Chapter 20: The Test
Q'Wasim gasped. His hands came up to grab his neck.
It was still there.
His head was still connected to his body.
Relieved, Q'Wasim opened his eyes and looked up. He was not face down in the blood pool anymore. However, the Crimson Tiger was still standing over him and looking as deadly as ever. "Do you accept defeat?"
"What happened?" Q'Wasim asked.
"I killed you," the Crimson Tiger said simply.
Q'Wasim stared at him.
"Don't you remember?" Gaven asked.
Q'Wasim remembered all too well. He squeezed his neck softly for reassurance as the feeling of panic returned. He had been so helpless before, unable to get free, and then…
He had died.
He had failed.
Q'Wasim's newly healed stomach clenched. "Is it over then?" he asked.
"Do you accept defeat, Q'Wasim, Champion of the Kamal Tribe?" the Crimson Tiger asked once more.
Something about the way he said it made Q'Wasim look at his friend more closely. At that moment, the man before Q'Wasim did not seem like his friend or even Priyansi's brother. Q'Wasim became aware of the divine being that stood above him and he understood.
This was a divine test.
"No," the Champion of the Kamal Tribe announced, crawling out from under the Crimson Tiger and standing up. "I do not accept defeat."
The Crimson Tiger nodded his assent. Then he walked past Q'Wasim to the row of tigers that had reappeared. He communed with the fifth and tenth tigers. As before, the beasts changed to red mist which solidified into the Crimson Tiger's celestial armor and two celestial weapons. However, this time, the Crimson Tiger was not left holding a red talwar in each hand.
The Crimson Tiger gave Q'Wasim one of his black mosan maces and said, "Let us begin once more."
Then the two of them got into their stances and began again.