NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: "I sold them..."
The brother and sister now found themselves in the next game, while the king theatrically explained the rules.
"Before you is an ordinary parkour… except that below awaits a forest of spikes. One wrong step and—" he began, but only Mei seemed to be listening.
Kai's thoughts drifted far from the king's words.
"If the White House is destroyed, does that mean the diary…?" Kai was horrified by the thought. "What am I supposed to do then?"
"Brother… brother… brother…" Mei's voice called to him, quietly but insistently, as if pulling him back from the whirlpool of his own thoughts.
Kai snapped his head toward her. Her eyes were locked on him.
"Shall we?" she asked softly, almost in a whisper, her gaze full of determination.
Kai just nodded, though he had no idea exactly what she meant.
Before he could say anything, Mei was already running and leaping. Kai watched in astonishment. "What are you doing?!" he shouted, unable to hide his surprise.
"I'm trying to survive… Come on!" his sister retorted, and her determination forced him to follow.
Kai finally raised his eyes and realized where they were. The room looked like a massive cavern, dark and forbidding, with a path of floating platforms stretching ahead. Some were large, some small; some wide and stable, others narrow and wobbly. Below, at the bottom, spikes of pure metal glinted coldly and dangerously, awaiting the slightest misstep.
His gaze found his sister, already standing on the first platform, hand extended toward him, ready to catch him if he faltered. Her determination and calm made Kai feel braver, yet even more tense.
He took a deep breath, waited a moment, then stepped back two paces to gain momentum. He ran and leapt toward the platform.
He landed on the very edge, legs trembling from tension. Mei grabbed his shoulder and gently pulled him toward her until he found his balance, while the cold spikes below made every moment deadly.
"Thanks!" Kai said, genuinely relieved.
"We're in this together…" Mei replied, her voice carrying both determination and comfort.
The next few jumps went smoothly, but then they reached one that was far more difficult. The gap between platforms was greater than any before, a challenge that seemed almost impossible to Kai.
"I can't jump that far…" Kai complained, and his sister elbowed him in the stomach, signaling: "Use your Core, read my thoughts."
"Mind reading…" he whispered, and then her thoughts echoed in his mind:
"Looks like the Cores work here…"
Kai nodded, though he didn't know what to do with the information, when suddenly Mei punched him in the stomach, shouting "SMACK!" and her fist ignited in red flame.
The blow was so strong it propelled Kai onto the next platform.
"Give me your hand…" Mei said, then jumped herself. Kai quickly got up to catch her.
"You could've at least warned me!" the brother shouted, clutching his stomach.
"I didn't hit you hard!" Mei shot back, and the king spoke again.
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" clapping was heard. "You've realized I never even disabled your Cores, but are they enough for you to complete the parkour?"
The brother and sister continued jumping, ignoring Elandor.
With the help of their Cores, they managed to skip almost everything, but they began to tire. Without food and water, it was nearly impossible to complete this course.
"What should I do?" Kai thought, then remembered one of the rules. "We go through three games until one of us dies… right?"
He turned to his sister. "Stop!" he said, out of breath.
Mei turned. "What?" she asked, equally out of breath.
The brother suddenly shoved her, without warning, and Mei fell facing him. Time became slow; every detail was crystal clear. Their eyes met, and Kai expected fear, panic, maybe even anger… but what he saw was complete emptiness. No emotion, just a quiet, inexplicable calm.
And in that strange, slowed second, Mei smiled. Her face glowed with a strange, quiet joy as she nodded, though Kai couldn't understand why she was smiling.
The fall was merciless. When Mei hit the spike, the world seemed to collapse around her. The metal pierced her skin with a sharp, penetrating sound echoing in the silent room, tearing muscles and tendons like thin fabric. Blood sprayed in high arcs, splattering walls and floor, forming irregular, almost grotesque patterns that glowed against the light illuminating the room.
Her hands clenched in midair, seeking support that didn't exist, while every twitch of her body deepened the wound. Muscles tensed around the spike as if trying to reject the pain, but the metal was relentless. Her body reflexively twitched as pieces of skin and tissue separated, inner wounds pulsing, revealing bloody, dark shades glimmering in the ominous light. Each drop hitting made a sound — dull, wet thuds echoing like macabre music.
The entire room lit up at once, and the guards stood in shadows every ten meters. The spikes around her, except the one she fell on, vanished instantly, leaving only her and his act at the center of chaos. In the background, a cheerful, eerie celebration sounded, contrasting the brutality, as if the room itself cheered his victory.
Kai stood on the edge, eyes glinting with satisfaction and power, watching the brutal silence of her smile. "Revenge is finally mine…" he thought, and without hesitation, jumped down toward his sister.
Mei, with the bloody spike piercing her stomach, whispered something Kai did not expect to hear. She asked, "You really hate me, don't you?"
Kai's smile vanished, shock spreading across his face. "What?" he asked.
"You… you hate me… you always hated me…" blood suddenly streamed from her throat and mouth. Everything splattered in her mouth, but she continued speaking. "I saw it… every day, I saw that look… in your eyes… that look of raw hatred… I didn't know why…"
A wave of emotions hit Kai, half of which he couldn't even name. Tears streamed down his face. "You… you knew?" he asked through sobs.
"I knew… that you would want… revenge, so… I let you… have it…" she said softly, yet loud enough for him to hear.
Kai fell to his knees beside her, trembling, clutching his almost lifeless sister. His hands held her tightly, trying to transfer warmth and safety into what remained of her. Tears mixed with the blood still glowing on her skin. "Why… why didn't you stop me…?" His voice was short, full of pain and guilt, shaking with anger and despair.
Her lips barely moved, her voice quiet, almost inaudible: "I wanted… you to be happy…" Her sentence hung in the air, fragile and gentle, then her breathing completely stopped, leaving Kai in bitter, unbearable silence.
"No! No! I'm sorry! Don't die!" he cried desperately, trying to pull her off the spike. His hands shook, heart pounding like a war drum, panic in his eyes. "I'm sorry! Please… come back… please…" he repeated, gently trying to drag her from death.
"Isn't it wonderful to watch them like this…?" the king asked the audience, who began cheering louder.
"Mei!" Kai shouted, tears falling onto her body. "Get up, please!" he cried, trying to bring his sister back from death.
"Heal! Heal! Heal!" he shouted, desperately trying to summon any magic to bring her back. "Resurrect!" The words came from him as a last plea, hands trembling, now bloody, stained with his sister's blood.
He tried everything he knew, everything he could, body convulsing with sobs and pain. Tears fell constantly, mixing with the blood covering Mei's clothes, leaving bright red streaks on the floor. Every breath was heavy.
Finally, he laid her body on the floor, hands still bloody and trembling. He stared at his palms, seeing the blood as a witness to his actions, his pain, and despair. Quietly, almost to himself, he whispered, "I… I am a monster…" His voice full of guilt, dull from pain, feeling the weight of everything he had just done.
⬛ ⬛ ⬛
In a safe house, Vorenhart sat at a table, drinking tea. Suddenly, Lily burst into the room. "Kai and Mei are missing!" she cried anxiously.
"I know…" Voren said calmly, sipping tea from a porcelain cup decorated with blue stones.
"You… know?" Lily asked, confused.
Voren looked her in the eyes. "I sold them..."
"What?" Lily asked.
"I sold them, to stop the war…" Voren admitted, showing no emotion.
"You… you—" Lily began, but a massive explosion outside interrupted her.
Voren ran to the window and looked toward the city. The massive contraption — Cyclone — had fallen, ending in the crater it had made itself.
"What the hell?" Voren asked, staring at the disaster.
⬛ ⬛ ⬛
In a huge arena, its stands filled with Elves, every movement of Kai and Mei was displayed on giant screens. Laughter, excitement, and enjoyment of others' suffering echoed through the space while the brother knelt beside his sister's motionless body.
In a separate room above the arena, the king sat, hidden from view but not from fear. His eyes were fixed on the chaos below, body trembling from something he felt but could not name.
Suddenly, an Elf, helmeted, rushed to the king and approached his ear. "Cyclone 2.0 has fallen…" he whispered.
The king's face turned pale with fear. He looked at the screen. "Then… they are not the heroes of the prophecy…" the king murmured.
⬛ ⬛ ⬛
One of the guards ran to Kai. "Sir… step back…" he said politely, but with some strange urgency.
Kai looked at him with disgust. "You disgusting fool… enjoyed watching us, didn't you?"
"Sir, we don't have time, please move…" the guard said, trying to pass Kai.
Kai swung his fist and hit his armor. His hand began to bleed, but he didn't care. "Don't even touch her!" he growled.
The guard grabbed Kai's hand. Green light shone, and Kai's hand was as good as new. The guard looked up at him. "Now let me save her…" he said.
Kai looked at him. "You can do that?" he asked.
The guard said nothing. He just approached Mei and placed his hand on the hole in her stomach. Green light shone again, this time much stronger.
Mei coughed, spitting out the remaining blood in her lungs. Kai immediately moved to her, placing his hand under her head. Tears began flowing down his face again. "Mei!"
The sister looked at him and smiled, the wound in her stomach almost gone, leaving only a faint mark. "Brother…" she said softly, her voice warm and soothing.
Kai hugged her immediately. "You're okay… I'm so glad!" His hand gently embraced her back.
Mei returned the hug, pressing against him. "I'm okay…" she whispered.
"I'm sorry… No… I don't hate you!" Kai muttered, his heart racing as he tried to convey all his pain and fear through words.
Mei stroked his back, gently and calmingly. "Don't worry… I forgive you!"
As Kai cried on his sister's shoulder, the guard began to convulse. He took his hand and placed it on his neck, and a voice echoed through the room, not the king's, saying: "DIE!"
The brother and sister turned and saw the guards placing their hands on their own throats. "Freeze!" they all said at once. Their throats froze, and they began to suffocate.
From the darkness covering the room, a single voice pierced through, cold and filled with malice. "Kai and Mei, I will have my revenge!" it echoed, followed by an ominous laugh.