Jack had been in the maze for a long time. He was an urchin first and had been one every day of his life. He stole to eat. He pick-pocketed to stay alive. He even stabbed a man or two to keep himself safe at night on the streets. That had been his life until he was caught by the guards and taken up in that blinding light. Then, it had been the dark loneliness of the maze and nothing else. He hadn''t been born special enough even to know his real parents, and he thought he had been doomed to live down there in the dark, alone, until the day he died.


    If Sayed hadn''t saved him, he would still be down there, in the dark and alone.


    "Another devastating blow from the ''Sword Saint,''" the announcer yelled as Jack watched the fight. "But, again, Maki ''the Beast'' recovers the severed limb. There are five minutes left in the round. Can the three fighters work together to win, or will ''the Beast'' be too much for them to handle?"


    It was just like in the stories Sayed told every night. Jack was able to watch them firsthand. He would even be able to tell his own story when everyone came back to camp. Abed and Gramps would be there, and he would get to tell the tale. He only hoped everyone would be ready to hear his version of events. He made sure he paid extra close attention to the fight.


    "What are they doing now?" the announcer yelled, and Jack moved closer to the wall so he could get a better look through the crack.


    The man Sayed had called Alex hit the monster down low with his staff, and his strike seemed to strain against the leg for a moment before he sent it flying off the ground. The monster was in the air briefly, both legs flying out from under it before it crashed hard into the ground on its shoulder.


    An orange glow came from above it, and Jack gasped. Sayed had disappeared from where he had been and now was striking down at the monster with his sword. Orange light burned bright as he slashed down at the monster''s head. Jack frowned as the monster seemed to notice Sayed. A long tail struck Sayed hard, sending him flying into a nearby building with a crash and a cloud of dust.


    Boom. Crack.


    The sound came a second later.


    "No!" Jack yelled out, grasping the wall hard with his fingers as he watched.


    "A solid hit there, folks. I don''t think Sayed is going to be getting up from that. Can ''Tin Man'' Ortega hold his own against Maki ''The Beast?''"


    Jack started to run out of the building. He had to go help Sayed. Sayed had done so much for the camp. Sayed had kept them all together for the last two years, fighting every day to make sure no one else had to come out there. Anyone in the camp would have come to help him, and anyone in the camp wouldn''t care how risky it was. He started running for the broken door of the building, but the announcer stopped him.


    "What''s this?" the announcer yelled. "Is that ''Thorn Queen'' Leah rushing to his side? What is she doing? Folks, I wouldn''t believe this unless I saw it with my own eyes. She''s healing him and putting him back in the fight!"


    A loud cheer ran through the stands, and Jack rushed back to his viewpoint. He held his breath as he looked through the dissipating dust cloud. Indeed, the new lady from the camp was next to Sayed, her hands glowing green as she helped Sayed get to his feet. Jack couldn''t hear what she said, but it didn''t matter. As long as Sayed was okay, they would win the fight. Sayed never lost.


    "You can do it, Sayed," Jack whispered as Sayed stood, picking up his sword and taking a stance with his clawed gauntlet.


    Alex continued to distract the monster, seemingly a ghost of movement between each of its strike down at him. Jack''s eyes couldn''t even keep up with his movements. Every time the monster struck at the man in the duster, he seemed to be somewhere else. He was never able to hit the monster back, though. Jack knew the reason for that. The man was fast, but he wasn''t as strong as Sayed. Only Sayed could beat the beast in the end.


    He saw Sayed and Alex yell at each other across the battlefield as the monster looked between them. Jack wasn''t sure if the monster understood speech, but it didn''t seem like a good idea to him to yell what you were planning to do in front of it. He wasn''t Sayed though, so it was a great idea for all he knew.


    Together, they moved on to the monster after that. This time, Sayed struck first, striking from his higher position and catching the monster''s claws with his sword as the monster defended. However, Jack could see the trick. Alex ran in from below as Sayed was distracted by a flurry of sword strikes from above. While Sayed was awesome, Jack focused on Alex. He wanted to know what the man was doing.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Several black objects began to float up from the buildings around Alex. Jack had to squint to see them. It took him a moment to tell, but he quickly figured it out. Seven long pieces of metal floated around Alex. The man swung his hands in the air, manipulating them around his body before grabbing one and slamming it hard into the monster''s thigh.


    Creak.


    The sound of the metal bending scratched against Jack''s ears as Alex wrapped the metal around the giant''s foot, creating a band through the flesh that seeped with dark blood. Green light began to pour from the wound immediately, but the light couldn''t seem to force the metal out from the flesh if it was looped into a circle.


    Roar!


    "What''s this?" the announcer yelled as the monster swiped down at Alex. "What''s Ortega doing to Maki? This feels like cheating, folks. With only three minutes to go, is this how they''re going to win against ''the Beast?''"


    In the sky above, Jack could see the time. Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds remained.


    <hr>


    Gulantry fiddled with screens as he and Lucien planned the next day''s fight. He needed to keep the man distracted. Otherwise, he might go down and try to ruin today''s fight. He dearly wanted to please Lucien. He would make so much money if Lucien became a regular fighter, but the man was obsessed with battle far too much. If only Lucien had wanted anything else, Gulantry would have had an easier time getting precisely what he wanted from the man.


    He had an island core, after all. Almost any pleasure, desire, or taste was at his fingertips to give to those he deigned to bless. He could give everything to the paupers and peasants below and make their lives like the Empyrean on Erth. He could grow crops with a wave of a hand. He could raise homes with but a few swipes of a screen. He could heal the sick with but an errant thought.


    But, alas, where was the pleasure in all that?


    "Lucien," Gulantry said, noticing the man was watching the arena again. "Tell me, how is the fight going below?"


    "''The Beast'' isn''t as ferocious as the name implies." Lucien sneered as he looked down through the window. "He has the strength to fight but none of the wit to keep himself ahead of three opponents."


    "I thought there were five fighters." Gulantry looked up from the map of the next arena on his screen.


    "There are, but one is a child," Lucien said. "Ortega went around making sure that he survived."


    "And the other three are working together, you said?"


    "Very well. Do you monitor them in the maze? Might they conspire down there together?"


    Gulantry frowned, reaching down and plucking an orange from his ever-present plate. He gobbled it down, rind and all in one bite, but thought nothing of it. Even the rind had a particularly appealing contradictory taste that the fruit alone could not replicate.


    He licked his fingers as he thought about the implications. He had never thought that anyone in the maze would ever be able to work together for that long. For the last thirty days, Sayed had protected many of the people in the maze, but he was always one man, and the people down below were too weak to plan anything. Sayed was the consistent survivor. Very few people who went into the arena beside him lasted for more than a few fights if even one.


    "It has never really been a concern," Gulantry said, frowning. "When one stands on such a pedestal of power, one finds it hard to believe that anyone conspiring in dark corners could ever succeed. Especially so when they have nowhere to go but the maze."


    "That is the problem," Lucien said, shaking his head. "You''ve never encountered a man like ''Tin Man'' Ortega."


    "What can one man even do?" Gulantry laughed, spitting out pieces of his orange across his body and the couch he reclined on. "They say he''s responsible for Burning August, but that''s a lie. No one man can destroy an island."


    Gulantry paused at that moment and looked down at his screen.


    "Wait. You mean he gained access to a core?" Gulantry asked, assuming that Lucien, as an Apostle, was as versed in the operations of an island as he was.


    "He used the core to do the unthinkable," Lucien said, stepping over to where Gulantry lay on his couch.


    Lucien seemed to tower over him, his usual more detached presence suddenly alight with fire. He leaned over Gulantry, and Gulantry saw that his eyes were yellow instead of the normal blue irises and held a single bestial slit in them.


    "After escaping from our custody, he took hold of the island core and wreaked havoc on everyone on the island. No one was spared. He released the seal holding back the Veil and let monsters roam free."


    Gulantry''s jaws dropped. Island cores were closely guarded secrets for any island that found them. They founded dynasties of kings and ensured prosperity. To let one get into a prisoner''s hands so easily, Gulantry could scarcely imagine. Even Glory Plateau''s core was hidden well and locked away so that none but him could access it.


    "The only choice in the end was to burn it all to the ground." Lucien sighed, stepping back toward the glass.


    "You mean Ortega did not do that part?" Gulantry asked, sagging back into his couch.


    "No, he did not," Lucien said. "But what does that matter? By releasing the Veil, he allowed me to acquire my strongest form yet. I would not have realized how much serving the Scions held me back without him. He set me on the path to find you, Gulantry. It is fitting that we face each other again in the next fight."


    "Assuming he survives," Gulantry shook his head, returning to his screen.


    "Did you hear nothing of what I said?" Lucien asked. "How do you think he escaped the prison? How do you think he beat past the guards? How do you think he found the most closely guarded secret of any island, the location of the island core?"


    "He is crafty, perhaps," Gulantry narrowed his eyes. "I do not know him as you know him. If you don''t tell me, I''ll never know."


    "His very presence calls people to him. His actions call on people to change. Every decision he makes draws him allies who will fight with him. You can see it down there already. The three of them are working together to beat ''the Beast'' because he is there."


    "So, you say Maki will lose this fight?" Gulantry asked.


    "How about we place a wager?" Lucien turned back to him, smiling.