Isaac rested his fingers on his sheathed daggers of Dio. He gave a brave face to The Commander but stared awfully long at the flail revolving in blurs above. Elise sensed uncertainty in him. “You okay? Not confident you could beat him?”

He spoke low. “If I could use the dagger of light’s ability, then of course I could. I don’t want to hurt any of you. Not to mention that a graze of his flail could kill at such speeds.”

“Be careful. If you’re hurt, at least I can heal you.”

“Voodoo Lady won’t be able to prevent death if it is instant.” Isaac faced The Commander anyway. “I’ll do what I must do.”

Sasha got a chill watching her teacher’s back. Panicked, horrified thoughts bounced in her mind. No! Stop! This is bad!

Just like Elise, she sensed an unusual tension in him; one that she knew would lead to his death.

Isaac stepped forward only for The Commander to shake his head. “I said that your strongest will duel me. Not you.”

“What do you mean? I am the strongest of us. Are you trying to get in my head?”

The Commander couldn’t have been more serious. His flail still spinning effortlessly above, he eyed Sasha as the true threat. “My machina Danger Zone has always been the strongest. Even so, right now, it fears the dagger in that girl's hands. Not everything is as it appears. I shall challenge her. Not you.”

As everyone showed shocked reactions, Sasha stood her ground. She didn’t care how thin her chances were. Watching her teacher die was something she refused to do. That fear propelled her forward. She approached with a slight quiver, Major gripped tightly. What was this feeling rattling her? Terror or excitement?

She explained to Isaac and Elise who stared at her as if crazy. “This is a trial. If I can’t step up now, then how will I later? I can’t hide behind you all forever. I won’t.”

Isaac shook his head, his voice hushed to avoid the ears of those watching. “We can still try to make a break for it. You won’t stand a chance here. In years, maybe, but you lack the experience. It’s gotta be me, but I’m… weak too, aren’t I?”

Seems they weren’t the only ones to notice. Isaac recognized it too. He’d lost his courage.

Sasha gritted her teeth. “I’ll fight.”

The guards encircled closer, swords and halberds braced. Crossbowmen gathered in the distance on the walls, aiming their bolts toward them. With every second, a larger army of spectators accumulated.

Her eyes sharpened, Sasha bowed slightly to Isaac and Elise. “Thank you for everything.” She turned to The Commander with her head held high and chin up. “I’ll take you up on your challenge. What is your name?”

“Uriel. And yours?”

“Sasha. I’ve forgotten my last name.”

“Me too. They’re unnecessary.” He sized her up, weary. “Your appearance won’t fool me. The strength of your god ki tells me a different story. I won’t underestimate the wielder of a great machina.”

“I’m flattered. How’d you know?”

“Machina and ki cultivators far enough along can sense such things. In this case, it’s my flail.”

“So, I’m guessing you want Major for yourself then? Like everyone else?”

“I’m not interested in Convergence. When you lose, though, the king will strip you of that dagger without a doubt.”

“If I lose.”

This thrilled Uriel. “My machina’s been going crazy with anxiety. Entertain me. Challenge me.”

Sasha’s face chilled to a haunting emptiness. “I’ll probably disappoint you.”

The surrounding crowd backed up to give an ample arena stage. As Isaac watched crippled by utter dread, eyes unblinking, The Commander’s underlings cheered for their leader. They didn’t have a clue what was at stake. It was all just entertainment. A show to get hammered to.

Sasha and Uriel assumed starting positions on opposite sides of the clearing. They fell into loose combat stances. A random soldier in plate stepped out into the center, punched the wind, and shouted. “Begin!”

As Uriel approached, his flail accelerating overhead, Sasha stood and observed. “Tell me your power and I’ll tell you mine.” She proposed.

“Figuring out the enemy’s mystery is half the battle.”

“I figured. No fun. I’ll ask the roundtable in my head then.”

Ghost in the Shell appeared to be shallow, but so did most surfaces. Sasha realized in Rath Ghul that her true potential was buried in layers of mystery. There was more to it than just the dagger. Just as she acted as a vessel for the phantoms within, the dagger acted as a vessel for their souls to manifest. A foundation. How many shapes could it possibly form?

She had to dig. She had to get creative. The knowledge pooling and flowing downriver from her ancestors was colossal. Sasha stood on the shoulders of giants.

She kicked gravel up in Uriel’s eyes. It would’ve blinded him if he hadn’t shielded them. The disrespectful act agitated him. Uriel glared back at Sasha to find her gone. She’d disappeared completely. A sharp pain as hot as siege oil behind his thigh ripped a yell from his lungs.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sasha plunged the dagger glowing bright blue straight through his armor, carving across with coldness. It ignored the plate as if it weren’t even there. Uriel shoulder bashed her away, swinging the blur of a flail her direction. Sasha tried to dodge, but its speed beat her reflexes.

Out of each other's ranges now, both caught their breath. Sasha suppressed a sudden, meek groan after noticing her offhand. It was a mangled mess.

Uriel was impressed. “Your blade doesn’t attack the body. It cuts the soul. That spiritual aspect bypasses normal armor. Son of a bitch.”

“I learn a new thing about myself every day,” she replied with a groan and gritted teeth.

“If I were a ki cultivator, I could defend against such a thing, but for now you get plain bread.” Uriel stumbled, eyeing his wound. It profusely spouted blood.

His flail clipped her badly. Sasha lost her pinky and ring finger. They laid a few feet away. Her middle finger shattered, swelling up limp. Her hand bled and shook tremendously. Uriel didn’t celebrate the damage he inflicted though. His wound may have been worse.

He recognized the crimson puddle forming under his own leg and remarked. “Looks like you may have severed an artery.”

She gave him pained silence in response. Uriel readied his machina again only to falter. He kneeled. “I have not yet lost.”

“I haven’t either.”

“Let’s call this round one. We’ll dress our wounds and begin again. What glory could any of us claim from a bled out opponent?”

Sasha sighed. “You’re formal for someone out for my life.”

“I bear no hatred for anyone. Take care of that hand.” He called off to the sidelines. “Medic!”

Isaac and Elise rushed to her side, cringing at her hand. He ripped his bandana from his head to wrap tightly around her palm. Elise stopped him though. She held her left hand out. “Wrap mine instead. I’ll switch her wounds to myself with Voodoo Lady.”

He glanced between the two with uncertainty. “You sure about fighting? We can still surrender. I know it was my idea in the first place, but maybe I was being cavalier. We could be in over our heads. I don’t want you to die.”

Sasha rejected his idea. “That’s not an option. The king would take Major from me. Uriel knew I had a great machina. He warned me. If I give up, I’ll die with this damned dagger.”

She dismissed Elise’s proposition next. “And I don’t want your sacrifice. Wrap me up and I’ll be fine. This is nothing.”

Disbelief rattled Elise. “I can’t believe you.”

“This is my trial. My responsibility. These are my consequences—.” Sasha faltered, her face curling in agony. “I earned it all. Long time coming.”

She gazed across the clearing-turned-arena to Uriel who sat without pants as a soldier tightly wrapped his leg. He met her eyes and firmly nodded. Through that exchange, they agreed that there wouldn’t be a third round. Nobody could afford anything more.

Isaac advised Sasha. “Think about his flail’s effective range. The chain is about two feet long and the handle is maybe half that. If you can enter that pocket, he shouldn’t be able to hit you with it cleanly. This is especially true if you can somehow get behind him.”

Sasha nodded, focusing on his words with all her might. He continued. “Your hand got clipped on separation. He shoved you away into his effective range because he feared you staying close. If only you had a long-range attack.”

“Ghost in the Shell led me to a similar idea but thank you. You’ve made it easier to understand.”

“Ghost in the Shell?”

“Major's power. I call upon the souls of his past wielders. I can dig deep to feel their thoughts and memories.” She let out of an exhale of relief as the pain of her mangled hand numbed slightly due to the tight wrapping. The bleeding slowed. “I’ll show you, teacher.”

Though still anxious, Isaac found himself proud of her confidence. He warned her. “You still haven’t seen the genuine threat of his machina either. Is his power as simple as making his flail spin fast? I doubt it. What you’ve witnessed so far is only the beginning. Be careful. Observe.”

“Of course.” Sasha waved over to The Commander to show that she was ready. She left Isaac with this: “I won’t tell you to not worry, but at least give me your faith.”

He straightened his shoulders a bit. “You’ve already surprised me quite a bit. Go get him.”

Sasha waited in the center of the arena for Uriel. She witnessed something that made her question reality. As he neared, his pained face and limp vanished, replaced by a half grin and confident walk. She rubbed her eyes, questioning Major. “Did he always have a beard?”

Her machina let out an enthused “Hm?”

Sasha was right. Uriel undoubtedly changed in their few minutes apart. Not only was his hair longer, but it was also greyer. Did he get more wrinkles too?

“I must be going crazy. He grew a beard, didn’t he? His head’s full of hair too.”

What once was a crew cut grew longer and more wavy.

“Good catch. His control over speed may extend further than just the flail. In this case, he accelerated his own body to heal immediately.”

She sighed. “Fuck.”

Rain poured as dark grey cumulonimbi watched from the skies. The hay bale smoldering next to them died down, leaving smoking embers. She spoke to Major. “I’ve never fought in weather like this before. It doesn’t matter though. The people within my soul have. I see the images. Their experiences are mine.”

That’s right. Embrace them. That’s the spirit you’ll need to find the shape of victory.

“The shape of victory? Has a nice ring to it.”

The same ringside soldier from before appeared to announce the beginning of the second round with bravado. “F-F-F-F-Fight! D-D-D-Duel! Mortal Komba—,” a buddy dragged him away by the ear as another facepalmed nearby.

It only took Uriel a single swing to wind his flail to supernatural speeds. Sasha beckoned. “Ghost in the Shell.”

She passed Major to her offhand and held it out front. As if a switch flipped in the head, her expression loosened up. “Name’s Evelyn. Don’t tell me yours. No point in rememberin’ corpses.”

Major sprouted branchlike limbs curving inwards, a phantomlike bowstring of silk weaving between them.

Isaac’s surprised shout in the distance reached her. “A bow?!”

Sasha pulled a spectral arrow from thin air, nocking its end against the string, and drew. As the arrow sat in tension between the bow’s handle and her shattered middle finger, she focused on Uriel.

With a bowstring pulled for the first time, Sasha realized that manifesting the expertise of an archer wasn’t enough. Her back, trap, and arm muscles already shook. Her years of regular training weren’t enough. She either never developed the proper strength or lost it to malnutrition in Rath Ghul.

If she survived this duel, she would have to take training more seriously. She’d have to get powerful.

Seeing her bow put sheer seriousness onto Uriel’s face. His flail stopped revolving, its chain falling limp by his side. He approached with utmost focus on the arrow pointed at him.

Sasha shot it. The arrow whizzed straight for his chest until it didn’t. Within a blink, he'd moved several feet to the left. Sasha took a step back, uncertainty causing her to grow hesitant. She drew another arrow. “Fast. I couldn’t even see him move.”

He raised his palm up to the sky. “Danger Zone.”

For the next three seconds, thousands of accelerated raindrops beat Sasha down to the ground. They struck with the force of stone. This weather brought out the full potential of The Commander’s ability. Could he truly accelerate anything? The scales of chance tilted in his favor.

Sasha groaned face first on the ground, covering her ringing head with her hands. With a concussion and busted lip, she crawled up to her knees and wiped blood from her mouth. “If you think I’ll let a little rain wash me away, you’re mistaken.”

There was something sinister about Uriel’s wrinkly smile. Something fatalistic. His beard doubled in length along with his long, unkempt hair now reaching below his shoulders. He took to spinning the flail again. Its speed turned rain to mist. His body sped closer and closer to its natural death.

Uriel didn’t care about his future or debts. He lived for this moment and nothing more.

He beckoned her. “Stand up. This battle is once in a lifetime. One to die for. I’m giving you all of me. Give me all of you.”