Chapter 1: Jairus – Champion of the Arena

Even in solitude in my room, I can still hear the roaring crowd outside. Today is a big day, as I will again fight inside the arena to defend my championship title. This arena is where Republic City's most dangerous criminals fight to the death in exchange for a larger and more comfortable room and the title of being a champion.

Winning for me is important, not just because I would die if I don't, but also because this is the only thing that I have going in my life. You see, my past is not really that bright and happy as most regular 21-year-olds that you will meet. I have lived by myself for as long as I can remember. I had to fight in the streets at a very young age to keep myself alive. In this world, only the strong survive. So that's what I did. I had to be strong, not only physically but mentally, as well.

I have already accepted the fact that I am not a normal kid and that I would never live a normal life. I have done a lot of horrible things and got into trouble all the time while growing up. One time, while I was wandering around the city, I had to work together with other homeless kids in the area to rob a small store and get something to eat. The owner caught us in the act and tried to defend his store and, to make the story short, I had to fight back and I killed him. We looted his store, took enough food to feed myself for a week, and got away before the authorities can even come to the scene. That may be shocking, but I have done so much more worse things than that in my life.

Then I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to find Lily holding a tray with some cookies and a glass of juice. As usual, her face was joyful and radiated warmth and care. Her hair was a little messy but is still shiny and beautiful. She is wearing a simple, long white dress that has yellow flower prints on the front.

"I brought you some snacks. I know this is your favorite food to eat before fighting so…" she said to me, all while having a sweet smile on her face.

"I already ate." I lied to her.

"Well, I will just leave it here just in case you got hungry. There are still two undercard matches to go before your scheduled fight, anyway…" She smiled shyly, then looked down on the floor. She stayed still for a moment as if wanting to say something else.

"Good luck!" she said lively, before walking away quickly with brisk steps. I took her tray and put it on my bedside table. I sat on my bed for a quick while, then I decided to finally eat.

I have felt the urge to thank her for her efforts but I still didn't. Well, for one thing, I didn't ask her to bring me food before my flight. And more importantly, I don't care. I don't care about anything at all, even with my upcoming fight.

I started to wear the pieces of my armor one by one. Honestly, I don't really need these. They just weigh me down. When I was fighting on the streets by myself, I didn't wear any armor anyway. But they were required for fighters in the arena so I have to wear them.

After putting on my armor, I looked at myself in the mirror to check if everything is alright. Then I took my sword from under my bed and attached it to my side. I got it out of its scabbard and held it in front of me in a fighting position. Then, I swung it side by side as I gazed at its craftmanship. It has a shiny steel blade that reflects the light of my room so well. It is quite a long sword, that is a little over 1 meter in length. Its cross-guard is beautifully crafted with elegant shapes and other carvings and uses highly polished bronze that is almost gold-like in color.

I put the sword back in its scabbard and went out of my room to see an old friend, Eric. Eric was an 80-year old man who has retired from fighting in the arena for more than six decades. Ever since I was first sent here, he has become something like my mentor, not in fighting, but in my life. Like Lily, he didn't care about everything that I have done in my past and seems to think that there is still good in me. Well, for someone who saw his parents get murdered at a very young age living alone as a criminal in the streets to survive, it seems being evil is a destiny.

I took the stairs to the basement where the prisoners are. Yes, Eric is also a prisoner but if you ask me, he is the prisoner here that least deserves it. He has helped me and many other prisoners here to keep our sanity, which is very important since this place can really make anyone crazy. He seems to have a gift of being able to see the good side in anything, not only in me but with the other prisoners.

I came to his prison cell and saw him meditating. But when he senses my presence, he immediately stood up and walked towards me. "Good luck on your fight. Don't forget everything that I have taught you."

Eric has always said to me that I was destined to do good things, even when I first came here. Honestly, because of this, I thought that he was crazy. In fact, until today, I still think that he was a little crazy for saying this. I don't really believe him. For one thing, I have a life sentence so I will probably stay here for the rest of my life. Some champions in the arena end up being drafted into the armed forces to help in crucial missions in exchange for their freedom, but I don't think that is gonna change anything. I will probably commit more hideous crimes outside and end up here again.

"Yes, of course. Thank you for everything." I said back.

"How is Lily doing?" he said almost teasingly, with a big smile on his face."

"She's fine, I think." I said.

"You know, there is nothing wrong with allowing the people around you, care for you. And even more, there is nothing wrong with showing them that you care about them too," he said.

His words struck me, leaving me speechless.

"Anyway, I need to go," I said, after a few seconds of being unable to think what to say back to him.

Just in time, I saw one of the organizing officers walk towards me. He was wearing an almost soldier-like long-sleeved uniform that is light brown in color. The logo for the company that runs the arena is printed on his right chest, while an empty pocket is on the left. He is wearing a little garrison cap-like hat, except it is more rounded at the top. For me, the hat makes their overall uniform comedic rather than authoritative and intimidating.

"You're almost up. Let's get you to the waiting area already," he said to me with an expressionless face and in an almost robotic way. I followed him to a long corridor that led to a door that is of a different color than the rest. It was also bigger and grander. One look and you will already know that this door leads to a special place.

Of course, I already know what is behind this door. I have walked on this same corridor probably a little less than a hundred times before. This door leads to the waiting area where fighters in the arena wait for their time to fight. The organizing officer that was with me opened the door and signaled for me to go in. I stepped inside.

It is a big, dark, empty room with only a few, small white lights on the ceiling. Two open passages lead to the main arena, one on the left side of the room and one on the right. I saw that my opponent was already inside waiting. He was almost seven feet tall and probably weighs close to 300 pounds. His whole body is ripped and is almost like a bodybuilder's. He is wearing a golden helmet that only shows his eyes and nothing else on his upper body. On his back, a five-foot-long axe was strapped with two crescent moon-shaped blades on both sides. Impaled on the top of his axe was a human skull.

Any normal 18-year-old kid would have run back crying to his mother after seeing my opponent. But not me. I stood at one corner of the room and looked him straight in the eye. With his body language, I can tell that he was at least a little intimidated by me, which is not surprising. I have been fighting my way up in this arena since I was 10 years old. I defied all expectations and became a champion, which is why I have built up a solid reputation.

I heard the crowd roared wildly, which can only mean one thing. It's time to fight.

I didn't feel any nervousness at all. I have done this many, many times before. I have fought bigger and stronger opponents. Any one of them could have defeated and killed me. But destiny wills otherwise. And I know my destiny does not end here.

I proceeded to the left passage while my opponent proceeded to the right. The crowd roared even louder. From where I was standing, I can already get a glimpse of the bright lights and the huge crowd that have gathered to watch my fight. A loud voice announced through the speakers that we will be making our way into the arena. I held on to my sword and went in.

There is a huge contrast from the dark waiting room to the bright lights in the arena. I remembered the first time that I was here. I was still a kid and the lights almost dazed me. But now, it is nothing new. I pulled out my sword and raised it above my head as the announcer called my name. As if I needed any more introduction. The crowd roared even more loudly this time.

On the top part of one of the walls that surround the arena, there were huge glass windows. Inside it, you can see the royal suite, where the Prime Minister and four of his officials are watching the fights. They were seated on large chairs that looked like thrones, with the Prime Minister's chair being the biggest and grandest. I looked at the Prime Minister and even though he was so far away, I am pretty sure he was looking sternly at me as if he knows me personally.

I looked across the arena and saw my opponent staring directly at me. His axe, which is even much bigger than I thought, was now in his hands. A loud trumpet blew from a distance which caused the crowd to roar again. My opponent charged towards me. He was so big that I can almost feel the arena shake from each of his steps. So, I did the most natural thing. I charged at him too.

A split second before I was within his striking range, he swung his axe horizontally towards me. He was so strong that I could have easily been cut clean in half with that strike. But he was too slow. I was able to jump up above him just in time to dodge it. While in midair, I slashed my sword in a wide arc towards his head. When I landed behind him, I heard his golden helmet drop to the ground. He then looked at me with his eyes widened in shock. He did not suffer any cut as I only was able to hit his helmet, but the fact that I was able to dodge his attack and perform a successful counterattack of my own probably surprised him. I was able to see his fear creeping through his eyes.

I charged towards him again but before I was able to get within striking range, I sidestepped toward his right side. He is slower than me but he became even slower now. He was not able to react as I stabbed a part of his right body that is not covered by armor.

Blood gushed out of his body as he lost balance and fell on his right knee. He put his hand on his wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. He looked at me differently now. He was not just scared, he is now begging for his life. I have been in this exact same situation before, that it has become all too familiar.

The crowd started chanting: "kill! kill! kill!..."

I took one last look at my opponent's eyes as I slowly put my sword up. He looked really desperate to survive but I did not care. I swung my sword for the last time to deliver the final blow. He fell on a puddle of his own blood on the ground.

The crowd roared wildly again as my victory was announced. The crowd was now on their feet while different-colored confetti falls from the ceiling. A team of medics immediately went to my opponent to try to save him, but I am pretty sure that he's gone. I know it was pretty brutal but I just did what I had to do. Besides, I am not a good guy, I'm very far from it. I have done many horrible things in my past but no one has the right to judge me. No one knows about everything that I have been through and I didn't have much of a choice. I guess some people like me are just destined to be bad.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily standing on the side on the side of the arena. Tears were trickling down her eyes but she was smiling at me. She looks happy and proud.

That is what I have always been wondering about her. For as long as I can remember, she was the only one that really cared about me. I met her when I first came here to the arena and we have been friends ever since… Or at least, she has treated me as her friend ever since. I don't know why. Why would anyone want to be friends with one of the worst criminals in Republic City?

Yes, I am a criminal. This arena and all of the fights that have been happening here are Republic City's way of reducing the number of criminals in their prisons. Republic City is not really the world's safest city so criminality is a huge problem. But instead of a death penalty for their worst criminals, they just send us here to fight to the death. At least, they get some entertainment out of us.

After I have killed that store owner that we looted when I was young, the authorities caught up to me and I was sent to prison. After some trials, the judge ruled that I should be sent here to the arena to die. I was already one of the most wanted criminals at that time, so I was not shocked by the decision; in fact, I expected it.

And I guess deep inside, I also even wanted it.

As I walked out of the arena, Lily went up to me hopefully. She had wiped the tears from her face so she looks very beautiful again (not that I care about her looks, of course). As always, she has a towel and a first-aid kit ready to heal my wounds. But since I won easily, I did not need it. In fact, it has been a long time since I had needed medical attention after a fight.

"Are you okay?" she says as she tries to look for any wounded part of my body.

"Yes, of course. I don't need your help." I left her alone as I walked back through the passageway to the waiting room and then back to my room.

As I was about to lie down to rest, I saw a small envelope on top of my bed. I looked around to see if anyone was in my room but there was no one. I am pretty sure I locked my door properly so I wondered where this envelope could have come from. I looked around the room for any sign that someone have broken in, but everything seems to be in order.

I sat on my bed and took the envelope in my hands. There was nothing written outside, so I still don't know where it came from. I opened it and found one piece of paper inside. It was a letter. There were a few sentences that were handwritten on it using dark red, almost blood-colored, ink. It read:

"Don't worry about who I am for now. You will know in due time. I know all about you. I wrote to you to offer you a new purpose."