The climb had become a blur of sand, sweat, and shouting crowds. Floor after floor passed in a rush, their bodies falling into rhythm, their victories stacked like chips in a game neither wanted to play. By the time the thirty-first gate loomed ahead, even Drake had stopped grinning.
He paced the waiting room, hands wringing together. "This one isn't like the others. Floor thirty… it's a guardian floor. They bring out something special here."
Kai sat cross-legged against the wall, Flicker resting as a small knife in his palm. "Special how?"
Drake stopped pacing, staring at him. "They call it Nightmare. Bone ribs wrapping a wraith body. For something that should be formless, it keeps a shape—like it refuses to fade. It doesn't fight clean. It rips people apart. Limbs, torsos, skulls—nothing left in one piece. Forty confirmed deaths in this arena alone. No one knows where it came from or who it used to belong to."
Matt crossed his arms. "Then I'll take it."
Kai shook his head. "No. Spirit guardians are my fight."
Drake barked a laugh with no humor. "You think this is the same as those half-trained echoes you've faced? You don't know this thing."
Kai smiled thinly, eyes calm. "Look, Drake. Malakai is a seasoned guardian wielder. He's got this. Trust."
The confidence made Drake's stomach twist even more. "Fine," he muttered, throwing his hands up. "But don't blame me when it tears you apart."
---
The gate rumbled open. The crowd's roar pressed against Kai's chest like a tide.
"On one side—Kai, the Stray!" the announcer shouted, his voice riding the thunder of the spectators.
"And on the defending side—Nightmare! The brutal spirit guardian who's killed more than forty men! No one knows where it came from!"
Across the arena, the gate scraped open.
Out came bones.
A ribcage of ivory scraping against itself, arms too long, tipped with talons that dragged sparks against the stone. Inside, a flickering light pulsed like a heartbeat wrapped in smoke. A cracked mask turned toward Kai.
The crowd hushed.
Kai's heart lurched. Not fear—recognition.
A warmth burst inside him, a wave of emotion so sharp it almost knocked him to his knees. His throat tightened. "Oh boy… you had it rough, didn't you? It's okay. I'm here now. I'm okay."
Nightmare screeched and charged. The audience braced for blood.
Instead, it pounced.
The bones hit him like a tidal wave, knocking him flat on his back in the sand. The crowd gasped, sure he was being torn apart—until they noticed.
The guardian wasn't attacking.
It was… nuzzling.
Ribs pressed into his chest, talons dug into the ground around him, shielding him. The ghost-light inside it pulsed faster, brighter, like a heart that had found its rhythm again. The sound it made wasn't a shriek but a tremor, almost a whimper.
Kai laughed, half-sobbing, half-breathless. He wrapped an arm around one of the bone arcs. "I missed you too! This is Flicker—he helped me."
At the name, the guardian's ribs rattled. The talons twitched toward Flicker's quivering form, eager, hungry. Flicker shook behind Kai, blade dimming in fear.
Kai raised his voice, gentle but firm. "Now now. That's no way to treat your brother."
The guardian froze, ribs tightening around him possessively, keeping him all to itself.
Matt couldn't watch anymore. He vaulted the barrier, landing in the sand with blade ready. "Kai!"
The guardian's mask snapped toward him. With a shriek, its talons slammed down, throwing up a wall of sand between them. Matt skidded back, arm raised to shield his eyes.
He tried to push forward, but every step closer was met with snapping bones and a protective roar. "It's not letting me near you!" he shouted.
Kai pressed his palm flat against the ribs. "Easy. He's not the enemy." The guardian lowered its head again, curling tighter, daring anyone to come closer.
Drake's voice cracked from the gate. "What the hell is this?! Guardians don't choose! They don't live without wielders!"
Kai swallowed hard. He knew what it was. Velnix. His Velnix.
But the arena couldn't see that.
The handlers were shouting, ordering the match ended. The crowd was chaos—half screaming betrayal, half demanding blood.
Kai exhaled and closed his eyes. "Alright, boy. That's enough."
He willed it. The bond surged. Bones cracked and folded, light rippling. Nightmare shrieked, resisting, but Kai pressed harder, drawing it inward.
The ghost-light streamed into him like breath inhaled, the ribs collapsing, the mask crumbling to dust. What remained reshaped itself around his shoulders, flowing like smoke until it draped him in a black cloak, ribs flattening into jagged embroidery at the edges.
The arena went silent.
Kai stood alone, Flicker steady in one hand, the cloak fluttering around him with a pulse of its own.
The gate slammed open, handlers shouting for him to leave. He walked calmly back inside.
---
The resting room was tense, air sharp as glass. Matt sat stiff, arms crossed, eyes still wide. Drake couldn't stop pacing, his voice cracking.
"Okay, Kai. Tell me what the fuck just happened."
Kai pulled the cloak tighter around his shoulders. Its weight was warm, comforting, alive. He lowered his head, half-smile ghosting across his lips.
"Floor thirty's guardian," he said simply. "Nightmare."
Drake shook his head violently. "Don't you dare give me that. Guardians don't act like dogs greeting their master. They don't protect—they kill. So what the hell was that?"
Kai's eyes flicked up, shadows heavy beneath them. "That," he said softly, "was mine."