Grey stretched out in an arena. He remembered having been in a place like this one before, a sandy, arena-like region where the squires had trained and played their little games.
Though Grey hadn’t been around those guys for long, he kind of missed them. Well, he missed the ones of them that hadn’t stolen his stat points and tried to steal his treasures.
The environment was just so much like the MMA gyms he had been in before. So much grit, so much sweat and just a tiny hint of blood lingering in the air.
It really got the blood going.
He figured he had caused enough trouble here for the time being. It was time to end this.
He jumped up, his body feeling nice and limber. Honestly, it already had before, but he had a bit of a habit of doing this. Just that he was in so many life and death struggles recently that he hadn’t really gotten a chance.
So when he did get that chance... he took it.
"Ah," Grey let out a loud sigh. He looked to the side to find that a trio of priests had appeared at some unknown time, probably some representation for the Pope. He found it kind of funny that that guy wouldn’t be here personally.
But other than the Pope not being here, the Boundless was very much absent too. Considering how clearly upset the man was, Grey would have thought that he would want to see this personally. But... apparently not.
That said, there were a whole host of people here that Grey didn’t know, and a few that he actually did.
The first of the latter group were the usual suspects. Amunet, Mauve, and Brad were wrapped up in Grey’s nonsense once again. Then there was Lloron, the youngest disciple of The Forsaken. But the other... now that one was unexpected.
It was none other than the young man Grey had affectionately named juggernaut wannabe. The Disciple of The Relentless, Bas.
Grey chuckled a bit when he saw him, but other than that, he didn’t recognize anyone else. There were a few other youths hanging around them that Grey likewise didn’t recognize.
"A whole peanut gallery, just for me. Oh boy."
BOOM.
The gates to the sandy training grounds were slammed open, quaking on their foundation as a behemoth of a man, or boy, or something, stormed in. But before he could rush ahead, an even more enormous creature caught him by the scruff of the neck like he was just some sort of unruly kitten.
Grey blinked as everyone else likewise looked over. When they saw who it was, they seemed to understand and not mind it anymore.
Grey, however, was very much still confused. How could he know that the larger man was also The Boundless’ disciple? Well, he could guess that much. Obesity seemed to spread like a disease between these people.
What he didn’t really understand was why the smaller one looked like a rabid animal.
In fact, there was quite literally an odd rusty aura wafting from him like the stink of BO. It kind of did stink like BO too after Grey caught a whiff of it, but not quite like that.
It was more like the musty scent of someone with diabetes, which was both understandable and odd at the same time, the latter of the emotions coming because Grey could actually swear that...
’He’s getting smaller?’
The bigger man laughed. "Apologies for my little disciple brother here, he’s a bit eager to get back to eating, and he tends to lose his mind a bit when he hasn’t had a bite in a while."
Grey blinked. How long could it have possibly been? They only set up this battle like half an hour ago at most. Could he really be that hungry?
A hint of a flicker danced in Grey’s eyes as he watched the young man lose another half inch off his waist. He was quickly becoming smaller, but the only thing he was losing to the air was...
’Impurities?’
Grey had seen this before. He had expelled his own several times now.
Somehow, Pandro was leeching all the energy from his fat, using it to strengthen his bone and muscle, while getting rid of all the other waste.
But this didn’t seem to be a process that was only happening now. It was happening constantly, routinely, every minute of every day. Could he even sleep like this?
And how powerful had he gotten in the time since this all started?
Grey’s eyes narrowed.
"I guess everyone is ready then," the man said with a smile as his younger disciple brother tried eating a bite out of his arm, only to barely nick the flesh. "In that case, we can probably just start. Ready?" the man seemed quite amiable, double checking with Grey.
Grey shrugged. "Sure. No problem."
"Sounds good. Alright, everyone. Proper distancing measures. I can make a barrier, but if you’re reckless, you might get hurt."
At that moment, a group of nuns strolled through the broken gates in a tightly huddled group. Clearly, their curiosity had gotten the best of them. Well, that and Grey’s aggravating posturing. He actually took a piss in their white rose garden! Ridiculous.
The head of them looked at Grey with a growl in her eyes. How that was possible, Grey didn’t know. But he was pretty sure he could hear it.
Grey grinned.
"Alright, start."
Grey was distracted by pretty faces when Pandro hit the ground, his senior brother vanishing afterward, appearing outside the perimeter.
It felt like Pandro appeared in an instant of time, his fist blasting apart what was left of Grey’s bomber jacket in harsh winds, mere moments from landing on his stomach.
Grey suddenly reacted, moving later, and yet somehow seeming a ton faster.
He became as light as a feather, slapping a palm down at Pandro’s wrist and flipping his body overhead.
He soared past Pandro and landed deftly on the ground.
"If we’re going to—."
Grey’s cheeky words were stopped by a fist to the jaw. He barely had the time to turn around when Pandro’s knuckles landed flush on his chin, snapping his head to the side.
The world spun around him.