I wake up suddenly right after collapsing, except all the pain I had just vanished, and I find myself back in the place where it all began, where Daïs announced the trial and where we strategized with the rest of the team. That's when panic takes over me—my teammates, I saw them die, but are they okay? Are they still alive, or was the rule that we can't die during a challenge actually false?
Panicked, I look around, but my eyes meet Lesky's as she runs toward me, with Aristeus, Relatio, and Pendo close behind.
"Roxy! You were incredible!"
I let out a sigh of relief, thankful to see my team still alive. I get up quickly.
"…I managed to win, but… it wasn't easy."
Pendo puts a hand on my shoulder.
"You were strong, strong and determined enough to pull the dagger from your hand and then kill that Shazi."
"I don't know what came over me. It's like… actually, I can't explain it."
I sigh, and suddenly we hear Daïs's voice.
"I invite the 10 winning teams to join me on stage… teams 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19."
The teams all step onto the stage. I barely recognize any of them, except for team four, Curro's group. There are 50 of us packed onto the stage, a bit cramped. I glance at the rest of the crowd and recognize many faces—the members of Deodat's team, the trio from team 5, and I spot Sang giving me a thumbs-up with a proud smile for some unknown reason. I also notice team 16 and Shazi's menacing glare after I defeated her.
"Congratulations, I applaud you for passing my trial. It was exciting—all those fights, and especially that finale…"
I feel everyone's eyes turn toward me.
"Never would I have imagined a Felkaï emerging victorious from this event."
I grit my teeth at Daïs's words. What did he mean by that? I hate being considered weak.
"And by using such a treacherous move, clearly worthy of a descendant of Taus."
Shazi's group fixes their gaze on me, and I notice some of the other winning teams looking at me too. I guess they all saw it—my fights and my betrayal. If I haven't made at least one enemy, I'd be surprised.
"I will grant you all the Seal of Darkness. Now you only need to win 99 more trials to claim the title of ultimate heir to your respective Deadhorses… Your next trial will be announced in a few hours… You are dismissed."
For a few seconds, I feel a sharp pain in my chest, but then I sense something etched into me. Could it be the seal? That's what I assume.
After a few minutes of discussion with my team, we conclude that it's best to leave Daïs and finally see the light again. We're not the only ones with that idea, as several groups also head out of the city. We also discover there are multiple paths into Daïsa, and we decide to take the one we originally came through.
We finally emerge from the narrow cave leading out of Daïsa, and I shut my eyes—the sunlight burns after so much time in darkness. Luckily, it's only sunset. It takes us a while to readjust to the light, but then it hits me: night is coming, and we have nowhere to settle down. In the distance, I spot a weeping willow and point at it.
"Let's go there… Maybe we can camp under it tonight, out in the open."
Aristeus nods.
"Not a bad idea, I actually like sleeping under the stars."
We head toward the weeping willow and settle down against it. We take some time to rest and light a small campfire. Pendo had gone to the village square earlier, and several locals offered her food for the group—probably because this place is also the capital of her Deadhorse.
"I feel awful…"
The words slip out as the images come back to me—the moments where I killed several people. It was real, and yet at the same time, unreal.
"You said it during the trial, didn't you? Either it's you who walks out alive… or them."
Aristeus pointed out, and I end up nodding.
"That's true, but I just… I don't know… Don't you guys…like, fear me? Or maybe even hate me for killing those people?"
Relatio places a hand on my shoulder and smiles.
"I think if you had said that killing brought you pleasure, then yeah, we'd probably hate you. But here, we're forced to fight for survival… and for the wishes we want granted."
Aristeus looks at us and tilts his head.
"Do you already know what wish you want?"
Pendo shakes her head.
"I wish I could rebuild my theater troupe… Not long before I was kidnapped, our group ended up splitting apart because of a fight…"
Admitted Relatio with a rather sad look, her legs pulled up to her chest.
"I'd like to be unbanished from Okamoto Island and be able to see my family again…"
Said Lesky, gazing up at the sky, while Aristeus added:
"Me? Honestly, no idea… Maybe just a ton of money?"
Then their eyes all turn toward me. Honestly, I don't have a wish… Only Dena's—she wants me to save the world, but that isn't mine. My mind drifts back to the fight with my parents, and then to my life in general.
"I don't know yet…"
"I don't know either. It'll come sooner or later. And anyway… we've still got 99 trials left, we're far from really winning."
Pendo clarified. We kept talking throughout the night, sharing stories and bits of our past. Lesky told us about the countries she had been forced to travel through when she was moved from place to place. Relatio spoke about the plays she and her troupe had performed, and about its members. Aristeus recounted some of his unfortunate misadventures, and Pendo told us a few scary stories. Eventually, we all fell asleep by the fire.
I wake up tired, my clothes damp from the morning dew. Suddenly, I see a face I don't recognize lying next to me. I let out a small cry of fear and stand up, which ends up waking the whole group. I notice two people have joined us—Amr and Natalja, who had helped us fight the dog. They were asleep, and suddenly, stepping out from behind the tree, I see Sang.
"Finally, you're awake."
"What are you doing here?!"
I say, my hand instinctively moving close to my sword. Sang laughs as the others slowly wake up.
"I saw you were sleeping unguarded. You could've been robbed or attacked by other locals. But I saw this—and the nice fire you lit—and I couldn't help but join you to keep watch."
I rub my eyes, still tired, and eventually nod. I had expected him to be angry. However, I notice that his two other teammates aren't with him.
"There's only three of you?"
Sang nods.
"Yeah, the other two already left for their next trial, the one of Deadhorse 55… It's a long trip since it's in Dalfor."
I see the rest of the group is now fully awake.
"I'm tired…"
Amr complains while rubbing his eyes, to which Sang replies with a light pat on his back and a smile.
"Then go for a run…"
I look down at my bracelet. Sang had just said that our bracelets will show us our next trial. I open it and see a new number… 25… Abundance. I also see a part of the map working like a GPS. It's to the southwest, behind the small mountain range—it's part of the Realm of Davidova. I glance at the others and notice Relatio next to me, but her number is different. She has 98.
"Why don't we all have the same number?"
I look at Sang, who shrugs.
"I think each of us gets a random trial, maybe to avoid too many people heading to the same one…"
Pendo studies her map, and I see she has the same number as Relatio.
"I think it's based on the closest towers… Abundance, Curse, Mercy, Astronomy, and Courage are the closest to Darkness… We were probably all redirected toward one of those trials…"
I lean toward Relatio and notice her trial is on the opposite side from ours.
"So we'll have to split up, but I doubt we'll all separate completely… Pendo and Relatio, you're both going to the Curse… What about the rest of you?"
Natalja sighs and raises her hand.
"I'm heading to Mercy… Anyone else going there?"
No one raises their hand. A few seconds pass, then I raise mine.
"Who's going to Abundance?"
I see Lesky and Amr lift their hands.
"And me, I'm going to Astronomy. Anyone else?"
Aristeus raises his hand.
Lesky doesn't look too thrilled about being with me, while Sang watches us with a smile.
"Aside from Natalja, we'll all still be together… more or less."
Lesky scratches her head.
"I really like you guys… If you go in the opposite direction, maybe we'll never see each other again."
Relatio nods, looking sad.
"Yeah…"
Amr raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms.
"You haven't formed a guild yet?"
Our whole group turns toward Amr, confused.
"A guild?"
Says Aristeus, tilting his head, to which Sang replies:
"It's a group you can form outside of trials. You'll always stay connected through a group chat on your bracelets, and… if you find a spot, you can all regroup there quickly. Like a base of operations, if you prefer."
"That's an awesome idea!"
Relatio exclaims.
"We haven't joined any guilds yet… But I think after our alliance in the last trial… we could form one with you guys."
Except for Pendo and Amr, who seem a bit detached, everyone else looked excited—and strangely, I was too.
"We need a leader, right? Who volunteers?"
Natalja asks with a small nod. We all look around, and my gaze immediately lands on Sang. He had the aura of a leader more than anyone else. But suddenly, he points at me.
"Roxy will be our leader."
I blink several times in surprise and shake my head.
"No, no, no, I don't have what it takes."
"But you won the trial. You're strong."
Lesky adds. I see Relatio and Aristeus giving me pleading eyes. I've never been a leader, and I don't like the idea, but it seems convincing them otherwise will be hard.
"Alright…"
I admit, and we begin forming our guild. I invite the rest of the group with a simple contact of our bracelets. Our guild now consisted of me, Lesky, Relatio, Pendo, Aristeus, Natalja, Sang, and Amr.
We say our goodbyes and then head our separate ways: Pendo and Relatio go northwest, Sang and Aristeus go south, Natalja heads north alone, and then Lesky, Amr, and I set off southwest—toward Abundance.
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Lore informations
Dalfor : A continent that appeared in 1443, its inhabitants are said to come from another world where fantasy creatures live: elves, dwarves, dragons, and more. It is situated on the north-east side of Sano
Guilds : A guild is a group made between participants to keep on touch. They are able to talk to each other for long distance using messages. They have to elect a leader and this leader can claim a place to be the meeting point of the team, a place where they can use as HQ