"Do you have a family?"
"No,"
"What is your race, do you identify with any race?"

"None, I'm not of any race,"

"then that is what they mean when they say you are special. You have no family, so when you die or are slain and left to rot on the streets like a rat, no one will mourn you. You don't have a home, which means you have nowhere to go if things go bad and you escape. The adversaries won't know where to seek you. Because you don't have a race, your DNA and fingerprints can't be traced back to any Kingdom when they're found at a murder scene, making you the ideal assassin, a ghost who can't be tracked. The Watchers utilize you and then dump you out when they no longer need you, just like they did with me. So, kid, the only thing they noticed about you is that you are nothing, nothing!" he eventually returned to the trail and walked away.

Nelanian had remained ensnared in his thoughts, immobilized by his own contemplation. A solitary droplet of rain splashed onto his face, jolting him back to the present. He glanced down and noticed the sack placed at his feet by the old man, who had since retreated into his dwelling. In a swift motion, Nelanian seized the sack before the rain could soak through its contents, hastening his ascent up the hill to his makeshift abode.The journey was a desolate and somber one; rain cascaded down, obscuring his vision, and the path ahead was riddled with a film of mud. As he navigated through puddles and mire, the elderly man's words began to resonate with him. Nelanian gradually recognized the wisdom in the old man's remarks. Nevertheless, he was unwavering in his determination to execute his fundamental purpose. He was The Necessary Evil, bound to honor his responsibilities.

SUNSET CITY

All three candidates were clad in spandex attire. Norval donned a black spandex outfit embellished with blue accents on his shoulders, chest, and knees. The vibrant padding served both an aesthetic and practical purpose, providing cushioning to the designated areas. Jalon's spandex suit was black with striking red highlights, while Luciana's attire featured black spandex with delicate pink accents.

Luciana engaged in stretching routines on one side of the room, her movements deliberate and fluid. Norval mimicked her actions, limbering up near the entrance to the yoga room. Meanwhile, Jalon was engrossed in texting an unfamiliar girl on his phone. He perched on a bench intended for weightlifting, flanked by two bags of chips and an array of candy wrappers. Nonchalantly, he reached into one of the chip bags, selecting pieces at random and consuming them with audible munching. Occasional soft laughter emanated from him, an irksome sound that appeared to unsettle Luciana.

"Should I tell him or should you tell him?" " Luciana inquired, her gaze drawn to Norval's direction.
"Tell him about what? " Norval inquired, perplexed.
"Do you realize this isn't going to be as simple as the practice runs we did in school?" " she said, her abdomen folded and her arms stretched out, attempting to wrap her hands around her ankles.
"Well, they say that the best teacher is experience. I don't want to be the one he cries for when he understands that in the end," Norval murmured, seeking to imitate Luciana's stretch. He managed to bend half of his body, but he quickly quit after realizing how much tougher it was than Luciana had made it appear. His arms could barely make it past his shins. When Luciana saw him attempt it at the end, she smiled.

"Holy Crap! " Jalon yelled from the opposite end of the room. He sprung from his seat, knocking the bag of chips on his lap on the ground.

"What is it? Did another old lady send you photos of herself half-naked, expressing her desire to spend the rest of her life with you? " Luciana said, mockingly. Norval couldn't stop himself from laughing. Luciana, as serious as she was, had a subtle sense of humor that caught people off guard and was always appreciated when she decided to exhibit her lighter side. She was one of those persons who had a natural sense of humor and could make people laugh without even trying.

"You guys won't believe this! " Jalon said once again as he hopped towards his friends, leaping over the dropped food.
"What do your inside sources tell you now? " Norval inquired.
"Not my inside sources dude, the news. It's all over the place! " Jalon said, he opened one of the tabs in his browser and a video was streaming live.

"Following the discovery of Mr. Starkridge's assassination the night before, the IAA has been shut down indefinitely. The well-known and adored school director was slain in his own office by an assassin who used a synthesized poison that the forensic team has yet to identify. The forensic team also obtained DNA from the smashed window shards and attempted to run it through their database, but nothing showed up, suggesting that the perpetrator was not a registered member of any of the kingdoms. What was even more surprising was that all of the races' blood tests came back negative. The blood work was compared to Ithean, Lorth, Yulcite, Seolaran, and even Trerth blood, but no results were found. Curiosity arose when they discovered traces of Blue Fire in the blood, leading them to suspect that the assailant was an elderly alchemist on a blue fire dosage. The hunt continues, with police contacting local pharmaceutical businesses and stores for records of all patients taking blue fire to help narrow down the search..." the voice on the other end of the phone remarked.

The candidates exchanged dubious glances. They were all thinking the same thing, but none of them wanted to confess it.

"Should I say what all of us are thinking right now," Jalon remarked, breaking the silence.
"No, that is ridiculous. We all know he would never dare to do something like that! It might have been anyone," Luciana responded, trying to keep her doubts from clouding her judgment. " In the entire kingdom, many people are taking blue fire prescription," she continued.
"Yes, but they aren't all unregistered in the four kingdoms. Plus we haven't heard from him ever since he left the school. Jalon continued, "And he had motive, a very clear and strong intention..."

"OK, enough with the crap. We have more important things to worry about. The difficulties will begin tomorrow, and we must prepare for them. Once the trials are complete, we can worry about other things," Luciana stated as she walked back to her station and resumed her stretches.

Norval poked his finger into Jalon's phone and said, "What about this other one down here?" He continued to browse down and select another story.

"The Ethel Residence attacked. A man named Thomas attacked the Ethel mansion last night, where Cecily Ethel, the former Champion of Ithea candidate, currently dwells. The assailant had been disguised as a groundskeeper in the facility for about a month, according to witnesses. He attacked the same day that Judy Ben Mor, a well-known journalist from Inter-Kingdom News, paid Cecily a visit to conduct an in-depth interview. Thomas was eventually proven to be working for Mr. Starkridge, and the police discovered multiple text messages on his smartphone that reflected his conversations with Mr. Starkridge. The police have now confirmed this to be true and according to a call log, the school director himself had instructed him to assassinate Judy Ben Mor..." the voice added. Norval hit the stop button on his phone, and his finger lingered over it for a few moments before Jalon slid it back into his pocket.

Norval thought to himself, "Two incidents in one night, all tied to Mr. Starkridge."

"Well, it's clear that Mr. Starkridge got himself into some trouble. And it appears as if it has finally caught up with him. So that couldn't have been Nelanian," Luciana replied as she took a break from stretching.

"Well, we can't rule out the possibility," Jalon remarked as he sat back on the bench, picking up the bag of chips he had kicked earlier, " but you're right. this seems to have been played out by influential forces behind closed doors, they have the capabilities to do such a thing and pull the strings to make it seem like Nelanian was behind this,"

"Luciana is correct; the trials start tomorrow, and we should do everything we can to prevent distractions," Norval remarked, though visibly shaken by the news.

The candidates resumed their previous activities, but the mood in the room had entirely shifted. Perhaps the untimely death of their school principal could spill over to their trials and cause a cancellation of the entire thing altogether.