“Ah. That explains the crunch,” Damien said. “Is he okay?”

“Of course he is,” Darcy said, pulling Damien to his feet. Blake had already left the stage, and that didn’t bother Damien much. The sound of his spell striking the other boy was still stuck in his head, and his own wounds were still fresh on his mind. “Congratulations on winning stage eight.”

“Thank you,” Damien said, shaking the lethargy off. He was tired, but he still had enough Ether for at least one more fight. Hopefully. “When is the next round?”

A grin tugged at the edge of Darcy’s mouth. “Now. Part of this tournament is testing your abilities in continuous battle, especially as you get higher up in it. Don’t fear – you’ve already done quite well for yourself. There’s no shame in getting knocked out in the quarterfinals.”

Damien nodded, but it was clear that he didn’t believe Darcy’s words for a second. The old judge shook his head with a sigh.

“Well, good luck. Someone will arrive shortly to take you to the finals stage. The other fights should be wrapping up right about now as well.”

True to his word, it was only a few minutes before the shadows on the stage stretched. The student that had brought Damien to the obsidian courtyard rose up from the ground. He didn’t look any more excited than he had been the first time Damien saw him.

“Ready?” he asked Damien.

“I don’t think I’ve got a choice,” Damien said.

“Not really,” the other boy agreed, extending a hand. Damien took it.

They both sank into the ground. Damien felt like he’d been enveloped by a cold, wet blanket. His nose twisted in distaste, but it was impossible to move beyond that. Luckily, the two of them on top of a new stage a few moments later. The boy sank back into the ground without another word. At the same time, without warning, Damien felt Henry rapidly retreat into the depths of his mind.

“Not the best experience, is it?”

Damien turned to see Nolan standing beside him. The noble boy’s blonde hair was matted to his head and his fancy armor had several scratches in it. Despite that, he didn’t look too injured.

“Not in the slightest,” Damien agreed. He peered over the edge of the stage and immediately regretted it. They were much higher than the previous stage – far enough away from the ground that a fall would almost certainly be fatal if someone didn’t catch them.

A thin man at the center of the stage approached them.

“The quarterfinals are about to commence. The two of you will be opponents for this match. Are you both able to fight? You may, of course, withdraw at any time.”

Nolan and Damien exchanged a glance before both shaking their heads at the same time.

“Delph would kill me,” Damien said. Nolan nodded in agreement.

A hint of a smile appeared on the judge’s face. He gestured for the two boys to take their places on either side of the stage.

“In that case, please prepare yourselves. Do not fear for your safety – I have air magic in addition to healing, so you will not die if you fall off the stage.”

“Good luck,” Nolan told Damien. “May the strongest of us move forwards. Not for the sake of the tournament, but so that Delph doesn’t make the whole class run laps.”

“Agreed,” Damien said.

“Begin!” The judge ordered.

The sand on the platform rose up around Nolan, twisting into twin blades in his hands. He dashed towards Damien, his blades trailing through the sand behind him. Damien grimaced, Delph’s warning fresh in his mind. Don’t let them get close to you. Sure.

Damien gathered the Ether in his hands, quickly tossing a gravity sphere at the ground directly between them to stop Nolan from closing the gap too quickly. The noble boy spun out of the way with surprising grace, completely avoiding the spell as it detonated.

The second sphere landed in the ground where Nolan was heading. However, something suddenly yanked Nolan upwards and out of the sphere’s range.

Damien’s eyes widened and he threw himself to the side as Nolan slammed into the ground where he’d been standing.

“You’ve got wind magic?” Damien complained as he rolled over and hopped back to his feet. A sword whistled past his chest, narrowly missing him.

“You never asked,” Nolan replied.

Damien hardened his mage armor as one of the blades sliced into his right arm. It rang off his defenses. He jumped back as Nolan thrust a sword at his stomach, channeling Ether faster than he ever had before.

Gravity spheres formed in both of Damien’s hands. He tossed them both on the ground in between them, forcing Nolan to use his wind magic to launch into the air and avoid the strike.

The boy wobbled slightly before dropping back down, a small grimace on his face. They were both panting heavily now. Damien no longer had any thoughts of saving energy for the next fight – he just wanted to survive this one.

Before Damien could draw more Ether, Nolan was upon him again. The boy’s weapons seemed like arcs of light as the slashed through the air. Damien found himself thankful for Delph’s training as he instinctively blocked several of the blows with the mage armor while backpedaling.

His Ether was starting to get low. Nolan was clearly running out as well, but Damien’s reaction timing was also growing worse. A lucky strike drew a thin line across his left cheek that instantly started to gush blood.

Damien dropped into a roll right past Nolan’s legs, just barely avoiding a thrust meant for his stomach. He drew on the Ether as he hopped back to his feet, then forced it through every one of his limbs.

His attention started to fray as he tried to keep four spells functional at the same time. Nolan stepped towards him, raising his twin swords.

“You should concede,” Nolan warned him. “You’re exhausted. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you badly. You had a good run, Damien. It’s fine to stop here.”

“Likewise,” Damien wheezed. He tossed the gravity spheres in his hands at Nolan.

Nolan threw himself to the side, avoiding the attack and dashing towards Damien. The boy slumped and a triumphant smile crossed Nolan’s face as victory came within his grasp. Only too late did he see that Damien wore the exact same expression.

“Sorry,” Damien said. He stepped into the strike, dodging one of the swords while allowing the other one to punch clean through his stomach. He had no Ether left to harden his mage armor.

Damien wrapped his arms around Nolan, holding the other boy as the two gravity spheres he’d formed at his feet started to expand. With the last of his energy, Damien swept Nolan’s legs out from under him. Both of them fell directly on top of the spells.

Nolan’s eyes went wide, but it was too late. The spells detonated.