Is this really a Game?!

Mia's smile faded, replaced by a look of seriousness. She turned to face Reign fully, meeting his gaze.

"It's been weeks, and … we still haven't talked about … you know," Mia said as she glanced to the side while Reign sighed and placed a hand over his face.

"I know … it's just … not now, alright?"

"Not now?" Mia asked, this time staring right at Reign.

"Then when, in a couple of months, years, maybe never?"

"Because judging by how you are acting, never seems to be the right answer."

"Mia … I'm tired … I, I'm thinking about a lot of things, things I don't quite like, things that have made it a bit … difficult for me to act normal today, so, just not today, alright?" Reign said as he finally looked to the side, staring right back at Mia who was staring at him with an ice-cold expression on her face.

"Why are you so against even talking about it?"

"For god's sake Mia, I just told you." Reign said in a slightly tired voice before looking back to the sunset, or what was a sunset, but was now devoid of any sun.

Night had arrived, casting its shadow across the land, but with the golden tree present, there was light in Doncaster, as well as Wilkashere as the phantom of the tree provided light as well.

It was as if there was one giant street light present above the city, lighting it up, but not too much, just enough for people to be able to see the streets normally and be able to move around without issues.

"Yeah, I guess you did."

"I should've probably known better anyway." Mia said as she started getting up, only for Reign's face to change, turning into one of slight confusion.

"What does that even mean?"

"I think you know exactly what it means," Mia said as she glanced down at Reign who stood up as well before taking a step toward her.

"No, I actually don't know what it means."

"This conversation is over," Mia said as she turned and started walking away, only for Reign to appear about a meter in front of her.

"No, you wanted to talk, so let's talk."

"Well, what if I don't want to talk anymore, huh?"

"For the love of god, why are you making things so difficult?" Reign asked as he stared up with a slightly annoyed expression on his face.

"I'm not the one making things difficult, you are," Mia said as she suddenly took a step forward and stood mere inches away from Reign, her face almost touching his own.

"You know, when I first joined you guys, I was really surprised how you were all so close, it seemed like none of you held any secrets, none of you were hiding anything from one another."

"I … I really believed that I really thought that I found a group of people similar to my own, a group of people that truly does care for one another and helps each other all the time."

"But the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that how things seemed at first, were not really right."

Mia continued staring right into Reign's eyes, with him staring back, neither one backing away from the staring contest they suddenly found themselves in.

"I … I didn't quite fit in, that was obvious at the start."

"I … don't like getting close to people, especially not now, when people can lose their lives in any moment."

"And yet, by spending time with you all, and seeing how you guys treated one another, and how you seemingly didn't care for the danger you were constantly putting yourselves in, and the immense trust you had in one another, I guess it was just inevitable that I would relax and start integrating into your group."

"It was soon after that that I realized just how you guys functioned."

"Yes, you rarely kept anything from one another, but you all did have your own secrets, things you didn't want others to know about, not because you thought it would hurt them or because you didn't want others to know, but because you didn't want to burden one another."

"And you know it too, the fact that you guys rarely talk about what went on during your challenge missions, how even when one changes slightly, you don't even talk about it, fully aware that the other person doesn't wish to talk about it because they feel that the rest would feel burdened by the information."

"It seems to me that only Greenie is completely honest, the rest of you are not, even though you are all doing it because you care for one another."

"But compared to the little secrets the others have, what they don't tell to the rest, you are without a shred of doubt the worst." Reign's eyes slightly narrowed as Mia continued to talk, seemingly not bothered by anything, not even the tension that was becoming palpable in the air.

"Just how many secrets do you hold, how many things have you hidden deep inside of you, never letting them see the light of the day because you feel as if the burden of it is yours to bear, unwilling to tell the others as you don't want them to worry?"

"You see, they might be alright with that, they might have gotten used to it, but I haven't, which is why I was able to notice it so many times, even during the last challenge, the one we were both in."

"We only mentioned it to the others, but only briefly, without giving any details, like how we could have easily killed one another because we didn't know each other's identity during the start."

"Why are you so afraid of letting people get close to you, Reign?" Mia asked Reign who stared at her without budging an inch.

"That's quite the detective work you did, but you forget one thing, Mia." Reign suddenly took a step closer, his face and Mia's now mere millimeters away from one another.

"You don't really know us, so how could you understand why we do the things we do?"

"Maybe you should think of that for the next time, huh?" Reign turned around and started walking, only for Mia to once again speak out.

"You're afraid."

"What?" Reign stopped and glanced back at Mia, his face showing displeasure.

"You are afraid, of course, how did I not notice it before?"

"You're afraid of allowing others to get too close to you, even this one group that is close might be too much for you, after all, they are all powerful and talented, but you never know what might happen."

"What if they die during a battle, that is probably the main thing on your mind, the one thing that doesn't allow you to talk with me about what happened between us, it's not because you don't care, it's because you care too much, because you don't want to see anybody hurt."

"That is why you don't want to talk about what happened once you took all the souls from the Wardens today, and just how it affected you, because we all know it did affect you, you can't hide your emotions that well."

"You … once you figure it out, once you actually decide to stop being so afraid, then we can talk, but before that, don't blame me for not talking to you outside of when we are all present and are discussing something important or in battle, alright?" Mia asked before walking to the edge of the building and jumping down, ice forming below her feet and creating a slide that took her down, her body perfectly still in the air before landing.

Reign glanced at where Mia had jumped off before taking a deep breath and lying down on the roof of the building he was on.

"You know that she's right, right?" Aethion asked Reign while Jared nodded.

"Each time master hides something, even from us, his behavior changes, the burden that he feels increasing and not letting him relax."

"I have to advise you to listen to Miss Mia, master," Jared said in a monotone voice as Aethion nodded his head.

"It's not fair to her either, you are not willing to talk about what happened, hell, you don't even acknowledge it."

"After all, think of how you would feel if the roles were reversed, hell, you would have gone crazy from it."

"Agreed, master's mental state would have deteriorated and he would have gotten more stressed and angry."

'Can you two just shut the hell up for a second?'

'I'm trying to think, alright?'

"Well think harder boy, actually, no, don't think, thinking is what got you into this mess, you need to stop thinking and do something."

"What you have here is a great opportunity, one that does not come often, and you know it."

"You are not against it, all three of us know that, well, four if you are going to count the copy, so why the hell are you still so worried?"

"I have to admit, I didn't expect her to see right through Master like that, she is smart," Jared said calmly while nodding his head.

"I will have to agree with Aethion master, you need to make a decision today, one that is difficult and not reversible."

Reign took a deep breath and stared at the night sky, his mind going back to a couple of weeks ago, when all of this started.

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