Vin stepped forward. The stone beneath his feet felt heavier now, as if the ground itself recognized his presence. He was no longer just another outer estate child, but the final wall standing between Jude and his impossible wager.
The courtyard had fallen into a different kind of silence — no longer shock, but expectation. Vin halted a few steps away, wooden sword resting loosely at his side, his eyes steady.
"How in the hell are you so strong all of a sudden?" he asked quietly. "You've been hiding this all this time?"
Jude looked at him. "I never hid it," he replied calmly. "You just never noticed."
Vin clenched his jaw. Something flickered in his eyes — frustration, realization, and something like reluctant respect. The guardian raised his hand. "Begin."
For a moment, neither moved. The banners of House Avernus swayed faintly above them, the burning raven insignia watching like an unblinking eye. Vin inhaled, stepping forward with control rather than aggression. His first strike was a deliberate diagonal slash toward Jude's shoulder, meant to pressure, not crush. Jude raised his blade, wood striking wood with a dull echo that rang through the courtyard. Vin didn't retreat. He followed with a horizontal sweep at Jude's waist. Jude twisted, redirecting the blade with minimal movement.
Their exchange was slow, methodical. No wasted motion. No childish flailing. Each strike carried weight, each parry measured. Darisn leaned slightly forward in his seat, eyes narrowing. "They are not fighting like children," he muttered. Elara remained silent, her focus unbroken.
Vin circled to the right, controlling distance, slashing again. Jude blocked, turned, shifted his feet along the stone. Dust stirred beneath them. Sweat formed along Vin's temples but his composure held. He pressed harder, attacks growing heavier, yet still disciplined. Jude stepped back once, then again under Vin's pressure, the crowd murmuring as the distance shifted. Vin launched a direct thrust. Jude angled his body, letting the point pass close enough to feel its wind, and deflected it aside with a subtle rotation.
The longer it continued, the more wrong it felt. Vin was using everything he had. But Jude was reading him. Observing. Waiting.
Vin feinted low, then cut high. Jude blocked low, then snapped his blade upward in a seamless motion, stopping the second strike mid-air. For a moment their swords locked. Wood pressed against wood. Vin pushed. Jude held — effortlessly. Vin broke away, breathing heavier now. His focus sharpened. He stepped in again, faster, his final sequence of strikes pouring forward with determination rather than arrogance.
He swung with full force, aiming straight for Jude's chest.
Jude moved forward, stepping into the strike instead of fleeing from it. His body turned with the motion, his blade rising from below. The wood cracked. Vin's grip faltered. His sword flew from his hand and clattered across the stone. Jude's wooden blade halted an inch from his throat.
The courtyard froze.
Vin dropped to one knee, staring up at him, disbelief raw in his eyes. Jude lowered his blade slightly and turned his gaze toward the stone steps — toward his father.
Vin's teeth clenched. Something snapped inside him. He surged to his feet, seized another wooden sword from the ground, and rushed Jude from behind.
Gasps echoed across the courtyard.
Jude didn't turn.
He stepped sideways at the last moment. Vin's blade sliced through air. Jude turned, his wooden sword moving with a sharp, cold arc. It split through Vin's weapon as if it weren't wood at all. It didn't stop. It continued, straight toward his neck.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
The head guardian blurred forward, his hand snapping out and catching Jude's blade mid-swing. The impact cracked the stone beneath his feet. The sword trembled.
Vin staggered backward, falling onto the ground, his hand flying to his throat. He felt the air displaced there. The closeness of it. That strike had not been meant to stop. If it had landed, he would have died.
The guardian stared at Jude. If I had been a second late, his throat would have been open. He released the blade. "The match is concluded," he announced, his voice heavy.
A terrifying pressure descended upon the courtyard. Invisible, crushing. The Patriarch's presence.
Vin's body trembled under it. His face drained of color. He tried to speak, failed, and collapsed unconscious to the stone.
Jude didn't look back. He turned fully toward the Patriarch. "I have completed the wager," he said.
The Patriarch slowly stood. His cloak settled around him without assistance. "You have proven yourself," he said evenly. "Come to my chambers."
He turned and walked away. The hall parted before him.
Jude felt eyes on his back. He glanced sideways. Elara was watching him.
And she smiled.
A quiet, unreadable smile.
Elara Avernus. The eldest. The only daughter. A nine-star knight before full adulthood. The strongest of them all. The closest to the position of Patriarch — if tradition did not fear a woman carrying the title. The house conflict surrounding her position was unspoken but constant, most elders openly supporting Darisn only because he was male. Their father's stance, however, had always been clear. He did not care who became Patriarch — only that they were the strongest.
In his past life, she had never acknowledged him.
She distant herself from all the siblings of House Avernus.
He didn't understand that smile.
He left the courtyard in silence.
Back in his room, he washed, changed his clothes, his movements controlled. The air of the outer estate felt heavier, colder. By the time he stepped back into the corridors, armored knights had lined the path toward the inner halls. He walked without hesitation. Stone echoed under his feet. The deeper he went, the colder the air became.
Two fully armored knights stood before the massive doors of the Patriarch's chambers.
"Jude Avernus," he said, his voice calm. "Here to seek an audience with the Patriarch."
Silence lingered for a moment.
"Enter," the Patriarch's voice came from within.
The knights pushed the doors open.
Jude stepped inside.