The first thing I heard was the roar of a distant crowd, as if it were bleeding through layers of stone. Raising my head in confusion, I barely had time to wonder what Luke had gotten me into before the groan of metal echoed in front of me.
A gate screeched open, and I was shoved forward, stumbling to the ground. Sand scraped against my palms as I landed, the loose grit cushioning the fall just enough to keep the breath from being knocked out of me. Behind me, the bars slammed shut with a violent shudder, the sound reverberating through my chest as something rigid slid along my body, metal restraints retracting as they settled into the collar around my neck.
And with it came the blinding light.
"Ah—! Gods that hurts." Rubbing my eyes, I slowly struggled to my feet, blinking through the glare as my eyes adjusted to the world around me. Figures emerged first—others like me—standing unsteadily in the sand, every one of them looking just as beaten as the next.
Shielding my eyes, I finally looked up to see the towering stone walls that rose in a massive circular formation, tier upon tier packed with eager spectators whose cheers rolled down over us in a deafening wave.
Standing there in the sand, surrounded by strangers and screams, it finally clicked.
We were entertainment… But how?
I glanced around, taking in the faces around me, and grimaced as a dark realization settled in the pit of my stomach. Did they really expect us to kill each other for their very own entertainment?
And I wasn't the only one thinking it. The people closest to me were already watching one another, likely wondering who would be the first to fall. But what came next made me realize things wouldn't be so simple.
A deep, rolling tremor rippled through the arena, strong enough to knock some people off their feet. I staggered back as the sand began to churn, stone grinding against stone as massive pillars erupted upward from beneath the arena floor. They rose higher and higher, towering over us until they loomed like ancient titans.
Then the stone itself began to change.
Holes split open along the pillars, dozens of them, yawning wide like open maws. From which came the hungry cries of whatever lived within. Forcing people to look for something to defend themselves, only for the quickest to realize that along the arena wall, a pitiful assortment of weapons had been laid out. As if to force us to fight amongst each other for the chance to have a weapon of our own.
I watched as those closest snatched up whatever they could from rusted swords, chipped spears, heavy hammers some could barely lift, while the rest of us were left empty-handed. Prompting some to fight for a weapon, but that ended the moment a piercing, inhuman screech split the air as something burst free from one of the monoliths. I turned just in time to see it unfold—an unnatural amalgamation of writhing legs with a single long tail rising from its center mass, curving around the pillar as it clung to the stone like a spider.
What in the hell is that…? I mouthed as the thing leapt from one pillar to the next, using its tail to propel itself forward with terrifying speed.
In a blink, it slammed into a cowering man, its body peeling open like a grotesque flower as a gaping maw of serrated teeth swallowed him whole.
Then, like a sponge out of hell, it absorbed the impact and whipped around, already hunting for its next target. To which it found a moment later, as it scurried forward, its countless legs, allowing it to move forward no matter what side it lay on.
But just as it reached the cowering child, A massive figure intercepted it, swinging a war hammer into its side with a deafening crack. Giving me the briefest of hope, but the creature barely staggered. And when it turned. It hissed, front legs trembling in a display of intimidation, its long, sinewy tail swaying back and forth like it was tasting the air.
But what stole my attention wasn't the monster.
It was the man standing between it and the fallen victim.
Nolan?
What was he doing here?
Before I could process it, something far worse drew my attention. From within the holes, dozens of smaller versions of the creature poured out in a tide of chittering hunger. The larger beast answered them with a roar and lunged at Nolan faster than anyone without a core should've been able to react.
To his credit, he barely managed to slide out of the way.
A second later, he wound up for a strike, but his hammer never landed. The creature's tail snapped around the hilt, wrenching the weapon from his grasp before flinging him aside like he weighed nothing, right into the stone pillar with a resounding crunch.
Then, out of nowhere, one of the smaller things charged me, skittering forward on countless legs before leaping, mouth spread wide as if to bite my face off. I threw my arms up just in time, catching the nasty little thing mid-air as it snapped its serrated teeth inches from my face.
But seeing that it was helpless, it flailed and screeched, claws digging into my arms like an angry cat wanting to be put down.
Obliging, I let the thing go and dropped-kicked it into the air. Were it soared for some distance before plopping utterly unharmed like some type of bouncy ball before shrieking as a spear punched clean through its side, silencing it.
Eyeing the deflating corpse, I barely had time to thank the redhead before she tossed something my way.
"Kill as many of the bastards you can before you die," she hissed, and with a sharp twist of the spear, cut one of the approaching menaces down without looking back.
Scoffing, I nodded and scooped up the small dagger that skidded to a stop at my feet.
Ahead of us from every stone pillar, hundreds of the little devils swarmed, swinging through the air as if the arena were some twisted jungle gym. They flowed from column to column, raining down on anyone unlucky enough to be beneath them. People fell screaming, trying to pry the things off them, only for dozens more to follow, burying them in a tide of bodies within moments.
I tightened my grip on the flimsy knife and threw myself into the fray, moving on instinct more than thought. If we were going to survive this hellish game, numbers mattered. The more people we had standing, the better our chances.
Something blurred overhead.
I ducked just in time, spinning as it landed behind me. It hissed, coiled, then shot forward. I met it head-on, driving the knife straight into its center mass. The blade punched through its mouth and burst out the other side.
Warm blood sprayed across my face as the body went slack in my hands.
I flung it aside and sprinted toward a struggling man, his screams muffled beneath a writhing pile of creatures.
But I never reached him as one the size of a dog crashed into me, serrated teeth sinking into my arm as it dragged me closer. I cried out, stabbing wildly into its body again and again, but its tail snapped around, coiling tight and pinning my arm.
Helpless, I felt it tear into me, bite by bite.
Seeing no other option, I screamed and bit down on its tail, tearing free a chunk of flesh. It shrieked, loosening just enough for me to twist the knife and hack clean through the tail. The thing recoiled, screeching as it collapsed backward, leaving me gasping and bleeding in the sand.
Staggering to my feet, I glared at its twisting form.
Then something changed.
A strange, shifting purple hue pulsed from within its body. And a second later, my vision swam as the world tilted. From inside its warped mouth, colors spiraled and folded in on themselves like a living kaleidoscope.
What…?
My legs gave out, and I dropped to my knees, head spinning.
My body refused to obey me, muscles going slack as a warm, heavy exhaustion washed over my thoughts.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just lie down.
Just… Just for a second… I…
Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision as I swayed and hit the ground.
Yet before I completely let go. Instinct took over, and I flicked the knife sideways just as a shape lunged toward me. A moment later, I met resistance, as the thing collapsed lifelessly on top of me. With it, the strange effect that had taken hold of my body faded as my head cleared.
Wide-eyed, I shook the effect away and pushed the thing off of me.
Whatever that was…I have to avoid it at all costs. Even if that meant I had to fight with my eyes closed. A moment more of that and I would be a goner.
Yet I wasent completely in the clear. Grimacing, I stared down at the large gash the thing had taken out of me.
Forcing myself to my feet, I sucked in a ragged breath and shakily tore at my shirt as I fashioned a makeshift bandage from it and grimaced as I pulled tight, trying to stop the bleeding.
With no time to slow down.
I plunged back into the fight, ripping through another cluster of the creatures, blade flashing as I cut one down, then another. The arena slowly emptied of the smaller horrors, their bodies piling up in the sand, until only the strongest remained.
All the while, the arena was transforming, as one after another of those giant pillars rose from the ground. shifting the battlefield into a maze of towering walls. One by one, we were cut off from each other, only to be left in the dark, listening to the screams of the dying.
Breathing hard, I turned a corner and nearly stumbled. Bodies littered the sand, blood soaking everything beneath my boots. Among them lay a younger man, still clutching the straps of a battered shield.
I hesitated… then sighed.
Prying it loose, I strapped it to my arm. The leather scraped against fresh cuts, sending a sharp sting through me, but I ignored it as I rounded the next corner, only to flinch back as something soared overhead.
A familiar figure slammed into the wall ahead of me with a grunt.
Nolan barely had time to recover before ducking aside and slamming a counterattack into the flank of one of the larger creatures, only to be caught by a whip of its tail that sent him skidding across the sand.
Tch. The bastard doesn't deserve help. But whether I liked it or not, we were stuck in this together.
Lunging forward, I embedded the dagger deep into the flank of the creature before dragging downwards, slicing the thing open with a wet tear of flesh. It shrieked and twisted, trying to retaliate, but Nolan grappled it with his massive arms, restraining the thrashing body just long enough for me to drive the blade up into its center, right where I'd learned the brain of these things sat. The creature convulsed once, then went limp.
When Nolan released it, the body hit the ground with a dull thud.
Following its example, I slid down the side of a nearby pillar, chest heaving, glaring at him as he leaned back in the sand, just as exhausted.
God… I had almost forgotten how it felt to fight without a core.
How did I ever survive like this back on Earth?
I shook my head, leaning back, only to notice Nolan watching me with an infuriating grin.
"Hell of a day to fight Skrill," he chuckled, extending a hand. "I'm Nolan. And you are?"
I slapped his hand away and closed my eyes. I wasn't in the mood for introductions, especially not with the man who'd dragged us into this nightmare.
He frowned, clearly confused, but let it go, settling back beside me.
However, we didn't get long to rest, as a second later a dark shadow streaked overhead, towards their next victim.
A moment later, a cry of pain rang through the halls as Nolan shot to his feet, moving with an unnatural burst of speed for someone whose powers were supposedly restrained.
I stayed where I was for a heartbeat, then cursed under my breath as I forced myself up and followed after him.
Whether I liked it or not, we needed to stay together.
I regretted that decision the moment we rounded the corner.
There, wedged into the narrow space between the stones, stood the mother of all those unholy things. Its legs were crammed into the tight gap, flesh bulging and misshapen, like something forced into a mold too small to hold it.
Inside its gaping jaw lay the woman who had thrown me my dagger. She was being drawn slowly inward by a long, sinuous tongue, her body slack, almost as if she were asleep.