Tales From The Kronos

Raken and Sepide stared at each other in the eyes, waiting for the other to move first. The two stayed frozen in the snowstorm, none dared to act until Raken finally dared to attack. Sepide blocked the hits of the sword with her own, defending herself the best she could.

"You aren't used to fighting with a rapier, I can see it."

Sepide stayed silent, focusing on the fight instead. She was overwhelmed by the attacks and finally decided to headbutt, taking Raken by surprise who took the hit.

"So vulgar, were you never raised to fight properly?"

"Fight properly? I just want to win."

"Peasants, why do they all lack grace?"

Sepide prepared herself for another attack. Her opponent seemed to be afraid of approaching her, keeping a safe distance.

"Do you not intend to fight properly? A sword against a sword?"

"Not really." Sepide said while shaking her head "I don't understand why I'd do that."

"Winning is not the most important, the most important is winning with honor! Isn't it what you want? Being proud of yourself?"

Sepide thought for a moment, still keeping an eye on her opponent.

"I don't really know what I want. I'll get over with it and I'll think about it later."

"Such a disgrace. If victory is all that matters, then so be it!"

Raken took an offensive stance, ready to attack again. Sepide prepared herself and could only hope her leader and the others were doing fine.

Kairo and the rest of his group ran toward their goal. The flag they were searching for was right here, along with Kairo's former leader and the robot girl. Kairo searched around for Silva, but couldn't find her anywhere.

"It's only you two? We're seven, you should give up now."

The leader approached them without any hesitation, her katana in her hand.

"How practical, you're all here at the same place. I just have to knock you down and I win."

The robot ran to the leader, who stopped her before she got too close.

"Don't worry Uriel, it's nothing I can't manage."

"You seem awfully confidant."

The leader rushed toward the three members of Raken's team, knocking them down instantly. She then attacked Eve, who managed to barely dodge the attack and took a step back.

"I'm not dealing with her! I thought we could beat them!" Eve yelled in the direction of Kairo while running away. Kairo braced himself, clenching his fist tightly around his axe.

"This time, I'm not going to lose."

"Sure, keep dreaming."

The leader and Kairo both locked their gaze on each other, while the rest of their group looked at them silently. Kairo attacked first, trying to get an advantage over his former leader. The woman dodged precisely and fought back by cutting his chest with her sword.

"Next time, I'm cutting your other arm."

"You're really tough." Said Kairo with a smile "Why weren't you the one there that day? You could have stopped Ada easily."

The leader stayed silent for a moment, thinking deeply before answering.

"I didn't know it would go like that, I'm sorry Kairo."

"I don't blame you, at least I was able to learn about how small our universe was. I couldn't have learned it if it never happened."

Kairo readied himself, ready to fight once more.

"I think I can beat you, I just need to find the right opportunity."

Kairo and the leader prepared to fight once more. Both had the intent to end it once and for all right there, not leaving any chance to the other.

Silva traveled in the direction the leader told her to. She was supposed to steal the flag from whichever team was there. There was no one there but the sound of steps approaching put her on her guard. She aimed her weapon at the figure in the snowstorm.

"Wow, don't kill me!"

Silva recognized that voice, leaving her even more wary.

"Silv, why are you here?"

"I'm just bringing the flag to my base, I'm about to win you see."

"Win?" Asked Silva confused "You stole the other team's flag?"

"Yeah."

"But... It barely has been a few hours. How did you manage to get it without anyone stopping you?"

"Oh, we allied with them, but I didn't feel like helping them win. We don't want nameless characters in the finale after all."

Silva appeared even more confused with Silv's explanation and slightly disappointed.

"So... It's over? You win, the other team loses, and we both go to the finals?"

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

"I wouldn't say that." Objected Silva "It seems too... Easy."

"Don't blame me, blame the other dumbasses for being too naive."

Silv went to her own flag and planted the flag from the enemy's team next to it, officially winning the trial in front of an uncertain Silva.

"Is it really it? It kind of is anticlimatic."

"Come on, we've been here far too long. I have other things to do, it's cold here, and I'm hungry."

Silva was still a tad disappointed as the announcement echoed through the valley officially announcing the end of the trial.

"Silv from the red team won by stealing the flag from the green team. The trial is over."

Raken and Sepide both stopped fighting after hearing the announcement, shocked by the revelation.

"Wait, did they trick us?" Asked Raken to himself, enraged "I should have been more careful, I figured they wouldn't take the risk of leaving nobody to protect their flag."

Sepide looked confused, unsure what happened. All she could feel was relief that this was over and that her team wasn't the one to lose.

Kairo and the leader were taken aback by the news and ceased the fight instantly. Polyetta didn't think much of it, Kairo on the opposite was devasted, unable to believe what he heard.

"How is it possible? That wasn't supposed to go like that..."

Everyone that wasn't here came, along with the tournament organizer. Most of them seemed confused, unhappy, and betrayed. Only Silv seemed to have an amused smile on her face, as Opal explained the situation.

"I'll be honest, you kinda sucked. It wasn't supposed to be so quick, but the rules are the rules. The green team is disqualified, while the others move to the final part of the tournament. Now then, follow me, it's time to go back."

Everyone followed the girl. Kairo and Ada both went next to Silv, visibly mad at her.

"Why did you do that? Now we have to deal with them in the finals." Kairo's words barely affected Silv, who acted like she didn't hear anything.

"I don't want to fight the crazy woman and her sword, she wants to kill me!" Even Ada's words seemed to not reach her. After a few minutes of ignoring them, Silv finally answered.

"You're really loud, you know? And don't act like I was wrong. First of all, Kairo was about to lose."

"I would have found a way to win."

"Yeah, that's what you say. But anyway, why do you care Ada? You're going to find a way to cheat anyway."

"Of course not, I won't cheat for the finale. We need to end it on a good note... I just hope the crazy woman won't kill me."

The eight contestants left were in the Colosseum, waiting for the tournament organizer. The tension was high, almost no one was left and even the crowd stayed silent. Opal finally arrived, she stood at her usual place and finally broke the silence in the arena.

"Congratulations, you managed to all survive until the end. Yada, Silva, Sepide, Uriel, Ada, Eve, Silv, and Kairo. You all managed to make your way to the finals. I will explain the way we'll determine the winner when the time comes. For now, you all deserve to rest. It will take some time to prepare, so you have tomorrow off. Have a great night, and see you in two days."

When Opal finished talking, Silva and Sepide turned toward the leader with curiosity. She already knew what they were wondering and immediately answered their question.

"Yes, Yada is my name. No, you can't call me like that. If I hear any of you say that name, I cut your salary."

"Salary?" Asked Silva jokingly "Since when are we paid?"

The leader didn't even answer her and left toward her room, leaving the two friends together.

"What's the deal with her name? Will she die if we say it?"

"Names can kill?" Sepide asked, visibly not understanding Silva's sarcasm.

"Not really, but she seemed mad. Actually, I feel like she's pretty tense lately. I guess Neige's absence isn't good for her."

Silva pondered for a moment about the reason behind the defensive behavior of her leader. She figured Neige would know, giving her one more reason to end this tournament once and for all.