Chapter 17 - The Tournament Heist

Arc fidgeted as he stared at the opponent across from him. The tournament had been arranged into different divisions based on the participants' castes, so it was hardly surprising that his first opponent was a slave just like him. But even with the reassurance that the matches weren't to the death, the fearsome look on the low-caste canine's face concerned him.

Without even a moment's warning, a cry of "Begin!" echoing from the stands thrust both combatants into the heat of battle. Arc's opponent wasted no time activating his power, and moments later Arc could hear a whistling sound just behind his head.

Acting purely on instinct, he activated his own power and instantly became one with the wind around him. Just seconds later, a fist-sized stone flew through the air where his head used to be.

"W-what the-"

As his opponent stared in shock, Arc pushed the advantage his power gave him. Still in his wind form, he rushed behind the opposing slave, reforming a mere second later to answer his opponent's attempted attack with one of his own.

The other slave's reaction time was proven to be lacking as Arc's fist made an impact with the back of his head. Reeling from the unexpected blow, his halo flashed brighter, and a number of projectiles appeared out of nowhere, already hurtling on a path towards Arc.

To answer the new attack, Arc repeated his previous move and vanished into the wind before the stones even had a chance to hit him. Reappearing the moment his opponent's attack failed, Arc gave him a solid forward kick, knocking the slave to the ground.

It's almost too easy… Bad matchup for him, I guess…

~ Yeah, but you should probably get it over with already. The sooner you do- ~

Right, the sooner I can get to stealing that scroll…

Arc nodded to himself as Zahra's thoughts entered his head. While his opponent was picking himself up from the ground, he quickly reached down and grabbed him.

"Sorry about this…"

Once the words left Arc's beak, his halo flashed as he went into wind form with his opponent. Rising up through the air, he canceled his power out as he approached the highest point of the arena's walls. The moment he did, he let go of his opponent and kicked him towards the nearest wall.

Following a quick return to his wind form, Arc winced as his opponent slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. He made his own return to the ground, canceling his power once more before checking on his downed opponent. The opposing slave was thankfully still conscious, and let out a sputtering cough as he pulled himself to his feet.

"I… I give. Thought you'd be an easy win, but there's no way I can fight a power like that…"

As soon as the slave admitted defeat, the mistress of ceremonies spoke up. Her own power was active, carrying her voice throughout the large arena.

"Well, looks like we already have a winner! Slave Arc of House Tenebri will be moving on in the tournament!"

The announcement was met with only a little fanfare. Arc noticed the few members of House Tenebri in the stands cheering louder, but the rest of the crowd just seemed to be glad the fight ended quickly.

Veil's voice started echoing in Arc's mind as the already quiet cheering died down. ~ Sorry, Arc, there's never been a lot of fanfare for slave fights… The crowd likes to save their energy for the higher castes… ~

I don't really mind it, in fact, it's probably better that they don't pay that much attention to me… After all, now that this fight's over…

~ That's right, you've got the best chance right now. Nuha, do you have the notes ready? ~

~ Yeah. To be honest, it's still kind of hard for me to understand your writing all that well, but I'll do my best guiding you, Arc! ~

Thanks. Well, I guess I should get to it now…

As the conversation went on in Arc's mind, he walked into the entrance to the arena's underworks. Moments later, once he was sure no one else was watching him, he activated his power again and flew out of the arena towards the capitol temple.

—

The pyramid loomed imposingly in Arc's field of view as he approached it. Willing himself forward, he made his way up the massive structure, stopping only as he noticed the golden armored guards standing alert at the entrance.

The Praetorians… They're all High Sons of Serapis, so they all have powers of their own, right?

~ Yeah. Every one of them has a power, and I've seen them in training enough to know that messing with them is one of the worst mistakes you can make… ~

From the safety of his wind form, Arc stared at the curved blades hanging from the guards' belts and paled. I… I'll be honest, I'm getting a little nervous here…

~ Hey, don't worry, Arc! You've got this! Your power can keep you safe from whatever they can do to you! ~

~ Veil's right, and don't forget, even if you get in trouble, there's ways to get out all around the temple. ~

Right… they still have to breathe in there, after all… Even a tiny gap to let air in will be enough for me to get out of…

~ Kind of like those… ventilation systems? The ones in Anduruna's buildings? ~

Yeah, exactly like that. Serapis only knows how many times I used my power to get into buildings through the vents back there… Funny, even here, where powers are common, no one seems to expect that as a security flaw…

~ Well, powers are generally unique after all… I don't think I've even heard of one that's quite like yours before… ~

~ Point is, you can handle it, right? Whatever the Praetorians can do, you can get in and out without any trouble? ~

Yeah, I think so. Probably better to stop thinking about it and get on with it now…

Putting his thoughts aside, Arc willed himself to move between the Praetorians and into the temple. He paused for only a moment as one of them shuddered, but as the guard made no further moves, he returned his attention to the task at hand.

~ Okay, Arc, take a right here and you'll be headed in the direction of the High Daughters' chambers… ~

With Nuha's voice echoing in his mind, Arc began taking the path to get to Mitra's chambers. With the tournament going on outside, only a skeleton crew of Praetorians was left guarding the temple, giving him plenty of opportunities to cancel his power out and recover his energy.

In time, Arc entered a hallway that Zahra noted was close to the chambers. As he returned to his wind form to pass another guard, he stopped as he heard one of the few voices that weren't in his mind.

"Intruder! We have an intruder in the temple!"

Arc spent only a moment in shock before rushing in the direction of Mitra's chambers. If the guards had already found him…

Wait a minute… Hey, Zahra? Are you sure I'm in the right place?

~ You should be… It's a hallway with purple drapes hanging over the doorways, right? ~

Well, that's the thing. I see the drapes, but there's no doors…

~ No doors? That shouldn't be… Unless… For now, just keep going. Mistress Mitra's chambers should be through the next to last set of drapes. ~

Are you sure?

~ Arc, I've worked in the temple for almost half my life. Even if there's a wall where I'm telling you to go, her chambers should be behind it. ~

Arc heard the sound of footsteps echoing behind him. With no more time left to lose, he headed to the part of the wall Zahra said held her Mistress's chambers behind it. As he forced his wind form against the wall, he came to an abrupt stop.

No way… It's completely airtight! I can't get in!

~ You can't… Hang on, what about the vent holes? Maybe you can use those! ~

It's… It's worth a try… S-Serapis… It's getting kind of warm in here…

As Arc looked around for a ventilation hole to escape into, he noticed a sudden surge of heat in the hall. Behind him, a Praetorian with a brightly-glowing red halo sent a wall of energy slowly heading his way.

Arc felt himself gasping for air despite his lack of a physical form. Turning his attention away from the guard, he looked around desperately for a way out. The moment he spotted a small hole near the top of the wall opposite the drapes, he willed himself into it, slinking through the aperture just as the searing energy wall passed him by.

Once the temperature returned to normal, Arc moved out of the ventilation hole, canceling his power out once he saw the Praetorian had moved on.

S-Serapis, that was too close…

~ Yeah… But you've got a moment, right? Try checking the wall again. ~

Still panting from the exertion, Arc crept up to the draped wall. Despite the Praetorian's power having passed through them, the drapes hanging from it were completely undamaged. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing in the hallway that stayed the same. Arc ran a talon down the length of a seam in the wall and frowned.

It's still closed shut… I didn't think something like this was possible…

~ What do you mean? ~ Veil asked.

The entrance… It's more than just walled off. There's sand packed into the cracks where the wall appeared…

~ That's… You don't think a power could have been used to seal it, do you? ~

Probably… one of the Praetorians' powers, maybe?

Arc moved over to another set of drapes and felt along the wall. He repeated the movement of checking the seams on it and furrowed his brow.

~ That might be it, but what if…? ~

Arc paused. What if what, Nuha?

~ It was all done at once, right? And you didn't hear anything? ~

Not a thing… just the guard calling-

"Over here! I'm sensing someone down this way!"

Arc reacted immediately, using his power again and slipping into the ventilation hole before the guards could see him.

This isn't good… I think they can tell when I'm around…

~ That… ugh, can't believe I forgot about that… ~

You forgot about the Praetorians having a detection power user?

~ Hey, I'm sorry, okay? They never noticed me when I was using my power, so it slipped my mind. At least they can't seem to find you while you're using yours either… ~

Okay, fair enough… Honestly, we should've seen something like this coming anyway… I can't do this the same way as I did back in Anduruna, not with guards who actually know how to handle other power users…

~ So, are we just giving up? ~

No, I can still try the vent holes. If they lead all throughout the temple…

~ Somehow, I don't think that'll work. If all of the doors were sealed to be airtight, I think the vents would be the same… ~

~ I… I was thinking about that… I was going to say something before the guards showed up again… ~

Oh yeah, something about the power user who sealed the doors, right?

~ Yeah, but the thing is, I don't think it was a power user… ~

~ It wasn't a… Nuha, you don't think that… ~

~ It was done all at once, airtight and without a sound, right? That's a lot, even for a High One… But we know there's someone who can move earth and stone like that without any effort… ~

You don't mean… Serapis?

Silence dominated the psychic connection for a moment.

~ Y-you think it could've been Her? But what about- ~

~ Don't worry, this might still be part of Her Plan, Veil. She challenges us every day, and something tells me She wouldn't want this to be any different. ~

~ But if She's testing us right now, how are we going to get your Mistress's scroll? ~

~ I… I don't know… Maybe if… ~

As the group continued to think, Arc moved through the temple's ventilation network. Sure enough, as he approached the end that would have led into Mitra's chambers, he found himself unable to push past a buildup of sand that seemed to be perfectly packed into the hole.

With a little frustration, he turned to leave the ventilation tunnels. No luck trying to get in through the vents… I'm not looking forward to having to sneak past someone who can see me when I stop to rest, either…

~ Wait… Sneaking past them… That's it! I think I know how we can do this! ~

—

As Zahra was watching a Servant use her power to cast a live feed of Veil's current fight to the participants in the underworks, the sudden exclamation caught her by surprise. Nearly doing a double take as her fellow arena fighter sent plasma balls hurtling towards her latest opponent, Zahra turned her attention back to the psychic connection.

You thought of something? What do you have in mind, Veil?

~ Well, I think we've been going about it all wrong! I mean, it was a good idea for Arc to give it a try, but… what if Serapis doesn't want him to be the one to take the scroll? ~

~ That… that actually kind of makes sense… As a former Andurunan and a slave, I don't think She'd really want someone like me poking around Her temple… ~

~ That's not really what I- ~

On the live feed of the fight, Veil leaped out of the way of her opponent, who was charging at her with a crackling shield power raised. After she launched another volley of plasma balls at the opposing Servant, her voice echoed through Zahra's mind once again.

~ Sorry, this fight's taking a lot of my attention! What I wanted to say was, since it's her Mistress's scroll that we're after, I think Zahra should try! ~

~ Yeah, that could work… Serapis wouldn't mind an Eye going into the temple, and if it's a part of Her plan for us to get that scroll, then… ~

Well, yeah, but…

~ But what? It… it seems like you'd be perfect for this… ~

In any other situation I'd agree, Arc, but we're talking about trying to steal from Mistress Mitra. She's the reason I needed you to do this. She knows me too well, and I bet she's already taken steps to- ~

~ Maybe… But Serapis… She took steps against me the moment I was detected. You on the other hand… ~

~ You did say the guards couldn't sense you while you were using your power, right? And you can hold yours up much longer than Arc can… ~

Zahra closed her eyes and shook her head. I… I can't. Not from her. I'm sorry, it's just…

~ Zahra… I think I get it. It would be like if one of us had to steal from Mistress Adelin. But Mistress Mitra needs this, doesn't she? ~

Veil…

~ Serapis is testing us, right? What if this test was meant for you? Having to steal from your Mistress to do what's best for her? ~

That's… you have a point, but I'll have to think about it…

~ Take as long as you need to, Zahra. We've got the whole feast day, after all. ~

~ Yeah, and a little extra time would probably be good for the heat to die down in here. Whoever tries next, it'll be better if the whole place isn't on high alert… ~

You're right… We've still got plenty of time… I think… If I just take some time to think it over…

As Zahra thought, the live feed showed Veil standing over her recently defeated opponent, with the sound of the mistress of ceremonies's voice echoing through the underworks.

My next fight… Once I get through my next fight, I'll have my answer…

—

From that point, the psychic connection was largely quiet. Arc made his way back into the arena underworks as the initial Servant caste fights were coming to an end, looking weary as he turned his attention to the live feed of the arena pit. Shortly after his return, the Walker caste fights began, and in time, Zahra heard the mistress of ceremonies announce her fight.

As she made her way into the pit, Zahra thought back to when she had first met Mitra. She was barely a teen at the time, ending up in a new House after years of struggling to get out of the slave caste. The pain from her House Safak Servant tattoos had only barely started to dull when she made her debut in the arena circuit.

Her first opponent looked a lot like the Walker who stood opposite to her in the arena now. Both of them were large bear dreamkeepers, though her first opponent had been a Servant. But just like her first opponent, she knew this one stood no chance against her power. The moment the fight began, she used it to vanish from his awareness. From there, it was a simple matter for her to attack his legs to limit his mobility.

Zahra's strikes mirrored the ones she landed all those years ago, though the current ones were refined from years of practicing Tai-sa-tib and improving her physique. As she canceled her power out and her opponent collapsed, she couldn't help but chuckle at how little of a difference her fighting style made with her power in effect.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?"

Her opponent's reaction was where reality began to differ from memory. The Walker roared in defiance as his power caused translucent vapors to trail from his body. Zahra briefly gagged as she caught a faint whiff of the vapors, and the metallic taste of blood began to dominate her sense of taste.

Zahra's first opponent never had the opportunity to activate his power. She had followed up her initial attack by laying into him while remaining cloaked by her power, leading to a completely one-sided fight.

Unfortunately, the thrill of that victory was short-lived. After the match had concluded, Zahra received no praise, but instead a verbal lashing from Mistress Safak for failing to give the audience a proper show. The experience led to her activating her power and skulking away from the arena dejected despite her victory.

Hours later, as she was walking through the capital's streets to put the experience behind her, an unfamiliar slave approached her with words of congratulation rather than beratement. The stranger, as it turned out, was an Eye of Serapis sent to find her under the orders of someone known as Mistress Mitra.

A girl known by two marks shall serve a Daughter High / Seen but Obscured, she will become a Holy Eye.

As Zahra reflected on the poetic verse that led her Mistress to take her under her wing, she turned her attention to the fight at hand. Moments after feeling her body's reaction to her opponent's power, she moved some distance away as he gathered a cloud of vapors around himself.

Judging from previous experiences with similar powers, Zahra knew getting close would likely have disastrous consequences. But if she couldn't approach her opponent…

Zahra began activating and canceling her power in rapid succession. As her opponent slowly rose to his feet, he groaned as he gripped his forehead.

"U…ugh… Stop… doing that!"

With a flash from his halo, the Walker's power sent the cloud of vapors in a wide radius towards Zahra. Or, rather, he sent it towards his best guess of where she really was. She had flickered her power on and off enough times in one location that his movements had been biased toward attacking there. In reality, she had already stopped canceling her power out and had made her way behind him again.

A few more quick strikes to his legs brought the opposing Walker down to the ground once more. As soon as he fell, Zahra moved around him and struck him hard in the head, still obscured by her power.

While she worked on knocking her opponent unconscious before he could use his power again, Zahra thought back to her meeting with the Eye. As a sort of test of her power, he had urged her to use it to reach the capitol temple without either of them being seen.

At first, Zahra had no idea how she could manage something like that. Every use of her power back then had been simply to hide herself from detection, to the degree that she had convinced herself it was a sort of one-way invisibility power. But the Eye was patient, urging her to focus on how her power worked instead of simply using it.

In time, she had managed to extend the range of the effect, though she found it difficult to maintain for very long. Nonetheless, the Eye was pleased, and he brought her to the temple discreetly. A few hours later, Zahra met Mitra for the first time. The sight of the High Daughter had stunned her into reverent silence, up until Mitra gave her a smile and asked her a simple question.

"My child, I can see that you have incredible potential that has yet to be put to use. Serapis has blessed you with a wonderful gift. Would you like to use it to help carry out Her will?"

Riding the high of those few kind words, Zahra agreed on the spot. From there, she was inducted as an Eye of Serapis to serve directly under Mitra. In the years that followed, Mitra taught her all sorts of things in private as she continued fighting for House Safak in public, eventually earning a promotion to the Walker caste. All the while, she did everything her new Mistress asked, all in the name of Serapis.

And now… Even though Mistress Mitra didn't ask me to do this, it's what she needs the most…

Zahra looked up from her knocked-out opponent as the mistress of ceremonies announced her victory. Veil, Arc, Nuha… I'll do it. Mistress Mitra needs me to do this, and I think Serapis is expecting me to do it too.

~ You can do it, Zahra! ~

~ We've got your back. Heh, kind of weird that I'm the one who'll be doing the distracting now… ~

~ We'll be here to talk if you need us. But I guess since you know the temple yourself, you won't really need my help very much… ~

Actually, it could be kind of comforting, Nuha. And… Thanks, everyone. I'm sorry I tried to get you all to do it for me… It really had to be me in the end, didn't it?

~ Zahra… It's okay! You're our friend. We don't mind if you need our help every so often! ~

Veil… You're right. We're friends, we should help each other. And right now, I should get right to helping Mistress Mitra…

Zahra looked around at the crowd, then up to the pillar that Serapis was seated atop. Nodding to herself, she made her way into the arena underworks, activating her power once again as soon as she was out of the crowd's sight.

Obscured by the effects of her power, Zahra left the arena and ran towards the capitol temple. The Praetorians were completely oblivious to her entry, and as she treaded down a path that was all too familiar to her, she smiled as Nuha gave her a redundant explanation of how the temple was laid out.

Eventually, Zahra reached Mitra's chambers, and was relieved to see that they were no longer sealed off. Nodding to herself, she focused her attention on the prophecy scroll she had come to take. Her steps were slow and deliberate, more out of reverence for her Mistress's chambers than for any fear that she would be discovered. With her breath getting heavier as she reached the back wall, she began climbing up on the lower shelves to reach the scroll.

"This is for Mistress Mitra… It's all part of Serapis's will…"

Repeating those phrases to herself like a mantra, Zahra reached out to grab the scroll-

"Zahra, my child, if you needed something from me, I would prefer that you had come openly, and not by stealth."

Zahra's blood went cold as she heard Mitra's voice behind her. Turning her head slowly, she could have sworn the High Daughter's eyes were meeting hers despite having her power active.

Mitra spoke calmly, her eyes never moving from where she was staring. "Now tell me, Zahra. Why is it that you are trying to steal that scroll?"

—

After months of waiting, Lord Kumarbi had returned to the Faithful, and their entire home was abuzz with activity. All around the ancient stone structure, the Faithful bustled with activity, pausing only to greet their leaders. The High Priestess walked among them with her god, telling him everything that had happened in his absence.

"The little ones have been growing well… And we've had some success hunting… We've been needing more pelts to stay warm as the winter approaches…"

"I see…"

Lord Kumarbi took each new piece of information with little reaction other than slight nods and simple comments. The High Priestess smiled faintly as she saw and heard his reserved responses. Where most would see them as a sign of indifference, she and the rest of the Faithful knew they were actually a result of his enlightened nature.

"Now then, my prize… You have told me of everything that has happened here… But what of my other work…? How has the Harrowing-"

"Lord Kumarbi! You're really back!"

The nightmare's question was cut off as a young bird boy ran up to him. The frills on the High Priestess's back and arms rose slightly as she stared down at the child.

"Child, Lord Kumarbi was in the middle of asking me something. Is it really necessary that you-"

As the child recoiled, Lord Kumarbi lifted a hand slightly, causing the High Priestess to pause. "Patience, my prize… It is no trouble… Now, child, what would you ask of your god…?"

"Oh! W-well, some of the older kids… The ones you brought here… They've been saying life in Serapeum was better… I only ever grew up here, so…"

"Curiosity then… It is understandable. You know little of the world, and your mind yearns for truth. Know this then, child. It is true that the lands of Serapis are rife with fineries, but it is a mistake to believe that they make life better."

"A mistake, my Lord?"

"Indeed. Such things are the Deceiver Serapis's weapons… Objects that draw their bearers closer to the Great Temptation… We live here, far from those fineries, for they will fade into nothing over time, as will all things. And thus, having been spared from their poisonous existence, we will feel no anguish for lacking and losing them."

"Oh, I see, my Lord! So when everything is nothing again, it'll be better for us because we weren't tempted?"

"Exactly so. It seems these other children have yet to truly learn this lesson. We must redouble our efforts to bring them into our True Faith."

The High Priestess looked down at her hand. Her eyes traced over the lines of a scar that had once bore the mark of the House she had belonged to.

"On that note, Lord Kumarbi," she said, turning her eyes to her god, "you were asking about the Harrowing? I think… If those children are truly so lost, it may be time for them to undergo theirs."

"Yes… it may very well be their time, if the Great Temptation still holds such a sway over them…"

"To be honest, my Lord, the Harrowing ritual has been much more difficult for the Faithless to get through in your absence. I've tried my best to guide them, but…"

"I see. Then my work must continue. As I have before, I will watch over the Faithless during their Harrowings. Under my presence, they will surely awaken to our Truth."

"Yes, my Lord."

The child looked at the High Priestess, and then back at Lord Kumarbi. "Um… Lord Kumarbi? I heard that… even with you watching over them, not everyone survives the Harrowing… Will the other kids be okay?"

Lord Kumarbi stared down at the child. "If they can let go of their attachment to the life they once knew, they will pass through with their lives, ready to serve me as my Faithful. If not… they will return to nothing. Either way, it will be preferable to their current state."

The High Priestess knelt down and looked the child in the eyes. "We will not lie to you, child. The Harrowing is a difficult trial to overcome. I myself survived it, so I know just how painful it can be… But it is a necessary trial for all of us to face. And these children… if they are truly worthy of serving our Lord, then they will have nothing to fear."

"Right. Thank you, my Lord! And my Lady! Thanks… for this, and everything you do for us!"

The child gave Lord Kumarbi and the High Priestess a smile before running off. The nightmare nodded slightly as the boy left.

"I see what you meant about the young ones… that child, even with the imperfection of curiosity, stands as a true testament to our Faith. As for the others he mentioned… See to it that they are prepared for the Harrowing in the coming days."

The High Priestess nodded and bowed. "Yes, my Lord."

"Excellent. Then, I shall return to my work. There are still some Faithless currently undergoing their Harrowings, correct?"

"Of course, my Lord. As you have commanded."

Lord Kumarbi gave the High Priestess a subtle nod and rose above her and the other Faithful, flying towards the Harrowing Grounds. As she and his other followers watched their god depart, her thoughts returned to the other children.

They are just like I was, so long ago… Even as a slave, I truly believed that I was happy back there…

But the Harrowing will surely save them from their temptations… I do not envy the pain they will have to endure… But if it means saving their souls…

Any amount of pain is a worthy price…