The Hidden World

The next night, Yuki sat in her bed with Ember in front of her. She had gathered enough information, and decided that now would be the right time to share her findings and discuss what their plan from then on will be. Time was running out. Two battles remained for Yuki. The last one led to a number of unknowns that Yuki didn’t want to deal with. The sooner they broke out, the better. 

[You wanted to talk?] Ember said, looking at Yuki expectantly. 

‘Yes. It’s about the plan,’ Yuki replied. ‘Or rather. The lack of one. We’re going to change that though.’

Ember perked up at that.

[You got enough information?] she asked.

‘I did. I’m almost certain about the nature of this entire place. It’s basically all a simulation created by the Fiddler.’

[A simulation?]

‘Yes,’ Yuki nodded. ‘Your discovery of the false hallway is evidence for that. The Fiddler is trying to keep the illusion that this place is all one structure, so he makes those false hallways and places guards to not allow anyone to discover this.’

[Oh, I see.]

‘What I believe, is that this place is a lot smaller than you think. We are in the Fiddler’s domain. That’s something I already knew, but now I know it reaches further than I thought. We are stuck within what is basically a pocket in space that the Fiddler controls every part of.’

[Can you simplify that?] Ember asked. [And the explanation.]

‘Sure. The arena and the living quarters are part of the same space. The space is under the Fiddler’s control. He creates the living quarters and moves people into it when the fighting for the day is over. Then, when a new day starts, he moves people back into the arena.’

[Then what about the holding pen or whatever that place is?] Ember said. [The place we go before actually going to the lounge?]

‘That place is an intermediate step. Easier to conjure up for the Fiddler. Once we’re there, he’s free to create the other places. The arena is considerably more complicated compared to the living quarters.’

[So everything in this place is fake then.]

‘It’s very likely,’ Yuki replied. ‘However, I don’t believe everything is conjured. Just most.’

[What do you mean by that?]

‘I don’t believe it’s possible for the Fiddler to just create a pocket in space as large as the arena without anyone noticing,’ Yuki shrugged. ‘It has to be a spell of sorts that makes a hole of sorts and creates a separate dimension, if you will. A spell like that needs an anchor point to work.’

[And you know this, how?] Ember asked, raising a brow. [This is magic that I don’t have experience with. Space magic is something that many don’t really pursue. I heard it’s because of the nature of the magic. Slippery and frustrating.]

‘I’ve seen something like this first hand. A cabin in the woods. The first room you enter is the one you see from the outside. But the inside is much bigger than it should be. I think a spell like that is at work here. Not exactly the same, but the concept falls along the same lines.’

[This cabin sounds familiar,] Ember frowned. [I can’t quite put my finger on it though.]

‘It’s not that important,’ Yuki shrugged. ‘It’s just to show that there is precedent. I believe that the Fiddler has an anchor point as well. A place that exists in the real world where his spells are casted on. If we can find that, then we can destroy this place and the man who runs it.’

[He’ll be there, wouldn’t he. At the anchor.]

‘Exactly.’

[Do you have an idea where the anchor is?] 

‘Better,’ Yuki smiled. ‘I think I found it. It’s the one place the Fiddler is always at.’

[His little box,] Ember finished, a fire lighting up in her eyes.

‘Exactly. And I know how to get into that box. It’s through one of the hallways. I’ve already secured a safe way in. All we need to do is go in there, and start blasting. Then find a way to escape.’

[That sounds fantastic,] Ember grinned. Then her expression dimmed. [Wait. Our magic is limited in the lounge. It should be limited in that box as well, no? Our magic would be too weak to mess with someone like that.]

‘True. That is a good point.’ Yuki pressed her lips together as she thought. ‘It’s going to hinge on how the Fiddler is doing his magic dampening. If he made it so that it doesn’t affect him. If not, then we’re on an equal playing field.’

[But if he did, then what?]

‘Hope that two people would be enough,’ Yuki shrugged, forcing a smile. 

[There has to be a better plan than hoping that the Fiddler made a misstep,] Ember said. 

‘There might be. We don’t have the time, though.’

[I know your last battle is approaching, but we still have a few days to plan some more, Yuki. We can come up with something better.]

‘Em, we have all the information we can possibly get,’ Yuki said. ‘The spells are in that room. The Fiddler is in that room. I can’t test if there is magic suppression in there or not. Sooner or later, we’re going to have to risk it.’

[Then maybe there is a way to mess with the spells from the outside,] Ember suggested. 

‘I don’t think that’s possible. And even if it is, I wouldn’t be able to do it,’ Yuki replied. ‘This type of magic is something that I’ve never been able to grasp completely. I can’t even fully interpret that magic from that cabin. The part I did figure out was with help. This arena would be on a completely different level.’

[I see.]

‘I don’t like going in there like this as much as you do, but I can’t think of anything,’ Yuki said, her voice soft. ‘If there is a way to get around the magic suppression, I would gladly use it. But right now, I don’t know if there is one.’

[Maybe we can spend a few days to try and figure something out,] Ember suggested. [We still have some time. Peruse through information we have, and try to come up with something.]

‘We can,’ Yuki sighed. ‘I don’t know if it would do anything though. We need to do it before my final battle.’

[All we can do is try,] Ember said. [You never know.]

‘Alright. We have a day before my forty eight battle. That means around eight days before the day of my final match provided I win my next two. However, I would prefer it if we try to break free before that final day. I don’t know when my match might start and that’s a variable I don’t want to deal with.’

[A week is a lot of time. I’m sure we can find something.]

Yuki only gave her a small smile.

‘I hope.’

---

 

As the days flew by, Yuki’s misgivings began to prove themselves to be true. In order to get around a magic suppression spell, one needed to know what type of spell is being used. That was information Yuki didn’t know. Therefore, circumventing it would be nearly impossible.

One potential way revealed itself, but it was eliminated quickly. It was far too risky to the point that Yuki believed that going in blindly would be safer in the long run. 

[What was the idea?] Ember asked.

‘It was related to spirits,’ Yuki replied. ‘When I’m within my own mana dimension, my magic is unhindered because I’m now not constrained by the rules of the Fiddler’s Coliseum. However, when I leave, those rules now apply and I can’t conjure anything powerful outside of myself. Spirits exist in another dimension that runs parallel to ours.’

[Oh. So you wanted to separate your soul to form a temporary spirit to fight the Fiddler,] Ember said.

‘I was thinking about it, but it’s too risky. And it might not even work since when you summon a spirit it just comes to exist in our dimension now, and so the rules might still apply. Plus, spirits are never quite as strong as their living selves. And all of that is without going into the fact that I don’t have experience in this and so might die or the Fiddler captures my spirit and I die.’

[I can see why that’s a bad idea then.]

Yuki nodded and reached out to hold Ember’s hand. 

‘Em, there’s no choice now,’ she said softly, looking right into Ember’s eyes. ‘We need to act. Leave it to chance. If it works out, then we are free. If not, then we’re trapped here until we get another chance.’

[You can leave first,] Ember suggested, her voice controlled. [I can wait. I know you’ll find me.]

‘Ember. The dragons have been searching for this place for years,’ Yuki said. ‘As much as I want to say that I would be able to find this place later, I can’t ignore that fact.’

[I just wish there was another way,] Ember sighed. [A way that didn’t lean so heavily on what ifs. Why can’t there just be a way to dig ourselves out.]

The image of the two of them scraping the ground with spoons popped into Yuki’s mind, a smile appearing on her lips. 

‘That would be entertaining to say the least,’ she said. ‘But I think the ground won’t budge around here.’

[True. It might not even be real,] Ember laughed.

‘I’m sure there’s dirt somewhere. We would need to basically hijack the entire place to actually dig it though,’ Yuki mused, entertaining the idea for fun. ‘Besides, where is a place with dirt here.’

[The arena has a bunch of dirt,] Ember said. [The sand in there can get annoying sometimes, though. Kinda slippery if you’re going too fast.]

‘The arena, huh. Yeah, that place is basically just dirt,’ Yuki grinned. Then her smile dimmed as the gears in her head began to spin. ‘Wait. The arena.’

[What about?] Ember asked, her voice growing serious as she read Yuki’s expression.

‘Our magic isn’t suppressed while we’re in battle.’

Ember’s eyes widened as she understood what Yuki was hinting at.

[I know that look. That's your planning look. What exactly are you thinking about?]

‘I know some magic that might help us,’ Yuki said, a twinkle in her eye. ‘I can rip a hole into this place. Then, we can dig that hole.’