The dim, yellow light shed by the flickering lamp cascaded over the uneven rock walls, casting long shadows across the narrow tunnel.

The long shadow of a man confident in his own fate sliced the tunnel into two. It slid along the gravelly road and came to a stop in front of the long shadows of two other men. Hushed voices fluttered into soft echoes that bounced between the walls of the dark cave and fell beside the ears of those who listened.

A breeze rode upon the cold, dry air and the many sleeping children huddled together on the ground shivered and clenched their blankets tighter around themselves.

At last, the voices came to a stop. A metal lamp clicked and one long shadow bobbed up and down, up and down until it disappeared completely. A pair of eyes opened in the darkness, a tiny fragment of light reflected in its sharp gaze.

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Ru Meng was curled up into a ball, his knees in front of his chest. He had not slept a wink, but he did not feel tired at all. Every fiber in his body ached from the days of work and his stomach rumbled in protest of his involuntary fast, but his mind felt clearer than ever before. There was a cool sensation running through his spine. He had been waiting and now, it was here.

Two faint coughs in the distance signaled the moment.

He opened his eyes, just barely enough for him to see through the gap between his arms. He looked to the left and saw a bright pair of eyes and a smile just as bright. Vardan nodded at him. Ru Meng nodded back.

The handsome boy took a deep breath and pulled his chains, rattling them as hard as he could. He shook the chains on both arms, tugging and pulling as hard as he could against the restraints that kept him bound to the rock wall. The metallic clink of the chains was loud and clear against the dark silence of the cave.

Somebody clicked their tongue in the other cave. Clothes rustled and footsteps made their way toward them. Ru Meng’s heart was beating quickly. He lowered his head and held his breath as he waited.

Finally, a man stepped into the cave. A tall, lanky man who liked to beat up little children for fun. Ru Meng’s heart dropped. They drew the short straw after all.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, boy?!”

Liao Hua strode toward Vardan, who cowered and shrunk back in the encroaching presence of the man. Liao Hua threw a front kick at Vardan’s stomach and sent him to the ground reeling in pain.

He smiled as he said, “I don’t know what you were thinking making a racket in the middle of the night, but thanks. It’s been so boring tonight I almost fell asleep.”

He grabbed Vardan by his collar and let loose a storm of punches with his hard, calloused fist. Vardan held his arms up to cover his face, fists clenched tight as he endured the relentless barrage. Liao Hua cackled as he beat down mercilessly, occasionally pulling the kid’s arms away to land a firm blow on his face, or throwing a nasty hook to his stomach.

Vardan gritted his teeth and endured everything patiently. Ru Meng wanted to avert his eyes from the horrible sight, but he stopped himself. He had to be ready. He had to wait. They had to wait.

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Chen Jin sat idly on a wooden stool at the entrance of the cave, shaking his leg as he stared at a brown-spotted lizard stuck on the wall.

Something rustled behind him. He looked around and saw a short figure moving toward him in the darkness. He tensed slightly and reached down for his trusty cane. Meanwhile, his left hand picked up the lamp and raised it in front of his face.

The light revealed the face of a small, scrawny kid with sharp eyes that looked critical of everything they saw.

When Chen Jin saw who it was, the tension melted from his shoulder and the grip on his cane loosened.

“What is it?” he grunted.

“Sir, I heard some noise and woke up. Is it time for the dawn prayer already?” asked the kid, glancing in the direction of the other cave.

“It’s nothing. Your prayer is not for another hour. Go back to sleep,” Chen Jin said and waved the kid away.

“Yes, sir,” said the kid obediently, before turning and walking away.

Chen Jin watched him warily for a few seconds. Something felt wrong, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. He decided to wait for Liao Hua to come back to ask him what had happened back there. Finally at ease, he turned away and set the lamp down.

The moment he did, he realized what was wrong. It was too quiet. He should still be able to hear the boy’s steps. In fact, he should be able to hear his chains clinking when he walked. Something was wrong. He reached for his cane. His lips moved to form words of magic.

But it was too late.

A thin arm wrapped around his neck and the cool touch of steel moved gracefully from the lobe of one ear to the other. Warmth flooded his chest; dark, rich and ruby red.

Then, as if to finish things off, his killer thrust his murder weapon violently into his throat. Pain overloaded his senses for the last few seconds of his life. As Chen Jin crumpled to the ground wheezing and heaving for air, the last thing he saw were the sharp gaze and impassive face of his young killer. Where chains should be dangling between the manacles on his hands, there was nothing at all.

Nothing at all.

Nothing.

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A faint thud came from the other cave.

Liao Hua stopped his punch mid-swing and looked in that direction in confusion.

Vardan, on the other hand, was not confused in the slightest. His eyes gleamed. That wasn’t the signal they had agreed on, but somehow, Vardan knew. It was time to go. He swung his right hand as hard as he could.

The sharpened iron tip in his hand sliced across the air and stopped. It stayed there, trembling in Vardan’s hand, but unmoving.

Liao Hua tightened his grip on Vardan’s wrist. Something shifted in his eyes as he looked back and forth between Vardan, the iron tip and the other cave. Vardan’s bone felt like it could snap at any time. His hand loosened and the weapon fell from his hands.

“What did you do?” his voice was hoarse, low and overflowing with murderous intent.

However, he did not wait for a reply. Liao Hua kept his grip on Vardan’s wrist and thrust his left elbow into Vardan’s face. The handsome boy’s nose fractured with a sickening crunch. Liao Hua immediately followed up with another strike to finish the deal. He straightened his fingers firmly and thrust them forward to crush Vardan’s throat.

He didn’t finish. A soft whisper came from behind before a sharp pain jolted through his back. Liao Hua held his right arm up and leaned back, just barely in time to dodge two projectiles whizzing through the air. Another one found its mark and embedded itself in his forearm.

Ru Meng held his hands forward and concentrated. The flying iron tips turned around in midair and rushed at Liao Hua once more.

The tall man’s gleamed dangerously. He ignored the projectiles aimed at him and turned around to finish the job. Ru Meng reacted immediately. The iron tip already stuck in Liao Hua’s lower back wriggled and moved upwards. A jagged and ugly curve was cut across the man’s back. He screamed in pain, but immediately reached around and wrestled the iron tip away from his body. The iron tip sliced his palm up until he let go.

“You!” he shouted at Ru Meng.

Liao Hua stood up and tossed Vardan’s hand aside. He dodged the flying iron tips and charged at the younger boy.

However, before he could take more than two steps forward, two firm and strong hands wrapped themselves around his waist. Vardan smirked through his bloodied nose. He let out a war cry and rushed forward.

Liao Hua turned around and threw his hips away from Vardan. He wrapped his arms around Vardan’s arms and dropped to his side. The ground shook as Vardan was lifted from his feet and slammed to the ground.

Liao Hua got back to his feet. He swatted an iron tip aside and charged once more, only to trip face-first into the ground. Still groaning and moaning, Vardan pulled on the chain around Liao Hua’s feet and grabbed the man’s ankles.

Four iron tips swerved in mid-air and launched themselves at Liao Hua’s body. Liao Hua delivered a swift back kick into Vardan’s face and rolled away from the projectiles.

Again and again, Liao Hua tried to break free of Vardan to reach Ru Meng, evading and blocking the annoying iron projectiles coming from every direction as he did so. He was a trained martial artist with a prodigious knack for violence, but Vardan was a teenager. He was only fifteen, but he was nearly as tall as Liao Hua and just as sturdy. No matter how much damage Liao Hua inflicted on him, Vardan managed to hang on by a thread, persistently grabbing and holding onto the man in whatever way he could.

When Liao Hua tried to turn his attention onto Vardan, however, Ru Meng’s iron tips would go for his eyes, ears and back. It was impossible to defend himself while fighting Vardan.

Ru Meng’s attacks were not very effective either. The Spell of Metalworking was limited in strength, while the iron tips were too light to do any real damage. They left countless tiny scratches and gashes on Liao Hua’s body, but nothing deeper than skin. He was stretched to his limits controlling the four iron tips as well, leaving him unable to help any further.

The situation was far from a deadlock, however. Slowly but surely, Liao Hua was wearing Vardan down. Each time he kicked Vardan, he got up just a fraction of a second slower. Each time he dealt a heavy blow to Vardan’s body, he reeled in pain for just one extra instance. Eventually, Vardan would stop getting up and the fight would be over.

Liao Hua slipped a haymaker from Vardan, grabbed him by the arms and threw him to the ground with a simple trip. Suddenly, a fourth person’s footsteps could be heard pattering against the earth floor.

Liao Hua glanced to his left and immediately ducked down. A large wooden arrow sailed past his head and bounced harmlessly off the rock wall.

“Took you long enough,” Vardan shouted at Hakimi as the scrawny boy hastily tried to reload his crossbow without responding.

The appearance of Hakimi told Liao Hua what he suspected had happened. He found a burst of strength in his fury. He broke free of Vardan’s hold and leaped forward. He lifted his leg to his side and delivered a kick with all the force of his tall and lanky frame.

Hakimi shielded himself with the crossbow, but the impact shattered the wood and punched through his stomach. He was knocked into the wall and fell to the ground unconscious.

Ru Meng’s concentration faltered for a moment. The iron tips trembled in the air. One of them fell limply to the ground, slave to gravity’s control once again.

Vardan, however, saw the opportunity. He threw the chains between his hands over Liao Hua’s neck and pulled with all his strength. The iron tightened around the man’s neck, threatening to suffocate him. Vardan turned around and ran forward, giving Liao Hua no space to free himself. Fortunately, the big rock in the center of the cave was right in front of him. He leaped over the rock. Liao Hua had no more space to back up.

Vardan pulled with all his strength and all his weight. He kept pulling and pulling. A dozen seconds passed and still, Liao Hua struggled. He shuffled from side to side and Vardan had to shuffle with him to stop him from breaking free. It wasn’t working. Liao Hua was choking, but not fast enough to pass out.

His fingers were slowly worming their way in between his neck and the iron chain.

Vardan looked at Ru Meng. He was squatting beside Hakimi, fussing over him worriedly.

“Ru Meng, finish it!” he screamed.

Ru Meng snapped back to focus. He picked up an iron tip and walked forward meekly. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it could jump out of his mouth. As he got closer and closer to the man in front of him, the situation became ever more real in his mind. He was about to kill a man. A person, just like his uncle.

His hands trembled, but he kept walking. He had to kill a person now. He didn’t want to. He really didn’t.

“Hurry, Ru Meng!”

He didn’t want to, but he had to. He had to save his friends. He knew what he had to do. He had been here. In this very same position. But things were different now. No more weakness. No more fear.

Ru Meng grabbed the iron tip tightly and ran forward to drive it into Liao Hua’s chest.

Liao Hua’s face was turning an odd shade of red, but he could still see the young boy charging at him. Just as the boy was about to puncture his heart, he kicked him in the stomach and pushed him away from himself.

Ru Meng clutched his stomach on the ground and coughed.

Vardan’s face was beaded in sweat. He was at his limits. He closed his eyes and pleaded, “Hurry, please!”

Liao Hua had managed to wedge his fingers between the chain and his neck. The pressure was taken off his artery. He took a deep breath and shouted, “I’m gonna kill you all! Kill you so bad you will wish you never lived!”

Ru Meng glanced at Hakimi, unconscious in the distance, lying limply on the ground. He looked at Vardan, the ugly brand seared into his face, bruises all over his body. He stared at Liao Hua, on the verge of breaking free and ending it all.

Yet, despite the situation, Ru Meng felt no fear.

He only felt cool calm running in his veins.

He lifted his hand at Liao Hua and chanted coolly, “Luo.Yi.Fan.Cheng, Chak.Nok.Ooi.Mun.”

The metal chain around Liao Hua’s neck glowed faintly.

Everything was silent.

The edge was not nearly sharp enough to cut on its own, but combined with Vardan’s muscles and weight, it cut through flesh and tendons and vocal cords like butter.

Three severed fingers fell to the ground, followed by a hollow thud.

The violent, lanky man had been reduced to a lonely, rolling head.