Jaime sighed and said "Fine. What do you want from me?"
Elara mused for a bit and waved her hand, dismissing him. "I don't know yet. I'll tell you once I have decided."
Jaime looked a little annoyed but didn't protest. Instead he walked over towards his clothes and started changing. Apart from the sound of Jaime changing clothes the room was silent, until I broke it.
"So, how strong was she?"
Jaime put his boxers on and looked at me. "The blonde girl? Well, she was definitely tough. I don't know if I could have beaten her if we continued like that."
I raised a brow at his words. "Really?"
"Yeah, she was quite adept at fighting with her strength being restricted. It was strange but also impressive."
"It'd be fun to fight her again without the restrictions."
'I can't tell if he's joking or not.'
I was still lost in thought when Jaime dropped down between Elara and me.
"So, how many more matches do we gotta do?"
I thought about it for a second. "Until we've got enough money."
"And how long's that gonna take?"
"No clue," I said.
Jaime rolled his eyes, stared up at the ceiling and groaned.
I ignored him and glanced at Elara, who was quietly watching us.
"You up for more fighting?"
She didn't answer, just smirked.
I grinned back. That was all the confirmation I needed.
"Alright," I said. "Let's go make some money."
*
"Screw this! I'm beat!"
Jaime collapsed onto the floor, completely drained. He was clearly sick of fighting.
I turned to Elara, who sat slouched on the couch. She looked just as unenthusiastic.
'We've been at this for about two hours. Guess it's time to wrap it up.'
"We're done here."
Jaime shot up at my words, grinning. "Finally! I was getting sick of this. It's like playing the same level of a game over and over."
"I agree," Elara said. "Fighting with our strength restricted was fun at first, but bullying weaklings isn't entertainment."
'It was great training for me, though.'
I sighed and waved a hand. "We'll leave after my match. Grab some food, then head back to Dorian's."
Jaime gestured both his hands in a thumbs up and said, "Nice."
I sighed and walked towards the tunnel. Besides the money we earned, this has been a really good experience for me. It's been a while since I fought without my gear, but something was weird.
'Was my body always this sturdy?'
I pondered this for a few seconds before entering the arena. The screaming was just as loud as the previous times, so I tuned out all the noise. My opponent walked out of the opposite tunnel. His build was compact and honed, he was tall… taller than me. Jet-black hair framed eyes the color of ash, lifeless, flat, and unsettling to meet. He wore a black shirt with combat suspenders and black tactical pants.
He looked young and quite handsome, but there was something strange about him. Like he was missing something fundamental. He held two daggers at his side… the same daggers as that fighter Thea used.
'Do they know each other or something?'
He moved before I could finish the thought. A flicker of metal — then a dagger came screaming toward my face. I cocked my revolver and shot it out of the air, but he was already upon me. He stabbed the other dagger into the barrel of my revolver and his fist was hurtling toward my liver. I barely managed to block him with my sword and kicked him to gain some distance, he crossed his arms, blocking the blow, and slid back a few feet across the dust.
I threw my gun away and two-handed my longsword. He just stood still and didn't bother assuming a fighting position, his face still had that indifferent look as well.
'He's got a great poker face.'
I dashed forward and performed a horizontal slash, he didn't swing his dagger at all, he just remained in place. I was worried I might cleave him in half when all of a sudden my body was off the ground, my eyes were glued to the ceiling and I felt a metallic taste in my mouth. Then a fist filled my vision, it felt like time was moving slowly. I wanted to avoid it, but my body wouldn't listen to me.
His fist collided with my face and the back of my head slammed into the ground. I was still conscious, but that might not last, he quickly transitioned into an elbow and was about to slam it into my face.
I grit my teeth and rolled to the side just in time. His eyes didn't waver; he simply stood there, unmoving, watching. Blood trickled from my mouth.
'That attack would've put me in a coma.'
Pain shot through my arm as I clenched my sword. Ignoring it, I launched myself forward. Instead of a head-on attack, I hurled the sword and spun into a 360 kick, aiming to catch him with momentum from above.
Time seemed to slow. I expected him to dodge, or at least block. Instead… he let the sword pierce him. His face didn't change. My stomach dropped.
Before I could react, his hand shot out. He grabbed my leg mid-kick and slammed me into the ground. The world blurred. Pain exploded up my spine and through my skull. Dust and light swirled around me as I tried to push up, tried to move—anything.
He stepped back, calm, indifferent. I barely had the strength to focus. The last thing I saw were his cold gray eyes staring into my very being, then my vision tunneled
*
My eyes cracked open to the sting of streetlights cutting through the dark.
'Where am I?'
"Ugh… my back."
That jerk must've hit harder than I thought. My skull throbbed with every heartbeat. The streets were nearly empty now, just a few people drifting past like ghosts.
A flicker of color caught my eye: a neon sign buzzing to life beside me.
BURGER TABLE.
"..."
I didn't get the chance to think about it for long. The doors swung open, and out came Jaime and Elara, arms full—no, overflowing—with paper bags.
"I'm telling ya, these burgers are the best in the city," Jaime said, grinning like a maniac.
Elara sniffed one suspiciously. "...They do smell quite tasty."
A chuckle from Jaime pulled my attention. He'd spotted me out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, you're up!" He raised the burgers to his chest, his smile so bright, I couldn't help but return it.
Elara and Jaime sat down, and Jaime tossed me a burger. A cheeseburger, my favorite. I took a bite. "How long was I out?"
"Not too long," Elara responded around a mouthful of two burgers she'd somehow shoved in at once. "Just an hour."
'An hour isn't too long?'
"He really kicked your ass," Jaime answered. "It's been a while since I've seen you lose that badly."
"So," Jaime said, licking his fingers, "what happened?"
I looked at my half-eaten burger for a second, considering my answer.
"I think… he was promised."
Jaime stopped mid-chew, his eyes widened, staring at me. Elara just continued to devour every burger in sight.
"Hov zhu wu no?"
I ignored his full mouth and continued, "I'm not completely sure, it only lasted an instant. But I felt it. The same presence I feel when I'm with her… and it didn't help that he was crazy either."
Jaime swallowed hard. "That's impossible. He's far too young."
"You're right," I said after a pause. "It doesn't make sense." I met Jaime's eyes. "But I trust my instincts."
Elara finally paused her feeding frenzy long enough to speak. "What does 'being promised' even mean?"
I glanced at her. The question wasn't hard… but the words stuck in my throat.
Jaime answered before I could. "He means the Promised Generation."
Elara frowned. "Never heard of them."
Jaime made a face and scraped a tomato off his burger. "You wouldn't. They're extremely rare. They're prodigies that reach the Champion rank before they're twenty-five."
He took a bite, talked around it. "Organizations fight like rabid dogs to claim them and nurture them."
Elara blinked, stunned. "And you're telling me that boy was one of them?"
"Maybe," Jaime said quietly. "Someone's raising him, that's for sure."
Elara leaned back, her eyes full of wonder. "A human reaching Champion so young… fascinating. Your kind grows unpredictably fast."
Jaime exhaled through his nose. "I wonder… What was he doing in the arena?"
I shrugged my shoulders and picked up another burger. "Doesn't concern us."Jaime watched me for a second, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. He didn't even register his name so it was probably unofficial business."
After that we all ate with silence filling the air.
***
Outside the arena, Thea paced beside the young champion.
"So… when are we attacking?"
Kai didn't answer. He stood still, eyes fixed on the moon as if Thea hadn't spoken at all.
Her jaw tightened. "Kai! Are you listening!?"
He blinked once—slow, and turned his head toward her.
"I don't know."
Thea stared. "What do you mean you don't know? You said you understood our targets."
"I did." He finally broke his gaze from the moon. "But the white-haired one changes things. We can't win with him present."
"He's just one guy. We could—"
"We can't," Kai said, flatly. "We're neither strong nor skilled enough."
The words hit harder because there was no malice in them, just truth delivered like a verdict.
Thea bit her tongue. Hitting him wouldn't accomplish anything.
"Then what's the plan? We're on a deadline."
Kai reached into the fold in space beside him and withdrew a small bag of chocolate chips. He opened it with the same calm he used to kill people.
"We wait," he said. "And follow quietly. An opportunity will appear."
Thea looked like she wanted to scream. Kai didn't glance her way.
He simply returned his eyes to the moon and ate another chocolate chip. His thoughts, a complete mystery.