The sky rained fire. Drops of lava melted the air while black thunder split the thick clouds, making the earth tremble as if the world itself was being condemned. At the center of that apocalypse, a pale, small figure stood tall. Her delicate white hand was raised, fragile fingers holding up a competitor as if invisible hands were strangling him in the air like a mere puppet. Veins bulged along the man's neck as he thrashed, legs kicking at nothing.
"ARGH… what the hell is this!" he gasped, his voice hoarse and heavy with despair. "Let me go, damn it, or just eliminate me already, grh…!" Blood sprayed from his mouth, running down his chin, but nothing seemed to shake the figure. The cruel silence was broken only by a thin, soft voice, almost childlike, that clashed with all the terror surrounding it.
"No, no, no…" the figure said, gently shaking her head. "You're my toy… and toys have to play."
The soft clap of her hands echoed. "CLAP."
In the next instant, the man's body began twisting as if it were being wrenched apart from the inside. Muffled screams blended with the crack of bones snapping. Blood gushed from his eyes, nose, and mouth, staining the ground already drenched in scarlet. His skin bubbled, turned crimson, then cracked like dry clay.
Suddenly, the man's arm exploded in a rain of flesh and bone, ripping a final scream from his throat. His hair fell away in clumps, leaving the skull exposed and pulsing, while something new began to emerge: a black exoskeleton, alive, crawling over his flesh like an infectious disease.
The transformation was slow, grotesque, a birth of horror. Noise and bones, skin and muscle tearing echoed among lava and thunder. When it ended, there was no competitor left.
In his place stood a beast. Its long arms dragged along the ground, the body covered in black chitin that reflected the lava's crimson glow. From the pulsating holes in its carcass oozed acidic slime that hissed as it struck the stones. Its eyes—two glowing red orbs, animalistic—shone with savage fury.
The pale figure smiled, clapping softly like a child pleased with a new toy. "Very good…" she murmured.
"Very good. Now I have to head to another region. Hm… where was it again?" the bizarre figure asked herself innocently.
"The forest, right, that's where he ended up… Yes! Let's go!"
**
Two days had passed.
This was the third day of the competition and, to be honest, I hadn't done much since then. I got my ten eggs on the very first day—most stolen from Norwenna, of course, as payment for the trouble of having her around. What was left for me was simple: turn the cave where my incubator was hidden into a nest of traps. Every corner, every entrance, every tree, I prepared as if it were a killing field.
One curious—and irritating—detail.
On the morning of the second day, I opened a spatial rift and kicked Norwenna out of my cave. The intention was clear: no one, especially not her, should know the exact location of my hideout. But that very night, as if the world conspired against me, there she was again, sitting as naturally as if the place were her own home.
Variant mages… there's no race of people more troublesome.
Still, there was method to my isolation. I applied everything I'd learned from Elder Silas during the days in the Valley of Floating Waterfalls. Every trap I set, every seal I left hidden in the vegetation, carried the rigor of that old alchemist's lessons. I was determined to keep this place safe. Determined to keep the incubator out of the hands of any fool who crossed my path.
But my skin was already telling me the truth.
That familiar shiver spread along my arms, my nape itched as if someone breathed against my spine, and my instincts screamed that it wouldn't last. Peace is not something one earns in this tournament.
It's only the silence before the next predator.
Norwenna and I were seated before an improvised meal. The smell still hung in the damp forest air, mixed with the steam escaping from the clay pot she had prepared herself. To be honest, I had no idea what animal had been cooked in there—maybe it was better not to ask—but it was surprisingly tasty.
"Hey…" I broke the silence while chewing slowly. "Tell me about this commission of the heirs of the twelve families who are hunting me."
Norwenna lifted her gaze from the pot, frowning immediately. She didn't like the sudden question.
"I'm curious," I continued, resting my elbow on my knee, "because, truth is, I think I have good relations with some of them. For example… I don't think there's anyone from the Lunaris Argentum family in this hunt. I'm good friends with Seraphine and Aeloria."
She didn't answer, but her attentive eyes betrayed that she listened to every word.
"I also don't think Thadeus would join such a filthy scheme. So, from the Ferrox Umbra, it would have to be another competitor. As for the Stannum family, I met Dorian and Balthazar… and those two brutes would never get involved in something like this. In general, they come across as battle-crazed ogres… but honorable ones."
The memory of both drew a brief smile from me, soon erased by the reality of the tournament.
"Haa… and then there were those two weirdos at the banquet, the white-haired ones. Too antisocial to take part in something like this."
Norwenna tilted her head and answered without hesitation:
"I know who you're talking about. Waan and Weel. They're from the Indium family."
"Indium, huh…" I murmured, tasting the name as the memory of the two resurfaced. Then I tapped my finger lightly against my leg, concluding aloud:
"So that leaves… what? Eight families? One or two competitors per family?"
"You're right," said Norwenna, setting the pot aside and leaning against the stone.
"Not many heirs agreed to the families' demands. In fact, a lot of them argued for a one-on-one fight to defeat you. That would bring more prestige and display of power to the families."
"One-on-one. Perfect!" I blurted, almost smiling at the thought.
She only raised an eyebrow and threw a bucket of cold water over my hopes: "But that was ignored. Don't expect anything that easy."
Curious, I decided to prod a bit: "If it were you, what strategies would you use to defeat me?"
Norwenna finally adjusted herself on the stone, rested her chin on her hand, and began thinking out loud. Each word was measured, as if testing my reactions.
"Well… speaking honestly, not much is known about you since the queen's tournament. All we know is that you disappeared for a while, and of course, everyone assumes it was because of some dungeon."
I studied her, intrigued. There was method in every phrase she spoke, a cold and calculated logic.
"Honestly, the biggest concern with your three affinities is electricity. That's where most of your damage is concentrated. As for the others… they're harder to assess. Gravity, for example, isn't that worrying for dealing damage, but it can be bothersome in a fight. And spatial… honestly, no one even knows where to start."
"What do you mean, no one knows where to start?" I cut in, frowning.
She sighed, resting her elbow on her knee and tilting her head.
"That affinity is very special. There are very few records of it, and the only time we saw it in action was when you dodged a spear with a tiny rift of a few centimeters at the banquet. So, estimating that your mastery hasn't grown much since then, it wasn't something I would have worried about."
"Wouldn't have worried?" I repeated, raising a brow, curious at her choice of words.
"Of course…" Norwenna laughed, but there was a serious undertone hidden beneath.
"That was before I realized how monstrous you are at manipulating that affinity. You do things that shouldn't even be possible at your rank. To give you an idea, my family's book on the subject says awakened rank can only shorten or dilate space by a few meters. But you… you open rifts like dungeons and appear thousands of meters away. That madness isn't even mentioned in the book."
I stayed quiet, observing her, trying to gauge whether she was exaggerating. The mixture of fascination and worry in her voice made it clear that not many were used to dealing with spatial affinity.
"Go on," I urged, letting a faint smile escape.
"Phew…" she sighed, leaning forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees. "Well… what I would've done is deal with the biggest concern. I'd come into this tournament with several artifacts capable of easily neutralizing your electricity."
"Makes sense," I agreed, frowning as I absorbed her analysis.
"Think about it," she continued, looking at me with a mix of seriousness and curiosity. "No matter how many affinities you have, if you can't deal satisfying damage with your strongest one, you're no threat at all. And on top of that, all your opponents are the best of the best of our generation. Any inhibition on your side could be the difference between victory and defeat."
"Well thought out," I murmured, appreciating the cold logic behind her words.
But then, a crooked smile appeared on Norwenna's face, and my instincts already knew that meant danger or provocation—probably both.
"But…" she began, letting the words hang.
"But what?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Well… you're going to be a complete headache," she said, chuckling softly. "These traps are amateur, but they still serve some purpose. However, your spatial magic… that's aberrant for our level."
"Define aberrant," I cut in, curious.
"Teleporting yourself and another person over a kilometer away instantly," she replied, with a gleam in her eyes that mixed fascination and respect. "If you can carry someone else, then I'm sure you can also redirect attacks. Hehehe… good thing I'm on your side."
I kept analyzing every word, every nuance of her concern and amazement.
She was right. I needed to prepare for fights knowing that every enemy who showed up would come prepared against my electricity. That alone would cut off a large part of my most obvious battle tactics.
"Well… thanks," I replied, rising from the stone. "I have to go. You know how it is… monitoring this treacherous commission so I can ambush them before they ambush me."
"Good luck! Don't worry, I'll watch your cave," she said, crossing her arms and flashing a confident smile.
I grimaced.
She knew where the focus of the tournament was, and for that reason, she could eliminate me at any moment. But choices had been made, and now there was no use dwelling on the past.
My eyes were already fixed on the future—on the next steps, the next enemies, and the next traps I would need to set in order to survive.