Destiny (Part 2)
Outside the grand Albatra Colosseum.
"Harry it's time I go inside. Are you gonna go in? Watch from the stands?" (Gen)
Harry blushed.
"Yeah I'll watch, so I'll keep an eye out for Axel and... Watch... You" (Harry)
Gen smiled.
"I'll keep an eye out for you. And after the opening ceremony is over, do you... Wanna meet back here? Grab some lunch?" (Gen)
"Umm..." (Harry)
Harry rubbed the back of his head. He thought about Mel, the years they spent together.
"Yeah. I'd love to." (Harry)
Harry waved goodbye as Gen stepped through the magnificent golden doors of the colosseum.
Crowds of people standing, waiting, talking. Adventurers, spectators, anyone and everyone from all walks of life stood in this grand room. Walls of golden shine, pillars of marble. Three booths, each sitting on different sides of the room. The first sat on the left side of the room, a massive gate crowded by spectators trying to get to their seats. The second sat in the center of the room, with a long line of new adventures trying to get into the competition. And the final booth sat on the left side, in the corner of the room, surrounded by large guards carrying massive swords. The gate sat away from the crowds, away from the spectators and newcomers eager to join the ranks. It was a special gate for those already invited to the Promotion Trials.
Gen walked up to that gate. She stepped into the small line, with five people in front of her, she waited patiently for minutes. Eventually, she reached the front of the line, she stood in front of the booth, with a large staircase directly behind it, guarded by two heavily armed guards.
Her dreams, her aspirations, how far she had come, how much she still had to go.
She stepped up to the plate.
"I'm Genni Fliddil, D-Rank."
The Concession Stand Worker looked at his thick book of names and ranks. He flipped through the hundreds of pages landing on the D-Rank section. He scrolled through the thousands of names. He stopped on Genni Fliddil.
"Genni Fliddil? Oh yes. You are in the middle D-Rank. May I have your card?" (Concession Stand Worker)
Gen handed him her Adventurers ID.
He checked it over.
"Right, everything's in order." (Concession Stand Worker)
He handed her ID back to her.
"Thanks!" (Gen)
"Go upstairs take a sharp right. It's the first door on your left." (Concession Stand Worker)
"Thank you so much!" (Gen)
Gen quickly rushed up the stairs.
"Ugh how many more are there?" (Concession Stand Worker)
He looked to the short line of six people.
"Thank god... Ok next in line please!" (Concession Stand Worker)
Two more people went by. Three minutes passed.
A tall man in a black hood and flowing cloak walked up. He stood in the shadows of the line, waiting patiently for his turn. He stepped up to the plate, towering over the small booth. He pulled out his white letter from under his cloak and passed it to the Concession Stand Worker.
"What is this?" (Concession Stand Worker)
"The names Axel." (Axel)
Axel stood with a stern mean face. The Concession Stand Worker looked up in confusion and discomfort. He couldn't tell if this stranger in black was evil or just misunderstood. He opened the letter with shaky hands. He read it with haste.
"Ummm... Axel was your name?" (Concession Stand Worker)
"Yes what's the problem. I'm here to participate in this thing." (Axel)
"Ummm... Where did you find this letter?" (Concession Stand Worker)
"A friend gave it to me." (Axel)
"A friend... Is your friend by any chance named Mellody?" (Concession Stand Worker)
"Yup." (Axel)
"Uhhh I can't except this. I'm gonna have to run this through with my boss. I don't even know if this is allowed?" (Concession Stand Worker)
Axel looked with anger.
"Uhhggg." (Axel)
He sighed in annoyance. The Concession Stand Worker leaned back in his chair and pointed to the other line in the center of the room.
"For now can you um... You can get registered as a new Adventurer for the time being." (Concession Stand Worker)
Axel looked at the long line of newcomers, he turned back, he looked up the stairs. He thought about it. About running up, skipping the line, making a run for it. But the words of Mel kept swimming throughout his mind, making him think twice.
"Yeah right, I can't trust you alone. You might start fights with any old Adventurer you meet and get thrown out of the competition or even jail." (Mel)
His mind blackened, darkness. A single voice telling him to go, go, go. The other saying to stay, to listen, to be patient. The two sides of the same coin. The angel and the devil.
"Fine." (Axel)
He turned away annoyed. He walked toward the long line reaching the other end of the massive room. The Concession Stand Worker sighed with exhaustion.
"I think I'm gonna quit after today. They just keep getting rowdier and rowdier, and carrier. This is bad on my-" (Concession Stand Worker)
Heavy footsteps stomped forward. A huge six-foot-seven man in tight metal armor walked up to the booth. He looked down through the small glass window. He turned to Axel and pointed.
"Who was that man?" (Huge Man)
"Umm... Sir that is... It's confidential. I can't tell you any information on other contestants-" (Concession Stand Worker)
"Yes, you can." (Huge Man)
"I'm sorry but I-" (Concession Stand Worker)
"I'm done here!" (Huge Man)
The Huge Man stomped forward. The two armored guards held out their swords to prevent him from taking another step but they were pushed away by his pure strength.
"Let him go!" (Concession Stand Worker)
The two guards looked at the Concession Stand Worker with confusion as they let the massive silver armored man walk past them.
"Let him pass. I could tell just by one glance. You can't deal with him. He's the A-Rank MeloMelo, also known as The Impenetrable MeloMelo." (Concession Stand Worker)
---
Axel walked across the room. He jumped to the back of the line. Standing tall and tired, annoyed, and bored. He looked to the person in front of him.
It was a kid. A seventeen-year-old kid. Joshua.
"Oh shit. It's the kid." (Axel)
Joshua turned around. The scary tall figure in black. He immediately turned back. His eyes glistening with anxiety and worry. Hundreds of situations passed through his mind. Thousands of possible outcomes, conversations.
"Hey, kid?" (Axel)
Joshua slowly turned around. His face sweating profusely.
"Y- Yesssss..." (Joshua)
"You're going to..." (Axel)
He stopped himself from saying any more, going any further. He couldn't just tell this kid in front of him that he was going to die. He had to ease it in, go slow.
"Kid. We've met. At the store. The potions." (Axel)
Joshua stopped sweating and remembered the man he bumped into, the kind tall figure that gave him back his potions.
"Ohhh yeah. It's nice to meet ya." (Joshua)
He held out his hand. Axel firmly grabbed hold, shaking it up and down like he had no clue how to shake someone's hand.
"My names Axel, what is yours kid." (Axel)
"I'm Joshua. I'm starting out this year to become an Adventurer." (Joshua)
He turned to the long line, the twenty people in front of him, waiting patiently, quietly. He looked to the front of the line, as people entered one way, through a single door, to a future unknown and untold.
"Are you getting evaluated as well?" (Joshua)
"Umm... Isn't that why I'm here." (Axel)
"Well yeah but... I guess it depends. Are you already an Adventurer? Cause if you're already F or E-Rank then you'd just wasting your time." (Joshua)
"What do you mean?" (Axel)
He looked up and down the line.
"Most of the guys here are all F or E-Ranks. Only about half are actually getting evaluated as newcomers. The others are just on this line pretending, so they can get reevaluated." (Joshua)
"Then what's the point of the trial?" (Axel)
"For most F or E-Ranks the trials are a barrier. The only way to rank up is through these trials so if you fail year after year without any hope, most just turn to either becoming a Porter and getting on higher-ranked missions, or they try to cheat the system." (Joshua)
The line moved forward one step.
"Your pretty knowledgeable kid." (Axel)
"Hehe yeah I know. It's been sorta my dream to become an Adventurer. Like my father." (Joshua)
Axel stayed silent. He thought about Gen and her D-Rank. He then started to wonder about his own rank and where he would land in the evaluation.
"What rank are you aiming for Axel?" (Joshua)
He thought for a quick second.
"S-Rank." (Axel)
Joshua burst into laughter.
"Nah nah man. There's absolutely no way. I'm probably lucky enough to get into D-Rank." (Joshua)
Axel smirked with confidence.
"You can dream big man. You can dream." (Joshua)
"Shut up kid. Just watch." (Axel)
---
Fifteen minutes later.
"I'm up first big man, I'll see ya on the other side." (Joshua)
Joshua walked through the door. The darkness enveloping him. Axel waved from the other side. The void swallowed and shut fast.
One minute passed.