A Familiar Face on the Sands

"What was that?" Vincent asked after an awkward silence.

"I couldn't move at all." Joshua said. "It was weird."

Vincent nodded. Samantha shook her head. "It was terrible, he just cut the man's head off like it was no big deal." She clenched her fists, tightly grasping the cloth of her cloak.

I sighed. "Whoever that was, he was the strongest person I've come across." While that didn't mean much to Erik and the others, it was quite a big deal to me. Even Vixia didn't have that same presence as the Ereth. "We need to be careful, don't do something stupid – I don't want any of us to end up like that." I said.

"That should be said to you." Erik mumbled. I flinched. I was not in the mood to deal with his stupidity. I didn't want to have yet another meaningless fight now.

"What does that mean?" Vincent asked.

"What do you think?" Erik asked with an agitated voice. Vincent raised his eyebrows, waiting for further explanation. Erik gritted his teeth but remained silent.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." I said, getting up and heading for the door. "Let's go back to the inn. We should rest for tomorrow's match."

Erik glared at me but remained silent. With a sigh, I stepped out of the room. We soon left the coliseum and returned to the inn. Our table in the back was empty, so we didn't hesitate to order something to eat and sat around the large wooden table.

Soon, the bartender brought our drinks. I couldn't help but smile as she placed the glass of nectar in front of me. Then, she gave everyone their drinks and left without a word.

"To Kai still being here with us." Alina said, raising her cup.

"Yeah!" Vincent said.

"To those who are no longer with us." I replied, also raising my glass. I couldn't help but remember Alex as I spoke.

"Why are you mourning the guy who tried to chop your head off?" Erik asked with a deadly glare. "Do you think he'd mourn you if you died there?"

I flinched. "That's not what I meant." I said slowly. I didn't want a fight, not right now. "He's not the only one who died."

Erik clenched his fists. "Then who is it?" He hissed through his gritted teeth. "Who matters so much to you that you mourn them?" He made a vague gesture encompassing everyone here. "Shouldn't you be focusing on keeping everyone else alive?" I could see the anger and jealousy burning in his eyes.

"Erik." Samantha suddenly chimed in. "It's Alex's sister, and most players that were in Stonepatch village." She said with a weak voice. "That's what Kai was talking about this morning, after you left."

The young paladin flinched. "What?" He looked at me with wide eyes. "People in Stonepatch village?" He mumbled, almost in a daze.

I nodded and explained what happened. Once I was done talking, Erik pushed his chair back and got up. "I'll head to bed early." He mumbled and headed upstairs with wobbly, uneven steps. Confused, I glanced at Vincent. He shrugged.

"What's up with him?" Joshua suddenly asked, finally breaking his silence. "He wasn't close to anyone there and he borderline disliked Rina and Alex."

"Maybe it just hit him that people actually die." Samantha said after a moment of silence. "After all, I'm sure he feels at least partially guilty about all of this."

I sighed. "Probably," I said, taking another sip of nectar. "But that doesn't excuse any of his behaviour. Anyways," I pushed my chair back. "I'll head to my room too. I need some rest – I didn't get much sleep these last few days." With that, I finished my drink and headed to my room.

As I closed the door and threw myself on the white sheets of my bed, I reached out to a certain smug sorcerer. "Asher, where are you?"

For a while, silence was all that I heard. Then, I felt the mental connection establish. "Busy guarding your friend's caravan." His bored voice echoed in my mind. "Nothing attacked them so far, save for a couple of wolves, but I'll keep an eye on them still, just to make sure."

I sighed a breath of relief. "I wish you'd told me that before," I said with a faint smile. Knowing he was watching over Alex and Rina made me feel so much more at ease. "Anyways," I continued with a more serious expression. "A lot happened today…"

Morning come, I descended the stairs to the common room and sat on our usual table. The sun had just dawned, so not many people were around.

"Feeling better?" The bartender said as she brought me some fresh juice and a pretty nice breakfast. I smiled and nodded. "You could say that, thank you." I motioned to pay for my breakfast, but she stopped me. "I have a bet on you winning." She said with a grin. "So, if you want to pay me, just make sure you win."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry," I said with a smile. "I don't plan on losing. Not this one."

The creaking floorboards caught my attention. I glanced at the stairs to see Vincent and Joshua come down. "Good morning," Vincent said with a yawn.

"I'll bring you some breakfast too." The bartender said with a warm smile as she went back to the kitchen.

"Did you sleep well?" Joshua asked me as he pulled a chair. "You seem well rested."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling good." A smile appeared on my lips. "Let's win this match."

"Hell yeah!" Joshua said with a huge grin. Then, he flinched as a muffled, low rumble sounded. "Uh, after breakfast." He added. Vincent let out a loud, bellowing laughter.

Soon, the girls also came down. "Hey guys!" Alina said, showing us a beautiful smile. "Ready to win today?"

All three of us nodded as they also sat with us. "Please look out," Alina continued. "Don't risk your life for this, ok?"

I faked a smile and lied. "Don't worry."

"No way he's dying." Joshua said with a grin. "Even the Ereth royalty protects him!"

Soon, Erik also came down and we left for the coliseum after finishing our breakfast. As we passed through the now very familiar hallway and approached the room we were given, I couldn't help but feel almost nervous.

We sat inside in silence. Everyone was on edge. This was the finale, if we won this, we'd get the support of the Ereth, if we lost… Well, I'd have to deal with Asher.

A knock on the door sounded, causing us to jump on our feet. The Ereth pushed the door open. "The match is about to begin. Follow me."

Just like that, we once again stood before the metal gates.

"Team Torchlight is up once again!" The announcer's voice echoed as the gates slowly creaked open, revealing the sand filled floor of the coliseum. With a deep breath, I stepped onto the sands. The crowd's cheering almost drowned the announcer's voice.

As I walked to the centre of the arena, the others followed me.

"And they are up against Team Shadowblade!" The announcer shouted.

The gates on the other side of the arena slowly opened, revealing a familiar face.

A tall man with a slender build stepped onto the sand filled floor. His dark blue skin reminded me of the night sky. His yellow eyes stared into my soul as he walked, his allies following right behind him. A pair of thin, elegant horns completed his devilish look perfectly. His blood red hair covered the left side of his face a little.

As he and his group arrived at the centre of the arena, he stood right across me.

"We meet again," He said as his lips formed a smile.