Faris was missing two of his limbs. Specifically, his left arm and right leg. But he was only somewhat upset.

"I was able to avoid losing my dominant hand this time you piece of garbage." Faris's bright blue eyes twinkled as glared at the boy who looked almost like him.

The boy was slightly taller and older, and his skin darker, his features were also, slightly different, Faris had features that seemed to blend Middle Eastern, European, and African, this boy mirroring him seemed to have physical traits that made him seem slightly more African, in that way, his physical appearance seemed to be a fusion of Faris, and one other person.

"It's a shame too, how does it feel to realize that you were the fake." Tartarus's deep laugh filled Faris's mindscape, the energy within the area, personified as dark red swirling clouds, pulsed whenever his voice raised. "To think, all along, I thought 'Faris' was the real entity, but 'Damien' is the real one, Damien had the soul I ended up retreating into." Tartarus's smile widened unnaturally, the body he appeared in differed in a few more ways than just his physical similarities to Damien. Atop his head were two antler-like horns, wide and multibranched, curving and jutting out to resemble both the horns of a demon as well as a crown. "You've certainly become quite tenacious, I'm disappointed that a fake somehow gave a greater level of skill than the real thing."

"My goodness, you're a bold liar." Faris smirked, "We had this conversation months ago, where you faced Damien and said the exact same words, he was a collection of soulless memory, I was the real thing, you'd absorb him, absorb me, yadda yadda, do spirits simply lie? Or is it a trait of shades with even the slightest bit of intelligence, I don't remember Durza ever being as mouthy."

"Don't compare me to that weakling who was killed by a sword to the chest."

"Oh, and a dagger through the back is better?" Some of the red light from the atmosphere entered Faris, as it did, his eyes flashed from blue to a deep red as a wave of energy highlighted his body, settling in his missing limbs and creating limbs made of energy.

"!"

"Surprise, I've picked up a few tricks fighting you." Faris charged forward, in his hand was Uglaw's sword, and despite the size difference, it felt snug in his hand. He swung with inhuman speed, but Tartarus was faster, blocking the blade with his bare hands.

"Die." Tartarus raised his hand to Faris's face, and a blast of pure force knocked the boy back. Faris rose, all forelimbs missing again and with just his torso left, but even then, he laughed.

"You think you can win? You have no magic, you aren't even real, you are nothing! You're maybe at best just a bundle of talent and confidence wrapped up in a fake persona, your emotions are simply a reflection of the false reality Damien put up. He was too weak to face any real truths, so you bore the hardships and became the power you are today. He materialized in front of the dying Faris. "And now, I'll take that power from you."

"No, you won't." Faris said, smiling even as he was destroyed by Tartarus, "This is simply a reflection of our status, you're getting desperate now, I'm fighting back, and I'm not the only one." He laughed, as his body disappeared, his voice reverberated throughout the echoes of the mindscape. "I'm me Tartarus, and Damien is himself, we're two halves of the same whole, and you're overstaying your welcome…"

...

"...Urgh… argh…" Pained moans emanated from a young boy with red hair. The other fighters in the third bracket turned to him, confused. The young man, Faris, was somewhat of a mystery, he showed excellent results in the last race, winning it, and also showed great skill in the first round of the student duels, where he defeated a semi-accomplished knight apprentice praised for his understanding of basic swordplay. But this was the human's division, where adults and teens of all shapes and sizes, skilled in all forms of martial skill, competed. They had been surprised when he showed that he signed for two different duel competitions side by side, and expected that he would eventually be easy pickings for whoever was lucky enough to face him. But now, with the pained moans emanating from the boy, a few of them thought to themselves that some lucky fool would be able to simply pass without even wasting an iota of effort.

"Sir Yohan Morsk?" The fighters in the waiting room all turned to a large figure standing in the corner. He stood at a towering 6 foot 3 inches and was a tower of muscle and sinew, an equally large greatsword rested at his side. He was in chain mail and held a large shield strapped to one arm. The fighters watched him nervously, Yohan was a powerful fighter from the north, who achieved knighthood at a young age, he looked down on the Knight's academy in the capital, believing that only nobles should ever be allowed the opportunity for knighthood, and had proven himself in 15 duels against full-fledged members of the knight brigade, defeating 10 of those 15. The fighters all gulped, hoping they would not be his first victim.

"Umm… contestant Faris, please enter, it's your turn as well." The receptionist turned to the boy, concern etched on his face. After a few seconds, the boy raised his head, turning to her.

"Yes, I'm ready." Tartarus smiled, sighing deeply. His head throbbed and he was in a bad mood, but looking at Yohan, who stared at him with menace, made him smile. "Let's get the slaughter going."

"Well, don't you look smug?" Venka looked to Seya. "What, did your date go well?"

"No, not at all, that prick was insufferable, rather, I enjoyed how thoroughly annoyed he was with Faris's victory in the race."

"Wait… Faris won?!" Venka said, excited and confused.

"Oh, you should have seen it, he used these weird spring contraptions, they were so marvelous, he has to sell me the blueprints!" Bartholomew gushed, speaking of the amazing specks on the boots and how they probably worked.

Morgan scoffed, "I wish he ran with us then, might have helped against that bastard Donovan."

"You're still mad?" Nya teased.

"He uses electricity, I use electricity, he's completely copying my talent!" He scowled, "Well, he better not meet me in the mage duels, I'll completely wash him away."

"He's not your opponent," Seya said simply.

"Oh, really, you're just making fun of me."

"No, I'm not, he's quite skilled, if you make light of him, it's the difference between loosing in minutes versus loosing in seconds." Seya looked at Morgan seriously, "If you try your best from the beginning, 1-out-of-20 times, you'll be the victor."

"Hey, isn't that an over-exaggeration?" Katya scowled. "Morgan has trained harder than any of us, the only ones more martially gifted are you and Nya, and he's proven to be better at magic than Nya."

"Meaning, he's simply third fiddle in all aspects." Seya said bluntly, "He's not the best fighter, he's not the best magician, he's not the best mental duelist, he's simply good, but Donovan is at the least, an exceptional magician and fighter."

Morgan looked at Seya, thoughtful, "Alright then, so if you are so confident in gauging his strength, how well would you do against him?"

Seya didn't smile, "If we had 100 matches, I'd likely win 51 of them."

Morgan frowned, "He's that tough huh… wait, doesn't that mean I have a one-in-twenty chance of beating you?" He smirked.

"In your dreams, I'm accounting for the fact Donovan doesn't know how you fight, and you don't know how Donovan fights, even if he's stronger, faster, and more magically talented, you've got that brain of yours or fearless Number 2, so you should be able to surprise him." Seya turned to look at the arena, "anyways, shush, Faris is finally up, we all attended the student duels, but none of us entered the full division for humans, we've got to show support for Nya and Faris."

Venka smiled, happy her friends seemed to have gotten over Donovan being a knight. Turning to look at the arena, she watched as her best friend in the whole world stepped out into the arena.

"Remember the rules," The receptionist put a badge on both Faris and Yohan, "once the energy in the crystal hits a critical percentage point, denoted by the meter emptying, your movements will be halted and the match will end, the barrier surrounding your body is less than the thickness of a single piece of hair, near misses will not deplete the gauge like a standard barrier may, but that also means that the physical force behind the attack may still be somewhat transferred, it's not enough to kill, but it will hurt, and bones might even be broken, for this reason, the area around the head, jaw, neck, and chest will have an extra layer of protection, in exchange, the energy depleted from an impact into those areas will drain almost twice as much energy. The barriers imitate realism, so if enough damage is done to a single area with enough force, depending on its location, one or more body parts in that location will be slowed down utilizing a second energy source to emulate the effect of real injuries."

Tartarus absorbed the instructions, but Yohan scoffed.

"Hmph, cowards, scared to shed blood."

"Well, given your size, it would be awkward draining you." Tartarus replied, "So these rules will make things less messy."

"How unscrupulous, you're one of those Knigth Brigade bastard children, aren't you."

Yohan and Tartarus walked to the center of the ring, it was a large battlefield, about 40 feet in length, with 4 pillars in the center and some walls here and there to maximize the utilization of both straight strategy and adaptability to a less than ideal environment. Some sections of the arena were completely flat, ideal for two standard sword fighters, others were uneven and even sloped.

In the many massive mirrors littering the stands, Tartarus and Yohan were recorded on the mirrors, with small graphics of their faces in the corners, displaying the energy within their crystals.

"This arena is as unscrupulous as the men and women who call themselves the Knight Brigade." Yohan scoffed, "I was surprised when such a thing, an 'Anti-mage' faction appeared, nobles and commoners putting aside their innumerable differences because of magic?" He laughed, "I'll prove my dominance in this arena, and show that before contemplating the wall of magic, noble blood and talent is an innumerable fortress." Tartarus yawned as he bowed lightly, inflaming Yohan. "I apologize child, but I have no room for mercy!" He charged forward with lightning-quick acceleration despite his great size, swinging downwards.

As fast as Yohan was, Tartarus was faster. A resounding metallic clash rang throughout the arena, and as the dust cleared, Yohan realized that his downswing landed on the boy's back, but his blade did not touch flesh or the wards, but rather a bastard sword. Utilizing a tiny bit of limiter removal, Tartarus had unsheathed the blade, placed it flat over his back, and lowered in tandem with the speed of the downward swing, blocking and deflecting a majority of the force of the sword swing, even then, a good 1/10 of the bar representing Faris's barrier health went down. Taking advantage of Yohan's shock, Tartarus swung his blade, turning the block and deflect into a massive uppercut, slicing from groin to chin. Yohan was pushed back due to the force, and Tartarus's hands throbbed, but he smiled.

The crowd cheered in appreciation, on the board, Yohan's barrier showed that he took between a third and a fourth of damage. He roared in anger, bringing down his sword, but Tartarus had rolled beneath him, slicing at his ankle tendons. The area below his knees darkened, causing the large man to stumble as he tried to turn.

"You bastard! Fight me like a man!"

"I'm twelve you jackass," Tartarus replied, kicking Yohan in the jaw. Yohan's face snapped to the side from the kick, and the damage was recorded for both Tartarus and Yohan, but Yohan's was markedly greater, with Tartarus not even at 8/10 of the barrier. "You've got a tough body, but… you know, it's actually kind of funny." He backed up, watching as Yohan staggered up, "That swing? It would have killed you, you'd have bled out, right here, on these floors you ridiculed so much." He laughed, "You'd have died, bleeding out from your groin first, I'd have had to call you Lady Yohan for the duration of the duel."

Yohan's nostrils flared as he charged Faris, who sprinted towards an uneven section of the arena.

"Tournament be damned! I'll brain you!" Yohan quickly caught up to the boy, stabbing his sword into Tararus's back. The force took out 3/4ths of his barrier's energy. Causing the barrier meter to go dangerously low. Tartarus stumbled forward, tripping and rolling behind a wall.

The crowd cheered with excitement as Yohan charged forward then stopped. Breathing deeply, he calmed himself. That boy will attack me if I round the wall, he's done enough damage to me that a strong strike to the head would kill me. The boy has some talent. I will approach from a further distance. He turned to sprint, making a wide berth of the wall. As he did, he heard the crowd cheer loudly.

Tartarus breathed deeply, he wore simple leader armor with hardened bits on his shoulders, back, chest, stomach, groin, and inner thighs, if not for that armor, the barrier likely wouldn't have been able to withstand the stab. That human has quite a decent level of power and skill, he could make Nya smile wryly. He shook his head from the thoughts. If the man was as smart as he was skilled, he wouldn't take the bait and would attempt to clear a wide berth. That's where Tartarus's skills would shine. He backed up a bit, then smirked.

Of the dozens of men and women slain by Faris and Tartarus, more than a few had experience being burglars, brigands, knife jugglers, and circus performers, their experience coupled with Faris's perfect memory allowed Tartarus to access balancing and fighting skills he didn't believe Faris had access to before, of course, it was still only possible due to Faris constantly training and maintaining his flexibility. Tartarus scrabbled up the 6ft wall, sword still in hand, and, in one fell swoop, sprinted off, activating the limiter removal for an instant to leap high over the wall and down to Yohan.

The crowd's cheering alerted Yohan, and the man swung his sword to block Tartarus. Tartarus surprised him with three rapid knife throws, two at his face, one at his chest slightly after. Yohan blocked all three, but couldn't bring his blade up high enough to fully block Tartarus's downswing.

Yohan groaned in pain, even with the barrier the force behind the swing was tremendous, but he still had health left. He smirked, reaching his hand to grab the boy by the neck, but Tartarus kicked out, catching Yohan in the neck with a hidden dagger.

"Hurk?!" Yohan flinched, backing up and falling over, but because his 'health' meter dropped to 0, the magic in the second crystal froze his movements, forcing him to remain in the mid-fall position, this caused several of the audience members to laugh.

"The winner! Faris! Amazing, even with his magic gone! He never ceases to surprise us!" The announcer called. The crowd cheered for the fantastic challenge, eventually, the magic ended, causing Yohan to fall. As he got up, attendants walked in, taking the crystals.

"Participants please bow."

Tartarus turned to Yohan, "You performed admirably, it was a fun test of how far I've come and what my limits are." He gave a sardonic smile and bowed, quietly adding so that only Yohan could hear, "Your efforts were as astounding as your beliefs, in other words, flashy, dangerous, and stupidly short-sighted." As he raised his head he met the massive blade almost at his face and the crowd screaming out, but before the blade could touch him, his eyes gleamed red, with almost superhuman precision, he shifted his body, avoiding the blade by a hair's breadth, before Yohan could react, his blade was already through the giant man's stomach. As Yohan crumpled, Tartarus's face twisted in displeasure as he whispered, "The only reason you're still alive is… well, let's just pretend I respect life." He pulled out his sword just as the healers and knights arrived, flicking the blood off and cleaning the rest before sheathing and dropping the weapon. The healers attended Yohan as the knights placed them both in cuffs then escorted him and Tartarus away.

The crowd murmured uneasily, but Venka looked the most distraught, for a second, it looked like Faris's eyes flickered red again.

Tartarus was annoyed, Faris's mental attacks were nothing to him at first, but eventually, he began to attack more methodically, it had not even been a full day, yet now, every few seconds, a pain would fill his skull and Faris would begin attacking him mentally, breaking past his first wall of defense would force Tartarus to devote time and effort into facing Faris in the inner mindscape, where he hoped visual representation of his superiority would kill Faris's resistance. But the boy proved that he was quickly overcoming both Tartarus's strength and his lies.

"Where is that tenacious attitude coming from?" Tartarus had finally been forced to put in the effort to suppress Faris, and his fight with Yohan broke his concentration enough for Faris to force his way out to struggle, the reason he hadn't gone for a killing blow was Faris's interference. "And why do you avoid killing? He's a waste of space, you hate his type the most, don't you?"

"He wasn't my real enemy, and instigating him caused that fight, if he comes for my life, I'll determine how best to deal with him, but murdering him in front of thousands of people?" Faris shook his head. He was only missing his right hand this time, replaced with a glowing implement as he held his sword, in the other hand, a primitive flintlock gun, it only had a one time use, but he could make it count. He charged forward, boosted by a surge of energy. Tartarus swung his fist to retaliate, and Faris used a burst of energy to leap into the air, avoiding the attack, he pointed his bullet, firing at Tartarus, who shook in surprise as the attack made him bleed.

"Hahaha!" Tartarus coughed up black bile as he laughed, "You don't mind that he could die, but that you did it in front of an audience? How shallow."

"Murder is murder, no matter what you call it, if you stain your hands, you expect your hands to be stained back, that doesn't mean I should glorify murder, or expose it to those who would otherwise be safe and innocent from it all." He charged forward, blade imbued with the red energy as he sliced at Tartarus.

Blood dripped on the floor, for the first time, it was Tartarus's blood. He narrowed his eyes as thousands of blasts of energy impacted Faris's body, destroying it. "You are nothing, you will submit to me!" He screamed into the darkness, but Faris gave no answer, which angered him more.

Tartarus turned to the knight who guarded him, he was in a simple room with a table and chair, a single knight stood at the door. Eventually, he attempted small talk.

"Fine afternoon."

"..."

"...Nice armor, who's the smith?"

"..."

"Steel-studded son of a bitch…" Tartarus muttered, smiling as he slouched. The knight remained silent.

Eventually, the door opened, revealing three men in Knight's regalia.

The first was quite fat, fatter even than Bartholomew's uncle Mortimer, he was dressed in full-plate that barely suit him. Gaudy designs decorated the armor and a bright red cape hung from his back, on the man's chest plate was the Insignia of the highest ranks for the Knight Brigade, generals. The fat one seemed to be a Brigadier General. The one on the right was tall and beautiful, almost like an elf, with gentle features and long hair, she walked in a way that showed off her hips even while wearing armor, which caused Tartarus to chuckle. Her insignia showed that she was a Major General. The man in the middle was of average height, his face seemed normal, he was neither ugly nor handsome, but his face also contained a pleasant symmetry to it, lacking in blemishes or even facial hair, his armor was the least decorative, but had the insignia denoting him as the main General.

"...Where's the Lieutenant General?" Tartarus asked cheekily.

The fat man spoke, "Your highest superior officers appear, and you retort?"

"He's more unique than was reported, isn't he Lawrence?" The woman said, turning to the man in the middle.

The man observed Faris, then turned to the large man, "Calm yourself Callisto, it is unbecoming to take offense from a mere child's jabs, but… you aren't just a mere child. Tartarus, is it?"

Tartarus frowned, "My name is Faris." He wondered what they were playing at.

"You can call yourself whatever you want, but that doesn't change what you are… shade."

"If you thought I was a shade, why aren't I in shackles, and dead?" Tartarus asked, his face twisted to one of rage, which matched his mood due to Faris. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I don't want any part of it."

"You only say that because you don't know…" The woman smirked, winking at him, Tartarus was unaffected by her beauty.

"Out with it then."

"Oh, I like him, we should keep an eye on this one." Callisto laughed as the woman scowled, "Calm down Petra, he's simply seen too many beauties in his life to turn his head to an old woman."

Petra, who looked to be in her mid-twenties at best, stared daggers at Callisto, who simply chuckled, jowls jiggling with his laughter.

"We know why you're attending so many events," Lawrence said.

"Oh?" Tartarus crossed his arms. "Illuminate me."

"You wish to regain your magic, either by the dragon egg or through the rewards for the Knight Apprentices who do the best, the elixir that grants a nonmagic use the ability to use magic at the level of at least a gold-ranked disciple."

"I know about the dragon egg, but as for the elixir…"

"Don't lie," Callisto said, wagging his finger, we know all about your dealings with Jaya.

"I despise Jaya."

"But that doesn't mean you disregard his words, advice, or knowledge does it?" Lawrence said.

Tartarus sighed, his head throbbing as Faris attempted to take back his mind again. "Assuming… you were correct, what now, you'll kill me?"

"No, rather, we plan on helping you win, on a condition, you just want your magic back don't you? You don't care how, and given your actions, a dragon would hamper your freedom, rather than help it. If you help us, we'll help you."

Tartarus smirked, "What, you'll rig the matches so that I take care of all the competition likely to hatch the dragon, and you place a possible puppet in front of the egg? Dragons are picky, why would it hatch for your random pawn?"

"There isn't only one pawn, and we do have our ways. Here is my deal, the two elixirs? They aren't anywhere near as powerful as the potential completed product, I'll provide you with the dosage if you take care of any possible threats to my goal, knight apprentice or mage."

"I'm only in a few challenges."

"I pulled some strings." Petra said smugly, "After a few words from me, well, the administrators had no choice but to make some last-minute changes, luckily, you can definitely make it, you certainly have the talent."

"...I need at least a little proof that you're telling the truth." Tartarus widened his eyes as they began to speak in the ancient language.

"We are the anti-mage faction because we have a healthy understanding of the dangers of magic, that does not mean we don't believe in magic or its importance."

Tartarus thought for a few seconds, "I'm not a shade, but… I guess I'll help you guys out."

They shook hands, and Petra even hugged him.

"Good choice kid," Callisto said. "You'll go far."

Tartarus was escorted out of the room, once out of sight, he moved to a private location, his head hurt more than it had before, but he smiled even as the blood-like tears brimmed in his eyes. "Those liars…" They would simply use and discard him, but he had a few aces up his sleeve.

"Time to secure my debts…"

...