Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]

An unpunctured chest and four working limbs greeted Jay as he pulled himself off the wood-panelled floor of the post-fight recovery room. He slumped into the armchair he'd once tediously dragged into the coliseum, eyes washing over the four beige walls surrounding him.

Welcome to D grade.

The coliseum's golden words lingered in Jay's mind. A glowing afterimage infecting not just his vision but his thoughts. He'd made it. He was done with the Second Chance Coliseum's lowest tier. He'd advanced to D grade, completing the tournament's goal.

But not my goal.

Amaya and Ezekiel still breathed. They were probably sat in a room like this one, staring at each other wondering how everything had gone so wrong.

Guess that makes three of us…

Jay had been given the chance to enact Vega's revenge, he'd been given multiple, but he'd refused every time. His underground date with death had soured his appetite for blood. Plus, Akira's life was worth far more to Jay than revenge could ever be.

The failure still hurt, but the sting of defeat paled beside the agony of loss. Jay was glad his friends had survived, even if he was dodging any thought related to Lyra at the moment.

He couldn't duck them forever, and Jay hoped their relationship could still be salvaged, but he left that plight for another day. Preferably one in the near future after Lyra returned to her senses. If she ever did.

A future existed where she never forgave him for scuppering her revenge. Another existed where he never forgave her for sacrificing Akira.

He hoped neither would come to pass.

Jay could endlessly ruminate on the infinite scenarios his distant future held without ever drawing near the truth, but his memories weren't as enduring. He left his future for a day where he felt both braver and wiser than he did now.

Instead, he turned back to the past few hours.

What went wrong?

Truthfully, Jay couldn't think of a lot he could've done differently during the tournament. Amaya had dealt him a losing hand by drafting him, Jay had simply played it as best he could. He could have remained by Akira's side during the final showdown, but would he really have been more useful there than taking out their opponents' long range support? How was he to know that Lyra would go rogue?

He'd had his suspicions, but was he ever in a position to act upon them?

Jay lamented his weakness, annoyed that he'd required Lyra and Akira's help just to survive the tournament. Sure, he'd paid his friends' back, but if he was stronger then perhaps Lyra wouldn't have felt the need to sacrifice Akira for her revenge?

And if my grandma had wheels she'd be a bike…

Jay cycled through his thoughts, trying to develop any meaningful conclusions. As it was—wheels or no wheels—his mind bounced between self-chastising what-ifs about being stronger and dumping all the blame on Lyra, neither of which benefited him.

So what went right then?

Jay forced himself towards greener pastures, ignoring the nagging doubts calling him a failure. He was still alive, for one, and so were his friends. That they'd all escaped alive and unscathed was a miracle in Jay's eyes, although the coliseum healing handled the unscathed part. Jay had narrowly escaped death three times during the tournament. He gave himself at least some credit for surviving, even if Akira had bailed him out once and Ping had dragged him to safety the other two times.

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Speaking of Ping…

Jay scanned the room. He hadn't noticed Ping before but spotted her leaning against the wall behind him after a second glance. His shield wasn't whizzing about with her usual vigour but Jay put that down to tiredness—if a sentient object could even get tired, that was. Ping deserved her nap over Jay's questions about her existence anyway, regardless of how confused he was about it.

Instead his attention fell on the sage's oil painting. The angler fish's vacant eyes stared back at Jay, its gaping mouth and glossy pupils betraying the emptiness behind them. The animal's simplistic existence looked almost idyllic to Jay's addled mind. The dumb fish never had to worry about its friends betraying him or deal with the consequences of not being strong enough.

The inky blackness encircling the deep-sea dweller whispered of threats in the distance, reminding Jay of his own demons looming on the horizon. He'd definitely visit the sage after leaving the recovery room, and Jay wanted a long conversation with Akira before deciding on anything else about his future. Julian was somewhere out there waiting for him, and the one lead Jay had was wrapped in Samira's strings. Jay had grown to both trust and respect the young samurai; he no longer wanted to keep secrets from his first friend at the coliseum.

Jay sank back into his armchair, content to sit in silence until he mustered the courage to face the outside world. He passed the time by meditating, smothering his doubts beneath the cyclic ins and outs of his measured breathing.

When he next opened his eyes Ping was hovering barely an inch away from them, eagerly awaiting his return.

"Sleep well?" asked Jay, lips curling into an involuntary smile that spilled over into his mind.

Ping replied with three loop-de-loops, adding a fourth as soon as Jay rose to his feet.

"Time to leave, I guess."

Jay released a heavy sigh, allowing himself another smile as Ping shot towards his side. He exited the recovery room, eager to be over with whatever surely awaited him outside.

"What did you think of your performance, Mr. Leonard?"

"Will you ever trust Lyra Twinstrike again, Jay?"

"Lightning! Can you tell us what comes next in your caree-"

Jay barged past the reporters, thankful that they weren't bombarding him with essence based camera flashes along with their questions. He not-so-subtly prodded a few in the ribs jolting the unlucky reporters with just enough electricity to make them jerk back.

The rest got the memo.

"I'll answer your questions tomorrow," said Jay. As much as he disliked the reporters circling him like vultures around carrion, he knew better than to get on their bad side. Beyond the crowd, Jay spotted Lyra and Akira engaged in a tense conversation beside the fountain. "Wound's a bit raw, don't you think?"

Raw was exactly what they wanted, but Jay hoped his appeasement worked and walked past them anyway.

Upon exiting the crowd, Jay spotted Karis standing next to Akira, diamond eyes watching him like a hawk. He nudged the young man before pointing in Jay's direction. Both his teammates stopped arguing and turned to face Jay. Akira's eyes lit up, a relieved smile washing over his face.

Jay barely caught a glimpse of Lyra before she turned and marched out of the square.

A round of gasps and murmurs sounded out from behind Jay.

How's that for your headline?

"I'm glad you made it out," said Karis, his stoic calmness a stark contrast to Akira's troubled expression.

Jay nodded in response before turning to Akira.

"Go and speak with her," said Jay, "I know you want to. If you talk to me first she might not let you back in her sight."

Jay spat out his last sentence with a forced laugh, masking his anger behind a wafer-thin veneer of apathy.

"What happened between you guys?" asked Akira.

"Hear her out first. Get her side of the story. I'll wait."

Jay surprised himself with his composure. Akira's eyes begged him to say more but Jay met them with pursed lips.

Akira held out his hand. "Either way, I'm glad you're alive, Jay."

Jay took it, pulling his friend into a bear hug to hide his watery eyes.

"You too, mate. You too."

Jay released his friend and let him follow Lyra. He sat down on the fountain's lip and watched Akira's colourful kimono disappear into the alleyways of Gladiator's Octant.

"I'm surprised you told him to speak to her," said Karis. He pointed to a crow perched upon a balcony across the square. "Do you want to listen in?"

"I'm surprised myself," replied Jay. He paused before answering Karis' question. "No thanks. I'd ask you to give them some privacy but I know you won't listen."

The Frontiersman gave Jay a wry smile; his crow hopped off the balcony and tailed Akira.

"How about a drink then?"

Jay dipped his hands into the fountain, splashing the cold water into his face.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea."