Chapter 258: Second Chances

Thank you to my beta reader and editor, GlassThreads!

Arthur Leywin

Tess' jaw clenched in rising anger at the mention of the pantheon asura, while my shoulders loosened. "What did he say to you, Sylv?" I asked, sensing the quiet distress of her emotions.

Sylv's eyes darted up, staring at the roof of the tent. Her gaze pierced the cloth, traveling through the ambient mana and toward where we both sensed Taci waiting far above.

"He demanded to know if the bond between us was forced upon me," Sylv said. "Though I told him in clear words that I partook in this war—that I stood by your side—of my own free will and desires, that did not serve to settle his ire."

Unbidden, I felt old memories rise to the surface of my mind. Of that wretch, Sebastian, as he'd tried to take Sylv from me using the authority of the Glayders.

"How could he say such a thing?" Tess said sharply, her fists clenching at her sides from anger. "Anyone who even watches you two for a second would be able to tell that you're here because you want to be. The nerve!"

I sighed, feeling a headache build in the back of my skull at the reminder of Taci Thyestes' constant anger. He bucked and fought against my authority like a raging bull wherever he could, barely listening to my bond when I set her to talk with him.

I'd trained with Taci in the aether orb, honing myself using Kordri's teachings. Alongside a few other young pantheons, my technique was forged into something capable of facing even the asura. And in the aftermath, I'd known Taci bore a grudge. Something about being forced to train with a 'lesser,' and how it stained the honor of Epheotus itself.

"This can't continue," I said with resignation. I needed to have a firm grip on all my subordinates. I needed to be certain they would act as I commanded. But with the live bomb that was Taci threatening the careful balance I'd begun to craft…

"You're right, Arthur," Sylvie replied. "But what can we do? I've talked with Taci plenty enough. Most of the time he just refuses to speak, or hurls veiled insults. I'm worried what he'll do if this goes on. If he'll reach a breaking point."

It was clear that I needed to do something. Something to fix this, or at least set an equilibrium.

What would King Grey do? I asked myself, working from a familiar angle. How would he assert his authority?

I knew immediately. The person I was in my past life would dominate his foes, breaking them and forcing his killing intent through their very bones. He'd snap their limbs and cripple them for trying to defy him.

But I couldn't do that here. Taci, however much I hated to acknowledge it, was an ally. An invaluable one, simply because he was an asura.

No. King Grey couldn't bring Taci to heel. Even if I could beat the toddler asura in direct combat—of which I was beyond doubtful—Taci wasn't a human from Earth. He was an asura: something entirely different from what I'd known.

So what would King Arthur do?

I made up my mind.

"Tess, I need you to start organizing our troops to retreat back away and set up their camp, as before," I said, already preparing for what was to come within my mind. "Make sure they're far from here."

My childhood friend sensed the gravity in my voice. She looked at me, worry overcoming her features. "Art, if you're going to do something foolish–"

"Foolish, maybe," I said, moving to the exit of the tent. "But it's what needs to be done."

Sylv read the surface of my thoughts, and I could feel her worry as well. But she stayed silent despite the anxious expression and worried timbre of her thoughts.

"I'll be nearby," she said. "In case anything goes wrong."

The newest Lance hesitated behind me, noting the interplay between me and my bond, before she finally squared her shoulders. Tess walked up behind me, then gave me a quick hug. "Okay. I'll get the troops moving. Just… come back in one piece from whatever you're going to do. That's what matters."

I ran a hand along her pale arms where they clasped my torso, using the closeness to reaffirm my decision, before I finally stepped out of the tent.

I looked up, noting the clouds in the sky high above the hills around me. The sun was rising in earnest now, casting her warm touch all across the smokey remains of the camp. And without Sylv or Tess in my line of sight, King Grey once again made his appearance.

I ignored him.

Thankfully, the captains and leaders of these strike forces were still relatively nearby the tent. I strode over, careful to keep my shoulders squared and my chin high. When they noticed me, most nodded in respect. A few bowed deeper.

I scanned the small gathering slowly, making sure to look each captain in the eyes. That was something I'd learned to do long ago. It made those under my banner feel seen and acknowledged.

"I have some business to attend to that will take me from this camp," I said sharply. "In my absence, Lance Silverthorn will oversee your retreat and regrouping at a former camp so you can get a few hours of rest."

There were no complaints as I ensured they understood. Tess left the tent a moment later with Sylv in tow. As I lifted into the sky, the newest Lance approached the leaders, calmly relaying orders and calling them into line.

Sylvie rose with me, her wheat hair shifting as we ascended at speed. My thoughts were grim and severe over our bond, and hers matched them. What I was about to do was dangerous. Maybe the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.

Taci hovered just below the clouds. His blood-red spear stood out against the clouds, the edge sharp enough to shear through the world itself. His martial robes hung loose on his body, allowing for perfect freedom of movement.

All in all, he looked like the perfect depiction of what a warrior should be. With the ceremonial tattoos of his clan inked over his forehead and beneath one eye, I felt a rising swell of intimidation.

But while he looked the epitome of a warrior, there was one place he failed. I recognized the expression on his face as he turned to look at me. One of masked contempt and anger, smoothed over by an attempt at apathy.

"Taci," I said simply. My eyes shifted slowly from him, to Sylvie, then to the ground far below. "On the ground."

His olive-green eyes flashed, and a sneer threatened to pull at his lips. He knew the path of the warrior as much as I did. There was no mistaking the implications behind my words.

We both lowered back to the ground. I chose a clear expanse of rolling grass a significant way from the other camp, making sure there were no obstacles. As my boots settled down on the ground, I felt the loose soil compress ever-so-slightly. Blades of long grass waved in the summer morning, dewdrops glistening in the sun.

Sylv settled a ways back, watching the both of us keenly as Taci and I squared off. The young asura clenched the haft of his spear tightly, silently staring at me.

I rolled my shoulders, then began to stretch my body. I pulled on my arms, ensuring my tendons were loose and mobile. I hopped a few times, getting my breathing in sync as I prepared myself for what was to come. Mana flowed along my veins and into my muscles, enhancing my strength and dexterity as my focus sharpened.

"What do you hope to accomplish with this, Arthur Leywin?" Taci sneered from across the field. "Do you wish for me to break your bones so badly that you'd call this bout?"

I snorted in amusement, feeling strangely light. "Please, Taci," I said playfully, settling into one of the stances Kordri had taught us as I finally loosened my body. "At the very end of our time training together, you failed to land a single blow on me–with your fellow pantheons assisting you."

Taci's face went carefully blank at my words, his King's Force radiating out from him. I suppressed a shudder as it washed over me, and I felt Sylvie's rising worry.

"Art, maybe this isn't a good idea," she said hesitantly. "I can still call this off. He'll listen to me if I do."

No, Sylv, I thought back, time seeming to slow around me as my fighting instincts kicked in. Every time you two talk, he listens less and less. One day, he'll simply ignore you. We can't let that happen. And should anything happen, I'll have you to heal me.

My bond looked between us with rising apprehension, but I finally tuned her out of my mind.

Taci twirled his spear, the red flashing, before slamming it into a nearby rock. The sheen of red easily parted the stone, sliding in like a hot knife through butter. He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he settled into a familiar stance as well.

"This will end differently than before," Taci snarled. "With mana, you are nothing to an asura. A lesser."

"Do you really think so?" I said, feeling the hum of mana in my acclorite-infused body. "You might be surprised."

Taci blurred toward me, a flash of gold and red robes. I barely managed to duck the swing of his fist, losing a few strands of my hair as the razor wind carved it away. Engaging Thunderclap Impulse, the world slowed around me as my reflexes and micromovements increased tenfold. Taci's hazy outline shifted into focus.

Good.

Low as I was, I took the opportunity to kick out with my leg, attempting to sweep the young pantheon's feet out from under him. He expertly raised a foot, moving at accelerated speed despite my enhanced perception, before swinging an elbow toward my skull.

Thinking quickly, I engaged my windborne form. I flowed around Taci's strike with supernatural grace, my hands latching onto two points of his arm.

The asura watched me with cold eyes as I shifted into waterborne. Thunderclap Impulse sputtered out as I temporarily lost my affinity for fire mana, using the flowing momentum to hurl him to the side.

But even as I executed the throw with perfect precision, Taci managed to snap out with a fist. His knuckles scraped across my face as I instinctively rolled with the blow, the enhanced abilities of waterborne allowing me to shift like a ship on the tide.

Still, even as I hurled Taci a good dozen yards away, the gash he scored across my forehead with the edge of his knuckle was deep. My mana barrier had simply parted from the sheer force imbued into his casual strike.

The wound didn't leak blood. No, it bled mana. I felt my core empty ever-so-slightly as the wound shone.

Taci had easily gotten his feet back under him, but I recognized the look on his face at this first exchange. One of shock and surprise. He didn't understand how I was still standing.

"I never paid attention to you during our spars in the aether orb, Taci," I said, settling back into stance as I let waterborne drift away. This time, blood did leak from the cut over my brow. "You were my partner there, true. But I didn't care about you. Didn't think to really understand what you felt during each trade of blows and every throw."

Taci's shock dipped back toward anger again. "Then that is your mistake, Arthur Leywin," he snapped. "Because all I have done for years is train within the aether orb, ensuring that the next time we fought I would prove to you your insignificance."

The grass between us wove in the breeze, entirely uncaring of our spar. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about me, Taci," I said jokingly, a jaunty grin rising on my face. "I don't know about asura, but there's something in human culture about unrequited lo–"

It was only instincts honed over decades that saved me next. Without consciously being aware of it, I fell into earthborne, my defenses increasing a hundredfold as the earth mana called to me.

Just in time for Taci to phase into existence in front of me, the sound barrier shattering in his wake and the soft soil erupting behind him like a tide.

The fist that slammed into my ribcage wasn't entirely unexpected. On sheer instinct, I tried to redirect the force through my body and into the earth, dispersing it as Elder Buhnd had shown me.

It was only partially successful. As I hurtled backward like a bullet, I managed to only suffer from a few cracked ribs instead of ruptured internal organs. I wheezed, mana misting from my mouth instead of blood.

He used Burst Step, I thought. That's how he was so–

Taci phased into existence over top of me, a leg raised high in preparation for a devastating axe kick. I could see the sheer amount of mana churning and roiling there, ready to be unleashed in an explosion of force.

I barely switched to windborne in time, engaging Thunderclap Impulse as I flowed to the side. Taci's heel slammed into the ground with the force of an earthquake, the entire field rumbling from the eruption of mana beneath his boot. The sound of splitting earth and breaking stone told me how much strength his casual blows carried.

I settled my feet beneath me, feeling the ache in my mana core and the protests of my body. I gritted my teeth, before engaging fireborne. I lashed out with an explosive punch that singed the edges of Taci's robes, before switching to waterborne once more to try and redirect another of Taci's attacks.

Taci simply caught my arm. He shifted into a pose I knew, his sneer evidenced in his killing intent. He tensed, preparing to snap my elbow in half with a simple tug.

Half a dozen options to counter this flashed in my mind. With my arm bound, I was weak. Defenseless, at his mercy.

I settled on one quickly, a technique I'd learned in my previous life. A signature strike of the fire style of swordsmanship–but it could be adapted.

Instead of trying to escape his joint lock, I engaged fireborne. As the roaring desires of a wildfire coursed through my mana veins, I shifted so that I was closer to the pantheon. I looked him in his eyes as a slight smile spread along my face. I twisted my hand ever-so-slightly, angling it just right. A gauntlet of stone formed along my knuckles, giving each of them a wicked spike that sparked with flames.

Then I engaged Burst Strike.

The force of mana activating specific muscles along my shoulder and arm–like the eruption of lava from a volcano–tore the limb from Taci's grip. But not just that: my pistoned fist soared upward with the force of a burning orange missile, fire, earth, and wind mana gathering along my knuckles as they sped for Taci's jaw.

And then it connected. With a whiplash I'd never seen, Taci's head rocked as my blow obliterated his defenses. The thundercrack of contact echoed across the ambient mana as the asura sailed through the air, tongues of fire and bruising lining his jaw. His eyes stared wildly up into the sky.

I heaved for breath as Taci's body hit the ground with a flop. He seemed too stunned for a moment to even move, working his jaw as a trail of blood leaked from his mouth. I winced at the pain in my shoulder, this modified technique of Burst Step far from perfected. The knuckles of my hand ached, the bones cracked from this explosive attack. Mana leaked from my wounds.

Taci raised a hand, wiping the blood from his face. He stared at it in disbelief.

Then in anger.

The asura rose to his feet slowly, the King's Force radiating from him redoubling. "I'll make you pay for that," he hissed, his aura stealing the breath from my lungs.

He was holding back, I thought with gritted teeth as the pantheon bared his fangs at me. His pretense of martial calm had long abandoned him. All along, he was toying with me.

The asura set his stance, feeling fury grow. And when I felt pain next, I knew not where it had come from. I crumpled to my knees as Taci's fist somehow phased into existence by my side, striking solidly at my liver.

I wheezed, coughing out blood as my fireborne form drained away. "Every one of my peers will soon undergo their first journey as Yaksha. They embark on their first Warrior's Path, seeking worthy foes to give them experience. To make them blades," Taci hissed down at me, clenching and unclenching his fist. "At their knees shall be warriors and mighty beasts, conquered through their strength. And before me… before me kneels a lesser. A lesser who thinks to point and prod and manipulate me. It is beneath me."

Despite the pain wracking my body—and Sylvie's blaring worry over our bond—I eked out a laugh that rattled the broken parts of my insides. "Beneath you… Is that what you you really think?" I pressed through bloody teeth. "Because I'll tell you something, Taci."

I slowly pulled myself to my feet, feeling my bones ache and my body protest. "When we sparred, I didn't look at you because I thought you were unworthy. That I was some sort of asura and you a lesser."

I looked toward the pantheon, with his upturned chin and arrogant features. His fists dripped with my blood. "No. I never saw you in the first place. Because you know what's bigger than just you? Than me? Than those peers that are becoming Yaksha or whatever? Bigger than Kordri and Aldir and everyone else?"

I spat out a wad of blood, before shifting back into stance. "It's this war, Taci Thyestes. The war I fight for the sake of those I love. That was why you never factored into the equation. Because even asura are lessers in war."

The world erupted with noise and mana as our spar continued. I fell into an old, familiar flow as I dueled the young asura. The weapon arts of my previous life—the ones that focused on molding ki to mimic elemental expressions—came back to the forefront of my mind as I began to pick up a rhythm.

As the asura and I exchanged a dozen sweeps, parries, strikes, and throws within the space of a single second, a grin began to stretch across my face. I left every exchange the loser as the pantheon kept me on the back foot. Every clash left me with bruises and cracked bones as Taci worked through the martial forms taught to both of us. He still wasn't trying, I knew. He still wanted to prove himself my better.

But even as I bled mana, my body aching and my core trembling, I was beginning to catch on.

Fire to wind; earth to water. Water to wind and back. The information the ambient mana fed me kept me moving and fighting, even as we flashed around our makeshift battleground. My simple robes were stained with blood and mana as we phased about, disregarding the sound barrier with every thunderclap.

And through it all, Taci's expression shifted. It was anger at first. An overwhelming, clouding anger. But as my martial form gradually improved; as I used his expertise to hone myself like steel across a whetstone, he forgot his fury. He became focused, focused like I was. I felt it in the exchanges of our fists as he pushed himself in new ways, in different forms.

Taci backed away from me at last, his body covered in a dozen small cuts and scrapes. He looked down at them disbelievingly, before staring back at me.

I was far, far worse off. I dripped blood onto the grass beneath me, and my limbs felt like cotton. My mind was tar, the whiplash of shifting between all the different mindsets of mana causing me to feel stretched beyond my means. More than a few of my ribs were cracked and broken, and I could feel the blood seeping across my innards.

"How long has it been since you've really been challenged, Taci?" I prodded weakly, wavering on my feet. "Whatever this "Yaksha" is, could it match this? How long has it been since someone has made you improve?"

Because I knew Taci. I knew the anger in his body and the fury that drove him. It was the fury of Grey. The child locked in an unending quest for martial prowess, who could never afford to be bested in the skill of the sword.

Taci Burst Stepped toward me, his face expressionless as his intent bled away. He hadn't been able to do that before, too enraptured by his emotions.

But I let my foggy mind connect the dots, pull understanding from the hazy expanse of my misted thoughts. I'd been tugged in every single direction as I engaged my different manaborne forms, to the point that each and every mindset blended together like colors of light.

And those mindsets… They weren't so different. What really separated fire from earth? Water from wind?

It wasn't just earthborne that I became next. It was waterborne, too. Striations of translucent blue and yellow coursed across my body as my sense for fire and wind mana bled away. A gauntlet of stone and flowing liquid encased my arms as I conjured them in a split instant.

I caught Taci's straight punch in the mana of my hand. Before, I would've been too slow. Too encumbered by the weight of stone and soil coursing through my blood. But the flowing nature of water greased my stuttering limbs, giving me the mobility of a well-oiled machine.

I eased the excess force through my body with a redirecting wave of earth mana, the ability enhanced by the flow of water in my veins. Taci and I slid back a dozen feet as we carved furrows in the dirt, grass uprooting. The land cried out in pain as I funneled the force of his energy into the ground, bleeding off his momentum.

And then I let go of water, and embraced fire.

My Burst Strike—amplified by the sturdy momentum of earth and the explosive rage of a volcano's eruption—cratered Taci's mana barrier, then smashed against his solar plexus. I felt his ribs crack and break beneath the strength of my blow before he flew backward faster than I could even perceive. Distantly, I heard the smashing sound of rock shattering.

I fell to my knees, my mana core creaking in protest as I struggled not to fall unconscious. My acclorite-assisted form became flesh once more as my strength abandoned me. I knelt there for an indeterminate time, barely able to hear myself think.

Then I blinked, looking up as Sylv rushed over. She held her dress up, bouncing between the utterly obliterated area around me as she bounded forward. Her amber eyes were awash with worry and fear.

"Hey Sylv," I said, my broken ribs rattling. "You're a little late to the party."

My bond didn't say anything, only knelt by my side. She held out her hands, her expression focused as aether particles began to swirl around her. I watched like a child observing their first toy as the vivum sank into my body, easing my wounds. And also… something else.

Soulfire sputtered along her hands, following and tracing the path of the aether as it melded into my flesh. And my body began to reknit.

I exhaled a breath of surprise and relief as my wounds slowly sealed over, leaving only a chilling numbness in its place.

But then a shadow was cast over my body.

Taci Thyestes' breathing was rattled, blood streaming down his chin as he gingerly held his visibly destroyed chest. His eyes were hard and venomous as they stared down at me.

And in his hands was his spear.

The asura looked between my bond and me, his teeth grinding.

"Ensure the Lesser King is healed, Sylvie Indrath," he snapped, his fist clenching around his spear and veins along his face bulging. "I demand a rematch when his lesser body is no longer broken. He doesn't yet understand his place, and it is my duty to teach it to him."

The young pantheon marched away, dust and dirt and blood caking his once-immaculate robes. And after a second of waiting at the edge of our battlefield, he rose into the sky, turning north.

I collapsed onto my back, feeling the ache of my fight more in my mind than my body any longer. I felt strained, as if I'd pushed too hard while on too little sleep. My consciousness flared in and out as I chuckled weakly.

"Arthur, what in the name of my grandfather were you thinking?" Sylv said sharply, still kneeling by my side. "You could've gotten yourself killed! After what Taci said, what he deserved was–"

I didn't know why, but my bond's words made me laugh. Phantom pains raced across my chest as I laughed harder than I had in a long, long time.

Grey's phantom challenge reverberated through my mind again, images of Tess and Sylv and my family pressing against the fog of my head. What makes you think you deserve this happiness?

I didn't deserve the happiness I was finding. I didn't deserve a second chance; not after the millions who had died in my wake.

But I'd been given this chance anyway, regardless of what was just or right or fair. And all I could do was ensure that the King I was now was better than the King I was then. That I could atone for the wrongs I had done, even a world away.

And if I could find a way to make use of this new life, this second opportunity, what right did I have to deny another person the opportunity to grow?

"If I am a King of anything, Sylv," I muttered weakly, watching the sun as it finally rose above us, "it is the King of Second Chances."