Once again, Vincent was standing in front of the entrance to the Collider. With every instance that he had to step in front of those doors, he had felt more and more confident. While that very confidence was his undoing, it still didn’t stop him from feeling it.

The doors opened and a spectacular light lit up the hallway. He strutted into the light and into the arena. He knew that if he won this fight, he would only have one more to go until it was time to face the champion.

As the crowd roared and the announcer was going on with their typical speal, Vincent saw the face of his opponent. His opponent was an average-looking man with deep tan-brown skin. They had a strangely well-kept goatee, which was short and firm to the face. His hair was obviously styled and swirled, and his eyes and lips were lined with pink and blue. His clothes were also unusually nice and decorative. His shirt was a muted pink, while his pants were a sea-blue color.

Appearance aside, Vincent couldn’t afford to underestimate his opponent. After all, they made it this far into the tournament for a reason. With that in mind, Vincent readied himself for anything to come his way.

Just as the fight started, something unusual happened: his opponent casually walked up to him. With his hands in the air, the opponent walked within talking distance to Vincent.

“Vincent Huron, I presume?” he said.

A bit confused, Vincent responded, “Yeah, and you are?”

“Ah, pardon the lack of my manners, I am known as Paper,” he responded, brushing off some dirt on his pink jacket.

“Paper? Are you serious? That’s kinda lame.”

“Ohoho I am very serious.” He then did a bit of a twirl, stopping with both feet firmly together. “I’m called Paper because there isn’t an ounce of news I don't know about this place.”

Vincent just stared at him with the blankest of expressions. He cracked his knuckles a bit and said, “Good for you, but we gotta fight now, sorry.” He then wound his arm back and prepared to punch him squarely in the face.

“Oh, you’re feisty, huh? Just like your father.”

Vincent immediately stopped his punch midway. My dad? he thought. How the hell does he know about Robert? He then took a few steps back and shook his head, trying to not think about what was just said.

With a crooked smile, Paper rushed towards the slightly confused and distracted Vincent. He reached his hands out in an attempt to grab Vincent. Unfortunately for him, Vincent managed to notice him in time, and countered his grab.

Vincent spun around Paper and wrapped his arm around him. He then brought both of them to the ground and held Paper in a submission. For a solid 3 seconds, Vincent was choking Paper in order to resolve the fight as quickly as possible.

With a few gasps of his remaining air, Paper smugly taunted Vincent by saying, “I’m surprised, ugh, that you’re fighting like this instead of using your voids.”

Hearing that, Vincent loosened his grip just a little in shock. That little bit was just enough for Paper to slither his way out of Vincent’s hold. Vincent’s head was still locked on what Paper said when he realized that he messed up.

“Shit,” he said, promptly standing up.

Just as he got to his feet, his face was met with Paper’s fist, and he had no way of avoiding it. While the impact wasn’t technically as forceful as other blows he had received to the head, that one hit harder than he expected. So much so that he immediately felt a headache come on.

As the pain traveled around his head, it reminded him to check to see if his opponent was a Resonator. He had completely forgotten to do that at the beginning, although he wasn’t sure why he forgot to do something so important.

Looking at Paper, who was now a few yards away, he saw something that both confused and shook him to the core. Besides that headache from the punch he had just received, nothing else resonated in his brain. There were no signs of Paper being a Resonator or using any powers, but that could also be because he just hadn’t used any yet, just like Vincent.

In any case, Vincent got himself ready for whatever was going to come his way. He got into a defensive stance and started to empty his thoughts.

“Oh boo,” Paper said with a thumbs down, “you’re really going to just stand there all defensively? How boring.”

He then took a few steps towards Vincent and laughed a bit to himself. Vincent, on the other hand, tried to lower himself into the abyss, but was having some trouble concentrating. Even through that trouble, he did feel his body start to become a bit colder.

At the same time, with one quick wink, Paper charged straight towards Vincent, who was anticipating such a move. Vincent was ready to reach his hand out and summon a void the moment he was in range.

Just before Paper got into range, he mockingly said, “So predictable.”

Vincent reached his hand out as he heard that, because Paper was in range. He then willed a void to come out of his hand and swallow up his enemy...but nothing came out. Paper continued closing the distance and punched Vincent, moving right through where his hand was. Again, the blow knocked him on his ass, as the pain continued to ring all through his head.

Paper then, while now looking down at Vincent, gave him a swift kick to the gut, which knocked the air out of Vincent. Vincent, angry and confused, looked back up at Paper and shouted, “What the hell is going on!?”

Paper walked a few feet away, laughing gleefully the entire time. He then turned around and said, “All you Resonators are the same. You think you’re invincible, but the moment someone messes with your head, you all crumble worse than a normal person.”

He then took out a coin that was in his pocket and spun it on his finger. “So much more than your rhythm is thrown off—it’s like everything about you fails to work. It’s so hilarious.”

What are you talking about? Vincent thought to himself. I can think perfectly fine. Even though he said that, his head began to spin a bit and images of his friends and Robert began to flood his mind. He then stood up and once again prepared to take on another round of attacks. This time, my powers will work for sure.

Paper flipped the coin in Vincent’s direction. “Let’s finish this, hm? I don’t want to dirty my suit anymore until I fight your friends.” And just like last time, he charged straight towards Vincent.

Not taking any chances, Vincent immediately tried to summon a small void in his hand, but still, nothing came out. What was even worse was that he no longer felt cold, rather, his head was overheating from the thoughts that continued to swirl around.

Screw it, he thought, giving up on the idea of using his powers, I’m just gonna have to beat him the old-fashioned way. He then shook his head and charged at Paper, trying to meet him in the middle.

Just before they clashed, Paper let out another snarky comment. “And when you lose, don’t worry, I'll take care of that new friend of yours in the next round. Fang, I think their name was, seems to be doing good in this tournament, too.”

That, out of everything so far, hit Vincent like a wave of unknown energy. He tried to keep focused, but it was already too late. Fang is in the tournament? No, they’re not… But before he had time to really mull over that thought, a barrage of punches and kicks collided with Vincent’s body. He didn’t even realize that he was already in melee range with Paper.

With every attack, Vincent tried to summon a void in defense, but still, nothing happened. He even tried to block the attacks, but it seemed like his body lagged behind his intentions. Nothing was working, not his body, nor his powers.

Eventually, it seemed like Vincent’s body had had enough, it slowly began to collapse. He didn’t directly feel any of the blows, seeing as his head was spinning and lost, but he felt parts of his body suffering the consequences.

Why was his mind so clouded and confused? That was the question that plagued him. Every time he tried to use his powers, his mind would be brought to his friends, and those thoughts flooded him. The fragility of his mind was visible to him, but there was nothing he could do.

When those thoughts swirled around, he became even more desperate to summon his voids. He had to protect them, and the only way to do that was to use his powers. However, when he thought that way, his mind would just become even more confused. He eventually got to the point where he didn’t even know where he was.

Go away, he thought, go away. Go away. Go away. He just wanted his head to be empty of those thoughts. He had enough. He didn’t care about seeing his friends in his head, he just wanted peace.

Nothing. Empty. Void. He thought about nothing but those words, and as he did, everything in his head began to fade away...including his friends. He began to feel the comforting embrace of the abyss again. Its cold touch rapidly wrapped around his body.

As it did, he saw himself standing on a ledge, looking down into the infinite darkness below. While he didn’t take the plunge, he could see it staring back at him.

That is enough for now, he thought.

Snapping back to reality, he saw a sweating and terrified Paper just looking at him. Paper was a few feet away, continuing to slowly back up.

“Who are you?” he barely squeaked out.

Vincent’s now pure, black eyes just blankly stared back at him. He felt very little, and it was a freeing sensation. “Vincent,” he replied, exhaling. His breath was clear and visible, much like it would be outside during a winter storm. He then took a step towards the retreating Paper.

W-Well just you wait, Vincent,” Paper stammered. “If you attack me, I will send my friends on the outside after your family and friends. If you care about them, you should just give up now.”

“I don’t care,” Vincent coldly replied with a smile.

He then grabbed Paper by the collar and held him in place.

“W-W-W-Wait, what about your mother?” Paper desperately pleaded. “Your father, your grandfather, your astronomy teacher in high school, your—”

Vincent then unleashed a starbreaker with his other hand, launching Paper clear across the arena. Paper tumbled and bounced off the sandstone floor before skidding to a stop. He slowly got up and brushed off his clothes. His breathing was heavy and there was blood coming from a few scrapes and cuts.

“Hurry it up, you’re wasting my time,” Vincent plainly called out.

With a yell of frustration, Paper began to run full speed towards Vincent, like a wild animal who lost any semblance of itself in a desperate attempt to survive. Without hesitation, Vincent casually wound his arm back, readying a starbreaker. The moment Paper got into range, with a barren smile, he unleashed his assault.

While Paper tried to dodge and parry Vincent's attacks, Vincent’s movement was too precise, too cold, and too calculated to avoid. Once the abyss looks back at you, there is no escape.

Eventually, one of Vincent’s punches finally landed, causing Paper to be rocketted towards a wall, colliding against it. Vincent wasn’t satisfied, however, he wanted to crush his enemy even more. And so, he made his way towards the barely standing Paper, who had their back against the wall. He then created a void in his hand, and pressed it against the helpless victim.

As the void pushed him, Paper’s bones began to break. His body was being crushed, stuck between a stone wall and an unstoppable force. He wasn’t sure what was going to give first, the wall or his body. He knew that there were only seconds before his body would be smashed to dust, and in an act of mercy, his own body forced him to faint in order for him not to feel the pain.

Fortunately for him, Vincent released the void the moment he saw the wall behind his opponent crack and their eyes devoid of consciousness. As Vincent released the void, he watched as the limp body of his enemy slumped to the ground, unmoving. It was over.

He didn’t hear the crowd cheer for him, nor did he hear the announcer proclaim him the winner. He just stood still and stared towards the ceiling. He wasn’t sure why, but he longed for the day when he could fly up to it and break it to pieces.

He had no concept of how much time had passed as he stood still. No matter how long it was, it was long enough for the warmth to return to his body and for his eyes to return to normal. His thoughts even returned to him, although the faces of his friends were still a bit blurry.

Even though there was significant emotional whiplash in his head, like there was every time he used his powers to any significant amount, it didn’t hurt him nearly as much. He was able to stay conscious and even remain standing. He wasn’t sure if it was because his body was still slightly numb from the fading effects of using his powers, but it didn’t really matter to him.

He continued to walk forward with hollow purpose back to his cell—unknown to him, that a piece of him was forever changed.