The arena had become a storm of war and fury.
Blood splattered across broken stone. Magic sizzled through the air. Swords clashed like thunder, and screams echoed against the steel sky.
But suddenly—
A scream cut through everything.
"AAAAAARGHH!!"
It came from the center of the battlefield.
Aryan collapsed to his knees, his fists buried in the cracked ground, his entire body trembling violently. Blood spilled from his lips, hot and thick. His heartbeat thundered, his vision blurred, and a crushing weight coiled in his chest.
Then—
WHOOSH!
Flames erupted from his body like a detonation. Wild. Vicious. Alive.
"ARYAN!" Selena cried out, rushing toward him. Her hands glowed with healing light, trying to ease his pain, but the fire flared violently—pushing her back.
This wasn't ordinary flame.
It wasn't fire born of magic or heat.
It was something deeper. Older.
From the edge of the arena, both Roy and the mysterious man paused mid-battle, their eyes drawn to the eruption of power below.
"…That's not ordinary flame," the mysterious man murmured, his eyes narrowing as lightning flickered across his shoulders.
Roy's expression darkened. "No... That's inherited. Unstable. Ancient."
Within the inferno, Aryan howled again—but this time, there was something else in his voice. Not pain.
Understanding.
The flames didn't devour him. They danced around him.
His hands weren't being burned… they were glowing.
"I… I can feel it," Aryan gasped hoarsely, eyes wide with disbelief. "It's… mine."
The flames surged higher, bursting outward in a ring of pressure that incinerated the ground around him. The air shimmered from heat.
Selena shielded her face. "What's happening to him?!"
She'd seen people catch fire. She'd seen people die by it.
But this was different.
This fire wasn't death—it was a rebirth.
Meanwhile…
Across the battlefield, Kat grunted, deflecting a rock blade aimed at his head. Three bandits surrounded him—earth mages and blade wielders, each trying to kill him from a different angle.
Stone spikes erupted from below.
Blades shimmered with deadly enchantments.
"Damn it—!" Kat swung wide, barely avoiding a crushing strike, prepared to be overwhelmed—
CLANG!
A second sword intercepted the attack. Sparks flew.
"You're too slow, Kat," came a familiar voice, cocky and casual.
Kat's eyes widened. "Molly?!"
The dual-sword fighter twirled his blades with a grin. "Thought I'd drop in. Let's finish off these chumps first… then I'll beat your ass in our rematch."
Kat let out a relieved breath. "You can try. Let's survive first."
Back-to-back, the two warriors became a cyclone of death.
Kat unleashed Sword Hurricane, carving through enemies with brutal precision. Molly responded with Twin Fang Slash, piercing two bandits in a single lunge.
More came at them—water users casting chains, ice users forming spears, even one trying to bury them in mud—but the two swordsmen moved as one, countering, slicing, dodging, destroying.
On the far side of the arena…
Blot, encased in molten flame armor, stood like a furnace incarnate. Heat rippled around him as lava oozed from his arms.
Opposite him stood Shin—the mysterious power user who had mercilessly eliminated half the contestants in Round Two.
The two stared at each other like apex predators.
"I don't like mysteries," Blot growled, gripping his flaming sabers.
Shin's smile was cold. "Good. Because I'm not a mystery."
He raised a hand—and the ground cracked beneath him. Crimson energy surged through his veins, forming claws of pure force.
Then—
CLASH!
Lava and power collided in a burst of red and gold. A geyser of heat shot skyward. The ground screamed beneath their battle.
Two monsters. No rules. No hesitation.
Only destruction.
High above, the storm continued.
Roy raised his arms, summoning icy winds that twisted into a dozen Frozen Slashes—swords made of pure frost, sharper than steel.
The mysterious man answered with a Lightning Shield, intercepting the slashes and redirecting their energy into crackling electric bolts that shattered nearby pillars.
"You're strong," Roy admitted, stepping forward. "But strength alone doesn't win battles."
The mysterious man's eyes sparked. "That's why I'm not here for glory…"
He vanished.
In a blink, lightning shot behind Roy.
"…I'm here for knowledge."
Roy spun, just in time to block a blade made of light. The two collided again—lightning and ice—the arena trembling under their might.
Back at the crater of flame…
Aryan's flames were still raging—but he was in control now.
His eyes burned gold.
His breath steadied.
From within the inferno, a whisper escaped his lips:
"I won't burn. I'll rise."
Selena stepped back, awe in her eyes. "What… are you?"
Aryan slowly stood. His body was covered in flame, but his skin wasn't seared. His steps cracked the ground, but he didn't stumble.
He wasn't just surviving the fire.
He was becoming it.
And far above… Roy noticed.
He turned to the mysterious man. "This battle… might be bigger than us."
The man's lips curled slightly. "Then we better end it before it's too late."
They clashed again, sparks flying, frost surging, thunder cracking.
And below them, in a circle of scorched earth, Aryan opened his eyes fully—and the fire obeyed.