The Heavens Shall Fall

Bren Tarr, knowing full well that it was the exact news he expected to hear that day, felt himself getting a bit more excited than he usually allowed himself to be. However, controlling the feeling, he didn’t start celebrating just yet. It went too smoothly, so he was waiting for more information to trickle in from his own people, the spies within the Spirit Wardens, and, of course, from Golden Scroll. Still… he was feeling himself getting a bit impatient while waiting, and that much was obvious to anyone who had spent more than a few minutes in his presence. As he was forced to wait, he decided that he would turn his feelings into fuel for training, especially because if this all turned out to be true, he would hammer the Spirit Wardens until they were shattered. Then… they can take care of the Ember Circle and become the main and most powerful association within the Outer Disciples ranks.

Training in the same underground space as before, instead of chaining himself down, this time he was letting the mechanisms swing massive stone slabs, hooked to loose chains, randomly whizzing past the room, their trajectories becoming unpredictable the more they moved. The turning of massive gears embedded into the walls filled the room when they began rotating, while the room’s lighting became much more focused, eliminating most shadows. When the first slab finally swung hard enough to be dangerous and almost hit him, his fist shot out, smashing into and through it, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.

By then, another one was coming at him, but he stood his ground, let it hit his body, bounce off him, before kicking out with surprisingly quick movements, breaking it apart just the same. It was a kind of brutish fighting technique that Baun was aiming for, only… in Bren’s demonstration, it actually worked and felt frighteningly powerful.

He was going at it for about an hour by now, littering the room with pieces of rock and slab as if an explosion had gone off while nobody was looking. He heard when someone entered, but, just like before, he ignored him, and Chalvert knew better than to interrupt it. Shocked at what he was seeing, he walked into the cavern quietly, his steps avoiding stepping on any of the destroyed slabs, stopping at a great distance behind Bren without announcing himself… and to stay away from the remaining four swinging slabs from accidentally flattening him.

When finally all of them were shattered, making Chalvert realize that one punch from Bren would probably blow his flesh off his bones, the man finally turned towards him, rubbing the slightly bleeding knuckles on his hand.

“Do we have the confirmations?”

“Yes, and we double checked everything,” Chalvert said, realizing he was also pretty much just as excited as Bren was. He stepped forward immediately, holding the compiled reports in both hands, already knowing their contents by heart, “The spar has indeed concluded as such, and the first reports turned out to be true,” he added, his tone a bit higher-pitched than usual. “Our observers were present throughout the match, and not only do their accounts align, but we received a report from Lorean, from the Golden Scroll, and hers also confirmed it all.”

“That’s a good sign,” Bren nodded, allowing himself a smile. “Get to the details then.”

“Surprisingly, the most detailed report we got is from Varren,” Chalvert muttered, knowing that he couldn’t hide the fact, especially if Bren himself would read the reports. So, he wanted to take credit for it as much as possible while retelling the contents of the papers he held in his hands. “Siu had engaged Baun and a girl named Kira simultaneously as we expected. At the start of the match, he maintained control and seemed to be ahead as before. His combat patterns remained consistent with our and Baun’s prior observations... Um..." He stopped glancing at the paper briefly, "He still only used the Crane, Ox, and Wild Cat forms sequentially, in the order we saw them. There was… No overlap or merging seen by any of our people.”

“I myself learnt the Ox when choosing my fighting technique…” Bren’s fingers twitched once at his side, barely noticeable as he spoke, “If he managed to learn that many and use them while switching between them, I have to say, he is good. But, he bit down more than he could chew, and this is the result of that. Linking two is already hard, but three? Not to mention, merging them, heh! He thought he was an Inner Disciple? Pride does that,” He chuckled again, still rubbing his fists, smearing the blood around, “Continue.”

“As the match progressed,” Chalvert gulped, watching him play with his blood, “Baun applied continuous forward pressure, while the girl targeted her interruptions surprisingly well. Their coordination disrupted Siu’s rhythm, forcing him into a purely reactive state. Apparently, this Kira girl is very good and was noted to… well, that we should poach her.”

“We will see,” There was a slight pause before he nodded, “It was thanks to her that he was struck, after all.”

“Multiple times, in fact.” Chalvert clarified it at once, “Initially, the hits were superficial, but her interruptions made it impossible for Siu to use his favorite Crane form. Thanks to that, there was a decisive strike toward the end of the match that landed with direct contact with his chest… Every report of ours says that the impact was significant.”

“That can mean many things.” Bren reminded him, “The medicinal baths can mend the body, even if they leave pain behind. The question is… how severe the injury is.”

“Um…” Chalvert felt the tension rising and the glint in his eyes, but he kept speaking regardless of the sudden coldness tickling his back. “He collapsed immediately afterward. He lost consciousness, and that part is… certain.”

“…” Bren exhaled slowly through his nose, his head tilting ever so slightly as if adjusting his thoughts and evaluation of the situation. “…And?”

“The match was concluded,” Chalvert said, unsure what else he would want to hear. “I have Baun here to give his personal report, too.”

“Very good.” Bren smiled at that, indeed satisfied that Chalvert was this proactive, “Bring him in.”

Just a few moments later, Baun had hurriedly entered the cavern. His steps were light, almost as if he had springs in his legs, showing how ecstatic he felt. It was easy to tell that he was expecting great rewards, or at least a very pleasant talk with Bren, being praised and having all his debts cancelled. Maybe even being offered a place amongst Stone Ward.

“Boss,” He cupped his hands as he stopped a few steps away from Bren and bowed, showing that Bren’s thoughts were on point. He was already calling him Boss… But he didn’t refute it; he didn’t want to put down an excited spy who could become useful... well, not yet.

”Tell me all you noticed in the fight, from start to finish.” Bren said, ordering him, making Baun's straight back stoop a little, making sure he knew his place.

Still bowing towards him, Baun took a breath and began recounting the fight from his point of view. He spoke of the pressure he applied, selling it as a pivotal part of his strategy. Then he went on about how Siu had been forced into a corner, gradually speaking about how Kira had capitalized on the openings that he formed for her. His voice grew steadier as he spoke, more confident and more certain that all he was saying was the truth, but Bren could also tell that the man before him was way too full of himself. He couldn’t rely on his report… at all. It was way too skewed and seen through a pair of self-important, distorting lenses.

When Baun finally finished, Bren simply smiled at him, and Baun didn’t even notice that it was not a kind one.

“Leave.”

“Ah…” Baun blinked after hearing him speak, suddenly caught off guard. “…Boss?”

“Leave.”

“Ye… Yes.” He stuttered, looking at Chalvert, and then he turned and exited the cavern, his earlier confidence faltering under the weight of Bren’s, well, indifferent voice. All that he expected was... not even given to him, and he didn't know what he did wrong...

“Get me Varren.”

“Boss…?” This time, it was Chalvert who felt he was mishearing things, but, then again, he couldn’t ask for more, and simply added before Bren could get angry, “I’m going to fetch him at once.”

It took him only an hour to get Varren, and when he arrived, Bren was no longer in the training area but had returned to his office, where he welcomed Varren and Chalvert with food and drinks. Unlike Baun, he acted with Varren as if he was an old friend, making Chalvert grimace once, but quickly hide it away… He didn’t like this new development, not a bit.

“Senior…” Varren muttered, feeling confused and intimidated by Bren’s kindness. Those feelings were not an act, as he was actually afraid of refusing the hospitality, so he ate and drank, waiting for what he really wanted to hear from him.

“We will talk about your debt later,” Bren said kindly, “Even wipe most of it away. But of course, I need you to understand, we can’t do it with all of it. That’s… too much.”

“I-I know…” Varren nodded, gulping again, “Thank you.” He added, but he knew, this was only a lie from Bren… they won’t wipe it away at all.

“I read your report,” Bren added, sipping on a goblet of wine, “But I want to hear it from you personally. Please, retell it to me.”

“Naturally.” Varren did not hesitate. He confirmed everything Chalvert had already stated, even some of Baun’s own little version. He went on about the patterns, the coordination, the strikes, finally in a much better and clearer detail than Baun. Then, after a brief pause, he began fidgeting, right after throwing a cautious look at Chalvert, “After the match, Siu was taken for treatment.”

“Naturally.” Bren’s attention sharpened subtly, because he was sure this part… these were going to be new.

“He received a medicinal bath,” Varren continued, wiping his mouth nervously, “And just before I came over, I heard something… serious.”

“About what?” Chalvert spoke up, his tone surprisingly hostile towards Varren, thinking he had purposely omitted these from the reports, but when Bren shot him a look, he quickly shut his mouth.

“It was one of the Inner Circle members, the girl he is closest to… Neya, talking with Rinmei, who is a healing expert, as they say,” Varren began before he hesitated, showing he couldn’t verify what he was about to relay. “Well… There are whispers.”

“What whispers?” Bren asked slowly, leaning even closer, almost whispering to himself, “I know it may be only speculation, but you don’t need to be afraid. Just tell it as it is.”

“…” Varren swallowed hard, reaching for a drink again before continuing speaking, “They were talking about... That the strike affected his heart.”

“…” The silence that followed was suffocating, and it genuinely made Varren afraid.

“It is not confirmed,” he added quickly. “But his condition afterward… I only saw him for a brief moment. And... he appeared disoriented, and from even what I had seen, his breathing was uneven, even after treatment.” He mumbled as he lowered his head slightly. “The injury itself may have healed, but internal disruption to his blood flow, and through it, to his breathing… those take time to stabilize. I know that myself… That kind of injury can… incur a great amount of debt to get back from.”

Bren smiled at hearing that, and he couldn’t help but feel… excited again.

“Good.” He spoke up, and Chalvert felt that Varren's current position, for some weird reason, threatened his own. He wanted to curse, but he knew he had to hold back. “He is weakened,” Bren muttered to himself, thinking it over. “A heart injury is not something a simple medicinal bath can heal. Well, it can, but that doesn’t mean actual healing. New muscles, fixed muscles move differently for a long time...” Smiling, he turned his head upward, watching the ceiling. “Now we make our move.”

“Boss…?” Chalvert straightened, not wanting him to speak to Varren, wanting to show he was above him. “Orders?”

“When I meant we, I meant myself. I will challenge him,” Bren explained without hesitation. “Publicly.”

“On what grounds?” Varren asked suddenly, and Chalvert was about to berate him, when Bren just laughed, glancing at him and… he wasn’t even angry.

“That’s the easy part.” Bren’s smile widened slightly. “We give him one. It will be your and Baun’s job to create the opening for me. You will start spreading that Siu wants to punish them.”

“Yes.” Varren nodded, gulping, understanding the idea at once.

“We say Baun came to us,” Bren continued, “Afraid and seeking protection. So… we intervene. Easy enough.”

“Um… Boss…” Chalvert exhaled slowly. “And if he refuses?”

“He won’t,” Bren said simply. “He can’t. If he does, we will reinforce these rumors and dismantle his group from within in the process. Send word,” Bren ordered. “Immediately. Before he recovers! And you, Varren, you start it the moment you leave here. Make sure everyone can see and hear it. Lead Baun because he is as stupid as a rock… Make sure it works out as I want it, and your debts will be settled. Understood?”

“Yes…” Varren nodded and stood up at once, showing that he was eager to start, to be free again, which clearly pleased Bren.

What the Stone Ward’s leader didn’t see was Varren’s grimace after he left the room... And then the smile he let himself enjoy, when he was finally away and alone. It was just as Siu had predicted, and what remained now was another great spectacle, between Siu and Bren… where the latter will be faced with a surprising revelation.