Chapter 127: His Impossible Choice

The oil lamp burned low in Raziel’s room while Lucian sat in the heavy wooden chair across from the small desk.

He leaned his head back against the wood closing his eyes and sleeping from physical exhaustion.

Dark bruises formed on his ribs from Gideon’s bear hug.

Raziel sat on the edge of his bed.

The final match started at noon tomorrow and Mordecai trapped them in a perfect corner, refusing to fight meant an automatic forfeit and a one-way trip to the southern war front.

Losing on purpose was out of the question since Mordecai sat in the front row with his detection artifact and would recognize a thrown match in a second, executing them both for mocking a holy evaluation.

Tying was illegal because the Ascension Tournament rules demanded a clear victor in the final round.

They had to fight for real.

Raziel activated the blue interface in his vision to calculate the odds.

[SCENARIO A: Raziel wins -> Lucian transfers to the southern front. Probability of Lucian’s death: 73%.]

[SCENARIO B: Lucian wins -> Raziel loses the title of Quintile. Mission compromised.]

[SCENARIO C: Forfeit -> The withdrawing party transfers to the front.]

[SCENARIO D: CALCULATING…]

Raziel stared at the blinking text searching for Option D for three continuous hours, running tactical simulations in his head and analyzing the arena dimensions along with the judges’ personalities.

He considered using a fraction of his Umbral core to blind the Elector’s artifact but every single path ended with a massive casualty.

His empathy level sat at eighty percent so he lacked the deep emotional panic he felt in his previous lives, but the logical part of his brain recognized Lucian’s death as an unacceptable tactical failure because Lucian was a vital piece on the board.

The door handle turned with a soft click and Lara walked into the room closing the heavy wood behind her.

She wore her dark novice robes with deep dark circles under her eyes, looking at Lucian sleeping in the chair before turning to Raziel.

“I cannot sleep,” Lara whispered walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed next to Raziel while keeping a small distance between them.

“The emotional storm in this room is deafening, Lucian fears hurting you and you are calculating how to save him without destroying yourself.”

Raziel looked at her. “My empathy is low, Lara. I am just running the math.”

“The math is loud,” Lara replied staring at the flickering oil lamp on the desk. “You are trying to figure out who has to lose tomorrow.”

“Someone has to lose,” Raziel stated. “That is the rule.”

Lara shook her head. “What if the fight does not have to decide who wins?”

Raziel frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What if the fight can decide what the judges see?” Lara turned her head looking straight at him.

“Mordecai wants to see you break using your anomaly, but the other judges just want to see excellence. What if you put on a show so impressive and technically perfect that eliminating either of you becomes a massive loss for the academy?”

Raziel stopped breathing for a second as his tactical mind processed her words and the pieces clicked together.

He did not need to win or lose, he needed to force the judges to declare them both as Quintiles and make the crowd demand their continued presence at St. Celeste.

The plan was brutal since they had to fight for real hitting each other with absolute maximum effort.

They had to turn the duel into a high-level exhibition of martial and magical skill proving they were too valuable to send to the meat grinder in the south.

“It requires a unanimous vote or a tie-breaker,” Raziel said analyzing the political board.

“Mordecai wants one of us to fall and will vote to eliminate the loser. Brother Thomas will support us but lacks voting power against an Elector, and Father Marius will vote with Mordecai to save his own skin.”

Raziel paused.

“Sister Nefeli is the key.”

If Nefeli voted to keep them both the panel tied two against two and the St. Celeste protocol dictated that the sponsoring Exarch decided all ties.

Exarch Caelum sponsored the tournament and needed Raziel alive to find the Heart of the Forge so Caelum would vote to keep them both.

Lucian shifted in the wooden chair groaning and opening his eyes.

He rubbed his face looking at Raziel and Lara.

“Did you find Option D?” Lucian asked.

“Maybe,” Raziel answered.

“Does it hurt?”

“A lot.”

“For who?” Lucian sat up straight.

“For both of us,” Raziel said leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “We have to fight for real tomorrow, Lucian. No holding back and no pulled punches.”

Lucian stared at him as the sleep vanished from his green eyes.

“If I fight without holding back against you I can do real damage, Raziel. I know your blind spots.”

“I know,” Raziel replied.

“And you can hurt me,” Lucian added.

“Also true.”

Silence fell over the small room while the oil lamp flickered.

Lucian stood up from the chair stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders until his joints popped.

“Then let’s make it a fight no one ever forgets,” Lucian said walking over and offering his fist.

Raziel stood up bumping his fist against Lucian’s knuckles.

The pact was sealed since they were going to beat each other half to death to survive.

“We still have a problem,” Raziel stated dropping his hand.

“The plan depends on Sister Nefeli voting in our favor and she represents Caelum but she is an Inquisitor, we have zero leverage over her.”

Lara stood up from the bed smoothing the wrinkles in her dark robe.

“You need Nefeli on your side,” Lara said. “I can convince her.”

Raziel looked at her with skepticism. “How? You said she has zero detectable emotions and you cannot read her.”

Lara smiled.

The gesture was sharp and calculating, showing she had survived the horrors of St. Sophia and learned how to play the game.

“Exactly,” Lara stated.

“Someone with zero detectable emotions has two explanations, either she is a complete monster with no soul or she possesses a perfect empathic shield no one can penetrate.”

Lara paused looking at the closed door.

Raziel processed the logic.

“If it is the second option,” Lara continued, “she has spent her whole life hiding her true nature just like us.”

“And if it is the first option?” Lucian asked.

Lara looked back at them keeping her sharp smile. “Then we are screwed anyway.”

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