Lord of The Stars

Jean continued speaking passionately, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Noor:

"I've helped you since the beginning of the race, and we've been through so much together. I even saved your lives when we were crossing the minefield. Keno stepped on one of the mines and it exploded, killing us all, but I reversed time by five seconds and warned him to watch out for the mine. We crossed safely, and without that, we would never have reached this stage. Besides, this so-called Akira only met us halfway through the race—he doesn't know you like I do."

Akira interrupted her with a trembling voice mixed with anger:

"I opened the gateway for you. You'll need my power to reach the end. Her ability won't help you reach the finish line like mine will."

The argument continued in circles while Noor stood with a torrent of emotions and severe turmoil inside him. During their exchange, he began to notice certain things. He shouted at them to stop so he could think. They fell silent, their eyes pleading with him.

Noor looked around to survey the place, then examined the remote control in his hand. He studied their faces with a dark, pale expression, then stomped his feet on the ground several times and drifted into deep thought. He was brought back by their voices as they pleaded with him again, but the mysterious voice interrupted them:

"One minute remains, Mr. Noor. Whom will you choose?"

Noor said confidently, a smile spreading across his face:

"I choose no one."

His words terrified both Jean and Akira. Their facial features tensed, and panic manifested within them. Jean wept more intensely, saying:

"What do you mean by that? You... don't... mean it... do you?"

"I do mean it. I won't choose either one."

Akira stared at him with eyes full of anger, shouting:

"Stop this nonsense! To pass the test, you must choose one of us, or you won't get the key. Who will you choose? Me or her?"

Noor sighed, the smile never leaving his face:

"I choose myself."

They stared at him with terror and confusion, words choking in their throats. Noor continued with even greater confidence:

"Don't think I haven't understood what's happening here. I'm not as foolish as I might appear! When I ran into the room, I noticed that the sound of my footsteps had changed. And you are both impostors."

Akira shouted with greater force:

"Have you gone mad? What do you mean we're impostors?"

"Yes, as I tell you—you are impostors. Let me end this ridiculous test by explaining how I uncovered the truth.

First: As I told you, the rhythm of my footsteps on the ground changed when I entered the room. I'll explain at the end what this proves.

Second: The real Akira would never prioritize himself over others. What proves this most is that he saved us, which wasn't in his interest—the fewer contestants remaining, the greater his chance of winning. If he needed us to reach the finish line, there are groups much stronger than us with better chances of crossing, like Keno and Sairi's group. More importantly, he could have sacrificed us, telling others we had perished during the race, and quickly joined the first group to reach the finish line. Instead, he expended all his energy to save two weak individuals like us. He could easily have entered the house portal, obtained the key, and left us outside to delay us while he reached the finish line, but he helped us enter as well. Also, how could he be captured so easily in such a short time and bound with these chains? Perhaps you could catch him somehow, but I'm certain the real Akira would have asked me to save Jean and not worry about what happened to him."

Noor paused briefly to catch his breath and wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead, then continued:

"As for Jean, it might be harder to discover whether she's real or not. From what I can see, Jean's ability doesn't help her much. She has a remarkable power, but she hasn't fully mastered it yet. Therefore, it's in her interest to move with the strongest to reach the finish line. She walked with me and Keno at the beginning without knowing either of our abilities. After a while, she could tell who was stronger and who was weaker, yet she continued with me and never objected to any decision I made, despite the fact that I'm not the strongest in the race. I might even say my ability isn't well-suited for this competition. Without my physical strength and thinking, I would have fallen from the beginning.

Jean could have stopped time and pushed us off the bridge, crossed it, and left us to our fate. Or she could have left us to explode and saved herself in the minefield, but she didn't. She also waited with me when Akira exhausted all his energy, when she could have easily joined the stronger teams and completed the race rather than wasting time staying with us. Her chances of reaching the finish line would have been greater than staying with us, but she waited with me until Akira recovered. This is one of the strongest indications that she doesn't look out for her interests alone.

I chose the most difficult and treacherous path, and neither she nor Akira objected, which isn't in their best interest. If they were truly thinking only of themselves and their benefit, I would have discovered it while running with them, for difficult circumstances reveal a person's true nature. I know well that human truth and what lies within them appears only during hardships because that's when all your principles and thoughts are tested. The scoundrel who thinks only of himself will reveal himself from the beginning, and one who cares for others will show themselves when the ordeal approaches its end. As I said, I am among the weakest contestants, yet they followed me without objection.

So I'll conclude by saying: if I were to choose either one of them, I would be the one to fall below. As I mentioned before, I felt the ground beneath me became hollow when I stepped into the room, meaning the lake is below me. This was a cunning trick to distract me and make me focus on whom to choose, while in the end, I would be the one to meet my doom. There are several other things that prove what I've said, but there's no time for that."

Noor grabbed the remote control, then placed his finger in a tiny, barely visible opening and removed its front panel, revealing behind the two buttons a single button marked with the number three. Noor pressed it, saying:

"Don't think I didn't notice this either."

The voice laughed heartily for the first time, and after finishing, said:

"My goodness, how delightful this is. I haven't been this entertained in ages, and I haven't seen anyone pass this test in a long time. It's good that you could think through all this in such a short time, and even better that you know your friends well despite meeting them only recently. This is exactly the spirit we need—someone who understands the people around them well. But I know there are other methods you used to verify whether they were impostors or not, isn't that right?"

Noor remained silent and didn't answer, so the voice laughed and continued:

"Of course my guess is correct, for if it weren't, you would have denied it immediately. But it doesn't matter. What matters is that you passed the test, and when you pressed the hidden button, the key appeared."

Noor looked at the remote control, not understanding what he meant. The voice continued:

"The remote control is the key to open the gateway. Did you think it opens with metal keys? We've moved beyond that era already."

Noor remembered something and asked him inquisitively:

"Where are Jean and Akira? What have you done with them? And who are these impostors?"

"They are now undergoing a test similar to yours. As for these dummies, they are robots programmed for such purposes. Now, would you like to see what your friends will do?"

A three-dimensional display screen descended from the ceiling above the box that contained the control device. The first video began playing, showing Jean walking down the same corridor. The voice explained:

"This footage is from the past. The test has already concluded, but don't ask me—I won't tell you the result. You must see it for yourself."

Noor was about to speak but restrained himself, knowing the voice's stubborn determination and that it wouldn't answer. He was troubled by the knowledge that the test had already ended. He wondered: Had Jean succeeded or failed? What had happened to Akira as well? He pushed these thoughts from his mind as his heart pounded forcefully, focusing his attention on the screen.

Jean continued walking down the corridor, her footsteps echoing throughout. She examined her surroundings, fear and anxiety evident in her movements and behavior. After a minute, she reached a door similar to the one Noor had entered. She opened it and stepped into the room, the camera revealing the interior and Jean entering.

Noor expected she would face the same test as his, but was surprised to discover it was different. When Jean entered, her expression changed—she smiled with joy and happiness as she ran inside, saying:

"Noor, I'm so glad you're here! I felt afraid alone. Have you found any of the keys?"

The false Noor moved his body into the camera's view. The real Noor's eyes widened, and he felt a shiver run through his body at what was happening. He felt his body urging him to run outside and catch up with her, but he knew the test had already ended. He remained frozen in place, struggling to control his breathing.

The false Noor said to Jean, who appeared happy to see him and felt some security knowing she wouldn't be alone in this frightening place:

"I've obtained my key and yours as well."

He pulled out two control devices, gesturing with them in his hand with a broad smile on his face. Jean felt even happier and said enthusiastically:

"So you did it! But how did you get them? And where did you come from?"

The false Noor continued in the same vein:

"I walked to the end of the corridor, and at its end, I found a room. Inside this room, I found them on a table. It seems there are only two keys in the entire place because I found a note on the table saying so. I had to choose who to give the second key to, and I chose to give it to you. This opened a door leading to your location, and that's everything that happened."

Jean's facial expression changed. She appeared more troubled and was pensive, as if unable to make up her mind. Being a perceptive woman, she said in a frank, fluent tone:

"What do you mean there are only two keys? Do you mean we're going to leave Akira here?"

"Yes, that's what I mean. I'm sorry for him, but that's what happened. I had to choose one of you, and I chose you. Akira might find another way to obtain another key, but it seems this place contains only two keys, no more."

Jean said firmly, her face tense:

"Then we must tell Akira about this!"