Logs were scattered around the fire, forming an imperfect circle. So were already seated, others stood, their posture both relaxed and alert. After a brief hesitation, I sat down as well, feeling the warmth of the blaze wrap around my body still marked by the stream's chill.
A heavy silence hung in the air, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the distant whisper of the forest.
Then, a clear and cheerful voice rose, cutting through the oppressive atmosphere.
— Hi, Anthony!
I looked up.
The woman who had treated had stood up. She was smiling — a wide, sincere, almost childlike smile. Her eyes sparkled with innocent joy, as if all of this were just a ga, as if the harshness of the world had never managed to touch her.
— I'm Cassandre! Nice to et you!
She tilted her head to the side, hands clasped behind her back like a child eager to share a secret.
— Your group talked a lot about you!
I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing.
She didn't seem to notice my unease and continued with disarming enthusiasm:
— Co on, I'll introduce everyone!
She clapped her hands as if about to announce a performance, then pointed at a woman sitting not far from the fire.
— Over there, the tall woman with blue hair, that's Elsa, our heavy warrior!
I followed her gaze and discovered a woman of imposing stature. Elsa was massive, her body sculpted by combat and training. Her deep blue hair fell in a thick braid down her back, and her arms crossed over her chest added to her unshakable presence. Her piercing gaze, cold as steel, examined without blinking. She didn't need words to command presence.
Cassandre, anwhile, seed completely unfazed by her frosty deanor and continued with the sa energy.
— Then, over there, the bald super muscular guy — he's always half-naked!
She giggled while pointing at a bald colossus, his chest marked with scars. His face remained expressionless, his dark eyes analyzing my every move.
— His na is Pierre! He's our martial artist, really strong in combat... with so comic exaggeration.
— Over there, she continued, pointing at a woman slightly off to the side, that's Olivia, our archer.
Olivia was slender and graceful, dressed in dark leather. She kept to herself, arms crossed, her gaze distant, as if she were elsewhere. Her bow, resting beside her, seed like an extension of her being.
— She doesn't talk much, but she's super strong! Cassandre added in a whisper, as if it were a secret.
Then she pointed at another man, a mischievous smile on her lips.
— And him, that's Olivier! Funny, right? Olivia and Olivier — what a coincidence!
She burst into a crystalline laugh, as if she'd just told the best joke in the world.
Olivier, a man with an athletic build, raised an eyebrow but rely nodded slightly.
— He's our dium warrior! Not too heavy, not too light — just right!
She quickly moved on, pointing to a man with hardened features, leaning against a log, looking grumpy.
— And over there, the grump!
She stuck out her tongue at him, visibly amused by his attitude.
— His na is Elmir! He's a light warrior like you, but he complains all the ti!
Elmir rolled his eyes but didn't protest.
— And finally...
Cassandre took a slightly more solemn tone, pointing at a woman sitting farther away, silent.
— This is Angélique, our mage.
I tensed.
Mage...
That class brought a flood of mories to the surface.
Lucas.
Our mage.
Our little brother.
Dead.
A shiver ran through , but I pushed the thought aside. It wasn't the ti to be consud by the past.
I stood up and, gathering my courage, declared in a strong voice:
— Nice to et you all. Thank you for accepting among you.
I let my gaze sweep over each face before adding:
— My na is Anthony.
Silence lingered for a mont.
Then Cassandre clapped her hands suddenly, as if to break the tension.
— Great! Now we can pretend we're already friends!
Her innocence unsettled once more.
She was a light in this broken world.
The first thought that crossed my mind was that they were all powerful. Even Cassandre, under her childlike and innocent appearance, must have been incredibly strong. This wasn't a group to underestimate.
A shiver of uncertainty ran through . If the situation demanded it... could I kill them?
The question surfaced before I could push it away instantly.
I shouldn't think like that.
I was no longer a beast, a simple killing machine.
I had to be human again.
The camp's sounds felt distant, as if I no longer belonged here. My head spun as my thoughts tangled in the demons of the past.
Cassandre, seeming to read my mind, turned to with her radiant smile, a teasing look in her eyes.
— You know, we saved your group after you disappeared — you owe us one!
She laughed, as if she'd just told a joke. Her light-hearted attitude contrasted so much with the gravity of the situation that I couldn't help but look at her with a mix of astonishnt and gratitude.
But before I could respond, Jules, who had remained silent until then, spoke.
— After you disappeared... a lot happened, he said, crossing his arms, his already dark gaze deepening as he recalled the past.
He continued, his tone calm but laden with restrained emotion.
— Another group attacked us. But thanks to our levels, we managed to hold our own, even outnumbered — five against seven. We won, but...
He paused, searching for words, as if every mory was a weight he didn't want to lift.
— The problem was that Marie couldn't heal all the wounded after the battle. That's when Cassandre and her group stepped in.
I looked at him, stunned by the revelation.
Jules went on, looking thoughtful.
— We thought we wouldn't make it... that it was the end. But Elsa saw things differently.
He glanced toward Elsa, who sat by the fire, her gaze fixed and serious, as if everything around her was a battle to be fought.
— She decided to help, to treat the wounded. With Cassandre's advice, we ford a group of 12 people, as required at the end of this... tutorial.
There was a slight hesitation in his voice at that word. As if he hated it, as if he resented what had been forced upon their group.
Cassandre, still with her mischievous smile, turned to , her tone a bit more serious this ti.
— And here we are, 12 survivors, ready to move forward... Well, now we're 13 with your return. And that's the problem, she added, raising her eyebrows like she'd just discovered a major detail.
She giggled, but a flicker of uncertainty crossed her eyes.
— You see, it kind of sses up our perfect number. We had everything set for 12, but now with 13, we have to figure out how to make it work.
I stared at her, baffled by the innocence and honesty of her remark. To her, it almost seed like a ga.
Léonard spoke up, his deep voice breaking the silence, sounding almost incredulous.
— Do you even know how long you've been gone?
I looked at him, unsure, lost in thought, trapped in painful mories. I had no idea how much ti had passed. All that mattered was the present, the dark monts I had lived... survived.
Léonard, observing my hesitation, continued, more firmly this ti.
— It's been at least a year since we were separated.
A shock went through , like a dagger to the chest. A year... A year? That was... impossible.
I stood there, silent, not knowing how to react. The weight of his words smothered . A year, really? How could I have lost all sense of ti? How could I have sunk so deep into madness without even realizing I had spent 365 days in that hell, killing, wandering alone... well, not alone. Not really. She was there, always. That woman. That witch...
I closed my eyes for a mont, overwheld by confusion. A year, and I hadn't seen it. Hadn't understood. Madness had devoured all that ti without noticing.
How had I regained my sanity after all that? How had I survived the pain, the solitude?
A year... It was longer than I could have imagined.
Then, a thought crept into my mind, fleeting but sharp: Cassandre. That woman... There was sothing about her, sothing I couldn't fully grasp. But it wasn't really her that had affected .
No — it was her spell.
What she'd done to wasn't just healing. It wasn't just to nd surface wounds.
That spell... It had cald , far more than I thought possible. It hadn't just healed my body — it had touched sothing deeper. My mind, my soul... it felt like it had nded everything that was broken in . For a mont, it had chased the madness away, letting recover so semblance of inner peace, of humanity.
But that... I couldn't explain. Maybe it was the magic. Or maybe I was just a lost man searching for answers where there were none.
One thing was certain: her spell had done more than heal.
But for now, it was only a theory. And I preferred to keep that doubt to myself. If Cassandre had played a deeper role in my ntal reconstruction, I would discover it in ti, in her own way.
Jules continued, his voice turning heavier, as if the weight of the situation caught up to him with each word.
— All of this leads us to our current problem, he said, lifting his eyes to the sky, his gaze clouded by a concern he couldn't hide. Out of the 7,777 sent into this hell, only 13 of us remain!
A chill ran down my spine at those words. 7,777... an overwhelming number, almost unreal, and now only 13 remained. If I was honest with myself, I knew I had played a part in reducing that number. A massacre, a true bloodbath. A visceral need to kill to survive, and the madness that pushed to accelerate the process.
But I felt no remorse. No regrets. It was all part of the ga, the inevitable sacrifice. If we had made it this far — if only 13 of us were still alive — it was because fate demanded it. But deep inside, a darker thought took shape.
I knew what it ant. For the "12 chosen" to be truly selected, a sacrifice had to be made. One of us would have to die, so the others could go on. That was the price to pay for survival, for a place in this devouring nightmare.
I had killed to get here, and I knew that, sooner or later, the balance would tip. Only 12 would remain. One of us would be left behind. The logic of destiny. The brutality of this place.
I kept these thoughts to myself, but they weighed heavily. The rules of the ga were clear, and deep down, I knew this group — as united as it seed — would break again.
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