Solaris opened his eyes, the rattle of chains subsiding back into his subconscious.
Slowly, he sat up, observing the surrounding forest and the field where he had been sleeping.
The area was peaceful, tranquil, and most importantly, not confined by walls.
Sighing, Solaris snapped his fingers, and the room transformed into its original state.
Turning his head, Solaris saw someone in the room.
Seeing this, Solaris jumped back, falling off his bed. The person in the corner was not something he had expected to be there.
A laugh resounded from the man in the corner before Solaris popped his head over the bed and spoke.
"Lucian, what the hell! You scared shit out of me!"
Lucian was hunched over in the corner, continuing to laugh hysterically for a moment longer before straightening and replying.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you that badly. I had originally just come to tell you that the tournament was starting today, but decided this was going to be too funny to pass up."
Solaris looked at Lucian for a moment before smiling and shaking his head.
"I'm definitely going to get you back for this one day. Anyway, the tournament is starting today?"
Lucian smiled brightly.
"Yep, so get ready, buddy; we gotta leave... NOW! OH CRAP! Hurry up, buddy; I waited too long to wake you up!"
Solaris rapidly rushed into the bathroom, grabbed some clothes, changed as fast as he could, and then met Lucian at the front of the crimson cross.
"How are we going to get there?"
Lucian looked over at Solaris and winked.
"Don't worry about that, buddy; I've got it."
A moment later, Solaris felt his body flying down the streets. Lucian was moving so fast it was as if the time around him was accelerated.
Buildings were blurring past the duo, and after what felt like a couple of minutes, they were at the front door of HQ.
Solaris swayed for a moment before catching his bearings.
"...wow..."
Lucian looked over at Solaris with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, buddy, I'm not really used to transporting people. That's more of the black knight thing."
Solaris covered his mouth, holding in his vomit, before speaking.
"Who?"
Lucian looked confused for a moment before realizing how new Solaris really was to the Crimson Cross.
"Don't worry about him right now; I'm sure he'll be in the tournament."
The hunched-over Solaris looked up at Lucian, then took a deep breath and straightened.
I need to remind him to never do that again, but for now I'm pretty late... I think.
"Who's fighting the first round?"
Solaris asked as the two opened the door and began walking through the crimson cross. Solaris was following Lucian.
"Hmmm, I think it's... these two Micy users, Celma and Relly."
Solaris looked at Lucian with a dumbfounded expression.
"Why the hell did we have to sprint across town, then!"
Lucian turned around with an innocent smile and spoke.
"I wanted to see the powers at play."
Solaris sighed and shook his head.
"Fair enough, I wanted to see them two."
Solaris's interest in the powers on display was a bit deeper than a juvenile interest in magic.
He needed to be prepared for two main reasons.
One, in the chance the crimson cross was something he needed to face, he would have a better chance at beating it with knowledge of their powers.
And two, if he does have to go back to hell, knowing his comrades' strengths and weaknesses would be greatly helpful.
After a short walk with a bit of friendly chatter, the two made it to the location where the tournament was being held.
As Lucian opened the doors, Solaris was in awe of what the Crimson Cross had done just for a Friendly tournament.
Behind the doors Lucian had just opened, a massive colosseum was built with rows upon rows of seats, half of which were entirely pointless.
Below the seats was a large circular arena with a large while stone for the battles to take place.
Within the arena, two women were walking up to the white stone.
One was taller and more muscular, and the other was shorter with a delicate figure.
Lucian leaned over to Solaris and spoke.
"The taller one is Relly, and the shorter one is Celma."
As the two stepped onto the platform, a voice began to speak. The voice was booming and strong; it was a familiar voice, yet Solaris couldn't put a face to it.
"Welcome to the Hunters Tournament!"
The voice began to lay out the rules while Lucian and Solaris spotted Ember sitting near Selen and Sami. They quickly rushed over and took a seat, Solaris next to Selen and Lucian next to Solaris.
"The Rules are simple: fight with all you've got, and the first to tap out or pass out loses. The best builders and healers have designed this arena; the arena will not let anyone die within its bounds, so please do not be afraid to go all out. We have stationed healers all about, so if anything happens, they will be the first to respond."
The voice paused to let Everyone digest the information, then continued.
"The combatants will be called up five minutes before the round. The first phase will only be Micy users, while the second phase will be Micy and Extramicy users. The brackets are placed below every seat in the arena, so if you forget, you can also look at them for an update on who's fighting and when."
The voice paused again, letting everyone pull out the bracket.
Solaris pulled out his bracket- it was a tablet-style device- and began to look over it. It was a simple bracket with tons of names; the two currently in the arena were slightly glowing, signifying that they were up.
Skimming over it, he found his own and read his opponent.
"Arias?"
Solaris turned to look at Lucian with a questioning gaze.
"Arias! You're so dead, man. That's the second in charge of HQ, right behind Jon Smit!"
Shit man. They want me dead so bad, all because I don't literally want to go to hell.
Solaris looked once again at the bracket and read Selen's, Ember's, and Lucian's opponents. Ember was fighting someone named Celer; Selen was fighting someone named Ezekiel, and Lucian was fighting someone named Kelan.
"They clearly don't think very highly of me."
Lucian muttered.
Solaris turned back to Lucian and asked.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because he's a newbie hunter, and he's only a Micy user."
"I've been meaning to ask, what is a Micy?"
Lucian raised an eyebrow, then responded.
"Think of it like a broken Extramicy. Take Ember, for example; he can create fire anywhere and then even become it, while a Micy user could only create fire from, say, their fingers."
Solaris nodded in understanding.
"Could they ever get an Extramicy?"
"No."
Embers' blunt response cleared up any confusion Solaris might've had.
I wonder whether it's a lack of a blessing or a sacrifice, or something else entirely... I could check, but it might draw unwanted attention...
As Solaris was pondering the reason Micy's existed, he heard the voice boom once more.
"Celma, Relly, are you ready for round one of the hunters' tournament?"
The two girls nodded.
"Then fight!"