Kaen stood up immediately—his expression no longer casual or sarcastic.
It was focused. Determined.
"We need to get in there."
Varnyx clicked his tongue and stood beside him.
"Then let's tear the damn rules apart."
With no hesitation, the two leapt over the railing—shocking the spectators around them—as they moved swiftly along the edge of the arena toward the operations control wing nestled beneath the Colosseum.
As alarms began to blare and override messages surged across control panels—Kaen and Varnyx disappeared into the heart of the system.
Into the place where this nightmare could be stopped.
Or made worse.
---
Meanwhile – Back on the battlefield
The air had turned to ash and static.
Klaus, still bruised and breathing heavily, stared up at the monstrosity in the sky.
Even in pain—even after all he had fought—he whispered:
"That… thing…"
Kael took a step forward.
"What in the absolute hell are we looking at?"
Reina's eyes narrowed.
"That's not just a beast…"
Sofie, holding tightly to Klaus, whispered with trembling lips:
Klaus's mind raced with thoughts,"We need to move. Now."
What the hell is happening?
This wasn't part of the tournament. No warning, no projection—He tried to stand, wincing.
Was this planned? A surprise event?
But then his instincts screamed louder than logic.
His jaw clenched as his crimson eyes locked on the sky, watching the beast descend through a storm of fire and embers. The three heads roared again, and the very air pressure collapsed around them—flattening nearby trees and hurling ash into cyclones.
Kael's hand tightened around the hilt of his massive greatsword.
The blade hummed—like it too understood the scale of what was coming.
"Doesn't matter what it is…" he said, grinning but sweating."If it bleeds—we kill it."
Reina didn't respond.
Her eyes were fixed on the horizon.
Because more were coming.
Teams.
Other participants—drawn to the chaos—emerging from the jungle and broken cliffs, converging on the ruined zone like moths to a flame. Some faces familiar. Others… masked. Unknown.
Some teams stood in awe.
Others readied weapons.
The battlefield was no longer divided by matches.
It was becoming one, massive survival warzone.
---
The three-headed dragon let out a thunderous cry—one that ripped through sound itself.
The sky split.
Clouds shattered.
A wave of pressure hit the battlefield like a nuclear storm, throwing trees, stone, and bodies into the air.
Kael took stance.
Reina's aura surged.
Sofie stood behind Klaus, flame building in her palms as she shielded his body with her own.
And Klaus… just stared.
His breath slow.
Heavy.
Resolved.
"This isn't a game anymore."
---
Red emergency lights pulsed. Sparks dripped from shattered consoles. Dozens of panicked engineers worked at terminal stations, some yelling into broken comms, others frantically trying to override locks that weren't supposed to exist.
In the middle of it all stood Kaen, his formerly playful eyes now focused and cold. His boots echoed against the steel floor as he approached the main server pillar, which flickered with unstable data screens—each one looping footage of Balerion.
Next to him, towering and composed despite the chaos, was Varnyx—cloaked in obsidian dragon-forged armor, his mere presence causing the air to feel thinner.
The technicians turned when they entered.
But none spoke.
They didn't need to.
The room knew who had arrived.
And then—
BOOM.
The heavy doors slammed open again.
Emperor Malrik Vortan strode in, followed by a small entourage: Kaleus, Varion, and Zephyra.
His golden cloak trailed behind him like flame.
And the moment he laid eyes on the two already inside—
He stopped cold.
His breath caught. His face turned solemn.
And then, with a deep breath and lowered eyes…
Malrik dropped to one knee.
"I, Malrik Vortan, Emperor of Earth, kneel before you—Varnyx Velkrax-Daevaryn, Heir to the Dragon Lord."
Silence.
Followed by Kaleus, Zephyra, and Varion immediately kneeling behind him.
Every technician followed instinctively—whether from awe, training, or pure fear.
Kaen turned slightly, glancing at Varnyx.
Varnyx didn't respond.
His burning gaze remained locked on the largest screen in the room.
The three-headed dragon.
Balerion.
His eyes narrowed. His blood surged unnaturally beneath his armor, almost like it was boiling.
"You're supposed to be dead…"
"I saw to it myself."
"And yet…"
The pressure rolling off Varnyx's frame was beginning to warp the very air in the room—cold and suffocating, mixed with silent wrath.
"Balerion…"
Malrik stood again, brushing his cloak aside, addressing the technicians:
"I want that system breach resolved—now. Bypass protocol, force-reset the Ascendant Core, do whatever it takes."
The techs nodded rapidly, working with renewed desperation. The flickering screens began stabilizing, one by one.
Suddenly—From the back of the room, a loud shout broke the tension:
"IT'S BACK ONLINE!"
"The gate is operational! We can send people in!"
Gasps rang out.
And then—movement.
Kaen's arm ignited in brilliant flames.
Varnyx stepped forward, lifting one clawed gauntlet, and small fractures appeared in the metal beneath his feet.
Malrik's eyes glowed faintly.
Kaleus cracked his neck, a rare, eager grin forming.
Zephyra held out her hand as the wind around her began to spiral.
Varion's fingers sparked with unholy fire, a low hum burning in his chest.
No words were needed.
The time had come.
Malrik turned.
"Send us in."
"Now."
---
The sky cracked.
Not from thunder.
From tension.
The shadow of the three-headed dragon loomed in the heavens, its roars like ruptures in reality itself. The very air stung—charged with energy and despair.
But below, amidst the broken jungle and crumbling cliffs, a different kind of battle raged.
Klaus sat against the blackened bark of a half-burnt tree. His torso was wrapped hastily in cloth and bandages. His breaths were heavy. Shallow. His eyes flickered open, then shut again.
Ash drifted like snow.
Flames flickered in patches across the field. Charred earth, blood, and metallic dust marked the place as a warzone reborn.
And he wasn't alone.
Sofie stood in front of him, her back straight, golden flames licking at her fingertips, her boots scorched from combat. Her arms were outstretched slightly—her stance protective. Her fire pulsed in waves, burning hotter with every step taken toward them.
Before her, dozens of enemy contenders—all from rival squads—advanced. Their eyes were fixed on the weakened boy behind the tree.
On Kane Vire.
On their ticket to winning.
"Back. The fuck. Off."
Sofie's voice cracked like a wildfire through the wind.
One of the enemy warriors grinned. "He's barely breathing. Just hand him over, and we won't torch the rest of you."
The ground erupted next to the man.
Not from Sofie.
From someone else—KAEL.
He landed like a meteor, spinning his massive greatsword like a cyclone. The blade slammed into the earth, sending half the front line flying into the air.
"You want my boy?" Kael shouted, laughing like a devil drenched in adrenaline.
"Come and try it, cowards!"
He charged, unhinged and ruthless, slashing through the terrain. Bodies flew. Metal cracked. Bones shattered.
High above him, darting like a phantom shadow—REINA.
Precision.
Speed.
She moved between blind spots like a whisper. Her blood manipulation twisted into threads that sliced tendons and blocked attacks. A flick of her fingers, and an enemy's spear disintegrated into red mist.
"Kael," she called out coldly, "you're getting sloppy."
Kael grinned mid-swing. "I'm just warming up!"
Another slash. Another scream.
The battlefield was painted red and gold, wind and flame, steel and screams.
Sofie stayed firm—her fire forming a living barrier around Klaus. A dome of protective heat flared outward, warning any that got too close.
She didn't blink.
Didn't breathe wrong.
Because he was behind her.
And she would not let him fall again.
Behind the chaos, Klaus stirred.
His fingers twitched. His eyes opened halfway. And what he saw—
Fire.
Ash.
Light.
Sofie, glowing with determination in the middle of it all.
"They're fighting… for me."
A flicker of guilt burned in him—but alongside it… resolve.
Klaus gritted his teeth and tried to push himself up, but the pain struck deep.
Sofie instantly turned—her hand gently pushing him back against the bark.
Her voice was soft, but unyielding:"Don't. You're not ready yet."
"We've got this."
She offered a small smile—then went right back to torch another enemy who dared step close.
The enemies came in waves.
Kael and Reina held the front.
Sofie, the center.
And Klaus, behind them, stared upward—at the dragon in the sky, at the madness unraveling—and whispered:
"I can't stay still for long…"
---
Amidst the Chaos – Sofie's flames scorched the ground.
Kael's greatsword carved craters into the earth.
Reina danced between shadows, eyes sharp and cold.
They fought like war-born legends—holding back wave after wave of desperate, glory-chasing teams. Each enemy trying to seize Klaus, who rested behind them like a fallen god preparing to rise.
Then—
The wind stopped.
The lightning flickered out.
Even the battlefield went momentarily still.
Everyone looked up.
The clouds had parted—but not naturally.
Something forced them open.
A shape.
A silhouette massive enough to cast a shadow that stretched from horizon to horizon.
It wasn't the three-headed dragon this time.
It was something else.
Something ancient.
Something worse.
VARNYX.
In his full draconian form, obsidian flesh gleaming like onyx armor beneath starlight. Jagged wings carved the sky like blade-ridges, dragging an aura of power that made the very sky quake.
Each step he took across the air itself left ripples in the clouds.
Riding on his back—
Emperor Malrik Vortan, his royal cloak trailing in the wind like a crimson flame.
Zephyra, her silver wind swirling around her, blades humming in anticipation.
Varion, arms crossed, fire eyes locked on the battlefield like a war general surveying a final stand.
Kaleus, battle-hardened, stoic, gripping his halberd with both hands.
And finally—
KAEN.
Holding onto one of Varnyx's dorsal spikes like a terrified cat clinging to a rooftop during a hurricane.
"HOLY SHIT, I'M GONNA DIEEEE!" Kaen screamed over the roar of the wind.
"WHY ARE THERE NO SEAT BELTS ON AN ANCIENT COSMIC DRAGON?!"
Varion rolled his eyes. "Shut up and hold still, you're making him bank too hard."
"I WASN'T DESIGNED FOR THIS MUCH ALTITUDE TRAUMA!"
Malrik didn't flinch—his voice deep