The door opens and I see Zora. Alexandria wasn't lying about him. He's bigger than any man I've ever seen—maybe even bigger than Zain.
He's just sitting there on his bed, legs crossed, as if expecting us. He opens one eye and smiles. "So you are Aurelia."
I take a step back. Rela and Alexandria stand in front of me, their weapons ready.
"Whoa, I don't bite. Especially things as pretty as the lady you're protecting." His grin widens. "So why are you here? Has your leader considered the alliance?"
"We haven't considered it yet. But we're wondering... exactly what do you mean by dominating?"
"I mean exactly what I meant. Both our factions commanding what goes on in the ship. No one can hurt us, harm us, or any other bullshit."
"I don't trust you."
"Then you can go fight alone against seventy vengeful rookies. It's that simple."
"We just want to survive this exam."
"And survival needs domination. So you don't want to survive?"
He sighs, scratching his rough hair. "If you don't want the alliance, leave. I'm a simple man. It's either yes or no. What's your choice, Aurelia?"
"We'll consider the alliance. That's all you need to know."
"Then what if I change my mind when you make your decision? What if when you come back, I no longer have interest?" He tilts his head. "Losing a valuable hand willing to help you while you're already in a bad circumstance... make your decision quick. I can be impatient sometimes. And I'm craving for something to happen in this shithole you call an exam."
"We'll be quick."
Zora just nods and lies on his bed. "Now get out of my room. You're ruining my sleep."
I nod. When I'm the last to leave the room, Zora's voice stops me.
"And don't go out of the ship at night. Okay~"
He laughs at himself as I rush out of the room.
What did he mean by that? I was suspicious of him being a psychopath, but no one would just give such a revelation while hiding their role. Does he know that if I tell and he's eliminated, the alliance is over? No. No. He's planning something. But what is it? What will he do by midnight?
The ship's halls are dark now. The only light comes from flickering lanterns mounted on the walls. Night has fully settled over the vessel, and the usual noise of rookies has faded to murmurs and footsteps. It's late. Too late to be out.
As we reach the dark oak halls, a group of adventurers notice us. They look like they were waiting for us, blocking our path.
Rela stands in front of us, tense. "This isn't looking too good."
She grabs her axe. The gauntlets on her other two arms glow.
"These are Eighty rookies. I recognize some of them."
Alexandria grips her axe. Red lightning pulses violently.
I look back. More rookies behind us. Surrounding us completely. "So we have to fight now?"
One of them—a short, bald man with a mace—steps forward. "This is for the people you killed!"
They move forward simultaneously.
"Rowan proposed a ceasefire. Don't you listen to your leader?"
"Rowan has gotten too slow with operations. Now we have to do things our way."
If we attack them now, Rowan will think we broke the ceasefire. And judging by the type of man he is, he'll want a full war again.
"Aurelia, what's your command?" Alexandria asks.
"Attack if they attack first. Just stay defensive for now."
"How can we stay defensive against... what, seventeen guys?"
"We can handle them."
They move closer. Weapons raised. Faces twisted with rage and vengeance. Some look at me, but most look at Alexandria.
A voice cuts through the tension. "Stand down."
The Eighty lower their weapons almost instantly. The group in front of us parts. A man emerges—a robe, long black-grayish hair, a beard. He looks at the Eighty, then at us.
"Sorry about them. They can get too rowdy."
"Too rowdy? They ambushed us."
"They tried to avenge their dead comrades. No one in your faction has died yet. But if that ever happened, wouldn't you do the same?" He moves his eyes to Alexandria. "Especially when a commander betrayed us."
I turn to Alexandria. Her eyes narrow slowly. Her grip on her axe tightens. Her jaw is set. Her face is hard.
"Because Rowan is a madman," she says. "Can't you see that?"
Kregg counters. "Zain tore a man's jaw from his body with his bare hands while his arms were melting. Isn't he also mad? He killed a priest and his bodyguard. He triggered this war. And you're not questioning that?"
"I'm just doing this for my own survival."
"We offered protection, but you clearly didn't trust us. You instead trusted the man who caused all of this."
Alexandria curses under her breath. Her grip tightens further. I try to reach for her hand but stop myself.
"He's a madman, Kregg. He doesn't care about all of you! He just sees all of you as a way to project his power!"
"He said he wouldn't do such."
Alexandria shouts, her body gesturing wildly. She's reached her boiling point. "Listen to yourself, Kregg! You're the oldest of the Eighty, yet Rowan's words are stuck in your head. He doesn't care about all of you. Has he mourned when the Eighty died? Has he actually listened to any of you? He doesn't care about you. He just sees you the way a general sees their soldiers—a tool."
Kregg's face twitches slightly. Fire emits from his hand. "So you swore loyalty to the Eighty. Became close to Rowan. Became his hand. And now you just betray us? Betray the Eighty?"
"I haven't abandoned the Eighty. I just dodged an arrow. You haven't." Alexandria's voice drops. "Kregg, tell them to move now. Or this ceasefire will end and escalate into something far worse."
Kregg exhales, then puts his hand in his pocket. "Eighty, move out. We'll attack when the ceasefire has ended."
Some lower their weapons and move back. Others hesitate. Their anger is still evident, but eventually they stand down and walk away with the rest.
Good. We just dodged another major battle with the Eighty.
I lower my wand and breathe a sigh of relief.
It's clear we can't fight the Eighty alone with the small numbers we have. "We need Zora."
Rela and Alexandria look at me with shocked expressions. "What?!" they exclaim in unison.
"There are too many of them and too few of us. Even if we can take a lot of them, we'll run out of Lumin and energy. Can you guys really beat ten people at once?"
"I was ganged up on by the Eighty, and I beat them," Alexandria counters.
"But think about your Lumin. Our Lumin combined is a lake, but the Eighty—with over fifty rookies—is like a vast sea. We'll run out of Lumin before we can even take out half of them. And that's not even considering some of the strong ones in the Eighty. Consider this alliance. We'll just ask Zora to help us against the Eighty. That's it."
Rela clears her throat. "I don't trust Zora. He might ask for something in return for his assistance."
"He considered the alliance for domination, but at this point I think we should agree to it. Zora seems strong. He says he has a faction. We'll need the extra manpower."
Alexandria slams her hand against the wall, splintering the wood. "Fine. But we must talk to Zain and Dominio about it. Everyone in the team should talk with Zora's team on this alliance. Understand?"
"I understand."
Alexandria walks off. "Good. I just want Rowan and his cult gone for good. I'm going to get some fresh air."
Rela stretches. "I'm going to sleep. It's night, and I need the energy for tomorrow."
I nod. "All of you be ready for tomorrow. We all need as much energy as possible."
They leave. I walk alone toward the infirmary.
Night presses in around me. The hallways are empty now. The lanterns flicker, casting long shadows across the wooden walls. Zora's words echo in my mind:
Don't go out of the ship at night.
Is he going to kill someone? Is he meeting someone? What will he do?
I reach the infirmary door. I open it slowly.
Zain is sitting on his bed—his back to me. I can only see his back and some of his locks. Purple fire, though small and weak, dances around his body.
He's finally regaining his strength...
Thank goodness.
He's back.