Quoted By:
-Saiyan Conqueror Quest 198 Intermission-
<span class="mu-s">AGE 756, DREADZONE STATION</span>
“Wait, really? Are you serious?” you ask the smaller blonde woman, who is sitting relaxed in her seat. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.” she replies, nodding once to you solemnly as you sit atop a stack of weights for your bar. “As of today, I am officially retiring as a Dreadzone gladiator.”
You feel your jaw drop, the text chat in your scouter going wild at the news after a second of silence. Everyone starts replying at once, chat moving so fast that you can't even see the different names, everyone expressing their shock as Tanya officially retires live on your stream. You are Chaya, the former and current Champion of Dreadzone. And you're here at the champion suite at Dreadzone Station doing your daily evening stream, but instead of a training stream, reviewing and evaluating others' performances, or something else; instead you'd been asked privately by Tanya if she could come on to talk directly with you after everything that's happened. Which you of course had accepted, expecting her to announce her challenge, that she would do as you had and climb the ranks again to take you on. Not... This.
“What?! What do you mean, you're retiring?” you ask her, feeling stunned. “I thought you were coming on to talk your game, to tell me you were coming for my belt. What do you mean, you quit?”
“Oh, don't look so upset.” Tanya says to you, a small smirk on her face. No doubt having anticipated your reaction and enjoying it. “It's actually quite simple, Chaya: I wasn't being true to myself.”
“True to yourself? What do you mean?” you ask her, not understanding what she means. You also try looking to your chat, but they're still moving far too fast for you to even read a username, much less their reply.
“I had put faith in a god, something I had sworn that I would never do.” she tells you, seemingly honest as she sighs out. “And it nearly cost me everything.”
“What?” you ask her, not knowing what she means. But feeling quite curious about this. “What god did you put that faith in?”
“Well, since I lost anyways, it doesn't hurt my career to come clean now.” she says to you, then turns to face the camera directly. “During our fight, I wasn't fighting alone under my own acquired power. I had outside help.”
She pauses there for a bit of dramatic effect, confirming your suspicions. That WAS another being's power you'd felt from her, something that wasn't her or whichever deity that 'Being X' she'd complain about empowering her. And as she maintains eye contact with the camera lens, you get the feeling that she was already aware of your suspicions.
