"I surrender."

  "What?" The referee sputtered.

  "I said that I surrender."

  "A-are you sure?" Confusion written all over his face.

  "Yeah, I'm sure. She's too strong."

  "Okay…then. Well, in that case, the winner is Zoe!" The referee lifted ?Zoe's hand high into the air.

  As Zoe walked back to the bleachers, she stepped next to Ivy. "Thanks," she said.

  Ivy who had been staring at Reiza, barely glanced at her. "Yeah," she replied, her tone distant. Reiza sat with a mask of indifference, holding her eye contact.

  The ref called for the next fighters as a wave of displeasure and annoyed murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some accusations of cheating were also heard.

  "What just happened?" Colson asked Zoe once she sat next to him. "Why did she do that?"

  "I don't...well, no...I do know."

  Colson followed her gaze to Reiza, who had risen from her seat. "Yeah…Yeah, I get it." He watched as Reiza hopped off the suspended bleachers, landing with an effortless thud ten feet below. 'Okay, that was actually kinda smart. If I was in that situation, and I thought of that; I'd do the same thing.'

  Stepping onto the starting area, Reiza stretched her arms back, never taking her eyes off Ivy.

  Ivy stood in the same area, her fists balled, one clasped around her remaining brass knuckle.

  "Who do you think has it?" Colson whispered.

  "I'd think that Reiza would have more fighting experience; I'm not sure if that's the case or not," Zoe whispered back.

  "Yeah, I'd say they're about similar in strength. Ivy definitely has her beat in endurance, though. She got winded pretty quickly when we did the training course on Monday."

  Again, the referee put his hand in the air, "Are you ready?" He looked at Ivy.

  She said nothing; she only nodded.

  "Ready?" He asked Reiza.

  "Of course," she grinned.

  "Fight!" he yelled as his hand fell. He quickly hopped backward, giving them space to attack.

  Colson leaned forward, biting one of his fingernails, 'Why am I so nervous?' He looked to Zoe. She was watching even more intently than he was, a bead of sweat coming off her forehead, her hand nervously fidgeting with her necklace. 'Yeah, honestly, if I were to bet on this, I'd say Reiza definitely has an advantage; not impossible for Ivy to win, though.'

  Ivy walked forward until she was only a few feet away. As she moved, she studied her. Reiza was taller—about three or four inches. She didn't look as strong; the muscles on her arms and legs weren't as toned or large as Ivy's. From what Ivy gathered, Reiza had a slight reach advantage as well.

  Reiza didn't move an inch as Ivy walked towards her. Reiza’s smirk widened. She scanned Ivy’s broad shoulders, her solid frame, and her face, 'She looks like a man.' Reiza's expression never changed from the slight smile on her lips.

  In a flash, Ivy jumped to her side, throwing an overhead right at the side of her face. Reiza quickly ducked under the strike, planting her elbow directly into Ivy's ribs. Using her other hand, she pushed against her chest, launching Ivy across the room.

  She hit the ground several yards away, landing in a crouched position. "Dammit!" she said through gritted teeth, holding her side.

  Reiza covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Is that it?” she snickered, taking a step forward.

  She slowly got to her feet, a look of dark determination on her face.

  Reiza started to walk forward, ready for Ivy to sprint at her again, but what happened threw her off-guard.

  Ivy slowly closed her eyes, her face scrunched with concentration. She took several deep breaths.

  "Wait," Colson said, "Is she about to—" He was cut off by the quiet hum emanating throughout the building.

  "What the-" Reiza's smile inverted, 'Is she really about to do this? In front of all these people!'

  When Ivy opened her eyes, she was completely covered in an angry white veil. The crowd erupted into murmurs and shouts as Ivy’s white veil flared, its intensity casting harsh shadows across the arena. The referee looked absolutely flabbergasted; his mouth hung open as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

  Zoe looked at Colson, a look of total dread on her face, "Should we…do something?"

  "I-I'm not sure. They aren't gonna like this." He looked to see the referee's reaction.

  Reiza shook her head, composing herself, 'I'd better use mine as well. No one can blame me, either. It would just be self-defense, right? I'm totally in the clear here.' Her smile returned to her face. She put her hands down by her side, took a deep breath, and puffed her chest out, flexing. The crowd's gasps turned to cries when Reiza’s jagged blue aura crackled to life, the hum of clashing energies reverberating through the air.

  The two stood in that same position for what felt like an eternity for everyone watching. Simultaneously, they took one step forward. Then another, and another. With every step, Ivy's energy bubbled more intensely.

  "Hey!" the referee snapped out of his stooper. "Stop this now! This match is over!" He stepped into their path, holding his hands up.

  "Shut up!" They both said in unison, continuing marching forward.

  "I—" he was at a complete loss for words. 'What do I do? Should I call someone? Neph or Amelia? How the hell do these kids have mastery of energy? I still haven't gotten close to that point!'

  When they got within a substantial range of each other, Reiza and Ivy launched themselves forward.

  The referee dove to the ground just in time. He looked up, wide-eyed, as Ivy's and Reiza’s fists collided with a thunderous crack. The shockwave rippled through the air, and the sheer force made him wince. 'If I didn't move, they would've decapitated me.'

  Brushing off the hit, Ivy spun around Reiza's kick, sending a flurry of punches toward her face with only a few connecting.

  Lurching backward, Reiza held her hand to her nose, pulling it away, seeing a dark red liquid drip on her palm.

  Ivy ran towards her, her brass knuckle ready to dig itself into the front of her skull.

  Reiza barely had enough time to react; all she could do was cover her face with her arms. When Ivy's weapon connected, she heard a snap internally in her right forearm. The lightning-blue aura around her flickered slightly, pain shooting through her whole body, almost causing her to cry out. 'If my energy wasn't activated, that bone would've turned to dust.'

  Reiza ducked under Ivy’s next punch and pivoted, her leg hooking low and fast to catch Ivy’s ankles. With a sharp sweep, Ivy’s feet were yanked from the ground, sending her crashing down. She gritted her teeth. Holding her hand out, a bright light appeared, and when it dissipated, she was gripping a crude combat knife—jagged, warped, and cold. She was panting heavily, 'I gotta finish this now!'

  Ivy quickly rolled to her feet, unphased by the knife being held just a few feet away. Reiza moved quickly, stabbing forward, aiming for one of her eyes.

  Ivy tilted her head to the side, the knife cutting her cheek; leaving an odd sensation as a line of blood dripped from just under her eye.

  She grabbed on to Reiza's extended arm, kicking upward into her forearm, the heel of her boot digging into the bone.

  The action caused Reiza to screech out in pain, forcing her to drop the knife. She kicked out, kneeing Ivy in the stomach; causing her to slide several feet away.

  'Incredible,' Zoe thought, 'They're moving so fast it's hard to keep up.'

  Ivy lunged forward; Reiza had once again moved out of the way of the attack. Ivy had swung so hard that she knocked herself off balance. She stumbled forward, her footing unsteady, leaving her exposed. Reiza didn’t hesitate, stepping in with a quick shove to Ivy’s back. The force sent Ivy sprawling to the ground. Zoe looked away just in time. All she heard was Ivy's screams as she felt Reiza's thumb being shoved into Ivy's left eye. A searing pain exploded in Ivy’s skull as Reiza’s thumb drove into her eye socket. Her vision went red, her voice guttural as she thrashed wildly, clawing and kicking to break free.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  She struggled to get free, wrapping her leg around Reiza's arm. She yanked her hand from her eye socket and rolled and twisted, wrestling her until she ended up with Reiza on her back, with Ivy having a tight arm-lock on her.

  Colson knew instantly what Ivy was going to do. "A 'Kimura,'" he said.

  Ivy cranked Reiza's arm back, grabbing onto her own wrist for support. Without hesitation, she pulled, feeling Reiza's shoulder pop as she did so.

  Reiza contorted her body; the leverage Ivy had on her loosened as she did so. When she saw the opening, she took it. Using her legs, she rolled out from under Ivy, getting to her feet with one swift move.

  "Dang, Reiza's flexible. She woulda broken her arm instantly if she wasn't."

  Ivy looked up and noticed Reiza's eyes flicking to her knife; it had slid a few yards away, landing at the feet of the referee, who was still in shock, fumbling through his pockets for his phone. He took several steps back, seeing both Ivy and Reiza were staring at it.

  Reiza sprinted for it; at the same time, Ivy jumped high into the air, plummeting down right as Reiza reached the knife. She landed right over the blade, the stone tile cracking beneath her feet. Her white aura ferociously bloomed outward.

  Reiza's fingers grazed the knife handle, hope flickering in her eyes. But before she could grasp it, Ivy’s shadow loomed over her. She froze, looking up just in time to see Ivy’s fist descend like a falling star. The impact sent a wet thump echoing through the hall, cracking the ground beneath her with all her strength.

  "Damn," Colson winced, watching what was unfolding.

  Reiza collapsed to the ground, her blue aura fading.

  Ivy stood over her, looking on with detached ennui. She hauled back her boot, slamming her heel into Reiza’s jaw, snapping it. More blood gushed, permanently staining the stone floor.

  The crowd sat frozen for a beat, unsure whether to cheer or scream. Then, as the blood began to pool beneath Reiza, panic spread like wildfire. Screams echoed as dozens bolted for the exit, shoving past each other in their rush to leave.

  "Is she dead?" One girl in the bleachers said.

  "Holy crap, she killed her!" someone yelled.

  "She's insane!" another shouted.

  "I'm outta here!" A girl in the front row bolted, followed by a wave of panicked spectators.

  The crowd surged toward the exit, shoving and screaming. The referee stood paralyzed, his hand frozen halfway to his pocket. The knife lay by his feet, forgotten. Ivy didn’t move, her eyes locked on Reiza’s broken body.

  Ivy crouched down, looking at Reiza's broken head with that same expression.

  Aye unbuttoned his undershirt, revealing the shredded muscles below. He ran a hand through his spikey orange hair. He turned, walking out of the dressing room, and into his own personalized gym.

  The dark red glow from the lights above, the broken air conditioning, and the music that played just a bit too loud — "Perfection," he grinned.

  Several of his unit had already started working out, training, and sparring. Most of his crew comprised men who were not citizens of Crater, but could legally stay under his order.

  After dawning a weighted vest and heavy iron chains, he walked to the back of the gym. He walked around the boxing ring set in the middle of the room. He moved toward the weight lifting area of the gym. He put as much weight as possible on the hexagonal deadlift trap bar.

  Because of the music and his heavy focus, he couldn't hear his phone going off in his pocket.

  Several minutes later, a nervous and panting woman sprinted through the front door of the gym. Clamping her nose shut from the smell, she quickly strutted in, wandering until she found who she was looking for. She walked over to Aye; he was in the middle of doing weighted pullups. She nervously tapped her foot, waiting for him to finish. He noticed her waiting for him. An annoyed expression crossed his face.

  "Your daughter, Reiza, something happened to her. I think you'd want to go see her!" She screamed over the music.

  "Reiza?" he gritted his teeth, "If you come at me with some erroneous accusation…"

  "No," she shook her head. "Can we talk outside?"

  "What's happening?" Aye said once they were both on the gym floor balcony.

  "Well, I don't know everything that transpired, but your daughter is in critical condition," she said cautiously.

  "What!"

  "Well, normally, this is to be expected since the death week, especially today's event, can be a little…well, anyway, I digress."

  "Get to the point!"

  "That one girl, I'm positive her name is Ivy. I think she's new. Well, they were set to spar today, and things went awry quickly..."

  After learning what happened, Aye slammed his fist down on the steel railing, bending it as if it were a pipe cleaner.

  "Where is she?" His voice was calm, but an uncontrollable energy sparked and cracked around his muscled frame. His fists shaking.

  "Reiza is—"

  "Not her!"

  "I…I'm not sure," she lied. "They didn't tell me."

  He took out his phone, holding it to his ear. "Neph, I'm calling a meeting. I want everyone back here by tomorrow."

  Zoe poked at her food. Her appetite was wholly erased by that day's earlier events. She’d much rather retreat to her dorm, but with another event looming tomorrow, skipping a meal wasn’t an option. She sighed and stared at the crowded cafeteria, the noise a dull roar in her ears.

  The cafeteria was alive with the usual laughing and talking that filled up the room.

  Putting her mind on a fresh track, she took her cards out of her pocket. As she slid one free, its edges worn smooth from years of use, she sensed someone sitting down across from her. Glancing up, she started to smile. "Hey, Col—" She stopped. "Oh."

  "Uh, hey," Herald said. "I've been hearing some crazy shit that went down."

  Zoe’s expression didn’t change. "Okay."

  "Do you know what happened?"

  Zoe stared at him.

  Herald instinctively leaned back slightly. 'What the? Why is she looking at me like that?'

  Finally, Zoe spoke. "There's a lot that happened. I'm not so sure myself. It all culminates into a bit of a blur." She turned her focus back to her cards, flipping one over idly.

  "Ah. Where is she? Also, where's Colson?"

  "He's always late getting here, but I'm not sure where Ivy went. She just…disappeared."

  It was just a few hours earlier, when she’d returned to her dorm. At first glance, everything seemed normal. But Zoe had her methods—subtle tricks inconspicuous to anyone but herself. Her carpet, for example. She always brushed her hand over it in a particular direction before leaving, leaving a darker shade that would shift if disturbed.

  The moment she’d stepped inside, she noticed it: the door had scraped the rug in just the wrong way. Her stomach tightened. Something was off.

  Aye swung open the door to the meeting room of The Hounds. He looked uncomfortable in his tight blue suit. Walking across the mirror-like marble floor to his seat. His footsteps echoed off the quiet walls. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it read six o'clock.

  "Keigh still hasn't shown his face?"

  “Nope,” Amelia replied, spinning lazily in her chair. Her boots scuffed the floor as she spun.

  Neph and Lubbock sat quietly; one read through a document, while the other stared blankly ahead.

  "We all know he ain't comin'. Let's hurry this up," Amelia said, stopping her chair from spinning; the room swimming around her as she did so.

  "We all have a good idea of what happened?" Lubbock finally spoke, his tone measured.

  Neph spoke up, "In front of you all is a document. It details everything that transpired. Including quotes from witnesses and the like."

  "Where is the girl now?" Aye asked, leafing through the pages, his frown deepining.

  "A holding cell," Amelia said. "She's been there since yesterday. She was acting kinda erratic, so I had them put the 'green smock' on her." The green smock referring to a tear-resistant garment put on at-risk prisoners to prevent them from committing suicide.

  Neph had everyone read through the document. As they did so, they occasionally called in the people who gave statements, having them elaborate on what they saw. Every story told matched with no competing claims.

  When the last statement was read, Aye pushed his chair back, the screech of metal on marble making them all flinch. He rose, hands planted on the table. “We know what Ivy did. She’s guilty. I say we end her.”

  "I won't stand for that," Lubbock said, shaking his head.

  "Yeah," Amelia said, "that seems kinda…extreme?"

  "Listen," Aye growled, his fists tightening, and the veins in his arms visible beneath his suit. "We've all heard the fortune. We all know who that's about. I told you a year ago, letting that thing in would only bring trouble; and here we are!"

  Amelia raised an eyebrow, "That is true…." she mused, twirling a strand of her hair.

  "Hell," Aye continued, "Reiza told me when she first arrived, one of her friends saw Ivy walking into the forest with the other two. Then, all of a sudden, there's a monster that appears and attacks us."

  "That's not good," Lubbock muttered, "Have we found out any more about what that was?"

  "Nope," Amelia sighed.

  "Not yet," Neph said. Aye started to speak, but Neph interrupted, "You seem to be forgetting the first part of the fortune," he said, walking to the bookshelf on the far side of the room, taking out the binder for that month. "In an oval room, you must decide. She shall return to raise the colony with a woman from an eastern pantheon by her side." He read aloud.

  "My point exactly! We kill her now, so we don't have to worry about this and we can move on!"

  "That would be easier," Amelia admitted, leaning back in her chair, a guilty smirk on her face, "But I'm with Lubbock on this one."

  "She broke several of the taboos of Crater," Aye retorted.

  "I get that, but I don't think capital punishment, especially for a child—who you know doesn't know any better—is fair!"

  Aye tightened his fist, "So that's your excuse? Ignorance. Of course, you'd be protecting her. Why am I not surprised?"

  "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

  "You're not made for this type of work, Amelia."

  "I gotta ask, how did Reiza, your daughter, know energy? From what I understand, breaking the secret bylaw of teaching someone who isn't at least a three-star energy is very," she put emphasis on the word, "...Illegal." Amelia raised herself from her chair, a dark smirk on her face. Her two dogs, which moments ago were slumbering at her feet, stood up in unison. "How is your daughter doing, by the way? It's gotta be depressing seeing her all mangled up like a—"

  In a flash, Aye was out of his seat, towering over her. The marble beneath him splintered with a sharp crack. Energy radiated from him in sharp, crackling waves, like the sound of glass fracturing under pressure.

  Amelia’s dogs lunged forward, their barking sharp and frenzied, ready to attack at her command. But she didn’t flinch, her smirk now a thin line of defiance. His suit looked as if it were about to be torn off his back.

  "One. More. Word!" He held his right hand out, his left hand grabbing onto his wrist. The hum of energy activation echoed through the room. "One more word and you will cease to exist as a human!" As he said that, behind him, something began to shimmer into existence, a faint outline that grew more defined with every second. It took a step forward, the floor beneath it warping. Its form was humanoid but wrong, its presence bending the space around it. The paint on the walls bubbled and peeled, exposing raw plaster beneath.

  "Enough! Both of you!" Neph's voice boomed, cutting through the moment like a blade. "If we're to make any progress, we'll need to keep calm."

  "Absolute children," Lubbock muttered under his breath.

  Amelia sat back down in her chair with a huff, crossing her arms. Her dogs relaxed, but still their eyes watched Aye as he walked back to his seat. The thing behind him disappeared, the hum going silent.

  "Now," Neph sighed, "I say we put this to a vote. All for capital punishment for Ivy?"

  Aye was the only one to raise his hand.

  "One vote for, three votes against, and one not applicable," Neph wrote ?on a document page. Passing it to everyone and having them sign.

  Aye threw his hands up in indignation, "Great! So I guess the kid who almost murders my daughter gets to walk free. Oh boy!"

  "We never said she wouldn't receive punishment," Neph corrected, "She just wouldn't be killed."

  "There is one thing. We could exile her," Lubbock hypothesized. There was a long silence that hung over the room. 'Plus, if we keep her indefinitely, I fear that Aye may be rash enough to stage her death. Wouldn't be the first time someone has 'accidentally' killed themselves.'

  "I mean, I guess that's not a bad idea," Amelia said carefully.

  "What would be the alternative?" Neph asked. "I doubt any of us would want to imprison her permanently."

  Lubbock looked at Aye, "What do you think?"

  He took a deep breath. "Sure, whatever. I just want her far away from here."

  "Alright," Neph flipped the page in front of him, "All for the expulsion of Ivy."

  Everyone had their hand up.

  "Four voting for, zero against, and one not applicable," Neph said aloud as he wrote. "Well, that settles that," he hollowed, getting up from his chair. "I'll inform her of our decision. She will have till midnight to leave. Does that sound reasonable?"

  No one objected.