Procrastination is a slow and insidious killer.

Heyo it's been a while! Yeah, about that pacing, you can find it in my gutters.

What to say... Sorry for the lateness I guess?

But enough of that, you came here for the chapter, so I will give you a big ass chapter.

Enjoy, rate, comment, review, etc.

If you find any errors, hit me with em.

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“You know, if you were going to take that much off my plate, you should’ve just ordered another dish.” Seffy grumbled as she followed Cyrus through the streets.

“Oh, come on! It wasn’t that much!” Cyrus quickly responded.

“What do you mean it wasn’t that much!? You ate over half of it! And here I was thinking I’d get to enjoy a nice meal.” Seffy retorted while puffed her cheeks.

“Psh, you were just eating oh-so slowly that I thought I’d take the liberty to speed things up. Rather, you should be thanking me instead. Eat too much and you’re going to get fat. I simply averted a future crisis by doing that, ahaha.” Cyrus quipped after which he received a quick elbow thrust to the stomach.

“Crude jokes aside, where to next?” Seffy asked while sighing.

“Hmm, well the coliseum sounds interesting. We haven’t really had much of a chance to see what an actual fight is like. After all, those bandits can hardly count as a proper fight.” Cyrus said while rubbing his stomach.

After agreeing on the destination, Cyrus and Seffy soon began to make their way over to the east side of the city where the domed coliseum was located. Wandering closer, they began to notice density of people increasing, reaching a point of overflow as they neared the coliseum.

The coliseum itself was built much like the outer wall for the city. White limestone could be seen stacked and compacted to the point where it would be hard damage and it made up the majority of the structure. Moving up, layers upon layers could be seen as they delineated the different sections of the building and served to differentiate the seating arrangements within. High arches overshadowed the various entranceways and dwarfed the people moving in and out as though they were ants. A large dome lined the top of the coliseum as it encompassed the edges of the walls and had a large opening in the center to illuminate the arena within.

After taking in the sight, the pair soon noticed a huge line waiting to get into the coliseum amidst the sea of people surrounding them. People all around were shouting the matchups for the day’s fights among other things and the chattering of pedestrians could be heard across the entirety of the east side of the city.

“I am definitely not waiting in line again.” Seffy grimaced after seeing the line.

“Well, you don’t have to. We’re going to sneak in. We still have the masks I made, remember?” Cyrus replied.

“Oh yeah, there’s that. So what do you suggest? We just casually walk in?” Seffy responded.

“Exactly! We won’t be noticed at all in such a large crowd. Just act natural.” Cyrus grinned as he started walking towards the entranceway.

“I hope this works.” Seffy mumbled to herself as she followed after.

After getting close enough to the entranceway, Cyrus quickly cut in front of an inattentive man who was nodding off from waiting in line so long. One by one, he shifted his way towards the front of the line before ending up right in front of the ticketing booth. He then slipped in following alongside a man who was also walking past. The guards managing the booth didn’t even give so much as a glance to Cyrus as he strolled past.

What laid before Cyrus at the end of the entranceway was the grand spectacle of a colossal arena lined with hundreds, if not thousands of stands layered in a circular manner inclining upwards. Behind the raised walls of the arena, the jubilant cries of the crowd were nearly deafening as the cheers of thousands of spectators roared out in unison.

Walking over to the nearest seat, Cyrus sat down as he crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back. Seffy soon appeared and sat down next him as she irritatingly grumbled.

“Tell me. In what way was that casual or natural?”

“Oh, don’t fret the little things. It worked out well enough, am I right?” Cyrus happily replied.

“Let’s put that aside for now and watch the current match. After all that’s what we came here to do.” Cyrus continued, ignoring the pouting Seffy.

As they both looked onto the arena, they saw that there was currently a duel happening in their midst. The duel was fought between a man with a medium build wearing light leather armor and a gruff, burly-looking man with a long goatee wearing nothing above the waist. At present, it appeared that the match was dead even with multiple gashes on both opponents as they stared each other down from the other side.

Then, without warning, the burly man roared out and charged like a bull, intending to crush the leaner man in one quick stroke. As the heavily-built man continued to charge, the ground underneath him began to crack with each step forming more and more fissures. As the man got close, he brought his right arm back behind him as mana crackled in his fist before furiously jabbing forward in a straight punch towards his opponent. As the air split in the wake of the punch that was hurtling towards him, the slender man sharpened his gaze and was rapidly shifting his eyes in different directions.

As if finding what he was looking for, the man shifted his posture a little bit to the side, barely avoiding the fist as the force of it cut the side of his face. Then, in a single motion, he grabbed the arm that was thrusted forward with both his hands and using the momentum of the punch, threw the opponent over his shoulder. As the burly man tumbled through the air, the man with the lean build immediately stepped forward with quick and resolute movements. Clapping his hands together as mana gathered in both his palms, he quickly separated and drove them forward, straight into the abdomen of the man who was in mid-air. As soon as the attack landed, a burst resounded through the coliseum and the burly man was sent spiraling to the other side of the arena before smashing into a wall.

Crashing through the wall, the burly man laid limply with half his body stuck inside the hole that was formed. On his abdomen, one could see two palm indents thoroughly imprinted as though someone stuck their hands in wet clay.

After a brief pause amidst the cheers of the audience, a man soon came running up to check the condition of the fight. Confirming that the fighter stuck in the wall was thoroughly knocked out, he made a signal towards the announcer’s stand that was located on a raised platform nearby.

“AAAAND THERE YOU HAVE IT! As expected, another win goes out to our current champion, fighting eleven straight battles in a row and still coming out on top! What a sight! What a feat! Can anyone hope to truly challenge this pillar of fighting prowess!?” The announcer loudly hollered using magic to amplify his voice.

“Since all of the arranged contestants have been defeated, we are now allowing the audience members to partake in this contest as well! The grand prize is 1000 gold coins and even an audience member can claim it. That is, of course, if you can somehow manage to win.” The announcer continued in an excited voice.

Meanwhile, Cyrus was looking down upon the arena with a bored expression. The two of them had come late to the match and had only caught sight of the end of the battle, which from their perspective, wasn’t anything special.

“Hmm, this supposed tournament is quite lopsided isn’t it? I’d imagine having one person fight that many opponents in a row can be rather exhaustive.” Cyrus mused.

“You’re new to this coliseum, aren’t you? In that case, I suppose you don’t know how the style here works.” A man interjected from the side.

“Oh? How does it work then? Do tell.” Cyrus turned his head and asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The tournament works in the way that whoever holds the most wins at the end of the day receives the grand prize. As such, even if you go down in a fight before the day is over, you’d still have a fair chance as long as you have enough wins. The person with the most wins is identified as the champion and will continue to be so until someone else manages to win more fights. Of course, the fights are continuous and go on until you are unable to continue and you only get one chance.” The man replied.

“Hmm, I see.”

“If I were you, I’d wait a bit more before trying your luck in the arena. That is, if you’re planning on participating. The guy fighting right now is a real monster I tell you. You’d end up with more than just a few bones broken if you go right now.” The man finished before turning back to the arena.

“Hmm, looks interesting. I suppose I’ll give it a sho-” After hearing the conversation, Seffy stood up from the side before she was interrupted by the sound of flesh tearing.

As she turned her head in surprise wondering what was happening, she saw Cyrus ripping off his wings one by one. Bewildered by this sight, Seffy looked on in shock.

“Here, hold on to these for me. It’ll be a pain to regrow them otherwise. Also, I’ll be borrowing your mask for a bit.” Cyrus smirked as he swiftly handed her his severed wings and snatched the mask she’d been carrying.

“Wait, wha-” Seffy called out, but Cyrus was already gone, skipping down the steps towards the arena.

“Seriously…” Seffy sighed exasperatingly as she sat back down.

“Yahoo! Over here! I wanna have a go!” Cyrus jubilantly called out, waving his hands in the air.

“Oh! We already have a challenger! How unexpectedly quick! You’d think that after watching our champion’s performance up until now, people would think twice before challenging him. Why don’t we give a cheer for our daring combatant!?” The announcer loudly bellowed to which the audience responded in kind.

As Cyrus vaulted over the raised wall and into the arena, the cheers from the crowd thundered even more intensely. Having already equipped Seffy’s strange, eerie mask, one would generally question Cyrus’s fashion sense, but that was instead lost in the excitement and served to further enhance the entertainment. Waving both hands in the air in a grandiose manner, Cyrus did well to rile up the crowd some more.

“And may we have your name, challenger?” The announcer called out.

“I have been called by many names, Claw of the Wild, the Bird of Sevens, Eye of Twilight, the Butterfly within the Storm, but you… you may call me Ressalier. Throughout the ages, across vast nations alike, ‘tis a name to be lauded and dreaded. A name known far and wide; a name that shakes the very soul. Traversing across the great expanse of the six continents, I have witnessed both miracles and tragedies of which many I was a part of. Once upon bringing about the tumultuous wind of romance filled with exuberance, I now take up the mantle and once again exhibit feats of times immemorial. A glorious day it is that I may once again rise up and seek out my destiny within the grandeur of mortal combat. A picturesque battle that will go down for generations to come, and so forth we shall fight!!” Cyrus bombastically exclaimed out loud as he held his open palm to the mask while tilting his head upwards, striking a pose.

From the audience jostling with laughter, Seffy looked upon him amusedly. “That clown’s talking out of his ass again.” She commented on the side.

“Ehm, yes. Well, thank you Ressalier for that… wonderful introduction. Now then, we may start the battle anytime both combatants are ready.” The announcer proclaimed.

“Hey buddy, I’d hate to break it to you, but I think you may have found yourself on the wrong stage. The theatrical hall is on the other side of the city.” The lean man joked from the other side.

At a closer look, despite being fairly thin, the man more than made up for it in muscle mass as his muscles rippled and flexed on the tanned skin of his arms. A clean-shaven beard and smooth light brown hair slicked back against his head with a single lock hanging from the side adorned his face as it tensed from the grin he held. Soft, but sharp grey eyes and visible laugh lines on his face gave off an air of friendliness. In contrast to that, a large scar running across the right side of his face from the corner of his mouth up indicated the bearings of a seasoned warrior.

“On the contrary, I do believe I’m right where I belong.” Cyrus responded as a matter of fact.

“Oh, is that so? Well, in that case, let’s get this show on the road. I hope you’re properly prepared to play the part of the fool. Though, I suppose you’ve already got your attire straightened out for the part.” The man snickered as he got into a battle position.

“Then may you share some of your wisdom with this fool so that he may become just a little less foolish.” Cyrus smirked behind the mask.

Grinning back in response, the man said, “Geist.”

“Hm?”

“That’s my name. I tell it to all the opponents that I’m about to beat so that they may remember it.” Geist said as he began sprinting towards Cyrus.

“Oh my! It appears that for the first time, it’s our champion that has made the first move. Will we see the end of this match already?” The announcer pointed out excitedly.

Planning to end this fight quickly, Geist went with a swift jab towards the side of Cyrus’s head. As the punch flew towards Cyrus, he bent backwards to try and dodge it. However, he leaned just a bit too far and fell on his back. In the process of flailing about, Cyrus “accidentally” kicked Geist in the stomach, knocking him back a little as he staggered.

“Ugh!” Geist grunted as he held his stomach.

“Oh I’m terribly sorry. What a blunder that was. To think, I would fall down like that. What a fool I am!” Cyrus quickly said as he scrambled back up.

“God damn, at least you sure know how to kick hard.” Geist grinned as he regained his bearings.

Once again running at Cyrus, Geist attempted a right hook straight into Cyrus’s side. As Cyrus prepared to take the block, Geist, instead, turned and shifted his stance using his heel as a fulcrum and delivered a roundhouse kick with his left leg into Cyrus’s other side.

Unfortunately for Geist, Cyrus “accidentally” tangled his arm between the leg that just kicked him and the momentum pulled Geist in as well. As they both fell, Cyrus involuntarily tilted his face down a bit and the crown of his head went straight into Geist’s face. As the two met, a loud clacking sound could be heard.

Retreating once more while holding his nose, Geist now looked at Cyrus with a hint of wariness.

“Ahaha, my bad, my bad. How embarrassing that was, it seems I have a habit of messing up.” Cyrus grinned behind the mask while rubbing the back of his head.

“You… That was no accident, when I kicked you back there, I felt you pull back at that exact moment to lessen the impact. You’re no fool are you? Are you trying to mock me?” Geist squinted.

“Oh, no no no. I am a fool and no more mocking you than I am myself. In fact, we’re both fools. In the end, it’s our duty to entertain the audiences is it not? I am a fool and I simply made another fool out of you for that purpose.”

“Geez, even getting me involved in your nonsense. Though, I don’t dislike that. However, I’m going to get serious now so be prepared else you may very well end up missing a few limbs.” Geist smiled as he started tensing his body.

Funneling mana into his feet, Geist soon began charging at Cyrus at a breakneck speed. Cyrus sent out a high kick towards Geist, who appeared almost instantaneously in front, only to be dodged as Geist jumped high into the air, cracking the ground in the process. Then, with a twist of his body, Geist tilted horizontally in the air and whirled up a vertical tornado kick down upon Cyrus. As the distance closed, Geist brought his heel down right above where Cyrus’s head was. Quickly jumping back, Cyrus barely dodged the attack as it crushed the ground where it impacted sending shockwaves rippling through the dirt. As dust cleared, the audience all around saw a decently sized crater surrounding the area where Geist now stands.

Seeing that Cyrus had avoided the attack, Geist immediately continued his assault as he jumped out of the crater and pushed forth a series of quick jabs. Dodging each and every strike within a hair’s breadth, Cyrus proceeded to flounder around as Geist followed after him.

“Impressive. You’re still keeping up.” Geist delightedly praised Cyrus as he evaded one last strike in the assault.

Landing near the center of the arena next to the crater, Cyrus brushed the dust off his coat, “Indeed, I suppose I’ll have to try a little harder as well.”

Then, without warning, Cyrus ran towards Geist before disappearing from sight. As Geist shifted around cautiously, he suddenly sensed danger from the back before turning around and blocking a blow from Cyrus who appeared behind him. As Geist’s arms trembled a bit from the force of the impact, Cyrus quickly took advantage of that moment of weakness and brought his knee up, connecting it straight into Geist’s chest cavity. Stunning Geist for a moment, Cyrus proceeded to wrap his other leg around Geist’s neck and elbowed his back, bringing him down onto the ground.

Holding Geist in a vice grip with his legs, Cyrus smirked, “Had enough?”

“Heh, hardly.” Geist grunted as he suddenly stomped the ground and forcefully pushed his back into Cyrus.

Shoving Cyrus back a distance, Geist jumped away before instantly turning around and throwing an uppercut. Seeing that Cyrus had dodged it by stepping back, Geist transitioned into a roundhouse kick aimed at Cyrus’s left side torso. Mid-kick however, the attack was stopped as Cyrus grabbed Geist’s leg before twisting it, throwing Geist off balance. Using that chance, Cyrus then proceeded to rotate, twirling Geist around in a circle before throwing him into the distance. Following up, Cyrus near-instantaneously appeared behind the spot where Geist was about to land and kneed him straight in the back before Geist even had a chance to recover. As Geist remained stunned on the ground, Cyrus wrapped his arms around Geist’s neck, trapping him in a stranglehold.

Realizing his predicament, Geist tilted his head forward, before ramming the back of it into Cyrus’s face.

Releasing his grip on Geist, Cyrus retreated back a few steps before Geist instantly swerved around and threw a side hook at Cyrus. Dodging the attack, Cyrus gripped the outstretched arm and pulled back, bringing himself closer. Launching his own punch at Geist, Cyrus went with a straight thrust towards Geist’s face only to be blocked by Geist’s other arm. Geist then wrapped his hand around Cyrus’s arm and used Cyrus’s attack against him as he fell back and threw Cyrus over him. Quickly getting up, Geist rushed at Cyrus as he clapped his palms together, building up mana within them. As Cyrus made a light landing a distance away, Geist had already closed the gap and thrusted both hands forward, aiming to end the fight.

The audience gasped in anticipation wondering whether the winner had been decided, but what resulted from the attack was a standoff. Before Geist was able to connect the attack, Cyrus had already gripped both wrists with his hands, completely nullify it.

“Damn.” Geist gave a bitter smile seeing his attack was ineffective.

“It was a nice try, but I’ve already seen that attack once. Now then, have a good night.”

“There goes my twelfth win, and I still haven’t even landed a clean hit yet. You certainly did make a fool out of me, I’ll give you that. It’s been fun though.” Geist replied, still struggling to push his palms forward.

Before Geist could say anymore, Cyrus smashed his own head into Geist’s and with a loud crack, sent him tumbling towards the other side of the arena, gouging out masses of dirt in the process. Slowing to a halt, Geist laid on the spot completely limp and unconscious.

“There’s a saying that wise men tend to learn a lot from fools. I wonder if you’ve learned not to underestimate your opponents.” Cyrus grinned as he turned to bask in the cheers of the audience.

“THAT. WAS. AMAZING. It was all like pow, whack, smack! And then it was all like kerbash, bam, and crack! And then he went flying like splat, splat, crash! And- ahem, excuse me, I got a little excited. After an eleven win streak, our champion has finally fallen to the mysterious Ressalier and what a fight that was! I’ll say, the arena needs to be rebuilt after that one. Just look at that damage! Please wait a moment while the arena gets fixed. In the meantime, let’s give Ressalier another round of applause!” The announcer spewed as the audience cheered.

After a brief period in which mages came to fix the arena and carry out the unconscious Geist, the field was once again ready for combat. While the announcer once again started calling out for contestants, Cyrus was distractedly rubbing an area on Seffy’s mask.

‘Oops. Looks like a chipped her mask a little. She’ll probably be really mad at me for this.‘ Cyrus thought to himself.

“Oh, we’ve got another challenger here! May we have your name?” The announcer asked.

“The name’s Felicia and you’d better remember it because at the end of the day, I’m going to be the champion!” A girl spouted as she jumped into the arena from the opposing side.

The girl had waist-length curly teal-colored hair tied up in two long twin-tails. Looking no more than sixteen years of age, a childish smile was plastered on her immature face that radiated overconfidence. Donning a conspicuous blue robe layered with extravagant designs and a large, bright top hat, she was the very embodiment of the “mage” image. To top everything off, she held a long oaken staff with a sparkling azure jewel placed at the top that glowed with mana.

Walking closer to Cyrus while sporting a pretentious smirk on her face, she pointed a finger at him before saying, “Look here you clown. I don’t care what sort of acrobatic mumbo jumbo you can do; in the end, I’m going to be the one winning this so let’s quickly get this over with.”

“’Kay.” Cyrus flippantly answered while still tampering with the mask.

“Ohh! It looks like we’re going to have a magic show now! How thrilling! After all that close quarter fighting, this’ll really spice things up. Come on everyone! Let’s cheer!” The announcer exclaimed as the crowd erupted in applause.

“Alright, you know the drill! When both contestants are ready they may start.” The announcer finished.

“Watch as I thoroughly and utterly beat you sensele- Hey! Don’t ignore me!” Felicia shouted as she realized Cyrus was still messing with the mask.

“Grr. Damn it. You’ll regret that.” Seeing that Cyrus continued ignoring her, Felicia threatened as she raised her staff above her head.

“Elements heed my call! Within the boundless world of everlasting ice, may the fury of a land so cold descend down upon my enemies encasing them in an eternity of solitude. Grasping all within its wintery possession, rest at last within this coffin’s frozen embrace.” Felicia vigorously started chanting as mana gathered around her staff.

In the meantime, Cyrus finished checking the mask and was now casually drawing a picture of a flower on the dirt using his foot. Soon finishing, Cyrus admired his handiwork before a large ice spike erupted from the ground at its location.

“Noo! My drawing! I spent a whole ten seconds working on that! How could you!?” Cyrus cried, feigning grief as more ice spikes erupted in a circle around him.

“-And with this power, freeze before me! Frozen Throne!” Felicia finished as she slammed the base of her staff into the ground.

From the point that was struck, a blue aura started spreading out across the ground, freezing everything that it touched. Rapidly expanding, the aura soon engulfed the entire arena, coloring the area in a sea of cerulean.

Within the ring of spikes, Cyrus was nonchalantly observing the magic as his feet started to frost over. Soon the affliction reached his legs, completely rooting him in place and giving no indication of stopping.

“Hmph! It looks like you’re trapped. I’ll give you a choice. If you surrender now, you can save yourself the trouble of having to thaw out afterwards. Otherwise, I assure you that you’ll be feeling the aftereffects and let me tell you it won’t be pleasant.” Felicia harrumphed, already speaking as if she had already won.

“Well, that’s nice and all. But first you should probably do something about that magic of yours.” Cyrus said as he pointed to a corner of the arena.

“Huh? Don’t think you can just talk your way out of this.” Felicia said as she turned to look at where Cyrus was pointing.

Upon seeing what Cyrus was referring to, Felicia widened her eyes. From the edge of the arena, the cold blue aura could be seen climbing up the walls where it would soon reach the audience.

“Oh shit!” Felicia cried in alarm.

“Oh shit indeed. You might want to stop that magic of yours before someone gets hurt and they kick you out of here for good.”

“Erm. That’s gonna be an issue. You see, I can’t do that.” Felicia fidgeted.

“Oh? Why not? You can’t stop it? Then what was with that choice earlier about asking me to surrender? You seemed to imply that you could cancel it.” Cyrus pointed out amusingly.

“Uh, I… that was….” Felicia agitatedly stuttered.

“Heh, how about this? If you surrender, I’ll help you out.” Cyrus teased, finally getting to the point.

“You! So that’s what you were after!” Felicia yelled, pointing a finger accusingly at Cyrus.

“Quite the contrary, it was your own fault it ended up like this. Do hurry though, it’s about to get over the walls.” Cyrus flippantly waved his hand, cornering Felicia even further.

As Felicia looked back and forth between Cyrus and the encroaching blue aura of her own causation, she clenched her teeth in frustration. After hard deliberation, she decided that losing would be much better than being banned from entering the coliseum in the future or even get her in more trouble.

“Damn it! Fine you win, I’ll surrender! Now stop it already!” Felicia shouted out as she frustratingly raised her arms.

“Uh, uh. What’s the magic word?” Cyrus asked as he wagged his finger playfully.

“…What?”

“Seriously, kids these days sure are rude. They don’t even know how to properly ask for something.” Cyrus shrugged.

“…Please…” Felicia begrudgingly muttered after catching on.

“Eh, your tone could use some work, but I suppose that’s the best I’ll be getting out of you.”

Shrugging once again, Cyrus decided to stop teasing. Slowly spreading both arms out to raise tension, Cyrus then quickly clapped them together in one swift movement. As soon as his hands collided with each other, a massive burst of mana in the form of a transparent spherical film erupted and rippled out in a circular wave. Increasing in intensity as it traveled further from the epicenter, the film of super dense mana disintegrated any and all traces of the blue aura. The ice previously formed instantaneously shattered and the fragments were carried off in a large gust that appeared out of nowhere. With another quick snap of his fingers, the film of mana dissipated as if it didn’t exist in the first place.

Lightly brushing off some leftover ice crystals from his pants, Cyrus loosely commented, “Well then, that was quite refreshing. Being under the sun for a while can get quite uncomfortable you see.”

“What was that!? What did you just do!? The magic! It’s all gone! I spent so long on that chant and now it’s all gone!” Felicia shouted in shock.

“Well, didn’t you ask me to stop your magic? By the way, has anyone ever told you that you talk really loudly? Keep that up and you’ll bust your voice. Though from what I’ve seen, that might actually be a good thing. Peace and quiet, you familiar with those terms?” Cyrus joked as he walked up to her.

“Shut up and tell me what you just did! I’ve never seen anything like that before! Who are you!? What are you!?” Felicia continued in a loud voice.

“I have been called by many names, Claw of the Wild, the Bird of Sev-” Cyrus started again.

“No! Not that bullshit again!” Felicia snapped back.

“Sheesh, ‘chill’ out girl. No need to blow your head. If your temperament were as cool as your magic, you’d be a lot easier to get along with. Now then, about that surrender…”

“Not until you answer me.” Felicia stood her ground.

“Your parents must be having a field day raising you. What’s it to you anyway? Why should I tell you anything?” Cyrus sneered.

“Don’t talk to me about those bast-! No, never mind… I… ” Felicia angrily started before abruptly stopping.

“It doesn’t really matter to me anyway because I’m not telling you anything, especially not to a child who can’t seem to hold her own tongue. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove here nor do I really care, but if you’re going to continue being unreasonable then…” Cyrus stated before disappearing in front of her.

The next thing Felicia knew was that she was down on the ground with Cyrus sitting on her back. He had already managed to disarm her and was promptly examining her staff.

“A word of advice, if I were you, I’d refrain from using magic like that so loosely, especially since you can’t seem to control it. You’d sooner dry up on mana before you get anywhere with it. You also take too long to cast the spell, I could’ve easily ended the fight while you were still reciting those fancy words you call an incantation. In a real battle, even a second lost, much less ten, would be deadly. This is a pretty nice staff you have here by the way.” Cyrus offhandedly told her from above.

“Shut up! You don’t understand anything! Give me my staff back!” Felicia demanded as she flailed under him.

“I honestly don’t know how you were brought up to be so spoiled missy, but the world doesn’t work that way. Try and take it from me if you can.” Cyrus teased knowing full well she can’t.

As Felicia continued to struggle, the audience looked at this scene in confusion. From the magic show at the start, the situation rapidly spiraled downward into what now looks like an adult bullying a child. Even the announcer was a bit at a loss for words at this.

“Umm, I don’t know what’s really happening, but it seems that Ressalier has apprehended Felicia. While normally a fight wouldn’t stop until either one of the contestants are unable to, in this case…” The announcer hesitatingly spoke.

Before the announcer could say anything more, loud horns began sounding out from the entrance to the stands. Soon, men in royal armor came flooding in as they made their way down into the arena.

“Hey! Wait a moment, you can’t do tha-” The announcer said, panicking a little before being abruptly stopped.

“Orders from the king. This match is hereby over.” A man in royal armor said as he came and showed the royal seal to the announcer.

“Uh, i-it seems the match is over by royal intervention! Sorry folks, but it seems this match is going to be a bit different.” The announcer stuttered as the audience started a rush of murmurs and whispers.

As soldiers flooded into the arena, surrounding the two, Cyrus looked at them curiously. Soon, the ring of soldiers parted and a man wearing a different set of armor walked towards them. One could see a large golden sun emblem embedded at the center of his armor, both front and back, along with those on his shoulder guards. Golden trimmings could be spotted near the edges of the armor, giving it an illuminating shine as it reflected the afternoon sun. Many badges of different shapes and sizes adorned his right side as they glimmered brilliantly. The man himself wore a stern expression on his face as his eyebrows furrowed when looking at the scene in front of him. Clean shaven and sporting a neat look, this immaculate man gave a soft sigh before stopping right in front of the two.

As soon as Felicia spotted him, she visibly paled and struggled even harder in spite of the futility.

“Excuse me, but would you mind getting off of her.” The man asked Cyrus.

After examining the man for a moment, Cyrus shrugged and stood up before stepping away. The man then crouched down in front of Felicia as she hurriedly and awkwardly sat back up.

Extending a hand to her, the man asked, “Come on Princess Felicia, haven’t you had enough of your fun? Let’s go back to the castle. The king is very worried about you.”

However, the outstretched hand was quickly swatted away as Felicia glared back.

“You know as well as I do that that bumbling fool doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me. All he cares about is his own reputation.” Felicia venomously retorted.

“Please Princess, be reasonable here. What would you achieve by running away? Let’s go back before you inconvenience others anymore or worse, get yourself hurt.” The man pleaded.

“I am not going back to that place! I hate it! You don’t understand. None of you ever do. Always being viewed as a hindrance; never getting recognized for anything I do! I’m always getting looked at with scorn while everyone tries to hide it under blatant flattery. ‘You’re so beautiful princess’ they say, ‘You’re so good at magic princess’ they say, ‘How nice it must be to be in the royal family, you have such an easy life’ they say when all they ever have in their eyes are looks of contempt! I am going to prove myself that I don’t need any of them!” Felicia furiously yelled back.

“Then let me ask you something. If you were to go off on your own, do you have a place to live? Do you have enough money with you? What will you do to earn money for yourself if you don’t? What about food? Clothing? Basic living conditions? Even if you hate that place, it will still provide you with a means to continue living as you are. The world is not as easy as you make it out to be so it would be a good idea to make the best of what you currently have.” The man reasoned.

“Even so…!” Felicia began once again.

Before she could finish however, the man decided not to stall further and lifted and carried Felicia under his arm.

“Let go!” Felicia struggled, but unfortunately her strength wasn’t anywhere near enough to make the man budge.

The man then turned a walked up to Cyrus who was observing from the side. After coming face to face with Cyrus, the man lifted his other, unoccupied arm up and held his hand out.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, but could you hand me the staff? It was a gift to her from her teacher and she would be distraught if she doesn’t have it.” The man asked.

After being handed the staff, the man nodded once and promptly turned around before starting to head out, followed by the rest of the soldiers. Soon, Cyrus was the only one left in the arena.

“Well, I can see why she’s so spoiled now. Though, it does make me wonder about that king…” Cyrus mused.

“Um, It seems the disturbance is over… but wait, does that count as a win? Well the opponent left so it would be a forfeit, I suppose… Well, whatever! Are there anymore challengers?” The announcer once again started.

///

As the sun dropped below the horizon painting the sky a tranquil maroon and dusk wrapped everyone in its cool embrace, the cheers in the coliseum slowly died down as more and more people headed home for the evening.

By the end of the day, not a single person managed to best Cyrus in a fight. Many were knocked out before they even had a chance to do anything. The more skilled fighters were toyed with for a bit but were also swiftly taken out. Coming up with a thirty-five win streak, Cyrus left all previous champions in the dust as he quickly proved his dominance in combat.

As Cyrus slowly made his way back up to where Seffy was waiting, he caught sight of her annoyed gaze. Taking off the mask, Cyrus revealed the smirk hidden underneath as he came up right in front of her.

“Do you realize how long you kept me waiting? How long were you planning to play around?” Seffy grumbled, taking back her mask.

“No idea, I lost track of time.” Cyrus responded, not a care in the world.

“Seven hours! I had to sit here while you played around for seven freaking hours!” Seffy complained out loud.

“Oh? Has it been that long? Ahaha, well, it was just so much fun playing around with the opponents.” Cyrus frivolously replied.

“You could’ve at least hurried it up and took them all out in one hit, but noooo you just had to toy around with them. Don’t mind good ol’ Saphiron here just holding onto your wings for seven hours, I’m sure she was overjoyed. I swear I was tempted to throw these things in the trash. Do you realize how hot it was to carry these things?” Seffy sarcastically replied, clearly irritated.

“Seffy, Seffy, Seffy. You have to realize that half the fun of a battle is figuring out what makes the opponent tick. It would be just oh so boring if I were to win in one hit; there would be no point. It’s why your fights are always so short and dull. You don’t know how to hold back.” Cyrus teasingly tapped her forehead.

“No matter how you try to paint over it, you still kept me waiting for seven hours. Some pretty words aren’t going to cut it.” Seffy said as she brushed his hand away.

“Don’t be like that, I’m sure you were just fiiine. It’s a good test of character.” Cyrus said as he waved off Seffy’s complaints.

“Why do I always have to put up with this?” Seffy sighed.

“Same reason why you keep following me around.” Cyrus quickly remarked.

“Fair enough. Next time I get an idea like that… slap me.”

“Will do.”

“You also better make this up to me soon. I haven’t forgotten about half of that meal you swiped from me earlier either.” Seffy pouted.

“Fine, fine. I’ll make it up to you sometime soon.” Cyrus replied.

“So… what do I do with these? And for that matter, are you sure you’re alright?” Seffy asked, holding out Cyrus’s wings.

“’Tis but a flesh wound. Now, just stick them back on my back and hold them there for a second. Just let the regeneration will do its thing.” Cyrus instructed.

As Seffy pressed each wing onto Cyrus’s back, the stubs started reconnecting to each other and rapidly mending the joints that were severed.

While this was happening, Seffy asked, “Hey, why did you rip them off in the first place?”

“Because it would be too hot fighting with them.” Cyrus promptly answered.

“What? That’s it?” Seffy questioned incredulously.

“That’s it.” Cyrus parroted.

“You really are unbelievable.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“Close enough.”

Soon enough, Cyrus’s wings were fully healed as he tested them by flapping them around. As he moved them around though, Cyrus felt something was off. Quickly looking behind him, he stared at the wings that were placed upside-down.

“Seffy… Did you just put my wings on backwards?” Cyrus asked as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Whatever could you be talking about? I have absolutely no idea.” Seffy said as she started to whistle towards the side.

“Well whatever, I’ll deal with it later. I think it’s about time I go collect my prize.” Cyrus shrugged before starting to walk towards the announcer’s booth.

By this point, there was hardly anyone around the area. As the two arrived to the side of the booth, a woman’s head peeked out before coming up to greet them.

“Oh my! Judging by your outfit, you must be Ressalier. A splendid performance you put out there I must say. Quite unlike anything I’ve seen here before and let me tell you I’ve seen a lot. You may have just earned yourself a fan. I hope to see you sometime again soon. Now, you must be here for the prize correct?” She asked.

“That is correct.” Cyrus concisely said.

“Great! Now then, just show me your ticket and you’ll get your prize shortly.” The woman requested.

At this, Cyrus froze up for a moment.

‘Aw shit.’ He silently cursed to himself.

To the side, Seffy could be seen looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Ahem, on second thought, being the magnanimous person I am, I don’t personally need the prize. That’s why, if you will, you can donate the money to charity.” Cyrus told her.

“Oh my, strong and altruistic. Now you definitely have a fan. Alright, if that’s what you want, then I’ll do just that. I’m sure the orphanages around the city will be very grateful to you.” The woman smiled before returning to her previous work.

“Yeah, so much for the rewards. Magnanimous my ass.” Seffy said as she rolled her eyes.

“Eh, you win some, you lose some.” Cyrus sighed while holding his head.

“Serves you right.” Seffy whispered.

Deciding that it was finally time to head back, the two left for the entrance back outside. While walking through the entrance corridor though, Cyrus abruptly stopped which caused Seffy to do the same.

“What’s the matter, Cyrus?” Seffy curiously asked.

“Weeeell…” Cyrus said as he picked up a stone and threw it at the ceiling.

With a large thump, a man fell down from the ceiling and collapsed in a heap on the floor. Turning over, the man groaned and twitched as he gripped his groin. This man, of course, was Geist.

“D-duuude! Come on man, not below the belt! Ah-ah wait, is it bleeding? Please don’t be bleeding. O-oh good, it’s not bleeding. Phew.” Geist shuddered and writhed on the ground.

“Not cool man. Not. Cool. Fellow men don’t do that to each other! That’s the unspoken agreement.” Geist moaned as he got up with a slight hunch.

“Well, that depends on the man. I think anything is fair game against a predator.” Cyrus grinned.

“Hey! I’m no predator! I just wanted to surprise you is all.” Geist retorted.

“Sure, that’s what they all say. So… what do you want? Though, I’m surprised you’ve already managed to recover from earlier. You should still be out stone cold right about now.”

“Well, people do say I’m pretty hard-headed. Both up here and down below.” Geist laughed as he put a finger to his forehead and struck a pose.

“Shall we test just how ‘hard’ it really is then?” Cyrus smirked as he picked up another stone.

“Yeah, I’ll pass on that. But no really, let’s have a chat.” Geist said as he warily shielded himself with his hand.

“About what then?” Cyrus asked as he dropped the stone.

Sighing in relief, Geist began, “Well, I just thought a proper introduction is order. After all, just giving our names certainly doesn’t say a lot does it, Ressalier? Or should I say, Cyrus? By the way, you have a really nice face under that mask; has anyone ever told you that?”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. Well, I don’t really care if you know my real name or not. So, are you going to introduce yourself then? After all, it’s only polite to do so first since you asked.” Cyrus said as he crossed his arms.

“I suppose so. Well then, as I have said before, I am Geist Starkam. Today just so happens to be my off day, so I figured I’d have a little fun at the coliseum, but normally I work as director of the physical combat branch of Sangin Academy.” Geist started.

“Oh, how I pity those poor students.” Cyrus commented.

“Hey! Shut up! I do a good job!” Geist retorted.

“Ahem, moving on. As you might imagine of that position, a lot of combat skills are needed to even be considered for it. If I were to say so myself, I’m probably one of the strongest people in the city.”

“So, you’re not sure if you are?” Cyrus interjected once more.

“Stop it! I’m getting there.” Geist grumbled.

“As I have said before I was rudely interrupted, I’m one of the strongest people in the city-”

“Probably…” Cyrus added towards the end.

“Hey, missy, is this guy always like this?” Geist asked as he turned towards Seffy.

“…” Seffy stared back in disinterest.

“You’re not going to get much out of her. She doesn’t take well to suspicious strangers, possibly predator, who dangle off the ceilings.” Cyrus said from the side.

“I’m not- you know what? Forget I asked.” Geist sighed.

“So, like I’ve said, I’m PROBABLY one of the strongest people in the city…” Geist trailed off near the end as he gave Cyrus a sidelong glance. Seeing no reaction he continued. “And well, to tell you the truth, it’s not often I get opponents of your caliber. That fight got me quite excited near the end. Hurt like hell too, but that’s mostly my fault for not taking you seriously earlier. Guess fighting those eleven battles right before can make a person complacent, eh?”

“So, what? You’re not trying to recruit me into your branch school are you?” Cyrus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nah, screw that. Even if I wasn’t taking the fight seriously until near the end, you still managed to beat me so there would be nothing to teach you. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say your entire strategy was to provoke me to attack you first with that theatrical play at the start.” Geist mused.

“Well, you don’t know any better, because that’s exactly what was supposed to happen. After all, you’re the type who likes to counter the enemies’ moves right?” Cyrus guessed.

“Ah, so you figured it out. Quite a sharp one, aren’t you? What gave it away?” Geist smirked.

“Your eyes tend to move around a lot more than what fighters usually do. Normally a person fighting would focus on one thing, but you seemed like you were looking for something. Other than that, intuition I guess?” Cyrus replied.

“Huh? Just that?” Geist asked, a bit surprised.

“Let’s just say I have a bit of experience in reading people.”

“Oh, hehe, well then, can you tell what I’m thinking right now?” Geist leaned forward with a hand to his chin.

“Sorry buddy, but in your case, the deeper I go, the less I understand.” Cyrus smiled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Geist questioned.

“He’s saying you’re an idiot.” Seffy whispered on the side.

“Well lookie here, little miss silence said something! You’re starting to come on to me aren’t you? I can just feel it. No woman can resist this masculine aura of mine, though I suppose you’re not quite there yet.” Geist boasted.

“Nope, that’s just idiocy you’re emitting.” Seffy apathetically said.

“She’s a keeper alright. Though, this conversation’s gotten a bit derailed. I think it’s about time you introduce yourself as well.” Geist indicated with his hand.

“Alright then, my name is Cyrus as you’ve figured out. My partner here and I are travellers of sorts. Decided to come to the city for various reasons and figured we’d amuse ourselves in this coliseum.” Cyrus explained.

“Hm, you two certainly don’t seem to be from around these parts. If you were, you’d have long been found and roped in or at least I’d have known about you. By the way, what are those on your back?” Geist pointed.

“They’re wings.” Cyrus promptly replied.

“You sure about that? They weren’t there earlier and I highly doubt a person would just suddenly sprout wings. Also, they look a bit… weird.” Geist skeptically asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Don’t ask. Now that the introductions are over, let’s get to the point already. You still haven’t told us what you want.” Cyrus answered with a bit more force.

“Ahaha, I suppose I haven’t. Well, basically I just wanted to meet new acquaintances, ones that have caught my interest. I get really bored you see, so it’s always refreshing to meet people that can fight on the same level.” Geist laughed while rubbing the back of his head.

“And now you’ve met them. Anything else? We’ve had a long day you see, and after a certain unfortunate incident we’d like to have some rest.” Cyrus continued.

“Ah, that so? Well, alright then, sorry to take up your time. Then I’ll be going. If you ever need me, my office is in the big ass building behind the coliseum. You can’t miss it. They’ll let you in if you tell them my name. Probably.” Geist grinned as he gave one last wave before starting to walk away.

“…What a weirdo.” Seffy pointed as she watched him leave.

“Now, now Seffy, it’s rude to point. If you want to make fun of someone, you’ve got to be subtle.” Cyrus chuckled.

“Hey! I can still hear you, you know?” Geist shouted in the distance before he disappeared.

“Heh. I do agree with you though. He certainly is an interesting fellow. Anyway, we should probably head back as well.” Cyrus told Seffy.

They left the coliseum behind soon after as they returned to their inn. On the way however, Seffy revealed a puzzled look. Currently she was staring at her mask as she examined its front. Tilting it left and right, Seffy scrutinized it with furrowed brows. Shortly after that, a rather sour expression revealed itself as she gazed back at Cyrus.

“Say… Cyrus, don’t you think this mask is a little lopsided now?” Seffy asked cynically.

“I’m sure that’s just your imagination.” Cyrus quickly waved it off.

“…I see. Well, that’s another one to the list then.” Seffy grumbled as she pulled out a sheet of paper.

“List?” Cyrus curiously asked.

“Yes, a list of grievances that I will eventually have to pay you back for.” Seffy monotonously answered.

“…And just how long might this list be?” Cyrus inquired warily.

“Dunno, I lost count quite a long time ago.” Seffy shrugged as she scribbled some words.

“And… how long have you been working on this list?” Cyrus continued.

“Since our training sessions back then. If you think I’ve forgotten everything you’ve done to me, then you’re horribly mistaken. I can still remember the good old days when you used to throw me off of cliffs or tie my wings around a tree and leave me there for the night, or even dunking me under that lake. Let’s not forget that time you threw me off a cliff while being tied to a tree into the lake. You sure know how to treat the ladies don’t you?” Seffy sarcastically responded.

“It was all in the name of you getting stronger! There’s no way I would do something like that for the fun of it!” Cyrus feigned.

Then, as if noticing something, Cyrus turned to Seffy, “Wait, since back then? Where’d you even get the paper for that? We were in the middle of a forest.”

“Your spatial ring had a lot of neat things in it. I’m sure you could do without a few important documents.” Seffy smirked.

“Wait, you didn’t see THAT did you?” Cyrus asked as he hurriedly shuffled through his ring.

“That?” Seffy asked confused.

“Phew, looks like you didn’t. I was worried there for a second.” Cyrus sighed.

“Wait, what is it? Tell me!” Seffy urged.

“That’s for me to know, and for you not to find out.” Cyrus grinned.

“Mhmmhm” Seffy pouted with puffed cheeks.

“Anyway, we’re here. You should go ahead and get some rest.” Cyrus told her as they arrived in front of the inn.

Giving the receptionist girl a light greeting, the two soon arrived back in their room. As Seffy got changed for bed, she noticed that Cyrus was sitting in the window seat still in his outdoor clothing.

“You’re not going to sleep? I know you haven’t gotten any rest in a while. Even if you don’t need sleep, you should still at least try and rest up a little.” Seffy asked as she hopped on the bed.

Looking over, Cyrus smiled at her. “Well, thanks to a certain someone, I now need to fix up my wings.”

“Ah… Sorry.” Seffy responded, feeling a little guilty now.

“Don’t mind it. At least that list of yours will be a bit shorter with this.” Cyrus laughed.

“Hehe. Okay then. Don’t work yourself too hard though. Goodnight.” Seffy gave a small giggle as she crawled under the covers.

After some time had passed and Cyrus started hearing the sound of Seffy’s soft breathing, he stood up from his seat and opened the window to the room. With a fluid motion, he swung around the top edge and onto the roof of the inn.

Sitting down on the roof and watching the streets for a bit, he soon sighed and began working on fixing his wings. Tearing all of them off again, he then placed them in the correct positions for the regeneration to take place. After checking that everything had healed once again, this time without any issues, he sighed once more, crossed his arms behind his head, and laid down on the roof as he gazed upwards towards the night sky.

As the minutes turned to hours, Cyrus soon started dozing off before he heard the sound of some shuffling in the room below. In but a few seconds, Seffy’s head peeped out over the edge of the roof. Spotting Cyrus lying there, she quickly climbed up as well.

“I thought you went to sleep.” Cyrus asked as she laid down next to him.

“I did fall asleep… for a bit…” Seffy answered with half closed eyes.

“Nightmares again?” Cyrus inquired as he turned his head to look at her.

Seeing that she still had streaks of tears on the side of her puffy red eyes, Cyrus decided not to ask further. Turning his head back towards the sky, he silently waited for Seffy’s answer.

“Yeah. I still get them occasionally.” Seffy said as she wiped her eyes.

“… I see.” Cyrus softly answered.

After a brief pause, Seffy asked, “Stargazing?”

“Yeah… I used to do this quite often with my brother. I think he was the one that got me into it. Back then, we had the best view of the sky atop a mountain.” Cyrus reminisced.

Extending his arm up towards the night sky that twinkled with the glow of millions of stars, Cyrus paused for a moment before he slowly closed his hand.

“It’s times like these that make me realize just how great it is to be alive. You won’t recognize the significance of these moments until you’ve lost it. It certainly does make me rethink everything I’ve been through and realize just how much I’ve taken for granted.” Cyrus began.

“Whenever I look up at this star-filled sky, I just get this sense of nostalgia. Even if everything I’ve ever known is gone, at least this view will mostly remain the same. It will continue to be the same sky that I’ve grown used to; the very same one I’ve witnessed countless times, and hopefully the one that I will continue viewing for a long time to come. How do I put it… It sort of gives me a feeling of comfort knowing that I can still enjoy this, even if all those I’ve known about aren’t here to enjoy it with me.” Cyrus continued.

“Even so, moments like these can be very fleeting and even a bit painful. When the sky finally turns to day, you realize that in the end, you’re still alone in this world and that the people you once knew are still gone. And yet, I can’t help but continue to look at it every night. I wonder why? Maybe I figured if I looked long enough, that I’d be able to find an answer, but the longer I look the more I just get this feeling of loss…” Cyrus slowly finished as he closed his eyes.

Then, feeling a sensation on his outstretched hand, he slowly opened his eyes again to see that another, smaller hand was gripping it.

“You’re not alone.” Seffy simply replied.

“Heh, I suppose not. Look at me, getting all sentimental like this. It’s certainly not like me is it?” Cyrus chuckled as he slowly brought their hands back to the roof.

“…Do you have any regrets? About everything you left behind? About the fact that the people you knew are all gone?” Seffy finally asked.

“There are many things I regret. In fact, I doubt there exists a person without them. But if I were to say that I regret leaving it all behind, then no. I have long made my peace with my previous life the moment I died. Right now, I can only be grateful that I can continue living on, even if these feelings still linger within me.” Cyrus said.

“Listen, don’t view regrets as if they’re a bad thing. Even if you dislike having regrets, they are still a part of you and will define who you are. They are a catalyst for growth; they will allow you to soar to new heights, both literally and figuratively. You can only move forward because your regrets force you to; because otherwise, it would be too hard to look back.” Cyrus finished.

The two continued to look at the sky for a bit longer. As though entranced, they simply kept looking, as if with even a single blink, they’ll miss it only to never be able to look at it again.

“It’s beautiful.” Seffy softly whispered.

“It certainly is, isn’t it?” Cyrus complemented.

“Hey Cyrus, tell me one of your stories again.” Seffy quietly requested.

“Alright, which one do you want to hear?” Cyrus asked.

“Any is fine…” Seffy replied.

“Sure, I’ll tell you one you haven’t heard yet. It’s about how I met this very cranky person who turned out to be quite the amusing fellow.” Cyrus smiled as he pulled Seffy closer.

And so, Cyrus continued to tell Seffy the story through the night. Cyrus neared the end of his story just as dawn appeared to be around the corner.

“-And that’s when his house blew up. I swear it wasn’t my fault, but ever since that day, that guy’s always had something against me. So what if he found a few of my feathers around? Right, Seffy?” Cyrus silently chuckled.

Getting no response, Cyrus turned only to see Seffy fast asleep as she clung tightly onto his hand. Soft, rhythmic breathing and a hint of drool on the edge of her lips indicated that she was in deep slumber.

“Really now, I can’t tell if my story was bad enough that it bored her to sleep or otherwise.” Cyrus grinned.

Lifting her up and climbing back down into their room, Cyrus gently tucked her back into bed. He smiled as he looked at her sleeping face before wiping off a bit of drool that had started to flow with his finger.

Turning around, he strolled towards the window and then leaned on the windowsill, just as the first rays of sunlight shined over the horizon.

“Looks like another sleepless night for me...”