The nightblooms closed and the mobs retreated back to their caves as dawn appeared over the horizon. It was only a short while later when Lalna opened his eyes and got up far earlier than everyone else. He admired the sunrise for a while before he strolled over to his equipment and picked up a pair of pots. He then walked over to Sjin, who was sleeping soundly, and bashed the pans together, creating a loud burst of sound. Sjin jumped and scrambled away along with chocobos, nearly falling through a hole in the wall. Lalna laughed at his reaction. Sjin was not impressed. When Lalna composed himself, he merely grinned at the annoyed man.
"Come on, we've a long day ahead of us," he said, slinging his possessions onto his back. Sjin yawned as he stumbled along, packed up his things, got on his chocobo and left. A five minute ride later and they found themselves at the base of the cliff. The cliff was steep and there was one small gravelly pathway that could lead up to the colosseum that loomed above. That didn't stop Lalna though. He was already trying to scale the cliff with Basil. Unwilling to question the adventurer, Sjin and Blackjack followed.
Sjin was definitely feeling the thrill of adventure now. Whenever he dared to look away from the narrow path, he could see the drop and the ground far below him. He wasn't scared of heights but when his chocobo's foot nudged over some gravel, he couldn't help but watch the pebbles tip over the edge and fall. He had enough of falling. Basil, up ahead, occasionally slipped up here and there but all of them made it up safely.
Leaving the chocobos outside, the two walked through the arches made of ancient stone and stepped into the magnificent arena, the sunrise giving the grand walls a golden glow. The circular arena was large, with rubble and moss telling the toll of time. Above were seats that used to hold bloodthirsty spectators, eager to see the blood splatter on stone. The floor had patterns chiselled into it, still visible even though time and the elements wore some of it away. Sjin looked around in awe and wonder. Lalna kept an eye out for danger.
"Oh my god, this is so cool!" Sjin exclaimed, focusing on his environment. "Imagine all the mighty battles against the heroes and the-"
"Watch out!" Lalna yelled, pushing Sjin away. Sjin landed on the ground with a thud. Dazed, he pushed himself up, only to lock eyes with a massive black and white cat. He felt his arms turn to jelly.
"What in the nether is that?" he breathed. The cat looked like a domestic cat, only ten times bigger, fierce and with bright red eyes. The cat spat, hairs bristling, claws the length of their heads, scratching the stone with a screech.
"That's a Wither Cat," Lalna answered. "And it doesn't look too happy with us." The cat started growling and swishing its tail angrily, fangs bared. Lalna then unhitched the giant ender sword from his back and swung it effortlessly onto his shoulder. Sjin scrambled up and fumbled around with his diamond sword.
"Looks like we'll see if you're ready, eh Sjin?" he commented.
The cat pounced with a yowl, swiping with its sharp claws. They rolled out the way. The cat slid across the ground, claws making sparks as it did. Lalna pulled up his hood and started running at an unnatural speed. Sjin was busy getting up after the roll, only to have a paw smack the back of his head as the cat jumped. Lalna spun, gaining momentum for when he slashed upwards on the cat's hind leg. He jumped back as the cat hissed and swiped at him. Sjin ran around while the enemy was distracted and jabbed the cat in the side. Barely scratched it. He pushed the blade deeper into the flesh. The cat swiped with a powerful paw, sending him flying. Lalna sprinted forward and jumped onto the cat, clinging onto its fur. He tried jabbing the giant sword into its neck but it wasn't very effective, leaving only scratches, and the cat ran into the wall in an attempt to shake its attacker off. It was successful and the adventurer fell back down. It turned to face him.
Sjin tried to distract the wither cat by stabbing it in the back of the paw. Orbs of blood emerged as he struck between the padding. The cat kicked in response, catching him by the chest but not knocking him over. The cat swung at Lalna, who rolled out the way. It turned around to find its attacker, only to lock eyes with Sjin again. He ran. The cat bounded towards him and leaped over as he ducked. He tried to run the opposite way but the cat leapt in front of him. Turning around, he was met by iron bars for a cage that was probably used to hold animals. When he looked back, he saw Lalna getting swiped away by the wither cat's paw. The adventurer was soon on his feet again. The cat stalked towards Sjin, red eyes never leaving him. A paw raised and struck down quickly. He ducked, his fear heightening his reactions. He heard a loud clang. Slowly he looked up and felt stunned as he saw the cat's arm stuck between the bars; the cat desperate to free it. The cat's head was right above Sjin. Without a second thought, he repeatedly jabbed the sword up into the bottom of the cat's jaw, blood splattering all over his face. A figure at the corner of his eye told him that Lalna was busy attacking as well.
Eventually, after a few minutes, the wither cat slowed down. It then slumped onto the ground, bloodied and barely moving. A flutter of the eyelids before shutting for the last time told the two they were finished. Sjin, trying to slow his racing heart, looked at the aftermath of the fight. He, Lalna and the cat were covered in blood. The smell and the metallic taste had now burned into his mind. He also felt tired. He needed to hit a lot harder than he thought and swinging his weapon tired him out quicker than he anticipated. He thought he was going to die today. And he never felt so alive.
"That went better than I expected," Lalna admitted with a sheepish grin. "Hopefully, you know how you feel-"
"That was amazing!" Sjin exclaimed. Lalna allowed himself to looked a little surprised. "That-That was the most exciting thing in my entire life!" As Sjin rambled on, Lalna actually felt relived. He was happy that Sjin didn't just give up there. He had never been against a Wither cat before either; he only knew about them. This was new. This was fun. He was going to like this.
Afterwards the two kept exploring the rest of the arena. They made their way up the stairs up to a balcony with a throne-like chair embedded into it. Beside it were two aged metal chests. They walked over to them, full of anticipation, and opened them. Treasure. Chests full of gold ingots, beautiful gems, jewellery and more inside. The two then started greedily stuffing riches into their backpacks, inspecting the rarities as they did. Sjin soon saw something he liked: a bronze and ruby brace. He slid it on and continued looting. Lalna happily admired the gems as he held them in his glove. He jumped and dropped them as he heard a cry. He turned sharply towards Sjin and saw he was clutching his wrist, which had streams of blood forming on his sleeves.
"What did you do!?" Lalna asked, gawking at the rivers of blood now running down Sjin's arm.
"I don't know! I-I just-" he stammered. Lalna came closer and inspected the brace. The brace had not gone dull from age and the rubies were brim with energy. Looking underneath the brace showed that there were spikes sticking deep into Sjin's flesh, causing the bleeding. They tried taking it off. It wouldn't budge. Hitting the brace with a weapon didn't leave a scratch. Lalna furrowed his brow as he looked at the brace again.
"I think it's cursed, Sjin," Lalna said eventually. It made sense. It was unremoveable and he could feel a faint power behind it. Sjin looked close to tears.
"Well, can we get rid of it?" he asked. Lalna stayed quiet for a moment.
"Maybe," he replied. "A wizard could appraise it." Sjin perked up a little then.
"So I can get uncursed?" he asked hopefully.
"Maybe," Lalna repeated.
The two grabbed their things and made their way out of the colosseum. They mounted their chocobos, climbed down the cliff-side and wandered back into the plains. Sjin stared at his cursed wrist sadly while Lalna kept his eyes forward. He honestly thought this would cause Sjin to leave. Now he was even more determined to explore; to get the damned brace off him. Lalna felt glad about this. They were going to do new things, see new sights. This was getting interesting.