XXXII

A clash of fan and fire danced around the stadium. The bulwark defense that Lycurgus held stayed steady against the rapid-fire, high-octane attacks Kaji dealt out. From the bird's eye view, the flames danced spectacularly, flipping and leaping into the air, pushing and pulling in each and every direction.

But to the two young combatants, it was tiring.

Kaji, pushed his body pasted his limits. As his technique improved his strength waned. The tradeoff of skill and power was the only thing keeping him on par with Lycurgus who seemed to only get more powerful. Each blast was accompanied by a sharp pain that ripped through his body. He couldn't even understand what it was that kept him pushing forward. But he couldn't give up his body wouldn't yield to the pain.

It appeared that Lycurgus spotted the weakness, as he rushed in on the attack.

Taryu watched with the other chiefs in close observation. None took their eyes off the battle as Lycurgus summoned an amazing gust of winds while attacking Kaji.

"I have to wonder if Lycurgus would have been this effective if Kaji was fresher?" Kyden asked the other chiefs, wondering the question that was on everyone's mind.

Taryu creased his brow at the question. Keeping his eyes on the battle he responded with, "Right now Kaji is pushing his body to the next level. I'm not sure a fresh version of Kaji would be this mentally sharp."

Dynami stroked his beard pondering the question, "You think Kaji is reaching a limit-breaking balance?"

Harika laughed, "What are you old men talking about now?"

For a second Toxo took his eyes off the battle and glanced toward the radiant Harika, "You've never had a limit-breaking experience?"

Harika shook her head no, feeling his gaze upon her briefly, "No, unlike you brutes I'm not so much as a fighter as I am the leader of my village. The last real warrior chief we had was Lydan."

A pulse went through Taryu's body at the mention of Lydan, but he hide it well enough that no one noticed. He decided to explain the phenomenon to prevent any further mention of Lydan.

"In combat, there are what one would call categories that determine how strong a person is. The three main general categories are physical, mental, and spiritual. Without going too in-depth, most fighters focus on honing at least one of these three categories. But there is a cap on all people. Normally one cannot break through that cap by conventional means. Only when a mix of those three categories are in full alignment can one break the limits of their body and achieve a potential far beyond what they comprehended or conceived possible."

Harika's eyes focused in on Kaji as she responded with "I see…"

Kyden spoke and intervened to add to Taryu's point, "You see right now, Kaji's body is at its limit. SO is tarmata, which is linked to his spirit, but his mind it still is sharp."

Taryu cut back in to finish his point, "In a strange way you can say that Kaji is running at a full 100 percent of his capabilities. He's using everything he has available to stay functional in this fight."

"And through him doing this, he's in the perfect situation to break his limit?" Harika asked following the train of logic.

Dynami nodded his head in agreement before adding, "Precisely. Now the only thing is does he have a strong enough emotional drive to fully push him past his limit?"

Harika's brow furrowed upon Dynami asking this question, "Wait, are you saying that though he's firing on all cylinders he still may not break his limit?"

Dynami nodded again, "Typically you have to be of one mind with a particular emotion. Rage, determination, serenity, courage, etc. This funnels the energy into the soul which empowers your tarmata to ascend to higher levels of power."

"It's a tricky situation, to describe the sensation is difficult and it's just one of those things that you'll only truly understand when you experience it," Toxo stated blankly.

Harika then glanced at the other chiefs, "Have all of you experienced it?" she asked mildly.

"I haven't," Toxo said flatly.

"Neither have I," Kyden said regretfully.

"In my youth, I thought I did, but I don't think I actually broke my limit," Dynami said thoughtfully.

Taryu remained silent for a moment.

He replayed the moment when it happened to him. His chest grew tight from the strain of reliving that memory. A bitterness strung at his throat, as he took in a painful gulp of oxygen to alleviate the pain. He managed to choke down the emotion as he turned his head to see the chiefs staring waiting for his answer. He knew both Dynami and Toxo knew but they still wanted to hear it, nonetheless. He sighed and feed into their curiosity with the answer,

"I did it when I was barely older than Lycurgus. It truly occurs in moments that push the entirety of your mind, body, and soul. It's honestly an experience that I wish I never even had to deal with in the first place."

Taryu paused for a moment before continuing, "I'm not sure what Kaji is going through right now mentally and emotionally and whether or not that is enough for him to break his limit, but if he doesn't this fight will ultimately be Lycurgus' victory."

Even though he pushed the offensive Kaji could feel Lycurgus' steady pushback. Each counter made more aggressive and forward shifting Kaji into more of a retreating offensive attack.

But it was the pain that hindered him most. Each blast of fire brought intense slicing of pain that scrambled his thoughts and made it difficult to focus. But there was something else, something deep beneath the pain, beneath the anguish and fatigue. It called to him from the depths of his soul. At first nothing more than a slight whisper, but it grew, and as the pain screamed louder in his ear, he could hear that voice clearer. He homed in on it and devoted his attention to that voice, calling to him through the storm.

Lycurgus moved forward within striking range, he battled against the frantic flames. Bracing his body and soul he and Kaji exchanged powerful blows. Weaver's Spindle now in its sword spear mode, Kentari, gave Lycurgus a ferocious attack style punishing Kaji.

The speed in which Kentari moved barely gave Kaji the chance to defend, but he focused still on that voice resonating deep within his soul. As his body decayed, he latched deeper and deeper upon that voice. He closed his eyes and shielded himself from Lycurgus' onslaught, barely standing on his last gasp of strength he finally heard it.

Lycurgus brought down Kentari with an overhead strike, the final blow to end this match. The speed and power unmatched, the blade met Kaji, but instead of the gap between his shoulder and neck. It met flame.