Page 107 of My Wild Pet

“Behold, citizens of the Empire—the Bond Breaker Challenge!

“In this ultimate test of loyalty and perception, our champion pets must confront a gauntlet of illusions and moral quandaries, all crafted to sever the unbreakable ties they claim to share. Will they stand firm, recognizing friend from foe? Or will they fall prey to fear, confusion, and betrayal? Spectators, you have one minute left to place your wagers—for in the Bond Breaker, reality itself becomes the enemy!”

The Bond Breaker arena shimmers into view, hazy shapes solidifying into a gleaming metal path. The overhead lights dim, leaving only neon-blue strips along the floor that pulse with each heartbeat.

Off to my left, a series of hovering platforms drift in erratic orbits. Each platform crackles with electric sparks, forming a sort of gravity well trap that could pull me in if I step too close. Beyond them, an arch of swirling black energy, which I assume is some kind of portal.

In the center of the arena, I see a tall, translucent tower, almost like a glass cylinder. Inside it, resting on a dais, is theartifact I’m supposed to retrieve. It glows with a faint, pulsing light, beckoning me forward.Focus, I tell myself.That’s the goal.

The voice of the announcer echoes overhead, but I barely hear it through the rush of blood in my ears. The path forward is riddled with obstacles, an energy bridge that flashes in and out, and a corridor lined with illusions.

I also know that Briar is in there somewhere and I need to save her as well as get the artifact.

A hush falls across the crowd, as though the entire galaxy is holding its breath for me to begin.My last challenge as a human pet, I think.

I gather my courage and move. With every second, the environment seems to warp, walls shifting, illusions shimmering in the corner of my eye.I can’t lose focus.

Halfway to the tower, I notice two figures sprawled on opposite sides of the path: Fifi on one side, Briar on the other. Both are tied from the waist down and are slowly sinking into a poisonous mist that burns my nose and throat.

The sight tears at my chest. Fifi… her face is contorted in pain, her body trembling like she’s at death’s door. Briar, similarly wounded, calls out my name.This can’t be real.Fifi died a year ago.Didn’t she?

“Gabriel,” Fifi rasps, lifting a shaky arm. “Je ne suis jamais morte.I didn’t die. It’s all been an Imperial trick. I’ve been here at the Celestial Spire all along—waiting for you.” Her eyes shine with tears. “They lied to you so you’d believe I was gone.” Her French is perfect just as she was in real life. How could they recreate that? Imperials refuse to record or keep records of human languages, as far as I know.

“Gabriel,” Fifi calls out again. “Tu te souviens? It was the Imperial holiday on theLuminous Arc—everyone was celebrating, or too busy to notice. You and I pooled our credits to bribe les garçons to sneak out a bottle of Aefre’s privatereserve. We laughed so much, thinking we’d get away with it. We hid in that tiny area of the cleansing room, remember? Toasting to our imaginary ‘freedom,’ just for one night.C’était toi et moi, Gabriel.The wine was bitter, but you told me it tasted like victory.” She pauses,“Tu te rappelles, mon amour?I never forgot how you looked at me under those sterile lights… how we promised, if we ever truly escaped, we’d drink again under real sunlight. How I longed to feel the sun on my skin. Remember?”

For a moment, the illusion’s words are heartbreakingly vivid, drawing on a memory only Fifi could have shared with me.

“Je suis revenue pour toi,” she says with desperation. “Save me, Gabriel. If you leave me they will kill me for real this time. Don’t let me die alone in this place.”

Impossible.But the Bond Breaker thrives on illusions, and doubt.But what if she survived?

Briar coughs from the opposite side, tears running down her cheeks. “Gabriel, it’s a trick.”

Fifi’s words address me again, “Don’t let me die here. Don’t fail your partner again.”

“Gabriel,listen to me!This isn’t real—sheisn’t real. You know that if Fifi were alive, Aefre would have never bought me. Think! Why would she suddenly appear here, in the Bond Breaker, spouting old memories? It’s exactly what these illusions do—they latch onto your guilt, your regrets, and twist them into something that feels real.

“Remember the corridor you two drank wine in? There were details that onlyyouand Fifi would recall… except the illusion got some of them wrong. You and I talked about that night—you said the bottle was half-empty already, that it tasted stale, not “bitter.” It’s a mistake in the illusion.

“You can’t trust it.This is how the Bond Breaker tears people apart—by dredging up the one thing that makes you hesitate. You’re hesitating now, Gabriel, and it’s going to costus everything. Fifi died—I know it hurts to accept, but you saw it happen. And Aefre, think about him. He also loved Fifi and he would never have agreed to leave one of his beloved pets in someone else’s care for a year. Don’t let the sponsors and judges exploit your pain to trick you again.”

Fifi yells to me. Her voice desperate, “Master Aefre was paid to leave me here. She’s the illusion.” She points to Briar.

Briar coughs from the poison rising faster now. “The illusion wants you to believe you can save her this time. But if you run to her, you’ll kill us both. Fifi’s gone, Gabriel. You owe it to yourself—not to chase a memory—but to survive and protect the partner who’s right here, right now, fighting to stay alive.”

“Gabriel,mon amour, you have to see the truth. That—” she hisses, gesturing toward Briar, “—thatthingis the illusion.Elle n’existe même pas!They designed your collar to invent this ‘Briar’ person—how else do you explain the perfect bond you supposedly share?Ça n’a aucun sens.You’ve known me, Gabriel.J’ai été ton unique partenaire.You and I were real. But she’s too perfect to be real.”

“I’m the real one,” Briar yells then bends over in a fit of coughs.

“Notice how she supposedly understands you so deeply—tout ça, c’est faux!The collar manipulated your mind, conjuring a fantasy partner so you’d stay compliant.Je suis la vraie,Gabriel. She’s nothing more than a program feeding off your regrets and hopes.Wehave a history,nous avons un passé, I’m here now—yourrealpartner. Leave that American phantom behind before she drags you into her nightmare.”

A spike of nausea grips me. I know there are clues to help me figure out what’s real, but I can’t reel in my emotions enough to focus on the details.

In my periphery vision, I see the artifact, just a short climb away through a ring of swirling energy. If I race for it, maybe Ican secure our victory, maybe the illusions would disappear if I take it. But that didn’t happen last year…

What if I take the artifact and they both die?

What if one of them is actually real?

---