After the feast, the three of them began to soulcraft together more frequently, making heavy use of Nauda's telescope. Though Fiyu still kept the majority of her soulhome shrouded in shadow, she seemed much more comfortable inviting them inside, even showing him the chamber that generated the dark cantae that had surrounded her hand.

The chamber was connected to the room of burning light that generated her explosive bursts, but the light was filtered through heavy plates of dark glass and ice. On the other side, the light gleamed dark and sinister. Compared to her bursts, which focused on heavy firepower, the dark aura was an extremely sharp edge. He didn't see any possible way to make the technique less lethal, even with all his experience.

That didn't mean that he couldn't help her at all, though. Since her primary weakness was lack of stamina, he helped her redesign one of her empty chambers to store cantae more effectively. Her relative's blueprint suggested that it would later be used for a support chamber that would improve her burst skill, but since she lacked the sublime materials to soulcraft further, she could at least use it for cantae.

Nauda was a bit more difficult to help. Now that she was more open with them, he saw that her final chamber contained endless inscriptions that were related to a sort of trap-laying skill. Also, a finely-soulcrafted chest that allegedly contained Archcrafter materials she had inherited. Since Nauda clearly didn't want to talk about them, he didn't press further, but that allowed him to guess why she was pushing so hard to ascend.

Her construction on the roof was a good start, but it wasn't going to pierce the clouds, not in the near future. Instead, they discussed potential counters to the technique that had allowed the armament in the last match to drain her. It was some sort of flaw in the binding skill she used, but a knotty one to sort out. With all three of them putting their minds to it, they came up with a few solutions, none of them easy.

In the end, the only immediate suggestion he could offer was building a smaller tower alongside her central square soulhome. Not building a soulhome as a single unit had disadvantages, but it wasn't fundamentally flawed, and it allowed her to soulcraft herself without compromising her progress toward ascending.

Of course, he spent the most time in his own soulhome, finishing the work on his gravitational field chamber and doing as much as he could on his enhancement rooms. His storage chamber became complete enough to let him shrug off unfocused cantae bolts, while his feast chamber strengthened him much more than would be expected for a first tier soulcrafter. Nauda seemed slightly intimidated by how much he added, but he could only see the distance between what he'd done and the new blueprint growing concrete in his mind.

With only a week, that was all they could do. Theo felt as though, after so much had changed between them, they should have changed more as well, but they had only the tools remaining to them. Soon enough, it was time for their third match.

~ ~ ~

With no suspicious illnesses and their opponent's leader not participating, it would actually be their first match of the tournament with even numbers: nine against nine. For the first time they had also arrived before the other team, gathering on their side while awaiting Archcrafter Nogibe's group.

"The biggest problems are fairly clear," Nauda was saying. "Navim is the most obvious, simply because he can ignore so many attacks, even some cantae. Theo, can you lift him?" There was something odd about the way she spoke about Navim, but Theo ignored it, because the answer was clear.

"It isn't a matter of lifting. I can make him weightless like anyone else." He considered that Navim still had inertia, but thought that he could either use the Mundhin's momentum against him or manage to push him out of the ring. "You want to hold me in reserve for him?"

"The problem is that they might be anticipating that and send him out against someone else. We need to be flexible or we won't win this."

"Seems clear enough. What about the other problems?"

"Do you see the Farmguard in back? She's from a southern community that has more difficulty with demon attacks, so she has experience and a tested soulhome. Then the Fithan man not far from her... he's a pure ranged fighter, almost like Fiyu." Nauda bit her lip and lowered her voice, eyes flickering behind them. "But the biggest problem might be our other members. I couldn't get much information about the rest of Nogibe's family, but they won't be weak. I don't know how well the others will compete."

Theo glanced back over the group, making eye contact with Javes but still not knowing the others very well. Normally he wouldn't care, but Nauda had been grim about needing to win this competition, so he wanted to find some way to shift the contest in their favor. Unfortunately, the best he might be able to do was win them a single match.

Only Kuber was missing... no, he was approaching now. His eyes had lit up in a different way and he clutched his family's heirloom armament in both hands, as if afraid someone would take it from him. Yet his soulhome didn't seem to have improved... if anything, it had simplified. When he arrived, he brushed past Fiyu - who gave a yelp of consternation - and sat down beside Nauda.

"This time, I can help carry us." Kuber didn't explain why, but the way his knuckles were white around the wooden stick suggested an answer. "If you need someone for a short, explosive match, consider me family."

Though Nauda hesitated, her eyes following the same patterns that Theo's had, in the end she nodded. After Kuber arrived, Nogibe's team soon finished assembling.

That day the instructors were late, but Nanjuma was ready with the bell and most of the audience had arrived. There were more than average, since this was one of the first matches of the third round, and the first to be truly anticipated. Theo's team had fought more unusual matches than any other, while Nogibe's had the best record, with only three losses total.

After today, that number would definitely increase. But as Theo looked over the sturdy soulhomes of the enemy group, he wasn't confident about an overall victory. Maybe it was more important to focus solely on winning his own fight.

"And now, let us finally begin!" Nanjuma smiled broadly at both sides. "The match between Nauda's family and Archcrafter Nogibe's family... Nogibe will begin by selecting one of his students."

Instead of leading with any of their strongest, they sent out a young man covered head to toe in inscribed wooden plates. Armaments of some kind, but Theo was skeptical that they could be that powerful and they didn't look like effective armor physically. Nauda peered at him, then scowled and rubbed her eyes.

"The armaments prevent me from checking his soulhome. Anyone else?"

"I think this is a trap." Fiyu spoke extremely softly, but with confidence. "He wants to appear more dangerous than he is. It is a bluff."

"Then they probably want to lure one of us out, to waste our strength..." Nauda trailed off, considering their options. Before they came to any conclusion, Javes clapped his hands on his knees and levered himself to his feet.

"I'll try to handle it. I know I can't fight their best, so this might be my only chance to help."

When Nauda gave her approval, he walked out into the arena. The bell rang and the opposing fighter immediately began to hum, cantae flowing through the armaments in intricate patterns. Yet for all the light, Theo didn't feel any particular intensity of power.

Javes stepped forward, experimentally jabbing at his opponent's shoulder. The blow struck, but glanced off harmlessly. Though the armored warrior attempted to strike back, he wasn't particularly fast, and all the wooden plates slowed him down, so Javes easily ducked aside. They began trading blows, neither of them particularly effective, and neither looking like they would tire soon.

Since it was likely to go on for a while, Theo turned his attention to Kuber. "Are you going to use your family's armament? Unless you found a way to use it in a weaker form, I don't see how."

To his surprise, Kuber didn't answer, merely shifting his grip and avoiding eye contact.

"I've seen you spending time with Magnafor."

That forced Kuber's attention and he shifted away uncomfortably before speaking. "You told me it was impossible, but... you were wrong. Magnafor showed me how to use the armament."

"Out of the goodness of his heart, was it?" Theo leaned in closer, eyes narrow. "Just what did he demand in return?"

"N-nothing. Well, not to use it against his team. After what he gave me... I had to agree."

Giving an opponent a powerful ability in return for a single forfeited match? Theo couldn't help but be skeptical that Magnafor would make such a bad deal, even before he decided whether or not Kuber's words rang inauthentic. He wanted to push further, but what bothered him more was that he didn't understand how it was possible. Kuber hadn't ascended to Archcrafter, and there shouldn't be a way to support such a powerful armament with a first tier soulhome.

Before he could decide what to ask next, the match ended with a whimper: the exhausted fighters ended up wrestling with one another until they both collapsed. Still within the ring, but Nanjuma stepped forward and created a wall of green fire to separate them.

"Both sides have fought well, and any victory now would be mere luck." Nanjuma picked each man up with one hand. "We'll call this a draw!"

That was new, but probably the best they could have hoped for. Theo made sure to give Javes an approving look for holding out for so long, but his attention turned entirely to the next match. Would Archcrafter Nogibe have prepared specific counters to them, or would he be looking for good matches? The armament trick suggested that he was crafty, but...

"Put me in." Kuber nearly vibrated in his seat, cantae flowing through his armament. "Nauda, let me fight. I'll win for you, I guarantee it."

"Kuber..." Nauda watched him silently, but she seemed to have made a similar calculation as Theo, because she eventually nodded. "Show us what you can do, then."

Instantly Kuber leapt up and rushed to the ring. Though he seemed manic while moving, when he arrived, his body stilled as he clasped the inscribed rod with both hands. It really did seem as though he was capable of using an Archcrafter armament.

After only a brief pause, Nogibe made a small gesture. Navim rumbled to his feet and lurched toward the arena, leading to several gasps from the audience... but not Kuber. Eventually the two faced each other across the ring, which seemed much smaller with Navim's bulky stones occupying it.

Even before the bell rang, Kuber gripped the heirloom tighter and began to flow cantae. Navim waited until the signal, then hefted a cudgel-like limb of dark stone and swept it into his opponent's chest.

It was blocked by a sphere of orange fire.

As Navim recoiled, everyone stared at Kuber as he glowed like the sun. Instead of being blinding, the light was somehow as warm as the Tatian sun... and just as powerful. The sphere didn't dissipate, instead crackling around him as he took a careful step forward.

Feeling the cantae flooding into the armament, Theo suddenly understood Magnafor's solution. All of Kuber's soulhome was devoted to a single enormous chamber that powered the armament. Any rational blueprint would have devoted an Archcrafter-tier chamber to the weapon, but devoting the entire first floor could generate enough cantae to power it. The result had to be unstable, and it meant giving up any physical reinforcement, or other techniques, or...

But apparently it worked. Kuber stood in the center of an overwhelming defensive barrier.

The light flickered low, but not because his control was ebbing. Instead, Kuber needed to weaken the barrier to attack: he raised the rod in one hand, grinning, and forced his cantae into it. This time, the flood of light was blinding.

Navim exploded in a shower of stone and the audience cried out in horror. Even Kuber looked startled, all his cantae fading as he stared at the rubble. Theo ignored most of the broken stones, knowing that they could be healed, and searched for Navim's core. His sphere with the embedded gems was the heart of his body, and so long as it remained intact...

The sphere lay in the center of the rubble, a crack directly through the center.

"This match is over!" Nanjuma's voice thundered over everyone else and he swept forward to the ring. "Everyone remain where you are! Healers, step forward!"

As much as Theo wanted to run to check on Navim, he stayed back enough for the healers to arrive first. Yet the Tatian healers seemed at a loss in all the rubble, only a few properly checking on the gem core. By the time Theo dared to step in, Nanjuma was the only one doing anything useful, his Ruler senses thoroughly examining the area.

"His soul is still intact," Nanjuma said carefully, "but it was severely weakened. I cannot tell if he is dying or not."

"I... I never meant..." Kuber took a step back, staring in horror. One of the Farmguards came and took him by the shoulder, though as support instead of accusation. At most he was guilty of negligence, not understanding the strength of his armament, but it wasn't ultimately his fault.

No, that lay on Magnafor's shoulders. Theo didn't see the other man anywhere, briefly wondering if this could all be part of his plan. He quickly dismissed that theory: he couldn't have predicted that Kuber would end up facing Navim in a match. His real scheme would be something more flexible, so the question was why he had helped Kuber in the first place.

Even that mattered less than Navim's life, which hung in the balance. Theo had never visited Arbai, but he'd seen a few Mundhin in battle and he knew that once their core began to crack, their life was at risk. At first he stood back, hoping someone else would have more expertise, but Fiyu tugged anxiously at his sleeve.

"We must help Navim," she said, barely audible over all the shouting. "Do you know how?"

"I can try." Theo stepped forward, getting the attention of Nanjuma and the healers. "Everyone, listen! Our first response should be gathering all the other stones around his core. That might help him hang on for a while longer."

The healers rapidly began gathering the stones, relieved to be able to help in any way. Theo set up an inverse gravitational field in order to make them weightless, so they could position the rocks all around the core. It started to be more trouble than it was worth, since the rocks kept bouncing apart, but before he could change his mind, one of the Farmguards came up with a net and canvas that they wrapped around the floating rocks... the floating body.

"I do not think that anyone here can heal him," Nanjuma said sadly, placing a hand against the bundle of stone. "I presume that there are techniques to restore him on his own world, but the gate is some distance away, even at my highest speed. Can it be done?"

"You have a chance to save him!" Suddenly Magnafor was standing in the inner circle, speaking with the exact confidence that Tatians liked to follow. "He once told me that his school is not far from the gate, and surely they can help him. So if Theo keeps him stable and Nanjuma takes him as quickly as possible, you can make it."

Of course Magnafor wasn't so foolish as to smirk, but when their eyes met for a split second, he might as well have. This might not have been his plan, but he was adapting perfectly to the situation. If they journeyed to the Arbai gate, that would leave him free to reach the vault. Even if Theo was ruthless enough to abandon Navim, the Tatians would never accept it, and all eyes were on them.

That was the key. Theo gave a relieved smile and put a familial hand on Magnafor's shoulder. "I'm glad we have an expert on the territory with us! With your help, we can save his life."

Everyone around them nodded and grinned, desperate for a sign of hope. Magnafor smiled with hard eyes, but he didn't look panicked. Did he have an accomplice? Or had Theo fundamentally misunderstood his plan? There was no more time to consider, because Nanjuma swept all of them away toward the acorn vessel.

When lives were at stake, Tatians could move with impressive efficiency. Yet as he was pulled along, Theo had a feeling that they were already too late. Not for Navim, but for everyone else.