14 Days Until the Tournament
Stratos Haven had been alive with festival chatter. But beneath the surface, something felt off.
The group had finished their training earlier that day, hoping for a calm evening. Ren, Raidon, Kaelen, Sakayanagi, and Shigan were out checking a nearby street market when they were approached by a woman in white and gold robes.
"You five are visitors, right?" she said, smiling warmly. "My family's offering housing to travelers before the tournament. Just a few minutes away. Free food, real beds. We insist."
The group shared a quick glance. Everything about her felt Light Kingdom. Polite, graceful... fake.
But they went. They had to play it smart.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Inside, everything looked pristine. A long table filled with snacks and drinks sat in the middle of the living room. The windows were half-covered, and not a sound came from outside.
Then came the shift.
"You've traveled far," the woman said, voice sharpening. "But you should've stayed hidden."
Five Light Kingdom elites stepped from the hallway—fully armored. Smooth white plating pulsed gently with internal light veins. Their eyes locked onto Ren, then Raidon.
"You're the ones causing noise across the kingdoms," said one. "Shadowborn. Thunderblood. The traitor from the Skies. This ambush isn't personal. It's necessary."
BOOM. The lights flashed—then the floor lit up beneath them.
Shigan reacted first. He clapped his fists together and slammed the ground. "Pressure Fold!" A wave of compressed gravity spread out, forcing two elites to stumble.
Kaelen flared with green energy, his new move called Verdant Bramble Armor, wrapping him in dense roots covered in thorns. He lunged at one elite with thorns whipping outward like chained flails.
Raidon raised one hand and muttered, "Not here."With a crack, a blue bolt exploded from his fingers. "Skycoil Strike." It twisted like a living thing, slamming into one of the attackers mid-air.
Ren vanished into a shadow step—only to get caught by a sudden snap-flash.
"You think we haven't studied you?" said one of the Light users, a woman wielding mirrored blades. "Lightbend—Phase Mirror!"
She split into three mirrored versions of herself. One slashed at Ren's side; another blocked his counterattack; the third vanished and stabbed from behind. Ren groaned and slid back.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let's play new games."
He shot up with Shadebound Claw, shadow gauntlets forming across both arms, clawed and glowing faint purple. His punches came faster—more feral now.
Sakayanagi spun mid-air, her blade shimmering green and white now.Her new move, Spirit Shear, cut through magic—not just the weapon.
One elite fired a blast of light from a sigil in his palm. Sakayanagi blocked with a sideways slice, splitting the blast and countering mid-spin with a kick to his jaw.
Shigan locked fists with a heavy Light user, both struggling for ground."Let me guess," Shigan said, cracking his neck. "Elite bruiser class?"
The guy just grinned and slammed down his fists."Solar Weight." A field of pressure dropped, nearly bending the floor.Shigan's feet slid—but then his new ability kicked in.
Core Burst. It released internal stored energy like a piston engine. With a roar, he shot forward and headbutted the Light user straight into a wall.
Outside, Raidon was now in the sky, fighting a dual-lance wielder.The elite twirled both weapons and shouted, "Daypiercer Spiral!" and unleashed a rapid volley of light thrusts.
Raidon zigzagged through the air with Boltstep, his movement barely visible. He circled, charged, and landed a mid-air axe kick to the guy's helmet, lightning arcing from his heel.
Back in the house, Kaelen wrestled with a light sniper who used reflective discs to bounce beams from wall to wall.Kaelen slammed the floor with a thud—"Thorn Vault!"—and massive vines burst upward like a bear trap, crushing the discs and throwing the attacker back.
The battle wasn't one-sided.
They were stronger. Faster. Trained for this.
But the group wasn't what they used to be.
Ren dodged a combo, then shadow-slid behind the mirror wielder. He placed both hands together—"Void Chain!"—and shadow shackles burst from the floor, binding her for a split second. Just enough for Raidon to hit her with a bolt from above.
Sakayanagi and Shigan stood back to back as two elites closed in.
"This isn't going to end fast," she muttered.
Shigan cracked his knuckles. "Doesn't need to. We just make it end the right way."
The battle tore the house apart—walls cracked, roof gone, floor scorched with light and shadows. By the end of the first wave, four elites were still standing. The fifth was out cold in the corner.
And still, they came.
No one was backing down.
To be continued..