This was the final fight. It was all riding on this, and Roylan would do anything to win - in fact, he had already given up his life to fight: Family, wealth, relationships - all were sacrificed for his goal to become the best.
*CRACK!* *THUD!*
A leg landed on Roy's waist and was followed by a heavy blow to the head.
"Pfft, idiot" Roy smiled like a wolf closing in on its prey.
The other fighter had fallen right into his trap.
Roy took damage but this is what he wanted - the opponent now had an opening. A broken rib and a black eye would be worth it.
"Your guards wide open you fuckin idiot!" Roy thought as he went in for the kill, his muscles flexing with veins as he released his fist with the power of a cannon ball.
*BOOM!*
A heavy uppercut, squarely under their chin sent sweat and blood flying, the enemy's head swung back violently.
…
*Thud* his body hit the ground.
"K.O! Knockout!" the referee yelled as some medical officers dashed into the ring to the unconscious man.
With that final move, the fight was over. The crowd was silent for a moment before -
*YEAAAHHHH!!!!!!*
Suddenly, everyone erupted in cheers. Roy's coach and nutritionist dashed in and hugged him. They had made it. All their hard work paid off.
All around the world people got up from their seats and cheered, as they had just found the number one mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in the world.
After three years of fighting, defeating thousands of contestants, Roy had finally done it: he was recognised as the best MMA fighter in the world.
Roy lifted his hands in the air, accepting his rightful praise - but only for a moment. He was completely out of breath and beginning to feel dizzy.
*Huff huff huff*
He had to sit down for a moment. Just a second - then he could continue to bask in his glory.
"Oh fuck, that hit to the head… that messed something up…" he continued to feel dizzy. No amount of water or breathing was helping.
"The crowd is so loud" he held his head as they continued to cheer.
"It's too much… its -"
- Blackness -
"Dammit, what? Where is my… where am i?" He looked around, finding himself in total blackness.
Suddenly he noticed a lightbulb in the distance - he slowly approached it. It was just a normal light bulb, but for some reason it looked beautiful.
[Analysing…]
"Huh? Analysing what?"
[Balancing…]
[Complete! Destination Set - Hex. Resealing in process.]
"Someone tell me what the fuck is going on?!" he yelled at the glowing light bulb.
Suddenly, it turned off.
"..." he gritted his teeth in anger - but then he stopped feeling his body completely.
—
Time passed - perhaps years, perhaps only seconds. There was no way to tell. The next thing he sensed was a soft voice, it was getting closer.
"Hello…? Hey… hey, are you ok?" a young woman asked.
"Urgh… what…" slowly, Roylan's eyes were opening.
"Hello there." she smiled.
"What the… what. Where am I?"
"Near Rivkin. Did something happen? Were you robbed? Did some bandits attack?"
"Bandits?" he chuckled, "What are you on about?" he rubbed his head.
This was when Roy looked at his hands, then at his arms.
"Wait, what the fuck happened to me?!" he yelled.
The kind girl stepped back in fright for a moment.
Gone were the veins and muscles covering his arms. He was so skinny now, and his hands had zero calluses on them, no skin was missing from harsh training and they even felt 'soft'. He shuddered.
Biceps - gone.
Pecs - gone.
Abs - gone.
Legs - gone. And this was probably the most saddening. He felt like a chicken.
"What the fuck happened to me…" he whispered, "wh the fuh…"
"Hey, you're okay. Nothings missing." the concerned young woman comforted him.
"Nothing? Fucking everything is missing…" he thought, "am I shorter? Oh shit, I have hair now?" he rubbed his fingers through it, still coming to terms with his new body.
"Hmm… you look a little parched." the girl said as she waved her hand.
Nearby she had dropped her backpack - a flap opened on top and a water skin flew out, coated in a blueish light.
Roy's eyes bulged seeing this - "What the hell is that?"
"Oh, it's just water. Here." she took the cork out and took a sip.
Clearly, the girl didn't understand what he was asking about.
"T-thanks…" he nodded.
Grabbing the water skin, he inspected the outside for any hidden strings or weird glowing substance. The girl raised a brow as she watched him curiously.
After a few sips he was done. She plugged the cork back in and with another flick of her wrist he sent it floating back into the bag.
Someone else was coming over now, causing the girl to frown.
"Why are there horses and a carriage…" Roy said, squinting at them.
"Those clothes look so stupid. He looks like a flower with all those puffy bags and folds" he smiled, stopping himself from chuckling at the young man coming over.
The young man looked dissatisfied and annoyed - completely opposite to the young woman.
"Ana, hurry up. We've stopped for long enough." he then looked at Roy,
"And leave that filthy peasant alone." he spat out, his voice oozing with vitriol.
The young woman, Ana, got up and began to walk back to the carriage; her bag floated along with her. The young man stood there silently, looking at Roy with a condescending glare.
Suddenly a sly smile appeared on his face - he tripped Ana over as he walked past.
"If we keep having to stop because of you I might just fucking leave you here." he sneered, "remember, you're not truly a member of our family."
The girl didn't say anything as she slowly picked herself up.
Roy was filled with anger. Despite his weak body, he was still an MMA fighter, and the young man looked as weak as he did.
"I'll teach you a lesson you piece of shit." Roy gritted his teeth.
Roy then began to run towards the young man. Contrary to his expectations, the young man simply stood there, a proud grin getting bigger on his face.
"Fucking peasants. Give them some water and they'll act like they deserve everything."
Suddenly, he did a strange hand movement, one that seemed to be beckoning to him - "huh?"
Roy was confused. He had never seen a fighting style like that. He wasn't thinking clearly since entering this new body, it was like his mind was still booting up.
Suddenly he remembered the flick of the wrist of the girl and the floating water bag a few seconds ago - though the young man's hand movement looked different.
"Shit…" he looked around, wondering if something would come flying at him.
*THUD!*
A large lump of earth smashed him right in the back of the head, and he was immediately knocked unconscious.
- Blackness - x2
There laid Roy, unconscious once more, in the body of a young, skinny man.
"I'll teach him a lesson" the young man wore a demonic smile as the piece of earth floated higher into the sky. He then turned his hand upside down and pushed down - the floating piece of earth responded accordingly.
*FWOOSH!*
It flew down with a whistling sound.
"MAVON S-STOP!" Ana called out, raising both hands upwards.
The earth chunk was still travelling down towards Roy's arm at high speed - though it still landed squarely on it.
*CRACK!*
"Shut up and get in the carriage!" the young man yelled, annoyed that she tried to stop him.
Checking that Roy's arm was injured, he sneered as he looked one more time before hopping into the carriage.
"Let's see you cast magic with a fucked up arm." he smiled.