Chapter 10: Alone
“It’s a shame, but it’s the reality we live in, Victor.” Vullu was trying to sound composed, but Victor could see the pain in his eyes. He felt guilty for making the older guy feel like he had to comfort him. Vullu should be dealing with his own grief, not trying to console someone he hardly knew.
“Yeah. It sucks. Anyway, I’m sorry for your loss, Vullu.” Victor moved to his corner of the cage and put his face toward the corner post, resting his forehead on the iron. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything other than Yrella’s twitching corpse.
“She was your friend, Victor. Just so you know. She joked a lot, but she told me she was glad Yund threw you in our cage.”
“Jesus, man. I don’t wanna hear that! What good does it do anyone? She’s fucking gone!”
“She’s not gone if we carry her with us, Victor. Your relationships with the people you meet shape you, you know. Knowing she was fond of you changes the paths you will walk, whether you realize it or not. So, it’s good that you know.” Victor gently banged his forehead against the iron post, feeling the way it vibrated his skull.
“If you say so, dude.” He heard a cell door clang, and he looked up the aisle to see Ponda walking away from a cage toward the exit. “Hey, Ponda,” he called.
“What, kid?” The big furry man glanced at him as he strode by.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
“When’s the next fucking fight? I need to get five done as soon as possible.”
“I wouldn’t wish too hard, kid. Boss saw you massacre that guy, you know; he’s gonna try to make some money off you. Your next match might get a little uglier if you get my meaning.”
“Chingado! Of course, he is. Well, I don’t care; when is it?”
“Four days, and it’s at the Nail, so you might get more than one fight. Boss’s stable is running light.” Ponda didn’t wait to see if that answer satisfied Victor; he kept walking, slamming the door behind himself.
“Well, I got ten points to spend. Any advice, Vullu?” He turned and slid down onto his ass, folding his legs in the position that Yrella had taught him.
“I know it might seem counter-intuitive, but you might want to put some points into will and intelligence; they help with Energy manipulation. It might help you figure out a cultivation drill if you increase those attributes.” Vullu sat down, laid back, and closed his eyes, apparently done talking. Victor looked at his status sheet and decided to put two points each into intelligence and will, bringing them to an even ten. Then he dumped his other six points into strength. His berserk skill said it would double his strength and speed for the duration - might as well capitalize on that. He knew that if Yrella were there right now, she’d nag him to try to figure out his cultivation method, so he rubbed a knuckle into his forehead, trying to focus, and then he took a deep breath and looked into his Core.
For the first time since he’d been brought to this world, Yrella didn’t wake him up the next day. Victor and Vullu went through their routine like usual, and when they returned to their cages in the afternoon, Victor spent another few hours steeped in memories that filled him with frustration and rage. When he finished, his Core was hot and dense, and he felt like it might level again soon. He was spent and slept again, not chatting with Vullu and not playing dice. This cycle repeated for two days. On the third day, Victor’s Core leveled again, and he noticed he had over three hundred Energy points available to him now. He opened his eyes, breathed deeply, and painstakingly began the process of pushing all his rage-attuned Energy into his Core, slowly coming out of the fury his cultivation drill seemed to induce.
“Your Core leveled again.” Vullu didn’t phrase it as a question, so Victor didn’t answer. They’d not spoken much over the last few days - something was off with their dynamic that Victor didn’t think could be fixed. The piece that made them connect had been Yrella. Maybe that wasn’t true, but Victor believed it, and so did Vullu, which made it true enough. His rage contained, and his vision clear again, he exhaled slowly and looked at Vullu. The Cadwalli was a dangerous fighter; Victor knew he held back a great deal when they sparred. He looked miserable, though, and Victor wondered what the old guy had to live for if he ever got out of here. Did he have a family? He’d known Yrella outside this place; had they built plans together for when they might someday be free? Were those plans dead now?
“You doing alright, Vullu?” He didn’t know where the question had come from, but Victor was glad he said it. Sometimes stupid things escaped his mouth, but this had been right - he could feel it.
“I think I’m going to leave, Victor. I earned my freedom a while ago; I’d been staying to help Yrella pay down her debt.”
“Oh? Well, shit, man. I can’t blame you. I’d wanna get out of here too.” Victor was screaming inside his mind, but he managed to keep it out of his voice.
“Really, Victor? I’m worried about you, but my heart is broken, and I think I need to seek out loved ones.” Victor’s mind spasmed at this latest statement. Was he a complete bonehead? Had Yrella and Vullu been, like, together the whole time? He thought they were something like friends or partners in crime; he hadn’t noticed romance between the two. His mind flashed back to how Yrella used to sleep with her head on Vullu’s thigh, and he groaned inwardly. He was an idiot.
“Vullu, you’ve been through hell, bro. You should get the fuck out while you can. I’ll fight my way free; I’m determined. If nothing else, I’ll do it for Yrella.” Victor knew it was bravado, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t stomach the idea of Vullu sticking around this place because he was worried about him. Vullu studied Victor for a few long moments, and then he stood up and started kicking at the cage door, making it rattle loudly with each blow of his hoof.
“Victor, I’m not going to forget about you. Keep working on getting out, and I’ll see what I can figure out from the outside.” The exit door slammed open, and Ponda came waddling down the aisle.
“What?” he barked.
“I’m checking out, Ponda. Take me to Yund.”
“Har, we was betting on when you’d do this. Urt’s gonna be happy.” While Ponda fiddled with the cage door, Vullu stepped over to Victor and held out a hand. Victor took it and, for maybe the last time, gripped his sparring partner’s hand, wincing at his iron grip.
“Take care,” Victor said. He wanted to say more, but he didn’t trust himself. He’d almost choked up on “take care.”
“Remember what I said - keep working for it. I’ll try to help you out.” With that, he strode out of the cage and down the aisle with Ponda, and when the heavy door slammed shut, it felt more final than ever before. Victor sat down, looked at his empty cell, and wondered what he could have done to change things, what he could have done not to be alone.
