"Wow that's, uh…that's really…something." I said, biting down hard on my inner cheek to keep from speaking my mind. The bronze, armored maniac before me smiled proudly with his fists at his hips, his nose up and pointing to void overhead.
"It'a more than something, my friend! When you've had both your legs snapped in two at the shinbone by an evolved Satyr's entranced minion-beast while imprisoned several hundred meters deep into what you thought was an abandoned cave, one's own will is life. One of the greatest days of my life, I leveled up from that escape!" Kota replied through a beaming grin that hadn't left his face since he'd seen me. What worse, seeing him again has already kicked up countless memories from the Tournament, something that felt…a lifetime ago by now. Somehow, I think even the rats in my head had better control over their impulses than I had at that time.
The same quickness to act led me to ruthlessly beat the hell out of the Kota when we faced off. Which also quickly came to a head when he said something rude to me. No, no it was something I perceived as rude, and responded by killing him outright on the spot. It wasn't the only time I exhibited blatant, selfish cruelty, and it certainly wasn't the most egregious…he just really didn't deserve it. The thing that scares me the most as I look blankly at his rambling face, reflecting on our introduction, is how hard it is for me to feel bad for it. At least, not enough to say anything, and part of that might be becau-
"-then, BANG!" Kota said, smacking his fist into his open palm.
"The guy's massive boot swung around and smashed me straight on the temple. I felt my helm spin around my face before I hit the floor, and to this day I've never seen a man that large move so swiftly." Kota said, waving his arms theatrically with every detail. I sighed, focusing my mind on his assistance and unfortunate circumstances to curve how insufferably annoying he is. Korbin however, slapping the Will-Warrior's shoulder and laughing hard, had clearly grown a liking to the guy.
"So what'd you do? I can't imagine a man emboldened by such a mighty will would abandon a challenge like that?" Korbin goaded, though with enough charisma to clearly convince Kota of his 'earnesty'. Kota excitedly clutched the opportunity to continue.
"You're not wrong, it's against my very being to back down to such a tyrannical source of suffering. No, I pressed on, and by the skin on my teeth and hair on my chest, I managed to tire the warrior enough for my comrade to land a flanking blow." Kota proudly replied, puffing his chest up as he finished. Cassi sighed audibly beside me, while Lonni and Korbin chuckled giddily with Kota.
"Was he this much the whole time?" I asked Cassi, leaning in to keep my voice low. She analyzed me up and down from the corner of her eye before turning to face me, wearing a tentative smile.
"You seem to know him, what do you think?" She said, in a tone that, whether was meant to be joking or genuinely snarky I can't really tell.
"Right, in that case you've once again proven twenty-times more patient than me." I replied, nudging my old friend on her arm with my elbow. The flow in her hand hanging at her hip flinched ever so slightly toward the bo staff at her back, quickly killing my smile as I noticed.
"…sorry. It's probably not fair of me, but it's hard not to feel protective of not only my own, but over everyone's lives when we're so close to the finish line. And, you know you.." Cassi said, the hardness in her eyes slowly relaxing into a remorseful grimace.
"I know. You don't have to be magically over seeing me like that, and it's probably not fair of me to expect you too. I just wanted to let you know that I've got…whatever the hell really happened to me under control up here-", I said, tapping a finger on the side of my head.
"-don't worry about it." I said, fighting the urge to end that sentence with an 'I think', or 'for the most part'.
"Really? So you know why you have massive moving scars across your back?" She asked, raising a brow skeptically. I kept my eyes locked onto hers, blurting the words out before I could think.
"Memories. False ones, maybe, and a lot of them are all…jumbled and blurry. But they were important ones, at least enough to stay around. That's been enough for me to manage, and I've been fighting without my teeth, believe it or not." I joked, though Cassi's forced grin turned grimace told me she wasn't exactly in the mood for those jokes.
"…if you're not going to freak out on me, that's good enough. But you have to promise me that you're going straight to the Elysium infirmary after these quarterlies are over." Cassi said, glaring at me with a twisted mix of concern and frustration.
"Yeah, I mean I think all of us should probably check in an-"
"Promise me, Tom." Cassi demanded, arching her brow with a sudden fire in her eyes. She extended her open hand out, smacking my gut to insist the gesture.
"Yeah, I promise." I said, covering my belly with one hand while the other accepted her handshake. Water mana swirled around my hand with a strange, warm weight. One I decked I'd take as a gentle warning, as her face finally relaxed.
"Good. And no, my patience is probably worn far thinner than yours after 15 rounds of that." Cassi said, pointing over to Kota leaping up and slamming his shoulder on the ground.
"See, this used to dislocate my shoulder! But, if I focus all of my willpower, my muscles feel emboldened for maximu-
"Congratulations! You and your faction are among the final 4 remaining in Until The Last. Each faction will now be given 5 minutes to decide who they wish to face off against in the Until The Last's semifinals event!" The system's effeminate voice echoed over the endless void, the booming volume giving me enough of a start to brandish my twinblades. For a moment, I worried I'd undone all progress in convincing Cassi I was sane, until I saw her hand relax from her own staff while glancing frantically up into the empty abyss above.
*ding*
Instinctively, I opened the system event while trying to scan the sky for any other hint at some outside interaction.
*TO ALL REMAINING CHAMPIONS OF THE QUARERLIES!*
The stage awaits your next opposition. Choose wisely; triumph grants ascension.
[1] The Frostroot Covenant
Domain: Glacial biotech/Cryomancy
Leader: Selvarine, The Pale Matron
*Confirm Selection?*
[ ] YES [ ] NO
——————————————————————
[2] The Hollow Verse Of Caelithra
Domain: Harmonic Resonance/Mana Synchrony
Leader: Nalius Mortris, head of House Mortris
*Confirm Selection?*
[ ] YES [ ] NO
——————————————————————
[3] The Magmarred Magistry
Domain: Thermaturgy/Volcanic Alchemy
Leader: Archmagistrate Karix Derace
*Confirm Selection?*
[ ] YES [ ] NO
——————————————————————
<…Awaiting Selection…>
"What an honor! I've been given the option to cast a vote for our next foe!" Kota excitedly proclaimed.
"Very nice, but no one's voting until we've at least had a discussion about it first." Cassi quickly dismissed, flashing a look my way before heading over to Korbin, Kota and Lonni who all stood bunched close to one another. One that I'd resent, if I hadn't built a reputation of impulsive decisions already. Especially of the 'system selection' sort.
"I imagine we'll want to take on Frostroot first, since we're the most familiar with their personnel. The trio we got didn't seem all that promising in truth, albeit an intriguing bunch." Korbin said, his tone suddenly matching Cassi's seriousness as he stepped out in front of the squad.
"Really?!" Lonni said, recoiling his head in surprise.
"Honestly…" Cassi began, her eyes trailing to the floor before she continued.
"…that might be a bad idea. Their leader, Selvarine? She is a serious problem." Cassi said in a low voice. Korbin's permanent half-smirk evaporated, replaced with a searing focus.
"Give me a scale." He barked, walking urgently toward Cass.
"Brigid, but patient." She quickly replied in a deadpan, as if she'd had time to stew on the fact, and hated it was time to share it.
"Shit." Korbin sharply exhaled.
"That's all the more reason to face them head on! No fear can trample our united migh-"
"Not now, Kota." Cassi sharply sneered, cutting off the giddy Will Warrior.
"He's not wrong, the more information we have on them, the better." Korbin coolly countered.
"That's assuming they lived on the same planet as us. I've already confirmed that they don't, with as much certainty in their irrelevance as I have in how tough they are. Even her second in command felt dangerous, it's shocking the three members she sent your way didn't reflect this." Cassi replied, sternly but without raising her voice.
"They didn't strike me as a bunch of chumps or nothin', but they certainly feared that Queen of theirs." I added with a scoff. Cassi peered over at Korbin, who gave a confirming nod that momentarily made my blood boil at realizing I'd be fact checked for the foreseeable future. Like a fucking child between adults. The very notion makes my skin crawl, quite literally given how itchy my back's getting. Taking a seeping breath, I resolved myself to my tried and true method of completely keeping out of these kinds of discussions altogether.
"I suppose that makes sense, based on what little I could glean from talking to her. Still, the general she had with her felt too strong and devoted to the woman for leading anyone who'd slow them down." Cassi explained after a beat.
"Okay. Well what about you Lonni, what'd you gather from your interaction with this Selvarine?" Korbin asked our hulking teddy-tank.
"She's uh…scary, man. I'll be honest, my vote's heading elsewhere." Lonni replied, shaking his head with a tight-lipped remorseful grimace on his face.
"Alright, fine. If they're as strong as you both say, then they'll undoubtedly make it to the next round, right?" Korbin asked through clenched teeth.
"I'd say it's very possible, if not a likelihood." Cassi answered plainly.
"Then we take out one of the other two factions and gather some information on them along the way. Except you Kota-" Korbin said, pointing straight at the glimmering bronze figure.
"-you just worry about staying on your feet." Korbin finished, earning a beaming look of determination from Kota.
"I don't hate it, that just leaves who from the other two to pick from." Lonni said, staring blankly at the sky, something I assume means he's scrolling over the faction options again.
"Those 'Magmarred' guys sound pretty interesting, though they're more than likely full of mages with that 'magistrate' title." Korbin said.
"I don't see us having too much trouble dealing with them. It's not like mages have given us too much grief before?" Lonni replied, earning a wince from bother Cassi and myself.
"Except we don't have the same range we typically do, especially without Phoebe or Korbin's artillery on hand. That may complicate things if there isn't enough cover to tuck behind in our next arena." Korbin quickly answered.
"I've fought beasts that used sounds and harmonies to attack under water once. If it's at all similar, they'll be big hitters, but slow to swing." I blurted out, recalling that massive Mother Whale Steve and I accidentally pissed off and had to take down. Its ability to launch ear shattering sonic blasts was uncanny, but it took time for her to blurt her attacks. Almost nothing up to this point has had such a long gap in attacks, indicating to me hopefully a pattern among the harmonic mana niche.
"That seems like a bit of a stretch, but it is the only information we have at the moment outside of Frostroot. Plus, I'm not crazy about jumping into a fight full of mages either." Cassi replied, rubbing her fingers together slowly into a fist as she clearly plunged deep in thought as she spoke.
"I've been so curious to see how the systems managed to turn sound into power since you told me about that, this may serve more valuable a fight than just a stepping stone." Korbin added, his chin resting between his thumb and index finger.
"Then let's not delay and miss our chance to vote on the matter in the first place." I said, feeling a sense of consensus building and I opening up the faction options again.
[2] The Hollow Verse Of Caelithra
Domain: Harmonic Resonance/Mana Synchrony
Leader: Nalius Mortris, head of House Mortris
*Confirm Selection?*
[X] YES [ ] NO
*ding*
(Elsysium) has (1) votes casted to face: The Hollow Verse Of Caelithra.
"Okay, really getting tired of you voting so quickly all the fucking time, Tom. But, I do agree. This is probably the best choice if we all insist on avoiding Frostroot." Korbin said, his eyes scanning the group as he spoke.
*ding*
"Fine by me." Lonni added, as another system notification bell rang through my head. Then another, Cassi's head tilted up to the abyss slowly relaxing back down afterwards.
"The identity of our foe matters little in the face of our unending discipline, our unyielding will that shall ignite the flame of am-"
"Attention! Your faction, (Elysium), have (3) mutual votes with (The Hollow Verse Of Caelithra). Prepare to be relocated to your semi-finals arena!" The system's voice abruptly announced, thankfully cutting off Kota's long winded speech. Honestly, this might be the first time I was excited to hear that eerily soothing voice the systems loved to wear during these announcements.
"Finally." I said through a breathy sigh of relief. Oddly enough, the discussion at hand has stirred more…activity in my brain and across my back than any fight I've taken part in since I got out of the loops. It wasn't anything said in particular either, nor did it matter who was talking. The air itself just felt heavy, weighing down on every nerve like pressure points. The effects were subtle, as I've felt tension in a room before like anyone else. But this time, I could feel it starting to creep up on my ability to stay calm.
"Let's iron out our battle positions now while we can. Lonni and Kota, you'll be our tanks at the frontlines as standard. Tom, you're right behind them with me and Cassi on your tail." Korbin urgently barked, as we all collectively leaned in to ensure we heard him out to the fullest. I expected his institutions to be cut off since the system didn't give any time limit, though he was able to finish his thought before the little light provided by our floating platform bended into glowing beams all around my vision. Then, the familiar internal implosion of a teleportation triggered, my eyelids slamming shut in a battle with discomfort and acceptance. As my eyes fought to open, a blinding orange light broke through the darkness. That, and a subtle, rising hum floating over gusty winds.