The next morning, Lug ate his breakfast in silence, he didn't exchange a word with Gavan since their conflict.

Lug went out of the house and fetched ropes and planks from the shed.

He had thought it over and decided to set up the ring on the corridor at the front door of the cemetery, between his house and Valmont.

Eno helped him with the measurements, placing boards vertically on four corners, then boards between each of them.

He had thus drawn a square strong enough to hold the ropes that would delineate the ring.

The ghosts of the southern neighborhoods began to bustle about, the excitement was building.

But the two fighters had not yet shown themselves.

The fight was only a few hours away.

Lug had never seen a real fight before, but a fight between two ghosts seemed even more exotic.

There was a feeling of excitement mixed with anxiety in him, he hoped that no one would see the ring he was setting up in the cemetery he was in charge of.

That's why he placed some boards on the entrance gate, in case some curious hikers would see the illegal fight that was going on.

When everything was ready, Lug sat down on his folding chair, under an umbrella he had found in the dump, to wait for the protagonists of the fight.

After a few minutes the spectators could finally see the two fighters come forward, they were not dressed differently from usual, they looked serene.

Each one coming from their district, they walked each one at an end, the baker was along the wall of the cemetery and the policeman was almost outside the district so much that it was close to the center.

Once they got near the ring, they each stood at a corner, surrounded from the outside by their most loyal men.

Eno was doing the show introducing the fighters, he had been warming up the atmosphere for an hour already.

"In the right corner we have the great, the immense, the legend: the leader of Vamin! With his aura of a man of law and his experience in administration, he is capable of anything, after all, isn't it said that it is those who seem weakest who are the most dangerous?"

The crowd went wild, he went on.

"On the left corner we have the man with the apron, the greedy one, the ogre, the titan of yeast... The great man of Almer. From the top of his huge tomb he is enthroned with his small body at the top of the cemetery. Will he be up to the task today?"

The only ones who were not in the mood to be amused by Eno's jokes were the two leaders who looked at him with hatred.

Lug still wondered why Eno didn't want to talk to him about the rivalry between the two districts if it was only to alienate the two chiefs with these presentations.

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Sometimes Eno's decisions seemed random.

Just before the fight started, loud trumpets were heard.

They came from outside the cemetery.

Suddenly, dozens of soldiers came out holding large flags.

The rhythm of the trumpets mingled with the sound of footsteps in unison.

They stopped right in front of the ring.

One of the soldiers unrolled a papyrus and began to read.

"The commander of the great army announces that he has chosen the champion who will fight in his name: Xam the sinner!"

Suddenly the soldier at the front of the procession removed his armor and Lug could see a familiar face.

It was Xam.

What was the nudist he had met on the side of the road doing here, why was he with the army and especially why was he here to fight?

Nothing made sense.

Xam made a small sign to Lug who remained seated on his folding chair without moving.

Then he stepped forward and entered the ring.

He was so frail a few weeks ago but he was now a well-built man.

He was shirtless with cloth pants that stopped at his calves.

The two leaders looked at each other apprehensively and began to speak at the same time.

"This is not fair, this is a fight between us, this person has no business being here. It's between the ghosts of the cemetery to settle this dispute!" they shouted.

Lug remained thoughtful for a moment.

Then he said :

"This soldier here is the champion of Valmont, he represents a district inhabited mainly by children and old men and unable to present a man in the prime of life."

The two chiefs had nothing to say to this, it was a fight to choose the best district in the south and Valmont had not yet presented any fighter.

They all stood at the corner of the ring and Eno started the fight with a shout.

The rules were simple: There was only one round, all punches were allowed and the last one standing and still in the ring won.

The fight lasted only 3 minutes.

Xam had been flamboyant, quick on his feet, with sharp fists and powerful kicks he put the two leaders down without difficulty.

The fight could have been even shorter but Xam seemed to play with his prey.

"Xaaaaaam the sinner is the winner, so Valmont is elected best district of the cemetery!!!! " shouted Eno while mimicking a megaphone.

Few people were moved by this, as almost no one from Valmont was present.

The two defeated leaders quickly disappeared.

Xam, after having done a few laps around the ring with his arms raised to celebrate his victory, went towards Lug.

"Hello! I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, I wanted to thank you, it's thanks to you that I'm here today" said Xam with a lot of gratitude in his voice.

Up close he looked even more impressive, he looked taller, more confident and even though he didn't look massive his body was very well sculpted.

"Why are you thanking me? And how did you get here?" Lug remained defensive.

"While trying to find you I found myself in front of the commander, he made me understand a lot of things, he is not an easy man but he changed me and I will be eternally grateful!"

When a ghost talks about eternity, it's never idle talk. Xam was truly grateful and he had finally evolved, an unlikely thing for a ghost who by nature is stagnant.

"Look, umm... I'm sorry but I forgot your name..." said Lug embarrassed.

"Xam the sinner."

"The sinner? Is that new?"

"Yes, the commander insisted I be called that until I proved myself."

"Sounds rough."

Xam looked Lug up and down and asked:

"How about you, how are you?"

Lug felt judged.

"I'm fine... I'm going to have to go, I have a lot of work to do." he said, looking to cut the discussion short.

"I understand, I'll leave you to it I have to go train."

They greeted each other and each one went to its occupations.

The fight was a success, the two leaders would calm down after this camouflet, Valmont would finally be taken seriously and Malda would certainly be impressed.

But in spite of all that Lug felt demoralized.

This unexpected meeting with Xam had made him aware of his weakness.

Yes, since his arrival in the cemetery he had experienced many things, but had he really changed? Even a ghost was capable of more movement than him.

This fight had seen born in Lug something new: a desire of change, of evolution.