Ezekiel didn't even know how he had returned to the private area. He was in a complete daze since the fight had started. He was only awakened from his trance-like state when Viola slapped his cheeks with a bit of force.
His eyes snapped into focus, taking in the worried gaze of the silver-haired girl looking up at him. He noticed another figure behind her and found Sophia looking at him as well. The Mind Mage had a serious look on her face, as she studied him.
"What happened, Zeke?" Viola questioned. "I knew you had a grudge against Samuel, but you went full psycho on that poor boy down there."
Upon hearing Viola's words, Ezekiel's thoughts drifted back to the fight. He had not even considered the consequences of his actions. In that instant, all he could see and feel was an all-consuming urge to dominate. His mind was solely focused on the thought of victory.
Now that he thought about it, if the Wind Mage had not managed to move slightly to the side, the blow would have killed him. There was no way the healers would have been able to do anything if the blow had hit the boy dead center. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead at the thought of what might have happened then. It was not unheard of for a contestant to die in the tournament, or so Zeke had been told. But he would have been disqualified, losing all his money and the chance at making it into the top 3.
Zeke only now noticed that the thought of killing a fellow student did not overly bother him. He wondered when he had turned so callous in his attitude towards taking a life. When he had come to the capital a year ago, he would not have been able to consider murder an unfortunate mistake. Somewhere during the past year, he must have started down a road that led him to become how he was today.
Was it because he had gambled with his own life so many times? He had been certain he would die on numerous occasions since leaving his home in Feldstadt.
The first time had been when he made his deal with the dragon. The kidnapping, the second. When he had teleported and ended up between worlds, he had been sure that his luck had finally run out. During the confrontation with the Feuerkranz family, he had looked death in the eyes twice. Not only had he been prepared to die fighting, but he had even suggested a duel to the death with Alexander.
Ezekiel explored his sentiments on the subject and was startled by what he learned. Ever since he had started his training, he seemed to have slowly gotten used to the idea of death. He figured that this attitude was a mixture of his affinities, Maximilian's influence, and the dragon's heart. The old man often said that everybody who took up a sword should be prepared to die by the sword as well.
The heart, on the other hand, was not as easily placed. He knew that it was influencing him somehow, but the change was not immediately evident. The best he could do was interpret the signals as he remembered them. If he had to define the mentality of the heart, then he would have to call it the law of the jungle. The heart seemed to consider it only natural to die at the hands of a superior foe.
He was rudely awakened from his deep contemplation upon feeling his head rock back and forth. He looked down and found Viola shaking him by his shoulders. The girl had a pout on her face that Zeke knew all too well. She must have gotten annoyed after he had ignored her question and drifted into his own thoughts.
Zeke put his hand on her shoulder and pushed the girl away gently, letting her know that he was mentally present. Viola stopped her actions and let herself be pushed back. He looked into her eyes and sighed before explaining what had happened.
"It seems the heart took over during the fight," he said.
Viola whirled around to stare at Sophia with wide eyes. She was still unaware that the Mind Mage was already in the know about the heart. Viola turned back to Zeke with an apologetic look on her face. She seemed to believe that she had forced him to reveal his secret to Sophia with her pestering.
Zeke smiled and put his other hand on her shoulder as well, squeezing it reassuringly. "Don't worry, Sophia was already aware. This happened for the first time while visiting her home. Back at her place, my pupils turned to vertical, and I even lashed out at her."
Zeke lowered his head in shame at the admission, he considered this to be one of his biggest failings. However, Sophia just smiled at him, encouraging him to go on.
"When I went to the waiting room earlier, I was agitated for some reason. After getting ready, I noticed that my pupils had shifted again. But at that moment, it was far too late to do anything about it. I figured that the worst that could happen was that I would perform badly in the fight..."
After reaching that point, his voice trailed off. He had severely miscalculated with this assumption. Sophia snorted, she seemed to find the situation a lot more amusing than Zeke had expected.
"I'll say," the girl began, chuckling. Now that she knew that he was alright, she seemed to be in much better spirits. "I think you might find that it's not all doom and gloom for you, as you might think."
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Confused, Zeke asked, "What do you mean? I acted like a crazy person. What good could have possibly come from that?"
Sophia chuckled throatily, but didn't explain what she meant herself. Instead, she just pushed Viola forward. The Wind Mage seemed to have waited for her chance, as she started chattering immediately.
"You looked soooo good in your new armor, Zeke. Honestly? Even I almost didn't recognize you! It made you appear so dark and menacing! And then you absolutely crushed the guy in one hit! I am sure you have noticed, but the audience was going crazy! And the way you pointed your staff at that detestable Roland. You seemed like a dark knight, seeking justice by any means necessary. It was one of the most incredible performances I have ever seen in my life!"
Zeke couldn't believe what he was hearing. Impressive? Incredible? The audience loved it? He looked over at Sophia to make sure that Viola wasn't exaggerating. The other girl smiled at him and nodded her head, confirming the truth of Viola's words.
Sophia hold back a giggle at Zeke's dumbfounded expression. Her voice still took on a more serious note when she spoke next.
"That aside, Zeke. You have to figure out a way to get the heart under control. If things continue like this, there is bound to be an incident. You will either get found out or hurt somebody..."
Her gaze traveled down to the arena, where Karl was still being treated by the healers. She thought for a moment and then corrected her last statement.
"...or hurt somebody that matt- I mean that you don't want to hurt," Sophia said, a little flustered at her own words.
Zeke looked at her with a dubious expression. He was certain that she had wanted to say something different at first. Still, after a look at her slightly reddening face, he let it go.
To change the subject, Sophia brought up another topic.
"It's a shame none of us bet on the fight! You must have had about even odds against Karl. But Viola and I were too busy talking about your strange behavior and forgot about it."
Zeke was dumbfounded by this admission. How little did those two care about money to just... forget? Even in his feverish state between human and dragon, he still had enough clarity of mind to place his bets. And the two girls had just overlooked it because he had acted a little moody? His expression turned more and more strange as he thought about it. After a moment, he merely sighed and shook his head.
"Speak for yourself, wench," he said in a haughty tone. "I did remember to bet all my money!"
It was now the girls' turn to look at him strangely. They exchanged looks, communicating with their eyes alone. After a short, silent exchange, Viola was the one to ask their shared question.
"You didn't take the time to say goodbye to the two of us, but then patiently waited in line to place your bet?" She asked, a bit of heat in her voice.
Zeke chuckled at the mental image of him storming off like an enraged dragon, only to then patiently wait in line for his chance to make a bet. His chuckling only worsened Viola's mood, however. Even Sophia seemed to have gotten annoyed now.
He lifted both of his hands in surrender, and hurriedly explained the sequence of events.
"Calm down you two, it wasn't like that at all! After I left here, I just walked up to the betting table. The people let me pass, probably because I was one of the contestants. I also didn't listen to the odds or count my money. I just threw it all in front of my portrait and left. I didn't even wait to hear the amount."
The girls seemed to calm down at his explanation. The boy on the other hand had gotten a little heated himself as he went on.
"You two might not understand, but this is an absolutely inconceivable amount of money to me. When I arrived at the capital, I didn't even have two silvers to rub together.
"Day after day, I would wonder where my next meal would come from. The growling of my own stomach would keep me up all night. How could you two ever understand what it is like to be that hungry?
"Back then, even a single piece of Gold would have been enough to feed me for YEARS! Do you think I would ever give up the chance to make thousands of GOLD with only a slight detour and a few words?"
After he finished his speech, he looked at both girls in turn. First, Viola and then Sophia averted their gaze in shame, after only meeting his eyes for a moment. The two of them had not considered how different their perspective on money truly was. For them, it was only a way to earn pocket change.
Viola's eyes started to turn red at the edges. It seemed she had taken Zeke's words to heart. The boy immediately started to feel bad at his outburst, he didn't want to accuse his friends like this. It had not been his intention to rub their privileged upbringing in their faces. But somewhere during his rant, old emotions had resurfaced. The painful memories of solitude and poverty had taken control of his tongue.
He walked over to Viola and embraced the girl lightly. She didn't react and only lowered her head into his chest, still not meeting his eyes. He spoke softly to her, but still loud enough for Sophia to hear. He wanted to make sure that she knew his next words were meant for them both.
"I am sorry, Vi. I didn't mean to make it sound like it was somehow your fault. There was a lot more emotional baggage in those memories than I had expected, but it was still not fair to lash out at you like that."
The girl in his arms started to shake her head in his chest. Zeke smiled at her antics. However, she would still not meet his eyes. He looked over at Sophia as he continued.
"Only when you entered my life did my situation finally improve. You girls might not know the sting of poverty yourselves, but you still managed to save me from my forlorn existence. I will be forever grateful to have you. I want you to know that."
In the next instance, Zeke got embarrassed by his own words. Giving form to his feelings like this made him feel vulnerable and weird. He looked at Sophia, but the girl only had a gentle smile on her face. It was not one of her usual, teasing smiles, but one of understanding and acceptance.
He nudged the girl in his arms gently and finally, she looked up at him as well. She had tears in her eyes, but a radiant smile had bloomed on her face. Viola looked absolutely breathtaking at this moment. Zeke had never been so glad to be able to record a scene with his [Perfect Sensory Recall] as he had been at this moment.
He caught himself staring at her and quickly averted his eyes. In order to disperse any lingering tension, he spoke up with an energetic voice and a smile on his face.
"I think it is time to find out how much money I made in that last bet, what do you guys say?"