The crowd erupts as the fight begins, and Vis methodically circles the Sextus, intent on burning time to survive the first minute and protect his wager. The Sextus tries to goad Vis into engaging, mocking his status and rumored background. Vis resists at first, then loses count and finds himself near the torches at the stage’s edge as the Sextus escalates the taunts, targeting Vis’s orphan past and scars.

Pushed past restraint, Vis commits to an attack. The Sextus’s first real blow only grazes Vis’s shoulder, yet the impact flings Vis to the stone—a stark reminder of the Sextus’s Will. Dazed, Vis recognizes he may have already passed a minute and could step off to claim survival, but fury and calculation override caution.

Vis charges and lands a perfectly placed hook to the Sextus’s jaw, dazing him and reversing the momentum. He presses the advantage with rapid strikes: a series to the collarbone until it gives, a punishing knee to the groin as the Sextus doubles over, and a driving uppercut that drops him. Vis mounts and hammers the Sextus’s face repeatedly, venting rage tied to the insults about his parents and scars.

With the Sextus no longer defending, Septimus Ellanher hauls Vis off. The arena falls into stunned quiet as Vis, battered and blurry, is cloaked and guided away. Only then does Vis realize that winning the bout cost him his time-based bet; he will earn little despite the victory.