Fool's Gold | God Tamer x Tiso

Chapter 14 - In Which Tiso Confronts His Destiny

This single chapter was the most fun I have ever had writing anything ever. It really is all about the angst, isn't it?

It's time.

-

Tiso runs. He runs and runs and runs and doesn't stop running until he can't run anymore. When his adrenaline finally gives out he's panting in King's Station. He grabs his chest, he can hardly breathe and his heart is threatening to beat out of his shell. Every inhale feels like inhaling acid, and the tears he had fought back so strongly are pouring now. He collapses to the ground, silently wailing, and he stays like that for what must be a lifetime.

'Damn him!' his mind keeps screaming, 'Damn him! Damn him! Damn him!'

He feels like his gut has been stabbed through all over again, like Tamer's weapon is twisting and tugging at the old wound. He's killed countless bugs in the colosseum, and he'd never hesitated once. Why now? Why couldn't he do it now?

Another opponent, that's what that stranger was. He was just another opponent, blocking his path to Tamer. There was no reason to be so... so... invested in him, no reason for his chest to ache so much... no reason, no reason at all.

He turns around and of course, no one's there. It was just him and the mindless husks still cursed to wander this place.

Part of him wishes Quirrel had followed him.

Part of him thinks that he really would kill Quirrel if he had.

He forced himself to stand, to get up. Roughly, he wiped the tears from his eyes and blinked away the stinging. He forced his breathing to steady and for the hiccups to stop, and when he was composed, he made his way up. Up towards his destiny, up towards his purpose, up towards the colosseum.

Forget about Quirrel, he had no place in a legend as grand as his.

The colosseum looked no different than it had the day he last saw it. He expected to be relieved by this, as if he were returning home, but no such feeling came. All of his emotions had been thoroughly spent up, he walked through the door without an expression on his face.

"Welcome fool," the Little Fool greeted him, hanging from the same chains Tiso remembered. The small bug was about to explain the workings of the colosseum to him before he gasped in recognition. "T-Tiso!?" he screeched, his surprise making him swing uncontrollably. "But you- you're-"

"Dead?" Tiso narrowed his eyes at him. He had to say, he was quite happy that his name was remembered. He pushed past the bug, knocking him around even more. Despite everything, he just had to smile at that reaction. "Is Tamer in the arena?"

"Y-yes she... she should just be about to finish her challenger off!" the bug called to him. Tiso was already out of sight.

He walked into the stands of the arena, few audience members turned to look at him, gasping and whispering as if seeing a ghost. They remember me, he thought, and the thought made him smile wider. He looked down to see the match that was currently taking place, Tamer's beast making the whole colosseum shake, herding the poor challenger as if it were livestock. The challenger had no chance of winning, how they even made it to the final trail was beyond Tiso. Their attacks were sloppy, their form sad, and the audience was hysterical at their incompetence. Tamer was toying with them, no doubt to make the show more interesting, and the crowd ate it up.

When Tiso's eyes finally did land on Tamer, she looked... off. There was something about how she held her weapon, something about how she ran through the arena, something about how she commanded her beast... something was off, but Tiso couldn't tell what. Was she stronger? Perhaps he had not been the only one honing his skills after all.