Rise of a Legend

Chapter 38

😭😭😭Today is a sad day for me. I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan and they just lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Overtime. Posting this chapter is making me feel better. Comment if you like the bills, don't like the bills, or don't like the NFL in general. Enjoy the chapter!

Jeffrey POV:

"I knew this was a bad decision. I feel like I'm literally dying." I thought to myself. "My eyes are all blurry and I feel exhausted. This is worse then meditation." I groaned.

I fell to the ground and was about to succumb to the pain and weakness but all of a sudden like a fresh breeze on a boiling summer day, my eyes cleared up and some of my strength returned. My breathing returned to normal and I slowly rose from the ground. The world felt much less alive now that I wasn't as connected to the Force. 

"Alright let's get this over with." My opponent called from the opposite end of the ring.

I turned my attention to him. "Hey, I don't think I caught your name. My name is Jeffrey in case you didn't know." I attempted to be friendly but one look at his face and I knew there would be no small talk.

He revealed his weapons: A Beskar Scimitar and Shield. "Those are some nice weapons there." I tried one more time but once again, my words fell on deaf ears. 

Ok, if this guy wasn't gonna talk then there was no point in drawing this out. I ignited my blades and heard a loud bell ring, signaling the start of the match.

Instantly, he ran right for me. I attempted to sidestep but due to no longer having the Force to rely on, my speed was reduced and I narrowly avoided a strike that would have most definitely crippled me.

He tried to make me mess up by going for strong and wild slashes but similar to the fighting style of the Fifth Brother, was very sloppy in his strokes.

I mostly hopped backwards and parried for the first couple minutes and tried to find a weakness in his form. My abilities were being put to the test however when he feinted to the right and then bashed my face against the cool metal of his shield. 

"Ohhhhhh and Cuuk Ryn lands a massive blow to the Challenger! Is this the end of the match?" The announcer started giving the play by play. "So that's his name." I thought to myself as I jumped back to my feet.

I ignored all other background noise and instead launched my own flurry of attacks by using acrobatics and quick, focused, strikes on him. My plan was to wear him down and chip away at his defense. I tried to finish off my attack with a strong Force push but after shoving my hand frantically through the air, I remembered that I could no longer rely on the Force for assistance.

My eyes widened slightly as Cuuk Ryn used my mistake to his advantage and ended up coming one inch from beheading me. I thought I was safe for the moment but he swung around and I barely caught his curved edge with my violet blade but the pure strength in his attack sent me flying back into the wall.

"And another monstrous blow from Cuuk Ryn to the Challenger! Looks like we have another victory for our undefeated champ coming up!" The announcer boomed and the crowd cheered.

I had dropped my lightsabers from the impact of hitting the wall and I reached for them but was interrupted when Ryn whipped his shield at my face and I was nearly knocked unconscious. I managed to keep my senses though and rolled away from a jump slash. Now that I was unarmed and almost helpless I took large steps away from Ryn. He matched my pace and took large steps towards me and all too quickly, my back hit the wall.

"Is this what it feels like right before you die?" I asked myself quietly as memories from my childhood flashed in front of my eyes. All of a sudden my eyes refocused on the image of Cuuk Ryn charging me with the tip of his curved sword aimed right for my chest.

I mentally froze and honestly thought that this would be the end but somehow through some sort of natural muscle memory, I jumped against the wall and backflipped over him and made a mad dash for my lightsabers. While it wasn't as fancy as it would have been had I been using the Force but anything to delay my impending doom was greatly appreciated at the moment. Right  when I reached my lightsabers, I heard his heavy footsteps just behind me and so I turned around and blocked his attack with my crimson blade and with my purple one I managed to singe his arm a bit since he wasn't expecting me to counter so swiftly.

I smirked a bit since I knew that I had already won the battle judging from how much weaker his pushes in a sword lock were since the start of the battle and I shoved him away and started dishing out as many strikes as possible. He still kept up with me and for a good five minutes we dueled fiercely.

Finally I found an opening and slid between his legs and swept his legs out from under him. Before he could react I put my blades in an X shape across his neck. "Yield." I demanded in a similar way that Sabine did to Gar Saxon. 

Ryn didn't respond and just fixated the nastiest sneer on his face at me. "Yield!" I said a little more menacing.

"There is no yielding!" The Countess called out since the crowd had gone silent. "You must kill him or else he will continue to fight." 

"What!? I never signed up for this! I don't want to kill him!" I shouted back. I can't believe that I fell for this little trick that they obviously pulled.

"You must or else he will try to kill you." Rau replied.

"Then I'm going to quit." I responded. My heart was pounding in my chest and I could hear my ears rattling.

"If you quit then you have failed and will not be permitted to wear the mask." The Countess warned.

"If it saves this man's life, then I will follow through. I forfeit." I turned my sabers off and helped Cuuk Ryn to his feet, much to his surprise.

The crowd had been as silent as Kanan when he's meditating but started murmuring among themselves because of my decision. Oddly enough, they soon started wildly cheering.

Suddenly Tristan came up behind me. "Congratulations man! You did it!" 

"What?!" I replied in shock.