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Was this where my journey would end?
* * *
The vast expanse of the fighting arena stretched before me, an unforgiving battlefield lit up by the artificial lights overhead.
The ground beneath my boots rang hollowly with each step.
The collective buzz of the crowd, combined with the acrid smell of sweat and anticipation, engulfed the atmosphere.
Standing before me, my final opponent was a mountain of a creature, easily towering over my own imposing stature.
His hide, if you could call it that, was a shifting, shimmering tapestry of color, reacting and morphing to his emotions.
At the moment, it shimmered an eager gold and aggressive red, displaying his readiness for the fight.
His elongated nostrils flared.
A heavy, silent tension settled between us.
He stared me down with four ice-blue eyes, unblinking, set deep within his craggy face.
The sounds around us dimmed, reduced to a distant hum, as we sized each other up.
Right off, I could tell: there was no compromise with this one.
My students hadn’t managed to win this fighter over.
The predatory tilt of his head, the flex of his brawny arms, and the twitch of his clawed fingers were all the signals I needed.
This was going to be a brutal battle, and he intended to exploit any weakness he perceived in me.
Without warning, he lunged, closing the distance with an agility that belied his size.
I parried, sidestepping his first blow, but he was quick, spinning around and landing a swift kick that I barely managed to block with my forearm.
The force of it jarred my entire arm, sending spikes of pain through the muscles.
Trying to maneuver around him, I reached for one of the lighter weapons strapped to my back.
Its familiar, smooth handle reassured me momentarily.
But the relief was short-lived.
He moved like liquid, adapting to each of my strikes, blocking, and retaliating with a finesse that caught me off guard.
With every thud, clash, and grunt, I was forced to retreat, each step echoing mockingly in my ears.
His tactics were relentless, pushing me to the edge of the ring.
The acrid sting of burning ozone filled my nostrils as he unleashed a barrage of energy blasts, which I narrowly evaded, feeling the heat singe my hair and skin.
He wasn’t just brute strength; he was strategy.
Every move he made seemed calculated to corner me, using a combination of physical blows and energy projectiles.
We scuffled, throwing punches, kicks, and constantly evading the charged atmosphere he was creating around us.
At one point, as I tried to duck beneath a swing, he managed to graze my side, the sharp sting making me gasp and falter.
