The night breeze swept the fallen leaves away . I took one of the leaves and placed it towards the night sky .
Zam sat across me strangely gazing at the moon . I let the leaf go . It dazzlingly danced in the cold breeze .
' Even a leaf shines when freedom is bestowed upon it .' Zam spoke as he shifted his gaze from the mesmerizing moon .
' It won't be surviving for long...anyway .'
I stated as I stared blankly at the other leaves .
' It knows..It knows that it won't survive but it will keep going forward with its own life .'
He smiled but his eyes didn't .
' Even leaves have such a complicated life .'
I sighed and got up .
Zam was still seated on the roads of the back alley . He leaned his back closer to the wall and spoke ' Brain , what are we gonna do about that letter given by the apothecary ? '
' We need to discuss , I guess .'
After receiving the apothecary's message we returned to the back alley . The paper given to us contained of words that said "Even in the heart of Ice lingers a small flame enough to burn a kingdom ."
The words might have specified the location of the exam site or the next challenge we have to face in order to get more clues regarding the site . This being the site of exam has a very low chance .
And I already have a idea what this place really is . I was fighting my instinct of whether if it's the place I have in mind or not until Zam intervened .
He spoke up ' Brian ! You should tell me your thoughts...If you don't this won't be a discussion .'
' Oh yeah..I have a hinge about this place we need to visit .' I stated .
' Me too .' He chuckled and stood up beside me extending his sword as if to strike me .
I sighed and took out my sword .
" Brian , you haven't fought with this new sword of yours . right ? .' He moved near me .
' No , I haven't .' I moved as well .
Action and reaction took place simultaneously .
' Then , I'm taking that honour . ' He grinned .
' The honour of what ? Being defeated by me ? Or the honour of defeating me ? ' I stated as our swords kept clashing . We fought as if magic didn't exist in this world . All the fallen leaves had disappeared into nothingness .
We both took a deep breath . I glanzed at him and asked
' Why did you stop ? Are you tired already ?
Strangely enough my breathing felt heavy .
' Me ? Tired ? Nah . There's no way you're...Ah..you're the one who is tired , Brain Alhemaht .' He chuckled as he splashed water from the lake onto his face to make the sweat disappear .
' As if..You're clearly sweating and your breath is heavy too .' I stated as I drank some water .
' Bro , you're clearly freezing right now ! .'
He might be right . Back then , when the explosion happened I rushed without wearing my shirt . I was solely dressed in my Long black hood and loose pants . My abs where as clear as day .
' Obviously , I lost my shirt .' I muttered as I cut a nearby tree into pieces .
' Well , you're used to ice after all .' He teased while he used fire on the wood .
' And that's how I am able to survive this .'
Ice and fire were opposites that couldn't survive without the other .
' We are like ice and water...don't you think so , brain ? .' He spouted some nonscence as he layed his head down in that disgustingly dirty alley .
I didn't reply . If someone asked us why we fought right now , we both would be speechless cause this is a daily occurence and I won't call it fighting...It was simply sparring . I continued on with our conversation from before our sparring .
' Even in the heart of ice...' I mumbled .
We both knew what it meant .
Zam completed my sentence ' Lingers a small flame enough to burn a kingdom..'
We looked into each other's eyes and nodded .
I initiated ' The heart of ice is the time when the world feels the most frozen...and it is without any doubt in this month .'
' The month of Gamelion it is...And the small flame significes a place small yet the hottest place..' He got up and sat across me .
' The hottest place in our kingdom is the abyss known as Hell . Surely it's not small and there's no way...The entrance exam is important but they would never be foolish enough to take everyone to such a place .'
I continued and Zam added ' Yeah it's the other place..the second hottest place..'
' A place that can burn a kingdom ' I muttered .
' The kingdom is equal to the king who rules it .'
We both uttered the name of that place simultaneously .
' Roxinbey ! '
Roxinbey was a place that was devilishly known for its hotness even in the month of Gamelion , also known as the Heart of Ice .
It was more known for another reason though . It's the place the 9th ruler of Travelina met his demise . Burning the ruler is seen equal to burning the land ruler by them .
' But there's one more thing we need to think about...' I spoke as I took my place to sleep .
' The apothecary's words..' He mumbled as he lay down .
' Even sweetness can turn into poison if used abundantly .' I remembered those words and added ' What is it that we have been using excessively ? '
' Brian ? .'
' Yeah ? .'
' A human need sleep . You need to nap right now , okay ? .'
' Hmm..yeah .'
' Alright , we can continue tho conversation tomorrow . For now , sweet nightmares my friend .' He chuckled and wrapped his arms around himself from the excessive cold .
Jerk . Sweet nightmares ?...I don't think I will be able to sleep at all tonight . This night is gonna be a long one .
Did I use something in excess ? Food ? No the only food we had today was in the early morning ..Clothes ? I don't think so..I always chose clothes that are cheap but to my taste . Like the Oversized yet sleeveless shirt or something like that .
What if its truth and lies ? The ones that shape this kingdom . But I don't lie..I have things that I keep to myself . My secrets . I have them too . Or is it truth ? Always saying the truth ? But in this world it's something one would get rewarded for .
Did I miss something ?
Or maybe it's the excessive determination to fulfill one's goal . If one went as far as to excessively kill beings then..But what's the sweetness in it ? I have killed but ... I never felt any pleasure from it..
My thoughts were getting deeper..I don't know if its from the cold or from the way I despised the way lived...I was shivering . Strangely..If I had to say .
But what if that was the only way to achieve their goal ?...I guess even if it was the only way what I had to do was still wrong . Entirely wrong .
As I loathed myself , I fell into slumber ...one so long that I was able to relax at least a bit .