Morning came armed.
Sun knew because Brin woke him by throwing a wooden shield at his chest.
He jerked upright with a strangled noise.
"What was that for?"
"Defense training."
"I was asleep!"
"Then your guard was low."
She walked out.
Sun stared after her.
"I will one day become powerful enough to report you."
From the next room came Nyra's sleepy voice.
"I'd support this."
He smiled before standing.
The warehouse buzzed with sharper energy than yesterday.
Yesterday had been curiosity.
Today was expectation.
Workers bowed lower.
Guards grinned wider.
Bookmakers had already sent runners asking for updated rumors.
One new banner hung across the courtyard:
SUN TODAY / PROFITS TOMORROW
Samira was drinking tea beneath it.
"I didn't approve this."
"You inspire entrepreneurship."
"That sentence feels criminal."
She slid a folded paper across the table.
Updated odds.
Sun – 12 to 1
He blinked.
"Twelve?"
"Public loves momentum."
"I might lose."
"They don't bet logic."
Fair.
Nyra approached wearing dark fitted clothes again, hair tied back.
She set a wrapped bundle in front of him.
"What's this?"
"Food."
He opened it.
Warm flatbread, roasted meat, fruit cut neatly.
He looked up slowly.
"You made breakfast?"
"No."
"You stole breakfast?"
"Yes."
He took a bite.
"This is the most romantic theft I've experienced."
She snatched the fruit back.
"Then starve."
He laughed hard enough to choke.
Brin nodded approvingly.
"Good. Laugh now. Cry later."
The arena crowd was bigger today.
Word of yesterday's upset had spread like fire through dry greed.
As Sun entered through the competitor gate, chants rolled down from the stands.
"Sun!"
"Spoon King!"
"Break someone!"
He winced.
"They've become specific."
Rhea appeared walking backward in front of him.
"I sold fifty badges."
"You made badges?"
"I diversified."
"Do I get a share?"
"No."
"Why?"
"You're the product."
Cruel but organized logic.
Today's opponent waited in the holding chamber.
Harok Dane.
Broad as a cart.
Neck like masonry.
Guild colors strapped over scarred shoulders.
Hands wrapped in chain cloth.
He sat on a bench calmly eating boiled eggs.
One after another.
Without hurry.
He looked up as Sun entered.
Chewed.
Swallowed.
"You're smaller than rumor."
Sun sat opposite him.
"You're eating like a threatened farmer."
Harok nodded once.
"Need fuel."
"I respect that."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Harok spoke again.
"I watched yesterday."
"And?"
"You hit with anger."
Sun's smile faded slightly.
"And you?"
"I hit with rent due."
Sun barked a laugh.
Instantly liked him.
"Shame we must fight."
Harok shrugged.
"We can be respectful before and after."
"During?"
"No."
Excellent answer.
Horn blast.
Officials called names.
"Second Round Preliminary! Harok Dane versus Sun!"
They entered the tunnel side by side.
This time Sun's legs were steadier.
Still nervous.
Still human.
But steadier.
As they stepped into the sunlight arena, the roar hit like surf.
Thousands watching.
Thousands expecting.
That pressure no longer felt like drowning.
Now it felt like weather.
Manageable if respected.
Nyra leaned over the railing above, eyes locked on him.
He touched the wrist wrap she had fixed last night.
Then stepped forward.
The referee gave rules.
No killing.
No outside aid.
No biting unless already natural.
Sun had questions but no time.
Signal dropped.
Harok moved first.
Fast.
Far too fast for his size.
He crossed distance and slammed a jab into Sun's sternum.
Air vanished.
Sun staggered back in shock.
The crowd roared.
Harok followed with a body hook like a falling brick.
Sun blocked late.
Pain shot through both arms.
Brin screamed from the stands.
"HANDS UP, YOU ROMANTIC IDIOT!"
Rhea cackled.
Nyra gripped the railing hard enough to crack wood.
Harok advanced relentlessly.
No flashy qi.
No taunts.
No wasted movement.
Just pressure.
Punches to guard.
Shoulder bumps.
Short kicks to thigh.
Every strike practical.
Every step disciplined.
Sun gave ground, trying angles, trying Wolf Step.
Harok cut him off repeatedly.
"You trained for me?" Sun panted.
"I train for everyone."
"Annoying habit."
Harok hit him again.
Sun hit the sand on one knee.
The crowd surged louder.
Some cheering upset.
Some cheering violence.
Some cheering because crowds are often animals wearing clothes.
He tasted blood.
Old fear whispered.
Too slow.
Too weak.
Still pretending.
Then another voice rose stronger.
Nyra's voice from the stands.
"Get up!"
Just two words.
No poetry.
No strategy.
Raw command.
He looked up.
She was half over the railing, furious.
Not at him.
At the idea of him staying down.
Something in his chest straightened.
Sun stood.
Harok nodded once.
"Good."
Then charged again.
This time Sun didn't retreat.
He met center line.
Harok jabbed.
Sun slipped outside.
Body shot.
Harok grunted.
Left hook.
Sun ducked.
Elbow to ribs.
Harok answered with knee to thigh.
Pain burst white.
Sun laughed through it.
"Now we're talking."
Harok almost smiled.
They traded in close.
Heavy, ugly, honest combat.
No noble speeches.
No image.
Just two men testing what remained after impact.
The crowd loved it.
Harok clinched suddenly, crushing Sun's arms.
Then lifted him clean off the ground.
"Oh no," Sun said.
Harok threw him.
The arena spun.
Sun crashed hard enough to see his ancestors.
Gasps from the stands.
Nyra shouted something murderous.
Brin yelled, "ROLL!"
He rolled just as Harok stomped where his head had been.
Stone cracked.
Sun blinked up.
"That was excessive."
Harok shrugged.
"Needed certainty."
Sun grinned bloodily.
"Bad news."
Wolf Step.
Blur.
He vanished low, reappeared behind Harok, and kicked the back of his knee.
The giant dropped one leg.
Sun leapt and wrapped an arm around Harok's throat from behind.
The crowd erupted.
Harok staggered.
Reached back.
Grabbed Sun's shoulder.
Sun tightened grip.
Harok slammed backward into the ground.
Pain detonated through Sun's spine.
Grip broke.
Both men rolled apart groaning.
They rose slowly.
Bruised.
Sweating.
Smiling despite themselves.
Harok wiped blood from his mouth.
"You're real."
Sun spat red.
"You too."
They charged one final time.
Punch met punch.
Both landed flush.
Both staggered.
Harok dropped to one knee first.
Then both.
The referee rushed in.
Count began.
"One!"
Sun planted a hand.
Forced himself up.
"Two!"
Harok tried.
Failed once.
Tried again.
"Three!"
Sun stood swaying.
Harok laughed breathlessly and stayed kneeling.
The referee raised Sun's hand.
"Winner—Sun!"
The stadium exploded.
Sun turned immediately toward Harok and offered his hand.
Harok looked at it.
Then took it.
Sun hauled him up.
The crowd cheered louder than for the victory.
Harok leaned close.
"Win enough to make my loss expensive."
Sun smiled.
"Deal."
As Harok exited, half the arena chanting his name too, Sun realized something rare.
Sometimes respect hurt more than hatred.
Because now he wished they had met elsewhere.
Above, Nyra's eyes shone with relief she would deny later.
Rhea waved tickets wildly.
Samira was already calculating.
Brin was yelling:
"GOOD! NOW FIX EVERYTHING YOU DID WRONG!"
Peaceful people remained mythical.
Then the announcer's voice thundered again:
"By bracket advancement… tomorrow's feature match is confirmed!"
A pause.
The crowd leaned in.
"Sun versus Arden Vale!"
The arena erupted so hard the stone shook.
Sun closed his eyes.
"Of course."
Nyra smiled slowly.
"Good."
To be continued...