"You must drink from this cup"

  "Drink if you want to break the seal of the seventh heaven"

  "Drink if you wish for mankind to survive the dangers that await them"

  "Drink if you wish to rewrite the laws of reality"

  "Drink if you wish to die"

  The words kept repeating in Orie's head in no particular order and were overlapping as they continued. He couldn't make sense of it, he couldn't tell if it was a revelation of the past or a vision of the future but he knew that it was something related to him.

  The noise in his head soon faded and he opened his eyes to see where he was, a hospital bed. I didn't take him long to realise that his entire body was a mess. Fractured phalanges, dislocated collar bone, cracks in every single bone in his body, multiple muscle and ligament tear, partial blindness in both eyes a ruptured eardrum, suspected brain damage and hair loss. He was wrapped in bandages, the pain was severe and any form of movement just made it worse. Even breathing was painful.

  "I shouldn't have fought so hard if I wasn't going to win" he said as he winced from the pain.

  "Well you always liked overdoing things all the time, even when things are not that serious" a familiar voice replied

  "I hope you don't do this all the time"

  "Bro" Orie said with a grunt as he turned to look at Moses.

  "You still dey? (You're still around?)" He groaned.

  "Yes" Moses answered

  "But I actually have to go back now"

  " I need to begin making preparations for the funeral"

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "And you are sure it's not because of your wife nagging you?" Orie asked sarcastically

  "Well, there's also that" Moses answered

  "Anyway, my plane takes off in two hours so I better be going" he said as he stood up to leave the room.

  "You've always recovered quickly so I don't exactly need to wish you that"

  "I'll communicate the date to you when preparations are complete"

  "Till then, bye bye"

  Not long after Moses left, Natsumi went in to see Orie. She had a worried look on her face but she was really proud of his performance in the final match. She was emotionally going back and forth between being concerned about his injuries and wanting to give him a hug. She was in the room with him before he regained consciousness but she went out for a while and when she returned was at the time Orie and his brother were talking so it felt awkward to go in, so she waited until they were done talking to enter.

  "You look terrible" Natsumi said with a soft smile

  "It's not that bad" Orie replied

  "I mean I can't move an inch but I've got the most beautiful woman in the world looking upon me"

  "I feel better already"

  "You did really well in the finals" She said enthusiastically

  "Same goes for you" he replied

  "You should be proud of yourself"

  "Yeah" she answered reluctantly

  Orie saw the sadness on her face and tried getting up to console her but he was met with pain that forced him back down. The worry on Natsumi's face increased as she saw him fall back on his bed.

  "Don't overdo it" she said in a concerned tone

  "I'm ok so don't worry about me"

  "You're the one on the hospital bed after all"

  Orie smiled and slowly turned to look at her, then stared silently for a while before saying anything.

  "It's normal to worry about someone you care about even if you think your condition is worse than theirs"

  "So let's worry about each other"

  "It's proof of how much we care"

  The days went by quickly and the first match of the students tournament was just hours away. Shiro had invited his friends over for dinner and they were talking about how it would go down.

  "I'm starting to think luck has an issue with you" Victor said looking at Shiro who was gently shoving food into his mouth.

  "Your first match ever and it's against the current champion"

  "It wasn't exactly luck" Shiro replied with some food still in his mouth

  "Your mom had something to do with it" he said after swallowing.

  "Something about keeping the competition fair"

  "How is that fair" Marie said out loud

  "I'm in the same group as you"

  "Now I have to face two people that obviously outclass me"

  "Who invited the small one!" Souma asked, looking at Marie

  "Who invited you?" Yang replied

  "I don't care who invited who" Yamato yelled as he slammed the table.

  "I just want to know if you think you can win"

  "I don't think you have to ask" Shiro replied

  "It's obvious that Shiro will win" Mia added

  "Unless you're talking about the tournament in its entirety"

  "Then that would be up for debate"

  "What?" Mia said looking at Shiro

  "You think I'd let you win?"

  "I know you won't" he answered with a smile

  "And I love you for that"

  "But I've already decided that victory is mine so, maybe next time"

  Everyone at the table stared at each other in awkward silence. What was more awkward than the silence was the fact that someone at the table was yet to say a single word since dinner began and they were all just realising it. One by one, they all turned their heads to look at him until he noticed.

  "What?" Andy said as he slowly put down the slice of meat he was about to eat.

  "Is there something on my face?"

  The dinner soon ended and everyone said their goodbyes. They had an eventful day ahead of them and they were all prepared, each and every one of them were burning with passion and beaming with confidence. They all went home with one thing on their minds, a thought that expressed what they all had in common, the desire to win.