Chapter 8

During my travel back to the Arena and Yviss, I glanced back a few times at the church I had just raided. On one of these looks behind me, a pillar of flame spouted into the air in the distance. Jerric's control of flame had either advanced or decreased quite a bit, although that made me wonder why he'd not used it in our quick duel. Yviss must have been training him differently from me, as I was never given a chance to use my own Gift. This changed nothing. I had too much of a head start for Jerric to catch up if I continued at my brisk walking pace. The looming shape of the Arena was rising on the horizon, and I quickened my steps. Of all the thoughts swirling in my mind, the main one was of a conversation that I needed to have with the Emperor. As I approached the side entry of the building, a door was opened for me by one of the guards. Entry was generally restricted on this side, but most of the staff recognized me by now. That kid who was always near Yviss and never showed a trace of emotion. Speak of the devil, Yviss was waiting almost directly inside, having an intense conversation with a man in a grey cloak and mask. The mask resembled a basic human face, but nothing aside from that was notable about it. If Yviss deemed him worthy of his time, he must be important. Because the words were all spoken in hushed tones, hardly any reached my ears, but I did manage to hear the end of a few sentences before I was noticed.

"...one of the tests will be back soon with the second sword. Halfway to the well-deserved vengeance." Yviss sounded slightly different when he spoke that way. I didn't know what he could possibly need vengeance for, being the most powerful man alive, and I also did not really care. Coughing slightly to make it clear that I was standing there, I pulled out the sword I had retrieved from the church. Each time I touched it, it glowed green in response. That small fact didn't go unnoticed by the Emperor, and his grey eyes showed it. There was some satisfaction there, along with a ghost of surprise that it was me and not Jerric in front of him now. His hands reached out, one going to the side of my face while the other lifted the sword from my grip. I flinched as he touched me, disgust and terror immediately welling up in me. Fearing what he could do if I pulled away, I kept still with my eyes down. The masked man had vanished, leaving silently as if he was never there.

"So, you got the sword. Very well done," He put emphasis on the word 'very' but didn't sound at all sincere in what he was saying. "I'm sure you saw some other interesting things as well, didn't you?"

He knew. Yviss had planned for Jerric to find me. The tone of his voice hadn't been questioning, but instead seemed as if it was stating facts. I supposed I had to answer now, as difficult as it was to do anything while his hands were on me like that.

"There was another. He claimed to be sent by you for the same purpose."

"And did you spare the trouble of leaving him alive? Wouldn't want him coming back for vengeance, would we?"

"He lives." That was all I needed to say before I felt the disapproval emanating from the Emperor. I could already tell that Yviss preferred Jerric to me, but he also wasn't a fan of the concept of mercy. What happened next was incredibly disturbing, and not something I could ever forget. Yviss stretched out his arms, putting them around me in a strange form of a hug.

"Let me teach you something, Vite. The reason you shouldn't trust anyone." Too late did I realize there was a black dagger in his hand, and it was being twisted into my back slowly while I was held in place by his impossibly strong grip. A gasp of pain escaped my lips, and my eyes widened. I could tell it wasn't quite bad enough that I would die, but that didn't make it any less painful. Yviss was right, however. I couldn't trust people, and I apparently couldn't touch them either. It only led to harm. After minutes that felt like decades, the blade was withdrawn from my back, and I was released to fall to my knees on the cold stone floor with strained breath. The Emperor's footsteps receded after he ordered some men nearby to treat my wound and strolled off. One of the Arena staff members approached me, tearing off my shirt roughly and investigating my back while sending another off for bandages. I was already covered in scars and bruises from previous fights and floggings; it wasn't a nice sight, a patchwork of bloodied and broken skin. Hands finally started wrapping bandages around me while I stayed motionless except for some slight tremors. It wasn't professional work, but I'd take it over nothing, as difficult as it was to not lash out when touched. Bleeding out was not the way I wanted to die, if death was inevitable. They took me back to my cell, leaving me alone with my thoughts while I waited for hell to restart the next day.

In the months I'd been here, the routine had been very clear. Get food in the morning, submit to brutal 'training' for hours, and then spend the rest of the day recovering so that it could be repeated. This day was a bit different. As with some days before, I was struggling much more to move due to the wounds I'd received from disciplining. My back screamed out in pain, but I still forced myself into the training room and hefted my sword off the wall as usual. Yviss was already there, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and annoyance.

"You do realize the sword you retrieved yesterday is yours now, yes?"

I looked back at the wall with the weapons. My new sword had been on there as well, I'd just not noticed it in my fulfillment of habits. With some contained excitement, I swapped the blade in my hand for the superior one. Much to my embarrassment, I nearly dropped it as the green glow burst out at my touch again. It would be difficult to get used to that. Another noise came from the direction of the Emperor suddenly. He'd stepped aside, revealing a third presence behind him. Jerric. Dressed in casual clothing and a random jacket, he grinned at me. The audacity was incredible. Looking back and forth between the two, I raised an eyebrow. Why was he here?

"Jerric will be training with you now. It'll be quite enjoyable, I'm sure," Yviss said as he set his hand on Jerric's shoulder. Unlike me, he seemed to like it. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't more than a little concerning. He drew his own sword, shining silver brightly in the light, and strode forwards with confidence in his pose and steps. Ironic, considering he lost to me last time we did this. Something felt and looked wrong. Whether it was Jerric's overconfidence or Yviss' creepy stare, I prepared to duel once again. The smell of smoke was in the air for some reason. Jerric's Gift was fire related, but this whole place was supposed to be made of Crystalglass to counter that. Just to be sure, I reached out with my own Gift and got no results. So why were the hand and sword of my opponent now ablaze? A sharp chuckle from the Emperor told me that my shock was clear. Emotion was a dangerous thing, so I forced my expression back to its bland stare.

"Are you ready, Vite? It'll be fun, don't worry." My apparent rival thought this was a game. I was starting to get the feeling Yviss had driven him to insanity and given him whatever the secret was to dodging Crystalglass restrictions. That wasn't of utmost importance, though, because a blazing sword was coming at my side. My own weapon flashed down to block and counter out of instinct, pushing Jerric back and beginning my own offense. Something about the smile on his face was weirdly genuine considering the circumstance. No time to think about that, however, as one of my blows was masterfully parried, making it my turn to retreat. Jerric was significantly better now than he'd been before. It annoyed me to think he'd been going easy yesterday. No matter; I would simply prove my superiority in combat once again. As the duel dragged on, I found myself starting to enjoy fighting someone on my level for once. The Emperor was too good, and all others seemed weak, but Jerric could offer a fair challenge. Our blades danced back and forth to the rhythm of clanging metal as we crossed the room, equal amounts of offense and defense for each of us. If I hadn't been wounded, it would have gone better, but as I reached in with my weapon to slice across Jerric's shoulder, the pain in my back flared up again and slowed my strike enough that I ended up disarmed by an impressively fast upwards sweep. Flying across the room, the glow from the sword faded the moment it left my hand. I'd lost. Frustration and disappointment grew inside me, but I only nodded at Jerric with well disguised anger. He had a knowing smirk on his face, and I was tempted to knock it off with a punch or two. Sensing the tension and likely wanting us both alive, Yviss stepped forward and dismissed us both on the excuse that it was best for my current wounds if I stopped.

Back in my cell that was considered a room, I laid on my rough excuse for a bed with a storm of thoughts and emotions in my head. If I had to work with Jerric now, things would only go downhill. In Yviss' eyes had been a clear enjoyment of Jerric's victory, and I couldn't do anything about that. Favor from the Emperor was a hard thing to claim, and it seemed the other fighter had gotten there first. All this meant was that I'd struggle more for approval in the shadow of another, and likely be in more pain than I already was. It didn't get better once I heard the sound of conspicuously light and erratic footsteps approaching. Fear bloomed in my chest, but I didn't move. Yviss was the only one I'd heard walk that way. I finally gained the motivation to sit up, and much to my surprise, didn't see the Emperor. The person there instead wasn't much better.

"Why are you here?" I asked Jerric, letting some irritation slide into my voice. He was probably just here to gloat over his win, and I didn't want or need that.

"Just wanted to say I enjoyed our fight earlier," he said with an idiotic smile across his face, "I think next time the outcome might be a little different, but that's fine."

It looked like he recognized my wound had messed me up, but I couldn't trust that he was serious. More likely he just wanted to get near me and make it easier to finish me off. I wouldn't make it that easy and didn't waste my breath giving him a response. My cold green eyes simply stayed fixed on his brown ones in a look I had been told by others was quite disturbing. What was so different about him that Yviss let him travel unescorted through the Arena without so much as a chain on him? Annoyingly, Jerric didn't shut up, leaning sideways on the bars of the cell I was stuck in.

"You know, maybe we'll even get to work together soon. Without having to attack each other." Who did this kid think he was talking to? Even if Yviss had us work as a team, there would always be a silent competition for his preference.

"You are evidently not thinking this through. If the Emperor puts us together, it will be for the purpose of killing me off." The conviction in my words reflected my thoughts perfectly, as intended. Silence would be appreciated, and that would only come if Jerric stopped talking. I looked away from him, towards the empty neighboring cell. Of course, he took that gesture the wrong way.

"I'll move in here, and then he'll have to realize I won't be willing to kill you." Jerric was truly an idiot. The way he was talking was highly strange; it sounded like he actually had choices when it came to Yviss. Was he no longer flogged and abused the way I was? That was a possibility, but it only came with more questions I didn't want to spend time thinking about.

"Kindly refrain from doing that. I do not require your pity or company."

"You don't require it, but you probably want it," Jerric smiled cheerfully, something he did too often. "I'll be moved into this next room soon."

I sighed. Apparently, bluntness and everything else failed to have any impact on him. With the outlook of a natural pessimist, I resigned myself to my new incredibly obnoxious fate as Jerric kept looking at me. A disapproving raise of an eyebrow was enough to divert his gaze. After a few words telling me he'd be back, the guy left to get whatever belongings he had.

True to his word, Jerric did return. He didn't own much, for someone even the Emperor approved of. Just a custom sword that he told me couldn't burn, along with a few random pieces of generic clothing and a necklace thing. When asked about that last one, he just shook his head with a slight smile. That wasn't information I needed, supposedly, and I wasn't going to ask again. After several fruitless attempts to start a conversation, Jerric allowed me to be in peace. And so went the first day of dealing with a rival.