Combat in the Colosseum

Chapter Eight: History Writer

"Careful. Still a bad burn after almost a week, okay?" Radiant brushed her hand over the pillow, sighing as she stared blankly at the wall. Her chest still hurt from the pain and her mind couldn't stop racing with thoughts.

"It's driving me crazy!" she shouted, sitting up quickly. "I can't take this amount of boredom!"

Melody looked at her friend, set down the small bottle, and handed her the small pill.

"You haven't been outside in a couple of days. You want to take a walk?" she asked. Radiant sighed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed before standing up. Joining Marina and Jay, the group headed out into the city. Most people they passed asked Radiant if she was okay, while others said nothing.

"Honestly, I didn't know so many people were worried about me. It's kind of nice," she stated. The group murmured in agreement. Passing by the theatre, Radiant began to hum soft notes to a song. She heard Melody and Jay join her, singing well crafted melodies over her notes.

"Pretty," Marina's voice piped up as the young female started to record the audio. Radiant kept humming, looking up at the sky. The clouds were slowly shifting into different shapes, forming creatures and trees. Birds floated by, on their way somewhere for the day. The sounds around her faded together and clicked off.

"Ray, you zoned out," a voice snapped. Radiant shook her head and looked over at her friends.

"Sorry. I was thinking. How about you guys head off and do something? I'll be fine on my own, don't worry," she said, smiling. "And I'll try not to use my magic, Mel."

"Thank you."

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Radiant wandered through the building, stopping to stare at anything she could spot. A few papers stood out, but they were burned beyond recognition. Glancing around, she headed for another area of the building. The hall was lined with statues, only one was missing. What happened to the human one? She thought. Looking around, she spotted a slightly cracked door. Walking over, she glanced in and spotted the young being she had seen a few weeks before. The figure was reading from a book, Radiant recognizing the words as the battle from the previous week.

"Bry... Devy... Maylie..." the figure's words made little sense to the human as she listened. After a while, the figure turned and glanced at the open door.

"I know you are there," she called out. "You can come in here."

Radiant stepped into the room, using all of her strength to push the door open. Looking into the dark room, she found the center aglow with images. One of the images was that of Violet, holding a small child in her arms.

"Who is Violet holding?" she asked, pointing out the image. "Did she have a child or something?"

"That's her oldest daughter, Crystal. She had her, along with Damien and Amy. Lucifer is their father," the figure stated, walking over to the edge of her platform. "And I know you want my name. It's Raytine."

Radiant looked at the small being, giving her a little smile. Watching the images, she saw glimpses of her friends as kids, playing in forests and learning to be a soldier. Radiant watched the young Melody, seeing how much she smiled and how much fun she was having with her family. She spotted Marina in the background, learning from her adopted mother.

"They both seem so happy. Melody really did change after her father died," she said. Raytine nodded, flicking her wrist and getting rid of the images.

"My job, as you have seen, is to record history as I see it. That is the job of my race. Of course, I was told to write your story," she said. Radiant glanced at her, deciding not to ask why.