Moving through Letens toward the Theatre, Vis reflects on a city where Catenan influence overlays an older Tensian world. He enters a hidden room and meets Septimus Ellanher, who reveals a “special bout”: Vis will face a Sextus—an escalation arranged days ago. Understanding it as a punishment for his recent successes, Vis keeps his composure, negotiates triple pay, and leaves determined to fight.

In the amphitheatre’s upper reaches, Vis finds Gaufrid, the bookie, who warns that a ceding Sextus could crush him. Vis refuses to throw fights, reasoning the Sextus may be undisciplined, and places a 20:1 bet to last more than one minute but less than one and a half. He notices a cloaked girl who has attended every recent bout and asked about him, a potential risk. The wager and the girl’s attention sharpen the stakes as Vis privately recalls he has just over a year before the law will force him to cede his Will or face a Sapper.

Backstage with the Octavii, Vis receives cold stares from other fighters and finalizes his strategy. To avoid being pulled or strangled through imbuements, he decides to fight without clothing and covers himself in animal fat to prevent any firm grip. He dismisses the idea of baiting the Sextus to waste Will on imbuements, judging the risk of a single mis-hit too high.

Summoned by Idonia, Ellanher’s shy cousin, Vis walks onstage naked, turning crowd laughter into cheers by projecting confidence. Ellanher’s expression flickers as she glimpses the mass of scars across Vis’s back. The Sextus opponent—tall, athletic, confident, and wearing tinted spectacles—arrives and briefly falters upon seeing Vis’s unexpected preparation before regaining his composure.

With the amphitheatre hushed under the dome, Ellanher steps aside and gives the signal. “Begin.” The fight starts with Vis’s plan in place and the risks—physical and political—fully in view.