In the distance, a beastly roar echoed, likely Esteban making a scene again. Velvet tilted her head slightly. She didn't know him, nor did she care. But chaos? That was something she recognized instantly. "Aww, that little pup is throwing a fit. Let him grab the spotlight," she mused. "I'll be just fine while they're busy chasing him."
Then, something glimmered to her right, catching her eye. Someone was watching her. She froze. A figure loomed over the shattered remnants of a statue tall and slender, draped in robes that glimmered like mirages in the heat. Their face was obscured by a mask fashioned from bone.
They stood still. Silent. Just observing her. She raised her blades. "Here to fight?" she murmured. The figure turned and melted into the smoke. Vanished. She crouched down, taking slow, steady breaths. "Strange…" The Crucible was more than just a test of strength; it was a maze filled with watchful eyes and deceit. And deep down, she sensed that the audience wasn't the only one keeping tabs on her. She moved again, this time with caution. No noise. No unnecessary steps.
Her next target was the ruins along the northern edge spots where she could set traps, control the flow, and guide her enemies right where she wanted them. This wasn't merely about survival. It was about surviving with strategy.
As she passed more bodies, her heart sank. A young boy lay crushed beneath fallen debris. A girl was missing half her torso. The arena was merciless. Only blood remained. Then footsteps. Quick. Light. She pressed her back against the cold stone slab, feeling the rough surface against her skin.
Two fighters burst onto the scene, shouting back and forth, their voices filled with urgency. They looked exhausted, probably running low on stamina. Perfect. With a swift movement, she stepped out from her hiding spot behind the slab. The first fighter didn't even notice her. Her blade plunged into his kidney, dragging upward with a swift motion.
The second fighter let out a scream, but her boot found his throat, turning his cry into a desperate choke. Her dagger silenced him mid-stagger. "Sixty remaining," a voice called out. She took a slow, steady breath. The battlefield was beginning to quiet down. But her mind was anything but calm.
There was that odd boy she had passed the one with the strange blood. And that figure lurking in the mask. Something felt off about this tournament. As she slipped back into the fog, Velvet realized this was no longer just about survival. It had turned into a game. A game she was determined to win. But there was someone else… someone who had already begun playing long before the rest of them stepped onto the field.
Smoke curled around Velvet's feet as she stealthily made her way into the ruins at the edge of the arena. The jagged stone walls, crumbling statues, and broken arches provided her with cover, but they also concealed potential dangers. Her boots were silent. The daggers, freshly stained, felt comfortable in her grip.
She paused. A faint rustle. Gravel shifted to her left. In a flash, she turned
CLANG!
A curved blade collided with her dagger mid-swing. Sparks erupted. A tall woman clad in plated armor faced her, eyes sharp, spear poised. Quick. Powerful. In control. Velvet took a step back, already shifting her stance. "Finally," she thought. "Someone who knows what they're doing." The armored woman lunged, her spear darting forward like a silver snake. Velvet twisted, parrying once, then twice but the third strike came low, aimed right at her ankle.
She leaped. Not quite high enough. The shaft slammed into her shin.
She stumbled for a moment but quickly regained her balance, rolling into a crouch and hurling a dagger to create some space. The woman swatted it away and closed in. A flurry of strikes followed. Velvet's arms moved in a blur. Her daggers intercepted the blows, but the force behind them shook her to her core. Her legs screamed from the exertion, and her breath came in sharp gasps.
This wasn't a battle she could win through sheer strength. So she adapted. She allowed the next strike to come dangerously close too close for comfort and leaned in.
The spear grazed her cheek, blood spraying. But now, she was inside the fight. Her blade slipped between the armor plates beneath the woman's shoulder. A grunt escaped her lips. The spear faltered. Velvet ducked low, drove her second dagger under the ribs, and twisted it fiercely. The woman shuddered… and collapsed.
Velvet stumbled back, her hand instinctively going to her cheek. Warm blood. A shallow cut. Still breathing. "Fifty-five left." She looked down at her fallen foe. "Good fight," she whispered. Then, she melted back into the smoke once more. A sharp lens transition from the blood-soaked battlefield to a sleek, glossy screen… then zoom out.
Rows of curved monitors come into view. A luxury box filled with people in tailored suits and glowing wristbands. The atmosphere buzzed with a mix of tension and excitement. "Did you see that counter?!" one guy shouted, gripping his drink tightly. "That girl is insane!"
"Velvet," a younger girl in a leather jacket muttered, her eyes glued to the screen. "She doesn't just fight she hunts." The camera feed replayed her final kill in slow motion the way she used blood as a distraction, the twist of the blade, the effortless disengage. "Esteban might have the body count," said an older woman with silver hair, holding a champagne flute, "but that one's got control. She's precise. Methodical."
Another feed flickered to life a distant shot from earlier, showing a woman hurling a massive fireball at Esteban, who batted it away with sheer brute strength. A man in the corner leaned forward and muttered, "That one… she's using Nexus. I'd recognize that type of energy anywhere." The room fell silent for a moment. Someone else whispered, "I thought Nexus users were banned from entering…"
"No," the man replied, "just... regulated. But if she's awakened, this whole fight's about to change."
AT A RANDOM BAR IN LUXNIR
"Yo, did you see that fireball chick try to nuke Esteban?" one guy laughed, nearly spilling his drink. "She's gotta be Nexus user."
"Seriously? They're letting Nexus users in this time?"
"They want a show," someone else chimed in. "And Nexus is the show."