Nexus Challenge [Chapter 3]

Hey peeps!

Here is another chapter of Nexus Challenge! I hope you enjoy!

Shami

—Chapter 3—

—The Restaurant—

Before Kellan left the suite, he held up a hand, asking for a moment, and headed back for his room. He wanted his rule book. Surely there would be some sort of special rules for the fifth game. There always was, it seemed. Even-numbered rounds the Kuji were more bloodthirsty for the Stragglers, as just one example.

Once Kellan gathered the book, he returned to Mavis by the door of the suite. To his surprise, Xiang was waiting for him as well.

While Mavis wore a simple pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, Xiang sported a white silk top, a red silk sash belt, and a long following red skirt. It reminded Kellan of a kimono or a hanfu, but was simpler than either of those. Still elegant, however, and vibrant in color. Xiang stole everyone’s attention whenever she went.

Her illusions were second to none.

And Xiang obviously used them for every aspect of her appearance. Her smooth skin, her dark eyes, her inky waterfall of hair. She was so perfect, photoshop would only make her look worse.

It was almost distracting.

“Xiang said she wanted to join us,” Mavis muttered.

Kellan nodded once. “Good. We should discuss the games.”

Xiang ran her fingers through her black hair, combing everything into place. “Excellent.” Then she turned to Mavis. “Lead the way.”

Together, the three of them left their team suite. Kellan hoped Sen and Husker would be fine on their own. However, since they were in an Oasis, he figured his anxiety was all in his head. When he thought about the atmosphere, Kellan saw the details of their protection.

The AVU Palace Oasis

You have entered an Oasis. While inside this non-conflict area, all mages are forbidden from initiating direct violence. Offensive magical abilities are limited. Any who attempt to circumvent this rule will answer to the Arbiter himself.

Kellan shook away the info as they walked the long hallways of the palace.

The place was much quieter than before. So many mages in the Nexus Games had died… There were less parties and feasts celebrating their victories in the previous game.

The AVU Palace was gigantic, though. At least four football stadiums could fit on the grounds, and the palace had four stories in certain areas. Perhaps the other players in the games were just in other wings of the palace.

Mavis led them past a library, and a bar, and then beyond a classroom.

The restaurant became apparent once they drew near. The smell of BBQ filled the air, along with a near constant line of smoke. Kellan waved away the fumes as he stepped forward to open the door. He held it as Mavis and Xiang walked inside.

“I really just want to relax,” Mavis said as she entered. “We should enjoy these few quiet moments while we have them.”

“Not too long, though,” Kellan muttered.

The restaurant wasn’t run by people—it was completely operated by robots. Little automated machines that vaguely appearance humanoid, but who all had tablets for heads. The screens showed their face, typically a smiling emoji. Their bodies, especially their limbs, were thin and frail, and held together through a system of cogs and wires.

They were short, only four feet tall.

The first robot walked up, its gait stiff. “You have been designated a table. Follow me to be seated.”

The machine led them to a booth and then motioned to the leather seats. The kitchen at the back of the restaurant seemed in full working order and firing up food left and right. The robot cooks hustled to complete dishes.

But there was no one else in the restaurant.

Kellan, Mavis, and Xiang were the only patrons.

“You may now place orders,” the robot waiter said. It pointed to a screen built into the table. “Wait time is approximated. Enjoy your food matter.” The robot’s bizarre and stiff speech reminded Kellan of a Saturday morning cartoon.

He half expected the robots to end all of their sentences with beep-boop.

Xiang and Mavis sat on either side of Kellan. Neither said a word, not even when the robots brought over cups if ice water. Kellan picked up the rule book—a spiral bound booklet as thick as a brick—and placed it on the table for everyone to see.

He flipped through hundreds of pages, passing the many sections written in languages he couldn’t understand. Finally, he reached the section he needed.

The Nexus Games Official Rule Book

English Edition

English was in big fat quotes.

The rule book read as though it had been translated over ten times back and forth through a generic web tool. Most sentences were gibberish—they were like their own mini puzzle to decipher. Kellan went straight for the section about the games.

The Nexus Games is created and sustained by the Arbiter.

He is the only judge of all judgment controversies.

“So, was the Arbiter born with the name the Arbiter?” Mavis asked. “Or was his name Bob or something, and then he was given the title?”

“He’s a primordial dragon,” Xiang said. “According to legend, the primordial dragons created the many other dimensions, and the most powerful was left to guard Zenith.”

“Which means he probably had a name before he became the Arbiter. I wonder what it is.”

“Hm.” Xiang stared at the rule book for a half a second before turning her cold gaze over to the menu. “I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore, but legends say each of the primordial dragon’s had distinct names, not shared by any others.”

Kellan dragged his finger down the page of the rule book until he came to the list of rounds. The special rules were so bizarre, and so poorly written…

They read:

1. Each game will be different.

2. Each game will have its own type of keys.

3. Each team must acquire a number of different keys to match its members.

4. The rules of the games will be announced before the season.

5. Any broken rule will be judged by the Arbiter.

6. Each team must register before the first game.

7. After the fifth game, a selection will be held.

8. The winners of the Nexus Games enter Zenith using their keys.

9. Teams can lose their keys in games three, six, and nine.

10. Players cannot leave the gameplay arena.

11. The Stragglers must perform in games two, four, six, eight, and ten outside their lines.

12. No extra help is allowed while games are in progress.

“This,” Kellan said, pointing to number seven. “It says… After the fifth game, a selection will be held. What the hell does that mean?”

Xiang shook her head. “I’m not certain. After the fifth game, the Arbiter tends to do something with the teams. Either making a new rule or giving the teams some sort of benefit for making it this far.”

When the robot waiter returned to the table, his emoji face was set to laughing happy. “Please indicate your selection by tapping the screen.”

Xiang tapped several menu items, including one for hane, the black cigarettes smoked by most of the mages in the games. Although Kellan had only smoked them twice, he had a sudden urge to have them again. He tapped on the screen as well, ordering his own smokes.

The menu had writing, but it was all in a language Kellan didn’t understand. Instead, he went by which pictures looked interesting. He poked a random selection of items. Mavis did the same.

The robot waiter trotted off, and the machines in the kitchen picked up the pace, as though trying to fulfill a hundred orders all at once. Kellan glanced around one more time for good measure. The place was still empty.

“So, Xiang,” Mavis said, leaning over to glance around Kellan. “What was it like for you growing up? Did you have a favorite hobby? Or a job you wanted?”

Xiang slowly turned to face her, her expression aggressively neutral. “Is there a reason you want to know?”

“Teambuilding reasons. I thought it would be better if we knew you a little bit more. I mean, we’ve been through so much together, but you’re still an enigma.”

Xiang leaned back against the leather booth. She played with the tips of her black hair. “I’d rather not talk about my childhood.”

“Why not?”

“Taking a trip down my memory lane is equivalent of visiting a dumpster fire.”

Mavis snorted back a laugh. “Wow. It’s that bad, huh?”

Xiang didn’t reply. Instead, she moved her fingers down to the collar of her silk jacket. Her gaze seemed unforced as she stared at the table. Then she returned to the present and sighed. “And you? Was your childhood filled with pleasant memories?”

“Yeah,” Mavis stated. “When I was a kid, I wanted to Supergirl. When I got a bit older, I wanted to a veterinarian. Then I thought I could become an NCO, or something.”

“You wanted to become an NCO?” Kellan almost scoffed in disbelief. “You wanted to be called Sarge or something?”

Kellan had never known anyone who liked being an NCO. The noncommissioned officers were always at war with the other officers, and military life got infinitely more difficult.

“I wanted to be the first one that everyone actually liked,” Mavis said as she smiled up Kellan, answering his complaint before he could voice it. “But that was before I got hit a grenade.”

“Interesting. I never would’ve guessed that.”

“Well, there’s still a lot you don’t know about me.”

Kellan smiled. “Well, I know you have a superhero thing. You were one of those kids who dressed up in an elaborate costume for Halloween. I’ll bet anything. Even some of my arcana.”

Mavis grew red and silent. She looked away, her attention on something across the restaurant, and she bit her lip as though trying to hide her smile. Kellan already knew he was correct, but it amused him how much Mavis didn’t want to admit it.

“And Halloween is some sort of celebration? Or event?” Xiang asked, interjecting herself into the conversation.

“It’s a holiday.” Kellan turned to her. “People dress up as monsters—or sexy women—and then go from house to house to get candy.”

“For what purpose?”

“I think it’s to ward off ghosts or some shit, but over the years its devolved into either a candy eating feast, or a scary party fest where everyone races to get drunk the fastest.” Kellan motioned to Xiang’s elaborate outfit. “With illusions like yours, you’d win every costume contest.”

“I sincerely doubt I’ll ever witness a Halloween,” Xiang stated.

Her comment chilled Kellan’s mood. The Nexus Games would end one way or another. Either they would die, or they would win and go to Zenith. Supposedly, Kellan could then decide to go home, but at this point, he needed the magic in Zenith just to defeat the many enemies he had gained along the way.

Would he ever see another Halloween again?

“She could be Mystique,” Mavis said with a laugh. “That would be the perfect costume.”

Kellan lifted an eyebrow. “Who’s Mystique?”

“The shapeshifter.” Mavis jabbed him with her elbow. “C’mon. You watched superhero stuff.”

“Horror movies, actually. I watched a lot of horror movies.” Kellan rubbed his jaw as he tried to count the many slasher flicks he had consumed. “I’m in the Needs to Seek Therapycategory of horror movies watched.”

Although, when Kellan thought about it critically, he realized that movie horror never bothered him as a child. But when he was faced with the actual reality of dead bodies, and the loss of his teammates, the thoughts haunted him. It wasn’t the gore. It was the loss. It frightened him more than any bloodbath or fantasy monster could.

Mavis placed an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. “I should’ve known. If you didn’t look so military, you could easily pass as a psycho murderer. You have the biceps of a man who strangles hookers.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Kellan quipped.

The robots walked over with trays of food. They placed them on the table one at a time with surprising speed and precision. Dumplings, some sort of gray meat, and dishes of rice and sauce were all spread out before them. One bowl contained a foggy broth and something that was clearly lurking beneath the surface. The soup was alive. Or at least, somethingalive was in it.

Sweet baby Jesus, please don’t be capable of speech, Kellan thought as he used a fork to poke around the soup.

The robots dropped off a tin container of hane along with three lighters.

Xiang stared at the food, her gaze unfocused. Then she grabbed a smoke and lit it.

“Did you ever watch movies when you were growing up?” Kellan asked, trying to involve Xiang in the conversation.

“We didn’t have movies,” Xiang muttered, never looking away from the plate of dumplings. “I grew up on the outskirts of Psi, a nation which relies on magic more than technology. On my home dimension… We don’t have televisions or space faring ships. It’s simpler there.”

“Did you have books?” Mavis grabbed dumplings from a plate and piled them on a napkin in front of her. They didn’t have individual plates, which Kellan thought odd, but didn’t comment.

“I did read, yes.”

“What kind of genres did you like? Horror stories?” Mavis scrunched her nose. “Would a magical dimension have a fantasy genre of books? Would the books just be about a place with no magic?”

“I read books of epic adventure and romance,” Xiang stated. “Where the heroes were just, and the love was true.”

She spoke the words with a distant tone. Kellan continued poking at his soup. Something grabbed the fork. He decided it could live and then pushed the bowl away.

Mavis shook her head as she slowly opened a dumpling to inspect the insides. “I didn’t peg you as a romantic, Xiang.”

“My childhood was difficult.” Xiang finally glanced over to them. With a clenched jaw, she continued. “I didn’t want to read any stories that reminded me of real life. I wanted to escape. I wanted… to imagine there were beautiful things out in the world that one day I could find and experience.”

Mavis stopped destroying her dumpling. Kellan said nothing. He wasn’t sure how to react to such a statement. Xiang obviously didn’t want to talk about her childhood, or anything that had harmed her in the past, but it clung to her like her own shadow. No matter what Xiang did, she couldn’t escape it.

“Do you still enjoy romance? I know some great movies to watch.” Mavis slowly took a bit of a dumpling and grimaced.

“No,” Xiang stated. She picked up a fork and then stabbed a dumpling. She brought it close to her mouth and blew on it. “As a child, I believed in soulmates and heroes, but that’s long since dead.”

Mavis half-shrugged. “Well, maybe in Zenith, right? The perfect dimension. You’ll find what you’re looking for there.”

“I doubt it.” Xiang twirled the dumpling around. She never took a bite. “Is this what you two do whenever you’re alone? Talk endlessly about frivolous topics?”

“We’re not alone often,” Kellan stated. “The damn AVU Palace somehow sucks my time away. I swear it tries to put me to sleep. It’s bizarre.”

“I’ve noticed that, too,” Mavis muttered.

“And when we are alone, we usually talk shop or strategy. Like with my arcana. I have thirty-three, and I need to spend it before the next game. Whatever this selection is, we should be prepared.”

Mavis leaned away from the food. She hadn’t eaten much. “I was hoping we could have a moment to relax, without having to worry about the death games.”

Xiang brushed her black hair over her shoulder. “Why don’t you two enjoy your meal, then?” She scooted out of the booth and then stood, her posture straight and perfect. “I’ll be in my room, preparing for the next game.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Alex—if you need help with your meta magic, come see me.” She offered Mavis a tight smile. “It’s been… interesting… getting to know the both of you better.”

Mavis nodded once.

Then Xiang walked off, her heels clicking through the restaurant. Kellan couldn’t help but feel she was distancing herself on purpose.

Then again, he didn’t really know. All that mattered was that he was strong enough to survive whatever game was thrown at them next.

“You’re going to spend your arcana now?” Mavis asked.

Kellan smiled. “That’s the plan.”