Requiem claps her hands together with excitement. “Great choice, I was hoping that’s what you would take too!”

A frown forms on my face as she says that. ‘Did we make the wrong choice…?’

“Now, now, don’t be shy, come closer. This Requiem will explain what the test of will is!”

She pulls up her sleeve and shows off violin strings which span her forearm. Her opposite hand slowly brings the bow atop the strings and the Maestro adopts a perfect violin playing stance.

Her posture is now a perfect reenactment of the one she showed when she saved me that night I tried to apprehend Calvin. From what I remember, when she plays those strings, anyone who hears her song will be under the effect of her [melody]. What’s more, when under the effects of her song, even a second stage becomes unable to defend themselves, making it truly terrifying.

Requiem continues her explanation. “The test of will is very straightforward. I will play my instrument, and as I play, you will have to take at least ten steps toward me. If only one of you succeeds, I’ll give you the access permit, if all of you succeed you’ll get a bonus reward! That’s all, simple right?”

I raise my hand. “What if… One of us manages to take more than ten steps?”

“Oh? Always so courageous Ald- I mean, trainee that I have totally never met before because I am not Maestro Lauren!”

She places her index finger on her chin, thinking. “Let’s see… I doubt you'll have the strength to do that to be honest, but if you do manage to take more than ten steps I’ll… grant any request within my power!”

“You better not go back on your words, Requiem.” Sophia says, with an eerie grin.

“I never go back on my word, for I am-” She strikes a pose, her right hand over her face, her left hand atop her head, and her knee lifted in the air. “For I am Requiem, noble challenge administrator!”

A gust of wind brushes past us as her pose is stricken, making her hair flutter in the wind. If there were crickets around, I’m sure that’d be the only thing we’d be able to hear at this very moment. I’m simply speechless at this display. Maestro Lauren has always been eccentric and somewhat sadistic, but I wasn’t familiar with this side of her. To think she’d take her act as Requiem so seriously is shocking, and honestly slightly amusing. For his part, Ugo does not bother to condemn her foolishness as he usually would and even Sophia does not have it in her to add onto… whatever that was. Ray and Camille are equally left with no words.

Requiem releases her stance and frowns, holding her waist with her hands. “What a tough crowd you all are! No matter, let’s start the test!”

She guides us to an imaginary ‘starting line’ and stands facing us approximately twenty steps away. My heart rate picks up as she places her bow on their strings.

“Does anyone have any questions before we start?”

This time Ray raises his hand. “Uh, so what are we doing?”

Stolen novel; please report.

Requiem raises an eyebrow. “The test of will? Didn’t I already say that?”

Ray scratches the back of his head. “Right, but… what exactly is the test of will? I get that we have to take ten steps while you play, but that’s a bit vague don’t you think?”

Camille chimes in. “Y-yeah, I’d also like to know a bit more, do we get time to prepare? Do we have to start right away?”

Requiem begins impatiently tapping her right foot. “Is there a need to know so much? It’s not like it’ll change anything for the trial. Come on, let’s start!”

“Wait! Can I at least speak to my teammates, just a minute is fine!” I say, interrupting the start of the challenge.

Requiem lowers her violin bow, annoyed at my request. “Ughhh, okay, fine, you have a minute, not a second more.”

My four teammates approach me. I can feel a certain tension in between them which must have been accentuated by my outburst from earlier. Camille seems more anxious than usual and Ugo’s stern expression has hardened. Ray’s optimism seems to have waned while Sophia’s playfulness has been stashed away. They are all intently waiting for me to explain just what exactly this test will be.

I breathe in and begin my explanation. “I’ll make this short. Maestro Lauren, or rather, Requiem’s [melody], from what I know, allows her to create illusions. That violin-looking instrument she wields is her personal weapon. When she plays, the effects of her [melody], which are normally able to affect all five of your senses, become more potent. I haven’t ever been on the receiving end, but I have personally witnessed one of her battles with another second stage. Long story short, it wasn’t pretty.”

“Ah, so it’s all make-believe. Nothing that can really hurt us.” Ray says with a bit of relief.

“No! That’s exactly what you can’t think before starting the trial. It might not be real, but trust me when I say that it will feel real. I don’t know what exactly she has in store for us, but I have seen the mind of a second stage break under the influence of her song.”

Ugo rubs his prickly, fresh-shaven chin. “Hmm, so what do you suggest?”

I pause for a moment, then shrug.“...Do your best?” I reply.

Their faces drop. It appears that I’ve made it worse by giving them this talk. I try to think of something to lift their spirits but nothing comes to mind. This doesn’t really come as a surprise. I know I’m not the best person for a motivational speech. I like to speak through actions rather than through words. With Calliope, I gave her my most important memento of mom to show that I wouldn’t abandon her. WIth Aurora and Asher, I accepted the burden of taking care of them and worked myself to exhaustion to make ends meet. WIth Ivana, I shared my troublesome past, and I couldn’t even convince Sylvia that I wasn’t Soulweaver without a fight. In all of these cases, I couldn’t inspire anyone with just a speech. I find myself always lacking the words, even now.

I look down, trying to find something to say. Seconds pass and the end of our allotted time is approaching frighteningly fast. Before I can think of anything though, a hand taps me on the back.

Sophia, a grin on her face, speaks in my stead. “I know that will lift your spirits! For you boys, if you succeed, I’ll personally give you a special reward.” With those words, she blows a kiss towards Ray, Ugo and I and then turns to Camille.

“For you, I’ll think of something else… except if you swing that way of course, in which case, I can arrange something!”

Camille’s eyes expand and she looks away. “N-no I’m okay! Not that there’s anything wrong with swinging that way, I just don’t, or at least, I don’t think I do! I’ve never really experimented with anyone, you know, but I also don’t want to experiment, I think? Ahhh, I don’t know!”

Camille then covers her face with her hands and turns beet red.

Ugo covers his mouth with his hand. “Pfft”

My jaw drops. “...No way.”

Ray’s does the same. “He…laughed?”

Sophia’s eyes expand wide. “... Woah, I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Even Camille seems to be in shock.

“...Whatever you think just happened, you imagined it.” Ugo says, after regaining his composure.

“No, no, I’m 110% sure I just heard you-”

Requiem interrupts me. “Time’s up, starting line, now!”

The tension now slightly broken, we all take our place at the starting line, ready to start the trial. With a grin decorating her lips, Requiem begins playing her instrument, and as soon as the sound reaches my ears, before I even take the first step, a large chasm appears before me. A soft, yet chilly wind blows past me, and a few birds enter my peripheral vision. When I look down, a crevice, which separates two mountain sides, has manifested itself before me, and a single, frail wooden bridge seems to be the only passage between the two mountains.

‘What…what am I doing here? I can’t remember…’