The arena was boiling with noise.Roars. Applause. Screams. Chants.
"A-S-TRID! A-S-TRID! A-S-TRID!"
The once-skeptical crowd now stood on their feet, hands in the air, faces red from cheering. Even the sky above Uonuma City seemed to shine brighter.
Astrid, bruised and winded, stood atop the pillar with the white flag wrapped around her like a cape.
She bowed her head slightly, letting her silver hair curtain her face.
"They're not cheering for royalty… not for a name… but for me."
She looked over at Kuro, who sat at the base of the pillar, arm draped over his bent knee. He had no expression… yet something in his gaze said he wasn't defeated.
He was content.
The announcer burst from the platform underground again, spinning with a rose in his teeth like a stage magician.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE WITNESSED A MATCH FOR THE AGES!!" he yelled into the enchanted amplifier orb.
"FIFTY-EIGHT SECONDS… FIFTY-EIGHT. That's how close Kuro was. And yet—like a phoenix in a rainstorm—Astrid rose. A clash of instinct, intellect, and heartbreak! GIVE IT UP FOR BOTH OF THEM!"
The coliseum nearly collapsed under the eruption of applause.
Jae Hoon's Thoughts
"They weren't just fighting. They were… connecting."
I swallowed.
"Kuro fought like a ghost carrying pain… but Astrid? She fought like someone finally being seen."
I clenched my fists.
"That kind of strength… that's not something you're born with. That's what you earn after being forgotten."
I stared at Astrid — and for the first time in a long while — I felt something deeper than admiration.
Hope.
Unseen by most, a single figure leaned on the highest balcony, arms crossed behind the shadows of a marble spire.
Jay.
No crowd near him. No cheers. No spotlight.
Just his eyes… glowing faintly in the shade.
He watched the match in silence, his expression unreadable.
Then he spoke quietly:
"They're getting stronger..."
A guard beside him blinked. "Sir?"
Jay didn't respond immediately.
He pulled down his hood, revealing that obsidian-black hair flowing slightly in the wind. The sunlight failed to reflect in his eyes.
"This era… won't go quietly."
He turned and walked away.
my thoughts stirred like a raging current.This tournament… it's changing people.And it's not just about who wins.
He looked at the faces around him — excited strangers, masked warriors, noble brats, even street thieves turned competitors.
"It's about why we're fighting."
"What are we proving?"
He stood up slowly, gazing toward the exit tunnel where Kuro and Astrid had vanished.
"And who's watching us from the dark?"
The announcer once again appeared, levitating above the arena.
"There are still more matches ahead, warriors! Rest your voices, hydrate your souls, because today… greatness is blooming!"
Behind the curtain of excitement, something sinister stirred.
A shadow moved beneath the coliseum floors.
Eyes blinked open in the darkness.
Chains rattled once.
"The Crimson Child... is close."
The crowd was still buzzing from the last battle.Vendors scrambled to refill drinks, the announcer waved to children, and fireworks sparkled overhead.
But in the shadows—Whispers.
The announcer spun once more with theatrical flair, his hat flying off and catching itself in midair.
"AND NOW—my beautiful bloodthirsty audience—we return to the next set of Phase Two matches! We still have 118 contestants remaining, and the hunger for glory has never been higher!"
"Up next! A duel of fury and finesse: Tess of the Thousand Eyes versus Garrel Bonegrinder!"
Gasps fluttered through the crowd.
"One's mind sees all… the other's body burns like fire incarnate!"
Match: Tess vs. Garrel
As the ground shifted into a jagged obsidian arena, Tess stepped out, her face covered by a veil of cloth and mirrors. Her hundred eyes glimmered across her arms, neck, back—even under her hair. They all blinked in eerie synchronicity.
Opposite her stood Garrel, shirtless, covered in glowing tattoos that pulsed like lava veins. He bowed.
"I will end this quickly," garrel said calmly.
Tess simply whispered, "Let's see if your soul is fireproof."
The flag rose between them. The timer glowed faintly, waiting.
BEGIN!
The moment the match started, garrel launched like a rocket, flames trailing from his fists.
Tess didn't move. Not at first.
Then the eyes on her shoulders blinked—just once—and her arms bent in an unnatural way, avoiding Garrel first strike by a hair.
It was a dance between fire and sight.
Every time Garrel struck, her thousand eyes predicted his motion.
Every time Tess countered, his flame shield erupted in defense.
Finally, with a blinding flash of fire, Garrel blasted toward the flag, grabbing it—
But Tess's eyes had already seen it.
She redirected the flame using a mirrored lens in her veil, bouncing the fire into his back, knocking him forward—straight into the wall.
The crowd exploded.
Tess held the flag.
Sixty seconds ticked. Kalos stood… and bowed.
"You're not human," he whispered.Tess smiled behind her veil. "Neither are you."
Meanwhile, below the arena…
In the tunnels beneath the coliseum, a cloaked figure walked quietly. His eyes glowed faint gold. His shadow moved differently than his body.
He opened a sealed metal door.Inside were robed figures gathered around a blackstone table.
"We need to prepare," the leader whispered. "The blood moon is only weeks away. The Crimson Child is here. The city burns in his steps."
Another figure raised his hand. "But the girl… Astrid. She's interfering. She's not in the prophecy."
"Then we break the prophecy."
The air in the chamber turned cold.
A statue in the back—one of a horned deity with six arms—began to bleed from its eyes.
Back in the arena stands, my eyes scanned every winner.
Tess. Loka. Varn. Astrid. Even a brutal masked brute named "Maul," who tore through his opponent in seconds.
But something didn't sit right.
"Too many of them are too strong."
He looked up—expecting to see Jay—but the balcony was empty now.
I felt a strange warmth behind my ribs. The Crimson mana… pulsing.
"Something is brewing."
A kid beside me tapped my shoulder. "Hey, you're Tarek, right? You're next right?"
I shrugged slowly.
he said"I'm ready."
But even he wasn't sure what he meant by that.