For Charis, the next few days felt like an in-depth analysis of the phrase “time flies when you’re having fun.” After her first victory, the ensuing hours disappeared instantly, and Charis could hardly remember what she even did during that time. On the next day, with her second fight looming, everything slowed to a crawl. Her awareness clung to each passing second like an inmate on death row.
Finally, the fight: a flurry of attacks, counter-attacks, and then it was over. She had won, and she allowed herself to relax. Congratulations followed required rest, and then of course preparations for the next day, the next battle. As the moment drew closer, time dilated once more, and the cycle repeated itself.
Still, underneath it all Charis felt growing fatigue, a profound tiredness that built with each round despite her victories. She didn’t know how many more rounds she had to go – she refused to think about it – she just hoped that it would be all over soon.
…
“It’s Day 6 here at the Mr. Erivar Vane’s little shindig and we’ve seen quite a lot go down so far haven’t we, Bill?”
“Yes we have, John, yes we have. So many storylines to talk about as we have total unknowns making deep runs, while the usual suspects have dominated as expected.”
“Now, Bill, explain to some of our viewers tuning in some of the eccentricities of this tournament that make it so special.”
“Well first off everyone in this tournament is a newly jailbroken player – it sort of evens the playing field.”
“But as we all know, that’s in name only.”
“That’s right, John, because there are upper level players – trainers, if you will – who groom competitors with the hopes of turning out a champion. We call them Patrons, and of course they have an ulterior motive in helping a newbie. Everyone wants that favor from Mr. Vane.”
“Right you are, Bill. Now let’s talk about some of the big stories we’ve seen so far this tournament.”
“Well first off, you’ve got to talk about the all-but-expected dominance of Hiro and his backer, who everybody knows – the one and only Lysander. As expected, Hiro has come out with a devil-may-care, hyper aggressive approach that has become the hallmark of all Lysander-trained fighters. His fights on average have lasted an eye-popping .38 seconds!”
“And of course the other side to that coin is the co-favorite, Edri – who is trained by the famous Ai – she has plowed her way into the semifinals without a blip, using a mesmerizing, suffocating style of fighting that is pretty much impregnable.”
“Our third semifinalist, to face off against Hiro, is the speedy character Edge. This surprise semifinalist has no backer that we’ve been able to identify, but has still managed to claw his way to the Final Four with a combination of ludicrous speed and opportunistic offense.”
“Edge is definitely the Cinderella story of this tournament – but I don’t see him getting past a fighter whose quite speedy in his own right: Hiro.”
“Last but not least, in the other semifinal against Edri, we have another newcomer in Charis from the ever-suave Milan’s camp. While her appearance in the business end of this tournament isn’t a complete surprise, Milan has tried several times in the past to get his charge to this stage, and every time he’s failed. This time, though, it looks like he’s struck gold with a very cagey fighter in Charis.”
“Cagey is definitely the word I’d use to describe her, John, because on paper she doesn’t have a lot going for her. Besides a mysterious yet sizable stat boost that no one can really figure out, she uses her wits and head to get past formidable opponents. However, the one thing that really stands out is this: in all six of her fights so far, she hasn’t had to kill a single one. Starting with a very clever trick with portals in the first round, Charis has managed to disable or otherwise incapacitate every one of her opponents, and for the most part, without even drawing blood!”
“That’s a decidedly clean way of going about things, and if you ask me, she’s still got some tricks up her sleeve that we don’t know about. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that she’ll take down the favorite, Edri, in a knock-down, drag-out fight. I just hope Charis doesn’t expect to get by this one without some bloodshed.”
“I’m gonna have to disagree with you on this one, John. Edri is a tough-as-nails fighter, and with Ai in her corner, she surely has the training necessary to put a real hurt on Charis. I think it’s gonna be a long one too, but there’s no way Edri and Ai go out – especially given Milan’s less than stellar track record. The guy may have a nice suit, but maybe it’s his battle tactics that could use an upgrade.”
“Well, John, I guess only time will tell who comes out on top. As for us, that concludes are sneak-preview into the semifinals of this edition of Erivar Vane’s tournament. We’ll see you next time.”
…
Charis sat with her friends at one of the tables in the suite that had become home for them. The place looked as immaculate as ever, despite their best efforts to trash it. Every time they left, the rooms magically returned to how they were when they had first arrived; it was like they had never even been there. The thought sent a shiver down Charis’s spine.
“You’re my hero, you know that?” said Rima. The two had become so close over the course of this tournament. After all of the training they had been through together, Charis didn’t think that was possible – but it was.
At the same time, and to Charis’s dismay, she and Gage seemed to have drifted further apart. With each victory, they came closer to their goal of restoring his size; yet each day he grew more distant. They should be celebrating, but his gloominess cast on a pall on her. He was in a dark place, somewhere she couldn’t go.
For his part, Milan remained steady and composed throughout. His quiet confidence made Charis wonder if he had somehow rigged the event.
Charis hardly thought of Alicia, but so long as she was inwardly cataloguing the status of their little group, she might as well wiggle her toes a bit to make sure the bitch was still suffering. It felt good to be able to take out some of her angst over Gage out on someone else – someone utterly powerless.
Suddenly, she ground her foot into the ground in a flare of anger, pressing her undoubtedly disgusting and sweaty sole onto her enemy with relish. She soaked in the rush it gave her to abuse the little woman in such a demeaning way, relegating her to nothing but lint inside her boot. She enjoyed drenching her in the liquid waste of her foot, forcing her to swallow the filth from –
“Charis!” Rima looked at her pointedly.
She looked up, snapping out of her decidedly… evil… reverie. “Yeah?”
“You ready for tomorrow?”
“Definitely.”
“God, everyone seems to have their heads in the clouds these days,” muttered Rima, throwing up her hands. “Looks like we’re the only two sane people left in this group, Milan,” she said, punching him playfully on the shoulder of his well-stitched suit.
“Maybe,” he replied.
As the conversation moved elsewhere, Charis shuddered. What had gotten into her? She had never enjoyed tormenting Alicia so much.
Charis didn’t dwell on it for long – she had a fight to win.