The newsroom dissolved—and up came Jason's smiling face.
"This is a message to my dear brother," he said. He gave a friendly wave; his grin turned a little mocking. His eyes were glinting crescents. "Hey Zane. I know you. I've known you since you were little. I know those deep-down parts of yourself, parts even you might not know. And I know, deep down, you're a quitter."
He shrugged. "Whenever you were put under any pressure at all, whenever you were pushed to achieve your true potential, you always crumpled. You remember Versona Lake, don't you? Or that old bridge by the river? Yellowstone? I do."
He paused. "I hope, for your sake, you've really changed. If not…"
He smirked. "It'll be a short and humiliating night. Rest assured, brother. Come Sunday night, I will break you. Just like I broke you back then."
He winked.
The scene faded out.
***
"You overdid it," sighed D'Angelo Hall. He shook his head.
"Please. I'm selling the fight!" said Jason, rolling his eyes. "It's all in good fun."
His face turned serious for a moment. "Though… if he can't handle a little taunting, I suppose that just proves me right, doesn't it? That was always the problem with my brother. All the potential in the world. But put a little pressure on, and he goes from genius to—well, frankly, bang average. Put on more, and he shuts down totally. If he's still that boy…"
Jason snorted. "He deserves what's coming."
"You think he'll shut down."
Jason shrugged. "We'll see, won't we?"
***
Zane would've broken something if Reina wasn't there holding him, calming him.
"He's just trying to get in your head," she whispered, pressing her head to his, her body to his. She stayed there until his heavy breathing slowed a little. She blinked up at him, held his gaze.
"Come Sunday, just follow the plan. You're going to win this—okay?"
Zane nodded slowly.
"You're the strongest person I know," Reina said softly. She rested a hand on his cheek. "Don't let him get to you."
"I won't," Zane grunted.
***
The last night before the fight, Zane was holed up in his private section of the Warriors' Dojo. Binge Leveling.
He started off with Reina. Then he moved onto treasures after she had to tap out. There'd hardly been a moment he wasn't stuffing himself with Essence these last few days…
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟝𝟛 -> 𝟙𝟝𝟜
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟝𝟜 -> 𝟙𝟝𝟝
Reina had also cashed out his dungeon earnings to buy as many metal treasures as they could.
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝕀𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕍𝕀𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕏
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝕀𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕀𝕏 -> 𝕏
𝕌𝕡𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖. 𝕌𝕡𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕏 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕.
Now when Zane tried sparring with Evan, not even Evan's full-power blasts could scratch him. And Evan had gotten up to the high Level 140s. Zane's skin had reached a kind of density and toughness none of them had ever seen. When that drop of Bloodline started to burn and its powers rose to the surface, he was nigh indestructible.
Eze wasn't Leveling much these days—he was meditating, trying to get his own Concept for most of the day. Zane, meanwhile, was Leveling like crazy. In their raw battles it was no longer a fair fight.
After their last session Eze shook his head, bent double, panting.
"You're ready," he said. "Jason Walker may be a formidable offensive power… but I doubt even he will find it easy to wound you now."
Zane nodded. Let out a tight breath.
Less than twenty-four hours until he was locked in an arena with his brother.
"I'll see you in battle," said Eze carefully, watching him. "Have you prepared yourself? I speak of your mental state."
Zane's eyes narrowed.
"I don't need to," he said simply. "There's nothing to fear."
If Jason thought he could scare Zane like this, he did not know Zane at all. Not anymore.
It had been a long, long time since Zane felt things like real fear. They'd gone somewhere even he didn't know. He did know one thing. He was never getting them back. Sometimes he wanted to, just to feel things. It wasn't a choice for him.
The only things Zane felt intensely now were rage and bloodlust when he was fighting. And love and regular lust. Mostly with Reina and his friends. Passion and dullness. That was all.
Jason did not scare Zane.
All Jason did was make him angry.
***
15 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴀɢᴏ…
"Jason, Jason! What're we doing today?"
"You'll see. It's a surprise."
A handsome dark-haired teen strolled through the woods, hands behind his head. It was late afternoon; soft streams of sunlight filtered through reddish boughs. Beside him ran a boy who looked almost exactly like him—a mini-him, tagging along behind, all excited. Their footsteps swished through heaps of fallen leaves.
"Are we doing more drills? Footwork?" guessed Zane. "Ooh! Sparring?!"
"None of that," laughed Jason. "Today we're working on your mind."
"Mind?" said Zane, blinking.
They came up to a wood bridge. Two railings ran along the sides, a handspan thick.
It dropped into a river twenty feet below. A river sloshing white water, raging down the mountain; giant black boulders jutted out of it at odd angles. Waves crashed and soared all around them.
"Hey," said Jason, grinning mischievously. "Remember that little game we played yesterday?"
Zane couldn't take his eyes off the river. "Um," said Zane.
"On the blacktop. Walking the painted line?"
"Yeah," said Zane.
"Now watch this."
Jason leaped. Zane cried out. His brother landed right atop the railing—and started walking, just as casually as he had on solid ground.
"Watch out!" cried Zane.
"It's no biggie," said Jason. "How's this any different from the blacktop game? Or even walking around, like we were doing just now?"
He turned around, started walking backward. Closed his eyes.
"C'mon, get down from there!" Zane ran up to him and froze like he didn't know what to do. "You're scaring me…"
"The fear," said Jason. "Is in your head. I'm just walking back and forth, aren't I? The action's exactly the same!"
"It's just walking in a straight line. The easiest thing in the world, isn't it?" Jason tapped his head. "The only reason you'd fall," he said. "Is if you psych yourself out. Get rid of the fear, and you get rid of the danger."
Zane kept watching, wide-eyed. Jason hopped on one foot, started skipping along the thing. "Woah..."
To Zane, his brother was like superman. He was so cool.
Jason hopped down, still grinning. "Now you try."
Zane froze.
"Go on," said Jason gently. "It's much easier than it looks. That's the whole point, isn't it?"
Zane still hesitated—Jason held his hands, looked him in the eyes. "Trust me," said Jason. He winked. "It'll be good for you."
"Okay..." said Zane. He nodded.
It was still very scary getting up there. His foot almost slipped—but there was Jason the whole time, by his side. "You're doing it!" Jason laughed. "There you go!"
"I'm doing it," breathed Zane. His voice was trembling a little; he couldn't stop looking at the water. His knees kept banging together—but he was doing it, he really was!
"Hell yeah!" Jason beamed. "I keep telling you. You're so damned talented, Zane. You can do anything. You just need to believe. As long as your head's on right, you're unstoppable!"
"I'm—I'm unstoppable," said Zane, voice still a little shrill. They grinned at each other, though Zane's was a little queasy.
"Hey," said Jason. "Remember the second part of our little blacktop game?"
Zane went pale. His smile dropped. "Uh—"
Jason produced some circus balls from his back pocket. Started juggling them. "Dodgeball on a line. Just a little harder than walking. Nothing you can't handle. Remember—it's all in your head."
"Jason?" said Zane. His voice went all shaky again. He was looking at the water again. "I—I really don't think—"
The first ball came sailing at him. He gave a little cry, hopped—and somehow managed to land on both feet, balancing like a cat.
"There you go!" said Jason, smiling. "Beautiful! There!"
He chucked another. But this time he threw a second one right where Zane was about to land. Zane let out a yelp, did a shocking acrobatic contortion—and landed, with perfect balance, on one leg.
"Just look at you!" said Jason. He was beaming with pride. "See? I'm always telling you—just a little push, and you won't believe what you can do!"
"Um!" said Zane. He sounded terrified like he was about to cry. "Jason? Can we stop now? I don't—"
Three balls came flying at him, one after another. Shot out full-force.
Zane dodged the first. Spun over the second.
The third caught him hard in the chest. He made a hacking sound. His eyes were wide with surprise.
Then he went flailing, screaming over the edge.
"Zane!" shouted Jason. He ran over—there was Zane flailing in the river, thrashing... his head went under.
Jason sighed. And dove in after him.
Later they walked back. Both of them were drenched.
"It's in your mind," snapped Jason. "You could've dodged that if you wanted to—so easily! The only thing stopping you is you, Zane, you could do so much! But once you start panicking it all goes out the window, don't you see?"
His hand motions got more and more manic as he ranted.
"That's the problem with you. That's always been your problem. It's all mental. When things get tough, you freeze up. You quit!" Jason pursed his lips. "We'll have to train that out of you."
Zane just kept quiet, shivering, slumped. There was a dull look in his eyes. He didn't say a word the whole way back.
***
ᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛ ᴅᴀʏ...
Reina gave Zane the game plan. Or rather—she told Zane what Jason liked to do.
Zane listened quietly.
Jason's signature Skill was called Reaping. He could do it with his fists but he preferred his Soul Weapon, his scythe. It drained the health and essence of his enemy. He could even use his enemy's own Skills and Laws against them.
He liked to come out very fast out the gate, and only ramped up the intensity from there. He didn't let his opponents breathe. Most of the time, they couldn't take it—they crumpled under the pressure.
She didn't have a very complex strategy for him; part of it was that she knew giving Zane too much strategy was no good. She trusted he'd get it done.
She was quite worried for him, a little more than usual, but she was also very confident in him at the same time. She was a little biased, he knew. To Reina Zane had always been unbeatable.
Zane sat there, silent.
After that Reina gave him space. He didn't say much most of the time, but she'd gotten good at reading what he wanted even if he didn't say it. And right now he wanted to sit there alone.
He got another Level in that time.
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟝𝟝 -> 𝟙𝟝𝟞
He was thinking about the bridge. And the water.
Jason was wrong.
Zane had not quit. Zane had just been a boy. There was a difference.
It had taken him a very long time to realize that.
Maybe he hadn't fully realized it until he got pushed to his limits, after the Change. And found that nothing it threw at him could break him.
Jason wouldn't either.
Avery popped in to check up on him before they left for the stadium.
"Hey there, big fella," she said. She looked a little worried. "You doing okay there?"
"I'm going to break him," grunted Zane.
That was all.
Avery blinked, nodded. "I know you will. If there's one thing Zane Walker's good at, it's breaking things."
She gave him a pat on the head. "You go get 'em!"