Supreme Blades
Chapter 1. Invasion
Eighteen-year-old Cassian Vale was sitting in class, enjoying the March sunshine. But suddenly a female voice rang out.
"Congratulations! Your world has been selected as the arena for the Royal Battle between worlds. In the next few Earth minutes, guests from other worlds will begin to arrive here."
The voice cut off abruptly, then continued:
"The last surviving representative of one of the participating races will earn the right to take part in the Supreme Hunters Tournament."
Another pause.
"Attention! The human race of planet Earth has been added to the common language of Montana."
Yet another pause.
"The new Royal Battle has begun. We wish all participants the most horrific deaths possible."
The voice was soft and even pleasant, like a young girl reading an advertisement. But the moment it fell silent, the entire class — including Cassian — instinctively clutched their heads. A powerful ringing filled everyone's skulls. This wasn't an ordinary PA announcement. It felt like the voice had spoken directly inside every person's mind.
How is that even possible? Cassian thought.
A moment later, a sharp thunderclap exploded. This time it wasn't just in their heads. After that, everything went quiet for a couple of seconds — and then it began.
Lightning of different colors struck from the sky — white, red, blue, and even black. A hurricane-force wind rose instantly. The sky, clear only seconds earlier, rapidly filled with dark storm clouds. In thirty seconds the view outside the window turned almost pitch-black. The sunny day had become gray and rainy in an instant.
Chaos engulfed everything.
First the electricity went out. At the same moment the first explosions boomed outside. Cassian's school stood on a hill. From one side of the classroom you could see another school building. From the other — the city was already in flames.
Suddenly screams erupted from the building directly opposite Cassian's classroom. Everyone froze.
Right before Cassian's eyes, a student flew out of a window in the neighboring building and crashed to the ground. Something landed with him and tore the already lifeless body apart in seconds. Another window shattered. Another student fell out. Then another. And another. One after another, bodies of students hurtled from the windows.
Cassian's classroom was on the third floor. In an instant the entire floor erupted in panic. Screams filled the air. Students burst out of classrooms and ran down the stairs.
At that moment the ground began to shake violently, but no one stopped. People fell, a stampede began. Some were simply shoved off the stairs. They plummeted straight to the first floor, smashing against the concrete edges of the landings.
Instinct took over. Panic turned into frenzy.
Looks like the survival instinct kicked in, Cassian thought.
The walls and floors became smeared with the blood of students crushed by the crowd. Lifeless bodies lay right on the staircases. Explosions and human screams continued nonstop from outside.
Despite everything, Cassian made it out of the building and saw…
Unknown creatures resembling enormous rats, their bodies covered in long stone spikes, were slaughtering people indiscriminately. Severed limbs of students lay everywhere; the ground was soaked in blood.
Cassian froze. Terror locked every inch of his body. His legs refused to move, his heart felt like it would tear out of his chest. All he felt was cold sweat and animal fear.
Suddenly he noticed one of those creatures charging straight at him and the few kids next to him.
Dodge, but don't rush it, he thought. The idea flashed through his mind in an instant.
Everyone froze. When the monster came close enough and lunged, Cassian rolled to the side. In that same moment the creature's stone claws decapitated the boy standing right beside him, and in the next instant it tore the others apart.
Cassian glanced back and sprinted toward the gym. He was almost there when another monster lunged at him. Cassian managed to dodge — the creatures' speed and agility seemed roughly equal to an ordinary human's.
He fell to the ground and immediately tried to push himself up, planting his hand on the floor, but…
His palm was gone.
The pain was intense, but it didn't stop him.
Probably the adrenaline surge, Cassian thought.
He dashed into the empty locker room, slammed the door shut, and hid inside one of the lockers. He pulled out his phone and tried to open social media, but there was no signal.
A few minutes later Cassian began to calm down a little. The screams inside the school started to fade, though the overall noise and chaos could still be felt. The severed hand throbbed harder and harder, the pain growing, but Cassian forced himself to make no sound.
He sat there and sat. The bleeding wouldn't stop, his condition kept worsening. It became harder and harder to think rationally; he barely had any strength left to move.
Is this really the end? Cassian thought.
Why did this happen? Why right now? Why me? It hurts…
The stream of thoughts didn't stop.
Should I just give up? Would it be smarter to go outside right now? Or should I just stay here? Both options lead to death. I can't close my eyes. I can't give up. I can't…
The thoughts broke off. He closed his eyes.
But suddenly the darkness scattered.
Cassian snapped awake. It felt as if someone had violently yanked him out of the deepest sleep. He was still sitting in the tiny cramped locker, but now the door stood open.
In front of him stood a tall man in a hooded robe. His face couldn't be seen, but in his hands Cassian clearly saw a long black sword.
"What, you want to kill me? Go ahead, finish my suffering," Cassian said and let out a hysterical laugh.
It's been two years since I last felt this. The feeling of absolute hopelessness, he thought.
Except that time… that time I couldn't protect not myself, but the people dear to me.
The same feeling he had experienced two years ago when his parents died in a car crash.
The hooded man said nothing. He raised the sword, swung, and drove it straight into Cassian's head.
But Cassian did not die.
He felt everything. It wasn't pain. It was the sensation of power, as if pure life itself had been poured into him. The black blade turned half fiery red and began to glow faintly with the same hue.
The only thought that flashed through Cassian's mind at that moment:
I fucking want this sword.
An unimaginable force emanated from the blade. It didn't seem to take life — it filled him with it. Filled Cassian from the inside.
"Now let's see what you're capable of," the hooded man said.
That was the last thing Cassian heard before he lost consciousness.