Chapter 6
"Did he let go? It was only six seconds..." – James says in disbelief.
The atmosphere exploded most violently in the moments that should have held their breath. Tony bordered on the mist of the heavy, and amidst pain, slowly rose.
"1 point has been won by the member of the red team," – the shepherd finally declared, judgment slightly delayed.
"I promised I would prove myself... But... even yesterday's version of myself I now look back on with a twisted feeling... I learned my lessons."
Yet for the battle of our fears, now only half our strength is needed. For how could cheerful calm sustain us again, when their life is but desolation and loss?
A sea of tears dissolved, and sorrow was etched forevermore.
"I promise you won't be lost, Tony..." – Louis whispered.
Their burdened hearts are eased by nothing now, save for the gain. Day upon night, and night upon the curse of day presses down, and slowly something is born within them—something that will one day show the cruel to be cruel. Just as their souls are struck by blows, so does their wrath strike at every bad feeling. Their only satisfaction lies in vengeance—or perhaps that makes the abandoned, barren wasteland even emptier. Thus it is only their goal that heats the chalice of their rage, which the blood of baseness shall one day cool.
Louis stood motionless. His gaze fixed on a single point—where that body had stood just moments before, from where Tony now walked back.
"It can't be..." – he whispered.
Linnia stepped back, as if the loss itself had physically pushed her. Then she began to laugh.
"Hahh... screw it..."
"Haha," – she started laughing more and more hysterically and mockingly. – "Pathetic... The big alpha wolf... ha... pathetic..."
James slowly looked to the ground, and his fingers almost unconsciously clutched the edge of his shirt.
"Maybe... this will be harder than I thought..."
One would rather call their will strong than imagine they'd retreat. A blaze of color bursts in the arena—intoxicating visions, bitter tastes, fortify their hearts. The purple team breathes a brief sigh of relief as Tony props himself up from the basin of the trial chamber.
"Hahh..." – Tazold gasps, blending breath with words. – "So I won... haha, I won... 3 points, you good-for-nothings! I told you this game is about just that..."
"What do you think, would he have made it, Pekrin?"
"Maybe... if the weight of his soul hadn't been so heavy."
"And even if someone's sin is greater, the weight becomes weightless if they don't feel guilt, right?"
"That's the only possible way it works, yes..." – answers Pekrin.
"Don't worry! There will be a price to pay," – Tony replies, sitting sprawled, head tilted back. He pours water from a pitcher over his aching limbs.
"If you remain in the shadows, trust still—for around virtue is an eternal lock, it cannot be burned," – says Saiyna, who had crossed over a minute after the trial ended.
"Is that a problem?" – she asks the shepherd.
"No... Before the next attack, a few minutes' break can be requested...And since in the previous round the red team attacked the purple team, the next attack has to be carried out by the purple team.
"They didn't say that," says Tazold.
"Indeed, they didn't..." Dimeny thinks, casting a glance at Saiyna.
In their confused, tired authority, seeing no malice in her approach, they even asked what she wanted.
"What are you doing here?" – asks Louis.
"Actually, I came for you..." – Saiyna answered. "You seek retribution, I know, and I also know that everything can seem like an attack in this world... don't worry... you don't have to be afraid of me... Did you see the other words in that category?"
"Didn't really pay attention."
"But I did. I saw the other words: Apollo, and Sysypus."
Are you sure about that?
"100% – I saw it too," – says Dimeny, stepping forward with a notebook in his hand, showing the diagram he saw.
"Apollo has an arrow... So it's something with arrows. But Sysypus?..."
"What would it mean?"
"That's what caught my thoughts as well... I never heard that name before."
Kodella watched them curiously, her head tilted slightly to the side.
"Its from the Greek mythology too.. Dimeny says: There once was a proud king in ancient Greece, named Sisyphus.
Until... he tried to outwit the gods.
Eventually, the gods grew tired of his schemes and sentenced him to a particularly harsh punishment:
for all eternity, he was cast into the underworld, where he was forced to push a huge boulder up a steep hill..."
"So... pushing," Louis murmured in thought. "Apollo is pulling... like when you draw back the string of a bow. And holding... like Atlas, bearing the heavens on his shoulders."
" So maybe these are the three trials. But their difficulty isn't just decided by our muscles... it's the weight of our soul. That's what defines the true burden."
"Probably..." Dimeny replied at last.
"No matter what... I don't want to be on a team with theese people... If you were to attack, and they ran out of points... you could count on my alliance in not using any saves on them..." Saiyna says firmly, though a hint of pain can be heard in her voice.
"There are several weak targets... We should strike back, not just pick new ones to target." replied Willy, uncertainty and doubt reflected in his eyes."
"If you're going for revenge, you need to chip 3 points off of him to truly end him. But this way, you could instantly weaken someone to 1 point..." Dimeny says.
"That's true..."
"And why him, specifically? Do you guys know each other?" Louis asked.
The woman coughed a little...
"Once upon a time, we knew each other... That girl is demonic and ruined my life... Took away my love and made him a pawn. I won't let her twisted ideologies gain power... never..."
"We shall think it over..."
After the conversations and moments of contemplation, Louis gazes up at the dark sky, where memories, dancing with his imagination, come to him amid his sighs...."