The fight ended.
And across the floating arc-screens hanging high above the Colosseum, the final moment replayed—Again.
And again.
And again.
The blade—The speed—The fall.
The monstrous creature known as a Nexomorph, torn in half.
And the one who stood victorious, bloodied but alive, hovering like the wrath of creation itself.
The imperial box was dead silent.
Even the wind refused to whisper in the presence of what they had just witnessed.
Monarch Zephyra leaned forward, her knuckles pale against the armrest. Her voice was low, uneasy, the weight of what she'd witnessed settling in."Kuro… just who are you training… or rather, what?"
Monarch Thalor didn't speak. For the first time in decades, his granite face had cracked—not physically, but in sheer disbelief.
Monarch Solene was standing with a hand over her mouth. The golden shimmer in her eyes was not from pride, but alarm. She muttered, "He fought a mutated
Nexomorph… inside a domain… and lived."
Kaleus stood frozen, eyes locked on the screen replaying the battle. Slowly, he turned his head—Malrik was grinning. Like a grandfather watching his heir surpass legends.
Malriks eyes gleaming like a man staring into a prophecy fulfilled.
He whispered to no one in particular:
"Incredible…"
Then louder—hands clasped behind his back, his majestic cloak flickering in the ambient light:
"Do you see now…?"
"This is what the future looks like."
He pointed to the replay—Klaus, wreathed in lightning and wind, driving the Excalibur through the Domain.
The Monarchs stayed silent.
No one dared interrupt.
BOOM—The entire Colosseum shook.
Not from power—From the audience.
The cheers.The screams.The frenzy.
"KAAAAAANE! KAAAAAANE KAAAAAANE!!"
Tens of thousands of voices, howling from every seat, the crowd becoming a living wave of worship and disbelief. Even in the upper tiers, where noble houses sat with calculated calm, people were on their feet, throwing decorum to the wind.
Some held their heads.Others cried.A few fainted.
Renzion Vale, the charismatic host, stood center-stage—frozen. The color had drained from his face.
He fumbled with his mic.
Then forced a wide smile. His voice shook.
"W-well folks—if that wasn't… THE SINGLE GREATEST DISPLAY OF RAW POWER IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY—"
The crowd roared louder.
"then someone PLEASE tell me what is!!"
He spun around, voice rising with showman's flair. "That wasn't just a battle, that was a fabled goddamn myth unfolding in real time!!"
"A Nexomorph mutation. A Domain Expansion. A solo counter-strike—AND VICTORY."
He pointed at the hovering image of Klaus mid-fall.
"Ladies and gentlemen… Kane Vire may not be the hero you expected—"
He winked at the camera drone zooming in on his face.
"—but he's the damn legend you're about to remember."
And above it all, Malrik watched calmly.
"Let the galaxy and stars watch," he said.
"Let them fear what Earth now holds."
---
Klaus stirred.
Faint sounds filtered into his mind—muffled, like echoes underwater.
"—Klaus?"
"Hey… you alive, man?"
"Please… please wake up."
His eyelids fluttered.
The light stung at first. But soon, color filled in—the greens of the nearby trees, the soft flicker of campfire nearby, and the shadow of Sofie—hovering right above him.
Her eyes widened.
And then—She lunged forward, arms wrapping around his neck as she buried her face into his chest.
"You idiot… you idiot… you're alive…!" she sobbed.
Klaus grunted, smirking slightly through the pain. "Ow… ow—damn, Sofie—easy with the ribcage…"
"Not exactly made of tungsten, y'know."
But she didn't let go.
She stayed there, listening—to the steady thump of his heartbeat.A rhythm that hadn't left her mind in two days.
Klaus—still dazed—slowly raised his hand and gently patted her head, his fingers sinking into her wind-tangled hair.
Across from them, Kael cleared his throat loudly.
"…Sooo, are we just gonna pretend that wasn't the coolest shit ever?"
Reina crossed her arms but cracked a small smile.
"Yeah… it was cool."
Sofie finally released Klaus and began applying ointment to his cracked skin and the burns across his arms. She didn't say much—her fingers moved carefully, almost reverently, like she was afraid he'd vanish again.
"You're lucky you're not in a coma," she mumbled.
Klaus watched her for a second, quiet, before turning to Kael.
"How long was I out?"
Kael blinked.
"Two days."
Klaus's eyes widened.
"TWO—?! Holy shit… I was out cold for two whole days?!"
He clenched his hand, wincing slightly, feeling how sluggish his body still was.
"I need to get stronger. That shouldn't have taken me out for more than a few hours…"
Before he could spiral into more frustration, Sofie smacked the back of his head.
"Play the hero role later, dumbass," she snapped with a half-smile."You're alive. That's enough for now. Also—we're top one right now. You're welcome."
Klaus accepted the herbal drink Reina handed over, sipping slowly, the bitter taste grounding him back into reality.
Then he looked at Sofie—really looked this time.
"So… you did have a family after all."
She blinked.Lowered her gaze.
And nodded.
He smiled.
"I'm glad you found them. You deserve that much."
Her eyes welled, but she turned away before he could see too much.
But before she could respond—Everything shifted.
The air froze.
A low, unnatural hum began to rise in the distance—like radio static vibrating across dimensions.
The group stood.
Their instincts screamed at them.
And then—they saw it.
---
Somewhere far off—hidden in the remote corners of the world—A masked figure stared at several monitors flickering with data.
"Subject Cazren: Terminated."Host body—rejected."
He pressed a finger to his ear.
"Cazren has failed. I repeat… the experiment was unstable—but successful in
deployment."
A deep voice responded through the channel.
"Then it's time."
"Release it."
The man hesitated. "Are you sure?"
Static. Silence.
Then the comm cut.
The man sighed… then turned to the shadows behind him.
A pale, glass-eyed figure sitting in front of a massive quantum-terminal whispered,
"…Unsealing protocol initialized…"
"…h-h-hacking main tournament control now…"
---
Back with Klaus and the others—
The sky twisted.
The clouds above turned black. Then crimson.
Lightning forked sideways—then upwards—as if afraid to touch what was coming.
The earth trembled.The winds curled back.
Monsters ran.
And from the horizon—
They saw it.
A tear in the sky.
And from it—A shape descended like a nightmare given wings.
A massive, three-headed dragon, wreathed in flame and decay, its eyes glowing like suns caught in collapse.Its wings cracked like mountains clashing.Each head snarled in a different direction.
The sky bled.The world darkened.
The temperature dropped—and then spiked.
Klaus's lips parted."...That's not part of the tournament…"
Kael swallowed hard.."Uh—Reina, Sofie—time to run or fight?"
Sofie didn't answer. Her hand trembled around Klaus's.
And far, far above it all…
The dragon roared.
A sound that silenced birds, shattered screens, and announced war.
---
The Colosseum – Imperial Box
The sky trembled.
And Emperor Malrik Vortan stood.
Not in silent awe.
Not in casual curiosity.
But with pure, imperial rage.
"—STOP THE GAMES! NOW!"
His voice thundered louder than the Colosseum's roaring engines. The gravity around him spiked, cracking the marble
beneath his feet. The audience went dead silent.
All eyes turned to him.
Even the Monarchs—hardened paragons of power—rose from their seats, shaken by the Emperor's unfiltered alarm.
The host—barely holding it together—stuttered through the comms:
"L-Ladies and gentlemen… there seems to be a massive interruption—our Emperor has requested a halt to the games—stand by for confirmation from the Control Tower—"
But then…
BZZZT.
The feed distorted.
A voice came through. Artificial. Empty. Mechanical.
"REQUEST: DENIED."
"INTERFERENCE: IMPOSSIBLE."
"REASON: SYSTEM COMPROMISED."
"ASCENDANT PROTOCOL 01: UNLOCKED."
Everyone froze.
Malrik's fists clenched.Even the Monarchs were caught off guard.
Thalor turned to him, stunned.
"Ascendant… Protocol 01? What the hell is that?"
Malrik's eyes narrowed—gleaming with fury behind his veil of control.
"It means the game is no longer ours."
He turned sharply.
"Zephyra. Thalor. Stay with the spectators.Get barriers up now. Evacuate the east sectors if this escalates."
"The rest of you—prep for containment. I'm going down there myself."
But before he could step through the exit—A roar echoed.
A familiar one.
From the heavens—through the smog and storm—The dragon broke through the clouds, its wings blotting out the sun on the hologram screens.
And the audience screamed again—not in fear—but in frenzy:
"KANE!! KANE!! KANE!!"
The chant rebounded like a ritual.They thought it was still part of the game.
Malrik looked back, eyes sharp with disbelief.
"They think this is part of the games…"
---
Amidst the Roaring Crowd – Colosseum Stands
The audience was a frenzy.
Cheers exploded. Screams shook the sky. Everyone was on their feet—chanting, crying, recording, roaring one name over and over:
"KANE! KANE! KANE!"
The image of the colossal three-headed dragon loomed on every screen. A golden blaze wrapped its wings, and each head bellowed with godlike menace.
Among the sea of people—
Kaen sat still.
Until his body began to tremble. Not in fear.
But in recognition.
Just beside him, Varnyx, who had been lazily munching on a bag of popcorn, slowly stopped mid-bite. His hand lowered. His glowing red visor narrowed as he stared at the screen.
The fire reflected off his mask.
Silence wrapped around the two of them like a noose.
Kaen turned to him slowly.
"Lord Varnyx…"
Varnyx didn't respond at first.
He exhaled like someone breathing through old wounds.
Then muttered, almost like a curse:
"…I know, Lesser."
His voice was tight. Controlled. But laced with venom.
"That's Balerion. The Black Dread."
Kaen's brows twitched.
Varnyx's tone was cold now—void of his usual arrogance.
"That scum…."