Joren had already broken the vow.
The Seven's law was clear: observe; never tilt the table. Yet when he hurled lightning through the Emerald Dragon's chest, the vow shattered—not by council, not by consensus, but by him alone.
Thundermaw loomed above, scars glowing blue, storm bound into flesh. Below, man, phoenix, and stubborn red fish dragged themselves upright—three who should have been erased, but weren't.
Joren's coin walked his knuckles. "Strong," he said, thunder in a conversational mood. "Cornering a Tier One with a bowl and bad manners." His smile sharpened. "If I've broken the vow once, why not wager further? Show me how far weaklings can climb."
"System," the koi whispered. "What… is he?"
[Entity: Joren of the Thunder Plains]
[Status: Legendary Tamer]
[Observer Vow: Breached (solo action)]
[Dragon: Thundermaw]
Stormlight fell like rain. It washed Brandon's veins clean of poison. It straightened Frostwing's torn wing. It sealed the koi's cracks and filled him with breath.
[External restoration: applied]
[Host vitality: 11% → 56%]
[Bond integrity: stabilized]
[Frostwing flight: partial → moderate]
Joren lowered his hand, eyes storm-bright. "There. Odds are dull when the pieces are broken." He gestured toward Thundermaw. "Now—defeat me."
The cavern went still.
"Rules?" Brandon asked, voice firm.
"Simple." A flick of Joren's fingers drew a ring of lightning around them. "Touch Thundermaw's eye before he ends you. A wager against fate." He laughed, thunder-pleased. "Don't bore me. The world erases mistakes, but I enjoy watching them struggle."
The koi's fins shivered. "System. Thundermaw—tier?"
[Target: Thundermaw]
[Tier: LEGENDARY]
[Note: beyond standard schema; immeasurable]
[Victory probability: 0 — even at full strength]
The koi froze. Zero. Not slim. Not unlikely. Zero.
Even healed, even united, it was impossible. Legendary wasn't stronger—it was outside the ladder. To fight here would not be bravery. It would be throwing Brandon's life, Frostwing's pride, and May's unborn child into the teeth of the storm.
The koi clenched inside. For him, death meant return, weaker but alive. For them, death was final. And their task—their real task—wasn't to fight a storm. It was to climb. To reach the crown of Emerald Peak. To reach Emerald Lake where the Legendary Task waited.
No duel. No gamble. Escape.
He pressed thought into the bond: Fly. Frostwing. Up. Crown. The top is all that matters.
Brandon's reply pulsed like iron: Yes.
Frostwing stamped frost—agreement.
The koi lifted his head to Joren, steady only because it was a lie. "We accept."
Lightning flared bright as Joren's grin. "Good. Begin."
The circle hissed. And while Joren's eyes lingered on his own flourish, they moved.
Frostwing blasted frost into the ring, the current stuttering. Brandon strapped the basin across his chest, vaulted to her back, and pulled the koi beside him. The phoenix crouched—then leapt.
She went for height, not distance: a brutal climb through a ragged shaft, wings shaving splinters from timbers. Brandon clung low, spear tight. The koi Burst a bubble into mist, Levitate catching the updraft.
Behind, thunder laughed—not cruel, storm-pleased. "Better! Run, then! Don't end the game too soon."
No strike followed. Not yet. Joren had already broken the vow; now he wanted chase, not closure.
They burst into the high air, cold and thin. Frostwing clawed for a ledge, then heaved herself higher. Brandon's jaw locked. The koi pressed against his wrist, vow shaped in silence.
[Objective: Emerald Peak → Crown → Lake Rim]
[Directive: survival first. Reaching the top is victory.]
Still weak. Still moving.
And the only way to win this wager was not to fight the storm—
But to outclimb it.