Thane remembered the cheering. He clearly remembered people shouting his name.
He remembered the feeling of throwing Etno out of the arena. After that, everything became dark.
His thoughts ran wild, unable to come to terms with reality for a long moment, long enough for him to finally give in to the pain, the bleeding, and depleted stamina.
He had suddenly become unconscious, before celebrating, before reacting to the cheers…
When he opened his eyes again, a white ceiling greeted him.
His body felt like it had been beaten by ten different people using ten different weapons.
For a moment, he simply lay there. Slowly, a memory returned.
The final against Etno Kamsi, the throw, and the victory. A grin appeared on his swollen face. "I won."
"You did," a voice answered from nearby.
Thane flinched and turned his head. A healer sat beside the bed.
The old man looked utterly unimpressed. "Congratulations."
The giant grinned wider. "I knew it."
