CHAPTER 176: FESTIVAL OF KINGS

After a long day at the arena, Kai and Vepice returned to the Roasted Boar, nestled between the Arena district and the merchant square. The air was thick with the scent of roasted meats, spiced vegetables, and freshly baked bread.

Their meals tonight were no different. Rich, juicy cuts of pork, honey-glazed root vegetables, and a side of garlic-crusted flatbread. Vepice devoured her plate with a gusto that only someone who had known hunger could muster.

"I swear, this pork is better than the last time," she mumbled through a mouthful. "Why does everything taste better after watching people beat the life out of each other?"

Kai chuckled. "Maybe the thrill of it?"

When they stepped back outside, the city had transformed from the last hour since entering the tavern.

The streets around the Arena had come alive with light and colour. Strings of glowing lanterns with multicoloured glass panes hung between buildings like stars caught in nets.

Crowds moved like waves, their laughter and music spilling from every direction.

The street performers were everywhere.

They were on corners, atop crates, balanced on rails, or standing in tight circles of flickering lanternlight. But what made them special was how each one wove magic into their acts.

A juggler tossed not just balls, but glowing orbs of pure mana, each one changing colour midair, first flames, then feathers, then bursts of petals within. A nearby violinist played a haunting tune while thin threads of illusion wove behind him, painting the air with scenes from old folk tales as his bow struck each note.

A pair of acrobats danced and spun along a tightrope of solid light, conjured between two rooftops.

’Light magic that solid must be difficult to maintain constantly. Impressive.’

Every leap left trails of glittering frost that melted before hitting the street. A fire breather exhaled smoke that turned into birds of flame, each flapping into the sky before bursting like fireworks.

Even the mimes weren’t avoiding the spectacle. One leaned against an invisible wall, then pushed through it, parting reality like cloth to vanish from sight, only to reappear behind a startled couple, holding out a single rose plucked from thin air.

It was just as if they walked through two spaces in the world at the same time. Kai couldn’t figure it out.

’If that is an ability to move between worlds, they would make a great undead soldier...’

Kai shook away his thoughts and allowed him to enjoy the scene before him. He looked at it with almost as much wonder as Vepice. Most of the magic he’d seen was to oppress or kill people.

’Having magic be such an integral part of the world might actually be an amazing thing.’

And most striking of all were the masks.

Nearly everyone wore one.

Intricate paper visors, silver-veined masks, wooden animal faces, even visages painted to resemble past kings. Each was uniquely handcrafted, brightly painted, and worn with pride.

Vepice blinked at the sight.

"Is this normal?" she asked, clinging to Kai’s sleeve as the crowd began to swell around them.

"I... don’t know," Kai admitted. "Will you be okay with this many people around?"

"I’ll be okay if I stay close to you."

He waved over a man walking past in an embroidered vest and a feathered crow mask. "Hey, what’s going on tonight?"

The man gave him a baffled look. "You serious?"

Kai nodded.

The man tilted his mask up slightly, revealing a scar across his cheek and a crooked grin. "Everyone knows what the Festival of Kings is."

Vepice tilted her head. "Festival of Kings?"

The man looked even more incredulous. "You two under a rock? It’s the grandest week of the year! The city goes wild with celebration to honour the throne. Battles by day, revelry by night. But this year? This year the city’s ablaze."

"Why?" Kai asked.

"Because," the man leaned in, voice dropping to a gossipy whisper, "it’s rumoured that the prince will be inaugurated soon. The king is sick, they say."

’Sick? Pretty sure he’s dead after using innocents to keep him alive for who knows how long...’

"Inaugurated?" Vepice repeated.

The man nodded solemnly. "The heir will be enthroned."

"Prince Arion," Kai muttered.

"King Arion, soon enough. Long may he reign."

He stepped back, pulled down his mask again, and offered a casual nod before disappearing into the crowd.

Vepice turned to Kai. "Long may he reign?"

Kai shrugged. "It’s a popular thing to say with kings, I think. Wishing them a good and healthy life."

They wandered deeper into the festival streets. Everything had been transformed. The food stalls had multiplied in contrast to the day.

The stalls were filled with roasting chestnuts, sticky toffee fruits, sugar-powdered pastries, sweet breads, and many other foods. Vepice snuck a peach tart when she thought Kai wasn’t looking and was left stunned by its sweetness.

"Oh no," she moaned, rubbing her stomach. "I’ve made a mistake."

"Too full?" he asked.

"Too full. Too happy. I’m dying. This is it. This will be my new favourite food."

She collapsed dramatically into his side, and he laughed, holding her upright as they stumbled toward the carnival stalls.

Around a bend near the market square, a row of festival games waited. Some were simple: knock over clay jugs with a wooden ball, or toss hoops onto colored poles. Others had a medieval flair, sword balancing challenges, pin-the-tail-on-the-wyvern, or guessing the weight of a knight’s helmet.

Kai saw the mana-infused objects in the games and realised that they were rigged, but he could see that Vepice, even if he told her, wouldn’t be prevented from doing anything.

Vepice tried everything.

She missed every single jug in the first game. Failed to balance the sword. Didn’t even come close to the weight of the helmet.

But at one stall, a booth run by a hawk-nosed woman in a fur-lined cloak, Vepice’s luck changed.

The game was simple: mask toss. You had to throw three small hand-crafted masks through a moving loop of fire. It looked easy, but the fire loop twitched at the last second.

Vepice squinted, bit her lip, and took a stance she’d obviously honed in the forest.

She tossed the first mask.

A perfect hit.

Second one?

Perfect as well.

She paused. Squinted again.

Third toss?

It sailed through.

The hawk-nosed woman clapped once, unimpressed but fair. "Wow! You’re the first to get every single one through the hoop. A big winner gets a big prize. Choose. Any of them."

Laid out on a red velvet cloth were tiny trinkets, mostly hand mirrors, carved hairpins, or gemstone rings of low value. But nestled in the corner...

"A fan," Vepice whispered.

A noblewoman’s fan, made of black silk with shimmering gold leaf patterns of vines and stars. The ends were capped in fine green enamel and, despite the dust of the stall, it was pristine.

Vepice clutched it like a trophy, then immediately began fanning herself. Badly.

Not at all like a noblewoman.

The stall owner stepped out with a sigh. "Not like that. Here."

She took the fan, fixed Vepice’s grip, and demonstrated the proper wrist movement.

Smooth, elegant movements.

Vepice stared in wonder.

The woman winked. "Illusions make for interesting lovers, I say. Enjoy your night."

The two of them stood there for a beat.

Vepice hid behind the fan and whispered, "We’re totally on a date, aren’t we?"

Kai smirked. "I mean... it’s festival night. Just because we’re here, is it a date?"

They continued walking until a little tent stood before them.

The tent was small, striped in dark maroon and gold, nestled between a mask vendor and a spice stall. Lanterns swayed gently above the entrance, casting shifting shadows over the faded sign that read: "Madame Sylva: Seer of Fates".

Vepice tugged Kai’s sleeve. "Come on. Let’s try it."

Kai raised a brow. "You really think some incense-sniffing fortune-teller’s going to tell us something we don’t already know?"

"I think it sounds fun," she said, grinning. "Besides, you look like you could use a little mystery that doesn’t involve someone trying to kill you."

He sighed but let her drag him in.

Inside, the air was thick with smoke and dried herbs. A small round table sat in the middle, draped in deep violet cloth. Atop it: a cracked crystal orb and a stack of worn tarot cards. The seer herself was already seated, her eyes milky and half-lidded, hands ringed with silver and bone.

Without greeting, she spoke. Her voice was dry, but confident. "Sit."

Vepice took her seat eagerly. Kai slouched in the chair beside her, arms crossed.

Madame Sylva reached out, brushing Vepice’s palm with her fingers. "You... are tethered. Not by chains or fear, but by devotion. You are destined to walk beside a man who will change the world. Not from a throne, but from the battlefield. You will soften what the world tries to harden."

Vepice glanced shyly at Kai. He rolled his eyes.

"And you..." the seer said, turning her blind gaze toward Kai. Her fingers hovered over his arm. "You walk with death as an old companion. Your fate is a war. Not one battle, but the battle. A fight for your life. For your soul."

Kai scoffed. "That’s not a prophecy. That’s a weekday."

The seer didn’t smile. "Then your weekdays are darker than most. But this will be much darker than any of your week days."

Kai stood. "Come on, Vepice. Let’s get back to the fun stuff before she tells me I’m going to grow wings or something."

But Vepice lingered a moment, eyes still on the seer.

And Madame Sylva’s final words followed them out into the night, barely louder than a whisper.

"A heart can win a war, but only if it survives the numerous strikes from a blade."

As the evening wore on, they drifted through more games, snacked on festival treats, and eventually returned to their inn, the sounds of music and laughter fading behind them like an echo of something fleeting and perfect.

He felt like a young man, walking home from a date under festival lanterns, next to a girl who’d stolen his attention and maybe, a little, his heart.

Madame Sylvia’s words sat with him, though.

’The battle?’