Chapter 28:

  When Shogai woke up, he couldn’t remember where he was. He looked around the room. It was homely, and for a moment, he thought he was back in Nomun. Staying over at someone’s house. Thomas, maybe? Had he dreamt everything?

  Then it came back to him. The good and the bad. The burning houses. Mira’s body. He really had lost everything to make it here. What was he still fighting for? Jade’s face came into his mind. He hesitated to push it down. He didn’t want to spend hours more trying to decipher the mess that was his mind, but he remembered what Mira said: he had people to protect.

  Shogai left his room. Most of the other doors were open, so he supposed that everyone else was awake already. He had a look at the big door at the end of the corridor. He’d forgotten to ask Katro about that, but he could hear voices behind it. He cautiously opened it.

  The room he was in was large and circular. It had carpet stretched across most of it, with a couple of blank spots with nets and balls, probably for training. There was a big seating area, and some of the Outer Ranks were lounging there. Raven was reading a book. Tina was on the side, talking to someone Shogai couldn’t see. Scott was just staring into space, and Valerie was speaking to Zinnia. It was like he’d walked in on a perfectly normal group of friends.

  Jade and Kiara were sitting around a small table in the corner, and they waved when they saw him.

  “Morning, sleepyhead,” Kiara laughed as Shogai took a seat. “Tina’s talking to somebody on a p-prone.”

  She looked over at Jade, who sounded out, “Phone. F sound, no R.” She looked over at Shogai’s confused face.

  “I don’t really understand it, or half the things here, but I think it’s a machine that lets you talk to people without being there. If we get to stay here, I’m for sure reading up on it.”

  She looked over to Raven, who had been looking up from her book. Raven gave a “hmph” of annoyance and continued reading.

  “I don’t think Raven likes us being here,” said Kiara, “We’re not Nexeans yet, so she doesn’t agree with us sitting around.”

  “In that case, we’ll be sure to prove her wrong. But first, Kiara, I believe you promised us a story?”

  Kiara nervously looked around and hung her head. She turned to both of them, but mostly Jade, who she hadn’t apologised to yet.

  “I’m sorry for stealing from you. It should never have mattered if you had more than me or not. I was dishonest and greedy. I don’t know why I expected respect from you, or why I talked myself into believing I simply needed it all more than you. I’m sorry.

  Ryukyu gave me this opportunity over being a thief. He told me I was wasting my potential. He accompanied me back home, which wasn’t really home more than where I grew up, and asked me to show him what I did with my day. I tried to lie to him. To act like an honest person. But he set me up. I saw a hooded man covered in gold and silver bracelets and gems. He was a gold mine for me, something that could pay for weeks of food. I'd never pass him up, even under the supervision of a Nexean. I tried to distract Ryukyu and snagged the gold. It worked at first; I was able to strip the man of all his items and hide them away in a secret stash. But then the hooded man just appeared in my stash. Out of nowhere. He pulled down his hood. It was Xero.

  Ryukyu appeared from behind me. I was disappointed in myself and was sure he'd turn me in for being a thief. I was a fool to take such obvious bait. But Ryukyu wasn't angry; he was impressed. He said I'd almost outmanoeuvred a Nexean, and that they could really use my talents. I was surprised. I didn't really understand what he was talking about. And I wanted to get away from monsters like Sekara, not fight them. But Ryukyu convinced me. It's worth the danger, and besides, I live my life dangerously anyway. What's there to lose?

  Since he was directly recommending me, he decided it was fair to show me where the trials were and let me run them myself. Well, you know how that went.”

  The table was quiet for a bit after the story, but it was more of a silence of awe. Jade broke it.

  “I’m grateful, Kiara. We’d be dead without you. Thank you so much.”

  “What about you two? Especially you, Jade. I assumed you were helping Shogai become a Nexean. You want to be one yourself?”

  Shogai remembered that he was intending to ask Jade the same thing, but before she could respond, Scott came up to the table.

  “Being a Nexean is really, really tough, you know. We fight horrible monsters every day. There’s no shame in turning away; no one will judge you. You got this far, which is impressive.”

  Knowing what Tina had said, Scott’s intentions were painfully obvious. But the group smiled and thanked him anyway. Shogai snuck in the comment, “We’ll be sure to give it our all, to prove we have what it takes. No holding back.”

  Scott paled, turning around to hide it. “Good luck with that,” he quavered, leaving.

  “On that note,” Jade said, “We should decide who challenges whom. One of us needs to beat each of Scott, Zinnia and Jade. I’ll handle Zinnia, since both of you are better fighters.”

  “And I’ll fight Xero,” Shogai said. Kiara and Jade were taken aback by his lack of hesitation. “I owe him my life too many times to hide from him. I’ll do it.”

  “Right, in that case, I’ve got Scott. Should be fine.” Kiara said. Shogai nodded. He hadn’t ignored Jade’s attempt at changing the topic, but he decided to just ask her later. What made her change her mind wasn’t important right now. Especially since Tina had just gotten off the phone.

  “Sorry for the wait, I was talking to my boyfriend.” She put a hand to her mouth, as if she hadn’t meant to casually slip that out to the newcomers. “No questions. Let’s meet everyone outside.”

  Back on the field, the four of them were the only ones outside, but chairs had been set up in a box shape, marked out by white paint in the grass. Clearly, that was where they were sparring.

  The group told Tina their plan, and she had no qualms. “How are you feeling?”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Mostly better after the fight. It’s been a couple of days. We should be fine.” Shogai responded, but Tina shook her head.

  “I mean emotionally. You’re each about to go up against Nexeans. How are you feeling?”

  A pit formed in Shogai's stomach. He’d known what was happening, but for some reason, the intensity of it was just settling in. He had to beat Xero… in a fight? Jade clutched her stomach. Only Kiara wasn’t worried.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Tina said, comfortingly, “It’s natural to be worried or scared. Especially when you stop and think about an upcoming battle.”

  Tina walked up to the two and pulled them in, one arm around each shoulder. It was a warm hug, and surprisingly effective. For some reason, all of Shogai’s discomfort vanished. Tina let them go, smiling.

  “Emotion manipulation. It only works through touch, but it’s just as effective in helping my allies as it is scaring enemies. How are you feeling?”

  “Ready.” The three replied in unison.

  “Good, everyone seems to be showing up now.”

  As she said, the Outer Ranks were beginning to exit Headquarters and make their way to the seating.

  “Good luck, all of you. I believe in you.”

  Most of the Outer Ranks had arrived only a moment later, leaving just Valerie and Ryukyu missing. Not long after, they showed up. Ryukyu flew in through the crater far above them, descending gently with Valerie on his back. Ryukyu transformed back into a human, quickly taking a seat, and Valerie stood in the middle of the pitch. Everyone looked at her expectantly.

  “What are we waiting for?” Shogai whispered to Tina.

  “The head of Nexus. He’s the one who approves of new Nexeans and judges over these matches. He’ll be here any minute.”

  A minute passed, and for some reason, the Nexeans were still looking at Valerie, instead of looking for the head. Shogai sweated. The head of Nexus? Here to watch him. That was… stressful to say the least. He had to make a good impression.

  The air shimmered around Valerie. “He’s here.”

  A man materialised beside her. He was quite old, for sure in his fifties, and had white hair and a business suit. No one in Tenebris dressed that smartly. He had a cold, piercing glare as he looked over the Outer Ranks, and then his eyes narrowed at Shogai, Jade and Kiara.

  “Name’s Nemean. Good to meet you. I hope you become Nexea- oh, I don’t have time for the full speech. I’m here to approve you or kick you out. Let’s get this done.”

  The Outer Ranks obliged, and Tina gestured for Kiara to make her way onto the pitch. She nodded and stood on one end. Scott made his way to the other side. Nemean sat on an elevated chair with a cup of some steaming dark brown drink in his hand.

  “Right, right. Fight until surrender or unconscious. No killing or foul play. Begin!”

  Kiara looked back at Tina, Shogai and Jade before facing her opponent. Scott had a straight face, but he was clearly hoping to scare Kiara away with his confidence. She called his bluff.

  Kiara put her hands in a battle stance, and her figure warped. She split into two. Then again. Then again. Soon, there were a dozen after-images of herself, each with the same scowling face and battle stance. Her voice echoed from all around Scott, asking for his surrender, as the many Kiaras surrounded him. Scott was sweating profusely and was pondering her request. He concluded, however. He was either leaving with some shattered pride or in a hospital bed.

  “I surrender.”

  The afterimages blended into each other as Kiara curtsied, awaiting Nemean’s judgement. Surely that was plenty. The control needed to do that, to constantly be pausing and unpausing time, was beyond anything Shogai had seen from her before.

  Nemean was silent for a scary amount of time, but eventually he raised his hand dismissively.

  “Thank you for your service, Scott.” He said, clearly not meaning a word of that, “We have a new Outer Rank 8.”

  The Nexeans burst into cheers, and Kiara looked about to faint. Shogai and Jade were clapping hard as Ryukyu helped Kiara to her seat. Scott’s frown showed clear disappointment, but he walked it off, heading straight back inside, not even waiting for the other battles to play out before he packed his things and left.

  Shogai was relieved, but not surprised. This was the easy round, after all. Now was the time for worry, as Nemean called Jade and Zinnia to take their places. A few other Nexeans stood up.

  “This one will be different," said Nemean, "we are splitting a few Nexeans into teams. Valerie and Katro will be paired up. As will Raven and Tina. Jade will provide support for Raven's team. Zinnia will support Valerie's team. The winning team does not matter; only the person I deem to be the better supporter in this battle. Understood?”

  The 6 fighters nodded and took their places. Raven and Tina stood side by side. Jade was between them, a few paces back. Valerie and Katro mimicked this formation with Zinnia. Nemean raised a hand. "Begin."

  Raven immediately threw the field into smoke, rendering the battle nearly unwatchable. Nearly.

  Shogai could make out Tina sparring with an invisible force that must have been Katro. She was clearly used to his fighting style because, despite being unable to see him at all, she was able to predict his every move. Shogai wondered how, but then realised that the smoke was revealing Katro's figure. Tina could make out Katro's actions by striking the empty spaces of smoke. She got a very good hit on him, and he stumbled back into visibility.

  Meanwhile, Valerie was throwing fireballs at Raven, who was avoiding by reappearing in random spots. This may have been an impersonal battle, but Raven was taking it incredibly seriously, going all out against Valerie. She solidified some smoke spears to throw at her, but they burned before hitting her. Valerie was practically glowing with heat. However, her attacks were slow. She put a hand to her head. That's when Shogai realised that Jade was attacking Valerie.

  Raven saw this and took the opportunity. She reabsorbed all the smoke on the battlefield, clearing the view. Jade was crouched down. Zinnia was healing Katro, who was hiding from Tina in the smoke. Meanwhile, Raven was forming a helmet of purple energy that looked like a bird skull. Her eyes glowed purple underneath the mask.

  From the tip of the beak, a purple energy beam formed, and it shot towards Valerie as a beam. Valerie sent out a blast of fire to intercept it, and both Outer Ranks stood with their powers pushing against each other, purple and orange. Katro was better now, and he continued his spar with Tina, while Zinnia rushed to help Valerie. She put her hands on Valerie's head to try and clear Jade away. Jade focused. The battle had two fronts now. Valerie and Raven were still trying to hold their beams, while Jade and Zinnia fought for control over Valerie. The second exchange was silent, but far more influential.

  Just when Valerie was gaining traction against Raven, her orange fire pushing back the purple energy, she went completely limp, and her fire stopped. The beam of purple energy, with lots of built-up force, struck Valerie square in the chest and sent her flying back, unconscious. Zinnia headed towards Valerie, but she too stopped in her tracks. She'd let herself get distracted, and Jade took control of her in that opportunity. To break into a mind with such speed, with only a second of opening, impressed Shogai. With the main conflict resolved, everyone turned to Tina vs Katro. It was already over. Tina's foot was on an invisible object, which Shogai recognised as Katro's exhausted body. Team Raven had won.

  Jade released Zinnia, and they all awaited Nemean’s judgment. He was thinking hard; there was a lot to consider. But ultimately, he turned to Zinnia.

  “You’ve served the Outer Ranks well, Zinnia, and I apologise. Jade, you have big shoes to fill. Do not make me regret this. It was closer than you think. We have a new Outer Rank 7.”

  The Nexeans once again cheered as Jade’s eyes lit up, but there was an undertone to it. They’d just lost Zinnia. No healer among the Outer Ranks would be a difficult change to adapt to.

  “Shogai, Xero. Let’s get this over with. I don’t have all day.”

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