As soon as the words left his mouth, Arthur regretted that he had let them out. However, the pebble was already in the water and he felt suddenly exhausted. He slumped to the couch tiredly as he stared at Ivy with a tilted head.
"So, what if I don't join you guys? Would you kill me? Break my legs and fix them and expect me to be happy?" Arthur knew they helped him; it just left a bitter taste in his mouth to be manipulated.
"Si is a good person, Newbie." Ivy pulled a wooden chair from the side and sat on it backward. She leaned forward and continued. "He asked us to help you, and we were late for that. Maybe it was as you say, that he wanted you to feel grateful. It doesn't change that you need him, we all do. He needs you too."
"For what?"
"For his revenge, for his ambitions. He can offer you what you want if you help with what he wants. You know his ability."
"I do," Arthur nodded. "That's why you could be telling me this on his command. Feed me these truths or lies." He saw her expression change; he realized the rest should be buried in his heart. "I already told Si that I would help him as long as he helps me, no need for ploys. Don't you think so, Si?"
There was a brief silence. Arthur's phone rang.
"… You're right." Si's voice came out from the speaker after Arthur accepted the call. "However, I never intended for you to get hurt. If something did arise, that they would have helped you immediately. I'm sorry that it became this way." Si's tone was apologetic, but Arthur didn't know how much of it was planned as well.
"Immediately after breaking a few ribs," Arthur's sarcasm made Ivy clench her fist. He knew that it was time to change his stance. "Even still, you helped me with what I asked for and the mess I made. I owe you one,"
"… No, that's what a family does." Si's tone was sincere, yet there was a weird tone of disappointment in it. Arthur had no idea why exactly. Maybe things were not as they seemed? It was then that he realized Ivy gritting her teeth.
"It was you," Arthur looked at Ivy and laughed at how ridiculous it was. "You decided I needed to be beaten up at first," Si remained silent, suggesting he also realized it but hoped Arthur would blame it on him. As for Arthur himself, he was torn between blaming her and blaming his weakness. He was the one who was caught, she had no obligation to help him.
"I just hope you weren't the one who made them catch me."
"No! I'll never do such a thing!" Ivy stood up from her chair, agitated. "I'll never do things such as betrayal." She sounded offended.
"Ivy," Si's voice was soaked with disappointment.
"I…" Her voice trailed.
"Si, it's alright. Can we talk later? I still have a competition to catch up to." Arthur had no interest in witnessing their drama.
"Very well. However, did you discover anything yesterday?
This question made Arthur pause as his mind raced. Should he tell Si about the attack that's going to happen to the Yalveran Kingdom? Should he tell anyone? Did he have anyone to tell, to begin with? Who could change anything about it? Who can warn the Yalveran Kingdom? Did he even need to take the risk of involving himself? His head throbbed with pain.
Then it dawned at him. Si should already know what's going on. If he foresaw the attack on the kingdom, he should already have his plan. This was nothing but a test from Si. A test to see if Arthur trusted him. There was also the possibility that Si knew about the attack, but he didn't know about the weapon of mass destruction. Maybe he knew about neither?
Why did everything lack certainty at this point?
"I did," Arthur proceeded to tell him what he heard. The weapon needing to be activated in the Apprentice's Cup. The person who was supposed to activate it. Everything that he heard. When he was done, Si sighed.
"Thank you," He said, in a sincere voice that Arthur lacked the evidence to doubt. "Master Ronin and I have been seeing visions about a calamity to come. However, we had no idea when it would happen or what it is." Arthur's guess was right, Si knew there was something that was going on. But how far did he see?
"We should try to track Tyrin, capture, even… kill him if necessary. Such a weapon shouldn't be activated." Arthur suggested.
"I agree, but I doubt they would just let him be taken when their whole plan relies on him. If the kingdom faces an attack, we need to know from who and when. I'll see what I can do about the kingdom's preparations."
"What about the weapon?"
"Right now, we have no idea what that is. We don't know where Tyrin is. I tried seeing where he was but there was nothing, black and endless darkness."
As black as an Ender, Arthur thought.
"Then we're doing nothing?" Arthur furrowed his brows. If his home was attacked, would he be able to protect his mother, his brother, or himself?
"Ivy and Reece will help you, in trying to gather clues in the Apprentices Cup. Without much evidence, I doubt anyone would believe this story. If we knew what the weapon is, where it was, or how it would be activated, then we might be able to convince someone. Right now, our hands are tied. We can only warn the kingdom and hope for the best."
"Okay," Arthur was again reminded of his legacy quest. Was the attack the Enders' goal? Was it the weapon of mass destruction? He didn't know. However, that wouldn't last for long. He bid Si farewell and closed the call. Ivy was still standing there, listening quietly.
"Why did you do it, though?" Arthur checked the time and there was still a bit left before he needed to go and meet Emma at the hotel. Ivy stood there rooted, seeming to ponder about what to say.
"A lesson for you," She paused. "I needed you to realize how reckless it was without us." Arthur found it reasonable, but wouldn't excuse her extreme method. "I also thought it would push you to trust Si."
"Ah, okay. I'm leaving." Arthur stood up.
He could sit here and argue with her, but he didn't feel like it was a good time. Furthermore, he still didn't know how much of this was true. Whether she was the one who tried to gain his trust by playing the 'let's save the damsel in distress' trope or if it was Si's doing, he couldn't know for sure. He already thanked them and needed to leave.
"Okay," Ivy seemed to want to say a few more things but withheld them. "We'll follow you to the competition on our own." As they walked to the door, Arthur suddenly thought about something.
'Why are they so willing to help me in return for something uncertain?' He had no doubt this girl could slap the life out of him in seconds. However, she was trying to explain and gain his trust. Was it something related to their goal? He didn't know, but for now, he would use them as they use him.
Arthur took a cab to the hotel where he found Emma, worried that Arthur didn't answer her calls or return to the hotel. He explained that nothing happened, he just got drunk with a friend. He did earn another round of teasing but nothing else.
"We need to leave; we're going to be late." She said, leading Arthur to the limousine again.
"Where are we going?" Arthur said after he sat in the car, dressed in the official robes of the workshop. The fabric danced with the wind from the rolled-down window. He felt like he was being dressed up for a ball instead of a competition.
"The Rune's Association Branch of The Yalveran Union. They have a teleportation circle that would lead us to the Three Regions."
"Three Regions of Runes, I read that the competition would be happening there."
"Yeah. It's a forgotten land. A wilderness that they use to host the competition each year. They send Runes Master from the headquarter of the association to supervise the Runes Apprentice Cup."
"Isn't that dangerous? To hold this in the middle of nowhere?"
"Every participating nation needs to send its forces to help keep things at bay. If anyone tries anything, they would be subjected. If not by the nations, then by the runes of the association." Emma shrugged and then added. "There would also be a Runes Grandmaster there. I bet every nation would be fighting to earn his favor." She chuckled and Arthur simply smiled. He looked outside the window and saw the Heji River, running parallel to the road they were taking outside the city toward one of the hills where the association was.
The water danced and the sun reflected on its surface. The breeze brushed against his hair, and Arthur's spirits were slightly lifted. The events of last night had changed the reason he's going to the competition.
'I still need to beat up Tyrin, though'. Arthur smiled to himself.