"...You need to give a name under which you'll be participating," the old man whispered, his voice filled with despair.
"Nobody."
"What? No, that won't work; people might get confused."
"Then Mr. Nobody."
"That doesn't change anything!"
He glanced at Marie, who was standing behind the old man.
"Maybe something else?" she asked with an awkward smile.
He fell silent for a moment.
About ten seconds passed in the silence, broken only by quiet sobs at his feet.
"Maybe something related to a dream or the stars…"
"The Plowman."
"The Plowman?" the old man repeated, puzzled.
"Yes. Is something wrong, you gray… man?"
"No, no, The Plowman is fine."
"Great, then…"
"W-wait, I need something else from you."
He looked at Marie again.
"The coolest part is left…" she whispered, leaning toward him.
"You need to choose a theme that will play before your duel… I also need one phrase from you that will play if you win. Something you'd like to say to everyone…"
"I'll send you an audio recording." He touched the black bracelet. "And the phrase is, 'Evil always triumphs.'"
"…"
"Your terms must allow for this."
"Technically, yes, but…"
"T-that works for us!" Marie exclaimed awkwardly. "That's it, we can go…"
"Wait a second." Mr. Nobody stopped her.
He turned back to the crowd, who stood in horror and confusion at what was happening.
"I haven't seen that many movies…" he said to the people in white. "But do you know what my favorite was as a kid? Bloodsport."
"…"
"If you weren't planning on turning into a pile of bloody mush today, I suggest you run back home to your mommy… And don't forget to ask her to put a diaper on you. Today, I'm going to turn your dreams into nightmares."
"…" It seemed that, overcome by fear, no one could even move.
*Click* The sound of a revolver's hammer being cocked rang out.
"…Move."
At that very moment, stifling their sobs, the people rushed away. Silently.
"Excellent. Now we can…"
*Thud* As he turned, his foot bumped into something.
It was a boy named Santi. He hadn't moved an inch the whole time, just staring up at him from the ground.
His face was completely smeared with blood mixed with tears, snot, and saliva. His once-white wig was also smeared with this mixture and had long since slipped off, exposing his black hair.
"Wipe yourself off, pussy. You look disgusting."
"K-kh…" The boy just swallowed hard.
Mr. Nobody lifted his foot over the boy's face for a second, then stepped over him.
"We can go," he said to Marie, demonstratively wiping the sole of his shoe on the ground.
Their dark and white figures passed between the two flags and soon disappeared into the arena.
Only then was Santi able to burst into full-throated sobs.
…
"Just so you know, registration should have ended by now, so none of them would have made it in time anyway."
"But I didn't say anything…"
"…Why did you come and help?"
"Well, you know, I think that's exactly why you fired that shot."
"That's not what I mean, Marie…" He sighed and looked at the girl walking beside him. "To be honest, because of what I did, I expected to get something like a slap from you. I thought you'd drive me away."
"…You mean the violence and disrespect you dared to show?"
"…"
"To be honest, no one has desecrated this sacred event like that in decades, but…"
"Hmm?"
He looked at her face in puzzlement and saw something there he hadn't expected at all.
The girl's eyes seemed to be shining like stars. She stood in front of him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and exclaimed energetically.
"To be honest, that was actually refreshing!"
"…Didn't it bother you?"
"I mean, sure, it was very rude and a bit cruel... But nothing like that has ever happened before!"
"I see."
"What about you? Was it hard for you to be like that?"
Her hand rested on his chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"...I guess there are always two sides to things," he replied with a sigh, then managed to smile. "But you really are weirdo."
"Hehe. By the way, when you said you'd turn everyone here into a bloody mush… You were joking, right?"
"Who knows..."
He didn't know what life was like at the Abode of Dreams or how people were raised there.
Despite her power, Mari looked young and was likely the same age as him. Judging by her reaction to all that, one could only guess at the conditions in which people like her grew up.
"You can feel it already, can't you? Do you like it?"
"...What?"
He looked at her face in surprise and couldn't help but find it truly beautiful.
"Your heart's beating faster now." She ran her hand over his chest again. "Can you feel it too?"
'My heart is beating faster?' he repeated in his mind, puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"The sound. You can hear it, can't you? That's the heat of the Opening." Marie smiled sweetly. "Moments like this can only be felt."
"The heat… of the Opening?"
His eyes drifted from the girl's face to what lay behind her.
From the darkness beneath the long arch, the light of the packed arena was visible. There had to be around a hundred thousand people there. At least, that's how it felt.
"…" He forgot about the girl entirely and could no longer tear themselves away from the packed stands.
In truth, he had never understood what this Selection truly was.
But now… Hearing the unified waves of thunderous howls rolling through the stands, it seemed he was beginning to understand something.
"WE ON GO!!!"
"WE ON GO!!!"
"WE ON GO!!!"
Sometimes a person doesn't choose a purpose or a goal.
Sometimes, some things are yours by birth.
Purpose. He didn't like that word, but he couldn't help but feel that…
As if he were born for this.
"What… What is this?"
The crowd's shouts were so loud he couldn't hear his own voice.
Ten seconds later, the shouts died down a bit, giving way to applause.
"Impressive, isn't it? Basically, the Opening recreates the beginning of the real Champions' Games. A lot of the viewers come specifically for that."
"I see... By the way, I've been meaning to ask. What does Big Brother actually think about all this? I don't recall conversations about other paths even being allowed in Concord, and here... this. Why is there such a special attitude toward the Path of Dream?"
"What does he think…" Mari tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think the Peak of Knowledge is desperately longing for the appearance of the Champion of Dream and will do everything in its power to facilitate it. After all, the one desire shared by almost everyone in the world depends on it."
"I see… All so the Champions' Games can finally return, right?" he replied with a dry smile.
"Yep."
He sighed and touched the hand that was still resting on his chest.
"Listen, Marie. I really want to thank you. And what happened during our last meeting..."
"Marie."
A man's voice rang out from the arena. Hearing the voice, Marie quickly pulled her hand away and took a step back.
"Oh, Simon, is that you, dear?"
A muscular man with the same snow-white hair slicked back appeared. His face was wrinkled, and he looked to be well over 50.
"Having fun, darling?" He landed right next to Marie and immediately wrapped his arm around her waist.
*Mwah!* He kissed her passionately on the lips. From the sound of it, the kiss was quite wet.
"…" Mr. Nobody's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
Pulling his lips away from Marie's, Simon looked at the man in black.
"Is this the one you were telling me about, darling?"
"Ahem, yes, this is…"
"You may know me as Mr. Nobody." He smiled warmly and held out his hand.
"How unusual. It's a pleasure to meet you." Simon shook his hand firmly. "My wife said you're someone very special to Concord, and if you show up here, the show is sure to be something special too."
"Did your wife really say that? Haha…" He laughed awkwardly, barely glancing at the girl's bewildered face. "If she said so, then so be it. Believe me, Sir Simon, you really have something truly worth anticipating… something unforgettable."
"And that means…"
"Shh…" He smiled and put his index finger to his lips. "You'll see for yourself soon. You might even feel it."