Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Retributably Refined

SPLOOKSH!!

Red liquid spewed through the air, splashing the surroundings and twisting the drab rocky passageway into a sanguine wonderland.

With each splat of rosey paste sprinkled onto the walls, floor, and ceiling, a ripple would occur before a cluster of delicate flowers would sprout from the wine-colored puddles.

Their gentle glow let off a subtle heat alongside a feeble glow.

The dreary cavern had transformed into a comforting flowerbed with red stretching as far as the eye could see, a comforting crimson light filling the cave.

Each of these roses frolicked in the non-existent wind as their petals twisted to form a smile.

Yet their display of joy was soon twisted as their stems shook and turned black as if rot began to consume them.

The joyful shape began morphing into that of sorrow as outlandish screams and calls began to ring out, shaking the wonderland as the drooping petals began to fall from their stems.

The beautiful surrounding began to melt and drip away as if soaked in acid, revealing a pitch-black void underneath.

The world sunk into nothingness.

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"Gah!" a pair of golden eyes flashed open, and an ebony boy's figure shot up from a twin-sized bed.

Bright forest green lights stung his eyes, and the pure, sanitized air enflamed his nostrils.

'Huh?' the boy brought his hands up to his eyes, blocking the light as his senses adjusted; 'a dream?..'

He looked to be surrounded by white curtains on all sides from about 5 ft away, with a green lantern floating above, giving off a serene sense of calm.

The subtle aroma of mint wafted through this contained area that was splashed with a green hue that brought about a feeling of... vitality.

He glanced down to see white sheets atop him.

He had no shirt on, revealing his athletic physique, and the brown pants that had been torn to shreds were still barely pieced together.

The boy squinted his eyes at the lantern before turning to the right side of the bed and throwing off the white sheets draped over him.

He silently groaned in pain as his body responded with small pops and cracks, yet he chose to ignore it.

He mused to himself in frustration as he moved upwards, 'who knows how much time has passed? I gotta tournament to win.'

However, as he got up, he heard a feminine voice call from behind him and beyond the sheets, "Don't you move, Oz."

The voice wasn't high-pitched but relatively low for a female voice, yet, it undeniably carried an air of authority to it that the boy felt could be backed up if he was not careful.

Oz looked back cautiously, ready to run for it if the need arrived, yet even now, he was unsure how he got here or where Zee was.

The voice called out again in a much more innocent-sounding tone, "Oh, I'm sorry. I mean, you could reopen your wounds, so you shouldn't move too much."

A pair of black boots stepped through the curtain, and a female in a long-sleeve lime green shirt dress walked through.

A thin veil completely covered her face, and her silky black hair was tied into a bun behind her head.

Her clothes could be considered 'conservative' as they concealed everything besides the very little visible pale skin of her knees where her knee-length dress and boots met.

He glanced at her blankly as she slowly approached him with a smile through the veil, but although her face was smiling, she gave off a... sickly kind of aura.

Two green lights splashed through where her eyes would be, making the boy feel like he was exposed, utterly bare in front of her.

However, Oz only frowned at this and spoke out, "I can't stay here. I gotta tournament to win."

"Tsk, tsk" the woman clicked her tongue at this before murmuring out, "he told me you'd be like this."

WOOOOOSHHH!!

Before the boy could move, much less respond, she disappeared from where she stood and grasped him by the forearm.

His eyes widened in shock as thoughts raced through his mind, 'I didn't even see her move!'

Yet just as he was about to strike with his other hand, she bent down and whispered in his ears, "remember, you asked for this."

Before Oz could even decipher what she meant, a sharp pain spread from her hand into his wrist.

A cool sensation spread throughout his entire body; however, this was only the calm before the storm as this sensation burst into an excruciating pain as the boy grunted through grit teeth.

The feeling was like a thousand razor blades spinning from under his skin in every part of his body.

Even so, the boy kept his lips sealed and only glared at her in quiet rage.

The green lights under her veil glimmered as she spoke, "Oh? You have a surprising tolerance to pain."

Hence, with her other hand, she grasped the boy's other forearm, sending that cooling sensation into his body that soon spiraled into that of being internally shredded by a tornado of razors.

A lump rose in his throat, growing in size as that sharp pain swirling throughout his body began to surge more fiercely.

Finally, it felt as if a gust of wind was rising through his body as he opened his mouth, hurling out a large clump of dried black blood that was the size of a pineapple.

"BLEEEEUUGHHH!!"

The clump of blood splattered against the floor as bloodied saliva dripped from the boy's mouth.

Sweat oozed down his face as his eyes drooped from exhaustion.

Yet, he would have no time to rest as the pain continued to swirl within his body.

The woman, still holding onto his forearms, called out to him with slight exhaustion in her voice, "hold tight... we're... almost done..."

Once again, that feeling rose in the boy's throat as a steam of black liquid cascaded out of his mouth, "BLEUUUGHHH!!"

The pure white curtains and the calming mint aroma were replaced with a stream of wine red, painting the curtains the color of rose, and the smell of iron pervaded throughout with a thick stench.

Finally, after around 2 minutes of spewing out his insides, like a leaky faucet finally repaired, the stream stopped, and the boy finally closed his mouth.

Yet before he could even catch his breath, a bright light shone through the veil.

A tickling wind breezed through the area, swaying the now-crimson curtains as a minty aroma whirled through the air, pushing back the rancid stench.

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Now, after around 30 minutes since first starting, the pain wreaking havoc throughout his body began to subside, and instead, the disastrous storm was replaced by a refreshing breeze that began to soothe his pain.

Comparing the feeling of razors to now what felt like barely a tickle was almost euphoric to the boy as he audibly sighed out in relief, as did the woman across from him.

The woman spoke in a relieved tone that still carried exhaustion, "Seems... the hard part is over."

The cooling spread throughout his body for around 10 more minutes before the woman let go of his forearms and stepped back, nearly losing her balance and tumbling over before collapsing to her knees.

The breeze was gone, the grunts of pain had left, and now the only noise was the gasping breaths of 2 individuals, one sheeted in sweat and inner liquids on a stained bed and a woman fully clothed in green with rosy liquids and sweat-drenched onto her outfit.

Oz locked eyes on her veil as he felt her meet his gaze.

Huff... ...Huff

Huff... ...Huff

Finally, Oz shifted his attention to examining his body as he lifted his arms and hands to check his condition, 'the pain... it's gone.'

Meanwhile, the woman across from him began to stand up, wiping her hands on the unblooded area of her clothing, "I... I don't know what you did to put your body in such a state, but it's a miracle you're even alive now."

The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise, yet seemingly expecting such a response, she continued, "Either way, you should be good now. Just be careful."

She then pointed toward the sheets behind her, "Also, your friend has been waiting for you, so we'll provide you with some clothes, and you can head towards the participant waiting area."

However, from his short time in this world and his horrendous time at the Dung-Den, Oz knew better than to expect anything for free or "goodwill."

Such an effective treatment had ridden him from pain and ailments that had been with him since the Dung Den, and he couldn't even imagine how expensive, much less how difficult it would be to get such treatment.

So with a cold gaze, he stared at this woman who tried her best, aside from her exhaustion, to give off a cheerful aura and asked her, "what's the catch?"

He spotted the woman's green eyes widen under the veil as an understanding grin spread on her face, "You boys are lucky to have a sponsor, is all. Many would trade anything for the treatment you received just now."

Oz internally stroked his chin as his mind began to race, 'as I thought.'

He stood up from the bed.

Splashing sounded out with each small step as the ground was a puddle of wine-red soup.

Finally, after catching his bearings and feeling everything in his body was fine, he looked at the woman and opened his mouth to question her once more.

Still, before he could do so, she cut him off, "Don't worry, not even a few hours have passed, and you both have time before the tournament begins."

Seeing the shock on his face, she slightly giggled as she continued, "if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the wash area and provide you with new clothes. Then you and your friend can have your little 'reunion.'

With that, she parted the curtains and walked away.

The way she said "reunion" was not filled with disdain as much as it was jealousy or perhaps sarcasm.

Oz caught that as he thought, 'seems it may not only be a coveted treatment but also taxing to the one who performs it.'

However, pushing these thoughts aside, he peeled his eyes and began to follow after as new thoughts arose, 'A sponsor?.. Nana had already rejected Tempe for us, so who could it be? Is this maybe cuz of what happened during that test?'

Memories of the test with the orb ran through Oz's mind as he approached the soaked sheets.

He stroked his blood-crusted chin, 'it's not impossible... guess I just need to be careful.'

With that thought, he parted the curtains and gasped out in amazement, "oh."

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