As he cracked his knuckles, Bo could feel the sweat coming down his forehead. Today was going to be a long day. Every day was a long day, but this one was out of the ordinary. Today, he would fight the man who spoke of all but never remembered it.
"Get ready for the best fighter of the Shamrock empire, he will be fighting one man and that man? See everyone, this fight isn't one of good against evil, but one of a man rising up against the heavens!"
As Bo took in a breath of the stale air in the arena, he felt a sense of peace come over him.
This is going to be an amazing day. No matter what anyone does or says.
As the man exited the hotel that all the bad were placed in, Bo knew how things would go. If that wheel landed on the combat side, he would kill Bo in a second. There was also the fact that Bo wasn't the smartest tool in the shed.
"Where is the boy?"
Bo had three different ideas of how the fight would go down. He would fight some god beyond his own comprehension and lose. Even if he was the best fighter on the farm, he would lose. He would get into a battle of wits and lose because Bo never went to school and was a renowned farm hand. But if it landed in the ballpark of a tale, then he would be alive because from what he learned by watching the previous round, gods don't have good tales to tell.
My lord, give me some strength in this. I have a two to one chance according to the Traveler. But if you help me with that wheel, then maybe I will just have to stay away from death a little bit longer.
"I'm right here. Now let's get this started."
The creature's face was four inches from his. Its shadow covered him entirely and the breathing from the creature released a white steam that when it hit Bo's face would leave a droplet of water.
The entity scared the hell out of Bo.
"Let's spin that wheel and see where it lands." The announcer's voice came over the intercom. His laid-back attitude was covering a hint of annoyance. Bo thought he was wanting to hurry things along. As the wheel spun, it landed on something very well. It was Story. "A duel of tales. Let the judge take it from here."
Just as the wheel landed, the breath that Bo held had left his lungs. He was thankful for the experience. For what he knew, there was effectively only one way out of this and he got it. He assumed that this feeling was what Ron felt whenever he was added to the list of winners.
"May the best man win."
The entity's eyes lowered to Bo. When their gazes met, nothing had quite caught him off guard like that.
"Uh… yeah."
Wooden walls and a carpet that was a tad messy rose from the sandy ground they stood on. Bo was scared but the fear from the courtroom made him fear more and the judge. His grin at the ranch hand was something that made his head lose some solidity.
"Let's get this started. Who started their professional life better?"
When the judge's gaze reached across the room to the entity, the creature took a step forward.
Bo never cared for history and his middle school report cards would show that. But something about the way that they looked at one another made him somehow even more uneasy. The two ancient entities looking at one another in total understanding.
I wonder if they've met before. Something about how they're speaking is still so… scary. Maybe this is what it feels like when two men from the same region feel when they're on the separate side of the war.
"I understand."
Bo didn't know who said that, but the thing took a seat. A silent prayer left Bo's lips as he took a step forward.
"Tell me about yourself. When did you start your professional life? And don't lie. I can tell."
The judge released a giggle that despite how it had seemed innocent, there was certainly some malevolence in it.
"I dropped out of school when I was young. When I turned fifteen, I became a ranch hand at the Willson's Ranch in Arizona."
The judge stared at the man for some time before waving his hand in a motion for Bo to take a step back. Two seconds passed previous to the judge making his verdict.
"That's a nice story, beginning goes to Allachsman. Next up is the journey. Who had a better journey?"
Without a moment to spare, the entity, (whom Bo found out his name was actually Allachsman, which he couldn't pronounce his name to save his life.)
"I had burned my way through the world's sorcerers for thousands of years before I was imprisoned by my worst enemies."
The entity took a step back before his eyes met that of the judge's. Their duel of eyes went on and on as the judge never stopped looking into the gaze of Allachsman.
There's something going on that they're not telling me. I need to fix this as fast as possible. Really sell me. But yet again, I'm not some supernatural creature. Though, that man from round 2 was able to get this done without ever being supernatural.
"What about you, son?"
Allachsman stepped forward. His heavy body had given some strain on the floors as his boot prints were vividly left in the carpet.
"I've never accepted a loss that I didn't know was coming. In this moment here, I know that the shame of loss will take me on and that my side in this war is the one of evil. I accept that. I forfeit."
The judge's evil grin grew more and more. Right now, the losses on both sides were equal. Three wins each.
"Butter me surprised, get out of here, scamp. Me and the old man need to have a talk."
As Bo left the fading courtroom, he had left whatever fear he still had in his heart. He faced something beyond himself and won. But there was one thing about the tournament, there were perfect amounts of wins on each side.
That means that there might be something that is working on both sides to take control of things. How or why, I don't know. I need to fix this.