STEP... STEP.. STEP..
"If you want answers, climb, you child of sin."
Suddenly, chaotic shouts and loud music trumpets fill the heavens all around the arena, eagerly waiting for the bloodshed to commence. The shouting caused the boy who laid in the arena of the Colosseum to open his eyes as they rest upon the sky.
"Where am I..? Who am I..?"
"How dare this boy mock me, a Roman legendary gladiator!"
The boy's thoughts were briefly interrupted by a shouting man holding a spear on top of a horse, pacing around with traditional gladiator gear. "Look! Look! To be declared as a gladiator in the strongest nation in the world?! Yet so pathetic!"
The man continues to shout and mock the aloof boy as the kid begins to slowly arise onto his feet. A majority of the crowd chants in unison the name, "Aquilinus! Aquilinus! Aquilinus!" The man waves his hands encouraging the chants. On the other hand, another name is barely audible within the overwhelming chants, "Kaleo! Kaleo! Kaleo!"
"Kaleo..?"
The boy repeats that name under his breath, concluding that must be his name. Aquilinus turns his horse and points his spear towards the boy. "Now! Let me embarrass more of this young lad who mocks our nation's formidable warriors!" Aquilinus cries, which in turn provokes louder chants and chaotic screaming from the crowd. Kaleo only looks at him dully, showing no reaction towards his immature taunts. Aquilinus begins to charge with his horse at the boy as a white, see-through aura surrounds his spear while he charges; this catches Kaleo's attention. Aquilinus swings his spear as his horse gallops past. However, it misses as Kaleo swiftly avoids the attack. Aquilinus turns back around, charging at Kaleo, continuously swinging at him with the spear, not landing a single hit.
"Is dodging all you do? Keep dancing, peasant!" Aquilinus continues to taunt while Kaleo avoids the swings. Meanwhile, Kaleo deeply watches Aquilinus' movements and the aura-covered spear as he continues to whisper to himself rapidly, "Why's the spear glowing? It's probably best that I avoid it. How do I shut him up? Do I take care of his horse first? Can I use that same aura too?" Finally, Kaleo adjusts his stance. "His horse." And as that same see-through aura begins to cover his body, he swiftly sends a kick into the horse's legs, causing it to whine and stumble face-first into the dirt, sending Aquilinus flying off the horse. The crowd shouts even more ecstatically. Kaleo slowly approached Aquilinus, who's occupied dusting himself off and recouping after his fall.
"You're quite dirty, legendary gladiator." Kaleo looks Aquilinus dead in the eyes while saying that to him as he approaches closer. To Kaleo, he was saying this innocently; however, to Aquilinus it was fearful and threatening, causing him to quickly scramble together, hold his spear tightly in fear and frustration. Aquilinus glances at his injured horse and back at Kaleo, concluding that he'd have to fight without the horse now.
"Don't MOCK me, you... you... SWINE!" Aquilinus angrily props up his spear and throws it at Kaleo. However, the young lad dodges it flawlessly and continues to approach Aquilinus. Grinning, Aquilinus runs at Kaleo with his palm out to his side, as a blob of aura from behind Kaleo shoots past him into Aquilinus' hands, forming his spear back into his hand.
"RAH!" Aquilinus swings the returned spear at Kaleo. At the last minute, Kaleo avoids the tip of the spear.
"Whoa!" Caught off guard by the attack, Kaleo stumbles backwards before regaining stable footing again. Kaleo looks back where the spear was thrown and then back at the spear in Aquilinus' hands.
"It materialized back into his hand? Is that his power?" Kaleo whispers to himself, thinking out loud. "Is that all he could do?
"What? Are you wishing you stood home with mommy and daddy? I'm sorry, but even they can't save you from your fate now!" Aquilinus shouts at Kaleo, causing the crowd to cheer for Aquilinus, some yelling to finish Kaleo.
"He talks a lot." Kaleo continues to himself. "But if he has no horse, that means he must be slow without it." And with that, Kaleo begins to run towards Aquilinus at a surprising speed, causing Aquilinus to panic. He begins to urgently thrust his spear multiple times towards Kaleo, missing each one as Kaleo closes the distance and strikes Aquilinus in the throat with his palm, causing him to gag loudly and stumble back, dropping his spear. Kaleo takes advantage of this and lands a combo of palm strikes and a kick to Aquilinus' liver, causing Aquilinus to fall onto his back. Only groans of pain and coughs escape through his lips.
The crowd fell silent as they watched this gladiator fall in agony. Kaleo pauses, confused, as he looks around.
"I won, right? Is that it?" he tells himself with confusion in his voice.
Suddenly, the mute crowd erupts into cheers and amazement, chanting Kaleo's name—the only sound filling up the sky. Kaleo begins to look around as an announcer cries out within the midst of the chants:
"IN AN UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS, THE NEWCOMER, IN HIS DEBUT MATCH, TAKES DOWN THE TAUNTING AQUILINUS IN A FLAWLESS FASHION.
THE WINNER: KALEO RUSTICUS!"
Shouts of joy, mixed with some shouts of frustration and anger, as well as the trumpets playing, came as the crowd's response to the announcer's declaration. Immediately after, the gates behind and in front of Kaleo opened as, on one side, a medical team rushes in, taking Aquilinus away.
Kaleo turns to the opposite gate and begins to walk towards it as the crowd continues to cry and the music continues to cheer. Kaleo pauses just outside the gate as some people chant his name.
"What... is this feeling?"
Kaleo slowly raises his hand and clenches his fist toward the chanting crowd, which causes a larger uproar. Kaleo then walks through the gate. As he enters, a physician checks Kaleo's body while they walk deeper into the corridor.
"No injuries. You're good."
The physician leaves as quickly as he made his diagnosis. Kaleo looks at him as he makes his swift exit, but another male's voice in front of him steals Kaleo's attention.
"Hey, new guy, you had quite the debut, didn't you?"
Kaleo's head snaps towards the direction of the voice, seeing two people in front of him—a young man, shorter in stature, alongside a taller woman.
"You got potential. Join us!" the young man continues, his face full of energy and excitement.
"Huh? A monkey could've beaten that guy. Don't be overly nice like that, you look desperate..."
The young lady beside him speaks up. The young man looks down before tapping her shoulder with his fist and poorly whispers, "Listen, this is why you can't make friends. Just let me handle this..."
"Anyways! How about it, Kaleo?"
Kaleo looks back and forth at the lady and the man. "Do I... know you?"
The young lady snickers at the boy's response.
"Haha... where's my manners!" awkwardly he replies. "My name is Sero Varro! My 'lovely' and 'polite' friend here is—"
"Livia Tullius."
Sero grinds his teeth as his introduction is interrupted by Livia finishing his sentence. Kaleo watches this and says to the two strangers bluntly.
"No thanks."
And begins to walk past them.
Livia shrugs as Kaleo walks away. "Oh well, he's a strange kid anyway."
However, still eager, Sero chases after Kaleo in hopes to persuade him.
"Kaleooo! Come on, we could help each other out! You know this is how we gladiators survive within this tight arena. Connections are everything!"
Kaleo, however, still disinterested, declines Sero's offer. Though, persistently, Sero continues:
"We can help each other reach our dreams! Come on, man, there's no harm in it."
Kaleo pauses once Sero mentions 'dreams'.
Kaleo turns and looks at Sero.
"How do we help reach our dreams?" Innocently he asks, and Sero responds with a simple answer to Kaleo:
"By helping each other grow and become stronger, duh!"
Kaleo looks into Sero's excited, full-of-life eyes.
"Okay, I'll join you."
Sero jumps in joy at this response while Livia simply scoffs in annoyance. Then she makes her way to the two boys and places her arm aggressively onto Sero before saying to Kaleo:
"If you start to let ME down, then you're kicked off. Got it, boy?"
Kaleo nods and replies:
"If I'm disappointed, I'll leave anyways."
Sero swipes Livia's arm off him and looks back to Kaleo.
"Welcome, Kaleo, to the beginning!"