The End of One's Soul [SOLO]

[Bear]

EDIT:
Changed the thread from 'Open' to 'Solo', sorry if it was any inconvenience to anyone, but I have a few change of plans on how I want this to end.

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The small island of Orange Town was filled with people as the docks of the island showed signs of visitors and possibly new residents. Being a pretty unknown island to many, Orange Town of course had only had about one hundred people. Small wasnft always bad, is this situation, it had done many a lot of good. All the civilians of Orange Town knew each other, so the friendliness around here was comforting, and there also werenft much signs of marines on this island, so the chance of any corrupt officer claiming this land was slim. But inside this happy and peaceful town, laid a secret that no one else knew about except for a few. Namely the underground arena AKA the Black Dungeon. Surprisingly, all of the civilians had no knowledge of the fights, only foreigners knew the whereabouts of where the fights took place. The fights were simple as well as the rules, you had to place bets on one fighter, and one fighter only. Whichever fighter wins stays for the next round, while the other gets thrown out, and often punished by their sponsor. The more you win, the more money you get, and whoever that bets with you, gets their money doubled. The rules? No guns or artillery of any kind, but other than that, anything goes. Risky right? Well, believe it or not, itfs one of the most popular events which attracted over fifty percent of all the evisitorsf to Orange Town. When you lose, you lose it all. When you win, well, youfre still bound to lose. Betting in the Dark Dungeon wasnft only addictive, but also destructive to many.

hAhhhh!h With a sudden jerk, Bear fell out of his bed and onto the cold wooden floor. Groaning, the teen scratched the top of his head, and tried to make out where he was, and what time was it. Only taking a few seconds to recollect his scattered brain, Bear then stood up and patted his pants down, removing any unwanted dust. Pulling out a simple t-shirt with shorts, the boy now smiled at himself. While putting them on Bear now hopped over to a window near his bed, and gave the curtains a tug. Sunlight shined through the new opening, and greeted Bear with its warm hug. Slowly walking out of the light and toward the staircase leading down to the bar below, he now felt ready for the day, whatever it had in stored. Bearfs family had lived apart from every other civilian in Orange Town, as they were quite discriminate towards his family for some reason. Looking through the small crack the staircase provided midway into the bar, Bear felt his stomach growl loudly. Soon after a warm, gentle voice appeared, and those words belonged to his mom, Lily Royale. hVant dear! I have some pancakes, so come down here! And Ray is here too, so come here and chat with him for a bit!h Now walking down very quickly, Bear gave a silent nod towards the man right next to his mother. The walls of the bar gave a nice light brownish color in the light, just like the rest of the coloring done for this bar. Itfs interior was also majestic, as the chairs and tables were set up on the opposite side of the counter, letting any customer enjoy the beautiful paintings on the walls of the bar. In front of the counter, stood stools that could be used for anyone that wanted quick orders or chatting time with the bartender, Lily. Behind the counter, was the kitchen, which was operated by Bearfs dad, Lyon. Believe it or not, Lily loved to chat, while Lyon just loved to cook, a perfect couple when it came to owning a business such as this one. hHey there buddy!h In a rough voice, the man on the stool confronted Bear with his voice, which sounded warm and confident. The man was a complete stranger to him, but the strangest thing was, Ray was a pirate! In Bearfs view, it had seemed like his parents were old friends with this guy, despite his appearance and status. Now walking to a stool next to Ray, Bear sat down and grabbed the fork that was right next to the plate before he started gobbling up his breakfast. hP-pretty goodccsir.h Voice small, Bear continued to stare at his breakfast, chatting was certainly not one of his specialties. hCan I go to town today momc.?h Continuing his speech, Bear tilted his head towards his mother, who nodded approvingly at his request.

Fifteen minutes later, Bear opened the door of the bar, and no stood on a green hill. The bar was possibly one of the best bars in the whole world, so why in the world was there so little customers? Taking a nice jog, Bear moved swiftly down the hill as he remembered what his mom said to him as he finished his pancakes and drank down some milk. hBe careful okay? You know how it is with the townspeople.h Her voice echoed in Bearfs head as the town appeared into his view now. Ever since his family had arrived here, they were hated for some reason, which had caused them to move out onto the hill. Though they were still being hated, life was perfect for Bear, seeing his family happy made him smile much more than any kid could when they receive their favorite game ever. The feeling was so mysterious to Bear, yet it had helped him survive without losing his sanity nor his soul, which he was thankful for. Making it into the square, the boy dodged all the incoming groups that were chatting about different subjects. hLifefs perfectcccperfectch[/i] Bear thought to himself as he made it towards a large house, which was larger than any normal house in the town. Walking towards the enormous doors, Bear lightly tapped on it, which made it open. Upon its opening, a shrewd man appeared out of nowhere, which scared Bear for a bit. hRight on time Mr. Bear. Just like what I taught you.h Showing his black teeth, the slim man walked out of the doors and was now right beside Bear, letter in hand. To be truthful, Bear wasnft ordinary, or in correct terms, he was vastly different than normal kids would be. He wasnft the eVantf his parents had known, nor was he the innocent boy that wouldnft fight back against anything. He was now eBearf, a nickname only for the strong. And in fact, he was strongest on the island. The boy held the key to his whole familyfs ticket to staying in the bar, their source to happiness. What they thought was a nice job at the store was actually the most dangerous job most could possibly think of. An underground fighter. Not only was eVantf good at it, he was great, magnificent, stunning, the champion. The best of the best. Now back at the square he was on a while ago, the man gave Bear the letter that was in his hand. Opening it, Bearfs eyes widened at the payment stated on the paper. hOne million belis that could be all yours Mr. Bear, you just have to do what you do best.h Yeah, Bear only had to do what he had always done, and will continue doing. There was no option of refusing this match. This match offered too much to be true. And he only had to do what he had done best.

Fight.

[Bear]

Turning towards a famous local bar, the sponsor proceeded to walk in large strides towards the door. Following behind him, was Bear in a dazed state. The thought about winning a million belis for his whole family to use was probably an unbelievable dream for him, one that he thought he would never be able to accomplish ever in his whole life, but there it was, right in front of him. All he had to do was just win the match. hNow, Mr. Bear. I would suggest you snap out of your miserable state that you are in right now, and win. Remember, this isnft all about you. I sponsored you because you have talent and talent alone. If you didnft, donft expect me to stick up for your life.h Spat the man, who was also known as Mr. Morehouse, a very famous name in this village, as he was one of the most famous people around. Lifestyle exact opposite of Bearfs. Lowering his head a bit, Bear looked at the letter once more before he frowned a bit, questions buzzing through his mind. hUmmc.sir, why is there this much money on the line for todayfs match?h Trying to make it sound smooth and calm, the fighter looked at his sponsor when he had said those words. Looking back at him, Mr. Morehouse seemed to have had the vilest look on his face, obviously satisfied that Bear had asked the question, like how a child wants their parents to ask how their school was after learning something very interesting. hYou will see soon Mr. Bear, but I must say that someone famous is coming here to watch your little match.h Grinning, Mr. Morehouse now hummed to himself before opening the door into the bar even though it had a sign saying eclosedf. Looking up, Bear now felt his blood pump faster as he entered with him. Why was the bar closed? Maybe it was because it was the entrance to the Dark Dungeon of course.

Walking into the bar, the two were greeted by the bar owner himself, and offered them some beer. Mr. Morehouse like the man he was rejected them. He never wanted to get himself mixed up with lower-classed people, unless it involved gain for himself, such as Bearfs case. Going behind the counter now, the sponsor walked straight ahead, like there was nothing in front of him. Giving him room, the bar owner seemed somewhat scared of the rich man along with his prodigy fighter silently walking behind him. Fear was the best method of ruling so it had seemed, or at least, that was what Bear thought Mr. Morehouse had done to get himself filthy rich at least. Behind the counter, Mr. Morehouse reached for a liquor barrel, and twisted the knob. A loud ethumpf sound then emitted from underground, followed by a large ecreakingf sound next. Looking to his right now, Bear who was spaced out, now observed a hidden door open (pretty much the size of a medium sized square table) right beside the bar owner, who looked just as excited as Mr. Morehouse, eyes practically glued onto Bear. Of course, Bear was their cash cow, who had never done them wrong, and was supposed to stay that way until his contract ended. Giving room for Mr. Morehouse and the bar owner to walk into the door before he did, Bear took one more glance at the bar around him. Yes, Bear was confident in his abilities to fight, but he couldnft help but think that he was going to die every match he had gone to. Sometimes the stress was just too much. hNow, let us get you into the dressing room gBearh.h called out Mr. Morehouse, obviously showing confidence in the achievements of his own gcreationh, it made sense though. He had of course, raised up Bear to become the person he was right now, but there was of course times where Bear hated being treated like he was helpless without Mr. Morehouse, but it was true. Nobody else in the world would probably accept him except for Mr. Morehouse, the people cheering for him in the arena, Ray, and his parents. He was helpless without them, and right now, he needed money no matter what. There upon the wall, Bear now smiled, personality changing quite a bit. Why was he smiling? Well, there upon the wall, was the one weapon that he had used for fighting his whole entire life. Being weak wasnft the solution in these fights. To harden your soul, you must also harden your heart.There on the wall, hung his metal gloves.

hBear!h
gBear!h
gBear!h
gBEAR!h

[/b]

The sounds from the audience grew much louder than usual as Bear now walked into the arena, which was the size of the square, huge and spacious. hSeems like something big is happening todayc.h[/i] Bear thought to himself before it was then drowned in the cheering of the crowd. So Mr. Morehouse wasnft lying, this was big, very big to be in fact if the crowd was cheering this much. Looking ahead, Bearfs eyes widened as a large red sheet of fabric was being hung to prevent him to look at the opposite side. What was happening? Why was this happening? Puzzled, Bear walked a little bit closer to the fabric before he braced himself for what was happening. The cheering of the crowd kept growing louder and louder until he could hear them practically scream on the top of their lungs. What was happening that made them this excited? Then, a sudden loud sound came that immediately stopped all of their screams, a loud, threatening voice had transformed there voice into whispers.

hFIGHT!h

The loud sound from the announcer was soon drowned out of Bearfs ears as large hands appeared through the fabric, grabbing the boyfs neck to prevent him from breathing. Falling back, Bear felt his eyes roll back a bit before he managed to concentrate once more. But this time, the image of Mr. Morehouse appeared on his mind, the sponsor was sitting on the bench of the arena, sipping tea with the strangest look on his face.

He was smiling.

[Bear]

hGetc..off me!h Finally finding the strength to knock the man off of him, Bear gasped for all the air he can manage to get as he gained some distance from his enemy in battle. From what the little champion could tell, this guy wasnft a pushover. Being able to land a first strike that quickly on Bear when the fight just started showed that his opponent was not only strong, but an adept thinker. Not only that, but the fighter also looked somewhat similar to an ape in many aspects of his physical features. The man had a very big build for his upper body, which made him hunch over while standing. His legs looked especially weak, while supporting all that weight; it was a surprise that they didnft already snap in half. A very good weak spot if you say so. hRahh!h Shouting out a very war-like yell, Bear charged right at his opponent. Being the man Mr. Morehouse is, it was no surprise why this match was weighted so much more heavily then every other match. Bearfs opponent was obviously another champion from another island, thatfs why. Raising his fist, Bear eyed the opponentfs legs before he swiftly got lower to the ground. His first attack was going to be a feint, then a quick strike to the opposite leg. Was. As he did, a large pair of hands came down to grab Bearfs waist. Bearfs vision quickly blurred now, and felt like he was light headed before he had found himself lying on the ground, legs feeling like all the strength had left it. What was happening?

Coughing up blood, Bear looked towards his opponent once more. This was tough, this guy was good. This guy had reflexes. Getting up, Bear braced himself for another hit while the crowd cheered louder and louder for the attack to come. hShut up!h The voices of the crowds drowned Bearfs words while they kept on cheering for much more violence. Everything felt blurry and dream-like when the next strike had blown Bear off into the middle of the field. The boy felt like he could see himself from the stands for some reason, like this was all fake. This feeling had never struck Bear before, he felt his legs shake, and his arms quiver before his opponent. Was he scared? hNo!h cried out Bear as he tried to get a view of his opponent. No, that was impossible. Countless enemies had attacked Bear and manage to leave fatal wounds, why was this guy so different? And what the hell was wrong with Bear?