The elevator back to the lobby felt strangely comfortable and safe. I decide to sit down on the floor, the pain becoming increasingly sharp as the adrenaline dissipates from my body. Everything becomes lopsided and dizzy as I start to sweat profusely. This…this is what I get…for using my powers too much…. These drawbacks…absolutely suck… … … In and out… in and out… I go in-and-out of consciousness…. I…don’t know…how much I can take…. As my head nods and lobs over my shoulder, I am instantly teleported to my inner sanctuary of peace. Instead of the breath-taking and utopic paradise I first experienced, I am now greeted by a more depressive view. The beautiful and majestic golden hour sunset has been overtaken completely by a sea of light-gray clouds. The shallow pool of water has now flooded so that my feet are completely encapsulated by the water, and instead of the table housing my strategic playbook, I only see two individuals that look rather familiar. These individuals, however, seemed to be more spiritual than physical. I decide to go forward to have a better look at the individuals. As I get closer, what was once only familiar silhouettes have now been revealed to be the apparitions of Maroonius the Trickster and Saint Agnes, my former opponents. Why would these two decide to appear to me within my own dreamscape? Are they here to haunt me? Kill me? Help me?!
“Well, well, well. Look who it is! Nice to see you again, *Lady* Mercedes.” Maroonius greeted me with his devilish evil grin. Saint Agnes, on the other hand, bows slightly as her greeting toward me. I mean, I honestly can’t blame her. She’s been dead for only a short period of time.
“I see your second match went well.” Maroonius states the obvious, all the while he points at the Saint furthering his statement with no sympathy.
“You know I had no other choice.” I said in protest.
“Ah, but you could’ve tried to force your opponent to surrender, you know?”
“She makes a good point, Maroonius.” The lovely Saint interjects her opinion into our conversation. “While I don’t agree with the method of death that was bestowed upon me, I don’ necessarily blame Mercedes for exploiting my ability’s weakness. We all tried to exploit our opponents’ weaknesses, even you, Maroonius; although, your attempts are essentially in vain.” The latter part obviously rubs Maroonius the way, payback for his earlier, insensitive remarks.
“Anthony…let’s get back to the topic at hand.” Maroonius snarls while growling at Agnes. “Mercedes you’ve past the halfway point of this tournament. By the time the rest of the second-round matches are finished, there will be about 40 delegates left, give or take.”
“40? That math doesn’t add up. There were 96 delegates before the start of the round; there should be around 48 left!” I said without hesitation.
“Oh, Mercedes, have you truly forgotten about this tournament’s silent killer? It’s something that is always near and dear to every single delegate in tournament.”
“Ah!!! The Spiral…” I suddenly remember what Maroonius was talking about. I don’t know how I could forget something as important as The Spiral and Sokushinbutsu!
“Ah, so you do remember. AHAHA! The elusive vampire princess strikes again! Indeed, The Spiral will continue to claim more victims until only victor remains. The question is: will you be the sole survivor?”
“That’s my intention, yes, but—“
“I didn’t ask about your intentions. My question, Lady Mercedes, was: will you be the sole survivor and victor of this tournament?”
“I want to and will try to, but I’m not a clairvoyant. Why are you fixated on whether I win or not?” I asked with morbid curiosity, which proved to absolutely be a mistake. Suddenly, the demeanors and attitudes of these apparitions turned very cold, aggressive, and hostile.
“Mercedes, you only won against me and the Saint because of pure, dumb luck! You killed two people in order to save your own! At no point did you ever feel an ounce of remorse for what you did to us! Are you even taking this tournament seriously?” Maroonius furiously exploded at me.
“I’ve been serious about this tournament since the moment I’ve been selected as a delegate, so don’t tell me I’m not serious about my survival! As for our fight, you know damn well that I used my ability strategically to effectively counterattack and killed you where you stood! Same thing with Saint Agnes, although she proved to be a far more competent fighter. My strategies prevailed over my opponents!”
“And yet, you’ve let yourself give into the whims of Death’s Spiral, all the while, it continues to lure your soul and claim it as its own.” Agnes interrupts, yet again, further agitating me.
“Why are you two even here? Get out of my head!”
“… … …” Both of my former opponents froze completely like statues, not uttering a single word.
“Because I want to inflict as much distress and pain before I watch you writhe in suffering as I kill you…Victoria.”
“What...did you call me?” My heart sinks like a rock deep into my stomach, as a sense of dread penetrates my mind. There is only one other person beside my mother and my sponsor that would know my dead name… … It…It can’t be…
“So, you’ve figure it out, huh, Victoria. You’ve definitely grown into a different person down here.” The words of my abusive ex speaks through the voices of Maroonius and Saint Agnes, whose eyes have rolled completely into the back of their heads. Their bodies start to shake, shutter, and convulse. I take a few steps back and prepare myself for a possible fight. My opponents’ bodies start to levitate when all of a sudden, their bodies suddenly disappeared. I slowly turned around until I am face-to-face with the person I truly hate the most… …
“You know my God name, so why don’t you address me as much, Brett!” I said to the towering blonde man standing before me.
“Oh, you’re so right. My apologies, Lady Mercedes Vida” The arrogant man replied to me in a highly sarcastic tone, clearly indicative of what he truly thinks of me.
“What do you even so by down here: ass-raped by fate?” A small, yet very satisfying smile smirks across my face, angering my abuser.
“If you must know, Mercedes, in this tournament, I am known as Dominus Exalted, delegate for Spitemasters LLC!” He shouts at me while boasting his prestige of representing a company nestled within the Magnum Decem.
Feigning ignorance, I ask him: “Spitemasters? Aren’t they a bottom-of-the-barrel company that somehow managed to scrape by into the Grand Order? Just like they did with their delegate selection?”
“… Oh, that’s a pretty funny joke you made there, Mercedes. In the spirit of telling jokes, I have a good one for you!” He suddenly reached for my throat and tightened his grip, making it harder to breathe.
“You’ve always been an annoying thorn in my side, Victoria; a really fucking annoying one! No matter what happens to you, you always somehow manage to survive like a pesky cockroach, you know? I should’ve ended you that night, but I didn’t because I decided to show you mercy! Mercy, you clearly didn’t deserve!”
“You didn’t kill me…because you’re a…fucking…coward!” Each word burning as it came out of my mouth.
“A coward, you say. Would a coward do this?” Dominus tightens his grip once more, making the pain from breathing unbearable.
“Yes…yes…they…would…but they wouldn’t do this.” With all my might, I forcefully spit in his face and then throw a punch at his face.
“Hehe…heh… … … You fucking bitch!” His grip now threatening close to crushing my windpipe. “You think it’s funny to spit in the face of the one who spared your life? Your savior?!”
A bright light shines from behind his head, illuminating his features as disgusting as I may find them. I don’t know if I can hold on much longer. Everything is heavy. My head throbs with heavy struggling heartbeat. Every breath I take slowly diminishes with air. If I die by his hands, then so be it, but I refuse to allow my abuser to have the last laugh: “You’re…ugh…no savior…Brett… You… … you are nothing…but a weak-spined, dickless disgrace of a man…. I hope…I…hope…your soul…finds no peace as it…withers away…in your decaying corpse…for…for…for all…eternity…” Tears well up from the excruciating pain of strangulation, but none will fall in the face of my oppressor.
“You have a lot of gall to say that to me. Hmph, you definitely have changed, Victoria …but so have I! Looks like you won’t be able to exact the revenge you’ve always wanted. Have a fun time as you burn in Hell!” He spits these words at me, all the while he attempts to finish the job. The light continues to illuminate bright and bright until all is enveloped by it. It feels warm and strangely soothing, but at least…at least I can finally experience peace…
■■■
The light starts to recede as it oscillates from left to right in a fluid motion like that of a mesmerizing metronome. I hear the voice of a woman frantically panicking over something of utmost urgency. Suddenly, the light is pulled away, revealing the concerned face of that beautiful woman, who is continuously mouthing a single word: “Mercedes. Mercedes. Mercedes. Mercedes!” My head snaps as I immediately lurch forward and vomit with great force, desperately gasping and clawing for each breath of fresh air. The air filling my lungs is extremely painful, yet euphoric at the same time. Every single breath I take is a welcome mix of pain and pleasure.
“Mercedes! I’m so glad to see you’re awake! I thought you were gone for good!” The beautiful woman in white expresses her joy to me, all while tears flow down her face. I’m pretty sure she is a doctor of some sort who was helping me through my ex’s assault. She feels familiar. Maybe she’s like my guardian angel; reminds me of mother a bit though…. I still miss you, mom. Thank you for staying by my side.
“Um, Mercedes, is everything all right up there?” The woman asks me, but her identity is still enshrouded in mystery, even though I should know who she is already.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Mercedes?” She prods once more.
After much inner turmoil, I decide to give up on guessing her identity and ask her straight up: “I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“Even though you were just in a trance mere seconds ago, you always manage to pop a joke out. Ha ha ha! Oh, Mercedes, your personality has always been very welcoming!” the lady seemingly laughing at and brushing off my question makes a little irritated.
“I’m serious, Miss, who are you and where am I exactly?” I ask her again politely, yet, stern tone.
“Okay, Mercedes, the first joke was good, so let’s not draw this out.” The woman in white says, her previously jovial attitude now drastically changing to a more concerned one.
“Miss, please listen to me when I say that I truly do not know who you are, however, you do feel very familiar.” I tell her once more, explaining how I truly felt and though her with the limited information I had.
‘Oh no…I hope this isn’t what I think it is. Please…anything but that…” the nurse now once again panicking around the room, grabbing various papers and medical equipment\. It all looks very serious. Should I ask her about it?
“Um, Miss, is everything okay? Did I do something wrong? Is—” Before I could finish my sentence, the nurse immediately interrupted me.
“Mercedes, I need you to listen to me as this very critical and potentially life-threatening. My name is Lottie Breedlove and your previous name was Victoria Lee. I am your doctor and we are in your personal infirmary.”
“H-How do you my previous name?!” I said in utter shock.
“You’ve confided some very personal information with as you considered me your friend.”
“A-Are you sure? I would’ve remembered telling someone my dead name.”
I believe that you are experiencing symptoms of amnesia, and that it might connected to ‘Her Last Cry’ and Demisegame’s drawbacks, or even aftereffects of The Spiral. Whatever it may be, the only way I can truly confirm my suspicions is through more testing.” Lottie said as tears flowed once more.
“Do you think this is permanent?” I asked as anxiety starts to build up.
“I personally do not think it is, but the most important thing to do right now is to stay calm and do not panic. We can’t afford you to Spiral any further toward Sokushinbutsu, okay? I’m sorry that I can’t promise anything at the moment, but I truly hope everything will turn out for the better. Regardless of the outcome, I will always continue to stay by your side! Even if you forget me again, I won’t forget you, Mercedes!”
I may have forgotten about this Doctor, but even so, Lettie’s promise moved me to tears: “Please don’t forget me, Lottie.”
“I won’t, Mercedes. I won’t. Now then, let us proceed with the tests.” Lottie told me as she prepared to pinpoint my symptoms and diagnose the illness
■■■
It’s been about a few hours since the tests were performed, and I still sit in the chair, all alone in the infirmary. Being alone has me asking myself many questions, most of which I don’t have the answer for: Do I still have a chance of winning this tournament? Will I still be able to outpace The Spiral? How much of my memory is actually gone? Is it permanent? Will I actually have a chance at winning this tournament? Oh, wait a minute, I already said that. Before I could ask any more, Lottie runs back into the room, a look of pure terror on her face.
“Lottie, what’s wrong? Did the tests turn up anything?” I asked with slight worry.
The doctor with shaky hands, looked down at the tests and read the results aloud to me: “M-Mercedes, the tests d-do confirm that your amnesia is, indeed, a by-product of the overuse of ‘Her Last Cry’. U-Unfortunately, these lapses in memory are…permanent and are more likely to get worse.” Tears stream down her face as she read the final prognosis.
“Permanent? Why is it permanent?” My voice becoming shaky with increasing anxiety and fear.
“There’s more to your power than previously expected, something that didn’t appear on the previous tests, nor in any archives from previous tournaments. E-Every time you use your ability past a certain point, Demisegame initiates a kickback that…that…lobotomizes you in real time. These lobotomies are the reason why you’ve been experiencing amnesia, blackouts, and thunderclap headaches. I knew my hunch about your ability was right, but the results didn’t corroborate my theory until now. If only I delved into it more and ran more tests, then I actually could’ve been useful. I’m so sorry, Mercedes. I’m so sorry….” Lottie then fully burst into tears, hugging me all while continuing to apologize for her so-called “ignorance.” I may be scared and afraid over the revelation of my condition, but I need to remain clam or else I will definitely spiral down to the bottomless abyss. First thing I need to do is help calm Lottie down. The more information about my condition, the better.
“Lottie. Lottie, please listen to me. I can assure you that this isn’t your fault.”
“Mercedes, you don’t understand. This is absolutely my fault. Like I said, I could’ve caught this earlier with more extensive testing.”
“Could’ve. Lottie. You could’ve found something, but that’s it. I don’t remember anything regarding the previous set of tests, but I have a hunch that we wouldn’t have found anything even if more tests were conducted.”
“Why do you think that?” Lottie asked with fervent curiosity.
“You said that ‘Her Last Cry’ can be used without incident up until a certain point, right? Do you know how long?”
“Um, I believe it was around 45 seconds, a minute max in a 5-minute interval.” Lottie responded, albeit a bit confused.
“So, in my first fight, I believe I used ‘her Last Cry’ for a little over a minute, which would only cause minor short-tern memory issues. Again, this is just my theory about how my ability works, but my gut feels confident about it.”
She sat there for a few minutes mulling over the information I gave to her; the gears turning inside her trying to find a solution.
“I believe you’re right, Mercedes. Even if you were to have past 90 seconds within that interval, you only suffer temporary short-term memory loss. Regarding your most recent fight, the amnesia is definitely a symptom of you exceeding 3 minutes, however, that wouldn’t explain the intensity of your thunderclap headaches. Do you know of anything that could explain that?”
I couldn’t think of anything at that moment, but then it suddenly hit me: “The oasis…”
“Oasis? What oasis, Mercedes?” Lottie asked with concern.
“I didn’t think it would be the source of all of my problems…This is all my fault…”
“Mercedes, what did you do with your ability?”
“I…used ‘Her Last Cry’ on myself in order to provide my mind with an oasis of inner peace to stop the Spiral and devise strategies against potential opponents.” I sais as I recounted my mistakes that led me to where I’m currently at.
“How long?” Lottie staring at me with great intensity.
“Around 2 hours…”
“Oh, God…” Lottie’s face turned pure white as all of the blood receded due to pure shock. “Oh, Mercedes...This isn’t good at all! We need to come up with a plan immediately! Please, Mercedes, if there’s anything to never forget, please don’t my instructions! Actually, let’s tattoo this on your arm, okay? This is of the utmost importance!”
Okay, Lottie, let’s do it! We’ve got enough—“
*Bing Bong Ding Dong*
*Attention. Attention: Please stand by for an important announcement… … … …Good morning to all remaining delegates. I am here to inform you that the second round of the Tournament for Godhood has officially concluded. At this time, there are currently 40 delegates remaining*
[DELEGATES REMAINING: 47 🡪 40]
[DELEGATES LOST TO THE SPIRAL 6 🡪 8]
*To you and your sponsors, I say: Congratulations thus far. Now then, onward to the announcement. Due to popular demand, the official start of Round 3 will be moved to today at 0500 hours. The match-ups will be posted on the television for your viewing pleasure. Thank you and good luck*
“Lottie…” I say as I feared for the worse.
“We’ll be fine, but we’ll need some extra help. It is currently 0230 hours, so we have more than enough time to give you everything you’ll need for the next round. I am, however, going to preface that this application isn’t going to be a walk in the park. With multiple people working simultaneously, this is going to be quite painful.”
“I understand, Lottie.”
“if you want me to, I can give you a sedative so that—“
“No!! Please, no!” I blurted out adamantly. I would rather experience all of the pain than to go back to sleep and potentially be face-to-face again with him. Seeing how terrified I was at the thought of going under, Lottie simply acknowledges me and doesn’t ask me any further questions.
“Okay, before we start the application, would you like me to turn on the TV to see the pairings?
Being curious, I said yes to her question. The television turned on, slowly focusing in and out on the lone signal. All I hope for is that my next opponent is someone I was able to devise counterattacks on before I started my second round match. The television finally focuses in right at as they started the broadcast of the delegates and their match-ups. The names started to scroll. One-by-one the remaining delegates appeared. Juno’s name appeared on Match 10 against Evile: Master of Puppets; his Demisename: Blitzkrieg of the Creeping Death. An interesting name to say the least. What was particularly eye-catching about this match-up was Juno’s Demisename: Prisoner of Euphoric Rage. Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen Juno’s power in action, nor have I taken any notes…I think it would be in my best interest to watch Juno’s match., just in case. 16. 17. 18. 19. The match-ups continue to scroll across the screen until my name finally appears. A wave of nausea and vertigo suddenly hits me as the final match is displayed for all to see:
[Match 20 — Lady Mercedes Vida: Her Last Cry Vs. Dominus Exalted: Fear and Subversion]
The nausea fully takes over as I lean over the side of my chair and vomit nothing but bile and acid. My head starts to pound and my ears start to ring from the sheer force of hurling the contents of an empty stomach, all the while Lottie shakes my body back and forth, screaming my name over and over. I know I said I wanted the chance to kill him down here, but after what I experienced earlier, I’m…I’m too scared. His power is most likely more powerful than mine. I mean, I still don’t even know his power is or to what extent it can perform at. He was able to choke me out with pure strength alone. And that’s not even remotely mentioning the fact I’ve already overused ‘Her Last Cry.’ Will I even be able to stand a chance against him? I-I can’t…I can’t…I-I can’t do this!
MERCEDES HAS SUCCESSFULLY ABORTED SPIRALING
CURRENT SPIRAL: NEUROSIS
A stinging sensation on my face brings me back to the chair in the infirmary with Lottie in the center, hovering over me.
“Mercedes, listen to me: You need to stop focusing on who you’re fighting and focus on how to win against Dominus, okay?! I know who he is to you, however, we’ll help you move past that barrier and get your mind in the game! You’ve made it more than halfway through this tournament. My team and I are going to try our damnedest to get you over the finish line and become the next God of the Grand Order: Lady Mercedes—The Beautiful and Elusive Princess of Vampires!”
… … She’s right…Lottie’s right. It may have only been two battles, but it’s still two battles that were fought to the death and had some serious implications. My arm is still rendered useless, even more so after injuring it further during my bout with Saint Agnes. In addition, my body hasn’t had the proper time to rest after taking multiple forms of punches, kicks, choking, and other methods of assault and blunt force trauma; however, all of the other delegates are in the same boat as I am. Whether I like it or not, I will to fight Brett, I mean, Dominus, in a few hours. No amount of crying or panicking or spiraling will change that predicament. All I can do is prepare mentally, physically, and emotionally to go up against the one who has done nothing but given me Hell on Earth. All the psychologic torment, physical abuse, and every other heinous deed the fucker’s done to me…he will be held accountable. He will not run away like he did last time. He will have to face the music. I will end him even if it means breaking every bone in my body, lose every limb, every sense, and sacrificing everything that makes me human, even my own life! I will have his soul and erase it from the very fabric of existence…Get ready, Dominus. This will be the last time you’ll face me. I will not cower to you because I refuse to five you that power. If you want to win and kill me, that’s fine, but be prepared to sacrifice everything to get there, for the most dangerous person in the world is the one who has nothing left at all.