"Stoicism? Existentialism? Nihilism? Absurdism? Hedonism? Epicureanism? Humanism?
"Just make do with what you have, I'm sure you will live a life deemed worthy of no regrets. And if you do have regrets, accept them. Do not try to live your life by traditions set before you were born, because in doing so, you will taint that which you call yourself. Accept yourself, even if that yourself is the ugliest of ugly."
A man in his early fifties was scratching at his soon-to-be-white beard, trying to make sense of whatever he was reading.
"Hmm..."
In one motion, the man threw the book across the room.
"Who the hell needs idiotologies when you are the greatest king to ever live?"
The man laughed, and at the same time, he patted his own shoulder. After a while of staring at the walls, he got up from his throne.
He wandered in a straight line until he reached a massive wooden gate. The gate was once as thick as the trunk of a tree. But now, it was nothing more than a wooden plank that binds two worlds—the empty insides and the lonely outsides. Years of relentless scratching with everything the king could find had eroded the length of the gate.
The king pressed his fingers against the wood, his nails barely visible from the ruthless abuse on the gate.
"You still there? You hungry? Thirsty?" The king hoped for an answer. Yet he didn't gain anything this time as well.
The king sighed and walked back over to his throne.
---
Just after the God of Nature died, Eve and Elyon fled the Colosseum. On their way towards freedom, Elyon had to kill a guard—a young, prideful guard.
Eve believed his name was Agenor, yet she wasn't sure.
Yet something started to boil in her new wedded heart.
Resentment.
For the one she truly called her friend.
"Eve, let's go back to our training halls. I need to grab Svarnam before we head north."
Eve looked at him.
"Svarnam? What's that? And why do you call it training halls? It's literally your house."
Elyon shook his head in amusement.
"Questions, questions. Svarnam is my trusty golden spear. And my house is our training halls."
Elyon paused for a moment.
"Also, you will wash my robe because it's fully stained with blood."
"Fuck you, I'm not washing anything."
Elyon felt shocked at what he was hearing. How could his number one student be so disobedient? He had to put her back in her place.
"Don't you worry, Eve, you can rest while I wash the robe."
Elyon coughed, and Eve just glanced at him, yet her gaze drifted back towards the road where they were walking.
A loud silence as thick as bronze fell between them.
Now that I have left that hell, I wonder if the Colosseum was the first time I was punished for the crimes I committed?... Yeah, I was. I hope Sarah is okay.
Sarah was not someone that Eve considered a friend; she was more like someone she knew. Yet in a way, she could consider Sarah her true friend over Elyon, but she didn't want to name it in her mind. Because that would mean losing him.
Elyon was the first to break the silence.
"How does it feel to be the champion?"
Eve just kept her vision in front; this time, she didn't kick any pebbles.
"I'm not the champion, you are. You killed Gladys, not me."
Elyon scratched his chin.
"Yeah... but I didn't participate in the tournament."
"Doesn't matter, you are still the champion."
Elyon remained silent for a moment, and he looked up at the passing clouds.
"Then I guess in the seven years of the Colosseum, this is the first time they have two champions... huh?"
Eve scoffed.
"You are insane."
"I am."
---
A lone man was walking through the green plains of the Great Plateau.
"Four hours until I reach my destination. One more hour until they reach Scholar's Rest, another hour until they reach his house. Eight hours for resting, seven more hours until they reach Ravencross. Then another three until they get to my destination. Twenty hours in total."
After a while, Eve and Elyon reached Scholar's Rest. They wandered through the city until they passed the same restaurant where they had dined.
"Come, let's eat something. I'm sure you are hungry."
Elyon went inside without waiting for Eve.
Eve just stared at the restaurant for a while.
So much happened in just a day... I mean two, since Elyon did his trickery. Am I a different person from yesterday?
She didn't want to think; she just wanted to eat something.
Once inside, she spotted Elyon and walked over to the table.
"What do you want to eat?" Elyon asked as he scanned the menu like he hadn't just done that yesterday.
"I don't want stew this time, I think I am going to go with..."
---
"A whole chicken by now, gluttonous flower."
The man laughed as he kept walking.
---
"A whole chicken, I am starving."
Elyon looked up from his menu and just stared at her.
"You are quite the gluttonous flower, huh?"
Eve kicked him under the table.
"Shut up, I didn't get any reward for winning the tournament. A whole chicken could suffice."
Elyon raised one of his eyebrows and nodded.
"Alright then, let's celebrate the two of us becoming the champions of the Colosseum."
And yet, the white lilies remained in pristine condition throughout the whole restaurant, as if nothing had happened.
And Nightfall silently sleeping on Eve's back