Is this destiny?

~ 50km Northwest from Borodin ~

It's the third day since Sarah and Aiden arrived at the main training base of the Voronin family. After the last round of fights that were completed that morning, the number of contestants fell to under 100 and some of the bases were eliminated completely.

Several fighters stood out with their easy victories and most of the remaining contestants had above average skills that came with a dose of arrogance and a belief that they can make it to the finals, even though roughly 80 to 90% of them will be eliminated.

Aiden's first one-on-one fight attracted the attention of many due to excessive violence and people were guessing about his background; several of them were brave enough to approach Aiden in order to find out more information.

Most of the people know who Natalia is, but Alex is a mystery. How is it possible that such an eye-catching individual went under the radar so far?

Aiden directed all meddlesome people to Hong, who was officially Natalia's proxy and Hong had to repeat numerous times how Natalia found Alex (aka Aiden) after an accident and that Alex is recuperating while suffering from memory loss. Hong assured everyone that Alex is loyal to Natalia out of gratitude for saving him.

Of course, no one bought that story. Who will believe that Natalia accidentally bumped into such an awesome fighter? And the timing is more than convenient. But Hong was sticking to his story and not saying more, so the only thing they were left with was gossip.

"How lucky for Natalia…", one person said sarcastically.

"I wonder where exactly she found him?"

"You know that Natalia likes to play dirty…"

"Who knows how she got her hands on him?"

"How much did Natalia pay him to represent her?"

"What about the blonde by his side?"

"Didn't you hear? She is one of Natalia's girls… Probably there to make sure Alex does not change his loyalty."

The people murmured among each other, but that is as far as they went. 

Aiden breezed through his next few fights. It's not that his competitors are useless, but he is so good that Hong advised him to receive a blow or two on purpose.

Sarah objected to this idea. "Why would he let anyone hit him?"

Hong raised his hands defensively and continued talking to Aiden: "Not a full hit. But instead of avoiding it completely or blocking it, allow them to graze you. Think of it as practice in control and at the same time, it will look like they had a chance."

On their first day here, Sarah and Aiden explored the base and they found that some areas are off-limits. As expected.

Hong advised them to stay put because finding out more about this training camp will not serve any purpose. "Once numbers are low enough, we will be transferred with the remaining competitors to the main base."

Sarah was not convinced. "How do you know that?"

"How much I remember, the main base has a training area. And Voronins prefer for people to come to them. It's a matter of status. If my guess is right, whoever gets to the main base, will be offered a position in the organization."

Aiden thought it makes sense. "Adding only ten individuals won't make a big difference. But if they add fifty, that can easily be ten teams of five, and more once everyone brings in their people and they mix with existing troops."

Hong was happy that Aiden agreed. "Use this time to rest while you can. Once we go to the main base, they will not let us out of their sight, and other than testing your skills, they might test your judgment and loyalty as well. We will need to stay vigilant…"

Sarah and Aiden enjoyed the breaks in their room. It gave them a lot of time to nap and cuddle, and Aiden would make sure to sneak out from the cafeteria extra healthy snacks for Sarah.

By the third day, Aiden was known for two things: his fighting skills and his doting on Sarah.

Everyone knew that he is treating her as his queen, and they wondered what love potion Natalia used on him. They wanted some as well.

…

The fights would resume after 1:30 PM, to give everyone plenty of time to have lunch and digest their food before going into the ring. No one wants to see people puking during a match.

It was shortly after 1 PM when Iskra and her men met with several other individuals behind the cafeteria. Vanya (the girl who wanted to chat with Aiden on the first day of eliminations) was present as well.

"We need to eliminate Alex. He took out my main fighter and that means anyone else from my camp that ends up facing him will be eliminated.", Davor said. He is the leader of the camp where Vanya belongs to.

"Are we going to allow a no-name from Natalia's base to steal the spotlight?", Branko (another base leader) asked. "These fights so far are low key, but going forward, big shots will start paying attention, and getting rid of him will be increasingly difficult."

"Don't worry. If we can't take him in the ring, we will find another way.", Iskra said.

Davor shook his head. "Vanya tried getting close to Alex, but she was blocked by that blonde three times already. We need to get rid of the blonde."

Iskra raised her hand, indicating to them to be patient. "Lazar told me that the blonde is not to be underestimated…"

Iskra glanced at one of her fighters who subconsciously started rubbing his wrist. He is the one whose wrist Sarah grabbed on their first day when they had group-eliminations.

Olivera (another base leader) frowned at Iskra. "Are you saying that there is nothing we can do?"

"No. But targeting the girl does not accomplish anything. We need to get rid of both of them."

Branko narrowed his eyes. "You have a plan?"

Iskra made a dramatic pause before responding. "Igor will take care of him."

"What if he is not my opponent in the upcoming match?", the mountain-like man from Iskra's team said.

Iskra stifled a laugh. "Now naïve. Does it need to be in a match? Find an opportunity to provoke him. If he is avoiding the conflict, hit him or that blonde. Alex will not be able to keep his cool. He will break the rules and he has no backing."

Igor didn't like it. "If we fight outside a match, I will be disqualified as well."

"Sometimes you need to take one for the team. That is how we prosper, together."

Igor's expression showed disapproval of Iskra's words.

This is the third day how Sarah's words about Iskra using him are spinning in his mind. And this only confirms that Iskra is ready to abandon him. Well, if Iskra is set to kick him out, there is nothing he can do, but he wants to hear the truth. From Iskra.

"Together? How is it together if I am eliminated?", Igor asked angrily. "Why don't you say it clearly that I am dispensable in your team and that it's my time to be used in order to remove an obstacle..."

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