“Sein’s right. He isn’t Rainstopper. And look at her disciple. Meera, that’s her name right? She’s as good as dead!” It’s that other Elder. The one who already insulted Elina. I have her name on my list. Seane. Funny you’d describe Meera that way. To be honest, I think it’d be better to say you’re as good as dead. But keep talking. Dig your grave deeper. It’s saving me a lot of trouble.

“You see?! Look at her!” Sein, rushes over and shoves Elina out of the way. Grasping at Meera’s hair, she makes a big show of it. Pathetic. We can all see you’re full of crap. If you really cared you’d let Elina keep working on her. “My dear disciple, she can’t even see! Heilan! Jarshan! Will you stand for this?” Over by the sides, Jarshan is joined by another flickering shadow. Elder Heilan steps out of the darkness with a serene expression. Still like glass. He glances at Jarshan who nods back calmly. I can’t tell. Is he just faking? Jarshan is Perideen’s master, but that doesn’t mean he likes Romy. I can’t trust him. Even if...

“The Candidate has broken no rules,” Elder Heilan says calmly. Even if Meera is his disciple’s fiance, he doesn’t care. However, then he raises his hand and announces, “However, this technique is a bit troubling. Clearly, it has the potential to be fatal. This could be seen as against the rules. What do you think, Jarshan?”

“It did not kill,” Jarshan is still, and even though he’s not wearing his mask, I still feel like I’m staring at a wolf when he looks at me. “Maiming is part of the Trials. Even if the Secthead discourages it. It is...ironic...is it not? The final Trial will continue as planned in one week’s time. If no one else has anything to say then this matter is closed-“

“No!” I interrupt. They don’t expect it. It’d be a simple matter to stay silent. Those pit viper eyes that Sein has flick onto me. A snake through and through. Regardless of what animals the other Elder’s pretend to be, all I see are a bunch of rats and vermin. Sorry, Romy...sorry, Elina. But this has to be done. I have to work to keep my face even. My heart pounds, this is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. It’s a bit early. Jarshan is confused. But I don’t care. This is my chance!

“What do you mean no...Candidate?” The Supervisor of the Trials frowns deeply. He gives no trace of whose side he’s on or what game he’s playing. Out of all the Elders, Jarshan is the only one I fear. For he’s the only one who doesn’t need to whisper with the others. When he speaks alone, everyone listens. “Meera is disqualified, she will not longer be in contention for the Trials. You’ve injured her grievously. Possibly for life. Are you not satisfied with this ending?”

“No...not at all,” I tell him, but really all of them. It’s so hard to hold it in. Like pulling in a fish, I need to wait to yank the hook straight, but it’s so tempting just to reel them in. My lips open. And I speak, “I’ve had enough of this. Meera told me that all the other Candidates have withdrawn. It’s just me...and Janus. Obviously, none of you want me to lead the Sect. You’re desperate to try anything to stop me. But that’s not the Rainstopper way now is it?”

“What the hell are you getting at, Brat?” Sein hisses at me. A dagger appears in her hand. She looks like she wants to use it. Rising from Meera’s still form, the Elder points her blade at my forehead, “Are you insinuating that the Trials aren’t fair? Speak carefully! The Secthead isn’t here right now and that cripple won’t be able to protect you if you keep opening your mouth! Jarshan let me teach him some respect for his elders-”

“Hehe...” I can’t stop it. A little laugh leaks out. Sein’s ugly face, her eyes bulge at my impudence. It’s perfect really. My hand comes up as her knife starts to tremble dangerously. I wave her off. “How about we all just stop pretending. You don’t want me. But I’m here. And the Trials dictate that the strongest should become Secthead. You say my techniques aren’t fair? That they’re too dangerous for the rules? Well, I have a proposal then. Let’s settle this right here and now. No rules...just me and Janus. Let’s do it the old way. A proper Rainstopper Third Trial. There’s even a storm coming. Isn’t it perfect?”

*Crack*

The timing couldn’t be better. A peal of lightning off in the distant cloudy night sky. I’m not wrong. There really is a storm coming. Elina gazes at me with wide eyes behind her opossum mask. She hasn’t said a word. Perhaps she’s disgusted with me. Or just disappointed. But though I may be Romy’s nephew, I am not her.

It really is perfect.

“You...want to fight Janus...now?” Sein finally stops shrieking. The old bat can’t believe it. “The old way...you have no idea what you’re talking about. Idiot, that’d be to the death!”

“What? Are you scared that he might...lose?” I yank the hook straight. You can see it the moment it sets in on her putrid mouth. Her face lights up like Christmas as she realizes what I’m saying. “Let’s just get it over with! What do you say, Elder Sein?”

“To the death...” She’s losing her mind. Lost in ecstasy, I swear I can see her fingers quivering at the thought of my dead body. Her dagger slowly falls to her side. “You’re really...!”

“Actually, you don’t matter,” I cut her off. Facing Janus, I give him the most challenging smirk I can dream up. It must be infuriating to look at because his face turns thunderous. “What do you say, Janus?”

“I...I...is this...allowed?” Janus swivels unconsciously facing Jarshan and Elder Heilan. But you can tell he wants it. A quick glance back at my smirking face. And then one at Meera on the ground. And his hands tighten. White lightning crackles across the sky. Closer now. The storm is almost here. No turning around. “Master...Supervisor...?”

“Jarshan is Supervisor. He has the final say.” Elder Heilan’s glass-like face finally shows an emotion. He’s...almost appreciative. Eager as he watches me. Now, his true face comes out. “Jarshan...I’ll support it. How about it? The kid asked to die on his own. Surely, the Secthead won’t be able to object?”

“Candidate...are you sure you want to do this?” Jarshan addresses me before making any sort of decision. Maybe he sees the trap I’ve woven for them all. Or maybe he’s genuinely worried for me. Well I doubt that. But as I nod, he can only sigh and turn his palms outward. Slowly, he pronounces, “It’s done then. The Third Trial begins now! It will be done according to the old ways, as agreed upon by both remaining Candidates and no one else can intervene! However, in accordance with the Secthead’s wishes, I will add one stipulation. Dying...or forfeiture will eliminate a Candidate! The survivor...will be the strongest!” I notice that Jarshan doesn’t say the survivor will be the winner. However, it’s nice of him to throw in a chance to forfeit for the loser. The way he looks at me is funny. Appraising. Trying to see inside me. However, unlike when I first arrived, there’s a hint of something else. Call it respect...or maybe apprehension. But he’s unsure now. As is Elina when she takes my side. She stands funnily besides me, as if she doesn’t know who I am anymore.

But maybe you never did.

#

“I won’t kill you...unless you make me.” Janus declares to me as we go across the Cliffs of Sisyphus to somewhere more suitable for the Third Trial. Elina’s hut is ruined, but to be fair, there wasn’t much there to begin with so it shouldn’t be hard to rebuild. The only real loss would be Romy’s letters I suppose. Hopefully some of them survived the fight. Arrogant as always, Janus is still looking down on me. “So, make sure to forfeit, before it’s too late.”

“You know,” I eye him with a wry smile. To be honest, up close, he’s much more intimidating. Taller than me, way more muscled, but stealthy with that lithe Rainstopper physique, Janus just feels strong. But the die is cast. And I never play fair when I gamble. We stop in a place I’ve seen before. In my dreams. There is no ocean of bone, no sea of corpses. But there is the faintly lingering smell of coppery blood in the air. Like sea salt dried out but not gone. The stench can’t be erased no matter time’s passage. High up in the rock formation, it’s a jagged place. My confidence gives Janus just the slightest of pause as I reply, “I was planning on saying the same thing to you.”

“You...think you can make me forfeit?” He’s taken aback. The surprise in his voice is refreshing. I should be above such small pleasures, but right now, after the unexpected gift I’ve been given, I feel light as air. Janus snorts, “Why ask to change the rules then?”

“Oh that?” I reach up and point back over my shoulder. Towards where we left Meera, in a makeshift wooden stretcher someone brought for her. “Accidents happen. Janus, I have a question for you.”

“Right,” Janus’s face hardens. His posture changes as he remembers what I did to his fiance. No matter his purported values, I suppose there are some things you can’t hide. “Accidents do happen.”

“Tell me, who do you-“ Our conversation is cut off as Jarshan stops in front of us. The elders following him in a long train might look solemn, dignified to most. But to me, I just see a bunch of leeches. You’re holding the Rainstopper Sect back. Worse...you’re holding back Romy. It’s time for a change. The only question is how much fat to trim?

*Tap*

Janus jumps away before I can finish my question to join his master, Elder Heilan far and across the valley. There is...a pit in front of us. Huge, enough to contain a large number of people. The rock is this strange dull red color, what was once white has been dyed by death. In the middle of the pit, more jagged mushroom like pillars to stand on, culminated by a lonely tall peak which shoots up as if to kiss the sky. The top of the peak is a wide, flat platform visible to all standing around the pit. A multi-staged arena perfect for killing. This place, deep in the heartland of the top of the Sisyphean Cliffs is the traditional place for the Third Trial...the Trial of Red Rain. Elina refused to bring me here to scout it out, and even now, as she comes up behind me, I can sense her resentment seeping through her mask. The long snout of her opossum mask seems almost bared into a snarl as she hisses to me in the shadowy darkness of the coming clouds.

“To the death? Myrr...what were you thinking?” Elina’s worry is no longer hidden this close to the Third Trial. As the other Elders leave us, smiling with big smirks and laughing faces, only my Auntie’s sister is unhappy. “Are you ready? I can still get you away...maybe. Please come with me, I won’t be able to explain this to Romy if you...”

“Elina,” I turn my head slightly. Raise my hand and pat her shoulder. She freezes, her gangly, twisted limbs going still underneath her strange robes. I find them all the more beautiful for knowing who she truly is underneath. But unfortunately, she won’t understand. Romy and her...they both just don’t understand. It’s not enough to try to help people. You need to take control. My hand retreats from her, and I can imagine her frown underneath the mask as I tell her, “Just watch the Elders for me. Tonight...I’ll prove something to you and Romy. I’m ready!”

“I know you’re strong...but this isn’t about that! Can you tell me with 100% certainty that you can beat Janus? Romy didn’t want this, Myrr!” She shudders, saying more in these few seconds than she does for days sometimes. I can feel how much she cares. Her hand reaches out for my shoulder this time. Her grip is tight, hard and fast. As if she wants to pluck me up and carry me away as she’s done so many times before. Just like how an opossum mother carries its babies, Elina wants to shield me from danger. A warm glow comes as she chants. What injuries I sustained in the fight with Meera disappear quickly under her ministrations. Elina’s voice drops down to the faintest whisper as the magic fades away, “I...didn’t want this. Why? There wasn’t a need to make it to the death, Myrr...no matter who wins, someone will-“

“No.” I gently put my hand over her trembling one on my shoulder. And pull it away. It’d be impossible to move her if she didn’t let me. “Elina...I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me. But I’m tired of hiding. Tired of seeing you hiding. It’s time to stop pretending. This is my gift to you. For all you’ve done. And for Romy as well. The burden you’ve been struggling to bear...I’ll take it on.”

“G-Gift...what do you mean gift?” Elina’s eyes widen behind the mask. She tries to lean forwards and grab me again, but I dance away. Up above, the storm is almost here, the moon fades away, lost amidst the roiling clouds. Lightning crackles shooting across the sky and its luminescent path sends a bright flash towards us. Time stops as the mask lights up. Her hand reaches out towards my face, inhumanly fast. Speed that should be impossible to dodge, I slip out from her grasp, the future in my eyes. Her mask gives nothing away, but I know her. She’s scared, shocked even. Perhaps she knows me better than I thought. “Myrr...what did you do?!!!”

“It’s TIME!” From above, Jarshan’s voice is like the divine proclamation of God. He shoots down and blocks Elina’s frantic step as the first raindrops begin to fall. Watery tears of heaven, the little drops which stopped me from following Glacia, Romy made them my goal. For so long, I was helpless before them, trapped beneath the burden of my own incompetence. Tonight, I can’t show Romy, but I will show Elina in her place. This storm is only the beginning. Who knows how it will end? Only me...I will spread my wings here and fly free!

“MYRR!” Elina tries one last time to reach me, but Jarshan is immovable. I step away slowly, purposefully, my mind in all places, future, past, and present. Jarshan winks at me over his shoulder, at some point his wolf-mask has come on. Perhaps I made a deal with the devil. Or maybe I am the devil. There’s only one way to tell. As I descend into the pit of hell, down craggy stairs molded long ago, the red rock darkens with moisture. Light sucked out, the stench of blood is growing worse in the damp and dark. As if the ancient bones, the corpses of all who died here, are sucking in the heaven’s tears, coming back to life. Undeath, undeath...I can almost hear their screams, all who suffered here. On Earth, the graveyards were still, yet here, in this world, there is a pressure, the dead die but do not disappear. I sense their keening despair. But above all, I can hear Romy’s scream, her voice in my dream. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. It was her I saw battling amidst the sea of corpses, and Elina who was scarred by her knife. Who knows if my dream was true, I certainly don’t...this place though, it is the same!

Perhaps my magic, the mana of the world, or my abilities allowed me to glimpse a piece of the distant past. It certainly wasn’t the future. I saw them fighting through Romy’s eyes, what must have been their Second Trial. Twin sword marks cut into her sister’s cheeks, one wasn’t enough. Elina’s broken, betrayed face flashes through my mind even as I leave the real her behind. Those insipid Elders, they were the ones who did it. A game, that’s what it was to them. Entertainment...that’s what it IS to them. Still, all these years later, they line up and watch a new generation battle to the death. I am cold, hard, and wrong. And even I am disgusted. So be it...if you want to see a grand game, let’s play a grand game! I’ll give you a show that will leave you riveted! And then...let spectator join Candidate. If you are truly strong, come play with us!