A Fateful Tournament

Charlotte stumbled a few times, but managed to keep running. The hallways felt longer than usual. Finally, despite being exhausted, she made it to the meeting point.

“You’re late again, Charlotte. Is everything alright?”

“I’m sorry, Zoe… I’m still learning to use your gift.”

“No need to apologize… But how did you manage to wake up on time before?”

“Someone used to wake me up.”

“Someone?”

They were interrupted by the arrival of the others.

“It’s time. We can start going in now,” the prince said.

They walked down a long path lit by Magica torches. The closer they got to the academy's fighting arena, the more a deafening roar became increasingly noticeable.

The venue was circular, and thousands of occupied seats stretched up toward the sky. In the center was a concrete platform shaped like the stadium itself. A professor greeted them and led them to their seats.

Charlotte's heart began to race again, and her palms started to break out in a cold sweat. There were thousands of people there, and that made her feel vulnerable.

“There’s no need to be afraid, Charlotte.”

Zoe started talking to her to distract her from her own thoughts.

After the principal's speech, some teachers used Magica to light up the sky in various colors, initiating the tournament.


Charlotte was walking back and forth and couldn’t stop biting her fingernail.

“Could you stand still? You’re making me nervous.”

“I’m sorry.”

The group had been taken to a waiting area. They could watch the other battles, but Charlotte wasn't paying attention. Her mind was lost in her own thoughts until a wave of shouts brought her back to reality.

Charlotte peeked out and saw a group of six students in white uniforms. Their battle was over, and they didn't have a scratch on them.

“They’re the favorites.”

The prince was also staring at them.

“But they don't really intimidate us, do they?”

He had a gentle look on his face and kept his shoulders straight.

“No,” Charlotte simply said.

Shortly afterward, a professor came in to tell them it was their turn.

The prince entered the arena and was greeted with applause. Charlotte, who was the last to enter, was met with shouts and boos.

“Don’t pay attention to them,” said Zoe, supporting her.

They arrived at the platform and formed a circle.

“Let’s focus on the battle and show what we are capable of.”

“Wait, I have something.” Leif opened his bag and started searching. “I made them myself. I'm used to sewing my family's clothes.”

Leif took six hand-knitted bracelets featuring a coat of arms with a black horse out of his bag. He handed them out to his teammates.

“To set ourselves apart.”

“They look great, Mister Leif.” Arthur praised.

“And perfectly suited to us,” Alysia added, with a sarcastic tone.

“We’re ready,” said Charlotte.

After seeing her teammates like that, she was able to control her nerves.

They broke up the circle and took up a formation similar to the one they used in practice, now including Leif.

They were against a group of six other students. They were wearing the same uniform as them.

The other team launched some very basic Magica attacks.

“Gerald, with me!”

Charlotte, with root barriers coming from her arm, and Gerald, with his flintlocks, diverted the attacks.

“Zoe, one card to protect the prince and another to boost Alysia!”

Charlotte seemed to know instinctively what to do, and the others followed her lead.

“Leif, we need a distraction!”

He pulled out his book and his wand. He scattered sparkling dust that turned into arrows.

The rivals used too much Magica to protect themselves from those arrows, which simply turned back into dust.

Charlotte watched each of their attacks and recalled the different types of Magica they used.

“Prince Arthur, your turn.”

The prince circled them until he was behind them. A couple of them were distracted by him and cast a Fire Magica spell on him.

“Zoe?”

“I’m ready.”

Their opponents realized that Alysia was casting a Magica Spell, and rushed to attack her.

Charlotte placed her hand on the ground, and several walls of roots shot up from the ground to protect everyone.

“Alysia now!”

Alysia, who received a card from Zoe, unleashed a barrage of water spheres.

Thanks to Leif's distraction, Arthur was able to attack them from behind.

The opponent was cornered and had to surrender within seconds.

The arena filled with whistles and the occasional slow round of applause.
Neither of them was exhausted, but Charlotte couldn't help but fall to her knees. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“We did it. We really did it.”

Zoe went over to hug her.

The rest of them also celebrated.

“That was awesome.” Leif was jumping for joy. “I can’t believe it was so easy.”

“I have to agree with you. They didn't even see where we came from.”

Surprisingly, Alysia had a satisfied smile.

“Let’s have respect for our rivals,” the prince suggested.

“If we keep this up, we can win the tournament.”

“Don't get too excited. There's still a long way to go.”

Gerald returned to his serene composure.

“Alright, but for the moment we should celebrate with a feast.”

Charlotte and Zoe were walking a little bit behind them.

“Is everything alright, Zoe?”

She was walking with her head down.

“Yes.” She stayed silent for a second. “It’s just… I forgot something.”

“Would you like me to help you look for it?”

“No, I’ll go alone.”

Zoe turned around and ran off.

“We’ll wait for you.”



The room was small, and hardly any light came in. Inside, besides Alexander, the principal and Suri were already there.

“Miss Zoe, did you receive our message?”

Alexander welcomed her with a huge smile.

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be brief.”

“What is this all about?”

The principal motioned to Alexander. He cast one of his metal rods, just like the one in the forest.

“We need your help.”

“Regarding what?”

Alexander sighed and lowered his gaze. “We need you to sabotage your party in the tournament.”

After hearing that, she felt as if two mountains had crushed her shoulders. Her mouth fell slightly open, but no word came out. She just let out a mix of a gasp and choked chuckles.

“We understand your feelings, but—”

“W-why? I-I c-can’t do… such a thing… e-everyone is… r-really excited.”

“We are aware of that.”

Alexander stood in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes.

“You know the reason for the tournament, right?”

“Yes, you need to find new heroes.”

“That’s right. And what do you think the mission of those chosen heroes will be?”

“I believe it's to protect the world.”

Alexander’s smile faded away.

“Sadly no… The mission is to face The Buried Tree.”

“What? But we're just students. That's basically… a suicidal mission.”

Everyone remained silent.

Zoe began breathing rapidly, wanting to catch her breath, but it was as if the room were devoid of air.

“Y-you’re sending students to their deaths!? And you, Mister Principal, agree with it?”

“We wish we had other options.” The principal sighed. “An apology will never be enough.”

Zoe’s eyes filled with tears.

Unable to bear it any longer, Suri walked over to her and put her arms around her from behind.

“I’m sorry,” Suri whispered.

“To protect your friend, you must lose.”

“I won’t let you use us…not Charlotte or the others.”

“That’s the last thing we want. We actually want to protect you.”

All she could do was clench her fist.

“Listen, if you lose, you’ll be sent to a secondary mission.”

“And then what? To another mission to kill us?”

“No!” Alexander paused. “You’ll need to defeat the former hero.”

“Why? What has happened to him?”

Zoe kept gasping for air.

“He might be the reason why the tree got out of control.”

Finally, the principal approached her as well.

“He was corrupted way more than other beings. We’re afraid he might have created a perfect symbiosis,” the principal added.

“How does that affect us?”

“Well, we have the hypothesis that if we get rid of him, maybe we can nip the evil in the bud.”

Alexander softly smiled again.

“You save everyone, you protect your friends, and you become the heroes.”

The room began to spin around her, and a severe headache set in.

“So, will you help us, Miss Zoe?”


Zoe walked down the hallways, dragging her feet and looking downcast. Her gaze was lost, and the sounds seemed completely distant to her.

Her friends were waiting in a corner by one of the large windows. They were talking excitedly and drawing the attention of everyone else.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

Charlotte received her.

“No… I-I think… I lost it.”

“Oh no. I’m sorry to hear that, Zoe.”

“No need to apologize.”

“Alright…?”

Zoe felt very nauseous, and her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She felt a weight in her chest. She wanted to scream and cry, but for everyone's sake, she just kept going.