Broadcast Arena HQ
The camera zoomed in on Jax calmly making his way through the dark tunnels.
His eyes cautiously swept over his surroundings.
Despite the increasing Kill Count, he moved with a grace worthy of a tier three.
He exuded a silent aura of confidence that could be felt even through the screen.
In the BRASS boardroom, a group of figures sat around a massive board staring at the screen.
The entire room was shrouded in darkness, the shadows obscuring the features of the men and women gathered there.
The identities of the BRASS were a closely kept secret.
Each member went by an alias, and their real names were a closely kept secret.
The number of members of the BRASS was a constant.
"Jax Arclet..."
The figure at the head of the table muttered.
"He was deemed a tier three based on his current skills... That's definitely interesting...
" The last son of the Arclets. Well, this is certainly a very bold way to make his debut."
A hooded figure that wasn't seated at the table with the rest stepped forward, almost literally materializing from the shadows.
" Well, as of now, I don't particularly see anything striking about him. Shall we put him to the test? "
" I can see that you're eager as ever, Scorpio," a feminine voice muttered.
"Well, if we could only be as calculating as you, Pisces, this entire game would be quite boring," another voice said.
Pisces giggled softly, raising a hand to her mouth.
"You flatter me, Taurus."
"I'm inclined to agree with Scorpio," one of the figures said, pressing a button on his side of the room.
A large interface bloomed across the table, its surface rippling fluidly,
Several nanites moved dynamically, shifting vividly across the giant table surface with a life of their own.
Several blinking lights pulsed rhythmically, indicating the layout of the tunnels within the arena.
Scorpio scoffed, shaking his head.
" A rare occasion, but merely a coincidence. You're simply bored, Aquarius. "
"When is Leo arriving, Aries?"
" He's already here, "a deep voice said quietly at the head of the table.
At the head of the table where the giant chair had been empty, a lithe figure appeared, his face inscrutable in the darkness of the massive chamber.
The rest of the figures at the table stood up as one, acknowledging the newcomer.
The man known as Leo chuckled, shaking his head slightly.
" You may be seated. There's no need for all these formalities, he said.
In the darkness, his lips curled into an amused smile.
"This year's Auditions promise to be truly interesting ones. From what I've been able to see so far, we have quite the interesting."
He turned, staring in the direction where Aquarius was seated.
" Just this once, you may do as you please, but please refrain from pulling any other stunts like this."
Aquarius nodded slightly, then turned back to interface in front of him, rapidly tapping away on several buttons.
Even in the interface's light, his face was obscured, a dark veil floating around him.
In the Broadcast Arena, the tunnels groaned, then began to shift, the entire structure rearranging itself.
Paths that hadn't existed before bloomed into existence, connecting different paths of the arena.
Scorpio observed the new paths, his eyes narrowing in curiosity, then he threw back his head and laughed.
" I see what you're doing. Aren't you a little over-eager, creating a poison basket right off the bat, considering these are merely the auditions?"
The poison basket was a tactic the BRASS used to gather several of the strongest entries in one place and put them against each other to make the Broadcast vastly more entertaining.
A notification flashed across the large screen.
[DETECTING INCREASED VIEWERSHIP RATE: TWENTY PERCENT.]
Scorpio chuckled.
" There we go."
" I wonder how our little anomaly will deal with this…"
Pisces hummed.
" He resembles Diodorus, fearlessly walking into the lion's den."
****
Audition Streaming Centre.
"And our only tier three entry, Jax Arclet, has encountered his first challenger," Nick said, smiling into the camera.
The interface of the different screens changed completely, focusing on the unfolding scene.
"Look at those moves. I daresay our dear Jax is truly fast on his feet."
The crowd roared, cheering their champions on with frenzied cries and screams.
" Wait, what's this?" Nick asked incredulously.
"A new entry has joined the fray."
The blind giant casually snapped the terrified young man's face, drawing on several boos and screams.
[VIEWERSHIP RATE RISE: FORTY FOUR PERCENT]
Another name disappeared from the long list of entry names, turning permanently crimson.
The effect was instantaneous.
The crowd immediately split into two halves.
Those who were cheering Jax on. And the other half who wanted him dead.
"Finish him, Jax!"
" Come on!"
" You can do this!"
" Kill the pretty boy!
****
Jax stared at the approaching giant in apprehension.
Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain radiating through his side and arm, getting to his feet.
"Glory to the Dominion," the giant muttered sarcastically, his voice breaking into savage laughter.
Jax groaned, limping away from the giant.
"Ah, what the hell…"
Running away in his state would offer him nothing. He'd so ply be serving himself up to a platter to the next entry he'd encounter.
Not that the giant would allow him to make it that far. The large man was clearly faster at this point with a few tricks up his sleeve.
And to make matters worse, the giant brute had stolen his kill.
" Shit!"
His bag of tricks was nearly empty. Nearly.
There was one last thing he hadn't tried yet.
Jax smiled nervously, licking his lips.
" Can we talk about this?"
In the next second, the giant appeared in front of him, his hand whipping through the air.
In that brief moment, Jax inhaled, closing his eyes.
He shifted his body and then took the blow head-on.
The giant's fist burst through his ribcage, just narrowly missing his heart and puncturing a lung.
Jax screamed, then violently coughed out a mouthful of blood.
A mad gleam of light shimmered in his eyes.
His mouth curled into a savage grin.
In the next moment, he grunted, popping his dislocated shoulder back in place.
He stepped forward, latching onto the giant for support.
" You managed to evade a fatal blow, but no matter; that can easily be corrected."
The giant leaned in to whisper.
"Glory to the Dominion."
Like a man possessed, Jax lunged forward, biting into the giant's neck.
With a savage twist, he sank his teeth deeper, then bit down with all his strength.
The giant gasped, pushing him back with a roar.
Using the momentum, Jax ripped through the man's carotid with sheer strength, a spray of blood arching through the air.
Jax flew through the air, smashing into a wall for the second time.
He groaned, feeling a few of his remaining ribs break from the harrowing impact.
He rolled to the ground, small rivulets of blood streaming from his nose and mouth.
Jax let out a shaky laugh, spitting out a gory piece of flesh.
Smiling weakly, he gasped shakily.
" Yeah, Glory to the Dominion."