Eventually, I stopped thinking.

Not in general though, I meant I just stopped thinking about just then. Haven't gone completely brain dead yet.

Doubts? Questions? It can wait, I told myself. The afternoon was too short a time to be spent mindlessly brooding it away. Winning this thing was the number one priority now, I told Adalia we would, I boasted to Leon that there was no doubt - I dug myself into this hole, I'll crawl myself out of it.

Besides, Irene wasn't the type to claim one thing but mean something else. This was the same girl that thought love was as mythical an existence as she was, so if she's claiming now that it did exist, then it's real. Her feelings are real, not fabricated, not contrived.

Right?

Shit, I'm doing it again. Snap out of it already. Come on! Focus.. focus here.. you ain't supposed to be thinking about her right now, you got the entire evening and night to do so right beside here, do it then, alright me?

Yes me, I answered back, giving myself a firm, resolute nod, tempering myself with newfound concentration, one that wouldn't stray, one that'll actually keep me focus.

By the time I fully recovered, we were back playing catch up at dead last with a two-point lead by Team Wit, and an even bigger thirteen-point lead by Team Intelligence.

Wisdom's gotta get a whole lot wiser if we wanna stand a chance here. Adalia must be along the same line of thinking too, when it came time for the next question, as soon as physically possible, her arm was already up, chiming every single one of the bells on my head with the sharp breeze that followed.

Nick stared at her blankly, and she gazed right back at him with an expression just as empty.

"Easy, Normal or - "

"Hard.." Adalia spoke.

He closed the book. "Ostalr is a special magical skill unique to Humans discovered in a region of Asteria long ago, name the - "

"Torem.. Morti.." Adalia answered. "He discovered.. the ability.. to turn oneself.. unkillable.. the first Demon.. Lord..."

There was a pause that lasted for a significant amount of time. I'm guessing it was mostly due to the fact that this was the most everyone else has heard from her ever since we got here. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she answered preemptively and still somehow got the question right.

"Five points. Team Wisdom well done," Nick said, a sliver of emotion in his expression, speaking more to her than to me.

"Hold on," The Witch emerged back from her little corner, one end of her staff resting limp on Nick's shoulder, an interest in her eyes reflecting back a misty grey. "How about a bonus, little vampire? If you can tell how exactly Torem Morti discovered this extraordinary ability of his.. I'll throw in another four extra points just for you."

Four extra points.. it was a chance too good to pass up. Adalia too seemed to think the same, and yet..

"I don't.. know.." She said slowly, lowering her gaze to the table. "No one.. does.."

"Oh?" The Witch frowned. "Shame."

"But I think I do!"

Suddenly, all eyes latched onto me. If I had a mirror, I'd be looking at myself too, staring at me the same way like - 'You actually do?' - and you know what, I think I do.

Torem Morti was a familiar name. I've heard him, seen him, through years aplenty. Irene said the same too back then. That Torem Morti went on to become Kronocia's first-ever Demon Lord.

But through memories, through sleep.. I knew him only as Torem Ignis. Ria's father, creator.. if they really are one and the same person, then...

"Torem discovered it through experiments with a phoenix," I slowly began, meeting each and every one of their gazes. "He created the immortal phoenix, and as a side effect of that somehow he acquired the same ability."

"Caeru Ignis?" Leon glanced at me sideways, eyebrows raised. "The Blue Phoenix? That Phoenix?"

Right, almost forgot. Ria doesn't exist in Asteria. Instead, we got this Caeru impersonator. Whatever, close enough.

I nodded. "Is there really any other?"

It was already a flimsy enough answer without all the dubious stares, I was aware. Hell, even Adalia was tilting her head to that out-of-nowhere claim, but then The Witch broke into a giggling fit, and that's when I realized maybe I shouldn't voice baseless answers out loud.

"It was a trick question, my dear jester. Your partner already got it right the first time, no one knows how one bit," She said, a smile on so amused. "But, all the same, credit to you. That's a game theory I've never heard of before.. And I've lurked through forums aplenty. True, they're both immortal in similar ways, so it's food for thought.. and I always appreciate more food for my thoughts. Three points."

"Three.. three points extra? For a non-answer that's just a theory..." Leon was blinking fast at her, a frown ever so subtle. "Is that allowed?"

I'm the judge, I'm one of the hosts, and what I say I goes," She leaned forward at him. "Are there any problems?"

"Mmm, no, of course not," The Hero said, regaining his ever-charming smile back. "Just a simple question, forget I said anything."

"Then, moving on," Nick said, flipping a page. "Next question in three, two, one..."

For the next series of questions, it was a battle fought fiercely, and over time it was made clear who were the true heroes carrying their team through the tides of war.

In Team Wit's case, it was a team effort. None of the girls knew too much, their trivia knowledge surface level, so they relied on each other.. winning points, losing points, as I said, team effort.

As for Wisdom, our team, Adalia was the surprise player and the wildcard. Some instances she had her arm raised first before any other, and in others, she couldn't even be bothered too. But in the times when she does answer.. she always strikes right, never once wrong.

She was the breadwinner, and I was the crumb collector. I played it mostly safe, going for the easier questions whilst she nets us the big bucks, so that if I do get a question wrong, we didn't lose too much.. and make no mistake, I have my stupid moments here and there, moments that had the charming hero quietly snickering at my expense, and the scholar heaving a sigh.

I took it all in stride and just moved on. Could care very little what they think of me, we'll see who's snickering and sighing at the end of this.

Going forth with this method racked up enough points for us to breeze past Team Wit and solidify our position at second place. But as for usurping the throne to first.. well, that process was a little bit more complicated than I would have liked.

Turns out, the moniker of Team Intelligence wasn't completely just for show. Leon didn't just have the looks to charm the masses, the brawns to go toe to toe with an actual Elf, but also the brains to match them both too.

Valiantly, even with Adalia amassing as much as she could - there was just no matching the duo of the hero and his secretary. Five pointers every turn, not a single question incorrect, nor any that needed much effort on their part to answer.

Our positions on the leaderboards stayed stagnant. Three minutes in, five minutes, seven.. the minute kept ticking, and the points just kept mounting.

Before long, Team Intelligence had hoarded themselves a hefty collection of Sixty-Five points. As for us in Team Wisdom, we were playing catch up, sitting at a close Sixty-One, with Team Wit bringing up the rear with their Fifty-Two points.

We just needed one more five-point question to take the throne for ourselves.. and as fate would have it, this was our final opportunity to do so too.

"That's ten minutes, everyone," The Witch announced, striking her stuff with a sonorous thud. "You all fought well, but only one can come out on top. One more question to decide who it'll be. May the fastest, and the smartest, prevail. Nick, if you'd be so kind?"

"Yes," Nick grunted, flipping the contents of the book all the way through the final few pages. "Now, for the final time.. raise your hands in three, two, one - go."historical

We won this. We had this. At breakneck speed, we all shot our arms up simultaneously.. very nearly in unison, very nearly but it wasn't.

One arm reached before any of the others, one arm fully extended before any others could finish their draw. An arm slender, an arm ghostly pale.. with sharp pointed ends that almost seem to shimmer.

Adalia pulled through for the final time. She's the MVP, the Goat, the true OG, whatever that means.. and everybody could see it, it was her that'll take victory rest assured.

Leon had his lips flat, disgruntled. The girls sighed, mildly disappointed. A smirk lingered on the Witch's glossy lips, and as for Nick.. Nick..

I saw the look in his eyes - I saw something fleeting flickering within them, something that didn't seem right, something that deeply unsettled me.. and he made sure that I was staring as the realization swiftly struck.

He wasn't looking at her.

"Team Intelligence," His voice boomed aloud, that gaze of his gone, buried within the pages. "Easy, Normal or - "

"Hard! Hard! Yes!" Leon skyrocketed himself to his feet at once, surprise wide in his eyes, before settling down, composing himself with a cough. "Sorry, I mean, I choose hard."

Nick nodded firmly, Nick grunted loudly.

"Very well. Best of luck."

Nick cheated blatantly.