Clint lay wide awake, his mind racing with the events of the morning. Dozens of questions flooded his thoughts, twisting and turning, refusing to let him rest. Frustrated, he got-up over the side of the bed and left the room, his footsteps soft on the cold floor. As he entered the hallway, he saw Shin standing by the window, gazing out into the night, lost in thought.
*(What is he doing up so late?)* Clint wondered.
"Shin, what are you doing here?" Clint asked, breaking the silence.
Shin turned at the sound of Clint's voice, his expression serious, though there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Oh, it's you," he said, his voice low. "I was thinking about what happened to you this morning."
Clint moved closer and sat down beside him. "Is it bothering you? You should get some sleep."
Shin shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just... There's something strange. My family's 'Crazy' myth—it feels like it's connected to what you encountered."
Clint's heart quickened. The mention of the Crazy Legend brought a wave of unease crashing over him. "What do you mean? What's this myth?"
Shin hesitated, glancing out the window once more before turning to Clint. He knew the weight of what he was about to share, but with Clint already entangled in danger, he felt there was no other choice. Clint needed to know.
With a deep breath, Shin began to speak.
"The myth has been passed down through my family for fifteen generations. It's about the kingdom, the Academy, and the secrets hidden from the eyes of the nobles and commoners alike. It all starts with a riddle."
Shin's eyes darkened as he recalled the story, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
"The myth speaks of a time long ago, when the kingdom was just beginning to rise in power. Back then, the royal family and the higher nobles—the Dukes and Marquesses—held a secret far more dangerous than any could imagine. To keep the citizens and even the lesser nobles blind to the truth, they built a barrier. But this wall was not made of stone or steel—it was something else entirely. A distraction. A grand illusion."
Clint leaned in, every word pulling him deeper into a mystery he hadn't known existed. His pulse quickened as Shin continued.
"One of our ancestors, a student at the Academy in its 30th year, uncovered the truth. He was brilliant, maybe too curious for his own good. Before he disappeared, he left behind a tale. It's been passed down through our family for generations, yet no one has ever accomplished what it speaks of, nor do we know how to. The only clue we have left... is the Academy."
Shin paused, his gaze fixed on Clint.
"The kingdom's walls stand as mere distractions, for the true barrier is but an illusion, while the inevitable darkness whispers from every corner. Knowledge is the key to reveal the truth, but power is required to wield it."
Clint felt a chill run down his spine. The words echoed in his mind, overlapping with the questions that had been plaguing him since the morning.
"Do you think it's connected to what happened to me?" Clint asked, his voice quieter than he intended.
Shin nodded slowly. "I do. It can't be a coincidence, Clint. Whatever you saw this morning... It's part of something bigger. Something we've both been dragged into."
"But our family has been heading downhill since, barely got anyone to enter the academy throughout the years. But here I am trying to continue my ancestors' work and rediscover what he witnessed."
Clint swallowed hard, the weight of Shin's words settling in his chest. The air between them felt heavy, charged with an unspoken fear knowing that the academy holds both knowledge and power.
Shin waited outside the inn, his mind still preoccupied with last night's conversation. When Clint and Will finally emerged through the inn's door, the three began their walk to the academy to gather information about the examination.
"Hello, welcome! Are you here to apply for the examination?" one of the staff members asked as they approached.
"No, we're already signed in," Shin replied politely. "We just came to check the news board and read about the exams."
As Shin scanned the documents posted on the board, Clint mingled with the staff, asking questions about the upcoming examination. Everyone seemed focused on their tasks, except for Will, who was anxiously searching for the woman staff member he remembered. His eyes darted around the room, but he couldn't spot her. A wave of relief washed over him; maybe she wasn't here today. Feeling calmer, Will stepped outside to take in the view of the academy, its grandeur making him excited for the upcoming entrance after the exam.
"Yes, hello?" a voice spoke softly beside him.
Startled, Will quickly turned to see the woman he had been looking for. The world seemed to go silent around him as he stared at her.
She continued, undeterred by his surprise, "You already signed up, right?"
Will's mind went blank. He just stood there, lost in her presence.
"Will you pass the exam?" she asked with a curious expression.
Will could only nod, his voice failing him.
"WILL! LET'S GO! WE GOT EVERYTHING ALREADY! LET'S HEAD BACK TO THE INN!" Clint's voice rang out from the entrance.
Barely registering his brother's call, Will remained mesmerized. The woman glanced at him skeptically. "Did you hear them? They're calling you."
Snapping out of his trance, Will muttered an awkward goodbye and rushed back towards Clint and Shin. As he walked away from the academy entrance office, he glanced back to catch one last look at her. His heart raced with a mix of confusion and intrigue. "Is this really serious?" he wondered to himself, feeling the weight of an unspoken connection.
"What were you doing there, Will?" Shin asked, his tone curious but slightly suspicious.
Will smiled, trying to seem casual. "I was just checking out what the academy looked like."
The trio arrived back at the inn, heading straight to the brothers' room to discuss what they had found out. Shin took the lead, diving into the academy's details.
"In the posters and papers around the office, there wasn't much of importance," Shin began. "The academy is now in its 467th year, but here's the kicker: only five hundred students can enter after the exam. And that number might drop depending on how many students fail this year's Moving-Up."
Clint and Will exchanged uneasy glances. The realization settled in that they'd have to rank up to at least the 400th position to secure their place among the thousands taking the exam.
"So you're saying if fifty academy students fail to rank up, they retake the entire year and automatically re-enroll?" Will asked, trying to grasp the situation.
"Yes," Shin confirmed, his expression turning more serious. "And that decreases the number of entry slots. But if a student fails twice, they're expelled from the academy."
A troubled look crossed Shin's face as he continued, "But there's something odd. The information about the students within the academy is so limited. The public only knows the basic structure: how many years it takes, the difficulty of the exam, the academy's age, and the path to getting a fighter license. But there's nothing about the learning stages or even what we're supposed to learn inside the academy."
Clint frowned, considering Shin's point. "You're right. It's strange. I spoke to several examiners and students while we were there, but I didn't see a single Year Two, Three and Four student."
"I can vouch for that," Will added. "After looking around the office and inside the academy grounds, I didn't sense anyone who seemed like a senior or had a strong presence."
The three of them fell silent, exchanging looks of concern. It felt like the academy was hiding something, a layer of mystery they hadn't anticipated. Each new piece of information seemed to only add to the puzzle rather than complete it.
After a pause, Shin and Clint shared the stories and their conversation to Will, about the legend and myth they had discussed the previous night. The hints and clues they gathered seemed to suggest that entering the academy was only the beginning of uncovering deeper secrets. Despite the excitement, a sense of unease lingered in the room, knowing that they were about to step into something far more complex than they had imagined.
…..
*SLAAASH!*
The blade carved through the air, severing Shin's neck in a gruesome instant. His eyes widened in shock, a moment of horror frozen on his face before his head slid from his shoulders and fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Blood gushed from the stump, pooling around his lifeless body.
"###GREAT PERCEPTIONS HAY? YOU'RE ALL SO SMART!###"
A voice echoed through the darkness, its tone grotesque—a twisted mockery that shifted from shrill to guttural. The sound of it made the air feel heavy, oppressive, like the room was closing in on itself.
*SLASH!*
Will's scream was cut short as his body was split cleanly in half, the two halves collapsing to the ground with a wet, sickening sound. His eyes were still open, locked in a silent scream, as life drained from his face.
Clint spun around, his mind reeling, trying to grasp the nightmare unfolding around him. The world felt distorted, unreal, like a sinister dream he couldn't wake from. Darkness swallowed the room, muffling all sound, smothering him with a suffocating silence.
"AGAIN?! WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHO ARE YOU? IS THIS REAL?!" Clint's voice cracked, desperation creeping into his words as he scanned the void for answers, for an escape.
"###DON'T NEED TO WORRY NOW. REST WELL!###"
The voice shifted, morphing into the high-pitched giggle of a manic child. The sound twisted his gut, a mocking, gleeful noise that echoed in his ears like nails on a chalkboard. In a flash of movement, Clint felt a sharp, searing pain in his back. He gasped, eyes wide as he looked down to see the blade protruding from his chest. The hand that held it was small, almost delicate, yet it twisted the blade with a cruelty that belied its appearance.
Clint's vision blurred, the edges of the world growing dim. He could feel his heartbeat slowing, each pulse weaker than the last. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, his blood joining that of his friends. As his consciousness faded, the last thing he heard was the child's laughter, echoing in the oppressive darkness, sealing him in this nightmarish reality.