It was Mirai.

“I shall endeavor for Katherine.”

Ursus stood four heads taller than Mirai; his arm alone was thicker than her torso. But still she stood, composed and fearless like an oak among reeds. Every soul beheld her in admiration.

Soon, another voice joined her.

“I do too,” said Isaac, stepping out of the crowd, mustering his courage not to tremble in the face of such terrible adversity.

Alexander opened his mouth in recognition of Isaac, as the boy who brought him back to health nearly a year prior. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply at the irony of fate.

“Very well,” he remarked, pursing his lips. “Anyone else?”

Elwin did not have his Quan with him. If he fought, he would surely be defeated. But he wasn’t going to stand idly by while his friends were pummeled to oblivion. Even if he could not be useful, he’d become their shield so they would have a chance; so that Katherine would have a chance. His heart began to race and pound the same way it did back at the exam hall, when he had to make the same choice – to throw away his own future to do what was right.

And right now, Katherine needed their hands.

So Elwin stepped forward.

“I do. I shall also fight Ursus; I shall give my best for my friends.”

Headmaster Abraxas and Professor Aionia looked upon the scene with horrified astonishment. But despite the typhoon of thoughts roiling their minds they did not stop him: such situations were where greatness could become truth. Even if they did not want him to fight Ursus, they could not prevent him. Everyone knew that entering into a duel for honor, to arrange it to settle a score, was fully permitted: a divine right in which no other soul could interfere. It was now Elwin’s struggle, as well.

Elwin’s eyes met Katherine’s, and Isaac’s and Mirai’s. Despite the storm that had once carved them aside, a single nod was all it took to affirm his return. What would kismet mean, if not now?

Alexander Heriz gave a curt nod.

“Will that be all, Katherine?”

She trembled on the spot, her heart being pulled to pieces. But she could not say anything else but ‘yes’.

“Now then that the challengers have appeared before me,” Alexander announced, “let it be known that the battle shall commence in an hour’s time, at the Circuleum of Aeternitas. May the FOUNDERS favor the valor of the best.”

And as the Archon uttered the finishing words, Maximus and Sandora arrived on the scene. They were too little, too late.

* * *

Alexander forbade Katherine to join up with her friends, because she was sure to tell them of any hidden weaknesses Ursus possessed. In the ensuing chaos of the dispersing crowd, the kismets were separated, and Elwin could not find what remained of them. Amidst his frantic search, he ran into Maximus instead.

The upperclassman took him aside in a small, empty hall, aware of the dangers Elwin faced.

“Do you think you could take him on?” asked Elwin.

“Yes. But my resolve carries no weight, for I am not the one given the chance to battle that beast today. It is you who chose to fight.” Maximus looked up to the ceiling tense and incensed; what irony it was for FOUNDER MANASURA to bestow him such a blessing with the Mashurmastra and combat, but he could not arrive earlier to accept Alexander’s challenge... but even if he did, he was not Katherine’s friend, and the Archon was sure to distinguish a lie at a single glance.

But Maximus wasn’t about to let Elwin face Ursus alone.

“Listen up, and listen carefully, Elwin. Professor Aionia is your Tanaar, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Has she ever told you about the Kaha?”

“‘Kaha’? Kaha... kaha – yes! She taught me what it is.”

“Then you know that there exists limits to how long a person can wield the Mahamastra, yes?”

Elwin felt a flash of instinct shoot across his mind.

“Yes.”

“Ursus is sure to be a juggernaut. He shall be like no opponent you have ever faced before, in brute strength and raw power. Attempting to defeat him conventionally is sure to be folly.”

“Then we go the unorthodox way?”

Maximus saw that Elwin’s thoughts were in rhythm with his chord.

“Exactly. The brighter the candle, the faster it burns out.”

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“He is right,” added Sandora, swinging open the door to the empty hall with a bang. Maximus turned swiftly, expectant.

“What is the headmaster’s decision?”

She shook her head.

“He cannot overturn it. They are not in breach of any law that exists in the Republics, as the duel was agreed upon under no physical duress. You and your peers,” said Sandora, pivoting to Elwin, “must fight, as per your word. But hope is not lost. Maximus?”

He turned to face Elwin again, eyes sharp as an owl’s. “Did you witness the scale of his muscles, his body?”

“I think everyone did,” Elwin shrugged, wondering whether it was rhetorical.

“But no one thinks of the cost of possessing such muscles,” continued Maximus, his voice lowered. “A body of such size comes with a steep price. Every swing of his, while enough to shatter the earth and crack the sky, will drain equal strength from his Kaha. How long do you think he will be able to fight at his pinnacle?”

A glimmer of hope shone briefly upon Elwin’s mind.

“Not long.”

“Precisely. Do you remember what Ar. Heriz announced as to the duel?”

“If I win – if my friends win – then Katherine can stay.”

Maximus lowered his eyebrow.

“That’s not it,” cautioned Maximus. “He said that the first party to concede loses. In his arrogance of setting up an impossible challenge, Ar. Heriz overlooked a critical factor.”

“And what factor is that?”

“How long you can remain standing.”

“So,” Elwin felt like a stone was lodged in his throat, “so it comes down to a battle of the Kaha between Ursus and... I?”

Maximus nodded approvingly.

“Know your enemy, and know yourself, and you can survive a hundred battles without peril. This maxim is dear to me, as spoken by my grandfather from Jin.”

“If you know your enemy and yourself, you can win a hundred battles?”

“Win is not the same as survive. Surviving may not earn you glory, but it does earn you the chance of a tomorrow, which is what you need most.”

“Mmhm,” Elwin replied, his palm clammy in his fists.

“We’ve deduced something about our opponent. A small lead, but it’s all we’ve got. Now then, remind what you know about yourself. Do you know your limit?”

“My limit?”

“Have you forayed into the limit of your control over the Mahamastra?”

“I did.”

“Elaborate.”

“I practiced with Professor Aionia, and I was able to,” Elwin stuttered momentarily, all his consciousness attempting to wisp through past pages in the face of impending doom. “I was able to boil and freeze a cauldron of this size,” he gestured, roughly to the size of three large melons, “fifty times.”

“Fifty, you say?”

“Yeah,” Elwin stammered, nervously.

“How long, and how fast?”

“Fifty times in an hour.”

Maximus snapped a cursory glance of Elwin’s bare left wrist and arm, underneath his uniform.

“Did you practice with, or without your Quan?”

“With,” replied Elwin, looking down and away.

Maximus looked to Sandora, and Sandora to Maximus. He spoke, his lips pursed in deep uncertainty.

“You are above a majority of the first-years, but that may not be enough. Especially without your Quan.”

Elwin wondered whether the headmaster would return his Quan for the time being. But the rule was that he had to earn back the trust of the Academy, which Elwin hadn’t yet achieved. The headmaster never turned on his word after it was spoken.

Maximus turned to Sandora, as they once did on the eve of the tournament finale a year ago. “Have you a glimpse of Ursus’s Quan?” he asked her, wits as sharp as ice.

“Yes. Its color is of magma. He is sure to use Taha and Gurun.”

“I see. Elwin, listen up. Those two Arts are the most exhausting of all the Mahamastra, Fire followed by Earth. You have experience with them, yes?”

Professor Helen and William’s class came to mind. What a humiliation he had to endure long ago. He’d overcome the challenges there, but now...

“Elwin, focus.”

“Yes. I do. I remember.”

“If one of those is his Maht, then Ursus is also likely aware of his limit. Given this knowledge,” Maximus closed his eyes for a moment, “he shall seek to disable you and your friends as speedily as possible.”

“Yes. Do not think for a moment that Ursus will be merciful to you because you are not yet fully of age. He is duty-bound to Alexander Heriz, and therefore shall carry out his order to win with absolute fervor. To that end, Ursus will open the round with an explosion that shall cut clean the breath from all three of you,” added Sandora, her countenance grim.

“An explosion?” Elwin stammered.

“Yes. There are techniques which you have not yet learnt at Aeternitas,” replied Maximus. “These you learn during your second year and above for martial combat.”

“And I don’t know any of these –”

“Listen carefully, Elwin. You must do everything in your power to avoid that first salvo of explosions. There may be ones that follow after, especially when you are distracted. You must warn others of it as well,” cautioned Maximus.

“I will.”

“Fire is fast, and very fast. If he witnesses you dodge, then he shall know immediately that you expected it from the start. He will follow up with a barrage of earth to seal the match.”

“What must I expect? How big of a boulder will he throw?”

“No...” muttered Maximus, slowly shaking his head, “look to the ground below your feet. That is from where he shall strike. Ursus is a professional guard; he knows you are inexperienced. He knows that all your senses will be honed to intercept and avoid a projectile hurled towards you, but never below your feet.”

“But what then, Maximus? How will I – I just can’t see Ursus giving up that easily because he’s out of strength.”

“That is the unknown. You must devise a way to get him to concede, to surrender, but how... to maim him? To injure him? Even a weak strike of his should rival the strongest of punches made by any Fradihta.”

The three of them stood in silence, the dust of the hall snowing around them.

“There is not much information to go by. Trying to deduce a thread out of empty air is a waste of time. Instead, Elwin, this is the final advice I can give you: survive long enough to read who Ursus is during the battle. Is he just a simplistic guard? Is he just a brute champion? Or is he something else entire? Think on the fly; use every ounce of wit you have honed thus far.”

It was the first time Elwin had entertained the incisive craft of strategy. Although Maximus’s advice – advice from the Astral Knight himself – delivered him glimmers of hope, the colossal task at hand made his stomach churn, ready to vomit.

Maximus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I know how you must feel. I have felt a similar thing once, though my task was not as great. It takes courage as indomitable as steel to walk upright in the face of such a challenge, so for that, I commend you.” He gave a thumbs-up.

“Rarely does a boy earn such an opportunity to show his worth: rarer does he get the chance to prove it and become a man. Remember, this battle is something you have decided: no matter how gravely your heart pounds or your leg falters, you must stand so that your friend Katherine can see a tomorrow. That shall be the proof of your greatness.”

Sandora approved them both. “You are blessed to have allies that champion for each other’s freedom. Become together as one: weather the world as a mast through the storm.”

Elwin wanted to ask how Maximus knew so much about combat and strategy; why he was the Astral Knight, and what purpose drove him, but a single tock from Elwin’s pocket watch pierced the solemn cadence.

“Now then, time is against us,” announced Maximus, opening the door to the hall once again – “go forth, and find your friends.”

When Elwin had raced out, and they saw him disappear over the lawns, Maximus and Sandora looked to each other.

“Do you think that boy could carry the weight of the world?” Sandora mused, her shoulders heavy, her silver hair waving in the sun.

To that question Maximus did not reply; all he could muster was silence, and to look over the great lake West, beyond the hills, mountains, the forests, and beyond the great sea, towards the Gates of Jin.