Theo hadn’t expected to take a trip down memory lane. He especially didn’t want to know that magic was real in his time, which made no sense. People weren’t tossing fireballs or teleporting around back then, not unless one counted conventional weaponry and jets for transport. At least some gaps were filled in his knowledge. Earth had tried to merge with Iaredin thanks to the meddling of some dude who knew about magic, resulting in the monoliths. Then the people from Earth migrated, or visited, the fantasy world. When they figured out they could die in that other world, they did everything they could to defend it.

“Still doesn’t sit right with me,” Tresk said.

The group had added all they could to the academy world, and were back in the bubble. Theo couldn’t fold the void on itself while within that world. It was too close to the time bubble, and he wouldn’t risk whatever interactions occurred if he risked it. Sailing through the void was also a great way to clear his head, granting the alchemist some peace from the chaos of his life in recent memory. Even with Tresk prattling on about the mysteries of the world, he felt his mind reach a state of calm.

“That was educational and fun,” Pogo said.

“Edutainment!” Tresk said.

Ignoring them, Theo brought them back to the mortal world. The moment his feet touched the firm ground, he felt that calming effect double. Getting too close to the edge of the bubble had messed with him, he was certain. Without a word to his companions, he wandered off toward the arena, letting the sound of people cheering far in the distance to guide him. Tresk might’ve been following him, but he couldn’t tell. He ran through everything he knew about the merging of worlds, correcting details and marking others as curious. There were contradictions, and he wasn’t sure who was stretching the truth.

Theo stumbled back, turning to spot Tresk pulling on his sleeve. “Hold your horses, partner. Did that get to you?”

“No,” Theo said, shaking his head. “I think Meya fed us some half-truths about what had happened. Something about the story doesn’t click with what Elrin told me.”

“Which makes Elrin a liar. Meya didn’t have the motive. Also, why does it matter?” Tresk asked, looking around as though someone from a nearby crowd would back her story up. “Got too much crap to do, buddy. Sort the story out later.”

“Guess you’re right,” Theo said, pushing forward. “Let’s see what’s going on with the games.”

“Evading the question? Sounds about right,” Tresk said.

Theo would cope in his own way. He walked through the crowds, finding that the entrances used by normal people were completely crowded. While he wanted the normal experience, he just couldn’t spend his entire day waiting in line. After navigating through the tunnels underneath the arena, they found their way to the commentator’s boxes. The alchemist didn’t recognize the ogre and elf working at the desk and they hardly paid attention when he came alongside them.

The fight going on below wasn’t one based on combat. Theo recognized one ‘champion’ selected by Tresk, going crazy at a stove as the marshling threw everything into a pot. The cooking competition might’ve been fiercer than the ones involving fighting, if the concentration of the competitors was anything to go by.

Watching passively, the alchemist couldn’t tell which one would win. The commentary from the ogre and elf wasn’t much help, as they seemed to get side-tracked between the ten people cooking below.

“Bold move,” the elf said. “Not everyone likes spicy stuff.”

“Because you are weak!” the ogre shouted, slamming his fist on the table.

Theo lingered near the commentator's area for only a few moments before he headed to the back of the room, flopping on a couch and releasing a heavy sigh. “You'd think the end of the world wasn't just around the corner.”

"That's the whole point of the games though, isn't it?" Tresk said, doing a cannonball onto the couch and promptly falling to the ground. After she crawled back up onto the sofa, she took a relaxed pose as though she was ready to take a nap. “We’re distracting everybody so they don't freak out.”

“I think you should be slightly more freaked out about what's going on down there. Doesn't this determine if you fight or not? I'm not saying you're afraid. I'm saying you're excited to get your chance to actually participate in the arena games.”

Tresk let out a low laugh. "Well, there's no need to worry about that. I've sabotaged my representative's ingredients. When he serves it to the judges, they'll find that it tastes absolutely horrible." She rubbed her hands together conspiratorially, glancing at the window as she schemed. "I'll be fighting today with any luck."

Not that the fight would be fair. No matter what Tresk did, she would overpower her opponent. Theo wondered if she would toy with the person or give them the swift end they deserved. He shrugged, reclining further as he went over the things they still had left to do.

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Gong project, arena games, some migration experiments…. “Migration experiments,” Theo said, sitting up straight. “I had a stupid idea.”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Tresk shouted, pumping her fist. “I smell what you’re cooking.”

“Ew. Do your fight first, I wanna test this in the Dreamwalk,” Theo said, nodding toward the window. “If you’re certain your cook will get destroyed, you need to do the fight.”

Tresk wiggled her brows. “I picked him specifically. Doesn’t have a sense of taste.”

Theo resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. Instead, he groaned and went back to his resting position. The plan was pretty simple. He had a problem to solve when migrating everybody, and his current hope was that the system would just take care of it for him. But with how tired and insane the system seemed recently, he doubted that would be a reality. Instead, he needed a way to reforge the souls of many people at once. He considered the idea that there would be many willing participants in the town. He had seen the sentiment that there were those who had no interest in seeing the games through and would rather head to his planet right now.

The solution to the problem was to combine his newly acquired dragon energy with his ability to cast spells using potion properties. The alchemist imagined himself channeling the concept of Reforge Soul, taking care of swathes of people at once. If the system failed him, that was the only way to move forward.

When the judging for the food came up, Theo watched at the announcer’s desk. Tresk's representative was last to present his food, and as expected, the look on the faces of the judges was hilarious. He held his side as he laughed. The judges spat the food onto the ground while the eager marshling stood with his hands behind his back. He seemed proud of what he had created, but when one judge flipped the table, things were over. He got last place at first, but then was swiftly disqualified after that. Only when the alchemist stepped in did they agree not to charge him with crimes.

“Time for your fight, I guess,” Theo said, looking at the elf and ogre. “You guys ready to see the fastest fight ever?”

“Well… we’ll see what we see,” the elf offered in an airy tone.

“Yeah, I got this,” Tresk said, rolling her shoulders. “Do you know which lizard they picked? Doesn’t matter. They all suck.”

"And off she goes," Theo said, watching as Tresk departed from the commentator's box. She was right. It wouldn't be much of a fight, but maybe it would help her get something out of her system.

It took a while for them to set up the next fight. Apparently, they had to feed more cores than normal into the arena to ensure Tresk didn't kill her opponent. As expected, when both fighters took to the field, Tresk had her daggers in her hands. He was shocked to see that they weren't dripping with poison. The alchemist was certain she would go all out, but for once, the little marshling was showing restraint.

Her opponent was a large, brooding, blue-scaled lizard man. It was not a good pick against her since a larger target only meant more for her to hit. Theo shook his head as he considered the matchup. He suspected Tresk would do one of two things. She would either toy with her opponent or end it with a single strike, likely a backstab after using her Shadowstep skill.

“The two parties are getting ready to fight. We've got Tresk in the red corner and Uldak in the blue corner. From what I understand, this is a match to settle a grudge or a debt. Well, we'll see how that plays out,” the elf commentator said.

"Yes, the pink one is puny. She shall lose immediately."

"Don't underestimate her size. From what I understand, that little marshaling is quite powerful."

“We shall see.”

Theo took a steadying breath, focusing all of his attention on the brewing fight below. He could feel a tress gathering energy in her legs. This was part of her celestial cultivation technique, although he didn't fully understand it. She was coiled like a spring under tension, ready to spring out the moment the alarm sounded. The elf and ogre announcer counted down the fight. The instant they were done, the alchemist felt time slow. He watched as a Tresk kicked off against the ground, hurdling through the air at a speed fast enough to send a sonic boom radiating outward.

Clicking his tongue, Theo focused harder on his danger sense. Time slowed even more, allowing him to fold space in on itself and appear on the arena floor. The sound of the spectators drew out as one long drone. Tresk’s daggers now glittered in the light from the sun above. He judged the quality of the arena’s barriers and found them lacking. Tresk didn’t plan on killing this guy. She would pull her punch at the last second, feinting after hitting the barrier that protected the lizard-man.

But that said nothing of the aftermath. With an annoyed grumble, Theo moved to watch the impact. As expected, another blast radiated outward. The barriers from the arena groaned under the force of the daggers before shattering like broken glass. The shockwave blew his coat and shattered his eardrums as he watched in slow motion.

“Always cleaning up your messes,” Theo said, passing his hand through the air. A series of circles appeared behind the ogre. First was one infused with Slowfall, then another with Healing, and another Slowfall after that. The last one, abutted directly against the arena’s barrier meant to protect the crowd, was one of his own shields, meant as a last-ditch effort.

Time resumed in a blur. Theo couldn’t hear a damn thing, but he watched as the lizard-man rocketed back. He had been shattered from head to toe, but between the slowing effect of the barriers and the field of healing, he’d live. Theo shook his head in disappointment, drinking a healing potion to regain his hearing. At first, he thought it hadn’t worked. The arena was completely silent. The barriers around them dropped, revealing how quiet the crowd had become.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” the ogre announcer’s voice echoed.

“By the gods,” the elf said. “She isn’t a mortal.”

Theo regarded Tresk with a frown. “No. She really isn’t.”

“Yeah! Go me!” Tresk shouted, pumping her fist when no one else would cheer.

No matter how much she tried to get the crowd going, they didn’t join. Most people assembled hadn’t seen what it meant to fight at the ascendant level. They had only seen Tresk disappear, and the lizard-man slammed into the barriers after Theo appeared.

“Cool. Now they’re more afraid of you than ever.”

“Just as it should be.”