ΦRunning forward with all my might, I say, "What the fuck was that!"
Did I just happen to run into the one person who happens to have a curse that allows her to read minds, right when I am going to carry out the mission? You can't make this up, can you!
Maybe this is a sign to turn back and simply stop what I am doing. But in actuality, wouldn't that be the easier of the two options? Giving up here will spare my life and my sanity, so wouldn't the demon gods be more tempted to make me pick that as an option, in counter to the other one, which is to keep going till I carry out my mission?
Right, god hates quitters, and what I am doing will only help us defend ourselves from those dastardly humans who are trying to turn us all into items for their own greed. I can't give up yet.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A powerful voice echoes towards me.
Turning my head, I see the girl on the back of a tall, beautiful man, with two horns and a long scaly tail, who has a dragonic glare in his eyes as he rushes towards me at high speed.
With the voice of an ogre, she shouts, "YOU THINK YOU'RE GETTING AWAY!"
As her voice hits my ears, all my instincts take over my body, and I accelerate, as tears fill my eyes. Even if I wanted to stop, I wouldn't be able to do it anymore; my body will not allow me with that fiendish beast chasing after me. I am so dead, I am already killed if she touches me. Right now, I need to get to the lower levels already!
ΦThe nightmare that runs in front of both Suzuka and Cyrus jumps into the air for a moment and then wraps the cloak completely around his body, leaving no surface exposed. As he falls right onto the ground, he slips through the floor and heads down.
Cyrus stops, and Suzuka says, "He can even move through surfaces with that item!"
Her eyes jot around, and soon she sees a sign that shouts that they are at the top of 5 levels. "We need to find the stairs, Cyrus, or we won't be able to get out of here in time."
Panic lies deep within her voice, causing her to keep breathing in and out, which only intensifies as she soon grabs her head, and lets out a little scream.
Cyrus turns his head and asks, "A-Are, y-y-you, oka-ay?"
"We moved far into the stadium. I can feel the emotions and hear the thoughts of those above. For some reason, they are extremely chaotic. Is something happening in the second match?"
ΦSuzuka is in trouble. I need to get her out of here. But if I leave something horrible could happen to everyone in the stadium, and no one will be able to save them, which would pain Suzuka. Yet we don't have the time to run around each floor, while he can simply pass through them!
If Dumnorix were here, he would be fast enough to catch that nightmare.
No Cyrus! He isn't here, and there is nothing you can do about that. You want to protect everyone, so use you're brain and fight as well.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Cyrus says with confidence in his voice.
From his tail, he activates his legacy and consumes the ground beneath him in darkness. Then he quickly consumes his and Suzuka's bodies before spitting them out the other side of the floor, allowing them to move right into the second level.
Suzuka looks at Cyrus with surprise, and she says, "I didn't know you could do that?"
"I will bring us towards him! Now let's go to Suzuka!"
Location: Knightmares Changing rooms
Within Saint Ludovic stadium lie four giant changing rooms for each team, all stocked with beds, hot springs, food, self-cleaning toilets, strategy boards, and supplies/medicines for any form of injuries under the sun. Along with a series of statues in honour of previous athletes from their respective regions.
Lying with his back against the wall with his armour off the floor, the nightmare with grey skin, and a golden armoured mask carved into his face with white hair, and with tiny droops of golden flesh hanging from his chest known as Mõõk takes a deep breath. The mask then opens up and splits across the two sides of his face, exposing his fiendish mouth, then says, "That bath was refreshing!"
A nightmare's body that is completely made out of a tree, with hair composed of a series of red pedals, known as Traucētājs says, "You're body is still a bit too tense for my liking, you should sit down, and allow me to give you a back rub."
A green nightmare with silver-bladed wings, known Ikaras says, "The team's mom Traucētājs coddles again."
Turning his head to Ikaras, who sits on top of a statue, says, "Because we are a team, you idiot, and I know lone wolves like you struggle to understand that. Now get off the statue, and come spend time on the floor with the rest of us!"
"I don't struggle; it's just that I alone dominate the skies on the battlefield. Being as free and as alone as possible puts me in the correct headspace. Right now, I am even imagining plays from above."
Traucētājs stares to get heated as he tries to pull Ikaras from the top of the statues, but a nightmare with two long eyes, shining gold hair and a transcendent beauty walks past him covered in robes, places his hand on the back, then says, "Appearance matter most in this world, and despite your beautiful heart you come off as a fiend my dear partner."
Turning with an even more annoyed look in his eyes, he says, "Spīdogaisma, did you put on makeup?"
Sitting beside Mõõk, Spīdogaisma says, "Of course I did, I must be at peak beauty to operate to the best of my abilities."
"YOU WEAR A MASK AS YOU PLAY, DON'T GO WASTING ENERGY APPLYING MAKEUP!"
"What a nag," the green-skinned nightmare with tiny hurricanes of wind as his hair, known as Audra, says while cleaning his gloves.
"SAY THAT AGAIN!" Traucētājs says, grabbing Audra by the collar.
A little man made out of stone with a giant horn protruding from his right shoulder, known as Pumnpiatră, turns to his brother, a tiny man made of our molten rocks with a giant horn protruding from his left shoulder, known as Pumnflacără, and they start to roll around on the floor laughing as they point towards the fight unfolding between the two.
"KEEP LAUGHING AT ME YOU MIGIETS I AM COMING FOR THE BOTH OF YOU NEXT!"
Spīdogaisma says, "How unsightly. Don't you think, Captain?"
Mõõk lets out an explosive laugh and says, "I love the energy, boys!"
Traucētājs says, "Don't make me smack that stupid grin off your face."
"I hope you do, but say it after the match. Right now, I think it's good for all of you the run wild, and for Traucētājs to stress himself out over your behaviour."
Traucētājs slams his foot to the side of Mõõk's face and says, "So it's fun for me to be bent out of shape."
"It's your favourite activity, ever since we were kids tossing the balls around. We all need to be at our best, so allowing us all to be in our element is the best thing we can do."
Mõõk stands up and says, "Everyone is filled with anxiety throughout the country, not knowing who they can trust, realising that even holy events are not safe from the unrest, and hoping that the escalation in wars around the world won't come knocking on their door, all while the queen is nowhere to be seen.
Yet they have all gathered in this stadium to watch us exceed ourselves physically and mentally. In this moment, they have tied themselves to us, so these games are not just about becoming the best in the country, they're about being the pillar of our society, the centre of their worlds."
Ikaras says, "Gotten me all excited and tingly now."
Spīdogaisma says, "It seems I need to redo my make-up."
Pumnpiatră grows his stone body and says, "No one is making it past me."
Pumnflacără grows his molten body and says, "I am going to bombard my enemies from afar."
Audra says, "So much pressure, but I guess I will keep our pieces safe for a long as possible."
Traucētājs relaxing says, "Who do you think you even are? A hero."
"Of course I am. It's been my dream to inspire the lost nightmares just like they inspired me. All the while being the very centre of attention."
"Can't tell if your heart or ego is bigger."
"Both can be massive at the same time. Now, boys, let's talk about strategy."
Moments before Mõõk begins to go on about their plans for the next match, Traucētājs, looking past him, sees a man covered in a cloak emerge from the wall, slipping through it, and as the man does, he reaches out his hand to touch Mõõk. Traucētājs quickly grabs Mõõk and pushes him away before getting his arm grabbed instead.
In a completely unnatural way, his arm twists into a spiral like rubber, causing immense pain to flow through it, and soon his legs are grabbed, and the same phenomenon happens to him.
Everyone in the room quickly reacts. Audra, creating a fist of wind, strikes at the man. But he quickly covers his body in the cloak, making it all move past him. Then quickly, the man grabs both Audra and Spīdogaisma's necks before causing them to spiral, forcing them both to the ground.
Mõõk, recovering from the push, sweeps his leg towards the gap in the cloak that reveals the man's face, yet as he does, the floor where the man places his foot twists forcefully, moving him out of range. Then lunging forward, he grabs Mõõk's leg, and then forces it to twist as well.
"I GOT HIM!" The man shouts, before he quickly jumps and covers himself in his cloak to try and escape. Yet Cyrus burst through the door, and then lets out a roar directly at him, which shocks the man for a moment, allowing Suzuka to smash her tails right into his face, knocking him down.
Suzuka quickly turns her head, and across the floor she sees the four who were attacked lying in pain, and with dread creeping up her face, she says, "We were too late!"
She jumps off Cyrus's back, and then Ikaras runs up to her and says, "Hey, I know you. You're that fast dragon who was running around town yesterday."
Cyrus nods his head, and Ikaras says, "Please run back to the surface and get members of the Bendición to come and heal our members."
"R-Right. Let's g-go Suzuka."
Suzuka quickly rushes off of Suzuka's back, and goes over towards the nightmares on the floor, and says, "Gozen battle arts; Spirit therapy."
"Cyrus, I will try to ease their wounds, but please hurry."
He nods and then heads off.
-Break-
Location: Saint Ludovic Stadium, Pitch
As Orb and everyone else in the stadium look down on the match playing before them, they all doubt their sanity as lying on the floor, beaten and battered, are the Bloody Marys.
Zbur, collecting himself, stands up and says, "We have a great upset. The Distorted Sky has dominated the Bloody Marys, knocking over all their pieces and claiming victory for the Cursed Sky region. This is the first complete domination in the last 50 years!"
Avram says, "They could have beaten them from the start, half that match was them just toying with them."
Ivana says, "I didn't even know that level of skill existed."
Orb says, "I think that was a bit too much even for this game. It felt like they wanted to show their dominance far more than anything else; no fun was felt from their plays at all."
Elia points to her left and says, "Isn't that Cyrus?"
They all turn their heads to where Bendición stands, and beside the members, they see Cyrus speaking to them, causing them all to quickly follow him out of the area.
Standing up with fright, Orb says, "Something must have happened. Everyone, let's go!"
The group of them soon stands up and heads out, with a messenger running to the four ministers at the exact same moment.