"Don't worry, this rule is purely for your benefit" Shinki ensured. "You must have made some friends since you got here, right?"
Mike didn't really see where Shinki was going with this.
"Maybe" he said.
"Haha, not very talkative today? Anyway, what I suggest to you is to invite one of these friends to fight for you, against the person that I myself would have chosen. If you win, no matter how our game goes, you will have won. Conversely, if the one I chose wins, it will not change anything in the course of the game. Simple, right?"
Mike thought a little, and realized that Clarc was positioned there, in the corner of the room. He didn't hesitate for long:
"That's okay for me" Mike said, knowing that no one in the castle had the slightest chance in single combat against Clarc.
He was about to call her, but Shinki beat him to it:
"Captain of the Guard, it's been a while since you've had a real fight, right? How about taking advantage of this part to get some exercise"
"With pleasure"Clarc replied, walking towards the gaming table.
Mike cursed himself for his stupidity: Clarc remained a high-ranking member of the castle, so he had to obey the king's orders. But as he reached their level, he walked past Shinki without even looking at him and positioned himself next to Mike.
"It's true that I need exercise, so I would be happy to face any opponent you choose, my king" Clarc said with a falsely ceremonious tone.
Mike held back from bursting out laughing at the scene, as did the other guards in the room, who were giggling discreetly. But Mike quickly became serious again when he saw that Shinki was also holding back his laughter. Obviously he had something prepared for this situation, but the question was what.
"Any opponent? That's good, there was just one that I had in mind" Shinki said.
Suddenly, he completely changed the subject, at least at first glance:
"Mike, you're already pretty familiar with the Platonic Sea, right? And I suppose you also spoke to dear Clarc about it, since you became close enough for him to betray me to help you, right?"
Had Shinki managed to guess that? He laughs again:
"Your face tells me I'm in the right" Shinki said. "So you also have know the travelers, right?"
The term meant something to Mike, and he finally remembered what it meant:
"Travelers are those who emerged from their story and survived, right?"
"Just right" Shinki replied, continuing to smile. "These travelers are very rare, to the point that we generally find less than one in more than a hundred stories. I too am lucky to be one. This is also why my Noir master decided to take me under his wing"
Mike wasn't that surprised, but Clarc raised his eyebrows slightly. However, neither of them understood what he was getting at.
"You see, this story we are in is truly miraculous because, besides me, I recently managed to find another "character" who can get out of the story" Shinki said to the surprise of the other two. "A real miracle, right? It is against him that the captain of the guard will fight today... until one of them takes his last breath"
Mike and Clarc started to really worry. And they were proven right when they found out who was going to fight.
"Gentlemen and... well, gentlemen, since there are unfortunately no members of the female gender here, I present to you the one who will face the captain of the guard" Shinki shouted as if he were presenting a wrestling match,reminding Mike of someone.
"Hello, Mr. Mike...and dad, Sora said as he entered the room"
"The second traveler in this story, the one I personally named as my successor, Sora!"
"No…" Mike started.
"That's impossible" Clarc said.
The latter wobbled and was narrowly caught by Mike.
"Since... since when did you become a Traveler, Sora?" Mike asked, his voice wavering.
"Haha, your face is funny, Mr. Mike. Since when"? Well, after my dad punched me in front of everyone a while ago, I was really sad" Sora said. "So, I went to this area that I like where the view is really nice, on the roof of the castle. But hey, you have itseen often but…I'm really bad at not making mistakes, hehe. So I ended up slipping, falling, and when I thought I was just going to keep falling into this weird void around the castle..."
"And that's where he fell out of the story" Shinki concluded. "I spotted it, and brought him back"
"And then the king and I became best friends!" Sora added, smiling.
Mike paled:
"So, from the moment we met..."
"Yes that's it. Mr. Shinki asked me to observe you and bring him as many things as possible, but without you noticing" Sora said. "I was good, huh?"
Mike didn't respond, while he and Clarc looked at Sora, speechless.
"Well, I was still a little scared the day I slipped into your room while you and dad were talking. But hey, I made up for it really well, right?"
"So that day, you were actually spying on us? Were you listening at the door? How many times have you done this exactly?"
"Hehe, hard to say but… I would say almost all the times you talked in the evening with Dad. It was always really interesting, your training to try to guess if Dad was lying" Sora said. "But you know what would be even funnier? A fight to the death between Dad and me, and the winner will be the new captain of the guard!"
"I'm just asking to be sure... you weren't the one who manipulated the guard into trying to kill me, were you?" Mike asked, still in shock.
"Yes" Sora answered openly. "Honestly Mr. Mike, it was really super simple, adults are never suspicious of children"
What could King Shinki have said to him to make him like this? Mike didn't have time to think because Clarc slammed his fist into the wall, smashing it to smithereens:
"What have you done to my son, your majesty?" Clark asked.
Shinki smiled and didn't respond, Clarc clenched his teeth so hard that veins appeared on his neck, while a trickle of blood flowed from his gums.
"I'll ask the question another way: what did you do to Sora, you bastard?"
Shinki laughed, and this time he replied:
"Wow wow, such violence! No wonder Sora prefers to play with me, haha"
Clarc lunged at him to swing his fist at his head, but Sora stood in front of him. At the last moment, Clarc managed to deflect his fist, which landed squarely in one of the orbs above the table, fracturing it, and almost breaking it.
"Haha, calm down, Clarky" Shinki taunted. "Remember that these spheres are each connected to a different world. It's okay if you damage them a little, but at this rate, you're going to end up breaking one, and you guess what will happen to the people inside"
Clarc calmed down a little, but his eyes flashed with rage.
"That said, it would be quite entertaining to see someone shatter a world with their bare hands, so don't be embarrassed, haha" Shinki chuckled.
Clarc didn't move but turned towards Sora.
"Son…"
Mike wanted to intervene to say something, but Shinki snapped his fingers, and Sora and Clarc found themselves isolated in a sort of transparent cube above them.
"Sorry my friend, but I can't let you influence the fighters" Shinki said. "In this cube, no one will be able to hear what you say... just a precautionary measure, you understand?"
As the cube was transparent Mike could clearly see Sora using Imagination to make colorful bubbles appear around Clarc. But then, the bubbles exploded so loudly that Clarc's armor chipped slightly:
"How did he do!?" Mike shouted.
"Surprised? I have the impression that you underestimate Sora a little, don't you? He's been training to use Imagination for a while, longer than you anyway. And I personally took care of his training, so even if he doesn't have the talent of a human from the Primary World, cracking the captain's armor and injuring him won't be too much of a problem for him" Shinki concluded.
"Do you really think Sora can beat Clarc in a head-on fight? Mike asked.
"No, of course, all that is not enough to compensate for the gap between an eight-year-old child of barely twenty kilos and a highly trained adult man, who can literally smash a world with his fists" Shinki answered.
He laughed again, and this time Mike could sense the malice in that laugh.
"But of course, that's if our dear captain decides to even scratch him" Shinki scoffed with his evil smile. "What do you think about it? Will Clarc counterattack at some point or will he just let himself be finished off?"
Mike took a deep breath and replied:
"I think, before anything bad happens to Clarc or Sora, I will win our game, he affirmed. And it will all just end, like that, your sordid plans will be ruined because of a game of "right or wrong""
"Haha, I can't wait to see how it ends" Shinki rejoiced. "Will I lose and then everything will end well for you three? Will I win and if so, who will die between father and son? What if I lose but one of them has already died out in the meantime? Ahlala, there's only one thing to do, let's start the fun!
And so the game began, with Mike's freedom, the survival of another world, and that of Sora and Clarc at stake"