As he sat up, his head spun to the source of the noise, to find out that there were flashing sparks at the other end of the factory. Nova was eager to investigate, and so that's what he did. The result of his observation resulted in seeing Two welding pieces of metal together.

 "Two, what the hell are you doing?"

Her little head cocked to the side. "My hobby. You've finally woken up after two days. I was bored."

"Two days?!"

[ Side Quest

Feels like Home: Search for a suitable residence fit for a King.

*Duration: 5 Days Remaining.

*Failure: Death. ]

Nova shuddered. Indeed it had been. "My bad....Guess I was more tired then I initially thought."

"It's nothing." She took off her welding mask, then lifted up her masterpiece. Nova depicted it as a metal tower with what seemed to be animal limbs sticking out of the tower.

"What exactly is your hobby..." 

The question was drawn to a halt by Two, who gently placed down her work, seeming to take more care of it than herself. 

"We need to find Seven quickly. I must go back to Ruthless soon."

The pair set out through the city; Nova continued to use his ability to search for the missing sibling.

"Seven is my eldest sibling, and only brother. He was cast away by Ruthless after being relentlessly tortured by her. He would always try stop her from doing bad things."

"God, that must suck. Speaking of, why does Ruthless call herself that?"

"It's a nickname, for Ruthia. She attacks anyone who calls her by her real name. The details are unspecified, but it's something to do with our parents. I haven ever seen our parents."

"Are they dead?"

"I don't know."

Now approaching the poorer side of MLC, Nova began to remember his hatred for this world: there were so many sick, homeless orphans sleeping on the streets before him. He clenched his fist and he gritted his teeth.

"Nova?" 

Hearing his name broke him out of his indignant state. "Sorry...this place just has a lot of memories for me." 

"Look." Two pointed at a TV on the outside of a bar.

//"This just in, on NewestLive, Marcel Martinelli has been arrested for trespassing the grounds of Casina Mango Casino, owned by Mango Martinelli, and for attempting to murder his father for the 3rd time this month. His sentencing will take place in a few days, so stay tuned to find out what happens to the burly man!"//

The gossiping had begun around the pair.

"Another murderer in 3 days?"

"Last one was sentenced to public execution."

"What do you think will happen to the new one?"

"Just rid of them."

"True, we don't need people like them ruining my appetite."

The gossipers chuckle full-heartedly, whereas Nova grabbed Two's rugged hand and recommenced the pursual for Seven.

"C'mon. We don't have time to waste."