Phase 35 “The Act”
The air that pervaded the room was heavy and musty, neither of which he enjoyed. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a square room lit by a weak orange light. He looked down and saw that both of his wrists were chained to what appeared to be bars. As he started to become aware of his surroundings again, strange noises were being made by a propeller.
Clay and stone were used to construct the walls, while metal plates were used to plant on the floor. The ceiling seems to have been polished at some point in the past as it was relatively flat. It reflected very few of the light's sparks despite the low intensity. As his vision improved and cleared, he noticed two persons sitting on the ground in the middle of the room. The bars separating them made it appear as though they were confined in a large cage. Then there was another one bound similarly to him on the opposite side of the cage, outside of it.
“Allen! Benji! Nathan!” He yelled their names. Slowly, they gradually started to stir and faintly opened their eyes as they did so. Allen was the first one to wake up, and his voice was so weary that it sounded like a whisper as it came out of his mouth.
“Kai... en... Where are... we?” Allen asked before a few seconds later he knew what happened. They fell into the shaman’s trap.
“... Hurm... Nathan!” Benji shouted once he fully awoke and immediately ran to Nathan. They were in the exact middle of the room. They were not bound in any way, in contrast to Kaien and Allen. Nathan slowly started to open his eyes.
“It seems like everybody is ready to play the games now.” The voice of the shaman could be heard reverberating through the air as he spoke. They all looked for the old man and tried to find him, but they were unsuccessful. Benji was going to stand up and release Allen, and Nathan was preparing to release Kaien, but the shaman stopped them just in time to give them some advice.
“Don't ever think of setting both of them free. If you come out from the cage, I'll kill both of them,” the shaman said. Benji and Nathan ceased their attempts to climb the bar or break it as the tone of the speaker became more definitive.
“What do you want from us?” Nathan finally asked.
The voice of the shaman rang in the air as two long, antique swords appeared out of nowhere in front of Nathan and Benji. “It's simple,” the shaman said. “Fight to the death. Don't stop until one of you has taken his very last breath.”
“In your dream!” Benji replied in a mocking tone.
“We’ll see...”
Then, there was complete silence. They looked around, and Allen attempted to locate the shaman using his power, but efforts were in vain. To their utter shock, Kaien had all of a sudden begun to scream. Allen struggled, attempting to free himself while also kept asking what was wrong with Kaien. Benji and Nathan tried to escape from the cage they were in, but in their attempt to rip the bar apart failed. They ended up getting electrocuted when they touched the iron. Kaien's screams did not stop, and he began to bleed from his nose.
“Please, I beg you! Stop this!” Allen let forth a piercing scream before Kaien finally calmed down. The others were watching their greatest terror as the anguish left him.
“Fight, generals or I’ll torture you king again,” the voice echoed. “Fight till one of you dies...”
Benji turned his head to glance at Nathan and gave him a long, thoughtful look before the two of them raised their swords. Allen pleaded with them not to hurt each other, and Kaien barely managed to keep his consciousness as the shaman tore his soul inside of his body.
“Nathan... I... I can’t do this...” Benji finally spoke as tears almost slipped out from his eyes.
“Ben... We do not have a choice... I have no choice... I'm sorry,” Nathan said. Then he pulled out his sword and made a powerful strike on Benji, who intercepted it with his clothed-sword. Nathan's anxiety, confusion, and fear as he started his attack. The conditions were too difficult for him. Along the same lines as Benji, he did not wish to cause harm to his childhood friend. But, he did not wish to see Kaien suffering any longer. He did not want to witness suffering any longer. Not people around him. Not anyone important to him.
The attack took Benji completely by surprise. He inhaled deeply as he attempted to gather his composure. He got to his feet and started to march in Nathan's direction as the other guy was delivering his counterattack. He attempted to injure Nathan by kicking him in the stomach, but Nathan was able to evade the blow and jump up. Nathan would easily be able to kill Benji with his sword, but the other man keeps moving back.
“Please... stop...” Kaien muttered between his labored breaths.
Before continuing his march to Nathan, Benji cast a hurt and desperate glance at Kaien. The sound of their swords coming into severe contact with one another was extremely high pitched. As Benji moved forward, he came dangerously close to injuring Nathan's shoulder. Nathan was able to evade the assault by bending down, and then he kicked Benji's sword, which caused them both to retreat once more.
They swung their swords at each other, trading blows. When the swords came into contact with one another, a sound like an endless tut was produced. Nathan was injured on his cheek by Benji's third attack in a row, and it was during one of those attacks that Benji managed to wound Nathan. Nathan's stroke cut him on the palm of the hand after he had just won, so his victory did not stay long. They were nearly on par with one another, and when they battled, they did so seriously because they were aware of the danger posed by the shaman if they pretended that their conflict was merely a game.
Benji had practiced with Nathan virtually every day in the past, so he knew him and vice versa quite well. They were able to predict what the other would do in the following attack, and because of this, they continued to primarily clash swords with each other even after about a half hour had gone. That was when Benji got it.
He was aware of what they were doing. They were simply buying time in the hopes that someone would intervene and stop the shaman. They waited for either Allen or Kaien to be able to break free of their confinement, tracked down the shaman and defeated him. Or it was possible that they waited for someone else, like Dominique, to show up. It did not make a difference. What they required was a miracle to take place quickly before they collapsed from exhaustion.
In the meantime, Kaien began to regain some of his lost strength. He tried to bust his cuff and come up with a solution, but he came up with nothing. When he peered at Allen, the other man appeared to be in somewhat better shape than previously. Allen was also deep in concentration, pondering several options for how they may escape the situation.
Then, to everyone's shock and horror, Nathan's strike caused Benji to stumble. Even though Nathan was surprised by the botched act, he was aware that it marked the conclusion of their play. Nathan pointed his sword at Benji's face while Benji's weapon was flung a few feet away.