Contents
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Overview
Cain arms Neema with a defensive strategy, but the Raven freezes time mid-fight and demands she kill Ruko to prevent the prophesied Last Return. Neema refuses and is knocked out. Benna publicly invokes the Bear to protect Neema, creating chaos. Ruko defies Vabras and spares Neema, altering the tournament’s momentum.
Summary
At dawn, Cain steadies Neema with a simple defensive plan: conserve energy, make minimal shifts, and treat the fight like calligraphy—focus, precision, flow. In the Festival Square, Abbess Glorren heightens tension with praise for ancient brutality, while Vabras warns contenders to attack or lose points.
The bell rings and Ruko attacks relentlessly. Neema executes Cain’s strategy, surviving by inches. As a knockout blow approaches, time freezes and the Raven manifests, addressing Neema directly. The Raven declares it can save her if she allows it in and kills Ruko, showing a vision of Ruko as emperor triggering the Last Return and world destruction.
Neema accepts the Raven, her eyes turning oil-black as power pours through her. When urged to kill Ruko, she refuses, insisting there must be another way. She forces the Raven out, despite its fury and threats to abandon her, and time resumes as Ruko’s fist slams into her face.
Neema collapses, unconscious. As Vabras signals Ruko to finish her, Benna rushes in and shields Neema, invoking the Bear’s protection and showing red ribbons. The square erupts in confusion; Cain commandeers medics to reach the platform. Vabras struggles to reassert control amid the crowd’s excitement and sympathy.
Ruko, noting new indigo strands in Neema’s hair and reading the emperor’s eagerness for blood, rejects execution. Addressing the crowd for the first time, he declares himself a warrior, not an executioner, and leaves the platform as the square explodes in uproar.
Who Appears
- Neema KraaContender; uses Cain’s defensive plan, confronts the Raven’s demand to kill Ruko, refuses, is knocked out.
- RukoTiger warrior; overwhelms Neema, senses Raven’s touch on her, rejects executing her and leaves.
- CainNeema’s ally; crafts a calm defensive strategy and helps medics reach her amid chaos.
- The RavenGuardian entity; freezes time, offers power, demands Ruko’s death to prevent the Last Return; rebuffed.
- Benna EdgeKitchen worker; declares Bear’s protection over Neema, sparks crowd support and buys time.
- VabrasHigh Commander; enforces aggression rule, urges Ruko to finish Neema, flounders amid public disruption.
- Abbess GlorrenTiger abbess; glorifies ancient brutal traditions, stokes the crowd’s tension before the fight.
- The EmperorOverseer of the Festival; puts Vabras in charge, eager for Neema’s death, frustrated by Ruko’s mercy.