Water dripped in the sink below the cracked mirror. The cellar was quiet, swallowed by darkness. Aegis shifted on the tattered mattress in his sleep, his eyebrows tightened, and his mouth curved downward.
"We will meet again… slave."
These words danced in his mind as he shifted in discomfort.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. Aegis sat up, and he took heavy breaths. For a moment, he felt as if the top of his head was sliced off. He rubbed his head in panic, and took a sigh of relief as he felt his hair and eyes.
Praise Arch Devil, it was not real.
He could feel a fading pain in his head, as if the sliced part was being reattached. Aegis rubbed his temple as he thought. He took a few heavy breaths and finally calmed down.
The gold was real, but so is the terror guarding it.
A frown was plastered on his face as he stared into a corner. Aegis gently massaged his temples as his head felt heavy after the memory. The toll of watching the whole memory and feeling the pain Deron felt was like a ton of metal weighing on his mind. He gritted his teeth as his head started to feel even heavier.
"Kluck!" he cursed as he started to deduce the toll of these dreams.
His body swayed as he gently stood up and walked toward the mirror. He took a step forward and stood in front of the mirror, and sighed with disappointment. His deduction was true; he could see Deron's face in the mirror, and the cellar around him was filled with fog.
He thought, as he knew the only way to get out of this illusion was to hurt himself. Aegis shook his head and tried to wash the illusion off with water, but it didn't work. He could see the gladiator's face and the fog.
I can't hurt myself every time.
Finally, he clenched his fist and hit his cheek. A groan escaped his lips as he did.
"Ackk!"
His cheek pained as the fist landed on it. Aegis gently massaged his cheek and exhaled in relief as his face returned to the mirror and the fog disappeared. He walked back to his mattress and sat on it, thoughts swallowed his mind fully.
The gladiator was strong, even though he was disgraced; he won a hundred duels.
Aegis recollected all the rumours and conversations he overheard. Deron was known as a powerful gladiator before his humiliation, and even though Aegis looked down upon him, he couldn't discredit his victories. He was a known beast fighter; he subdued and killed many dangerous beasts.
He couldn't recollect any information about Ryne or Neg, so he couldn't estimate their strength. Aegis kept playing the confrontation between the bandits and the terror. The way the blade swept, the green light that shone when the terror appeared, and the charred skeletons, along with green flames, made him throw his head back in frustration.
This is above us.
He knew if Zerra, Kaelran, and he could not fight and survive the terror. In fact, they would be killed the moment they stepped in. They need help, and someone willing to go into the dead city, and he knew exactly who it was.
Ananke.
…
The sky was painted in orange as two suns were above the horizon.
The tavern buzzed with chatter. Aegis paid his master with the leftover coins he had and walked out. He decided to do two things. One was to meet his friends and tell them about the dreams, and the other was to search for Ananke. The streets of the pitt were busy as always, fiends and other residents walked with him and kept their distance.
Aegis was confused, as he had only a few hours, and he could only do one thing. However, it won't be easy to reach Ananke. He is a gladiator, and he must definitely be residing in the dragon's fall.
On the other hand, Aegis preferred not to go to the quarry. A recent news of a cambion's head being used to play fetch shook Aegis to his core. It was easy for the workers to follow their will.
As a slave, he was not afraid of his life, as his master had a use for him. Even though Aegis hated the reason, he was grateful his master used him. But the workers do not have a use for him, and before Aegis could say he was a slave, some insane fiend might harm him.
I don't want to die before I taste freedom.
With that, Aegis chose not to go to the quarry. He decided he would go there after he joined Ananke. He decided to go to Dragon's Fall, after all, where else would a gladiator reside? With that, Aegis made his way to the arena.
He finally entered the arena and searched the boards of the blood wager Pit, but Ananke's name was nowhere to be seen. Aegis turned his gaze toward the bookie and asked,
"Sir, do you know anything about the Eldari champion?"
The bookie raised his eyebrow, his purple robe shifted as he leaned in and spoke.
"Why do you want to know about him?" The bookie's voice carried suspicion.
Aegis quickly cleared his throat and replied.
"I believe he might win the tournament. I want to confirm it!"
The bookie stared at Aegis for a moment and pointed his finger toward the battle pit. Aegis raised his eyebrow, and he was sure he did not find Ananke's name on the board. He spoke again.
"But his name is not on the board?"
The bookie's face tightened his voice sounded irritated as he spoke.
"Where were you when the host announced his name? It is on the board!"
The long slender finger of the bookie pointed at a new name, it read.
"Serenease"
Aegis was confused. He nodded his head and walked toward the stand.
Serenease? Ananke? What is his name?
As Aegis kept walking, the crowds in the stands screamed, their hands were in the air. And their gazes fixed on the battle pit. Aegis slowly pushed through the crowd of cambions and finally reached the railing.
The metal railing felt cold as Aegis gripped onto it and stared at the battle pit. Dust engulfed the centre of the battle pit as two figures inside it fought. Each strike sliced through the dust, and slowly it settled.
In the centre of the dust, Ananke stood holding a slender, colossal sword. It curved and looked clean, unlike anything Aegis has seen. He was only familiar with the huge chunks of metal called colossal swords made to flatten and destroy opponents. But what Ananke held looked like it was made to be quick and precise. The black metal armour on his body was also dull, unlike normal armour.
A fiend stumbled back at the centre as his body and face bore clean cuts, and his light metal armour had blood leaking from it. The fiend's two horns were now bright enough to convey his rage. He screamed as he charged forward toward Ananke. He swayed his hammer as he approached Ananke.
Ananke, however, did not react till the last minute. The hammer loomed to his right, about to hit him and crack his ribs. Ananke stepped forward and deflected the Hammer's extended neck and slashed the fiend one more time.
The fiend retaliated with a scream, and he drove a stiletto into Ananke's chest. Instead of moving, Ananke simply caught it with his Armpit and shook it off with a swift motion. Another slash followed, and the curved, slender sword flowed like water. It's tides waited for the cracks in the rock and hit him with full force when they appeared.
Aegis realised that Ananke was toying with the fiend, but confusion crept into his mind.
Why isn't he reacting?
Aegis focused on Ananke's face; it lacked expression. Only cold resolve. Aegis realised that if Ananke wanted to end the fight, he would have done so long ago. So why was he prolonging it?
Suddenly, the thought of the golden dias appeared in his mind. Aegis turned his gaze toward it.
Is it for the recognition?
Ananke might be seeking the noble houses' backing, after all; no gladiator fought without a benefit. If that is the case, Aegis's interest piqued. He always wanted to know what was inside the upper bastion. But one incident changed his demeanour, and he left his idea of entering the upper bastion.
Aegis rubbed his chest where the burnt scar was. He turned back toward Ananke. The fiend did not give up; he swung his hammer wildly in rage. Ananke evaded each swing and gripped his curved great sword tightly. With a swift motion, the sword sliced the fiend's head off.
It was clean, the head fell onto the ground before the blood spilt out of the clean cut. Finally, the body knelt and slumped onto the ground. Ananke held his sword with one hand and slashed the air. The blade drew a big arc in the air, and the blood on it fell onto the sand. The sword cleaned itself.
Aegis's jaw loosened, as he did not expect Ananke's duel to be as precise as a dance. The only gladiator to achieve it before was Khrane. Right then, the host spoke.
"Four minutes! The shortest duel ever!"
The crowd around the stands grew restless, and everyone screamed at the top of their lungs. Aegis, however, stood in silence. His eyes were wide open as he thought.
Four minutes? Even a bottom-level gladiator took ten minutes to be killed.
Ananke sheathed his slender sword and bowed down, facing the golden dias and started walking toward the exit. Aegis returned to reality and shouted with all his might before Ananke could leave.
"Ananke!"
His voice was lost in the cheers. Aegis hoped it would reach Ananke, but he knew it was impossible. Ananke walked for a few minutes before halting.
Suddenly, Ananke turned back and looked right at Aegis.