Leo paced the floor of his room from the bed to the dresser, then the balcony and repeat. He was sure he'd be carving a trench in the beautiful stone floor sometime soon, even if the whole place was made of some magical rock. He could feel the presence of two pairs of eyes on him, but refused to engage them in any way–collecting his thoughts was a hard enough task.
Why was there a creepy lab? Were the demons actually making an angel? What did Zeta know? Was she connected to this all somehow? There was no end to the questions without any answer. Leo was bordering on throwing something out the window just to make himself feel better. Then again, he would probably start throwing every loose thing out that window like a child throwing a tantrum. He needed to stay calm, but the feeling of dread just got worse.
All he wanted was Hazel back, not some conspiracy in his head that demons had a workshop in Heaven for making abominations. Maybe if he just pushed it all away, he could move on like a regular combatant in the arena. But what if getting to the highest rank meant something bad? What if there was no prize, but instead his power was needed for something? There was just no winning here.
'Leo.'
If he could just find out where those Platinum rankers went, he would at least be able to prepare himself. Maybe it was just a case of the best being taken to an arena where nobody else could go. If that was right, then wouldn't the final wish have already been granted by now? Unless…
'Leo!' Raphael cried.
'Huh?' Leo turned his head to the archangel, currently in his cap and regular clothes. The being stood near the doorway, exchanging a glance with Tiam who lay on the bed.
'You're going to break it.' Raphael gestured to the dresser by Leo. The lower drawer had slid out and had a half crescent boot mark on the side. The entire thing looked slightly misshapen. Leo couldn't recall doing anything to it, but it made sense.
'The lab stuff eating you up?' Tiam asked, braiding their hair. They looked ready for another lazy day, currently dressed in shorts and a crop top.
'Damn Tiam, nice abs,' was the best Leo could muster.
'Thanks!'
'But yeah, of course it's on my mind. That and Zeta–I still don't get her.' Leo tried to shove the dresser drawer back in place, but it wouldn't close those last few inches. Unsatisfying.
'Well, yes I'm just as confused.' Tiam said. 'The guy I fought–Arash–said similar things when I was about to win. I'm convinced he was also holding back.' Tiam daintily pointed a finger at Raphael. 'Come on angel boy, give us some answers. You're like, omniscient, right?'
'Far from it.' Raphael looked at himself in the mirror. His face grimaced slightly, like he'd just seen a spider on the wall. What did he see that they didn't? 'All I can guess is that we aren't the only ones in the colosseum suspicious of its purpose. I mean, it was primarily crafted by an archdemon, so what did we expect?
'We can assume the two people you fought tonight either had the matches rigged behind the scenes, or they have influence in the colosseum. I looked them up.' Raphael reached out to both Leo and Tiam's keys. A new screen appeared in Leo's eye, and it depicted a profile shot of Zeta as well as a grizzled looking man with wavy brown hair. The man's name was Arash, with a banner beneath his name stating, 'silver.' Zeta had the same ranking beneath her name. Leo called it.
'It may not be organised, but at least we know we have potential allies in the higher ranks.' Raphael waved a hand and the images vanished. 'So that can be your goals for now–reach silver and find these people outside of the arena.'
'Can't we just head out and look for them now?' Leo asked.
'Well, the colosseum is–'
A crash and rumble drowned Raphael's voice out. The light pouring into the window vanished and what seemed like rock rolled by the balcony. It was like the entire room had taken a dive into the sea, except that sea was made of dirt and stone–not very good swimming conditions.
Leo stepped onto the balcony and watched dark stone turn darker. Occasionally, strange glowing gems whipped past them, like portholes of light in this weird elevator. The dirt above filed in behind the little home as it fell, as if Leo's room was only a minor inconvenience to it. Finally, the wall disappeared to reveal a gigantic expanse of cavern, filled with not only more glowing crystals, but buildings too. This place was similar to the area above the ground, looking like a simplistic suburbia. In the center of this miles wide cavern, a single building ran from floor to ceiling, its walls white and dotted with archways all over. It was like a piece of Rome had been planted in Heaven. Clearly, this was another part of Heaven's Colosseum.
'Welcome to the brass rank area.' Raphael joined Leo on the balcony, shortly followed by Tiam. They marvelled at the beauty of the crystals that jutted out like the spined hides of urchin, and those crystals that hung loosely from above like chandeliers.
'It's beautiful,' Leo stated.
'And it is a step closer to Hell itself and the bottom of the colosseum.' Raphael raised a finger like a parent disciplining their child. 'Good thing I was at your place, the stairs to here are a killer.'