SAI SHINU
I closed my eyes for a moment as the heavy gates of the colosseum loomed ahead. Two hours ago, I had remembered Yuri's words about my opponents and how important it was to prepare. I opened the system, activated Gift-Weave, and linked with Yosuke and Yuri. I could feel their powers flowing into me—fire, wind, water, earth, and the subtle healing of Yuri.
Yuri's voice echoed in my mind, calm yet firm. "Sai, there are three royal families here. Each has triplets—two boys and a girl. The boys control and generate elements; the girls enhance and generate. Tsubasa, Hifumi, Asuka… all strong, all coordinated."
I had nodded, committing their basic traits to memory. "Don't overthink it. Watch their movements, react, and keep moving. Use the elements wisely, and don't underestimate the girls—they'll enhance their brothers' attacks."
The memory of her advice gave me a steadiness I hadn't felt in days. No matter how skilled they were, I had to survive. I opened my eyes. The arena awaited, and with it, the trial that would measure everything I had learned.
"You are on your own now buddy" my companion echoed in my head. I had a heavy smile, although I didn't speak he understood.
The heavy doors of the arena creaked open, and one by one, figures began to emerge from the shadows. My eyes tracked them carefully, noting their rhythm, their posture, the confidence in their steps.
First came the Tsubasa triplets, the browns. Two boys, their control over elements evident in the faint flickers of fire and eddies of wind swirling around their hands. Their sister followed, a quiet aura of focus that seemed to amplify her brothers' presence. She didn't move much, but I could feel the energy pulsing from her like an amplifier waiting to detonate.
Next, the Hifumi triplets, the whites. Similar in formation, two boys exuded controlled streams of water and shifting walls of earth, and their sister, with eyes like ice, seemed to command a subtle force around her, enhancing every elemental display from her brothers.
Finally, the Asuka triplets, the blacks, stepped forward. Dark energy clung to them like a second skin. The boys flexed their control over fire and wind, sharper and more aggressive than the others. Their sister's presence alone warped the air, like she was quietly strengthening every strike her brothers would make.
I felt the weight of nine pairs of eyes on me, all calculating, all aware. My own powers thrummed in response, the flow of Yosuke and Yuri's abilities merging with mine. The air between us seemed to hum with potential energy, the calm before a storm I had no choice but to endure.
From the sidelines, I caught a glimpse of Namae, her face pale, eyes wide. "Sai… they intend to kill you," she whispered, voice tight with fear.
I didn't answer. My focus sharpened. The arena wasn't just a test—it was survival.
The colosseum was alive. Not with cheers, not with joy, but with hunger. Thousands of eyes pressed down on me from every tier of stone seating, their whispers sharp as blades. I could feel the weight of their suspicion, their hatred. They wanted to see me broken. They wanted to see me bleed.
The gate creaked open, and the first three figures stepped into the light. Brown robes shimmered faintly with earth-dust and sparks of flame. The Tsubasa triplets. Their movements were unified, practiced, and eerily calm—like one body spread across three souls. Then came the white-clad trio, the Hifumi triplets, wind and water swirling around them like coiled serpents. Last, cloaked in deep black, the Asuka triplets emerged, each step deliberate, their shadows stretching long as though the ground itself bowed to them.
Nine. Nine against me.
For a moment, I felt the corners of my resolve tremble. These weren't ordinary opponents—they were heirs to ancient bloodlines, nurtured in discipline and privilege. I clenched my fists to bury the doubt. I had faced gods in my own way. I had killed chimeras until my blade wept. And yet, as the nine spread out in perfect formation, elemental energy sparking at their fingertips, I realized something chilling: this would be unlike anything I had faced before.
The horn sounded.
The first wave came instantly. Fire roared from the hands of one of the Tsubasa boys, the ground beneath me rumbling with the second's command of earth. Their sister, the enhancer, sprinted forward, her body hardened by her element, a blur of raw strength.
I reacted with Yosuke's gift-weave—the air around me bent as I called wind to my side, lifting me from the ground just as stone pillars erupted beneath where I had been standing. I countered with water, whipping it into a barrier to quench the fire that chased me. For a moment, I felt the rhythm of it, like a dance. But that was when the white triplets joined.
Hifumi's twins controlled water and wind with surgical precision. A spiral storm tore at me, cutting through the watery shield I had raised. Their sister, the enhancer, dove through the turbulence, her fists glowing blue with condensed water force. The impact cracked against my ribs—I barely twisted away, but the blow rattled my bones.
Pain flared, and before I could recover, the Asuka triplets moved. Their shadows lengthened unnaturally across the arena floor. One boy seized control of the earth I had steadied myself on, pulling it into jagged spikes, while his brother's wind cut around me like knives. The enhancer girl of their trio was faster than she had any right to be, striking with momentum amplified by shadows.
Nine enemies. Nine coordinated wills. And me—barely keeping up.
I tried to push back, summoning fire from Yosuke's memory. Flames erupted, forcing the enhancers to slow their charge, but then came water again, smothering my fire into steam. Steam became mist, and the wind cut through it, revealing me instantly.
Every counter, every move—they had a response.
My breathing grew ragged. The blood veil hummed faintly around my skin, absorbing glancing blows, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. And still, I refused to call Crimson Rift. Not yet. Not with all these eyes on me. If I revealed too much, too soon, suspicion would turn to certainty.
A boulder slammed into me, half-cushioned by the blood veil. My body skidded across the arena floor, dust rising around me. My muscles screamed in protest, and still, the crowd cheered—not for me, but for them.
I forced myself up, spitting blood into the dirt.
The triplets advanced again, forming a nine-pointed circle around me. Fire, wind, water, and earth flickered at their fingertips, their energies weaving into one another in a symphony of destruction. For a moment, I felt utterly small, dwarfed by their heritage, their training, their unity.
Was this what it meant to face the chosen?
Inside, a whisper of doubt clawed at me. You can't beat them. You're outnumbered, outmatched. All you can do is survive.
But another voice rose with it—the memory of my mother's eyes, of the blood on my hands, of the vow I had made. Survival wasn't enough. Not anymore.
I steadied myself, drawing wind to my side, forcing it into a vortex that pushed the flames back. Water spiraled into the air at my command, hardening into spears that I launched outward. A few struck close, forcing two of the Hifumi boys to scatter, but the effort burned through my focus.
The ground beneath me rumbled again. The brown triplets weren't giving me a moment.
I leapt with borrowed wind, dodging stone spikes, twisting in the air to hurl fire downward. It exploded against their shields, the crowd roaring with approval. But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
Because when the smoke cleared, all nine still stood.
And I was already bleeding.