"Vanya?" you say. "What are you doing here?"
"What indeed, Basileios," Vanya replies. "You look like you've seen a ghost. I suppose you have, in a way. A specter that haunts those who betray their friends. That haunts one who rescues a person from captivity only to condemn him to slavery. But I'm not a ghost, Basileios. No, I'm very much alive."
"What was I supposed to do?" you ask. "I thought you were dead. How did you survive?"
"By fighting," says Vanya. "I was thrown into Utrio's arena. Did you know that if a contestant wins four matches, they earn their freedom? Well, I earned mine. I won every match, and every time I killed someone on the arena sands, I thought of you."