Siren's Elegy Volume 1: Orphans of Ashen Earth

Chapter 40: Student of Light, Master of Darkness

September 19, 4021 09:50 [Matriarch 04- Sun Rock]

"What's this?! The match is not over yet folks! It seems it was all a facade on Prasanna's part. She's completely disappeared! Where did she go? And when will she strike next?!"

Chōuyān swiveled around, frantically spreading smoke throughout the entire arena, searching for the slightest displacement of gas. A flicker of movement caught his eye. From the corner of his vision, an object zipped across the field with inhuman speed. It had to be Prasanna.

He directed a pillar of smoke towards the area of displacement, but there was nothing there. Chōuyān realized too late that it was just a diversion. Prasanna emerged from a veil of distorted light, punching him in the side of the head. Teeth flew as Chōuyān fell to the ground, his eyes locking onto a torn boot from Prasanna's DIVE Suit lying beside him. He was in disbelief.

"I taught her that," Grisha stated smugly to a sour-faced Jin. She turned back to her microphone. "What a fake-out! Have you seen anything like this folks? This lady knows how to put on a show!!"

The audience lost its mind, chanting Prasanna's name.

"Oh shit. I didn't pull my punch. That could have been a lot worse if your neurotoxin hadn't slowed me down."

"Goof fo know," Chōuyān mumbled through sliced gums and broken teeth.

"Still want to continue?"

"I'm fine. I've fown wha I can fo." His split bottom lip oozed, flapping from side to side when he shook his head.

Chōuyān raised his hand to forfeit.

"That's the end of match two! Chōuyān has signaled that he would like to forfeit, meaning that Prasanna is our winner! She will be moving on to the second round of the succession tournament!!"

Prasanna basked in the glory as the crowd showered her with adoration. Indra eagerly followed the Crows back to the main elevator with Móhú and Emil, tapping his feet impatiently as it took them down to the ground floor again. There, he and Móhú entered the men's changing room, opening up their designated lockers which held their DIVE Suits ready to go. Indra slipped into his suit and made his way to the entrance of the field to wait for Prasanna.

She spotted them, proceeding to run up to Indra and wrap him in a tight embrace. He felt warm and light-headed as she pressed her lips against his. They were soft and supple, and he could smell the faint scent of shampoo from her hair. Flowery images danced across his mind as his ears took on a scarlet hue. When she pulled away, she whispered a simple "Good luck," and left for the announcer's booth. Indra glanced at Móhú and Emil, both looking slightly embarrassed and out of place.

"I'm happy for you, but just keep in mind we're still in a competition. She could just be playing some sort of trick on you to let your guard down."

Emil's words held some truth, dashing the butterflies in Indra's stomach. It was something she was capable of, given the performance he had just witnessed. She was cunning and intelligent. Prasanna wasn't an adversary to be taken lightly.

It bothered him to think about, however. How deep did her deception extend? Was it all just a lie for this very moment? Indra shook his head. Maybe that was her plan, to get him to overthink. Or maybe it really was an innocuous action spurred by the heat of the moment. Regardless, he couldn't know for certain.

He was done being lied to, and manipulated by sadists pulling his strings like a puppet. He clenched his jaw, a sinister aura enveloping him. He would win no matter what, defeating everyone in his path. He would crush his enemies mercilessly in order to obtain the power he sought. No price was too high.