This is what...

The beating of his heart was so loud in his ears that he wondered how the others that were around him could not hear it. It seemed to boom almost as loud as the bass coming from the speakers thundering heavy metal music all around him. He desperately tried to will his racing heart to slow down, his chest feeling as if it were going to explode.

Fear, excitement, and a pure rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins as the announcer introduced him. For the hundredth time that night someone patted him on the back and told him good luck. He nodded his thanks silently, trying desperately to stay focused. He shrugged his shoulders to try and loosen up, every muscle in his body felt painfully tight. As he began to move forward, time seemed to slow to almost a stop. Every step he took, every face around him seemed to be frozen in time as if he was moving in slow motion. The buzzing drone of the crowd was deafening to him. Yet before he knew it he was climbing the steps towards his final destination.

“How do you feel?” he was asked.

“Good,” he answered blankly. The surrealism of the situation hit him, blanketing him in a fog. Whispers from another realm came to him giving him instructions.

His mind seemed to shutdown and again the adrenaline began to pump. He stared into dark blazing eyes that seemed to belong to him, as again he heard the whispering from the beyond. Something primal screamed in his mind, yet his conscience struggled to gain control of the beast that sought to be unleashed.

The ding of a bell split through the fog, he looked up and advanced toward his opponent; readying himself for what was to come. He covered himself as a flurry of blows rained down upon him. Scarcely registering the blows as he ducked out of the way and looked at his opponent and smiled.

This was what he was there for. This is what he had trained for. The fight had begun and no matter what the final outcome, he was already the victor.