It was dark in the tent. Orion was already asleep, his breathing slow and steady. But Ivan was wide awake.
He wasn't thinking about the test anymore. He was thinking about his family.
'What if I just quit?' he thought. 'What if I just use the firework, fail the test, and go home?'
He wanted to see them. His brothers, his sisters. Even his father, the Emperor. He never got along with them, not really. They always saw him as the useless seventh prince. But they were his family. He missed them.
'But it would make no sense,' he thought, turning onto his side. 'If I drop out now, they'll just be mad. They'll call me a failure again. Nothing will change.'
He closed his eyes. He just wanted to see them one more time.
Those were his last thoughts before he fell asleep.
And then he was dreaming.
He was standing in the middle of the forest. But it was different. It was too quiet. The air felt wrong, heavy and strange.
Then he saw him.
A young man was walking toward him. He was beautiful, with golden hair and eyes that shone like the sun. He had a warm, perfect smile on his face.
It was Superbia. The Sin of Pride.
Ivan's body went cold. He tried to run. He tried to scream. But he was frozen. He couldn't move. He could only watch as the monster walked closer.
Superbia stopped right in front of him. The beautiful smile never left his face. He said something. The words were in a language Ivan didn't understand, but they felt ancient and full of power.
Then, Superbia reached out and gently tapped one finger on Ivan's forehead.
Ivan woke up with a gasp.
He was back in the tent. It was still dark, just before dawn. He was covered in a cold sweat. He looked over at Orion, who was still sleeping peacefully.
Ivan quietly got out of the tent. He needed to wash the dream away. He went to the river and dove into the cold water. It felt good. It made him feel real again.
After his swim, he didn't go back to the camp. He walked into the forest. He knew what he was looking for. He found the spot from his memories. He picked a few of the wild tobacco plants, crushing the leaves in his hand. Then he went back to the camp.
He walked over to the tent and shook Orion's shoulder.
"Orion, wake up," he said. "We need to fish."
Orion groaned. "Now?" he mumbled, his voice full of sleep.
"Yes, now," Ivan said. "Come on."
---
They went to the river. The sun was just starting to rise. Using Romana's trick, they caught a few fish easily. It was a good haul.
They brought the fish back to the camp. Romana was still asleep in her tent.
As Orion started a small fire, he saw Ivan preparing the fish. He was rubbing some crushed green leaves into them.
"What's that?" Orion asked.
"Nothing, Orion," Ivan said without looking at him.
"What do you mean, nothing?" Orion said, standing up. "I know what that is. That's the stuff some of the old soldiers smoke."
Ivan didn't deny it. "I'm going to serve it to Marcus's group," he said calmly. "So they like the fish more."
Orion stared at him. His mouth hung open. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he finally said. "You've finally lost your mind."
"Calm down," Ivan whispered. "You're going to wake up Romana."
But Orion didn't calm down. He walked over and tried to grab the fish. "No way," he said, his voice angry. "You are not doing this."
Ivan pushed him back. "Listen to me! If you want to win, you do what I say!"
"Actually, I don't want to win like that!" Orion shot back. "I want to get stronger and win fairly! Not by making everyone else weak and addicted to your stupid food! I agreed to keep Romana tied up, but I am not agreeing to this!"
"You aren't even listening to me," Ivan said.
"No, I am listening!" Orion's voice was getting louder. "And you sound like you've gone crazy! If you're going to keep acting like this, I'd rather take my tent and go camp somewhere else!"
The words hit Ivan like a punch to the stomach.
'I'd rather go camp somewhere else.'
It was almost the exact same thing Orion had said in his first life. Right before their argument. Right before they separated. Right before everything went wrong.
Ivan felt a cold dread wash over him. He was doing it again. He was making the same mistake.
He looked at his friend's angry, disappointed face.
"Calm down, Orion," Ivan said, his voice softer now.
"You want me to calm down and listen to a man who's gone crazy?"
Ivan let out a long sigh. He had lost. His plan had failed.
"Listen, man," he said. "I'm sorry. You're my friend. I don't want us to have this argument."
He looked at the fish in his hand, then back at Orion. "If it's about the tobacco... okay. I won't put it in."
Orion stared at him for a long moment, still looking angry. But he nodded.
Ivan sat down on a rock, feeling defeated. Orion took the fish from him, went to the river, and washed the herbs off. He came back and started cooking them himself. He clearly didn't trust Ivan anymore.
Ivan sat in silence, watching him.
'So the plan failed,' he thought. 'What now? How do I convince them to help us? How do I make them trust me?'
His eyes drifted to Romana's tent.
'Her. Maybe I can make good use of her.'
After they ate, Ivan gave the rest of the cooked fish to Orion. "Listen," he said, pointing in the direction Romana had given him. "Go like that. You'll probably find their camp. Don't start any arguments. Just give them the food. And when you're coming back, make sure no one is following you."
'Sorry, bro,' Ivan thought to himself. 'I can't trust you alone with Romana right now. I feel like you'd let her go, and then we'd be fucked.'
Orion just nodded, still looking upset. He took the food and started his journey.
As soon as Orion was gone, Ivan went to Romana's tent.
"Hey," he said, shaking the tent. "Wake up."
"What do you want, asshole?" her voice came from inside.
"Come out."
"I'm literally tied up like a worm," she said. "How am I supposed to come out? Come and help me, asshole."
Ivan sighed. "Listen, Romana... I'm sorry."
He went inside the tent and helped her sit up and then crawl out into the daylight.
"What the fuck are you apologizing for?" she asked, squinting in the sun.
"I need to show you something," Ivan said. His voice was quiet. He was acting different now. Almost submissive. "I'll release you after I show you. It's your decision if you want to help us or not. But I really need to team up with Marcus."
Romana looked at him, surprised by his change in attitude. "Fine," she said. "Show me."
Ivan untied her feet but kept her hands tied behind her back. He led her into the forest, back to the place with the old tree. He pointed at the claw marks.
Romana's eyes went wide. She was shocked. She reached out and touched the deep grooves in the bark.
"I didn't tell Orion," Ivan said. "He'd freak out. Now I've sent him alone into the forest, and I'm afraid something will hunt him."
He looked at her, his expression serious. "I just want you to convince Marcus that there's a real danger out here. The students need to team up. We need to work together."
Romana remained silent. She just stared at the claw marks, thinking.
They walked back to the camp. She was still quiet. As Ivan started to untie the ropes on her hands, they heard it.
A scream.
It was coming from the forest. It was getting closer.
"Heeeeeelp! Heeeeeeelp!"
Then, he appeared.
Orion burst out of the trees. He was running for his life, still holding the wrapped-up fish.
And right behind him was a beast. It was huge, like a dog, but bigger and more muscular. Its eyes glowed with a hungry red light, and saliva dripped from its sharp teeth.