“Dude.”
“What?”
“Dude!”
“What?”
“DUDE!”
Retvik snapped to attention, realizing he was in a bed. Standing over him were some familiar faces. Immediately, something blue and fluffy forced its way into Retvik’s arms. This was followed by far too many people trying to hug him, and a shower of confetti.
“Dude, you fucking did it!” Kayel exclaimed as he held Retvik way too tightly. Tenuk was also clinging on for dear life. Nyssi not so much, but only because she had an ice pack strapped to her cheek.
“I… I did what?” Retvik stuttered, before suddenly answering his own question. “By the Light, I… I won!”
“You did!” Tenuk nuzzled up closer. “And you used all the stuff we gave you! And you utterly traumatized that guy! You’re the best!”
“I am! I am the best!”
“Also, you’ve been out of it for like twelve hours…” Nyssi tutted. “It’s the 19th now. So, uh, happy birthday.”
Retvik blinked some more and tried to rub his eyes, but everyone was kinda in the way. Kayel and Nyssi got the hint and moved away, but Tenuk remained on Retvik’s lap. Retvik did manage to wipe his eyes, and once his vision had cleared, he better inspected the room.
“Congratulations, Retvik!” Phovos smiled. “I know you wanted to celebrate your birthday and your victory today, but I would very much like it if you allowed us to do the Triumphant Crown Ceremony, while everything is nice and fresh, i.e. as soon as possible.”
“Oh… Uh… What time is it?”
“9am.”
“Huh… And how long will the ceremony take?”
“A while. You got a LOT of fans out there, waiting for you.”
Retvik frowned, just for a moment, but he quickly smiled again. “I suppose I can push back my birthday party until tomorrow. I will do the ceremony, of course, but on one condition.”
Phovos tilted her head to one side, curious as to what Retvik was about to demand. Normally she’d be annoyed, but Retvik deserved this.
“Sure. Out with it.”
“I want you to come to my birthday party.”
It was the Raptor’s turn to blink in confusion. “Are you fucking with me?”
“No…” Retvik quickly glanced around the room again before he spoke. “I am inviting all my other friends with, uh… you call it Akairon Healing… Well, it will be Tenuk, Nyssi, Kayel, Talok, Thassalin and hopefully Kuta too. Might as well invite you too, yes?”
“Who is Thassalin?”
“Our giant pink Thraki friend!” Nyssi beamed. “He’s awesome. Also he can change sizes and make himself small. And he’s, like, one of Holy Sini’s boyfriends or something and he’s really fucking old. Older than you.”
Phovos thought to herself, then sighed. She didn’t have any major plans, and Retvik’s request was… interesting. “Alright, sure. But I want you up and ready in thirty minutes. There’s tons of people out there begging to see you, and a lot of folks on a time limit who desperately want to see a Triumphant Crown Ceremony live.”
Retvik grunted, then glanced down. “I mean, of course, Kyr Raptor… Uh, is there anything I need to do? Also… Also you… took all my armour off.”
“The medics did that, to make sure you were alright!” Nyssi explained. “The effect of one of the Temthan venoms you were hit with was a tranquillizer, which my anti-venom only seemed to temporarily halt. Once your adrenaline levels dropped, you kinda just passed out.”
“Oh. Well, I feel fine now, just a bit tired. Where is my armour, so I can get changed?”
Phovos pointed to a nearby chair, utterly buried in Retvik’s black and gold Xeno Dessaron One armour. “Get yourself ready and meet me by the house fighter entrance to the main arena in 30 minutes. The rest of you, come with me.”
Everyone else followed Phovos out of the room, and the door slammed shut behind them. Retvik climbed out of bed and did as he was told, getting himself ready.
Eventually, Retvik made his way outside, as directed, tugging on a broken piece of armour plating on his arm as he did so. The trip towards the main entrance had been eerily quiet, but as he reached his destination, Retvik realized that almost every house fighter was there, waiting for him, as well as quite a few normal gladiators. Retvik recognized Vel, Gathin and Kohgrah, members of the Rethan-run Dessaron teams, and they all bowed as he walked by.
“Ready when you are!” General Kaiga, who was in charge of all the Rethan gladiators, smiled.
“Thank you…” Retvik felt ever so slightly nervous and he didn’t know why.
As Retvik stepped out into the main arena, he was met with vast, vast applause. The arena wasn’t as full as it was for his 300th victory, but he could see Rethans in the crowd. That was… new.
Standing in the centre of the arena was the Raptor, flanked by her best house fighters on her right and the rest of Xeno Dessaraon One on her left. Next to them was Ct’Tack the Mighty, the other living wearer of the Triumphant Crown, one of the only two beings who had reached a streak of 300 wins since the Triumphant Crown had been founded. Ct’Tack was an old Banikan, with two broken horns, no longer able to fight, having earned his crown 20 years prior, and swiftly retired not long after.
Behind the Raptor were the Council of the Great Arena, represented by one member of each of the Twelve.
“Welcome back, Retvik!” Phovos was smiling way too much. In fact, she had her hood down, meaning everyone could see her scarred face, matted main and cold, blue eyes. “You’ve made us all proud, you know?”
Retvik nodded, not really sure what to expect. As he approached Phovos, Phovos approached him, meeting him in the exact centre of the arena. The Raptor smiled some more, then activated her headset so she could speak to both Retvik and the crowds, all of whom were still cheering but had settled down somewhat. In Phovos’s hand was a heavy, metal, black band, with red, blue, pink and yellow gems embedded in it.
“Today, before us, stands a new champion of champions. After so many years of the title being dominated by two Banikans, it seems… almost odd that a normally rather docile Rethan would be joining the ranks of the Triumphant Crown. So many have fought to bring you down, tear you apart and even fight dirty. But you have remained noble and honourable every step of the way.”
Phovos placed a hand on Retvik’s shoulder. It was a bit hard to, since Retvik was quite a bit taller than she was.
“Retvik Rethianos, Captain of the 1000th Legion, the Tank of Xeno Dessaron One, the Lightbearer, from now on, you can add a new title to your collection. By the right and power of the Great Arenas, from now on, you are now also Retvik Rethianos, Triumphant Champion.”
The Raptor hinted that Retvik lower himself down a little. He got down on one knee, so Phovos could place the crown on his head. The crown wasn’t a single solid, connected piece (and, really, it would have been more of a tiara for a being with a smaller head) and Phovos stretched it slightly. The edges of the crown tucked underneath Retvik’s head plate. Once Phovos was happy, she gently patted Retvik on the shoulder, then lifted him (or tried to) back to his feet.
“Congratulations. You are the third ever Triumphant Champion. No matter what, you will be a champion and a hero forever, and your name will be forever frozen in the rivers of time.”
However, before anyone could move, a cold breeze rushed through the arena. Realizing what was going on, the Raptor moved to one side as a cloud of black smoke appeared, and out of it stepped a familiar face.
“Oh, hello, Arkay!” Retvik smiled.
“Heya, Retvik!” Arkay smiled back. Today, he wasn’t quite a Skyavok, but he wasn’t quite a Rethavok either.
“I thought you were not supposed to be here?”
“Oh, I’m definitely breaking a few rules. But I popped by when Ct’Tack was made into a Triumphant Champion, and I personally placed the Triumphant Crown on the head of old Kin’Ega the Huntress. Would be wrong for me not to congratulate you in person!”
Arkay waved his hand, summoning a beautiful gold and black sword, which he then presented to Retvik.
“In the names of the Lifebringer and the Deathbringer, I offer you a blackened blade, to go alongside your blackened crown. May your future be bright, Lightbearer. May your shadow follow you forever.”
Retvik took the sword and smiled some more. Before he could say anything though or ask what Arkay meant by that second statement, Arkay bowed, then vanished in a puff of black glitter.
The crowds were rather astonished by what they had just seen, but they quickly erupted into applause. Phovos bowed as well, as did the members of the Council. Retvik raised the sword into the air and saluted the crowd, then let everyone rush over to hug him and congratulate him.
“Well, this is awesome…” Retvik thought to himself as he was buried in praise. “I guess… I guess things turned out alright in the end.”