—"That's just my perspective, not the "reality" of life?"—Apolo repeated, his brother had emphasized that phrase, or at least that's how he felt, yet the young noble couldn't grasp the idea behind it.

—Exactly, you always see things wrong, Apolito—Fausto mentioned with a smile as the music in the room became particularly lively, causing the crystals to flicker so much that it was difficult to see each other's faces.

—Always?!—Apolo exclaimed, somewhat annoyed by this notion.

—Yes, always. If you had seen things as they are, you wouldn't have ended up like this, right, young man?—Fausto replied with a rougher voice than usual as he rocked in his chair. The lights in the room began to flicker so much that it seemed like Fausto was moving in slow motion. However, Apolo could clearly see how his brother's smile was growing bigger and making him uncomfortable.

—Is it wrong to end up like this? I'm more than happy with my life—Apolo responded proudly, almost shouting, as the music was starting to get so loud that it was becoming difficult for the two brothers to continue their conversation.

—...—Fausto moved his lips in response, but the music was so loud that even being almost next to him, Apolo couldn't hear what his older brother was saying. So, he could only see how his brother's lips moved in slow motion.

—I didn't hear you! What did you say?!—Apolo yelled in frustration over the music and lights.

—...—Fausto repeated what he said, but Apolo couldn't hear it.

—What?!—Apolo shouted, leaning in closer to his brother's ear, trying to hear what he was saying.

—We need to continue the game; it's your last turn...—Fausto commented as Apolo watched his older brother slowly point with his bottle in a direction.

Apolo understood what his brother said and looked in the direction he pointed. The lights were so uncomfortable that it was quite challenging to see Helena's unconscious body on one of the walls. Nevertheless, Apolo made the effort to identify the young lady's body because he assumed the only way to comprehend what his ancestors meant by this bizarre dream was to finish this peculiar game.

Apolo raised both hands, and a fireball the size of a wheel began to form in his palms. The young man felt the skin on his palms tear and start to bleed, but he didn't mind; he knew none of this was real.

*Whoosh*...The fireball shot through the air towards Helena. However, the young noble was more focused on fighting the pain than on looking at the result of his attempt, as his hands had disappeared completely, leaving only two burned stumps in their place. It seemed the young man had gone too far with the size of the fireball, and his body couldn't withstand its launch.

Despite the young man's sacrifice, unfortunately, the fireball flew with dizzying speed and hit the ceiling above Helena, causing the ceiling to shatter and some debris to fall on the partygoers, crushing them to death. Fortunately or unfortunately, none of the debris fell on Helena, so Apolo had failed!

*Boo, boo, boo*...Struggling with the pain, Apolo looked in anger as all the people in the room began to laugh and mock him wildly. Some participants even rolled on the floor laughing, not caring at all about the people trapped under the debris, while others began to throw food and bottles in the direction of the young noble, showing their disapproval of his failed attempt.

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—...— Fausto moved his mouth to speak, but Apolo could only see it moving in slow motion due to the flashing lights. Without getting up from his seat and raising just one hand in the air, a fireball twice the size of the one Apolo had created formed in front of Fausto's palm. However, Fausto didn't shoot the fireball; instead, it transformed until it took the shape of a ring.

*Whoosh! *...The ring shot in the direction of Helena's chest. Apolo watched as, in a few blinks, the fire ring reached Helena's body and immediately split it in half, causing one half of her body to fall to the floor while the other half hung from his only remaining hand.

*Clap, clap, clap*...Thunderous applause filled the room, accompanied by joyful cheers. Everything indicated that the audience had finally chosen their favorite champion.

Amidst the applause, Fausto stopped swinging and, as if walking in slow motion, approached the severed arm of Helena hanging on the wall. Apolo watched as his older brother removed the game's prize: the bronze ring from Helena's severed arm and then returned triumphantly to the table amid praise and applause.

—Congratulations, you won!— Apolo said, leaning towards his brother's ear, somewhat perplexed because the loud music and suffocating lights showed no signs of diminishing; according to his initial idea, this was the moment he should be able to talk to his brother again to understand this dream.

—Thanks, take it, it's no use to me, this piece of junk— Fausto replied, tossing the bronze ring to his younger brother.

—You're giving it to me?— Apolo asked, dazed, as he instinctively tried to catch the bronze ring in the air to feel its weight, shape, texture, and flaws. Everything seemed as real and perfect as always with the ring. However, his stumps only flailed in the air, and the ring fell directly onto the table, reminding the young man that he had just lost his hands trying to win the game.

—Yes, it's your celebration after all; I had to give you something, didn't I?— Fausto asked with a smile on his face as he watched Apolo staring at the ring on the table, more interested in the ring than in what he had said.

—Since it's your gift, I'll keep it safe— Apolo said, trying to put the ring in his pocket. The young man began to drag the ring with his stumps to the side of the table, intending to drop it into his pocket. Then Apolo remembered the small but crucial detail: he was naked, and there were no pockets. So the ring fell directly to the floor.

—You seem quite drunk...— Fausto exclaimed, watching the scene with an increasingly wider smile.

With some embarrassment for trying to put the ring in an imaginary pocket, Apolo tried to pick it up with his feet. However, he immediately realized that the ring was too small to be caught by his gigantic toe fingers.

Noticing there was no other way, Apolo awkwardly crouched on the floor and picked up the ring with his mouth. When he finally managed to grab it and tried to stand up again, he uncomfortably turned around to see his older brother watching him with a smile from behind. Without saying a word and unexpectedly, his older brother kicked Apolo's butt and made him roll under the tablecloth.

Apolo wanted to ask his older brother what the hell he had just done, but then he remembered he had the ring in his mouth, and if he spoke, the ring would fall. So he struggled to keep the ring in his mouth as he stumbled. However, when the young man crossed under the tablecloth, he realized that the table was actually floating in the air, as there was a huge hole beneath it. The young noble instinctively wanted to ask his older brother for help, but at the same time, he refused to let go of the ring in his mouth. This indecision caused Apolo to fall through the dark hole.

Apolo fell for what seemed like an eternity, unable to see anything: the edges of the hole, his own body, nothing. All he could feel was the noise of the music on the surface becoming more distant as he delved deeper into this bottomless pit.

Then, after an eternity had passed, Apolo felt that the music, almost imperceptible from the surface, began to be replaced by the thunderous noise of rocks crashing into the water. Feeling that familiar noise, Apolo shivered, realizing that he had ended up in this situation countless times before, and it always ended the same way: Dying miserably crushed by the sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff.