Ex aequo et bono.
The principle where the judge took their decision based on what they believed to be right and good. In this case, the judges were the Kings.
This game of chess was first introduced by a god named Uola three centuries ago. It would appear once within a hundred years and the time of appearance was random.
Each of the roles could be assigned to anyone, and those who had enough guts would try to take it from another.
These acts of claiming another's role to reach the highest authority in the board could cause war to spark. That's why as soon as the first crest appeared, what humans called [War of Throne] would begin.
When the black King's crest first appeared on my hand, I knew my fate was destined to be full of thorns. After all, my opponent – the one who bore the white king's crest – was my partner. Someone I had been living with for years.
That's why it pained me.
The fact that I opened my eyes again to the same ceiling that I had been living on for years in the past meant I succeeded in receiving my wish.
I raised my hand. The delicate, pale hand I used to have in my younger days was the second reminder of what my wish was. Moreover, the black King's crest that had been with me for years was nowhere to be found.
That could only mean one thing.
"I won."
A huge grin formed on my face. My plan had succeeded and my wish was fulfilled.
I calculated in my head as I shuffled out of bed, touching my nape. A habit I developed after a bite mark was ingrained. Feeling the familiar dip in my flesh was nowhere to be found, my mouth curled in joy.
"11 March."
Turning on my phone, I gauged what time in the past I regressed to and it was exactly one week before a life-turning accident that changed me forever.
'I'm off to a good start.'
"How convenient. The god gives you time to prepare on top of being a regressor."
I opened the door of my bedroom and stepped out into the familiar hallway. My mind was incredibly calm, like a tranquil lake beneath the clouds.
My eyes scanned the living room and spotted the person I was searching for. He was sitting on the sofa, a tablet in his hand while already dressed neatly in a suit.
Keith Zylvar – someone I married out of my family's convenience.
"You haven't taken a bath yet? We're going to be late at this rate."
Noticing me trudging lazily toward the sofa – still in my pajamas – Keith asked, not even raising his head from the tablet.
Not minding his question, I stared at the chandelier on the ceiling.
'How long have we been in this fake relationship again?'
Calculating the current time and the time when we first got married, I shifted my gaze to Keith.
"Let's get a divorce."
His fingers that had been scrolling and typing endlessly since I arrived, stopped mid-air. Raising his gaze toward me, he asked.
"Why?"
I crossed my legs as I explained. "This marriage wasn't even our choice to begin with. It's been what? Two years...? No, almost three. My family's company already went bankrupt, and you never felt a spark of love toward me anyway, so why should we continue this relationship? I'm just a stranger leeching off your money at this point."
Keith seemed to contemplate my words for a bit before nodding, "True, I'll call a lawyer to take care of it."
Seeing him easily agreed stung my heart for a bit. So my weight in his eyes was that little, huh?
Keith had always been like this. He was indifferent to me from the first time I arrived here. I was never his partner in his eyes, and would never be.
So what use was I loving someone who never loved me back?
I unconsciously touched my nape. I was determined not to go near Keith or this house again once the divorce had been finalized.
This time, I was going to take control of my own fate.
Without saying another word, I stood up from the sofa and took a quick shower. Wearing a brown suit and tidied my platinum blonde hair to look presentable enough, I stepped into the living room again.
"Let's go."
I called Keith as I checked my wristwatch. Today was the only day we could be together after all.
.
.
Uonism was a religion dedicated to God Uola. After centuries of proven miracles, any religious beliefs that existed in this world were replaced by Uonism. Now, almost 80% of the human population worshipped this god.
But regardless of whether you worshipped this god or not, you still had a chance to participate in the War of Throne.
"May your wish be fulfilled, and the Great Being's blessing be with you."
The priest dispersed the mass with that last phrase, signaling the end of today's prayer. I stood up with Keith, leaving the church with steady steps – not a single word was uttered between us.
Gazing at my hand, a thought crossed my mind.
In my last life, I was chosen as the black faction's king, so would this life be the same or would retribution fall upon me and I would have to bear my karma?
I stopped my steps as I observed Uola's statue.
In a world where deities held the most power, humans actually flourished. Law in this world was upheld and any crime would be addressed quickly.
But because of that same religion, there's one thing that was twisted in our world's law : As long as you had enough reason to kill someone, you could do it.
The morality was now divided into white and black. With good consisting of don'ts and bad consisting of do's. Human rights were nowhere to be found.
A smirk formed on my mouth.
'What a truly twisted world I live in.'
I gazed as Keith walked away from me, not even considering that his partner had stopped in his steps.
That was my last straw.
I hated his indifference to me. Being treated as less than air for years even after giving all of my heart to him was what slowly broke me in my past life.
So this time, rather than chasing after him, I turned my heels around and left. After the War of Throne began, Keith was the last person on my mind.
"I have four months to prepare. If I'm not chosen as a piece that's great, but if I do…"
'I'd better get the gears moving.'
.
.
CLING!
Bell of the shop rang when I entered. The shop owner's beaming face was the first thing I saw.
"Welcome! What type of gun would you like to buy?"
"Handgun, any type of revolver from the Rodero gunsmith will do."
The owner smiled, "An old-fashioned one eh? Revolvers are always a timeless choice."
I chuckled, "Call me a classic enjoyer."
Finishing my purchase, I left the shop with a revolver on my waist.
Firearm shops were legal most of the time, all countries were permitted to produce and sell any type of firearms – not including nuclear bombs.
Feeling the familiar cold metal in my hand, I smiled. With my weapon secured, all that was left was to train my muscles back to how they were in their prime.
"Mommy! I want one! I want one please!"
"Alright, alright, I get it, stop pulling me yeah?"
I raised my gaze when I heard a commotion.
'Oh, ice cream.'
A street vendor was selling ice cream cones for a cheap price. I stared as the mother gave her daughter the ice cream – a huge smile was plastered on her face when she received it.
My feet unconsciously moved toward the vendor. The variety of menus caught my eye, but I chose the most basic one.
"One vanilla ice cream please."
"Coming right up!"
The vendor swiftly prepared my order and handed me a cone with vanilla ice cream on top. My eyes sparkled just like the girl's when I received the ice cream.
"Thank you."
I took the cone and was about to leave to enjoy my ice cream, but the street vendor struck up a conversation with me.
"Excuse me sir. It might seem rude, but are you an omega?"
I nodded at him, "Yeah, why?"
"Well, you see, I'm also an omega, but the smell of your pheromone seems to be overwhelming me. Are you in heat or a dominant perhaps? You should mask your pheromone so people don't target you."
Hearing his words, I widened my eyes.
'I what?'
I had always been a recessive all my life and I wasn't in my heat cycle, so how could other people smell my pheromone?
"I… See… Thank you for the warning."
I gave him a nod of gratitude and left. My steps were slow at first, until they slowly accelerated. Before I knew it, I was running on the street.
'There must be something wrong with the regression.'
I panted as I sat on a park bench, gone was the ice cream in my hand. My mind was currently too chaotic to stuff anything inside my mouth.
[As long as you could pay the price, any wish would be fulfilled.]
That was the rule Uola set when He granted humans' wishes.
If that's the case…
What did the god take from me?
What kind of thing did He do to twist my fate?
A mocking smile formed on my face.
"Haha, what a grand mystery to find out."