The underground market buzzed like a rusted machine — pipes rattling, neon flickering, the smell of fried oil mixing with cold concrete. Axamu stood in front of a small food stall, watching a tired woman flip a fried bun in a dented pan. She didn't smile, didn't greet, didn't even look at him.
He liked that.
"One," he muttered.
She handed him the hot, greasy bun. He paid and walked away, slipping into a quieter corner of the tunnels where the shouting from the arena turned into a distant rumble. He sat on an old crate, lifted the bun, and took a bite.
Warm. Oily.
Tasteless.
He chewed slowly, not because he wanted to savor it — but because it didn't matter how fast he ate. Nothing mattered.
He was about halfway through when—
BZZZT—
The speakers above his head snapped alive.
Then the underground roared.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMENT!!"
Axamu didn't even look up. He took another bite.
"TODAY WE HAVE A SPECIAL EVENT!!"
The crowd's energy vibrated through the pipes, the lights flickering from the force of the cheers.
"WE HAVE FOUR BATTLES WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS ONCE FAMOUS!!"
Footsteps rushed past him, spectators running toward the arena.
"AND THAT PERSON ISSSS—!!!"
A long pause.
A dramatic inhale.
The whole underworld stopped to listen.
"AXAMU RIYAAAA!!!!"
The tunnels exploded. Screams. Cheers. People slamming fists into railings. Dozens shouting bets all at once.
"THIS IS THE MAN WHO SHOOK THE WORLD OF BEYS!!"
"THE ONE WHO BLEEDS WHEN HE BEYBLADES!!!"
"EVERY MOVEMENT! EVERY HIT! EVERY SCREAM — HE WILL BLEED!!"
The crowd loved it.
They loved him.
No—
They loved the pain he gave them.
Axamu finished chewing his mouthful, swallowed, and stood up, still holding the half-eaten bun.
His eyes were dead.
His expression didn't twitch.
What a sucker…
The thought drifted through his mind like a sigh as he walked toward the underground arena, still taking slow bites of his food, ignoring the frenzy his name caused.
The cheers grew louder with every step — a storm of voices calling for the "bleeding miracle."
---
Few hours later…
The underground air had grown heavier.
Hotter.
Thicker with sweat, metal, and anticipation.
Axamu sat alone on a broken steel bench in the prep chamber behind the arena. A small, buzzing light flickered above him like it was struggling to stay alive — just like everything in this place. He still held the empty food wrapper in his hand, though he couldn't remember when he'd finished it.
He didn't feel hungry.
He didn't feel full.
He didn't feel anything.
Footsteps echoed outside. Fighters pacing. Spectators shouting. Coins clattering. Bets rising.
And somewhere, far ahead…
The crowd chanting his name.
"AXA-MU! AXA-MU! AXA-MU!"
He stared blankly toward the ground, eyes half-lidded, expression emotionless.
A few hours… that's all it took for them to crave blood again.
The speaker above him hissed, crackled, then came alive.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMENT!!!"
The crowd responded with a roar that shook dust from the ceiling.
"THE TIME HAS COME FOR OUR SPECIAL EVENT OF THE NIGHT!"
Someone outside slammed their fist against the cage wall in excitement.
"THE MAN OF PAIN! THE MIRACLE THAT BLEEDS!"
Axamu slowly lifted his head.
He could hear his own breathing.
Calm.
Slow.
Empty.
"AXAMU RIYAAA!!!"
The underground erupted again — cheers, whistles, shouts, stomps.
His eyelids didn't even twitch.
Behind him, the metal door creaked open.
Baito peeked his head in, grinning wide with sharp teeth.
"Heh heh heh~ They're calling you, brat," he said. "You ready to suffer for them~?"
Axamu stood up without a word.
Baito snickered, stepping aside. "That's the spirit… or lack of it~ Heh heh heh~"
Axamu walked forward, footsteps echoing in the narrow hall.
Each step matched the rhythm of the crowd pounding their feet.
He stepped onto the metal ramp leading to the cage arena.
The lights turned white-hot.
The crowd leaned forward like hungry animals.
And Axamu just stared—
blankly, emotionlessly—
at the stage where he would bleed for strangers.
A faint thought drifted through his mind:
Why they said miracles...?
Hah... I don't care anymore...
---
The stadium lights blazed down on the cage. The crowd pressed against the metal bars like predators ready to feed. Axamu stepped inside with empty eyes, his footsteps soft against the cracked floor.
The announcer jumped onto the elevated platform, arms wide.
"AND NOW—!! YOUR FIRST MATCH OF THE NIGHT!!"
"THE BLOOD-MIRACLE BOY!"
"THE WALKING PAIN!!"
"AXAMU—!! RIYAAAAA—!!"
The crowd screamed.
"And his opponents—YES, OPPONENTSSS!! TWO OF THEM TONIGHT!!"
Two silhouettes stepped out from the opposite side of the cage.
One tall, one short.
Both grinning.
Both wearing mismatched gear and carrying their Beyblades like weapons.
The crowd went wild.
"THE TWINS OF MAYHEM! THE DOUBLE-EDGE DEMONS! GIVE IT UP FOR—"
But before the announcer could finish—
Axamu raised his hand.
Slow.
Emotionless.
Almost bored.
The entire crowd lowered their voices.
A ripple of confusion spread.
The announcer blinked.
"Uh—yes? Axamu-san?"
Axamu stared at him blankly.
"I didn't know the opponents were two."
The stadium murmured.
The announcer stuttered, sweating.
"D-Didn't you know when you signed the contract? Haha—haha—"
Axamu answered calmly.
"I didn't sign the contract."
Silence.
Actual silence.
The announcer's face paled.
Baito jumped onto the fence from the sidelines, waving both hands frantically.
"But you AGREED, didn't you~?! Heh heh heh~!!"
Axamu turned toward him, eyes dead.
"I didn't agree to fight two."
Then Axamu start to turn back and walking away
"T-then—" Baito panicked, voice cracking. "H-how about we add… more reward then~?"
Axamu stopped walking away.
Just barely turned his head.
His voice was flat.
"Reward?"
"Y-yes!" Baito nodded fast, sweating. "Anything! Anything simple, yes~?!"
Axamu stared right at him, emotionless.
"Then I want a house."
The entire stadium froze.
Baito's jaw dropped.
"WH-WHAT?? HOUSE??"
"YOU'RE JUST SOME BRAT WHO JOINED UNDERWORLD TODAY!!"
"A HOUSE?? YOU'RE CROSSING THE LINE, BRAT!!"
Axamu turned away, unfazed.
"If you can't do it, that's fine."
Baito's face turned red with anger.
"YOU—!"
Before he could explode—
A deep voice echoed from the upper balcony.
"It's fine."
Baito froze.
Everyone looked up.
The underworld management — the boss himself — stepped forward, hands behind his back, expression unreadable.
"Give him the house," the boss said casually.
Baito's eyes bulged.
"W-What?? But—!"
"Our luxury apartment unit," the boss added. "Add it to his reward."
"But sir—!" Baito trembled. "He's just a new—"
"Enough. I want to see myself if he so confidence can win this. If not, that all for it."
The boss's tone cut like a blade.
Baito swallowed deeply and shut his mouth.
The crowd erupted in disbelief.
Axamu stood silently, showing no excitement, no relief — nothing.
Just a blank stare as he turned back toward the cage.
---
The underworld boss's command echoed through the arena, and the crowd gasped, murmuring like disturbed insects.
A luxury apartment.
Just like that.
Axamu didn't react.
No surprise.
No excitement.
No relief.
Only the same empty, still surface in his eyes.
He stepped closer to the cage as the announcer tried to regain the energy of the moment.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEEEENT!! WHAT A CRAZY TWIST TONIGHT!! A HOUSE ON THE LINE—CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! OUR CHALLENGER, AXAMU RIYA, WILL FACE—"
Axamu didn't even hear the rest.
His mind had gone quiet.
"I don't care anymore..."
He lifted his launcher with steady hands.
No shake.
No fear.
Just stillness.
"Honesly i just add the house reward on whim."
"Wait..."
"When i thinking it back... Why i have so much urge to want all of these rewards...?"
His inner voice had changed.
Cold.
Detached.
Distant.
He started suspicious something.
The announcer kept yelling theatrically—
Lights flared—
Crowd roared—
But for Axamu…
it was all silent.
The two opponents grinned from their side of the cage.
One cracked his knuckles; the other twirled his Bey between his fingers.
Predators.
Or maybe just idiots.
Axamu watched them with expressionless eyes.
And then—
—PING.
A bright flicker appeared in front of him.
A translucent window only he could see.
The world around him didn't react.
The system.
"URGENT QUEST!"
"DEFEAT THE 2 OPPONENTS!"
Axamu stared at it quietly.
"I see…so the quest did show up."
His eyelids lowered a little, that dead calm settling deeper in his face.
He looked at the twins again.
Expressionless.
Flat.
Cold.
"I guess it was you then who make me have this kind of urge...I have no choice then."
The system faded out.
The cage locked shut.
The lights blazed white.
The announcer roared—
"PREPARE YOURSELVES!! THE BLOOD MIRACLE RETURNS TO THE CAAAAGE!!"
But Axamu just take the launcher from his back and tightened his grip on his launcher…
As empty eyes fixed on the battle ahead.