The alarm buzzed early.
No warm-up. No break.
"Team 9 – report to the arena. Ten minutes."
Michael didn't speak. He just lit a slow flame in his hand.
Emily strapped on her water pack, her face pale but calm.
Jack tightened his mask, the voices in his mind already whispering. Hungry. Restless.
---
The arena had changed again.
One side was covered in mist and frost, the ground iced over. The other side was a forest-like mess of trees, brush, and animal cages. The scent of wet fur and blood lingered.
Jack scanned the area. "They're tailoring these arenas to our enemies."
Overhead, the speaker blared:
"ROUND TWO – TEAM 9 vs TEAM 12. BEGIN."
From the mist and trees, the new team appeared:
A white-haired boy with frost trailing off his fingers.
A thick-bodied teen with glowing eyes and confident steps—superhuman.
A quiet girl in green, crouched beside wolves. Birds circled above her head. Pet Talker.
Before anyone moved, the frost user slammed his hands to the ground.
A blast of ice raced across the arena.
Emily jumped to the side, but the attack partially froze the water in her backpack. "He's targeting my supply!"
Michael shot a burner burst at the ground, creating a steam wall that gave Emily a second to unfreeze her water.
The frost boy dashed in, arms now coated in jagged ice blades. He slashed—but Emily dove, countering with a pressurized water burst that knocked him off-balance.
Steam and mist turned the fight into a haze of vapor and light.
-
Jack turned—a hawk screeched from above, slashing at his head.
He blocked it—but wolves came from the side.
He activated the Echo Mask, isolating the sound of rapid paws.
WHIP. A vein-tendril launched from his wrist, slamming a wolf into a tree.
Emily spotted the other and blasted it back with a water shot.
The Pet Talker girl just stood still, eyes glowing as more cages opened behind her.
---
Michael faced the superhuman.
Too slow.
BAM.
A punch sent Michael flying across the arena.
The superhuman smirked, flexing.
But Michael got up—burned, bleeding, and laughing. "You hit like a meathead."
He launched a Suppressor shot, catching the guy in the ribs.
As they clashed again, Michael used fire on the ground to throw off his footing. Their fists met over and over like thunderclaps, shaking the whole arena.
Michael wasn't stronger—but he was smarter now.
---
Jack watched as the Pet Talker called more animals—a bear this time, growling as it charged.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't need Screeching Maw.
He needed precision.
He closed his eyes—and summoned Scythe Beast, a tall skeletal monster with long, hooked blades for arms.
It moved like death.
In seconds, it sliced through both wolves.
Then it leapt into the air—cutting down birds mid-flight in sprays of feathers.
The bear roared and charged. Scythe Beast met it halfway and split it clean down the middle.
The Pet Talker girl panicked, turned to run.
Jack moved first.
He launched four black seed pods—each one hit a limb.
The moment they landed, they exploded into fast-growing red veins, spiraling tight around her wrists and ankles.
SNAP.
Her arms and legs were severed instantly. Blood sprayed. She collapsed, screaming.
Jack stepped slowly toward her.
"Please—!" she begged, eyes wild.
He looked down, cold and silent.
Then turned to the Scythe Beast. "Eat."
It obeyed.
The monster lunged forward and began to consume her alive, blade arms pinning her as it devoured her piece by piece. Her screams echoed, then died.
---
Silence fell.
Michael stood over the unconscious superhuman. Emily dropped to one knee, shaking, watching the blood soak the ground.
The loudspeaker announced:
"ROUND TWO: TEAM 9 — VICTORY."
The monster faded. The blood didn't.
Emily looked at Jack, pale. "You didn't have to… do all of that."
Jack's voice was flat. "I did what we had to."
Michael didn't say a word—but his stare lingered a little longer this time.
They were winning.
But something inside Jack?
Was changing.