In a luxurious room furnished with golden tiles and sparkling chandeliers, three people were present. They stared at a massive screen that showcased the test room
"Tolkien never ceases to amaze us," one of them said in a choppy voice, full of bass. His frame was bulky, closer to that of a giant than a human. He wore a well-adorned battle armor made of rusty iron that created a great deal of noise whenever he moved.
"Indeed, he does." The lady in their midst spoke. Her face was obscured by a veil flowing from the rims of her conical hat.
"Who would have expected," the third man with black popcorn hair mumbled. "That he would go to such lengths."
He had a pair of glasses perched on his face, and a scholarly air exuded from his being.
"I'm also surprised at how petty he is," the bulky man said. "But the test is actually genius, I might use it for the next batch."
"This batch shows promise," The scholar said.
The lady turned to him. "You really think so?"
He just nodded.
The bulky man laughed. "How unfortunate for them to catch your eyes."
The scholar frowned at him but didn't reply to his comment.
"But isn't it weird?" The lady asked.
The bulky man turned to her. "What's weird?"
It was the scholar who replied. "Three of those children are from the church, considering how much they hate us I doubt they would allow them to awaken the mark without ulterior motives. Especially since the kids have talent."
"I'm sure they're planning something. Not that we have anything to worry about." The lady laughed.
On the screen, D'vonte's frame had entered the room.
She squinted her eyes and asked, "Isn't that the star of the show?"
"Yes, he is." The scholar adjusted his glasses.
"Still can't believe Tolkien did all this to get back at the kid, poor guy," the bulky man said.
The scholar chuckled and said, "I doubt those were his only intentions. Tolkien isn't an idiot."
The bulky man's eyes went into deep thought. "You're probably right," he said.
A smile formed on the scholar's face. "I always am."
No one spoke after that. Their eyes were glued to the screen as they watched D'vonte closely to see what decision he would make.
____________________________
With a loud echo, the bucket D'vonte was holding hit the ground as he stared wide-eyed at the altar. He was frozen in place as his brain was taking the time to understand the current situation.
The orange glow of candles illuminated the person lying motionlessly on the altar. The sound of the ticking timer pervaded the area that was otherwise suffocatingly silent.
"Billy?" He muttered as his legs began moving on their own, the cool wooden floor creaking under his weight. He rushed to him expecting a dead body. But to D'vonte's surprise, he was still alive.
"Billy, Billy," he called out as he took hold of his brother's hands. Billy's frame remained motionless on the altar with a piece of cloth in his mouth. His eyes, however, flickered about. But, they didn't have the glow D'vonte was familiar with, they were dull and turning gray.
White tear marks streaked down Billy's face as his formerly fair complexion was unhealthily pale.
D'vonte immediately removed the cloth from his mouth.
"Billy, it's me. It's me, Billy," D'vonte said, shaking him.
But Billy didn't say anything. His eyes just flashed at the exit. D'vonte was unnerved by his strange behavior. Following his brother's gaze, his eyes locked on the exit.
His hair stood on end and with a lack of composure, he walked towards the door.
He noticed the three holes on it, but only when he got closer did he get a clear view.
He knew the test was to find a way out of the room. And the holes in the door drained the color from his face.
The heart-shaped hole was most striking. He stood in front of it, his fingers tracing the grooves and marks on it.
He glanced at the timer—a minute and a half was already gone.
His breathing quickened. The more he looked at the door, the more he knew what needed to be done.
His fist clenched as a red cloud appeared in his mind, slowly consuming him. His sanity was overcome. He started punching the door like a madman.
Hit after hit he didn't stop. A small part of him prayed that the door would open by some miracle, so he kept punching. His blows echoed all around the small wooden room.
If the gods were still alive then they didn't deem it fit to answer his call as the door remained unmoved, stained red.
Only after his bones were broken and blood flowed out of his hands did the cloud of red disappear.
With a dull thud, he fell on the floor, his head held in his palms as tears clouded his eyes. He didn't dare turn back, he didn't dare face Billy.
He had made a promise, It couldn't end like this.
He put his hands in his pockets to get his knife out.
Maybe I can carve into it, he thought.
He felt something in his pocket, it was the envelope.
He pulled it out.
Maybe it would help, just maybe, he thought.
He read the envelope again. But this time the words carried so much weight that if he wasn't already on the ground he would have fallen to his knees.
This pill allows the human body to function without a heart for three minutes.
—Tolkien.
His body shook: he had been set up. The choices now lay in his hands but he didn't know what to do. If he could even do it was a bigger mystery.
He had made a promise.
His fist clenched as tears streamed down his face. The sound of the ticking timer rang loudly, reminding him that he had to make a choice.
He had made a—
(It was late in the evening, D'vonte looked through the window, his gaze locked on Billy practicing with a small wooden sword.
He kept swinging it, the next always weaker than the last, but he didn't stop. Even when D'vonte thought he couldn't go on, that he would surely stop, he didn't. Just kept swinging.
"He's relentless isn't he?"
To D'vonte's surprise, his father was behind him. He jerked a bit, but recovered instantly.
"He's just wasting his energy. If he wanted to do actual work, he should go wash the dishes, hmph."
His father laughed.
But his expression turned especially serious in a moment.
"Your brother has a dream. He's aiming for the pinnacle."
D'vonte also turned serious as he stared at his father waiting for him to continue.
"You on the other hand don't have one."
D'vonte's brows furrowed, "I just wanna live a normal life," he mumbled.
"D'vonte," he started. "Your brother is too young, that's something his talent can't make up for. You, on the other hand, are older and wiser. So, I want you to promise me something."
"What?" D'vonte asked.
"Promise me D'vonte, promise me, on all you're worth, that you will always be there to guide your brother. That you'll always be by his side.")
He made a promise.
The memories made a smile blossom on his face
He got up and walked to his brother.
Billy's eyes were closed, perhaps an acceptance of his fate.
"Hey," he said prompting Billy's eyes to open.
The wide smile on his brother's face caused Billy to frown
"What?" He replied flatly.
"Remember the day you found out Stellars existed. You were all over us talking about how you wanted to become one. How you wanted to fly." D'vonte chuckled.
"Yeah…" Billy said, his expression growing distant.
"Do you still want to become one?"
This time Billy didn't respond, he just closed his eyes and said, "Just get it over with."
D'vonte could hear the sobs within his voice.
"I wanted to kill myself when I saw them dragging you out. I thought I failed." The cracks in his voice were very evident.
"But fate gave me a second chance, and I don't plan to waste it."
There was silence as tears streamed down Billy's face.
Then D'vonte broke it.
"I made some friends Billy, you always said I couldn't make friends, but I did. One of them was… Kody, and the other was Ariella."
He sucked in a lot of air then continued.
"After this test, I want you to follow them, they're really nice people, and they would surely help you."
Billy's eyes snapped open, confusion was written all over his face.
What did he mean by after this test, was he mocking me, Billy thought.
There were only four minutes left as the timer kept moving, relentless.
D'vonte held his brother's hand.
"I'll always be with you, Billy. I'll always be by your side. Make sure you reach the top. Become the most powerful."
Billy suddenly had a bad feeling well up in his heart. He screamed at his brother to stop whatever he was planning.
D'vonte let go of his brother's hand and walked to the door. Billy was saying something, but D'vonte's mind had shut down.
Standing before the wooden door with the blue pill in hand, he turned his gaze upwards and said, "Can you see, father. I never broke my promise."
And with that, he threw the pill into his mouth and swallowed it in a single gulp.