[Chapter 18] Free - The Stone Coliseum

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Free sat alone in Lily’s skybox above the Stone Coliseum. Tinted glass provided privacy. She was eating a ‘hot dog’ while sipping a sweet fizzy drink through a ‘straw’. Luxury is quite enjoyable.

The plan was for everyone to meet here after their matches. Happily, Free had been scheduled well ahead of the others. It’d ended quickly. I almost felt bad about it. Her opponent ——Elizabeth something or other—— had obviously never been in an arena. She’d freaked out when confronted by a Kunoichi ——that’s a female ninja. She might’ve forfeited if she hadn’t been instantly bundled in roots. The victory had improved Free’s mood.

She’d had a roller coaster of a day. It’d started off great. Warping to the Rose Palace was amazing. Then they’d encountered that laughing bastard. Killing me is a good deed? Piss off! The foul taste from that had been washed away by their visit to the Wall. She’d met Siegfried, and the HEAVENLY DAO had even spoken to her. Couldn’t it have said something more meaningful?

Next was another low. As widely anticipated, Astra had been displeased. Deep in the Inner Palace, they’d faced her dreaded interrogation. She meticulously exposes the full extent of your stupidity. Besides Light, she’d been the guiltiest party, having convinced Kate to back down. And I should’ve been the one most concerned…

At least it ended on a high note. Under a slew of queries, Dawn had been coerced into explaining why she’d deemed it wise to hide her acrophobia. Which she plainly couldn’t. After driving that home, Astra had unveiled her solution: she’d teach Dawn to fly. The look on her face was priceless.

Free knew it was wrong to take pleasure from this, no matter how gratifying. However, she’d jumped through some mental hoops to justify doing so. If a little humiliation tames that ego, this might be considered a positive. On that note, I must watch the lesson tomorrow.

They’d spent the afternoon memorizing ninja trivia: various throwing blades, names of famous shinobi, hand signals for ninjutsu techniques… With Kate’s assistance, Light had made adjustments to their clothing, making it more ‘accurate’. They’d practiced ‘behaving’ too, including many dramatic poses. I did one after winning… Thank god for the scarves.

It’d been a torturous few hours. Long after her interest had faded, guilt and necessity drove her on. Half-hearted impersonations would only fuel speculation.

Silver escaped early, lucky bastard. Having read the entire series ‘Tales of the Shinobi’, he’d gone off to train with Kate. The Inner Palace had its own coliseum. No doubt for Lily’s children. While Light had objected, Silver had pointed out that Kate had been trained by Arther Bard. Through her, he’d indirectly learn from his original, a opportunity too appealing to pass up. I suspect it wasn’t the only reason.

Silver’s attraction to Kate was obvious. He wasn’t even hiding it. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but someone must take Kate aside to clarify some details. Rose had volunteered.

Late in the day, Simon had arrived to inform them they’d been registered for the Stone Coliseum. Lily granted him access so he could act as messenger. He’d then handed them their adventurer’s cards, thin metal plaques embedded with information. Astra must’ve arranged it. Free had noted their last names were omitted and their hometown was ‘Timbaku’. Must remember that.

Afterwards, Kate had lead them to this skybox. Conveniently, the Obsidian Cavern connected directly to the Adventurer’s Guild, the Endless Library, and the Stone Coliseum. By taking a private elevator, Lily and her guests could spectate incognito whenever they wanted. It’s so extravagant.

This was one of the Isle’s main draws. While most tourists chose to watch, a few hundred signed up each day. To work through these, the arena was divided up in four sections late at night, and contests were held simultaneously. With the instantaneous healing rate, the pace proceeded briskly.

With the exception of Hope, who was reveling at the prospect, there hadn’t been much enthusiasm for tonight. With no history, they were starting at the bottom.

Wise is next. His opponent was a foot taller. A man, as they do match-ups by gender for the lowest tier. At higher levels, channeling, martial arts, and magecraft became the deciding factors. And it’s over. Wise had thrown the man and slammed his staff down besides his head, breaking his will. Very efficient.

To protect their identities, Astra had set some guidelines. Silver was forbidden from summoning. Apparently his affinities were such a rare combination they’d immediately expose him. As for Dawn, she was prohibited from ice. I second that decision. The entire world would notice an exceptional ice practitioner appearing the same day as Astra. They’d also been instructed to end things swiftly. There’s little benefit in showing off against low level competition. As part of this, Hope was not to use stones until absolutely necessary. Enchanters of her caliber stood out to much.

Wise soon joined her. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity. “Say, I was wondering if you could help me with something?”

“Sure, if I can.” He replied. He’s in a good mood too.

“See, I’m curious about my original, but I don’t want to alarm anyone by pocking around. Can I rely on your foresight?”

“I understand.” He nodded. “I’ll answer what I can.”

“How was Sola able to resurrect the dead? And why has no one reproduced her work?”

“Those are pretty complex.” Wise winced. I was afraid of that. “I’ll be right back.” He left in a hurry. That was less expected.

Free sighed. Since she was young, she’d felt there was nothing she couldn’t comprehend if she put her mind to it. While her original reinforced this notion, she’d left a towering black mark on history. Imagine discovering you’ve amazing potential which you’re barred from reaching.

When Soul and Rose had cheered her up yesterday, she’d reassured them everything was fine. A half truth. She was struggling with the disturbing kinship she felt for her predecessor. By mastering healing and exploring the mysteries of ‘life’, she’d embarked on the same journey. Its natural conclusion would be reversing death.

Sola ultimately failed. An act which cost half of humanity couldn’t be termed a ‘success’. Nevertheless, she proved it possible. If the achievement could be reproduced without the consequences… Does this temptation make the Laughing Man right?

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Wise came back holding paper. “I’m better since the new headband, but it’s still tough. Give me a second to outline.”

Free watched him jot down phrases. He’s never done that before. At length, he spoke, “Let’s start here. Are you familiar with what happens to the soul after death?”

“Not really,” She’d had no reason to bother pondering this. That’s somewhat changed.

“When someone perishes, their soul plunges into the Abyss. It sinks through this bottomless sea of darkness while shedding its blackest parts: jealousy, hatred, envy, despair… As these are lost, it grows ‘heavier’ and falls faster until disappearing.”

“Why does this occur?”

“The Abyss grabs souls to prevent their passing. However, it can only touch the sullied portions. Once those are gone, it losses its grip, and the soul shoots through.”

Free considered, “Wait, that sounds horrible. So we get lobotomized in the afterlife?”

“In a way, yes.” Wise responded. “Your worse memories, your ugliest impulses, your vilest thoughts… They’re stripped away.”

I suppose I might accept that. “So the concepts of heaven and hell… They’re not real?”

“Oh, hell exists. It’s the Abyss, an infinite well of misery where the fragments of sinners torture each other for eternity.” Wise smirked. “Everyone goes there. The real question is how much of you will remain.”

“This explains why ‘true’ undead are so terrifying.” Free mused. There were many magics which caused corpses to move. One of Calin’s hated creations was a plague which reanimated victims as flesh-hungry zombies. While ‘fakes’ could be frightening and dangerous, they were nothing compared to the monsters Astra had them fight. Those were malevolence incarnate.

“Agreed,” Wise said. “Entities born of the Abyss are calculating hatred given form. When not controlled, they’ll seek out life and end it in atrocious ways.”

“So where does the ‘good’ part end up?”

“Only Sola knows. No one else has seen the other side. Necromancers have searched for eons, exploring untold depths, but all they find is deeper darkness.”

So she found Heaven? And yet she became the greatest villain… “So souls are split between the Abyss and some unknown place?”

“Mostly. Strange things happens around both extremes of the scales. Someone who lead a life without sin will vanish without a trace. It’s theorized they travel so fast they stay intact. Meanwhile, depraved souls also remain whole, except they’re mired motionlessly. It’s hotly debated whether this damnation is everlasting or whether some fragment will eventually cross.”

“That’s enough background info. Can we focus on resurrection?”

“Sure.” Wise glanced at his notes. “The stumbling block is the soul, as recreating the body is relatively easy. One of the oldest necromantic spells is ‘impure reincarnation’, which reanimates a corpse by reconstructing the soul from the pieces scattered in the Abyss. While bringing back only the foulest parts might seem insane, it’s actually worse than it sounds. In the gaps, the Abyss oozes in to produce an abomination, a living being with the corrupted mind of an undead.”

“Why does such a thing even exists?” Free asked. It sounds like the dumbest spell ever.

“It was created in hopes someone would uncover how to draw back the good side too. The completed version is likely buried at Earth’s End.”

“Why was Ellie the only ‘flawless resurrection’?”

“Sola perfectly reassembled Ellie’s scattered soul, leaving no cracks. Her other resurrections were intentionally flawed, the good portions only temporarily recalled. At the Black Banquet, they all transformed into abominations.”

So that’s what Simon meant by ‘dyed black’… “What was Sola like before the Black Citadel?”

Wise was momentarily befuddled by the tangent, “She… was a good person. A bit eccentric, but otherwise no discernible flaws. The Goddess of Healing.” I would’ve preferred if she’d always been evil.

Rose and Soul walked in. That’s right, their matches were close together. “How’d it go?” Free asked. “I was absorbed in conversation and missed your fights.”

“They won.” Wise answered. “It’ll be the same for everyone.”

Rose nodded, “They’re normal people. If a visitor is strong, then they’re also well-known and get an earlier time slot. We’re an exception in this regard.”

“From what I gathered, one more round and we won’t have to fight so late.” Soul offered.

Since the Stone Coliseum had a limit of once per day, they couldn’t just power up the rankings. Which is why it was important to start immediately.

While the others engaged in small talk, Free considered what she’d learned. It’ll do for now. She’d revisit the topic once the bounty was resolved.

“So that’s what it’s like to win! I’d nearly forgotten.” Hope arrived, beaming.

“Good job.” Soul said. “You didn’t even need enchantments.”

“I know right?” Hope sat down and let strands of metal dance in her hand. “In a blink of an eye, I wrapped her in steel. She didn’t stand a chance. Is this what Dawn feels every time? No wonder it gets to her head.” She’s high on victory.

Kate exited the elevator by herself. That’s odd. “I figured you’d return with Silver, seeing as you two were getting along so well.” Free commented.

“Ah, well I, huh, decided to watch his match from up here…” Kate mumbled. Could you be more transparent?

“What happened?” Soul asked, concerned.

Kate sighed, “I supposed you’d find out soon anyway. Silver asked me to date him. It took me off guard. I mean we just met. But he seemed nice, so I though maybe I’d give it a try. After all, what’s the harm? So Silver might be my boyfriend now…”

Everyone exchanged glances. We should’ve seen this coming. From Silver’s perspective, if he got along with someone, why not ask them out? A normal person would’ve been terrified of rejection, but not him.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked apprehensively. “Did I make a mistake?

“Calm down,” Rose said. “He’s a nice guy exactly as he appears. There are just a few things you should know.”

Rose brought her to a corner and began explaining. Kate’s expression shifted as she spoke: first perplexed, then concerned, next resigned, and finally determined. Free smiled as she imaged this thought process. Kate didn’t appear the type who’d be scared off by a damaged soul.

Speaking of the future… Tomorrow they’d visit the Adventurer’s Guild and finally meet experts in their respective fields. Wise and Hope are especially anxious for that. In the afternoon, Kate would bring them to buy their wrystals. Which I’m greatly anticipating. Leaning back, Free smiled imagining their trip to the city. It’ll be an exciting day.