The silver Knight

"You ready, Rai?" Giro asked, his tone measured but urgent.

Rai nodded, steadying himself. "Yes. Can you please start?"

Giro gestured ahead, his finger tracing the jagged remnants of the shattered bridge. "You see those ice pieces there? The ones left from the 893rd bridge?"

"Yes," Rai answered, his eyes narrowing as he examined the shards.

"Think about picking one up. How would you do it?"

"With my hand, obviously."

"But what if I told you not to use your hand? Could you still do it?"

Rai hesitated. "That's not possible."

"It is," Giro said, turning his open palm toward a nearby fragment. A cloudy white substance poured from his hand, coiling outward like smoke. "This is my veil. It's similar to Zane's, except mine is pure." The fragment lifted, floating mid-air on the cloudy tendrils of Giro's veil. He held it there for a moment before letting it drop, where it shattered upon impact.

Rai observed intently. "I see now."

Imitating Giro, Rai pointed his hand at a shard of ice. He focused, strained, but nothing happened. Again and again, he tried, each failure tightening the tension in the air.

"Try imagining this," Giro said. "You're caught between two walls closing in on you. If you don't push back, you'll be crushed. Now, summon the strength to stop those walls."

Rai clenched his fists, his body trembling with effort. Veins surfaced on his arms, his concentration unwavering.

"That's your veil, Rai," Giro said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "I noticed it was already active when we were on Raze's boat. When you rowed and started talking about some silver knight, your body was surrounded by it."

"What?" Rai's shock was genuine.

"Try again, now that you know," Giro urged.

Rai extended his arm. His body was enveloped in a glowing silver light, so brilliant it seemed to pulse with energy, threatening to blind anyone nearby. The aura intensified, spreading outward.

Giro's eyes widened. "At this rate—HEY! STOP!"

But Rai, determined, pointed his hand at the ice fragment. Wrapping one hand around his wrist for control, he focused his energy. A blinding beam shot from his palm, striking the ice with devastating force. The fragment shattered into tiny, indistinguishable particles.

The impact was disastrous. The broken ice, once a barrier between the sharks and the humans, melted into nothingness. A gaping hole appeared in the icy surface. Giro peered into the void, stepping backwards in the same position , horrified.

"Oh my god! Run!" Giro shouted as a fountain of red-eyed sharks erupted from the hole. They leapt high into the air before descending toward Rai and Giro. The two barely managed to leap onto the bridge as the sharks smashed against its surface, falling back into the dark waters below.

Panic swept through the nearby candidates. Some stumbled into the void, others drowned, while a few scrambled desperately across the crumbling bridges. Rai and Giro ran, the chaos threatening to overwhelm them.

As Rai was running, he didnt have enough space to un on his bridge. He felt like he might fall down.

"Damn it, Giro, you jumped onto my bridge!" Rai shouted, struggling to keep his balance.

As Rai pushed Giro for balance, Giro pushed Rai for balance.

"What was I supposed to do?" Giro shot back. "After what happened, I can't think straight!"

They pushed against each other in their mad dash, the bridge groaning under their combined weight. Ahead, the cracks widened.

"The bridge might collapse at any moment!" Rai yelled. As he yelled, he could see Giro's hand extended towards him.

As he looked down, his foot found no purchase. He was falling.

"Rai!" Giro's extended hand slowly became less visible as his veil came spiraling outward like a desperate lifeline. The cloudy substance caught Rai mid-fall, but the weight was too much. Giro's veil faltered.

Rai acted quickly. Shooting a beam downward, he propelled himself upward, using the force to stabilize his descent. Giro seized the opportunity, pulling Rai back. But, the pull combined with Rai's beam was overpowered, shooting Rai upwards crossing the bridge. The effort left both breathless. Giro, watching Rai's movements, marveled at the sight.

"You're floating!" Giro exclaimed, his veil disappearing.

Rai hovered in the air, realising that there is no way he would run on that bridge again. As he came downwards, he shot his beam and projected himself upwards.

He used his beams, alternating between lifting him and keeping him balanced. He laughed, exhilarated. "This is incredible! I'm actually flying!"

Giro, still running, saw some cracks infront of him. After all, he boarded the wrong bridge. Itll collapse for sure if he keeps on running on it. He remembered Zane all of a sudden, about how he used his veil to surf on it like people do in ocean waves. Giro formed a wave beneath himself using his veil. Lying on the cloud-like surface, he mimicked Zane's techniques but kept his movements controlled, without destroying the bridge.

"Hey, Rai!" Giro called out. "Your veil's texture—it's different from mine! Mine's cloudy, Zane's cloudy too but is dark, and yours... yours is pure light. Like a beam! You've got to control it, or you'll destroy everything!"

"Yeah, sure, Giro!" Rai's voice was filled with wonder. "This is awesome!"

The two pressed forward, crossing nearly half the bridge. Giro glanced into the void below, a flicker of curiosity flashing across his face. Then, something caught his eye.

Far below, a red blur was moving, speeding upward. Giro's mouth went dry. "Rai!" he shouted.

The red blur collided with Rai, striking his ribs with brutal force before continuing its ascent. Rai coughed, clutching his chest as he used his beam , struggling to steady himself mid-air.

"You alright?!" Giro yelled.

"Yeah!" Rai managed between gasps.

"That was no ordinary thing! Be careful!" Giro warned.

Rai nodded, eyes scanning the skies. "Whatever it was, you too—watch yourself."

They had nearly reached the end. Giro, a seasoned veil user, rose steadily onto his cloud-like veil, his gaze fixed on Rai. The younger man, struggling visibly, looked as though he had been drained of every ounce of energy long before. Rai's feet hit the solid ground opposite the chasm, and Giro landed close behind. The platform was less crowded now—many hadn't made it this far.

Rai's eyes fell on the instructor, who stood still and silent beneath a tree, his posture as rigid as the bark behind him. It was hard not to remember the rumors: the instructor could transform into a tree when needed, rooted and unyielding. Whether that was true or not hardly mattered—his presence was as immovable as oak.

"Oi, over there! That's Kaizen and Raze!" Giro pointed ahead, his voice lifting as he recognized their companions.

But before Rai could react, his legs buckled. He crumpled onto the icy ground, breathless and pale.

"Hey, Rai!" Giro knelt, alarm flashing across his face.

"I'm fine," Rai groaned, his voice weak but determined. "Just... let me sleep until the next round, will you? Ugh."

Giro sighed, lifting Rai onto his shoulder. Rai wasn't heavy, but the toll of the journey had worn even Giro down. Slowly, he carried Rai to where Kaizen and Raze rested. Raze, predictably, was already fast asleep, while Kaizen looked half-awake, his eyes flickering open and closed as if battling exhaustion.

Giro set Rai down gently beside the others and sat back, silent for a moment. His gaze drifted to his companions, all of them asleep now except Kaizen, whose eyes cracked open as Giro settled in. The icy ground beneath them felt more welcoming than it had in hours—it no longer seemed alive with the threat of sharks or crumbling beneath their feet. There was a strange solace in its stillness.

Kaizen's voice broke the quiet. "Giro! I knew you'd make it." He sat up a little, his expression softening when he noticed Rai. "What happened to him?"

"Oh, Rai?" Giro glanced at the unconscious figure. "He's just burned out. Picked a hell of a time to learn veil control, though—it's his first time using it."

Kaizen's hair waved, then his eyes gleamed with something like recognition. "Raze, too," he said, his voice low. "But… I can sense it. His veil's going to evolve. Right now, it's white, but someday—someday soon—it'll burn like pure fire. I can feel it already."

Giro didn't respond. He didn't doubt Kaizen's words, but the weariness in his own bones muted any sense of wonder. Instead, he surveyed the space around them. Only about four hundred people had made it to this point. The crowd had thinned, leaving behind those hardened by desperation or skill. And there, at the far side of the clearing, stood the figure marked as Number One—unshaken, unbothered.

Above, perched on a branch, Zane sat smoking, the faint glow of his cigar flickering in the dark like an ember. He seemed almost bored, yet he watched everything with sharp eyes that missed nothing. It was nearly 2 AM, and the air felt colder now, heavier with tension.

The instructor's clap shattered the quiet. It was a sharp, commanding sound that made every head snap upward. Those who had been sleeping jolted awake, while those resting shook off their weariness and rose to their feet. Rai stirred, groggy but alert, as he noticed Raze standing tall beside him. Slowly, Rai pushed himself up, his legs shaky but holding.

Kaizen, Giro, Rai, and Raze stood in a line, silent. There was no need for words. Whatever the others had endured, Rai was certain it had been just as harrowing as their own journey. Perhaps worse.

The instructor's voice rang out, cutting through the midnight air. "Everyone, prepare yourselves. In just a few minutes, the second round will begin."

Rai clenched his fists, his breath steadying. Around them, the crowd tightened, the tension palpable. The second round loomed, and there would be no room for hesitation.