The atmosphere remained grim and heartless, even under a sky of crystal blue as the storm clouds over Nagamachi began swirling and colliding with each other, promising rain, thunder and lightning.

High above a hill stood a young man wearing a long, black gown fluttering in the wind and a river of blood drenching his clothes, maniacally gripping the long katana in his hands and sporadically glancing at his stomach, where he seemed to have taken an injury and causing him enormous pain, attested to by his grimacing expression.

Countless dead bodies were scattered all around him, with blood still leaking out from some of the bodies, now mingling as they soiled the ground.

"To think.. this is how I die.." On the ground next to the young man with the katana, a bloodied figure was lying with blood all over his body. As he tried to speak, blood began bursting out from his mouth. The man could only feel his life slowly draining away, but his eyes were wide open, moving slowly from side to side, searching. Just as he struggled to move, he saw the young man approaching him from the corner of his eye.

"You know.. that it's over.. for you.." he coughed weakly. The young man kneeled in front of the dying man, his eyes blinking with a cold light.

"You were.. the best of us.. and yet, why on earth.." the bloodied figure continued, his words containing a hint of melancholy.

"You know very well why, "said the young man coldly, staring at the dying figure in front of him. "I was a fool to believe your words. Too naive to believe that this cruel world can change." His voice was now a harsh, condemning whisper, rising rapidly in intensity and volume.

The bloodied figure said nothing. The silence was total. The young man watched him for a moment, nothing in his face. Then he took out a small knife from his sleeve, and held it right above the dying man's chest.

"Any last words?" The young man asked. The bloodied figure's eyes moved and then settled on the young man's face.

"God will avenge me.. and my brothers.." he smiled weakly, and the knife pierced through his chest the very next second. There was no real pain for the bloodied figure. He looked at the man who'd just stabbed him, and he told himself to be strong. Then his mind faded into unconsciousness.

The bloodied, lifeless figure below had spoken his last words. The young man stared at the corpse for a few more seconds, and he opened his mouth to speak, "To hell with your god."

************************

"Junior? Are you awake?"

Claude woke up to the muffled voice of his senior, and involuntarily blinked his eyes with great effort. He felt as if he could feel every part of his body. He couldn't move easily, but he could feel everything.

"You shouldn't try to move around, Junior.." A face loomed up, and he saw that it was Senior Beldon who was sitting beside him from the corner of his eye.

"You haven't completely recovered yet." He continued speaking.

Claude tried lifting his head, and then collapsed back down.

"So I lost," he said, and Beldon nodded his head. "Yes you did."

Claude turned his head. "I guess it was inevitable, considering the difference in ranks between the two of us. But still, I was expecting to get second place at least."

"It can't be helped. You did your best, but sometimes, your best is just not good enough. Sometimes the opponent is simply better," Senior Beldon replied. "But I must say, you did far better in the tournament than I expected. I've seen losses far worse than what you just experienced, and most of them didn't even have the excuse of being realms apart from their opponents."

Claude thought back to the participants who had lost in the first round, remembering how brutal and humiliating some of those matches were.

"I need to get stronger," Claude said to himself, and Senior Beldon looked at him. "I know for a fact that my techniques are better than Victor's. I just wasn't strong enough to break through his defences."

"Cheer up, junior. No one would ever have had the guts to pull off what you just did at your current rank, not without a whole lifetime of training. You'll be alright kid," Senior Beldon responded.

Claude nodded his head. Nobody was perfect. He knew that. He was trailing behind everyone else, and he knew he had to catch up fast.

Senior Beldon looked at Claude and saw that he was able to move a bit more now.

"Well then, I'll be leaving you to complete the healing process. Come on over to the main hall once you've properly healed to watch the final fight. Dayton Palmer won his match and advanced to the final round when you were unconscious," he got up from his seat as he spoke and walked to the door of the infirmary. But before he opened the door, he turned around and asked, "By the way, I heard you whispering something about god while you were unconscious."

"I did?" Claude asked, almost to himself.

"Yes you did," Senior Beldon responded.

"Probably must've been a nightmare," Claude clarified.

"I see," Senior Beldon nodded his head, but he could see the strange flicker in Claude's eyes when he spoke.

"Well, be careful. You don't want to have any more nightmares ruining your day," Senior Beldon stepped out for the room after he finished speaking, leaving Claude alone in the room.

Claude watched him until he was lost to sight. He waited a minute more, to be sure he wasn't going to come back. But he didn't.

Claude thought back to his previous life, and his time as Sakuto Naokata. He remembered the events of that rainy night, and his face showed nothing at all. It had not touched his conscience one little bit. That had been personal, not business, and his conscience still didn't care much about it.

"Nightmare, huh," Claude murmured to himself. He got up from his bed, his eyelids fluttering as he did so.

**************************

Claude headed out of the infirmary after making sure that he had healed properly. He got to the main hall, where he was met by the Second Elder, who inquired about Claude's injuries.

"Have you recovered properly, Claude?" Second Elder asked to which Claude nodded his head.

"I can assure you Second Elder, I'm fine." Claude responded with a smile. His eyes then turned to the platform, where the beautiful lady was standing once again to announce the final match of the day.

"Are you frustrated about your last fight, young man?" Second Elder's gaze was focused on Claude. He knew that the young man in front of him had the heart of a warrior. And he knew that a warrior hates to lose.

"I am," Claude replied. His expression didn't seem to convey his feelings, but his clenched fists and his fierce eyes sure did. "Very, very much!"

"Good," The Second Elder nodded his head. He then turned his gaze towards the platform and continued, "Then use that frustration to move forward and destroy your obstacles. You may have lost today, but you have received something that's very rare in the martial world; second chance. Make sure that you use it properly, young man."

As he finished speaking, the two final participants of the tournament were already walking towards the platform, ready for their final fight.