Re: Incarnation Death Match 1 Reunion

That simple question echoed throughout the walls of the cavern, accompanying the musty smell and the echoes of dripping water from who knows where. The rocks are slippery, no doubt from the mix of mud, moss, and water grinding on the rocks until they become far too smooth for their boots to have proper grip.

"Ivanna, we are not on a camping trip, we both know that. Even if the rumors say it is here, this whole thing is pretty much a gamble." Claire answered from the frontmost of the group. Her straight black hair, usually reaching her collarbone, were tied up in a more reasonable ponytail, allowing ease of movement. Even in the less than stellar lighting, the bags below her blue eyes are still visible, even stark, against her pale skin.

"A gamble we willingly took. It's either our life, a sore backside, or wasted time, in exchange of getting whatever Incarnation sleeps here. Besides, whoever they are, there's still no rumors about their power. We only reached this point because I know in advance people who tried to go usually die to rabid bats waiting on the shortest route to the depths, or the slippery slide in the middle of the path." Ronan, walking in the middle of Claire and Ivanna, finally spoke, whispering as to not create any more cacophony of echoes. His brown hair was matted with sweat and who knows what else, the spiky strands now limply laying down all over his head, and his amber eyes kept scanning the place around them. "I mean, imagine! Even if the Incarnation we get has low-rated power level, we can still sell-"

"Ronan, don't even think about it." Claire cut off, her voice sharp.

"Sorry, sorry!" Ronan raised his hand. "I mean, if they're of lower level, wouldn't they see more use as research subject? Besides, the Incarnation, no matter what form you see them in, doesn't obey laws set in our world, even natural law. They aren't really 'people', Claire."

"Still, it's not right."

"Then tell me, what are you going to do if they're a low level? Use them to fight and become a laughingstock? Other partic.i.p.ants saying that you, and by extension, us, can't even control your Incarnation?"

"You do realize that they at least have some sentience, right?"

"Okay, guys. Not this again, seriously. I get that you both have different thoughts, but we should focus on the matter at hand first." Ivanna chimed in, scratching her matted bright red hair in indignation. "Find the Incarnation, come out alive. Then, you can argue about it all you want."

"Alright, Ivanna." Ronan sighed.

"True. We have a bigger fish to fry at the moment… Wait. Stop, guys." Claire stopped walking, extending her hand towards the back to stop her two friends.

"… d.a.m.n, is this even real?"

"Real as it can be, Ronan." Claire sighed, pointing at a swirling energy vortex at the cavern wall, separated from them by a chasm almost two meters wide. In the bottom, only darkness can be seen, their flashlights not even enough to provide a hint of depth or what lurks within.

"Should we go back? I don't think this is a good idea." Ivanna said.

"Not a chance, we've spent so much just to do this."

"I second Ronan, Ivanna." Claire sighed. "Well, do we want to try our luck jumping, or try this?" Claire reached into her backpack, taking a roll of rope, with a carabiner at the end. "I bought this before we went in. Five meters, should be enough."

"I wouldn't test my luck with that, Claire. I suggest we go back now."

"I'm going." Ronan bit back a shaky breath. "Our differences aside, I have my reasons."

"Then let everyone out there know the location? We're pretty close, and I want to at least see what type of Incarnation we can get." Claire has formed a la.s.so, aiming for some of the stalagmite near the chasm. "You coming?"

"Dammit, fine." Ivanna sighed. "I hope we're right, or else we'll be one of those who disappeared just to look for an Incarnation to partic.i.p.ate in the arena. One among those 'dead' statistics."

Without wasting time, Claire threw the la.s.so, letting it land on the stalagmite and pulled it to ensure the safety. She looked at the knot on the other side, before tying a secure knot on the nearest stalagmite on their side.

"There… and, we're done." Claire nodded. "I'm going first, or any of you taking first dibs?"

No one answered.

Claire shrugged, gave the rope one test tug, and climbed up, hanging on the rope to support herself.

"CLAIRE!" The two remaining people screamed.

"What?" Claire kept crossing the chasm, her expression a mixture of deadpan and serious.

"At least warn us first, dammit! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I did ask who want to go first, Van." Claire reached the other side and gripped on one of the rocks along the cave walls, sending small rocks tumbling down and causing her two friends to wince.

"True, but... Screw it, I'm second! If I fail, I'm haunting you from beyond the grave, Claire!" Ivanna checked the rope on her side and, less than gracefully, went to the other side. Upon reaching the other side, Ivanna glared at Claire, the unspoken threat after everything is over clear to anyone within the area.

"Alright, and now..." Ronan, after seeing Ivanna reach the other side safely, exhaled and made his way onto the rope, gripping it until his knuckles turned white from the pressure.

The rope started shaking, the stalagmite on the starting side unable to support the weight on it any longer.

Claire bit her lips.

When Ronan reached the other side without a hitch, Claire and Ivanna exhaled, wincing at the thought of them being one second late.

"Alright, now what?" Ivanna asked.

"Go in, of course." Claire answered, her tone deadpan, a contrast from her panic earlier. "Hey, Ronan?"

"Sure."

Ronan touched the swirling vortex, not quite entering it, yet enough to create a ripple. It felt like touching a body of water.

"I have a good feeling about this." Ronan said, while rubbing his chin. "Let's go."

Ronan walked in first, followed by Claire and Ivanna.

The inside of the vortex was simple, only consisting of a smooth rock wall creating a narrow room barely four square meter wide. In the middle of the room, chains extend from the celling to the ground, coc.o.o.ning a tall, lanky girl no more than fifteen years of age. Her messy black hair, with occasional strands of s.h.i.+mmering white, spread down her mid-back. From the edges of the chain coc.o.o.n, some kind of white fabric can be seen, presumably from a simple white dress.

"We did it!" Ivenna shouted, her words feels louder in the small room.

"Yep, we got it, indeed. Our efforts have paid off." Ronan walked closer, carefully and slowly, like someone approaching an uncaged wild beast. "From what I can see, She's a D. We're lucky."

"What, all that trouble for a D-rank?" Ivenna frowned, staring at the coc.o.o.ned girl.

"Not D-rank, just D. That's how my circle refer to Divine ranks, the top rank, right above rank. She's a rare specimen, indeed... Not many Divines are out there, only five is known from the previous Death Matches, out of the many contestants vying for the top spot…"

"Look, Claire! You got it! We got it!" Ivanna raised her fist and jumped in antic.i.p.ation.

Hearing no answer, Ivanna turned around.

"Claire?"

"… Ah? Oh, sorry. What was that again?" Claire blinked, snapping herself out of her stare on the chain coc.o.o.n.

"The gist is, she's a Divine. We hit jackpot." Ronan explained.

Claire tuned the explanation out.

"… You have to wake her up." Ronan finished.

"Alright, alright." Claire shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "As promised, I'll be the one taking care of her."

Claire walked closer, slowly and carefully, taking her time to let the reality sink in. The chained girl kept on sleeping, oblivious to all the chatter going on around her.

"Hey…"

Claire touched the girl. Her face felt cold to the touch.

"Mmph..."

"You... You look familiar… Who are you?" The girl said, her voice low and shaky. Her gray eyes looked s.h.i.+neless and empty, as if she was consumed by despair. Energy swirled around her, coiling and spinning like snakes made of steam, making the warm room feel a bit hotter.

Claire shook her head. "No, we never met before. My name is Claire." Claire fingered the blue glowing chains. Slowly, but surely, the binding dissipated, leaving strands of blue chains with melted ends scattered on the rocky cavern floor.
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The chained girl descended to the floor, and the place became hotter the moment her feet touched the ground. A wave of heat, intense and painful, was released as her gray eyes turned red, just like rubies. The white parts of her hair hardened, twisting itself to create a pair of crystal loops holding her black hair up into a pair of twintails. Black gauntlets, tipped with red crystals on the fingers, materialized on her hands, glowing from the heat, along with a set of black armor tipped with matching red accents.

"Claire... Alright. As you have freed me, I will fight for you, until the end." The girl bowed, reaching for one, longer strand of the chains formerly binding her. The moment her right gauntlet touched the strand, the gauntlet started disappearing, exposing her hand. In seconds, the fire faded, and the room cooled down, before the girl returned into the form in which she was tied up. The blue, glowing chain was tied on her wrist, reaching up to the middle of her forearm. "Shall we go, Claire?"

"I second her suggestion, Claire." Ivenna replied, Claire seemingly zoned out. "Hey, are you okay? You've been out of it."

"Just the shock of getting a Divine-ranker. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Claire replied, walking back to the swirling vortex with the formerly coc.o.o.ned girl behind her.

"What's your name?" Claire asked, almost hesitant, to the girl, as if ashamed of herself for forgetting to ask such a trivial matter.

The girl only shook her head.

"That's odd... How about I call you F… Fiora?" Claire asked. "I've always thought it was a beautiful name, honestly."

"Fiora?" She repeated, careful and slow. "Fiora... Fiora... Yes, I like it. Fiora it is."

"Glad you like it, Fiora."

"Claire, what are you on about? She wouldn't have any… I mean, Incarnations have no name when they are just released. I literally told you before we went into this hole." Ronan interjected into their conversation.

"Hey, calm down, Ronan. In case you forgot, we literally just risked our lives, you know. That tend to make you take your mind off other things." Ivanna replied. "Regardless, how are we getting out of this place?"

"The way we came from? It's long, but pretty safe." Claire replied, stepping out from the vortex while followed by Fiora, Ronan, and Ivanna. "We still have rabid bats waiting on the other road, after all."

"Wow, so you three went ahead and got the Incarnation first, huh?"

Hearing the voice, the four looked at the direction, right across the chasm they came from. Claire, Ivanna, and Ronan's faces twisted with distaste upon seeing the source of the voice. A tall, copper haired man with green eyes scanned them, regarding them with contempt. His clothes looked luxurious, the vibrant red trying to overpower the drab greyness of the cave walls.

"Oscar, you d.a.m.n stalker! How did you even know this place?!" Claire exclaimed.

"Deci, kill them." Without answering, Oscar muttered to the hooded figure next to him. "Leave the blue-eyed girl unharmed."

"As you wish."

Several knives flew towards the group, causing the three to scramble off in an attempt to avoid the projectile.

Faster than the knives, Fiora unraveled the blue chain from her wrist.

Clang!

The moment she stopped touching the chain, heat permeated the air, marking her change back into the form seen by the three upon her release. Burning chains extended from Fiora's gauntlets, one aiming for their attacker, the other deflecting the knives just in time.

"Claire, keep this chain safe." Fiora said, gesturing to the blue chain on the floor. "What do you want me to do?"

"What do you mean, Fiora?"

"Engage and fight..." With her expression blank, Fiora continued moving her burning chains, protecting the three with one chain while trying to reach the hooded figure with the other. "… or run."