"Yes, you're right," Gelvin conceded to Ella, though his gaze remained fixed on Helletta. "I participated in a game once. It was nothing like the grand festivals hosted in the past by Lord Koleson. It was supposed to be a small affair."

He paused, his eyes clouding with a distant pain. "You don't understand, Helletta. These games are nothing like they're described. They're not mere contests where you can step in and out based on victory or defeat. Sometimes, losing can feel like winning, and winning can feel like losing. Sometimes, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose—you could still die."

Gelvin looked earnestly at Helletta. "You're talented, and you've shown remarkable potential in every event you've participated in so far. But remember, although you may not know much about the world, Ella does. And one harsh truth about this world is that it can be especially cruel to talented people."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Let me remind you how the Empire works. Emperor Hayazaki, the supreme Delegate, wields his power through his needles by 'consensus.' In other words, his power materializes because people believe it does. The more people who believe in him, the more powerful he becomes. It's a genius system—kind, even—but it's not foolproof. The burden of belief on one man is immense, so Hayazaki broke his needles and gave splinters of them to those he deemed great warriors, granting them the power of this consensus, with him as the source."

"With that, he sent them off to gather believers by performing great deeds. As these warriors accomplished great feats, people followed them, and the more followers they had, the stronger they became. Thus, the Emperor's authority grew. It reached a point where he became so powerful that his power began to affirm itself. These followers are called delegates, and that's how the foundation of Hayazaki's Empire was built."

"At the end of the Great Spread after the Corruption Wars, roughly fifty warriors came to bear the Emperor's needles among others, due to their great deeds. These warriors became Lords, and Hayazaki created a realm for them above—the Realm of Lords, or Ile-Ade. These Lords not only wielded their great needles but also used them to gather more delegates. All of this was in preparation for the 'Setting' that would one day occur."

Helletta nodded slightly; she knew of the 'Setting.' It was the day when all corruption and contamination would be wiped clean from the Realm of Men. Then, Emperor Hayazaki would merge the Spotless Realm with the Realm of Lords and set them back upon the Realm of Men where they truly belonged—a day when all of humanity would be united.

Gelvin continued, "One of the functions of Hayazaki's great needles, which he awards to his Lords, is filtering contamination from the atmosphere. Another function is that once a person has sworn to be a delegate of a Lord, their soul becomes connected to the great needle. Upon death, their soul is sent to the Spotless Realm, cleansed of any corruption or twisted elements. The purified embers are then used to power the armors of the Spotless Knights, hence why they are called the Avatars of Humanity."

"The Empire hasn't decreed that people must take the oath of a delegate, but they have other ways of encouraging it—through the festivals. Each festival is different, held in various places with different rules, but one thing remains the same: every game, every festival, requires participants to amass delegates."

"These festivals act as religious crusades, familial disputes, grudge matches, grievance settlements—they can be so many things. They've even been used to wage war if the terms are arranged accordingly," Gelvin said, his voice tinged with bitterness. "My team—my delegates—were massacred by someone I considered a friend. Although it was an accident, it happened because the game suddenly and unexpectedly became far more intense. And I lost someone else I deeply cherished—not an accident that time. They were too strong and attracted undue attention, including from the wrong kind of people. I could have kept going, but I didn't want to. I couldn't accept that this was the price I had to pay to rise."

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He looked deeply into Helletta's eyes. "You're strong, Helletta. More than that, you're a..." He hesitated, unable to say the words, as if uttering them would bring a curse upon her.

"Someone like you will attract many people in the games. You haven't even begun, and you've already gained a follower. But others have their own ambitions, and sometimes those ambitions can weigh you down, suffocate you, even destroy you."

A heavy silence settled between them, broken only when Ella spoke up.

"Are you implying that the Emperor's system is corrupted?" she asked, a sly grin spreading across her face. Gelvin's eyes widened in alarm, realizing that his words might be twisted into something dangerous. "Some might consider your words heretical—a Whydit at that, no less."

Gelvin stammered, but Helletta interjected firmly. "Stop it, Ella. If you don't, I won't take you along with me." Her eyes flashed with an earnest anger, and Ella retreated, sensing that Helletta might not be as easy to manipulate as she'd thought.

Helletta knelt so she could meet Gelvin's eyes. When he looked at her, he saw a warmth that eased his tension. "It must have been difficult," she said softly. "All those years carrying such pain and memories."

"Look, I know I don't understand much about how things work," Helletta admitted, "but I want to learn. I want to understand why things are the way they are, and I won't be able to do that without participating in the games, meeting new people, and exploring new places."

Her eyes were almost pleading, filled with childlike sincerity. "I want to see everything there is to see."

"But why do you need to?" Gelvin asked, his voice almost a whisper. "The world out there is brutal and tough. You're bound to lose people dear to you, if not yourself."

"Because I think it would be fun," Helletta replied with a radiant smile. Her innocence struck Gelvin deeply; she reminded him so much of Hellera.

"When I was younger, I had a friend I used to play with," she continued.

"She was a Helecterran, and one day I told her I wanted to go up to the Realm of the Lords. She said she wouldn't be able to go there. When I asked my master why, he told me, 'They're corrupted and that's just the way things are.' I remember crying because I didn't like that answer. I still don't. I don't know if it's true or not, but I want to find out. I want to climb—even to the Spotless Realm—with my friends, whoever they are, and ask the Emperor why some people are told they're not allowed in his kingdom."

"True, but it would be difficult to do it all alone, don't you think?" Ella chimed in. Helletta turned to her, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

"I think Ella is right," Helletta said playfully. "If I'm going to do it, I'll need help. Say, Ella, who do you think would be best to help us in this upcoming game?"

"Hmm," Ella mused theatrically. "It would have to be someone smart and capable, who knows a lot about many things. Now, where could we find such a person?" They both pretended to ponder, but their eyes were on Gelvin. He swallowed hard.

He tried to decline, but Ella, with Helletta's tacit approval, proceeded to blackmail him with a recording she'd made of their conversation—a revelation that horrified Gelvin.

He protested vehemently, cursing Ella's audacity, but eventually he relented. Heltrin Gelvin Whydit would participate in the upcoming games.

Unbeknownst to Gelvin, a pivotal meeting was taking place in the grand hall of Ile-Kerrasuk between his father Galvas, High Lord Eadric, his son Borrosil, and other nobles and powerhouses of the region.

Gelvin had suspected that Lord Eadric might attempt to hold the games in the Scorchlands—a notoriously dangerous region avoided by seasoned warriors.

What he didn't know was that Eadric Blackthorn had offered to step down as Lord of Kerrasuk once the games were completed, on the condition that they be held in the Scorchlands.

He might have guessed that there would be initial protests at the thought of conducting the games there, and he might have predicted that many present would warm to Eadric's proposal when he offered to abdicate. Even Helturna might consider the option.

What Gelvin could never have foreseen was that, out of all the attendees, it was his father Galvas who would decline the offer.

Not only did Galvas refuse, but he also proposed that the festival be conducted in the regions around the Abyssal Trench—a move that would host the games on Whydit territory, expand their power, and undercut the Blackthorns' authority.

The Blackthorns initially resisted, but Galvas negotiated for them to have significant influence in crafting the rules and specifics of the festival. He also stipulated that should they win, they would be free to claim anything belonging to the Whydits, including Koleson's Great Needle.

Eadric still refused, the man brimming with anger, but surprisingly, it was his son Borrosil who agreed—on one condition: that Koleson's Great Needle become the ultimate prize of the festival.

Later that day, still in the company of both girls, Gelvin received a notification on his capsule. A post message detailing the events of the meeting.

His face paled as he read it, horror and dismay evident in his eyes. The girls peered over his shoulder. Helletta didn't understand, but Ella did. When Helletta asked what it meant, Ella simply replied, "It's war."