On June 23, early in the morning, Kisolo did not wake up as usual, there was no rooster crowing, no children running in the streets, just the wind hitting the tin roofs and the sound of Nanu’s wood fire crackling softly, she had been awake since four in the morning, in front of her two small cloth bags containing boiled cassava, roasted peanuts, and a flask of water from the well, nothing more, her hands trembled slightly but her face remained hard, she did not want to show her fear.
“Eat well” she said, handing the bags to her sons, her voice was calm but her eyes shone with a worry she could not hide, she hugged Raider first, tight, as if she wanted to transfer all her strength to him, then she took Rambo in her arms and whispered “come back alive”, that was all, no tears, no pleas, a mother of warriors does not cry in front of her sons before they leave for battle.
Raider nodded, he was seventeen years old, his shoulders were already broad, a scar on his chin, he did not speak much but his eyes were hard and determined, Rambo next to him, fifteen years old, thinner, his eyes bright and sharp, he spoke for both of them, “we’re going to win mom, I promise we’ll bring back the money” he said with a smile that barely hid his nervousness.
They left the village at dawn, the red earth sticking to their bare feet, behind them Kisolo grew smaller and smaller, a green spot in the middle of the forest, ahead of them stretched the long dusty road, the path to the unknown, the path to their destiny.
The first day they walked for twelve hours non-stop, the sun beat down hard on their heads, they sometimes ran when a truck passed to catch the dust and go faster, they drank from dirty rivers, they slept under trees with their bags as pillows, when night fell Raider refused to sleep, he stood guard, a machete in his hand, his eyes scanning the darkness, “bandits roam around here” he said to Rambo who was trembling under his blanket, “we can’t afford to get our things stolen”, Rambo pretended to sleep but he listened to every sound, every crack of a branch, every bird cry in the night.
The second day they saw the paved road for the first time, motorcycles sped by, crowded buses, trucks loaded with goods, the smell of diesel and smoke filled the air, posters were plastered everywhere on the walls: “THE GREAT TOURNAMENT OF THE SIXTH KINGDOM – 6 SPOTS – GLORY AND RICHES”, Rambo’s heart beat faster when he saw those words, “brother…
is this really it?” he asked, holding his breath, Raider did not answer right away, he tightened his grip on his bag and said “we came for this, we’re not backing down now”.
On June 24 at noon, they finally arrived at the capital, Rambo stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth open, his eyes wide, he had never seen a place so big and so impressive, glass and steel skyscrapers rose toward the sky, motorcycles roaring like thunder raced through the streets, red and gold flags of the Sixth Kingdom flew everywhere, and in the center of it all, like a sun fallen to earth, stood THE ARENA, it was huge and golden, with columns as tall as ten houses, thousands of people were already entering through the giant gates, but what chilled Rambo’s blood were the other candidates, men two meters tall, bare-chested, covered in scars, women with knives at their belts and cold stares, some already had weapons, others meditated with their eyes closed, no one laughed, no one spoke for no reason, the atmosphere was heavy and threatening.
“Breathe” said Raider, placing his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “they’re just men, like us”, but even he had his jaw clenched and his gaze tense.
To register, they had to wait in line in front of a huge white tent, the line stretched over three hundred meters, guards in armor with spears in hand shouted “MOVE FORWARD!
NAME!
VILLAGE!”, when it was their turn, a fat bearded guard asked without looking up “Name?”, Raider replied “Raider from Kisolo”, Rambo added “Rambo from Kisolo”, the guard looked up for a second, he saw their patched clothes, their dirty feet, their tired faces, he smirked, a mocking smile, then he threw them two red armbands with the numbers 147 and 148 engraved on them, “Next!” he barked without giving them another glance.
Outside, Raider put on his armband and tightened it so hard that the fabric almost cut off the circulation in his arm, “from now on, we talk to no one, we trust no one” he said in a cold voice, “we came for the six spots, period, no one will stop us”, Rambo nodded but his eyes were looking everywhere, he was scared, but he was also excited, a strange mix of terror and hope that made his hands tremble.
To enter the arena, all candidates had to pass through a narrow passage called “The Corridor”, it was fifty meters long and inside masked instructors were waiting, they were big and muscular, they pushed the candidates, they shoved them, they shouted “WEAK!
GET OUT!” to see who panicked, who cried, who fought back, Raider went first, he walked straight without ever slowing down, he didn’t even blink when an instructor shoved his shoulder into his chest, Rambo followed closely, but suddenly a shove, a big guy behind Rambo pushed him hard and he lost his balance, he bumped into someone in front of him, “HEY!
WATCH IT!” said a calm voice, too calm, the guy turned around slowly, he was tall, almost six feet two, short black hair, a thin scar on his left eyebrow, he wore simple worn-out clothes, but his eyes, his eyes were empty, as if he had already seen death up close, as if he had nothing left to lose.
“Sorry, I’m sorry” stammered Rambo, stepping back, the guy looked at him for two seconds, then he lowered his head slightly and said “Mito…
uh…
Lisko Tokyo”, the name came out too fast, a fake name, it was obvious, Rambo relieved replied “I’m Rambo, he’s nice” he whispered under his breath.
But Raider arrived like a tornado, he stepped between his brother and the stranger, “RAMBO!
STEP BACK!” he shouted in a hard voice, he stared straight into Mito’s eyes, “we’re not here to make foreign friends, got it?
Back off, or I’ll take care of you myself!”, the air around them changed, it became heavier, more tense, Mito did not move an inch, not a single muscle in his face twitched, he looked at Raider’s armband number 147 then he spoke, softly but everyone in the corridor heard him: “I’m not here to make friends either, I’m here to win, and apparently, that’s what you’re hoping for too, people from Kisolo.”
“I’LL KILL YOU, YOU FOOL!” shouted Raider, stepping forward, his fists were clenched, the vein in his neck was pounding like a drum, the other candidates stopped to watch, some were smiling, they loved blood even before the tournament began, for three seconds, no one breathed, no one moved.
Then the gong rang, BOOOONG!, huge, it made the ground shake beneath their feet, a voice thundered through the speakers: “ENTER THE ARENA!
ALL CANDIDATES INSIDE NOW!”, Mito broke his gaze from Raider, turned around and left without a word, without looking back, he disappeared into the crowd, Rambo finally exhaled, he hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, “brother…
he seemed nice though…” he said trembling, Raider grabbed him by the shoulder, hard, “shut up, stay focused, if you let your guard down here you die, we’re fighting for Nanu, for Kisolo, to survive, not for friends, got it?” Rambo nodded, they moved forward.
In front of them stood the arena, five hundred candidates stood in the dust, in the center six empty thrones awaited their future occupants, above them nobles in their boxes watched like they were watching fighting roosters, a man in golden armor climbed onto a platform and shouted “WELCOME TO THE TOURNAMENT OF THE SIXTH KINGDOM!
500 CANDIDATES, 6 WINNERS, THE FIRST TRIAL BEGINS NOW!”, he raised his hand and iron doors opened beneath the arena, a dull sound, a rumbling, Rambo felt his blood turn cold, Raider closed his eyes for a second, then he opened them and said “we live or we die today”, in the distance, in the crowd, Mito turned his head toward them, just one second, then he looked ahead, the tournament was about to begin.
End of chapter 3
“Raider almost fought with Mito before the tournament even began, but who is this boy with the empty eyes?
And why did he lie about his name?
The answer in the next chapter!”
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