so after a stint with a lawyer over the summer i am back. hopefully can write more. enjoy. Six days, Ophelia thought. It’s been six -blam!-ing days of nonstop crucible chaos. Frigid shooting pain made her immediately regret covering her face with her hands. Her muscles shrieked in retaliation to even the slightest twitch. Shivers and partial numbness pierced her skin, neuron signals flashing like billions of invisible ants crawling over her skin. Every breath, every blink was met with the same weakness. “Ila,” Ophelia barely got out. “Yes,” her ghost responded materializing above her. “I am in so much pain,” she started curling up, ignoring her body’s disdain for the action. “I have won clash, rumble, that crap they call rift, whatever the hell zone control is, and control. What else is next?” “Tomorrow the tournament ends dear,” Ila responded floating down to eye level. Her voice was soft and comforting. “You just have to survive the inferno, single elimination round tomorrow.” “Oh yeah…” her voice trailed as she tried to self-soothe and coax herself into a tired state. Her heart kept pounding, increasing in speed and her mind raced. Behind the darkness of her closed eyes a cluster of stars and shooting lights reminiscent of the days prior danced an endless waltz. *** The next morning arrived quicker than Ophelia could have imagined. The crisp grey air jumpstarted her adrenal system. The tower was quiet, the metal fabric of the iron banners hummed in the air. A single crow pecked at the cracks of the tiles slightly away from the vaults. Eververse, the bounty tracker, the gunsmith, and the postmaster were absent, their stations empty. Rahool mumbled, still asleep, in his tent stand. Bum, she laughed to herself. She walked the steps to the back of the tower. The reflection pool was filled with cherry blossoms and a sweet smell of lilies floated in the air. The burning shrine for the Iron Banner stood ablaze to her right. A dominating centerpiece, if power had form, the shrine was it. “Early riser,” an overly masculine voice sounded behind her. Ophelia turned to Lord Shaxx’s dominating stature. “Lord Saladin has been recalled to the wall, an emergency.” “It would seem that way,” she responded arching her neck to meet his eyes. “What is this inferno, single elimination round that was planned?” “My idea actually,” he grinned, “Top eight contestants in the Iron Banner placed in an arena. One life, anything goes, the last one standing will be the new champion.” “Who are the competitors?” Ophelia asked shifting her weight to one leg and crossing her arms. “Haakon, Colovance, Deidri, Tormod, Ashraven, Weyloran, and you.” “That’s only seven,” Ophelia narrowed her eyes. “The last one has yet to be determined,” his grin turned sly and he chuckled with the eyes of a fox. Unlike the morning, the next hours ticked away slowly. Anticipation built up, Ophelia kept pacing around the tower. No direction and no purpose, her mind racing from place to place. The trance of thought and lack of focus blinded her to the world until Doug placed a glass of water in front of her. Ophelia shook off the disorientation, not surprised as to how she wound up in the bar. She gripped the glass, the cool perspiration wetting her hand. “Good luck today,” Doug said in his usual empathetic tone. “Saw the tournament list a little while ago.” “Thanks,” Ophelia responded apathetically. “How ‘bout I play ya a tune,” Doug threw his cleaning towel over his shoulder. “For luck.” “Okay.” Doug approached the jukebox and leaned over the panel. It took only a moment before he entered the code for the song. A jazzy tune with a soft upbeat melody began to play. Ophelia smiled and downed the water. “Did that Alexander guy ever come back?” Doug asked returning to his bartending duties. “No,” Ophelia answered looking down at the melting ice in her glass. “But over the last six days I have figured out what I want.” “Good. Now finish up that water, it’s almost time for you to get going.” *** Pantheon, a secluded arena protected and carved out of the Black Garden. Vex technology and foliage made up the shrine. It was to be the final battle ground. The orbs that colored each side had been removed and the deep blue green hue of the arena was all the light. There were no rules, there were no teams, and the winner would be crowned champion. A virtual countdown began as each of the guardians were warped to their respective starting locations. “There are eight guardians here,” Ila said. “The eight name on the list is blacked out though, so I don’t know who it would be.” “That’s fine,” Ophelia responded taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. A loud gong sounded as the countdown reached zero. Ophelia’s heart pounded faster, her eyes dilated, and she sprinted to the long hall. Sliding to the corner of a wall she ducked and peered around. A creeping fright reached out of the shadows. Each long, deep breath, and slow exhale were all that were audible. She held her breath and even the hum of the Vex machines disappeared. Each beat of her heart sent a slight sound of warm blood pulsing through her veins. “Colovance ELIMINATED!” An electronic voice echoed excitedly through the arena. Glancing down at the HUD timer for the match, 14 seconds. Her heart skipped a beat. “New Crucible record established,” the voice rang out again. “New record time of 14.02 seconds, record holder Shaxx, weapon none.” Ophelia pulled back and leaned against the wall. She quivered slightly, her hand outstretched. “Ila…” she whispered, “What do I do?” “Win,” Ila said materializing. “Just win.” “Weyloran ELIMINATED!” the electronic voice was becoming even more ecstatic. An explosion broke the silent trance around Ophelia as a body rocketed toward the wall in front of her. It cratered the wall in a smoldering mass. A rocket flew past barely missing her and impacting the guardian in the wall. A deeper crater exploded into a trillion particles of dust and rock. “Deidri ELIMINATED!” Ophelia ran towards the stairs and hid by the waterfall. Her heart was pounding as loud steps followed her. A rocket bellowed by, once again barely missing. The rocket blew a wider entryway to the hallway in front of her. Turning around she heard a snap of the sound barrier, a loud echo sending a body flailing into the ground. “Tormod ELMININATED!” “Stand and fight girl!” a deep familiar voice sounded. “Face my hatchet!” her shield peppered and Ophelia instinctually rolled away. Jumping through the waterfall and then rolling backwards under it she waited for Haakon to leap from his perch. “Ashraven ELIMINATED!” Nothing happened. Seconds felt like hours as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. The ground beneath her shook violently. Like miniature earthquakes, she felt the violent shaking get closer and closer until it was above her. She saw Haakon fly to the center of the arena, a large Vex cube. There was a loud snap of electricity as static sent shocks through the water. Residual leaking off of Haakon’s body. His body disappeared into a flash of white light. “Iron Lord,” Ophelia heard above her. “Psh, you weren’t worthy of the name.” “Haakon ELIMINATED!”