106: Separation

Separation

The rest of their trip was uneventful. The carriage went faster since, as the day neared its end, the number of people on the street decreased. The light crystals dimmed, the bright light crystal turning dim like a small moon hovering above them. At last they made it to their destination, the Colosseum.1

It was set right on the border between the middle-class and noble housing. It was a giant circular stone structure made of black stone, contrasting against the white stone pathways leading to it. They could hear the busy workers preparing for tomorrow's event, setting up booths and rooms for the VIPs. Occasionally, one worker would emerge from one of the many dark doorways around the bottom of the Colosseum carrying a bucket of light red water. They threw it into a pit and returned. Doevm glanced at the pit, finding that it was covered in blood marks. The upper floors of the structure had equally as many windows as the bottom floor's doorways, which were blocked off by thick shadows, as if, at night, it was a place where only monsters lay.

The four, however, did not head for the Colosseum, choosing to instead head for the two buildings near it. One was small, practically hiding in the shadow of the taller building. On the front of the smaller one was a sign that read, commoners, which hung only by a single side. The taller building, however, had a golden plaque with the words, "Welcome".

"The taller is for nobles, no matter how much they try to avoid it," Wade scowled. "Doevm, Frey, you two need to remember to act as commoners who are not affiliated with the Virility household. You'll all be separated for a day, so make sure to set a time and place to meet back up." He opened the door for everyone. "I need to go find my own housing. I'll try to find the time to catch your matches tomorrow." The three stepped off and waved goodbye to Wade, who drove the carriage out of their sight, heading back towards the entrance of the capital.

Thomas stood in front of the large building, stepping back to take in the full picture. He alternated his gaze between the bigger and smaller one, his expression turning darker. He settled on the larger one and took a step forward. He gulped down his saliva. "I don't deserve to be treated better than you two," he mumbled as he took a shaky step towards the larger building.

"Are you nervous?" Frey asked as he put a hand on Thomas's shoulder.

"I've wanted to be here all my life," Thomas replied. "For so long I've waited, nearly going insane trapped in that little mansion. Now that I've finally escaped that house, now that I have experienced what the outside world feels like, it's time for me to take one step forward. I'm going to be alone for the first time in my life, even if it's just for less than a day. Of course I'm nervous." He looked at the small house. "And also, a little disappointed." Frey didn't get to ask what exactly he was disappointed in because Thomas waved them goodbye and entered the large building. The door closed behind him, a door that neither Frey nor Doevm could enter simply because of being born unlucky.

As Frey watched his friend leave, he turned to Doevm, only to find that he was already heading for the small building. He hurried after: "Wait up!" When Doevm opened the door, the sign flew off and hit Frey in the head. He put it back on the rusty nails that held it up before entering. Inside, the building's conditions were even worse than the state of the sign.

The room was a small greeting area of an inn like the one in Scrap City except the tables had been replaced with many seats closely put together in a pattern, much like the houses. The cushions had feathers poking out of them. The floor was nearly as hard as stone, even though it had carpeting. Various stains were tracked all over it, which had grown worse over time. The once white paint on the walls were now yellowing and peeling off at the corners. The only reason Frey and Doevm knew that was because they could see it deteriorate as it ran across the wall. The ceiling was low, making one feel like it would fall on them at any moment. The front clerk beckoned them over.

"So you two are entering?" He asked, his hand outstretched. "I need proof of your acceptance. We get too many hopeful types, thinking just dreams will be enough for joining." Doevm and Frey took out their black tablets and handed them over to the clerk, who eyed them. "Theelus Marble huh?"

"Excuse me?" Doevm asked, nearly leaning over the counter.

"That's the person who gave you these two tablets." The clerk held up the black tablets. "The generals all have their own color tablets so we can tell where our contestants came from. Marble's card is this one, general Brandon Morlaw' is white, and general Nanagon Illinus's is grey. How did you acquire Marble's tablet?"

"We were promoted to captains," Doevm said. "General Marble promoted us and gave these to us. The way you talk, does that mean there are other ways to get these tablets?"

The clerk nodded but didn't elaborate. He crushed the cards and took the keys from the rubble. "See the numbers on the keys? Those are your room numbers. You are too late for dinner but you can maybe make breakfast tomorrow. Make sure to sleep well. I want to see good fights tomorrow." Doevm and Frey took their keys and the clerk disappeared.

"Marble," Frey said. "That's the person who took the book. He must be the descendent of that man."

"Yes," Doevm responded absently, his eyes fixed on the key in his hands. 'So that's what your descendants look like. If I had known at the time, I would have asked.' He sighed, realizing that he had to breathe a little heavier than usual, even though he hadn't exerted himself. "Let's just go to our rooms. The clerk was right. We should get some sleep."

Before Doevm walked off, Frey asked, "Wait, how will we find each other tomorrow? What are we supposed to do after we wake up?"

"I'm sure they'll let us know," Doevm yawned as he followed the numbers on the wall, pointing him in the direction of his room. He left Frey, his legs shaking with each step. His sight went in and out of focus, forcing him to use his life essence to steady his vision. His key was 116. "One hundred and one, one hundred and two, one hundred and three," He followed the numbers down the hall of repeating doors with little numbers etched into the walls next to them. Each step was weaker and covered less distance. 'Maybe I'm just tired from the journey,' Doevm told himself. "Finally," he stopped at his room number, one hundred and sixteen. As he fiddled with the key in the lock, his bags felt heavier than they had ever been.

The door opened and he shambled in. There was a simple bed, window, and nightstand, nothing more, nothing less. Doevm locked the door and set his bag to the side. The second the sharp sound of the lock hit his ears; it was as if a spell had been cast on him.

His eyes nearly closed. He forced them open, but found he couldn't focus, no matter if he used life essence or not. His arm fell to his side, limp. His head spun off the walls as the world twisted and turned under his feet. His legs turned into noodles. He blinked and the world turned white, and it stayed that way. He turned towards the bed yet was unable to step forward. 'Was I poisoned? What's…' And then everything turned from white to black. The last thing he remembered was the sound of something hitting the floor and a sharp pain at the back of his head.

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