Chapter 28 – Slaves
Inside the cafeteria, the nobles sat on one side of the hall, but unlike their usual arrogance, this time their heads were lowered, looking defeated and depressed. Of the 160 who had started, only 20 remained, all bearing serious injuries. Even the heirs had suffered in the battle.
In contrast, on the other side of the cafeteria, the commoners were ecstatic. Laughter, improvised toasts with glasses of water, shouts of victory. Everyone was celebrating—except for one.
Dixon remained silent, his gaze distant, caught between resignation and longing.
Taking advantage of the instructors' absence, William walked over and sat beside him.
"What's wrong, Dixon?" he asked calmly, not forcing a smile. "You look... dimmed. That's not like you, not after something like this."
Dixon didn't respond right away. He kept staring ahead, then lowered his head, sighed, and whispered:
"I was thinking about my brother."
William said nothing, giving him space to continue.
"He went through this too, you know? Years ago. But... he wasn't so lucky," he added with a bitter grimace. "His group was the first to fall."
"He fell? You mean he died?" William asked, lowering his voice.
"I don't know. They never told me," Dixon replied, averting his eyes. "All I know is, after that, his life changed. He said he had seen hell... but he never told me exactly what happened. He just kept repeating that failing this test was worse than dying."