In the middle of the Houlthart Desert, Within the Arena, the Progenitor gripped his long sword, his eyes darting back and forth. He was terrified of the blind boy standing across from him.
Rei stood still, his mind racing. I can't use my sorcery yet, he thought. "If these people find out I have sorcery, I'll never get out of these chains. I have to win using only my sword. But still I am not good in swordsmanship, I have to just use my wits."
"Let's see if you can block this with your finger again!" the Progenitor roared. He charged, swinging his massive blade with every ounce of his strength.
Rei couldn't see the man, but he could feel the shift in the air and the heavy vibrations of the man's footsteps. Using his Qi to sense the world around him, Rei dropped into the defensive stance of the Central Sword Style. Clang! The long sword slammed into Rei's blade. The force was like a falling boulder, pushing Rei back several feet, but his defense held.
"The Central Style is great for blocking, but this is still not enough" Rei thought, his arms trembling from the impact, but he's physically much stronger than me."I can't keep this up forever."
The Progenitor didn't stop. He unleashed a flurry of vertical and horizontal slashes. Rei parried and blocked, but he could hear a faint, high-pitched ringing—his sword was beginning to chip.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" the Progenitor mocked. "Are you just a shield?"
"I need a flaw," Rei told himself. "Every style has a hole."
The Progenitor swung a wide horizontal slash aimed at Rei's neck. This was the moment. Instead of blocking, Rei ducked low. He stepped forward and to the right, sliding past the Progenitor's reach. In one fluid motion, he drew his blade across the man's chest.
Blood sprayed onto the sand. The Progenitor let out a pained grunt, but Rei was already moving again. He slashed at the man's wrists, forcing him to drop his long sword. Panicking, the Progenitor tried to run, hoping to get out of Rei's sensory range.
Rei didn't let him. He leaped through the air, his blade flashing in the sunlight. He landed behind the man and delivered a final slash across his back. The Progenitor collapsed face-first into the dirt.
The crowd went wild. "The Blind Swordsman is incredible!" "He was just waiting for the right opening!"
Rei stood over the fallen man. The Progenitor looked up, his face pale. "Mercy! Please, mercy!"
"Kill him! Kill him!" the crowd chanted, their voices rising like a tidal wave.
Rei sighed, sheathing his sword. "I'm not going to kill you," he said calmly. "I'm not a puppet for these people."
"Oh, you will kill him," the announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. Suddenly, thick green gas began to hiss out of pipes in the arena walls. "If you don't finish him, the poison will kill you both!"
The crowd gasped, but Rei didn't panic. He walked directly into the center of the poison cloud. Secretly, he used a tiny bit of sorcery to create a swirling pocket of fresh air around his nose. He stood there for several minutes while the Progenitor was still on the ground where poison had not reached yet.
When the gas cleared, Rei walked out, completely unharmed. "Are you satisfied now?"
The announcer was speechless. The crowd cheered louder than ever, mocking the announcer for failing to kill the boy. But as Rei stood there, he heard a faint whiz.
An arrow flew toward his head. He caught it out of the air, but his heart sank. The arrow was made of Qi-Absorbing Material. As soon as it touched his skin, his sensory vision vanished. He was truly blind again. Before he could react, a small dart hit his neck. His world went dark.
Rei woke up to the sound of dripping water and the smell of damp stone. He tried to move his arms, but they were locked in heavy metal cuffs.
"Oh, you're finally awake," a voice said from the shadows.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Rei asked, his voice raspy.
"My name is Dell," the voice replied. "We're in the Colosseum's underground prison. The place where they keep the fighters."
"A prison," Rei thought bitterly. "Back to where I started. But I'm not staying here. I'll break out of this place if it's the last thing I do."
"So," Dell asked, "what's your name?"
Rei hesitated. The old questions came back to haunt him. "Am I Rei? Am I the reincarnation? Am I Piers, the monster? Or am I just the Blind Swordsman?" He started to breathe heavily, his chest tightening with anxiety.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Dell asked, sounding concerned.
"Nothing," Rei whispered. "I am... no one."
"No one? Don't be ridiculous. Everyone is someone," Dell said with a light laugh.
"I don't know who I am anymore," Rei admitted.
"Don't sweat it. This place does that to people," Dell said. "But I saw you out there. You used the Central Sword Style. I thought that was lost decades ago. Who taught you?"
"Someone important," Rei replied.
"Well, listen," Dell said, his voice turning serious. "I'm from a noble martial arts family. I was the heir. But another family attacked us, killed my father in a duel, and I barely got away. I joined the Rebels to get revenge, but we were wiped out by Paladins. I was sold here as a slave."
"You've had a hard life," Rei noted.
"Yeah, but I'm not done yet," Dell said. "I've been staying here on purpose to perfect my fighting style. Once I'm strong enough, I'm going to break out and take back my family's name."
Rei felt a spark of interest. "Do you actually have a plan to escape?"
"I do," Dell whispered, his voice full of confidence.
Rei leaned his head against the cold bars. "Then I'm all ears. Tell me everything."