Poisoned

"We've got two more participants," the commentator's voice sounded out.

Hearing this the audience suddenly quieted down a bit but soon after "hell ya," a man in the crowd shouted out and the rest of the crowd followed, they all cheered.

Why wouldn't they, after all this new development meant that they had one more exciting battle to watch.

Meanwhile, at a random seat in the stadium, you could see a dark-haired man, with a facemask covering half of his face.

It was Bruce, and his appearance had changed a bit, for one you would notice that at the tip of his hair, a few red specks could be seen, and apart from that he'd gotten bigger.

Next to him was Amanda and her friends, Sarah and Mark, and of course there was also her boyfriend Edward.

"Hey Sarah, who do you think will win?" Mark suddenly asked Sarah who was on her phone.

"Do we even know the candidates yet?" Edward replied feeling confused.

"I'm not talking about the contestants, I'm talking about the gender," Mark said with a smile.

Hearing what Mark said Sarah raised her head from her phone as she observed him. "Well I don't have an opinion yet," she suddenly said.

"What do you think, Bruce?" Sarah suddenly asked as she turned to Bruce.

But Bruce didn't seem to be paying attention as he did not answer, he seemed to be thinking about something else.

Noticing this Amanda hit Bruce by his side, "big brother, you should pay more attention to this," she said while pouting.

"Ohh sorry," Bruce said as he chuckled slightly, after the revelation that Aiden was back Bruce couldn't believe it, and he still didn't believe it.

Yesterday he had come home from the base as they were done with the first stage of their training, this was the last time they were allowed to go out and he couldn't miss it.

Since the second selection was today the higher-ups made an exception saying that this would increase morale.

Bruce didn't know whether he would pass the second stage of the training, thinking about the stories he heard he felt like running away, but he knew that was just wishful thinking.

The Silence was much more terrifying than it seemed, he wanted to run away but without a weekly dose of the antidote, he'd die of poison.

He had a better chance of survival at the second test, but he didn't know if he could survive, after all the mortality rate was more than sixty percent.

***********

Meanwhile, back in the underground waiting room, both Aiden and Whisper were in a room filled with black body armor.

They were required to remove their clothes and wear this, which they did without complaint.

"It fits you both," Three Face said as she gazed at the futuristic-looking armor that clung to Aiden and Whisper's bodies.

Honestly, the first time Aiden saw this armor he thought that it looked too tight and heavy and would also restrict his movement, but upon moving he discovered that it didn't restrict his movements at all.

The armor itself felt like a collective artwork of condensed and light fabric, "what is this made of?" Aiden couldn't help but ask.

Whisper also looked towards Three Face with curiosity.

"It's made from demon skin, threat level twelve," she said, hearing this Aiden nodded.

He didn't know that it was possible to make such high-quality stuff from demon skin, "how can you see in that?" Whisper's voice suddenly sounded out.

It seemed that the armor wasn't what Whisper was curious about, instead, she seemed really curious about the mask Three Face wore.

Three Face didn't answer immediately, but she said after a while, "You'd have to be a member of the main team to know that."

"Hump," Whisper pouted a bit making Aiden laugh.

"Is there anything else that we need to know?" Aiden suddenly asked.

Hearing this Three Face tilted her head a bit before saying.

"Ohh you're right I almost forgot, although extremely unlikely there's a chance that you might die, and if the person responsible for your death can successfully join the Silence they would not be held responsible for your death."

Saying this she continued with a laugh, "If you understand can you both sign this form of consent?" She asked.

At the mention of death, Aiden didn't react much, he wasn't scared of death, what bothered him was the way Three Face was talking about it.

She had this playful attitude that just reminded Aiden so much of someone he knew, "this playful tone, where have I heard something similar before?" He thought.

Shaking his head Aiden took the form of Three Face while pushing the irrelevant thoughts to the back of his head.

As he read through it he sighed, it was just a regular contract asking if they agreed to participate in the tournament, there was nothing too unreasonable about it.

Thinking nothing of this Aiden and Whisper both signed.

"Are you really a member of the Silence?" Aiden couldn't help but playfully ask.

Sometimes Three Face seemed too playful to be a member of the main team, but suddenly.

"Bam!"

A loud noise sounded out and all Aiden could feel was an elephant-level force smash into his chest.

"Bang!"

Aiden smashed into a manikin shattering it to bits, most of his ribs were broken and he felt a heavy pain in his chest.

"Argh!"

Aiden couldn't help but groan, as his vision blurred, "Aiden you've been exposed to a large amount of poison, don't fall asleep," Landon warned.

Whisper was shocked, she didn't expect an attack so suddenly, she tried to fight back but before she could even turn she felt a huge force smash into her abdomen.

"Bam!"

Another muffled bang filled the room and Whisper gagged, with saliva flying out of her mouth, she was sent flying back as well.

"Bang!"

She hit the metal walls of the room and she didn't move after that, it was unknown whether she was still conscious.

Suddenly Three Face's disdain-filled voice filled the room, her words, dripping with authority, as she waved the sighed document around.

"You've been swayed by the illusion of uniqueness, carefully crafted by those in charge. Reality is a far cry from the special treatment you've come to expect." She said before darting in.

"Under the directives from higher-ups, we were tasked with creating the illusion of our vulnerability, portraying you as distinct, while degrading ourselves to your level. However, the same authority has now mandated that henceforth, you'll be subjected to the standard treatment accorded to all participants."

Thanks to his strong will Aiden was still conscious he wasn't too sure but he could have sworn that he witnessed the contents of the documents change as she waved them around.

His eyes narrowed in anger and frustration as he saw this as he knew that this meant nothing good.

Noticing Aiden's change in expression Three Face smiled, "Ohh are you sad rookie?" She asked.

Saying this she walked up to Aiden removing a syringe from the inner pocket of her suit.

And without the slightest change in emotion, she stabbed it in his thigh letting the blue-colored liquid of questionable origins flow into his body.

As he lost consciousness Three Face's words echoed in his ears.

"From here on out you'll encounter more dangerous situations, so dangerous that you could lose your life at any moment, if you can't keep improving you'll ultimately end up as a slave for the formidable."

********

5

4

3

2

"Boom!"

A large bang sounded out and cheers resounded throughout the stadium, the second part of the selections had finally started.

"I see we're ready folks, the selections have officially started, if you're as excited as I am I want you to scream."

Jim's voice sounded out clearly throughout the entire stadium.

"Ahhhhhhh," in response to Jim loud cheers sounded out throughout the stadium.

"Today by my side we have expert Contractor Gold, to-"

"Yaaaaaaa," the audience erupted into cheers before the commentator could even finish speaking.

"Ahh forget it," Jim said before darting in, "by the right side of the stage we have the first random participant, Felix Anderson."

As soon as Jim finished speaking a blue-eyed youth walked onto the stage as the stadium cheered.

"Now normally we don't know where the contestants come from since the Silence doesn't like to spill, but I recently got in contact with a certain source that wishes to stay anonymous, let's see what they have to offer," Jim said.

The stadium turned silent before more cheers sounded out, at the same time seated at a certain spot in the stadium, Gold looked towards Jim who was sitting next to him.

"Do you really have that?" He asked as his voice sounded out throughout the stadium, meanwhile, the live stream was very active.

[Gold's voice is so sexy.]

[Ahhh Gold just spoke.]

[Jim sounds more professional.]

[Are you a bird brain?]

"Yeah," Jim responded to Gold's question before darting in with disappointment evident in his tone, "but it seems like they don't have any information on him though."

The second contestant was also announced, and this time Jim was able to bring some information to the table.

"The second participant is called Christopher Brown, he's thirty-five and he was a pretty ordinary man until he succeeded in creating a contract with a demon at the first stage of the selections."

Immediately a countdown appeared on the big screen and a robotic voice sounded out.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Fight!"

The participants didn't fight immediately, instead, they examined each other for a while, moving in circles as approached each other.

Felix was a good-looking youth with blue eyes while Christopher had black hair and hazel eyes.

Suddenly the blue-eyed youth moved at the limits of human speed.

"Whoosh!"

He threw a punch which Christopher narrowly avoided.

Christopher on the other hand wasn't slow, he threw his own punch immediately.

"Whoosh!"

His fist whistled throw the air, much faster than the way Felix attacked, but just when the punch was about to connect.

"Slap!"

Felix held onto his arm so suddenly that it created a slapping sound, "bam," and an uppercut followed, forcing Christopher to look at the sky.

He staggered backwards briefly disorientated from the force of that punch but Felix wasn't done.

"Swoosh!"

His legs swept the floor kicking Christopher off the ground, "bam," Christopher found himself lying on the ground in pain.

"I GIVE UP!"

He yelled immediately and a robotic voice sounded out, "Christopher is eliminated, Felix progresses to the second round."

"Haha it seems Christopher has a weak demon backing him up," Jim laughed.

"Not necessarily," Gold suddenly said, a look of experience gracing his chiseled face.

Hearing what Gold said Jim looked perplexed, "What do you mean?" He asked in confusion.

Expressionlessly Gold explained, "Well what I mean is that both subjects haven't used their Contracts yet, the first contestant seemed to deem it unnecessary and the second one simply hesitated and was defeated not even getting the chance to use his powers before he was eliminated."

Gold's take on the matter caused many people to nod their heads the live stream on the other hand was going crazy.

[Haha such a fool]

[Christopher POV: I'ma use my contact for later]

[Felix POV: not today buddy]

Looking at the live stream Jim's eyes lit up at how lively it was, suddenly he got more information from his headphones, and he smiled, "Haha listen up folks the second match will start in a few minutes."

*****

Meanwhile at a small home located on the outskirts of South City, Sharon the nurse sat on her couch with a can of soda as she watched the match on her TV.

******

At the same time in a certain skyscraper, you would find a luxurious suite.

In this room a familiar woman could be seen cuddling with a white-haired man, it was Mary and Vincent.

"If you enjoy this so much we could have just gotten tickets," Vincent said as he stroked Mary's back.

"It's too much stress," Mary said before darting in, "besides my late friend used to watch this all the time with me, it's thrilling to see Contractors fighting."

At the mention of Aiden Vincent frowned, "What's thrilling about this? It's just a bunch of beginner Contractor's," he said before continuing.

"Just look at this we've watched ten fights so far and the only thing extraordinary we've seen is that blue-eyed kid, he's the only person who seems to know what he's doing and he's not even used his contract yet, the rest just fight like normal humans, out of ten matches we've only seen one formidable Contractor."

As Vincent spoke the Commentator's announcement sounded out from the TV.

[Alright folks for the next two participants we have Aiden Frostfall versus David Hall,]

Hearing the first name that was announced Mary who wanted to say something froze.

She stared at the TV, and her eyes widened in terror as she watched a familiar yet unfamiliar person walk into the Stadium.

***********

(Earlier)

Aiden and Whisper found themselves in a quiet corner of the waiting room within silence.

A strange atmosphere enveloped them highlighting their rotten moods.

The other participants had long since noticed their peculiar behavior and wisely decided to give them some space. Most of them had that familiar "I've been through it too" look in their eyes.

Aiden clenched his fists, unable to shake off the words Three Face had spoken when they woke up.

"You both healed fast; it seems my observations weren't wrong. Anyway, what I injected into you was a special type of poison, made of two different bases."

"This poison fights itself and will stabilize in a week. If it does, you'll die immediately, unless you take a dose every week. But don't worry; you'll only be subjected to this forever if you don't succeed. If you successfully reach a certain rank in Silence, you'll be given a complete antidote."

Those words made him feel so angry, "I got carried away," Aiden thought as he criticized himself, his experiences in that place had made him cocky.

Being able to hold his own against the members of the Silence main team had given him a false sense of invincibility, he thought that with his strength he'd earned their respect.

Whisper, on the other hand, appeared calmer but somewhat discouraged.

Suddenly, Landon's voice broke the silence. "You do know that both you and Whisper are immune to most poison, right?"

Aiden didn't reply immediately, he wasn't too surprised by the news, he could already heal from fatal wounds in a matter of hours.

With a sigh, he turned to Whisper and asked, "Are you okay?"

Letting out a breath, Whisper muttered, "I'm fine." But then she continued, "My lord, do you really know what you're doing?"

From the moment they met, Aiden had seemed like a man who knew exactly what he wanted, and how to achieve it.

Their first meeting had been shrouded in mystery, and when he saved her, it took a while for her to accept the consequences: serving him for as long as she lived.

However, the more she got to know him, the more she genuinely embraced her fate.

In fact, she began to relish it. Concepts like immortality and ultimate power were no longer just fiction for her.

Even though Contractors were inherently strong, they all had their limits.

But what she had become knew no bounds. Despite having the ability, Aiden had never ordered her to do something she didn't want to.

Initially, she feared she'd become a mere servant, catering to his every need. Yet, it wasn't like that at all.

Their relationship was more akin to that of close friends, and for that, she was grateful.

"If I say I have it all figured out, I'd be lying," Aiden admitted after pondering for a moment.

"Then give me permission to leave," Whisper implored.

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Your ambition is immense, my lord, but I don't believe you're going about it the right way. I want to help you in my own way, but I can't do that here. Let me go, and you'll never regret it." Whisper pleaded.

Hearing this, Aiden sighed, his expression softening. "I never tried to keep you with me. You're free to do whatever you want, Whisper."

With that, a gentle smile graced Whisper's lips, and a profound silence settled between them, echoing their unspoken bond.

"Aiden Frostfall and David Hall, please step towards the door," a voice called out, hearing that voice Aiden got up.

He didn't look lost because he had seen the previous contestants go through the big doors at the front of the room.

"Wish me luck," he said towards Whisper and he walked away.

Since his name was called first Aiden went ahead with the other participants clearing a path for him.

As he moved he could hear the loud voices of the other participants.

"Haha, you can do it, rookie."

"What bad luck, the rich kid ended up fighting David."

"How many bones do you think he's gonna break?"

"I don't know, what bugs me is that the kid didn't even take the time to look at the person he's fighting."

"I wanna see his reaction when he gets on stage."

Aiden didn't listen to them, he had a lot on his mind right now, and he was thinking about what Whisper just said.

He could also decide to leave, after all the poison didn't work on him, or he could stay and play their little game, without much thought he chose to stay.

After all the only way he could get stronger was by taking lives, and the Silence was the best place to do that.

They all thought they had him on a leash, as of now, he was one step ahead, and he would keep it that way.

The passageway wasn't very long, and before Aiden knew it he was before thousands of people cheering loudly as they watched him.

Suddenly Jim's voice sounded out through the speakers, "Our second random participant is David Hall."

As Jim spoke a man walked out, and his appearance could only be described as big.

His muscles bulged and his skin looked stressed, with the towering figure of a bodybuilder one would wonder how he achieved such muscle mass.

Not only that, he also looked out of breath and an angry stare graced his eyes.

Aiden wasn't intimidated by his stare though, overall he seemed faintly relaxed, as he stared at the bulky man in front of him.

"Are you on steroids?" Aiden asked and the crowd quieted down.

High-quality microphones placed strategically around the stadium picked up sounds efficiently to ensure a sense of realism for viewers watching from home.

Normally it was filled with the sounds of cheering and punching but the moment the contestants spoke the whole shelter would hear it, throughout this year's selections Aiden was the first participant to speak.

[Shit.]

[This Aiden is brutal.]

[Well he's dead meat, that guy's gonna pound him.]

[He's not lying, that guy does look like he's on steroids.]

[Look at his muscles.]

[Aiden looks kinda hot.]

[Yeah right?]

Meanwhile, Bruce and Amanda looked towards the man on stage, Amanda recognized him immediately, but Burce still looked unsure.

"Hey guy's isn't that Aiden?" Amanda asked.

"Yes it's him," Sarah replied in shock as she stared.

Bruce couldn't believe it, he could recognize Aiden immediately but he was skeptical, "is this really Aiden," he thought.

One couldn't blame him, Aiden just looked too different, and there was also the fact that Aiden was supposed to be dead.

Jim's voice suddenly sounded out, "Hoho folks we don't have any information on David, but we do have some interesting information on Aiden, looks like he faked his own death and was believed to have died in a car accident, to make matters worse he cut off his arm, we know that because of the matching DNA, I know right, that some movie shit right there."

Hearing this the crowd cheered even louder with some wondering if it was true, feeling skeptical as they looked at his perfectly healthy arms.

But for most people that news shocked them out of their wits, Bruce stood up from his seat, and Sharon who was at home stared at the screen with wide eyes.

This was the man who came to the hospital to visit his mother.

Mary on the other hand had long since gotten on her feet, her hands trembled as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Fight."

A robotic voice sounded out and the muscular man kicked at the floor zooming towards Aiden.

"Bang," his feet left a deep imprint on the ground as dirt flew everywhere causing some of the audience members to stand up as they watched a yellow aura surround him.

Deminic powers everyone thought in excitement as they stared intently at the fight.

"Aiden's gonna lose," Bruce couldn't help but think, as he watched David punch.

The speakers picked up the sound of air whistling, making the punch feel even more heavy.

Seeing this Aiden didn't move, his face remained expressionless as he watched.

"Bang!"

A loud bang sounded out as the heavy punch landed on Aiden's face, his body tilted backward but he didn't move.

"Shit," Jim cursed as he watched the both of them stay in that position for a second, and before any of them could react they saw Aiden move his arms.

"BANG!"

A loud bang sounded out followed by the sound of bones cracking and an agonizing scream.

"Ahhhhhh," David the bulky man stepped back as he held onto his arm which seemed to be dislocated.

Aiden was still expressionless as he walked up to the man, seeing this his face paled, "I give -" he tried to say but.

"Bang!"

A roundhouse kick sent him to the floor before he could even speak.

He collided with the ground "Bam," and dirt flew, "tap, tap, tap," Aiden walked up to him slowly with an expressionless look in his eyes, that blank look made David shudder.

He wanted to give up but why did this freak interrupt him? "Ahhhhhh," David screamed in annoyance as the yellow aura around him intensified.

Quickly getting on his feet he punched again but "bang," the sound of bones cracking sounded out for the second time.

This time the audience saw what happened clearly, Aiden had simply countered by throwing his own punch, long story short David's attack seemed to be on the weaker end.

With his two arms dislocated David didn't have another means of attacking, "tap, tap, tap," Aiden's steps seemed to echo throughout the now silent stadium.

"Your bones are quite fragile," he said as his legs moved, "I give -" David tried to say, but "bang," a spartan kick sent David flying to the floor.

"Argh," he groaned, as he felt his ribs tremble, he wanted to give up but this guy wouldn't let him.

He watched as Aiden squatted in front of him, a scary look in his eyes as he observed him taking pleasure in his pain.

"You don't understand do you?" Aiden said before adding.

"My mood isn't great so you can't give up until I want you to," saying this he got up and walked away.

Seeing this opportunity David yelled immediately, "I give up."

A robotic voice followed suit, "David is eliminated Aiden progresses to the second round."

The stadium was quiet for a while, but immediately "yaaaaaaa," the stadium erupted with cheers as everyone stared at Aiden's departing figure with visible excitement.

At the same time, Landon scolded the departing Aiden his voice echoing throughout his mind, "Why did you take that hit? Others might not have noticed but I know you hurt yourself, thankfully you heal quickly."

Unbeknown to Aiden his actions had triggered another storm in the live stream.

[Shit, what gangster shit was that.]

[Main character spotted.]

[Did you see how fast both of them were moving.]

[Aiden is a gangster.]

[Aiden is the yakuza.]

[Aiden POV: you don't give up until I tell you to.]

[David POV: I give up Zaddy, lol.]

Jim boiled with excitement, "finally an interesting participant," he yelled out while turning to Gold.

'Do you have an opinion, Mr. Gold?" He asked With a voice full of amazement

Gold on the other hand seemed calm but his reply made everyone curious, as he said.

"Aiden is weird.