It was incredibly hard to tell the exact time of day inside the Sun Disc’s living quarters. While the conditions were not exactly inhumane Mana still could not shake off the feeling that she was more of a prisoner than a competitor as the purpose of the place would’ve made one believe. While the quarters did have torches providing minimal light sources during the night and the outside corridors had decorative holes in the ceiling providing light and warmth during the day, the Sun Disc’s inhabitants still could not shake off the feeling of dread and gloom.
Also despite the minimal effort taken to lighten the place up a bit, the decorative gaps in the ceiling also “provided” more than fair share of flies, mosquitoes and pests of various sort. Most things flying around the place were not even seen by Mana previously, even during her time roaming the desert. It appeared like the gloomy and damp hole that was the Sun Disc’s living quarters invited the worst kind of creepy crawlies from the desert, the pests seemed to take the place as some sort of a cave, which, in their defense, it reminded of very decently.
Throughout the first night she spent in the place Mana had heard some voices of people talking inside the quarters. She had expected more hatred from those people, maybe even that matching of the people outside the Sun Disc but no one even acknowledged she was there. Most of what reached Mana’s ear through the night were prayers, then there was the pair several blocks to the west that very loudly bet on who of known competitors would compete tomorrow and who would die. To Mana it appeared a very cruel and cynical way to look at the situation everyone was in.
“I feel lucky, I think Damij will compete tomorrow. Just feel crazy, wanna bet on that”
“No shit? Maybe you feel crazy enough to bet on Damij losing?”
“Screw that shit, whoever he’ll fight the guy will demolish in seven minutes, as usual”
Mana looked at her blockmate who was still acting like he was sleeping. While there was little light any time of day, with enough effort day and night could’ve been identified through the changes in temperature. It appeared like the fire torches on the walls may have served more as a mean to keep the competitors from dying of hypothermia as well as being a source of lighting, perhaps even more being the case of former with the luminescence being more of a beneficial side effect.
“Who is Damij?” Mana asked trying to get her blockmate talking to her. Being sort of a fan of knowing every smallest part of the equation and preparing accordingly to her knowledge, the girl just had to know.
“Oh, he’s just a crowd favourite. A dropout from the Sunagakure Ninja Academy, rumor says he quit because he didn’t like taking orders from anyone and wanted to use his strength all to himself” the man replied squirming in the comically too small bench to sleep on, the man was several times larger than it so it must’ve been painfully uncomfortable to sleep on it.
“Doesn’t sound like crowd favorite material…” Mana remarked flipping on her side to face her blockmate who did not share the courtesy and continued to stare at the wall.
The veteran raised his injured arm in the air showing the extent of damage on it, it was swollen and looked like it was crushed in between two colossal boulders or something of the sort.
“He’s the one that did this a couple of weeks ago. There’s an event in this place called “the Ascension Gauntlet” where one faces three champions of previous smaller events in a row and if they win they acquire unprecedented glory, the one that completes the Gauntlet may even leave the place at their leisure and live as royalty in the Agbarmahal “ the Sheikh’s palace. So far, Damij is the one of the only two who have beaten the gauntlet, I acquired this wound facing him in a warm-up event where killing is very rare. He did not throw a single punch, my hand and body broke from just punching him” the man explained placing his aching and ruined hand under his other arm.
“Sounds like chakra augmentation to me, endurance most likely” Mana replied, her blockmate flipped over and looked at her with a curious stare.
“Hmmm… Even if it is, the Sheikh knows the ninja arts, to him the degree of augmentation must appear somewhat fair so he allows it. Either way, you won’t face him unless you attempt the Gauntlet yourself, he’s too far up and the only event you can be matched against him in would be a warm up fight. Still, I have real trouble after facing him, every battle keeps crippling me more and more… If you are ever told to face off against him do not fight him, surrender immediately, you’ll lose face but you have none to lose to begin with, I’m serious” the man warned Mana.
The magician smiled and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Sir, but I have a mission outside this place. I very much plan to take the Ascension Gauntlet challenge” she replied through an ignorant grin. It was an idea so foolish that it made the girl herself laugh but she has decided. The more fights she takes part in, the more injured she’ll be, her odds will be lower and lower with each event, she needs to run the Gauntlet and do it fast.
“Mana, did you not hear what I said? Why are you in such a rush to make all these people happy to witness your death? Damij can leave this place and live in luxury this whole time, he is the strongest fighter in this arena. He stays here because he enjoys fighting and killing, his fights always end in seven minutes where he just toys with his opponents and the only reason the Sheikh keeps him around with all of his abilities is because the crowd loves his sadism. He did not join this arena during its golden age, he joined it when it hit the shit because he wanted a place to kill people for fun” Mana veteran blockmate started yelling, shouting at her with fear taking over his expression, his hands and his head started to shake subconsciously as if taken over by some mental sickness.
“You lie, Bult” a creepy voice of what Mana could only imagine as an elderly man reached the cell. “Damij is not the strongest fighter around, he is amazing but you’ve joined too late to see another competitor…”
“Do not listen to this old fool, Mana” Mana’s blockmate who was apparently called Bult replied to the old man’s mysterious banter. “He weaves tales of old times, a man who survived the golden age and became far too sickly and old to entertain the Sheikh so was left to rot in the cell until he becomes stupid enough to ask for a final fight. His Goddess of Battle does not exist, old man’s tales is all they are”
“She did exist, she was the first person to complete the Gauntlet, she beat all the other champions without killing them and left the arena to continue her training as this place had nothing left to teach her” the old man screamed out frantically, like a child whose lies of the world most ginormous lollipop was challenged by another child.
“So there was a woman who completed the Gauntlet?” Mana curiously rose her voice so that it reached the old man wherever he was located. “What was she like?” the magician honored the old man’s fantasies both out of curiosity if they were real, and an attempt to uncover a lie if they weren’t.
“She was a friendly gal when she joined, she came here totally green and didn’t know how to throw a punch even. She made bonds with everyone, learned the fighting style of every single one of the competitors of the golden age. She bested me in combat a couple of times as well, by the time she became the first champion of the Ascension Gauntlet she was a master of at least eighty six different martial arts from all around the world, then she left…” the old man spoke, his tone suggested that he really believed his own tale and he had a talent at storytelling, that much Mana had to admit.
“To never be seen again. So convenient that there is no one alive here to vouch for the story except for you” Bult once again angrily stopped the old man’s tale.
“Could it be that you refuse to believe in her existence because it would imply that you didn’t lose to the best? Because your pride as a warrior wants you to believe that you’ve lost to the greatest competitor to ever fight in this arena?” Mana asked.
“The old man never confirmed that she was capable of chakra augmentation, he only babbled about how many different martial arts she knew. I thought I knew my way in a fight but Damij blew me out of the park with no chance of me beating him, even in my prime, even with all the time to train in the world I’d never beat him!” Bult yelled at Mana, shifting the source of his anger. The old man fell strangely silent and Mana just bent into an even tighter fetal position wrapping herself in her own blazer which she used as a cover from cold.
“This Damij certainly seems formidable, any man who is able to crush a warrior like you this way must be. I’ve met plenty warriors, hell, I’ve known mere boys and seen the extent of a man’s pride and I’ve never seen it shattered like that. You seem like a man who is afraid of this Damij, this entire place lives in his shadow. That is just another reason I must beat him. The object above your head must be a star of hope, not the moon of fear and despair” Mana said quietly so that only her blockmate could hear it. She spoke so privately because she knew the sort of feeling a man’s pride was and didn’t wish to let the others know how her friend’s pride was broken. Just the mere public knowledge of such fact could’ve made it even worse.
“You don’t know jack shit about how this world works. You’ll just die needlessly entertaining the sick fantasies of those bastards. Even if you do win, all you’ll show me is that I failed at something a teenage girl can do. For one who tries to sound as some stupid hero you don’t know anything about it” Bult replied with spite and disgust in his voice. He then continued to lay around, several other fighters from the other blocks yelled at him asking for his input in the bet as to who will fight the next day but he remained silent.
Mana didn’t have that much sleep that night, for a day that may have ended up being her last she should have at the very least tried. The magician couldn’t remember her last dream, she was a very sentimental kid, imagining the moment of her death she would most likely wish to callback at the very last time she saw her friends, the last time she saw her parents, the very last thing she dreamed about. Somehow she just couldn’t shake the feeling like the next day actually could’ve been her last day. To the kunoichi it felt similarly to how one would feel the last night before their execution and yet there was little to no reasonable excuse to feel that way.
Finally loud trumpet calls and sounds of various instruments, mostly the deafening symphony of flutes and other wind instruments called the spectators to another day of events. Judging from everyone’s mood the day appeared to be a case of rather eventful collection of slaughter. All the martial artists were getting really visibly hyped as grunts and other noises of people working out and sparring could’ve been heard. Loud thuds from a neighboring block suggested that someone there may have been hitting the wall leaving some nasty cracks in the thick brick wall.
Then all of a sudden silence took over as the guards walked in and started making their way through the hallway. One bulky fellow just stood at the end of the corridor and read from a list.
“Today’s event will be Fatal Warfare match, between Bult and Almash. Also three simple Engagement matches between competitors that shall be selected by the guards. Everyone please step forward towards the bars where the competitors competing today shall be lead onstage, the blocks will be unlocked for the duration of the event so that you can spectate the event through the lower points of observation. You know the rules, if anyone does anything stupid, it’s public execution or the Descent Gauntlet for you” the guard finished reading his scroll and continued to stand around as the guards continued to pick fighters one after the other from random blocks.
“Descent Gauntlet?” Mana curiously looked at her blockmate.
“It’s basically another word of execution, the fighter faces people one by one until they are either killed in action or the Sheikh deems they’ve redeemed for their sins, the only upside of winning it is that you don’t get executed for your mess-up” the man replied, his tone was still rude and his eyes continued to look at Mana as if she was some silly child.
“A Fatal Warfare match, are you in any danger?” Mana asked the man trying to show him that she cares about his life greatly.
“It’s just a simple one on one fight where the area out of the ring is filled with spikes. You win by making your opponent submit, killing them or dropping them onto the spikes” Bult replied.
“Maybe you should submit, I don’t think you’re in a good condition for a match like that” Mana threw the idea out there to which the man only squinted, appearing to get annoyed by her lack of information even more. It was quite evident that the man was a warrior and not exactly parenting material.
“I’ve submitted in several lethal matches and lost four non-lethal ones before my last win. If I submit again I may be up for a Descent Gauntlet, it functions as a sort of disciplinary action to keep things entertaining” the man firmly cut Mana’s worries down, the elderly guard from before appeared in front of their block and opened the door. He chained Bult and then stared at Mana showing her a set of chains as well.
“The Sheikh wants to see his new fighter in a warm-up match. Feel grateful, woman, usually the baptism of the newbies is a full out Deathmatch but that is the Sheikh’s way of thanking you for securing most of his merchandise. Let’s go” the man explained locking Mana up and pulling both of them out of the block and placing them into a long line of people of varied moods. Some were depressed, some looked hyped, there were a couple of women up front that kept on walking out of the line and trying to talk to the other competitors, asking them for protection or some sort of aid.
Mana opened her mouth to talk to the guard but Bult pressed her mouth nearly suffocating her with his enormous hand. “You haven’t earned your right to talk as a woman yet…” he whispered in his ear.
“Excuse me, guard, I’d like to know who my blockmate’s opponent will be?” the veteran asked a passing guard instead of Mana, almost reading her thoughts. The question must’ve been quite obvious one to be asked in her case so it wasn’t that surprising to the magician that he pinpointed it without needing to tell him what it was she wanted to ask the guard.
“Gaffu Mujaji” the guard answered checking his scroll.
“It’s OK, he’s an underdog, lost several non-lethal fights in a row and submitted in one lethal he took part in, he may be facing the Descent Gauntlet or a no submission lethal fight in the future. If you’re able to fight, you’ll beat him easily” Bult explained to Mana.
“Yeah, it’d be a whole new low for good old Gaffu to lose to a little woman” the competitor behind Mana and Bult interrupted the two and laughed out loud to himself. “I always wondered why did the guy decide to take part in this, always seemed to me more like a thieving type than a fighter”
Mana lowered her head staring at the ground. So the man she was supposed to face was someone really weak facing disciplinary action in the future? What was the point of such a fight then? How was it entertaining to anyone to see a teenage girl fight some guy who kept on losing fights, what was the possible gain from all of that? Mana did not deny that a competition of martial arts had its appeal to some people, not her, obviously, but people who saw the more artsy and professional side of the thing. And yet, what was there to gain from facing some little guy like this Gaffu? Mana felt confident that she could beat him but what was the point of such an action?
Finally the crowd settled in the surrounding seating areas and with a loud rumble that reminded more of a thunderstorm than working gears the roof of the arena split into multiple parts and a large circular structure which was supposed to be the ring rose up from below. Mana felt a rough shove from her behind that was leading her onto a track that lead to the ring. The entire structure of the ring was at least fifty or so meters in radius and about two meters elevated from the ground, the out of ring area was covered with grass but it looked a bit artificial for Mana. There were two pathways that lead to the ring and multiple protective walls that served as barriers, the observational areas were at least three meters above the ring and surrounded it from all sides. There were countless decorations that reminded Mana of some sort of a festival and as she and her opponent entered the ring fireworks fired off into the sky.
The girl took a long look at her opponent. He was a feeble man, probably in his late forties to early fifties and was already beginning to grow bald, he even had a pair of glasses and reminded the girl of an alien from the sci-fi plays where people tried to imagine how people on the Moon looked like. He had long fingers which finally made the kunoichi understand just how the comparison to thieves was made. The ring announcer actually looked more menacing than Mana’s opponent. The man was at least somewhat chubby and wore a pretty exotic looking vest and some pretty spacious trousers. His turban combined with his strange make-up made him look a little mysterious at the very least when compared to feeling of pity one had when looking at Gaffu who was Mana’s opponent.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! This here is a warm up fight between a young woman who has not yet deserved your consideration and attention and a competitor who is on a miserable losing streak but strives to recover and one day challenge the Ascension Gauntlet to fulfil his dream of living in luxury “ Gaffu Mujaji” the announcer energetically yelled out, the man appeared to possess a unique talent of hyping up a crowd of bloodthirsty psychos for a fight between an aging man with sight problems and a teenage girl.
“Begin!” the announcer yelled out leaping backwards onto a platform that rose him up to the audience seats with a gear mechanism below it.
The warm up fight of that day’s event had begun.
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