"Huh?"
Loki's brow creased. He could literally feel the human's life slipping away—death claiming him. What on earth was happening?
"W-what is this?!"
"Why is Xiang Yu's own metal box attacking him?"
"Is he going to die?"
"It's over!"
The uproar was deafening, coming not just from the mortal side but from the gods' stands as well. Everyone watched in stunned confusion as a gleaming spear erupted from the box's top, skewering Xiang Yu through the chest. It looked unmistakably lethal—if any ordinary man were impaled that way, he'd be cleaved in two. Crimson blood spurted over the metal, as if the box itself were drinking him in.
But in truth it wasn't the box feeding on his blood—it was Xiang Yu's body collapsing into dust, evaporating so swiftly that his gore seemed to vanish midair. To the onlookers, it felt like a sacrificial ritual: the warrior offering himself up to summon some dreadful monster.
"A sacrifice?" someone murmured.
"Is he using himself to call forth some beast?"
"Can this still be called a man-versus-god contest?"
Heimdall, the official announcer of the "Ragnarök Contest," rifled through the rulebook, seeking any clause about self-sacrifice or monstrous summons. But no such entry existed.
Just then, as Xiang Yu's form dissolved completely, the box's panels began to fracture. Fissure after fissure spidered across its surface until, with a sound like shattered porcelain, the entire container exploded apart. Every eye fixed on the wreckage, breath held—awaiting whatever was to emerge.
"Eh?"
Even Grey, who'd expected nothing more, stood slack-jawed alongside the gods and mortals alike.
"There—inside the shards… is Xiang Yu?"
"A twin?"
"That can't be…"
Chaos reigned on both sides. Two identical figures stood where one had fallen. What sorcery was this?
In the gods' stands, many were baffled. Shiva, who'd been reclining, jolted upright. The aura emanating from these new bodies was nothing like the warm, mortal life-force he'd sensed before—it was cold and inert, yet crackling with a fierce, violent power that rivaled Thor's own. Shiva's blood thundered in his veins, excitement alight in his eyes—he yearned to clash with this marvel. Alas, this battle was Thor's alone… but what battles would follow, with such formidable mortals on the field?
Heimdall's voice rang out over the tumult: "Betting the future of humankind on this first clash of Ragnarök, both sides have unleashed true might—now, who shall triumph?"
On the far side, Thor the Thunder God lifted Mjölnir above his head, channeling a torrent of energy so terrifying that mere contact might vaporize flesh. Opposite him, Xiang Yu planted his feet, halberd gleaming, muscles coiled, his body mapped by glowing veins of light like living flame.
"Boom!"
Both men vanished in an instant; the twin blasts weren't magical attacks but the shockwaves of their blinding-speed charges. Wherever they'd stood, the platform exploded outward under their force, the cracks racing out until the very air around Heimdall seemed sucked away—true vacuum, where sound could not travel.
Only Heimdall's own voice, carried through his divine gift, pierced the silence for the crowd's benefit. He stumbled aside as the fissure rent the stage beneath him, heart pounding at how close he'd come to being hurled skyward.
All the while, Thor and Xiang Yu hammered at one another again and again. Each collision shook the arena to its core, sending tremors through its supports. Flames and lightning flared with every strike, heating the stone until even a sweat droplet vanished before it could hit the ground.
"Oh my gods…" breathed one onlooker.
"To think Thor's unleashed might can be matched…"
"How did this mortal achieve such power?"
"He died… then reappeared? What sorcery is this?"
Now whispers of panic and awe swept through the divine hosts. If Thor at full strength could be held at bay, then no god present could claim easy victory—and perhaps this very human could do what no god dared attempt.
"Could a mere mortal truly be that mighty?"
"If so… they might win!"
"A human may best a god!"
"'The Bravery of Yu the Conqueror, unmatched through the ages'—well deserved!"
On the mortal side, cheers erupted. Liu Xuande turned to his brother Guan Yu. "Second Brother, do you think he can win?"
Guan Yu shook his head. "It's impossible to say." It wasn't lack of faith in Xiang Yu—he'd sparred with him and knew his strength—but Thor was no ordinary foe. Anyone familiar with the legends knew that only one other mortal had ever wrenched the world's course so drastically…
"That would be someone who truly forged their own myth." Liu Xuande mused. "In fact, he created myth itself."
Grey, once despairing, now vibrated with excitement. "Brunhild… he might win!" How could Xiang Yu—without Randgrid's aid—stand toe-to-toe with the Thunder God? Perhaps the history she'd learned was incomplete, the true tale skewed by time.