Stephen sat quietly with Max and the others, his posture relaxed but his mind anything but. The noise around him, voices, footsteps, the distant sounds of fighters preparing, blurred together as his thoughts drifted inward. He had been reflecting on his past, and there was a reason for it. Not just idle remembrance, but necessity.
Back when he had first been asked to come up with a Vow, he had struggled more than he ever admitted. A Vow was not something that could be chosen lightly. It wasn’t simply a rule or a promise. It was something that demanded sacrifice, something that would cut into the very core of who a person was.
At the time, Stephen had searched for a Vow that would unlock his power while still allowing him to fight effectively. That was where the real difficulty lay. There were plenty of vows he could have made, but most of them would have crippled him.
For instance, he had briefly considered a vow to never throw another punch again.
As a boxer, that would have been an incredibly strong vow. Powerful, even. But then what? What would that leave him with? How was he supposed to remain useful in a fight if his fists, his entire life’s worth of training, were taken away from him?
Would he have to relearn everything from scratch? Train his legs instead, change his stance, rebuild himself into something unfamiliar and incomplete?
It wasn’t impossible, but it would have taken years. Years he didn’t have.
And more importantly, it didn’t feel right.
Stephen had learned that a Vow couldn’t just be harsh. It had to mean something. It had to hurt in a way that stayed with him every single day. Something he would never forget, no matter how strong he became.
That was why he had turned inward instead of outward.
He had dived into his past, forcing himself to confront memories he had buried for years. The gym. The fights. The promises. The betrayal. The moment he had given up his dream, not because he wanted to, but because he had been forced to choose between ambition and survival.
And when he had finally reached the answer, it wasn’t something physical.
It was something far worse.
I will never fight for my dream, or for myself again... that is my vow.
When the thought had first crossed his mind, even Stephen had hesitated. He had tested the words in his head, turning them over, trying to see if they truly held weight.
To others, the vow might have sounded weak. Almost laughable. Some might have thought it wasn’t even a restriction at all.
But they didn’t understand.
Stephen’s entire life had been built around a single goal: becoming world champion. Every early morning, every broken knuckle, every loss, every sacrifice, everything had been done in service of that dream.
To give it up permanently was not simple.
His vow meant that he could never fight for personal gain.
Not for titles.
Not for fame.
Not for money.
Not even for recognition.
If he stepped into a ring, it could never be because he wanted something from it.
It had to be for someone else.
To protect someone.
To teach.
To repay a debt.
To fulfill a promise.
Only then could he fight.
That was why he was able to stand here now, fighting in this event and still make use of his power. None of it was for himself. Every punch he threw, every step he took, was for Max, for the group, for a future that wasn’t his own.
And that was precisely why the vow was so difficult.
Even though he had already given up on becoming world champion once, the temptation still lingered deep within him. The vow ensured that no matter how strong he became, no matter how refined his power grew, that dream could never be reclaimed.
Every fight he won with this power would remind him of what he had lost.
Every victory would come with a quiet reminder that he was no longer allowed to want it for himself.
There was another cruelty hidden within the vow as well, one that Stephen was constantly aware of.
Before every fight, he had to question his own intentions.
Was he fighting for someone else... or was he lying to himself?
That constant self-examination was exhausting. One moment of selfish desire, one slip in intent, and the vow could falter.
I gave up my dream once for money, he thought. Now I’ve decided that I will never chase that dream again.
From this day on, every fight I take will be for someone else’s sake, and never my own.
The vow came with another consequence, one that could easily get him killed.
If Stephen were attacked while he was alone... truly alone... with no one to protect, no one to fight for, then his power might not respond at all.
If it came down to self-preservation alone, the vow would not justify his strength.
That didn’t bother him.
In fact, he had accepted it the moment he made the vow.
I guess that just means I’m stuck by Max’s side forever, Stephen thought. I’ll never fight to overtake him, or surpass him, or challenge his place.
He doesn’t even know it, but my vow makes me the most loyal person here.
The thought almost made him smile.
Which was why he had been surprised when Max had said he trusted him so much. It made Stephen wonder, just for a moment, if Max somehow understood what his vow truly meant.
"Hey, Stephen!"
Darno’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"You’ve been daydreaming so long that it’s your turn again. You’re up."
Stephen lifted his head and looked toward the platform. His opponent was already warming up, a man covered head to toe in black cloth, even his face hidden, giving him the appearance of some kind of ninja.
Stephen rose to his feet and stepped forward, his mind finally settling into focus.
As he moved toward the platform, Max did something else entirely.
He raised his phone and placed another bet.
Twenty million.
The number alone was enough to draw attention. It was double what he had placed the last time.
Darno’s eyes widened.
"Hey, are you sure that’s okay?" he asked. "If you keep putting down numbers like that, don’t you think these guys are going to get pissed and stop you from betting altogether?"
"You’re right," Max replied calmly. "That’s exactly what’s going to happen."
Darno blinked. "Then why, ?"
"Which is why I’m slowly increasing the bets as Stephen keeps winning," Max continued. "With everyone else doing the same thing at the other venues, we’re forcing the Black Hounds into a massive loss."
"When they shut down the betting," Max finished, "that’s our cue to leave."
Darno let out a dry laugh. "Right, right. And what, are we supposed to jump into the sea and swim back?"
Max checked his phone again. The numbers from the other venues were coming in. Profits stacking. Strength flowing into him in a way he could feel deep in his body.
"Worst comes to worst," Max said, slipping his phone away, "I’ll have to join in myself."