[18:58]

Ace had been waiting outside of the office of Veno Vego for about twenty minutes. It's the first time he's been at the top in one of Midcity's skyline highrises. Vice tower is an office building with over a hundred floors, towering just thirty floors above its surrounding neighbors. Erected in the heart of downtown around the year 2030, it was the symbol that the American city of Los Vegos would transition its title from being the world's capital of gambling to Midcity. Owned by the Vego family, first proposed by the head of the family Nico Vego in 2028. Plans were then made, and construction started in 2029, lasting less than three months.

Nico Veno was a hard-working woman thanks to being inspired by Law. She was a poor single woman and aspired to be on top of the gambling world since she loved the sport so much. In a decade, she became so. She is now the living epitome of gambling. Though revolutionizing and globalizing the sport to further levels, she greatly transformed global gambling. Today she lets her children and grandchildren, including her grandson Veno Vego, micromanage the traditional business of gambling. All the while she sits back and macromanages her family's global empire of business and influence.

Inside the private office, two men were about ready to end a conversation. One of them looked to be in his mid-thirties, has white hairy skin, dark brown hair with a receding hairline, and a consistently crazy look in his eyes. He wears a plain white t-shirt and small shorts while sitting in a wheelchair. His leg is in a cast, and an ice pack is placed on his hip. The other man, standing up, looks like a typical rich guy. His blonde hair is greased back, and he wears an all-black suit with a green tie. His blue eyes and clear white skin made his head shine like a lightbulb. The man in the wheelchair looks over at Ace and recognizes him easily.

Handu- "It's definitely him."

The man with blonde hair then examines Ace.

Denarrow- "I've never seen you man in my life."

Handu- "Huuuh!"

Veno let out a little laugh after Handu's exaggerated reaction.

Veno- "On that note I think I've seen enough-”

Handu ignores Veno and goes on to speak, interrupting him.

Handu- "You have Sin don't you?"

The atmosphere tenses over one word, Ace doesn’t respond, but he lifts his bushy eyebrows to express the seriousness of this question. He then tries to remember how and when he slipped up.

Denarrow- 'How does he know? I haven't activated it since I got here, or he already knew of my existence. If so, I might be forced to kill him.'

With Ace's silence, it becomes clear that Handu clearly knew what he was talking about. Veno shuts his mouth, refraining from saying any more. Trying to feel if what Handu said was true or not and if he should say anything further or stay quiet.

Handu- "That's what I thought. Oi Veno, he's our financial solution."

Veno- "He's the solution?"

Handu- "Oi boy, are you interested in the upcoming Tournament For Paradise."

A nerve strikes Ace, making him feel increasingly anxious.

Denarrow- "Yeah."

Handu- "Perfect! Perfect. Yess..."

Handu begins wheeling around in his wheelchair in happiness.

Denarrow- "I'm confused."

Handu- "Sit down, sit down, let's discuss."

Ace moves from the front entrance to the office's sitting area. With the office sitting on the top floor, it has a beautiful city sight outside of its glass walls. The architecture and theme of the office could only be interpreted as money and power. Ace sits on a lone chair, most likely the most expensive chair he's ever going to sit on, Veno sits on the couch, and Handu sits in his wheelchair, somewhat being in the middle of the other two.

Handu- "I am Handu Brazee."

Veno- "And I'm Veno Vego."

There is a pause as the two are waiting for Ace to have some type of reaction upon hearing their names.

Denarrow- "I'm Denarrow."

He says it so casually, thus creating another pause of silence. The other two feel awkward for not being acknowledged for their status and notoriety.

Veno- "By the way, where is Miss Royce."

Denarrow- "She was busy and had to go to Cybertron or… something."

Veno face turns disappointed prompting Ace to think he did something wrong.

Handu- "It don't matter, I'm tired of having to deal with the Royce familyanyways. Now you tryin to get in this tournament or nah?"

Veno- "Wait, before I do anything, are you sure, Hans?"

Handu- "He's the one, I'm sure. If I died I'd become him, that's how sure I am."

Denarrow- 'You don't have to go that far to make your point.’'

Veno- "I just really don't feel like fucking up this year."

Denarrow- "Before we agree to anything, what's the Tournament For Paradise?"

Veno- "You don't know the Tournament For Paradise?"

Denarrow- "I know of it. But how does it work? And you need to start from the beginning because I have never been a viewer or supporter."

Veno and Handu look at each other, realizing this meeting is going to be longer than first thought.

Veno- "The Tournament For Paradise is a battle tournament with exactly two hundred and fifty-six Gladiators, so it makes a perfect two-sided bracket. They split the hundred and fifty-six players into one-twenty-eight each making a perfect two sided bracket. The left side of the bracket is called A Block and the right is B Block. The winner of the tournament must go through eight rounds in one-v-one fights. Each fight is virtual."

Denarrow- "Wait. A virtual fight?"

Handu- "Using the Ƶ-Simulator."

Denarrow- "Right, I know what you're talking about. I just don't know what it really does except virtualize I guess."

Handu- "Essentially someone's entire body, muscles, circulatory, bones, and nerves are copied and pasted onto a virtual landscape that attributes to both of the fighters areas of specialty. This especially includes and accounts for Paradise Fruit abilities. You lay in a glass pod and you go to sleep almost immediately. Inside the virtual realm you fight to the death, knockout, or the time running out. Death or severe injuries might be minor mental injuries in the real world."

Denarrow- "Why isn't it all in the real world?"

Handu- "Because it's realistic, so not as fun to watch. When two Paradisians fight each other, one is bound to be either dead or injured. It is also likely that the winner will be injured too and won't be able to continue the tournament. That is why there hasn’t been any successful non-Ƶ-Simulator tournaments but only singular matches. Virtual reality gives us the possibility of not only limited injuries but fights like no other."

Denarrow- "What do you mean, isn't a Paradise fight already like no other?"

Veno- "Yes, but what I think he means is that because no one actually dies or gets injured in real life, there is no fear when fighting to the death. The intensity also becomes unmatched, it also lowers the hesitation of fighters knowing they aren't going to be injured and lets the fights 'go all out' per say."

Handu- "Trust me, I went to a real fight before and I thought the whole place was gonna be caught on fire. The fight ended cause of property damage. It was not very fun. But in the virtual world there is none of that so the amount of destruction is practically unlimited."

Ace tries to imagine such a fight, but a piece is missing.

Denarrow- "Who participates? What's the competition."

Veno- "Before I get to that, the tournament itself. The tournament takes place at Coliseum Tower. You've seen that building, yes?"

Ace nods.

Veno- "The tournament corresponds with the building itself. After each stage, the fight will be displayed on a higher floor of arenas of the eight arena floors. With each arena floor all the way up to the semi-block finals, there are multiple arenas and multiple fights happening at the same time. Once the semi-block finals begin, the arenas all the way to the top of the tower become the 'big stages' meaning a bigger audience."

Ace tries to envision how the tournament works but is unable to fully envision and imagine how it would play out.

Veno- "For the competition, the two hundred and fifty six Gladiators are a collection of prospects across fight districts and the Netherly that the PCR board selects. I, as a Master Chief, selected my thirty-two not too long ago and so did the other seven board Master Chiefs. For the demographics of the competition, most of them are young dreads, the oldest this year is thirty-two. One-third of them are Amerigan, the other two-thirds international. Three-fourth are from their respective nation's militaries, all of them are Paradisian."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Ace could barely hold back his grin when hearing about his future opponents.

Denarrow- 'I'm interested now.' "You said earlier about solving your financial crisis. I don't care about either of your financial situations but I am curious about how it does."

Handu- "You interested in gambling? Money everythang ain't it?"

Denarrow- "I'm not that interested in money, I'll live the way I want with or without it. But I have to pay rent and I currently like my spot."

Handu- "It'll be more than enough money boy."

Denarrow- "What do you mean?"

Veno- "The estimated total of money that is going to be placed on this tournament is over 6 trillion."

Denarrow- "Huh…"

Handu- "Anyone in the world can bet in this system as long as it's over fifty urodollars. It doesn't even have to be a single person. Companies, industries, and governments have betted on this tournament in the past."

Veno- "You have to bet on one person and they have to win the whole tournament."

Denarrow- "I sort of see where this is going. If both of you betted fifty dollars on me to win and if I won, the amount would double for the both of you. Are you guys planning to put all your fortune in to win?"

Veno- "This isn't your average double or nothing, this is everything. Like you said, if we both put down fifty dollars on you and you won, Handu and I would split six trillion because we are the only two that betted on you."

Handu- "Greatest thing about it is no taxes or fee."

Veno- "It looks like you have more questions… I'm sorry I never remembered your name.'

Denarrow- "It's Ace.

Handu and Veno move their eyebrows in skepticism; they thought they heard a different name from earlier.

Denarrow- "But I'm confused about the splitting up of the money part, you two will split six trill but what if one more person bet on me, that'll mean they will get one-third of the money right? Then why would you bet more than fifty dollars."

Veno- "It's based on the proportion of how much you contributed on the bet of a singular competitor."

Denarrow- 'What does that mean?'

Veno- "See, if Handu and I put in a hundred on you, we both split the money the same way as putting up fifty. But if I put up a hundred and Hans put fifty on you, I would have two-thirds betting ownership on you and I would get four trill out of that six and Handu would have two. Now of course someone putting fifty dollas on someone besides you and they probably won't get anything back or their fifty dollars and some change back. The reason why people bet more than fifty is to get a higher plurality. Betting fifty dollas on a popular competitor will probably give you back your fifty dollas and some pennies. And you'll be looking at an increase of basically nothing when people could spill in hundreds of millions of dollas into a single fighters betting pool. People look for less popular people to win it all so they can have at least a chance to win some actual money by getting a higher percentage in betting ownership."

Denarrow- "So for me. I'm an unpopular candidate?"

He still doesn't understand much of the money part, so he only asked what he could understand.

Veno- "I've never heard of you, seen you, or have acknowledged your existence before today. So you're pretty much an underdog."

Handu- "Not just any underdog, he's the underdogs of underdogs. People look for those in the tournament and rarely get lucky. But you are an unpopular underdog, no one will come looking for you, but if what I saw is correct, and I never doubt my vision, you are the predetermined winner."

Veno- "The only question for me is can you fight?"

Denarrow- "That's why I'm here."

Handu- "Yes."

An excited "yes" while clutching his good arm's fist in happiness.

Veno- "Entering you in the tournament will be the tricky part though. You have to already be in the Netherly tournament, win either twenty-five low-grade matches, five high-grade matches, or a mix of both, or simply win one special-grade match. The trickier part is trying to enter you in without any attention-"

Denarrow- "I've already won twenty five matches."

Despite his words, Veno continues on as if he didn't say anything.

Veno- "Exactly, and it also be hard to simply get you into the special-grade match because it's not like anybody can just go… enter… without… what?"

Denarrow- "I've already won twenty five matches."

Veno- "When?"

Denarrow- "Hmmm… This morning."

Handu- "What's your title?"

Denarrow- "Untitled."

The two look at Ace dumbfounded.

Handu- "So you're left untitled, or your title is actually-"

Denarrow- "It's Untitled. Like the word itself."

They both take a moment to actually believe him. Handu then turns on a screen that is built into the armrest of his high-tech wheelchair. With his right hand speedily moving the mouse, he makes it to the Netherly Arenas boards. He searches for Ace's title, but with no luck.

Handu- "Nothing shows up."

Denarrow- "I don't think my title or record shows up, the Ƶ-Simulation worker mistaked my record for someone else's."

Veno gets up and goes to his desk.

Veno- "I'll check from the administrative system."

A few seconds later, he's able to access Ace's record. He looks in shock and awe seeing Ace having a perfect record overnight. Handu rolls over to see what Veno's looking at, only to have a similar reaction. Yet, in just seconds, his shock and awe reaction turned into a sinister smile. Ace sits in the chair with a bored expression.

Denarrow- "So am I able to qualify now or what?"

They ignore him.

Handu- "It makes no sense, how is he not showing up on public boards."

Veno- "Probably cuz of a bug. His title is 'Untitled' so the system itself must've thought it was an incomplete or error fighter and removed him, the public system at least."

Handu- "No one noticed he won twenty five in a row, in one night? Bullshit."

Veno- "Last night, Hawk and Rock were fighting. The attention could have been taken elsewhere. Plus it says he won twenty five straight in tem hours, in ten hours he should have been fighting at least double the opponents during that time. Even if it was at night."

Handu- "I guess, but it doesn't really matter though, the good thing is that he's completely anonymous and already qualified."

Veno- "I was just gonna say, this is perfect, he's perfect."

The two then look at Ace, who's looking back, feeling a smidge awkward. A moment later, a ring is heard coming from the desk. Veno taps on a small black device placed around his ear, answering the call.

Veno- "Yes. Mmmh… What's her name? … Yes yes yes, indefinitely yes, you can send her up immediately."

His attitude changes so quickly. His eyes turn to that of a childs who is going to leave school early. Handu, who is right next to Veno, is able to hear the phone call. He reacts to the situation by shaking his head. Veno tries to retain his composure to reenter the conversation at hand.

Handu- "Anyways, you wanna do it?"

Denarrow- 'Finally.' "Yeah, what do I do next?"

Veno- "Nothing yet, the tournament doesn't start until the second of next month. You got just over a dozen days. During that, lay low as if the FBI was on yo tail. Meanwhile, I'll try my best to make you anonymous from the public until the last second. I'll also have to convince one of the Gladiators I chose to drop out and leave a space for you. And if you wanna cut from the trillions of urodollars, that's fine too. But the 'Gladiator' can't bet on themselves or on their fellow competition. Meaning you can get someone else, hopefully trustworthy, to bet fifty dollas on you."

Suddenly, Brooklyn enters the office, and everyone's attention falls on her. Veno, like a puppy in love, gets up from his desk and makes his way over to Brooklyn.

Veno- "It's nice to see you again Brooklyn. You look as beautiful as ever."

She doesn't feel flustered or take his compliment at all as a sign of flirting but only as a compliment. Therefore, she talks to him in a normal and neutral tone.

Brooklyn- "Nice to see you again too mister Vego. You look very beautiful yourself."

Denarrow- 'Was he just friend-zoned?'

Veno- "Please, remember? Call me Veno."

Brooklyn- "My bad, Mister Veno."

He was a bit disappointed because it still sounded like she said 'Vego'.

Brooklyn- "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Handu- "No Royce girl, we were just finishing up."

Ace stands up and walks to Brooklyn. Veno begins to feel threatened as Ace towers over him by just two inches while passing by.

Denarrow- "The cyber-thing ended early?"

Brooklyn- "Yeah, security concerns ended it. But it's okay, some of the things we saw were just repeats of what we saw last year."

Veno- "Isn't the Cyberon only a couple blocks away? Do you want me and my security to escort you to your vehicle? Granted, if you took one, if not, I can carpool-"

Denarrow- "We'll be fine."

For a moment, Veno's face turns bewildered. He then grins, and his eyes squint. A vein forms and can be seen across his forehead. Ace doesn't care about Veno being pissed off and looks elsewhere. Brooklyn, on the other hand, can’t tell she was being flirted with nor realize that he’s minorly peeved.

Brooklyn- "Well if you guys are done, do you want to go home then?"

She looked at Ace as she asked. He nods in response and is about ready to turn around and leave.

Veno- "Before you go. You two act as if you know each other, how'd you two meet?"

Denarrow- 'Odd question, not really his business-"

Brooklyn- "We met when your club was bombed the other night."

Handu raises an eyebrow.

Veno- "You were in my club and-"

Handu- "Our club."

Veno "... and didn't tell me? And came on the worst night too?"

Brooklyn- "Yep. But Mister Ace was there and saved me."

Handu- "Saved me too."

Brooklyn- "You were there too? Is that why you're in a wheelchair?"

He nods, confirming the reasoning behind his unfortunate state.

Brooklyn- "And yeah, he saved me and I offered him a place to stay and he's now my roommate."

She says it so straightforwardly while sounding so pure, which additionally pisses off Veno to the point a second vein pops out on his forehead. Interruptedly, Veno's desk rings again, and he hesitantly answers the call on his earpiece. Brooklyn then looks at Ace, who has been spacing out for the past minute. Ace senses something is off.

Denarrow- 'I have relaxed my senses up to this point, but now I feel something towards that direction is giving off bad energy. I can't tell if it's Sin or not, but this energy is cruel and evil.'

He looks past Veno, Handu, Veno's desk, and through the glass wall at a building's rooftop, which stands at a significantly lower height. With his exceptional eyesight, he's able to see a black dot, a dot that stands out from the white and gray rooftop. Despite being able to see that far, his eyesight is just simply not good enough for more of an enhanced view.

Denarrow- 'I guess it doesn't really matter now since they both pretty much know.'

Veno stops listening to his earpiece as he focuses his attention on Ace. His eyes widen in shock, and are entranced. Handu's eyes do the same, looking at Ace as if the man had cast a spell on him. Brooklyn is the only one not looking at Ace's eye. Standing left to him, shoulder to shoulder, and being a whole foot shorter undermines her ability to see his right eye. With his left eye closed and his right eye open, there is nothing but darkness. The entire eyeball is eclipsed with the darkest shade of black that thought can create. Not even a glare or light can reflect off it. A darkness that could stand out in a room of darkness.

With better eyesight, Ace is able to fully sense out the evil far from him and sight the source of it. The man wearing an all-black military outfit and a white gas mask accessorized with red eye lenses stands out in the open. In his right hand, he holds a big and wide metal suitcase. Veno and Handu look out the window; however, their lack of excellent eyesight and inability to understand what's really happening. Therefore, they fail in finding Hate.

Denarrow- 'Him again?'