Tales From The Kronos

Neige was still trapped in Ada's memories. He clearly saw that the nun's mental health was worsening, it had been months since her Neige died, and life disappeared from this world. The nun spent her days in her church, talking to herself and writing in a diary. She never stopped searching for a solution, trying to find a way to get her friend back. It was impressive that she was even alive, she didn't eat anything or take care of herself for a while. Even despite all this time, her eyes were still empty, and yet, she still kept going. As long as she was alive, she tried to save her friend. Not a break was taken, not even to sleep. She walked in circles in the church, thinking all she could.

Suddenly, she stopped and fell on the floor. All the exhaustion caught up to her but it didn't stop her. She stood back up, still determined to save her friend.

"Neige... I know you're still here... Somewhere..."

The darkness surrounding her body formed a blanket around her. She fell asleep, taking a break from all her overthinking. Her heartbeat was getting weaker as she fell into a deep slumber.

When she woke up, she was in a forest. Everyone was running around, getting away from her. It was a small town in ruins, everything was on fire, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember anything about what happened. She put her hand on her head by reflex, only to notice that her hand was a shapeless black matter, as her whole body was. She looked like a ghost and didn't realize what happened. She knew that this wasn't her world, but couldn't explain why. It was like she could see another dimension, step into another plane of existence.

The scene vanished in front of Neige once more. Weirdly, he could remember this scene slightly, like it was something that happened to him. He wasn't really sure if it was because he had been in this void for ages and that he was slowly going insane, all he wanted for now was to leave. At least, he knew what happened now. He could imagine the rest, and even if it still didn't make him comfortable around her, he could understand the nun a bit more. Neige walked a bit more, trying to find the exit of this eternal dark.

The eight contestants entered the snowy Colosseum, ready to hear about the last trial. The arena was like usual, aside from a circle drawn in the middle. It had a diameter of around 10 meters, everyone knew it was related to the trial, but no one knew how yet. The crowd cheered for them and only went silent to listen to Opal like usual.

"Once again, Congratulations for still being here. This ordeal will be the last, as only one can arise as the winner. The rules are simple, it's a single-elimination tournament. You'll fight against each other in one versus one. You lose if you stay on the ground for ten seconds, if you give up, if you step out of the circle, or if you die. Just like before, once the fight starts, everything is allowed, you'll even be allowed to take the weapons we took from you when you arrived here. The tournament's bracket is displayed on a sign in front of you, I advise that you find your opponent there, the first match will start in thirty minutes."

The leader and her group approached the sign to see against whom they were paired. Sedide noticed that she would need to fight against Silva. She would have preferred to fight against someone else but figured she could just give up. In the end, it didn't matter which one of them won. The leader stared at the board, her foe was Kairo. This time, there wouldn't be any way to escape this fight.

The first fight was about to start, the crowd could barely contain themselves. Silva and Sepide were both standing here, in the middle of the arena. Opal came with their weapons, Sepide took her firearm but Silva refused to take hers. Opal was confused at first but still accepted. She left the two friends in the arena, Sepide was about to give up immediately, but Silva interrupted her like she knew what she was going to do.

"Sepide, we need to make sure the best one wins. Just imagine that as a friendly fight."

Sepide was still unsure but decided to accept the fight. Both were ready, only waiting for the tournament organizer to finally start.

"For the first of many fights, Silva against Sepide. May the best win!"

The fight officially started, Silva instantly closed the distance from her friend and took a very aggressive approach. Sepide managed to block the attacks, playing extremely defensively.

"Why do you hesitate so much? Come on, I know you can do better."

"But, I don't want to hurt you."

"We need to win the tournament, if you give up and that you're stronger than me, we may lose. We're doing it for Neige after all, and I have a vengeance to take too!"

Silva smiled, still hitting kicks that Sepide blocked.

"I didn't mean to attack you last time..."

"I want you to fight back, I want to get better!"

Sepide felt the excitation in Silva's voice. She didn't want to hurt her friend, but maybe Silva just enjoyed fighting. She managed to hit Silva by surprise with a hook, forcing her to step back.

"See, I knew you could fight back!"

Sepide was still worried for her friend but she kept fighting the best she could. Despite attacking swiftly and precisely, she couldn't land any of the attacks she threw at Silva. It was like she knew in advance what was coming at her, dodging before the hit came. Sepide was beginning to wonder if she really was blind, or if she really was that good at fighting.

Silva punched back, but her speed wasn't as good as Sepide's. Her blow was blocked by her friend, who managed to always intercept whatever hit Silva would throw.

"It's leading to nowhere, we just dodge and block each other's attacks..."

"That's where you're wrong! Don't worry, you just lack experience, it's normal."

Sepide tried to understand what Silva meant, but couldn't despite her efforts. Silva's constant assault prevented her from thinking, as she always had to block or take a step back from her.

"I don't understand, so far I'm the only one that landed a hit."

"A fight is rarely about physical strength, there's always a way to outsmart your opponent."

"How? I don't understand?"

"Like that." Silva had a smug grin on her face like she already won. She pushed Sepide who appeared surprised by the sudden move from her friend. She didn't understand why until Opal's voice echoed in the Colosseum.

"Sepide stepped out of the circle and is therefore eliminated! Congratulations to Silva!"

The crowd cheered loudly, yelling Silva's name at the announcement. Sepide looked down to see that she indeed set foot outside of the area. The circle was so big that she thought it wouldn't be an issue and couldn't understand how she got so close to the limit.

"You were really lucky."

"That wasn't luck!" Answered Silva "I ran to you, so you were already closer than me to the outside. Then you blocked my attacks while I dodged. I made sure I never stepped back, but you didn't think about it so you were the only one getting closer to outside of the circle. I just had to push you in the end and I won!"

Silva explained her strategy, visibly proud of her achievement. Sepide was impressed but still confused by her prowess.

"But how did you know where the circle was? You're blind."

"I just asked for Opal to walk me along the line during the break. Being blind gives you a good memory!"

"I feel like I was the disabled one..."

Silva laughed cheerfully before head patting her friend with enthusiasm.

"You did a great job, you can rest now, I'll win the tournament."

Sepide nodded her head with a smile and both left the arena together.

The two next contestants stepped into the arena. On one side was Uriel, the robot. And on the other Ada, the anomaly. Silva and Sepide both cheered for Uriel, hoping she would win. Opal raised her voice, announcing the combatants.

"The two opponents are now Uriel and Ada, may the best one emerge victorious."

Ada was armed with a spear, ready to face her opponent. Uriel didn't seem to have any weaponry but was prepared to fight. They both waited for the other to make the first move, without any intention to back down.

"I must give you a warning before we commence," Uriel said in her robotic voice "I was programmed to win any conflict, no matter the means. For your security, I advise you to give up."

"Come on, I'm not going to lose against a metallic doll." Ada answered without a worry in the world.

The robot rushed toward the nun with the intent to kill in her eyes. Ada was surprised by her speed but wasn't losing her focus. Her spear twirled elegantly toward Uriel in an attempt to attack her, but before the lance could deal any damage to her, she took it away from Ada and broke it with only one hand.

"You still have a chance to give up, I do not wish for your death."

"Like you could kill me!"

Even despite the loss of her weapon, Ada was still determined to win. She put her all in her punch, trying to put Uriel down. Not only did the robot barely flinch, but Ada also seemed to be hurt just from giving the hit.

"Okay, maybe you're more solid than I thought, but it's not going to stop-"

Before she could finish her sentence Uriel slapped her with the back of the hand, sending Ada directly on the ground, a few meters away.

"I was made to fight in the war, you don't have any way to damage me. Please, for your sake, give up."

Ada stood back up, not ready to give up yet. Uriel seemed saddened by the nun's tenacity, she took a step forward and suddenly stopped. Everyone stayed silent, waiting for the robot's move. Uriel was about to move but suddenly struggled as if something was preventing her from moving. Ada smirked and took this opportunity to take half of her spear on the ground and pierced through Uriel's body. Some were confused, some were disappointed, but all were silent looking at the eerie scene.