CHAPTER THIRTEEN:THE DEVIL'S STAGE:DAY THREE—THE QUEEN VS THE BLADE
[She leads not to rule but to inspire with every decree.]
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AT ARENA
IN THE DAWN
A cold wind howled through the open-topped arena, pulling sand and blood into the air like war paint. The first light of day hadn't yet touched the stone floor when the gates began to creak open.
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From the north—Zareina.
She walked with the calm of a storm on the edge of breaking. The crowd hushed as she emerged, hood down, mask still on. But her mismatched eyes were visible, one blue like the coldest sea, the other red like a curse remembered.
A hum followed her, low and ancient—the sound of her Evol activating, trailing behind like ghostly threads of melody and energy.
A silver whip-blade hung loose in her left hand. It glowed faintly with runes, shifting and vibrating like a living thing.
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From the south—Vex.
She strode in like a predator unchained. No disguise. No hesitation. Her twin daggers were strapped to her sides, the curved steel whispering promises of pain.
The crowd screamed her name—"VEX! VEX! VEX!"—a storm of adoration for the assassin who'd never once lost.
But Vex wasn't listening.
Her eyes were on Zareina. Hungry. Searching.
"Come out from behind that voice of yours," she muttered under her breath. "Let me see the fire you forgot."
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The Arena was suffocating in silence before the storm.
No fanfare. No anthem.
Just the steady throb of tension, like the Arena itself was holding its breath.
The gates began to rise.
On one end, a woman walked like thunder dressed in skin. Vex. Blade at her hip, fury in her bones. Her black coat fluttered behind her like the wings of a crow mid-dive.
On the opposite end…
A hush fell. Not silence—a hush. Reverent. Breathless.
Zareina stepped forward, her hood down.
Mask still in place. Voice still sealed.
But her eyes—they were nothing short of supernatural. One eye gleamed like a frozen ocean. The other, a violent blaze.
And now—
Her hair began to shift.
It bled from soft black into something unholy. Strands ignited in colors, from midnight violet to ghostly white, then to crimson streaks that shimmered as her emotions spiraled.
The crowd didn't know whether to cheer or pray.
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[ANNOUNCER]
"FINAL ROUND—BEGIN!"
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The First Clash
Vex moved first—blades drawn, feet gliding across the ground with terrifying speed. But Zareina didn't flinch.
Her whip-sword lashed outward, forming a bright arc that bent with a haunting note. The clash sparked red and silver light into the air.
They spun, collided, danced. Metal screamed.
Vex attacked like a storm—swift, savage, surgical.
But Zareina was the eye of it—calm, focused, her eyes changing with every beat:
Blue when calculating.
Gold when dodging.
Red when retaliating.
She moved like she was remembering each motion from a life she never lived—but somehow always knew.
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VIP Balcony
Aspen dropped her crystal candy.
"Fucking wow," Aspen whistled, low and impressed. "She's not fighting Vex," she muttered to Cipher. "She's undoing her own chains." She whispered, awestruck. "She's not just waking up... she's molting."
Cipher clenched her fists. "That's her Evol stabilizing. Something inside her is syncing. It's starting to unlock layer by layer."
Aspen's voice was shaky with awe. "She's becoming what they feared she was. Not a soldier. A revelation."
Cipher didn't speak. Her eyes were locked on the battlefield.
Aspen leaned in, voice laced with delight.
"She's not just winning, Cipher. She's waking up."
Cipher's voice was cold. "And Vex is about to try and stab it."
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ANOTHER SIDE OF VIP LOUNGE
Icarus sat forward in his seat, fingers clenched white around the armrest.
"She's remembering…" he whispered, voice shaking. "That rhythm. That pulse. It's her real Evol."
Beside him, an old operative murmured, "She's perfect, sir."
But Icarus wasn't listening anymore.
"She's mine," he breathed. "She always was."
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BACK IN THE ARENA,
A chime echoed—low, resonant.
The signal.
Vex moved first. Fast. Too fast.
A blur of motion, blade gleaming, zero hesitation.
But Zareina didn't dodge.
She raised a single hand.
Her Evol erupted.
Not in an explosion—but in sound. A single note from the strange instrument-like blade she conjured—a frequency so sharp, it rattled the bones of everyone watching.
The air cracked.
Vex staggered mid-strike, coughing blood, ears ringing.
Zareina didn't advance. She just walked.
Silent.
Controlled.
Her blade transformed with each step—morphing into a long spear, then a chained scythe, then a whip of glowing energy.
Each weapon matched her pulse. Her breath.
Her will.
And with every transformation, her hair shifted again, strands now streaked with silver fire.
Vex snarled and lunged again—this time, spinning mid-air and unleashing a flurry of high-precision strikes.
But none of them landed.
Zareina twisted, turned—danced.
She was water. Fire. Wind. And none of it forgave.
Vex growled in frustration. She spun and threw one dagger—Zareina caught it mid-air with her blade, twirled, and launched a counterattack that shattered the stone beneath Vex's feet.
A glowing spear formed from light and sound, singing in Zareina's hand as she stepped forward. Her hair whipped around her face, her lips parted—
And for the first time, she spoke.
"Why do you hate me?"
Vex froze. Just for a heartbeat.
That voice—it wasn't just beautiful.
It was familiar.
Pain flickered in her eyes. She didn't answer with words.
She lunged forward.
Zareina didn't dodge this time. She reached out instead—and caught Vex's blade against her arm.
Blood bloomed.
But her eyes glowed pure white now. Her Evol was roaring through her body.
The Arena rumbled.
The crowd stood.
Zareina's second weapon formed from nothing—twin blades shaped like violins, humming with energy.
With a whisper, she vanished.
And when she reappeared behind Vex,
she struck once.
Just once.
Her twin blades slashed across the Arena floor, carving a perfect line of glowing soundwaves.
Vex was thrown back, blade slipping from her hand.
She landed on her knees, panting, blood dripping down her cheek.
Zareina didn't move to finish her.
She just looked down—those eyes flickering now with gold. Her hair was glowing faintly like stars caught in strands of ink.
Then—
She spoke.
Just one sentence.
"You carry pain… but I carry silence louder than your screams."
And with that, the match was over.
Zareina whispered again.
"I remember you."
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[ANNOUNCER]
"WINNER: ZAREINA."
ARENA ROARS
The crowd didn't cheer.
They stood.
Stunned.
Shaken.
Zareina lowered her weapon, and it dissolved back into notes of light. Her eyes dimmed. Her hair returned to black… mostly.
But something had cracked open—and it would never close again.
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VIP LOUNGE
Icarus had watched the whole thing without blinking.
A hand slowly clenched on the armrest of his seat.
Beside him, a young woman in a deep green coat whispered, "She's perfect."
Icarus didn't respond.
He was already standing.
Already leaving.
Already feeling every cell in his body ache for a memory he no longer had.
But in his chest—something roared awake.
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BOSS'S CHAMBER
"She's getting closer," the Boss said softly.
The assistant looked shaken. "To what?"
The Boss turned toward the screen. His reflection overlapped with Zareina's as she walked off-screen.
"To the moment where her heart remembers before her mind does."
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LATER,IN THE INFAMARY,
Vex lay still. She stared at the ceiling, trembling—not from pain, but from recognition.
"She knows me," she whispered.
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AT NIGHT,
In his private quarters, Icarus shut the lights and let the darkness wrap around him.
He pressed his palm to the memory screen, where Zareina stood, victorious.
"She's coming back to me."
His voice was soft, broken, full of obsession.
"I just need to make her remember who I was... before I lost her."
(To be continued)