The tattered train car was filled with debris and damages. Wooden arrows of varying shapes and sizes could be found all over the small enclosure. The seats, the floor, and even the walls were riddled with gaping holes. Nevertheless, all of those paled in comparison to the massive opening in the ceiling that had been blown into it for all to see. Along with it came water that betrayed its nature and acted as air instead. The only tell that it was indeed water were the stray bubbles and a slight haze over the area.

  In that ravaged space that seemed to defy logic, three people were locked in a standstill juxtaposed to their chaotic surroundings. That was only on the surface though. Within their minds and hearts was a tumultuous jumble of machinations and emotions.

  “You can’t make the heart to kill me, Kate. We both know that.” Tierney confidently espoused as the pressure on her neck increased ever-so-slightly.

  Ignoring the obvious taunt, Katelyn held a razor-sharp edge to the throat of her longtime friend and mentor. That same mentor had an arrow ready to fire at a young man who was trying to protect her protegee. Meanwhile, Allen had no one’s life at his mercy as he wondered how this deadlock could open without anyone ending up dead.

  Katelyn had been running over the dilemma so much in her head that her mind began to wander. The young violinist’s eyes were clear and resolute but her hand quivered for the briefest of time. That was all Tierney needed to cut through the storm inside her head and make her decision. Her next step was kicking Katelyn’s leg out from under her. The arm holding the bow of the Mermaid’s Tear was then swiftly knocked away, but not without leaving a deep gash on the half-elf’s neck.

  Tierney paid no mind to the wound and leaped forward while notching her bow again. Allen tried getting out of the way but his failed attack earlier had left him stuck in an awkward pose with his right foot far ahead of his other. He was in no position to get anywhere that quickly. The best he could pull off was a jolt backward while landing flat on his butt.

  “Initialize: South Run: Dreki Command: Transform.” Along with her chant, she let loose an arrow that exploded into life as a raging jade dragon. The lesser Spirit spewed acid that melted anything it came across. It was a Skill that often led to excessive collateral damage but Tierney was at her breaking point. After all the tricks and ploys Allen had mustered up till now, she was not going to take any more chances.

  She planned to burn away any remaining cards he had left up his sleeve in one fell swoop.

  “Shit, how-” Allen raised his arms uselessly to block only to find the vines entangling his wrist began to stretch out in front of him and weave together to create a dense barrier. The acid-breathing dragon collided with the wall of vegetation with a spine-chilling hiss.

  Allen looked up to see the cause of the last-minute save. A woman made up of pure gold with a flowing dress and long silky hair. She appeared when Allen harnessed the power of the Mandrake’s card and it seemed the vines the card manifested were hers to command.

  “I know you said to pull you out of danger when you needed it, but I couldn’t find anywhere to run away from this thing,” Flos commented self-deprecatingly.

  “Uhh, that’s fine. It’s better than having my flesh melted off. How long can you keep that up for?” Allen got up to his feet and was already wondering how he would deal with that terrifying arrow. He dearly hoped it was not something that could be fired in rapid succession.

  “Not much longer I’m afraid.” Flos reluctantly admitted and startling cracks appeared in her barrier of vines as acid ushered forth from the ever-increasing gaps in its defense. “At best, it’ll only hold for about a dozen or two more seconds.”

  Allen’s face drooped when he heard he had much less time to think than he would have liked. Everything he came up with by far had been improvisations made up on the fly but he was not sure how much that would work when one hit would mean game over.

  “Are you sure you can’t just use your powers to entangle Tierney with those vines? I have no idea if my next card will be strong enough to beat her.” Allen inquired honestly.

  His question was answered with a shake of the head. “I don’t have any power of my own and what I am borrowing isn’t enough.” She bluntly relayed before perking up with a faint smile. “But you spent years drawing up ways to use all sorts of powers. If the next card isn’t strong enough, just draw over it .”

  “Huh? I don’t think that’s how it works.” Allen protested with a confused expression.

  “Wait, you didn’t get it? Was I too cryptic?!” Flos sounded more flustered than her ethereal presence suggested was even possible. “Sorry, I got way into chara-”

  The wall of vines was obliterated with a roar of incineration as Flos shattered into pieces with a manic look totally at odds with the initial impression Allen had of the spirit-like entity. However, he had no time to dwell on that bizarre observation. While the vines had used up the first shot of the Dreki arrow, they had been destroyed and Tierney was already preparing to fire again.

  Allen frantically raced to get to her before she could. Dodging that acid-spewing dragon was not an option much less blocking it now that Flos’s vines were out of commission for who knew how long. The part-time monster hunter’s best bet was stopping the projectile before it could be released but that was still only a gamble.

  It all depended on the next draw.

  “Eject Slot 4!” Allen yelled as he dashed forward and took out the only specter stone left, the Draugr’s. He crossed it with the card he retrieved from the deck at his waist. He allowed the stone to flow into the mystic tool before drawing out one last weapon with a flash of teal light. From that light, a long-bladed handaxe made of refined stone emerged and an anxious smile formed on Allen’s face.

  “If you hadn’t broken my last one, I could’ve dual-wield!”

  “Maybe in your next life, you’ll get the chance.” Tierney coldly replied as she released her Dreki arrow. A slight smile also appeared across her visage.

  Three. That was the number of times that Allen Lee could activate the power of his Craft Cards before they shattered uncontrollably. Tierney had been right to be skeptical at his sudden use of those mystic tools. That was clear from her analysis of him throughout the battle.

  Hallucinations that no one else could see often disrupted his attention and he wildly flailed his weapons around while paying no heed to Extract conservation. The most damning flaw born from inexperience was that the items manifested from his cards were so unstable they lasted only for three uses of their true power. Yes, the half-elf had every right to feel confident.

  Her opponent was limited to three while she had countless arrows to fire.

  Allen was worried as well as he ran headfirst at that ethereal dragon that melted the ground, the walls, what was left of the ceiling, and even the water with steam pouring off the Spirit. Its massive wings propelled it slowly but the dragon’s size more than made up for it.

  ‘I gotta destroy it before it can unleash its acid breath.’ Allen felt this could be done since he’d been able to block them and knock the arrows aside. If he could make his weapons stronger, Allen could destroy them outright.

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  He wondered if that’s what Flos had meant and then remembered that he did have a way to follow her advice. The young man focused and swiped his hand along the blade's flat while concentrating the last energy stored in the crystal underneath his bandages. The handaxe became covered in an inky black aura.

  Tierney’s eyes widened as her emerald dragon was cut down with a single vertical slash. Its destruction revealed Allen wielding a blade covered in jet-black ink. The weapon’s aura flowed viscously as it moved through the air.

  “Miasma?!” The half-elf yelled out as she tried to prepare another arrow but Allen had already closed the gap. She had no time to gather the necessary power for another Dreki arrow before dodging the handaxe. The ebon blade passed straight in front of her eyes.

  “Hah, that’s just condensed aura.” Tierney scrutinized after getting a better look. “You’re not the only one who can improvise!” The archer abandoned long-range and stabbed her Dreki arrow into the bow itself, transforming into an acid-infused staff.

  The two warped weapons clashed together within that confined space. A small crack formed in both where they made contact. It was a struggle between overflowing magical energy from the half-elf versus extremely compressed power from the outsider.

  Abruptly, the axe passed through the wooden staff like it was empty air and almost cut Tierney’s pierced ear in half. That was the power the card had received from the Draugr that could sink into the ground beneath it. Allen’s gaze flickered to the ominous vision of an earthen grave appearing right under his feet, but he had no time to dwell on this card’s side effect.

  “You can’t be serious!” Tierney said as she swiped her acid staff in a long arc that Allen had to jump back from. Emerald drops flew that singed his arms and legs “I can tell you missed my head on purpose,” She spat, infuriated that he thought he needed to go easy on her.

  “If you aren’t resolved to do what it takes to win then just give up already.” She had lost all pretense of calm and control. No, she just wanted to get rid of the eyesore in front of her.

  Allen tried backing up even further but was blocked by a passenger seat as the enraged half-elf attempted to spear him through only to be tackled from the side.

  “You’re the one that should give up already!” Katelyn struggled with her meager strength to grapple Tierney to the ground while her mentor noticed drops of leftover acid falling from what remained of the car’s ceiling. She turned her back to block the hazardous liquid from hitting Katelyn.

  The violinist watched in stunned disbelief as smoke rose from Tierney’s back. No matter how much her Extract possessed, aura could not protect her from chemical reactions. This added to the risk associated with her final arrow which made her wary of using it.

  “You idiot..” Tierney uttered out from clenched teeth before throwing the protegee to the side. Allen was almost as surprised as Katelyn that she had taken that hit for her. The young woman was so shaken up that she had not even got up past the armrests of the seats before Allen stopped her.

  “Don’t worry, I got it from here. Trust me, looks like she’s more of a pushover than I thought.” Allen quipped as he rested his axe along his shoulders. It was not a sign of confidence. The weapon seriously felt heavy after overexerting his untrained arm muscles for so long. He was not going to let that show, however.

  Katelyn nodded in compliance and Tierney studied the stone axe dyed black again. Cracks that pulsed with teal light had already formed in the blade. Two more activations and it would be gone along with the last of Allen’s borrowed magical power.

  Their exchange of blows resumed with this time being much more in Tierney’s favor. Allen’s weapon was repeatedly knocked out of the way and he was always centimeters away from getting burned. In a desperate move, he vaulted into the air using a seat to launch from.

  Knowingly, Tierney paid no mind to the splintering of her bow-turned-staff and gripped it with both hands and prepared to meet his attack. If he used the axe’s power to phase through the bow, her staff would reach him first. If he did not use that ability, she would simply knock the weapon out of his hands and leave him to fall to his defeat. Those were the only two options that Allen Lee had.

  The axe came down as a crescent of darkness and resounded as it struck Tierney’s emerald rod. Allen’s weapon exploded with a burst of teal light that broke the half-elf’s bow in turn and sent her flying into the far wall of the train cabin with a thud before landing face-down on the ground motionlessly.

  Allen dropped to the floor with a heavy sigh. “Finally, it’s over. I never want to fight anyone that strong again.”

  Katelyn hesitantly stood up straight and asked. “What makes you so sure that it’s over?”

  The young man huffed. “Well, she poured everything she had into her bow with that last attack. She has no fuel left in the tank.”

  Even though his exhaustion made him biased to this judgment, he was not lying and his reasoning was sound.

  With great effort, Tierney raised her head off the ground and sneered at him. “Dammit, you destroyed my Gusisnautar. How’d you manage that?”

  “Everything has a limit,” Allen stated matter-of-factly while still seated on the floor.”I overloaded my axe and that was enough to push your bow to its breaking point too.”

  “...Intentionally throwing away your mystic tool, no self-respecting Crafter would ever use such a cheap trick.”

  “It’s a good thing I’m not a Crafter then. It’s your fault for thinking people should be stuck with the hand they’re dealt with.” The teen derided while looking up to the makeshift skylight that gave a view of the ocean instead of what its name would imply. It did not matter as long as he got a view of the moonlight blurrily wafting in from beyond the surface of the water.

  Tierney similarly turned over and looked up as well. Katelyn was crouched down next to her, wearing an intense mask over her face that was hard to decipher.

  “Don’t worry, I’m going to make the white flag. I give up.” Tierney relented with a nonchalant attitude.

  “It’s raising the white flag, you idiot.” Katelyn chided with the slightest tinge of care. She had opened up a little bit after seeing Tierney truly did mean to protect her no matter what. Now, she wanted to know more before she could make up her mind about how to feel.

  They both remained still until one finally spoke again. “I wanted to shield you from the parts of this underworld out to harm you. That former Monarch isn’t innocent either. He already took someone from me before.” Upon reflecting on Katelyn’s desperation in the fight moments prior, the Concealer had a startling revelation. “...but maybe killing Nathan would’ve ended up hurting you the same way my brother’s death did to me.”

  ‘...She had a brother?’

  Katelyn’s mouth quivered but before she could respond, others entered the car and someone spoke up first.

  “So, there was a connection after all.” Nathan grimly acknowledged as he walked over to where they were with Connor’s arm draped over his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’m deeply sorry. I know how important Brecc was to you from the little you have told me.”

  Tierney turned her head away from him. “Doesn’t seem like it from the way you talked about your botched prison breakout, never mentioning the sacrifices on either side.”

  The tension became palpable and the weight of those words hung in the area around them. More than ever, Allen felt like someone entirely left out of the loop. Suddenly, they all felt motion as the train began gradually continuing forward to its destination, signaling that the rest of Virtuoso had done their part.

  “Hey, Allen.” Tierney abruptly spoke up and forcibly pulled him back into the conversation by making a point to say his name. “Are those friends of yours all as strong as you?”

  Allen immediately shook his head with an obnoxious smirk. “Nah, they’re all way stronger.”

  She fully accepted her defeat upon hearing that. Leaving the rest to them was probably for the best after all.

  The half-elf got to her feet and took out a strange object from the pocket of her black dress pants. It was a small gray metal instrument that looked like an arcane tuning fork. The rectangular handle was covered in cryptic runes. She held it far off to the side, as far as her arm would stretch, as if it was radioactive.

  “This is the tool that the Concealers have been using to control Specters for over a decade,” Tierney admitted with a sense of shame and regret. “I’ll at least put a stop to the mess I’ve caused.”

  Allen gulped when he heard that. “Over ten years? How much have they been hiding their crimes with this?”

  He did not receive an answer as Tierney waved the tuning fork in the air. Immediately, her face contorted in extreme pain as pitch-black spikes erupted from her arm and her eyes reddened from the shock.