Year 2108

10 years after Edan and Lumi's team won their first Survival of Kings World Championship.

Inside a police facility, three people were having a conversation that none of them wished to have.

“Are you seriously going to enter a child's memories!?” - said an agitated man.

His voice echoed through the hallway. The indignation was obvious.

“It’s the only way we'll find out what happened! Are you going to oppose it too, Kei!?” - said the woman, visibly shaken by what had occurred.

“Part of me wants to oppose it, because it might be too much for him to relive the event again… but we won't have any way of knowing what happened if we don't do it…” - said Kei, still reluctant to agree with the idea.

Silence fell between the three.

None of them liked this decision.

But all of them knew there was no alternative.

After a few seconds, they put on their masks and moved forward.

The door slowly opened.

Inside the room was a child.

Alone and fragile.

The white-haired boy was sitting on the chair, curled into himself. He trembled from head to toe while keeping his arms wrapped around his own body as if trying to stop himself from falling apart.

His eyes were red and empty.

Like the eyes of someone who had seen something no child should ever witness.

“Take it easy, Skye! His mind cannot be damaged!” - whispered Kei.

“I know, I know!” - she whispered back.

Skye approached slowly.

Every step was careful.

Like someone approaching a wounded animal.

“Hello, Arti! May I come closer?” - asked Skye in the gentlest voice she could manage.

Arti remained motionless for a few seconds.

His hands still covered his face.

Eventually, he peeked through his fingers.

He looked at Skye.

And nodded.

Skye approached him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We're going to do everything we can to help you. I need you to trust us, and especially me, for the next few moments, alright?” - said Skye as she moved behind Arti and placed her hands on his head.

Arti didn't answer.

But he didn't move away either.

“Here I go! Kei! Daichi! Get ready to write down whatever Arti says.”

Skye activated her ability, and her consciousness plunged into the boy's mind.

Into his memories.

Into his pain.

And most importantly, into wounds that were still bleeding.

Arti began to speak, but his eyes were no longer there.

They were in the past.

“The first memories I have of that day were from the walk with my parents. It was very sunny and hot, and around this time of year, the village where we live usually holds a kind of fair to celebrate another year of good prayers and harvests."

Arti's expression softened slightly. A subtle smile eased the emptiness in his gaze.

"The village wasn't very big and everyone seemed to know my parents. Actually, everyone seemed to know each other...

Even though we lived in that village, for some reason, I had never been to the town’s center. My parents never allowed me to go out, and I never knew why. So that was the first day I left our house, isolated from everything and everyone.

We sat down for lunch at a small restaurant and, after some time, once we finished eating, we passed by a stand selling ice cream. It was something I had always wanted to try. I had only heard my parents talk about it before, but I never had the chance to try it. And it's the best thing ever!”

Even while reliving those memories, a small laugh escaped Arti's lips.

Skye felt a tightness in her chest.

Realizing that there had been good memories on that day, somehow made everything even crueler.

“As soon as we finished eating the ice cream, my parents looked at each other and said we couldn't stay outside much longer. My father put me on his shoulders and we headed home. Even though I wasn't really in the mood at the time, I had training scheduled with him. As soon as we got home, I changed into my training clothes and went back outside, where my father was already waiting.

We started fighting each other, and my father could predict all of my attacks. He told me I was improving, but honestly, I didn't really believe what he was saying. I think he only said it so I wouldn't get discouraged. My mother also said that mastering both of their classes would be extremely difficult, but that she believed I could do it.”

Arti's face began to change.

The smile faded and disappointment settled over him.

But the memories continued.

“With their words motivating me, I tried once more to attack my father. I threw a fireball at him, but he managed to destroy it. What he didn't know was that I had actually thrown a smoke ball covered by a thin layer of fire. The smoke expanded and left him unable to tell where I would attack from next. I entered the smoke cloud and moved behind my father, striking with my daggers, but he managed to block it simply by placing one of his daggers behind his back. He defended my attack effortlessly. He smiled and started running around the training area. He was so fast that all the smoke ended up dissipating, and there I was, exposed once again. He charged at me and, just as I was about to block his attack, he moved behind me and swept my legs out from under me.

My father turned to my mother and continued their previous conversation. He said it had been my choice to follow in their footsteps and that I had known from the beginning that combining both of their classes would be difficult, but he admitted I had some clever tricks.”

Arti looked exhausted just from remembering all the training he did with his father.

“I was very tired after that fight. It was already dark and I was starving after all that exercise. I got up and headed toward our house. Something I noticed that day was that the view from outside our home's area wasn't the same as the one we had inside. I found it very strange. It felt like the place had a barrier or something like that.

I didn't think much of it at the time and continued walking toward the house. My parents were right behind me.”

The nostalgia slowly disappeared.

The tone of his voice changed, and Arti's body began to tremble.

The tears returned.

Skye immediately felt the emotional shift.

This was it.

The beginning of the nightmare.

“Out of nowhere, I felt an overwhelming bloodlust.”

His voice began to crack.

“I had felt something similar from my father while we trained, but nothing like this.”

The room became silent.

“As soon as I turned around, my parents were already in combat positions.”

Arti's hands clenched tightly.

“I felt a hand on my head, and when I looked up, my mother was smiling and telling me everything would be alright.”

The tears flowed endlessly.

“She raised her head and told my father that the time had come.

He looked back for a brief moment, quickly came toward me, kissed my forehead, and charged at the enemies at a speed I had never seen before.

I couldn't see the face of any of the people in the group, but I managed to count them. There were eight hooded figures. It also seemed like something affected my father because his speed slowed for a moment.

Long enough for them to decapitate him.”

The silence in the room became absolute.

Skye felt tears running down her face.

But the memory continued.

“And while his head was still in the air, the assassin kicked it right in front of me. My mother moved away from me and cast her barrier to protect me.

She took two steps forward and, just as she was about to attack, the group of enemies appeared around her.

The larger one grabbed my mother's head and slammed her into the ground. Four others grabbed her arms and legs...

While they were putting her on all fours, the leader approached my mother and leaned over her."

Arti did not understand the leader’s action, nor why they had kept her mother alive until that moment, given that his father had been killed instantly.

But everyone present in that room understood.

Daichi lowered his head.

Kei clenched his fists.

None of the three could breathe normally.

“My mother was looking at me with a face full of panic.”

Arti was openly crying now.

None of them had ever seen someone with such lifeless eyes cry with such sadness.

“I started feeling my body heating up, but the ice barrier began cooling everything down and I started feeling sleepy. And just as I was about to lose consciousness, every single one of them stabbed a dagger into my mother's back.”

Skye could no longer stop her tears.

Neither could Daichi.

Kei was moments away from breaking something in that room.

“The last thing I remember is waking up for a few moments afterward, and the group was no longer there.”

His voice became weak. Whispering was all Arti could manage after spending so much energy.

“My mother was still alive… and she was talking to someone.

But that person seemed to want to help.”

The entire room froze at that moment.

“My mother realized I had woken up and cooled the air inside the barrier again to put me back to sleep. When I woke up again, I was already here.”

Skye removed her hands.

And all the pain returned at once.

Arti began kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs.

He screamed until he ran out of air.

Until he passed out.

Daichi immediately called the doctors.

Skye collapsed to her knees.

Crying uncontrollably.

Kei remained motionless for only a few seconds.

Then he charged at one of the room's walls with everything he had.

Fragments of concrete scattered across the hallway.

“You disgusting bastards! I swear I'll tear every single one of you apart! One by one!”

Nobody contradicted him.

Because at that moment...

They were all thinking exactly the same thing.

Later, standing outside the room where Arti rested under sedation, the three watched him through the window.

The boy finally seemed at peace.

But only on the outside.

Skye turned to Kei.

As if she had realized something through Arti's memories.

“Are you going to explain what you were doing there before Lumi died, or do I need to force my way into your memories?” - said Skye as she placed a hand on his head.

“Keep your hands to yourself! I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else!” - replied Kei while pushing Skye's hand away.

“That depends on why you were there. If I determine that you weren't there for a valid reason, I'll report the situation and put you behind bars! Though Skye would probably do something worse than that. I hope you're prepared!” - teased Daichi.

Kei let out an empty smile.

Tired, sad, and defeated.

It was the second time that day he had heard those words.

But the truth was simple.

It didn't matter how many times they told him.

He himself didn't know.

He didn't know whether he was prepared for what the future had in store for him.