The arena lay steeped in shadow. Some still stood, battered but breathing—flickers of starlight against the devouring dark—while others remained silent, names lost to ash in the wake of a day turned to nightmare. The twilight sun still hung, unmoving, watching as if mourning.
Ynara stood among the ruins, hair matted to her brow, chest heaving. Blood and dust streaked her cheeks. She blinked the sting from her eyes, forcing a grin as she turned to the others—those who'd made it through the fire with her.
"That was intense," she breathed, regret and pain growing in her voice. "But she got him to save me. And died just like that."
A guy, leaning against a jagged column, arms crossed over his wound, didn't share her sorrow. It was Nareth. "Yeah, but did you see their faces?" His voice was tight, shadowed with unease. "They didn't even look human like us."
"I know," she snapped, then caught herself. Her voice softened. "But what choice do we have? We fight, or we fall, like the others did."
From the rubble, a figure stirred—Vess, covered in grime but alive. Her voice cracked through the stillness. "What is going on, and why are we fighting? Who—what are we fighting?"
Her words cut through the tension like clean air. Even Nareth paused, chewing on the weight of them. The rest of the survivors, now able to move, were now gathering to where they were.
Then Nyra—flushed, dirty, defiant—burst through the quiet. "Ugh! You all sound like it's a funeral! We are alive because we beat those freaks, didn't we? We should be celebrating!"
She kicked a chunk of debris, sending it skittering across the dust-scored stone.
Nareth's scowl faded. "Celebrating?" he repeated, the corners of his mouth twitching. "We barely survived. There's more coming. There always is."
"And we'll face them," Nyra shot back. "Together."
He was not backing down either. "Who is 'we'?"
"That's exactly it," Ynara said, cutting them off. "We don't know what's waiting. But we're not alone anymore. And that means something."
Vess nodded. "I don't know any of you, but we are all here now, and that means something—something deeper. These abilities… we suddenly have them for a reason."
Nyra grinned. "Well, I'd still take a couple more of those things. Maybe even someone who is alien." She sniffed the air and gagged dramatically.
A beat of silence passed. Then Nareth chuckled, breaking the tension like a cracked pane of glass.
"Okay, if that's what we'll be calling them," he relented. "Meet-and-greet later. But you're right. We move forward—together. We plan. We stay alive."
"Can we really?" Vess whispered, almost to herself.
"We will," Nyra said, fire flickering in her voice. "Because where I come from, nobody comes close to surviving what we just did."
Ynara nodded. "We fight to live—and we live for more than just ourselves."
"For those who lost," Nareth added, lifting his chin. "And for those of us still here."
The others nodded in agreement. "Together," they said, in whispers and out of turn, voices—low, fierce, unyielding.
"We're not alone. Feel it?," came a new voice. Standing not far from them was Kairon. "Follow me, quickly. We may not have much time."
Hesitant at first, they followed as they made for a boulevard that led away from the arena. A little while later, the atmosphere began to change. Another set of battles raged in another part of the savannah, an oasis surrounded by lush vegetation, not far off from the newly formed group. Mistaking the flashes of light for good, one of the teenagers amongst them ran towards it only to be struck midway by a surge of light, turning her into embers amidst her brief screams. The others froze.
Forever seemed to pass as they stared at the embers of what used to be a person. They all were shaken and startled by the sudden event that it seemed like they were statues for a while.
Meanwhile, Solari, Vael, and Sirel stood in the stillness, surrounded by silence and the dead. The ruins whispered of ancient things. The vines hung from towering columns like forgotten prayers. Just then, Kairon and his group entered, prompting them to be ready to charge.
"I still can't believe this," Sirel murmured.
Vael looked around, his body sizzling with electricity. "They look… human. But then again, our opponents all looked that way."
"I don't know," Solari whispered. "But I feel like… something's wrong."
And then—
"I'm Kairon," a new voice said, cutting through the tension. The young man stepped away from the group, dark-skinned, steady, unsure. "From the Sunstone Coast. We mean no harm."
"Sirel, and that's all you need to know," she replied. Her name felt small in her throat. Then, seeing Kairon draw closer, quickly added, "Stand back!"
"Varek here," a boy with sharp eyes and a tight jaw emerged from the rubble of what looked like sand. "This is madness. We're lost."
"I'm Nyra!" she called behind Kairon, almost cheerfully, trying to stitch them together. "We fought together. Doesn't that… mean something?"
Vael stepped forward. "I'm Vael," he said softly, letting down his guard on seeing that they were not in danger. "And I think we survived for a reason."
More rustling. The other surviving fighters emerged one after the other, gathering with the rest.
Solari spoke next, graceful and intense. "I'm from a union of the East… and the West, sometimes. I've always believed energy binds us. But this? This is different."
Then came Teya—blue eyes, ash-blonde hair, wrapped in a cloak like the wind. "Europe," she said simply. "My family studies ruins like these. But I've never seen anything like this."
"I'm Kai," added a boy with streaks of color in his hair and a reckless smile. "From Kyoto. I was chasing something impossible. Looks like I caught it." Then he smiled as he put the hair of an opponent he had defeated on his head, and it merged with his hair, adding a new stripe to his hair.
Some laughed barely noticing what had happened.
"Cael," a tousle-haired boy grinned. "Comic relief. Handsome. You're welcome." He winked. "Also, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can make shadow-bombs and jokes in a fight."
Everyone stared.
Then—smiles. Not full. Not healing. But something close.
Kairon stepped forward, "I don't know where or how we got here," he started, eyes narrowing toward the trees. "But we aren't alone. I can feel it."
Vess instinctively raised her arm, pointing—there. The others mirrored her, tension rippling between them.
Something stirred beyond the trees.
But even as shadows loomed again, something shifted between the group. Though their personalities clashed, the urgency, the grief, the hope—that, they understood.
"Be alert everyone!" Kairon yelled as he observed the trees. "Who's there? Come out!"