The greatest in the Multiverse
Round Zero: Top 16 across all existence
"LADIES! GENTLEMEN! EVERYONE! WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THE GRANDEST STAGE IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING!"
The entire arena was filled to the brim with roaring spectators. Logically nothing would be heard this far out in space, but when you're in a subspace pocket there's no logic to apply to anything. So constructing an arena to allow 16 warriors to duke it out while over 250.000 people from across the multiverse can safely watch is child's play. People who are capable of crossing dimensions in the first place, that is.
"MY NAME IS GOOGLORP, AND I WILL BE YOUR ANNOUNCER FOR THIS GLORIOUS OCCASION: THE MULTIVERSAL TOURNAMENT!"
The loud and bombastic, yet humorously shrill, voice came from a tiny blue blob made up of sentient slime. He had only two dripping tentacles for arms and no face to speak of, but he didn't need one to see the packed stadium and hear the roar of the crowd. Plasmoids are known for their strange biology after all. Googlorp continued his excited speech from his booth overlooking the main arena.
"BUT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR SPONSOR FOR HOSTING THIS TOURNAMENT! ANTITJEX™ WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THEIR-
(This advertisement has been removed for all our sakes. We here from the Tournament Recording Team would like to apologise for being affiliated with this company.)
"AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IT'S TIME TO GO OVER THE RULES!"
The grand viewing screen, previously showing the crowd from different angles, now showed a simple layout of 16 brackets. 8 in different shades of red, 8 in different shades of blue.
"THE FIRST ROUND WILL CONSIST OF 8 ONE-ON-ONE BATTLES BETWEEN OUR 16 CONTESTANTS, AND THE ONE LEFT STANDING IN THE END WILL BE DECLARED THE VICTOR! THE ENTIRE AREA IS SAFELY WARDED BY OUR TEAM OF MEDICS, SO REST ASSURED: NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU GET HIT, THERE WILL BE NO DEATHS IN THIS TOURNAMENT! BUT EVERYTHING ELSE? THAT'S FAIR GAME! ALL WEAPONS, TECHNIQUES, MAGIC, TACTICS… IF YOU THINK IT CAN GIVE YOU THE WIN, IT'S ALLOWED! AND AS FOR THE BATTLEFIELD…"
The viewing screen switched back to showing the middle of the arena, turning everyone's attention to the centre.
"TO MAKE THINGS AS FAIR AS POSSIBLE, ALL CONTESTANTS WILL BE FACING EACH OTHER ON AN OVAL-SHAPED DIRT FIELD! BUT TO MAKE THINGS A BIT MORE INTERESTING…"
Suddenly the whole field started to mildly shake as several previously hidden hatches, about 5 on each end of the arena, opened up. Out of them rose several short walls made out of solid concrete, each one only about a meter tall.
"...THESE PROTECTIVE WALLS WILL PERIODICALLY RISE OUT OF THE GROUND TO PROVIDE SOME COVER FOR EITHER SIDE! BUT I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF ME, FOLKS! WHAT DO YOU SAY WE WELCOME OUR 16 CONTESTANTS?"
Another deafening roar from the audience. And with commentator Googlorp's latest dramatic exclamation, a gate on the left side of the arena slowly opened.
"Oh, it's opening up? Took 'em long enough."
"Yeesh, that's a lot of people. And we're supposed to go out in front of them?"
"What's the matter, turtle boy? Gettin' stage fright from THAT?"
"Oh be quiet, lady. The audience wants warriors? Then let's give them one!"
The group of strangers had been waiting for what had felt like an eternity, but now it was time to stop the awkward banter and step out onto the arena. And as they did the cheering got louder than ever. The fact that no eardrums were ruptured was a true miracle.
"16 FIGHTERS! 16 PEOPLE FROM A MULTITUDE OF UNIVERSES! BUT ONLY ONE WINNER TO TAKE IT ALL!
A tiny winged fairy, dressed in sports gear and a baseball cap, fluttered down into the arena with a comparatively huge camera in her hands. As she pointed it towards the gathered group, the viewing screen suddenly shifted to one of their faces.
"CONTESTANT NR. 1: GAMERON OF UNIVERSE 1!"
Everyones' eyes were now on a green Tortle with large flippers instead of hands. Possessing a black and brown durable shell, a yellow-scaled beaked face, short stout legs and wearing practically nothing other than a crystal necklace and a messenger bag. Gameron was notably a bit taken aback at this sudden attention, but greeted the masses back with a simple wave.
"CONTESTANT NR. 2: VUZRAK DEATE, ALSO OF UNIVERSE 1!"
The camera shifted over to a long-haired Drow man with shining white hair and very dark blue skin, seemingly in his mid 150's, clad in steel armour underneath long purple vestments. Unlike the others, he was covered by a dim shade of blue light, even looking a bit… transparent? Regardless, he replied to the audience with a small polite bow.
"CONTESTANT NR. 3: PULSE CADWALADER… ALSO OF UNIVERSE 1! DON'T WORRY, THAT'S ALL FROM THAT UNIVERSE!"
Next up was a fairly tall and shapely young Drow woman, but unlike most others of her kind her hair was short, shaggy and dark red, not to mention the fact that her right hand was completely metallic. She clearly hadn't thought to dress for the occasion, since her beige top, cropped red leather jacket, short brown shorts and green scarf were all covered in oil stains and grease. The bright light from the spotlights definitely seemed to get to her since she visibly had to squint even through her goggles. Nevertheless, she paid the crowd as little mind as she could and instead looked nervously at the other contestants around her.
"CONTESTANT NR. 4: GOH'JI DAARDENRIAN OF UNIVERSE 2!"
The lean blue Dragonborn looked to be completely in his element. Sporting large patches of black scales across his head, hands, tail and legs, 3 large horns on the back of his head and a green and red martial arts gi, he slammed his clawed fists together and leaned forward to meet the excited roar of the public with one of his own.
"CONTESTANT NR. 5: JOHN OF UNIVERSE 3!"
Unlike Goh'ji, the dark-haired purple Tiefling looked like he would rather be anywhere else than here. His sleek tail whipped around all over the place, like it always did when he was nervous. John simply pulled up his brown leather jacket over his face, hoping nobody would recognize his features. Of course, it's hard to hide a pair of sturdy purple horns, even when they were as small as his.
"CONTESTANT NR. 6: ABIGAIL HARLOW OF UNIVERSE 6!"
Despite what her enormous stature and immense musculature would make one assume, the black-haired Half-Orc woman looked mostly uninterested in this whole thing. When the camera came over to her face, she simply rolled her eyes and waved half-heartedly to the cheering masses. Just like Pulse of universe 1, her blue top and light brown jeans were covered in stains and a few patches of grease.
"CONTESTANT NR. 7: PRIME, ALSO OF UNIVERSE 6!"
The orange and red figure met the crowd with an excited scream of his own. Without warning, he pulled out two swords from their back-mounted sheaths and started making several outlandish poses. Combined with his striking blue gi, his billowing green scarf, his glowing lines all over his armour plating and his dramatic exclamations that nobody could hear over the loud cheering, you could definitely deduce that despite being a robot he was by far the most hot-blooded fighter in the arena. Or the most eccentric. Depends on who you ask.
"CONTESTANT NR. 8: ASHES OF UNIVERSE 7!"
The extremely tall and muscular red tiefling woman flashed a big smile as she waved to the audience. Just like John of universe 3 her long thick tail whipped around all over, although it was barely visible beneath her black longcoat. The difference was that she did it in glee rather than panic. Eventually she took off her wide-brimmed hat - albeit she had to be careful not to tear apart the holes meant for her huge ridged horns - and kept waving with it in her hand.
"CONTESTANT NR. 9: MOLLY MINESHAPER OF UNIVERSE 8!"
By now it became apparent that there were an uncanny amount of muscular women in the tournament, and although less built than the likes of universe 6's Abigail or universe 7's Ashes the red-headed dark-skinned Dwarf of universe 8 was still quite imposing. Her muscular arms were very visible, partly because of her sleeveless red outfit and partly because she was raising them up skyward with the biggest grin on her face. Which also coincidentally revealed her sharp teeth and fangs, not to mention the patches of blue scales dotted around her body. It was enough to cause a few people in the audience to ask themselves whether she had been bitten by a radioactive dragon.
"CONTESTANT NR. 10: PROFESSOR SUSS, ALSO OF UNIVERSE 8!"
Now the camera had to pan down by quite a bit to reveal a scrawny reptilian snout adorned with large round glasses. The reddish-brown scale-clad professor simply adjusted his tie while addressing the crowd with the most sophisticated expression a Kobold could muster. Which, combined with his demeaning stature of just over half a meter tall, only served to muster an adoring squee from the audience. He was clearly not amused.
"CONTESTANT NR 11: BASTION OF UNIVERSE 10!"
This time the camera only had to pan up a little bit. Next up was a small construct made of intertwined wood and blocky segments of metal forming the equivalent of a head, a torso, a hip and knee/elbow pads. And despite this, it moved just like a living being. Because it was. Bastion's singular glowing blue eye slowly panned over the massive crowd, her blocky head unable to show any emotion. Although the way she clutched her wooden staff hinted at a strong feeling of unease.
"CONTESTANT NR 12: MORGAN SARUN OF UNIVERSE 11!"
The next contestant was about as bizarre as he was jovial. Just like almost a third of the other combatants, he was reptilian in appearance. But he had a massive set of triangular jaws for a head, two huge flippers attached on top of his otherwise humanoid arms, webbed feet and dark blue skin with lighter blue stripes. By all means it looked as if a human and a Mosasaurus defied all known laws of biology and had a child. But his demeanour clearly didn't reflect his visage, as he gave a hearty guffaw as he appeared on the viewing screen. He was clearly enjoying this whole thing.
"CONTESTANT NR 13: MODEL AUTA MAGICA NR. 54, BETTER KNOWN AS: INFERNO OF UNIVERSE 12!"
The camera moved on to the third robot among the contestants, but unlike the sleek Prime and the frail Bastion this one was large and bulky. Not only that, but gaps and hatches in their metal body revealed red-hot lava bubbling inside them. It was certainly a good thing that their iron armour was covered in a layer of tungsten; otherwise the other contestants would feel a lot more than simply a bit warm. But that was hardly a concern for Inferno at this moment. Right now they simply stared out over the crowd, their unflinching expression not budging in the slightest. Not that their headpiece possessed the ability to display emotions in the first place.
"CONTESTANT NR. 14: OWEN WHITLOCK OF UNIVERSE 14!"
Standing next to Inferno was a towering wall of muscle and scales. The white Dragonborn known as Owen was massive; easily way over 7 feet tall and about as muscular as… Well, there really was no comparison. He made all but one of the other contestants look tiny in comparison. As soon as his name was called out and his face was right up on the viewing screen, he hastily brushed some dirt off his waistcloth and politely bowed towards the audience as if he was greeting someone face to face.
"CONTESTANT NR. 15: ROOT OF UNIVERSE 15!"
The camera panned downwards again to focus on a short and thin Earth Genasi woman with messy dark brown hair. If the loose green shirt, scarf and waist sash didn't prove how much of a nature lover this one was, then the saplings and vines growing out of both her hair and from her brown dirt-like skin definitely did. When she heard her name being called out, Root stopped tending to the budding flower she had just grown out of the ground to stand up and face the audience. She answered their ongoing cheers by joyfully waving everywhere with both hands and with a massive smile on her youthful face.
"AND FINALLY, CONTESTANT NR 16: ALVA MORRISON OF UNIVERSE 16!"
The crowd had been roaring without stopping for ages now, but as soon as the spotlight turned to the second Half-Orc woman said roaring reached its peak. Alva Morrison was favoured to win the entire tournament by a vast majority of the onlookers, and for good reason. She was absolutely gigantic, being larger and beefier than even Owen of universe 14. Not to mention, her scratched and bruised chest armour, torn up trousers, tattered headband and many long-since healed scars told tales of many battles and experiences. Alva flashed a fierce grin, before raising her arms and taking in all the cheers and roaring. She was very used to this environment, and it showed.
"TOMORROW, AS SOON AS THE CLOCK STRIKES 12, THE FIRST BOUT WILL BEGIN! AND AT THE END OF THE EIGHTH CLASH, ONLY EIGHT WARRIORS SHALL REMAIN STANDING! EIGHT WARRIORS WHO SHALL ADVANCE TO THE QUARTERFINALS!" Googlorp continued. He paused briefly to catch his breath before dropping one final exclamation.
"BUT THERE IS ONE FINAL THING THAT I'M CERTAIN YOU ALL ARE DYING TO KNOW! THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR: IT'S TIME TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE BRACKETS!"
The viewing screen switched back to the graph with red and blue brackets. The coloured blocks started to swirl around in a circular pattern, faster and faster, until two of them - one red, one blue - exited the vortex and placed themselves onto the left and right side of the screen respectively. Only this time adorned with two names, two facial portraits and a flaming background. And one row of striking stylized text at the top of the screen.
ROUND 1: GOH'JI VS JOHN
Every part of the vs screen was sucked back into the spinning red and blue vortex, and the entire process was repeated a total of 7 more times with different names and faces.
ROUND 2: ROOT VS GAMERON
ROUND 3: BASTION VS OWEN
ROUND 4: MORGAN VS PRIME
ROUND 5: ASHES VS INFERNO
ROUND 6: ABIGAIL VS MOLLY
ROUND 7: VUZRAK VS PROFESSOR SUSS
ROUND 8: PULSE VS ALVA
Goh'ji was grinning excitedly. John was groaning at his misfortune, clearly not looking forward to fighting a Dragonborn fighting expert. Root simply tilted her head in curiosity. Gameron looked over at Root, smiling confidently. Bastion took a step back as her trembling hand let go of her wooden staff. Owen put his hands on his hips, chuckling a bit to himself. Morgan looked over at Prime while laughing enthusiastically. Prime excitedly slammed his iron fists together. Ashes crossed her arms, nodding firmly to herself. Inferno turned their head towards Ashes, still without any expression on their face. Abigail looked down towards Molly and simply shrugged to herself. Molly didn't notice, she was too busy grinning like a lunatic. Vuzrak nodded towards Professor Suss, who pushed up his glasses with a smug look on his snout. Alva seemed disappointed as she looked down at Pulse, letting out a deep rumbling sigh. And Pulse was terrified, shaking in place as she stared up toward her hulking opponent. All of them had their own differing thoughts going through their minds at the moment. But all of them had one thing in common: They all were here for one reason. They were here to win. Some of them simply more confident in their goal than others.
"AND WITH THAT, THE STAGE IS SET, THE CONTESTANTS ARE READY AND THE TOURNAMENT HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED! WHICH OF THESE 16 FIGHTERS WILL ADVANCE TO THE QUARTERFINALS, AND WHICH ONES WILL FALL? FIND OUT: TOMORROW! THIS IS YOUR HOST, GOOGLORP, SIGNING OFF!"
3 hours after the announcers signoff and after the roar from the crowd had finally died down, the contestants were left to their own business in their quarters. For a two-story lodge constructed on a large asteroid in the middle of subspace it was surprisingly comfy, not to mention spacious. They not only had their own rooms to rest in, they also had a big lounge on the bottom floor and even a courtyard. A very barren courtyard due to the interstellar location, but still a good place to train in or simply to gather your thoughts. Some contestants had already gone to bed, some were out training in the courtyard and some were in their rooms, mentally preparing themselves or going through their gear. And a few others were attempting to get to know each other in the lounge.
"So what you're saying is you built him? Like you just went ahead and created a fully functional mind as a pet project?"
"I mean, it was anything but easy. But yeah, Prime is capable of thinking, feeling and reacting just as well as any living being. Not to brag, but he's definitely my magnum opus."
Pulse was almost at a loss for words. When she had agreed to join this tournament, she had expected the other picked contestants to be a herd of knuckleheaded warriors whose minds couldn't comprehend anything more complicated than how to swing a battleaxe. To the point where she had wondered why the hell she, a thin artificer with no brawn to speak of, had been approached in the first place. But here was this almost 7 ft. tall muscular Half-Orc, casually revealing that she had put together an A.I at the same level as a regular person. As a pastime project. This lady - Abigail, as she had introduced herself as - was in a league of her own, and Pulse couldn't help but feel… insignificant.
"But if I may ask, did you make that hand prosthetic of yours on your own? Honestly, it's remarkably advanced. I've seen nothing like this back in my… universe, I guess is the right word now."
Abigail leaned over while staring intently at the young drows' mechanical hand. During the past half hour that the two artificers had been comparing notes for, Abigail had gathered that Pulse came from a much less technologically advanced world than she did. Her home had marvels such as steam-powered airships and robots were commonplace, while the most advanced contraption Pulse had mentioned (other than her own) were - for Abigails' standards - ancient cannons. But a prosthetic of this level, that could move almost identically to a flesh and blood limb, was cutting edge even for her standards. She was, to put it simply, very intrigued.
"Oh, uh… well, kinda? I got the original prototype when I was like 3 so I guess no… but I have been upgrading it on my own since then so I guess yes?"
Pulse clearly had no idea how to answer. She had been so taken aback by Abigails' feats that she hadn't noticed the Half-Orcs' very much mutual interest. She did notice her very awkward answer though, not to mention the warmth as her cheeks turned about as red as her hair. The flustered Drow quickly changed the subject.
"A-anyway, any idea what the deal is with this whole tournament thing? Like did some rich fellow get bored one day and wanted some action or what?"
Abigail leaned backwards while giving out a sigh.
"Beats me. Either that or it's the biggest publicity stunt in the history of everything. That loud ball of slime did go on and on about a sponsor after all".
"I guess it doesn't matter much", Pulse added. "We all agreed to participate, so who's idea it was isn't that important."
"Speaking of which, why did you agree to join in?", Abigail asked.
Pulse went silent. By all means, she shouldn't even be here. Fighting was fun and all, but not fun enough to go up against the supposed best of the best. There was no money involved, and the actual prize wasn't what intrigued her. She had a much more personal reason for being here. And while Abigail was very much a fellow soul and certainly good company, Pulse had only known her for less than a day. Maybe… maybe she could turn out to be just like all the rest.
"The prize", she eventually answered, her soft deep voice almost cracking as she said it. "Can't get anything like that anywhere else."
"I see", Abigail replied. "For me, I guess it's just curiosity. When I suddenly got approached by people of an entirely different universe and got asked to join their little competition, I couldn't exactly say no. If I did, I would probably stay awake all night wondering what I might have missed!"
Abigail chuckled a bit. Her earnest reply and cheery smile proved that she hadn't seen through her much smaller acquaintance. Reading people had never been her strongest suit after all. She nudged her head towards a window leading out to the courtyard.
"Besides, my friend out there practically begged me to come along and watch him do what he does best".
"SHAAH! HYAH! HAAAAH!"
Twin blades danced around like a raging storm. Steel met rock, and cleaved right through it. The blades' owner pulled them back before igniting the small rocket boosters constructed within his ankles, using them to boost his skyward leap to impressive heights. Before turning his blades downward and letting gravity take over.
"IRON… DIVE!"
The stuffed training dummy was torn apart in a flash, falling to the ground in pieces. The blue-clad robotic fighter stood still in this pose for a moment, blades still stuck in the remains of the dummy. Then a piece of dramatic flair as he struck a pose with his arms stretched to the sides, and he once again sheathed his blades. Prime was nothing if not dramatic. He was just about to turn to face yet another training dummy, but a rough yet calm voice suddenly attracted his attention.
"Truly a powerful strike, friend. Although wouldn't shouting the name of the technique leave you vulnerable for a counterattack?"
Prime jolted his head towards the lean blue Dragonborn walking up to him. Goh'ji had been out here training just like Prime for a while, and Prime's flashy tendencies had proven too hard to ignore. He simply had to have a chat with him, warrior to warrior.
"Well, maybe. But it wouldn't feel right to not do it. It's my signature style, after all. It's who I am!" Prime answered without a moments' hesitation. He had not failed to notice Goh'ji looking in his direction during his training, and had even found himself doing the very same thing back. The Dragonborn had a very different fighting style compared to his own, focusing on swift and precise palm strikes, roundhouse kicks and wide sweeps with his large tail. All with the fury of a thunderbolt, yet calm as the eye of the storm.
"Look, I couldn't help noticing your training, and man, you look really strong! You gotta let me spar with you!" Prime suddenly exclaimed. His excitement had been rapidly building up, and by now his burning blood had almost reached its boiling point. Or it would have if he had had any blood in the first place.
Anyone else would have been taken aback by this sudden request. Goh'ji was just grinning. But after closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, as if to focus himself, he raised his hand up facing the metal warrior.
"While nothing would make me happier, both of us have been training for hours now. Let's give our battle the importance it deserves and wait until we can fight at full strength."
Both warriors looked into each other's eyes, their souls ignited and their spirits heightened. They both nodded and thrusted their hands forward for a stern handshake.
"Pleasure to meet you, Goh'ji! I can't wait to face you in the finals!"
"Nice to encounter you, Prime! Our battle will be legendary!"
[CRASH!]
Before Prime could question his new rival's strange choice of words, their handshake was interrupted by a loud noise. They both looked over to where the sound had come from, and saw a ginormous wall of muscle wielding a warhammer larger than Prime's entire body standing over a completely pulverised boulder. Alva Morrison of universe 16 looked over to the stunned pair, before nonchalantly dismissing them with a gruff grunt. She had also come out for some last-minute training, but unlike Prime and Goh'ji she showed no signs of wanting any conversation. This didn't stop the duo from looking each other in the eye, both clearly thinking the same thing.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Definitely. This is an opportunity that we can't miss!"
The two rivals practically tripped over their feet as they made their way over to the oversized Half-Orc. Alva had reduced an even bigger boulder to dust and was on her way to a third one until her eyes were drawn to the much smaller weirdos with martial arts gi's.
"The hell do you want?" Her deep stern voice practically boomed in their ears. "Get lost, I'm warming up here".
Prime and Goh'ji took a step back, but remained steadfast otherwise.
"You wanna spar with us? Come on, it will be great!" Prime asked, the words practically rushing out of his voice box. Goh'ji followed up with a polite bow.
"Please do us this honour, miss!"
Alva looked over them both, as if judging them. Without warning she dropped her huge warhammer to the ground, the impact causing a loud boom.
"Fine, if it will get you to piss off. Both of you at the same time, first one to get knocked down loses. And no weapons, just fists. That good enough for you?"
Prime and Goh'ji couldn't keep it in anymore. With a mutual battle cry they both charged in. Prime dashed around his opponent while Goh'ji zig-zagged around her front, attempting to catch her in a scissor attack. And then both of them threw a lightning fast blow towards Alvas' stomach and lower back. Both blows connected, with enough force to knock the wind out of any untrained human. There was just one problem. Alva didn't even flinch.
"Wait, that's all you got? Huurgh, this is just wasting my time…"
Before the stunned duo could react, the Half-Orc grabbed both of them by their wrists. Both of them screamed out in pain; Alva's grip was ludicrously strong. She hoisted them both up at the same time and threw them almost 10 metres back, both of them dropping to their knees.
"Just give it up. You clearly are way too weak to come anywhere in this tournament."
Too weak? Give up? Goh'ji and Prime both stood back up, their eyes suddenly burning with fury. This one single comment had turned this sparring session into something much more personal.
"I have been training to better myself all my life. I am not about to let you insult that!" Goh'ji growled.
"You're gonna regret writing us off as weaklings! You want a fight? YOU GOT IT!" Prime shouted.
They both charged in again, this time both attacking from different sides. Goh'ji charged in from the right, fists crackling with lightning. Prime leaped up from the left, screaming out as his foot plummeted towards Alva.
"METAL… KI-"
"Would you just SHUT THE FUCK UP already?!"
The kick did not connect. Because Alva had effortlessly caught it with her left hand. And before Prime could even register the pain he had been slammed into Goh'ji with enough force to crack the ground beneath them. The previously so proud warriors now laid in a pile on the ground. Humiliated. Defeated. Alva walked over to them and leaned in as close as she could, not even having broken a sweat.
"If you two are the best these other universes have to offer, then I'm not impressed. Take my advice: Give up. You just proved none of you can beat me. So just leave me the fuck alone, got it?"
Alva picked up her warhammer and went back to her training as if nothing had happened. But back in the pile, the two fighters got back to their feet after a brief struggle. Their bodies might have been broken, but their spirits were not. They looked over at their titanic opponent and then back to each other. Not another word needed to be said, they both knew exactly what the other was thinking. The fires in their hearts burned brighter than ever.
And behind the window in the lounge, a young drow had been watching the entire massacre. But while her hands trembled and her brow was covered in cold sweat, her resolve hadn't gone anywhere. And as she finished scribbling in her black notebook, she gritted her teeth as she defiantly stared at her upcoming opponent. Pulse was not going to give in any time soon.
And as the opening day came to a close, 16 minds all shared a common thought. They were not gonna back down. They were going to fight, and they were gonna win. They were going to gain the title of the greatest in the multiverse.