The crowd gathered like moths to static light, drawn by the promise of spectacle—or maybe by the spectacle of Nyxia herself, still wrapped in that scandalous lace-trimmed swimsuit Boo had so lovingly gifted. The robe she wore barely stayed on her shoulders now, damp from sweat and fluttering with each breeze kicked up by the overhead turbine fans. She stood with her arms crossed, head tilted just enough to watch the goblin's every gesture like a predator considering whether the bait was worth the trap.
Perseus stood at her side, jaw set tight. "You don't have to do this," he said under his breath.
"Do you have twelve hundred crowns?" she asked sweetly.
"…No."
"Then I have to do this."
Skivv's eyes twinkled. "Alright, lovely murderlings and shady vagabonds! The name's Skivv, and this right here is the first ever Serath'Kai Skill Showdown! Three trials. No entry fee. All you need is guts, grit, and a dash of what I call marketable desperation!"
He swept dramatically toward the first challenge, where a rectangular platform had been built from plasteel and scrap planks. Lined with painted runes and surrounded by a perimeter of blinking magitech pillars, it looked like an arena for duels—or executions.
"Trial one: Blade and Blink!"
The crowd ooohed.
Nyxia's brow arched. "Sounds ominous."
"It is!" Skivv chirped. "But don't worry, we only had one fatality during the test phase."
"Test phase?"
He cleared his throat. "Moving on!"
A young Vulpera stepped forward, holding two curved sabers carved from tempered duskbone and lightning-forged handles. They pulsed faintly with charge.
"The rules are simple: dodge the illusions, strike the real one. You get one point per correct strike. Miss, and you lose a point. Hit the wrong one more than twice—"
"Shocks?" Nyxia guessed.
"Explosions!" Skivv beamed. "But minor ones."
Perseus groaned softly.
Nyxia stepped up to the platform, shrugging off her robe. The crowd collectively forgot how to breathe. She took the blades with a practiced twirl, then dropped into a low stance.
A pulse triggered the arena.
Holograms flickered to life—fifteen copies of a shade-like opponent, each flickering between male and female forms, each armed and fluid, circling her in a blur.
The crowd roared.
The first few passes were feints—Nyxia rolled under one, spun low, and struck true on the next. A shiver of sparks cracked the air. The scoreboard behind Skivv lit up.
She was fast.
Too fast.
Her bare feet slipped but found traction. Blade met illusion. Blade met resistance. Again. And again.
Then two struck her at once.
She gritted her teeth. Her thigh burned.
Still, she surged forward.
Twelve hits.
Two wrong.
One perfect final strike.
A clean decapitation through a flickering mirage.
The crowd screamed with joy. Skivv practically bounced on his heels. "NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"
She stepped off the platform, bleeding from the thigh, hair clinging to her jaw.
Perseus caught her elbow. "You good?"
"Alive," she said, grinning through the pain.
"Barely."
Skivv clapped dramatically. "Next up! Trial two: Catch the Cograt!"
The arena this time was smaller—a glass-walled pen filled with moving platforms, whirring gears, and mechanical traps. In the center was a single glowing, twitchy automaton: a Cograt. It moved like lightning and shrieked like a steam kettle.
"First one to grab the rat and make it to the end wins," Skivv explained. "Lose your grip? You go again. Die? Well. You won't."
The crowd parted for a wide, slope-lipped goblin woman with goggles and a set of brass knuckles. "She's the reigning champ," Skivv said helpfully. "And she's mad someone dropped her snack."
Nyxia cracked her knuckles. "Let's make it interesting."
The platforms activated.
Gears spun.
The cograt launched forward with a squeal.
Nyxia dove.
Steam vents blasted from the floor, knocking her off her feet once, twice—but she rolled, sprang over a turning panel, and lunged. Her fingers brushed the cograt's tail.
Missed.
The goblin woman tackled it.
Nyxia tackled her.
They crashed into a rolling gear, slid across polished magtech plates, and came up struggling. The cograt darted again.
They both sprang. Both grabbed it.
The automaton screeched and spat sparks.
With a scream, Nyxia twisted—and threw the cograt toward the endpoint.
It hit the buzzer.
And exploded in confetti.
The arena cheered.
The goblin woman sat on the floor, dazed, then offered Nyxia a bloodied grin and a thumbs up.
The final trial came in a whisper.
Skivv's voice turned solemn. "Final round: The Truth Gauntlet."
A stone seat appeared.
An old man walked forward—hooded, blindfolded, his skin inked with faint glowing lines.
He placed a single crystal orb before Nyxia.
"No blades. No fists. Just answers," Skivv said. "You'll be asked three questions. Answer truthfully. Not… honestly. Truthfully. If you lie, the orb will explode. Inside your skull."
"Charming," Perseus muttered.
Nyxia sat.
The first question came from the orb itself—its voice like wind through a crypt.
"What did you lose that you still grieve?"
She hesitated. The orb glowed hot.
"My mother," she said. "I don't even remember her face. Just that she smelled like tea leaves and firewood."
The orb pulsed. Accepted.
Second question.
"What do you fear most?"
Nyxia flinched.
"Being left behind again."
The orb brightened.
Final question.
"Would you trade your life… to save hers?"
Nyxia blinked.
No context. No name.
But she knew.
"Yes," she said.
The orb flashed blinding white.
And then cracked.
Dust spilled between her fingers.
The crowd gasped.
Silence.
Then Skivv let out a whoop. "We got ourselves a champion! Ladies and lads, thieves and saints—give it up for the winner of the Serath'Kai Skill Showdown!"
The tarp fully lifted.
The armor she'd wanted was passed to her.
She took it.
Black leather. Reinforced dusksteel. Void and shadow etched at the joints. A perfect, violent fit.
And Skivv whispered, just for her:
"Be careful what you wear, girl. Some things remember."
Not paying much mind to the goblin, Nyxia turned, panting, bruised, half-dressed, and victorious.
"Perseus," she said. "Get my boots."
He smiled faintly. "Yes, ma'am."