Masaru analyzed his opponent. He was slightly shorter than him, he had a spiky green Mohawk, wore a leather vest that had the shoulders lined with human teeth, and wore cowboy boots that seemed to be stained with blood.
"Well then, Mr. Samurai… Clearly you have no idea who you're up against!" Eldritch spoke in a threatening tone, however, Masaru simply slid one foot forward and leaned into a drawing technique position.
"I don't like people who talk like you." Masaru stated plainly.
At this comment, Eldritch was enraged. He jumped into the air, and struck the ground with his fist. The ground began to violently shake and large, earthen spikes appeared out of the ground in an attempt to skewer Masaru.
Unfortunately for him, this sort of technique would not work on Masaru, who had already began to draw his sword, and in a flash of blue light and three extremely fast cuts, he reduced the spikes into dust. He then jumped forward into the air toward his opponent.
"Orochi no kata…"
His body gracefully glided through the air, leaving a gentle trail of dark blue as he slowly moved toward his opponent. His sword was perpendicular to his body, and then he seemed to phase through his opponent, and Eldtritch's face was overcome with terror.
"You… monster…"
Those were Eldritch's last words, as he was suddenly chopped into thin bologna like meat slices, all in one moment. He fell to the ground in a yucky stack of lunch meat.
Masaru's sword clicked back into its sheath, the sound echoed throughout, and everyone in the stadium heard it. It took a few moments of quiet where everyone was appalled at how Masaru chose to finish to battle, but everyone roared up afterward as Masaru closed his eyes and walked through the gate, his heart stained with something he could not define.
Sereth and Aeon remained in shock. Aeon's eyes were slightly widened, and Sereth was grinning like a madman.
"Damn… This dude is serious…" Sereth spoke with a fiery tone.
Aeon nodded gently and walked through the stands and down the stairs, where a creature walked next to him, and left the crowds line of sight.
"Masaru Kagemori is the winner!!! That was a terrifying matchup, and now we have another right now! Hopefully this one will last longer! Emerging from the red gate, is Alyie Shikendan! She is also our first female contestant!"
A tall woman with bright pink hair and green highlights at the ends of each strand, a white jacket, perfectly round sunglasses, and booty shorts that hugged her figure appeared onto the arena through a gate.
The male portion of the spectators cheered a little bit too much.
She dramatically took off her glasses to reveal bright green eyes, and smiled at the crowd while giving a little bow.
"And emerging from the golden gate, is Aeon Kairos! Who is our youngest contestant! We think!"
Aeon floated out of the gate, and for a brief moment, was surprised at his opponent, even he couldn't predict he would be fighting a extremely attractive woman.
"How exactly am I supposed to fight her?" He thought to himself.
"And begin!"
Alyie sauntered over to Aeon, her hips swaying, and she gently placed her hand under his chin. Her aura extending to his core, and he stared her down as she approached.
"Hey cutie… Why don't you just surrender and be a good boy? That way, you'll make me happy." She said, her tone thick with seduction.
Aeon looked at her for a moment, and then out of nowhere, an invisible impact landed in her face and she suddenly recoiled backward, holding her face in surprise and anguish. After she took a few steps back, Aeon threw a high kick into the air, which seemed to do nothing. Almost as if the kick landed before he threw it.
"You little brat!"
Alyie screamed at Aeon in a rage, her fists clenched as she ran at him, and suddenly, Aeon's hoodie was gripped by some kind of invisible force, but by the time she came to grab him, he was free and able to leap backward.
The next five minutes or so consisted of Aeon sort of "Warping" what was happening and what was about to happen, and Alyie wasn't having any of it.
"You little punk… you think you're so tough? I've taken out hundreds of guys before! I won't have any trouble with a kid like you!" She said, breathing heavily from wasting energy in failing to hit Aeon.
"People like you are often caught up in what's about to happen. Never what has happened or is happening." Aeon replied.
Aeon refused to hit her again, so instead, he just kept dodging her attacks ahead of time, and she was getting tired out trying to keep up.
Another five minutes passed. The crowd was dying, just like Alyie's will to fight. The announcers voice chimed in after a little while,
"When I said I was hoping this one last longer, I didn't mean it like this. C'mon guys!"
Aeon smiled slightly as he looked up at an exhausted Alyie.
"I'm willing to wait as long as I need. Eventually always comes."
When Aeon said this, Alyie completely gave up and she finally declared the battle to be over.
"I give up…" she said, with tears welling up.
"Finally! How did you even qualify for this tournament! You're supposed to have strong abilities! Get outta here! The winner is Aeon Kairos!"
The forcefield lowered and the two simply walked off instead of taking the gates. The crowd booed Alyie, who was trying to keep from crying as she ran off. Aeon started to walk away, but then vanished into thin air.
…
Alyie stood outside wiping away her tears, feeling the sting of defeat settle in her chest. Aeon floated beside her, his form as calm and distant as the drifting clouds above.
He did not look at her directly but rather seemed to gaze past her, into something further. His voice came softly, like a murmur on the wind.
"Sometimes, the weight we carry isn't ours to hold, but we still choose to take it."
He paused, as if considering something unseen, before speaking again, his words drifting through the space between them.
"You are not your fight. Nor the one who failed. You are simply... the one who moves."
His voice held no judgment, no condescension. It was as though he was speaking not to her, but with her—like an echo in the wind that she might feel, but never fully understand.
"What comes next will come, Alyie. You do not have to chase it, nor run from it. Just... be."
There was no smile, no comforting gesture. His gaze remained distant, almost as if he were already somewhere else.
"Goodbye, Alyie."
And with that, he drifted away, as quiet as he had arrived.
Alyie began to calm down.
…
Aeon floated into the "Steeping Leaves" tea shop, and found Masaru there, drinking his tea.
"Hello Masaru."
"Hello Aeon."
Aeon sat down, and the elderly woman brought him a cup of tea, and the two drank their tea, and unwound from their fights.