//3rd Pov
Qiyana and Namilen watched the fight below on the stage.
The crowd was loud.
They screamed for blood while rushing a boy not far from her age. In fact, rumors said he was the same age as her.
The fight was a show of what she already knew intimately: Ixaocan cannon fodder were too lacking.
The crowd used their measly Ixtali combat techniques, legs and arms gesturing wildly, while the boy crushed them with better skill and a coldness she never thought possible for someone other than her.
Freezing cold, crackling earth, lightning fast punches that at times, carried real lightning.
It was something to look at.
Between the anxious faces in the crowd, a few stood apart. A tribal tattoo guy, a long braid girl beside one with a scar. Horrified, not excited. Perhaps they had met the boy before. Perhaps they had seen how much worse it could have gotten.
To the corner of her eye, Namilen's expression was unusual. The Yun was silent. Eyes dark, unfocused. Whatever he was seeing had his mind caught between the urge to understand and the certainty that it couldn't. Like he wasn't looking at something so much as falling into it.
Qiyana was puzzled. Namilen wasn't one to react that way.
She filed his expression and turned back to the boy.
How was it possible for a kid to be that strong? Why had she never heard of him?
Her heart hit hard. The anxiety she always carried was washing away faster than she could account for.
She remembered a rumor spoken of a boy who harnessed all elements. She had dismissed it the same way she dismissed every rumor.
Yet here she was, watching the rumor fight a crowd with his bare fists.
She had seen powerful people before. Adults, Yuns, people who had trained their whole lives. What stood out to her now was the variation. He wasn't committing to one element or one approach. He was cycling between all of them mid-fight, fluidly, like he was bored enough to experiment.
She grabbed the railing.
"Finally," she murmured. "I was starting to think I'd have to do it alone."
As the last one begged to forfeit—only to take a punch to the stomach—Qiyana had already decided to jump onto the stage. The boy couldn't get away.
.
//1st Pov, Axion.
I grabbed the last one by the hair. "He's out."
"Oh well." I let him drop, got up and turned to leave. "Should be enough points. I can buy more than that boot..."
'Wait, what if I buy gold instead? Wouldn't I be able to use the UI item shop?'
"Hey."
I stopped.
A girl's voice. Calm, but the authority it carried was distinctive enough to make me turn around.
White hair, tight teal tunic, a crown that probably cost more than this entire arena. She was standing on the stage like she owned it. Her eyes were intense, locked on mine like I was her new favorite problem.
I had no idea who she was. But I felt like I should.
"...Can I help you?"
"You fight well," she said it the way someone else might say *obviously.*
"Thanks." I glanced toward the exit. "I'm actually pretty tired so—"
"I am Qiyana."
I gave her a weird look for a second.
"The Empress Ixtal has been promised." She finished.
'...'
'Oh no.'
"State your name, subject."
My mouth hung open.
'She's really the one? Damn she's small. I knew we'd meet at some point but I thought it would be after the training arc or something. I have too much going on right now. And the way she carries herself, she's definitely going to want to fight—'
"Second," she said.
"Uh?" I let out.
"Your answer took too long." She circled slightly, unhurried, like she was choosing her angle. "Usually I would punish that. But I am feeling well today, so I will let it slide." She stopped. "I even gave you a name. You should be proud." A small, cold smile. "Second."
'What is she on about. Should I punch her? No, if I sweep the floor with her face she's going to cry to her parents and then I'm the one who's fucked.'
"Given that dirty mouth," she continued, "I thought you were the talkative type." Her eyes stayed on mine, steady. "Did Qiyana eat your tongue?" A slight tilt of her head. "I did not." The smile sharpened. "Not yet."
'...'
'First of all. That sounded weird. Second, I already got what I wanted so,'
I smiled. Public service smile.
"Sorry for the delayed answer, Empress." A polite bow, clean, nothing extra. "My name is Axion. Son of an ordinary hunter from the outskirts."
"Enough pretenses," she said. "Duel me. Now, Second."
My smile almost cracked.
"I'm flattered, really." I glanced toward the exit. "But I've been at this for a while and I've got somewhere to be, so maybe another—"
The air cracked beside my ear. A yellow, unstable dot of energy.
BOOM!
An explosion the size of a grenade pushed me to the side.
Between the settling dust I pushed myself up, a green field of energy flickering around me with a static hiss.
It was [Nullifying Orb].
She tilted her head slightly, eyes still on mine like she hadn't moved at all.
"See? You're not tired."
The smile I first had turned to murderous intent.
"No, I'm not. You bitch."