Chapter 3 ~ Unpleasant awakening

Tiso was kneeling in the middle of the Colosseum of fools, his shield laid broken in half somewhere to the left, the champions blow shattered it like it was made of glass

He could hear the mocking comments and laughter from the audience, their aim was steadily improving as the rotten edibles were now hitting their target more often than ever

It was his greatest nightmare, yet he didn't have the strength to fight back anymore, the fight exhausted him both physically and mentally

if it could even be called a fight, the champion just trashed him around like a sack of rotten potatoes, his shield bouncing off her armor harmlessly, not even leaving a dent

She towered over him now, her giant sword in hand, ready to deal the final blow. Tiso raised his head and looked straight at her, he might die today, but at least he would do so without fear, looking the champion in the eyes

But then she took off her helmet, allowing him to see her face

He knew that face

And it terrified him

He couldn't stop the shriek of terror that came out of his mouth, combined with his panicked attempt to scramble away from the ant in front of him caused the crowd to burst out in laughter once again, he didn't care, he just kept on going until his back hit the wall

The champion slowly approached him, her sword nonchalantly resting on her shoulder, her lips curving into a sadistic smile

~Hello again, little worker, remember me? I told you I would find you sooner or later~

And with that, she raised her huge sword above her head, and sliced the air, aiming for his neck

Tiso let out the highest scream in his life, and closed his eyes as the whistling sound came closer and closer and then….

He woke up screaming like a little girl

The scream died in his throat as quickly as it appeared, and for a moment he just laid there, his breath quick and uneven , his eyeballs moving around frantically, looking for any sign of HER, but they couldn't find anything

His breath started slowing down when he realized it was just a dream, and that the big ant wasn't there, wherever there was

Eventually he calmed down enough to start examining his surroundings. It didn't look like a canyon full of dead corpses, and the ache all over his body told him that it wasn't the afterlife either

Which was good because if this was how afterlife looked…. he would consider himself unimpressed

He was lying on a pile of what appeared to be old red curtains arranged into a makeshift bed, similar ones were hanging all around the room, giving it an ornate look. However one could easily see the simple grey walls beneath those curtains, and together with a thick layer of dust that covered the floor and furniture they negated that affect almost completely

Tiso was releived that whoever moved him here was not present to witness his rather embarrassing awakening, he then tried sitting up, and immediately winced as a sharp pain cut through his thorax, nevertheless he pulled himself into a sitting position and only then proceeded to examine himself

wouldn't be much of a warrior if he couldn't deal with a bit of pain

His armor has been removed and his thorax wrapped in a thick layer of bandages, they restrained his mobility somewhat, but he supposed that was the point, he had broken his carapace before and knew the drill

The ant tried to figure out how he ended up where he was now, but couldn't remember anything after… after the big menacing figure. So that wasn't a god of death after all? It was probably him who brought him here

Tiso briefly wondered if he should try to stand up and explore his surroundings some more, but just then heavy footsteps could be heard from the entrance and in came one of the largest bugs he ever saw

He towered over Tiso by a good few feet, and was just as bulky as he was tall. Obviously a fighter, if the giant nail flung across his back was anything to go by. The long cloak with a puffy collar completed the look of a powerful warrior

~Hmphh, so you're finally awake?~ The large bug said in a gruff voice ~I was getting worried all my work would be in vain~ and with that, he proceeded to hang his giant nail on the wall and go about his business, completely ignoring Tiso

The ant watched him bustle around for a while, before the big bug finally sat down in the middle of the room and ceased to move

The silence that filled the room was deafening, at least to Tiso, how could this bug just… sit there? It was clear he was the one who saved him from certain death at the canyon, and now he would just ignore him like that?

Tiso did not like being ignored

~So uhh… Can I know your name?~, he asked somewhat awkwardly, but this situation was extremely awkward already so...

~And why should I tell you that?~ The large bug answered, not even raising his head

Wha- what was this guy's problem?! Tiso had to swallow down the first response that came to his mind, and instead said ~We'll I just wanted to know who I should thank for saving my life~ Tiso was not one to give thanks lightly, but he supposed literally saving his life would warrant one… plus it might help him to finally learn the name of that ill-mannered bug…

~Hmph, well I do believe you do owe me a thanks, very well, You can call me Oro.~

A few seconds of silence

~Well? What about that show of gratitude?~

~Oh yes, so… Thank you Oro… for saving me~ It came out a bit awkward, but Tiso was not used to thanking, well anybody. Great warriors do not show their appreciation to just anybody, and he still didn't want to admit before himself that he had needed rescue…. Still that was the reality and he couldn't ignore it just because he didn't like it

After that uncomfortable exchange Tiso asked his host where was his armor and shield, after being pointe in the right direction he stood up and winced and the pain that filled his body, but didn't let that discourage him

His shield and armor were in even worse shape than he was, with long nasty cracks running through both of them. But what's worse, his shield's internal mechanism that allowed it to open up was broken. Now without access to the blades inside, it was no better than any ordinary shield

The armor would be fairly easy to fix, as soon as he gets his hands on some materials and tools, but the shield? It was a different level of complexity entirely and so he would need some very specialized tools.

Normally Tiso would just seek out a craftsman of some sorts and rent his tools, but where would he find one in a dead kingdom?

Suddenly the ant heard footsteps at his side, Oro set down a plate with some food on it next to him

~You should eat something, you've been unconscious for two days and I'd rather you didn't starve and have all my hard work be in vain~

Although his tone was rude as before, Tiso could not help it but be grateful for the food, he couldn't believe it took him until then to notice just how ravenous he was. The food on the plate was just some plain raw maggot meat, but he didn't mind. Tiso was used to this type of cuisine and although as a great warrior he definitely was entitled to the best food around, he didn't feel like being picky right now

So he took the food and Oro went back to… meditating most probably, Tiso couldn't help but feel like has heard that name before, but he couldn't remember correctly if and when

Anyway he ate the food and returned his attention towards his armor and shield, in the end he decided to put the breastplate back on, cracked or not, it was still better than no armor at all, but his shield was a different matter

No blades meant that it's offensive capabilities were lowered substantially, and though he certainly could use it to simply bash someone's head in, that's how he used to do it back in the day, he'd rather not risk it breaking completely with that nasty crack running through it, which meant that he'd have to find himself a replacement for the time being

They probably had a spare at...the...colosseum….

At the thought of that place, memories flooded his head, the feeling of victory, the crushing weight of failure (and the beast) and the cheers of the audience turning to laughter in a matter of seconds

The memory then turned into anger, and anger turned into a cold, hateful fury. How dared they mock him like that? How dared they!? Didn't he fight valiantly and mercilessly? Until that… that THING came at him, from behind! He was distracted! It was not fair! Anyone who had eyes could see it was not fair!

He felt rage fill him and the last remains of rational thoughts evaporate from his head, he knew what to do, he'll go right back to that place and show them all, show them why they shouldn't have turned on him so quickly, HE WILL SHOW THEM ALL!

He quickly collected the rest of his equipment from the floor and started walking to the exit, overcoming the dull pain in his limbs

And then something big and annoyed blocked his path

~ And where do you think you're going?~

And here it is, chapter 3

I'm at a loss, potential readers, please tell me what is better according to you, shorter but more frequent chapters, or longer but for the price of longer waiting time?