Paradox Interluder (Usurper #2)

14

Kaid could feel the whispered doubts on the back of his neck like the evening wind. All his life had been sown with doubt. Doubt of never being good enough, never seeking truth, or never being able to obtain anything worthwhile in his life. Jessamine was the first to rescue him from such a fate, oddly enough because she had attached an invisible leash of her own.

That leash was gone, replaced by a string that now was tethered equally around their hearts. It was frayed by the distance between them for these two years, but no longer. Kaid knew his purpose in this life was to mend. In order to mend the world, he'd have to mend that string around his heart, he'd have to mend the political disarray from a place he used to call home as a boy.

There was plenty of skepticism. Shailud was the kind of man who trained since the day he could carry a blade as a child. It wouldn't be Kaid's first time fighting a man with such experience. Kaid's lack of a left hand was visual enough to the crowd around him that he didn't stand much of a chance. The only thing was, everyone that dared to pick a fight against Kaid fought for all the wrong reasons.

Fights were more than just experience, muscles, or technique. Motivation could be everything. The reason the heart continued to pump blood despite all odds could not be easily defeated by a blade. Shailud was fighting to prove himself the rightful ruler. In that aspect, he's already lost the war, even if he won this battle. If Caladin taught him one thing it was that everyone had a deadly sin. Exploiting that sin was the best assurance he could use.

Shailud was expecting a fight to the death. Kaid knew shattering that false emerald blade in his hands would do more harm than stabbing his own through the man's heart. Mara had already attested to the blade falling under a faulty heat-treatment, meaning at just the right strike, it could shatter like glass. If Kaid had to chip and fray that blade bit by bit to hit that sweet part, he'd do it.

Jessamine held Kaid's folded sword in her gentle hands, knowing there was no way of warning Kaid without being obvious. All of those who suppressed their Oblivions would eventually implode; the pressure was too much to withstand. Even better, if they were hypocritical in their feelings towards Oblivion. In some aspects, the hypocrisy was because they were once victimized. The moment they used such fear to harm others, being an Oblivionist themselves, that's when they crossed a line.

Shailud has crossed that line, in multiple, dangerous ways.

Shailud paced in the small space given to them, back and forth, his eyes on Kaid who remained still. Shailud acted like a predator circling his prey, waiting for the perfect angle to strike. Kaid knew in his fight with Proffit, Kiev, and even Payne, he always countered and played on the defensive. Shailud would expect the same, which was why Kaid needed to change that.

Kaid made the first lunge, his blade reaching for Shailud's thigh in hopes to cut. Shailud wasn't caught off guard, immediately parrying it. Kaid striked again, only to be blocked. Again. Again. And again. Shailud's smirk only grew with each defensive victory for him. Yet, he did not strike. He was trying to weaken Kaid's composure, and after over ten well defended strikes, Kaid was beginning to feel it weaken. Kaid's wrist and hand ached from the grip and powerful strikes to parry him. He hadn't made a single cut into Shailud's dark skin.

He had slowed time with each strike, each one of them perfectly crafted to make sure Shailud couldn't counter without consequence. Yet, Shailud seemed to see each strike at him like a premonition, warning him of Kaid's potential to win. He had read about this before, somewhere, somehow. The pages of words across time flashed in his brain, his memory trying to pull up whatever he could find.

Books had their advantage, even in a world where most decisions were derived from violence. In most instances, saying the pen was sharper than the sword was incorrect. Knowledge, however, could be life saving. And the immediate thought of Shailud having foresight was beginning to set in Kaid's confused mind. Foresight. Foresight could defeat all careful planning. Kaid could spend a year pausing time, carefully strategizing how to strike at Shailud, and no matter what the man would see it coming if it caused danger. The more dangerous a strike, the more his Oblivion would warn him of such danger.