Zalan stomped as he paced, focusing on maintaining his anger. Nold had told him his rage was a tool. It certainly felt like one. He needed to use it in his battle against Slauson. Just like he was able to overpower Rexler when he was at his most maddening feeling, he would be able to do the same to Slauson. He would wipe the arrogant stoicism off of his face and bash his head into the ground. Slauson would never look at him the same way again. And he would apologize for what he said. He would accept the punishment of cheating the entire tournament.

The last bout of the quarterfinals started. Zalan was about to make his way back up the stairs to Nold, but stopped himself before he took the second step up. He didn’t want to sit down right now or be harassed by those who felt the need to speak to him on the way up. He had too much agitation running through his muscles. He couldn’t sit in place and wait patiently. He needed to walk around. He began to walk in a circle around the arena. People called attention to it from the crowd, but Zalan was no longer the most interesting thing to watch. The next fight had just been called.

The ongoing fight was Trentor against Nile. Nile was Level 7 and was quite adept with his Elemental Fire Power. Trentor was the lowest Level fighter left in the tournament at just Level 3. He had a bruise on his face from when Callus struck him in his previous fight. His grasp on his Elemental Water was amateur at best, with only small balls of water or mists coming out most often. The entire crowd loved him. It was clear he was no more than an underdog and most of the audience wanted to see him succeed.

Nile threw balls of fire across the arena, Trentor threw balls of water back to try and extinguish the flames, but his Wisdom was too low and his water output evaporated too quickly. He opted for running around the stage in fear. The crowd applauded his cowardice, many trying to coach the inexperienced fighter from the stands encouragingly.

Zalan grew invested in the match, his rage placed aside to wonder if Trentor could possibly pull out a win the same way that he had against Callus.

Nile seemed to enjoy playing the role of the villain, relishing the jeers he would receive from the audience for every ounce of fire conjured. It felt like a game to him. Nile chased Trentor around the stage casually, wanting to force Trentor into yielding rather than totally overpowering him. He wanted to win back the audience’s affection by showing them that Trentor would crack under the first sign of a real fighter. It would be better than outright beating up their favorite. Perhaps Trentors fans would become Nile’s fan’s when they saw he was superior.

Trentor was relentless in throwing little bits of water across the stage. The arena shined with water, and puddles were forming underfoot. Nile continued his steady onslaught of flames, surprised that Trentor made no indication that he was ready to quit after being clearly outmatched. Nile made his way to Trentor, avoiding the little waves Trentor tried to slide at him to throw him off balance.

“Yield,” Nile ordered, throwing a giant fireball skyward to show what he was holding back.

“Never!” Trentor said defiantly, running away from Nile. The crowd loved it, roaring their approval at Trentor’s defiance.

“Why delay the inevitable! You cannot defeat me!” Nile said, arms open wide.

The crowd booed at him, throwing a series of insults at him for his daring to intimidate their beloved Trentor.

“Come and get me!” Trentor said boldly. He was spraying water from his arm, but the weak stream wasn’t even reaching Nile across the arena.

“You are certain?” Nile asked, beginning to grow amused by the show Trentor was putting on.

“More than certain! I am unstoppable!” Trentor said, looking to the audience for their validation.

Again, the crowd roared. They let him know they wholeheartedly agreed with him. But Zalan could see the small changes in Trentor’s expression. It was all false confidence. Trentor was scared.

“Here I come,” Nile said.

Nile was no longer moving casually. He knelt down and broke into a full run. Trentor tensed up at the edge of the arena. He stopped shooting out water and held his arms in front of him, as if to catch Nile. Nile grinned, ready to slam Trentor off the arena and finish the sad excuse for a fight.

Then, Nile’s foot was swept out from under him. He went tumbling forward, face first.

Trentor had used the water covering the arena to cause Nile to slip. Then, he used whatever other water was on the floor to carry Nile’s momentum forward. The arena had been coated with enough water to become a slip-n-slide under Trentor’s command. Nile realized with wide eyes that at the rate he was going, he would fall out of the arena. Defeated without taking a single bit of damage.

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“No!” Nile tried to grip the floor with his hands.

Trentor reacted quickly with a twist of his Elemental Power. Small waves propelled Nile forward and made the arena feel even more slick. The strategy prevented his fingers from grabbing on to anything below.

As a last-ditch effort, Nile threw a fist toward Trentor and let loose a massive column of flame right at him. Trentor shrieked and covered his vitals with his arms as the fire came into contact with him. It was a direct hit, and Trentor was searing with pain, but Nile continued to slide forward. Trentor covered himself in Elemental Water to put out the fire on him. Nile’s body slid off the arena. At the last moment, Nile was finally able to hook a hand onto the edge of the arena and prevent himself from falling all the way off.

The crowd was going berserk, calling for Trentor to pay attention and stomp on Nile’s fingers before he was able to pull himself back up. Trentor had his eyes closed, screaming in pain. He was jumping around in place, showering himself with water to try and undo the pain of a direct blast of fire. He had never been covered in so much pain before. Nile was able to get his other arm over the edge and slowly pulled himself up. Trentor continued to hop around to escape the burns on his skin. With his eyes still closed, Trentor stomped on one of Nile’s hands. Crying out in anger, Nile let go, continuing to grip with his remaining hand. The crowd cheered proudly.

Then Trentor blindly tumbled over the edge of the arena.

He collided with Nile on his way down and they both tumbled to the floor below the arena. They both screamed in confusion and fear until they landed with a thud against the earthen floor. They both stared up at the canyon above them, not sure what just happened.

“The battle is over!” Umdarr declared rushing over.

“Did I win?” Trentor asked, his face red and his eyes closed.

“I do not think either of us won,” Nile said, forcefully pushing Trentor off from on top of him.

The audience was chanting Trentor’s name, trying to get Umdarr to rule in his favor. Umdarr stared at the two of them, consternation on his face. Trentor and Nile watched him expectantly. Trentor continued to run a stream of water over his burns.

“I need to consult Madam Hikma,” Umdarr decided, declaring it to the audience.

Zalan looked up sharply. He hadn’t seen Madam Hikma since he got here. Would they really show where she was? The audience was going wild, running amok with guesses on how the match would be called. Was there such a thing as a tie in the Elemental Rage Tournament? Would their beloved Trentor be defeated when he clearly deserved to win?

Umdarr bent down, then leaped with enough force to blast air across the entire stadium. Everyone’s eyes followed him as he soared through the air and landed at the top row of the seats on one end of the stadium. Zalan’s eyes went wide with surprise. Madam Hikma was sitting amongst the audience. She was with the regular people, with no special seating. Zalan should have guessed as much. She wouldn’t be one to want grand gestures done for her.

Seeing her face sent an inordinate amount of shame running through Zalan. He had such evil intentions toward her only a few days ago, but she was such a simple woman. She made a mistake, just like anyone else could. She never claimed to be able to solve everyone’s problems. Everyone else put that title upon her, but she just wanted to help people. Zalan felt so naive. How could he have ever felt ill-will toward the woman who genuinely tried to help? He would have been so lost without her. Never even would have known where to start in this world. The first person he spoke to about being from another world that seemed to truly understand what he meant immediately.

Madam Hikma smiled as Umdarr approached her. Her smile reminded Zalan of his own mother’s sweet, simple grin, and he felt both embarrassed and nostalgic. He desperately wanted to go back home. Madam Hikma might have had a means to that. Zalan was about to walk up the steps and immediately ask for her advice, but felt something dark tug at his heart and hold him in place. He still needed to beat Slauson. He needed to use all of his pent up rage, then he would go back home with a new tool at his disposal. Rage and anger he could use to enhance himself in any situation. Going home could wait a few hours longer. Then he would go to Madam Hikma and seek her advice. Preferably with Rep at his side.

Thinking of Rep flared up more anger within Zalan. Slauson’s deeds were at every corner of Zalan’s mind. Slauson hurt his friend. He would hurt Slauson.

“It is not a tie. Madam Hikma has made her decision!” Umdarr said from the top of the stands. Rather than immediately give the ruling, he held onto the information.

He jumped back down to the arena, floating down slowly. The audience watched tensely as he drifted back to the arena. He landed softly. Umdarr waited another few seconds for added suspense, always a showman whenever he had the chance. The audience grew antsy, shifting in their seats and wanting to scream at him to get it over with.

“Both contestants fell out of the ring. Normally, that would be cause for them to lose the match. But they did not both hit the ground. One landed atop his opponent, which was never explicitly set against the rules. Trentor landed atop Nile. That means, Trentor wins!”

The audience went bombastic and crazy in their approval of the decision. Trentor was amazed, in absolute shock of the events of the fight. He rubbed his freshly burned eyes as if to wake himself up from a dream. He hardly believed it. He stared in shock as Umdarr gave him the prize money. Nile wouldn’t look at him, shame and anger written on his face as he left the stadium. He went to leave the canyon, not willing to stay and watch the three remaining battles after having taken such a pathetic defeat.

“Now then,” Umdarr said, excitement in every word. “Who is ready for the Semifinals?”

Zalan felt as ready as ever. Whatever happened, he wouldn’t freeze up against Slauson.