The next day, all Rieren wanted to do was reach Starloper again to talk about his revelation. All this while, the biggest missing piece in the little mystery was which exact Ascendant realm cultivator present at the Trials of Ascendance would be attempting to climb to the Fated realm. Now, she knew who.

Ideally, Rieren would have then set out to stop whoever it was. The Forborne Emperor was wreaking havoc upon the gods. Assisting him by preventing the Banishedborn from interfering in the same manner would only be natural.

Except, Starloper was playing a more dangerous game. Luring in the Banishedborn with faux success with the ascension of a new Banishedborn so that he could take them all out together.

It made Rieren a tiny bit anxious, made it a little difficult to grasp how exactly Starloper planned to execute his plan.

He was just one Banishedborn, after all. A former one at that. Powerful though he was, one of strongest among his former brethren, he couldn’t take several of them on by himself. So what exactly was his plan?

Thoughts like those kept circulating through Rieren’s head in a ceaseless storm. Very distracting, because she was supposed to be preparing for her next match. Rykion had been cleared to participate, which meant the match officials had finally announced the upcoming battles.

“Rieren Vallorne, the monstrous convert,” the commentator said at a slightly impatient pace. “Will be facing our reinvigorated Ascendant, Rykion Karlosyne, the Light Bearer!”

Which left only one other pairing…

“And Ceraline Selvier will take on the heir to the Elderlands’ throne, Kalvia Zhouven!”

There it was. Despite the lack of sensations, a slow shiver coursed down Rieren’s spine. So, she was facing off against Rykion. Not unexpected. Twisting the emotional resonance of matters, considering that she was the reason he was even participating, while also making sure the strongest remaining contender would get a chance to take out the sole remaining monster.

That meant that she had to focus her thoughts on preparing for her upcoming bout. Rykion would be the strongest foe she had faced so far. In fact, going by their last battle in the first round, she hadn’t matched up to his ultimate strength at all. He’d been holding back, as he had displayed a far greater extent of his ferocity against the Stifling Nebula.

But the dead monster had given Rieren a peek at what she would be facing down the line. A blessing in disguise.

She would almost have felt a flicker of gratitude towards the monster if it hadn’t been such an idiot.

Her preparations consisted of practicing with her Domain to gain even greater control over it and maintain strong combat proficiency. The former just needed endless practice. It was her sparring partners who helped with the latter.

The Darkstalker was happy to assist with a furious fray, though it was still limited in what it could perform due to the injuries it had sustained. Some of the other monsters presented various challenges too. Most importantly, it was Amalyse who really helped Rieren, both via sparring with her and keeping her mentality afloat with information and encouragement.

“Rollo told me Rykion has been focusing on overcoming his injuries,” Amalyse said. “Probably to make sure they don’t impact his fighting too much.”

Rieren deflected aside the sword blow Amalyse had hammered down, then pushed back her opponent. “You talked with Rollo just to get some information for me?”

Amalyse flushed. She lost her concentration, allowing Rieren to score several hits and send her staggering back. “Just making use of connections.”

“Of course.”

Rieren did her best not to tease her friend. If Amalyse wanted Rollo’s company for more than just practical information, who was she to say no. Well, perhaps she would have counselled Amalyse to be more cautious. But Rollo had changed. They all had.

More importantly, the information made sense. Rykion had suffered devastating wounds in his last battle. Like his brother, he now no longer possessed a leg. There had been other injuries, though most of those had likely been taken care of by the healers. But a missing leg was going to peg him a step back. Literally.

When the day of the match came, Rieren felt as prepared as she could have. She had trained, she had reviewed all she knew. She was ready.

What she wasn’t ready for was Rykion himself.

The arena was strangely silent when she entered it, leaving Batcat behind in the antechamber again. Not much noise came down from the crowd. They weren’t throwing down as many insults as they used to, weren’t wishing her imminent destruction with zealous fervour. Could it have been because they knew she had healed up Rykion?

Or maybe they were just waiting until Rykion showed up.

Whatever the case, Rieren appreciated not having any distractions. The less random noise she had to deal with, the more she could focus. Against someone like Rykion, she was certainly going to need it.

He came in from the other end of the arena. Rieren had expected some sort of stand-in replacement for his leg, something similar to the mechanical one Rollo now used.

But where his flesh ended on, his leg continued down as a construct of pure light. Rieren smiled. Ah, fair enough. This was an Ascendant she was facing. Of course he would replace a missing limb with a simulacra created from his chosen Aspect.

As expected, the crowd became more active at his appearance. They sung his name, cheered his entrance, wished him a quick, decisive victory against his opponent. They wanted their remaining champion to crown himself the victor. Rykion had to win.

He didn’t look like he was hearing them though. His eyes were fixed entirely on Rieren. She wasn’t sure what she had expected his expression to be, but the one he held was…strange.

It was as though Rykion himself wasn’t certain what expression he ought to be displaying so was carefully holding on to a mask that showed nothing at all. No gloating, no ferocity, no haughtiness. Just someone coming in with a purpose Rieren couldn’t truly fathom.

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Skarlen Folster, the alter-ego that Starloper had adopted to officiate matches, went over the rules with both combatants. As usual. He gave no indication that he knew Rieren at all.

So, Rieren ignored him too. Much as a part of her wanted to shake him to make him reveal the exact specifics of his plan, now wasn’t the time. At the moment, it was Rykion who claimed her attention. For, as soon as the match official had finished dictating the rules and raised his hand, Rykion mimicked him to hold his arm up high as well.

His voice echoed over the arena as he said, “I, Rykion Karlosyne, the first scion of the Karlosyne clan, hereby forfeit this match.”

The whole arena went insane at that. Rieren ignored the audience’s uproar, ignored the stunned silence from the commentator and the dignitaries’ stand, ignored Starloper staring between them with a troubled look on his face.

“Are you certain?” she asked.

Rykion looked like she was forcing him to swallow gravel. “I have been less certain of other things in my life.”

“That is certainly a roundabout way of saying perhaps.”

Skarlen Folster’s little frown made him look like he suspected some sort of foul play at work. Maybe Rieren had bribed Rykion or something. Starloper ought to know better, of course, but maybe he was plying the part of a match official a little too well. Always overcommitting, Starloper.

“Did you truly say you forfeit the match, Rykion Karlosyne?” Skarlen asked.

Rykion faced the match official. Now, his expression turned resolute. “I did.”

“But you must continue the match,” Skarlen said. “That is part of the tournament’s rules. Every participant must give their utmost in every section of the tournament they qualify for.”

“Are you going to make a weak, crippled man fight to the bitter end for the entertainment of all the fools we have around here? Must I suffer more grave injuries before you and your tournament are satisfied?”

Just to drive home his point, Rykion’s leg partially disappeared. All the light creating his missing limb faded to translucence, and he stumbled. He recovered before either Rieren or the match official could get to him, of course. His leg of light turned back to normal.

But that was enough to cow Skarlen Folster for now. He didn’t argue against Rykion further.

Still, Rieren frowned at him. That wasn’t an act. Starloper was genuinely intent on making the match go on, if at all possible. He just hadn’t found the right stipulation with which to do so. But why was he so eager for it? If only Rieren hadn’t been in the middle of a public arena. She could have shaken some answers free from Starloper.

The commentator was asking the same thing to Rykion that Skarlen had. But the Karlosyne heir was apparently fed up with being questioned.

He raised his hand again, and this time, a sizzling spear of light materialized, gleaming so brightly that it was hard to even look at Rykion. “Enough!”

Everyone went quiet. That command had been filled with power, the voice of someone not to be trifled with.

“You’ve questioned me enough,” Rykion shouted. His voice barged against everyone like waves from an angry ocean. This close, Rieren was nearly physically rebuffed. The powers of an Ascendant came in many ways. “I made myself clear from the very beginning. I did not stutter, you did not hear me wrong—I. Forfeit. This. Match.”

“That is an incredible turn of events,” the commentator said. “Please, Lord Karlosyne, grant us the honour of learning what brought you to such a decision.”

Rykion drew in a heavy breath. “I do not make this decision lightly. Over the last few days, while I struggled against the injuries I had suffered in my last appearance at this very arena, not knowing if I would even live to the see the next day, I thought long and hard about all that I have been through. About everything I have experienced here, sought here.

“I have decided it is not worth what it asks of me. I am prepared to sacrifice my time and my energy and even my wellbeing for victory. For a chance to stake my name in the history of the Elderlands. But what I detest is the sacrifice of my beliefs required, that I need to take part in a battle against my own conscience to win. So, I forfeit. I will have no part in this.”

The crowd was silent. No one made a sound, not even the commentator replying to Rykion’s little speech. Because, like Rieren herself, they all felt that something was still missing from everything he had said.

“Rieren Vallorne,” Rykion finally said. “Monster or not, she took a brazen step to enter enemy territory simply because she knew of a way to assist me. To rid me of the corruption that she herself has been afflicted with and cannot rid herself of. To help a suffering soul even if it was that of an enemy.”

Well now, Rieren wasn’t so certain about the enemy part. She had been willing to assist Rykion as much to ascertain whether she could find a way to cure herself of monstrous as to actually help a fellow soul afflicted with the same condition.

Now, if this had been someone like Essalina, things would likely have been quite different.

“If it had not been for Rieren Vallorne,” Rykion went on. “I would not be standing here, taking part in this bout. That the administration would set a match such as this is almost a grave insult. If there is a single person who deserves to win the Trials of Ascendance, then it must be Vallorne.”

Rykion finally let go of his spear. It fizzled to nothing. His last words were directed at Rieren only, spoken in a tone that was quiet and normal “Win the trials for me, Vallorne.”

Then he turned and walked away, an arena full of silence trailing in his wake.

***

“I can’t believe what I saw,” Amalyse said, shaking her head. “He gave up. He actually gave up. Who’d have thought someone like Rykion Karlosyne had a shred of decency in him?”

Rieren had a bit of a hard time believing it too, a disbelief that broke its head past her habitual ennui. “I suppose near-death experiences do change a lot of people’s outlooks.”

“Imagine that… it’s going to be you fighting against Kalvia, isn’t it?”

Rieren felt a smile pop up on her face. “You have already picked your winner for the next bout.”

“Of course.”

Rieren wasn’t so certain. Kalvia had been tearing through the tournament with surprising adeptness, displaying greater proficiency with her powers as the Trials wore on. She had already beaten someone stronger than her—Ledorne—to advance to the next round. While Ceraline clearly held many advantages, it wasn’t impossible for Kalvia to secure a victory.

But still. Rieren was well aware just how dangerous Ceraline truly was, and she wasn’t certain Kalvia could get past that. Someone who had beaten Essalina wasn’t going to be an easy opponent by any means.

Rieren frowned. Unless… well, she would witness if her suspicions turned out to be correct soon enough.

Now that her bout was over and the next bout would be a few days later, Rieren wanted to focus on the fact that she had healed Rykion. Her attempt to cure someone of monstrous corruption had worked. She had prevented the Abyss-Aspected Essence from taking proper root within Rykion’s soul, pulling it all out to free him from its influence.

Could she do the same to herself? All Rieren saw were too many reasons she couldn’t.

For one, the corruption had already taken a hold of her soul. She had been transformed, turning from a regular human cultivator into a strange hybrid Arisen.

For another, with Rykion, she had pulled all the blockage in his meridian within herself. That reopening of his meridians was what had allowed his regular Essence to circulate properly within his spiritual channels, thus allowing his soul to recuperate back to full health.

Rieren had no one she could transfer all the blockage within her meridians to. Plus, she couldn’t just throw it out to thin air. It wasn’t Essence that could be expended and pushed out. No, whatever temporal strangeness that blocked her meridians only existed within meridians and elixir fields. Within the souls of living creatures.

Hmm. A living creature she could push it off too…

For a moment, she considered going back to the past. There had been that instance where Batcat had taken her as a physical being to one of her memories, where she had obtained a second elixir field to superimpose over her own and make it grow exponentially larger. Could she perhaps intrude on a past version of herself and give past Rieren the corruption?

Cruel as that was, she didn’t have a better idea just yet. She wasn’t uncertain if it would actually work. Why would a past version of herself let some random monster come in and allow corruption to be fed into her meridians?

But maybe she wouldn’t have to go to such drastic—and questionable—measures. Her mind latched onto one person she could ask. Someone who might be able to help.

Elder Olg.