The Fall of Mangiatorvi

5: Grey Eyes

A deafening roar emerged as the grand doors flew apart. Gemma squinted against the bright lights. Her heart fluttered with excitement. Madison lectured nonstop about the momentous history of the building on the entire walk over, from its architecture to its construction and importance to the school. However, the continuous display of casual abilities throughout campus greatly distracted Gemma from Madison's tour. A cheerleader practiced her routine with twelve carbon copies of herself, while another student broadcasted the music with his feet -- yes, his feet.

Open Field was actually not a field at all, or in the open, but an awe-inspiring building of modern design. Easily the tallest building on campus, standing at an imposing twenty stories, it was still minuscule compared to the skyscrapers outside the university's walls. Stepping through the grand entrance, a mesmerizing pattern of rooms awaited. 

In the middle of the ground floor stood an enormous window that allowed for an overhead viewing of the main battle taking place on the basement level. The main arena could expand, shrink and grow depending on the battle type, pulling the ground level windows and railings along with it.

A miniature projection of the battle hovered at eye-level, showing real-time positions and statuses of each individual on the playing field. Facing outwards from the center of the circle, several one-way mirrors allowed for a direct look at multiple smaller battles taking place in the numerous rooms along the exterior wall of the tower. 

Every floor above the first had a balcony in the center, peering downwards to the floors below. Each one displayed a projection of the main event exactly like on the first floor. These upper floors were mostly surrounded by classrooms, gyms, lounges, and cafes.

Gemma peeked around Madison, past the front desk. Hundreds of university students were leaning over the thick silver railings that encompassed the main arena, despite its immediate vacancy. Gemma flashed Madison a nervous smile, as the two filled out the paperwork to activate their student IDs. Madison explained that each of the glass windows looked into practice rooms available to the general student population. 

The massive room in the center was reserved for those ranked top five in each team type and their practice opponents. Once the season started it would display all the official battles. There were also stadium seats underground available for purchasing.

The two made a bee-line to join the horde. As they reached the front railing, Madison let out an unseemly squeal, to Gemma's dismay.

"Sorry, sorry," Madison apologized with a bashful smile. "I'm just so so excited."

"What are we all waiting for?" Gemma asked.

She scanned the crowds of students, each with eyes glued to the empty room in anticipation. The boys all wore khakis and button-up dress shirts while the girls were practically runway ready in their upscale sundresses. Gemma looked down at her own sweatpants and let out a discouraged huff. She didn't own anything nearly nice enough even if she had known there was a dress code. The majority of her wardrobe consisted of workout gear, pajamas, and t-shirts.

"Okay, so, there are two play styles, brute battles, and strategy games. We got here just in time to watch DJ's first open practice of the year. DJ is the number one ranked 2v2 team. They practically have a cult following!"

"Which you seem to be part of," Gemma pointed out.

"Well..." Madison trailed off, "A girl's allowed to have a guilty pleasure."

The crowd erupted with cheers as four competitors entered the ring embodied in full armor. Their faces were hidden under a thin grey film. Two of the competitors bore hand-stitched letters, DJ, on their chests, their armor a combination of grey and purple detailing. The other two competitors wore basic grey, with no identifying markers. The entrances slammed shut and disappeared with a shrill ring of the bell.