Light filled the darkened hallway. Vincent stepped through the Collider doors, right into the arena. One way or another, he knew that it was going to be his last fight there.

Although his body was bouncing back and forth, his mind was focused. With each hop, his thoughts only thought of one thing: Marezi. He knew that she was strong; he knew that she was powerful; he knew he couldn’t underestimate her; he knew she was a victim of the system, much like him.

As the roar of the crowd reached an all-time high, Vincent felt his body reciprocate the energy. He jumped back and forth, amping himself up for the battle ahead, riding off of the crowd’s momentum.

Across the room was the one obstacle that would stand between him and freedom. Her demeanor was stoic and composed, just like she was during their last fight. However, she never once made eye contact with him as he was walking into the arena. Her eyes were always down.

Vincent looked up to the ceiling, sighed, and cracked his neck. It’s now or never, he thought.

Looking at the idle champion, he remarked, “This ain’t gonna be like last time, ya hear? I’m not gonna underestimate you.”

Still looking down, she cracked her knuckles and coldly replied, “At least you learned one lesson.”

The announcer's mic then boomed through the Collider, silencing the roaring crowd, but only for a second.

“Ladies, gentleman, anyone in-between and outside,” the announcer began, “are you ready for the grand finals!?”

Carrying their energy, the crowd screamed.

“Well then, before we begin, we have an opening declaration from the most special guest!”

The lights went dark, darker than that of the night. After a few seconds, the spotlight was lit, pointing at the glass penthouse at the very top of the Collider. With a slight glare to her figure, Lucretia could be seen smiling from the other side.

“People,” Lucretia started to say, “listen to me.”

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing stirring in that moment—there was no sound from the deathly silent crowd, nor any movement from the grains of sand that made up the arena.

“You are witnessing the rise of a new star.” While her words were cold and calculated, they were nothing compared to the importance her eyes glared. Everything they could possibly see was below them, and in turn, below her.

“You should feel inspired by him. He was a nobody, thrown down here like the trash he was, just like the rest of you. But he worked hard and is in a position to make his life a paradise here.” She then glanced over at Marezi, who was still looking towards the ground. “He is able to compete at the level of our champion.”

Lucretia’s gaze then met Vincent’s, who was staring daggers into her. The moment their eyes met, he flipped her off. She then continued her thought. “He is living proof that you all still hold value to me and the Setting Sun. The harder you work for me, the higher you climb. And the higher you climb, the more money you earn for yourself.”

There was a pause.

“And what else is there in life? You could even be worth enough to just get a touch of what it’s like up here at the ceiling. Now cheer and enjoy the fight.”

With that, the crowd, although a bit hesitant, began to feverishly cheer. The energy in the room was hollow at best, and at worst, manufactured. Either way, it didn’t really matter to Vincent. He was only concerned about pummeling the champion that lay before him.

The lights came back on and the announcer commenced the fight. And so it began.

The moment the fight began, Vincent immediately started to look around the arena floor. Marezi, seemingly noticing that, called out to him, “I don’t know what you’re up to, but save your energy. Just like last time, the moment you come charging at me, I will end you.”

Vincent did not reply, instead, he picked up a rock off the ground and tossed it to himself. He gave it a solid look and then glanced back at Marezi. With a slight smile, he wound his arm back. As he threw it, he created a void at the end of his hand, propelling the rock forward. This move, which he had used many times over, he had dubbed a void throw.

As the rock sped through the air, all Marezi did was widen her eyes. She did not react, nor did it seem like she had time to. The rock collided with her, shattering into dozens of pebbles. A cloud of dust covered her torso as she stood motionless.

“What did ya think of that?” Vincent finally retorted.

As the dust settled, the unamused face of the champion peered through. There was not a single scratch on her, nor did the attack even seem to break her demeanor.

Slightly confused, Vincent asked, “How did you manage to slow it down in such a short span of time? There’s no other way you could have dodged that.

Marezi looked at him with dull eyes and replied, “I didn’t dodge it—it was just incredibly weak.”

She then bent down and picked up a few of the pebbles on the ground from the thrown rock. She placed one on her fingertip and began to spin it. “If you’re going to use a ranged attack, at least make sure it’s good enough to scratch your opponent.”

The pebble then began to spin faster and faster, gaining exponential momentum. Before too long, it was moving so fast that it looked like it wasn’t moving at all. Vincent prepared himself for whatever she would send his way, lowering himself into a colder place.

Marezi flicked her wrist and it disappeared. Vincent blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. After a few seconds, he felt a sensation trickling down his side and onto his leg. Glancing down at it, he saw that there was a chunk, about a half-inch wide, taken out of his side, like a bullet had grazed him. From that wound, blood was snaking its way down his body, dripping onto the floor.

The pain immediately made itself known to him, and it caused him to sharply inhale. He then looked back up at the champion, who replied to his look by saying, “Like that.”

Without a word, Vincent immediately took off. He ran around the outside of the arena, eyes ever-locked onto Marezi. As he ran, he picked up 2 more small stones and void threw them at her.

“I told you that you—” but before she could finish, those two rocks smashed into her, one after another.

She then bushes the dust and dirt away, leaving nothing behind but a tiny scratch on her face. Shaking her head, he stated, “You are an idiot, wasting your time and energy. I can’t bear to watch this anymore.”

With that, she bent down and picked up two more pebbles, spinning one on each pointer finger. They accelerated as Vincent began to run faster. Without hesitation, she flicked one of her wrists, sending the earthy bullet towards him.

Vincent heard the sound of a force impacting directly behind him. That caused him to slow down just for a split second. In that split second, Marezi flicked her other wrist. He saw a blur of something zoom inches past his face, colliding with the wall that was directly next to him. Dust sprayed onto his face, but he quickly ran through that cloud.

“Geez, why does everyone resort to throwing stones?” Vincent sarcastically taunted. “Can’t someone use some creativity?”

With a deadpan expression, Marezi replied, “Of course not. You have to follow the status quo here, otherwise, you’ll die.”

With a cocky smile, Vincent responded to her, saying, “We’ll see about that.” He then picked up another stone and void threw it at her.

After the stone hit her, she fanned the dust away from her, that time with a bit more aggression. Vincent saw through the dust that her face had slightly shifted. Her jaw was tighter and she was gritting her teeth.

“You are so stupid and so blind,” she said with some annoyance in her voice. “Can’t you see that you don’t stand a chance? Why don’t you just give up?”

Vincent then stopped his running, ending up back at the end directly opposite of her.

“What’s the point of that? We don’t know that unless I try,” he commented as he stuck his tongue out.

Cracking a tooth, she replied, “Look around! Everything you do, I can do better, faster, and stronger.” Her shoulders lowered, slightly, and her face stared directly at the ground. “No matter what you do, there will always be someone who’s stronger than you, faster than you, and…” Her neck veins flared up and her muscles flexed in response. With a heavy and desperate breath, she continued, “..more powerful than you, and they will oppress you, and there is nothing you can do.” She then stomped the ground, her entire body posture breaking on the whim of her emotions.

Vincent just smiled and said, “Well, if they’re faster than me, all I gotta do is get faster than them. Easy.”

Her anger ceased. Slowly, she just looked up at Vincent, staring into his eyes. “Why can’t you just listen?” She questioned.

Casually throwing his hands in the air, Vincent admitted, “Listening to authority is something I’ve always been bad at.”

With that, he charged directly towards her at a full sprint. In response, Marezi reached her arms out towards him, obviously attempting to slow him. After the third step, Vincent couldn’t help but crack a smile. He extended his hand out to match hers, but he then brought it back to himself, touching himself on the chest.

As the cold, mist-filled breath left his mouth, Vincent said Godspeed.

A void then suddenly formed around him, completely enveloping him. Within a fraction of a second, he was shot out of it, barreling toward the unaware champion. Before a reaction could even register on her face, Vincent extended his arm out, clotheslining her.

With the momentum from his void carrying him, he slammed his feet to the ground, grinding against the stone floor. As he came to stop, he shifted that momentum downwards, slinging his victim towards the ground. With a thunderous slam, Marezi impacted the Collider floor for the first time in a long time.