Mervan's POV
The arena fell silent as golden flames erupted from Su's body, his form rising from where he had fallen, seemingly broken beyond repair. My heart leapt into my throat. He was alive! The severed hand that I had seen hit the arena floor was now replaced with something otherworldly—an armored gauntlet of black and gold, with chains that moved as if they had a will of their own.
"Su..." I whispered, tears of relief streaming down my face.
But as I watched him stand, something twisted in my gut. This didn't feel like Su anymore. The way he moved, the calm certainty in his stance, the golden flame burning in his left eye—it was as if someone else entirely occupied his body. Gone was the desperate, determined Su that I knew; in his place stood something.. almost dangerous.
I glanced up at Sheherazade, hoping to see my own relief mirrored in her expression. Instead, what I found sent a chill down my spine. Her face was a mask of fear and worry, her golden eyes wide, her lips parted in what looked like silent horror.
"Princess?" I tugged at her sleeve, my voice trembling. "What's wrong? Su's okay. He's fighting back!"
Sheherazade didn't answer, her gaze fixed on the arena below. I turned to Eldran, hoping for some explanation, but what I saw confused me further. Eldran—stern, unyielding Eldran—was almost smiling, a look of vindication in his eyes.
"Princess, that golden flame is that..." Eldran began, his voice carrying a tone I'd never heard before—something like reverence mixed with triumph.
"NO." Sheherazade cut him off sharply, her voice barely controlled. "We shall not make assumptions... not anymore." Her hands trembled as she gripped the railing, knuckles white with tension. For a brief moment, her eyes seemed distant, as if seeing beyond the arena to some terrible vision only she could witness.
"Sheherazade, are you okay?" I asked, worry coiling tighter in my chest. "You don't look okay at all."
She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes, placing a gentle hand on my head. "I'm okay, I just felt a bit off, that's all." The smile wavered as she spoke, brittle as glass.
Before I could press further, a thunderous clash from the arena pulled my attention away. Su and Kilian had collided with such force that the ground itself seemed to shake, the sound echoing like a crack of doom through the suddenly still air.
Su's POV
Our collision sent shockwaves across the arena. The chains extending from my golden gauntlet whipped through the air like living serpents, trailing blazing light. Kilian's corrupted form blurred with unnatural speed, green veins pulsing beneath his skin as he materialized behind me.
"Too slow, you rat!"
His corrupted blade whistled toward my neck—
Three chains intercepted the strike without my conscious command, sparks and golden embers showering the ground. Where the chains touched his blade, the corruption hissed and steamed, recoiling from the golden flames.
"JUST DIE ALREADY." Kilian roared, his voice distorted, barely human.
Keeping my silence, the chains constricted around his weapon arm, searing the corrupted flesh. Kilian's agonized howl cut through the silence of the stunned arena as the corrupted blade clattered to the ground. He tore free with inhuman strength, leaving charred flesh in the chains' wake.
His mana core pulsed violently, the sickly light intensifying. Kilian's face contorted with rage as he slammed his palms into the ground.
"ARITHURIA: RUINOUS TIDE!"
A tsunami of corrupted mana erupted from the arena floor—a roiling wave of sickly green darkness surging toward me. The crowd's screams became distant echoes as the corruption raced forward, promising annihilation.
I didn't move.
The chains exploded outward in a golden helix, forming a barrier before me. The corruption slammed into it and began to evaporate, golden flames devouring the darkness like the sun burning away morning fog. Steam carrying the stench of putrefaction filled the air between us.
Kilian's eyes widened. "HOW? IMPOSSIBLE.."
I was already moving.
My armored fist connected with his jaw before he registered my movement. The impact sent him hurtling across the arena, his body smashing through a stone pillar. Debris rained down as the crowd gasped.
Kilian emerged from the rubble, blood and corruption mingling on his chin. The mana core in his chest pulsed erratically, cracks spreading across its surface with each labored breath.
"Filthy... rat..." he snarled, his voice guttural, barely recognizable. "Lord Kala's sword... cannot be defeated!"
He launched forward with desperate ferocity, his hands transformed into corrupted claws. Each strike was wild, powerful—but to my eyes, painfully slow.
I weaved through his assault with fluid precision, the golden chains responding to attacks before they even connected. Where Kilian struck, the chains were already there, countering, binding, burning.
"Stand! Still!" he roared, frustration building with each failed attack.
A chain lashed around his throat— Another coiled around his right arm— A third snared his waist—
With a single thought, I yanked.
Kilian slammed into the arena floor with such force that stone shattered beneath him, a spiderweb of cracks radiating outward. The impact should have ended him, but the corruption refused to yield. It surged through his body, forcing him to rise once more.
But his movements had changed—jerky, uncoordinated, like a puppet with tangled strings. The mana core pulsed frantically, green light spilling from widening cracks.
I raised my armored hand, golden chains encircling Kilian completely. With a gesture, I lifted him into the air, suspended like a grotesque marionette above the arena floor.
The golden flames traveled along the chains toward the corrupted core, burning away the darkness layer by layer. Kilian's screams echoed throughout the arena—
Then, abruptly, stopped.
His face shifted, a chilling smile spreading across his corrupted features. A low chuckle bubbled from his throat, growing into maniacal laughter that sent ice through the veins of every onlooker.
"You really are strong.." Blood sprayed from his mouth as he laughed. His hands clawed at his chest, grasping the mana core. "But For Lord Kala, YOU AND THIS CITY SHALL NOT SURVIVE.."
The core's pulsing intensified, fractures spreading rapidly across its surface. Blinding green light poured from the cracks.
"See you in hell"
In that moment, I understood—he meant to detonate his corrupted core, unleashing a catastrophic explosion that would engulf everyone present. The corruption would spread throughout Mehmoura in an unstoppable wave.
Time seemed to slow.
"NO!"
The core fractured further, seconds from detonation.
I shot forward, chains exploding from my armored hand with speed born of desperation. They wrapped around the destabilizing core in layer upon layer of golden barriers.
Ancient symbols materialized in the air, burning with black-edged golden flames. They floated around me, rearranging themselves into patterns I somehow recognized at the deepest level of my being. They responded to my desperate need—to protect, to save, to contain this nightmare.
The words came unbidden, tearing from my throat in a voice that wasn't entirely my own:
"SEAL OF THE GOLDEN DAWN!"
The chains constricted around the core as it detonated. A blinding flash erupted, followed by an implosion that devoured sound itself. The force pulled inward instead of exploding outward, the chains containing the devastation.
Then—absolute silence.
Thick smoke enveloped the arena, concealing everything from view, the outcome unknown.
Sheherazade's POV
Smoke churned through the arena, thick and impenetrable. I gripped the railing, my knuckles white, scarcely daring to breathe as I strained to see through the swirling haze.
"Please," I whispered, the single word carrying my hope and fear.
The smoke gradually thinned, revealing two silhouettes in the destruction. One standing, one fallen. As the air cleared further, I saw Su, standing, his golden chains still twisting around him. Beside him lay Kilian, motionless.
Su had won.
Relief washed over me, but only for a moment. The golden flames, the chains, the ancient symbols he had summoned—they awakened memories of prophecies that had haunted my people for generations. The vision I had shared with Su flashed unbidden through my mind: the battlefield littered with bodies, the unimaginable destruction.
Is Su...? I couldn't complete the thought, fear closing my throat.
The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices shaking the arena's foundations. Su had won against impossible odds. Mehmoura was saved from Kala's corruption.
Then it happened—Su swayed suddenly, violently coughing blood. His golden eye dimmed as the chains dissipated like mist. In the next heartbeat, he collapsed beside his fallen enemy.
"SU!" Mervan's desperate scream cut through the celebration as he vaulted over the railing, his small body plunging toward the arena floor in a frantic attempt to reach his friend.