The executive skybox tightened like a fist. The war-table cast red across their faces—DUNE CITY (LOST), SAND CITY (LOST), arrow driving toward DUST CITY. Below, Kai and Carlos kept tearing at stone.
Johnny Joah (President of Janoah) didn't look away from the match but pointed at the map while eating a bag of Janoah's famous "Mason's Potato Chips".
Lucian Soryu (Current Head of The Seeker Association) quietly observed the match.
That Kai kid's timing, he's counting.
General Rage(Head of Janoah's Army)/Flama Guild Leader) responded, saying he still takes too many flush shots.
Grand Admiral Halsey(Head of Janoah's Navy), sea-flat, feet holding firm in a gale—I can work with that.
William Lockhart(Head Order of The Crescent Halo Guild), smiling with calm composure, loves seeing his squad get their shine.
Ms. Rose (Head of Treasure & Tola Liaison) laughed; if he lost, we could afford his liver.
Magus Fay(Head of The Soulwright Division), dry—All legal so far, good fight.
Joe Gordon (High Constabulary), a veteran of the Britannia Wars, said As long as they're not causing trouble, I don't care who wins.
Wong Fei (Head of Janoah's Defense) nodded once.
Hahaha, also, Gordon, we need a seeker that the people can look up to, and we're seeing a taste of it through the basics.
At the far end of the table, the Oathmaster( Head of The Great Hall of Records) said Beast Mantle is very deadly, but it burns the tendons and rips the muscles.
The bowl detonated—black and gold—the roar turning vertebra by vertebra around the amphistad.
Johnny tapped the map. Business. Dune and Sand are gone. Dust is next. Our water. So—
I know everyone heard about—
He didn't finish the name.
He didn't have to.
The room's temperature and vibe changed.
When he said it, it was like dropping a blade on marble: Yobokari.
Ms. Rose's pen stopped clicking. Halsey's jaw set. Rage's shoulders came forward, happy to finally face a challenge.
Lucian's pupils narrowed slightly. If it's him, expect Shinshōs, grand seeker-level foes—Yobokari's God Hands.
Air Wing at the ready, Rage said. I'll burn them.
Halsey placed ships—arcs around Dune Island, the Gulf of Janoah, and the South Chun Sea seam. Blockade. Nothing in. Nothing out. Tsarian corridor on notice.
Joe Gordon, curfew writs in Dust City within the hour. Evac corridors. Phantom-tola sweep of the markets before they fund a second front.
Ms. Rose clipped. Powder Null-Salt med unlocks—Congress bridge for forty-eight hours.
Magus Fay, audit teams ride the first wave. Abyssal adjacency gets the red flag and a stop. Soul Law holds even when we hate.
William smiles. No heroics. Small room for mistakes.
Oathmaster, Ryōiki-piercing writs—narrow in an hour, and I'll send out my guild members to carry the seals.
The Oathmaster inclined his head. Two Anchors. One Oath. One Witness.
William, Johnny said, eyes sliding to the rails where white uniforms lived. Pick me two for doors.
Tikhan deploys at dusk.
A ripple went through the box—fear and relief both—the breath men take when the knife is finally above the table.
Blockade stands. Five thousand to Dust. Truce line offered. Last warning given.
Johnny tapped the slate. Seals bloomed. Approved.
Below, the Oathmaster turned from the table and crossed the catwalk, cloak taking arena light. He stepped to the dais. His palm lifted.
The bowl's thunder folded like cloth.
Winner—Kai Xander of Halo.
Johnny's eyes were already on Dune.
We're at war.
Seal-strip glowed under Kai's ribs. Another wrapped his split knuckles. Brow stitched silvered. He breathed shallow; didn't complain.
Lila pressed a cool pad in place. "Put your pride away, baby, haha."
Kai nodded once. "Noted."
A soft daylight gathered in the corridor, like the hall remembered morning.
William "White Knight" Lockhart stepped out of that light—coat immaculate, eyes easy.
He took Kai in with one glance. "Well fought. Five-count Palm was precise—and merciful." A faint smile. "Keep the seal on. Don't make me bench you."
Kai bowed carefully. "Yes, sir."
William turned to Aria. The air brightened a hair around his hand; a coin of light spun once, then vanished.
"Good luck," he said. "Tidy guards hate storms. Make him move first—then take his sheath."
Aria's grin showed teeth. "Copy."
Rin, dry—"Make him sweat, girl."
Lila's mouth twitched. "That, too."
William clapped Kai's good shoulder, touched two fingers to Sun's strap in passing—as if greeting an old friend—and let his light fade toward the stairs.
Aria bumped Kai's boot. "Watch me."
"Cook him," Kai said, steady voice.
She rolled her neck and jogged into the roar of the crowd.