The torch lit again and was thrown into the air until Parrot caught it. I saw her eyes through the slit, staring right into me.
"The condition that we can't retaliate until you betray first has to go."
The decision not to act as a shadow in Trapped land had been hard to make.
I looked at my aspect, which was Utility, my Flaw, which could get me killed, and my attribute [Embraced by Fate], which was more of a curse than a blessing.
If I acted like a shadow and let others underestimate me, they would not hesitate before attacking. Sadly, I lacked the necessary means to defend myself. The only choice left was to display my capabilities so they would not feel comfortable around me.
That single reason had brought me into this situation.
In the labyrinth, there were seven Awakened and one Sleeper, which was me. Two of those Awakened died, yet the Sleeper survived. It was only logical for them to deny me the chance to betray them first.
"Do you really want this?"
I left the rest unsaid. What I meant was that I was the only person with such an aspect, as well as one of the few who knew what [Trapped] meant. Moving against me meant losing a valuable tool.
Soon, the reply came.
"Yes. I don't care about your importance or the circumstances. We are already half dead, so dying for real would not change much."
It seemed no matter what I said, their minds would not change.
"I am willing to make a Vow where no one betrays another, and I will also stop my attribute from affecting you. In return, I wish to ask any one of you five questions. Is that acceptable?"
Parrot glanced toward Hawk, who responded in her place.
"What are the questions? I will answer them if they are not too absurd."
After that, Parrot's body relaxed, though I could not tell if she was acting to manipulate me or if it was genuine.
"The five questions are: What do you mean by half dead? Who are the rulers of each city? What is the hierarchy of Trapped land? What is the approximate population of Trapped land in Sleeper and Awakened terms? And the last one, how are the Awakened even here?"
Hawk thought for a moment before agreeing.
The Binding Vow I formed was identical for the four of them.
I successfully deactivated my attribute for their group and sealed a vow that we would not betray one another. For Hawk, I included an additional clause requiring him to answer my five questions truthfully.
***
We were all given a torch, and I was quite curious about how this Memory or Aspect Ability worked, as well as its limits.
Looking around the yellowish floor, we discovered that the area had become significantly smaller. If we waited any longer, it would be difficult to reach the next platform.
Walking toward the edge, I stopped for a second and crouched down, placing the base of my torch into the acid, which began to boil away instantly.
I pulled the torch back out.
This acid was highly damaging.
The atmosphere between the Encrypted and me had become quite awkward, but they did not let it interfere with their desire to survive, which I respected.
Parrot took a few steps back, started running, and jumped across the acid to reach the opposite platform. One by one, the rest of the Encrypted crossed over, leaving only Hawk behind.
The gap was a few meters wide, making it impossible for me to jump across on my own. That was why Hawk had stayed.
We did not speak about it. They simply understood the situation.
"Thank you."
After thanking him, I stepped back and ran toward Hawk, who planted his feet firmly into the floor, cupping his hands near his stomach to create a foothold.
I jumped, placing my feet into his hands, and he launched me across the gap. The height was considerable, so I rolled upon landing to absorb the impact.
Once I landed safely, Hawk made the jump as well.
Without speaking a word to me, they discussed their next move among themselves and moved ahead, while I slowly followed.
They were making it clear that our relationship was strictly business. The fault was mine for hiding things, even though I knew they would eventually figure it out.
Under the faint light of the single torch guiding us, we walked until we were quite far from where we started.
The floor turned brown, covered in a sticky, foul-smelling yellow substance.
The torches slowly disappeared from everyone's hands except Deer's. He planted his torch back into the ground, and the group sat around it in a circle.
I joined them.
Deer stood up and walked around our position, placing down additional torches until a one-meter circle of light surrounded us. He then sat back down, facing outward toward the darkness.
The rest of the Encrypted turned around to face outward as well, positioned opposite to where their backs originally were. I copied their movements.
Only a single meter of light remained, surrounded by endless darkness in every direction.
I wondered why they went through all this motion. If we were meant to face outward, we could have sat that way from the beginning.
Still, I refrained from asking. We were not close enough for idle questions.
A voice came from my left, where Hawk was sitting, as he began answering my questions.
"I will answer the first question last, since the fifth question is the same as the first."
"Alright."
It seemed I had wasted one of my questions.
"Second question. As you may already know, there are five cities within Trapped Land: Dark City, Flame City, Echo City, Light City, and Storm City. I only know what the rulers look like and their names. Anything beyond that is unknown to us."
So the Encrypted did not know the personalities of the rulers. Was it because they were middle or lower level workers, or was my initial theory incorrect?
"The ruler of Dark City is Gunlaug, who has blond hair, a short beard, a tall build, and appears to be in his mid-twenties. The ruler of Flame City is Ember, who has a slim body, red hair, a deep scar on the right side of her body, and looks to be in her early thirties."
The name Gunlaug caught me off guard. It was a name with deep Norse roots. Gunnr meant war or battle, while Laug meant vow or promise, making the translation Battle Vow or Promised in Vow. Yet, there was no Norse mythology in this world. Was it merely a coincidence? I would need more information.
Meanwhile, the name Ember directly matched her city. Was the city named after her, or was she named after the city?
"Light City's ruler is Ray, who has white hair, a small frame, and a soft face. He looks to be in his early twenties, but rumors say he is the oldest ruler. Storm City's ruler is Thunder, who shares a similar build to Bear."
Once again, the names matched their respective cities.
"As for the ruler of Echo City, no one knows who they are. They tend to hide in the shadows, and the only visitors allowed to meet with the higher-ups are high-level workers from other cities."
I needed more information.
"Third question. There is no definitive way to rank the cities. They keep most of their forces and motives hidden from one another."
The pieces were slowly coming together, but I refrained from making any theories until I gathered actual proof.
"Fourth question. There are around a thousand Sleepers within each city, with barely any Awakened. In fact, within Trapped Land, the total number of Awakened is well under a hundred."
The numbers did not align. If there were so few Awakened within Trapped Land, why were the Encrypted not part of the high-level workforce? They should have been treated as valuable assets.
I would need to run a few experiments once we reached the city.
However, a much larger thought weighed heavily on my mind.
If there were thousands...
This was going to be my greatest challenge yet.
To change what it meant to be [Trapped], I had no choice but to eliminate the majority of the Sleepers and Awakened.
I would have to kill thousands, and quickly at that.
"Moving to the fifth and first question."
My mind was still fixed on the population count being in the thousands, but I forced myself to focus on his words.
In books, Awakened were described as prisoners of sleep. When they slept in the waking world, their souls were transferred to the gateway of the Dream Realm where they previously escaped. After that, certain formalities took place, though none of that mattered right now. However, that rule did not apply to the people here. They were truly [Trapped].
"For this, I will tell you a story about a father and son. During a Winter Solstice, a Sleeper came here looking for the gateway. Multiple Sleepers arrived, in fact, and all of them heard the same message from the Spell regarding [Trapped]. Years passed as they learned to survive, yet not a single gateway was ever found. Slowly, more Sleepers continued to arrive until a hundred had gathered."
I listened carefully to everything Hawk was saying.
"One day, a few Awakened arrived, which should have been impossible since they never anchored themselves to this place. They did not even know it existed. Among them was the father of one of the Sleepers here. The father embraced his child and explained that the child had died the moment he fell asleep during the Winter Solstice."
My eyes widened for a split second.
"It is believed that the Spell selects certain Lost to become part of Trapped Land, and by changing what Trapped means, you can revive your dead body. The father had also died in the waking world while inside the Dream Realm. Normally, the Lost simply wander around, but he was transferred here instead. Yes, the reason a few Awakened exist here is beyond our comprehension."
By that logic, I was already dead in the waking world.
I remembered the message once again.
[Change what it means to be Trapped.]
To change what it meant to be trapped, I would truly have to kill most of them.
***
A few hours had passed, and our surroundings could be seen once again. It was just the pink ceiling, the yellowish floor, and a smell that could kill.
Last night, we took turns sleeping while one person stayed awake.
Parrot glanced toward me as she stood up.
"Are you completely certain that we don't have to do anything for a while?"
I stood up as well and nodded.
"I am making a plan to skip past the upcoming death zone altogether. Give me a few moments."
When she heard that I was planning to skip the next labyrinth, I saw her body stiffen just a little.
I began walking toward the far right.
"Please look after me for a while. I am about to confront... myself."
She was likely confused, but I heard her footsteps following behind me. After a few minutes of walking, I reached a considerably high spot, climbed up, and sat down.
I activated the Memory Kath had given me.
Memory Name: [Law of Black & White]
Memory Rank: [Awakened]
Memory Type: [Charm]
Memory Description: [A strategic stage of black and white, where silent thoughts engage in fight. Dance across the shifting grid, to drag to light what malice hid.]
Enhancement: [Mode], [Voice], [Timer]
Description: [Mode (Active): Chess is a game that can be played with two players or alone, this enhancement allows you to choose how you wish to play.]
Description: [Voice (Active): This enhancement allows you to move pieces through words.]
Description: [Timer (Active): This enhancement allows you to set the time for the entire game or each move.]
As soon as I activated the Memory and tapped my hand onto the floor, essence slipped from the tips of my fingers to take a square shape. White and black squares slowly aligned until sixty-four squares formed a full board. Numbers from 1 to 8 appeared along one row, while letters from A to H lined the other.
Chess pieces then rose from beneath the black and white squares until the entire board was set.
I controlled the white pieces, while no one sat opposite me to take the black side.
I set the timer to three minutes for each move in my mind using the [Timer] enhancement
Reaching forward, I made my very first move.
E4.
After that, I closed my eyes and selected the setting through the [Mode] enhancement. The white pieces shifted to the opposite side, while the black pieces moved before me, waiting for my response.
I did not make a move. Instead, I sank deep within my consciousness and closed my eyes once more.
...
𓁹𓁹
Kiyotaka's eyes remained closed until they slowly opened. One eye opened with a faint glint as his lips curled upward into a smile, and he began rotating his hand in a circular motion.
His mouth opened.
"Uaghhhhh."
He yawned.
Kiyotaka brought his hands together, stretching his arms and rolling his neck. When he spoke, his voice was filled with humor and pleasure.
"Man, it has been a while since I played chess."
Kiyotaka looked down at the board, smiling as he made his move.
C6.
"Your move."
The smile gradually faded back into a neutral expression until it turned completely monotonous. Kiyotaka's eyes darkened as he stared down at the board.
The board shifted, placing the white pieces before him and the black pieces on the opposite side.
'Let us see if the segment was the chess game or the chess move.'
Kiyotaka made his move.
D4.
The smile returned to his face as the white pieces moved away, and a small laugh escaped his lips.
"You son of a bitch. It worked. Well, let us talk now."
E5.
The white pieces returned, and the smile vanished once again.
Kiyotaka let out a long sigh, reaching into his pocket to pull out the bone fragment.
When he spoke, his voice was cold, matched only by the glare in his eyes, which seemed to pierce into the deepest corner of hell.
"It has been quite a while. Did you have fun hiding yourself as my Flaw, Dry Water?"
******
How was this chapter?
For those who are confused about where he got this Memory, read "Epik Kath Adventure (end)."
Wow, Kiyotaka's Flaw was Dry Water. Did anyone see that coming?
The reason it is taking me time to write chapters is because I am trying to figure out this chess game. Give me this week.
A lot of reveals awaits us next chapter.
That's all.
Peace.