The Pit – Morlock Tunnels.
The crowd gathered fast.
Dozens of eyes—yellowed, glowing, wide and distrustful—peered from shadowed alcoves. They whispered in rough voices, most of them half-hidden by hoods, bandages, or makeshift masks. This was the Morlock Court: outcasts, freaks, and survivors.
Callisto stood at the far end of the arena, stripped down to a sleeveless tunic, metal-studded boots, and a blade strapped to her back.
To her right stood Feral—crouched, teeth bared, wild.
To her left, Thornn—calm, coiled, eyes like amber fire.
I stepped into the arena alone.
No weapon. No armor. Just my fists, my Chi, and every ability I'd gained so far.
The gate slammed behind me with finality.
"Here. We don't fight for show," Callisto said as she drew her blade. "If you loose, you die."
"I won't die even if you all tried," I replied, voice steady, Chi now blazing through my limbs.
[Chi Manipulation]
[Peak Human Condition]
[Martial Arts Mastery]
[Personal Mind Manipulation – Thought acceleration]
The tension crackled in the silence. My Chi pulsed like a second heartbeat and slowly that heartbeat was increasing.
Feral hissed low, tail swaying, claws twitching for blood.
Thornn simply nodded, coiling low like a snake preparing to strike.
Feral came in then, a blur of claws and rage, diving at my neck.
I ducked. Let her momentum fly over me, then twisted and slammed my elbow into her spine. She hit the ground hard and rolled, growling, but stayed down—for now.
Thornn joined the fray.
She was more disciplined, more fluid—closer to a martial artist than a brawler. She came in with a claw-feint, followed by a tail-sweep meant to trip me up.
I jumped over her sweep and front-kicked her in the chest, sending her tumbling back.
Feral and Thornn were still breathing—barely—but neither moved to rise again.
Then it was Callisto who moved.
Boom—
One second she was standing. The next, a blur. Callisto's [Superhuman Speed] snapped her forward in a straight-line dash, faster than most could blink. The ground cracked under her boot as she closed the distance in an instant, blade slicing through the space I had occupied.
But I wasn't there anymore.
I shifted just barely—Chi-enhanced reflexes and [Personal Mind Manipulation] kicking in time.
Her blade carved air. I twisted at the waist, striking with an open palm into her side—but she vanished again with a blur of motion, using her speed physiology to pivot and come back at me from the rear.
I entered a hyperfocus state—time slowed in my mind.
I could hear the metal in her boots scrape stone mid-pivot. The rasp of her breath. Her heartbeat speeding up. Her blade came from below this time, aiming for a tendon-severing slash at my hamstring.
I dropped my center of gravity and spun, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Clang!
Her blade struck stone. Sparks danced.
I struck her with a full-powered Chi punch to the ribs.
Crack.
She was thrown back—but flipped mid-air, landing perfectly on her feet.
She grinned, blood trickling from her mouth, a rib definitely fractured.
Then it started healing.
Slowly.
"Good hit," she spat, "You are a worthy opponent."
I didn't answer. I focused inward.
I sensed her coming before I saw her. Her [Superhuman Senses] made her attacks a bit unpredictable. She adjusted mid-stride based on the change in my breathing, the twitch in my neck muscles, the subtle shift in my footing.
It would have been easy to dodge it if it were someone else. But Callisto has [Superhuman Speed] and she used it fully.
Her punch landed.
A real hit. Full strength.
Boom.
Though before her punch landed I had changed my face into Organic Diamond Form.
Her strength wasn't Hulk-level—but with her speed and momentum, it hit like a small wrecking ball. But most of the power did not even affect me.
I only staggered back slightly.
She didn't press the advantage—because she couldn't.
She had felt the shift in my form. She felt the pain in her arm as she hit my Diamond face.
"You've finally used your mutant powers," she muttered. "But you're not the only one who has them."
She charged again. A zigzag pattern, erratic—using the Pit's uneven floor to ricochet off stone, changing direction at the last moment with [Superhuman Reflexes}. No human would follow it.
Thankfully I wasn't just human anymore.
I slammed my palm into the stone floor.
A controlled ripple of Chi burst outward—a shockwave that destabilized footing in a five-meter radius.
It didn't stop her. But it made her slip—just enough.
I lunged.
I turned into the attack, used her momentum, and flipped her over my shoulder with a judo throw. She landed hard, the air leaving her lungs in a hiss.
Fists blurred. I landed a combo—three strikes to the ribs, a kick to the stomach.
But then she used her speed to roll away and barely escaped.
Then, slowly, she stood.
Bleeding. Bruised.
But grinning.
"You're powerful," she said, spitting blood.
She started running around me in circles using her [Superhuman Speed] to confuse me.
But as she finally attacked me my [Danger Sense] allowed me to sense her strike and so my clamped my hand around wrist. With a twist of Chi-powered strength, I disarmed her balance, drove a knee into her midsection, then used a palm strike to her breast, and a final rising elbow under her chin.
She flew backward and hit the arena wall, cracking stone.
The crowd gasped.
Then. Silence.
I stepped toward her.
"This fight's over."
But she lunged from her position on the ground towards me. She used her fall as cover, sweeping in close, blade flashing toward my side. I caught it with my forearm—skin hardening on impact.
Sparks. A sharp sting. No blood.
I wrenched the blade from her hands, spun it once, and tossed it to the ground.
"Still want to test me?" I asked.
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she charged again—barehanded this time.
I caught her wrist mid-punch.
Twisted.
Dropped her to one knee.
Chi surged through my palm, locking her shoulder and elbow in place. Her muscles spasmed under the pressure—but I held back, careful not to snap the joint.
She panted. Blood ran from her nose. Sweat beaded along her brow. But her eye—the one that still burned—was steady.
Callisto looked up at me, bruised and bleeding, but no longer defiant.
"You win." she rasped.
The room went silent.
Callisto rose slowly. Her eye locked on mine—not with hatred… but with recognition.
She turned to the watching Morlocks and raised her voice.
"This man is stronger than me. Than us. And strength rules down here."
She faced me again and said
"The Morlocks and I will now follow you…."
"Magnus" I said as I gave her my hand to help her up.
She took it.
And as she stood up a ripple passed through the crowd.
Some bowed their heads. Others bared their teeth in approval.
They didn't need fancy speeches. Not here. They understood dominance, strength, and power that protected its own.
And now, I was one of them.
No.
Better to say they were now one of mine. No longer were they outcast Mutants. But they were now Meta-Humans under me. Who would now soon be able to keep their heads held high and come out of their shell and this hell hole.
Because now I was their Leader.
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