They waited for their next instruction. After a while, they were all given a key. Sylas looked at it—it was similar to the one he got from his mother. After handing them the key, a man in massive armor stood in front of them. He was a giant. He had a sharp jaw full of scars, his arms were massive, shoulders wide.
He slammed his giant sword on the ground.
"Listen up, maggots. That key will lead you all to a private island full of monsters."
He paused and let out a malicious smile.
"Only 100 of you will be chosen, so try not to die."
Sylas already hated that man. He sounded too arrogant, too reckless.
After that, they were asked to pick up their desired weapon if needed. Like Excalibur, he picked a long sword, and Elizabeth picked a sword as well.
The massive man spoke up again.
"In this test, you will be tested on your survival instinct. The rules are simple. You are to survive there until only 100 of you are left."
One participant shouted from the back,
"Will we be given resources or food?"
The man grinned.
"You have to find your own food."
Whispers broke out.
The complaints followed.
That infuriated him, so he slammed his sword on the ground, the sound splitting the air like a whip.
"If you can't do it, use that key to get back out. There are checkpoint areas for the key, but"—he paused—"good luck finding them. Only one person can enter though each door."
He turned his back toward the weapon station.
"We only need 100 of you."
His tone was cold and emotionless. He continued,
"Pick up your weapon and survive. Remember, there are monsters roaming, so good luck."
His face formed a wide smile, like a villain in a movie.
After picking their weapons, they were told to form a massive circle around the school. Elizabeth stood next to him, her shoulder tense, her fingers twitching. Sylas turned to her and handed her Excalibur.
"Keep that with you, and I will find you."
She smiled faintly, feeling slightly relieved. Like before, a keyhole rose from the ground. They put the key in and twisted, and a door appeared. Once they opened it, people started to enter. Before entering, Sylas glanced at her once more.
"Don't die."
She nodded.
"Ok."
Then they all entered.
He found himself swallowed by darkness. He couldn't see anything. He could only feel the cold air on his skin. He reached out, trying to feel by touch, and realized he was surrounded by rough stone. He was inside a cave. That much, he could tell.
The place was silent, but he could hear air seeping through something, so he moved toward it slowly, following the sound—one step at a time over uneven ground.
As he walked forward blindly, he saw a faint light leaking through a crack ahead. Without thinking, he walked toward it.
Once he made it, he stepped through. The light hit him hard—blinding him for a second. He flinched, raising his hand to shield his face.
When his vision finally returned, he found himself standing on top of a mountain. From there, he could see everything around him. The land stretched nonstop below—a massive place, filled with trees, tall grasses, and winding valleys. Tiny rabbits hopped through the grass, barely visible. The wind brushed against his skin.
He took a deep breath. The smell of leaves and dirt reminded him of his time in Camelot. He liked this.
He took another deep breath and started to climb down. He was calm. His steps were steady, his hands moved with ease. He was used to this. During his time in Camelot, Merlin forced him to do weird tasks and pick up ingredients for him. He made him study the landscape, his surroundings. Because of that knowledge, he won many battles. He always had advantages over his enemies.
He didn't rush. He was calm, focused, and sure of every step.
Once he reached the bottom, he stretched his arms, cracked his fingers and neck.
"Time to hunt."
He took out his sword and went straight for the rabbit he saw earlier. He drew his sword and moved slightly toward it.
He positioned himself behind a giant rock, making sure they couldn't see him. Once one of them came into range, he stabbed it clean through and pulled it back before the others noticed.
He waited behind the rock. Another one jumped—he stabbed it mid-air.
One by one, they fell.
He was quick. Silent.
After getting enough for him and Elizabeth, he took one of the tall grasses and wrapped it around the rabbits he killed.
He stepped out, with a smile on his face.
"Time to find Elizabeth."
Finding Elizabeth wouldn't be too difficult, because he and Excalibur were linked, so he could sense her. She was somewhere in the forest. He looked up at the sky and realized the sun was about to set. He needed to find her fast.
He walked toward the forest. It was dense, barely any light came through, but he continued walking toward Excalibur's signal.
He could hear howling in the distance. The chirping of the birds and wild animals grew louder, as if they were running, hiding from something.
The air turned colder, thicker.
Then all the sounds were gone.
The only thing he could hear was his own footsteps, his breathing.
Then, out of nowhere, a deep guttural growl rolled through the empty forest. It echoed through his body, as if something was near and watching him.
Then came heavy footsteps.
He rushed up the nearest tree and waited for the footsteps to stop. When he looked down, he saw a massive humanoid monster with two giant tusks, dragging something by the foot.
In most situations, he would have been scared to death. But with his training from his mother and his time as Arthur, he had fought many monsters.
But this one was different. He had never seen this kind before.
Once the monster walked underneath him, it started to sniff—left, right. Sylas begged it not to look up, because if it did, he wasn't sure if he could fight such a thing.
Still, he prepared his sword. If it looked up, he would leap downward and bring his sword down. His eyes focused, but then he noticed the rabbit he was carrying was still dripping blood. He realized that thing could smell the rabbit he had with him, so he grabbed one and threw it as far as he could.
That got its attention. It ran toward it, dragging the person it caught.
Sylas exhaled slowly, realizing he had been holding his breath. His shoulders dropped, and he let out a small laugh.
The tension in his chest slowly faded away, but not completely.
"I have to find her now."
He climbed down the tree and started walking toward her.
He realized night was too dangerous. Animals appeared during the day because it was safe, and at night, monsters appeared to hunt.
He walked carefully. Excalibur's signal led him to a cave. It had a small entrance—small enough for people to go in, but not monsters.
He went inside and saw no one in sight, but someone had set up a camp.
He slowly approached it. Out of nowhere, Elizabeth jumped out from behind a rock, sword in one hand and Excalibur in the other.
Sylas smiled.
"Hey, looks like I found you."
She ran toward him and wrapped her hands around him.
She was scared. She probably heard that thing outside.
He felt like a fool dragging her with him into this. He thought at least with him, she would be safe since they didn't treat her well at the mansion.
He placed his hand on her head.
"It's okay. Don't worry. Nothing will happen as long as I'm here."
He refused to let anything happen to her. If he did, he would never forgive himself.
"Since you got the fire ready, let's cook some rabbit meat."
She looked up and nodded.
He cooked enough just for her. He didn't want to attract any attention to this place. He watched her eat.
After eating, he told Elizabeth to sleep. She was hesitant. She wanted him to sleep first while she kept guard, but he told her to go first.
He didn't need anyone to guard him. As Arthur, people tried to assassinate him often—to the point he was paranoid to sleep. So he learned how to sleep while being aware of his surroundings.
Even when he slept, he could hear people's footsteps. It was like he could hear vibrations through the ground.
After she had fallen asleep next to the fire, Sylas leaned against the side of the entrance and closed his eyes, his sword resting against his shoulder.
Before he realized it, the birds outside had begun to chirp.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Elizabeth staring at him.
"Good morning," he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Did you sleep well?"
With a soft smile on her face, she said,
"Yes."
He remembered that familiar, soft, gentle smile—the one that made him fall for Guinevere.
He closed his eyes before any tears could shed.
"We have to gather food and dry wood before the sun goes down."