This place was gigantic, and completely dark. I could only make out a little—the vague outline of a city surrounding an immense tower—but it was hard to see what the houses or the city itself actually looked like.
I saw Lesky trying to light a flame, but the light was immediately absorbed by the mountain's rocky walls.
"This is the territory of darkness… I doubt light will really work here," Pendo remarked as she approached one of the walls, then continued,
"The walls… this isn't regular rock anymore. I imagine it's some kind of variant that absorbs light… Lesky, come here."
Lesky looked at Pendo and approached her, while I just stood back, occasionally glancing toward the city below us.
"Lesky, create some flames." She made a small flame appear in her hand, but it immediately vanished into the wall, absorbed. Pendo nodded in conclusion.
"So light's going to be useless to us."
She returned to me and Aristeus, who had stayed behind watching her and Lesky.
"Well, let's try to find a way down," Aristeus declared. I nodded and turned toward the distant tower, looking for a path—but with the darkness, I couldn't see anything clearly. By reflex, I stepped forward, but that was a mistake. The moment my foot touched the ground, it gave way beneath me, and I slipped, carried down by the collapsing earth.
"Roxy!"
Lesky's voice called out as I seemed to fall deep into the ground. I felt my backside being practically shredded by the descent, and when I finally landed, a rock was in my way—I slammed into it, sending a jolt of intense pain through my left ankle. I knew that pain—it was the same as when I'd run the Neko City race. I couldn't help but cry out as I brought my hands down to my ankle.
Normally, when I get hurt, Kety—my second mother, who's a nurse—is always nearby. She knows exactly how to handle injuries. But this time, she wasn't here. I was alone, in the dark. I tried to stand, but a horrible pain shot through my ankle, and I couldn't move without my face twisting in agony.
Suddenly, I saw a figure approaching. It was hard to make out clearly in the darkness, but as she came closer, I could see she was someone with obsidian-black skin patterned with glowing markings that reminded me of mineral veins. Her eyes were red. She looked like a woman of an age I couldn't guess.
"You need help… I think… Don't worry, I'll help you…"
I wasn't going to refuse help, so I simply nodded. Should I trust someone from a race I didn't know? Theoretically, no—but in this situation, I didn't really have a choice. The woman called out to some companions—two men, one around her age and the other younger.
"Akhal, Atsi… come help me."
"Yes, Mom," replied Atsi, the younger one. I guessed they must be a family. But who could be living in a place like this? They didn't look like monsters, just slightly different humans.
In the end, I let Akhal and Atsi carry me. They were physically similar to the mother—in terms of species. Now that I thought about it, I'd never heard of a race like this. I wondered if there was a connection to the Deadhorse. Could it be that, just like demi-gods represented each species, each Deadhorse also had a race they represented?
They carried me to a house close to where I had fallen—it was only a few meters away, yet I hadn't been able to see it. Even inside, everything was so dark that I couldn't make out anything more than a few meters away, as if I were blindfolded. The only thing that allowed me to see this family at all were the faint glowing patterns on their bodies.
They lay me down on a bed. I see the woman who had taken me in trying to wrap a bandage around my sprained ankle, and I can't help but wince. Akhal brings me a glass of water with some medicine—probably painkillers. I swallow the pills with the water. They have a strange taste, but I'm not about to complain; I already feel a bit better.
"You can stay here tonight, Babylonian," the woman says kindly, but I'm quickly confused. Why is she calling me that?
"Babylonian?"
"Yes, that's what we call the participants in the trials. We've been seeing several of you in the streets these past few days. Our Deadhorse told us to take care of you."
I put a hand on my forehead. So "Babylonians" is the term for the players in this game. Alright, I'll remember that.
"This might sound rude, but… what is your race? I've never seen anyone like you before."
"We are Daisians. We were born from the Deadhorse of darkness, and we live by its side."
My theory turns out to be correct—Deadhorses really do have affiliated races.
"And… again, I'm sorry if this is rude, but what makes you different… from us?"
The woman smiles.
"Well, we can see perfectly in underground darkness, and our vocal cords are different—we have one higher-pitched and one lower-pitched. We use them for singing."
"That's amazing… But normally I can see better in the dark, and here I can hardly see anything?"
"Oh, that's normal. The walls are coated with a special layer that captures light, and they project a kind of shadowy aura that makes this place completely dark for any species… It's a defense mechanism for our people."
I nod, but I'm feeling more and more tired. Seeing this, Ahri hands me a bowl of mushroom soup—it's not bad—and once I've finished, I slowly drift off to sleep.
I wake later in complete darkness, but it's not the house where I had taken shelter. Suddenly, I see a white jacket and white hair. Without a doubt, Dena is in my dreams again.
She turns to me with a big smile and approaches.
"I congratulate you for your achievements—you finally managed to make some friends. I didn't think you had it in you."
I look away, pouting slightly.
"I wasn't friendless! There was… uh… Lara!"
"You mean the girl who ate your lunch 90% of the time when you were twelve, even though she lives in a palace?"
I sigh lightly. That Lara was a rich girl to whom I gave my lunch out of kindness—back when I was still trying to make friends.
"I know… Okay, I don't have friends, but that's not the most important thing… Why did you wake me up here?"
"You're about to face your first trial. I have to help you—a beautiful display of generosity on my part, don't you think?"
I nod. Help certainly wouldn't hurt.
"Perfect! First, you should know that the Babylonians of Daïs will have the advantage over you! And also, since I removed your bond with Taus, your original Deadhorse, you no longer possess his power… so you're at a disadvantage."
I sigh. This wasn't sounding good if I was already at a disadvantage.
"So what? What's your advantage?" She gives me a very unsettling smile—what is she plotting now?
"If I managed to unlink you from your original Deadhorse, I can link you to another. And so, for each trial, I'll grant you the power of that trial's Deadhorse."
My eyes sparkle at the thought. That means I could really make a difference with such a powerful ability.
"But be careful, Roxy. Just because you have an advantage doesn't mean you can't lose—so don't get overconfident."
"Yes… I'll be careful."
"One last thing, before I disappear and let you wake up…"
I tilt my head to the side, curious.
"Don't tell anyone, and act as if you don't have a Deadhorse's power. If any of them find out that you can mimic the power of each Deadhorse, and word reaches Zaït, I wouldn't give much for your life."
Information stored in my little head—whatever happens, I must not tell anyone. I watch Dena turn to leave, and then I wake up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lore informations
Daisians : A species borned from the Deadhorse of Darkness, they have an obsidian dark skin with some light patterns on their body that remind of minerals veins. Their eyes are fully colored. They can see in the darkness and have two vocal chords, they can live between 300 and 400 years
Daïsa : A big city surronding a big and tall tower, it is really hard to see something. The walls of the caves are totally black and absorb lights. It also create a sort of darkness aura making it harder for peoples to see well in the dark. The citizens living there are "Daisians" .The city is at the bottom of that very big cave, a very big cliff surronding the city.The buildings are made with the same absorbing property than the walls of the cave
Daisian Family : A familly of Daisians who find Roxy and help her fix her ankles, the family is composed of : Teoria (the mother), Akhal (the father) ,Atsi (the Son)
Teoria introduces them to the Daisians race and the cave of darkness
Roxy's Ability : At every challenge, she will temporarly mimick the powers of the heirs of the deadhorses that participate at the challenge. She must keep it secret, this ability is given by Denasaia