Crow stared at the scrying slate, his blood running cold as he took in what was happening. When Simona had betrayed her temporary allies, it had given him hope for a victory. And yet for the last few minutes he’d just wished for an end to the match.

It was grotesque, barbaric, the way she tormented Gem. At first the angle of viewing hadn’t allowed him to see her face, only the back of her head as Gem’s arms and legs thrashed around in agonised spasms beneath her. The position quickly changed, however, and gave him a perfect look at her face.

Pretty features twisted into the pinnacle of hideousness by the animalistic expression into which they had twisted themselves. The way she stared down at Gem, the way she smiled at every scream that came from the girl, made her seem ever more a spider feasting on a fly.

And it made Crow want to strangle her with ever growing intensity.

He leapt to his feet, turning to make his way out of team Ra’s room and to the stadium. The Crux was far away, but if he ran with magic and scaled buildings rather than going around them Crow reckoned he could beat a carriage’s time. He never got the chance to find out, however, as almost the moment after he stood, someone gripped him from behind.

Crow felt his physical enhancement activate, the world slowing as his reactions heightened- yet he still couldn’t break out of the hold.

“Calm down,” a familiar voice commanded from behind. Ra’s voice. “Crow listen man, I get how you feel- but just calm down and think.”

Fury expanded to fill the hole left by Crow’s vanished excitement, as he spat out a hasty, rage-fuelled reply.

“WHAT’S THERE TO THINK ABOUT? MY FRIEND IS BEING FUCKING TORTURED DOWN THERE, LET ME GO!”

But Ra didn’t let him go, instead he simply continued, frustratingly calmly.

“No, your friend was being tortured. Whatever was happening down there, it ended minutes ago.”

From where he was, Crow couldn’t see the scrying slate- not with Ra preventing him from turning- but he knew that what he was being told was impossible.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I just saw it-”

“You saw it on the scrying slate, yes.” Ra interrupted, sounding annoyed now. “How do you think you did that without your magic activated to slow your perception of time?”

Crow went to give his answer, then found himself without one. Ra carried on in his silence.

“The image we saw on the slate was slowed down so that regular inepts could still watch it and know what was going on without magic, didn’t you notice how slowly the rubble was falling?”

He hadn’t noticed that. Suddenly finding himself trembling, Crow could think of only one thing to ask.

“So there’s nothing I can do to help her?”

Apparently sensing he was no more of a threat, Ra released his grip on Crow. As he turned to look at the Jyptian, he was met with an entirely pained, regretful expression.

“I’m sorry Crow,” the boy half-muttered. “Simona… Look, I need you to understand that she’s not doing this on any of our requests, hell if we’d known there was a chance she would we’d never have sent her out.”

This was met with lowly-spoken assent from the rest of team Ra. Crow simply nodded, not having the thought to spare on even deciding whether he believed them or not.

“I need to go,” he finally told them. As Ra looked like he’d argue, Crow quickly added. “I won’t run through buildings or anything, but I’d like to be there to see Gem as soon as possible.”

After a moment, the Jyptian nodded.

“That’s completely fair, but you should stay. With her… injuries,” the last word seemed a struggle to him, “- she’ll likely be rushed over to the Crux as fast as they can manage. If you want to help her, get ready to meet her here.”

Crow realised that what Ra was saying made sense, yet agreeing to sit still was nonetheless a painful concession.

What else could he do though?

***

Tamaias could tell from the moment he began stepping out into the middle of the stadium that he’d have a hard time with the crowd’s mood. After half a millennium under the service of the Unixian Alliance, he’d managed to find a position where he didn’t need to deal with them quite so regularly- it had been among the best decisions he’d made. And the atmosphere as he came to a stop in the centre of this one reinforced that to him.

It couldn’t be helped, he supposed. Alabaster was a frighteningly intelligent woman, carrying every gram of her father’s intelligence- possibly more. And yet she was a seventeen year-old girl, it had been foolish of him to rely so heavily on her.

Clearing his throat, Tamaias projected his voice outwards- injecting every ounce of practiced authority he had to best use the awe he inspired simply by existing. With a crowd like this, one that had just seen a hero humiliated and broken, he’d need it.

“GREETINGS BERMUDA, MY NAME IS REGINALD TAMAIAS. I AM THE OVERSEER FOR THIS YEAR’S SIEVE, AND IN LIGHT OF WHAT WE JUST WITNESSED, I THOUGHT IT BEST THAT I WAS THE ONE TO ADDRESS YOU ALL.”

Thought it best, he’d almost said “prudent.” A simple mistake, but a dangerous one. The last thing he needed was to confound even a fraction of his audience with words they might not have heard before.

Despite the near-disaster, the sounds from the masses had been muted to a low rumbling. If there was ever a time to convey what needed to be conveyed, it was now.

“THE ACTIONS OF SIMONA ALCATRA, AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEY HAVE HAD, ARE BOTH ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE AND UNEXPECTED. THE UNIXIAN ALLIANCE DOES NOT CONDONE NEEDLESS CRUELTY, AND THAT IS UNDOUBTEDLY WHAT WAS ON DISPLAY TODAY.”

He took a calculated pause.

“HOWEVER, JUST AS IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE FAIR COMPETITION BETWEEN THOSE IN THE SIEVE, SO, TOO, IS IT VITAL THAT THE SIEVE ITSELF REMAINS PURE OF PURPOSE- TO FILTER OUT THOSE WITH THE GREATEST APTITUDE FROM THE REST.”

Murmurs of dissent began to quickly pick up within the crowd, and Tamaias realised his time to speak was drawing thin.

“IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT, WHILE WE REQUIRE TIME TO COME TO A DECISION IN REGARDS TO WHAT SHALL BE DONE, WE LIKEWISE CANNOT AFFORD TO POSTPONE THE SIEVE AND BEAR THE DISRUPTION THIS WOULD CAUSE.”

This proclamation drew a mixed response from the audience, which was the best Tamaias could have reasonably hoped for. Rather than attempt to address their replies, he quickly bade them farewell and turned to leave.

The Sieve would have to continue, that much was beyond question. And the vampire simply could not be removed at such a late stage, not without causing an unacceptable disruption. With that in mind, his best option would be to delay his inevitable announcement for as long as possible- giving Bermuda’s anger the chance to die down before confronting them with the decision.

As he entered the tunnel leading into the main building of the stadium, he habitually ran a hand through his hair. An exhausting day already.

***

Astra couldn’t think of anything to say as the Gemini and the vampire disappeared in a glimmer of light. She hadn’t liked Menza, the girl had been arrogant, entitled and insufferable- convinced that everyone owed her something just by merit of who she was.

She hadn’t deserved that, though. Nobody deserved that.

Turning to Xeno, she studied the expression on the fae’s face- not at all surprised to find the girl appearing entirely mortified. There was probably a similar expression on Astra herself.

So softly she barely even heard it, Xeno muttered a question even as she continued to blankly stare at the screen.

“Why? What did she have to gain from that?”

Astra didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

***

Gem wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. It was a fascinating sensation, though one she found decidedly unnerving. Much like a dream, the world seemed to be made of abstractions- minuscule half-shapes which lasted only so long as she saw them from the corner of her eye alone, disappearing into vaporous shadows the moment her gaze was levelled on them in its entirety.

She wanted very much to sleep, but something kept her tied to consciousness. A mysterious urgency. Impossible to locate the source of, yet nearly as difficult to ignore. Struggling against the bleariness, she tried to find something to keep her mind tethered above the realm of dreams. Eventually she settled on counting her turns.

She wasn’t sure what she was on, perhaps a hammock, but whatever it was seemed to shift directions a lot. When had she laid down? It didn’t matter.

There was another left turn, and then a strange lurching- Gem felt her feet raise above her head. Was she on a boat? It was far too much effort to open her eyes and look around her, even with the tantalising shapes shifting through their lids.

Sleep plucked at her once more, and Gem found her thoughts smothered by her concentrated efforts on warding it off.

***

Karma struggled against the grip with all of her strength, yet the situation in which she found herself was quite an unusual one- all the strength of a Gladiator was insufficient to resolve it. Lesifarz’s grip didn’t weaken by even a gram, no matter how violently she thrashed against it.

His fingers remained an unbreaking seal around her biceps, his arms not even trembling as they exerted the necessary force to keep her pinned back against his chest.

“Princess,” the man asked for the fifth time. “Please, calm down.”

She didn’t bother giving him a verbal reply, words- thinking- was far more effort than she could be bothered with at the time being.

***

As Tamaias neared his destination, the chamber set deep into the structure of the stadium’s main building, he felt himself stiffen up in anticipation for what he would find. Still fifty paces away, he could hear the distant grunting which made it abundantly clear that he had quite the fight on his hands.

By the time he was within a few metres of the door, the sounds of strain had been replaced by a string of most linguistically revolutionary curses. He pulled the slab of stone aside, making use of his magic to shift its mass with a single arm, and stepped in. The sight he was greeted with was as strange as it was unexpected.

It had been several days since Tamaias had entered the chamber, though it had been designed specifically for use by the organizers, there was rarely cause for any but Alabaster to dwell within it. Nonetheless, he could vividly recall the clinical decor of the room.

An expensively patterned rug from Nocturnal, great braziers burning with some smokeless, amethyst incendiary discovered in Singularity, large marble pillars akin to those found in the heart of Olympus. It had been pain-stakingly constructed to bear features from each of the world’s foremost nations, completed by a great oak table set in the centre of it.

That table lay near the far wall, a dozen metres from where it had originally been located and scarcely recognisable as more than a pile of splinters. The carpet, though near to half an inch thick and weighing more than a man, had been shifted into disarray. One of its corners had ignited, lit aflame by a toppled brazier’s contents.

Despite the ransacked surroundings, the most troublesome sight was by far the one located in the centre of the room. Karma Alabaster was violently struggling against the grip of Lesifarz, her unspeaking bodyguards both stood less than ten feet away- aiming spears at the Immortal’s head and coiled up like vipers about to strike.

The ground gave way to great fissures beneath Alabaster and Lesifarz, the strength of their struggle proving far too much for mere stone chosen for aesthetics rather than strength. Despite the enormity of the forces at play, Lesifarz himself showed no signs of nearing, or even approaching, his physical limits. Tamaias wasn’t surprised in the least.

What did surprise him, or at least disappoint him, was his own oversight. The moment Menza’s torture started he should have headed straight for Alabaster to restrain her, it was only luck that Lesifarz had heard her throw the table before she could leave the room.

The girl might have had Hercules’ mind, but she undoubtedly had his temper as well.

“Let me go, Tamaias.” Snapped Alabaster, her high-born Olympic accent twisted and trembling from the rage in her voice.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that just yet, Lady Alabaster. It would be frighteningly inconvenient to the Sieve’s workings if you were to harm the vampire girl-”

With another bout of intense struggling, she interrupted him.

“Harm? Oh I’m not going to harm that vicious little whore, I’m going to crack her ribcage open across my knee and eat her heart.”

Tamaias paused, not quite sure how to respond to that. After a few minutes with nothing but the grunting of the Princess’s efforts to give sound to the room, he decided on his reply.

“Lady Alabaster, have you forgotten that you are here as the representative of Olympus?”

As he mentioned her nation and position, the girl stiffened slightly- her endeavours to escape seemed to become just that little bit less fervorous. Seeing his chance, Tamaias continued.

“I understand your anger, truly I do- but you cannot act on it. Your job here is as an organiser first above all else. Any personal relationships must come secondary to that duty.”

Her active attempts to break free halted, and he could see the girl was at least considering her next course of action- though knowing Tamaias’ luck, that would be a different method of escape. For a moment, her deep amber eyes locked onto his own. What he saw in them was almost refreshing.

This was youth, real youth. With all the vigor, wildness and impulsivity that it brought. Not some hollow artifice eroded by centuries of weariness. Seeing it displayed so openly was as captivating as it was exhausting.

And then the vigor, wildness and impulsivity was gone. Alabaster’s eyes hardened into the same armoured gaze he’d met during each of the organiers’s meetings, and when she spoke it was with a shockingly calm tone.

“You’re right, my apologies.”

Lesifarz seemed entirely shocked, Tamaias would have been lying if he’d claimed that he himself wasn’t. The girl’s magic settled, any trace of physical enhancement she was using ceased and her strength returned to that of her natural body.

“Could you please unhand me, Lesifarz?”

The request was a straight-forward one, though the hesitation was entirely understandable. Tentatively, Lesifarz released his grip on Alabaster, allowing her to step away from him. She turned to her still-poised Kin and waved a hand from which Tamaias could not derive any meaning. Apparently the Kin could, as they soundlessly lowered their weapons and took their standard at-attention stance.

Alabaster was impulsive, but it seemed she’d had the foresight not to order her bodyguards to help her escape. Maybe not so youthful after all.

“I apologise once more for the outburst, and to Sir Lesifarz for forcing him to inconvenience himself.”

In response to her words, Lesifarz chuckled heartily and gestured as if to waft away her words.

“Oh it’s fine, this gave me some much needed entertainment!”

The Princess bristled slightly at that, clearly not liking being designated a source of entertainment. Nonetheless, she next addressed Tamaias.

“Overseer, my deepest apologies for the damage to the room- naturally Olympus will reimburse it in its entirety, including providing the labour for its restoration.”

Tamaias’ first thought was to dismiss the offer good-naturedly, but after a moment of consideration he decided on a better course of action.

“Thank you, Lady Alabaster.”

The girl nodded calmly, apparently satisfied that she had covered for her lapse in judgement. Good. The last thing Tamaias needed was one of the organisers going around with frayed nerves from the idea of being in his dept.

Beginning to walk to the door, Alabaster didn’t bother turning to look at either him or Lesifarz as she left.

“I’ll be taking a carriage to the Crux in order to visit the Gemini, you’ll want to send at least a dozen high-level mystics to follow me as a guarantee that I won’t kill the vampire.”

Though she couldn’t see him, Tamaias brought an exaggerated hand to his chest nonetheless.

“A dozen? Princess don’t be so modest, I’d never dream of sending anything under twenty to keep watch on you.”

She said nothing, nor did she laugh, but something in Tamaias’ head made him sure there was the slightest smile upon her face as she disappeared through the door. He turned to Lesifarz once she was gone.

“My friend, could you please handle the aforementioned observers?”

Wordlessly, he nodded and left to do so.

Now alone, Tamaias found himself looking around and appraising the damage once more. He stepped closer to the thrown table, taking in the minuscule size of some of the debris. After a moment, he turned his gaze up to the wall- looking around until he found the point of impact.

As he’d expected, it was decorated by a spider web of thin cracks all reaching out from what looked almost like a circle of split stone. A textbook impact pattern. From the wall to the centre was at least a dozen metres, and by his guess the table before being broken would have weighed roughly four hundred kilograms.

Tamaias found himself staring at the door through which Alabaster had left.

Twenty mystics is right, he mused. With that level of strength, he’d be surprised if the girl took so much as two more years to join him in the ranks of the Immortals.

How unfortunate she was to be born in the same century as Gemini Menza.