The three fighters sat leaned against the stadium wall in silence. Rep and Zalan waited for Slauson to announce why he came to sit with them. Slauson waited for them to ask. The quiet stretched. Zalan considered whether he wanted to open the conversation by saying sorry, but couldn’t bring himself to say it so soon after Slauson appeared. He was hoping to bring himself up to the task as he made his way to the medical tent. This was too sudden.

“Is it true you cheated in our match?” Rep asked, leaning forward to look at Slauson as he spoke. He didn’t sound like he was accusing Slauson of anything, he just wanted to corroborate some casual information.

Slauson watched Rep for a few seconds, scanning him for intentions. Then, he looked side to side and measured who could hear him. No one except for Zalan and Rep. His words would be drowned out by the audience conversing above them.

“It is true. I was using my Elemental Ice before the matches began. During the bow I did during the required show of respect,” Slauson admitted. He sounded uncomfortable. Ashamed, even.

“Huh,” Rep acknowledged. “You seem remorseful for a cheater. Interesting to see.” Zalan found it incredible that Rep didn’t follow up with an insult or even cast a hint of shame. Like he was nothing more than amused to know the truth.

Slauson lay his head back against the stadium and breathed in deeply. The ice was broken between them. He proceeded with his originally intended question.

“Is it true? What you said about my father?” Slauson asked.

Zalan sighed, slouching in discomfort.

“He didn’t say any of those things about you,” Zalan said apologetically.

“No, no,” Slauson brushed his words aside. “Is my father dead?”

Zalan swallowed hard.

“Yeah. We saw his body in the Castle of Docrun,” Zalan said.

“I assumed you were telling the truth. He did not tell anyone other than myself that he was going to the castle. I was trying to understand how else you would have known,” Slauson said. His eyes glistened with moisture and he had a faraway look.

“I’m sorry,” Zalan finally said. “I should never have told you the way I did. It wasn’t right. That’s no way to share the news.”

His apology didn’t feel as sincere as he thought it should be. He thought the apology would make him feel better about everything, but he felt the same. Slauson didn’t seem to notice the added discomfort on Zalan’s face. He was focused on his own thoughts.

“Ah. That. I suppose I can accept your apology,” Slauson said, sounding somewhat distracted.

“You can?” Zalan asked, both confused and hopeful.

“Yes. I already knew. Deep in my heart, I knew. He was gone for far too long. But your words made it clear. There is nowhere to hide when you are at the mercy of another fighter. And I thought you were frozen. The fact you were able to speak seemed like God, Himself, wanted me to realize the truth. That father is… I just wish we had more time to…” Slauson sighed with mixed emotions.

Zalan’s heart dropped at his words. He related with Slauson more than he thought he would. They shared regrets about time spent with their parents. Or time not spent.

“Was it true that he left a letter?” Slauson asked.

“Yeah.”

“It mentioned me?”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember exactly what it said,” Zalan said.

“I recall,” Rep said, leaning forward. “He spoke of going to the castle to seek its treasures. He was stuck in a Chaos Chamber and left behind all manner of ways he tried to escape, in order to assist anyone in the future who came across the same trap. He ended it with a note to his son. He said he loves you and…” Rep stopped abruptly.

“Continue,” Slauson said immediately.

“He said… not to cheat others like he did. Or else you may find yourself facing the same fate of paying off debts.”

Slauson scoffed, a tear running down his cheek.

“That man. He knew me so well,” Slauson chuckled, but there was no amusement in the laugh. He was choking back sobs.

“That letter may have saved our lives,” Rep said.

“Really?” Slauson asked desperately, hoping to hear more about his father.

“The letter relayed to us all of the manner in which he tried to escape the Artifact-sealed chamber. Without his notes, we may have lost our minds. His direction helped us get out before we were too weak to escape,” Rep explained, making Slauson’s father sound heroic.

More tears flowed from Slauson’s face. Zalan watched him express his grief. Slauson was so stone-faced before. But now he was emoting so freely. Something had changed after the battle. Maybe losing had changed him somehow. The thought brought a question to Zalan’s mind that he couldn’t ignore. He waited for Slauson to settle down enough to breathe normally, then asked his question.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Slauson, why did you enter the tournament?” Zalan asked.

“I told you before. The Reversal Stone,” Slauson said.

“The prize Artifact?” Rep asked.

“What does it do?” Zalan asked, totally having forgotten in the course of the tournament.

“It turns back time on a single thing,” Rep replied.

Zalan’s eyes went wide. He definitely should have remembered that. It was the most powerful Artifact he’d heard of so far.

“What did you intend to use it for?” Rep asked Slauson.

“I was going to find my father. And in the case he had already passed, I was going to use it on him,” Slauson said.

“Oh…” Rep said, his face growing mortified. He hesitated, wondering if he should tell Slauson what he knew. He bit his lip for a moment, then pressed forward. “But, Slauson… The Reversal Stone… It does not turn back time very far. No more than a handful of minutes, if that.”

Slauson nodded, tears once again flooding his eyes.

“I know. But I thought maybe I could catch him just before he died. Or maybe I could enhance it with another Artifact! I was going to try everything. Just to see him one last time.”

Rep and Zalan remained quiet for a minute as Slauson went through his feelings of pain. Zalan watched closely, trying to study how a normal person goes through grief. Tears running down his face were so foreign to him. His eyes had been dry for so long. He wondered what it would finally take to have the same reaction. His entire world was out of reach. He’d lost access to his mom and everyone else in his family. But he felt nothing. He shuddered, wondering what was wrong with him.

“I understand it now,” Rep said as the epiphany struck. “You cheated in order to bring your father back. You were willing to do anything to win the Artifact.”

Slauson bowed his head in shame. Rep was exactly right. Zalan couldn’t believe it. This one conversation with Slauson had altered his entire view of him.

“That’s… that’s why you sabotaged the other fighters before they could enter the tournament. You wanted to make it even easier to win. Get the Artifact faster. You almost killed someone for your dad,” Zalan said, thinking that he might do the same if it was his mother.

“I did not intend to kill anyone! I only wished to incapacitate them long enough to win the tournament. Ironically, I made the tournament more difficult on myself. There were fewer Level 10 and Under entrants than usual this year. If I had let it be, I would have fought fewer people and never come in battle with Zalan. But because of my meddling, I hurt others for no good reason,” Slauson lamented. “I was going to give them all the prize money as an apology.”

Zalan started seeing flashes of Slauson earlier in the tournament. He had been aloof and incredibly stoic, but now Zalan understood why. He was keeping himself apart from the fighters so he wouldn’t feel as bad when he cheated and took their dreams from them. It wasn’t that he was looking down on anyone, he was just trying not to make friends. He was cold and harsh to keep others away. Deliberately trying to be unapproachable. Even his black and purple tunic was a depressing sight to avert people’s gazes. He knew what he was doing was wrong from the beginning, but tried to reduce the guilt he felt from doing it. The shame of having to face anyone he was cheating was too much for him, so he tried to otherize everyone.

Even with all those feelings, he didn’t stop the plan from being executed. Anything to bring back his father. Zalan never knew his own father, he died too soon. And his mother… he didn’t want to think about it.

“Did you bury my father’s body?” Slauson asked hopefully.

“We did not. We escaped the Chaos Chamber as soon as we saw an opening, leaving everything behind,” Rep explained.

“Where is this Chaos Chamber?” Slauson asked.

“On the second floor of the castle. Be careful. It is dangerous. It can be deactivated by twisting the Artifact hanging from the ceiling,” Rep replied.

“Hmm. Thank you,” Slauson acknowledged, leaning his head back against the stadium wall.

Zalan realized that Slauson was planning to collect his father’s body and bury it himself.

“You shouldn’t go alone,” Zalan added helpfully. “There’s Melders and Razortongues in the castle. A huge nest of Razortongues before the Chaos Chamber.”

“Good to know,” Slauson nodded.

Umdarr was finally calling the last two semifinalists onto the stage. The three injured fighters were at a poor sitting angle and could hardly see the announcer. They would definitely miss the majority of the fight.

“You should move up to the stands to see your competition,” Slauson said to Zalan.

“Would if I could,” Zalan patted his thighs lightly. “I don’t think I can stand up, yet.”

“At least you can move your arms,” Slauson looked at the black, charred remains of his limbs. “Were you always able to summon lightning from the sky?”

“Not before our fight,” Zalan admitted.

“Convenient,” Slauson said suspiciously.

“Oh come on. Even if I was hiding it, you were literally cheating,” Zalan said.

Slauson scoffed through his nose. Zalan found it strange how differently he felt about Slauson. They weren’t really friends, but they certainly weren’t enemies anymore. He didn’t have any negative feelings toward him anymore. Slauson had been so vulnerable after he had been exposed as a cheater. At the most, they were acquaintances. Bordering on friendly rivals.

“Are you going to tell Umdarr that you cheated?” Zalan asked.

“Not a chance,” Slauson shook his head. “I do not believe I would leave with my life. If those I injured found it in their hearts to forgive me, the audience would still have me quartered.”

The audience roared as the next battle began. Their cheers were bombastic. Almost ravenous. From what Zalan could hear, Slauson wasn’t exaggerating. To mess with their beloved tournament would be an affront to their lives. No objectionable act could go unpunished by the mob.

“Oh,” Zalan said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the information he had.

Before knowing, he was half-considering telling people in the medical tent if Slauson wasn’t going to do it. But he didn’t want to see Slauson killed over his actions. His motivations were too understandable to Zalan. If he thought there was even the slightest chance that someone’s life could be brought back, he would probably act similarly. He could think of instances in this world and his own world where he could be in Slauson’s shoes.

“Who do you think will win the next bout? Dimak is gravely injured and Trentor is only Level 3,” Rep asked. “I honestly believe it could go either way.”

“Who’s Dimak, again?” Zalan asked, rubbing his forehead.

“Is he joking?” Slauson asked Rep.

The conversation lulled as the three looked up as they saw someone they recognized approaching them from the stands. Slauson tried to sit up a little straighter at his approach and the other two weren’t sure how to feel.

Nold was approaching them. Smiling widely.