Alana stood with her arms folded as the final match of the round slowly unfolded. Already, she could tell that hubris was transforming it into a trainwreck. A good lesson for Annie, if a bit inconveniently timed. However, her focus wasn’t on the fighters, it was on Randidly.

“He seems a bit spacey,” Hank Howard stood next to her and squinted up at the Ghosthound. Neither commented on Annie’s increasingly volcanic gushes of swearwords.

Alana nodded slowly as she systematically cataloged his countenance. Randidly’s gaze didn’t waver from the fight, but somehow she knew that he wasn’t even looking at it. His attention was elsewhere. Perhaps on the churns storm of Nether that had grown increasingly dense around the arena. Or the even larger storm that hovered around the island he had claimed for himself, quite a few miles distant. As always, he continued honing himself even while accomplishing other tasks.

It was an admirable amount of efficiency. At the same time, Alana couldn’t help but resent him for it. How vast really is the space between us and you…? Do we not even merit your wariness? Well, I suppose when Annie claimed she could make the top 8 with her left hand-

The cheer of the crowd finally brought Alana’s attention around. Annie was scowling as she vacated the stage, leaving a mild-looking middle-aged woman from Tellus to wave at the crowd with a satisfied smile. Just like that, one of the most powerful warriors on Expira had been defeated. Mostly because she had played around too much, but that Tellus warrior was strong. The loss stung especially because of how much Annie had been in the public eye this past two years, due to Missy Carp.

It made one fact abundantly clear: From now on, none of the matches would be easy.

They had arrived at the final 32. Anything less than your all would just get you eliminated.

“As stated previously,” Randidly’s words boomed across the arena. “We will be taking a week break before the next batch of matches. I encourage everyone to return to their homes and lives during that time, aside from our thirty-two finalists. All fights will be broadcast, and the impacts will be increasingly dangerous. Tomorrow, the final bracket will be released; make your preparations to fight with all your might.”

Then Randidly turned away at almost the exact moment that Annie stomped past. Hank, unable to resist his baser impulses, walked forward with a smug smile on his face. He wiggled his fingers of his left hand at her. “Did you really think you could remain undefeated only shooting arrows with your left arm? Ya probably would have been better just tossin’ arrows-”

“Fuck off,” Annie flounced her way back to the changing room. Hank chuckled.

Meanwhile, Alana’s thoughts turned to the final group. Expira broadly, and Donnyton specifically, had done as well as expected in the tournament. Herself, Tykes, Dozer, Mrs. Hamilton, Paolo, Kayle, and Donny had all made it to the final group. Beyond them, Hank, Wivanya, an old man from Zone 7, Lucifer, Drake, the fellow who styled himself as a Rat King, Zone 1’s super suit, and a cheerful young woman named Beatrice gave Expira fifteen of the thirty-two final tournament spots.

If you extended that to include the Chimera woman Allowaen, Thorn, and the Monster Prince from the world of Randidly’s original Alpha Cosmos, it was a solid lineup that had proven its power in the Alpha Cosmos.

The Nexus had its contingent that earned its spots, including DiOrtho Vant, Charlotte Wick, Heiffal, and the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly had brought into the Alpha Cosmos. They were strong; honestly, Alana hoped she wouldn’t have to face any of them until the top 8.

Recovery was quick, with the System, but the sort of mental exhaustion that would result from confronting any of them would not vanish in a few days. Especially if the friction did any damage to the images themselves.

The Danger Zones and Nemesai worlds had several representatives. The mysterious Fisherman who covered his entire body with a cloak, a Toad Lord, a rune writing Winged Serpent, and finally the masterful Wolfram made sure their races were represented.

Finally, Tellus also had a large chunk of bodies to round things out. There was of course Azriel, whose belonging was only nominal, but there was this ‘Spearman Reborn’ Illdan Thai. Yet compared to him, there was a group of two older warriors that made Alana even more serious; the woman who just defeated Annie was one of them.

There had been three powerful warriors like that, but one had the misfortune of running into DiOrtho in the prior round. Strong they may be, but not as strong as the Vulpis Squad. He had crushed the stupified man, whose image was robust but unimaginatively just a spear. Alana almost wished it had been the woman who had been seriously challenged; her instincts whispered the woman was the real threat.

The final two participants were weaker soldiers from Tellus that didn’t catch Alana’s eye. All together, thirty-two individuals, all aiming for the same prize.

“So now what?” Hank sauntered back over to her.

Alana shrugged. She clapped her hands twice. “We wait for the bracket to be released tomorrow. You hope I won’t wipe you out in the next round.”

Hank rolled his eyes.

*****

Tatiana raised an eyebrow as her eyes scanned across the various matches. “Are you sure that this is the bracket that you want to go with? There will be a lot of controversy over some of the early matches.”

Randidly shrugged as he looked at the bracket laid out on the table between them. “Probably. But all the fighters that made it this far are strong in their own ways. This bracket… will give them all a chance. That’s the best I can do for them.”

Especially for the people of Expira, they can’t avoid fighting each other. In the top group, they dominated, Randidly mused as his eyes landed on several matches in the next round. Alana Donal v. Thorn. Tykes v. Azriel. Mrs. Hamilton v. Lucifer. Considering the preliminary odds listed by the betting houses, Randidly’s bracket would disappoint a lot of individuals and probably make several casinos a lot of money. However, he could feel the significance breathing through the whole event: this was the best arrangement.

“Alright then, I’ll post the news.” Tatiana picked up the materials and stored them away. But she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she gave him an entirely different sort of assessing look. “... in other news, I finished preparing the legal agreement you described. We’ve tapped several well-respected scholars to get it done quickly… but even if it is comprehensive and relatively conservative in its laws, the Zones and Association of Independent Cities won’t agree to it. At least not easily and with a lot of discussion.”

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For a second, Randidly lost himself to that helpless sense of fury that recalling Missy Carp always ignited in his chest. A desire to thoroughly eliminate any trace of that woman from his body surged from the foundation of his being. Breathing out through his nose, he calmed that fury; his vengeance would be this unified system of laws he could really only push because of how her case turned out.

She needed to stay. The continued threat of her presence would give him the stick. And with tournaments like this in the future, he would have an irresistible carrot.

He showed a lazy smile. “Leave the agreement to me. I just want to make sure the laws themselves are as refind and serviceable as possible. Don’t worry about conservative; make a real push for some substantive improvements to the legal system. We are currently just carrying old laws into the System. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if the laws themselves are premised on the System. I haven’t given it much thought, but I’m sure there are people out there who have dedicated their lives to System jurisprudence.”

“Hmm.” Some of Tatiana’s sadism crept to the surface as she thought about it. She licked her lips in anticipation. “And the more we demand upfront, the easier it will be to concede later. Heh. So you haven’t been watching me handle all your problems in vain after all.”

“Don’t even worry about concessions,” Randidly flexed his hands. Some of the remnant heat from Missy surged back into his hungry grin. “I plan on making sure they wouldn’t dare refuse.”

Tatiana laughed, a surprised giggle with so much unexpected joy that Randidly felt cheered by hearing it. Then she shook her head. “Alright, you’re the boss.”

After she left, he stayed in that position for a bit and contemplated how many things he had to do. His emotions rushed around in his chest. The more he thought about his preparations, the more the intensity of the emotions rose. Almost unknowingly, he curled his hands into fists. His heart began to hammer against his ribcage. Randidly felt his determination to guide this planet in the right direction, whether it liked it or not-

A twinge in his chest drew him up short. His Nether Core hummed strangely, likely still struggling with the amount of significance he had added in a short time. He also saw the specter of the Grey Creature, watching him with his own eyes. Randidly waved a hand at the sudden projection, trying to placate it. “I know, I need to be careful about how I handle this next transformation. But we will survive this. Don’t we always advance and thrive?”

After a moment of waiting, the Grey Creature bowed its head and receded. Randidly rolled his shoulders and prepared to return to his training.

Time passed quickly and that one-week break was quickly swallowed up by a dozen activities. Training and napping and cooking and checking in on Randy and rechecking the bracket… with the inhuman focus Randidly possessed, time quickly slipped away. And then it was the day of the first sixteen matches. As though to prove he didn’t need an alarm clock, Randidly met Tatiana at the interior tunnels of the arena a full ten minutes early.

She, of course, was already waiting there. He wondered when she had arrived. They nodded to each other and walked out to the roar of the crowd.

Randidly’s mouth quirked up as he looked at the snow globe-esque bubble that surrounded the arena. The Nether pressure chamber had steadily evolved since he had installed the base Nether RItual ten days ago. Such was its effect that it had now become a physical phenomenon. Nether swirled around its base, a dark wind constantly patrolling its edges.

It also had a figurative effect of enhancing the importance of what happened within. Observers would find it easier to pay more attention to the match, filtered through the dense Nether barrier.

Although, aside from me, has anyone had their attention wander? Randidly observed. Then he shook his head, slightly disappointed with himself.

The duo climbed the stairs to the observational platform, the noise of the crowd steadily rising as they ascended. Randidly raised a hand and traced the rising excitement the watchers felt. He also felt some darker emotions, lurking beneath the surface. Tatiana looked at him. “This group is going to be special, isn’t it? You weren’t kidding about the reverberations being more dangerous.”

Randidly nodded slowly. Obviously, he could suppress them with his own images or Nether Core, but… it might be difficult to do so without damaging the fighters’ images and interfering in the match. “These fighters won’t be able to hide their true capabilities any longer.”

He raised his voice to allow the words to echo across the arena. “So let’s begin the round of thirty-two. Our first match is… Alana Donal v. … Uncle T.”

To the crowd’s roaring approval, the two fighters walked out onto the stage. Alana’s stride was long and even. She wore her signature furred armor and winged helmet, the metal base of each glinting in the early morning sun. She held her spear at her side, solemn and oddly ritualistic with the two-handed grip. Even the refractions of light off her equipment sparkled with supernatural radiance, a natural side effect of her potent image.

Her purity was a physical force, surging around her and isolating her from the world.

Opposite her, a man in a trenchcoat with its hat pulled low down over his face sauntered up. Where she was virtue and honesty, he was sleazy dealings and disguises. Thorn paused at the edge of the stage and gave Randidly another subtle wave before heading into the Nether Ritual. Randidly tried to resist rolling his eyes at his plant’s stubborn insistence on the costume, especially after his fearsome victory in the last match.

Especially because Alana knew exactly the sort of foe she was fighting against.

Randidly inspected them both, feeling the Aether and Nether that moved through both of them. Both had powerful images. Both also had potent combat Skills. This time, the momentum of Nether and his Grim Intuition agreed on who would win.

Randidly licked his teeth. “Begin.”

Dangerous waves of energy exploded from both. Alana settled down into a crouch. Thorn maintained his humanoid form but rushed forward, his arms lengthening until he galloped like a horse in an aggressive charge.

Alana raised her spear. Despite the simplicity of the movement, the light around her grew harsh and violent. The way she pivoted on her feet and transferred force was immaculate. “Sun Strike.”

Briefly, the air around her ignited. Her Willpower ripped through her surroundings, moving with such speed that the friction of its passage generated a howling orange plume. Then all that heat and sudden genesis of light were funneled into her attack. An enormous spear of orange flame formed in front of her and accelerated forward.

Randidly leaned forward. The force she utilized was casually the more dangerous attack that had yet appeared in the tournament. And it was only her opening gambit.

Yet he didn’t make any move to intervene. Thorn’s form trembled for a second and then bulged out in a half dozen directions. Its trenchcoat shredded to pieces as its body swelled to its natural size. Even as the horrifying flame spear surged closer, Thorn expanded from a human body to a mass of tangled thorny vines the size of a house, then a small apartment building. Those vines, as thick as a bodybuilder’s thigh, wove themselves into a thick barrier.

Force and flames ravaged the front of Thorn’s defensive efforts. The stadium shook with the force of the collision. For a moment, it was impossible to see the outcome. Then the light faded, revealing that many of Thorn's roots had burned away. But as the crowd watched, more exploded out to replace them.

Thorn lifted his bulk off the ground, revealing a massive and grotesque heart of pink, black, and forest green that pulsed each second. Each shudder of the heart sent a gushing wave of monstrous life force surging through the massive plant being. Even after a few seconds, the burned vines were regrowing. A thousand thorny tentacles wiggled outward, preparing to strike.

Alana flashed a wolfish grin as she reset her stance. “Yea, this is what it has to be like.”

Once more, both exploded into motion.