"I won't give it to you."
"So you admit it," the false Noor sneered. "You see that I was right? Listen to me, you pathetic coward. Do you know what I was about to do? I was going to give you the real key. I'm tired of this absurdity. I have nothing left in my memory but my name. Nothing to regret if I die. But you've just proven you're a wretch, unworthy of the sacrifice I was ready to make."
The impostor gestured with furious contempt. "Liar. I saw the look on your face before the time ran out. You were going to choose the key. You only stopped because you got scared. You didn't try to save me. You had no idea what would happen when the countdown ended. What if I'd been dropped into that pool? Would that have made you happy? You'd have the key, and your conscience would be clear. But what if you'd picked the fake key, and I'd fallen in with the real one? You would have been doomed anyway. I know, with absolute certainty, that you would have chosen the key over me."
Akira looked at him, anguish radiating from his eyes. His voice was hollow, desolate. "Fine. Take my key. I don't care anymore." He held it out. "Maybe my life is a blank slate, but I have a feeling deep down that I've already lost everything that matters. Oblivion might be kinder than finding out what that was. Take it. I'm done."
Akira threw the key toward the false Noor. As the impostor raised his right hand to catch it, Akira saw it—a flicker in the movement, something unnatural he had overlooked before. His eyes widened. A roar tore from his throat, raw with realization.
"You wretch. You're not Noor!"
The impostor's face tightened. "Hah. I am Noor, you fool. What nonsense are you talking about? Has this race finally broken your mind?"
A hard certainty settled over Akira, banishing the doubt and anguish. "Say the password we agreed on."
The false Noor sighed, sweat beading on his brow. "I've forgotten it. These trials have taken their toll."
"What is the password?" Akira demanded, his voice like flint. "You couldn't forget it if you were real, and you know it."
The impostor realized the game was up. His expression turned to one of cold indifference. "Curse you and this infernal password. Very well, I'm not him. But you've made a grave mistake giving me the keys, and now—"
A small hole opened in the floor at the impostor's feet, revealing the dark, menacing water below. He dangled both keys over the opening, his face twisted in a malicious grin. "Which one is real? You must choose one. The other falls. Choose carefully."
Akira fell silent, thinking. Then, with resolute conviction, he broke the silence. "It's the one in your right hand."
"And what makes you so certain?"
"This whole test… it was never just about me versus him," Akira said, his voice quiet but firm. "It was a distraction. A test to see if I would choose myself, or put someone else first. To do that, to make that sacrifice… that takes something more than just wanting to win. If I had known from the start that you weren't him, I would have taken the key without a second thought. But I didn't know. So I hesitated. And now you're standing here, completely unharmed. The key you had from the beginning has to be the real one. It isn't just an object to open a gate.
"It's a key to a person's soul. Whoever chooses right doesn't just get to the finish line. They discover the truth about themselves. Are we good, or are we selfish? I almost failed. I wavered. But when I was finally ready to give up my own key, to surrender it to you… that's when I truly passed. I want to tell you, whoever you are, that I would have chosen you, right before the idea came to me to just let the time run out. I found the truth about myself in that storm of fear and doubt. The matter was simple, but I was a fool. If I had chosen the key over him at the start, I would have lost myself, and I would have lost the path forward. I wouldn't have deserved to leave this place."
The false Noor smiled. "If I had emotions, I might be moved by those words. Now you may claim the genuine key. You've understood the purpose of this test."
He tossed the key to Akira, who caught it as the door to the room swung open. He left without another word, choosing not to ask who the impostor really was. Some things were better left a mystery.
Everyone exited their corridors and reunited at the starting point of the stage, greeting each other with joyful relief, congratulating one another on passing the difficult test. They were surprised, however, to find another person with them, a young man who had emerged from the first corridor, which none of them had entered. He regarded them silently, with long, wavy hair and a permanent look of derision on his face.
Noor recognized him instantly. "You!" he said. "I saw you at the very beginning of the race. You were just sitting there, watching us with that mocking look. How did you get here so fast?"
The stranger met his gaze with arrogant, confident eyes. "Because I am exceedingly fast," he said simply. "Reaching this point wasn't difficult. In truth, this test you all just finished is the hardest thing I've faced so far. I passed every other obstacle with ease, but this… this was different. I never expected anyone else would be smart enough to choose the hard paths. How strange."
"So you got the key, too?" Noor asked.
"Yes. Now, I have no more time to waste. There's a race I need to finish."
The boy vanished, so fast that he left behind a powerful gust of wind that rustled their clothes. Without a second's delay, they all broke into a sprint, hurrying after him, desperate to reach the finish line and claim victory.