The door to the next Hall of Elimination creaked open with a groan that echoed like thunder across the stone chamber. Xero eyes narrowed, senses already sharp. He had no weapons, no allies, and no margin for error. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, a pulse of heat swept across his face.
She was already waiting.
Xui Hai.
Flames danced at her fingertips like living serpents, flickering orange and white. Her eyes burned brighter than her magic. She smiled, a cruel curve of lips, before she whispered his name.
"Xero."
And then she attacked. How the fuck had she known his name. Damn! She seemed to be on the kill.
A fireball exploded across the chamber. Xero threw himself behind a pillar, the flames licking at his coat, burning the edge of his sleeve. The moment he rolled away, another stream of fire swept past, singing the floor where he had been.
"Why are you targeting me?" he yelled, ducking under rubble.
"Because you're the quiet one. The ones who watch are always the most dangerous," she answered.
She meant to kill him. The test was clear: survive and kill. And she had chosen him.
Xero ran.
He dashed through the chaos. Around him, recruits battled with fists, illusions, raw strength, and elemental bursts. He shoved a boy out of his way—only for the boy to return with a blade aimed at Xero's chest.
Without hesitation, Xero twisted his body, grabbed the blade arm, and stabbed the attacker in the throat with the same weapon. Blood sprayed his face. He didn't slow down.
The next enemy came at him in a spinning leap. Xero ducked low and swept his legs, cracking the enemy's skull on stone.
Behind him flames were launched at him. He was fast enough to dodge the attack. The heat singed the back of his neck.
Xui Hai was relentless. Her feet didn't touch the ground—she glided on arcs of fire, moving faster than any other recruit in the test.
"You're not getting away," she screamed.
"Damn! She is way too powerful. At this rate she would kill me. I have to defend myself. She is just too strong. I have to keep running. That's the fastest way to escape from her brutal."
Xero vaulted over a stack of broken masonry. A girl attacked from the left, using wind blades. He deflected one, tripped her, and broke her nose with his elbow. He didn't kill her. He didn't have time. Not like he could do so with the speed she was using to chase him.
He kept running.
Xui Hai was gaining more speed and lunged again. Her next burst of fire ignited the ceiling, raining sparks down like meteors.
Xero was breathing hard. His chest ached. His mind screamed for a plan. Run! Run! That was the only thought that came to hos mind.He turned a corner, only to find himself in a dead end.
No way out.
The wall behind him was solid. Cracked, but solid.
He turned.
Xui Hai stood at the far end, walking slowly now. Her flames circled her like a fiery crown.
"You've got nowhere left to go little brat. You gave me a tough time in getting you. "
Xero didn't answer.
"You're quick," she said. "But not quicker than me. I accept the fact that you are good but I need you dead. Personal interest."
She raised both hands.
Two massive flame spears formed in her palms.
"This is your end."
She launched them. And then the flames smashed in. Xero stared. He was finally dying. After coming this far, he was dying in the hands of a fellow recruits.
But then he felt nothing. He did not feel the heat he expected to feel. He felt nothing, just nothing. He blinked lightly.
A massive body tackled her from the side, sending the flames flying into the wall.
Sonze.
"Pick on someone your size," he growled.
The impact knocked the wind from Xui Hai's lungs. She crashed against the stone, rolled, and came to her feet, panting, furious.
"You dare interfere?!"
Sonze didn't answer. He charged.
She launched a firewall between them, but he barreled through it like a bull, flames burning across his arms. He didn't care. He slammed into her with full force, lifting her off her feet and slamming her to the floor.
Xero watched in disbelief. "Sonze!"
"I've got her! Run!"
"But..."
"NOW!"
Xero obeyed.
He slipped past the chaos as Sonze grappled with the flame wielder. Behind him, bursts of fire and the sound of fists colliding echoed through the chamber.
Xero didn't stop.
He killed one more recruit on the way. An ambusher with a steel rod. Xero used his own momentum to slam the boy's head into the stone until he stopped moving.
When the test ended, and the final runes lit up the ceiling, Xero stood panting at the gate.
Burned. Bleeding. But alive.
And thanks to Sonze,he was still breathing.
Then he looked up. The time was clicking .
1:07. Just one more minute in this forsaken hall.