The sunlight invaded the cell through the gaps of the cell's door. Inside, Egeria stood as he tried to watch what was going on outside. Though his vision was limited due to the gate. Not long after the crowd started cheering loudly as the announcer stepped down to arena and started talking.
"Dear guests, after a long and an exciting day we have finally reached the finals." He said as the gates started lowering. Both of the contestants stepped out, causing an uproar amongst the crowd. "We will be witnessing a battle amongst the most loved and the most disliked contestants!"
Egeria looked at Vex, he was wearing a simple tunic and some pants. Vex had defeated all of his opponents within just several minutes and had not even broke a sweat. Egeria could tell this was going to be a tough match and not one-sided like the previous ones.
"Three.. Two.. One! Commence!"
As the horns sounded along the coliseum both contestant immediately lunged at each other at the same time.
As Vex threw the first punch, sharp and precise, Egeria reacted instantly. With fluid control, he raised his hand and slammed his palm against Vex's wrist, redirecting the strike away from his face. Vex's side was exposed for a brief moment, Egeria didn't hesitate. His foot kicked off the ground with explosive force, twisting his hips as he aimed a lightning-fast strike toward Vex's ribs. The air whistled from the speed of it.
But Vex saw it coming. With calm reflexes, he shifted his weight and stepped backwards. Egeria's kick sliced through empty air, missing by inches.
Egeria shifted his weight and stepped forward, closing the gap with crisp, practiced footwork. He dipped low, feinting a kick toward Vex's shin. In a blur, Egeria spun on the ball of his foot, turning his body a full 180 degrees. His heel whipped through the air with brutal momentum, targeting Vex's head.
Vex didn't flinch. Instead of evading, he raised both forearms and caught the blow squarely, bracing with a slight step back to absorb the impact. The hit landed with a thud, the force rattling through his guard but not breaking it.
He immediately reached forward to catch Egeria's leg, fingers just brushing the ankle, but Egeria was already gone. Twisting his body mid-air, he landed lightly on the balls of his feet, sliding out of reach before Vex could react further. The distance was reset in an instant.
"You are rather quick on your feet... or rather on every part of your body," Vex said, a faint grin playing at his lips. Without giving Egeria a moment to reply, he lunged forward with explosive speed.
In an instant, he closed the gap, too quickly for Egeria to retreat. Vex's fist shot forward, but just before impact, his arm twisted mid-motion. The punch transformed into a brutal elbow strike, slamming into Egeria's chest with a heavy thud.
The impact forced a breath from Egeria's lungs. He grit his teeth and reacted instantly, his hand snapping up to clamp around Vex's arm just as the elbow dug into his ribs. Using the anchor point, Egeria pivoted his hips and swung a heavy punch into Vex's jaw, the added rotation lending it crushing force.
Vex's head jerked back from the blow, but his body held steady.
With no time to recover, the two locked into a flurry of hand-to-hand strikes. Fists flew with terrifying speed. Low kicks swept toward shins, knees, and thighs. Elbows sliced through the air, while open-hand strikes and parries exchanged with practiced precision.
Every attack was met with a counter. Every motion was calculated. Neither gave ground. The arena echoed with the sounds of clashing limbs and grinding footwork as the fighters spun, stepped, and struck across the sand.
The crowd screamed in excitement, watching each close-call exchange with wide eyes and held breath.
Both contestants' faces were bloodied: bruises swelling, lips split, and trails of blood streaking down their skin. Yet neither showed signs of slowing down. If anything, the damage only fueled their drive to finish the fight.
As they clashed once more, Vex lifted his leg and drove a vicious stomp into Egeria's shin. A sickening crack echoed faintly beneath the roar of the crowd. Egeria winced, his balance faltering as his leg buckled, sending him down to one knee. Vex didn't hesitate. His fist shot forward like a piston, aimed straight for Egeria's face, ready to end the match.
But at the last second, Egeria twisted his body and rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging the blow. Sand sprayed into the air as he scrambled back up, though a grimace crossed his face the moment he put weight on his injured leg.
'Shit…'
His foot was damaged. The pain was sharp, but there was no time to assess it. Both fighters were now breathing hard, their chests heaving with exhaustion. The relentless pace and drawn-out duration of the battle was wearing them down, mentally and physically.
Yet neither stepped back.
The uncertainty in the arena only riled the crowd further, cheers and chants rippling through the coliseum like a living storm. Every spectator was on edge, waiting to see which bloodied warrior would fall first.
Vex advanced with purpose, a confident gleam in his eyes. He believed he had the match sealed, his opponent's greatest asset, speed, had been compromised. With a damaged leg, Egeria's agility was crippled, and Vex intended to finish things before he had a chance to adapt.
He dashed forward, each step thudding with force. But just a few paces away from his target, he abruptly halted, his feet grinding into the sand. The sudden stop kicked up a spray of dust as he twisted his torso, channeling momentum into a brutal elbow aimed straight for Egeria's head.
But before the strike could land, Egeria made a reckless, desperate move. He lunged forward with everything he had, launching himself into Vex like a battering ram.
Vex's eyes went wide in surprise as the air was knocked out of him. The force of Egeria's tackle drove both fighters into the sand, bodies twisting and limbs grappling as they hit the ground with a heavy thud.
When the dust settled, Egeria was on top.
His breathing was ragged, his leg throbbed painfully, but he wasn't about to let go of the advantage. Gritting his teeth, Egeria raised his fist, ready to hammer it down into Vex's face with the full weight of his body behind it.
But he had underestimated his opponent's viciousness.
With a quick motion, Vex dug his fingers into the sand and flung a handful straight into Egeria's eyes. The gritty spray hit him like a slap: sharp, sudden, blinding. Egeria recoiled with a grunt, instinctively raising an arm to shield his face.
"Bastard!"
It was the moment Vex needed.
He twisted his body violently to the side, slipping out from under Egeria's loosened hold. In one fluid motion, he planted his hands behind him and slid backward through the sand, pushing off with his elbows like a grounded beast scrambling for space.
Just as Egeria tried to recover, Vex's foot came swinging upward from below. The sole of his foot crashed hard into Egeria's chin, snapping his head back and lifting him slightly off the ground before he fell backward into the sand.
The crowd gasped, the sudden shift sending a jolt of excitement through the arena.
Before Vex could leap into action, Egeria forced himself to his feet, swaying slightly. His vision was still hazy from the blow and the sand, but his posture remained defiant. Across from him, Vex had risen too, his body tense, eyes narrowed. For a moment, they just stood there: bloodied, battered, yet unyielding.
Egeria did not know what Vex's motivation was, and he could not care less about it. In his eyes his goals were more important, he was more important. No one mattered, only himself. He was selfish, and he was going to continue being selfish.
Egeria's eyes were locked onto Vex as he finally moved forward, coming in for a tackle. Or perhaps what looked like a tackle. Everything seemed to had slowed down..
Without even registering, his body acted on instinct. He sprung high and forward, his leg screamed in pain as he did so, but it did not matter. Egeria twisted his hip mid-air, his leg sweeping across the air, aiming against Vex's unprotected head.
Egeria's heel struck Vex's neck with a sickening crack. The force sent Vex's head whipping sideways, his body dropping instantly like a puppet with cut strings. A heartbeat later, Egeria too crashed into the sand, the impact sending a fresh wave of agony through his leg and ribs.
The crowd exploded into cheers, applause shaking the very foundations of the arena. Some of the nobles remained cold, their faces twisted in contempt, but they were drowned out by the storm of celebration. Egeria stirred, dragging himself upright with trembling arms. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and his limbs were heavy with pain and exhaustion.
He raised his fist to the sky.
And then, he laughed.
A wild, hollow laugh that echoed across the arena, triumphant yet tinged with disbelief. The sound soon faded, swallowed by his exhaustion. He slumped forward, the adrenaline finally leaving his body.
"I won.."
He muttered as he collapsed out of exhaustion.