This world is one of unforgiving truths. Power is not something someone can easily attain. They must fight tooth and nail for it, no matter the consequences, no matter the cost. And even then, they are not guaranteed to succeed.

So what drives people? Why do they unforgivingly punish themselves just for the distant hope of rising among their peers and gaining strength and fame? Is it a distant goal that they wish to reach? Is it a faint dream that they once had? It could be, and it couldn’t. Of the countless souls scattered clamoring for more, they all have their own varying reasons for what they do and don’t, whether they know it or not.

And in front of these reasons and dreams, that chance of failure seems all too insignificant. However, that chance of failure will never disappear, it will simply wait and tread silently in the face of these aspirations. And one day, it will strike. In this world, that is an absolute.

Once that failure arrives, it threatens to consume everything in its path. Everything that drove someone forward will crumble, becoming nothing more than a lost thought throughout the passage of time.

Now, Arc was facing that very possibility. Panicked thoughts run throughout his mind as he looks at the unlit candles.

“NO! If I don’t light a candle they won’t even accept me. If that happens, I won’t be able to find my mother, I won’t be able to do anything! I know the results don’t matter, all I have do is light a flame, the tiniest one will do! That’s all I’m asking for.”

And so he takes another step forwards, and the candles continue to simply be.

Savvas looks on surprised. Although he did not like Arc due to his prior false deductions, he was still expecting him to call on a impressive reaction. But what was happening was completely betraying his expectations. Arc was the worst of the examinee’s he had seen.

Arc had frozen, he did not know what to do. If above the candles a flame didn’t form, then everything he needed to attain was in jeopardy.

Sitting behind the old man, Arthur saw Arc’s pathetic state and frowned. He opened his mouth, and yelled at him, every word coming out of his mouth drenched in disgust.

“What are you doing? Why are you just standing there, can’t you see that’s not gonna do anything? People with actual talent are still waiting. You clearly don’t have what it takes to be here, get lost!”

To Arthur, talent was everything. His own talent was the only thing that could free him from his live of poverty. But, he could still forgive those without talent.. However, those who stood still in front of adversity, that was absolutely something he could not forgive. His parents could do nothing, they just sat around as they watched themselves and their children starve. That was what formed this deep seeded hatred. To him, Arc was a clear example of everything that he despised.

Savvas laughs at this quite loudly, and then also shouts out his own insults at Arc.

“Yes! The boy’s quite right. You’re clearly not cut out for this. But, I’ll give you a bone. If you turn around now and leave here, I’ll get you a boat to the Emperor Island so that you can hide under Alexander’s influence for the rest of your life.”

An offer that was enticing, a life of luxury at the Emperor Island. If Arc heard what the old man had said, maybe he would have been enticed in his darkest moment. But he couldn’t, the world around him and already turned to black.

He was simply standing in a void, time seemed infinite as his own thoughts ran rampant.

“Am I gonna be cut short? Just like that? This isn’t about skill or hard work, it’s just a game, a whim of the heavens. Even though it’s just that, it still controls everything about my future. That’s… Insane!”

Slowly, his body moves forwards on the path towards the old man and Arthur. The old man scoffs loudly, but also speaks in a hushed tone that not even Arthur can hear.

“It won’t work kid. The flames haven’t lit, there’s no chance for you. Fate isn’t kind enough to change its answer. What’s done, is done.”

10 steps.

7 steps.

Arc now stands 5 steps away from the end of the path, the end of his journey which hadn’t even begun. His body moves sluggishly, his movements carry a heavy weight of seemingly broken resolve. His face carries nothing, just a blank look that can’t even see the world around it.

The attendant that had called on Arc keeps the same face as always, but she thinks silently to herself.

“I don’t blame him. For someone so young to be told that they have no future is a very heavy burden to bear. If I was in his situation back when I took the test, I might drag it out just like he is, just putting off that final moment of despair. How truly awful it must be…”

It was now the third step from the end, and Arc’s mind once again sprang to life.

“Three steps, that’s all it takes to get to the end. When I reach there, it’ll truly be the end. No candles will light and I’ll never be able to complete what I set out to do. Being here at the Fool Island is imperative for what I have to do, and if I can’t make it then... this is gonna be the end”

Lifting his foot takes all his might, and he begins the next step forwards. But after lifting it for a moment, he sets it back down to where it once was. His body that was previously weighted down in everyone’s eyes seems to spring to life, as if that weight had been completely lifted. His face filled with new life fills with a smirk that the old man finds repulsive. He narrows his eyes, and is about to yell at Arc. But before he can Arc directly addresses him.

“Examiner, as long as I’m on this path and these candles are lit by a flame, am I allowed into the Fool Island?”

The old man rolls his eyes in response to the question, and with a heavy sigh he answers Arc’s question.

“Yes, that is how the test works. It’s a sacred test we’ve been using for generations. As long as those candles light I won’t argue with the result, that is the way this test works. But, don’t even bother trying to light all these candles with normal methods. It won’t work, they’re all tuned to the potential of those who walk onto it. For you, there’s no hope. Give up.”

Arc nods his head as he listens to the explanation, and then he simply sits down where he stands. He fishes something out of his pocket, and starts flipping it like a coin.

The rest of the examinees that were present looked on confused, and Arthur looked furious. For the first time, the attendant has a major change in her change in her facial expression. Shock filled her face, and the rest of the attendees also looked on confused. And one even lets out a shocked yell.

“That’s an option!?”

Savvas grits his teeth and spits out a question towards Arc.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy!?”

Arc responds simply, the smirk still covering his face.

“I’m taking a break. I need to think of a way to light these candles. If you don’t like it, feel free to step on this path and forcibly remove me. Though if someone like you stepped on this path… I’m sure these candles would light with flame”

Veins on Savvas’s face begin to bulge in anger.

“Don’t think that I can’t kill you where you stand! You’re….”

Anger was quickly replaced with horror as he saw what exactly it was that Arc was flipping in the air. It was a token, with a crown piercing a sword engraved onto it.

“That’s an emperor token! Did Alexander..? He actually gave you something like that!?”

His inner thoughts begin to fill with turmoil as his eyes follow the emperor token in the air.

“If he uses that thing, everyone here will die. I wouldn’t be able to save Arthur let alone myself. This might be getting out of control. No, no that’s not true. Everything is fine. Even if I can’t personally intervene, there’s no way he can light those candles. His fate’s undeniable. I just need to wait him out. He clearly wants to join the Fool Island, so he wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill everyone here just because he fails the test. All he’s doing is using that token as a barrier so that I wouldn’t dare attack him. Hmph, clever. But no matter how clever you are, talent is talent. You won’t be able to make up for your lack of it.”

Savvas quickly calms down, but the newfound is once again blown away. His face fills with shock and once again horror.

What caused this reaction was Arc of course, he had stopped flipping the emperor token in the air and was now letting it rest in his hand. That simple action caused a great change. The space around Arc began to tremble with invisible vibrations, and Arc could feel a great power welling up inside him.

Alexanders voice begins to speak inside Arc’s head.

“This emperor token carries a portion of my power. I made it especially for you. It’s purpose is to save you in case you’re in any trouble, but you can only use it three times. Using it is pretty simple, just hold it in your hand and imagine something. The token should respond, and if it doesn’t… well, don’t worry about that. As long you’re on the rage continent, this token will be able to at least injure anyone you’re up against.”

Arc takes note of this, he flips the token in the air once more, seemingly ending the tremors that vibrated the space around him.This calms the old man down a bit, as he believes everything is back to normal. However, if he were to know what Arc was planning he would certainly be fuming with rage.

“I can’t light the candles by myself, that seems to be fact. If my destiny is to fail here, then all I can do is….”

In the eyes of Arc, time begins to slow down as the emperor token flips through the air.

“Intrude upon someone else's!”

Arc jumps up incredibly quickly from his stationary position on the ground and grabs the token in the palm of his hand. It glows with a golden light, and numerous chains shoot out of it all heading towards one person, Arthur!

Arthur's face lights with surprise as he watches the chains shooting towards him. They surround him in an instant, covering all of his body except his face.

“HUH!?”

Yelling out with surprise Arthur is lifted off the ground, and the chains all start retracting towards the token, the token that lies in Arcs hand.

Watching the chains, Savvas can only grit his teeth knowing that if he interferes then everyone in the room could be in danger.

With a thud, Arthur lands in front of Arc. The moment his body touches the path they were both on, flames explode out over the candles that lined the path on both sides. Arthur tries to scream several obscenities at Arc, but his mouth too gets sealed by the chains on his body.

Arc looked at the flames and took the final 3 steps the path had left for him. He walked up to the old man, the token still in his hands and the chains still flowing out of it and wrapping around Arthur. With a deep breath, Arc utters 4 words.

“I lit the candles.”