Main Event: GASTER vs Astrid Arvidsson (c) for the LAW Openweight Title

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Astrid's condition clearly left much to be desired. There was still a mist in her eyes, which made it seem as if she saw not one Clara in front of her, but three at once. Nevertheless, she hoped that her strength would be enough to quickly hit the brunette and thus prevent her from fully returning to the match. The Golden Dragon was just one step away from victory and she just couldn't stop now.

Reaching GASTER as fast as she could, the blonde swung her arm, aiming at her opponent's chest. In the next second, the champion exhaled in shock as Clara rolled forward, thereby dodging Astrid's clothesline. The Golden Dragon found herself in a dangerous position, because one of the main rules of any combat sport says that you never should show your back to your opponent.

Placing her left foot slightly to the right of her right foot, the descendant of the great Vikings tried to turn around as quickly as possible. But as soon as Clara returned to her field of vision, Astrid discovered that her rival's foot was heading towards her head. And before she could even begin to raise her hands, there was a loud click as Clara's foot crashed into the skull of the Golden Dragon.

For a few seconds, the light in the Norwegian woman's eyes went out. She couldn't even scream. Moreover, she didn't even know that her head jerked to the side with such force that sweat and blood literally flew off her face. Without controlling her movements, the Golden Dragon staggered, starting to take weak steps to the side. Only at the fifth step her body completely gone limp and she collapsed face down on the concrete floor.

"Ggghhhmmm..." she groaned in a strangled voice.

Yes, she regained consciousness after the fall, but it couldn't be called something good. The first thing she felt was a terrible headache, as if someone had smashed a glass bottle over her head. The Golden Dragon tried to force herself to move, but she couldn't do it. The blonde opened her eyes, but couldn't see anything in front of her because of the fog caused by dizziness. She was completely lost in space and was unaware that as a result of Clara's stunning attack, she found herself very close to the commentators' table.

[Vc0m]

With fast, back-to-back strikes to Astrid's skull, the champion was understandably shaken. The Enzuigiri knocked a few drops of blood off Astrid's busted-up face, while she had a glazed-over look in her eyes. As the Shadow Lord tried to rise after her attack, the Golden Dragon retreated... and promptly fell shortly after taking a few steps away from GASTER. Clara tried to pursue... but suddenly, all the pain in her body rushed to her all at once when she tried to stand up, forcing her to rest while sitting down...

"Ow...damnit...ow..."

Everything was hurting, most of all her arm, as the spot where Astrid slammed the coffin on top of it was promptly turning black and blue, yet another bruise the Brit had earned in this difficult battle. Astrid was a champion for a reason... but Clara believed that she was better. Despite the pain, she was going to hold the belt over her head in just a few minutes. She kept repeating that in her mind, for just a few minutes. Just a few minutes and it would all be over. Any small doubt in her mind was shut off by the phrase "a few minutes". She had the champion dead to rights... there was no way anything could go wrong, even as she tried to use precious seconds to catch her breath...

And in fact, used that time to decide how the decisive minutes of the match were going to go. The corner above her still had its pumpkin, and as she forced herself to her feet, Clara saw that the second coffin was still fully intact. After Astrid's dazed walk, the Golden Dragon was now closer to it than to the first, toppled-over coffin. Quickly, a plan formed in Shadow Lord's dark mind...

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It is very difficult to keep track of time at such moments. Due to the terrible headache, Astrid did not know exactly how much time had passed after Clara's foot crashed into her head. After such a kick, she felt terrible, but the ability to move gradually began to return to her. At first, the blonde forced herself to turn on her left side because it was extremely unpleasant to continue lying face down on the concrete floor. After that, the descendant of the great Vikings ran her right hand over her face and even the mist in her eyes did not prevent her from seeing the fresh scarlet liquid.

"Fuuuuck..." she croaked in a weak voice.

All her life, she has been trying to find the answer to the question of where the limit of her abilities lies. Astrid passionately believed that nothing is impossible, what matters is what you are willing to do for your goal. First boxing, then MMA, now pro wrestling. Step by step, the Golden Dragon overcame one boundary and took a step towards the next. And no matter how hard it was for her, she never complained. Why? Because it was her choice. This was what she wanted.

However, after her match against Ostberg, she wondered for the first time if all this was worth the trials she was putting her body through. When she looked in the mirror a few weeks after the match, she still saw bruises and wounds here and there. Of course, it would be a lie on her part to say that such a thought had never sounded in her head at all. However, this was definitely the first time she had attached importance to it. Exhaustion was too mild a word to describe her condition after her first title defense. Someone might even have found it funny, because it was only after becoming a champion that Astrid asked herself this question.

Is it worth it?

Thank the Gods, the answer was obvious to her.

Hell yeah.

The adrenaline generated by such matches could not be compared to anything. Wanting to know what she was really capable of, Astrid aspired to fight with the best of the best. Because it's only when defeat is breathing down your neck that you truly realize what you're willing to do in order to be on top. She has stated more than once that she hates making promises, even to herself. However, she is proud of one promise at least because she continues to keep this promise to this day. Fight to the last drop of sweat and blood.

Gritting her teeth, the champion turned on her stomach again, but this time put her palms on the sides of her head. There was still an annoying ringing in her ears, which was indisputable proof of how powerful Clara's kick was. Astrid realized that in such a state she would be able to do little against her rival. However, she still intended to get on all fours first and then on one knee. Yes, she could actually feel the cold breath on the back of her neck. But that didn't mean she was ready to put up with it.

[Vc0m]

Clara rose. She grunted in pain, but grit her teeth and kept going. Only a short 7 years ago, she would've already given up, practically requesting the ref to forfeit the match for her...

...but these 7 years have turned her into a competitor. She always wanted to hold the belt, but as her early career progressed, she gave up on that hope, almost content to just being a funny evil lady on the indies... and a while later, on LAW. But sparks of competition did show themselves. Shortly before LAW, Clara faced Chika in a singles match. Early on, the Joshi wrestler was a lot meaner, less tolerant of comedy in the ring, taking it as an affront to the sport... and as a result, would kick the Shadow Lord with a lot more viciousness. GASTER would try to adapt, managing to outmaneuver her and survive the contest to a time-limit draw, gaining her respect in the process. Now, Chika was one of her best friends, one of her main training and sparring partners in Japan. After a good few years of scoring solid wins on LAW, Clara gained the motivation to become the champion, crushing herself with high expectations when she lost to Aoi for the inaugural Lightweight title, disappearing for 2 years before coming back to LAW, slowly rebuilding herself, her brand, her motivation... and her greed for the gold. Once she dealt with the problems facing her, be they physical, like the Baroness or mental, like her fear of losing a title match again, Clara was ready for the big time.

Clara Gaster was ready to become a champion.

Climbing onto the ring apron, Clara grabbed the pumpkin off the corner, hopping over the ropes as she hopped to the opposite side outside of the ring, throwing the pumpkin into the coffin for another try. Suddenly, an idea hit her. Clara grabbed the gurney. Despite the coffin's weight, it was still easy to roll it forward and back. The Shadow Lord gave it a thought, realizing that she'd have difficulty dragging Astrid to the coffin... and peaking over to the commentary table, she could see Astrid picking herself back up.

"If she dies, she dies.", a dark thought crossed the Shadow Lord's mind, before she shook her head.

Surely, Astrid would be alright. She was a tough woman. She could survive a lot...

...right?

Deciding not to second-guess herself further, Clara rolled the gurney, trying to ram it straight into the champion to take her off her feet again!

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Even before LAW, Astrid had heard that the path of a champion is a path of suffering. She used to treat these words with a certain degree of skepticism, but everything changed after the day when the management of the federation entrusted her with the most significant title. Of course, with or without a title, the blonde wanted to fight with the best of the best, this was clearly hinted at by the list of women she had encountered before becoming a champion. However, she has now lost all skepticism about these words.

She didn't just get a ticket to the big leagues, thanks to the title, she got a real target on her back. Just two title defenses were enough for her to fully realize that now her rivals will try not just to defeat her, but literally to kill her. Perhaps this will not seem surprising to anyone, because the openweight title was the most coveted award possible. But Astrid was sure that no one would understand what she felt at that moment, for this it was necessary to be in her place, which she, in her turn, intended to prevent. At least today.

Puffing and snuffling, the descendant of the great Vikings tried to get to her feet. Even deep breaths hurt her now. On the one hand, each breath gave her strength, clearing her mind and allowing her body to move, but on the other hand, each breath reminded her of the bruises and wounds on her body. All she could do was focus on not letting it break her. In addition, when she got up on all fours, she had additional motivation. The still dense fog in her eyes did not prevent her from hearing the growing screams of the audience. If she had a little more strength, she might have smiled, but instead she made another effort and got up on one knee.

But as soon as she did it, a wave of cold swept down her back. For no apparent reason. It was that feeling when you don't know what exactly, but something is definitely wrong. The cheers from the audience should have been supportive of the Golden Dragon, but then why did she feel that it was something bad? Resisting the pain, she took as deep a breath as possible in order to normalize her vision for at least a few moments, and then she raised her head.

Her instincts had not deceived her.

But it was already too late.

"AAAAGGGGHHHHHAAAA!!!!!"

While the champion was trying to cope with the damage and get to her feet, Clara did not waste a single second. Masterfully taking advantage of the weakened condition of the Norwegian woman, GASTER grabbed the second gurney with the coffin on it. This was the reason why the audience filled the arena with noise. They welcomed not Astrid's efforts to get back on her feet, but Clara's creativity. It was loud. But when the metal structure crashed into the champion's body, it was even louder.

If Astrid had been a few dozen kilograms lighter, she would have been blown away somewhere. However, thanks to her heavyweight status, she managed to stay put. Was it good? Not at all. Due to inertia, after the gurney crashed into Astrid's body, the coffin continued to move. Physics is a great thing that cannot be fooled. The coffin crashed into the Golden Dragon's head, sending her back to the concrete floor. A new wound opened on the left side of her forehead and a thin stream of blood flowed down her cheek. It was hard to tell which fell louder on the floor, Astrid or the coffin itself. But one thing was for sure. This time, the champion was in no hurry to get to her feet. All the efforts she made to get back into the game were in vain. Now she didn't have the strength to get up, her strength was only enough to make her painful groans as quiet as possible.

[Vc0m]

This was the biggest stage Clara had been at after her APEX match. It was easy to see that her match...her feud with the Baroness had changed her. Outside of just being competitive, she gave restraint to herself. There was another pay-per-view match tonight, which stood in stark contrast to as well, that being her Deathmatch vs Yuzuha during the summer of 2022. She recoiled after every hit on her foe then. Now?

She was running over the current champion with a gurney.

And the bloodthirsty audience tonight could not be happier.

An unintended consequence of Clara's attack was also that the coffin moved forward from the crash, impacting directly on Astrid's head, turning as it fell straight from the gurney!

There were 2 loud "bang" noises as first Astrid, then the coffin fell on the floor.

The Shadow Lord stood, her mouth agape under her mask. Especially how she realized that Astrid's face was cut once more in the attack. The Golden Dragon was now wearing a proper Crimson Mask with her Thor one.

The audience was ecstatic, with chants of "GAS-TER" enveloping the arena.

Clara approached the downed champion and checked the inside of the opened coffin, checking that the pumpkin was still inside.

Grabbing Astrid's head, Clara couldn't help but say: "Sorry...sorry for this..." once more. Part of her felt that she was apologizing for cutting her in so many places throughout the match... part of her was sympathetic to Astrid for being the one to finish her championship reign, after only a single successful defense.

Clara trapped Astrid in a reverse facelock, a position all too familiar to LAW fans as a prelude to her finishing Shadow's End, as the Shadow Lord would lift her foe into the air and slam her, head-first, onto the pumpkin as she originally intended!

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Strange feeling. When Astrid opened her eyes, she saw nothing but a pulsing white light. She could feel the wet blood flowing down her face, falling onto the concrete floor. Every muscle and joint literally ached for pain. She felt it all. What was so strange about that? Well, the strange thing was that she didn't feel just one thing. She didn't feel like she could move. Too much damage in too short a period of time. And this is only the material side of the issue. The moral side of the issue was that all this happened when she was one moment away from victory.

Accompanied by cheers from the audience, GASTER grabbed the Golden Dragon and pulled her up. Perhaps that was enough to give Clara her credit. At that moment, the champion did not move and the brunette had to cope with Astrid's weight solely on her own. However, she did it. Funny or not, Astrid knew exactly where the British woman got the strength for this. The taste of victory on the lips always gives strength to a fighter. She knew that very well.

Clara not only lifted the Golden Dragon to her feet, but also grabbed her head, thereby placing her in the hold. The same one she used while standing on the apron. Astrid's arms hung down like two rags. The blood rushed to her head, but it only made her feel sick. Did she want to escape? Did she want to fight back? Yes. But she couldn't. There was a pumpkin under her head, and drops dripping down the champion's face fell on this pumpkin. Drops of blood and tears.

Clara's words of sorry were probably supposed to be a kind of support for her, but for Astrid, these words sounded like a death sentence.

Lifting a woman like Astrid into the air is by no means the easiest task in itself, given her weight. Clara did it despite both her own modest weight and the bruises on her body. Perhaps in the hearts of some viewers there was a hope that the Golden Dragon would jerk her legs again in an attempt to prevent Clara from lifting her high enough. But this did not happen. This time, GASTER sent the champion's head into the pumpkin amid deafening screams from fans.

"AAAAGGGG... haaaaa..."

What started as a painful scream turned into what is called the last exhalation. At the moment of collision, the pumpkin under Astrid's head shattered into many pieces, staining everything with orange pulp. Another white flash in front of the Golden Dragon's eyes was replaced by a black veil. Her mind was somewhere very far away. She still heard something, but at that moment she couldn't separate reality from the dream. However... for everyone who was present in the arena, the reality was very clear. Astrid was lying in the coffin, barely breathing, and the message on the screen had changed for the last time.

The pumpkin count. GASTER : Astrid Arvidsson. 3 : 3

GASTER is now eligible to win the match

[Vc0m]

Clara's strength disappeared just as quickly as it arrived to drive the Golden Dragon into the coffin... and said power did nothing to alleviate the pain in her already hurting hands. In fact, right as the Brit dropped the blonde into the coffin, she ended up falling from the recoil of the move.

"AAAAAAAaaaagh... dammit...mmmmgggh..."

She cried and groaned in pain, using her healthier right arm to grab at her hurting left, trying to get it in a position where it wouldn't hurt as much...but no matter how much she tried, her arm felt like it was on fire...

But, as the Shadow Lord shook her head, she told herself: "Doesn't...matter"

Astrid was right there. Right where she wanted her to be...where she needed her to be to win the Golden Dragon's title!

"No...my title!", Clara would tell her own thoughts, as she finally started to get up after a good few minutes on the floor, approaching the coffin, and placing her arm on the coffin lid, looking down on Astrid with her mask:

"Let the darkness take you!", the Shadow Lord proclaimed, trying to close the lid and win the match!

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"Ughhhh..."

Astrid was on the borderline of consciousness and unconsciousness. There was an annoying squeak in her ears, as if a grenade had exploded next to her. Her head was filled with pain and dizziness, as if she had drunk a whole barrel of alcohol on the eve. The sweet smell of pumpkin and the salty smell of blood stuck in her nostrils. All this was pushing her to sink into sleep and stay conscious at the same time. And it seemed to tear her apart from the inside.

She tried to concentrate and force herself to move, but she didn't find any success. The Golden Dragon felt as tired as she had at the end of her first title defense. The only difference was that if Ostberg had squeezed every last drop of sweat out of her, then Clara had squeezed every last drop of blood. Ironic, because it was as close as possible to the promise that Astrid made to herself on the day she decided that her life would forever be connected with the ring.

Unable to move, she tried to open her eyes. The bright light could barely break through the fog and the tears in the blonde's eyes. She had double vision and couldn't make out clear figures, just blurry silhouettes. However, she knew exactly whose silhouette was right next to her. It was Clara. The British woman has already risen to her feet. And even despite the terrible headache, Astrid clearly understood what her rival was going to do. Now that they had switched places, it was Clara who had only one thing left to do.

"Want to ask for power again?" A booming voice sounded in Astrid's head.

Astrid's father always told her that there was a real dragon inside her. In the most desperate moments, the Norwegian woman asked for power from this mighty beast. The dragon's flame was something that could take down any obstacle on her way. But not this time.

If GASTER really squeezed every last drop of blood out of Astrid, then her promise can be considered fulfilled. She gave her rival everything she could. Considering herself a warrior, she was not afraid of defeat. And if her promise was fulfilled, she could afford to rest, hardly anyone would blame her for it after such a tough match.

"No, I won't..." Astrid mentally replied to the dragon. "Because I'm gonna do this on my own."

When Clara grabbed the coffin lid, the champion held her breath. And as soon as the brunette pointed the lid down, the Golden Dragon jerked violently to the side. A loud sound rolled through the arena, but it wasn't the sound of wood colliding with wood, it was the sound of wood colliding with flesh. Astrid's head, left arm and part of her chest were outside the coffin, in fact she overhung over the long side of the wooden structure, as a result of which the lid landed hard on her back. She let out a strangled scream full of agony, but the most important thing was that the coffin remained open.

Without restraining their emotions, the audience screamed so loudly that it could certainly be heard even outside the arena. And while they were glad that this incredible match wasn't over yet, Astrid turned her head to the side. Her lavender eyes were directed into the slits on Clara's mask, while there was one simple message on her exhausted and bloodied face.

Everyone has their own truth. The Golden Dragon was sure that on the way to the title, Clara had forgotten why she was striving to this at all. Any title, especially the openweight one, is not just a tick on the list confirming that you have come a long way. It is a symbol of the fact that you are ready to give everything without a trace and a little more from above for the sake of your dreams. So in Astrid's eyes, Clara could read a simple but very clear message. Not today.

[Vc0m]

The moment has finally arrived. Time felt like it stood still when Clara started to close the coffin. The Brit could feel that in just a few moments, she'd be declared the champion. She would be declared the best. All of the punishment she suffered tonight...and in the last 13 years of her life... all of that would be worth it.

BAM!

But Astrid refused that version of reality come to pass.

The Shadow Lord opened her eyes wide as she realized that the coffin lid bounced off of her rival. Shocked, and realizing that Astrid was staring back at her, the Brit stepped away.

Shock gave way to realization...and frustration. The fact was simple. Astrid wasn't done. And as little energy as she had left, Clara wasn't done either. She was going to be the champion... she just needed a little bit more time, as much as it angered her. Grabbing the coffin lid, Clara slammed it on top of Astrid...

...before lifting it up and driving it down.

"GO. BACK. IN. SIDE!", the Shadow Lord would scream in anger.

Again and again and again, Clara repeated her attack, the Shadow Lord trying to do as much damage to Astrid as she could!