– And our candidate is finally back in action! Just look at that gait, dear viewers! You might think he's just returned from a stroll, but don't be fooled: our dear Kang-Dae is dragging behind him a few sleepless nights, a fractured team, and, to top it all off, a missing friend! What a magnificent lineup! I'd almost missed them!
Elizabeth's voice echoed through the loudspeakers of the Tower of Endless Fall.
His artificial enthusiasm slid down the walls, bounced off the ceilings and imposed itself on the candidates who had long since stopped looking up at the speakers.
And you, dear sponsors, watching us from the comfort of your dining rooms, I hope you're enjoying the show! Our participants are giving us a remarkable demonstration of psychological resilience today. Well… resilience is perhaps too strong a word, they're a bit stuck… wouldn't this be the best time for them?save
In the sponsors' dining room, conversations continued around the tables.
Around the long table, the sponsors did not show much interest.
They exchanged a few words while checking the scrolling news feed.
Particularly this man with long black hair and an empty eye socket who kept turning and turning his ring on his index finger.
Beside her was a woman whose face was hidden by her black fan; she hardly moved, fixed like a statue, a bizarre individual covered in ornament and ivory.
They all seemed to be weighing themselves up in that room; there was only tension and stress to be felt. They were really not interested in those little men who were falling from the tower.
(PENELOPE) , ( URIEL ) , (NEMESE) , (LUCESURUSE)
They had more than one god.
The candidates' fatigue was one form of entertainment among others, a topic of conversation that could be abandoned to resume one's meal, a simple excuse to ask for more.
At the foot of this Tower, Kang-Dae passed a hand over his face and continued walking.
His legs felt heavier than when he woke up. He had slept for a few hours at most, but his body seemed not to have been able to benefit from this rest.
Each movement gave him the appearance of a living dead man.
Around him, Al-05 and A-09 walked in silence, while Seo Hwan remained seated against the walls, unable to find a sufficient reason to get up immediately.
Kang-Dae stopped near a wall and discreetly pulled down his sleeve.
on his wrist, two watches.
He lightly touched the dial with his thumb, as if he could extract information from it that he had not noticed until then.
his gesture does not go unnoticed
"Oh! A familiar gesture!" exclaimed Elizabeth. Our candidate is still checking his watch.
Could it be a lucky charm? A secret technology that would allow him to escape from this tower? Place your bets.
Kang-Dae moved his hand away from his wrist at this comment.
He glanced around a few times and strode off in a direction, his hands dangling limply and his forehead pointing towards the ground, until he kicked Kim Young in the back.
She was crouching near the tower. Her voice, already hoarse, struggled to carry beyond the small circle that surrounded her.
– Are you walking with your eyes closed or something?
She arched her eyebrow, and the detail from bottom to top, undoubtedly awaiting a response
Kang-Dae looked at her for a few seconds.
His fingers fluttered against each other, he brought the edge of his lips together and almost bit them.
until blood flowed
Kim Young sighed heavily and looked away.
"And here's a fine illustration of cooperation between candidates!" commented Elizabeth.
In the dining room, only a few sponsors showed any real interest in the screens.
– But beware, dear sponsors! You too deserve punishment, what a nuisance, your group is so pathetic that annihilating them would not be a loss.