The crowd was cheering massively at him.
Over the past few months he has won over their hearts.
He is now their favorite.
He is always there to give them the show they desire.
The bloodbath they all crave for.
Some were betting fortunes on him.
He lifted his hands in appreciation for their pathetic love.
Based on the odds this should be an easy fight.
The cage was locked.
The fight would be beginning in no time.
Today was a two versus two battle.
Something caught his attention. Or rather someone.
She flashed him a smile, something he had not seen in years.
His face had adapted to never smiling.
The muscles in his cheeks could not move to respond to her.
But her smile awakened something in him that he thought was long dead.
It stirred a forbidden emotion in him.
She was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen in the crowd. Then again he has never really focused on anyone before to observe their features.
She seemed to be pulling him towards her.
She got closer to the cage.
He could see her clearly now.
She had green eyes with raven hair.
She was of medium height with perfect curves at the right place.
Damn him! He was in a death cave. This was not the place to have such thoughts.
In such a dangerous situation a stray thought could lead to him losing his head.
He had to focus.
He had to get his thoughts off her.
But his gaze remained fixed on her.
He seemed as if he was hypnotized.
" Ashes!"
His partner called him but he never heard.
He did not notice that the crowd had stopped cheering.
He did not notice that the horn for the battle to start had been blown.
He was in another world.
In that world only he and the beautiful stranger existed.
In that world they were in love.
They loved each other more than any other couple had ever done.
In the real world the atmosphere was tense.
Their rivals noticed that he was distracted.
Some members of the crowd saw that too.
Some at the high table noticed that too.
In fact everyone else seemed aware except him.
His partner called his name again.
His life was in danger.
The rivals had surrounded his partner.
Like the opportunists they were, there was no way they could let go of the advantage they had at the moment when their nemesis was distracted by the heavens knew what.
They wanted to take care of the weakest link as fast as possible before moving on to the greater danger.
The masters of the cage were now concerned.
Everyone in the crowd had their mouths wide open.
Why wasn't he moving to help his partner?
They began mumbling to each other.
Some were suspecting foul play by the owners of the game.
Others said that he had probably taken a dive.
Perhaps he had been poisoned before entering the cage.
Back to his partner he was now sweating.
He felt betrayed. Ashes was not answering when he needed him the most.
He was cornered and his partner couldn't care less about the danger he was in.
He stood no chance before both of them.
They were quick to launch their attacks on him.
He blocked the first slash successfully with his sword.
They approached him from both sides.
He dodged their attacks skillfully.
Then they made a brilliant plan.
One of them approached Ashes as if to attack him.
This enabled his partner a chance to breathe.
Now he could focus on his opponent without worry.
His opponent aimed for his face with a powerful swing of his sword.
He blocked the blow with his sword then moved to counter attack fast.
The slash landed on his opponent's cheek.
He was gaining the upper hand pretty much fast.
He couldn't help but smile.
He lifted his sword with the smile still on his face.
Then he felt something odd.
The noise the crowd was making was not the usual.
They should have been cheering him for his upper hand but instead they seemed to be saying something different.
As if they were warning someone.
Wait! But before his mind could register what was going on the unexpected happened.
He felt a sharp pain as the tip of a sword made its way through his back before emerging through his chest.
He felt blood fill his mouth as he fell to the ground.
That was when he realized that he had been tricked.
He cursed his horrible fate.
He cursed the organizers of the battle.
He cursed the crowd that was cheering.
He cursed his wretched opponents for playing the game like cowards but above all he cursed his partner Ashes for abandoning him when he needed him the most.
His agonizing moments didn't last long because his opponent was quick to slash his throat as if afraid he could still cause them harm with a paralyzed spine.
His last thought was that they were indeed cowards.
Then he thought no more.
Without any other obstacle on the way the opponents now went to finish Ashes.
They could not believe their incredible luck.
It seemed as if the renowned fighter had just been handed over to them or rather his head had been handed over to them on a silver platter.
They surrounded him as they had done with his partner and aimed for the finish move.
They all swung their swords and aimed for his head.
Ashes was still somehow stuck in his day dream despite the commotion going on around him.
The stranger waved slightly at him.
He found himself waving back at her.
Then she pointed behind him as if signaling something to him.
He still kept his gaze fixed on her.
She pointed to his sides before sprinting away.
That was when he remembered the ongoing battle.
His instincts seemed to sense the impending danger at the last possible moment.
He dodged the attack instinctively a few milliseconds before he was decapitated.
The opponent's swords clashed.
The crowd gasped.
Ashes moved a few steps backwards and drew out his sword.
The crowd was now clapping.
Their hero was finally back on performance.
Ashes saw his dead partner and his heart sank.
How could he have been so careless? How could he have allowed himself to get distracted so easily?
His mistake had cost the life of his partner.
He felt a heavy yolk cast upon his neck.
He would surely blame himself but before that he needed to get his fallen partner justice.
One opponent launched at him.
The next moment the crowd's jaw dropped.
They saw him fall with a slash across his torso.
It had happened too fast making their eyes unable to capture the movement.
Ashes dropped his sword aimed for the fallen opponent's heart.
The attack landed home killing him on the spot.
The remaining opponent was now shaking in fear.
He was now regretting awakening the beast.
They should have accepted to play fair.
Perhaps then they would have lost while still retaining their lives as Ashes was not known for unnecessary killings.
He only caused a blood bath to those who attempted to chop off his head.
Ashes took his time with him inflicting small painful cuts on his body before finally detaching his head from his body.
The crowd cheered at his victory but Ashes was not rejoicing.
A new emotion had taken over; fear.
He knew that his blunder was sure to be punished.
He only hoped that the punishment would be something bearable.
He lifted his eyes and met with a gaze from Lord Ahriman.
Ahriman's eyes were blazing with rage.
He looked as if he wanted to wrap his fingers around Ashes' neck and strangle him to death.
He shifted his gaze to someone seated at the far corner.
Ashes followed his gaze and his eyes fell on his chained mother.
He looked at Ahriman pleadingly, his lips trembling in fear.
He saw Ahriman smirk mischievously and at that moment he could only pray to the heavens to intervene.
But he knew they wouldn't.
He helplessly watched as his mother was dragged into the prisoner's chamber.