Shadow Slave: Riftwalker

[You have slain a dormant human, name unknown.]

Aeona shook her head, distraught and confused. While her physical reaction was void of emotion, her mental one held bewilderment. 

'How come... that felt like muscle memory?' She questioned, patting her clothing and glaring into her dusty palms. Each speck reminded her of humans compared to the world, but she was glancing down at the dust pebbles. She was the greater being. 

This led her to an internal question. 

'Is this how the divine feel?'

Were humans just... specks of dust in the eyes of the gods? All six of them? Were they even beings, or mere concepts?

The Master announced the end of the match, but Aeona tuned it out, contemplating. 

'Every human is given an aspect, once they receive it, rather than an atom, they become a pebble—their impact on the world increases. When becoming an Awakened, that pebble becomes a small rock along with the better rank.'

'The Mundane are left behind as specs, while Saints, Masters, even beyond that grow into large rocks, or perhaps cities.' As her steps rhythmically walked her towards the station, she continued.

'While a 'normal' Saint would be a city, a Saint with a higher ranked aspect might be a large city, or perhaps multiple cities.'

The next battle begun, both gladiators with their fates on the line eyed each other up, looking for weak points. 

'A human is nothing more than a pebble, unless they grow themselves, plant a seed that could grow into a city.' Aeona's eyes locked onto the person on the right, with their legs tensed and firmly planted into the ground.

'And without a strong foundation...'

She glanced at the other gladiator who was bouncing like a martial artist.

The 'Martial Artist' ran, full sprint, towards 'Firm Legged'.

'You will be reduced to...'

Firm Legged stood still, locking his eyes on the opponent like a predator waiting for their prey. Then, as the Martial Artist sprung into the air with their left hand fisted and ready to strike, Firm Legged pivoted to the right, dodging the blow, and jabbed the Martial Artist in the eye with his pointer and middle fingers.

'...nothing but a pebble on the floor, amongst the other gravel.'

The Firm Legged one axe-kicked the man's skull in, copying Aeona. Perhaps it was a challenge, or an announcement of equality. Regardless, Aeona's eyes were tranquil, gazing distantly at the sky. 

Her focus shifted from the battle, to above, then towards the castle.

'A person with a Dormant ranked Aspect will fall short of one with an awakened, and an awakened will fall short of one with an ascended.'

The battle was announced as concluded and the next one began.

'If you settle for anything other than Divine, which is at the 'peak' of the spectrum, then you will fall behind anybody with a higher rank than you.' Her eyes furrowed. 

"If I simply win this tournament, I won't be worthy of the divine, I will be worthy of a medal." The Battle Maiden muttered as her eyes fell on the partly rotted entrance of the castle. "To be worthy of the Divine, one must think outside the box of mortality."

'Winning the tournament? Winning a few fights? Sure, that would prove my current abilities, but not my potential.' She felt a river of emotion surge through her body like before.

Before she knew it, all eight battles of the first period had concluded, with eight bodies lying bare on the bloodied floor. Six survivors were tending to a wound or stretching their bodies, while Aeona's eyes were resolute with parted lips and a... calm, yet oddly smug expression.

'I... have to risk it all...' She covered her face with her right hand, her eyes widening slightly. 'I'd never forgive myself... if I left this Nightmare and continued my road of being protected...'

...

"Welcome folks! Your intermission has concluded, and the quarterfinals will begin in just a few moments!" The Master paused, holding his arms out. "Now, let's see the votes, who will be the favorite of this stadium out of these seven gladiators!?" 

"Glory! Glory! Glory!"

As they chanted, worshipping the War God, a chain of large runes fell from the sky, each being quickly translate by the spell for Aeona to understand.

Number One: The Western Centaur

Number Two: The Grounded Counter

Number Three: The Glad-Marked Dragoon

Number Four: The Muscle Freak

Number Five: The Snake

Number Six: The One-Eyed Mocker

Number Seven: The Goblin of Pity

'It seems that everybody has received a title...' She thought before contemplating. 'Winning would likely be difficult, maybe she'd get an Awakened or even Ascended ranked Aspect if she won, but then she'd be restricting her potential.'

"As you see, the Glad-Marked Dragoon has been outnumbered in votes by a newbie! This isn't by coincidence, as the performance he put on was vastly one sides, especially against a previous winner!" The Master shouted as the crowd continued its glorious, repeated phrase. 

"Fortunately, there shall be a battle between them soon, as there are three matches! If you have forgotten, in the first stage, a match ended in a draw, which forced this stage to be done with one less participant than before." He paused, letting the crowd think before continuing. "Which means that the second round of this stage will be between the Grounded Counter and the Glad-Marked Dragoon!

"Will the Glad-Marked Dragoon reclaim her title in the top two?

"Or will the Grounded Counter take the glory for himself?" He took a deep breath and bowed to the crowd. "Only the God of War shall be capable of determining it right now, but we will get our answer through battle..."

The crowd erupted once again, cheering the same old line. A line that was beginning to get on Aeona's nerve, but she calmed herself and focused. 

"Lower the gates! The Muscle Freak will be fighting against the Western Centaur! I'm sure you already know about both, so I'll cut their introductions short! Just know that these two fighters will be putting their all into this fight to gain glory! Their valor will be tested."

Both gladiators stepped out, the centaur crushing a dead competitor's skull.

She was positive the centaur would come out on top during this match, and so was the centaur. It was an unfortunate match for the Muscle Freak, but he wouldn't have won even if he was placed against the Grounded Counter.

"Three...

"Two...

One!" Suddenly, the centaur took a charge, all of his hooves slamming against the wooden floor as he sprinted. The Muscle Freak held his ground, but droplets of sweat dripped from his temple to his chin. He was clearly nervous, but Aeona felt envy. This was the exact situation she wished to be in, and it struck an idea into her head.

A charge, momentum, and a strong strike—One strong enough to overpower the Muscle Freak, who could send somebody out of the arena with sheer power alone. One enough to break a wall, let alone a rotted entrance. It was perfect, her ideas were lining up, and all that remained was to fight the damned centaur.

"I might be able to do thi—"

The centaur's leg twisted with a crack to its bone, causing the number one voted challenger to roll on the ground in pain. The Muscle Freak was surprised, but furrowed his eyebrows with determination, it was his only chance after all. With a downward strike, the Muscle Freak flattened the Western Centaurs face with a strike powerful enough to break thick steel.

The centaur lost his life, and Aeona's perfect scenario was crushed alongside it. Her route to a harder ending just got more difficult.

"Damnation..." She smiled. "I guess even the gods are challenging me..." She chuckled as the Muscle Freak was announced the winner. "...Go on then, make it as hard as possible, my reward will only get better!"

_______________________

Authors Note:

I will be continuing this, because as I said, more people voted to keep it rather than lose it, even if it was only one person, it counts :)

I just hope more people will read this and give their opinions, feedback, whether good or bad is motivation to continue.

If you enjoyed reading this so far, thank TobyTheDoggo for supporting me :)

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