CHAPTER 67: VIC

I found Kaeel after the matches ended, in a quiet corner of the underground arena where the betting stalls had been abandoned. She was waiting, leaning against the stone wall, casual as anything.

"You came," she said. "Good, that means you’re smart."

"You wanted to talk. So talk."

"Direct but I like that." She shrugged and gestured to a side tunnel. "Not here with too many ears. Follow me."

We walked deeper into the tunnels beneath the arena. Damian followed at a discrete distance, as I’d signaled him before leaving my section. If this was a trap, at least someone would know where to find my body.

The tunnel opened into a small chamber that looked like it had been carved recently. Magical lights floated near the ceiling. A table and chairs sat in the center, clearly prepared in advance.

Someone else was already there, and I wasn’t surprised at all when I found out who it was.

Victoria Ironheart. Vic.

"Hadeon Ravana," Victoria said, standing. "Finally. We have much to discuss."

My hand went to my sword. Damian materialized from the tunnel entrance with blade drawn.

"Peace," Kaeel said, raising both hands. "We’re not your enemies. We’re what passes for allies in this fucked-up situation."

"Prove it."

Victoria smiled, the first expression I’d seen on her face since the day before. "How about this. If we wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. I could’ve killed you in the arena. Kaeel could’ve killed you in your match. We didn’t. Because we need you alive."

"Why?"

"Because you’re the first person in three cycles who has a legitimate chance of breaking free." Victoria gestured to the chairs. "Sit please. This will take a while to explain."

I looked at Damian. He nodded slightly, his assessment that the immediate threat was low.

We sat.

"Let me start with introductions," Victoria said. "My real name is Victoria Steelheart. I was the protagonist of Cycle Forty-Seven, approximately two hundred years ago."

"You’re a previous hero," I said with a raised brow.

"I was. Until I learned the truth about the Council of Fates. About how they use us, heroes and villains both as fuel for their energy. How they’ve been doing this for thousands of years across hundreds of worlds."

"And when you learned this?"

"I tried to break free. Like everyone does. Like you’re doing now." She leaned forward. "I failed. The Council was too strong. But I survived the attempt, which is rare. And in surviving, I found others. Other survivors from previous cycles. We formed a network.

"If you must know, there are hundreds of ’heroes’ that are carefully watched and given destined backing. Only the worthy will become the true hero while the others would think they just had sudden bad luck for the rest of their lives...

"But those who break free...."

"The Resistance," Kaeel added. "Its small and scattered. Mostly just trying to survive. But we watch for promising candidates. People who might actually succeed where we failed in other cycles."

"Why didn’t you fight the Council again?" I asked Victoria.

"Because the cost of failure isn’t just death. It’s erasure. Complete removal from existence. The Council has done it before, eliminated someone so thoroughly that reality itself forgets they existed." Her expression darkened. "I watched it happen to someone I loved. I won’t risk it again lightly."

"But you think I can succeed." I resisted a chuckle.

"I think you have tools we didn’t have. You’re in the Cycle, which means you are still tightly bound by the laws and rules of this world. But such things goes both ways so...." Victoria pulled out a crystal, placed it on the table. "This contains information about power cultivation. How to break through rank barriers and tiers. How to reach levels strong enough to fight."

I did not move a single muscle.

"What’s the catch?"

"The catch is time," Kaeel said. "You have maybe six months before the League makes their real move. Maybe a year before the Council decides you’re too dangerous to exist. In that time, you need to reach the highest height you can reach. You need to match to SSS potential rank and punches through tiers."

"That’s impossible, normal progression takes decades. It takes time."

"Normal progression, yes. But there are shortcuts, dangerous shortcuts." Victoria tapped the crystal. "This contains methods used by previous heroes. Combat tempering. Mana core refinement. Bloodline awakening. Limit breaking through controlled near-death experiences."

I eyed the crystal in her hand. Everything they’re saying was so perfect and so so easy. But they still never told me what they want from me and the most important question...why? Why me?

But as she said, things goes two ways.

I tapped the table. "That last one sounds pleasant."

"It’s not. But it works." Victoria’s eyes were hard. "You want to survive? Then you need power, real power. Not just tactical cleverness and good preparation. When the League sends their strongest, when the Council decides to end this, you need to be able to stand against them."

"And if I use these methods? What then?"

"Then you might, might, have a chance." Kaeel pulled out her own crystal. "This one contains information about the League. Their structure, their known members, their typical tactics. Knowledge is power too."

I looked at both crystals. At these two women who claimed to be helping me.

"Why should I trust you?" I finally pulled a parry.

"You shouldn’t," Victoria said bluntly. "Trust is earned. But consider this, we’ve given you information. We’ve revealed ourselves at great personal risk. All without asking for anything in return."

"Yet."

"Yet," she agreed. "Eventually, if you succeed in breaking the cycle, we’ll ask for help liberating other worlds. But that’s a problem for future-you. Right now, present-you needs to survive the next year."

Damian shifted slightly. His way of saying. ’Your call, Young Master.’

I looked at the crystals again. At the two survivors of previous cycles. At the choice before me.

"I’ll take the information," I said. "But I’m not joining any organization and I’m not pledging to any cause. I break free on my terms."

"Fair enough," Victoria said, sliding both crystals across the table. "Use them well. Train hard. And when the League comes, when, not if, bsmart, be whatever it takes to survive."

"One more thing," Kael added as I pocketed the crystals. "The Inter-Academy Tournament in two weeks? Be careful."

"Noted."