Solaris stared at the ground for a long time; the booming voice of the announcer was all that kept the room from falling into complete silence.
I... I don't know how to help...
After much consideration, he spoke in a low tone.
"Did you kill them?"
Selen glanced over at Solaris, her vision obscured by the tears seeping from her eyes.
She forced a smile on and spoke in a deceptively happy voice.
"No, I have no reason to; I'm vastly more powerful than they are. The idea of killing them crossed my mind once or twice, but in the end I decided not to; it would be the same as killing an ant pile. They may have bitten me in the past, but they can't cause me real harm now."
Solaris gritted his teeth.
"Why not just wipe out the ants anyway? They are a nuisance; they could bite another kid any day."
Selen frowned slightly, the tears in her eyes coming to a stop; the emotions she had been feeling were slowly freezing.
"Solaris, are you familiar with an old saying: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?"
Solaris glanced at Selen with a questioning look.
"No, I can infer what you are getting at, however."
Selen nodded.
"Good, then you understand what I'm saying, to put it bluntly. If I were to go around killing who I wished, then what's to stop me? Or, to put it in another old saying: Murder is a habit. Once you solve an issue with murder, then it will become the default solution."
Solaris ruminated on those sayings; he was prone to holding grudges, and in a way does solve most of his problems with murder.
Murder is a habit... I see what shes saying, but they are very evil, and thus deserve to die for their sins.
Letting those people run wild is ridiculous. Had it been me, I would've squashed those ants one by one... perhaps that's what she means by absolute power: the power over life and death, the power to kill without remorse.
Solaris sighed; he wasn't in school anymore, yet he was thinking harder in this moment than he ever did in school.
Solaris hadn't killed any humans and wasn't sure if he could unless the situation demanded it. Yet now he wanted to kill these people.
Who's to stop me if I do?
... but who will stop me if I do?
Solaris wasn't the smartest person on the planet, but he did rationalize what Selen was saying and why she refused to do anything about those who harmed her. But he couldn't understand it.
After a while of thinking, Solaris stood up.
"I'm so sorry, Selen, but I have to leave; my fight is coming up very soon... please come watch it. "
Selen looked at him, the last emotion dying on her tongue.
"Okay, thanks for keeping me warm."
With that, Solaris left the dark room.
***
Solaris stood in the sandy arena, prepared to fight the second-in-command of the Crimson Cross.
Solaris was still thinking of the conversation with Selen, the ethics of murder, and the rationalization of her letting them live.
Ants that bite are no better than an ant that has bitten.
"WITHOUT FURTHER A DUE, WE HAVE A FIGHT BETWEEN EXECUTIONER ARIAS, THE ABSENCE VS. EXECUTIONER SOLARIS, THE ECLIPSE!!!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as the mystery of who the eclipse is had been settled; some, like Celma, gloated to those around her that she was right, while others sulked at the fact that they had been wrong.
Solaris was ripped out of his thoughts as he shot the Announcer a terrifying glare.
What the hell!!! WHY DOES HE KNOW THAT NAME!! Better question: why is it used in my introduction? What the hell!
Before Solaris could speak, he saw Arias enter the arena.
Solaris hadn't seen her in some time, and never had he paid too much attention to her before, yet now he was shocked.
Arias was beautiful.
The small, petite girl had raven-black hair that draped down her back, down to her thighs. Her skin was pristine and white like a ghost, yet still had a lively glow to it. Her eyes were almost as if they lacked a natural color; instead, they were a grayish color that didn't display any lively emotion.
Atop her delicate figure, she had on a silver dress that subtly reflected the light around her. It had a slit in the leg of the dress that allowed for better movement; on top of this, she had on a black military jacket, draped down to her elbows. Around her neck, she had on a black choker with a small mirror on it. She had on heavy military boots that seemed to fit her body perfectly; finally, she had on a myriad of rings made of various materials on every finger, none of which seemed to fall off.
Seeing the incredibly attractive Woman Solaris, was frozen for a moment.
damn it... Selen, Selen...
In an attempt to focus on something else, he began to think of Selen, a woman who, in his eyes, was much prettier than Arias.
Once he calmed himself, he called forth his marks.
The shards slid out from under his arm; the one around the arena had moved back to him before he had left to go prepare.
Then his mantle poured over his shoulders like a tide of dark fabric before fitting to his body in a comfortable fashion.
"READY?"
Arias and Solaris nodded, the latter pulling his blade from its sheath.
"THEN FIGHT!!"