The fighter gate was a rusted steel door with a small window at head height.
Holden stood behind it and looked through the grimy glass at the cage. The current fight was already ending. A large man with a mace had just knocked his opponent into the cage wall. The crowd screamed their approval as the loser crumpled to the blood-stained floor.
A handler in a stained vest appeared beside Holden.
"You're up next, mask. Get ready."
Holden said nothing.
The handler shrugged. "Quiet type. Fine by me. Quiet ones either die fast or win fast. Let's see which one you are."
The cage door opened. Two medics dragged the unconscious loser out through a side gate. The winner, the man with the mace, raised his arms and walked out to cheers.
Then the announcer's voice boomed through the underground speakers.
"Next up! Rank Two division! Making his debut in the Pit, an unknown fighter going by the name..." The announcer paused for effect. "Asura!"
