Paradox

Chapter 2

"There is another way to enter the Exam site. You must answer the Devil's Riddle to find your destination."

Those were the Captain's words before I set of on my own. I try to mumble the words in the riddle, taking every letters in account in solving. It wasn't really hard to put the puzzles together, I have a liking in literature and had read different kinds of books, so I guess I've develop a skill in comes with riddles and the such.

"It kills and protects you at the same time.

The smallest may not be the strongest

But it can be the deadliest"

After countless mumbles and walking I've arrived in my answer. I stop in front of a shop with a wooden sign saying 'Weaponry'. I opened the shop's door while a chime rings, signaling the shop owner to look above from his desk to his newly arrived visitor. I observe the surrounding, thinking how could the owner swindle the town's head to give him permission to build a weaponry shop here.

"Hello, young lady. What brings you to my humble shop?" the owner said. He looks a bit old, with loose shirt, wrinkled forehead and a face saying 'nothing will kill you here, sweetheart'.

"I want a knife that can give me a license" I said boldly to the shop owner, which brought him to his surprise.

"I'm sorry dear, we don't have something like that here.... But I think there are some stocks in our store room" the owner said leaving his desk and opening the door that awaits at the back.

'It kills and protects you at the same time'. It was a weapon. A weapon kills your innocence about the cruel things the world can give you, but it is also the instrument that can protect you. While you defend yourself, you kill what's in front of and what's inside you until all what is left is emptiness and darkness.

'The smallest may not be the strongest, but it's the deadliest'. It's a knife. A knife is a small blade you can hide anywhere in your body. You might see a person talking to you with a sweet smile, emitting no sign of danger. But one thing you don't know is that its sharp fangs are hiding somewhere, taking its time to stab you. In fact, my weapon is a knife. It's not hard to carry but it's hard to use. Nevertheless, I learned how to make it my friend.

I didn't hesitate to put my feet forward and walked toward the door the owner had open. The room leads to a stairway that goes down to complete darkness. I had a little chill on my nape, without my precious scarf I always feels cold, but this chill is different from the usual.

I never told anyone (except, well you readers), but ever since a piece of memory where darkness envelops and something sharp stabs me, I had been avoiding dark places. But in this case, I have to be strong... I need to be strong. One of the reason why I took this exam, to be honest, was to test my courage. I'm really a coward, but when you've been living alone, you need to swallow all your fears and keep on moving.

"Careful now, little lady." The shop owner warned me as I was about to place my right foot on the first step.

I looked up to the old man and saw true sincerity in his eyes. You don't see that every day in a world full of mischief and mystery. So I smiled a fake bravery, something I mastered for years of my travel.

"Thank you" I said and plunged to total darkness.

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A station. It was the first thing I saw after pushing my feet down the stairs. I'm just glad I didn't trip and fall down here. The place is lightly dimmed but the light is enough for me to make out what's in my surrounding area.