CREED, The Fiery Storm

La Hermosa Aquira

"What if KNOWING was the only thing that could save you...would you then survive or perish?!"-Synopsis part 45 concluding chapter six.

 There are few sights as ironic as a man holding two swords who doesn't want to fight! And that was Jim as he moved on to the next stage. Yet he had to move on and fight. Unlike the previous time, he wasn't excited about meeting his next opponent.

"The city everyone knows but no one has been to..."a feminine voice spoke as soon as he set foot into the next hall, "CREED!"

"That's my name." Jim responded

"What is yours?!" He asked. She stepped out of the shadows and he saw her. A girl with a faint chocolate complexion, light brown eyes and curly brown hair-she was very beautiful! Jim knew he didn't want to fight her though she held a long staff.

"I am Aquira." The girl responded with a smile on her face. If he had to fight this girl, he would definitely lose!-he was completely smitten!!

"Aren't you a bit over armed for the occasion?!" She asked him referring to the two swords he had in his hands. Even though he had no plan of fighting, Jim had noticed that the opponents got tougher at each stage and this beauty was currently at the apex of the opponents list.

"What about you and that thing you're holding in your hand?" He asked her referring to the staff. Aquira hesitated to answer the question; it was suspicious!

"This is just my walking stick." She finally responded, "I might need it to move around."

As soon as she finished her response, Jim felt something cut his lower left arm. When he checked, he was bleeding! What was happening?!!

"Huh! I had forgotten to tell you..."She spoke on noticing the confusion on his face, "We will not be fighting in this round!"

"Correct answers will save your life. You don't want to give too many wrong ones!" She added, "And be wise with the questions...the responses might cost you."

Jim heard every word she said but he didn't understand a thing.

"What?!"He asked.

"You're really stupid!! You want to die?!" Aquira shouted at him. Blood flowed out of her nose and she coughed some out of her mouth as if something huge had hit her hard in the back. It was actually quite simple really. What was required was asking a question. If the question was answered correctly, an injury was dealt to the inquirer. If the question was answered wrongly, an injury was dealt to the answerer. The easier the question, the more severe the injury given for failing it. Someone always gets hurt after a question is asked, you can only hope that it's not you . In this case, Aquira had already given the answer so, she deliberately didn't answer Jim's question correctly just to save his life! It was pretty strange to Jim-everything. No fighting had taken place but this was already the bloodiest encounter he had had in the arena!

"What's happening to you?!" Jim asked with concern. Aquira supported herself on her feet using her staff-it had come in handy sooner rather than later. He had failed to understand the situation and she was done being merciful to him.

"I'm bleeding through my nose and mouth..." she responded and Jim received a massive cut on his back-and it was under the armour. Blood flowed down through the armour cracks. It hurt so much he fell flat to the ground on his belly.

"Don't ask stupid questions!" She cautioned him-again! He finally understood it now-it was a war of knowledge! Jim didn't want to hurt the girl and more importantly, he didn't know much. Knowing things wasn't one of his few talents.

"What's the name of my sword?" Jim asked.

"Windra" she answered correctly and he was cut across the chest. How did she know that?!-He wondered, That was supposed to be a difficult one!

"I don't think you have any chance of winning this round..." Aquira stated casually, "And as they say; win or die."

"Well...I have beaten some pretty big odds to get here!" Jim responded, rolling to his back face up to the roof, "I think I will be just fine."

"What is CREED?!" She asked him. He was happy to hear the question and he thought he knew the correct answer. Everyone knew that Creed was his name!  

"That's my name. My father's name. what else can it be?!" Jim responded confidently. By adding a question into his answer, he had basically doubled the odds and the stake was his own life. He felt the sensation of a sharp cold blade piercing through his heart and before he knew it, he was lying in a puddle of his own blood. Of course he thought the game was rigged! After all, he had given a correct answer!

"CREED is the city everyone knows but no one has been to..." Aquira revealed, "That's the only correct answer."

The odds hadn't been in his favour this time! And he had been reckless too. But if infinity is the smallest number of possibilities, there isn't much you can do. In fact, there isn't anything you can do... 

Hello people!! This is the very last part of chapter six and the end of the training. In the next chapter we will be starting the journey to Duskangeon;) There are four chapters to the end of the first story arc! The character; Aquira, is very loosely based on my friend Shipping_Kellic and the name was suggested by her;) Have a wonderful day..

-Constino