There was a gasp from the crowd as Cort's blow hit. Rabi was silent. He was not dead, either. Thank my divines, Cort thought. He had been worried he had not restrained his leap enough, that he had pierced even Jicotti flesh and killed another man.
Rabi stood motionless, not breathing for a moment. Then there was a violent gasp followed by more silence. He collapsed to the ground without even a mark on his chest where Cort had struck. Rabi's eyes had closed, and his breathing steadied and slowed. He was out, and Cort could feel relieved.
Cort had been so wrapped up in his worries that the cheers from the crowd had yet to hit him. There was an absolute frenzy and Cort could only catch glimpses of it in the dark. Nothing bad so far as he could tell. Positive mayhem of people cheering for the Empire and cheering for Cort.
At the outer edge of the arena, Cort could spot his friends. Emile was tugging at the cage and shouting with a big grin on his face, and Lond was being pushed aside by the wait staff trying to get to Emile and calm him down. Cort smirked at his friends, waving back when he saw even Leaf had joined in the cheers beside Emile.
Then his smile and wave faded. Ryza Ulgrim was standing there as well. Not cheering. Not smiling. Cooly staring at him with her expressionless face, arms folded as she studied Cort. Not Cort the warrior, the diver, the winner of The Pit's show.
Ryza only saw Yan Cort, the lonely child who she trained.
"Mister!" a voice called out to Cort, somehow piercing through the crowd's roaring. He looked back to the door he had entered from to see Haley standing there. Other waiters already had Kabi slung over shoulders and dragging his oversized frame through the door.
Cort nodded to Haley, then looked up to his friends. Emile was still being held, but Leaf and Lond had begun attempting to pull the wait staff off. Emile's smirk was getting more toothy, after all.
"Hey!" Cort shouted to them. All the struggling stopped, and Cort's friends and the wait staff all looked at him. "Get them to bring you guys to the back where I'm at!"
Lond nodded, and the waiters that were hanging onto Emile let go. Another insistent call from Haley made Cort hurry over to her, the door shutting behind him and shuffling the cheers from the patrons.
Inside the room, Rabi was laid out on the table. On one side, a waitress was hovering his hand over the spot on Rabi's chest where Cort had struck. A light green glow emanated from her palm, a common visual sign of healing magic.
On the other side of the table was Rakshan. He had donned a red and gold robe, and was watching the healing closely until Cort came in. Rakshan turned to face the young man, and a warm smile graced his face.
It looked out of place on the Jicotti man.
"Impressive," Rakshan commented. "The form lacked that perfection I expect from Gracious Lily, though. Oh." Rakshan reached somewhere behind him, pulling out Cort's possessions all in one handful. He tossed them haphazardly at Cort who barely managed to catch them all.
"It's been a while since I practiced that form," Cort said as he dressed himself. He just slipped his pants over the shorts he was given, not wanting to end up naked in a mixed crowd.
"He'll be resting for a while, but he'll live," the healing waitress interrupted. "I shall take my leave. Come. There are still people waiting for their meals."
The wait staff, including Haley, let out a sharp "Yes ma'am!" before following her out the room. The door slammed shut behind the last one, leaving Cort and Rakshan the only conscious people in the room.
"How is your grandfather?" Rakshan asked, sitting down beside Rabi on the table. It creaked under the weight until he planted his feet on the floor to stabilize.
"I haven't seen him in a while, and even that was a brief visit," Cort replied. It was four years ago, and his grandfather stopped by his mother's house for a night. He left while Cort was still sleeping, the only thing he had said to him being "Hello."
"I imagine it's hard for him to set aside Imperial duties, even for a grandson. Like I said, I respect him, but I shall never envy him."
"You said you're a Godhand as well?" The note he left for Cort hinted at it. If he knew Fei Yuanjun's original last name, Cort could not doubt Rakshan's claims too much. Still, Rakshan was not Imperial, and it was rare for non-Imperials to be raised to Godhand status.
Rakshan answered wordlessly by showing Cort the back of his right hand, then clinching it into a fist. An emblem began to shine golden against his ashen skin. A fist and forearm punched through a golden cloud.
"I am the first Moctal Godhand," Rakshan stated proudly. "And only as of now. I intend to inspire more and make my school known to the whole world." It sounded like a prepared speech. Perhaps a slogan.
Cort just thought it was a long-shot dream.
"I hope I didn't ruin your student," Cort said in an effort to change the subject.
"His pride is more ruined than his body," Rakshan replied. "He must learn to respect other schools before he tries to beat them. I hope in the future you can continue to be a sparring partner."
"I don't know. I'm just starting my dive into the labyrinth. I may be getting busy soon."
Rakshan frowned, but shook his head to discard the grimace. "When you get the chance, then. I'm sure you'll have some free time now and then."
"Tell him to come find me whenever he's ready then." Cort wanted to keep the conversation with Rakshan peaceful. The man seemed to have some issue with divers or the labyrinths. Prying into it would harm before it helped.
The door to the room was opened gently, allowing Lond and Emile to walk in. Somewhere along the way they lost the escort from the waiters, but they were still followed.
Leaf slipped into the room, standing rigidly at attention once he was all the way inside. He was followed by Ryza, her heels clacking on the cement floor. She looked just as Cort remembered her. Cold. Powerful. Calculating everything to ensure her goal is met.
Cort wanted to run more than ever before.
"General," Rakshan said. He leapt over the table Rabi was laying on, and Emile and Lond both stepped back to give him a clear path of access to Ryza. "I'm glad you received my invitation. What did you think?"
"It was entertaining, though I believe you should have picked a better opponent," Ryza replied. Just like her. Every compliment required a note for improvement. "A Godhand should not be fighting some novice."
"I will let the thunderous applause at my victory speak for the quality of my entertainment."
Ryza had a singular chuckle at that excuse. Then her gaze locked onto Cort. The young man wanted to sink into his clothes and grow smaller and smaller until he no longer existed.
"So this is where you've run off to, Yan," Ryza said. Her expressionless face nearly showed a disappointed frown. "I hope your mother knows where you've gone. I'd hate to send a letter to Fei and tell him you've abandoned her."
"Mom knows where I am," Cort replied. Too quickly. Ryza seized on his vulnerable response, closing the distance between them and glaring down at him. After all this time, she still towered over Cort.
"Your mother wanted you to join the Imperial Army," Ryza reminded him. "That was what she told me when I trained you. And now I have you again, we shall finish your lessons."
"Dearest Ryza," Emile interjected. He placed a hand on her shoulder, chains jingling as he did. Cort expected Emile to be slammed down into the floor or wall until there was a crater.
"Cort here is the leader of my dive team," Emile continued. Cort thought Lond was joking earlier about Emile flirting with the General, but seeing it was something else. "Without him, Lond and I would be clueless in the labyrinth."
"Oh?" Ryza seemed unbothered, but then her hand darted out to grip Cort by the chin, turning his face back and forth. Cort was worried his neck was about to be snapped until Ryza spoke again.
"Seems you've grown a bit. For the sparrow to grow, it must fly on its own."
"Exactly, my moonlit joy," Emile added. "And if you really would like, I can maybe convince him to attend a lesson or two."
Ryza smiled softly as she let go of Cort's chin. She turned to face Emile, her face so close to his Cort was shocked they did not kiss. "That's very kind of you, Mister Laurent." She nudged his nose with her fingertip, like one would a child.
There was not another word from Ryza Ulgrim. She gathered up Leaf and departed the room. Rakshan slung Rabi over his shoulder and carried him out with just a brief wave as well.
"I'm gonna marry her," Emile said softly.
Cort just ignored him, looking to Lond and starting with "I can explain. It's about-."
"We'll discuss everything later in more private," Lond replied. "For now, I'm just glad you made it out the ring in one piece."
"Managed to save me any food?" Cort asked. The averted gazes of his friends answered for him.
Utter and complete betrayal.