2 Chapter 2

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"Stroke."

Viktor was proud of his strength, so much so that he was well known for challenging fighters from categories far above his own, only to have them strongly deny themselves, even if the fight yielded at least twice as much as an ordinary belt dispute.

His body had extraordinary strength, and his reflexes were fast enough for him to dodge with ease the blows of the best striker in the world. He was born to fight.

And never before had he faced someone capable of entertaining him enough, and this was already making him bored.

But after a long time, something interesting happened in his life.

It should have been just an ordinary belt defense, facing an opponent who was in front of him due to the luck of having faced the right opponents to move up in the rankings.

But there was something else about his opponent.

Even if he was hit continuously, he refused to fall, like a damn zombie. But it was not only his durability that was common, but also his intelligence. He knew how and when it was best to get hit.

He was a formidable opponent, for sure.

But that was it. Viktor realized almost immediately that these skills had been gained through training, and that his opponent had nothing more than that to keep him on his feet.

He had no talent, and in MMA, talent is the definer of everything.

How could he lose to someone so ordinary?

Unfortunately, this was the biggest mistake of his life.

"One of the veins in his head burst, unfortunately he suffered a brain aneurysm."

The fight was won, he had applied his main technique perfectly, which against any fighter, would be a sure victory.

But in a twist that was unexpected to absolutely everyone, his opponent disengaged himself from Viktor as if the technique was nothing.

And from then on, it all went downhill, with a result that the Russian could never have expected.

With 30 seconds left in the final round, he was knocked out.

With a single, accurate punch.

He, the champion, the one born to fight, had been knocked out by someone completely average.

It was a hard reality to swallow when he regained consciousness.

But he eventually accepted, and of course decided to congratulate his opponent on his victory.

But he did not expect to receive such shocking news so suddenly.

"Max passed away shortly after entering his locker room. The hypothesis is that his vein ruptured right during the choke, but that's pretty unrealistic, since he couldn't even stand if that were the case, much less win the fight. The most accepted conclusion among us is that it ruptured just before he left the octagon."

Standing at the corner of the hallway, Viktor heard one of the doctors say, his expression filling with confusion as he turned to his brother, who looked as confused as he was.

"It's really a shame, to beat the champion, he should be very good."

.

Max's burial took place a few days later. Some fans and fighters who once faced him paid their respects at his grave.

Max's closest friends also showed up, and said their final goodbyes to the fighter, to move on with their lives.

Viktor watched all this from afar for most of the day. After the fighter's death, he made a point of giving him the most expensive burial he could manage. Max had no relatives, girlfriend or children, and had left no wishes to be respected behind.

So Viktor asked them to write something on his tombstone.

"The champion."

Viktor, who had moved to stand in front of the headstone, was startled when a voice suddenly sounded beside him, his head turning to meet what sounded like an old man.

"The world lost a coal that became a diamond, it's really a shame."

The strange old man began to speak, causing Viktor to stare at him curiously, making him wonder who that old man was. A fan? A relative?

"But don't worry, boy. His journey has just begun."

"..."

Viktor remained silent. He didn't understand what those words implied, but of one thing he agreed with the stranger.

It was really a shame that the world had lost Max.

For unfortunately, no one would have the chance to see how far a true genius can go.

"Yes... You're right."

Viktor had put his pride aside the moment he understood that he had been defeated, so the only thing that remained was admiration.

He hoped that one day, he would be able to fight Max again, only this time in paradise, or whatever place existed after death.

"See you later, champ."

Taking one last look at the headstone, Viktor turned and started walking away, leaving the old man alone with the headstone.

"..."

"Make good use of this chance, kid."

.

Getting up slowly from his bed, a young man yawned while rubbing his eyes.

"Ugh... Am I home?" He spoke with distinct confusion in his tone, the darkness of the room preventing him from discerning his surroundings. "What the hell happened? My head is killing me."

Moving with difficulty around the room, the young man took a while to find the bathroom, finally succeeding when his vision adapted to the darkness.

"Why do I feel like my body is completely numb?"

Sitting down on the toilet, he took a deep breath. His body felt weak, as if he had just donated blood, only to catch a viral infection afterwards. It was a horrible feeling, that the young man really didn't understand why it was there, after all, the night before he had just...

"Wait... The night before I was fighting, and... I fainted due to the kata gatame?" Groaning in pain, he stood up and began to wipe his face with the water from the sink. "Ugh... My head hurts..."

Raising his head to face his reflection, he froze when he noticed a completely unfamiliar face staring back at him.

"...What?"

"What the fuck is that?!"