The silver Knight

"You've crossed the bridge. Congratulations, everyone. This is the Ice Village, where the third round will take place."

The instructor's voice was calm, his tone detached as though the lives nearly lost on the bridge had already faded from memory. The village itself was a frozen sprawl—rows of huts carved from ice, the ground beneath their feet slick and treacherous, glinting under the dim light.

"You have five minutes to rest before I explain what comes next."

The candidates broke apart, murmuring in relief and apprehension. Kaizen glanced around, his brows knitted in confusion. "Looks like we made it in time. What about Giro?"

"Thank the gods," Raze exhaled, his usual bravado tempered by genuine relief. "You've still got all your limbs attached, don't you?"

Giro sat slumped against a block of ice, his breath labored, his face pale but steady. "Looks like I'm in rough shape, huh?"

"You messed up the plan, but… it's fine," Rai said, his voice softer than expected, though it carried an edge of reproach.

"Yeah, I know," Giro muttered, wincing as he adjusted his position.

"Judging by that kick Jaxor landed, you're lucky to be breathing at all. I thought he'd take an arm—or two—with it." Kaizen's tone was blunt but not unkind. "That it's only bruises… well, it's a miracle considering it was Jaxor."

Giro exhaled sharply, his smirk weak but defiant. "Sure, but maybe thank Raze for his brilliant move that left me out to dry."

Raze folded his arms, feigning ignorance. "I don't recall being reckless."

"Hmph," Kaizen interjected, irritation flickering behind his usually measured demeanor. "This wasn't just any failure—it was the worst-case scenario from Rai's plan."

Rai shrugged, his gaze steady. "True. But part of the blame's on me. I didn't account for Giro's... emotional response in the moment."

Giro shifted, his voice low, tinged with regret. "Yeah, I should've held back."

The tension eased as Raze's eyes darted across the frozen expanse. "Why's everyone trembling?" he asked, breaking the moment.

Rai glanced at the others, then checked the time. "The break's nearly over," he said, extending a hand toward Giro.

Giro hesitated but waved it off, pushing himself upright with visible effort. "I've got it. No need to baby me."

Rai raised an eyebrow. "So, you can actually stand on your own?"

"Compared to what Jaxor did to me, this is nothing," Giro said, managing a half-hearted grin.

Rai smiled faintly, his voice barely above a murmur. "Maybe."

"It's strange, though," Giro added, shaking the stiffness from his arms. "The hits he landed should've shattered me. If not for this... veil, I'd be in pieces."

"You think so?" Rai asked, his tone thoughtful, the weight of their shared survival pressing unspoken between them.

Before anyone could answer, Raze tilted his head. "Five minutes are up. Why hasn't the next round started yet?"

Kaizen narrowed his eyes, his hand lifting to point across the icy square. "That's why."

The group turned, their gazes following his gesture.

The instructor was gone.

"Where is he?" someone from the crowd shouted, their voice sharp and thin against the icy air.

The question hung unanswered as the ground beneath them groaned—a deep, guttural sound that seemed to come from the heart of the frozen earth. Rai froze, his gaze dropping to the ice floor.

What's happening? he thought, his breath fogging as the vibrations intensified.

The ice trembled faintly at first, the grumbling noise reverberating through the village. Huts of translucent ice seemed to quiver as though bracing for something unseen.

Then the tremors grew stronger, each pulse more distinct. Echoes of the shifting ice ricocheted across the village, multiplying the unease that already clung to the air.

The crowd broke into murmurs, their panic building in waves.

And still, the sound continued.

"What kind of suspense is this? The instructor just vanished!" Kaizen muttered, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple, crossing his cheek, and falling from his jaw. His expression tightened. "Judging by everything so far, we'd better be ready—sharks could leap out from the floor this time!" His teeth clenched, his breath tense in the cold air.

The ice rumbled once more, deep and menacing, but just as abruptly, the trembling ceased. Silence fell over the village. Slowly, the candidates began to regain their composure, the fear lingering but subsiding.

"Don't scare me like that!" Giro snapped, his voice cracking slightly.

A moment later, the instructor's voice cut through the stillness, calm and almost amused. "Sorry about that, everyone. I may have forgotten to mention the details of round three."

"What kind of instructor forgets to explain a round?" someone shouted from the crowd, their voice sharp with lingering panic. "I thought I was dead meat!"

"All right, listen carefully!" The instructor's tone shifted to something more deliberate. "Round three is... sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Rai echoed, his confusion matching the surprise rippling through the crowd.

"Yes, sleeping," the instructor continued. "You've been through quite a lot tonight, so now you'll rest. Ahead of you, the village huts have been prepared with beds and tables crafted entirely from ice. That sound you just heard? It was the final touches being added to your accommodations."

Murmurs of disbelief swept through the candidates as the instructor carried on. "You're permitted to stay in your hut until seven in the morning—it's four now. To pass this round, you must drink a cup of morning coffee, before stepping outside. You can leave the hut anytime or skip sleeping altogether, but without drinking that coffee, you fail the round. Simple enough, right?"

"Well, let's not waste time," Giro said, stepping forward as the crowd began moving toward the icy village.

"I've never slept in a place made of ice before," Raze muttered, shaking his head, his breath fogging in the frigid air.

"This is... unexpected," Kaizen admitted, as he glanced around. "Don't forget the coffee," he warned, his voice steady. "No matter what happens, make sure you drink it."

The candidates filed into the village, their footsteps crunching on the frosty ground. One by one, they disappeared into the huts, their forms swallowed by the pale glow of the icy dwellings. The strange night continued, the air heavy with both exhaustion and unease.

"Hah! This shouldn't be too tough for us," Raze declared with a confident grin.

"For once, I'll agree with you," Giro muttered, surprising even himself.

"But we'd better keep moving. The huts near the entrance are already full. If we want a spot, we'll have to go deeper into the village," Rai said, glancing at the clusters of candidates disappearing into icy doorways.

"Yaaah!" Raze sprinted ahead, leaving the rest to jog behind. The sound of his boots crunching against the frozen path echoed faintly in the still night.

"This feels… familiar," Rai said, his tone low, thoughtful. "Not exactly like the first round, though. That was on another level entirely."

"Nicely said, Rai. I feel it too," Kaizen replied, his breath visible in the icy air.

They moved cautiously, eyes darting to the huts on either side of the narrow path. Candidates crawled through windows, some breaking off chunks of ice to squeeze inside. It was survival in its rawest form, desperation mingling with exhaustion.

Ahead, Rai spotted Raze waving his arm wildly, beckoning them. "Over here, guys! This one's ours!" Raze shouted, pointing to a hut that loomed in the pale moonlight.

Rai stopped, his hands deep in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the hut without a word.

"What? That thing?" Giro snapped, veins pulsing at his temple. "It looks like a jail!"

Kaizen stepped forward, pressing his shoulder against the frozen door. It didn't budge. "Now I understand why everyone's climbing through windows," he muttered. "But honestly? At this point, even a jail feels like heaven. If I can sleep here, I'll take it."

"Alright, let's go in," Rai said, his voice calm, almost indifferent.

"Oi, this is a waste of time!" Giro shouted, gesturing furiously at the hut. "See? Rusted bars over the windows, like a prison cell! Who's supposed to remove those?"

Raze, undeterred, grinned and slapped a hand against the icy wall. "We'll figure it out. It's not like we have a choice, right?"

The four stood there for a moment, the cold wind brushing past them, as though even it wanted them to move faster. The hut loomed before them, silent and unyielding, like everything else about this night.

Kaizen grabbed the bars with a single massive hand. With a grunt, he wrenched them loose, the sound of metal scraping against ice sharp and sudden. The bars gave way, taking part of the icy window with them, leaving a jagged hole. Without hesitation, Kaizen climbed through, his broad shoulders brushing the edges as fragments of ice crumbled to the ground.

"It's like we're breaking out of a prison," Rai remarked dryly, stepping carefully through the opening. One hand braced against the frozen edge, he ensured nothing collapsed onto his head. Behind him, Giro and Raze jostled, trying to enter simultaneously, their bickering rising above the cold silence.

"Stop fighting, or you'll bring the whole hut down!" Kaizen barked, his voice echoing in the cramped space.

The room was smaller than they'd expected, with walls of translucent ice that shimmered faintly. A table stood at the center, its edges smooth and glinting under the pale light. Along one wall, three narrow slabs of ice jutted out, precarious yet intentional. Beds, if they could be called that, though they looked more suited for storing frozen fish.

Rai scanned the setup, his gaze practical. "Alright, Raze, you take the top. Kaizen, the bottom's yours. Your weight might shatter the top bed, and I'm not interested in waking up crushed under a block of ice. I'll take the middle. Giro—" he paused, a faint smirk curling his lips, "you can share with Raze."

"Goodnight," Kaizen muttered, already lowering himself onto the icy slab, while Raze climbed up to his perch. Rai followed, his movements deliberate and composed.

Giro stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, his expression dark. "You want me to what? Share with him? You're trying to make me a murderer!"

He glanced upward, catching sight of something hanging from the ceiling. A frozen fan, its blades encased in frost, swayed gently with the draft sneaking through the broken window. Without a word, Giro jumped, catching hold of the fan's icy arms. He swung himself up with surprising agility, wedging his body between two blades. His head rested on one, his back pressed against another, his limbs hanging loose like a marionette.

"I'll sleep here," he declared, his tone flat but resolute.

The others stared, their expressions ranging from disbelief to mild amusement.

"You've got some strange habits, Giro," Raze remarked, his voice muffled as he turned onto his side.

Kaizen, already lying down, let out a low groan. "You could've just asked someone to move. This is ridiculous."

Rai yawned, shifting slightly on his slab of ice. "Jaxor's kick must've scrambled your brain. If you wake up with a broken spine tomorrow, don't blame me."

Giro didn't answer. His eyes were already closed, his body slack against the frozen fan.

From his perch, Raze craned his neck to peer down at Rai. "Hey, Rai, where's the fan switch? What if it starts spinning?"

In his half-sleep, Giro twitched, the vivid image of the fan roaring to life flashing through his mind—a nightmare of blood spraying across the icy walls, his body mangled beyond recognition. He shook his head violently, dispelling the thought.

"Don't you dare," Giro muttered darkly, though his voice was barely audible.

"There's no fan switch in here," Rai replied, his tone flat, final.

Kaizen was already snoring, his heavy breaths resonating in the cold air. The wind howled faintly through the jagged window, carrying a biting chill into the room. Before long, the others joined him in sleep, their quiet snores mingling with the icy stillness of the night.