The Lost one's journey

Part 29: Canvas part 1

The wheel comes to a close, with Pocu's mask being landed on. "WHAT!?" Raphael shouts as she quickly stands up. A green light envelops Pocu, frightening her. "Wha- what's going on!?" She shouts, terrified, as the green light glows brightly. Raphael tries to grab her, but she disappears. "It's time, ladies and gentlemen! The first round of tonight's grand event, hosted by Lord Voda himself!" The crowd roars in cheers as Sau clears his throat. "The opening of today's event is none other than Zam! Yes, you heard that correctly! Zam! The king of the ring is the opener! We have a special fighter for the end that may just end Zam's long-lasting reign!" As the crowd bellows in excitement, the bottom door of the arena opens, and Zam walks out with his hands already floating behind him. "Normally, I would let Zam give his starting speech, but we have a more important guest! Coming from the first world of Zerura!" He then stops talking as he looks at a small piece of parchment in his hand. "She's the child of infinity?" He says it in a confused voice under his breath. He quickly shakes it off and continues his announcement. "She is born of noble blood from Kruha's very own Lady Infinity! Please Welcome! SUN!" Pocu suddenly seems to appear on the arena floor with a loud, welcoming cheer from the crowd. Zam looks at Pocu in utter confusion. He walks over to her as she trembles in fear. He squats down to be on eye level with her. "Please tell me you're a gnome or a dwarf." He nervously asks, but Pocu shakes her head. Raphael tries to get out of the room in a panic, but the door stays locked. "What? You don't have faith in her? She's your blood, so just relax." New says with a chuckle, but the lady next to him thwacks him with a cane. Raphael gives up and sits down next to Folmon with a stressed appearance as she hangs her head with her hands on her head. Zam then stands back up with an annoyed expression on his face. "AY SAU!" He shouts out with a booming voice, scaring Pocu. "Oh, it seems Zam has something to say, folks!" He says as he floats down to Zam. He floats the magic circle in front of him as he arrives. "I'm not fighting a kid, dude." "..." Sau looks at him, confused, before dispelling the magic circle. "What?" He says it in a hushed voice. "It's a literal f***ing child. It's no fun if they can't even fight back." "Zam, you can't just drop this on us at random. We can't change who's fighting you; you know that." "Well, it sucks for you, I guess. I'm not fighting them." Zam says as he sits down, and the crowd goes quiet in confusion. Sau gets nervous and looks at Pocu. "Look, you're not a kid, right? You're just a short  race."Pocu shakes her head. "You know magic, at least, right?" He then turns to Zam. "Maybe it doesn't have to be a physical fight? Why not a magical one? You have your gift, and you can use it against her magic." Zam groans. "Ughhh, I guess. A small fight is better than no fight. You do know magic, though, right, kid?" Pocu nervously nods her head as Sau then floats back into the air, creating his magic circle. "Ok, folks, just some minor technical issues we had with Zam. This fight may not be as crazy as Zam's last due to both fighters agreeing not to be physical; instead, they will use their magic to battle each other! It'll look just as exciting, and we get to see some of Zam's magic!" He shouts out, and the crowd relishes it, cheering Zam on. Back in the room, Raphael and Folmon are talking in a quiet and hushed voice. "Why don't we just go down there and get her back? I'm sure you, at the very least, could outrun everyone here." Raphael looks up at him with a look of sadness hidden under her mask as she responds in a quiet whisper. "Did you not see how Pocu was teleported? That's the type of magic they have in this place. If we step out of line, we'll be teleported away before we can do anything. Not to mention blowing our cover. We got lucky that Zam is a nice enough person. We just have to hope it'll be quick and painless for Pocu." Folmon sighs. "She's human, and Beliynn wanted her. She must have some sort of powerful ability! All humans have some sort of gift when they are summoned here." The lady in the mask slightly turns her head back as he speaks. Raphael sighs. "I don't know Folmon; you're right, but I don't think she even knows what her own gift is! As Rodet would've said long ago, it's in the hands of the Lord now." "Damnit." Folmon says this under his breath. Returning to the ring, Zam stands across from a very clearly scared Pocu as she shakes in place. "God, I feel so bad about this. Let's just finish this fast." He says this to himself as he looks up at Sau. "Now, ladies and gentlemen! Let us begin this special event!" He declares this as the crowds roar in excitement. Zam looks at the nervous Pocu and sighs. "Look kid! Heads or tails?" He asks as his orange hand summons an American quarter in its palm. Pocu looks around nervously and points at her head. Zam flips the coin, and it lands on heads. Zam swaps out the coin for a flame. He whips his hand, creating a circle of fire around the two of them. "You get one free shot. If you can knock me out of this circle, you win. If you can't, then I'll do it, and we keep going until someone is knocked out." Sau looks as if he's going to say something, but a quick glare from Zam stops him. Pocu doesn't respond, focusing on the fire spreading around her. "Are you scared of fire or something? Look, I'm sorry if you are, but I don't have anything else that I can use. Gotta make sure the crowd can see, y'know? So just ignore it and hit me." He says, slightly annoyed, as Pocu continues to stare at the fire with her eyes shaking as she sees multiple different flashes of her past. A group of armored men ride horses into a village. A man and a woman carry Pocu in their arms. The men atop horses hold a parchment in their hands and read it aloud before they rush into the village. Flames quickly spread through the village. People are falling to the ground. Blood-tipped spears and blades hoisted in the air. The armored men are standing in front of Pocu as she's being held by the man and woman. A shiny golden circle is thrown at the armored men. The corpses of the man and the woman lay on the ground with their eyes removed and their mouths hollow. Pocu is standing in front of them. "It was my fault." Pocu says as she seems to snap out of her trance. "What? You ok, kid?" Zam asks, sounding slightly worried. Zam's, Raphael's, Sau's, and Folmon's eyes all open wide as they sense a sudden influx of mana. In Pocu's mind, a black hand grabs a blank canvas and dips a paintbrush in red paint.