The pain screamed through Sen’s synapses. For an indefinable moment, sun-bright agony consumed his awareness and completely devoured his ability to act or form thoughts. His back slammed into the ground with a thud, only partially muffled by the opaque fog. The Essence tether that had snared him constricted on his neck and dragged him backwards toward the crush roller. His hands, following instincts of their own, shot up with uncontrolled reflex at the sudden strangulation from the glowing yellow Force collar.

  An eternity later, but only a micro in linear time, the blinding mental explosion begin to clear. Sen’s mind restarted its functioning with a partial, if slightly sluggish clarity. Another micro and he was able to remember that his legs that had been fractured because the flow of Essence from his core had been stilled when the force collar’s foreign Essensence had invaded his meridians and dominated his cultivation with its superior strength. His unenhanced legs had stood no chance to absorb the impact of his and Joshua’s landing. Fully supporting this working theory, Sen’s lower extremities were bent at grotesque angles, bobbling uselessly to the sides as he was being pulled headfirst on his back at the pace of an old man’s walk. The agony of his dual fractures was exquisite. But as he had been trained, Sen was mentally ducking the pulsing waves of pain like an experienced waterman would dive under strong waves as he moving from the shore to deeper water.

  Another micro passed and a new problem reared its head. Sen was unable to pull his hands away from his neck. He wasn’t exactly sure that he wanted to pull them away. His fingers had conveniently wedged themselves between the collar and his neck as the yellow ring had continued to constrict. The result was to disperse the tightening ring’s pressure, preventing complete compression of the blood vessels suppling oxygen to his presently all too mortal brain. Which is a good thing, I suppose, I’m still conscious…. Sen was very aware that non cultivating humans would be rendered unconscious after denial of cranial blood flow for approximately nine seconds. However, the price of maintaining hes consciousness this had been high: Use of his arms. When his hands had made contact with the Essence collar, two wrist shackles had spontaneously sprung up from its bottom half and entrapped his hands. Other than keeping him awake, both of his hands were useless. Chagrined, he was ashamed to admit that even Joshua had avoided this…

  All around Sen could hear the stunned gasps of the crowd giving rise to deafening levels of cheering. Included in this wasa concophany of catcalls and mockingly derisive cajoles as the disembodied onlookers weighed in on the events with their reactions–

  ~Hold on Sen! I’m coming!~

  Approximately ten meters away Sen make out Joshua’s limping form as it took shape emerging from the alabaster fog soup all around them. He had been cycling his Essence in the intervening time and the stump he was using to take his quick stagger-steps on was no longer bleeding. At their current rate of healing it would take approximately 5-10 microgyra to completely regrow a lost appendage. Intellectually, Sen knew that it had been less than 30 micro’s, less than half of one microgyra, since he’d had severed Josh’s ankle at the first crush roller.

  ~Josua!~ Sen called back through their bond as he exercised his will to conserve his energy and stop the useless struggling. He was surprised at how welcome it was to see Joshua arive. The tremors of the crush roller’s grind wheel were increasing in strength with each passing micro and Sen was disturbed to admit that the vehicles large spinning stone was quickly becoming the primary focus of all of his anxious attentions. Part and parcel to this was a rapid, uncontrolled beating of his heart that filled his ears with a pounding rhythm not unlike the percussion of Led Zepplin’s Immigrant Song, the audio masters Joshua had recently shared with him. The overall effect of these feelings and sensations seemed to skew his perception of time and instill in him a very strong desire to flee. Is this what fear feels like? The first thought opened a flood gate of unbidden and largely unhelpful thoughts and questions that seemed to make his heart beat even faster. How am I going to get out of this!! I dont even know how much time I have left, or the distance to the grinding stone that is going to smear me flat!! I can only be sure that with every fraction of a micro I have less of it!!! The young monk felt a cold sweat start running down his back–

  ~Yep Sen, that’s fear all right. Its good to see that when you have your Essence stripped away you’re just as big a babbling idiot as the rest of us. Welcome to the human race buddy!~ Josh’s tone was positively smarmy. ~And don’t worry… I am recording this with my com link, and will definitely play it to everyone that I possible can... But I’ve got a plan and I’m going to get you out of this before you start screaming like a little girl. I promise!~

  Despite the guaranteed humiliation he was sure to suffer in the future, Josh’s crooked grin calmed Sen’s racing heat and uncontrolled thoughts, He even was able to take a resettling breath. ~Sorry Joshua, Please forgive my weakness...I’m very …uncomfortable witht this vulnerable state mundane humans exist in…

  ~You dont say?~ His Karmic brother sent through their bond over a mental chuckle as he closed the distance and easily lifted Sen up with his enhanced strength. Joshua’s hobbling gate easily matched the slow, steady, crowd pleasing pace of the tether’s pull. The audience’s ooh’s and aah’s of anciticpation to Josh’s intervention were no surprise.

  ~Whoa Sen! You’re legs look as floppy as a couple of boiled egg noodles.~ Sen couldn’t help but winch as they dangled askew at his new upright position. ~Use you’re Earth shield like splints when you get free or its going to hurt when you hit the ground.~

  ~…Yes I will brother—~ Sen started to respond as he was shaking off the last wave of brain stunning pain from the grinding bone splinters. Joshua’s eyes narrowed at the collar still squeezing Sen’s neck and hands as if he was deeply concentrating on it. Realizing what Joshua was about to do he shouted through their Bond, ~Stop Joshua! Dont touch it–~

  But Sen’s warning was far too late. Josh’s throat issued a bestial snarl through clenched teeth and he grabbed the Force collar with white knuckles on both hands. He was surging his Essencence in a way that Sen had never seen before. The individual Auras of Earth, Mind, and Space/Time had been braided not unlike how many warriors adorned their hair and beards. The multihued cord was being channeled through the meridians of both of his hands.

  Sen waited in agonized dismay for Joshua’s cultivation to be shut down, and ending up just as helpless as Sen was under the cultivational dominance of the four beings in the crush roller…

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  …But it never happened. Not only did Josh’s wrists stay free, but Sen’s neck and hands were instantly freed as the Essence bindings around them dissipated. For a fraction Sen had forgotten Josh’s instruction to propagate a partial Earth shield over his crippled legs. The vertigo of his body falling sent pins and needles up his spine. But his Essence had surged out of his core and through his meridians like how torrential rains surged through flood drains. It began cycling through him in a spinning cyclone allowing Sen’s faculties to once again achieve acceleration at many times the speed of an unenhanced mind. In a split micro two golden/orange cylinders of Earth shielding had quite painfully slammed into place over his lower legs, forcing his fragmented bones into alignment. Sen’s eyes rolled in response to the pain, but he was able to maintain his footing with only a small stumble. He spun to confirm with his eyes what he was feeling Joshua doing through their Bond.

  It was unbelievable, but somehow, Joshua was doing exactly what he had felt.

  The Force neck collar and wrist shackles had been eradicated. In their place Joshua was now holding four separate lines of pure Force Aura. Each led to a point on the crush roller’s counsel directly in front of one of its occupants. Each of the thin lines were taunt. Very much like the strings attached to the small air devices called kites Josh and Sophie flew for enjoyment in her Soul Space. Josh was gripping two of the Force strands in the clenched fists of each hand as he stepping forward with his arms held wide. There was a fierce glowing white light shining from Joshua’s eyes and the same luminesce was running from his hands up the yellow lines as if overcoming the Aura being sent from their opponents. Josh’s countenance and his posture left no questions that he was making a show of strength in unquestionable challenge to the crush roller’s occupants. His trash talk only confirmed this.

  “You want to roll in here and attack us from behind?! I’m gunna show you how we do things in Chicago!~ He leaned forward and seemed to accelerate the pace his braided Auras moved up the lines of force.

  Sen could now see the four beings that had snared him from behind. All were humanoid males, wearing long oiled beards that somehow gleamed in the low ambient light. Their avatars were about twice the size of normal humans and each wore helms of differing sizes and configurations. Each helm was different in shape and adorned with differing numbers of paired bull horns sharpened to stunning points. As the Titans had been, they were all in idealized physical form. They were also draped in multiple layers of decorative and elaborate gold jewelry. Dozens of gold chains of varying thickness and weave adorned their necks, multiple gold loops dangles and studs pierced their ears, along with thick gold bands on their arms and fingers. Overall, they appeared to be members of the Sumarian Pantheon from Joshua’s Earth. Though he was not a student of history and wasn’t completely sure.

  Regardless, of their origin, four Earth gods were agitated in the extreme at their current reversal of fortune. Their enormous muscles bulged and sweat broke out on their shaking foreheads and backs. Their fists clenched and eyes squeezed shut as they strained to fight the cultivation battle Johua was somehow winning. Another roar of oposition burst from Josh’s open lips and his whole body tensed as the glowing white pulse from his braided Aura’s crossed the halfway point. Only ten more meters between his Essence and them. At this, the largest Sumarian, sitting right of center gave up the struggle. He took his hands away from the crush rollers interface and pointed a two-meter-long, heavily toothed, one-handed saw at Joshua. The dark glare from his eyes promised nothing but torment. “Puny human, for this outrage we will lap the marrow from your bones!” his deep and ominous voice threatened. Feeble grunts of agreement came from the three still overwhelmed and struggling gold wearing giants at his sides.

  Joshua was only emboldened by this and leaned into pressing his advantage. “Oh ya!” Josh yelled back at the saw wielding god still seated in the crush roller before him. “Errrrnnn! Wrong! But thanks for playing. And here’s a consolation prize as I ram my Essence down you bunch of Mr. T wanna be’s throats.” Joshua thrust both his fists out toward his opponents and extended his ring finger on both hands. “ Screw you guys!!!”

  The last several micros of Essence flow had done wonders for Sen’s legs now well on their way to healing. He checked his status to check on his restored heath status after his unenhanced crash landing. As well as to make sure he had adequate Free Essence as he quickly capped off his Essence with Time/Space Aura through the meridians on the surface of his skin.

  Their cultivation capacity to return to health after serious injury and to replace their missing Essence for such healings was impressive to Sen. Still it was nothing compared to the beings they were pitted against in this contest..

  Equally restored was the coherency of his thoughts. Currently he remembered all of the information Joshua had related from Theia before the Tafl contest had begun. One thing in particular stood out in his mind, and he reached out to Joshua to remind him of it as well.

  ~Um, Brother…A moment, please—~

  Joshua’s mental tone was slightly pressured as he cut Sen’s thought off. ~Give me a sec Sen. This is actually harder than it looks. I have to focus all of my compartmentalized thinking to keep it up.~

  And it was true. In the fraction that Josh had taken to respond to Sen, Joshua’s attack had slacked off slightly. After he returned his focus the white pulse was on the move again and only five meters from the crush roller. The Sumerian wearing a peaked gold helm with two pairs of bull horns on either side groaned and leaned forward. Apparently collapsing from the strain, his head lifelessly smashed into the counsel before him.

  ~Brother! You must stop!~ Sen tried once more to reach Joshua, but was completely ignored.

  Previously unreached levels of audible ovation and all out defening chaos was erupting form the crowd. As if driven by the support, Josh slammed a foot forward in an attack stance. His white pulse slammed through the final two meters of force tethers, devestating the last of the Sumerian’s resistance. His braided Essence slammed into the crush roller like a freight train exploding the stone construct into chunks that were sent flying into a cone of debris that disappeared into vortices of enveloping fog. Still, the vehicle had been close enough that Sen was able to see much of it had been pulverized into a rising dust cloud hovering over its previous location.

  Lowering his now empty arms, Joshua let out a breath he had been holding and took another deeply in. Then he turned to Sen dusting his hands like he had just thrown out the household waste. Plastered on his face was the cocky smile of ultimate victory. Sen cringed. Only the absolutely powerful drunk on blood lust or the truly foolish ever wore such an expression during battle.

  The mad plaudits from the unseen crowd had stopped and an eerie silence now lay heavier about them then the fog. Joshua, not seeming to notice, spoke. “What was it you needed to tell me Sen?” The tone is Josh’s voice still matching his canary eating expression. He did lift a slightly surprised brow at Sen’s wide eye’d expression of concern. Josh’s smile completely dropped as Sen’s lightning fast reflexes drew both of his scimitars and deflected a jagged chunk of rock about the size of a big man’s fist that had been silently hurtling toward Joshua’s head. Sen then urgently pointed over Joshua’s shoulder.

  Four hulking figures walked out of the settling dust and ignited their previously restrained personal powers. Aura’s, some nearing the strength they had seen Gusti exhibit when he exposed his Tetrahedral core at Nagal erupted. Sun, Air, Earth, and War blasted out like the proceeding shock wave of a nuclear detonation. Before they could move again, Josh and Sen were instantly restrained in a vortex of wind and scorching light confining them in place. Unable to run, move, or even speak.

  In awe of the angry power now centering on them, Sen barely had the ability to notice the arrival of the Fire Essence crush roller as it launching four red streaming tethers at him and Joshua. The sounds of sizzling and the smell of burning flesh from the nooses around both of their necks and chests was almost a surprise as the largest Sumerian, standing three meters tall with a yellow streak down the middle of his midchest-length beard, radiating sun beams from his muscular shoulders took heavy, menacing steps towards them. Pointing his two-meter-long, lion-toothed, one handed saw at Joshua, his eyes glowed a blood tinged amber. “Now you will pay human!”