Charis emerged from her suite to find the others all gathered around a table. Rima had a worried expression on her face, but otherwise showed little of the aftereffects of last night’s alcohol. She sat across from Milan, who gave her a stoic nod. His attire seemed to match the mood: while he still wore his trademark black suit, his shirt was a deep, burnt red, such that he resembled a smoldering fire. Gage stood between the two, but slightly off to the side, cupping his chin with his thumb and forefinger. Despite the somber mood, Charis felt tremors of excitement underneath. Adrenaline had already begun coursing through their blood.

“Your first fight is set to commence in two hours,” announced Milan, breaking the silence. “Let’s get some food in you and then get you ready.” He held out his outstretched palm. In its center sat another pill, which Charis realized was a food pill. While she generally eschewed the convenience of nourishment in pill form in favor of enjoying a “real” meal in-game, she didn’t think she could get anything in her stomach at this point anyway. The immediacy of her upcoming battle had jolted her to anxious readiness.

She daintily picked up the pill between thumb and forefinger before gulping it down, sans water. Idly, and retrospectively, she wondered what the pill contained: probably some hair-raising combination of mental enhancers that would shorten her life in the long run. She shook her head cynically before focusing her attention back on Milan. She inwardly noted that her pulse had quickened.

“Now then,” began Milan, “I’ve been told that transportation will be provided for us by way of a portal at our signal.” As he spoke, he began removing four scarlet roses from a previously unnoticed vase on the table. Once he had removed all of the flowers, said means of transportation appeared. With a shrug of her shoulders – at this point not much fazed her or any of them for that matter – Charis set her open palm on the table, and Gage stepped on.

“Let’s do this,” she said quietly, but firmly. Gage looked up and locked eyes with her – it felt like the first time in months they had shared a look – and he nodded, his face etched with determination. Charis felt a rush of warmth in her chest, as well as a sturdy confidence; in an instant, Gage had seemingly snapped out of his melancholy and returned to his old, quietly fierce self.

The group strode through the portal into a room strikingly similar to the one they had just left. The ubiquitous red greeted them, and of course the room had been lavishly appointed, just like the others. However, one important difference quickly made itself apparent: one wall was missing, and in its place was a triple row of box seats overlooking a tremendous stadium. The stadium appeared to be yet another spike on the great dragon’s back, but in this case it looked like someone had sawed off the spike at the base, forming a tall circle, which in turn had many rows of seats as well as luxury boxes like the one they occupied. Still, while the arena certainly impressed her, something was off about the whole thing that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“Isn’t it too big?” asked Rima. She was right. The actual fighting grounds were enormous, far too large for a simple duel. At the same time, the seating around the edges constituted a thin ring of no more than 20 rows at most, where you’d expect a stadium of this magnitude to have hundreds of rows at least. Plus, the seats were placed high on the walls, so even from their comparatively closer position, Charis would have to squint in order to see the center of the ring.

“We want the competitors to seem larger than life,” explained an instantly familiar voice. Charis spun around and immediately met eyes with Erivar Vane himself. The man wore luxurious red cape that encircled his entire body, obscuring most of the ornamental golden armor he wore underneath. Charis didn’t know whether to be awe-inspired or to roll her eyes at the get up. “I got the idea after meeting your little friend here,” he gestured towards Gage.

“What do you mean?” asked Milan, since everyone else was far too intimidated to speak. As it was, even Milan had a hint of a tremor in his voice.

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough,” replied Vane cryptically. “Good luck in your fight.” He smiled and stepped into a portal, gone as quickly as he came.

“What was that all about?” asked Charis with a hint of irritation.

“Pay him no mind,” replied Milan. “I think I know what he plans to do, but it won’t affect either you or your opponent. For the time being, the most important thing is to focus on your preparations for the fight.”

Charis nodded, and for the next hour they ran through a variety of stretching and rhythmic breathing exercises meant to keep her muscles limber and her mind sharp. They had gone through these so many times that by now they had become automatic, but Charis certainly needed them to keep her nerves from getting the best of her. Somehow, her possible death in this fight had gone from a miniscule improbability to an imminent certainty.

Over the course of her warm-up exercises, the stadium began to fill. By the time she felt as ready as she could be, the building had become packed with spectators. Charis couldn’t fathom where all of these people even came from, but by her estimate they numbered in the thousands. After a few encouraging words from Milan and Rima about “trusting her training,” the group fell into a solemn silence.

All too quickly, the time had come.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” came an affected announcer’s voice over some unseen loudspeaker. “Welcome to the Opening Match of the Erivar Vane Invitational.” A loud cheer came in response. “The two fighters for this round will be…”

Charis didn’t have the chance to catch the last part as Milan and Rima dragged her into another room, apparently soundproof room. “You can do it, Charis,” said Rima, but Charis could tell that she was nervous. Milan said nothing, and instead patted her on the shoulder before the both of them exited the room. As she waited in the silent room, for what she did not know, she wiggled her toes to confirm that Alicia was in her place. She looked down at Gage standing on her palm.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Ready,” came his reply.

She lifted him up into a pocket on her blue combat suit; there, his body would provide her armor a significant boost in power. Then, as if on cue, a final portal appeared in front of her. She hesitated for a beat, but then gathered herself and walked through with a resolute stride.

Once on the other side, she became immediately disoriented. She had obviously been transported onto the fighting grounds, that much was clear; but what had once been an enormous arena had apparently become smaller. She stood at roughly one and a half times the height of the surrounding wall, and the din of the crowd seemed much less intimidating. Across from her stood her opponent, a figure cloaked all in black – more like a nebulous shadow, seemingly lacking a body or any distinguishable features of any kind. What her eyes told her didn’t make any sense: and then it hit her.

“We want the competitors to seem larger than life…”

The arena hadn’t become smaller. She was huge.