was night. I, Rayo Zighko, was in the middle of the arena, walking while gazing at the twinkling stars adorning the black sky. I lowered my head to see the sandy ground of the arena, stained with red blood that had already started to dry. It was cool, the wind blowing neither too strong nor too weak. The air flowed in and out of my nose, refreshing the arena and making anyone who entered forget about the previous fights. I was alone, which miIt ght sound ordinary to some, but not here, where a person could conceal their intentions and aura. a persone wore a black hooded cape with the inscription "X" on the back. However, it wasn't X. she called me, a smile on their lips:
Yotori: [Rayo!! Long time no see!]
Rayo: [Hello Yotori! Indeed, compared to X, I've seen you very few times!]
Yotori: [Yet, we hear about your exploits, on the surface of course!]
Rayo: [What brings you the honor of this visit?]
Yotori: [After reading one of your letters, I began to conduct the research. Sorry for the delay caused by their vast capacity, but today, I can confirm that you are indeed right: Hori and Kodo are planning to assassinate X.]
Rayo: [Is he aware of the situation?]
Yotori: [No, I haven't informed him as you wrote to me.]
Rayo: [I have a question, Yotori! Won't you remove that cape?]
Yotori: [Why? I quite like it.]
Rayo: [It was just a question, don't worry, I won't force you. Let's get back to our main topic, can you summarize X's emotional state for me?]
Yotori: [I feel his hatred for Kodo is continuously growing, and it seems he vastly underestimates Kodo and Hori.]
Rayo: [Will he harm them?]
Yotori: [If you don't order him, he won't, but if...]
Rayo: [But if they attack him, he'll be forced to retaliate, which means... Yotori!! Prevent them from doing anything, or else he'll have to face Bleu!]
Yotori: [I understand your concern given the context, but wasn't he capable of defeating Bleu?]
Rayo: [Defeating Bleu or not is not the question. The right question is: who will remain alive? Bleu is unpredictable, which doesn't allow us to know who might win. And also... no, nothing.]
{I put my hand in my pocket then looked at the stars. Yotori was slowly approaching, then grabbed my arm. Yet, I couldn't see her face. Then she whispered with frustration:}
Yotori: [I've been with X since childhood, yet you know him better than I do! Rayo, tell me, who is he really? What does he really want? You know that if there's one person you can't lie to, it's me.]
Rayo: [This information will put you in danger, I can't reveal it to you, but I trust him as long as he doesn't get too close to Hori and Karagi, nothing unusual will happen.] She removed her hand from my arm then inspected it innocently
Yotori: [Rayo, look at my hands, there's blood.]
Rayo: [There's nothing, though.] She understood
Yotori: [Ah, okay! You never cease to impress me.]
Rayo: [Go join X, you still have work to do.] She left so quickly that one could almost wonder if she was really there. A thought struck me: "There are two types of blind people: the first is the one who cannot see, and the second is the one who cannot understand." Now, I was truly alone, there was no one around. The sand of the arena formed waves that slowly erased the traces of the fights, but not of the war. What war, you ask? It's better that no one knows, but sooner or later, they will have to. Currently, Madina is not ready to withstand any attack from the "Men" empire.
{Men comes from the Izedian language, which translates to "empire." Although Madina, Mendika, Menlar, and Menir were once a united empire, except for the borders which remain a sensitive issue, the empire controlled the entire continent directly or indirectly, giving them almost absolute control over Wirko. Except something will change the course of Men's plan. Madina, formerly called Mendina, had a new king named Mazin Alles. He refused any collaboration and announced withdrawal, starting by changing its name to Madina.}
Rayo: Today is not an ordinary day, we're on the 9th, a special day of a special month. Wait!! Look over there, there are flowers on one side of the arena!
{No Rayo! A circle has no side.}
{Karagi and Hori stood face to face in one of the palace chambers. Karagi started:}
Karagi: [Did the plan not work?]
Hori: [Indeed, X fell into the trap.]
Karagi: [He was counting on me not coming; he was so close.]
Hori: [I advised you to decline the invitation as it seemed a bit suspicious to me.]
Karagi: [It was in a small café in the city.]
Hori: [Thanks to your extraordinary perceptual ability, nothing that can be seen can escape you, isn't that right, Sir Rayo is an exception, isn't he?]
Karagi: [Exactly. Here's my secret weapon; it's so effective that even Sir Rayo, with the use of his current potential, can't escape it.]
Hori: [By the way, it's been a while since we've seen him.]
Karagi: [It makes the execution of our plan easier.]
Hori: [You meant your plan; I'm just assisting. I don't want any credit, as it would indirectly violate the law that Sir Zighko ordered us to follow!]
Karagi: [As you just said, I'll violate it indirectly, and I won't involve you in this matter.]
Hori: [Then I accept.]
Karagi: [As you know, X and Yotori pose a great problem for my future plans.]
Hori: [What are you going to do in that case?]
Karagi: [Do you know X and Yotori's current weak point?]
Hori: [Go on.]
Karagi: [Remember your research on X's missions?]
Hori: [Yes, it was a very difficult mission; I almost lost my life.]
Karagi: [I went through them page by page, and guess what I found.]
Hori: [What?]
Karagi: [That there's someone behind them controlling everything they do, and apparently they're not allowed to do anything without their order.]
Hori: [Are you sure about that?]
Karagi: [Not entirely, but that's the general
idea.]
Hori: [Okay, but what about the army?]
Karagi: [It's progressing well; some key elements are missing, but recruitment is there to fill the gap.]
Hori: [And now, what's your plan?]
Karagi: [I know that X and Yotori are participating in the tournament, and I'm aware they're very strong, but...]
Hori: [But what?]
Karagi: [I have a plan to kill them without getting our hands dirty.]
{Hori sat down, resting his head on his hand in a gesture of boredom.}
Hori: [And how are you going to do that?]
Karagi: [Ima! Aren't you interested in my plan?]
{She stood up and looked him straight in the eyes.}
Hori: [I agreed to help you, but that doesn't mean I accept your way of doing things!]
Karagi: [I already know that, you and I don't see people the same way! But have you forgotten what they did to us?]
Hori: [I'm aware, but you don't know the whole truth!]
Karagi: [What truth? Are you mocking me, nothing that can be seen escapes me!]
Hori: [That's the problem!]
Karagi: [What...]
{Hori sat down and interrupted him.}
Hori: [Let's end this topic, because you'll never understand. So what's your plan?]
Karagi: [Okay, so here's my deduction: X and Yotori are not allowed to kill anyone without permission from their superior, even in conflict.]
Hori: [So?]
Karagi: [Since Rayo isn't present, I'll establish the rules for phase 3, the loyalty test, myself. It will take place in room number 4, it's a huge cell where, according to our reports, it's impossible to escape from. Today's test will have only one rule: whoever dies loses! Since they're not allowed to kill without an agreement, there's a good chance they'll perish from exhaustion.]
Hori: [If I were to give a logical opinion on this plan, I'd say it's a pretty good idea.]
Karagi: [Then, call the remaining 10 participants and gather them in room 4.]
Hori: [With displeasure!]
{The remaining 10 participants were in room 4.}
Karagi: [Dear participants, I want to congratulate you for passing the previous trials. Today, phase 3 will not resemble any other phase, today compared to the others, there will be only one rule: whoever dies loses! Fight each other for the reward of 100,000 INA, the three remaining participants will share it.]
{INA is the currency used in this world, with some cities and tribes being exceptions. To give you an approximation, 1000 INA equals 1g of gold.}
Yotori in a whisper: [X, you're aware we must not kill anyone today.]
X: [Yeah, I know, but how are we going to do it? It's impossible to win without killing!]
Yotori: [No! There's a way; they just need to kill each other simultaneously, but we can't count on that!]
X: [Yotori, look, Kodo and Ima are leaving the room!]
Yotori: [Now we can act; the participants have already started to fight, but we can sort this out!]
X: [Why? We shouldn't kill, but no one obliges us to stop them from killing each other!]
Yotori: [That's not your concern!]
Yotori shouts: [Stop!!]
Participant 1: [Why should we stop? Didn't you hear the sum?]
Yotori: [Yet, your lives are worth more than that, stop!! I have an idea.]
Participant 2: [What is it?]
Yotori: [We can look for a way out of here; if we manage to find it, we'll share the sum equally, in that case, no one will lose their life, what do you say?]
Participant 2: [Why not, let's each search on our own!]
X: [Yotori, you know very well there's no loophole, even Sir Zighko confirmed it.]
Yotori: [Here are Rayo's words, "Can you remind me who built the palace?"]
X: The architects!
Yotori: ["What are the architects?"]
X: [Former inmates!]
Yotori: ["Now think of a prisoner who builds a prison."]
X: [I understand, so there must be a place to escape!]
Yotori: [Exactly! But where, I do not know.]
X: [Already, it's a strange prison with trees, flowers, and water sources…]
Yotori: [The exit will necessarily be hidden in this decor.]
X: [Don't you find this phase a bit strange? Because it deviates from the theme of loyalty.]
Yotori: I can't tell him they are trying to kill him. [No, I think it tests our loyalty to him and the other participants' loyalty to their vision.]
X: [That's possible!]
Yotori: [I'm going my way, and you go yours.]
X: [If I find something, I'll call you, and do the same.]
Yotori: [He's starting to doubt, which is a bad sign, but now we need to find the exit as soon as possible. I found a suspicious tree on the ground; I lifted it, but nothing, I searched in the bushes, but nothing, I climbed a tree and could see there was a cave, I went down directly and headed in its direction. When I entered, I found it was bright, nothing like a normal cave, yet there was nothing. Everything here seemed suspicious! That's what slowed us down! Now, I'll do the opposite and go where nothing is suspicious. I pulled branches to see if a mechanism could activate, but nothing worked. So, I went back to the door where Karagi and Hori came out. It was heavy metal; even if we all gathered, we couldn't knock it down. I started to doubt the presence of an exit until Karagi called me.]
X: [Yotori!!! Come, I found the exit.]
Yotori: [Why are you wet?]
X: [Because the exit is underwater, in this spring, and it leads directly to the palace. Hold your hood well and follow me.]
Yotori: We're underwater now, and I can see an exit. It's a bit far but present. As soon as we surfaced, X signaled me to follow him without looking at me. We ran quickly but in a way that no one could see us. In the corridors, there were workers repairing, janitors cleaning, and tall guards watching. Yet, no one saw us. We stood in front of the massive door of the throne room. Why here? I don't know, but as soon as I opened the door, a barrage of arrows was shot at us. Luckily, none hit us. We entered cautiously, and we could see Karagi and Hori on the left side, in the middle was a red carpet. We headed towards the right side; they had no weapons on them except Karagi's sword. A controlled silence filled the room, everyone's intentions mingled in the air, everything was blurry. X looked at Karagi with a murderous desire, but he knew he wasn't allowed. We expected an epic fight, but no, Karagi threw us the keys to room 4, and out of caution, we turned back, unaware that he had a bow. I heard a slow whistling, but I couldn't move; I could only glimpse an arrow heading towards my neck. X was far away; why me? Didn't he want to kill X? Right now, I can't do anything; lowering my guard in front of them was a terrible mistake.]
{She fell to the ground!}
Yotori: Rayo suddenly appeared !!; his left hand was in front of his mouth as he yawned, and with his right hand, he held the arrow and snapped it in two with a single hand, and it fell to the ground!
Rayo: [Yotori? Your hood isn't on your head! I find you quite...]
Yotori: I quickly turned around to put it back on.
Rayo: [Anyway, you two are overdoing it. I can't even sleep for a minute without you two fighting.]
Hori, bowing: [Sir Rayo, I apologize on behalf of Karagi for his disobedience.]
Rayo: [Ah, that's not a big deal. Do you still have the paper I gave you with the rules for phase 3?]
Hori: [Yes.]
Rayo: [Open it and read it aloud.]
Hori: ["Phase 3 will have only one rule, and that rule is that whoever dies loses."]
Rayo: [I had understood he would do it. I could have stopped him, but I didn't. I don't see why I should punish him.]
Yotori: [I confirm there's no hint of falsehood in what he says.]
Rayo: [Karagi, Hori, go and release the other participants, give them the reward equally, and for the third qualifier, I'll choose Anold.] X and Yotori left, I sat on the throne and rested my arms on the armrests.]
Quote: "If we say something we can't say, then we can say it, and if we don't say what we can say, then we can't."