The arena was boiling with noise.Roars. Applause. Screams. Chants.
"A-S-TRID! A-S-TRID! A-S-TRID!"
The once-skeptical crowd now stood on their feet, hands in the air, faces red from cheering. Even the sky above Uonuma City seemed to shine brighter.
Astrid, bruised and winded, stood atop the pillar with the white flag wrapped around her like a cape.
She bowed her head slightly, letting her silver hair curtain her face.
"They're not cheering for royalty… not for a name… but for me."
She looked over at Kuro, who sat at the base of the pillar, arm draped over his bent knee. He had no expression… yet something in his gaze said he wasn't defeated.
He was content.
The announcer burst from the platform underground again, spinning with a rose in his teeth like a stage magician.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE WITNESSED A MATCH FOR THE AGES!!" he yelled into the enchanted amplifier orb.
"FIFTY-EIGHT SECONDS… FIFTY-EIGHT. That's how close Kuro was. And yet—like a phoenix in a rainstorm—Astrid rose. A clash of instinct, intellect, and heartbreak! GIVE IT UP FOR BOTH OF THEM!"
The coliseum nearly collapsed under the eruption of applause.
Jae Hoon's Thoughts
High in the stands, masked and cloaked, Jae Hoon sat frozen.
"They weren't just fighting. They were… connecting."
He swallowed.
"Kuro fought like a ghost carrying pain… but Astrid? She fought like someone finally being seen."
He clenched his fists.
"That kind of strength… that's not something you're born with. That's what you earn after being forgotten."
He stared at Astrid — and for the first time in a long while — he felt something deeper than admiration.
Hope.
Unseen by most, a single figure leaned on the highest balcony, arms crossed behind the shadows of a marble spire.
Jay.
No crowd near him. No cheers. No spotlight.
Just his eyes… glowing faintly in the shade.
He watched the match in silence, his expression unreadable.
Then he spoke quietly:
"They're getting stronger..."
A guard beside him blinked. "Sir?"
Jay didn't respond immediately.
He pulled down his hood, revealing that obsidian-black hair flowing slightly in the wind. The sunlight failed to reflect in his eyes.
"This era… won't go quietly."
He turned and walked away.
Back to Jae
Jae's thoughts stirred like a raging current.This tournament… it's changing people.And it's not just about who wins.
He looked at the faces around him — excited strangers, masked warriors, noble brats, even street thieves turned competitors.
"It's about why we're fighting."
"What are we proving?"
He stood up slowly, gazing toward the exit tunnel where Kuro and Astrid had vanished.
"And who's watching us from the dark?"
The announcer once again appeared, levitating above the arena.
"There are still more matches ahead, warriors! Rest your voices, hydrate your souls, because today… greatness is blooming!"
Behind the curtain of excitement, something sinister stirred.
A shadow moved beneath the coliseum floors.
Eyes blinked open in the darkness.
Chains rattled once.
"The Crimson Child... is close."
TO BE CONTINUED...