"PEOPLE OF THE MULTIVERSE, ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!"
Day two of the transdimensional event had officially kicked off, and the spirits were once again high. After a long night spent in a cramped makeshift hotel adjacent to the arena, the 250.000 strong audience were eager to witness the next round.
"THIS IS YOUR ANNOUNCER GOOGLORP, ONCE MORE BEHIND THE MICROPHONE TO LEAD YOU THROUGH THE UPCOMING ACTION! BUT TODAY WE HAVE LEFT THE STARTING LINE BEHIND; TODAY WE'RE GONNA SEE THE QUARTERFINALS! 8 FIGHTERS! 4 CLASHES! AND 4 VICTORS TO ADVANCE FURTHER TO THE SEMIFINALS!"
Eagle-eyed viewers could notice that despite his bombastic exclamations and wild body language, the Plasmoid known to all as Googlorp was notably less energetic than he'd previously been. This was, of course, the result of his many introductory speeches the day before. At least 3 contestants really hadn't appreciated having their life stories spelled out for everyone to hear, and at least one of them had decided to make that very clear to him. If that black eye - or the Plasmoid equivalent to it - was any indication, Googlorp would make sure to not antagonise any beefy dwarves again.
"THE RULES WILL REMAIN AS THEY ARE FROM HERE TO THE FINALS, SO LET'S NOT WASTE ANY MORE TIME ON THAT! SO WHAT DO YOU ALL SAY: SHALL WE BEGIN?!"
The crowd's deafening roar made it certain that yes, they wanted to begin.
"WELL THEN, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… LET THE QUARTERFINALS COMMENCE!"
Three loud explosions lit up the starry sky above the arena, signalling that the first fight was coming right up. And thus every set of eyes were now glued to the left gate, awaiting the first fighter's grand entrance.
The sleek blue-scaled Dragonborn tried his best to remain dignified in spite of his rising excitement. Last night had been spent gushing over how the seemingly invincible Alva Morrison, who'd previously defeated both him and Prime at the same time without breaking a sweat, had fallen to the up-to-that-point unremarkable Pulse. And while he hadn't had a chance to talk to her, the Drow had already piqued his interest. Now it was her he needed to beat to prove his progress as a fighter, and to do that he needed to reach the finals. But first he needed to overcome his rival Prime, and to do that he needed to get through this fight first. And even if his opponent looked small and harmless, she had ended up in the quarterfinals for good reason. Goh'ji slammed his fist into his palm as he reached the end of the corridor; this was the time to pull out all the stops. Not that he had any idea what that phrase meant.
"IN THE BLUE CORNER, THE SCALE-CLAD THUNDERER RETURNS TO THE SCENE! IN THE FIRST ROUND WE SAW HIM DEFEAT CONTESTANT JOHN IN A SHOCKING DISPLAY OF MARTIAL ARTS, LIGHTNING STRIKES AND CAMARADERIE! WILL THAT SAME FIGHTING SPIRIT STRIKE TWICE AND LEND HIM THE VICTORY, OR WILL IT HARMLESSLY FIZZLE OUT? HE'S BACK: CONTESTAAAANT GOH'JI!"
As Goh'ji entered the arena to a cacophony of cheers and chants, his opponent in the opposite corridor tried her best to remain dignified in spite of her rising anxiety. Root was practically shivering, and it was hardly because of the temperature. She had seen first hand how good of a fighter Goh'ji was. And if John's electrified state at the end of his fight with him was any indication then the Dragonborn was capable of causing some serious harm. But at the same time, she couldn't just back down now. Goh'ji had obviously been greatly looking forward to this, so withdrawing and denying him the fight he deserved would feel even worse. The young Genasi gently slapped her cheeks to focus her thoughts, before heading out towards the resounding roars of the battlefield. She was just gonna have to do her best like always.
"AND IN THE RED CORNER, THE GREEN THUMB IS BACK IN THE FOLD! PREVIOUSLY DEFEATING CONTESTANT GAMERON WITH THE POWER OF GIANT VINES, MORPHING MAGIC AND THE MOON ITSELF, SHE HAS RETURNED IN ROUND TWO TO DEFEAT ANOTHER REPTILIAN FOE! WILL THE FORCES OF NATURE UPROOT THE COMPETITION, OR WILL THE STORM RAZE THE FOREST TO THE GROUND? HERE SHE IS: CONTESTAAAANT ROOT!"
The young Genasi's body was about as tensed up and stiff as a dead tree branch, with her rigid steps drawing comparisons to a robot just learning how to walk. Her breathing sounded forced and intense, and her vacant hazel eyes were wide open. One could almost say she seemed a bit nervous. Eventually though, both fighters came face to face with each other. As Goh'ji was clearly the more collected of the two right now he greeted Root first with a polite bow.
"Greetings, Miss Root. It is an honour to be your opponent toda-"
"Yes hello my name is Root and it's great to meet you I hope this goes well PLEASE DON'T BREAK MY BONES!"
The shaking druid launched her hand out towards the suddenly silent Goh'ji in a motion not too unlike a catapult. The puzzled Dragonborn simply tilted his head, looking down at the bundle of nerves before him. Eventually he firmly grabbed her outstretched hand, bending down on one knee as he did so to meet her at eye level.
"There's no need to worry. Any injuries dealt to either of us will be completely healed as soon as the battle is over, and I assure you that I'll only use as much force as I need to. Just come at me with all you got and you'll be fine!" the reptilian fighter affirmed Root, before turning around to get in position.
Root did the same, albeit still about as tense as before. Not exactly the answer she'd been hoping for. Nevertheless, Goh'ji did have a point. He was going to take this as seriously as possible, and thanks to the healing ward he could afford to. And if he could, so could she. A proud warrior such as him wouldn't want it any other way. So as the druid turned around to face her opponent, her mind finally managed to form a battle plan. Hit fast, hit hard and make sure Goh'ji didn't hit her. The faster she could knock him out the better.
As the arena slowly went quiet, Goh'ji took an offensive stance and Root planted her staff on the ground. And up in the announcer's booth, Googlorp was about to officially announce the start of the action.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"BEGIN!"
The first explosion of the day went off. The time to fight had come.
Root hastily made the first move. Her maple staff appeared to take root in the dirt, and after some light quaking two thick vines erupted from the ground. Exactly what Goh'ji had expected. The nimble warrior quickly lept to the side right before the sturdy plants slammed down right where he'd stood, before starting to dash towards the anxious Genasi. He'd been analysing his opponent well before the match - of course he would know to expect her signature move. Now to see if she knew what to expect from him.
With a determined Dragonborn now quickly rushing towards her, the young druid resorted to the first tactic springing to her mind. That tactic was to grow another vine, this time to sweep him off his feet. However, this one failed too as Goh'ji effortlessly jumped above it. But as he did, Root's panicking mind was struck by an idea. And without hesitation she summoned a fourth vine right in front of the scaled fighter, this one thinner and sprouting much quicker than the others. Quick enough to smack her airborne opponent down to the ground.
Goh'ji barely had time to brace for impact before the green tendril slammed down on his chest. But other than the shock of being hit in the side out of nowhere, he wasn't in as much pain as he would've expected. Root had barely had time to create that vine after all; it made sense for this one to be smaller than usual. That didn't change the fact that the plant was currently pressing down on him, however. The vine had been ingraining itself into the ground, creating a makeshift shackle made of sturdy plant matter. The Dragonborn couldn't wriggle out or get his arms in any position to tear it apart, and to make the situation worse the druid appeared to be channelling some sort of spell. Root had come up with a trap right on the spot, and Goh'ji had fallen for it.
"AND THE CLASH STARTS OFF IN A FLASH WITH CONTESTANT ROOT PITTING HER TRADEMARK VINES AGAINST CONTESTANT GOH'JI'S SPEED! A MATCHUP THAT ENDED UP IN CONTESTANT ROOT'S FAVOUR! HOW WILL THE SCALE-CLAD THUNDERER ESCAPE THIS SITUATION, AND CAN HE DO IT BEFORE HIS OPPONENT FINISHES HIM OFF?"
Caught between a plant and a hard place, Goh'ji resorted to something he extremely rarely did. He used his head. As Root continued to channel magical energy into what looked to be a Moonbeam, the pinned Dragonborn suddenly reared over and chomped down hard on the vine with his big jaws. His snout could only barely reach the tendril from his position and his jaw muscles weren't as strong as the size of his head would imply, so he had to lunge out 3 more times in order to properly weaken it. But weaken it he did, and with one more crunch he managed to tear the vine in two. Upon seeing this Root quickly dispelled her technique; there was no way she could hit that agile of a target with a spell that was so easy to see coming.
But as Goh'ji sprung to his feet and continued his mad dash towards her, it was clear Root needed to think of something new fast. So once more, in front of everyone, the young Genasi began to transform. Her body quickly shrank in size, her limbs appeared to retract into stubby little stumps and her back started to sprout what appeared to be quills. Observing this, the Dragonborn's confidence started to shine through.
"Trying to fly away again, are you? Sorry miss, but that will not work!" Goh'ji thought to himself.
He had anticipated Root's owl transformation, seeing as last time she'd used it it was to gain some distance and time to think. At least that was the most likely reason. So as the druid finished her metamorphosis, Goh'ji struck her in the back with an open palm strike. An attack he immediately came to regret.
"YEOWCH!"
A sharp pain took hold in Goh'ji's palm as his skin was punctured. The unexpected agony resulted in a brief moment of hopping around in place, all set to a sympathetic pained gasp from the audience. The Dragonborn realised he had thought too rashly. He had fully expected Root to transform into an owl again to escape from him, not to become something completely different in order to counter his attack. Thus resulting in the narrow-minded warrior plunging his hand straight into the prickly back of a hedgehog.
As Goh'ji was shaking off the pain - and the quills - in his hand, Root quickly reverted back to normal. The reason as to why became clear as soon as her face regained its humanoid form: her teeth were gritted in pain. Spike-covered back or no, she had still taken a heavy strike from a hand almost as big as she was. Even now her back felt like it had been snapped in two. But given how Goh'ji had stopped jumping around while shaking his hand, he appeared ready to come at her again. And if she wanted to avoid any further harm, then she needed to answer him in kind.
"OOOF, THAT'S GOTTA STING! CONTESTANT ROOT ONCE AGAIN TAKES THE FORM OF A FOREST CRITTER, THIS TIME TO FILL CONTESTANT GOH'JI'S PALM WITH PIERCING SPIKES! BUT ONE HAS TO WONDER WHO REALLY LOST THIS EXCHANGE - THE GREEN THUMB LOOKS LIKE SHE'S ABOUT TO CRUMBLE APART! SEEMS THAT WALL OF QUILLS COULDN'T PROTECT HER FROM THE FULL FORCE OF THE WAY OF THE OPEN HAND!"
Root's moment of gathering herself had given Goh'ji the opportunity to fully close the distance. Now he was right up in her face, his left palm rearing back in order to strike at her. So the terrified Genasi did the only thing she could do; she blocked the attack with her sturdy maple staff. Which to both her own and Goh'ji's surprise worked quite well. The druid was not done, however. Her staff suddenly began to emit a dim green aura, the wood growing denser and tougher in front of both contestant's eyes. With the arboreal staff now morphed into a shillelagh, Root was now prepared to fend off Goh'ji. Or at least attempt to.
"Sorry mister, but here I come!"
The kindhearted Genasi still felt the need to apologise as she swung the compact wooden weapon towards the bracing warrior, despite the fact that this was exactly what her opponent desired. A fact that Goh'ji made very clear given his broad smile as he parried the strike with his left arm. Not to be outdone, he spun around to strike Root with his large tail. This too was barely blocked in the nick of time; Root was surprisingly strong - possibly more so than the thinly built Goh'ji - but she was nowhere near as fast. She followed up with another blunt strike, this one missing its mark as well. Then a kick from Goh'ji. An overhead slam from Root. By now the match had turned into a back-and-forth trade of blows, neither side letting the other break through their defence.
Over in the contestants watching area, an unflinching glowing blue eye focused particularly on the struggling Root. After losing against Owen Whitlock the previous day, Bastion had mostly been keeping to herself as she observed the others fight. She wasn't that much of a people person after all. Still, her fellow druid had piqued her interest. So similar to herself, yet so different at the same time. A living beam of pure sunshine, yet still out on the battlefield. What was it about her that was so intriguing? Why was she so… enticing?
"Enjoying the show, shakester?"
Bastion's train of thought was derailed as a huge red tiefling sat down right next to her like it was nobody's business. At first the construct was a bit surprised and even discomforted at her sudden companion's abruptness, but then she remembered something. This lady - Ashes, if she recalled correctly - had spent a lot of time hanging out with Root over the last round. Which meant that right now, both onlookers were probably thinking the same thing. Maybe she could figure out why Bastion's thoughts kept lingering on the Genasi.
"I do, it's pretty… entrancing, in a way. Particularly the young druid. It's just something about her that makes you want to like her, you know?" the living robot proclaimed, her head not looking away from Root for even a moment.
Ashes fell silent for a second, before leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed. Her small but honest smile made it clear she knew exactly what Bastion meant.
"She's just so rattling, that's what. I've only known her for about a day, yet I'd already call her a darn good friend. You just see her being her usual jolly self and your mood just lifts" the Tiefling expressed.
Bastion motionlessly looked up towards Ashes, before leaning her blocky head against her hands. The farmgirl was onto something there. Maybe the answer really was that simple; Root was so captivating simply because she was so positive. That conclusion didn't solve all her questions though.
"True… but won't that backfire on her someday? She's kind and happy and all, but that also makes her dangerously naive. You really think she can win this as long as she's afraid of any harm being done?" Bastion murmured.
Ashes simply sighed in response. The lush automaton might've been a bit of a pessimist, but she wasn't wrong. Nobody would ever come out of a battle with absolutely no harm done, and Root seemed to have yet to learn this. The burly Tiefling spread out her arms across the seat behind her, before properly answering.
"I guess so. But I'm certain she can cap the climax if she just wants to. We'll just have to cheer her on 'til she gets there!"
Bastion simply nodded. Now she believed she'd gotten Root figured out, and until she could get to know her better she simply had to hope for her victory. As if noticing this, Ashes motioned over to the extremely excited Prime - the sleek robot was practically screaming encouragement towards his draconian rival. Ashes stood up from her seat, walking over to the railing. A warm grin came over her face as she put a hand on her wide-brimmed hat, addressing her scrawny arboreal friend one more time.
"That ol' greased lightning seems to have that part covered at least!"
Back on the battlefield, Root's frantic parrying was starting to slow down. She was a spellcaster going up against a close-range specialist after all. So it came to nobody's surprise that Goh'ji was the one to break the stalemate. A quick chop to the druid's shoulder was enough to cause her to stagger, with the followup left kick knocking the timbered staff out of her grasp. Now the frightened Genasi had nothing but her own fortitude to answer the battle-hungry Goh'ji with, and judging by the damage he'd managed to deal so far it was clear that wasn't going to cut it. So when the Dragonborn charged towards her with a roundhouse kick, the only thing she could do was to spit out a quick yelp as she braced herself.
[WHAM!]
A staggering pain coursed through Root's side as the heavy strike sent her flying, followed by another smaller surge of it as she hit the ground right next to her staff. Her bones were hardy and her skin was resilient, so the attack hadn't dealt any lasting damage. It had knocked the wind out of her though, that much was obvious. But her pounding side was far from the first thing on the druid's mind at the moment. She was very much hurt and clearly on the backfoot… and yet she felt something. It wasn't despair, it wasn't horror and it wasn't resignation. It was determination. In the back of her mind, she might actually have wanted to continue. However, these feelings were still overruled by lingering fear and hesitation. Thus she once more began to muster magical energy into her staff as she slowly stood up. There was no way she could allow Goh'ji to get into close range again.
"CONTESTANT ROOT HELD ON FOR DEAR LIFE, BUT THAT WASN'T ENOUGH TO STOP CONTESTANT GOH'JI FROM BREAKING THROUGH HER DEFENCES! RESULTING IN A SOLID HIT THAT SEEMS TO HAVE LEFT A MARK ON THE GREEN THUMB OF UNIVERSE 15! BUT WAIT, SHE SEEMS TO PREPPING SOME SORT OF SPELL! WHAT TYPE OF COUNTERPLAY CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE NEXT?"
Shining silver particles coalesced into the tip of Root's maple staff. Upon seeing this, Goh'ji's determined expression suddenly dropped. Even his simple mind recognized what his opponent was up to, and given what had happened last time he'd seen this he had to move quickly. The sleek Dragonborn charged in yet again at full speed, fully focused on stopping what was about to come. But as he came in closer and closer, the shimmering ball of magic energy grew larger and larger. And with an uncharacteristically stern expression, Root fired the Moonbeam.
However, this time the silver beam appeared much thinner than the one that'd been used against Gameron. Root hadn't had an opportunity to fully restrain the agile Goh'ji, and therefore no time to charge the spell to its maximum. So the ray that shot down from the sky just about a metre away from the martial artist was only about a third as bright as the first one, and nowhere near as wide. It appeared more like a sliver of moonshine rather than the searing white beam from before. Nevertheless, Goh'ji still made a point to himself to keep away from it. But the Genasi wasn't gonna let him off that easily. She shifted her staff, still planted firmly in the ground, with both hands to the left like a large lever. And with a look of both panic and excitement on his face, Goh'ji started running again as the shining ray began to follow him.
"I'm sorry mister, I don't mean to be disrespectful! But the only way I can give you the fight you want is if I stay away from you and use my spells!" Root shouted towards her opponent.
Normally, Goh'ji would probably have assured her that she had shown no disrespect at all. Right now he was simply a tad bit busy with avoiding a tracking beam of searing moonlight. He zipped left and right across the field, but wherever he went the Moonbeam followed. However, despite this he still managed to slowly zigzag closer and closer to Root. Until eventually, she was only about 7 metres away from him. The warrior's orange eye glinted as it shot wide open; this was his chance. He reared his two open hands backwards as he charged in towards the young druid, before thrusting them forward in a two-handed palm thrust. And in that moment two heavy attacks connected.
"AARGH!"
All of Goh'ji's focus had gone into his attack, meaning he had lost track of the Moonbeam. Right as Root was once again sent flying by the sudden agonising impact, the shiny ray had crashed down on the Dragonborn's back. And it hurt. Shimmering ghostly flames erupted from beneath his gi, strangely not affecting the cloth as much as one would expect. But for Goh'ji it felt like his body was torn apart from the inside by a raging wildfire. If he stayed still any longer then he would be done for, and he knew this. With a sudden burst of self-preservation, his body threw itself to the ground outside the beam. As soon as he hit the dirt, the ray slowly began to peter out until it was completely gone. Leaving him to pick himself up from the ground while starting to feel the burn marks take hold all over him.
His opponent wasn't much better off. Root had been struck right in her upper chest by a precise powerful blow, cracking a couple bones and sending her down on her knees while struggling to breathe. It felt almost as if her soul had been knocked out of her body, although the sheer shock and the harsh pain told her that wasn't the case. But as her senses gradually recovered and her breathing stabilised a little, an unexpected feeling took hold in the young druid's mind. Her body was marred and her senses were all over the place, and yet she felt… glee. Up until this point she had only reluctantly fought in order to not disappoint anybody, but now she actually wanted to go on for her own sake. Maybe it was because she had now been seriously harmed just the way she'd feared so much, and now that she had reached that point there was no point in being afraid any longer. The worst was behind her, and it hadn't been as horrifying as she'd imagined. Maybe that was the case. Maybe. Root stared over towards the now standing Goh'ji, the Dragonborn not moving a muscle.
"You know what, mister? I- I don't think I'm worried anymore. I think I'm ready to fight with all I have, no matter what might happen! So… should we do this? Really give it our all, I mean?" the Genasi stuttered.
Goh'ji didn't say anything, but given his earnest wide smile it was pretty clear what he was thinking. Another confused soul had found purpose and solace on the battlefield, and this time he had only needed to push them a bit in the right direction. Or put simple enough that he could understand: Root had learned to enjoy her time in the fight. The warrior once again took on a stance, ready to get going again.
"Of course. Come at me with your full strength!"
With her usual beaming smile plastered across her face, the young druid picked off a splinter from her staff before throwing it towards Goh'ji. Mere seconds after the tiny speck of wood left her hand, it began to change shape. Almost immediately it had transformed from a rigid fragment into a fully animate locust. A locust which then proceeded to split into another identical copy. And then another, and another and another. Out of nowhere, the Genasi had summoned a massive swarm of ravenous insects. An unthinking horde of phoney critters charged right towards an enthusiastic, if somewhat alarmed, Goh'ji.
The insect storm surrounded the warrior in no time at all. Countless mouths dug into his blue scales, causing the Dragonborn to let out a sharp gasp of pain. Not only that, but he couldn't even see his opponent. There were just too many bugs blocking his vision. But at least he could hear the crowd loudly gasp behind all the buzzing as the ground beneath him began to shake and rumble. What exactly was Root up to out there? Goh'ji quickly reached for his flute in his back pocket, but the only thing his hand grasped was a ravaged piece of wood covered in hungry locusts. He wouldn't cast any Thunderwaves with that, that's for sure. The worn-down warrior slowly realised he only had one option, and judging by the heavy footsteps approaching him he had to act fast.
The enraptured onlookers drew their attention towards the blue light that started to shine from within the vast swarm. It grew brighter and brighter as electric sparks began to crackle from it, before finally being let loose. A bright blue beam of lightning erupted from within the swarm, striking the figure that was Root dead-on while incinerating a huge chunk of the locusts. Goh'ji's natural trump card: his lightning breath. Now with the horde thinned out, the coarse-throated Dragonborn could finally see what his opponent was up to. And stagger in shock at what she had become.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, CONTESTANT ROOT HAS RETAKEN THE ADVANTAGE! CONTESTANT GOH'JI'S LIGHTNING BREATH - HIS MOST POWERFUL ATTACK - ONLY MANAGED TO DISPEL THOSE BUGS AND NOTHING ELSE! NOW WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE WHAT THE GREEN THUMB CAN DO IN THIS SPECTACULAR NEW FORM, AND IF THE SCALE-CLAD THUNDERER CAN STILL FIND A WAY TO TURN THE TABLES!"
Googlorp and the crowd had all seen Root's transformation. They had seen how she'd magically pulled huge chunks of the ground towards her to surround every inch of her body. They'd seen it mould around her to form huge pillar-like rocky legs, lifting her protected regular body a couple metres off the ground. They'd seen how she'd formed two bulky arms made of dirt and rock, each one large enough to scrape the floor. And now Goh'ji was face to face with Root's own trump card: her most powerful transformation. Her transformation into an Earth Elemental.
"Heh… most impressive, miss. So this is your full power! And here I am, weakened and exhausted. Well, no matter! As long as I can still stand, then I will come at you with MY full power! Let's do this!" Goh'ji shouted.
Given his heavy breathing, many bruises and all the wounds he'd gotten from the locust bites, he wasn't lying about his physical state. He was close to defeat, and he knew it. But he still had an opponent to fight, and that meant he wasn't going to let himself go down. Even in the face of overwhelming power, he would face it without hesitation. That was just who he was. And while Root couldn't audibly answer him through the thick layer of packed soil, her Earth Elemental form's joyous skittering - as much as a clunky rock behemoth could skitter at least - said everything. And for the final time, both fighters charged towards each other to decide the outcome once and for all.
The more nimble Goh'ji struck the first blow, delivering a flying kick right into the elemental's right knee. To no effect. Root followed up with a heavy overhead slam with her right arm, striking the ground with enough force to crack it as Goh'ji narrowly avoided it. The scale-clad thunderer was far from done though, and followed up with a powerful tail sweep right into Root's earthen chest. And this time the results were much more effective. Goh'ji's lightning breath had already created a small crack in the druid's armour - a crack which had now grown larger from the impact of his tail. However, Root did not take this lying down. She reared back her massive limb before thrusting it right into Goh'ji's torso in the form of a dynamic punch.
But to the audience's surprise, Goh'ji was still standing. The experienced warrior had taken a step back right before Root's sluggish blow had connected, thus lessening the shock and damage. And now he was about to launch his counterattack. With all the speed and force he could still muster, the Dragonborn launched another double palm strike right onto the large crack in Root's armoured form. His hands were bleeding from all the strikes delivered straight into solid earth, but right now he didn't care. He struck with his tail, his legs and his palms over and over in the same spot, not giving Root even a moment to recover. He was putting all the energy he had left into this one assault. This flurry of blows was his last stand: if this failed, then the battle was lost.
And so finally, in front of hundreds of thousands of entranced spectators, one side wavered. All of Goh'ji's all-out attacks had finally taken their toll. His battered palms were covered in his own blood and his breathing was strained, and yet he still grinned. Because Root's Elemental form had finally broken. It might have been made out of the very earth itself, but she'd still had to use the fairly soft dirt from the arena floor as material for it. And while solid rock might have endured against her opponent's onslaught, the same could not be said about densely packed dirt. Thus the torso had crumbled completely, leaving a dust-covered Genasi wearing two bulky pillar-like stilts and arms. Wide open for Goh'ji's final attack.
"You fought well, young miss, but this is it! IT'S OVER!" Goh'ji screamed.
Root only had time to widen her eyes before the heavy tail struck her with enough force to launch her straight into a wall. Goh'ji had put all the strength he still had into this final attack, sufficient to knock her body right out of the remains of her Elemental form. And as her literal earthly attachments crumbled back to the ground, so did her limp body. Her eyes were closed and her form was still, yet a smile was frozen on her unmoving face. There were no signs of consciousness in the young Genasi. Only of physical strain, exhaustion and contentment.
The enraptured audience held their breaths as a fairy referee flew towards the battered Root, passing by a drained Goh'ji in the process. He fluttered around the druid a few times, before his microphone-enhanced voice rang out across the still battlefield.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"K.O!"
"AND THERE IT IS; THE KNOCKOUT BLOW! CONTESTANT ROOT APPEARED TO HAVE THE EDGE WITH HER EARTH ELEMENTAL TRANSFORMATION, BUT EVEN THAT LEVEL OF DEFENCE LITERALLY CRUMBLED IN FACE OF CONTESTANT GOH'JI'S SHEER LEVEL OF DETERMINATION! WITH THE MOTHER OF ALL TAIL STRIKES, THE FIRST BOUT OF THE QUARTERFINALS GOES TO THE SCALE-CLAD THUNDERER!"
Goh'ji fell down on his behind to the sound of the roaring crowd. Despite his worn-out state, he was content. Content that not only had he had one hell of a time on the battlefield, but also that he'd seen his opponent learn to enjoy herself as well. Of course, she probably didn't enjoy her injuries. Hopefully she wouldn't be too mad at him for going against her request to not break her bones. Right as that thought crossed the exhausted Dragonborn's mind, the shimmering white healing light once more began to cover the field.
Root was the first to feel the effects. Her broken ribs and cracked spine from her hitting the wall healed up, her many bruises faded away and her depleted stamina was restored to normal levels. Meanwhile, Goh'ji could feel the pain in his palms go away and his mind coming back from the brink of fainting. And as the healing field dissipated, Root quickly sat up in a motion not too unlike a springboard. Her broad smile had not disappeared upon regaining consciousness, still going strong as she stood up and hastily made her way towards Goh'ji. The Dragonborn followed suit, meeting her in the centre of the arena.
"Ohmigosh mister, that was so much more fun than I thought! I never imagined fighting could be anything but terrible, but it wasn't! Thank you so much for this match!" the Genasi gleefully announced.
She had expected nothing but pain, misery and antagonism, but had instead found excitement, determination and a surprising amount of sportsmanship. And in her mind, that was definitely worth losing for. Especially since both Goh'ji and the onlooking crowd had clearly had lots of fun as well.
"Warrior going up against warrior, to find out who's the strongest… that is indeed fun, as you put it. I'm glad you've realised this, miss! Thank you for this fight!" Goh'ji replied.
The two contestants ended the round with another handshake, Root practically bouncing up and down during it. All set to the approving cheers of the audience.
"AND WITH THAT, WE'LL THANK CONTESTANT ROOT FOR HER ROCKING PERFORMANCE! AND WE'LL CONGRATULATE CONTESTANT GOH'JI FOR HIS THUNDEROUS VICTORY, MAKING HIM THE FIRST FIGHTER TO QUALIFY FOR THE SEMIFINALS! BUT THIS TOURNAMENT IS FAR FROM OVER, FOLKS! IT'S TIME TO MOVE OUR ATTENTION TOWARDS THE SECOND BOUT OF TODAY! WHO WILL WIN: ARTIFICIAL FIGHTING SPIRIT OR DIVINE FEATS OF STRENGTH? LET'S FIND OUT!"
Owen Whitlock opened his eyes, grabbing his ornate greatsword as he stood up. Today the winner would be the one who garnered the favour of Tempus the most, thus his devoted prayer before the battle commenced. Right now, the paladin was as ready as ready could be. He'd just recently been wished good luck by his good friend Morgan, and with these brief moments of prayer he hopefully had the support of his deity as well. The hulking Dragonborn made his way towards the battlefield, all set to fight another artificial warrior.
In the other corridor, Prime was running towards the field almost at full speed with his green scarf billowing behind him. He was fresh from a pep talk from Abigail - not that he needed it, but it did help to fire him up even more. He barely even noticed the cheerful Genasi skipping past him. This fight was really important after all. His rival Goh'ji had managed to secure a spot in the semifinals, and if he could just beat Owen then Prime could finally face his fellow martial artist just like they had promised. He had to win this fight. The sleek robot made his way towards the battlefield, all set to fight another reptilian warrior.
The quarterfinals of the Multiversal Tournament had only just begun.
