Nexus Node - "The Arena"
"I could take you on any day of the week". This phrase is one usually associated with a fight, as are many others just like it.
That's fine, but there's the problem of... some of the combatants are deity-class entities, or have world-shattering, or even universe-ending attacks.
....but since we really do want to know who would win, a place for people to settle their differences was created.
Do you have a transforming alien monkey who you want to fight against one of the last survivors of an exploded planet? This is the place to do it!
The Arena is in a dimension on its own. Once combatants agree, they will be teleported within, and no matter what they do within the confines of that realm, the outside will not be affected. You can throw a planet, explode a sun, cancel a universe, and all that would possibly happen is... that the fight would end.
The original bodies of the combatants are kept outside, and duplicated upon entry. Fights may be to the death, surrender, or incapacitation, but in any case, all parties will survive unless other rules are agreed upon.
Also, for the spectators who watch from outside of the dimension, snacks are free, just don't drink too much! The Wardens might THROW YOU INTO THE ARENA if you become disorderly outside of it. Yes, there can be simultaneous fights, and betting IS allowed.
Purpose / Function
This place was created to settle the differences that may arise between the creators of worlds, and to answer the debates of "who would kick who's ass".
Design
The outer portion of The Arena is, unsurprisingly, an arena. There are some number of seats, which scale to the number of spectators, and a central area that is generally empty.
The inner portion of the arena usually has a large bubble-like structure that acts as a screen to watch the combat within the contained dimension. If the scale of the fight is small enough, then the arena floor becomes the combat zone, and the bubble structure instead becomes a barrier to prevent attacks from harming those not involved in combat.
Aside from those commonalities, the design of the inner region changes according to the will of the combatants. We wouldn't want people complaining about unfair advantages.
Entries
The Arena's outer section has anywhere between 1 and 32 entrances, varying by the number of spectators, though, after 10 entrances, you can just teleport to your seat. Everyone gets a number and nobody complains about their seating.
The Arena floor usually has 2 entrances, but this can vary based on the number of participants and the field on which they will be fighting.
Essentially, The Arena has as many entrances as it needs at the time.
Denizens
Nobody "lives" here... or at least no one should. The Nexus doesn't see squatters, and if there were a place to try to stay within The Nexus, this is the 2nd worst, with the first and most dangerous being Nexus Node - "The Atelier"
Contents & Furnishings
The only things that can ALWAYS be found are:
- At least 4 seats
- At least 1 concession stand that sells pizza, nachos, ice cream, sushi, and Shopska salad. Alcohol is nearly always present as well.
Valuables
The only things of value here are the food (which is free), and the bragging rights or glory of victory!
Hazards & Traps
The outer section of The Arena is safe, its the inner section that's dangerous.
Would you jump into a live sporting event? One that could potentially kill you? Probably not... That's the kind of hazard that resides in the center of The Arena. It is very much an "authorized personnel only" or "combatants only" kind of area.
Special Properties
- Dimensional separation - so that the big kabooms inside don't hurt those outside
- Respawns - so that your fights to the death aren't to the literal death. People have worlds to go back to, and maybe families, or favorite foods, or someone to marry. Yeah, you can say you'll marry someone when you return... die, and still return. No need to worry about that death flag. YOU'RE WELCOME!
- The maximum number of parallel timelines allowed within that dimension is 4 (yes, we're looking at the time-manipulating, gun-wielding girls... you know who you are).
- The flow of time is constant. One's perception of time can be altered, but time itself cannot be reversed past entry into the battlefield. If a time reversal occurs it is counted as usage of a parallel timeline. You may not rewind if you have already been defeated. Note: Wardens, Astral Council members, and Nexus Keepers are not affected by time distortions caused by one who is not of one of those ranks, or is of a lower rank than themselves... in short, yeah, we'll know.
Alterations
The contents of the dimension within the arena can change according to the scale of the battle, be it a single room, a certain pocket monster-sized field, all the way up to galactic scales, and any requirement beyond that.
However, the maximum number of parallel timelines allowed within that dimension is 4 (Yes Kurumi, we're looking at you).
Defenses
It's a sub-dimension arena for combat. It is not something that you attack, but if you do, you will be met with resistance from the wardens, story characters, or if you are an anomaly, possibly one of the Astral Council. Let's just hope you do not encounter one of the Nexus keepers themselves.
Tourism
One does not come here to look at the arena itself, but at large bubble-like structure in its center.
by Midjourney
Type
Arena
Environmental Effects
The environmental effects of the inner arena vary by the agreed-upon conditions of combat but can reproduce anything the combatants can think up. If the conditions are normally hazardous to look at, such as a fight inside a sun, the large view-bubble-thing will filter the images displayed so that it is safe to look at.
The outer arena is akin to something between a small gathering with trusted friends to a championship sporting match. It's generally a place of excitement and revelry
Owner
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