The punch landed, and they all felt it. You didn't even need Sage Mind—the aftershock swept the far and wide, passing through every soul there. A soft echo of what Cain had felt—a futility, an utter hopelessness, on and on.
Silence reigned. They were all frozen. Shaken. The treasure had spared Cain's life—but if it wasn't there...
They all knew what would've happened.
But one person there was having a very different reaction.
Zane stood there, breathing heavy. He couldn't stop staring.
Emeka Eze was very strong.
The interesting thing wasn't that the guy could destroy you with one shot. It was that you knew it was coming; you saw it coming all along—you just couldn't stop it. It really was like death. Inevitable.
Zane's heart beat faster and faster.
Something about Eze's eyes—they saw right through you. It saw things about you even you didn't know.
Funny thing, though.
Zane had a very similar Skill. He had a different way of going about it but they got to the same place in the end…
The question was—what happened if those two Skills matched up? His eyes, with Zane's mind?
What happened if Zane fought him?
Zane was already striding toward the ring, striding through the still crowd.
You couldn't just dangle someone that strong and that interesting in front of Zane, and expect him not to fight them.
He almost couldn't help himself he was so excited.
***
He saw Eze turned his back, about to leave—"Wait!"
And he landed on the stage. "I'm next," he breathed.
The crowd stared in shock. Then—
"Oh my god!"
"It's the Savage Sage!"
"He just killed Mike Masters, didn't he?"
"Is he challenging Eze?!"
"No way…"
It felt like no-one dared breathe as Eze blinked, turned, then cocked his head.
Zane met his gaze squarely. They both stilled. For a moment they just stood there, sizing each other up.
"Zane Walker," said Eze. He blinked. "You've broken through." Then he pursed his lips and cast his eyes toward the healers. They were carrying Cain off on a stretcher. "But… simply being Foundation is no longer enough to stand with me. Neither is being a top World Ranker, it seems. Not anymore."
He sighed.
"I remember. I promised you a spar." Eze pursed his lips. Then shook his head. "Not today."
Zane blinked. "What?"
"It is clear to me," said Eze slowly, sadly, "I will not find what I am looking for here. For now I am no longer interested in fighting."
Eze turned to go—Zane didn't understand.
Then he felt it.
Eze was full of disappointment right now. At Cain— he thought Cain would do better.
After Eze crushed the guy so badly—without taking a single hit, really—he just didn't think anyone here could pose a challenge to him; not anymore. He felt he'd gotten himself all hyped up for nothing. His fighting spirit was gone. There was a loneliness to it.
He thought fighting Zane would be a waste of time too.
Zane scratched his head. The thing was, Zane was all hyped up now. He felt antsy and itchy now—what was he supposed to do?
He watched Eze go, helpless.
How had Cain gotten Eze to fight in the first place?
Then Zane remembered—he'd roused the guy's fighting spirit. Hmm. Could he try a little trash talk, maybe? It was crude, but—"I think I can beat you," Zane called.
Eze went very still.
He frowned. He turned, eyes narrowed. And it was like an ember flaring in a dying hearth.
"Do you."
Honestly, Zane hadn't thought that would work. He wasn't even sure it counted as trash talk. So when Eze turned he was caught a little off-guard.
He figured he should probably follow it up with something. But he was having serious trouble coming up stuff; he just wasn't a trash-talky kind of person. He ended up saying—"Uh. Yes."
Somehow that worked too. Eze frowned. Zane had his attention.
"That is not an empty boast," said Eze. He sounded surprised. "You truly believe that."
"…Yes."
Eze considered him. His frown deepened; a thought seemed to occur to him. A thought that gave him pause. "You saw my battle with Cain. You saw the Touch of Death."
"I did."
"And you… are not afraid of me." Suddenly he was very interested in Zane.
Zane was going to say 'No,' but he paused. Right now Eze was only interested—Zane had to get him a little more hyped up, he sensed. How could he… what might Avery say?
He shrugged. "What's there to be afraid of?"
"…" Eze twitched. And in him flared a fierce, furious pride.
Yes!
"Very well," said Eze softly. And he walked back in the ring, eyes shining. "Zane Walker, I accept your challenge."
***
A stunned silence. A heartbeat.
And the crowd exploded.
***
Gasps, shouts, hundreds of voices screaming over each other—
"Did—did the Savage Sage just?!—"
"Didn't he see how badly Cain just got destroyed? He doesn't stand a chance!"
"Yes he does! Didn't you hear how he crushed Masters?!"
"Those two are on another level!"
Right near the ring, a World Ranker girl was clutching a crystal to her ear, screaming into it—"You won't believe what's happening—I don't care! Screw your Water Law comprehension! I swear to God, Cass—you better come right now! ZANE WALKER'S FIGHTING EMEKA EZE!"
***
𝔹𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕤𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕕!
𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 ℝ𝕒𝕟𝕜 #𝟙𝟘, ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕍𝕊 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 ℝ𝕒𝕟𝕜 #𝟛, 𝔼𝕞𝕖𝕜𝕒 𝔼𝕫𝕖
In just a few minutes it would start.
Between bouts Eze walked over to the edge of the ring—he was talking to Coven officials and pointy silver hats. He heard Eze seemed to be asking to get the mat adjusted. It wasn't lined up right with the ring's corners, Eze said. He was very insistent they get it fixed.
Zane wasn't sure what he was doing but it didn't seem anything sneaky; it just bothered the guy a strange amount. In the meantime, Zane turned up Sage Mind.
𝔼𝕞𝕖𝕜𝕒 𝔼𝕫𝕖
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟙𝟜
𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: 𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟
𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤:
𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤)
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥'𝕤 𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕟 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤)
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕕 𝔼𝕞𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤)
𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:
𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖]
𝔸 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝟙𝟘% 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕟𝕥'𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕫𝕖𝕣𝕠—𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕧𝕦𝕝𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕤. 𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕕.
𝔼𝕪𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖] 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖.
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪]
𝔸 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕩𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝔼𝕩𝕔𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕔𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤.
𝕊𝕖𝕚𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕔 𝕊𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕙 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪]
𝔸 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕤𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕢𝕦𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪'𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪, 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖.
So those eyes of his went way deeper than Zane thought—they didn't just analyze the enemy. He was literally seeing the future. Huh.
Now Zane was even more interested to see how it matched up with Sage Mind. Zane was biased, but he still felt he had the advantage—no matter what the description wanted to believe. Whatever Eze saw, Zane would still feel him coming.
Meanwhile, if the crowd had been going wild over Eze vs. Cain, it was getting unmanageable now. They were spilling out into the main street; folk were lined up at the edges trying to look on through binoculars. He saw folk crowding terraces on the nearby skyscrapers; cheering floated over from the rooftops.
Then he noticed that even Elias had made it ringside. He waved cheerfully. He brought an assistant—a guy pointing some weird contraption at the ring, what looked to be a giant crystal. Essence poured into it from the front and beamed out on top in thin pale lines, going who knew where.
"Recording crystal!" Elias shouted over the din. "Streaming worldwide!" And he gave Zane a thumbs up.
This was getting to be a lot bigger than he thought.
***
Soon it was starting. Eze stood across from Zane, waiting. He was mostly calm. But Zane felt a red-hot feeling burning deep in his heart. It had been there ever since Zane challenged him.
He was a little surprised his trash talk worked—it was pretty bland, if he was honest. Was it even trash talk? But he supposed Eze was just that competitive.
𝟛…
𝟚…
𝟙…
𝔹𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕟.
Zane turned up Sage Mind. At the same time, Eze's eyes brightened—
He focused on Eze's soul. And Eze was watching him—watching him with those shining Eyes—
Zane felt himself. Or rather—he felt what Eze was seeing, and it was like Sage Mind passed through too—into that future-sight. Huh. He felt himself as a cloud of thoughts and feelings and intentions.
Future-him was frowning. Scratching his head.
Then he felt two Zanes. One was standing there frowning. One took a step back. …What?
Two ghostly hims. Floating in the air. Or rather—two ghostly futures…? They fell to just one as future became present—even as more popped up. Ghostly clouds of sensation, two, then three, then four. Rising and falling…
The more he focused on one particular future, the longer it played out, like a movie. Except it too started branching and changing—after just a few seconds it was enough to give him a headache.
Huh.
It'd been five seconds and this was already very weird.
But Zane and Eze were quickly coming to the same understanding, seemed like. Eze's lips were pursed; then he was nodding. He'd chosen a path. The moment he did that ghost started brightening; the rest dimmed quick.
Then he advanced, gauntlets clenched, brimming with confidence. He had a very simple plan in mind. To crush Zane so quickly, so utterly, it wouldn't only crush any doubt in the crowd's mind that he was the best.
It would crush any doubt in Zane's mind too.
…The guy was maybe a little too proud.
And Zane felt the line of Fate. Eze would advance. He'd throw a Seismic Smash. Zane would leap away, counter with a meteor—Eze would block. Turn. And Smash Zane in the face.
That was a future three moves deep and it was already hurting Zane's head. Just an army of ghosts dancing in his skull…
It was coming up fast, too—in seconds it'd be the real future!
But if he knew this was the path Eze was going down…
He forced himself to go further. He wasn't even thinking; it was more like he was a blind man in a forest, feeling his way down the paths… to the moment of the block, and the turn—down that burgeoning ghostly field of possibility. He'd choose the one he wanted…. There!
By then it was upon him.
Eze dashed for him. A fist as big as a boulder smashed over his head; he was forced to leap away—he lashed out with a meteor but Eze was wise to it. He'd seen it. He threw up a Stonewall Shield, and dense Earth Laws smothered the Stormfire blast—BOOM!
Then he turned with the momentum. Let it whip him all the way around—and Eze's boulder-sized gauntlet was lined up right with Zane's face, hurtling toward him. A fist that had a sense of utter finality to it; an ordinary fist, yet just seeing it gave you a sense of creeping dread. A fist laced with the Touch of Death. Night-night.
Except… Zane's face wasn't there to take the punch.
Because even though Eze saw all this coming—Zane did too.
Zane just saw one move deeper.
So he put face a foot to the left. Eze frowned. And Zane grinned.
Gotcha.
Then Zane's Stormfire Punch crunched into his nose.
There was a beautiful explosion.
He went flying, face smoldering—he righted himself mid-air, dropped to the ground. He must've had something like Zane's Steel Body because his face wasn't ruined—just scalded. He touched a hand to his nose, blinking in shock.
Bloody.
He wasn't the only one stunned silent. The crowd was too.
Then they went wild. People were holding their heads in their hands; jaw dropped, eyes popped. They couldn't seem to believe what was happening. Like they just saw a god bleed.
And the man who dealt the blow stood right in front of them.
Zane drowned it all out; he only had eyes for Eze. He wasn't sure what he expected. Maybe a furious roar? Or a gnashing of teeth? But Eze stared dumbly at his hand… and then he started to smile. He started chuckling.
"That was wonderful," he murmured. "You beat me to the punch. I... don't believe that's ever happened to me."
Why was he smiling like that? All he felt was joy—joy, and hope.
That was how Zane might react if he got punched in the face.
"First blood goes to you, Savage Sage," said Eze. He licked his lips. "You can see the strings of Fate, just as I see them—that's it, isn't it? When two agents try changing Fate… it splits."
Not quite. Zane was really accessing those 'strings of Fate' through Eze's own mind, his own powers—and he was feeling, not seeing. But it was pretty much the same deal. Zane was a little spooked how close to bang-on that guess was.
"Four moves deep, yes?" mused Eze; his eyes fluttered. "I see it now. Smash. Leap. Counter. Turn… Punch. You waited for me at the end of the path I chose, and caught me there. Only… you've made one crucial mistake."
He was still smiling as he cocked his head. "You should've used your hammer. Perhaps then you could've hobbled me. As it is, you've thrown away your greatest advantage…I took you lightly before. Never again."
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
And his pride—his fighting spirit—it blazed so bright it felt blinding in the eye of Sage Mind.
He smiled bloodily. "Now, the real fight begins."