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Within a set space, there was an arrangement of vertical and horizontal blocks with one opening. Among those blocks, there was a single one that had to be pushed out of the opening in order to complete the puzzle.

However, the difficulty of the game came because every block seemed to have the sole purpose of stopping you from sliding that penultimate block out of the opening. In addition, each block had access to only one-dimensional movement. Meaning, you could only move a given block either left or right, or up and down.

The worst part was that this array took this difficulty to a whole other level. For one, instead of a simple and straight forward sliding of the block by pushing or pulling, all movements were dictated by the pattern of movement a person trapped in the array executed. And to make it worse, the patterns of movement became convoluted because the array was constantly making you go left when you wanted to go right, or up when you wanted to go down.

And to add yet another layer of complexity, while this block game in the human world usually maxed out at maybe 10 total blocks… this array had 999!

Ri’s voice rang out. “Dyon?”

Dyon looked confused, “yea?”

“Did you say something?”

Dyon frown deepened. “You didn’t hear me?”

“No… you said something?”

A sudden realization hit Dyon. “This is an ancient game!”

“An ancient game?…” Ri shivered, “so I can’t hear your explanation…”

She had seen ancient games many times before… but their scale was much smaller than this. How could this be an ancient game?

But, she didn’t doubt Dyon. The fact he had tried to explain something she didn’t hear was all the proof that was needed. What they hadn’t realized was the mere fact Dyon could even attempt to explain meant he had reached a watershed moment in his understanding of the game. If it had been anyone else, they would have been blocked off from even attempting to speak on it. Yet, to Dyon, he spoke, it was just that Ri didn’t hear! Which meant, Dyon had grasped the game, but the array blocked Ri from gaining Dyon’s knowledge!

Dyon thought deeply to himself. ‘No wonder elves are supposedly the best at these games… their legacy world literally opens with them!’

Because of the Eostre family, the elves were nigh untouched in this game. Their movements held mistakes because they were technically ‘fake’ True Empaths… but much less than that of a normal human or beast. And, the truth was, if True Empaths were also mistake free, why would past geniuses ever have died?

Being a pseudo or True Empath only made the game easier… kind of like having a modified controller to cheat a video game. It wasn’t perfect. Only by knowing the true rules of the games would you succeed 100% of the time.

So… because of this experience, Dyon had suddenly gained an all-new skill.

But… if it wasn’t for the puppet protecting Dyon and Ri from the pressure, they would have long since died. But, thanks to proper planning, everything worked out.

Dyon chuckled. “It really took me almost a month to figure out the rules of a game… how ridiculous. Hold on little feu glace, we’re about to start moving really fast… the pressure is getting to be too much. If it wasn’t for our friendly puppet here, we would have long since been crushed!”

Dyon flashed to Ri’s side, seemingly now completely unbothered by the space distortion of the ancient game.

Ri looked happy to see Dyon for the first time in weeks. In fact, she hadn’t even heard him speak. All she felt was the constant pressure of his aurora, keeping her calm.

Dyon hadn’t had any rest. His brain felt like it was on its last heels, but, the strength of his body had vastly increased thanks to the food of Heaven’s Wine… so, he was barely holding it together.

When Ri saw Dyon’s haggard appearance, she felt a dull ache in her heart.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly.

Dyon grinned despite the space around his eyes looking as though he had been punched repeatedly.

“I’m just fine… I just need a rest, but I don’t want to fall off the puppet. So, I came to lie on you.”

Ri rolled her eyes. How ridiculous was that excuse? As if the puppet would ever allow Dyon to fall.

But, she only sighed as Dyon collapsed into a deep sleep as soon as his head fell into her lap. It was like he no longer had any strength to stand.

‘I came to help you… but I only became a pillow…’

Ri blushed a bit when she felt Dyon’s hands wrap around her waist, faintly touching the exposed skin between her sweatpants and sports bra. But, she couldn’t bring herself to push him away… so, she just gently played with his golden-brown hair as the puppet acted on Dyon’s final commands….

Dyon slept a long time… fully aware that this set of commands would take at least three days to complete…

The last thought Dyon had before becoming unconscious was one even the elves had themselves.

‘Why is an ancient game guarding a special legacy world…’

**

Outside of Dead Kings Valley, the Elvin Kingdom was getting restless.

The alliance felt they no longer had a head and could only conclude that maybe it was best they chose a new side to support…

At the same time, the Sigebryht and Norville families were taking full advantage… announcing that they would have important news that would change the direction of the kingdom come the banquet in one month’s time.

The sub-families had no idea how to take this. They could only sway with the wind, hoping the bloodshed would be kept to a minimum.

But, many thought there would be no bloodshed. What use would there be for it? The king was gone. His daughter was dead. His niece was missing. And his brother had no power to do anything.

Headmaster Acacia could only believe in Dyon. He had met the boy himself, he was absolutely certain that he wouldn’t harm Ri. If Ri’s father was wrong about this… what use were his centuries of experience be? To be unable to read the motivations of a teenage boy? How ridiculous!

He had kept himself distant from the alliance because he was aware that his actions had been closely monitored ever since his brother appointed him this position. But now he felt like a useless figurehead. One with no real sway to do anything…

Headmaster Acacia sighed. ‘Just what are you planning… I know you’ve been there… so, just what did you figure out to make these moves…’

**

In a far corner of the Elvin Island, in the Sigebryht holy land, a secret meeting was taking place…

There, a man who looked like a much more mature Zaltarish stood.

He was almost three meters in height. His skin was a pale grey, yet his long dark hair and piercing red eyes gave him a devilish handsomeness few could match… it was impossible to tell that he was thousands of years old.

He stood in a dark throne room, a layer of palpable darkness layering everything.

Suddenly, the large doors of the room pushed open, allowing a rushing teenage boy in.

Kneeling before his father, Zaltarish quickly spoke. “Father, they’re here.”

The head of the Sigebryht family, Sinaht Sigebryht, nodded faintly, turning his body towards the entrance as an old Chinese man many heads shorter than him walked in.

On one side of him was a beautiful fair-skinned Asian girl. Her hair was a jet black, but her eyes were a twinkling purple color. Despite this, she seemed deadpan, unwilling to express any emotions.

On the other side, was a handsome Chinese young man. He stood taller than his elder and he had the air of a genius but was still reserved in the presence of his elder.

Sinaht’s eyes sharpened as he looked at the old man. Despite their difference in height, he felt unparalleled danger.

‘Celestial realm…’

The old man chuckled lightly at Sinaht’s serious reaction, not minding at all. Although they looked like a member of the older generation meeting that of the younger, they were in fact around the same age.

The old man slightly nodded. “This is my second granddaughter in law, Meiying. This is my grandson, Chenglei. The Daiyu family greets the Sigebryht head…

“Now, shall we get to business?”