Before the sixty minutes of our designated break time could fully come to an absolute end, I knew it was time to move. I left the quiet comfort of the small restaurant behind and made my way back through the long, winding corridors that connected the outer sections of the underground city to the main combat facility. I hopped back into the massive, open space of the arena. The heavy metal gates slammed shut behind me with a loud, ringing crash that echoed across the vast stadium. The golden sand beneath my boots felt rough and shifted slightly with every single step I took toward the very center of the fighting grounds. I was not alone in the middle of the large, circular pit. I stood there alongside nine other fighters who had also gathered in the center. We were all standing in a loose formation, waiting quietly under the bright, artificial lights that illuminated the arena floor. The ten of us were waiting to be chosen to fight the ice mage. The anticipation hung heavy in the air, creating a tense and completely silent atmosphere among the group of warriors. No one spoke a single word. We just stood there, breathing in the dry, dusty air of the stadium, keeping our eyes focused directly ahead as the minutes ticked by. The lights above us cast long, dark shadows across the ground, stretching out behind each of our feet. Every single one of us was breathing slowly, trying to conserve our energy and keep our muscles warm in case we were the one forced to fight. The announcer's booth was completely empty and silent for the moment, leaving only the distant sounds of the audience talking among themselves. The heavy metal gates remained closed, locking us inside the fighting pit. We all knew that only one of us would be picked for the next bout.
We stood in the center of the arena, waiting for what felt like a very long time. The crowd up in the high stands was murmuring quietly, their voices blending together into a steady, low hum that filled the massive open space. We kept waiting and waiting. Suddenly, the temperature in the very center of the arena began to drop rapidly. A thick, cold mist started to roll across the golden sand, bringing a sharp, freezing chill to the air around us. After waiting, the ice mage finally appeared. He stepped out from the dark shadows of the main entrance tunnel, walking slowly and deliberately onto the sandy floor of the arena. Every single step he took seemed to leave a thin layer of white frost on the ground beneath his boots. The ten of us watched him approach, our bodies tense and fully prepared for whatever was going to happen next. He stopped walking when he was just a short distance away from our group. He stood completely still, his eyes scanning across the line of fighters waiting before him. The cold air radiating from his body was intense and piercing.
The ice mage looked at each of us in complete silence, observing the ten individuals who had stepped forward for the challenge. The crowd up in the seating area went entirely quiet, watching with absolute focus to see who would be selected for the upcoming match. Suddenly, he raised his arm and extended his hand directly forward. He pointed to Nishighi. The ice mage did not look at anyone else. His finger remained completely steady, aimed perfectly at Nishighi, signaling that he had made his final choice for the fight. The attention of the entire stadium immediately shifted away from the rest of the group and focused entirely on the chosen opponent. Nishighi did not flinch, and he did not show any signs of surprise or fear at being singled out by the ice mage. Instead, Nishighi just looked at him with a completely calm and steady expression. The tension between the two fighters was incredibly sharp. Nishighi kept his eyes locked firmly onto the ice mage, completely undisturbed by the freezing mist rolling around their feet. Then, Nishighi opened his mouth and spoke his words clearly, his voice carrying through the cold, quiet air of the arena floor. "I am going to kill you... respectfully," Nishighi said.
The selection had been made, and the remaining nine of us were no longer needed on the arena floor for this specific round. Following the strict procedures of the tournament, I turned around and began to walk away from the center of the pit. I left the golden sand behind and walked toward the large stone staircases that led up into the high spectator seating areas. After we got back to the audiences to watch the two, I found an empty seat near the very front row, giving me a clear and unobstructed view of the massive fighting space below. The cold mist was still swirling around the arena floor, isolating Nishighi and the ice mage in the very center. I sat down and leaned forward, resting my arms against the thick stone railing. The stone seats were cold and hard beneath me, but I did not care. I rested my elbows on my knees and leaned forward as far as I could without falling over the edge of the railing. The distance between the audience and the arena floor was quite large, but the bright artificial lights hanging from the ceiling made it very easy to see everything clearly. I could see the exact texture of the golden sand and the slow, swirling movements of the freezing mist rolling off of the ice mage's body. The other eight fighters who were not chosen took their seats nearby, completely silent as they prepared to observe the match. Everyone wanted to see the combat skills of the ice mage and the physical power of Nishighi. The murmurs of the massive crowd around me began to grow louder and louder, filling the entire stadium with a rising sense of intense excitement. Everyone in the audience was shifting in their seats, their eyes fixed intently on the two fighters standing off against each other in the sand. I watched closely, waiting to see exactly how this violent confrontation would unfold.
The rising noise of the excited audience was suddenly cut completely short. The announcer suddenly shouted through the massive iron speakers mounted high up on the thick stone walls of the arena. His booming voice echoed violently across every single corner of the stadium, vibrating through the floors and the seating areas with incredible volume and force. "Nishighi versus Bellghine, the strongest ice mage in this underground city!" the announcer shouted, declaring the official start of the match. The moment the announcer finished shouting the name Bellghine and announcing his intimidating title, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of absolute chaos and cheering. The sound was incredibly loud, crashing down into the arena pit like a physical wave of noise. Down on the sandy floor, the two fighters did not react to the booming voice of the announcer or the deafening cheers of the crowd. They remained completely locked onto each other, entirely focused on the physical space between them. The official introduction was over, the combatants were ready, and the fight was now officially underway. The tension snapped instantly.
The fight began with a sudden, incredibly fast movement. Without any hesitation, suddenly Nishighi just cuts Bellghine. The physical motion was so fast that it was almost impossible to see the swing of the blade. A sharp, clear slicing sound echoed through the cold air of the arena, and a deep, open wound instantly appeared across Bellghine's physical body. Bright red blood immediately sprayed out from the deep cut, flying through the freezing mist that surrounded them. Despite the sudden and violent injury, Bellghine did not show any signs of pain. Instead, Bellghine laughed. The sound of his laughter was loud and echoed strangely through the open space of the arena. As he was laughing, Bellghine suddenly froze his blood. The red liquid flying through the air stopped completely in its tracks, instantly turning into sharp, hardened spikes of solid red ice. With a fast, forceful motion of his hand, he threw it at Nishighi. The frozen blood spikes shot through the air like incredibly fast projectiles, aimed directly at Nishighi's body with deadly speed and accuracy. The crowd gasped at the sudden counterattack. However, Nishighi deflected it without moving. The sharp, frozen spikes of blood shattered completely into tiny pieces the exact moment they reached him, turning into a cloud of red dust and falling harmlessly down onto the golden sand. Nishighi remained standing perfectly still in his original position.
The frozen blood attack had failed completely. The very next second, suddenly he threw his sword to Bellghine. Nishighi launched the heavy blade from his hand with a massive amount of physical force. The sword spun violently through the cold air, cutting through the thick mist in a completely straight line toward its target. The speed of the thrown weapon was incredibly fast, leaving a blurred trail behind it. The heavy blade struck with a loud, crushing impact, and Bellghine's head got pinned to the ground. The physical force of the flying sword drove Bellghine down into the arena floor violently, burying the weapon deep into the golden sand and trapping him securely in place. The crowd in the stands went completely silent, watching the brutal physical outcome of the heavy strike. The ice mage was entirely pinned down by his head, trapped tightly against the floor of the stadium. However, the fight was not over yet. Despite being pinned so violently to the ground, he regenerated using his ice magic. Thick layers of cold, bright white ice suddenly grew outward from the open wound, freezing rapidly and expanding with a loud cracking noise. The magical ice quickly reformed and rebuilt the damaged sections of his physical body, repairing the severe injury and allowing him to free himself completely from the heavy sword that had him pinned against the sand.
The moment Bellghine was completely free and fully regenerated, the temperature in the arena dropped even further. Suddenly the air around Nishighi froze. It did not just get colder; the actual oxygen and moisture surrounding Nishighi's physical body turned instantly into solid, thick blocks of heavy ice. The freezing process happened in a fraction of a single second, creating a massive, solid prison of white frost that trapped Nishighi completely inside. The sudden formation of the ice created a loud, sharp cracking noise that echoed all the way up to the audience seating areas. The thick, frozen trap surrounded Nishighi from all sides, locking him firmly in place within the center of the arena. For a brief moment, everything in the arena stopped. The large block of ice sat motionless in the middle of the golden sand, with Nishighi completely trapped deep inside the frozen prison. But the stillness did not last for very long. But Nishighi broke the ice. A loud, violent shattering sound exploded outward from the center of the frozen block. The solid structure cracked and burst apart into thousands of tiny, sharp pieces that rained down onto the arena floor. Nishighi stepped completely forward, entirely unharmed and completely free from the freezing trap. The heavy chunks of broken ice melted rapidly against the dry sand as Nishighi stepped over them. The two fighters stared at each other once again, neither of them backing down from the violent confrontation. The crowd erupted into another massive wave of cheering and shouting as the two combatants readied themselves for the next exchange of blows. And they continued fighting. The loud sounds of physical combat, the sharp cracking of freezing ice, and the fast movements of the two warriors filled the massive space of the arena once again as the brutal match carried on under the bright stadium lights.