Crow’s foot tapped as he waited for the signal to enter, anxiety nesting deep. Feeding on what little strength he’d mustered.

“We need to focus.” Astra said, repeating herself for surely the dozenth time as she paced. Her blonde hair was tied back, face a steely mask of determination. In spite of her obvious apprehension, he still saw the excitement burning beneath.

It brought envy to stir within him.

“Are you certain?” Unity answered her, voice almost as lazy as his body. The boy was strewn over the back of a sofa, relaxed as Crow had ever seen him. “I was under the impression it would be best to charge in with our thoughts scattered and minds dull.”

“Oh bugger off.” Astra snapped. “I’m thinking outloud.”

“Could you try and think things that are less stultifyingly stupid?” Unity asked, pitching his voice as if the question were genuine.

Astra ignored him, surprising Crow with her self control. Before Unity could needle her further, the great door to the waiting room opened. The crowd’s faceless roaring rolled in like a flood.

Sieve staff darkened the doorway, looking at Crow and each of his teammates. Astra spoke first.

“Are we starting now?” She asked.

“You are.”

They emerged as one, walking in step more for fear of bearing the crowd’s gaze alone than the illusion of solidarity. It made little difference once they emerged into sight.

“-Team Gemini!” Called out Karma Alabaster, concluding some unheard introduction and waving a hand in their direction as they approached. Crow almost moved too far, stumbling just before he exceeded the space they’d been told to wait at as Astra seized him back by the hand. His cheeks burned.

“I’m sure all of you recognise Unity Eden, but believe me when I say the Tempora twins aren’t to be dismissed either. Grouped into a trio, they make a formidable team.”

Crow barely listened as Alabaster spoke, his eyes drifting to the tunnel opposite them. Too dark to peer into, even against the cloudy sky. He fancied he could hear something from within, though knew his surroundings were too loud by half for it to be true.

Nothing but fear casting its illusion upon him.

“And now to see their enemy. Having made a strong showing in the last task and secured third place, allow me to introduced Team Tenzo!”

Crow watched as three mystics stepped out from the far tunnel, studying them as quickly as he could. Eager for whatever edge a few moments of observation might bring.

He gleaned little information, save the trio’s appearances. Two boys and a girl- an uncommon combination of mystics, and one mirrored in his own team.

Of the men, one was short and the other tall. Both black of hair, yet the bigger of them had skin darker even than Balogun’s. Neither betrayed any emotion at all as they walked, merely a deep severity that left hairs standing on end across Crow’s nape.

Intimidating a sight though they made, it was the girl he found his eyes drawn to. She stood taller than either of them, shoulders packed with muscle enough to press visibly against the skin where it showed. There was an unspeakable familiarity about the woman, and it took Crow only a glance at her gunpowder-black eyes to realise what.

“Unity.” He whispered, not daring to fully look to the right at his teammate. “It’s her. That girl from the tavern.”

“Amelia.” Answered the boy. “Yes Crow, I’d noticed. You did remember she was a contestant, didn’t you?”

The way his voice shook made Crow certain there was something the boy knew that he didn’t, something that put a touch of fear in him. Karma Alabaster’s voice stifled his chance to press for an answer.

“Tenzo himself will not be taking part in this, but his teammates have made enough of an impact in earlier tasks and stages that I’m sure you don’t need me to introduce them.”

“She doesn’t.” Murmured Astra from Crow’s left, speaking over the Princess. “That Amelia girl is a monster of her own right, from what I’ve heard. Beat a lusomorph to death in the second stage. A lusomorph, on her own. She’s fucking fifteen.”

Crow wasn’t sure what worried him more between the weight of Amelia’s accomplishment and the heat of his sister’s excitement. He’d heard that madness in her voice many times, and never before a wise decision.

He looked back at the girl, locked his eyes of grass on the oil of hers. So bottomless and captivating were they, it almost escaped his notice when the girl continued walking towards him. Smile ever present on her face.

“Hello Crow.” She said, face aglow.

Crow didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. His mouth hung agape, eyes flickering between Amelia and Alabaster- searching for some hint that an exception had been made for the girl’s behaviour. That he’d somehow missed a ruling to permit her speech.

“Contestants are to remain ten paces apart.” Alabaster called out, an alien touch to her otherwise chirpy voice. Irritation. It sounded strange on her tongue.

Stranger still was the sight of Amelia’s smile remaining unmoved, even as Alabaster demanded her attention. Somehow it seemed more daring to Crow than any gambit made in the previous tasks’ conflict.

“Hello.” He answered at last, mouthing more than voicing the words for fear of drawing the Princess’ wrath.

“I wasn’t expecting you to make it this far.” The girl said, smiling with ever more warmth and width. “But I’m glad that you did.”

“Amelia.” Called out Alabaster, snapping the girl’s head around finally and giving her pause. Looking at the woman’s face, Crow didn’t wonder why.

“Oh.” She said, faltering. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” The woman answered, her tone sounding measured for a simpleton’s ear. “Just get back into position please.”

Amelia did so, and Alabaster quickly turned back to the crowd- already restless at the delay.

“I apologise, but we’ll have to hurry into the rules. I fear we’ve little time remaining.”

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As swiftly as she’d dealt with Amelia, the Taik went over the task’s rules faster still. Refreshing all in only minutes and instilling a fresh worry in Crow.

“Are both teams ready?” She asked, the moment after her explanation.

Crow couldn’t have spoken even if he’d wanted to, simply nodded in silence alongside Astra and Unity. He saw a similar trepidation in Team Tenzo’s response. After Gem’s performance, it felt their task was cursed.

Only Amelia seemed unfazed. Amelia, who smiled as though she hadn’t a care in the world. In that moment, Crow envied the girl.

“Alright. Prepare yourselves for transportation, prepare yourselves doubly for combat. And without further ado, let’s begin!” Cried the Princess.

Crow felt the swell of magic around him like waves foaming about a ship, bracing himself for its hold and silently praying that the Goddess would keep him from vomiting.

Then the world danced and bled to every colour he knew as his feet left the ground.

For moments he was adrift, all sights around him hazy blotches in his unfocused eyes. Seconds later he felt his boots fall upon hard ground once more, stumbling to retain his footing and shaking his head free of its distortions. Crow wasted no time in studying his new surroundings.

His skin met a cold so intense it was almost physical, chilling at first touch before letting its frigidity seep ever deeper. Crow’s shiver came before realisation, eyes left watering as he blinked and flinched at the striking of icy rain against his face.

The stage’s sky wept intensely as any three of Selsis’ storms, clouds grey as cast iron and rippling like a wind-lashed lake. Hurling daggers of water down upon him as if the Goddess Herself wished to see him drown.

It took only moments before Crow’s clothing held half again its weight in water, leaving the fabric to sag uncomfortably beneath him. He ignored the distraction for what it was, focused instead on peering through the veil of rain in search of his team.

The elements made a challenge of it; howling winds dragging beads of water to swirl and churn as they fell, like a blizzard melted mid-air. He barely glimpsed Astra’s wheat-gold hair through the shroud, barely heard his own voice pierce the gale.

“-trick.” Came her answer, muffled and dim.

He heard her call back, waving arms just catching his eye. Crow frowned as he stared, clueless to her words. Then she repeated them, and he caught barely enough to piece things together.

Magic. Use my magic.

It was difficult to focus enough even for that, but Crow called on Cutaris and Utalis after only a few seconds of delay. The arcane force flooded him like a second life, bringing new warmth to his body and gifting his extremities the feeling of touch once more.

As if to mirror the flowing blood, light flooded Crow’s eyes. No longer blinking and watering in the rain and wind. No longer shying away and halving their own clarity. His flesh was too sturdy for the elements to even irritate.

He saw Astra clearly, a dozen paces from him. Unity too, though he blended with the grim light more easily by far and stood half again further away

“Eyes front.” His sister said, not even glancing towards him as he reached her at a jog. Unity neared from behind, face still curled from the wind even as the magic oozed from his pores. Physicality two steps below the rest, as always.

Astra’s gaze led Crow’s to the enemy. Stood twenty paces from them and approaching at a walk.

“The dark skinned boy is Faroah.” She said, barely making herself audible over the wind. “The lighter one is Bim. Both are powerful, but it’s Amelia we need to really watch out for…”

He listened as she spoke, nodding and soaking up her plan just as he did the rain. Never taking his eyes from the enemy. Astra’s words were but an echo of what had been decided the day before, yet they gave something to occupy his thoughts.

Seeing the Kanan boy’s flesh of pitch seemed almost invisible against the dark skies behind him, Crow needed it.

“We’re wasting time.” Unity snapped, drawing his hands up and flooding them with magic. “We should be on the lookout for- shit!”

The alarm in his voice snapped Crow’s head around, eyes following Unity’s and coming to rest upon a glinting gold sphere as it hovered midway between their team and the enemy. He moved without thinking, taking off for it at a sprint.

He didn’t miss Faroah mirror the charge.

Astra moved an instant later than Crow, forcing herself to stare Amelia in the eye as she barrelled forwards, closing the remaining space between them in seconds. The girl didn’t seem at all surprised by her attack, nor even did the severity of battle make itself visible on her face.

Her smile was still all it held. Wide and easy, effortless and worriless.

A flurry of blows preceded Astra as she reached the black-eyed mystic, punches thrown lightly and quickly. Testing attacks to feel the limits of her enemy’s reflexes and reveal the biases of her defence.

It impressed.

Time and time again Astra’s strikes were swatted aside, parries showing the difference in strength clearly as they threatened to steal her balance. High, middle, low. From one side or another, the girl didn’t fail to turn away even one of her attacks.

As she’d expected. One didn’t divert magic enough to bludgeon a lusomorph without ensuring that strength held a modicum of skill behind it.

Amelia shattered Astra’s calm by retaliating, her own hand darting out like a lance thrust. Astra guarded with an elbow, then cursed as she felt herself driven back, wet stone letting her slide atop it with the blow’s power.

Strong. Astra gasped, the word rebounding against the insides of her skull like a ricocheting bullet. Stronger than Crow.

Fear took root in her heart, but she shook it free before the parastic emotion could worm any deeper. It was Amelia’s turn to attack, and the girl wasted no time.

Unity felt the wind strengthen at his side as he charged. Took only two more paces before the gale’s strength grew enough to pluck him from the ground, sending him careening through the air, head over heels and landing hard against a jutting rock.

It was fortune’s gift that whatever stone had gone to forging their stage was fragile, splitting long before his magically strengthened skull and leaving him assailed by no more than a headache. His luck stretched no further than that.

Winds whipped up ahead, following the boy’s twirling staff, and Unity leapt to one side just in time to avoid the hail of pebbles dragged like arrows in their wake. Their conjuring had left the pale bastard off balance, and Unity hurried to exploit the opening. He was just four yards from his enemy when another aerial lash struck him from the side.

The world spun as Unity flew, then stone came to meet him from below. He must have slid a dozen paces before finally stopping, scraping his skin raw.

He forced himself to stand, glaring as the boy approached with leisurely calm. Staff clutched tight in one hand, the other clenched in a fist so dense it might have held a demon.

There was hatred in Bim’s eyes, belied by his false steadiness and visible even through the wind and rain. More hatred than Unity had time for.

More hatred than even he was used to seeing.

Crow ran like he’d never run before, racing the wind at his back and fighting the rain in his eyes. All in pursuit of the most fiendishly agile toy he’d seen in his life.

Wide across as a head, round as a cannonball and made from a gold so polished it seemed visible anywhere in the endless field of dark skies and darker stone. An easy target to see.

Indeed, too easy. Easy enough that it tantalised Crow with its speed, seeming ever ahead of him. Always faster by a hair, always beyond reach by a fathom. Always leaving him certain he could catch it, if only his legs moved a shade quicker.

The other boy, Faroah, surely felt the same certainty, for he raced Crow with the drive of one glimpsing a butcher on his tail. Head down, arms tucked in. Streamlined as he could be to cut through the air ahead.

Crow was faster nonetheless, but his advantage in potency gave only the slightest in velocity.

He cursed in surprise as the boy changed course, arcing towards Crow no slower than he’d rushed the fleeing sphere. There was only an instant to brace himself before a cliff of shoulder collided with him, taking Crow off his feet and tossing him backwards.

The ground caught him, harsh and jagged as he rolled along it. Barely scrambling to his feet, Crow cursed again at the sight of his enemy taking off- leaving him a half dozen yards behind.

Urgency powered his muscles, yet it was a poor fuel. Inches closed between him and the Kanan where Crow needed feet. Cursing in silence for fear of wasting more precious breath, he could only run.

Run and hope his teammates fared better than him.