Albert Fowler stepped out of the hover car with a weary step. Having been busy preparing for the arrival of the governor of the realm, his fatigue was understandable. The cool breeze that greeted his steps did, however, do a decent job of counteracting the fuzziness in his head.

The night accentuated the immensity of the training facility ahead of him. The landing platform he was on offered a panoramic view of the various layers upon which the sprawling compound rested.

A man in a white uniform and a white cap, came running down the ramp that led up to the main building. As he approached, he removed his cap, and bowed reverently.

"Warden Fowler."

"Good evening, Nagenda."

"We've been expecting your arrival warden." Nagenda tucked his cap under his arm as he spoke. A look of worry flashed across his face. "And to be honest warden, it comes as a great relief."

Albert eyed the other man with curiosity.

"What has gotten you all worked up?"

Nagenda sighed before replying.

"The sub-warden, Sir..."

Albert felt his expression drop. "What has that old fart done this time?"

"He’s been requesting a meeting with you since this morning, sir. And... and he wants to demote most of the inmates from the lower floors, back down to floor one."

Albert stared at the other man blankly.

"What the hell is he thinking?"

Nagenda held out an arm. "I’ll inform you on all that’s happened while you were away, warden. First though, let me escort you to your office."

Albert nodded in agreement.

The route up to his office led them through the main building. They walked by halls with floors made of well polished rock. Eventually, they reached the central elevator, and alighted at the topmost floor of the building. Albert had been listening to the reports that Nagenda was giving him as they walked.

"Wait." He stopped in his tracks. "So despite the fact that he faced over three hundred inmates in this gauntlet, Owen Walters still managed to win?"

"But that’s the thing warden. The last fight of the gauntlet ended in a forfeit. The lower floor overseers are arguing that Owen would have lost that match had his adversary not forfeited it."

Albert clicked his tongue with annoyance and resumed walking. "Why would Mayers even allow the gauntlet to happen? What was he thinking?"

A short distance away from the elevator was Albert's personal office. Nagenda informed Albert that the sub-warden and a few of the overseers had arrived some time ago and were waiting in the office.

A guard in white armour was stood outside the doors to Albert's office. He gave a quick salute and pressed a button on the control panel on the wall beside him. The wooden doors opened inwards and Albert stepped in with Nagenda following behind him.

The people that were in the room all came to their feet. Albert recognized the familiar faces of the five lower floor overseers and as well as Sub-warden Mayers at the centre of them. Albert acknowledged each person as he moved towards his desk at the far side of the room.

"You wanted to see me Mayers?"

The room erupted into a flurry of shouts.

"There's a problem warden."

"Warden Fowler, the sub-warden—"

Mayers spoke the loudest and drowned out everyone else.

"I am here to honour the agreement made with Owen Walters. He has won the gauntlet and just like he requested, we are to move every inmate that has entered the gauntlet down to the first."

Albert had pulled out his chair to sit, but stopped midway when Mayers made his declaration. He tightened the grip on the chair's headrest.

"Mayers, the gall of you to come up in here and issue commands of any kind makes my skin crawl." Albert maintained an affable tone as he spoke. There was a quiet rage emanating from his voice. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

His words provoked an angry response from Mayers.

"I’m the sub-warden! Don't you—"

"Yes, you’re only the sub-warden. Need I also remind you that my rank puts me above you? I don’t know why the hell you've decided to completely ignore how things work around here and green lit the damn gauntlet in the first place."

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Mayers' face had turned a slight shade of red. The vein on his temple was noticeably throbbing. A green aura had started emanating from him.

"Why you impertinent, uncouth, inscrutable damn youngster…"

Albert's own essence flowed throughout his body and a purple aura manifested around him. As the two powerful men held an intense death stare, the essences from both parties began to collide. The energies twisted and swirled, locked in a battle for dominance.

Nagenda quickly moved up in front of them with both arms spread out between the two.

"Wait a minute, sirs!"

The men, although infuriated, were experienced enough to bring themselves to a quick stop. Their essences retracted into their bodies and a calmness returned to the room.

"Tell me..." Albert said after finally sitting down. "Why would you agree to an inmate's terms without first discussing it with me?"

Mayer's brow furrowed. "I was within my authority as sub-warden to make that decision. And now that Owen Walters has won the gauntlet, it is ever more apparent that he will be beneficial to Arden in the future."

"I understand that beating that many inmates in a row is an impressive feat. But there are many others in the facility who can achieve that same thing. What is it about this particular inmate that interests you so much?"

Mayers crossed his arms and took an adamant stance.

"Albert, you should have seen the second to last fight for yourself. That kid, I believe he has the capabilities to achieve embodiment."

In response to this, the eyes of everyone else in the room widened, including Albert's.

"Are you serious?"

"When have you ever known me to kid around? You cannot understand the potential that kid holds unless you've seen it with your own eyes."

Albert clasped his hand to his chin and closed his eyes in contemplation. After some consideration, he heaved a sigh and sat back up.

"Alright, if what you say is true, then Arden could really benefit from having him. I'm open to the idea of granting him special privileges."

The floor five overseer spoke up. "Warden, but what about his request. We surely can’t move all the other inmates down to the first."

"Well," Albert glanced at Mayers. "Honestly, we can’t grant him that request. It would create too many problems."

"But–" Mayers tried to protest, but Albert interrupted him.

"Let me finish." He raised a hand. "We may not be able to grant him his request, but we can grant him other favours. For example, we can allow him access to larger training areas."

It was obvious Mayers still wasn't satisfied by the offer, but eventually nodded in understanding.

A wave of relief washed over the other people in the room.

"Now," Albert got up from his chair. "Where is Owen Walters?"

***

Owen lay in a soft comfortable bed. He stared up at the transparent ceiling and gazed at the stars that littered the night sky. The moon shone down on him, its light seeping in through the windows and illuminating the room in a pale glow. The ten stars that circled the moon like a halo gleamed beautifully in the darkness of the night.

Eventually in a few hours, the night sky will recede to the moon like a tide on a beach, and transforming the moon into the sun.

The door to the side of the room slid open with a hiss. The light in the room surged back on and the ceiling switched from transparent to a flat shade of silver. Owen turned his head and glanced at the group that had entered the room.

Sonya, along with Isaac, Grace and Will walked in. Owen sat up in his bed as the four gathered around him.

"How are you doing?" Sonya asked.

He smiled and answered. "A lot better thanks to your healing."

Grace spoke up next. "I didn’t think you could actually do it, you know," she sighed. "You beat them all. You said that you would, and you actually did."

Owen shook his head. "Man, if the last guy that I was fighting hadn’t forfeited the match, I would be feeling a whole lot better if I had beaten him."

"But I’m pretty sure you passed out soon after he came out. You would have lost if he decided to fight."

Owen ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh.

"I don't know... maybe. But I was still rearing to keep going though."

"Yeah, yeah," Grace rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."

As she spoke, Will pushed his way past her and looked up at him with a bright smile.

"I told you that you would win!"

Owen grinned and messed the kid's hair with his hand.

"Thanks, your support really helped."

Will held out a fist bump which Owen reciprocated with a tap.

Isaac had remained silently until now. He looked at Owen, rubbing the back of his neck hesitantly.

"Look, I’m sorry for not believing you."

Owen raised his eyebrows.

"I told you that you'd lose, but look at you now." Isaac continued with a small smile. "You actually did it."

Owen fell back onto his bed and put his hands behind his head.

"It doesn’t matter Isaac. I honestly didn’t know if I could do it either."

They all talked and joked around for a little while longer. But eventually, the door opened again. This time, Warden Fowler, along with the sub-warden and a handful of guards walked in.

Owen and the others hadn’t expected to see them here, and all stared with wide eyes.

Albert moved up close to Owen, causing everyone else to move to the sides. The warden stood with his arms behind his back.

"First off, it should go without saying how impressed we all were after seeing your performance in the gauntlet. So a heartfelt congratulation, Mr. Walters."

Owen eyed him sceptically.

"Thanks I guess."

Albert Fowler's eyes narrowed slightly.

"However, due to the gauntlet ending in a draw, we cannot comply with your request to move all the participants to the first floor."

Owen sat cross-legged as he heard this. His jaw tensed.

"The hell? I won the damned thing."

"You passed out during the final match." Mayers said as he joined Albert at his side. "So we made the call that a draw was the fairest ruling."

Owen's furrowed his brows. "The guy forfeited. How the hell is that a draw?"

"It's already been decided, Owen."

Owen's expression grew hot with anger as he clenched his fists. These damn snake-like people are finding the perfect opportunity to screw him over.

"However," the warden continued. "Although we cannot do what you asked, we will be more than willing to offer you privileges instead. Does that sound fair to you?"

Owen was still stewing with rage, but calmed down a little when he heard the warden's proposal.

"What privileges?"

Albert stroked his chin.

"Write down a list of things that you want, and I'll see if we can work something out."

Owen, after thinking for a few moments, agreed with his offer and gave a quick nod. Albert acknowledged him with a similar response.

"Good. Then, gentlemen, it's been a long day and the inmate is no doubt tired, so let us take our leave. "

With those parting words, the group turned and left the room, leaving the rest of the occupants behind.

Owen sighed and fell back onto his bed.

"Damn. Part one of the plan hasn’t gone the way I thought it would, but at least some progress was made."

Isaac asked, "And what would that be?"

Owen glanced at him and smirked. "I've successfully made myself more valuable."