[ Zetens 30/100 ]
The room on the second floor was dimly lit, with only the flicker of light from a makeshift lantern that Nely had crafted. The group sat scattered across the room, Atlas was below guarding the door, Ned above watching the top floor, while the rest were left to… pass the time.
Ezra and Liam were wolfing down fish they'd caught earlier, plates courtesy of Nely's abilities.
Elijah glanced at Nely. "Hey, Nely… right?" he mumbled, grinning lazily, "make me a pillow, will you?"
Nely didn't even look up from her plate. "No."
Elijah tilted his head, feigning offense. "No? Why not?"
"Because you have arms. Fold them. Problem solved."
Elijah groaned dramatically. "Ugh. You're so cold. I thought we were friends."
"We might be, but let's try to survive this trial first," Nely smiled.
Dune, meanwhile, sat on the floor, legs crossed, staring blankly at the wall. His mind was far away, focused on their next move. The Trial was nearing its end, and with each passing hour, the island seemed to grow more unstable.
"You have to clean your plate," Liam said, jabbing a finger at Ezra's barely finished meal. "If you don't, your wife's gonna be ugly. Everyone knows that."
Ezra raised an eyebrow. "No way you believe that old man's nonsense."
"It's true!" Liam insisted, pointing at his empty plate. "It's a rule of life!"
Ezra rolled his eyes. "That makes no sense. Why would I eat after I'm already done? That's what cleaning or washing the plate is for, genius."
Elijah perked up, suddenly interested. "Wait, hold on. Ezra's right. That's like licking the inside of a chocolate wrapper after you've already eaten the chocolate. It's greedy, man." He paused for effect, then added with mock wisdom, "And nobody wants to marry greedy."
Ezra and Liam turned to him simultaneously, their faces a mix of shock and betrayal.
"What?" Liam snapped. "That makes no sense!"
Ezra leaned closer. "Wait… are you saying I'm greedy?"
Elijah shrugged. "I'm just saying it's one of the choices. Or maybe your future wife's out there wondering why you're wasting perfectly good food right now."
Ezra and Liam exchanged a look, then closed the distance to Elijah. "You're wrong," Liam declared.
"Dead wrong," Ezra agreed.
Elijah leaned back, smirking. "Wait, why are you two on the same side suddenly? And how Am I wrong?"
Nely chimed in from across the room, sighing. "All three of you are idiots."
The trio turned to her, their faces twisted in confusion.
"Think about it," she said, leaning forward. "It doesn't matter if you clean your plate or not. Your wife won't be ugly because there's no such thing as ugly. Everyone's beautiful in their own way. No matter how you look, someone out there will love you."
Ezra blinked. "...She might be onto something."
Elijah narrowed his eyes critically. "She's definitely not. There are so many ugly people out there. One's sitting in this room in deep thoughts."
"Dune, back us up here," Elijah called, turning to the quiet strategist.
Dune, who'd been pretending not to listen, glanced up, startled. "Huh? Uh… I don't know. I think whether your wife's pretty or not has nothing to do with plates."
Elijah groaned, throwing up his hands. "This guy is so boring, man!" He picked up a fish head from his plate and threw it at Dune.
Dune ducked just in time, the head smacking into the wall behind him.
"Boring!" Elijah booed.
Nely shook her head, trying not to laugh, while Ezra and Liam couldn't hold it in.
As the group sat around the fire, the conversation had mostly dwindled. Elijah leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed behind his head, looking like he was on the verge of falling asleep.
Out of nowhere, he muttered, "Man, I'd kill for a TV right now."
Dune glanced up, frowning. "A what?"
Elijah opened one eye lazily and stared at him. "A TV. You know... television? The thing you watch stuff on?"
Dune's frown deepened. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Elijah sat up straighter, narrowing his eyes. "Wait. Hold up. You don't know what a TV is?"
"Should I?" Dune asked cautiously.
Ezra, sitting nearby, tilted his head. "What's a television? Like a kind of weapon?"
Elijah stared at them, his mouth slightly open in disbelief. "You're kidding me. None of you know what a TV is?"
Nely raised an eyebrow. "No, we don't. What is it?"
Elijah let out an incredulous laugh. "Oh, this is rich. A TV is this magical box that shows moving pictures. You can watch anything, movies, shows, cartoons, news. It's like... a storytelling machine."
Ezra snorted. "You're making that up."
"I am not making it up!" Elijah shot back, pointing at him. "And don't even get me started on computers."
"Computers?" Liam asked, confused.
Elijah threw his hands up. "Unbelievable! You're all from the stone age or something." He leaned forward, grinning wickedly. "A computer is like a super smart machine that can do anything, write stuff, solve problems, connect people across to each other and more."
Ezra squinted at him. "Sounds fake."
"Oh, it's real," Elijah replied smugly. "And better than anything you've got in your little 1600s world. What do you guys even do for fun? Stare at candles? Count rocks?"
Liam smirked. "Me and Ezra were orphans so we did many things for fun, every single day in our life was full of excitement… we also used to hunt for fun."
Elijah rolled his eyes. "How exciting. Bet that takes, what, all of an hour? Then what? Do you churn butter or something?"
Nely narrowed her eyes at him. "You looked really happy slaughtering people downstairs."
"You got me," Elijah said, leaning back with a cocky grin. Elijah groaned and flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "I can't believe I'm stuck in the past with you cavemen."
Nely chimed in, her tone thoughtful. "Seems like you're also from Seraphein, which seems to be more advanced than Sanatria."
Elijah blinked, then gave a lopsided grin. "Oh, so you're saying my place is just better?"
"Not better," Dune corrected, "just... different."
"That's a very polite way of saying 'better," Elijah shot back, smirking.
Nely ignored him, glancing at the twins. "It reminds me of two guys Dune and I ran into earlier in the trial, Jake and Nate. They said they were from Seraphein too."
Ezra tilted his head. "Jake and Nate? Where are they now?"
"They're dead," Nely said casually, leaning back.
"Oh welp"
Dune stood up and walked upstairs, he found Ned at the top of the tower, slumped against the wall, his head tilted back as he stared blankly at the sky. The faint glow of the stars above reflected in his tired eyes, but his shoulders sagged with exhaustion.
"You look like hell," Dune said, stepping closer.
Ned let out a weak chuckle, not even bothering to turn his head. "Thanks, I try."
"You've been up here too long. Go rest," Dune said, yawning.
Ned finally glanced at him, his brow furrowing. "I'm fine."
"You're not." Dune's voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "If something happens and you're too tired to react, we're all in trouble. Go below and get some sleep. I'll take over for a while."
Ned hesitated. But the ache in his limbs and the weight in his eyelids were undeniable. He let out a resigned sigh. "You sure?"
Dune nodded. "I wouldn't offer if I wasn't."
With a grunt, Ned pushed himself to his feet. "Alright, fine. Take care Dune."
"Yeah, yeah," Dune replied, already moving to take Ned's spot near the edge of the tower.
Ned patted Dune's shoulder as he passed.
Once he was gone, Dune settled into the quiet of the watch. The air was cool, and the distant sound of the black water lapping at the earth echoed faintly in the background. He leaned back against the wall, his thoughts drifting as he kept an eye on the horizon.
The wind was cold at the top of the tower, ruffling Dune's hair as he sat on the edge, legs dangling into the open air.
Footsteps sounded behind him, soft but deliberate. He didn't turn, he already knew who it was.
"You traded places with Ned?" Nely's voice carried an edge of curiosity as she came to sit beside him.
Dune nodded absently. "He needed to rest. Figured I'd take his place for a while."
For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Nely broke the silence. "Do you still think we're a burden to you?"
Dune stiffened slightly, his gaze still fixed on the horizon. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," Nely said, her tone calm but pointed. "When we first met, you were different, even if hesitant to trust us, you still tried to find a solutions and build friendships with us… but now? You're trying to avoid us, I can tell. You don't trust us. You don't want us around. We are just... people in your way."
Dune's fingers curled slightly against the stone ledge. His body tensed as his thoughts clashed inside him, two versions of himself battling for control. The real Dune, cold and calculating, screamed that they were a liability, that attachments only led to weakness. But another part of him, buried under layers of pain and instinct, fought back.
"I..." Dune's voice faltered. He wasn't sure what to say.
"Even after everything we've been through?" Nely pressed, her tone softening. "After helping each other survive, you still feel like we're in your way?"
Dune finally turned to look at her, his expression conflicted. "It's... complicated."
"Complicated how?" Nely asked, her gaze steady.
He looked away again, the weight of the moment pressing down on him. "Because I'm... not sure who I am."
Nely blinked, caught off guard by his honesty.
Nely didn't respond right away. She simply sat there, watching him wrestle with himself.
Before she could say anything, Dune's eyes snapped downward, and his heart lurched. Below them, the black water had crept in. The ground surrounding the tower was slowly gone, replaced by a swirling, toxic abyss.
"Damn it," Dune hissed, standing abruptly. "Go warn the others. The water's here!"
Her eyes widened as she followed his gaze, then she sprang to her feet. "I'm on it!"
Without hesitation, she turned and bolted down the stairs, her voice echoing as she called out to the others.
Dune remained at the top, his eyes locked on the encroaching black tide. They were running out of time.