Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Into The Fire

In a dark and dreary cavern with dripping stalactites and dull torches that cast haunting shadows onto the ceiling.

There was a straight path that seemed to stretch on forever into the abysmal darkness, yet in the center of this path was a circular area, poorly illuminated by the flimsy flames.

"We beginnin' soon runts! So best be prepared!" An armored guard in the center of this circle shouted out.

He was covered head to toe in the familiar silver set with the gleaming green jewel atop his helmet.

Around him was a swarm of hundreds of children aged 12-18.

Some were silent, some were squiggling with excitement, and some were talking to their friends and coming up with strategies.

Meanwhile, Oz and Zee stood in the middle of the crowd, "alright, Oz, so I think we do just like we practiced-"

Zee rambled on about potential strategies even though the crowd had not even been told what the first challenge would be or why they were even underground.

Yet, all this came in one ear and out the other as he thought back to what happened during that test.

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The rushing winds, the suction on his hand- the pulling sensation that refused to let go as if trying to hold him captive for eternity.

The fog inside the orb that seemed to combat him rather than test him.

'Does it have something to do with this system?'

--

Yet, the boy wouldn't have any more time to contemplate as he was awoken from his thoughts by the man's sharp growls.

"Alright, here's how it's goin' ta' go, runts!"

All the children around stopped their own conversations and paid close attention, including Oz and Zee, as they needed to know the rules.

"Ya runts, don't even deserve to be in the competition." the armored laughed out with a snort.

The group gave confused looks to each other, and murmurs began to arise from the crowd.

"Shut up!" the man boomed out, instantly silencing the crowd.

"With that bein' said, ya gotta prove ya deserve it! That lil' orb test ya did, ain't gonna cut it."

He then pointed down toward the dark pathway with his left hand, "ya runts all remember how ya got down here?"

The group all nodded their head, including Oz and Zee.

Oz thought back to how the pair arrived here.

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As Oz and Zee walked through the grand coliseum doorway, Zee, with a look of concern, whispered, "Oz, are you alright? What happened"

However, he received only a measly, silent nod.

Oz continued staring off into space as the two slowly shuffled forward.

The pathway ahead slowly descended into what looked like a chasm with flickering torchlights spaced out along the walls.

As they moved in silence, eerie shadows hung over the boys; the dancing flames crackled and snapped as if teasing the pair; nonetheless, the boys continued.

Yet, while they moved and even though he had yet to respond, Oz's mind was racing, thinking back to what he just saw.

'That feeling, it felt familiar...'

However, Zee's comments awoke from his thoughts, "why are we going down? I thought we were supposed to head into the colosseum."

Oz peeled his eyes ahead as the two continued walking slowly yet cautiously in the shadowy cave until they felt the sloped decline halt and continued walking along the muddy path.

The air smelled of mold, and the dripping stalactites filled the boys with a bad premonition that tingled throughout their bodies until, finally, the dim lights became ever so slightly brighter as they spotted a large rounded area with a crowd of children and a guard up ahead.

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Now back to the present time, the guard, upon seeing the crowd nod and agree that they remembered how they got here, then lifted his other hand towards the dark pathway to his right.

"That is your test," he calmly called out, "through any means necessary."

The crowd was still confused, and upon seeing this, the man just chuckled and then continued speaking, "the only way anyone of you runts' gettin' out of here is that way, heheh," a sinister chuckle surfaced from his mouth once more, "and let's just say there's a number limit, good luck!"

 

Just like that, a ball of wind formed under the man's feet, carrying him to the left and away from the crowd, his sinister chuckles reverberating through the cave.

WOOOOOSH!!!

Time seemed to slow down for nearly every participant, especially Oz, and so in the span of a single second, his mind raced.

Their designated path was to everyone's left since the man they were facing had pointed to his right, yet not only did they not know what lurked beneath these caves, but "any means necessary" was not only allowed but it seemed encouraged.

Time began to resume again as a burning golden light churned within his pitch-black optics, 'so it begins.'

WHOOOOOSHHH!!

The competition had already begun!

Oz pushed Zee down by the back of the neck, causing him to stumble onto the ground, yet allowing him to narrowly avoid a fist coated in a flimsy transparent aura.

SPLAT!

However, the participant in front of them wasn't so lucky as his head came clean off, splattering in bits and chunks of pieces that flew into the air.

"Aaaaaghhh!!"

Many screams and wails rang through the air as chaos ensued.

Zee, who was on the ground, was in a daze and shivered as the feeling of death lingered over him.

Oz quickly glimpsed at him before whipping his head behind at their attacker, and there he was.

"Hehehe, well, well, lucky me. This is sooner than I thought," walking from out of the panicked crowd was a bearded man with unkempt brown hair and pure hatred oozing from his crooked smile.

It was the a$$hole from the line.

'Not good!' Oz furrowed his brows as he yanked Zee up by the wrist, as the two ran off through the crowd.

"Hey!" the man shouted after them, "get back here!"

Yet the calls fell upon deaf ears, or rather overstimulated ears, as bawls, screams of terror, and shrieks of agony filled the room.

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With what the boys estimated the number of participants to be near the thousands, the room had fallen into complete chaos.

Many were choosing to duke it out now, engaging in bloody brawls, only ceasing when one stopped breathing.

Some were hiding away in corners, trying their best to wait out the tragedy occurring before their eyes.

If one were to listen, one'd be able to hear many of the poor souls crying for their mother, a pitiful sight indeed.

Nonetheless, the boys continued running, as the sound of slaughter, begging, screaming, agony, "is this hell?"

Zee muttered out absent-mindedly as the two sprinted, slipping past those fighting for their lives or those also heading for the entrance, yet surpassed by the boys' superior agility.

Huff

Huff

Finally, after around 5 minutes of sprinting past everyone nearly blind through the crippling darkness, they came up ahead to a choice.

On the muddy wall ahead was a torch that flickered weakly and two pathways that led directly to the right or to the left.

Under the torch was a sign with an arrow pointing in both directions and a question mark with a smiley face right underneath it.

Oz peeled his eyes at the sign and cursed out, "the fuk is this?"

This situation they were was not only peerless, but it seemed whoever was running this was playing a joke.

'I don't care about the others, but I NEED to get to that academy or at least...' a golden glint shone in his eyes as he snuck a glance at Zee, who was also examining the note.

Oz slowly exhaled, "we're not gonna have the lead for long. Let's just choose a direction and hope for the best."

Zee enthusiastically nodded his head and pointed to the right, "let's go!"

To which Oz chuckled and nodded his head, the cheery atmosphere between the two completely dismissing the horrors they had just seen.

They were alive, and that's what mattered.

So, off they went down the path, not knowing what to expect.

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"So you're telling me," a strong raspy voice softly spoke, "that a student who may be the most talented we've seen in years showed up" the old man who spoke got up and slowly walked up to a window in front of him.

The room overlooked the crowd of people below and was adorned with lavish jewelry, luxurious cloths of exotic beasts, and the delicious aroma of hand-crafted dishes.

Outside the room and below the window was a crowd of people seated on the benches of the colosseum that towered hundreds of feet into the air.

The armored fatso was hunched over in a luxurious chair that was so comfortable his body nearly melted away into pure bliss; adding to this was the succulent aroma of the carefully prepared dishes laid out.

However, despite his grand belly, he had no appetite, as nervous sweat cascaded down his entire body.

The old man, who was dressed in his pristine white robes, was overlooking the crowd of people below as he spoke once more, "the most talented student we've seen in years. Yet you sent him into the maze. Is that correct?"

A subtle gust tickled the fatso's nose as the old man asked, despite the 360 windows that encompassed the VIP room.

The fatso gulped as he replied, "y-yes, sir!"

 

The old man whipped his head around.

His pupils had vanished, and only green remained apart from the whites of his eyes as his voice boomed across the room, "why?"

Despite the loudness of his voice, his tone was eerily calm, which in many ways was even more horrifying.

The fatso stuttered as he looked on helplessly, "u-um, th,-b-"

"Speak, you insolent pig." The old man interrupted.

"Sir!" the fatso bowed down on his knees, and his face nearly smushed against the ground, "I foolishly misunderstood when you told me to not hold up the competition."

The old man peeled his eyes with a look of disgust, his pointy nose raised to the heavens above, "and you chose not to think a participant with that talent held exceptions?"

The fatso slowly looked up as he began stuttering once more, "uh-bu-du-"

The old man gently waved his hands, and all sound disappeared from the fatso.

His breathing was undisturbed, yet he couldn't make a single sound.

"Fine then," the old man turned around and walked back to the windows, looking out towards the crowd, "we shall see this if this little prodigy has what it takes."

A slight smirk spread across his face, "enjoy the snacks in the meantime. They're quite good."

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THANKS FOR READIN BOIS!

A BIT OF A TWIST I GOT PLANNED FOR THIS "TOURNAMENT ARC" LOOK FORWARD TO IT BOIS!

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