The New Age

The scent of the sea rode on the cool evening breeze as our hero, Erika, sat in the sand. The spray of the ocean cooled her skin as the hot day winded down, and the vast sky danced on the waves giving her and other locals a feast for the eyes.

“The sea is always so lovely in the evening…” she said.

“Perfect time to go for an evening jog… And a great time to check out Riley’s match at the Leonidas Colosseum…” Erika groaned out as she stretched her limbs. Her windbreaker swished as she dusted the sand off her clothes.

”Lumina and Aria should be the commentators so this’ll be interesting…” She turns towards the gigantic looming arena several blocks down.

“I should probably get going then. Don’t wanna miss any of her matches. Plus, maybe I can grab something delicious from the concessions,” she smiled before making a dash toward Leonidas Colosseum.

The neon blue lights glistened in her peripherals. The evening glow lends to the serenity of the night. At least it did... Until she got closer to the arena.

The roar of the crowd and the blaring play-by-play courtesy of the greatest emcees in the city filled the air with excitement.

"Ohhh!! And Hazel takes a massive blow! But she isn't done yet folks!! In fact, with her No Retreat skill, we're just getting started!!" one announcer cried out.

"Huh, must've gotten the time wrong. I thought Riley's match was... Oh... Stupid watch, I thought I repaired this thing." She sighs as she pulls out her phone. 

"Yup, 5 minutes off... Ah well... Might as well catch the tail end of this match. Who knows, maybe we'll see an upset." She races inside towards the cheers of the spectators.

Once she makes her way through the stands to the open air of the stadium, she looks down towards the match as she looks for a seat. On the right, dashing through the wreckage of a sunken pirate ship she spies Hazel, a rough looking tomboy who had her long raven hair tied back with a pirate bandana and combat boots to match. And on the left was her opponent, the ever shy yet equally skillful, Cole who was throwing her chisel with great expertise. She barely needed a glance to track Hazel as she slammed her hammer into the chisel sending it rocketing into the wreckage after Hazel before it either teleported to her hand or returned to it with equal force.

Her bangs obscured one of her glowing eyes, and her beret sitting perched atop her head as she scanned every inch of her surroundings. With her sweater and shorts, she looked more ready for a day of shopping than an evening partaking in the heart pounding action of monthly Gilgamesh Fighting challenge, and yet, she looked like she was doing better than Hazel.

"Not bad Cole," Hazel said through ragged gasps as she swung over to Cole's island in from a frayed rope. "You may be scared out of your wits, but you've got me on the back foot." She landed with a skillful roll. "But Mary Reed and I ain't gonna be done in yet we've still got enough energy to make our last stand against you."

 She brandished her cutlass as Cole squeezed her plushie and tools. "Then... What say you we start wrapping this up...?" Cole asked with quiet determination.

"Looks like we're getting to the final stretch folks, their scores on the board are getting low. Now our fighters look ready to release their sacred treasures!!" hollered Lumina from the commentary booth.

The arena grew tense as both Hazel's cutlass and Cole's plushie begin glowing with enormous power. Both of them begin reciting their incantations without missing a beat.

“No Surrender! No retreat!

I won't ever accept defeat!

No storm nor wave

No scorching haze

Will ever quench my Pirate’s Blaze!

Sacred Treasure Release!" Hazel roared as a tempest of power stirred in the arena. Her body glowed with a powerful blue aura.

But even in the face of this raging storm, Cole held on. Though fear would normally rule her, this was where she made her stand. "Let's do this Galatea..." She whispered to her doll.

"My love, my life, my eternal happiness

My greatest creation who was blessed by the divine.

Breathe Life through your body and show all of your unmatched beauty!

Sacred Treasure

Release!"

The plushie began moving on its own and lept from Cole's arms before growing into a full fledged person the same age as Cole. Her skin and long flowing hair were stunningly white and silky smooth without a single taint. Her skin looked soft to the touch yet strong and firm. The doll's dress now growing to match her proportions and now donning fashionable heels. But notably, she also held her own chisel and hammer identical to Cole's.

"Galatea, at your service Cole."

"Here we see our competitors' sacred treasures!!" Lumina cried. "For Hazel, we have her Pirate Princess’s Cutlass, AKA, the cutlass Mary Read wielded the day of her capture! And for Cole, we have ourselves her partner, Galatea, King Pygmalion's Marble statue!"

Hazel rushed at both women, her cutlass at the ready as the water in the shipwreck churned with her presence into a whirlpool, but as Cole stood trembling before her adversary, Galatea grabbed her shoulder comfortingly as they swung their hammer to meet Hazel's attack. The force of the hammer and sword was intense, but it was over in an instant. All three of them stood opposite each other with their backs turned. The arena fell silent before...

Hazel took a knee before collapsing on the floor of the island. Cole stumbled, but stayed standing in the sand.

In an instant, the arena erupted into applause for the competitors, Hazel turning over to her back before sitting up. "Not bad! You've grown quite a lot since the last few years Cole. You'll be a champion soon enough. Just keep your chin up," she said as she stood up and took Cole's hand to raise it up. 

"Man that was awesome!!" Erika commented. "I can only hope Riley's match is just as intense. Maybe once her challenge match is done we can get some fresh food at Argo's Journey. That sea breeze always gets me in the mood for some seafood." she chuckled. 

As the arena retracted and the fighters made their way to the medical bay, Erika cast a quick spell to leave an illusionary double in her seat as she made her way to the concession stand. For she could feel in her bones that her best friend was going to have a tough fight in store.