"Please, take a seat", Dirtha said from behind her desk, waving her hand forward to invite Diego into the chair. Half of her pale skin lit up from the light coming through the large window overlooking the courtyard, bringing out her bright orange eyes, now fixated on the revenant.
The young kravist nodded and sat unsure into the chair, as if he had been called to court. He wasn't sure why the woman wanted to talk to him, but his mind was already settling on the worst scenarios he could imagine.
"Your debut is in two days. Are you nervous?"
"A little bit", his voice came out stumbling, low and raspy. He cleared his throat before continuing, "I've never done anything like this before, much less in front of an audience".
"The first time is always scarier than it looks. Just remember what you've been practicing these months and it'll be easier than you think".
"I hope so".
"However…", Diego's muscles tensed when he heard the word, and felt how the chair began to bite at his spine, "…remember that your goal is to make a good show. If the audience is entertained, they'll want to see more, and from there you get fans, who buy merchandise. Your debut is key to start working on a fanbase and your reputation".
"And what if I lose?"
"As long as you make money, it doesn't really matter. We want them to start talking about Hellmask at their job, at school, when buying groceries and on their way home".
Diego nodded. He was pretty much a Roman gladiator, ready to beat someone up and take on punishment for the cheers of the crowd. He had a Degree in Physics for God's sake, how the hell was all this even happening? He felt a headache forming in his brain, like rows of teeth eating away at the back of his skull. And if that wasn't enough, he saw his other self again, snooping around the office and looking at what Dirtha kept on her bookcase.
Christ, this is depressing, it's just rows and rows on finances, economics, and old newspaper clippings. What do you bet there's some self-help stuff around here too?, he stopped to look closer at something that caught his attention, Holy shit, is this a comic?!
Diego tried his best to ignore the apparition. The woman caught back his attention by showing him a newspaper with the picture of a man covered in a hood made of coins. The image, in a rudimentary black and white, showed him in what looked like robes, adorned in jewels and expensive ornaments. Given what Diego was learning about the industry, he reasoned there was a very good chance they were cheap fakes.
"This will be your first rival. He goes by Charon, some sort of ferryman for the dead, comes to the ring with a boat even. It's oddly fitting for your debut".
"It's from one of the mythologies back home. Charon took the dead through a river to the afterlife in exchange of coins".
"Many wrestlers base their personas on their cultures and traditions. They have the benefit of being exotic to our audiences, and provide a good basis for our creative teams to work on their characters and storylines".
Diego could see Hellmask lean into the woman, tired of being ignored, and began to throw a collection of rude gestures at her. The variety and extend of them would let them be part of an exhibition at some museum, but to Diego, it made him feel rivers of sweat run down his nervous body.
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like headbutting her. Do it.
"Is there something wrong?", Dirtha asked, before looking to where Diego's eyes where fixed.
"No, nothing, it's just…" the young man's brain was firing every neuron trying to find an excuse to cover behind, "I can't wrap my hear around why you need to resurrect people for wrestling, of all things".
Perfect save.
"I was wondering when you'd ask the question", the woman said without hesitation, completely unaware of the gestures she was still receiving and had only grown more vulgar, "We have a long history of bringing people back from the dead, dating back centuries. During that time, there's been many attempts to use revenants in different fields, with varying results, yet it has proven to be a power that's very hard to let go of. Until some decades ago, they were still being used as cheap labor in dangerous fields or those with lower workforces, such as mining. However, they've made laws since then to regulate what some considered exploitative practices, much to the ire of many so-called titans of industry. Entertainment, and the rise of wrestling in particular, proved to be a very lucrative industry where they could still take advantage of the benefits of necromancy, without facing legal consequences".
"Is it really that better than just paying locals?"
"You can't even imagine, much cheaper too", Dirtha took a moment to think, as an idea came to her mind. Her eyes moved to the framed picture on her desk, with a man and a child the same species as the woman formally dressed for the camera. She then looked back to Diego, "By the way, I've noticed that you're spending a lot of time with Emma. It's good that she's helping you adjust".
"Yeah, she's done a lot".
"What about your other coworkers?"
"I…haven't had the chance".
"I see…", the business owner said, calling his bluff, "And why is that?"
"I just… can't help but feel uncomfortable when they get close, I don't know what to say. It's still very soon".
"It's been months".
Hellmask looked at her, fruitlessly trying to choke her in a fit of rage. His hands simply went through her neck like there was nothing, making him madder, Yeah, it's only been some months. Since you fucking died!
"Since I died", Diego answered, feeling the apparition's anger flow to him, "I'd say what little progress I've done is an achievement, given that".
"You should take the time to get to know them, don't let today's anxiety turn into tomorrow's idleness. You'll be working with them for a long time, after all".
"I'll keep it in mind", the young man said, more to keep the woman at bay than out of sincere compromise. He looked back at his other self, who finally backed off in frustration.
"Then, we're concluded", Dirtha announced before taking the newspaper away and carefully storing it, "In two days, the city will be watching".