Second was getting stirred. If yesterday the boys were writhing in physical pain because the opposing team had scored, on the other hand, nothing bad happened to the girls even though they scored against the opponent. What was with this game?
Everyone was so serious; even the boys couldn't cheer them up, because this was not an ordinary game for fun. They were hesitant to do so because they wanted everyone to win. Twentieth caught her attention. She seems tense and didn't seem to focus well. She seemed to be having a hard time following the ball. At first, she didn't mind because they were newbies. Like herself, Twentieth didn't play this sport, but her actions were somewhat off.
02:48
The first round was coming to an end when the ball suddenly flew in front of her again. She hit the ball with both hands. It went to the gold team and was passed around until it landed on Tenth's back; she couldn't catch up with it because it was far, and it would definitely cross the line.
*whistle*
The ball landed just past their line when the timer whistled, not counting that turn.
They ran to their bleachers and drank water. She touched her skin and noticed she wasn't sweating but was thirsty—that was also what she noticed yesterday in the boys' match. Everyone gathered, including the gold team, on the bleachers of the silver team.
"Guys, why can't we feel anything?" Sixzen's question puzzled everyone.
"Yeah. Are you sure none of us were affected?" Tenth checked them one by one to see if they were all right.
Everyone shook their heads to say no. The boys approached them.
"That's great," Fifth commented, but he also looked worried.
Not everyone could answer because of too much concern and astonishment.
"It's good that nothing bad happened to all of you. That hologram probably feels guilty," Thirtwen stated.
"He's right. Just keep playing and let's see what happens next," Sixzen suggested. Everyone agreed to Sixzen's suggestion because, as of now, no one could answer this tricky game.
Fifzen, with green spiky hair, smiled at them and cheered, "Way to go, girls. You can do it!"
It wasn't that they wanted to feel something bad on their bodies; it was just really surprising, and their curiosity was consuming them.
"One minute break is over. Players, back to the game. I repeat, players back to the game. Round 2 will start in 10, 9,"
They returned after a one-minute break, and the boys went back to their seats.
"Let's end this!"
"Yeah!"
"We believe in you!"
She was happy with the boys because even though it wasn't obvious that they were all worried about them, they cheered to lift up their spirits.
"8, 7, 6, 5,"
Aeith was ready to serve the ball. To be honest, she had no idea that Aeith was good at this. She hadn't mentioned anything about being a sporty girl, but she couldn't deny that Aeith had good stamina for this.
"4, 3, 2, 1, *whistle*"
And the ball went to the other team. If the ball used to turn gold because it landed in their territory, it returned to being dark blue as it was passed around. When the ball was passed around, it was dark blue. It changed color depending on which team the opponent was playing. The inside of the ball had an animated brain on the side, and its center had a large red-letter F in the middle.
"Mine!"
She quickly backed away from Sixzen. Aside from Aeith, Sixth was also doing great. She could see that she had good coordination and agility. Her sincerity about playing and the desire to win were visible in her eyes. Their exercise paid off. How she wished she had started joining them earlier to get her body into shape.
"Hya!" She also gazed at Sixzen. She possessed balance and strength when hitting the ball. She mentioned that she played volleyball yesterday as her memories were becoming visible. She was very eager to play because she missed the feeling of playing since they'd been imprisoned in the castle.
Of the two teams battling, Sixth of the silver team and Sixzen of the gold team were the best members of the two teams. She didn't know what was in the number six, and coincidentally, they were both good at volleyball.
0:54. The ball turned to gold. The ball fell again to the gold team.
For another ten seconds, there was silence. They stared at which member would be affected in the gold team because their team scored again.
"For the third time that you will hesitate to continue the game, the bleachers won't hesitate to explode."
"Whaaa!"
They were startled because they heard the explosion. The gold team's bleachers exploded at the corner. It was still hissing and smoky. Good thing no one was harmed, but the boys' strategy in the basketball game had failed again. They turned their attention to the game. Round 2 continued.
01:43
They were still trying not to let the ball fall to the floor. It went back to dark blue, and the flesh still had a brain on the side and a currency sign in the middle. As she continued to play, she also continued to analyze their situation. Why did this game have no effect on them? She noticed Sixzen's eyesight was getting naughty.
02:57
When the ball was exposed to her again, she was lucky to be still alive. Aeizen passed the ball to Forzen, and she spiked it. In slow motion, they stared at the ball flying towards their team. Aeith and Fourth ran at the same time and collided. Aeith sat down and scratched her head. Fourth tried to chase but stopped. The ball turned silver—it crossed their line. The gold team scored.
*whistle*
"What happened to you, Aeith?" Fourth asked her gently.
Aeith scratched and held her head. She had also noticed Aeith's strange behavior after round 2. She thought Aeith was exhausted because she sat down earlier, but Aeith confirmed she was okay.
"There are memories that entered my brain."
"What do you remember?" she questioned her as they sat and rested for a moment.
"W-We don't have money. We don't have anything to eat. There are the voices of children crying. Noisy cars. Voices of people fighting. Then I feel like I'm crying too. Someone cried and asked for help from others..." Aeith told them a story that they couldn't understand—how and why she instantly had memories of those things. Her forehead furrowed in confusion. "Oh, I don't know! Isn't that weird? I don't know what it is. My world just stopped."
"Maybe your memories are slowly coming back." She looked at Fourth.
Aeith scratched her head. "I don't know!" She seems tired and perplexed. "If it's like that, then it's good to know who I am."
If Aeith's memories were slowly coming back, then the memories of Twentieth and Sixzen had also come back when they scored against them. Did that explain why their actions and facial expressions had changed? They both had looked troubled a while ago.
Was this the effect of the game if they scored against the opponent?
So, it was still random whose memory came back every time a team scored. She thought she must fight to get her memories back as well, but they needed to win to gain that. And because someone died on the gold team in basketball, maybe someone on her team would also die if they lost this in exchange for memories.
This was bad and absurd at the same time.