"Get ready..." The announcer said.
Finn stared at Kael from across the arena. Kael's crew was already shouting, cheering for him from the stands.
"Come on Kael! Kick his scrawny elf ass!" One short alien with dark pink skin and white hair said.
"If you lose Kael you owe the whole crew dinner for the next galactic orbit!" A hefty alien fellow said with a mouth full of snacks from the concession.
The referee's hand dropped.
"Begin!"
Kael gave Finn a cocky grin before moving in a blur. His speed was astonishing, closing the distance between them fairly quickly. His twin blades sliced through the air like silver streaks.
Finn's eyes widened as the attack closed in. He reacted just in time to parry the strike.
The clash of steel on steel echoed through the arena, sparks flying everywhere.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
Their attacks moved in a blur, exchanging equal rapid strikes.
Finn weaved in between strikes with nimble footwork, staying just out of reach of his deadly blades.
But Kael wasn't just fast… he was relentless.
"Not bad! But you'll need more than footwork to keep up with me, you watered down elf!" He said with a cocky smirk on his face, even as they exchanged blows.
His strikes became more and more aggressive. Finn twisted and ducked, narrowly avoiding the blades as best as he could. But even with his supernatural agility, Kael's attacks were too close for comfort.
Kael's blades seemed to become extensions of his body.
"Getting tired already, short stuff? This is only the beginning." Kael said to him during a brief struggle of their blades.
Finn clenched his jaw. But he refused to back down. The pain and struggle only fueled his resolve. He tightened his grip on his dagger and cocked back for another swing..
CLANK!
Finn struggled to keep up, his arms grew heavy from the constant parrying.
Each swing of Kael's twin blades was heavier than the last.
Finn's dagger grazed Kael's arm, but Kael spun, retaliating with a spinning kick aimed at the side of his head.
Finn blocked just in time, but the force sent him skidding back. The crowd roared as Kael pressed his advantage while Finn struggled to regain his footing.
But in the midst of the chaos, Kaito's voice rang out over the noise of the crowd.
"Keep fighting Finn! You can do this!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
Their blades clashed once more as the fight became a blur of motion.
CLANK CLANK CLANKCLANK CLANK CLANK!
The twin blades of Kael came at him from every angle. Every time Finn tried to counter, he was already a step ahead.
"Too slow." Kael taunted as he weaved around Finn's strike before slamming the hilt of one dagger into Finn's jaw, nearly knocking him out.
The crowd roared in response.
"He's… toying with me…" Finn thought to himself, trying to stay conscious.
He growled, trying to focus, but Kael never let up. Another strike came, and this time it connected.
It left a deep cut across Finn's forearm, sending a burning pain up his arm. Blood came oozing out almost immediately, dripping on the ground below.
"This is pathetic. Is this really all you've got dude? I expected more… Guess the stories about you elves were exaggerated." Kael said with a disappointed look on his face.
Finn leapt back, clutching his arm as his mind raced.
"I can… I can see it. I see the opening, but I can't act on it. He's too fast, too strong… no…"
His body ached and his legs began to wobble underneath him.
"I'm just too weak…"
Kael stepped forward, staring down at him with eyes full of condescension.
That look…
It was a look Finn had seen before… years ago, in a place he once called home.
Flashback
Finn stood in the rain, his knees scraping against the stone pavement. The people of his village gathered around, their expressions twisted with anger and pure disgust.
"You are a disgrace to the Arboren race."
"Unworthy."
"You don't belong here."
Finn clenched his small fists, his nails digging into his palms, but he couldn't stop shaking.
He had failed them—exiled like he was nothing.
And the worst part?
It was his own mother who was the one leading the charge...
Back to the present
The memory played through his mind as his vision swam. The jeering crowd blurred around him. And then—
Kael smirked.
He had that same arrogant gaze that reminded him of those who had looked down on him before. That same dismissive glance that screamed…
You don't belong here
At that very moment, a spark ignited inside Finn. His hands clenched, his breathing steadied, and something deep within him had awakened.
"Don't you dare look down on me…" He muttered to himself, too low for anyone else to hear.
Kael smiled even more, raising his dagger for the final blow, but—
He hesitated.
This was because the air around Finn shifted and the pressure in the arena spiked. A swirl of green essence came to life, dancing around his body like emerald flames.
Finn lifted his head and his eyes weren't his normal light brown anymore… They were green. A vibrant green. His pupil wasn't round anymore either, it was yellow and broken into twelve different segments, making a spiral shape.
Finn's dagger trembled, but not from weakness… no… this was something else.
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly as his essence intensified.
"What the hell—?" Kael began to say.
But then… Finn vanished.
Kael barely had time to process anything before a sharp pain exploded in his gut.
It was the back of Finn's dagger. Kael went skidding back. The crowd gasped.
But Finn didn't stop.
He was a blur, moving faster than before, his green essence leaving streaks of green all around the arena. Kael swung his head around wildly trying to find him, but he couldn't.
That's when Finn appeared behind him with a vicious slash already swinging at Kael.
He barely raised his blade in time, the impact rattling his arms.
"What's happening? Where did this strength come from?" Kael's mind raced as they locked into a brief struggle.
"You're just like them." Finn muttered to himself.
Kael gritted his teeth. He jumped back then swung the air in front of him with his blades. Two blue arcs of essence blitz towards Finn, but he weaved past them like they were moving in slow motion to him.
"I won't lose." Finn muttered to himself, his green essence roaring to life as he dashed forward.
Kael lunged forward, both daggers glowing blue… but this time Finn was ready. He ducked, then leaped into the air, his dagger glowing with a bright green essence with small yellow streaks.
Mid-air, his eyes locked onto Kael's.
With a final, fierce yell, he brought his dagger down in a brutal arc. Kael raised his blades to block, but when he did…it seemed as if time itself slowed down.
Him.
His blades.
The crowd.
Everything seemed to slow…
Everything… besides Finn.
Their blades clashed.
CLANK!!!
The shockwave from both of their attacks made most of the spectators shield themselves with their arms, tentacles, and many other various limbs.
After a small struggle, Finn's dagger shattered through Kael's.
After everything settled down and spectators looked back at the battleground, they were completely shocked by what they saw.
Kael's body laid still, groaning in defeat as the essence on his blades flickered and disappeared. The entire arena was silent for a moment.
Then, the announcer's voice ripped through the silence.
"And the winner is... Finn!"
The crowd erupted into wild cheers. Even louder than when Elara won her match.
Finn stood tall, his chest rising and falling with exhaustion, his body trembling from the intensity of the fight. His eyes returned to the normal light brown they usually were.
"I did it… I actually did it..." He thought to himself in complete shock as he stared at Kael's unconscious body.
In the stands, Kaito, Jinx, and Rorik roared with pride, celebrating like there's no tomorrow. Elara watched with a small smile. This wasn't just a victory for Finn, it was a victory for the crew, for everyone who had believed in him.
Kaito looked down, meeting Finn's gaze from across the arena. The two shared a victorious air fist bump.
As the cheers of the crowd swirled around the stadium, Kaeline stood alone on the upper levels of the arena. The noise of celebration and joy seemed distant to her, muted as if she were submerged under water. While her crewmates reveled in the success of the day's battles, something far darker had seized her attention.
In the far corner, at the highest tier of the stands, a group of three individuals wearing weirdly designed masks sat in unsettling stillness. There was something wrong… something deeply unsettling about them. Where the rest of the spectators were animated, shouting, or celebrating, they exuded an ominous, almost unnatural calm.
Kaeline's senses, honed through years of experience and her innate abilities, tingled with alarm. It wasn't just their stillness that unsettled her. It was the aura that radiated from them.
Darkness... hatred.
It was suffocating.
Her eyes narrowed as she focused on them, trying to make out any noticeable features, but they were hidden under some sort of robe. She could tell they were discussing something by their heads nodding and gesturing, but she was too far to hear anything clearly.
"Who are they? Their essence… it's like nothing I've ever felt before." She thought to herself.
As she stared at them, a particular figure among the group stood out with an unnerving presence, even compared to the others. He was taller and thin and his posture was very relaxed.
And then, as if sensing her attention, he looked up.
Kaeline's heart skipped a beat as their eyes locked across the vast distance of the arena. The man's body language remained neutral, but there was something in his gaze… a spark of recognition, or perhaps… amusement.
Then, to Kaeline's shock, she heard his voice—not through the air, but inside her mind.
"I. See. You."
The whisper echoed in her mind. She flinched, momentarily taken aback. Her heart raced as she glanced around. There was no way he could know she was watching him from so far away.
But he was… and wasn't done. His voice slithered into her mind again.
"What's the plan now sweetheart? Run to your captain? Cry? Or maybeee… shit yourself?"
"Relax. Stay calm. Don't let him see fear." Kaeline thought to herself as she tried to maintain her composure.
Then, suddenly, everything around her shifted.
She blinked, and in an instant, the entire arena transformed. The once-vibrant arena was now drenched in a horrifying silence.
She looked around, and what she saw made her stomach turn.
Everyone in the stands, every single spectator…
…was dead.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked down at the arena floor.
Her crewmates—Elara, Talon, Finn, Kaito—laid lifeless, their bodies twisted in unnatural angles. Their eyes were wide open but they were empty. The smell of blood and rotting corpses filled the air.
"What... what is this?"
She blinked again. The horrifying scene flickered like a broken hologram, and just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone.
The arena returned to normal.
The crowd cheered like before.
The crew, alive and well.
Kaelin staggered back slightly, trying to process what she just witnessed. She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing.
"An… illusion?" She asked herself.
The clarity, the vividness of it shook her to her core.
But as her initial shock faded, something inside her hardened. Instead of retreating, she did the opposite.
She straightened her posture, her gaze hardening as she turned back toward him and stared directly at him.
For a brief moment, there was silence between them. His expression shifted. The playful smugness in his eyes faded, replaced by something else—curiosity. His head tilted slightly.
"Well now… this is interesting."
But his thoughts were cut short by a voice calling for him.
"Morgoth, let's go. He is calling for us." One of the masked members said with a stern yet gentle feminine voice.
Morgoth looks over to her and stretches his arms above his head as he playfully speaks.
"Come on… He told us to watch over the fragment and his precious vessel didn't he? What's the rush? Besides…" He said smoothly, trying to wrap his arm around her, but she immediately smacked it away.
The other masked member, a short alien woman chuckled.
"You really don't know when a woman's not into you, don't you Morgoth? You're so damn pathetic, you know that?"
"Who do you–" Morgoth began to reply but was cut off by the person who rejected his pathetic advance.
"Enough you two. Our task here is done. Elara should have no issues winning the tournament and taking the fragment. When she does, it will eventually lead her right to him."
All three of them seemed to vanish from thin air as their seats became empty.
Kaeline didn't stay around any longer. She turned and made her way out of the arena, her mind racing.
"Whoever that group is, they're dangerous. I need to tell Elysia about this, but It isn't safe to do so here." Kaeline paused her thoughts.
"But still that illusion, it seemed too…vivid. That isn't a normal ability, no… there's something else to it."