Blind Phoenix

Misleading Prerequisites

Do I have to wear this suit, Nico? Come on…”

            Byur fixed his tie as him and Nico walked to OWL’s main base. He had to get a license in order to apply for any fights. With such a large community with so many alien races, accountability was crucial. Life on other planets was kept secret, only a few governments and OWL had the power and money to know of such things.

            The tournaments were a good way to strengthen relations and spread the name of “humans” throughout galaxies. In terms of fighting ability, humans were 67th place out of 154 different races. Most competitors were bipeds, but it was not impossibly rare to see a fighter with several legs or no legs at all.

            Byur’s suit was one that he was given from Nico’s personal wardrobe. It was a bit large on him. His muscles made it look a bit more fitting, at least. He looked at Nico and said, “How come Maria and Lynn chose to stay behind?”

            “Eh, they probably went to eat all your food and mess with everything they find in your room. They’re pretty annoying, those two.”

            Byur tried to hide his concern, but Nico noticed.

            “What’s wrong, friend?”

            “They’re going to try their hardest to find my baby pictures, aren’t they?”

            “You bet your arse they will”, Nico said as he laughed. “Every time I leave them alone, they mess with literally anything in my house! Nothing, not a single thing is left in the place it was before I departed.”

            The two continued to walk in the streets of Barrik. People were looking at Byur yet again; they were looking at Nico too. The sun shined off their sunglasses so no one could get a good look at them. Nico had them custom made for that exact reason.

            Byur used to be a well known kid; the color of his hair was a dead giveaway to others that it was him. It had been so long, though that no one could quite remember him and his newly acquired muscles made them think, “there’s no way that’s Byur.” It saddened him that he saw so many familiar faces that did not greet him. He fully understood their reason, though and walked cheerfully as he realized that after Tenno had been brought to justice, he could look at them in the eyes and speak to them like he used to.

            The two arrived in front of a large building titled “Owl’s nest”, a huge shop that sold varying products and housed the application center for the Organization of Legends underground. Nico took off his sunglasses and looked at Byur.

            “While there’s time left to relax, let’s sit down a bit. I want to talk with you, get to know you and ask a few personal questions. ”He took out another candy cigarette and popped it into his mouth. He then approached a table under the shade and sat in one of the two chairs, signaling Byur to sit in the other. Byur pulled the chair out and sat carefully, he found himself surprisingly fond of his new attire.

            Nico then uttered, “My first question, bruv, is…do you really think you have the balls to go under our training? I’m not trying to insult you, but we’re on a whole new level here. You’ll be working harder than anyone on this planet. Tenno is your priority, but you have to beat a few dozen other tough guys first, mate.”

            Byur’s expression did not change; he knew the answer to the question.

            “I’ve been resting my entire life, Nico. I’m prepared to give it everything I have.”

            Nico saw his determination and cracked a devilish but friendly smile.

            “Sounds good, bruv”, said Nico. “Question number two, why do this? The three of us love that you’re putting your powers to use, but we view it as our fault that you were disabled for over a decade. You could have just left, yet you didn’t.”

            Byur fixed his sleeves and set his sunglasses down. “I wanted to give myself a purpose, I also still feel hate towards Tenno, he will pay for what he did to me. Most importantly, I don’t want to let him harm anyone else. Even if I provide you minimal usefulness I would be able to live or die happily knowing that I helped.”

As he talked he formed his hand into a fist. He had waited 11 years and had seen no justice done. Knowing he was still leagues behind Tenno frustrated him more than anything. Nico, in an attempt to calm him moved on to the third question.

“On a lighter note, are you attracted to my sister?”

Byur instantly forgot his anger and his jaw dropped as he raised his eyebrow.

“No, but why the heck does that even matter?”

“It just does, mate. What about her do you not like?”

“Damn, I don’t know. She’s not my type and romance doesn’t interest me.”

“Alright, good. I don’t want anyone messing around with my sister without me knowing, especially at times like this. You’re too good for her anyway. All she does is train and use her computer, and that’s not even the worst part. She’d drive you mad, bruv, I’m tellin’ you.”

Byur stood up and implored Nico to do the same. He did not want to waste any more time. The two entered the store and Nico waved at the female cashier as he led Byur down a flight of stairs. When they reached the bottom a large room with three different doors came in view. The floor was tiled brown and beige and the walls were white. Several other individuals were sitting on benches, waiting for their turn to arrive.

“I see at least 20 people here.” Byur said in annoyance.

“Don’t worry, bruv, it’s a onetime thing.”

The two sat next to each other on the right side of the room and analyzed it carefully. Nico had noticed that every single person there possessed a powerful aura; they could all one day achieve greatness. He glanced at Byur and saw the same thing.

            “What chance does he have?” Nico thought. “He’s no different from the others; I guess he’ll have to pray for good luck.”

            Nico sighed and placed his glasses into his suit’s pocket. Sitting across from him was a tall individual with yellow skin, his pupils and irises were completely red. He was no doubt an alien, when he opened his mouth to yawn many razor sharp teeth became visible. His skin was extremely smooth and shiny; he seemed to have strange leathery material separating his joints. As he finished yawning he noticed Nico and smiled at him.

The door on the left swung open and the man’s name was called. Nico was too concentrated on him to hear it. The creature stood up while his face was still fixed on Nico. He was enormous, maybe seven feet tall. As he took a sedate walk towards the open door he gave a large frown. Nico was not fazed by this and laughed quietly.

To break the great silence that lingered in the waiting room Nico began conversing with a nearby fighter. In no time at all, an hour had passed and it was Byur’s turn. The door in the middle opened and Nico was called in. The two entered the room and in front of them was an old man dressed in a suit.

Nico shook his hand and introduced him to Byur. The old man’s name was Liam. He was almost bald and had a small beard. His eyes were brown and he possessed a rather large body for someone his age. His muscles were clearly visible under his white, blue striped suit. They all sat down and Liam began to talk.

“Well Nico, it seems you’re always bringing in some fine fighters. This one has a tenacious spirit, I can feel it.” He opened a drawer and took out a few papers and a pencil. Placing it on his desk he asked Byur to read over it.

Nico then said “To summarize it, he wants you sign this paper agreeing you’ll fight to win and not to kill, follow all the rules and never show disrespect to other life forms and their race. We don’t want to start a war with any of them, I’m sure you understand.”

Byur shrugged and signed the paper. Liam took it and asked him to stand up against the wall. They took a picture of him to make his OWL’s identification card. Until he became a well known fighter Byur had to carry it with him to gain access to certain areas. The three of them sat back down shortly after.

“Now, son, you want to fight in the amateur tournament am I right?”

Byur nodded.

“Good, good. The first section of the tournament will have eight fighters total. Although this is a beginner’s tournament, anyone with under a year of training can enter. If you’ve ever fought before you would know that training, especially at this level, will make a huge difference. Sure, it is called a beginner’s tournament, but you might face some martial artists much stronger than those who have trained for over two years.”

Liam took a short pause as he looked at Byur. “Knowing this, would you still like to compete?”

Byur was unsure; he thought that perhaps he should have waited before so hastily looking for a fight.

“How much time will I have to train?”

“Two weeks.”

“Hah…I see. Well, I…” Byur said as he attempted to find the answer within himself. “I might take a beating, but…I’ll do it. In fact, I will make a promise to you two and the others. The first opponent I go up against will lose, you have my word.”

“Arrogance,” Liam said “or perhaps that tenacity of yours just gives you so much confidence? Either way, Byur, welcome to the Organization of Legends.”