Zephyr stepped back into the chamber carrying Aron in his arms.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Ashur's eyes immediately sharpened, giving off a disapproving look.
"You should've killed him," Ashur said coldly, "Weakness of that calibre spreads easily."
Zephyr ignored his words and simply carried on.
Toa leaned against the wall, arms folded. "You hesitate to kill, why? Friends are nothing but a distraction, you are merely writing your end."
Lazarus scoffed, replying in Zephyrs stead, "Friends aren't distractions. Having even one can help you light up your world and take you out of a dark moment. But I guess someone like you could never understand that feeling."
Ashur who was chiming in, "Friends are just liabilities."
Lazarus, visibly getting irritated, "Forget it."
Zephyr knelt and gently placed Aron on the ground against the stone wall.
Lya rushed forward, dropping beside him."Thank you… for not going too harsh on him Zeph."
Zephyr looked down, his hands clenched, "Yeah… of course I wouldn't go harsh on him. If there were any other way to—"
Lya looked up at him, her eyes watering slightly, "Yeah I know. No need to finish." Then placing her hands on Aron's cheeks, slightly tugging on them.
Lazarus crouched down, examining Aron's condition with a faint grin. "Looks like he enjoyed fighting you." He chuckled softly, "You could've gone a little harder on him. I'm sure he would've liked that."
Zephyr gave a small exhale, "Yeah he probably would."
Maurice's voice returned, smooth and thin.
"The next match will be…" he paused, "Lya Belrose Versus Lazarus Vermillion!"
The chamber was awfully quiet.
Lya let go of Aron, and Lazarus stood up. Both exchanging a look of understanding.
They didn't protest for now they knew that it was served to break them apart.
They door opened and they took separate paths.
They emerged from opposite sides of the arena.
The crowd roared immediately, but neither of them moved.
They stood still, not lifting a finger.
Minutes passed and the nobles grew impatient.
"Fight already damnit!"
"What are you doing?!"
"You're supposed to be at each others throats!"
Finally, Lya stepped forward, her voice carried across the arena, clear and steady.
"We won't fight for your amazement. We are not slaves, we are people! We refuse to fight each other to the death for you slobs' enjoyment!"
The crowd froze for a few moments.
Then Lazarus raised his voice, sharp and full of intent.
"She's right! We refuse to be your toys! We won't tolerate this aggression, enough lives have been lost!"
The crowd fell into an outrage.
Boos and insults erupted from every direction.
Food and goblets rained down like cats and dogs.
Maurice stood stiffly on the platform, face red with embarrassment and anger.
His hand moved slowly towards a small silver panel.
He pressed down hard on a button.
The floor beneath Lya and Lazarus lit up with blue sigils and then—
Electricity exploded upward.
Both of them screamed uncontrollably.
Maurice in a fit of rage, slammed and slammed on the button. Releasing current after current.
Their bodies convulsed violently, the smell of burning flesh pierced the air.
They tried to endure it.
Lazarus clenched his teeth, shaking violently while trying to thread his skin back together. It was an endless cycle of stitching skin together and it burning.
He couldn't handle the pain anymore and collapsed.
Lya forced her eyes upward towards Maurice, fury burning through the pain.
She began charging essenz in her palm, getting ready to strike.
But her body failed her.
She too fell.
The electricity stopped, as Maurice did. Pausing for a moment to collect himself.
The arena fell into a mixture of cheers.
"Serves you right!"
"Next time you ought to fight!"
"Dogs are meant to bark not disobey!"
Servants rushed in and dragged the unconscious bodies away.
Maurice forced a strained smile towards the nobles.
"I-I apologize for that disturbance. I p-promise you the next match will be far more interesting!"
The crowd only grew louder.
The chamber doors burst open.
Servants dragged Lya and Lazarus inside and dropped them carelessly onto the stone floor.
Zephyr moved instantly at the sight of his friends, burnt and wounded.
He was by their sides before they even hit the ground.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?!" He snarled at the servant.
She said nothing.
His hand lifted.
Lightning gathered violently at his fingertips.
The air began to crackle. Essenz began flowing outward like waves crashing beneath a moonlit sky.
The no-name contestant who had survived the first round of 16 stepped forward instinctively. "Calm down—"
Ashur moved without warning.
"Don't step in."
A single clean slash.
The man's body was split in half diagonally.
Blood sprayed across the chamber walls.
Guts covered the floor beneath him.
His body fell with a heavy splatter sound.
Zephyr didn't even look, his eyes focused on the servant.
He fired the bolt.
The lightning bolt tore across the chamber, but the door shut just in time.
The bolt struck the metal and sparks exploded.
The door handle underwent a phase explosion. The outer layers of the steel turned into an expanding cloud of plasma. The pressure from the expanding cloud shattered the door and the surroundings walls.
"Damn you." Zephyr roared.
His chest rose and fell heavily, his breathing became more rigid.
Then his gaze shifted towards Lya and Lazarus.
"I promise," he said quietly, "I'll kill them all for this."
He then laid them beside Aron carefully.
Behind him, Ashur wiped blood from his face.
"Quite a show you put on."
"Shut up," zephyr replied without turning.
Toa remained silent, watching.
Then Maurice's voice echoed once more.
"The next match will be… Ashur Graves VERSUS Toa Mundo!"
Toa pushed himself off the wall, a slow grin spread across his face.
"Finally, I've been waiting to cave your head in you creepy bastard."
Ashur stepped close enough that they were nearly face to face.
"I'd like to see you try," he muttered with a thin smile. "Come on then, they're waiting."
They turned.
Two separate paths.
The arena erupted the moment they stepped into view.
Excitement surged like a violent forest fire.
The blood bath was about to begin.