There was no turning back now for Zavier. He could not just drive off and be done with it. He’d spend the rest of his life worrying about more visitors drawn to his alleged aura if he did. He had to see this through. That was the real reason he had gone with Yafu on this journey at every turn if he was being honest. But killing a man he had never met? What if Yafu was the real enemy and this Shen person was innocent? What if Yafu was just crazy and they were about to kill the first random guy they saw? Despite the incredible, paradigm shifting things Zavier had seen this afternoon, the thought of killing someone made his old reality start to crash in. He was a high school kid, three months away from college. What about his future? It wasn’t a golden one but he could certainly lose it all tonight. These could be the twelve hours he regretted the rest of his life.

Yafu had been watching Zavier’s reaction to his response. It was clear to him that Zavier was having second thoughts. Yafu had his own reservation about involving Zaiver. Ultimately, he was taking an all or nothing approach to killing Shen. The weasel did deserve his best shot. Zavier was untrained and repressed but there was a deep well of energy within him. Even though it was unlikely, there was a chance it awakened in this fight. Yafu would never tell Zavier for obvious reasons but he had brought him along as a human lottery ticket. But now Zavier opened the door for him to be a liability with this cloud of doubt within him. This was unacceptable to Yafu.

“You should stay back if you can’t do what needs to be done.” Yafu said coldly, avoiding eye contact with Zavier. He really did value all life, especially ones no one else did, and was privately embarrassed he had pushed this kid so far for his own ends.

“Why do you want him dead?” asked Zavier. He surprised himself as he opened his mouth. He was going to help Yafu as long as he felt he could trust him. But to do that, he had to know the cause he was signing up for.

“What do you mean?” Yafu's reply was meant to give himself a few more seconds to formulate his answer. He had no plans to lie outright but proper framing was critical at this precarious juncture.

“You’ve spent all this time convincing me why I should help you, why I should care, but never on why you're doing this? Why are you here? Why follow this guy to a world you didn’t even believe existed and why are you immediately resorting to killing the person who may be the one other person in this world who can get you home?” Zavier tried to give an aura of genuine curiosity instead of coming off accusing. He needed the real answers before he went through with this and Yafu had to see him as worthy of his trust.

Yafu kept his head toward the door, clearly keeping lookout for Shen if he appeared in the main lobby. Without turning to face Zavier he replied in a quiet and precise manner as if he had rehearsed this to himself many times over, “He’s the reason my life back home is terrible. He took so much away from me when I was young. I spent so long making the most of what I had but not having more weighed on me every step of the way. No matter what I do, I cannot relieve that weight because my weight is coming from the past. I got to an age where I accepted I can’t change my past no matter how hard I try. The only thing I can do is get justice for it. Shen is the opposite of me. He only cares about his dream and reaching it in the future. He is so close to that future now. The only way I can get equal retribution for my past is to take it away.”

Yafu didn’t really answer the question fully. Zavier still did not know what Shen had done to Yafu. He got the sense the details were something Yafu would not share. It didn’t matter. He spoke with an intensity that explained his path here and his actions enough for Zavier. Zavier felt his initial guess was all but confirmed. He could not stop Yafu from doing this and it was probably in his best interest to help considering his own unwitting role in helping Shen reach his future. A role he wanted no part of and was upset that Shen had thrust him into. Yafu had been correct from the start: they were natural allies.

“What’s our plan for this guy?” Zavier knew that he had just given tacit confirmation that he would help with this question.

“I can’t beat him in a straight up fight. He’s too strong. You’re also not ready to help in a fight. You’ve got no developed uses for soul energy. The one thing you do have,” Yafu paused to look away from the lobby and meet Zavier’s gaze, “is the appearance of a threat. Shen will see what I saw initially when I had to restrain you.” Zavier winced at this mention, he still was recovering emotionally from losing the ability to move in such an unfamiliar way. Yafu continued “He’s a cautious fighter, especially now when he’s vulnerable and alone. If you go in and call him out to get him talking, he’ll probably hesitate to attack seeing your energy. That will mesh well with the one thing I happen to do really well.”

“What would that be?” Zavier asked, genuinely interested.

“This.” Yafu said before disappearing seemingly into thin air. Zavier stared in disbelief for a full second or two before glancing around at his surroundings. Zavier was certain he had just watched Yafu teleport.

“I’m still right here.” Yafu said as he appeared in the exact same spot he had been in before. Zavier did the beginning of a double take but recovered quickly to try to downplay how startled he was. “Shen would be able to see me at this range normally. I can hide very, very well but at some point if you get close enough you give off detectable amounts of energy. But only if he’s not distracted.”

“That’s my role.” Zavier responded with a bit of trepidation. He did not like being bait.

“Basically. You have to give the appearance that you are some great threat. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that you are, so you just have to play a role.”

“Like act?”

“Yeah, Shen’s in a new world where it appears like no one has any usable soul energy. You come in with an ocean of this stuff, plus you know his name unexpectedly. If you act very confident and in control, I think he’ll focus on assessing your threat level for a good minute or so. That will give me a window.”

“What if he knows I’m powerless?” Zavier was very willing to play devil’s advocate for this plan. “You said he used me to get here, what if he knows a lot more about me then you did.”

“I’m reasonably certain he doesn’t. Getting here is crazy but it does fall within what is possible to my knowledge. Knowing anything about you before being within physical proximity to you… I don’t have the time to give you a lesson about this stuff, but it shouldn’t be possible.” Zavier raised an eyebrow at Yafu’s last comment. He wanted something a little more concrete. Seeing this, Yafu chose harshness over being reassuring. “It's going to be a difficult fight against a legitimate opponent, you don’t get a lot of sure things in these conditions. This is our best shot. If we try anything other than deception, we will not be able to close the skill gap and we will get slaughtered.”

Zavier hated this plan. He hated being bait. It made him feel like more of an idiot than he already was for being out here. Why the hell was he out here? But he didn’t have a better plan other than not fighting and going home. That plan was another dice roll if they were going to hunt him like Yafu had speculated. He also couldn’t see a better use for him than bait. He could not trade places with Yafu. There was no way for him to sneak attack Shen like Yafu could. Zavier also really believed that Yafu would be bait if it increased their odds. Yafu was so immediately accepting of personal risk to do what he wanted to do. It was the biggest reason Zavier was taking his word on these things. The genuine and unrelenting drive was not something a deceitful person could conjure up. It was also why he had to suppress his own risk aversion. Yafu needed him to match his attitude. Yafu needed another Yafu to pull this off. For that Zavier had to be something different from Zavier.

“Alright, I’m ready.” Zavier was not ready, but he would never be and it was getting late.

“Alright he’s in a large open room at the back right of the first floor.” Yafu had his eyes closed as he spoke as if he was projecting himself outward to map the terrain. For all Zavier knew, that could be exactly how this worked. “He’s meditating, building up the strength to perform this ritual. He’ll be able to feel you as soon as you reach the hallway at the end of the first room in front of us. You’ve got about twenty strides or so to get to him. I would move quickly so he doesn’t prepare something for you.”

“How can we see him and he can’t see us right now?” Zavier asked, trying to get as much strategic information as possible.

“Well, I can see him because I’m really fucking good at detection at length. I guess it’s my other really good skill.” Yafu shot back.

Zavier was taken slightly aback by Yafu’s sudden temper. It appeared he didn’t like the ‘we’ part of the question. “So your best skills are hiding and being able to see things coming before anyone can. Interesting combination.” Zavier shrugged nonchalantly at the end, he wanted to keep Yafu relaxed since their lives might depend on it.

“Yeah, I’ve had a lot of practice growing up.” Yafu snapped back, still clearly annoyed. “You should go now. I have no idea when he’ll be ready to start the ritual but we shouldn’t wait to find out. I’ll file into his range once you’ve gotten his attention. I need about a minute of stalling to move in. You should also try to move away from the nearest entrance. Spiritual detection is somewhat linked to vision, so I’ll have a better chance if he’s not looking where I’m going to have to walk in.”

“What do I do once you attack?” Zavier asked.

“Run or hide. There’s not much you can do at that point and I’d rather you not get hurt or die needlessly.” This response by Yafu did put Zavier somewhat at ease. His earlier assumption was correct. Yafu’s plan was incredibly risky for him, but Yafu was planning on doing the fighting. The risk was as great if not greater for him. Zavier just needed to give him a little help at the beginning.

Both men looked at each other and nodded. There was not much more to say. It was time to go. Zavier walked through the hotel doors and proceeded to the lobby. The building was still in decent shape but the power was off and most of the surfacing had been stripped away. It was still clearly a hotel lobby though. The front desk was to his left and what looked to be a lounge with a fireplace and some space for tables was on his right. The hallway was dead center ahead. He moved at what was probably the slowest pace he could go without being overt about it. He knew crossing that threshold would alert a lethal enemy of his presence. He was a rabbit entering a wolf's den. Taking a deep breath as he got the faint line that most likely designated two different floor or rug surfaces in a past life for the building, Zavier took his first step into enemy territory.

He half expected some booming sound or visual display. He even braced a little for an invisible force to hit or constrain him like the one Yafu had used on him earlier that day. Instead there was nothing. It was just an empty hallway with some worn out drywall and a little bit of natural light coming from the lobby. There was an empty window space at the end of the hallway. Zavier had instinctively stopped when he crossed the threshold and turned right to face his destination. Realizing waiting would only compound this mistake of hesitation, Zavier put his head down and speed walked down the hallway toward the last door on the left. It was presumably a ballroom. In a weird way he felt less nervous and more relaxed than he did as he approached the threshold. He was less concerned about avoiding his grave now that he had it dug. In the lobby he still had the chance to turn around and go home and roll the dice doing nothing. Now, he had chosen action. He hated himself for it but he didn’t have an alternative left to distract him.

Zavier reached the end of the hallway at a quick rate and wanting to shrink the amount of time to potentially get cold feet, he charged through the door, almost ripping it from the decaying hinges. He was ready for almost anything to be in this room. Instead he got what he knew he should have expected all along. The room was indeed an old ballroom, that much was obvious. Since there were no more chairs or tables left, it was just a decently large cubic empty space with a slightly elevated stage at the very back of it. Yafu was correct in assuming no other doors. The only possible exits were the windows at the very top of the back and rightward walls. Because the room had been built to vertically stack up with three floors of rooms in the rest of the hotel, it would take a jump and some climbing skills to get out that way. While he had no idea what Shen or Yafu were capable of, this meant those windows would not be much help for an escape for Zavier. What they did do is let in a decent amount of natural light. The hotel was northward facing so the setting sun shone through these open spaces doing a serviceable job illuminating the room. The only unusual thing was a spherical ball of yellow energy about five meters in diameter floating in the center of the room just below the ceiling. The surface appeared almost liquid despite floating thirty or so feet in the air. There were slight murmurs on the surface of this object as if it was over an open burner and simmering.

Sitting cross legged at the center of the elevated stage was a tan middle aged man in tattered robes similar to the ones Yafu had been wearing when he first arrived at Zavier’s house. He had jet black hair tied back in a ponytail and thick long beard. His most distinct feature was his green eyes. Despite his rather diminutive height, his muscular physique made it clear to Zavier that Shen could likely kill him without using any sort of crazy alien power. He had multiple small scars and calluses along his exposed arms and a deep set, slightly drooping face. Zavier could not help but smile internally. For all the hype and fear about facing this Shen, the guy looked like a construction worker two decades into his career. Shen’s eyes, a faded dull green, had been locked on the door initially and now traced Zavier as he paced over about ten feet to the left. There was a bit of awkward silence as both men stared at each other until Zavier finished his walk and stopped. He couldn’t let Shen just size him up, he had to be more distracting.

“Shen!” Zavier tried to project his voice forward as much as he could. Yafu was right. An unknown enemy is scariest if they are confident. He let his voice reverberate across the walls as continued to meet his opponent’s gaze. On the off chance Yafu didn’t know he had reached Shen, his voice should alert him to prepare his move.

Zavier continued to let his voice’s echo die down and he watched for Shen to react. Nothing. The man just kept giving a cold dead stare at Zavier. Zavier made a concentrated effort to hide it but this put him off guard. He wasn’t getting Shen to respond. Did he already know their plan? Zavier knew he had to try again to engage Shen. This was likely his last good chance. A second unanswered call out would leave him stumbling for options.

“Why did you come here?” Zavier figured a question was his best bet. If Shen knew his ruse there was nothing he could really do but if not a question was the best way to tempt the man to talk.

There was another long pause as the echo from Zavier’s question began to die down. Zavier was getting incredibly nervous at this point and was only barely hiding it. Then, as the last echos died out, Shen slacked his jaw and spoke. “I don’t want to kill you.” His voice was low and growly but was not adversarial in a way that would cause Zavier to doubt him. “I have a friend who’s dying to meet you soon and I would like for you to survive long enough to make that happen.” Zavier's heart sunk at this last statement. If Shen was being genuine with his posturing, he saw little threat from Zavier.

Zavier had to prioritize getting this man talking as much as possible now if he wanted to give Yafu the best chance. “Why did you come here using me?” Zavier was definitely still playing the game but he had a genuine interest in this. The alleged use of him as an anchor might be the cause of his death in the most spectacular way possible that would have been unimaginable twenty four hours ago. He really did have to know on some level; Why him?

“You were my only way through. My brothers, sisters, and I were forced to use you. There are forces beyond comprehension on this planet that would kill us if we tried any other way. Believe me when I say I did not intend to make you an enemy.” Shen paused and smirked, “I was under the impression you were unaware of us and our arts entirely. Perhaps Cirko doesn’t know Earth as he claims.”

Trying to lean into the narrative of strength again Zavier responded in a cold and forceful manner. “I am very aware of soul energy and request that you leave my world at once.” By the end of the sentence Zavier was imitating comic characters he liked growing up. Hopefully his demeanor wasn’t as played out in Shen’s world.

Shen’s face lost its friendliness and contorted into a fearsome snarl. He was definitely a master of intimidation whether intentional or not. His anger started to crescendo with each passing word, “Cirko wants to meet you so desperately and I do not want to deny him that after he has helped me more than I can ever repay but if you stand in my way, I cannot grant you the leniency I have denied so many others.” Shen eyes and arms began to glow a piercing yellow. It was a much brighter and more intense aura than Yafu’s. The man was in a rage.

Zavier really should have tried to run but he was frozen in awe and fear. It was like watching a bear charge at you. Shen began to lean back and the glow around his arms appeared to vibrate like a ripple in a pond. As he kept leaning back the ripple got quicker and quicker, like a sound wave increasing in pitch. Zavier clenched his fists. At this point, his only chance was to jump out of the way after the attack was released. Maybe Shen could be tricked into thinking he was a stationary target. Either way Zavier could not shake the looming feeling of mortal danger.

Shen slowed his wind up to a complete stop. The moment flashed like a still picture. Zavier braced to react as quickly as possible. Shen then extended, Zavier got into a slight squat to leap but stopped when Shen directed his force ninety degrees to his right. Zavier was stunned for a half second. Did he miss? Or did he lose control during the windup? These questions were answered a half second after this moment in devastating fashion. The discharge left Shen figure tips like lighting and moved into a straight line until they suddenly stopped halfway toward the wall and was diverted upwards, causing a huge chunk of the ceiling to come crashing down. Zavier heard a huge impact at the other end of the room. As the dust settled, Shen stood turned towards where he had directed his strike, with Zavier in his peripheries. Lying sideways on the floor covered in dust and drywall was Yafu. He was wincing in pain and clutching both his arms in a halfway fetal position. There was a large human-sized dent in the wall directly above him.

“That trick isn’t working a second time, boy!” Shen yelled across the room. Zavier was dejected. Yafu’s camouflage was really something. Zavier hadn’t noticed him at all and he had walked into the room and nearly crossed it. But even that wasn’t enough to get even one cheap shot on Shen. It was clear to Zavier that they were now at a tremendous disadvantage against a superior opponent.

Zavier began to sprint toward the exit. He didn’t feel great running, but hopefully if Shen tried to chase him it would give Yafu a chance to recover. He was their only chance at this point. Shen flipped his wrist and shot more of the lightning-like discharge at the doorway. Hitting just above it, he caused debris to come crashing down and block the door covering Zaiver’s best exit. Seeing this development Zavier stopped his running and turned to face Shen. His only chance now was to dodge again. He was very unconfident though. The attacks from Shen definitely did not move at the speed of light but it looked to be in the class of sound to Zavier. Whether his assessment was marginally accurate or not, dodging it successfully would be more of a lucky guess than a well- timed move.

Shen wound up again, this time moving much quicker to get to the end of the wind-up. Clearly he had wised up to the lack of soul energy resistance from Zavier and wasn’t packing as concentrated a punch with him. Zavier braced himself once again to try to dodge. Suddenly at the near crux of his wind-up, Yafu shot out of the fetal position and in one smooth spinning motion launched a short burst of yellow energy toward Shen. It was clearly not a very strong attack but the genius of Yafu was trading strength for the element of surprise. It occurred to Zavier that Yafu might have stayed in his crumpled state longer than he otherwise would to have Shen lower his guard. At the very least Shen must have subconsciously expected to see Yafu get up before worrying about another attack. Shen twisted his body towards the oncoming attack, putting his arms up in front of his face in a defensive position. The glow around him had gone from violent vibrations to a still outline around his extremities as he focused on protecting his body from the attack. Yafu’s plan appeared to work, as Shen was still rotating over when the attack struck him. He did not go flying into the wall as Yafu did but he stumbled back a few feet and crumpled to the floor.

Yafu wasted no time sending another attack, this one having a little bit more bite to it. Despite the increased charge on the second attack, Shen was much more prepared and it made all the difference. As the attack approached him, Shen slammed the ground with his glowing hands from a sideways prone position. This caused him to fly up about ten feet into the air. Easily clearing Yafu’s attack, Shen did a double spin in the air. Both spins sent a slashing attack outward. One towards Yafu and one towards Zavier. Zavier to this point had been watching in awe at the fight. It was the most spectacular thing he had ever seen. This left him wholly unprepared to be involved so abruptly back into it. As the yellow razor’s edge of the slashing attack came hurtling towards him like a tomahawk, Zavier could only stare at it frozen in shock. He was certain he was going to die. The first two times he had been bailed out by Yafu’s machinations. They did not appear to be coming a third time. At the last second, as a sort of intuitive survival instinct Zavier put his arms up to shield his body even though he would not repel this attack at all with his forearms. At the same time he felt a sudden tightening around the back of his head. It felt a little bit like he was somehow clenching his neck muscles but the sensation was originating deeper in his skull. He then felt a surge of energy pass through his body from his upper spine through to his finger tips. A brilliant bout of blue light exploded from his fingertips leaping toward a collision with Shen’s attack. The two convergent energy pulses collided about half a yard away from where Zavier was standing. There was a loud crackling noise like a roaring fire and the attack dissipated into a brilliant green flash. Zavier must not have gotten all of Shen’s attack blocked because as he witnessed the collision he grimaced and felt a sharp cut wound on the left side of his face just below the eye. It thankfully did not feel like it had cut into the bone but stung like crazy and Zavier could tell he had blood trickling down his face. It was clear even while spinning in the air that Shen had a sniper’s accuracy. If he hadn’t disrupted the attack, Zavier would have been decapitated.

Zavier had a feeling of exhilaration surge through his being. He was amazed he just did that. Despite everything crazy that had happened today, it felt different when it happened to him instead of around him. He could be fundamentally different from who he was now. Different from who he had been. His confidence soaring to a fevered pitch, Zavier would up to launch a second burst. He cocked back, tightened his neck and jaw muscles to get the same tension he felt earlier in the back of his head and hurled his arms forward.

Nothing happened. Zavier quickly moved his hand back and forth like he was trying to jumpstart himself. Still nothing. As much as he tried to recreate the tension he felt before, it just was not the same with him forcing it. The one he did as a reflex felt deeply embedded like the back part of his brain had scrunched. He just wasn’t triggering the same from drawing from his upper neck muscles. He felt the single greatest emotional swing of his life as he flailed his arms back and forth to no avail.

Shen had clearly evaluated Zavier’s impotence and was now focusing vicious slash after slash toward Yafu, who was holding his own through a combination of deflections and dives. It was clear from the increasing cadence of Shen’s attacks and decreasing finesse and control of Yafu’s defense who was gaining the upper hand. Yafu also was moving very gingerly, every moment and block becoming more a violent lunge over a choreographed motion. The back breaking straw finally came on a downward chopping motion from Shen that generated a vertical slash. Yafu had just deflected three attacks in quick succession and his stamina had reached its end. The attack was not particularly faster than any prior attacks, Yafu saw it with time to dodge. He may have read and reacted to this particular attack in his head with time to spare, but his body didn’t have the juice left to execute. Almost relaxing up a bit at the end in defeat, Yafu stood panting heavily with his arms hanging down and just let the slash hit him at full force with no attempt to soften or divert it. The sound was surprisingly muffled as it crashed into his torso, but the impact was clear as Yafu flew back like a limp doll and smashed head first and then back second into the wall, falling to the floor in a pile of newly formed debris.

Zavier stood there stunned. He was unsure the full extent of Yafu’s powers but he knew there was a significant chance that the impact had killed him. If it hadn’t, he was likely in critical condition. Zavier desperately wanted to go over to check for signs of life but his own survival instincts forced him to turn and face Shen. Hoping to capitalize on the rage of seeing his new friend get struck down so violently, Zavier forcibly extended his arms outward hoping a less forced technique allowed him to tap into his own soul energy. Still nothing. Shen had put his arms up in a countering positing from across the room but after watching Zavier draw dead a second time, he lowered then, gave a more focused look, and then smiled.

“I guess my priors were more correct for you than it appeared.” Shen said, emphasizing the final word in belligerent fashion in synchronization with him reaching his left hand out and making a claw shape with his finger pointing upwards. Zavier felt his stomach start to feel sick and his body hair stood up. He could almost see a force move quickly through the floor like a lengthening shadow from Shen to him. There was nothing visual on the hotel carpet but he had an almost sixth sense for it as it approached him like a rising tide at the beach. As it reached his feet he felt this force snake up around and violently constrict him. It was so sudden and tight it squeezed the air out of him and forced a violent exhale. Desperately needing air but only able to to take short forceful breaths, Zavier felt his eyes water and his movement painfully constrict down to nothing. There was a yellow glow around his body, but unlike the fuzzy siloette he had seen on Yafu and Shen, this one wrapped around him like a jagged tattoo. It was clear to Zavier that Shen had him in a more potent version of the vice grip Yafu had used on in that afternoon.

With his left hand still in the claw formation, Shen brought his right hand to the ceiling and began pulling the sphere downward. He spoke as this object made its descent. “Today’s is a great day for you. Even though I hate violence, I would have killed you like I did your ally if you were anyone else. But there is a reason to let you live. Not one for me. I have the same lethal intentions for all those who keep me from dreams, but I have a friend who feels different. Whether you know him or not, Cirko feels a great connection to you whether you feel it or not. A connection through the worlds. A connection he himself does not fully understand. I see the same obsession to get to the truth of that connection that I have with my goals. I will deliver him a chance to service his obsessions the way he has given me a chance to service mine. That is why you avoid death for the time being despite your grave crimes against me.” As Shen finished his monologue, the sphere reached the floor at the center of the room and flattened into a ring. The glow had intensified greatly since the first time Zavier saw it. He could tell they were reaching the end of the ritual.

A sense of dread washed over Zavier. He had no reason to believe that Yafu had exaggerated the consequences of the completion of this ritual. Desperate to try something, to get out of the way of the oncoming train he could feel flying towards him, Zaiver began to struggle violently against his bonds. Shen responded by squeezing more. Zaiver winced in pain. He would have yelled if he had the ability to do so. His arms felt seconds away from snapping in two. He kept trying to mimic the compressing feeling in his head he felt the one time he had used his own soul energy for a final time. Nothing again. It felt so distant and unreachable now Zavier was beginning to doubt he had done it all. It was a little crazy to be calling on magical powers he had spent eighteen years never thinking anyone was capable of much less him. His efforts continued to be futile despite trying over and over again. He began to give up and stopped his physical struggle against the bonds, hoping Shen would notice and loosen them back to where they were initially. No such mercy was afforded.

Zavier stood there constricted in a straight upright standing position with his legs locked together and his arms pressing in hard on his ribcage. In this position, he was completely defeated and would not be fighting anymore. At this point, he was going to have to try his luck with this Cirko person. Shen had clearly shifted focus from Zavier to the ring on the floor in front of him. Zavier could feel the vibrations in the air getting stronger and stronger. It was causing him to unintentionally jostle with his bonds creating a great amount of pain for Zavier. At this point, he was looking forward to the end of the ritual.

Suddenly the vibrations stopped. Zavier focused in on the ring waiting to see what the end would look like. He anticipated Shen’s allies to come crawling out of the ring, although he had absolutely no idea on how this really worked. But there was no one coming out. After about five seconds of waiting for a sign from the ring, Zavier looked up at Shen hoping to get more clues on what was going to happen. What he saw surprised him. Shen’s expression, which had been one of focus and control since he disposed of Yafu, was now one of nervous defensiveness. His eyes were darting back and forth throughout the room. Zaiver could also feel the temperature of the room begin to drop precipitously. Did the ritual go wrong? Zavier wondered.

His answer came seconds later. An absolutely brilliant tone of dark blue lighting flew in from the upper left window space. Since the ballroom was on the right side of the building these leftward windows were connected to the end of the third floor hallway. An excellent place to attack from since all the natural light of the room was coming from the right side windows. Shen clearly had anticipated a threat coming but was not able to pinpoint the exact angle of it before it was in the air. He quickly threw up a defensive measure as he turned to face the attack. It was a slightly curved yellow barrier about five feet in front of him. The blue lighting collided violently with the barrier pushing it backwards until it collided with its user, sending Shen tumbling back. As with Zavier’s one successful counter of Shen’s attacks, the collision created a bright flash of purple.

Zavier fell, hitting the ground with a jarring force. He had not been ready for the sudden release of his bond. The ring still stayed in form. Shen had clearly prioritized it over Zavier. Zavier very quickly pulled himself up despite soreness and stiffness from being restrained so tightly. His head swung to his left to where the attack came from. Having dropped down from the window to the ground level at the left wall of the room was a silver-haired woman. It was definitely silver instead of gray. Whereas gray hair had a faded look of aging, this woman’s hair was bright and youthful. Her carmel face was long and slender with a soft pointed chin. Her neck was long and skinny as were her arms and legs. Her facial skin wrapped tightly around her cheekbones and jawline giving her defined look. Her eyes were a brilliant dark blue matching the color of what Zaiver presumed was her attack a few moments prior. It was not the time at all but Zavier could not help but marvel at this woman’s natural beauty.

She gave a quick glance towards Zavier. Zavier met it briefly then looked at the floor. Three pulsing slashes of sudden yellow energy came flying from the debris cloud on the right part of the elevated stage. Shen was clearly back in the fight. This woman dispatched these attacks in three fluid and delbrite movements that built into a fourth motion that sent a lighting-like constant stream of blue energy back towards Shen. Shen put up a similar barrier of yellow. The impact cleared the dust, making Shen visible again. The initial impact did not knock back the barrier like it had done the first time but it did cause it to crack, barely keeping the discharge at bay. Zavier could see Shen strain like he had not for his fight with Yafu. This woman was clearly more in his league.

This stalemate continued for about thirty seconds or so, until the woman brought her hands down and the blue discharge dissipated. Shen returned in kind. There was no attempt at a surprise resuscitation of hostilities as the two looked at each other silently for about ten seconds. Finally the woman spoke her voice brimming with hostility, “This is pointless. It’s over. You must have been told to fear my teacher. I can stall you long enough until he has this position locked. He then will kill all of your friends in transit if you try to bring them here” The woman's stern businesslike look melted away into a malicious grin, “That includes Cirko.”

Silence followed for the next ten or so seconds. Shen didn’t move his face, giving a concentrated stare towards the woman. Finally his look changed to one of monstrous rage. Zavier tensed up. He was certain something crazy was coming. Shen could do almost anything. The only thing for certain to Zaiver is he wanted to hurt this woman. Badly. Shen slowly began to wind up. The woman moved into a defensive stance, ready to counter. As he hit the peak of his wind-up, Shen suddenly jerked his body to face Zavier and unleashed the most jagged and chaotic attack Zavier had seen this evening. He could feel the hatred radiating from it as it hurdled towards him. As he braced to get hit, he felt a force sweep his legs out from under him, yanking him out of the path of the attack. It flew right by his face smashing into the wall behind him. He felt a stinging sensation as some debris cut into his face and arms. As he hit the floor a sharp pain emerged in his shoulder. The combination of being tense from Shen's confinement and the violent manner to which he hit the hard floor was too much for his body. He didn’t know what happened to his shoulder but he could tell in the moment he had hurt it badly.

Lying sideways but still facing the stage, Zavier could make out Shen as he leapt from the stage into the ring. Another discharge of blue lighting missed him by the smallest of margins as he sunk into the floor through the ring. As the top of his head disappeared the ring evaporated sending a hot gust of air through the room. Zavier tried to get up to get a better look at what just happened but he barely budged. The accumulation of damage had taken its toll. He was barely staying conscious.

He heard footsteps make their way over to him. The woman then came into view and took a knee to get a better look at Zavier. She had a dispassionate look on her face as she surveyed his injuries. In his condition, Zavier could only hope she was friendly. Mustering up the last bit of strength he had, Zavier uttered forcefully, taking long pauses after each syllable, “My friend, Yafu, he needs medical. Please help.”

The woman gave him a confused look and then said calmly, “You need rest before anything else.” She then took her hand and made a waving motion over Zavier’s face. The blue glow was a dead giveaway she was performing some sort of process on him. He could only hope it was a healing one. Zavier felt his eyes begin to close and felt like he was falling down into the darkness of his own subconscious. As Zavier was slipping out of it, he heard the woman say, “He will have many questions for you when you wake.”