A small figure slithered through a grassland following the scent of stress and fear from his prey. The wildebeest ran further away from its pack, while the snake continued to follow in no rush. As day turned to night the wildebeest ran into a heavily grassed area with a small tree.
As though seeking comfort the wildebeest ran to the tree. A flash appeared, two fangs hitting the back of the wildebeest's leg. The wildebeest's back legs struck back but met nothing. The snake had already appeared a few yards away completely hidden.
The wildebeest managed a few more steps, placing itself under the tree before collapsing. Poison coursed through the Wildebeest, a cloud of fear emanating from its body yet unable to move, only shake. The snake slithered over, settling into a well-covered divot and staring straight into the wildebeest’s eyes.
Night fell. There was no moon this night and even predators would find hunting difficult. The wildebeest sat only a few yards away from the snake, frozen by two deep yellow eyes. Even as the poison left the wildebeest's body, it refused to move in fear of the snake.
In a different part of the jungle, a king leapt down from the tree he had been using for shade during the day. The king had caught the scent of fear, something he was well versed in, as all felt fear before him, the king. He stalked through the grassland following the dense scent. Soon the distance between him and the scent vanished.
A wildebeest separated from the herd shaking in fear. The king licked his chops as he stalked closer. When the time was right, he pounced, a sun materialized behind him, lighting up the surroundings and energizing him. The king caught the unsuspecting prey with ease, its neck in his mouth he shook.
A small figure sat unmoving only meters away not even blinking at the great power of the king. For if there is light, then there are shadows. The snake was perfectly hidden within the shadows left by the thick grass. Even if the lion looked, he would only see grass.
The wildebeest's horns lit up with a silver light, spear intent materializing around its horns. Unwilling to fight only moments ago, he was willing to fight the king. Anger coursed through the king that its prey dared show such disrespect. The sun turned brighter, a red tinge entering the glowing sun. His claw came up, the deep golden light surrounding the claws as it fell. The sun in the sky empowered the blade-like claws. The wildebeest had no chance of resistance as its head and body separated from each other. The blades passed cleanly through leaving the slightest scent of roasted meat.
The sun slowly disappeared and the darkness quickly filled the void. The king roared, announcing his might to all in the surroundings. A roar that would warn any who thought of following the scent of blood. The king laid down to eat his well-earned meal his body relaxed, as his mouth closed around the decapitated neck of the wildebeest. Swish. The snake launched forward fangs piercing through the neck of the lion injecting its poison and withdrawing just as quickly.
Cats have a naturally quick reflex, the king jumped away from the snake. Roaring out in challenge, preparing to fight his opponent to the death. Only the snake had already disappeared, his strike the flicker of a shadow. Using the thick grass the snake once more hid in plain sight, no longer moving. A light began appearing behind the king once more, but the light was only half as bright as before. The king knew what he was looking for. But even as his eyes pierced the surroundings he could find nothing.
Alex watched as the snake’s body moved with the swaying grass and the light, perfectly taking on that of a piece of grass swaying in the wind. The snake had become a part of the shadows. Slowly as the light dimmed though, the snake slowly allowed himself to be seen. His eyes laid on a shadow as two yellow eyes appeared from the darkness.
The lion began losing the semblance of a king as he lost control of his body, forced to lay down. The sun disappeared behind him, as his body shook in fear, staring into those eyes. Alex watched, waiting for the serpent to slither forward and finish his prey. Yet the snake stayed there unmoving. Swish. The snake flickered away to Alex’s confusion. But a sun appeared in the sky once more and a blinding flash of light appeared, a claw strike descended where the snake had just been.
Damn it! He fell for the same trick, twice too even after promising himself not to. The king laid down, all energy now completely gone, his face even touching the ground. There was no fear in the lion's eyes, he simply prepared for death having already given everything he had. He was a king and even though he was defeated he was still a king.
The snake came from behind the lion, fangs piercing the king's back leg as venom flooded into his prey. Only when the snake was certain did his mouth open wide, devouring the lion. Then wasting no time, the snake slithered to the wildebeest, the predator and prey both quickly disappearing into the snake's stomach.
The two bodies made the serpent’s body bulge but then they faded, turning to nothing but energy for the serpent that was already slithering off hunting for the next prey. Yet even as the snake slithered away cold eyes were always watching, always prepared. The snake would never let his guard down.
The concept of striking and withdrawing was clear in this image. The snake did so with fluidity striking and moving away. There were a few problems with this concerning Alex's fighting style. There was no fluidity between strikes, making each strike a separate move. The snake was able to hide and use poison to slow down its enemies. Alex was not able to do either of these things fighting in the arena, for now at least.
In the future, he would need to change his image of focus again. But this worked perfectly for now. He could only focus on so many things at once while he was still learning. Right now this was more than enough for him to contemplate.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
He rewatched the scene multiple times. He was slightly disappointed in himself for still underestimating his enemy. He could see now the king faking his fear, preparing for one final strike. He could see the body tense up right before the king attacked. This is how the snake knew to move out of the way long before the attack appeared.
This only confirmed the importance of experience. When he had time he should watch more images even if they didn’t match his fighting style. He would be able to learn of the different types of beasts or find similar circumstances and know how to act. Just seeing the sun-like power the lion used and the shadow-like power the snake used was beneficial. Opening his mind to possibilities in the future. Especially poison, he could see how valuable the poison was for the snake.
Leaving the image he practiced in his soul world, imagining himself as the snake. Going through the same motions of attacking and retreating, striking and withdrawing. Feeling himself grow tired and the gains from his practicing going down he withdrew from the soul world.
He opened his eyes in the cage, the old man seemed to be meditating, and everyone else was sleeping. Pulling his blanket closer he used his arm as a pillow laying down. Checking his countdown, he saw that he now had eighteen hours before his next fight.
He should feel more tired after all, so many things had happened to him that day. If he was right about the time, then it should technically be midnight. Soon shadows crept through his soul, beckoning his soul back to the abyss. Even though he was surrounded by others, he felt a strange safety with the Colosseum watching over him. He knew that if anyone tried anything, their fate would be like the man who had exploded.
He dreamt the entire night. In his dream, he was a snake slithering through the forest. Hunting enemies was not just his concern but his passion, his soul devotion. He stalked his prey, killed them, then devoured them.
Alex woke up naturally, his mind disoriented for several moments. He felt as though he had lived the life of a snake. Shaking off his dreams and looking at the status screen, he saw he still had over twelve hours until the fight. He had only slept six hours but felt well-rested. Some may be able to do that but he had always slept for 9-10 hours. His thoughts went back to the jade drop, the benefits of sleeping less had to be from the jade drop. Although his meditation may also have been part of the reason why.
Holding out his hand he imagined a dagger in his grasp. He blinked nothing happening, he had felt the obsidian diamond try, but something had locked down its movement. He was disappointed but already had a feeling that the Colosseum would not allow him to draw his weapon within the cage. He would need to try and call for his daggers as soon as he entered the arena.
The time he had should be more than enough to prepare for his next fight. He felt his heart beat faster and adrenaline coursed through him just at the thought of fighting. He felt his flame burn a little brighter as excitement consumed him. He wasn’t sure what opponent he would face at the end of the day. He just knew he wanted to be as prepared as possible. Looking over he saw the old man was also awake and sipping his water.
“I dreamt I was a snake last night, slithering through the grass and hunting prey.” Alex awkwardly scratched his chin “I’ve never had a dream feel so real.”
“I dreamt I was a Kraken living deep beneath the sea in a rift of darkness. My tendrils reached out far and wide, pulling in prey and devouring them.” The Old Man responded.
“Why does yours sound so much cooler than mine…” Alex said.
“Simple, I’m a better storyteller.” The Old Man stroked his beard with a smiling face like a wise sage.
“That makes sense, old people have always been good storytellers.” Alex smiled innocently.
“You.” The old man's hand froze, then grumbled. “Young people really don’t know how to speak correctly anymore, do they?”
“True.” Alex nodded, “So if I say something offensive just ignore me.”
The Old Man chuckled, changing the topic, “If you don’t mind me asking, what type of weapons are you using?”
“Daggers.” A small smile appeared on his face thinking of his daggers. “Why?”
“I was just curious how you fought with the fox.” The Old Man asked.
"My fight was embarrassing. I underestimate the fox’s determination to kill me. I was able to shake free from the illusion when it was still a dozen yards away. When the fox reached me it tried splitting into two illusions again but they were much weaker with each consecutive illusion.
I was able to hit the fox multiple times and I thought the fox was on its last leg when it jumped up biting onto my arm and tearing my forearm apart with its claws. My other dagger went up through its chin and into its skull finally killing it. The little thing didn’t let go even in death. What about you?” Alex said.
“I chose a pair of bracers as I am supposed to be suited to martial arts. The illusion clouded my mind until the fox was upon me. Only putting my arm up at the last second stopped it from biting my throat. The fox bit onto my bracer and took me to the ground, luckily I was able to maneuver myself on top of it. I thought I would have to pummel it to death with punches, but when I punched a blade pierced out of my bracers and into the neck.
I was able to finish the fight, I thought I was dead for sure, but that jade drop revived me. The fox had torn my chest apart but before my eyes, the wounds healed. If I didn’t have that blade come out of the bracer and the jade drop I would have lost and died. How did you break the illusion so early?”
“The feelings that the fox gave me were unnatural. I've never felt such strong emotions toward something. So I stabbed my leg and knocked myself out of the illusion.” Alex said.
The Old Man was slightly stunned, he hadn’t thought about it like that. He had felt his emotions towards the fox were strange but not unusual. The emotions the fox gave were things he had felt many times before. Similar to the emotions he felt toward his granddaughter and wife. They may have been magnified unnaturally but not in a far-fetched manner.
Yet no matter what he knew that what appeared before him would die. He knew that because his granddaughter's life meant far more to him than any other life on earth. If he had not made that decision before entering the arena. Then the illusion probably would have worked completely on him, marking his end.
“You seem to have no problems with the idea of killing or even being here. You seem almost excited sometimes. Are you happy to be here?” The Old Man asked, Alex froze that simple questions caused his soul flame to flicker nearly going out of existence.