Chapter 50: Convergence Part – 1
Nobody said anything for a moment after the name loaded on the screens.
Then someone near the back of the camp said "holy shit, someone actually hit the bucket" and laughed at their own delivery.
A few people stayed quiet. Most didn't. It moved through the camp the way these things do when the person involved is a stranger — something between surprise and entertainment, nothing heavier than that.
Rone looked at his band screen but he also seemed more amused than just surprise. Like an insect he played with is dead now.
Leon was on his feet. He didn't register getting up. He was just standing, blood moving in his ears, the laughter around him arriving at a slight delay like sound across water.
He looked at the band screen.
Krai Novak.
Krai had never told them his last name. Not once across the entire time Leon had known him — even the days before the tournament. It hadn't come up.
With that thought he tried to deny the reality.
But internally he knew it was him.
He hadn't heard anyone else in the entire batch with that first name. Not one person. And the way Noah had invoked the clause — not for a stranger, not for someone incidental. Noah had forfeited everything he had, his CPP, his rank benefits, all of it, to put that name on record in front of the arbitration panel.
The laughter in the camp continued around him at the same slight distance.
He thought about Krai in the classroom doorway watching the pieces of the locket on the floor. The way he'd crouched down and picked them up without saying anything. How he'd kept them in his jacket pocket.
Leon needed to know what happened. He needed to see Noah. He needed to be somewhere other than this clearing.
Then the second thing landed.
Noah invoking Witness status meant he was already out. His CPP transferred, his tournament participation forfeited, he would be at the academy by now or on his way to it, in front of or waiting for the arbitration panel. If Leon wanted to reach him it wasn't going to happen from inside Zone 1-C.
He looked at his band.
"I want to forfeit from the tournament," he said.
The camp went quieter than it had been since Leon arrived.
Grovin had been watching him since the notification came through. He'd asked something — Leon registered the words a beat after they'd been said. "Was he some friend of yours." Leon hadn't answered.
Grovin's expression had shifted when Leon didn't respond. He stepped forward and said something else, louder, and when Leon still didn't turn toward him Grovin's hand came across fast and connected with the side of his face.
Leon went sideways. Hit the ground on one knee, stayed there for a second, then straightened up. Blood from his nose reaching his upper lip. He didn't raise his hand to it.
“ Bitch look at me when I ask you something ” Grovin said.
The band notification was already loading.
Forfeit request received.
Forfeit fee: 200 CPP.
Calculation based on available CPP at stake and locked reserve. Appropriate penalty applied to each locked CPP used.
Confirm forfeit?
"I agree," Leon said.
The band processed it.
Calculating total CPP.
Available at stake: 27
Locked reserve: 21
Total: 48 CPP
Forfeit fee: 200 CPP
Shortfall: 152 CPP
Warning: Proceeding will result in a CPP balance of −152. The Academy’s permanent penalties for negative CPP students will apply.
Students within the −101 to −200 CPP range are classified as Physical Collateral.
Under Physical Collateral status, the candidate is placed under full academy authority and may be assigned to serve any individual or institution whenever the academy designates, for any duration and under terms determined by the academy.
Do you wish to proceed?
The camp was quiet now. Most of them were reading their own bands or had heard enough of the audio to follow what was happening. A few were watching Leon with the specific attention of people who genuinely don't know what someone is going to do next.
Leon looked at the warning on the screen.
Physical collateral. That’s practically a slave contract. But…. I’ll have chances to improve my points in the future while this may very well be the last time I may see Krai… even as….
He looked at it for another second.
"I agree," he said. "Proceed."
The band ran its process. A brief calculation sequence. Then:
Forfeit confirmed.
CPP balance: −152
Status: Physical Collateral
Academy security personnel will arrive at your location shortly for collection.
One of the guys near the rock formation started laughing first. Then another. Then most of the camp.
"He actually did it."
"He's insane."
"Over some announcement on the band—"
Someone said he was crazy with the tone of giving a genuine assessment rather than an insult. The laughter continued and filled the clearing and Leon stood in the middle of it with blood on his upper lip and his band showing a blank screen now.