It Begins

A new world

I chased after the girl through the metropolitan city, but I quickly stumbled as an unendurable weakness flooded my limbs. “Damn it,” I cursed, holding my stomach and leaning against a nearby wall for support. “What’s going on? Where the hell am I!?”

When my roommates didn’t respond, I rolled my eyes and looked around the environment, taking in the loud, bustling crowds scurrying to-and-fro, the horrid, gut-wrenching stench of gas and blood lingering in the air, and the hundreds of skyscrapers looming above me from every direction.

“Seriously? You guys couldn’t teleport me out of harm’s way, but you can land me here?” I sneered, grunting as another phantom pain shot across my body. I pat around the areas where I had been injured and discovered they were fully healed, if still sore. “Well, at least I’m alive.”

“If we bring you back to life; someone else must die,” I remembered being told.

Chewing my tongue I punch the wall in frustration. “Damn it. Just… Damn it!” I swore. then I shake my head, telling myself, “Don’t focus on that, Redsopine. Don’t focus on that. Not yet…”

I then spotted something out of the corner of his eye, and turned to it, beholding an advertisement poster for a towering, dark coliseum.

“Short on bits?” i read. “Need to pay the bills? Then come fight in the Coliseum. Fortune favors the strong and bold; while only death awaits the weak and timid.” Beneath the words was a strange symbol that i hadn’t seen before but suspected was an insignia of some kind.

“Heh, sounds like fun,” i instinctively commented. A short surge of pain ran down my spine, and i added, “O-Okay! Maybe next time. Oh, geez… I need to lie down,” I murmur , slumping to the ground with a tormented grunt.

Not one second later, something smacked me in the face while someone screamed, “Git out of here!”

I immediately dodged another swing and lowered into a combative stance, shouting, “Who the hell do you think you’re dealing with!?” then looking in shock when i found my attacker to be just a random, disheveled, old guy.

“Who the hell do you think you’re dealing with!?” he shot back, waving his broom threateningly. “This is mah property; Ah don’t need no stinkin’ low-life campin’ out here! AGAIN! Now git!”

“Alright, alright!” i groan, quickly stepping back and getting swept into the crowd. “Wonderful. I sit down for two seconds, and already I’m getting yelled at for squatting. Fantastic.”

Awhile I continued slowly following the traffic of the crowd, i frown and realized, That does bring up the problem of what I’m gonna do now though. I don’t even know where I am, let alone what to do next!

“Hey,” i say, nudging the person next to me and getting a hostile look from a boy wearing dirty, torn clothing. “There a good hotel around here?”

“Not many,” the kid answered, appraising Red warily. “And there all expensive.”

“Uhhh…? How expensive?”

“The cheapest ones would cost the price over a thousand bits per night,” he stated bluntly. “Now, if you will excuse me, I’m late for the sign-up.”

“Sign-up for what? I wondered, quickly following after him. “The arena I saw a poster for?”

“‘Saw a poster for’?” the kid repeated, perplexed. “What? Don’t you know about…?” He blinked. “Wait, where are you from?”

“Not from around here, I can tell you that much,” i admitted, hearing a vexed sigh in the depths of my mind.

The kid looked me over once more before sighing. “I’m gonna regret this,” he mumbled under his breath. “Hey, look? If you’re looking for the arena, just follow me. I’m guessing you’re going to sign up as well, right?”

“Er, yes!” I say, nodding as the boy led him forward. “Yes, I am.”

“Red!” Terra groaned weakly.

Hold on, Gramps; I’m doing a thing! “So, kiddo? Got a name?”

“Cador,” he said, holding out his hand. After i shook it, Cador added, “What about you? What’s your name?”

“I’m Redsopine, but you can just call me Red.”

“Okay… If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you?” he questioned, keeping his tone polite if still a little uncertain. “We’re used to seeing strange creatures in Vedras City, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen your kind before.”

“I’m a Pegasus!” I brag, parting my cloak a tad so as to show his wings off proudly. “I just keep these beautiful bad boys under my cloak. Less likely to bump into people that way,” i explain, winking. “So? What’s the story behind this arena thing? And why are you signing up for it? You look a little young to be a fighter…”

The boy hesitated before elaborating, “I’m not. But… I really need the prize money.”

“Got bills to pay, huh?” i speculated, wincing sympathetically.

“Well, that. And, uh…” Cador glared at him for a moment, debating whether to tell the truth or not. However, since he sensed no malice from me whatsoever, he ultimately divulged, “I need medicine for my little sister. She’s…ill.”

i blink and looked away. “Oh. Yeah, I get that,” he mumbled, trying not to dwell too much on his own familial situation. “But still, kid… An arena? Have you even held a knife before? You know, other than to cut up your food?” I reflexively joked.

“Not… Not really,” he confirmed morosely. “Th-Thankfully, there’s a clause that states that even if a fighter dies, their family receives compensation!” Cador said, smiling shakily. “So it— It doesn’t matter if I win or lose! Sh-She’ll be okay! She’ll be okay…” he repeated more to himself than to Red.

i placed my hand on Cador’s shoulder and smiled gently. “Hey, maybe we could sign up as a duo team?” he suggested. “That way you have someone watching your back so you win your first fight. I might not look it, but I’ve been in a war and walked away from it alive.” Barely. Though he doesn’t need to know that I died first.

“Ummm?” Cador hummed, backing away from Red. “I-I don’t know you, so…?”

i blink. “Er, fair point,” i conceded sheepishly. Yep, I’m definitely not in good, ole Equestria, the land of friendship, anymore. “Still, kid, you sure you want to go fight to death in some dumb arena? By yourself?” I emphasise , causing Cador to wince uncertainly. “Especially if your sister’s life depends on it?”

Rather than back down at that last statement, Cador seemed emboldened by it. “Yeah, my sister’s life does depend on it! And how am I supposed to trust that you won’t just kill me and steal the prize?”

“Cador—”

“For all I know, you’re some crazy con artist who thought I was an easy mark!” he accused, stepping even further away from me. “And I ain’t falling for that again!”

“Okay, okay!” i yelped, holding his hands up in surrender. “Yeah, I’m total stranger; I get it. No worries.” Okay, this kid ain’t gonna want my help, but I don’t want him to die, so what do I do?

“Let him die?”

Ignoring Ignis, i added, “I swear I’m not trying to con you or anything; I’m just really lost, and you were the first dude I met that didn’t whack with me a broom. Figured I’d help you out since you really don’t look like you’d do well in an arena.”

“Uh-huh,” Cador groaned, clearly not believing him. “Sure. Anyway, if you want to go to the arena yourself, it’s right up ahead. Don’t annoy the guards or leave the city after dark,” he advised, turning away.

“U-Uh, wait up!” i called out, quickening his pace to keep up with the fleeing Cador. “What’s wrong with leaving the city at night?”

Cador glanced back and answered, “Because of the monsters, duh.”

“Ooh, monsters, huh? What kind of monsters?” I inquired, smirking.

After a moment, Cador rolled his eyes and, against his better judgment, began explaining, “Well, first of all, there’s the dune worms. And then there’s—”

As Cador continued speaking, Ignis whined tiredly, “Ordinarily, I would love the chance to vanquish whatever monsters stalk this land, but can we not do that right now?”

“Wasn’t planning on it, Iggy,” i wordlessly responded back, keeping my annoyance from showing on my face.

“And yet you’re considering this damn arena idea!?” Gelu screamed. “You literally just died, and already you’re endeavoring to get yourself killed again!?”

“Well, hey, if it annoys you lot…”

“Red, please,” Terra spoke up, sounding even more gravelly than he normally did. “Resurrecting you took a considerable amount of power; we are not ready for battle.”

“I swear, if you’re going to that stupid arena all to get my sister killed again…!” Ignis growled, sending a wave of heat through Red’s lungs.

Barely not collapsing to the ground from Ignis’ brief assault, i shot back, “I’m not! You guys are in my head; can’t you tell I was only considering it to help this kid out?”

“You don’t even know him!” Gelu snarled, irate. “You only met him a minute ago!”

“And he’s a kid with a sick sister, marching off to some random death arena that even you guys are scared of going to,” Red countered.

“We are not ‘scared’!” Ignis protested, his tone dripping with his classic indignation. “We are weakened. And that boy and his sister are mortals; who cares if they die?”

“Me,” i answer, clenching my fists in sheer fury.

“And that makes you an idiot, like all mortals.”

“You want to talk about idiots? Fine! Let’s talk about how you assholes randomly plopped us here without even bothering to explain why,” Red rebuked. “Forgive me for trying to get some information and having a bit of empathy for children.”

“You want information? Here's some information: We have guards following us,” Gelu pointed out. “Did you notice that, fool?”

“Wait, what? What guards?”i think, casting my gaze around as discreetly as possible until he eventually spotted the group Gelu referred to. “Oh. Those guards,” i groan, knowing that with my luck, they were absolutely targeting me specifically.

“Seriously, Terra,” Ignis mewled to the elder demon. “Why couldn't it have been Luna that we got stuck with? Or Sombra? Or even that hole-riddled bug-face! Even she would have been a better choice!”

“She’d also have listened to you even less than I do,” i say.

“…I hate that you’re right.”

I smirk victoriously at having shut Ignis up, but his smirk merely confused the blissfully unaware Cador. “Uh, why are you smiling?” he asked. “Even the guards are terrified of the Cerberi—those things can rip you into pieces in just one strike!” he exclaimed, paling at the thought.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I know,” i quickly course-corrected. “Sounds like a fun challenge.”

“RED!” Terra, Ignis, and Gelu all bellowed in outrage as Cador gaped in shock.

“Of course, I’m no match for things like that myself, but I can dream, right?” I added, grinning widely in false cockiness.

While my demons all breathed a collective sigh of relief, Cador snorted. “You’re pretty funny for a con artist,” he snarked. Cador then returned his gaze forward and stopped upon seeing that their destination finally lay before them. “Oh, we’re here…” he mumbled, gulping at the massive arena stretching into the smoggy skies above.

I also stared at the structure in amazement, hearing the roar of the crowd echo to him from within the tower’s no-doubt cavernous depths. “Wow. Just, wow! This place is pretty impressive, not gonna lie,” i comment as me and Cador both approached the entrance. “I’m actually a bit exci—”

Without warning, Ignis forcefully seized control of my body and twisted to the left, narrowly avoiding the spiked wooden club that had been moving straight for my neck.

The wielder of the club took another shot at me only for my body bend back so far that a loud crack emitted from my spine. “I’m so feeling that in the morning.” He attempted yet another flurry of attacks, but my body swiftly stumbled away, swaying and contorting however it needed in order to dodge the onslaught.

Eventually, my body was guided a fair distance away from the attacker and stopped, still hunched over backward. I then snapped back into a standing position, complete with yet another pop from my vertebrae, “yup definitely feeling that” and ignis glared down the attackers through slit, scarlet eyes.

His main attacker stood still, clenching the club and awaiting a counterattack; half a dozen other men flanked him, carrying all manner of varying weapons yet bearing the exact same style of armor.

Cador and the rest of the surrounding crowd had frozen, gawking at the event that was unfolding before them, but quite a number of others had the common sense to shuffle off before the fight truly began.

Ignis’ eyes swept over each of their stalkers-turned-attackers before cracking a tiny grin. “Ahh, how I love it when fools such as yourselves have a death wish. Makes it far more fun for me when I grant it,” he growled through my now-fanged mouth.

“HA!” barked one of the flanking guards. “Bold words from trash such as you! It is you who must surely have the death wish, escaping and attacking our guards!”

“Wh-What are you talking about?” Cador squealed out, practically petrifying when the guards’ eyes turned to him. “Y-Y-You were the ones who a-attacked him.”

“Oh? Garnered yourself an accomplish, have you?” another guard supposed, gripping his sword tightly. “In that case, it appears we have a double bounty.”

“W-Wait, what!?” Cador shrieked. “I don’t even know him!”

“Mhmm, sure. Whether or not you’re an escaped slave yourself or a conspirator in this freak’s escape… It matters not,” the club wielder declared bluntly. “Surrender or perish.”

“‘Slave’? But that means…” Cador slowly backed away from Red, trembling in fear as he realized, “R-Red, you’re…? That— That’s why the guard are after you; you’re a slave!?”

My face contorted into a furious scowl as Ignis replied, “I am no one’s slave… And Red’s not here right now, so leave a message, mortal,” he concluded, not sparing so much as a glance at Cador. In the blink of an eye, my body darted forward and twisted unnaturally around ignis enemy’s defensive strike before delivering one of his own.

The group’s apparent leader fell, howling in torment and cradling the smoldering lump where his left leg had been not one second prior. He then abruptly silenced once his neck also became nothing more than a blackened expanse of burnt flesh.

Screams rang out immediately, and the already thinning crowd dispersed completely, leaving the utterly dumbfounded guards to stare in shock at their fallen comrade and the creature that had done the deed.

“Sooo?” Ignis began, licking the blood from his glowing, sizzling claw. “Who’s next?”

The guard that had first mocked Ignis made a break for it, but before he could get far, he was easily blown away by way of a fireball.

“Next, please!” Ignis sang in sadistic delight.

One of the other guards rose to Ignis’ challenge, raising his spear and thrusting it forward, but Ignis simply spun out of its way and swept out his newly created wing, slamming the fool through a nearby shop’s window.

“Ack!” Ignis yelped, faltering as his wing crumbled away into smoke.

Noticing this, the other guards swiftly pounced.

As Ignis went about fighting them off despite his weakened state, Red’s voice emerged in their shared mental din. “Ignis, what are you doing!?” he asked, outraged.

“Having fun,” he nonchalantly answered, clawing out one of the guard’s eyes and kicking them to the ground. Ignis then flinched back as a sword managed to break through and cut open his cheek. “See? Fun.”

“Brother, don’t you dare let us die! Not like him!” Gelu screamed, aiming her animosity squarely at Red’s consciousness.

“I don’t plan on it, Sister,” he replied lazily, backclawing away another guard before jabbing his claw through their rib cage and pulling two of them out. “I’m no careless, mortal whelp. Much less one who picks a fight with everyone he comes across.”

“It’s not my fault you guys dumped us in a world where non-humans are a slave class!” Red countered. “Now, give me back my body!” he demanded, forcing his will back into his flesh.

“When I get done,” Ignis whined, fighting off Red as he slit the throat of yet another soldier. “I’m still playing with the fools.”

“And for the record, it’s not like we knew where you’d end up either,” Gelu remarked, helping her brother stay in control. “We were a little busy resurrecting your ass since you were stupid enough to get us killed.”

“Ignis! Gelu! Cease this at once!” Terra commanded, overwriting all of their wills and seizing control of Red’s body himself. “We cannot afford to be fighting in our current—”

“Screw you, geezer!” Ignis roared, reasserting dominion of the body. Clouds of ash began spilling out from his fallen victims and billowed toward him, seemingly merging into his flesh. “I haven’t had a proper meal in ages, and I. Am. Famished,” he growled, smiling hungrily at the remaining stragglers.

Before any of the others could either protest or encourage Ignis’ intentions, a startled scream drew their attention back to Cador. “Let go of me!” the kid shouted, struggling fruitlessly to escape the final guard’s grip. “You stupid jerk, let go of—” Cador abruptly hushed and stilled once he felt the guard’s sword rest against his neck.

“S-St— St-Stand down!” the guard stammered, shivering violently. When Ignis didn’t move, he gulped and commanded with greater courage, “Stand down now, beast! Or the kid dies,” he threatened, pressing his blade even further into Cador’s neck

Ignis straightened up, eyeing the guard with a neutral expression before cocking his head ever so slightly to the side. “Do you honestly think I care?” he questioned, genuinely confused.

“Ignis…!” Red warned.

Cador whimpered weakly, but his terror was nothing compared to the guard’s. “This— This child s-said he was innocent. That he— That he didn’t know you. Surely, you do not wish for me to kill him!? S-Surely, you— You don’t want to bear the guilt for this innocent child’s death…?” he ended, fearing the answer.

“IGNIS!” Red shrieked, mentally clawing his was back into control.

Ignis blinked and took a step forward. “Again, I ask: Do you honestly think I care?”

The guard’s pants darkened.

“Brother, stand down,” Gelu ordered, not bothering to stop Red’s attempt to regain control this time. “There’s no need for the child to die.”

“It’s a mortal, Sister; it was going to die anyway.”

“And if you let it die, Red will be even more reckless with our powers out of spite,”she pointed out.

“You’re damn right, I will!”

“And, Ignis,” Gelu continued, ignoring Red. “…I don’t wish to die again.”

Ignis took a deep breath and let out a small cloud of smoke. “Tch, fine. Is this what you want, Redsopine?” he asked, snapping his claws.

“Who the hell are you talk—” The guard’s voice suddenly cut off as rivers of magma began leaking out of his neck and mouth. A moment later, the guard fell the ground, lifeless and headless.

Cador fell to his knees, frantically feeling around his neck only to nearly vomit upon discovering the guard had indeed drawn blood.

While Cador processed his injury, Ignis ultimately relinquished Red’s body back to its proper owner who promptly collapsed to the ground as well, coughing out thick streams of blood, bile, and sulfur. “Never do that again, Iggy,” he sneered, wincing at the fiery pain coursing through his lungs. “That hurt like fucking hell!”

“Good,” Ignis said with utmost glee. “And don’t call me, ‘Iggy.’”

Red just rolled his eyes and panted for a little while longer. Once he had finally regained his breath, he stood up and called out, “Hey, Cador? You okay, kid?”

Cador looked up and shirked away from him. “What— What are you!?”

Red never got a chance to answer since at that precise moment, an earth-shaking boom thundered throughout the air, following swiftly by a tremor.

“What the hell was that!?” Red cried out, rubbing his ears and turning to see what appeared to be a crack floating in midair and crackling with unknown magical energy. “Aughhh, what now!?” he whined wearily.

“What’s happening; what is that thing!?” screamed one random pedestrian elsewhere in the street.

“Would everyone please remain calm!” hollered another.

“Help! Guards! It’s a monster!” squealed yet another.

After that last one, Red tuned the rest out and glared at the anomaly, inquiring, “Uh, guys? What are you doing?”

“This isn’t us, Red,” Terra said, equally bewildered as Red. “We’ve nothing to do with that.”

“Well, if it’s not you then…?” Red froze and swore, “Aw, shit! Is it the Anziek?”

“Oh no. No-no-no,” Gelu muttered to herself. “No, not again…”

“Gelu?” Ignis murmured, concerned.

“The magic feels familiar,” Terra commented, sensing the power pouring off of the crack. “But something about it is odd. It’s almost as if—”

What was it that Terra found odd was left unsaid as the crack then exploded outward into several translucent fragments of solidified magic. Red then grit his teeth and braced himself against the overwhelming force that flowed forth from the fracture, gazing deep into the abyss that lied beyond it.

“What the hell is going on now!?” Ignis roared. “What is— What… Is…?” Ignis fell silent—as did the rest of the world—at what happened next.

From beyond the strange, dark void staggered a man. His white, button-down dress shirt and freshly pressed black pants stood in stark contrast to the dirty, fraying lab coat that clung to his shoulders like a makeshift cloak. A pair of heavy, custom-made combat boots thudded against the ground, sending tremors through it with every dusty, uneven step the man took as he hobbled forward.

Behind the man, the crack snapped shut, but once it had, the man looked up. Lines of age decorated his expressionless face, yet his eyes shone with a blazing youth that communicated both absolute vigor and something…else. Those eyes then locked onto Red.

The sound of his demons’ heartbeats pounded in Red’s ear alongside his own as he waited with baited breath for the man to make his next move. And, not one minute later, he did.

“Cheater.”

Perplexed, Red looked around. All of the pedestrians had long since fled, so aside from himself, only the guards’ corpses and Cador, frozen in shock, remained.

“Cheater!”

Red snapped his gaze back to the man, freezing in shock himself when he found him a scant inch away form his face. Swiftly leaping back, Red shouted, “Who the fuck are you!?”

The man didn’t answer, and instead, his mouth slowly split into a maddened grin. “And here I thought we were having a fair fight, but now I see that you’re nothing more than a dirty cheater. Even back then, you cheated!” He suddenly heaved backward and let out a deafening, maniacal laugh. “Cheater, cheater; cheater! Ah-hah-haha-hahahahaaa!”

“Guys, who the hell is this freak?” Red wordlessly asked them.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough, cheater!” the man answered on their behalf, returning his wicked gaze back to Red. “Or you would. But, of course, if you’re cheating life and death…? Then it’s only fair I do as well!” he shrieked, his eye twitching wildly as clouds of unknown magic began crawling along his body.

“Red, run!” Terra commanded. “His power is—”

“Too much for you to handle, eh, Gramps?” the man cut Terra off verbally. “Maybe you should fix that; have you tried interpersonal therapy? I think that’d do wonders for your teamwork,” he suggested with a shrug. “Shame you won’t get the chance to do that since you’re about to—”

Another loud boom echoed through the world, startling the man silent and drawing both of their attentions to a new, smaller crack that had suddenly formed. The second afterward, a massive, scarlet fireball emerged through it, darting straight for the man who briefly melted into a puddle of gunk to dodge it before reforming back into his original form.

“Whoopsie-daisy! I somehow had completely forgotten that you could do that,” the man admitted casually. “Whelp! I guess there’s only thing to do.”

An invisible force dragged Red straight toward the man who wasted no time clamping his calloused hands around his throat.

“Kill you now,” he completed, beaming euphorically.

Red spontaneously combusted, burning the entire front torso of the man and leaving it as nothing more than a charred husk. Terrifyingly, Red still couldn’t escape the man’s grasp, and the flames eventually died down. “Still too… Weak…”Ignis wheezed.

“Yes, you are, Iggy,” the burnt corpse concurred. In mere seconds, the charred, melted flesh peeled away to reveal brand new flesh, entirely devoid of injury. “You are weak.”

“Red!” Cador screamed, charging at the man with his dagger. Unfortunately, his rescue attempt was futile as the man simply took his other arm, reached out, and grabbed Cador’s neck as well.

“N-No! Let go of him!” Red demanded, clenching the arm holding him and sending waves of cold through it in an attempt to freeze it solid. Sadly, it didn’t work.

“You’re all so weak,” the man observed with an unnervingly cold detachment. “Ugh, the Lord will be the only challenge left for me at this point.”

As if in response, another wave of fire blasted out through the second crack, sweeping over all three of them yet leaving Red and Cador entirely untouched. Their assailant, however, struggled to weather the new assault and ultimately, thankfully fell to it, tumbling away into the turbulent inferno.

Red took the chance to gasp for air and rub his—thanks to Terra—freshly healed neck. “You okay?” he asked Cador in a panicked voice.

Cador gave no response as he was too busy coughing his guts out.

Yeah, that figures. Okay, what the fuck is going on!? Red wondered, watching the fiery torrent continue to wash over the battleground.

“Ignis, is that… Your fire?” Gelu asked uncertainly.

“No. No, I-I’m not doing this.”

“Then who—”

An ear-splitting screech echoed through the world, fighting back against the flaming typhoon until the lunatic was visible once more. “Well, fine then! Round Two, it is!” he shouted into the fire. “But first…?”

With an insane cackle, he swept his hand in Red and Cador’s direction, and the entire ground split open to reveal a pitch black void of nothingness.

“HAVE FUN, BOYS!” he yelled, whipping his hand toward them again.

What seemed like a line of solid air wrapped around both Red and Cador and pulled their screaming forms into the air before flinging them back into the massive fissure in reality.

The last thing Red heard as he and Cador tumbled through the portal’s jaws of darkness was the maddened laughter of the crazed, crooked man and the terrified screams of both Cador and his demons.

The last thing he saw, however, was their savior bursting through the flames and sending the man flying away with a blast of diamonds and stone. And once it was over, for the briefest of seconds, Red found himself looking at a nearly identical duplicate of none other than himself.

“What the hell?” Red whispered, seeing his doppelganger mutter something but not quite making it out. Unfortunately, he had no time to ponder the sheer insanity of his present since once he slipped past the edge of the crack, his whole body slammed into some form of barrier.

One last round of thunder and shattering later, and Red fell fully into the darkness, flying past images and concepts his mind couldn’t dare comprehend until he finally stopped moving by way of falling, not so gently, flat on his back.

Can this day get any weirder or worse? Red questioned, coughing out another spurt of blood and blearily looking up to see the silhouette of a woman towering above him. His body then swiftly succumbed to the pain, and he passed out with an exhausted groan.