Arena Aboard the Starship

A rotten personality—that was Aman'Thul's first impression of Vanidak. Over the long years they traveled together afterward, Aman'Thul firmly stamped that label onto his brother.

Punchable—that was Eonar's only impression of Vanidak. Of course, this gentle female Titan perfectly embodied that impression in her attitude toward her brother, earning her the title of Vanidak's number one nemesis.

As for Vanidak's second-greatest nemesis, that throne now seemed to have fallen into the hands of Norgannon, the wisest of the Titans. As one of the few intellectual talents among the Titans, Norgannon seemed to possess a natural immunity to his brother's daily malicious little tricks.

More than that, Norgannon, who appeared composed but was secretly quite mischievous, often turned those little tricks to his own advantage. Whenever he saw Vanidak ultimately get played by his own schemes, this Titan sage would reveal the faintest, nearly imperceptible smile.

But compared to those Titans, another headache-inducing figure had emerged for Vanidak. That was right—the cosmic powerhouse currently at his side, Sargeras. As for why this brute was showing signs of becoming his third nemesis... well, that was probably another tragic story.

It had begun not long after Sargeras helplessly embarked on a journey to find their kin with his unreliable brother. Faced with this brother whose mouth never stopped moving, Sargeras finally came to understand the existence of an emotion known as fear.

"Hey, Boss Sargeras, you're pretty huge. Heard you're a great fighter?"

"I never said that. Where did you hear it?"

"Where? Heh heh, I... I saw it..."

"Saw it? I don't understand."

"Ah, don't worry about those details. Let's change the subject. That sword of yours looks... not bad. It's almost as good as mine. What's it called?"

"Gorribar. That's what I call it. It is indeed a fine weapon."

"Yeah, yeah. But it'd be even better if the tip were replaced with burning flames. What do you think?"

"Hmm. I don't really have any opinion on that..."

The daily conversations between the two Titans wandering aimlessly through space were much like those described above. At times, Sargeras wondered how his brother, who could not even find his way, could be so... eloquent. Being well-spoken was a good thing, but for a Titan who had mastered Arcane power to its peak, it seemed a little... as his brother would put it, off-brand?

Just as the two headless flies were darting about through the stars, a massive spacecraft appeared before them. To avoid drawing attention, the two Titans had reined in their size and power as they traveled through space at Vanidak's suggestion. Since it was one of the few suggestions from his brother that sounded reliable, Sargeras had naturally agreed. Thus, when this enormous starship appeared in their path, it completely blocked their way forward.

"Oh, heavens, it's really huge. Don't you think, Sargeras?" Vanidak exclaimed in amazement.

"That joke has no finesse at all, Vani." Sargeras rarely shot back at him.

"Hey, I told you not to call me that! I have no interest in other creatures' hair!" Vanidak suddenly screamed at Sargeras in anger. "No one's hair!"

"Fine, my dear brother. It was just a joke, like the ones you often make." Sargeras shrugged indifferently.

"So, shall we keep moving?"

"Oh, my dear Boss Sargeras, you really have no sense of fun." Vanidak put on a shocked expression as he spoke to Sargeras. "Can't you see that giant monster in front of you? This is a starship, a starship, my brother!"

"Oh, so this is called a starship. Fine, now I know. Can we continue moving now? Thanks to your damned talent, we're still wandering around without a destination."

"Hey! I told you not to say that damned name! I always feel like you're implying something!" Vanidak shouted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Fine, fine. You muscle-brained idiot, you may not understand what the appearance of this starship represents. Let me tell you, you pitiful ignoramus. When a civilization is capable of building a big thing that roams the stars, that means—"

"We've got some fun ahead of us."

Before Sargeras, who still did not understand where the fun his brother spoke of was, could react, Vanidak grabbed him. Then, amid a swirl of silver light, they vanished from where they stood.

The Lucky Toe was a strategic flagship from an advanced civilization in the Astral Realm. Yet contrary to its name, the starship had led an extraordinarily rough life. On the very first day after it was built and set sail into the Astral Realm, it was seized by a group of space pirates nearby. But perhaps because its name contained an element of luck, the pirates deliberately kept this ship, which looked impressively large. After changing hands several times, this starship with a rather fantastical history became an extremely special presence in this region of space.

Unlike the enormous size it displayed from the outside, the inside of the starship felt somewhat... crowded. There was nothing wrong with the ship's dimensions. The problem was its passengers. These bizarre creatures gave Sargeras, walking among them, quite an eye-opening experience.

Following the fellow Titan ahead of him, who flickered through the crowd in a strange manner, Sargeras strode after him with the unmatched power in his body. Finally, when they reached a certain corner, his kinsman stopped and raised a hand to beckon him over.

"So why exactly did you drag me here?" Sargeras stepped forward and asked. "I can't see any of the... fun you mentioned."

"Heh, heh, heh, don't be impatient, my brother. I saw something. You'll understand soon enough." Vanidak lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously to Sargeras. "But before that, let me introduce these freaks to you. I already asked around."

Sargeras made a gesture for him to continue, found a comfortable place to lean against, and quietly waited for his brother to go on. Vanidak continued explaining.

"Look over there. That guy with green flames burning on his head—he's called a Pit Lord. We don't see these things often where we're from. It's rare to see one sitting here so quietly. By the way, this guy tastes awful. Hmm, don't ask how I know."

"Oh, oh, see that guy with a pair of huge wings? He calls himself a Dreadlord, but I feel like I've seen something very similar to him somewhere before. Hmm, I don't know what he tastes like, specifically."

"Yo, that one over there is even rarer. A Void Terror. Tsk, tsk, that's a big one. Its taste left a deep impression on Aman'Thul. Caw, caw."

"Huh? Who's that?" Following Vanidak's gaze, Sargeras saw a strange creature. Its entire body consisted of black energy, and its face had no features at all. White bandages wrapped around its body, and it seemed to be speaking with a short, strange species.

"Ah, that guy reminds me of an unpleasant memory," Vanidak suddenly said from beside him. "A memory that really annoyed me."

"That's quite rare. Something that annoys you—that really is unusual." Sargeras responded.

"You wouldn't want to know. Uh, you'd better not run into one either... It's not a good thing." Vanidak's response was unusually serious.

Just as the two Titans spoke, a shrill alarm suddenly rang out. At the sound of it, the strange creatures in the cabin abruptly became excited and surged in one direction.

Seeing Sargeras looking somewhat confused, Vanidak bumped his shoulder and said, "The fun's here. What are you standing around for?"

"The show's starting."

Inside an enormous circular venue, the thugs pouring in took their places on the surrounding platforms. Noisy chatter and roars rose one after another. Creatures born with chaotic natures clearly were not suited for such crowded settings; over a slightly roomier spot, quite a few thugs had already come to blows.

After effortlessly dealing with several provocateurs too clueless to know better in a manner that went unnoticed by the crowd, the two Titans successfully claimed a place at the front and began closely examining the vast arena. The noisy surroundings could not conceal the grandeur of this place. In the center, encircled by the platforms, was a circular sunken field. Vanidak seemed to see cracks running through it, with some unknown liquid flowing within them.

"Oh, this place is really noisy, but it's crazy enough too. What do you think, Sargeras?"

"I still can't see what's fun about this, my brother. The other beings here make me uncomfortable."

"Ah, don't rush. It's about to begin. Look there."

Following Vanidak's gesture, Sargeras saw two figures, one tall and one short, step onto a platform by the arena. The tall one appeared to belong to the species Vanidak had introduced earlier, called Mo'arg. The short figure beside him belonged to a species called Gan'arg. According to Vanidak, both could be classified as creatures known as demons.

The tall Mo'arg demon spoke first.

"Ahem, ahem! Quiet, you disgusting bastards! Keep causing trouble and I'll twist your heads off! Next... um... next..." He turned and kicked the Gan'arg demon beside him, then roared as though deeply embarrassed, "Hey, bastard, speak! Speak!"

The kicked Gan'arg demon seemed as though he had just woken up. He hurriedly cried out in his shrill voice.

"Oh, oh, right, right. Stop kicking me, you tall bastard!"

"Thugs, bastards! Welcome to the Void Arena!"

"We have gathered here to enjoy a primal carnival! These bastards all come from unknown starfields. They are..."

"A bunch of stinking pirates!"

"This one-of-a-kind carnival in the universe is possible thanks to our boss, the great Ethereal Prince, embodiment of power and master of authority. He is—"

"E! The! Real! Prince! Ba! Na! Zak!!!"

"Let us cheer and pay tribute to him, you bastards!!!"

The short Gan'arg demon pointed toward a platform in the middle of the arena. A black bandage-wrapped figure, extremely similar to the one Sargeras had seen earlier, sat elegantly upon an ornate throne. Hearing the hosts' words, he slightly raised a hand in acknowledgment to the crowd.

"Alright, thank our boss for gracing us with his presence. Let's continue!"

"As usual, the Void Arena has three stages. Clear them, and you can earn astonishing wealth. You'll also have the honor of joining our boss's legion. That is the highest glory. Ah, though it's impossible, even I kind of want to give it a try!"

With the hosts' announcement, the surrounding audience erupted even more wildly. The short host continued shouting.

"Alright, you bastards don't like pointless chatter either, so I announce—"

"The first stage begins now!!!"

"Let's see which bastard—"

"Has come here to die?"

"How exciting!"