image [https://i.imgur.com/gVw9uee.png]

The night continued on as Carmen went through fight after fight, exhausting herself to the max. Each match got increasingly more difficult, but thanks to her training and a resilient mindset, she was able to prevail and found herself in the grand finals again.

Carmen stood in the middle of the arena, wiping blood from her lip as she waited for the final match to start. Her body had seen better days as it was covered in cuts and bruises. Even though she was tired, Carmen knew that she only had one more fight to do before her much anticipated conversation with Murdoc. Nothing was going to get in her way at this point.

The trap door on the opposite side opened and out walked a tall female with bright blue hair and a fairly built body. Her top was cut very low, showing an ample amount of cleavage as her chest bounced with each step. She seemed no older than thirty-two, but it was clear that she was a veteran down here in Dead Haven. Their eyes briefly met, causing the woman to smirk with her cherry colored lips.

“Ladies and gents, are y’all ready for the graaaaand finals!!!!?!?!?!” Koga screeched out, spit firing from his mouth.

The crowd was electric as they cheered, rumbling the ground with each yell and clap of the hand.

“We have yet another special match here!! Petra versus Mira the Illusionist!!! Mira has clawed her way back into the championship mix, making her first appearance in the grand finals in almost a year!!! With a record of eighty five and fifty two, she’s been an absolute household name in the DHCL. Will she be able to win herself another trophy!?” Koga yelled, flying from each of the arena in an absolute frenzy.

“Buuuuut, it won’t be easy for her!! Petra has taken the DHCL by storm and has continued her undefeated streak with multiple, dominating performances tonight!! With a record of twenty seven and zero, Petra is the definition of a rising star!!! Will she win back to back championships or will Mira put Petra in her place!?!? Folks, I can’t wait to find out!!!

The crowd cheered loudly as Koga pointed towards the countdown, shuddering once it reached zero.

When the bell rang across the arena, Carmen prepared herself for whatever this woman would do. However, to Carmen's surprise, everything around her disappeared. She looked around in a confused frenzy, wondering where she was. There was nothing but a large empty, white room all around her. No crowd, no noise, no opponent, nothing.

“What!?” Carmen said, trying to keep her wits about her despite the surprising situation.

As she continued to look around at the empty white void, Carmen heard an incredibly familiar voice call out.

“Hey! Over here!” The voice said with a playful cadence.

Carmen slowly turned her head and looked behind her. The sight nearly took her breath away as her eyes went wide. Standing before her was Rivell, looking perfectly fine and grinning with that awkward smile he always had.

“R-Rivell… But how?” She asked, her heart racing a million miles a minute.

He slowly walked towards her with his arms out, as though he wanted a hug.

“I’m back! Sorry that I made you worry so much, but I’m here now. Let’s hang out again like we used to.” He said, entering her space and wrapping his arms around her.

Carmen began to tear up as she hugged him back, feeling overwhelmed by her emotions.

“Hey, don’t cry.” He softly added, ending his hug and wiping the tears from her face.

“I’ve missed you so much, Rivell. You’ve no idea how hard it was to lose you.”

Rivell simply smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small knife. Carmen looked at it with a perplexed expression, wondering what he was doing.

“I know you’ve missed me a lot, which is why I must do this. I want us to be together forever. Won’t you come and keep me company?” He asked with a gentle whisper, gripping the knife tighter as he brought it towards her gut.

“I want us to be together again, but how can we?”

“You’ll need to cross over to my side. Don’t worry about the how, I can take care of that for you.”

Rivell’s voice, while similar in sound, had an incredibly dark tone to it that raised alarms for Carmen. She felt the cold edge of his blade kissing her stomach as he continued to smile with a blank stare.

“Once this is done, You’ll be with me forever. Just me and you, no one else.” He said, slowly pressing the knife forward.

‘Wait… What? This isn’t Rivell. He would never say something so selfish.’

Carmen began to realize that something wasn’t right about this situation. Her mind started to come back to its senses as the white walls flexed and faded away. Outside of the space, Mira was in the position of Rivell, holding a knife to Carmen’s stomach. She prepared to thrust it deep into her gut, gripping the handle with all of her strength.

“We’ll see each other again soon.” Mira whispered, pulling her arm back and forcing the blade forward with great speed.

However, once the blade touched Carmen’s abdomen, it froze in place. No matter how much strength Mira put behind it, the blade wouldn’t go any further. Mira looked up and saw a terrifying rage come across Carmen’s face, feeling a sinister amount of Core Energy escape her.

“You, bitch! You seriously tried to play around with my grief?!” Carmen said, her power erupting to new heights as she scowled at Mira. Mira dropped her knife and started to back away, her eyes wide with fear.

“HOW DARE YOU!!!”

Carmen’s Core Energy exploded, sending gravitational force outward with incredible strength. Mira was thrown back into the wall, her body fully extended as she was pressed further and further into it by immense levels of weight. Carmen slowly walked forward, her gravity manipulation increasing the closer she got to the wall. Mira cried out in pain as she was unable to move an inch from her spot.

When Carmen arrived at the wall, their faces mere inches from each other, her power was fully concentrated at that single point.The ground shook violently and part of the arena crumbled as it couldn’t withstand the amount of weight being applied to it. Mira eventually looked down and saw Carmen’s angered face staring her down. Curiously, Carmen’s eyes shifted from deep red to a dull gray color as she continued to exert an impossible amount of gravitational force upon her.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I give up, you win!!” Mira yelled out, hoping the turmoil would end.

Her body cracked and popped as the weight increased further. Carmen continued to give Mira a gray eyed glare, judging her soul with each passing second.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, I beg of you-”

Before she could even finish her plea, the gravitational weight amplified ten fold and Mira was reduced to a red mist.The force of the final blow rippled throughout the arena, devastating the ground beneath Carmen’s feet. When the dust settled, there was nothing left of Mira. The only thing that remained was a massive crater in the wall with a splatter of blood.

Carmen panted heavily as she slowly came to her senses, her eyes turning back to normal. Once she noticed all of the destruction, Carmen realized what she had done. She quickly backed away and stumbled, falling down on her butt while the arena remained eerily quiet.

“W-what did I just do?” She said with a stutter filled cadence, panic coming across her face.

Seconds later, the crowd went ballistic and cheered the loudest they had all evening. Despite the terrifying display of violence that just occurred, the crowd was ecstatic for her victory.

“HOLY MOLY!!!! What a match!!! Petra is now your two time champion!!! Let’s give it up to the undefeated champ!!!!” Koga exclaimed, beyond thrilled by the outcome of the match.

The crowd chanted Petra over and over as Carmen was escorted off of the arena, adding more fans to her growing popularity. The guards showed her to an empty waiting room and closed the door behind them. She walked over to the sink and mirror, vigorously washing off the dots of blood all over her face.

‘What is happening to me? I didn’t hesitate at all to kill that woman…’

Carmen looked down at her shaky hands, wondering what had caused such a drastic shift in her. While she contemplated her decision, the door opened and in walked Murdoc.

“Great job, kid. I made quite a bit of coin off of that last match. Keep fighting like that and your future will be very bright here.” Murdoc said with a cocky smirk, as though she were patting herself on the back for choosing the right person to fight for her.

She walked over to the middle of the room and pulled up a chair, taking a seat before lighting up a cigarette.

“Now, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about? I’m all ears.”

Murdoc took a couple puffs from her cig and patiently waited for a reply. Carmen came back to her senses and took a seat, breathing in the thick smoke permeating around the room.

“Do you know anyone by the name of Watcher Delandy? Talks really proper and wears a white mask. Ring any bells?” Carmen asked, hoping she would have an actual answer for her.

The moment the word ‘Watcher’ came out of her mouth, Murdoc’s eyes went incredibly wide and her cigarette dropped to the ground. This was the biggest reaction Carmen had ever seen from her.

“How do you know about The Watchers?!? That’s not something any ordinary person should know about. Not ever!” Murdoc replied, feeling nervous about having this conversation.

Carmen reached into her coat pocket and handed Murdoc the newspaper, showing the article about LaVeda and the tragedy that supposedly occurred there.

“This story is fake and I think that Watcher Delandy guy or whoever, is behind all of this. I fought the Headmaster that day and he was saved by a man wearing an all white mask and a black tuxedo. He briefly spoke to me and told me his name before disappearing with the Headmaster.” Carmen replied, going through all the details of that night.

Murdoc simply handed the paper back and stood from her chair.

“I don’t know anything about that. You should leave.” She said, clearly on edge and not wanting to discuss things further.

“NO! You know something and I’m not leaving until you tell me. My friend lost their life because of this nonsense!!” Carmen exclaimed, stomping her foot down with great determination.

“Ugh, there’s nothing to tell! Girl, that is not a group you want to get involved with, trust me!”

“But why!? Why are you being so weird about this?”

Carmen was getting fed up as she stood as well, waiting for Murdoc to explain herself. Murdoc took a moment to think before letting out a heavy sigh.

“The Watchers… They’re a group of highly influential individuals that claim to ‘watch over Alaira’ from the sky. Their only goal is to maintain the balance of this world, meticulously watching over every aspect of it.” She said, reaching into her pocket and grabbing another cigarette to calm her nerves.

“Maintain the balance? What do you mean?”

“Yeah.. They’ll intervene in political affairs, prevent or cause situations, strategically remove individuals, pick and choose people for certain positions, and the list goes on and on. They essentially play God with the measly lives down on the surface. As long as there is ‘balance’ in Alaira, they’ll do whatever it takes to maintain that balance. Nothing is, or ever will be, off the table for them to achieve that goal.” Murdoc replied, taking a longer than usual puff.

“They could have the world believing that clouds don’t exist if they wanted to, their influence runs that deep. That little school stint you showed me probably took no effort from them at all.”

“Even so, there’s gotta be some-.”

Carmen was quickly cut off by Murdoc's incredibly irritated glare.

“Kid, you aren’t getting it! This is way bigger than anything you can even hope to imagine. The lengths these people will go to is incomprehensible. This isn’t something either of us could deal with… Hell, not even that royal family of yours would be safe from their grasps. They’d have the whole nation of Volaire against you all in a matter of hours…”

Murdoc’s voice shook in a way that sent shivers down Carmen’s spine, making her realize just how serious she was being.

“Oh.. I see.. Huh..” Carmen quietly replied as fear began to creep in, not wanting to be involved with something so seemingly dangerous.

“But why would Delandy make himself known to me? If they’re these puppet masters running around in the shadows, why reveal themselves?”

“I have no idea, but there’s definitely a reason for it. Nothing they do is random or without thought. You should prepare yourself for anything at this point because you’re definitely on their radar now.”

Murdoc finished her cigarette and tossed it to the ground, stomping it out under her thick boots. Carmen remained silent as she processed all of this new information. She was scared of what the future held, but she was glad to have gained some kind of clarity on the situation.

“I’ll certainly be careful from now on. But, how do you know so much about the Watchers?” Carmen asked, wondering if she should be wary of Murdoc moving forward as well.

She slowly started to back away and Murdoc quickly noticed how cautious Carmen was suddenly being.

“If you’re asking because you think I’ve set you up somehow, you can fuck off. I’ve got nothing to do with those bastards. Now, do you have any other questions or are you finally going to leave?” Murdoc asked with an annoyed cadence, clearly wanting to be done with this conversation.

Carmen sighed and composed herself, feeling that she could at least trust Murdoc’s word. She put on her winter coat and prepared to exit the room. Just as she got to the door, Murdoc started to speak up.

“The next tournament is in a month. I expect to see you here on time. Got it?” She said, looking over her shoulder.

Carmen simply nodded and exited the room, heading back to the marketplace so she could leave Dead Haven. Moments after the door closed, a cold shiver went down Murdoc’s spine as she stood in the room alone. She closed her eyes briefly and slowly exhaled until someone began to speak from the ether.

“Very well done, Murdoc. You always did have an amazing poker face.” Said a soft and tender female voice.

Murdoc opened her eyes and standing in front of her was a woman with long blonde hair, her face hidden by a blank white mask. She wore an all black dress that was layered in expensive fabrics trailing behind her. It's elegant design accented beautifully against her light peach colored skin.

“What do you want, Watcher Lamelia? I’m busy…” Murdoc asked, a bead of sweat slowly racing down her face.

Lamelia placed her hand on Murdoc’s cheek and gently caressed it.

“Oh nothing, just admiring how masterful that tongue of yours is.” She replied as her warm fingers settled on Murdoc’s lips, pressing them slightly with her thumb.

“Plus, I haven’t checked in on you in quite some time. How’s my beautiful Dead Haven these days?”

Murdoc turned her head away and stepped to the other side of the room, clearly not thrilled at all to see this person.

“It’s been fine and stop calling Dead Haven yours. You didn’t do anything to create this place.” Murdoc barked, standing her ground firmly against this mysterious person.

Lamelia simply cocked her head to the side as she tapped her chin with her finger.

“Mmmmmm, no. Whatever is yours is also mine, is it not? Since I own you, that makes everything you own, mine. Right? If you didn’t want that to be the case, then you shouldn’t have entered into our pact, Murdoc.” She replied, her tone growing sassier by the second.

Before Murdoc could reply, Lamelia was in her face again. Her movement was completely devoid of sound as she covered multiple meters in impossible time.

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today. I expect a proper report and greeting the next time I check in, otherwise Director Selivus will be most displeased. Okay?” She sternly added, exerting her Core Energy outward.

Murdoc’s eyes went wide as she simply nodded, not saying another word.

“Good. Buh bye now, Murdoc.”

Lamelia caressed Murdoc’s cheek once again before fading away into nothing, leaving Murdoc alone in the room.

“Tch. So annoying…” Murdoc muttered, her face still warm from Lamelia’s hand.

She marched over to the door and exited the room with great irritation, forcefully slamming it behind her.