Page 12 of Aria's Ascension

Stepping out from Tirox’s gentle hold, Aria made herself really look at… the body lying in front of her.

She—the femalelooked to be in her fifties.

I’ve been here for a hell of a lot longer than three years.Closer to thirteen.

Aria felt more than heard Kix’s almost silent approach, but she didn’t look at him, not even when his shock and rage washed over her in a stinging wave.

“Myaessa… ” he rasped.

“Not now,” she whispered, cutting him off.

She couldn’t take their horror on top of her own. He must have understood, because she heard him suck in a sharp breath before his feelings slowly quit battering at her, lessening more and more until they were gone and she was left with the numbness she needed.

“Why are they here?” she asked.

Kix didn’t answer with words. Instead, he growled, a sound so low and menacing a flicker of fear shot through her, despite knowing he would never hurt her.

Turning, she yanked on his arm, forcing his attention away from what lie in the tube and onto her. He pinned her with his stare, murderous rage making him look fearsome and deadly, his muscled, pearlescent grey chest rising and falling rapidly with angry breaths.

But, she didn’t need his anger, she needed his mind.

“I need you to focus,” she snapped. “Why are they here? Why is Zhrovni keeping the original bodies when he has the cloned bodies to use in the arena?”

It took a second, but he eventually squeezed his eyes shut and uncurled his fists. When he had himself under control, he opened them and gave her a short nod then scanned the beings in the tubes, deliberately passing over hers.

“The probes affixed to their heads are the same as those in the labs,” he started, his voice still rough with anger. “The cap above resembles those we use on my world for immersive entertainment. As with all other technology here, it is likely far more advanced than what I am familiar with.” He paused for a moment, frowning, before he continued. “I think the consciousness is sent back to the original body at the end of each tournament via the probes. That cap then projects a construct of their homes into their minds to keep them docile. Even if they remember some of what happens here, they would believe it a dream, as we did.”

“And if the tech fails for some reason, they’d wake up in these weak bodies instead of those enhanced for battle,” Aria added. “They didn’t count on anyone waking up in the middle of a tournament.” Pausing, she frowned. “So how did I wake up in the lab just now, still in this body instead of that one? I was home. It was glitchy, and I knew almost immediately it wasn’t real, but I was still there.”

She expected Kix to answer, but Tirox beat him to it.

“You are awake, my heart,” he said, as if the answer was obvious. “Your mind is too strong for their magic. It is no longer soft and malleable as clay. It is a blade, sharp and deadly.”

He stepped closer, staring deeply into her eyes as he reached back and played with one of the beads in his hair. She could just hear the faint rattling sound and knew it was relaying information to him the same way hers warned her of danger.

“Your spirit is now bound to this body, as are ours. Their magic would have great difficulty moving it to that one.”

Kix narrowed his eyes contemplatively at the big guy and shook his head, adding, “Perhaps the probes in the lab can project a simpler version of the construct, to keep the gladiators enthralled without the risks involved in a full transference. Perhaps you were halfway between your body and… that one when we coaxed you out. We have no way to know in truth, but I imagine your awareness would, indeed, affect the process. Perhaps a sufficient amount of you was awake enough to fight back which slowed down the transfer. Crux, it very well could have been Tirox’s little rock creature that made the difference.”

“More questions without answers. That bugs the shit out of me,” she scowled. “Wait. If the transference has risks like you said, why do it at all? Wouldn’t it be safer and easier to just leave the person’s consciousness in the clone body?”

Kix nodded. “It would, I am sure, but I believe these also serve as fail-safes. If a gladiator should die in the arena, the original body still lives. Memories of the last fight are likely lost. Yet, previous ones of prior battles would remain safe, here.”

“I guess it wouldn’t make for a very good show if all the fighters had to learn everything all over again. How to wield their weapons, their opponents’ weaknesses, what shit like a hassilt stone is and where to find it,” she muttered cynically. “So, how the fuck are we going to wake them up in their gladiator bodies?”

Aria rubbed her forehead as the enormity of the situation hit her like a fucking truck.

“If we figure that out and manage to free all these people, where the hell are they going to go?” she asked quietly, gazing blankly at the hundreds of beings around her, unaware of the hellish place they were in. “Even if they have some kind of teleporter room like onStar Trek, and we miraculously figure out how to work it,andfind the coordinates of all these peoples’ planets, would we send back these atrophied bodies or their clones? We don’t even know the full extent of what Zhrovni did to us, what kind of changes aren’t immediately apparent. My need for food and water is substantially decreased, and I haven’t had to use the restroom once.” She sneered. “I suppose having your slaves stop killing each other long enough to eat and piss wouldn’t be very entertaining. Fucking bastards.”

Aria paced, trying to come up with something resembling a plan.

“If what Zhrovni is doing here was illegal, we could find this planet’s version of police to help those affected, but from what he said in the lab, it’s not. Even if we kill him and free everyone—and that’s a big fuckingif—there’s no bureau or organization to go to for help. He made a point of telling me he followed regulations when I called him an animal.”

Something else he said came back to her, halting her mid-step.

“He said he owns the most advanced arena on the planet,” she whispered, whipping a look at Kix and Tirox.

“So, there is more than one,” Tirox muttered, his eyes narrowing, not with anger, but with thought as if he, too, was trying to come up with a plan.

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