"So what do you know about the Colosseum?" she asked.
"Well, for starters, it's the biggest power tournament on earth. It happens every 27th of June. The fights are only for criminals who are caught. For the ones that lose, that's basically their execution. There's no such thing as surrendering."
For the first time since fighting her clone, this information made her blood run faster.
"Hmm, interesting. And what about those who win?"
"There are no criminals that win except Gladys, The Absolute—the five-year champion of the Colosseum. He is a huge, mindless brute, from what I heard."
"Oh, I will enjoy winning. And by the way, when the champion wins, does he get set free or something?"
"Not a chance. He is locked up until next year."
Eve didn't respond, and they kept walking the paved road. They would soon reach the town that housed the Colosseum. Around them, a bunch of people walked the same route, from the elderly to the young. Almost everyone was attending this yearly event to see their beloved champion win again. The walk from Scholar's Rest to the City of the Colosseum was approximately two hours.
The looming shape of the Colosseum was getting closer and closer—a monumental structure that could hold hundreds of thousands of people. It was almost the same height as the towers of brass from Scholar's Rest. The ground floor was a solid wall built out of a mix of marble and sandstone. There were ten entrances along the ground floor, each made to buy tickets and to avoid congestion. The upper floors had beautiful sculptures of many warriors and massive arches along the walls. Just like the ground, it was also made out of marble and sandstone, giving it a pale white color. The arena was more on the simple side, with sand on the ground and two colossal wooden doors for those who had their fates sealed. And more importantly, the smell of death lingered.
"You know..." Elyon's voice faltered for a moment. "Let's turn back. This is a bad idea."
"Oh, come on, don't be such a worrywart. Nothing will happen to me."
They kept walking in silence, and then, after a while, the buildings started to flood past them. People of all ages, excited to see what types of fights awaited inside the Colosseum, gathered in many groups near them. Eve and Elyon decided to stop for a bit in the middle of the road. They overheard a young, cheerful kid ask his parents,
"You think something new will happen this year?"
His mother told him in a cheerful voice,
"The possibilities are endless here, kiddo."
The kid gave his parents an ear-to-ear grin, and then he grabbed their hands. The three of them walked hand in hand away.
Eve stared at the family walking away, her expression unreadable.
"Elyon, I didn't really have any reason to fight here other than to get strong. But now... I think I do. I will make sure to win, so that kid and his parents get a hell of a show."
Elyon stared at her for a while, then responded,
"Just be careful, alright?"
"I won't guarantee anything."
Half an hour later, they arrived in front of the Colosseum. The building looked monstrous up close. They felt unimportant next to it, like they were standing next to a colossus that considered them nothing more than ants. An uneasy feeling started to brew in their guts.
"So, how exactly do I enter the tournament?"
"I'm not exactly sure. I will leave this task up to you. I will head to take my seat." Elyon turned his face away from Eve and looked at the sun. "Today is a sunny day, huh?" Elyon told himself.
Eve watched as Elyon left and headed into a line. She sighed and did the same, going to a different line.
A few minutes passed, and then a shout was heard from Elyon's line. Eve turned her head to see the commotion. In turn, she saw Elyon waving his hands in the air, shouting, "Everyone, look here!"
"What is that idiot doing?" Eve asked under her breath.
His whole line turned toward him, and more importantly, the guards that sat at the end and even the receptionist there turned as well. Unbeknownst to anyone, his irises turned to the number "4". Then, everyone who turned their sight toward him was blinded. Because the sun was right behind him, he multiplied the sunrays that entered the people's retinas.
The people stayed still for a single moment. Screams were heard in different locations of the crowd, then curses; everyone there had their hands over their eyes, trying to block something that wasn't there anymore. After a few minutes or so, most of the people regained their vision. They opened their eyes to see the man who had blinded them, but he was gone, lazily sprawled in a seat on the second floor.
Eve, who watched this whole mess happen, suddenly exhaled loudly, and then she grinned.
What a bastard.
Minutes passed, then a few hours passed. Elyon's trick became a memory in Eve's mind. Her mind drifted to one place, then to another. The people in front of her were entering the Colosseum, disappearing one by one, in the same way a sleeping beast would have its mouth open so that the prey entered without any volition. Then she was brought back to reality.
"Ma'am? Are you alright? Do you want some water?" It was the receptionist. She was quite beautiful in the eyes of Eve—a young girl, probably no older than twenty-five, with blond hair that was tied into a neat bun, piercing blue eyes, and soft, delicate skin. And she wore a worried expression that didn't suit her. She reminded Eve of the white lilies in the restaurant where she and Elyon had eaten. Delicate, a sharp contrast—even though both of them had blue eyes and blond hair, the difference was like the moon and back.
"No, I'm fine. I want to join the tournament."
The lady's expression turned from worried to confused. "Uhm, I'm not sure I can allow you to participate. Only bad people do, and you don't look like one."
Her words, though normal, touched her deeply. A faint smile was visible on Eve's face, and then she took off her hood.
"I'm Eve, the cursed child."
The people behind her were too busy talking, and the guards were too busy scanning the crowd for potential criminals. No one paid her any mind except for the receptionist, on whose face no emotions were visible.
"My point still stands."
Eve expected her to scream, to call the guards, anything but this. She wanted to say something, but no words left her mouth.
"I heard about you—what you did and every crime you committed. The people in charge desperately wanted you here, but they never got the chance to capture you. You may be a criminal, but you are not a bad person. Every time I heard about you, I wasn't cursing you or telling you to die. I just thought you were alone."
Eve's gaze turned to the ground, her eyes squinting, not wanting to let anything fall. She was too strong to cry right here. How did this random girl make her almost cry? Is she kind? No, that wasn't it, not in this world. She was trying to manipulate her, and it was working.
"Just let me fight..." Her voice was quivering, almost quiet.
The receptionist sighed, "Fine, I will let you fight. Just make sure to win, alright? I put my trust in you that you won't get hurt. And if you can't, please try to escape."
She called the guards over, telling them she was Eve.
Eve's gaze was still glued toward the floor, her mind still in shambles.
As the guards grabbed her by the arms and started pulling her inside, the receptionist turned toward them.
"Hey, Eve, my name is Sarah." Eve smiled in her head, and then she was pulled inside. She also fell victim to the beast that was the Colosseum.