The arena was larger than Caelis expected.

  From the outside it had looked massive, but once inside the scale became almost overwhelming. The central fighting ground alone was wider than the entire ruined city he had left behind. Above it rose countless layered platforms where spectators gathered, their voices forming a constant roaring wave of sound.

  Thousands of warriors had come.

  Some from distant regions.

  Some from entirely different worlds.

  Energy signatures filled the air like a storm of invisible currents.

  Caelis stood near the entrance corridor, arms folded loosely as he observed the crowd.

  “This is… different,” he muttered.

  Most battlefields he had known were silent before combat.

  This place celebrated it.

  Laughter echoed through the corridors. Fighters compared strength, argued loudly, or sat quietly preparing themselves. Some radiated enormous power openly, their aura pulsing like warning beacons.

  Others hid their strength entirely.

  Those were the ones Caelis watched more carefully.

  “You look like someone who prefers quiet wars.”

  Caelis glanced sideways.

  A tall warrior stood beside him — broad shoulders, heavy armor plates covering his arms and chest. A scar ran from his brow down across his cheek, giving him the permanent look of someone who had survived too many battles.

  Caelis shrugged.

  “I prefer fights that end quickly.”

  The warrior chuckled.

  “You and everyone else.”

  He extended a hand.

  “Rovan.”

  Caelis shook it.

  “Caelis.”

  Rovan’s eyes flicked briefly toward Caelis’s forearm where the two rings rotated faintly.

  “Interesting accessory,” he said.

  Caelis didn’t respond.

  Rovan didn’t push.

  “First time here?” Rovan asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then a little advice,” he said, leaning against the stone wall beside them.

  “The tournament isn’t just about strength.”

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  Caelis raised an eyebrow.

  “Most of the early rounds are chaos,” Rovan continued. “Too many fighters, too many styles. The weak get eliminated quickly.”

  “And the strong?”

  Rovan smirked.

  “They try not to reveal how strong they actually are.”

  That made sense.

  Caelis looked toward the arena gate where the first matches were about to begin. The massive doors slowly opened as officials guided groups of fighters into the combat zone.

  The format was simple.

  Large elimination rounds.

  Multiple fighters entering at once.

  Only the last standing would advance.

  Brutal.

  Efficient.

  Caelis felt his pulse quicken slightly.

  “Your turn’s coming soon,” Rovan said. “Good luck.”

  He pushed away from the wall and walked toward a different entrance corridor.

  Caelis watched him go.

  Then a loud horn echoed across the arena.

  The first round had begun.

  When Caelis stepped into the arena, the noise hit him like a physical force.

  The crowd roared as thirty fighters spread across the battlefield, each one scanning the others cautiously.

  Some charged immediately.

  Others waited.

  Caelis stayed still.

  Observing.

  A fighter on the far side exploded forward, launching a massive blast of red energy that tore through the ground toward three opponents at once. Another warrior countered with a shield of condensed force that deflected the attack upward into the sky.

  Explosions flashed across the battlefield.

  Chaos erupted instantly.

  Caelis moved.

  Not aggressively.

  Just enough to reposition.

  Two fighters collided nearby, exchanging rapid strikes and short-range energy bursts. One lost his footing and was blasted out of bounds, eliminated instantly.

  Caelis stepped past the shockwave.

  A massive warrior suddenly charged toward him, fists wrapped in golden energy.

  “Out of my way!” the man roared.

  Caelis sighed.

  The man swung a punch capable of breaking stone.

  Caelis stepped inside the strike.

  His palm flicked forward.

  A compressed energy blast fired from his hand — small, precise.

  The impact struck the warrior’s chest.

  Not explosive.

  But powerful enough to launch him across the arena and out of the ring.

  The elimination horn sounded.

  The crowd reacted instantly.

  Some cheered.

  Others shouted in surprise.

  Caelis barely acknowledged it.

  He turned as another fighter lunged toward him from behind.

  This one was faster.

  A blade of energy extended from the man’s arm as he slashed downward.

  Caelis leaned aside, letting the attack miss by centimeters.

  Then his fist drove forward.

  A burst of blue energy detonated on contact.

  The fighter flew backward and crashed into the arena wall.

  Another elimination.

  Caelis exhaled slowly.

  He wasn’t even using half his strength.

  Across the battlefield, fighters were falling quickly.

  Within minutes, only six remained.

  One of them charged Caelis.

  Another attacked from the side.

  Two more began clashing violently near the center.

  Caelis moved between them smoothly.

  A blast knocked one opponent out.

  A counterstrike removed another.

  Within seconds—

  Only two fighters remained.

  The final opponent stood across from him.

  A lean man with silver hair and calm eyes.

  They stared at each other briefly.

  Then the man bowed slightly.

  “Good fight.”

  He stepped out of bounds voluntarily.

  The horn sounded again.

  Round Complete.

  The crowd erupted.

  Caelis walked calmly toward the exit corridor as officials signaled the advancing fighters.

  It had been easy.

  Almost too easy.

  Elsewhere in the arena complex—

  Another fight ended.

  But this one was different.

  Six fighters surrounded a small boy holding a wooden rod.

  They attacked simultaneously.

  The boy stepped forward casually.

  One fighter swung.

  The boy tapped his wrist lightly with the rod.

  The man’s arm went numb instantly.

  Another launched a massive energy blast.

  The boy shifted his weight slightly.

  The blast missed entirely.

  A third fighter lunged with incredible speed.

  The boy placed two fingers gently against his chest.

  The fighter collapsed instantly.

  Within seconds—

  All six opponents lay unconscious on the ground.

  The crowd stared in stunned silence.

  The boy yawned slightly.

  “That was boring.”

  He stepped out of the arena.

  Victory granted.

  Somewhere in another corridor—

  Caelis paused.

  He had felt something.

  Not power.

  But precision.

  He turned his head slightly.

  “…That kid again?”

  But by the time he looked down the hallway—

  The boy was already gone.