Silent City

35. The Pure Vessel

    "Only five more battles until the battle to decide the fate of the world!"

Grimm said this with such enthusiasm that he could have been officiating the Olympic games. Hornet figured his strange attitude had something to do with the amount of time they had been waiting for this, coupled with the eager wish to get this over with. It was still disturbing though, how excited he sounded for the end of the world.

"About time." The Pale King murmurs. "If they didn't add, like, ten unnecessary gods we would already be..." He trails off, knowing how that sentence would finish. He folds his arms and leans back on the bench.

"It would be much more climactic if we had an audience to watch the battles with." Grimm says, a disappointed tone to his voice. "Unfortunately, the Radiance was unable to contain herself in these final moments."

Nobody but Grimm dared to laugh. The Radiance hadn't even returned to the group, but they all knew she could hear them. She still stood far away, but she was no longer collecting herself. Instead, she stood alone because she wished to truly appreciate her newfound power. It had been growing inside her after every foe cut down by the vessel. She relished in the sensation it sent through her veins, despite knowing how dangerous it was, not just to others, but to herself. Her hands shook with raw power, power created to match that of the void, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe it would be enough to face a unified void. The vessel alone, maybe, but if they managed to reach deep enough within themself to pull from their soul the darkness within, she would be done.

The Radiance snapped from her stupor at the sharp, routine sound that marked the start of yet another battle. A flash of blinding light, and there they were, still not looking the slightest bit tired from the vicious onslaught of battles they were presented with before now.

The Radiance glanced over at the others, standing far away from her. The Pale King looked like he was complaining again, and she could tell he was voicing his distaste at the Soul Tyrant on stage. She could almost hear him saying, "Now someone tell me why they would bother making the vessel fight the Soul Master's physical form if they were going to make them fight his dream form anyway?"

Radi turned back to the stage and tried to focus on the vessel's attacks, but her mind was drifting. She was thinking about the Hollow Knight again, and how they had so easily forgiven the Pale King. She didn't like thinking about it, but she couldn't help it. She pondered whether or not she had ever forgiven anyone. Had she? Was she even capable of forgiveness? Either way, it didn't matter. If she ever decided to forgive someone, it sure as hell wouldn't be the Pale King.

She blinked and her heart skipped a beat when Ghost was hit. She had been counting the times they had been struck. What number was that? Six? Oh, they were actually struggling. If they wanted to make it to the top, they'd have to let the Radiance watch them unleash their signature fighting style. They could no longer continue to modify their attacks so that Radi couldn't pick up on any patterns. Now was the best time to start keeping an eye on them.

A peculiar sense of confidence washed over her. She didn't let it get to her head, but she also didn't think it would hurt to return to the other four people in the arena. She started to make her way back, feeling her heart beat just a little bit faster with every slash of the vessel's sword.

"...But there's still plenty of stuff I'd have done if I got the chance." The Radiance caught the tail end of a statement from Grimm. He was talking to Hornet; they were both leaning against the railing, looking resigned.

"Like what?" Hornet asks.

"I don't know. I guess I would have liked to travel somewhere." He sighs. "I've been all around North America, and I've been to Europe a few times, but I would have liked to visit Japan. I've seen pictures of Tokyo at night, and it looks like something straight out of a science fiction novel."