The day of the race approached and with it came a competitive spirit. Keynes knew he wasn’t taking part in the race because of Bonolo’s request anymore. Too many layers of stinking politics for Keynes’s liking.

But it didn’t stop Keynes from feeling the thrill of competition. He wanted to win this just to beat others. He had never experienced such emotions before as he’d never been a competitive person like his brother. Harter would have enjoyed this too. Perhaps, when Keynes was back in Geneva, they might do some competitive activities.

It was quite close to Harter’s Talent Unlocking ceremony anyway.

I wonder what Talent he will get.

Hawthorne came to get Keynes the first thing in the morning. Keynes had spent that night in the city, on the roof of the highest tower, and had to hurry up to meet Hawthrone on time.

From the training camp, they walked for a couple of kilometres until they joined a wide dirt road packed with people. Everyone was going in the same direction, most likely to where the race was going to take place. Keynes had his Cloak of Shadows on, keeping his face hidden. It earned him only a few curious looks.

As they marched in silence, snippets of conversations from around reached Keynes. Everyone was sure their candidate was going to win this. It only fired up Keynes more.

Keynes and Hawthorne arrived at the large gathering with thousands of tribesmen. Because the terrain was flat and Keynes didn’t want to reveal his [Flight] skill to the wider public, he couldn’t see the entrance to the underground race track.

They cut through the crowd until they reached the area with tents, cordoned off by hundreds of guards. From Haruka, Keynes knew that Vivena was here as well. She would see Keynes off.

Hawthorne led Keynes to one of the larger tents. Here, the guards finally started to give Keynes curious looks but no one stopped him or Hawthorne. Inside the tent, Bonolo and his wife held a small court. Keynes ignored them, even when Bonolo called out his name, and went straight to Vivena.

“How are you?” he asked as he took off the hood.

Her aura betrays signs of distress, Alice said.

“I’m good,” she lied.

An urge seized him to take her out of here and fly somewhere else. She saw his tense gaze and softly shook her head. If only she was in the Elevated stage, they’d be able to speak freely.

“Keynes.” Haruka came over to them. “Do you have a moment?”

He seemed stiffer than usual. Keynes nodded, touching Vivena’s shoulder.

Haruka’s parents waited for him. Hawthorne and his wife stood two steps behind the couple. Pandora stood in a corner, her expression cold.

“Keynes, I hope you enjoyed your time in the training camp,” Haruka’s mother said, which prompted Bonolo to glance at Hawthorne but neither man spoke.

“I haven’t spent much time there,” Keynes replied, knowing well they wouldn’t like his answer. “I used my free time to look around.”

* Message from Haruka:

“Keynes, what are you doing?

Instead of sending a message via Alice, Keynes turned to Haruka and replied.

“I appreciate your concern, Haruka, but I know what I’m doing.”

Keynes had given it a lot of thought and decided to cut to the chase. If the royals wanted to play games, they were free to do so but Keynes wouldn’t be part of their schemes. Sending Keynes to the ruined and abandoned training camp was some sort of message but it failed to convey the meaning.

Haruka’s mother, Venarys, motioned to Haruka to leave the tent together with other gathered guests. Only Vivena, Keynes and the two couples remained.

“I appreciate what you’re doing for my husband. Especially, when you don’t seem to have a stake in this but I am obligated to remind you that this isn’t your world and different rules apply here. We won’t tolerate your rudeness.”

Keynes nodded. It sounded like another attempt at getting rid of him. The Capital didn’t like the fact that he was taking part in the race.

“Wife,” Bonolo said. “We need Keynes. We can’t—”

Venarys raised her hand, silencing her husband.

“This is your last chance to walk away from the race.”

“Keynes.” Vivena grabbed his arm. “We should leave now. Believe me.”

“What is this, Venarys?” Bonolo asked, losing his composure. “You’re part of the First Tribe now. You ought to act in our best interest.”

Bonolo stepped toward his wife. Keynes didn’t know if it was a spectacle for his sake or genuine disagreement and he didn’t care much.

“It doesn’t matter,” Keynes said, drawing attention back to him. “I am taking part in the race anyway.”

“I admire your loyalty,” Venarys said. “Fine then, you have an hour before the race starts.”

***

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“This is a mistake,” Vivena whispered to Keynes as they emerged from the tent. “Dangerous one at that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t talk about it here. Too many ears.”

Keynes glanced around. Haruka kept his distance from them, Pandora was nowhere to be seen, Bonolo, his wife and their two servants were at the head of their group, leading them away from the tent.

After two hundred metres, the dirt road became a paved walkway with potted flowers on each side and king’s vines all over the place.

The paved walkway ended with wide stairs leading down.

Keynes and Vivena stopped, needing a moment to absorb the sight that spread before their eyes.

It looked like a buried stadium except everything was made out of white stone, the same one the Capital was built of. The only difference was that the stone here was polished and clean.

From other paved walkways, thousands of tribesmen poured into the stadium. At the bottom were a stage and an underground entrance. Though the stage was almost three hundred metres away, Keynes could see the pristine white of the royals and their guards.

“What is this?” Vivena asked, her eyes wide.

“The Covenant of Tribes,” Haruka said, as he was forced to come closer. “This is where the race will start and end.”

The race track was a loop, roughly ten kilometres long. But Hawthorne had warned Keynes that distance wasn’t the issue. It was an obstacle course with few traps being quite sophisticated. The mechanism of the track was never the same as its obstacles constantly shifted. Hawthorne and Bonolo had been cagey about the whole mechanism and Keynes naively hadn’t pressed the issue, which he regretted now, seeing the scale of the structure.

They resumed their walk and followed Haruka’s and Bill’s parents almost to the bottom where the First Tribe’s seats were. They were very close to the king and the queen. Both of them wore pure white robes with golden embroidery. They sat on large comfortable armchairs, their expressions tense.

The number of guards around the stage was telling. If the king needed such a security detail, the Capital wasn’t as peaceful as the First Tribe had made Keynes believe. Right next to the stage, Keynes notices a set of heavy metal doors, most likely it was the king’s escape route if a flying platform wasn’t safe to use.

The First Tribe, or any other tribe for that matter, didn’t share the luxuries given to the king and the queen. Everyone sat on the naked stone and in most cases, the tribesmen didn’t have anything to cover their bottoms.

At Level 3, Keynes’s body gained quite a resistance to discomfort and he barely paid any attention to the hard surface of the stone. Vivena seemed to share his sentiment.

Keynes was surprised when a table was brought to the stage and covered with food, though neither the king nor the queen touched it. Was this another political statement? If so, then they had a serious problem here.

In the very centre of the stadium was the massive oval entrance into the underground. Its ledge was of a different, darker colour and from where Keynes sat, not much inside could be seen.

It took almost an hour for the stands to fill up. Easily ten thousand tribesmen. The king and the queen stood up. A servant handed a cube to the king and the king spoke up.

“Tribes of the World Reserve, welcome to the Covenant of Tribes.”

The stadium quieted down.

Keynes watched the king. He was tall, well-built and moved with confidence. He wasn’t young and his face showed signs of age. After Alice’s investigation, Keynes learned that the king was Level 3 but in the lowest cultivation stage.

“Today’s covenant is a special one. Not only will the tribes compete to gain the ownership of the only Level 3 rift in the world but also,” the king paused. “The Capital will join the race.”

Much to Bonolo’s prediction, an uproar among the tribes was immediate. Angry shouts went on for a few minutes. The king only resumed his speech when the tribesmen calmed down a bit. He didn’t look surprised or worried, so must have expected this reaction.

“I understand your anger, your feelings. Tribal law has been the bedrock of our civilization for ages. To bring a change like this is unfathomable and yet, it must be done. The Capital must rise once again.”

Keynes messaged Haruka and asked him what the king was talking about. Apparently, the Capital had a responsibility to defend the tribes in case of outside aggression but the king didn’t follow the correct procedures which involved some sort of consultations with tribes.

Nonetheless, when the king stopped speaking, there were fewer shouts. The king’s speech was working.

“I can promise you, we’ll share the rift with you. So I’m asking you to refrain from sending your best people to certain death…”

Keynes blinked several times, replaying the king’s words in his head. Vivena’s strong grip around his arm told him that he hadn’t misheard the king.

As if reading Keynes’s mind, Bonolo looked back, their eyes met. The chief seemed agitated.

“I knew there was something wrong about this race,” Vivena said, not bothering to be quiet. “It’s a death race.”

Keynes stood up and turned away from the stage, this sealed the de—

The vision flashed before his eyes with a very clear meaning, Keynes had to enter that race. Keynes took a deep breath, seething with rage.

“Did you KNOW?” he shouted toward Haruka who lowered his eyes and said weakly.

“Yes.”

Remove Haruka from my contact list, Alice, Keynes said immediately to his spiritual companion.

Done.

Vivena joined Keynes on the stairs.

“Do we?” she pointed at the sky with her eyes.

Keynes didn’t reply straight away.

“Keynes?”

“I can’t leave.”

“What? Why? Is it some male foolhardiness that pushes you into this? Ego? Or haven’t you heard what he said? Certain death.”

“It’s just something I must do.” He placed his hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, I won’t die.”

He turned away and found several guards coming their way. The king’s eyes were filled with hatred.

“How long do I have to wait for this race?” Keynes asked Bonolo who shot to his feet and blocked the way for the guards. Venarys’s eyes jumped between her servant, Bonolo and the stage. It looked like Keynes messed up someone’s plans.

***

Vivena didn’t stay at the stadium and instead climbed the stairs and disappeared beyond the rim of the stairs. Haruka sent a friend request but Keynes ignored it. Haruka should have told him about the death part in the beginning.

Seeing that the incident might spark a fire, the king cut to the chase and called for the participants to gather at the bottom of the stadium. Bonolo was forced to stand next to Keynes.

“I’m sorry,” Bonolo murmured.

“Don’t bother,” Keynes said, pissed. “I have my own reasons to take part in this race. I don’t care about you and your wish to stop the tribes from destroying each other. I decided what my payment is going to be. I’ll take the rift.” Keynes couldn’t move it for now but that wasn’t a problem. He’d have Wagner to take care of the rift until the Orb of Relocation was found.

“You … can’t.”

Keynes shrugged off the comment, his attention already drawn to the participants who were coming down. Hawthorne’s early estimation had been that about a hundred tribes would take part in the race. It seemed that Keynes’s little stunt shifted something in the hearts of the tribes and more than five hundred people were going to take a shot at winning it. Most of them were Level 2s and rarely in the Medium stage. They were fodder to Keynes.

“The rules of the Covenant are simple,” the king raised his voice. “To win the race, you must be the last man standing. Every minute the last racer will be killed by the labyrinth. Good luck.”