Chapter 102: Small Fish From A Pond
Nyx rested her forearms against the balcony railing, the last ember of her cigarette glowing faintly between her fingers before she crushed it beneath her thumb. The breeze carried away the final trail of smoke, leaving only silence between them.
Her silver eyes never left Champagne.
"So..."
She tilted her head ever so slightly.
"Who are you?"
Champagne let out a slow breath. His hands remained buried in his pockets, and although his expression looked calm, he knew every word from this point onward mattered.
"I'm just an old dog..."
A crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"...with a few new tricks."
For the first time that night, Nyx smiled without restraint.
It wasn't a broad grin, wasn't theatrical.
It was subtle and natural.
"Atta boy."
There was something strangely refreshing about the way he answered. Unlike everyone else she encountered, he wasn't trying to impress her.
He simply... was.
She shifted to face him fully.
"Where are you from?"
Champagne looked out across the rooftops, watching the lanterns flicker below.
"A small place."
He paused.
"But it made me."
Nyx remained silent, allowing him to continue at his own pace.
"My father..."
His voice grew quieter.
"...started experimenting."
"On me...."
"...On my family."
The night itself seemed to grow heavier.
"I refused."
A small breath escaped him.
"They didn't like that."
Nyx's eyes narrowed.
"So they cast you out?"
A faint chuckle escaped Champagne.
"No."
He shook his head.
"That's the funny part."
He stared into the distance.
"I was never really cast out."
His smile slowly disappeared.
"I was just..."
"...a small fish in a pond..."
"...where the water had already gone bad."
The words lingered in the air.
Nyx studied him more carefully than before.
"And now?"
She folded her arms.
"What do you want?"
Champagne laughed softly.
"If Disorder never existed..."
"If I wasn't born and turned Savage..."
He looked back at her.
"I'd probably run for president."
For a second nothing happened.
Then—
"Pfft..."
Nyx covered her mouth before laughing openly. Not the rehearsed laughter of a celebrity. Not the polite laughter she offered cameras.
Real laughter, bright and honest.
"Oh, please."
She waved a dismissive hand.
"Save the speeches."
Her smile slowly settled into something teasing.
"You're dwelling in irrelevance."
Champagne simply shrugged.
"Nah."
He stepped a little closer.
"I just don't buy what you're selling."
The smile on her face weakened.
"Excuse me?"
He met her gaze without hesitation.
"Your concerts."
"Your interviews."
"Your public image."
He gestured vaguely toward the circus behind them.
"It's all an act."
Silence.
"You sing like you're carrying everyone's pain."
"You smile like you've got all the answers."
His eyes remained fixed on hers.
"But underneath..."
"You're just another person."
"...just as broken as the rest of us."
The cigarette filter snapped quietly between Nyx's fingers.
Crk.
"And I'm not buying the fantasy."
Several long seconds passed.
Then she laughed again but this time it was softer.
Almost amused.
"So..."
She stepped forward until only a narrow space separated them.
"What does that make me?"
Another step.
"The villain?"
Champagne smiled.
"Oh..."
He didn't even pretend to think about it.
"Definitely."
Their eyes locked.
There was no audience, no music and no cheering fans.
Only two strangers standing beneath the night sky, testing one another without throwing a single punch.
The conversation itself had become a battlefield.
* * *
Nyx refused to look away.
"If I'm the villain..."
She took one final step.
"...then what does that make you?"
Champagne answered immediately.
"A sinner."
The words landed with surprising weight.
"I was born one."
A quiet breath escaped him.
"But I refuse to die as one."
For the first time...Nyx hesitated.
Not because of what he said.
Because she believed him.
His voice carried no pride and no shame, only conviction.
"...You're..."
She searched his face.
"...not what I expected."
Champagne looked back over the town.
"Yeah."
A tired smile appeared.
"I hear that a lot."
The wind drifted between them, carrying the distant sounds of applause from the circus.
He broke the silence first.
"You're trapped."
Nyx frowned.
"What?"
"Stages."
"Spotlights."
"Crowds."
He gestured toward the enormous tent glowing in the distance.
"The same performance."
"Again."
"And again."
"And again."
Then he tapped a finger against his own chest.
"Me?"
"I don't get rehearsals."
"No script."
"No second takes."
"If I die tonight..."
He shrugged.
"...who notices?"
The question hung unanswered.
"Your business?"
He shook his head.
"Your family?"
Another shake.
"It doesn't matter."
Nyx folded her arms.
"And you think that makes you better?"
Champagne turned toward her completely.
"No."
"It makes me honest."
He took one measured step closer.
"You sing every song like it's your last."
"That's real."
"That's purpose."
His voice lowered.
"But I wonder..."
A pause.
"...have you ever stopped..."
"...to ask who gave you that purpose?"
Nyx's expression hardened instantly.
"Don't."
He continued anyway.
"Who gave you that breath?"
The air changed.
Cold, sharp and dangerously heavy.
"Don't."
Her voice carried a warning this time.
"So don't expect mercy."
Something inside her finally snapped.
"That's enough."
The words rang through the balcony like a blade leaving its sheath.
FSSSHHH...
A ripple of invisible pressure spread outward.
The wooden railing groaned.
Creaaak...
Loose stones trembled beneath their feet.
Rrrr...
The ash scattered across the balcony lifted into the air.
Nyx's Savage Power awakened.
It wasn't explosive, wasn't loud.....
Instead it was controlled, elegant and terrifying.
The atmosphere itself seemed to bow before her presence.
Champagne didn't move and didn't flinch.
Instead...he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his clothing.
Once.
Then the other.
"There it is."
A faint grin crossed his face.
"You've been using that power to make people obey."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"You really think it'll work on me?"
Nyx stepped forward.
The pressure intensified.
WHOOOOOM...
The windows of nearby buildings rattled violently.
RATTLE!
Her hair drifted upward as energy shimmered around her body like ghostly flames.
"You have no idea..."
"...what you're standing in front of."
Champagne's expression darkened.
"No."
He slowly clenched his fist.
"I understand perfectly."
Another heartbeat passed.
Then he spoke.
"You're lost."
The balcony shook.
RUMBLE...
Nyx's aura exploded outward.
FWOOOOOSH!!
A wave of brilliant energy flooded the night, swallowing the balcony in blinding light.
"SAY THAT AGAIN."
Champagne's eyes ignited with unwavering resolve.
His Savage Power answered.
BRRRRSHHHHHH!!
Raw greenish-blue energy erupted around him like a raging wildfire.
Unlike Nyx's refined aura, his power was untamed, violent and chaotic.
Every pulse cracked through the air with primal force.
KRAAAK!!
The stone beneath his boots splintered.
Chunks of concrete lifted into the air before exploding outward.
BOOM!
The wind howled between them.
Both auras collided without either of them taking another step.
KRRRRRRRSHHHHH!!
The entire balcony trembled.
Windows throughout the district shattered.
CRASH!
Birds erupted from rooftops.
The circus lights flickered.
* * *
Far beyond the city...Where Aranos and Ragnarock continued their earth-shaking battle—
Another disturbance rippled across the land itself.
Two completely different conflicts.
Two completely different battlefields.
Yet somehow...Both carried the weight to change the future.
On the quiet balcony, neither warrior blinked.
Neither yielded.
The masks had fallen away and the games were over.
The next move...would no longer be made with words.
To be continued...