This was completely his fault.  Batho hit the grey stone walls around him again.  The stone yielded not at all.  With the star, he didn't need to obey those stupid knights and their stupid rules about unofficial dueling.  Rethas had needed to die.  Once Batho was stronger than him, the only conclusion was obvious. 

What did the knights know about Batho's suffering?  What did they expect him to do?  Grit his teeth and put up with the abuse?  Well, they could forget it! 

He huffed and sat down in the middle of the cell.  Aril had wanted him to cooperate with the investigation, and in the confusion and pain of his injuries, Batho had simply let it happen.  And now he was stuck in a holding cell. 

"Can you hit the wall again?" the voice asked. 

"What good will it do?" he replied with another question, "the jails come with reinforced walls and a monitoring system.  Even trying to break out will be detected.  "

"We wish to examine it, physical contact will allow us more bandwidth," the voice said, "do not mind us.  "

Batho sighed and shuffled over to the wall.  It wasn't like there was anything else to do in here. 

"If you're bored, we know a few training exercises that can help," the voice said, "we should improve your power.  More power never hurts.  "

He sat up straight and got a chastisement for breaking contact with the enchanted walls.  Batho absentmindedly put a hand to the stone and listened to the lecture. 

----------------------------------------

A soft knock on the door brought him out of the meditation. 

"If you're going to punish me, then get on with it already," Batho snarled. 

"It's me," Aril's voice said from the other side. 

"Oh," Batho deflated then got up from the floor.  She had come to see him?  He walked over to the door and put a hand on it. 

"I just wanted to tell you that the knights are investigating your case now," Aril said. 

About time, Batho had been in here for hours already.  "I see," Batho said, "did they question you?"

"They will, eventually.  But first, I need to know what happened," Aril said. 

Did she suspect something?  Of course she did, Batho would never have been powerful enough to defeat Rethas in a duel.  He regarded the door warily. 

"You disappeared for two weeks, without telling me anything," her voice seemed to stab daggers into him, "what happened to you?  Where did you go?"

She knew.  Clearly she knew what had happened.  "I was looking for something," Batho said, "I intended to give it to you, but that can't happen now.  I'm sorry, but I shall prepare a suitably fitting present for you.  "

"A present for me?" Aril sounded confused, "for what?"

"Does there need to be a reason?" Batho smiled in the darkness with no one to see. 

"I... see?  Never mind. " He could almost see Aril shaking her head.  "Why did you challenge Rethas?"

What was with all these questions?  Wasn't she going to ask him how he had won?  Even if the question was going to pose some problems, Batho had expected it.  "Rethas was harassing you," Batho explained, "I saw him.  At the ball.  "

"He also looked down on you," Aril said accusingly, "was that why you fought him?  You killed him.  "

What?  Why was she saying this?  "Aril, Rethas was not a good person," Batho said. 

"But you killed him.  He was not so bad that you had to kill him," Aril said, "I saw that battle.  You knew you were going to win.  "

"Of course I would," Batho clenched his fist on the door, "I wouldn't fight him unless I knew I could win.  And I did kill him, I had to.  Rethas was oppressing us!"

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"All he did was a few pranks!  That's not a reason to kill him when you could have won another way!"

"You don't understand, Aril.  I-"

"I do understand!  Who do you think he harasses all the time?"

"Then you do know that I had to kill him," Batho stated flatly.  The crime of touching Aril had no other penalty. 

"There are others who bully you too," Aril said, "will you kill them too?"

"If need be. " And if they dared to abuse Aril's kindness, definitely. 

There was silence from the other side of the door for a long while.  Then Aril's voice continued, much softer.  "You... You've changed, Batho," Aril said, "the last few months, you've avoided me.  And now you kill someone!  I don't even understand what you're thinking anymore!  What happened to you?!"

The sniffles from the other side seemed to stab into him.  Of a time long ago, when he still had the strength to be her hero.  "Aril, do you remember the time when we were young?  When I played at being a hero and said I was going to protect you?" Batho asked, "I never forgot what you said to me.  I found the strength to protect you now, I'm just sorry that I took so long.  "

Aril's voice lashed out through the door, driving him back with a raw emotion that stung his eyes.  She was hurting!  "I asked you to always stay by my side!  Not to do this!"

Aril's sobs came through the door, silencing all possible response.  What was he to say?

"We are done analyzing the network," an unexpected voice cut in, the uniform cheerfulness cutting through the heavy atmosphere without a care, "there were some interesting innovations but these simple barriers are nothing before us.  "

"Be careful about the monitoring system," Batho warned the star. 

"Already done, the network is ours," the star said, "our curiousity is sated, it is time we left.  "

"Give me a moment," Batho requested and said to Aril, "it's all right Aril, I have found a strength.  You will see that even these cells cannot hold me.  "

Instead of his own magic, a bright spark popped out next to his hand where the star was embedded.  "What is that?" he asked it. 

"It is the existence you call Rethas," the voice explained. 

"Is that his soul?!" Batho blinked, "but Rethas is dead!  How can his soul be here?"

"Your drain blade is so inefficient.  A life contains much magic, yes, but a trapped life will regenerate its magic.  Rather than drain it for power immediately, we find it more efficient to keep souls around.  "

"Then he is watching us?!" Bathos glared at the spark of magic tunnelling at the door enchantment.  Perhaps he could torture Rethas some more?

"Of course not," the voice sniffed, "there is no reason to keep extraneous functions.  We reshaped everything for magical power generation.  Besides, your word construct for soul implies indivisibility.  That is not true, it would be easier to think of this as an external pool of power.  "

Batho laughed, what a fitting end for a bully like that man.  Now he was just a battery to be used. 

The door swung open and Batho walked out.  Aril was nowhere to be seen, probably she had run away after breaking down and hadn't even heard his last line. 

"You will see, Aril," Batho whispered, "I will give you everything.  "

The enchantment on the prison folded in on itself, the magic drained into the dense ball above Batho's hand.  Then quietly the ball disappeared back in. 

"Time to go.  "