There was a stunned silence that permeated throughout the air of the Collider. There was energy, to be sure, but that energy was being stored in the minds and hearts of every audience member. It wasn’t until the dust settled and Vincent’s figure stood towering over Marezi’s that the crowd released its stored energy. They erupted into a shocked cheer.

Vincent looked down at the champion who was on her back and saw something he did not want to become. The visage of the possibility of giving up hope sent an unnatural chill down his spine. What made it worse was the fact that he knew, had it not been for the obelisk, he would’ve ended up there.

Before he could react, the swift fist of Marezi swung up from the ground, colliding with his face. He stumbled backwards into a tumble, and that tumble began to accelerate. Recalling the previous fight, Vincent slammed his hands into the ground, clawing his way to a stop.

At that point, he was then about 20 or so feet away from Marezi, who was now making her way back to her feet. When she fully stood up, she just looked at Vincent with the widest stare. It was hard to tell, purely based on appearance, what her look meant. Some would say it was surprise, others would say that it was anger, but Vincent knew, somehow, that it was a look of fear. Not the fear of defeat, but rather the fear of being wrong.

As she spit a wad of blood from her mouth, Marezi, still staring at Vincent, said, “Lucky punch.”

Vincent smiled and retaliated, “I told ya, ya just gotta be faster.”

He then saw her expression flare for a second, transitioning from fear to hatred. “You don’t know shit,” she said, immediately charging towards him.

Within a mere second, Marezi was already in melee with him, and she took no time whatsoever in capitalizing on it. With her altered momentum, she threw an accelerated punch. Almost like it was an instinct, Vincent ducked out of the way.

He didn’t fully understand why, but Vincent felt as if he could tell where she was going to throw each punch. It might have been his focus, his training, or something else entirely, but one thing was for sure: his mind was sharper than ever. A feeling thrummed evenly all around his head, and he could somehow feel the desperation behind each of her punches.

She threw another punch...and another, and another, and another. And again, Vincent continued to dodge, again, and again, and again. It took at least a half-dozen infuriated punches before one of them finally landed against him. Unfortunately for her, at the same moment it hit him, Vincent countered with a starbreaker.

Marezi was flung back a solid few feet and Vincent felt his ribs crack, but that didn’t bother him. Like a wild animal, Marezi wasted no time accelerating herself back into the fray. And just like a wild animal, she was blind to her own limitations.

She didn’t even get to throw a full punch before she was met face-first with a void. That collision caused her to fall backwards onto her back. Just as she was righting herself back up, now in a crouched position, Vincent hit her with the most direct starbreaker of the fight.

That attack sent her rocketing backwards, eventually impacting the arena wall. The collision was so great that her body was partially stuck in the wall, although she easily pulled herself free. Breathing heavily, she brushed off the dirt and looked back up at her adversary.

Looking back, Vincent just stood there, calm as could be. He was oddly calm—naturally calmer than he had ever been in recent memory. He didn’t feel absurdly cold, nor did he feel the heat of his usually overworked mind. He felt in control.

“Fine,” Marezi admitted, “but this is enough.”

“What are ya talking about?” Vincent replied. “The fight ain’t over yet.”

“Listen, you’ve proven yourself enough. There’s no need for you to keep trying so hard!”

“No.”

“Tsk.” She then slammed her hand behind her, cracking the wall. As she pulled it out, Vincent could see that in her grip were dozens of small pebbles. He knew exactly what that meant.

As she looked up at him, every pebble began to spin in her hand. In response, Vincent lowered himself to a colder state. Not only that, but he tunneled his vision onto nothing but her hand.

The moment she began to flick her hand, Vincent created a void in front of him, which covered most of his body. However, as he heard some stones impact the wall around him, he also felt two or three cut through his legs and arms.

The moment he released the void, he realized his mistake...one that he should've learned from. Marezi was already in his face, reeling back her arms.

“Stop resisting,” she coldly said.

With a swift sweep of her leg, Vincent was knocked off balance. Her insanely fast arms then collided with Vincent, pushing him away from her.

She continued to pummel him backwards, until his back was against the wall. With each impact, Vincent felt his body nearly cave to the pressure of being caught between her attacks and the solid stone wall behind him.

However, unlike his previous fight with her, he kept his focus at an all-time high. Even though his body wanted to grow numb to hide the pain, he let it suffer, because the pain kept him awake. When he felt that the time was right, he created a large void in front of him, consuming Marezi.

After releasing the void, Vincent saw Marezi standing a dozen feet away from him, blood trickling from her nose. For every drop of blood that came out of her body, there were 20 more coming from his. He felt the pain wrack through his entire being, mixing with the cold sensation his body was starting to come under. In any other circumstance, for any other person, that would surely spell the end.

“Vincent, I can see that your body is falling apart,” Marezi began to say. “There’s no point in continuing to fight, just give up.”

Vincent, stumbling to his feet, just cackled a bit. “That’s where you and I are different,” he said, “I ain’t a fuckin’ coward.”

Marezi’s head twitched and her muscles quickly flexed with anger before settling down. “It’s not about being a coward, it’s about being realistic,” she bargained. “We’re in the same situation, and I know how this song and dance goes. Just cut your losses and live your best life here.”

“No can do,” Vincent replied, stretching his arms. As he did, he felt muscles tear a bit and bones pop. “There’s no ‘best life’ to live here as long as she,” he pointed towards the glass penthouse, “is still around.”

“Exactly!” Marezi’s face was one of both weariness and, although it was hidden behind layers of old pain, sadness. “And you can never stand up against her. She will break you, lie to you, and take everything from you and then some.”

Rain. Although it was a slight drizzle, Vincent saw raindrops starting to fall from her eyes.

“There’s no meaning in fighting, the outcome is inevitable, and everyone knows it,” she desperately pleaded.

Without a moment of hesitation, Vincent replied, “It’s only inevitable if you give up. I’ll show everyone.”

“Please don’t…” she said, trailing off.

Vincent took a step forward.

“Stop…” she said.

He took another step forward.

“Run away…”

He began to go into a full sprint.

“Don’t make me…”

Vincent was already halfway to her.

She then gave in to the inevitable situation at hand. With her face dried up, she lifted her hand up. In it was a pebble that was already spinning with an extreme velocity. With one last breath, she flicked at Vincent.

The moment he saw her begin to flick her wrist, Vincent used Godspeed. However, instead of positioning it so that he would be launched towards her, he was sent straight up in the air.

“You don’t have to fear her,” Vincent proclaimed, “you are strong.”

Although it was only a few feet, Vincent seemed like he was miles above Marezi. Before she could even get her bearings, while still in the air, Vincent again used Godspeed. This time, he was heading straight for her.

He collided with her, knocking her body straight to the ground. As it impacted the floor, the sheer force caused her to bounce up, hovering a couple of feet off the ground. While she was still hanging in the air, Vincent reeled back and unleashed the hardest starbreaker he had ever unleashed.

Marezi was flung back until she hit the wall, to which she slumped to the ground.

Vincent then walked up to the seemingly broken Marezi and her slumped-over, but still conscious body. When he got there, he saw that one eye was still open, but she did not move.

Just as the consciousness started to leave her, she croaked out one final phrase: “Maybe there is hope here.”

And with that, the fight was over. The former champion was rendered unconscious and Vincent, although barely, was left standing. The crowd erupted with cheer, and the energy was hopeful and full of life.

Vincent looked around the faceless crowd, whose life seemed fuller than ever. Working through the crowd, his eyes eventually fell on a darker individual. He smiled upon seeing the familiar face.

Raising their hand to the air, he pointed directly at the ceiling.