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Making a split-second decision, Vir slung Shan’s body over his shoulder and Leaped away—all thoughts of staying hidden gone without a trace.

Bounding over streets and homes, Vir Blinked where he could, and within just minutes, arrived back at the tavern, leaving Shan just outside the door.

Vir rushed in, praying to all the gods that Tara was still there. The tavern was far less busy now, with only a few groups of drunkards lingering around.

He turned to Tara’s table… and found her, waving a full mug high into the air, spilling some of the drink on the table. Vir didn’t need to hear her slurred words to understand her current state.

In any other time, he’d have been cautious and courteous, approaching her with every ounce of politeness he could muster.

Now? He Blinked over, grabbed her waist, and foisted her onto his shoulder before she could argue. She hadn’t even noticed, and she was far too inebriated to resist.

Blinking back out, Vir left a stunned group of drunkards behind.

Vir dropped Tara the moment they were outside.

“Your healing. I need it. Now,” Vir said.

Tara’s eyes bulged, then her face turned into a scowl. “You dare! You! I’ve got a lot to say to you, mishter!” She lost her balance, reaching out a hand to brace herself against Vir’s shoulder. “Thash no way to treat a lady. You can’t jes—” she hiccuped. “Er, what was I shaying?”

“Tara!” Vir roared, making her shirk back on reflex. Vir pointed to Shan. “He is dying. I need your help! Now! You need to be sober. Right now!”

Vir’s tone seemed to cut through the haze that clouded Tara’s thoughts, and her scowl faded, replaced by confusion—and a bit of fear.

“W-who are you?”

Oh, right. Vir hurriedly smeared away his makeup, turning his face from red to gray.

Tara’s eyes bulged. “Y-You! Wha-How?”

“Tara…” Vir stressed.

“O-okay. Sheesh.”

Vir saw the enormous silver tattoo inscribed upon her back glow with Life prana. This wasn’t Yuma’s Touch. She was using Yuma’s Embrace—the Panav Clan’s Ultimate Bloodline Art.

“It’s far faster at curing inebriation,” Tara said, her words suddenly far clearer and more even in tone. “Oh my god, Shan!” Tara said, kneeling beside the wolf. “Tell me everything. What do you know?”

She spoke even as her hand pressed against Shan’s ribs, and Yuma’s Embrace activated once again.

“Not much,” Vir admitted. “He didn’t come home, so I went looking for him. I found him like this on the side of an empty street. He looked down since my fight with you today, but I thought he got better, like you said he would. Now… I wonder if he was putting on a tough face.”

Tara didn’t immediately reply. Her face was twisted in intense concentration.

“Is… Is he…” The words caught in Vir’s mouth like glue. He couldn’t say it. If Shan was gone… Vir wasn’t sure what he’d do. The wolf that had once been so cold and aloof had quickly grown on him. He’d become a dear friend—a cherished companion who’d stayed beside him through the thick and the thin.

How could he accept a world without Shan? To say nothing of his promise to Ashani. Or of Shan’s. The whole reason the wolf had accompanied him was out of concern for her. How would Vir ever face her again?

And then Tara spoke, and Vir’s world was turned upside down once again.

“He’s alive,” Tara whispered. “Just barely.”

“Can you heal him?” Vir asked, panicking.

“If life flows through a being, there is no disease or wound Yuma’s Embrace cannot heal,” Tara said, giving Vir a small smile. “Your friend will live. Just... if I heal him, it will burn away all trace of the poison ailing him. There will be no evidence left.”

“Do it!” Vir said without hesitation.

Tara nodded and got to work.

Suddenly feeling weak, Vir stumbled, bracing himself on a nearby stone wall. He took several deep breaths. His heart threatened to leap out of his throat, and he had to fully open the Foundation Chakra just to regain a semblance of control over his mind and body.

He’ll… Live!

Vir slumped to the ground, back against the wall.

“I thought I lost him,” he said, looking at the unmoving form of Shan. The faintest wisps of prana moved through his body, and his chest began to rise and rhythmically fall.

Tara continued to ply her magic, and sweat beaded on her brow. “This wolf… I don’t understand.”

“What is it?”

“There are thousands of—no, millions—of tiny… things moving around within his body. Like living organisms, almost. I keep trying to target them with my magic, but to no effect. I’ve never seen this. Yuma’s Embrace has never once failed like this! Ever!”

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“Wait,” Vir said. “Look closer at those. Are they helping to heal him?”

“Heal? Why would they—!?” Tara’s eyes went wide. “You’re… right. They are mending his body. Differently from Yuma’s Embrace, but in tandem. It is as though they are working in harmony.”

Vir let out a breath. “You can ignore those. They aren’t harmful. In fact, I’d wager those were what kept him alive this long.”

“You know of this?” Tara asked, turning to look at Vir for the first time since she started administering aid.

“I’m sorry,” Vir replied. “All I know is that he has an Artifact that allows him to heal, and that he had them ever since we met in the Ashen Realm.”

As much as Vir loathed lying to the person who’d saved Shan’s life, this was as much as he could divulge. While not the whole truth, none of what he’d said was a lie. To say any more would invite too many questions, and Vir couldn’t risk Tara guessing the truth of his identity. No matter the debt.

“Wow,” Tara muttered. “If Shan had been in good shape during our fight… I was a fool to think that my Corruption Field would’ve done anything against him. It’s like he’s got a Panav art built right into his body.”

“You’re positive your art couldn’t have done this to him?” Vir asked.

“Absolutely. And yet, it is true that my art likely exacerbated its effect,” Tara said, looking up at Vir. “Vaak… I’m sorry. I wish I’d taken your concerns more seriously. As a Panav—as a Healer—you have my sincerest apology.”

“That’s…” Vir shook his head. “That’s alright. You saved him. I even took him to a Panav healer after our duel. They said he was fine. I feel like you might be one of the few people in this city who could’ve saved him. So, thank you.”

“After what I did… If Shan truly had passed, I don’t know if I could live with myself. I take this kind of thing pretty seriously, you know? It’s pretty much baked into my clan’s culture. This was… shameful.”

Vir wasn’t interested in playing the blame game. His mind had already moved onto the core problem—a far more terrifying one. And not one that ought to be discussed in front of a tavern. While no one had poked their head out just yet, he could see people staring through the window. The last thing he needed was the city gossiping about him any more than they already were.

“What do you say we relocate?” Vir asked. “Is Shan healthy enough to be transported?”

Tara nodded. “Just about done here. He’s resting now, and should wake in a few hours.”

Vir knelt and petted his friend softly, muttering an apology, before gently scooping him up and hoisting him onto his shoulder.

“Follow me,” he said, Micro Leaping away.

He stopped on a flat third-floor rooftop some distance away, placing Shan down on the cool stone. It was empty, affording sweeping vistas of the red-hued city.

It didn’t take long for Tara to catch up. Her half-naga form allowed her ample speed and dexterity, and soon, she was standing on the rooftop next to Vir.

“That healing magic Shan possesses,” Vir said, after she’d shifted back to her human form. “It can mend wounds, and it keeps him from ever falling sick. He’s practically immune to all ailments. What could have done this?”

Tara frowned. “That’s no mystery. It’s Shadebloom extract. Yuma’s Embrace gives me a wealth of information about my patient’s body, including what toxins are affecting it. There’s no question. This is Shadebloom.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with Shadebloom.”

“One of the rarest and deadliest poisons in existence. Made from the extract of a plant that grows only in the deepest Iksana cave-tunnels, it takes a century to mature. I hear it costs a veritable fortune on the black market. Not at all easy to come by. The worst part is you don’t even need to ingest it. Just touching it will kill you within an hour. The only magic in the entire realm that can counter it is Yuma’s Embrace.”

“One hour,” Vir muttered. “Shan’s been this way for the better part of a day. Possibly even longer—I felt like something was off about him even before our match.”

“More than half a day,” Tara breathed as she took in Shan’s sleeping form. “Artifact indeed. What a magnificent creation of the gods…”

Vir bit his lip. Had this been three years ago, he’d have been just as awed as Tara. Had this been before he’d witnessed the incomprehensible heights the Prime Imperium had obtained, he might have been impressed.

Now, however, all he felt was disappointment. The gods did not fall ill. It didn’t matter how poisonous a plant was—the very idea of them dying to natural causes seemed absurd. Yes, Siya had an affliction that stymied them, but her case was as unlikely as being hit by a passing meteor.

For whatever reason, there were diseases Ashani’s pranites would not heal. And while it was true that Shan had comparatively fewer pranites in his body than Vir—he’d received several injections, after all—and though Shan lacked the awareness to ration and preserve his pranites, the fact remained. It could have been Vir who’d been infected by Shadebloom. If he were ever infected, he’d have half a day to seek the Panav’s Yuma’s Embrace.

If no Panav with that Ultimate Bloodline Art happened to be nearby? He’d die. Despite his Imperium-altered body and his pranites and blood prana arts.

It was a sobering thought. Until now, Vir had assumed he didn’t have to worry about such things. That Shadebloom was so rare was only of minor consolation. Vir doubted his enemies would spare any expense against the Akh Nara.

All the more reason to get my hands on Yuma’s Embrace as quickly as possible, he thought, eyeing Tara. What an incredible power.

For now, however, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Such as the identity of the perpetrator.

“Someone wanted Shan to die,” Vir stated.

“Actually…” Tara trailed off. She looked worried and indecisive—unusual for her.

“What is it?”

“It’s possible someone might have been trying to frame me.”

“What do you—oh,” Vir said, understanding her meaning. “If Shan’s magic hadn’t protected him, he’d have died around the same time as our duel.”

“And since everyone knows I use a poisonous cloud…”

Vir went pale. “It’d have been the perfect frame.”

“Especially since all traces of Shadebloom disappear once the victim has perished. It’s a favorite assassination tool among some of the shadier types. Those who can afford it, anyway.”

“So, someone rich was either trying to set you up, or kill Shan. Or both. Any thoughts on why someone might be after you?”

Tara looked away. “A couple. None that I’m at liberty to share, I’m afraid.”

Vir waved away her concern. “That’s alright. It’s quite obvious why someone would want him dead.”

“Because until now, your fights have relied on Shan…” Tara replied, catching on.

“Or at least, I’ve made it seem that way, yes,” Vir said. “Which means it’s another tournament combatant.”

“Needless to say, this is highly illegal. Whoever is at fault would not only be disqualified, they’d be banned forever and thrown in jail.”

“If they’re caught,” Vir said, feeling a sour taste at the back of his throat. First the assassination attempt in the qualifier round, and now this. Two attempts, and both times, whoever it was had hidden their tracks well.

“It’s gotta be an Iksana,” Tara said. “An Iksana that knows of you, spites you, and has the means to kill you. That narrows the pool.”

“But not enough,” Vir replied, pacing around the rooftop. “Besides, just because it grows in Iksana territory doesn’t mean only the Iksana can use it, right? They could easily have sold it to someone else.”

“True. It’d be the word of a newcomer against the reigning champion,” Tara said, running her fingers through her hair. “Argh, I hate this. I’d rather just kill them and be done with it.”

Vir ignored Tara’s rather concerning violent tendencies to focus on the problem.

“I think it’s Annas,” Vir said, raising a suspicion he’d had from the very beginning.

“The Chitran fighter? Why? What’s your issue with him?”

“Nothing. But he’s my next opponent. And if I beat him, it’s Cirayus.”

“Oh…” Tara replied. “When you put it like that…”

“If Annas’ plan had succeeded, you’d have received the blame, while I’d be forced to fight him without Shan. I can't know for certain, of course, but my gut says it's him. Who else would it be?”

“But how do we prove it?” Tara asked.

“I don’t know,” Vir admitted. “I don’t know if I can. But one thing’s for sure,” he said, eyeing the sleeping Ash Wolf. “If Shan is up for it, I think we’re due for more than a little payback.”