Inner Demons

Chapter 20: Shadows Of The Mind

"Are you going to fight me?" Marius shouted as the two stood across from each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. "What, are you scared?" Marius added.

"I'm not scared. I'm just sizing up my opponent," Mark said, cracking his knuckles before rushing towards Marius.

Mark got in close and landed a punch straight to Marius's face. Marius responded with a quick strike to Mark's stomach, sending Mark staggering backward for a second before he got back on the offensive. Mark regained his footing and clenched his fist, ready to strike Marius.

Mark moved in, his determination evident in his eyes. But before he could even move, Marius Met him with a sudden, powerful slap to the right side of his face. The force of the blow knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Okay, You've had your fun, and you even managed to get a punch in, but I can see that you're just like the others," Marius said to Mark, who was still on the ground, only a few feet away. "Now it's my turn,"

Marius quickly slammed his palm into the stone arena. Suddenly, several dark black vines extended outward from his hand and dug into the ground. The vines converged on Mark and wrapped around him, burrowing themselves into his skin. I could hear Mark's screams of agony as the vines tore deeper into his flesh.

Marius got up from kneeling on the ground and pointed two fingers on his left hand upward as his right hand hung at his side. The ends of the dark appendages were still attached to the fingertips and extended into the ground. Suddenly, As Marius raised his fingers, Mark mimicked, rising to his feet without hesitation.

"Good, now come here," Marius said, motioning for Mark to come with his two raised fingers. Mark slowly staggered over to Marius and was met by a forceful punch square in the jaw once he arrived. The punch sent Mark to the ground, and his face hit the cold stone arena harder than preferred. "Now get back up!" Marius snarled, raising his fingers once more.

Mark staggered to his feet and stood facing Marius once more. Once more, Marius struck him right in the face and then once in the stomach, sending him back to the ground. "Okay, now I can have some fun," Marius said before immediately swiping downward with his fingers. Mark struggled to regain control, but the shadow tendrils dug deeper. "Arrrrrrgh!!!!" He let out in pain as he repeatedly bashed his head into the hard arena floor against his will.

"That's enough of that. There is no challenge here; you're not even putting up an interesting struggle." Marius said, swirling his fingers before pointing towards the stands behind Mark. Mark quickly reached his feet, turned, and walked towards the arena's edge. Once he reached the edge, Mark stopped briefly, and I could hear Gwen shouting beside me.

"Mark, what are you doing?" I heard Gwen shout. "Don't give up"

Gwen Could scream all she wanted, but it would not change the fact that Mark had just stepped out of the arena. It was done. The match was over, and Marius won.

"The Victor, by ring out, is Marius," Shannon exclaimed over the speakers.

Gwen and I ran down to where Mark was. "What happened?" I asked him. "I don't know," Mark said. I could see what was happening and was fully aware of it, but I couldn't control my body. It was almost like he was in control." Mark explained, seeming depressed that he had lost and frightened at how strong Marius was. I looked over at Mark to ensure he was okay; the shadow Tendrils had left no noticeable damage.

"Marius must have been manipulating your movements using those shadow vines we saw burrowing into your skin," Gwen said as she wrote something down in her notebook. "I couldn't activate my power either; it was like he stopped me altogether with those vines," Mark said, staring at his fist.

"This just shows how formidable of a foe Marius is," I said

"We should probably get you back up in the stands," Gwen chimed in.

"That's not a bad idea," Mark said as we helped him walk towards the bleachers.

"The second Battle of this, the semifinal round will commence shortly," Shannon said over the speakers. She sounded very excited, "This Match will be between Hector Vartos and Conner Madison."