Chapter Eleven

After we all freshen up, the guard checks to make sure we’re all wearing our armor before we can leave the room. Once given the green light, we start toward the left, and the guard tails behind us for a while before eventually separating.

Nearing the block and where we will part ways, Joey says, “There’s about an hour ‘til dinner. We still need to go over some things, but relax at your cell for a bit. You know where to find us when you’re ready.”

“Sounds good, thanks,” I say, dapping them both up before heading to my cell.

As I pass small groups of inmates socializing, they all quiet down and stare as I walk by.

Arriving at my cell, Makani is on her bed, facing the wall as usual. Laying down on my own bed, I retrieve my token and emit a long sigh.

“I’m going to beat him," I say, wanting Makani to hear.

There's no response.

“I’ll avenge Taylor, give Russ what he deserves.”

Nothing.

“I would like you to come watch.”

“I can go without your invitation.”

Jumping out of bed, I slip my token in my pocket and stand at the open cell door.

“I know, but I want you there," I say before leaving.

Arriving at the gate of their cell, Joey is lying down, tossing a tennis ball into the air while Ayden is seated up against the wall.

“That was fast,” says Ayden, tapping on his bed. “Come sit.”

Joey looks over to see who it is, and as he recognizes me, he sits up too.

“Makani isn’t much of a talker. Shoes off?” I ask as I sit down on his bed.

Ayden swipes his hand through the air, “You can leave ‘em on.”

Scooting up against the wall, I ask, “What did you want to talk about?”

“Sorel’s games.”

“Ah, you did say you’d tell me more about it after training.”

“Mhm. Joe, should we start with iris or the games?”

“Iris, there’d be fewer questions.”

“Okay,” replies Ayden.

Joey asks me, “Do you remember everything we taught you about iris?”

I nod, running through various topics in my mind.

“Good. This next part has to do with your gemcore. Besides it being the ‘heart’ of your iris, do you know anything else about it?”

“You mentioned it stores the signature to my ability. There’s also last night.”

“Last night?”

“Yeah. Sorel brought me to this place where he forced me to complete the awakening. But to do so, he had to cut into my tattoo and retrieve the gemcore underneath. I think I felt it, the gemcore. It was like a hardened sphere when he pressed it against my wound.”

Joey nods and holds up his thumb and index finger, “The gemcore to every iris ability is initially shaped like a marble about this size.”

“That’s smaller than I thought.”

“Remember how I mentioned abilities can be stolen? The ability is stored inside the gemcore, not a person's DNA. So, if you want to take somebody else's ability, you must steal the gemcore from them.”

“So that's what you meant...”

“Yes. Just because you wield an ability doesn’t mean you always will. The gemcore is a separate entity compatible with the human body, and a gemcore can be extracted from our body without too much difficulty. Remind me, how do we awaken?”

“A shard has to come in contact with your bloodstream.”

Joey nods, “The gemcore is just a smaller, more compressed version of the shard, which means the same method to awaken still applies. Just exchange the shard with the gemcore.”

“Okay…” I sound.

“Basically, the way to steal another wielder's gemcore is simple. You extract the gemcore from their body, break the gem, and then have the iris core inside make contact with your own bloodstream. Once that happens, you awaken the gemcore inside your body, and the previous owner loses the ability it wielded.”

“So what you’re saying is… it’s possible to wield two abilities simultaneously?”

Joey flashes three fingers, “No, it’s possible to wield three.”

My breathing becomes stagnant, “Woah.”

“Dual wielders carry two abilities, and tri wielders carry three. Do you understand how to steal an ability?”

I nod, eyes wide, “Mhm. You have to… extract the gemcore from under their tattoo and let it contact your… own bloodstream.”

“Exactly.”

“Why can’t somebody have four or five abilities?”

Ayden jumps in, “Sorel… showed us we can’t…”

“But Mateo,” Joey quickly interrupts, flashing a look at Ayden, and Ayden hardly nods. “While wielding multiple gemcores can offer more abilities, there are many drawbacks. Do you remember when we talked about each wielder starting with the same iris capacity?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think that still applies when you inherit a second or even third gemcore?”

I take some time to think before replying, “To an extent. If each ability supplies a pool of iris, wouldn’t your iris reserves double in size after gaining a second gemcore?”

“Kind of. Let’s use myself as an example. I’ve been training my iris for almost three months, so my iris capacity is higher than yours. If I were to inherit a second gemcore, I would only gain the initial amount of what an ability offers. My iris capacity would not double… it would only increase by that predetermined amount.”

“I see. So even if I trained my current ability for years, and my iris capacity grew extremely large, if I decided to inherit a second gemcore, it would be like awakening a fresh ability on top of my capacity for heavenly flames.”

“Exactly. The same goes for a third gemcore. Now, let me ask this. Let’s say you decided to steal my gemcore, and I’ve already been training for a few months. Would you inherit my current iris capacity and my ability, or not?”

“I– I don’t think so?” I say with a nervous hum in my voice.

Joey says, “You wouldn’t. Since the gemcore would be new to your body, it’s like starting from a clean slate. You may know how my ability works, but you’d still have to train with it to reach the iris capacity that I’m currently at. Does that make sense?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“What if my ability is stolen, and I steal it back. Would I have to start over from scratch?”

“That… we don’t know. Let’s assume that you would have to… it’d probably be easier to regain the capacity you had before it was stolen. I’m betting it’d be like muscle memory, but you would probably have to start over. That’s my guess, at least.”

“Okay. Let’s say I somehow inherit a second gemcore right now. Since you receive an initial amount of iris when you awaken a new ability, wouldn’t my iris capacity far surpass both of yours, even with my minimal training?”

“Good question because this is the next thing I wanted to discuss. It would. However, you burn through your iris reserves twice as fast when you wield two abilities. Imagine doing everything you did today, but you expend twice as much iris. The same concept applies if you wield three abilities, you get the idea.”

“So even though a wielder may have a larger capacity, it balances out in the long run.”

“Yes,” Joey trails off. “It does. But this kind of comparison is before either side has trained at all. Having two abilities makes it more difficult to increase your iris capacity since you have to work on training both gemcores to see improvement. That said, the ceiling to your iris capacity is much higher than a solo wielder could ever reach.”

As Joey pauses, I use the few seconds of silence to work through what I’ve been told so far.

“But when your gemcore is stolen from you, there are drastic consequences," says Joey. "A person can wield up to three abilities, and that’s been proven for the time being. Mateo, let’s say your gemcore is stolen from you right now. You would immediately lose one-third of your remaining life force, and you would no longer be able to use iris.”

I touch my hand to my forehead, “One-third... of my life force?”

“If a second gemcore is stolen from you, you lose another third. And if a third gemcore is stolen, you will die.”

“Did– Sorel also say this?”

“Actually, he demonstrated it," says Joey, nodding to Ayden. "Some people refused to participate in Sorel’s… experiments… so, Sorel used them as examples. One guy was forced to inherit as many gemcores as possible and died after inheriting a fourth. A woman had gemcores stolen from her, and she died after a third was taken. You know how science is… a breakthrough can only be proven by repetition. As we watched, it became increasingly clear to everybody what some of the limits of iris are, even though we still know so little. The rest we learned later on from Sorel’s… breakthroughs or our own discoveries.”

Stomaching my rattled mind, I ask, “Why… did you wait to tell me this?”

“Because of this," says Ayden. "Your reaction. You wouldn’t have been able to train properly earlier if you had known all of this. You wouldn’t have trusted us if you knew this.”

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Yes, do you want to hear the rest?” asks Joey.

“I don’t want to,” I say. “But I have to.”

***

After I manage to wrap my head around how dangerous iris really is, Ayden takes over.

He reminds me how the duels work, a one-on-one fight that all can watch. It takes ten wins out of twelve duels to be released from Soulbell, and winning not only gets you closer to that goal... but also expedites when you can fight your next duel. Even more, a win also knocks some time off your sentence. And now, knowing that gemcores can be stolen, another element is mixed in.

These duels are not to the death, but they can be. Sorel has apparently made it clear that he will not punish any fighter for killing their opponent. That said, they will not be rewarded for the act either. This is because killing an opponent means killing a wielder, and Sorel loses a subject that can be studied. However, if the victor steals the gemcore from their opponent, they will be rewarded regardless.

Of course, stealing a gemcore from an opponent would be next to impossible in battle, so there are two ways to do this. You knock them out or kill them. Both ways, they can’t defend themselves... or stop you. Knocking them out is risky… they might wake up to the pain they feel from their gemcore being extracted, so killing them is a surefire way to steal their gemcore. On the flip side, killing a wielder without intending to steal their gemcore would undoubtedly result in an adverse reaction from Sorel.

After a wielder dies, there is about a minute before the gemcore that’s tethered to them loses its own life energy, and the trace of the ability depletes.

Around this point, I almost ask why anybody would steal somebody else’s gemcore if it means shortening their life. However, I never finish asking the question aloud.

The answer is obvious: Sorel will reward them. Having two abilities shoots you up the waiting list, which means you’ll be able to fight again soon after. Fight again and win, take another ability, and things continue to snowball. With three abilities, Sorel will be inclined to schedule you to fight quite often, and you can stack up wins as long as you’re capable.

And this is when a daunting thought arises as the bell thunders for dinner.

What about the outside world? Here, inmates will strive to take life away from others so they can inch closer to freedom. There’s no reason to steal a gemcore unless it’s for selfish reasons. But out there, what will motivate people to do the same? Would it be any different from here?

“We’ll wait a little so the lines won’t be long,” says Joey, watching people pass by. “Mateo, these duels are cruel. We’re not good people. We’re convicts. Some people have been itching to kill ever since they got here, and the duels give them the chance to do so without punishment. We didn’t go watch, but from what we’ve heard, Russ took pleasure in killing his last opponent.”

I scoff and think about Makani.

“This is only what Sorel told us, but after you win ten duels, you’ll be shipped to another country to start a new life. New identity and everything. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, and you’d probably gain some leeway after providing so much valuable data to Sorel.”

Hearing that, I begin thinking about Mom and Eric. If I pass these games, I might be able to get Mom the medicine she needs, and something to help my brother too.

“So… if I win… ten duels… I’ll actually be free?” I quietly ask, looking at my hands.

Joey’s gaze narrows as Ayden replies, “Well, everybody wants to get outta here. There’s a long way to go for everybody and–”

“I’ll be free though, right?” I ask, still staring down.

Ayden eyes Joey and Joey slightly nods.

“That’s right, you will be.”

***

“So, Russ is a dual wielder?” I ask, standing in line next to Ayden.

Ayden nods, “He was lucky enough to be scheduled early, and he stole his opponent's ability after he killed her. Ever since he’s been acting like this.”

Watching him walk to his table, Russ intentionally bumps into somebody.

“Hey!” says Russ, getting in his face. “Watch it.”

The man nods and carries on. Russ’s goons are about to go after him, but Russ gestures for them to leave it as they sit down.

“So… a jerk.”

“Well, unlucky for him, he’s picked the wrong jerk to fight against,” says Joey with a slight smile. “Think about it this way: you may have only a day's training, but he’s going to struggle to balance out his iris. Since he’s a dual wielder… and not a bright one, he’s definitely had a lot of trouble progressing. If you can keep up with us, you can hold your own against Russ.”

“Do you know what type his other ability is?” I ask, my plate getting filled with food.

“Nah, only the Resu one. And we don’t know what kind of realm he has,” replies Ayden.

“Okay,” I say, turning and walking down the middle of the mess hall.

As I try to pass by Russ’s table, Russ stands up and gets in my way. I stop, and Ayden and Joey watch from a few feet behind. The Asian woman with a table to herself also seems intrigued.

Pressing a finger against my chest, he spats, “You picked the wrong guy to mess with.”

Not backing off, I maintain my composure and stare unresponsively at him.

Irritated by my passiveness, Russ knocks the food tray out of my hands onto the floor. Ayden takes a step forward, but Joey puts his arm in front of him. Ayden glares at Joey, but Joey shakes his head.

The entire mess hall is watching now as I continue to stare down at Russ. Becoming increasingly irritated, Russ bends down and scoops up some flavorless mashed potatoes with his hands.

“What? Too scared to open your mouth again? Fine!” says Russ, slathering the mashed potatoes all over my face with his hand, his goons laughing.

“Aren’t you hungry?” he asks, stepping on the mashed potatoes and smushing them on the floor.

Kneeling back down, he scoops more up into his hand. Prying my mouth open with his fingers, he shoves the overly mashed potatoes into my mouth.

“Here! Have a taste!” he shouts, fumbling his hand around the inside of my mouth for a bit before taking it out.

Extremely uncomfortable with what he’s doing, my eyes twitch as he puts one hand on top of my head and the other under my chin.

“Don’t forget to chew,” he mocks, channeling a little iris into his hands to forcefully make me chew. “Damn Mateo! You’re an even bigger coward than I thought! There ya go, really make sure to savor the taste!”

Swallowing the mashed potatoes, I continue to stare at Russ. His expression of amusement quickly fades away and fury takes its place.

“What? You want more?” he says, taking his hand off my head, about to kneel down again.

As he retracts it, I grab onto his wrist. Russ tries to break free from my grasp normally at first and then with his iris, but he’s unable to. Staring up at my electric gaze, Russ’s eyes broadened with fear.

Reeling him in close, I ask, “This is just… an accident, right?”

Violently pulling Russ to his right, his midsection is thrown into the table's edge in front of his goons. Falling onto the ground, Russ holds his side.

After taking a quick breath, an enraged Russ gets back on his feet and yells, “Guards! He just assaulted me!”

Scanning the room at the stationed guards, none of the guards move.

Looking back at Russ, I say, “Maybe you should watch where you’re going. You might get hurt.”

Carrying on, I shoulder-check him as I pass by. Infuriated, Russ swings at me, but Ayden grabs onto his wrist before his fist can connect. While Russ glares at an unflinching Ayden, I stare back at Russ, his jittering fist only inches from my face. Waiting until he meets my fierce gaze, I flicker my eyes into a blazing white and blue.

I wait for him to register that this reaction isn’t any kind of warning or threat; it’s to send a message. And as his feet shuffle back an inch, I can tell he understands.

Recognizing this, Ayden lets go of Russ, and the three of us depart toward our table. The entire hall is in shock, and two of Russ’s goons stand up and ask their boss if he is okay.

“Shit… get the hell away from me!” shouts Russ, pushing them away. Plunking down at his table, all the goons quietly stare at their boss, who slams his fork down into his food.

“And clean that mess up, Princess!”