The Astral soul system

Zaria was still a bit baffled as she looked for a place to watch the fight.

"Zaria,over here!"

Zaria looked at where the voice came from and saw Jade and the others at the betting pool.

"What are you guys doing?"

"What do you mean what are we doing? We're getting rich! I've never seen an easier decision in my life"

Zaria looked at the person manning the pool.

"What are the odds for the fight?"

"Ridiculous,young lady. Literally no one bet on the moody kid"

"Well I'm betting now"

Without another word, Zaria transferred all her credits, betting it all on Zen.

"Um.. I think you misunderstood me miss. The person you bet on is the most likely to lose. The odds are a hundred to one"

"Meaning I'll make a hundred more than i bet"

The man was still confused when everyone else started betting everything they had on Zen,all except Diane.

They all then started walking back to their seats without looking back at the flabbergasted man.

"Alright, that's that. Let's sit back and wait for the cash to roll in"

"I still don't see why you guys are so confident in him" Diane said.

"Trust me, just see him fight once and you'll understand "

The man looked at them strangely as they walked back.

"Didn't they say that this was an easy bet?"

***************

Zen and Gary stood at opposite sides of the dome shaped stadium, staring each other down.

The referee began to introduce them

"Ladies and gentlemen!!! Allow me to introduce our competitors. On the right side is a member of one of the most powerful and beloved families,Garyyy storm!!!"

The entire place was drowned in applause and praise for Gary.

"And on the left side is..."

The referee's face immediately went pale as he whispered to Zen.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

Zen looked up at the referee. For most people, the question would be too easy, but for him it wasn't the same. He had been known by quite a few names, but if it was the one given to him by the woman who raised him then...

"Zen"

The referee looked like he was getting annoyed.

"Last name, what's your last name"

Zen Hollow could be considered his full name but in the end it was a title. That being said, Zen was also more of a title he earned than a name.

Zen shook his head.

"Oh what's this? Mr big shot doesn't even have a full name?"

Gary started laughing out loud.

"You're even more pathetic than I thought!"

The audience surrounding the arena also started murmuring.

"No name?"

"A bastard?"

"Or maybe an orphan"

Zen ignored the murmuring.

"That's not a problem,is it?"

Gary took a break from his laughter.

"I just want to know who's to blame for this weakling in front of me"

Zen didn't respond to that.

The referee at this point felt a little a little awkward since his introduction had been completely cut off. He decided to just skip Zen's introduction and just start the match. No one would remember him anyway.

"Begin!"

"You can run if you want. It'll make this so much more fun"

Zen didn't reply to Gary's taunts and stood there waiting for him to make the first move.

"Times up"

A green light surrounded Gary as the wind surrounding him started howling and swirling, kicking up dust.

"It's over, the kid's done"

"Kid had a chance to just kneel and beg for mercy. Some people are just too stupid for their own good "

Zen was still watching Gary's useless display of power when he suddenly heard someone shout from the very back.

"KICK HIS ARSE ZEN!!!"

He could clearly recognize Xavier's voice.

"Time to die!"

Gary did a vertical swipe and an obscene amount of raging wind followed, creating four three meter tall blades of wind in the air , aiming for Zen.

Zen didn't move,a bored look in his one visible eye as the wind blades made contact, sending dust and debris flying into the air and obscuring Zen's figure.

The entire place was filled with cheers for Gary as they all believed Zen was most definitely dead.

"Instant victory! The winner is-"

"Missed"

A monotone voice spoke from the dust cloud, ending all the cheers at once.

The dust slowly settled, revealing Zen standing barely five feet away from where he was before.

"Ha! Nothing but luck. A stupid fluke. Without an ability there's no chance for you to win!" Gary yelled, angry his attack had been evaded.

Zen tilted his head curiously.

"An ability? Is that what I'm missing?"

"I can't believe it. He actually survived"

"Nothing but luck, besides, killing isn't allowed, Gary probably weakened his attack to avoid killing him and accidentally made it too weak"

"Yeah there's no way the boy survives the next one"

Zen spoke to Theia.

"Is that attack we worked on going to work?"

Theia pumped her little fist.

"Almost definitely. Let's fuck him up!!!"

Gary looked at Zen who still had his head down.

"Enough playing around! Time to-"

The rest of his words failed to escape his mouth as Zen brought his head up to look at him for the first time since the battle. A strange dread entered him as he looked at Zen.

'is...is his eye glowing? No that can't be'

The entire aura surrounding Zen had changed. His hair and clothes fluttered and flowed mysteriously in the wind despite there being none to speak of.

Gary grit his teeth, angry at himself for feeling fear. He was clearly the stronger one in the situation,why should he feel fear?

"Because you're going to loose" Zen answered coldly, reading his mind with soul bridge.

Gary was stunned for a few seconds before charging towards Zen,wind encapsulating his entire body and following his movements.

Zen dashed forward, meeting him in the center of the arena.

Zen tilted his head to the side, easily dodging another blast of wind before throwing a punch straight for his head.

A small explosion of wind pushed Zen back before he could land.

"You honestly think I'll let you get close when I can just kill you from a distance?"

"No"

Gary threw another wind blade, but just like with the first one,a simple sidestep was all it took to dodge.

"What's wrong? You look like you lost all the balls you had a few minutes ago"

Gary growled and threw another four windblades towards Zen who jumped in the air to dodge them.

"Fool"

Gary quickly threw a few more while Zen was in the air.

Zen quickly used soul movement to increase his air time by about a second, allowing him to barely dodge them before landing to receive a wind boosted punch from Gary.

"Slow" Zen said coldly before avoiding the punch completely, using Gary's head like a platform to vault off.

"Very slow. The wind ability really doesn't suit you"

"What did you say?" Gary gritted his teeth, already loosing his composure.

"You didn't understand? Fine I'll speak in stupid. You suck. Not even the wind ability can make you faster, whether in battle or bed. Not to mention your reload time is ass too"

The crowd was going wild.

"What is this maniac doing?"

"I thought he was quiet because he was conflicted,now I realize he's just retarded "

"Welp, that's it. He's dead"

"It's not like anyone will do anything if Gary kills some nameless bastard. Might as well do it quick and get rid of an eyesore "

Gary was about to throw another attack when Zen suddenly disappeared from his view. He suddenly felt a stinging sensation on his cheek followed by a loud crisp sound.

"Too easy " Zen said, standing behind Gary.

Gary touched his face, unwilling to believe he had just been slapped. He turned around to retaliate but only caught a glimpse of a glove covered fist heading straight for his face before getting stunned again.

"Come on slowpoke. Stop standing there "

Zen threw another punch but Gary successfully blocked this one. Before long it had turned into a pure fist fight with bits of wind energy being used. Unlike what everyone expected, Gary was getting absolutely disrespected by Zen both verbally and physically.

"Keep going. Soon enough we'll have him in our trap. Just anger him a bit more"

Zen took Theia's advice and gave one more insult.

"What's wrong? Not so tough without your little fuck buddy?"

That seemed to have struck a nerve as Gary looked at a specific person in the audience. Zen didn't have to look at where he was looking to know who he was looking at.

"She's using you"

Zen was about to attack once more when he suddenly saw something strange.

A glowing pink string suddenly appeared between Gary and Celia, slowly increasing in brightness.

"Theia,i see something"

"I know. Remember how I told you your view of the world would change when you got soul senses? Well this is soul vision... although its a bit weird"

Zen focused on the string and suddenly his vision changed.

He suddenly saw Gary and Celia, although a lot younger.

"Uh,hi. My name's Gary"

Gary introduced himself. He seemed a lot more polite.

"Celia,nice to meet you . You're pretty cute Gary"

Gary blushed, embarrassed as he smiled , stretching his hand for a shake.

"Thanks, you're pretty cute yourself"

Celia shook his hand, and Zen wasn't sure, but he felt like he saw a flash of light where their hands touched.

Gary seemed to lose focus for a second before returning to normal.

The image changed and this time, Gary and Celia were playing on a swing set.

Gary looked up and looked a bit worried.

"It's getting late,we should probably go home"

"No, I want to stay" Celia answered nonchalantly.

"But,celi-"

"We're staying!" Celia answered in a not so friendly voice

Gary's eyes glowed a strange color and he stopped in his tracks.

Celia held his face.

"You'll do what I say, right? Gary? I'm your only friend, you'd do anything for your friend, right?"

Gary nodded slowly in some sort of trance.

A sadistic smile appeared on Celia's face as she gently brought her face closer to his and placed her lips on his, kissing him deeply.

"That's what I like to hear"

The scene changed a few more times with similar things happening until Zen finally saw a recent one.

Gary and Celia were alone in a room, Gary focusing on the TV, while Celia watched him.

She smiled before slowly taking off her clothes, sensually peeling off every piece of fabric before walking in front of Gary.

Gary immediately went red scrambling as far away as possible.

"C-celia what are you doing?"

"Shhh"

Gary's eyes glowed a strange color as he entered a trance.

"I've waited long enough. It's time i got full control"

She walked closer to Gary, seductively wrapping her arms around him.

"Why are you running,dear? After all,you love me"

Gary answered monotonously

"I... love you?"

She traced her fingers on his chest, taking off his shirt.

"Yes. You've always loved me, I'm your everything. You've always wanted to take our relationship to the next level, but just been too shy to ask "

"I've always loved you "

Celia chuckled, her voice laced with poison.

"You're going to give yourself to me, both your body and soul. You'd do anything for the one you love, right?"

"Yes"

"Say it! Swear it!" Celia demanded.

"I belong to you,both body and soul. I'd do anything for you"

The strange glow in Gary's eyes briefly intensified before disappearing completely. Gary opened his eyes seemingly out of his trance. He looked at Celia who was embracing him completely naked while pressing herself against him, and looked like this was the greatest moment of his life.

A thick string appeared between the two, binding them.

"Oh, baby. I had no idea you felt the same way. I feel so silly now. Of course I love you, and I've always wanted to be with you two "

Celia adorned a fake smile.

"I'm glad you're finally honest with yourself, now get rid of those clothes,i want you inside me so badly "

Gary eagerly followed her commands. There was no more motonomy or stiffness,it was like this was genuinely how he felt and he wanted every bit of this as he excitedly pulled off his pants and pulled Celia into a steamy kiss.

The scene changed before things could get too intense, however it seemed like these visions took him out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Gary was sitting in a pool and Celia was nowhere to be seen. There seemed to be some strange movement under the water that was affecting Gary as he let out a satisfied groan.

A few seconds later,a naked Celia came up from under the water and into Gary's embrace.

"After so many years i still can't find it. It's clearly not with you,so I guess I should have killed you off by now or just tortured you to death after I got my fun like with all the others,but I guess you can still be of use. For example, pleasing me!"

Celia pushed Gary's head into the water and almost immediately,he grabbed her thighs and lowered his head towards her nether regions. He acted like he hadn't heard her words,or like this was completely natural as he acted with complete enthusiasm.

"Filthy pig. If only there was a definite way to find it,then i wouldn't have to search through all these worthless insects. At least I can still have some fun while searching "

All the visions suddenly stopped there as Zen reappeared in the arena. He looked around, concluding he had been gone for only a moment.

Zen looked at Gary. He looked so happy in those last few memories, which was strange since in almost every other one he was being made miserable and defenseless by her.

Zen recalled that moment with the string forming. He vaguely remembered something similar happening to him when Celia had turned on him, but due to his higher mental strength, he escaped.

"I see now, he's a victim"

This was all Celia's fault

The string connecting Gary and Celia suddenly started gloves with more intensity and Zen felt like something was changing with Gary's attitude.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"