The King of Humans

The throne room stretched wide and high; every wall glittered with polished stone that caught the morning sun. The light broke across the floor in shifting rainbows, glittering like an upturned box of jewels. The light seemed to bend around the room, changing the color of objects as they got closer to the throne.

At the far end of the hall lounged the king. He lay sideways across his wooden throne, one arm propping up his head, the other idly tossing a crystal prism into the air. The shard of crystal spun on its point, balanced on the tip of his forefinger. As he breathed, a rainbow mist escaped his mouth, hanging in the air and swirling around him.

“Mm, the border jumper that defeated Double Impact.” The king’s voice was cool and a bit too casual for his high position. He spoke as if greeting an old friend dropping by for tea. His eyes, bright as gemstones, shifted color with the glance. “So the Ellwish are using their slaves as spies now?”

Turn stepped from behind the throne and whispered into the king's ear. Turn had learned a few things about Haruto that he'd rather people not know. Haruto swallowed hard, and the System's anxiety skyrocketed.

“I see. The light does seem to bend differently around him.” The king waved Turn off with two fingers. “So you aren't a spy. Then what are you?”

“Uh…” Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, not sure if that was an insult or just poetry.

"If I may, your highness. My associate—" The System tried to answer.

"I did not grant you permission to speak, eye." The king commanded. The System shrunk back, folding into itself.

The king’s eyes didn’t leave Haruto, though their color shifted again—deep sapphire to molten amber, then back to green, like a kaleidoscope turning slowly. His prism flicked upward, spinning to hang in the air before shattering into half a dozen fragments. Each shard remained floating, orbiting him in lazy loops, trailing ribbons of rainbow light.

“I’ll ask once more,” the king said, voice velvet-smooth but edged like glass. “If you are not a spy, then what are you? A thief who stole power he doesn’t deserve? A fool who stumbled into a place too bright for his eyes?”

"My name is Haruto Ishikawa. And I'm..." Haruto stepped in front of the System and bowed. "I am just a very tired man that was pulled from another world!"

"Haruto!" The System screamed at him.

The king laughed, sudden and sharp. The rainbow shards around the king stilled mid-orbit, freezing in the air like daggers pointed toward Haruto. The throne room seemed to grow colder, though sunlight still poured through the stained glass.

With undignified motions, the king leaned forward on his throne, clapping his feet on the floor. “Another world…” His lips curled into mischievous glee. “A tale for children. A lie for fools. No... Your light is honest.”

One of the prisms dipped down, launching itself toward Haruto. He put his hands up quickly, and the prism clashed with the manacles around his wrists. The impact knocked him off balance as his restraints shattered under the point of the crystal and sent him through the air.

"Leave us." The king commanded the room.

Turn and the guards all walked to the large double doors. Haruto watched as they filed out of the throne room, two by two. Turn left last, with Haruto noticing Yggdrasil tucked into his belt.

“Haruto Ishikawa of 'another world,'” the king purred. “Will you shine in the face of adversity... or are you a cracked piece of glass pretending to be a jewel?”

The prism darted upward, joining its siblings in a slow, spiraling orbit. Threads of light stretched between them, weaving a geometric web in the air. The strands shimmered, a lattice of colors, yet not all of them gave off heat. They encircled Haruto like a cage.

The System buzzed in panic. “Haruto, his job is—”

A bright beam of violet light enveloped it, shot from the king's hand, forcing the System to the wall in an instant, before the light bounced away. It crashed into the sparkling cobblestone and fell silent, a bright red X displayed on its eye. The System had proved sturdy, nigh invulnerable in recent battles, yet the king had incapacitated it with sheer force.

"You will speak when spoken to, eye. This is your final warning." The king's eyes were as wide as his crooked smile. He looked back to Haruto. "Show the light inside that's begging to be released."

Haruto groaned, dragging his hand down his face. “Would it be possible to do this another day? I haven't slept, and I've only had potions since getting to this world.”

"I am the King of Humans, Avalda Solis." The king tilted his head, lounging back again. "You who cast the shadow of the Fool will dance for me. Worry not. I shall temper my prisms to accommodate your exhaustion."

The prism cage tightened with a low hum, the strands of light fluctuating between the prisms that made them. Haruto shifted his weight, eyes darting to every flicker of color. Each color seemed to carry with it a different feeling, an instinct that told him that each beam was different.

The cage suddenly split into shifting angles. Beams of searing light bounced across the room, chasing him with cruel accuracy. Haruto leapt backward, the soles of his shoes melting as the beam of red light shot past him. He barely rolled out of the way as a beam lanced the floor and then bounced in a new direction.

Haruto could figure out that the king's job had something to do with light on his own. He'd have to be pretty stupid if he couldn't piece that together without the System. The way the light bounced off of the walls and the prisms that floated through the air had the same properties. Haruto was standing in one giant prism, disguised as a throne room.

He was sure that he wouldn't be fast enough to run from beams of light. He switched to Sprinter anyway, planning to go for one of the pillars for cover. The king raised an eyebrow, his prisms hesitating for a moment.

"So what Turn said was true." He said with an amused chuckle. "Your light... just changed. Do it again."