The Lost one's journey

Part 24: Etapa

Pocu knocks on Raphael's door with her flame golem Gary next to her, awaiting for it to open. Raphael opens the door, but to the surprise of Pocu, her once-slick black hair has become white. "What happened to your hair?" Pocu asks as she lets herself into Raphael's room. "Oh, I dyed it. You like it?" She asks with a smile as she strikes a pose. Pocu climbs onto her bed and plops onto it, falling asleep before answering. "Yeah, I don't know what I expected." She says, chuckling as she closes the door. The next day comes as Raphael is suddenly awakened by Pocu's shouting. "NOOOOOOO!" Raphael quickly wakes up and looks around the room, finding Pocu at the end of the bed with gloom on her face. "What happened?" She asks, confused. "GARY'S GONE! HE TURNED TO SMOKE AND LEFT!" She cries out. Raphael looks confused until she remembers the little fire golem she had beside her when she came into her room. "The golem?" She asks, and Pocu nods. "Well, you have a limited supply of mana, and he lives based on your mana, so he can't exist permanently." Raphael says as she sits next to Pocu. "But just because he's gone doesn't mean it's goodbye. He's always living with you, even if you don't realize it. So long as you use the same thing you used to summon him the first time, he'll come back with his whole  memory."Pocu looks up to Raphael with a smile. "Oh, I remember Mr. Rodet saying something like that! So I just have to remake Gary!" She says this as she jumps off the bed and sits down to focus. "Well, I don't know if that's a good idea since you've used your mana all night to have him sleep next to you. He just left, so he's probably tired, y'know?" Pocu stops focusing. "Yeah, you're right. Gary also has to rest." "Yeah, he does, but we already rested, so c'mon, let's go. We have a long distance to walk." Raphael is grinning as she enters the bathroom. After a little bit, she comes out now wearing a black tank top with a cat face on it as well as white shorts. "Here, put this on before we go. This place is hot." She hands Pocu a blue shirt with white shorts. "Where are you holding these? You never carry a box?" Pocu asks, confused. "That's my little secret." Raphael says with a wink. After Pocu changes, they leave the room and go downstairs. There, they find Folmon already waiting for them at a table. "Finally, you two are awake. You two sleep longer than I originally expected." He says he is slightly annoyed. Pocu looks confused, then turns to Raphael and then back to Folmon. "What about her hair?" She says while pointing at Raphael's hair. "What about it? I couldn't care less about someone's hair color." Raphael chuckles a bit at this. "Hehe yeah, my hair color doesn't really matter, Pocu. Now let's go guys." She says to walk off. The two quickly join her as they exit the tavern. A crowd cheers in a large underground coliseum. "That was an amazing match, wasn't it, ladies and gentlemen?" A goat beastkin says into a magic circle that causes his voice to boom around the room while he floats on a stone disc. The crowds cheer louder in response. "The next match, however, is most definitely going to be even better!" He shouts, causing the crowd to become even louder in excitement. "Everyone, please place your bets quickly! This next match is the fan favorite, Zam!" He announces as a brown-skinned human walks into the arena. He wears no shirt and only has pants that have metal knee pads; however, a peculiar trait of this human is that he has no arms. The magic circle floats from the goat to Zam as he clears his throat. "Welcome everyone!" He says this as the crowds roar. "You all know me as the rey of the coliseum, and I don't plan on losing my title! After all, ¡soy el rey!  (I am the king!)" he shouts out as a hand floats above him, pointing towards the sky. "¡No perderé! Tengo demasiados fans. (I won't lose! I have too many fans.)" he says with a grin. "Mr. Cabra, who is my opponent?" He shouts as the hand floats down in front of him and sends the magic circle back to the goat. "We all know that the great king of the ring can't be challenged by just anyone! So we brought a beastkin whose legs were gone and repaired him back to full strength! Please welcome Domo!" He announces backed by the cheers of the crowds. A beastkin with black lines across his cheeks and body and bright white hair lined with black stripes enters the arena from a small door. His legs are mechanical and stand in stark contrast to the rest of his body. His eyes are  blue, and his pupils contracted. His nails are long and sharp, making them look more like claws than nails. He glares at Zam, enraged. "¿Un niño? (A kid?)" Zam says slightly confused. "Ay kid, how'd you end up here? This isn't exactly the place for children." He says this while chuckling. Domo only responds with a glare, as a white aura seems to radiate from him. "As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, this isn't an ordinary beastkin; in fact, he's awakened!" The crowd doesn't seem to understand what he means as they murmur in response. "It seems as if most of you don't know what it means for a beastkin, so I'll happily explain!" He announces this as he pushes a button in his pocket. Domo suddenly falls to the ground, groaning in pain, as the aura surrounding him coalesces into a white tiger attached to his back. The crowd looks at it in amazement. "That is bestial form of a beastkin, ladies and gentlemen! An awakened beastkin can summon their very ancestor to aid and boost their strength!" He announces much to shock and awe. "Those who are truly blessed by the higher one can even fuse with this spirit to become a perfect beast! Our very king is one such blessed  one." Zam looks at Domo with a raised eyebrow. His hand, floating in the air, flies over to Domo and speaks to him. "You ok? It's no fun if you're already hurting." Domo stands up. "I'm fine." "...If you say so." The hand floats back to Zam as he clears his throat. The hand floats over to the announcer again, and he passes the magical circle to Zam. "I've believe we've spent enough time talking, don't all of you?" He asks as the crowd cheers. "Now say it with me! ¡Zam es el rey! ¡Zam es el rey! (Zam is the king!)" As he shouts this, the crowds repeat after him.