Grahan sat upon his throne.
Yash stood at the far end of the room.
[Grahan]: Well, isn't this amazing? You have made it this far. This is the first time someone has reached this stage in my mind games.
Grahan said with an evil smirk.
Yash watched him with analytical eyes.
He had already become accustomed to Grahan's decision-manipulating ability.
Now that he understood its nature, it no longer worked as effectively against him.
[Yash]: As far as I know, the score should be 5–8. Isn't it?
[Grahan]: Excellent! That's correct. Seems I climbed up thanks to the last game, where negative scoring wasn't a thing. Though it appears you still have the lead.
Grahan replied with a cheerful smile.
Yash simply gave him a dismissive look.
Yash (thinking): He keeps choosing games that favour him. Whenever his score falls behind, he simply picks a game that can grant him a huge amount of points regardless of my efforts.
Yash tapped the floor twice with his foot.
He was beginning to lose his patience.
This game was far stranger than the previous ones.
Because this time, Yash alone had to solve the puzzle.
If he succeeded, he would be rewarded with points.
If he failed, Grahan would receive them instead.
The rules sounded simple.
But they were anything but simple.
Grahan had declared that he had set something up inside the spacecraft.
The event would only occur once an alarm beeped.
The alarm itself was destined to ring at a specific time.
Only after that beep could the event truly begin.
Yash's objective was to force the alarm to ring before its predetermined time.
Easy?
Not at all.
The true problem lay in the paradox.
The alarm was destined to ring at one exact moment.
Wouldn't forcing it earlier alter the timeline itself?
Grahan had sacrificed his eyes forever.
Those same eyes, once capable of seeing fifteen seconds into the future, were offered through a vow so they could witness five minutes into the future one final time.
And in that vision...
The alarm rang only at its predetermined time.
Meaning...
That future had already been determined.
In countless myths and folktales, there exists a being known as Gigas...
The Guardian of Time.
A guardian said to prevent alternate timelines from ever coming into existence.
No alternate timelines.
No travelling through time.
Which meant...
No matter what Yash attempted...
He couldn't change what had already been destined to happen.
Yash realised the trick immediately.
The dirty move Grahan had played.
[Grahan]: I have already seen the world exactly five minutes into the future. Specifically, the moment after those five minutes. The alarm rang at that exact time. Which means the event can only occur after five minutes. You failed, boy.
Grahan burst into hearty laughter.
Yash only needed two more points to end this ridiculous game.
Grahan needed five.
If Yash lost, Grahan would gain five points and win the entire match.
If Yash won, he would gain five points instead and claim victory.
If he refused to play this game, Yash would lose two points while Grahan would gain two simultaneously.
Even then...
Grahan still wouldn't win.
He would still need three more points, forcing another game.
Yash sank into deep thought.
[Grahan]: Do you accept the game?
[Yash]: ...Of course. I accept.
[Grahan]: Very well...
Grahan answered with a satisfied smirk.
A blindfold covered his now-useless eyes.
The clock in the background began ticking.
The game had begun.
Yash had five minutes to make the alarm ring.
[Yash]: Grahan thought I would refuse this game and hand him two free points. What he doesn't realise... Is that I've already figured out his trick.
Through every previous game and every scheme, Yash had uncovered another property of Grahan's ability.
Its greatest weakness.
The flaw that would eventually bring about his downfall.
Yash sprinted toward the data centre.
[Yash]: Grahan is bound by one absolute rule. He cannot lie while explaining the essential part of his game. Instead, he twists the truth until almost nobody can understand its real meaning.
Yash's deduction was correct.
Grahan was obligated to reveal the essence of every game.
He simply disguised it beneath layers of misleading wording.
That was the greatest weakness of his ability.
It was also why almost nobody survived after learning about him.
Once someone understood how his games truly worked...
He could never allow them to leave alive.
On the way to the data centre, countless wolves attacked Yash.
Grahan had predicted Yash would head there and had prepared obstacles to waste his time.
Dozens of starving wolves charged toward the young boy.
Yash dismantled them with nothing but his fists.
[Yash]: I don't have time to waste.
He created a clone.
The clone continued running while the real Yash slipped away toward the data centre.
Further ahead, a gigantic monster blocked the hallway.
It swung at Yash.
Its attack passed straight through.
The figure before it was only the clone.
Meanwhile...
The real Yash had already reached the data centre.
[Yash]: Grahan saw the future five minutes ahead... But that doesn't mean he witnessed everything that happened within those five minutes.
With that thought, Yash slammed the alarm.
Its sharp beep echoed throughout the entire spacecraft.
Grahan, still seated upon his throne, let out a satisfied laugh.
[Grahan]: That was a wonderful battle. I enjoyed every moment of it. A battle of wits against a worthy opponent.
Grahan said as his body slowly began fading away.
A few moments later...
The original five-minute mark finally arrived.
Yash pressed the alarm once again.
This time...
The event activated.
The spacecraft began tearing itself apart.
Yash sounded the alarm one last time...
Ensuring that the future Grahan had witnessed remained completely unchanged.
How did Yash know where the alarm was?
Long before the battle between Haidoro and Griho had even begun...
Yash had already infiltrated Grahan's spacecraft.
He only confronted Grahan after the battle between Griho and Haidoro had concluded.
Why?
Because before meeting him...
Yash had explored the entire spacecraft.
He had memorised its layout.
He had discovered the alarm.
And he had uncovered several other important mechanisms.
Even the explosives that ultimately destroyed the spacecraft...
Had been secretly prepared by Yash himself.
That...
Was the very event Grahan had foreseen.
Only now did Grahan realise the truth.
The battle had never been predetermined by him.
It had been orchestrated...
By the boy standing before him.
That absurd level of foresight made Grahan smile with complete satisfaction as he finally faded away.
The spacecraft exploded into ashes...
Taking countless monsters and soldiers with it.
Meanwhile, Yash escaped inside a small emergency capsule.
[Yash]: It's time for Haidoro now.
Yash said as the capsule descended toward the planet.
To be continued...