Chapter 23: First Trial - Tsumibito

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Hori emerged from sleep, her eyelids heavy as she gently rubbed them.

The surface beneath her was cold, almost too smooth to be natural. She blinked and examined her surroundings.

The floor was colored black obsidian, while above her, the sky was an endless blue, brushed with faint white gradients, resembling a painting of some sorts.

The wind smelled like clay, with a hint of smoke. Almost as if the floor was manufactured.

"...Huh? What just happened?"

She sluggishly stood up scratching her head. The last thing she remembered was Sir Scott wishing them luck. Then the chime of a kitchen bell sounded, knocking her out.

"Where did everyone-

She suddenly felt gravity shift. Her sense of balance tripped, Hori was about falling off from where the road seemed to have stopped.

Her eyes widened. The "ground" she stood on wasn't a field at all. But the edge of a colossal column 100 meters into the sky!

Using her toes to desperately grasp the floor, she was left facing the actual floor which laid a great distance away. Like a grave given she fell.

The fear from such heights provided Hori enough adrenaline to immediately force her body to back up. As if resisting gravity, she managed not to fall to her deaths.

"Oh my God—!" She gasped, collapsing onto the cold floor.

Hori's stomach lurched, panic surged through her chest as she crawled backwards to safety.

"Narrator? Would you care to explain?!"

She asked with dread, Narrator should have the answer to what was happening.

As if summoned, the voice chimed in.

Narrator - Stop being clueless Hori, this is the first trial of the Sabbath Exams.

Hori then remembered, Sir Scott was just wishing them luck on the first trial. Of course this would be part of the exams.

After understanding the situation, she stood up, dusted her bum and took a deep breath.

Hori searched the surface where she stood for anything other than her.

Something caught her eye—a glint of red in the distance.

"... what's that?" Hori ran towards it and found a rod more than twice her height.

She picked it up, surprisingly it had no weight, no scent either.

Hori brought it to her tongue then shook her head. "Nope, I'm not licking random objects!" She scolded herself for even attempting it

"What am I meant to do with this...." Hori asked her self. Weren't participants supposed to be given some type of goal or something?

She decided to sit on the floor, crossed leg with the rod on her lap. Waiting for some sort of instruction.

After 2 minutes. Hori looked closely at the rod and noticed something.

"... it's shrinking."

She squinted her eyes, her observation correct.

The rod wasn't static, its length had shortened—barely, but enough for her sharp eyes to notice.

With a new discovery she stood up and thought to herself.

'A reducing rod, some sort of timer?'

She paced left and right, trying to solve the puzzle.

Just then, as if timed, a loud voice boomed across the sky, nearly deafening her.

It's deep tone shared new information.

Hori staggered back from the sudden sound.

Still reeling from the volume she said. "A timer! So I was right!" With a smug face.

The rod was no ordinary staff, but a countdown.

"That must be the announcer, he sounds so familiar! Narrator, could you tell me whose voice that was?"

Hori asked, she was certain to have heard it before. When living with her father.

Narrator - Bishop number 5; Tadashi Shiba is the announcer for this year's Sabbath Exams.

Her mouth dropped. "Uncle Shiba?!"

Hori squealed. Her father being the head of SHO Japan, was aquatinted with multiple men of power. First Eric Adams, now Tadashi Shiba. People who Hori didn't know were Bishops.

Tadashi Shiba, nicknamed the "Man In Milk" is the man last shown offering to place a bet on Hori's match during the preliminary rounds. Also the man showed to be scrolling through this years participants of the Sabbath Exams. Sir Scott being Bishop number 6, meant he was lower in ranking to Mr Shiba.

"I already knew Uncle Shiba worked for SHO, but I didn't know he was a Bishop!"

Hori was surprised, she only learned about the term "Bishop" after meeting Haruki. Up until now, she had always called strong priests "Strong priests" who knew she had already known a Bishop during her childhood.

Mr Shiba, now acting as the announcer for this years Exams spoke again.

As soon as he announced such terrible news, Hori's blood ran cold.

"Two hundred... and seven?!"

She staggered. Her mind replayed the moment, when she woke up, Hori laid at the far edge. If she rolled even a bit....

'it couldn't be... did SHO intend for people to fall to their deaths? that would be the only explanation for placing us so close to the edge, no wonder so many contestants have died already!'

Hori asked Narrator if that were the case.

She answered.

Narrator - Hori guessed correctly. By eliminating as much contestants as possible, SHO would have to pay only a small amount of people who somehow manage to survive every trial.

"Isn't that just wrong?"

She said with a face full of despair, SHO was sounding less and less than an organization that hunted Sins.

Seeing as they committed so much on their own, first accepting bribe from participants. Then permitting doping, now assisted murder.

Hori had clearly taken in the gravity of her situation, by recognizing death as a part of the Sabbath Exams. She was grateful she didn't fall as well.