The barracks emptied into the arena in shifts. Those not called to fight sat in silence, waiting their turn, counting the chains like beads on a rosary.
Uchi Satire sat cross-legged in the corner, the boy chained to her side. He was awake this time, eyes raw with fear but stubbornly focused on her hands.
"Feet apart," she told him. "Not too wide. Balance first."
He shuffled clumsily. She tapped his ankle with her toe, correcting the angle.
"Breathe through your nose. Hold. Then let it out slow."
The collar around his neck buzzed as if mocking him, but he obeyed. His chest rose, fell, steadier this time.
"You'll want to swing wide. Don't. Power comes from weight, not arms." She demonstrated, a simple pivot that set her body behind her strike. The chain between them clinked softly. "If your stance breaks, everything else breaks."
The boy swallowed. "I… I'll try, Master."
The word made the air heavier. Some nearby slaves muttered, their voices ugly.
"She thinks she's a teacher now."
"Teaching is forbidden."
"She'll get him killed. She'll get us all killed."
Uchi ignored them. The boy stumbled again, and she corrected him with a sharp tug of the chain.
"Trying is losing. Do it."
The whispers didn't stop. They grew louder, spreading through the barracks like mold.
"Why him? Why not me?"
"She's choosing favorites."
"She'll drag us all down."
One man finally broke from the shadows. Broad-shouldered, older, with scars that said he'd survived too many fights to still be here by chance. He stepped close, sneer curling his lip.
"You think you're better than the rest of us?" he growled. "Taking a student? Pretending you're some kind of master?"
The boy shrank back. The chain tightened between them.
Uchi rose slowly, meeting his glare. "I don't pretend."
He spat at her feet. "The nobles will cut you down the moment you forget your place."
She didn't blink. "Then I'll cut down anyone they send before that."
The man's sneer turned sharp. He lunged.
The fight wasn't announced. No guards intervened. Slaves fighting each other in the barracks was free entertainment.
He swung wide, fist aiming for her jaw. Uchi pivoted, the boy yanked sideways by the chain. She twisted with it, let the iron bite into the man's wrist as she sidestepped. His knuckles cracked against the stone wall.
He snarled, threw another punch. Uchi ducked low, swept his legs, and dragged the boy with her into a roll. They came up together, her palm slamming into his ribs. He grunted, staggered.
"You're chained," Uchi said evenly. "Use it."
The boy blinked, then jerked sideways on instinct. The chain snapped taut, dragging the man off balance. Uchi stepped in, knee to stomach, elbow to jaw. He collapsed onto the straw, coughing blood.
The room went quiet.
The System stirred.
[ WARNING: COMBAT OUTSIDE ARENA DETECTED. ]
[ MENTORIAL STATUS: REVIEW PENDING. ]
[ FAILURE TO PROTECT STUDENT IN NEXT MATCH = TERMINATION. ]
The words burned across her vision like fire.
The boy gasped, seeing them too. His hands shook. "Termination? Master—"
"Then we don't fail," Uchi cut him off. Her voice was iron.
The older slave groaned on the ground, spitting red. "They'll punish you," he rasped. "The nobles hate when dogs bite without being told."
"Then I'll make them choke on the leash," Uchi said.
Above the barracks, nobles whispered again.
Lord Khaviel leaned forward, eyes glowing faintly. "She's teaching. She's linking. And now she's defying. Perfect."
The masked woman beside him fanned herself lazily. "Perfect for what? A new toy? She'll break."
Khaviel's smile was thin. "That's the question, isn't it? What breaks first — her, or the System that thinks it owns her?"
The guards stormed in. Whips cracked against the walls.
"On your feet!" one barked. "Next round is called. The broken one fights again."
Uchi tightened her grip on the boy's wrist. He stumbled, still shaken, but stood when she pulled him upright.
The chain hummed faintly, alive. The System pulsed.
[ TOURNAMENT ROUND ONE: READY. ]
[ STUDENT'S SURVIVAL REQUIRED. ]
The boy whispered, "What if I fail?"
Uchi's eyes narrowed. "Then we both die. So you won't."
The arena gates groaned open again.
The announcer's voice rang out. "In this round — Uchi Satire and her chained apprentice versus The Runner!"
A figure blurred out of the gate. Thin, wiry, grinning wide. His feet never stopped moving, each step a blur.
The crowd screamed as the man laughed.
"I made my vow years ago," The Runner shouted, voice cutting through the sandstorm of cheers. "As long as I keep moving, I can't be touched."
His grin widened. "And I never stop moving."
The boy trembled beside her. "How do we fight that?"
Uchi pulled the chain tighter, steadying them both.
"Lesson four," she said, eyes locked on the blur of speed. "Every vow has a weakness. Ours is finding it before we die."