The arena was breathing.
It felt alive, as if every block of stone and every speck of dust carried the anticipation of thousands of eyes. Two figures faced each other on opposite ends of the cracked platform. On the left stood Elyno, his dark cloak stirring faintly in the cold wind. On the right, Sergi, his silver hair glowing in the dusk light, one hand resting casually on the hilt of his curved sword.
Around them, the stands were a storm of restless voices. But even that roar seemed distant, as if the world itself had gone quiet to witness this moment.
Sergi tilted his head slightly, studying Elyno with a lazy sort of amusement. The smirk he wore was the same one that had broken the confidence of dozens of other challengers.
"You know," he began, his voice carrying effortlessly over the arena, "I almost forgot. You don't have a sponsor, do you?"
A low murmur spread through the audience. Elyno didn't move. He watched Sergi in complete silence, feeling an old, familiar calm settle in his chest.
Sergi went on, his smile widening.
"Did you think you could come here and pretend you belong? Did you forget the rules? No sponsor… no right to fight."
He lifted his free hand, waving it dismissively as if swatting away an insect.
"So technically," he continued, "this match is already over."
Pockets of laughter erupted in the stands. Someone in the first row shouted something Elyno couldn't make out. His fingers tightened on the grip of his dagger.
"Perhaps," Sergi added, lowering his hand, "you should get on your knees and beg. Maybe one of your… what, one viewer? Maybe that lone soul will pity you enough to sponsor you."
More laughter. Elyno stood motionless, letting the words slide past him like cold rain. In the pit of his stomach, something ancient and dark was waking.
He closed his eyes. I will not kneel.
He didn't have to.
The arena floor began to tremble.
Dust rose in shivering plumes from the cracks in the stone. Overhead, the sky dimmed from dusk to an oppressive purple-black, threaded with flickers of scarlet lightning. A deep, metallic hum vibrated through Elyno's ribs.
Sergi's smirk faltered, just for a heartbeat.
Then, high above them, a colossal red panel ignited in the air—so bright the shadows it cast seemed to bleed into every corner of the stadium.
CRITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT – SYSTEM OVERRIDE
The letters appeared, slow and deliberate, as if the world needed time to absorb what was coming.
THE FIRST GOD KAOS HAS SPONSORED ELYNO.
For one suspended moment, no one spoke. No one moved. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then chaos erupted.
Thousands of voices broke into screams and curses. Some spectators stood frozen, clutching each other, as if the sky might collapse. Others shouted Elyno's name, or Kaos's, or simply roared in wordless panic.
Sergi's eyes widened. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
Another line of text unfurled beneath the first:
SPECIAL TITLE UNLOCKED: WITNESS OF CHAOS
ABILITIES UPGRADED:
– Shadow Skill: Level 3 (Duration 30 seconds, Critical Multiplier 100%)
– Prison Skill: Level 2 (Manipulation + Hallucination active)
– New Passive Skill: Perception (Automatically reveals enemy weak points)
+4 Stat Points Awarded
Elyno felt the surge of power bloom through his limbs—liquid fire, bright and terrifying. The air around him ignited in neon blue light. It streamed from his shoulders, coiling like living flame.
Sergi's expression hardened into something that almost looked like fear.
But he still raised his blade and set his feet in the sand.
"Even with that," he said, his voice rougher now, "I can still destroy you."
BEGIN.
They moved at the same instant.
Sergi lunged, blade blurring in the fading light. Elyno shifted sideways in a single, fluid motion, feeling the wind of that strike slice past his cheek. His dagger lashed out, but Sergi parried, twisting to drive a boot into Elyno's ribs.
Pain blossomed, white-hot. Elyno hit the ground and rolled, boots kicking up grit. Before he could fully rise, Sergi was there again, sword crashing down. Elyno threw up his dagger in a desperate block—steel screeched against steel, the impact jarring up through his shoulder.
He forced himself to his feet. His breathing ragged.
He's fast. Stronger than before.
Sergi came in hard—five strikes in quick succession, each one precise enough to kill if Elyno faltered for even an instant. He ducked the first, deflected the second, stepped into the third to jam an elbow into Sergi's arm. The sword veered wide. For a breath, Elyno saw an opening—
—and in that moment, Perception triggered.
A delicate red thread shimmered just beneath Sergi's collarbone, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
There.
He shifted his weight, preparing to drive his blade into that mark—
—but Sergi spun, the edge of his sword catching Elyno across the side. Agony burst through him. He staggered back, hand pressed to the gash beneath his ribs. Warm blood dripped between his fingers.
Sergi's mouth twisted into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"You're still predictable."
He lifted his free hand—and the runes along his forearm lit in crimson.
"Let's see you handle this."
The ground split open with a deafening crack.
A dark chasm yawned at Sergi's feet. From it, a shape began to emerge—massive, hunched, wrapped in coils of black smoke. Two burning eyes blinked open in the shadows.
SUMMONED ENTITY: YAMAK, THE BERSERK ORK – MISSING BOSS OF THE TOWER
A collective gasp swept the arena. Elyno clenched his jaw, forcing himself upright.
I can't let this thing distract me. I have to end it fast.
The Berserk Ork lumbered forward, each footstep shaking the ground. Its axe was nearly as tall as Elyno himself. The first swing came faster than he could have believed, carving a crater into the stone where he'd stood a heartbeat before.
He blurred sideways, invisible in an instant as Shadow Skill unfurled.
From the safety of concealment, Elyno circled the beast. His breath rasped in his throat. Blood loss made the edges of his vision pulse black.
Then, just as he drew close, Perception flickered again. A single crimson line glowed across the ork's knee—a weakness hidden beneath layers of muscle and rune-scarred hide.
He didn't hesitate.
He leapt, reappearing as his dagger plunged into that mark.
The ork roared—an earth-shaking bellow that made the stands quake. It staggered, dropping to one knee. Runes flared and died in a single burst of dying fire.
BOSS DEFEATED.
LEVEL UP: 36.
+4 Stat Points Awarded.
Elyno barely had time to exhale before Sergi was moving again, sprinting through the drifting smoke with blade outstretched.
But this time, Elyno felt no fear. Only a cold, resolute purpose.
He raised his head, locking eyes with Sergi across the clearing mist.
And Sergi stopped.
His sword wavered. His chest rose and fell too fast. For the first time, he looked unsure.
"Wait," he rasped. "Don't—don't kill me. You've proved your point."
Elyno stepped forward, aura flaring bright blue. Shadows pooled at his feet.
Sergi tried to retreat, boots sliding in the dust.
"I'll leave," he whispered. "I'll vanish. Please—"
But Elyno's memory was already filling with the image of Jager's lifeless body on the grass. The way his mentor's eyes had stared through him.
He spoke quietly.
"You don't deserve mercy."
Prison Skill activated.
Sergi's pupils blew wide. His blade dropped to the sand with a dull clatter. In his mind, a labyrinth of darkness unfolded. Faceless horrors pressed against invisible walls, their whispers coiling around his sanity.
He fell to his knees, hands lifted in a silent plea.
Elyno took one final step, then blurred into motion—so fast he was little more than a streak of light.
His dagger pierced Sergi's heart in a single, perfect thrust.
Sergi collapsed. The whispers stopped.
QUEST COMPLETE – VENGEANCE FOR JAGER.
REWARD: +500,000 YANG.
All around them, the arena erupted into chaos. Cheers. Cries. The sound of a thousand lives colliding in disbelief.
But Elyno didn't hear any of it.
He stood alone in the flickering neon light of his aura, blade slick with blood, and felt the last tether to who he'd been slip away.
There was no going back.
He was Kaos's Witness now—and the world would learn what that meant.