“You idiot. You knew something like this might happen and you still did it,” Yuki growled to herself. “You became friends with someone.” 

She punched the walls of her cramped room. It felt like a prison more than ever today, the walls almost pressing in on her. Her fists hit against stone, but she didn’t notice the pain. Other pain masked it.

Jesse’s last moments replayed her head. Every movement made. Every sound she heard. And Jesse’s last words.  

“Why are you sorry?” Yuki said, slamming her fist again. “You did nothing wrong. Nothing.”

What could Jesse have done? The game was rigged from the start. She had no choice, no say. Once she was in the arena, her fate was set. 

‘But what could I have done?’

Maybe she could have forfeited her own win streak and sacrifice it so that Jesse could live. Or go in her place. Yuki had a way to counter that man. Or at least, had an idea. 

‘What could I have done?’

‘Nothing’ a voice whispered in her mind. The same voice that told her why Jesse was picked. She hated that voice. It only told the truth. 

She had to accept it. Jesse was going to die no matter what Yuki did. Even if it wasn’t today, the Fiddler would throw her in there time and time again until she was gone. All Yuki could do now was live with it and make sure that her death wasn’t for naught. To make sure that her death didn’t go unpunished. 

‘Ghost.’

The name made Yuki’s soul smolder. She was beginning to look forward to the day she would face him in the arena. It would come, she knew it. The Fiddler wouldn’t miss such a grand opportunity.

‘Then I’ll make sure that when that day comes, I’m ready,’ she thought. 

She stared at her fist as the pain of repeatedly hitting a stone wall began setting in. With the small amount of mana she could control in the room, she swept the pain away.

‘I need to ramp up my training. I wonder if Sophie can do that.’

---

 

“When?” Sophie asked. “When do you think you will fight that man?”

“My first opportunity would be in twelve days,” Yuki replied. “That is, if the schedule stays the same. That seems a bit doubtful now.”

“How likely do you think it is that you’ll be put with him in twelve days?” 

“I don’t know. It’s whenever the Fiddler wants it.”

“Then we’ll have to aim for that time frame of twelve days,” Sophie said. “I’m close to getting the finishing touches of the magic done, but until then, you just need to practice your magic and train your body nonstop.”

“I’ll be handling that myself, I take it?” Yuki said.

“For the most part. I’ll look in on you once in a while to make sure everything is going alright.”

“Alright. Let’s start.”

“Right now?” Sophie said, frowning. “You don’t want to rest for a moment? Get yourself organized?” 

“Sophie. Working is how I get organized.”

“Fair enough,” she nodded though her expression still looked a bit concerned. “Let’s work then.”

And work they did. Yuki’s mind became a one track freight train, focusing solely on training. She only left her mana dimension to fight her opponents who she tried to crush as soon as possible. They weren’t who she wanted. They were only there to slow her.

She barely talked with Alex and Karie, sitting with them when she was waiting for her fight, but never getting involved in their conversation. They seemed to understand why. When they talked, they avoided speaking about Jesse, though Yuki knew they spoke of her when they thought she wasn’t listening. She appreciated them, but she didn’t want to get too close to them. A repeat might kill her. 

When she was by herself, she summoned enemies within her mana dimension to spar against. She fought against them for hours on end, knocking them down again and again, changing their combat patterns endless using her mental library of all the battles she watched.  

Time was a blur to her. She trained and trained until her body was on the verge of collapsing before falling asleep. Then she would repeat the very next day. And then the next. And the next. 

Once in a while, she vaguely noticed Sophie watching her, but she never stopped to talk and Sophie never interrupted her. On the rare times Yuki took a break, Sophie was nowhere to be seen. Probably away in her study, experimenting.

But Sophie did interrupted one day. 

“Yuki,” she called out. Yuki stopped what she was doing and looked over at her, curious. “I think I got it.”

“The magic?” Yuki asked. Sophie nodded. “Really? That was fast.” 

“Well, I am considered one of the best mages,” she grinned. Then her smile dimmed a bit. “Or was considered. I’m not exactly alive, now am I.”

“You’re still real to me,” Yuki said. She walked over to where Sophie was standing. “Can you show me?”

“Of course. Observe,” she said with a wave of her hands.  

She made a sign with her hands and focused her eyes on a spot on the ground. A magic circle engraved itself into the dirt, glowing faintly. Nothing seemed to happen, but Sophie told her to follow as they stepped into the ring. The moment Yuki crossed over, it was like she stepped into a new world. It was no longer a grassy field, but a mountain forest with towering trees dusted with snow and chilly air.  

“Wow,” Yuki breathed. Her thoughts melted away as she spun in a small circle. “It looks so real.”

“It’s because I remember this place well,” Sophie replied. “It was my home for a good bit of my life.” 

“And you control everything that happens in here now,” Yuki said.

“I can. Not right now though. It only supports one thing at a time,” Sophie explained. “If I’m creating such a realistic environment, then I can’t do anything else.”

“I see. That’s more than enough though.” Yuki turned and looked Sophie in the eye, giving her a smile. “Thank you for helping me with my selfish request. I know this wasn’t easy.”

“You’re welcome,” Sophie said, smiling back. “You know, that’s the first time you’ve smiled in a while.”

“Really?” Yuki blinked. She thought back and realised Sophie was right. “I guess its because there’s hope now.” 

With this, she had a chance against that man. Ghost. Her heart flared with rage again, but now it was tempered with relief. That man was no longer invulnerable.

“There’s one thing, though, that you need to know,” Sophie said, her voice serious.  

“What is it?” Yuki asked.

“This isn’t easy magic. You need to remember that I’m a mage that is respected by dragons everywhere. I’m not braggin either. It’s the truth. So no matter how easy I make this look, it will be difficult for you.”

“I see.” Yuki had expected as much, but that didn’t mean it didn’t dampen her spirits a bit. “Then I guess I’ll just have to start learning now.”

“Yes,” Sophie nodded. “You can stop with your other training for now. Your body is adequately prepared.”

“Does this require physical abilities?” 

“No, but the backup plan does.” She raised a finger, shushing Yuki before she could ask. “I won’t elaborate on that. Just focus on what you need to do.”

“Sophie. You seem oddly...serious today,” Yuki remarked. 

“I’m just worried,” she replied. “That’s all. The deadline is coming fast. We don’t have much time.” 

She was right. They were on day eight in the outside world. That was sixteen days within this mana dimension. 

“Then we should start,” Yuki said. “Teach me.”

Sophie looked her in the eye and gave her a small nod.

“I’ll try.”