"I'd love to. Thank you," I tell her sincerely.

We don't get to talk for much longer as I announce that I'm going to sleep. The fatigue is starting to get to me, and I'll need all my strength for what's to come.

I bid them good night and plan to regroup in the morning. Thea surprises me by saying that I can have the room all to myself for tonight and she'll just sleep in the same room as Cer. I don't refuse since I've been craving some alone time from the beginning.

As I go to my room, I change and take a quick shower before getting between the sheets. Yet despite being so tired, sleep doesn't come so easily. Not after everything that happened today.

Ze and Cer are out of the competition, leaving Thea and me in a team of two to fend for ourselves. If before I was contemplating going into the third trial by myself, now I'm wondering if we'll manage just the two of us. It's a little jarring to realize just how much I was depending on the others to win. And if that's the case, what does that say about me?

That you're human, a voice inside my head whispers.

I might be human, but I need to rise above my condition if I am to pass the third trial. Who knows what they'll ask of us, and for that reason, I need to amass as much information as possible and to get myself in better physical shape.

There are only two weeks left until it starts—not enough time. But I must make do.

I nod to myself as my conviction grows stronger. I might not have any fancy abilities, but I shall win based on my sheer will alone. Besides, now I have one more reason to fight until the end. I trace the marks on my chest, thinking back to what Ze said—that these are marks made by a god. The only way to find out what they mean and why I have them is to get to the final trial and meet these gods.

Curiosity brims inside of me as I wonder if, maybe, these marks I've so dreadfully abhorred my entire life might have another meaning. If they have a purpose that I may not be aware of.

A smile pulls at my lips as my mind strays into fanciful territory, imagining that the marks might make me special in some way.

I've never been special before.

But at the same time, I don't want to get my hopes up. This isn't a movie or a romance book where the heroine gets her happily ever after. This is the real world, with real challenges and dangers. If I let myself dream in vain, only I will be hurt in the end.