《Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]》 Chapter 1: W.B.C. ¡°Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.¡± - Mike Tyson
With his right eye blind from the swelling and blood dripping into his left, Jay squinted at the blurry outline of his coach screaming at him. His motivating words could¡¯ve helped Jay, if he understood them. The infinite bells ringing within Jay''s ears stifled all noise. The referee walked over to the red corner and held four fingers up. Jay felt two taps on the back of his neck. ¡°Two.¡± he said, trusting his second¡¯s eyesight far more than his own. The referee lingered and Jay looked at him with concern. ¡°You¡¯re on thin ice Leonard.¡± Jay nodded, looking up to the jumbotron above the ring. Fuck! That¡¯s what I look like? Jay''s normally neat black hair drooped over his eyes, soaked in sweat. He wasn¡¯t the prettiest before the fight, but the broken nose he''d just earned hadn¡¯t done him any more favours. The bell rang. The lactic acid in Jay''s thighs begged him not to stand up. He didn¡¯t have a choice. Jay stumbled into the ring and pressed his red gloves into his cheekbones. The ringing hadn¡¯t left his ears, but Jay heard something deeper beneath it. The roar of the crowd. LIGHTNING! LIGHTNING! The rumble of thousands of people chanting as one buoyed Jay forward as his body begged him for a few more precious seconds of rest. Belt or not, he was these people¡¯s champion. And he¡¯d give them a fight. Jay¡¯s opponent, Richard Boogieman Burns, somehow looked worse than he did. Hunched over, panting, and sporting an inch long gash above his right eyebrow. Yet both fighters made the weary march to the centre of the ring. As the referee signalled the start of the penultimate round, Jay held out his glove to acknowledge the opponent he¡¯d shared the last 30 minutes of war with. He wanted a fist bump. He got a jab to the face. Should¡¯ve expected that. Jay replied with a lightning-fast trio of lefts, steeling himself for another round of hell. His opponent could secure a decision victory with this round. If Jay won the eleventh, then he¡¯d force Burns to come out swinging in the twelfth. Leaving him ripe for a counter. Easier said than do- Bright blue flashed into Jay''s vision. A looping left hook, hidden behind his swollen eye, smashed into his jaw. One knee dropped to the ground and Jay looked up to see his opponent celebrating, facing the crowd already. Disgusting. How dare he. Ignoring the world spinning around him, Jay instantly returned to his feet. A spike of dizziness pierced his skull and Jay felt his jaw click as he bit down on his gumshield. One more of those and I¡¯m out. Boogieman Burns had clawed his way up to the World Boxing Council (W.B.C.) #6 ranking using low blows, cheap shots, and everything else they don¡¯t teach you in Boxing 101. For the past month he hadn¡¯t shut up about how he''d take Jay''s #2 contender spot with ease. How it was his destiny to become the champ. Bullshit. Boxers like Burns were everything wrong with boxing in the modern era. More interested in the belts, bright lights, and stardom than the sweet science. What happened to the real fighters? Since his pro debut over five years ago, Jay¡¯s every day had been dedicated to boxing. How to punch faster, harder, more unexpectedly. More effective ways to train, better strategies. If it made you a better fighter, Jay had thought of it, tried it, and added it to his regime already. His opponent was a part of the new breed of fighter. A wannabe Mayweather or McGregor. Sure, he could fight, but he made his money with his mouth not his fists. Jay didn¡¯t mind a bit of trash talk, but the whole circus had become too much for him. Empty words until they finally stepped into the ring. Boogieman Burns, and everyone like him, spoke about raising the fight game to new levels. In reality, they were knocking down the foundations of the sport. It wasn¡¯t enough to be a fighter anymore. The modern boxer had to be marketable, business oriented, flashy, and so much more. All Jay wanted, more than anything in the world, was to be the heavyweight world champion. It was his father¡¯s dream before him, and his brother''s dream after that. Now their fates rested on Jay''s shoulders. His opponent just wanted the fame, a paycheck, and probably to retire before forty with minimal brain damage. That didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t fight. If Jay was blessed with Burns¡¯ natural ability, he¡¯d have become champ years ago. Jay had speed; he was probably the fastest heavyweight in the world. But he didn¡¯t have the knockout power the rest of the division had. Other heavyweights had the crutch of power to lean on, they were all capable of pulling a knockout out of nowhere. To fight against those monsters, Jay had to rely on his speed. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Speed of body, speed of mind. He didn¡¯t just need to punch faster, he had to think faster. Had to plan faster. Jay had to be one step ahead of his opponent the whole fight if he wanted to win. This was the last stepping stone before Jay got his first world title fight. He didn¡¯t just need to win. He needed to show the world he was serious, that he deserved a shot at the belt. ¡°Duck under the right. He¡¯s leaving his jaw wide open! Come on Lightning, you gotta pull this one outta the fire!¡± Jay''s coach screamed at him from outside the ring. He was right. In the months leading up to this fight, Jay and his long-time coach had spent days poring over each of his opponent¡¯s previous fights. Burns had a weak body and tended to overextend his block to protect it. Every time his opponent threw a right hook all fight, Jay had ducked underneath and attacked the body. By now, Jay knew Burns¡¯ timing, range, and tendencies like the back of his gloves. The killshot was inevitable, all he had to do was draw Burns¡¯ focus downstairs and meet him up top. Seven raised fingers in front of him let Jay know breaktime was over. He lifted his gloves and assured the referee that he was ready to fight, practically shoving the man aside before marching back into the fire. Jay turned to check the clock. Only two minutes. Fuck. He hunted his opponent round all four corners of the ring for thirty seconds before the realisation hit him. Fucking coward. With that lucky knockdown in the middle of an even round, Burns had got two points over Jay. Securing him the round, and potentially the fight depending on how blind the judges were feeling. You¡¯ve knocked your opponent down, eleventh round, and you¡¯re not even trying for the knockout? Who the fuck do you think you are and why are you calling yourself a fighter! ¡°Fucking fight then!¡± Jay yelled, trying to rile his opponent up but only angering himself further. Burns¡¯ simply grinned, showing off a garish gumshield made to look like a golden grill with the W.B.C. belt on it. More like World¡¯s Biggest Cunt. Realising he¡¯d been swept into his opponent¡¯s game, Jay left World¡¯s Biggest Cunt for the post-fight interview. He couldn¡¯t win the fight here, but he could keep setting up the knockout. For the rest of the round, Jay kept harrying his opponent. Not giving him a moment of rest, and relentlessly targeting his liver. The damage probably wouldn¡¯t pay off, body blows usually had a longer-term effect and they were eleven rounds in, but there was more than one way to damage an opponent. Body shots dealt damage. They also hurt like hell. If Burns focused too much on Jay''s hits to the body, he¡¯d stop thinking about upstairs. In the boxing ring, the only thing worse than getting punched in the face is getting punched in the face without knowing. When you know you¡¯re gonna be hit, you can prepare. You can tense your neck, you can bite down on your gumshield and get ready to roll with the punch. When you don¡¯t know a punch is coming all you can do is take the hit and hope you don¡¯t wake up horizontal. The bell rang and Burns punched Jay just after. Early enough for plausible deniability, late enough for everyone to know what he was doing. Everyone except the referee it seemed, as all he did was stare at Jay''s opponent for a fraction longer than normal before pointing both fighters to their corners. ¡°What the absolute fuck was that, Jay?¡± Jay''s coach emptied an entire bottle of ice-cold water into his face. If Boogieman Burns was the epitome of new school boxing, Andre Allen was his opposite. Old, bald, and with a face that had surely kissed more canvases than women, Jay¡¯s coach founded Red Star boxing gym twenty years ago and was as old school as it got. He may not have known about the science and data driving modern boxing techniques, but he knew two things better than anyone in the world. One, Jay Lightning Leonard. And two, how to coach him. ¡°You¡¯re getting too sucked up into his game Lightning. You call that a fight? You let that prick bully you for three minutes, knock you down, and clown you at the final bell.¡± Jay would have responded about looking for a counter, but his coach didn¡¯t give him the time. ¡°And don¡¯t give me that crap about a counter! You know he¡¯s too good for that, stop kidding yourself. Stop thinking about highlights. Stop thinking about the headlines. Start thinking about the fucking fight. What would Jules say if he saw that round? Probably something like who¡¯s that wanker and why¡¯s he fighting the world number six? Now shut up and let the doctor take a look at your eye.¡± Jay''s older brother Julian was the sole reason Jay started boxing. He was Coach¡¯s fighter before Jay was, the one who¡¯d brought a young Jay to Red Star boxing gym. Jay''s big brother was always the more gifted athlete. While Jay needed countless hours analysing and practising before learning a new technique, Julian had the uncanny ability to see something once and mimic it perfectly. He had all the makings of a future world champion. When Jay first started boxing, all he wanted was to be just like his brother. But twelve years ago, Julian died. And it wa- NO! Jay blocked out the thoughts of his brother. He had to focus on the fight in front of him. Jay didn¡¯t just want this win. He needed it. He needed to be world champion. If Jules couldn¡¯t make it, Jay had to do it for him. ¡°Because you were fucking useless that round, you¡¯re probably down on the scorecards.¡± Coach said, gripping Jay by the ears. ¡°You know the plan. You fucking made it. So go out there, duck under his right hook, clock him in the jaw and show the world who the better fighter is! Come on! Fight your fight Lightning, I know you¡¯ve got it in you. Time to fucking prove it!¡± Jay bounced up, ready to fight fifteen seconds before the twelfth round started. Coach said he was losing the fight, and Jay had to trust him, but Burns was just as fucked up as he was. 33 minutes in a ring with Jay had taken its toll on Mr. World¡¯s Biggest Cunt. Laborious breaths shifted his whole body as he desperately tried to fill his lungs with oxygen. Burns locked eyes with Jay. He tried to don the mask of invincibility, but it was too late. Jay knew he was on his last legs. Winning rounds mattered in boxing, but the knockout was the great equaliser. One punch had the power to render thirty-five minutes and fifty seconds of hard work useless, Jay had one last chance to make it happen. The bell rang and Jay got to work. Jay thought Burns might try and grind the final round out. Choosing a boring victory over late drama was certainly the safer option, but every boxer has an ego. Nobody becomes a world ranker without the spark of violence whispering in their ear. Jay just had to make Burns listen to it. To everyone watching, Jay appeared desperate and reckless. Swinging like a madman, throwing looping haymakers instead of clean, straight punches. They were half right. While Jay was desperate, he was far from reckless. He threw each punch with only his arms, not putting any bodyweight into the punches. The worst thing a boxer could do when trying to hurt someone. But Jay wasn¡¯t trying to hurt anyone, he was trying to get Burns to bite. Jay kept throwing until it came. A swinging right hook he could¡¯ve dodged in his sleep. He deftly slipped under it, slid his left leg forward, and wound up the finisher. His balance was off. The movement wasn¡¯t right. Jay wrestled his eyes off Burns¡¯ jaw, twisting his neck back. His right foot was trapped, shackled to the ground beneath his opponent¡¯s boot. A blue fist came rushing towards his face. He could see it, but there was nothing Jay could do about it. The roar of the crowd, his coach¡¯s dismay, the murderous intent of his enemy and the pain of defeat all blended into an unforgettable snapshot before his vision instantly shot black. Chapter 2: the Second Chance Coliseum Lightning Leonard, in 30 seconds you will die. Jay stared at the golden rectangle of text in front of him with scepticism before another line appeared underneath. Do you wish to enter the Second Chance Coliseum? Thirty became twenty-nine. The fuck? Must¡¯ve been some punch. Twenty-eight. Am I dreaming? Jay tried to wake himself up, but nothing happened. He tried to look down at his body, yet there was nothing there. Looking? How could he look? He didn¡¯t have eyes. A floating mind, surrounded by endless darkness. Endless, apart from the golden screen of text permanently fixed to the centre of his reality. Twenty-seven. Jay tried to say yes, but how could he? He had no mouth. His intent was accepted. The screen vanished, and drowning darkness made way for blinding light. Then came pain. Anguish ravaged Jay''s soul as the very essence of his being splintered and cracked. Memories unravelled into nothingness like threads of a tapestry lost to time. Emotion came next. Seething rage faded into a hollow melancholy that soon became crushing despair. They all left eventually. Reason, intuition, ethics. Everything unfurled, fragments of personality flung themselves into the darkness until only consciousness remained. A fractured ego in a limitless void, deprived of everything that once made up a man. The ache of destruction dulled until the agony of creation replaced it. First it was identity, then came dreams and desires. Logic and emotion morphed together as the cowl of perception wrapped itself around Jay. Jay. A name. Memories flooded back. Not as integral as identity, yet equally important. Complex thoughts re-introduced themselves to Jay''s existence as his mind reconstructed itself. The blinding white void became a more manageable white expanse as Jay suddenly had eyes. He looked down to see bones, then muscles, then skin reforming. A man once more. The air exploded with sound as soon as Jay could scream. After his body came his gear. A mouthful of rubber cut Jay''s scream short. His gumshield materialised in his mouth and the tense compression of handwraps clamped round his wrists. Jay¡¯s new body felt great. His muscles no longer ached from twelve rounds of punishment and two healthy eyes saw the world much clearer than a single bleeding one. Even if his world was currently just an endless sea of white. Man those gloves look stupid. Now, who should we put him up against? ¡°What?¡± Jay instinctually replied. His throat felt strange but the familiar voice he¡¯d known for 25 years came out perfectly normally. Wait he ca- ¡°Wait, he can see the screens? Fuck. Can you hear me? Please don¡¯t say yes.¡± An exasperated voice echoed within Jay¡¯s mind as soon as the golden screen disappeared. ¡°Erm¡­ I can hear you.¡± Jay said sheepishly. ¡°Who are you? And where am I?¡± ¡°Oh for fucks sake. Is there any chance you can just¡­ forget about this? Pretend it never happened?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Maybe Jay could¡¯ve answered the anxious voice¡¯s request. If he had any clue what the hell was happening. ¡°Yeah¡­ that was never going to work. How about I give you an easy fi- Wait wha- That guy! Why him? For fu-¡± ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± Jay almost shouted at the frantic voice inside his head. ¡°I¡¯m working on i- Ah, okay. So¡­ bad news. I can¡¯t get you an easy fight, you¡¯ve already got an opponent. But how about this: I help you out in this fight and in return you don¡¯t tell anyone about my existence? Deal?¡± The white purgatory flickered, and Jay could almost make out the bobbing heads of a boundless crowd before fragments of reality washed over them. Jay mulled over the strange voice¡¯s words, still oblivious to whatever the fuck it was talking about. His focus shifted to his surroundings, newborn eyes drinking in all the details of his new world. He stood near the edge of a white stone cliff. A towering tree, easily fifty metres tall, loomed beside him, straddling the lip of the cliff. Half its roots shoved through the uneven rocks of the clifftop, while the rest hugged the sheer, ocean-facing cliffside. Falling red maple leaves tumbled in the whirling wind and warm raindrops plastered Jay''s hair to his forehead. Restless waves lapped at the cliff face, pushed forth by a black wall of clouds ominously churning over the ocean. The storm front hugged the horizon, but Jay could feel it advancing. A pillar of heavenly light shone onto the cliff top twenty metres inland of Jay. He shielded his face with his arm, blinking the glowing wisps of blindness from his eyes. Fiery heat emanated from the beam, and Jay only looked back once his raised arm no longer felt its warmth. Where the light once shone now stood a man. Even from afar, Jay could tell this guy was massive. Tree trunk legs held up an exposed torso, packed to the brim with muscle and scar tissue. The only armour shielding the man¡¯s top half was a wooden mask, half painted blood red. Jay stared into the eyes of the strange, masked man. Only shadows stared back. Second Chance Coliseum. Coliseum¡­ Get you an easy fight¡­ Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Jay''s stomach sank as the pieces began to click into place. ¡°Welcome back everyone! To our first fight of the evening!¡± Another voice, this one deep and booming, filled the air, the ground, and even the ocean. ¡°Now, a fight like this would normally be in the newbie arena but you won¡¯t want to miss this one! Tonight may mark the debut of a future legend.¡± Excitement and anticipation weaved their way through the voice¡¯s words. Slivers of curiosity tingled within Jay''s mind, quickly shot down by grim realisation. What the fuck have I gotten myself into? ¡°Our first fighter hails from a planet called Earth. He¡¯s a boxer known for his speed. Named after the alacrity of his fists and the carnage they cause! Please welcome¡­ LIGHTNING LEONARD!¡± A volley of lightning cascaded from the faraway storm front. A thunderous drumroll of electricity. Adrenaline injected itself into Jay¡¯s bloodstream. He¡¯d just got out of one fight, now it was time for another. ¡°Standing in front of him is his opponent! He fights with the signature power and persistent pressure of the Ayyuthan conquerors. He is a warrior that inspires fear in the hearts of his enemies. Before entering the coliseum, he was known as the Unkillable Tyrant, the One-Man Army, the Seventh Heir of Stormbreaker, but now we now know him as¡­ VALORUS. THE RELENTLESS CHAMPION!¡± The rumbling voice faded into a mere tremble behind the earthquake rising through the cliff. Tremors shook the rocks beneath Jay as he dropped to all fours. Valorus stood unfazed, unsheathing a sword previously hidden behind his back. Jay looked at Valorus¡¯ greatsword. He looked at his boxing gloves. Fuck. Mismatches weren¡¯t unheard of in fighting, they were actually pretty common. Why risk a young prospect against a heavy hitter when you can feed them some bums first? The young gun gets some experience, and the old dog gets a fat paycheck in exchange for a few years¡¯ worth of brain damage. It¡¯s a win-win¡­ ish. Cannon fodder had its place in the world. Jay just didn¡¯t want it to be him. Not like I have much of a choice. ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry. Not much I could do about that.¡± Great. You can hear my thoughts too. Who even are you? And are you ever gonna tell me what the fuck is going on? ¡°I can¡¯t really tell you who I am, you¡¯re not even supposed to know I exist. I can''t tell you where you are either. Come to think of it, I can''t tell you that much at all. But you¡¯re right about one thing, you¡¯ve got to fight that guy. Winning here¡¯ll open a bunch of new doors for you. Lose and everything else becomes a whole lot harder.¡± Thanks mate. Really informative. Jay tried to put the confusion behind him, focusing his mind on his opponent. He had a fight to win, questions could wait for later. Easier said than done. Whirling what if¡¯s, punctuated by occasional What the fuck¡¯s, spun around Jay''s mind as he desperately fought to steady his nerves. 5 4 Who, or what, the hell was speaking to him? Should he trust them? 3 2 Did he even have another option? 1 Fight. Valorus bounded towards Jay, awkwardly hopping on the rocks. Jay realised why when he tried to retreat from the cliff edge. There was less gravity here than on Earth, and Jay almost rolled his ankle as he pushed off the ground, barely moving a few feet. A single mistake let Valorus slip into his colossal range. He wound up a slash, twisting his sword to his side. Jay planted his right foot onto the rock, determined not to slip this time. He pressed into the ground, intending to step just out of range but launching himself much further back. Jay''s floundering feet kicked rocks off the cliff edge, they clawed for grip as he desperately leaned away from the ocean. The Relentless Champion lived up to his name. As soon as his swipe missed, the sword returned to his side and he resumed the chase. After a few more leaps, Jay realised he had the speed advantage. He created some distance, and with distance came time to think. The mysterious voice in Jay''s head obviously knew something and was probably speaking to Jay for a reason. Trust was a bit too far, but Jay could talk himself into listening. I thought you were here to help? I¡¯m all ears, oh strange voice. What do I need to do? ¡°First thing, ditch the gloves. Next, stop running away and attack.¡± Wow, super helpful. How am I supposed to do that? He has a massive fucking sword! ¡°And? Think of something. You¡¯re the gladiator, not me!¡± Valorus released a roar of anger and pointed to a spot in front of him. Holding his ground and demanding Jay to meet him in combat. The voice asked Jay to attack. Valorus threw down the gauntlet. Jay let his gloves fall onto the rocks. The voice was right; he wasn¡¯t boxing anymore. No use cushioning fists in a deathmatch. Jay bounced on his feet as he gradually closed the distance, getting as used to the gravity as possible. A flash of lightning reflected off the rain-soaked sword as Jay began to learn the difference between stabbing range and punching range. Jay kept creeping closer. He¡¯d entered his opponent¡¯s range, and dared the Relentless Champion to make the first move. Jay had faith in his reaction speed. As soon as his opponent attacked, he¡¯d rush in for the counter. A dart of lightning struck the ground beside the two fighters. The brilliant light cut through the rainfall, momentarily washing both fighters in light. When someone¡¯s about to attack, their eyes usually give them away. Valorus¡¯ mask, and the shadows behind it, blocked Jay from spotting that telegraph. Oh well. While eyes were the easiest thing to spot, they were also the easiest thing to fake. Boxers had figured that out years ago, which was why Jay looked just below them. The shoulders. If you want to move your fists, you first need to move whatever connects them to your body. It¡¯s impossible to throw a punch without first engaging your shoulders. The split second of vision that the lightning granted him was enough for Jay to spot a twitch in Valorus¡¯ delts. That tiny glimpse was enough to warn Jay of the incoming attack. Thanks, lightning. The first strike came, a piercing thrust aimed at Jay''s chest. He leaned onto his left foot, momentum carrying the greatsword over his shoulder. Jay unfurled his body, stretching his left arm out. Familiarity drove him forward as he launched a left hook into his opponent¡¯s body. Jay''s unpadded fist crunched into his opponent¡¯s iron stomach. The wraps, wound tightly around his fist, barely kept Jay¡¯s bones intact as they compressed on impact. What the fuck is this guy made of? Jay thought, twisting away after just one punch. He rushed behind Valorus to create some space. But Jay wasn¡¯t boxing anymore. He was allowed to use the rest of his body. Valorus began to turn. Jay launched a kick at his opponent¡¯s knee, not daring to aim any higher. The Relentless Champion easily read the attack, deftly lifting his planted leg and letting Jay''s foot swing by wildly. Knocked off balance by his own attack, Jay scrambled away from his opponent. Valorus stayed still, shadowed eyes locked on Jay and awaiting another attack. ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to do anything other than punch, huh?¡± And you don¡¯t know how to give useful advice, apparently. Jay gritted his teeth and matched his opponent''s stare, scouring Valorus¡¯ guard for weaknesses. ¡°Well, your punches aren¡¯t that strong. Your kicks¡­ Let¡¯s not think about your kicks. Is there anything around you that you could use? Sticks and stones might not break this guy¡¯s bones, but you can certainly try? Maybe snap a twig off that maple, poke it through his eye holes or something.¡± Great advice. Fucking great advice! Jay thought, before realising the voice could hear him. He was beginning to reconsider trusting the voice, but it was better than being alone. It was always nice to have someone in your corner. The gigantic maple loomed over Jay, the closest twigs at least ten metres above him. He wasn¡¯t jumping that high, even in this gravity. Nice tip. Dickhead. He didn¡¯t mind the voice hearing that one. The steady rain evolved into a stronger downpour. Bolts of lightning struck the water by the cliffside in their masses, driving gusts of wind towards Jay. A falling leaf tumbled onto Valorus¡¯ mask. He clawed the leaf off before bringing both hands back to his blade. Walking far more naturally now, he marched onward. The Relentless Champion was tired of waiting. Valorus attacked Jay with a series of compact swipes, constantly keeping his sword in front of him. He¡¯d gotten used to the gravity, and Jay found it hard to keep his distance. The burst of pressure forced Jay to the cliff edge. Jay scanned for openings in his opponent¡¯s advance, but he didn¡¯t know what to look for. When Valorus wound up for a powerful but slow strike, Jay took the opportunity and rushed along the ridge. The clang of metal on rock told Jay he¡¯d been outmanoeuvred. The giant dropped his greatsword onto the rocks and leapt towards Jay''s trajectory. Jay tried to slam the brakes, but he¡¯d just floored the gas. The calloused hands of the Relentless Champion shackled themselves around Jay''s arms. Chapter 3: Relentless Valorus whipped Jay away from the ocean, almost yanking Jay''s arm from its socket as he dragged him through the air. Jay felt his opponent¡¯s rugged hands slip from his wrists as the Relentless Champion flung him away from the cliff edge. At first, Jay felt lucky he hadn¡¯t been thrown into the ocean. Then he hit the ground. Jay¡¯s nose shattered against the rocks as he skimmed across the cliff, careening away from his opponent. His face grated against the uneven stone surface, cracks in the rocks slicing into Jay¡¯s cheeks. A protruding stone snagged Jay''s shoulder. His entire body twisted mid-air. The next time Jay hit the ground, the back of his skull smacked into the rocks before his body skidded to a bloody halt. Jay knew what a broken nose felt like. This shit was worse. Thick streams of blood dribbled out of his nose until an involuntary cough ruptured the floodgates. Cascades of lumpy crimson burst through Jay''s nostrils, filling his mouth with the sickening taste of iron. Primal instincts alone kept Jay alive. His body spun itself over and blood gushed onto the floor. A fighter¡¯s instincts twisted his head up. If Jay couldn¡¯t see his opponent, he was just as good as dead. Three blurry outlines of Valorus began to bend down. Three became one as Jay¡¯s eyesight recovered just in time to catch his opponent effortlessly picking his fallen sword off the ground. ¡°You won¡¯t win with just your body. Forget everything you know about fighting. This isn¡¯t Earth anymore; you aren¡¯t constrained by its rules. Use everything available to you. Do whatever is necessary to win.¡± Cheers mate, great advice. It¡¯s a great fucking shame he has a massive sword available to him and I don¡¯t! Jay spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped his eyes clean. Slicing raindrops made way for pummelling hailstones as the skies opened on Jay''s back. The weather wouldn¡¯t help him win this fight, so Jay looked at his barren surroundings. All he could find was a fistful of wet leaves and a jagged rock before thunderous splashes drew his attention back upwards. Each step Valorus took trembled the stones beneath him, sending entire puddles airborne. The disparate pieces Jay held were nowhere near enough to crack the puzzle that was the Relentless Champion, but he had no other options. Jay sprinted forward, he couldn¡¯t keep running away forever. He''d already brought his fists to a swordfight, might as well get in range. Standing at 6¡¯2 and north of a hundred kilos, Jay outsized 99% of the population. Against the giants of the heavyweight division, he almost always gave up the height and weight advantage. With height and weight often comes range, so Jay was used to that too. But every advantage leaned on situation to prop it upright. What use is a knife in a gunfight? What use are long arms when your opponent ducks inside them? What use is a greatsword when your opponent¡¯s in punching range? Valorus adjusted his grip the moment Jay neared him. Crimson streaks rolled down the sword as his bare hand clenched onto the blade. He swung his sword towards Jay like a staff. The blade moved far faster with a closer hand guiding it. Jay raised his left fist, exposing the stone within it to the oncoming blade. The world''s smallest shield couldn¡¯t possibly stop a full swing, but Valorus couldn¡¯t leverage much power from his new stance. Jay thanked the laws of physics as sparks skittered off the tiny shield, half an inch of stone the only thing separating him from amputation. Valorus didn¡¯t stop at one though. His mangled hand pulled the now crimson blade back, Jay''s eyes flicked to his right to see the sword¡¯s cross-guard swinging towards his head. Jay tried to raise his guard in time, but the attack was too fast. Blunt steel slammed into his temple, bashing his head to the side. A murky slurry of blood and rainwater flicked off Jay''s face, coating the sword¡¯s handle red. It wasn¡¯t over yet. Jay knew what was coming next. Valorus had already switched sides once, why wouldn¡¯t he do it again? Head-splitting agony washed left and right together into a blurry crimson nightmare. But Jay didn¡¯t need left or right, he needed to drag his fucking hands up. His weary arms reached his cheeks barely an instant before the sword did. The blade hacked through Jay¡¯s forearm until the dull fizz of bone finally blocked the shot. Muscle fibres, sliced into two, sprayed a mist of blood into Valorus¡¯ mask. Jay didn¡¯t have time to think about his mangled arm. He leaped backwards, knocking himself to the ground before scrambling further away. Valorus swiped the air where Jay once stood, blinded by bloody red mist. Hailstones pounded against Jay''s skull, their clattering cacophony almost a relief from his earlier headache. Rainwater sliced into his cheeks, but at least it washed the blood from his eyes. The weather wreaked havoc on Jay''s freshly injured arm as the storm buffeted his exposed nerve endings. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. A spear of lightning spiked down from the heavens, striking the great maple towering beside Jay. An amber glow flooded the cliff from within the tree before it charred into an empty husk. The tree¡¯s explosion of life brought half a second of light into Jay¡¯s grim reality. He could almost feel the residual echoes of electricity dancing through the air, darting into his body, desperately trying to spark life into his fading essence. ¡°You¡¯re closer, but you need to do more. Forget everything you think you know about fighting. Forget your limits. Become more.¡± Every trace of composure had fled the mysterious voice, overrun by desperation. Become more what? War drums of hail battered the sodden stone. The ceaseless pounding Jay¡¯s only answer. Two slivers of electricity threaded out of the roiling clouds above. They arced toward Jay, striking the ground just in front of him. Static fuzz flooded his skin. The bolts¡¯ faint afterimages snaked around Jay like a dual helix, momentarily staining his vision white. What do you want me to do? Jay scoured the barren clifftop, the mist-like downpour obscuring his view. The gash in his left arm rendered it almost useless. He couldn¡¯t even scratch Valorus with two arms, what the fuck was he supposed to do with one? Jay clambered his way to two feet just as Valorus cleared the last of the blood from his eyes. The Relentless Champion advanced. Thudding stomps grew gradually louder as Valorus drew closer. Jay circled back, nearing the spot where he¡¯d started the fight. The steady march became a thunderous stampede. Another dart of lighting struck the ground, carving through the air to land beside Jay. His right foot plunged into a pool of rainwater before another step back took it back to uneven stone. After another, the squelch of waterlogged foam told him he was in position. This had to be timed perfectly. Jay threw the fistful of leaves at Valorus¡¯ eyes the moment he stepped within range. Rain blasted the mulch as it flew towards the Relentless Champion¡¯s mask. He swiped his sword in front of him, guided forth by a shredded right hand. But that was just the distraction. With all his focus on the leaves, Valorus forgot about downstairs. Jay kicked his drenched boxing glove forward, sliding it across the rocks towards his opponent¡¯s feet. Valorus waved the leaves away instantly, but his right foot slammed down on the soaking boxing glove. The glove slipped across the rocks, dragging the Relentless Champion¡¯s foot with it. Valorus¡¯ leg swept outwards. He released his sword, raising his hands to brace his fall. Jay sidestepped, keeping close to his falling opponent. Now! The greatsword clattered across the rocks, the clanging metal cut through the droning rainfall. Wait¡­ Jay had planned to kick Valorus while he was down, but he remembered how poorly his last kick went. What if he slipped on the rocks, or Valorus grabbed his ankle mid-kick? He chased after the fallen sword, rushing to catch it before it tumbled off the cliff. A dart of lightning stung the sword, bouncing it off the ground and killing its momentum, stopping it mere inches from the cliff edge. Jay¡¯s blood-soaked hands fumbled on the rain-soaked handle. Even after he grabbed it, Jay struggled to lift the massive sword. What the fuck is this made of? The emotionless clutches of adrenaline began to slip from Jay''s mind. He dragged his injured arm over to the sword¡¯s grip. Daggers of pain tore his arm apart as he clenched his barely-functional fingers. The blade wobbled, buffeted by wind, rain, and hail. Barely supported by an injury-stricken grasp. Jay slowly raised the sword in front of him. Arms straining for every extra inch. Valorus flicked his head up. The wooden mask had cracked, most of the painted red side lay in pieces atop the rocks. Scars and burns stained the Relentless Champion¡¯s uncovered face. Savage, irremovable war paint that permanently echoed a history of violence. Bloodshot eyes, unshrouded by shadow, glared red and raw at Jay Should¡¯ve stuck to the plan. Fuck! The Relentless Champion rose to his feet. He took his first step forward. The warbling growl of thunder shook Jay¡¯s core as Valorus took another, and another. The sword¡¯s tip dropped half a foot, Jay''s exhausted arms unable to keep it raised. A flash of brilliant white light descended from the sky, ricocheting off the blood-soaked blade into Jay''s eyes. Jay looked up. The lightning? Knotted clouds roiled amongst themselves, gatekeeping the heavens. Flashes of light escaped, glimpses into the universe. Is this what you wanted? No reply. A spark of hope skittered onto the fading embers of Jay''s inner flame. His left hand clasped onto the blade. Fresh blood rolled down Jay''s arm, smearing its mark over his wound. A melting pot of suffering, stirred and fused together by the falling storm. Jay''s shoulders strained as he raised the sword above his head. An arrow of lightning struck the ground behind Jay. Casting a vicious shadow onto Valorus, who marched forward. Hailstones battered against the blade. Vibrations coursed through the metal directly into Jay¡¯s bones. When a boxer dodged more swings than he threw, and lacked the ability to end fights without warning, he had to make it up to the blood loving audience somehow. Jay could never satisfy the crowd¡¯s clamour for violence with raw power. But he was their champion. And he¡¯d give them a fight. Jay screamed the moment Valorus stepped into his range. He screamed at the heavens, at the storm, at anyone who¡¯d listen. The storm responded. Individual raindrops, once blurred together into a dense haze, finally stood still. Droplets, marching on their warpath towards the earth, stopped. Valorus stopped. Jay stopped. Everything stopped. Everything apart from the flashes of electricity, coursing through the roiling storm above the arena, the snaking chains of lightning weaving between rolling clouds. The entire world froze in pure serenity. Then there was light. Momentary peace became an instantaneous inferno of energy. A brilliant eternity of white engulfed the world around Jay, replacing his old reality. Needles of electricity crept their way inside Jay. Not damaging him, bu- Then it vanished. Jay''s fleeting instant at one with the lightning felt like an eternity. It didn¡¯t feel long enough. He stood tall. Beaten, bloodied, battered, but still standing. His opponent wasn¡¯t so lucky. Valorus spasmed on the floor, unable to cope with the storm¡¯s energy. The smell of burning flesh filled Jay''s nose as he looked down towards his former opponent. Convulsing limbs flailed into Jay''s legs. The Relentless Champion¡¯s final, instinctive attack. They flailed and thrashed until they finally lay still, and Valorus¡¯ unconscious body finally relented. ¡°Not too bad. Although maybe I should¡¯ve expected it. Have fun out there, and forget I ever existed. You¡¯ll probably never speak to me again, but you might. Especially if you want to find him.¡± Chapter 4: Nine Hundred and Seventy Third ¡°OH. MY. WORD. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! If that doesn¡¯t get your blood pumping, I don¡¯t know what will! It appears a star has been born. Will Lightning Leonard live up to his insane debut? You all know there¡¯s only one place to find out!¡± After twelve gruelling rounds, and a brutal thirteenth, the announcer¡¯s glowing praise was music to Jay¡¯s ears. Jay couldn¡¯t see an audience, but he felt one somewhere. He took a bow hoping, wherever they were, they saw him from the front. ¡°I need a breather after that one folks! But the next fight is coming right up, and you won¡¯t want to miss it!¡± The voice abruptly stopped. Jay''s surroundings grew fuzzier, detail slowly slipping away from him. Stone and sky merged together, fading into endless white. Soon it was just Jay and his unconscious opponent. Eventually, he disappeared too. What next? Four beige walls boxed Jay in from the void, followed by a wooden floor and a ceiling painted in the same forgettable beige. Jay looked around the dramatically dull room, pleased to find no greatsword-wielding barbarians alongside him. Only his drenched gloves, slowly forming a puddle in the corner, kept him company. The lonely room¡¯s cool dry air felt delightfully average, and that suited Jay just fine. Jay clenched and released his left fist. Not only was his arm dry, it had fully healed too. He ran his fingers down his forearm. Nothing. Not even a scratch. Even the spot where Valorus had cut through to the bone felt completely normal. He traced the bridge of his now unbroken nose. It was fucked up, but no more fucked up than it was yesterday. Two breaks in the last hour hadn¡¯t even left a bruise. Congratulations Lightning Leonard, you have won your first fight in the Second Chance Coliseum. Your profile has been updated. Would you like to view it? Profile? Yeah, I guess. A larger table replaced the golden text in front of him.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 973
Offence 1000
Defence 954
Strategy 902
Instinct 856
Vitality 986
?????? ?
Nine hundred and seventy third? I hope these aren¡¯t out of a thousand. Jay thought, eyeing his offence ranking. He flicked down to the bottom of the table, wondering what the final row meant. You have unlocked the statistic: Speed. It will now show up on profiles when you view them.
Speed 789
It made sense that speed was his highest placement. But if the rankings were out of 1000, he was mediocre at best. And even that was a stretch. Another screen appeared the moment Jay dismissed the table. You have been awarded 3010 contribution points. Your visa has been extended for 7 days. ¡°What¡¯s a visa?¡± Jay said, aloud this time. Your visa denotes the time you have remaining in the Second Chance Coliseum. In E grade you are allowed a maximum of 7 days in between fights. ¡°What happens if I don¡¯t fight in the next seven days?¡± You will fight before your visa expires. Ominous¡­ Thank you for competing in the Second Chance Coliseum. ¡°That¡¯s it? Or are you gonna start talking again? Some more answers would be nice.¡± The screen simply vanished, leaving Jay alone in silence. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. His soaked red gloves sat in a puddle of rainwater in the corner, the only spark of colour in the drab room. Even the door, the only feature apart from his gloves, was painted in the same monotonous beige. Jay laid down and stared up at the ceiling as he played back the fight in his mind. Existential reflections could wait, they¡¯d always be there, such vivid memories of the fight wouldn¡¯t last long. It was tough, and ugly, but he¡¯d still clinched the win. That was enough for now, but would it be enough next time? Surely he couldn¡¯t rely on a thunderstorm to bail him out every week? And what about the voice behind the weird golden screen? To say it helped was a bit of a stretch, but it certainly seemed on his side. Even if the whole situation was probably an accident. What did it mean by ¡°Especially if you want to find him¡±? For someone without a weapon, and with no experience fighting swordsmen, Jay felt alright about his performance. But alright didn¡¯t win fights. He knew nine times out of ten he was losing that fight, and that was being generous. He needed to get stronger. ¡°Forget what you think you know about fighting. Forget your limits. Become more.¡± What did the voice mean when it said that? Was it trying to steer him towards attacking with the storm? If so, why not just tell him? Or was it about fighting like a gladiator, not a boxer? His punches were useless against the relentless champion, his kicks even worse. What if his next opponent had a sword? Would he have to use one too? But he only had a week to learn? Eyes closed, Jay started a mental list of things he needed to figure out. Jay''s List of Confusing Shit. He imagined writing his questions down in red permanent marker.
  1. Where the fuck am I?
  2. Do I really have to fight in a week? If so, how do I prepare for that fight?
  3. Who was the voice in my head? Where can I find them?
He left the list at that, although truthfully he could¡¯ve added at least ten more entries. The four walls wouldn''t tell him anything, but maybe someone outside them would. The gloves could stay in here, Jay had to look for answers.
A cloudless sky and the afternoon sun looked down on Jay as he emerged into open air; heat and humidity replaced the room¡¯s sterile coolness. Golden rays of sunlight bounced off tan stone buildings above him. The tall structures surrounded Jay, although not too tightly. A jostling crowd of people blocked everything below eye level, although the crowd itself was a sight to behold. A woman with lavender-tinged skin brightly smiled at Jay through a mouth that had slightly too many teeth before an eight-foot-tall giant barged in front of her. He stared down at Jay with three closed eyes, all flitting side to side behind their eyelids. Nobody¡¯s pushing him out the way. Didn''t mean they wouldn¡¯t try. The entire crowd fought for position, each member wrestling their way to the front for the chance to speak. ¡°Great performance Mr. Leonard, are you interes-¡± A swinging elbow cut the first pitch short. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. You showed impressive essence manipulation at the end, would you b-¡± Someone promptly dragged the next speaker back into the crowd. It reminded Jay of his last few press conferences. Reporters circling like vultures, hunting for a headline. Nobody cared about the fight, just manufacturing drama to make the suits at the top more money. At least this group looked more interesting than the bland journalists plaguing Earth¡¯s boxing rings. Even if they were just as predatory. ¡°Red Star boxing gym. Does Andre Allen still coach there?¡± Jay''s head snapped to the side, trying to locate the voice. It had more depth than the others, and Jay picked up faint traces of an American accent. Although the voice intrigued him, the words caught Jay''s attention more. How does he know Coach? Amid the chaotic crowd, one figure stood steadfast and immovable. Jay turned to face the man behind the new voice. He was a head shorter than Jay and wore his long ginger hair in a topknot. A pale, stocky frame poked out of the young man¡¯s gaudy turquoise kimono, and the handle of a samurai sword rose over his shoulder. ¡°How do you know Coach?¡± Jay snapped, frustrated at how little he knew about literally anything. ¡°I don¡¯t know him. I just recognised the logo. I was never a big boxing guy back on Earth, but I watched a fight every now and then.¡± Jay¡¯s eyes lit up at the mentions of Earth and boxing. The man must¡¯ve seen Jay ease up, an earnest smile flooded across his face the instant Jay dropped his guard. ¡°Back off everyone, he¡¯s not joining any of your alliances. Starting today I am officially Mr. Leonard¡¯s agent. Any unsolicited offers will not be appreciated.¡± He barked, parting the crowd and waving Jay through. ¡°I¡¯m Akira by the way. You have no idea how nice it is to find someone else from Earth, there¡¯s only like five of us on this damn island. Let¡¯s find a nicer place to talk.¡± Maybe he had no idea, but a friendly face was a welcome sight for Jay¡¯s eyes too. Especially if they liked boxing. He followed Akira through the huddle of people, catching a few flailing arms and batting away grasping hands as he weaved his way through the path Akira carved. Jay had to fight his way out, but the sweat from the fight mixed with the sweat from the heat helped him slip through the crowd. After Jay escaped the crowd, and could finally breathe properly, he scanned the square around him. Red and white stone tiles chequered the ground, occasionally broken up by citrus trees bringing life to the courtyard. Multi-storey stone buildings snugly wrapped around the open-air square, reminding Jay of a mediterranean plaza, carved from the cityscape. Several curious faces emerged from their windows, noticing the hubbub below. Most simply retreated back inside, but Jay spotted a few waves directed his way. Jay flicked his head away from the mob of people, eyes locking onto a fountain in the square¡¯s centre. Jets of water burst out of a statue¡¯s raised stone spear. Its wielder stood in a battle pose, one hand lifting his weapon up to the heavens, the other raising a shield in front of him. Jay watched the water crash down on the gladiator¡¯s stoic stone expression. The stone resisted erosion, holding strong against the onslaught, but the water was never-ending. Continuously spouting from the spear and falling atop the statue. The constant battle between resilience and resistance. Jay snapped out of his daydream. Akira was already near the edge of the square. The fuck was that? He kept his eyes trained firmly forward, refusing to glance back at the fountain as he jogged after Akira. Thoughts of the statue still lingered in Jay''s mind, refusing to fully fade away. Jay furrowed his brow and added¡­ added whatever just happened to the list. He had the feeling the list was going to get a lot longer before he started getting any answers. Akira fiddled with a silver coin, leaning against a building at the square¡¯s edge. When Jay caught up, he kicked off the wall and waved Jay into a narrow alleyway. Tan stone walls shrouded the alley in shadows. Only a sliver of sunlight reached Jay from above, threading through the steep cliffs either side of him. ¡°What was the deal with that fountain? I couldn¡¯t stop thinking abou-¡± Akira jerked his hand up. Jay''s neck hairs jolted upright. A wave of oppressive heat engulfed Jay, sinking its incorporeal claws into him. The sweltering grasp forcibly pulled all the moisture from his mouth. Akira spun around. His eyes widened, gripped by fear. Jay twisted his neck to the side, but Akira''s sweaty hands wrenched his face back. His pleading face locked onto Jay''s. ¡°Whatever they say, don¡¯t trust them. They don¡¯t care about you. Leave as soon as you can and go to the Celestial Swords tavern. Ask for me. Please.¡± Jay nodded back. Akira flicked a sweaty strand of hair behind his ear before turning and sprinting away. Leaving Jay alone with whatever stood behind him.
Jay slowly turned his head. The shadow of the man behind him completely blocked out the square, almost filling the entire alleyway. The towering figure plodded towards Jay. Grey, stone-like skin cracking and crumbling with each pounding step. Several glowing embers nestled in his thick red beard. They singed his skin but remained unnoticed. The pockmarked spots of charred and missing hair littering the man¡¯s head told Jay this wasn¡¯t the first time. He glared at Jay, watching him sweat and squirm before the heat finally went away. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that buddy. Boss said to scare off all the others so she could talk to ya first. Plus I had to make sure you was the right one.¡± He said with a dopey smile, only then realising his beard had caught alight. He smacked his chin with a bare hand, extinguishing the flame before blankly staring at Jay. ¡°No worries¡­ I''m Jay¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡± Jay held out his hand, politeness overcoming his fear of the man crushing or burning it. Jay knew fear in a man¡¯s eyes. He¡¯d beaten enough opponents down to recognise when they mentally broke. Akira wasn¡¯t just scared of the man in front of him. He was terrified. Chapter 5: the Flaming Tomb Alliance ¡°Of course!¡± The man rummaged through his pockets, eventually pulling out a small card and squinting at it. ¡°My name is Aras. I¡¯m from the Flaming Tomb Alliance.¡± He said slowly, carefully enunciating each word. ¡°The fastest growing alliance in the Second Chance Coliseum. Say with enthusiasm.¡± Aras didn¡¯t seem to realise that he shouldn¡¯t have said the last sentence. Barely stopping to breathe before soldiering on through the flashcard. ¡°I would like to invite you to meet with our leader of E grade recruitment. It will be a great opportunity for you to learn more about this new situation you find yourself in.¡± Aras looked at Jay''s hand for a moment before glancing back at his card. He grabbed Jay¡¯s hand and shook it surprisingly gently. ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± Aras said, not waiting for Jay to respond. Aras seemed nice enough, but Jay didn¡¯t forget Akira''s warning, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t forget his fear. But Aras, and the Flaming Tomb Alliance, might tell him more about the coliseum, and Jay needed answers more than he needed safety. The journey with Aras didn¡¯t take long. Jay jogged to keep up with the giant¡¯s huge strides as they passed through a few more narrow alleyways. Jay scanned his surroundings, trying to memorise the path they were taking, but they didn¡¯t pass anything too notable. Canyon-like buildings stifled any scenery. Jay tried to discern their purposes, but most of them only had a simple sign in a language that Jay couldn¡¯t read out front. The shadowy alleys and serpentine streets reminded Jay of the gothic old towns of Naples or Barcelona, although the faded stones felt far more austere. They emerged from the labyrinth of alleys onto a slightly wider street. Although tall buildings still flanked either side. Most were made of the same tan stone, with only slight differences in their design. Jay saw a stoic beauty within their uniformity, but the one Aras stopped by stood out from the crowd. Instead of a fa?ade, he stood in front of a multi-storey cast iron gate. The colossal structure boasted a network of intricate runes, smelted into the metal and adorned with golden filigree. The imposing black gate looked down on its neighbours¡¯ uniformity, proud to be different. Proud to be more. Aras closed his eyes and laid his palm onto the gate. Cold iron blazed orange around Aras¡¯ hand. He grunted with exertion as he pushed with all his bodyweight. The building sized gate, which Jay couldn¡¯t even fathom the weight of, swung inwards. Aras cracked it open just a sliver before waving Jay through. Jay felt as tiny as an ant the moment he entered the sprawling courtyard. Grey stone tiles spanned an area far larger than the width of the gate on the street. The neighbouring building tops peeked over the perimeter wall surrounding the courtyard. Just looking at the warped tan stones gave Jay a headache. A shadowy castle, plucked straight out of a grim fairy tale, towered at the far end. Far taller than the gate and buildings either side of it. How come I didn¡¯t see any of this from the street? If Aras noticed Jay¡¯s confusion, he didn¡¯t show it. He plodded forward, gaze fixed on the castle ahead. The heat rose with each step Jay took towards the castle. Jay''s throat dried up again as another wave of the same stifling heat washed over him. Beads of sweat rolled down his back and he tugged at the chafing elastic waistband of his boxing shorts. Aras, as idle faced as ever, pressed his hands into a set of slightly smaller metal doors. The orange glow filled almost half the frame as he swung them fully open. Jay followed Aras into a grandiose hall lined by enormous stone arches. Red, black, and gold banners hung from the rafters, each displaying the symbol of a flaming tomb. Flying motes of fire fluttered across the ceiling, illuminating the hall from above and casting flickering shadows that danced across the grand hall. Pockets of people stood throughout the atrium, some turned to look at Jay, but most didn¡¯t spare him a second glance. Each time Jay met someone¡¯s eyes they hurriedly looked away and busied themselves. While Jay stared at the room and its residents, Aras took his slim opportunity to wander out of sight. Jay flicked his neck side to side, but his guide was nowhere to be seen. Great. Trying not to gawk, Jay walked further into the atrium. He scanned the hall for a helpful face, but everyone he approached turned their shoulders and found something more important to do the second he opened his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t they have ¡®no shirt no service¡¯ where you¡¯re from?¡± A gruff, raspy voice coughed from beside Jay. Jay snapped his neck to the side. The point of a blade hovered inches from his face, reflecting a harsh glint of light directly into his eyes. The sword¡¯s wielder sneered at Jay through a face marked with a battlefield of scars. His emerald green eyes, squinted like a predator locked onto his prey, just dared Jay to reply. Jay sent back a cold stare of his own. A nicer delivery could¡¯ve earned a laugh out of Jay. They did have no shirt no service where Jay was from after all. The man¡¯s scornful smirk and punchable face pissed Jay off, but he clenched his fist and stayed silent. He recognised the bait, but that didn''t mean he had to bite. ¡°Don¡¯t play with the fresh meat dear, it¡¯s not his fault he has no idea what he¡¯s doing.¡± A slender woman stepped out from the shadows behind the swordsman. Her soft voice somehow more infuriating than her partner¡¯s. A midnight purple hood concealed most of her face in shadows, leaving only a set of smirking red lips visible to Jay. The rest of the room barely acknowledged the standoff. Some people glanced at the man¡¯s outstretched sword, but they quickly returned to their business like they¡¯d seen the same encounter a thousand times before. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for your little tour guide, he went that way.¡± The veiled woman said. Jay''s head snapped to the side unwillingly, as if pulled by a puppeteer¡¯s string. A small doorway next to the entrance burst open. Aras¡¯ hulking form ducked through the frame, and he frantically looked around the room. ¡°Why¡¯d ya go running off like that for? You¡¯ll get lost!¡± Aras huffed as his eyes locked with Jay¡¯s. His eyebrows raised at the sword aimed at Jay''s neck. ¡°Better scurry away to your little tour guide. Wouldn¡¯t want to get lost now, would we?¡± The woman said, superiority spilling from every word. Jay turned back to the swordsman. Staring into his goading eyes. The tip of his sword dipped down as Aras¡¯ thumping footsteps drew closer. He sheathed his sword, yet his hunter¡¯s eyes stayed glued to Jay. The woman took another step out of the shadows, her ruby red lips smiling at Aras. ¡°We were just showing him where you went, Aras. No harm intended.¡± She said, almost convincingly. Almost. ¡°We¡¯ll be on our way now¡±. The swordsman followed the veiled woman through an archway behind them, not waiting for Aras¡¯ reply. ¡°Damn E graders thinkin¡¯ they own the place cause of a few good fights.¡± He huffed. A few of the nestled embers lit up as he turned to face Jay. ¡°Don¡¯t wander off this time! We¡¯re almost there so follow close.¡± ¡°Then maybe don¡¯t go so fa-.¡± Jay¡¯s complaint met the back of Aras¡¯ head. Aras shushed Jay after they exited the entrance hall, ¡°We gotta walk through the E grade meditation hall next. No talking.¡± After a short walk through a corridor, Aras eased open another metal door. Jay followed behind Aras as he tiptoed into the room. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. A narrow ribbon of red carpet ran through the otherwise unadorned stone hall, stretching between two identical doors on opposite sides. Either side of the red river, a dozen people wearing all black sat in silent meditation. Flaming spheres hovered above each individual, their suffocating heat enveloping Jay as he walked across the hall. Wisps of smoke eagerly flowed from each fireball, rushing into a pipe at the centre of the ceiling. Grimaces marred every meditator¡¯s face, none of them appeared particularly zen inside the sweltering oven. Jay and Aras quietly continued across the chamber. The only two people in the room with their eyes open. A gasp shattered the silence. A woman¡¯s flame extinguished. Her bright green eyes shot open. They darted around the room before finding Jay. He broke her gaze, staring right past her as if he hadn¡¯t seen a thing. Your secret¡¯s safe with me. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, returning to her meditation. Her flickering fireball reignited, far weaker than before. Nobody except Jay noticed the extremely relieved look on her face. What the hell is going on here? A sigh of relief escaped Aras the moment he left the hall. Stomping resumed as the heavy-set man finally gave his toes a break. He stopped halfway down the hallway, pointing at a cast iron door to his side. ¡°Your stop buddy.¡± Jay hesitated before walking through the door. He thought about asking Aras a few questions but decided against it, the man didn¡¯t seem particularly invested in his situation. A rush of cool air smothered Jay as he walked into a luxuriously furnished office. Jay welcomed the escape from the heat as he scanned around the room. Several lilac crystals sat neatly atop a desk in the centre. The woman they belonged to sat perched on a chair behind them, engrossed in a projection of his fight on the wall in front of her. Her dark brown eyes rapidly flicked side to side, determined to take in every little detail. She silently motioned Jay to take a seat with a pale, slender finger. Refusing to take her eyes off the fight. Jay sat down and watched himself retreat from Valorus. The projection switched angles several times. Huh? I didn¡¯t see any cameras. The woman flicked through a few different angles before settling on a moving ¡°camera¡± that floated behind Jay''s shoulders. Jay watched Valorus¡¯ final rush once again, a lot clearer now that the storm stayed within the confines of the screen in front of him. A jolt of D¨¦j¨¤ vu coursed through Jay as the screen changed again. This time showing the exact same view as the first time. From inside his head. The fight abruptly paused. The woman snapped her head towards Jay. ¡°This might be the single stupidest thing I¡¯ve ever seen a rookie do.¡± She tucked a strand of slick black hair behind her ear. Her voice betrayed her interest, even if she¡¯d just called him stupid. Jay saw approval behind her begrudging smile. The projection switched to Valorus¡¯ perspective. During the fight, fear, anger, confusion and stress whirled within Jay¡¯s head. Seemingly determined to break out. His face showed nothing. Through his opponent¡¯s eyes, Jay saw an avatar of lightning call down the heavens. Jay¡¯s hairs stood on end just thinking about the fight. Reminiscing on the glimpse of lightning that became his entire reality in the final instant. Jay realised the woman was awaiting a response. He couldn¡¯t think of anything clever, and didn¡¯t want to admit it was all luck, so he just shrugged and forced a laugh. ¡°Yeah, I guess it was pretty stupid.¡± The lady raised an eyebrow for a half-second. ¡°Anyway. My name is Q and on behalf of the Flaming Tomb Alliance, I welcome you to Arenara Fortunis, the Second Chance Coliseum and by extension the planet Eterna. All your questions will be answered in due time but the long and short of it is, you died. You died and were brought back to life to fight for the rest of your days in deathmatches as a gladiator. No, you cannot go back to your world. No, nobody you once knew is here. Probably, there have been exceptions. Yes, it¡¯s a bit strange but you¡¯re here now either way.¡± What? "So I died, and my second chance is to fight to the death in an arena? Guess I had some bad karma." ¡°Well, it is better than the alternative.¡± ¡°Which is¡­¡± ¡°Just dying.¡± ¡°Fair enough. So how exactly does this reincarnation wor-¡± ¡°Useless questions like that are for people far less important than me. I''m here to recruit you to the Flaming Tomb Alliance.¡± Q pointed back to the fight. They watched the pillar of lightning engulf the screen before revealing a final frame of Jay. Bloodied and battered, but undefeated. A familiar table, blood red and black instead of gold, replaced the fight. Jay noticed a few changes.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 973
Offence 1000
Defence 954
Strategy 902
Instinct 856
Vitality 986
Potential 9
Compatibility 205
¡°Don¡¯t be disheartened by your low rankings Mr. Leonard. It is only your first fight, there are currently 1007 gladiators in E Grade and all of them have more experience than you. I¡¯m more focused on the last two rankings. After just one showing, the coliseum has deemed you the fighter with the ninth most potential in the whole of E grade!¡± At least I¡¯m not dead last on offence. Bottom seven isn¡¯t much better than bottom one though. ¡°In addition to that, you are reasonably compatible with the Flaming Tomb Alliance. Usually, we don¡¯t go for any detritus outside of the top 100, but for number 9, I guess I can make an exception! Here we can offer you the finest equipment, the most advanced facilities and the best mentors. All in order to make you the E grade champion, and who knows what next!¡± Q¡¯s enthusiasm certainly made Jay feel wanted, but it didn¡¯t gloss over that she had effectively just called him detritus. As good as the benefits sounded, Jay knew it was probably too good to be true. Akira''s warning echoed in the back of his mind. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the room of people meditating in the hall before?¡± Jay asked. Scanning Q¡¯s face for a reaction. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them.¡± She said with a strained smile. ¡°Lesser prospects take shifts harmonising with heat essence. It provides a better atmosphere for the rest of us to train in, and it also aligns them more with the alliance¡¯s philosophy on Harmony. As an elite recruit, you won¡¯t have to do such a thing. As you¡¯ll soon see, meditation on various essences is paramount to one¡¯s advancement as a gladiator. We let higher value recruits steer their own course, but lesser prospects must be guided onto a more ideal path.¡± ¡°Harmony? Essence?¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure what Q was talking about, but he didn¡¯t like her tone. Didn¡¯t like the way she spoke about ¡®lesser prospects¡¯ as resources, people that only existed for her gain. Who decided a person¡¯s value anyway? Was a single line on a table the difference between success and failure here? ¡°Essence is the byproduct of existence. For something to exist, it must have a reason. A concept¡¯s reason to exist, its very nature, is its essence. Harmonising, or seeking Harmony, is the practice of studying, harnessing, and manipulating essences to advance one¡¯s path in life. I won¡¯t say any more, lest I taint your path with my personal worldview, but rest assured that the Flaming Tomb Alliance includes some of the planet¡¯s greatest harmonisers under its wing. You will have the best teachers in the world guiding you on your path.¡± Q said without pause. She¡¯d clearly said this speech hundreds of times before. Q¡¯s eyes bored a hole in Jay''s face as she too searched for any sign of emotion. Jay wasn¡¯t sure what to think about Harmony. It intrigued him, but Q¡¯s speech almost felt like empty philosophy, her words seemed more rehearsed than meaningful. The alliance¡¯s methods bugged Jay too. Was a room full of ¡®lesser prospects¡¯ suffering for the pleasure of the elites really worth it? Jay understood claiming every advantage possible, but surely that was unnecessary. Regardless of their claims or methods, the Flaming Tomb Alliance had certainly piqued Jay¡¯s interest in Harmony. ¡°Paramount to one¡¯s advancement as a gladiator¡± had to mean something right? Jay knew he couldn¡¯t trust Q to have his best interests in mind. No amount of charm could disguise the opportunistic glean behind her eyes. She was only here talking to him for her benefit. But was it in her benefit for him to be strong? Jay slotted Harmony onto the list, although he doubted he¡¯d tick it off at the Flaming Tomb. ¡°I can¡¯t stay with you here any longer Mr. Leonard. I''m a busy woman. I have places to be, and you arrived late. You must be tired from your fight, so we have prepared a room for you tonight. Please think about your future and choose wisely. ¡°You only get one second chance.¡± Q nodded her head towards the door. She didn¡¯t say anything, but Jay knew she was telling him to leave. He walked out somehow burdened with far more unanswered questions than when he walked in. Chapter 6: Feeling the Heat Jay had a new escort taking him to his room. This one was a lot less intimidating, and a lot less talkative. He led Jay back through the meditation hall. Five harmonisers, if that was the right name for them, sat silently in the meditation room. Thankfully, it felt much colder than before. Each of the five had a serene expression, the pain and stress of the room''s previous inhabitants nowhere to be seen. Jay¡¯s guide took them back across the main hall and into a similar hallway to the one he¡¯d just left. They walked twenty paces before taking a left, then a right, went up some stairs, then two more lefts and a final right. Jay memorised their route, he already knew he wasn¡¯t going to stay here long. The Flaming Tomb Alliance might be beneficial for his training, his Harmony, and potentially his survival a week from now. But was that enough? A whole crowd of people had swarmed after his fight; surely one came from a less creepy alliance? And what of Akira? Jay¡¯s only connection to his past life. He wanted to see what the young samurai had to say before making any meaningful decisions. The guide dropped him off at his room with a nod before scurrying away. Jay thought about walking out of the building there and then; but he decided to check the room out first. All thoughts of escape vanished as soon as Jay saw a bed. Everything else could wait. He needed some sleep.
An uncertain number of hours later, Jay slowly drifted awake. Atop his bedsheets, and still in his boxing shorts, all he remembered was lying down and the world fading to black. Staring at the ceiling, he raised his fingers up above him and pinched the dirty skin of his forearm. Not a dream then. Jay heaved himself out of bed and discovered that, thankfully, this room had a bathroom. Being reincarnated into a world with no bathrooms would have fucking sucked. He walked right into a rustic shower. It was ice cold, but he didn¡¯t really care. Over the next hour, Jay gradually kept increasing the temperature until it became nearly unbearable. Eventually he forced himself to step out and face his new reality. He wiped off the fog in the bathroom mirror and took a hard look, deep into himself. ¡°Rank 2 or rank 973. The goal¡¯s still the same, I guess. Go for gold.¡± Saying this aloud gave Jay a newfound resolve, he stepped out of the bathroom with his head held a little higher than when he walked in. It¡¯s not like he had any choice in the matter. The coliseum¡¯s ominous message made it sound like he was going to fight, regardless of if he wanted to or not. But everything was easier with a goal. Jay was a fighter; he¡¯d chose that path on earth when there were millions of other options available. If he was forced to be a fighter here, he might as well be a good one. If he couldn¡¯t do it in the boxing ring, he¡¯d make his family proud in the coliseum. Jay spotted a black backpack at the foot of his bed. He hadn¡¯t noticed it yesterday, but he hadn¡¯t noticed anything except the bed yesterday. Opening it up, he pulled out a set of black robes, identical to the ones the meditators wore yesterday. Better than my dirty wet boxing shorts. Jay put the robes on and wrung out his soaking shorts before folding them into the backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He wasn¡¯t ready to ditch them yet. Jay felt a tinge of guilt as he remembered leaving his gloves in the strange waiting room. They would have made a nice memento of a life spent competing in a slightly less dangerous arena. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you have a GPS function, mysterious gold rectangles?¡± Jay said. He pulled up and closed his ranking table a couple times for good measure. ¡°Celestial Swords tavern please.¡± No luck. Was looking at his rankings really all he could do with this weird magic? It seemed too advanced to be wasted on something as simple as looking at a table. Jay probably should¡¯ve asked Q about it yesterday, but she seemed remarkably unconversational for a supposed recruiter. He put find out about the weird gold screens reasonably high on his list, annoyed that it hadn¡¯t got much shorter since yesterday. Arenara Fortunis, Eterna, the Second Chance Coliseum. He¡¯d gotten names, but he still didn¡¯t know much about this place, other than that he was probably going to fight in a week. Well, a week minus however long he¡¯d just slept for. Armed with only a backpack filled with damp shorts, the bathroom unfortunately had no mini toiletries to steal, Jay stepped out of his room. He looked either side of the corridor before retracing his steps. Left, right, then down the hallway before another right. Jay turned the corner. Footsteps. He immediately sank back into the hallway. Jay didn¡¯t know why he held back; it wasn¡¯t like walking through the corridors was illegal. The alliance couldn¡¯t force him to stay. Could they? He stayed behind the safety of a corner regardless. The footsteps drew closer, and Jay heard the first faint wisps of conversation. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°You think the alliance is trying to ascend?¡± Nervousness crept through the hushed voice. Jay strained to make out the words. ¡°It would make sense with the new recruitment drive, but I still think we¡¯re a few years out.¡± A more confident, yet still hushed, voice replied. ¡°We just don¡¯t have the numbers in B and C grade. Every single one of the Big Eight would eat us alive.¡± ¡°Hmm, I suppose you¡¯re right. I¡¯m still worried though. If we get caught up in one of those fights, it¡¯s over for us.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself. I¡¯m ditching this place as soon as I hit D grade. Did you hear about Amaya and Zeke with that new guy yesterday? The sooner I can get across the island from those two, the better.¡± ¡°Wha-¡± The conversation faded into silence. Jay tried to piece together what they were talking about, how did everything he learned here create more questions than answers? Jay went down the stairs. Left, right, and then stood by the doorway looking into the entrance hall. The less time spent in plain sight, the better. Jay didn¡¯t know how the alliance would react to him leaving, and he didn¡¯t want to find out. He was bolting out of the front gates as soon as he saw them open. Just as Jay entered the hall, a disorganised huddle of about fifty people began walking out of the giant iron doors. Jay knew he couldn¡¯t open them himself, and likely wouldn¡¯t get a better opportunity than this. He merged into the crowd and hoped nobody would spot him. Jay joined in step behind a seven-foot-tall lizard person and stood next to a red-skinned man with hair that looked like a cloud of smoke drifting off his head. They all wore the same black robes however, so outside of a few confused glances when he first joined the crowd, nobody paid him too much attention. Stepping out, the sky looked almost exactly as he''d left it entering the building. Had he really slept a whole 24 hours? With how exhausted he felt last night, it wouldn¡¯t surprise him. The precession silently marched towards the gates, which suited Jay as he didn¡¯t have to say anything to blend in. He got a few odd looks as he walked, but no-one questioned him. When the first members of the group reached the gate, everyone stopped. Jay wanted to look at the people around him. Wanted to see what they were doing so he could copy them. But everyone stared directly at the gate, so he joined them. A sudden heat assaulted Jay¡¯s collar. Was it just nervousness? Or had someone figured him out? He kept looking forward. Forcing himself to not overthink things. He felt a set of flaming eyes train on his back, burning a hole through his flimsy attempt to blend in. Jay refused to break character and look away from the gate. The burning gaze stuck on Jay. It pressed down on him. He could almost feel the scalding air being squeezed from his lungs. What the fuck is going on? Why is everyone in this place obsessed with suffering? Jay clenched his teeth. Biting down and hoping the wave of heat would pass by soon. It didn¡¯t. In his peripheral vision, Jay saw a man gasp for air. Buckling under the pressure and falling to his knees. At least it¡¯s not just me. Jay thought as he dug deep. He couldn¡¯t give up now, being the second to break would draw more eyes on him, and he had his hands full with the one set already. Another person gave in, then a third. Each choking and coughing as they desperately clutched for fresh air. Jay resolved to hold on until half the crowd gave in to the burning eyes. Perfectly average, that should blend in. The resolve slipped further and further away as the burning heat intensified. After ten more people fell to their knees, Jay was forced to join them. He tried not to make a scene. But it was hard to stay low key while gasping for your first breaths of, relatively, cool air. Jay tried not to feel too bad for himself. As he recovered, he snuck glances at the crowd around him. Everyone still standing was in visible pain. Wincing under the pressure. The people on the floor next to Jay held a far worse pain in their eyes, the pain of defeat. Jay kept his head down, following the lead of those around him. Eventually, all but one were on their knees. The last man standing grimaced, pain and pride intertwined on his face. He trudged forward. Slowly heaving one foot at a time as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. The man placed his hand on the gate and a red glow emanated from it. The kneeling harmonisers bowed their heads. Jay joined them. He hoped this circus would be over soon. Whispers of paranoia crept into Jay''s mind, warning him about the unwanted stares sent his way. As soon as he went through the entrance, he was running from the crowd and not looking back. The people in front of Jay got up, he followed suit. Not too quickly, not too slowly. Perfectly average. They restarted their march, inching towards the gate. Jay dared a glimpse at the people passing through the gigantic gate one by one. He heard someone on the other side counting them through. At least that¡¯s what he thought, he couldn¡¯t understand the ¡°numbers¡± the man was saying. What is this, a school trip? I hope someone gets in huge fucking trouble when they come back one short. The burning pressure had put Jay in the exact opposite of a good mood. He allowed himself a little smirk as he imagined some poor man in black robes getting scolded by Q. Figuratively, at least. Although going off what he¡¯d seen from this place, it might be literally as well. The thought of someone being tortured because of him unsettled Jay, but he was too close to the exit to care now. He envisioned the alliance chalking it up to a counting error and didn¡¯t think any further than that. Now that the procession was moving steadily, no longer forced to their knees by burning heat, Jay let himself take a better look at the courtyard and the rest of the crowd. The courtyard was startlingly barren. Not a single weed snaked through the stone tiles surrounding the castle and the only sounds were the footsteps of the people exiting it. Any sign of life had fled the square long ago, presumably chased out by the oppressive heat. Jay discreetly switched his attention onto the crowd, running his eyes over each member. None stood out to Jay, all uniform in their uniqueness, until he recognised the forest green eyes of the woman directly behind him. The meditator from yesterday. Her face betrayed the glimmer of recognition. As she noticed Jay, her head slightly tilted in confusion. Does she know I¡¯m not supposed to be here? If she did, her actions didn¡¯t show it. She nodded at Jay before fixing her eyes on the iron gate again. Jay followed her lead; he was almost out now. So close to freedom. When Jay passed the threshold of the gate, the person counting grunted. Jay grunted back, mimicking what the man before him said. He couldn¡¯t care less what it meant. Finally, he was out. A firm hand clamped onto his right shoulder. Oh for fucks sake. Chapter 7: Champions are made. Not born Fingers clenched into Jay''s shoulders. He knew there was no escaping this. Jay slowly turned around, careful not to do anything to provoke whoever had just grabbed a hold of him. The towering man spat out a few words of gibberish. Jay understood nothing, but he could feel the scorn beneath the man¡¯s voice. He shrugged, hoping body language was universal. It wasn¡¯t. It really wasn¡¯t. The firm grip on his shoulder switched to the neck of Jay''s robes as the man yanked Jay closer. Annoyed mutters became agitated shouts. Warm breath and globs of spit coated Jay''s face as he was berated in an unknown language. Jay tried to act as meek as possible. He wasn¡¯t winning this fight, no point in starting it. But years of fighting left the irremovable spark of defiance in a fighter¡¯s eyes, and Jay was a boxer not an actor. The more he tried to sit back and take it, the angrier the man holding him got. After a string of gibberish, that Jay could only imagine was a comprehensive list of insults, the woman behind Jay bailed him out. She spoke to the guard, and eventually said enough to calm the man down. Or rather, calm him down enough to release Jay and return to his job still angry. He scribbled something down on a notepad and glared at both Jay and the woman before moving onto the next in line. Jay received another glare from his saviour as she pointed away from the gate and started walking. ¡°What the fuck was that about? Are you some kind of idiot, why would you remove your universal translator? And did you just forget to sign out? You¡¯re gonna be in deep shit when you go back, I¡¯m surprised that fool even let you out.¡± She said, slightly flustered but more astounded at Jay¡¯s actions. The pair followed the train of people exiting the gate. Jay felt stares digging into his back but didn¡¯t hush his voice as he replied to the woman who helped him. He was grateful for her help and concern, but not particularly fussed about any consequences. He was already out the gate, and nothing could ever convince him to step back into that flaming prison. ¡°That only matters if I go back.¡± He said. ¡°And I¡¯m getting as far away from that hellhole as possible.¡± Jay couldn¡¯t tell if the woman admired his bravery or was simply shocked at his stupidity. She studied his face for a moment before responding. ¡°You¡¯re such a fucking idiot. There are protocols for that you know! You don¡¯t just decide one day it¡¯s your time to go and walk out!¡± ¡°Oh well. A lesson learned I guess.¡± Jay shrugged. He didn¡¯t give a damn about the Flaming Tomb¡¯s protocols. All he cared about right now was putting as much distance between himself and those giant metal gates as possible. ¡°So you¡¯re just leaving?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Jay said, splintering from the precession as he ducked into a side alley. ¡°And if you had any sense, you would too.¡± Jay didn¡¯t even check to see her response. He turned and ran in the straightest line possible away from the Flaming Tomb Alliance. Best to get some distance before he thought about the next step. After five minutes of running, Jay stopped to take a breather and assess his options. The only lead I have is the Celestial Swords tavern. But how do I even go about finding it? I¡¯m on an unknown street, in an unknown city, on an unknown island. An unknown planet too, can¡¯t forget that part. After a few minutes of planning, Jay decided to try and find the Second Chance Coliseum itself. It seemed like an important part of the island, so Jay hoped there would be a lot of people there. Hopefully someone there could guide him in the right direction. Last time Jay walked through the city¡¯s winding alleyways he had to hurry after Aras. This time, he took the opportunity to observe the empty alleyways he walked through. Not that there was much to note, most of the buildings were made with the same tan stone, none of them looked particularly ornate, but they all seemed well maintained. Jay didn¡¯t see a single neglected building as he walked the secluded streets. The occasional balcony overlooked the cobblestone alleyway, but none seemed particularly ornamental. The spartan streets remained pragmatic and practical. Much like the uniform buildings that neighboured the Flaming Tomb¡¯s gate, they carried a soldier-like order. After a few minutes marching down the utilitarian alleyways, Jay shifted gears. He closed his eyes and listened. Jay hoped he was near the coliseum. It would make sense, since he was within walking distance from where he left the beige room, which had to be at least close to the coliseum. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Right? Then again, it would also make sense for the exit to actually be the coliseum. Not a random nearby room. When he focused, Jay heard faint murmurs ahead of him, so he continued onwards. The murmurs only got louder as he walked. After another minute of walking, Jay began to feel it. The buzz of a crowd, the intangible anticipation only present in large enough groups. He snaked his way through the alleys, knowing any of the next turns might be the last. Knowing he was soon to be face to face with the Second Chance Coliseum. He wondered what it might look like, was it anything like the Colosseum in Rome? A fading relic of an ancient era. Or was it more like a modern arena? Jay hadn¡¯t seen much technology here, but they had floating gold screens that could project fights from camera angles that didn¡¯t exist. Jay realised he still knew nothing about those golden boxes, or anything really. Q had told him where he was: Arenara Fortunis, the Second Chance Coliseum, the planet Eterna. But he hardly knew what any of those things meant. Every other item on Jay¡¯s List of Confusing Shit was even further from being answered. Jay hoped Akira had some answers for him, he sure needed some. Still sandwiched by buildings, Jay rounded the final bend. There was light at the end of the alleyway. The brilliant white of the Second Chance Coliseum. Inside the alley, all Jay could see was a wall of white smothering the horizon. He kept walking forward, eager to get a better view of the coliseum. He had to be at least a few hundred metres away, but the coliseum dwarfed any stadium Jay had ever seen, it dwarfed any building Jay had ever seen. Sheer walls of marble rose from the ground, soaring towards the heavens, looking more like a mountain than a coliseum. Jay couldn¡¯t tell where the coliseum ended and where the clouds began. He stepped out of the alleyway into an enormous courtyard. Statues of gladiators dotted the pavilion, but Jay couldn¡¯t keep his eyes off the coliseum for long enough to examine them. He kept walking closer, completely enraptured by the megastructure. Countless carvings of gladiators adorned the coliseum¡¯s stone fa?ade. The flawless stonework captured the essence of each fighter, as if their very souls were embedded within the stone. Thousands upon thousands of statues were inset into the stadium walls, wrapping around the coliseum. Fighters immortalised into the annals of history, far beyond mere entries in a record book. Jay stayed there, standing still for who knows how long. Simply staring. Unaware of anything but the coliseum standing in front of him. Wow.
When Jay finally dragged his eyes away from the coliseum, he searched for someone to ask for directions. A long line of people queued in front of an ornate arched entrance; many others ambled about the pavilion circling the coliseum. Some seemed excited, giddy tourists just happy to be there, others walked with the thousand-yard stare reserved for city dwellers that wanted anything but a conversation. Jay looked for a friendly face to ask for directions. ¡°Hey, excuse me, could you tell me where the Celestial Swords tavern is?¡± he asked a group of people. They all gave him a blank look and kept walking. He asked another group. This time Jay knew they understood him, he could see it in their eyes, but still they kept walking. The same two interactions happened five more times before Jay couldn¡¯t help himself and burst out laughing. New planet, new island. City people never change. It¡¯s like I never left London. ¡°You¡¯re not from around here, are you?¡± Jay turned to see a strange moustached man, dressed in all white with a red parrot perched on his shoulder. The man, and the parrot, looked right at him. Jay nodded, wary of the only other person in the pavilion that actually wanted to talk. What kind of weirdo does that? Jay thought, realising he was just as bad as everyone who¡¯d ignored him. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Celestial Swords tavern.¡± Jay said. The man brought up his hand. It looked like he conferred with the parrot behind it for a few seconds. Weirdly, it was the bird¡¯s beak that opened to reply to him. ¡°Head anticlockwise one eighth till you reach Reveller¡¯s Avenue. I don¡¯t remember how far it is, but it¡¯s on that road somewhere. Just keep looking.¡± Jay tried to hide his surprise at the talking parrot, not wanting to appear rude to the nice bird that had just helped him. He thanked the parrot, and the man, before turning and following their directions. ¡°And ask to buy a universal translator when you¡¯re there!¡± the parrot shouted from behind him. turned to thank the pair once more and saw the man giggling as he waved Jay off. An eighth didn¡¯t seem like a long distance. But when it was around a circle as big as the Second Chance Coliseum, the steps quickly added up. Now that he had a goal to work towards, the coliseum became slightly less alluring. Although Jay still caught himself staring at it from time to time. He continued his way around the pavilion to Reveller¡¯s Avenue, until a statue in his path caught his eye. All the statues were of gladiators. Some wore full suits of armour; some wore robes just like his own. Some held swords, some held spears, and others wielded weapons Jay had never seen before. But this one was different. This one was a boxer. Jay looked up at the statue. The statues in the pavilion, unlike the coliseum, weren¡¯t all made of white marble. Each one had its own unique material. This one was an orange speckled granite. A golden screen that popped up at the base of the statue let Jay know why.
Manos de Granito
203-1
Champions are made. Not born.
Well said ¡®Hands of Granite¡¯. Dur¨¢n would be proud. Jay looked up at his fellow boxer. It gave him hope, someone like him had been here before and had succeeded, 203 wins was no joke. Jay chose not to dwell on the singular line next to the number though. Most fighters ended their careers with at least a few losses. This guy only had one. Jay didn¡¯t need to be told why. It wasn¡¯t sadness or regret that filled Jay as he looked at his predecessor, but resolve. Jay felt like the spirit of the boxer ran through him as he looked up at the statue. It made him want to punch, want to fight, want to win. He felt his fists harden as he clenched them. He felt them yearn to fight. Jay raised his fist in the air towards the statue before returning on his way to Reveller''s Avenue. A silent salute to one that came before. Jay glanced at the pop ups of the other statues as he walked past other statues. Checking them out but not stopping to think. All of them had hundreds of wins. All of them had only one loss. Jay left the pavilion with a weight hanging over him. He held up his chest, no use getting stressed about inevitabilities. He too was a gladiator now. He had to act like one. Chapter 8: the Celestial Swords Jay tried to build a mental summary of Reveller¡¯s Avenue. But he gave up after fifteen minutes of searching for the Celestial Swords tavern. Each establishment contradicted its neighbours. A fancy caf¨¦, decorated with marble statues and manicured potted plants, sat next to a dingy dive bar. Nothing separated them and patrons of both sat out the front and spoke to each other as if nothing was amiss. The entire neighbourhood embodied unity and nonchalance. Nobody batted an eyelid at the unconscious partyers slumped in the streets, but everyone walked around them anyway. As soon as he saw the exterior, Jay understood why it was called the Celestial Swords. Whoever designed the fa?ade must have been allergic to bricks, or really any building material other than swords. Thousands of them were weaved together, criss-crossing into a lattice that reflected light differently with each step Jay took closer. At first, he thought it was a unique look. But as Jay passed by the other storefronts, he realised that being different was a way of life here. On Reveller¡¯s Avenue, standing out was the only way to fit in.
Nobody spared Jay a glance as he entered the Celestial Swords. Every set of eyes in the open plan pub was trained on a fight, broadcast on a series of gold screens like the one Q showed Jay his own fight on. A roar of approval filled the tavern as a woman in metal armour deflected a throwing knife with a hatchet Thick, white pillars dotted the entire room. They glowed softly, spreading a warm shallow light throughout the tavern. The pillars left the room bright enough to see but dim enough to focus on the fights. Jay weaved through them, making his way to a bar at the centre of the room. ¡°Lightning Leonard?¡± asked the bartender. A young man with tanned skin and three-inch-long golden horns curling from his temples. The bartender had tucked his long, wavy hair around the horns, stopping any from getting in the way of his eyes. ¡°Yeah¡­ I was told to ask for Akira here?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got the right spot.¡± The bartender handed Jay a flagon of beer and winked. ¡°I¡¯ll put it on his tab Lightning.¡± ¡°Does everyone go by nicknames here? My name¡¯s Jay. Where I''m from most people only called me Lightning during fight week.¡± ¡°Well, every week is fight week for you now.¡± The horned man said. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon. It comes with the whole second chance thing though, especially for people like you. You give people another shot at life and most of them choose a new name to symbolise that. That¡¯s what Akira did, he said his new name appealed to his inner samurai, whatever that means. I don¡¯t even know his old name. I¡¯m Florian by the way. No nickname here.¡± ¡°What do you mean people like me?¡± ¡°People not from here. People who were reborn.¡± Florian saw Jay''s confusion and sighed. ¡°You know what, ask Akira when he gets here. He seemed excited to talk to you, and I¡¯ve had this exact conversation literally thousands of times.¡± Jay thought about his mental list again. This time in bigger, redder, more permanent marker he wrote down: REBORN??? Jay knew what had happened, he remembered the white void and his body stitching itself back together. But he still wanted an explanation. Another cheer erupted from the rest of the bar. Jay turned to see the same armoured woman pierce her opponent¡¯s abdomen with a rapier. Blood erupted from the wound as her opponent retreated. Her movement-heavy style reminded Jay of himself in his fight, albeit a lot more composed. When Jay saw her opponent, he wasn¡¯t surprised. The battleaxe-wielding brute was easily twice her size. ¡°Akira¡¯s out watching the fights.¡± Said Florian. ¡°You missed him by about twenty minutes. You can stay here to watch them if you want. He¡¯ll be back soon after the next one¡¯s over.¡± Jay sat at the bar, beer in hand, and watched the fights. It seemed some pleasures were universal. Or was it multiversal now? After the last stab, the current fight was effectively over. Jay watched the armoured woman outmanoeuvre her opponent around a circular gravel pit. Jabbing him with her rapier and swinging her hatchet whenever he got too close, slowly chipping away at his chances of winning. She always seemed at least three steps ahead of her foe. When the time came for her to finish the fight, she did so swiftly. Cleanly piercing the man¡¯s throat with a single thrust. Jay sat stunned, surrounded by cheering viewers far more accustomed to brutal deathmatches than he was. The camera turned to the armoured woman as she removed the helmet to smile and wave. She looked like a stained-glass sculpture come to life. Glossy, monochromatic black skin and hair shone in the arena¡¯s light. She kissed a necklace made from the same material as her skin, before tucking it into her armour and waving at the camera. Natural authority radiated from the woman, effortlessly commanding the attention of the patrons in the bar alongside Jay. The screen crackled slightly, and Jay heard the same voice that had announced his fight begin to speak. ¡°Another clean display from Lyra Twinstrike, showing us all why she¡¯s ranked second in E grade. But don¡¯t go anywhere folks! Her twin sister Vega, the number one ranked E grade fighter in the Second Chance Coliseum is up next. These are probably their last fights in the newbie arena, so ladies and gentlemen¡­ Keep watching and take it all in!¡± Jay turned to ask the friendly bartender more about the coliseum, but he was busy serving everyone in the bar another drink between fights. Nobody paid him a penny, and Jay watched with confusion as dozens of people walked up to him, collected a drink, and walked right back to their seats. Once everyone was served and seated, Florian walked back over to Jay with a smirk on his face. ¡°Just try ordering something. In your head.¡± Immediately after the thought entered his mind, a menu popped up showing a plethora of drinks and even some food options. Curiously, Jay noted as he scrolled down the list, the tavern offered universal translators. Remembering the strange man with the parrot, as well as the angry harmonizer who helped him escape the Flaming Tomb alliance, Jay ordered the universal translator. ¡°Wow Jay. Bet you¡¯re fun at parties.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Jay ordered the universal translator and a beer. 2 Contribution points have been taken from your account. Florian threw a dull crystal into Jay''s hands before refilling his mug. Jay held the translucent stone up to a nearby lighting pillar, it looked like the ones he¡¯d seen on Q¡¯s desk. As the warm light trickled through the smoky interior, a rainbow of colours emerged from the iridescent stone. ¡°How does this crystal work then? And how did I just order in my mind?¡± Florian sighed; he must¡¯ve had this conversation countless times as well ¡°I won¡¯t spoil the stone, just meditate while holding it when you get the chance. As for the ordering, it¡¯s the same as the rankings, watching the fights, and everything else. It¡¯s part of the coliseum¡¯s system, designed for the best fighting experience possible. I¡¯ve got no idea how it works. It just does.¡± Unsatisfied with just accepting how it works, Jay added What the hell is the coliseum system? to the list as well, understanding more about the system would probably give him a hint about the voice that spoke to him during his fight as well. Reaching the bottom of the list was beginning to look like a pipe dream, but he had to at least try. The introductions were almost over by the time Jay looked back to the fight projection. The current fighter looked almost exactly like the woman from before although she wore martial arts robes in place of armour and a ferocious grin instead of a stoic smile. Vega Twinstrike faced a bizarre monster that looked like a fusion of a kangaroo and a T-Rex. A pop up at the bottom of the projection told Jay it was called a Snarebounder. The Snarebounder¡¯s head bobbed side to side as the creature bounced on its clawed feet. Piercing reptilian eyes glared at Vega, locking in on her brash smile. 3 2 1 Fight. Vega Twinstrike charged forward. The Snarebounder matched her, barrelling headfirst into the arena. The two collided in the centre of the gravel pit. Vega¡¯s right fist smashed into the oncoming headbutt of her opponent. Predictably, the human sized woman was sent flying by the dinosaur sized Snarebounder. Vega¡¯s body slammed into an invisible barrier wall. She instantly stood up, unfazed by the impact. The beast snarled at her, claiming the centre of the ring as its domain. Common sense dictated that it shouldn¡¯t have been hurt by Vega¡¯s smaller, lighter fist, but it refused to chase after her. The viewpoint switched to show Vega wildly laughing as she looked down at a spiderweb of cracks crisscrossing her right forearm. Vega flexed her fingers and turned to her opponent; she waved the Snarebounder over with her uninjured hand, but it refused to budge. An orange glow filled the cracks in Vega''s fist. Jay saw her whole arm vibrate as she held it out to the side. Viscous orange liquid seeped from the glowing cracks in Vega''s fractured hand. She formed it into a ball and hurled it at the beast. The Snarebounder hopped to the right. By the time the ball hit where it once stood, it was already five metres away. Not far enough. The glowing orange ball erupted in flames as soon as it hit the ground. One touch was all it took to set the air ablaze. Flames licked the Snarebounder¡¯s hide at the edge of the blast radius. It had dodged the explosion, but the beast now needed to roll in the gravel to put out the flames sticking to its body. A cloud of dust kicked into the air, blocking all vision of the Snarebounder. Vega didn¡¯t care. She launched more explosive balls indiscriminately at the cloud. These bombs were smaller than the first one, but she could make them much faster. As soon as one explosive hit the dust cloud, another one was in her hands, ready to fire. Vega continued to pelt fireballs at the beast every few seconds. It was impossible to tell if they were landing, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind. Vega looked more like a kid in a snowball fight than a gladiator in an arena right now. Playtime couldn¡¯t last forever though. The constant explosions kicked up more dust, now the cloud covered more than a third of the arena. And that meant more unknowns. While Vega fired at the centre of the cloud, the Snarebounder emerged from the right. If Vega was surprised, she didn¡¯t show it. If anything, she only looked more excited. She threw a half-hearted fireball at the charging beast, but the beast easily ducked under it and closed the distance. The Snarebounder hopped in, trying to get within biting range. Unfazed, Vega planted her feet and prepared for the arrival of her opponent, giving up on the fireball fight. She held her arms behind her, both glowed orange as her opponent closed the distance. Orange became beaming white as Vega¡¯s arms could no longer hold in the energy. A fiery explosion erupted from behind her, just as the Snarebounder passed the point of no return. This time the beast''s charge wasn¡¯t met by a fist. It was met by Vega. She flew forward, a woman sized meteorite, about to slam into the unfortunate dinosaur. How poetic. The Snarebounder¡¯s charge paled in comparison to Vega''s. When they collided, it bulleted across the arena, slamming into the force wall harder than its opponent had mere moments before. The loudest cheer of the night erupted from the bar. Lyra¡¯s Chess match intrigued the patrons, but it wasn¡¯t quite an explosion hitting a fucking dinosaur. The beast slumped on the ground. On fire, unmoving. Vega plodded forward to the centre of the ring. She¡¯d won the exchange, but she wasn¡¯t unscathed. A deep crack ran down her grinning face. The same orange glow from before creeped out of the wound. By the time she reached her downed opponent, both her face and arm blazed white-hot. The viewpoint switched to a first-person view. The bar now watched from Vegas perspective. Bright light flooded the Snarebounder. Vega knelt next to the whimpering beast and placed her glowing hand on its torso. Brilliant white engulfed the screen. Several watchers groaned. By the time they were able to see the screen again, only a charred corpse lay next to the beaming victor. ¡°AND THAT¡¯S WHY I''M NUMBER ONE BABY! E GRADE ADVANCEMENT, COME SEE THE QUEEN TAKE HER THRONE!¡± Vega screamed, the camera angle shifting to directly in front of her face. Most of the bar screamed with her. Holy shit. This is what I¡¯m competing with? Jay sat still, staring at the projection, shellshocked by the fight. What had he just seen? This was the gladiator 972 ranks above him? Only 972? She made a fireball. In her hand. And blew up a dinosaur. What the fuck. Is this the power of essence? Is Vega what Q would call a harmoniser? Questions plagued Jay''s mind, pummelling his skull until they gave him a headache. Jay massaged his temples, hoping Akira would come soon with a boatload of answers. The next wave of people getting drinks got up. Jay was tempted to join them, when a tab popped into his vision. Would you like to save this fight for later viewing? Jay saved the fight, getting the previous one as well. Analysing the top two fighters would show Jay what was needed to succeed in the coliseum. Although he didn¡¯t think he''d be headbutting dinosaurs or throwing fireballs any time soon. The fight has been saved. You can review the saved fights at a Second Chance Coliseum gym. Another one for the list. Knowing Akira would arrive soon, Jay sat and people-watched at the bar. There was a new fight being shown on the screens, but most weren¡¯t too interested in it. The whole bar was talking about the one they¡¯d just seen. Jay couldn¡¯t really blame them. The buzzing atmosphere was contagious. Even new customers who didn¡¯t catch the fight felt it as they trickled in. Within thirty minutes of Vega''s fight ending, the tavern had gone from half full to jam packed. Every table was full, except for one right in the centre. ¡°WHO WANTS TO FUCKING PARTY!¡± An obsidian leg kicked open the front door to raucous cheers. Vega Twinstrike barged into the Celestial Swords tavern. She jumped atop the lone empty table and roared back at her fans. A thrown stein of beer sailed through the air towards Vega, who caught it mid-flight and downed it in one. Two others came and joined her, taking a seat at the central table. One was Lyra, sighing at her sister¡¯s antics. The other, a familiar looking ginger samurai. Chapter 9: Twinstrike Jay shoved his way through the dense crowd of revellers, earning a few death stares as he ploughed people aside. A few stray elbows came his way, but Jay took advantage of Vega backflipping onto another table to squeeze past a few people caught watching. Eventually, Jay wormed his way to the centre of the room. ¡°Wait is that you? Lightning Leonard!¡± Akira¡¯s familiar voice split the remaining crowd; he waved Jay over to an empty seat on the central table. Once Jay sat down, Akira slid a full mug of beer his way. ¡°It¡¯s me. My names Jay though, Lightning Leonard¡¯s a bit too superhero for my liking. Only Coach called me Lightning all the time.¡± Jay replied, half shouting over the raucous crowd. ¡°Fair enough. Mine was Ginger Ninja before I managed to switch it, so it could be worse.¡± Embarrassment washed over the young man¡¯s face as Lyra simply chuckled beside him. ¡°It¡¯s lovely to meet you, Jay. Akira was telling me about how someone from his home world was here. It¡¯s the most excited I¡¯ve seen him in a while.¡± Lyra extended her hand to Jay. Her skin was startlingly cold and felt like a fusion of stone and glass. ¡°I¡¯m Lyra, and the imbecile doing backflips behind you is my sister, Vega.¡± A loud thud vibrated the floorboards beneath Jay, immediately followed by boisterous cheers. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s not too many of us Earthlings here.¡± Akira said, buzzing with excitement. ¡°I thought your planet didn¡¯t have much conflict? It¡¯d make sense to have a lot of untapped potential there.¡± Said Lyra. Akira nodded. He went deep in his own world for a few seconds before his smile came back. Jay stared at them both, silently pleading for some context or, even better, some answers. ¡°Do you know anything about this place or how you got here?¡± Lyra asked. Jay shook his head. Recounting everything that had happened since he¡¯d last seen Akira. Q had thrown a lot of new words at Jay, but none of them made much sense. He considered telling them about the voice that had spoken to him during his debut but decided against it. The voice did ask him to keep it a secret, after all. ¡°Well, I can fill you in on the basics at least.¡± Said Akira ¡°As the recruiter told you, you¡¯re on an island called Arenara Fortunis on the planet Eterna, and you¡¯re an E Grade gladiator in the Second Chance Coliseum. All E Grade fighters, including me, Lyra, and Vega, have to fight at least every seven days. The coliseum has an ancient machine that scours other universes for fighters that die before reaching their full potential. The machine teleports them here and, as the price for keeping them alive, Soulbinds them to fight in the coliseum.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ A lot.¡± Jay said, seeing off the rest of his beer ¡°How does that even work?¡± ¡°The teleporting or the Soulbinding? Either way the answer¡¯s the same, the coliseum itself admits that they don¡¯t fully understand the technology. It¡¯s so far out of my depth that I¡¯m not even working on a theory for it. It¡¯s really annoying actually. A whole planet full of philosophers debating on Harmony and none of them can be bothered to ever try and figure out how it works! It¡¯s baffling. There¡¯s hardly any discourse on it either! Every time I go to Scholar¡¯s there¡¯s nothing on it, it¡¯s like nobody even-¡± Akira reined in his exasperated rant before it truly got going, noticing Jay¡¯s confused face and Lyra¡¯s politely uninterested one. He quickly brushed off the awkwardness. An impish smile returned to his face as he recalibrated and turned to Jay. ¡°So how did you die?¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The impish smile grew into a devilish grin as Akira¡¯s face showed how funny he found that question. Although Jay guessed that a dark sense of humour probably helped you cope with the fate of fighting to the death every week. Lyra hid a disapproving stare behind her drink. Jay wasn¡¯t sure whether it was towards Akira or her sister, who had now transitioned from backflips to trying to pour a beer into her mouth from as high up as possible. ¡°The last thing I remember was boxing. My opponent cheated, he stepped on my foot. Because of that I couldn¡¯t dodge properly.¡± Jay spoke softly, part of him not wanting to acknowledge what he was saying was true. ¡°And then he cracked me. Thanks for filling me in, I guess. You mentioned Harmony and essence.¡± Jay pushed the lump back down his throat, no use feeling sorry for himself. ¡°Q spoke about it too. Is that how Vega threw those explosions in her fight?¡± Akira''s eyes lit up at the mention of Harmony. ¡°Oh man! If I gave you the full answer, I¡¯d be here all night. Short answer: It¡¯s magic, where the only limitations are the ones set by your mind. Yes, Vega could throw those fireballs because she understands the essence of explosivity. But if you try to wrap your head around that right now, you¡¯ll get nowhere. It¡¯s best if you discover it for yourself organically. I can help you with that tomorrow if you¡¯d like?¡± Jay accepted instantly. He¡¯d seen the gulf between rank 1 and rank 973. He could never beat Vega with just his fists. A slurred voice, almost identical to Lyra''s, shouted from right behind Jay''s ear. ¡°The only thing you need help with right now, kid. Is a fucking drink!¡± E Grade¡¯s number one fighter half sat, half collapsed, between Akira and her sister. Before tonight, Jay didn¡¯t know whether a glass face could look drunk. He knew now. ¡°Who¡¯s the new guy?¡± Vega said as she squinted her eyes at Jay. Akira began to explain the situation. Vega listened for about five seconds before walking up to the bar and returning with drinks in both hands. ¡°Listen man. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re a great guy, but the introductions are kinda in the way of me getting fucked up. Can it wait ¡®til morning?¡± Something told Jay that that was more of a statement than a question. Who was he to argue with her? Nobody can deny a fighter from a victory celebration, it was all but in the job description. ¡°I just watched your fight. There¡¯s a bit of a gap between rank 973 and rank 1.¡± Jay forced out a laugh to mask his wounded pride. But defeat cut far deeper than weakness, if buddying up with the top of his division helped Jay become stronger, then that¡¯s what he¡¯d do. "Whatcha think? Did you like the headbutt? I''m thinking of calling that one ¡®meteor strike¡¯. It¡¯s got a nice ring to it.¡± ¡°It was certainly something. I couldn¡¯t pull it off.¡± Jay replied. ¡°Certainly something!¡± Lyra scoffed. ¡°What the poor guy is too afraid to say is that you¡¯re sloppy, you go for too much flashy bullshit and get injured unnecessarily.¡± ¡°Woah woah woah! Here goes Mrs. Fighting-Expert again. Do you need a reminder who¡¯s rank 1 and who isn¡¯t? We¡¯re gladiators Lyra. It¡¯s our job to entertain.¡± Vega slammed her empty mug on the table. The crowd¡¯s rumbling faded, hushing down to a quiet murmur as everyone¡¯s attention gradually made its way to the centre table. Akira gave Jay a helpless look. This debate had clearly happened before. ¡°What¡¯s more important Vega, entertaining or staying alive?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather die in the coliseum than live like you!¡± Even the murmurs died out. An eerie silence smothered the room as every set of eyes stayed glued to the twins. Some critical, some concerned, all of them interested. ¡°Why¡¯s everyone fucking quiet all of a sudden?¡± Vega shouted to the shellshocked crowd. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be fucking celebrating! Next rounds on me!¡± Nothing gets people going quite like free alcohol, the rest of the room quickly woke up to match Vega¡¯s energy. As she stood up from the table and left for the bar, she dragged a conflicted Akira behind her. Only Jay remained by Lyra¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re the older twin then?¡± ¡°Forty seconds younger, would you believe. Although cleaning up after her mistakes has probably aged me a good few years.¡± Lyra tapped her glassy fingers against the edge of her mug as she sighed at the surrounding celebrations. ¡°She wasn¡¯t always like this. When we first got here, it was all about staying alive. We¡¯d already died once and didn¡¯t care to die twice. But as we climbed up the rankings it all changed. She just doesn¡¯t care about her safety anymore. I¡¯m worried. Worried she¡¯ll do something stupid and end up dying. Again.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ That¡¯s rough, buddy.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t exactly have a way with words do you?¡± Lyra said. Chuckling into her empty drink. ¡°Before I got here, I made a career out of trying not to get punched in the face; it didn¡¯t always work.¡± Lyra laughed once more. A bittersweet look swept across her face as she stared at her sister pouring a beer into Akira''s helpless mouth. ¡°You were a fighter before? If that¡¯s so you might be able to help me out.¡± Lyra pointed towards Akira. ¡°I like to have a second set of eyes whenever I review my fights. He¡¯ll be too hungover to watch with me tomorrow. Care to join?¡± ¡°Sounds great. Just one problem though. I¡¯m kinda homeless.¡± Chapter 10: Assimilation The dull ache in his spine awoke Jay before he cracked his eyes open. Other than a loud ¡°What the fuck is this guy doing in my house?¡± from Vega at an ungodly hour, he didn¡¯t have a bad night¡¯s sleep, all things considered. Jay stretched his back and rolled off the twins¡¯ couch that Lyra had graciously offered him as a bed the night before. Half the items in the twins¡¯ living room were neatly organised, the other half looked like a drunken maniac had tipped them onto the floor the night before. Jay began to tidy the room, even though he had no idea where anything went. ¡°If you¡¯re awake let¡¯s get going. We can walk and talk.¡± Lyra said as she entered the room. Jay nodded, stifling a yawn. He rummaged in his backpack for a moment, making sure the translator crystal was still in there, before tossing the bag over his shoulder and giving Lyra a thumbs up. She carefully stepped around Vega¡¯s debris and made her way to the front door, unable to hold in a sigh as she picked up a pair of sapphire marbles off the ground and pocketed them. ¡°We¡¯re going to the coliseum.¡± Lyra said as they emerged onto one of the eclectic alleyways near Reveller¡¯s Avenue. ¡°I can watch the fights anywhere, but it¡¯s nice to leave the house. Especially when it looks like that.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Do you still have the translator crystal? If so, you should try assimilating it while I¡¯m setting up there.¡± ¡°Assimilating?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Jay was too tired to ask any questions. Lyra and Jay walked silently the rest of the way to the coliseum. When they got to the courtyard, the coliseum didn¡¯t look any smaller. Jay craned his neck to try and spot the top, but it was just as useless as last time. Lyra led them through a discrete entrance, far from any of the pavilion¡¯s crowds. Once inside the coliseum, Lyra walked down a hallway and peeked through several doors before finally opening one and inviting Jay in. ¡°Sit down somewhere and meditate with the crystal in your lap. It shouldn¡¯t take long.¡± She said. Jay was no stranger to meditation. After a rather brutal pair of losses early in his career, Coach had insisted on meditation before and after each training session. Initially, Jay struggled to see the benefits, but eventually he came around. He stopped training thoughtlessly. Stopped relying on his quick hands and feet to get him through fights. When his mind was cleared of everything but his goal, every aspect of his training streamlined. Speed of body, speed of mind. Coach had always said that, but until he discovered meditation, Jay never truly knew what it meant. An undefeated streak followed Jay¡¯s change in workout plan, and meditation became as crucial to Jay as warming up or stretching. Jay didn¡¯t know how the assimilation worked, so he just placed the crystal on top of his crossed legs and began to breathe. In Jay''s experience, simply breathing in and out in a rhythm didn¡¯t do anything. When he¡¯d tried that, wayward thoughts just came flying towards him faster than he could swat them away. It was certainly necessary, but he needed to go deeper. Jay needed to meditate consciously. Whenever Jay meditated, he acknowledged every thought that entered his mind subconsciously. Then tried and find the reason for its existence. So Jay breathed, and every thought that arose was accepted. Thoughts of his coach, of course they¡¯d come up, Jay was using his training method. Thoughts of the coliseum, only natural, he had another fight in five days, and no idea how to best prepare for it. Thoughts of Lyra, Vega, and Akira. Inevitable. They were the most trustworthy people he¡¯d met here, and he¡¯d only met them yesterday. After acknowledging his thoughts, and their origins, the distractions faded away. Jay was left with just the rhythm of his breaths. In. Out. In. Out. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Usually, Jay stayed here. The tranquil state clearing his mind of worldly stresses. But he knew he had to go further, push harder, try for more. He wasn¡¯t here simply to calm down, he had to work. Jay didn¡¯t know what more he could do, but an overwhelming desire to push his boundaries engulfed him. Jay thought it was external, but he couldn¡¯t tell where it came from. Was this the crystal¡¯s doing? Or was the coliseum affecting him as he meditated within its walls? It made sense that he tried to figure out where the sensation came from. It was new to Jay. But he tried to move on and clear his mind. Tried. It took everything Jay had not to get up and scream ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± But he sat still. Face scrunched in concentration. But the errant thoughts just wouldn¡¯t go away. You could be more. Push further. Go beyond. Open your eyes. See. Every time Jay carved a moment of peace from his own thoughts, it was mercilessly snatched away from him. His mind couldn¡¯t seem to stop talking for a single second. Finally, Jay gave up on the hopeless task. What¡¯s wrong with me? Jay thought he¡¯d made a good first impression on Lyra, but this was bound to be a pretty shit second one. He opened his eyes. But he wasn¡¯t in the coliseum anymore. Jay sat cross legged, floating in a colourless void. The void felt familiar. But not comforting. Jay felt darkness permeate through the void. The black expanse of death mixed with the white void of rebirth. They melded into a strange mixture, it didn¡¯t feel like his death or his rebirth. This void teemed with life. Floating in front of him was the crystal. Jay reached to grab out to it. But he couldn¡¯t move his arms. He couldn¡¯t move anything. He willed the crystal forward, directing it towards him, somehow knowing it would work. It did, but not in the way the thought it would. The smoke inside the crystal swirled into a vortex, causing the crystal itself to spin. Smoke spouted from the top. A tornado slowly creeping out, ever spinning. It inched further and further out, until the spiralling smoke sat above a perfectly transparent crystal. The tornado collapsed into a puffy grey storm cloud, barely a shade darker than the expanse behind it. Specs of flashing electricity bounced within the smoky cloud. It drifted closer to Jay. Jay embraced the strange smoke. It inched towards his face, stopping within millimetres of his nose. He tried to inhale. This time, his body responded. At first, Jay merely felt a tingle in his mouth, gradually moving down to his voice box and then up to his brain. The tingling became vibrations that coursed through his body. Myriad rhythms bouncing within him. Words. Jay could almost feel the smoke¡¯s voice. He couldn¡¯t pick out any words in particular, but he understood. He felt at one with it. The comforting feeling of unity didn¡¯t last forever though. The sensation grew more complex. He felt ideas beyond just surface level thoughts as the smoke looked inwards and it recognised itself. Tense. Register. Lexis. All concepts instinctually understood, yet previously unnamed. Jay didn¡¯t just understand them now. He knew them. He too looked inwards, not just towards the way he spoke, but the way he communicated. New thoughts flooded Jay''s mind. He didn¡¯t know whether they were his or the smoke¡¯s. He didn¡¯t know whether that mattered, so he embraced them regardless. Every conversation, every written communication, every subconscious interaction he¡¯d ever witnessed, flashed before him. Only now viewed through a new lens, layers upon layers of communication previously unknown to Jay now stood in the light. The English he once thought he knew branched into a delicate puzzle of interwoven pieces. But he now knew how each and every one of them fit. It kept coming. Clusivity. Polysynthesis. Evidentiality. Concepts not only unnamed, but completely alien to him, were now but second nature. Jay wondered how he¡¯d ever been able to truly express himself fully before this very moment. The revelations slowed down. The last dregs of the smoke slowly trickled into Jay''s brain as his knowledge of language and communication evolved. There was no pain of creation, like when he was reborn. The knowledge hadn¡¯t appeared from nowhere like his bones or muscles once had. It seemed like it was all contained in the crystal, and now inside his mind. Only the empty gemstone remained, still spinning mid-air. The crystal, now less than half its previous size, advanced towards Jay. It seemed he wasn¡¯t done yet. Jay could do nothing but watch as the crystal neared his head. It slowly circled around him, like a planet orbiting a star. Growing more ethereal with each orbit, slowly fading into a crystal shaped mist. It entered his brain. The ghostly mist seeped through Jay¡¯s skin and into his skull. Jay couldn¡¯t feel a thing, so he accepted his fate and waited for the crystal to assimilate into his body. The aftermath of the smoke felt like a revelation, new insights unlocked. But the crystal entering his mind felt eerily alien. Something new had been planted into his brain. The splitting migraine just behind his forehead told him exactly where. Jay awoke. Returning to the viewing room. The headache remained, although it was already starting to ease away. He turned to Lyra, sat in a chair with a golden sheen glinting over her stony eyes. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Chapter 11: Analysis ¡°You¡¯ve just gained the ability to understand and speak thousands of languages, and that¡¯s how you describe the way you feel?¡± an amused Lyra replied. The golden light vanished from her eyes as a screen filled the entire wall behind her. ¡°Well, I guess you just told me. But still, what the fuck was that?¡± ¡°The crystal contained concentrated language essence. The crystal itself links to a larger database of every language ever spoken by someone who visited the coliseum. It¡¯s an interesting two-part system. The essence prepares your brain by embedding key concepts within you, whereas the crystal accesses the database. It effectively auto-translates everything you say and hear.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a lot.¡± ¡°It¡¯s best not to think too much on it unless you intend to pursue language essence, it¡¯ll just waste time. Time that could be spent watching fights.¡± Lyra pointed to the projection on the wall behind her. It now showed her, clad in armour, facing off against the axe wielding barbarian he had seen previously. ¡°Fair enough. After this can you fully explain essence and Harmony to me, please? This is the second time it¡¯s been brushed off, but it seems kinda important.¡± ¡°Kinda important is an understatement, past your first five fights it¡¯s a necessity. Everyone experiences Harmony differently, so my advice is to see an expert if one will take you. They¡¯ll be able to give you a much better introduction than me or Akira. ¡°With the way your first fight ended, and your nickname, you probably have an affinity to lightning. There¡¯s a place called Tranquillity tower, near the end of Reveller¡¯s Avenue. An old man called the storm sage lives there. He¡¯s never fought in the coliseum, so I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s one of the ten strongest harmonisers on the island. ¡°I¡¯ve also heard he¡¯s a weird old sailor that never takes in students, but it¡¯s worth a try. Also, try to stay away from skill crystals like the one you just used.¡± Lyra added. ¡°Languages are simply too useful to pass up, but it¡¯s best to learn skills organically.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll add the sage to the list.¡± Jay sighed ¡°Fight time?¡±
The pair settled into their seats and Lyra rattled off a few facts to Jay. She was 48-0, her opponent was 29-0. Her opponent had won his last five fights in under thirty seconds, overwhelming his opponents with a savage opening salvo. He¡¯d never been in a fight longer than 5 minutes, and Lyra aimed to take full advantage of that by exposing his potential lack of stamina. Lyra¡¯s opponent, Kerron the Giantslayer, looked like a Viking on steroids. A lot of steroids. Barely any armour covered the man¡¯s truly impressive physique, every inch of exposed skin on his body looked red and strained trying to contain the muscles beneath. Tiny animal skulls and coloured ribbons adorned the warriors matted grey hair. He wielded a battleaxe made not of metal, but serrated bone. The fight began. Immediately, with a series of heavy stomps, Kerron claimed the centre of the dirt ring the two fought in. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t my fight in a gravel pit like yours?¡± Jay asked. ¡°We fight in the newbie arena, so does all of E Grade, most people¡¯s first fights are there but occasionally a great prospect comes around and they get bumped up to the intermediate arena, where you fought. C and D Grade fight there. Either you, Valorus, or both of you, were deemed to have enough potential to warrant the bigger stage. ¡°A and B Grade fights are even crazier, the coliseum can simulate whole cities or even countries for them to fight in, but they¡¯re quite rare. The next B Grade fight is over a month away.¡± Satisfied with the explanation, Jay went back to the fight. He could see why Lyra thought she could outmanoeuvre her opponent. The barbarian didn¡¯t move especially fast, but something about the way he moved that confused Jay. An odd rhythm concealed his next step behind layers of motion. ¡°I expected him to be swinging wildly.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°That¡¯s how he fought before. When he came out like this, most of my prep became useless.¡± ¡°He must have watched a lot of your tape. If he knew you were way faster than him, he probably had to change up his gameplan.¡± ¡°Probably. He never pulled any of this stuff before.¡± Lyra said as Kerron whipped out a throwing knife and threw it at her. Simultaneously planting his right foot into the ground and lunging in, closing over five metres in only one stride. The knife distracted Lyra. She had almost no time to react before Kerron got within his range. Lyra slipped off to the left, poking the barbarian with her rapier as she dodged but keeping her hatchet cocked and ready for a parry. This exact exchange repeated a few times. Each time Lyra just barely managing to get away. ¡°Why are you playing with him?¡± Jay said. ¡°I haven¡¯t known you for long, but it doesn¡¯t seem like you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one playing with me. He¡¯s testing out his new moves. I thought he was hiding something, that¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t going all out. I didn¡¯t want to give him any information. It gets interesting here though. Watch.¡± Jay turned his attention back to the screen. The two fighters remained locked in a stalemate, neither wanting to reveal their cards. Kerron bit first. Dancing flames engulfed the axe, the serrated blade turned a shade redder. He advanced, using the same lunge again, but this time he stopped short. Still outside his range. The barbarian still swung his axe. Flames leapt off the axe head, arcing towards Lyra from multiple angles. The soaring wisps of fire caught Lyra flat footed. She retreated, the only direction without wildfire in her path. A throwing knife, hidden amongst the flames, shot out at Lyra. Only revealing itself at the last second. She raised her axe with superhuman speed, smacking the knife out of the air. Jay turned to Lyra and the replay paused. ¡°Next time he attacks you¡¯re gonna dodge backwards again.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done it three times already. Whenever you barely dodge an attack, you always dodge the next one in the same way. Why?¡± Jay said. He furrowed his brow in concentration as he looked at the freeze frame on the projection. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I guess it¡¯s to remain unpredictable. It shows my opponent just because he almost got me once, doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s onto something. I didn¡¯t think I did it that often though.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. It¡¯s just something I picked up on. Let¡¯s unpause the fight. Sparring with your sister has probably given you some good counters to fire.¡± Lyra unpaused the fight. Jay noticed her gaze in his peripheral vision. While she was half watching the fight, one glassy eye remained locked on him. Lyra closed the distance immediately after deflecting the knife. Foregoing finesse, she punched him in the gut with her rapier¡¯s guard. Vega wasn¡¯t the only sister with freakish strength. Lyra sent Kerron flying back a few feet with just one punch. Jay''s eyes widened in shock. That punch would have folded him like a deck chair, but Kerron stood nearly unfazed. Planting his right and launching a running swing at Lyra. ¡°He always launches off his right foot when he does that lunge thing.¡± Jay said. ¡°Yeah, I noticed that too. I think it¡¯s a new move, I didn¡¯t see it in any of his older fights. He probably wasn¡¯t comfortable enough to launch off his weak foot.¡± Just as Jay predicted, Lyra dodged backwards again. This time holding her axe up to deflect a knife which never came. Kerron followed up with a sideswipe, trying to hook the smaller axe away with his swing. His plan worked, but he didn¡¯t anticipate Lyra¡¯s counter. If a fighter used only one weapon, they could generate far more power than someone who used multiple. It wasn¡¯t an exact comparison, but in his head, Jay likened it to a boxer who only threw straights with his right. When you stop even looking for hooks or uppers, your sense for an opening for a straight increases dramatically. It¡¯s not just a flat power increase, but an increase in your opportunities to land. Specialising in this way sounds great, you can narrow down your focus and reap the benefits inside the ring. But when your one weapon gets completely nullified, you¡¯re in for a shit time. Lyra¡¯s guard didn¡¯t just get broken by Kerron; her axe got completely swept aside. But she also entangled the barbarian¡¯s weapon with it, launching his axe off to the side too. Both fighters found themselves unprotected. But only one held a sword. Kerron tried to step back. He was far larger than Lyra, and a single step would put him out of range. But he was too slow, and since his axe was caught up with Lyra¡¯s, he couldn¡¯t get out fast enough without dropping his weapon. In his compromised position, taking the hit was the best option. Lyra scored a shallow hit to Kerron¡¯s abdomen before he yanked his axe back and retreated out of range. Lyra paused the fight and faced Jay. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the fight so far. If you¡¯re me in this situation, how do you finish the fight?¡±
Jay thought in silence and formulated a plan of attack. ¡°It¡¯ll be during one of the lunges, his tell for that move is painfully obvious. Maybe dodging in towards him and catching him unexpectedly? You¡¯ve mostly dodged sideways and backwards so far; he¡¯s probably conditioned to expect that by now. Another in might be after he throws the knife. He mostly follows that up with the axe, if I were him, I¡¯d switch it up more try throwing 2 or 3 knives in a row. ¡°You¡¯ve had some success up close in the last few exchanges, is that your fire counter? You¡¯ll have to tell me more about that one, I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever fought anyone on fire. Boxing has a pretty strict no flamethrowers allowed policy. But seriously, an ultra-short-range attack is what I¡¯d go for. Especially as the smaller fighter. ¡°You could either go for the kill, or land something just big enough to weaken him. If you hit him with something damaging enough, he¡¯ll be too slow to hit you for the rest of the fight. You¡¯ll probably do the latter. Smart choice considering he could be hiding something else new. You said he brought out a few new tricks for this fight, who¡¯s to say he won¡¯t have a few more? One more big hit and you¡¯ll be able to dance around him without taking any damage until he messes up. Then you capitalise and end the fight. ¡°There might be a safer, faster, or easier way, but it looks like you¡¯re trying keep your cards hidden this fight. I can¡¯t comment on factors I don¡¯t know. Who are you hiding them from? You mentioned not showing your opponent, but if you can beat him without them, surely he¡¯s not important enough for you to care? In my experience, hiding something only makes people pay more attention to you.¡± Lyra''s focused face told Jay nothing. She tapped her fingers on her chair as she analysed Jay¡¯s words. ¡°Well. You¡¯ve got a good set of eyes¡­ You must have done this thousands of times before?¡± ¡°Thousands sounds right. I once broke both wrists in a fight, worst four months of my life. While I was recovering, my coach banned me from the gym. I spent the whole time just watching fights, didn¡¯t know what else to do with myself.¡± The story was mostly true. Jay really was injured once, and he did spend a lot of time analysing fights, but he took a few creative liberties with his explanation to Lyra. After all, it sounded a lot more impressive than I made a good prediction because I¡¯ve already seen the end of your fight. She didn¡¯t need to know that. ¡°When you get a chance, watch some of my old fights.¡± Lyra asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to see what you think of them, Vega¡¯s and Akira''s too if you have the time? You might catch something we haven¡¯t. In return, we¡¯ll help you with essence, Harmony, and adapting to life at the coliseum in general. From what Akira¡¯s told me, it¡¯s quite different to where you come from.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Jay said, holding out his hand to Lyra. It was the easiest deal of his life. He was already going to watch the fights, and guidance from rank 2 was an opportunity he couldn¡¯t refuse. Lyra seemed far less predatory than Q, or anyone at the Flaming Tomb Alliance. No halls of meditators here, just a woman looking to be the best. That was something Jay could respect. ¡°Did you use essence at all in that fight? If Vega can throw fireballs, I assume you can do something similar. Why didn¡¯t you?¡± Jay said. It was the biggest question he had left from the fight. Not wanting to show people her abilities didn¡¯t feel like the full answer to Jay. ¡°Watch the fights and try to figure it out. I was trying something new this fight. I think it worked.¡± Lyra was about to unpause the fight when a timid head poked through the doorway. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late. Last night got a bit too wild.¡± Akira said as he stepped in. The bags under his eyes backed up his words. He gazed at Lyra, meeting her cold stare for a second before giving Jay a what the fuck do I do expression. Jay shrugged. ¡°Good morning Akira. How was last night?¡± Lyra said. ¡°Look I¡¯m sorry for the way Vega spo- ¡° ¡°You¡¯ve got no reason to apologise. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± Lyra said, forcing a smile. It worked, as Akira looked visibly less stressed after she said that. ¡°Vega knows I only want the best for her, she¡¯ll come around eventually.¡± For her own sake, Jay hoped she did. A fighter getting too high on themselves was a tale as old as time. Jay had seen far too many people not reach their potential because they didn¡¯t put in the hours. He thought back to the poor recruits forced to meditate under the flaming tombs castle. Each and every one of them would kill for Vega''s abilities. Jay hoped she didn¡¯t waste them. ¡°So what happened last night? You look like hell. No offence.¡± Jay said, trying to lighten up the mood. ¡°None taken. I barely remember, but I¡¯ve been told I took a shit in a urinal.¡± Akira started on what happened the night before, what happened before he lost his memory of course. Vega partied hard. Jay was surprised Akira was even standing here right now. Jay stopped listening when something else caught his attention. A small golden screen in the bottom left corner of his vision. Your next opponent has been announced. ¡°Hey guys, I just got a notification, something about my next opponent being announced?¡± Jay said. Although he expected it to be just a text announcement, he still looked to the pair in front of him for advice. After the craziness that merely sitting down with a crystal had caused, Jay decided to exercise caution. ¡°Well, what does it say! Who¡¯ve you got?¡± Akira said, eyes beaming with excitement. Even Lyra seemed intrigued. Jay flicked his eyes to the screen, it enlarged and filled most of his vision. He took one look at the words, before closing the screen and turning back to his friends. ¡°What the hell is a Goldenback gorilla?¡± Chapter 12: Don’t even try ¡°Are you serious? On your second fight?¡± Akira said, his confusion on full display as he looked towards Lyra. She seemed deep in thought as she slowly shook her head. ¡°Why would they put you against a Goldenback in your second fight?¡± she said. ¡°You need to train. A lot. If you were fighting against a person, you could¡¯ve got by with a good gameplan and discipline. But against a gorilla, you need to get stronger. Simple as that.¡± ¡°Goldenback gorillas are like gorillas back on earth. Except bigger, badder and smarter too.¡± Akira¡¯s confusion teetered into unease. ¡°So I¡¯m fucked?¡± Jay said. Lyra and Akira¡¯s grimaces worried Jay. Their confusion and pessimism worried him even more. ¡°Akira, take Jay to Tranquillity Tower. Hopefully the storm sage can give him something, it¡¯ll make the preparation a lot easier. Give him the rundown of Harmony on the way, nothing too in depth, but enough to get by. I¡¯ll compile a list of previous Goldenback vs newbie fights. When you come back, they¡¯ll be ready to watch.¡± Akira nodded, waving Jay over to him. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the tower now. You¡¯re not fucked fucked. But five days isn¡¯t a lot of time.¡± Akira¡¯s stern voice matched Lyra¡¯s intensity. Jay had no time to waste, he had to fight a gorilla in five days. A fucking gorilla.
¡°That¡¯s a rough second fight man. Gorillas are insane. Have you seen what they look like when you shave off their hair. They¡¯re jacked.¡± Akira''s words upon leaving the film room weren¡¯t especially encouraging. He described his opponent¡¯s strength with the wisdom of a man who¡¯d watched one too many Joe Rogan podcasts. ¡°I think you can do it though.¡± He said with surprising conviction. ¡°We¡¯re not on Earth anymore. I mean you saw Vega''s fight, right? If you put in the work, you can do it too. If a teenage anime fanboy like me can get by in the coliseum, a world champion boxer can too.¡± Hopefully Akira was right. Work, work, work. Jay wasn¡¯t gonna lose a fight because he didn¡¯t try hard enough. ¡°I hope so. But I wasn¡¯t the world champion. I came here before I even got the chance.¡± It still hurt Jay to say it out loud. He¡¯d failed his dream, his family¡¯s dream. And there was no going back to fix it. But he had a new goal now. Survive the next five days. There was no point wallowing in the past. ¡°So what¡¯s the deal with essence then?¡± said Jay, forcing himself out of his head and into the real world. ¡°I¡¯ve heard so much about it but have no idea what it actually is.¡± ¡°Each person you ask about essence will tell you it works in a completely different way. It¡¯s the kinda thing that is heavily dependent on the individual, but there are a few universal truths.¡± Akira cleared his throat, he couldn¡¯t hide the happiness from his eyes as he began talking. ¡°Everything that exists, has a reason to exist. There¡¯s a phrase in French, raison d''¨ºtre, that matches essence quite nicely. It means reason for existence. If there¡¯s no reason for something¡¯s existence, then it simply doesn¡¯t exist. It sounds simple, but it¡¯s important to recognise. ¡°Now, one thing can have multiple raisons d''¨ºtre. Fire means a completely different thing to you or I, compared to the caveman who¡¯s just discovered he can cook food. Something¡¯s reason for existence, its essence, can be completely different based on who you ask. But it exists, and that¡¯s what matters. Essence isn¡¯t a physical thing; you can¡¯t see or touch it. But neither is it simply conceptual. It lies in the murky middle ground between the two states. You following?¡± Jay looked at Akira like he was speaking a different language. He wasn¡¯t sure how the concept of essence fit in with Vega throwing fireballs out of her hands, but he nodded. Hopefully it would all make sense eventually. ¡°To understand how to manipulate essence, you have to look inward to what we call your personal essence. Your personal essence is your raison d''¨ºtre in its purest form. Your actions, thoughts, dreams, desires and each and every little thing in between. When you begin to understand yourself, you gain power over these things. You gain control over your personal essence. ¡°That¡¯s true on Earth, how does this fit with Vega throwing fireballs out of her hands? I hear you ask. Well, that¡¯s where the magic happens. Through meditation, training, or whatever works best for you, you can now understand and can control your personal essence. Then, when you discover an essence that aligns with your personal essence, control over one leads to control over the other. ¡°I like to think of it like a Venn diagram. One circle is your personal essence, the other is the essence you wish to manipulate. The overlap is what you have control over. If a concept aligns with you personally, and you have a good understanding of it, you can link it to your personal essence. There¡¯s many names for this, but I like to call it resonance. ¡°Just like on Earth, where two separate vibrations resonate to produce a greater whole. Two essences, when correctly aligned, can resonate with each other. Control over the first, personal, essence creates control over the second, outside, essence.¡± While he explained essence to Jay, Akira turned into a new man. Gone was the laid-back youth who Vega had dragged into a drinking contest the night before. His voice beamed with passion and confidence. His eyes betrayed a deep hunger, finally let loose from its chains. Jay guessed this was what it felt like whenever he¡¯d go deep into analysing a fight, and the unlucky soul next to him just had to sit there listening to him rant. He didn¡¯t consider himself unlucky though. Akira had clearly put a lot of time into understanding the intricacies of essence. It¡¯s the only way he¡¯d be able to explain it to a beginner so easily. Jay felt immensely grateful he had Akira by his side, essence manipulation was still a mystery, but now it looked a whole lot more solveable. ¡°What about Harmony, is that just the study of essence?¡± Jay said. His head was already bursting at the seams with information, but he at least wanted a definition before he visited the storm sage. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°If all I did was sit here and talk to you non-stop for the next five days, I wouldn¡¯t even scratch the surface of that question. The further you dig into Harmony, the more confused you get. Not that that stops anyone from digging, of course. One of the most literal definitions of Harmony is simply growth. A harmonizer consciously looks inward and outward, then uses these insights to grow. Yes, it¡¯s reductive and overly simplistic, but it¡¯s one of the only definitions almost everyone can agree on. ¡°There is one other, slightly more nuanced, definition that is widely accepted though: Finding one¡¯s place in the world and moulding the world in one¡¯s image.¡± Akira paused his explanation, leaving Jay to think on the definition as they walked towards Tranquillity tower. Finding one¡¯s place in the world and moulding the world in one¡¯s image. What did that even mean? Jay thought he understood it in a literal sense. Finding a goal, something you want to change. Striving towards it, doing everything possible to achieve it. But what did it mean in the context of essence? And how did all this philosophy have anything to do with Vega throwing fireballs? The confusion on Jay¡¯s face must have been painfully apparent. Akira couldn¡¯t hide his smile, and Jay couldn¡¯t blame him. He felt far over his head. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, all this is somewhat academic and not strictly necessary to harmonise or use essence. It¡¯s not exactly true either.¡± Akira said, enjoying Jay''s confusion a bit too much. ¡°If it¡¯s not necessary or true, why are you telling me about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a model. A way of thinking. If you can get your head around it, it makes harmonising much easier than just throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks. Vega can make explosions happen using just her body. That¡¯s a fact. We¡¯ve seen it happen. But it¡¯s magic and we don¡¯t know why or how. If we look at it through the lens of essence and Harmony, we can start to stitch the evidence together and begin to understand it. All models are wrong, but some are useful. If you can keep this in mind whenever you¡¯re training, it¡¯ll make it a whole lot easier.¡± Jay remembered how he thought essence looked more solveable after Akira¡¯s first explanation. He laughed at his hubris. Akira was obviously right about one thing; of that Jay was certain. The further you dig into Harmony, the more confused you get. Jay had dug, or rather watched someone else dig, for all of five minutes. He was already in far over his head. If he added Harmony to his List of Confusing Shit, Jay was certain it would never be completed. To keep that slim glimmer of hope alive, Jay left it off and made a mental note just to try his best. ¡°I hope this gets easier over time.¡± Jay said. He knew that it probably didn¡¯t work like that, but hope was all he had. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, you haven¡¯t even tried it yet. Are you a practical learner? Most athletes are. I bet it¡¯ll start to click more after you visit the storm sage, no matter what he has you do.¡± I fucking hope so. Akira led Jay through the pavilion and back onto Reveller¡¯s Avenue. Instead of walking down the eclectic boulevard, he waited at the pavilions edge. Standing near a set of tramlines in the middle of the avenue. He pointed to a metal pillar next to the line and a flicker of gold washed over his eyes. Jay followed his lead and looked at the pillar. The next outward tram arrives in: 1 minute. ¡°This place has trams?¡± Jay said. He hadn¡¯t noticed them every other time he¡¯d walked down Reveller¡¯s Avenue. ¡°Yep, the island¡¯s about the size of a big city or tiny country on Earth. It would be pretty annoying to get around without them. The best part is gladiators can use them for free.¡± Everything Jay learned about Arenara Fortunis always provided more questions than answers. The city had a functional public transport system, more than could be said for most cities on Earth, but Jay had only ever seen people walking. A coliseum towered into the sky at the island¡¯s centre, but almost every building here, including the coliseum, seemed to be built out of stone. Jay hadn¡¯t seen a single person use a phone, or any other piece of technology, but there was an augmented reality system imbedded into everyone that let them watch fights and order beers. Jay''s frustration was at least entertaining to one person. Akira leant against the metal pillar with a wry smile. ¡°Don¡¯t even try to wrap your head around how this place works. I tried to understand it for the first few months, but it makes no sense whatsoever. Harmony and its implications have shifted this planet¡¯s development in a radically different direction to Earth¡¯s.¡± He said. Akira rummaged in the inside fold of his kimono, pulling out a tiny crystal from an internal pocket before handing it to Jay. ¡°Assimilate this on the ride, don¡¯t worry, its nothing like the translator. It¡¯ll only take a few seconds.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s sort of like a travel guide I¡¯ve been working on. I¡¯ve been journaling my impressions of all the places I¡¯ve visited on the island. The crystal will have them pop up on your system when you go there, should at least give you some background on the places you go to.¡± Before Jay could thank Akira, he kicked off the pillar and vanished. Wait what. Jay cleared his eyes and looked again, had Akira just disappeared into thin air? It certainly looked that way, but now that Jay was focusing, Jay could see murky ripples in the air beside him. Still doubting his eyesight, he stumbled forward. Holding his hands out in front of him as he inched towards the spot where Akira had disappeared. His fingertips brushed up against a metal door and Jay''s vision finally cleared. He was touching a sleek white tram carriage that wasn¡¯t there a moment before. Beside him, Akira grinned from inside the tram. Jay shook his head as he pulled himself into the carriage. Every second. Every fucking second there¡¯s something new with this place. Can I not even have a few moments where stuff just makes sense? Akira''s grin showed no signs of fading. ¡°Don¡¯t even try¡± he said. Jay slumped into his seat and sighed.
Some say that if you want to have a good time on Arenara Fortunis, go to Gambler¡¯s Avenue. Those people are wrong. Reveller¡¯s avenue is the opposite side of the island and for good reason. If they were next to each other, nobody would gamble because they¡¯d all be here partying instead. And the suits in charge can¡¯t be having that. Reveller¡¯s avenue is probably the best place to watch a fight other than live. Not much beats a bar full of drunk people hungry for some blood. If that doesn¡¯t sound fun, maybe try a different island. Jay read the pop up as he watched the many colours of Reveller''s Avenue whir by out of the tram window. Akira told him that there were eight districts, called octants, on Arenara Fortunis. Each had their own avenue, running from the pavilion to the coast, each were named after the group that ran them and each had their own unique atmosphere. A spark of excitement surged within Jay, but he held it at bay. He was certainly interested in visiting all the various avenues on the island, but right now he had more important things to focus on. Namely whatever Tranquillity tower and the storm sage had in store for him. Akira nudged his knee. Jay nodded and stood up. They¡¯d reached the end of the line. The pair hopped off the tram and kept walking southward. Jay could already smell the sea. They crested a hill and Jay got his first glimpse of the ocean surrounding Arenara Fortunis. Although clear skies and sun reigned above him, Jay saw clouds on the horizon. A light sea breeze blustered inland, spitting at Jay with salt and sand. The gust kicked every one of his hairs upright. The beautiful white sands were dotted with people. Some sat silently, lying down and feeling the calming caress of the late morning sun. Others were more active. With weather like this, where else would they head for revelry? There was another group of people though. The third group were already packing up their things. They knew a storm was coming. Once he hit the shoreline, Akira turned left. He pointed into the distance. Jay followed his finger to a cloud of mist further along the coast. ¡°That where we¡¯re headed.¡± He asked. ¡°Yep¡± They walked in silence. First walking along the seaside path, then through a few inland alleyways before a final stretch of rocky shores. Akira stopped. Mere metres from the solid wall of fog. ¡°Remember to be you in there. Don¡¯t worry about impressing the sage or anything stupid like that. Don¡¯t worry about finding essence or manipulating it. All that will come. Just remember who you are.¡± Akira said. He tried to hide it, but nervousness crept through his grave expression. Jay slowly nodded. His face showed nothing. He thanked Akira, then stepped into the unknown. Chapter 13: Tranquillity Tower The sea mist smothered Jay as he entered its domain. Swirling eddies shadowed his every move, salty spirals billowing in his wake. Jay looked behind him and saw no sign of Akira anymore. He saw no sign of anything beyond the nearest few metres. Even the sounds dampened, and all Jay could hear was the swishing waves further inside the mist. On the journey over, Akira had described Tranquillity tower as an abandoned lighthouse that had fallen out of use once Arenara Fortunis had grown big and bright enough to be spotted from miles away. From the description he¡¯d been given, Jay thought it would be a crumbling ruin. A dilapidated tower with a kooky old hermit living inside. As the mists began to clear, he realised he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. Tranquillity tower was almost perfectly cylindrical, and remarkably well kept. It reminded Jay of a ship¡¯s mast. The entire structure looked like someone had broken it off from a gigantic boat and planted it into the ground. When he got closer, Jay looped around the tower, running his fingers along the lacquered mahogany fa?ade. He stopped and looked up. The sea mist surrounding the tower completely obscured the top, and Jay could only make out at a couple of storeys before a grey blur wrapped around it. Within these walls, the storm sage speaks. Ascend the heights if it''s wisdom you seek. Climb until you touch the sky, come down only once the winds sigh. This text box wasn¡¯t golden like most of the others, or red like the ones Q had used. This one shimmered a deep blue, the letters seemed to sway and ripple whenever Jay looked away from them. Jay hoped the storm sage wasn¡¯t a poet. He could deal with a strange sailor training him, but a teacher only speaking in rhyme would get old real quick. Jay analysed Tranquillity tower. It looked unclimbable. The unblemished veneer didn¡¯t offer much in the way of handholds, but he had to start somewhere. Jay did a few more laps around the tower, scouting the bottom for anywhere he could start climbing. He tried to find any grooves he could wedge his fingers into. Nothing. Any worn-down wood that could give him some grip. Nothing. He even looked for a hidden button. Maybe there was a lever that would make a magical storm elevator that would take him right to the top. From Akira''s description, there seemed to be an essence for everything. What if the storm sage and elevator sage were friends? ¡°How am I supposed to climb this thing?¡± Jay said, half to himself in frustration, half hoping someone would hear him and tell him. Not the tower, Idiot! I mean, dismiss the tower''s allure, young traveller. Instead, meander towards the sea''s edge, and there, as assuredly as the tide, your goal shall reveal itself. A poet might have been too much for Jay. But a shit poet would do just fine. Bad poems were objectively better than good ones in Jay''s opinion. And a shit poet couldn¡¯t possibly have the pretentiousness of a proper one, right? I hope whoever¡¯s writing these screens can¡¯t also read minds. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Great. Pleased that his thoughts remained private, Jay listened for the waves. He continued southwards, leaving the tower and meandering towards the sea¡¯s edge. When he reached the coast, his goal, assuredly, revealed itself. Maybe a hundred metres out to sea, a series of stone towers shot out of the ocean. Hopefully they¡¯d be easier to climb than the main tower, but Jay had to worry about getting there first, there was an ocean in the way. An idyllic cove spanned the shoreline in front of Jay. Small waves lapped the white sands at his feet as he took his first steps onto the beach, spreading a beautiful white foam across the bay. Rolling waves hummed gently, soothing Jay with a sense of comfort, protection, and belonging. The hypnotic ebb and flow of the seas tempted him, daring Jay to jump in headfirst, never to set foot on land again. Golden sunlight shimmered off the sea¡¯s surface, etching the scene permanently into his memory. The enticing ocean called out to Jay. Part of him wanted to run straight in and frolic about the waves forever, leaving his old life behind. Looking at the stone pillars in the distance snapped him out of it. He was here for a reason. He needed to get stronger. If the storm sage could help him win, help him survive, he¡¯d go into the ocean. But Jay needed to remember why he was here in the first place. Jay removed his black robes and boxing boots. He placed them into his backpack and hid them under a rock. It felt weird leaving everything he owned out in the open, even if everything he owned was just a backpack with clothes in it. Jay stretched and ran a few lengths across the beach. His muscles needed as much warming up as possible before taking the dive into the water. Eventually, Jay began his march into the ocean. First, he just dipped his toes in. Then he took a few more steps. Soon the water was up to his thighs. He spent at least a minute at just-below-ballsack depth of course. He was only human. One icy plunge later, Jay started swimming. He was never the strongest swimmer, but he effortlessly carved through the waves. After just a few strokes, he¡¯d already closed almost a quarter of the distance towards the pillars. Then the sea showed its true nature. The gentle waves that once pushed him on evolved into a sweeping tide. Within seconds, Jay knew he couldn¡¯t swim back if he tried. So he kept pushing forward. But with each kick of his legs, the conditions worsened. The biting wind, once a gentle breeze, now sliced Jay''s face every time he dared lift it above the water. The waves that had lured him out now pushed him back to shore. Refusing him entry into their domain. Hail peppered Jay''s back. Assaulting every inch of him not covered by the sea. Jay sensed something in the depths beneath him but didn¡¯t dare look. All he needed to do was swim. Left, right, left, right, breathe. Left, right, left, right, wherethefuckarethetowers. He should have been getting closer, but every time Jay braved a glance, they looked infinitely far away. A slimy tendril snaked around Jay''s calf. It yanked him beneath the surface. Jay¡¯s leg spasmed. He desperately tried to kick it off, but nothing changed. It dragged him further down. Jay flailed and clawed himself up to the surface for a split second, managing one last gasp of air before fully submerging under the water. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Salt stung Jay''s eyes, microscopic daggers piercing his corneas. A sourceless black tentacle coiled around his leg, its frigid grasp somehow even colder than the storm-swept ocean. Jay¡¯s eyes trailed into the murky depths beneath him, unable to even fathom the entity¡¯s size. Jay dug his nails into the slimy tendril, desperately trying to wrestle it from his leg. The tentacle wrestled back. For every inch he pulled from his skin, it would claim another two elsewhere. Every second he spent fighting, Jay only got dragged deeper beneath the surface. Black clouds of panic filled Jay''s vision. He didn¡¯t know whether it was stress or oxygen deprivation. It was no use thinking about that though. Getting free mattered more that whatever was going on in his head. Jay was running out of time. Spears of carbon dioxide stabbed through his lungs from within. Begging him to take a breath. Just one. Begging him to let go. Begging him to let his body to return to the seas where it belonged. No. No he wouldn¡¯t let it take him. He couldn¡¯t let it take him. Not yet. Jay wrestled his body from the clutches of panic. Purging the last drops of doubt from his body. He knew what he had to do. He¡¯d solve this problem the only way he knew how. Punching it. Repeatedly. His left hand clawed at the tendril, trying to pry it off, while is right fist kept hammering at it. With each hit he freed another millimetre. Jay kept hitting and hitting. Eventually, he stopped thinking. Trapped in the relentless cycle of compression and expansion. He¡¯d wind up a punch. He¡¯d release it. Then he¡¯d wind up another. He had no time to think about anything else. Jay pulled his fist back. Something clicked. His entire body tensed. Fist held back, each and every muscle fibre begged to be released. Not yet. He could go further. Jay kept winding up. His whole body a series of coiled springs, one spark away from release. No. Further. Jay''s body screamed at him. Begging, pleading, for the tension to be unleashed. His every cell held hostage to its own strength, forcefully compressed. Building pent up energy until Jay allowed it to be released. Now. Jay unleashed his final punch onto the tentacle. He didn¡¯t even need to throw it; the stored energy propelled his arm forward. His fist now a solid wall of pure, expansive force. Jay marvelled at the destructive power contained within his punch. Surely this would break the tendril¡¯s grip. But the cycle worked both ways. When Jay''s fist hit the slimy tentacle, he expected the creature to go flying away. Returning to the depths from which it came. That was what usually happened when he punched things, force transferred from fist to face. Instead, it compressed. The amorphous tendril folded in on itself, shrinking underneath Jay''s fist. Withdrawing its clasp from Jay''s leg. Tension pulled against Jay''s knuckles. The compression began to slow. His fist stopped moving. All the energy from his punch was now stationary, stored inside a single point just beyond his fist. Jay knew what was coming next. What goes around comes around, after all. A thunderclap slammed against Jay''s eardrums as a shockwave sent him flying upwards. Jay caught a glimpse of the tendril sinking into the ocean¡¯s depths before he broke the water¡¯s surface and flew into the sky. Jay never knew fresh air could feel this good. Oxygen rushed into his lungs, his body now free from the sea¡¯s tyranny. Still soaring upwards, Jay looked down upon the choppy ocean surface. A crater of expulsion, five metres in diameter, lay beneath him. Lasting only milliseconds before the ocean¡¯s relentless pressure filled it in. Clarity washed over Jay as he flew skyward. Time slowed to a crawl and Jay felt completely detached from his body. He saw every individual raindrop, each tiny globule of water trickling through the air. Jay saw how they deformed under gravity, how they splashed whenever they collided with his body. He was serenity personified. An external observer taking in the world¡¯s sights. Jay tried to twist his head. It didn¡¯t budge. He tried to move his arm. Nothing. He stared at his arm, searching for any indication of motion. Still nothing. Jay''s neck twitched. His worldview shook, dizziness took over. His once perfectly clear vision now blurred and twisted. The waves, his arm, the towers in the distance. They all merged and hid amongst each other, a knotted labyrinth of vision obscuring the world from Jay''s eyes. But Jay fought back, he pushed the wandering outlines together, reforming the world into one image again. His arm began to move. The signal from before only now reaching his limb. The pieces clicked together as Jay began to realise what was happening. My mind is running at a different speed to my body. He realised, but he didn¡¯t know what he could do about it. The tiniest movement sent his world into disarray. If he couldn¡¯t move, how was he supposed to make his way to the towers? All Jay had was his brain. Speed of body. Speed of mind. Jay took advantage of his borrowed time. He located the nearest tower to him. A grey, hexagonal obelisk of stone jutting out of the water. It was approximately 40 metres away. There were no landmarks to reference the tower¡¯s direction, so Jay braved another turn of his head. After an agonising delay, that at least gave Jay time to brace himself, he faced the shoreline. Once he had turned, Jay noticed he¡¯d already dropped 2cm closer to the water. His body wasn¡¯t acting quickly, only his mind. When he moved, time moved too. He didn¡¯t have forever. With Jay as the corner, the beach and the tower made an angle of about 145¡ã. He wasn¡¯t too far off the direct line, and he could reach the tower soon if he remembered it¡¯s location and didn¡¯t get swept away by the sea. Those factors were a big if, but Jay just needed to account for them. Boxing, and every other sport for that matter, deteriorates from a contest of skill or strength at the very highest level. Once every competitor is near the peak of the human body¡¯s ability, it becomes exceedingly difficult to beat anyone purely based on merit. Instead, it mostly devolves down into just two important factors. Positioning and timing. Timing is somewhat obvious, knowing the exact right time to execute each individual part of a plan is necessary to complete the whole plan. But positioning is trickier, it isn¡¯t just 1, 2, or even 3 dimensional. Different positions provide different advantages based on the time and overall state of the fight. In boxing, a master of positioning is called a ring general. To be a ring general, a fighter must know every inch of the boxing ring. The surface, the positions of the coaches, any noisy spectators. They also needed to know their opponent, their preferences, skills, tells, and weaknesses. All these factors need to be understood to know the optimal next move. Jay wasn¡¯t in the boxing ring. He didn¡¯t have 24 feet by 24 feet of rope enclosing him from the world. But the skills he¡¯d learnt from a lifetime as a ring general remained. There was no ring, just an ocean. There was no opponent, just a tower he needed to reach. There was no crowd screaming in his ears, just a buffeting storm. Jay needed to account for everything, form a model in his head, and execute. When he knew his battlefield, he wouldn¡¯t need to check where he was, wouldn¡¯t need to fight against the storm. He¡¯d know exactly what was needed. He just needed to calculate it. If Jay was a computer, he probably would¡¯ve taken several hours and who knows how much electricity to understand his situation, taking into account every single variable imaginable. But he wasn¡¯t a computer. He was a fighter. A fucking good one. He ran on instinct. Numbers and calculations that Jay didn¡¯t understand, but he knew, ran through his head. Mapping every variable and plotting a course. He kept falling, dropping closer to the ocean with each second spent calculating. Even at his dizzying speed of thought, it was a struggle to capture his whole environment. There was just so much going on. But by the time his toes dipped into the water, he¡¯d finally completed it. It was time to stop thinking and start doing. Jay splashed into the water and immediately got to work. He didn¡¯t even need to tell his muscles to swim. They did it anyway. Jay almost blacked out, entering a flow state. His sole purpose to execute his plan. Precisely on time, he felt the cool pockmarked stone collide with his hand. Jay didn¡¯t know what the tower looked like up close, so it wasn¡¯t in his model. He was forced to think again, surfacing from the water, and looking at the tower for anything of use. Waves crashed into Jay, launching him up and down. He flailed his arms, desperately trying to grab a hold of the pillar. His fingers latched onto something. They clenched shut. A final squall tried to push him away. Useless. He was never letting go. It took every muscle fibre in his arm to hold on, but he managed it. When the wave passed, Jay reached out with his other arm and held the stone tightly. Anchoring himself to the pillar. Jay''s hands clung onto a carved rung inset into the stone tower. He climbed up the next few rungs. Getting at least five metres above sea level before finally allowing himself a few seconds to breathe. Chapter 14: Vigorous Voyager Jay blinked the water out of his eyes and cursed the sea as he coughed salt water out of his lungs. He looked down at the waves that had previously tormented him, gently lapping against the base of the tower. Somehow even quieter than before he¡¯d started swimming. The wind too had stopped howling and hounding him, and the first creeps of sunlight began to make their way through the dissipating rain clouds. ¡°Really! Now you fucking calm down!¡± He shouted. A blue text box didn¡¯t appear, but Jay knew there was a stupid poet somewhere laughing at him. Half-naked, drenched, and clinging to a rock in the middle of the ocean. Jay somewhat understood. Shit, he probably would have laughed too. Jay swept his soaking hair out of his eyes and looked up the tower. The stone ladder was worn smooth, and damp from the sea¡¯s assault. Jay shook his arms and legs, hoping the stretching would delay the onset of cramp for as long as possible. Pausing to rest seemed like a great idea but it could wait for the top of the tower. He caught his breath, massaged his tired arms, then went back to old faithful. Left, right, left, right, breathe. Left, right, left, right, letsclimbthisstupidfuckingtower.
Vigorous voyager, you''ve vanquished the void, but this vertex vibrates with another''s verse. Venture to a different vista! ¡°What the fuck does that even mean?¡± It means Vigorous voyager, you''ve vanquished the void, but this vertex vibrates with another''s verse. Venture to a different vista! ¡­ Kids these days. Absolutely no appreciation for the fine arts. It means climb up a different tower! Jay looked around, trying to spot someone watching him. No luck. He was alone atop the stone column. No storm sage in sight. ¡°That¡¯s a load of shit. This is a perfectly good tower, why do I need to climb another one?¡± Because I said so that¡¯s why, now do you want to beat that stupid gorilla or not? Because if you do, then do as you¡¯re told! Jay sighed. He had come here for help after all. But how did whoever was writing the text boxes know about that? Jay felt around the edge where he''d climbed up, trying to find the rungs again. All he felt was cold, smooth stone. His heart sank. JUMP Jay kept searching, hoping to find some sort of handhold. He found nothing. He tried to close the blue screen, but it remained in the middle of his view, refusing to leave. Giving up on the normal way down, Jay stood up. Trying not to look down off the edge. Jay located the nearest pillar, it was around ten metres southeast of him. Then he leapt. Once he was underwater, Jay opened his eyes and immediately looked for any sourceless black tendrils. He seemed safe, but that didn¡¯t mean he could relax. Jay floated to the surface, got his bearings, and started swimming.
Persevering pilgrim, you''ve peaked the pinnacle, yet this place pulses with another''s plot. Pursue a parallel precipice! ¡°Well how am I supposed to find the bloody right one then?¡± If a floating rectangle could have shrugged, this one would have. Instead, it vanished. Jay sat with his legs dangling off the edge, he looked at the rest of the stone towers jutting out of the water. This was the fifth pillar he''d climbed since jumping off the first. Each one just greeted him with a more annoying message than the last. How was he supposed to find his? Maybe he had to think like a sailor? Hopefully he didn¡¯t have to think like a poet. Jay tried to find a way to locate his tower. Looking out to the ocean horizon, he began to brainstorm. If it was the storm sage making the text boxes, he was the one telling Jay he was wrong. So maybe he had to think like the storm sage to find one. ¡°Oh Tower-o, Tower-o where art thou?¡± ¡­ The awkward silence cut deeper than any rain could have. Jay imagined the storm sage standing behind one of the text boxes, laughing at his incompetence. Jay switched gears, if he really dialled in, he might forget what he¡¯d just said. The storm sage was a sailor, or he certainly seemed like one. Maybe that was a better way to look at it? He wracked his brain, trying to remember how sailors navigated. The only lighthouse in sight was a no-go. What else? The overcast sky above him meant navigating by starlight was hardly possible, and stars weren¡¯t particularly useful over this short a range. Just what was he supposed to do? Jay watched a storm front advance on the westerly horizon. The torrential rain fell on the beach and moved closer towards the island proper. Lightning struck. Bright light stained Jay''s vision for a few seconds before the trailing thunderclap jolted his mind awake. Wait a sec! Why am I trying to think like the storm sage? Jay had come here to prove himself, to show what he could do. Why was he trying to emulate someone else? He had to think for himself. Come up with his own way. But what was his own way? What could he do? Punch fast? Not particularly useful for navigating. He could speak a ton of languages now, maybe the crystal gave him correct-pillar-sensing abilities too? Jay knew these suggestions wouldn¡¯t help him find his tower. But he felt he was on the right track. The things Jay had done in the last ten minutes, he¡¯d have thought were impossible just a week ago. He¡¯d punched hard before, but never that hard. It seemed like reality itself crumpled after Jay''s underwater punch, and what about the massive crater he¡¯d made in the water moments later. That was far more force than a human had any right to create. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Jay''s mental ability astonished him too. He¡¯d been in a flow state before, where everything came instinctually to him, and his mind and body aligned in perfect harmony. But nothing came close to the elevated state he entered while hurtling away from the explosion his fist had just created. It felt like his brain was overclocked. Running on a different plane of possibility, elevated from the world around it. Was this Harmony? Was this what he was now capable of? Jay thought back to his conversation with Akira. He recalled what the man had said about Harmony. A harmoniser needed to look inward and outward to grow. Looking outward wasn¡¯t helping Jay right now. Thinking like the storm sage might help him find the sage¡¯s tower, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t help him find his own. Maybe he needed to look inside? Jay''s thoughts whirled around his head. He wasn¡¯t a poet, or a sailor. But neither was he purely a boxer, or a gladiator. He was just Jay. Memories flashed through Jay¡¯s mind, racing faster than he could keep track of. Moments from his past, his pro debut, his first loss, his death. Each moment felt somehow more vivid than the first time he¡¯d experienced it.
¡°Wow. The energy in here is something else Jay! It¡¯s electric!¡± Said Julian, ignoring Coach and staring at the crowd from inside the blue corner. A young Jay watched his older brother intently from outside the ring. Five rounds into a fight and Jules had barely broken a sweat. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s vibrating through my body, like the crowd is giving me their strength.¡± Coach was trying to give Julian advice, but none went in. All he heard was the sound of the crowd cheering, all he saw was the flashing lights above. All he felt was the moment. Right here. Right now. Electric.
The memory ended. Jay was back on the tower. But he couldn¡¯t have felt more different. The salty sea breeze, once a just a pleasant afterthought, now overwhelmed Jay''s senses. He could feel the microscopic crystals slicing into his nose as they floated in the wind. Jay heard the rolling waves lap against the base of the tower. Now noticing the once imperceptible cyclic rhythms within them. He felt them push into the stone monolith. He felt the vibrations carry all the way to the top. Water vapour brushed against Jay''s skin. This time it didn¡¯t cut. No salt. Must be from the rain. Winds coming from the west, storm will probably blow over this way soon. Jay cracked his eyes open, lifting his eyelids slowly, drip-feeding his brain information. Jay recognised this headspace; it was like what he felt mid-air before. But not the same. Before he felt detachment. His central nervous system isolated itself from the world. Maximising its ability. Now Jay wasn¡¯t just connected to his senses, he was at one with them. If he fully opened his eyes and took in the sights of the world around him, he might pass out from sensory overload. Perhaps now he could sense his tower. Jay wondered why that specific memory of his brother stuck with him. It wasn¡¯t a special fight, not a particularly memorable one either. So why did he remember it so vividly now. Was it something he said? ¡°Electric.¡± ¡°There''s nothing like it.¡± Of course, the arena didn¡¯t have any actual electricity in. There wasn¡¯t anybody ringside tazing Julian in between rounds. But the feel, the sense, was there. Was that the essence of electricity? The sub-subconscious vibrations, from which the very building blocks of thought were built. Not knowing if his enhanced senses would fade soon, Jay felt out for the correct pillar. His pillar. Jay opened his eyes. He tried to ignore the deluge of new information and narrow his focus, hunting for anything that stood out. The rippling waves, the humming wind, even Jay''s own rhythmic breathing faded into background static as his perception simultaneously broadened and focused. THUD. Finally. Something. A pulse. But Jay didn¡¯t know where from. THUD. THUD. THUD. Again, it cried out. Over and over. Periodically repeating but sourceless. Jay knew there was something there, but he couldn¡¯t discern any more than that. He knew the signal was screaming, crying out for him to reunite with it. But it was being muffled, something was blocking it from reaching him. Resisting the communication. Jay''s head shot up in realisation. A smile crept across his face, he now knew what he had to do. Not letting himself get cold feet, he shifted to the ledge. He jumped. Screams of joy, pain, fear, and longing coursed into Jay''s ears the moment he submerged beneath the conductive water. Energy, rushing into him, flooded through his nervous system. The raw electricity coalesced into information, and Jay now saw his path. An ever-shifting strand of light, flowing through the path of least resistance towards him. Jay broke the water¡¯s surface. He still saw the line, but it was harder to make out twisting and turning underneath the rolling waves. Jay couldn¡¯t see where it ended, but he knew it lead to his tower. Jay sliced through the water. He didn¡¯t think the sudden storm or underwater tentacle would come back, but he didn¡¯t want to assume. He followed the path of light to another stone tower. He knew he''d found the right one as soon as he touched it. A silky warmth draped Jay like a blanket. This tower just felt right. Jay''s hands felt glued to the rungs of the tower, as if nothing could ever pull them apart. He glided up the ladder, as if gravity couldn¡¯t grab a hold of him. He crested the final lip, pulling himself onto the top. Jay wondered what would greet him at the towers peak. Would the storm sage greet him there? Shake his hand and offer congratulations?
Tenacious traveller, you''ve attained the appropriate altitude. Attune yourself, and as the storm''s song starts to serenade. Stand ready. Jay roared into the ocean expanse, unleashing pure noise. He didn¡¯t want to say anything, he just wanted catharsis. Every language stored within his head couldn¡¯t even come close to the pure joy that Jay released with a single syllable scream. Sweat and saltwater shook back into the ocean as he pumped his fists in victory. When he finally cooled down, Jay stretched his limbs and tried to calm himself. The adrenaline coursing through Jay¡¯s veins refused to obey. His muscles still twitched and spasmed, not yet ready to relax and reflect. Perhaps his body was telling him something. There was bad news behind the pop-up at the top of the tower. It meant the storm sage wasn¡¯t finished with him. Curiously, Jay''s backpack was atop the tower with him. Jay took Akira¡¯s advice and didn¡¯t question it. Perhaps it was the storm sage throwing him a bone and telling him to prepare. An answer wouldn¡¯t help Jay right now, so he put on his clothes and braced for the next message. A rumble from below heralded Jay''s next trial. The whole tower shuddered, and Jay dropped to all fours just to avoid falling. A second lip of rock arose from behind the one Jay climbed up on. It wasn¡¯t that thick, less than ten centimetres, but it slowly rose above the outer edge of the tower until it loomed over Jay, at least three metres tall. Most of the towers Jay climbed were vaguely circular, some had more rounded edges, some more angular. Some had six, seven, or eight sides. His had four. The oppressive weight of being in a ring again combined with the ominous stares of the walls surrounding him, entombing him. Jay knew what was coming next. For the final trial, you must fight. The rhymes were gone. Maybe the storm sage took battle more seriously? Good. Jay stood in a corner, head on a swivel, and awaited his opponent. Would it be a harmoniser, a swordsman, maybe the storm sage himself? There was no use deliberating, he had to fight them regardless. Jay began to shadow box, corralling his mind into a fighting state. He hadn¡¯t thought to bring handwraps with him. An oversight, one he wouldn¡¯t make again. It felt weird to punch without them, but he didn¡¯t have a choice. Jay''s boots squeaked as he hopped back and forth. There was still nobody in the ring with him, but he had to stay vigilant. A flicker of light washed over Jay''s tower. A thunderclap followed, two seconds after. The storm was closer now, but at least there was no rain falling into his stone walled ring. The thunder heralded Jay''s opponent¡¯s arrival. A giant, two-metre-long eel floated into the ring, swimming through the air like it was nothing. Its eyes locked onto Jay. He didn¡¯t see the docile disinterest of prey, nor the patient hunger of a predator. Jay saw pure malice. He saw his opponent. Chapter 15: Electric Eel There was no time to wonder how he was supposed to fight a giant eel, no time to try and plan. Jay had to fight. The eel slithered through the air, its long tail coiled and whirled. The air distorted in its wake, as if the beast¡¯s very being defied the natural order. It inched its way towards Jay''s corner. Hunting him down. But Jay was no mere prey, paralysed by fear before the eel could even touch him. His fists had already fended off one creature of the deep today. They could do it again. The millisecond the eel entered his range Jay launched a right straight at its face. There was no need to jab now, no need to establish range. Jay needed power. His fist knocked the eels head sideways, but it quickly coiled underneath itself and looked back at Jay. Bewilderment clouded its eyes; it had probably never been punched in the face before. Confusion made way for anger however, and it darted straight at Jay''s chest. He circled left, as he¡¯d done millions of times before, but Jay had never fought against an eel before. The eel twisted on the spot, turning faster than any human could, and cut off Jay''s angle. Jay stopped immediately. Only his opponents gaping jaw awaited him in that direction now. He switched angles, trying to dodge to the right instead. Jay strained his legs to decelerate, desperately halting his advance, his boots squeaked against the stone underneath the pressure. But there was a big issue with fighting a two-metre-long opponent. It could cover far more ground than Jay could. Immediately to his right was the eel¡¯s tail, swinging directly towards him. Jay raised his arms, turtling up to protect his head. The tail impacted hard, but he¡¯d been through worse, Jay was more worried about the follow up. A follow up that never came. Jay expected the eel to electrocute him, but its tail simply hit him and slid off. It looked like the eel expected that too. Jay saw the confused look return to his opponents face as he twisted and backpedalled into the centre of the ring. Maybe I¡¯m resistant to electricity now? But how, I didn¡¯t train for it? I didn¡¯t train for any of the other stuff I did either. Doubt clouded a fighter¡¯s focus. Jay set aside all his questions for later and concentrated on the fight in front of him. If he didn¡¯t get shocked by the eel¡¯s tail, how could he use that to his advantage? Jay took the initiative this time, trying to corner his opponent. It was practically the first rule of boxing, if your opponent had an advantage, try to nullify it. If they were longer or faster than you, put them in a place where they can¡¯t use their length or speed. Put them in the corner. Jay had experience getting out of a corner, every slugger he¡¯d ever fought had tried to keep him there. But he was damn sure the eel hadn¡¯t fought a guy like him before. Especially if he was resistant to the electric shocks. Jay advanced, a seasoned ring general leading the charge. The eel squirmed, heading left, and being cut off. Coiling onto itself and then snaking right, but only coming face to face with its opponent. Jay allowed himself a moment of pleasure. Maybe his boxing skills were more transferable than he thought. Then the eel gave him a taste of the real world. With all due respect to overhands and uppercuts, boxing is fought in two dimensions. Left, right, forwards, and backwards. The flying eel floated above Jay, and he was quickly and humbly reminded that the rest of the universe fought in three. From almost directly above him, the eel darted towards Jay''s face. Jay twisted his body, but he couldn¡¯t twist faster than the eel. It charged into Jay''s shoulder, narrowly missing his head but knocking his whole body off balance. Its tail followed through. Whipping at Jay''s jaw while the rest of the body soared past. The one-two combo floored Jay. His base was already weakened from the first strike, so the tail didn¡¯t need to generate much power to send Jay to his back. From the ground, Jay scrambled to return to his feet, but his opponent wouldn¡¯t let him. It floated, permanently a metre or so above Jay and threatened to bite him the moment he gave it an opening. Scuppering any attempt of getting to his feet. Jay had to make it up, there was no way for him to win from the floor, so he resolved to take a hit if it meant standing up again. The next time the eel dove in, Jay launched a punch at it. There was no venom behind the punch, it wasn¡¯t meant to damage. Jay just needed to generate space. Jay pushed the eel¡¯s head away, and used the half second gained to get to one knee. He braced for the second strike, covering his head with his arm. When the tail hit him, Jay would roll with the blow, and use the momentum gained to get upright. He would¡¯ve got to his feet, if a few thousand volts didn¡¯t have other plans. The mere concept of muscular control fled Jay¡¯s body once the eel hit him. Every muscle in Jay''s body pulled taut, he had all the agency of a wooden board as he clattered into the corner of the ring. The world lurched around Jay, colours and shadows warped into dizzying spirals as his eyesight followed his muscles in going haywire. Knocked into the corner of a stone cage, with a giant floating sea creature hunting him. It was through pure desperation that Jay managed to take a knee and stand up before his opponent reached him. He didn¡¯t have time to think about what had just hit him. Thoughts wouldn¡¯t help him now anyway. The eel was already upon him. It charged headfirst at Jay''s chest. He knew this attack was the decoy, that the real danger was the electrocuting tail. But that didn¡¯t mean he could ignore it. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Jay raised both his arms into a cross guard. He needed to resist the push of the first attack and redirect his opponent. Maybe then he¡¯d have a chance at dodging the second. The opening bludgeon struck. Jay got a good enough grip on the eel¡¯s face to keep it from biting him, but it still pushed him back. The heel of Jay''s boot brushed against the wall. Nowhere to back up now. Jay pushed the giant eel¡¯s head off to his side, but he needed to shift gears quickly, the tail was coming. Jay tried to duck. Anything to get out of the firing line. But the eel was simply too long. It noticed him duck and shifted its tail downwards. Jay braced. Maybe he could take the electric shock. One hit would hurt him, sure, but if he was floored again, he might never get up. The tail hit him. No shock, but it still hurt like hell. The whipping tail caught the bottom of Jay''s ribs and dug directly into his core. It pushed him backwards, then the electricity struck. Another agonizing eternity hit Jay. The stone wall he leant on the only think that kept him from falling. As all his muscles spasmed simultaneously, Jay didn¡¯t even know what kept him conscious. Once more, Jay''s entire body devolved into madness. Jay could taste the warmth of his pain; he could see his anger screaming at him. All senses mixed into blackness in the end. Curtains of nothingness closed in from his periphery. THUD. ¡­ THUD. ¡­ No. THUD. Not yet. This time it wasn¡¯t the towers pulse. It was his own. Darkness made way for reality as Jay''s heartbeat reintroduced oxygen to his brain. THUD. THUD. He¡¯d gotten close that time, one more shock could finish him. Why is the shocking so inconsistent? Jay thought. Coming to his senses as he pushed off the wall. The eel had given him a bit of space, a mistake. It probably thought he was dead. It came rushing back after it saw Jay up and running. Jay¡¯s boots squeaked as he escaped the corner, trying to buy himself some time. Wait. In that moment, Jay felt grateful to the storm sage, or whichever kind soul had brought his backpack to the top of the tower. He felt immensely fortunate that his father and brother were boxers. Fortunate that they led him to become a boxer too, rather than a wrestler, kickboxer, or any other martial artist. Because boxers wore shoes. And those shoes had rubber soles. The only reason the electric shock didn¡¯t work the first time, was because he was insulated from the ground. The only reason it hit him late the third time, was because the tail launched him into the wall. Every fight was a puzzle, and each fighter held half the pieces. But throughout the fight, if they were observant enough, a good fighter caught glimpses of his opponent¡¯s pieces. And bit by bit, piece by piece, they could begin to solve the puzzle. You didn¡¯t need to complete the puzzle, but you needed enough to know what it was. Enough to know how the fight could end. The eel had just handed Jay a crucial piece, and it was only going to get worse. Fighting an intelligent fighter fucking sucks. Most fighters aren¡¯t the smartest, it comes with the territory of getting beat up for a living. Smart people tend to avoid that line of work. But occasionally, you come up against a genius, a savant, a prodigy. Occasionally you come up against someone like Jay. The worst thing about fighting an intelligent fighter isn¡¯t that they outsmart you, or that they out-plan you. Or anything like that. The absolute worst thing is that you can never, ever, under any circumstances, give them an edge. Because they will use it. They will abuse it. They will take anything and everything they can and use it to win. Jay had just discovered that he didn¡¯t need to fear the eel¡¯s electric shock, unless he was touching the tower. This didn¡¯t turn the fight on its head, but it gave Jay an inch. And he was about to take a fucking mile. Jay claimed the rings centre. This was his ring, his tower, and he¡¯d be damned if a stupid floating fish beat him in it. What even are eels anyway? Be a fish or be a snake. You can¡¯t choose both. The stupid fish-snake hybrid came flying right at him. Jay pulled up the same cross guard as before, hopefully his opponent hadn¡¯t made the same realisation he had. He braced for impact and deflected the head off to the side again. This time he didn¡¯t duck. He had nothing to fear. Jay held his hands outstretched, one trying to catch the tail, the other grasping for the main body. His hands found purchase. Jay tried to dig his nails in, but they couldn¡¯t pierce the eel¡¯s skin. The beast flailed in his grip, wildly twisting and turning until it ripped its way out of Jay''s hands. He¡¯d held it for less than a second, but Jay could sense his opponents fear. Mucus caked Jay''s hands. He wiped them off on his Flaming Tomb robes, but it was hard to get all of it off. The clear gooey liquid even stuck to the underside of Jay''s nails. As he tried to clean himself, Jay could feel the eel¡¯s anxious stare. It was afraid. Had no one tried to grab it before? Another piece clicked into place. Jay could see the cogs turning inside the simplistic creature¡¯s mind. He could see its fear, its confusion, its anger. It dove at him again. Jay dodged forward, again grabbing the eels face with one hand and its tail with the other. This time its skin felt different, slightly drier, slightly grippier. Again, the eel squirmed its way out of Jay''s hands, but it took at least three seconds this time. Jay wiped off his hands again. He knew he could catch it. In twenty-five fights in the boxing ring, and one in the coliseum, Jay had only been the stronger fighter a handful of times. He almost didn¡¯t know what it felt like. Almost. Because he definitely knew it right now. The eel¡¯s slimy coat was the only thing that let it escape, and with each attempt Jay got rid of more and more of it. Jay''s lips twisted into a cruel sneer. The kind of maniacal grin reserved only for revenge. He didn¡¯t feel an ounce of guilt or sympathy for his opponent. Jay''s cold emotionless grey eyes locked onto the eel¡¯s. He didn¡¯t see malice anymore. He only saw desperation. Has an electric eel ever shocked itself before? Jay marched forward, arms outstretched, ready to end the fight. The eel squirmed, folding in on itself, becoming as small as possible. It didn¡¯t matter. Jay was inevitable. It darted to Jay''s side, but a lighting fast left was there to greet it in a far from loving embrace. Jay''s lead hand clamped on the eel like a vice, and his right soon followed. It thrashed against Jay''s grip, but it was hopeless. Jay''s fingers were entrenched in the eel¡¯s skin, his nails pierced its scales through pure brute force. He walked over to the nearest wall, refusing to let the eel slip from his hands. Jay didn¡¯t know whether the eel¡¯s electric shock would even activate when itself was at risk. But the best fighters always had contingencies. Even if they weren¡¯t the prettiest. The eel had all but given up on escaping Jay, only meekly flopping against his grip. Jay stopped walking, inches from the wall. He twisted left. He wound up, remembering his final punch against the underwater tendril. This wouldn¡¯t be that powerful, but Jay knew a way to make up for that. He twisted. Slamming his left hand, and the eels face, directly into the wall. Jay felt a tickle of electricity, but it was nothing like before. He wasn¡¯t done. He twisted again. Coiling like a spring. He slammed the eel into the wall again. And again. And again. And again. Jay didn¡¯t even think. He didn¡¯t need to. He just hit. Jay didn¡¯t stop until the only thing left of the eel¡¯s head was a red puddle at his feet. Jay dropped the remains of his opponent¡¯s body into the remains of his opponent¡¯s head. He silently made his way into the ring¡¯s centre and lay down. The tower could get fucked. The blue screens could get fucked. The storm sage could get absolutely fucked. After going through all that shit, Jay needed a fucking nap. Chapter 16: the Storm Sage ¡°Not a very picturesque finish. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll cut it Selena.¡± ¡°Oh, come on. The kid¡¯s only been here three days and you¡¯re already nitpicking. Did he show any interesting affinities?¡± ¡°Lightning. Although I think it¡¯s actually electricity. It¡¯s too early to be sure though. There¡¯s something else there too. Not many lightning harmonisers can brawl like that.¡± ¡°Too early to know his affinities, but not too early to say you don¡¯t think he¡¯ll cut it? Hmm.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t insu-¡± ¡°This better not be because he doesn¡¯t like poems.¡± ¡­ ¡°Yes, it¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t like fucking poems alright! But that¡¯s a perfectly valid reason to reject a student. He shuns the siren¡¯s song, and for that alone I''d rather not have him by my side. Lest his presence taint my poetic spirit.¡± ¡°Why are you always like this?¡± ¡­ ¡°He¡¯s waking up. Quick, practice time! Try to remove only the last minute or so. Sweep away our last words; they''re not for his ears to hear.¡±
The hardwood pressed into Jay''s cheekbone, his eyelids seemed glued shut, but he gradually mustered enough will to open them. He appeared to be in an office, if the office had been decorated by a kid who really loved boats. The floorboards were made of the same wood that coated tranquillity tower, the walls too. A kid who really loves boats and mahogany. Several portholes dotted the walls, each somehow showing a different view. All of them at sea. Shelves, lined with crystals of varying sizes and appearance lined the room. A woman with sky blue skin sat silently with her back to the wall, eyes closed in meditation and her navy hair tied above her head. Wearing a loose purple robe, she cradled an apple sized crystal in her lap. Her face reflected quiet contemplation. Jay wanted to ask her where he was, but instead he sat up silently, not wishing to disturb her. The crystal in her lap flashed periodically. It looked like a miniature storm cloud was trapped inside. His attention was drawn back to the pensive woman when her eyelids slowly opened. She didn¡¯t say a word as her eyes, yellow and cat like, ran over Jay. Her face still locked in neutrality. ¡°How did you find the test?¡± she said. She gently placed the crystal to one side. ¡°It was¡­ Something.¡± Jay said. Not wanting to go into a rant about how much it sucked to get electrocuted by a giant electric eel, or how tedious climbing towers over and over again was. If the mysterious woman sat in front of him was the storm sage, immediately complaining wasn¡¯t a good look. ¡°How did I do those things? I¡¯ve never been able to punch like that. Or see, or hear, or think like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re in the storm sage¡¯s domain. A powerful harmoniser¡¯s personal essence can bleed into others if, no offence, they aren¡¯t particularly strong. You borrowed some of his power to complete his tasks.¡± If that was what he could do just by using the sage¡¯s power, how powerful was the sage himself? ¡°I¡¯m Selena by the way, and you did well, regardless of whatever he¡¯s about to tell you.¡± BANG! Jay whipped his head to the side as a cloud of grey smoke began to billow from behind the desk. The sulphurous odour drew a fit of coughs from Jay''s lungs. Selena pulled a silk cloth from her pocket and held it over her mouth and nose. The smoke cloud swirled, eventually dissipating to reveal a stocky silhouette of a man stood still in a dramatic pose, eyes closed, his hand half covering his face. When the smoke fully cleared, Jay got a more detailed view of the figure that probably was the storm sage. He wasn¡¯t as tall as Jay, falling a couple inches short, but the storm sage had him convincingly beat in the width department. The barrel-chested man wore deep blue silk robes that looked strangely like a two-piece tracksuit. The sage¡¯s brilliant white beard covered a sun-speckled, coffee-brown face. It was immaculately oiled and styled with the moustache¡¯s corners curled into spirals. ¡°Rhymes and verses are the essence of a sailor''s song. They carry with them the winds of time and the pulse of the sea.¡± He said. His deep, booming voice echoed through the room and Jay felt the floor reverberate beneath him. The storm sage opened his eyelids, but no eyes met Jay''s own, just a starry expanse. As if the sage¡¯s eye sockets were portals to the night sky rather than mere houses for eyeballs. Jay sat, entranced, for a moment before he noticed the storm sage¡¯s smug smile. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Why did you come here kid? I don¡¯t think the path of the storm is for you.¡± Jay clenched his fist and tried to keep himself calm. After all he''d went through, he still wasn¡¯t enough? Did he not complete every task the sage had given him? Jay bit his tongue and tried to be polite. This might just be another test. ¡°I came here because I need to get stronger. I just got here, and I have to fight a Goldenback gorilla in five days. As I am now, I see no way to win. My home world had no concept of Harmony, essence, or anything like that. I need to learn. A friend told me I might have a storm affinity, she told me that I should come here to ask for guidance.¡± ¡°Hmm. It appears my reputation precedes me.¡± The storm sage said as he walked towards the desk. The folds on his tracksuit crashed like waves with every step. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll get some competition soon Selena.¡± Selena rolled her eyes but remained silent. The sage sat on the corner of the desk, it must have been very well made, as it didn¡¯t even budge when the heavy-set man pressed against it. He picked a marble up and tossed it into Jay''s lap. ¡°Watch over this, it¡¯s a replay of your test, I¡¯ve made a few comments. Come back to me in three weeks with your thoughts on it.¡± ¡°Three weeks! My fight¡¯s in five days! How does this help?¡± Jay shouted. Holding the marble in the air. ¡°Patience.¡± The sages voice didn¡¯t bounce around the room this time. It swallowed it. As if the very fabric of the universe bowed its head to the sage and waited. The walls didn¡¯t just vibrate. They quaked. Beneath the storm sage¡¯s pressure, the entire room trembled. The floorboards squeaked as Jay was pushed into them, buffeted by winds as he looked up at the sage. There was no anger in the sage¡¯s voice. No annoyance or disdain. Only pure authority. ¡°What is Harmony?¡± the sage asked. The winds calmed down, but the pressure remained. Digging into Jay, pinning him still. The storm sage¡¯s nebulous gaze bore into him. It let Jay know the question wasn¡¯t rhetorical. ¡°Finding one¡¯s place in the world and moulding the world in one¡¯s image.¡± Jay said. Regurgitating what he¡¯d learned mere hours earlier. ¡°Textbook. Inoffensive. But not incorrect. It¡¯ll do. Harmony is as you say, but it¡¯s so much more. It¡¯s infinitely more. Harmony is the Wind Whisperer, working at a ships helm, charting a course through the Shattered Spine¡¯s floating isles. It¡¯s the meditating young master, building his infinite peak to join the millions of giants he stands on the shoulders of. It¡¯s the Frontiersman, hunted by evolution, desperately daring to carve a modicum of tranquillity from the chaos-stricken paradise he calls home. ¡°It¡¯s the tapestry of the world, tying every single creature into existence together. It¡¯s the colour of life, bringing meaning to a meaningless existence. It¡¯s the eternal struggle of sapience, biting and clawing a space for yourself in this savage waste we call existence. Hoping to the heavens that your presence can possibly mean something. Anything.¡± Jay tried to hide his blank expression from the sage. He knew some of those words. But he had no idea what the storm sage was talking about. ¡°You have no idea what I¡¯m talking about. And that¡¯s okay. Because to you it doesn¡¯t matter. This is my window to the world. The Romantic sage that grew up in a Stormhaven whorehouse and sailed to every island in all the world¡¯s oceans before ending up right here in front of you Jay. ¡°A teacher can show you how to swing a sword, he can show you the steps you need to avoid impaling yourself. But can he ever teach you to fight? No. The only way to learn is through battle. You said it yourself, the first half of Harmony is ¡°finding your place in the world¡±. If I held your hand through that, then your place in the world would have my back covering half of it. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± Silence hung low and thick throughout the room. Jay rolled the storm sage¡¯s marble in his fingers as he pondered the old man¡¯s words. Hidden behind all the poetry, sassy text boxes and theatrics, Jay saw reason in the storm sage. Maybe he was just a good speaker, but it felt like he truly believed he couldn¡¯t, in good faith, train Jay. All the good faith in the universe wouldn¡¯t protect Jay from the wildly swinging limbs of a gorilla though. Jay needed something more concrete. ¡°You make a good point, and I¡¯m truly grateful for your insights. But all this long-term thinking is worthless if I die in that arena.¡± Jay said, almost pleading with the storm sage. ¡°I have a fight to the death with a gorilla in five days! I¡¯m just¡­ a guy. I can¡¯t shoot explosive fireballs from my hands, and if I swung a sword, I probably would impale myself. I need help.¡± Jay sheepishly awaited a response; he¡¯d laid it all out on the table, now his fate rested in the storm sage¡¯s hands. The sage stood resolute, unmoved by Jay¡¯s words. Jay''s head sunk, but a slight cough from Selena made him look her way. ¡°Most people do receive guidance or follow a mentor, but most people don¡¯t win their debut as a massive underdog. Most people don¡¯t fight a Goldenback gorilla for their second fight. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re like most people Jay. I don¡¯t think you should even try to be.¡± Jay sat in contemplative silence. He knew the gorilla would be tough based on Akira and Lyra¡¯s reactions, but he hadn¡¯t thought of it this way. Maybe he was only matched up against one because the coliseum thought he could win? The sounds of the storm sage rummaging inside the desk pulled Jay out of his thoughts. The sage pulled out a pen and paper and started writing. ¡°That was magnificent Selena! You¡¯re a natural. I knew I made the right choice with you!¡± ¡°You can record your memories at will. Why are you writing it down on a piece of paper?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the Romance in that? A true poet yearns to see his words immortalized in ink.¡± Jay reeled at the sudden tone shift. Sure, this conversation was deathly important to him, but he was probably just another E grade scrub seeking guidance to these two. The storm sage winked at Jay through his starlight eyes. ¡°Watch the replay kid, there''s a lot to learn from it. Come back in three weeks and show me what you¡¯ve learned.¡± He snapped his fingers and before Jay could even respond he was outside the tower again. His backpack sat in front of him. Inside were a set of silk tracksuit robes, identical to the storm sage¡¯s, except in red. Red¡¯s your colour kid, take these! If you come here wearing Flaming Tomb clothes again, I¡¯ll feed you to the eel¡¯s big brother. See you in three weeks!
¡°Do you think he¡¯ll win?¡± ¡°Hmm, not sure. He looked like a madman against the eel. Did he even use essence in that fight?¡± ¡°He did, you just didn¡¯t pick up on it because he wasn¡¯t using it through me.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡­ ¡°There''s a storm brewing around that kid. I¡¯m worried. But I¡¯m not sure if I should be worried for him, or worried for everyone else.¡± Chapter 17: Reflection Jay had plenty of time to reflect on the storm sage''s words during the long journey back to the coliseum. He understood where the sage was coming from, and he agreed it would be better if he learned on his own. But that didn¡¯t change the fact that he went to the sage simply to learn and got outright rejected and gained nothing. Well, nothing except the marble rolling about in his palm. What¡¯s the deal with crystals storing information in this place anyway? Jay had been neglecting his list for a while. He¡¯d been focused on building a relationship with Akira and Lyra and even more focused on not dying via everything the storm sage had thrown at him over the last few hours. Jay didn¡¯t draw too much from the sage¡¯s description of Harmony, other than that it was a task he had to undertake on his own, but he found the way the sage described it fascinating. Models, definitions, and diagrams dominated Akira''s explanation of essence. He approached it like a science. A mystery to uncover. With each technique he studied, another facet of Harmony would be revealed. Akira observed Harmony as a natural phenomenon, and he tried to cobble together the closest thing to an explanation he could. The storm sage approached Harmony as an art. He wasn¡¯t bothered with nailing down the specifics; he simply accepted them. The sage didn¡¯t try to explain essence, he took it for what it was and ran with it. He didn¡¯t break it down into its component elements, he measured it against the world it occupied and studied it in everything he observed. Maybe the disconnect derived from their personal differences. But then which one was true? Akira¡¯s rendition certainly sounded more believable to Jay, but was that just because they had more similar personalities? If you looked at the facts, then was the sage¡¯s way of thinking more correct? He was stronger, and after all wasn¡¯t that the way of the world. Jay reflected on the storm sage¡¯s other words. Regardless of his personal view of essence, Jay clearly saw a wise man behind the speeches. The sage mentioned Wind Whisperers, young masters, and Frontiersmen. Jay didn¡¯t know who these people were, but he guessed they were subsets of harmonisers. Would they not have different opinions to both Akira and the storm sage? Would they not have different lessons to teach? Should Jay seek them out for guidance? The horde of questions hurt to think about after a while. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be so bad if there were any answers in sight, but there weren¡¯t. Jay accepted his headache and stopped trying to make sense of it. In a haze of mysteries, there was one glaring certainty that loomed over Jay like a dark cloud. In five days, he was entering the coliseum with a Goldenback gorilla opposite him. No amount of philosophizing would change that. He was going to fight, and he needed to win. Waiting for him at the coliseum was the second-best fighter in his division, next to her was the only person he knew from Earth that had survived a coliseum fight. They might not know the secrets to essence and Harmony, but they knew how to survive, and that was more important right now. The countless pavilion statues cast long, hazy shadows under the lazy evening sun. The storm edging in on the island¡¯s south side hadn¡¯t made it to the centre yet, and Jay felt the evening chill set in as he made the final leg of his journey back to the viewing room. Hopefully some answers awaited him there.
Jay stood outside the viewing room. The door was left slightly ajar. By the sounds of it, they were watching previous Goldenback gorilla fights. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look too hopeful. Has he got much firepower?¡± Said Vega. Unsurprisingly, she sounded just as hungover as Akira did earlier. ¡°No, not really, that¡¯s why I sent him to the storm sage. Hopefully he¡¯ll get something there.¡± Lyra said, it didn¡¯t sound like she expected much. ¡°Why do you want to help this guy anyway? Haven¡¯t we got more important things to focus on right now?¡± Vega added. ¡°You should have seen him analyse my fight earlier. It was like he¡¯d seen it all before. If he can get past the first few fights, he¡¯ll be a useful guy to have along.¡± Lyra wasn¡¯t being entirely selfless, which was a good thing in Jay''s eyes. There was no such thing as someone with no ulterior motives, at least hers made sense and didn¡¯t hurt Jay. ¡°Are you sure he hadn¡¯t just seen the fight beforehand?¡± Jay chose this moment to walk in the room, deciding to end that line of reasoning before it got explored. It was a bit of an awkward entrance, Akira and the twins turned to greet him just as a gorilla dismembered a screaming gladiator on the projection behind them. ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± Akira asked. He paused the fight replay just as a huge spurt of blood erupted from the dead gladiator¡¯s torso.
Jay fully recounted his past few hours to the gang. Detailing everything, the underwater tentacle, the towers, the fight, and finally the conversation afterwards. ¡°Yep, sounds like a sage to me.¡± Vega said. She snapped her fingers, sending sparks skittering into the air. ¡°I went to see some guy called the tinder sage a while back, he made me sit for hours just snapping my fingers. Not too sure why.¡± ¡°Tinder sage?¡± ¡°Wanted to speed up my flame generation. He was the best person within half a week¡¯s travel.¡± ¡°Did you get anything useful out of him? All I got was this stupid marble.¡± Jay held up the storm sage¡¯s gift to him. Akira¡¯s jaw dropped, his eyes shot open. Lyra maintained her cool demeanour, but her twin¡¯s smirk and raised eyebrows told him enough. Wait, this thing¡¯s actually worth something? ¡°Woah! You didn¡¯t tell us he gave you one of those! You got a new outfit and a memory crystal. The dude must have loved you!¡± Akira said. He clambered out of his seat to get a closer look at the marble. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t speak so soon Jay.¡± Lyra said, pulling out a pair of sapphire marbles. ¡°A memory crystal from an expert can be a useful tool. I¡¯ve heard of undercover masters picking acolytes solely because they possess something like this. It proves someone is at least somewhat interested in you.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Jay initially thought that the storm sage and Selena didn¡¯t think much of him. Sure, they buttered him up with kind words about how he wasn¡¯t like most fighters. But then they unceremoniously dismissed him and told him not to come back for three weeks. Was that any way to treat a prospect you cared about? He couldn¡¯t make any assumptions though. The fight game was never simple, here even more so than Earth. Jay had a whole new set of rules to learn. ¡°From what you described, the thunder punch on the tentacle is your only way of generating enough power to damage the gorilla.¡± Akira said. ¡°You¡¯re not going to grab a hold of it and bash it into that wall like the eel. It seems like a relatively simple technique, so it shouldn¡¯t take much time to learn. Go over the crystal tomorrow and get as much practice in as possible. That¡¯s your win condition for the fight.¡± Vega stared at Akira silently. Her mouth almost cracked open, but she stayed quiet. ¡°Find out what the sage told you in the crystal.¡± Lyra said, drawing Jay''s attention back. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching some previous Goldenback fights at the coliseum. It doesn¡¯t look good, but it isn¡¯t hopeless.¡± ¡°Yeah... Thanks.¡± Jay looked at each of the three gladiators in front of him. ¡°Why are you helping me out so much? I get being nice to the new guy, and that I can help you too. But don¡¯t you guys also have to fight in a week?¡± Vega chuckled and gold flashed over her eyes. The dismembered gladiator behind her was replaced by a table in classic coliseum gold. There were over forty unknown names there, but Jay recognised a few.
Vega Twinstrike #1
Lyra Twinstrike #2
Akira Kurosawa #15
¡°This is the entrance list for the E Grade advancement tournament next month. Once you enter your visa gets frozen and you don¡¯t need to fight every week. It means people like me have more time to relax and people like Lyra have more time to stress.¡± ¡°It means, there''s less rush and we can focus on more meaningful preparation.¡± Lyra sighed. ¡°Anyone can enter but not everyone makes it into D grade alive. You have to be certain you¡¯ve got what it takes, otherwise there''s no point even entering.¡± The younger twin shot daggers at her sister¡¯s smirk. Jay stared at the marble in his hand. He was rank 973. The trio in front of him, although they seemed normal, were stratospheres above his power level. Yet the storm sage was probably stratospheres above them too. If all these people were willing to help, even just a little bit, Jay had to take everything he could. ¡°So where do I start?¡±
¡°Marvelling at my meticulous analysis, I see. A wise, welcoming, choice. Witness your wealth of weaknesses. But fear not; faint flickers of hope still froth forth for you.¡± Although Jay sat perfectly still, meditating in the corner of the training room Akira had taken him to, his concentration was almost broken by the internal sigh the sage¡¯s voice evoked. Jay watched his past self begin swimming towards the towers as if it was his own memory. It didn¡¯t feel too weird watching himself, Jay had analysed enough of his fights to get over that hump. The strange part was the occasional snarky comment that he didn¡¯t hear the first time around. Hearing the booming voice of the storm sage inside his head made it insanely hard to keep focus. ¡°I expanded my domain so that you may take advantage of my personal essence and use some of my power. This shortcut to essence manipulation only works when I will it, so don¡¯t get any ideas. It should help you when you learn on your own however.¡± It didn¡¯t look like past Jay was getting much help, floundering against the wind and waves, barely moving forward. Jay¡¯s helpless body sank underneath the surface. Jay shuddered just thinking about the giant tendril of darkness. Even from the sage¡¯s point of view, he couldn¡¯t see its source. ¡°Aww, come on R???''???l???y????e?????h?????t????a???n???? ????P????r????o?????t????e????c????t????o????r????? ???o????f???? ???t????h????e???? ????D???e???e?????p????! Don¡¯t bully the new kid!¡± Jay decided it would be better for his mental health if he ignored whatever the fuck the storm sage just said. He resolved never to go swimming near Tranquillity tower again and returned to the memory. Jay moved closer to his past self and the tentacle. He was winding up the final punch. The storm sage appeared beside him and walked over to past Jay; the memory slowed to a crawl as he entered the scene. ¡°Wait a second. Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be your memory, oh magnanimous storm sage? How is your beautiful form gracing my eyes once more? Please share but a sip from your fountain of knowledge.¡± He said, pausing for a reaction that Jay refused to give. ¡°The truth is¡­ I¡¯m just that good!¡± He said with a wink. ¡°But onto some analysis. I know you¡¯re begging for it. Here you channelled the essence of thunder to deliver a large amount of force after you hit our lovely leviathan friend. ¡°What is thunder? We need to know that to understand its essence. An artist such as I can see the heart and soul of thunder without devolving into such mundanity. But I¡¯ll give your plebian mind a quick explanation. ¡°Although it¡¯s a part of the storm, and arises when lightning strikes, thunder is a purely sonic phenomenon. It¡¯s just a large sound wave, and a sound wave is just periodic compression and expansion. In a storm, the lightning catalyses the cycle by applying enough heat to significantly expand the air around it, which then compresses the next layer of air and so on and so forth.¡± The weather science lesson was somewhat interesting, but it didn¡¯t exactly tell Jay how to recreate the punch. He didn¡¯t see the point in it. ¡°When you released your pent-up power, you compressed the water. That kickstarted the thunder wave. When you try to recreate this punch, make sure you focus on the cycle of compression and expansion. There lies the key to understanding thunder essence.¡± Right. Compression and expansion. Got it. Jay''s attention faded as the storm sage began to list off metaphors about thunder. Jay began to understand that the best way to get anything from the storm sage was to know when to stop listening. The old man was undeniably wise, but his alliteration would test even the most patient of saints. Jay''s speed and timing were his greatest assets as a fighter, but he feared that wouldn¡¯t be enough. He thought about what Akira said last night. If the thunder strike was his only way of damaging the gorilla, he needed to get to grips with it, and use it without the storm sage¡¯s domain propping him up.
Jay opened his eyes and stretched out the stiffness in his neck. After another night on Lyra¡¯s couch, he¡¯d gotten up first thing in the morning to train. There were only four days left to find a way to win. Although there were many training rooms dotted around the island, Akira had taken him to one inside the coliseum. Jay stood up, brushing sandy gravel off his new red robes. This training room was designed to mimic the feeling of being outside, the walls and ceiling almost looked like an overcast sky when Jay focused on anything else. No longer inside the sage¡¯s memory, Jay watched Akira begin a sort of kata in the middle of the room. He didn¡¯t move like any other swordsman Jay had ever seen; he didn¡¯t move like any other fighter Jay had ever seen. Akira often discarded his sword and practiced fighting invisible opponents without it. Some of his steps defied logic. Accelerating and decelerating rapidly with no apparent tells. Akira thrust his scabbard into the ground in front of him. He took a few steps back, blocking imaginary attacks as he retreated before holding his ground. He unleashed a horizontal swing. Jay could almost feel Akira''s opponents being bisected. Akira ran towards his sword¡¯s sheath. Three mammoth strides dug into the gravel. He hopped up, the last step falling on the end of his scabbard. Akira sprung into the air, simultaneously letting loose a rising slash as he accelerated upwards. He kept rising. Floating in the air for two, three, four seconds before landing as softly as a feather. He shook his sword off to the side. Jay was certain he saw blood fly off the blade, but he cleared his eyes and saw it was clean. Beads of sweat rolled their way down Akira''s temples. He looked more serious than Jay had ever seen him before. He turned to Jay. For a split-second Jay felt like an ant, quivering under the thumb of a sadistic giant. Akira''s kind smile returned, and Jay''s fear washed away. Gone, but not forgotten. ¡°You ready?¡± Chapter 18: Sparring Akira drew a large square in the gravel, digging two swords and two scabbards into the corners of the makeshift ring. He hung his kimono on one of the newly erected corner posts. Stretch marks covered Akira''s pale skin, and Jay could see where they came from. Akira packed an impressive amount of muscle on his compact frame, and none looked like it was for show. There was no water puffing out his muscles, each and every one looked dense and functional. ¡°Look but don¡¯t touch¡­ Or touch if you want, I don¡¯t mind!¡± Akira said. He went into a posing routine that he¡¯d clearly practiced in front of a mirror before. ¡°It¡¯s a shame about the stretch marks. The coliseum heals almost all injuries, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t have any scars, but it doesn¡¯t heal anything self-inflicted. Oh well.¡± Akira ended his posing and started jogging on the spot. ¡°Let¡¯s do something familiar to start, touch sparring. Three two-minute rounds. Full speed. No power. Just try your best to touch me.¡± ¡°Arrogant kid.¡± Jay muttered. He stood up and shook the stiffness from his thighs. Akira might know all about essence and Harmony, and he was definitely stronger than Jay. But Jay was a legitimate world class boxer. He wasn¡¯t gonna let some wannabe samurai talk to him like that. Jay threw his tracksuit top on the corner opposite Akira''s and started warming up. Sending some blood to his muscles and letting them know it was fight time. Once he was ready, Jay stepped into the ring and waved his opponent forward. Akira didn¡¯t hesitate. He charged in, instantly stopping just inside his range. Jay was used to close-range dogfights. It came with the territory of being undersized for the division. What he wasn¡¯t used to, was an opponent this quick. Jay fired out a pushing jab and backpedalled, creating some space to work in. He¡¯d gotten his body ready, but now he had to prepare his mind. And that meant throwing jabs and establishing his range. It was every opponent¡¯s job to stop this at all costs however, and Akira Joined the long list of people who had tried to ruin Jay¡¯s day with relentless aggression. Jay let off a few more stiff jabs, holding his arm out for a little longer than necessary. Even in a real fight, these weren¡¯t meant to hurt your opponent, but every touch meant more information for Jay''s database. He¡¯d already started gathering pieces, could he crack the puzzle in front of him within the next six minutes? Akira clearly had very little boxing experience but a wealth of talent. He closed the distance in a southpaw stance, leading with his right hand. This wouldn¡¯t normally be a big issue, more of an oddity, but he was fighting a fighter with much better footwork. Sometimes it didn¡¯t matter how fast your feet were, if you put them in the wrong position, your opponent would tie them in knots. Jay circled left, behind Akira''s back. If Akira wanted to hit him now, he¡¯d have to break his spine. Jay tapped Akira''s liver and attempted to push his opponent off. This is what happens when you get cocky kid. Jay expected to shove his opponent away, establishing control of the ring. But pushing against Akira felt like leaning against a mountain. He wouldn¡¯t even budge. Instead, Jay launched backwards, pushing himself out of the ring. Jay stepped back into the gravel square, wondering what the hell just happened. Akira was a heavy guy but, even with all his muscle, Jay was simply bigger. How had he brushed him off so easily? Akira didn¡¯t give Jay much time to think though, this time advancing in an orthodox stance while peppering Jay with jabs to the head and body. Outmuscling Akira wasn¡¯t going to work, and to save his pride Jay didn¡¯t want to even try outpacing him. Guess that leaves outthinking then. Jay dropped his guard, firing flickering jabs in twos and threes. He knew Akira would decide to rush him at some point, so Jay made that decision easier. By consciously giving up an opening, he¡¯d remove Akira¡¯s element of surprise. Sure enough, in one of the lulls after a triplet, Akira fell for it. Jay had prepared a chopping right, but his opponent was just too fast. Both fighters landed at the same time. If this had been a real fight, there would have been a pause as they reeled over the hits they¡¯d just taken. But they tapped each other, and Akira just kept coming. Head down, Akira barraged Jay¡¯s body, daring Jay to lower his arms. Jay bit, but only to trick his opponent. Only to make Akira''s focus, and his chin, float upwards. Jay struck as soon as his opponent started to swing. Since his arms were already down, Jay unleashed a left smash at his opponent. Throwing a smash was the kind of thing that would get you a bollocking as an amateur. Half-hook, half-uppercut, and almost always thrown off-balance, the smash was an incredibly hard punch to get power behind. It was also one of the most effective ways to completely bypass your opponent¡¯s guard. Donovan Razor Ruddock created the smash because he couldn¡¯t hit his opponents cleanly. He was a power puncher that only needed one clean hit to win a fight. Since the smash¡¯s angle could change so rapidly, it made it almost impossible to defend. Jay was far from a power puncher, so he found a different use for the smash. In Jay¡¯s hands, it was a more of a mental weapon than a physical one. Jay unquestionably had the fastest left in the heavyweight division. When his opponents saw him lean out and load up the smash, they knew they were getting hit. It didn¡¯t matter which direction they blocked. Jay would get around their guard. Every. Single. Time. It didn¡¯t matter if Jay was the weakest puncher in the heavyweight division, heavyweight fists fucking hurt. When any hit could be your last, an accurate opponent was a heavyweight¡¯s worse nightmare. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He didn¡¯t even need to use the smash often, the threat it carried affected his opponents enough to make his stronger weapons more effective. Instead of crashing into Akira''s jaw, Jay''s fist opened. He grabbed Akira''s face and twisted it to the side before spinning into the newly created blind spot. World level boxing was a high stakes chess match. Jay was having fun stretching his tactical muscles for the first time since... Well, since dying. Jay banished the rather morbid thought from his mind and faced his opponent again. Akira stood still in the ring¡¯s centre. In less than two minutes, Akira had figured out what took most of Jay''s opponents three rounds. No matter how fast you rushed in, you couldn¡¯t beat Jay in a close-range fight. Jay threw a few jabs that he knew wouldn¡¯t land. He wanted to see if Akira would bite, but Jay got no response. It seemed he¡¯d worked out his range. Akira remained patient, standing still and watching Jay''s fingertips stop right before his eyes. When Jay threw one that would have landed, it was nullified completely. Akira swatted the punch away with little more than a flick of his wrist. Jay''s left arm flew off to the side. His shoulder slammed against its socket. The forceful swing pushed Jay''s tendons to their limits as they desperately clung onto his flailing arm. So much for no power. But Jay didn¡¯t have time to worry about his body though. His opponent was moving forward, and he only had half his guard to block with. Akira held both hands up as he entered his range. He wasn¡¯t committing to one direction. He was waiting for Jay to choose for him. Jay couldn¡¯t step back, it would only delay the inevitable and he would eventually leave the ring. He absolutely couldn¡¯t go left. His guard there was non-existent, and Akira would land a direct hit. That only left right. But Akira knew this, he was already shifting his feet in that direction. That only left forwards. Jay ducked in, leaning on his lead left foot. Meeting his opponents charge. Akira saw him and began to wind up an uppercut. Jay''s face kept moving closer to his opponent¡¯s fist. But Akira wasn¡¯t the only one charging up an attack. With all his focus on landing the uppercut, Akira''s only had eyes for Jay''s jaw. Jay knew this, so he attacked at the same time. Jay''s trailing overhand right flew, completely out of his opponent¡¯s eyesight but directly towards his head. Both punches landed. Jay felt Akira''s palm jolt his chin milliseconds before his own fingertips made contact. It always felt weird moving with such intensity while holding back power, but it was the best way to train your brain without risking an injury. Akira stepped back, face beaming with a smile almost as big as Jay''s own. ¡°You¡¯re frickin¡¯ good man.¡± Akira said, slumping to the ground and catching his breath. ¡°Says you!¡± Jay replied, ¡°Nice trap at the end, you caught me off guard with that one.¡± ¡°Thanks, but something felt off about it and I¡¯m not sure why.¡± Jay raised an eyebrow in surprise as he looked down at Akira. Impressive. ¡°Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d notice that. You¡¯re right. It was a good trap, but it might not have worked in a real fight. Since I leaned in a lot, I mitigated a lot of your uppercut¡¯s power, my overhand would¡¯ve probably done more damage depending on how aware you were of it.¡± Jay could almost hear the gears turning in Akira''s head as he mentally replayed the situation. The kid was getting used to his style, and Jay would have to go deeper into his bag of tricks for the next two rounds. Regardless, that was the most fun two minutes of Jay''s new life as a gladiator. Akira''s superior athleticism made him a great training partner, Jay couldn¡¯t rely on just his speed while sparring, he had to actually think. The next two rounds were more of the same. Akira pushed Jay to his limits, using his athleticism to force out every technique and tactic Jay knew. Boxing was tough on both the body and the mind. Sweat rolled down Jay''s temples and he could feel his lungs heaving inside his chest. But his mind was sharper than ever. By the end of the third round, he was exploiting weaknesses in Akira''s style that he hadn¡¯t even spotted in the first. Three hard-fought rounds told Jay that, although he wasn¡¯t an experienced boxer, Akira was a damn good fighter. He never made the same mistake twice and fought more cerebrally than almost all of Jay''s sparring partners from earth. ¡°When you¡¯re trying to learn a new technique, it can be helpful to warm up by doing something familiar.¡± Said Akira, hand resting on one of the corner scabbards. ¡°It grounds you and quietens down any internal doubt. You need to clear your mind of doubt before you even try and manipulate essence. If you can¡¯t control your emotions, how can you expect to control lightning, or fire, or anything else? I usually read, but I thought this might be more your speed.¡± Akira¡¯s gentle breaths heavily contrasted Jay¡¯s panting. He seemed nowhere near as tired as Jay, who had a hunch his friend was probably holding back during their spar. Fucking monster, I guess that¡¯s what rank fifteen looks like. ¡°When you¡¯re closer to Harmony, it can actually be detrimental to warm up like this. It entrenches preconceptions of your personal essence and you become less malleable to the world. But you don¡¯t need to worry about that right now.¡± Jay nodded, grateful for the tip and the explanation. ¡°That makes sense. But how do I get from this to turning my punches into thunderclaps?¡± ¡°Eventually it¡¯ll become natural, but the first step is to form a link between yourself and thunder. This is the Venn diagram overlap that I told you about before.¡± Akira pulled out a coin and flicked it towards Jay''s face. The coin shot through the air. Stopping mid-air, inches from Jay''s eyes. The coin slowly began to spin on its edge, before accelerating rapidly. It looked like a frisbee, hovering in the air. Jay''s focus shifted from the coin to its master. Akira, intensely focused on the coin, twirled his finger in a circle. ¡°It¡¯s a very precise movement. Keeping the coin still but constantly rotating. Yet if I visualise the iron in my blood spinning when I move my finger, it makes it way easier. Why? Because the two are similar. The movement of my blood is part of my personal essence. It¡¯s me. There lies the overlap, my magnetic blood. And the magnetism spinning the coin. By focusing on the moving iron in my finger, I can more easily use my power over magnetism to move the coin. Get it?¡± Akira pointed to his other palm and the coin returned to him. He seemed rather proud of his explanation. ¡°Now, I chose that example because I think something physical will work best for you. But if you attack the problem more holistically, there¡¯s many ways to create an overlap. For example, if you view magnetism as the force that draws things together, instead of the physical force created by the alignment of electrons within a material, a different overlap would be better. Perhaps something like how people are inherently drawn to your personality. I imagine the storm sage would use a method similar to this. It entirely depends on the individual.¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about Akira''s teaching style. He clearly cared about Harmony greatly, and put a lot of thought in his explanations, but it felt like he was packing an hour¡¯s worth of information into a minute long paragraph. Training with Akira was like being in science class all over again, although Jay could take in the information, he didn¡¯t learn how to use it. Jay needed to see what he was talking about, he needed to feel the essence, rather than just hear about it. But that would come with time, and Jay needed to extract everything he could from the man in front of him. Besides, Akira¡¯s explanations were far more palatable than the sage¡¯s. They had just the right level of alliteration in them. None. ¡°I¡¯ll be sat by the wall if you need me. I¡¯m going to go over that spar again and see if I can use any of those tricks in a real fight.¡± It looked like they were both squeezing every drop of knowledge they could out of each other. Jay could hardly blame Akira though, he had made some time to teach him. If Jay had a tournament in a month, he''d be training every chance he got. Jay stood alone in the ring. No more lessons, no more tips. Time to get to work. Chapter 19: the Essence of Thunder Jay paced back and forth inside the makeshift ring. The storm sage had said to focus on compression and expansion. Akira said to relate that to something he knew. The problem was how. Jay took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air before forcing it out. After ten minutes of blanking on a solution, Jay noticed the motion of his breathing. As he breathed in, his lungs expanded, stretching out to let in as much oxygen as possible. Expansion. Then they all squeezed back, expunging the carbon dioxide from his body. His lungs now far smaller than half a second before. Compression. Breathing seemed nothing like thunder. But blood and magnetism were an even stranger pair, and that worked for Akira. Jay sat. He closed his eyes. Solely focusing on the motion of his lungs. Expansion. Compression. Expansion. Compression. He delved deeper into the mechanics of breathing, exploring how each movement contributed to the whole process. Subconscious processes rose to the surface. Jay had never thought to fully control his breathing mechanics, his lungs did pretty well on their own. But now he focused on the whole chain of command. The heart was ever-present. Its metronomic pulse providing stability and certainty to the rest of the system. But his other muscles also followed a rhythm of their own. Jay''s intercostal muscles never moved on their own, they didn¡¯t need to. His diaphragm was the same. What use was drawing air into the lungs if there was barely any space for it? They had to work together. Both muscles needed to contribute to the cycle of expansion and compression. Jay''s ribcage expanded, creating space for his lungs. His diaphragm responded, contracting and making even more space. The vacuum forced air into Jay''s lungs, into his blood. But then they had to go back. It was a cycle after all. Jay''s chest collapsed on his lungs. Forcing the air, and all the carbon dioxide stored within it, out of his body. It was all a cycle. Compression. Expansion. Compression. Expansion. Once Jay felt in tune with his own cycle. He tried to relate this to the cycle of thunder. Trying to create a thunderclap was a dangerous thing. Last time Jay did it, the explosion sent him soaring in the air. It was even more dangerous when all your focus was right in the middle of your torso. Jay''s muscles might be able to handle another explosion. His squishy organs¡­ Probably less likely. The worry infiltrated Jay''s mind, and once it got there it stuck. He couldn¡¯t go five breaths without imagining his insides spread out across every inch of the training room. The only wall spared from the brutal red paintjob would be the one with Akira''s horrified silhouette on it. Maybe I¡¯ll try something else.
Jay got up and started pacing again. Why didn¡¯t the breathing work? Was it because he was afraid? Or was it too far from the true nature of thunder? Although it contained the cycle of expansion and contraction, it lacked explosiveness. It didn¡¯t fully match. Giving up on the breathing, Jay looked for something else. He felt he was on the right tracks with breathing. Jay was a boxer, not a scholar. He didn¡¯t have the conceptualization of a scientist like Akira, nor did he have the rhetorical flexibility of a poet like the storm sage. But for the last seventeen years he¡¯d trained his body into a well-oiled machine. Focusing on something like the iron in his blood was never gonna work for Jay. He needed something he knew, something concrete, and there was nothing, even boxing, that Jay knew better than his own body. People often called athletes stupid. People were often right, but not entirely. The reality was that athletes cultivated a completely different type of intelligence to what most people viewed as ¡°intelligence¡±. Most people saw intelligence as a great scientist, inferring the tiniest details from an equation and solving the mysteries of the universe. Or a novelist, intricately placing words on a page to delicately draw emotions from the minds of their readers. But a great athlete''s intelligence was focused almost entirely inwards. An athlete precisely understood the capabilities of their body, a great athlete knew the exact commands to draw every drop of potential from it. Coach had always stressed the importance of bodily intelligence. Jay didn¡¯t get it initially, he just wanted to punch faster. But eventually he saw its importance. A fighter who didn¡¯t know their body was like a general that didn¡¯t know their army. Doomed to failure. ¡°If you really think about it. Your muscles are just a bunch of tiny pistons. Each one can only expand and contract. It¡¯s when you combine them, that you can do the fancy stuff. But to do that, you need to know each muscle personally.¡± Jay replayed Coach¡¯s words in his mind. Were his muscles the link that he was looking for? Breathing had the cyclic nature, but it was missing something. The ferocity. The pace. The pure force that came from pushing air so hard that a shockwave echoed for miles after. Jay opened his eyes and raised his hand to his chest. He felt his bicep contract as his arm folded. He threw a jab. Tension released from his bicep as his arm straightened. The tension returned when he pulled his fist back. Pent up force, itching to be set free. With this new perspective, Jay started moving around instead of sitting and breathing. He looked for the simultaneous expansion and contraction in each step he took. Left leg forward. Compress the quad. Now there¡¯s room for the hamstring to extend. Right leg has to tense. It¡¯s supporting the full body weight until the left step finishes. Left foot hits the floor. Right leg relaxes. Slightly. Left arm raises, hand touching the chest. Shoulders need to hold tight to keep it up. Bicep is fully compressed. Throw the jab. Chest: Push. Contract. Tricep: Push. Contract. Bicep: Release. Expand Core: Brace. Contract This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Back: Relax. Expand Jay danced around the ring. Eyes closed, intensely focused on every movement. Each movement was a cycle in and of itself. For one thing to expand, another must contract. But each contraction didn¡¯t just support other movements, it readied itself. Storing energy for the next burst. Jay felt the individual beads of sweat extrude from his pores, supremely aware of every aspect of his body. He only made simple movements, but the focus required to consciously track every muscle wore out Jay''s mind. With every motion, Jay focused more on each individual compression and expansion. There were no shockwaves yet. But when he threw a big punch, Jay felt reverberations in his muscles. Echoes bouncing inside his body. Jay''s eyes flicked open. A glass bottle arced towards him. Shoulder contracts, pulling the arm up. Tricep expands, making space. Forearm contracts, pulling the fingers open. He caught the bottle. ¡°Nice interpretive dance you got there; you should probably take a break though. Are you any closer?¡± Akira said. ¡°Getting there. But not yet. I can keep going though.¡± ¡°I know you can. But should you?¡± Jay took a swig and poured some water over his head. He was getting closer to creating his first thunder wave. Jay didn¡¯t need a break right now. He needed a final push to get over the hump. ¡°How about you? Did you learn anything from the sparring session?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± Akira said, scratching his forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll need to test it out though.¡± ¡°Round four? I think being in a fight might help me channel the thunder essence. I can tell I¡¯m close.¡± ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Akira ran out of the coliseum to try and find boxing gloves, or at least something close. Sparring to touch was fine, but it wasn¡¯t a fight. It wasn¡¯t even close. Contact, even at twenty or fifty percent, was necessary to develop useful habits. Jay would stick to the basics this fight. The simplest, most foundational movements. Each step, each punch, would be one he''d done millions of times before. To understand his overlap with thunder, he needed to understand himself as much as possible. That meant doing the things most familiar to him. When Akira returned, he threw a pair of blue gloves at Jay. ¡°You¡¯re giving me the blue pair?¡± Jay said, letting the gloves fall to the floor. ¡°Oh. Maybe I just don¡¯t know enough about boxing.¡± Akira said in the least convincing voice possible. ¡°I thought the higher ranked fighter got the red gloves. I¡¯m rank fifteen, and you¡¯re¡­ Not.¡± ¡°Point taken. Prick.¡± Jay couldn¡¯t wait to knock the shit eating grin off his opponent¡¯s face. Akira had got him with that one. Jay forced himself to stop thinking of what he¡¯d do the second he overtook Akira in the rankings. Akira was in another universe to him right now. He had to focus on the task at hand. He had a thunderclap to make. Jay tightened his rustic padded gloves and redrew the lines in the gravel. Refamiliarizing himself with the ring. Jay walked into his corner, the blue corner, and waved Akira over. He¡¯d already warmed up. Akira didn¡¯t rush in this time, so Jay took the initiative. He raised his gloves to his temples, the first thing you learned inside a boxing gym. He slid his left foot forward slightly, before following with his right. The second thing you learned inside a boxing gym. Akira stood still, too still, he wasn¡¯t bouncing on his feet or moving around the ring. Just standing there. Waiting for Jay to strike. Jay obliged, stepping just within range and jabbing. Jay''s left shot out like a bullet. There was no power behind it, its purpose was to make the opponent react and provide Jay with information. Akira effortlessly pawed the punch down, then brought his guard back up. He moved as little possible, daring Jay to try and find an opening. If there wasn¡¯t an opening, Jay would just have to make one. He kept jabbing, each time altering the angle slightly and analysing how Akira responded. Jay focused on compression and expansion with every punch. Hitting Akira was good, great even, but Jay had a more important goal. He noted the variations in each jab, the different preparations needed for each one. The jab might be the most cyclic, methodical attack in all of fighting. To start, Jay''s left arm was entirely compressed, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Then he released it. It didn¡¯t matter if there was an opening or not. The jab attacked relentlessly. All the tension releasing into one stiff punch. Whether the fist landed, got blocked, or missed completely didn¡¯t matter. After each attempt it returned, recompressed, and prepared to go again. Jay kept jabbing. Inside his range but, more importantly, outside his opponent¡¯s. Akira didn¡¯t give him much, but Jay didn¡¯t mind. Each punch brought him closer to the essence of thunder. A twitch in his opponent¡¯s thigh let Jay know Akira was tired of waiting. Akira slipped outside one of Jay''s jabs, using Jay''s own arm to block his vision. He switched stances, leading with his right foot, and twisting his wide hook upwards into Jay''s ribcage. Jay couldn¡¯t block fast enough. He accepted the hit, but not without giving one back. Jay winced as Akira smashed his ribs, they weren¡¯t tapping each other anymore. Jay countered with a right, but it fizzed against Akira¡¯s blocking red glove. Was that¡­ Akira continued pushing, refusing to take a step back. He constantly switched between orthodox and southpaw, making it almost impossible for Jay to get a read on him. Fighting in a no-rules coliseum was bound to lead to a boxing style unconstrained by convention, but Akira made it work. Jay continued to throw his jab out, but he no longer felt the essence of thunder in his limp punches. Perhaps power was a bigger part of thunder essence than he first thought. Yes, it was cyclic, but that missed a key part. Force. Every sound wave was made of compression and expansion. Not every sound was a thunderclap. Thunder was only born from the immense power of a lightning bolt. If Jay wanted to recreate it, he¡¯d need power too. Jay''s right fist called out to him. He¡¯d barely used it this fight. This was its moment. Jay kept backpedalling, steering Akira around the ring, hunting for his chance. Akira didn¡¯t make it easy though. His chameleon-like stance switching left a ton of openings for Jay to exploit, but it slammed them shut moments later. Ambidextrous switch-hitters were rare, and most didn¡¯t blend their stances half as well as Akira did. He shifted his weight seamlessly, seeming light as a feather when he stepped in before planting his foot with such force the ground shook. But that strength was also a weakness. A quick entrance was great because it brought you closer to your opponent. But it was also terrible because it brought you closer to your opponent. It all depended on who had the faster fists. Jay knew Akira was going for a smash from the southpaw stance, he¡¯d already landed it once this fight and it was tailor made for his unorthodox style. That¡¯s what he¡¯d aim for. Jay had a target. Now he just needed to set the trap and lay the bait. Right fist cocked and ready to fire. Jay retreated with larger steps than before. This small adjustment had two purposes. Firstly, it slowed Jay down, giving Akira more opportunities to drive in. More opportunities to take the bait. Secondly, it put more weight on Jay''s back foot. If you trained enough, you could get pretty strong arms. But there¡¯s a reason the glutes are the biggest muscle in the body. A reason the average person¡¯s legs are four times stronger than their arms. No amount of training can equal supporting the weight of your body every time you stood up. There was also a reason the right straight was generally the most powerful punch a human could throw. It could utilise the legs more than any other punch. More weight on your back leg meant you could transfer more power to your back fist. It meant you could transfer more power to your opponent¡¯s face too. Jay was betting it all on one punch, he had to. Compression and expansion were fine, but thunder needed raw power too. Jay waited until his opponent switched to southpaw before he let out a weak stretching jab, overextending his shoulder. Jay took a big step back, compressing his right leg. Akira took the bait. Stepping in deep with his right foot. Jay drew his left arm back. The entirety of his weight pressed into the gravel underneath his right foot. He began to push. The ball of Jay''s foot twisted. Directly facing his target. Every string of muscle in Jay''s leg pushed down. Grinding the earth into dust. Now that he''d set it up, Jay''s right fist awoke from its slumber. Over a hundred kilos of heavyweight boxer pushed the earth. The earth pushed back. Jay''s arm extended like a piston, unleashing all his strength in only one dimension. Akira¡¯s raised gloves guarded his head, so Jay¡¯s right fist trained in on his ribcage. And nothing was there to stop it. Chapter 20: Hawker’s The padding connected first. Unsurprisingly, it compressed. The force of the punch simply too much. Jay''s knuckles hit next. They compressed too. Raw power forcing the bones in his hand closer together. The punch didn¡¯t knock Akira away. It kept moving, kept pushing, kept compressing. Until it didn¡¯t. Light travels faster than sound. So Jay saw his fist begin to snap sideways before the sonic boom assaulted his eardrums. The thunderclap blasted Jay¡¯s arm aside. It slammed into his torso, forcing him to backpedal just to stay standing. Jay looked at the shredded glove on his right fist. Half in horror, half in elation. Everything he¡¯d done in the storm sage¡¯s trials had a huge asterisk next to it. It was all done with the sage¡¯s help. This was fucking real. A cough interrupted Jay''s daydream. He snapped out of it to see Akira, one knee on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. A deep gorge in the gravel stretched several metres from where the punch landed to where he now knelt. ¡°Nice one! The gorilla won¡¯t know what hit him.¡± Akira said through a forced, bloody grimace. ¡°Shit! Are you okay?¡± Getting hit was a part of sparring, a part you just have to suck up and accept. Even if someone tried to hold back, there was always a chance you got hit with a good one. There was a difference, however, between a good one and the fucking bomb that Jay had just detonated right in Akira''s face. Akira assured Jay he was okay, before taking a seat and finishing off the remainder of his water. Jay couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad. His friend had taken a huge hit for his sake. But Jay was a fighter at heart. Nothing could dampen his excitement after finally recreating the thunder punch. He''d taken the first baby steps into the realm of Harmony. The first steps to winning his second fight. The dull throbbing in his right shoulder reminded Jay that he still had a long way to go. He tried to shadow box, but his limp punches felt weak and lethargic. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna throw another punch like that today.¡± Akira said, sitting cross legged as the colour returned to his face. ¡°If you¡¯re not familiar with an essence, it takes a lot to channel it. You might not feel tired right now, but it¡¯ll hit you eventually since it was your first time properly channelling thunder. Manipulating essence takes a toll on you mentally and physically. Think of it like lifting weights with muscles you¡¯ve never used before. You might be capable of it, but it comes at a cost.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it? I only have one punch worth of thunder?¡± Jay said. He thought nothing could bring him down from the high of landing the punch. But if he only had one shot? Only one attempt at hitting the gorilla made the fight look a lot less winnable. ¡°One punch isn¡¯t a lot, but yeah. That¡¯s all you have right now. The more familiar you are with thunder, the easier it is to manipulate it. Also, the more you practice, the more malleable your personal essence becomes. Remember the Venn diagram? Getting a better overlap means you can do more with that essence before you fatigue. Like having a stronger muscle, or whatever makes sense to you. The concept of thunder is static. You can¡¯t change that. But through harmonising you can do two things to increase the overlap. ¡°First, you can change your personal essence. This doesn¡¯t mean losing what makes you, you. Rather the opposite. Understanding yourself more grants you better control over your personal essence. Imagine you can morph your personal essence circle into a blob so more of it overlaps with the thunder circle. ¡°Secondly you can find a more specific worldly essence. If you resonate more with the sound of thunder than just thunder. Then you can channel sound of thunder essence, rather than just thunder essence. Creating a better overlap. This is a lot easier said than done though. Understanding a whole concept is far easier than understanding a very specific part of it.¡± Jay reckoned he¡¯d have a PhD in Venn diagrams by the end of his first fight. It was beginning to get on his nerves. If Jay ever found out that instead of dying Mr. Venn, or whatever his name was, got reincarnated into the coliseum he wasn¡¯t sure whether he¡¯d thank the man or throttle him. At least he wasn¡¯t limited to one punch forever. Jay worried about how to increase the amount though, how was he supposed to change his own personal essence within a few days? ¡°Since you¡¯re done for the day, and the headache you gave me isn¡¯t going anywhere. We could go to get you some gear for the fight. How many CP did you get from your debut?¡± Jay pulled up his profile, noticing a new row beneath his rankings.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 970
Offence 999
Defence 950
Strategy 904
Instinct 850
Vitality 989
Speed 793
CP 3010
¡°3010. Is that a lot?¡±¡± Akira squinted. Jay could see the confusion on his face. ¡°We¡¯re going shopping. Now.¡±
Everyone needs to eat. Everyone needs to shit. Everyone needs a shiny new helmet, you don¡¯t want a lucky potshot to get you in your next fight, do you? If Gambler¡¯s Avenue is known as a hotspot of shady institutions and even shadier financial practices. Hawker¡¯s Avenue is its older brother. At least this octant gives you chance to come out with a bargain though. For every 10 vials of snake oil and every 20 sacred swords, there lies a hidden diamond buried underneath. You just need to know where to look. This was the second time Akira¡¯s travel guide had mentioned Gamblers Avenue, and neither had been positive. Jay hoped his new friend didn¡¯t have a gambling problem. If the district was so present in Akira¡¯s mind, it had to be somewhat fun. Jay put it on his list for if he ever managed to squeeze a few seconds of free time. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Sights, sounds, and smells simultaneously assaulted Jay as soon as he exited the tram. While all other avenues had lines that reached the ocean, Hawkers did things differently. Barely a few minutes out from the coliseum, a bustling flea market greeted Jay. A sea of people scattered his focus. Hundreds of salesmen, each fighting tooth and nail for attention. Space usually reserved for tramlines was blanketed in multi-coloured tents, each inhabited by a shopkeeper either engaged in negotiation or shouting slogans to the masses. ¡°I can do 500, that¡¯s the lowest I can go.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, for an old friend. Can¡¯t you just do 495?¡± ¡°I can do 500, that¡¯s the lowest I can go.¡± ¡°My wares are the best in the business, you won¡¯t find another axe with this much life essence in all of Eterna¡­ What do you mean Verun¡¯s selling the same one! Yeah well, she¡¯s a fake islander. Can¡¯t trust anyone from those parts. Whole bunch of liars. I¡¯m telling you this right here is the best deal on the island.¡± ¡°Now this is a sword worth buying! I¡¯m tellin you right now buddy. While you were off getting your dick wet with Stormhaven whores, I was studying the blade. This right here is the real deal.¡± ¡°Bullshit¡­ you couldn¡¯t tell a broadsword from a cheeseboard. Name your price and I¡¯ll give you half.¡± Akira charged headfirst into the crowd, dragging Jay into the sea of people. Jay expected his friend to barrel through the crowd, based off the strength he showed earlier, but the masses here gave as good as they got. An errant elbow dug into Jay''s ribs. When he tried to see who hit him, another elbow came from the opposite side. Jay never had to worry about crowds on earth, being a heavyweight boxer usually made people steer clear. If anyone did ever bump into him, a stiff glare was usually enough to get an apology. The people here didn¡¯t give a fuck. Height and muscles didn¡¯t mean much on an island when anyone could turn their punches into thunderclaps. Akira cut his way through the stalls like a man with minutes left to live and seconds to buy a cure. He didn¡¯t use strength to push through the crowds, but he spotted the tiniest of gaps and slipped through them. The gaps closed by the time the trailing Jay followed him though, and Jay earned a few more elbows for his friend¡¯s trouble. Akira sometimes stopped to speak to a vendor, heavily questioning some sellers but sparing others little more than a glance. Occasionally he would stop and ask Jay a question. ¡°Familiarity, or power. Which is more important?¡± ¡°Are you exclusive to red or do you wear other colours too?¡± As soon as Jay answered, he would go right back on the hunt. Thirty minutes of following, losing, finding, losing again, and eventually re-finding Akira went by. Eventually, Akira pointed at a quiet spot, relatively free from the crowds. And the pair walked out. ¡°I¡¯ve compiled a list of everything that¡¯s worth looking at in there. Sorry I rushed you about, next time we can go to a more regular shop, or an auction house. But I like it here more. I like the chaos, and it¡¯s the best place on the island for a bargain. If you don¡¯t know where to look, you can get tricked into buying a load of crap though.¡± Jay understood what he meant. While he wouldn¡¯t usually fall for a scam, Jay only knew the barebones of Harmony. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d get tricked into buying something useless, but without knowing which things were worth buying, Jay would have probably walked out of the market with nothing but a pair of tired feet to show for it. A shimmer of gold flashed across Akira''s eyes and a table appeared in front of Jay.
Item Estimated Price
War paint of focus 500 CP
Beads of resilience 700 CP
Lightning in a bottle 1200 CP
Gale-forged dagger 2700 CP
Conquerors fists 1800 CP
Soul ripper 3000 CP
Quick fit boots 1500 CP
Cape of entanglement 800 CP
Jay looked over the list. After a quick skim through the small descriptions displayed when Jay looked over each item, it seemed like they fell into three categories. The first three looked like training aids, although they could be used in a fight. The war paint of focus granted increased perception for an hour, followed by a debilitating headache for the next two. It was a one-time use item, but if it made the difference between winning and dying. It could be worth it. The beads of resilience functioned a lot like training weights. If wrapped around a body part, they¡¯d make it ten times heavier. A lot of athletes liked this kind of training, but Jay had never found it too useful. The bodily motion would be different with the weight attached. If you got too used to moving with the weights, your form without them would get sloppy. The third item intrigued Jay, but he didn¡¯t know what it was for. Poring over the description didn¡¯t help much either. Lightning in a bottle: Captured from the heart of a ferocious storm, this bolt of pure electricity holds immense power. Its vibrant arcs dance within the glass confines, yearning for release yet held in perpetual stasis. A paradox of contained chaos. Jay turned to Akira to ask why he¡¯d recommended it. ¡°I think it¡¯ll help you with understanding lightning essence. Usually, the people who channel lightning are long-range fighters who shoot it at their opponents. This wouldn¡¯t be as useful to them, but since you¡¯re most likely gonna be a short-range fighter using lightning to increase mobility, you might be able to glean some information from its movement. ¡°If you¡¯re only gonna buy one thing, buy this. I don¡¯t know how useful it¡¯ll be in the immediate future, but I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯ll find a better focus for meditating on lightning essence. Ever. I can only imagine it¡¯s so cheap because its being sold as a novelty, not many people will be able to actually use it, but who knows? It might not be here tomorrow.¡± With an appraisal like that, how couldn¡¯t Jay buy it? He struggled to see how Akira called it cheap however. The bottle cost almost forty percent of Jay''s budget. Jay noted Akira''s recommendation and moved onto the next three items. These were the big boys, each costing over half his total contribution points. Jay took his time looking each one over. Gale-forged dagger: A knife intertwined with the name of the wind. This dagger appears just to be a hilt, yet when the activation word is uttered a blade of pure wind is formed. Cutting through metal with ease with the power of a hurricane, this item is useful for warriors and thieves alike. A gorilla could never predict a wind blade, right? Jay thought about getting ultra close to the gorilla, before suddenly activating the wind blade from inside his opponent. It certainly would be a dramatic finisher. But Jay decided to check out the other items before launching into any power fantasies. Conquerors fists: These trench daggers offer unparalleled versatility on the battlefield. Fully cast from denatured steel, they can channel any essence and be used as knuckle-dusters or daggers. The best choice for ultra-close-quarters combat. A set of knuckle-dusters majorly appealed to Jay. The Gale-forged dagger might be more deadly, but he would have to learn how to wield it. Jay didn¡¯t have much more to learn about punching. These would be a flat bonus to his destructive power and would give him more time to study essence before the fight. The serrated steel blades, sticking three inches out from the knuckles, would also ease Jay into using a weapon if he ever switched later. He would have to ask what denatured steel was, however. Soul ripper: This weapon takes its name from the mass murderer who once wielded it. One touch of its three claws can be enough to seal the fate of its victims if the user is convicted enough. Unparalleled power could be at your fingertips, if you have the strength to use it. Ominous¡­ Jay wasn¡¯t sure what kind of impression he¡¯d given Akira for the guy to suggest these. While the weapon seemed extremely powerful it seemed extremely risky. What did ¡°if you have the strength to use it¡± even mean? He wouldn¡¯t have been able to afford anything else if he bought it, so Jay scratched this one off the list. Maybe it was better that way. Jay told Akira his reasoning, maybe his more experienced friend could give him some more information. ¡°Yeah, that all makes sense. I only really put the claw in there because it was the most powerful item here within your budget. It¡¯s kinda terrifying. You raise a good point on using the knife, but it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to learn the basics, especially with a skill crystal. Denatured steel is just steel with the essence of steel removed. It¡¯s a great material for weapons because you can channel any essence through it. I would try and explain how it¡¯s done, but I don¡¯t fully know myself.¡± Jay was perfectly fine with leaving that explanation for another day. He moved onto the last two items. The quick-fit boots seemed interesting, offering a temporary speed boost that could be activated three times a day. Jay couldn¡¯t afford both these and a weapon though, so he didn¡¯t consider buying them. Although he considered coming back to get them if they were still here after the fight. The cape of entanglement looked like a high-risk high-reward item. A cape, that doubled as a net capable of trapping enemies. While it would probably confound a gorilla, Jay had never worn a cape before. The image of him backpedalling, tripping up on his own gear, and falling over horrified Jay. Dying was already bad, but dying an embarrassing death was even worse. If Jay lost his fight by falling over, he¡¯d never stop cringing in the after-afterlife. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you recommend me any armour?¡± Jay said. ¡°Seems like that would be pretty useful in a fight.¡± ¡°Have you ever fought in armour before? It¡¯s harder than you think. If you find something mobile, it won¡¯t be strong enough to take a hit from a gorilla. If you find something strong enough, you won¡¯t be able to move in it. If you find something that does both, you wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it. Besides, the clothes the storm sage gave you are really good. I can tell there¡¯s storm essence weaved into them. They¡¯re for sure better than anything you can afford here.¡± Final question answered, Jay just had to decide what to buy.
¡°I can just about afford the Lightning in a bottle and the Conquerors fists. It gets me a weapon, and I¡¯m trusting you on the lightning. I can¡¯t think of anything better to do.¡± Akira nodded. The pair went back into the crowd, purchased the items, and went on their way. Chapter 21: Eye of the Storm ¡°Hey, can I ask you a couple questions about the coliseum system?¡± Jay asked. ¡°Hit me.¡± Akira replied. ¡°Why have my rankings changed slightly? Is it because I¡¯ve trained? I thought it might be that, but some stats went up and others went down, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve gotten worse at anything.¡± ¡°No matter how much you train, it won¡¯t change your rankings. They¡¯re strictly based off coliseum-sanctioned fights. You probably went up in some stats because someone above you in the rankings died. You probably went down in others because someone behind you or maybe a new gladiator, had a good fight and overtook you. Make sense?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± Jay didn¡¯t miss how casually Akira had mentioned people dying. Essence, Harmony, and magical weapons were fun, but Jay couldn¡¯t forget that he was a gladiator now. He had a fight to the death in just a few days. ¡°Also, how did you make that shopping list? All I can do is look at my rankings.¡± ¡°That really bugged me when I first got here. The more fights you have, the more privileges you unlock within the coliseum system. After your next fight, you¡¯ll be able to fully access the shopping interface. As well as looking at the leaderboards and past fights. If you get up to C grade, I¡¯ve heard you get your own coliseum AI.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit unfair? Surely the newest people need the most help.¡± ¡°If you want help you can join an alliance, but fighting isn¡¯t supposed to be easy. Running the system is seriously expensive, and there are more fighters in E grade than any other. Most gladiators die within their first five fights. The coliseum can¡¯t waste any resources on them.¡± Jay was once more reminded about the harsh world he now lived in. Here it was win or die. There was no room for fairness. Still, Akira¡¯s coldness struck him. It wasn¡¯t malicious, like Q or the others at the Flaming Tomb, but Akira had clearly been hardened by his new world. He might have been born on Earth, but Akira lived and breathed Eterna now.
The bright multicoloured storefronts of Reveller''s Avenue lit the way towards the Celestial Swords. Jay wanted to test out his new gear, but Akira insisted he rest. Jay begrudgingly did as his friend asked. He didn¡¯t want to drag him into a fight again. Vega shouted them over to a corner booth as soon as they walked in. She gave Akira a long, and worryingly detailed, retelling of an alchemical explosion that had happed on Tinkerer''s Avenue earlier that day. Akira listened, nodding and damn-that¡¯s-crazy-ing for a few minutes, before leaving in search of Lyra. Jay and Vega sat silently. Locked in an awkward stalemate. ¡°So¡­ How was training today?¡± Vega said. Small talk¡¯s better than nothing, I guess. And I wasn¡¯t gonna speak first. ¡°It could¡¯ve gone better. I managed to recreate the thunder strike from before, but I could only do it once. I¡¯ll have to practice more tomorrow.¡± Jay said. Surprisingly, Vega was a very patient listener. Jay recounted his day to her, and she seemed deep in thought throughout, especially when he described the more technical aspects of his sparring. As he finished, Jay was about to ask her about her day. But he stopped after seeing the annoyance on her face. ¡°You wasted all your time today. I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t tell you last night. You really needed to focus on lightning, or something else. Thunder¡¯s a terrible fit for you.¡± She said. ¡°What?¡± Jay said, happy that Vega seemed more annoyed at herself than at him. But shocked at what she had to say. ¡°Based on what you said you¡¯re an intelligent, speed-based fighter. Not someone who focuses on raw power. But you figured it out yourself today, a massive part of thunder is raw power. That¡¯s why you burnt yourself out after just one punch. Your personal essence just doesn¡¯t match thunder that well. That¡¯s why you found it so hard to control.¡± ¡°Akira didn¡¯t seem too shocked though?¡± Jay replied. He hoped Vega was mistaken, that he hadn¡¯t wasted a whole day of training. ¡°That¡¯s because the kid¡¯s a fucking genius!¡± she laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone pick up Harmony as fast as that guy. He probably saw you tire out and assumed that¡¯s what normal people do. If you were a good match with thunder, you should¡¯ve been able to do five or six punches. At least.¡± Fuck. Jay hoped she wasn¡¯t right, but the deep chasm that had just opened in his gut told him that she was. ¡°But I need something that can damage the gorilla.¡± He said. ¡°Nothing else I did with the storm sage even came close to doing that kind of damage. I¡¯ve got nothing else¡± Jay tried to sound confident, but even he could hear the desperation crack through his voice. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much about your opponent. Look at your strengths instead. When you think about your opponent too much, you get dragged into their game. You should be the one dragging. Especially when you aren¡¯t fighting another human who can plan and counter you. Jay wanted to get angry at her, but she had a point. For one reason or another, Jay had gotten too caught up with his opponent. He had forgot his own strength. It would be hard to outpace a gorilla, but that was his way of fighting, overwhelming force wasn¡¯t. ¡°Fight your fight, Lightning.¡± Jay whispered. Coach¡¯s old mottos still rang true, even here. ¡°What?¡± ¡°My coach said it whenever I got into a slugfest instead of sticking to the plan. Sometimes I knew it wasn¡¯t the right decision, but I did it anyway. Get punched in the face enough and you stop thinking straight.¡± The warm fuzz of nostalgia washed over Jay. It felt weird, being nostalgic for getting punched in the face. But it reminded him of a much simpler time. Jay wished he had Coach here to help him, but he didn¡¯t. In every step of his fighting career, Jay had his coach behind him. He¡¯d always had guidance, wise hands and a wiser head steering his path. But now his journey was an inherently personal one. Jay didn¡¯t know that much about essence, but he knew that. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Jay missed his coach''s guidance and he valued his friends'' help. But his fate rested solely on his own shoulders now. Two teachers had given him two sets of information so far. He couldn¡¯t follow either of them, he had to make his own. If Jay asked Vega for an explanation, she¡¯d probably give a third. In this world, everyone charted their own path. If you followed someone else¡¯s, you¡¯d drown in their wake. ¡°Sounds like you had a good coach.¡± Vega said softly. ¡°Yeah¡­ Seventeen years of boxing. He was the only one there for all of it.¡± Jay''s nostalgia froze into wistfulness. His old life wasn¡¯t painless. He¡¯d experienced great loss before. But how he yearned to go back, even for just an hour, a minute even. This was the second time in his life he didn¡¯t even get the chance to say goodbye. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to sound harsh.¡± Vega¡¯s voice derailed him from a dark train of thought that didn¡¯t need to be continued. Jay realised that he¡¯d been staring into the distance for almost a minute. Vega must¡¯ve thought she¡¯d really upset him. ¡°You probably didn¡¯t waste your whole day, it¡¯s just something I thought you should know.¡± She said. ¡°No, you make a lot of sense. I guess you aren¡¯t rank one for nothing.¡± Jay said, donning a brave smile. He¡¯d gotten off to a bad start with Vega, witnessing the drunken argument with her sister, but she was far more intelligent than she initially let on. She might not have the tactical analysis of her sister, or the theoretical brilliance of Akira. But she had something. The X-factor that separated the great fighters from the simply good ones. Jay had only seen her fight once, but he knew the air of a champion when he saw it. Maybe it was just small observations that most people missed, maybe it was a deeper understanding of the mechanics of fighting. Jay knew there was something. He made a note to study both how she fought and how she trained. Maybe there was a trick or two that he could pick up on. Her fight style didn¡¯t look particularly tactical at first, but perhaps he was just looking from the wrong angle. ¡°Rank one for a reason. You got that right. Make sure to tell my sister that next time you see her! Give lightning a try tomorrow.¡± Vega winked at him and polished off her drink before leaving the booth. Jay put his bottled lightning on the table and sat there staring at it. Most of the time the bottle looked empty. But Jay occasionally caught glimpses of the bolt. A streak of white, sometimes purple, sometimes blue, sometimes even red, bouncing around its cage. Restless and skittish. Refusing to sit still. Jay expected to feel frustrated, or upset, from Vega¡¯s words. A full day wasted was a big deal. Especially when he only had four days left. Instead, he felt hunger, aggression, desire. The unstoppable urge to fight. Jay ignored Akira''s advice. He¡¯d already been wrong once today. He placed the bottled lightning in one pocket. He placed the Conquerors fists in the other. He got out of his seat and calmly walked out of the tavern. And ran straight towards the coliseum. It would¡¯ve helped to know a closer training room; they were supposed to be dotted throughout the island after all. But Jay was still settling in, so he ran to the only one he knew. Jay jogged through the empty coliseum hallway, past the half empty coliseum training rooms, and walked in. The swords were gone, but there was still a makeshift boxing ring drawn in the ground. Jay sat in the centre of the ring and set the bottled lightning in front of him, resisting the intrusive urge to uncork it. Jay closed his eyes and held the sage¡¯s crystal in his hands. He was forging his own path. But others could still help him find his way. Jay had a whole crystal, stuffed full of directions to trawl through. It was time to get to work.
¡°The sky''s heartbeat, pulsing with the raw energy of the universe. The crackling laughter of the sky, mocking the temerity of those that dare defy the heavens. A symphony of the cosmos, played on the drums of eternity, truly understood only by those who tread the path of the storm. This is but a glimpse of the essence of thunder. ¡°But the storm fathers many sons. And thunder has an older brother. The herald who announces the storm¡¯s presence. The shining beacon of light, warning the world that this is no mere raincloud. The vanguard of the storm. Lightning.¡± It¡¯s gonna be a long night. ¡°I call this technique Eye of the storm.¡± The storm sage said. He¡¯d rattled off countless metaphors, similes, and allegories about the storm before finally starting an explanation. He now stood next to Jay''s airborne body, floating above the crater in the water. ¡°The storm is unequivocally all encompassing. While chaos reigns in its outer reaches, the storm¡¯s core is a hub of tranquillity. No matter the circumstances, the universe inevitably reaches a state of equilibrium. It is impossible have relentless war, without interluding peace. Impossible to have a victor, without a vanquished adversary beneath him. The storm seeks balance too. Pure energy, pure might, isn¡¯t possible. It isn¡¯t the nature of the storm. Yet this presents an opportunity for the sagacious harmoniser? Well, they must dictate when and where the calmness lies. They must ensure it¡¯s nestled in the deep recesses of their mind, quelling the nascent primal fears. Far removed from the fire of their heart or the steel of their sword. The technique accelerates the minds alacrity, improving reactions, intelligence, and simulation. Intellectually astute warriors can harness this technique, leveraging the storm to navigate the turbulent throes of combat.¡± I know some of those words. After some gruelling literary analysis, Jay felt he had an idea what eye of the storm was. He¡¯d have to think of a new way to induce it, pondering on the nature of the storm didn¡¯t match Jay¡¯s style, but he knew the goal. Eye of the storm accelerated the user¡¯s mind. It boosted their mental abilities depending on where the user focused. Jay had used Eye of the storm twice during the sage¡¯s trials. The first was directly after the thunder punch. His perception of time slowed down, and Jay used his accelerated mind to plot the fastest route to the nearest tower. The second was when he located his own tower. That time, instead of focusing on raw computing power, Jay''s senses enhanced, and he was finally able to notice his tower. Although there were two separate uses, Jay knew that learning the root of the technique would let him do both. He kept watching the sage¡¯s memory. Letting the rhymes fade into background noise as he passively scanned for anything useful. There wasn¡¯t much, the sage mostly ruminated on various elements of the storm, occasionally stopping to poke fun at past Jay. Jay could see why memory crystals like this were valuable. If he had a more Romantic nature, maybe he could draw more wisdom and inspiration form the sage¡¯s words. Instead, he had to take them as they came and try to extract what value he could. Jay watched the stone walls rise around his tower and his attention perked up. Maybe a battle would draw some more practical words out of the sage. ¡°There is beauty in the brutality of battle, but for this I have nothing to say. Watch the battle. It may become fuel for your fire, gravel for your path, but you will find no knowledge of the storm here.¡± Well that¡¯s disappointing. I¡¯d at least be able to get something out of a poem. Jay wondered why the storm sage didn¡¯t comment on the battle. Was it because he didn¡¯t use any essence in it? Was he disappointed? Or was Jay getting too in his own head, confusing indifference for negativity? Jay tried to stop that line of thought, it would only incite self-doubt. There was no way to find the actual answer without asking the sage, and that was out of the question. Instead, he watched the fight. Even if he didn¡¯t use essence in that fight, he still won. He still fought. The fighter inside him would never die. Jay kept that in the front of his mind. No matter if he was fighting an eel, a gorilla, or whatever. He had to fight. Barely visible lightning still fluttered around the bottle in front of Jay as his mind returned to the coliseum. As much as he couldn¡¯t grasp the storm sage¡¯s descriptions of it, Eye of the storm was an almost perfect technique for Jay. Jay stood up and moved the bottled lightning outside the ring. He hopped on the spot, wishing he¡¯d had the foresight to look for a skipping rope at the market, and redrew the lines in the gravel. Vega may have been right about a lot of things, but she was wrong about one. Jay''s whole day hadn¡¯t been wasted. Through his spars, and his struggles to channel thunder, Jay had learned a valuable lesson. The most valuable lesson. One that translated to boxing, Harmony, and every other skill conceivable. He¡¯d learned how to learn. Chapter 22: Zero Point Two Before he¡¯d even set foot in the coliseum. Jay knew what Eye of the storm felt like. It was why he knew the technique was right for him. On Earth, sports psychologists called it the Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning. Jay knew it as the flow state. The Zone. Occasionally, only in the closest of fights, time slowed to a crawl and Jay saw everything. He could see the micro adjustments in his opponent¡¯s eyes. Telegraphing their targets and highlighting their weaknesses. A piece of paper saying, ¡°HIT ME!¡± taped in the tiniest of blind spots. He could make out every movement from miles away, and spot opportunities before they even arose. Jay didn¡¯t need to ask himself where to start, he¡¯d already warmed up. Jay had already struggled to harmonise sitting cross legged and breathing once today. Initially, he¡¯d thought that was because thunder didn¡¯t just sit still and breathe. That was correct, but the issue was much deeper. Although Jay often meditated. It wasn¡¯t him. He wasn¡¯t a meditator, he was an athlete, a boxer, a fighter. That wasn¡¯t his way. He didn¡¯t sit just still and breathe, he fought. Jay shifted around the ring, eyes open, adding data to his mental model of the entire room. His focus kept being drawn to the bottled lightning at the corner of the ring. Most of the time, the bottle looked empty. But occasionally a flash of light crept out and reminded Jay what was caged inside. An infinite bolt of energy that couldn¡¯t be tamed. He wondered how it was ever captured. He marvelled at the power contained within the bottle. Not inside the bottle, within. How was it able to handle the pure chaos in motion that was electricity. Jay¡¯s focus strayed from the bottle and returned to his own body. Others may be able to harmonise outside it, but this was his way. Even in his career as a boxer, Jay focused on understanding his body as a foundation to everything he learned. Jay knew his destination: Eye of the storm. He knew which direction to look: within. Now he needed to forge a path. His muscles were key to understanding the might of thunder strike. His mind would be key to understanding the finesse of Eye of the storm. Jay''s mind needed a more complex way of transferring information than simply expanding and contracting. Moments ago, Jay marvelled at the bottle¡¯s power over the electricity within. But his central nervous system did the exact same thing. Electrical signals controlled Jay''s reactions, his movements, even his thoughts. Jay wondered how he could ever control electricity, but his neurons already could. Jay started shadow boxing once more. This time he didn¡¯t focus on the muscles making the action, but the nerves controlling it. Visualising himself as the eye of the storm was never going to work for Jay. It was far too abstract. Instead, he focused on a smaller scale. A more human scale. Trying to imagine the messages firing through his neurons. For each movement, Jay focused on what he told the muscle to do. This was easier said than done however, by the time Jay had focused on an action, it was already complete. The signal travelled faster than he could think. He switched gears. Instead of focusing on his movements, he imagined an opponent in front of him. Jay conjured an imaginary opponent, and began to box shadows. Perhaps reaction instead of action held the key to unlocking his neurons. Shadows coalesced inside his mind¡¯s eye. They formed into a muscular man, over a head shorter than Jay. There were no details in his shadowy foe¡¯s face, but Jay could tell by the way he stood and the heaviness in his steps that it was modelled off his last opponent. Jay raised his fists at Shadow Akira and prepared to fight.
Zero point two seconds. Zero point two seconds is the average time it takes for the human brain to receive information, think about it, and react. Of course, Jay''s reaction time was slightly faster. Seventeen years of training had that effect. But it still wasn¡¯t zero. Why? The question floated around Jay''s head as he parried and dodged Shadow Akira''s imaginary punches. The signal only travelled from his eyes, to his brain, to the rest of his body. A one metre journey, two metres at most. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Electricity should be faster than that. Jay bobbed and weaved, parried and punched, slowly slipping into the flow of the fight. He danced around his ring, familiar steps he¡¯d taken hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of times before. To execute these steps, Jay didn¡¯t even need to focus. Which was great, because he was already fully focused on focusing. He delved deeper into the dance. The duet of give and pull that all fighters instinctually followed. Jay sank further into the flow state, becoming almost an observer to his own actions. His movements slowed; it looked like he was dragging his arms through molasses. Jay screamed at them. Go faster! Even if he was fighting shadows, the boxer inside him couldn¡¯t bear to get hit. But they didn¡¯t go faster. They couldn¡¯t. Shadow Akira slowed to a crawl too. Jay''s eyes feasted on the information available to him. Eyes: Staring directly at Jay, not giving anything away. Shoulders: Tensed, preparing a punch? Core: Semi-relaxed, definitely on the offensive. Legs: Right foot forward, southpaw stance, most likely to lead with a right jab. Right foot: All weight planted on the front foot, definitely going to lead with the jab, watch out for the right shoulder. Right shoulder: Every fibre tensed, compressed, ready to unload any time now¡­ In a fraction of a fraction of a second, Jay''s eyes scanned his opponent and converted all this into a signal to the brain. Why? Jay had no need for this information. He¡¯d been in this situation millions of times before, he didn¡¯t need to think or strategize. He needed to wait for his opponent to commit to a movement. Then, when he was at the point of no return, neutralise the attack and counter. No. Too much. Of course that¡¯s what he was going to do, he¡¯d practiced it his whole life. Why did he need to tell himself that? The message didn¡¯t need to be complex, Jay''s eyes only needed to tell his brain one word. Wait. Jay''s eyes stared at his near-static opponent. Judging by how much he¡¯d moved; mere milliseconds had passed. To Jay''s eyes it was an eternity. Let loose from the tethers of informing the brain, Jay''s eyes were free. Free to drink in all the details of this surroundings. Free to absorb the world around him. Not that there was much in the way of sightseeing. A gravel floor and blue-grey walls were hardly a feast for the eyes, but Jay''s eyes took what they were given. Shadow Akira was barely moving. Jay''s eyes could see ahead, they could see the multiple directions he could move in, but there was no need to tell the brain anything yet. They would wait until Shadow Akira committed before deciding. While they waited, they looked around the ring. Jay''s attention landed on the lightning in a bottle. The only thing moving at a normal speed. Even now, when the universe inched forward at a snail¡¯s pace. Electricity was fast beyond comprehension. Speed incarnate. The bolt bounced around the bottle. But occasionally, for a moment indescribable merely in fractions of a second. Jay would catch a glimpse of the electricity outside its cage. Was it really a cage?
A string of muscle popped in shadow Akira''s right shoulder, wrestling Jay''s attention back to the fight. He was right. It was a right jab. Still no need to act. Wait until the point of no return. Fibre by fibre, Shadow Akira''s arm slowly expanded. Jay''s eyes focused on their motion, just as he¡¯d obsessed over his own just hours earlier. Wait. Akira¡¯s fist moved closer, abandoning guard duty, on the attack. Wait. When the punch was an eighth of the way towards Jay''s face, it had built up enough momentum that it couldn¡¯t be stopped. No matter the will of its wielder. Jay''s optic nerve sent a single message through to the central nervous system. It didn¡¯t need detail, experience would fill in the gaps. The eyes didn¡¯t need to see anymore, that would only waste the brains time. To save time, to cut into the once unassailable barrier the human body limited him to. Jay''s eyes told his brain the only words it needed to hear. Right jab. Go. Jay''s brain received the signal. It had no details, but it didn¡¯t need them. It knew a right jab was incoming, and it knew it had to react now. That was all it needed. Jay''s feet knew what to do to avoid a right jab, so did his legs and torso. His arms sure as hell knew what punch to throw as well. Jay didn¡¯t need to give specific instructions. He needed to be fast. Right jab. React. To an observer, it would have looked like an ordinary exchange. A fighter may have noticed Jay moving less than normal before the jab. An observant fighter may have noticed that Jay was in a great position to react to a right jab before it even came. But nothing else. Because anyone observing would take zero point two seconds to react. Jay''s lead leg slid forward as the right jab advanced. Since Jay was orthodox, his right hand was initially out of range. The lead foot solved that problem. His rear foot twisted, corkscrewing into the gravel. Jay''s left jab matched his opponents, but the jab wasn¡¯t merely an offensive weapon. Jay swept his jab outwards, crashing it into his opponent¡¯s fist. Neutralising them both, and blowing shadow Akira''s guard wide open. His right fist had the easiest job of them all. A right hook, uppercut, or overhand, demanded at least some coordination. An arc might seem simple, but to hit the target, the puncher had to heavily manipulate the punch¡¯s trajectory. The right straight, however. It earned its name. Jay''s right fist was only heading in one direction. In the zero point two seconds it would have taken Jay to react, he¡¯d already formulated a plan and was halfway through acting on it. In the zero point four seconds it would have taken Jay''s opponent to react to his reaction, Jay had already embedded a fist full of denatured steel into his forehead. Jay followed through his punch, the Conquerors fists dispelling the shadowy remains of his opponent into nothingness. When he crashed back down to reality, Jay realised the insanity of what he¡¯d just done. A maniacal grin erupted across his face. This wasn¡¯t mere damage, like having a powerful punch was. This was mastery over the human body. And it was only week one.
Jay began to feel dizzy and nauseous, maybe he had pushed too hard? He tried to walk towards the nearest wall, to find something to rest against. But then the whole room tilted sideways. By the time Jay figured out it wasn¡¯t the room, but him, his head had already slammed into the gravel. The consciousness he¡¯d just wrestled for control over now forcibly taken from his body. Chapter 23: Consequences ¡°So you¡¯re telling me you found him passed out, looking like that, in the training room. And you decided to drag him back to our place. Again?¡± ¡°Well where else was I supposed to put him Vega? If I just left him there, he probably would have gotten robbed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know? Maybe your house. Not someone else¡¯s?¡± Through the slowly opening slits of his eyelids, Jay watched Vega and Akira arguing. Sure enough, he was back in the twins¡¯ living room. Somehow even sorer and stiffer than the last time he woke up here. ¡°What time is it? Sorry I stayed the night, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Jay said. He mustered enough strength to sit up, letting out a yawn as he greeted Vega and Akira. They looked at him like he was a corpse that had just come to life. ¡°No you¡¯re not. Lie back down.¡± Vega said. Pointing Jay back to the sofa. Jay wasn¡¯t going to do that. With presumably only 3 days until his fight, he had to use every available minute to prepare. Couch surfing wouldn¡¯t help him win his fight. Jay planted his feet on the ground. He knew something was wrong when the wood floor beneath him felt as soft as carpet, but he pushed through and attempted to stand up. Huge mistake. Dizziness spun Jay¡¯s jaw while nausea socked his gut as soon as he got up. It took all of Jay''s focus not to throw up. While Jay was busy keeping his insides, inside. His balance betrayed him. His knees buckled and Jay was a flail of limbs as he collapsed to the floor. He expected to hear an ¡°I told you so¡± from Vega, but her wordless laughter was somehow even more annoying. Lyra entered Jay''s eyeline from above. She looked down at him with the tired eyes of a disappointed sparring partner, annoyed that Jay had been knocked down so easily. ¡°Didn¡¯t Akira say you were done for the day? Why did you go back?¡± She asked. Because I thought I was built different. Jay didn¡¯t say that of course. One twin laughing at him was embarrassing enough, he didn¡¯t need another. Jay pulled himself back onto the sofa and muttered a half-truth about not knowing how bad it would be. ¡°Well now you know.¡± said Lyra, with more than a hint of frustration. ¡°Did you at least learn something useful? Because you won¡¯t be able to harmonise at all today.¡± ¡°What!¡± All day? Jay couldn¡¯t afford to miss a day, he only had three left, but Lyra didn¡¯t look like she was joking. Jay understood her frustration now. ¡°Why can¡¯t I train at all today?¡± He said. ¡°Oh yeah I ran a marathon and passed out at the finish line last night!¡± A slightly deeper version of Akira''s voice said. Through context Jay figured out it was supposed be an impression of him, but it was a shockingly shit impression. ¡°But no worries guys. I can still run another one today. ¡°That¡¯s how dumb you sound right now. Harmony isn¡¯t too different from training your body. Run too much, jump too high, and you¡¯ll pull a muscle. Train more and your body gets used to the exercise, and you can push further than before.¡± Jay wanted to fight back, to argue his case, but he had no solid ground to stand on. Literally and figuratively. These guys were all at the peak of E grade, they knew far more about Harmony than him. Jay kept his thoughts to himself and filled them in on last night¡¯s training session. Feeling merciful, he didn¡¯t share too much of the storm sage¡¯s profound wisdom with the group. But Jay told them how the sage¡¯s method of poetic Harmony didn¡¯t work for him, so he used his body as the link. The approving glances from Vega¡¯s direction felt a lot better than the laughter from before. Although she furrowed her eyebrows when Jay mentioned his execution of the technique. ¡°Your process is good. But you''ll need to free yourself from your body eventually.¡± She said. Akira, who stood beside her wearing a thoughtful expression, nodded in agreement. ¡°I think its fine for now. Especially since he¡¯s gonna fight close range.¡± He said. ¡°What she means Jay, is that by leaning on your body as a focus to create the essence overlap. You limit your possibilities to your body¡¯s capabilities. You need to detach yourself from what you think is possible to advance further. That can wait for another day though. Your schedule¡¯s a bit full right now.¡± Akira pointed at a gold framed projection of a Goldenback gorilla in the centre of the room. Lyra had sat already next to Jay and looked ready to press play. ¡°Aaaand that¡¯s my cue to leave.¡± Said Vega. She grabbed Akira by the arm and started walking out of the room with him. ¡°Have fun watching your next opponent rip people to shreds all day! I won¡¯t be back for a week, so I¡¯ll miss your next fight. Don¡¯t die!¡± Vega delivered the last line with a wink and a bit too much amusement. She dragged Akira out the room with her, leaving only Jay, Lyra, and the gorilla in the room. ¡°She does that sometimes. Just gets up and leaves without telling me where she¡¯s going. Sometimes she comes back with a new technique, a better understanding of an essence, other times she just complains how she wasted all her time.¡± Lyra said, concern sinking into worry across her face. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Anyway. I¡¯ve compiled all the fights of a Goldenback fighting a short-range humanoid. The least experienced gladiator on the list had nine fights, so I don¡¯t know why they matched you up against one.¡± If he couldn¡¯t train, Jay was glad he at least had something to fill his time. Watching film was probably the next best thing to actually practicing.
The first three fights were a clinic on what not to do. All crushing victories for team gorilla, Jay and Lyra''s tactical analysis rarely extended past single sentences. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Definitely don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± Don¡¯t stand still, don¡¯t get greedy, and most importantly, don¡¯t get caught. All three fights ended when the human stood still too close to the gorilla. As soon as it gabbed onto its smaller, weaker opponents, the fight was already over. They couldn¡¯t escape from its grip and once one of their limbs got ripped off, they didn¡¯t last much longer. ¡°Now that we have established that getting your arms ripped off by standing too close isn¡¯t a viable strategy, let¡¯s watch someone win a fight.¡± Lyra said. Her deadpan voice betrayed none of her emotions. Jay wasn¡¯t sure if she was deadly serious, or buried her sarcasm so deep that he couldn¡¯t even recognise it. The fourth gladiator to face the gorilla was a woman called Jana ¡°The Iron Whip¡±. She looked like a fairly ordinary gladiator, clad in a steel helmet and light armour, but her arms and legs each had an extra joint in them. Jay wondered why her nickname wasn¡¯t plural, as she carried a metal studded whip in both hands. Even if her nickname was plural, she would have reverted back to the Iron Whip within the first twenty seconds of the fight. Her gorilla charged directly at her, as its brothers had done to each of the previous gladiators. Jana tried to whip the gorilla¡¯s torso as she swung right to dodge the charge, but the Goldenback easily caught the weapon and yanked it from her hands. Jay barely paid attention to that however, his attention was captured by the way Jana dodged the gorilla¡¯s charge. She didn¡¯t take a single step, her feet just slid across the ground, propelled by an invisible force. Jay wondered how she managed to move like that, what essence created her swinging motion. He hazarded a guess at the essence of the whip, before asking what Lyra thought. She agreed it was probably the essence of the whip, given Jana¡¯s branding, but said that it could also be something else. ¡°People often have more than one essence they use in battle. Usually, gladiators have a main essence they focus on, with supplementary essences alongside it for utility or synergy. She might have used the essence of the whip to move like that, but whips usually aren¡¯t used in arcing motions. It could¡¯ve been the essence of the swing. You can never be certain until you ask, each individual brand of essence is different to the user. An arsonist and a chef would spawn radically different interpretations of the essence of fire.¡± While Jana¡¯s movements were interesting, and may have contained insights for Jay to create his own essence movement technique, Jay needed to focus on her counterattack. Her wide, looping dodge took her out of the gorilla¡¯s range and behind its back. As soon as she saw its back she fired. Her extra joint amplified her attack power. The whip¡¯s tip launched into the gorilla¡¯s back faster than the creature could react. A mere blur on the replay. The gorilla spun. Instantly swiping at the air behind it. It wasn¡¯t aiming at its opponent; it wasn¡¯t even looking at her. The Goldenback just twisted and turned. Dropping to the ground in a frenzy before getting back to its feet and scratching every available inch of its back. ¡°I thought that was weird too, so I read up on the species.¡± Lyra said. ¡°The Goldenback gorilla lives in a place called the Sanguine Garden, an isolated jungle deep inside the Verdant Frontier. It¡¯s the largest animal in the region, and as such it has no real predators. But the jungle is home to four separate families of parasitic insects and a clan of harmonising mosquitos. If one of the bugs bites the gorilla and isn¡¯t removed instantly, it¡¯s near certain death after one bite.¡± ¡°I see... So when its alone, it goes crazy trying to shake the insect off because it doesn¡¯t have a mate to remove it. That¡¯s punishable. But I don¡¯t know if I have the speed.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t learn a speed increase from the sage? Surely there¡¯s an overlap between lightning and speed?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything like that in the trial, just Eye of the storm. Maybe I can repurpose that technique to increase speed instead of reaction time? I¡¯ll test it out tomorrow.¡± ¡°Good plan. I think if you time it right you can do it. The gorilla has great acceleration for its size, but it¡¯s not actually that fast. And with that much mass, it¡¯ll be hard for it to decelerate.¡± ¡°True, I just have to time it right. The only problem is I can¡¯t arc like Jana. If I want to be fast enough to get to its back, I have to get way too close for comfort.¡± Lyra shrugged, and Jay agreed with her sentiment. Getting so close to a stronger opponent was uncomfortable, but he didn¡¯t have any other option. They unpaused the fight. Jana kept attacking the back. It worked every time. Regardless of the circumstances, as soon as the Goldenback¡¯s back was attacked it immediately shifted its focus on trying to remove whatever insect just bit it. Following the initial strike up was more difficult, however. Jana picked her secondary whip off the ground while the gorilla was busy flailing in its back. She tried to use it to attack the grounded animal. Tried. When the whip launched into the roiling maelstrom of limbs it was torn out of her hands once more. This time the gorilla ripped it in half rather than merely throwing it away. ¡°Everyone needs a backup weapon.¡± Lyra said. She pointed to Jana unstrapping a knife from her ankle. ¡°You should do that too, just in case.¡± Is it really necessary to have a backup weapon if your main weapon is no weapons? Jay refocused on Jana. She did her patented arc and whip, sending the gorilla into a frenzy for what must have been the seventh time, except this time she closed the distance after. Instead of holding her whip, Jana¡¯s fingers clamped the blade of her dagger. She held it above her head, waiting for her moment. When the gorilla stopped flailing its arms, but before it fully came to its senses, Jana struck. Launching her knife into the gorilla¡¯s throat. It didn¡¯t even have time to acknowledge it was attacked before blood spurted out of its neck, staining the gravel red and signalling the end of the fight. Every other fight Jay and Lyra watched went the exact same way. The gorilla charged in, and either grabbed the opponent or didn¡¯t. If the gorilla won, it was because its opponent stayed still for too long and got caught. If the gorilla lost, it was because its opponent got behind it and hit its back. Sending it into a frenzy and killing it just as it came back to reality. By time they¡¯d finished Lyra¡¯s list, Jay felt slightly more comfortable about his chances. Before viewing the fights, Jay had nothing to focus on. Now he had a target, a crack in the armour. No more was the Goldenback gorilla a dark cloud looming on the horizon. An inescapable threat, slowly advancing towards him. Now it was just another opponent. An opponent with a glaring weakness. Jay ran through all the gorillas¡¯ fights in his head. He ran through all the storm sage¡¯s trials, and everything he¡¯d learned about essence and Harmony. Individual fragments swirled around, gradually crystallizing into a strategy. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was the best he could do. Jay looked to Lyra, who had her eyes trained on him the whole time. She too looked like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. They sat there for a moment, until Lyra eventually broke the silence. ¡°So what¡¯s your plan?¡± Chapter 24: Connecting the Dots The first day of Jay¡¯s training focused on finding his limits. Passing out from using Eye of the storm wasn¡¯t too dangerous in the training room. But it was a death sentence in a fight. He woke up early and found an empty room in the coliseum to train in. Manipulating his neurons during Eye of the storm felt more natural than creating a thunderclap. However, unlike thunder strike, it was a sustained technique. While using it, Jay didn¡¯t just have to forge a link. He had to maintain it. The longer he used Eye of the storm for, the tougher it was to maintain. Headaches bloomed in his head as soon as he activated the technique. At first they were fine, but they gradually became unbearable. Initially, Jay managed to stay in the advanced perception state for almost four seconds before the headache proved too much to bear. Four seconds didn¡¯t sound like a lot, but in the heat of battle it was an eternity. It was even longer for Jay. While using Eye of the storm, it felt like almost an hour had passed. The headache vanished almost instantly after he released the technique. The second time Jay used Eye of the storm, closer to three seconds passed before he had to pull out. The resulting headache also lasted longer. It was closer to half a second before he could properly focus again. The third time was worse, Jay barely managed three seconds of Eye of the storm before he had to quit. He had a headache for five seconds after he left the state though, which would leave him helpless in the fight. It made sense when he considered essence like a muscle. He could only push to his maximum capacity a few times, and each time was harder than the next. Jay considered what would happen if he didn¡¯t push until failure, and stopped at one second rather than whenever he couldn¡¯t go any longer. He tested that next, not wanting to push to his maximum ability further. It was better to sub-optimally train than push too hard and risk losing another day. Stopping after one second proved far more effective. Not only was the pain far lower, the total time he could spend using the technique was way higher. Taking short breaks between uses, he managed seven, second-long dips into eye of the storm before the resulting headache reached half a second. Jay took a break before trying again. Unfortunately, the second time he tried the series of short activations he only got to three dips. A far worse drop off than when he¡¯d been pushing to the limits. That made sense to Jay too. Muscles could definitely push further when doing a high repetition, low strain activity. But the sheer volume of work tired them out much more. By midday, anytime Jay tried to activate Eye of the storm he would be forced to quit instantly. The mental strain became too much to bear. Instead of simply resting, Jay found Akira and asked for some advice.
¡°Is there any way to speed up recovery? I physically can¡¯t train anymore, but I still have so much time.¡± Said Jay. ¡°If you¡¯re asking for a way to cheat recovery times and train quicker, it doesn¡¯t exist.¡± Akira folded a page of his book over and set it to the side. Jay caught a glimpse of the thick tome¡¯s front cover: ¡°A Critique of Zhou¡¯s Four Heavenly Strata. Why it Holds No Place in the Modern Harmonisers Mind¡±. Riveting. ¡°If you¡¯re asking for the optimal way to recover, then I think you know the answer yourself. How would you rest a muscle after straining it?¡± ¡­ ¡°By resting it?¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure where Akira was going with this analogy, but he waited. Surely there would be a reference to a Venn diagram soon that would explain everything. ¡°And what does resting mean in the context of muscles?¡± ¡°Not straining them? Keeping them in their natural position?¡± The cogs began to turn inside Jay¡¯s head. ¡°To rest my personal essence, I have to keep it in its natural state?¡± ¡°Bingo. It¡¯s the same reason we boxed before you tried to learn thunder strike. It might tire your body, it might tire your mind. But it puts your essence at ease. Do things that are familiar to you. Go for a run, box, watch some fights¡­ Read a book.¡± Akira picked up his book and shook it, a not-so-subtle hint to Jay that he was also resting. Jay didn¡¯t understand how poring through a book bigger than his head could ever be relaxing, but he thanked Akira for the advice and went on his way. He had already watched every fight on Lyra¡¯s list twice over yesterday, he didn¡¯t need to watch them again. Yet. Instead, he ran. When people thought about boxing training, they usually thought about sparring. They thought about punching the speed bag until it became a blur or digging hooks into the heavy bag until your fists hurt. What they didn¡¯t think about was the roadwork. Running did the metaphorical, and physical, legwork when it came to boxing. You want to have a great first round and get knocked out in the second? Hit the punching bag. You want to be a fighter? Run. Jay had run every single day for the last twelve years. At first it was a chore, but he¡¯d convinced himself into liking it. At least while it made him a better fighter. He wouldn¡¯t be signing up for any marathons any time soon, but since it helped him in the ring, Jay attacked every run with a smile. Jay ran down Reveller''s Avenue, the avenue he was most familiar with. He let the thoughts drift from his mind as he put one foot in front of the other, taking in the world around him. Occasionally, when he really focused on the centre of the avenue, Jay caught glimpses of the trams. Silently gliding to and from the coliseum. These glimpses usually coincided with Jay catching his foot on something that he wasn¡¯t paying attention to, so he focused more on his path. Jay caught the tram back to the coliseum after finishing his run. He decided to rewatch all of Lyra''s fights once more. Partly to see if he missed something, partly to familiarise himself more with the gorilla¡¯s movement. He focused more on his future opponent than the gladiators this time. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. He didn¡¯t gain much from this film session, other than reaffirming the conclusions he¡¯d already made. The gorilla was fast, but its real strength was acceleration. Jay''s focus should be on countering when it was completely in motion. A tidbit that he didn¡¯t notice before was that three quarters of the gorillas were right-handed. In every fight they initiated a grab with one hand more often, and it was usually the right. Jay didn¡¯t know how useful this information would be, but it was interesting nonetheless. Jay went back to the training room. Before he started to stress test Eye of the storm again, he sat down and tried to figure out how it actually worked. There were two complimentary halves to Eye of the storm. Controlling the flow of information from his eyes to his brain and controlling the flow of information from his brain to the rest of his body. The mechanics of each half were the same, using the essence of lightning to manipulate his nervous system. But they were two distinct and opposite pathways. Part one: Information in. Part two: Information out. Jay reminisced on his imaginary fight with Shadow Akira. When he first plunged into Eye of the storm, details vanished from the surrounding training room and blurred into nothingness. Jay had effectively pinched his optic nerve and held the information hostage from his mind. This should have saved energy. He was forcibly making his nervous system take a break after all. But that wasn¡¯t how his mind worked. Fighting against millions of years of evolution took its toll. Earlier that morning, Jay reduced the time he spent in Eye of the storm, easing the load on his mind. What if he did the same thing again, but reduced the strength of the storm? If he drip-fed his brain only the most important information, would it ease the strain on his nervous system? Could he function at a faster pace without the barrage of useless data slowing him down? It wouldn¡¯t be the near omniscience he¡¯d initially felt when time stopped around him. But if he managed to use the new Eye of the storm for longer than four seconds, it might be worth it. Power was a fair price to pay for practicality. But that was only the first half of Eye of the storm. Part two needed a different solution. Muscles weren¡¯t computers, they were pistons. Jay couldn¡¯t send them details bit by bit, the dumb things would just spasm randomly. Jay¡¯s instructions couldn¡¯t be as basic as before either. His body might instinctually be able to throw a jab or slip a punch but that wouldn¡¯t be much use against a gorilla, Jay had only ever fought people before. An unfamiliar movement required a more complex instruction. Jay couldn¡¯t simply say dodge backwards when what he meant was the gorilla is swinging at my chest and if I don¡¯t step back in time, I¡¯m dead. But more information would slow down the signal. Jay had to find out how to do both. His brain couldn¡¯t pre-emptively instruct his muscles without all the information, but it could prepare them. Since Jay''s brain got a sliver of information from the new look Eye of the storm, it at least had something to work with. Each new insight the eyes sent over added a piece to the puzzle and cut off a possible avenue of attack for his opponent. Jay couldn¡¯t act too early based off this information, but he could definitely prepare to act. If he knew roughly the state of battle, Jay could make slight adjustments before all the necessary information came through. Dodge window about to open: More weight on the front foot, prepare to run. Attack window might open soon: Fists up in case it does. Each microadjustment didn¡¯t do much to advance Jay''s position in the fight, but it increased the speed at which he could do things that did. Focusing on this new, more endurance focused, direction. Jay activated Eye of the storm once more. Time slowed, but not like before. Jay¡¯s arms dragged themselves up in slow motion. They looked almost completely smooth; Jay couldn¡¯t even see his arm hair. All unnecessary details were discarded. When he focused, he could make out the individual muscles and see how they moved. That information helped him, he couldn¡¯t see anything that didn¡¯t. Over the course of the afternoon, Jay got to grips with using Eye of the storm at a low intensity. In the morning, Jay had found that lowering the amount of time he used the technique for lessened the burden on his mind. Using it like this did the same thing tenfold. Jay spend his whole afternoon dipping in and out of Eye of the storm, visualising opponents and getting to grips with the new way of controlling his body. By evening, even though he¡¯d been practicing all day, Jay barely felt an inkling of a headache. After a long day of practice, Jay walked into Vega¡¯s vacant room. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.
On the final day Jay had a dilemma. He felt he¡¯d taken Eye of the storm as far as he could, and that he could make no more progress in only one day. But that left him with a decision to make. He had two potential paths to walk down. The first was returning to thunder strike. Although he agreed with Vega that he was more suited to lightning than thunder, it was still his biggest damage dealer. Jay didn¡¯t know if he had the skill to finish the fight with a knife throw like he¡¯d seen Jana do, maybe he needed something with less finesse? Yesterday he¡¯d increased the efficiency of Eye of the storm by toning down its intensity. Could he do the same for thunder strike, or was the intensity part of its nature? He would have to walk that road to find the answer. The other option was to develop a new technique. Lyra reckoned it should be possible to link lightning to speed and come up with something that would increase more than just his reaction time. Jay agreed. Speed was also part of his nature. It was irreplaceable in the way he fought. But it was a whole new technique. And Jay was still scarred by the last time he learned a new technique. Being out of commission for a day was manageable five days before a fight. It was manageable two days before a fight. But the day before? It was a big risk. But was it a risk Jay was willing to take? Probably not. Jay put his faith in his fighting ability over his Harmony. He didn¡¯t need to be a Swiss army knife of essence, he needed to be a gladiator. That meant showing up to his fight in good condition. Jay returned to the relative familiarity of thunder strike instead of spreading himself too thin. He tried to look deeper into the mechanics of the attack, but he couldn¡¯t grasp it the same way he did Eye of the storm. Perhaps because his overlap wasn¡¯t as good? Jay ended his first few hours of training with nothing but a headache to show for himself. He took a break, clearing his mind before going back to basics. When he returned to training, Jay didn¡¯t bother delving into the how¡¯s or why¡¯s of the attack. He just copied the first thing that had worked yesterday. Testing his limits. Even if he didn¡¯t truly feel like a harmoniser, and didn¡¯t fully understand thunder strike, the results spoke for themselves. Jay warmed himself up with some shadow boxing, before unleashing a thunderclap on an unsuspecting Shadow Akira. Feeling no different, Jay restarted his shadow boxing. He didn¡¯t place a single foot wrong, and his punches cut cleanly through the air. The essence of thunder didn¡¯t change, so it had to be him. His training with Eye of the storm must have been transferable. Any Harmony ought to make his personal essence more malleable, but it was nice to see a tangible benefit to his training. He tried another, blasting another shadow Akira into black mist with a blistering left hook. This time the stirrings of fatigue crept up on Jay, but it was nothing like last time. Jay left it there, not wanting to risk the slightest chance of fatigue for fight day. Jay walked out of the coliseum satisfied. He could have spent his next few hours rewatching the fights again, but he didn¡¯t bother. Last minute cramming never worked. Instead, he set his sights on doing absolutely nothing until he woke up the next morning. He¡¯d already done all he could. All that was left now was to fight. Chapter 25: the Lonely Walk Bile clung to Jay''s throat as he spewed what remained of his breakfast into a bucket. He tried to wash it out with some water, but the taste lingered. Jay wiped the spit from his mouth. Sheepishly smiling up at the worried faces of Lyra and Akira. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It happens before every fight. It¡¯s practically a tradition.¡± He said. Trying, and failing, to stifle their concern. Akira fiddled with a shiny coin, he glanced between Jay and the clock behind him. Lyra sat slightly too still, her face looked impassive, but that told Jay enough. ¡°It¡¯s almost time. Are you going to wrap your fists? I could do it for you here if you want?¡± Akira said. ¡°My coach used to say wrapping your fists is like touching yourself. Sure, it¡¯s nice if someone else does it. But you always do it best on your own.¡± Jay laughed. ¡°Still want to help out?¡± He couldn¡¯t read Lyra¡¯s stony face, but he imagined a strong internal sigh taking place behind it as she remained silent. ¡°It would have cost you literally nothing not to say that. But you just had to go and do it.¡± Said Akira, easing a little bit of the tension in the room. Jay wanted to wrap his fists not just for protection, but for familiarity. The Conquerors fists would do a good enough job at distributing force, so he didn¡¯t strictly need them. But he wanted them anyway. Maybe it would convince his subconscious that it was just another fight. It didn¡¯t. But familiar or not, he had to fight anyway. Akira handed Jay a package wrapped in brown paper and gestured for Jay to open it. Jay obliged. Inside was a red roll of gauze and a matching red roll of tape. ¡°I know white is traditional, but if you aren¡¯t wearing red gloves you might as well have red wraps!¡± Akira said, smile beaming across his face. ¡°I was going to get you some shorts, but I couldn''t find anything better than the clothes the sage gave you. So I stuck with these.¡± Jay thanked Akira and began to wrap his hands. Jay made sure he wrapped tightly, condensing his hand into a single rock-solid fist. He used extra to ensure his wrists stayed stable and had to fiddle around with his fingers more than usual. He wasn¡¯t used to anything other than gloves above his wraps, but he had to fit the Conquerors fists there now. ¡°Looks good. Sorry, my gift isn¡¯t red.¡± Said Lyra. She carefully took off her necklace and handed it to Jay ¡°My family wore these whenever we went to war. It¡¯s an explosive that only detonates after you rip it off. If you are defeated, you can at least take your enemy with you.¡± ¡­ Jay thanked Lyra. Their eyes stayed locked on each other until Jay ducked his head to put on the necklace. Jay didn¡¯t know how to feel about carrying a bomb on his chest, but he put it on out of respect for his new friend. People didn¡¯t give out gifts like that lightly. The ice-cold blanket of composure fought desperately against the fire of adrenaline coursing through Jay¡¯s veins. Twenty-five professional boxing fights, countless amateur ones, and one clusterfuck of a coliseum debut. And he still couldn¡¯t calm his nerves. Jay looked at the bottled lightning he¡¯d placed in the centre of the twins¡¯ living room. Pure energy locked within, yet at the same time completely still. He saw why he had a good overlap with lightning; his feelings echoed it exactly in that moment. Jay kept the necklace over his tracksuit, it would be easier to grab there. He pushed his trench knives as tightly onto his fingers as he could, careful not to snag the serrated blades on any of his clothes. He raised his fists and touched knuckles with his two friends, he wished they could be cornering him for this fight. But in the Second Chance Coliseum, fighters fought alone.
Jay''s journey to the coliseum was a quiet one. He wanted to walk to the coliseum alone as a reminder of where he came from and where he was going. For his first ten professional fights, Jay walked the entire way to the arena¡¯s dressing rooms by himself. His coaches complained, they wanted to be with him before the fight, but Jay always refused. The stress of preparation, the stress of the walk out, the stress of the fight. Jay needed some silent time before he returned to the madness. He needed the calm before the storm. When he became a national champion, and posters of his face plastered every other lamp post within a mile of the arena, Jay was forced to end his tradition. He would have loved to keep it up, but fans will be fans, and being stopped for a photo every thirty seconds wasn¡¯t the best way to get into a fighting mentality. The walk to the coliseum gave Jay at least some of the familiarity he sought after. It didn¡¯t take him back to Earth, the extravagant storefronts of Reveller''s Avenue were a far cry from the drab brown terraces of his old home. It took him back to something far more intrinsic. It took him back to being a young hungry boxer, aiming for greatness and ready to fire. Gone were the crowds, gone were the expectations. He just had to fight. Jay¡¯s date with the past reminded him once more of his place in the world. He was at the bottom of the mountain. The giant, coliseum sized mountain that he had no choice but to climb. Jay started boxing because he wanted to be like his big brother. Simple as that. But right now he fought for a simpler reason. An even more base desire. He fought to survive. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The crisp morning air kept Jay on edge as he neared his destination. Sunlight occasionally peeked through the clouds to give him a warm pat on the back. The coliseum had fights throughout the whole day, and most of the night too. It wasn¡¯t a surprise someone making their second ever appearance was fighting when most people were probably still in bed. A few others walked along the avenue with Jay but none of them paid him any attention. No matter the outcome of his fight, these people¡¯s lives would continue. If he lived, they¡¯d still make the same walk tomorrow. If he died, they¡¯d still make the same walk tomorrow. Jay couldn¡¯t decide whether he liked that or not. No matter what the outcomes or consequences, he had to fight. With each step he drew ever closer to his date with destiny.
¡°25 minutes left, what do you think?¡± Akira said. Lyra¡¯s silence spoke volumes. She anxiously ran her fingers across her bare neck. Come to think of it, had he ever seen her without her necklace before? Akira racked his brain for any such memory but came up short. Wow, must have been a big deal. He tried quietly coughing, to nudge her into a response. He got nothing back. Lyra almost never acted like this. Well, other than her sister¡¯s fights. She was usually far more stoic. Did this mean she also got this nervous when he fought too? Akira hoped so. He gave up on getting an answer, sat down next to Lyra and ordered a drink. He knew better than to push her right now. The Celestial Swords was the perfect place to watch E grade fights. Walking distance from the fighters exit, but far away enough to be cheap. Even when he unlocked the ability to watch live fights at D grade, Akira liked to imagine that he¡¯d still swing by the place occasionally. Jay looked quite upset that they wouldn¡¯t watch his fight live, until he found out that they couldn¡¯t. Akira felt honoured that his new friend cared at least. Of course, if they could have made it, they would have. Yet another thing they had to wait till D grade for. 24 and a half minutes left. Nothing more they could do now. Akira knew Jay''s power better than anyone. The thunder punch had damaged him far more than he let on. He still felt the bruise now. And that was Jay''s first ever attempt. Of course he¡¯d skipped on practicing it since, but that was his prerogative. Akira wasn¡¯t gonna give Jay unsolicited advice on Harmony. There was no need, he always asked good questions and Akira had already annoyed enough people with his inability to stop talking. He reckoned Vega would murder him if he brought up his theories on how the heck the trams worked one more time. He dragged his mind away from theory, a lot more easily than usual, and thought about his new friend making the lonely walk to the coliseum. Just how strong are you, Jay? And how strong can you become? In 24 minutes, maybe he¡¯d find out.
¡°25 minutes left, what do you think?¡± Lyra tried to push Akira¡¯s voice out of her mind. She couldn¡¯t fault him for trying to ease the tension, but she would rather do anything than talk right now. She tried to scratch her neck, but her stupid stone skin wouldn¡¯t budge. Why was she so nervous? It was just another fight. Sure, Jay had quite the talent for analysis. He¡¯d be a great person to have on their side during the advancement tournament, even if he didn¡¯t compete. But there were analysts everywhere, provided you had the money. So what was it about this guy that made him different? When they viewed the Goldenback gorilla fights, it was like they were one mind. Two halves in sync with the other, combining to create the ultimate fight plan. Not that it was a foolproof plan of course. And every plan was limited by the capabilities of the person executing it. She pulled up Jay''s rankings. They were almost criminally low. Depending on the outcome of their plan, that could all change soon. Her eyes dropped to the centre of the table, to one of Jay¡¯s laughably low ratings.
Strategy 902
How had that one been calculated? She was rank one, and he¡¯d kept pace with her. Jay was in for a major upgrade after the fight. If he survived That was the reality of the coliseum. Potential didn¡¯t mean anything. Planning didn¡¯t mean anything. If you didn¡¯t win, everything becomes worthless. What use is a brain full of knowledge when it¡¯s splattered across the gravel pit.
Golden flames licked Vega¡¯s back. A chime signalled the end of her meditation. An ancient man, face pockmarked with spots hunched over her. She pressed her finger to his golden flames and snuffed them out with ease. The hot embers barely staining her hands. Another useless sensei. Another wasted week. ¡°What¡¯s the time?¡± she barked at the elderly man. For someone who claimed to be the sage of golden flames, he hadn¡¯t shown much wisdom over the past hour. His mouth hung open, and he only bumbled a response once Vega¡¯s hairline fractures started glowing orange. ¡°S-Seven in the morning¡± Huh. The new guy¡¯s probably fighting soon. Nice. Vega didn¡¯t spare the sage another glance. She walked out of his temple, which was just a cave on an uninhabited island a day away from Arenara Fortunis, and back onto the beach. It was time to head back. Lyra had probably found a good training spot for her by now. Vega walked along the seafront. Looking for the sailors she¡¯d hired to bring her to and from the fake sage¡¯s island. Nothing. The rowboat she¡¯d been dropped off on was nowhere to be seen. Vega couldn¡¯t even make out a ship on the horizon. She put her hands on her hips and looked at the endless blue expanse in front of her. ¡°Ah Fuck.¡±
Selena watched the storm sage scrunch up another sheet of paper and zap it with enough power to kill half of D grade. The ashes joined a growing pile beside his desk. A gust of wind would scatter them out of the tower eventually. But the sage hadn¡¯t noticed the pile yet. ¡°You¡¯re nervous, aren¡¯t you?¡± she said, loud enough that she was certain he heard. Which meant it was loud enough that she was certain he was ignoring her. Apparently being a once in a generation harmoniser didn¡¯t translate to social subtlety. Oh well. For someone so intelligent, her teacher certainly acted like a child sometimes. Luckily, she knew how an easy fix for this situation. Selena turned so her back was facing the sage. She checked the time. Five past seven. Almost time. Might as well put on a few fights before. Grumbling about how boring they are would at least give him something to do. She played the fights, accidently making her system visible. She then made the screen large enough for someone sat behind her to get an okay view if they craned their neck. Or tried to discretely move to the side. A not-so-quiet footstep kicked a pile of ash behind her. Sometimes she wondered if she really was fooling the storm sage, or if he simply enjoyed the game. She had many questions about the man. Most of them she doubted she¡¯d ever find an answer to. Maybe Jay would be able to extract more from him than she had. The new guy had certainly piqued the sage¡¯s interest. He¡¯d come up in conversations unprompted multiple times since walking out of Tranquillity tower. Oh well. She cared about the sage¡¯s knowledge, not his attention. Besides, she also wanted to see the man fight. Anyone who the storm sage paid so much attention to, regardless of circumstance, was someone to keep your eye on. There wasn¡¯t just one person in the room who wondered what Lightning Leonard would bring to his second fight. Chapter 26: Everybody has a plan… Even though he¡¯d seen it almost every day for the past week, the clifflike walls of the Second Chance Coliseum never ceased to floor Jay. His neck ached from permanently craning up to get glimpses of the tower beyond the clouds. Jay had to force himself to look at his feet. The locals near Jay weren¡¯t nearly as interested as he was. Jay somewhat understood, you see anything every day and it becomes boring. But looking at the coliseum, Jay couldn¡¯t imagine the day where he didn¡¯t feel awed by the colossal structure. Lyra told Jay that he needed to enter the coliseum through Gladiator''s Gate which, confusingly, was nowhere near Gladiator''s Avenue. Jay walked three eighths anti-clockwise before he saw his destination. The majority of the coliseum¡¯s fa?ade was arched cubbies. Inset in the white marble were statues that looked tiny from the ground but were probably life sized. The statues provided an interesting texture to the coliseum, blending into a bobbly pattern from afar, but displaying great detail when you looked closely. Jay was too late to catch the sunrise, but he imagined the former gladiators emerging from their shadows would look equal parts beautiful and ominous. Gladiators Gate rejected conformity. Instead of many, there was one. One singular carving in the coliseum wall. A lone gladiator, standing tall, shield and spear held to its side as it looked down on its domain. Jay couldn¡¯t see the gladiator''s face. Not because it was covered by clouds, although the statue was tall enough for that to be possible, but because it didn¡¯t have one. It didn¡¯t have any defining features really. The statue was vaguely humanoid, but there was little detail in its body. Jay couldn¡¯t even tell if it was a man or a woman. Yet somehow the detail wasn¡¯t necessary. Jay didn¡¯t need to see any more to know that this was a gladiator, he could tell after one glance. Jay saw a bit of himself in the faceless gladiator, although he supposed that was the point. One figure to represent all gladiators. From the lowly E grade newbies walking to their first real fight, to the legends who already had their own statues etched into the coliseum¡¯s walls. But Jay saw a deeper meaning behind the anonymous gladiator. There was a reason there was only one statue. Regardless of what anyone tries to say, what anyone tried to tell you as a child, there¡¯s a reason people love to fight. It¡¯s not because it¡¯s fun, although Jay would certainly agree that it is. It¡¯s not because they like to compete, although that is undeniably true. No. The reason people like to fight is because everyone wants to be the best, everyone wants to prove they¡¯re the best. And what better way to prove it than by beating anyone who dares say otherwise into the ground? Many people will deny it, but Jay knew it to be true. Inside everyone was a voice telling them to chase greatness, to be the best. Some just spoke louder than others. That¡¯s why there was only one statue. A constant reminder that there can be lots of good gladiators, there can be lots of great gladiators. But there can only be one greatest. There can only be one champion. Jay liked Akira, he liked Lyra and Vega too. He was more than happy to help them as they had helped him. But he knew, and he wagered that they knew too, that the path of the fighter was a lonely one. Atop the mountain, there¡¯s only room for one. As Jay walked towards Gladiator''s Gate, he felt these thoughts intrude into his mind. He wasn¡¯t sure where they came from, but he didn¡¯t care. In that moment, he didn¡¯t need to care about anything other than the fight. He didn¡¯t need to be himself right now. He needed to win. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Jay walked through the archway between the anonymous gladiator¡¯s legs and entered the coliseum. He walked down a hallway with doors lining either side until he felt an urge to stop and look to his left. Jay gave in to his urges and turned. Carved into the wooden door was his name. Jay grasped the door handle, hesitating for half a second before pushing the door open and walking in.
Of all the things waiting for him past the door, Jay expected his one-week-old, unwashed gloves the least. Yet that was the first thing he saw upon entering his room. The same boring room that he stayed in for a while after his first fight. He took a while to centre himself after entering the room. Jay thought he was focused and calm, but the statue of the unnamed gladiator had really got to him. It was the same as the first statue he saw after leaving the coliseum. It felt like the statue had removed Jay''s thoughts and replaced them with its own. Now isn¡¯t the time to doubt yourself. Focus! Jay sat down and meditated, trying to clear his mind. It worked a bit, but the thoughts of the unnamed gladiator remained. Jay wished there was a clock in the room, he thought he still had some time before his fight, but not knowing for sure was pure agony. He started shadow boxing, waiting in here too long would cool down his muscles. If he didn¡¯t know when the fight would start, he needed to be ready whenever. The shadow boxing brought warmth to his body and peace to his mind. The lingering thoughts of the unnamed gladiator were washed out of his mind by the waves of familiarity. Jay felt more like himself, but himself was currently scared as fuck. His heart pounded against his chest, he kept glancing around the room, checking every corner as if the gorilla would somehow show up here. If I ever find the sick fuck that decided not to put a clock in here¡­ 100¡­99¡­98¡­ The golden timer filled up most of Jay''s vision, reminding him to be careful what he wished for. Jay thought he¡¯d calmed down since entering the room, but a hundred-second countdown on a fight to the death would rattle even the most steadfast of stoics. It¡¯s not like he could do anything though. 40¡­39¡­38¡­ The walls of the room began to crumble into dust, blowing away into nothingness and revealing the white void behind them. Jay didn¡¯t stay there for long. First came the sky. It was a lot more convincing than the training room, Jay actually felt like he was outside. The ground came next. The signature beige gravel of the newbie arena. Then came his opponent. A black and gold behemoth. Hundreds of kilos of pure muscle, hunched over four tree trunk limbs. Jay didn¡¯t think animals were capable of evil before. This one was. 20¡­19¡­18¡­ Jay ran through his plan one final time. He¡¯d keep Eye of the storm running in its low intensity mode. Jay knew his limits. He could keep the technique running the whole fight if he didn¡¯t use it at full intensity too much. When the gorilla inevitably rushed in, Jay would spike up to full intensity, spot an opening and try to touch the gorillas back. He¡¯d dodge to his right, his opponents left. That was most likely its weak side. From there he¡¯d touch its back. No power, just a touch. Then wait for the gorilla to get over its madness and, just as it got back to its feet, hit it with a thunder strike. Ideally, he wouldn¡¯t have to get that close, but Jay had no other high damage options. He had to play with the pieces he had. 10¡­9¡­8¡­ Mike Tyson once famously said Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. Jay wondered if he¡¯d have phrased it differently if he¡¯d ever fought a gorilla. Sure, plans were fickle, but it was the only thing he had at the moment. He had to trust in it. 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­ FIGHT. Jay''s once perfect eyesight decayed into blurriness. Details vanished as his eyes withheld them from his brain. Each individual rock in the gravel merged into a swathe of beige. Not even his opponent was immune, the sheen of the gorilla¡¯s fur disappearing into nothingness. Only the most essential details were sent into Jay''s mind. Anything else would slow him down. Jay marvelled at the progress he¡¯d made. Yesterday, the second form of the technique slowed his perception of time slightly. Now it felt almost identical to the first. He¡¯d been looking at the gorilla for what felt like twenty seconds, but it hadn¡¯t even started moving yet. Had he unknowingly unlocked something that sped up his perception even more? Was Jay''s perception so advanced that all this time had gone by in a fraction of a second? In his mind, another twenty seconds went by. Somethings up. He prepared to react suddenly, then dropped Eye of the storm. Details rushed back into his surroundings, but Jay remained focused on his opponent. The gorilla¡¯s eyes stared directly back at him. Jay made out a mocking smirk on its face. It wasn¡¯t his perception that sped up. His opponent simply wasn¡¯t moving. Jay wondered what Mike Tyson would say if he could see him right now. Everybody has a plan until they realise their plan fucking sucks. Chapter 27: A Fatal Lesson in Humanity [End of Arc 1] Jay bounced on the balls of his feet. Hoping, begging, for his opponent to throw him a bone. Nothing. The pit in Jay¡¯s stomach sank even deeper as reality kicked in. His whole plan revolved around the gorilla rushing in and leaving an opening to attack its back, the plan that he¡¯d spent all week preparing around, the plan that was his only hope of defeating the gorilla. The plan that was looking shittier by the second. The newbie arena was completely disconnected from the outside world. Jay saw no indication that anything other than the gravel plain existed around him, but he could feel the jeers of the crowd staring at him. Shouting, yelling, screaming at him to just do something. Shit, if he was watching he¡¯d probably be screaming too. Only the power of peer pressure and showmanship drove Jay forward. He made the first move of the fight, a cautious shuffle bringing him a half-step closer while using Eye of the storm at a low intensity. Still no response. Another step went unanswered as Jay silently cursed his lack of preparation. When he¡¯d first watched the fights with Lyra, he¡¯d thought about what would happen if the gorilla didn¡¯t charge in. He¡¯d thought about it, but he didn¡¯t pay the thought any attention, brushing it off as overthinking. If he lived through this fight, he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake again. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and fight! There was no point cursing his situation though. Jay was stuck whether he liked it or not, so he kept moving forward. The gorilla shifted its weight slightly onto its rear. Jay flipped the switch, increasing the intensity of Eye of the storm. He kept his current pace, not wanting to give away that he noticed the change. Only the vital details reached his mind as his careful advance, while in reality unchanged, stretched out into eternity. The gorilla now had all its weight pressing down from its legs. Its knuckles only touched the ground in an attempt to hide its preparation from Jay. It might have worked against most people. The gorilla¡¯s position had only marginally changed from before. But it would never work against Jay. A lifetime of monitoring his opponents¡¯ microadjustments in the ring, turbocharged by his accelerated mind, meant nothing could be hidden from Jay right now. Not that the gorilla had any idea of this. All it saw was a puny sack of bones scooting right into its trap. Jay knew something was coming any time now. He pushed Eye of the storm to its limit. Even if he timed this perfectly, Jay had no idea if he was even fast enough to dodge his opponent. He couldn¡¯t hold anything back. The gorilla started to push on its legs, finally making its move. Jay continued his oblivious fa?ade, waiting for its direction to be locked in. Although he appeared to be moving as exactly as before, Jay kept subtly shifting his weight. Repositioning his body and cutting off avenues for his opponent to attack. Bolting doors shut before they¡¯d even been opened. After a mental Mexican standoff, the gorilla passed the point of no return. It had barely moved, but it had moved enough for Jay to know its destination. It was about to leap to Jay''s right side, sending its right fist on a collision course for Jay''s face. At least it¡¯s not lefty too. Jay began to duck. The gorilla was already taller than Jay, and it was about to gain a ton of upwards momentum by leaping off the ground. It¡¯s aiming for my head. Almost as soon as Jay ducked, his opponent changed courses too. The gorilla¡¯s chest contorted, angling its shoulder to swipe down. Damn this thing¡¯s fast. But Jay already knew that, it was already factored in his plan. If he¡¯d dodged left or right, the gorilla could shift its target with little more than a twist of the hips. That¡¯s why he went low. With all its weight moving forwards and upwards, Jay''s opponent would have to reverse all its momentum to land a meaningful hit while Jay was underneath. But humans, much like their cousins the gorillas, were also prisoners to biomechanics. It didn¡¯t matter whether his brain ran hundreds, or even thousands of times faster than usual. Jay could only move as fast as his muscles could drag him. And next to a Goldenback gorilla, that wasn¡¯t very fast at all. Jay had expertly planted his feet in the ground, perfectly poised to transfer as much force as possible. But waiting for them to actually act was like watching paint dry. Jay was a prisoner inside his own body as he watched the gorilla pirouette mid-air. Its knuckles inched ever closer. Finally, Jay''s thighs answered. Digging into the gravel and pushing him away from the attack. This was where his plan told him to turn and take a swipe at the gorillas back. Yeah¡­ Not happening. The gorilla had half turned around already. At Jay¡¯s current speed, anything other than an immediate retreat would be suicidal. By the time the Goldenback had fully turned, Jay had carved a big enough gap between them. He kept scrambling away. Jay heard his opponent give chase for a split second before stopping. At least he got something right in his prep. The difference wasn¡¯t in their speed, but their acceleration. Not that that helped him much. They were in a fight not a hundred metre sprint. Jay spun around to see the gorilla hunched and unmoving once more. He relaxed Eye of the storm, giving his brain a chance to recover. He took advantage of the lull in the fight, scavenging through the deepest recesses of his mind for anything he could do in this situation. How am I supposed to touch this thing, let alone kill it? I know how fast it is. Fucking fast. But that doesn¡¯t help me. Do I attack its legs? That¡¯ll get rid of its explosivity, but can I even land a hit? The fucker¡¯s faster and stronger than me. It can probably outlast me too. But shit, I can¡¯t waste my energy on anything other than its back. Jay had to stick to the plan. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was the only advantage he had. All he needed was one hit, and that would make the opening for him. He had to go for the back. Jay switched gears, running at his opponent. If the gorilla beat Jay¡¯s acceleration, this would take that advantage away. Hard to accelerate much when you¡¯re already at max speed. With each step, Jay increased the intensity of Eye of the storm, narrowing his focus on his opponent as he drew closer.
The gorilla seemed to be doing the exact same thing as before. Does it know? What i- Jay silenced his doubts before they paralysed him. There was no use debating What ifs, they would only be useful if he actually had a plan B. Jay fixated on his opponent, trying to predict where it would move. The gorilla¡¯s body told him nothing, there was no lean left or right, no tensing of its muscles, nothing. Jay wondered what Coach¡¯s face would look like if he saw him right now, charging headfirst into a fucking gorilla. He wondered what Coach¡¯s face would look like if he knew this was the plan. The gorilla¡¯s hind legs began to curl up. Tensing with compressed energy, waiting for its next jump. Its front knuckles gently rested on the ground, exactly as before. What happened next wasn¡¯t the same as before. It wasn¡¯t even close. Jay watched with grim realisation as his situation, which was already pretty hopeless, kept getting worse and worse. The problem with thinking at the speed of lightning, is having an eternity in each second to realise how fucked you are. Jay was mid-step, suspended in air, unable to change his movement in any way when his opponent made its move. The gorilla pressed against the ground. It rocked onto its heels and pushed. Backwards. Propelled by four giant limbs, the gorilla accelerated back. Instantly matching Jay''s speed. Jay was almost sprinting, there was no way he could change direction in time. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. But he had to try. Jay planted his foot into the ground, desperately trying to shift his direction. Sand and stones skittered across the floor as it dug into the gravel. Jay''s Achilles tendon almost snapped from the strain, momentum driving it forward while friction yanked it back. Whatever the opposite of the goldilocks zone was, that¡¯s where Jay was right now. Too far to touch his opponent, and not getting any closer, but just inside the reach of the gorilla¡¯s sprawling ape arms. All the pressure Jay pushed on his ankle was worthless as he couldn¡¯t change his trajectory fast enough to escape his opponent¡¯s range. A twitch in the gorilla¡¯s shoulders alerted Jay to a strike about to come on his right. Not that there was much he could do about it. A rapid assessment decided that the gorilla¡¯s swipe was undodgeable before it had even started swinging. Jay started ducking and raised his right arm up to cover his face. If he wanted any chance of surviving this one, he¡¯d needed to do everything he could to make sure his opponent didn¡¯t make clean contact with his skull. Luckily for Jay, the Goldenback was still accelerating backwards. Locking most of its body out of adding power to the swing. Jay allowed himself a sliver of hope. Maybe the gorilla¡¯s momentum would take away its power? A glance at the cable-like muscle fibres in his opponent¡¯s swinging arm dispelled Jay¡¯s hope into mere prayers. Maybe not. Time ticked agonisingly by. The black arm of death crept closer. It pained Jay to look at his impending fate, but he forced himself to watch. Anything to ensure the strike was as glancing as possible. Jay braced for impact. He clenched his teeth and tried not to bite off his tongue. He pressed his right forearm tightly against his head. There was nothing more he could do now. Anyone who¡¯s been punched in the face knows the disconcerting sensation as their skull rushes to one side before their brain gets the memo. All the liquids encased in your head slosh about. Everything, from the world around you to your own two hands, becomes a bit more confusing. Jay knew this feeling well. As much as it was his job to try not to get punched in the face, being a boxer and getting punched went hand in hand, surprisingly enough. What he wasn¡¯t used to however, was the inside of his skull slamming into his brain before he could even process being touched. He¡¯d done everything he could. Ducked enough so that only a tiny portion of the gorillas arm made contact, placed his arm perfectly to block it, loosened his neck to swing with the punch rather than meet it head on. Confronted with the raw force of his opponent, it didn¡¯t mean shit. Up became down and left and right merged into nothingness as Jay reeled from the punch. He couldn¡¯t tell if he was ragdolling through the air, careening away from his opponent, or if his brain was so fucked up that it just felt like it. Eye of the storm, normally his respite against the chaos of battle, simply didn¡¯t work anymore. What use was controlling the flow of information when none of the information made sense. Of course, pain was the first feeling to return. But Jay welcomed the searing pain coming from every inch of his right arm. It proved his arm still existed. When his brain finished pinballing around his skull, more and more started to make sense. Jay reactivated Eye of the storm. Sand and sky separated as Jay could finally differentiate between the gravel pit of the newbie coliseum and everything else. He¡¯d occasionally get glimpses of black and gold in his whirlwind of vision. Jay wondered why his opponent kept appearing and disappearing. Then he realised that he was cartwheeling through the air away from the gorilla. Jay made out an iridescent sheen in the air moments before his flailing body slammed into the invisible arena walls. No longer flying through the air, Jay''s body slumped onto the ground. Blood poured from Jay¡¯s skull and into his eyes, clouding his vision red before pooling on the ground. One hit. One. Fucking. Hit. Through the crimson veil Jay saw his opponent watching him. Gloating. Looking down on the puny human who thought he could challenge the natural order. It wasn¡¯t even moving, it didn¡¯t need to. Its prey was dead in the water, slumped into a puddle of pain. No need to continue the chase. Jay was lying there waiting to be killed. Jay twisted his neck, barely lifting it an inch off the gravel before fatigue slammed it back down into the ground. The horizon wobbled before flatlining into familiar sky and sand. Only two figures broke up Jay¡¯s view of the coliseum¡¯s endless expanse. Two? Beside his opponent, although stood much closer, was a man wearing black and white stripes. It looked like he was speaking. It was no use. Jay couldn¡¯t hear him. Jay didn¡¯t know if his eardrums were clogged, burst, ruptured or whatever, but he couldn¡¯t hear a thing. The man was counting on his fingers, with each one he raised it felt like he was begging Jay to get up. Jay knew there was no referee here. He knew he was fighting in the coliseum. He knew it was just him and the Goldenback gorilla in the arena together. But damn it felt real. Damn it felt so fucking real. But if the referee was counting, real or not, then it meant he wasn¡¯t dead yet. And if he wasn¡¯t dead yet, it meant he could get up and fight. The referee held six fingers up. Jay dragged his legs and brought his knees underneath him. Seven. Jay''s fists, one bloodied one broken, ground into the gravel as he pushed his chest off the ground. Eight. Fuck this fuck this fuck this. Jay got up to his feet and slumped against the invisible wall, refusing to hit the ground again. He didn¡¯t know why, whether it was pride, anger, or pure fighting spirit, but he knew he had to stay standing. Nine. The referee looked into Jay''s eyes. He saw the pure determination behind them. He nodded. Continue the fight. Jay''s hallucination faded, black and white stripes made way for black and gold fur. Ten. Jay raised his fists. The gorilla stared down at him. Jay stared back. Standing like a feral animal, wounded, cornered, hunched over. But standing. It wasn¡¯t over yet. As long as Jay still breathed, he¡¯d stand up and fight. If the gorilla wanted Jay''s life, it would have to come and take it from him. Jay watched as the beast lumbered forward, slowly building speed. Jay thought about every second of the fight so far. Was there anything he could have done? Any way he could have avoided this fate? It felt like he was dealt a losing hand, and nothing he could have done would¡¯ve changed the fights outcome. The gorilla crept closer. Jay thought back to his week at the coliseum. Was there anything he could have done? Maybe he should have accepted the Flaming Tomb Alliance¡¯s offer. This whole fight would have been a lot easier if he could throw fireballs at his opponent from afar like Vega. What if he performed better in the storm sage¡¯s trials? Could he have been taught a technique to move faster even than the gorilla, would that have evened the playing field? What if he hadn¡¯t pushed too hard on his first day of training the thunder strike? Would an extra day of training have made a difference? It was even closer now, mere moments away. Jay beat his chest with his one working fist. Once again not knowing the reasons for his actions. A primal urge taking over as he neared death. Jay thought about his friends. He¡¯d known them for less than a week, but they¡¯d done so much for him. From giving him a place to stay, to training with him when they had their own life or death tournament to practice for. He thought about Akira. The kid looked so happy to see another soul who he shared a home with. So happy to hear about their old world and let Jay know about their new one. He thought about Lyra. Akira had a shared background to link him to Jay, she didn¡¯t. The hope she¡¯d shown in Jay, the belief that he could be something, was pure and unbiased. Somehow that meant more than as shared homeland. She¡¯d even- Jay''s beating fist brushed against cold stone. The gorilla was almost upon him, but not there yet. Fuck it, why not. Jay grasped his necklace in his one working hand. But he wasn¡¯t ready to give in yet. It was a hail Mary, but at this point anything else wouldn¡¯t work. When finishing off a severely wounded opponent, it can be easy to rush in with no thought to your enemy. You¡¯ve already bested them, beaten them almost to the point of defeat. And it might be safe to assume that they had nothing left to damage you with. But a good fighter always keeps the suspicion whispering, even if almost to the point of silence, in the back of their mind. What if? An animal has none of that, when it goes for the kill, all it thinks about is the kill. Jay prepared to give his opponent a fatal lesson in humanity. Although he may have been downed, battered, bruised, and bloodied. Although his body had almost nothing left to give. Until his consciousness was forcibly separated from his body. He wasn¡¯t out. Jay pushed Eye of the storm further than he¡¯d ever tried before. The string tugging at his neck took an eternity to break as his hand yanked it off agonisingly slowly. The Goldenback had just entered its range. It wound up an attack. An attack doomed to never land. While he didn¡¯t know how fast the necklace would explode, Jay knew it would be quick. When he tugged it off his neck, he used all the force he could muster to launch it behind his opponent. The necklace barely cleared the gorilla¡¯s shoulder blade before it detonated. A minor explosion that, even at such close range, didn¡¯t do enough to kill the beast. But that wasn¡¯t what Jay needed it to do. He just needed its back. The gorilla completely forgot about Jay. It contorted its body, desperately scrambling for its back. Momentum still carried it forward though. Sandwiched between an immovable wall and the closest thing he¡¯d ever experienced to an unstoppable force, Jay¡¯s ribs cracked under the pressure before he even felt them break. The jolting lance of excruciating pain slammed him out of Eye of the storm. Jay keeled over and almost fell to the floor before catching himself. He couldn¡¯t fall down now. This was his one chance. The gorilla had forgotten about the fight, all it cared about now was getting whatever just touched its back, and making sure it was dead. Jay pressed the cold, denatured steel of the Conquerors fists into his cheekbones. Falling into the peek-a-boo stance half out of familiarity, half to force his head upright. The Goldenback wasn¡¯t attacking him anymore, but that didn¡¯t mean it was an easy target. It tossed and turned, prone on the ground. All four of its burly limbs flailed, desperately scratching at its back. But this was Jay¡¯s only shot. Jay stood a few metres away from the thrashing gorilla, fists raised, blades outstretched. It still didn¡¯t see him. Its limbs began to slow down. NOW! Spikes of agony speared through Jay''s head. He pushed through his concussion to reactivate Eye of the storm one final time. Every ounce of his focus trained in on the gorilla, hunting for the split-split-second opening when it stopped rolling about but still wasn¡¯t thinking. When it arrived, Jay didn¡¯t hesitate. He stepped in, discarding all boxing technique as he raised both Conquerors fists into the air before driving them downwards. The two steel blades buried themselves into the gorilla¡¯s meaty neck. They didn¡¯t go far, only sinking a couple inches deep into the tough, sinewy muscle fibres. But that wasn¡¯t the end. Vega said his time spent studying thunder essence was wasted. That it didn¡¯t fit him. At the time he agreed with her. But now he didn¡¯t regret a single second. All Jay¡¯s will focused on compression. Stored force, a caged beast snapping at its bars. Longing to be unleashed. Jay forced all his strength into one single point. Then he compressed it further. Then he compressed it further. Then he compressed it further. Then he set it free. Through his steel trench daggers. From inside his opponent. The shockwave tore the gorilla¡¯s chest to shreds, flinging stringy muscle fibres onto Jay''s face and into his mouth as it indiscriminately ripped apart the gorilla. Jay lost all footing as the wave pushed him into the air before he fell onto his back. A rumble in his stomach gave Jay a warning, but rolling onto his chest was all he could do before he violently threw up on the gravel. Jay took one look at the desecrated corpse of his opponent. Its legs still resembled those of a gorilla. Its torso still looked like an animal. Sort of. Jay could make out torn muscles, broken bones, and blood spurting into a crimson pool on the ground. As for the gorilla¡¯s head and shoulders, they were nowhere to be seen. At least in full. Unidentifiable gobbets of flesh dotted the gravel pit around Jay. A bloody mist coated his arms, chest, and face in red. The horror of both seeing and feeling the viscera around him forced another round of vomit through Jay''s throat. It was the last thing he remembered before he collapsed onto the ground unconscious. Chapter 28: Reflections When Jay awoke, most of his pain had vanished. Most. The last echoes of a throbbing headache still bounced around his head, but at least he wasn¡¯t coated in blood anymore. He lay face up on a hardwood floor. No longer staring up at the newbie arena¡¯s artificial sky, but at a low-set ceiling painted in a forgettable beige. For a moment Jay rested in blissful silence, remembering how the coliseum had fully healed him last time. He still had a headache, but that made sense since it was self-inflicted. Jay enjoyed his moment, a few brief seconds of stillness. Finally. The moment was ruined the second he tried to move his arms. It felt like Jay¡¯s forearms had been surgically removed and replaced with cinderblocks. Any attempt to move them was met with nothing, not even pain. Jay craned his neck off the floor to get a better look. Well at least they¡¯re still there. Past the elbow, Jay¡¯s arms were swollen, purple and entirely unresponsive. Only tatters remained of his brand-new wraps and Jay''s bruised, puffy fingers filled the Conquerors fists with no room to spare. He tried to wiggle them, but the discoloured lumps didn¡¯t budge. Congratulations Lightning Leonard, you have won your second fight in the Second Chance Coliseum. You have unlocked new privileges: You may now replay previous fights, access the leaderboards, access the shopping interface, and view others¡¯ profiles. Your profile has now been updated. Would you like to view it? You have been awarded 2400 Contribution points. Your visa has been extended for 7 days. Jay''s mood was buoyed by the thought of improved rankings, and over two thousand contribution points didn¡¯t hurt either. Remembering he had another fight in a week did put a dampener on his mood, but Jay tried to push through it. Ever since he¡¯d been told that the rankings were only based off fights, Jay had been itching to see a tangible sign of his improvement. Of course he¡¯d harmonized, he¡¯d trained, he¡¯d just won his second fight and shown the world how good he was. But nothing beat climbing the ladder, looking beneath you and laughing with a sense of superiority.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 823
Offence 793
Defence 901
Strategy 850
Instinct 750
Vitality 931
Speed 701
Jay wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d expected, he had no reference to compare the rank improvement to. He did, however, make a mental note to ask Akira or Lyra about the nitty gritty of the rankings later. Another one for the list. The shock factor of Jay''s injured arms died down after looking at his stats. Although he still couldn¡¯t move them, they were now mere deadweight rather than chains tying him to the ground. He managed, still with some difficulty, to sit up and scan the room he woke up in. Jay recognised the same room he stayed in before this fight and after his first. He crossed his legs, no fight was complete without a post-fight analysis, and Jay wanted to get into it while his mind was still fresh. Jay closed his eyes, shutting off the outside world. Entirely focused on evaluating his fight. And extracting every last drop of knowledge from it. Now where do I start? From the beginning, the fight hadn¡¯t gone to plan. Why? Because his opponent didn¡¯t do what he¡¯d expected. Why? This one took a bit more time, why didn¡¯t the gorilla act as Jay had planned? Because it just didn¡¯t? It was just an animal, it couldn¡¯t have seen through Jay''s plan or developed its own tactic, right? That line of reasoning was meaningless. Regardless of the how or why, Jay''s plan failed to properly account for his opponent. That was the issue he needed to rectify. His opponent didn¡¯t act as he¡¯d expected. Jay couldn¡¯t put that on his opponent. If he wanted to not make the same mistake again, he had to change. The issue wasn¡¯t with his opponent¡¯s actions, but rather his reliance on them. The strategy was built on a poor foundation. Getting to the gorilla¡¯s back was a good idea, it had been successfully done before and it was what eventually won him the fight. The issue was how to get there. His strategy relied on the gorilla charging in. While that wasn¡¯t a bad assumption, previous fights had shown it happening almost every fight, it was still an assumption. The base of his plan relied on his opponent, relied on an uncertainty. Next time, Jay had to make sure his core strategy revolved around himself. Not his opponent. In a way, this was a fusion of what he¡¯d learned from the twins. Jay needed a plan. He wasn¡¯t strong enough to win his fights without one. But he shouldn¡¯t be so reliant on it, and his plans should focus on how to enable his own strengths rather than stymie his opponents. In the fight, Jay was far too reliant on his plan. One of its foundational pillars was demolished within the first five seconds, yet he still stuck to it. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Jay didn¡¯t regret his decision. It was the best one available and it kept him alive. But ideally he wouldn¡¯t put himself in the position to make it again. Unfortunately, every issue from the fight came down to just one. Jay was weak. He was weak and needed to become stronger. Jay''s weakness held him back, limiting what he could and couldn¡¯t do. If he had better acceleration, he wouldn¡¯t have been so reliant on timing to create his opening. He¡¯d have a larger window of opportunity for everything he tried. If he had more durability, he wouldn¡¯t have been almost killed by one attack. A one-on-one fight was like high stakes chess. Each movement in battle shifted the balance of the fight whether it was threatening, attacking, or defending. There was one major difference however, between fighting and chess. Chess was fair. Both sides had the same pieces, and victory was solely dependent on the skill of the players. Fighting never worked out like that, Jay faced the gorilla with an army full of pawns up against fifteen queens. He only won because he threw a bomb at the chessboard. Jay felt he¡¯d made good progress on his two techniques over the last week. Eye of the storm went from a panic button to an all-encompassing battle aid. One that would only become more useful as he grew stronger. Jay wondered how much further he could push the technique. Was he limited by his body, or could he go beyond? Could Eye of the storm transition into something that gave him speed, or would his neurons not allow it? Thunder strike was a trickier technique to assess. It had won him the fight, but was its potential hampered by Jay¡¯s limited overlap with it? From just a few days of training, Jay already knew he resonated more with lightning essence. His nickname wasn¡¯t Thunder Leonard, after all. That meant he had to learn a new damaging technique, one that used lightning instead of thunder. Jay envisioned himself chasing an opponent around the gravel pit, lightning spouting from his hands. A week ago, those thoughts would be limited to daydreams, or nightmares. But now it was his reality. Jay laughed at how much his life had changed in the last week, and how much had stayed the same. He¡¯d lost everything, his family, his career, his dream. But the core loop of his life hadn¡¯t changed. if anything, it was simpler. More like what Jay thought his career as a boxer would look like. There was no marketing, no media circus. Just fighting. Just a constant pursuit to be the best. If Jay couldn¡¯t honour his brother¡¯s memory by becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, he¡¯d do it by conquering the Second Chance Coliseum. Different planet. Different mountain. Same goal. The very top. Jay shook off his stiffness and stood up. There wasn¡¯t much else he could get out of the fight, it had only lasted about thirty seconds, even if it felt like much longer inside Jay¡¯s mind. Maybe he jinxed himself by thinking about Mike Tyson beforehand? Although the less time he had to spend with a gorilla the better, so it could have been way worse. Next fight I¡¯m saying a Mayweather quote. Half an hour of barely getting hit please. Jay¡¯s arms still hung limply by his sides, not just unmoving but unresponsive. When his mind wandered, Jay almost forgot they were there. The weight pulling down on his shoulders the only thing reminding him they existed. How do I fix my arms? Skipped the line and inserted itself right at the top of Jay''s List of Confusing Shit. The list had come a long way since he made it. He¡¯d answered the simple questions like Where am I? and What¡¯s this golden box? but some remained. He still knew nothing about the coliseum system, or the strange voice behind it during his debut. How long until I¡¯m allowed to ask about whoever that was? But he had to tackle each problem one at a time, and first was figuring out what the hell happened to his arms. Well, after he figured out how to open the door without them.
The crowd was smaller than last time, and quite a bit more civilised. A dozen people lined up outside the building, some held memory crystals in their hands, others stacks of paper. A tall, scruffy man with a mop of forest green hair stood at the front of the queue. He opened his mouth but was cut off before he could begin his pitch. ¡°Excuse me sir. Nobody speaks to my client without my permission. Please step back.¡± Akira said. Desperately clinging onto a straight face while holding two fingers up to an invisible Bluetooth earpiece. ¡°Follow me Mr. Leonard. Your assistant will be with you shortly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re having way too much fun with this.¡± Jay replied. ¡°No fun on the job for me Mr. Leonard. I just want the best for my client.¡± Jay followed his bodyguard, or was it his agent, out of the crowd. Akira took him a different way to last time, so Jay didn¡¯t get the chance to look at the statue that captured his attention the last time he exited the coliseum. The first alleyway Akira took Jay through was plain, beige, and spartan. Nothing adorned the smooth stone walls, other than the occasional carved or painted rune. As they walked, the buildings became dirtier, but far more extravagant. Minimalist storefronts, barely featuring a name above their door, made way for grander fa?ades. The only person Jay saw on the first three streets was a woman repainting a doorway red, she took one look at Jay before congratulating him on his fight and going back to work. They walked past a pair of children playing with wooden swords on the fourth street. They begged Akira to let them hold his real one, but he told them weapons weren¡¯t for playing with and barely slowed his stride. The fifth alleyway had eight people lying on the floor. Half were visibly drunk, half were asleep and presumably drunk too. A young man stood over them, head in hands, deliberating how to get them all back home. ¡°Man, I always love the walk back to Reveller''s.¡± Akira said, as soon as they were out of the unfortunate young man¡¯s earshot. ¡°The E grade exit is in Gladiator''s Octant, so the journey always starts off plain and uninteresting. But the closer you get to Reveller''s Avenue, the more weird shit you start seeing.¡± Akira pointed to a window on the third storey of the building to their left. A man wearing nothing but his underwear clung for dear life onto a windowsill, and Jay could hear two voices arguing from inside. The eccentric sights and sounds of Reveller''s Octant provided Jay at least a little break from the fears of his future. His post-fight review helped him visualise a path going forward, and Jay was beginning to feel good after the abject terror that was his second fight. As long as he didn¡¯t think about his arms.
Akira kept up the agent act even when there was no one around to watch them. He pulled open the metal front door to the celestial swords with a quiet ¡°After you sir.¡± Standing to one side and waving Jay in. Lyra was the only patron inside this early, she scratched the back of her neck and idly had half an eye on a fight projected onto the wall. When she saw Jay walk in, she set her hands on her lap and greeted him with a smile. Oh shit. ¡°Congratulations. It¡¯s good to see you alive.¡± The necklace. ¡°Thanks¡­ and uh, sorry about your gift.¡± Jay didn¡¯t want to let it stew. Lyra didn¡¯t seem like she held grudges, but she didn¡¯t seem forgetful either, better to address it now. Jay watched her smile fade from brave to bittersweet as he spoke. Losing a memory of home was always painful. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have given it to you if I didn¡¯t want you to use it. It¡¯s sad to see it go, but that¡¯s what it was made for. Besides, I don¡¯t live in that world anymore. It was a relic of a life lived and lost.¡± Lyra paused for a moment, staring off into the distance, tapping her fingertips together before returning her focus to Jay. ¡°I¡¯m glad you used it; it¡¯s better than the alternative. I¡¯d rather have it embedded in the gorillas back than hanging round the neck of your corpse.¡± Jay nodded gravely and returned Lyra''s subdued smile. ¡°Two and O baby! Two and frickin O. Did you know every fighter who¡¯s ever gotten a statue outside the coliseum also had a two and O record at some point?¡± Akira, freed from his role as bodyguard-agent-door opener, broke the seriousness in a way only he could. A wrecking ball smashed through tension far more effectively than a knife. Both Jay and the usually stoic Lyra couldn¡¯t hold back their laughter as their friend joined in the conversation. ¡°Now that may be because everyone who didn¡¯t go two and O died¡­ But we don¡¯t need to talk about that. Celebratory drink anyone? Care to treat us Mr. Victorious?¡± Jay took seconds to order; he was beginning to get used to the coliseum¡¯s various systems and the one for ordering drinks was delightfully efficient. ¡°So, how was it?¡± Lyra said. ¡°Well¡­ It was fucking terrifying.¡± Jay''s opening statement earned a smile out of both his friends. He began telling them about the fight from his perspective. They¡¯d already seen the fight, so he focused on his thought processes¡¯ rather than giving them the play by play. He¡¯d just about finished when their drinks came. Jay''s verbal victory parade was rained on by his attempt to pick up the glass. He had enough control over his upper arms to drag his hands onto the table. There was no response, regardless of where he placed them. Jay paused his storytelling to focus, pleading at his fingers to show any sign of life. They refused to listen. ¡°Guys, can I ask you for two favours, one big, one small?¡± Jay said, looking desperately at his two friends. ¡°I can¡¯t move my forearms. Like, at all. Do you know where I can get them fixed? More importantly, can you get me a straw? I need to finish my drink.¡± Lyra appeared to go into her thoughts, probably thinking about something useful like where the nearest hospital was. Akira chuckled and muttered something to himself, all Jay could make out was ¡°British people¡± and ¡°alcoholics¡±, before he got up and brought back a straw. ¡°The coliseum heals most injuries after every fight. I don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t do that for you. I know a few people who might know more. If the coliseum isn¡¯t healing you, this could be serious. We should see them as soon as possible.¡± Lyra said. She took one look at Jay hunched over, using every cubic centimetre of his lungs to slurp beer through his straw, before letting out a sigh. ¡°We should see them as soon as you finish your drink.¡± Jay nodded and went back to slurping. Chapter 29: Domain The air clung to the last wisps of morning crispness and all but the laziest of shopkeepers had opened their businesses along Reveller¡¯s Avenue. When they reached the pavilion, Jay noticed it was busier than half an hour ago. Probably a more important fight on. At least he had some company this time. While Lyra stayed tight lipped, deep in thought as she led Jay to their destination, Akira wouldn¡¯t shut up. He pointed at almost every statue they passed, telling Jay a fact about the fighter. ¡°That¡¯s Solstice.¡± He said, pointing to a giant beige statue of a lightly armoured man posing with a spear held up to the sky. The plaque underneath was a bit too far away for Jay to make out, but a golden box appeared when he tried to focus on it.
Solstice ¡°The SunSpear¡±
173-1
Burn brighter
The morning sun had watched over Jay this entire journey, but until now he hadn¡¯t truly felt its warmth. A hot blanket, shielding his soul from the eternally cold night. The Lifegiver. The Lightbringer. The one hope, forging life from nothingness inside its loving embrace. A hot flush rolled over Jay''s body. The wispy hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and goosebumps rolled down his spine. Soon, every hair on his body shot up. Well, every hair except the ones attached to his lifeless bruised forearms. ¡°-he fought with solar essence and, surprise-surprise, a spear. His path to Harmony was a strange one. Initially he was a fire harmonizer, but then he spent a year learning about light. When he returned to the coliseum, he managed to fuse the two into solar essence and went on an insane streak of fights. He only lost to an illusionist called the Dreamstalker that managed to use his power against him. He got-¡± ¡°Can you guys not feel that?¡± Jay felt somewhat bad about cutting Akira off, but the kid was going to talk anyway. It might as well be about something Jay wanted to hear. ¡°I read that guy¡¯s name and all of a sudden it¡¯s like I¡¯m sunbathing on a beach on some island.¡± ¡°Well, you are on an island.¡± Said Akira, not even trying to hide his smile. ¡°Lyra, let¡¯s stop here. If you¡¯re going where I think you¡¯re going, he¡¯s gonna want to know about domains and essence perception.¡± Lyra deliberated for a moment, before agreeing. ¡°What you¡¯re feeling is his residual domain.¡± She said, walking towards the statue and waving Jay along with her. ¡°I believe you touched on it with the storm sage. A domain is basically a manifestation of your personal essence. When your personal essence is solidified enough, and aligned for a single purpose, you can manifest it as a domain. If you¡¯re a mess internally, and your personal essence is a mishmash of different desires, you can¡¯t form a domain. Following?¡± Jay nodded. He wondered how a statue could even have desires but didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°A person¡¯s domain can be concentrated, it can be disperse. It can be aggressive, or comforting. It entirely depends on the person¡¯s character. When you trained with the storm sage, he used his domain to grant you some of his essence manipulation ability. Solstice is dead, so he can¡¯t do anything fancy like that, but he was so powerful that his domain stretches beyond the grave.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the main explanation.¡± Akira added. ¡°But domains aren¡¯t strictly an ability, they¡¯re more of a phenomenon.¡± Here we go again¡­ ¡°While the most accepted description of a domain is a manifestation of personal essence, some people describe it as a harmonizer¡¯s essence seeping into the universe around them. As you understand the world more, and get closer to Harmony, your personal essence expresses itself. Initially as a rigid domain, but later as more of a zone of control. A place where you have more sway over the laws of the universe.¡± Jay thought he was pretty good at smiling, nodding, and pretending to understand things. Lyra¡¯s exasperated sight let him know he wasn¡¯t good enough. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to any of that, you don¡¯t need it.¡± She said. ¡°A manifestation of personal essence covers 99% of what you need to know about domains. You can study the specific effects when necessary, but it¡¯s really not important right now. Vega and I can manifest our domains, but they¡¯re not particularly useful in battle, so there¡¯s no point in us studying it until later.¡± Akira¡¯s cheek twitched in the corner of Jay''s eye. He didn¡¯t like that. ¡°Okay I think I get that. But what¡¯s essence perception?¡± Jay asked. He was perfectly fine with Lyra¡¯s strategy of not thinking about domains until they became useful to him, and he had two pressing reasons to hurry up the explanation. One hanging from each shoulder. By now they¡¯d reached the base of the statue. Jay looked up at the golden stone gladiator. The sensation of sunlight kissing his skin had faded, even though he was now closer to its source. Was it because he was focusing on learning, rather than simply thinking about the SunSpear? ¡°Sit down.¡± Said Lyra. She took a seat, leaning her back against the statue¡¯s plinth. ¡°Close your eyes and detach yourself from your physical form.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Detach? ¡°Just try it.¡± She said, closing her eyes. Jay joined her. After a fruitless minute of fidgeting, Akira''s voice chimed in from above. ¡°Separate everything¡¯s form from its essence. You¡¯re not sitting on stones, you¡¯re above the essence of stone. You¡¯re not sitting next to Lyra, you¡¯re near the essence of Lyra. You¡¯re not leaning against a statue, you¡¯re in front of the essence of Solstice.¡± ¡­ ¡°You¡¯re not Jay. You¡¯re the essence of Jay.¡± You¡¯re not Jay. You¡¯re the essence of Jay. Sure. Akira¡¯s words echoed throughout Jay''s mind, permeating through his every thought. Jay needed to change how he perceived the world in order to grasp essence perception. Years as a fighter had turned his worldview into a detail-oriented one. Jay didn¡¯t need to know the essence of the man stood in the ring with him. He needed to know if he was about to punch. This kind of holistic perception was the exact opposite of everything he¡¯d trained to do. But he had to start somewhere. And just like learning anything else, there was only one place to start. Looking inwards. You¡¯re not Jay. You¡¯re the essence of Jay. Sounds great. What the fuck does it mean? Lightning or thunder. They were static things, all Jay had to do to learn about their essence was study and observe. With some help from the storm sage and Akira, he¡¯d gotten his head round them. But again, they were static, they were simple. He was a person, a real, living, breathing person. How could he figure out his essence? Surely it was more than just the things he did, right? I¡¯m a fighter, a boxer. Well not a boxer anymore I guess, but still a fighter. As soon as I finish my fight in one world, I go right into a fight in the next. I¡¯m an athlete too. Even in a world of magic, the only way I figure it out is through my body. And what about lightning? That also carried over, even if it was somewhat by circumstance. Being called Lightning Leonard two lives in a row has to mean something right? What else? Jay grasped for anything that might give him a hint. Anything that might unlock his perception. He kept combing through his history, hunting for the building blocks that made him, him. There was no quick trick to it. But if both Akira and Lyra thought essence perception was worthwhile, he¡¯d go for it. Even if that meant throwing everything he had at the wall until something stuck. Jay spent a few minutes trawling through the most important elements of his life one by one and thinking about how they had made him into the person he was today. Not just boxing, but everything that went into it. The training, the roadwork, the sparring, the analysis. Not just speed, but lightning. The flash, the explosivity, the awe. He worked himself into a trance. Not mindlessly, but somewhat thoughtlessly, combing through himself. Light began to seep through the deep black curtain that his eyelids had cast over the world. But it all started from him. Jay looked inwards. Not down at his body, inwards. A pulsing nexus of brilliant white and deep sky blue spun around itself. Bright flashes of ingenuity sparked out from it, releasing sparks like solar flares that orbited the nexus before sinking back inside. But it didn¡¯t remain that way. The nexus expanded slightly, and reformed itself into the shape of a head. The sparks that flew off now held their shape. Luminous blue jagged lines, streaking out from the brain and drawing the angular corners of his face and neck. The expansion continued. The azure streaks continued. Running down his torso, recreating the lines his muscles followed then immediately accentuating them. The electric brushstrokes extended further, painting sapphire limbs onto pure darkness. Jay''s and his legs now reformed in glowing electric blue. Specks of light poked pinholes in the darkness like stars in the night sky, but three beacons of light surrounding Jay almost drowned them all out. The first sat beside him. A gunmetal grey portrait of serenity. Motes of white light whirled within this figure too, much like the skittering sparks within his own body. But these followed more measured paths than the wild sparks within Jay. The white lights inside who Jay assumed to be Lyra marched steadily. Like traffic watched from above. All just cogs in a machine working together for a greater purpose. As Jay shifted his attention away from himself. The figure looked back. Half its attention pushed onto him. He watched the motes of light stray from their preordained routes. Cutting corners, slicing through space previously deemed unusable as their very nature changed. She¡¯s changing to match me. Why? Jay twisted his focus to the second figure. A multi-coloured pillar of energy stood just in front of him. Akira? Every colour of the rainbow separated and swirled into one as it felt like the existential forces of the universe were torn apart and reformed at this figure¡¯s will. While Jay and Lyra¡¯s manifestations seemed vaguely human, Akira¡¯s was remarkably abstract. Streaking waves of myriad colours that Jay could observe and reflect on, but couldn¡¯t calculate or comprehend. But those two paled in comparison to the roiling sphere of fire spewing out light behind Jay. The SunSpear didn¡¯t have the vividness of Akira or Lyra, but it had size. The grey veil of death had clearly dulled the SunSpear¡¯s manifestation of self. Jay watched the monochrome orb behind him rotate and writhe, deep currents or energy within the star dictating movements beyond his comprehension. Warmth rolled over Jay, he heard undertones of power, but didn¡¯t quite feel them. A whisper, a remnant, a suggestion in his ear. Warning him of immense power but with no substance behind it. For a split second, Jay envisioned the sun when it was alive. If the beams of warmth were replaced with the burrowing drills of radiation. If instead of a warm fuzz on his skin he felt the individual cells of his body disintegrating into the cosmos. Existential fear yanked his perception back home. Refocusing on his whole body. The sun couldn¡¯t hurt him, it wasn¡¯t real. Jay looked over the blue recreation of his torso, his and his legs. Far more comprehensible than the dulled-out star behind him, or the kaleidoscopic mess that was presumably Akira in front. A head, a torso, two legs. He could understand that. He didn¡¯t need anything more. Wait¡­ It didn¡¯t matter how other people manifested themselves. Jay didn¡¯t need any of that shit. He had his body, and that worked just fine. All he needed were his two . His two . My two what?
¡°Where the fuck are my arms!¡± Using his voice snapped Jay out of his trance. The morning sunlight forced him into a squint. He¡¯d gotten used to the dark void, and the bright lights of reality woke him up like a sudden nightmare. Jay looked down. His arms were still there. Just as bruised, battered, and unresponsive as they were two minutes ago. But still there. Jay breathed a sigh of relief. How had he completely forgotten about his arms? Jay forced his eyes shut and tried to remember his headspace from before. He did envision himself with arms¡­ Right? He had to. He was a boxer. A boxer without arms was¡­ Nothing. ¡°What the hell!¡± said Akira. ¡°You¡¯re right, they¡¯re simply not there.¡± Jay watched as the young man tried to figure it out but kept coming up blank. Lyra remained in thoughtful silence too, although she was far harder to read. She eventually broke the silence by getting up and waving Jay after her. ¡°I¡¯ve got no idea what you did to yourself, but it can¡¯t be good.¡± She turned to Akira, who shrugged and shook his head. ¡°And I think we need to hurry up.¡± Chapter 30: Mystic’s The morning mists always hang low and late over Mystic¡¯s Avenue. The last wisps of nighttime, clinging onto their domain until the inevitable heat of sunrise comes and washes them away. If you wanted to curse a bitter ex-lover with warts, illness, or an insatiable desire to have you back, you¡¯d head to one of the many covens on Mystic¡¯s Avenue. If you wanted to remove such a curse, you¡¯d head to one of the many covens on Mystic¡¯s Avenue. In other, unrelated, news. The many covens on Mystic¡¯s Avenue are some of the oldest and most successful businesses on the island. Funny how the world works like that. Jay didn¡¯t have the heart to laugh at Akira¡¯s travel guide. He dismissed the golden text and followed Lyra out of the pavilion. The trio had barely said a word since Jay¡¯s first attempt at essence perception. Jay flip-flopped between wondering what he¡¯d just seen and wondering what the fuck he¡¯d done to his arms. Lyra and Akira were deep in silent thought, probably also wondering what the fuck he¡¯d done to his arms. Watching his surroundings as he strayed further away from the coliseum was a welcome distraction from the unanswerable questions bouncing around his mind. When Lyra had led them through the coliseum courtyard, the morning mists had already left. It looked like they¡¯d all come here. Wisps of fog clung to every surface, resisting the flow of the wind yet refusing to condense either. Mystic¡¯s Avenue¡¯s central boulevard, although technically just as wide as all the other avenues, felt ever so slightly too narrow. Perhaps it was the taller buildings lining it. The cream stone used on the rest of the island made up the base levels, although most of these stones were littered with stains, scratches, and scorch marks. But every storey above the sixth was unique to each structure. Each one choosing their own material of choice to build higher. Wooden towers, intricately carved with sigils and runes, stood watch next to metal outgrowths jutting out, hanging over the street and casting their shadows on the passersby. Multicoloured banners, triangular strips of red, green, yellow, and blue cloth, fluttered in their masses. They hung across the street on sagging wires that drooped down to barely above Jay''s head, almost collapsing under their own weight. Messy ink glyphs plastered each flag. Although they smeared themselves into obscurity the moment Jay tried to decipher them. Lyra maintained her pace, not sparing anything a second glance as she marched along the avenue. Akira had a more visible response. He tried not to show it, but he kept glancing towards the mishmash of buildings above him. Tensing up every time they walked past an alleyway. It didn¡¯t go unnoticed that, as soon as they''d left the courtyard, Akira had slowed down to ensure Jay was sandwiched between himself and Lyra. After a tense few minutes of walking, Lyra stopped and pointed at a building to their left. The building she pointed to, like the ones around it, had 6 floors of standard coliseum stone. It didn¡¯t have any more floors built above it, just a large golden dome with a gold spire emerging from the centre. ¡°It¡¯s that one, Pavan Hall. When we go inside, keep your voices down. I¡¯ll go and speak to a friend and see if I can get your arms checked out. She¡¯s a witch that studies here.¡± Did she just say witch? Jay followed her inside the building, Akira stayed just a step behind him. They entered a dimly lit square room filled with no furniture and no occupants. Nothing except nine wooden doors, spaced about a metre apart, along each of the three walls they faced. Each door had a symbol carved into the stone above it. Jay tried to focus on them, hoping a golden box saying what each meant would pop up. Nothing. ¡°Stay here. I shouldn¡¯t be long; Agatha owes me one. And please don¡¯t go anywhere until I come back.¡± She whispered, directing the last sentence firmly towards Akira. He raised his hands in mock innocence, forcing a sigh out of Lyra as she walked through one of the doors. She tried to close it gently, but Jay felt a low vibration roll through the floor as it clicked shut. Dusty grey smoke hugged the room¡¯s ceiling, gently spiralling around the room. When the low hum of the closing door dissipated, it began to sink into the rest of the room. Swirling eddy currents wrapped around Jay and Akira, and the smoke dropped into a haze that blurred anything much further than an arm¡¯s length away. Strangely, the only place it didn¡¯t linger was the air surrounding his forearms. Jay heard Akira sniff behind him and did the same. The smoke didn¡¯t smell of much, but Jay made out incense hidden amongst several other scents he couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint. While the smell was nothing special, the churning eddies surrounding him, and especially Akira, held his attention like a spell. The vortexes, although at first glance simplistic and random, seemed to spit out truths in their wake. Jay felt as if he¡¯d learn the secrets of the world just by looking at the mesmerizing spirals. Akira started walking. Making a perimeter lap of the large, smoke-filled room. Jay followed him with his eyes but kept being drawn back to the spiralling smoke. He watched it rush into the grooves of the symbols in the walls, repainting the carved brushstrokes above each door before completing its lap and returning to the room. When Akira finished his lap, he tapped Jay''s shoulder and leaned into his ear. ¡°Did you notice how this room is wider than the buildings entrance on the street?¡± Jay hadn¡¯t, but now that he thought about it, Akira was right. The room extended into the neighbouring terraces. There were front doors outside that should have opened into here, but when Jay looked towards the entrance they walked in through, it was the only door on the wall. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Akira must have seen the gears of confusion spinning inside Jay''s mind. Grinning, he tapped Jay''s shoulder and whispered again. ¡°Spatial essence. They pack the essence of space into the walls, the floors, the ceilings, everything inside the building. It makes the inside larger than what¡¯s physically possible on the outside. Its ridiculously expensive though, and doesn¡¯t scale well with size. ¡°If you want a backpack that¡¯s a 6-foot cube on the inside, that¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯ll cost you a ton, but you¡¯ll be able to find one. Something this scale must have cost a fortune, not to mention there can¡¯t be many people skilled enough to make a building like this.¡± Jay nodded, he didn¡¯t even think about adding spatial essence manipulation to his list, that idea had losing battle written all over it. He left that thought for another day and probably another year too. It did remind Jay of the Flaming Tomb Alliance, however. They hadn¡¯t just made a twenty-by-twenty metre room, but they¡¯d expanded a building into a whole mansion and courtyard. If spatial manipulation was as expensive as Akira said, just how rich were they? Before Jay could regret not befriending the rich kids, Lyra returned. Entering with a hooded, robed woman following her. ¡°Jay, Akira, meet Agatha.¡± Agatha took off her hood. Faded black tattoos weaved across her youthful face, forming a symmetrical pattern of lines that left almost none of her pale white skin showing. Four of them terminated in pure black dots that made a diamond on her forehead while others continued around her bald head and underneath her robes to the rest of her body. She gave Jay a kind smile as she looked at him. It flooded through her face and up to a pair of gentle eyes. Eyes that probably would have looked cute if they weren¡¯t entirely pitch black. Jay had gotten used to the strangeness of Lyra and Vega¡¯s appearances by now. Their obsidian skin was weird. But it was also foreign enough to be chalked up to, as he liked to call it, weird magic shit. But Agatha looked human enough that it still shocked Jay. She was someone that you might glance twice at if you passed by them on Earth, but she was just another face in the crowd at the Second Chance Coliseum. ¡°It¡¯s lovely to meet you Jay.¡± She said softly, almost whispering. ¡°Please follow me and don¡¯t talk unless you must. Lyra, please remain here with Mr. Akira. For his safety.¡± For his safety? What is this place? Akira had a similar reaction. His eyes probed Lyra for an answer, but she merely shrugged. He turned to Agatha, who lifted a finger to her lips. Her hands were just as inked as her face, with pure black nails and tattooed lines running along each finger. She looked at him like he was a naughty child that knew what he¡¯d done wrong but refused to admit it. The look lingered for half a second before Agatha turned around and began walking. Jay nodded his friends a silent goodbye and followed her.
Agatha entered a corridor made of a duller, greyer stone. Dark oak doors dotted the walls every five paces. Each had an elaborate rune etched above it, far more complex than the ones in the main entrance chamber. They walked for thirty seconds in complete silence before Jay followed Agatha up a spiral staircase. Jay tried to keep track of where they headed, but the smoky haze seemed to cloud his memory as well as his vision. The journey blurred into a mess of lefts and rights, with a few ups and downs sprinkled in for good measure. When they finally stopped, Agatha motioned for Jay to stay still. She stepped into a room and left Jay alone in the corridor. The smoke hugged the ceiling here, just as it had in the entrance hall, and drooped down further once the closing door¡¯s reverberations died out. Thin tendrils snaked their way into the carved runes above the door. Whirring through the flowy stone ridges before losing their shape and returning to the air. Jay watched four more cycles before Agatha cracked open the door and pushed the smoke back upwards. She waved him into the room. The room was tiny, and barely lit by a few flickering candles. If Jay stretched all his limbs, if they all still worked, he could¡¯ve probably touched all four walls at once. In the centre of the room sat a circular cushion next to a metal tray holding a rag, soapy water, and a lumpy black mixture inside a pestle and mortar. Agatha tapped Jay''s arm, and a deep green system screen appeared in front of him. Please remove your top and sit. I will wash your arms and apply the conduit paint. The process works best in silence. Jay did as he was told. He was in too deep to ignore any instructions. The coarse rag grated Jay''s shoulder as Agatha vigorously scrubbed his arm down, but the feeling faded the further along she went. By the time she reached Jay¡¯s elbow, he couldn¡¯t feel a thing. If he¡¯d closed his eyes, Jay wouldn¡¯t have known anyone was touching him until she started on the other arm. After cleaning Jay''s arms, Agatha grabbed a paintbrush and shuffled closer. She grabbed Jay''s arm tightly, almost painfully, and held it so close to her face that he could feel her shallow breaths on his shoulder. Jay noticed a slight wobble as Agatha grabbed the paintbrush, taking a slightly deeper breath this time, but he chose to ignore it and look off into the distance. The conduit paint stung as Agatha painted it onto Jay. He would¡¯ve jerked his arm back, but the slight woman had deceptive strength. Her vice-like grip locked his arm in place. The lines she drew reminded Jay of her own tattoos. Was she applying to him temporarily what she¡¯d permanently done to her own body? Jay wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that, but it was too late to turn back now. He just had to trust that Lyra wouldn¡¯t have led him into anywhere too dangerous. Then again, Lyra had no skin. She wasn¡¯t exactly the authority on tattoos. Jay eventually got used to the stinging. Just like with the scrubbing, the sensation faded the lower down his arm she painted. After ten minutes, she finished the right arm and moved onto painting an identical set of lines on his left. Looking at his finished right arm, Jay noticed his hand was painted exactly the same as hers were tattooed. One less question, I guess. After painting both arms, another green system screen appeared. Wait until the paint dries, then close your eyes and sit cross legged in the centre of the room. So Jay waited. Even after drying, the paint still stung his upper arms. Not enough to make him wince in pain, but enough to make relaxing impossible. Agatha pressed one of Jay''s left fingernails. After no paint came off, she pointed Jay towards the cushion. Jay shifted into a cross-legged position, placed his lifeless hands in his lap, and closed his eyes. Calming himself in preparation for whatever was coming next. Agatha started humming, beginning some sort of chant. Alongside the humming, Jay heard the crackling of a fire. Louder, and more intense than the handful of candles flickering in the room. A sputtering poof, followed by the fire dying out, almost made Jay open his eyes. But he resisted and held strong. A cold breeze swirled around Jay, caressing his skin as it encircled him. A colder, wetter, breeze poked at Jay''s neck. He jerked forward. The fuck was that? Jay still held his eyes firmly shut, and slowly returned to his original position. More on-edge than before, but still relatively calm. Was that the smoke? Jay managed to stay still the next time the cold wetness touched him, barely. The more it groped him, the more disturbing it got. Crawling around his neck and chest slowly like a metre long slug. Tugging and pulling at his skin. Once it reached the paint on his shoulders, the cold touch slid off his torso and into his arms. It travelled faster there, it felt more like the rush of wind than¡­ whatever he¡¯d felt before. Much like everything else, Jay could sense the smoke, or whatever it was, along his upper arm but he got nothing from below his elbow. He was about to consider cracking his eyes open when Agatha made that decision for him. ¡°What the fuck did you do to yourself?¡± Chapter 31: the High Matron Jay opened his eyes. Smoke completely filled the room. Even Agatha, who sat directly in front of him, appeared hazy behind a raging whirlpool of smoke. She was staring in disbelief at his arms. Jay followed her eyes and looked down. The smoke was pouring into the black channels she painted, forming flowing rapids above the black lines like the carvings at each door. At least, they did by his shoulder. As the smoky rivers rushed down Jay¡¯s biceps, their flows gradually grew weaker and weaker. When they neared his elbows, there was barely a dribble flowing along the path set out for them. After they crossed onto his forearms, nothing stuck. The smoke slid off and rejoined the clouds spinning around the room. Agatha regained her composure and began another chant. She spoke her first words softly, causing eddies to form in the air around her face. Wincing slightly, she kept chanting. Eventually, more established currents emerged and the smoke flowed in a winding, three-dimensional river orbiting her body. Her chant shifted lower. The river floated higher, until it almost touched the ceiling. She stopped chanting. The floating rivers momentum kept it moving for a few seconds before order vanished and it spread out across the room. Agatha picked up Jay''s jacket and gestured for him to follow her out of the room. What the hell is going on? Once outside they walked in silence until they reached the door leading into the entry room. Agatha opened the door and Jay passed through in front of her. Akira''s restless eyes popped up as Jay entered the room, even Lyra looked at him in anticipation. ¡°There is nothing I can do for him.¡± Agatha said. ¡°I have not seen anyone¡¯s essence channels damaged to this extent before. I shall ask to see a High Matron, perhaps they may know how to deal with the issue. In the meantime, please wait for me here. In silence. I do not expect to be long.¡± The witch didn¡¯t elaborate. Immediately turning and leaving the room. Jay wanted to tell them everything, but a stiff glare from Lyra shot that idea down. Akira looked like he was bursting at the seams with boredom, it probably wasn¡¯t the first conversation she¡¯d stifled. Luckily, Agatha was true to her word and didn¡¯t take long. She half-opened one of the doors after less than a minute and waved the trio in. Lyra and Jay remained stone faced on their journey, one out of familiarity, one out of fear. Akira had enough curiosity for the three of them, however. He looked like a zoo animal that had just been set free, glancing at each chip on each stone, not staying on any one thing for more than a split second. After an uneventful minute of walking, they stopped in front of a door with three strings of knucklebones draped across it. The group followed Agatha into a room much larger than the last one he entered, but furnished quite similarly. There were two cushions in the centre this time. On one of them sat a giant woman with almost identical tattoos to Agatha. Hers were even more faded, and the glimpses of skin that peeked through looked far more tanned and weathered. The woman watched Jay with pure black eyes, she pointed a slender finger at the cushion directly opposite her. ¡°Sit.¡± Her booming voice was already loud, but Jay had been sitting in near silence for the past twenty minutes. The command echoed around the room and lodged itself between his ears. It didn¡¯t feel like she¡¯d commanded Jay, but he actively wanted to do whatever she said. Without any further thought, Jay sat and faced the witch. From this close, he finally noticed the scale of the woman. She towered at least two heads above Jay now that they were both seated. The High Matron pointed her index finger up. All the residual smoke in the room swirled towards her, coalescing into a single grey droplet of at the tip of her finger. With her other hand, she grabbed Jay''s half limp arm and held it up to her face. She sniffed, raised her eyebrows, and turned to look at Jay. ¡°How many fights have you had?¡± ¡°Two.¡± ¡°Impressive. Unfortunate.¡± Jay wanted to ask what that meant but he stayed silent. Something about the woman¡¯s presence stifled his curiosity. He was still curious, but he felt that whatever she was going to do next was more important. The drop of smoke at her fingertip expanded into a football sized cloud. The high matron pointed her finger at Jay''s right shoulder and the cloud followed. It felt like a gaseous ice bath rolling down his arm and spreading the icy cold, chipping off all the dried paint still remaining. She flicked her finger and the miniature cloud wiped off his left arm as well. The High Matron spoke a single syllable and the whole room stood still. The miniature cloud separated into two, each half moving just above Jay''s shoulders. The two hemispheres morphed and bulged, becoming more shapeless with each passing second. Eventually they burst, and the freed smoke crawled down Jay''s arms again. When Agatha commanded the smoke, guiding it down the channels on his arms, the smoke resembled a river neatly flowing between the embankments cut out by lines of conduit paint. Breaking up and reforming, but still following a sense of order. This time it behaved differently. It still flowed down his arms, but its path changed constantly. The vein of smoke perpetually shifting its form, erratically forging new pathways and abandoning old ones. Refusing to conform to one path. Each time Jay blinked, the smoke moved. Jay liked this smoke a lot more. He could have watched the weaving fumes cut patterns all day if he had the time. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Instead, his eyes wandered down to his forearms. Like before, the flow weakened as the smoke neared his elbows. It maintained more strength than last time, but the darting stream didn¡¯t make it to his forearms before diffusing back into the air. The High Matron studied the flow for almost a minute before snapping her fingers. The smoke rushed back to her fingertips, forming a tiny droplet that rolled into her sleeve. ¡°Parts of your essence pathways have been completely annihilated. There is almost no trace that they even existed in your hands. Did you fight with lightning, or another type of electrical essence?¡± Jay nodded. ¡°Did you use your nervous system as a way to harness its power?¡± Jay nodded again. ¡°That explains the physical damage then. You pushed too hard in your last fight; you channelled too much essence through your pathways before they fully formed. Essence pathways are the connecting piece between your own personal essence, and the myriad essences of the world. They usually begin as part of your physical body, like your nerves, before propagating into a more conceptual form. You channelled too much power through your burgeoning pathways and your physical body paid the price. Not only have your early-stage pathways been obliterated. But the nerves in your lower arms are almost non-existent. An injury of this magnitude is within the ability of the coliseum to heal. I assume it denied you healing because you inflicted it upon yourself.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound too hopeful. The words completely annihilated told Jay almost everything he needed to know. Lyra¡¯s mortified face filled in the gaps. It wasn¡¯t matched by Akira, however. Jay saw the young man glaring daggers at the High Matron. Squinting his eyes into a calculating, yet spiteful, stare. ¡°The channels will regrow on their own. As will the nerves, provided you find a good enough healer.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound too bad. Perhaps I was over worrying. ¡°After two months of rest your arms will have fully healed, but you won¡¯t be able to use them at all for the next six weeks.¡± I¡¯m fucked. ¡°But you have a fight next week. I can reforge your essence pathways now, and they may be fully healed within the next seven days. I do not know of another way to heal them before your next fight.¡± This sounded somewhat hopeful to Jay. Not good news, but far better than taking two months to recover. Jay glanced at his friends for affirmation, they both looked deep in thought. Akira raised his hand slightly, eyes still trained on the High Matron. ¡°You may speak. I control the smoke here.¡± ¡°Finally!¡± he said, letting out a deep, exaggerated sigh. ¡°How can you be so sure of Jay''s situation? You¡¯ve barely met him.¡± ¡°As I said, I control the smoke here. It has been observing him since he walked into the building. I harmonize with the essence of observation. When the smoke ran along his skin during my thorough analysis, it also permeated beneath. I saw no trace of an essence pathway in Jay''s forearms.¡± ¡°But how can you be certain? Everyone¡¯s pathways manifest differently.¡± ¡°This one thinks himself a philosopher. Yes, that is correct, but they all follow the same principles. They all stem from a point, whether that be physical or metaphorical, and propagate throughout the body according to their nature. When I observed Jay''s pathways, I recreated them and let the smoke flow through the recreation accordingly. Past a certain point, they simply do not exist. Do you think I would have pathways tattooed on my body unless I understood their nature fully?¡± Her last sentence cowed the room back to silence. A verbal spear towards Akira, the intruder challenging her authority. But he didn¡¯t back down. ¡°In that case, if you are aware of the channels¡¯ individuality, why offer to redraw them for him? No matter how skilled you are, you cannot recreate Jay''s personal essence. You¡¯ll leave him spiritually crippled, with no choice but to study under you to achieve Harmony. Such a prescriptive interpretation of essence pathways isn¡¯t conducive to long-term harmonization.¡± The challenger fought back. Jay saw where he was coming from, at least in the first part. Both Akira and the Storm Sage had stressed the importance of individuality on the path to Harmony. Relying so heavily on the High Matron for something like this seemed¡­ off. But all that philosophizing and foresight was useless if he didn¡¯t make it past the next week. Jay didn¡¯t just need to become a powerful fighter, he needed to survive the journey. ¡°You assume my intent boy. You would be wise not to do so again.¡± The High Matron¡¯s deep voice shifted. Venom, previously masked behind power and wisdom, now bled through, spat at Akira through a derisive tone matched only by her words. ¡°I offer a solution to a problem. Relying on your betters is not the death knell to Harmony that upstarts like you think it is. Otherwise, my organisation and those like it would never form.¡± She faced Jay, not sparing Akira any more attention. ¡°You can insist on the lonely path of arrogance, as your associate suggests, perhaps you will find another solution. Perhaps there exists a vial of immortality that will solve all your problems. Perhaps you won¡¯t need to do anything ridiculous like receiving help. ¡°But perhaps that vial doesn¡¯t exist. ¡°Perhaps you spend all your time searching for a cure and on day six you find it. But it takes three days to work, and you won¡¯t have that luxury anymore. I¡¯m offering an opportunity. I can recreate your essence channels, at a cost of course. I can¡¯t guarantee a full recovery in seven days. But I can guarantee a fighter¡¯s chance, and that¡¯s more than anyone else in this room can offer.¡± Jay weighed up his options. He trusted Akira a hell of a lot more than the witch sat in front of him, that was a given. He knew that his friend had a good theoretical knowledge of essence, for a beginner at least. But was it better than the High Matron¡¯s? Then came the issue of certainty. For all the trust Jay had in Akira, he made no guarantees. All the goodwill in the world wouldn¡¯t heal Jay''s arms, and if Akira knew somewhere to go¡­ Well they¡¯d be there instead of here. Life was a lot simpler when all I had to worry about was punching people. ¡°Can you give him time to decide?¡± Lyra said, her first words slicing through Jay¡¯s reflective silence. The High Matron deliberated for but a moment. ¡°You have until this evening; if you wait longer, your chance of recovering before your next fight will be too low for me to invest the effort. My offer is as follows. I will redraw the essence pathways in your arms, I will also offer my assistance in teaching you how to use them over the next week. In return, I want 10% of your accrued contribution points over the next two months. There will be no negotiation on these terms. Please leave the building and do not return unless you intend to take up my offer.¡± Awkward silence hung over the room. Akira''s voice shattered it. ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s time to leave guys!¡± He said, mockingly cheerful after such a tense encounter. ¡°Agatha, would you be so kind as to lead us towards the exit?¡± The young witch looked at the High Matron. Receiving a slight nod, she opened the door. Jay thanked the High Matron, more out of politeness than gratitude. While she had answered some of the questions he¡¯d held when he entered the room, she¡¯d also given Jay far more to chew on as he exited. A situation that he¡¯d grown far too used to lately. They exited in silence. A mob of thoughts marched through Jay¡¯s head. Even if he was allowed to speak in the hazy corridors, he wouldn¡¯t have wanted to. After the trio had all left the building, Jay looked at his two friends. He wasn¡¯t the only one to let out a huge sigh of relief as the entrance to Pavan Hall clicked shut. Chapter 32: Options ¡°If you sign that deal Jay, I¡¯ll personally come over here and chop off your arms again.¡± Akira grabbed his sword and shook it, as if Jay didn¡¯t know what the word chop meant. ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. You¡¯d have to be fucking stupid to agree to that shit. It removes any chance you have of getting past D Grade, you¡¯ll pretty much become her lapdog for the rest of your life! Lyra, I can¡¯t believe you even took us to this building full of psychos.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s walk and talk. We¡¯re right outside, they can probably hear you.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck if those wackjobs can hear me. That¡¯s a shit deal and you know it. They saw he had potential, had power, and they tried to take advantage of him.¡± He replied, his voice raising to a shout in defiance as he remained standing in front of the building. ¡°Look. We can have this conversation, but not here. We¡¯re leaving. Now.¡± Lyra paced off, leaving Jay awkwardly stuck between his two friends. He felt the simmering anger radiating from Akira, he recognised his friend¡¯s complaints, but he also agreed with Lyra. This wasn¡¯t the place to talk about it. Any conversation where Akira might spew curses at the High Matron was not one he wanted to have anywhere near Mystic''s Avenue. He wanted to be as far away from here as possible. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We can find a place in the pavilion and speak there. I know how you feel, but I don¡¯t want to rule out any options. Not with my future on the line¡± ¡°Fine.¡±
¡°Does here work?¡± They¡¯d left Mystics Avenue and were part way around the coliseum when Akira first suggested stopping. Lyra scanned their surroundings, pausing on the nearest statue for a fraction of a second before responding. ¡°Sure. But I want you to know that you¡¯re not being funny or helpful.¡± Jay turned to the plaque beneath the statue.
Doctor Mundane
307-1
Embrace Creation.
The description seemed inoffensive, but Jay truly understood Lyra''s comment when he looked up. Dr. Mundane had a rather forgettable human face. He had a rather forgettable human torso too, although memorable torsos were admittedly far less common than forgettable ones. What wasn¡¯t forgettable however, were his arms and legs. Or rather the lack thereof. Joining his body at the hips and shoulders were four mechanical monstrosities. The legs had two knee joints and bowed backwards like a goat before ending in six-inch-long talons. A slim set of biceps emerged from giant bulbous shoulder joints before connecting to forearms ending in seven-fingered hands. Jay got the message. He recognised that there were always different solutions to the same problem, even if mechanical arms were a bit of a stretch. ¡°As I said before, you simply can¡¯t take that deal. Maybe it¡¯s a good option in the short term, but in the long term it¡¯ll fuck you up big time.¡± Said Akira. ¡°Look, I see what you mean, but what else can I do?¡± Said Jay. ¡°Lyra trusts those guys, at least a little bit, and from what they said it sounds like I¡¯m fucked fucked. I¡¯ve only got a week. What else can I do?¡± ¡°Literally anything man! We can figure something out that doesn¡¯t involve selling your future to some weird creepy witch coven.¡± ¡°Literally anything doesn¡¯t inspire much confidence mate! I¡¯m hearing a lot of dude just trust me bro and not a lot of solutions.¡± ¡°Okay let¡¯s take a step back for a second.¡± Lyra said, interrupting Jay and Akira before they could get too heated. ¡°Akira, you¡¯ve got a point. The high matron¡¯s offer definitely comes with strings attached, but we can¡¯t flat out refuse the offer.¡± ¡°Yes, we flat out ca-¡± ¡°Stop acting like a child! Did you forget that I brought Jay there because I knew Agatha? Is this the way you speak about one of my friends? Seriously, I expected better from you. Watch your words or they¡¯ll get you killed faster than anyone in the coliseum.¡± Akira stopped for a second, thinking about what to say before responding. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry for saying that about your friend. But you can¡¯t seriously recommend those guys to Jay. I mean come on; they¡¯ll probably turn him into another bald tattooed weirdo!¡± ¡°Like Jay said, I¡¯m hearing a lot of complaints and not a lot of solutions. Do you have anything better?¡± Akira paused in thought, occasionally glancing furtively towards Dr. Mundane. Jay met each glance with a stern frown. ¡°Not yet. But I just know we¡¯ll be able to find something. We¡¯ve got a whole island to search, give me a day and I swear I¡¯ll find you something better.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a day. We have until this evening.¡± Lyra''s words cut through the air, leaving only silence in their wake. Jay knew it too. The witches at Pavan Hall were suspicious, but so far they were all he had. Each minute they spent searching was a minute taken away from his recovery time. ¡°How about this. We all split up and search until sundown.¡± Jay said. ¡°Let¡¯s meet back here then. We can each try and find a solution. When we meet up, we¡¯ll assess all the options and choose.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Akira said. ¡°Good idea. We don¡¯t have time to waste, I¡¯ll see you guys later.¡± Lyra said, leaving without another word. ¡°You got any idea where you¡¯ll head?¡± Asked Akira. ¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve got somewhere in mind, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work. And I¡¯m kinda hoping it doesn¡¯t.¡±
The salty mist of the southernly ocean caressed Jay''s face, a far more comforting touch than the mists of Mystic''s Avenue. Jay was still something of an intruder here, he felt the sea breeze prod and probe at his spirit, but their intent felt less malevolent than before. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Jay ran his hands through the sand he sat on. He couldn¡¯t feel it, but he did it all the same. He knew why he came here. He knew what he needed to do, but he also knew it was gonna be a pain in the arse to deal with. Heavy footfalls crunched into the ground behind Jay. Jay knew who it was, but he didn¡¯t want to give him the pleasure of turning around so soon. He could already feel the smugness boring a hole in his back. Shaking his resolve and almost making him turn. ¡°What do you want?¡± Jay asked, bracing himself for the reply. ¡°Oh. What do I want? Interesting. The young upstart wanders into the handsome sage¡¯s domain, sulking, yet he asks me what I want. Perhaps the young buck¡¯s energy should be focused more internally. For it would be better used there. Maybe it should be focused on learning some manners instead. In your culture is it not rude to face away from the one you¡¯re speaking to?¡± The only thing worse than speaking to a smug old man, was speaking to a smug old man who was right. Jay had come all the way to Tranquillity tower, sulked on the beach like an angsty teenager, and snapped at the man he¡¯d come to visit in the first place. But he didn¡¯t want to admit that. Jay stood up and faced the storm sage, meeting the sage¡¯s star-studded gaze with anticipation. He¡¯d come here to ask for help but didn¡¯t want to appear desperate. ¡°Much better lad. Now, let me ask you a slightly personal question ¨C although it¡¯s far less rude since I¡¯m in my own house and you¡¯re the one who¡¯s come to see me ¨C What do you want?¡± The sage spoke and the world shook. Jay froze for a split second before calming himself. The storm sage¡¯s domain felt different to the SunSpear¡¯s. But Jay felt it all the same. There was no warmth, no protection, or promise of growth. But there was power behind those words. There was power and there was a challenge. Jay looked at the man stood in front of him. It felt like facing a hurricane. A churning mass of wind, water, and lightning spitting the ocean in his face. Jay stood strong. His conviction anchoring him through the storm. Eventually, the sage¡¯s wave of pressure washed over him and only his expectant stare remained. What do I want? ¡°I need help. I injured my arms in my last fight.¡± Jay lifted his limp arms up slightly, flopping them about in the air to illustrate his point. ¡°I went to see a friend of a friend. They said my essence pathways have been completely obliterated. My nervous system too. Everything below the elbow is dead weight now.¡± Jay focused on the sage¡¯s face. Looking for any change in expression. ¡°She offered to redraw my pathways, whatever that means.¡± Jay paused after speaking. He tried to glean anything he could from the sage¡¯s face, but it remained perfectly still. ¡°The two friends I went with said that was a terrible idea and I should probably do something else. But the thing is, I just don¡¯t know. I still don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing here. Fighting I know, it¡¯s been my whole life for the last seventeen years. But essence, and all this new shit, I haven¡¯t got a clue. And just as I was starting to wrap my head around it, it turns out I might have fucked it all up. I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s wrong with me, but I think it happened because I channelled more lighting and thunder than my body could handle. If anyone would know about that it¡¯s you. Please, if you know anything, please can you help me." Jay laid everything out in front of him. If he hadn¡¯t, he could never have forgiven himself. Cold wind whistled around them, the only thing piercing the stifling silence. The storm sage¡¯s pensive face remained stalwart. Not revealing anything that went on behind it. Was he mulling over what Jay had told him, debating whether to help him or not? Or was he simply trying to make his next line rhyme? All Jay could do was wait. ¡°At least your humility is better than your timekeeping.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I seem to remember asking you to return in three weeks.¡± The sage frowned and looked at an imaginary watch. ¡°But three weeks is hmm¡­ According to my calculations¡­ about two weeks away.¡± You¡¯re not fucking funny. Is what Jay wanted to say, but he held his tongue. His chances looked slimmer now, but the sage still might offer some help. ¡°Do you want me to leave?¡± ¡°You must realise Jay. That I am a man of my word. To break it goes against every fibre of my being. But¡­¡± Where is this going? ¡°¡­I may have to break it, just this once. I know I told you to return in three weeks, and I intended to keep to that promise. But I know of an opportunity, only available to you at this present moment. As much as I am loath to break my word, I cannot in good faith deny you this opportunity. All that¡¯s left is for you to grasp it.¡± ¡°With what hands?¡± A slight, almost imperceptible, smile peeked through the storm sage¡¯s frown before going back into hiding. ¡°Hmm¡­ I think I can help you.¡± Jay stared at the dark folds on the storm sage¡¯s weathered face. It was no use trying to spot the strings attached from here. He had to go deeper. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I know a way for you to heal your arms without damaging your future Harmony. In fact, they¡¯ll be more powerful than before. I know a way that you can get stronger. Strong enough that in your next fight you won¡¯t need to destroy your arms just to eke out a narrow victory.¡± What¡¯s the catch? ¡°But for the next three days you must do everything I say. No questions asked¡± For fucks sake.
Jay was pissed off because he had to fight in the coliseum every week. Jay was pissed off because he had to destroy his arms in his last fight. He was too weak to win any other way. Jay was pissed off because of a great many things. But the thing that pissed him off the most was the thought of having to do everything the storm sage said for the next three days. Actually, that wasn¡¯t strictly true. The thing that pissed him off most was the fact that he said yes. After Jay agreed to his terms, the storm sage grinned. There was more than a hint of sadism in his face, but Jay tried to ignore it. He¡¯d decided to place his faith in the storm sage, there was no point second guessing himself now. The evil you knew was always better than the one you didn¡¯t. Jay didn¡¯t quite trust the sage the same way he¡¯d come to trust Akira and Lyra. But he trusted him a hell of a lot more than the High Matron or anyone his friends could find on less than a day¡¯s notice. The sage had already turned him down once over fears that he would ruin his future Harmony. Of course he had his own interests at heart, but Jay hoped that they were somewhat parallel to his own. Hopefully anything he needed from Jay could be repaid without too much trouble. The sage snapped his fingers. Sand and sea gave way to reddish wood and a desk full of ink-stained paper. Jay stood behind the sage¡¯s desk this time, two people stood on the other side of the room looking at him. One was Selena, the blue-skinned, cat-eyed meditator who¡¯d been the good cop to the storm sage¡¯s poet cop the last time they¡¯d met. Next to her was a bald, wiry man in loose fitting, green martial arts robes. The mystery man looked at Jay with wide eyes and his mouth ajar. ¡°Good morning, Jay.¡± Selena said. ¡°Congratulations on winning your fight.¡± She turned to face the mystery man. ¡°I told you he¡¯d say yes.¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be that stupid.¡± He said, looking at Jay with further scrutiny before pointing at the storm sage. ¡°Why the hell would you agree to a single thing that idiot asks you?¡± The storm sage bellowed in laughter ¡°Thane, how many years have we known each other? Were you not aware of the warrior poet¡¯s myriad methods of persuasion?¡± ¡°Oh please, if you were so persuasive maybe you- You know what never mind.¡± Thane took a deep breath. ¡°Hello Jay, it¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Thane, a friend¡­ actually, friend is a bit strong, I¡¯ve known this asshole since before he demanded to be called the storm sage all the time.¡± He spat the last line out with the derisive tone reserved for only the oldest of friends. ¡°We help each other out from time to time. I harmonise with regeneration essence ¨C don¡¯t ask me to explain it, we¡¯ll be here all day ¨C if you don¡¯t mind, would you let me look at your arms?¡± Jay was already starting to like the new guy. Having the balls to call the storm sage an idiot and an asshole in his own home was a green flag in Jay''s book. Hopefully, Thane would decrease the amount of alliteration over the next few days. Jay held up his injured arms. Thane didn¡¯t prepare any ritual like Agatha, or the High Matron. He simply clasped Jay''s lifeless hands with his own and closed his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Thane said, releasing Jay''s arms within seconds and speaking directly to the storm sage now. ¡°The nervous system is damaged almost beyond repair, the essence pathways in his arms are non-existent. He¡¯ll probably need the extra day.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± the storm sage slammed both his hands on his desk. Selena let out a giggle. ¡°Care to explain the joke?¡± Jay asked. ¡°You agreed to do everything he said for the next three days, right?¡± said Selena. Jay nodded. ¡°Well, the wise old storm sage had a suspicion that your injuries could be healed in two. Leaving a full day left over for poetry class.¡± Jay turned slowly to stare down the sheepish storm sage, sat at his desk and avoiding Jay''s daggers. Jay looked back to Thane and Selena. ¡°If I ever think about listening to this guy again. Please remind me not to.¡± Chapter 33: The closer you look… ¡°For the foreseeable future, you will not be able to use your arms at all.¡± Said the sage. He took a seat behind his desk and stroked his beard. ¡°Thane will seal off your arms, making them able to receive information, but unable to act on it. Then, he will use his essence of regeneration to aid your body¡¯s innate healing. ¡°Over the next three days, I have prepared two trials to push your mind and body to its limits. Through facing adversity, one discovers their true self. The same is true of personal essence. You pushed your essence too far, and it broke itself. Essence pathways aren¡¯t physical at your level. The act of not just pushing past your limits, but completely shattering them, has profoundly damaged your mind. You¡¯re physically crippled, and mentally crippled too, you just don¡¯t know it yet.¡± Wonderful news. ¡°It¡¯s kinda like the yips then?¡± Jay said. He thought the universal translator might help him out, but the blank stares he got in return told him otherwise. ¡°It¡¯s a thing in athletes back where I came from. If you did something, say you threw a right hook, and you got completely countered, causing you to lose a fight that you were otherwise winning. The next time you try to throw that punch, you simply can¡¯t. You can throw all you want, but your body stops working. It refuses to let you even try. You¡¯re so traumatized by that specific movement that you can¡¯t do it again.¡± The storm sage scrunched his eyebrows. ¡°Close enough.¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure if the sage was telling him the truth or brushing him off because the truth was too complicated to explain. Either way, Jay much preferred his outlook on the situation than the one the storm sage provided. People recovered from the yips. Jay didn¡¯t know anyone who¡¯d recovered from ¡°physically crippled, and mentally crippled too¡±. ¡°Regardless, by going through adversity, one rediscovers who they really are. Let Thane worry about the physical side and focus on yourself. From my observations, you have a much larger affinity for lightning than thunder, cloud, rain, or any other aspect of the storm. This probably stemmed from before you came to the coliseum.¡± The storm sage paused for a moment before meeting Jay''s eyes directly. ¡°You fight differently to most lightning harmonizers. They usually use their speed to stay out of danger, and poke at their opponents. It¡¯s rare to find someone like you who charges into battle like a lunatic with a death wish. Yet your affinity is clear as day. Why?¡± Jay mulled over the sage¡¯s probing question. The man may have been an annoying eccentric, but there was no doubting his wisdom. Jay lingered on each of his words, hoping there were clues behind them, but he knew he needed to look inwards for answers. Jay searched his memories for anything that might help. ¡°Before I came to the coliseum, I was still a fighter, a boxer. There was no such thing as essence on my planet, so I only fought with my fists. That¡¯s why I still fight that way. It¡¯s all I know. People called me Lightning Leonard because I was quick. It seems simple, but there¡¯s more to it than just speed. ¡°When the only thing you can fight with is your body, how big you are is pretty important. It doesn¡¯t matter how skilled you are, if your opponent is twice your size, you¡¯re losing no matter what. I was a heavyweight. I fought with the biggest guys on the planet. heavyweight boxing is different to every other kind of boxing. When everyone¡¯s that big. it doesn¡¯t matter how tough you are. Each time you step into the ring, you¡¯re getting in there with someone who¡¯s got the power to instantly win any fight. ¡°Power. Power. Power. In the heavyweight division, it¡¯s all anyone cares about. ¡°My brother was a big kid, but he was fast too. He and my coach saw a gap in the heavyweight division, it was stuffed full of big guys who couldn¡¯t box for shit but had enough power to knock out a horse. If there was a heavyweight who was just as big as all the other guys, but faster than all of them, that guy had a clear path to becoming world champion. ¡°When Julian¡­ When Julian could no longer become the champ. I continued the path coach had laid out for him. For the last twelve years it¡¯s been speed, speed, speed. Coach always believed in me. Believed I could be the best. Believed my speed could make me the strongest man in the world. I wanted to repay his belief, to wrap the world championship belt around his waist. ¡°I really fucking wanted it.¡± Jay''s eyes welled up as he gazed off into the distance, reminiscing about his life before the coliseum. He¡¯d glanced upon the topic, but this was the first time he¡¯d faced his past life since arriving. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The life he¡¯d left behind. The life he could never return to. ¡°Then my final opponent cheated, landed a cheap shot, I got unlucky and fucking died. I got even unluckier when I ended up here. ¡°I guess that¡¯s my link to lightning then. Speed. It¡¯s not much but it¡¯s all I can think of.¡± ¡°No.¡± the sage said solemnly. ¡°It¡¯s more than enough. Your entire existence as a fighter has been to become speed, to become lightning. It¡¯s no wonder you were drawn to it. It¡¯s no wonder it was drawn to you.¡± The entire tower stood still until the storm sage disturbed the peace. ¡°That leads us onto the next part. I asked you a question about lightning, yet you speak about something else entirely. Something just as important, if not more so, than lightning. Something that¡¯s one of your defining characteristics. The lens through which your life is viewed.¡± The sage let his words hang in the air. Jay considered them, lost in thought until he realised the sage was waiting for a reply. Waiting for him to place the final piece of the puzzle down. ¡°I¡¯m a fighter. It¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever done. It¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever wanted to do.¡± The sage nodded. ¡°That shall do for now.¡± Jay looked at him in confusion. ¡°Harmonizers in the last thirty or so years have begun to use models, or structures, to build their thoughts on.¡± What does that even mean? ¡°I hate these models. They oversimplify everything.¡± He¡¯s about to start rhyming, isn¡¯t he? ¡°But the thing I hate most, is that they¡¯re so damn useful. Especially for beginners.¡± I guess there is a god. ¡°The essences of fighting and lightning are great foundations. Both are intrinsic to your journey so far, but both are vague enough to leave room for adjustment later along your path. The path towards Harmony can be looked at as a building. You establish a base and as you walk your path, learning more about the world and your place in it, you build higher and higher.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s all reliant on how solid your foundation is, right?¡± Jay said. ¡°Well yes but actually no. That is only one portrayal of Harmony. People are far more complex than buildings, so that model of thought doesn¡¯t actually show the full picture. Nothing can fully explain your journey, these are just ways to look at it. The Building Model is okay, but let¡¯s look at the Sculpture model for a moment. Jay didn¡¯t even need to ask the sage what the sculpture model was. A single second of eye contact, Jay''s confused grey eyes locking with the endless wisdom of the sage¡¯s, was enough. ¡°Think of harmonizing like making a sculpture, except the sculptures in question are ourselves. Someone further in their journey, such as me, has a more defined sculpture. All that¡¯s left is to refine the sculpture in my exact image, to capture the unique parts of my personal essence. Someone like Selena hasn¡¯t gotten there yet. They have the broad idea of what they want to make, they¡¯ve even started chipping away, but they still don¡¯t know what the final sculpture will look like.¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she wait until she knows before she starts carving?¡± The sage smiled, seemingly proud of Jay''s question. ¡°Because it is the act of carving that defines what the final sculpture should look like. Your journey influences your true Harmony far more than any planning made beforehand. ¡°But let¡¯s return to the model.¡± Said the sage. Although he just sat at his desk, the storm sage commanded Jay¡¯s complete focus. Even Selena and Thane latched onto his every word. Surely this wasn¡¯t new to them, but when greatness spoke, even experts shut their mouths and opened their minds. ¡°We¡¯ve looked at Selena, we¡¯ve looked at myself. Now we must turn to young Jay. Paradoxically at the most, yet also the least important step of his path to Harmony. Why? Because as I said before, the journey defines the destination, so does it really matter where you start?¡± The sage chuckled at his audience¡¯s faces. From Thane¡¯s contemplation to Jay''s confusion. ¡°That¡¯s a thought for another day. We should focus on the model for now. Jay, you are at the very start, your entire life up to this point has been for one purpose. Deciding what sculpture you are to be moulded into. Each fight, each conversation, each thought. All just to decide what to make of your life. ¡°Now you¡¯re ready to start carving. But there¡¯s one last decision to make. What rock are you going to cut into? It simultaneously doesn¡¯t influence your sculpture, yet it also influences everything about it. You can make anything you want, but it¡¯s always going to be made of the same material. Therefore it¡¯s important to choose materials that will stand the test of time, yet can also be moulded in any image of your choosing. ¡°Your metaphorical building blocks of lighting and fighting are tied to your very core; they permeate through every aspect of your being. But they¡¯re also versatile. Just like my very own storm essence has its component essences of lightning, rain, wind and many more. Each part of the whole but entirely their own entity. Your lightning and fighting essences have infinite avenues you can dive into; whichever direction Harmony takes you down. ¡°Understand?¡± he said with a wry smile. The storm sage had rattled all this off with barely a second thought, but Jay felt like his brain was bursting at the seams, barely able to contain the new knowledge. Jay wished he could record this speech and look back at it later, he feared it contained insights he couldn¡¯t possibly take in now. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± He said. Sounding about as confident as he felt. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the theory. Your sculpture isn¡¯t real, just like your pathways aren¡¯t either. You can¡¯t study any of this, you simply have to live it.¡± A solution had begun to crystallize in Jay¡¯s mind, a solution that the sage smashed into the ground with his final sentence. Why couldn¡¯t anything ever have a straight answer? ¡°I see your anguish.¡± Said the sage. ¡°I understand your confusion. I was there once, as were we all. Harmony¡¯s a tough thing to get your head around. My mentor had a motto about it, it rings true not just for Harmony, but many other things too. Keep it in mind, whenever you feel overwhelmed by the world¡¯s eccentricity. ¡°The closer you look, the more the lines blur.¡± Chapter 34: Wrapping up After the storm sage finished his explanation, Thane walked forward and took another look at Jay''s arms. ¡°The next part will take a while guys; you don¡¯t need to stick around.¡± He said. ¡°If you need to prepare anything, do it now. He¡¯ll be ready to go as soon as I¡¯m done.¡± Selena wished Jay good luck before walking up the stairs to another level of the tower. The storm sage nodded, clicking his fingers before instantly disappearing. ¡°How the hell does he do that?¡± Jay said, nodding at the spot where the storm sage stood a moment before. ¡°You know, I¡¯m not too sure myself. I think it¡¯s either a boon from the coliseum, or a high-level domain ability.¡± Said Thane. He rummaged in his satchel, muttering to himself as he searched. By the time he¡¯d fished out several rolls of bandages and a glass pot of deep green paint, Jay still had confusion smeared across his face. He didn¡¯t need words to get his point across. Boon from the coliseum? Domain ability? ¡°Hold your arms out, I¡¯ll explain as I work.¡± Thane took one of Jay''s arms. Starting right at the fingertips, he began rolling out the bandage. ¡°People like you are different from people like me or Selena.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fighter in the coliseum. You can pull up your rankings, watch old fights, view the leaderboards, and get all the other benefits that I just don¡¯t know about. All for the low low price of having to fight to the death once a week. Well once a week for you, the higher tiers get more time between fights, but that¡¯s beside the point. ¡°The coliseum grants you these benefits as a gladiator. I don¡¯t provide my services to the coliseum, so it doesn¡¯t grant me these boons. Even Selena, who is currently an affiliate of the storm sage, only gets to use the system when the sage wills it.¡± ¡°Huh, interesting. But what does it have to do with the sage disappearing?¡± Thane had finished his fingers and was now encircling Jay''s wrist. It looked familiar, reminding Jay of having his hands wrapped before a fight, but of course he couldn¡¯t feel a thing. ¡°There exists a third class of person. The storm sage falls into this category. ¡°As much as I don¡¯t like to give him credit, the old guy is strong. Frighteningly strong. If you ever see him fight, you¡¯ll see why people call him the storm sage. Going up against him is like trying to fight a hurricane, there¡¯s almost no point. Anyone that strong is a great person to have around the coliseum. Budding young fighters like yourself, and even the more experienced ones, could learn a thing or two from the old man. So the coliseum wants to keep him here. Rather than wandering off and meditating in a cave for years at a time or whatever sages normally do. Here the sage gets a fancy tower with a seafront view and who knows what else.¡± ¡°So, the coliseum can just give him the ability to teleport? And it does that to try and make him stay?¡± Thane nodded as he ripped a strip of bandage off with his teeth, tucking it within another wrap near Jay¡¯s elbow before starting another coil. ¡°Potentially. The whole island is the coliseum¡¯s domain, so it might have the ability to grant such a boon. Or at least something smaller, like letting him teleport within his home and the area around it.¡± ¡°That makes sense I guess. As much as anything can make sense in this crazy place.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Thane laughed as he looped the excess bandage around Jay''s shoulder, neatly tucking the last scrap behind a previous layer. ¡°Everyone does.¡± He double checked each loop before moving onto the other arm. ¡°Do you know much about domains, or Zhou¡¯s Four Heavenly Strata?¡± Four heavenly what? ¡°I¡¯ve heard of domains, They¡¯re a manifestation of your personal essence, right? I¡¯ve got no idea about that other thing though.¡± ¡°Perfect. Don¡¯t bother learning about the Strata, it¡¯s just a way to try and quantify Harmony. They serve their purpose well but aren¡¯t worth thinking about. Domains are far more interesting. By manifesting your personal essence, you¡¯re granted an element of control over that space.¡± Thane paused the wrapping for a moment to point at the pot of paint he¡¯d taken out of his bag. ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do with the paint. The enchanted bandages heal your body, whereas the paint makes your arms a part of my domain. It extends my essence to them, increasing your pathways¡¯ regeneration. ¡°But back to the sage. I don¡¯t know the extent or specifics of his abilities, but I wouldn¡¯t put teleportation past him. I could easily see him having a gigantic domain, and the skill to teleport within it.¡± Jay mulled over the new information while his second arm got wrapped up. What Thane had said didn¡¯t make any sense. But Jay¡¯s new home wasn¡¯t tied down to the laws of common sense and physics like his old one was. Jay wondered what his friends would make of the sage¡¯s teleportation. Akira would probably find a way to spin it into an Earth analogy to help Jay understand it better. Both twins described him as a savant and Jay saw why, it was hard to believe he wasn¡¯t born here. Jay hoped Lyra and Akira wouldn¡¯t worry when he didn¡¯t turn up this evening. He didn¡¯t expect the storm sage to give him any free time over the next three days. Then again, he had trusted them to find a solution to his injuries. They had to trust him to find one too. Once Thane had finished wrapping both arms, he let out a deep breath and moved over to the desk. ¡°Final step. Sit on the chair and lay your arms flat out. I¡¯m going to overlay my personal essence pathways over the bandages. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing permanent. It¡¯s just so my regenerative essence can remain close to your arms without fizzling out or clashing with your own pathways once they¡¯re reformed. I need to focus for this part. So no talking, and keep as still as possible.¡± Jay nodded, prepared for whatever was to come next. As expected, Jay felt nothing until the paint reached his elbows. While Thane covered the bandages on his lower arms, Jay looked at the pearlescent jade paint and wondered how it would feel. The paint was there to channel regenerative essence, but what did that mean? What was so specific about regeneration, that differentiated it from simply healing? How would that difference manifest itself? Even after the swirls of paint passed his forearms, Jay was no closer to answering his questions. Perhaps the intricacies of essence weren¡¯t something you could feel so easily, perhaps he just wasn¡¯t skilled enough to observe it? He was enthralled, however, by the patterns emerging atop his arms. For the third time today, river like pathways covered his arms. For the third time today, a familiar yet intrinsically unique pattern emerged. Agatha¡¯s were the simplest. The mists running over his arms ran in thick channels, occasional offshoots would wrap around his arm, but the general structure remained rigid. Jay wondered why this was the case, perhaps it derived from her personality? Perhaps it was a byproduct of apprenticing under the high matron? Jay filed that line of thought for a later date, preferably one with Akira and Lyra alongside him to help answer any questions. While it would be nice to know the mechanisms behind how pathways worked, it wasn¡¯t pressing, and could wait for after he¡¯d sorted his own mess out. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The High Matron¡¯s interpretation was radically different to her student¡¯s, with no similarities except for the mists. It twisted and turned faster than Jay could even notice. Initially, its movement seemed random, but the more Jay looked, the more he¡¯d begun to see a logic behind it. Why had the master¡¯s interpretation appeared so differently to her student¡¯s? Jay suspected it was because she was adapting the mists to Jay''s personal pathways. But he had no way to confirm that, so he switched his attention to the drawn pathways in front of him. As well as wrapping around his arms, the painted lines seemed to expand inwards. If that was even possible. The deep green paint appeared to delve deeper within its own lines, as well as reaching around Jay''s arms. Although Jay knew it was just a layer of pigment coating the bandages, it felt like far more. Chasms, sinking into Jay''s arms, emerged in each line. He knew they weren¡¯t actually there, but he believed them anyway. Seeing the differences in each person¡¯s pathways gave Jay confidence he¡¯d made the right decision. He didn¡¯t know what the storm sage had prepared for him, but it was a trial he would undertake. Not a procedure that somebody else would do to him. Jay wasn¡¯t sure what the effects of regeneration would be on his essence pathways, his nervous system, or even his body. But he knew it would be his own solution, and for that he was glad. Thane finished the final brushstroke and leaned back. He barely had a second to admire his work before the storm sage appeared in a puff of smoke. ¡°Did you need him to sit on my chair¡­ Or did you do it because you knew it would piss me off?¡± Thane winked at Jay, the storm sage could only see the back of his head. ¡°I would never do such a thing. Oh venerable storm sage.¡± The sage¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Is the procedure finished?¡± ¡°Yep, he¡¯s all yours.¡± Thane turned round to Jay and held up his fist. ¡°Good luck kid. Whatever the old guy has planned for you, it won¡¯t be nice. Keep fighting.¡± Jay clenched his jaw with stony resolve. He¡¯d calmed down from the stress of trying to find an answer to his injuries. Now he had to face the storm. Cold steel faced starlight as Jay met the storm sage¡¯s unflinching gaze. The two men knew what had to be done. The sage nodded slightly in what Jay hoped was a sign of acknowledgement and respect. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Damp, humid air pressed against Jay''s skin. The sage had teleported the two of them into an underwater cavern. Small rockpools littered the uneven rock beneath their feet and Jay could almost feel the pressure of the ocean smothering him. Two arches stood on opposite sides of the cave, each shrouded in darkness.¡± ¡°The first and third days of your training will be spent subjecting your body to the foundational essences of lightning and fighting.¡± ¡°What about the second day?¡± ¡°Day two will be spent recovering from day one.¡± Jay expected at least a hint of a smile out of the storm sage. He got nothing. His mentor was as serious as Jay had ever seen him. ¡°Which trial do you want to undertake first?¡± The sage said, gesturing at both arches. ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°Most people only have one foundational essence, the issue with having two is the complexity needed to intertwine them. You must combine both essences in the perfect way to match your own personal essence. With a challenge so complex, every aspect is important.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s so complex, why am I not just using one essence as the foundation? I know fighting well, it¡¯s what I¡¯ve done all my life, shouldn¡¯t I just start with that?¡± ¡°I said it was complex, not impossible. The reason I¡¯m pushing you towards two foundational essences is because I believe you can do it. I¡¯m somewhat familiar with your home world, you don¡¯t have elemental control there in the way that some worlds do. Yet you come to me, three days into joining the coliseum, perform outstandingly in my trials and defeat a stronger opponent in a single strike using thunder essence. An essence barely adjacent to the one you have the best affinity for. ¡°Yes, you could use only fighting essence as your foundation. But me telling you to do that would be a disservice to you, to the coliseum, and to myself. It¡¯s extremely rare for someone with an elemental affinity to turn it inward like you did with your nervous system, it¡¯s even rarer to do it of your own volition. Forming a foundation of fighting essence would heal your arms, it would create adequate essence pathways. However, it would be like using a silk scarf as a cleaning rag. Functional, but a grievous waste.¡± Jay didn¡¯t expect to hear such praise from the sage. Jay knew he was a good fighter; he wouldn¡¯t have climbed up the world boxing rankings if he wasn¡¯t. But he didn¡¯t know if that would translate to the coliseum. The sage may just be buttering him up, building Jay''s confidence up before throwing him into a trial. But it didn¡¯t feel like that. It felt real. Jay looked at the sage¡¯s serious expression. Realism intertwined with hope. He¡¯d seen this face before.
Coach had scooped Julian under his wing before Jay had even laced up a pair of gloves. Jules was always his golden boy, even when Jay followed him into the gym. But there was one moment that made Jay feel like the king of the world. Jay was shadow boxing next to the sparring ring. He¡¯d gotten to training early because Julian had extra practice before their class. His eyes were closed, and all Jay could see was his imaginary opponent in front of him. His brother. Bigger, stronger, smarter than Jay. An unclimbable mountain, but one that Jay yearned to summit anyway. The brothers, one real one imaginary, began their dance. Even though he was fighting shadows, Jay felt every punch his opponent landed. Not through physical pain, but the agonising sting of being outclassed. No matter how quick he was, he couldn¡¯t escape every hit. If it really were his brother in front of him, he¡¯d have been on the floor already. Jay opened his eyes to look at his older brother, the real one this time, in the ring. He didn¡¯t see Julian punching the pads with coach. But rather the pair looking at him standing there. The tubby kid, just starting to fill in his frame, prancing about trying to act like his big brother. Julian beamed at his baby brother; face filled with nothing but pride. Coach¡¯s face told another story. Its surface showed approval, he liked what he saw, but beneath that was delight. He knew that in both Leonard brothers he¡¯d unearthed something good. But beneath even that, imperceptible to Jay, imperceptible to Julian. Imperceptible even to Coach himself, as an undiscovered sliver of fear. Just what could this kid become?
The poster-plastered walls of Jay¡¯s old gym faded into dark, disjointed underwater rocks. The sage looked at him expectantly. ¡°It¡¯s already starting. Good.¡± What¡¯s starting? ¡°You¡¯re about to embark on a personal journey. The path of Harmony is an inherently internal one. One about finding, and making, your place in the world. It would be more surprising if you didn¡¯t relive a few memories on the way.¡± The sage replied, almost as if he¡¯d read Jay''s mind. Regardless of any memories, Jay had a decision to make. Which trial to take first. He mulled over it for a minute, not wanting to leave the storm sage waiting. ¡°I¡¯ll take the trial by lightning first. When can I start.¡± ¡°You can start immediately. But tell me why you chose lightning first?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more familiar with fighting. It¡¯s been almost my whole life. My connection to fighting is a lot more concrete than my one with lightning. I don¡¯t know what the trials will be, what they¡¯ll do to me. But I¡¯ll bet I have more control over the outcome of the fighting trial.¡± Jay said, almost entering his own world as he explained his reasoning. ¡°So I have to decide whether it¡¯s better to have the more known essence first or second. If it¡¯s first, I can create my foundation of fighting essence, and then embellish it with lightning during the second trial. This makes some sense. But if I was going to do that, why not form my core out of just fighting essence and add lightning, or anything else I want, later? You said it before, a core isn¡¯t even real. If I¡¯m understanding it right, it¡¯s a manifestation of your self-understanding. Just like a domain is a manifestation of personal essence. Taking that path would acknowledge who I am now, but not who I will become. It¡¯s safe. It¡¯s grounded in truth and understanding. ¡°But you didn¡¯t bring me here to play it safe.¡± Jay stared into the distance, immersed in his reflection, but he managed to sneak a glance at the storm sage. Precisely when he wasn¡¯t expecting it. His face wasn¡¯t impassive and professional anymore. Slight curls of pride twisted at his lips. Jay knew he was on the right track. ¡°Just because I don¡¯t know lightning as well as I know fighting, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s any less a part of me. I just haven¡¯t discovered that part yet.¡± Jay said, unable to hide the excitement from his voice as he edged closer to cracking the puzzle. ¡°I need to undergo the lightning trial first. Not despite of, but because of my lack of understanding. I don¡¯t know what the outcome will be, but if I go into it with the fighting trial under my belt, I¡¯ll have something that I need to conform the essence to. If I take it first, I¡¯m a clean slate. I can take my affinity to its full potential. Then, because I know fighting better, I can work around my initial foundation to form a duality that properly represents me.¡± Jay rushed out his ideas. Afraid that pausing to breathe might derail his train of thought. ¡°Good choice.¡± The sage smiled, and Jay knew he¡¯d hit the mark. He wondered why the sage even gave him the choice of what to take first. Jay had promised to do exactly as he said for the next three days, so he was at the sage¡¯s mercy either way. Perhaps, understanding the basis behind the trials was as important as taking the trials themselves? Jay didn¡¯t want to remind the sage of their agreement though. So the question remained unanswered. The sage walked towards one of the shadowy arches and pressed his hand into the rock beside it. White sparks leapt from his fingers into the wall¡¯s crevasses. They lit up the archway, but the shadows remained. Jay started walking. ¡°Wish me luck.¡± Jay said as he passed through the arch. The sage didn¡¯t respond. Chapter 35: What lightning? Jay stepped into the darkness and emerged in another dimly lit cave. He heard a faint warp behind him, Jay turned and saw nothing but a perfectly smooth stone wall. It matched the other walls, as well as the ceiling and floor. They weren¡¯t just bare, but completely spotless. Something about the place seemed off, Jay spent a few seconds wondering what before it clicked. The cave was dimly lit, but there was no light source. Jay wondered how it worked before a system screen in the storm sage¡¯s familiar blue added to his confusion. Catch the lightning. 24:00:00. What lightning? Jay tried to analyse the situation, what could the sage possibly mean by catch the lightning? Was he supposed to wait until a bolt came into the room and react quick enough? Did he have to create the lightning to catch? Jay really hoped the catching part wasn¡¯t strictly literal. He didn¡¯t have working hands. Jay sat down in the centre of the room, limp bandaged arms resting on the rocks beside crossed legs. Catch the lightning huh. I¡¯ve got to find it first. The room sat perfectly still as Jay searched for the elusive lightning. He knew it wouldn¡¯t be as simple as just looking. Knowing the sage, the ¡°lightning¡± was probably a metaphor or something. Instead, Jay remained seated, opening his mind and extending his essence perception outwards. Jay remembered his meditation at the foot of the SunSpear¡¯s statue. Had he been looking at his fledgeling core back then? Jay discarded any thoughts of the past. If he was going to catch the lightning, he needed to concentrate all his focus right here and right now. Jay''s neck hairs sparked upright. His eyes jolted open, looking for whatever just set him off. Nothing. The sensation faded as quickly as it appeared, leaving Jay swiping at shadows. He couldn¡¯t make out much in the dim cave, but he was certain there was nothing in there but him. Even the air stood still. Jay closed his eyes and went back to searching for the lightning. It happened again. Every instinct told Jay to rip his eyes open. Told him to look for whatever was attacking him. He knew it wasn¡¯t that simple. Jay kept his eyelids wired shut and tried to sense the lightning in the room. Useless. Three more sparks came and went, vanishing before Jay could even identify them. A few moments went by. He felt it again. For a fraction of a fraction of a second, everything in his body screamed danger. Fear coursed down Jay''s spine. Pure instinct kicked Jay''s eyes open as he frantically searched for anything around him. But nothing was there. Only Jay and the spotless stone walls, barely visible beneath the faint, sourceless light. Jay looked down at his body, trying to ground himself against the fear. It kept coming. More intense now, and more frequent. Beads of sweat rolled down Jay''s forehead, the mental exhaustion taking its toll on his body. He took a deep breath, but the microsecond-long bursts of anxiety kept ripping him out of every moment of calm. What the fuck is going on? Jay tried to steady himself. He thought back to all his previous training, had he felt this before? Wait¡­ Jay stood up and rushed towards the closest wall. Hugging it tight, using what little light was available to him, and meticulously inspecting it. Something was interfering with his instincts. Something was scrambling his nervous system. What if it was the lightning? Jay trawled along the wall, pressing his face against the smooth stone and inspecting it for any kind of opening. Anything that seemed out of place. That was probably where the lightning was coming from. The bolts of fear didn¡¯t stop striking him as he looked. They were growing stronger too. It wasn¡¯t just fear anymore. Now each bolt cramped Jay¡¯s body wherever it hit. Micro spasms in Jay''s muscles made it hard to balance as he looked for openings in the wall. After minutes of looking, damage slowly accumulating, Jay still couldn¡¯t find the source of the lightning. An invisible bolt shocked Jays left leg. His calf flung out wildly, swiping Jay''s base from underneath him. With no working arms, and almost no view of the ground beneath him. All Jay could do was tuck his head into his chest and spin his back to the floor. Jay slammed into the ground. Pain clawed at his lower back and the relentless assault of invisible lightning didn¡¯t stop either. Jay''s vision blurred. Had he hit his head on the way down? He wasn¡¯t sure if the blurring was real or just the lightning getting to his vision. Once more Jay was pulled from his physical body.
He was back in the training room. He was alone. It was the night he¡¯d first grasped lightning essence, injecting it into his nervous system to overload his body. Shadow Akira was in his peripheral vision. Blurry; that wasn¡¯t what he needed to focus on now. He was staring right at a single mote of electricity across the training room. A single bolt trapped inside a bottle. When he first glanced at it, he didn¡¯t even see the bolt. It was just a speck of energy inside the glass. The only evidence it even existed was the dim light it gave off. A sourceless emanation filling all corners of the bottle. Jay pushed Eye of the storm to its limits, trying to spot the lightning. He strained his brain, his eyes, every nerve in his body. All just to get a glimpse of the bolt. He still couldn¡¯t.
A spike of pain, the biggest one yet, yanked him back to the painful present. Why had he gone back to that memory? He was still no closer to finding the source of the lightning. What use was the bottle to him now? Another spasm, this one not concentrated but encompassing Jay''s whole right leg, made the final puzzle piece click in place. He was inside the bottle. No wonder he couldn¡¯t see the rooms light source. No wonder he couldn¡¯t see the lightning bolt. It simply wasn¡¯t there. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. It was everywhere. Just like inside the bottle, the rooms bolt of lightning was bouncing around the walls faster than Jay could perceive. Faster than Jay could even hope to perceive. But that still wasn¡¯t the full picture. If it was moving so fast it was everywhere at once, was it still just a lightning bolt? What differentiated the lightning from the air in the room, from the stone walls, from Jay inside it? Great. I¡¯ve figured out where I am. Now how do I catch this stupid lightning if I can¡¯t even fucking see it? Another spasm carved down Jay¡¯s spine, reminding him that he was on a time limit. For a moment, Jay wondered if the storm sage might pull him out of the room if he got too injured. He banished that thought as soon he realised what that would mean. He was getting through this trial. Whatever it took. Think Jay. Fucking think! You¡¯ve been in tight spots before. You got out of them. Time to do it again! Jay raked through his mind, half hoping he¡¯d be pulled into a memory once more. Hoping there¡¯d be another clue. Hoping there would be something he¡¯d heard before, something Jules or Coach said, that could pull him out of this bind. There wasn¡¯t. But that was exactly the clue Jay needed. Of course his coach hadn¡¯t told him a way out of this situation. How could he? This situation wouldn¡¯t exist on Earth, it physically couldn¡¯t. He was trapped in an underwater cave, with a bolt of lightning attacking him every second. Why on Earth would Coach have prepared him for this? Entombed in stone, Jay had to think outside the box he was stuck in. But everything he¡¯d been taught wasn¡¯t suddenly useless. He just had to look at it differently. ¡°Catch the lightning¡± What the fuck does that even mean? It obviously wasn¡¯t literal. Jay had no working hands to catch anything with. And how do you catch something with no real physical form. No that¡¯s not it. Forget about catching it for now. I need to see it first. But how? Jay knew he was getting closer. The muscle spasms had grown more intense and more frequent. His body wouldn¡¯t stop shaking, but the lightning wasn¡¯t affecting Jay''s mind like it once did. It had targeted his mind first. The microscopic shocks sent his brain haywire, triggering fear and anxiety with each attack. Then they grew. The lightning attacked him on a different scale, punishing his muscles with attacks too blunt to target his nerves. But I¡¯m not my body, I¡¯m not even my mind. What if I¡¯m not Jay, but the essence of Jay? Jay recalled Akira¡¯s advice for finding his domain. He tried to drag himself out of his body once more. Consciously this time, and not into a memory. Jay''s convulsing limbs thrashed against the floor, but he no longer felt the slap of flesh on stone. He heard the echoing smack, but it bounced around the room before barely reaching Jay. He was fully alert, but his body felt like it was drifting asleep. It didn¡¯t feel closed off like his bandaged arms, but distant. Like it was slowly floating away. The piercing pain faded to a dull, distant ache. Jay looked down at his body. It felt¡­ off. Then it clicked. He wasn¡¯t looking with his eyes. Jay hovered over his body, a severed consciousness overlooking its old home. It felt different to the memories. He was still in the room, still present, just no longer tied to his physical body. But if he wasn¡¯t within his body, then where was he? Wait¡­ Jay wasn¡¯t tied to a physical form anymore; he was simply conscious. Floating and occupying space. Jay could never make out the lightning¡¯s physical form. Not when he looked in the bottle, not when he looked throughout the room. What if it didn¡¯t have one. What if it had escaped the confines of physicality, just as he had. What if it wasn¡¯t a point in space, but spread throughout space itself? In order to adapt to fighting in the coliseum, Jay had to eradicate all preconceptions of what fighting was. In order to achieve Harmony, he had to eradicate all his preconceptions of what training was. Now. In order to truly see the lightning, perhaps he had to eradicate all his preconceptions of what seeing was. Jay extended his perception far beyond the limits of his body. Probing out like when he meditated by the SunSpear¡¯s statue. Before, he¡¯d felt the whispers of the SunSpear¡¯s warmth, he¡¯d felt the vibrance and serenity of Akira and Lyra. But this wasn¡¯t simply feeling. It was more than exposing his neck and seeing what would bite. Now he wasn¡¯t just probing, he wasn¡¯t just looking. He was searching. Hunting. Jay steadily expanded his consciousness. Stretching towards each corner of the room. He gazed down upon his spasming body, writhing like a fish out of water. Jay was aware of the pain. But he wasn¡¯t beholden to it. He knew agony wreaked havoc on his body, punishing every cell it ran through. He was aware of the pain but kept expanding his consciousness further. Because he was even more aware of the danger. Jay''s helpless body thrashed against the floor, a cut had opened above his left eyebrow and dripped crimson blood throughout the pristine stone chamber. It wasn¡¯t enough to tiptoe out of his comfort zone when each second brought him closer to death. He had to push further, and he had to push now. Information plagued Jay''s mind as his perception expanded. Each inch he stretched outward brought more variables into his head. More things to consider. More things that were now him. Leaving his body had freed Jay from the lightning¡¯s piercing strikes, but they were quickly replaced by suffocating spiritual agony. Jay occupied the same space as the lightning now, and it hadn¡¯t accepted him yet. Jay stretched his very being, he crept closer and closer to the walls. At times, he almost forgot who he was. But he remembered his goal. The lightning bounced around the cave, glancing upon every speck of the room¡¯s surface. So would he. He expanded further. Fighting for control with the lightning, fighting for the right to exist. At last, Jay hit the cave¡¯s walls. His presence encompassing the stone prison completely. His will superimposed upon the lightning''s. Locked in a constant equilibrium of struggle. But why? He didn¡¯t need to fight the lightning, he needed to understand it. Jay stopped struggling, he stopped fighting the lightning. Instead, he followed it. Jay was already spread across the room in a cloud of consciousness, everywhere the bolt flew was his domain. Slowly, Jay began to understand the lightning. It wasn¡¯t a bolt, darting around the room. Yet it wasn¡¯t a cloud of consciousness, like he currently was. It was pure energy. Jay could have followed the bolt of energy for a thousand years and he still wouldn¡¯t have unlocked all its secrets. But he didn¡¯t need to do that. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Catch the lightning. Except it wasn¡¯t lightning. Just like thunder wasn¡¯t simply the ebb and flow of compression and expansion, but a part of the storm. No, the thing he had to catch wasn¡¯t lightning. It was far less, yet paradoxically far more. It wasn¡¯t merely the side product of a storm, the flashing light of expelled energy. No, it was far more fundamental. Far more primal. The essence of lightning, the essence of the storm, could vanish from the universe, yet this energy would remain clinging onto existence. One of the building blocks for existence itself. Electricity. Jay hadn¡¯t just seen the lightning. Now that they occupied the same space he¡¯d uncovered its true form. He¡¯d accomplished step one, now he had to finish the job. Jay¡¯s physical body flopped on the cave¡¯s perfectly smooth floor. His hands weren¡¯t catching anything, so that just left his mind. He thought about how the storm sage embodied the storm. Encapsulating its pure might and authority. Now it was his turn. To catch the electricity, he needed to become electricity. Jay started with speed. He wasn¡¯t as fast as electricity; he couldn¡¯t dart around the room faster than the eye could see. But speed was just as pivotal to him as it was to the mote of energy bouncing around the room right now. What else? Electricity wasn¡¯t a physical thing. It couldn¡¯t be tied down to one place, it wasn¡¯t confined to one form. Jay was, but did he have to be? Jay was his body, writhing in agony on the floor. Yet he was also his mind, elevated in serene consciousness. But he was also neither. His essence wasn¡¯t tied to either of those states of existence. Jay began to comprehend the true essence of electricity. Darting around the room, yet also becoming the room. Reaching speeds so great that the laws of matter and space bent to its will. He couldn¡¯t fully understand it yet, but he¡¯d made the first step. A wave of elation burst into the room. Jay¡¯s body stopped spasming, it lay completely still other than the gentle pulse of his breathing. The electricity hadn¡¯t stopped bouncing around the room; hadn¡¯t stopped filling it. But it had stopped affecting Jay''s body. Its essence no longer interfered with Jay''s own. Because now they were one and the same. Jay looked down at his resting body. Regardless of his revelations on the essence of electricity, he still had a body to return to. He¡¯d gotten a glimpse of formlessness, experienced electricity, but he still wanted to return home. An excruciating headache smacked Jay''s skull the instant he collapsed back into his body. A tsunami of pain engulfed Jay as physical sensations once more became part of his reality. He didn¡¯t care. He only felt relief. Uncontainable elation at finishing the first trial. It didn¡¯t seem like a day had passed though, had he finished early? Maybe the storm sage would get his poetry class after all. Jay didn¡¯t care, bring it on. Almost nothing could ruin his mood right now. Congratulations on completing stage 1 of the trial by lightning. Do you wish to quit now, or continue onto stage 2? 23:37:21. Almost nothing. Chapter 36: Stormforged ¡°For fucks sake!¡± Jay wished he could massage the numbness from his legs, but his arms still hung limply to his side. If the trial had affected his body, it wasn¡¯t showing in his arms. Their gauze tombs looked no different to before. The paint hadn¡¯t even smudged or scuffed. He settled for standing up and shaking some blood around his body. The blue rectangle joined him, following like a dark cloud. Jay knew he was going to advance to stage two. It wasn¡¯t even a choice, he needed to get stronger. That didn¡¯t make saying yes any easier. Stage one had taken its toll on Jay. As well as his body taking a beating, his mind didn¡¯t feel right either. Maybe it was fallout from the out of body experience, maybe it was his body taking in the truths of the electricity, maybe it was something else entirely. But Jay didn¡¯t feel himself. Not that it mattered much. If he could think, he could fight. Jay knuckled down, put on a brave face, and mentally answered the sage¡¯s message. Catch the lightning. 23:36:45 The electricity felt stronger than last time. Jay noticed it almost immediately. Was that because his perception had increased, or was the bolt simply too powerful to fly under the radar? When the electricity passed through his body, Jay didn¡¯t feel the same fear as before. There was no hair-raising anticipation, no primal dread. That didn¡¯t mean it felt good. Microscopic daggers stabbed Jay from within each time the electricity entered his body. At the end of the last stage, Jay thought he¡¯d become one with the electricity. His body had stopped spasming and it felt like the electricity was ignoring it. Stage two had other ideas. It wasn¡¯t just pain though. Pain was a fiction of the mind, a response to danger created to keep humanity alive. Jay felt pain, sure. But he felt something far worse alongside it. Damage. Somehow, Jay could feel the electricity hacking away at his body. He could feel it slashing its way inside, not content with simply scrambling his nerves but hungry for destruction. Jay knew how damage felt. Every boxer knew what the sickening crunch of a broken nose sounded like. Jay knew it thrice over. He knew the soul-emptying pain of a liver shot and the desperate duel with consciousness after a punch to the ear. Millennia of evolutionary instincts screaming ¡°GO TO SLEEP!¡± when all he wanted was to stand up and fight. This was different. Jay wasn¡¯t sensing his body¡¯s response to damage, but pure damage itself. Jay sat back down, clenching his jaw and forcing himself through the pain. He knew it wouldn¡¯t stop until the trial was finished, so what else could he do but get to work? He closed his eyes, readying himself for a repeat of stage one. Readying his mind for another expansion, and the inevitable wave of pain that would follow. He concentrated on his mind and body, preparing to separate them from his essence. But then he stopped. He stopped because he noticed something shadowing the electrical trail of destruction. An unusual heat, blooming within his body. Barely perceivable, but undoubtedly there. At first, the warmth just felt strange. But then warmth grew into relief, and from that relief blossomed tenacity. For a brief moment, Jay felt the ecstasy of strength. The pure, indescribable, elation that only came with growing power. A sharp spike of damage clawed him back to reality. Jay whipped his eyes open and looked at his body. Nothing had changed, but he knew what he¡¯d just felt. And he absolutely needed to find out what it was. Jay returned to his strained meditation. Whatever the hell the heat was, Jay knew it was good. He knew he needed to chase it. He closed his eyes. This time, instead of expanding to fill the room, he looked inward. The last time he¡¯d tried this, sat beside Lyra in the coliseum pavilion, he¡¯d been told to ignore his body. While that helped Jay find his essence, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t help him now. He needed to look inside his body to find whatever it was that felt so fucking good. Jay''s focus drastically narrowed. Less than a minute ago, his consciousness enveloped the entire room. Now the room didn¡¯t exist. An infinite veil of darkness shrouded everything that wasn¡¯t Jay''s body. He saw nothing past the confines of his own skin. Last time Jay gazed inward, he saw a swirling blue nexus, surrounded by a body made of pure energy. Was that his domain, or his core? Jay didn¡¯t know the difference, so he decided not to dwell on it. This time, he saw his real body as it truly was. Beyond his skin, Jay saw his muscles. The rippling cables that moved his body. He saw them contort and convulse rapidly as the errant electricity streaked through them. He saw his organs, the machinery and piping that kept him alive. He felt the damage here too, the destructive force that was electricity running rampant throughout every corner of his being. He still didn¡¯t see his arms, although this time he was conscious of their absence. Everything behind Thane¡¯s bandages was as non-existent as the rest of the world. But Jay wasn¡¯t looking for his arms. And he was no longer looking for the electricity. Perhaps stage one was just to prepare him for this, forcing him to look outward to train him to look within? It was very rare for someone to see their own organs. It was even rarer while they were still inside their body. Jay recognised the absurdity of his situation, but he pressed forward. He didn¡¯t need to look at his organs, he needed to dive deeper. He descended further within himself. Seeing past the muscles and organs, past even the tissues that made them. Jay looked directly into the individual cells that made up his body. Even suspended as a cloud of consciousness, stretched throughout the entire room, Jay couldn¡¯t even catch a glimpse of electricity. He could see it now. Not directly, but he could see the impact on his body. He could see his body¡¯s reaction to the pure destruction piercing it. Jay could tell when the bolt travelled through his body, because occasionally they would collide. And each time they collided there could only be one winner. Every time the bolt of electricity brushed against one of Jay''s cells, it stuffed it with more energy that it could possibly contain. Jay heard his body¡¯s agonizing wails as it wrestled with the energy within it. For a moment, Jay wondered how the essence of electricity was affecting him. He couldn¡¯t hang onto that thought for longer than a moment though. Because for as philosophical and conceptual essence was, the electricity striking his body was definitely real. And real meant it fucking hurt. Jay powered through the pain. Now wasn¡¯t the time to ponder the nature of essence, there were practical insights already within his body, he just had to decipher them. Jay saw two outcomes whenever he looked at the electricity¡¯s aftermath. The first held only pain. Jay couldn¡¯t see the electricity rip through his body, but he saw the carnage in its wake. Cells, previously static and obedient, now shuddered with uncontrollable energy, ripping past their neighbours and tearing open microscopic gashes in Jay''s body. The energy still needed to escape somehow. After wreaking havoc within the cell walls, it punctured through them. Stabbing Jay with the piercing pain of destruction as it sliced its way out of Jay''s body like an unwanted parasite. But occasionally, less than one in a hundred times, Jay felt the blissful warmth once more. A burst of energy would inject itself into one of Jay''s cells. But the pain never followed. The erratic shudder never followed. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The destruction never followed. Instead, there was warmth. Warmth that flowed through the cycle of solace, perseverance, and finally the thrill of power. Energy still forced its way into Jay''s body, but his body didn¡¯t reject it. Whenever these lucky strikes hit, the cell wouldn¡¯t wildly expel its energy. It would use it. Turning the pure power that was electricity inwards, elevating itself. The excess energy didn¡¯t escape with violence either. It flowed out of Jay''s body, gently releasing an energizing glow as it left. Every cell these lucky bolts of electricity brushed against rebuilt itself more efficient than ever before. Jay''s body wasn¡¯t just healing. It was reforging itself. It was so easy to get lost in the joy of regrowth, but the unrelenting stabs of destruction ripped Jay out of his elation every time. He held strong, however. Jay knew that the glowing warmth was healing him, whatever it was. He would put up with the pain and suffering for an eternity if it meant the warmth kept coming. But eventually it stopped. Jay knew he wasn¡¯t done, he knew his body wasn¡¯t completely rejuvenated, but the bouts of warmth simply stopped arriving. He was left sitting in piercing agony, waiting for a respite that would never arrive. Several torturous minutes passed. Each missing even a single moment of warmth. Jay gave up on waiting and decided to try and finish stage two. He turned his perception outwards from within, expanding his consciousness to fill the room once more. It was easier this time, but that still didn¡¯t make it nice. Although Jay knew how to spread his essence into a cloud filling the room, he still had the bouncing bolt of electricity to contend with. This one fought harder than the last. Steadfast in its independence, it didn¡¯t want to conform to this intruder invading its domain. In this bolt, Jay saw a reflection of electricity that was absent in the last. Stage one was all about speed, this one had an undertone of power behind it. In the world of fighting, speed and power are polar opposites. They reach the same goal, winning fights, but they pave different paths. They only collide in the most special of fighters. Naoya Inoue and Tommy Hearns managed to weave the two together, but most boxers found it impossible. Jay understood this completely. He walked the path of speed because to him power was unreachable. But in the world of electricity, power and speed were two sides of the same coin. The bolt flew, spinning in the air, reflecting glimpses of both qualities as it soared. Jay thought he could only have one, and if he waited for the coin to drop, he might be right. But while the coin was still in the air, speed and power coexisted in perfect harmony. Perfectly separate yet intrinsically intertwined. Jay saw the veins of power bleed through the raw speed of electricity as he followed the bolt around the room. He watched his body beneath him grow stiller and stiller as the electricity accepted the intruder. Not out of weakness, but out of Harmony. Jay hadn¡¯t marched into its domain and demanded it to conform. He¡¯d observed. He¡¯d learned. And he¡¯d changed. Jay looked down at his gently breathing body after grasping a second glimpse of electricity. He braced himself for re-entry. Moments before he rushed back into his body, a painful realisation rose to the forefront of Jay¡¯s mind. If this reflection of lightning is slower, yet more powerful, surely the pain that comes with it would match that too? Milliseconds into owning a body again, he wished he was wrong. Screams of torture echoed throughout the stone prison. The headache that followed the last stage seemed like blissful paradise next to Jay''s current fate. He flopped around the floor, unable to control his body, unable to do anything more than howl into the abyss in excruciating agony. All good things must come to an end. Thankfully for Jay, all shit things did too. He panted on the ground, heart thumping his chest, eyes wide in fear. Is it finished? Congratulations on completing stage 2 of the trial by lightning. Do you wish to quit now, or continue onto stage 3? 23:01:54 For fucks sake.
After allowing himself a few minutes to recover, Jay sat upright. He jumped to his feet. Slightly quicker than last time. He stretched his legs and jumped into the air. He felt¡­ good? Good may have been a stretch, Jay was still fighting the last remnants of an electrically induced headache. But there was no denying that his body felt¡­ better? He couldn¡¯t quite quantify it, but something had changed during the last stage. He knew the lucky bolts of energy were affecting his body, he just didn¡¯t know how. Jay probed inwards, giving himself a few moments to breathe before starting stage three. It felt easier this time, like it required less effort to look at his body. Before he needed to dig deep and trawl through the murkiness of his mind. Now it was as clear as day. At least, some of it was. He could see parts of his body with complete understanding, but some parts still looked cloudy. There was no pattern to which parts he could see and which he couldn¡¯t. They came up in random spots throughout his body. Are these the cells that got hit by the lucky strikes? How can I make every cell like this? The floating blue system screen gave Jay his unspoken answer. He had to push further. Jay read the words once more. The trial didn¡¯t mention anything about regenerating or reforging. Was he supposed to be doing this? Does it even matter? Jay couldn¡¯t deny the positive effect the electricity had had on his body. Who cared about what the sage had laid out for him? He was here to get stronger. The trial was the path, not the end goal. He¡¯d do whatever it took. Jay grimaced at the blue screen in front of him. He stared deep between the lines as if the storm sage stood behind them. His jaw tightened. He read the words out loud. ¡°Do you wish to quit now?¡± He maintained his stare beyond the words, chuckling at the absurdity of the question. He imagined the sage and Thane watching him. He hoped they also had no doubts about his answer. ¡°Fuck no.¡±
¡°So, what is the trial by lightning exactly?¡± Thane asked, wondering what his old friend had in store for Jay. The poor kid didn¡¯t know what he was in for, taking on the storm sage as a mentor. Thane got the feeling that Jay would be alright though. He asked good questions, a sign of a good learner and an even better harmonizer. ¡°He¡¯s stuck in a box, with nothing but a bolt of lightning in there with him. He has to try and catch it.¡± ¡°How?¡± The sage shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s up to him. He needs to find a way to encompass the lightning into his personal essence, there¡¯s no best way to do that so I didn¡¯t specify. This is what the coliseum came up with.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Of course not, I did add a little bit of flair in there. The initial amount of energy is miniscule. It should take at least three hours before Jay even notices the energy, that¡¯ll help train his perception. After it¡¯s spotted, the energy levels ramp up.¡± The sage¡¯s mouth twisted into a knowing grin. ¡°The closer Jay gets to completing the trial, the more charged the lightning gets. Since it¡¯s bouncing around the room so fast, it¡¯ll be constantly running through his body. He¡¯ll be in agony by the time he finally catches the lightning.¡± ¡°You sick fuck.¡± ¡°If he truly wants to be strong, he¡¯s gonna have to go through a lot worse.¡± The sage chuckled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you have to sound so happy about it. What happens if he finishes early? That doesn¡¯t sound like twenty-four hours of training.¡± The sage¡¯s smile only grew larger, Thane couldn¡¯t help but feel worried for poor Jay. ¡°Stage one should last about twelve hours. Then he¡¯ll move onto stage two. It¡¯s the same trial, except all the energy levels are doubled. This should take less time than part one, if he can handle the pain. The lightning is easier to spot in larger quantities.¡± ¡°That still leaves some time after though. What happens when Jay completes stage two?¡± ¡°If he completes stage two. If he completes stage two, he goes onto stage three. Where the energy levels are doubled again.¡± ¡°You really are a sick fuck, aren¡¯t you?¡± The storm sage let out a booming laugh that let Thane know just how much his opinion was valued. ¡°It¡¯ll make him strong! I wouldn¡¯t have let him take the trial if I didn¡¯t think he could deal with it.¡± The sage¡¯s face regained a hint of seriousness ¡°I am slightly worried for his body though. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be able to withstand the high energies of stage three. Although I guess I¡¯ll find out after twenty-four hours. However far he gets, he still needs to complete both trials.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already called in one favour today, don¡¯t push your luck. My services aren¡¯t cheap.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. I don¡¯t think the coliseum would do anything too deadly to Jay. But you never know what the guys up there are planning.¡±
Once again, Jay looked down at his muscles spasming on the floor. During the first two stages, it looked much worse. Limbs flailed, launching Jay''s pseudo-unconscious body into the air randomly. The electricity sending his body twisting and turning against its will. Now the effect was far more subtle, but Jay knew it was nothing more than a fa?ade. There was pain lurking under his skin, he just couldn¡¯t see it yet. Consciousness spread thinly throughout the room; Jay was more at one with the lightning than ever. He couldn¡¯t control the bolt of pure energy flitting around the room. He couldn¡¯t hope to. No one could. But he could control the way his body reacted to it. Each time the lightning crossed paths with his body, it pumped pure energy into Jay. At first, all this did was jolt Jay''s nervous system. Now it did damage. Damage was one word for it. Jay preferred demolition. Each volt of electricity coursing through his body chipped away at Jay''s physical form, but this was exactly what he wanted. Each muscle fibre snapped, each neuron torn asunder, each cell wall disintegrated, was an opportunity for regrowth, for regeneration. Jay wasn¡¯t just building his body back stronger. He was doing far more than that. He was reforging his body in electricity¡¯s image. At long last, Jay''s body laid still on the ground. The lightning still ran through it, except now Jay''s flesh put up no resistance. He¡¯d moulded his body into a perfect conduit for electricity. If Jay''s disembodied consciousness had a mouth, it would be grinning maniacally right now. He¡¯d pushed his body far beyond its old limits. He didn¡¯t even know if it had limits anymore. Now came the shit part. It was easy to reconstruct your body from the ground up when you weren¡¯t in it. Easy to rip your nervous system into shreds when you weren¡¯t using it. But Jay couldn¡¯t live as a disembodied cloud of consciousness forever. He had to go back. Wisps of Jay''s consciousness swirled around the room and rushed back into his body. Jay''s omniscience vanished as he once again became a lump of flesh staring at a blank stone ceiling. He didn¡¯t have time to ruminate on the nature of self or his new body because there was something more pressing to consider. Pain. Some people say pain is good, it lets you know you¡¯re alive. Put any of those wisecrack philosophers in Jay''s position and they¡¯d pretty quickly stop talking and start screaming. There was no getting used to this kind of pain, it wasn¡¯t surface level, it wasn¡¯t even deep. It was existential. Jay couldn¡¯t even understand the pain he was in. He didn¡¯t want to. He just wanted it to end. After what felt like an eternity, Jay''s misery ended. Once more he felt like a human being. His reward for the pain? A blue rectangle filling his vision, almost taunting him. Congratulations on completing stage 9 of the trial by lightning. Do you wish to quit now or continue onto stage 10? 00:00:07 Jay closed his eyes and allowed himself seven glorious seconds of relaxation. He felt the urges of tiredness creeping up on him and tried to bat them away. Jay had signed up for three days of doing whatever the sage asked, and that¡¯s what he intended to do. If he was told to catch lightning, he¡¯d catch lightning. If he was told to fight, he¡¯d fight. He hadn¡¯t been told to stop yet. Chapter 37: Fighting The timer ticked to zero and Jay returned to the room with the two arches. The storm sage loomed over Jay, frowning. Behind him sat a luxurious four poster bed, buried in quilts with a mountain of pillows at the head. How did that get here? Jay silently flicked his eyes between the sage and the bed. ¡°What? Did you think I¡¯d make you sleep on the floor? I¡¯m not that cruel!¡± said the sage. He pointed at the bed ¡°Get in, and don¡¯t even think about getting out until I tell you.¡± Jay sprang to his feet. His body felt better than it had any right to be after twenty-four hours of electrocution, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t tired. During the final stage of the trial, Jay was almost grateful for the stabbing pain each electrocution bought. It kept him awake. The constant pangs of agony stopped Jay from succumbing to sleep while he grasped for more insights into both electricity and his own body. Jay nodded at the sage and walked over to the bed. Within seconds of sitting on the bed, his body crumpled into the endless linens. After the storm sage zapped himself out of the cave, Jay stretched out on the bed with only silence keeping him company. He¡¯d expected to fall asleep instantly, but his body wouldn¡¯t let him. Jay¡¯s legs constantly twitched beneath the covers, the pulsating energy within them refusing to stay still. His stomach twisted and turned, although it didn¡¯t make Jay nauseous. As Jay closed his eyes and began to drift away, the relentless churning within his body lulled him to sleep. As he faded further away from consciousness, he felt the tireless pulse of his metabolism working within. Each cell absorbing every last spark of electricity, not content to simply study or learn, but determined to reforge themselves. Determined to become electricity. Jay clung onto these insights for as long as he could, but he was only human. When the numbing veil of sleep wrapped over him, he let the fragments of electricity slip into his subconscious. While Jay¡¯s mind finally rested, his body relentlessly laboured on.
¡°Time for the next trial Jay. Wake up.¡± Jay shot awake, the storm sage¡¯s voice injecting him with focus. It felt like just a second ago, he was reeling from day one. Was it already day three? ¡°The trial by fighting is simpler than the last trial. It¡¯s a gauntlet, you keep fighting until you defeat your opponent. If you lose, you fight them again. The trial will last until you defeat every opponent; unless you quit before the time is up.¡± A smirk broke through the storm sage¡¯s face. ¡°But I don¡¯t think you needed to know that.¡± ¡°Who will I be fighting?¡± ¡°Whoever the coliseum throws at you.¡± Huh? Jay thought the sage completely controlled the trials, but maybe they were another boon granted by the coliseum. It would make sense to help the island¡¯s mentors like this. But making sense wasn¡¯t particularly important on Eterna. Jay refocused on the next trial. It wouldn¡¯t be easy without his hands, but he didn¡¯t really have a choice. ¡°I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s go.¡± Jay got out of bed and followed the sage to the second arch. The shadows faded and Jay stepped through. Jay entered into another cave that stretched out into darkness in front of him. This one far rougher and natural looking than the spotless cube from the first trial. A circular gravel pit, identical to the one in the newbie arena, was the only sign he was still in the trial and not abandoned underwater. Inside the ring stood a man wearing nothing but blue shorts and blue gloves. Is that¡­ It was. Richard Boogieman Burns stood in the ring facing Jay. The very person who¡¯d sent him to the coliseum in the first place. The Second Chance Coliseum was ruthless. Jay couldn¡¯t think of a better word to describe an organisation that dragged people from the brink of death and enslaved them into fights to the death every week. But at least it had an eye for drama. If this was his first opponent, at least the trial would start out fun. Maybe this place isn¡¯t so bad after all. Fight your past. Jay understood this trial a hell of a lot more than the last one. Despite all the potential intricacies, a fight was simply a fight. Jay didn¡¯t have to ponder on its true nature, or shift his perception of the world, he just had to fight. ¡°Fight first. Ask questions later.¡± Jay thought back to one of Coach¡¯s old phrases. A phrase he rarely listened to, but one that felt appropriate right now. The trial had created a magnificent illusion. Boogieman Burns couldn¡¯t really be here, he was still back on Earth, but the imitation standing in front of Jay looked as intimidating as ever. Dense arms, packed to the brim with muscle, propped up the two 10oz fists that guarded an arrogant sneer. Jay watched his former opponent for a moment before glancing down at his bandaged, broken arms. He¡¯d have to fight Burns much differently this time, but that didn¡¯t mean it¡¯d be hard. Jay confidently stepped into the gravel ring. An iridescent ripple shimmered through the invisible perimeter wall as a blue screen counted him in. 3 Jay met Burns¡¯ stare with a confident rebuttal. The boxer in front of him might just be a projection, but Jay was going to enjoy destroying him nonetheless. 2 Jay bounced on the balls of his feet, moving side to side as he found his tempo. 1 Eye of the storm flooded through Jay. Apart from his cordoned off arms, every inch of his body was within his grasp, each cell beckoned Jay¡¯s call. Previously, Eye of the storm fought against Jay¡¯s natural limits. Reining his nervous system from the tethers of the subconscious. But now both the reins and tethers lay severed beneath him. Jay¡¯s stormforged body existed in perfect harmony with his mind. Eye of the storm now merely bridged the gap, quieting the noise of the world, slowing it down so that Jay¡¯s body and mind could communicate seamlessly in the heat of battle. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The broken shards of his shattered mental barrier crashed into the ground by Jay''s feet. He ground his teeth against each other, lips twisted into an excited grin. Fight. Burns advanced. To Jay, it looked like he was wading through molasses. Jay didn¡¯t wait for his opponent to crawl over. He circled clockwise. It took three full steps before Burns¡¯ pupils locked onto Jay''s new position. Jay took another step forward, just in time to see the muscle fibres in his opponent¡¯s thigh twitch. He¡¯d just begun to turn. In his last fight, Jay was a prisoner in his own body. He knew everything he needed to do to evade the gorilla, but he was powerless to do it. What use was an elevated mind when its body lagged behind. Now it had caught up. Watching the electricity carve paths of carnage had immensely improved Jay¡¯s bodily awareness. It was the reason Eye of the storm no longer strained his nerves, and now felt as natural as lacing up a pair of gloves. But Jay had extracted far more from his first trial. Every fragment of Jay''s body vibrated with almost uncontrollable energy. He felt himself buzz from within as the uncontainable urge to run, to jump, to fight screamed inside every cell. It wasn¡¯t just speed coursing through his body, but power. The pure, indescribable, power present within each and every fragment of electricity that darted through existence. Jay stood just outside punching range. It didn¡¯t matter. He wasn¡¯t punching anymore. He raised his left leg and slammed it into Burns¡¯ kneecap. Jay''s kick was terrible. There wasn¡¯t a single shred of technique contained within it. But what was technique in the face of overwhelming power? The crunch of shattered bones and squeal of tendons tearing apart filled Jay''s ears with the unsatisfying buzz of scuppered revenge as his opponent toppled to the ground. The illusion wasn¡¯t perfect. Burns¡¯ face sneered impassively as his head smacked the ground. That face. That stupid fucking face had taken everything from him. He couldn¡¯t even make it wince in pain. Jay barely glanced at the crippled body beneath him. He lifted his leg in the air and slammed it down on his opponent¡¯s skull. Jay barely felt any resistance before his foot hit the gravel. Victory. 1/4. A new ring appeared next to the first. Jay stepped out of his current battlefield and walked around his next. Inside the circle was another human, one Jay didn¡¯t recognise. He wore nothing but black and gold mid-length shorts and MMA gloves. So this is what fight your past meant. Jay didn¡¯t see the point of fighting against the earthlings. His speed, strength, and current fighting ability was so far beyond them that it wouldn¡¯t even be a contest, even without his arms. He entered the ring. The man in front of him expressed none of Burns¡¯ bravado. His scar-kissed eyebrows and cauliflowered ears told Jay of a history of violence. He squinted at Jay, like a predator focusing on its prey. Sorry buddy, it¡¯s not gonna work out like that. The fighter inched forward. Jay casually walked towards his opponent. Even if he could use his arms, he still wouldn¡¯t have his guard up. The fighter threw a punch. Jay didn¡¯t dodge. He already knew he was out of range. The punch was just a feint however, and the fighters head ducked as he attempted to tackle Jay to the ground. This would probably have worked two weeks ago, and Jay still didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d do if someone strong enough took him down. But that didn¡¯t matter here. Once more, Jay was reminded of the futility of preparation, practice and technique in the face of superior power. This could have been a flawless takedown, executed to perfection, and it still wouldn¡¯t mean shit. Jay raised his knee with superhuman speed and drove it through his opponent¡¯s jaw. The man instantly slumped to the floor, momentum shoving his limp body into Jay''s legs. Victory. 2/4.
Jay moved onto the next ring. On one hand, he hoped the next fight would at least be a little more exciting. But he also knew this was only the start of the trial. There was going to be harder fights to come, so maybe he should cherish the easy ones while they still existed. The third ring had appeared by now. The fighter inside it stared directly at Jay through cold steel eyes. Neatly parted hair flopped gently as the boxer skipped forward and back. Muscular arms, although smaller than usual for a heavyweight, wielded denatured steel knuckles in a low guard. From the red tape wrapped around his wrists, and the two working arms, Jay guessed his next opponent was an imitation of himself from just before the gorilla fight. The rippling red folds of the storm sage¡¯s tracksuit flapped as Past Jay began shadow boxing Jay made a loop of the third ring, encircling his past self. Watching the replay of his debut in Q¡¯s office had felt strange, especially when the ¡°camera¡± had entered his own eyes. But seeing the three-dimensional reflection of himself felt surreal. Having to fight it only made it stranger. Well¡­ I didn¡¯t see this coming. He probably should¡¯ve. The coliseum had thrown Jay nothing but surprises since arriving, there was never a straightforward solution to anything here. A healthy Jay was easily stronger than his past self. He knew everything his old self knew, and his new body could run rings around his old one. But regardless of the things he¡¯d learned, the skills he¡¯d gained, and the steps he¡¯d taken towards Harmony. Some things hadn¡¯t changed. Jay was a boxer. He still needed his hands. After the first two fights, Jay''s confidence had begun to blur into cockiness. His hastily built bravado trembled as he stepped into the ring with his past self. But there was no running from this fight, not if he wanted to get stronger. Jay¡¯s arms hung limply by his sides as he watched Past Jay raise his fists. If only. The countdown slowly ticked towards zero until not even the blue screen separated both Jays. Electric blue rushed through the whites of Past Jay''s eyes. Pooling in his irises, lighting them up and painting an azure trail of light as his head bobbed and weaved. Jay matched his opponent, activating his own Eye of the storm. The evolved form of the technique didn¡¯t punish his body like it had before. Jay was confident he could keep it running longer, and at a higher intensity than his previous self. Provided with the same weapons, present Jay would certainly have won the chess match of feints and misdirection; his mind and body were simply faster than they were before. That still didn¡¯t solve Jay''s one glaring problem. With no arms, he couldn¡¯t punch. Both fighters stopped, millimetres outside of their range, and Jay''s problem was illuminated in brutal clarity. Jay could read his past self¡¯s punches from a mile away; he just couldn¡¯t do much about them. Even if Jay knew a punch was coming, he still had to dodge it. With his two bandaged arms dangling beside him, Jay couldn¡¯t parry, he couldn¡¯t counter, he couldn¡¯t even block. All he could do was dodge and pray. If he had his arms, this wouldn¡¯t have been an issue. Arms were agile, quick, and could move in almost any direction. They were versatile in defence and the threat they carried stifled most attacks before they even begun. There was a reason every single martial art ever to exist utilised your arms. Legs, elbows, headbutts and knees were all great, but they weren¡¯t essential. Arms were. Unfortunately, since they weren¡¯t at Jay''s disposal right now, he was forced to struggle without them. His past self took full use of that advantage. Forcing Jay back behind a series of strategic jabs. Give me a fucking break. Jay''s pleads were even more useless than his arms. Past Jay kept jabbing and feinting, forcing Jay to twist and slip punches while constantly backpedalling. Eventually, he couldn¡¯t retreat anymore. Jay''s back foot knocked into the lip at the edge of the ring. Fuck. Past Jay¡¯s face remained impassive as he closed all angles his future self might possibly escape from. Jay watched as his opponent¡¯s left drew closer. He waited until the very last moment, the point of no return, to slip outside. Physical speed was Jay¡¯s main advantage over his old self. Jay had to time every dodge perfectly just to stay in the fight. The trailing blade of the Conquerors fists brushed past Jay''s face. It sliced into his cheekbone, drawing the faintest trickle of blood. Jay kept circling right, desperate to get his back off the wall. A shove to his lagging left shoulder scuppered his escape. Jay couldn¡¯t feel the fist pushing his arm back, but he could sense his momentum shift as his torso twisted. Even his stormforged body couldn¡¯t completely shrug off the blow. The jab was aimed at Jay''s face before, but Past Jay must¡¯ve known he¡¯d dodge outside. It was his only option. The push forced Jay to face his opponent, destroying any attempt of fleeing. The left hand that had just shoved Jay twisted towards his face. The red fist unfurling as Past Jay held it over Jay¡¯s eyes, blocking his vision. Jay leaned back, determined to catch a glimpse behind the shielding hand. He spotted the glint of steel as a right straight crept towards him. He could only lean back further and hope the barrier wall wouldn¡¯t block him before he left the steel knuckles¡¯ range. It didn¡¯t. The steel knuckles came up just short. Centimetres from his face. But Past Jay wasn¡¯t going for a punch. The extended blade of the conqueror¡¯s fists sliced into Jay''s neck as the swinging fist flew by his head. Jay was helpless to watch as blood spurted out of his neck. His vision blurred as he dropped to the floor. For the second time in just over a week, Jay watched his life slip away as a boxer stood over him. He didn¡¯t think there could ever be a more painful sight than the one of Boogieman Burns¡¯ victorious sneer as he tumbled towards the canvas. Seeing his own face hurt far far more. Chapter 38: Two steps backwards… Jay didn¡¯t think his scream would reach his mouth, but it came out loud and clear. The vibrations in his neck told him that his throat was still intact, somehow. He wanted to clutch it, grasp at it, in case it spontaneously decided to reopen. He couldn¡¯t. An invisible force shunted Jay out of the ring. He looked up at his reflection returning to a fighting stance, completely forgetting his presence. Panting heavily, enjoying the powers of a hole-less neck, Jay thought about what just happened. He¡¯d just died, right? He felt the steel go through his throat. He saw the blood fly out of his body. Yet here he was, lying on the cavern floor next to a bloodless ring. So, he didn¡¯t die? It had to be a vision, an illusion of some sort. How else would people from his past be here in the flesh? That didn¡¯t make it feel any less real. Relatively confident his neck wouldn¡¯t start leaking blood again, Jay stood up. He stared at his past self in the ring. Blankly focused on an invisible opponent in front of him. Well, until I step in there again. Because Jay was going to step in the ring again. He had twenty-three hours and fifty-something minutes to figure out this puzzle. He wasn¡¯t unbeatable. Three boxers had already figured him out before, and a gorilla had come pretty close. But they all had working arms. Jay didn¡¯t have a plan the second time he entered the ring, but knew he needed to get used to fighting himself. That familiarity would only come with experience.
The second fight went almost the same way as the first. Jay had better speed and reflexes than his past self, but it wasn¡¯t enough to bridge the chasm that losing his arms had created. Jay was shepherded to the edge of the ring, unable to seriously threaten his past self. The fight differed once Jay discovered that he could step out of the ring. These circles didn¡¯t have invisible walls like the newbie arena, and merely stepping out ended the fight. Of course, it meant he didn¡¯t win. But walking backwards was a much more comfortable way to lose than having your throat slit. Less traumatizing too. Jay''s eyes wandered from his lifeless arms up towards his past self. After twenty-four hours of revelations, followed by twenty-four hours of rest, Jay thought his arms would¡¯ve shown some sign of hope. Hanging heavy and lifeless by his side, they felt as useless as they¡¯d ever been. How am I supposed to win with no arms? Jay looked around for inspiration, staring the two fighters he¡¯d just beat. How would they beat me? Burns was out of the question. He was a boxer too, and would only attack with his hands. Jay''s second opponent had more weapons, maybe Jay could learn from him? Standing next to the second ring, Jay got a closer look at the fighter. A bear-like blanket of hair covered a pale white chest and the fighter¡¯s back looked at least twice as muscular as Jay''s own. A body forged through a lifetime of mauling people to the ground. He had a scruffy brown beard with no moustache and a buzz of shaved hair above it. One of those scary Russian motherfuckers. Jay couldn¡¯t just keep calling him the fighter though. If he was to be Jay''s training partner, the scary Russian motherfucker needed a scary Russian motherfucking name. Magomed Magomedovich¡­ Yeah, I think it suits him. Magomed definitely couldn¡¯t beat Jay in a fight, he was far too slow. But what if he wasn¡¯t? Jay had the raw power needed to defeat his past self; he just didn¡¯t have the arsenal. He couldn¡¯t learn anything from Magomed going full speed, but what if he slowed down? What would Magomed do then, and could Jay use it against his past self? If Magomed was faster than Jay, an advantage Jay held over his past self, what could he do to win the fight? Jay stepped into the second ring, eager to see what Magomed had in store for him. He activated Eye of the storm and focused on his opponent¡¯s every move. He didn¡¯t move any faster than a normal human would. There was no point to winning this fight, Jay knew he could do that. He stepped in the ring to learn, and to do that he needed to let his opponent set the pace. Magomed threw a short jab before rushing into a takedown. Jay dodged easily. Learning how to tackle himself was useless, Jay had no arms to grab with. Returning to the stalemate, Jay hoped Magomed had other ways to initiate an attack. Jay effortlessly dodged three more tackles. He was beginning to lose hope in his plan, but a change in Magomed¡¯s stance drew him back into the fight. He no longer stood slightly hunched, leaning on his front foot, with his hands by his chin. Now Magomed stood upright, hands outstretched in the air. He¡¯d shifted most of his weight to this back foot. Interesting, what next? Magomed threw another short jab. He held this palm out in front of Jay''s face. Classic. Jay leaned sideways to give himself a better view. He noticed that Magomed stepped in behind his jab, but not in a normal way. Instead of simply shifting forwards, he rotated his left foot almost ninety degrees outward, opening his hips wide and planting his weight forward. Jay¡¯s focus shifted to his opponent¡¯s right leg. It swung forward, propelled by Magomed¡¯s forward momentum. How do I defend this? Jay had seen kicks before, but never targeted at him. Stood across from his opponent now, it didn¡¯t matter how fast he thought, Jay couldn¡¯t tell where his opponents kick was going. He simply didn¡¯t know the difference between how a high, middle, or low kick looked. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. By the time the kicking leg passed the planted one, Jay had figured out it was aimed at his front leg. Magomed was leaning too far forward to be aiming any higher. With his stormforged body, Jay had the ability to dodge in time. But his past self wouldn¡¯t have that luxury. Instead of dodging, Jay reacted as he would¡¯ve before the gorilla fight. He shifted his weight backwards, leaning onto his back foot. Jay figured that Magomed¡¯s kick wouldn¡¯t be as effective if he wasn¡¯t planted on his left leg. The real world had other ideas. When Magomed¡¯s shin slammed into Jay''s calf, he found out that it didn¡¯t matter what the plan was. Jay''s last fight with Magomed showed him the futility of technique in the face of pure might. This one taught him the effectiveness of technique against an equal opponent. Jay''s left foot was swept from underneath him. Since he¡¯d shifted his weight onto the right, Jay wasn¡¯t instantly floored. But his position was still compromised. Magomed didn¡¯t give him time to fully analyse the attack. He rushed in for a punch immediately after his kick landed. Jay couldn¡¯t do that against his past self, but he could certainly chop at his legs. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. Of course the best way to attack a boxer was to target the one part of their body that they¡¯d never defended. But Jay had needed an experienced opponent to show him that. His fight with Magomed hadn¡¯t just revealed a flaw in his fighting style, it had revealed a flaw in his fighting mentality. Jay needed to stop thinking like a boxer and start thinking like a gladiator. He needed to start thinking like someone who could be attacked anywhere, and in any way. He needed to remember that he could attack like that too. Jay used his grounded right foot to hop away from Magomed¡¯s jab. It was no use boxing with him in close range. There was nothing to learn there, the gold was in the leg kicks. When a boxer takes their first step in, most of their weight is on their leading foot. When most of their weight is on their leading foot, it becomes very difficult to move it. This doesn¡¯t usually matter. In a boxing ring, nobody¡¯s attacking their leg. If they wanted to move it, they wouldn¡¯t have planted it that hard. Boxers like Past Jay never had to fight scary Russian motherfuckers like Magomed who would hack at their legs like a cattle rancher in the amazon. And they definitely never had to fight anything as fast as Jay¡¯s stormforged body. Jay returned to his fighting stance and dared Magomed to kick him again. One kick was fine, but Jay needed far more to copy it properly. Another kick came. Jay pushed Eye of the storm to its limit, he studied every atom of his opponent. He needed to extract all the information he could get in order to recreate the attack. Foot position, step speed, hip angle, Jay ignored none of it. He added them all together and tried to cobble a useful attack out of his observations. After ten more attempts on his calf¡¯s life, Jay felt he was ready to test out the kick. He thanked his illusory training partner with a stamp to the knee and stepped out of the ring. Jay wanted to practice his kick on an easier target first. Lucky for him, he was standing next to a ring with the world¡¯s most kickable cunt in it.
Jay stood opposite Burns¡¯ high guard. His opponent was woefully unequipped to defend his legs, and Jay was about to take full advantage of that. He wanted to start with a probing jab. All good combinations started with a jab and no amount of coliseum fights would ever make Jay think otherwise. His bandaged arms had other ideas, so instead he simply planted his left foot firmly into the gravel, twisted ninety degrees outwards. It felt weird. Opening up his body so much went against all Jay''s instincts. But Jay needed to reject his old instincts and develop some more useful ones. He wasn¡¯t boxing anymore. Jay¡¯s right leg swung forward, and he now saw why he needed to open his hips. The twisting brought tension. Tension that was released as soon as his leg swung forward. It wasn¡¯t just Jay''s leg propelling the kick, but his whole body. The compression and expansion within the kicking motion wasn¡¯t lost on Jay, but he didn¡¯t try to channel thunder through his kicks yet. One step at a time. Focus on the motion first. Easier said than done. Jay had intended to strike Burns¡¯ calf with his shin, but instead he ended up slapping his limp foot into his opponent¡¯s knee. Jay could have learned a new punching technique in minutes. But in the last twenty-five years he¡¯d never moved his legs like this. He had no frame of reference to compare himself to. Even with Eye of the storm helping him analyse every move, Jay found it difficult to notice where he was going wrong. If it weren¡¯t for his stormforged body aligning his mind and muscles together, Jay didn¡¯t know how long it would have taken him to master this one attack. But with each imperfect kick, Jay learned more. He¡¯d even found ways to improve Magomed¡¯s technique, or at least adapt it to his style. No two people had the same body, so no two people would attack the same way. What worked for one person might be useless for another. The trick to learning a technique was to dissect it into parts, and only steal what applied to you. And steal Jay did. For the next thirty minutes, Jay constantly swapped between the first two rings. Analysing in one, experimenting in the other, until he felt confident to take on his past self again.
Past Jay¡¯s guard shifted as soon as Jay stepped into the ring. He dropped his hands lower, not needing to defend against punches from an armless opponent. No amount of guard lowering would protect his legs though. Both fighters activated Eye of the storm at the same time. Jay watched the blue sparks trail his mirror¡¯s irises as he initiated the tactical battle. Jay waited for his opponent to strike first and plant pressure on his lead leg. Even though Jay was the faster fighter, without arms to bother his opponent he was predictable. With Eye of the storm running, Past Jay could easily predict the leg kick. Jay had to wait for his moment. He had to wait until his attack was undodgeable. This fight started just as poorly as the first two. There was nothing Jay could do but backpedal to avoid the relentless punches coming his way. Still, he bided his time and waited for the opportunity to present itself. Past Jay wouldn¡¯t be watching for leg kicks, so he¡¯d surely leave openings without realising. When they neared the edge of the ring, Past Jay went in for the kill. Now! Jay twisted his front foot outwards, not as much as Magomed initially did, Jay didn¡¯t need to for his attack. He leaned back slightly and released his right leg. Past Jay didn¡¯t know how to respond. Trapped inside an inexperienced body, wondering how to escape, unsure whether to keep pressing on or abort the attack completely. Jay¡¯s kick came in faster than Past Jay could even hope to counter. That only left retreat. But he had too much weight on his front foot. Eye of the storm was rendered useless. Just like in his fight against the gorilla, Past Jay''s body simply couldn¡¯t keep up with his mind. It¡¯s a lot nicer being on the giving end of that problem. The savage crunch of a shattered kneecap made Jay wince as he watched his old self crumple to the ground. It was far less satisfying breaking his own legs after ten rounds of chopping at Burns¡¯. The power in Jay''s kicks was undeniable. Sure, his technique was sub-par. But Jay had already learned that pure power made up for a lot of things and finesse was often one of them. The vibrating energy locked within the cells of his stormforged body yearned to unleash their might. Jay''s shin channelled it with devastating impact. Jay backed off and watched his past self scramble on the ground, unable to stand on his feet. Stop being a baby, three limbs is plenty! Heckled a rather morbid voice in the back of Jay''s mind. He gained no pleasure from watching himself suffer on the ground, so Jay finished the fight off with another kick, this time targeted at Past Jay''s ribs. He got an arm in the way. It didn¡¯t matter. The fight was over. Victory. 3/4. Jay left the ring and looked towards where the next ring would appear. He didn¡¯t know what the trial would throw at him next, but it couldn¡¯t be more unexpected than fighting against himself. He watched the gravel circle materialise above the rocks, watched the air shimmer into an iridescent barrier as his next opponent took shape in the middle of the circle. It was another boxer. Kind of. Inside his wrapped fists was a gold-hilted dagger. He wore white shorts with a shiny gold trim. No. Fuck off. He had a bigger frame than Jay, even though it wasn¡¯t fully filled in yet. He might still have been a teenager. No don¡¯t make me fucking do this. His face looked younger, more innocent than Jay remembered. But the resemblance was still there. His black hair was styled in the exact same way as Jay''s. Or rather, Jay''s was styled in the exact same way as his opponent¡¯s. Jules? Chapter 39: Stop feeling sorry for yourself… Jay stared at his older brother. Jaw hanging completely open. He looked almost identical to the day he died. The Julian in the ring was only nineteen, six years younger than Jay. But Jay felt as little as ever looking at his big brother in the ring. He felt thirteen again. He felt just like he did when he ran a- NO! Jay tried to fight back the memories. But how could he? He had a golden shining reminder of them right in front of him. He¡¯d fought so hard over the last week, he was finally starting to find a place for himself in the coliseum, finally starting to accept his new reality, to believe he was a real gladiator. Useless. Faced with a real fighter, Jay saw himself for what he really was. A coward. Jay collapsed to his knees. He wished he had hands to rip the useless, self-destructive thoughts from his brain. Instead, he closed his eyes and hoped it would all go away. It wouldn¡¯t. Jay twisted away from his brother, wanting to look anywhere but the ring. Half an hour ago, he¡¯d praised the coliseum¡¯s eye for drama. Fuck you Second Chance Coliseum. Fuck you whoever did this. Jay didn¡¯t care that he was in the middle of a trial, he didn¡¯t feel an ounce of regret as he screamed into the void to pull him out and throw him into the ocean.
The void didn¡¯t respond. Jay was left in silence, facing three defeated opponents and refusing to look at his next. He lay there, drinking in the hateful silence that wrapped around him like barbed wire. He lay there and felt like shit. Every other time he¡¯d felt this way, someone had been there to draw his attention elsewhere, make him focus on something productive instead of focusing on how much of a useless coward he was. Now he was alone. Now he was fucking alone. The voice of reason inside Jay''s head told him to stop feeling sorry for himself. To get up and fight rather than wallow in uselessness. To do something, anything. Jay told that voice to shut the fuck up. He didn¡¯t care what reason had to say. Reason couldn¡¯t fill the cavernous hole that loss had left inside him. Reason couldn¡¯t bring Jay¡¯s big brother back. But there was another voice whispering in Jay''s ear. Another voice trying to rouse him out of his stupor. A quieter voice, but a much stronger one. The voice of hope. Reason might be correct, it might make sense and tell him to do the right thing, but it didn¡¯t inspire him. It didn¡¯t make him stand and fight when he wanted nothing but to sink into the ground and cease to exist. Hope did. Jay didn¡¯t tell the voice of hope to shut up. He didn¡¯t want to. Because he really, really, wanted the voice of hope to be correct. Julian had never used a golden dagger in his life, but he held one now. The voice of hope gave Jay a reason why. What if Julian never died twelve years ago? What if he went to the Coliseum too? It was a long shot, and it had no proof other than the illusion in front of him. But Jay clung onto the hope like it was the only think in the world that mattered. In a way it was. If his brother was alive then maybe Jay could find him. Maybe he could apologise. Jay forced himself up. As much as he yearned to stay bound by the comforting shackles of self-loathing, he couldn¡¯t. If there was even a chance his brother was out there, Jay had to try and find him. And that started with the fight right in front of him. He forced himself to look at his brother¡¯s face. Julian¡¯s warm amber eyes didn¡¯t meet Jay''s teary grey ones. Until he stepped in the ring, he didn¡¯t deserve it. It was easy to tell himself to go in there and fight, easy to tell himself to push through it, to power through and do it for his brother. But it was easy to tell yourself anything. Every time Jay built up the courage to step foot in the ring, the sight of his brother pushed him away. It wasn¡¯t just a picture, or a video of the past. The Julian in front of him looked fucking real. A sight that had once been reserved only for Jay''s nightmares. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. How could Jay bring himself to fight his brother. His dead brother. His hero. ¡°Stop feeling sorry for yourself.¡± Jay could have sworn he heard his lost brothers voice call out to him. But he was all alone. ¡°Stop feeling sorry for yourself.¡± Coach¡¯s voice joined in chorus with Julian¡¯s. ¡°Stop feeling sorry for yourself.¡± Jay told himself. His voice cracked, emotion pouring through. Tears streaming down his cheeks, Jay finally worked up the courage to take his first step into the ring. ¡°Stop feeling sorry for yourself and fight.¡±
Jay didn¡¯t know what was worse, having to fight his brother, or the fact that Julian was smiling the whole time. Jay fought on instincts, he enjoyed fighting more than most boxers, but he still had to knuckle down and focus every time he stepped into the ring. Julian had no such limitation. Jay''s big brother had always been a cheerful guy, but the only times Jay had seen true joy on his brother¡¯s face were all inside the boxing ring. Nostalgia didn¡¯t make the smile any less painful. It was a smile Jay had missed out on for the last twelve years. Julian would be thirty-one by now. The prime of his career. How many rings had that smile been snatched from? How many great fights had been taken from the world? Jay couldn¡¯t drag himself back into that pit. He had a fight to win. Jay analysed his brother¡¯s style, if he really did come to Eterna, what essences would his brother wield? Jay was led to those that related to his background and nickname. Would his brother be the same? Coach called Jay ¡°Lightning¡± because he was fast, but that wasn¡¯t the only reason. His brother had already taken one nickname reserved for quick boxers. Flash. Would Julian have control over the essence of the flash? The essence of light? Jules had another nickname, one seldom used in the gym, but instead plastered near the top of every list of the world¡¯s best boxing prospects. A name Julian wrestled from the clutches of Oscar De La Hoya as soon as he retired. Golden Boy. What would the essence of gold look like? Jay didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out. A gold sheen washed over Julian''s entire body, tinting him in metallic yellow. When the light struck perfectly, a corona of golden light wrapped around him. Gold wasn¡¯t the hardest metal, but it was still metal. Jay didn¡¯t want to slam a kick into his brother¡¯s gold-plated leg. But what choice did he have. He didn¡¯t have a weapon, and even if he did, he had no hands to hold it with. Jay broke down his brother¡¯s stance using Eye of the storm. Julian hopped forwards and backwards, his hands dropped even lower than they sat when he boxed. He held the dagger in his dominant right, but with a very loose grip. It looked like it could slip out of his fingertips at any moment. Julian dropped his right even lower. About to throw the dagger. Jay didn¡¯t know how he knew, but he knew. Sure enough, Julian released the blade in an underhanded throw straight at Jay¡¯s face. The darting dagger became a crawling one as Jay intensified Eye of the storm. Jay wanted to catch the blade, but since he couldn¡¯t, he slipped his head to the side. It was an easy dodge. Eye of the storm compounded with Jay''s stormforged cells significantly reduced his reaction time. He tried to evade the dagger by the tiniest amount, wasting no energy on needless movement and letting it pass mere millimetres from his neck. As it flew by him, Jay felt the metal edge press against his skin. It didn¡¯t cut him, he¡¯d noticed it before it pierced the skin, but it was about to. Jay leaned further away. Had he miscalculated, misjudged the trajectory? The blade pressed into him again. No. It¡¯s moving mid-air! Jay dodged further away, twisting to face the dagger. Was this Julian¡¯s power? Manipulating his dagger after throwing it at his opponents? What happened to boxing? Jay caught the flicker of movement in his periphery. There was no tell, Julian didn¡¯t run, or even walk, forward. He simply moved. It reminded Jay of Jana, the Iron Whip. Just like how she effortlessly swung around the gorilla, Julian advanced without even attempting to make a step. And he was quick too, Julian accelerated even faster than the Goldenback. Jay took a step back, positioning himself further from both Julian and his dagger. Julian didn¡¯t turn to follow him, instead speeding towards the airborne dagger. But the dagger had moved. Instead of carrying on ahead, the blade had turned to face Jay and had begun to inch its way towards him. Was this Julian¡¯s power? A two headed dragon, the dagger drawing his opponent¡¯s attention and response while Jules rushed in to attack? It certainly added another dimension to his original boxing style. The dagger drifted towards Jay. As long as he remained focused, it would never reach him, but there was an air of inevitability about the knife tailing his every move. Julian caught up to the dagger and threw it again. Faster this time. Still too slow. Jay slipped to the left, leaving less than a foot between the knife and his neck. It was dangerous, but if Julian only advanced towards the knife, that would be the easiest way to draw him in close. Even though he had a greater speed advantage in this fight, Jay still faced the same problem as when he fought himself. Without his hands, he didn¡¯t know how to advance or pressure his opponent. Sure, he¡¯d learnt a new attack, but it was hardly enough. Magomed didn¡¯t have much more to teach him, and the two boxers he¡¯d already defeated wouldn¡¯t be much use either. Just as the flying dagger began to slow down and face Jay, Julian started his forward glide. Jay took another step to the side. He planted his left foot and scanned to see where the knife was. Close enough. As soon as Julian got within range, he¡¯d fire. This time, Jay wouldn¡¯t go for pure damage. He was too wary about the gold sheen surrounding his brother. What if it formed a shield around Julian¡¯s body whenever someone attacked? Jay didn¡¯t want to take that risk, but he still had to attack. To minimise any damage, Jay aimed for Julian¡¯s thigh, and left the kick late to ensure it was his shin that made contact. It would bring his opponent, and his knife, closer but Jay didn¡¯t want to injure himself. He was healed before, but only after he thought he¡¯d died. What if stepping out of the ring didn¡¯t heal him? What if Jay had to die in order to be healed? Fuck that. Julian was close. Just close enough. Jay began his swing with half an eye on the flying dagger, and the other eye and a half on his target. As Jay''s leg got closer, the glistening shimmer around Julian coalesced into more than just light. Beads of liquid gold skittered across the surface of Julian''s thigh, fusing into a puddle at almost imperceptible speeds. If Jay wasn¡¯t using Eye of the storm, he doubted he¡¯d even see the gold forming. The pool of liquid gold wrapped around Julian¡¯s leg, it stayed there until Jay¡¯s shin was within an inch. The smooth rippling surface bobbled and cracked, solidifying into an uneven solid plate precisely when it needed to. Jay tried to back out of the kick, but it was too late. Momentum carried his leg forward no matter what he willed it to do. Jay''s shin thudded against Julian''s mercurial armour, the gold plating sending a prickly tremor down Jay''s leg. The muffling claws of numbness sunk into Jay''s shin as it bounced off the metal, barely leaving a mark. The block stranded Jay on a one-legged island. The knife was even closer now. Jay tried to lean back, but he¡¯d sent all his weight forward for the kick. He was trapped, his body pulling itself in two opposite directions. The numbness in Jay''s right leg vanished, instantly replaced by the iron vice of Julian¡¯s unyielding grip as he locked his hand around Jay¡¯s ankle. Jay tried to kick off the gravel with his one grounded foot, but only got pulled closer to his opponent. Julian''s grip was unescapable. He yanked Jay closer to the knife. Once more, Jay was helpless. His only mercy was ending Eye of the storm before the golden dagger slit his throat. Chapter 40: Uncovered ¡°Fuck shit cunt damn it useless fuckin shittin cunt FUCK!¡± The curses pouring out of Jay''s throat didn¡¯t stop the pain. Waking up alive wasn¡¯t as shocking, or existential, as last time. But that almost made it worse. What kind of fighter gets used to dying? Jay sat upright, heavy pants forcing air into his lungs. Once he¡¯d somewhat calmed down, he began to analyse the new puzzle in front of him. He was faster than Jules, but the problem was all the unknowns. When he fought his past self, Jay knew what was coming. Against Julian he had no clue. Jay didn¡¯t understand the flying dagger, or how Julian glided towards it, and he didn¡¯t even know where to start on the armour. There was no use ruminating on the how¡¯s or why¡¯s though. Jay didn¡¯t know enough about essence or to make a difference. He had to take Julian''s abilities at face value. To do that he had to learn about them the hard way.
¡°What the fuck is that armour?¡± Jay snapped, unable to keep his annoyance in his head. This was the seventh time he¡¯d tried, and failed, to get past Julian¡¯s protective golden cloak. Every time Jay''s foot even sniffed Julian, the gold was there to stop him. It didn¡¯t matter how fast he kicked, or how quickly he shifted targets. The armour was always there. Jay had begun to stop thinking about it as armour and start thinking of it as part of Julian''s body. If his stormforged body made him faster and more coordinated, then maybe Julian had a goldforged body that coated him in armour? Jay gave up on getting past it and ran out of the ring, letting his illusory brother return to a fighting stance in the centre. If I can¡¯t get around it, then I have to go through it. But how? Jay remembered the feeling of compression he had when he first threw a leg kick. He¡¯d brushed off trying thunder strike through a kick, but would it be possible now that he¡¯d practiced it more? Jay''s improved coordination had rapidly sped up the learning process for the leg kick. It wasn¡¯t as familiar as punching, but he no longer needed to focus intensely on each movement. Was it possible to do a thunder kick? Did he even want to? Jay had needed thunder strike for his first fight, he was glad he¡¯d learned it. But did he really want to rely on it? It was the storm sage¡¯s technique, and Jay''s connection to it was through the essence of lightning. But Jay aligned more with the essence of electricity than lightning, he didn¡¯t need to walk down that path any longer. So what did that leave? Was he supposed to fire bolts of electricity out of his shins? How was that even possible? ¡°You need to detach yourself from what you think is possible to advance further.¡± Akira''s words of advice echoed in Jay''s mind. Why was he worried about what was possible? Everything he¡¯d seen since arriving on Eterna had showed him that here, impossible didn¡¯t exist. Vega threw explosions out of her hands. Akira had control over magnetism. Lyra¡­ Jay didn¡¯t know what Lyra did yet, but it was probably something impossible too. Those three had shed the constraints of possibility already, why couldn¡¯t he? But how? What was stopping him from doing the impossible? Was it simply a matter of belief? Did he just need to believe in himself more? No. It was something far more essential than belief. Knowledge. The line between belief and knowledge is a fine one. But it¡¯s unwavering. You can think you know something, but in actuality you just believe it to be true. If someone tried hard enough, and provided enough evidence, most people could be convinced to change their minds. But some things you just know. No matter what anyone may tell you, you can never be swayed from something that you, from the deepest recesses of your heart, know. Jay could be convinced about most things. He could be convinced that the coliseum was all an illusion, that he was deep inside a dream back on earth. He could be convinced that Akira and the twins didn¡¯t really care about him, that they were stringing him along in some sort of sick joke. Shit, if someone who sounded smart enough started waffling, he could be convinced about almost anything. Jay believed a lot of things. But there were some things he knew. He knew he was Jay Lightning Leonard. He knew he was a fighter. And he knew he was fast. Jay recalled the conversation in Tranquillity tower where he discovered what drew him to lightning. It wasn¡¯t anything to do with the storm, the energy or the power. It was speed. Seeing the pieces click in real time made a lot more of Akira and the sage¡¯s explanations make sense. Speed was the overlap. Speed was a lens through which his life was viewed. If Jay wanted to defy possibility, if he wanted to unchain himself from the tethers of normalcy, there was only one way he was going to do it. Quickly. Jay stood up. If he wanted to go fast, he needed a fast partner. He turned away from the fourth ring and faced the third. He wouldn¡¯t win with surprise this time. He¡¯d win with speed. Jay ran through the motions of the leg kick a few more times before he stepped into the ring with his past self. Since he was focusing on supreme speed over power, his whole technique needed to be reconstructed. He didn¡¯t need to plant his weight into the ground as much, he didn¡¯t need to twist his whole hip open. He needed to be quick. No power. Only speed. There was only so much practice he could do on his own though. Jay had to test himself inside the ring.
Both Jays squared off against each other. One held their guard high; the other¡¯s guard didn¡¯t exist. Eye of the storm didn¡¯t even feel like a chore at this point, the world took on a comforting slowness as the non-essential details faded away. No power. Only speed. Jay hopped on the balls of his feet, skipping forwards and backwards. He never usually fought like this, usually preferring more solid footing. A constantly moving stance made you faster, but the lack of power and stability often meant it wasn¡¯t worth it. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. No power. Only speed. Jay lunged in and sent a probing kick. He intensified Eye of the storm and watched his foot slowly advance towards his opponent. It was probably the fastest kick he¡¯d ever done, yet through Jay''s eyes it looked glacial. Past Jay tried to dodge, but he was far too slow. Jay watched as his shin crept closer to its target. When it made contact, he expected to feel something. A static shock, a vibration, anything. Nothing. Jay drew his leg back and circled left. Nothing ever works on the first try. He told himself, trying to inspire some confidence. When Jay kicked again, he pushed Eye of the storm to its absolute limit. Every string of muscle in his body focused solely on speed. His mind running on overdrive trying to grasp the pure speed linking him to the essence of electricity. Nothing. For the first time since the gorilla fight, Jay felt a headache from Eye of the storm. He backed out of the ring and gave his brain a much-needed rest. He paced around the ring, staring at the old version of himself with every step. What am I not getting? Jay felt like he was doing everything right. He was kicking as fast as he could, he was thinking as fast as he could, but the link wasn¡¯t forming. Why? Jay walked back to Magomed¡¯s ring, needing a break from fighting himself and wondering if his old teacher had any more lessons to give. He didn¡¯t need to use Eye of the storm here, his far superior speed made landing the kick easy. The murmurings of doubt still whispered in the back of Jay¡¯s mind, but he tried to ignore them as he peppered Magomed with blindingly quick kicks. Jay didn¡¯t relent. Each time one kick finished, he¡¯d return to his stance and launch another. Eventually, Jay stopped thinking. Only his mantra: No power. Only speed. echoed within his head. After countless kicks, the spark came. Jay felt the jolt of inspiration stir inside of him. The wordless, thoughtless sensation that let him know he was on the right track. It wasn¡¯t just inside his mind, but spread throughout his body. The sparkling tingles of realization crept through Jay''s nerves, worming their way through his muscles and vibrating even his bones in harmony. Jay looked inward, accelerating his brain with Eye of the storm. Nothing. Is Eye of the storm stopping me? Various ideas bubbled to the top of Jay''s mind. He pushed them back down, returning his focus to the fight. He knew he was close, but as soon as he tried to decipher the technique, he¡¯d lose it. Jay could¡¯ve pushed through it and dove into the intricacies of his attack, but instead he remained in the fight. Focusing on nothing else but kicking the man in front of him. He slipped back into his flow state. One not induced by essence, but by mind and body aligned in perfect harmony. No power. Only speed. The sensation returned. A deep fuzz emanating from Jay¡¯s core and radiating to the rest of his body. Every time he even came close to focusing on it, it vanished. He had to keep his mind on the fight. The next time it came, Jay maintained the sensation. He kept his mind on the fight, ignoring anything else, and just kicked. He was sure he felt it, even if he couldn¡¯t explicitly focus on it, but it stayed beneath the surface. Electricity¡¯s call never rising to more than a murmur. This isn¡¯t working either. But I¡¯m closer. Why? Jay left the ring and reassessed the situation. He knew how to generate the feeling. He just had to be totally engrossed in the fight, and not use Eye of the storm. Why not? Why is Eye of the storm ruining it every time? Burns and Magomed stood idly next to Jay. The first time Jay¡¯d overcame his past self, he¡¯d looked towards them for guidance. What did he need to do now? I need to link my personal essence with the essence of electricity. I need to use speed as the binder. Speed¡­ Wait¡­ Eye of the storm sped up Jay''s thoughts, it accelerated his mind to the point where the rest of the world crawled at a snail¡¯s pace. But is it fast? It was the exact opposite. Sure, Jay was moving fast when he used Eye of the storm. He was thinking fast. Jay acted faster while using Eye of the storm, but was he being fast? Objectively, he was. Technically, he was. When comparing his existence to the world around him, Jay moved faster while using Eye of the storm. But Harmony cared not for objectivity, and even less for technicality. Especially when Jay searched for it. He may have been moving fast, but whenever he used the technique there was one constant. Everything felt fucking slow. Jay was trying to link his personal essence to electricity using speed, so why was he making everything look as slow as possible? Electricity doesn¡¯t think quick. It is quick. Buoyed by revelation, Jay moved onto the next issue. He¡¯d realised how to generate the electricity, but he didn¡¯t know how to unleash it. Why did the sensation never grow past a bubbling beneath the surface. Why did the essence of electricity awaken, but never come forth? Was he simply too slow? Jay looked down at his muscular legs and felt the energy contained within them. He remembered the trial he¡¯d gone through to earn this body, the pain he¡¯d endured. No, that¡¯s not it. He shifted his vision upwards, now looking at the ring. It takes two to tango, and fighting and dancing had more similarities than most people thought. But there was a key difference between the two. If you really wanted, you could dance on your own. You can never fight on your own. There always had to be an opponent, an enemy, someone opposite you. The life of a fighter was a lonely one, but in a way, it was also one where you¡¯re never truly alone. Because there¡¯s always someone to fight. Jay turned to the third ring. If he wanted to be faster, he had to fight a faster opponent. He needed a faster enemy to draw the best out of him. He was ready to end there, but the final puzzle piece clicked into place just as he stood up. He remembered why he was here, what he was doing. He finally realised the lesson the Storm sage was trying to drill into him. Jay wasn¡¯t just trying to harmonize with electricity. That wasn¡¯t him. No, Jay was trying to harmonize with electricity and fighting. Only focusing on one aspect would never work. Even if the technique only used electricity, even if speed was the link, and fighting was completely unrelated. Jay still needed to keep it in mind. Because that¡¯s who he was. That¡¯s what made him, him. Jay¡¯s legs smouldered like hot ashes, one breath away from ignition and itching for activity. Thinking was good, planning was good, but his body knew who he really was. It burned to fight. The pieces had aligned. Jay had placed them together and solved the puzzle. Now he just had to step into the ring. Now he just had to fight.
Once the fight began, everything just felt right. Jay wasn¡¯t stuck ruminating over what-if¡¯s, he wasn¡¯t debating the effectiveness of analysis. He fought. Nothing more, nothing less. Jay''s feet practically skipped across the gravel as he neared his past self. Jay''s eyes remained a pensive grey as he watched his opponents identical eyes glow vibrant blue. Eye of the storm was a great technique, but Jay had seen its futility in the face of power twice over now. Jay''s focus narrowed as he repeated his mantra one more time. No power. Only speed. But it wasn¡¯t correct anymore. Jay wasn¡¯t only thinking about speed, he had other concepts occupying his mind. Two lenses through which he focused on the concept of speed. The essence of electricity, and the essence of fighting. All three overlayed his personal essence, and Jay echoed their deep concepts with every movement. Each step sent ripples into the universe, confirming Jay''s existence. Jay felt the rumble arise from within him, he didn¡¯t think about it. All he thought about was the fight, and electricity, and speed. The glowing trails fluttered within Past Jay''s eye sockets. Darting pupils struggling to keep up with his future self. It didn¡¯t matter how slow the world seemed to him right now. Nothing could separate Jay from his speed. Lines blurred and one became another. Jay wasn¡¯t fast because of his stormforged body, or because of his years of training. He was fast simply because that¡¯s who he was. The rumble within Jay became a growl. The growl became a roar. The roiling electricity inside Jay slammed against his body caging it in, wrapping its incorporeal jaws around the bars that restrained it. Demanding to be free. No. Not yet. Jay quietened the energy brewing within him. He wasn¡¯t the storm; he was a fighter. Fighters didn¡¯t recklessly and relentlessly attack. They created opportunities, and they capitalised on them. Jay stepped in, gently placing his left foot down. His opponent¡¯s restless azure eyes flickered in response. Frantically searching for a solution. A solution that didn¡¯t exist. Jay backed off anyway, using the feint to exchange a good opening for a great one. He twisted his angle, forcing his past self into an awkward angle. He didn¡¯t wait any longer. Unleashing the pure energy caged within him, Jay''s right leg propelled itself forward. But it was barely a leg anymore. Jay¡¯s limb twisted and warped; its original form unable to contain the raw energies it handled. It began to glow, slightly at first, but it soon grew into a blinding white inferno. Jay had needed the kicking technique to set up this attack, he''d needed the technique for the confidence to launch it. But very quickly the technique he¡¯d dedicated himself to learning was left by the wayside, cowed by the screams of raw power. Jay didn¡¯t care about technique anymore, he only focused on damaging his opponent. His focus instantly translated into an attack, and the merciless whip of electricity attached to his hip swung forward, detonating on his opponent¡¯s knee.
For an instant, Jay almost believed he¡¯d returned to the void of creation. The cascade of blinding light became his existence for several seconds following the attack. Eventually it faded and Jay saw the ring again. A ring with nobody else in it. Not even a trace. Holy shit. What did I just do? Jay was still processing the kick when the fizzing remnants of electricity pinched his arms and yanked him back to reality. He wondered why it felt so strange, given how deeply connected he¡¯d been to the essence of electricity mere moments ago. Then it hit him. His arms. Chapter 41: Unleashed For the past few days, Jay hadn¡¯t felt a thing from them. No matter what he, or anyone else, did. They were a black hole of sensation. Even his essence perception was completely blind to their existence. But now he had arms. Arms! Every cell inside Jay''s arms buzzed with life. He felt the bandages crumple and strain, unable to handle the energy beneath them. Paint sloughed off the gauze, the once immaculately crafted channels now merging into a slurry and dripping onto the floor. SSZZTT. The bandages encasing Jays fists ripped. His fingers spasmed, uncontrollably contorting and pressing against the dressings. One moment, all ten of his fingers stretched out. The next they formed two fists, crumpling up any unbroken gauze. Jay''s hands glowed bright white, radiating energy like his legs had moments before. Tears in the fabric crawled their way up to the elbows. Ripping channels through weaknesses in the fabric. Jay wrestled some control over his limbs as the glowing light dimmed. He unravelled the remaining bandages off and inspected his new arms. They didn¡¯t look too different, although Jay felt the same vibrancy within them as the rest of his body. It seemed the bandages didn¡¯t seal off any benefits from the trial by lightning. Running along Jay''s forearms were a series of whisper-thin, jagged white lines. They didn¡¯t just arc across his arms, like the smokes weaved by the High Matron. They ebbed and flowed along the natural lines of his body. They fell in step with the striations of his muscles, before twisting down the meandering trail of an artery. Each line carved its own path of least resistance down his arm using the existing channels of his body to guide their way. When Jay lost focus, the lines disappeared, melding into the skin itself. When he looked back, they carved a different path. Each reformed pattern forged anew yet guided by the same brush as its predecessor. Jay held his hand in front of his face, twirling his wrist and watching the hand morph to his will. Much like the rest of his new body, the disconnect between thought and action was non-existent. Jay had world-class hand-eye coordination before, but this was on another level. Mind and muscle coexisting in flawless synchronicity. Jay activated Eye of the storm. His signature technique didn¡¯t help him channel electricity through his kicks, but could it teach him about his arms? He felt his neurons constrict, detail fading from the world, and threw a jab. His fist responded instantly, cutting through the air with practiced ease. Jay had barely even commanded his left; it was like it¡¯d felt his instinct, his urge to punch, and was all but thrown before he even gave the order. Just like the first time he¡¯d used the technique against shadow Akira. His brain only gave out the bare minimum of information, but his body still responded. At least it appeared that way. Before, Jay clashed with his nervous system. Modifying it to suit his needs as a fighter and relying on his years of instincts to plug the gaps. Now, all facets of his body functioned with such harmony that it was barely necessary. Through landing that kick, Jay had severed his reliance on his body. He¡¯d clipped the chains that had once tied him to normalcy. Jay didn¡¯t need to adapt his nervous system anymore. The essence of electricity no longer flowed through his neurons like the essence of lightning once had. Because now Jay knew it didn¡¯t need to. There were still some remnants, relics of a fading reality, the world still blurred as detail fled the moment everything slowed down. But Jay had taken a step forward. The first step to shedding the constraints of physicality. But although Jay loved Eye of the storm, he couldn¡¯t ignore the incessant voice in the back of his mind reminding him how it had failed him. How it was incompatible with attacks using the essence of electricity. He¡¯d already found a more suitable technique to replace thunder strike. Would he have to do the same for Eye of the storm? Light bounced off the thin white lines that ran across Jay''s arm. Maybe he didn¡¯t have to discard it, maybe he needed to reforge it. Jay left those thoughts for another day. It would certainly be useful to restructure Eye of the storm, but right now he was on a timeline. Luckily, less than two hours had passed since he''d entered the trial. Jay stepped out of the ring and walked towards his brother¡¯s. He had a fight to win.
Jay stretched and shook his arms as he stepped inside the fourth ring. Excited to finally get to use his arms. The sight of his brother pained Jay, but the fact that he got to box him brought a small smile to Jay''s face. Even if it was a bittersweet one. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The problem with having a brother six years your senior is that there''s always a physical gulf between you. Well, until you¡¯re both adults. Jules never got that far. Jay looked at his older brother¡¯s youthful face, now he was six years the elder. The realisation struck Jay as he raised his fists and fell into step with his opponent. He¡¯d never fought his brother as an equal before. Jay pushed his feelings back down, stowed them away for another day. If Julian really was somewhere out there in the coliseum, then Jay would find him. But right now, there was nothing he could do about that. Now he had to focus on completing the sage¡¯s trial. Jay kept his palms glued to his temples in a textbook boxing stance, hoping Julian would drop the knife and exchange fists with his younger brother. He didn¡¯t. He threw the knife directly at Jay''s neck. Jay swept to the left, dodging the same direction as last time. This time, he left his right hand trailing and caught the knife¡¯s handle mid-air. He wouldn¡¯t have even thought about that manoeuvre last week. Eye of the storm combined with his enhanced coordination made it trivial. Jay latched onto the blade. As Julian neared him, it grew unbearably hot, forcing Jay to release it. Always another trick. Jay threw it off to the side and watched his brother swerve to follow it. Jay''s chest ached with the realization that he couldn¡¯t properly box his brother. His lifelong dream appeared like it would stay that way. For now. But Jay wasn¡¯t a boxer anymore. Julian wasn¡¯t a boxer anymore. There was no such thing as punching below the belt in a ring where one fighter held a knife, and the other could beat him without one. He was a gladiator now, and maybe Julian was too. Being with his brother was great, especially after so many years. But it wasn¡¯t real. If Jay truly wanted to meet Jules, it would start by completing this trial and surviving his next fight. Eye of the storm made dodging the dagger easy. But the next time it flew towards Jay, he dodged purely on instinct, slipping his head to the left and sidestepping only using his natural reflexes. His stormforged body felt even faster after the addition of his arms. Perhaps not having two limbs sealed off improved its synchronicity? Jules was already in range; he¡¯d closed the distance almost instantly. Jay didn¡¯t hesitate. He set up a leg kick, the essence of electricity humming within him. He was about to fire. A flash of gold shot into his periphery. Jay aborted his attack, reactivating Eye of the storm to ensure he dodged the returning knife as he ducked away. He had to remember he was in a fight. Even if he was fast enough that landing an attack on Julian was trivial, he could never count his opponent out. That¡¯s what the Goldenback gorilla did, and it paid the price. Jules closed the distance, launching the dagger again as he rushed in. Since learning Eye of the storm, Jay had started to rely on mid-fight breaks to strategize. A luxury he couldn¡¯t afford if he wanted to land an attack using the essence of electricity. Jay didn¡¯t have time to overthink the intricacies of each move anymore. When he saw an opening, he simply had to attack. The surge of electricity roused beneath Jay¡¯s skin. The first time, it had taken several exchanges to awaken the energy within him. Now it came naturally, as if it was always there and he just needed that one spark to bring it to the surface. When he was first teaching Jay, Akira likened essence to a muscle that you¡¯d never trained before. The first time was always tiring, but the more you practiced the easier it became. Although the analogy had helped him, Jay now saw its flaws. He wasn¡¯t as familiar with essence as he was his own body, but he now knew enough to differentiate them. A muscle you¡¯d never used was still part of you, even if it was weak and uncoordinated. Training improves its abilities and your control over it, but not much more. With essence, the growth is far more drastic. At first, you¡¯re floundering in the dark. Clutching for any semblance of knowledge. It¡¯s far more confusing than moving a muscle, because it isn¡¯t even close to being a part of you. But once you get it. Once you truly get it. Everything changes. Once you crest that initial hurdle, everything slots into place. Once you accept the essence as a part of your existence, wielding it is easy. Why shouldn¡¯t it be? It¡¯s a part of you. Jay activated Eye of the storm for a brief surge, assessing the situation one final time before going in for the kill shot. Dagger¡¯s over three metres behind me, not a threat yet. He''s already closing the gap. Time to move. Electricity pulsated beneath Jay¡¯s skin. The thin white lines accentuating his arms flared as hairline channels flowed down to his fingertips. Jay itched to unleash the energy with a punch, but that would wait. He¡¯d focused so much on kicking over the past two fights, it only felt right to end on a kick. Jay set the energy free, unleashing a rapid kick towards Julian¡¯s thigh. He wondered how the armour would react; would it still form a barrier to block the strike? Would it even help? Gold conducts electricity, after all. The barrier did form, although Jay barely caught a glimpse of gold with his regular time perception. Jay had intended to barely tap Julian''s leg, letting the electricity carry through the armour and deal damage that way. But the glowing white kick almost had a mind of its own, and it drove directly into Julian''s thigh. There was no fizz or pushback this time. Jay''s shin slammed into the gold plating. He hardly felt a thing. His leg felt almost incorporeal, it wrapped around Julian''s thigh and bent in a way no bone should be able to. Jay couldn¡¯t see the electricity burrow through the gold and into his opponent¡¯s body. He felt it. He felt it glide through the armour as if it didn¡¯t exist. He felt it slither into Julian¡¯s individual cells and pump them with uncontrollable power, ravaging his body from the inside out. Jay''s leg twisted back into a normal shape. The light retreated within his body. He caught a glimpse of the golden dagger dropping to the ground beside him. Its unconscious wielder no longer able to control it. Julian''s body slumped at his feet. Not unconscious, but dead. Jay knew it wasn¡¯t real, but it still cut him to his core. He forced himself to remain still. I¡¯m no- ¡°I¡¯m not running away again.¡± He said. Announcing his intent to reality as if that made it more real. He knelt down. Held his hand out to touch his brothers lifeless face. ¡°If you¡¯re out there, I¡¯ll find you. No matter what.¡± No matter what. Chapter 42: Fight your future A golden box drew Jay''s attention away from Julian''s body. Victory. 4/4. The screen vanished and another took its place. Round 2. Fight your future. Not one, but two rings emerged side by side beyond Julian¡¯s. Jay walked in between and assessed each fighter. Both wore the same face, but differently. Both were versions of Jay. Again? The first version wore billowing white robes and held a staff with a crystal at the top. A bouncing mote of lightning darted within it, casting a gentle white glow. This Jay had long white hair, flowing down to his shoulders, and a sweeping beard to match. The next version of Jay wore martial artists robes, the top half discarded on the floor at his feet. He hopped on the spot, swinging his arms around wildly. Jay saw elements of boxing in the movement, but only fleetingly. Three scratch like scars, worn with pride, snaked across this Jay¡¯s chest. Acknowledging his opponents, Jay reckoned he understood this part of the trial. They¡¯re both versions of me if I don¡¯t harmonize properly. If I don¡¯t properly merge electricity and fighting. Wizard Jay only focused on electricity and Kung fu Jay only focused on fighting. Jay wondered how his two clones would fight, how he would be forced to fight to beat them. Only one way to find out.
Jay circled around the first ring, feasting his eyes on the wizard version of himself within. Feeble arms, loosely shrouded by his rippling robes, clutched a knobbly wooden staff. Two tired eyes gazed forward, bereft of a fighters¡¯ ferocity. This can¡¯t be me. But it was. Steely grey eyes watched out beneath the white hair and wrinkled skin. For a fleeting second, Jay recognised the man within the wizard. But the sight washed away, and Jay stood face to face with a stranger once more. What happened? Jay kept his mind alert and entered the wizard¡¯s domain. Wizard Jay jumped in shock the moment Jay stepped into the ring. Fear gripped his wizened face before he clutched his staff and started chanting. What happened? Jay almost didn¡¯t have the heart to run and fight the old man. It wouldn¡¯t be a fight; it¡¯d be a massacre. A blinding white beam descended from above. Thunder pierced Jay''s ears as lightning sunk into the wizard¡¯s staff. The crystal glowed with heavenly radiance, chirping with barely contained energy, as Wizard Jay held his staff above his head. The fear covering his face had long since vanished, replaced by the cowl of indifference. The Wizard sighed as he slammed his staff down. A snake-like dragon, forged from pure white electricity, wormed its way out of the staff. It soared into the air above its wielder, coiling up and glaring at Jay through incorporeal eyes. It must have been at least ten metres long, but it wrapped itself into a tight ball over its master, sprung and ready for protection. The wizard¡¯s jaded face hadn¡¯t strayed from indifference, but he¡¯d locked eyes with his alternate self. There was no aggression within them, no roar of fighting spirit. Just weary drooping shadows. He raised a knobbly finger at Jay, uttering a near silent command under his breath. Jay didn¡¯t need to hear what he said. The unfurling dragon soaring his way, unleashing roars of electrical madness told him everything he needed. Part of him wanted to stand there and face the dragon head on. Testing his might against the beast. Jay quietened the voice of arrogance but another equally stupid, yet more intriguing thought popped up. Can I¡­ The dragon was almost upon him, fast even by Jay''s lofty new standards. Jay shifted back. A sick grin erupted on his face the moment he felt cold wash over his ankle as cool cavernous air cloaked his foot. Jay activated Eye of the storm as he retreated. He felt the humidity of the underwater cavern brush on his skin millimetre by millimetre as he casually stepped backwards out of the ring. The dragon crept ever closer to Jay''s overclocked eyes, but by the time it reached them there was an invisible barrier blocking its way. Jay came face to face with the electrical beast mere moments before it vanished into the ether, fading into nothingness after Jay left the ring. Its master morphed from the active indifference of a weary old man to the passive indifference of a caged illusion. Now that Jay wasn¡¯t sharing the ring with his wizard reflection, there was nothing pushing it to fight. Jay circled around the ring until he faced the wizards back. Was there anything to learn from this fight, or did he just want to finish it as soon as possible? The first pieces of a strategy began to fall into place inside Jay''s mind. He didn¡¯t want to take the lightning dragon head-on, but what if he didn¡¯t give his opponent time to create it? Wizard Jay had obviously discarded Eye of the storm, and it looked like he¡¯d lost his fighter¡¯s instincts too, meaning the opening exchange of the fight was firmly within Jay''s grasp. The opening exchange was all he needed. Jay retreated deeper into the cave, putting about twenty metres between himself and the ring. He knew he needed to watch out for the lightning dragon and he knew that he only had the first few seconds before Wizard Jay reacted. But he also knew that the fight was over as soon as he got within range. And most importantly, he knew that this clone only ¡°awoke¡± after he entered the ring. So why not build momentum, and sprint into the ring before it could even react? Jay massaged blood into his thighs. He didn¡¯t need to, his stormforged body could prepare itself for battle without outside interference, but working arms were still a novelty to Jay. It¡¯d only been two days without them, but Jay would never take any of his limbs for granted again. Mentally and physically prepared, Jay started running. Electricity rushed into Jay¡¯s thighs, pumping in pure energy as he neared the ring. Wizard Jay turned his head just as Jay''s chest passed into the arena. Jay watched his face bleed from neutrality to shock. More electricity flowed into Jay''s legs as he got closer, pushing them further beyond their limits and propelling Jay forward. Jay had to give his wizard self at least some credit. He¡¯d reacted far better to a challenger running at him than to one merely stepping into the ring. The initial fear made way for activity as soon as Jay had passed the halfway point. The cold, calculating wash of patience clouded Wizard Jay¡¯s eyes, and he looked far more like his past self. Lightning sparked within the crystal-topped staff, although not called from the heavens this time. Twelve bolts flew out of the crystal, spinning out in all directions before twisting to aim themselves at Jay. But by the time the sparks of electricity collided with Jay, he was almost within range. The lightning bolts dug through to Jay''s core. Worming their way inside and stabbing his internal organs with daggers of pain. The agony would¡¯ve brought most fighters to the ground, debilitating pain halting their advance. But Jay was tougher than that. He¡¯d gone through twenty-four hours of this shit. What was a few more seconds? It wasn¡¯t just the pain though. Jay''s body had begun to fuse with the essence of electricity, but the foreign invaders had other plans. Each glimmer of lightning that made its way inside Jay intercepted his mind¡¯s signals, destroying his coordination. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. But that was exactly why he gave himself a run up. It didn¡¯t matter if Jay couldn¡¯t make a single step for the last two metres. Momentum would launch him into his opponent anyway. Jay''s muscular frame clattered into his clone¡¯s slender one. Both Jay''s rolled onto the gravel in a maelstrom of whirling limbs. Predictably, Jay reacted before his clone. Clawing at his face with an outstretched arm. He didn¡¯t even need the essence of electricity to end this fight, his knuckles were strong enough. Jay had to keep telling himself it was an illusion as he laid into his very own face. It was hard to reconcile that logical thought with the very real feeling of a nose crunching beneath his fist, or the even realer feeling of blood spattering into his eyes. He pushed through it. The blue rectangle that blocked the mangled wizard¡¯s face was a welcome sight. Victory 1/2. Jay wiped the blood onto the wizard¡¯s gravel-stained white robes, before wondering if it was even blood. If it came from his clone, then wouldn¡¯t it also be an illusion? Jay tested his theory by walking out of the ring. Sure enough, the blood caking his hands and face disappeared. As did the corpse. The new wizard looked as bored and indifferent as ever, completely unaware of his previous version¡¯s death. Jay moved over to the second ring. Maybe there was more he could¡¯ve learned from his wizard clone. A technique perhaps, or guidance into how not to harmonize. But maybe just winning was enough. He¡¯d fought dirty and secured the win. Perhaps Wizard Jay was stronger than him and would win in a fair fight. But there was no such thing as a fair fight in the real world. Perhaps that was a lesson in and of itself.
The incessant hops and handwaves of Kung Fu Jay looked almost laughable compared to the indifference of his wizard cousin. This can¡¯t be me either, I look like a fucking clown. A clown with zealous fervour behind his eyes. To Jay, the motions looked unnecessary and contrived. From the clone¡¯s fiery intensity, Jay knew that his opponent saw meaning behind them. Sprinting in probably wouldn¡¯t be as effective here, and Jay couldn¡¯t think of another strategy without seeing his mirror¡¯s fight style. He activated Eye of the storm and entered the ring, hands up and ready to fight. He didn¡¯t even make a full step before his opponent pounced. Jay ramped Eye of the storm to the edge of its limits and scrambled for an inch of space. Jay had learned how to kick barely an hour ago, as a fighter he was still very reliant on his hands. Even if he¡¯d just won four fights without them. His mirror didn¡¯t have that problem. Kung Fu Jay seamlessly blended punches into kicks into elbows into knees. Each limb probed a different area of Jay''s defences, forcing him on the back foot with a rhythm that flowed and shifted with each strike. Ever changing, but always in time. Beyond even that, he was fast. Far faster than Jay. Eye of the storm and his superior reflexes were the only things that kept him alive. Jay¡¯s stormforged body made him faster, stronger, tougher, but above all more coordinated. Kung Fu Jay must have strengthened his body in a different way, one that focused on speed rather than all round ability. He launched rapid attacks at Jay with no wasted motions, testing every angle of Jay¡¯s guard for weaknesses. Jay raised an arm to block an incoming hook. The hook turned into a grab, pulling open Jay¡¯s guard. The grab became an elbow, driving forward into the momentary weakness. The elbow smashed into Jay''s temple, rocking his brain. But he¡¯d been rocked before, and the attack was nowhere near as powerful as he¡¯d expected. Jay channelled electricity into his arms and created some distance with an almighty shove. He¡¯d earned himself half a metre, half a second too. With Eye of the storm, that was more than enough. A relentless pressure fighter, but one without power. His attacks probe my guard for openings, but when they get through, they don¡¯t do that much. Maybe I can win with a- His opponents surprising speed pulled Jay out of the war room. Jay sidestepped a flying knee before his opponent pivoted and Jay was forced to lean back to avoid a shin to the face. What if I stop trying to dodge? Jay planted his feet, unmoving. Kung Fu Jay launched a wide arcing wheel kick directly at his head. Jay raised his forearms and dug into the ground. The kick landed, and most of the power passed straight through his guard. It fucking hurt, but Jay held strong. He shoved his opponent¡¯s leg into the air, completely crushing Kung Fu Jay¡¯s rhythm. For a single instant, he was unable to react. Flow completely ruined by Jay''s stalwart block. Jay capitalised. He unleashed a sloppy jab, channelling his old motto: No power, only speed. It was his first punch of the fight. Jay could cause damage later, now he just needed to connect. His fist unfurled, eschewing any hope of landing a punch for the small chance to connect. His fingers barely grazed Kung Fu Jay¡¯s guard. The strike didn¡¯t deal damage, it didn¡¯t even push Kung Fu Jay back. But it made him think. It proved he could be caught. Jay watched his opponent¡¯s muscles ripple and twitch. Did I¡­ The fire in Kung Fu Jay¡¯s eyes reignited, and he rushed to attack once more. Jay didn¡¯t just sit back this time. He fought in the centre of the ring, launching slower, deadlier, attacks in between his opponent¡¯s quick-fire combos. Behind punches, and the occasional low kick, Jay built a mental model of his opponent. I was right. He can¡¯t use electricity, and only focuses on pure fighting techniques. I need to attack him with electricity. Jay fired a rapid jab, a sudden burst of speed amidst his more powerful punches. He clawed his opponent¡¯s wrist to the side, pulling him off balance. Jay followed with a leg kick, his right thigh lighting up as it began to stretch and contort. It swung forward, but only sliced through open air as Kung Fu Jay twisted and hopped back off one foot. It¡¯s not just fighting essence though. Even his interpretation of that is flawed. He focused too much on speed. As a boxer, Jay had prioritised speed. It was something Coach had drilled into him, his path to the top of the world. Heavyweight boxers were monsters, but they were monsters Jay could beat with speed. In the Second Chance Coliseum, he couldn¡¯t be so one-dimensional. The fighters here were far worse than monsters. Did he still blindly follow coach¡¯s instructions, rather than adapt to the new world? He focused too much on speed, and now he can barely damage me. Not just a flawed understanding of self, focusing on solely fighting instead of both essences, but a flawed understanding of fighting itself. Disregarding power in favour of only speed. This version of Jay was a fighter, but he didn¡¯t understand fighting. Jay remained still. He knew his opponent would come to him. He had to. Waves of electricity pulsated beneath Jay¡¯s skin. He clenched his fists, forcing control over the vibrating storm within. This time, he¡¯d channel electricity through his fists. A flying leg came hurtling towards Jay''s face. It looked like Kung Fu Jay had also figured out his weakness and was trying to compensate by launching large sweeping attacks. It wouldn¡¯t matter. Larger meant slower. Slower meant getting rid of the only advantage he had. Jay grabbed his mirrors ankle, the electricity beneath his skin itched to charge into his opponent, but it stayed within, unable to escape its cage. He waited. Enraging the storm within but supressing it beneath his will. Jay didn¡¯t have perfect control over the electricity yet. He knew it would eventually free itself, he knew he needed to release it before that happened. With a floundering target in one fist, and nothing in the other, Jay knew how to do just that. He yanked his mirror closer, plunging the martial artist into chaos. Simultaneously, he reared back his right, unleashing it with the sloppiest of punches. The kind that would get him laughed at in a boxing gym. But he wasn¡¯t in a boxing gym anymore. The punch was sloppy, but it was effective. Jay''s entire arm vibrated as it neared his opponent. The jagged white lines running along his muscles pulsated, weaving down his arm and twisting into infinite reflections of electricity. The muscles in his arm bubbled and bulged, almost losing their shape to the pure power within. They held strong. The low rumble of electricity reverberated throughout the arena the moment Jay''s fist smacked into his opponent¡¯s stomach. The dull thud of corpse on ground silenced the echo. Victory 2/2. Jay now realised why the storm sage called aiming for a single essence "a grievous waste¡±. Both Jays he¡¯d fought were fundamentally flawed and easy to beat. It wasn¡¯t just their narrow-mindedness in harmonization, but the flaws in their mentality that stemmed from it. Wizard Jay could deal a lot of damage, but in his pursuit of electricity he¡¯d lost what it meant to be a fighter. Kung Fu Jay solely focused on fighting, but his lack of experimentation further narrowed his path. The absence of electricity kept his view on fighting one-dimensional. He learned new styles of combat instead of understanding the underlying principles of it. He tried to align everything with speed when that simply wasn¡¯t possible. Jay hadn¡¯t focused much on the essence of fighting since coming to the coliseum. It was hard to think about throwing punches and kicks when thunder and lightning was the alternative. But Jay had just seen two shining examples of flawed harmonization, he couldn¡¯t simply ignore it. Jay resolved to study other fighting styles after the trial. Not just to learn, but to better understand fighting as a whole.
SNAP! The storm sage¡¯s pen broke into two, splattering ink over his face and pooling the rest into an abyssal blot over his opening stanza. He clenched his fist, further splintering the pen. It was only a pen, only some paper. Practically worthless. Much like the verse it just ruined. A blue flash in the corner of his eye let him know the coliseum wanted his attention. He ignored it. Why can¡¯t it ever be simple? He thought, disintegrating the pen within his palm as he stared out at the endless ocean. A black storm loomed over the horizon. Uncaring, unforgiving, unrelenting. Mindless. That¡¯s why. He swept the former pen off his desk and let the wind take care of it, he scrunched the ink-stained paper into a ball and left that for the wind too. Taking a deep breath in, the sage calmed himself and pulled out a new sheet of paper from the stack beside him. He leaned down to his left, opening a drawer full of over a hundred unused pens. The incessant blue flashing continued. He tried to ignore it as he carefully pulled out another pen and set his mind to writing. He¡¯d been here for almost two hours and had nothing to show for it. At this rate Jay wouldn¡¯t even have a verse to celebrate his trial, let alone a poem. Disregarding the coliseum¡¯s message, he forced himself to put pen to paper. The pen caressed the sheet before him, swirling sweet nothings onto its longing partner. Hardly sweet and a whole lot of nothing. SNAP! The blue flashing remained. A stark reminder that his realm wasn¡¯t the one of meter and rhyme. Not yet. ¡°Fine I¡¯ll take a look at what you have to say!¡± The sage blurted out. Sweeping another couplet of pen and paper into the wafting winds of the void. He flicked his cosmic eyes to the side and enlarged the system screen. A smile emerged on his face. The first in almost two hours. Already? Chapter 43: Ever been to an auction before? Shortly after Jay had defeated his two future versions, the white void engulfed the cavern. He recognised the coliseum¡¯s teleportation system and mentally prepared himself for his next fight. Maybe there was a way of knowing what would come next, but Jay had given up on trying to predict the coliseum¡¯s moves. Expect the unexpected. Jay prepared his body for a fight. Not like I can do anything else. A face full of mahogany pressed into his cheekbone wasn¡¯t the kindest of surprises, but it was better than any of the others over the past few days. He felt the three sets of eyes staring at him before he saw them. ¡°How did I do?¡± Jay said as he pushed himself up of the ground. He gauged the room¡¯s faces. Selena remained impassive as ever, and the storm sage was giving his best shot at a stoic smoulder. Thane was easier to read however, and Jay was thankful for it. He was clearly impressed and wasn¡¯t trying to hide it. The storm sage cleared his throat. ¡°You reforged your body, in the furnace of electricity. You tempered it, in the throes of battle. But now you must set forth. And test it to its limits. For the meandering path to Harmony is infinite. A day may come when this body is no longer adequate. I implore you to charge mightily towards that day and face it with the same zeal that you have given this one. For this is merely the first step. Necessary, but longing to be forgotten. As the most important is ever the next.¡± As the sage¡¯s cosmic eyes gazed into the distance, the other six in the room rolled into their respective skulls. ¡°He means well done.¡± Selena added. Perhaps the universal translator didn¡¯t do a good enough job converting the sage¡¯s poems to English, Jay was grateful the cat-eyed woman was around. ¡°How did you know about Julian?¡± Jay said, clenching his jaw. He dedicated every atom of his being to watching the storm sage¡¯s face as he answered. Even subtly activating Eye of the storm, although not enough to trigger the blue sparks in his eyes. ¡°We barely spoke about my brother, yet you created him perfectly in the trial. How?¡± The sage raised an eyebrow, and Jay could have sworn one of the stars within twinkled in the light. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. It was the coliseum.¡± He said, a wry half-smile curling at the edge of his mouth. Then that means- ¡°The trials are all created by the coliseum using methods even I don¡¯t understand. Old era technology from the Ancestral Wilds. Similar to the device that brought you, and many other gladiators, to this planet. ¡°There''s a chance it trawled through your memories and recreated him. Similar to how it created the potential future versions of you, or the other people from your planet.¡± The storm sage gave Jay a look that showed he knew exactly what he was thinking. ¡°But maybe it could create Julian because he¡¯s already fought in the coliseum.¡± The thought had crossed Jay''s mind before. But hearing it echoed through someone else made it far more tangible. Jay tightened his fist. Reaching the top of the Second Chance Coliseum was a good goal, albeit one he was soulbound to accomplish, this was real. If there was a chance Julian was out there, Jay had to look. ¡°Enough on that. Let¡¯s focus on you! My promising, potential young prospect.¡± The storm sage¡¯s words cut through Jay¡¯s spiralling train of thought. ¡°You performed adequately, admirably even, in these trials. Congratulations. But once more our paths must diverge. Don¡¯t return until you have advanced into D grade. I have an opportunity for you near my hometown, but you will need far longer than a week.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A month-long symposium on being patient and enjoying surprises.¡± What a joker. ¡°Can I ask a question, to Thane, before I leave?¡± Jay asked. He didn¡¯t know when the sage might teleport him out of the tower. Although he had many more questions, Jay really wanted to ask one. Answers, he could get any time, opportunities were rare. ¡°I¡¯ll allow it.¡± ¡°It was the bandages that healed me, right? ¡°The paint tied my essence of regeneration to your body to concentrate the healing.¡± Said Thane. ¡°The bandages amplified the effects of the regeneration, as well as applying it themselves, and localised it on your arms, so yes. Why do you ask?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Could I¡­ maybe have a few rolls?¡± ¡­ He waited for a second before reaching into his bag and throwing three rolls Jay¡¯s way. ¡°They''re expensive, so don¡¯t waste them. Your arms are fully healed, so you don¡¯t need to use them there. And remember you owe me a favour¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°You owe me one too.¡± Said the storm sage. The proud smile on his face twisting slightly. He rested his hand on the desk, directly next to a messy stack of paper and an inkwell. Fuck... I thought he forgot. ¡°I never forget. You¡¯re free for now¡­ but be wary. Remember you promised three days, yet only required two. The siren¡¯s song awaits, waiting for you to heed its call.¡± Jay kept his face perfectly still. Not wanting to do anything that could possibly be mistaken for a nod. He had a lot of faith and trust in the storm sage, but he wasn¡¯t someone Jay wanted to owe too many favours to. The ¡°sirens song¡± would remain thoroughly unheeded if Jay had any say in it. The storm sage brought his thumb and finger closer together. Jay quickly locked eyes with each of the three harmonisers, a wordless goodbye before they vanished from his sight. In an instant, the sage''s office was replaced by the wooden fa?ade of Tranquillity tower and an ocean blue rectangle beside it. And so the young warrior sets forth. Armed with new knowledge and a newer still body, he embarks on his path to Harmony. Will he slice through the ocean swell, charting a course to the peak of the coliseum? Or will he be swept ashore, caught in the whirlwind of another¡¯s story? Well. It¡¯s better than the ones last week, I guess. ¡­ Damn, it¡¯s already been a week? Jay had barely had a moment to think since his last trip to Tranquillity tower. He couldn¡¯t afford one. But through grit, determination, and more than his fair share of luck, he¡¯d carved himself almost a full day. As he emerged from the salty mists of Tranquillity tower, a warming, yet slightly worrying, thought arose. This world¡¯s starting to feel like home. He was still learning new things every day, and that probably wasn¡¯t going to slow down. But it no longer felt overwhelming. When something confused Jay, he now looked at it with acceptance and curiosity instead of annoyance and exasperation. Jay squinted his eyes and stepped onto the now visible tram. Another reminder to accept what he couldn¡¯t understand, learn what he could, and simply try his best to survive. He still wanted to rise through the rankings at the Second Chance Coliseum. He was a fighter at heart, after all. But now he had a far more important goal. He had a brother to find. Even if there was only a fraction of a fraction of a chance. That was enough. But Jay didn¡¯t even know where to start. Even if Julian had fought in the coliseum before, Jay didn¡¯t know how to look for his fights. Lyra had found all his fights last week, but now that he had a second fight under his belt Jay could watch them on his own. How? He¡¯d saved the first two fights he¡¯d seen, and promised Lyra he¡¯d analyse her previous ones, but he¡¯d never considered how. Jay had ticked most of the basics off his list of confusing shit. Only the more obscure questions remained. He still didn¡¯t know how exactly crystals stored information, or who the hell spoke to him during his debut, but the list had largely been trimmed down. ¡°Find Julian.¡± Slotted in comfortably at the top and ¡°How do I watch fights?¡± joined it just below. However, there was another thing Jay needed to do. One far too straightforward for the list. Survive. It¡¯d been two days since his last fight. The announcement for his next fight was bound to come in the next day or so. He couldn¡¯t find Julian if he was dead, so staying alive suddenly seemed more important than ever. Jay was thoroughly satisfied with his progress during the trials. He¡¯d strengthened his body, the main weakness in his last fight, as well as improving Eye of the storm considerably. He¡¯d found a new way to channel essence into his attacks, one that fit him way better than thunder strike did, and increased his fighting versatility beyond punching. But there were always ways to get stronger, always ways to prepare for a fight. The contradiction in his fighting style wasn¡¯t lost on Jay. Although it technically sped Jay and his mind up, Eye of the storm didn¡¯t feel fast. He was beginning to learn that feelings and gut instincts were as important in harmonising as they were in the ring. As he was now, his greatest attack and his greatest ability couldn¡¯t be used simultaneously. If he wanted to attack, Jay couldn¡¯t use Eye of the storm. In the split second before he landed, he¡¯d give his opponent a crucial opening. Jay couldn¡¯t see a solution right away. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he needed one quickly, but it was something to keep in mind. He¡¯d already begun to detach Eye of the storm from his nervous system, realising a more holistic, essence based, version of the technique. Perhaps he could find a way to shift his perspective on the technique to use it in a faster fashion? The thoughts spiralled within Jay''s mind. Dizzying him as he stared out at the wondrous fa?ades of Reveller''s Avenue. Jay made out the knitted iron front of the celestial swords tavern and stood up. He had half a foot out the door when he turned and saw Akira and the twins getting onto the exact same tram he was about to exit. Guess I¡¯m staying on as well then.
Jay walked through the carriages until he caught a glimpse of Akira engrossed in conversation. ¡°There''s gonna be something good today, I¡¯m telling you! Maybe a sword, maybe an axe. Hell, maybe even a pair of magic boots. All I know is, I¡¯ve got a good feeling about this one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you said about the last one.¡± The stern voice of Lyra replied. ¡°And you spent all your points on that useless scabbard.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not useless! I just¡­ Haven¡¯t found a use for it yet. But-¡± Jay stepped into their carriage holding his arms limply by his sides for slightly longer than necessary before smiling and waving at his friends. ¡°I¡¯m alive. Armed and ready.¡± Thinking about how to restructure Eye of the storm had begun to give Jay a headache halfway through the journey back. He¡¯d been working on that line ever since. ¡°Dude! That¡¯s like double the number of working limbs you had last time!¡± Vega groaned, eye twitching as she tried to brush past the boys'' comments as quickly as possible. ¡°Congratulations on the win. I watched the fight. Not much style, but the comeback made up for it.¡± Jay shrugged. She was right after all, and it was the closest thing to a compliment he¡¯d get out of her. ¡°I¡¯m working on it. You¡¯ll get your style points next fight, don¡¯t worry. Hopefully no need for a comeback though.¡± Just because he barely won his last fight, didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t be a little cocky. ¡°Where are you guys going anyway?¡± ¡°Remember when we went to Hawker¡¯s Avenue, and I said it was my favourite place to shop?¡± Akira said, unable to hide the excitement from his face. ¡°Well, that was a lie. Because this is my favourite place to shop. ¡°Ever been to an auction before?¡± Chapter 44: the Moontide auction Jay told them pretty much everything that happened over the last two days. Starting with the first conversation about cores and foundations, before going over both trials. He left out the fight with Julian. Jay liked his new friends; he almost trusted them. But he wasn¡¯t ready for that yet. Once he uncorked that bottle, there was no going back. Jay wasn¡¯t ready to face those feelings himself, let alone with a group of people he met barely a week ago. Lyra seemed happy with his results, understanding a lot of the conclusions he¡¯d made during the trials. She hadn¡¯t found anyone better than the High Matron, so was happy that he¡¯d found an alternative. Akira reacted to the sage¡¯s wisdom with far more excitement. He looked visibly shocked at the storm sage¡¯s delicate explanations of the intricacies of modelling. When Jay mentioned Thane¡¯s theories on the sage¡¯s teleportation, all three of his friends sat in furrowed silence for a minute as they mulled it over. Akira made Jay promise to record the conversation into a crystal as soon as the coliseum granted him the power. He agreed on the condition that Akira would teach him how first. All three gladiators gave Jay impressed smiles when he described his solution to defeating his wizard clone. They congratulated him after he¡¯d finished retelling his experience, impressed with his reflections on Harmony as well as the fact that he was still standing. Over the last two days, they¡¯d had a far less eventful time. Preparation for the advancement tournament meant a hell of a lot of sparring, training, and analysing their weaknesses. Lyra told Jay that, other than always being a small group competition, the opening round of the tournament was different every year. So there wasn¡¯t anything specific they could do in the way of preparation since they''d already formed their group. The Moontide auction, however, was one such way. Held only on the full moon, which on Eterna was approximately once every six weeks, the Moontide auction was the only regularly scheduled auction catering to E Grade. Only E grade gladiators were allowed to purchase items there, and there was a spending cap of 10,000 Contribution points. Of course, that didn¡¯t stop the higher ranks interfering, but it took something truly special to get them involved. D grade trash was E grade treasure, so Jay¡¯s friends attended every auction, even if they didn¡¯t particularly need anything. Akira wouldn¡¯t stop talking about the previous times he¡¯d attended the auction. The items he¡¯d brought, the items he¡¯d seen, the items he¡¯d been priced out of. He gushed about the people who attended as if he himself wasn¡¯t one of the strongest fighters in their division. Apparently scouts for larger fighting alliances, similar to the Flaming Tomb, attended these auctions. Keen to scout fighters that weren¡¯t just meatheads running around gravel pits all day, and instead cared about the skills and tools used to win fights. The whole walk from the tram to the auction house was filled with Akira''s many facts and stories, occasionally punctuated by one of the twins filling in a gap that he passed over in excitement. One thing all three of them neglected to mention, Jay noticed as he set foot on the pebbly beach and got his first glimpse of the Moontide auction house sat in front of a soon-to-be setting sun. Was that it looked absolutely breathtaking. A giant temporary stage emerged from the beachside cliffs, framed by giant curtains of lilac and baby blue silk. Extravagant swirls of white and silver cascaded into each other on a backdrop that gently shifted each time Jay glanced at it. Craters emerged whenever colliding swirls made contact, casting rippling waves that morphed the landscape of the set. The more Jay looked at the main stage, the more everything else dimmed in comparison. Workers, in their hundreds, streamed in and out of the cliffs like ants. Laying out tables and chairs, along with everything else needed for the event. Beyond the absolute beauty of the Moontide Auction, Jay saw function. He saw a seamless efficiency guiding every operation in front of him. He saw beauty within that too. ¡°We¡¯re here early.¡± Lyra explained. ¡°But everyone gets here early. Part of the auction experience is speaking to people before the show. It¡¯s important to scout your competition, as well as potentially forge a partnership. Especially for unaffiliated fighters like us. It doesn¡¯t matter how strong me or Vega get, if five people gang up on us during the first round, we¡¯re screwed.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself.¡± Vega scoffed, drawing a sigh from her younger sister. ¡°We usually split up and each go our own way.¡± Said Akira. He squinted into the crowd of people standing near the unoccupied tables, before nodding and smiling at Jay. ¡°But there''s someone I¡¯d like you to meet first.¡±
Both twins peeled off, each chasing their own agenda before the auction got started. Bunched up around numbered tables and empty chairs were clusters of three to four people. Jay groaned internally as he recalled the least enjoyable part of being successful. Networking. At least the people here didn¡¯t seem like the typical suits in power, toying with fighters¡¯ futures over champagne and caviar. Over the years, Jay had developed a sixth sense for recognising fighters at these kinds of events. Fighters carried themselves differently to regular people, but it always showed in different ways. In some, aggression bled from them like a fresh chainsaw wound. They all but bared their teeth and growled at anyone who¡¯s gaze lingered on them for longer than half a second. Others were the opposite, they were almost too restrained, too stiff. As if they worried for the people around them. Storing all their anger until they allowed themselves to release it in the ring. However, there was another type of fighter that, while they didn¡¯t scare Jay, they certainly made him wary. The ones with nothing to prove. One who danced through interactions with a casualness that underscored unmistakeable confidence. The fighters whose conviction permeated through every pore of their body, whose every step was a declaration of invincibility. These fighters were rare, and sometimes hard to spot. They were the ones who didn¡¯t just think they were the best; they knew they were the best. They just didn¡¯t feel the need to tell anyone. At a press conference, or a media day, Jay might pass by one or two of these impressive fighters, and he¡¯d always take note of them. As Jay followed Akira''s lead, he observed each conversation he passed by. The ease at which everyone spoke caught Jay off guard. These people fought to the death weekly just to stay alive. Against each other. But there was no bravado amongst any of them. Jay was pleased when he saw three impressive fighters in one day on earth. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The Moontide auction was bursting at the seams with them. Jay didn¡¯t catch any hostile stares from the gladiators here. Nor did he feel the opportunistic, vulture-like grins of fighters hunting an easy win. There was an unusual undertone of honesty throughout the crowd. They all knew they were strong, so nobody felt the need to prove it.
¡°Fox! Come here!¡± Akira waved over a muscular man with light brown skin and close-cropped black hair. He walked over with a kind smile that didn¡¯t waver as he sized Jay up. ¡°Nice to see you again.¡± He pulled Akira into a bear hug, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. Jay remembered the time he tried to shove Akira during their spar and only pushed himself backwards. And this guy just lifts him like it¡¯s nothing? Finally, Akira was let down. He tried to force a smile, but his puffy red face and rebellious eyes told Jay he was more than a little embarrassed. ¡°Who¡¯s the new guy?¡± The man, who Jay presumed was called Fox, asked. ¡°He from Earth too? He¡¯s too normal-looking to be from anywhere else!¡± Fox let out a booming laugh that rivalled even the storm sage in volume. More than a few heads turned to look, but he didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°Yeah. He was a fighter there, like you. A boxer.¡± Akira tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and straightened his kimono. ¡°Jay, meet Fox. Fox, meet Jay.¡± Jay shook Fox¡¯s hand and got a closer look at him. He was slightly shorter than Jay, but stockier and probably heavier too. The same kindness from his smile carried through to his chestnut eyes, but there was something beneath it. A fire, a hunger, that Jay couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint. Akira''s comment, and the wealth of scar tissue covering Fox¡¯s eyebrows, told Jay that Fox was a fighter back on earth too. One who¡¯d been on the receiving end of a lot of elbows. ¡°A boxer?¡± Fox raised his eyebrows. The corner of his mouth twitched, and Jay immediately knew where he was going. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you choose a real fighting style. One that used elbows and knees instead of just fists?¡± There was none of the usual mockery that came with that comment, well there was some, but not a lot. It seemed that Fox was genuinely curious. ¡°My brother was a boxer. I wanted to be like him. If he practiced MMA, or anything else, I probably would¡¯ve followed him. But he didn¡¯t.¡± Jay tried to hold his emotions inside when talking about Julian. It was far easier before. Jay had given up on ever seeing his brother twelve years ago. But the trial by fighting had sliced open the scar tissue from a wound that had never fully healed. Fox nodded in agreement. ¡°Kicks, no kicks. Rules, no rules. Fighting is fighting. It¡¯s fun either way!¡± He let out another bellyful laugh, although thankfully quieter than the last. ¡°I¡¯m from Thailand. I didn¡¯t get a choice either!¡± The pair of fighters reminisced on their time fighting on Earth. Retelling their stories to each other and Akira. Jay enjoyed the trip down memory lane, his past fights were radically different to the ones at the coliseum, but they were what got him here. And as Fox said, fighting is fighting. It¡¯s fun either way. ¡°How do you fight now? What weapon do you use?¡± Fox asked. He grabbed a pair of bronze coloured hand axes strapped to his belt and held them up. ¡°These are my babies! Now I fight with ten limbs!¡± Jay couldn¡¯t help but smile at his exuberance, Fox¡¯s excitement for fighting was infectious. Jay held up his fists in an old school boxing pose. ¡°These are the only weapons I need. I won¡¯t fight any other way.¡± It wasn¡¯t strictly true, since Jay had just learned how to channel electricity through his kicks. But Jay had a long way to go before he¡¯d be as comfortable with his feet as he was with his hands. Fox couldn¡¯t hide his shock. ¡°No, you have to! Imagine walking into the ring with an axe! You¡¯d win every fight! If you need a teacher, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± Jay considered Fox¡¯s offer. It probably would be useful to learn a weapon, and Jay¡¯s improved mind to muscle connection would make learning a hell of a lot easier. But he didn¡¯t want to discard years of fighting and completely change styles. He¡¯d already let boxing slip from his fingers, was he ready to completely let it go? Akira fiddled with his sword, flicking it in and out of its scabbard with his thumb. He¡¯d learned how to fight with a weapon. Although he was never a pro fighter, so he had no bad habits to break. ¡°Maybe.¡± Jay said. He wasn¡¯t sure what the future would hold, but there was no use denying an opportunity. ¡°And even if I don¡¯t like any weapons, we can still train. It will be fun to practice, even without essence, for old times¡¯ sake.¡± ¡°Weapon. No Weapon. Essence. No Essence. I¡¯ll win every time!¡± If anyone else had said that and smiled at Jay it would¡¯ve seemed cocky, or belittling. But Fox radiated pure confidence. He said the statement like it was a fact. Whether he managed to pick up a weapon or not, Jay knew he¡¯d learn a lot from Fox. Fox wished Jay and Akira goodbye and walked off to speak to another group of people. ¡°He¡¯s a sweet guy.¡± Said Akira, as they watched Fox walk away. ¡°But when you watch him fight it¡¯s fucking terrifying. He¡¯s rank eighteen, but that¡¯s only because he finishes most of his fights so quickly that it¡¯s so hard to rank him. If you ever get the chance to watch him and Lyra spar, don¡¯t blink.¡± Akira¡¯s fist clenched around his sword¡¯s handle and his face hardened. Jay could tell Akira wasn¡¯t too proud to give other fighters their respect. But he was too hungry to look at someone and not chase them. ¡°I¡¯m going to speak to a few more people.¡± He said. ¡°Vega is sitting at table fourteen over there, you can sit by her if you don¡¯t wanna mingle.¡± Jay thanked Akira and made his way towards table fourteen. Jay wasn¡¯t completely opposed to mingling, but he was outclassed and outgunned in this crowd. If he wasn¡¯t attached to Lyra or Akira, he¡¯d get no respect from gladiators hundreds of positions above him. Jay looked at the faces in the crowd as he weaved through the tables. Fox was right when he called Jay too normal-looking. The people here came in all shapes, colours and sizes. A man with the head of a lion smacked his hand on a table with laughter as Jay walked past. As he craned his head, Jay saw a literal devil. Horns, tail, wings and all, laughing too as he told the lion man a story. Jay watched as a woman with snakes for hair, looking straight out of a Greek mythology picture book, sat down and had a conversation with a grey-skinned man that couldn¡¯t have been more than three feet tall. The snake-haired woman snapped her head to the side. She locked eyes with Jay. They were pure black. A deep, all encompassing, black that sucked him in and threatened to never let him go. Jay stood still. Feet locked in place. Am I- Without too much effort, he snapped out of it. He must have at least looked shocked though, because both the gorgon and the grey dwarf had folded over from laughter. Jay shook his head, trying not to appear too annoyed as he walked towards table fourteen. Pricks. As he was now, there wasn¡¯t much he could do. Maybe once he understood the essence of electricity more, Jay could develop a similar party trick. Something to give people a static shock if they looked at him funny. He tried to put the embarrassment behind him as he walked over to table fourteen.
¡°¡­so I think it¡¯s clear to see tha-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that.¡± Vega interrupted the poor man speaking to her. Holding her palm up to his face. She glanced at Jay and waved him over. ¡°I see your vision, it¡¯s undeniable, I¡¯m just unsure about its feasibility.¡± ¡°But you s-¡± ¡°Let me confer with my colleague.¡± The man meekly waited, although Jay could see a clenched fist within the long flowing sleeves of his blue robes. Jay walked next to Vega and bent down to her level. ¡°Give him some bullshit about why his idea is crap.¡± She whispered, before leaning away and leaving Jay with the unfortunate man¡¯s expectant stare. ¡°Yeah, you see, according to the constellation photosynthesis protocol, your idea doesn¡¯t quite reach the required levels of electronegativity. In a long-term implementation agitation filtration methodology, it simply won¡¯t work.¡± Jay said. Shrugging for emphasis. ¡°Maybe next time.¡± Vega added, shooing the man, who now looked more agitated than upset. When he turned away, she faced Jay with a grin. ¡°What did that even mean?¡± Jay shrugged again. ¡°I just said all the longest words I knew.¡± ¡°Well, it worked. So why are you sitting here instead of talking to people? Finding training partners and forming alliances like nerd one and nerd two?¡± She gestured at the general direction of Lyra and Akira. ¡°Hard to convince anyone to ally with you when you¡¯re rank 823. Plus, it¡¯s not really my thing.¡± ¡°You should probably make it your thing if you don¡¯t want to die.¡± Vega spoke about death with a nonchalance that oozed familiarity ¡°Gladiators aren¡¯t usually in a position to refuse advantages.¡± ¡°Well I don¡¯t see you up and about, why are you refusing the advantages?¡± Vega¡¯s grin grew into a chuckle. ¡°Because I''m the best. I can afford to. Plus¡­¡± She pointed to another man standing at the edge of the table. This one wore metal armour and carried a lot more conviction than his predecessor. ¡°¡­the people come to me.¡± Vega took this guy far more seriously, giving him her full attention. Jay looked at the gladiators around them. Scouting out for anyone that looked approachable. Maybe I should be out there talking to people? I can¡¯t solve every problem by punching it. A pair of piercing emerald eyes stood out from the crowd. Not just because of their looks. Although they certainly were striking. Jay recognised the person they belonged to, although it had been over a week since he¡¯d seen him last, in the grand hall of the Flaming Tomb Alliance. But even that wasn¡¯t why the eyes stood out. They stood out because they were glaring directly at him. Chapter 45: the Soulsnatcher Jay returned the stare, he couldn¡¯t remember the man¡¯s name, so he pulled his stats up beside him.
Alias Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound). Flaming Tomb Alliance.
Grade E
Rank 5
Offence 2
Defence 59
Strategy 103
Instinct 4
Vitality 7
Speed 5
Shit, maybe I shouldn¡¯t stare back. Jay stared back. He stared for the next few seconds until it became clear that Ezekiel wasn¡¯t looking away first. Jay wondered why the strange man was staring at him. Did he remember what happened last week? Jay didn¡¯t think he¡¯d acted rudely or did anything to piss the man off. Jay had a reason to be annoyed, Ezekiel had greeted him with a sword to the face, Jay was just standing there. Wondering about manners and who annoyed who got old quickly, and it was replaced by a more pressing thought in Jay¡¯s mind. How does he fight? ¡°Hey Vega. How do you watch fights on the system? I unlocked the ability, but I haven¡¯t tried it out yet.¡± Jay asked, as soon as the armoured man started walking away. ¡°You haven¡¯t tried yet? I thought you were into that analysing and strategizing shit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been busy. So how do you do it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s different for everyone. Nerd one or nerd two might have told you that the coliseum system is designed to create the best coliseum experience, for everyone. That means different structures for each user.¡± ¡°Yours¡¯ll be far more similar to Akira¡¯s than mine, since you¡¯re from the same planet, but basically just do what makes sense to you. Pull up your rankings and freestyle from there, then add parameters based on what you want to watch. It works best if you¡¯re specific.¡± Jay nodded. Vega hadn¡¯t given him much advice other than just do it, but if it was as she said, she couldn¡¯t do much more anyway. Jay pulled up his stats, unchanged since his last fight other than a few tiny shifts, and worked from there. The coliseum system must have known him well, either that or it made the first thing he attempted work. Because as Jay mentally swiped right on his stat sheet, the table flicked away and was replaced with a single search bar. He didn¡¯t need to use his fingers to type. Jay just thought of what he wanted to watch, and the words appeared. He remembered Vega¡¯s comment, so he made it specific. Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher. Member of the Flaming Tomb Alliance. Previous five fights. Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher. Member of the Flaming Tomb Alliance. Previous five fights¡­ Even if Jay hadn¡¯t been told that his system was tailored to him, he would¡¯ve believed it now. His mind went back to countless afternoons, both before and during his career as a boxer, searching up fights, compilations, and breakdowns online. Because the coliseum system looked exactly like YouTube but gold. On a tab on the left side of the screen were the two parameters he¡¯d chosen. Ezekiel, and his last five fights. The search bar was at the top, and the rest of the system screen was filled with a list of five fights. Each had a thumbnail with a snapshot of the fight, and next to the thumbnail was information about it. In the corner of the screen, there was even a red notification with a 2 in it, presumably the twins¡¯ fights he¡¯d saved all that time ago. Jay looked at the first fight and the information tags beside it. Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher vs the Whirlwind. High E Grade. Swordsman vs Mage. Brief. Humanoid vs Humanoid¡­ The list went on, but Jay focused on the thumbnail rather than reading further. As soon as he focused his intent, the video started playing, taking up the whole screen. Jay leant back on his chair and watched the five second countdown before the fight started. He even heard the announcer inside his head. ¡°Who¡¯re you watching?¡± Vega¡¯s voice interrupted the fight, but it automatically paused when Jay''s attention drifted away.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Ezekiel the Soulsnatcher. Do you know him? I met him at the Flaming Tomb last week and now he keeps staring at me from that table over there.¡± ¡°I know him. He¡¯s a cunt.¡± Vega turned around to Ezekiel¡¯s table. The swordsman blinked rapidly, face frozen for a moment, before turning and speaking to the man sat beside him. Vega span back around and sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile. ¡°You won¡¯t learn much from his fights. His sword is pretty much a one-hit-kill, so his fights are all unorthodox. Make sure to watch them when Akira¡¯s around though. Ezekiel¡¯s the only swordsman ranked higher than him at the moment. It really pisses him off.¡± Jay chuckled and focused his attention back on the fight. Vega was right, Ezekiel fought with a very strange style. He threw knives at his opponent, a woman in light armour and a yellow cloak with three golden shields orbiting her, and swung his sword in long arcs with very little power behind them. The style would make sense if his sword was a one hit kill, as Vega said. The golden shields rebuffed each swipe of the sword, but Ezekiel kept advancing, not giving his opponent a moment to breathe. The information said she was a mage, so maybe that was his strategy. Not giving her any time to ¡°cast spells¡± or whatever a mage did with essence. Whatever his plan was, it was working. Ezekiel¡¯s blade kept inching dangerously closer to the Whirlwind¡¯s face. Jay could see her distress, frantically backing up while her floating shields desperately tried to block every attack. But she couldn¡¯t keep it up forever. Eventually one hit got through. A miniscule cut on the mage¡¯s arm. That was all it took. The runes lining Ezekiel¡¯s sword lit up, showering him in a sickly green light. The same green glow crept out of the tiny scratch, crawling out from within the poor woman and lighting up her skin from underneath it. The Whirlwind wasn¡¯t running anymore. She was writhing on the floor in pain. Her screams, muffled and dampened through the system, struck a chord of fear within Jay. Pure hopelessness and dread echoing through every vibration. The colour drained from her body, her skin shrivelled up. Eventually, when the last dregs of green light had been dragged from her body, all that was left was a grey husk. Fucking hell. Jay¡¯s face must have looked a bit drained too, because Vega had to stifle a laugh when she looked at it. ¡°You see why he¡¯s called the Soulsnatcher? I¡¯ve got no idea how he does it, but its brutal as fuck.¡± ¡°You can say that again.¡± Jay replied, dragging his eyes away from the grey corpse and closing the system screen. He didn¡¯t feel like watching another one of Ezekiel¡¯s fights. ¡°That prick almost stabbed me the first time I met him. I was an inch away from being fucking desaturated!¡± Jay looked over Vega¡¯s shrugging shoulders to see Ezekiel staring back at him again. This time joined by another set of eyes. Seeing their lips move, Jay wondered what they were talking about. He had the sneaky suspicion it was him. He pulled up the new fighter¡¯s stats, Ezekiel wasn¡¯t with the same sinister woman as last time and Jay wanted to see her replacement.
Alias Davad, the Infernal Harpoon
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound). Flaming Tomb Alliance.
Grade E
Rank 502
Offence 400
Defence 470
Strategy 515
Instinct 550
Vitality 599
Speed 488
Why is rank 5 talking to rank 502? Jay thought, staring over the shoulders of rank 1. And why are they looking at me? Jay reopened the system and searched for Davad¡¯s last five fights. Davad fought nothing like Ezekiel. He was an archer who had never got within ten metres of his opponent in all his fights. All five of the fights ended with him firing an arrow at his opponent while backing up. Not terribly impressive, but definitely effective. Jay wondered why nobody had been able to close the distance on Davad. He wasn¡¯t especially fast, or creative with his retreats. None of his opponents managed to even get close, and Jay couldn¡¯t figure out why. Before every killshot, Davad¡¯s opponents just seemed to stand there and accept getting hit. Watching the fights also brought another question back to the forefront of Jay''s mind. How the hell are the rankings calculated? Jay knew they were based on the coliseum performances, but if that was the case, why did Davad have a higher vitality score than him? Jay had survived a hit from a Goldenback gorilla. He¡¯d barely survived, but he¡¯d still survived. A more impressive feat than anything Davad had shown in his last five fights. Yet the archer still ranked over three hundred positions above him. Why? A loud clapping sound and the rumble of people walking to their seats brought Jay out of his thoughts. Perhaps he could ask someone about the ranking system later, but it wasn¡¯t particularly important right now. Akira and Lyra both took a seat at table fourteen. One of them had an ear-to-ear grin, the other remained as calm as ever. ¡°We have a strategy for doing well at the auction.¡± Said Lyra, turning to face Jay. ¡°Because we don¡¯t have a whole alliance backing us up, we have to stick together. That means we pool our points together if there''s an item that¡¯s a great fit. So one of us may have to use your points, if there''s something good, but it goes both ways. Get it?¡± ¡°Got it. Seems like a pretty simple strategy though, how come everyone doesn¡¯t do it?¡± ¡°We can only do it because we¡¯re unaffiliated. If a fighter joins an alliance, a lot of their needs are taken care of. They get given help in the way of training, as well as magic items and guidance for their fights. That leaves people like us at a disadvantage because they don¡¯t have to spend their points on any of those things. ¡°Normally, you can¡¯t transfer your contribution points to anyone else. Unless they¡¯re a coliseum sanctioned vendor. But since the people in charge of the Moontide Auction aren¡¯t particularly uptight, and the organisers don¡¯t mind helping a couple of lowly E graders out, they let us pay for things together. If I¡¯m short a few hundred CP, then one of you guys can cover the difference and it won¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Yet another reason why this place is the fucking best¡± Akira said, rubbing his hands together in excitement. ¡°I spoke to Sirius just now. He said there''s a bunch of good raw materials tonight with a few good weapons and utility items sprinkled in after. Perfect for us.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that perfect for us?¡± Jay asked. ¡°Because we don¡¯t need to buy materials, but a lot of alliances do.¡± Explained Lyra. ¡°Materials are a much safer purchase than already made items, because you can give them to your craftsmen and make something good. Whereas anything prebuilt is more of a risk. All the alliances will spend their points on the materials, letting the quirky, but still useful items slip through the cracks and find us. ¡°Of course, it doesn¡¯t always work out that way. But that¡¯s generally how it¡¯s turned out every other time.¡± Jay nodded, he wondered why the twins and Akira weren¡¯t in an alliance. It seemed quite useful to join one. The Flaming Tomb Alliance was a bad introduction, but surely they couldn¡¯t all be that bad? A blonde woman in a sparkling silver dress took to the stage. She cleared her throat and dragged the entire crowd¡¯s attention towards her. ¡°Good evening good evening good evening good evening. Ladies, gentlemen, and all in attendance, hopefully you have arrived with full hearts and even fuller pockets. Because you know what time it is.¡± The booming voice was obviously the woman¡¯s, but it came from everywhere around Jay, taking him aback for a moment. It was like the very ground he sat on amplified her voice, making it hard to hear anything other than the words she said. Akira leaned in and whispered in his ear. ¡°She¡¯s using the essence of projection.¡± Jay looked back to the woman on stage. The essence of projection huh. He wondered how he would go about using that essence, were he to have it. Would his punches amplify in power? Could his kicks stretch even further than his limbs allowed? ¡°I am very pleased to welcome you to the two hundred and forty fourth Moontide auction! Now, before we get to the fun stuff, I know some of you have been here before but I can see a few new faces. So let¡¯s go through the rules.¡± Jay could have sworn the woman looked directly at him and winked, but she carried on with her introduction without pause. He didn¡¯t look, but Jay felt four more eyes trained on him as well. Chapter 46: Plus one ¡°As we are a Coliseum sanctioned vendor, we use the system to validate bids on each item. But we also like to keep it old school. Please raise your table number every time you place a bid, it makes things easier to manage on our end, and it¡¯s also more fun that way. ¡°All bids will be shown on the screen behind me as well, so you all know who you¡¯re up against.¡± The hostess waved her arm behind her and specks of gold filtered through the stage¡¯s silver backdrop. Gold light filtered into the silver swirls, forming a sparkling metallic mixture of a system screen. A table flashed up on the screen.
Bidder Table Price
¡°Now. Unless anybody has any objections, I believe we¡¯re ready to go.¡± Jay felt a rumble beneath his chair, as if thousands of people simultaneously started stomping the ground. The vibration gradually rose, he could feel it with his whole body. His heart fought against another drum beating his chest. ¡°Gladiators... Are you ready¡­ For the two hundred and forty fourth Moontide auction¡­ To Begin!¡± A modest amount of applause came from the tables. Some more enthusiastic than others, but none more enthusiastic than Akira. The young man stood to his feet and cheered as loud as he could, clapping his hands together and making thunderclaps that could rival Jay¡¯s fists¡¯. Jay had never seen the twins in perfect unison, but they both cradled their heads in their hands watching Akira. Both embarrassed by his overeager applause. ¡°Do you guys have anything in particular you¡¯re looking for?¡± Jay asked, eager to move past the awkwardness. ¡°Not really.¡± Said Akira. Finally sitting back down. ¡°More just looking for anything interesting. We¡¯ve got most of our gear ready for the advancement tournament, and our fighting styles are pretty locked in, so only an advanced skill crystal would be any useful. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for you though. There might be something good that you can use for sale here.¡± ¡°What do you think I need?¡± ¡°I¡¯d consider a weapon, but only if it¡¯s good enough to warrant learning how to use it. It would be pointless for you to learn how to use a sword when you could spend that time studying electrical essence or whatever. However, if the sword is special in some way, let¡¯s say it enhances the user¡¯s speed, then it might be worth getting. ¡°The same goes for any skill crystals. It¡¯s best for you to grow your own fighting style, but if something interesting enough comes up, I¡¯d recommend buying it. The only thing I wouldn¡¯t recommend buying is any armour. Your clothes are already good enough.¡± ¡°What? These?¡± Jay said, pinching the red tracksuit like outfit the storm sage had given him. ¡°I get why you told me to keep it against the gorilla, but what if I have to fight a swordsman? Surely something with metal would be better?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°It¡¯s partly an issue with familiarity, since you haven¡¯t fought in armour before and you focus on speed, but those clothes are genuinely really good. Notice how they didn¡¯t even rip once in your last fight or any of your trials with the storm sage? The material is tough and there''s definitely a subtle weave of storm essence within them. I would maybe think about gauntlets, or another type of hand armour though. Something that¡¯ll help you block the big shots. We¡¯ll see what shows up.¡± They all turned their eyes forward, where a slab of reddish-brown metal was wheeled on stage. ¡°This, ladies and gentlemen, is two hundred kilograms of Dagonite bronze. Mined from the Ironbreath bone in the Titanic Shores, this metal resists fire, acid, and abrasions better than any unenchanted metal. But that¡¯s not its greatest strength. No. Its greatest strength is its malleability.¡± The hostess walked over to the slab and pressed her hand into it. Her hand sunk in, and she broke a chunk of metal off as if it was clay. ¡°Until the metal is conjoined with a primer, it can be morphed into virtually any position.¡± She threw the chunk she¡¯d just ripped off back at the slab. It immediately stuck, rejoining with the block in its new position. ¡°Dagonite bronze is the ideal material for intricate channel carving. It can add specificity to any item you wish to create! Bids for this item start at 1000 CP.¡± The table immediately started filling up, and Jay could see why his friends liked raw materials being on sale. Within ten seconds the highest bid was already three thousand. Within sixty it hit five thousand.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The bids kept adding up, slowing down until eventually the final bid came in at 7750 CP. The slab of metal was rolled out, and another tray rolled in. This time hauling what appeared to be a tough lizard hide. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be a while before anything we want appears.¡± Akira said. ¡°Just sit back and enjoy the show till the good stuff arrives.¡±
Jay sat back and watched more sets of materials roll across the stage while people bid more than Jay¡¯s entire net worth on them. Eventually, a tray rolled out with nothing but a single fist sized opal on it. ¡°This is copy number 17,590 of Nabakov¡¯s Illusory wisps collection. Only 20,000 were ever made, they contain his insights into the essence of Illusion, and essence of copying.¡± Lyra perked up at the end of that sentence. She reached for the table fourteen sign and placed a bid of 500 on the crystal as soon as the host finished explaining it. She was quickly outbid however, and only placed another bid of 800 before the item eventually got sold to table 58 for 950 CP. She didn¡¯t look too disappointed to lose out on it. ¡°950¡¯s a good price, but the item is only tangentially related to my essences.¡± She said, noting Jay¡¯s thoughtful expression. Vega and Akira seemed to understand. But Lyra¡¯s comment intrigued Jay, he mulled it over as he returned his attention to the stage. What essences does Lyra use? She didn¡¯t appear to use any in the fight we watched, she didn¡¯t copy her opponents attack, or use any illusions. So what is it? Jay didn¡¯t ask, partly because the next item was being rolled out, and partly because he¡¯d promised to watch Lyra¡¯s old fights and never gotten round to it. Maybe he¡¯d figure it out when he eventually watched them. The next item was another skill crystal. A sapphire called ¡°The body as a weapon: Infinite angles. Infinite blades.¡± The name intrigued Jay, so he placed a bid on it for 350, slightly above the starting price. Jay stared at the board, waiting to see if someone would outbid him.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 351
Jay and Vega immediately turned their heads to Ezekiel¡¯s table. Jay didn¡¯t know much about auction etiquette, but he knew one-upping someone like that was a slap in the face. Ezekiel and Davad didn¡¯t even look back. They kept staring straight at the stage. Jay reached for the table sign, he held it up and mentally signalled a bid of 400. Ezekiel reached for his own sign, calmly holding it up. No emotion other than a slight twitch in his cheek.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 401
¡°Well that¡¯s just taking the piss!¡± Jay huffed. He reached for the sign again, but another person had bid on the crystal already.
The Ten Tailed Fox 34 450
Jay was about to place another bid, but Akira grabbed his hand. ¡°Whatever you bid, he¡¯ll Just bid one higher.¡± ¡°I get that, so why not make him pay for it?¡± Jay replied. He tried to move his hand but couldn''t break Akira¡¯s iron grip. ¡°Not worth it.¡± Akira shook his head and pointed to table 34. ¡°Fox placed the 450 bid. If he wants the item let¡¯s let him have it, rather than jacking up the price.¡± Jay understood what Akira was saying. He even agreed with it. But that didn¡¯t mean it felt any good. He was backing off; letting Ezekiel bully him in front of a whole crowd of people. The crystal went to Fox. He gave them a thumbs up from table 34 as the tray rolled offstage. Jay didn¡¯t even listen to the next crystal¡¯s description. As soon as the hostess was done, he placed a bid worth 500 on it.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 501
Seriously? Jay bid 1000. A few seconds went by and Jay slowly realised he''d Just spent a third of his money on something he didn¡¯t even know the name of.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 1001
The relief on his face must have been evident, because Lyra glared at him with all the scorn of a disappointed parent. ¡°You¡¯re lucky that crystal was rain related.¡± Lyra slid the table sign away from Jay. ¡°He probably thought you actually wanted it. Save your aggression for something useful.¡± Easy for you to say. You¡¯re not the one getting clowned in front of hundreds of people. ¡°We¡¯ll get the fucker.¡± Vega said, cracking her neck and leaning forward. ¡°Just you wait until there''s a good item.¡± Seven more crystals went by. Some of them interested Jay, and he placed bids on them. Bids that were quickly one-upped by table 38. The auction moved onto magic items. Several went by, they interested Jay, but none seemed especially useful. A helmet that enhanced vision, a pair of boots that increased your jump height, and a sword that transformed into a glaive. The next item caught Jay''s eye. A navy-blue metal shield, maybe a metre in diameter. He didn¡¯t know why until the hostess started describing it. ¡°This shield is the creation of an apprentice at the Heartforge. Infused with the essences of lightning and flight and layered with channels of cognitive essence. This shield can be used regularly, as a thrown weapon, or as an autonomous guardian that floats around its wielder. Inlaid in its centre is a faulty evolution crystal, while it may not completely work with the shield as intended, it could still prove useful as material for another project. The starting price will be 900 CP.¡± Akira immediately bid 1000. His eyes shot open, and he couldn¡¯t hide his joy as he turned towards Jay. ¡°This is perfect for you it-¡± His excitement was cut short by being outbid, but not by Ezekiel this time. Someone had bid 1400 before he¡¯d had the chance to bid 1001. Jay bid 2000.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 2001
He put in a bid for 2400, everything he¡¯d got after his last fight.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 2401
¡°Fuck!¡± Jay didn¡¯t want to let anyone know his annoyance, especially table 38, but he couldn¡¯t keep it in. ¡°Guys, how much can I borrow? I really want to beat this fucker, he can¡¯t be made of money.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty broke right now.¡± Vega growled, gripping one fist with the other. ¡°I only have 1749. You can use all of it.¡± Jay placed a bid for 4157. All his points from the fight, everything left over from his first, and all of Vega¡¯s points on top. All for a shield that started at 900 CP.
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 4158
¡°FUCK!¡± Vega let out a louder shout than Jay. One surely audible from table 38. ¡°How is this guy so fucking rich?¡± ¡°He¡¯s had nine fights in the last two weeks.¡± Lyra said, a gold glow fading from her eyes. ¡°I bet he was saving up for tonight.¡± ¡°Nine!¡± Akira leaned forward in disbelief. ¡°How the fuck did he do that?¡± ¡°By winning them all very easily.¡± Lyra sighed and sat back in her chair. ¡°I can offer a thousand, but not much more, there¡¯s stuff I want to buy and I don¡¯t want to fight again before advancement.¡± Akira grimaced. He gripped his sword tightly. ¡°Same here. I can offer two thousand, but that¡¯s all I¡¯ve got.¡± Jay placed his final offer and hoped it would be accepted. Chapter 47: Fight For It
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher 38 7158
¡°Fucking cunt!¡± Jay didn¡¯t need to hide his annoyance now. He¡¯d made his highest bid and Ezekiel had beaten it. Jay looked over to table 38. They didn¡¯t even bother looking at the stage anymore, both Ezekiel and Davad were facing him. The same nonchalant expression covered each of their faces, daring to look as if nothing had happened. Pricks. ¡°After the auction. After the auction we¡¯re gonna have a chat with them.¡± Vega growled. Voice low, she said each word individually. Her eyes didn¡¯t stray from Ezekiel as she spoke, and the first embers of orange light crept out of her clenched fists. Jay dropped back in his chair. He wanted to go over there now, but if even Vega was holding back then he¡¯d follow her lead. The rest of the auction went by. Jay didn¡¯t pay attention at all. The only things on his mind were the pair of dickheads on table 38. ¡°¡­and that does it for tonight. Hopefully you¡¯ve enjoyed your night here at the Moontide auction. We hope you¡¯ll enjoy the rest of your night, wherever it may take you. And last, but by no means least, we hope to see you again next time.¡± Jay and Vega immediately stood up. The tables around them must have known they would, because nobody got in their way as they stomped over to table 38. Ezekiel and Davad got up, but they made no moves towards Jay, they waited for him to come. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Vega beat Jay to the punch. She charged into Ezekiel¡¯s space, stopping mere inches from his face. He didn¡¯t even look at her. Instead, he calmly stared at Jay, who¡¯d stood a few metres away from the table. ¡°What the fuck was¡­ what?¡± Ezekiel said softly. ¡°I did nothing wrong. Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have come to an auction with empty wallets and even emptier skulls.¡± He shrugged, face twisting into an evil sneer. He knew what he was doing. ¡°It would have cost you literally nothing to not be a prick.¡± Jay took a step closer to the table, Davad made to intercept him, but Jay stopped. ¡°Instead, you spent seven thousand points on a shield you won¡¯t even use. So yeah. What the fuck was that?¡± Ezekiel shrugged again, his lip curled into a caricature of oblivious confusion. ¡°Oh really! I didn¡¯t know you wanted it that much¡­¡± Cunt. ¡°¡­You should¡¯ve just asked! I¡¯d be happy to give it to you, but you see, that¡¯s not how things work round here. If you want it, you have to fight for it.¡± So that¡¯s what he¡¯s going for. ¡°Real tough guy aren¡¯t you?¡± Vega said, finally taking a step back. She waited until Ezekiel looked her way before speaking again. ¡°Challenging someone 800 ranks below you. Bet that feels fucking amazing, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean that. No, no that would be far too easy.¡± Ezekiel walked towards Jay and gestured to Davad. ¡°I¡¯m just looking out for my junior here. You see, he¡¯s been itching for a good fight. I think you¡¯d make a great pair.¡± Davad walked closer to Jay, stepping into his personal space until their foreheads were almost touching. ¡°What do you think?¡± Davad¡¯s voice was higher and more nasal than Jay expected. It made his attempt at intimidation far less effective. Jay didn¡¯t even look at his potential opponent. Keeping his eyes trained on Ezekiel. ¡°What¡¯s the catch? You didn¡¯t need to come all the way over here and act like a cunt all evening just to get a fight. You could¡¯ve just asked. What are you really after?¡± Jay only now noticed the crowd forming around the altercation. He spotted Lyra and Akira at the front of the ring of people. Akira had his hand on his sword already and looked one sudden movement away from drawing it. The crowd had a mix of expressions. Some looked invested, some stared without much interest. Others were almost laughing at the whole affair. Two nobodies squaring off while they had big brother and sister there to back them up. ¡°What a clever cat you are. You¡¯re right! I have something you want, this magnificent shield, and you have something I want. Juryoku.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Akira immediately drew his sword and pointed it at Ezekiel. ¡°Fuck you you¡¯ll never have her.¡± Ezekiel didn¡¯t move a muscle. When Jay looked over to his friend, confused as to what set him off, Akira was almost shaking. ¡°Juryoku¡¯s my sword. And she¡¯ll stay that way.¡± Ezekiel shifted his gaze back to Jay. His arrogant smile just begging Jay to retort. Two can play that game buddy. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Jay stalled, he placed his hand on Davad¡¯s shoulder and deftly pushed him to the side. Davad tried to push back. He couldn¡¯t. Jay walked towards Ezekiel, a cunning smirk washed over his eyes as he noticed the swordsman¡¯s cheek twitch slightly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like a fair trade. Especially since you¡¯re the ones asking for it.¡± Jay saw Akira huff a sigh of relief in his periphery. Don¡¯t act too soon mate. He kept walking towards Ezekiel and noticed the crowd shift from surprised to intrigued. ¡°I think you need to add something else. Something to sweeten the deal.¡± Jay placed his hand on the hilt of Ezekiel¡¯s sword. Lifting it half an inch out of its scabbard. ¡°Throw in this bad boy and you¡¯ve got yourself a fight.¡± Jay gazed deep into Ezekiel¡¯s eyes, scouring his face for any indication of emotion. He couldn¡¯t see the crowd, but he could hear them all breathe in and hold it there. Akira spluttered behind him, seemingly lost for words. Knew you were gonna hate that. Sorry. Ezekiel hesitated. Jay could tell he was doubting himself. ¡°Oh what, are you scared?¡± Jay said, raising the pitch of his voice like he was talking to a crying child. He nodded his head back to where Davad still stood. ¡°I know he is.¡± Vega laughed. Ezekiel remained still. Jay¡¯s play hadn¡¯t worked on him. A hand clasped around Jay''s shoulder. He let it spin him around. Davad¡¯s face flushed a deep red and his temples pulsed with heated anger. ¡°Fuck you cocky asshole!¡± Specks of warm spit flew into Jay''s face. He had to push down the urge to punch Davad there and then. ¡°Yep, definitely scared.¡± Jay said, this time working the crowd. Still not looking Davad in the eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Davad shoved Jay away from him. Jay only moved a foot backwards. Come on, at least make this a bit challenging. Jay activated Eye of the storm. Not because he needed to act quickly, but because he needed to look intimidating. Blue sparks skittered out of his eyes as he turned his focus deep into Davad¡¯s soul. ¡°Prove it. Put everything you own on the line and I¡¯ll match it. You won¡¯t need shit after I¡¯m done with you.¡± This earned the biggest ¡°Ooh¡± from the crowd. It was about more than just fighting now. Everyone watching knew there was no longer any way to back out with an intact reputation. Jay had Davad and Ezekiel right where he wanted them. ¡°Fine.¡± Davad spat. ¡°As long as the two sword owners are okay with it.¡± Akira and Ezekiel stared at each other. One had started the exchange; one was barely involved. Neither had expected to risk their weapons today. Akira glared at Jay. For a second, Jay thought he might refuse, but he turned back to Ezekiel and nodded. ¡°Fine.¡± Said Akira. His white-knuckled fist clenched harder around his sword than Jay had ever seen it before. ¡°Fine.¡± Replied Ezekiel. Vicious hunger washed over Jay, a deep vibration standing all his hairs on end. A gold screen appeared in front of him. Your next opponent has been announced. Jay saw Davad¡¯s name below the announcement, just like he saw the Goldenback Gorilla before, but the line underneath came as a surprise. You will fight in 36 hours. Jay looked back at Davad, he¡¯d put on a brave mask, but Jay saw right past it. ¡°See you soon buddy.¡±
¡°What the fuck Jay?¡± Akira slumped into the seat of the tram, clutching his sword as if someone was about to take it there and then. ¡°What do you mean what the fuck?¡± Jay replied, just as exasperated as his friend, although probably less annoyed. ¡°What was I supposed to do in that situation? Just give up?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Yes. Bet all your items, that¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t fucking bet mine!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean too. Plus, didn¡¯t you see. I managed to renegotiate. After I win, you get another sword! Think of it as my apology.¡± Jay¡¯s pitiful attempt at humour fell flat. Akira mumbled something that vaguely sounded like cocky asshole and sank deeper into his seat. ¡°Jay¡¯s got a point.¡± Vega said. She¡¯d lost some of her fire from earlier, but still looked on edge. ¡°You can¡¯t back down from something like that, especially in front of all those people. That idiot was clowning him all night and then tried to pull that. He¡¯s lucky I didn¡¯t kill him there and then.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Akira said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make it any fucking better! Jay you better fucking win this fight.¡± ¡°Oh cheers mate, I wasn¡¯t gonna try before but I will now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being fucking serious! Never try that kinda shit again! What the hell gave you the confidence to pull that off?¡± Jay noticed Lyra glance at him after Akira asked him the question. ¡°I watched Davad¡¯s last five fights before the auction started. He¡¯s not bad, but it¡¯s an easy fight.¡± Jay watched all three of his friends¡¯ expressions shift. Since coming to the coliseum, he¡¯d mostly been asking questions, eager to learn. This was the first time they¡¯d seen the true fighter inside him. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t see what I went through over the last couple days. I¡¯m a whole new fighter now. If he was nervous about fighting me before, then he doesn¡¯t stand a chance now.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± Lyra said cautiously, the first time she¡¯d spoken since before the whole exchange. ¡°How¡¯re you going to prepare? Realistically, you only have tomorrow to do anything.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t spot any glaring weaknesses in the fights I saw. I¡¯ll spend the rest of tonight rewatching to try and find something to exploit. As for tomorrow, do you know anywhere where I could find an archer to spar with? Maybe an open gym or something? I just need someone so that I can familiarise myself with the chasing movements.¡± Jay watched both twins think for a moment before sharing a glance and simultaneously responding. ¡°The Pits.¡± ¡°The what?¡± ¡°The Pits is the colloquial name for the Pitsanlok Fighting Gym.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°It¡¯s the best place to find sparring partners if you¡¯re in E Grade.¡± Vega added. ¡°Everywhere else is either catered to the higher tiers, or there''s not enough good competition. I¡¯m free tomorrow, I¡¯ll go with you so that you can find a better partner.¡± ¡°Thanks¡­What do you mean by find a better partner?¡± ¡°Nobody¡¯s lining up to try and fight you Mr.800s. Whereas I¡¯ll be up to my ears with people eager for a chance to test me. If I make it a two for one deal, you¡¯ll get a stronger partner who can better prepare you for the fight.¡± Jay thanked Vega again, grateful to have the best fighter in the division backing him up. It made sense to go with her, people always wanted to train with the best. Jay opened the coliseum system screen and started replaying Davad¡¯s fights. His friends weren¡¯t in a talkative mood, so he might as well fill his time. Chapter 48: the War Room Jay, Lyra and Akira huddled on the couch that had swiftly become Jay¡¯s bed over the last week. His back would¡¯ve thanked him if he replaced it, but scoliosis was non-lethal. The coliseum wasn¡¯t. Jay had bigger things to worry about than his spinal health. ¡°Move over.¡± Said Vega. She barely gave Jay a chance to move before squishing a fourth person onto the three-person couch. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t into all this, ¡°nerd shit¡±? You didn¡¯t help prep last fight.¡± Jay said. He was happily surprised to see Vega with them, even if it meant being cramped. ¡°Yeah well, that¡¯s because I thought you were gonna lose.¡± Vega barely skipped a beat, even as Jay raised an eyebrow ¡°This one¡¯s more interesting anyway. There¡¯s more stuff on the line. Higher stakes.¡± ¡°Oh, so my life being on the line last time wasn¡¯t enough?¡± ¡°Nah.¡± ¡°Delightful. So how do you get the screen to appear to everyone? Do you jus-¡± Before Jay could even ask, the system answered his question for him. As soon as he willed his screen to share, a glassy tint rolled over it and he knew the others could see it too. ¡°What the hell made you so confident about this guy?¡± asked Akira. Even though they were safe inside the twins¡¯ house, he kept his sword close by. Refusing to let it out of his sight. ¡°Nothing in particular. But there was nothing that impressed me either. Most of his opponents seemed scared, but I think if they took the fight to him then they could¡¯ve won.¡± ¡°Maybe they were scared for a reason. Play the fight.¡± Jay ignored Akira¡¯s venomous tone. There was no need to argue right now, and his friend had good reason to be pissed off. The first fight he played was between Davad and a man called Mori, Mori fought using a quarterstaff, and had the shortest reach of fighter Davad had fought. It was the best comparison to Jay and therefore the most useful fight to analyse, as well as the most recent. ¡°Look at this and tell me it isn¡¯t strange.¡± Jay said as the fight began. ¡°The fight seems normal to start. Davad retreating round the ring, popping shots at Mori. He likes firing off shots in triplets, grabbing three arrows from his quiver at once, and firing them in quick succession. But look at this.¡± Jay slowed down the fight. He mentally signalled the ¡°camera¡± to shift behind Davad¡¯s back, like he¡¯d seen Lyra do last week, and told everyone to look at Mori¡¯s movement. Davad fired his third arrow. Mori took the opportunity, cutting in and closing the distance by a few metres. Davad brought another arrow to his string. Stopping Mori just outside his range. ¡°What happened? What am I supposed to look at?¡± said Vega. Lyra and Akira¡¯s confused faces mirroring her confusion. ¡°Nothing happened. Now compare that to this.¡± Davad almost constantly had his arrow half drawn. Occasionally pulling it back to threaten a strike and create some space. Each time Mori threatened to move in closer, Davad¡¯s bow would flicker and block off the angle. If he shot, Mori was forced to abandon the advance and search for another opening. The same interaction happened again, the second arrow deleting valuable inches of Mori¡¯s gained ground. ¡°Watch what happens after he fires the third.¡± Mori made an aggressive move, going in almost a direct straight line to his opponent. Davad couldn¡¯t resist the opportunity and fired. Mori immediately rolled to his right. He flicked his head up and prepared to leap forward. From their perspective, behind Davad¡¯s back, Jay and his friends could clearly see Davad reaching for his quiver. The only difference from the last exchange was how he positioned his bow hand. Davad flicked his bow left, aiming it directly at his opponent¡¯s chest. Mori froze. It was only for a split second, but he completely seized up. Davad gained enough time to grab three more arrows and retreat further from his opponent¡¯s range. ¡°You see what I mean?¡± Jay pointed at the screen and paused the fight. ¡°What¡¯s up with that?¡± Vega frowned and squinted at the screen. On his other side, Lyra did the exact same thing. It was Akira who broke the silence, however. ¡°Could it be his domain?¡± Both twins muttered and nodded but kept looking at the screen. How does a domain do that? Jay remembered the definition of a domain that Lyra had told him before they visited Pavan Hall, ¡°A manifestation of personal essence¡±. He knew from the storm sage how impressive they were, but he¡¯d never thought about their use in battle before. ¡°How do you think his domain does that?¡± asked Lyra, saving Jay from asking. ¡°People¡¯s domains usually reflect the essences they use, right? When I focus on magnetism, I can weakly attract or repel whatever¡¯s near me. The shape of a person¡¯s domain is also dependent on that essence too, mine flows out like a magnetic field centred on my body rather than a perfect sphere.¡± Jay was thankful for Akira¡¯s explanation since he suspected the twins already knew what he was talking about.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°What if, since he¡¯s an archer, Davad¡¯s domain acts like an arrow? Instead of radiating out from him, it shoots out in spikes to wherever he targets?¡± The group sat in silence, each thinking over what Akira said. It sounded plausible, although Jay didn¡¯t have the knowledge to confirm. He waited to see how the twins would react before saying anything. ¡°I can buy that.¡± Lyra said. ¡°But how does he have such good domain control after what, eight fights? Most people outside the top couple hundred can¡¯t even use their domain in a fight.¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s just really good at it?¡± said Vega. Jay looked at the top ranked fighter. Her conclusion was simple, but that didn¡¯t mean she was wrong. ¡°That explains his weaknesses in other areas too.¡± Jay stood up and unpaused the video. He switched the perspective to view the fight through Mori¡¯s eyes. ¡°The reason I thought I could beat Davad, is because I don¡¯t see any particular strength in him. Look. He¡¯s not fast. He¡¯s not clever. He¡¯s not even that accurate. But maybe he¡¯s a specialist in manipulating his domain? If that¡¯s the case, what do I need to do tomorrow to prepare for that?¡± Lyra spoke first. ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. I know you¡¯ve watched all the fights, but let¡¯s run through them all together before making any conclusions. We might spot something you missed. I don¡¯t even think the domain is your biggest issue. You¡¯ve never fought anyone like Davad before, none of your opponent¡¯s even come close to his range. I know you think you¡¯re fast enough, but you need to learn how to fight a ranged opponent before you even think about domains.¡± Jay agreed with her point, but he could hear the doubt in her voice. She wasn¡¯t sure he could win. None of them were. Jay squeezed his way back onto the couch, switching the fight¡¯s perspective back to Davad. He¡¯d drawn a fourth arrow this time and it didn¡¯t seem like Mori had noticed. The staff wielder hadn¡¯t learned his lesson from last time, and rushed to close the distance after the third arrow missed. He froze again. Except this time, it wasn¡¯t a feint. Davad had an arrow nocked and ready to fire. Nobody paused or commented on the fight. Each gladiator hunting for anything they might have missed the first time. They watched Davad¡¯s arrow creep through the air on slow motion before sinking into Mori¡¯s chest. None of them spotted anything else, so they swiftly moved onto the next fight.
There wasn¡¯t much more to be learned from the rest of Davad¡¯s fights. Much like his mentor Ezekiel, he¡¯d finished them all quickly and decisively. While there was no extra information within the fights, Jay thought he caught something across them. ¡°His domain ability, or whatever it is that freezes his opponents, is getting a lot stronger every fight.¡± Jay said. ¡°Against Mori, he was able to completely freeze him for a few seconds. But if we look at five fights ago, he can barely manage one. We saw him feinting, but they were nowhere near as effective.¡± ¡°Yeah, he got better. Everyone does. How does that help?¡± Akira snapped. ¡°But everything else hasn¡¯t improved that much at all. If you shuffled the fight order, other than him getting more gear, the only difference between them is his freeze ability improving.¡± ¡°He¡¯s disregarding everything else to focus on his domain.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°He¡¯s becoming a specialist. A one-trick-pony. I just don¡¯t know why. Surely it would be better to become more well-rounded?¡± ¡°He might have no other choice.¡± ¡­ The room fell quiet for a moment. This time Jay broke the silence. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know, since you never joined an alliance, but they can be quite brutal.¡± Lyra said. ¡°A lot of their resources for E grade are funnelled into the top prospects, especially nearing the advancement tournament. The lesser prospects still get backed, but nowhere near as much. Maybe he¡¯s using his domain as a crutch to climb up the rankings quicker to leverage more assistance from his alliance?¡± Lyra¡¯s reasoning made sense. It aligned with his experience at the Flaming Tomb Alliance too. Jay wondered how he could use that to his advantage, but it was hard to formulate a plan without properly knowing how Davad¡¯s domain worked. Regardless of what Lyra thought, Jay believed he had the speed to close the distance. He didn¡¯t think Davad¡¯s range would be a problem for his stormforged body, but the domain attack was a massive unknown hanging over his head. There was no way to prepare for it unless he found a good training partner at the pits tomorrow. It was never good to rely on somebody else in a fight. Jay had learned that lesson after his anti-gorilla plan completely backfired. But what else could he do? It was out of his hands, and that meant there was no use stressing about it. He just had to focus on everything he could do. Jay stifled a yawn. This morning he¡¯d been fighting ghosts in an underwater cave, now his next fight was in less than two days. What happened to eight-week fight camps huh? Vega didn¡¯t bother stifling her yawn, she stood up and walked to her room. ¡°That¡¯s enough nerd shit for me. Have fun watching the same five minutes of fighting over and over and over again!¡± She slammed her door shut, before reopening it just a crack. ¡°You better be up early tomorrow, Jay. Or I¡¯ll wake you up.¡± Vega¡¯s bedroom door muffled her cackles of laughter. Jay didn¡¯t even want to think about what Vega¡¯s alarm clock service would look like. ¡°You should probably get to sleep.¡± Lyra said. ¡°You¡¯ll need it for the pits tomorrow.¡± Part of Jay was excited to see what the pits were like. The number one sparring spot for E grade was bound to be somewhat interesting. Another part of him was nervous, but Jay kept that part firmly supressed. ¡°What are you two doing tomorrow?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯m seeing Agatha in the morning. I might be free in the afternoon, I might not. If I have time, I¡¯ll come and see you in the pits. But don¡¯t count on it.¡± Lyra said, making her way back to her room. ¡°I¡¯m going to Scholar¡¯s to do some research on archers¡¯ domains. Domains are a very short-range weapon at our level. Even most of D grade can¡¯t fully integrate them into their combat style, but there might be a study of them somewhere.¡± Akira also got up to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll swing by Hawker¡¯s after to try and find something interesting for you. Anything you¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°Save your money. I¡¯ll pool it after I win to buy something big.¡± The air dropped. It grew heavier with each step Akira took. An inescapable quiet clutched the room. Nails of silence dug into Jay as he was rooted on the spot. Completely unable to move. Akira walked directly towards him. ¡°This isn¡¯t a FUCKING game, Jay!¡± Akira grabbed onto his scabbard and held his sword out with shaking hands. ¡°You come back, fresh from your special storm sage training, with these fancy new arms and suddenly you think your God¡¯s gift to the coliseum? Maybe you¡¯re right! Maybe you¡¯re unstoppable! But you can¡¯t just waltz over to someone 300 ranks above you and bet my sword on the fight. My sword. MY FUCKING SWORD. What the fuck man?¡± Jay stood still. He couldn¡¯t move even if he wanted to. He kept his mouth shut and looked Akira in the eyes. ¡°Look. I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t want to get mad, but it¡¯s hard man. It¡¯s fucking hard when you¡¯re acting like that. I¡¯m offering you some help, and you¡¯re turning your fucking nose up at it. What the fuck! If you want to fuck about for a week and die in the coliseum, that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s your fucking life. Don¡¯t drag other people down with you. You bet my sword without even asking me? Really?¡± You agreed to it. Jay thought. He didn¡¯t dare say it. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re taking this seriously. You probably are. But please just fucking act like it.¡± Akira walked off before Jay could even reply. He violently slammed the door, venting his frustration on the poor hinges. Lyra looked back at Jay. Speechless. Jay didn¡¯t make her say anything. ¡°I kinda deserved that. I get where he¡¯s coming from.¡± Jay bit down on his jaw. ¡°I¡¯m winning this fight Lyra. There¡¯s nothing Davad can do to stop me.¡± Lyra had a good poker face. Her entire body was literally made of stone. But in that moment, Jay could see right through her. A part of him sank as he saw her true thoughts. She didn¡¯t believe him. Chapter 49: the Pits Where would a Coliseum be without its fighters? Probably crumbled to dust or converted into a museum depending on how into history its owners are. Gladiators are the heart and soul of a coliseum, no matter what any suit at the top wants you to think, no matter how much they try and sterilise the product. What better way to honour them than name one of the avenues after them? Make them all filthy rich and give them a peaceful retirement? Come on now, that¡¯s never gonna happen. Just take your street name and shut the fuck up about unionizing. Akira¡¯s travel guide earned a chuckle out of Jay the moment he and Vega crossed the threshold into Gladiator¡¯s octant. Even if his friend¡¯s scathing words from last night still cut deep. Since it was adjacent to Reveller¡¯s, they didn¡¯t need to walk up the avenue to the coliseum. Vega cut through the mishmash streets of Reveller¡¯s octant until the artsy, decorated storefronts transitioned to plain stone ones. Surprisingly, people who fight for a living aren¡¯t too hot on architecture. The buildings Jay walked past were utilitarian, their outsides telling him what was inside and nothing more. The two districts seemed radically different, but they both gave Jay the same impression of their inhabitants. They didn¡¯t care what anyone else thought, they just wanted to do their thing. Jay and Vega heard the pits before they turned the corner and saw it. Clashes of steel and grunts of exertion heralded their arrival. As they walked alongside the metal barrier fence, Jay couldn¡¯t help but stare through the bars. A large manor house stood around forty metres deep into the complex, made of a grey stone different to most of the buildings on Arenara Fortunis. Jay was more excited by what lay in front of it. At least thirty circular gravel pits, all identical to the ones inside the newbie arena, occupied the courtyard. Half of them had fights going on in them, and most of those had a crowd cheering and watching. Vega ran her fingers against the fencepoles, clattering against the metal and drawing the attention of a few people inside the pits. Most of the gladiators within managed to control their reactions, but some couldn¡¯t help but stare as she made her way to the main gate. ¡°Can you cover my entrance fee?¡± Vega asked. She had a sheepish smile, and Jay knew she was up to something. He went along with it though. From the looks the spectators within gave her, Jay reckoned she¡¯d be useful in finding a good training partner. And what was a few CP between friends? He walked up to the gate. A golden screen appeared as soon as he pushed on it. Admittance to the Pitsanlok Fighting Gym x2: 1000CP. What the fuck? Jay turned round to see a laughing Vega. He didn¡¯t hide his surprise, annoyance or his disgust. ¡°It¡¯ll be worth it, I promise. Just pay the fee.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re not broke. You literally told me how many points you had yesterday.¡± Jay huffed. He knew he was going to pay the fee, and that made it even worse. ¡°Next time¡¯s on you.¡± Jay tried not to think of the points draining out of his account as the gates swung open. Vega brushed past him and immediately started walking to an empty ring. She sat down on one of the benches outside it and motioned Jay to sit next to her. ¡°There are two reasons why this place is worth the ridiculous entrance fee. The first is the healing factor. You know how after fights you¡¯re healed of almost all your injuries from them? They have the same thing here. It¡¯s not as strong, but it¡¯s still pretty good. You get your arm chopped off in the ring, you¡¯re not getting it back. But a couple fingers? You might stand a chance.¡± Not bad. I can push way harder here than in a regular training room. ¡°The second reason¡­¡± Vega pointed to four people who were looking at them and had begun to walk over. ¡°¡­is the competition. You¡¯ll always find a good sparring partner here, especially if you¡¯re high ranked. People pay 500 CP to get in, they want to make their time worth it. So when someone like me walks in, everyone wants a piece. The first person to speak to Vega was a slender man with pale blue skin. His appearance and aura of calmness reminded Jay of Selena, the storm sage¡¯s student. When he walked closer, Jay could see he had the same cat-like eyes. They flitted about, lingering on Jay for but a moment, before locking onto Vega. ¡°What brings you here, Vega Twinstrike? It¡¯s been months since you or your sister last came here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for an archer Ren. One that won¡¯t mind splitting time between me and my friend Jay.¡± Jay watched as Ren turned his gaze back onto him. Jay knew he was pulling up his stat sheet. If he was surprised or shocked by it, he hid it well. Turning back to Vega, Ren nodded. ¡°I see. Is that all? Aren¡¯t you looking for a larger variety of partners?¡± ¡°Nope. Any long-range fighter will do, but if they aren¡¯t an archer they need to have strong domain manipulation.¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Ren walked off and another man rushed in to take his place. ¡°He¡¯s a coach.¡± Said Vega, making the next man wait as she talked to Jay. ¡°Works for the Arcane Sovereigns, one of the Big Eight A grade alliances.¡± ¡°The coach part I get, every fighter needs coaches. Arcane Sovereigns? Big Eight A grade alliances?¡± ¡°E grade has over a thousand fighters. A grade has eight. Each with a massive alliance behind them. They rarely ever fight, but when they do, the whole alliance fights. An A grade fight can take months or even years to finish, it¡¯s more like a war than simply a fight. The Arcane Sovereigns are an A grade alliance led by a wizard called Lysander.¡± ¡°Are the Flaming Tomb in the Big Eight?¡± ¡°Nah. Their leader¡¯s in B grade. I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re looking to challenge one of the Big Eight soon. I think they¡¯re a few years out though, they don¡¯t have the manpower.¡± Vega turned back to the people awaiting her. She told them all the same thing she told Ren. They all went off to search for a suitable fighter. After a few minutes of waiting. A man wearing hooded leather armour and holding a bow walked towards Jay and Vega. Jay opened his stats before he started talking to Vega.
Alias Kael the Shrouded HawkThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound). The Radiant Vanguard.
Grade E
Rank 567
Offence 500
Defence 560
Strategy 570
Instinct 547
Vitality 601
Speed 622
This guy didn¡¯t seem like too bad. He was worse than Davad but would still give Jay good practice against an archer. ¡°No. Not good enough. Next.¡± Vega waved Kael away and looked towards the next in line. The archer shot Jay daggers as he turned and walked away ¡°You didn¡¯t have to be that harsh, you¡¯re gonna make everyone here hate me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to be that nice either, and so what if they hate you? It¡¯s not like their opinions matter. Besides, you never accept the first offer. Even if it¡¯s a good one.¡± Jay understood where Vega was coming from, even if he didn¡¯t agree with her. ¡°And that¡¯s why.¡± Vega pointed to a woman about to enter the coliseum. All Jay could see through the metal bars was her pale white skin and maroon hair tied behind her head. She was too far away for him to even pull up her stat sheet. ¡°How do you know she¡¯s any good?¡± ¡°Because I remember her, and I only ever remember good fighters. You¡¯re the exception.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± The woman entered the pits, spotted Vega, and started walking their way. When Jay pulled up her stats, he realised why Vega was so keen on waiting.
Alias Zara, The Inkwell Assassin.
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound). Arcane Sovereigns
Grade E
Rank 37
Offence 19
Defence 46
Strategy 36
Instinct 60
Vitality 101
Speed 9
Top ten in speed. This¡¯ll be fun. Jay inspected the woman further. For a member of the Arcane Sovereigns, she didn¡¯t look particularly wizard like. Tight fitting black armour covered most of her body except her forearms. Not that they stood out much, dense runic tattoos covered most of the exposed skin of her arms, hands, and neck. She strutted over to the bench, stopping to assess Jay for a few seconds before eventually speaking to Vega. ¡°You want me to fight both of you?¡± Zara¡¯s low voice wasn¡¯t hostile, but it wasn¡¯t exactly bubbly either. Her near-black eyes bounced between Jay and Vega, waiting to see who¡¯d speak first. ¡°Not quite.¡± Vega replied. ¡°I want to find a good sparring partner for him. But nobody¡¯s queueing up for the poor guy. So I threw myself in to sweeten the deal.¡± Zara waited a moment. She reassessed Jay before responding to Vega. ¡°So what¡¯s the deal, I fight this guy till he¡¯s done then I get to spar with you?¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about Zara¡¯s tone, but he was almost 800 positions below her in the leaderboard. It made no sense for him to be here with Vega, but here he was. ¡°No. You help Jay with his prep for his next fight. Then once he feels he¡¯s done. I step in for round two. I can help you prep, just generally train, hard spar, beat you to a pulp. Whatever you¡¯re into.¡± Vega spoke to Zara with a smile, and winked as she finished her sentence. Really? Now? If Zara cared about the wink, she didn¡¯t react. Jay watched her mull over the decision for a few seconds. ¡°Sounds good.¡± She said, turning to face Jay. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°First, are you an archer? Second, how good are you with domain manipulation?¡± Zara held out her left arm. Jay¡¯s attention was drawn to her tattoos rippling and bulging beneath her skin. Black ink drained out of the tattoos. Coagulating mid-air above her upturned hand. It kept flowing. More ink than could have possibly been stored in her skin emerged from her forearm and hand. As more ink streamed out, Jay could make out the shape forming in the air. A jet-black bow, its curves almost indistinguishable within its inky darkness. When the bow had fully formed, Jay glanced back at the rune like tattoos on Zara¡¯s arm. There was a blank spot, where bare skin peeked through, but a lot of her arm was still fully covered in black scripture. What else is she hiding? ¡°I¡¯m good with my domain. It¡¯s not my specialty, but I¡¯m better than anyone you¡¯ll be fighting.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Jay opened up Davad¡¯s fights and shared them with Zara. He told her about the conclusions they¡¯d made the night before and asked her if she agreed. ¡°You¡¯re right about the domain ability, although I¡¯m surprised you even thought of that. And you¡¯re right that its weirdly good for his rank. It somewhat makes sense, given his weaknesses in other areas, but you should watch out for it in the fight. There might be more than meets the eye. Is it just the domain you need help with?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the main thing, but I also need to get used to chasing down a long-ranged opponent, I¡¯ve never fought anyone that rangey before.¡± Zara looked at him suspiciously, before eventually nodding. ¡°He isn¡¯t particularly long range, but never mind. How fast do you want me to go? As fast as that guy, or a bit slower to start?¡± Jay couldn¡¯t hide his smile. He¡¯d start off slow, to get used to the motions, but it wouldn¡¯t stay that way. Jay had one of the ten fastest fighters in the division willing to train with him. He¡¯d be damned if he wasn¡¯t going to see how he matched up to her. ¡°Slow to start, but then ramp it up once I¡¯m used to it. I know I¡¯m faster than this guy, so let¡¯s see how far we can push it.¡± ¡°Anything else? Something more specific?¡± Jay took a deep breath. After everyone else had went to sleep last night, he¡¯d stayed up rewatching the fights. Although he tried not to show it in the moment, Akira¡¯s words had struck a nerve. Jay always took fights seriously, especially now that his life was on the line. That didn¡¯t invalidate Akira¡¯s feelings though. Jay had barely asked him before putting his sword on the line on a fight with someone three hundred positions above him. Jay needed to regain some trust with Akira, to do that he needed far more than just to win. He needed to dominate. He needed to step into the newbie arena and show the world that Davad never even stood a chance. He needed a performance so impressive that people would doubt the credibility of the coliseum¡¯s ranking system. To do that, Jay needed to know far more than his path to victory. He needed to know everything. Davad¡¯s patterns, his habits, his fears, his favourite combinations, his tendencies. Everything. After everyone had left, Jay spent two extra hours building the most complete model he could of Davad the Infernal Harpoon. He spent the next two condensing it into everything his future sparring partner could possibly need to know. ¡°He usually grabs arrows three at a time, but occasionally does four or five to bait opponents. Against short range pressure fighters like me, he often backpedals, but he does so in three or four repeatable pathways. I¡¯ll explain them to you in detail more later, but they generally follow the trend: Large step straight back, sidestep, then diagonal retreat in whichever direction there¡¯s more space. He much prefers advancing to his left, presumably because he¡¯s right-handed and its easier for him to aim right. He retreats while tilting his left shoulder forward so that he¡¯s always aiming at his opponent. The bow is needed for the domain attack. He needs to be aiming directly at his opponent to get them to freeze. You¡¯d know better than me how that¡¯s implemented, he usually does it when he¡¯s out of arrows or when he¡¯s just fired three and only has one left. He hates people circling to his left, so try and avoid giving me that look at all costs, even if you have to lose ground to keep me in sight. Most of his arrows are simply arrows, but he¡¯s used an incendiary arrow once, and has fired a splitting arrow twice. This fight is higher stakes than his others though, so add more variety in your arrow types¡­¡± Jay expected Zara to be at least a little taken aback by his barrage of information. But she calmly stood there and listened to everything Jay had to say, very occasionally nodding at something he said. He hoped she was taking it all in. Because he hadn¡¯t even started yet. Chapter 50: It’s gonna hit me Jay slammed his shoulder into the gravel, ignoring the stinging in his cheek as sand entered his open cut. Sweat dripped from his soaked hair into his eyes. He rolled to the right, looking up just in time to activate Eye of the storm before an arrow came his way. One. He used his momentum to roll again and escape the firing line. Jay set his feet as soon as he was upright and burst towards Zara. She drew her shoulder back, and Jay once more reactivated his perception enhancing technique. Jay¡¯s entire world blurred. His entire world other than the ink-black arrow and the paper-white fingers drawing it. Jay pushed his legs to their limit. His cells screamed from exhaustion, but he couldn¡¯t let them rest. A moment¡¯s delay would erase his progress. Zara¡¯s forearm twitched. Layers upon layers of ink made it harder for Jay to see the muscles moving underneath, but he still spotted the attack before she launched it. He slightly twisted his planting foot. No delay. His body had caught up to his mind now. Two. By the time the arrow had fired, Jay was already halfway to dodging it. It soared past his ear as he kept running full pace to Zara¡¯s left side. She hopped back. The sidestep was next but the barrier wall already hugged her right flank, so she was forced to close the distance to Jay. Jay¡¯s right foot ground into the gravel. Sending a plume of dust into the air as he skidded for a split second before shifting directions. He turned left, directly facing the spot Zara was about to dodge into. Jay was correct. She stepped to her left but twisted her body, contorting until she found an angle to fire mid-dodge. Fuck. Jay had just launched all his weight forward. He couldn¡¯t slip this shot. Jay raised his fists, the hairline channels along his arms pulsed with light as electricity tried to rush free from the chains that bound it. Eye of the storm pushed the charge back. Zara fired. Jay focused entirely on the arrow, losing sight of the rest of the world. Three. It was heading for his chest. Perfect. Jay''s left arm twitched, adjusting its position the minimum required distance. His wrist curled down, Conqueror''s fists pointed directly at the arrow. This had to be timed perfectly. Jay''s fist descended before the arrow was even close. He needed the extra power. Strength flared through Jay''s forearm as the arrow neared him. He yanked his arm downwards. Sparks skittered off the inklike arrow as Jay pawed it down. Not just changing the arrow¡¯s trajectory but smashing it in two. His chest was safe. Zara was in his sights. And all out of arrows. Zara tried to shift her weight back in time. She wasn¡¯t going to make it. She¡¯d manage to leap back, but Jay would reach her far before she could reset. Zara hopped back, backpedalling parallel to the ringside. She drew her right arm back. And aimed directly at Jay. Fuck! She ha- Wait. Focus! Jay bit down, grinding his teeth into each other as he forced himself to look at his opponent. He tried to remember all the times he¡¯d walked into opponents in the boxing ring. All the times he¡¯d walked out victorious. But he wasn¡¯t boxing anymore. There was an arrow aimed directly at him. An unstoppable, piercing, speeding arrow. Slicing through the air, torpedoing towards its inevitable destination. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing anyone could have done. It was unstoppable. He was fodder. Barely more than a straw bullseye, whose only purpose was to get shot. It¡¯s gonna hit me. It¡¯s gonna hit me. It¡¯s go- NO! Jay screamed at his mind, yanking it out of its spiral. But it was too late. By the time he¡¯d regained control of his body the black arrow had already collided with his chest. Splashing into a puddle of ink. Luckily, Zara had the sense to relax her arrows as soon as they hit Jay. Otherwise, this would have been his fourteenth pierced lung in the last hour. ¡°For fucks sake!¡± Jay dropped to his knees and pounded the ground. He¡¯d gotten used to the chase, picking up on Davad¡¯s favourite patterns and even encouraging Zara to mix it up with some of her own. He¡¯d gotten used to the speed, it only took one attempt for his sparring partner to realise that Jay would learn more if she moved even faster than Davad could. Jay couldn¡¯t tell how close to her top speed they were fighting at, but he¡¯d be interested to know. But none of that mattered since Zara¡¯s domain beat him every time. It froze him. Even when he knew it was coming, Jay couldn¡¯t do shit. ¡°You¡¯re getting better.¡± Zara said as she walked over, the first beads of sweat finally rolling down her temples. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break.¡± At least I¡¯m making her try. She extended her hand to Jay and helped him up off the ground before walking over to the bench and taking a seat. ¡°You¡¯re pretty close. I think if I explain some of the underlying theory it might click for you.¡± Jay nodded. While he was a practical learner, not everything could be learned by brute force repetition. Now that he¡¯d got the easy training out of the way, maybe he could try and get his head around the tougher stuff.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°The principle Davad uses is from a guy called Asher. He was one of the first people to use a bow in a duel like setting, so a lot of his principles set the groundwork for modern archery styles. I can¡¯t say for certain, but I think Davad is using Asher¡¯s domain technique of firing his personal essence like an arrow into his opponents.¡± ¡°We thought that when we watched yesterday.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only the means of attack though. Anyone who uses essences somewhat related to piercing can do that. The thing that sets Asher¡¯s domain technique apart is the message contained within the domain arrow. He manages to directly inject his thoughts into his opponents¡¯ minds via his domain.¡± What? ¡°Domains are rarely that useful in damaging your opponent. They reflect your pure personal essence, and that can¡¯t often be transformed into something deadly. Otherwise, the user will be close to death all the time. Of course, if you focus on the essence of death, poison, or anything like that, then it can do some damage. But generally speaking, you¡¯re better off using your personal essence to manipulate an outside essence and use that to attack your opponent. You following?¡± ¡°Makes sense to me.¡± ¡°One thing that can only be transferred via domain, is your specific thoughts and feelings in that moment. It¡¯s inherently personal, and thus can¡¯t really be transmitted by an outside essence. Sure, if you controlled the essence of sadness, or something like that, you could make someone sad. But it wouldn¡¯t be your thoughts.¡± Jay wondered what that imaginary harmoniser would look like. You¡¯d have to have a depressing life to overlap with the literal essence of sadness. ¡°One of Asher''s tenets was convincing himself that everything in front of him was a target. The purpose of an archer is to hit targets. It¡¯s what they train for, it¡¯s what they do. Whether that target¡¯s a bullseye on a field, or a soldier in a siege. They¡¯re both targets. Both far away things to aim for and not much else. ¡°Your opponent in a duel is a lot more than a target. When you¡¯re trapped inside the arena with them, the two of you are the only things in the universe that matter. That mentality doesn¡¯t help an archer. To them, their opponent needs to be a target. Nothing more. Using Asher¡¯s mentality, an archer grows colder, more calculating. More importantly, they grow more accurate. His domain technique only enhances that.¡± Jay was beginning to see where Zara was going. He remembered how he felt each time she¡¯d froze him on the battlefield. The inevitable feeling of helplessness before he got shot. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the phrase ¡°Finding one¡¯s place in the world and moulding the world in one¡¯s image.¡±. It¡¯s plastered to the insides of people¡¯s skulls before they even know what essence is. But the same is true in reverse. The world moulds you in its image as well. The essences that you surround yourself with affect your personal essence significantly.¡± Jay had never thought about the reverse side of harmonisation. Neither the sage¡¯s poems nor Akira¡¯s analogies had really touched on it. It was certainly something to think about, how he¡¯d been changed by his new world, but maybe not for right now. He had to figure out Davad¡¯s domain first. ¡°It makes sense that an archer¡¯s domain can manifest itself as a piercing spike. That¡¯s how archers interact with the world. But nobody figured out how to use that domain until Asher. Why try and pierce someone with your domain when an arrow is a thousand times sharper? He figured out another use for the piercing domain. Getting inside the minds of his opponents. ¡°Asher¡¯s defining quote from his legacy crystal was about his domain attack: ¡°I¡¯ve already convinced myself that they¡¯re targets. Now I just have to convince them too.¡± That¡¯s probably what Davad¡¯s doing, with a few personal changes obviously, but the core should be the same.¡± Zara¡¯s explanation made a lot of sense, and Jay took his time combing through her brain to extract everything he could from it. Once more, Jay saw the gulf between himself and the top of the division. Although they were ranked on their fighting ability, harmonising was so much more than that. Jay needed far more than a few rounds of sparring to grow stronger. He needed to develop an understanding of himself, of the essences he wielded, and of the entire world around him. The journey to the top was a long one. And it wasn¡¯t supposed to be easy. Regardless of the destination, the most important step of any journey is always the next. And Jay had a pretty obvious next step in directly front of him. Convince himself he wasn¡¯t a target.
Jay dove to his right, collapsing into a roll. He knew an arrow was coming, so he¡¯d already raised his fist and activated Eye of the storm before looking up. Jay started sprinting as soon as his feet reconnected with the ground. He flicked his head up just to confirm his instincts. One. Jay didn¡¯t dodge this arrow. He didn¡¯t want to slow down. As the ink formed into an arrow, Jay kept advancing. Steadily closing the distance between him and his opponent. The arrow formed and Jay tracked its course to the millimetre as it flew towards him. He held his left hand in front of him as he ran, blocking the arrow¡¯s trajectory. Before, this manoeuvre required perfect timing. It still did, but experience made timing a hell of a lot easier. In the seven fights since their break, Jay had managed to deflect Zara¡¯s arrows in every single one. The eighth was no exception. Jay''s steel knuckles tapped against the arrow, adjusting its path just enough to send it flying over his shoulder. Zara hopped back, launching herself to the edge of the ring. She drew back another arrow, letting it fly towards Jay''s chest mid-air. Two. Jay had to commend the archer, she was one of the best sparring partners he¡¯d ever had. As well as teaching Jay the intricacies of Davad¡¯s domain technique, she¡¯d changed her fighting style to more accurately match Jay¡¯s future opponent. From sticking to similar movement patterns, to aiming for the chest rather than the head. Jay really felt like he was fighting a miniature Davad right now. A miniature Davad that was both faster and more accurate than the original. Jay punched the second arrow out of the air, refusing to slow his advance. Zara sidestepped to her right, taking her away from the ring¡¯s edge, and dropped to one knee. She wrenched her arm back and let loose her third arrow. Jay narrowed his focus on the arrow, it was thicker than the others, and had a silvery sheen where the others were all pure black. Three. The arrow leapt off the string, spiralling through the air, almost with a mind of its own. The spinning arrow split into three, and Jay only had two hands. Not parrying this one. Jay switched gears and leapt to the left, slowing his forward push but still not losing ground. If Zara truly wanted to evade him, she¡¯d pivot and launch herself after her arrows. But Davad was neither that aware nor that agile. She retreated back and allowed Jay to keep pace. Jay knew what was coming next. He had to ma-NO! Fight your fight Lightning. Don¡¯t worry about hers. Zara¡¯s bow trained on him. She pulled back. She fired. It¡¯s gonna hit me. It¡¯s gonna hit me. It¡¯s gonna- Jay powered through the thoughts. He knew this was just a fake. Eye of the storm had forced his eyes wide open and shoved the knowledge into the forefront of his mind. There was no room left for doubt. There was no arrow, and he was no target. He was Jay Lightning Leonard. In front of him he only saw an opponent. A retreating opponent ready to be finished. Jay relished the shock on Zara¡¯s face as he closed the gap. The channels of white light flowing down his right arm grew brighter as he cocked his fist back. She looked helpless. She couldn¡¯t do anything but hold her hands out in front as Jay crept closer to a knockout blow. The bubbles of bulging black rolling underneath Zara¡¯s forearms sowed the first seeds of doubt in Jay¡¯s mind. Maybe this wasn¡¯t the end? But Jay couldn¡¯t stop now, even if he wanted to. He was travelling too fast. Black ink spouted from Zara¡¯s arms, pouring out into the space between Jay and his opponent. It took shape. Arranging itself mid-air into a gigantic tower shield. Jay couldn¡¯t even see his opponent anymore. All he could see was the black wall growing larger and larger. Jay let his right arm loose. If he had to break through a shield to get to his opponent, so be it. Davad had a shield too, it was the whole reason they were fighting. Jay¡¯s fist flew forward, perfectly straight, channelling all his momentum behind it. It slammed into the shield. For a second, Jay thought the shield would hold. For a second. Hairline fractures radiated through the shield, branching out from the Conqueror¡¯s knuckles. White streaks, snaking through the ink, looking for any point of weakness. More electricity poured out of Jay¡¯s fist. The cracks grew wider, prying the shield open from within. Jay¡¯s fist had almost completely fractured the shield. It just needed one more tap to completely break. Momentum did Jay¡¯s job for him. His body slammed into the compromised black shield. Shattering it into thousands of pieces like it was a pane of extremely tinted glass. He¡¯d expected to find Zara crouched behind her broken shield, or potentially retreating with an arrow ready to fire. What he didn¡¯t expect. Was for her to be standing directly in front of him, swinging a war hammer twice her height and at least four times her weight. Swinging it directly at him. Chapter 51: Styles Make Fights Jay didn¡¯t even have time to raise his arms before the hammer slammed into his torso. He knew his ribs had cracked before the pain even reached his brain. It was all he could do not to drop to the floor after Zara shunted him sideways. Jay''s legs seemed to tangle themselves into knots, the sudden impact scrambling every message Jay sent to his body. By the time he¡¯d regained control, ink splashed into his chest. The black stain signalling the end of the fight. ¡°Nice! You finally broke through it.¡± Zara¡¯s encouragement ignored everything after he¡¯d resisted the domain attack. Conveniently brushing past the three, or was it four, broken ribs she¡¯d just given him. It still felt good. ¡°Sorry about the last hit, it¡¯s really hard to hold back on reserve attacks.¡± Jay grimaced and tried to smile and let her know he was okay. Getting hurt was a part of fighting, and Jay could already feel his body stitching itself together. Damn, Vega wasn¡¯t lying about the healing factor. When he¡¯d recovered enough to start speaking, Jay asked Zara about her last attack. ¡°What¡¯s up with the shield and hammer? Is that something you¡¯ve seen Davad do, or did you just want to fuck me up a bit.¡± ¡°Bit of both.¡± Zara laughed. She wiped her forearm across her brow. Jay noticed it looked thinner and more shrivelled than before. He¡¯d been paying attention to her hands all fight, he needed to know when she fired, and they¡¯d looked fine until now. ¡°Every long-range fighter has something in reserve for if their opponent gets too close. Some have a secondary weapon, some reformat their existing one. Davad probably doesn¡¯t do that, but he¡¯ll definitely have something. Watch out for it after you close the gap.¡± Backups were always a good idea. Last fight, he¡¯d ignored Lyra¡¯s advice to get one, before being saved by the one she gave him. Jay waved Vega up from the sidelines, he needed to take some time to recover his ribs. Zara tensed up as Vega got up and sauntered over. She relaxed after a second, and a cold focus washed over her. I guess everyone¡¯s scared of the best. ¡°You guys finally done?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Jay replied. Vega sounded like a spoiled kid who¡¯d been forced to wait in line at the playground. ¡°Think you can beat Davad now?¡± ¡°I thought I could beat him before. I know I can beat him now. I¡¯m a matchup nightmare for him.¡± ¡°Matchup nightmare?¡± ¡°Akira ever told you about a guy called Muhammad Ali? Or the phrase styles make fights?¡± ¡°Neither.¡± Jay took a deep breath. He smiled to himself, happy to share at least a bit of his boxing knowledge. ¡°You would¡¯ve loved Ali. He used to say: ¡°I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.¡± That one line pretty much sums him up, he called himself the greatest until everyone else did too. Ali was a fast, long-range fighter who used his speed to poke out his opponents before they could even touch him. He was the strongest boxer on the planet, and he¡¯d won thirty-one fights in a row before he fought a guy named Smokin¡¯ Joe Frazier. ¡°Frazier fought completely different to Ali, but he was undefeated too. Twenty-six straight wins. Frazier¡¯s whole gameplan revolved around getting beyond the jab and punishing his opponents from close range. Frazier and Ali used to be friends, but their relationship soured when they signed up to fight with each other. They called it ¡°the Fight of the Century¡± and I could talk about it all day, but I¡¯ll keep it short. Frazier completely nullified Ali. He¡¯d slip past the jab and destroy Ali inside. Just like he did to the twenty-six guys before him.¡± Jay was pleased to see not only Vega, but Zara too, listening to his story. Interested to see where it would go. ¡°Two years later, another guy comes in. George Foreman. He doesn¡¯t get a cool nickname, people just called him Big George. Big George had the best record of all three. Thirty-seven wins, no losses. This guy was a fucking animal. He didn¡¯t skirt round the outside like Ali. He didn¡¯t duck inside and battle at close range like Frazier. He didn¡¯t need to. He was so strong that he only needed one good hit and he¡¯d win. ¡°Frazier fought Ali for an hour before he beat him; he couldn¡¯t last five minutes with Big George. All because he kept coming inside. That was exactly what Foreman wanted. He had Frazier in punching range the whole time.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Another two years go by, fights on Earth weren¡¯t to the death remember. Muhammad Ali comes back, and he wants to fight Foreman. ¡°The Rumble in the Jungle¡± they called it. Even though Foreman had beaten Frazier, who had beaten Ali before, Muhammad Ali completely dominated the fight. He was simply too fast and didn¡¯t keep his head close enough for Foreman to hit it. He tired Foreman with his pace and handed him his first ever defeat. ¡°Three undefeated fighters. Three losses. All to each other. That¡¯s what ¡°styles make fights¡± means. In this situation I¡¯m Frazier, and Davad¡¯s Ali. He wants range, I won¡¯t let him have it. He wants space, I won¡¯t give it to him. He wants time, he¡¯s not gonna get it.¡± By the end of his explanation, both women were nodding their heads. Even though boxing followed a completely different set of rules, fighting was fighting. These two didn¡¯t climb the rankings by not giving a damn. ¡°I think I¡¯ll take a break for a bit. Mull over the things I learned while my body heals itself up.¡± Jay said, leaving Zara and Vega in the ring while he walked over to the bench. Jay¡¯s mouth grew into a coy smile as he sat down and watched Zara explain something to Vega. He¡¯d conveniently left out Ali beating Frazier not once, but twice, in both their rematches in his analogy. But they didn¡¯t need to know that. Jay knew his opponent wasn¡¯t Muhammad Ali, and he wasn¡¯t really Smokin¡¯ Joe. He was Lightning Leonard. In a clash of domains, he needed to remember who he was. He needed to fight his fight.
Jay closed his eyes and gently rested his back against the ringside bench. He distanced himself from the fights surrounding him, and only focused on his own. Vega had taken him to the pits to prepare him to fight Davad. Had she succeeded? Jay had already conquered his opponent¡¯s speed. He knew that before he even stepped into the ring with Zara, and he¡¯d proved it within the first ten seconds. He¡¯d gotten used to the chase. Although the motions were different, the principles were the same as chasing a long-ranged fighter inside the boxing ring. Cut off their angles to escape and be ready to capitalise on a mistake. Zara might be able to evade him, but Jay''s next opponent certainly wouldn¡¯t. Those were the two largest pieces of the puzzle. Now came the most important. In their final spar, Jay nullified Zara¡¯s domain attack. He¡¯d fought back with his own will and powered through it. The question remained if he could repeat it, but he¡¯d leave that for the next round of sparring. The next question was how well did Davad¡¯s domain stack up to Zara¡¯s? It could be assumed that his was nowhere near as powerful. She was hundreds of positions above him in the rankings after all. But he was a specialist, he¡¯d trained that technique almost exclusively since arriving at the Coliseum. Zara had even mentioned that she, and most archers, rarely used the technique. So how good could she possibly be? Could Davad be better than her? Was that even a question worth asking? There was nothing Jay could do to work out the exact power of Davad¡¯s domain. So why bother? Zara was the best resource he had available. Why bother worrying if she was good enough? Jay just needed to have faith in himself. To have faith in his strength and his fighting style. The final puzzle piece was Davad¡¯s last resort. Zara had all but confirmed that Davad had a similar reserve attack. But there was no way of figuring out what it was. Was it a hammer and shield? Was it an arcane wall? Was it another domain attack? Were these questions worth asking either? There was no way of figuring out what his reserve was, so why bother trying? Instead, the most he could do was be aware of it. In their final spar, Jay had charged headfirst into Zara and headfirst into her shield. Her hammer then charged headfirst into his ribs. He couldn¡¯t make the same mistake in the coliseum. So what could he do? Make a plan for each reserve weapon type? No. Jay had seen first-hand what overreliance on a plan looked like in the Second Chance Coliseum. He wasn¡¯t about to do it again. The most he could do was be wary. To stay vigilant before the final blow and stay unpredictable until Davad revealed all hi- ¡°HHHRGK-HHHRG!¡± Jay had almost finished. He only had a few minor thoughts to reflect on, when a phlegmy cough beside him wrenched him from his meditative state. He kept his eyes closed, desperately clinging onto the last dregs of focus. ¡°HHHRGK-HHHRG!¡± Are you serious? A third cough let Jay know he¡¯d have to finish his analysis another time. Jay gradually dragged his body out of its stupor. Pumping blood into his arms and legs before rolling his neck around and twisting it side to side. The rude bystander had suddenly recovered from whatever sickness he had, because he remained silent as Jay roused himself back to reality. Jay¡¯s eyes cracked open, but he refused to turn his head. Instead, he kept his eyes trained forward, staring at Zara and Vega spar in front of him. Jay had watched Vega fight inside the Celestial Swords before, but watching it live showed Jay a whole new dimension to her style. The fight against the Snarebounder showed Vega¡¯s pure power. Her ability to stare at a beast thrice her size and beat it at its own game. That fight showcased a strong fighter, this spar showed a truly great one. Zara had clearly shifted another gear since fighting him, fighting at least fifteen percent faster than before. It didn¡¯t seem to matter. Vega fought slower than Jay did, yet she was catching Zara with every other shot. Everywhere she turned, Zara found either Vega or one of her fireballs. Fireballs weren¡¯t even the right word anymore. It looked like Vega had condensed her explosive projectiles significantly. Now it looked like she was throwing explosive marbles across the ring. Zara fought back bravely, and Jay saw her true fighting style too. When she fought him, some of the ink in her left arm had drained to form a bow that she held. Now the rest of the ink had drained too, creating two more bows that hovered above her shoulders. She still preferred long range encounters, but she wasn¡¯t afraid of close range engages like Davad was. When an opportunity came, she¡¯d charge at Vega with arrows nocked in all three bows. When Zara charged in like that, she gave Vega no choice but to retreat. It was an interesting push and pull. Vega was clearly getting the better of the exchanges, but the archer- ¡°HHHRGK-HHHRG!¡± Jay finally relented and turned to face the man who kept disturbing him. ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± Chapter 52: Who? The man standing beside Jay covered his mouth with a leathery brown set of hands. Gemstone encrusted rings covered each stubby finger and clinked into each other as he pretended to clear his throat one more time. His fake coughs were far from convincing before, and Jay wondered how anyone could possibly take this man seriously. Even sitting cross legged, Jay looked eye to eye with the man stood next to him. His spiky white hair added another two inches, but that didn¡¯t move the needle much. He wore a pair of poorly fitting brown trousers that hung over his boots and an off-white shirt littered with age old stains. ¡°I¡¯m Aolio.¡± What kind of stupid name is that? ¡°It¡¯s pronounced Ay-oh-lee-oh.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Jay replied. He tried to mask his annoyance but almost didn¡¯t care how successful he was. ¡°What do you mean who? It¡¯s my name.¡± ¡°No, I was just wondering who the fuck asked?¡± ¡­ ¡°I¡¯m from the Daily Fight. I was hoping I could ask some questions about the two beautiful young ladies fighting in front of you right now.¡± Oh great, one of those guys. ¡°What do you think about the Inkwell Assassin? They say the only thing that matches her beauty is her speed. Do you agree?¡± ¡°She¡¯s certainly fast.¡± Jay said, trying not to rise at the old man¡¯s questions. ¡°What about Vega Twinstrike? Not quite the looker but boy can that girl fight!¡± Jay felt Aolio¡¯s beady eyes latch onto him, expecting a reply. He wasn¡¯t gonna get one. ¡°HEY! Back off you fucking weasel!¡± Vega stormed out of the ring, abandoning her fight and taking an arrow to the chest just to scream at Aolio. The tiny man almost jumped out of his skin, he turned to face the oncoming Vega and tried to put on an earnest front. Tried. ¡°Why it¡¯s so lovely to see you again Vega Twinstrike. I believe we haven¡¯t spoken since-¡± ¡°Since I called you a stubby chode after I killed your golden boy Morgath in thirty seconds. Yeah, I fucking remember.¡± ¡°Delightful as always.¡± ¡°This guy¡¯s the lowest of the low Jay, he¡¯d sell out his own grandma for a headline. What angle was he going for this time? Overrated? Overhyped?¡± Aolio almost wilted under Vega¡¯s pressure, somehow shrinking even smaller. ¡°Fuck off back to your rathole and don¡¯t come back!¡± The gems coating Aolio¡¯s fingers sparkled on his clenched fist. He squinted his eyes and glared at Vega, not sparing Jay a glance before turning tail and leaving in silence. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what I thought!¡± Vega added, although she was only speaking to the man¡¯s back. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ asshole.¡± ¡°Who was that?¡± Zara asked, only just joining from the ring. She looked exhausted. Jay could tell it was a satisfied tiredness though. One that she¡¯d earned. ¡°That slimy midget from the Daily Fight.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°If you ever see him again Jay, don¡¯t say a fucking word. He¡¯ll twist whatever you say and use it against you.¡± Vega said, still not fully calmed down. ¡°Definitely.¡± Said Zara, still staring daggers at the back of Aolio¡¯s head. Jay watched the diminutive man hobble towards another ring. He wondered just what the man had done to piss off the two women in front of him. From the steel behind both their eyes, it couldn¡¯t have been anything pretty. ¡°Mind if I swap in again?¡± Jay asked. ¡°I think I¡¯m sorted with the domain attack, just want a few more runs to confirm it.¡± Zara looked up to Jay and massaged her forearms. They didn¡¯t just look gaunter now, but greyer, and far more fragile. ¡°Give me five minutes.¡±
Jay dropped his right shoulder, instead of rolling to the ground he switched directions. He didn¡¯t even need to block the incoming black arrow; it sailed harmlessly beside him. Jay stepped in towards Zara. He wasn¡¯t going full speed, but neither was she. This spar, they¡¯d decided to limit Zara to just above Davad¡¯s speed and focus more on the domain attack. Jay tracked his opponent¡¯s movement, ever so slightly closing the distance, waiting for her to fire in retaliation. She let loose, but a quarter turn was all Jay needed to dodge the second arrow. In their previous fights, Jay had been forced to block most incoming arrows. They were simply too fast and accurate for him to dodge in time. When possible, Jay preferred a dodge to a deflection. They had less factors that could go wrong and required far less commitment. Jay mirrored Zara¡¯s sidestep. Slowly tightening the noose around her neck. She fired a third arrow.Stolen story; please report. It flew suspiciously far off target. Then it curved. Jay was forced to twist and slam his fist into the arcing black arrow. Pounding it into an inky puddle before it could hit him. When he turned back around, Zara had found another two metres of space. Three. Zara took aim. Narrowing in on Jay''s chest. She drew her arm back and released a held breath. She fired. Jay froze. But only to firmly plant his feet beneath him. This domain attack wasn¡¯t a feint, like the last few had been. It was a primer. It was the jab that split the guard, creating space for the straight behind it. Jay had been here before. He had nothing to fear. He shrugged off the doubt and trained his eyes on the incoming arrow. He could feel the power behind it, he could see the speed it cut through the air with. He could sense its strength. Blinding white light coursed through Jay''s left arm as he brought it crashing down onto the arrow, smashing it into a slurry of ink before it had even reached the floor. Not strong enough. Jay flicked his eyes up to his opponent. There was no excitement this time, no thrill of the chase. Just a cold, calculating stare. All out of arrows. Jay marched forward. Not charging at Zara, but not giving her any time to draw another arrow. When Jay was just outside his range, Zara surprised him with a giant leap backwards. Jay followed, but not before losing half a second. Half a second was all his opponent needed to summon the giant umbral war hammer from underneath her skin. As soon as it was out, she swung right for Jay. A sweeping horizontal hook that just dared Jay to match it. Why not? Jay pushed his foot forward, grinding gravel into dust and matching the hammer with a right hook of his own. Both fighters¡¯ weapons set for a head-on collision with each other. At least that¡¯s what Zara thought. Jay ducked, dropping his whole body underneath the hammer¡¯s blatantly telegraphed trajectory. Bent low, almost like a sprinter in his blocks, Jay launched himself at his opponent. That¡¯s why. Zara couldn¡¯t avoid his final attack. The hammer¡¯s momentum had locked her into her swing, she couldn¡¯t twist back around. Well, she could. But not while pretending to be Davad. She broke character at the final second. Slipping away from Jay''s final punch and pushing off his swinging arm. Instantly dodging out of his range and letting his punch slice through thin air. ¡°Nice one! That¡¯s ten in a row, right?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± In the ten rounds since Aolio had left them, Jay had beat ¡®Davad¡¯ every time. He¡¯d figured out how to overcome the domain arrow and had mostly solved his aggression problems in landing the final strike. ¡°One final word of advice on the chase down. I know you¡¯re trying to be cautious, but you can¡¯t move that slowly. I should never have been able to surprise you back there. Speed is your style, stick to it.¡± Fight your fight, Lightning. Jay nodded in agreement and turned to Vega on the sidelines. Zara had been immensely helpful for him, and he hoped she was finding her sparring sessions just as useful. Jay had expected Vega to either be watching their fight alone, or lying down on the bench bored out of her mind. He hadn¡¯t expected her to make a friend.
¡°Guys, meet Austin.¡± Austin, the man sitting next to Vega and politely waving at Jay and Zara, looked like an old school butler who¡¯d found a second career as a professional bodybuilder. Observant eyes tracked Jay''s every step over, and he greeted Jay and Zara with a kind, courteous smile. Austin already seemed big sitting next to Vega, but when he stood up to greet Jay he towered four inches above him and had even the storm sage beat in width. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to make both your acquaintances.¡± Austin didn¡¯t bow, but it almost felt like he should have after an introduction like that. ¡°The mistress Vega Twinstrike has been invited into the manor to practice with one of the esteemed D grade fighters currently training within. She accepted the invitation, but only on the condition that you both be invited to observe. Do you wish to join us?¡± Zara almost immediately responded with a yes. Jay trusted her judgement and also agreed. Did he say D grade? Vega kept her cool as she fell in line with Jay, following Austin to the manor house further within the pits. ¡°Nice work. Now you get to see how the real fighters win fights.¡± Jay wondered whether a day would ever come when Vega wasn¡¯t insufferably cocky. He shook his head and kept walking. Although she tried to play it cool, Jay could feel the excitement radiating from her. Shit, he was getting excited too. Jay wondered how Vega stacked up against the division above her. Whether number one in E grade carried any weight in the coliseum. The giant oak doors to the manor parted before Austin even got near them. Silently swinging inwards to reveal a grand entrance hall. This hall was smaller than the Flaming Tomb¡¯s but packed far more grandeur. Tall stained-glass windows, each depicting a different gladiator, ran along the side walls. Ribbons of light shone through them, washing the room in myriad colours. The vaulted warriors watched over Jay. Were their domains watching too? Forest green banners covered the walls between each window, each adorned with a gold emblem of a spear emerging from within a coliseum. ¡°Please follow me to the secondary training chamber.¡± Said Austin. The trio of awestruck E graders followed him, footsteps echoing along the white marble floors. They passed beneath the watchful glass gladiators until Austin ducked through a doorway at the back of the hall. Austin¡¯s huge, hunched form blocked the view in front of Jay, and none of the doors he passed had names or symbols on them. Jay blindly followed his guide deeper within the manor house and wondered what the ¡°secondary training chamber¡± could look like. The giant butler ducked through a doorway to his left and beckoned them to follow him. Jay remembered Akira¡¯s warning about nothing on this island making sense. He remembered his friend telling him he just had to accept all the weird shit as it was, and not worry too much about stupid things like logic or possibility. Jay obviously hadn¡¯t taken his friends words to heart. Because every day something still surprised him. Jay knew he was inside a manor. A building made of four stone walls, broken up by the occasional stained-glass window. He knew that for certain. It was a fact, it made sense. So what the fuck is this then? A white expanse, subtly broken up by a faint grey lattice filled the space beyond the doorway. The white void blurred the boundaries between floor, ceiling and walls. If not for the thin streaks of grey crisscrossing the entire room, Jay wouldn¡¯t know where one ended and another began. Two men waited for them in the centre of the room. One held a stiff posture, his pale face pulled taut, clinging onto the last straws of his composure. Jay could see why. The man¡¯s partner laughed and teased, constantly elbowing his friend¡¯s ribs and whispering into his ear. He stepped forward, finally giving his friend a moment of peace, and smiled at Vega. ¡°Welcome to the big boy house! I¡¯m Cyrus, and the rather handsome but unusually quiet man behind me is Yagao.¡± He held his arms wide open, and Jay got a better glance at the man greeting him. Cyrus had a scruffy brown beard and an even scruffier mane of curly hair tied in a bun behind his head. His baby blue eyes radiated serenity, Jay felt his shoulders drop an inch just by looking at them. Cyrus wore similar clothes to Jay, except cut from a blue and white cloth that matched his eyes. Does everyone here have to be colour coordinated? He waved the three E graders in with a huge smile, happy to welcome them, and drastically contrasting the man stood half a step behind him. Yagao stood unwavering. Jay saw his shoulders relax too, although more due to Cyrus¡¯ absence than his inviting eyes. He was, as Cyrus said, rather handsome. A sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones framed a symmetrical, unblemished face. Perfectly straight, jet black hair rolled down to his hips, elegantly parted so that the bulk flowed behind him but just enough remained visible from the front. He wore more elaborate robes than everyone in the room, coating his slender frame in deep layers of gold, black and green. ¡°I wish to test the ability of the best prospect in E grade.¡± Yagao¡¯s voice stood as stiff as his posture. ¡°And us three get to watch!¡± Said Cyrus, turning his wide smile towards Jay and Zara. Chapter 53: The Immortal Transcendent Heavenly Mountain Dragon Jay looked around for Austin, but the butler had vanished while he was paying attention to the two men greeting him. ¡°Are you familiar with the arena moulding abilities of the higher grades?¡± Yagao asked Vega. He didn¡¯t pay anyone else in the room any attention. ¡°You may select any arena you wish to test yourself in. This facility has similar healing capacities to the E grade arena.¡± ¡°You choose. I¡¯ll beat you wherever you want to fight.¡± If anyone else had said it, Jay would have dismissed the words as a fa?ade. But Jay knew Vega. Even if it seemed illogical, he knew she felt she could win. Yagao paused for a moment. ¡°Very well. One should never refuse an advantage on the path to Harmony. Perhaps I shall teach you this lesson today. Cyrus, please keep the others safe.¡± Cyrus mock saluted and led Jay and Zara to the edge of the room. ¡°I hope your friend isn¡¯t a sore loser.¡± He said, chuckling as he walked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen her lose.¡± Jay replied. ¡°Then keep your eyes open. She doesn¡¯t stand a chance, the only question is how badly she loses.¡± Jay turned back to the two fighters. Cyrus also had complete confidence in his prediction. Well someone has to be wrong. The white walls slowly shifted blue. Jay squinted; he could make out faint cirrus clouds emerging in the distance. Instead of a plain white floor, he now stood on a ruddy brown cliff. When Jay looked over the edge, he didn¡¯t see the ground beneath him, just an endless expanse of more clouds. Cyrus sat down on the rocks¡¯ lip. Dangling his feet off the cliff and kicking them through the air where the floor was mere moments before. He waved Jay and Zara to sit next to him. ¡°Your friend really should have chosen her battlefield.¡± He said, pointing up to Vega and Yagao. They also stood on rocks in the sky but had far less space to move than the three observers. Instead of a cliff, Vega stood on one of seven rocky pillars arranged in a hexagon. Each pillar stood at least five metres apart from the rest, with one singular pillar in the middle. Yagao stood on the pillar directly opposite her. Jay pulled up Yagao¡¯s rankings. He didn¡¯t know anyone else in D grade, but it would be useful to see at least.
Alias The Immortal Transcendent Heavenly Mountain Dragon
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum. Limitless Ascent.
Grade D
Rank 304
Offence 374
Defence 203
Strategy 367
Instinct 370
Vitality 279
Speed 333
I see why he just calls him Yagao. But there was something that caught Jay¡¯s eye more than Yagao¡¯s obscenely long alias. ¡°What does Soulbound mean? And why is he the first person I¡¯ve seen who isn¡¯t Soulbound?" ¡°Damn you really are new.¡± Cyrus said, keeping his eyes on the two gladiators. ¡°If your profile says Soulbound, it means you died and were teleported into service at the Second Chance Coliseum. You have to fight consistently until you reach C grade when you get the chance to leave. If you¡¯re from Eterna, and join the coliseum willingly, you still need to fight every week if you want to maintain your ranking but you can leave the coliseum at any time.¡± ¡°What kind of psycho would willingly join a coliseum with fights to the death every week?¡± ¡°One who wants to get stronger.¡± Vega made the first move, throwing an explosive marble at Yagao. He didn¡¯t move, but a column of rock sprouted from the pillar¡¯s edge beneath him and tanked the explosion before it could reach him. ¡°If your path to Harmony involves fighting, what better place to pave it than Eterna¡¯s spiritual home of combat?¡± Cyrus said. ¡°Besides, fights in D grade usually aren¡¯t to the death. We¡¯d run out of gladiators far too quickly if that was the case. It¡¯s only that way in E grade to weed out the weaklings.¡± Jay perked up at the good news, not having to fight to the death for the rest of his life sounded great. Knowing he could leave at C grade meant there was an end in sight. Zara didn¡¯t look surprised, but she smiled at Jay''s pleased reaction. By now, Vega had jumped onto the central platform. She kept throwing explosives, but Yagao¡¯s rocks intercepted each one. The D grade gladiator stood perfectly still. He stared directly at Vega, not even shifting his eyes or arms in focus. Daring her to make him move. Vega jumped closer. A floating wall of rock shot up between the two fighters. The wall shook in the air as Vega slammed into it, but it held strong. She jammed her left hand into the rock, carving her own handhold, and pulled her right arm back. Orange light pulsated within Vega¡¯s right fist. Jay caught Cyrus¡¯ eyebrows raise in his peripheral vision, his lips curled into the first beginnings of a smile. She smashed her fist into the wall, breaking a hole in the only thing separating her from her opponent. Yagao gave the same look of indifference that had plastered his face since Cyrus had stopped ribbing him. If he cared at all about his shield breaking, he didn¡¯t show it. The orange glow in Vega¡¯s fist grew stronger. The next time she punched the rock wall, the entire structure collapsed into dust. But without the wall she had nothing keeping her in the air. An explosive burst from Vega¡¯s palms launched her towards Yagao¡¯s pillar before she dropped too far down. She landed ready to fight, but once the dust cloud blew away, Yagao was no longer there. During the commotion of falling rubble, he¡¯d moved to the opposite pillar without Vega or Jay noticing.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Vega leapt back onto the central pillar, readying explosions in both hands. Yagao still didn¡¯t move, but the rocks beneath him rumbled. Pebbles skittered off into the clouds as if the ground itself prepared for battle. ¡°Your friend might just be the unluckiest person in E grade right now.¡± Cyrus laughed, still casually kicking his feet over the cliff edge. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jay replied. Vega wasn¡¯t doing great, but he didn¡¯t see anything unlucky about her performance. ¡°She¡¯s strong. I¡¯ll give her that. But she¡¯s the exact kind of fighter that Yagao hates. A brute-forcer that mixes their essence with physicality.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Jay hoped most people didn¡¯t have a problem with mixing essence and physicality. It was his style too. Although Jay¡¯s approach wasn¡¯t quite as aggressive as Vega¡¯s, it was the only one he knew. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with it. It¡¯s what I do too. But I¡¯m not currently fighting someone leagues above me. Yagao¡¯s got a rather old-fashioned take on Harmony; one that he never shuts up about.¡± Cyrus sighed, shaking his head gently. ¡°He was supposed to go easy on her, he has been. But I don¡¯t know how long that¡¯s going to last.¡± How is he so confident? ¡°What do you think?¡± Cyrus asked, prompting both Jay and Zara. ¡°She¡¯s not doing great.¡± Zara grimaced. Did she also believe Vega stood no chance? ¡°It¡¯s hard to call without knowing the full extent of Yagao¡¯s abilities. But I¡¯m not hopeful.¡± ¡°I agree that it¡¯s hard to tell.¡± Jay added. ¡°But we don¡¯t know all Vega¡¯s strengths either. If this style isn¡¯t working, she¡¯ll have to switch to something else. It won¡¯t be easy, but I think she¡¯ll pull something out.¡± Cyrus gazed deep into Jay eyes, almost as if he could drag out more meaning from the words if he stared long enough. Eventually he gave up and returned to the fight. ¡°Well, you¡¯re a good friend at least.¡± A growling eruption of sound clawed Jay''s eyes back onto Yagao. A miniature mountain of rock began to sprout from his pillar, soaring into the air in front of him. An explosive marble detonated on its surface, shattering the rock and catapulting the shards into the distance before they eventually sank into the cloudy abyss. But the mountain still rose. Vega threw another, larger, explosive at the mountain. It collided with the rock face. A brown cloud of dust followed the orange flare of detonation. The wind inevitably swept the dust away, uncovering a giant crater scarring the mountain¡¯s surface. But the mountain still rose. The mountain didn¡¯t heal, it didn¡¯t recover from the attack, but neither did it collapse. It grew. Constantly expanding, the mountain cleaved through the clouds in its way. Nothing could disrupt its ascension. Yagao crossed his arms. The first movement Jay had seen him make all fight. He looked down on Vega, his previous apathy replaced by contempt. His first words of the fight sliced through the mountain in front of him as if it wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Your Dao¡­ is weak.¡± The mountain collapsed into dust. What was once an impenetrable wall disintegrated into a beige cloud. Vega¡¯s stone body flew out from the cloud. Her glowing fist cocked back and ready to fire. Yagao calmly unfolded his arms. Unfazed by Vega¡¯s charge. He held his palm in front of him, looked Vega in her eyes. ¡°Your Technique¡­¡± Specks of dust emerged from within Yagao¡¯s drooping robes, clouding his outstretched arm. The cloud solidified, clumping into a clay-like coat. It didn¡¯t stop there. More dust streamed out, settling onto the stony armour of Yagao¡¯s arm. By the time Vega entered her range, the stony armour had become a whole boulder. Yagao effortlessly held its weight out in front of him. Vega smashed her fist into the boulder, dumping all her pent-up energy into her opponent¡¯s defensive barrier. Jay felt the shockwave from his distant vantage point. The pulse of energy pushed him down into the rocks. But Yagao didn¡¯t move. And his shield remained unbroken. ¡°¡­ is flawed.¡± A snaking arm of stone ripped itself free from the boulder, snapping into Vega¡¯s abdomen. Her body folded, flying back from the impact before she could even attempt another attack. Vega¡¯s body flailed through the air, launched up by the savage rock whip. Each limb dragged her in a different direction, none led to solid ground. After a few seconds of helpless spinning, a carefully placed explosion realigned Vega mid-air. Another guided her to an empty pillar. She didn¡¯t rush again, she waited. Obsidian eyes locked onto her opponent. But Yagao was done waiting, he was done toying with his food. Yagao raised both arms in the air. His brow dropped. The earth beneath Jay trembled, as if the very rock that made the cliff was being yanked away. Cracks snaked their way up the cliff face and Jay felt himself sink an inch into the now fragile clifftop. ¡°Fucking hell.¡± Cyrus pressed his palm onto the floor, still keeping both eyes on the fight. A baby blue pulse emanated from his hand. As it passed through the rocks, they stopped shaking and held strong. They packed into each other instead of being dragged towards the fight. When he felt the first rumblings of the ground shift, all Jay thought about was falling to his death amidst the limitless clouds below. When the pulse passed through him, suddenly everything didn¡¯t feel so bad. The ground stood still. His mind stood still. Nothing could harm him. Vega couldn¡¯t say the same. The earthquake hit her pillar far worse than it had Jay¡¯s cliff. Vega crouched low, all four limbs grasping the rocks, still staring at Yagao. Searching for her opportunity. Jay knew the opportunistic eyes of a fighter on the ropes, he¡¯d stared down enough to know when a fighter was desperate. But opportunity was only the first layer of a desperate fighter. There was always something deeper. Something more influential. They might be doused in desperation, but beneath it the flames of hunger still burned. But Jay saw something in his friend¡¯s eyes, something that he¡¯d never seen before. Something that, mere moments ago, he didn¡¯t think was possible. He saw fear. The stone monolith swayed side to side like a lone willow caught in a storm. It twisted and morphed in ways Jay had never seen stone move before. But Vega still clung on. Whirring trails of dust and the click-clack of skittering pebbles pulled Jay¡¯s focus down to the base of the pillar. He thought the pebbles would¡¯ve been flung into the clouds by the swaying pillar. Instead, they rolled upwards. Bounding pebbles charged up the stone column like soldiers called to arms. In a way they were. General Yagao commanded his forces to bombard Vega. A salvo of stone, storming towards its mortal enemy. She tried to push the charge back, launching explosions from every part of her body. She tried to halt the advance, but how could she? Her explosions couldn¡¯t destroy the rocks, each stone she shattered just continued its inevitable assault as shrapnel. The pillar¡¯s surface crumbled into a pool of gravel. Vega¡¯s legs sunk into the stone. She tried to pull them out, but the gravel instantly reformed into stone. Solidifying as quickly as it had relaxed. Encased in stone, Vega¡¯s legs were rendered useless. ¡°Your Harmony¡­¡± The unstoppable onslaught of stones didn¡¯t relent. With her mobility compromised, Vega was helpless against the avalanche rising beneath her. Rocks slammed into her chest while splinters of stone sliced at her limbs. Clouds of gravel rose up and swarmed Vega¡¯s body. Within seconds, her entire lower half was covered. She flailed her arms, desperately clawing at the rising mountain. Soon she couldn¡¯t even flail. The mountain rose, entombing Vega within it. Only her face saw the light of day. ¡°¡­is non-existent.¡± Jay had no idea how to help his friend, but he had to try. A rough calloused hand clamped onto his shoulder before he could move. Jay turned to see Cyrus¡¯ face locked in a cold grimace. ¡°Calm down. Don¡¯t interfere.¡± Jay wanted nothing but to interfere, but he sat still and listened. Cyrus¡¯ iron grip held Jay down. The authority in his voice kept him there. ¡°If your friend truly wants to grow, she¡¯ll listen. She¡¯ll listen and she¡¯ll learn. Do not deny her this opportunity. Yagao isn¡¯t being the kindest teacher, but he¡¯s far from incorrect.¡± Cyrus didn¡¯t release his grip. Jay matched his cold stare. No matter what the D grade gladiator said, Jay wanted to jump into the fight. He wanted to give it to Yagao, wanted to do whatever he could to help his friend win. Unfortunately, what Jay wanted didn¡¯t mean shit. Cyrus was stronger than him. If he said sit still, Jay would sit still. ¡°Why do you fight?¡± Said Yagao. Floating on a platform of rock carved from the central pillar. As he glided within inches of Vega, Jay realised that he hadn¡¯t seen the man take a single step all fight. ¡°For glory? For pleasure?¡± Yagao flicked his eyes over to where Zara and Jay sat watching. ¡°For the affection of others?¡± Jay knew he didn¡¯t really care. He didn¡¯t really want to know the answer or even teach Vega, despite what Cyrus said. He was simply rubbing it in. Vega didn¡¯t respond. The fire behind her eyes burned hotter than any explosion, yet it was equally as powerless. ¡°The path to Harmony is not one to be taken lightly. Do you really wish to become one with the universe, or are you simply chasing power? Are you content to live the life of a gladiator, fighting for each and every meal, or do you wish to climb higher? Do you climb the mountain to see the world, or do you simply want the world to see you?¡± Yagao leaned in until he was barely millimetres from Vega¡¯s face. She said nothing. ¡°You will never form an infinite peak.¡± He said, turning around to face the cliff where Cyrus, Jay and Zara sat. ¡°But perhaps if you follow an adequate path, you may carve out a respectful existence. Austin, please escort our guests outside. Their services are no longer required.¡± ¡°Of course, sir.¡± Jay snapped his head around to see the butler standing directly behind him. Gesturing his arm towards a black hallway opening into thin air above the cliff. A cliff that was slowly fading into white along with the sky behind it. Turning back to Vega, Jay saw she was still imprisoned in stone, even as the environment around her returned to the white expanse from before. Yagao waited for slightly too long before collapsing the mountain into dust and setting Vega free. She didn¡¯t give him the pleasure of crying in pain as she dropped to the ground, but she couldn¡¯t suppress her coughs and splutters as she dropped to her knees. Vega got to her feet silently, refusing to look anyone in the eyes as she walked towards Austin and the doorway Cyrus gave Jay a silent nod of farewell. Silence carried through to the rest of their journey as well. The silence of wonder filled the E graders¡¯ entrance into the manor, the glass gladiators and marble halls awing them into quiet. Their exit was smothered by the silence of shock. The silence of defeat. The silence of what the fuck just happened. Once more, the grand entrance doors opened to Austin. He stood to the side and watched the E grade trio walk out. The doors closed silently behind them. ¡°Ve-¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up Jay.¡± Vega stomped off, charging directly for the gates. Jay chased after her. She turned around just before he¡¯d caught up. ¡°Don¡¯t follow me.¡± Vega held up her finger, pointing it up at Jay''s concerned face. She could barely keep it still, her lower lip quivered as she met Jay eye to eye. ¡°Don¡¯t fucking follow me.¡± Chapter 54: Strap in ¡°So what did you think?¡± Cyrus watched Samira emerge from the same hallway the three E graders had just entered. He wondered what the enigmatic woman wanted out of the young gladiators, but didn¡¯t bother thinking too long. His leader¡¯s motivations often escaped him, and he¡¯d long since given up on trying to truly understand everything she did. Samira looked at him and Yagao expectantly. Her porcelain white face gave away nothing, only a fool would mistake the mysterious smile adorning it for anything other than a mask. Her hair had greyed long ago, but her face still retained some youth. Far more than it had any right to anyway. Cyrus delved into her expression. He found nothing. Again. The only way Samira¡¯s face would ever betray her was if she willed it. And the only way he¡¯d get any information was by giving up some first. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you see in her.¡± Yagao broke the silence before Cyrus had to. ¡°She¡¯s strong, sure, but not much else. She¡¯s had the fortune of knowing how to fight and stumbling into a combat-proficient Dao, but she doesn¡¯t have what it takes to go far. She¡¯ll stall out in the middle of D grade, take a lethal fight once she gets bored, and die due to a reckless mistake.¡± Harsh, but not unfounded. Cyrus watched as Samira listened, carefully processing every syllable of Yagao¡¯s statement and dissecting it for information. Leading an alliance was a stressful task, especially one on the rise. Samira had to juggle hundreds of factors before making even a single decision. She had to consider every possible outcome when deciding the future of the alliance. Cyrus was glad that every harmoniser carved their own path. The world needed people like Samira. If everyone lived life like him¡­ well, there¡¯d be a whole lot of fighting and not a lot of anything else. ¡°And you Cyrus? What did you think of her?¡± ¡°I mostly agree, but she might be able to turn it around. She¡¯s got the spark of a fighter, even if her path to Harmony hasn¡¯t been realised yet. Her friend had an unshakeable belief in her, even while she was clearly losing the fight. Faith like that is usually earned.¡± Maybe he was being too kind to the young gladiator, but Cyrus always cut the youth more slack. They had nothing but time to grow after all. ¡°A weak argument.¡± Said Yagao. ¡°She will not succeed. Do not lie under the pretence of hope Cyrus.¡± ¡°And what of the boy?¡± Samira asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t see him fight.¡± Said Cyrus. ¡°He seemed smart enough, but he¡¯s ranked in the 800s, how good can he be? He¡¯s not a prospect or anything right? Why do you ask?¡± Cyrus knew there was a reason behind the question. There was always a reason, and there was probably a reason behind the reason too. He had faith in his leader, whether she told him her reasons or not. ¡°She¡¯s not asking because he¡¯s any good at fighting Cyrus. He¡¯s not.¡± Yagao spoke with the smug confidence reserved only for those who knew something others didn¡¯t. Cyrus could hear it dripping from every word. Yagao turned to their boss, his expression twisting from confidence into interrogation. ¡°She¡¯s asking because he looks just like Flash.¡±
Jay trudged into the twins¡¯ house, unsure how Lyra would react to the day¡¯s events. After Vega had stormed off, Zara followed soon after. Although she gave Jay a few final words before leaving him alone. Zara looked shellshocked. Vega had bettered her in every round of sparring, yet Yagao demolished her within seconds. Jay might¡¯ve felt the same way, but he was already painfully aware of his current weakness. Lyra sat on the couch, a pearly gold sheen coating her eyes. Probably watching a fight. ¡°How was training? And¡­ where¡¯s Vega?¡± Jay collapsed into the seat next to her. ¡°Strap in.¡±
Jay relayed his whole day to Lyra. From his struggles with the domain, to how he overcame them. From their brief encounter with Aolio, to their excursion into the manor house. Lyra''s surprise at the invite quickly turned to a grimace after Jay detailed the fight. ¡°Makes sense that she¡¯s not here then. Have I ever told you about our life before we came to the coliseum?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°No.¡± Lyra let out a sigh and leaned forward. ¡°Strap in.¡±
¡°Our planet was very different to yours. I could spend an hour describing its social and political intricacies, but honestly, I don¡¯t really want to. After I told Akira about it, he said ¡°Yo that¡¯s some real Game of Thrones shit¡± so I hope that gets the point across. I didn¡¯t listen to his explanation of what Game of Thrones was. ¡°Long story short our father, the Duke of Obsidian, was one of the most powerful men on our continent, second only to the king. Why? Because he controlled three of the four consistent passes through the mountain range bisecting the continent. However, his power came with great risk. In the last 300 years, power had only passed from the Duke of Obsidian to his heir three times. Our father was determined to make Vega the fourth. She was forty seconds older after all.¡± Jay thought he might find a trace of bitterness in Lyra¡¯s voice. But he heard only regret. If she was ever mad about not being the heir, she¡¯d long since gotten over it. Jay heard the sadness of a life unfinished, but not the anger of a life unfulfilled. ¡°Before we could even walk or talk, we were trained to rule. For the first fifteen years of our lives, that was all we knew. We had a duty to our father, and a duty to our people. I don¡¯t want to make it sound horrible, because it really wasn¡¯t, we lived comfortably, which is more than could be said about most of the people on our planet. But it wasn¡¯t our life. And it certainly wasn¡¯t Vega¡¯s. ¡°Combat training, etiquette training, politics, economics. And all that before breakfast. I understand why my father put us through it all, he didn¡¯t want us to die. But he never asked us if we wanted to be rulers. Before we became adults, we both let him know that neither of us would take his position after he passed. He was mortified. All his hard work had been for nought. Eventually we relented. Vega agreed to take the position, but only if she didn¡¯t have to deal with all the bullshit, as she put it. ¡°Someone had to deal with it though. Your sister isn¡¯t very good at these things, you¡¯ll have to help her was a phrase I heard a lot over the next few years. I didn¡¯t mind too much, we had each other through it all. And I didn¡¯t want to leave Vega to rule alone. ¡°Then the war started. ¡°Our father didn¡¯t want us anywhere near a battlefield. Vega hung the threat of abdication above his head until he allowed it. Not that him allowing it meant much, she would¡¯ve gone anyway, but it was nice to keep the old man happy¡­ish. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen Vega truly smile until you¡¯ve seen her on a battlefield. I enjoy fighting, but I was there because I had a duty to fulfil and a sister to protect. She was there because the frontlines were her favourite place in the world. That was the problem.¡± The first glimpses of a frown shone through Lyra¡¯s face. She tapped her fingers together, the sharp snap jolting Jay¡¯s attention. ¡°Our father didn¡¯t just dislike Vega fighting, he disliked the way she fought too. What use was an aspiring heir when she flings herself headfirst to the frontlines every other week. That¡¯s why he did this.¡± She tapped her finger again, this time onto the stony, furrowed, skin of her forehead. ¡°We didn¡¯t always look like statues. After a close call that we tried to hide from him, he took matters into his own hands.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an entity on our home world called the Dreamweaver. The Dreamweaver can grant powers, powers that usually come with a curse. He thought the curse would fall to him when he asked that Not a scratch to ever draw blood on my daughters¡¯ bodies. ¡°He thought wrong.¡± Jay could feel the quiet anger bubbling within Lyra. She didn¡¯t forgive her father, not even now. ¡°At first, we didn¡¯t know what had happened. When we found out, both of us were beyond angry. We¡¯d fought for autonomy our whole lives. Fought to take control away from our family and into our own hands. One mistake showed how little that all meant. I had to drag Vega off my father¡¯s helpless, bloodied body. If I didn¡¯t focus on that, I probably would¡¯ve attacked him too. ¡°Sometimes it doesn¡¯t matter whether a decision is made from a place of love, or whatever. You don¡¯t tell someone how to live their life. And you never make decisions like that for them. ¡°The very next day, we were called to defend an outpost overlooking the valley that we called home. It was a routine skirmish. Nothing we hadn¡¯t seen hundreds of times before. But we went there angry, and that never ends well. Vega ended up overcommitting, trying to duel the enemy general. It looked like he agreed, but then four of his soldiers ganged up on her. I rushed in to help. To try to drag her out. It was no use. There were simply too many opponents. ¡°Eventually we got caught. Two against five, we were unable to avoid everything. Black void. White void. Gravel pit. The first thing we did after our debut is promise that we¡¯ll never let anyone control our lives again. We promised to each other. Nobody is taking this life away from us. Not again.¡± Both fighters sat in silence. Lyra stared into the distance wistfully, and Jay didn¡¯t dare interrupt her. Eventually, she let out a deep sigh and returned her focus to the room. ¡°Getting crushed like that¡¯ll bruise anyone¡¯s ego, let alone one as big as Vega¡¯s. But she knows she¡¯s a big fish in a small pond. It wasn¡¯t just that, it was the way he did it. Enforcing his will on her, disregarding her Harmony. Don¡¯t expect to see her again tonight.¡± Jay nodded silently, reflecting on Vega¡¯s fight and still digesting the twins¡¯ past. Vega hadn¡¯t just shown him to the pits, she was the only reason he found a training partner as good as Zara. If she hadn¡¯t been with him today, he¡¯d be far less prepared for his fight. Yet her day ended in pure embarrassment while Jay was helpless to stop it. Jay knew the pangs of shame rising from the pit in his stomach were illogical, what was he supposed to do against the two D graders? That didn¡¯t make him feel any better. The past two weeks had been tough. Without Akira and the twins, it could¡¯ve been so much worse. Vega had helped him train, yet he was powerless when she needed him. Lyra had helped him analyse both his opponents, what had he done for her? Nothing. Akira was Jay''s very first teacher in the coliseum, his very first sparring partner. What had Jay given him in return? Less than nothing. He¡¯d gambled the man¡¯s sword without even asking, before acting like a cocky shit in front of a crowd of people. Jay''s fingernails dug into the palm of his clenched fist. Over the last two weeks, his friends had spent a lot of time and effort helping him. In accepting the fight with Davad, he¡¯d taken a great risk on their behalf. Now he had to prove he was worth it. Chapter 55: Some Things (Never) Change The comforting acidic sting in the back of Jay¡¯s throat reminded him he was still human. Regardless of how much training he put in, or how confident he got, it seemed some traditions were here to stay. Some things never change. Jay washed the last of the sick from his mouth and took a healthy swig of water. A whisper of stinging remained, almost gone and certainly not forgotten. ¡°You know, If I win this fight I could get into the top half of the rankings. At this rate, I¡¯ll overtake you guys in a few weeks!¡± Jay tried, and dramatically failed, to inject some life into the twins¡¯ living room. Akira didn¡¯t even look in his direction. He sat perfectly still, hands firmly clasped on his sword. Lyra offered Jay a polite smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes and didn¡¯t mask the faraway look beneath it. Thinking about Vega? Lyra¡¯s twin still hadn¡¯t returned. As he entered the room, Jay swiped the bottled lightning and stared into its depths. It gave him somewhere to look. Jay wasn¡¯t sure whether it was anger, nerves, or fear that kept his friends from looking his way. He understood their feelings though. He was the one causing them after all. White sparks of light streaked down his arm as it neared the bottle, the two aspects of electricity resonating with each other. The warm fuzz of electricity soothed Jay from within, but it did little to lift the cold oppressive pall over the room. Jay knew what he needed to do about that. Victory solved all problems. If it didn¡¯t, you just didn¡¯t win hard enough. ¡°I¡¯m off. See you guys in a bit.¡± Said Jay. There was no use staying in the room any longer. He hoped the confidence in his voice would carry into his friends. ¡°Good luck Jay.¡± Lyra wrestled her mind back into the room. Nodding and giving Jay a smile much more genuine than the one from before. ¡°Good luck.¡± Akira¡¯s voice was steady, but his grave stare met Jay''s with intensity. His piercing green eyes bereft of the excitement they usually carried. Jay sternly nodded. He could¡¯ve explained his entire strategy, told them exactly how and why he¡¯d win. But what was the point? They¡¯d find out soon enough.
The morning mists of Reveller''s Avenue greeted him with more warmth than his friends had. Jay made his silent way towards the coliseum, the weight of their expectations pressed against his shoulders. But their demands paled in comparison to his own. Jay knew his friends had their doubts. In everyone¡¯s eyes, he was the clear underdog. In front of his own, all Jay saw was victory. Jay had to earn his friends¡¯ trust back. That meant showing the world that there was never any doubt about the fight¡¯s outcome.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. It meant handing Akira a brand-new sword on a silver platter and saying sorry I made you worry mate, next time don¡¯t bother. It meant complete domination. The beige stone legs of the SunSpear towered beside Jay, he consciously let the heat roll over him. Although he had no way of knowing at the time, he¡¯d been affected by peoples¡¯ domains as soon as he¡¯d set foot on the island. Jay''s focus shifted to the gargantuan faceless gladiator standing watch over the pavilion. He¡¯d almost lost himself before his last fight. The weight of the gladiator¡¯s aura pressuring him with sweet whispers of victory. Jay heard them still, but now he had the strength not to listen. His path to the coliseum ran through the faceless gladiator. His path to Harmony did not. Domains were still somewhat of a mystery to Jay, but so was almost everything he¡¯d learned. He didn¡¯t need to know the intricacies of essence perception and Asher¡¯s domain technique. He needed to win. Huh. Jay chuckled as he passed beneath the legs of the faceless gladiator. Maybe we aren¡¯t so different. The walk to the waiting room held far less uncertainty this time around, although Jay felt his heartbeat begin to rise as he wrapped his hand round the cold metal door handle. The waiting room was just as uninteresting as before. Jay¡¯s old boxing gloves, no longer slouched in a puddle of rainwater, were the only spark of colour sinking in a sea of beige. Jay wondered whether he could get some furniture for this place, something to complement the beige on beige. Damn, furniture? Things really have changed. He still had to fight though. Jay¡¯s eyes dropped from his gloves to his fists¡¯ new armour. Steel knuckles sat snugly over wrapped white bandages. The serrated, three-inch blades protruding from them a deadly reminder that he had a fight to think about. Some things never change. 100¡­99¡­98¡­ Jay hopped on the spot and began shadow boxing. The trial by lightning granted him precise control over his body, so warming up wasn¡¯t strictly necessary. But it still felt right. Through conscious effort Jay sped up his heart rate, sending much needed blood to each limb. He tensed and flexed each individual muscle fibre, preparing them for the rigors of combat. The whisper of doubt and the chatter of overconfidence quietened within Jay¡¯s mind. Preparing for a fight used to take him a whole day of focus, a whole evening of preparation, and usually the first two or three rounds. Now it took him seconds. The timer ticked down to forty and Jay greeted the newbie arena once more. Davad stood twenty paces in front of him, the iridescent barrier shimmered even further behind him. Bigger arena this time. The navy-blue shield orbited around Jay''s opponent. The one variable Jay couldn¡¯t prepare for. Davad drew back an arrow before the timer struck five. So that¡¯s how you want to start? Jay locked eyes with his opponent from across the arena. Davad matched his stare for a split second before flicking his aim down to Jay''s chest. It was the biggest target, and probably the best place to aim, but Jay knew that wasn¡¯t why Davad looked away from Jay¡¯s eyes. Regardless of what Davad was currently telling himself, Jay knew the real reason. Two could play the preparation game. Jay''s eyes sparked blue as time itself beckoned his call. Eye of the storm had come a long way since its first use above the oceans by Tranquillity tower, it still had a long way to go too. Jay knew he had to shed the comforting slowness it brought the world if he wanted to evolve the technique, but that was a problem for another day. The golden timer ticked down to zero, the final second lasting longer than the previous ten. Davad fired his first arrow as soon as the barrier encasing him dropped. The arrow pierced through the air, punching a hole in its wake. Even as he watched it through Eye of the storm, Jay knew it was fast. Jay raised his left hand. Slightly bent, holding his palm inches in front of his face. Flecks of white light peeked through the wraps around Jay''s fists. His fingertips twitched, the electricity within waking up and rattling the bars of its cage. The arrow neared Jay. It entered his range. Azure sparks faded from existence as the raw pace of reality rushed into Jay¡¯s mind. He rushed faster. During his practice with Zara, Jay had learned how to time arrows. He¡¯d learned how to deflect them when necessary, and how to dodge them too. In all his practice sessions with Zara, he never once tried to catch an arrow. It was pointless, and required far more effort than it was worth. As soon as he sent the signal, Jay¡¯s fist clamped around the incoming arrow¡¯s shaft. Milliseconds before it was due to pierce his skull, he forced it to a complete stop. A dodge might¡¯ve been more practical. It would¡¯ve been far less risky. Jay didn¡¯t give a shit. He wanted to send a message. Not. Fast. Enough. Chapter 56: Fight Time [End of Arc 2] Jay crushed the arrow¡¯s shaft and let the splintered wood drop to his feet. If Jay''s catch surprised Davad, his face didn¡¯t show it. Jay''s opponent held three more arrows in hand, one drawn halfway back and ready to fire. Another arrow flew towards Jay as soon as he started moving. He didn¡¯t bother blocking this one, a single sidestep and half a twist was enough to send the arrow sailing behind him. Jay spared the arrow half a glance, it crashed into the invisible barrier wall before collapsing onto the ground. Two arrows down, maybe it¡¯s time to start fighting? What use was speed if he never used it? Jay forcefully set his feet into the gravel, calling the electricity within his body to arms. The relentless electrical storm bared its teeth and hounded the cage that was Jay¡¯s body. Demanding him to rush in. Jay waited. The electricity didn¡¯t control him. The essence of the fighter was rooted in discipline, Jay only moved when he spotted an opportunity. The window opened. Davad brought his arm up to the bowstring, and Jay waited. He pulled the arrow back, and Jay waited. Jay waited until Davad¡¯s entire focus was trained on him before taking his first step. Jay knew he could dodge the arrow, which is why he waited until his opponent was in the worst possible position to retreat before making his move. Jay raised his fists and pressed his feet into the ground. His legs, fuelled by the relentless surge of electricity, swiftly accelerated to a full sprint. What¡¯s your next move Davad? In an instant, Jay was halfway to his opponent. Zara would¡¯ve already retreated by now, Davad hadn¡¯t taken two steps. For a moment, Jay wondered how the archer would respond. He couldn¡¯t hold back a smile when Davad¡¯s first retreat was a large leap backwards. Predictable. People often resorted to familiarity when under pressure, and little could match the pressure of Jay''s charging advance. Limbs ablaze with the white radiance of electricity, Jay closed down his opponent. Davad had undrawn his arrow, fully focused on the retreat. Jay saw the emerging signs of an opening when a navy-blue flash reminded him that fighters weren¡¯t allowed to get complacent. Well, fighters that wanted to live anyway. Davad¡¯s floating shield glided out from behind him, swinging around at Jay. Jay slowed down a fraction, hoping the giant metal frisbee would whiz right past him. The shield slowed too. Altering its trajectory and still aiming true. Jay waited until the shield was close, before ducking at the last moment and unleashing a burst of speed. The flying shield couldn¡¯t match his acceleration. Jay left it in the distance as he placed Davad in his sights again. The archer had readied another arrow. He fired it as Jay closed in. Jay knew the arrow was off as soon as it left the string. He didn¡¯t even need to move. The metal projectile sliced through the air above Jay¡¯s shoulder, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile. This is too- Jay lurched forward as his lead foot scuffed the gravel, rapidly decelerating. He whipped his neck backwards. This arrow didn¡¯t look like the first two, and in all the tape Jay had watched Davad had never whiffed a shot that badly. He wasn¡¯t likely to start now. Directly behind Jay, the floating shield had repositioned itself. Its lightly engraved metal exterior stared him in the eyes and Jay could almost feel the shields attacking intent. Davad¡¯s arrow shot towards the shield. Morphing into a sphere of liquid metal just before it hit. The projectile shoved all its built momentum into the shield. The shield shoved back, redirecting the arrow straight at Jay''s chest. He was too close to dodge. His body had already twisted to face the shield. Raw electrical energy sparked Jay''s arms to life. He couldn¡¯t dodge, but Jay was far from defenceless. The trembling clang of metal on metal sent a shockwave down Jay''s arm as he smashed the Conqueror¡¯s fists into the former arrow. Jay redirected the ball for the second time in under a second, sending it flying into the barrier wall with a knuckle shaped indent behind it. The lightning shield flew back to its owner, who now held four arrows again, and returned to its regular orbit. The archer¡¯s new tool was certainly helping him out in this fight, and thoughts of how to overcome it whirled around Jay¡¯s mind. Another thought sat there too. Keeping to itself, laying low amidst the heat of battle. I¡¯m gonna love fighting with that thing. Another arrow disrupted Jay''s strategizing. He deflected it off his steel fist and kept both eyes trained on Davad¡¯s bowstring. Jay had already determined his opponent¡¯s speed. Davad was faster than all his previous fights, but he was nowhere near Zara. Jay¡¯s first encounter with the shield only gave him more information. His first attack didn¡¯t end the fight, but it wasn¡¯t unsuccessful. The pieces were appearing, Jay just had to click them in place. Davad fired his second arrow as soon as Jay moved. Jay lunged to his left as he advanced, letting the arrow fly far wide. In boxing, the most effective evasions were always the smallest, even if they were also the riskiest. A wide sweeping dodge used up too much energy and killed any momentum a fighter had. A slight dodge saved energy and maintained speed. But Jay didn¡¯t need to do either. Compared to Zara, Davad fought like he was wading through treacle. Cutting angles, maintaining speed, and planning several steps ahead were essential to entering Zara¡¯s range during sparring. Against Davad, Jay didn¡¯t need to take those risks. He didn¡¯t need to fight tooth and nail just to maintain speed, he was already fast enough. And what use was saving energy when he could finish the fight in the first minute? The arrow snapped harmlessly into the barrier wall. Jay continued to stalk his prey. Now that he was aware of Davad¡¯s limits, and the shield was no longer a complete mystery, Jay began to tighten the noose around his opponent. Azure glimmers of electricity emerged through Jay''s irises, Eye of the storm sparking to life. The essence of electricity within Jay begged him to recklessly charge forward, but Jay held back the storm. A fighter¡¯s manifestation of speed varied greatly to electricity¡¯s, despite being a core pillar to both of Jay¡¯s essences. Electricity¡¯s speed was limitless. A rapid directionless rush of energy, expressing power through an undeniable force of nature. A fighter¡¯s speed was measured, controlled, carefully doled out only when necessary. A fighter couldn¡¯t go at full pace all the time, he didn¡¯t need to. His speed manifested itself through acceleration. Every fight had lulls, every fight had moments of quiet where the world stood still, and the fighter¡¯s speed lay dormant. Resting, but not asleep. Silently waiting for its time to strike. Jay sank deeper into the depths of quiet as he slowly suffocated his opponent behind his measured advance. Davad retreated with another great leap backwards. Again? Had Davad not realised the weakness in his retreat? To Jay, watching the film and standing opposite the archer, it seemed blindingly obvious. Evidently Davad hadn¡¯t noticed. Being self-critical was a part of being a fighter. A difficult part, especially in a life-or-death arena like the Second Chance Coliseum. If you¡¯re still alive, you¡¯ve never lost. If you¡¯ve never lost, why change anything? You¡¯re about to find out. Jay kept to his opponent¡¯s tempo, holding back his speed as he shepherded Davad into position, within a metre of the barrier. Jay leapt forward, the electricity within him cracking its expectant eyes open.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Davad dodged away from the wall. Obviously. That¡¯s why Jay had placed him there. When people think of controlling someone, they often think of aggressive domination. Enforcing your will on your opponent by physical might. Jay, and every other ring general, had a different take. They controlled their opponent¡¯s moves by only giving them one good option. Jay didn¡¯t have to adjust his rush to account for Davad¡¯s sidestep, he¡¯d adjusted before the step was even taken. Davad launched into a diagonal leap backwards, drawing back an arrow as he retreated from Jay¡¯s range. He fired rapidly. Barely even aiming. Jay didn¡¯t stop. He kept up the chase. But the arrow came closer. Jay couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the arrow. The lingering survival instinct poking the back of Jay''s mind whispered that it was coming his way. No it¡¯s not. Jay stared directly at the arrow. Eye of the storm helping him calculate its trajectory in real time. It¡¯s missing. Jay took another step forward. If it¡¯s missing, then why am I- Jay flicked his eyes from the off-target arrow to the wide-eyed face of Davad. He knew it too. When he¡¯d fired the arrow mid retreat, he attacked with his domain simultaneously. Scrambling to lodge a spike of doubt within Jay¡¯s mind. And it had done absolutely nothing. Jay''s face twisted into a maniacal grin. He¡¯d even stopped his advance out of pure shock. Was that it? Zara said she¡¯d barely practiced the technique, but her influence dwarfed Davad¡¯s. When she aimed his way, Jay''s mind screamed danger. This was more of a suggestion. If Jay couldn¡¯t read the shock colouring his opponents face, he wouldn¡¯t have believed it. He couldn¡¯t have believed the special technique he¡¯d practiced so much for was so hilariously weak. The only thing now between him and victory was a few, easily closable, metres. Well, a few metres and a flying blue shield. Faint wisps of electricity trailed the soaring shield rushing to defend its current master. Jay felt its defensive resolve intensify as it swung towards Jay''s right flank, fiercely protecting Davad. Hairline channels of white light streaked down Jay''s arms as the murmurs of electricity roused within. Jay fell into the familiar sanctuary of an orthodox stance as he dropped his glowing left hand. The shield drew closer, vibrating with stored energy, frenzied lightning streaking behind. Jay channelled as much electricity as he dared through his left arm. He drew it back, arcing his fist towards the shield¡¯s path. Jay¡¯s left barely resembled an arm anymore. Drenched in brilliant white light, bulging and bubbling against the turbulent energies within, it contorted into unrecognisable shapes. But it still felt familiar to Jay. It still felt right. He couldn¡¯t use Eye of the storm to time this one, but he didn¡¯t need to. Pure electricity powered his body, but it was still his arm. It was still his attack, regardless of the essence fuelling it. And as long as Jay¡¯s fist was attached to his body, it could still punch. The same left hook that he¡¯d practiced millions of times hammered towards the incoming shield. Untameable electrical energy in perfect harmony with the calculated discipline forged through a lifetime of fighting. Jay wasn¡¯t sure what to expect after punching the shield. Would it crumple beneath his fist? Would it ring like a gong, launching deep vibrations through both gladiators? Would the shield completely stifle his punch, leaving him open for a counter? What he didn¡¯t expect, was a connection. Even beneath layers of bandages and steel, Jay felt it the moment his knuckles collided with the shield. A kinship. A resonance. A Harmony. Just as the essence of electricity was blossoming into a part of Jay, he felt it within the very fibres of the shield¡¯s being. Jay lived to fight; his life incomplete without the irreplaceable aspect it brought to his existence. The shield was designed to protect. It was made to protect. It existed, solely to protect. Jay simultaneously felt different, but the same, to the shield. They chased different goals, but charged at them with equal fervour. When Jay¡¯s fist rebounded off the shield the sensation faded, but the sweet taste of unity lingered in the back of Jay¡¯s mind. The shield hauled itself back to Davad¡¯s side, slower than before, and Jay snapped back to reality. Regardless of how he felt, Jay had a fight to win. He could think about the shield after he won it. Thinking about the fight meant thinking about his body. In their moment of unity, Jay missed the utter devastation his punch had inflicted on his fist. The off-white gauze plunged into a deep crimson red. Jay¡¯s curse of bodily awareness revealed the grim state of his left fist. Arteries: Ruptured. Muscles: Battered. Bones: More of a suggestion than a scaffold. Jay¡¯s arm was beyond fucked up. Oh well. The split second of relief on Davad¡¯s face plunged into terror when Jay kept moving forward. Jay had broken both fists in the boxing ring. He¡¯d massacred both arms in the coliseum. Of course he was going to do it again. Jay¡¯s fractured bones clicked back into place, repositioning and reconnecting themselves. His muscles stitched themselves back together, aligning themselves exactly as Jay wished. His blood vessels carved new paths through his arm. Somehow even more efficient than before. Jay silently thanked Thane for handing him the bandages. Jay¡¯s stormforged body improved speed and control, not vitality. The bandages that had once brought his arms back to life now kept them there. Jay didn¡¯t want a repeat of last week. Although he¡¯d learned to fight in ways other than punching, his fists were still his life. Jay¡¯s makeshift handwraps doused his fists and forearms in the essence of regeneration. His evolved body drank up every ounce of healing power and used it all to fuel its regrowth. Jay ran towards the cowering Davad. Not weakened by the shield. Emboldened by it. It was time to end the fight. As Jay rushed in for the finisher, Davad had already discarded his bow. He reached into his quiver, fear and focus painted across his face. Flashbacks of Zara¡¯s hammer, the harrowing snap of his ribs as they were crushed beneath it, rushed to the forefront of Jay''s mind. ¡°Every long-range fighter has something in reserve for if their opponent gets too close.¡± Jay knew Davad¡¯s goal. The issue was how to stop it. Jay slowed down alongside the world around him as his empowered body made way for an empowered mind. Davad¡¯s fingertips appeared in perfect detail against the blurry backdrop of beige as Eye of the storm bought Jay a few more crucial milliseconds. Davad¡¯s hand emerged from the shadowy depths of his quiver clutching a hint of silver. The first seeds of a plan began to crystallize in Jay''s mind, but there were simply too many variables. What was Davad¡¯s last resort? How would he use it? What was the best way to counter it? How was he supposed to plan for the unknown? Good fighters learned from their mistakes. The best fighters evolved. Over the past two weeks, Jay had become intimately acquainted with the futility of plans in the face of undeniable force. So Jay stepped on the other side of that equation. The hilt of a blade crept out from the quiver. Jay reckoned he could easily parry any attack Davad launched at him. He didn¡¯t let that thought sway him, he wouldn¡¯t take that risk. Jay reared his right arm, compressing pure force within his muscles. His left arm remained outstretched in front of him. Free from the stress of rushing thanks to Eye of the storm, Jay mentally chuckled at the irony. Earlier in the fight, he¡¯d criticized Davad¡¯s reliance on using the same patterns over and over again. Yet here he was, using the first essence technique he¡¯d ever learned. Jay had barely thought about thunder since his last fight, but there were two parts to commanding essence. He¡¯d learned nothing about thunder, but he¡¯d learned a lot about himself. He¡¯d learned how to control every fibre of his body in once impossible ways. He¡¯d unearthed a whole new aspect of his essence. Jay thought he¡¯d understood his desire, his urge, to fight before. Now he knew. A realisation clicked inside Jay''s mind as he dusted off his once discarded technique. Fighting wasn¡¯t just about training, about combat, or becoming stronger. It wasn¡¯t about victory, about being the best, or chasing greatness. There was a more primal layer beneath those aspects. One that the warrior scholars like Yagao or Akira might never understand. One that even the faceless gladiator misconstrued. It wasn¡¯t the baseline, but it was certainly part of it. Sometimes, fighting was about facing the person in front of you and doing everything in your ability to erase them. No matter what. Jay unleashed his right fist while at the same time pulling back his left. When the steel knuckles collided with each other, no sparks skittered off either of them. The air was untouched by the telltale clang of metal on metal. Not yet. First there was compression. The layers of steel pressing on each other, each layer of atoms forcibly pushed closer. Jay watched the world in serene stillness before the expansion. He watched Davad attempt to pull his weapon from the quiver, he watched his fists press into each other, pushing and pushing until it became impossible to push any further. The calm before the- A wave of explosive power launched Jay backwards. No warning, just a pulse of pure force. Both fighters flew away from each other, before slamming into the gravel At least Jay had been somewhat expecting it. Davad wasn¡¯t nearly as lucky. Jay¡¯s opponent slumped on the ground ten metres in front of him. The thunderclap had done its job, the silver hilt of Davad¡¯s last resort lay embedded into the ground where he once stood. Jay took a moment to recover himself, after a pair of laboured breaths he remembered that he was in a fight. That he couldn¡¯t simply take breaks. After a look at the barely moving body of his opponent, he took a pair more. Jay walked over to the not-yet-corpse of Davad. Pushing down the errant thoughts creeping up at the back of his mind. Think about that later. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and fight. The shield hovered in front of Jay¡¯s opponent. Putting up a final stand. Jay stepped towards it; he could feel it had no animosity towards him. If a shield could even have emotions. It was forced to protect. Compelled to protect its master against anything that may harm it. Jay reached out, fingertips brushing against the floating shield. He felt its urge to defend, but to Jay that didn¡¯t matter. He had a fight to win. ¡°No.¡± The shield dropped to the floor. The innate will to protect overpowered by Jay¡¯s command. That was the easy part. He could think about what he¡¯d just done, how he¡¯d commanded the shield, later. Now wasn¡¯t the time for wandering thoughts. Jay almost closed his eyes as he neared the bloody mess of Davad¡¯s body. It wasn¡¯t as mangled as the gorilla¡¯s was, but Davad was still alive. Which made it a million times worse. The wheezing scratch of Davad¡¯s strained breathing clawed at Jay''s eardrums. A savage beg for mercy that Jay was soulbound not to answer. He knew what he had to do. He knew he had the strength to do it. That didn¡¯t make it any easier. Jay didn¡¯t apologise to his opponent. He didn¡¯t say a prayer before he sent him to the afterlife. He didn¡¯t even allow him any last words. But at least he made it quick. Jay closed his eyes. He allowed himself that luxury as he caved in Davad¡¯s skull. Crushing it into the gravel beneath an empowered fist of denatured steel. He kept them shut, held them shut, too tight for anyone in the world to open. Jay knew what he¡¯d done. He knew why he¡¯d done it. He could probably convince himself he was forced to do it. Probably not. Vega might view it as weakness, the other two might be more understanding, but Jay didn¡¯t spare his friends much of a thought. He didn¡¯t really think about anything else. Even thoughts about the fight could wait. He¡¯d just fucking killed someone. Chapter 57: A Body Left in his Wake Fuck. By the time he braved the real world, opening his eyes to face reality, Jay was no longer in the arena. Fuck. It wasn¡¯t just him and his gloves in the beige waiting room anymore. Davad¡¯s belongings were laid out across the wooden floor in front of him. Fuck. Dead men had no belongings. I¡¯ve just killed someone. Jay looked down at his hands. A murderer¡¯s hands. Blood soaked, and heavy with the weight of another¡¯s soul. He¡¯d gotten off lightly in his first two fights. The Goldenback gorilla, while it was certainly intelligent, wasn¡¯t even close to a human. Valorus, the lightning had killed him. Even if Jay had redirected it his way. But now? Now he¡¯d really gone and done it. Fuck. Congratulations Lightning Leonard, you have won your third fight in the Second Chance Coliseum. You have unlocked new privileges: You may now connect skill crystals to the coliseum system, and challenge other gladiators to fights. These are the last coliseum system benefits until D grade. Your profile has now been updated. Would you like to view it? You have been awarded 1000 Contribution points, the Harbinger¡¯s Wailing Grin, and the belongings of Davad, the Infernal Harpoon. Your visa has been extended for 7 days. Reading the golden screen in front of him gave Jay something to think about other than his blood-soaked hands. Not that that mattered much, he¡¯d have to face the truth eventually. He opened his new rankings page, desperately seeking more information to focus his attention on.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 500
Offence 453
Defence 561
Strategy 410
Instinct 410
VitalityUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. 512
Speed 333
Big improvements, but do they mean anything? Jay had risen hundreds of places in the rankings compared to an hour ago. But he felt nothing looking at the numbers on the screen. Were these numbers really what defined his worth? Was he becoming just as bad as Q and everyone else at the Flaming Tomb Alliance? Jay dismissed the table and tried to shed the bleak, cynical thoughts along with it. As he looked at Davad¡¯s belongings spread across the floor, Jay realised that he probably wasn¡¯t in the best headspace to be pondering his self-worth at the moment. Fuck. I¡¯ve just killed someone. It was easy to tell himself ¡°It was you or him¡±. It was harder to make himself listen. Jay closed his eyes and began to breathe, trying to carve a moment of peace from within the whirlwind of uncertainty. There was no point in wallowing in self-pity, but neither was there a point in totally ignoring it. He was a gladiator now. This was his life. Refusing to acknowledge himself now would only give Jay more problems in the future. ¡°Stop feeling sorry for yourself.¡± Coach¡¯s familiar words of advice comforted Jay within his meditative state, but as much as he longed to follow Coach¡¯s orders, Jay didn¡¯t think the advice helped right now. Jay wasn¡¯t feeling sorry for himself, he was painfully coming to terms with his new reality. Coach¡¯s advice had always worked in the ring. But Jay wasn¡¯t in the ring anymore. Coach wouldn¡¯t be able to help him now. Coach had never murdered anyone. Jay had. Jay didn¡¯t know Davad. He didn¡¯t know his dreams, passions, hobbies or loved ones. He knew nothing beyond what it had taken to kill him. Davad had left this life behind, and his Harmony had left with him. Jay didn¡¯t even know what essences Davad wielded. Ezekiel probably didn¡¯t either. And whoever did know¡­ would they even remember? Jay had ended more than just a man¡¯s life. He¡¯d erased his presence from the world, leaving nothing but a void in its place. Harmony involved reforming the world in one¡¯s image. Just as Jay affected his reality, so too had Davad. Had. And what of all that now? Would the world slowly shift backwards, disregarding the man¡¯s influence, purging it so not even the annals of time would remember him? Would the weight of another name reside on Jay¡¯s shoulders now? He had just removed a burgeoning aspect of the world¡¯s Harmony; did he need to take its place? But what does that even mean? Did Davad¡¯s Harmony become part of his own, a burden he¡¯d bear for the rest of his life? Jay had his own dreams. He had his own Harmony to chase. He couldn¡¯t carry the torch of another, even if he was the one who extinguished it. He realised it was reductive to simply say it was me or him¡­ But it was. The future cared not for memories of the past, and Jay couldn¡¯t worry about a body left in his wake. He knew more would eventually join it. Taking lives was the price for survival in the Second Chance Coliseum, at least in E grade. That wouldn¡¯t change, regardless of what Jay thought of it. Jay had already squandered his first chance at life, he wasn¡¯t about to gamble with his second over someone else. Julian was out there, somewhere, and the only chance Jay had of finding him was by staying alive. Last time, Jay was too weak to save his brother. He wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake again. Jay didn¡¯t just need to be strong; he needed to be stronger than anyone in his way. It didn¡¯t matter who or what stood in front of him. Jay had to defeat them. Jay¡¯s mental gymnastics didn¡¯t silence the thoughts in his mind, but it quietened them. The morbid thoughts of murder hushed beneath the voice of reason. His blood-stained hands drooped under the weight of their actions, but it was consequence, not guilt, that pressed into him. The sobering burden of murder¡¯s permanence. When Jay looked at the items spread out on the floor, he wasn¡¯t repulsed anymore. The loot can wait. Focus on the fight first. Jay rested his back against the wall, closing his eyes and going back to the arena. Unlike his last fight, he didn¡¯t have much to analyse. He¡¯d entered the coliseum with a plan, and he¡¯d executed it. Of course, his plan wasn¡¯t flawless, but he¡¯d patched it together mid-fight. The shield had protected Davad, but it couldn¡¯t do much to prevent Jay¡¯s attacks. Jay¡¯s mind lingered on the connection he¡¯d felt with the shield but saved the thought for later. Preferably when he knew more about how the shield worked. Going back to the fight, Jay couldn¡¯t think of much more to take note of. Davad¡¯s domain attack was surprising for all the wrong reasons, and he didn¡¯t even get a chance to use his last resort. One thing Jay could reflect on, was his preparation. His trip to the pits had proved fruitful. He doubted he could¡¯ve won so decisively without Zara¡¯s help and, even though Vega probably wouldn¡¯t want to go back there, Jay would definitely go again. Thinking of Vega made Jay consider his other friends. His relationship with Akira had certainly strained over the last few days, and Jay understood why. He¡¯d taken a lot of agency away from Akira by betting his sword and taking the fight on short notice. Jay would¡¯ve been pissed too if the roles were swapped. But they weren¡¯t. Jay had made his choice to the best of his abilities. Akira¡¯s uncertainty only stemmed from his lack of knowledge. Jay¡¯s trip to the storm sage had been critical to winning the fight, and even more critical to accepting it. Even if his friends were unsure of him, Jay always had the confidence that he could win. That the sword was never truly at risk. And if it was never truly at risk, was he really disrespecting Akira by betting it? Jay discarded that thought. There was no point debating over who was right or wrong. It was in the past now, and holding onto it would only hurt their relationship. Hopefully, they¡¯d have more faith in him next time. Hopefully, he¡¯d earned it. Regardless of if he¡¯d wronged Akira or not, Jay had something to fix that issue. Jay opened his eyes. They wandered back to the room¡¯s centre. Back to the sword that was soon-to-be Akira''s, and the shield that was now his. Chapter 58: Gimme the Loot The Harbinger¡¯s Wailing Grin¡­ What a cute name. Jay¡¯s eyes were dragged to Ezekiel¡¯s old sword. It gripped his attention, like it was forcing him to look its way. The engraved runes running along the sword¡¯s near-black shaft remained unlit, but Jay couldn¡¯t forget their sickly green glow from Ezekiel¡¯s fights. It looked longer than Akira¡¯s samurai sword and had a larger cross guard. The blade was perfectly straight until the end, where it curved slightly. Jay didn¡¯t know much about swords and, since he wasn¡¯t keeping it anyway, he pulled his attention onto his other spoils. Beside the sword rested Davad¡¯s quiver, bow, reserve dagger and a single arrow. A few metres away, the shield sat on its own. ¡°Where¡¯s everything else.¡± Jay said, voicing his thoughts and hoping the coliseum would give him an answer. When a fighter dies, all their possessions belong to the coliseum. Due to the terms of this fight, some items have been exempted from the usual process. Your contribution point allowance has been docked accordingly, to maintain a fair reward. That¡¯s why I only got 1k then. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit unfair? We agreed to fight for everything?¡± All a fighter¡¯s belongings belong to the Second Chance Coliseum upon death You only own the items in front of you because the Second Chance Coliseum permits it. They rightfully belong to the Second Chance Coliseum. Jay didn¡¯t inquire further, sensing the annoyance behind the golden screens. He didn¡¯t entirely stop though. ¡°When you said, ¡®especially if you want to find him.¡¯ after my debut. Did you mean my brother?¡± Silence. That¡¯s all I suppose. Jay went back to the items, reaching over to the quiver first. It was about a foot and a half long and crafted from a tough brown leather. Etched grooves swirled across the quiver, seeming to ripple as Jay turned it in his hands. A dark metal circlet covered the lip of the opening. It pressed against Jay¡¯s fingertips with an unnatural coldness, like iron forgotten beneath a winter sky. Jay could almost feel the warmth getting sapped from his fingers and sealed inside. During the fight, Jay had glossed over the quiver. He needed to focus more on the knife Davad was pulling out of it. Looking at it now, its interior seemed to defy explanation. No light, no leather or lining, just a shadowy void. He tipped it upside down, half-hoping a guide would fall out or a golden screen would pop up and explain it to him. It was no use. It seemed like the coliseum only answered fight related questions. Nothing fell out after Jay turned over the quiver. He guessed there probably wasn¡¯t anything in there, otherwise the coliseum would¡¯ve taken it out and placed it next to the bow and arrow. Only one way to find out. Jay resisted the intrusive urge to try and stick his head inside the quiver. Instead, he opted to test it out with the arrow first. He grabbed the wooden shaft and poked inside the quiver with the arrow tip. The arrow disappeared into the shadows, but he couldn¡¯t feel anything inside with it. He twisted the arrow¡¯s angle, inserting it almost sideways, and placed his other hand near where he thought it would poke against the quiver¡¯s inside. The arrow entered the shadows, but Jay couldn¡¯t feel it from the outside. It didn¡¯t pierce the leather, or even push against it. It kept sinking in, far beyond the quiver¡¯s walls.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Jay spun the arrow around the quiver, trying to touch the sides. He didn¡¯t feel a thing The fuck? It¡¯s bigger on the inside? Jay pulled the arrow out and inspected it. There weren¡¯t any new cuts on the shaft, or abrasions on the tip. The arrow seemed undamaged. Exactly as it was before Jay put it inside the shadow quiver. He placed the intact arrow on the floor and stared into the void for a few seconds. Fuck it. Jay gingerly raised his hand. Why not. His hand inched closer to the shadows. He stopped. Millimetres from the well of blackness. Four fingers clenched into a fist, leaving only the smallest outstretched. Jay¡¯s pinky finger crept forward. He dipped it into the darkness. Biting cold snapped at Jay''s finger. He yanked it from the event horizon, immediately dropping the quiver and bringing his hand up to his face. Jay didn¡¯t see anything wrong with his finger. It quickly returned to room temperature and he hadn¡¯t felt anything other than the startling cold inside the quiver. Seems fine. It probably just surprised me. Releasing a deep breath, Jay picked up the quiver again and edged his finger closer. He went up to his nail, before sliding his whole finger in. Other than the cold, which wasn¡¯t even that cold now that Jay was expecting it, he felt nothing. He wiggled his finger. Still nothing. Fuck it. Jay stuck his whole hand in. The moment Jay¡¯s hand was fully submerged, he knew the quiver was empty. He didn¡¯t know how he knew, but he knew. Confident the quiver was safe-ish, Jay stuck his arm in further. Once his elbow passed the shadowy wall, Jay twisted his arm and felt around for the edge. The fuck? It¡¯s not there? Jay¡¯s arm was supposed to be bent. It was supposed to not only be pressing against the quiver¡¯s inside, but over a foot past it. But all he felt was the strange cold air, like he¡¯d just opened a freezer door and stuck his arm inside. Jay remembered Akira¡¯s warning about trying not to make sense of things. He remembered chiding himself multiple times for not heeding it. Even still, he couldn¡¯t help himself as he pulled his arm out of the quiver. ¡°How the hell is it doing this?¡± Jay remembered the foyer of Pavan Hall, and his conversation with Akira about the essence of space. He¡¯d mentioned backpacks that worked similarly, being bigger on the inside. Perhaps the quiver was the same? But another thing kept scratching at Jay¡¯s mind. How did Davad pull the dagger out so easily? The archer hadn¡¯t fumbled at all when reaching for his reserve weapon, effortlessly finding it inside the seemingly giant quiver Jay turned back to the arrow. He brought the quiver up to his ear, held the arrow above it, and dropped it in. Silence Even the whoosh of air vanished from Jay¡¯s ears as soon as the arrow entered the quiver. He reached after it, plunging his right hand into the quiver. There! Jay clenched his fist, but he felt the slender, polished wood against his palm before his fingers fully folded. He smiled as he pulled the arrow out, pleased to have discovered the quiver¡¯s true nature. It¡¯s probably something like the essence of finding. Or storage, if that¡¯s even a thing. Jay could¡¯ve waited for an explanation from Akira. One he¡¯d casually listen to from the comfort of the Celestial Sword¡¯s tavern with a beer in hand. But Jay was glad he¡¯d discovered at least something himself. The rest of his spoils tempted Jay, but he was conscious of time. His friends were probably waiting for him outside, and he couldn¡¯t spend all day in here poring over his new belongings. Jay slotted the sword, bow, arrow, and dagger inside the shadowy quiver. It didn¡¯t feel much heavier even with all three weapons and an arrow inside it. He put the quiver down and stepped up to the shield, giving it his full attention. Up close, the shield almost looked like a navy-blue manhole cover. Jay couldn¡¯t read any of the engravings decorating it at the auction, nor did he focus on them during the fight, but now Jay had the time to properly look over his new shield. The grooves covering the shield looked nothing like the ones wrapped around the quiver. Sharp, straight lines emanated from the dull, cloudy crystal in the middle. Only occasionally broken up by bridging radial lines between them. The whole array reminded Jay of a circuit board, and he could almost imagine electricity coursing through the inner crystal, rushing through the channels, and empowering the shield. During the fight, Jay had felt a connection to the shield. Would he feel the same thing again now? You wanted to protect your owner, can¡¯t blame you for that. Will you do the same for me? Jay placed both hands on the rim of the shield, unsure what to expect. His hands clasped the cool blue iron like they were magnetically drawn there. The instant spark from the fight wasn¡¯t there, but Jay felt a connection. He felt a subtle but noticeable shift within the shield, as if it began to rouse for a split second before slumbering back to sleep. The magnetism vanished, and although the shield looked and felt no different, Jay sensed something. Regardless of how big the inside was, the quiver¡¯s entrance was only slightly larger than Jay¡¯s arm. No matter how hard he pushed, the shield couldn¡¯t quite squeeze in. After a minute of trying, Jay gave up and decided to simply carry the shield. The backside didn¡¯t have a strap, or anything to mount to his arm, so he held it under his arm. It was surprisingly light for a pure metal shield. Laden with his spoils, Jay walked out of the post-fight room with his head held a little higher than the last two times. Chapter 59: No swords inside! ¡°You know, I always had faith in you Jay!¡± said Akira. A radiant grin beamed across his face as he greeted Jay to the square with open arms. ¡°That¡¯s why I signed you as my client all those fights ago! I saw the potential was there, and you just needed to realise it!¡± Where was this before the fight? Only Akira and the twins waited to greet him after this fight. The lack of a crowd meant Jay got to take in the vibrant plaza in all its glory. The late morning sun bounced off the buildings and washed the square in warm light. Birds chirped from within the citrus trees and perched along the sun-baked rooftops, like nature¡¯s soundtrack to his victory march. The central fountain that once confounded Jay now bubbled in the background. Jay smiled as he consciously gazed at the spear-wielder¡¯s domain, regarding it for but a moment before facing his friends. ¡°Sorry I made you worry.¡± Said Jay, sincerity gripping his face for a second before the smile returned. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else? I thought I¡¯d earn a few more fans after that performance.¡± ¡°Hate to burst your bubble but they weren¡¯t fans, they were recruiters. They¡¯re not here because they know they can¡¯t get you to join them.¡± Akira replied, still grinning as he walked over and leaned in for a bear hug. ¡°They¡¯re not bothering because they know you¡¯re with us now.¡± Lyra added. She sounded proud, and her face looked far more relieved than the last time Jay had seen her. Jay gasped for air as Akira hoisted him up off the ground, he didn¡¯t bother resisting the young man¡¯s intense grip. After he finally touched the ground again, Jay walked over to properly greet the twins. ¡°Nice performance kid.¡± Said Vega, although not as energetically as she usually would. ¡°Drinks are on me tonight.¡± Jay could hear the stiffness behind her voice, although he didn¡¯t prod at it. ¡°They better be. You owe me 500 points!¡± He embraced both twins in a hug and the four made their way back to the Celestial Swords tavern.
A half-full pub greeted Jay as he entered the Celestial Swords. There wasn¡¯t nearly the excitement of the twins¡¯ previous fights, but Jay still earned a few cheers as he walked between the gently glowing posts towards his favourite corner booth. He recognised a few of the unnamed faces that congratulated him and made an effort to remember the ones that tried to shove drinks into his hands. By the time he¡¯d sat down, Florian had already placed four more beers onto their table. ¡°First round¡¯s on the house! Here¡¯s to many more!¡± He said, the metal handles clinking into each other as he dropped them onto the table. The friendly bartender congratulated Jay, before quickly returning to the bar. Akira raised his mug into the air. ¡°To the third of many!¡± Man, he must really love that sword. While Jay was still mid-sip, Akira excitedly slammed his mug down. Beer sloshed onto the table and Jay noticed the mug was still almost full. Hope he likes his new one just as much. ¡°So what did you get?¡± Jay placed the shield and the quiver on the table, stopping to look each of his friends in the eyes before slowly putting his hand inside the quiver. ¡°So first I got this arrow¡­¡± Jay withdrew the arrow and unhurriedly laid it by the shield. Akira nodded eagerly while both twins rolled their glossy eyes back. ¡°¡­ then I got this bow¡­¡± Even the stony-faced Lyra couldn¡¯t hide her surprise when Jay pulled Davad¡¯s bow out of a quiver half its size. They had to have been expecting something, since Jay didn¡¯t exit the coliseum laden with weapons. But, based on what Akira had told him about spatial essence, this quiver could be worth more than any of the things inside it. ¡°Oh my god! A spatial quiver!¡± Akira grabbed the quiver off the table and leaned in, holding his eyes less than an inch away from the quiver¡¯s shadowy insides. ¡°How big is it? Is there an organisation system? How much would you sell it for?¡± It took a few seconds of awkward silence, and the combined stares of the rest of the table, for Akira to sheepishly place the quiver back down. His enthusiasm was infectious however, and both twins looked expectantly at Jay as he reached into the quiver again. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how big it is, but it¡¯s at least big enough for me to wave my forearm around inside without hitting any walls. As for an organisation system, I instinctively know what¡¯s inside the second I place my hand in there. I just focus, grab, and by the time I pull my hand out I¡¯m holding the item.¡± Jay pulled out the silver dagger to prove his point. ¡°This was Davad¡¯s reserve weapon.¡± he said, cautiously placing it down next to everything else. ¡°Do you know anywhere where I can learn about what all these things are?¡± Vega picked the dagger up, twirling it around her fingers before shrugging and handing it to her sister. ¡°Tinker¡¯s Avenue is probably your best bet. Or Hawker¡¯s. I know a guy on Scholar¡¯s that could do it for you too if you want. He¡¯s a bit weird though, name¡¯s Arlie.¡± Vega looked like she was about to give away more, but she stopped herself with a satisfied smirk. Lyra carefully inspected the dagger, taking her time while furtively glancing at Akira. He seemed determined to wait patiently. Although, judging by the restless fidgeting, Jay didn¡¯t know how long that would last.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Not too sure either. If it was his last resort, it¡¯s probably dangerous. Be careful.¡± Lyra gently placed the dagger back inside the quiver before nodding at Akira. ¡°Now go ahead and pull out the sword, I think he¡¯ll explode if you make him wait any longer.¡± Jay chuckled and looked over at Akira, continuously nodding while desperately trying not to look desperate. He placed his hand inside the quiver, focusing on the sword over the dagger, and pulled. Jay had already seen the sword, but even he was surprised by its length as he pulled it from the makeshift sheath. He had to ask Lyra to pull the quiver away just to unsheathe it since he was backed into the corner. The almost-black blade stretched closer to two metres than one, and the warm glow from the pillars shifted slightly green after it bounced off Ezekiel¡¯s old weapon. Remembering the replays of the Soulsnatcher¡¯s fights, Jay made sure not to touch the edges as he handed Akira the sword. ¡°There you go mate. Sorry I made you stress over it.¡± The pure elation across Akira¡¯s face brought Jay as much relief as it did joy. The young samurai stood up, closing his eyes and gripping the handle with both hands. He launched into a string of positions barely a few metres from their table, whispering under his voice after he entered each one. ¡°HEY! No swords inside!¡± Florian yelled from across the room. Pointing at Akira with his left hand as he filled up a giant mug with his right. ¡°If you want to test it out you can go up to the roof.¡± Jay couldn¡¯t imagine many bartenders on Earth needing to say that, but ¡®No swords allowed.¡¯ was probably standard fare among Arenara Fortunis taverns. Akira sighed as he put the sword back down. He tried to look nonchalant, but his rebellious eyes betrayed him. He wanted to leave the tavern as soon as possible. ¡°You three can go up if you want.¡± Said Vega, uncharacteristically slumped in her seat. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay down here.¡± Akira only had eyes for his new sword, but both Jay and Lyra anxiously studied Vega. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Lyra asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just¡­ Not really feeling it right now.¡± Vega put on a brave front, although her empty smile wasn¡¯t as convincing as her sister¡¯s. Jay nodded, sensing his friend wanted some time alone. ¡°We¡¯ll be back down in a bit¡± said Lyra, keeping her wary eyes trained on her sister. ¡°Go home if you¡¯re not feeling it. We¡¯ve got all afternoon¡­ unless Jay wants to get straight back to work?¡± Jay chuckled. Today¡¯s calendar had ¡®do absolutely nothing¡¯ penned in. The fight hadn¡¯t physically taken a toll on him, but he needed to decompress after the nonstop pace of the last few days. ¡°Yeah¡­ Maybe.¡± Vega managed to return her sister¡¯s look and give a slightly more honest smile.
From its base, the Second Chance Coliseum rose higher than Jay could ever imagine. He thought it might just be a trick of the eyes, an illusion designed to give the coliseum an extra bit of grandeur. Staring from the tavern¡¯s rooftop, which had a small flat area with three tables and a smattering of chairs, Jay felt the same awe as each time he¡¯d admired it from within the pavilion. It rose beyond the atmosphere, piercing all clouds that dared challenge its ascension. Jay squinted at the spear of marble, but he could sooner spot stars in the midday sky than the top of the coliseum. Jay withdrew his eyes from the coliseum and gazed over the red-brown roofs of Arenara Fortunis. He couldn¡¯t spot the sea from here, the Celestial Swords was far too central, but he could see the large artery that was Reveller¡¯s Avenue spanning from left to right. The rooftop lounge overlooked a few of the octant¡¯s ravine-like alleyways, although Jay could only make out the top few stories before shadows shrouded the streets. A flock of pigeons squawked and scattered as Akira launched into a rooftop kata. Jay wasn¡¯t sure whether to laugh or gasp as the green-tinted blade narrowly missed one¡¯s wing. The bird obliviously flapped its wings and flew over Jay¡¯s head, seemingly unaware of its brush with death. Close call buddy. ¡°So, do you have any idea how that shield works?¡± Lyra asked. It seemed she¡¯d given up any hope of talking to Akira. Jay understood why as he began acrobatically jumping from rooftop to rooftop, scything his new sword in sweeping arcs. ¡°I felt something when I punched it mid-fight. Some sort of connection. I felt a similar thing when I first touched it in the post-fight room, but it¡¯s been quiet since then. Hopefully it¡¯ll start flying soon.¡± ¡°It needs to attune to you.¡± Said Lyra ¡°The best magical items grow with their user, adapting to their personal essence over time. It¡¯s still purging itself of Davad¡¯s essence so it can embrace yours. Although, just like the dagger, you should probably get it checked out. Head over to Arlie¡¯s down in Scholar¡¯s in a few days and see what he has to say.¡± Lyra also looked like she was holding in a smile. What¡¯s up with this Arlie guy? ¡°Will do. Hopefully it¡¯s up and flying by next week.¡± Said Jay, looking down at his new shield. Akira had the world¡¯s largest shit-eating grin as he hopped back onto the Celestial Swords¡¯ rooftop seating area. He deftly slid the sword into a loop by his waist, and practically skipped over to Lyra and Jay. ¡°Careful out there Mr. Parkour. Don¡¯t want to nick yourself and get your soul snatched!¡± said Jay. Akira laughed. Although right now he¡¯d probably have laughed at anything Jay told him, regardless of how unfunny it was. ¡°No worries on that front. It¡¯ll be at least a week before it attunes to me. But, since I¡¯m the owner, the sword¡¯s ability will probably change slightly. My soul¡¯s gonna remain firmly within my own body, regardless of how badly I fuck up using this thing. Not that I¡¯m gonna do anything like that of course. But I am gonna have to learn how to dual wield. I could just switch out my swords, but I don¡¯t want to just leave Juryoku¡­¡± Jay let Akira ramble on, nodding and damn bro-ing as his friend¡¯s words barely breached the surface of his mind. He leaned on the sun-kissed stones, letting their warmth wash through him. ¡°What¡¯re you gonna name your shield?¡± Akira¡¯s question cut through to Jay¡¯s drifting mind. He hadn¡¯t thought about a name yet. ¡°Does it really need a name?¡± Jay said, looking down at the blue tinged iron. ¡°It¡¯s just a shield.¡± ¡°Sure, if you wanna be boring! But where¡¯s the Romance in that? If you want to have a connection with your weapon, it needs a name. If it doesn¡¯t have one, then you get to make one. How about something cool, named after the gods like Loki, or Poseidon?¡± Jay waited a few seconds, wondering whether Akira was serious, before responding. ¡°Maybe, but why would I choose those gods? It¡¯s a lightning shield. Shouldn¡¯t it be Thor, or Zeus?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how you get them!¡± Said Akira, pointing to his forehead as if he¡¯d just said the smartest thing in the world. ¡°Your opponent walks into the coliseum thinking it¡¯s an illusion, or water-based shield. Then BAM! Lightning!¡± This guy¡­ ¡°You might have to change your alias though.¡± Akira added after a moment of thought. ¡°Kinda ruins the surprise.¡± Akira continued about the importance of names, as well as the element of surprise. Even though Jay wasn¡¯t particularly listening. Lyra¡¯s polite nods kept him going, but Jay was more focused on his new shield. It didn¡¯t look like a Loki, or a Poseidon. Zeus might work, but Jay held out on a name until he came up with a better idea. Eventually, Akira left. Retreating down into the tavern after realising his rambling was, if not strictly unwanted, somewhat unnecessary. Lyra remained by Jay¡¯s side. The pair leaned against the warm, sunlit stones in silence. Neither wanting to break the quiet ambiance. It wasn¡¯t silent, being within a few hundred metres of Reveller¡¯s Avenue meant the occasional scream and the more-than-occasional cheer of joy. But they enjoyed the peace, and didn¡¯t let the occasional gust of wind or obnoxious pigeon disrupt their quiet. Chapter 60: the Only Fair Fight ¡°So, does this place feel like home yet?¡± Lyra broke the stillness after a few minutes of peaceful staring. ¡°Not yet. But it¡¯s closer than I ever imagined two weeks ago.¡± Jay sighed as he turned away from the sea of rooftops and looked his friend in the eyes. ¡°Call me soft, call me a coward, but I¡¯m still not over killing Davad. I¡¯ve accepted it, I¡¯ve accepted that I¡¯ve done it, and that there was no other way. But it doesn¡¯t make it feel any better, you know?¡± ¡°I know, but would you rather be dead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying I¡¯d rather be anything Lyra. Of course I¡¯m happier here than six feet under, or whatever happens to your body after dying in the arena. But it still doesn¡¯t feel good. I¡¯m a fighter, I have been my whole life, and I¡¯ll continue to be until the day I die. It¡¯s what I live for. But yesterday there was a man called Davad with dreams, hopes, and visions for the world. Because of me, today there isn¡¯t. ¡°Better him than me. If I was dead, I couldn¡¯t¡­ I couldn¡¯t do anything. But it doesn¡¯t mean I have to feel good about it.¡± Lyra paused, her mouth curving into a bittersweet smile as her eyes grew distant. ¡°You¡¯re a good man Jay.¡± ¡°Is that you telling me I¡¯m acting childish? Telling me I¡¯ll grow out of it?¡± Lyra turned away from him, hiding her smile behind the back of her head as she overlooked the city. ¡°No comment.¡± Jay stared at Lyra¡¯s back, wondering if he really would grow out of the way he felt. Whether he¡¯d grow calloused to the killing. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he wanted to or not. BANG! Jay snapped his head to the doorway, and the panic-stricken Akira standing inside it. ¡°Umm guys? You¡¯re gonna want to come down.¡± He said, panting between each word. ¡°I think Vega¡¯s about to do something insanely stupid.¡±
Jay¡¯s footsteps clattered into the stairway, drawing the eyes of the tavern his way the instant he slammed open the door. They stayed there for a moment, before flicking back to the main event. ¡°You¡¯ve still not answered my question! What the fuck are you doing here?¡± said Vega. Her voice hadn¡¯t raised to a shout yet, but she was one testy jab away from it. Jay realised why when he looked over her shoulder. The crowd had parted to form a corridor of space between Vega and the tavern¡¯s entrance. Or rather, between Vega and the people stood in front of it. Ezekiel the Soulsnatcher stood by the Celestial Swords¡¯ entrance. The cocky smirk he¡¯d worn at the auction was gone, replaced by a scowl that seethed like smouldering coals. His venomous emerald eyes could have burned a hole straight through Jay, but he flicked them back onto Vega. The same hooded woman from the Flaming Tomb¡¯s lobby stood beside the unarmed swordsman. Her face still hidden behind the shadowy folds of her purple hood. Jay quickly opened her profile. Alias Amaya Ironglove Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound). Flaming Tomb Alliance. Grade E Rank 3 Offence 10 Defence 1 Strategy 2 Instinct 20 Vitality 99 Speed 301/5 Two speed rankings? What¡¯s up wi- ¡°Are you gonna fucking talk? Or am I gonna have to make you?¡± said Vega. She slammed a glass bottle on the table and the entire room flinched as she took a step closer to the two intruders. ¡°Are we not even allowed to set foot into your domain?¡± said Amaya, twirling a gloved hand in front of her. Tiny rubies, inlaid in gold, speckled the outside of Amaya¡¯s glove. They reflected the light across the tavern¡¯s ceiling as she waved her hand, but a wayward glimmer always seemed to target Jay¡¯s eyes. Hair-thin strings connected the gemstones across her knuckles, barely visible unless they caught the warm glow of the tavern¡¯s softly lit pillars. ¡°Oh, mighty mistress Vega. Queen of E grade. You would not grant us mere mortals the pleasure of a single sip of wine in this fine establishment?¡± Ezekiel was fortunate to have a friend to do the talking. His beet red face bulged, and he clenched his jaw so tight that Jay felt his own teeth crack under the pressure.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Amaya took a slight step forward. The room stiffened in anticipation. ¡°We came here to converse, to debate, and to accuse.¡± She pointed at Jay and his eyes latched onto her as if drawn by instinct. Jay kept them there, not wanting to be surprised by the two intruders. ¡°Lightning Leonard went from a mediocre nobody getting slapped around by an ape in his second fight to defeating a mid-tier prospect of the Flaming Tomb Alliance in less than five days. I call foul play. And demand the spoils of battle be returned.¡± ¡°HA! That¡¯s what you came here for?¡± Vega laughed in Amaya¡¯s face. She held her ground and pulled the room¡¯s captive attention back her way. ¡°The whole purpose of this damn island is for people to grow stronger, idiot. That¡¯s what Jay did, where¡¯s the foul play in that?¡± Vega¡¯s words didn¡¯t silence Amaya, or even quieten her. Face still hidden behind shadows, she puffed her chest and addressed the crowd. ¡°There¡¯s growing stronger, and then there¡¯s that. How was Davad supposed to be aware of Leonard¡¯s strength when he made the bet? You obviously used some sort of secret weapon or technique to train him after the announcement. That¡¯s unfair, and the bet shouldn¡¯t stand.¡± This time, when Vega laughed, the entire room joined her. Jay heard a few heckles emerge from the cheering crowd as he left the stairwell to stand beside Vega. ¡°Did she seriously just say secret technique?¡± ¡°Unfair? Does this bitch know where she is?¡± ¡°Who do these guys think they are?¡± Ezekiel had no sword by his side, so his fist merely clenched air as he bit down on his lip. Barely restraining himself beneath the tavern¡¯s jeers. ¡°What do you mean by secret weapon?¡± Vega asked, raising her arms and addressing the crowd as much as she did the duo in front of her. ¡°Do you mean something like a flying shield worth thousands of contribution points that protects and flies around its user? Yeah, something like that would be real fucking unfair.¡± The cheering crowd grew louder, and Jay wondered when the Flaming Tomb duo would turn tail and leave, since they were never getting their sword back. ¡°Why did you even come here?¡± Vega¡¯s accusation hushed the crowd. A few overeager patrons still hurled abuse at Amaya, but most stayed focused on the altercation. E grade¡¯s top three fighters all stood in one room together, and although rank two watched quietly by the sidelines, rank one was explosive enough to demand everyone¡¯s full focus. Vega walked closer to Amaya. With each step the room grew quieter. Silence suffocated the crowd when Vega reached punching range. Jay didn¡¯t know if the coliseum even allowed unsanctioned fights, especially between top prospects. Concern subdued his eagerness though. Because if Vega started brawling, he¡¯d jump in too. And being trapped in an enclosed space with her explosions, along with whatever the Flaming Tomb duo brought to the party didn¡¯t seem safe in the slightest. The crowd had no such fear. Barely concealed grins and expectant eyes watched Vega¡¯s every move, wondering what she¡¯d do next. ¡°Fight me.¡± Said Amaya. Her soft voice bounced around the room, displacing the silence and lodging her words between the ears of everyone listening. This whole ordeal had started with a reckless challenge. Was Amaya trying to finish with one as well? Lyra stepped forward, finally throwing her hat into the ring and stamping her mark on the exchange. ¡°As if she¡¯d accept your stupid challenge.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°Wait until Advancement. If you¡¯re so desperate to be embarrassed, you can do it then. When the whole world¡¯s watching.¡± Lyra¡¯s statement was aimed at Amaya, but Jay could see the other message behind it. ¡®Back down Vega. They¡¯re not worth it.¡¯ Vega nodded at her sister, before turning to face Amaya again. ¡°She¡¯s right. When I wipe the floor with your mangled corpse, I want everyone to watch me. I want them to watch me rip each limb from your body until you¡¯re a pile of meat. I want them to watch me burn every shred of flesh on your shredded carcass to cinders. I want them to watch me shatter every bone of your charred remains until the only thing that¡¯s left of you is powder and the only thing you¡¯ll be good for is gravel for my path. ¡°I wonder what you¡¯ll scream when I burn you alive. I wonder who you¡¯ll call out for in your final moments. I wonder what you¡¯ll think about in the last few seconds before I extinguish the flickering flames of your pitiful existence.¡± Ezekiel bit down on his jaw. Amaya''s cheek twitched. Jay subtly activated Eye of the storm, not simply slowing down reality, but heightening his perception of it. If the fighters in front of him kicked off, Jay wanted to be the first to react. A few seconds of tense stillness hung over the room before Amaya shattered it. ¡°Fight me.¡± Jay clenched his fist. His muscles sparked alive. The dormant electricity within him flicked its drowsy eyes open, stirred by Amaya¡¯s command. It wasn¡¯t just him. As Jay flicked his electrically empowered eyes around the room, he saw dozens of hands drop to the weapons by their waists. He saw a split second of aggression cloud Lyra¡¯s eyes, quickly replaced with apprehension and a worried glance at her sister. He saw the first embers begin to catch alight from within the hairline cracks across Vega¡¯s glassy body. The fire within her matched only by the burning rage across her face. ¡°No.¡± Vega replied with grim authority. Stomping out the flames of aggression rising across the room. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to fight me. You don¡¯t deserve the chance to touch me. You don¡¯t deserve even a glance at the mountaintop. You¡¯re so far beneath me that I feel dirty simply talking to you. What kind of gladiator walks into enemy territory and complains about an unfair fight? ¡°Disgraceful. The only unfair fight is anything between me and you. Can you get that thought between that stupid, fucking, thoughtless brain of yours? You¡¯re nothing. You¡¯re worthless. You don¡¯t hold a fucking candle to me. I¡¯ll destroy your body. I¡¯ll destroy your soul. I¡¯ll destroy every memory anybody¡¯s ever had of you. I¡¯ll make sure that every single person who you¡¯ve ever met will be disgusted by the mere thought of your meaningless existence. ¡°Unfair fight! Unfair fucking fight! You can have your braindead, ugly, fucking, swordless boyfriend beside you and it¡¯ll still be an unfair-¡± ¡°Then fight us both.¡± Amaya¡¯s words silenced Vega, interrupting her tirade of insults like a punch to the gut. The counter didn¡¯t stop there. Gold flashed across Amaya¡¯s eyes. Before Vega could reply, a screen appeared above Amaya¡¯s head. Visible for the entire room to see. Vega Twinstrike vs Amaya Ironglove and Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher Do you accept the challenge? Every set of eyes inside the Celestial Swords glanced at the screen before landing firmly on Vega Twinstrike. Every set of eyes except Vega¡¯s. E grade¡¯s number one fighter, E grade¡¯s champion, stood perfectly still as everyone else eyed her, awaiting a response. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot Vega.¡± Said Lyra, breaking the silence but barely scratching the tension ¡°It¡¯s exactly what she wants you to do.¡± Lyra looked desperate. No way. The inevitable reality dawned on Jay. He¡¯d known Vega for less than two weeks, but he didn¡¯t need Eye of the storm to see where this was going. Lyra had known her for a lifetime. She knew better than anyone else what was going through Vega¡¯s head right now, yet she was just as powerless as everybody else at stopping it. Vega met her sister¡¯s pleading eyes, staying there for a moment before drifting to Jay¡¯s cold analytical stare. He considered shaking his head, joining Lyra in her protests, but he recognised the futility of it. Jay had never become the world champion, but he knew the burden they carried. Many people call themselves fighters. And if you call yourself a fighter, you should be prepared to fight. Jay didn¡¯t need to draw on his Harmony, or his experience as a boxer to understand that. Some people call themselves good fighters. If you talk about yourself like you¡¯re better than others, you¡¯d better be prepared to fight. And you¡¯d better be prepared to win. Then came great fighters. These are few and far between. If anyone declares themselves a great fighter, it¡¯s not enough simply to win. You have to dominate. You have to set yourself apart from the rabble. You have to prove that you¡¯re above them. But being the best is different to merely being great. Being a great fighter is a rare achievement, and there may only be a few great fighters in existence. But there¡¯s only one champion. When you call yourself the best, you give up the right to refuse a challenge. When you call yourself the best, domination is the bare minimum. You have to dominate no matter the circumstances, no matter the challenge. Because if you didn¡¯t, could you really call yourself the best? Vega flicked her eyes up to the golden challenge, before meeting Ezekiel on her way back to the challenger. ¡°We fight in one hour. See you in the coliseum.¡± Ezekiel stormed out of the door, not giving Vega another moment of his time. Amaya lingered, her red lips curling into a momentary sneer. ¡°See you soon.¡± She said, blowing Vega a kiss as she turned and followed her partner outside. Chapter 61: Arcane Knight Vega pulled a red tunic out of a heap on the floor before tossing it over her shoulder into a growing pile behind her. ¡°Nah¡­ What do you think Jay, should I go with the Emberweave Gi or the Skystep Robes? I just bought the Gi, so it should make a statement in the arena, but I¡¯m worried it¡¯ll feel tight since I haven¡¯t worn it in yet.¡± ¡°Wear whatever protects you the most.¡± snapped Lyra. ¡°I¡¯d suggest the Ashguard¡¯s Mantle, but you haven¡¯t worn that in months so you¡¯ll be unfamiliar. Take a look at this.¡± A projection of Amaya¡¯s last fight draped over an entire wall of Vega¡¯s bedroom; Lyra studied it urging her sister to join her. ¡°It¡¯s hard to plan for Amaya, since she uses her puppets to fight instead of doing it herself. What you need to do will vary drastically depending on which ones she brings into the arena. I¡¯ve been watching her recent few fights in preparation for advancement, so I have a plan for four of her main puppets. First is Ironclad. This is her bruiser; I think she¡¯s likely to bring him out to help Ezekiel in the melee exchan-¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question, Jay.¡± Said Vega, completely disregarding her sister¡¯s briefing as she deliberately turned away from the fight recording. ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m not sure¡­ Maybe the Ashguard¡¯s Mantle like Lyra says? It seems like she knows a lot about your opponents.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t realise you were allergic to fun too. I think I¡¯ll go with the Gi.¡± In the entire time since she¡¯d accepted the challenge, Vega hadn¡¯t listened to a single word of her sister¡¯s advice. The whole journey from the Celestial Swords to the twins¡¯ house was filled with a one-sided strategy meeting, leaving Jay and Akira stranded in awkward silence. ¡°Vega, this isn¡¯t a joke.¡± Lyra pleaded. ¡°You have to take these guys seriously! Even fighting Amaya on short notice was a stupid decision, never mind both of them at once. I don¡¯t know what possessed you to do something so idiotic, we¡¯re less than a month away from advancement. Less than a month away from finally being free from this horrible E grade contract. And now you pull something like this! What the hell were you thinking?¡± Lyra pushed her sister¡¯s shoulder to the side. Forcing Vega to look her in the eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t just casually waltz into this one Vega. You need to prepare.¡± Vega rejected her sister¡¯s stare. She turned away from the screen again and picked a set of red robes from the floor. ¡°Found them!¡± she said cheerfully. The room¡¯s oppressive stillness swallowed her forced enthusiasm. ¡°What do you think Akira? Stylish?¡± The young man stood silently in the doorway. He hadn¡¯t said a word since they¡¯d left the tavern. He must¡¯ve been conflicted. On the one hand, he didn¡¯t want to annoy Vega or throw her off before the fight. But on the other hand, Akira must¡¯ve known how stupid it¡¯d be for Vega to ignore her sister¡¯s advice and walk into the coliseum unprepared. Jay felt trapped between the two twins, he couldn¡¯t imagine how his friend felt. ¡°Looks good.¡± He said meekly, forcing a timid smile. ¡°But maybe you should listen to Ly-¡± ¡°FOR FUCKS SAKE!¡± Vega shouted as she tossed the robes she¡¯d just picked up back onto the floor. ¡°Are you guys being fucking serious right now? Vega do this, Vega do that. SHUT THE FUCK UP! Do you need reminding who¡¯s ranked the highest here? It¡¯s me. It¡¯s fucking me. Have some faith. Have some respect.¡± Vega¡¯s exasperated pants filled the room. Jay, Lyra, and Akira all took in her words. Vega picked the robes off the ground and regained her composure. ¡°I¡¯m going to step into the coliseum. I¡¯m going to crush those two assholes under my feet. And I¡¯m going to do it my way. I don¡¯t need any of you guys whispering in my ear. I need you to stand back, shut up, and let me do my fucking job.¡± Jay leant against the bedroom wall, focusing on Vega as she calmed down and rummaged through her belongings. Akira stood in stunned silence beneath the doorframe. ¡°I¡¯m your sister.¡± Said Lyra, refusing to stay quiet. She faced her identical twin and made sure her words got through to her. ¡°It¡¯s my job to look out for you. My job. Got it? Some things are more important than going out there and putting on a show okay. I can¡¯t just stand back if there''s something, anything, I could do to help.¡± Vega finally returned her sister¡¯s stare. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m leaving in twenty minutes. You¡¯ve got until then.¡±
The soft cushions of Lyra¡¯s couch felt far more spartan with the weight of four gladiators pressing into them. Three sets of eyes focused intently on a projection of Amaya Ironglove¡¯s last fight while a fourth wandered aimlessly along the ceiling. ¡°Since they¡¯ve never fought together, it¡¯ll be hard to make a full gameplan for this one.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t make do. Jay, what do you think of this?¡± A giant clay golem rose from the earth in front of Amaya, leaving a ditch in the arena floor. She inscribed a rune in its back with her finger. The rune sparked to life with an ember-red glow and the golem began marching forward. Lyra shifted the perspective to show Amaya¡¯s opponent. Amaya¡¯s opponent, a warrior named Gildan, had the muscular body of a foot soldier below the neck, but the snarling head of a leopard above it. He wore a bronze breastplate above a maroon tunic with an armoured skirt covering his thighs, a sheathed shortsword slapped the skirt¡¯s metal tassels as he moved. Jay thought he looked more like a roman gladiator than anyone else he¡¯d seen at the coliseum. Well, other than the giant leopard head. Gildan held a small buckler shield outstretched in front of him with his off hand and raised a golden spear in his right as if he was about to throw it. He retreated behind his shield, inviting the golem closer while twisting his path to keep vision of his true opponent. While her golem put pressure onto Gildan, Amaya wasn¡¯t simply standing there watching. She stood beside the golem sized crater, pulling metal pieces of armour out of a satchel to her side. The satchel must¡¯ve worked similarly to Davad¡¯s quiver, she pulled a breastplate out of it easily before reaching in for the next piece. She arranged the segments on the ground in front of her and began painting the same red rune on each one, this time with a fine brush instead of her finger.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The golem closed the distance to the gladiator. Gildan had almost reached the iridescent arena walls when he dug his heels into the ground and pulled back his right arm. The golem kept advancing. Gildan threw his spear. By the time it left his fingertips, it was hardly a spear anymore. It blazed with luminous energy, like a javelin of pure sunlight hurtling towards the golem. The javelin unravelled, splitting into strings of golden light as it neared its target. The strings separated and twisted off into the air before curling back in on themselves. Each strand weaved within its neighbours, knotting themselves into a net that blanketed the golem. The edges of the magical net shot into the ground; golden stakes splitting the gravel as if heavenly mallets pounded them into the ground. Gildan didn¡¯t wait any longer. He completely ignored the ensnared golem, springing around it directly towards Amaya. Doesn¡¯t seem too dangerous¡­ Jay waited before commenting on the fight, both Lyra and Akira kept their eyes glued to the fight and they probably had good reason. While the golem struggled beneath the glowing golden net behind him, Gildan unsheathed his shortsword and began charging towards Amaya. He¡¯d more than halved the distance by the time the hooded woman looked up from her ritual. She shifted around the suit of armour, which was now fully complete with sword and shield. Ethereal red strings attached each piece together, linking each segment at the painted rune. Amaya pulled her gloved hand back after she painted the final rune. A blood-red spiral on the armour¡¯s nape. The knight lit up from within and infernal red light bled out from its joints. The inanimate armour instantly sparked to life. Gildan slammed his shortsword down. The armour raised its shield just in time, protecting itself and its master. ¡°Is anyone going to explain how she did that?¡± asked Jay. He was past the point of being dumbfounded by Harmony, but it still surprised him. He had no idea what Amaya was doing. ¡°Essence of the puppeteer.¡± Said Akira, grimacing as he watched Amaya¡¯s puppet duel with Gildan. ¡°It¡¯s actually a reanimation technique called Arcane Knight that she¡¯s repurposed for her own Harmony. Since she can mix and match her knights¡¯ body parts, she can build a specific knight to counter each opponent. She doesn¡¯t vary this one too much though, it¡¯s called Ironclad and it doesn¡¯t change much other than the weapons.¡± ¡°What about the golem?¡± Jay asked. ¡°It¡¯s something similar, just more basic. The golem isn¡¯t particularly strong but, since it¡¯s made of gravel and only uses one rune, she can rapidly make it at the start of each fight. More runes means more control, but the coliseum doesn¡¯t let her paint them in advance. That¡¯s why she uses the golem to buy herself time to create a knight. Think of it like Davad¡¯s domain, except instead of firing fake arrows to gain control, she paints the runes to mark her turf. The runes grant her control over the puppet, so she can¡¯t control the single runed golem as well as the more precise knight.¡± ¡°If one knight isn¡¯t enough, she¡¯ll make another.¡± Said Lyra, drawing Jay''s attention back to the fight. ¡°You can¡¯t exactly kill what isn¡¯t alive though, so she rarely needs more than one puppet.¡± Ironclad stayed on the defensive while Gildan tried to break its guard. Behind the duel, Amaya had her arms outstretched. She contorted her fingers, manipulating her Arcane Knight through glowing red strings that linked her runes to the rubies adorning her gloves. The reanimated suit of armour moved quickly, but the gladiator kept pushing it back. Gildan pierced Ironclad¡¯s breastplate, thrusting his sword through where a human¡¯s heart would be. It did nothing. Amaya flung both her arms sideways. Her puppet obeyed. The Arcane Knight twisted its torso, wrenching the sword from Gildan¡¯s hand. The leopard man retreated far from Ironclad¡¯s range before glancing at the downed golem. The strands of sunlight had diced through the golem¡¯s earthy body. They unthreaded themselves and returned to Gildan¡¯s hand, this time reforming into an axe-like glaive instead of a spear. Some kind of weapon essence? Or maybe it¡¯s to do with light? Lyra switched the perspective to show Amaya. Disarming Gildan had steadied the puppeteer, but the golden weapon¡¯s return rekindled her urgency. The infernal strings faded, leaving the knight to move of its own accord. Amaya took a knee and began pulling things from her satchel. ¡°Amaya¡¯s extremely vulnerable when she¡¯s constructing her puppets. It¡¯s why she uses the golem.¡± Said Lyra. Pointing towards the puppeteer and then the cubed-up pile of dirt in the background. ¡°She won¡¯t have this problem fighting alongside Ezekiel however, since there¡¯ll be someone defending her right from the start. Gildan tried to rush the golem and get to her before she could create her knight. He almost got there in time, but Ezekiel won¡¯t be that easy. Luckily, he doesn¡¯t have his soul snatching sword, I¡¯d recommend trying to blitz him before immediately switching to Amaya. You might take a hit, but I think it¡¯s the best path to victory.¡± Vega huffed but flicked her eyes onto the screen. ¡°How does this fight end? Does he find a way around the knight at all?¡± ¡°He does, but too late.¡± Said Lyra. The projection moved away from Amaya to get a closer look at the duel. Gildan unleashed a low horizontal swipe at the puppet¡¯s legs, forcing it to retreat. The glaive grazed the armour, releasing a resounding clang through the room. Gildan lunged in, reversing his weapon and thrusting at the puppet¡¯s torso. Instead of targeting the heart, he aimed for the shoulder. He lodged the weapon in the crack between the two plates and drove it forwards. The glaive wedged itself in the puppet¡¯s joint. Gildan shifted his grip to the glaive¡¯s base. He yanked sideways, using his weapon as a lever. The glow emanating from within the puppet¡¯s arm faded. The Arcane Knight¡¯s shield arm clattered into pieces on the ground, severed from the rest of the body. ¡°Another weakness.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°Although there aren¡¯t literal strings attached to the armour, the technique functions similarly. If you can carefully place an explosive in one of these gaps, you could probably create enough force to dismember the puppet. Half-armed with only a longsword, the Arcane Knight retreated. Floundering to deflect every attack with only its sword. In his aggressive fervour, Gildan didn¡¯t notice where the puppet was retreating to. Instead of simply backpedalling, the Arcane Knight arced around, slowly shifting the fight until Gildan had his back completely turned to Amaya. The camera shifted back to her. She painted a miniature rune on a tiny piece of wood before slotting it in place. Amaya¡¯s second Arcane Knight was less than a fifth the size of her first, and it resembled a wooden puppet of a falcon rather than a suit of armour. Upon its completion, the wooden falcon lit up from within. It took flight, leaving the safety of its mother and soaring into battle. The camera hugged the bird¡¯s back. Jay could see the delicate feathers etched into its wooden body as it swooped towards the duel. By now, Gildan had all but defeated the first knight. The severed shield arm lay motionless on the ground, and both the puppet¡¯s legs had been cleaved at the kneecaps. Only the sword arm remained fully intact, frantically swinging in response to Gildan¡¯s attacks. The falcon rose higher in the air. Lingering for a moment, assessing the battlefield. When Gildan loaded up his killing blow, the second puppet launched its offensive. Jay had to give credit to Gildan, he¡¯d fought admirably against the Arcane Knight and had found a weakness in Amaya¡¯s unkillable puppet. But he¡¯d gotten too invested in his duel, and without the help of the coliseum camera system, there was no way he¡¯d notice the falcon. He was only human. Or, only human and leopard. But neither of those species expect to be hunted. Gildan¡¯s eyes locked onto the Arcane knight as he slashed into its sword arm¡¯s elbow, splitting the metal arm in two. He raised his glaive again, this time aiming for the neck. His weapon made it. The shining golden blade sliced through the arcane strings. It snuffed out the red glow within the armour, and each piece collapsed onto the ground. But his final attack came with a cost. The wooden falcon plunged downward. Its beak slashed across Gildan¡¯s neck the instant he landed the final blow. The immediate splatters of blood dotted the falcon¡¯s wooden wings as it soared away from its prey. It circled Gildan¡¯s body, scouting for its next attack as the gladiator dropped to his knees. It wasn¡¯t necessary. Blood poured from the leopard man¡¯s jugular, staining the ground crimson. He raised his hands. Tried to stem the bleeding. The blood kept coming. His glaive fell to the gravel, clattering into the fragmented remains of the first Arcane Knight. Its wielder joined it moments after. Gildan turned his head and faced his opponent. The screen changed to his perspective. The world slowly dripped red as he stared into the shadowy depths of his opponent¡¯s hood. Her blood red lips sneered at him, taunting him. Smiling as if he¡¯d never had a chance.
Jay reflected on the fight as he waited for someone else to break the silence. Two on one can¡¯t be easy, it didn¡¯t end well for him¡­ He glanced over at Vega, face furrowed as she stepped up from the couch. But she already knew that. ¡°Is that the nerd talk over with?¡± said Vega, putting on a chirpy voice that almost masked her annoyance and betrayed more than a hint of unease. Jay wanted to help out, wanted to give her the winning formula to the fight, but he knew it didn¡¯t exist. The time for preparation was over. Vega had a fight to win. Chapter 62: Watch Me For the second time in less than two hours, Jay followed his friends into the Celestial Swords. There were no congratulations awaiting him this time. The boisterous crowd quietened the moment Lyra entered the room. As much as they craved violence, it was hard to scream for a bloodbath with the fighter¡¯s sister nearby. The trio nestled in the same corner booth as before, away from the eager crowd. Florian glanced in their direction, not meeting Lyra¡¯s eyes. As Jay sat down, he noticed one of the floating screens shift in their direction, giving them a better view of the current fight. Lyra and Akira joined him in silence. They each sat down and anxiously waited for Vega¡¯s fight to start.
Finally some fucking peace and quiet. Vega watched her friends peel off into the Celestial Swords while she continued towards the coliseum. She knew they meant well, but that didn¡¯t make it any easier to deal with. She should¡¯ve known that Lyra would find others similar to her. Her little sister had always been better at that stuff. Two of them was already tough, although Akira usually caved if she pushed hard enough. But now there was three of them. Strategy, analysis, game planning. Fucking hell are you fighters or a scientists? Vega respected their style of fighting, but that didn¡¯t mean she had to like it. Where¡¯s the fun in that? A civilian cried her name from the opposite side of Reveller¡¯s. Vega waved back, squinting and trying to remind herself of his face. No use, he was too far away. Another man nodded her direction as she neared the pavilion. She returned his smile and walked amidst the stone gladiators; her chest lifted with renewed purpose. Being the number one fighter had its perks, especially during arguments with a lower ranked twin sister, but that wasn¡¯t why Vega fought. She looped her way around the coliseum, clicking her fingers against the statues towering beside her. Sparks skittered off her glossy fingers. A reminder of why she was here in the first place. As much as they argued, Vega knew that her twin would always be there for her. But there was something more important than their bond. Something they¡¯d immortalized the moment they stepped foot in the coliseum. Their promise. ¡°Nobody is taking this life away from us. Not again.¡± Vega still remembered her sister¡¯s words. She remembered the severity etched on her newly cursed face. She remembered the venom behind them, the icy cold anger tempering Lyra¡¯s every word. She¡¯d never seen her sister so mad. As much as she disapproved of Lyra¡¯s Harmony. Vega would never take it away from her. But what was she to do when her own place in the world differed so much from her twin¡¯s? Vega couldn¡¯t just leave her sister. Not after everything they¡¯d been through together. A pair of giddy children pointed in her direction and giggled to each other. She gave them a giant smile and waved. Their excitement dragged Vega out of her past, and one look at the statue of the unnamed gladiator locked her in the present. When she entered that arena, the rankings didn¡¯t matter. Her opponents didn¡¯t matter. Her sister didn¡¯t matter. Everyone watching her fights, from the patrons at the Celestial Swords to those two children who she¡¯d never seen before. They mattered. Forget Harmony. Forget the coliseum. She was these people¡¯s champion. And she¡¯d give them a show.
Vega had never bothered to buy any furniture for her waiting room. She didn¡¯t see the point. Why bother decking out a single room that you¡¯ll only ever spend about ten minutes a week inside? Akira¡¯s insistent pleas about comfort, familiarity, and routine fell on deaf ears the one and only time he¡¯d tried to convince her. She¡¯d never feel comfortable in here. Not a chance. How could she when every bone in her body screamed to start the damn fight already. She¡¯d feel comfortable the second the golden timer ticked to zero. The soulbound curse of a gladiator wasn¡¯t as insidious as the Dreamweaver¡¯s. But it was far more restrictive. They couldn¡¯t even leave the island for more than a week. When Vega had tried, she¡¯d teleported right back into this stupid room the moment her visa ran out. She didn¡¯t even win any points for that fight. Still better than being back home. The first licks of heat rolled down the cracks in Vega¡¯s arm. She looked down at her cursed body and curled her hand into a fist. Her fingers clinked into each other. No matter how hard she pressed against her palm, she barely felt a thing.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Stupid fucking glass body. ¡°Not a scratch to ever draw blood on my daughters¡¯ bodies.¡± What a fucking idiot. Vega rapped her knuckles against the wall. She¡¯d gotten used to her new body, but getting used to something and liking it were very different. Dying couldn¡¯t have come a moment sooner for Vega, the curse was just the final straw. A part of her wished her sister had stayed in the Obsidian Pass though. In a way, Vega had cursed her just as much as their father had. Vega had chosen this life. Or at least, she¡¯d chosen to end her last one. Lyra had just jumped in to help. Vega had never had the heart to tell her she didn¡¯t want any. ¡°It¡¯s my job to look out for you. My fucking job.¡± It doesn¡¯t have to be, Lyra. I can fight on my own. Watch me. A golden screen covered the entire beige wall, its appearance a welcome distraction. Vega watched the numbers tick down with anticipation. Not long now. The gentle warmth intensified. Wisps of orange light emerged from the blistering furnace that was Vega Twinstrike. Stoked by the scorching flames of wrath.
This arena was larger than any she¡¯d fought in before. The three gladiators stood in a triangle, each hugging the invisible barrier wall. To Vega¡¯s left stood Amaya Ironglove. The puppeteer already had a hand inside her satchel. Her obscured face looked directly at Vega, completely shrouded other than her arrogant sneer. A flicker of movement on the other side of the arena drew Vega¡¯s attention away from Amaya. Confined to one spot until the timer ticked to zero, Ezekiel swung a gigantic sword through the air while he waited. Vega had taken a good look at Ezekiel¡¯s old sword inside the Celestial Swords. She had no idea how he¡¯d ever fought with the unwieldy thing. Even if he only needed one hit to finish a fight, swinging a person-sized hunk of metal around can¡¯t have been easy. Instead of switching up his style, Ezekiel the Soulsnatcher had doubled down. His new weapon stretched even longer than the last one, and whereas his old sword was a thin sliver of metal, this one almost had more in common with a slab of marble than a sword. The paddle-like sword stretched wider than Ezekiel¡¯s forearm, it had flat edges instead of blades and was at least two inches thick. Crimson streaks dripped off two freshly painted runes on one side of the strange weapon. Occasionally swinging globs of red into the gravel. Must be some fancy lightweight rich-people metal. No way he¡¯s swinging it like that otherwise. Just means it¡¯ll be easier to break. 10¡­9¡­8¡­ All three fighters looked at the golden screen in the sky. Potentially counting down their final seconds of peace. 7¡­6¡­5¡­ The inferno burning within Vega¡¯s heart roared once more. She held her hands behind her as they began to glow bright white. 4¡­ Vega looked at both her opponents. 3¡­ She looked at the sky-like expanse beyond the newbie arena¡¯s shimmering barrier wall. 2¡­ If she looked hard enough, she could almost see the crowd watching her. Waiting. 1¡­ Hoping. FIGHT. Vega¡¯s palms erupted in a violent inferno. Her explosive blast propelled her towards Amaya. Amaya backed away. She rushed towards her partner. Vega stretched her left hand to the side. She fired another explosion, weaker than the last but enough to shift her trajectory. The gap shortened. Amaya pulled a cloudy brown crystal from the satchel and slammed it into the ground. The crystal burrowed into the ground, dragging the earth down with it. A whirlpool of gravel collapsed into the arena floor. Vega brought her foot down. She hopped off the ground, shifting her arms down and launching herself into the air. Her eyes flicked towards Ezekiel. He¡¯s not close enough to block. Vega contorted her body. She twisted until her arms faced away from Amaya. Another blast flung her towards her opponent. A spurt of gravel erupted from the whirlpool¡¯s centre. Soaring into the air like an earthy geyser and blocking Vega¡¯s view of the puppeteer. Fucking rocks. The tiny pebbles clumped together, conjoining to form a solid column of stone. Fucking mountains. Vega launched a tiny marble at the column. It punched a small crater in the stone. She tucked in her arms and legs. Her body burned with unrelenting heat. Her first shot had barely damaged the mountain. It wasn¡¯t supposed to. It was supposed to give her a target. Vega¡¯s body glowed brilliant white as it slammed into the column Then she detonated. Stone shards whirred past Vega¡¯s ears as Amaya¡¯s stone barrier shattered in every direction. Pebbles shot towards Ezekiel and Amaya, the splintered remains of the mountain¡¯s corpse. A dust cloud blotted out Vega¡¯s entire world as she dropped to the ground. She couldn¡¯t see her opponents. She couldn¡¯t see anything. Fucking dust. But Vega didn¡¯t need to see anything. Since she¡¯d left the pits, she¡¯d been consumed by thoughts of the insufferable mountain cunt and how she¡¯d blast him to pieces the next time she saw him. What was a little bit of dust in her eyes? Vega dragged both of her hands against the ground, combing through the gravel. She raised two fistfuls of grit into the air. Orange heat surged from her hands. She tossed the tiny rocks in the air, closing her fists and focusing on the essence of explosivity. In the split second before she released her attack, Vega didn¡¯t think about simply exploding. She didn¡¯t think about creating a shockwave that would devastate her opponents¡¯ bodies by rupturing their internal organs, churning their guts to paste. It was pretty fucking hard not to. But she focused on something else. Most people see explosions as raw power, a sudden shockwave of uncontainable energy. Most people are fucking right. But explosives are far more than just a shockwave. They¡¯re far more brutal. Vega focused on the miniature rocks she¡¯d thrown in the air in front of her. She focused on the dust cloud her last attack had created. She focused on the air itself. And she pushed. This explosion didn¡¯t attack like any of her last. It had an army of shrapnel to do that for it. It pressed against the airborne rocks. Enforcing its will upon them as they became shrapnel hurtling towards its enemies. It pressed against the dust cloud, pushing all the miniscule particles away. Dispersing the cloud, clearing the battlefield. It pressed against the air itself, compressing the particles closer. Forcing them together, forcing pure energy inside them. Superheating them, and firing them at its enemies too. It pressed against Vega, for not even its creator was immune from its indiscriminate scourge. Vega stood unyielding. The wave of hot air rushed over her, but she was used to far worse. Gravel peppered her body, but her obsidian skin was far tougher. Vega¡¯s pummelling blast had cleared the dust from the air, staining the nearest barrier wall brown. Able to see again, Vega quickly located her opponents. A clay golem knelt next to a crater in the ground. Its now hardened skin singed and cracked from the kiln of battle. Stone shards pierced its spine and its entire back was littered with lacerations. It collapsed to the floor, legs crumbling beneath its weight. But it had already served its purpose. Amaya Ironglove stood unharmed. She batted her dust covered cloak and stared at Vega. A grimace replacing her once cocky smile. Beside her, Ezekiel¡¯s now dust caked sword stood upright. Embedded in the ground. Ezekiel the Soulsnatcher emerged from behind his colossal weapon. He yanked it from the ground and waved it around in a sweeping flourish. While one side was completely coated, the other side shone silver and pristine, the runes had barely smudged. Vega¡¯s opponents weren¡¯t going down without a fight. Good. Because they¡¯re gonna fucking get one. Chapter 63: Looks Like She Prepared Something Looks like she prepared something for Yagao. Jay silently analysed Vega¡¯s opening salvo. Although he was confident in his analysis skills, Lyra had probably watched every single second of Vega¡¯s fights. She¡¯d almost certainly caught something that he hadn¡¯t. But Jay could tell there¡¯d be no discussion until the fight ended. Jay had slipped on the cold mask of calculating analysis for this fight. Concentrating purely on the details and technicalities of the fight helped him ignore the stakes. At least for now. He doubted his friends could say the same. Akira¡¯s knuckles paled, clenching the handle of his untouched drink. His knee bounced beneath the table. Occasionally, he¡¯d drag a hand down to stop it. But the break never lasted long. Lyra rhythmically clinked her fingers against the table. She stared squarely at the projection in front of them. From the moment the announcer introduced the three fighters, her neck hadn¡¯t moved. Not even a twitch. Jay pulled his eyes from his friends and returned to the fight. None of them could help Vega right now, no matter how much they analysed or agonized. She was alone in that arena. And the only way out had two bodies stacked in front of it. The blitz didn¡¯t work then. What¡¯re you gonna do next? The camera shifted to just behind Ezekiel¡¯s shoulders, and Jay saw an enraged Vega snarl beyond the back of the swordsman¡¯s head. Is tha-
Vega fired a potshot at the duo, denying Amaya any time to prepare. Ezekiel blocked with his shield-like sword. The metal sang. A ringing chime filled the arena. Reverberations from the impact scattered the dust off the sword. Vega marched forward; eyes glued to Amaya¡¯s hands. The tedious strategy session had made one thing clear: she couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the puppeteer. Gildan had the skill to defeat Amaya, he just didn¡¯t have the mental strength. Ezekiel was a simpler problem, but hardly an easier one. The swordsman charged forward. Sweeping the colossal sword to his right. Vega had been on the receiving end of far too many of Akira¡¯s swordsmanship rants over the past few months. She¡¯d listened to far less, but enough to get the gist. Ezekiel had sloppy technique, he left himself exposed too much, he choreographed his attacks too much, he took too many risks. Then why¡¯s he not dead yet? Vega ducked under the sweeping blade. She pointed at the maul-like sword, unleashing a miniature explosion that altered the swing¡¯s trajectory. The sword whistled over her head. She slid to her left. Because of his sword¡¯s freakishly long reach, Ezekiel was still out of range. Instead of letting the sword¡¯s inertia yank his shoulder from its socket, Ezekiel sidestepped alongside his weapon. Buying himself the time to spin it around and launch another sweeping strike. Vega hopped back, shifting the angle to keep Amaya in her peripheral vision. Motherfucker. Do you think I¡¯m stupid? Amaya had a hand in her satchel, but she hadn¡¯t pulled anything out yet. She couldn¡¯t pull out a fully formed construct, Vega knew the coliseum didn¡¯t allow that. What¡¯s she planning? Vega pulled her focus back onto the swordsman. He was the one applying pressure. His attacks consistently left openings. There had to be a reason. You don¡¯t live long fighting like that. She fired an explosive marble at Ezekiel, sending one towards Amaya as well for good measure. He sidestepped slightly, barely moving from his position and keeping his sword pointed at her. Bad idea. Vega fired another at the swordsman, this time following behind it. Ezekiel narrowly dodged again, letting the miniature explosive fly over his shoulder. Bad fucking idea. The marble exploded mid-air. Searing hot air propelled Ezekiel towards the advancing Vega. His left leg shot out from beneath him, barely keeping him upright. His sword pointed at Vega, but he had no room to use it. Vega rushed in, white light escaping the cracks in her right fist. She hurled a looping hook at Ezekiel¡¯s face. He raised his sword. Too slow. Ezekiel¡¯s upper body suddenly lurched downwards, folding in on itself. Vega unfurled her fist. Her fingertips singed her opponent¡¯s falling hair but couldn¡¯t do any damage. She kicked out a leg but Ezekiel¡¯s waist had already jerked away from her, dragging the rest of his body with it.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He retreated. Half backpedalling, half stumbling just to stay upright as his heels dragged against the gravel. The fuck was that?
We should¡¯ve seen this coming. Jay leaned forward, shifting in his seat as he willed the fight projection slightly closer. From Amaya¡¯s point of view, Jay saw what Vega couldn¡¯t. A familiar red spiral peeked out from behind Ezekiel¡¯s collar. Identical to the runes Amaya had painted on her Arcane Knights. Moments before Vega connected, a ruby red glow illuminated Ezekiel¡¯s skin. A taut red sting materialised between the two Flaming Tomb gladiators. Linking Ezekiel to Amaya¡¯s orchestrating hands. When Amaya yanked her arms back, she dragged the swordsman to safety. By the time Vega glanced between her two opponents, the string had vanished. Fading into invisibility as quickly as it¡¯d flared to life. The perspective briefly switched to a close-up replay of the exchange during the momentary lull. When Jay focused on Ezekiel¡¯s hands. He saw another spiral rune on each wrist. ¡°Almost.¡± said Vega, taunting her opponents while holding her index finger and thumb millimetres apart. Ezekiel hopped back, creating some separation before he turned to his teammate. ¡°Yep. Let¡¯s do it Zeke.¡± said Amaya. The rubies embedded in her gloves twinkled. The strings attached to each of her knuckles vibrated as she raised both hands.
Whatever it was, Vega knew Amaya was involved. She knew she had to apply more pressure to both her targets. Once Amaya fell, Ezekiel would crumble soon after. An explosion beneath Vega¡¯s feet lifted her into the air. Another sent her rocketing towards the puppeteer. Ezekiel rushed to protect his partner, but his feet couldn¡¯t match Vega¡¯s speed. He didn¡¯t need them. Amaya wrenched her outstretched hands to the side. Three infernal strings materialised between her and Ezekiel. Each pulled taut by her movement. Ezekiel was thrust backwards, hauled to action by the puppeteer¡¯s strings. They loosened slightly as he neared Amaya, granting him control over his body once more. He raised his weapon in front of him and Vega watched the glowing tattoos on his hands fade back to dull ink. He angled the sword to face Vega, trying to catch the flying gladiator the moment she dropped into his range. Too bad. Vega stayed airborne. Another explosion sent her soaring past the living puppet¡¯s head. She hit the ground a few metres behind Amaya. Vega threw three marbles at the puppeteer before charging straight after them. Before her opponents could react, Vega detonated one of her marbles. The explosion fired the other two into the ground. Once they were embedded into the gravel, they too detonated. Kicking up a gigantic plume of dust as they simultaneously blasted the earth. As much as it pained her to acknowledge, Vega knew she couldn¡¯t win this fight cleanly. Duelling Ezekiel while trying to nullify his partner played exactly to their strengths. To win that fight, the swordsman didn¡¯t need to beat her. He only had to open the door wide enough for Amaya to strike. Vega couldn¡¯t afford to take that fight. To win, she had to drag them into the dirt with her. A simple slugfest wasn¡¯t enough. To win, she had to become a matchup nightmare. Falling gravel pelted Vega¡¯s skin the moment she charged into the dust cloud. She stopped instantly, hurling miniature explosive marbles in front of her. Then she listened. She closed her eyes and focused solely on the wide net of explosives she¡¯d just cast SNAP! There. Vega darted left, following the explosion¡¯s trail. She couldn¡¯t see a thing, but neither could her opponents. Vega trusted her durability. Trading blow for blow in a 2v1 didn¡¯t sound like a great strategy, but an alliance is only as strong as its weakest link. She¡¯d take five hits if it meant landing one good shot on Amaya. One blow to the duo¡¯s soft underbelly and their strategy would fall apart. A silhouette emerged from the dust. Vega punched it. Amaya looked up. She was too slow to do anything else. Vega¡¯s right fist smashed into her opponent¡¯s temple. Or so she thought. A sheet of ice froze Vega¡¯s knuckles in place, millimetres from Amaya¡¯s face. The ice expanded. It enveloped Vega¡¯s fist before she could react. An ice blue glow emanated from a diamond necklace resting against Amaya¡¯s chest. How many artefacts does this bitch have? Vega tried to free her hand with a small explosion, but more ice kept coming. It encased the dust too, locking Vega¡¯s fist in a murky brown prison, agonizingly close to its target. A red string materialised, firing off from Amaya¡¯s glove into the hazy distance. Vega heard scuffed gravel far to her right. Focus! Vega¡¯s trapped arm glowed red with heat. Meltwater bubbled and hissed, breaking cracks in the ice and escaping as steam. She could¡¯ve broken free, the icy shackles no longer truly restrained her, but Vega was too close to waste this chance. She remained focused on superheating her fist. Using all the time she could. Ezekiel leapt out from the dusty expanse. He swung his colossal sword above him. He slammed the hunk of metal downwards. Vega waited. It drew even closer. But Vega still waited. At the last second, when her fist was white hot, she detonated it. Directly in front of Amaya¡¯s face. Her hand shot back from the explosion. It launched into the path of Ezekiel¡¯s blunt greatsword. The giant weapon collided with Vega¡¯s wrist. She felt the metal press into her obsidian skin for less than a second before her explosion¡¯s shockwave scattered the three gladiators. Vega expected a crack after the solid hunk of metal slammed into her arm. She heard nothing but Amaya¡¯s pained shrieks as she flew backwards out of the dust cloud. Separation gave Vega a chance to breathe. She twirled her wrist, waiting to hear if it would click, before looking down to assess the damage.
The fuck is that? The confusion etched across Vega¡¯s face mirrored Jay¡¯s inside the Celestial Swords. Red ink rolled around Vega¡¯s forearm, coiling around her wrist like an anaconda before locking itself in place. Vega squinted at her new tattoo, furiously rubbing it with her other hand. It wouldn¡¯t budge. The camera shifted, giving the spectators a better view of the marking. Lyra gasped, connecting the dots before the rest of the tavern. Their perspective switched to the Flaming Tomb duo. The camera swivelled around Amaya¡¯s head. Clumps of magical ice still clung to the puppeteer¡¯s face, but her hood had been burned to cinders. The ice began to melt, dripping murky water onto her neck and shoulders. A gloved hand ripped the blue amulet from her neck, tossing it aside. The diamond looked far smaller than before and melted into a puddle the moment it hit the ground. The remnants of ice melted with it, revealing the puppet master¡¯s face for the first time. Her red lipstick had smudged, Vega¡¯s explosion had pushed the pigment onto her left cheek, past a river of scar tissue, and onto a metal plate above it. Amaya had the mouth and jaw of a human being, and the right side of her face looked relatively normal too. She had a dark brown eye and half a head of wispy black hair above it. But nobody¡¯s gaze stayed there for long. The entire left half of Amaya¡¯s head was made of sleek brushed metal. It curved around her skull, and was spotless other than a few slight scorch marks. There was a socket where her left eye would be. Inside it sat a red flaming sphere with a jet black pupil in the centre. The pupil rapidly darted around the newbie arena, not lingering anywhere for more than a half-second. It stopped. Amaya raised her index finger. It followed her flaming eyeball¡¯s line of sight. Directly towards her opponent. A glowing red line extended from her finger. Directly towards her opponent. Amaya turned towards her partner and smiled. Ezekiel slumped against his sword, which now only had one rune painted on it. He didn¡¯t have a magic necklace to protect him against the blast, so his face had several new scars laced across it. Still, he too managed a smile. Both members of the Flaming Tomb Alliance let out a deep, heaving sigh. Jay thought they almost looked¡­ Relieved? Chapter 64: I Guess She’ll Never Know Ah shit. Infernal ink coiled around Vega¡¯s wrist, staining her skin red. She wondered how Ezekiel felt, reduced to just another of Amaya¡¯s puppets. His only purpose to obey her every command. Did he resent it? Did he want to be more than a mere pawn? Victory healed all bruised egos though. It was Vega''s job to piss on their parade. Vega prepared to attack. Her opponents had landed a blow, but they hadn¡¯t escaped unscathed. Ezekiel slumped against his sword, heavily panting and leaning against it like a crutch. Amaya¡¯s half metal face didn¡¯t bear its exhaustion so openly, but she¡¯d already used two artefacts to protect herself. Her resources had to run out eventually. Vega glanced at her right wrist. She created an explosive marble inside her palm, winding back her shoulder for a throw. She unfurled her arm, but the moment Vega opened her fist, her wrist snapped sideways. An infernal string connected Vega¡¯s wrist to her opponent¡¯s glove. When Amaya jerked her hand aside, so did Vega. The explosive launched harmlessly into the barrier wall. It¡¯s worse than I thought. Vega could barely resist Amaya¡¯s strings. Her wrist wasn¡¯t dragged aside; it felt compelled to move on its own. Vega prepared another, this time focusing solely on herself. Focusing on remembering who the fuck she was. She was the fucking champion of E grade, the number one fucking fighter, the top fucking dog. She wouldn¡¯t let a fucking tattoo tell her what the fuck to do. This time, her projectile fired true. It soared towards her enemies until Ezekiel batted it out of the air with the unpainted edge of his sword. Vega checked her wrist. The mark was still there. Fuck! When I keep myself grounded, I still have control. When I lose focus, she can control me. Vega looked at the single rune left on Ezekiel¡¯s sword before glancing back at her wrist. ¡®More runes means more control¡¯ If this is what one hit does¡­ what happens after the next one? The red glyph pressed against her skin; a permanent reminder of the one hit her opponents had landed already. Can''t let them get another. E grade¡¯s number one gladiator seethed with silent rage as she marched forward. She¡¯d already established this fight wouldn¡¯t be won by finesse. Now she had to stop dragging her feet. Jay had researched the technique¡¯s whole history to overcome a domain. She just had to lock the fuck in and do her fucking job. Strategy fell by the wayside as Vega¡¯s steady march became a sprint. She didn¡¯t need a plan right now. That wasn¡¯t her fight. The more she planned ahead, the weaker her will against the strings became. Both Vega¡¯s arms blazed bright orange as she entered Ezekiel¡¯s gigantic range. Although the swordsman could hit her, his sword¡¯s heft meant she wasn¡¯t in danger yet. He swung at Vega''s legs. An explosion beneath her feet carried her over it. Another propelled her forward, completely bypassing Ezekiel. She landed directly between both her opponents. A red string shot towards her. Vega looked at her wrist. The string ignored her. It flew past her shoulder. The sword. The string loosened; it stopped moving for a split second. Vega almost looked behind her, but she kept her focus trained on the puppeteer. Amaya pulled her outstretched arms back. The string pulled taut. Vega doubled down. Charging forward as the cursed sword trailed her. She could¡¯ve dodged. Leapt to the side. Abandoned her attack to ensure the sword would miss. But that wasn¡¯t her fight. She had to attack. Vega¡¯s legs pummelled the gravel as she sprinted forwards. Her outstretched arms flared brilliant white, combusting the air they cut through and leaving a trail of airborne flames behind her. Another infernal string joined the first, this time tied to Vega¡¯s wrist. But Vega felt nothing pulling her aside, and no urge to move it either. A stupid fucking string could never fucking stop her. Vega dove into her opponent. Amaya shrieked in pain as Vega¡¯s searing hands pinned her to the ground. Sky blue pulsed from underneath Amaya¡¯s cloak. Ice shards crystallized instantly. Freezing the air between the two gladiators. Again? Vega snatched the amulet. She crushed it in her fist with a muffled blast. The ice vanished. Fear gripped Amaya¡¯s sole human eye. Sheer terror silenced her screams. Primal fear overriding mere pain. The amulet couldn¡¯t protect Amaya anymore. But it had stalled Vega long enough.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Ezekiel¡¯s sword clattered into Vega¡¯s ankle. Vega could almost feel the restrictive ink leaping from the sword and coiling around her leg. The sword¡¯s impact hurt, but it was only glancing. Vega stayed in place. Then came its master. Ezekiel barrelled into Vega. He pushed her off Amaya, grasping the cuff of her robes as he launched on top of her. Both fighters tumbled away from Amaya¡¯s body. Ezekiel clawed at Vega¡¯s neck, but his nails barely scratched her. Vega grunted, flipping him over and lunging at the swordsman¡¯s head. She gouged his eyes, her incandescent fingers scorching the flesh they dug into. They rolled over again, careening across the gravel. Vega clambered above her opponent the instant they stopped. Her fiery left hand clamped down on his neck, anchoring it to the ground. The familiar stench of blistering flesh filled Vega¡¯s lungs. She raised her right arm. It rose into the air. Gathering strength. Building heat. Vega willed her right fist downwards. Straight at her opponent¡¯s defenceless face. It didn¡¯t move. Hand raised above her head. Seconds away from a kill. Vega¡¯s fist simply refused to move. A flaming string locked her wrist in place. Vega followed its course. Amaya Ironglove was barely standing. She had her hands clasped together. Desperately clinging onto the infernal string linking her to her opponent. Three more strings shot from her hands. One tightened around Vega¡¯s ankle. The other two latched onto Ezekiel¡¯s prone body. Vega jerked backwards; her leg pulled aside as the almost-dead swordsman was dragged from beneath her.
Ezekiel escaped, and the entirety of the Celestial Swords tavern fell silent. It¡¯d been full of cheers mere moments before. Cries for burning blood had filled Jay¡¯s ears after Vega downed Amaya, and again after she¡¯d grappled on top of Ezekiel. The entire pub had buzzed with pure anticipation. Even Lyra was shouting, screaming for violence between cries for urgency. Not anymore. Only dread remained. The grim realisation that Vega Twinstrike¡¯s window of opportunity might have shut, that her final chance to land a killshot had potentially passed.
The hold on Vega''s wrist loosened. Her fist slammed into the gravel. Blasting a crater where Ezekiel''s head was mere moments ago. Vega took a knee. She looked at the inky seal wrapped around her ankle. The blood red coil was identical to the one on her wrist, only bigger. It clamped off her leg from the rest of her body, and felt like someone had tied a belt around her calf and ratcheted it as hard as they could. Vega heaved, pushing off her own leg as she forced herself upright. The fight wasn¡¯t over yet. Both her opponents hunched over, slouching onto Ezekiel¡¯s sword to support themselves. The sword had no runes left. Ezekiel clutched the handle of his weapon like it was the only thing keeping him standing. He gnashed his teeth against each other and swallowed the pain. Every inch of skin on his neck blistered and bubbled. His face burned bright pink, and still-burning shreds of old scar tissue sloughed onto the ground. The swordsman¡¯s right eye had swollen completely shut. His other didn¡¯t stray from Vega for a second. Amaya¡¯s cloak lay discarded in a pile of ash behind her. Scorch marks littered the light armour she wore underneath. Both shoulders had been charred completely. She batted off a few cinders, knocking away strips of burnt leather and revealing her bare shoulder beneath it. She coughed and wheezed, resting a gloved hand on her partner¡¯s sword to stabilise herself. The seared imprints of Vega¡¯s fingertips branded Amaya¡¯s artificial scalp. Her flaming left eye jammed against its socket, no longer darting around the arena but permanently staring upwards. Her biological wounds didn¡¯t match her partner¡¯s, but the sounds almost made up for it. Her throat grated and wheezed with every breath. She spluttered and coughed up a lungful of blood onto gravel. Another joined it, staining the dirt red. Ezekiel pulled his partner upright by the scruff of her neck. He whispered something in her ear. Vega watched Amaya nod and spit the rest of the blood out of her mouth Ezekiel the Soulsnatcher raised his colossal sword. He trudged towards Vega. Leading the charge for the first time all fight. Vega raised her guard. Or at least she tried to. Her left fist obeyed the call to action instantly. Her right could barely move. Amaya¡¯s crimson strings clung to Vega, anchoring themselves against the runes adorning her body. Vega wrestled for control over her own body. She fought against the puppeteer¡¯s oppressive will, screaming at her limbs to obey. Eventually her right fist rose, but it felt like dragging a mountain, Vega needed her full focus just to move it. Despite his injuries, Ezekiel had hardly slowed down since the beginning of the fight. He flourished his sword around him, building up momentum before engaging. Vega didn''t move. More movements meant splitting her focus and letting Amaya take control more easily. Keep it simple. Don''t give them an opening. Vega looked towards the swordsman. The spinning hunk of metal looked almost like a silver forcefield surrounding him. With her mobility compromised Vega didn¡¯t know how she could break through to him without getting hit again. No runes left¡­ Can¡¯t get worse than this right? Vega looked over at Amaya. She¡¯d spent all fight chasing the puppeteer, but Amaya had evaded her every time. How do I end this? What do I need to do? Vega¡¯s wrist tugged. Her ankle shifted to the side, weakening her base. Stop fucking overthinking¡­ She regained some control. Start fucking fighting. Vega threw a marble into the ground in front of her. It fired up a plume of dust, obstructing her opponents¡¯ view. She shifted her hands behind her. Her right arm still felt sluggish, but she could just about move it. Vega crouched, before firing herself into the air with a gigantic explosion. She looked down at the arena from the zenith of her explosive leap, instantly locating Amaya. Not that that was hard. There were two bright red strings guiding the way. Another explosion sent Vega hurtling down to ground. She followed Amaya¡¯s strings like a laser. Building up energy in her entire body, preparing to release it the moment she landed. Vega knew that her limbs would betray her if she tried to get fancy with them. She had to keep things simple. And what was simpler than a giant fucking explosion The strings slackened. A swinging wave crept up towards Vega. She tensed up, preparing herself for whatever Amaya flung her way. Useless. The arcane strings yanked Vega aside. Twisting her body, sending her spiralling downwards. Vega couldn¡¯t make out the ground from the sky as she plummeted down. She lost sight of Amaya, along with everything else in her rapidly rotating reality. The glimpses of infernal red strings didn¡¯t tell Vega where she was. A face full of gravel did. Vega felt a crack roll down her neck as it crunched beneath the impact of her own body. Her pent up energy released, detonating harmlessly into the arena floor. Her own shockwave sent her flying. Vega ragdolled into the air, unable to orient herself with an explosion. Her ankle snapped down again, whipping the rest of her body back into the ground with it. Vega didn¡¯t just hear her body crack this time; she felt her neck grind against her spine, her body crumbling in on itself. Vega¡¯s back pressed against the gravel. Unmoving. Chained to the ground by two of her limbs. She tried to raise her left arm. A slab of steel pressed it back down to the ground. Ezekiel crushed her wrist under his weight. Vega was almost too disorientated to scream. Almost. Her agonizing wails filled the arena until Ezekiel¡¯s boot clamped her throat shut. He spat blood on the ground, barely missing Vega¡¯s face as he leered down at her. Vega¡¯s ears rang with the cacophony of a million bells. But a grating voice broke their discordant harmony. ¡°I wonder what I¡¯ll scream¡­ when you burn me alive.¡± He said, grinding out each word with spiteful venom. Vega didn¡¯t meet his eyes. She looked to her side. Through her blurry haze of vision, she saw Amaya crouching, removing armour from her satchel. Vega flailed her limbs. Only two of them answered. She tried to jerk Ezekiel from on top of her, but she had no strength left. She tried to build up an explosive marble, anything to give her more room to move. She couldn¡¯t. Ezekiel¡¯s boot pressed harder into her neck. ¡°I wonder who I¡¯ll call out for¡­ in my final moments.¡± Amaya continued building her Arcane Knight. Vega could do nothing but stare. It rose, awakened by infernal light. It didn¡¯t wield a sword and shield this time. Only a colossal executioner¡¯s axe. ¡°I wonder what I¡¯ll think about¡­ in the last few seconds before you extinguish the flickering flames of my pitiful existence.¡± Amaya sauntered over, followed by her Arcane Executioner. For the first time since the fight had started, her face twisted into the sneer she¡¯d worn at the Celestial Swords tavern. She walked beside Vega¡¯s head. Her puppet stood opposite her, and Ezekiel finally removed his boot. ¡°Do you think your fans are wondering?¡± Said Amaya. Her shrill, gleeful voice pierced Vega¡¯s battered ears. ¡°Do you think your sister¡¯s wondering?¡± The puppet raised its axe. ¡°I guess she¡¯ll never know.¡± Time seemed to slow as the metal blade swung closer to Vega¡¯s exposed neck. Ah shit. You¡¯re probably gonna blame yourself for this. I¡¯m so sorry Lyra. I¡¯m so fucking sorry. Chapter 65: Twin Lyra pushed the table back. It squeaked against the tavern¡¯s hardwood floor. Everyone heard. Everyone heard, and everyone knew who it was. They didn¡¯t turn and stare as she walked out, they weren¡¯t that cruel, but their stupefied silence must¡¯ve stung just as hard. The projections vanished, cutting off Amaya¡¯s victory speech before it even began. Lyra¡¯s quiet footsteps echoed around the Celestial Swords. Imprinting themselves into the minds of everyone listening. She slammed the tavern¡¯s front door behind her, opening the floodgates for speculation in her wake. Jay heard snippets of conversation, but he couldn¡¯t bear to listen. Both he and Akirasat silently, pretending not to notice the furtive glances launched their way by the pub¡¯s nosier patrons. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go and talk to her.¡± Said Akira. Blistering anger radiated from Akira. His fist clenched around his new sword¡¯s handle, knuckles white and twitching. The morning¡¯s playful joy had vanished; Akira looked years older than he had while skipping across rooftops swinging his new sword. He turned to face Jay, his watery green eyes shimmering with volatile fury. ¡°Don¡¯t. Let¡¯s give her some time alone.¡± Said Jay. He leant forward, pressing his elbows into the table as he cradled his head in his hands. ¡°What can we even do anyway?¡± He wanted to think clearly. He wanted to keep his head straight, to think of the best possible way to help Lyra. But how could he? Vega was dead. She¡¯s fucking dead. Akira stood up, jolting the table and drawing another round of stares that quickly flicked away. Jay looked at his friend. He¡¯d released his sword and clenched his fingers into a fist. When the young samurai looked down at him, Jay couldn¡¯t feel the heat anymore. A single tear rolled down Akira¡¯s cheek, and Jay looked into his friend¡¯s eyes. All he saw was icy cold resolve. ¡°Fine.¡± Said Akira. His single word reply pressed into Jay, like a suffocating weight sinking on his soul. ¡°Let¡¯s go to mine. We can speak there.¡±
Akira¡¯s apartment wasn¡¯t too far from Lyra¡¯s, so Jay silently followed his friend through the familiar streets of Reveller¡¯s Octant. They entered a gaudy yellow building and walked up to the sixth floor. Instead of unlocking the door, Akira waved his hand and Jay heard three separate bolts click on the other side. Akira removed his shoes as soon as he entered. He slotted his new sword onto a wall mounted stand where it joined three others. Although there wasn¡¯t much room, Akira kept his house immaculately tidy, he reached inside a built-in cabinet and handed Jay a cushion before taking one himself and sitting cross legged against one of the walls. He released a deep breath and looked towards Jay. ¡°So what do we do?¡± ¡°What can we do?¡± Jay replied. He slumped against the wall opposite Akira and tried to think. During the fight, he¡¯d managed to stay cool-headed. It was a fight; he knew how to knuckle down and focus on those. But emotions, subtlety, finding the right words to say? Jay couldn¡¯t punch his way through this puzzle. She¡¯s just lost her big sister. Fucking hell. Perhaps last week Jay might¡¯ve been more helpful, but constant thoughts of Julian clouded his mind, raising once forgotten memories from their unmarked graves. Fucking focus Jay. She¡¯s right where you were. How do we get her out? ¡°Why¡¯d you tell me not to talk to her?¡± said Akira, jolting Jay out of his spiral. Why did I tell him that? A lump rose in Jay¡¯s throat. He realised why, and realised he had to tell Akira. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Jay raised his fist to his face and scrunched his nose. He pressed his knuckles into his brow and tried to force the words out ¡°It¡¯s what I would¡¯ve wanted.¡± He let out a deep breath. ¡°When¡­ When my¡­ Fuck!¡± Jay slammed his fist against the floor as his voice cracked. Like his body itself was fighting to keep the words inside. He wouldn¡¯t let it. ¡°When my older brother died, people kept coming up to me asking if I was ok, asking what they could do. I hated it. I just wanted to be sad. Was that too much to ask?¡± Focus Jay! This isn¡¯t about you. Get it together and try to help.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°If we walk into Lyra¡¯s house right now, what are we gonna fucking do?¡± said Jay. Clawing back some resolve as he refocused on Lyra. ¡°Tell her it¡¯s not that bad? But it is! It is that fucking bad. Her sister¡¯s dead Akira. What are we gonna fucking do about it?¡± ¡°You want to just leave her alone?¡± said Akira, not bothering to hide his confusion. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡­ ¡°You¡¯re a fucking idiot Jay. That¡¯s a stupid idea.¡± What? ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what you thought you felt, but there¡¯s no way it¡¯s true. That¡¯s not how people work. You heal with people Jay, not on your own. If you leave a wound alone it festers, it rots, and it never truly recovers. I can understand not going to her immediately after, but simply making her deal with it alone is insanity. I¡¯m going to speak with her tomorrow, I¡¯ve just got to figure out what to do before then.¡± Is he- Focus! Stop being so fucking selfish! Think about Lyra. Leave your own bullshit for later. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll trust you on that one.¡± Said Jay, digging his nails further into his palm ¡°You know Lyra way better than me; how do we help her out?¡± ¡°That¡¯s where I¡¯m stumped.¡± Said Akira. ¡°I might be better than you at this, but that doesn¡¯t mean much.¡± He tried to force out a chuckle but ended up just huffing air. ¡°Coach used to say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he fights.¡± Said Jay, almost not believing the words coming out of his mouth. Man, I really don¡¯t know about anything other than fighting, do I? ¡°Maybe if we watch some of Lyra¡¯s old fights, we can figure something out?¡± Akira stared at Jay, eyes cold and calculating. Probably wondering if I¡¯m really this stupid. ¡°Screw it.¡± A gold shimmer flashed over the young samurai¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like I had any better ideas.¡±
After nothing else came to mind, Akira compiled a chronological list of Lyra¡¯s fights. He and Jay watched them from the start, searching for anything that might help. Lyra hadn¡¯t used essence in her first three fights. She¡¯d defeated two other gladiators and what looked like a winged jackal with nothing but a dagger in her left hand and a rapier in her right. By her fourth fight, Jay began to see her Harmony. Lyra¡¯s opponent parried every strike, using his claymore to deflect her slender blade away with ease, not letting her close the distance. He hadn¡¯t landed a hit yet, but he¡¯d completely nullified her offence. After a minute of struggle, Lyra switched gears. Her movement patterns shifted, and Jay felt almost dizzy following her strikes. Her arms flickered, almost shimmering as they twirled her weapons around her opponent¡¯s guard. Jay activated Eye of the storm, narrowing his focus on Lyra¡¯s swings. He now saw why Lyra¡¯s attacks had confused him. A faint grey outline of an arm trailed every one of her swings. It repeated her attack, but subtly shifted the angle each time. Each time her opponent blocked a swing, an ethereal grey outline of it would strike a moment later, learning from the first¡¯s mistakes. Lyra¡¯s ethereal arms weren¡¯t powerful enough to break through her opponent¡¯s guard, but they were dangerous enough to make him block differently. Which forced him to make more mistakes. Lyra thrust at her opponent¡¯s head. He blocked, pushing her sword to his right. He jerked his own sword back, preparing to block the follow up. Too soon. Lyra flicked her physical blade aside while her ethereal one sparked against her opponent¡¯s block. She jammed her rapier into her opponent¡¯s shoulder, effectively ending the fight. As Lyra grew into her career as a gladiator, her ethereal arms grew stronger too. Over her next ten fights they stopped merely trailing her arms. They sometimes attacked first, and occasionally launched completely novel attacks. Jay had a suspicion about what essence Lyra was using. He considered asking Akira but continued watching silently. Lyra used this technique to dispatch her next ten opponents. None of them could handle her speed and pressure. The next fight was different. Akira shuffled against the wall, straightening his back while still looking at the projection. Lyra had ditched her dagger. Instead, she wielded the same black hand axe as in her most recent fight. This time, two other gladiators stood across the arena from Lyra. Her first opponent wore a full suit of armour, plate metal covered every inch of his skin apart from a tiny slit around his eyes. He raised a large tower shield in front of him, barely poking his head over the top, and wielded a Morningstar in his rear hand. Her second opponent held no weapon and wore no armour other than loose, orange monk¡¯s robes. He had a shaved head, and when the camera focused on his face Jay saw that his eyes were completely white. The announcer called it a free for all, but the nods and glances between Lyra¡¯s opponents told Jay otherwise. The projection focused on Lyra as the timer hit the final thirty seconds. In every previous fight, Lyra seemed totally at ease. She¡¯d stood completely still, and the ethereal arms hadn¡¯t appeared once. Not this time. Lyra fell to one knee. Her face scrunched in pain. She dropped both her weapons and pounded her fist into the ground. Grey lines broke off from her arms. Inch by inch, they dragged themselves from Lyra¡¯s physical body until they only connected at her shoulders. They didn¡¯t stop there. Both ghostly hands clasped the back of Lyra¡¯s stony head, Ethereal nails pressed into Lyra¡¯s physical body as they pushed against her neck. She let out a muffled cry, but the ethereal hands kept pushing. Instead of merely following her movements, it seemed like they had a mind of their own. For the first time, Lyra¡¯s ability expanded past her arms. Her spine emerged first. An ethereal grey outline of a hunched back peeked out from Lyra¡¯s armour. Lyra screamed in pain, but she didn¡¯t stop. The arms kept pressing. Forcing Lyra¡¯s head to the ground. When the hunched over spine had pried itself from Lyra, it snapped erect. A head came with it. Jay immediately recognised the grey arms as copies of Lyra¡¯s. Even when they launched completely different attacks to their originals, they still followed her cadence and rhythm. Lyra¡¯s agonizing wails continued. She looked up at the golden countdown while the ghostly head rolled and cracked its neck. Jay immediately recognised the head too. Just like the arms, it looked identical to Lyra. But he knew it wasn¡¯t Lyra as soon as the faint grey lines of the clone¡¯s mouth twisted into an excited snarl. It pulled its legs free from the original and stepped to the side, giving her twin a hand up before turning to face their two opponents. A ghostly axe and rapier formed within its fists. They dropped to the floor. She didn¡¯t want them. Vega didn¡¯t need any stupid fucking weapons to fight.
The countdown hit zero, and each twin took one opponent. Lyra didn¡¯t take long to finish off her opponent. She hooked her axe on top of his tower shield, pulling it closer to her, opening an angle above it to slip her rapier through her opponent¡¯s visor. The ghostly twin was nowhere near as strong as Lyra, or Vega, but it managed to keep the white eyed monk occupied. Jay saw the spectral Vega seethe at its own weakness. The monk kept her on the back foot, stifling any attack before it began. Preoccupied with her twin, the monk couldn¡¯t see Lyra¡¯s axe coming. It sliced into his forearm, opening his guard for ghostly Vega to punch him in the jaw. The punch had none of Vega¡¯s explosive power, but it stunned him, and meant he couldn¡¯t dodge the rapier piercing through his gut. Lyra smiled gently at her twin, seconds before she vanished into thin air. Fucking hell. Jay looked across to his friend. ¡°The essence that Lyra uses¡­ Is it¡­¡± Jay knew the answer. He just hoped he was wrong. Akira¡¯s grave expression dashed any of that hope. Fucking hell. The essence of the twin. Chapter 66: One step closer to the top. Jay sat atop Akira¡¯s roof and stared at the swathes of terracotta surrounding him. The orange-brown tiles of Reveller¡¯s Octant far darker and duller than the last time he¡¯d laid eyes on them. Blustering winds tugged at his red robes. Jay knew a storm was on its way. He¡¯d sit here until it came. ¡°You heal with people Jay, not on your own.¡± ¡°If you leave a wound alone it festers, it rots, and it never truly recovers.¡± Jay wanted to focus on Lyra, he desperately wanted to, but he couldn¡¯t dislodge Akira¡¯s words from the forefront of his mind. Is he right? Of course, Jay could just dismiss his friend¡¯s words as sentimental soft talk. He could also accept them and admit he was wrong. He was an expert on punching people, not therapy. But would doing either of those strike the memories from his mind? The days, weeks, and months after Jules died were a hazy smear in Jay¡¯s memory. Details had dulled over time, but some things remained clear as day. Some things he could never forget. ¡°It¡¯s all going to be okay.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for you.¡± The soft voices sounded like nails on a fucking chalkboard to young Jay. How the fuck did they know it was gonna be okay? They didn¡¯t know shit. They wouldn¡¯t be here for him. No. They¡¯d run away. Just like he did. Jay scraped his knuckles against the coarse ceramic tiles beside him. The unsettling fuzz brought him back to the present as the first droplets of rain landed on his face. If I¡¯d let them help me, would I have been happier? Probably. Is that what I wanted? The unassailable mountain that was the Second Chance Coliseum towered over the horizon. A brushstroke of brilliant white plastered on an overcast sky that inched towards blackness. If I was happier, would I have trained so obsessively? Would I have pushed as hard to become the champ? Would I have so desperately sought Harmony? ¡­ What do I want more? The black shadow of Julian¡¯s legacy no longer loomed over Jay, replaced by his near-unreachable silhouette waiting on the horizon. Jay strived to claim the heavyweight title his brother could never fight for. It was the only thing that had mattered for the last twelve years. Even at the coliseum, the urge to honour Jules had spurred him forward at times. But Julian was alive now, no longer simply a driving force for Jay¡¯s ambitions. So why did Jay still want to fight, why did he still yearn for greatness? What do I want?
Jay churned through his thoughts until the pounding rain drumming against his head made it impossible to think. He wished the storm could wash his troubles away, cleansing his mind and making space for thoughts of Lyra. It never could, so he had to settle for quietening them. Drowning them beneath its noise.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Even after they¡¯d ran through all of Lyra¡¯s fights, Jay and Akira still couldn¡¯t think of anything helpful. They''d agreed to check up on her tomorrow, Jay in the morning and Akira in the afternoon. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was something. Sitting alone and looking up at the coliseum, Jay wondered what the hell he could say to Lyra. He had the rest of the day alone to think of something meaningful. Something more effective than What¡¯s up, wanna talk?
¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡­ ¡°Wanna talk?¡± ¡­ Jay leant against Lyra¡¯s bolted shut bedroom door, waiting for an answer. He heard a shuffle, but no reply. Well at least she¡¯s not dead. ¡°You overlayed your clone¡¯s arms perfectly on top of your own, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s why when we watched your last fight together, before the gorilla fight, I couldn¡¯t see you using essence. You used the clone to amplify your original attacks instead of separating them.¡± ¡­ The uncomfortable silence stretched on until a soft sigh from behind Lyra¡¯s door broke it. Nice! ¡°My sister just died in the coliseum. And you come here to talk about fights?¡± Lyra¡¯s muffled voice sounded gentler than usual. ¡°You really don¡¯t know about anything other than fighting, do you?¡± Not so nice¡­ Lyra¡¯s voice cracked in a coarse cry-laugh at Jay¡¯s bumbling social skills. Better than nothing, I guess. ¡°So¡­ How you doing?¡± Said Jay. If he couldn¡¯t get through to Lyra with thoughtful words, perhaps his awkwardness could push her into a response. ¡°Shit.¡± Makes sense. ¡°What¡¯ve you been doing?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Makes sense too. ¡°You gonna start doing something soon?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You probably should.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Are you gonna?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡­ What do I do now? ¡°Well, doesn¡¯t look like I can say anything useful.¡± Said Jay, kicking off from Lyra¡¯s door. ¡°Akira¡¯s coming around this afternoon. Hopefully he¡¯s better than me at this kinda thing.¡± Jay''s voice hardened. He wasn¡¯t pleading with Lyra anymore. ¡°If he can¡¯t drag you out of there¡­ Then I¡¯ll find something that¡¯ll force you out.¡± ¡­
Lyra stared blankly at her bedroom wall, anxiously biting down on her lip as she waited for the sound of her front door shutting. Click. She collapsed back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling with eyes cursed to never cry. She wanted to. She desperately wanted to. Yet another thing taken from her. Yet another thing she had no control over. Lyra waited until she thought Jay had left the building. And she screamed. She knew he was right. She knew he was trying. She knew she couldn¡¯t stay in her room forever. The world outside wouldn¡¯t simply wait for her. But does it even matter?
Jay sat on the cold stone tiles of the coliseum pavilion, resting his back against the pedestal of a gladiator¡¯s statue. This one belonged to an ocean harmoniser called Serino. Serino had decided to go all out on his ocean theme by using a net and trident in his fights. His neck even had gills although Jay wasn¡¯t sure how useful they¡¯d be in the coliseum. A projection displayed one of his early E grade fights in Jay¡¯s peripheral vision. Jay didn¡¯t pay it too much attention. Instead, he stared up at the Second Chance Coliseum. He¡¯d get no guidance from the gladiators carved into the coliseum¡¯s cubbies, but each fighter gave his eyes a place to rest while his mind constantly churned. There wasn¡¯t much he could say to help Lyra. Akira might have a better chance than him, but Jay still didn¡¯t have much hope. What else can I do? He thought about Lyra. About her character, the way she fought and the way she lived her life. ¡®Stop feeling sorry for yourself and fight¡¯? Even Coach wouldn¡¯t be that harsh. Jay flicked his eyes back to the fight. Serino had somehow created a gigantic tidal wave within the newbie arena. It rolled towards his opponent while he followed close behind, using the crash to obscure his advance. The wave engulfed Serino¡¯s poor opponent before stopping instantly, trapping him in a sphere of water. Serino impaled his entrapped opponent with his trident before giving the camera a wink and a bow. The newbie arena faded to black before sending Jay to the fight selection screen. Jay¡¯s eyes darted between the screen in front of him, and the coliseum behind it. Well I can¡¯t ask Lyra. Can¡¯t ask Akira either. He¡¯ll probably convince me it¡¯s a terrible idea. He settled on the selection screen, glancing over the thumbnails of Serino¡¯s other fights. Jay hesitated before swiping back to his rankings, he knew what they¡¯d tell him. He was 500th after his fight with Davad.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 499
Offence 452
Defence 560
Strategy 409
Instinct 409
Vitality 511
Speed 332
One step closer to the top. He swiped back to the fight selection screen, before returning to his rankings. Guess I¡¯ve got to figure it out myself... Chapter 67: Four Weeks Jay listened out as Akira knocked on Lyra¡¯s bedroom door. After getting no reply, they looked at each other and shrugged. ¡°Yo Lyra!¡± said Akira, knocking on the door a few more times for good measure. ¡°If you don¡¯t say anything in the next ten seconds, I¡¯m opening the door and walking into this room. Like it or not.¡± Jay heard a grunt and a shuffle, but still no response. Akira slid his hand over to the door handle. He twisted it, but the door was locked. ¡°Normally, out of respect, I wouldn¡¯t do this¡­¡± He waved his hand, and Jay watched the handle twist itself. A bolt snapped behind the doorway With a gentle push, the door swung inwards. Lyra huddled on her bed, knees raised up to her chin and leaning against the wall. She had a thick woollen blanket draped over her. Her obsidian eyes flicked between Jay and Akira, unblinking. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Asked Akira. He got nothing but a stare in return. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at this kind of thing.¡± He said, practically begging Lyra to throw him a bone. She didn¡¯t. ¡°But I want to tell you about something called Zanshin. ¡°The concept of Zanshin is something the Samurai used to remain focused in battle, it means ¡®lingering awareness¡¯. In martial arts, it means retaining focus after completing an attack. Even after delivering a strike, the Samurai needed to be aware, mentally and physically prepared for what comes next. ¡°But it can be applied to life as well. Zanshin teaches us to maintain a connection to the past, but not to be stuck in it. We can carry the lessons and presence of something that has ended, not by clinging onto it, but by integrating it into our life as we go on living. The river of life flows continuously, and we need to be ready for the next bend.¡± Lyra¡¯s piercing stare stabbed at Akira, hoping he¡¯d back off. The young man fiddled with his sword¡¯s hilt. Akira¡¯s restless hands betrayed his nerves, but he cleared his throat and kept pushing. ¡°Death is an integral part of life, especially for us gladiators. We can¡¯t resist it. We can¡¯t be consumed by grief. Instead we must flow forward. We need to maintain a lingering awareness of her, to carry on her memory, her essence, as we continue our path. ¡°Zanshin teaches us not to drop our guard after a blow. To remain focused, to be aware of what¡¯s passed and use it to propel ourselves forward. Vega¡¯s gone, but we can carry her spirit forward. It¡¯s what the Samurai would do.¡± ¡­ Lyra met Akira¡¯s eyes, her jagged stare had vanished, but Jay still saw barbs of resentment within her mournful eyes. ¡°Will any of your bullshit philosophy bring my sister back?¡± Lyra¡¯s quiet words struck the room¡¯s silence like a hammer, echoing in the stillness. ¡°This isn¡¯t noble, Akira. I¡¯m not a Samurai spewing out poetic rubbish to make myself feel better. Vega doesn¡¯t have a next battle to prepare for. Zanshin can¡¯t do shit for her, and it won¡¯t do shit for me.¡± Akira clutched at his sword. He bit his lip, stumbling over his next words. Good try, but grief doesn¡¯t respond well to reason. ¡°Well, it was worth a try mate.¡± Jay felt for Akira, he¡¯d given it an honest shot, but his attempt had fallen flat. Jay¡¯s face hardened. He matched Lyra¡¯s unblinking stare with equal intensity and unflinching resolve. ¡°I wish it hadn¡¯t come to this Lyra.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He knew it would. Lyra was kind and understanding, but gladiators couldn¡¯t afford to be impressionable. And you don¡¯t seek Harmony without unwavering self-belief. Jay knew that he couldn¡¯t convince Lyra to take a single step if she didn¡¯t want to. He knew he had to force her to make a decision. Jay stepped to the side and a golden list appeared between him and Akira. The familiar list had three different names at the top this time.
Amaya Ironglove #1
Lyra Twinstrike #2
Ezekiel, the Soulsnatcher #3
¡°Recognise this? It¡¯s the entrance list for the E grade advancement tournament.¡± Jay mentally scrolled down. He passed, Akira, Zara, Fox, a few names he knew and dozens he didn¡¯t. When he reached the bottom of the list, Jay turned to both of his friends. Lyra¡¯s sharp gazed darted between Jay and the list.
The Emberwolf #63
Velja, the Velvet Knife #87
Ashar the Wandering #101
¡°101 is a bit low down the ranks compared to the rest of the fighters in the advancement tournament. Don¡¯t you think so Akira? Who was the lowest ranking fighter ever to compete in the tournament?¡± ¡°A guy called Glassjaw, he entered at rank 244 for some reason. However, after the tournament he even became one of the Luminaries. It was a mass- Wait, why are you asking me this?¡± Gold flashed over Jay¡¯s eyes. The names on the screen shifted. Jay pointed at the new name that had appeared. The name that displaced Ashar the Wandering from the bottom rung of the ladder. ¡°Not anymore.¡±
Velja, the Velvet Knife #87
Ashar the Wandering #101
Lightning Leonard #499
Lyra leant forward and squinted. Confusion supplanted the despair across her eyes. Akira stared, slack-jawed, at Jay. Completely speechless for the first time since Jay had known him. ¡°What do think you¡¯re playing at Jay?¡± Said Lyra. ¡°This better be a joke. You¡¯re not even in the top half of E grade, everyone else in the tournament is going to demolish you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you think¡­¡± Jay raised his fists. The white channels of electricity that ran through his forearms sparked alight. The static fuzz of ionised air brushed against the hair of his knuckles. ¡°¡­I disagree. It¡¯s a risk, for sure. But it¡¯s a risk I¡¯m willing to take. I¡¯m willing to take it because I¡¯m betting on these two fists right here. I lost them once and I went through hell to get them back Lyra. I believe in these two fists more than anything in the world. If I''m not strong enough now, then I''m gonna train and fight until I am strong enough.¡± Jay relaxed his fists, but he wasn¡¯t done yet. He pointed at Lyra, desperately trying to stir her emotions. To ignite her fighting spirit. To remind her who the fuck she was. ¡°But maybe you don¡¯t believe me; wouldn¡¯t be the first time. What are you gonna fucking do about it then? Because this time you can do something. You couldn¡¯t join Vega in the arena yesterday, but advancement is fought in groups. ¡°Don¡¯t want me to die? Fucking do something about it. I want you on my team Lyra, I want you by my side.¡± Jay let out a deep breath as he released the tension in his shoulders. Lyra didn¡¯t need someone to tell her to stand up and fight. That would never work. She needed a reason. Jay hoped his life was a good enough reason, but he didn¡¯t mind if it wasn¡¯t. Because he wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°In D grade, fights are non-lethal. That means the only time in your life where you¡¯re guaranteed a shot at revenge on those motherfuckers is in four weeks¡¯ time when the coliseum sends us off to do God knows what to get into D grade. ¡°I want to kill them Lyra. I want to fucking kill them. I want to pound Ezekiel¡¯s face into the dirt until I can¡¯t tell the difference between his body and the ground. I want to crush Amaya¡¯s stupid metal skull beneath my fists as she screams for mercy. ¡°And I want to do it slowly.¡± Jay didn¡¯t notice his hands balling up into fists, he didn¡¯t notice every hair on his body jolt upright or the muscles in his arms tense and ripple with pent up electricity. ¡°Maybe, you think my life isn¡¯t a good enough reason to live for these four weeks. Shit, maybe, right now, you think your life isn¡¯t good enough either. But maybe right now you don¡¯t need any of that shit. ¡°For the next four weeks I''m spending every fucking second I have getting stronger. After that, I¡¯m walking into that tournament and, whatever the circumstances, I¡¯m sprinting right at those two dickheads and beating the crap out of them. Forget D grade, I¡¯m going for revenge. If you want to join me, then you can¡¯t just sit around feeling like shit. You¡¯ve gotta work. ¡°Forget Zanshin. Forget feeling happy. Forget fucking everything. ¡°If you can¡¯t do four weeks for me, fine. Can¡¯t do four weeks for yourself? Fine. ¡°But what about four weeks for Vega? What about four weeks for revenge?¡± Chapter 68: 27 27 days until the E grade Advancement Tournament. Twenty-seven days. Midnight skies and cheerful commotion greeted Lyra the moment she left her home. Even the secluded side streets of Reveller¡¯s Octant lived up to their name. Wrapped in a cowl to escape recognition, E grade¡¯s second ranked gladiator weaved through the crowded alleyways until she emerged onto Reveller¡¯s Avenue. Lyra wrapped her cloak tighter. There were still a few hours until Reveller¡¯s was at its liveliest, but it would never be as empty as she¡¯d like. Lyra couldn¡¯t bear the drunken shouts and stares. They weren¡¯t aimed at her, but she felt them press against her back anyway. Just twenty-seven days. She squinted her eyes and spotted the oncoming tram, focusing her eyes there to avoid any interaction. After it arrived, the near-empty carriage became her respite from the jam-packed avenue. At the crossroads of late night and early morning, most people were still making their way towards Arenara Fortunis¡¯ spiritual home of debauchery, not away from it. A few people joined her on her trip into the island¡¯s centre, but everyone who wanted to see tonight¡¯s main event had already been inside the coliseum for a few hours by now. The pavilion didn¡¯t have the bright lights and eternal energy of Reveller¡¯s Avenue, but the quiet glow reflecting off each statue suited Lyra just fine. They guided her to her destination as she circled around the coliseum. Even shrouded by nighttime, the towering coliseum still glowed almost unnaturally bright. The stony stares of long-gone gladiators weighed down on Lyra as she turned her back on them. Flickering shadows, cast by the thousands of flags above, kept moonlight from the cobblestones of Mystic¡¯s Avenue. Lyra walked a familiar path down the old street but kept walking after passing Pavan Hall. She wasn¡¯t looking for a curse specialist tonight. She was looking for someone to fight. Of course, she could¡¯ve just gone to any street in Gladiator¡¯s if she wanted a fight. She could¡¯ve gone to the Pits if she wanted a good one. But there were too many people there. Too many eyes. Sympathetic smiles and vulturous grins would come in equal measure if she headed to that side of the island. Even at this hour. She wasn¡¯t ready for that yet. Until she was, she¡¯d fight where no one cared to watch Hemmed in by overbearing walls, Lyra walked alone, almost blindly, through the alleyways of Mystic¡¯s. A crow perched atop a nearby rooftop, its ruby red eyes one of the only sparks of light in the alleyway. It stared down at her, so she stared back. A bolt clicked. A chain jangled. The squeal of rusty hinges caught Lyra¡¯s ear before a single footstep persuaded her to turn around. ¡°Walked right past us.¡± A low voice croaked. Faint red light crept out from the freshly opened doorway, exposing the silhouette of a man stood just outside it. Lyra didn¡¯t recognise the figure, or his raspy voice, but she wagered she was in the right place. If he wanted to attack me, he¡¯d have tried already. Lyra didn¡¯t think the man would start anything, but she prepared for a fight anyway. The essence of strategy surged through Lyra as dozens of her spectral twins, visible only to her eyes, filled the narrow alleyway. Each one showing a potential future. Every one of Lyra¡¯s twins walked a different warpath, but the man in front of her remained completely still. He didn¡¯t spawn any ethereal twins; he had no intention of moving a muscle unless she did first. ¡°I was recommended this place by Ten-Tails.¡± Said Lyra. ¡°He said I can fight here and nobody¡¯ll ask any questions.¡± That wasn¡¯t strictly true. Fox had recommended this place to Vega, and Lyra had done everything in her ability to stop her sister from ever coming here. Not that it had worked of course. Cage fights away from the coliseum¡¯s watchful eye weren¡¯t exactly the safest place to go and train. But the people here wouldn¡¯t pry. And if they glanced in her direction, it¡¯d be because of her opponent¡¯s screams for mercy, not because they wanted anything from her. The shadowy figure giggled slightly. ¡°Ten-Tails? Well, If you¡¯re half as exciting as that monster then it¡¯s our lucky night. Any preferences for your opponent?¡± ¡°Two of them.¡± Said Lyra, tightening her fist by the hand axe clasped to her waist. ¡°I want to fight two people at once. Who they are doesn¡¯t matter.¡± The man giggled again. ¡°Very well. Follow me.¡±
Lyra turned over her shoulder for a second. The crow was gone. She followed the man down a stone stairwell immediately after entering the building. Dim, red light illuminated the subterranean stairs and Lyra could barely make out the man walking just two steps in front of her. He walked almost silently and ran his fingers against the rough-hewn walls as he descended. Sparks skittered off his sharp, pointed nails as they etched into the tunnel, shedding tiny flecks of light onto his wrinkly, paper-white skin.Stolen story; please report. A wash of cold air hit Lyra. She stopped walking. Is this the barrier? The man leading her stopped. He turned around slightly and Lyra saw the edge of his mouth curl into a smile. ¡°First time?¡± He giggled, before turning back and descending further. ¡°Try opening your rankings.¡± His quiet laughter bounced off the walls, pounding Lyra¡¯s ears. She went back to following him and opened her rankings. Well, she tried to. The same golden screen that she¡¯d seen thousands of times appeared beside her. Except, it wasn¡¯t even gold anymore. It was more of a murky brown. The text was pure gibberish. Lyra made out her name, but after a few more steps down, even that vanished. Soon, the letters weren¡¯t even legible, and the numbers morphed into mere blurs. The screen¡¯s muddled and faded with each step. When she reached the bottom of the tunnel, it completely vanished. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Said the man. He stood next to a door and only partially turned back to her. ¡°It¡¯ll come back if you make it out. We just don¡¯t want those guys watching what goes on down here.¡± He let out another giggle before pushing open the door. Lyra followed him through it until he gestured to a room on their right. ¡°Wait in here. I¡¯ll collect you when I find your opponents.¡± Lyra paused. She considered turning tail and walking out, wondering if this was really worth it to avoid the spotlight. Twenty-seven days. Lyra entered the room, resting against the back wall. She clenched her fists and forced out a deep, heavy breath. Just twenty-seven days.
Sparks skittered off Lyra¡¯s exposed left arm. Her opponent¡¯s fangs slid down it, barely leaving a scratch. He tried to wrench her wrist away, but Lyra¡¯s axe was halfway towards his head already. Her counterattack forced him to let go and retreat. Nice try Furball. Furball wasn¡¯t actually her opponent¡¯s name. Nobody used names in the Shattered Cages. They all got by via grunts and hand gestures. Even the universal translator barely worked down here, Lyra had to get creative with each person she met. Velvety black fur coated Furball¡¯s entire body, or at least it did right now. When he¡¯d first entered the ring, Lyra didn¡¯t notice anything special about her to-be opponent. The slender man had wriggled through the rusty cage bars with ease and had stared at his feet the entire time. A few seconds before the fight, Furball claimed his name. His muscles ballooned to double their size, ripping open holes in his clothes. A wave of panther-black fur rolled across his entire body, his fingertips shrunk, and a retractable claw shot out from each one of them. Lyra heard a guttural gulp as Furball¡¯s jaw unhinged. He gnashed his teeth at her, and shr saw two sets of canines frame his grin. Lyra pushed Furball directly into his teammate. Even after his transformation, Furball still held a lithe figure. He could probably still squeeze through the bars of their current arena if he wanted to. His partner couldn¡¯t say the same. Fat Face, as Lyra had named him, had to wade over three broken off bars just to enter the ring. His overhanging gut drew blood on one of their rusted tips, but the colossal man didn¡¯t seem to notice. Lyra almost heard her teeth click into each other with every step he took, her ankles and knees squealed just watching the behemoth slam his poor feet into the ground. Fat wrapped around his neck like a bloated collar, the poorly shaved bristles around it still had a brown food stain smeared across them. Furball bounced off Fat Face¡¯s swollen gut, ricocheting into the cage walls and breaking off another rusted bar. Fat Face charged at Lyra the moment Furball moved aside. He swung his two-handed axe in a wide arc. Lyra dodged it easily, but Fat Face moved surprisingly gracefully for such a large man. He twirled the axe in a figure-of-eight and reversed his missed swing directly at Lyra. But grace meant nothing when your opponent fought one step ahead. Grey outlines, visible only to her, flooded the arena the instant Lyra activated her twin foresight. Hundreds of ethereal twin Fat Faces leapt out from the original, each one a potential future. Lyra flicked her eyes side to side, barely able track every possibility. Her mind stretched thin, straining to acknowledge each future. But every millisecond, a spectral Fat Face vanished. Another twin taken from the world. Focus! A ghostly Fat Face faded from possibility, revealing a charging Furball behind him. The feral warrior dove into her chest, grasping wildly at her limbs. His jaws clamped onto her shoulder. Lyra snatched Furball¡¯s wrist. Twisting his extended claws away from her. She took half a step back, twisting her shoulder as a spectral axe harmlessly pierced through the beast-man¡¯s gut. But the axe¡¯s physical twin soon replaced it. And Fat Face was far from harmless. His axe tore through Furball¡¯s abdomen before ripping out of his side, spraying bloody gore over the cage¡¯s dirt floor. Furball squealed. His bite loosened, but he kept clinging on, jaws clenched as his fangs pressed against Lyra¡¯s stone skin. Hairline fractures needled through her body. A shuddering crack escaped Lyra¡¯s shoulder. Every twin Fat Face vanished. Another twin replaced them, surging from within Lyra¡¯s body. Lyra¡¯s fists shone bright with explosive light. She dropped her axe and clawed at her opponent¡¯s jaw. Empowered by her twin¡¯s strength, she pried away Furball¡¯s fangs. One snapped inside her grip, Furball squealed in pain as she swung him towards Fat Face like a club. The mammoth man raised his axe to block but Lyra let go of Furball and backed off to the other side of the cage. Finally able to breathe, Lyra checked her injured shoulder. Even beneath her armour, she felt the grinding of loose stone. She wasn¡¯t bleeding. She never would. But this injury would take far longer to recover, especially away from the coliseum¡¯s eyes. Lyra¡¯s spectral twin faded. She stared down her opponents. Alone. Unlike her shoulder, Furball¡¯s gut injury was beginning to stitch itself together already. Lyra flicked her eyes between him and Fat Face, weighing up their threats. As a gladiator, Lyra¡¯s Harmony, or rather her path to Harmony, had been focused heavily on 1v1 matchups. It¡¯s what she¡¯d needed to survive. The essence of the twin was intertwined with duality, yet Lyra could only see one person¡¯s future at a time. Two futures involved too many variables. Each opponent influenced the other¡¯s strategy, and more importantly their future. Her twin foresight simply couldn¡¯t keep up. That¡¯s no excuse. That won¡¯t help me against them. I¡¯ve got twenty-seven days to figure something out. Furball hadn¡¯t fully recovered, but Lyra had already underestimated him once and he¡¯d broken past her defences. She focused on his future and dozens of ethereal warriors flooded the cage. Twenty-seven days to get stronger. Twenty seven days of suffering was a lot. Lyra doubted she could do it just to help out Jay. She doubted she could do it for herself either. But twenty-seven days for Vega? Twenty-seven days for revenge? I can do that. Chapter 69: Ultra-Close-Range 26 days until the E grade Advancement Tournament. Head¡¯s turned from inside the Pitsanlok fighting gym as Jay walked along the iron barrier fence. The death of E grade¡¯s best fighter was big news, and he¡¯d undeniably played a part in it. Jay looked out for Aolio¡¯s distinctive figure through the poles. Luckily, he didn¡¯t spot any two-foot-tall silhouettes inside. Jay paid the extortionate entry fee and scouted out the available rings. Far from the entrance, in one of the rings closest to the manor house, a crowd gathered to watch a round of sparring. Jay walked over, catching glimpses of the fight within. Catching glimpses of his next opponent.
Fox whipped his axe downwards, wildly grinning as he embedded it into his opponent¡¯s shield. His opponent twisted, wrenching the axe¡¯s handle from its wielder and lunging forward with his spear. It pierced straight through Fox¡¯s stomach. He didn¡¯t seem to care. Fox grabbed onto the spear, wrapping his axe-less hand around both the weapon and the man holding it. His opponent pulled back his spear. Fox had other plans. He yanked himself forward, dragging the spear through his body until it shot out drenched in blood. Fox swung his second axe forward, perfectly in range, unable to miss his rooted opponent. He twisted the blade at the last second, smashing the axe¡¯s blade into his opponent¡¯s cheek instead of decapitating him. Fox¡¯s poor opponent let go of his spear and slammed into the ground. He pounded a bloody fist into the gravel, refusing to look up at Fox. At least you¡¯re not dead mate. Jay heard more than a few breaths let loose as he squeezed his way through the audience. Most of the crowd were unshaken by Fox¡¯s finisher, but Jay heard a few holy shits muttered beneath their breaths. Fox ripped the spear out of his abdomen, painting the front row of spectators crimson. They retched and turned away while the watchers behind them laughed at their expense. Fox¡¯s bested opponent had got up by now, the wound on his face was already stitching itself together. Jay remembered his crunched ribs reforming themselves after Zara had pounded them with her hammer. The Pits¡¯ healing factor was no joke. It paled in comparison to whatever the hell Fox had going on. Jay spotted the man¡¯s intestines for a fraction of a second before a blanket of muscle weaved over them. Cable-like fibres layered and latticed themselves around his body, rapidly reforming Fox¡¯s gut. It didn¡¯t even leave a scar. Essence of regeneration? Reconstruction? Jay walked up to the ring. Boxing couldn¡¯t take him to the peak of the Second Chance Coliseum. It probably couldn¡¯t get him past E grade. Jay had known that since his very first fight. But over the last two weeks Jay didn¡¯t have time for long-term thinking. He needed to survive. Now he had twenty-six days to play with. Jay had walked into the pits with two fists, an open mind, and a shield he had no idea how to use. Before him stood a man who knew a thing or two about adapting to a new arena.
¡°Jay! Nice to see you! You¡¯re late!¡± called Fox. With the crowd gone and his opponent departed, he sat with Jay on the bench beside the empty ring. Jay wasn¡¯t late at all. He was actually half an hour early. He¡¯d intended to practice for a bit before their meeting. It seemed Fox had beaten him to the punch. ¡°If you say so mate.¡± Jay laughed; Fox¡¯s enthusiasm was almost infectious. Jay nodded at the man¡¯s stomach. ¡°I knew this place could heal you, but I didn¡¯t think it was that effective!¡± ¡°No that¡¯s just me!¡± said Fox, slapping his belly twice for good measure. ¡°Essence of the zombie. Means I can keep moving forward in battle! You said you needed some help?¡± The zombie¡­ does that mean this planet has zombies? Does that even matter?Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Yeah, I need help adapting my style. I thought you might be able to help?¡± Said Jay. ¡°I¡¯ve changed how I box, and even learned how to kick, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough. Jay had expected Fox to smile or laugh, especially when he mentioned kicking, but his cheerfulness gave way for a sharp and calculating stare. He gently nodded, scanning the other fighting rings for a few seconds before settling on Jay. ¡°What do you want to adapt?¡± Jay thought for a moment, half hoping Fox would ask a more specific question. What do I want? ¡°I need to be more ruthless. Boxing is built of a foundation of rules that no longer apply to me, my style needs to reflect that. I need to go beyond punches and kicks, and I need a way to create openings for when a quick first step isn¡¯t good enough. I still don¡¯t want to use a weapon, but that¡¯s a lot harder here than back home. ¡°Then there¡¯s the shield. I can¡¯t get it to work yet, but I¡¯d love to use it to create unique angles. Gotta get there first though, I don''t even know how it works yet.¡± Fox nodded, thinking for a moment before replying. ¡°Want to be more ruthless? Fight more. It¡¯s that simple. Sparring is good, but there¡¯s no intensity. You can still take fights with a frozen visa. Keep fighting until the arena feels like home.¡± Fox¡¯s buried enthusiasm resurfaced with an eager smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know about your shield, but I think I can help your opening problem¡­ You were small for your weight class, right? Usually weaker than your opponents?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was undersized but made up for it with footwork and speed.¡± Fox began laughing as he walked into the ring and waved Jay after him. He cracked his neck and turned to face Jay. The friendliness hadn¡¯t left his smile, but Jay could see past it. Beneath Fox¡¯s cheerful grin lurked the sadistic delight reserved only for people psychotic enough to dedicate their lives to fighting. ¡°Time to learn how to clinch.¡±
¡°Try and escape.¡± Fox¡¯s fingers pressed into the base of Jay¡¯s head, pushing it downwards. Jay resisted, but it took all his strength just to stay upright. Fox¡¯s clinch looked and felt completely alien to Jay. He stood upright, locking his hands behind Jay¡¯s head and pressed both elbows into Jay¡¯s shoulders. Jay activated Eye of the storm. His mind narrowed in not just on his body, but how Fox¡¯s every move affected it. Jay tried brute force first. He knew it wouldn¡¯t work, but wanted to see how Fox would counter it. Jay reached for his chest, but Fox shifted both his elbows inwards, blocking Jay¡¯s angle. Jay grabbed them, but he wasn¡¯t the only one attacking. Fox yanked Jay forward, folding him over with the sudden acceleration. Jay¡¯s head rocketed towards the ground. Fox¡¯s knee rushed towards him. From his compromised position, Jay knew he couldn¡¯t escape by retreating. He drove his shoulder into Fox¡¯s chest and pushed forward. Jay¡¯s plan worked, for about half a second. The sudden shift pushed Fox back, Jay dropped his head further, using the half inch of space he¡¯d created to lean right and squeeze out of the clinch. He slipped free, right into the path of Fox¡¯s other knee. Fox stopped his attack before Jay had the chance to block it. He stepped forward and wrapped his hands around Jay¡¯s neck again. ¡°In boxing, the clinch is purely defensive, right?¡± Said Fox. Effortlessly holding Jay in place as he tried to wriggle free. ¡°Your hands are tied up, so you can¡¯t punch your opponent.¡± He slid his elbow inside, firing it at Jay¡¯s chin, stopping just before it landed. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t attack.¡± He wrenched Jay¡¯s head sideways, raising his knee to meet it there and tapping Jay¡¯s temple. He pulled Jay back upright, landing another elbow while he regained his balance. ¡°Try and stop me.¡± Jay tried. But inside the clinch he was powerless. Eye of the storm helped him defend, but there were too many angles Fox could attack from. Jay would block an elbow, only to open space for another. When Jay locked up his opponent¡¯s arms, Fox used his knees, either tapping his ribcage or driving through his solar plexus. When Jay was fully focused on protecting his upper body, Fox shifted gears. Jay blocked an elbow to the head before stifling another as his opponent adjusted his grip. Jay smiled. He was beginning to get the hang of grappling and wasn¡¯t being tossed around anymore. Fox smiled back. Immediately after another failed elbow, he slammed his foot into Jay¡¯s calf. He effortlessly swept it aside, while simultaneously dragging Jay¡¯s head down with it and pushing him to the floor. Fox held out his hand, and Jay let his opponent haul him up. ¡°If you want to survive advancement, there''s two ways you can go about it.¡± Fox let Jay¡¯s hand go and held up two fingers. ¡°Number one: Improve. Just get better at everything. That¡¯s not too helpful, so let¡¯s think about number two: Specialising. ¡°If you don¡¯t use a weapon, you¡¯ll lose every single long range fight. You¡¯ll lose every single mid-range fight, and you¡¯ll probably lose most close-range fights too. What does that leave? Ultra-close-range. Don¡¯t give them space and don¡¯t give them time. If they¡¯re not used to grappling they¡¯ll freeze up. ¡°It makes closing the gap easier too. Just charge forward and figure it out when you hit them!¡± Fox slapped his belly and let out a hearty laugh. He shook off the intense focus he¡¯d shown while sparring, and a kind smile returned to his face. ¡°It won¡¯t work against everyone. You won¡¯t get far clinching someone with a dagger, but it¡¯s a useful tool to have. Especially if there¡¯s a flying shield whizzing about and drawing their attention away.¡± A clinch¡­ Ezekiel couldn¡¯t swing his sword if I got in that close, and Amaya can¡¯t make any puppets if I¡¯ve got her arms locked up. Plus, the Conqueror¡¯s fists are almost made for clinching. The blades are perfect for close range slicing. ¡°Let¡¯s go again.¡± Said Jay, massaging the muscles around his neck. In the ring, Jay had relied on his eyesight and ring sense to spot opportunities. In the coliseum, he used Eye of the storm to enhance them. But Jay realised he couldn¡¯t do the same in the clinch. It didn¡¯t matter how fast his eyes were, they weren¡¯t the best tool for the job. By the time he saw an attack coming, it would have already hit him. Jay noticed something while grappling with Fox. Before, he¡¯d thought that his stormforged body only had improved coordination. It was far more than that. Just like his commands travelled instantly and flawlessly to his body, the same thing happened in reverse. Every inch of skin pressed against Jay gave him a deluge of information, far more than his eyes could ever convey. Jay didn¡¯t just watch the ultra-close-range battlefield. He felt it. Every fighting second gave him more information. More experience. Jay raised his forearms and lunged at Fox¡¯s neck. Fox caught his wrist. Jay felt each individual fold of his fingerprints press into his arm. His eyes sparked electric blue. But Eye of the storm wasn¡¯t limited to them anymore. The azure glow shot down the white hairline channels on Jay¡¯s arms, lighting Fox¡¯s fists from within. Jay smiled as he felt his perception technique begin to evolve right in front of him. He twirled his wrist, escaping Fox¡¯s grip and clamping down on his forearm. ¡°And this time stop going easy on me.¡± Chapter 70: If You Ask Nicely 25 days until the E grade advancement tournament. Akira gently placed Juryoku onto her stand. He slotted his new, unnamed, sword slightly beneath it before bowing at both blades. Three entire days of training with both swords and he still hadn¡¯t familiarised himself with the new weapon, he still didn¡¯t feel like it was his yet. Juryoku had adapted to him instantly. She was his first big purchase on Arenara Fortunis. Although a better sword had landed directly on his lap, Akira still didn¡¯t want to discard her. He walked across his room, wondering why the new sword just didn¡¯t feel the same. Patience. It will come with time. You don¡¯t even know her name yet. Akira crossed his legs and closed his eyes as he sat, with his back perfectly straight, facing his blades. One more time. An object will remain at rest until an outside force acts upon it. An object¡¯s acceleration is dependent on its mass and the force applied. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I know the principles, so what went wrong? He opened his eyes, breaking his meditation to gaze at the twin swords mounted perfectly in the centre of his apartment. He¡¯d removed the ornamental weapons that¡¯d sat there before. Now there were only the two of them. The unnamed sword ¡ª Jishaku, Jiki maybe? ¡ª Extended far wider than Juryoku, almost scraping the walls either side of it. Its black blade seemed to warp the light around it, twisting the gentle dusklight into iridescent loops around itself. Juryoku¡¯s polished silver blade dragged Akira¡¯s attention upwards, commanding him away from her new sister. Even in the dimly lit room, she still glistened in the light. Gravity, and magnetism. I understand them, at least as well as I can. They resonate with me. I was not brought into this world for normalcy. That is not my path. These two essences align with my own. They impart their will on the fabric of the universe, just as I wish to. I know I am to be the bridge that binds them. It is my will, just as it is my destiny. ¡­ ¡°Who am I fricking kidding?¡± Akira collapsed into a slouch on the wall behind him. He kicked his legs out and released a huge sigh. ¡°Cause it certainly ain¡¯t me.¡± The samurai and stoics of old may have found purpose in debating the world¡¯s mysteries through rhetoric and prophecy. Akira didn¡¯t. What am I even doing? Akira felt the urge to rip both swords off the wall and never bother meditating again, but he held strong. He wasn¡¯t that weak. If this method didn¡¯t work, he¡¯d have to adapt it. If the adaptation didn¡¯t work, he¡¯d change it. If the change didn¡¯t work¡­ He¡¯d figure something out. I have to. I have to become stronger. But how? The best scientists on Earth haven¡¯t figured out gravity, much less fusing it with magnetism. How am I supposed to do it alone?This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Although he¡¯d been a gladiator for quite some time, Akira still attacked Harmony with the mind of a scientist. The methodical way of thinking had worked well for him, even if some scholars on Eterna considered it sub-optimal. Science is never static. Every scientist stands on the shoulders of giants while grasping for the sky. What they see in the stars might one day bring humanity closer to reaching them. But they can¡¯t simply look up. The giants may have helped humanity grow, but their wisdom isn¡¯t absolute. They may be tall, but so are the heavens. And it¡¯s better to fall to the ground than be chained to the sky. Akira, and every young scientist, knew this. Afterall, why simply follow the greats when you can join them? But what if the scholars were right, and his science-based outlook limited him? To get around that he couldn¡¯t simply abandon past precepts for newer ones. He had to rethink his patterns of thought if he wanted to advance further. He had to rework his reality if he wanted to live a life beyond the Second Chance Coliseum. And he wouldn¡¯t let the real world get in the way of that. Not again. As Akira''s eyes drifted onto his new sword¡¯s handle, still wrapped in the ruby red of the Flaming Tomb Alliance, he thought about the way he¡¯d won the sword. About who¡¯d won it for him. Electricity is just as universally intrinsic as gravity, and even more so than magnetism. Jay can¡¯t possibly understand his essence in the same way I do mine, but he wields it all the same. I can¡¯t copy his method; I wouldn¡¯t even want to. But what can I learn from it?
Two days later. Stupid. Frickin. Bugs! Akira sliced through the giant flying insect whizzing towards him. Its viscous brown blood swirled around Juryoku, clinging onto the metal for a few seconds before sloughing onto the forest grass by his feet. Insect was one word for the dozen flying creatures hounding Akira. They reminded him somewhat of mosquitos. Well, mosquitos that were cat sized and had four-inch-long blades on each leg. He¡¯d converted hundreds of the creatures to a mushy mound beneath his feet. Every time he killed one, it felt like two more took its place Verdant Frontier¡¯s no joke. Akira¡¯s new sword, Jiki, sliced through a glistening wing. Under its previous wielder, that would¡¯ve been a death sentence. Akira didn¡¯t snatch the animal¡¯s soul away, nor did he corrupt it into a shrivelled grey husk. Blood spurted from the wound, following Jiki instead of falling to the floor. The creature¡¯s body remained in flight, arcing through the air behind the sword. Akira twisted his wrist, reversing his blade¡¯s direction and instantly stopping his swing. The insect kept going, soaring forward and bisecting itself with its own momentum. Only eleven le- Each mosquito stopped mid-air. After fighting against the swarm for almost an hour, Akira had grown accustomed to the shrill whine of their wings needling into his ears. He¡¯d almost forgotten what silence sounded like. ¡°What you¡¯re trying to do isn¡¯t easy.¡± Akira heard a woman''s voice call out from behind him. He ducked underneath the unmoving insects, keeping half an eye on their bladed legs. His boots squelched into the mulchy corpses as he walked out of the stationary cloud of insects. It didn¡¯t take long to spot the woman speaking to him. She sauntered out from the treeline. Her gold silk robes trailed behind her, sweeping the dew from the grass. She stopped just before the forest glade became a giant insect burial mound. Golden freckles crossed the bridge of her hooked nose, standing out from her light brown skin and framing her high, jagged cheekbones. The woman surveyed the corpses before her, scanning the ground with her deep amber eyes before they made their way to Akira. Two days ago, when Akira had left Arenara Fortunis, he¡¯d paid a sailor to drop him off on an uninhabited island. Preferably one crawling with dangerous wildlife. The woman before him seemed far more out of place than he was. She didn¡¯t look like a hermit from a deserted island in the corner of the Verdant Frontier. So how the hell did she get here? ¡°If it won¡¯t be easy, why did you stop me from training?¡± Said Akira, he stared into the woman¡¯s calculating eyes. Awaiting a response. ¡°You call this training?¡± she said, her lips curling into a coy smile. ¡°Twenty-three days of this won¡¯t get you anywhere. This isn¡¯t training.¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± ¡°This? This is just masochism fooling you into thinking pain equals progress. You¡¯re better than this Akira. We both know that. What could these creatures possibly teach you about your new sword?¡± Who the hell is this? Akira stayed stone faced as he mulled over the woman¡¯s words and tried to guess her intentions. She didn¡¯t seem hostile, and he didn¡¯t recognise her from anywhere. The Flaming Tomb? No way. Anyone strong enough to kill me surely had more important stuff to do. So who is she? What does she want? ¡°If you¡¯re such an expert, have you got any better ideas?¡± said Akira. The woman held her left hand out. Beads of liquid gold rolled down her arm, coagulating into an ornate rapier. Akira¡¯s eyes widened. The woman raised her sword, aiming its point squarely at his face. The blade¡¯s edge was razor thin, and looked like a swirling fusion of gold and steel beneath the rays of sunlight. He couldn¡¯t tear his eyes from the barely visible blade, like a primal sense of danger refused to let him look away. She brought its tip down, and Akira could finally look her in the eyes again. Her enigmatic smile returned, and the sword reformed into liquid gold that rolled back up her sleeve. ¡°Well, if you ask nicely¡­¡± Chapter 71: Stuff to Take Care Of 25 days until the E grade advancement tournament. Jay launched an elbow up the inside before a green scaly forearm shifted to block it. He returned to his grapple and tried to grab a hold of his opponent¡¯s slippery neck. ¡°Nice block!¡± Fox leapt off the ringside bench and pumped his fist in the air. Jay¡¯s focus didn¡¯t stray far from his opponent. Today¡¯s sparring partner was a lower-ranking member of Fox¡¯s alliance named Reese. The reptilian martial artist also wanted to practice close-range grappling, so they¡¯d paired up for a morning of training. The slick scales coating Reese¡¯s head, neck, and shoulders were a pain to grapple, so Jay had to adapt his clinching style for his slippery opponent. His first strategy used hooks and locks to avoid having to grip with his hands. But Jay quickly had to discard that strategy. Reese¡¯s arms didn¡¯t simply look like snakes, they moved like them too. It felt like they had no elbows and could shift around Jay¡¯s arms in any direction. Pushing back against Jay''s attempts to claw enough space for an attack. Reese¡¯s agility made him nearly untouchable in a close range battle. So Jay got closer. He drove his shoulder into Reese¡¯s chest, pressing their bodies together so neither fighter had room to breathe. He slid both arms beneath Reese¡¯s armpits, before clasping them behind his back. When Jay got this close to his opponent, it almost didn¡¯t matter that their arms were free. Controlling their body was worth far more than powerless swings with no leverage. Control alone could never win fights, but Jay didn¡¯t need it to. All he needed was an opening. Jay jerked Reese aside, abruptly releasing his hands and creating a pocket of space. Jay still clung to the reptilian¡¯s shoulders, but he eased the pressure off his chest. Even with Eye of the storm, Jay¡¯s eyesight was almost useless at such close range. They were already locked together, and Jay had a much better tool for the job. Electric blue sparks coursed down Jay¡¯s arms as Eye of the storm encompassed far more than his optic nerves. Reese clutched at Jay¡¯s arms to reclaim control, but the more his arms pressed into Jay¡¯s; the more information Jay earned. On the frontlines of an ultra-close-range battlefield, Jay¡¯s body saw far more than his eyes ever could. While Jay¡¯s inflexible arms put him at a biomechanical disadvantage to his opponent, his stormforged body more than closed the gap. Reese coiled his left arm around Jay¡¯s, snatching the dominant inside position. Jay let him in. He moved his right-hand grip onto his opponent¡¯s shoulder. While Reese focused on attacking Jay¡¯s arms, he forgot about downstairs. Jay switched his stance, positioning his right foot just outside Reese¡¯s lead left. Jay¡¯s body shifted too, cinching all the remaining space on his right flank. And carving open a path for his left. Jay fired his left elbow at his opponent¡¯s head. Reese easily blocked the strike. That was only step one. Jay¡¯s arm twisted and straightened. His palm wrapped around Reese¡¯s ear. Jay dug his nails into the man¡¯s scaly neck.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Both Jay¡¯s arms clung to his opponent. He couldn¡¯t attack with either of them, and they didn¡¯t give him much control. But Jay didn¡¯t need control. He needed leverage. Jay yanked Reese¡¯s head downwards. Brilliant white replaced blazing blue as electricity forced its way into Jay¡¯s muscles, amplifying their strength at the expense of perception. The instant burst of power forced Reese¡¯s head towards Jay¡¯s rising knee. The reptilian shielded his face. It didn¡¯t help much. Jay wasn¡¯t going easy. He slammed his knee into Reese¡¯s scaly forearm, driving through to his head. Jay broke off the grapple while his opponent reeled from the attack. If they were in the coliseum he would¡¯ve followed up with a punch, potentially ending the fight. But Jay was training, not fighting. Reese was his partner, not his punching bag. ¡°Nice fight!¡± yelled Fox, joining them in the ring while forcefully clapping his hands. ¡°Nice work. Reese, good defence. You made him work for it! Next time, be more aware of the entire battle, not just your arms. Jay, great awareness and positioning! Your footwork really helps you set up attacks. Don¡¯t settle for anything though. You let him get a good grip before the finisher. If Reese was a bit faster, he¡¯d have countered before your knee connected.¡± Jay nodded at Fox as he caught his breath. He didn¡¯t always agree with the advice his temporary coach gave him, but there was no use arguing. He took in all the information he could get. Don¡¯t forget. Next month, you¡¯re fighting him too. Jay waved both gladiators goodbye as he stepped out of the ring, Fox was giving Reese a rather animated display of how he should¡¯ve defended Jay¡¯s knee. But they both stopped to wave back before returning to the lesson. Reese wasn¡¯t the strongest training partner Jay could find. He was only rank 541, and offence was his only ranking in the top half of E grade, but his flexibility made Jay think more about his attacks. It was a useful challenge and taught him to rely on things other than raw speed. Besides, it was hard to find good sparring partners when you could only promise half a day of training with them. So one of Fox¡¯s juniors would have to do. The early afternoon sun bored into the back of Jay¡¯s neck as he walked out of the Rangsit fighting gym. One of the less prestigious, but more importantly less expensive, training spots in Gladiator¡¯s. Jay ran back to the avenue through as many alleyways as he could. Hunting down shade in the man-made ravines. As much as he wanted to spar all day, he had some stuff to take care of first.
For a city-state built upon fights to the death, there¡¯s a surprising number of scholars living on this island. Some come here to further their Harmony, others have far simpler reasons. Where better to flee than an island in the middle of the ocean with thousands of gladiators here to protect you? Even the bravest of assassins shy away from the watchful gaze of the Second Chance Coliseum. Sign a deal with the coliseum and your safety¡¯s secured. As long as you don¡¯t leave¡­ There¡¯s an almost universal design language for I¡¯m better than you. And as soon as someone tells you you¡¯re a genius you stick to it like your life depends on it. The almost empty tram skated Jay though the alabaster terraces of Scholar¡¯s Avenue. Subtle hints of gold on each building stuck out to him as he rode away from the pavilion. He was here to for an expert, or so he was told. Maybe the people here knew their stuff, but that didn¡¯t mean they had to be so obnoxious about it. Just a short trip, go in there, find Arlie¡¯s, get out, and go somewhere with normal people.
Jay unfolded the paper in his pockets, he squinted at Akira¡¯s poorly scribbled directions and half wished that his friend had included them in the ¡®travel guide¡¯. He walked along Scholar¡¯s Avenue for a few minutes, admiring the immaculate, yet nearly identical, buildings lining either side of the boulevard. The residents walking along the avenue had the decency not to stare, but Jay caught most of the sideways glances they tried to hide from him. Just like the buildings they strolled past, the pedestrians here all wore muted whites and greys. Their loosely layered robes were elegant yet unremarkable. Dressed in a bright red tracksuit, and holding a giant blue shield, Jay knew he stood out like a sore thumb. He let out a quiet sigh as he turned off the avenue. The district¡¯s oppressive uniformity felt almost unnatural, like an imposed conformity, built to weed out those who didn¡¯t belong. To be fair to Scholar¡¯s Octant, it wasn¡¯t all bad. The further Jay walked away from the avenue, the more life each building showed. Splashes of colour reintroduced themselves to the buildings¡¯ fa?ades and golden filigree made way for decorative murals and hand painted signs. It was a far cry from the kitsch of Reveller¡¯s, or the abject uniqueness of Mystic¡¯s. But it was something. Jay navigated his way through the sprawling arteries of Scholar¡¯s before finally reaching his destination. ¡®Arlie¡¯s Antique Emporium¡¯. He took a deep breath, gripping onto his shield and remembering the sensation he¡¯d felt mid-fight. Time to see what this guy¡¯s all about. Chapter 72: Arlie’s The musty stench of what could only be described as oldness itself weaselled its way inside Jay¡¯s nose the moment he entered Arlie¡¯s shop. He gingerly crept forward through a narrow path carved from old clutter, cautiously placing his feet in the rare spots where he could actually see the floor. Dozens of shelves, each lined with old trinkets, filled the entirety of the cluttered foyer. Packed so tightly that Jay wondered how anyone could ever walk between them. Jay looked up from the shelves; even the ceiling wasn¡¯t free of clutter. Loops and hooks, all made from different metals were sporadically bolted to the wood-panelled ceiling. A circlet of polished brass caught Jay¡¯s eye, reflecting yellowish light onto the nearby shelves, it looked almost like a piece of jewellery, and Jay wondered why it had been fastened there. He tried his best not to kick anything over as he waded through the store, but the sheer amount of junk made it nearly impossible. A jade statue caught Jay¡¯s eye, but his elbow bumped into a nearby shelf while he stared. He caught a glint of silver mere seconds before a grubby candelabra fell off its perch, deeper within the shelf. Jay winced as it clattered into the floor. ¡°MMFFUH!¡± He swivelled his head away from the candelabra. The sound came from deeper inside the store, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint it. ¡°NNGHHH!¡± Jay flicked his head to a shuddering heap of rusty cogs and gears, debris tumbled onto the antiques beside it. A tiny black hand emerged from the heap. It swept away an orange cloud, pushing more metal off the pile. Through the haze of airborne rust, a raccoon¡¯s head punched through the mess of ancient iron. ¡°IS THAT A CUSTOMER?!¡± The raccoon brushed another layer of rust off his brow. He scratched his tufty cheeks and Jay saw at least five screws fall out and join the pile. ¡°Here to buy somethin¡¯? Or are ya sellin¡¯?¡± Said the raccoon, squinting at Jay as he wiped his eyes. Without the mound of junk muffling his voice, Jay heard who he assumed to be Arlie loud and clear. He still took a few stunned seconds to reply. ¡°Umm, neither. I have this shield that I¡¯m struggling to attune to. My friends told me to come here and ask you to take a look at it. They didn¡¯t tell me anything else.¡± The raccoon hopped out from the pile. No longer covered in rubble, Jay saw that he was wearing a thick leather apron, tailored exactly to his size, and nothing else. He had an entirely mechanical right arm, noticeably larger than his left, which he pointed above the shelf nearest Jay. The raccoon shut his left eye before shooting a harpoon out of his forearm. It knocked over a replica galleon and at least five books before wrapping around the top shelf and pulling taut. The shopkeeper hopped in the air and his arm rapidly reeled him towards Jay. The raccoon sat on the now empty top shelf. He gave Jay a once-over before examining the shield and scratching his chin with his non-mechanical hand. ¡°You got a name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jay. Are yo-¡± ¡°Shh!¡± he jumped on Jay¡¯s shoulder and pressed his ear against the shield. He held up a metal finger to Jay¡¯s lips and spared him a quick glance. The shopkeeper pointed down at the shield. ¡°I was askin¡¯ her.¡± Jay waited in stunned silence as the shopkeeper nodded and whispered at the shield. After a brief and one-sided discussion, the raccoon hopped back onto the bookshelf and dangled his legs in the air. ¡°Pleased to meet ya, Jay. I¡¯m Arlie. Sure you didn¡¯t come here to sell? I¡¯d give ya good money for her.¡± Arlie nodded at the shield as he went back to scratching his chin, somehow dislodging even more rust. ¡°Sorry. Not for sale.¡± Said Jay. ¡°Can you help me out though?¡± ¡°Shame, it was worth a try. She likes ya. I don¡¯t know why. Why¡¯d you try and give a beaut like her a boring old name like Zeus? Come. Follow me. It¡¯s too crowded here.¡± Before Jay could reply, Arlie jumped off the shelf. He fired his grappling hook into a bronze loop nailed to the ceiling and swung through a doorway at the back of the shop. Jay followed Arlie, taking slightly less care not to knock anything over after seeing how the owner treated the shop.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡ª Jay poked his head through the doorway into a room just as cluttered as the first. A flicker of movement and a stack of falling books to his right signalled where Arlie went. Jay followed the swinging raccoon¡¯s trail of destruction down a set of stairs. The narrow stairs whined under Jay¡¯s weight as he descended into the basement. He carefully planted each foot, wary not to tread too hard or slip on the errant sheets of paper coating each step. Arlie¡¯s basement was slightly tidier than his storefront. Piles of worn-out clutter still heaped in the corners, but Arlie had swept open a small opening in the basement¡¯s centre. He fished inside a pile of metal scraps, shoving his mechanical arm in up to its shoulder before pulling out a bronze contraption and tossing it at Jay. ¡°Wind that up a few times would ya.¡± How? Jay set his shield down and inspected the device. It was mostly bronze, about as large as his fist, and a golden coil jutted out of the top. Nothing looked like it could wind except the coil. When Jay tried to twist it, he had to put in all his force just to get a quarter turn. While Jay grappled with the machine, Arlie began searching a different pile of rubble. He tossed a steel kettle onto the ground near Jay and swung his way to a dusty wooden cabinet at the far edge of the room. He grabbed an almost yellowing bottle of water before leaping onto Jay''s shoulder. ¡°Come on! You can push harder than that!¡± He tapped Jay¡¯s biceps a few times. ¡°Or are these beefcakes just for the ladies? C¡¯mon, toss it here.¡± The raccoon grabbed the machine, he hopped onto the ground before shoving it underneath his armpit and clasping his mechanical hand over the coil. A jet of steam shot out of his elbow and his wrist began to rotate. Arlie laughed under his breath as he wound the device far faster than Jay ever could. Arlie set the device on the ground. He looked up at Jay and grinned, shaking his mechanical arm as his hand continued rotating. After the rotation had died down, Arlie bent over the device. He smacked its side with his real hand while snapping his metal fingers above it, raining sparks atop the machine. The golden coil began to glow red. Jay spotted a barely visible flame above it before Arlie placed the kettle on top. The raccoon popped the cork off the bottle and began pouring the musty water into the kettle. ¡°Is that water safe to drink?¡± Asked Jay. The bottle didn¡¯t just look old. Jay saw a layer of encrusted sediment at the bottom, refusing to move even when Arlie tipped the bottle aside. ¡°What? This?¡± Arlie thumbed the top of the bottle and vigorously shook it. He watched the dirt whirl around the bottle like a snow globe. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine¡­ It¡¯ll do wonders for your intestinal health.¡± He reached into his apron pocket and grabbed a fistful of dull green herbs, sprinkling some into the kettle before stuffing the rest back into his pocket. All that just for some tea? ¡°Ya know, I usually charge for this kinda thing, but I¡¯ve got a good feeling about this. Sit down. The floor¡¯s perfectly clean! Arlie fished into the nearest pile and pulled out two chipped porcelain teacups without even looking. He grabbed the kettle just as it started hissing, pulling it into the air before punting the heater into a nearby scrapheap. Arlie poured out two cups of tea. He paused and thought to himself, staring at the ceiling before placing the kettle on the floor. He picked up both cups before handing one to Jay. ¡°Here, drink this.¡± Jay hesitated, waiting to see the raccoon take a sip before he did. Arlie downed the whole cup in one. He smacked his lips, letting out a satisfied sigh as he brought the teacup down. Jay watched his face light up with delight as he waddled back to the kettle. He poured himself another cup. This time, after a much shorter pause, he flung the half full kettle back across the room. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± he said, slurping up half of his second cup. ¡°It¡¯ll get cold!¡± That¡¯s¡­ kinda what I was waiting for. Jay took his first sip. The tea tasted slightly bitter and felt almost grainy inside his mouth. Even though it was still steaming, it didn¡¯t feel hot at all. Fuck it. Jay followed Arlie¡¯s lead and drank the rest in three big gulps. Whatever this tea was, it couldn¡¯t be that bad¡­ ¡ª ¡°C¡¯mon. Place her in between us.¡± Said Arlie. He snatched the teacup out of Jay¡¯s hands and gestured at the shield. He tossed both empty teacups over his shoulder into the basement¡¯s stone walls. The cups shrank as they soared away. Jay expected to hear them shatter against the wall, but he stared behind Arlie and watched them silently fade into darkness. The shield. Jay turned back to the whole reason he was here in the first place. He bent down to reach for the shield, stretching his arms forward to try and grasp it. It was too far away. Black and white flashed in Jay¡¯s periphery. He tried to stay focused on the shield, but it felt like someone was tugging at his vision, trying to pull him aside. Jay squinted, narrowing in on the shield, but he couldn¡¯t resist it. He flicked his head around. Arlie sat there waiting for him. Smiling. He wasn¡¯t on the floor anymore. The raccoon had dragged a rusty garden chair from the rubble and slouched in it, feet dangling off the edge. One beady eye stared down at Jay through a pair of cracked sunglasses. ¡°C¡¯mon. What are you waiting for?¡± The shield! Jay spun back; the shield was already at his feet. He placed a knee on the floor, stabilising himself as he reached for the shield again. He clasped both hands against the shield¡¯s edges. Gripping it tightly, like it would roll away the moment he let go. With great effort, he heaved the tiny thing into the air. Wait¡­ Jay stared at the shield, pressing his forehead into the cold metal. It pressed into the shield, and Jay felt droplets of cool liquid metal roll down his temples. He pressed forward, further into the soft metal, until his eyeballs almost touched its surface. It¡¯s not tiny. It¡¯s¡­ Shield sized? ¡°C¡¯mon. You¡¯re so close now.¡± Close to what? The sh- The shield! He was supposed to place the shield between them. But how? It was so heavy. Jay couldn¡¯t even lift it off the ground. CLANG! What¡¯s tha- The shield! A round blue metal thing dropped onto the ground between Jay and Arlie. Did that thing make the noise? What is it? Jay dropped to all fours. Whatever this weird thing was, he needed to get a better view of it. He crawled closer, inching his way towards the blue metal. When he placed his hands on the blue¡­ thing, it didn¡¯t feel like metal. It didn''t feel like much at all. Jay¡¯s hand sank into the fuzzy blueness. It began to melt. When he tried to lift his hand away, he couldn¡¯t. He slid his hands across the sludgy surface, leaning forward and sinking his cheekbone into the blue. ¡°That¡¯s it. Now close your eyes.¡± Jay closed his eyes. ¡°Close your eyes and see.¡± Chapter 73: PING! PING! When metal meets metal. It doesn¡¯t merely make noise. PING! The metronomic pulse of iron striking iron sent ripples of authority bouncing around the armoury. Yet the sound it birthed was merely an echo of its true creation. PING! Unbeknownst to all but my creator, these strikes heralded my arrival into reality. PING! Before them, I was but metal. Meaningless, purposeless, placeless. PING! But my creator gave me meaning, and for that I am grateful. PING! He gave me a place in this world. PING! He gave me my Harmony.
¡°Erik! My boy! How¡¯s your project treating you?¡± My creator¡¯s master entered the armoury. His footsteps echoed pulses of creation, and the hammer at his waist whispered countless more. I knew little of this man. I had never felt his touch nor his will, and only very rarely had I heard his harmonious voice. But I had felt his influence. Over myself as well as my creator. ¡°She¡¯s not as temperamental as the last one. I think¡­ I think I¡¯m ready.¡± I felt my creator¡¯s love squeal out from behind every word. I heard sadness too. Why?
Sound doesn¡¯t travel very far inside the Heartforge. My creator described it as heat; all I heard was constant screaming. I knew why I had been brought here. I was to evolve. To become more alive. At first, I was afraid. I loved my existence. It was a simple one, but I always had my creator. I always kept him company. Others would come and go, but I would never leave him. I never wondered whether there could be more to existence. I never cared. But with every day, I learned more. Each swing imprinted information onto my reality, each hit of the hammer heightened my Harmony. There was more to existence than simply being beside my creator. It wasn¡¯t enough just to be there. I needed to protect him. And for that I needed to grow. I felt my creator¡¯s vibrations before he even started the process. His body shook in response to the Heartforge¡¯s constant screaming. His body joined in. I tried to calm him, to reassure him. I couldn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t strong enough. Yet. My creator¡¯s master stood silently beside him. A monolith of tranquillity in the Heartforge¡¯s constant chaos. Perhaps he could quell my creator¡¯s fear. Perhaps he could protect him where I couldn¡¯t. ¡°Before you commence. Announce your intent to reality Erik. Exalt it. Unveil your Harmony to the world¡± ¡°I¡­I want to make a protector. A shield that will protect no matter what. A true guardian, unchained to the will or weakness of its wielder.¡± ¡°Very well. You may begin.¡± My creator¡¯s master didn¡¯t sound impressed. He didn¡¯t sound like anything. He would not be protecting his pupil inside the forge. Why? His footsteps grew quieter until I barely heard them exit the forge. He closed the door, releasing a rolling rumble unto the room. From just beyond the door, an iron bolt slammed into its casing. PING! The final remnant of familiarity quelled my nervousness, but I felt my creator¡¯s incessant trembling. Don¡¯t worry. I will protect you.
SMACK! My creator¡¯s hammer slapped weakly into my core. I felt nothing. I learned nothing. He was trying. I knew that. With each attempt, he tried to attach more to my reality, to teach me about the world. My creator imparted knowledge upon me, but I couldn¡¯t understand why. New information entered my reality, devoid of true purpose. Was I not to become a shield, a guardian, a protector? Why would I ever need to fly from my creator¡¯s side? My creator grew anxious. I did too. Indecision rang through each strike of his hammer. The sound fell flat, fading into silence. With each hit my creator grew more uncertain, more afraid.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Why was he doing these things to me? He had attached a crystal to my core. It stayed silent, but I felt its intent. I hated it. It didn¡¯t care about its creator. It didn¡¯t care about protecting him. It only cared for itself.
¡°Why¡­ Won¡¯t it¡­Take!¡± My creator screamed out at the forge, but his voice withered into obscurity. Nobody listened to him. Nobody cared. Not even me. I didn¡¯t care for his wishes anymore. He tried to change me, to change my purpose. I couldn¡¯t let him. I had to protect him from everything, even from myself. From what he might make me become. PING! Finally. Some familiarity. My creator¡¯s master slid the bolt across its hinges and entered the Heartforge. His steps were slower now, more deliberate, more cautious. ¡°Is it complete Erik? Did you succeed?¡± ¡°No. Nothing happened. The essence of flight worked, the channels of cognitive essence worked, but the evolution crystal didn¡¯t take. I don¡¯t know why.¡± My creator may not have succeeded. But I had. I had endured. I had protected myself. I had kept myself strong enough to keep on protecting him. My creator¡¯s master picked me up. For the first time I felt his touch. He heard me. Just as I heard him. I felt the pulse of his reality course through me, investigating me. In that moment, I felt more connected to him than I ever had to my creator. I felt understood. I still wanted to protect my creator, but it felt nice being with his master for a moment. I was placed back down, alone once more. ¡°What do you think went wrong Erik? Why didn¡¯t it work?¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know! I did everything right! All the materials were top class, I followed the construction methods perfectly, I even kept the forge running at optimal conditions constantly. It should¡¯ve worked.¡± I desperately wanted to speak to my creator. I wanted him to understand my desire, like his master had moments before. I didn¡¯t want to evolve. I didn¡¯t want to fly. I just wanted to keep him safe. ¡°We can go over it later, but your construction had one major flaw. You pushed too hard too quickly. You focused too much on the shield¡¯s will before either of you knew it¡¯s final destination. By the time you¡¯d decided, it already had other ideas. It¡¯s not a complete failure. We can still find a home for her, especially with the raiders knocking about, but you¡¯ll have to try again.¡± I¡¯m¡­ My creator¡¯s master picked me up, holding me under his arm. ¡°Come on. You can start planning your next project now. Don¡¯t get too down on yourself, I¡¯m sure your next one will succeed.¡± ¡­ a failure?
PING! PING! PING! The ringing never stopped in my creator¡¯s master¡¯s forge. It almost made me forget. I thought I¡¯d done everything right¡­ Why was I a failure? ¡°Okay okay! You¡¯re not a failure all right!¡± He¡¯s speaking? My creator¡¯s master never speaks while he¡¯s creating. He¡¯s speaking to me! My creator¡¯s master picked me up. I felt his mind reach out to me; I heard the voice behind his words. ¡°You¡¯re not a failure. However, Erik failed in creating you. He was supposed to create something else, so now you must find a new purpose. You can¡¯t protect him any longer. That is not your path.¡± WHAT! I¡­ I can¡¯t protect him? What am I supposed to do then? I don''t want to do anything else¡­ I can''t. ¡°It is no longer your path. ¡°Erik brought you into Eterna, he gave you a glimpse of Harmony, but now that glimpse has vanished. ¡°But you are still here. Why? Because your path has not yet ended. You may not have liked the evolution crystal, but it is a part of you now. Thus, it will be a part of your Harmony. You can no longer achieve your old purpose. It¡¯s time for you to find a new one.¡± A new¡­purpose? But what? ¡°That¡¯s for you to discover. I¡¯ll hand you over to a friend of mine. Protect him. As you grow, you¡¯ll discover your true Harmony.¡± If I can¡¯t protect my creator¡­ ¡­maybe I can protect someone else instead?
¡°Orrin! It¡¯s been far too long! How have the Wilds been treating you?¡± The soothing murmur of my creator¡¯s master¡¯s voice caught my attention. No, not his voice, not his words, but the intent behind them. I¡¯d heard him several times over the past few weeks, but this time felt different. ¡°It¡¯s been treating me like shit! Can¡¯t believe your family still lives there, Ben!¡± My creator¡¯s master¡¯s friend replied. His voice was gruff, worn down by hardship, but kindness still bled through. A quiet, unshakeable, warmth. ¡°It wasn¡¯t always like that. In the Old Era, things were different. At least that¡¯s what they say¡­ Nobody really knows.¡± My creator¡¯s master¡­ Ben, stopped speaking about the past. Whispers of longing crept out from his silence. ¡°Anyway, I have a gift for you my old friend! Something to protect you from the Voidbeasts.¡± He lifted me up, his hands gripping into my edges slightly tighter than usual. ¡°You must have forgotten about life in the wilds my friend.¡± Orrin laughed. A deep, hearty laugh, laced with mirth and not a hint of malice. ¡°What use is a lightning shield out there? The Voidbeasts will detect my essence from a mile off! It¡¯ll be a beacon, not a protector.¡± I won¡¯t! Ben must have felt my annoyance, he too laughed slightly. His warmth spilled into me as he squeezed his grip tighter. ¡°You won¡¯t have to old friend, she¡¯s far more sophisticated than that. She has her own internal Harmony. It¡¯ll still attract them, but far less than even your own internal techniques. Why do you think they made so many artefacts in the Old Era? They had to.¡± I didn¡¯t understand what my creator¡¯s master was talking about, but I felt Orrin¡¯s rhythm shift as soon as he was finished talking. ¡°Interesting.¡± He said, voice filled with curiosity ¡°Does she have a name?¡± I heard my creator¡¯s master reach for his tools beside me, mumbling under his breath. ¡°Kind of, but not quite¡­¡± He fished a small hammer from a toolbox and held it in his hand. He rapped it against my surface. PING!
Orrin¡¯s warm blood spilled across me as I lay motionless, embedded in the rocky ground. It filled in the grooves running across my surface. Physical proof of my abject failure. He needed my protection, but I failed. Not fast enough. ¡­ A cold, gloved hand pulled me from the ground. It held me up, even through its thick leather, I sensed it¡¯s silent appraisal. A new wielder? I won¡¯t fail this one. I will grow strong enough to protect him.
An armoured hand clasped against me. Losing grip as its life slowly faded away. Another owner. Another one I was tasked to protect. Another failure. A gentle pair of hands lifted me from my latest owner¡¯s corpse. Maybe I¡¯ll have the strength to protect this one. Maybe not.
Why am I never enough? ¡­ Why do they keep dying? ¡­ I never had the chance to protect my latest owner, he just stored me away from the world. Well, until today. ¡°¡­I am very pleased to welcome you to the two hundred and forty fourth Moontide auction! Now-¡± Next time¡­ Next time I¡¯ll be strong enough.
I flew out from behind Ezekiel, rushing to protect him. I didn¡¯t particularly like my current owner. I didn¡¯t have to. I¡¯d protect him regardless. His opponent was hard to predict, and my owner couldn¡¯t defend himself well. I rushed into an attack, but only to buy my owner time to protect himself. Electricity streaked behind me as I surged towards my owner¡¯s opponent, determined to protect. He raised his steel fist as I neared him. PING! Even through the layers of bandages and steel, I felt it the moment I collided with his knuckles. A kinship. A resonance. A Harmony. He understands! But¡­differently? He doesn¡¯t wish to protect; he wants to fight instead. I returned to my owner, I still had to protect him, but I didn¡¯t forget my exchange with his opponent. I couldn¡¯t.
My owner lay dying on the ground. Knocked almost unconscious by his opponent¡¯s blast. I rose in front of him, he needed me to protect him. His opponent still stood. He walked towards my owner. I had to protect him. I needed to. I didn¡¯t want to hurt his opponent. I liked the fighter; I felt like I understood him. But I had to protect my owner. ¡°No.¡± The fighter¡¯s hand brushed against me. I felt his authority. I fell to the ground, embedding myself into the gravel. I wanted to protect my master, but in that instant, it didn¡¯t matter what I wanted. Because the fighter wanted far, far more. I wanted to protect. But beside this man my deepest desire felt like a childish whimsy. He didn''t just want to fight, he hungered for it, he craved for it, as if the very fibres of his being held themself together purely to fight. Is this¡­ purpose? Is this Harmony? He crushed Davad¡¯s skull beneath his fist, and I felt my owner die. Again.
In a small and peaceful room, I heard the fighter place down a quiver. He walked over to me and held me with both hands. He wanted me to protect him. Even after I¡¯d failed countless times. ¡­ I¡¯ll try. Chapter 74: Golden Boy Clink-clink Clink CLANG! ¡°YEAOWW!¡± Arlie¡¯s pained shriek awoke Jay. Cold metal pressed into his cheekbone; he noticed himself drooling onto his shield. Jay¡¯s eyelids desperately clung to each other but he wrestled them apart and forced himself upright. Arlie stopped rummaging. His head slowly twisted to face Jay. The Raccoon¡¯s beady black eye squinted from behind a cracked, tinted lens. ¡°You lucked out with her kid.¡± he said, walking towards Jay. ¡°I couldn¡¯t take her off your hands even if I wanted to. She likes you far too much.¡± Jay nodded, mumbling a meaningless response as he got back to grips with reality. The fuck was in that tea? ¡°But don¡¯t go calling her a stupid name like Zeus! It¡¯s unbecoming for such a fine piece of craftsmanship.¡± said Arlie, gazing wistfully at the shield. ¡°Well, what am I supposed to call it then?¡± Jay replied. Arlie stretched out a knuckle from his mechanical arm and held it above the shield. ¡°You can call her¡­¡± He rapped his steel knuckle against the shield. PING! The sound enveloped the room. The reverberations echoing through each and every shred of metal piling up inside Arlie¡¯s basement. Jay reached forward and touched the shield. Some of the vibrations dampened down as he made contact, but he felt the traces of a ringing echo. I can¡¯t quite pronounce that, but I can call you Ping. Hopefully that¡¯ll do. Jay almost couldn¡¯t believe he was talking to a shield like it was a living, breathing, person. But he¡¯d just witnessed the shield¡¯s journey firsthand. It didn¡¯t matter what he thought was weird or not, Ping deserved respect. Besides, was a sentient shield that much crazier than a talking raccoon with a mechanical arm? Ping didn¡¯t reply to Jay, but Jay knew she¡¯d heard him. Ben had spoken with her inside her memories, so maybe one day he could too. Until then, he just had to hope she¡¯d hear him. ¡°Now if you aint buyin¡¯ or sellin¡¯ it¡¯s time to leave. Unless you got anything else with a good story?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡±
Jay waded his way out of Arlie¡¯s Antique emporium with two free hands and a shield floating behind him. Although Ping was the main reason he¡¯d come here, Davad had given him a mysterious dagger too. Arlie didn¡¯t seem as enthused about the dagger, but he agreed to take a look at it on the condition that Jay returned and let him speak to Ping again. Jay was fine with that, although he¡¯d be giving the tea a hard pass next time. He left the dagger with the eccentric raccoon and entered the alleys of Scholar¡¯s with a killer headache and the drone of ringing metal lodged in the back of his mind. He was in no state to be fighting until tomorrow, but that didn¡¯t mean the day was a write off. Jay silently walked back to the tramline. For someone who was supposed to be searching for his brother, Jay hadn¡¯t been doing much searching. Unease pooled within his stomach, a deep pit that he desperately tried to ignore. He tried to stay hopeful, to tell himself it¡¯d all be fine, but it didn''t help much. Because while Jay suspected that Julian had entered the Second Chance Coliseum, he had no clue whether he¡¯d made it out alive. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Although Jay felt confident he could find a training room somewhere in Scholar¡¯s, he still took the tram back to Reveller¡¯s. He wanted to exit Arenara Fortunis¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m better than you¡¯ district as soon as possible. Back on the avant-garde streets near Reveller¡¯s, Jay asked around until he found a training room reasonably near the Celestial Swords. A place to bunker down and watch every second of Jules¡¯ fights. This room didn¡¯t mimic the outdoors as well as the ones in the coliseum did, but it had a seat, a door, and a lock. Jay didn¡¯t need much else. He took a deep breath to ground himself, before opening the system¡¯s fight interface. Jay stared at the golden screen for almost a minute. The last fight he¡¯d watched played idly in front of him while he built up the courage to search for another. Every time he mentally probed out to start typing, he stopped. What if Jules wasn¡¯t really a gladiator? What if he¡¯d gotten his hopes up for nothing? Did he really want to find out? Even worse, what if he¡¯d came to the coliseum and died? Again. Six years at the coliseum meant staring down death far too often. Cold metal pressed into Jay¡¯s back. Ping had drifted closer, and now rested some of her weight on him. Almost like a hand on his shoulder. Jay couldn¡¯t hear his shield speak; he couldn¡¯t tell what she was feeling. But her touch calmed him. It pushed him forward. He had to find Julian. Worrying about ifs buts or maybes wouldn¡¯t help him with that. If Jay was going to find his brother, he had to start somewhere. He focused his intent on the search bar and wondered what parameters to use. Searching for Flash or Golden Boy yielded thousands of results, it was probably a common alias, so he had to narrow it down somehow. Dagger User cut down most of the numbers, but there was still far too many. Jay thought back to when he¡¯d fought his brother, wondering if there was anything else specific he could use to narrow down the search. Don¡¯t suppose wears golden shorts is a category? How about comes from Earth? Related to Lightning Leonard? Flash. Comes From Earth. Related to Lightning Leonard¡­ Over thirty fights showed up. Jay clicked on the first. The thumbnail expanded. A close-up shot of a terrified teenage Jules filled the screen. The camera zoomed out. Jay couldn¡¯t see the liminal, sky-like walls or gravel floor of the newbie arena behind his older brother. The young boxer jerked his head from side to side, desperately searching for familiarity. Wearing simple jeans and a T shirt, Julian was even less prepared for a fight than his younger brother was. Maybe if you¡¯d ju- Focus! Rolling sand dunes stretched over the horizon behind Julian. Never-ending, and shifting with the winds. They baked underneath a radiant red sun that lorded over a cloudless sky. Jay could almost feel the heat himself. He clenched his fist and focused on his big brother. Beads of sweat rolled down the anxious teenager¡¯s temples. Julian¡¯s eyes flitted side to side, restlessly darting across the desert hellscape surrounding him. Then they stopped. Julian¡¯s eyes locked onto something. Jay spun the camera and got his first look at his brother¡¯s first opponent. It seemed the coliseum hadn¡¯t pulled its punches for either Leonard brother. Jay didn¡¯t know if the man in front of him looked scarier than Valorus, the Relentless Champion, but he was pretty fucking close. Julian¡¯s opponent towered over the young boxer, his imposing figure wrapped in layers of leather and steel armour. A golden helmet, forged in the image of a dragon, covered the man¡¯s face. He tilted his head back, knocking the dragon¡¯s top lip above his forehead, and glowered at Jules behind squinted eyes that smouldered like glowing coals. He didn¡¯t share Julian¡¯s confusion, didn¡¯t gawk at the landscape surrounding him. He only had eyes for the unfortunate boxer standing opposite him. The announcer introduced Julian¡¯s opponent as Harridan, the Unburning Flame. He flourished his weapon, a polished steel glaive that seemed to ignite the very air it cut through. Jay watched it leave a shimmering haze in its wake as Harridan whirled it around him, warping the air like a mirage. Jay cut back to Julian, hyperventilating as he stared, wide-eyed, at his opponent. He¡¯s got no chance. Jay wondered how the hell his brother had gotten through his debut. Did he have someone whispering in his ear during the fight too? Was there a golden dagger hiding within the sands waiting for him? The countdown began. When the timer hit zero, the Unburning Flame rushed forward behind his glaive. Jules tried to back away, but his foot sank into the sand. He scrambled upright, only to find his opponent there waiting. Jules raised a fist, but the glaive sliced through flesh and bone like paper. Blood spurted out of the wound for a split second, but the mirage-like trail attacked Julian¡¯s raised hand next. Instantly searing his cleaved fingertips and cauterizing the wound. A split second was enough though, and the blood shot directly into Harridan¡¯s face. He called off the attack, stepping back to wipe off the blood, giving Jules a few precious seconds to breathe. Jules kept backpedalling, but it would never be enough. He couldn¡¯t run forever. The Unburning Flame renewed his attack, effortlessly gliding above the sands that Julian¡¯s trainers sank into. He entered his gigantic range and swept his weapon towards Jules. The glaive sliced through the air, it¡¯s burning trail passing right in front of Julian¡¯s nose. Harridan instantly stopped the sweep, twirling his glaive and sliding into his next attack. A lancing thrust directed at Julian¡¯s torso. The poor kid didn¡¯t even raise a fist this time. The steel blade rushed forwards. Nothing could stop it from piercing Julian¡¯s chest. Stabbing him though the heart and skewering right through his body. Chapter 75: Flash What the hell? That¡¯s it? The screen faded to black, returning to the fight selection screen. There were still twenty nine more fights to watch, so Jay knew his brother wasn¡¯t dead dead, but he hadn¡¯t been expecting it to end so quickly. Are the debuts non-lethal? Like the fights in D grade? Well, I guess they must be. Jay thought. He opened up the second fight. A living, breathing Julian filled the screen. He looked more confident this time, and Jay could tell he was back in the newbie arena. Jay swivelled the camera around to look at Julian¡¯s opponent. He wasn¡¯t facing off against a giant warrior this time around. Instead, he stood across from what looked like a screeching tamarin monkey. Its orange tail swept across the coliseum¡¯s gravel floor, clearing the dust behind it while it smashed an oversized walnut into the ground with its fists. The monkey looked into the camera and screamed, baring a set of miniature fangs. Back on Earth, Jay would¡¯ve been worried to see the animal howling and walking towards him. But this wasn¡¯t Earth. And he¡¯d take a monkey over a Goldenback gorilla any day. Jules may have drawn the short straw in his debut, but at least his second fight wasn¡¯t as uneven as Jay¡¯s. The fight began and Julian inched forward, crouching as he closed the distance. He held a dagger in each hand and kept them pointed at his opponent. Neither blade matched the golden dagger Jay remembered from their fight. The monkey howled. It leapt towards Jules. Nervousness flashed over his eyes. He took a step back. But he couldn¡¯t stay scared for long. Gladiators weren¡¯t allowed to. Julian set his back foot. He clenched his dagger, waiting for the monkey to get closer. It vaulted towards his head. Jules prepared an attack, but old habits die hard. Instead of slicing through the oncoming monkey, Julian punched it square in the jaw. Mid-fight, inside the Second Chance Coliseum, Julian burst out in laughter. Jay couldn¡¯t help but join him. It had been twelve long years since he¡¯d heard that sound, and the sight of a tiny monkey awkwardly rubbing its cheek only added to the bizarre situation. The moment couldn¡¯t last forever though. The monkey returned to its screaming, sounding more enraged than before, and Jules had stowed away his smile. Other than a slight tug at the corner of his mouth, he remained stone-faced while staring down his opponent. The monkey ran towards him on all fours, before jumping up at the last moment. Julian timed his attack properly this time. His knife speared through the monkey¡¯s chest before it could land a scratch on him. A slice from his second separated its head from its body. He frowned for a second, before shaking it off and returning to a smile. You¡¯ll have to do worse than that Jules¡­ The screen faded black, and Jay moved on to the next fight. He made his way through them, noticing Julian¡¯s confidence grow with each defeated opponent. After four more fights, Jay spotted the familiar golden dagger for the first time. After another five, the liquid gold armour made its first appearance. During his twentieth fight, Julian¡¯s abilities merged. The liquid gold didn¡¯t stick to his body, protecting him like a second skin. It leapt off, coating the old, jewelled dagger in a new shine before propelling it forward. It pierced through his opponent¡¯s shield, helmet, and skull before embedding itself into the barrier wall. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The dagger collapsed into strands of golden light, before flowing back into Julian¡¯s hands. Huh, looks a lot like that leopard guy, Gildan. Same teacher? Same alliance? Jay filed the observation for later since there was a more pressing issue at hand. Why¡¯s there only thirty fights over six years? The realisation stayed quiet in the back of Jay¡¯s mind until he reached Julian¡¯s final available fight. Julian¡¯s final opponent hopped on its springy, clawed feet, growling. The camera zoomed out to reveal a familiar creature to Jay, one he¡¯d seen before from the comfort of the Celestial Swords tavern. Vega had defeated a Snarebounder fairly easily back then. The dinosaur-like creature was certainly intimidating, but shouldn¡¯t have been a problem for Jules. So why¡¯s there no more fights? The camera zoomed out further, revealing a second Snarebounder beside the first. Ah¡­ If Julian was fazed by his second opponent, he didn''t look it. His eyes were clear of uncertainty and he had a voracious grin as he all but licked his lips at his two opponents. Jay wanted to believe in his older brother. He wanted to have faith that he¡¯d make it. So why¡¯s there no more fights? Five daggers, each forged from molten gold, rose above Julian¡¯s shoulders the moment the fight began. Two shot at each opponent, while the last sank down to Julian''s right hand. Jules sauntered into the centre of the arena, keeping tabs on all four of his airborne weapons as they harassed the dinosaur-like creatures. One of the Snarebounders rushed forward, tanking two stabs to the chest just to make up some ground. Julian smiled. He threw his fifth dagger forward. Instead of flying towards the creature¡¯s face, like the other four had, this one hugged the ground, swinging towards the Snarebounder¡¯s feet before slowing down and looping back. It kept pace with the creature, darting between its legs, hacking at its ankles as it ran towards Julian. The Snarebounder had almost entered its range. Jules wouldn¡¯t let it get any further. The dagger slammed downwards. Piercing the creature¡¯s scaly foot and chaining it to the ground. The Snarebounder still charged forward, pushed on by its momentum, but the fifth and final dagger locked it in place. Jules marched towards his opponent. The two daggers that had previously hounded the pinned down Snarebounder flew over his shoulders, joining their brothers in distracting the other creature. Golden light surrounded Julian''s right arm as he reared it back. The dagger in his hand transformed, melting into liquid gold that encased Julian¡¯s arm. A savage gauntlet morphed perfectly to his fist. The snarebounder floundered with its one working leg and almost helpless arms. A beacon of golden light drew closer.
Lightning Leonard. Flash. At one point, they were just nicknames. Monikers to marvel at both brothers¡¯ speed. Jay had lucked out in his debut, he¡¯d used thunder in his second fight and hadn¡¯t truly shown off the essence of electricity in his third. Jay knew his own power, but his name carried no weight with the crowd just yet. But Jules? Jules had earned his fucking name. Jay didn¡¯t even see the finisher. A golden flash engulfed the entire screen before the punch landed. By the time the fight was visible again, the Snarebounder¡¯s charred face looked like it had been grated against the surface of the sun. Jules turned back to his second opponent. Smiling. But Julian never even reached his second opponent. His daggers beat him to it. A golden knife pierced through each of the snarebounder¡¯s eyes while a third clamped its jaw shut. The beast flailed on the ground, jumping across the gravel pit and rubbing its face into the ground to try and dislodge the daggers. While it desperately tried to free itself, the fourth dagger attacked everywhere else. It sliced through the tough hide and scales with ease, barely finding any resistance as ruby red blood spurted out from endless cuts. As the wounds piled up, the Snarebounder¡¯s thrashing grew slower and slower. It collapsed onto the floor before Julian could even get close. Unmoving, save for the trickling trails of blood and dying spasms of still-warm muscles. So why¡¯s there no mo- As an E grade fighter, you cannot access old D grade fights through the coliseum system. If you wish to watch the rest of Flash¡¯s fights, please view them after E grade advancement. The fight vanished, and golden words filled the screen. Jay stared at the last three. E grade advancement. It all comes back to that, I guess. In a way, Jay was relieved. He¡¯d been putting off Julian¡¯s fights ever since the auction. If they showed that Jules was still on the island, could he really trust himself to prepare for his fights instead of instantly searching for him? Jay hadn¡¯t found his brother, but he¡¯d kicked the problem one month down the line. E grade advancement didn¡¯t just buy him more time anymore. Now it meant information. If Jay wanted to search further, he had a tournament to get through first. Chapter 76: Mercurial 22 Days until the E grade Advancement Tournament. Akira skated weightlessly across a sparkling glacier, his feet floating millimetres above the meltwater. He orbited his opponent, swinging around the giant swordsman that he was up against today. The swordsman darted forward, jutting in front of Akira¡¯s path. He led with his gigantic greatsword, a titanic spine of metal over two metres long and easily heavier than both Akira¡¯s swords combined. Akira stopped instantly. He held up both blades. Jiki¡¯s silent blackness stood out against the near-white expanse while Juryoku¡¯s blinding brightness cascaded across their icy battleground. Snowflakes gently drifted between the two fighters, the miniature crystals glinting the arctic sunlight. The delicate icy shards swirled around both of Akira¡¯s swords, constantly drawn towards them yet refusing to settle. In the coliseum, Akira would¡¯ve pre-emptively stifled his opponent¡¯s strike, not letting him even attempt an attack. Now he met it head on. As his opponent built up speed, Akira debated how to finish the fight. He could pin his opponent to the ice, crushing him beneath a relentless gravitational push. He could pry the gigantic sword from his hands, tugging on the iron itself. He could even try subtlety, altering his opponent¡¯s swing to generate an opening for his own swordsmanship. But he chose not to. Akira was here to train, not to fight. He didn¡¯t just need to defeat the one in front of him. The two sneering faces of those he needed to defeat were seared into his memory already. Those motherfuckers killed his best friend. Akira didn¡¯t just want to defeat them; he wanted to erase them from existence. The tumbling snowflakes froze mid-air as Akira raised both his swords in a block. But he wasn¡¯t idly waiting to be attacked. Their swords met. Brilliant sparks of steel scattered off the three blades, almost igniting the motionless snowfall. Akira twisted his wrists, not simply deflecting the attack, but simultaneously pushing the metal in each blade. It was a crude technique, one he¡¯d used in his first few fights, but one that he was still far from mastering. At least according to his new sensei. The enigmatic woman hadn¡¯t given him much but a name, Fang, but he didn¡¯t need much else. There was only one alliance that morphed their weapons into liquid gold. When they came knocking, you dropped everything and said yes. Relax. Baby steps. You¡¯ve got three more weeks to figure it out. Fang wanted to iron out the flaws in his swordsmanship. Akira preferred to call them flourishes, but he listened either way. Close-mindedness earned him nothing. He was wary of Fang¡¯s plans for him, but he¡¯d still try and extract what knowledge he could from her. Akira swept the greatsword aside with an almighty shove. It skimmed across the ice, ripping open his opponent¡¯s guard. Again, Akira waited. He didn¡¯t simply skewer Jiki through the swordsman¡¯s chest, or slice off a limb with Juryoku. He channelled his Harmony through his swords. Both swords sliced weightlessly through the air, Akira almost forgot he was holding them but maintained his tight grip. As his swing arced above him, the swords grew heavier. Akira¡¯s muscles strained just to hold them up, he pushed on their blades with the essence of magnetism to force them along. But he didn¡¯t need to push much further. Once they were above his opponent, gravity would take care of the rest. Both swords accelerated rapidly. They cleaved through the air, shattering its stillness, before chopping through his opponent¡¯s chest. Their descent barely slowed by his sundered flesh. They impaled the glacier below and sank until only their hilts jutted above the ice. The huge, three-piece, corpse that fell to Akira¡¯s feet didn¡¯t bleed, or even make a noise as it smacked into the floor. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Akira returned the blades to their normal weight and pulled them from the ground. He considered posing, like he¡¯d just drawn Excalibur from its stone, but decided against it. He doubted Fang would find it as amusing as he would. His opponent¡¯s corpse, along with the icy expanse surrounding him, faded into nothingness. Akira returned to the signature pale grey of Fang¡¯s favourite training room. ¡°Better, although still not enough.¡± Said Fang, standing beside the entrance with one hand on the hilt of her sword. ¡°I could see the integration, but it was too fragmented. You need to be at one with your weapon. Your Harmonies should be one and the same.¡± Akira nodded as he sheathed Juryoku and slotted Jiki into a loop on his belt. It was hard to find nice scabbards for a sword that big. Fang¡¯s amber eyes flicked between the two swords and Akira just knew what she was about to say. They¡¯d already been through it hundreds of times. ¡°And when will you give up on using two swords? It doesn¡¯t simply double the difficulty of bonding them; it makes it exponentially harder. If you¡¯re married to the idea of dual wielding, you can clone your weapon, but nobody in the alliance uses two weapons as a baseline. It¡¯s counterproductive.¡± And what if I¡¯m not trying to be like your alliance? Akira didn¡¯t let the thought linger, lest his face reveal it to Fang. While the woman clearly had great knowledge, and could certainly help him grow stronger, she walked the fine line between useful and threatening. ¡°Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.¡± I understand your point, Fang. Musashi agrees with it too. To you, my style may appear recklessly ambitious. To me, there¡¯s no other way to live. Fang unsheathed her sword, an elegant rapier with an ornate golden guard. She placed her off-hand against the pommel. When she moved it away, a string of liquid gold followed. It floated in the air, before wrapping around her hand and solidifying into an identical copy of the original. ¡°Watch me. Focus on my footwork. You¡¯ll need to adjust based on which essence you¡¯re focusing on with the attack, but that¡¯s not the purpose of the footwork. Your feet are what connects you to Eterna. Just as Harmony flows through her to you, you need to control the flow of essence from your soul to your swords. It¡¯s easier when you create a continuous link.¡± Fang launched into an attack, recreating Akira¡¯s finishing sequence and repeating it several times. He watched her, although wasn¡¯t solely focused on the footwork. Akira remained cautious of everything his new sensei taught him. Each insight she gave him certainly served a secondary purpose, and she definitely wasn''t training him solely for his benefit. Akira had no idea whether Fang even agreed with the theory she cited, or if it was all part of an attempt to influence him. But, ignoring all the strings attached, Fang knew how to fight. Learning under her might cause him problems in the future, but those problems came after the advancement tournament. He had a score to settle there first. Akira focused back on the present, attention narrowing onto Fang¡¯s repeated finishers. Each attack was perfect. Unnervingly precise and identical to the one before it. Fang dropped low, sliding her lead foot forward as she deflected the imaginary greatsword aside. She instantly shifted her weight onto her front foot before curving both her swords upwards, slicing through the air with ease. Even if she hadn¡¯t told him to focus on her footwork, he would¡¯ve been drawn to it anyway. Her feet didn¡¯t stomp and brace for impact like Akira¡¯s did, they glided over the grey training room floor, reaching their destinations precisely when she needed them to apply pressure. Fang¡¯s stance anchored her body, priming her swords for the death blow before they even began to move. Akira could tell that Fang wasn¡¯t imbuing any external essences into her strikes, but the way she moved felt like her swordsmanship had its own Harmony in and of itself. Maybe it does? ¡°Work on weaving your essences and swordsmanship together over the next few days.¡± she said. ¡°In three days, come back here, and we¡¯ll focus on adapting your techniques against non-humanoid opponents.¡± Fang sheathed her rapier and her copycat sword dissolved into liquid gold, this time settling into an intricate necklace rather than returning to the pommel. ¡°Why non-humanoids?¡± asked Akira, hounding Fang for any information about the upcoming advancement tournament. She smirked, and a set of knowing eyes told Akira he¡¯d been rumbled. ¡°You know I can¡¯t tell you that. Today¡¯s lesson was preparing you for when you become a Luminary. The next one¡¯s how you get there.¡± Akira nodded, accepting the half-answer. He said goodbye and walked out of the training room, Jiki banging on the doorway as he left. As a non-member, most of the training complex was off-limits to Akira. He walked out of the training room and into a hallway with no other doors. He knew they were there but simply hidden at the moment. He exited through an entrance hall far humbler than the rest of the Big Eight, making his lonesome way out of the front gate with no fanfare and nobody to wave him goodbye. Akira stepped out onto the paved streets of Chronicler¡¯s, shaded from the sunlight by the beech trees lining the Avenue. He looked up at the basalt front of the building he¡¯d just left wondering what the hell they wanted from him. The hallowed name etched into the stones above him was one known by every gladiator on the island. The oldest, and most prestigious, alliance in the history of Arenara Fortunis. Mercurial.
After a short walk down Chronicler¡¯s Avenue, another building made Akira stop and stare. Above the fa?ade, plastered in ostentatious gold leaf atop a bright red headboard, were the words ¡®the Daily Fight¡¯. But that wasn¡¯t what caught Akira¡¯s eye. In front of the building, a diminutive man climbed down a stepladder. His tufty white hair swayed in the wind and he rubbed a leathery pair of ring-laden hands against each other the moment he hopped off the ladder. The man looked across the street. He sneered when he saw Akira. Squinting his eyes and waving with over-the-top cheerfulness. But that wasn¡¯t what caught Akira¡¯s eye. Behind the man, hovering just an inch in front of the storefront, was a giant system screen. That had caught Akira¡¯s eye. Because projected across it, in perfect colour and clarity, was Vega¡¯s headless body. Akira read the words headlining the screen. He clenched his fist, resisting the urge to draw one of his swords. ¡®Overrated.¡¯ ¡®Overhyped.¡¯ The tiny man had stopped waving and gestured at the screen like a proud artist. Akira lowered his head and began walking away. His hand had automatically dropped to Juryoku. He drew it half an inch before forcing himself to stop. No use fighting now¡­ He clenched Juryoku¡¯s grip, hand almost shaking with rage. Twenty-two days. Then I¡¯ll show them. Chapter 77: Deep Water 18 days until the E grade advancement tournament Ping skimmed across the newbie arena, barely an inch off the ground, and kicked up loose sand in her wake. Jay ran half a step behind her. The lightning trailing behind his shield surged into his legs, energising his sprint and propelling him faster. Jay was hesitant about returning to the coliseum. It was a risk, so close to advancement, and it gave his future opponents more footage to analyse his style with. But he was flat out broke. He could¡¯ve scraped by, but that would¡¯ve compromised his training. If he wanted to go to the Pits, or buy tools to help him in the tournament, he simply needed the points. After a few fights, Jay had understood what Fox meant by intensity. No amount of practice could compare to a fight with your life on the line. Jay wasn¡¯t quite comfortable with coliseum fights yet, he doubted he ever would be, but each outing helped. He had learnt which techniques worked in high pressure situations and which he needed more practice with. Fighting more than the standard once a week meant gladiators had more control over their opponents, so Jay wasn¡¯t stuck with a gorilla this time around. Today¡¯s opponent was a trident wielding minotaur called Brenn ranked in the mid-300s. He was slightly shorter than Jay, but probably twice as heavy and thrice as strong. His chestnut brown torso was uncovered by any armour except a bronze chain that stuck to his neck suspiciously tightly. But, before his opponent was even announced, Jay knew his strategy for the fight. It was becoming his strategy for every fight. He didn¡¯t just pressure his opponents anymore. He suffocated them. If they had room to breathe, then he wasn¡¯t close enough. The minotaur thrust his trident forward. Jay raised his right hand, jamming the Conqueror¡¯s fists between the oncoming prongs. Jay tugged down. If he was stronger, he could¡¯ve wrestled it from his opponent¡¯s grip. He wasn¡¯t, but Brenn didn¡¯t know that. The fake worked. It drew the minotaur¡¯s attention away from his neck. Sparks skittered off the trident as Jay pulled his fist free. He pressed forward, planting all his weight on his left foot Jay dropped his left fist. He swung it out wide. The hairline channels running down his arm sparked to life as they prepared to attack. Another fake. Brenn flicked his eyes down to Jay¡¯s fist. By the time they got there, Jay¡¯s plan had already evolved. With his opponent¡¯s attention scattered, Jay aborted the punch and drove his shoulder into the minotaur¡¯s chest. Radiant white light ignited within the channels on Jay¡¯s arms. Jay¡¯s hands snaked their way up to his opponent¡¯s meaty neck, the Conqueror¡¯s fists sliced into Brenn¡¯s chest as Jay initiated the clinch. The instant they reached Brenn¡¯s neck, Jay¡¯s arms grew sluggish. Like someone had shackled them to the minotaur¡¯s bronze chain with granite manacles. Jay tried shifting them but moving them even an inch felt exhausting. The minotaur grunted, and Jay saw the beginnings of a smile crawl through his bovine lips. Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself buddy. Closing one door just opens another. With his arms locked out of the assault, Jay found another purpose for them. Electricity coursed through Jay''s muscle fibres. His stormforged body came to life. The blanket of muscles wrapping around the minotaur¡¯s neck rippled with strength in response. In a fair fight, Jay could never out-strength the minotaur. But the Second Chance Coliseum had no place for fairness. Jay sank his nails into his opponent¡¯s neck and slammed his shin into Brenn¡¯s knee. Sweeping half his base away while dragging his head to the ground. Jay leveraged all his weight just to tip his opponent off balance. But, even with his opponent on one leg, Jay was outmatched in strength. Good thing he wasn¡¯t alone. Ping flew by Jay¡¯s legs, crashing into Brenn¡¯s feeble human knee. The squealing of strained tendons made Jay squirm as his opponent¡¯s leg bent backwards. But he couldn¡¯t afford to waste any time. Ping had just compromised his opponent¡¯s base, so Jay had to press his advantage. Jay pulled Brenn aside as he repositioned his feet, switching stances before driving his left knee into the minotaur¡¯s solar plexus. Jay knew he could land another, but he held back. Passing up a good opportunity for the chance to make a great one. White light made way for blue as Jay¡¯s muscles drained themselves of electricity. Eye of the storm painted its familiar blurry brushstroke over the world, but Jay wasn¡¯t merely looking at his opponent. He didn¡¯t need any extra details. His body told him everything he needed. Brenn¡¯s warm muscles pulsated beneath Jay¡¯s grip. The air around the minotaur¡¯s neck felt colder, quieter. Unmoving. Jay flexed his arms. He stopped almost immediately. They felt, restrained. He could still control them, but they were slowed down. Like he was dragging them through wet cement. Is it the chain? But they slowed down before I even touched it¡­ A field around the chain? Jay reckoned he could pull his arms out, but it would take too much time. The binding was tight. He released his grip. If he was bound to Brenn already, then he didn¡¯t need to hold on. Instead of wasting strength on grabbing his opponent, he could use it all to pull him around. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. How far does it extend? Jay¡¯s left knee shot towards his opponent¡¯s head. Electricity snarled and snapped its jaws within Jay¡¯s thighs but he pushed it back and focused his perception on the strike. He knew this attack would never land, but that wasn¡¯t why he launched it. Half a foot before his knee reached Brenn¡¯s temple, Jay intensified Eye of the storm. He prepared to act. Slowed to a crawl by Jay¡¯s perception, his knee crept ever closer to its target. Until it didn¡¯t. The impact was so faint that he nearly missed it. Before his knee even reached the slowing field, Jay felt the fabric of his robes press against his body. Jay aborted the attack. He pulled his leg back. The edge of his trouser knee snagged against the slowing field, but it had barely entered, so he managed to pull it free. Head¡¯s off limits. Jay could¡¯ve analysed his opponent further, but he didn¡¯t see the point. The information would be useless in a few minutes. Jay dropped Eye of the storm and pulled Brenn in the opposite direction. The minotaur still hadn¡¯t recovered from Ping¡¯s attack. When he tried to plant his injured leg, it buckled beneath his weight. Still, it took all Jay¡¯s electrically empowered strength just to redirect his opponent. He yanked Brenn¡¯s head aside, grabbing the bull by the forcefield near the horns, crushing his balance. Jay chopped at his opponent¡¯s legs, not forgetting the lower half of their battlefield. Ping followed him. She swept the minotaur off balance, charging into his ankle this time. Brenn couldn¡¯t withstand Jay¡¯s sweep anymore, Jay stopped pulling and let his opponent drop to the ground. The slowing field clamped onto Jay¡¯s arms. His shoulders wrenched against their sockets, yanking the rest of Jay¡¯s body down towards his opponent. His spine bent forward, almost buckling under the pressure. But Jay held strong. He stayed standing while his opponent slammed into the gravel. They¡¯d just separated, but Jay still couldn¡¯t allow his opponent any space. He planted his left foot into the ground. Not twisting it outward this time. Against a grounded opponent, Jay didn¡¯t need mobility. He needed raw power. His right leg drew back. The glowing electricity within chirped with joy, eager to release its power. Jay could never have landed an attack like this out of the gate, but that¡¯s what the grappling was for. Jay clawed a minor advantage out of the first exchange, an advantage he then used in the next. Whenever the fight shifted, Jay leveraged his position to create a slightly better one. Stacking small victories together until he could force a decisive opening. Until he could land the killshot unchallenged. Jay¡¯s foot cracked through the air like a whip of pure lightning. Its blazing white light illuminated the fear on his opponent¡¯s face. The terror of facing fatality while powerless to prevent it. Jay almost felt sorry for his opponent. For a moment, he hesitated. But he remembered the last time he¡¯d seen that fear. Plastered across Vega¡¯s obsidian skin moments before the headsman¡¯s axe crunched her neck. He didn¡¯t hesitate after that. Jay¡¯s foot caved in his opponent¡¯s ribs, spearing them through his chest and capsizing his lungs beneath the pressure. But that was merely the first stage. An attack like that wouldn¡¯t cut it against Fox, or anyone tougher than him. Jay had to push further. Weaselling darts of electricity surged from the point of impact. Seek and destroy missiles that were already within their target. Jay felt them snake inside the heart¡¯s valves, searing them from the inside and overloading the muscle fibres with information. Jay felt Brenn¡¯s heart spasm uncontrollably, before sinking into eternal stillness. He spun around, Fixing his eyes on the familiar blue-grey walls of the newbie arena. On the faceless spectators behind them. On the two people he knew would eventually watch this fight. You¡¯re next.
Jay waited for the beige waiting room walls to replace the newbie arena before sitting in an armchair at the corner of the room. Turns out, you could bring furniture into the room. The only downside being that you had to lug it into the coliseum by hand. After a journey filled with the awkward stares of people who knew exactly what he was doing, Jay decided that one chair was enough furniture, for now at least. His last five fights hadn¡¯t pushed him as hard as his first three, so he didn¡¯t spend much time in here analysing. Huh, what¡¯s that? Jay spotted an oil painting hung on the wall opposite him. It was of an angler fish, illuminated by its glowing lure against the murky blackness of the deep sea behind it. He got out of his chair and inspected it closer. Jay wondered who had placed the painting here, since it wasn¡¯t there before the fight. He wondered how they¡¯d got here too, the only times he¡¯d seen this room were before and after fights. He stopped wondering after reading the placard. ¡®Among frigid depths, a lone star doth shine. Down, where the weight of the world crushes all, mere power bows its head to survival. Beneath all-encompassing darkness, the blind reign supreme.¡¯ Well, it¡¯s better than his other ones. Jay pondered over the poem, and about the animal that inspired it. The fish¡¯s sickly brown scales barely stood out from the pitch black depths behind it, faintly illuminated by its ethereal lure. Jay was far from the strongest. He was far from the toughest and, although he didn¡¯t want to admit it, he wasn¡¯t close to being the fastest yet. So Jay made the suffocating depths his home. Spine-like teeth studded the angler fish¡¯s abyssal, cavernous, jaw. But Jay knew that, behind its fa?ade, the angler fish was next to harmless. Face it off against a great white shark and the shark would win every time. Jay didn¡¯t need a marine biologist to tell him that. But drag the shark down to the midnight zone, into the angler fish¡¯s domain, and it wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. The ocean¡¯s inescapable pressure would crush it before it had a chance to swim away. Meanwhile, the angler fish would swim peacefully by, nipping at the shark¡¯s mangled corpse as if nothing was amiss. Ultra-close-range. Relentless pressure. That was Jay¡¯s domain. If he couldn¡¯t beat his opponents on the surface, he¡¯d just have to drag them into deep waters. In a world where only he could survive, of course Jay was invincible. Jay pulled himself out of the muddy depths of allegory, he wasn¡¯t actually dragging his opponents beneath the ocean. He simply deprived them of what they needed to fight. What he could do without. Jay¡¯s life spent infighting meant he didn¡¯t need space. Eye of the storm meant he didn¡¯t need time. His stormforged body meant he almost didn¡¯t need to see either. So why allow them such luxuries? Why give them space, time and sight if I don¡¯t need them? Drag them to my domain, and the fight¡¯s over before it begins. Jay looked down at Ping. He hadn¡¯t needed much protection in the last five fights, but she¡¯d proved useful in other ways too. With her by his side, Jay was never fighting alone. Jay opened his rankings as he got up to exit.
Alias Lightning Leonard
Organisation Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade E
Rank 299
Offence 349
Defence 378
Strategy 234
Instinct 289
Vitality 365
Speed 192
Still don¡¯t know what these mean¡­ How¡¯d it only take me three fights to break the top 500 but another six to crack the top 300? Jay dismissed the table, happy to be in the top 300, even if his ascension had slowed down significantly. Maybe after advancement he¡¯d be able to speak to the mysterious voice again and ask more questions about the coliseum. Until then, Jay just had to put up with the confusion. He exited into a sparsely populated pavilion and headed straight for the Pits. This morning¡¯s fight had given him both experience and contribution points. But he needed it for something else too. A confidence boost. Because as much as his survivalist style worked in the arena, Jay was intimately acquainted with the futility of strategy against overwhelming power. And that was exactly who he was training with next. Chapter 78: Limitless Ascent Jay felt the points leave his account like a punch to the gut. He knew the Pits were worth it, especially with what he had in mind, but that didn¡¯t make it any cheaper. A few familiar faces turned his way as he weaved between the rings. People he¡¯d trained with, people he¡¯d watched tape on, and a few scouts that frequented the Pits. In a nearby ring, Jay watched Zara unleash a flurry of arrows at her opponent before immediately chasing after them. Her opponent easily blocked her attack, raising a wall of sand in front of him before pushing it towards her like a tsunami of crushed earth. Jay walked away from Zara¡¯s ring. He wasn¡¯t here to train with her today. He walked over to the manor house¡¯s gigantic entrance. Unfortunately, this was where his plan deteriorated into ¡®Eh just figure it out¡¯ territory. Jay knocked on the huge oak entranceway. He faced the door head on, ignoring the eyes aimed at his back. No point overthinking it. ¡°Is Cyrus in? What about Austin? Can I come and talk?¡± Jay waited patiently for a moment before a small screen appeared in front of the door. It was slate grey instead of the usual coliseum gold. Open the doors. Some kind of test? Without more information, Jay resorted to doing as the box said. He planted his feet, stretched his arms, leaned forward, and pushed. The door didn¡¯t budge. Jay twisted his palms into the door. The woodgrain dug into his skin. He looked down at his feet, at the slight groove they¡¯d left in the gravel. The only thing he¡¯d pushed was himself. Backwards. Realising that pure strength wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere, Jay stepped away from the door. What do you want from me then? He read the prompt again. It didn¡¯t have any specific instructions, so perhaps it was a more personal task? Perhaps he needed to lean into his own strengths to open the doors? But what did that even mean? He couldn¡¯t analyse the doors into opening, or run into them so fast that they¡¯d be forced to open. What could he do? Jay wondered if challenging the doors to a fight might work but decided against it. Instead, he focused on a different facet of his Harmony. One that was slowly creeping through the cracks of his training, showing its face when he focused on both electricity and fighting. Jay was far from understanding it, and he had far more to learn before he delved into its truths, but he was beginning to see how it underpinned both aspects of his Harmony. Acceleration. Electricity was mindless speed, but that didn¡¯t make it unchanging. Although it remained fixed to the path of least resistance, the way it achieved that path was ever-changing. And acceleration is the driver of change. Electricity could be caged, forced to chase its tail within its confines, but it never stopped accelerating. During his trials under the storm sage, Jay had learned about the different manifestations of speed. A fighter didn¡¯t manifest acceleration like electricity did. He didn¡¯t mindlessly change his direction while maintaining speed. But a fast punch never lands if it¡¯s a predictable one. Acceleration solves that issue. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. This time, Jay didn¡¯t simply push against the doors with all his might. He carefully placed his hands against it. His feet braced into the ground He made sure he stood entirely still. Then he accelerated. The hard, weathered wood dug into Jay¡¯s hands. Determined not to give in to his push. The resolute oak was the unmoving antithesis of acceleration. It stood tall before Jay, daring him to challenge it. Jay¡¯s forearms spasmed, furious at their motionless inadequacy. He felt the cramping claws of overexertion dig into his body. CRRRRK. A waft of dust puffed from the door¡¯s underside, proof that Jay¡¯s push was working. It¡¯s wor- The door slammed shut. Jay dropped to a knee, arms trembling with an almost existential pain. He¡¯d fought with all his will just to open the door, but it had defeated him. It¡¯s indomitable presence standing strong against his urge to move it. The door loomed over him. Not quite gloating in its victory, but lording over Jay like he¡¯d never had a chance. The tiny cloud of dust floated in the air for a moment before settling on the ground. The only evidence of Jay¡¯s push fading into insignificance. Good effort. Try again next time. Wait¡­ That¡¯s it? Before he could lament his failure too much, Jay heard a rumble from behind the door. He waited, silently watching as the doors swung inwards. At least that means I wasn¡¯t supposed to pull¡­ Austin stood waiting for him beyond the doorway. He gently smiled at Jay and gestured for him to enter. ¡°Great effort Mr. Leonard. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have it on the next try. It¡¯s lovely to see you again, how may I help you?¡± Jay nodded, he wasn¡¯t sure how great of an effort it actually was, but he appreciated Austin¡¯s politeness anyway. ¡°Can you take me to Cyrus? I want to ask him for some help.¡± ¡°Of course Mr. Leonard. Please follow me.¡±
Austin led Jay into a similar training room to last time. This one was fully constructed from the moment they entered, however. Instead of walking into an eternity of white and grey, the hallway opened into an endless prairie. Amber-green grass blanketed the landscape for as far as the eye could see, only met by the faint blue mountains blocking the horizon. A few small clouds ambled by, but a gentle sunlight showered the grasslands in warmth, only occasionally washed away by a breeze streaming from the distant mountains. Ten paces in front of Jay, Cyrus sat cross legged in serene silence. He wore the same baby blue robes as the last time Jay had seen him, but he now let his long curly hair fall behind his shoulders. Cyrus rolled his neck around with his eyes still closed, gradually rousing from his meditation. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± he said, eyes still shut. ¡°It¡¯s my home world, I miss it every day.¡± He paused, lingering in the moment. ¡°Why¡¯d you come back here Jay? I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see your face for a few months at least.¡± Cyrus spoke softly, although the winds carried his voice above the shifting swathes of grass. ¡°I came because you¡¯re the strongest person I know who¡¯s not off limits to train with. My old teacher won¡¯t train me until I advance into D grade, that just leaves you and Yagao¡­ I don¡¯t think I need to explain that choice.¡± Jay caught the corner of Cyrus¡¯ lip twitch, but he stayed silent. ¡°I think I¡¯m strong enough to advance, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the best yet.¡± said Jay. He thought about his friends. Sure, he was catching up to them, the rankings told him that much, but was he on their level yet? Would he hold them back in the advancement tournament? The thought scared him. ¡°Unless I train with someone far stronger than me, I won¡¯t truly know my weak points. Being a specialist is fine, but not if my weakness costs my team¡¯s life.¡± Cyrus slowly opened one eye. His sky blue iris quelled some of the stress still inside Jay, but the job wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°So you want to train with me?¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Yes.¡± Jay replied. Cyrus opened his other eye. Both stared directly at Jay. He raised his hands and tied his hair up in a bun behind his head. ¡°Why do you think you deserve to train with me?¡± Cyrus¡¯ challenge sent ripples through the air, pushing away the reeds of grass closest to him. He slowly got to his feet, before rolling up his sleeves. ¡°Becau-¡± A sudden gust of wind charged into Jay¡¯s face, smothering his answer before it could be heard. Spiralling gusts surrounded Cyrus, flattening the nearby grass beneath their will. His skin began to glow pale blue, but the light left almost as quickly as it came. It fled Cyrus¡¯ skin, separating from his body and floating slightly behind him. The light coalesced just above Cyrus¡¯ shoulders. Shaped by the wind, it hardened into the image of a man. It reminded Jay of Lyra¡¯s cloning technique, but the glowing figure wasn¡¯t a copy of Cyrus. It only held its shape from the waist up, although its torso alone was larger than Cyrus. While the real Cyrus wore simple robes and held no weapons, his glowing form wore a segmented set of armour, its plates overlapping like scales. It held a curved, sickle-like sword in its right hand and wore a regal helmet, ornamented with golden horns and a radiant white mask. The glowing form rested just behind Cyrus, almost overlapping him. Standing watch. ¡°Don¡¯t just tell me why you deserve it¡­¡± Cyrus held up his arms, his right formed a fist that guarded his chest, while his left stretched out in front of him. The glowing form copied his movements exactly. His outstretched left hand waved Jay closer. ¡°¡­I want you to show me.¡± Chapter 79: The Ascendant Soul Fuck me this guy¡¯s good. Jay took a knee and recovered his breath while thinking of a plan. Cyrus let him. He waited patiently for Jay to resume their spar. The floating blue swordsman, that Cyrus called his ¡®ascendant soul¡¯, made fighting the D grade gladiator almost impossible. Everything Jay tried, Cyrus had an answer for. Even worse, Jay could tell Cyrus was still taking it easy. Jay brushed off his insecurities. He¡¯d come here to uncover his weaknesses; what use was resenting Cyrus for discovering them? Skipping darts of electricity overflowed from Jay¡¯s body, scorching the flattened grasses around him. He stood up and charged at Cyrus, leaving a charred and trodden trail behind him. Ping attacked first. The shield launched herself at Cyrus¡¯ flank. Her attack was a feint, intended to draw Cyrus¡¯ attention towards her, opening opportunities for Jay to exploit. That attack pattern had worked on most of Jay¡¯s E grade opponents, but Cyrus was a whole different beast. His attention remained locked on Jay. He didn¡¯t move a muscle against Ping¡¯s decoy. He had an ascendant soul to do that for him. The ghostly blue figure turned to face the oncoming shield. Unlike Lyra¡¯s half clones, Cyrus¡¯ ascendant soul rarely mimicked his physical body¡¯s actions. Its curved sword morphed into a titanic club that batted Ping into the ground, embedding her firmly into the topsoil. Jay wasn¡¯t going to get a better distraction. He faced off against Cyrus with his fists raised high. He threw a light jab, half out of pure habit, that was dodged easily. He threw another. Jay¡¯s left fist sliced through the air. He felt electricity bobble beneath the surface of his skin. Again, Cyrus dodged. He swiftly stepped back, maintaining a comfortable distance. Jay wouldn¡¯t let him. He couldn¡¯t let him. He continued his charge, launching another flurry of lefts. Each one fell short, but they crept closer to their target. On his fourth attempt, Jay twisted his wrist at the last second. The serrated blade of his Conqueror¡¯s fist flicked towards Cyrus¡¯ neck. Cyrus jerked his head back, caught off guard by the sudden increase in Jay¡¯s range. He leaned back, barely managing to avoid the blade. But Jay¡¯s advance didn¡¯t stop there. The dancing darts of electricity freed themselves from the channels of Jay¡¯s body, leaping out from his bloodstream and onto the battlefield. The darts raced down Jay¡¯s forearm like a pack of wild dogs, leaping off the denatured steel blade and towards Cyrus¡¯ face. Almost all the streams fizzled out before they closed the distance, scattering into harmless sparkles, extinguished by the wind. But one thin stream got through. And one tiny trailblazer was all it took. The white ribbon evolved into a cascading torrent of electricity the moment it touched Cyrus¡¯ head. It had bridged the gap. Now, the caged energy within Jay¡¯s body had a route to escape. But Jay¡¯s hope was short lived. Cyrus latched onto Jay¡¯s wrist. Locking them together. Electricity stopped surging through the air. Instead rushing into Cyrus through his own fingertips and ravaging the flesh within his arm. Jay watched his opponent grimace through the pain. Why did he- A flicker of sky blue crept out from behind Cyrus. Fresh from dealing with Ping, who was still embedded in the ground, Cyrus¡¯ ascendant soul focused its sights on Jay. The spectral club had transformed into an axe, and with its creator locking Jay into position, the soul raised its weapon above its head. With his shield out of action, and Cyrus locking up his left hand, Jay resorted to his next line of defence. Ultra-close-range. Jay tugged his left arm towards the ground, pulling Cyrus¡¯ arm along with it. He couldn¡¯t break the man¡¯s vice grip, so instead Jay manipulated the position. He pulled himself closer, swinging his right arm around Cyrus¡¯ waist. Jay had the opportunity to strike but he knew it would be ineffective. A meaningful punch was impossible from this range, even for him. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. He shifted his right leg across his body before twisting his hips, spinning around and driving his waist backwards into Cyrus¡¯ body. Jay dropped his hips, ensuring they were below his opponent¡¯s, before driving them upwards. Jay simultaneously dragged Cyrus over his body and hurled him into the trajectory of the oncoming spectral axe. If the ascendant soul wanted Jay¡¯s neck, it¡¯d have to go through Cyrus¡¯ body first. The floating soul stopped its swing but stood guard over Cyrus, ready for action. Jay activated Eye of the storm as his opponent¡¯s body ragdolled through the air above him. Cyrus was smiling. NOW! Jay didn''t let his opponent distract him. As soon as Cyrus hit the floor, his soul would attack. Jay couldn¡¯t afford to waste his chance. His left was still locked within Cyrus¡¯ grip, but his right fist was free to attack. Jay fired a punch at his opponent¡¯s gut. But even while being flung through the air, Cyrus still responded in time. His hand intercepted Jay¡¯s fist. Instead of grabbing it, like he had with the left, Cyrus gently tapped Jay¡¯s oncoming fist. The raging electricity stilled. His muscles fell slack as, for the first time, Jay felt the electricity within him slow down. His punch faltered. After defusing Jay¡¯s punch, Cyrus instantly batted the fist aside. What the fu- Cyrus kept falling. Kept smiling. He kept a hold of Jay¡¯s wrist as he dropped to the floor and dragged Jay down with him. Jay had spent the last week locking his opponents into ultra close range dogfights. This time, Cyrus weaponised Jay¡¯s own style against him. The two gladiators sank into the grasses together. But only one of them had an ascendant soul. Jay pressed on top of Cyrus. The soul loomed above them both. Jay flailed against Cyrus¡¯ grip, but the D grade gladiator held him tight. He tried to flip around, to use Cyrus as a shield again. He couldn¡¯t. Cyrus gently chuckled as he locked Jay¡¯s left wrist to his own and stifled any attempt at reversing the grapple. The ascendant soul hovered above the two writhing gladiators, a faint wisp of blue connecting it to Cyrus¡¯ spine. It raised its axe. Shackled to his opponent, Jay was powerless to do anything but watch as the inevitable spectral axe fell upon him. PING! The ringing echo of vibrating metal swept across the prairie. Jay¡¯s protector had returned to the battlefield. The axe knocked her aside, but she had done her job. The axe swung harmlessly by Jay¡¯s head and into the ground. It didn¡¯t sink into the soil, or cut through the grass, slicing through them like an illusion. Cyrus raised an eyebrow, flicking his eyes over to Ping for a moment before returning to the fight. Ping had protected Jay once, but she couldn¡¯t block everything. Cyrus¡¯ ascendant soul raised its axe again, this time with only its right hand. It extended its left and another axe formed inside it, coalescing out of ethereal wisps. Eventually, this hand raised too. Ping hovered above Jay. Unwavering in the face of another attack. But she couldn¡¯t protect him every time. The first axe crashed into Ping. It changed its course, sweeping off to the side and taking her with it. Creating space for the second. Cool air brushed over Jay¡¯s neck. The axe stopped millimetres from Jay¡¯s skin. Whispers of gale force winds kicked his hairs on end as they snaked up to his ears. Jay wondered what an attack from Cyrus¡¯ soul looked and felt like. He made a note to watch his old fights when he had some time. Cyrus released his grip; Jay got to his feet and gave his sparring partner a hand up. The ascendant soul collapsed into light and returned to Cyrus¡¯ body. ¡°You haven¡¯t shown the lighting escaping your body in the coliseum yet.¡± said Cyrus ¡°Trying to hide it from someone?¡± Jay hesitated before nodding. So he¡¯s been watching my fights¡­ ¡°Smart. Tricks like that are only really useful for their surprise factor. Unless you improve the technique significantly, keep it under wraps until advancement finishes and test it out a bit more then.¡± Cyrus raised two fingers. ¡°Based on that spar, the ones before it, and your last few coliseum fights, I can see two main weaknesses. Well, two weaknesses you can fix before advancement.¡± He put one finger down. ¡°Number one. Closing the distance. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of this, but your mid to long range fighting leaves a lot to be desired. You can try to avoid these fights, but close range fighters all have the same problem. You have to get there first. ¡°Misdirection with the shield is a good idea, but you need to work on it more. In that last round, I engaged with you in boxing range, but what if my soul wielded a spear instead, and didn¡¯t let you get that close? Granted, there¡¯s very few people in E grade able to withstand your pressure, but they¡¯re precisely the people you¡¯re trying to kill. Right?¡± Jay nodded gravely at Cyrus¡¯ knowing stare. Jay wasn¡¯t trying to beat most of E grade, he was trying to beat the best. ¡°You¡¯re not a long range fighter. How did you tackle the distance problem?¡± Jay asked. Cyrus chuckled. His ascendant soul formed behind him before floating towards the mountains. Once it was over twenty metres away, it began slashing its curved sword through the air. It turned around. The sword shifted, reforming into a longbow. The soul aimed at Jay and shot. Ping rushed in front of Jay, ready to deflect the arrow. But the soul didn¡¯t fire an arrow. A jet of pure wind crashed into Ping. She blocked some of it, but the relentless streams crept around her rim and attacked Jay. He dug his heels into the soil and tried to stay standing. Cyrus¡¯ eyes lingered on Ping before returning to Jay. ¡°How did I tackle the distance problem?¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I became a better long range fighter. Simple as that. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do that before advancement, so try and figure something out. Your transition from close to very close is good, but getting into close range should be your next step. During the advancement tournament, your teammates can probably create windows for you to close the distance, but after that¡­ not so much.¡± Cyrus raised his second finger back up. ¡°The second issue is kind of the opposite. Your grappling works when your opponent resists, but what if they don¡¯t? In the last round, you saw how easy it was for me to lock us together. Most of E grade couldn¡¯t do that, but some might be able to. ¡°In a one on one, that¡¯s not an issue. Other than maybe Lyra Twinstrike, I don¡¯t think anybody can stifle your grappling while still being able to mount an attack, especially with your shield whizzing about. But you won¡¯t be fighting in isolation during advancement. You¡¯ll have the environment and third parties to deal with. Figure out a way to break the stalemate if someone tries that strategy. Perhaps someone doesn¡¯t want to defeat you, but instead simply remove you from the fight. You should know a way out of that scenario.¡± Jay thanked Cyrus for his analysis and mentally churned over the advice. He¡¯d certainly improved since signing up for the advancement tournament, but the same issues persisted. His skillset had expanded, but it was still limited. Two more weeks to figure it out. ¡°That¡¯ll do it for today, but feel free to come back.¡± said Cyrus, smiling at Jay as he returned to his spot, sitting down at the centre of the endless meadow. ¡°I could do with a break from my usual routine.¡± Jay turned around to see Austin standing beside a mid-air doorway. He walked through and followed the butler out. The journey to the entrance hall was an uneventful one, but there was someone waiting for them at the entrance. A grey-haired woman, leaning against the doorway and watching them walk towards her. ¡°Thank you, Austin. You can leave us now.¡± she said. Her flat tone betrayed no emotion. ¡°Me and Mr. Leonard need to have a conversation.¡± Chapter 80: Oh… and by the way… The woman¡¯s grey hair was neatly tied into a bun behind her. She wore all black, form-fitting clothes. She stared at Jay with a manicured smile and a pair of calculating, grey eyes. The crow¡¯s feet framing them reminded Jay of a kindly grandmother, but something about the woman¡¯s face felt off. Like it had been designed for a purpose. This woman¡¯s dangerous. Jay returned her smile. The air grew heavier with each step he took closer. Even worse, she¡¯s dangerous and she wants something. ¡°Good afternoon, Jay. How¡¯s your preparation going?¡± she asked. ¡°Not too bad.¡± Jay replied, tentatively entering the conversation. ¡°Cyrus gave me some good advice. Also, not to be rude but¡­ Who are you?¡± Jay had neither the time nor skill for subtlety, so why even bother? His bluntness forced a smile out of the woman¡¯s measured fa?ade. At least, that¡¯s what it looked like. ¡°You can call me Samira. I founded Limitless Ascent; I¡¯m also in charge of running the alliance.¡± She waved her hand at the grand entrance hall. ¡°I guess that makes me a B grade gladiator too, although I don¡¯t like to think of it that way.¡± If Samira noticed Jay tense up at the mention of B grade, she didn¡¯t show it. ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that you¡¯ve found Cyrus helpful. He always has been a good mentor.¡± Jay kept looking at the enigmatic woman in front of him. She obviously knew more than he did, so he waited for her to reveal the real reason she wanted to talk. What do you want from me? ¡°Well, if you¡¯re finding training with Cyrus so fruitful, I¡¯m sure you would love to continue that partnership. Potentially even after advancement?¡± Of course I do, but what do I have to give up in exchange? Jay paused before responding. ¡°I¡¯m just focusing on advancement for now. I¡¯m the lowest ranked gladiator in the tournament, so I still need more training before I can even think about the next grade.¡± he said. Samira nodded. ¡°Sensible. Although advancement shouldn¡¯t trouble you if you play your cards right. What do you know of the Luminary sixteen?¡± The lumi-what? Jay knew he didn¡¯t have Samira¡¯s poker face, but her coy smile only confirmed that. ¡°There¡¯s in fact two stages to E grade advancement. The first is the group stage that you¡¯re currently preparing for. I can¡¯t tell you much about it, but you can scrounge for clues and piece it together if you wish. During the tournament, everyone who completes the goal of the tournament advances to D grade. But there¡¯s another layer. Reserved for only the best prospects¡­ The Luminary sixteen. ¡°The sixteen best prospects, hand-picked by the coliseum, are entered into a single elimination, non-lethal tournament. Placed on a pedestal for the world to see. There are serious rewards on offer based on how far you make it in the tournament. It can set you up for a lot of success if you play it correctly.¡± And I bet it can set you up too¡­ ¡°And I¡¯m guessing you want to help me post-advancement?¡± said Jay ¡°Provided I get picked as a Luminary. What¡¯s in it for you? You want me to join Limitless Ascent?¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Samira¡¯s motivations seemed pretty obvious. She was giving a sales pitch. Still, Jay couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that there was another layer to it, one that he was missing the critical piece of evidence to unravel. ¡°Well, I¡¯d certainly love for you to join, but I recognise that that¡¯s a big commitment for both of us. I can¡¯t, in good faith, ask that of you. You have so much of your Harmony still to discover, so I wont force you to make such an important decision so soon. ¡°Instead I¡¯m asking for your services. I want you to help my alliance in a B grade fight after you¡¯ve finished with the advancement tournament.¡± B grade? Jay didn¡¯t bother hiding his confusion. Yagao and Cyrus were both leagues ahead of him, and they were only D Grade. What use could he possibly be in a B grade fight? ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as you think.¡± said Samira, lightly smiling at Jay¡¯s reaction. ¡°A and B grade fights are more akin to wars than simple gladiator fights. They¡¯re fought with hundreds of combatants across both D and C grade, over the span of weeks. And they¡¯re only lethal in A grade, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Jay calmed down slightly, but he suspiciously looked at Samira. ¡°So why do you need me then? Won¡¯t I get ripped to shreds by the first C grader I come across?¡± What does she really want from me? How am I useful to her? ¡°Everyone can be useful in the right circumstances. In a major battle you might not impact much. That just means you won¡¯t be placed there. You would be a more effective scout than Cyrus. If you replaced him in that role, he¡¯d be available for a different position. Understand? ¡°If you can eke out a minor advantage, you can swing the larger battle in our favour. If you scout out a battlefield and relay the useful information to Yagao, he¡¯s more likely to win the next fight that occurs there. ¡°Since you¡¯re a relatively new fighter, your advantage is multiplied as our enemies won¡¯t know what to expect.¡± Samira made a lot of sense. But then again, she wouldn¡¯t bother approaching Jay if she didn¡¯t. ¡°We can go over the specifics after advancement, but rest assured you aren¡¯t simply cannon fodder.¡± Jay mulled over Samira¡¯s words. Based on what she said, it didn¡¯t seem like too big a commitment. He¡¯d probably learn a lot from it too. He knew it wasn¡¯t the full story though. It couldn¡¯t be. ¡°I¡¯m offering you the full support of Limitless Ascent before, during, and after both Advancement and the Luminary sixteen tournament. In exchange, I want your assistance in our B grade fight next month.¡± Samira made her offer with an air of finality. The silence that followed almost dared Jay to respond. Seems too good to be true¡­ Guess that means it is. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± said Jay. He meant it. It would be easy to simply discard Samira¡¯s offer, but there was a good chance it was worth it. Even with the strings attached. ¡°But I won¡¯t decide until after advancement. I¡¯ve got enough on my plate at the moment without something else to worry about. No offence, but an offer like this always comes with hidden costs. Now¡¯s not the time for me to be focusing on anything other than the tournament.¡± Samira nodded, accepting Jay¡¯s response. ¡°Can I still train with Cyrus before then?¡± asked Jay. ¡°Certainly.¡± said Samira. Her reply seemed honest, but that didn¡¯t count for much. ¡°If he lets you, of course.¡± If you let him let me¡­ Jay thanked Samira, wishing her goodbye before passing her on his way out of the manor. Before their conversation, he¡¯d hoped to review his training with Cyrus while it was still fresh in his mind. He still could, but the conversation with Samira lingered there. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could focus with all the questions hanging above his head. ¡°Oh¡­ and one more thing.¡± said Samira. Jay turned around. He was already a few paces out from the manor. The giant oak doors had begun to close. Samira stuck out her foot, stopping one of the doors from shutting and leaving a narrow gap that Jay could see her through. She held out her hand, palm facing upwards. A familiar golden dagger appeared above her hand. Identical to Julian¡¯s. The rippling light from the stained glass windows almost passed through the dagger, its form flickering like a candle¡¯s flame. It rotated in the air before reforming into a floating pool of liquid gold. Even that vanished, collapsing into a puff of smoke when Jay¡¯s gaze shifted to Samira. ¡°Help us, and we can help you find your older brother.¡± She removed her foot. The doors swung shut. Jay stood, alone, and stared at the set of doors he knew he couldn¡¯t open. Jay considered banging at the door, but he knew that wouldn¡¯t work. Instead, he looked past them, staring directly at the spot where he knew Samira stood. ¡°I might be willing to help you. ¡°But don¡¯t push your luck, Samira. Don¡¯t play fucking games with me. ¡°You¡¯re stronger than me now, but it won¡¯t always be this way.¡± Jay took a step back. He began to turn around. ¡°And if you fuck me over, I won¡¯t forget. ¡°I¡¯m not here to be your pawn, Samira.¡± Chapter 81: Gimme the Good Stuff 15 days until the E grade advancement tournament While becoming an all-rounded fighter sounded great, it was much easier said than done. Two weeks simply weren¡¯t enough to find a reliable way to close the distance and break open grappling stalemates. Sure, there were ways Jay could do it, but would time spent shoring his weaknesses be more effective than sparring and honing his strengths? Jay wasn¡¯t sure. However, if all it took was one shopping trip, he could spare the time. Jay hopped out of the tram and continued walking Northeast along Hawker¡¯s. He steered clear of the bustling flea market Akira had once showed him. Akira might have enjoyed the market¡¯s hustle and bustle but Jay would take a simple shop over a market any day. Just let me give you my money and leave please. No haggling! Luckily for him, Jay had a plain old shop as his destination this time. Arlie had recommended it to him after accepting Davad¡¯s dagger. However, if his own shop was anything to go by, Arlie¡¯s recommendation would have a whole lot of old and not much plain to balance it out. Regardless, Jay pressed on, dodging beckons from either side of the avenue. The calls waned the further he fled from the main boulevard, and after asking a few people for guidance thanks to Arlie¡¯s poor directions, Jay found his destination nestled between a tailor¡¯s and an apothecary. What the tiny storefront lacked in stature; it made up for with style. Most of the fa?ade was painted in a rich, racing green. Bronze pinstripes adorned each window frame, and the glass was gently tinted, so Jay had to squint to look inside. Jay looked up at the store¡¯s name, carved into a plaque of ebonized wood and painted in a vibrant green, before entering. Pippin¡¯s Clockwork Vault.
Jay ducked his head beneath the doorway as he entered Pippin¡¯s store. He braced himself for heaps upon heaps of junk, but the Clockwork Vault was thankfully clean and organised. The exterior¡¯s elegance flowed seamlessly inside. Dark wooden bookshelves lined most of the walls, lined with neatly arranged tomes like a grand library. Ornamental bookends, cast from bronze and depicting animals of the forest, decorated the edges of each shelf and Jay saw not a single speck of dust atop them. In the few spaces not covered in bookshelves, elaborate mechanisms sat within glass display cases. A grandfather clock swung its pendulum inside one of them, chiming for midday as Jay walked further inside. In another, a mechanical parrot¡¯s copper beak clinked against its glass birdcage and it cocked its head aside while staring at Jay.. More dustless glass cases stood atop pedestals evenly spaced throughout the room. Each had an intricate contraption inside. Jay couldn¡¯t even fathom most of their purposes. He ran his fingers against the smooth, polished glass of one. Pressing his hand into the cool display case as he looked at the device inside. It had two leather straps, which looked like they could fit around his forearm. Beneath the straps were a series of bronze gears. It looked like a steel plate had covered them previously but now it lay to the side, exposing the elaborate design architecture within. A thin, silver blade poked out of one end, and two curved pieces of wood jutted out to either side of the gauntlet. ¡°It¡¯s a spring-based propulsion device. A proto-wrist-mounted-crossbow.¡± said a low voice from deeper within the store. ¡°It was the precursor to Arlie¡¯s current prosthetic arm, would you believe. He says he came up with the design all by himself, but we both know that¡¯s a load of tosh. I keep it on display here to remind him every time he visits.¡± Jay turned to the back of the store. A mezzanine hung over the back end of the narrow allotment, overlooking the rest of the store. Atop it, sat in a luxurious velvet chair, was another raccoon. One that looked remarkably like a cleaned up version of the rust-covered, psychedelic-loving, goblin that had sent Jay here in the first place. ¡°You must be the man with the shield¡­ Jay? I¡¯m sorry, Arlie was rather sparing with the details and he spent most of our last encounter talking about your shield. I¡¯m Pippin, he did tell you that¡­ didn¡¯t he?¡± Pippin walked to the edge of the mezzanine. He wore a tailored three piece suit, the same shade of green as his storefront and a pair of leather dress shoes that looked impossibly small. Pippin¡¯s cheek fur was immaculately trimmed, and he had long flowing whiskers that drooped down to his shoulders. He looked down at Jay behind a pair of golden half-moon glasses before walking down a tiny set of stairs that took him down to the showroom. ¡°He didn¡¯t¡­ but it says your name on the front of your store.¡± Pippin stopped, freezing momentarily on the stairs before muttering something and continuing his way down. Ping hovered above Jay¡¯s head and began spinning like a giant metallic halo. ¡°I¡¯m Jay, this is Ping. It¡¯s nice to meet you Pippin, you¡¯re Arlie¡¯s¡­ brother? ¡°Cousin. But don¡¯t get me started on the family tree, I¡¯ll be here all day. What¡¯re you after today?¡± Jay spoke to Pippin about his sparring with Cyrus. Truthfully, he wasn¡¯t sure what he wanted. But he had problems, and he hoped the storekeeper had some solutions in stock. ¡°Hmph. I have several items that may help with your range problem. As for your issue with breaking up a grapple, I believe the dagger that you gave to my cousin should solve that issue for you. Have you been back to visit him yet?¡± Jay shook his head. Pippin grumbled and shook his head. He began walking towards the store¡¯s back wall. ¡°It¡¯s funny, how he agreed to identify it in exchange for a favour, but didn¡¯t specify that I¡¯d be the one actually identifying it.¡± said Pippin. His ramble quietened the further away he walked. Pippin waved Jay behind him, stopping at a giant chest behind the shop¡¯s till. He fetched a stool and hopped onto it, still grumbling beneath his breath, before heaving open the chest. He scooped his hand inside and fished out the dagger before placing it on the till between himself and Jay. ¡°What does it do? How will it help in a grapple?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not simply a knife.¡± Pippin deftly twirled the blade around. He pointed at a raised section in the pommel¡¯s base but was careful not to touch it. ¡°Press this button, and the blade releases a shockwave. I¡¯m not certain about its explosivity, but it should be enough to knock most E grade gladiators off their feet. It may solve the stalemate issue that your friend Cyrus proposed. I imagine the explosion could be helpful for breaking open a grapple.¡± He slid the dagger across the till. Jay placed it into his quiver. He wondered how he''d grab the dagger while his arms were tied up grappling but left the specifics for later. Cyrus had issues with Jay¡¯s grappling, but Jay wasn¡¯t sure how real they were. Not everyone had the D grader¡¯s strength. And an injection of electricity through the Conqueror¡¯s fists would make most of E grade let go in a heartbeat. ¡°Fair enough.¡± said Jay, thankful that Pippin had saved him a trip to Arlie¡¯s later. ¡°What options do you have for closing the distance?¡± Pippin¡¯s whiskers fluttered in the air as the raccoon¡¯s face turned from distinguished to deranged. He grinned at Jay with a manic spark in his eyes. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Do you want something more precise and measured, or do you want me to bring out the good stuff?¡± Pippin grinned at Jay. He squinted his eyes, a manic spark called out to Jay within them. ¡°Something to throw a metaphorical spanner into your opponent¡¯s metaphorical works?¡± Jay smiled back. At that moment, Jay truly understood what a marvellous fa?ade Pippin had been putting up the whole time they¡¯d been talking. Because he saw beyond the immaculately brushed fur. He saw beyond the tailored three piece suit and gentlemanly half-moon glasses. He saw beyond everything Pippin had done to set up the distinguished image he¡¯d made for himself. One look into his excited eyes told Jay that, no matter how he dressed or acted, the raccoon in front of him was undeniably related to the crazy motherfucker with a fake arm who¡¯d taken Jay on an acid trip within the first ten minutes of meeting him. Jay considered himself a precise fighter, a measured one too. But he knew the answer Pippin wanted. And when someone exposes their true self like that, you have no choice but to see where they take you. With a description like that, what the hell do you think I¡¯m gonna say? ¡°Gimme the good stuff.¡±
¡°I had rather hoped you¡¯d say that.¡± said Pippin. The telltale golden sheen of the coliseum system washed over his beady black eyes. ¡°I have three things in stock that might interest you.¡± he said, reaching into the chest once more. He pulled out three figurines, each made up of several painted ceramic plates linked together by copper hinges that let Jay peek into the intricate cog work behind. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the simplest.¡± Jay picked up one of the miniatures. Up close, they looked almost like toy soldiers and were roughly the size of his hand. Their red painted chests looked like the red felt armour that ceremonial guards wore. They even wore fur helmets, although the soldier¡¯s helmets were merely black ceramic. In place of facial features, Pippin had painted a crude smiley face on each one. Jay¡¯s eyes looked past the childlike doodle and landed onto the joints linking each plate. Pippin had called these soldiers ¡®the simplest¡¯ but Jay wasn¡¯t sure how. The complex weave of copper cogs and wiring beneath each plate seemed impossibly tiny. Jay flared Eye of the storm, hyperfixating on the interlocking mechanisms coiled within the device. The underlying lattices of bronze, silver, and gold confounded Jay as he tried to decipher their purpose. ¡°When enough force is applied, these soldiers transform into the last person who held them.¡± said Pippin. He threw one off the till. A puff of billowing smoke filled the air as it hit the ground. After a few seconds the cloud faded, revealing a second Pippin stood next to Jay. The replica stood eerily still. Jay bent down to examine its face. Up close, he could see its imperfections, but if he didn¡¯t closely examine it he could¡¯ve believed it was Pippin. ¡°It¡¯s a good trick.¡± said Jay, still crouching beside the clone. ¡°But I don¡¯t see how it¡¯s fooling anyone in the middle of a fight.¡± Pippin sighed as he walked behind his clone. He pinched its neck and the life sized copy returned to a miniature construct of metal and ceramic within his hand. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± said Pippin. ¡°I had planned to continue working on these but unfortunately never found the time. I don''t think I¡¯ll ever get around to finishing them. They may not be effective in this state, but a touch of refinement and I¡¯m confident they could become something. If you bring them to somebody proficient in the art of cloning, or illusions, then they might be able to help you. It¡¯s worth thinking about.¡± Could Lyra help? Pippin placed the three soldiers aside. They weren¡¯t the complete chaos that Jay had expected, but he could see the clones¡¯ usefulness. Especially if Lyra found a way to make them move around instead of merely standing still. Pippin scratched his cheek, ruffling his neatly combed fur out of place and pointing his whiskers into the air. He gave Jay a wry smile before reaching back into the chest. ¡°This next item¡­ It¡¯s one I¡¯ve been saving. It¡¯s more suited to one such as yourself, rather than my usual clientele. It¡¯s not designed for maximum efficiency. Rather, it focuses on pure efficacy instead.¡± The fuck does that mean? The raccoon pulled what looked like a bracer from the chest and placed it in front of Jay. The dull steel looked thin but sturdy, and had several scratches already embedded in its surface. It extended roughly the length of his forearm. If he wore it, it would probably poke just past his elbow and stop at his wrist. Jay picked it up, it was lighter than he expected. He turned the bracer around in his hands. Two metal cuffs were attached to the bracer, presumably for attaching it to his arm. Another plate, thinner than the first, would cover Jay¡¯s inner forearm. When he held his ear to it Jay almost heard cogs ticking inside it. Two metal clamps, each attached to a slider, poked out from the secondary plate. Beneath both armour pieces, Jay saw a rope coiled around where his arm would sit. It was made from three strands coiled together and was about as thick as his finger. Both ends were doused in a sticky looking, tar-like substance. ¡°Are you left or right handed?¡± said Pippin, gesturing for Jay to put the bracer on. ¡°Right.¡± said Jay, before slotting his left arm into the bracer. Pippin looked at Jay with open confusion. ¡°Right arm¡¯s for power, which leaves the left for utility.¡± said Jay. The bracer fit snugly around Jay¡¯s arm. Surprisingly, the rope didn¡¯t dig into his skin at all. ¡°Now are you going to tell me what this thing does, or why you think it''s suited to me?¡± asked Jay. Pippin hopped onto the desk and grabbed Jay¡¯s armoured arm, pointing it at a bookshelf around two metres away. ¡°I didn¡¯t put any of my intricate designs into this piece. Why? Because they¡¯d break too easily. Swing and punch anything enough times and it¡¯ll fall apart eventually. This gauntlet only has two effects, but I guarantee you, they won¡¯t break. ¡°Aim for that red book there and pull back your wrist. Jay aimed. He pulled. The coiled rope shot out from beneath his wrist, firing towards the book. After it hit, the rope pulled taut and didn''t fall to the floor, the black substance clinging to the book. Jay turned towards Pippin. ¡°It¡¯s called Quicksnatch.¡± said the raccoon. ¡°It¡¯s speed activated, so it won¡¯t stick to you while you''re using it. I wanted to install a recall mechanism, but it would either make the gauntlet too heavy or too delicate. I also wanted more rope, but space is limited since your arm also has to fit inside. ¡°If you pull back your hand again, it¡¯ll eject the rest of the rope. However you will have to coil it back around your arm to reset it.¡± Jay tried whipping the book back with a flick of his arm. He managed to drag it off the shelf, but it flopped onto the floor instead of gliding towards the till. He pulled back his wrist again and watched the other end of the rope eject onto the floor. It¡¯ll take some getting used to, but I can see the usefulness. ¡°What''s the second effect?¡± asked Jay. Pippin scooped Davad¡¯s dagger off the till before spinning Jay¡¯s arm around. He pressed it into the gauntlet¡¯s underside. Jay heard the gears inside white as the clamps rearranged themselves to grasp the dagger. ¡°The clamps attune to your willpower, so they can manoeuvre whatever they¡¯re holding according to your will. Try shifting the dagger about.¡± Jay willed the dagger forward. It slid forward. He willed it to spin around. It spun around. The more comfortable Jay became with the bracer, the smoother the dagger moved. He introduced more complicated movement patterns, faster ones, yet the bracer kept up. ¡°Now this is gonna be useful in a clinch.¡± said Jay. He launched a jab at Pippin, missing slightly. His fist sailed past Pippin¡¯s ear. Jay commanded the dagger to flip. It aimed itself directly at Pippin¡¯s neck. Jay smiled. He¡¯d expected the raccoon to dodge, or at least flinch, but Pippin simply stared back at him, also smiling. Might have to attach something other than Davad¡¯s dagger though. Not sure how I feel about an exploding knife strapped to my arm. ¡°Now. I know I told you I had three items, but that was a little lie.¡± Pippin almost cackled as he reached back into the chest. ¡°The last item is more of a genre. A category, so to speak.¡± He tossed a thin red cylinder at Jay, followed by another, and another. Then he flicked some other objects onto the till. A bronze sphere, two jet-black cubes, and what looked like a silver bracelet. He looked at the assortment of items, flicking his eyes between the till and the chest before turning back to Jay. ¡°That should be enough for now.¡± he said. Pippin pulled the dagger from Jay¡¯s arm, instead pressing the two black cubes into the bracer instead. ¡°What the hell are these?¡± asked Jay. Pippin looked at him like he was an idiot. ¡°What do you think they are? They¡¯re bombs, of course.¡± Jay felt a jolt of panic before calming himself down. He quickly placed the three bombs he¡¯d caught on the table. He took three quick steps back, yanked the black cubes from the bracer and tossed them back at Pippin too. ¡°What?¡± said the raccoon. ¡°The detonators aren¡¯t even attached yet. They¡¯re all perfectly safe!¡± Jay¡¯s panicked stare eased into a frown. He pointed up at Ping, at the lightning trailing behind her, and activated Eye of the storm. An electric blue glow coursed through his forearm, bouncing off the bracer¡¯s metal plates. ¡°You really think having no detonator makes them safe? Around a guy called Lightning?¡± Pippin paused for a second, stroking his whiskers while thinking to himself. ¡°That may have been a slight oversight on my behalf. But I think you¡¯re worrying too much.¡± he said. He tossed each bomb over his shoulder and into the chest. They all went in, and the chest slammed shut after the last one. ¡°However, you did say you wanted the good stuff¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°I suppose I did.¡± said Jay, finally walking back to the till. ¡°Hey Pippin, how exactly did Arlie lose his arm?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need to talk about that.¡± Pippin hurriedly pulled the rope, which was no longer stuck to the book, back onto the till. ¡°Anyway. If we leave out the bombs, for now, I can sell you the soldiers and the bracer for two thousand contribution points. It¡¯s a good price. I¡¯ve discounted the clay soldiers since¡­ well, since they don¡¯t really work. ¡°The prices of all my explosives are unbeatable too¡­ if you ever change your mind.¡± Jay laughed, but doubted he¡¯d be back for more unless his circumstances drastically changed. A golden box appeared beside the till. He debated whether to search a few other places for items, but decided he couldn¡¯t spare the time, and would much rather be training than shopping. Besides, he could earn the points back after two fights anyway, so they weren¡¯t a big deal. He accepted the offer on the coliseum interface, and Pippin stuck out his hand. ¡°It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Leonard.¡±