Chapter 1443 (2/2)
When everything else was ready, the director raised his hand and voice. The lights were brightened and the cameras and mics drifted inevitably forward to absorb the two individuals lounging in the green chairs.“Five, four, three!”
For the final numbers, he just raised his fingers. Two. One.
“Hello Earth, I’m Amelia Skyne and we are broadcasting LIVE from the location of the pulse-pounding duos tournament in the beautiful Orchard! At the moment we’ve narrowed the most powerful partnerships on Earth down to just thirty-two! From within this group, our champions will emerge, who will officially name our planet in the eyes of the Nexus. It’s a great honor and a heavy responsibility. The only question is who will seize it?”
Very naturally, Amelia shifted position from the camera right in front of them to one off to the left. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, allowing her bright red dress to catch the light the material shifted and fluttered. Somewhere during the shift, her expression had changed from wide-eyed delight to solemn contemplation. Even Randidly was rather impressed by how smooth the transition was. It didn’t even take a second before she soulfully spoke to the other camera.
“But since today is a break day, we here at WGNS thought it was a great chance to sit down and look at the current favorites for the tournament. Not only that, but we have a special guest here in the studio to weigh in. Please everyone, give a warm welcome to… Randidly Ghosthound!”
The twenty-two individuals in the live studio audience began to fervently clap and cheer as the production assistants raised signs with the words ‘cheer now’ written on them. The corner of Randidly’s mouth twitched upward. There was a flash of purple-black fire in his eyes. Truly, so much of our world is artifice, isn’t it? But if people believe in it, there is power here. That what it means for image to be valuable...
Randidly had agreed to come onto this show in part because he wanted to offer a gentle reminder to the people of Earth about images. As such, he would participate in this whimsical program in order to get his message across. So he nodded lightly. “Thanks for having me.”
He had been given some other suggested lines for him to open with that would bring up other topics at the jump, but he didn’t bother to pander that much to the producers of the program. At the same time, he was quite pleased with the way that Amelia noticed his refusal and quickly moved onto the next issue.
“Mr. Ghosthound, you can see here our predicted top 4 finishers for the tournament. Beyond that, things get a bit dicey, but we are relatively confident that these four are the most powerful groups on Earth. From Block A, Alana Donal and her Frost Dragon Wivanya seem almost guaranteed to win. From Block B, we have Hank Howard and, a fan favorite, his horse Ancho. From Block C, Richter and Blackhand. And finally, from Block D, we believe that Lucifer and Guiliana will make it to the semi-finals. Not to put you on the spot, Mr. Ghosthound… but I can see in your eyes that you don’t agree with our choices. Which one is the problem?”
Randidly had been rather worried when he was informed that he was supposed to disagree with at least one of the stations four picks. But they were truly making it too easy. “I think your inclusion of Richter and Blackhand in the final four.”
Honestly, I could argue against most of these. Alana is likely the most powerful, but Block A also has Lyra and Stan, and I can tell that they have been hiding their actual strength. Meanwhile, Block D probably should go to Lucifer and Giuliana, but its the murkiest of the remaining blocks. Tykes and Dinesh and the ogre team are all very capable… But definitely Block C will be the most interesting.
“Ahaha! I think a lot of people agree with that, Mr. Ghosthound,” Amelia said with her trademark smile. “Block C also includes Paolo and Kayle of Donnyton. But from all accounts, they are using each other’s weapons and have no intention of changing, even if they start to struggle in the tournament. Compared to that, Richter and Blackhand seem very reliable.”
Randidly’s eyes drifted over toward the bracket. “Block C is honestly quite deep. But… to your point about Paolo and Kayle, I want to say that you forget how important images are, Amelia. The weapons are just tools. But the images that they both wield are extremely pure. As long as they have those, the weapons won’t matter much.”
“Are the images so powerful that even you, the Ghosthound, need to pay attention to them?” Amelia teased.
Randidly ignored the question and rubbed his chin as he looked at the bracket. “Richter and the so-called ‘Blackhand’... I’ll say this. Their image… isn’t quite there yet. They are relying on other forms of strength. And because of that… I don’t even think they will make it through the next two rounds to face Paolo and Kayle.”
Amelia studied Randidly’s face for several seconds, as though the secret machinations of his mind would be revealed in his expression. “Is that so? If you are going to stake your reputation on it… I suppose there is nothing I can say-”
“I am,” Randidly replied with a short glance. “And do you want to know why I’m so sure?”
“Of course! Please elaborate; you are the expert,” Amelia replied coquettishly.
“Because they put in the work,” Randidly said in a low voice. “Because of time and effort. Those two materials are the only guaranteed methods to strengthen yourself. And for those of you out there who have let yourself get carried away by emotion or shallow epiphanies… just watch. It isn’t easy to bridge the gap of repetition.”