Extra Goliath

It was supposed to be an exciting match, Laura against Anastasia. The ice princess against the red queen.

Many people, including fighters from several different martial arts sports, were about to see what was supposed to be a boxing match.

Even the devil of the octagon, the current world champion in the UFC, and probably the most infamous fighter in the history of any material arts through his violent behavior even outside the ring was here. He was none other than Thomas Andre, who would later be known as the Goliath. He was always interested in exciting matches. He, himself, only admired the strong. Women boxing wasn't something he was interested in, but however, Thomas had the feeling today could be different.

In his history he fought many fighters in their material arts style. Not many people knew about it but he challenged the current heavyweight boxing champion in his own gym. It was a one sided beatdown. Even only using his fists he won easily. The public never heard of it. Later it was announced that the boxer was involved in a car accident as he had to spend some time in the hospital. He also mastered kickboxing, karate, jiu jitsu and even defeated the yokozuna in sumo. There was no one who could win in a fight against him.

But Thomas wasn't happy. He knew very well that he would be a god hundreds of years ago. If it's as a gladiator in an ancient Colosseum or on a medieval battlefield. And now people are blaming him for his attitude towards the weak. And they weren't wrong, he wasn't what he always wanted to be. In a fight Thomas can beat anyone, but what was his strength worth nowadays? In this world raw strength isn't important anymore. In the modern world even a kid with a gun could easily kill him. So the only way to show his dominance, in what he considers as child play. Sport in a ring. The only way to legally fight. Friendly matches they call it.

And that's the reason why Thomas wanted more. He felt trapped in the body of a human. He already reached his prime, every muscle trained to the maximum, not like a bodybuilder who just did it for a show. No, his muscles were for fighting and every trained eye would see it on the first glance. But he reached the limit of what a human body can be capable of.

Today Thomas should see that there is more. The kind of power that surpassed technology and would let him enter the realm of what he was always seeking for.

As the two women entered the arena he already had a strange feeling. Like they were different but couldn't tell why. Until the bell rang and the fight finally started. They both moved at an insane speed and used strength not a single person in this room had ever dreamed of. And Thomas was probably the only one in a stadium with thousands of people who could follow them. He saw every move they made. It was still boxing. They used what they were trained for. But the sheer power behind every hit and block was something else. So he followed the fight, trying not to miss a single punch until the first round ended.

And as the bell rang the second time he already knew he would gain that power. Whatever it takes it was supposed to belong to him. There won't be anyone who would be equal to him. A new Era had begun. The era of the strongest was finally back. Raw power should rule the world again.

But then, loud noises interrupted his thoughts. Sirens were ringing outside, shots were fired, explosions were heard. And the arena was trembling.

He didn't move while parts of the ceiling crashed down on large groups of the crowd. They were cheering only minutes ago and now many of them are dead. The sight was something new even for him. He wasn't afraid. There was no way he would die now after what he had witnessed before. But he also couldn't stay here.

Thomas looked to the entrance. Hundreds of people gathered there and blocked the outside path. He knew he could just walk through them but as he was about to move and looked in the ring again, he saw that the two women and an old man were going together to the fighter entrance.

He wanted to see more. More of this incredible power. So he decided to follow them. As they left the arena he watched them talking right outside the buildings. And contrary to his prediction that they would run away the women were moving towards the epicenter of the rumbling.

A wild smile formed on his face. That's exactly what he wanted to see. Whatever is happening there it will show him more of this power. He couldn't remember that he was this excited in his life. Right before the hallway crashed down he left and followed them.

But what Thomas saw then even surprised him. There was a monster. A wolf like monster easily the size of a car with scary swordlike fangs and paws that crashed everything under them, this monster only would bring every human nothing but despair. But the women were actually fighting it. And they didn't lose. He still watched from a fair distance and couldn't believe his eyes. They just killed this beast. Completely destroyed its massive skull with their bare hands.

He stopped and looked at his hands. They were huge in size compared to any other human but he also instinctively knew that they couldn't do what the smaller woman just had done. But instead of disappointment he felt even more excited.

Thomas wanted to see more and he would. A block away he stood on the road and watched them fighting. Now this time both of the women fought six of the monsters at once. And again, they won. Barely.

Even after the monsters were defeated it didn't feel like it was over. There was still danger in the air. It seemed like the women felt it as well and when they stood before the blue gate something appeared.

Thomas was shaking as he looked at something that he could have never imagined. He saw many crazy things today, but nothing gave him the feeling he now had. A monster the size of a large truck appeared. Its appearance was almost the same as the other monsters but the aura it was admitting was something else. He wasn't sure what the feeling was. He had never felt it before. Wait, could that be... Fear? No, that was impossible. How could he, who considered himself as the strongest human alive, could fear something?

As he still stood there the beast jumped towards the women. Their movements were even faster than before but he was still able to follow them. His perception seems to improve, he thought. He already decided that he would get this power but now he felt like it would come to him on its own.

But Thomas still waited as he watched the women. They managed to take down the beast. It was a very close fight. If they weren't skilled in fighting before they wouldn't have survived the battle, so much was for sure.

Now they were laughing. He also felt the desire to laugh. He felt happiness and was glad to be a witness of what just happened. But it wasn't the time yet. He had something to do. Probably the most important thing he would have ever done in his life.

So he left the area. A few blocks away there was still nothing but silence. Everyone must have either died or left the area. The feeling before, he tried to remember it and as he closed his eyes he was something strange. Drops of what he could best describe as golden liquid reached from far away. There was something like a tunnel in his inner eyes. So he waited until the golden liquid reached him. The feeling he got now wasn't something he could have ever imagined. His body was absorbing the drops one by one, flooding his body. And there were more coming. It was slow but every drop made him stronger and stronger. His muscles, his bones, his skin were overflowing with power.

And then, the golden liquid suddenly stopped. He knew that he already reached the same level as the two women. But that wasn't enough for him. He wanted more. He wanted everything.

Thomas looked in the tunnel again. It was empty and there was nothing left. So he screamed at the tunnel and through sheer willpower he forced it open again. His eyes were wild. Desperately trying to keep the path open. So he can finally become what he always wanted to be. What he was supposed to be. Golden liquid was flowing again. Even more than the drops before. He now had surpassed the women but still wanted more. It wasn't enough to rule the world.

His body felt like it was bursting. Eagerly trying to absorb everything he had gathered so far. But then, the light from the tunnel stopped again. He didn't want it to stop. Desperately screaming in the tunnel with his closed eyes he wanted more and more.

It was then.

Suddenly it felt like something was looking at him from behind the tunnel. Not with its eyes but it was trying to grasp him. There was someone, or something, looking at him. And Thomas looked back.

"Give me your power", he said in his mind.

Seconds passed, it felt like minutes or even hours. He couldn't tell but even if it was against his nature he was willing to wait.

Then it answered. There wasn't a voice, no nodding or something comparably but he felt that the being on the other side agreed.

The tunnel broke into pieces. Completely destroyed. There weren't any drops anymore. This time it was more. A beam of pure light from the other side hit him. And it didn't stop. His body was about to burst, not metaphorically but literally, as more of the bright pure light was absorbed by his body. Every other human would have died on the spot. Even the women from before wouldn't be able to withstand what he just did. But his body was like.... It felt like he was born for this exact moment. Years of intense body training finally paid off. And then the light beam stopped.

Thomas opened his eyes again and looked up in the bloodred sky.

Now was finally the time. He opened his mouth and laughed. The loudest laugh that he ever led out. No, not only he but any human. Only his laugh shook the ground, let the buildings tremble and the bloodred sky turned into a black sky with the stars looking down on him.