“Well, that takes care of that. Silvia was a thorn in my sides for the longest of times now, so having here out of the picture will surely make my life easier.”

Of course I say that, but I can’t help but feel bad for her, especially after she treated my arm. Looking at it once more, you could tell she went to great lengths to make it look as clean as possible, but in the end I still denied her emotions and effectively killed her in that fire…

No, that’s putting the cart before the horse. I don’t know what got into her in that moment, but she was obviously not thinking straight. She even threw that knife at me in the end, which led to the sparks flying and the room erupting into the inferno of flames. I know I’m not the one at fault, I know it for a fact! But, I can’t help but think of how things could’ve gone differently had I not Materialized that piece of flint…

“What if…” I bit my tongue as I uttered, “What if I had just talked to her?”

These thoughts lingered in my head for the entire duration of my lousy walk back outside to recoup with the others. That being said, what awaited me wasn’t the roars of victory the inmates were supposed to be singing, but rather their frightening screams. Almost immediately as I walked out of the shed and back into the courtyard, I got tackled by a guard, who then pinned me to the ground and continued to furiously beat me to a pulp.

“You…ngah! Damned… Hiya! Dogs!” He punched and punched, “Look how much trouble you’ve caused for us…!”

Grabbing my head and turning it around forcefully to witness the situation with my own eyes, the reality of the situation kicked in. Looking around, countless bodies, both of the inmates and the guards, were scattered about the courtyard, all of which weren’t showing even the slightest sign of life. But after seeing the rest, one could even make an argument that they were the ones that got off lucky in the end, as the inmates that were still alive were being beaten up without mercy just like me. Don’t tell me… Did the revolution…fail?

“What’s the matter?” The guard that was keeping me low to the floor chuckled, “Suddenly not so confident anymore? Don’t worry, we’re not beasts like you, so of course we won’t be killing you. That being said, just know that the remaining life you have left won’t ever have even the tiniest shred of happiness in it!”

“No!” I squirmed about, but to no avail, “Everyone! Don’t give in! We can still…!”

“Leader…” One of the inmates interrupted me, “Cut the crap. You left us to go somewhere on your own instead of being here, so stop acting like it’s our fault the revolution flopped…!”

“Heh, lousy leader in my opinion!” The guard straddling me jeered, “Unf!”

With all the strength I had left, I pushed him off of me and jumped back onto my feet. Needless to say, the other guards all used that as a signal to attack me at once, meaning unless some of the inmates stepped up to help me, I’d for sure lose. I’m feeling woozy from overexerting my Iro Abilities, but I still have my physical strength to rely on! Never say never!

The first guard had approached me with a baton, to which I just barely dodged it. The following guard didn’t give me much time to react though, so I got hit on the shoulder, the impact breaking it on the spot. It hurt like hell, and I honestly just wanted to fall to the ground and die just from the pain, but that just isn’t an option. If I give in now, then I can safely say that none of us will ever see the outside of this prison ever again. The pain I’m feeling now is miniscule in comparison to such a fate, so I just have to grit my teeth and fight on!

“Oi…” The inmates begged, “Just stand down, you’re badly injured…!”

“No can do!” I smiled back, “I’m either winning this fight or I’ll die trying! If you really want what’s best for me, then by all means, join in and help me out!”

“But they have guns!” Another inmate yelled out, “We can’t win against them!”

“Then scramble for a gun from the countless corpses spread about the entire place!” I shot back as I dodged another incoming blow, “Look at yourselves! The people around you died for a better future, and you’re just going to give up because the odds are stacked against you?!”

“Piss off already, brat!” A guard suddenly pulled out a pistol, threatening me with it, “Stand down or I’ll shoot.”

As the entire place became dead silent, I finally realized what had to be done. I’m sorry, Nelly, I won’t be able to accompany you in University… Lowering my stance as I stared straight through the barrel of the AFP that was pointed at me, the only thing I could do in that moment was smile back.

“Look here, everyone!” I shouted proudly, “What is about to happen to me is most definitely going to happen to you soon enough! My only wish is for you to stand up and fight after this asshole takes the shot!”

“Why you…!” The guard pulled the hammer back as he put his finger to the trigger.

“Stoooooooop!” Lee and Issei suddenly yelled from behind us, “Don’t shoot him, he yields!”

“What?” I turned around, “No I…!”

Don’t, is what I wanted to say, but then I saw the expressions on their faces. The first word that came to mind when trying to describe them was Desperation. Honestly, it was quite new to see such faces on these two, but terrifying all the same. It was as if they saw the world end in real-time.

“Shut up, M-kun!” Issei yelled out, “You yield! You yield, and you don’t have a choice in the matter!”

“What the kid said!” Lee joined in, “Meil, I don’t know if you know this, but Bry is dead.”

“What?!” I shouted out, “Y-You’re kidding…”

“He’s not. I saw it with my own eyes.” Issei replied, “M-kun, Bryce-kun died protecting us. He tossed us down the stairs of the watchtower the moment he realized fending off the guards was no longer a possible feat.”

No longer a possible…! Grr, what the hell are you babbling on about?! Don’t tell me this idiot truly thinks quitting now is the best idea too! If anything, Bryce’s sacrifice should only fuel you to act while you still can! He let you live so you could continue to fight!

“Better listen to your buds, champ.” The guard still held the pistol pointed directly at me, “It’s over. You failed.”

“…Dammit.” I teared up, “Dammit, dammit all! Fine! Cuff me and take us all back inside this wretched place! But if you think I’ll let up, you’re sorely mistaken-!”

With a loud smack to the back of the head, I saw the world around me turn 90 degrees. So that’s what happened, huh? Before I could continue arguing any more with the guard, Lee had smacked me in the back of the head and knocked me out. I don’t recall much after that, but I do remember being carried off somewhere as the guards all laughed and mocked me.

***

It’s been a week since then, and it seems I’m still the only one who hasn’t given up yet. After I had awoken in a pretty groggy state, I noticed that Issei and I were back in our little cell. I checked my arm, which was now noticeably less black, only to realize that none of this was in fact a dream. Turning to Issei, I had begun cussing out Lee for knocking me out like that, but I guess I wasn’t really thinking clearly.

“Are you crazy?” Issei frowned, “Ojii-san saved your ass! Had you continued to be a jackass to that guard, you would’ve been shot on the spot! In fact, you owe him a huge thank you for knocking you out, but instead you’re saying such horrible things about him? You need to calm down.”

“No, what I need is to find us a way out of here.” I gave a stoic reply, “I know what you guys are feeling right now, but I assure you that our odds have never been better. Look, we don’t have to worry about Silvia anymore.”

“Silvia? Who cares about her? Dude, more than half of the inmates died in this revolt, and you want to whittle out our remaining men as well? What’s the point of getting out if you’re the only one who’s gonna survive?!”

“What the hell? Are you hearing yourself? We fight until the end, didn’t we agree on that?! And even still, what the hell are you going to do if we don’t try to escape? What about your freedom, what about her freedom?!”

Pointing at the sink that lead to Othelia’s hideout, I tried guilt tripping him into listening to me. I know it was petty of me, but there doesn’t seem to be any other way for me to convince him. Dammit, all I need is one person, one person that’ll stand with me and help me convince the others. Once I get that, everyone else will soon follow!

“We can just live here like we did this whole time, then!!” Issei shot back, “We get food, we get semi-drinkable water, not to mention shelter! We’ve been here all year long, so we know for a fact that there isn’t a single season where the living conditions aren’t suitable for day to day life! What’s so bad about calling it quits if we can just live here?!”

“Fine then!” I yelled out, “If you’re going to be this difficult about the situation, then please, by all means, go for it! Live out your pathetic life in this labor camp! But just know, I intend to keep my promise to that girl. I’m getting out of here one way or another, and when I do, I’m taking her with me.”

“You…!” He stiffened up, “Don’t you get it? We tried everything in the book, but no matter what, we always end up back at the start! It’s an inescapable cycle, one that’s as horrid as it is unforgiving! Just give up already, you can’t beat the system!”

“The system?” I thought about that word for a bit, “Ah, it really is a cycle…”

This prison, nay, this entire world, it’s all cyclical in nature. If we represent an average human’s lifespan as a line with the left end being birth, and the right end being death, then we’ve got our x axis, otherwise known as the function of time. Now, if we assume the y axis represents “how good one’s life is”, then we’ve got a perfect graph that showcases the quality of one’s life over time.

Plugging in all of my experiences up to now, from beginning to the current point in time, it seems the function resembles more or less a sinus wave. That’s just what life is. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and sometimes it’s just really neutral. But that’s the thing, it seems that no matter how high or low the amplitude would get, it would most always oscillate later down the line. This is it, with this I can predict what will happen next!

“We’re practically at rock bottom now.” I quietly noted as I smirked at Issei, “Heh, means we’re going to be going up real soon. We just got to seize the opportunity!”

“M-kun?” He looked me square in the eyes, “Your Iro. You converted…”

Yeah, I know. It’s because I’ve finally figured out what the rules behind the system are. In fact, he doesn’t even have to tell me what color I’ve converted to, because I already know that it’s…

“White.” He uttered, “The color of both of your Irises… is White.”