Disqualified?

Vivi didn't know how to react. She faced the claim with silence. She had worked so hard for a full week, crafting the best sword of her career—with her honest efforts that placed her in the lead with almost double the points. Only for some nonsense to disqualify her?

"This is not okay!" Lucius shouted in her head. "Dispute it! We didn't do anything wrong! Let's fight!"

"I can explain," Vivi said, though she had no amplifier.

"You have explained what needs to be explained," Zack responded, also without an amplifier. "You received outside assistance from multiple sources. People have been disqualified for less."

Zack didn't look satisfied like a bully. He was merely upset, as if Vivi had done something terrible as a personal attack toward him. She faced him blankly, uncertain what she could have said.

"Accept your loss," Zack said. "And get out of here. Cheaters are not welcome in Shivenar."

"This mud-eating worm-faced devil!" Lucius bellowed. "Kill him, Vivi! Poison him with venerium!"

No, Lucius, calm down! Vivi thought, biting her lip.

"Are you fine with this?" Lucius asked. "Will you let him kick us like we're some rabbits?"

Lucius, assess the situation! Vivi yelled in her thoughts. Zack was still eyeing her, waiting for her response. Let's not do anything stupid. A disqualification is entirely fine. Really, it's okay.

Her spirit paused. "What? Why?"

We already received fame, Vivi thought. Isn't that why we came? To market the Lost Raindrop? We achieved that. Anthony Ailman wants our sword now. Does he look like he cares about the winner of some flimsy competition?

Lucius stayed silent, still upset, but considering.

After the competition is over, is Anthony going to visit the auction, or is he going to visit the Lost Raindrop and make an offer for Blossom?

Lucius paused, suddenly curious.

"Sure," Vivi said, finally responding to Zack. "I'll accept the disqualification."

He nodded, as if Vivi was merely making a good decision. He turned back to the organizers.

Watching him made Vivi upset. She wasn't happy. But fighting him would be stupid.

"But…" Lucius tried to say.

We didn't even know the rules, Vivi thought over him. If those guys are adamant about disqualifying us because of some technicalities, we can't do much.

"But… We created our own base sword!" Lucius said. "We didn't register one for a reason!"

We'd still be disqualified for the other two violations, Vivi thought. Winning doesn't matter. We already achieved what we came for. This competition is ridiculous anyway. Don't you agree?

Lucius pouted, but slowly calmed down. Vivi sensed anger lingering within. She, too, shared the feelings. Of course she was upset. This disqualification was nonsense. Zack Vanhammer must have orchestrated it somehow.

But she overruled her anger with logic. All around, this was still a good outcome. Her sword was safely in spatial storage, and everyone had seen its powers. She was free to sell it later.

Really, after seeing Vivi's sword in action, she doubted many would make offers for Zack's flimsy sword. Offers would arrive at the Lost Raindrop. And if someone deduced that they would rather buy Zack's sword, Vivi would gladly not have those people as her customers.

"Vivian," two guardsmen with runeswords strapped to their belts said. "Will you accept the disqualification peacefully and leave with us, or will this come to a fight?"

"I'll go peacefully," Vivi said unenthusiastically.

The guardsmen nodded. They walked on each side of her, escorting her back down the market square. Everyone in the audience was looking at her, murmuring rumors.

Vivi would be famous… But how much of that fame would be insults and curses?

At the bottom of the stairs, Vivi was met with more frowns. The judges of middle split waited with their arms crossed. "So you cheated?" middle split's beauty inspector said. "That sword of yours, it was a cheat?"

She sighed. "Can I just go home?"

The man's frown didn't go anywhere. "You must return the prize we gave you. Ten thousand ether."

At this point, Vivi didn't even care to argue. She just subtly rolled her eyes and asked, "Who do I transfer it to?"

"Vivi, this is not right," Lucius said again. "We can dispute this. We must!"

I don't care, Lucius… Vivi thought. I'm tired. I just want to head to sleep. We'll return to our lives in the Lowmoor district. The slums are actually pleasant. There's no need to try to fight an uphill battle with these biased organizers. We'll sleep at home, and let's open tomorrow. I'm expecting we'll wake up to a line outside our doors.

Vivi was given a transfer orb, to which she transferred exactly ten thousand ether. The prize she'd won from middle split. After that, she asked again if she was free to head home.

The organizers still had more to spout. "Due to a violation of the rules, you have been banned from entering next year's competition. A year after that, you may begin your climb again from low split."

I won't be joining, thank you very much, Vivi thought. "I understand. Can I go now?"

The organizers kept her detained for a moment longer, discussing amongst each other, until eventually, they nodded. "That is all. You are free to go. Thank you for not causing a scene."

The thought of a nice bath, followed by her smooth blue sheets, kept Vivi from saying anything stupid. She couldn't wait to head to bed, out of the facets' light.

So she merely walked away. She had a headache. A cloud floated over her thoughts, not to pour refreshing rain, but to clog her emotions. She wasn't angry or sad. She was vaguely disappointed, but mostly she just felt exhausted. All she wanted was to head back to her smithy.

The disqualification didn't matter. Her career was now going better than ever.

But knowing that Shivenar, the city of Grandpa's dreams, hosted competitions like this, treating Vivi as if she was some hack…

It hurt.

But it didn't matter.

She dreamed of her bed and stepped away, back toward her home in the Lowmoor district. Let's go home, Lucius.

***

"That's not fair!" Senith protested as loudly as she dared. "Vivi's tool broke so someone helped her out with a new one? How is that cheating? And what about the base sword? Didn't they clearly state that she made her own?"

"The competition is what it is," Lucas said. "If the Vanhammers are pushing her disqualification, she's out."

Lucas's eyes were awfully sharp. He was looking at Anthony. His boss. Or as Lucas liked to call him, his party leader.

Gods. Senith still couldn't believe her brother was in the same hunting group with someone like that.

Anthony was eyeing Lucas as well. A crowd and chaos surrounded him. Organizers were probably wondering how they'd continue the competition. The announcer had merely told everyone to please wait, and that the competition would continue in just a moment.

Anthony was having none of it. He slipped away from the crowd, walking straight to Lucas on the front rows. "That girl, Lucas…" he said.

"Yes, I was about to hunt after her," Lucas said. "Our budget?"

"Everything we have," Anthony said. "Buy that sword no matter the cost. If we don't get it now, it'll be gone."

"Seriously?" Lucas asked. "It's that powerful?"

Anthony looked fully serious. "That was by far the most insane sword I've ever touched." He shivered. "It almost felt like the sword was alive. When I ran ether through it, the sword glared back. Buy it. At all costs."

Lucas nodded. "And you?"

"I still have this competition to deal with," Anthony said. "If I leave, we lose the hundred thousand they're paying me. I'll leave this to you. Do you know where the smithy is?"

"I'll trace her," Lucas said. "Leave it to me."

Anthony nodded. "And remember, if she's not budging, offer everything we have."

Hesitantly, Lucas nodded again, then prepared to leave.

"I'm coming as well," Senith said.

"No, stay here," Lucas said. "The smithy is in the Lowmoor district. It'll be dangerous. You will slow me down."

"I'm Vivi's friend," Senith insisted, exaggerating slightly. "I'll be useful for negotiations. Bring me with you. I'll walk fast."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. This made Lucas pause. Goddamned men, Senith thought. All you think about are swords and money! What about Vivi herself? She's bound to be upset.

"Come, then," Lucas said. "And don't fall behind."

Senith nodded. She wanted to visit Vivi as well. Not for her sword, but to make sure Vivi was alright. The poor girl had been disqualified from the biggest runesmithing competition in the world after working endlessly for a week. Vivi had taken it well, on the surface, at least, but Senith thought Vivi had looked like she could use a hug.

You deserved the win, Vivi, she thought. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

***

The facets felt hotter than usual on the way down. The walk back to the Lowmoor district felt like an eternity. Vivi could have bought a palanquin, of course, but she really wasn't in the mood. She walked straight to her smithy, hoping to ignore any nonsense the outside world had to offer.

That proved to be difficult, with the journalists, kids, and other crazies chasing after her, asking about the disqualification, or her sword. At first, Vivi merely sped the pace, until the streets started to fill ahead of her as well. Everyone seemingly wanted her testimony. Quickly, a crowd of questions surrounded her.

She called her aura. Five hundred wisps, and shouted, "No questions! Out of the way!"

The path finally cleared, and with her aura active, people were slightly more hesitant to chase. They followed ten or so paces behind.

Entering the Lowmoor district, Vivi stepped into an alley. One of the particularly dirty ones, filled with the smell of booze and piss. Finally, the journalists didn't follow.

Vivi scowled at the drunkards, aura active, as she crossed the alley to her home street.

People had gathered outside her doors as well. Seven people. Six of them Vivi recognized as her customers. Eli was there along with his gang, as well as three others.

We really need a back door, Vivi thought, wanting to roll her eyes.

"Vivi…?" Eli said. "Sorry about the competition… We heard what happened."

Vivi avoided their eyes. Eli, that idiot, had bet seven thousand ether on her victory. "The smithy is closed," she said coldly. "Come back tomorrow. Leave me alone, please."

"We, uh—"

"The smithy is closed!" Vivi grumbled perhaps more rudely than she should have. "Get out, and come back tomorrow."

She moved to the door, showing her back to her customers.

One more man stood by the doors. A tall man wearing a city official's blue jacket. He seemed to be waiting for her.

"Vivian Runeblessed," the city official said. "Good timing. I am Eric Grey from the tax office. I am here to discuss the levies of your shop's commerce. This must be handled—"

"The shop," Vivi repeated sternly and loudly, "is closed!" She pushed out a slight aura of ether, definitely above the legal hundred. "Come back during opening hours!"

"This matter must be—"

"Please," Vivi said. She felt like she was about to go crazy as she faced the man. Why today of all days, goddamned taxes!? This must be a joke!

"I just need some sleep," Vivi said. "I'll pay taxes tomorrow. Come back when I'm open."

Her emotions must have radiated through her expression. The tax official leaned back, and nervously said, "Uhm, very well. This matter must be handled tomorrow."

"Thank you," Vivi said.

Finally, her customers and the tax official gave her space.

What a day… Vivi grumbled in her head. It took serious effort not to snap at something. Why could this city be so stupidly difficult? All she wanted was a peaceful night of rest.

Vivi shut off the problem from her mind. She summoned her keys from spatial storage and inserted them through the hole. The key went in without resistance.

Vivi blinked. That was odd. The lock usually rattled like a goddamned crying rat. Opening the door was always a battle. This time, the key slid in and turned as if nothing was moving. Was it broken?

She tested the door. The door opened ajar, then got stuck on its own hinges. Odd. Had she left it unlocked?

No, she hadn't. Vivi remembered explicitly locking the doors. To leave them unlocked for over a week in the Lowmoor district would have been extremely stupid.

But it was unlocked now. She yanked a little harder, fully opening the door.

And the door chime fell from its spot, clinking for the last time as it crashed against the ground.

Vivi's mouth hung open. Her breathing paused as she froze by her doorstep.

A strong smell of sewage entered her nose. Her blue carpet was drenched and stained, dirty water pooling on her floor. Her reception desk was cut into splinters. The weapon display rack was tipped over, each sword snapped cleanly in half. The painting of rainfall was slashed into pieces, then crumpled and tossed on the stained carpet.

The whole commercial area was a ruin. Everything was destroyed. From her lamp to the tables themselves—even the small cute plushy she'd found as a decoration was decapitated, stuffings cluttering the floors. The only thing still in one piece was the blue curtain separating the smithy section. The curtain, too, was dripping sewage water.

Vivi's throat felt tight. She couldn't blink. Pressure welled up in her chest. Painful pressure.

What the hell?

What the actual hell?

One heavy step at a time, she stepped deeper into her destroyed smithy. Slowly, she opened the curtain.

Lucius's duck-statue was slashed open, the two halves laying on the ground. Vivi's bedframe was in two pieces; the blue sheets ripped and tossed to the ground. Any remaining tools, from hammers to the forge itself, were crushed into bits, filling the smithy with rubble. Ripped white fabric lay on the floor. It was Vivi's dress, she realized, cut into pieces and tossed onto the pooling sewage water.

This wasn't a robbery. Whoever had come here hadn't stolen a single thing. They'd destroyed everything.

Vivi's vision blurred, her thoughts becoming a haze. Her movements became slow as her eyes panned to the back wall. Text had been written there with red paint. Fresh paint sagged down like drool from the large brush strokes. The paint must have been applied within the last hour.

Lucius… Vivi thought. What does that say?

"I…" Lucius said quietly, looking away from her eyes. "I don't think you want to know what it says, Vivi…"

What does it say, Lucius?

A pained expression showed on Lucius's face. He translated the text, then hid deeper in her core.

It read, "Lost Raindrop; The Shame of Shivenar."

"Return to the surface, where the slums sent you."

Her eyes saw black for a moment. Reality became a haze. The text blurred out of sight. She felt dizzy. She wanted to puke. Thoughts stopped making sense.

This wasn't real. It couldn't be. This was a nightmare. She wasn't awake.

Vivi turned away from the text. Her vision itself was shaking. She felt as if she was about to fall through the floor—as if her consciousness was about to leave her body behind.

This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. What about her night of rest? Her comfortable bed? What about the days of hard work that went into building this place?

It couldn't all be gone.

Her step wavered as she limped toward the door. Her head was so dizzy it was a miracle she stayed on her feet. She walked away. She—

Lying amongst the rubble, Vivi spotted her raincoat.

Dirty boot-marks littered its fabric. The patches had fallen off, revealing holes from fights in Zand. The coat was still largely in one piece, just wrinkled and stomped on, tossed onto the ground like an afterthought.

Her raincoat. The cheapest, ugliest raincoat sold on the surface.

The invaders hadn't even considered it worth breaking.

Something within her head broke. Thoughts stopped forming.

A tap sounded from her raincoat. Something wet dropped against its fabric. Then another, like lone droplets of rain smudging the dirty boot-marks. The shape of the raincoat became a blur of grey in her vision.

Vivi picked up her raincoat from its shoulders. Her poor stomped on and worn-out raincoat—the only keepsake from Grandpa she still had left. She pressed it tight against her chest with her chin feeling its fabric.

She sniffled. Whimpered.

The darkness at the edges of her vision grew. The scent of sewage disappeared. Her fingers lost their feeling. The world became dark.

Abyss Destroyer spawned in her hand, and her void core broke loose.

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