VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne

Percy was in the runway turned training room, as he practised his swordplay, despite the fact he did not have an actual sword.

In his hands was a ladle, a standard utensil that he had taken from the kitchen and which had been serving as his weapon during their training sessions. Like always, it was wreathed in the golden energy of his Providence.

Even if it wasn’t a real sword, using the power of Providence like this gave it the same weight as one, as weight was crucial in a lot of the fighting techniques. Plus it made for good training.

He stepped forwards, swinging the golden sword down in a head-slicing chop. Stopping the golden blade just before the tip could touch the ground.

Beads of sweat flew from his brow, which was creased into a deep and pensive frown as he was lost in his thoughts and expressing his frustrations through his training. A common habit of his, thus why he looked the way that he did.

The only difference now was that he was using a ladle-sword, instead of pumping iron on the weight bench or running the Hobbits trail on his treadmill.

His mind was filled with doubts and anxiety, that was slowly eating away at him. Both in a metaphorical sense, and a literal sense.

The golden projection surrounding the ladle flickered briefly, as yet another anxiety filled worry crossed his mind. All of his worries and doubts were surrounding Valerie, everything that had happened between them, and his Oath.

That damned oath.

If he had known everything that would have happened, and the real world consequences of making it, he would have chosen the words of his Oath much more carefully. Instead he had done it haphazardly and carelessly, even if at the time he felt the truth of those words.

Now they were a curse to him, a burden that he had to shoulder, as was his duty as a Monarch. A name that was another burden and curse to him.

Roaring in frustration, Percy forced the doubts from his mind as the golden sword glowed brighter, its form solidifying even more until it almost became real. He whipped around, slashing the sword wildly into the wall beside him with no care of form, function or regard for his training. The golden blade carved through the tough, heavily reinforced wall of the bunker and left deep, wicked grooves in the metal like brushstrokes spelling out the source of his anger.

There was a creak behind him, and on pure instinct and rage, Percy immediately turned and swung the sword again.

The blade carved through the air, before stopping dead, just before it could cleave through the metallic neck of the individual behind him.

"Oh... Jinu. Sorry about that, I didn’t hear you come in. What’s going on? Is Ray- I mean, Is Valerie awake yet?"

Percy swallowed his frustrations, the bright golden sword losing its extra illumination and returning back to normal, which was at least better than the failing flicker it previously had, before he dismissed it entirely and let it return to being a standard ladle.

The Robotic assistant regarded him silently, tilting its head again and staring at him with those lifeless eyes that had been stuck onto its face. He understood why Valerie had put the face on Jinu, but even still... it was creepy.

However, uncaring or unknowing of its own creepiness, the machine butler held up its hands eagerly, showing the plate decorated with food that it held.

Freshly baked waffles, made to the perfect fluffiness, covered in a golden syrup that filled the squares like miniature pools of deliciousness.

Percy’s stomach immediately growled at the sight of those delectable circles of syrupy goodness, and he couldn’t help but lick his lips.

"Haha, I’ll take that as a yes. I should probably take this as a sign that she really isn’t mad at me, huh? Well... Unless she intentionally made them look good but taste awful... I better check, shouldn’t I?"

He said with a goofy grin, before snatching the plate from Jinu, along with the fork that he offered. Sitting down on the ground cross legged like a child, Percy immediately started to shovel the waffles into his mouth.

No longer caring about the ever staring, slightly creepy and unblinking eyes of Jinu, Percy stuffed mouthful after mouthful of the Waffles down.

As much as he hated to admit it though... They didn’t taste as good as he was hoping. They weren’t bad, but there was a strange taste to them that he couldn’t quite place. But he wasn’t going to go up there, after everything, and tell her that the food she had lovingly made for him was mediocre!

If he was going to do that, he might as well just swap these waffles with his shoe, because how much he would be putting his foot in his mouth.

Despite the strange taste, Percy ate every last bit of the waffles and still managed to let out a loud burp of satisfaction.

He clambered to his feet and placed his ladle in Jinu’s hands.

"Take care of that for me. And be careful too, it’s a deadly weapon in the right hands." He said with a laugh, before stepping past the robot to go thank Valerie for the meal and finally have their discussion.

He made it about three steps, before he staggered. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his eyelids fluttered, and his fourth step completely went out from under him.

The plate slipped from his hands, smashing against the floor, and Percy was quick to follow. Dropping like a brick, he slammed down face first and stayed there.

Four steps behind him, Jinu stared at him with those empty, cut out eyes and tilted his head again. Then, he tossed the ladle to the side carelessly and strolled over to Percy, grabbing the Monarch heir by the scruff of his shirt and began to drag him out of the room with cold, mechanical indifference.