MM - Chapter 154 - CHOOSE YOUR FATE

The morning sun streamed between tall buildings, illuminating Carter City in gentle hues that mingled with the heat radiating from the massed humanity clogging the streets. As the building monitors flickered to life, revealing a central stage and the thirteen figures upon it, the roars and cheers became overwhelming. All eyes were on Raine and those standing behind him, though they didn't know him from the others, considering the dark bandages they were all wearing.

The voices of opposition in the crowd were loudest of all—likely planted by local martial families who stood to lose the most if techniques became widely understood. With the attention on the event reaching the far ends of the territory and beyond, Raine wouldn’t have been surprised if the dissenters came from far away families, either.

They all shouted the same thing, a cry that quickly gained traction, “Show your face! Show your face! Show your face!”

Their intent to assassinate him at an opportune moment was obvious. Raine welcomed the challenge. He unwound the bandages around his head, eyes hard as he stared directly at Morty’s drone. To those who could only watch from afar, it was as though he were piercing each and every one of them with his gaze.

Raine's voice boomed through the streets, overwhelming those still shouting, “I am Raine KongRu!" Having their attention, his words became soft, forcing silence to spread like a sickness. "Until recently, I was much like yourselves: a nobody. I lacked training, techniques, and fitness. I am that man no longer! When the coalition’s master arrives, it is I who will face him. What you see then, you will soon be capable of… if you choose to join us.”

The roar of the people washed over Raine; their excitement was palpable, a complicated cornucopia of emotions projected by thousands upon thousands of muttering mouths. Today, they would learn the truth of Astra Infernum’s claims. Would they be allowed to transcend their mundane lives by learning techniques and the secrets of the martials, or was it all another lie? The earlier appearance of a grandmaster on stage did the opposite of bring hope, for it was the grandmasters who ruled the known world, who set the current rules, who decided that the common man and woman did not deserve to tread far upon the martial path.

Raine had no intention of disappointing those gathered. They would become his people. He would use their efforts to ascend Astra Infernum into the stratosphere. Those who joined did not have an easy path ahead. No, it would be brimming with pain, agony, and suffering. But those who contributed would not be left behind; Raine would bring them along into the bright future he envisioned, kicking and screaming if he had to.

And so, as Raine raised arms high for silence. He allowed their roaring shouts to wash through him. Their hopes and dreams settled onto his shoulders, a burden he would bear with a straight back.

“If you own a thetadrive headset already, you are guaranteed a position. The same goes for those who purchased a ticket. If you're already a martial, you'll receive priority. For everyone else, there are ten thousand positions that will be awarded to the first who accurately fill out the questionnaire distributed at the end of the event. As previously stated, each who joins will be taught martial techniques. Additionally, you will be provided a headset, wages, a place to live and work, and much, much more.”

Their cries rose in volume. Raine shouted over them, not giving a chance for their excitement to get out of control.

“This is not a choice to enter lightly! ZionLine is a cutthroat world ruled by competition and competence. Do not expect an easy journey. You will be tested on every level. You will experience death and misery daily, yet those very ordeals will forge you into a martial the likes of which our little Earth does not yet comprehend. So come, seekers of adventure, to ZionLine, to Astra Infernum, where your life begins.

There was no stopping them now. The ground shook with their vehement cries, and Raine let them have their moment, which stretched on and on. The hubbub eventually mellowed enough for a few particularly powerful voices to pose questions.

“How did Astra Infernum beat the nightmare raid?!”

“At the massacre of Shadow Springs Town, Alaric jumped off thin air. Nobody’s discovered a skill for that. How did he do it?!”

There were many more, but Raine wasn’t here to answer nagging outsiders and snapped at one thickly muscled man pushing his way toward the stage, “Astra Infernum is under no obligation to help outsiders. If you want answers, then join us.”

A new collective shout rose, one that had Raine’s heart hammering in his ears, “He’s coming, he’s coming!”

The time had come. Raine waited impatiently, wrapped in dark bandages and ringed by others similarly robed. The disguise was a necessary ruse to convince his enemies that Astra Infernum was more than it appeared, just like Grandmaster Moriot—leader of The Black Hood Organization—the very same group Raine hired to steal the thetadrive headsets he would soon be distributing.

He spent a fortune—most of the ticket proceeds—contracting The Black Hood to appear in the open when that was against their usual methods. The other masters in attendance were Moriot’s direct disciples, as well as several of the personal guards of Frontier’s CEO, Marshal Falmaris. The seminar had been a low price to pay for borrowing the billionaire’s martial power.

While they put on a strong front, it was, in actuality, a paper-thin veneer. Only the masters from Frontier were contracted to fight. Grandmaster Moriot demanded an extravagant five hundred million credits to participate beyond talking, a price that would bankrupt Raine. To have any hope of housing his many new guild members, Raine had to solve whatever happened next on his own. There was only one person in attendance that he could count on, and her bright pink hair was a spotlight in his peripheral vision. Raine took comfort in Mel's presence. She wouldn't help him fight, but there was another far more vital task he had pinned on her. And after rising so far in the Tower of Triumph, he had complete faith that she could handle it.

Raine's opponent appeared at the edge of the city center. Silence spread like wildfire through the noisy crowd as a close-up of Jedidiah appeared on the buildings. Two of Moriot’s disciples vanished from the stage, appearing on either side of the man. They shared a nod as if the whole thing was staged. The crowd parted, eager for blood.

As he neared, Jedidiah locked eyes with Raine, iron discipline forged over a long lifetime met bottled rage in a faceoff that could only end with one of their deaths. Jedidiah appeared to be in his late forties, but Raine knew that for a lie. As a bonafide master well on the path to grandmaster, he was likely ninety to a hundred. The older man moved with the grace and poise of a twenty-year-old dancer. He wore a simple, unarmored martial uniform tied snugly around the waist by a white belt.

Jedidiah radiated danger and purpose with each subtle movement. He came with the intent to kill in the most brutal and ancient method: with the power of his fists. Jedidiah sized up Raine as well, confusion flickering across his features. Peering beyond the obvious to determine one’s progress along the martial path was practically coded into Jedidiah’s DNA; the opponent waiting for him had not even taken the first step down the long path to grandmaster. The certainty of victory settled over him like a thick cloak. But if this Raine KongRu was so weak, then why force him onto this stage in the first place? More oddities.

After Celeste, Morty had done his research on Jedidiah. He was no ordinary master. Of the one-and-a-half million martial masters that called the United Territories of Amanath home, Jedidiah was ranked 933rd. Only those whose path to grandmaster was considered a matter of time made it to the top thousand. He was the real deal. Fighting him was madness, and that only made Raine’s blood boil all the fiercer.

Safety was poison to his path. The threat of death, the pressure only found when facing a superior enemy, those were his fuel.

Jedidiah hopped lightly and flew through the air. Landing atop the stage. He barely registered Raine’s existence and somehow picked out Grandmaster Moriot from the bandaged entourage. Bowing respectfully, Jedidah spoke with a firm voice lacking the slightest hint of unease, “Grandmaster, with all due respect, what game are you playing? This child has yet to survive the quenching, let alone his first tempering. Why go through all the trouble of calling me here, threatening the coalition, for an execution? I'll not be dragged further into whatever plot you're orchestrating.”

Moriot shrugged, noncommittally waving a hand toward Raine, “It was the boy's choice. The girl you attacked belongs to him.”

Jedidiah sighed heavily, meeting Raine’s gaze again, “Ahh. I see, though I cannot understand. She lives, and you would die for what? Because I taught her a lesson in respecting her elders? Our match has yet to begin, child. It does not need to end with your death. Let us spar instead. This can become a most valuable experience that many would pay dearly for, rather than the last moments of your existence.” 

The crowd’s silence bore the weight of the grave; all in attendance were enraptured by the momentum swiftly swinging out of Raine’s favor. Many held similar thoughts as inner fears and doubts began to manifest. How could Astra Infernum’s speaker be so much weaker than they thought? Were they fooled, tricked by an achievement inside a game that could have been rigged or cheated?

Grandmaster Moriot nodded sternly in Raine’s direction, “I concur with Master Jedidiah. You cannot win. The choice is yours to make.” The sound of so many people sucking air through their teeth at once was reminiscent of a pit of snakes.

Raine considered it for half a second. After all, ZionLine offered numerous opportunities to grow without the threat of true death. However, stepping back from the precipice would be to deviate from his path. Raine opened his mouth to refuse. Jedidiah was swifter. The old master spread his arms wide, stepping forward in invitation, “I can see you are unconvinced, understandable for one so inexperienced. Strike me. If you still wish to carry on with this nonsense after feeling the truth with your bare fists, then there is truly nothing any of us can do to sway you.”

The crowd gasped, shocked at Jedidiah’s confidence. Words of the most boisterous onlookers reached Raine’s ears.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a duel between two masters? Why is one of them giving freebies?! That’s not what I paid to see!”

“The arrogance! Can you believe it?”

“I don’t understand. Is this what Astra whatever wanted to show us? A wimp getting bullied by a real master?”

“Wow, that earlier speech was a real crock of shit. If he’s so weak, how is he any different from the rest of us?”

They were right. If Raine wanted these people, or any who came after, to walk the path behind him, he had to pave the way to that bright future with his own fists.

Raine stood tall, chin high, “What you’ve both said is true. I am inexperienced. My death is all but certain, and yet… Astra Infernum does not shy away from a worthy challenge! Show me what it means to be a master! Engrave it on my body with your fists... if you can!” Raine roared, foot smashing into the stage with all the internal force he could muster. The impact carried him forward, and without moving a muscle, Jedidiah accepted Raine’s full-powered punch to the weak spot in the gut where muscles were thinnest.

After taking ReGen, the newton’s behind Raine’s punches measured close to three thousand. After dousing himself in the Soul Flames of Amanesh, he’d felt his body’s strength further improve. He wouldn’t be surprised if he could reach three thousand eight hundred Newtons now. The forces behind his punch were inhuman, and his arm moved so quickly that it vanished to all but the masters on stage. The impact released a boom that had the hair of the closest viewers flying wildly.

Jedidiah’s body didn’t so much as quiver from a punch that could have shattered a meter-thick stone wall. Arms still spread wide, he gazed down at Raine with a pitiful frown, “Last chance, child. Relent, or die.”

Raine hopped back, shaking out fingers that felt broken. His vision shook from excitement, every cell of his body alive with the desire to push to the next level, to take another step, to overcome the impossible with everything on the line, “I choose death.”