Brilliant Man/Vir Clarissimus (Latin)

Chapter 16 With Victory Comes Assault

Recovering from his lost car door, Ozwald fought down every mental inhibitor that Zed had planted in him. The hope of winning alongside his ego had both died after this event, so in order for him to continue willingly was with discipline, gathering and piecing together again its crystalline fragments throughout this quest – from the darkness into the light. This mindset shift opened his eyes to the ego, beauty, and hope he'd presumed dead only minutes ago; he breezily passed mighty structures and skidded past skeletons, shielded from their exploding onslaught by his vehicle's alloy as he drove further into this soupy, foreign country.

Ozwald's next obstacle was clear as the Sun and maybe just as hot. Centered in his front view was a pot of boiling, toxic bile; emerald, saliva-like foam built up against its expansive circumference of nearly two acres. The tall landmark was like a cauldron molded from rock, and it didn't help that one of his doors had torn off, bringing the pungent, generated fume into his vehicle.

As Ozwald drew closer to the raging structure, pond-sized chemicals drooled off its sides like post-nasal drip. Because of this, he awkwardly switched between high and moderate-intensity bursts of speed when weaving through these steamy deposits. A rock ramp acted as a stairway to the brim of this cauldron and Ozwald intended to rocket himself over the structure by using it as a launch pad. Speeding up the ramp, his vehicle roared after performing a radical leap-of-faith off the ledge, fully crossing the steaming pot and successfully reaching the ground again.

Only a while later, Ozwald was already pacing Zed, their combined front lights engaged in flickering conflict while they whizzed through the tunnel.

Here, he noticed the red button up on the car's ceiling. Inscribed onto it read, in gold letters:

Click Me

After spending nearly two minutes analyzing various, badly-ending scenarios in his mind, Ozwald slowly reached to press the button, his justification 'with my slew of troubles, what's the worst that could happen, really?'"

Its quietness made him believe, for a short second, it was alive and acting very tired; the lack of function made him angry.

"Come on...." he growled, his patience almost bursting.

The button reacted without a peep.

Ozwald groaned. He drew back his fist, then worked it well into the button, waiting another few seconds before it finally did its job.

~

The transformation began as a steady rumbling and reordering of the vehicle's smallest parts. While driving deeper into the tunnel, Ozwald and Zed both disappeared until their headlights became alive again, dispersing light over the view of the road. Then, his car's steady rumbling jumped an octave, becoming a loud, maddening bark, growing louder and louder as the pointer for his fuel consumption ticked higher and higher. Ozwald's stomach dipped.

"Crap! This is just like Hyperspeed...." he laughed, thinking, 'But on land!'

His speed wasn't confined to just the tunnel! Once both rivals left its darkness, Ozwald rocketed past Zed, creasing the road and, occasionally, leaving fire in his wake.

The struggle to detain his hurried machine reigned for a long time; by this point, he simply held on for dear life, for, with every turn, there was a chance he could be thrown onto the ground.

Seconds later, Ozwald was knocked against the button array. After getting up, he watched a large, dangerous missile fly in Zed's direction. Once it reached him, everything within a half-mile radius of him was completely obliterated and he was shot into the sky.

With this next instance of luck, he overtook Zed in the number one spot.

"Brilliant!" he grinned. "How's that for genius, you dirty crone!"

~

After enduring countless hours of trouble, fatigue, and pain, Ozwald was beginning to understand Zed's game. Since regaining his position as first, he had transitioned into a state of groove, the skeleton palaces and world around him no concern.

However, Ozwald continued checking his shoulder, anxious that Zed - prince of cheating – may perform a sudden reappearance. It was imaginably comforting to see that your worst enemy was nowhere near close to you.

Ozwald performed left and right turns, ducking under tunnels and thrusting himself up from the natural ramps of boulders. His thrill tapped out after crashing to the floor for the millionth time, replaced with fatigue. It was by mustering every grain of energy in him to complete one final axel jump from the next boulder he encountered.

~

The fuel indicator began gradually dipping to zero.

"What?!" he spat exasperatedly. Like television static, the vehicle began stuttering, steaming, quieting, then closed. Finally, he was ejected out of his vehicle by a malfunctioned safety feature.

After wiping himself of dust, Ozwald gave his vehicle the finger then walked off resentfully, saying, "No bother dealing with a louse that won't operate!"

He then began sprinting the treacherous lane ahead. With every step forward, a familiar, acid smell wafted up from above on his left and right sides: Corse!

He grinned, putting forth his right foot again then paused. A familiar, sick feeling met him.

A ghastly blanket of air engulfed him from behind; his skin flushed an eerie porcelain-white.

Then only one word appeared in his mind as a dark silhouette icily made its way to Ozwald's side.

Zed.