Neo's apartment smelled faintly of stale coffee and ozone, the hum of the projector casting the Azura Tower livestream onto the wall. Four figures sat clustered on mismatched furniture, the only light in the room the flickering glow of the broadcast.
They had been watching for hours now. Matt's shadowy strikes drew storms of cheers, his fights fast and vicious. But the room had gone deathly quiet during Kai's match with the boy they called Little Tom.
The broadcast showed Kai staggering, blood dripping down his face, the kid's crazed laughter echoing. Then, in front of the roaring crowd, Tom sank his teeth into Kai's left eye, ripped it free, and swallowed it whole.
Meredith shot to her feet, hands balled into fists. "He is going to lose that fight." Her burden wouldn't let her soften it: the truth came out bare, raw.
Daniel let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Oh, yeah, Kai's definitely enjoying himself. Loves getting dismembered by children. Real holiday for him." His voice was soaked in sarcasm, but his shaking leg betrayed the horror he couldn't put to words.
Forn raised her small whiteboard, marker squeaking:
"Tom chewed too quickly. No savor."
Below it she added a doodle of a cartoon eye with jagged teeth marks.
Both Meredith and Daniel turned on her.
She blinked at them, scribbled again.
"If you're going to eat an eye, you might as well taste it."
Daniel swore under his breath and looked away. Meredith exhaled sharply, folding her arms tighter.
On the screen, Kai finally killed Tom, driving the knife into the boy's skull. The arena booed furiously, mourning their beloved child fighter. Kai collapsed into the sand, bleeding out, Matt vaulting the barrier to reach him.
Meredith slumped back into her chair, arms folded tight across her chest. "If Matt hadn't been there, he would have died."
Daniel covered his mouth with one hand, muttering through it. "Nah, Kai's fine. Didn't even hurt. He probably enjoyed the whole thing." His knuckles were white where he pressed against his jaw.
Neo hadn't moved from his spot by the window. He hadn't blinked once during the whole fight. His reflection in the glass looked gaunt, haunted. "That wasn't survival," he said quietly. "That was… desperation. He's slipping further each floor."
They didn't argue. The silence between them was heavy, disturbed only by the next match roaring to life on the screen.
---
By the time the broadcast rolled to floor thirty, the tension in the room was strangling.
The announcer's voice thundered through the speakers:
"On one side we have Kai the Stray! And on the defending side, Nightmare—the guardian that's killed forty men!"
The camera panned, showing the bone-ribbed wraith lurching out of its gate, talons scraping the stone.
Meredith's arms folded tight again. "He is not prepared for that fight." Truth, harsh and inescapable.
Daniel sprawled back on the couch, arms behind his head, smirk painted on like a mask. "Oh sure, he'll be fine. Guardians are famous for letting their opponents walk away." The words hissed out against his will, warped by his burden. His eyes glittered with dread.
Forn held up her whiteboard:
"Ribs look like bird cage. Do you think it sings?"
She drew a rough cage with a stick figure humming inside.
Daniel stared, baffled. Meredith shot her a sharp look but didn't reply.
Neo's jaw clenched. He hadn't spoken for a while. He just stared at the screen, the lines around his mouth deepening.
On the broadcast, the guardian lunged—and instead of shredding Kai, it pounced like a hound reunited with its master, knocking him flat and curling around him.
The crowd gasped in confusion.
Meredith leaned forward, brow furrowed. "That… that shouldn't be possible. Guardians don't behave like that without a bond."
Daniel barked a humorless laugh. "Yep, he's doomed. Totally doomed. No way he makes it out alive." His grin quivered, wetness lining his eyes.
Forn flipped her board:
"I told you. Cage ribs. Saving a seat."
She added a doodle of Kai sitting on a rib like a bench.
On screen, Kai's voice cracked through the arena mics: "I missed you too. This is Flicker—he helped me."
All four froze.
Meredith's breath caught. "He's talking to it. As if it's his."
Daniel shoved both hands through his hair, laugh sharp and desperate. "No way. Definitely not reunion tears. Totally a coincidence."
Neo finally spoke, voice low. "It's Velnix."
The others turned.
He stayed fixed on the broadcast, reflection a shadow in the glass. "That's not Nightmare. That's his guardian. I knew he hadn't lost it."
Meredith swallowed, hands tightening on her knees. "You're right. And if you're right… he's safer than he's been since the City."
Daniel snorted, bitter. "Safe? Kai? No, he's about to die in the dumbest way possible. Watch. Any second now." But his voice cracked, betraying the truth he couldn't say.
On the screen, Velnix snarled when Matt jumped the barrier, ribs flaring and talons slamming down to block him. The announcer stammered, the audience shrieking disbelief. Kai pressed a hand to Velnix, calming him, and moments later the guardian dissolved into a cloak draped across his shoulders.
Meredith let out a long, shaky breath. "He bound it. He really bound it back."
Daniel shook his head quickly, voice thick. "Nope. Didn't happen. Hallucination. Guardian's gone forever. We should all panic."
Forn's board flashed one more message:
"It wagged its ribs. Loyalty."
This time the doodle was of a ribcage with a tail, wagging happily.
Neo finally turned from the window. His face was tired, but a shadow of something softer sat there now. "This doesn't change what the Tower is. But it changes him. He's not alone anymore."
The broadcast cut to crowd shots, the arena in chaos. The four sat in silence, each bound by their burdens, relief pressing out from the cracks.
Meredith broke it first. "He will make it out."
Daniel laughed bitterly. "No chance. He's doomed." His shoulders sagged as the lie betrayed him.
Forn pulled her hood up, whiteboard tucked against her knees. A faint, lopsided sketch of Kai standing tall under a ribbed cloak was still visible.
Neo didn't argue. Watching Kai's silhouette vanish into the gate with a cloak of ribs at his back, for once he let himself believe it too.