Aired - June 12, 2026
(Black screen. The sound of a heavy book opening.)
(A candle ignites. Ink creeps across parchment like it’s alive.)
(A choir hums low. A single bell tolls—slower this time.)
Voice-over (smooth, ominous):
“Once upon a time… they told you monsters weren’t real.”
(beat)
“They were wrong.”
(The ink burns darker now—spreading like rot across the page.)
“Here… they don’t hide.”
“They reign.”
(The words sear into the screen like a cursed fairytale title card.)
NPCW: DARK FABLE
Voice-over:
“This is the MYTHIC Division.”
“Welcome… to DARK FABLE.”
SIGNATURE MONTAGE (Q2)
1) Frankenstein’s Monster — Mythic Crown Champion
(Lightning rends the sky. Thunder shakes the frame.)
Mordred swings with fury—desperation made flesh.
The Monster does not fall.
He absorbs. Endures. Advances.
A hand clamps around Mordred—lifting him as if he weighs nothing.
A devastating slam. The ring buckles.
Silence—then impact echoes like judgment.
The Monster stands over him. Crown claimed. Not won—taken.
2) The Enforcers — Kong & Ogre
(Steel chains drag across stone. Heavy footsteps echo.)
Kong crushes a man into the mat with raw force—no finesse, only inevitability.
Ogre follows—lifting, driving, ending.
Tag precision without mercy.
Two bodies fall.
Two monsters stand.
Gold raised—not in celebration… but in ownership.
3) King Arthur
(A sword is driven into the ground. The camera circles.)
Arthur rises from one knee—battle-worn, unbroken.
A strike dodged. A counter delivered clean.
Another opponent falls. Then another.
He does not roar.
He does not boast.
He simply stands…
The last one left.
4) Takuma Ryujin
(A dragon’s silhouette coils through smoke.)
Takuma explodes forward—precision wrapped in violence.
A brutal strike combination snaps his opponent backward.
Then—final impact. Sudden. Absolute.
He kneels for a moment… not in weakness—
But in control.
5) Morgana Le Faye
(Dark mist curls across the screen.)
Her opponent charges.
Morgana does not move—until it’s already over.
A twist. A trap. A cruel, inevitable finish.
She rises slowly, eyes cold.
This was never a match.
It was a lesson.
6) Blonde Bombshells — Alice & Dorothy
(Bright light flickers… then distorts.)
Alice spins through an opponent—fluid, sharp.
Dorothy follows—precise, perfectly timed.
Double-team execution—clean, ruthless, synchronized.
They stand side by side.
Not innocence.
Not nostalgia.
Something sharper… wearing a familiar face.
7) Robin Hood
(An arrow cuts across the screen—transitioning the shot.)
Robin slips a strike by inches.
Counters instantly—clean, efficient.
Another opponent falls to precision, not power.
He looks into the hard cam—calm, defiant.
A thief.
A hero.
A problem.
8) Monsters of Myth — Hydra Veyne, Medussa Nemesis, Serpenta Veyne
(A low hiss fills the air. Multiple shadows move at once.)
Hydra overwhelms—relentless, many-headed offense.
Medussa strikes—cold, calculated, finishing with venom.
Serpenta coils and crushes—tight, suffocating control.
Three forces. One presence.
They do not fight for victory.
They consume it.
(The choir rises. War drums thunder beneath it.)
(The arena appears—lit like a cathedral built for conflict.)
Voice-over:
“This isn’t the North.”
“This isn’t the light.”
(beat)
“In DARK FABLE… the story doesn’t end happily.”
(The music drops—just the bell now.)
“It ends… with a winner.”
(beat—longer than before)
“And now… the winners are changing the story.”
“This… is DARK FABLE.”
The broadcast returns from the opening darkness into the living roar of Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum.
Torchlight burns along the stone arches.
Red.
Gold.
Deep blue.
The banners of the Mythic Division hang above the crowd like old kingdoms waiting to judge the night.
The camera sweeps across the arena.
The first wave of noise comes from a sea of royal blue and silver.
Fans wearing King Arthur shirts stand shoulder-to-shoulder, lifting signs toward the rafters.
THE CROWN STILL HAS A KING
CAMELOT DOES NOT FALL
One fan holds a replica Mythic Crown Championship over his head as the lower bowl begins to chant.
“AR-THUR! AR-THUR! AR-THUR!”
The camera cuts across the opposite side of the coliseum.
Green rises through the crowd.
Fans in Robin Hood and Merry Band shirts stand with harder faces than last week.
One sign reads:
SHERWOOD BLEEDS BUT DOES NOT BOW
Another is simpler.
WILL SCARLET MUST ANSWER
The chant begins rough, emotional, and angry.
“RO-BIN! RO-BIN! RO-BIN!”
The shot moves higher.
A cluster of fans wear black, red, and gold shirts bearing the crest of House of Dragon’s Veil. Some hold signs for Takuma Ryujin. Others raise banners for Sayaka Mizuhana and the Scalekeepers.
DISCIPLINE DOES NOT DIE
THE VEIL STANDS TOGETHER
MARYU WALKS HIS OWN PATH
The chant starts in rhythm.
“TA-KU-MA! SA-YA-KA! SCALE-KEEP-ERS!”
The camera finds another section near the aisle where bright colors cut through the torchlight.
Fans wearing Blonde Bombshells shirts lift replica North Star Tag Team Titles.
DOROTHY & ALICE BROUGHT THE DREAM BACK
THE BOMBSHELLS SURVIVED THE MONSTERS
The reaction is loud, proud, and relieved.
Then the camera catches a group of fans dressed in sea-green and gold.
They raise signs for Sinbad.
THE FLAME STILL SAILS
SINBAD WAS ROBBED BY MADNESS
A smaller chant builds, not triumphant, but loyal.
“SIN-BAD! SIN-BAD! SIN-BAD!”
The camera finally settles at the commentary desk.
Julian Ward sits composed beneath the torchlight, his hands folded over his notes, his expression calm but grave.
Beside him, Brick Brody leans forward with his forearms on the desk, jaw tight, eyes narrowed toward the ring like he is already waiting for the first mistake.
Julian Ward: “Good evening, everyone. We are live from Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum, and this is NPCW Dark Fable. I am Julian Ward, joined as always by Brick Brody, and tonight the Mythic Division continues down the road to Ashes of Empire.”
Brick Brody: “That road already has blood on it, Julian Ward. Last week gave us betrayal, gold, a new champion, a new name, and a king who looked a little too comfortable hearing people chant for him. Good. Comfort is where trouble starts.”
The camera cuts to another wide shot of the coliseum. The King Arthur chant collides with the Robin Hood chant, then gives way to scattered calls for Takuma Ryujin, Sayaka Mizuhana, Sinbad, and the Blonde Bombshells.
Julian Ward: “One week ago, King Arthur stood in this coliseum as the new Mythic Crown Champion, but his coronation was interrupted by Mordred and Myrrden the Hollow. They called him false. They called him unworthy. They struck directly at the pride beneath the crown.”
Brick Brody: “And they hit him clean. Not in the jaw. Not in the ribs. Somewhere worse. Right in the ego. King Arthur still beat Ledger Knight in the main event, but do not tell me those words left him. A man does not stare at an empty screen after a win unless the insult is still standing there.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, King Arthur is not scheduled for action, but his presence hangs over this division. Mordred has challenged the legitimacy of his reign. Camelot has the crown, but the question remains whether the crown strengthens King Arthur or reveals something within him.”
Brick Brody: “A crown does both. It makes strong men stand taller and proud men forget the ground exists.”
The arena screen shows a replay from last week.
Robin Hood blinded by dirt.
Brute Bailiff driving him down with a brainbuster.
Then Will Scarlet standing beside Prince John backstage, gold coins spilling across the floor.
The crowd boos heavily.
Julian Ward: “The wound inside The Merry Band deepened as well. Will Scarlet interfered again, helping Brute Bailiff defeat Robin Hood. Later, backstage, Will Scarlet claimed he had been forgotten, used, and sent into danger while Robin Hood remained the symbol of Sherwood.”
Brick Brody: “Then Prince John paid him. That was the ugliest kind of honesty. Will Scarlet said he wanted value, and Prince John handed him gold. That is not loyalty. That is a receipt for betrayal.”
Julian Ward: “We now know Robin Hood and Will Scarlet are on a collision course at Ashes of Empire. A brotherhood has broken, and this division may not be large enough to contain what comes next.”
Brick Brody: “Good. Let them settle it where everybody can see. Betrayal should not end with speeches. It should end with somebody unable to stand.”
The screen shifts.
Takuma Ryujin throws Kaen with the deadlift German suplex.
Then Raigen appears at the top of the ramp in the dark robe marked with the symbols of Oni and Dragon.
The crowd buzzes, then rises.
Julian Ward: “Last week, Takuma Ryujin defeated Kaen, giving House of Dragon’s Veil a significant victory over the Blood Oni Syndicate. But the greater shock came afterward, when Raigen returned from the trials and declared himself Raigen the Maryu.”
Brick Brody: “Not Blood Oni. Not Dragon. His own path. That sounds brave until you remember both sides probably hate that answer.”
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu called himself a bridge between two worlds. Lord Kurogami warned him that his betrayal would be his undoing. Tonight, Raigen the Maryu steps into the main event against Hansel.”
Brick Brody: “That is a rough first chapter under a new name. Hansel is not mystical about this. He is a hunter. Hunters do not care what you call yourself. They care where you bleed.”
The crowd reacts as the main event graphic briefly flashes.
RAIGEN THE MARYU VS HANSEL
The screen changes again.
Cheshire Cat lands the final shotgun front dropkick on Sinbad.
Mad Hatter dances around the ring.
Cheshire Cat raises the Eternal Flame Championship.
The arena breaks into a storm of boos and shocked cheers.
Julian Ward: “And perhaps the most shocking result from last week: Cheshire Cat defeated Sinbad to become the new Eternal Flame Champion.”
Brick Brody: “Madness won the belt, Julian Ward. Mad Hatter threw tea, shoved officials, caused chaos, and Cheshire Cat kept putting both feet into Sinbad’s ribs until survival finally ran out.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, the new champion makes his first defense. Cheshire Cat defends the Eternal Flame Championship against Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “That is a dangerous match for Prince Charming. He likes structure. He likes poise. He likes looking like destiny combed its hair before walking into the room. Cheshire Cat is none of that. He is a bad dream with a title belt.”
The match graphic appears.
ETERNAL FLAME TITLE MATCH
CHAMPION CHESHIRE CAT VS PRINCE CHARMING
The camera returns to the desk.
Julian Ward: “We will also see the Aurora Title Tournament continue. Last week, Rosalyn Queen of Thorns advanced after defeating Athena two falls to none in controversy, the second fall coming after Zeus threw Honest Abe from the ring.”
Brick Brody: “A god cost his own warrior the tournament. That still bothers me. Not morally. Mathematically. You cannot throw the referee and act surprised when the referee throws the match away.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, another Round One match takes place as Serpenta Veyne faces Sayaka Mizuhana.”
The graphic fills the screen.
AURORA TITLE TOURNAMENT – ROUND 1
SERPENTA VEYNE VS SAYAKA MIZUHANA
Brick Brody: “Now that is interesting. Serpenta Veyne is all coils, venom, and suffocation. Sayaka Mizuhana brings discipline from House of Dragon’s Veil. That is not just a tournament match. That is control against control, and somebody is going to find out their grip is not as strong as they thought.”
The screen begins cycling through tonight’s matches.
MONSTER’S BASH VS HOUSE OF DRAGON’S VEIL
The crowd gives a deep reaction, split between dread and excitement.
Julian Ward: “Tonight begins with a collision of forces. Monster’s Bash faces House of Dragon’s Veil. After Takuma Ryujin’s victory last week and the return of Raigen the Maryu, House of Dragon’s Veil now steps into battle against some of the most physically destructive beings in the Mythic Division.”
Brick Brody: “That is a terrible first match for anybody who likes walking upright. Monster’s Bash does not wrestle like a team. They wrestle like a wall falling on you.”
The next graphic appears.
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER VS SIR LANCELOT
The crowd rumbles louder.
Julian Ward: “The former Mythic Crown Champion, Frankenstein’s Monster, returns to singles action against Sir Lancelot.”
Brick Brody: “That is the match I want to see. Frankenstein’s Monster lost the crown to King Arthur. Now he gets one of Arthur’s finest knights. That is not random. That is the universe handing him a piece of Camelot and asking how hard he wants to break it.”
The next graphic appears.
SINBAD VS BLACK KNIGHT
The Sinbad chants rise again.
Julian Ward: “The former Eternal Flame Champion, Sinbad, tries to answer last week’s loss when he faces Black Knight.”
Brick Brody: “That is cruel scheduling. Sinbad just lost the title, his ribs are probably still writing complaints, and now he gets Black Knight. There is no warm blanket on Dark Fable. There is only another man waiting to hit you.”
The final graphic appears.
RAIGEN THE MARYU VS HANSEL
The crowd buzzes with anticipation.
Julian Ward: “And in tonight’s main event, Raigen the Maryu faces Hansel. A man who has chosen his own identity against a hunter trained to confront darkness wherever it takes form.”
Brick Brody: “That is the key. Raigen the Maryu says he is a bridge. Hansel may look at him and see a threat wearing two old symbols. That is how wars start. Not because people misunderstand everything. Sometimes they understand just enough to swing first.”
The camera pulls back from the desk as the torches flare.
The chants rise again.
King Arthur.
Robin Hood.
Takuma Ryujin.
Sayaka Mizuhana.
Scalekeepers.
Blonde Bombshells.
Sinbad.
All of them collide beneath the stone ceiling of Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum.
Julian Ward: “And we are told that more matches for Ashes of Empire will be announced tonight. The road is narrowing. The consequences are becoming official. The stories that began in betrayal, pride, transformation, and lost gold are now moving toward judgment.”
Brick Brody: “Good. Announce the matches. Name the fights. Put the grudges on paper and let the paper burn.”
The arena lights lower.
A cold gold glow forms around the words on the screen.
MATCH 1 NEXT
MONSTER’S BASH VS HOUSE OF DRAGON’S VEIL
Julian Ward: “The gates open with monsters and dragons.”
Brick Brody: “Then stop talking, Julian Ward. Let something get broken.”
The screen fades toward the first match graphic.
The screen returns from the words:
MATCH 1 NEXT
MONSTER’S BASH VS HOUSE OF DRAGON’S VEIL
The crowd inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum is already standing.
The torches along the upper walls flare low and violent.
The ring waits beneath them.
Not clean.
Not welcoming.
A trial ground.
A deep roar rolls through the sound system.
Stone cracking.
Chains dragging.
Something massive breathing in the dark.
The entrance screen floods with images of broken laboratory glass, stitched flesh, ancient beasts, and lightning striking iron towers.
Monster’s Bash appears across the screen.
The crowd reacts with dread and noise.
Dr. Frankenstein steps onto the stage first.
He wears the look of a man whose failure at The Long Night has not humbled him.
It has sharpened him.
His eyes are restless. His hands twitch at his sides as though still measuring the world for parts.
Behind him comes Dragon King.
He moves with a savage, coiled authority, shoulders rolling, eyes fixed on the ring.
Then Ogre emerges.
Massive.
Heavy.
Unsubtle.
Every step feels like it belongs to something meant to break gates.
Finally, Kong steps out.
Broad.
Violent.
A living impact waiting for direction.
The three monsters stand behind Dr. Frankenstein, not as allies gathered in trust, but as destructive outcomes standing in formation.
Julian Ward: “There is Monster’s Bash, led by Dr. Frankenstein. We have not yet heard a full accounting from the former Mythic Crown Champion, Frankenstein’s Monster, but tonight his house of destruction comes forward first.”
Brick Brody: “And look at Dr. Frankenstein. That man lost the crown from his creation, and now he is sending monsters into the opener like he wants the building to feel his bad mood.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King, Ogre, and Kong represent a terrifying physical challenge for any trio in this division.”
Brick Brody: “Challenge? That is polite. That is three different ways to get flattened.”
Dr. Frankenstein leads his team down the ramp.
He does not acknowledge the fans.
He speaks to his monsters as they walk.
Not loudly.
Not gently.
Instructions.
Reminders.
Commands.
Dragon King climbs into the ring first, pacing toward the ropes.
Ogre steps over the middle rope after him.
Kong enters last and stands in the corner, staring across the aisle before the opposing team has even appeared.
The lights change.
The roar fades.
A single bell tone rings.
Then another.
Red-gold light spills across the entrance stage.
The screen fills with the crest of House of Dragon’s Veil.
A dragon coils through mist.
A fan opens in silhouette.
The crowd rises with a sharper sound now.
Respect.
Anticipation.
Hope sharpened into discipline.
Lady Ayame Ryu emerges first.
She walks with calm authority, folded fan in hand, every motion precise enough to silence part of the arena. Her expression is composed, but the weight of last week remains in her eyes.
Behind her comes Takuma Ryujin.
The crowd erupts.
He stands still for a moment, controlled and focused, carrying the momentum of his victory over Kaen and the unresolved weight of Raigen the Maryu’s emergence.
At his side appear the Scalekeepers.
Hiro Tanenaga walks with fluid confidence, his movements light but deliberate.
Masa Tanenaga follows with sharper tension, eyes moving across the ring, already measuring where danger will come from.
Together, House of Dragon’s Veil walks toward the ring.
Not rushed.
Not intimidated.
Disciplined.
Julian Ward: “And here comes House of Dragon’s Veil, accompanied by Lady Ayame Ryu. Last week, Takuma Ryujin defeated Kaen, but the emergence of Raigen the Maryu changed everything around this house.”
Brick Brody: “Yeah, and tonight they do not get time to sit around discussing feelings. They get Monster’s Bash. That means if Takuma Ryujin is conflicted, he better be conflicted while keeping his hands up.”
Julian Ward: “Alongside him tonight are Hiro Tanenaga and Masa Tanenaga, the Scalekeepers, whose timing and coordination may be essential against this much size.”
Brick Brody: “They better be coordinated. You do not beat monsters by politely taking turns getting crushed.”
Lady Ayame Ryu reaches ringside and pauses.
Across the ring, Dr. Frankenstein watches her with a thin, hostile smile.
She does not return it.
She opens the fan once.
A quiet signal.
Takuma Ryujin, Hiro Tanenaga, and Masa Tanenaga step forward together.
They enter the ring.
Fast Count Frank stands between both teams, already animated, pointing toward the corners and warning both sides before the bell has even sounded.
Louie Linville steps to center ring.
The crowd lowers into a tense murmur.
Louie Linville: “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is a six-man tag team match scheduled for one fall.”
The crowd cheers.
Louie Linville: “Introducing first, accompanied to the ring by Dr. Frankenstein… the force of ruin, the weight of creation without mercy, the monsters who walk where fear has already opened the door… Dragon King, Ogre, and Kong… Monster’s Bash.”
The boos are heavy.
Dragon King spreads his arms.
Ogre pounds one fist into his palm.
Kong glares without movement.
Dr. Frankenstein smiles like the hatred belongs to him.
Louie Linville: “And their opponents, accompanied to the ring by Lady Ayame Ryu… disciplined beneath the veil, sharpened beneath the dragon’s oath… Takuma Ryujin, Hiro Tanenaga, and Masa Tanenaga… House of Dragon’s Veil.”
The arena answers with a strong cheer.
Takuma Ryujin bows his head slightly.
Hiro Tanenaga rolls his shoulders loose.
Masa Tanenaga locks eyes with Dragon King from the apron.
Fast Count Frank checks the corners.
Dragon King begins for Monster’s Bash.
Hiro Tanenaga begins for House of Dragon’s Veil.
The bell rings.
Minute 1
Dragon King steps forward with immediate power, cutting off the center of the ring before Hiro Tanenaga can fully establish movement. Hiro Tanenaga circles quickly, trying to create an angle, but Dragon King catches him around the waist and drives him down with a spinebuster that shakes the canvas.
Hiro Tanenaga absorbs the impact and refuses to stay beneath the larger man. He scrambles up, springs toward the ropes, and launches into a corkscrew moonsault, twisting through the air and crashing across Dragon King before the monster can reset.
The crowd reacts to the sudden speed.
Dragon King sits up first, angry at being struck clean.
Hiro Tanenaga rolls to one knee, breathing hard but composed.
Dragon King turns and tags out to Ogre.
Julian Ward: “Power from Dragon King with the spinebuster, but Hiro Tanenaga answers with the corkscrew moonsault. That is the contrast House of Dragon’s Veil needs tonight.”
Brick Brody: “Speed against size. Pretty simple until size catches speed and plants it through the mat. Credit to Hiro Tanenaga, though. He got dropped and came back flying.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King makes the early tag to Ogre.”
Brick Brody: “That is not relief. That is replacing one problem with a heavier one.”
Minute 2
Ogre enters with no urgency, only mass.
Hiro Tanenaga tries to keep distance, but Ogre advances behind heavy pressure.
At ringside, Dr. Frankenstein leans toward the ropes, barking strategy, directing Ogre to cut off the escape rather than chase the movement.
Ogre follows the instruction.
He backs Hiro Tanenaga toward the wrong side of the ring and clubs him down with blunt force. Hiro Tanenaga absorbs the punishment and tries to shield his body, but the size difference is immediate and ugly.
Hiro Tanenaga slips away only long enough to reach his corner.
He tags Takuma Ryujin.
The crowd rises.
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein providing strategy from ringside, and Ogre uses it to trap Hiro Tanenaga in dangerous territory.”
Brick Brody: “That is what a manager like Dr. Frankenstein does. He is not just screaming. He is telling the monster where to stand so the smaller man has nowhere to breathe.”
Julian Ward: “Here comes Takuma Ryujin.”
Brick Brody: “Now we find out whether last week’s momentum survives contact with a wall.”
Minute 3
Takuma Ryujin enters with measured force.
Ogre lunges first, seizes him, and spikes him with a piledriver before Takuma Ryujin can fully establish stance.
The crowd groans at the impact.
Takuma Ryujin rolls through the pain and rises to one knee. Ogre comes in again, but Takuma Ryujin fires upward with a Kamigoye, driving the knee toward Ogre with precision.
The strike lands, but Ogre absorbs more of it than most would. He staggers, but does not fall.
Takuma Ryujin resets, eyes narrowing.
Ogre snarls and steps forward again.
Julian Ward: “A piledriver from Ogre, and Takuma Ryujin answers with the Kamigoye, but Ogre does not go down.”
Brick Brody: “That is a bad feeling. You hit a man with a knee like that and he keeps coming, suddenly you are doing math you do not like.”
Julian Ward: “Takuma Ryujin landed the cleaner strike, but Ogre absorbed enough to keep pressure on.”
Brick Brody: “Monsters do not always need to win the exchange. Sometimes they just need to survive it and make you tired.”
Minute 4
Ogre presses forward and hammers a sledge to the chest of Takuma Ryujin, forcing him back a step.
Takuma Ryujin exhales hard, but he does not break posture.
He steps inside Ogre’s reach, hooks him, and powers through with a Golden Star Powerbomb, forcing the massive body up and down with stunning control.
The ring reacts with a heavy thud.
The crowd explodes.
Ogre rolls to his side, stunned by the lift.
Takuma Ryujin remains on one knee, chest marked by the earlier sledge.
Ogre crawls toward his corner and tags Dragon King back in.
Julian Ward: “Sledge to the chest from Ogre, but Takuma Ryujin answers with the Golden Star Powerbomb. That was extraordinary strength and control.”
Brick Brody: “That is the kind of move that makes a monster rethink his diet. Takuma Ryujin just lifted Ogre and made gravity personal.”
Julian Ward: “Ogre tags out to Dragon King, and this match is already becoming a test of endurance.”
Brick Brody: “Endurance and bad decisions. Six-man matches with monsters are full of both.”
Minute 5
Dragon King steps in with sharper aggression than before.
He catches Takuma Ryujin near the ropes and drives him down with a spike piledriver, trying to cut the head and neck out from under the discipline of House of Dragon’s Veil.
Takuma Ryujin absorbs the impact, rolls through, and rises with a sudden lock around the waist.
He deadlifts Dragon King and throws him with a German suplex, dropping the larger man high across the shoulders.
The crowd roars as Dragon King rolls away, shaking the impact from his neck.
Takuma Ryujin stays centered.
Lady Ayame Ryu watches from ringside, fan closed, eyes steady.
Julian Ward: “Spike piledriver from Dragon King, but Takuma Ryujin answers with the deadlift German suplex. Again, he refuses to let pain dictate his response.”
Brick Brody: “That is what makes him dangerous. You hit Takuma Ryujin, and he does not panic. He grabs your waist and throws you like an argument he has already solved.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King has power, but Takuma Ryujin is matching him with control.”
Brick Brody: “Control is nice. But his neck is still taking receipts.”
Minute 6
Dragon King rises angry and powers through with a body slam, lifting Takuma Ryujin and throwing him flat to the mat.
Takuma Ryujin rolls to his hip, immediately firing dash middle kicks as Dragon King closes in.
One kick cracks into the ribs.
Another lands across the midsection.
A third forces Dragon King to halt and brace.
The monster answers with a glare, but his advance has been interrupted.
Takuma Ryujin returns to his stance, one hand slightly extended, ready for the next entry.
Julian Ward: “Body slam from Dragon King, dash middle kicks from Takuma Ryujin. Each man is forcing the other to pay for every step.”
Brick Brody: “Those middle kicks matter. You chop down a monster by making his ribs hate him.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King is not falling, but he is being slowed.”
Brick Brody: “Slowed is the first step. Stopped is harder.”
Minute 7
Takuma Ryujin shifts suddenly and tags the rhythm of the match into chaos.
Hiro Tanenaga and Masa Tanenaga hit the ring with him, moving as one.
Fast Count Frank shouts for order, but the double team sequence is already in motion.
Takuma Ryujin strikes first with 24 Sai, driving Dragon King off balance.
Hiro Tanenaga follows by catching the monster and planting him with a sitout double underhook powerbomb.
Before Dragon King can fully recover, Masa Tanenaga snaps in with an Ace Crusher, driving him down again.
Dragon King tries to defend against the coordinated assault, but the timing is too sharp.
The crowd surges behind House of Dragon’s Veil as the Scalekeepers clear out and return to their corner.
Julian Ward: “Beautiful coordination from House of Dragon’s Veil. Takuma Ryujin, Hiro Tanenaga, and Masa Tanenaga attack in sequence, and Dragon King could not defend the storm.”
Brick Brody: “That is how you deal with a big man. Do not admire the size. Hit him from three directions until size becomes confusion.”
Julian Ward: “The Scalekeepers may be essential in breaking down these monsters.”
Brick Brody: “They better keep doing that. One clean monster comeback can erase five smart minutes.”
Minute 8
Dragon King survives the assault and explodes back with a Dragon Bomb, catching Takuma Ryujin and driving him down with violent force.
The ring shakes.
The crowd gasps.
But before Dragon King can capitalize fully, Lady Ayame Ryu opens her fan at ringside.
One slow motion.
Then a second.
The signal is calm and precise.
Veil of Stillness settles over the moment.
Dragon King hesitates.
Not from fear.
From interruption.
His focus splits just long enough for Takuma Ryujin to roll out of immediate danger.
Dragon King looks toward Lady Ayame Ryu, momentarily confused by the shift in rhythm.
Dr. Frankenstein shouts at him to stay on the attack.
Julian Ward: “Dragon Bomb from Dragon King, but Lady Ayame Ryu uses Veil of Stillness to disrupt his follow-up.”
Brick Brody: “That was smart. She did not stop the move. She stopped the next move. Sometimes that is the difference between hurt and finished.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King is now on the defensive mentally, even after landing the heavier attack.”
Brick Brody: “That is the fan. Quiet little thing until it ruins a monster’s timing.”
Minute 9
Dragon King attempts to reset, still caught in the aftereffect of Lady Ayame Ryu’s signal.
Takuma Ryujin takes advantage.
He steps behind, locks the waist, and lifts Dragon King again with a deadlift German suplex.
The monster tries to absorb the punishment, bracing his legs and fighting the throw, but Takuma Ryujin powers through.
Dragon King lands hard and rolls to his shoulder, forced to recover rather than attack.
Takuma Ryujin breathes evenly, staying low and ready.
Julian Ward: “Another deadlift German suplex from Takuma Ryujin, and Dragon King is still fighting through the confusion created by Lady Ayame Ryu.”
Brick Brody: “You can see it. Dragon King wants to hit something, but he is half a beat late. Against Takuma Ryujin, half a beat gets you thrown.”
Julian Ward: “The discipline of House of Dragon’s Veil is beginning to dictate the pace.”
Brick Brody: “For now. Dictating pace is nice until Kong gets tagged in and starts falling out of the sky.”
Minute 10
Dragon King struggles back up, and Takuma Ryujin immediately catches him with a Northern Lights suplex.
The bridge is clean.
Fast Count Frank drops quickly, but Dragon King kicks and twists enough to prevent a full count.
The impact leaves him grounded, still unable to fully escape the defensive spiral.
Takuma Ryujin releases and turns to his corner.
He tags Hiro Tanenaga.
Hiro Tanenaga steps through the ropes with sharp energy, while Dragon King crawls toward space, still feeling the damage.
Julian Ward: “Northern Lights suplex from Takuma Ryujin, and now he tags in Hiro Tanenaga. Excellent continuity from House of Dragon’s Veil.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart tag wrestling. Throw the monster, bridge him, make him kick, then bring in fresh speed before he remembers how angry he is.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King remains under pressure.”
Brick Brody: “And under pressure is a bad place to be when the other corner is this coordinated.”
Minute 11
Hiro Tanenaga springs into action immediately.
He takes to the air and lands another corkscrew moonsault onto Dragon King, driving the wind out of the monster.
Dr. Frankenstein shouts from ringside, urgently giving instructions to protect his protege, calling for Dragon King to turn his shoulder, shield the neck, and keep from being pinned flat.
Dragon King follows enough of the strategy to survive the immediate cover attempt.
Hiro Tanenaga lands well and rises quickly, but Dragon King has been kept alive by the voice at ringside.
Julian Ward: “Corkscrew moonsault from Hiro Tanenaga, but Dr. Frankenstein provides strategy that helps Dragon King avoid being fully trapped.”
Brick Brody: “That is good managing. Creepy, but good. Dr. Frankenstein sees where the body is vulnerable and tells the monster how not to lose.”
Julian Ward: “Hiro Tanenaga is still landing offense, but Dragon King refuses to go away.”
Brick Brody: “Monsters do not go away. You have to make them.”
Minute 12
Dragon King rises with sudden violence.
He catches Hiro Tanenaga and drives him down with a Dragon Bomb, trying to erase the aerial momentum with raw force.
Hiro Tanenaga answers in the same exchange, hooking the arms and planting Dragon King with a sitout double underhook powerbomb.
Both men hit hard.
The crowd erupts at the collision.
Dragon King rolls toward his corner first, battered but aware.
He reaches out and tags Kong.
The arena’s reaction changes immediately.
A lower sound.
A worried sound.
Julian Ward: “Dragon Bomb from Dragon King, sitout double underhook powerbomb from Hiro Tanenaga, and now Dragon King tags in Kong.”
Brick Brody: “Here comes the problem I warned you about. Kong does not need rhythm. He needs room to land on you.”
Julian Ward: “Hiro Tanenaga has been active and effective, but this is a very different kind of opponent entering the match.”
Brick Brody: “Different shape of disaster.”
Minute 13
Kong enters with heavy momentum.
Before Hiro Tanenaga can reset, Dr. Frankenstein moves along the outside and distracts him, pointing, shouting, forcing attention away just long enough to create danger.
At the same time, Lady Ayame Ryu opens her fan and signals Dragon’s Poise, trying to restore focus to Hiro Tanenaga before the trap closes.
But Kong uses the opening.
He barrels in, smashes Hiro Tanenaga down, and forces the match into Monster’s Bash’s rhythm.
Kong tags out quickly to Ogre, keeping the heavy pressure moving.
Hiro Tanenaga, shaken by the exchange, reaches his corner and tags Takuma Ryujin.
Julian Ward: “Both managers active in that sequence. Dr. Frankenstein distracts Hiro Tanenaga, while Lady Ayame Ryu tries to restore focus with Dragon’s Poise.”
Brick Brody: “That was a battle outside the battle. Dr. Frankenstein caused the crack. Lady Ayame Ryu tried to seal it. Kong hit the crack before it closed.”
Julian Ward: “Now Ogre and Takuma Ryujin are legal.”
Brick Brody: “And that means the match gets heavy again.”
Minute 14
Ogre enters and immediately calls in the monsters.
Dragon King and Kong surge into the ring, and Monster’s Bash begins a brutal triple-team sequence.
Ogre drops a kneedrop.
Dragon King follows with a German suplex.
Kong crushes down with a splash.
Takuma Ryujin is battered from multiple sides, but he still finds space in the chaos.
He locks onto Ogre and throws him with another deadlift German suplex, forcing one monster down even as the others inflict damage.
Fast Count Frank struggles to restore order, shouting and waving his arms as Dragon King and Kong finally return to the apron.
Julian Ward: “Triple-team assault from Monster’s Bash. Ogre, Dragon King, and Kong all do damage, but Takuma Ryujin still manages to throw Ogre with a deadlift German suplex.”
Brick Brody: “That is insane strength under pressure. He is getting jumped by three monsters and still says, ‘fine, I am taking this one with me.’”
Julian Ward: “The referee restores order, but the damage to Takuma Ryujin is significant.”
Brick Brody: “Of course it is. You do not get splashed by Kong and call it educational.”
Minute 15
Ogre rises first.
He uses his weight to crush momentum before Takuma Ryujin can build any.
A big butt drop lands hard across Takuma Ryujin, flattening him to the mat.
Takuma Ryujin tries to defend, turning his body and bracing, but the mass comes down too heavily.
The crowd groans as Ogre stays seated for a moment, using size as punishment.
Takuma Ryujin pulls himself toward the ropes, breathing through the compression.
Julian Ward: “Big butt drop from Ogre, and Takuma Ryujin could not defend against the full weight of that impact.”
Brick Brody: “That is not pretty. It does not need to be. Ogre just turned himself into a falling building.”
Julian Ward: “Takuma Ryujin is beginning to carry accumulated damage.”
Brick Brody: “Beginning? He has been piledriven, bombed, splashed, and sat on. That is not beginning. That is a full report.”
Minute 16
Ogre reaches down to continue the beating, but Lady Ayame Ryu steps closer to the apron and opens the fan again.
This time the signal is different.
Veil Endurance.
A command to survive.
A key advantage offered not through noise, but through remembrance.
Takuma Ryujin sees it.
His breathing steadies.
Ogre attempts to shut the moment down, but the signal has already reached its target.
Takuma Ryujin gets to one knee, then one foot, not yet attacking, but refusing to remain crushed.
Ogre growls in frustration.
Julian Ward: “Lady Ayame Ryu provides Veil Endurance, and Takuma Ryujin responds. Not with immediate offense, but with survival.”
Brick Brody: “That is important. Sometimes the biggest move in a match is getting up when the other guy thinks he buried you.”
Julian Ward: “Ogre could not fully stop that recovery.”
Brick Brody: “That fan is becoming a problem for Monster’s Bash. A quiet, elegant, extremely annoying problem.”
Minute 17
Ogre snaps Takuma Ryujin over with a snap mare, yanking him down and immediately covering.
Fast Count Frank drops quickly.
One.
Two.
Masa Tanenaga hits the ring and makes the save, breaking the pin before the count can reach three.
The crowd cheers the rescue.
Ogre rises furious, swinging toward Masa Tanenaga, but Fast Count Frank forces the illegal man back.
Ogre turns and tags Kong.
Takuma Ryujin remains down, trying to gather himself as the larger monster steps through the ropes.
Julian Ward: “Snap mare from Ogre, and he nearly had Takuma Ryujin, but Masa Tanenaga makes the save.”
Brick Brody: “That save mattered. Takuma Ryujin was not kicking out clean there. Masa Tanenaga just kept this match alive.”
Julian Ward: “Now Kong is legal.”
Brick Brody: “That is the bad news after the good news.”
Minute 18
Kong enters and immediately uses the ropes to cut off Takuma Ryujin.
Dr. Frankenstein lunges in from ringside and sweeps the leg near the ropes, forcing Takuma Ryujin off balance at the worst possible moment.
At the same time, Lady Ayame Ryu points sharply with the fan, giving Matriarch’s Guidance and identifying the weakness in Kong’s positioning.
Takuma Ryujin stumbles from the leg sweep but still reads the signal.
He shifts, attacks the angle, and manages to land offense despite Kong’s pressure.
The crowd rises at the layered counterplay.
Kong responds by tagging Dragon King.
Julian Ward: “Again both managers influence the exchange. Dr. Frankenstein with the leg sweep at the ropes, but Lady Ayame Ryu immediately points out the weakness for Takuma Ryujin.”
Brick Brody: “That was high-level ringside warfare. Dirty from Dr. Frankenstein, brilliant from Lady Ayame Ryu, and painful for the poor guy in the middle.”
Julian Ward: “Kong tags Dragon King, and Takuma Ryujin is still legal for House of Dragon’s Veil.”
Brick Brody: “He has been legal a long time. Too long, maybe.”
Minute 19
Dragon King enters and hammers Takuma Ryujin down with a body slam.
The impact is clean and heavy.
But Takuma Ryujin reaches deep, grips the waist, and answers with another deadlift German suplex.
Dragon King lands hard across the shoulders, and the crowd surges again.
This time Takuma Ryujin does not stay in.
He crawls toward the corner and tags Hiro Tanenaga.
Hiro Tanenaga steps in quickly as Takuma Ryujin rolls to the apron, breathing hard after the long stretch of punishment.
Julian Ward: “Body slam from Dragon King, deadlift German suplex from Takuma Ryujin, and finally the tag to Hiro Tanenaga.”
Brick Brody: “That tag was necessary. Takuma Ryujin has been carrying a monster’s worth of damage. He needed out before pride got him pinned.”
Julian Ward: “Hiro Tanenaga now has a chance to change the pace.”
Brick Brody: “He better do it fast, because Dragon King is still dangerous even when he is wobbling.”
Minute 20
Hiro Tanenaga moves with immediate precision.
He catches Dragon King’s arm, drops down, and traps him in a scissored armbar.
The hold is tight.
The crowd reacts as Dragon King tries to power free.
Hiro Tanenaga keeps his legs locked, wrenching the arm and forcing the monster to fight from a compromised position.
Fast Count Frank checks for the submission.
Dragon King refuses, growling through the pain, but he cannot escape cleanly.
Dr. Frankenstein shouts urgently from ringside.
Hiro Tanenaga keeps the pressure until Dragon King finally drags himself closer to the ropes.
Julian Ward: “Scissored armbar from Hiro Tanenaga, and that is a major change in strategy. He is not only moving fast now. He is attacking a limb.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart. You cannot throw your weight around the same way when one arm is getting stretched like old rope.”
Julian Ward: “Dragon King survives, but the damage is meaningful.”
Brick Brody: “Twenty-one points of pain, if bodies kept ledgers.”
Minute 21
Dragon King breaks free and answers with a brainbuster, dropping Hiro Tanenaga sharply and cutting off the submission momentum.
Hiro Tanenaga absorbs the blow, rolls through the pain, and catches Dragon King again with a sitout double underhook powerbomb.
The crowd erupts at the repeated resilience.
Both men are down.
Dragon King clutches the arm that had been attacked.
Hiro Tanenaga holds the back of his head from the brainbuster.
Fast Count Frank checks both competitors but lets the match continue.
Julian Ward: “Brainbuster from Dragon King, but Hiro Tanenaga answers with the sitout double underhook powerbomb. This match continues to punish both teams.”
Brick Brody: “That is a nasty exchange. One man lands on his head, the other gets driven down by both arms. Nobody leaves that feeling proud in the morning.”
Julian Ward: “The pace has slowed because the damage is accumulating.”
Brick Brody: “Good. That means we are getting to the truth.”
Minute 22
Both men struggle to rise.
For a moment, Dragon King and Hiro Tanenaga appear caught in the same defensive hesitation, each waiting for the other to fully commit.
Then Hiro Tanenaga makes the call.
Masa Tanenaga and Takuma Ryujin enter again.
House of Dragon’s Veil launches another coordinated assault.
Hiro Tanenaga cinches in a crossface chickenwing, pulling Dragon King off balance.
Masa Tanenaga snaps him down with an Ace Crusher.
Takuma Ryujin follows with a deadlift German suplex, throwing Dragon King through the sequence.
But Dragon King manages to fire back inside the chaos, catching Hiro Tanenaga with a German suplex of his own before the sequence fully clears.
Fast Count Frank forces the extra men out again.
Julian Ward: “Another coordinated attack from House of Dragon’s Veil, but Dragon King still finds a German suplex inside the storm.”
Brick Brody: “That is why he is dangerous. He is outnumbered, trapped, and getting hit from every angle, and he still throws somebody backward.”
Julian Ward: “The double team ends, but Dragon King is not broken yet.”
Brick Brody: “Not broken. Damaged. There is a difference, and House of Dragon’s Veil better know it.”
Minute 23
The match grinds into a defensive struggle.
Dragon King and Hiro Tanenaga circle unevenly, each man showing signs of damage.
They engage.
Break.
Engage again.
Hiro Tanenaga looks for another sitout double underhook powerbomb, but Dragon King reverses the attempt and powers him down with a body slam.
Hiro Tanenaga neutralizes the follow-up, twisting away before Dragon King can turn the slam into a cover.
The exchange leaves both men frustrated.
Hiro Tanenaga reaches his corner and tags Takuma Ryujin back into the match.
The crowd rises as Takuma Ryujin steps through the ropes again.
Julian Ward: “A long defensive exchange there, and Dragon King reverses the sitout double underhook powerbomb into a body slam, but Hiro Tanenaga prevents the follow-up.”
Brick Brody: “That was tired wrestling. Not bad wrestling. Tired wrestling. Both men know what they want, but the body starts negotiating.”
Julian Ward: “Hiro Tanenaga tags Takuma Ryujin.”
Brick Brody: “And now Takuma Ryujin comes back in carrying everything he took earlier.”
Minute 24
Dragon King meets Takuma Ryujin before he can settle.
He snatches the head and drives him down with a brainbuster.
Takuma Ryujin attempts to defend, but he cannot stop the drop.
The impact lands sharply.
Dragon King rises and staggers toward his corner, knowing he needs fresh power.
He tags Kong.
Kong enters slowly, looming over Takuma Ryujin as the crowd noise shifts again.
Lady Ayame Ryu watches closely.
Takuma Ryujin pushes to one elbow, the punishment clearly deepening.
Julian Ward: “Brainbuster from Dragon King, and now he tags Kong. Takuma Ryujin is in danger again.”
Brick Brody: “That brainbuster was bad enough. Tagging in Kong after it is like dropping a tree on a man and then sending in the avalanche.”
Julian Ward: “House of Dragon’s Veil needs to avoid isolation.”
Brick Brody: “Too late. Isolation is already in the ring, and it weighs a lot.”
Minute 25
Kong pulls Takuma Ryujin up and hoists him high.
The crowd reacts as Kong presses him overhead and drops him with a gorilla press drop.
Takuma Ryujin attempts to defend on the way down, but the fall is too heavy and too sudden.
He crashes to the canvas.
Kong stands over him, chest heaving, hands open, ready to grab again.
Takuma Ryujin rolls toward the ropes, every movement slower now.
Masa Tanenaga reaches from the apron, calling for him to crawl.
Hiro Tanenaga slaps the turnbuckle, trying to pull life back into the corner.
Julian Ward: “Gorilla press drop from Kong, and Takuma Ryujin could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is pure power. Pick a man up, make him look at the lights, then drop him into bad news.”
Julian Ward: “The Scalekeepers are trying to rally him from the corner.”
Brick Brody: “They better do more than rally soon. Kong is starting to feast.”
Minute 26
Both men reset under heavy fatigue.
Kong climbs, showing alarming agility for his size.
He launches with a diving headbutt that crashes into Takuma Ryujin with huge impact.
The arena groans.
But Takuma Ryujin answers out of desperation and discipline, catching Kong’s momentum and driving him down with a high angle Crucifix Powerbomb.
The collision shakes the ring.
Kong rolls to his side, stunned.
Takuma Ryujin remains down longer than he wants, unable to immediately cover.
Julian Ward: “Diving headbutt from Kong, but Takuma Ryujin answers with the high angle Crucifix Powerbomb. What a counter under pressure.”
Brick Brody: “That was survival turning into a power move. Kong came down like a boulder, and Takuma Ryujin somehow turned the boulder into a crash landing.”
Julian Ward: “He cannot capitalize immediately.”
Brick Brody: “That is the cost. Great counter. Damaged body. Slow follow-up.”
Minute 27
Takuma Ryujin reaches for space near the ropes.
Dr. Frankenstein strikes again.
He sweeps the leg at the ropes, tripping Takuma Ryujin and preventing him from moving toward his corner.
The crowd erupts in boos.
Kong uses the opening, driving forward with heavy offense while Takuma Ryujin absorbs the punishment.
Fast Count Frank turns late, catching the aftermath but not the act.
Lady Ayame Ryu steps forward, eyes hard now, but Dr. Frankenstein backs away behind his monsters with a thin smile.
Julian Ward: “Again Dr. Frankenstein sweeps the leg at the ropes. Takuma Ryujin was trying to create space, and that interference stopped him.”
Brick Brody: “That is dirty, and it worked. Dr. Frankenstein is not hiding tonight. He is carving little holes in House of Dragon’s Veil one cheap shot at a time.”
Julian Ward: “Fast Count Frank did not see enough to act.”
Brick Brody: “Referees never see enough until somebody is already limping.”
Minute 28
Kong climbs again.
The crowd rises in alarm.
He launches with another diving headbutt, crashing down onto Takuma Ryujin with full force.
But Takuma Ryujin somehow answers again, fighting through the impact and spiking Kong with a Super Spike Piledriver.
Both men are down.
Kong rolls over and hooks the leg from the scramble, using the damage he landed first.
Fast Count Frank drops.
One.
Two.
Masa Tanenaga hits the ring and breaks the pin.
The crowd explodes.
Kong pounds the mat in frustration.
Masa Tanenaga is forced back out by Fast Count Frank, but the save has kept House of Dragon’s Veil alive again.
Julian Ward: “Diving headbutt from Kong, Super Spike Piledriver from Takuma Ryujin, and then Kong nearly steals the pin.”
Brick Brody: “That save by Masa Tanenaga was everything. Takuma Ryujin was not getting out clean. Not after that headbutt.”
Julian Ward: “This is the second crucial save by Masa Tanenaga.”
Brick Brody: “That man is doing his job. Keep the match alive even if you have to dive into traffic.”
Minute 29
Kong tries to rise and finish the damage, but Takuma Ryujin finds just enough space.
He fires dash middle kicks into Kong’s body.
One lands.
Another lands.
A third forces Kong to bend and step back.
Kong tries to defend, but the kicks get through and break his forward momentum.
Realizing the exchange has shifted, Kong turns and tags Ogre back in.
Takuma Ryujin remains legal, breathing hard, body battered, but still standing.
Julian Ward: “Dash middle kicks from Takuma Ryujin, and Kong is forced to tag out to Ogre.”
Brick Brody: “Those kicks were not flashy. They were necessary. Takuma Ryujin found the body and made the big man give up the ring.”
Julian Ward: “But Ogre is fresh enough to continue the punishment.”
Brick Brody: “Fresh enough and ugly enough.”
Minute 30
The match slows for a brief defensive pause, both sides showing exhaustion.
Then Ogre calls for the monsters again.
Dragon King and Kong enter, and Monster’s Bash launches another extended triple-team assault.
Ogre punches Takuma Ryujin in the face.
Dragon King follows with a brainbuster.
Kong drives a boot to the midsection.
Takuma Ryujin attempts to defend, but the numbers and size overwhelm him.
Fast Count Frank struggles to control the ring as Monster’s Bash keeps the sequence going.
The crowd boos heavily.
Lady Ayame Ryu remains still at ringside, but her fan opens slowly.
Julian Ward: “Triple-team from Monster’s Bash again. Punch to the face from Ogre, brainbuster from Dragon King, boot to the midsection from Kong. Takuma Ryujin is being overwhelmed.”
Brick Brody: “This is a mugging with choreography. Monster’s Bash found the wounded man and buried him under bodies.”
Julian Ward: “The double team continues.”
Brick Brody: “And every second it continues, Takuma Ryujin gets farther from his corner.”
Minute 31
The assault continues for one more round.
Ogre hammers Takuma Ryujin with another sledge to the chest.
Dragon King and Kong do not add more offense this time, but their presence alone keeps Takuma Ryujin boxed in.
Then Takuma Ryujin explodes.
He creates one desperate angle, climbs, and launches into a Phoenix Splash that crashes onto Ogre.
The crowd erupts.
Ogre takes the impact hard and rolls away.
Dragon King and Kong are finally forced out as Fast Count Frank restores order.
Takuma Ryujin stays down, the Phoenix Splash costing almost as much as it delivered.
Julian Ward: “Phoenix Splash from Takuma Ryujin inside the chaos. He found a way through the numbers.”
Brick Brody: “That was guts or madness. Maybe both. He was surrounded by monsters and decided the answer was to fly.”
Julian Ward: “The triple-team ends, and Ogre is damaged.”
Brick Brody: “So is Takuma Ryujin. That move saved him, but it did not heal him.”
Minute 32
Ogre tries to get back upright, but his movement is slower.
Takuma Ryujin steps in and fires dash middle kicks into the body.
The first kick lands clean.
The second folds Ogre slightly.
The third forces him back toward his corner.
Ogre absorbs the punishment but cannot turn it into offense.
He reaches behind him and tags Dragon King.
Takuma Ryujin stays in the center, chest heaving, eyes sharp despite everything he has taken.
Julian Ward: “Dash middle kicks from Takuma Ryujin, and Ogre absorbs the punishment but has to tag Dragon King.”
Brick Brody: “Those kicks have been money late in this match. Takuma Ryujin is not throwing them because they look pretty. He is using them to make giants give him space.”
Julian Ward: “We may be nearing the decisive exchange.”
Brick Brody: “At thirty-two minutes with these bodies involved, every exchange is decisive. Somebody’s tank is about to empty.”
Minute 33
Dragon King enters for Monster’s Bash.
Takuma Ryujin stands across from him for House of Dragon’s Veil.
The crowd rises.
Dragon King strikes first with an enzuigiri, the kick snapping across Takuma Ryujin and staggering him.
For one moment, the monster has the opening.
Then Takuma Ryujin steps through the pain.
He catches Dragon King rising.
He draws him in.
Kamigoye.
The knee lands clean.
Dragon King drops.
The crowd explodes.
Takuma Ryujin falls into the cover, hooking deep.
Fast Count Frank drops fast.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bell rings.
The arena erupts.
Takuma Ryujin rolls off Dragon King, exhausted but victorious.
Hiro Tanenaga and Masa Tanenaga enter immediately, standing over their partner as Fast Count Frank raises his arm.
Lady Ayame Ryu closes her fan at ringside.
Only then does she nod.
Across the ring, Dr. Frankenstein is livid.
Ogre grips the ropes.
Kong stares at the fallen Dragon King, breathing heavily through his nose.
Louie Linville: “Here are your winners… House of Dragon’s Veil.”
The crowd cheers loudly.
Takuma Ryujin rises slowly with help from Hiro Tanenaga and Masa Tanenaga.
The three members of House of Dragon’s Veil stand together.
Not untouched.
Not clean.
Standing.
Julian Ward: “Takuma Ryujin pins Dragon King with the Kamigoye after thirty-three punishing minutes. House of Dragon’s Veil defeats Monster’s Bash.”
Brick Brody: “That was a war of size against structure. Monster’s Bash had the weight, the cheap shots, the triple-teams, and Dr. Frankenstein pulling legs at the ropes. But House of Dragon’s Veil kept surviving long enough for Takuma Ryujin to find the knee.”
Julian Ward: “We saw critical saves from Masa Tanenaga, crucial aerial offense and submissions from Hiro Tanenaga, and repeated guidance from Lady Ayame Ryu.”
Brick Brody: “And do not forget Takuma Ryujin getting crushed for half the match and still pinning Dragon King. That matters. That tells the locker room the man can take monster punishment and still finish.”
Julian Ward: “For Monster’s Bash, this is another setback in the shadow of The Long Night. After Frankenstein’s Monster lost the Mythic Crown Championship, his faction needed to reassert dominance tonight. They did damage, but they did not win.”
Brick Brody: “That is the part Dr. Frankenstein is going to hate. Damage without victory is just noise with bruises.”
In the ring, Takuma Ryujin looks toward the ramp.
For a moment, his expression tightens.
Last week’s image hangs behind him without appearing on the screen.
Raigen the Maryu.
The robe.
The two symbols.
The third path.
Lady Ayame Ryu steps onto the apron and looks at Takuma Ryujin.
He looks back.
No words.
Only the weight of what victory does not answer.
Julian Ward: “House of Dragon’s Veil wins tonight, but the questions surrounding Raigen the Maryu remain. Victory over monsters does not settle what now stands between dragon, oni, and the man who claims both but belongs to neither.”
Brick Brody: “That is the problem with a win like this. It proves you can survive what is in front of you. It does not solve what is waiting behind you.”
House of Dragon’s Veil exits together.
Takuma Ryujin walks under his own power, though slowly.
Hiro Tanenaga and Masa Tanenaga flank him.
Lady Ayame Ryu leads them up the ramp, fan closed in one hand.
In the ring, Dr. Frankenstein kneels beside Dragon King, not with concern, but with fury disguised as examination.
Kong and Ogre stand behind him, silent and dangerous.
The opening trial has ended.
The damage has not.
Julian Ward: “An extraordinary opening contest here on Dark Fable. House of Dragon’s Veil endures the force of Monster’s Bash and claims the victory.”
Brick Brody: “Endures is the word. They did not escape the monsters. They lived long enough to beat one.”
Julian Ward: “And tonight, on the road to Ashes of Empire, endurance may be the first form of judgment.”
HOUSE OF DRAGON’S VEIL DEFEATED MONSTER’S BASH BY PINFALL WHEN TAKUMA RYUJIN PINNED DRAGON KING WITH THE KAMIGOYE.
The broadcast returns from the aftermath of House of Dragon’s Veil surviving Monster’s Bash.
The arena noise fades beneath the backstage feed.
A stone corridor inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum fills the screen.
Torchlight moves along the walls in slow, uneven waves. The Dark Fable interview backdrop stands behind Hana Nakamura, black and crimson, the logo glowing faintly beneath the dim production lights.
Hana Nakamura stands center frame, microphone in hand, her expression earnest but careful.
Beside her stands Sinbad.
The crowd inside the arena reacts immediately.
Strong cheers.
Respectful.
Loyal.
But different now.
Sinbad looks changed.
His hair is shorter, cleaner, cut closer to the face, no longer carrying the wild length of the champion who had sailed through punishment with the Eternal Flame Championship over his shoulder. His wrestling gear is different as well. Darker sea-green and burnished gold, trimmed with black, less ornamental than before. Less like a champion displaying the flame.
More like a fighter returning from a shipwreck with something left to prove.
The title is gone.
The absence is visible.
Hana Nakamura: “Sinbad, thank you for joining me.”
Sinbad nods once.
His face is calm, but the calm has weight behind it.
Hana Nakamura: “Last week, after twenty-one minutes against Cheshire Cat, after interference from Mad Hatter, after repeated attacks to the body, you lost the Eternal Flame Championship. Tonight, you return with a different look, different gear, and later tonight you face Black Knight. I have to ask you plainly. How are you carrying that loss?”
Sinbad looks down for a moment.
Not ashamed.
Not hiding.
Remembering.
Then he looks back at Hana Nakamura.
Sinbad: “I carried that championship like a flame in a storm.”
The crowd cheers faintly through the walls.
Sinbad: “Every defense, every wound, every breath through cracked ribs, I told myself the same thing. As long as I could stand, the fire could not be taken from me.”
He pauses.
His jaw tightens.
Sinbad: “Last week, the fire was taken.”
A harder reaction comes from the arena.
Boos for the memory of Cheshire Cat and Mad Hatter.
Sinbad: “I will not stand here and pretend it did not happen. Cheshire Cat beat me. Mad Hatter made the match a fever, the referee lost control of the edges, and I was forced to fight through smoke, confusion, and pain. But the final count was still three.”
Hana Nakamura watches him closely.
Sinbad: “That means the title is not on my shoulder anymore.”
He shifts slightly.
There is no championship to adjust.
That absence lands again.
Sinbad: “So I cut away what belonged to that reign.”
He touches the shorter hair briefly.
Sinbad: “The look. The gear. The comfort of being known as champion. I do not get to wear the memory like armor. Not yet.”
Hana Nakamura: “So this is a reset?”
Sinbad shakes his head.
Sinbad: “No.”
His voice lowers.
Sinbad: “A reset means starting over.”
He looks toward the arena.
Sinbad: “I am not starting over. I am continuing without the thing everyone could see.”
A murmur moves through the coliseum.
Sinbad: “The title was proof. It was not the source. The fire did not begin in that belt. It does not end because Cheshire Cat grins with it.”
Before Hana Nakamura can ask another question, a slow, cold draft seems to move through the corridor.
The torchlight flickers.
The crowd reaction changes.
A ghostly blue-white glow forms at the edge of the frame.
Then Fenwick Grimbough steps into view.
He is dressed with bureaucratic neatness and poisonous satisfaction, hands folded in front of him, expression pinched with superiority.
Beside him stands the Universal Champion, Ghost of Christmas Past.
The championship rests with spectral weight across him, its presence cold and unnatural beneath the corridor lights. Ghost of Christmas Past does not move like an ordinary man. He seems to arrive in pieces of memory, stillness, and judgment.
The crowd boos.
Fenwick Grimbough smiles thinly.
Fenwick Grimbough: “How touching.”
Hana Nakamura turns sharply toward him.
Hana Nakamura: “Fenwick Grimbough, this interview was not scheduled for you.”
Fenwick Grimbough: “Yes, and yet somehow the schedule found space for this.”
He gestures dismissively toward Sinbad.
Fenwick Grimbough: “A former champion explaining why he is no longer champion. Riveting use of important broadcast time.”
Sinbad turns toward him slowly.
Sinbad: “Careful, Fenwick Grimbough.”
Fenwick Grimbough gives a small, offended laugh.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Careful? That word would have served you better last week.”
The boos grow louder.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Tell me, Sinbad, how does one lose the Eternal Flame Championship and still feel entitled to stand in front of a camera as though the division should listen?”
Hana Nakamura: “He was asked to speak because he was champion, because he fought through one of the most chaotic title matches we have seen, and because he is scheduled to compete tonight.”
Fenwick Grimbough turns his smile toward Hana Nakamura.
Fenwick Grimbough: “How noble. How generous. How wonderfully sentimental.”
He turns back to Sinbad.
Fenwick Grimbough: “But facts are crueler than feelings. When you were up North, you could not win a title. Here in Camelot, you finally had one, and you could not keep it longer than a sip of coffee.”
The crowd boos heavily.
Sinbad steps closer.
Ghost of Christmas Past remains still, but the air around him seems colder.
Sinbad: “You came all this way to insult me because your champion needs someone else to speak?”
Fenwick Grimbough’s smile fades slightly.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Our champion does not need anything from you.”
Ghost of Christmas Past finally turns his head toward Sinbad.
His voice is quiet.
Distant.
Like it is coming from a winter room no one should enter.
Ghost of Christmas Past: “Loss reveals what victory concealed.”
Sinbad holds his stare.
Ghost of Christmas Past: “You carried flame. Then madness took it.”
A pause.
Ghost of Christmas Past: “What remains now?”
Sinbad: “Enough.”
The word lands hard.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Enough for what? Enough to lose to Black Knight tonight? Enough to beg for relevance beside men who still hold gold?”
Sinbad: “Enough to fight.”
Fenwick Grimbough: “That is not special. Everyone here fights.”
Sinbad steps closer again, and Hana Nakamura instinctively shifts to keep space between them.
Sinbad: “Not everyone fights after the fire goes out in front of the world.”
For the first time, Ghost of Christmas Past moves forward half a step.
The light in the corridor dims.
Ghost of Christmas Past: “Then perhaps the world should watch what remains of you after memory takes what madness left behind.”
The air tightens.
Sinbad does not back away.
Sinbad: “Name the place.”
Fenwick Grimbough laughs again, but now there is tension in it.
Fenwick Grimbough: “You do not name places to the Universal Champion. You do not stand titleless in a hallway and make demands of the past itself.”
A voice cuts through the corridor.
Calm.
Measured.
Unsettling.
Alton Bell: “No demand is necessary.”
The camera shifts.
Alton Bell steps into frame.
The Mythic Division General Manager walks with no wasted motion. His dark suit is immaculate. His expression is calm in a way that does not comfort anyone.
The crowd reacts with a mix of respect and unease.
Fenwick Grimbough turns immediately, already prepared to object.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Alton Bell, I hope you are here to restore order to this grotesque misuse of championship proximity.”
Alton Bell looks at him without changing expression.
Alton Bell: “Order has already arrived.”
That silences the corridor for half a second.
Alton Bell turns his eyes to Ghost of Christmas Past, then to Sinbad.
Alton Bell: “Next week, on Dark Fable, Ghost of Christmas Past will face Sinbad.”
The crowd erupts.
Fenwick Grimbough’s face tightens.
Alton Bell: “And it will be for the Universal Championship.”
The arena explodes.
Hana Nakamura looks stunned.
Sinbad does not smile.
His eyes stay locked on Ghost of Christmas Past.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Absolutely not.”
Alton Bell turns slowly toward him.
Fenwick Grimbough: “No. No, this is absurd. This man lost last week. He lost his title. He has done nothing to earn proximity to the Universal Championship. He is a defeated former champion in new clothes with shorter hair and better lighting.”
Alton Bell: “He is a former champion who will compete tonight.”
Fenwick Grimbough: “Against Black Knight, yes, and when he loses, this entire ridiculous announcement will look even more incompetent.”
Alton Bell: “Then watch carefully.”
Fenwick Grimbough opens his mouth again, but Alton Bell continues before he can speak.
Alton Bell: “The match is official.”
The words carry finality.
No heat.
No performance.
Law.
Ghost of Christmas Past stares at Sinbad.
Sinbad steps forward, his voice steady.
Sinbad: “Then watch my match tonight.”
He looks from Ghost of Christmas Past to Fenwick Grimbough.
Sinbad: “Watch what happens to Black Knight.”
A beat.
Sinbad: “Because next week, that is what happens to Ghost of Christmas Past.”
The crowd cheers loudly.
Fenwick Grimbough steps forward, furious now.
Fenwick Grimbough: “This is an injustice. This is favoritism draped in dramatic lighting. This is precisely what happens when authority confuses sympathy with merit.”
Alton Bell turns and begins walking away.
Fenwick Grimbough follows a step, speaking after him.
Fenwick Grimbough: “Alton Bell, you cannot simply hand a defeated man a championship match because he changed his haircut and spoke in metaphors. Alton Bell. Alton Bell, this is an injustice.”
Alton Bell does not stop.
He does not look back.
Fenwick Grimbough’s voice grows sharper as he follows.
Fenwick Grimbough: “An injustice. A procedural injustice. A competitive injustice. A historical injustice.”
The camera remains with Sinbad, Hana Nakamura, and Ghost of Christmas Past.
For a moment, neither man speaks.
The Universal Champion tilts his head slightly.
Ghost of Christmas Past: “Next week, your loss will remember you.”
Sinbad: “Then I will give it something new to remember.”
The cold light around Ghost of Christmas Past flickers.
He turns and walks out of frame after Fenwick Grimbough.
Hana Nakamura exhales slowly, then raises the microphone again.
Hana Nakamura: “Sinbad, next week you challenge for the Universal Championship. Tonight, you still face Black Knight. After everything that just happened, what now?”
Sinbad looks toward the direction Ghost of Christmas Past exited.
Then toward the arena.
Sinbad: “Now I fight the knight.”
A pause.
His voice hardens.
Sinbad: “Then I fight the ghost.”
He turns and walks away, his new gear catching the torchlight as he disappears down the corridor.
The camera holds on Hana Nakamura, still processing the announcement.
Then the feed cuts back toward the arena.
Julian Ward: “A major announcement from Alton Bell. Next week, Ghost of Christmas Past defends the Universal Championship against Sinbad.”
Brick Brody: “That is a gift and a curse. Sinbad gets a title match, but he also gets the past staring holes through him next week. And before that, he still has Black Knight tonight.”
Julian Ward: “Sinbad said the flame did not begin with the Eternal Flame Championship, and it did not end when Cheshire Cat took it.”
Brick Brody: “Good line. Now he has to prove it while Black Knight tries to fold him in half. Then he can worry about the ghost.”
The final backstage image replays briefly.
Sinbad standing without a title.
Ghost of Christmas Past standing with one.
Alton Bell between them like judgment given human shape.
Julian Ward: “Next week, the former Eternal Flame Champion challenges the Universal Champion. But tonight, Sinbad must first survive the shadow in front of him.”
The screen fades toward the next segment.
The broadcast returns from the cold image of Sinbad standing across from the Universal Champion, Ghost of Christmas Past.
The announcement still hangs over Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum.
Next week.
Ghost of Christmas Past versus Sinbad.
For the Universal Championship.
But the arena does not get time to settle.
The lights lower.
The torches dim into sickly blue and white.
A bolt of lightning tears across the entrance screen.
The crowd reaction turns immediately.
Heavy.
Uneasy.
The screen fills with fractured images from The Long Night.
King Arthur raising the Mythic Crown Championship.
Frankenstein’s Monster on the mat.
Dr. Frankenstein unraveling at ringside.
Then the image shatters.
The words appear in iron-gray:
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER VS SIR LANCELOT
Julian Ward: “We now turn to a match carrying the weight of the Mythic Crown Championship picture. Frankenstein’s Monster lost that championship to King Arthur at The Long Night. Tonight, he faces one of Camelot’s most trusted knights, Sir Lancelot.”
Brick Brody: “And that is a dangerous place to stand. Sir Lancelot is not just fighting a monster. He is fighting the former champion’s anger, the doctor’s wounded pride, and whatever is left inside that creature after losing the crown.”
Julian Ward: “Earlier tonight, Monster’s Bash fell to House of Dragon’s Veil. Dr. Frankenstein has already watched one of his forces fail tonight. That may make this moment even more volatile.”
Brick Brody: “That man does not process failure. He weaponizes it badly.”
A low electrical hum fills the arena.
The entrance screen becomes a storm of laboratory light, iron hooks, stitched shadows, and broken stone.
Dr. Frankenstein steps onto the stage first.
The boos are immediate.
He walks with agitation barely held under control, one hand clenching and unclenching as if still adjusting invisible instruments. His face is drawn tight, the humiliation of losing the Mythic Crown Championship still living behind his eyes.
Then Frankenstein’s Monster emerges.
The coliseum reacts with a deep, instinctive sound.
Not just boos.
Recognition of force.
He stands massive beneath the lightning flashes, his stitched body framed by blue-white light. His expression is not rage in the simple sense. It is heavier. More wounded. More dangerous.
He was champion.
Now he is not.
And that absence has become part of him.
Julian Ward: “There is Frankenstein’s Monster, accompanied by Dr. Frankenstein. The former Mythic Crown Champion has not spoken of the loss, but his presence tonight says enough.”
Brick Brody: “He looks like a mountain that remembers being moved. That is bad news for Sir Lancelot.”
Frankenstein’s Monster walks down the ramp with slow, brutal steps.
Dr. Frankenstein stays close, speaking to him the entire way.
Not comfort.
Not encouragement.
Correction.
Command.
Agitation disguised as strategy.
Frankenstein’s Monster climbs onto the apron and steps over the top rope.
The ring seems smaller with him inside it.
The lights shift.
Royal blue and silver cut through the storm.
A solemn horn sounds.
The crowd rises.
The screen fills with the crest of Camelot.
Merlin emerges first.
His staff taps once against the stage.
A small flare of light pulses from the top of it.
His face is grave, his eyes already fixed on Dr. Frankenstein.
Then Sir Lancelot steps onto the stage.
He walks with knightly poise, but there is no ornament to him tonight. His expression is focused and severe. He knows what stands in the ring. He knows what Frankenstein’s Monster lost. And he knows that a knight of Camelot is not facing a defeated creature.
He is facing the consequence of defeat.
Julian Ward: “And here comes Sir Lancelot, accompanied by Merlin. Camelot still holds the Mythic Crown Championship through King Arthur, but tonight Sir Lancelot must answer the former champion himself.”
Brick Brody: “This is the part of being connected to a king nobody likes to mention. The king wins the crown, and sometimes his knights get the monster looking for revenge.”
Sir Lancelot walks to the ring.
At ringside, Merlin and Dr. Frankenstein stare across the distance between them.
Old knowledge and corrupted science.
Guidance and control.
Both men understand influence.
Neither trusts the other.
Sir Lancelot enters the ring and steps directly toward Frankenstein’s Monster.
Honest Abe moves between them, both hands raised.
Louie Linville stands at center ring, microphone in hand.
Louie Linville: “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall.”
The crowd reacts.
Louie Linville: “Introducing first, accompanied to the ring by Dr. Frankenstein… creation given rage, former bearer of the Mythic Crown Championship, the force that once made fear kneel… Frankenstein’s Monster.”
The boos roll through the arena.
Frankenstein’s Monster does not react.
Dr. Frankenstein smiles thinly, as if the introduction did not go far enough.
Louie Linville: “And his opponent, accompanied to the ring by Merlin… knight of Camelot, sworn blade of the Roundtable, honor beneath pressure and steel beneath oath… Sir Lancelot.”
The cheers rise.
Sir Lancelot raises one arm, but his eyes never leave Frankenstein’s Monster.
Honest Abe checks both competitors.
He turns sharply toward Dr. Frankenstein, then toward Merlin, warning both men before the opening bell.
The bell rings.
Minute 1
Frankenstein’s Monster charges immediately, not with speed alone but with violent certainty. He catches Sir Lancelot near the ropes and throws him out of the ring, sending the knight crashing down to the floor beside the apron.
The crowd groans at the landing.
But Sir Lancelot refuses to let the opening become one-sided.
He scrambles up, re-enters the edge of the fight, and catches Frankenstein’s Monster with a Falcon Arrow as the action shifts back toward the ring, driving the larger man down with stunning force.
The impact brings the crowd to its feet.
But the earlier throw has done its work.
Sir Lancelot is forced back to the outside, and Honest Abe begins the count.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Sir Lancelot makes it back into the ring at six.
Frankenstein’s Monster turns toward him, already advancing.
Julian Ward: “An explosive opening. Frankenstein’s Monster throws Sir Lancelot to the outside, but Sir Lancelot answers with a Falcon Arrow before beating the count at six.”
Brick Brody: “That is a knight showing spine. He got dumped to the floor and still found a way to throw the monster. But the monster already made him spend energy climbing back in.”
Julian Ward: “The former champion is starting with raw force.”
Brick Brody: “Of course he is. You do not lose a crown and come back interested in chain wrestling.”
Minute 2
Frankenstein’s Monster cuts off the center before Sir Lancelot can fully recover.
He grabs him around the body and drives him down with Deadweight Drop, the sidewalk slam landing with heavy impact across the mat.
Sir Lancelot absorbs the punishment, turning his shoulder and trying to protect the ribs, but the force still goes through him.
Dr. Frankenstein barks approval from ringside, pointing for the monster to keep the knight grounded.
Merlin watches in silence, grip tightening around his staff.
Julian Ward: “Deadweight Drop from Frankenstein’s Monster, and Sir Lancelot is forced to absorb the punishment.”
Brick Brody: “That move is named right. Deadweight. All of that mass coming down through your spine. That makes bravery feel very small.”
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein wants this match kept on the ground.”
Brick Brody: “Smart. Sir Lancelot can fly in bursts. The monster wants him flat.”
Minute 3
Frankenstein’s Monster does not let Sir Lancelot rise cleanly.
He hauls him up, bends him across his own strength, and straps in The Clamp, the pendulum backbreaker bending Sir Lancelot across pressure and power.
Sir Lancelot tries to defend, but the hold is secured.
Honest Abe checks closely.
Frankenstein’s Monster pulls harder.
Sir Lancelot grimaces, one arm reaching, one fist clenched.
He refuses to submit.
The crowd rallies behind him.
Merlin steps closer to the apron, eyes narrowed.
Dr. Frankenstein shouts for more pressure.
Sir Lancelot still refuses.
Julian Ward: “The Clamp is applied. Frankenstein’s Monster has Sir Lancelot trapped in that pendulum backbreaker, and the former champion is trying to force submission early.”
Brick Brody: “That is not a hold. That is architecture failing. Sir Lancelot’s back is being bent around the monster’s will.”
Julian Ward: “He does not submit.”
Brick Brody: “That is courage. It is also the kind of courage that makes walking tomorrow miserable.”
Minute 4
Frankenstein’s Monster releases the hold only to continue the punishment.
At ringside, Dr. Frankenstein moves sharply and slides a chair into position, assisting his protege by creating a dangerous opening near the ropes.
Honest Abe is drawn toward the angle of the impact.
At the same time, Merlin turns his gaze into a crystal ball, veering into guidance, searching for the path through the threat before the damage can fully land.
The moment becomes chaotic.
Frankenstein’s Monster still drives forward with heavy force, aided by Dr. Frankenstein’s interference.
Sir Lancelot cannot turn the guidance into offense, but Merlin’s presence prevents the situation from becoming worse.
The crowd boos Dr. Frankenstein heavily.
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein assists with a chair at ringside, while Merlin seeks guidance through the crystal ball. The seconds are already influencing this match.”
Brick Brody: “That is what happens when science and sorcery both stand near the apron. Nobody just watches. Everybody meddles with better vocabulary.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot absorbs another dangerous moment.”
Brick Brody: “He is absorbing too much already. The monster is building a debt across his back.”
Minute 5
Dr. Frankenstein tries another tactic.
He moves along the apron, shouting and gesturing, attempting to distract Sir Lancelot long enough for Frankenstein’s Monster to roll him up or catch him in awkward position.
But Sir Lancelot reads the trap.
He turns his weight, neutralizes the distraction, and prevents Frankenstein’s Monster from capitalizing.
Honest Abe points sharply at Dr. Frankenstein, warning him to stay clear.
Sir Lancelot uses the moment to create breathing room.
Frankenstein’s Monster stares at Dr. Frankenstein for a fraction of a second, the failed instruction breaking rhythm.
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein tried to create a distraction for a roll-up, but Sir Lancelot neutralized it.”
Brick Brody: “That was important. Sir Lancelot did not take the bait. If you start chasing Dr. Frankenstein, the monster catches you from behind.”
Julian Ward: “A small but critical defensive success for Sir Lancelot.”
Brick Brody: “Small things matter when a creature that size is trying to end the conversation.”
Minute 6
Frankenstein’s Monster reasserts himself with Graveyard Slam, lifting Sir Lancelot and driving him down with a body slam that lands heavily.
Sir Lancelot rolls through the pain.
He springs back into the exchange and catches Frankenstein’s Monster with another Falcon Arrow, using leverage, timing, and sheer determination to bring the larger body down.
The crowd erupts as both men hit hard.
Frankenstein’s Monster rises slower this time.
Sir Lancelot pulls himself to one knee, breathing sharply but still alive in the fight.
Julian Ward: “Graveyard Slam from Frankenstein’s Monster, and Sir Lancelot answers with another Falcon Arrow. That has become his clearest route to changing momentum.”
Brick Brody: “That move is doing work. Sir Lancelot cannot overpower the monster straight up, but he can catch him, turn him, and make the mat help.”
Julian Ward: “Both men scored significant impact there.”
Brick Brody: “And both are starting to feel it. Big men hate being thrown. Knights hate being crushed. Everybody is unhappy.”
Minute 7
Frankenstein’s Monster steps back in and lands another Deadweight Drop, driving Sir Lancelot into the canvas with that sidewalk slam again.
The force folds the knight sideways.
But Sir Lancelot answers almost immediately, catching the monster’s movement and delivering another Falcon Arrow.
The crowd rises with each reversal of force.
Frankenstein’s Monster rolls to his hands and knees, visibly frustrated now.
Sir Lancelot pulls himself up with the ropes, chest rising and falling quickly.
Julian Ward: “Deadweight Drop again, but Sir Lancelot finds another Falcon Arrow. He keeps answering power with precision.”
Brick Brody: “That is gutsy. Dangerous too. Every time Sir Lancelot pulls that monster over, he is spending his own back to do it.”
Julian Ward: “The knight is staying in this match through timing and leverage.”
Brick Brody: “And pain tolerance. Do not leave that out.”
Minute 8
Dr. Frankenstein leans in again, providing strategy, shouting at Frankenstein’s Monster to stop overcommitting and close the vertical space.
Frankenstein’s Monster listens, shifting his stance and cutting off Sir Lancelot’s angles.
But Sir Lancelot still finds movement.
He hits the ropes and launches into a running shooting star press, flipping into the monster and landing clean.
The crowd cheers the athletic burst.
Frankenstein’s Monster absorbs the attack and rolls aside, wounded but not stopped.
Dr. Frankenstein pounds the apron in irritation.
Merlin watches with faint approval.
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein provides strategy, but Sir Lancelot still finds the running shooting star press.”
Brick Brody: “That was a knight turning himself into a weapon. I like it. But the monster absorbed a lot of it, and that is the problem.”
Julian Ward: “Frankenstein’s Monster has been hit by Falcon Arrows and aerial offense, yet he remains upright.”
Brick Brody: “Former champion for a reason. You do not keep that crown by being easy to dent.”
Minute 9
Sir Lancelot goes back to the running shooting star press, looking to build on what worked.
But Frankenstein’s Monster reverses it, catching the motion and turning the momentum into danger.
He looks for Stitched Slam, the fallaway slam meant to send Sir Lancelot crashing away.
Sir Lancelot reverses that as well, twisting free before the throw can complete.
The exchange becomes unstable.
At ringside, Merlin throws flash powder as a distraction, creating a burst of light that breaks the monster’s focus.
Frankenstein’s Monster absorbs the punishment, but the flash prevents him from fully reclaiming control.
The crowd reacts loudly as Dr. Frankenstein screams at Merlin from the opposite side.
Julian Ward: “A layered sequence. Frankenstein’s Monster reverses the running shooting star press, Sir Lancelot reverses Stitched Slam, and Merlin uses flash powder to disrupt the monster’s focus.”
Brick Brody: “That was chaos. Good chaos for Sir Lancelot. Bad chaos for the monster. And Dr. Frankenstein looks like he wants to dissect Merlin’s hat.”
Julian Ward: “The flash powder keeps Sir Lancelot alive in the exchange.”
Brick Brody: “That is not clean, but neither was the chair earlier. Turnabout has a beard and a staff tonight.”
Minute 10
Frankenstein’s Monster regains his footing and drops an elbow toward Sir Lancelot.
Sir Lancelot neutralizes the elbow drop, rolling aside and preventing the full force from landing.
The movement is defensive, but vital.
The monster lands awkwardly and has to reset.
Sir Lancelot uses the space to rise, one hand against his lower back.
The crowd claps in rhythm, trying to pull him forward.
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot neutralizes the elbow drop. It is not offense, but it prevents a heavy impact.”
Brick Brody: “Sometimes defense is offense when the other guy weighs that much. If the elbow misses, the monster hits himself with the mat.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot is surviving by inches.”
Brick Brody: “Inches count. Especially when the alternative is getting flattened by a stitched avalanche.”
Minute 11
Dr. Frankenstein begins shouting again, but this time the words are not clean strategy.
He berates Frankenstein’s Monster, his voice sharp, impatient, and cutting.
The monster’s focus fractures.
Sir Lancelot sees the opening and launches through the ropes with a suicide dive, crashing into Frankenstein’s Monster on the outside.
The crowd erupts as both men hit the floor.
Honest Abe begins the count.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Frankenstein’s Monster makes it back into the ring at four.
Sir Lancelot follows, slower but energized by the attack.
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein berates and confuses his own protege, and Sir Lancelot capitalizes with the suicide dive.”
Brick Brody: “That is bad managing. You can guide a monster. You can command a monster. You start insulting the monster in the middle of a fight, and suddenly he is easier to hit.”
Julian Ward: “Frankenstein’s Monster returns at four, but the exchange clearly gave Sir Lancelot momentum.”
Brick Brody: “Momentum and a dangerous idea. He knows the doctor can rattle his own creation.”
Minute 12
Back inside, Frankenstein’s Monster drops an elbow, catching part of Sir Lancelot as the knight tries to move.
But Sir Lancelot fires back with a superkick.
The kick lands flush enough to snap the monster’s head aside.
The crowd cheers.
Frankenstein’s Monster staggers, but he does not fall.
Sir Lancelot keeps his balance, shaking out the damage from the elbow as he tries to stay in striking range.
Julian Ward: “Elbow drop from Frankenstein’s Monster, and Sir Lancelot answers with the superkick.”
Brick Brody: “That kick landed clean, and the monster still stayed up. That is unsettling.”
Julian Ward: “The former champion continues to absorb offense most competitors could not.”
Brick Brody: “He is not most competitors. He is bad science with fists.”
Minute 13
Frankenstein’s Monster tries another elbow drop, but Sir Lancelot reverses, slipping out and catching him for a bridging suplex.
For a moment, the crowd thinks the knight may have him.
But Frankenstein’s Monster neutralizes the bridge, using his weight to break the control before Honest Abe can count.
The sequence ends with both men rolling apart.
Sir Lancelot shows frustration for the first time.
Frankenstein’s Monster rises slowly, more dangerous for having nearly been controlled.
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot reverses the elbow drop and looks for the bridging suplex, but Frankenstein’s Monster neutralizes it.”
Brick Brody: “That is the weight problem again. Sir Lancelot had the technique. The monster had too much mass and just ruined the bridge.”
Julian Ward: “The knight is finding openings, but finishing them is another matter.”
Brick Brody: “That is the whole fight. He can hurt the monster. Can he beat him?”
Minute 14
Dr. Frankenstein settles enough to provide strategy again, pointing and shouting for Frankenstein’s Monster to close distance after every strike.
Sir Lancelot steps in first and lands another superkick, cracking the monster across the jaw.
Frankenstein’s Monster absorbs the blow but shifts according to Dr. Frankenstein’s direction, trying to prevent Sir Lancelot from circling out cleanly.
The kick scores, but the space disappears.
Sir Lancelot has to fight his way out of the pocket.
Julian Ward: “Another superkick from Sir Lancelot, but Dr. Frankenstein’s strategy keeps Frankenstein’s Monster from giving up too much ground.”
Brick Brody: “Better from the doctor. Less berating, more guiding. The monster got kicked in the face and still cut off the angle.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot is landing clean strikes, but he cannot sustain separation.”
Brick Brody: “Because the monster keeps making the ring smaller.”
Minute 15
Frankenstein’s Monster catches Sir Lancelot near the ropes and throws him out of the ring again.
The knight crashes to the floor, landing hard beside the barricade.
But Sir Lancelot fights through the fall and answers with another running shooting star press during the scramble, throwing his body into the monster’s path and forcing him to absorb impact.
The exchange leaves Sir Lancelot outside as Honest Abe counts.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Sir Lancelot makes it back into the ring at eight.
The crowd cheers the return, but the count was close.
Frankenstein’s Monster watches him crawl in, expression heavy and merciless.
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot is thrown out again, and this time he returns at eight after finding the running shooting star press in the exchange.”
Brick Brody: “That was close. Eight count after this much damage is not nothing. Sir Lancelot is taking too many trips to the floor.”
Julian Ward: “The outside is becoming a weapon for Frankenstein’s Monster.”
Brick Brody: “The floor is always a weapon if you throw a man hard enough.”
Minute 16
Both men slow for half a breath, each one battered.
Then Frankenstein’s Monster strikes.
He drives down with The Bolt Driver, the double axe handle smash landing with full force across Sir Lancelot.
The knight absorbs the punishment, but the impact drops him hard.
Frankenstein’s Monster covers.
Honest Abe slides into position.
One.
Two.
Sir Lancelot kicks out.
The crowd erupts.
Frankenstein’s Monster sits up slowly, staring at Honest Abe.
Dr. Frankenstein screams from ringside that the count was too slow.
Honest Abe ignores him.
Julian Ward: “The Bolt Driver connects, and Frankenstein’s Monster nearly ends it there. Sir Lancelot kicks out at two.”
Brick Brody: “That was close. That smash had weight, anger, and former champion frustration behind it.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot survives the first pin attempt of the match.”
Brick Brody: “Survives, yes. But survival is not the same as control.”
Minute 17
Frankenstein’s Monster tries to follow with an elbow drop, looking to crush what remains.
Sir Lancelot moves enough to answer, catching the monster again with a Falcon Arrow.
The crowd explodes as the former champion is driven down once more.
Sir Lancelot rolls through, unable to immediately cover, one hand clutching at his back.
Frankenstein’s Monster lies still for a moment, then begins to turn.
The arena buzzes with disbelief.
Julian Ward: “Falcon Arrow from Sir Lancelot. He keeps finding that move when he needs it most.”
Brick Brody: “That is his lifeline tonight. Every time the monster starts burying him, Sir Lancelot finds a way to throw him over and buy air.”
Julian Ward: “But again, he cannot cover.”
Brick Brody: “Because his body is paying interest on every slam.”
Minute 18
Dr. Frankenstein loses control again.
He berates Frankenstein’s Monster from ringside, shouting at him to finish, to obey, to stop wasting the advantage.
The words create another fracture.
Sir Lancelot steps in and lands another superkick.
The kick strikes clean.
Frankenstein’s Monster staggers, but the confusion from Dr. Frankenstein has left him unable to answer immediately.
Merlin watches the exchange carefully, as if noting that the greatest weakness in the monster may not be his body.
It may be the voice commanding it.
Julian Ward: “Again Dr. Frankenstein berates his own protege, and Sir Lancelot takes advantage with the superkick.”
Brick Brody: “The doctor is hurting his own monster. He thinks he is correcting him, but he is putting static in the creature’s head.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot has found openings whenever Dr. Frankenstein loses composure.”
Brick Brody: “That is true, but he still has to put the monster down. Insight does not win unless you can pin it.”
Minute 19
Frankenstein’s Monster finally responds with pure blunt force.
He drives a heavy hand across Sir Lancelot’s back, a back smash that knocks the knight forward and down to one knee.
Sir Lancelot tries to defend, but the blow lands heavily enough to break his posture.
The crowd groans as Frankenstein’s Monster stands over him.
No elegance.
No science.
No command.
Just mass and pain.
Julian Ward: “Heavy Hand from Frankenstein’s Monster, and Sir Lancelot could not defend against it.”
Brick Brody: “That was ugly. Sometimes the monster does not need the doctor. Sometimes he just needs to hit you in the back like a falling wall.”
Julian Ward: “The cumulative back damage is becoming increasingly dangerous for Sir Lancelot.”
Brick Brody: “Becoming? His spine has been in trouble since The Clamp.”
Minute 20
Sir Lancelot digs deep.
He catches Frankenstein’s Monster before the former champion can fully reset and plants him with a Pedigree.
The crowd rises in shock and hope.
Frankenstein’s Monster absorbs the punishment, hitting hard and rolling onto his side.
Sir Lancelot pushes up slowly.
He wants the cover.
But the damage across his back and ribs delays him just enough.
Frankenstein’s Monster begins to stir.
Julian Ward: “Pedigree from Sir Lancelot. That may be his biggest opening of the match.”
Brick Brody: “It was huge, but he needed to cover right away. He cannot, and that is the damage talking.”
Julian Ward: “Frankenstein’s Monster absorbed it and is already moving.”
Brick Brody: “That is a nightmare. You hit a man with a Pedigree, and he starts getting up like the floor offended him.”
Minute 21
Frankenstein’s Monster rises into another exchange.
He catches Sir Lancelot and drives him down with Graveyard Slam, the body slam shaking the knight’s already-damaged back.
Sir Lancelot answers with one more superkick, snapping the monster’s head aside and staggering him.
The crowd roars, but the knight’s movement is slower now.
He cannot chase the strike.
He cannot fully capitalize.
Frankenstein’s Monster sways, then steadies.
Dr. Frankenstein points violently toward the center of the ring, demanding the finish.
Julian Ward: “Graveyard Slam from Frankenstein’s Monster, superkick from Sir Lancelot. Even this late, Sir Lancelot is still answering.”
Brick Brody: “He is answering, but the answers are getting weaker. He kicks the monster, and the monster wobbles. The monster slams him, and Sir Lancelot looks like something inside him moved the wrong direction.”
Julian Ward: “The margin is narrowing.”
Brick Brody: “The margin might already be gone.”
Minute 22
Frankenstein’s Monster surges forward.
He catches Sir Lancelot as the knight tries to strike again and lifts him into The Flat Liner, the running powerslam.
Sir Lancelot twists and fires a rolling elbow during the motion, catching Frankenstein’s Monster in the side of the head.
The blow lands.
But it does not stop the monster.
Frankenstein’s Monster drives through and slams Sir Lancelot into the canvas with full force.
The ring shakes.
Frankenstein’s Monster covers immediately.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bell rings.
The crowd erupts into a mix of boos, shock, and grim recognition.
Frankenstein’s Monster rises slowly from the cover.
Sir Lancelot remains down, one arm across his body, the long damage finally too much.
Dr. Frankenstein enters the ring quickly, his face alive with vindication.
Merlin steps onto the apron, eyes fixed on Sir Lancelot, concern buried beneath composure.
Louie Linville: “Here is your winner… Frankenstein’s Monster.”
Frankenstein’s Monster stands tall as Honest Abe raises his hand.
The reaction is heavy.
The former champion has not reclaimed the crown.
But he has answered Camelot with damage.
Julian Ward: “Frankenstein’s Monster defeats Sir Lancelot with The Flat Liner. The rolling elbow landed from Sir Lancelot, but it was not enough to stop the running powerslam.”
Brick Brody: “That was the story right there. Sir Lancelot kept answering. Falcon Arrows, superkicks, Pedigree, dives. He kept answering until the monster stopped caring about the answer and drove him through the mat.”
Julian Ward: “The former Mythic Crown Champion needed this victory after The Long Night, and he has taken it at the expense of one of King Arthur’s knights.”
Brick Brody: “That is the message. King Arthur took the crown. Fine. Now the monster just flattened Sir Lancelot. Camelot better understand the debt is not paid.”
In the ring, Dr. Frankenstein steps close to Frankenstein’s Monster, speaking rapidly, his hands moving as if he can already reshape the meaning of the night.
Frankenstein’s Monster does not look at him at first.
He looks toward the entrance stage.
Toward where King Arthur would appear.
The crowd senses it.
A low murmur moves through the coliseum.
Merlin helps Sir Lancelot sit up near the ropes.
Sir Lancelot is dazed but conscious, pride wounded beneath the physical pain.
Frankenstein’s Monster takes one step toward him.
Honest Abe moves between them.
Dr. Frankenstein places a hand against the monster’s chest, restraining him just enough to keep the victory from becoming a disqualification aftermath.
The monster stops.
But his stare does not soften.
Julian Ward: “Look at the eyes of Frankenstein’s Monster. This victory may not satisfy him. It may only sharpen what he lost.”
Brick Brody: “Of course it does not satisfy him. He was champion. Now he is beating knights. That is not the same thing. That is knocking on the castle door with somebody else’s body.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot fought with courage, creativity, and endurance, but the cumulative punishment was too great.”
Brick Brody: “Courage is good. Mass is also good. Tonight, mass won.”
Merlin helps Sir Lancelot out of the ring.
Sir Lancelot refuses full assistance once he reaches the floor, forcing himself to stand under his own power despite the pain.
The crowd cheers him for it.
Inside the ring, Frankenstein’s Monster remains motionless.
Dr. Frankenstein stands beside him, smiling now, but the smile is unstable.
Too pleased.
Too hungry.
Too eager to make the victory mean more than one match.
Julian Ward: “The road to Ashes of Empire has taken another turn. Frankenstein’s Monster has answered defeat with victory over Sir Lancelot.”
Brick Brody: “And King Arthur should watch this one back. Slowly. The monster is still there. The crown is gone, but the threat is not.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, Frankenstein’s Monster reminds Camelot that losing the crown did not remove the danger. It may have freed it.”
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER DEFEATED SIR LANCELOT BY PINFALL WITH THE FLAT LINER.
The broadcast returns from the image of Frankenstein’s Monster standing over the result of another wound delivered to Camelot.
The ring has been cleared.
But the air inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum has not settled.
The Aurora Title Tournament graphic appears on the entrance screen.
Green.
Violet.
White.
Gold.
The light moves like northern fire across a battlefield.
Then the bracket appears.
AURORA TITLE TOURNAMENT – ROUND 1
SERPENTA VEYNE VS SAYAKA MIZUHANA
The crowd rises.
The first tournament match saw Rosalyn Queen of Thorns advance through controversy.
Tonight, the second opening-round battle arrives with the weight of something different.
Not only advancement.
Endurance.
Identity.
Control.
Julian Ward: “The Aurora Title Tournament continues. Last week, Rosalyn Queen of Thorns advanced after defeating Athena two falls to none in a match shaped by controversy and intervention. Tonight, Serpenta Veyne meets Sayaka Mizuhana of House of Dragon’s Veil.”
Brick Brody: “And this is a dangerous draw for Sayaka Mizuhana. Serpenta Veyne is not just quick. She wraps around you. She cuts off air, limbs, and confidence.”
Julian Ward: “Sayaka Mizuhana enters under the guidance of Lady Ayame Ryu, and after House of Dragon’s Veil defeated Monster’s Bash earlier tonight, momentum is clearly with that house.”
Brick Brody: “Momentum is nice until a snake bites it.”
The arena lights darken.
A low hiss begins beneath the sound system.
The entrance screen fills with shifting shadows.
Scales.
Stone.
Gold eyes opening in the dark.
Then Serpenta Veyne steps onto the stage.
The crowd reacts with a mix of boos and uneasy fascination.
She moves with smooth, predatory control. Every step feels measured. Every motion carries the suggestion that she is already circling prey, even while standing still.
She raises one hand slowly, fingers curling like a serpent preparing to strike.
Julian Ward: “There is Serpenta Veyne, one third of the Monsters of Myth. We have seen what Hydra Veyne, Medussa Nemesis, and Serpenta Veyne can do as a unit, but tonight Serpenta Veyne steps into tournament competition alone.”
Brick Brody: “Alone does not mean harmless. Sometimes alone means nobody is there to interrupt how ugly she wants this to get.”
Serpenta Veyne slides beneath the bottom rope and rises smoothly in the center of the ring. She does not climb the turnbuckle. She does not posture for the crowd.
She simply waits.
The lights shift.
The hiss fades beneath the sound of a single bell.
Then a fan snaps open on the entrance screen.
The crest of House of Dragon’s Veil appears.
Red-gold light washes over the stage.
Lady Ayame Ryu emerges first.
The crowd cheers.
Her expression is calm, but the night has already asked much of her house. She walks with the same measured precision as earlier, folded fan in hand, every movement deliberate.
Then Sayaka Mizuhana steps onto the stage.
The reaction grows.
She stands in red, white, and gold, posture straight, eyes fixed on Serpenta Veyne. She carries the discipline of House of Dragon’s Veil, but there is also fire beneath it. She knows what this tournament can mean.
She knows what losing early would cost.
Julian Ward: “And there is Sayaka Mizuhana, accompanied by Lady Ayame Ryu. She represents House of Dragon’s Veil tonight in this tournament, and there is pressure here after the house claimed victory earlier.”
Brick Brody: “Pressure can sharpen you or crack you. Against Serpenta Veyne, cracks become openings, and openings become submissions.”
Sayaka Mizuhana walks to the ring without looking away from Serpenta Veyne.
At ringside, Lady Ayame Ryu stops near the corner, fan held at her side.
Sayaka Mizuhana enters the ring and steps into her corner.
Honest Abe stands between both competitors, serious and alert.
Louie Linville moves to center ring, microphone in hand.
Louie Linville: “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is an Aurora Title Tournament Round One Match.”
The crowd cheers.
Louie Linville: “The winner will advance in the tournament and move one step closer to the Aurora Championship.”
The reaction builds again.
Louie Linville: “Introducing first… coiled in venom, sharpened in shadow, and striking from the hidden places where fear learns to breathe… Serpenta Veyne.”
Serpenta Veyne tilts her head slightly, accepting the boos like warmth.
Louie Linville: “And her opponent, accompanied to the ring by Lady Ayame Ryu… representing House of Dragon’s Veil… disciplined beneath the dragon’s oath, graceful beneath pressure, and forged for the long trial… Sayaka Mizuhana.”
The crowd cheers loudly.
Sayaka Mizuhana bows her head once.
Honest Abe checks both competitors.
He turns toward Lady Ayame Ryu, gives a warning to remain outside the match, then calls for the bell.
The bell rings.
Minute 1
Serpenta Veyne opens with sudden elevation, launching forward with a diving crossbody aimed to overwhelm Sayaka Mizuhana before the rhythm can settle. Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the collision but keeps her base, turns through the momentum, and snaps Serpenta Veyne over with a German suplex that drops her hard across the shoulders.
Serpenta Veyne rolls through with one hand at her neck, already reorienting herself toward the center. Sayaka Mizuhana rises into stance, refusing to chase too far.
Julian Ward: “Fast opening from Serpenta Veyne with the diving crossbody, but Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the German suplex. That is an early statement of control.”
Brick Brody: “Good start for Sayaka Mizuhana. You do not let the snake set the terms. You grab her, throw her, and make her remember the mat is not soft.”
Minute 2
Both women reset defensively, circling with caution after the opening exchange. Serpenta Veyne lowers her stance, looking for an angle, but Sayaka Mizuhana steps in first, hooks the head, and plants her with a Tombstone.
Serpenta Veyne tries to defend, but the drop lands clean. She rolls to her side, eyes narrowing as Sayaka Mizuhana backs away rather than waste motion.
Julian Ward: “Tombstone from Sayaka Mizuhana, and Serpenta Veyne could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is what I like. No wasted movement. Sayaka Mizuhana saw the opening and drove her down. Early damage matters in a tournament match.”
Minute 3
Serpenta Veyne changes the shape of the fight. She ducks behind Sayaka Mizuhana, wraps the body, and locks in a bodyscissored dragon sleeper, trying to drag her backward into suffocation and neck pressure.
Sayaka Mizuhana fights the angle, plants her feet, and powers through with another German suplex, breaking the hold by throwing Serpenta Veyne over and down.
Both women rise more carefully.
Julian Ward: “Serpenta Veyne goes to the bodyscissored dragon sleeper, but Sayaka Mizuhana answers with another German suplex.”
Brick Brody: “That is hard to do. She had a body wrapped around her and still found the throw. That tells me Sayaka Mizuhana came prepared for the grip game.”
Minute 4
Serpenta Veyne stays aggressive. She slips into another bodyscissored dragon sleeper, cinching tighter this time and twisting the neck with more intent.
Sayaka Mizuhana refuses to be held long. She shifts forward, catches Serpenta Veyne’s balance, and spikes her with a Dodonpa Crucifix Driver.
The impact breaks the hold, but Serpenta Veyne has still made contact with the neck and breath.
Julian Ward: “Another bodyscissored dragon sleeper from Serpenta Veyne, answered by the Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “Both got what they wanted there. Serpenta Veyne got pressure. Sayaka Mizuhana got impact. That kind of trade gets expensive fast.”
Minute 5
Sayaka Mizuhana begins to build a pattern. She catches Serpenta Veyne trying to reset and throws another German suplex, turning defense into another clean landing.
Serpenta Veyne absorbs the punishment this time, rolling through the damage and refusing to show panic, but the repeated throws are beginning to mark her movement.
Lady Ayame Ryu watches without motion.
Julian Ward: “Another German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. She is building the match around repeated impact to the shoulders and neck.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart. You keep dumping Serpenta Veyne on the part she needs to twist and squeeze. Make the neck weak before the snake can use yours.”
Minute 6
Serpenta Veyne bursts forward with another diving crossbody. This time Sayaka Mizuhana attempts to defend, but the attack lands clean and drives her backward to the mat.
Serpenta Veyne rolls through the impact and rises, finally having forced Sayaka Mizuhana to absorb her speed instead of redirecting it.
Julian Ward: “Diving crossbody from Serpenta Veyne, and this time Sayaka Mizuhana could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is the first clear correction from Serpenta Veyne. Same move as the opener, better timing, better result.”
Minute 7
Serpenta Veyne follows with a roundhouse kick, snapping it across Sayaka Mizuhana’s upper body before she can fully recover.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers immediately, stepping through the pain and landing another German suplex. Serpenta Veyne hits hard but rolls away, frustration beginning to show beneath her controlled expression.
Julian Ward: “Roundhouse kick from Serpenta Veyne, German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. The pattern continues.”
Brick Brody: “That German suplex is becoming a tax. Serpenta Veyne gets offense, but Sayaka Mizuhana keeps collecting.”
Minute 8
Sayaka Mizuhana finds another opening and delivers another German suplex. Serpenta Veyne absorbs the punishment but cannot answer immediately this time.
She rolls to the ropes, taking longer to gather herself.
Sayaka Mizuhana does not rush. She stays centered, letting Serpenta Veyne carry the damage back to her feet.
Julian Ward: “Another German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana, and Serpenta Veyne is starting to feel the cumulative effect.”
Brick Brody: “You cannot keep landing on your shoulders and pretend it is decorative. That damage adds up.”
Minute 9
Sayaka Mizuhana shifts the angle and catches Serpenta Veyne with a wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex. The bridge is sharp, the control secure, but Serpenta Veyne absorbs enough to prevent a decisive count.
Sayaka Mizuhana releases and rises smoothly, keeping the wrist in mind as a possible target.
Julian Ward: “Wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. She is expanding the suplex attack without abandoning the core strategy.”
Brick Brody: “That is good wrestling. Same idea, different handle. Grab the wrist, control the fall, make Serpenta Veyne keep guessing how she is going over next.”
Minute 10
Serpenta Veyne strikes first with a scorpion kick, the heel whipping back and catching Sayaka Mizuhana sharply.
Sayaka Mizuhana staggers but answers with another Dodonpa Crucifix Driver, forcing Serpenta Veyne down again.
Both women roll apart, the match beginning to feel less like a race and more like a test of who can absorb a full night of punishment.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick from Serpenta Veyne, Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “That scorpion kick was nasty. But Sayaka Mizuhana keeps responding with impact. Neither one is giving free territory.”
Minute 11
Serpenta Veyne fires another roundhouse kick, trying to slow Sayaka Mizuhana’s base and cut off the repeated suplex entries.
Sayaka Mizuhana fights through it and plants Serpenta Veyne with another Tombstone.
The crowd reacts strongly as Serpenta Veyne rolls away, her movements less smooth now.
Julian Ward: “Roundhouse kick from Serpenta Veyne, but Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the Tombstone. That is a major impact.”
Brick Brody: “That is the second Tombstone. You do not just shake those off. Serpenta Veyne is getting dropped straight down, over and over.”
Minute 12
Serpenta Veyne finally creates a heavier opening. She catches Sayaka Mizuhana near the ropes and spikes her with the Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment but lands hard, her neck snapping into the canvas.
The crowd groans as Serpenta Veyne rises with renewed focus.
Julian Ward: “Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT from Serpenta Veyne, and that directly attacks the head and neck of Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “That is how you answer suplexes. If Sayaka Mizuhana keeps throwing your neck, you start spiking hers.”
Minute 13
Serpenta Veyne follows with a roundhouse kick, landing clean across Sayaka Mizuhana as she attempts to rise.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment, forced down to one knee.
For the first time, Serpenta Veyne begins to control consecutive moments, slowing the match into her striking rhythm.
Julian Ward: “Roundhouse kick from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana is forced to absorb another clean strike.”
Brick Brody: “Now Serpenta Veyne is finding the pocket. Kick the body, make the suplex entries harder, keep the opponent bent.”
Minute 14
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with sudden speed. She catches Serpenta Veyne moving in and snaps her over with a Fubuki Poison Rana, driving her down with a violent angle.
Serpenta Veyne absorbs the punishment but rolls to the ropes, shaken by the sudden reversal.
Lady Ayame Ryu gives the smallest nod from ringside.
Julian Ward: “Fubuki Poison Rana from Sayaka Mizuhana, and that was an important answer after Serpenta Veyne began to build control.”
Brick Brody: “That move changed the temperature. Serpenta Veyne was getting comfortable. Sayaka Mizuhana made the mat introduce itself again.”
Minute 15
Sayaka Mizuhana stays on the attack and lands another Dodonpa Crucifix Driver. Serpenta Veyne attempts to defend, but the driver lands clean enough to force her into retreat.
Sayaka Mizuhana rises with growing confidence, trying to pull the match back toward her structure.
Julian Ward: “Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana, and Serpenta Veyne could not defend.”
Brick Brody: “Good follow-up. One big move is a moment. Two starts becoming a stretch. Sayaka Mizuhana is trying to turn it into a chapter.”
Minute 16
Sayaka Mizuhana looks for another Dodonpa Crucifix Driver, but Serpenta Veyne reverses it.
She twists free, springs upward, and crashes down with a diving crossbody. Sayaka Mizuhana tries to brace, but the impact lands clean and knocks her flat.
Serpenta Veyne rolls through and rises, her eyes sharp again.
Julian Ward: “Serpenta Veyne reverses the Dodonpa Crucifix Driver and lands the diving crossbody.”
Brick Brody: “That was big. Sayaka Mizuhana went back to the well, and Serpenta Veyne was waiting inside it with teeth.”
Minute 17
Serpenta Veyne catches Sayaka Mizuhana with another Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT, spiking her near the center.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers through the damage with another German suplex, throwing Serpenta Veyne backward and forcing both women down.
The crowd rises at the exchange.
Julian Ward: “Flaming Arrow from Serpenta Veyne, German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. Both women continue to answer damage with damage.”
Brick Brody: “This is getting mean now. Nobody is escaping clean. Every move has a receipt attached.”
Minute 18
Serpenta Veyne strikes with a scorpion kick, catching Sayaka Mizuhana as she tries to step in.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers again with a German suplex, throwing her over and landing hard herself from the effort.
Both competitors take longer to rise.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick from Serpenta Veyne, German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. The exchange is even, but fatigue is starting to show.”
Brick Brody: “That is because they are not trading light shots. They are trading neck trauma and kicks to the head. Fatigue is invited.”
Minute 19
Serpenta Veyne shifts into a submission attack, clamping down with Serpent Bite, the shoulder claw digging into Sayaka Mizuhana’s upper body.
At the same time, Sayaka Mizuhana snaps her over with a Fubuki Poison Rana, but Serpenta Veyne holds enough control to strap Serpent Bite in after the impact.
Honest Abe checks closely.
Sayaka Mizuhana refuses to submit.
She reaches, twists, and survives the pressure.
Julian Ward: “Serpent Bite from Serpenta Veyne, combined with the Fubuki Poison Rana from Sayaka Mizuhana, and now the shoulder claw is fully applied.”
Brick Brody: “That is nasty. Serpenta Veyne took the throw and still kept the claw. That is commitment to pain.”
Julian Ward: “Sayaka Mizuhana does not submit.”
Brick Brody: “But the shoulder is now part of the story.”
Minute 20
Serpenta Veyne returns to Serpent Bite, digging into the shoulder again, trying to weaken the arm needed for suplex control.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with another German suplex, but the shoulder claw stays with her even as she throws.
Honest Abe checks again as Serpenta Veyne straps the hold in.
Sayaka Mizuhana refuses again, breathing hard, teeth clenched.
Julian Ward: “Again Serpent Bite, again Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the German suplex, and again she refuses submission.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart work from Serpenta Veyne. Keep attacking the shoulder. If Sayaka Mizuhana cannot lock and lift, half her offense starts dying.”
Minute 21
Serpenta Veyne changes levels and powers Sayaka Mizuhana down with a Desert Eagle Powerbomb.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers yet again with a German suplex, forcing Serpenta Veyne over even after the heavy landing.
The crowd roars at the stubbornness of both women.
Julian Ward: “Desert Eagle Powerbomb from Serpenta Veyne, German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. Neither competitor will surrender momentum.”
Brick Brody: “That powerbomb landed heavy. Sayaka Mizuhana answered, but answering after getting bombed is different from answering fresh.”
Minute 22
Serpenta Veyne finds Sayaka Mizuhana near the ropes again and lands the Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment, but this time she does not immediately answer.
She rolls to her side, one hand at her neck, the match’s accumulated DDTs and sleepers beginning to show.
Julian Ward: “Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana cannot answer immediately.”
Brick Brody: “That is what Serpenta Veyne needed. She has been getting thrown after almost everything. This time she spikes Sayaka Mizuhana and gets to breathe.”
Minute 23
Serpenta Veyne follows with another Desert Eagle Powerbomb, driving Sayaka Mizuhana down hard.
Sayaka Mizuhana fires back with a wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex, but the powerbomb lands heavier and gives Serpenta Veyne the better of the exchange.
Both women remain down longer now.
Lady Ayame Ryu opens the fan slightly, then closes it, waiting for the right moment rather than forcing one.
Julian Ward: “Desert Eagle Powerbomb from Serpenta Veyne, wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “That was a better trade for Serpenta Veyne. The powerbomb had more weight. Sayaka Mizuhana is still fighting, but she is fighting uphill now.”
Minute 24
Serpenta Veyne lands another scorpion kick.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with another German suplex.
Both moves land clean.
Both women stagger after the exchange.
The crowd begins clapping, not in celebration, but in recognition of the trial unfolding.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick and German suplex again. These two are locked into a punishing rhythm.”
Brick Brody: “And rhythm can become a trap. They know what is coming, but both are too stubborn to stop walking into it.”
Minute 25
Serpenta Veyne catches Sayaka Mizuhana with a roundhouse kick.
This time Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs it without answering.
She drops to one knee, shaking her head clear.
Serpenta Veyne watches, recognizing the opening.
The match begins to tilt.
Julian Ward: “Roundhouse kick from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana cannot respond this time.”
Brick Brody: “That is a bad sign. Earlier, every kick got a suplex back. Now the kick just lands. That tells you the tank is changing.”
Minute 26
Serpenta Veyne strikes with another roundhouse kick, targeting the same side and forcing Sayaka Mizuhana back toward the ropes.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment again, unable to fire back.
Honest Abe watches closely as Serpenta Veyne presses forward with colder confidence.
Julian Ward: “A second straight roundhouse kick from Serpenta Veyne, and again Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs it without answer.”
Brick Brody: “Now Serpenta Veyne smells it. The shoulder, the neck, the body. She has found where the damage is sticking.”
Minute 27
Serpenta Veyne changes the angle with a swinging hurricanrana, whipping Sayaka Mizuhana across the mat.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with another German suplex, summoning enough force to regain balance in the exchange.
Both women land hard, and the crowd surges again.
Julian Ward: “Swinging hurricanrana from Serpenta Veyne, German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. She finally answers again.”
Brick Brody: “That was important. Sayaka Mizuhana needed to prove she was not just taking shots. That suplex keeps her alive in the argument.”
Minute 28
Serpenta Veyne lands another Desert Eagle Powerbomb, driving Sayaka Mizuhana down with force.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex, but Serpenta Veyne keeps moving after the exchange and falls into the first serious pin attempt of the match.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Sayaka Mizuhana kicks out.
The crowd cheers, but Serpenta Veyne smiles faintly.
The pin did not end it.
It showed her something.
Julian Ward: “Desert Eagle Powerbomb from Serpenta Veyne, wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana, and Serpenta Veyne gets the first pin attempt.”
Brick Brody: “Only one, but that matters. Serpenta Veyne just tested how much fight is left. She did not get the fall, but she got information.”
Minute 29
Serpenta Veyne attacks again with a swinging hurricanrana.
Sayaka Mizuhana attempts to defend, but the move lands clean and sends her tumbling across the ring.
She reaches for the ropes, slower now.
Serpenta Veyne crawls after her, methodical and patient.
Julian Ward: “Swinging hurricanrana from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “This is where the snake style gets bad. Serpenta Veyne is not rushing. She is watching Sayaka Mizuhana slow down.”
Minute 30
Sayaka Mizuhana attempts to return to the German suplex, the move that carried her through so much of the early match.
But Serpenta Veyne neutralizes it, blocking the grip, shifting the hips, and denying the throw.
Sayaka Mizuhana tries to adjust, but the shoulder damage makes the lock weaker than before.
Julian Ward: “Sayaka Mizuhana looks for the German suplex, but Serpenta Veyne neutralizes it.”
Brick Brody: “There it is. The shoulder work paid off. That German suplex used to be automatic. Now Serpenta Veyne is shutting it down.”
Minute 31
Sayaka Mizuhana tries again.
Another German suplex attempt.
Again Serpenta Veyne neutralizes it.
The crowd murmurs as Sayaka Mizuhana backs away, visibly frustrated for the first time.
Lady Ayame Ryu remains still, but her eyes sharpen.
Julian Ward: “A second German suplex attempt neutralized by Serpenta Veyne.”
Brick Brody: “Now Sayaka Mizuhana has a problem. Her best weapon is misfiring, and Serpenta Veyne knows it.”
Minute 32
Sayaka Mizuhana changes course and lands the Dodonpa Crucifix Driver.
Serpenta Veyne attempts to defend, but the move connects and drives her down.
The crowd cheers as Sayaka Mizuhana finally breaks the defensive cycle.
She does not cover.
She needs to breathe.
Julian Ward: “Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana, and she needed that badly.”
Brick Brody: “Good adjustment. If the German is getting stuffed, go to the driver. Smart. Late, but smart.”
Minute 33
Serpenta Veyne answers with another Desert Eagle Powerbomb.
Sayaka Mizuhana lands the Dodonpa Crucifix Driver in the exchange, but Serpenta Veyne keeps enough advantage to make the cover.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Two.
Sayaka Mizuhana kicks out.
The crowd erupts.
Serpenta Veyne sits up slowly, eyes colder now. The near fall was deeper this time.
Julian Ward: “Desert Eagle Powerbomb from Serpenta Veyne, Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana, and another pin attempt from Serpenta Veyne gets two.”
Brick Brody: “That one was closer. The first pin asked a question. This one almost got the answer.”
Minute 34
Both women pause in exhaustion before Serpenta Veyne reclaims control.
She locks in Serpent Bite again, digging the shoulder claw into the already compromised upper body of Sayaka Mizuhana.
Sayaka Mizuhana attempts to defend, but cannot prevent the hold.
Honest Abe checks.
Sayaka Mizuhana refuses to submit.
She reaches, twists, and survives, but the hold drains her visibly.
Julian Ward: “Serpent Bite again from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana cannot defend it this time.”
Brick Brody: “That shoulder is in bad shape. Sayaka Mizuhana can refuse all she wants, but the hold is stealing pieces from her.”
Minute 35
Serpenta Veyne comes forward, but her next attack does not land with purpose.
Sayaka Mizuhana takes the opening and delivers a wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex, bridging through the fatigue and forcing Serpenta Veyne down.
The crowd cheers the resilience.
Serpenta Veyne rolls free before a decisive count can form.
Julian Ward: “The attack from Serpenta Veyne does not connect cleanly, and Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex.”
Brick Brody: “That was a gift. When the snake misses, you throw her. Sayaka Mizuhana did exactly that.”
Minute 36
Serpenta Veyne regains control with another bodyscissored dragon sleeper, wrapping Sayaka Mizuhana tightly and pulling back on the neck.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment, trapped in the hold.
Serpenta Veyne shifts from the pressure into a pin attempt.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Two.
Sayaka Mizuhana kicks out.
The crowd exhales.
Serpenta Veyne stays close, not wasting energy arguing.
Julian Ward: “Bodyscissored dragon sleeper from Serpenta Veyne, and she converts the pressure into another two-count.”
Brick Brody: “That is cruel work. Squeeze the air, bend the neck, then make her kick out while exhausted. That is how you make someone pay twice.”
Minute 37
Serpenta Veyne lands a scorpion kick, snapping Sayaka Mizuhana backward.
She covers again.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Sayaka Mizuhana kicks out.
The crowd cheers, but the kickout comes earlier only because Sayaka Mizuhana rolls hard to the side before the position is fully trapped.
Serpenta Veyne rises slowly, calculating.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick from Serpenta Veyne, another pin attempt, and Sayaka Mizuhana kicks out at one.”
Brick Brody: “That was survival by motion. She did not overpower the pin. She escaped the position before it settled. Smart, but desperate.”
Minute 38
Serpenta Veyne spikes Sayaka Mizuhana with the Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT again.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex, forcing Serpenta Veyne over and landing hard herself from the effort.
Both women are down.
The crowd rises and claps in rhythm.
Julian Ward: “Flaming Arrow from Serpenta Veyne, wrist clutch Northern Lights from Sayaka Mizuhana. Both women continue to trade through exhaustion.”
Brick Brody: “This is the part of a long match where technique becomes stubbornness. They know what hurts. They keep doing it anyway.”
Minute 39
Both women struggle defensively before the exchange opens again.
Serpenta Veyne lands a scorpion kick.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with a Running Three Crucifix Powerbomb, driving Serpenta Veyne down with one of her strongest attacks of the match.
The crowd erupts.
Sayaka Mizuhana cannot cover immediately, her shoulder and neck slowing the follow-up.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick from Serpenta Veyne, but Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the Running Three Crucifix Powerbomb. That may have been her best chance in several minutes.”
Brick Brody: “It was huge, but she needed the cover. The body failed the timing.”
Minute 40
Serpenta Veyne attacks with another swinging hurricanrana, sending Sayaka Mizuhana over and down.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment, unable to respond.
Serpenta Veyne covers.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Sayaka Mizuhana kicks out.
The crowd cheers again, but the kickout is labored.
Julian Ward: “Swinging hurricanrana from Serpenta Veyne, and she gets another one-count.”
Brick Brody: “The count was one, but look at Sayaka Mizuhana after the kickout. She is getting slower every time.”
Minute 41
Sayaka Mizuhana digs deep and lands another Dodonpa Crucifix Driver.
Serpenta Veyne absorbs the punishment and rolls away before Sayaka Mizuhana can secure position.
Sayaka Mizuhana pushes to her knees, breathing hard, the match now a contest of endurance as much as offense.
Julian Ward: “Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana, but Serpenta Veyne absorbs it and prevents the follow-up.”
Brick Brody: “That is the frustration. Sayaka Mizuhana lands something big, but the next step is not there.”
Minute 42
Both women slow again, caught in defensive exhaustion.
Then Sayaka Mizuhana finds another burst.
She lands the Running Three Crucifix Powerbomb, driving Serpenta Veyne down hard.
Serpenta Veyne absorbs the punishment, refusing to stay flat long enough for a clean pin.
The crowd groans as the opportunity slips.
Julian Ward: “Running Three Crucifix Powerbomb from Sayaka Mizuhana, and Serpenta Veyne absorbs it.”
Brick Brody: “That should scare Sayaka Mizuhana. She is landing big offense, and Serpenta Veyne is still not giving her the shoulders.”
Minute 43
Serpenta Veyne wraps in another bodyscissored dragon sleeper, trying to pull Sayaka Mizuhana down into the suffocating pressure.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with another Running Three Crucifix Powerbomb, powering out and driving Serpenta Veyne down again.
The crowd erupts, but Sayaka Mizuhana collapses forward instead of covering cleanly.
Julian Ward: “Bodyscissored dragon sleeper from Serpenta Veyne, answered by another Running Three Crucifix Powerbomb from Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “That was strength from somewhere deep. But she fell with it, Julian Ward. She is almost out of body.”
Minute 44
Serpenta Veyne rises first.
She catches Sayaka Mizuhana as the House of Dragon’s Veil competitor tries to stand and snaps a scorpion kick across her.
The kick lands clean.
Sayaka Mizuhana drops.
Serpenta Veyne covers immediately, hooking tight this time.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bell rings for the first fall.
The crowd reacts with shock and frustration.
Sayaka Mizuhana lies on the mat, exhausted after nearly three quarters of an hour of punishment.
Serpenta Veyne rolls away, also exhausted, but the result is hers.
Louie Linville: “The winner of the first fall… Serpenta Veyne.”
Julian Ward: “At the forty-four minute mark, Serpenta Veyne scores the first fall with the scorpion kick. What a grueling first fall.”
Brick Brody: “That was a war by itself. Forty-four minutes just to get one fall. Sayaka Mizuhana kept answering, but Serpenta Veyne kept attacking the neck, the shoulder, the breath, and finally the head.”
Julian Ward: “Both women are exhausted, but now Sayaka Mizuhana must win two straight falls to stay alive.”
Brick Brody: “That is a mountain after your legs are already gone.”
Minute 45
The second fall begins with Sayaka Mizuhana desperate to reverse the match’s direction.
She moves immediately, catching Serpenta Veyne and locking in the Wheelbarrow Dragon Sleeper.
Serpenta Veyne tries to defend, but the hold is secured.
Honest Abe checks closely.
Serpenta Veyne refuses to submit, twisting her body and clawing toward space until Sayaka Mizuhana is forced to adjust.
The crowd rallies behind Sayaka Mizuhana.
Julian Ward: “Wheelbarrow Dragon Sleeper from Sayaka Mizuhana to open the second fall. She knows she has no time to wait.”
Brick Brody: “That is exactly right. Down one fall after forty-four minutes, patience becomes a luxury. Choke her now, ask questions later.”
Minute 46
Serpenta Veyne escapes the worst of the hold and answers with a wheelbarrow DDT, spiking Sayaka Mizuhana to the mat.
Sayaka Mizuhana responds with another wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex, forcing Serpenta Veyne over despite the damage.
Both women roll apart, slow and battered.
Julian Ward: “Wheelbarrow DDT from Serpenta Veyne, wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “They are past fresh strategy now. This is instinct and pain memory. Hit the thing you know before the body quits.”
Minute 47
Serpenta Veyne lands the Flaming Arrow slingshot DDT, but Sayaka Mizuhana answers by catching her near the apron and blasting her with a superkick off the apron.
Serpenta Veyne crashes to the floor.
Honest Abe begins the count.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Serpenta Veyne makes it back into the ring at seven.
The crowd boos the survival, while Sayaka Mizuhana exhales sharply, frustrated but still focused.
Julian Ward: “Flaming Arrow from Serpenta Veyne, but Sayaka Mizuhana sends her off the apron with the superkick. Serpenta Veyne returns at seven.”
Brick Brody: “That was almost the opening Sayaka Mizuhana needed. Almost. But snakes crawl back in.”
Minute 48
Both women collide again in the center.
Serpenta Veyne lands another Desert Eagle Powerbomb.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the Fubuki Poison Rana.
Both moves land with equal force, and both women collapse from the exchange.
The crowd rises, sensing the match has become survival stripped to its bones.
Julian Ward: “Desert Eagle Powerbomb from Serpenta Veyne, Fubuki Poison Rana from Sayaka Mizuhana. Both land. Both suffer.”
Brick Brody: “That is fifty minutes of punishment talking. Nobody is blocking clean anymore. They are just making sure the other woman hurts too.”
Minute 49
The pace breaks into a defensive pause before Serpenta Veyne snaps off a swinging hurricanrana.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with the wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex, landing with enough control to make Serpenta Veyne roll away quickly.
Sayaka Mizuhana reaches for a cover but cannot secure it.
Julian Ward: “Swinging hurricanrana from Serpenta Veyne, wrist clutch Northern Lights from Sayaka Mizuhana.”
Brick Brody: “That wrist clutch keeps saving her. It gives her a way to throw even when the shoulder is half gone.”
Minute 50
Serpenta Veyne drives Sayaka Mizuhana down with another Desert Eagle Powerbomb.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with a German suplex, bringing back the move that dominated the opening phase of the match.
Both competitors land heavily.
Neither can capitalize.
Julian Ward: “Desert Eagle Powerbomb from Serpenta Veyne, German suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana. The old weapon returns.”
Brick Brody: “Late in the match, that German suplex is not as pretty. But it still works. Ugly survival still counts.”
Minute 51
Serpenta Veyne steps in with a roundhouse kick.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs it, unable to answer.
The kick lands across the body and forces her back toward the ropes.
Serpenta Veyne follows slowly, conserving energy and forcing Sayaka Mizuhana to move first.
Julian Ward: “Roundhouse kick from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs it without response.”
Brick Brody: “That is dangerous. One fall down, late in the second, and the answers are disappearing again.”
Minute 52
Sayaka Mizuhana finds another opening and lands the wrist clutch Northern Lights suplex.
Serpenta Veyne absorbs the punishment, rolling through before the bridge can fully settle.
Sayaka Mizuhana stays on her knees, one hand gripping the mat, trying to summon the next move.
Julian Ward: “Wrist clutch Northern Lights from Sayaka Mizuhana, but Serpenta Veyne absorbs it.”
Brick Brody: “Absorbing this late is huge. Serpenta Veyne does not need to dominate now. She needs to survive long enough for one more bite.”
Minute 53
Serpenta Veyne digs into the shoulder again with Serpent Bite.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the punishment, trapped in the claw.
Honest Abe checks for the submission.
Sayaka Mizuhana refuses.
She shakes her head hard, then claws toward the ropes until the position weakens.
Serpenta Veyne releases before wasting too much strength.
Julian Ward: “Serpent Bite again from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana still refuses submission.”
Brick Brody: “That shoulder has been tortured for half the match. Refusing is admirable. It is also expensive.”
Minute 54
Serpenta Veyne snaps another scorpion kick into Sayaka Mizuhana.
The strike lands clean and drops her to one knee.
Sayaka Mizuhana absorbs the blow but cannot answer.
Lady Ayame Ryu opens the fan at ringside, studying the position, expression tightening.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick from Serpenta Veyne, and Sayaka Mizuhana has no response.”
Brick Brody: “That kick won the first fall. Every time it lands now, it carries that memory with it.”
Minute 55
Serpenta Veyne looks for a wheelbarrow DDT.
Sayaka Mizuhana counters with a bridging dragon suplex attempt, but the sequence collapses under fatigue and damage.
Neither woman scores cleanly.
They tumble apart, both unable to fully impose the move.
The crowd reacts with a tense groan.
Julian Ward: “Both women attempt high-risk offense there, wheelbarrow DDT from Serpenta Veyne, bridging dragon suplex from Sayaka Mizuhana, but neither lands clean.”
Brick Brody: “That is exhaustion. The mind remembers the move. The body says no.”
Minute 56
Serpenta Veyne strikes with another scorpion kick, catching Sayaka Mizuhana high.
Sayaka Mizuhana answers with a Dodonpa Crucifix Driver, driving Serpenta Veyne down and keeping herself alive in the exchange.
Both women lie on the mat as Honest Abe checks them.
Julian Ward: “Scorpion kick from Serpenta Veyne, Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana. That answer may have saved the match for her.”
Brick Brody: “Maybe. But she needs a fall, not a moral victory. Down one fall, fifty-six minutes deep, heroic exchanges do not advance you.”
Minute 57
Serpenta Veyne launches forward with a diving crossbody.
Sayaka Mizuhana catches enough of her to spike her with another Dodonpa Crucifix Driver in the exchange.
Both moves land.
Both women stay down.
The crowd is roaring now, pulled fully into the length and brutality of the match.
Julian Ward: “Diving crossbody from Serpenta Veyne, Dodonpa Crucifix Driver from Sayaka Mizuhana. Both connect.”
Brick Brody: “This is ridiculous endurance. Sayaka Mizuhana keeps answering with that driver, but she cannot get the fall. That is torture.”
Minute 58
Serpenta Veyne rises first.
She sees Sayaka Mizuhana struggling to stand.
She launches into another diving crossbody, crashing into Sayaka Mizuhana and driving her down.
At ringside, Lady Ayame Ryu opens her fan.
The signal is strange.
Celestial Balance.
The motion draws Honest Abe’s eye for one crucial moment.
A mesmerizing flicker.
A pause in the official’s attention that seems meant to restore order, to balance chaos, to give Sayaka Mizuhana one breath.
But the timing betrays her.
Serpenta Veyne hooks the leg.
Honest Abe turns back and drops.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bell rings.
The arena reacts in stunned disbelief.
Serpenta Veyne rolls away from the cover, exhausted, one arm raised from the mat.
Sayaka Mizuhana lies still, the second fall gone before she can force the match deeper.
Lady Ayame Ryu lowers the fan slowly.
Her expression changes.
Not panic.
Not anger.
A quiet realization that the moment meant to steady the match may have failed to save her protege.
Louie Linville waits for confirmation from Honest Abe, then raises the microphone.
Louie Linville: “Here is your winner… advancing in the Aurora Title Tournament… Serpenta Veyne.”
The crowd boos, though some rise in respect for the match itself.
Serpenta Veyne pulls herself up with the ropes, exhausted but victorious.
Sayaka Mizuhana remains on the mat as Lady Ayame Ryu enters the ring to check on her.
Julian Ward: “After fifty-eight minutes, Serpenta Veyne defeats Sayaka Mizuhana two falls to none. The first fall came at the forty-four minute mark after the scorpion kick. The second comes after a diving crossbody.”
Brick Brody: “That was brutal. Sayaka Mizuhana fought like a warrior, but Serpenta Veyne made this match about survival, shoulder damage, neck damage, and slow suffocation. Fifty-eight minutes, and the snake still had enough left to fall across her.”
Julian Ward: “We must also acknowledge the final moment. Lady Ayame Ryu appeared to use Celestial Balance, perhaps trying to alter the rhythm or steady the moment, but Serpenta Veyne still secured the fall.”
Brick Brody: “That is the cruel part. Sometimes guidance comes too late. Sometimes the fan opens, and the match is already gone.”
Julian Ward: “Sayaka Mizuhana represented House of Dragon’s Veil with extraordinary endurance. German suplexes, Dodonpa Crucifix Drivers, wrist clutch Northern Lights suplexes, and repeated refusal to submit. But Serpenta Veyne would not release the pressure.”
Brick Brody: “And the bracket does not care how brave Sayaka Mizuhana was. Serpenta Veyne advances. That is the cold truth.”
In the ring, Lady Ayame Ryu kneels beside Sayaka Mizuhana.
Sayaka Mizuhana slowly sits up with assistance, one hand gripping her shoulder.
The crowd begins to applaud.
Not celebration.
Recognition.
Serpenta Veyne watches from the ropes, breathing heavily, eyes still dangerous despite exhaustion.
She does not offer respect.
She offers only survival made visible.
The tournament graphic appears on the screen.
SERPENTA VEYNE ADVANCES
Julian Ward: “The Aurora Title Tournament has now seen Rosalyn Queen of Thorns and Serpenta Veyne advance. Two opening-round matches. Two outcomes that demanded suffering.”
Brick Brody: “That title is being born the right way. Through exhaustion, bad decisions, pain, and women who refuse to quit until the bell forces them to.”
Julian Ward: “For Sayaka Mizuhana, this defeat will hurt. Not only because of the loss, but because of how long she fought before the result became final.”
Brick Brody: “That kind of loss follows you. Fifty-eight minutes and still down two falls to none? That is not just losing. That is being dragged through every reason you thought you could win.”
Lady Ayame Ryu helps Sayaka Mizuhana stand.
The crowd applauds louder.
Sayaka Mizuhana steadies herself, refusing to be carried.
Serpenta Veyne exits the ring slowly, still clutching at her ribs and neck, but with advancement secured.
She walks up the ramp under the aurora lights.
Victorious.
Exhausted.
Unapologetic.
Julian Ward: “A staggering tournament match here on Dark Fable. Serpenta Veyne advances, and the Aurora Title Tournament becomes even more dangerous.”
Brick Brody: “Dangerous is the point. Pretty lights above the bracket. Ugly work underneath.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, Serpenta Veyne survives the long trial and moves forward.”
SERPENTA VEYNE DEFEATED SAYAKA MIZUHANA TWO FALLS TO NONE TO ADVANCE IN THE AURORA TITLE TOURNAMENT.
FIRST FALL: SERPENTA VEYNE PINNED SAYAKA MIZUHANA AFTER A SCORPION KICK AT THE FORTY-FOUR MINUTE MARK.
SECOND FALL: SERPENTA VEYNE PINNED SAYAKA MIZUHANA AFTER A DIVING CROSSBODY AT THE FIFTY-EIGHT MINUTE MARK.
The broadcast returns from the exhausting aftermath of the Aurora Title Tournament match.
The image of Serpenta Veyne advancing still lingers on the arena screen.
Sayaka Mizuhana fought for nearly an hour.
Lady Ayame Ryu stood beside her at the end.
But the bracket moved on without mercy.
The camera cuts backstage.
A stone corridor inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum is lit by low torchlight and deep shadow. The walls seem older here. Colder. The kind of corridor built not for movement, but for waiting.
The Dark Fable interview backdrop stands in place.
Hana Nakamura stands center frame, microphone in hand, posture professional but visibly aware of the danger around her.
She is not alone.
Beside her stands Mordred.
Behind him, the Broken Crown has gathered.
Myrrden the Hollow stands slightly behind Mordred’s right shoulder, cloaked in darkness, both hands resting over the top of his staff. His face is calm in the way old poison is calm.
Morgana Le Faye stands near him, elegant and cold, her expression still carrying the bitter weight of recent failures and interference not entirely of her choosing.
Black Knight stands farther back.
He looks changed.
More sinister.
His long black hair hangs around a dark angular mask, the faceplate hiding everything but his eyes. His upper body is bare, powerful, and marked by a sword tattoo down one arm, while black and deep violet gear covers him from the waist down in sharp, armored segments. Matching bracers wrap his forearms, and heavy black boots anchor him like something built to stand over fallen men.
There is no bright heraldry on him now.
No noble polish.
No illusion of chivalry.
He does not look like a knight waiting for orders.
He looks like the blade Mordred sends when words are finished.
Beside him stands Sir Agravaine, rigid and severe, hands clasped behind his back, his expression full of judgment without mercy.
At the rear, the Dread Knights stand side by side.
Silent.
Armored.
Still as tomb doors.
The arena boos immediately.
Hana Nakamura raises the microphone.
Hana Nakamura: “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my guests at this time… Mordred and the Broken Crown.”
The boos grow louder through the walls.
Mordred smiles faintly.
He lets the reaction breathe.
Then he looks toward Hana Nakamura.
Hana Nakamura: “Mordred, last week during King Arthur’s coronation, you interrupted the new Mythic Crown Champion and called him unworthy. You called him a false king. Tonight, after Frankenstein’s Monster defeated Sir Lancelot, the pressure around Camelot continues to grow. What is your message now?”
Mordred turns slowly toward the camera.
His smile disappears.
Mordred: “My message has not changed.”
A pause.
Mordred: “Only the evidence has grown.”
The crowd boos.
Mordred: “One week ago, King Arthur sat upon a throne in the center of the ring and called it symbolism. He lifted the Mythic Crown Championship and called it restoration. He allowed trumpets, banners, knights, and an old wizard to dress ambition in noble clothing.”
His eyes sharpen.
Mordred: “But a throne does not make a man worthy.”
Myrrden the Hollow tilts his head slightly, pleased by the words.
Mordred: “A crown does not cleanse pride.”
He steps closer to the camera.
Mordred: “And victory over a monster does not turn a frightened man into a rightful king.”
The arena reacts with another wave of boos.
Hana Nakamura: “King Arthur did defeat Ledger Knight last week. He submitted him in the center of the ring.”
Mordred turns toward her with cold amusement.
Mordred: “Yes.”
He lets the word hang.
Mordred: “And afterward, what did he do?”
Hana Nakamura does not answer.
Mordred: “He looked toward the screen.”
A faint smile returns.
Mordred: “Not toward his people. Not toward his knights. Not toward the crown he claims to carry with such sacred duty.”
He points lightly toward himself.
Mordred: “Toward me.”
The crowd boos louder.
Mordred: “Because he heard truth last week, Hana Nakamura. He heard it cut through the fanfare. He heard it beneath the roar of his own name. He heard it in the silence after the trumpets died.”
Myrrden the Hollow: “A false king hears accusation as prophecy.”
Morgana Le Faye smiles coldly.
Mordred: “King Arthur may hold the Mythic Crown Championship, but he does not possess legitimacy. Not while I stand.”
Hana Nakamura: “So this is a challenge?”
Mordred turns fully to the camera.
Mordred: “No.”
The answer lands strangely.
Mordred: “A challenge implies uncertainty.”
A beat.
Mordred: “This is a claim.”
The corridor seems to grow quieter.
Mordred: “At Ashes of Empire, King Arthur will bring the Mythic Crown Championship. He will bring Merlin. He will bring The Roundtable. He will bring every song and every lie that has ever taught the weak to kneel before a pretty myth.”
He steps forward again.
Mordred: “And I will bring the truth.”
Sir Agravaine lifts his chin.
Black Knight remains still, eyes locked ahead.
The Dread Knights do not move.
Mordred: “I challenge King Arthur for the Mythic Crown Championship at Ashes of Empire.”
The crowd erupts from inside the arena.
Boos.
Cheers.
Shock.
Anticipation.
Mordred does not raise his voice.
He does not need to.
Mordred: “Let the empire burn around him. Let the crown sit heavy on his head. Let all of Camelot stand witness.”
His voice lowers.
Mordred: “I will take from him what he believes destiny promised.”
A sudden cheer rises from the arena.
The camera shifts.
King Arthur steps into frame.
The reaction from the crowd is immediate and thunderous.
King Arthur wears his royal blue and silver gear beneath a dark cloak, the Mythic Crown Championship secured around his waist. His expression is controlled, but not calm.
Behind him stands Merlin, staff in hand, eyes fixed on Myrrden the Hollow.
The corridor tightens with the arrival.
The Broken Crown shifts almost imperceptibly.
Sir Agravaine steps forward half a pace.
Black Knight turns his head slightly toward King Arthur.
The Dread Knights remain still.
Hana Nakamura backs slightly out of the center, keeping the microphone between the two sides.
King Arthur: “You speak of legitimacy as though venom gives you authority.”
Mordred smiles.
Mordred: “And you speak of authority as though applause makes it law.”
King Arthur steps closer.
Merlin remains just behind him.
King Arthur: “Last week, you hid behind a screen.”
Mordred: “Last week, I needed only words to reach you.”
That lands.
King Arthur’s jaw tightens.
Merlin places one hand lightly on his staff, watching.
Mordred: “There it is again. The wound beneath the crown.”
King Arthur: “You want the Mythic Crown Championship?”
Mordred: “I want what was never yours to hold.”
King Arthur: “Then you shall have your chance.”
The crowd erupts.
Hana Nakamura looks between them, eyes wide at the confirmation.
King Arthur looks directly into Mordred’s eyes.
King Arthur: “At Ashes of Empire, I accept.”
The coliseum explodes.
Myrrden the Hollow smiles faintly.
Morgana Le Faye turns her eyes toward the championship.
Black Knight remains motionless, but his stare sharpens.
Sir Agravaine looks almost satisfied, as though judgment has been scheduled.
Mordred: “So easily led.”
King Arthur’s eyes narrow.
Mordred: “A few words. A slight turn of the blade. A question placed beneath your pride. And the king gives me exactly what I came for.”
King Arthur: “Do not mistake acceptance for weakness.”
Mordred: “I mistake nothing.”
He steps closer.
The two men stand nearly face to face now.
Mordred: “That is your burden. Not mine.”
Merlin speaks, voice low and grave.
Merlin: “Careful, Mordred. Men who believe themselves immune to consequence usually meet it wearing a smile.”
Myrrden the Hollow answers without moving.
Myrrden the Hollow: “And men who mistake manipulation for wisdom often call consequence by another name.”
The old enemies stare across the corridor.
Torchlight flickers between them.
Hana Nakamura keeps her voice steady, though the tension is clear.
Hana Nakamura: “King Arthur, before Ashes of Empire, we understand there is also official news for next week.”
King Arthur does not take his eyes off Mordred at first.
Then he turns slightly, addressing the camera while keeping the Broken Crown in view.
King Arthur: “Next week, Sir Agravaine will stand across from me.”
Sir Agravaine steps forward now, severe and composed.
Sir Agravaine: “And I will expose the weakness your knights hide beneath ceremony.”
King Arthur looks at him.
King Arthur: “You will try.”
Sir Agravaine: “No, Arthur. I will judge.”
King Arthur: “Judgment belongs to the crown.”
Mordred laughs softly.
Mordred: “Listen to him. Already speaking as though the belt has made him law.”
King Arthur turns back to Mordred.
King Arthur: “Next week, I defeat Sir Agravaine.”
He taps the faceplate of the Mythic Crown Championship.
King Arthur: “Then at Ashes of Empire, I defeat you.”
The crowd cheers loudly.
Mordred steps close enough that the words are almost whispered.
Mordred: “No, Arthur.”
A pause.
Mordred: “Next week, Sir Agravaine wounds your certainty.”
His eyes move to the championship.
Mordred: “At Ashes of Empire, I take your crown.”
King Arthur: “You can threaten the crown.”
He steps even closer.
King Arthur: “But you cannot carry what you were never worthy to claim.”
The Dread Knights shift.
Black Knight takes one slow step forward, his new armor scraping softly.
The sound is small.
The threat is not.
Merlin raises his staff slightly.
Myrrden the Hollow lowers his own.
For one moment, the corridor feels one breath away from war.
Hana Nakamura: “Gentlemen…”
Her voice is careful but urgent.
Morgana Le Faye speaks for the first time, calm and cutting.
Morgana Le Faye: “Let him keep his breath, Mordred. Kings speak most beautifully before they fall.”
King Arthur glances at Morgana Le Faye, then back to Mordred.
King Arthur: “Gather your shadows. Bring your broken knights. Bring every whisper Myrrden the Hollow can place in your ear.”
A beat.
King Arthur: “At Ashes of Empire, Camelot will stand.”
Mordred: “No.”
His voice is quiet.
Certain.
Mordred: “At Ashes of Empire, Camelot will remember what it was built to hide.”
The two men remain locked in place.
Neither backs down.
The crowd roars through the walls.
Finally, King Arthur turns first.
Not retreat.
Refusal to be pulled further.
Merlin follows beside him, but his eyes remain on Myrrden the Hollow until the last possible moment.
Mordred watches King Arthur leave.
The smile returns slowly.
Not triumphant.
Not rushed.
Patient.
Hana Nakamura looks toward Mordred, microphone still raised.
Hana Nakamura: “Mordred, the challenge is accepted. At Ashes of Empire, you face King Arthur for the Mythic Crown Championship. Next week, King Arthur faces Sir Agravaine in a non-title match. Your final response?”
Mordred looks back toward the camera.
Mordred: “The throne has accepted him.”
A pause.
Mordred: “Now the fire will test what it awakened.”
The camera holds on the Broken Crown.
Myrrden the Hollow in shadow.
Morgana Le Faye cold and watchful.
Black Knight darker than before.
Sir Agravaine waiting with judgment in his eyes.
The Dread Knights silent behind them.
And Mordred, smiling as though the future has already confessed.
The feed cuts back to ringside.
Julian Ward: “It is official. At Ashes of Empire, King Arthur will defend the Mythic Crown Championship against Mordred.”
Brick Brody: “And Mordred got exactly what he wanted. That is the part King Arthur needs to think about. He accepted like a champion, sure. But he also accepted while Mordred was pulling the strings.”
Julian Ward: “Next week, King Arthur meets Sir Agravaine in a non-title match. A dangerous stop on the road to one of the most personal championship matches this division has seen.”
Brick Brody: “That is not a stop. That is a trap with a bell. Sir Agravaine does not have to beat King Arthur to help Mordred. He just has to damage something important.”
Julian Ward: “The Mythic Crown Championship now has its path to Ashes of Empire.”
Brick Brody: “And every crown casts a shadow. Mordred is standing right in it.”
The screen fades on the official graphic.
ASHES OF EMPIRE
MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP
KING ARTHUR VS MORDRED
The broadcast returns from the official image still burning across the screen.
ASHES OF EMPIRE
MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP
KING ARTHUR VS MORDRED
The crowd inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum is still reacting.
The road has narrowed.
The crown has a challenger.
But the night does not pause for consequence.
The arena lights dim.
The torches gutter low against the stone walls.
A cold black and violet light spreads across the entrance stage.
The match graphic appears.
SINBAD VS BLACK KNIGHT
A deeper image sits beneath the names.
Sinbad, no longer champion, no longer carrying the Eternal Flame Championship, but standing with new purpose.
Black Knight, darker than before, masked and stripped of noble pretense, standing beneath the shadow of the Broken Crown.
Julian Ward: “We move now to a match that has already taken on added meaning. Earlier tonight, Alton Bell announced that next week Sinbad will challenge Ghost of Christmas Past for the Universal Championship.”
Brick Brody: “Which means this match just became a test Sinbad cannot afford to fail. You do not tell the Universal Champion to watch what happens to Black Knight, then go out and get folded by Black Knight.”
Julian Ward: “But Black Knight enters tonight changed. We saw him moments ago with Mordred and the Broken Crown, and his new presence feels more sinister, more direct.”
Brick Brody: “He does not look like a knight anymore. He looks like the weapon they send when talking gets boring.”
The lights fall almost completely.
A low horn sounds.
Not royal.
Funeral-dark.
The entrance screen fills with black steel, violet smoke, and the cracked sigil of the Broken Crown.
Myrrden the Hollow steps onto the stage first.
The boos come immediately.
He moves slowly, hooded and ancient in presence, both hands folded over the top of his staff. He pauses at the top of the ramp as if listening to something no one else can hear.
Then Black Knight emerges behind him.
The reaction grows louder.
He looks changed.
More sinister.
His long black hair falls around a dark angular mask, the faceplate hiding everything but his eyes. His upper body is bare, powerful, and marked by a sword tattoo down one arm. Black and deep violet gear covers him from the waist down in sharp armored segments, with matching bracers wrapping his forearms and heavy black boots anchoring him like something built to stand over fallen men.
No bright heraldry.
No noble polish.
No illusion of chivalry.
He does not look like a knight waiting for orders.
He looks like the blade Mordred sends when words are finished.
Julian Ward: “There is Black Knight, accompanied by Myrrden the Hollow. The presentation has changed, but the danger remains. Perhaps it has sharpened.”
Brick Brody: “Look at him. Mask, violet-black gear, bare upper body, sword tattoo. That is not pageantry. That is intimidation with better tailoring.”
Black Knight walks behind Myrrden the Hollow with slow, deliberate steps.
He does not look at the crowd.
He does not acknowledge the boos.
His eyes remain fixed on the ring.
At ringside, Myrrden the Hollow stops near the corner and turns toward the entrance stage.
Black Knight enters the ring and stands motionless in the center, shoulders squared, head slightly lowered beneath the mask.
The lights shift.
The black and violet dim into deep sea-green and burnished gold.
The sound of waves crashes beneath the arena’s stone silence.
Then a drumbeat begins.
Steady.
Defiant.
The crowd rises.
Sinbad steps onto the stage.
The cheers are strong.
He stands in his new gear, darker sea-green and gold trimmed with black, his shorter hair changing the shape of his silhouette. There is no championship over his shoulder now. No flame in his hands. No gold to announce him before he speaks.
Only the man.
The fighter.
The one who lost the Eternal Flame Championship and refused to let the loss become his grave.
Julian Ward: “And there is Sinbad. A new look, a different bearing, and perhaps a different burden. He said earlier tonight the title was proof, not source. He said the fire did not end because Cheshire Cat took the belt.”
Brick Brody: “Beautiful words. Now comes the ugly part. Black Knight is going to test whether that fire still burns when somebody kicks him in the teeth.”
Sinbad walks down the ramp with measured focus.
At ringside, Myrrden the Hollow watches him with quiet interest.
Sinbad does not look at Myrrden the Hollow long.
He climbs the steps and enters the ring.
He stands across from Black Knight.
No title.
No smile.
No wasted movement.
Honest Abe steps between them.
Louie Linville moves to center ring, microphone in hand.
Louie Linville: “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall.”
The crowd reacts.
Louie Linville: “Introducing first, accompanied to the ring by Myrrden the Hollow… a blade beneath a broken crown, masked in shadow, sharpened in silence, and sent where mercy has no authority… Black Knight.”
The boos rise.
Black Knight does not move.
Myrrden the Hollow lowers his head faintly.
Louie Linville: “And his opponent… voyager, survivor, former Eternal Flame Champion, and the man who next week challenges for the Universal Championship… Sinbad.”
The crowd erupts.
Sinbad steps forward, eyes locked on Black Knight.
Honest Abe checks both competitors.
He turns toward Myrrden the Hollow and points toward the floor.
A warning.
Myrrden the Hollow only smiles faintly.
The bell rings.
Minute 1
Black Knight moves first, and there is no ceremony in it.
He closes distance with sudden violence and drives through Sinbad with a rolling clothesline. The shot catches Sinbad high and heavy, knocking him down before he can establish rhythm.
Sinbad absorbs the punishment and rolls toward one knee, already forced to defend in the opening minute.
Black Knight stands over him, masked face angled downward, no expression visible beyond the cold focus in his eyes.
Julian Ward: “Immediate rolling clothesline from Black Knight, and Sinbad is put on the defensive early.”
Brick Brody: “That is how you start against a man with something to prove. Hit him before he gets poetic.”
Julian Ward: “Sinbad said earlier tonight he is continuing without the visible proof of the title. Black Knight is testing that resolve immediately.”
Brick Brody: “Resolve is nice. Clotheslines ask better questions.”
Minute 2
Black Knight climbs quickly, showing unsettling agility for a man carrying that much menace.
He springs from the ropes and crashes down with a springboard 450 splash.
Sinbad tries to defend, but the impact lands clean across his body.
The crowd groans as Sinbad rolls to his side, one arm crossing his midsection.
At ringside, Myrrden the Hollow remains still, watching the former champion absorb the punishment.
Julian Ward: “Springboard 450 splash from Black Knight, and Sinbad could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is the new look coming with new danger. Black Knight is not just standing there looking sinister. He is flying and landing like a weapon.”
Julian Ward: “This is a dangerous start for Sinbad, especially with the Universal Championship opportunity waiting next week.”
Brick Brody: “Next week does not matter if tonight breaks you.”
Minute 3
Sinbad finally creates space.
He rises as Black Knight comes in and twists through with a discus back elbow, catching Black Knight clean across the jaw and forcing him backward.
Black Knight attempts to defend, but the strike lands through the guard.
The crowd cheers as Sinbad straightens, breathing harder but back in the fight.
Black Knight touches the side of his mask briefly, then lowers his hand.
Julian Ward: “Discus back elbow from Sinbad, and that is his first clean answer of the match.”
Brick Brody: “Good shot. He needed that. Black Knight was starting to make this look like an execution, and Sinbad just put an elbow through the sentence.”
Julian Ward: “The former Eternal Flame Champion has to build from here.”
Brick Brody: “Exactly. One elbow is not a comeback. It is permission to start one.”
Minute 4
Sinbad pushes forward with a double knee strike, driving both knees into Black Knight and forcing him back a step.
But Black Knight answers with a superkick, snapping the strike up and catching Sinbad before he can reset.
The exchange rattles both men.
Sinbad lands heavier.
Black Knight lands sharper.
They separate with the crowd buzzing.
Julian Ward: “Double knee strike from Sinbad, superkick from Black Knight. Both men connect.”
Brick Brody: “That was a nasty trade. Sinbad hit with force, Black Knight hit with precision. Nobody got away clean.”
Julian Ward: “The pace has shifted from domination to collision.”
Brick Brody: “Good. Collision tells the truth faster.”
Minute 5
Sinbad circles and lands another discus back elbow, catching Black Knight as he steps in.
But Black Knight absorbs enough to move immediately to the ropes, springing into another 450 splash. He crashes down across Sinbad, turning the exchange back toward damage to the body.
Sinbad grimaces and rolls toward the ropes.
Black Knight rises slowly, the mask giving nothing away.
Julian Ward: “Another discus back elbow from Sinbad, but Black Knight answers with the springboard 450 splash.”
Brick Brody: “That is bad news for Sinbad. He is landing good strikes, but Black Knight keeps putting body weight on him from the sky.”
Julian Ward: “The ribs and torso of Sinbad were targeted heavily last week by Cheshire Cat.”
Brick Brody: “And Black Knight is smart enough to keep reading last week’s bruises.”
Minute 6
Both men slow.
They circle defensively, neither fully committing at first.
A second pause follows, tension tightening as Honest Abe watches closely.
Then Sinbad breaks the stillness.
He catches Black Knight in motion and spikes him with an inverted tornado DDT.
Black Knight absorbs the punishment and rolls through the impact, but the move gives Sinbad the first real chance to control distance.
The crowd cheers.
Julian Ward: “After a defensive reset, Sinbad lands the inverted tornado DDT.”
Brick Brody: “That was important. He needed something that put Black Knight down without taking another flying body across the ribs.”
Julian Ward: “Black Knight absorbs it, but Sinbad has interrupted the rhythm.”
Brick Brody: “Now he has to keep it interrupted. Do not let the masked man get airborne again.”
Minute 7
Sinbad steps in with a short arm lariat, dragging Black Knight into the strike and turning him sideways.
But Black Knight answers with Knight’s Fall, the Styles Clash driving Sinbad down with vicious control.
The crowd reacts sharply.
Sinbad hits hard and rolls onto his side.
Black Knight rises to one knee, the impact of the lariat still showing, but the exchange clearly favors him.
Julian Ward: “Short arm lariat from Sinbad, but Black Knight answers with Knight’s Fall.”
Brick Brody: “That was ugly. Sinbad pulled him in for the lariat and got planted for his trouble.”
Julian Ward: “The Knight’s Fall may be the heaviest move of this match so far.”
Brick Brody: “And it landed on a man who already got splashed twice. That matters.”
Minute 8
Black Knight goes back to the air.
He springs again and crashes down with another springboard 450 splash.
This time Sinbad absorbs the full punishment, unable to move out of the way.
The impact drives the air out of him.
Black Knight does not cover immediately.
He stands over Sinbad, allowing the damage to breathe.
At ringside, Myrrden the Hollow watches silently, almost approving.
Julian Ward: “Another springboard 450 splash from Black Knight. He is repeatedly attacking the body of Sinbad.”
Brick Brody: “That is the smart plan. Do not fight the speech. Fight the lungs. You cannot challenge ghosts next week if you cannot breathe tonight.”
Julian Ward: “The absence of the cover is interesting.”
Brick Brody: “Or arrogant. Sometimes men in masks start enjoying the damage too much.”
Minute 9
The match slows again into a defensive hesitation.
Sinbad tries to recover near the ropes, but Black Knight steps in and snaps another superkick through his guard.
Sinbad attempts to defend, but the kick lands clean enough to stagger him.
He drops to one knee, shaking his head.
Black Knight remains cold and precise, giving no sign of urgency.
Julian Ward: “Superkick from Black Knight, and Sinbad could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is the danger when your body is hurt. Your guard slows. Your reaction slows. Then a boot gets there before your hands do.”
Julian Ward: “Sinbad is in trouble.”
Brick Brody: “He is. And Myrrden the Hollow has not even had to do anything yet.”
Minute 10
Black Knight shifts to suplex control.
He locks Sinbad from behind and throws him with a German suplex, driving him across the shoulders.
Sinbad absorbs the punishment but lands heavily.
Black Knight covers.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Sinbad kicks out.
The crowd cheers the escape, but the kickout costs energy.
Black Knight sits up without visible frustration.
Julian Ward: “German suplex from Black Knight, and the first pin attempt only gets one.”
Brick Brody: “Only one, but do not dismiss it. That was a test pin. Black Knight wanted to see how much force was left in the kickout.”
Julian Ward: “Sinbad survives, but the accumulation is clear.”
Brick Brody: “Survival keeps showing up in his matches. Eventually survival needs to turn into winning.”
Minute 11
Sinbad answers with urgency.
He gets to his feet before Black Knight can fully reset and cracks him with a running head kick.
Black Knight attempts to defend, but the kick lands clean and sends him backward.
The crowd rises as Sinbad finally forces the masked man to retreat.
Sinbad remains standing, jaw tight, body hurting, but eyes alive.
Julian Ward: “Running head kick from Sinbad, and that lands clean.”
Brick Brody: “Good. That is the kind of shot that tells Black Knight this is not target practice.”
Julian Ward: “Sinbad needs to sustain this offense.”
Brick Brody: “Yes, and he needs to do it without spending the body he needs next week.”
Minute 12
Sinbad goes back to the running head kick, striking again with speed and force.
But Black Knight absorbs enough to catch the next movement and drive Sinbad down with another Knight’s Fall.
The Styles Clash lands with punishing impact.
The crowd groans as Sinbad rolls away, stunned.
Black Knight rises slowly, shoulders moving with heavy breath beneath the mask.
Julian Ward: “Another running head kick from Sinbad, but Black Knight answers with Knight’s Fall for the second time.”
Brick Brody: “That is a brutal answer. Sinbad hits the kick, starts to move, and then gets planted again. That kills momentum.”
Julian Ward: “Black Knight continues to find major counters.”
Brick Brody: “That is what makes him dangerous now. He is not just sinister looking. He is calculating where to bury the comeback.”
Minute 13
Sinbad changes strategy.
He catches Black Knight’s arm and drops into a cross armbreaker, trying to attack the limb and remove some of the explosive offense.
Black Knight reacts with violence, rolling through and blasting Sinbad with a rolling clothesline during the scramble.
Both moves leave a mark.
Sinbad still manages to strap in the cross armbreaker, extending the arm and forcing Black Knight to fight the submission.
Honest Abe checks closely.
Black Knight does not submit.
He twists, shifts his weight, and survives.
Julian Ward: “Cross armbreaker from Sinbad, rolling clothesline from Black Knight, and Sinbad still manages to secure the submission.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart from Sinbad. The body is hurt, so go after an arm. Make Black Knight fight with one less weapon.”
Julian Ward: “Black Knight refuses to submit.”
Brick Brody: “First time, no. But that arm just became important.”
Minute 14
Sinbad keeps the pressure on after the hold breaks.
He drags Black Knight in and strikes with a short arm lariat, snapping him down and forcing him to absorb the impact.
Black Knight does not answer immediately this time.
The crowd cheers as Sinbad begins to pull the match toward his own rhythm.
Myrrden the Hollow shifts slightly at ringside, the first sign of concern in his stillness.
Julian Ward: “Short arm lariat from Sinbad, and Black Knight absorbs the punishment without an immediate answer.”
Brick Brody: “That is the first time in a while Sinbad got to hit and breathe afterward.”
Julian Ward: “The cross armbreaker may have slowed Black Knight just enough.”
Brick Brody: “That is why submissions matter even when they do not finish. They change the next exchange.”
Minute 15
Black Knight powers back in.
He catches Sinbad, lifts, and drives him down with a powerbomb.
Sinbad attempts to defend, but cannot stop the impact.
The move lands heavily, and the crowd groans as Sinbad folds on the mat.
Black Knight steps back, shaking out the arm that had been attacked.
Myrrden the Hollow watches, expression unreadable again.
Julian Ward: “Powerbomb from Black Knight, and Sinbad could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That was raw strength through a damaged arm. Bad sign for Sinbad if he thought the limb work solved the whole problem.”
Julian Ward: “But Black Knight did shake that arm out afterward.”
Brick Brody: “Yes. The damage is there. The question is whether Sinbad lives long enough to use it.”
Minute 16
Sinbad rises into another exchange and catches Black Knight with the inverted tornado DDT again, spiking him into the canvas.
But Black Knight answers by powering through and delivering another powerbomb, driving Sinbad back down.
Both men land hard from the sequence.
Sinbad’s offense connects, but Black Knight’s power keeps cutting the comeback short.
Julian Ward: “Inverted tornado DDT from Sinbad, powerbomb from Black Knight. Both men land significant offense.”
Brick Brody: “That is a bad trade for a hurt man. Sinbad got the DDT, but taking a powerbomb after it means he cannot build the bridge to control.”
Julian Ward: “The match remains dangerously balanced.”
Brick Brody: “Balanced like a knife on a finger.”
Minute 17
Sinbad catches Black Knight with an inverted facelock backbreaker, driving him across the knee and finally targeting the body in return.
Black Knight answers with an Asai moonsault into a DDT, flipping through and spiking Sinbad with sudden, sinister precision.
The crowd erupts at the exchange.
Both men are down.
Black Knight rolls toward one side, clutching at the midsection from the backbreaker.
Sinbad lies flat, feeling the DDT.
Julian Ward: “Inverted facelock backbreaker from Sinbad, but Black Knight answers with an Asai moonsault into a DDT. That was extraordinary and vicious.”
Brick Brody: “That was beautiful in the worst way. Black Knight got hurt, flipped, and turned the landing into Sinbad’s problem.”
Julian Ward: “Both men are showing damage now.”
Brick Brody: “Good. Now we find out who can think while cracked.”
Minute 18
Sinbad rises slowly.
So does Black Knight.
The crowd builds around them.
Sinbad steps in, catches the arm again, and drops immediately into the cross armbreaker.
Black Knight tries to answer with a superkick in the motion, snapping the leg through and catching part of Sinbad before the hold fully locks.
But Sinbad does not release.
He turns his hips.
He extends the arm.
He straps in the cross armbreaker fully.
Black Knight reaches toward the ropes.
The damaged arm is trapped.
Honest Abe drops beside him.
Myrrden the Hollow steps closer at ringside, eyes narrowing.
Sinbad pulls back harder.
Black Knight fights.
For one long second, the masked man holds on.
Then he taps.
The bell rings.
The crowd erupts.
Sinbad releases the hold and rolls away, clutching his own body from the punishment he endured.
Black Knight pulls his arm in close, turning to one knee, the mask hiding his expression but not the defeat.
Louie Linville: “Here is your winner… Sinbad.”
The crowd roars again.
Honest Abe raises Sinbad’s hand.
Sinbad stands slowly, battered but upright.
At ringside, Myrrden the Hollow remains still, but the stillness has changed.
It is colder now.
Julian Ward: “Sinbad has defeated Black Knight by submission with the cross armbreaker. Earlier tonight, he promised Ghost of Christmas Past and Fenwick Grimbough that this match would show what awaits the Universal Champion next week.”
Brick Brody: “And he delivered. He got splashed, kicked, planted with Knight’s Fall twice, powerbombed, spiked by that Asai moonsault DDT, and still found the arm. That is a statement.”
Julian Ward: “The first cross armbreaker in minute thirteen did not finish Black Knight, but it clearly established the target. The second one ended the match.”
Brick Brody: “That is good strategy from a man people were calling a loser earlier. Pick the limb, remember the limb, break the limb. That is how you answer insult.”
Sinbad steps toward the ropes, breathing hard.
He looks into the nearest camera.
No smile.
No celebration beyond survival.
Just purpose.
Sinbad: “Next week.”
The crowd cheers.
He does not say the champion’s name.
He does not need to.
Myrrden the Hollow helps Black Knight stand near the ropes. The masked man pulls his arm close against his body, furious behind the faceplate.
Myrrden the Hollow looks not at Sinbad, but through him, as though measuring what this victory means for the Broken Crown and what it may mean for next week’s Universal Championship match.
Julian Ward: “For Black Knight, this is a setback on a night when the Broken Crown had just secured Mordred’s title challenge at Ashes of Empire.”
Brick Brody: “And it happened right after the new look, too. That stings. You show up looking like a nightmare, then get your arm stretched by a man who lost his title last week.”
Julian Ward: “But for Sinbad, this is the first victory after losing the Eternal Flame Championship, and it sends him directly toward Ghost of Christmas Past.”
Brick Brody: “He needed this badly. Not for the rankings. For the mind. You lose a title, you change your look, everybody asks what is left. Tonight, Sinbad answered with a submission win.”
Sinbad exits the ring slowly, one hand at his ribs, but walking under his own power.
The crowd continues to cheer.
At the top of the ramp, he turns once more toward the ring.
Black Knight stands beside Myrrden the Hollow, arm damaged, eyes burning from behind the mask.
Sinbad points toward him.
Then he points upward.
Toward the idea of the Universal Championship.
Toward next week.
The message is clear.
Julian Ward: “Sinbad survives Black Knight and now moves one week away from challenging Ghost of Christmas Past for the Universal Championship.”
Brick Brody: “Survives and wins. That second part matters. The ghost watched, or he better have. Because Sinbad just proved the fire is not gone. It is meaner now.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, the former Eternal Flame Champion takes his first step from loss toward something larger.”
SINBAD DEFEATED BLACK KNIGHT BY SUBMISSION WITH THE CROSS ARMBREAKER.
The broadcast returns from the image of Sinbad standing at the top of the ramp after submitting Black Knight.
The statement was clear.
Next week, Sinbad challenges Ghost of Christmas Past for the Universal Championship.
But tonight, another title is still waiting beneath the torchlight.
The arena darkens.
The flames along the walls bend strangely, as if the air itself has changed direction.
Violet light slips across the entrance screen.
Then green.
Then gold.
A crooked grin appears.
The Eternal Flame Championship graphic burns through the darkness.
ETERNAL FLAME TITLE MATCH
CHESHIRE CAT VS PRINCE CHARMING
The crowd reacts loudly.
Some boo.
Some cheer.
Some still seem unsure how to respond to a championship now held by madness.
Julian Ward: “It is time for the Eternal Flame Championship to be defended. Last week, Cheshire Cat defeated Sinbad after twenty-one minutes of chaos, interference, and repeated damage to the body. Tonight, his first defense comes against Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “First defense is always important. It tells everybody whether the title win was a night of madness or the beginning of a reign. With Cheshire Cat, it might be both.”
Julian Ward: “Prince Charming brings confidence, speed, and an unmistakable belief in his own destiny.”
Brick Brody: “That works until destiny gets hit in the face with confetti and nonsense. Prince Charming better have a plan for Mad Hatter, because that man helped steal the flame last week and he is still carrying pockets full of bad ideas.”
The lights warp.
A strange melody plays.
Unstable.
Almost playful.
Almost wrong.
Purple mist fills the stage.
Mad Hatter steps out first.
The boos rise immediately.
He carries a small teacup in one hand and a folded paper in the other, laughing at something only he understands. He points toward the crowd, then toward the ceiling, then toward Honest Abe in the ring as though the referee has already offended grammar itself.
Behind him appears Cheshire Cat.
The new Eternal Flame Champion drifts onto the stage with the title across his shoulder. His grin is slow and sharp. His eyes gleam under violet-green light. The championship, once framed by heroic fire around Sinbad, now looks stranger.
Not extinguished.
Distorted.
Cheshire Cat tilts his head toward the title as if listening to it whisper.
Julian Ward: “There is the new Eternal Flame Champion, Cheshire Cat, accompanied by Mad Hatter. The title changed hands last week, and the image of Cheshire Cat sitting cross-legged with that championship across his lap is still difficult to process.”
Brick Brody: “Process it like this. He won. He confused Sinbad, hurt Sinbad, and took the belt. Now everybody else has to wrestle the champion and the circus around him.”
Cheshire Cat walks down the ramp with elastic, uneven motion.
Mad Hatter skips beside him, reading from the folded paper and occasionally laughing too hard to finish the sentence.
At ringside, Honest Abe steps toward the ropes and immediately points at Mad Hatter.
A warning.
Mad Hatter bows dramatically, then tries to bow to the ring steps, then to the championship.
Cheshire Cat slides into the ring and rises in the center.
He slowly lifts the Eternal Flame Championship.
The crowd boos, but the title still shines.
The lights shift.
The violet haze gives way to royal white and gold.
A bright, polished fanfare sounds.
The entrance screen fills with a silver crown, polished armor, and a blazing crest.
Prince Charming steps onto the stage.
The reaction is strong.
He stands tall, composed, and immaculate, wearing confidence like armor. He raises one hand to the crowd, then looks directly toward Cheshire Cat and the title.
There is no hesitation in his face.
Only belief.
Julian Ward: “And here comes Prince Charming. He has long carried himself as someone meant for gold, meant for grandeur, meant to stand where others only hope to reach.”
Brick Brody: “That is the problem with believing you are meant for something. Sometimes the world puts Cheshire Cat in front of it and laughs at you.”
Prince Charming walks to the ring with controlled purpose.
At ringside, Mad Hatter leans toward him with a wild grin and says something about crowns, clocks, and whether moonsaults require etiquette.
Prince Charming ignores him.
He climbs the steps, enters the ring, and steps directly toward Cheshire Cat.
Honest Abe moves between them.
Cheshire Cat grins.
Prince Charming does not.
Louie Linville stands at center ring, microphone in hand, voice ceremonial beneath the unstable glow of the champion’s lights.
Louie Linville: “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the Eternal Flame Championship.”
The crowd cheers.
Louie Linville: “Introducing first, the challenger… polished by destiny, crowned in confidence, and stepping forward to claim the fire he believes should answer to him… Prince Charming.”
Prince Charming raises one arm, eyes never leaving Cheshire Cat.
Louie Linville: “And his opponent, accompanied to the ring by Mad Hatter… he is the reigning and defending Eternal Flame Champion… a grin in the dark, a question without mercy, the flame turned sideways… Cheshire Cat.”
Cheshire Cat gives a slow bow, the title hanging from one hand.
Honest Abe takes the Eternal Flame Championship and lifts it high.
The crowd reacts.
The title glows under the torchlight.
He hands it to the timekeeper.
He checks Prince Charming.
He checks Cheshire Cat.
He gives Mad Hatter one final warning.
Mad Hatter salutes with the teacup.
The bell rings.
Minute 1
Cheshire Cat opens by slipping in from an odd angle and snapping Prince Charming down with Last Supper, trying to make the first impact feel sudden and wrong.
Prince Charming answers immediately with a Yakuza Kick, driving his boot forward and catching Cheshire Cat clean enough to send the champion backward.
Both men reset quickly.
Cheshire Cat grins wider, as if the kick amused him.
Prince Charming straightens, refusing to let the champion’s strangeness change his posture.
Julian Ward: “Last Supper from Cheshire Cat, answered by the Yakuza Kick from Prince Charming. A balanced opening exchange.”
Brick Brody: “Good answer from Prince Charming. Do not stare at the grin. Kick it.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger is showing early poise.”
Brick Brody: “Poise is useful. It also makes a man easier to mock when the match gets weird.”
Minute 2
Cheshire Cat circles loosely, looking for another angle, but before the next exchange can fully form, Mad Hatter climbs onto the apron and begins talking wildly at Honest Abe.
The words come too fast to follow.
Something about tea rules.
Something about whether count-outs count if the numbers are shy.
Then Mad Hatter shoves Honest Abe during the nonsense.
The crowd boos heavily.
Prince Charming turns, furious, but Mad Hatter drops back to ringside and throws his hands up with exaggerated innocence.
Honest Abe warns him sharply, but Cheshire Cat is not disqualified.
Julian Ward: “Already Mad Hatter gets involved, talking wildly and pushing Honest Abe. Somehow, Cheshire Cat avoids disqualification.”
Brick Brody: “That is how this starts. One shove, one joke, one referee getting embarrassed, and suddenly the title match is not about wrestling anymore.”
Julian Ward: “Prince Charming has to stay focused despite the interference.”
Brick Brody: “Good luck. Mad Hatter is focus poison in a jacket.”
Minute 3
Cheshire Cat takes advantage of the irritation and launches into a hurricanrana, snapping Prince Charming over and down.
But Prince Charming rises quickly and answers with another Yakuza Kick, cutting through the champion’s approach and forcing him back again.
The crowd cheers the clean response.
Cheshire Cat rolls to a seated position and smiles up at the challenger.
Prince Charming steps forward, jaw set.
Julian Ward: “Hurricanrana from Cheshire Cat, Yakuza Kick from Prince Charming. Again, the challenger answers.”
Brick Brody: “That kick is doing work. Prince Charming is telling the champion, ‘you can flip, you can grin, but I am still putting a boot through you.’”
Julian Ward: “The challenger is not being drawn completely into the chaos yet.”
Brick Brody: “Yet is the important word.”
Minute 4
Prince Charming begins to impose his own offense.
He catches Cheshire Cat on the turn and drives him down with the Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker.
Cheshire Cat absorbs the punishment, landing sharply across the neck and shoulder, but he rolls away before Prince Charming can follow with a cover.
The challenger remains composed, stalking forward with controlled confidence.
Julian Ward: “Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker from Prince Charming, and that is the first major offensive control from the challenger.”
Brick Brody: “That was good. Pick him up, turn him, break the neck line. Prince Charming needs more of that and less reacting to the lunatic outside.”
Julian Ward: “Cheshire Cat absorbs it but gives up ground.”
Brick Brody: “Giving up ground is not always weakness with Cheshire Cat. Sometimes he is just choosing where the floor starts lying to you.”
Minute 5
Both men pause defensively, each measuring the other after the first series of exchanges.
Then Cheshire Cat moves suddenly.
He climbs, turns, and crashes down with a coffin drop, flattening Prince Charming beneath him.
Prince Charming answers with a standing moonsault, springing back into offense and landing across Cheshire Cat before the champion can fully separate.
The crowd reacts to the exchange of aerial impact.
Both men roll apart, each clutching at the body.
Julian Ward: “Coffin drop from Cheshire Cat, standing moonsault from Prince Charming. Both men are willing to meet risk with risk.”
Brick Brody: “That is dangerous for Prince Charming. You do not always want to match weird with aerial. Sometimes weird lives there.”
Julian Ward: “Still, the challenger lands his response.”
Brick Brody: “He does, but Cheshire Cat landed heavier.”
Minute 6
Cheshire Cat springs in with Standing Diamond Dust, snapping Prince Charming down with a sudden neckbreaker-like attack.
Prince Charming answers with another standing moonsault, forcing the champion to absorb body impact again.
Mad Hatter applauds from ringside, then turns to applaud the timekeeper, then his own teacup.
Honest Abe points at him to stay back.
Julian Ward: “Standing Diamond Dust from Cheshire Cat, standing moonsault from Prince Charming. The challenger continues to respond, but the champion’s offense is landing with sharp impact.”
Brick Brody: “That Diamond Dust is nasty. Cheshire Cat turns a scramble into neck damage before you realize where your head went.”
Julian Ward: “Prince Charming is staying active.”
Brick Brody: “Active is good. Controlled is better.”
Minute 7
Cheshire Cat attacks with another Standing Diamond Dust, snapping Prince Charming down again.
This time Prince Charming shifts his response, catching the champion and driving him down with a Tornado DDT.
The crowd cheers as Cheshire Cat lands hard and rolls toward the ropes.
Prince Charming pushes to one knee, beginning to show the effects of repeated neck attacks but still fighting cleanly.
Julian Ward: “Another Standing Diamond Dust from Cheshire Cat, but Prince Charming answers with the Tornado DDT.”
Brick Brody: “That was a better answer. Less floating, more spiking. Prince Charming needs to make the champion’s grin bounce off the mat.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger may be finding the right kind of offense.”
Brick Brody: “Maybe. But his neck is already getting taxed.”
Minute 8
Cheshire Cat changes the texture of the match.
He catches Prince Charming’s arm and drops into a Fujiwara Armbar, twisting the shoulder and driving pressure through the limb.
Prince Charming absorbs the punishment, unable to fully escape before Cheshire Cat shifts into a pin attempt.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Prince Charming kicks out.
The crowd cheers the escape, but Prince Charming immediately clutches at the arm.
Julian Ward: “Fujiwara Armbar from Cheshire Cat, and then the champion turns it into the first pin attempt. Prince Charming kicks out at one.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart from Cheshire Cat. Work the arm, make the kickout hurt, make the challenger spend strength just to say no.”
Julian Ward: “The champion is beginning to attack more than rhythm. He is attacking function.”
Brick Brody: “Exactly. Take the arm and the neck, and all that royal posture starts falling apart.”
Minute 9
Cheshire Cat fires forward with a shotgun front dropkick, both boots driving into Prince Charming and forcing him backward.
Prince Charming answers with another standing moonsault, catching the champion before he can fully rise.
Both men land hard.
The pace remains quick, but the damage is beginning to accumulate.
Julian Ward: “Shotgun front dropkick from Cheshire Cat, standing moonsault from Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “That dropkick won the title last week. Every time Cheshire Cat throws it, remember what it did to Sinbad.”
Julian Ward: “Prince Charming answers again, but he cannot afford to let that dropkick become a pattern.”
Brick Brody: “Patterns from Cheshire Cat are traps with rhythm.”
Minute 10
Both men reset defensively again, circling through exhaustion and caution.
Cheshire Cat looks for another Fujiwara Armbar, catching the arm and twisting down.
Prince Charming powers through the danger and drives Cheshire Cat down with a Spinning Samoan Driver.
The crowd erupts as the challenger lands one of his strongest attacks so far.
Cheshire Cat rolls away, hurt but still moving.
Julian Ward: “Fujiwara Armbar from Cheshire Cat, but Prince Charming answers with the Spinning Samoan Driver.”
Brick Brody: “That was a big one. Prince Charming finally turned the arm attack into a power answer.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger may have damaged the champion’s core with that driver.”
Brick Brody: “He better follow up, because Cheshire Cat does not stay in normal pain for long.”
Minute 11
Prince Charming stays on offense.
He launches into another standing moonsault, landing clean as Cheshire Cat attempts to defend but cannot stop the impact.
The crowd cheers as Prince Charming rises with more urgency now.
Cheshire Cat curls to his side, the champion finally looking briefly disrupted.
Julian Ward: “Standing moonsault from Prince Charming, and Cheshire Cat could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is good pressure. Prince Charming needs to stack damage before Mad Hatter finds a new form of stupidity.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger is beginning to establish control.”
Brick Brody: “Control around this champion is temporary. Use it before it evaporates.”
Minute 12
Both men enter another defensive reset before Cheshire Cat explodes with a shotgun front dropkick.
Prince Charming answers with a Tornado DDT, planting the champion again and keeping the exchange close.
The crowd continues to build.
Mad Hatter paces at ringside, muttering to the teacup as if it has tactical advice.
Julian Ward: “Shotgun front dropkick from Cheshire Cat, Tornado DDT from Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “That is a solid response. The dropkick lands, but Prince Charming spikes him right back. That keeps the champion from running away with momentum.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger has prepared for the champion’s sudden attacks.”
Brick Brody: “Prepared, yes. Immune, no.”
Minute 13
Cheshire Cat catches the challenger with a hurricanrana, snapping him over and landing clean as Prince Charming attempts to defend but cannot stop it.
The move sends Prince Charming sliding across the mat.
Cheshire Cat rolls after him, grin widening as he senses the challenger’s timing has slowed.
Julian Ward: “Hurricanrana from Cheshire Cat, and Prince Charming could not defend.”
Brick Brody: “There it is. Prince Charming is starting to get a half-step slow. Against Cheshire Cat, half a step is a trapdoor.”
Julian Ward: “The champion is starting to make the ring feel unstable again.”
Brick Brody: “That is where he lives.”
Minute 14
Cheshire Cat goes back to the hurricanrana, catching Prince Charming again.
Prince Charming answers with a Yakuza Kick, striking through the movement and catching the champion high.
Both men land almost evenly from the exchange.
Cheshire Cat rolls backward and rises with a strange laugh.
Prince Charming shakes out the arm that has already been attacked.
Julian Ward: “Hurricanrana from Cheshire Cat, Yakuza Kick from Prince Charming. The challenger still has that strike available.”
Brick Brody: “Good. Keep the boot ready. When the champion starts bending the rules of physics, kick him where physics still hurts.”
Julian Ward: “Prince Charming is still very much in this match.”
Brick Brody: “Yes, but the damage is spreading.”
Minute 15
Cheshire Cat springs into a Yoshi Tonic, snapping Prince Charming down into a sudden rolling attack.
Prince Charming answers with a senton, landing across the champion and forcing him to absorb the impact.
The crowd reacts as both men roll apart again, the pace staying unpredictable.
Julian Ward: “Yoshi Tonic from Cheshire Cat, senton from Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “That is the danger of this match. Every move feels like it is happening at an angle. You cannot settle in.”
Julian Ward: “Both men continue to trade offense without sustained control.”
Brick Brody: “Sustained control is hard when one man wrestles like a fever dream.”
Minute 16
Cheshire Cat returns to the hurricanrana.
This time Prince Charming attempts to defend, but the move lands clean and sends him tumbling again.
The champion moves quickly after the impact, beginning to chain motion into pressure.
Prince Charming rolls to the ropes, looking for space.
Julian Ward: “Hurricanrana from Cheshire Cat, and Prince Charming could not defend.”
Brick Brody: “That is two clean hurricanranas in the last few minutes. The challenger’s base is getting easier to take.”
Julian Ward: “The champion may be pulling him into repeated movement.”
Brick Brody: “Or pulling him apart with it.”
Minute 17
Prince Charming finds another opening.
He catches Cheshire Cat down and lands another standing moonsault.
Cheshire Cat absorbs the punishment, rolling away before the cover can form.
The crowd cheers, but the challenger rises slower than before.
Julian Ward: “Standing moonsault from Prince Charming, and Cheshire Cat absorbs the punishment.”
Brick Brody: “That looked good, but look at the delay after landing. Prince Charming is paying for every leap now.”
Julian Ward: “He has to be careful not to exhaust himself chasing the champion.”
Brick Brody: “Too late for careful. This is a title match. Careful left around minute two when Mad Hatter shoved the referee.”
Minute 18
Prince Charming follows with another Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker, driving Cheshire Cat down sharply.
Cheshire Cat attempts to defend, but the move lands clean.
The crowd rises, sensing a possible shift.
Prince Charming reaches toward the champion, trying to keep him grounded.
Mad Hatter begins pacing faster outside the ring.
Julian Ward: “Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker from Prince Charming, and Cheshire Cat could not defend.”
Brick Brody: “That is one of the challenger’s best weapons tonight. Neckbreaker, driver, kick. Keep the champion’s head bouncing and maybe the grin fades.”
Julian Ward: “Mad Hatter looks increasingly restless.”
Brick Brody: “That is never good news for anyone with a pulse.”
Minute 19
Prince Charming launches into another standing moonsault, landing across Cheshire Cat.
But Mad Hatter immediately begins antagonizing him from ringside with nonsensical taunts, shouting in spirals of rhyme and broken logic.
The distraction gets under Prince Charming’s skin.
Cheshire Cat uses the moment to shift position and turn the exchange back toward his own rhythm, scoring the more useful damage despite the challenger’s landing.
Julian Ward: “Standing moonsault from Prince Charming, but Mad Hatter antagonizes and agitates him with those nonsensical taunts.”
Brick Brody: “That is the worst part. Prince Charming hits the move and still loses the moment because Mad Hatter starts barking poetry from the floor.”
Julian Ward: “The champion benefits again from ringside chaos.”
Brick Brody: “That has been the story of his reign so far. Chaos with a belt.”
Minute 20
Prince Charming keeps fighting through the irritation.
He lands another standing moonsault, forcing Cheshire Cat to absorb the punishment.
This time Cheshire Cat cannot immediately turn it into offense.
The challenger stays low, trying to control the champion before he can slip away.
Julian Ward: “Another standing moonsault from Prince Charming, and Cheshire Cat absorbs it.”
Brick Brody: “Good persistence. He is not letting Mad Hatter completely pull him off course.”
Julian Ward: “But the repeated aerial offense is costly.”
Brick Brody: “Everything is costly in this match. The question is who gets the bill first.”
Minute 21
Cheshire Cat changes levels and slips behind Prince Charming, locking in a rear naked choke.
Prince Charming fights the grip quickly, driving backward and transitioning into another Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker to break the hold and punish the champion.
Both men land hard.
The crowd erupts.
Cheshire Cat clutches at the neck.
Prince Charming sits up, breathing hard.
Julian Ward: “Rear naked choke from Cheshire Cat, but Prince Charming answers with the Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker.”
Brick Brody: “That was strong. Choke comes in, neckbreaker gets him out. Prince Charming is not just surviving holds. He is making the champion pay for applying them.”
Julian Ward: “That may be a crucial answer from the challenger.”
Brick Brody: “May be. He still has to cover somebody.”
Minute 22
Cheshire Cat fires a shotgun front dropkick into Prince Charming, driving him backward.
Prince Charming answers again with a Tornado DDT, planting the champion and drawing a roar from the crowd.
The exchange leaves both men staggered.
Honest Abe watches closely as neither man can immediately cover.
Julian Ward: “Shotgun front dropkick from Cheshire Cat, Tornado DDT from Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “Those DDTs are keeping Prince Charming alive. Every time the champion tries to turn the match sideways, the challenger spikes him straight down.”
Julian Ward: “The match remains open.”
Brick Brody: “Open and dangerous.”
Minute 23
Mad Hatter interferes again verbally, antagonizing Prince Charming with wild nonsense from ringside.
Prince Charming fights through the distraction and executes a sunset flip into a rope hung Boston Crab, twisting Cheshire Cat into a painful trapped position near the ropes.
The crowd cheers as the champion grimaces beneath the hold.
But the taunting has cost Prince Charming just enough focus that the hold cannot become decisive.
Julian Ward: “Despite Mad Hatter’s taunts, Prince Charming locks in the sunset flip into a rope hung Boston Crab.”
Brick Brody: “That was impressive. He got distracted and still turned it into a hold. But that delay matters. Against a slippery champion, every second of focus counts.”
Julian Ward: “Cheshire Cat survives, but the challenger continues to test him.”
Brick Brody: “Testing is not winning. The clock is getting meaner.”
Minute 24
Cheshire Cat snaps back with Standing Diamond Dust, twisting Prince Charming down hard.
Prince Charming answers with another Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker, keeping the exchange close.
Both men hit the mat heavily.
Mad Hatter pounds the apron in approval, though it is unclear which move he is applauding.
Julian Ward: “Standing Diamond Dust from Cheshire Cat, Urbanizer Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker from Prince Charming. Both men continue to attack the head and neck.”
Brick Brody: “That is brutal late-match targeting. Whoever walks out champion might need a new neck by morning.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger is still answering the champion’s best attacks.”
Brick Brody: “But the answers are getting slower.”
Minute 25
Cheshire Cat catches Prince Charming with a Yoshi Tonic, snapping him into a sudden impact.
Prince Charming answers with another Tornado DDT, forcing the champion down again.
The crowd rises, fully aware that one clean sequence could now decide the title.
Julian Ward: “Yoshi Tonic from Cheshire Cat, Tornado DDT from Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “That is another trade where both land. But I keep saying it, Prince Charming needs the cover. He keeps hitting moves and letting the champion keep breathing.”
Julian Ward: “The match is entering a dangerous late stage.”
Brick Brody: “It entered one the second Mad Hatter got bored.”
Minute 26
Mad Hatter suddenly strikes again.
He throws confetti into Prince Charming’s face, blinding him in a burst of bright, ridiculous color.
The crowd boos heavily.
Prince Charming swings through the confusion and still lands a standing moonsault on Cheshire Cat, crashing down across the champion.
He covers.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Cheshire Cat kicks out.
The crowd groans.
But the confetti has changed the match.
Prince Charming wipes at his eyes, now forced onto defense as his vision struggles to clear.
Julian Ward: “Mad Hatter blinds Prince Charming with confetti, but the challenger still lands the standing moonsault and gets a one-count.”
Brick Brody: “That is absurd. He gets blinded by party trash and still almost turns it into a title moment.”
Julian Ward: “But now Prince Charming is compromised.”
Brick Brody: “That is the real damage. The pin failed, and now he is fighting with confetti in his eyes like a birthday party mugging.”
Minute 27
Cheshire Cat attacks the compromised challenger immediately.
He catches the arm and locks in the Fujiwara Armbar.
Prince Charming attempts to defend, but his vision and balance are still affected.
The hold is secured.
Honest Abe checks closely.
Prince Charming refuses to submit, dragging himself toward the ropes and forcing enough movement to survive.
Julian Ward: “Fujiwara Armbar from Cheshire Cat, and Prince Charming could not defend it after being blinded.”
Brick Brody: “That is the champion being cruel and smart. Confetti blinds him, armbar traps him. That arm has been attacked before, and now the champion is twisting it late.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger remains in danger.”
Brick Brody: “He is on defense now, and that is where Cheshire Cat wants him.”
Minute 28
Cheshire Cat keeps the pressure on.
He locks in another Fujiwara Armbar, forcing Prince Charming to absorb the punishment as the arm is wrenched again.
The crowd chants for the challenger, but Cheshire Cat stays patient, twisting and draining rather than rushing.
Prince Charming survives the hold, but he rises slowly, arm hanging lower than before.
Julian Ward: “A second straight Fujiwara Armbar from Cheshire Cat. He is attacking the same arm repeatedly.”
Brick Brody: “That is how champions keep titles. Weird champion, smart target. The arm is becoming useless, and Prince Charming knows it.”
Julian Ward: “The challenger’s offense may be severely limited now.”
Brick Brody: “No may. It is limited. That arm is complaining in three languages.”
Minute 29
Mad Hatter steps into the match again, this time confusing Honest Abe with strange poems from ringside.
The referee turns toward him, trying to understand whether it is interference, insult, or nonsense.
Prince Charming attempts to defend against the distraction, but the chaos breaks his rhythm further.
Cheshire Cat uses the confusion to stay positioned, keeping the challenger trapped in the wrong part of the ring.
Julian Ward: “Mad Hatter confuses Honest Abe with weird poems, and Prince Charming cannot fully defend against the distraction.”
Brick Brody: “That is the dumbest effective strategy in wrestling. He is weaponizing nonsense.”
Julian Ward: “The official’s attention is being manipulated again.”
Brick Brody: “And while the referee is trying to parse poetry, Prince Charming is losing the title match.”
Minute 30
Prince Charming finally clears enough space to rise.
But Cheshire Cat is already climbing.
The champion turns his back to the ring and launches with the coffin drop.
The impact crushes Prince Charming beneath him.
The challenger attempts to defend, but he cannot get clear.
Cheshire Cat hooks the leg.
Honest Abe drops.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bell rings.
The crowd erupts in boos and stunned noise.
Cheshire Cat rolls off the cover and lies on his back, grinning up at the lights.
Prince Charming remains down, one arm close to his body, the late damage and interference too much to overcome.
Mad Hatter leaps in circles at ringside, throwing a final handful of confetti into the air as though crowning the moment.
Louie Linville waits for confirmation from Honest Abe, then raises the microphone.
Louie Linville: “Here is your winner… and still Eternal Flame Champion… Cheshire Cat.”
Honest Abe retrieves the Eternal Flame Championship and hands it to Cheshire Cat.
The champion sits up slowly, placing the title across his lap just as he did last week.
The image draws another wave of noise from the crowd.
Mad Hatter slides into the ring and kneels beside him, reciting something triumphantly to the championship as if the belt has joined the conversation.
Julian Ward: “Cheshire Cat retains the Eternal Flame Championship with the coffin drop after thirty minutes of chaos, speed, interference, and repeated attacks to the arm and body of Prince Charming.”
Brick Brody: “That was ugly, strange, and effective. Prince Charming had chances. He landed neckbreakers, DDTs, moonsaults, the Boston Crab variation. But Mad Hatter kept poisoning the match, and Cheshire Cat kept taking pieces.”
Julian Ward: “The confetti in minute twenty-six changed the final stretch. Prince Charming still managed a standing moonsault and a pin attempt, but after that, Cheshire Cat attacked the arm repeatedly and kept him on defense.”
Brick Brody: “That is championship strategy under a pile of nonsense. Blind him, hurt the arm, confuse the referee, then land on him from the sky. I hate that it worked. I respect that it worked.”
In the ring, Cheshire Cat rises with the Eternal Flame Championship.
He lifts it slowly.
The torchlight around the arena burns, but the colors around the champion turn violet and green.
The flame has not gone out.
It has become stranger.
Prince Charming pulls himself to the ropes, anger and pain visible as he looks back toward the champion.
Mad Hatter waves at him with the teacup.
Honest Abe places himself between them, warning Mad Hatter back.
Julian Ward: “For Prince Charming, this is a bitter loss. He pushed the champion through a long title defense, but he could not overcome the chaos around Cheshire Cat.”
Brick Brody: “That is what challengers have to learn now. You are not just fighting Cheshire Cat. You are fighting the champion, the grin, the angles, the armbar, the dropkick, and a lunatic at ringside with confetti and poems.”
Julian Ward: “And for Cheshire Cat, the first defense of the Eternal Flame Championship is successful.”
Brick Brody: “That matters. Winning the title is one thing. Keeping it the first time tells the division the madness might have roots.”
Cheshire Cat exits the ring with the title over his shoulder.
Mad Hatter follows, still talking to the belt.
At the bottom of the ramp, Cheshire Cat turns back toward the ring.
He smiles at Prince Charming.
Then he slowly lifts the Eternal Flame Championship again.
The crowd boos loudly.
Julian Ward: “The Eternal Flame Championship remains in the hands of Cheshire Cat. The reign continues, and so does the uncertainty around what this title now represents.”
Brick Brody: “It represents what it always represents. Fire. Only now the fire laughs before it burns you.”
CHESHIRE CAT DEFEATED PRINCE CHARMING BY PINFALL WITH THE COFFIN DROP TO RETAIN THE ETERNAL FLAME CHAMPIONSHIP.
The broadcast returns from the image of Cheshire Cat lifting the Eternal Flame Championship while Mad Hatter dances in violet-green light.
The flame still belongs to madness.
The arena noise lowers beneath the backstage feed.
The camera cuts to a stone corridor inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum.
The air feels colder here.
Not haunted.
Pressurized.
The Dark Fable interview backdrop stands beneath flickering torchlight, but the space around it is crowded by mass, anger, and wounded pride.
Hana Nakamura stands center frame with a microphone in hand.
Her posture is professional, but her eyes keep moving.
For good reason.
Beside her stands Dr. Frankenstein.
He looks furious.
Not frantic.
Not broken.
Worse.
Focused.
Behind him stands Monster’s Bash.
Frankenstein’s Monster looms closest, the former Mythic Crown Champion still carrying the violence of his victory over Sir Lancelot. His breathing is slow and heavy. His eyes are fixed forward, but something behind them remains restless. The crown is gone, and its absence has become part of his shape.
To one side stand the Universal Tag Team Champions, The Enforcers, Kong and Ogre. The title belts rest with brutal weight on their shoulders. They do not pose with the championships. They carry them like proof of ownership.
Beside them stands Dragon King, still bearing the anger of the earlier loss to House of Dragon’s Veil. His jaw is tight. His shoulders rise and fall with controlled frustration.
The crowd boos loudly from inside the arena.
Hana Nakamura: “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my guests at this time… Dr. Frankenstein, the former Mythic Crown Champion, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Universal Tag Team Champions, The Enforcers, Kong and Ogre, and Dragon King… Monster’s Bash.”
The boos grow heavier.
Dr. Frankenstein does not wait for a question.
He steps closer to the microphone.
Dr. Frankenstein: “No.”
Hana Nakamura blinks, steadying herself.
Hana Nakamura: “Dr. Frankenstein—”
Dr. Frankenstein: “No, Hana Nakamura. We will not begin with ceremony. We will not begin with polite framing. We will not dress theft in language so it becomes easier for weak men to swallow.”
Behind him, Ogre shifts.
Kong rolls his neck.
Dragon King takes one slow step closer.
Frankenstein’s Monster remains still.
That is somehow worse.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Tonight, the world saw Mordred slither into an interview, open his mouth, and somehow walk out with a Mythic Crown Championship match at Ashes of Empire.”
The crowd reacts loudly.
Dr. Frankenstein’s face twists with disgust.
Dr. Frankenstein: “A match he did not earn.”
He points one trembling finger toward Frankenstein’s Monster.
Dr. Frankenstein: “That crown was taken from my creation.”
Frankenstein’s Monster lowers his head slightly.
The light catches the scars across his face.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Not erased from him. Not conquered from him in a way that settled the matter. Taken by spectacle. Taken by old tricks. Taken under the glare of Camelot’s self-worship.”
Hana Nakamura: “King Arthur did win the match at The Long Night.”
Dr. Frankenstein snaps toward her.
Dr. Frankenstein: “And tonight, Frankenstein’s Monster defeated Sir Lancelot.”
The crowd murmurs.
Dr. Frankenstein: “One of Arthur’s knights was placed before him, and my creation broke him.”
Ogre growls low.
Kong pounds one fist into his palm.
Dragon King steps closer again, anger spreading through the group like a spark moving through dry timber.
Dr. Frankenstein: “So tell me, Hana Nakamura, tell them, tell this entire coliseum, why does Mordred receive the crown match?”
He leans closer to the camera.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Why does the pretender get the place that belongs to the former champion?”
Hana Nakamura: “You are saying Frankenstein’s Monster should receive his rematch at Ashes of Empire?”
Dr. Frankenstein: “I am not saying it.”
His voice lowers.
Dr. Frankenstein: “I am stating law.”
Frankenstein’s Monster finally moves.
One step.
The camera subtly pulls wider to keep him fully in frame.
The crowd noise shifts.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Mordred can whisper about false kings. Myrrden the Hollow can drape prophecy over ambition. King Arthur can polish the Mythic Crown Championship until every torch in this building bows back at him.”
He jabs a finger toward Frankenstein’s Monster again.
Dr. Frankenstein: “But that championship still carries the imprint of my creation’s hands.”
Kong snarls.
Ogre slams a fist against the faceplate of his tag title.
Dragon King: “The rematch belongs to the monster.”
His voice is low and dangerous.
Ogre: “Give it back.”
Kong: “Or we take something else.”
The corridor becomes heavier.
Hana Nakamura steps back half a pace, keeping the microphone raised.
Dr. Frankenstein: “No more delays. No more ceremonies. No more pretty royal arrangements. I am calling Alton Bell to this interview.”
He turns toward the empty corridor.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Come forward, General Manager. Come explain why the former champion is made to wait while Mordred is rewarded for insults.”
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then the sound changes.
Not music.
Footsteps.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Alton Bell enters the frame.
The crowd reacts with a mix of respect and unease.
The Mythic Division General Manager walks with no wasted motion. His dark suit is immaculate. His expression is calm in a way that does not comfort anyone.
He looks first at Hana Nakamura.
Then at Dr. Frankenstein.
Then at the monsters behind him.
He shows no fear.
Alton Bell: “You called.”
Dr. Frankenstein almost smiles.
Almost.
Dr. Frankenstein: “I demanded.”
Alton Bell: “You called.”
The correction lands quietly.
Ogre growls again.
Alton Bell does not look at him.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Do not reduce this to wording. You know what has been done.”
Alton Bell: “I know what has been scheduled.”
Dr. Frankenstein: “Then you know the injustice.”
He steps closer to Alton Bell.
Frankenstein’s Monster stands behind him, a living shadow.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Frankenstein’s Monster is the former Mythic Crown Champion. He held that title. He made it matter. He made the entire division understand that power was not decoration. Then King Arthur took it in a storm of pageantry and manipulation, and now Mordred is handed the first championship match?”
Alton Bell listens without interruption.
Dr. Frankenstein: “No.”
His voice rises.
Dr. Frankenstein: “No, Alton Bell. That crown does not pass from monster to king to traitor while the monster waits obediently in the dark.”
Dragon King steps forward beside Frankenstein’s Monster.
Kong and Ogre flank the space from the other side.
The corridor looks suddenly too narrow for all of them.
Hana Nakamura watches carefully, ready to move if she has to.
Dr. Frankenstein: “You will correct this.”
Alton Bell remains calm.
Almost still.
Then he speaks.
Alton Bell: “Frankenstein’s Monster will receive his rematch.”
The corridor stills.
Dr. Frankenstein freezes mid-breath.
Frankenstein’s Monster lifts his head slightly.
The arena reacts loudly.
Dr. Frankenstein: “At Ashes of Empire?”
Alton Bell: “No.”
The pleased flicker vanishes from Dr. Frankenstein’s face.
Ogre takes one step forward.
Kong grips his title belt.
Alton Bell finally turns his head toward The Enforcers, then back to Dr. Frankenstein.
Alton Bell: “At Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
The crowd buzzes.
Alton Bell: “The event following Ashes of Empire. Frankenstein’s Monster will receive his Mythic Crown Championship rematch against whoever is champion when Ashes of Empire ends.”
A deeper reaction rolls through the arena.
Hana Nakamura looks toward Dr. Frankenstein, reading the shift.
Dr. Frankenstein’s anger does not disappear.
It reorganizes.
Alton Bell: “If King Arthur retains, Frankenstein’s Monster faces King Arthur.”
A pause.
Alton Bell: “If Mordred wins, Frankenstein’s Monster faces Mordred.”
Frankenstein’s Monster breathes heavily.
That answer seems to reach him.
Not peace.
Direction.
Dr. Frankenstein: “And you expect us to be satisfied waiting while those two parade the crown through Ashes of Empire?”
Alton Bell: “I expect nothing.”
He takes a small step closer.
Alton Bell: “I make the law. You choose how much damage you cause before you arrive at it.”
The words hang there.
Even Kong and Ogre stop moving.
Alton Bell turns toward The Enforcers.
The Universal Tag Team Championships catch the torchlight.
Alton Bell: “As for Kong and Ogre…”
Dr. Frankenstein looks sharply toward him.
Alton Bell: “They are due for a title defense in June.”
Kong lowers his chin.
Ogre grins darkly.
Alton Bell: “That defense will also take place at Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
Hana Nakamura: “Against whom?”
Alton Bell turns slightly toward the camera.
Alton Bell: “That will be determined at Ashes of Empire.”
The crowd begins to buzz louder.
Alton Bell: “At Ashes of Empire, the Dread Knights will face the Virtuous Blades.”
The arena reacts strongly.
Alton Bell: “The winners will challenge The Enforcers for the Universal Tag Team Championships at Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
Kong smiles for the first time.
It is not pleasant.
Ogre rolls his shoulders, clearly pleased at the idea of either team being fed to them.
Dragon King nods once, satisfied by the structure of it.
Dr. Frankenstein slowly turns toward The Enforcers, then back to Alton Bell.
The fury in his face becomes something else.
Calculation.
Pleasure.
Dr. Frankenstein: “So the monster receives his rematch.”
Alton Bell: “Yes.”
Dr. Frankenstein: “Against whichever man crawls out of Ashes of Empire holding the Mythic Crown Championship.”
Alton Bell: “Yes.”
Dr. Frankenstein: “And The Enforcers defend the Universal Tag Team Championships against whichever team survives Dread Knights versus Virtuous Blades.”
Alton Bell: “Yes.”
Dr. Frankenstein smiles now.
Slowly.
Unstable.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Then perhaps order has not failed entirely.”
Alton Bell: “Order did not require your approval.”
The smile twitches, but Dr. Frankenstein holds it.
Dr. Frankenstein: “No. But it has earned my interest.”
Alton Bell looks at Frankenstein’s Monster.
The former champion stares back.
No words.
Only the promise of future violence.
Alton Bell: “Tell your monster this clearly.”
The corridor tightens again.
Alton Bell: “His rematch is guaranteed. His behavior between now and then is not immune from consequence.”
Dr. Frankenstein lifts his chin.
Dr. Frankenstein: “My creation understands consequence better than any man in this building.”
Alton Bell: “Then make certain he remembers restraint.”
Ogre laughs under his breath.
Kong cracks his knuckles.
Alton Bell turns away.
He begins walking down the corridor with the same calm pace he entered with.
Hana Nakamura watches him leave, then turns back toward Dr. Frankenstein.
Hana Nakamura: “Dr. Frankenstein, you received the rematch you wanted, but not at Ashes of Empire. Your response?”
Dr. Frankenstein looks toward Frankenstein’s Monster.
Then toward the camera.
Dr. Frankenstein: “At Ashes of Empire, King Arthur and Mordred may tear at one another over the crown.”
His smile deepens.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Let them.”
Frankenstein’s Monster takes a slow step forward.
The camera holds.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Let Camelot bleed. Let the Broken Crown whisper. Let pride and treachery break one another open under the lights.”
He places one hand against Frankenstein’s Monster’s chest.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Because at Ashes of Empire Aftermath, whatever remains will stand across from him.”
Frankenstein’s Monster stares into the camera.
Dr. Frankenstein: “And this time, there will be no coronation.”
A pause.
His voice lowers.
Dr. Frankenstein: “Only reclamation.”
Behind him, Kong lifts his Universal Tag Team Championship slightly.
Ogre does the same.
Dr. Frankenstein: “As for The Enforcers, let the Dread Knights and the Virtuous Blades destroy each other for the privilege.”
Kong: “We will crush either.”
Ogre: “Both, if they send them.”
Dragon King steps into frame beside them.
Dragon King: “And the monsters will still be waiting.”
Hana Nakamura holds the microphone carefully, her face showing the weight of what has just been announced.
Hana Nakamura: “There you have it. At Ashes of Empire Aftermath, Frankenstein’s Monster will receive his Mythic Crown Championship rematch against whoever leaves Ashes of Empire as champion. And at Ashes of Empire, the Dread Knights face the Virtuous Blades, with the winners challenging The Enforcers for the Universal Tag Team Championships at Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
Dr. Frankenstein looks pleased now.
Too pleased.
Frankenstein’s Monster does not.
He looks hungry.
The camera lingers on him.
Former champion.
Waiting.
Not healed by the promise.
Only aimed by it.
The feed cuts back to ringside.
Julian Ward: “Major announcements from Alton Bell. Frankenstein’s Monster will receive his Mythic Crown Championship rematch at Ashes of Empire Aftermath against whoever emerges from Ashes of Empire as champion.”
Brick Brody: “That is smart and dangerous. King Arthur and Mordred are going to tear each other apart over the crown, and the monster gets whatever is left afterward.”
Julian Ward: “And at Ashes of Empire, the Dread Knights will face the Virtuous Blades, with the winners challenging Kong and Ogre, The Enforcers, for the Universal Tag Team Championships at Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
Brick Brody: “That is a meat grinder with paperwork. Dread Knights versus Virtuous Blades just to earn Kong and Ogre? Congratulations. Your prize is pain.”
Julian Ward: “Dr. Frankenstein began that interview furious. He leaves it pleased.”
Brick Brody: “That might be worse. Angry doctors yell. Pleased doctors plan.”
The screen fades to the official graphics.
ASHES OF EMPIRE
DREAD KNIGHTS VS VIRTUOUS BLADES
WINNERS RECEIVE UNIVERSAL TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH AT ASHES OF EMPIRE AFTERMATH
Then another graphic.
ASHES OF EMPIRE AFTERMATH
MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER VS KING ARTHUR OR MORDRED
The final image returns briefly to Frankenstein’s Monster staring into the camera.
The screen fades to black.
The broadcast returns from the official graphics for Ashes of Empire Aftermath.
Frankenstein’s Monster has his rematch promised.
The Enforcers have their next challengers waiting to be determined.
Dr. Frankenstein has gone from fury to satisfaction.
And now Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum turns toward the final trial of the night.
The lights lower.
The crowd rises before the graphic even appears.
A red-gold glow begins to spread across the entrance screen.
Then deep forest green cuts through it.
Two images form side by side.
One man newly named.
One hunter sworn to confront darkness.
MAIN EVENT
RAIGEN THE MARYU VS HANSEL
The crowd reacts with a hard surge of anticipation.
Julian Ward: “It is time for tonight’s main event. Last week, after the war between Takuma Ryujin and Kaen, Raigen returned from the trials beneath the Blood Oni Dojo changed. He rejected full allegiance to the Blood Oni Syndicate. He rejected full allegiance to House of Dragon’s Veil. He named himself Raigen the Maryu.”
Brick Brody: “And that sounds powerful until you realize it makes everybody suspicious. The Blood Oni Syndicate sees betrayal. House of Dragon’s Veil sees something they may not fully understand. And tonight, Hansel sees a target.”
Julian Ward: “Hansel has spent his life hunting darkness and confronting monsters. Whether Raigen the Maryu is monster, bridge, or something else entirely, that may be the question this match asks.”
Brick Brody: “Hunters do not like complicated answers, Julian Ward. They like things they can track, trap, and put down.”
The lights shift to cold green and silver.
A sharp drumbeat sounds.
Not heroic.
Practical.
Dangerous.
The entrance screen fills with the symbol of the Hunters Enclave.
A crossbow silhouette cuts through mist.
Then Hansel steps onto the stage.
The crowd gives a strong reaction.
He walks with focus and tension, eyes locked on the ring. His gear is battle-worn, functional, and built for survival rather than ceremony. There is no wasted motion in him. He looks like a man entering a dark wood with no expectation that the trees will be kind.
Julian Ward: “There is Hansel. He does not enter this match with the pageantry of a king or the mystery of a sorcerer. He enters as a hunter. Direct. Prepared. Unsentimental.”
Brick Brody: “That is what makes him dangerous. Hansel will not stand there wondering what Maryu means if a forearm smash can interrupt the philosophy.”
Hansel walks down the ramp.
He looks toward the crowd only once.
Then back to the ring.
He climbs onto the apron, steps through the ropes, and paces in his corner, rolling his shoulders loose.
The lights change again.
The green recedes.
A hush spreads.
Red-gold light pours across the stage.
Then black shadow settles over it.
The entrance screen shows two symbols.
The mark of the Oni.
The mark of the Dragon.
They do not merge.
They circle.
Then the word appears:
MARYU
The crowd rises.
Raigen the Maryu steps onto the stage.
He wears the dark robe first seen last week, heavy black fabric marked with red and gold ritual lines. One side bears the symbol of the Oni. The other bears the mark of the Dragon. The hood is down now, revealing his face clearly.
He looks calm.
Not untouched.
Not healed of what made him.
Forged by it.
His eyes hold something difficult to name: fire without surrender, discipline without obedience, memory without fear.
He walks alone.
No Lady Ayame Ryu.
No Lord Kurogami.
No faction behind him.
Only the path he named.
Julian Ward: “And there is Raigen the Maryu. No one accompanies him. That alone may say as much as anything tonight.”
Brick Brody: “Yeah. He came out with two symbols on the robe and nobody at his back. That is either courage or terrible planning.”
Julian Ward: “He called himself a bridge between two worlds.”
Brick Brody: “Bridges get tested by weight. Tonight, Hansel is the weight.”
Raigen the Maryu reaches ringside and pauses.
He looks across the ring at Hansel.
Hansel does not look confused.
He looks ready.
Raigen the Maryu removes the robe slowly and hands it to the ringside attendant. Beneath it, his gear carries the same red-gold and shadowed design language, less ornate than the robe but unmistakably his own.
He steps into the ring.
The two men stand across from each other.
Slow-Count Sam stands between them, already moving with the careful patience that earned him his name.
Louie Linville steps to center ring.
Louie Linville: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is tonight’s main event, scheduled for one fall.”
The crowd cheers.
Louie Linville: “Introducing first… hunter of the dark paths, disciplined against fear, and sworn to strike where monsters believe they are unseen… Hansel.”
Hansel steps forward, eyes fixed on Raigen the Maryu.
Louie Linville: “And his opponent… forged by trial, marked by two worlds, claimed by neither, and walking now beneath the name he chose for himself… Raigen the Maryu.”
The crowd erupts.
Raigen the Maryu lowers his head slightly, then raises his eyes.
Slow-Count Sam checks both competitors.
He calls for the bell.
The bell rings.
Minute 1
Raigen the Maryu steps in calmly, looking to establish control through the body rather than speed. He catches Hansel and twists into an abdominal stretch, pulling across the ribs and forcing the hunter to carry pressure immediately.
Hansel does not panic.
He shifts his weight, creates enough space, and fires back with a dropkick that catches Raigen the Maryu clean and knocks him away.
Raigen the Maryu releases and resets.
Hansel lands on his feet, already moving back into stance.
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu opens with the abdominal stretch, attacking the body and testing control early. Hansel answers with the dropkick.”
Brick Brody: “That is a good opening from both. Raigen the Maryu wants to stretch him and make him feel the new identity. Hansel says no thanks and kicks him off.”
Julian Ward: “This match may come down to whether Raigen the Maryu can impose control before Hansel can turn it into a fight.”
Brick Brody: “Hunters love turning things into fights. It keeps the thinking simple.”
Minute 2
Hansel advances first this time.
He closes distance and throws a forearm smash that cracks into Raigen the Maryu before he can fully defend.
Raigen the Maryu attempts to block, but the strike gets through and staggers him back a step.
Hansel stays close, refusing to let him breathe into the calm posture he carried during the entrance.
Raigen the Maryu steadies himself near the ropes, eyes sharpening.
Julian Ward: “Forearm smash from Hansel, and Raigen the Maryu could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That is the hunter’s answer. Do not let the mystery settle. Put a forearm through it.”
Julian Ward: “Hansel is trying to keep Raigen the Maryu from establishing his rhythm.”
Brick Brody: “Exactly. You let a man like that get comfortable, and suddenly he starts making the match mean things.”
Minute 3
Raigen the Maryu shifts the match downward.
He catches Hansel in a Demon Sleeper, the Maniac Sleeper locking around the head and neck with tight, unsettling control.
Hansel fights the grip and answers with a front facelock of his own, trying to counter pressure with pressure and deny Raigen the Maryu clean dominance.
The two men struggle in the center, each trying to pull the other into their chosen kind of trap.
Raigen the Maryu maintains the stronger hold long enough to force Hansel down to one knee before the hunter breaks space.
Julian Ward: “Demon Sleeper from Raigen the Maryu, answered by the front facelock from Hansel. Both men are trying to control the head and breathing.”
Brick Brody: “That was ugly grappling. Good ugly. Raigen the Maryu got the better of it, but Hansel made him work.”
Julian Ward: “The Demon Sleeper may be one of the clearest signs of the darkness Raigen still carries.”
Brick Brody: “Maybe. Or maybe it is just a sleeper that hurts. Either way, Hansel did not like it.”
Minute 4
Raigen the Maryu steps in with a front kick, but Hansel reads it and reverses the motion.
He catches Raigen the Maryu off balance and hammers him with another forearm smash.
The strike lands hard.
Raigen the Maryu absorbs the punishment, turning his shoulder with the impact but failing to answer immediately.
Hansel presses forward, eyes fixed, refusing to be intimidated by the aura around his opponent.
Julian Ward: “Hansel reverses the front kick and lands another forearm smash. That strike has already become a major weapon for him tonight.”
Brick Brody: “That forearm is simple and beautiful. No mystery. No robe. No ancient symbols. Just bone hitting face.”
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu absorbs it, but he is being forced to react.”
Brick Brody: “And that is where Hansel wants him. Hunters do not chase stories. They chase openings.”
Minute 5
Raigen the Maryu targets the arm, catching Hansel and dropping into an armbar. The grip is tight, the pressure immediate.
Hansel counters by attacking the leg, twisting into a spinning toe hold and forcing Raigen the Maryu to suffer in return.
Both men grit through the pain.
The hold exchange becomes a test of who releases first and who can stand through damage to the limb.
They separate almost at the same time, each carrying a new ache into the next exchange.
Julian Ward: “Armbar from Raigen the Maryu, spinning toe hold from Hansel. Both men attack limbs in the same sequence.”
Brick Brody: “That is a hunter and a survivor cutting at each other’s tools. Arm goes bad, grip dies. Leg goes bad, balance dies.”
Julian Ward: “Neither man gets full control, but both create damage.”
Brick Brody: “Damage is control waiting to happen.”
Minute 6
Raigen the Maryu powers through first.
He catches Hansel and drives him down with a bodyslam, establishing clean physical force.
Hansel answers with a Spine Crusher, catching Raigen the Maryu as he moves in and driving him hard enough to stop the follow-up.
The ring shakes from the exchange.
Both men rise more slowly than before.
The crowd begins to understand this will not be a brief main event.
Julian Ward: “Bodyslam from Raigen the Maryu, Spine Crusher from Hansel. Both men land heavy offense.”
Brick Brody: “That is the kind of trade that makes ribs question loyalty. Raigen the Maryu gets the slam, Hansel crushes the spine. Nobody wins clean there.”
Julian Ward: “The match remains balanced.”
Brick Brody: “Balanced until somebody’s back stops cooperating.”
Minute 7
Raigen the Maryu returns to the armbar, trying again to weaken Hansel’s ability to grip, throw, and strike.
Hansel refuses to stay trapped. He powers through the angle and throws Raigen the Maryu with a belly-to-belly suplex, landing with greater force than the armbar can stop.
Raigen the Maryu rolls to the side, feeling the impact.
Hansel rises, shaking out the arm, his expression hardening with every exchange.
Julian Ward: “Armbar from Raigen the Maryu, but Hansel powers through and answers with the belly-to-belly suplex.”
Brick Brody: “That was strong. You can attack the arm all you want, but Hansel just used the whole body and dumped him.”
Julian Ward: “The hunter’s throws are beginning to matter.”
Brick Brody: “Throws always matter when the other man keeps landing on the mat.”
Minute 8
Raigen the Maryu catches Hansel in another abdominal stretch, pulling at the ribs and forcing the body to bend against itself.
Hansel grimaces, then breaks the structure by driving Raigen the Maryu down with another Spine Crusher.
The impact jars Raigen the Maryu loose from the hold.
Both men separate, with Hansel breathing harder but still controlling the physical answer.
Julian Ward: “Another abdominal stretch from Raigen the Maryu, but Hansel breaks free with the Spine Crusher.”
Brick Brody: “That is the second Spine Crusher. Hansel is making Raigen the Maryu pay every time he tries to tie him up.”
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu is targeting the body, but Hansel is answering with impact to the spine.”
Brick Brody: “Good strategy. Hard to bridge two worlds when your back is screaming.”
Minute 9
Hansel looks to speed things up with a cross body block.
Raigen the Maryu reads the attack and neutralizes it, catching enough of the momentum to avoid being taken down cleanly.
The crowd reacts as Raigen the Maryu holds his ground, forcing Hansel to reset.
It is not a dramatic offensive moment, but it matters.
The hunter’s forward motion is stopped.
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu neutralizes the cross body block. That is an important defensive answer.”
Brick Brody: “That is strength and awareness. Hansel tried to knock him down, and Raigen the Maryu said no.”
Julian Ward: “The defensive success may help Raigen the Maryu slow the match.”
Brick Brody: “He needs to. Hansel has been hitting him clean too often.”
Minute 10
Hansel changes back to power.
He closes in, hooks Raigen the Maryu, and throws him with a belly-to-belly suplex.
Raigen the Maryu attempts to defend, but the suplex lands clean and hard.
The crowd reacts as Hansel rises with renewed confidence.
Raigen the Maryu rolls to his side, absorbing the damage and trying to keep his breathing steady.
Julian Ward: “Belly-to-belly suplex from Hansel, and Raigen the Maryu could not defend it.”
Brick Brody: “That was big. Hansel is not overthinking this. Grab, throw, repeat until the mystery stops moving.”
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu is now carrying significant impact damage.”
Brick Brody: “And Hansel knows it. Look at him. He is tracking weakness now.”
Minute 11
Raigen the Maryu finds a sudden answer by throwing Hansel out of the ring, sending the hunter to the floor and forcing Slow-Count Sam to begin the count.
One.
Two.
Three.
Hansel makes it back into the ring at three.
But during the exchange, Hansel finds another belly-to-belly suplex, landing it after returning to action and turning the sequence into a pin attempt.
Slow-Count Sam drops with his usual deliberate rhythm.
One.
Two.
Raigen the Maryu kicks out.
The crowd exhales as the main event stays alive.
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu throws Hansel to the outside, but Hansel returns at three and lands another belly-to-belly suplex into the pin attempt.”
Brick Brody: “That was impressive. Hansel got thrown out and came back angry, not shaken.”
Julian Ward: “The count from Slow-Count Sam may have given Raigen the Maryu enough time to kick out.”
Brick Brody: “Maybe. That man counts like he is reading the numbers off stone tablets.”
Minute 12
Raigen the Maryu gets back to basic power, lifting Hansel and driving him down with a bodyslam.
Hansel rolls through the landing and catches him in a sunset flip, forcing Raigen the Maryu into a sudden defensive scramble.
Slow-Count Sam drops, but Raigen the Maryu breaks the position before the count can fully threaten.
Both men rise quickly, tension sharpening.
Julian Ward: “Bodyslam from Raigen the Maryu, but Hansel answers with the sunset flip.”
Brick Brody: “That is good wrestling from Hansel. He is not just throwing bombs. He is looking for the sudden pin when Raigen the Maryu overcommits.”
Julian Ward: “The match is still finely balanced.”
Brick Brody: “Balanced, but Hansel has the better danger moments right now.”
Minute 13
Raigen the Maryu throws Hansel out of the ring again, this time with more force and a sharper angle.
Hansel hits the floor hard.
Slow-Count Sam begins the count.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Hansel makes it back into the ring at nine.
The crowd roars at the narrow escape.
Before the count completes, Hansel manages to attack the leg with a spinning toe hold during the scramble, making Raigen the Maryu pay for the outside strategy.
Raigen the Maryu staggers back, the leg damage now added to the growing list.
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu nearly wins by countout after throwing Hansel outside, but Hansel returns at nine.”
Brick Brody: “That was close. Real close. Hansel almost lost to the floor and Slow-Count Sam’s slow march.”
Julian Ward: “And yet he still finds the spinning toe hold in the exchange.”
Brick Brody: “That is the hunter in him. Even crawling back from the edge, he still finds a limb to hurt.”
Minute 14
The match shifts toward its final turn.
Raigen the Maryu tries to reset, but a figure wearing black moves toward ringside.
The figure stays low.
Hidden in the wrong pocket of shadow.
The crowd begins to stir, but the movement is sudden and precise.
The figure blows dust into the eyes of Raigen the Maryu.
Raigen the Maryu staggers back, rubbing at his eyes.
Slow-Count Sam does not see it.
Hansel does not see it.
The arena erupts in confusion and anger.
Hansel sees only the opening.
He steps in, hooks Raigen the Maryu, and throws him with a belly-to-belly suplex.
Raigen the Maryu attempts to defend, but blinded and off balance, he cannot stop the impact.
Hansel covers.
Slow-Count Sam drops.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bell rings.
A stunned reaction spreads through Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum.
Hansel rises slowly, victorious but immediately aware from the crowd’s reaction that something has happened outside his sight.
Raigen the Maryu remains down, one hand still near his eyes.
The black-clad figure is already disappearing back through the shadows near ringside.
Louie Linville waits for confirmation, then raises the microphone.
Louie Linville: “Here is your winner… Hansel.”
The crowd reaction is conflicted.
Cheers for Hansel’s effort.
Boos for the interference.
Shock over Raigen the Maryu’s first main event under his new name ending this way.
Julian Ward: “A figure in black has just interfered in the main event, blowing dust into the eyes of Raigen the Maryu. Neither Slow-Count Sam nor Hansel saw it, and Hansel capitalized with the belly-to-belly suplex for the win.”
Brick Brody: “That was theft. I do not care how good Hansel fought, and he fought well. But somebody in black just walked out here, blinded Raigen the Maryu, and handed the hunter the kill shot.”
Julian Ward: “Hansel appears to be realizing something happened.”
Brick Brody: “Good. Because he should not want a win like that hanging over him unless he ordered it, and I do not think he did.”
Hansel looks toward Slow-Count Sam, then toward the crowd, then down at Raigen the Maryu.
His expression is not celebration.
It is suspicion.
He backs away as Raigen the Maryu slowly rolls toward one knee, still wiping dust from his eyes.
The camera catches Raigen the Maryu’s face.
Pain.
Confusion.
Then clarity sharpening into anger.
Not wild anger.
Not old obedience.
A colder anger.
His own.
Hansel stands near the ropes, still breathing heavily, still victorious, but now with questions in his eyes.
Julian Ward: “This was a hard-fought main event. Hansel brought forearm smashes, belly-to-belly suplexes, and relentless pressure. Raigen the Maryu answered with holds, body attacks, and the attempt to control the hunter’s rhythm. But the ending was shaped by someone outside the match.”
Brick Brody: “And now everybody has to ask the obvious question. Who was the figure in black? Blood Oni Syndicate? Broken Crown? Someone else? Because when a man chooses a third path, a lot of people might want to make sure he does not walk it very far.”
Julian Ward: “Raigen the Maryu declared last week that he belongs to neither Oni nor Dragon. Tonight, someone answered that declaration with dust, shadow, and theft.”
Brick Brody: “That is the problem with walking alone. When the attack comes from the dark, nobody is there to point at it.”
Hansel exits the ring slowly.
He does not raise his arms.
He looks back once at Raigen the Maryu.
There is no apology in his face.
But there is no pride in the ending either.
Raigen the Maryu reaches his feet inside the ring.
The crowd rises.
He looks toward the aisle where the figure vanished.
His breathing steadies.
One hand touches the side of his face, brushing away the last of the dust.
Then he looks toward the camera.
The red-gold light catches his eyes.
The anger does not break him.
It centers him.
Julian Ward: “Hansel wins the match, but the final image belongs to Raigen the Maryu searching the shadows. This is not finished.”
Brick Brody: “No. That was not an ending. That was somebody making a mistake and thinking the dark would hide the receipt.”
Julian Ward: “Tonight, Hansel leaves with the victory. Raigen the Maryu leaves with a new enemy, whether named or unnamed.”
Brick Brody: “And whoever threw that dust better hope Raigen the Maryu stays blinded longer than he looks like he will.”
Raigen the Maryu remains standing in the ring.
Alone.
Marked by two worlds.
Claimed by neither.
Now hunted by shadow.
HANSEL DEFEATED RAIGEN THE MARYU BY PINFALL WITH A BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPLEX AFTER A BLACK-CLAD FIGURE BLINDED RAIGEN THE MARYU WITH DUST.
The screen returns from the final image of Raigen the Maryu standing alone in the ring.
Dust still near his eyes.
Anger held behind control.
A shadowed attacker gone into the dark.
Inside Scrooge’s Camelot Coliseum, the torches burn lower now.
The ring is empty.
The crowd is not.
They are still standing in pockets across the arena, arguing, chanting, pointing toward the aisle where the black-clad figure vanished after costing Raigen the Maryu the main event.
At the commentary desk, Julian Ward sits composed, but the weight of the night is clear in his face.
Beside him, Brick Brody leans forward with his hands clasped, eyes narrowed, voice already carrying the satisfaction of damage done and damage promised.
Julian Ward: “What a night here on Dark Fable. The road to Ashes of Empire has not merely continued. It has narrowed, sharpened, and left almost no one untouched.”
Brick Brody: “Good. That is what roads to empire should do. Break wheels. Test bones. Make everybody wonder if they should have stayed home.”
A replay begins on the screen.
House of Dragon’s Veil standing tall after the opening match.
Takuma Ryujin pinning Dragon King with the Kamigoye.
Lady Ayame Ryu closing the fan at ringside.
Julian Ward: “We began with a major six-man tag team battle. House of Dragon’s Veil defeated Monster’s Bash when Takuma Ryujin pinned Dragon King with the Kamigoye after thirty-three punishing minutes.”
Brick Brody: “That was survival through monster country. Kong, Ogre, and Dragon King tried to flatten them. Dr. Frankenstein got involved. But Takuma Ryujin, Hiro Tanenaga, and Masa Tanenaga kept finding ways to live long enough to win.”
Julian Ward: “And yet the shadow of Raigen the Maryu still hangs over House of Dragon’s Veil. Victory did not answer every question.”
Brick Brody: “Victory almost never does. It just gives you a better seat when the next problem walks in.”
The replay shifts.
Sinbad backstage with Hana Nakamura.
His new look.
The arrival of Fenwick Grimbough and Ghost of Christmas Past.
Then Alton Bell making the announcement.
Julian Ward: “Backstage, Sinbad spoke for the first time after losing the Eternal Flame Championship to Cheshire Cat last week. A new look. A new edge. And then Fenwick Grimbough and the Universal Champion, Ghost of Christmas Past, interrupted.”
Brick Brody: “They called him a loser, and Alton Bell turned the insult into a title match. That is beautiful management if you like watching people regret speaking.”
Julian Ward: “Next week, it will be Ghost of Christmas Past defending the Universal Championship against Sinbad.”
Brick Brody: “And Sinbad earned a little momentum tonight. That matters.”
The replay cuts to Frankenstein’s Monster driving Sir Lancelot down with The Flat Liner.
Dr. Frankenstein smiling beside him.
Sir Lancelot struggling to rise with Merlin nearby.
Julian Ward: “Frankenstein’s Monster answered his loss at The Long Night with victory tonight, defeating Sir Lancelot with The Flat Liner.”
Brick Brody: “That was a message to Camelot. King Arthur took the crown, but the monster is still walking. And tonight, one of the king’s knights got planted.”
Julian Ward: “Sir Lancelot fought valiantly, but the accumulated punishment was too much.”
Brick Brody: “Courage is noble. A running powerslam from Frankenstein’s Monster is heavier.”
The replay changes again.
The Aurora Title Tournament graphic.
Serpenta Veyne landing the Scorpion Kick at the forty-four-minute mark.
Then the final Diving Crossbody at fifty-eight minutes.
Lady Ayame Ryu kneeling beside Sayaka Mizuhana.
Julian Ward: “The Aurora Title Tournament continued with one of the longest, most punishing matches we have seen on Dark Fable. Serpenta Veyne defeated Sayaka Mizuhana two falls to none to advance.”
Brick Brody: “Fifty-eight minutes. That is not a match. That is a sentence. Sayaka Mizuhana fought like steel, but Serpenta Veyne kept squeezing, striking, and surviving.”
Julian Ward: “Rosalyn, Queen of Thorns and Serpenta Veyne have now advanced in the tournament. And next week, Round Two begins.”
Brick Brody: “And it starts mean.”
A graphic appears.
NEXT WEEK
AURORA TITLE TOURNAMENT – ROUND TWO
ROSALYN, QUEEN OF THORNS VS SNOW WHITE
The crowd reacts loudly.
Julian Ward: “Next week, in the second round of the Aurora Title Tournament, Rosalyn, Queen of Thorns meets Snow White.”
Brick Brody: “That is cruelty against courage with a tournament path on the line. Snow White better understand that Rosalyn, Queen of Thorns does not come to test hearts. She comes to cut them.”
The replay shifts backstage.
Mordred and the Broken Crown standing with Myrrden the Hollow, Morgana Le Faye, Black Knight, Sir Agravaine, and the Dread Knights.
Then King Arthur stepping into frame.
The challenge accepted.
Julian Ward: “The Mythic Crown Championship picture was made official tonight. Mordred challenged King Arthur, and King Arthur accepted. At Ashes of Empire, King Arthur will defend the Mythic Crown Championship against Mordred.”
The crowd roars at the graphic.
ASHES OF EMPIRE
JUNE 28
MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP
KING ARTHUR VS MORDRED
Brick Brody: “And do not forget, Mordred wanted that. He pulled the string, and King Arthur stepped forward. Brave? Sure. But brave men can still walk into traps.”
Julian Ward: “Next week, King Arthur will face Sir Agravaine in a non-title match, another dangerous step before the championship collision.”
Brick Brody: “Sir Agravaine does not need to beat him to help Mordred. He just needs to hurt something that matters.”
The replay shifts to Sinbad and Black Knight.
Black Knight in his new sinister look.
Sinbad catching the arm.
The Cross Armbreaker.
The tap.
Julian Ward: “Sinbad then backed up his words. He defeated Black Knight by submission with the Cross Armbreaker, and now moves toward next week’s Universal Championship match with momentum.”
Brick Brody: “That was important. Sinbad got called a loser earlier, then made Black Knight tap. That is a clean answer to a dirty insult.”
A graphic appears.
NEXT WEEK
UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST VS SINBAD
Julian Ward: “Next week, Ghost of Christmas Past defends the Universal Championship against Sinbad.”
Brick Brody: “The past against the man trying to prove his fire did not die with the Eternal Flame Championship. That is a dangerous title match.”
The screen shifts to Cheshire Cat retaining the Eternal Flame Championship.
The Coffin Drop.
Mad Hatter throwing confetti.
Prince Charming down.
Cheshire Cat seated with the title across his lap.
Julian Ward: “The new Eternal Flame Champion also survived his first defense. Cheshire Cat defeated Prince Charming with the Coffin Drop, retaining the title after another match shaped by speed, confusion, and Mad Hatter’s interference.”
Brick Brody: “The reign is real now. Weird, sticky, probably full of confetti, but real. Cheshire Cat won the title last week and kept it tonight.”
A second graphic appears.
NEXT WEEK
ETERNAL FLAME CHAMPIONSHIP
CHESHIRE CAT VS HANSEL
The crowd reacts with a new buzz.
Julian Ward: “And next week, Cheshire Cat defends the Eternal Flame Championship against Hansel.”
Brick Brody: “That is interesting. Hansel is not going to enjoy nonsense. He hunts things in the dark. But Cheshire Cat is not a normal thing in the dark. He is the grin after the torch goes out.”
The replay moves to backstage.
Dr. Frankenstein furious.
Monster’s Bash surrounding Hana Nakamura.
Alton Bell arriving.
The announcements.
Julian Ward: “Later tonight, Dr. Frankenstein demanded answers from Alton Bell over Frankenstein’s Monster’s rematch for the Mythic Crown Championship.”
Brick Brody: “And Alton Bell gave him one. Not at Ashes of Empire. At Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
The graphic appears.
ASHES OF EMPIRE AFTERMATH
JUNE 29
MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER VS KING ARTHUR OR MORDRED
Julian Ward: “At Ashes of Empire Aftermath on June 29, Frankenstein’s Monster will receive his Mythic Crown Championship rematch against whoever leaves Ashes of Empire as champion.”
Brick Brody: “That means King Arthur and Mordred fight for the crown on June 28, and whoever survives gets the monster on June 29. That is not a reward. That is a trapdoor with stitches.”
Another graphic appears.
ASHES OF EMPIRE
JUNE 28
DREAD KNIGHTS VS VIRTUOUS BLADES
WINNERS RECEIVE UNIVERSAL TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH AT ASHES OF EMPIRE AFTERMATH
Julian Ward: “Also official for Ashes of Empire, the Dread Knights will face the Virtuous Blades. The winners will challenge The Enforcers for the Universal Tag Team Championships at Ashes of Empire Aftermath.”
Another graphic follows.
ASHES OF EMPIRE AFTERMATH
JUNE 29
UNIVERSAL TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
THE ENFORCERS VS DREAD KNIGHTS OR VIRTUOUS BLADES
Brick Brody: “So first you fight the Dread Knights or the Virtuous Blades. Then your prize is Kong and Ogre. That is like surviving a blade fight and being handed to two falling buildings.”
The screen shifts again.
Robin Hood staring at the crushed gold coin from last week.
Will Scarlet holding the sack of gold.
Prince John smiling.
The official graphic appears.
ASHES OF EMPIRE
JUNE 28
ROBIN HOOD VS WILL SCARLET
The crowd erupts.
Julian Ward: “Also at Ashes of Empire, Robin Hood faces Will Scarlet. Betrayal, resentment, and gold have broken The Merry Band, and now former brothers collide.”
Brick Brody: “That one is not about winning. That is about making the other man answer with his body.”
The final replay returns to tonight’s main event.
Raigen the Maryu standing across from Hansel.
The abdominal stretch.
The Demon Sleeper.
Hansel’s forearms and belly-to-belly suplexes.
Then the black-clad figure at ringside.
Dust to the eyes.
The final belly-to-belly.
The pin.
Raigen the Maryu standing afterward, alone and angry.
Julian Ward: “And in tonight’s main event, Hansel defeated Raigen the Maryu after a black-clad figure appeared at ringside and blew dust into Raigen’s eyes. Neither Hansel nor Slow-Count Sam saw it.”
Brick Brody: “That was theft. Hansel fought hard, but somebody stole the ending and left him holding a win with fingerprints on it.”
Julian Ward: “The question now becomes who attacked Raigen the Maryu. The Blood Oni Syndicate? The Broken Crown? Someone else entirely?”
Brick Brody: “He chose a third path. Tonight, the dark answered. That is usually how third paths get welcomed.”
The camera returns live to the commentary desk.
The ring sits empty behind them.
The torches burn low.
The crowd is still restless.
Julian Ward: “The road now leads to two nights of consequence. Ashes of Empire on June 28. Ashes of Empire Aftermath on June 29.”
The full event graphics cycle across the screen.
ASHES OF EMPIRE – JUNE 28
ROBIN HOOD VS WILL SCARLET
DREAD KNIGHTS VS VIRTUOUS BLADES
MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP
KING ARTHUR VS MORDRED
ASHES OF EMPIRE AFTERMATH – JUNE 29
UNIVERSAL TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
THE ENFORCERS VS DREAD KNIGHTS OR VIRTUOUS BLADES
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER RECEIVES A MYTHIC CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Julian Ward: “And next week on Dark Fable, the consequences continue. Rosalyn, Queen of Thorns faces Snow White in Round Two of the Aurora Title Tournament. Cheshire Cat defends the Eternal Flame Championship against Hansel. And Ghost of Christmas Past defends the Universal Championship against Sinbad.”
Brick Brody: “Three matches that can change the whole division before we even get to Ashes of Empire. A tournament fight, a title fight, and a ghost trying to prove Sinbad’s fire is already dead.”
Julian Ward: “Plus much more, as the road to Ashes of Empire continues.”
The camera pulls back.
The empty ring remains beneath the torchlight.
Then the screen begins showing final images from the night.
Takuma Ryujin hitting the Kamigoye on Dragon King.
Frankenstein’s Monster driving down Sir Lancelot.
Serpenta Veyne advancing in the Aurora Title Tournament.
Mordred standing across from King Arthur.
Sinbad forcing Black Knight to submit.
Cheshire Cat holding the Eternal Flame Championship.
Dr. Frankenstein smiling beside the waiting monster.
Raigen the Maryu staring into the shadows after the dust attack.
Julian Ward: “Tonight, monsters regained direction. Dragons endured loss and victory. Madness retained its flame. A former champion found a path toward a ghost. A king accepted the challenge of the man who calls him false. And Raigen the Maryu learned that walking alone does not mean walking unseen.”
Brick Brody: “Goodnight from Dark Fable. Count your titles, count your enemies, and if a shadow moves near the ring, hit it before it blinds you.”
The final shot returns to the entrance aisle.
Empty.
Dark.
The place where the black-clad figure disappeared.
The screen fades slowly to black.
The final words appear in ember-red light.
THE ROAD TO ASHES OF EMPIRE CONTINUES.
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