To my great fortune, it didn't take me long to wake up, meaning the nightmares ceased abruptly. They were horrible images continuously replaying in my head, and every second left me praying and wondering when they would leave me.
When my eyes fluttered open, I took note of my surroundings immeditlaey. I hadn't been moved, as I could still feel the cold stone floor below me, and my Weaver still gripped tightly in my hand. A pair of people, a man, and a woman, observed me silently. Their hands moved up and down over my body. I let them work, assuming them to be Arimus, or more so hoping they were Arimus.
There's no way people would just let me be defiled in front of them, right? I mean there were kids here. Though I guess the kid's had seen their fair share of grotesque stuff. I mean, I'd almost killed a man earlier.
The pair stood up after a few more minutes, helping me rise to my feet, before helping me walk off the platform. I took one look back, but was met with disappointment, as my opponent was nowhere to be found. It was odd, considering his injuries had to have been worse off than mine, but maybe he'd been given priority when it came to medical attention.
The crowd, not that I cared much, was full of anger and boo's. Food, liquids, and other throwable objects were hurled at me as I walked, not a single one connected, which was in no way surprising considering all the throwers were far too intoxicated to think straight. It was weird to think about the fact that almost every living thing I saw had a Heartile, but only so few could use them to their full potential.
I was escorted to a small infirmary, some doors down from the waiting room, and was told to wait for the Head Arimus to arrive, and after getting the all-clear, I'd be allowed to return to my 'mother'. The infirmary was nothing special, it was even a tad bit worse than the one at The Underground, but the bed was far superior in comparison to the cold ground outside.
My clothes had been tattered and bloodied in the fights, and scars now littered my body. I didn't like the sight of them, and hoped that they would heal over soon, but a strange sense of joy built up inside me. Naturally, it wasn't my abilities that truly won the fight. In fact that sudden burst of energy the Swordsman had near the end had me believing I would lose even with Hadeon's powers, but I pulled through anyway.
I thought back to the fight, and my joy began to dissipate a bit. When I fought Hadeon, I wasn't even able to match up to him at full power, granted I hadn't learnt how to use my aura efficiently, but still. There was no possible way to win against Hadeon. But upon using aura to fuel my own, I was only barely able to match up the Swordsman.
'You might have permanent brain damage. You really think that you used my full power in that fight?' Hadeon spoke up.
"I didn't?" I asked out loud, there was no need to have a mental conversation if there was no one in the room to hide from.
'Obviously not imbecile! If I allowed you to use my full power, your body would have exploded instantly! That was barely a fraction of my power! In my prime, a brat like that wouldn't have been able to even look at me!' He boasted proudly while ranting.
It wasn't odd to see him get worked up, but it had become evident to me that strength and power were his sore spots.
"Alright, I'm sorry. You're right you definitely would have beat him, it was just I who was lacking." I reassured him.
"By the way," an urgent thought crossed my mind, "did you hear what he said at the end of the fight?"
'Naturally, I hear everything you do. You're curious as to how and why he knew your real name?' Hadeon questioned.
I nodded my head.
'I have no idea, and I don't care. Neither should you.' He replied bluntly.
"Come on! A random person I've never met before or talked to, knew my real name! I've been out of my coma for less than half a year, so I don't have an identity that would make people question my alias. Plus, when would he even grow suspicious of me? Or go around finding out?" I stammered.
'How do you know he went looking?'
It was something I hadn't thought about. But it wasn't entirely impossible.
"You think-"
'They hired him as well, he was the main event, and you were just supposed to be a stepping stool. You weren't meant to succeed in the first place.'
"But then why hire me? Why even ask for another person? That guy is a nearly unmatched prodigy, so if I never showed up, he probably would have won. So why?"
"Do you think I know! Stop asking me stupid questions! I'm not an encyclopedia! I'm going to take a nap, don't ask me anything stupid for the next twelve hours!" His head appeared and disappeared in less than a few seconds, and the silence in the room returned.
My list of unanswered questions was growing longer and longer every day, but not a single one seemed to be getting an answer any time soon. So I'd have to swallow my anger and push the questions to the back of my head, that was until after the mission. Or maybe I should just turn Artemis in and say she kidnapped me. That could always work.
"Well then, let's have a quick look at you." A high, almost familiar voice sounded out as the door opened, and a young woman entered. Scarlet-red hair, emerald eyes, slightly tanned skin and childish grin. There was something in the woman's appearance that got my mind thinking, but in normal ways.
Clearly, the confusion and attempt at remembrance was shared, as the woman also paused upon seeing me, and our eyes lit up at the same time.
"It's you!" She screamed, turning around to leave.
Though my body wanted me to strangle myself for it, I shot out of bed and pulled the woman back inside. Fighting through the pain and soreness, I locked the door after slamming it shut. I locked eyes with the woman as she sat on the ground. It was the same nurse who had been in the hospital the day I woke up. The one who called me an asshole.
"What the hell are you doing here? And why are you using a fake name?" She whisper-yelled.
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here! You're a nurse! Why are you the head Arimus for this place?" I tried to keep my voice low, to not alert the guards outside.
"Oh god forbid a woman have dreams and aspirations! Should I ask for your permission next time?!" She stood up and huffed angrily.
"Ok, look I'm sorry. But I really can't have you questioning or making anyone question my identity right now, so can you please just get this checkup over, and we'll never have to see each other again, I swear." I apologized, hearing heavy footsteps outside the door.
She stood still for a few moments, contemplating the idea. Her expression had no change, but she motioned for me to sit on the bed. I did as I was instructed and she began the checkup. It was definitely a strange method, rubbing your hands across people, but if it worked it worked.
Several minutes in, the silence and awkwardness had become unbearable, but thankfully, I once again was not alone in the feeling.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly.
"You're sorry? For what?" I suppressed a smile.
"For getting mad at you that day, I just get really worked up when it comes to people questioning my ability. It's not easy trying to get recognized as an Arimus, especially when you're a woman." She explained softly, it was clear that she did deeply care about her job.
"Don't worry about it, it's my fault anyway. I can get a little talkative sometimes." I laughed awkwardly.
'You can say that again.' Hadeon chimed in.
'Will you two shut up! No one asked you guys!' I snapped.
She laughed, and continued the checkup, finally finishing after a few more minutes.
"Your body is in terrible condition, but for some reason or another, your natural recovery ability is mending you back into shape faster than I think I could with my abilities. So though I could recommend you to stay for longer, I think you're good to leave." She stood up and turned to leave.
"Hey, are you taking the exam for The Academy? I mean if you have the ability to win this tournament, you have a good chance to make it in." She asked hesitantly.
"I am, why?" I responded, a bit confused by the random question.
"No reason, I wish you luck."
And before a 'thank you'could leave my mouth, she was already gone.
My ability to walk without support returned around a half hour later, and stepping outside, I was once again escorted, this time by a pair of guards. Their helmets concealed their faces, but a hint of disdain was evident. Clearly, they weren't very happy by the outcome of the tournament.
Contrary to what I thought, instead of being led outside and back to my 'mother', as I'd been told, the guards escorted me to a separate building connected to the underground tunnels. We walked up several flights of stairs before reaching what I thought was the top of some form of watchtower.
As the night sky became clearer and clearer, the guards pushed me through a small door and turned back to leave. On the other side of the door, was a small table accompanied by two chairs and a person.
They were covered head to toe in what looked like ceremonial robes, with strange symbols all across them and a funny looking mask that looked like a mix between a human and some kind of tusked animal. It almost reminded me of the mask of the man I'd seen on my first day at the Underground.
The person motioned for me to take the seat across from them, and after I was sat, they turned to face me.
"I believe congratulations are in order," their voice was low and raspy, but no hint at their gender was revealed, "you should feel honoured to receive this opportunity. Not many do."
I simply nodded my head, still a bit unclear as to what my current situation was.
"In full honesty, I was on the side of people that believed you'd be out by the first round, and I am thoroughly surprised that you ended up winning at all. Not that I regret my earlier beliefs, you looked and still look fairly weak." They spoke bluntly.
I nodded my head once more, but this time it was to simply keep my anger in.
"Well then, now for your rewards." They stretched out their hands and dropped two things on the table, a ring and a small pouch. I opened the pouch first, and to my surprise it was an assortment of pills, similar to the ones we'd been given earlier. The only difference being the colour of the pills.
I closed the pouch and then picked up the ring. I slipped it on believing it to be an enhanced item like my armour from The Underground, but when no effects were felt, I took it off and inspected it closely.
"Is this your first time seeing a spatial ring?" They asked, some moments later.
"Yes." I responded, my eyes still glued onto the ring. The name however did divert my attention for a split second.
"Put it on, but this time let a little bit of Tecz flow through it."
I gave them a blank stare for a moment before doing as instructed. I slipped it on and closed my eyes, letting some of Tecz inside me circulate past my fingers and into the ring.
The next second I found myself in a strange abyss, surrounded by what looked like space. Everything was so bright and colourful, it was kind of beautiful in its own way. I turned around and saw things that definitely did not belong in space. A suit of red armour, a sword, and a cape floated in place, all relatively close to one another. I grabbed the sword and closed my eyes, retracting the Tecz.
Upon opening my eyes once more, I was back in my chair, only this time with a sword in my hand.
It took every fibre of my being to stop me from jumping around with joy. After all this time of wondering and waiting to get my hands on whatever was allowing people to store and pull things out of thin air, I'd finally got my hands on it. I gripped the sword tightly in my hands, before starting the process once more, storing the sword and turning to face the person.
"Thank you." I said quietly.
"I'm glad that you liked them. You're allowed to return to your mother for the rest of the night, but you're expected to report to the main castle at the break of dawn. You should already have the armour and sword on your person, you do not however have to worry about the cape currently. You'll be briefed on the rest of the specifics tomorrow, welcome to the Ukorin." They explained and without wasting a second more, jumped.
I leapt out of my seat in surprise, rushing to peek over the ledge, but was met with nothing. My heartbeat was still racing, but I decided it was time to leave as well.
It took me a whole hour to find my way out of the tunnels, and once I did, another half an hour to remember where I was staying.
The innkeeper shot me a large grin when he saw me walk in and congratulated me on winning, telling me how much he enjoyed the final fight. I thanked him but explained I was very tired and simply wanted to go to sleep. He nodded and I walked to my room.
I was hoping to walk in and be allowed to relax, but my expression soured as five others sat separately on either bed. I walked past them, ignoring their looks and threw off my clothes. I grabbed my briefcase and slammed the bathroom door shut on my way in.
After taking a much-needed shower, brushing my teeth, and wallowing in sadness as I noticed I forgot to take my armour with me, I changed my clothes and left the bathroom. Once I'd finally plopped down in a chair, Artemis began.
"Surprisingly the first half of the plan succeeded, so now let's talk about phase two. Now naturally since you haven't met the Baron, we're going to have to do something to get her attention focused on you. So tomorrow-"
"Does the Baron wear ceremonial looking robes and a weird tusked mask?" I asked, interjecting.
Their heads all snapped towards me, their eyes wide.
The answer was evident, I'd sped up their plans ten-fold.