Infinite Sword Potential: My Sword Talent Has No Limit

The sound of the bustling carnival filled the air, and the sight of it was nothing short of amazing.

From the colourful tents, the savory stalls filled with a variety of delicious meals, games, and... other futuristic things Finn could have never fathomed to be real.

"So cool." Finn’s gaze darted from left to right erratically as he moved through the open streets of the carnival.

Terrence was right beside him, smiling all the while. "So what do you think? Impressive, right?"

Finn turned to him and spared him a defeated glance. "It is..."

"I haven’t even shown you the impressive parts of the carnival yet, and you’re this surprised already. Make sure you keep your end of the deal, aye Finn."

Finn let out a stifled groan at Terrence’s statement. He had made a bet with Terrence after a heated argument about him not coming to the carnival at all on their last free day.

And somehow, painfully, Finn had agreed to a bet with Terrence saying there was nothing impressive about the place apart from a stall of people selling expired goods to kids.

And now he had lost.

Finn facepalmed himself. ’Now I have to get Artemis to make a meal for this fool. Nice going, Finn.’

Estes within giggled. "You should really learn how to shut your mouth."

Finn glared at Estes who was glowing right next to him. ’Look who’s talking, Mrs loud mouth.’

Estes chuckled again. "A loud mouth with a really great capacity for the stuff in your trousers."

Finn choked, his cheeks reddening as he took his eyes off Estes and back to Terrence.

Luckily, the handsome blonde had not seen any of that, as he had gone to a stall to get refreshments for them both.

Returning back, he handed Finn a cone of ice cream... or at least what seemed like ice cream, as its contents resembled a pitch-black paste.

Finn narrowed his eyes at the obsidian ice cream and then threw a curious glance at Terrence.

Terrence laughed. "It’s black cream. It might not look like much, but I myself vouch for it as one of my favorites."

Finn rolled his eyes and stared at the cold, sizzling obsidian cream before him. "If you say so."

He placed it close to his mouth and then licked its surface shyly.

The taste of the ice cream melted on his tongue, making his taste buds tingle with a peculiar sweetness followed by a cold chill that ran down his spine.

Finn’s eyes grew wide and he licked again. This time he got a better grasp of the taste—its sweetness, its softness as it melted onto his tongue, its coolness as it slid down his throat like frost.

"Oh my... oh my..."

At that moment, Finn began to bite into it, quickly and efficiently devouring the entirety of the black ice cream within a few seconds.

"Man, this is good," Finn said, throwing the empty cone down to the ground and letting out a satisfactory sigh.

At his action though, Terrence acted strangely.

He rubbed his temples and groaned. "Finn..." he called, stress clearly written in his voice.

Finn shrugged, unable to quite grasp why his friend was suddenly frustrated over something he had done.

’Is it how I ate the thing? Was I supposed to lick it all through? Who gives him the right to tell me how to eat my own food though...’

After a brief pause, Terrence finally spoke. "You threw away the best part of an ice cream! The cone! The fucking cone!"

Finn stared down at the cone he had dropped, already tainted by the dirty, spilled ground.

"Ohhh..." Finn’s eyes widened in understanding. "Sorry, I guess." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Still, Terrence shook his head. "Next time, Finn."

Finn shrugged, watching the face of his friend morph into mild sadness. ’Why the hell is he making a baby face like that.’

"Shit... if you want, I’ll pay for whatever we are buying next," Finn spoke reluctantly.

At his words, Terrence’s gaze seemed to grow wide in excitement. He grinned. "There is a game shop in—"

Before the handsome boy could finish though, something happened.

A small and frail boy ran right into Finn with such force that it sent him staggering a few feet before he regained his balance.

"The hell!" Finn groaned, throwing a murderous stare at the boy who had bumped into him.

The boy blinked a few times, opening his mouth to speak, but all that came out were nothing more than heavy huffs of air.

Finn grimaced. "Hey fool, did you hit a rock?"

"Calm down, Finn. He didn’t mean it on purpose. Still, it’s quite awkward, really." Terrence folded his arms and stared at the boy for a moment. "Why are you here?"

The boy shook his head, finally catching enough breath to speak. "I came as soon as I could."

Terrence’s brows rose slightly. "Why?"

The boy brushed off sweat from his forehead, glanced at the perplexed Finn, and then turned back to Terrence once again.

"It’s Doram... he’s being beaten up by Edmund’s crew."

Finn’s chest tightened at the words of the frail boy. He turned to Terrence, who shared a similar expression.

"Where is he? Tell us quickly!"

At Terrence’s words, the boy turned around and pointed toward a particular road. "He’s in the alley between the carnival’s game building and the mystery shop."

Without wasting another second, Terrence and Finn bolted from the spot they were in, making their way toward the carnival game center building.

As they moved, Finn fell into thought.

Something felt off.

Awfully so.

However, he could not put his finger on it, and with how fast things were moving, he definitely could not analyze the situation properly.

He frowned, his neck turning at the last moment as he stared at the frail boy who had brought them the message.

He was no longer there.

Gone... vanished, like he had never existed.

Finn’s stomach churned at this. Now he knew something was really off.

He turned to Terrence, opening his mouth to speak and share his worries, but in the latter moment, Finn shut his mouth.

’I don’t have any proof for my gnawing suspicions. And even if it truly is a trap, we’ll just have to hope we are strong enough.’