Solaris was sitting in the stands, his eyes glued to the battles in front of him.
A myriad of duels had passed since Ania had first spoken to the group, and she was, in fact, now sitting with them, much to the chagrin of the group, especially Ember, Sami, and Selen- although she didn't show it on her face- they weren't particularly fond of the creepy girl.
Solaris was practically used to it by this point; having to deal with Selen so often, he had built up an immunity to it.
Perhaps I surpassed the effects of her teasing me... or I suppose... nevermind lets not think of that.
Solaris took his mind momentarily off the battle and turned to look at Lucian, the poor man.
Ania had taken a significant liking to him, as he was quite easy to tease.
She was now sitting next to him just to tease him more; with each innuendo and odd comment, Lucian's face grew a bit paler.
Poor guy, I'll be sure to find a way to make it up to him... but for now...
Solaris reached under his seat and pulled out the tournament bracket.
Looking through it, Solaris realized that only two rounds were left before Lucian was up to fight.
Lucian was the first one to fight in the second round, the mixed round.
Solaris was very entertained by the combat so far, but the idea of seeing Extramicy and Micys at the same time made his heart pound with anticipation.
Yet as he was about to grin, his lips froze as he realized that with Lucian gone from the stands, that would leave him practically alone with Ania, and the full brunt of her disgusting joke? Or possibly just her perverted thoughts spoken aloud. Solaris wasn't sure which it was.
He had assumed that the comments were jokes for a while; he had even believed that Ania was who Selen had gotten her twisted sense of humor from. But as Solaris had observed her and spoken with her more, he had begun to notice a few things.
She had been touching on Selen and even poking Lucian from time to time, so maybe she wasn't just making innuendos; she was, just as Selen had put it bluntly earlier: she is just a creep
Solaris wasn't sure and really didn't care to find out.
Ania's personality aside, Solaris was wondering if she possessed a powerful Extramicy.
If anything, I'm starting to guess her sacrifice...
Solaris was aware that no one was allowed to use their Extramicy within the crimson cross HQ, but he was unsure if they were allowed to within the arena stands.
Solaris was contemplating whether he should ask the provocative girl what her Extramicy was or if he should just invade her privacy and read her blurb.
Solaris had more than one reason for holding himself back from using this ability; the first was obvious because it was obvious: most people don't go walking around with one eye closed, sometimes mouthing words.
But the second reason he did it wasn't to avoid knowing something he shouldn't- he already knew more than almost all of the rookies- but rather a personal code he had enacted after he read Selen's blurb.
So far, he had only read his own blurb, Jon Smits, and, of course, Selen's.
Solaris was aware of how private the information within the blurbs was, and he had debated using it many times on Jon Smit before eventually doing so, but Selen...
Selen's he had done out of random curiosity.
His regret of that was very high; it was most likely the thing he most regretted.
The blurb laid out all of her weaknesses and all of her strengths.
The sacrifice that was bestowed upon her was an especially terrible one.
'Sacrifice- Frozen soul
Selen's emotions and very being are locked behind an excessive use of her Extramicy; they will be relocked if she stops using her Extramicy. '
The words in Selen's blurb surfaced in Solaris's mind, and he began to feel his eye twitching, and then his face twisted into an angry scowl.
Solaris was angry with himself for daring to read someone's deepest, darkest secret, something they don't know themselves.
***
To onlookers, the Eclipse staring at the arena with a scowl on his face made him look as though he was very displeased by the display of combat.
The people who had known of the Eclipse, and those who had actually seen him, were dramatically different.
As a matter of fact, half of the people in the audience weren't sure which of the men or women sitting next to Ania was the Eclipse; all of them had collectively ruled out Lucian and Sami, while some were iffy on weather of not it was Selen.
So, leaving the final two, which both could never have been the Eclipse, it was, of course, Solaris and Ember.
Celma personally believed it was the shorter man in a black mantle with a tattoo of shards on his arm.
While Relly had decided it was the very tall man with a black duster constantly smoking a cigarette.
Relly and Celma hadn't talked since the battle, yet the two had instinctively sat next to one another.
Celma was battling her inner thoughts; she was defending herself from herself.
Celma knew just as well as Relly knew that the tournament was nothing personal; it was quite literally all business.
Yet she couldn't help but feel bad about it.
Celma wasn't someone who cared to fight; she wasn't a hunter, and she wasn't a cleaner. She was a researcher first and foremost.
She had been on only one hunt in her life and was forced to put down the vile corruption with her Micy.
They even granted her a nickname, but she didn't want any of it; all she wanted was grant money from the Crimson Cross. She just wanted to help.
Yet here she was, winning a battle against the unhittable Relly.
Celma looked down at the battleground; it was just finished, and the second round was about to begin.
Taking a Deep breath.
Celma spoke.
"I'm sorry."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the announcer spoke, drowning out the two girls' chatter.
"GET READY FOOOOR ROUNDD TWO!!! The first match of the mixed Round! The match will be between Hunter LUCIAN CARMAIL and Hunter KELAN, the statue!"
Lucian had disappeared from beside Solaris, leaving the girl to bug him and Selen; however, her manner of speaking with Solaris was a bit different...
In the arena, Lucian approached the White Stone, looking at the very muscular man with a beard and gruff face standing across from him.
Kelan looked at Lucian with a stern, unwavering Expression; he was prepared for this fight. He knew exactly what he had to do.
Pause the second he moves, then counter attack, thats it, so simple... I'm gonna squash this guy.
Lucian's smile was bright and cheery; his body was practically shaking with anticipation.
Man... I'm gonna show off a little bit. Really stick it to the organizer for having no faith in me.
Lucian wasn't a malicious man, but he did have pride, and it was slightly damaged by not facing another Extramicy user.
After the two made their way to the spots where they were instructed to go.
The announcer spoke in his typical booming voice.
"Are you ready!"
The two men nodded slightly.
"Then fight!"
As the words were still ringing in the air, Lucian disappeared.
A fraction of a second later lucian struck the man in the back of the head, knocking him out instantly.
The audience grew silent for a moment them boomed with applause and cheers.
His smile softened into a grin, and then he shot the announcer a smug look.
"That's what you get for pairing me up with a recruit Micy user."
Lucian muttered to himself before the voice boomed again.
"LUCIAN HAS WON!!!! WITHIN A FRACTION OF A SECOND!!! TRULY INCREDIBLE!!!!"
With that, Lucian left the arena to make his way back to his seat.