CHAPTER 66: HUMILIATING WIN?

Kaeel was already in the pit when I entered. She’d changed from yesterday’s observation outfit into full combat gear, Shadowgrove black and green, leather armor designed for mobility, twin short swords at her hips.

"Ezra," she greeted me. "Ready for our philosophical discussion?"

"Is that what we’re calling this?"

"Seems appropriate, after all, we’re both playing roles, aren’t we? Might as well be honest about it while we fight." She drew her swords. "I’ll even give you a head start. First question. Do you know what you are?"

The referee signaled the start.

Kaeel blurred forward immediately.

She was fast, even faster than Kieran yesterday. Her swords came at me from opposite angles, left blade high, right blade low, forcing me to choose which to block.

I chose neither.

Shadow Step put me behind her, sword already swinging for her exposed back...but.....

But....she wasn’t there!

Her own teleportation technique put her five meters away.

"Good reaction," she said. "But its too predictable. You rely too heavily on Shadow Step. It’s your crutch."

And she was right. I did.

This time I charged straight at her with no fancy movement.

I just applied speed and aggression to throw myself forward.

She met me head-on. Our blades clashed, the sound ringing through the arena. Steel against steel.

"Second question," she said, our faces inches apart as we locked swords. "Do you know what Adrian is?"

"A manipulated lost," I grunted, pushing against her strength.

"Close. But not quite right." She disengaged, spun, came at me from a new angle. "He’s a vessel. A container for energy. The Council pours their story into him, and he acts it out. But you..."

She feinted left, struck right and I barely managed to parried.

"You’re different. You’re not just breaking script. You’re rewriting it."

"How do you know all this?" I asked, using Shadow Blade to extend my reach and forcing her back.

"Because I’ve been watching cycles for sixty years. I’m not a student, Hadeon. Haven’t been for a long time." She smiled, and for a moment, her eyes glowed with ancient power. "I’m what happens when someone figures out the truth early and survives long enough to see multiple cycles."

She was like Iris. A previous cycle survivor. A person who’s awear....but, what exactly are they?

"Third question," Kaeel continued, her attacks becoming more aggressive. "Do you know what happens to people like us? To those who see the pattern?"

"They get eliminated."

"Usually, yes." She caught my blade in a bind, twisted and, nearly disarmed me. "But sometimes, rarely, they survive. And when they do, they have a choice. They see the world as a different thing, they became untethered...they have a choice."

I broke the bind, created distance with a shadow barrier. "What choice?"

"Join the League. Join the Council. Or fight both. Or join any other organizations out there. Either way, they must do something." She sheathed one sword, raised her free hand. "I chose option three. And I’ve been recruiting."

Vines erupted from the stone floor, impossibly fast as she made it happen through sheer magical force. They wrapped around my legs, immobilizing me.

She closed the distance, blade at my throat.

"Yield, and we talk. Really talk. About the cycles. About the resistance. About how to survive what’s coming."

I looked at the blade. At her eyes. Searching for deception.

Found only grim determination.

"You can kill me now," I said.

"I don’t want you dead. I want you alive and fighting." She pressed the blade a millimeter closer. "But I need to know you’re worth saving. So answer me this. When the League comes, and they will come will you run? Will you submit? Or will you fight?"

The crowd was silent, watching this strange confrontation. They couldn’t hear what we were saying and due to Kaeel’s spell.

I smiled, my eyes like steel. "I’ll do what I want but I won’t submit to anything."

"Good answer." She removed the blade. The vines released me as well. "But you’re not ready yet. Not strong enough, and not fast enough. Not experienced enough. You don’t even have a tier. You’re like a babe "

She took three steps back.

"I’m going to show you a gap. Then I’m going to yield. And then we’re going to talk."

Before I could respond, she moved.... and, it was as if the world moved with her or became still in her presence. It was hard to tell which.

All her knew was that, everything around me became strange.

Then.

Ten strikes in half a second.

Each one perfectly placed, each one pulling at the last microsecond. She could’ve killed me ten times over and I couldn’t even know how I died.

I couldn’t even track half the movements.

She ended with her blade at my heart, the point pressed against my armor hard enough to dent but not pierce.

"That’s the difference between us. And I am only A+ rank," she said quietly. "Rank is only the potential of your magical powers. The techniques, the experience, your hard work can change everything. And, it’s all nothing compared to the League’s leaders. Remember that."

She stepped back, raised her hand.

"I yield."

The crowd erupted in confusion.

"Wait, what?" the referee said.

"I yield," Kaeel repeated clearly. "Match to Hadeon Ravana."

"But you were winning...."

"I made my point. He won." She smiled at me. "Congratulations. Let’s talk later."

She walked out of the pit, leaving me standing there confused and slightly humiliated.

"Winner! Hadeon Ravana!" the referee announced, sounding as confused as I felt.

The crowd’s reaction was mixed. Some cheered. Others booed, angry that the match ended anticlimactically.

I didn’t care about them.

I cared that Kaeel had just demonstrated exactly how outmatched I was against real power.

And she’d done it as a gift and a warning.

Get stronger or die trying.

I touched my chest.

I’ve been so absorbed by the pettiness of this world that I failed to grasp the importance of strength.

Ah.. everything’s happening too fast.