Darkness.
Only the sound of rain.
A glowing silhouette was running.
A boy.
His speed was absurd.
Right.
Left.
Above.
Behind.
The air exploded with every punch.
Small badges flew through the air and hit the ground.
He scooped them up without even slowing down.
Then...
Silence.
The arena lights flickered back on.
The boy stood still amidst the wreckage.
Behind him, several participants fell unconscious one after the other.
In his hands...
Six badges.
The commentator stood up from his booth and shouted:
"THAT IS ALEXYS!"
The crowd responded with a roar.
"The boy who came out of nowhere!"
"The talent of the new generation!"
"The heir of the Dinark family!"
Alexys smiled.
He raised his hands high into the air.
Rain ran down his face and through his clothes.
Behind him, the rubble was still smoking.
The grandstands shook.
"A-LE-XYS!"
"A-LE-XYS!"
"A-LE-XYS!"
The commentator pointed at him.
"He now holds six badges!"
"He needs just one more to qualify!"
The crowd exploded in cheers.
Alexys lowered his hands.
He looked at the badges.
He sighed.
"Just one more..."
He pocketed them all.
"But I still haven't found Frederin."
He began walking through the flooded streets of the replica city.
Destroyed houses.
Broken swords.
Unconscious participants.
The rain only intensified.
Alexys thought:
*Or have I already run into him and didn't even notice?*
He shook his head.
"Impossible."
"He shouldn't be that weak."
BOOOOOOM!
An explosion rocked another part of the arena.
The audience screamed.
The commentator almost lost his voice:
"FREDERIN NEKYUN!"
The giant screens lit up.
The image of a young man appeared.
Dark hair.
Tattered clothes.
Cold eyes.
In his hand...
Six badges.
"The host of Leonardo Dinark has just claimed his sixth badge!"
"He is now tied with Alexys Dinark!"
"Who will be the first to qualify?!"
The grandstands shuddered.
"FREDERIN!"
"ALEXYS!"
"FREDERIN!"
"ALEXYS!"
Alexys smiled.
"So that's Frederin..."
His eyes gleamed.
"Good."
"Now I have a lead."
Without hesitation, he dashed forward.
His feet crushed the puddles.
He leapt over a destroyed house.
Then another.
And another.
The rain lashed against his face.
The wind cut at his ears.
But he didn't slow down.
Until...
He stopped.
In the middle of a ruined street.
A small house remained standing.
And inside...
A red light pulsed.
Like a heartbeat.
Alexys frowned.
"What is this?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"This power... is it coming from in there?"
He ran inside.
The house was empty.
Shattered furniture.
Rotting wood.
Dust.
In the center of the room...
A piece of iron.
And caught upon it...
A ring.
Red.
Glowing.
As if it were alive.
Alexys approached.
His aura reacted instantly.
"All this aura is coming from this ring?"
He knelt down.
Observing.
"Now I understand..."
He looked around.
"No one came here because everyone is terrified of this energy."
He extended his hand.
And gripped the ring.
Instantly.
A crimson fire raced all the way up his arm.
Violent.
Wild.
But...
Less than a second later...
It was snuffed out.
Alexys's eyes widened.
He looked at his own hand.
No burns.
No pain.
"Hm."
He pocketed the ring.
"Must be a cursed object."
He turned around.
Opened the door.
And at that exact instant...
A shadow dropped from the sky.
The ground sank.
Water splashed in every direction.
Alexys took a step back.
Before him...
A boy.
Standing under the rain.
Dark red eyes.
A black aura.
Heavy.
Alexys's eyes widened.
Thought:
*His aura...*
*It's practically identical to the ring's.*
*And he looks ju—*
The stranger's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Greetings, Alexys Dinark."
He flashed a small smile.
"I am Frederin Nekyun."
A pause.
"But you must already know me."
Alexys took a step back.
Frederin pointed at his hand.
"That object you took..."
His gaze grew more serious.
"It belongs to me."
The rain streamed down both of their faces.
"Please..."
"Give it back."
Alexys pulled the ring from his pocket.
He looked at it.
Then at Frederin.
"The ring?"
He shrugged.
"Whatever."
His gaze turned firm.
"I came here to bring you back."
Frederin sighed.
As if he had already expected that answer.
"I know my sensei asked for that."
He looked away.
"But before that..."
He slowly raised his head.
His red eyes flashed.
"I am going to qualify."
His black aura began to rise.
"And take down the tournament favorite."
Alexys blinked.
He pointed at himself.
His voice came out slightly shaky.
"But..."
"I'm the favorite here."
Frederin smiled.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
It was a provocation.
"Only one of us will leave this place qualified."
Alexys sighed.
He ran a hand through his wet hair.
"I can't kill you."
A green aura began to surface around his body.
His fists clenched.
"But since you want to fight..."
He smiled.
"I'll grant you that pleasure."
Frederin shifted his leg back.
His black aura exploded.
The ring, still in Alexys's hand...
Glowed intensely.
As if recognizing its true master.
Frederin spoke:
"Show me..."
"That you are worthy of carrying the same last name as my sensei."
Alexys lowered his head.
Then he looked up.
Smiling.
Confident.
"I am not going to lose."
His green aura exploded.
The entire street trembled.
"When all is said and done..."
He pointed at himself.
"I am a Dinark."
Frederin stared at him.
Serious.
But, for the first time...
His eyes showed genuine interest.
A bolt of lightning cut through the sky.
The commentator almost dropped his microphone:
"THEY HAVE ENCOUNTERED EACH OTHER!!"
"ALEXYS DINARK VS FREDERIN NEKYUN!!"
The grandstands went wild.
"ALEXYS!!"
"FREDERIN!!"
"ALEXYS!!"
"FREDERIN!!"
The commentator shouted, his voice cracking with emotion:
"THE TWO GIANTS OF THIS EDITION ARE FINALLY FACE TO FACE!"
"AND ONLY ONE WILL LEAVE UNDEFEATED!"
A gust of wind swept through the street.
The rain felt heavier.
Alexys smiled.
Frederin clenched his fists.
Neither of them advanced.
For the first time...
They simply watched the grandstands.
Thousands of people screaming their names.
Alexys smiled.
Frederin closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Perhaps...
They had been waiting for this moment since long before they ever met.
While the giants faced off up above...
Down below, the forgotten walked.
In the sewers.
The sound of the rain echoed through the tunnels, mixed with the constant dripping from the ceiling.
Kevin narrowed his eyes.
"Ahead of us, I can see a tunnel... or something like that."
Luis shrugged.
"We're going anyway."
"We have to find this guy."
And he kept walking.
Kevin lingered behind for a few seconds.
He muttered:
"I think this is an ambush."
Two greenish owls emerged from his back and flew down the dark corridors.
He took a deep breath.
And followed Luis.
A few meters later...
They found an opening in the wall.
Luis jumped first.
Kevin came right behind him.
When their feet touched the ground...
They both realized they were not alone.
There were two figures waiting.
Luis crossed his arms.
"Who are you guys?"
"Where is the Masked Man?"
A humanoid, semi-transparent shadow flashed a smile.
"My name is Juan."
He pointed to the creature beside him.
"And this guy here has no name."
"Nobody cares about him."
The creature opened its mouth.
It vomited a purple liquid onto the ground.
Kevin grimaced.
"Your friend doesn't seem very bright."
He looked at Juan.
"Are you sure you want to fight us?"
Juan smiled.
"That doesn't matter."
"You've already lost."
Luis raised his hand.
A small red sphere began to materialize.
Small.
But extremely dense.
At that exact instant...
A voice surfaced inside Kevin's head.
*GET OUT OF THERE.*
*RUN, KEVIN.*
*GET OUT!*
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
His instinct was screaming.
He grabbed Luis's shoulder.
"Let's get out of here."
Luis looked from the corner of his eye.
"What?"
"Something isn't right."
But it was already too late.
A punch materialized right in front of Luis's face.
It was Juan.
The blow stopped millimeters away from the invisible barrier.
The air pressure exploded through the room.
Kevin's eyes widened.
Then...
A third voice echoed.
Unfamiliar.
Coming from nowhere.
"ACTION."
Instantly.
The walls.
The ceiling.
The floor.
Everything came alive.
Black tentacles exploded toward the two of them.
Luis thought:
*Tentacles?*
*Doesn't matter.*
*They can't bypass my barrier.*
In his vision...
Everything seemed slow.
Extremely slow.
He wouldn't even need to dodge.
Kevin leaped to the left.
He dodged the first ones.
But...
Others erupted from the ground.
They bound his arms.
His legs.
His waist.
"Shit!"
Before he could react...
He was dragged downward.
He vanished.
Luis watched.
For an instant.
His eyes widened.
The tentacles came for him.
But upon touching his barrier...
They melted.
They turned into smoke.
Juan smiled.
"Do whatever you want."
"You're going with him."
Luis recreated the red sphere.
But he hesitated.
Thought:
*I should have left.*
*Kevin realized it first.*
He launched the sphere.
And disappeared.
Juan simply turned transparent.
The sphere passed right through his body.
But...
The nameless creature opened its mouth.
And swallowed the sphere.
Juan's eyes widened.
"Are you okay, Groks?"
The monster, drooling purple liquid, merely shook its head.
A second later...
The creature exploded.
Purple liquid flew everywhere.
The entire room collapsed.
The debris passed right through Juan.
As if he were a ghost.
He observed it all.
In silence.
Then he muttered:
"This Luis..."
He looked at his hand.
It was trembling.
"Is it because of him..."
"That we are being forced to evolve?"
He picked up a piece of stone.
Squeezed it.
And sighed.
"He truly is the pinnacle of aura."
A pause.
Juan gave a nervous smile.
"I think..."
"I think I'm afraid of him now."
...
Down below.
Much deeper.
Luis landed on his feet.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then he saw it.
A small cyan crystal on the ground.
Countless black tentacles were spreading from it.
And above...
Kevin.
Trapped.
Bound.
Suspended.
Kevin grimaced.
"Ow..."
"Everything hurts."
"But it's a strange kind of pain."
Luis placed his hands in his pockets.
"Can't get out of there?"
"I tried to teleport."
Kevin closed his eyes.
"But my aura..."
"It's being siphoned."
Luis finally turned serious.
"Siphoned?"
"This isn't normal."
From the shadows...
A man emerged.
Black clothes.
A black mask.
Nonexistent aura.
Luis recognized him immediately.
"You..."
"You're that guy from that day."
The man spread his arms.
"That's me."
"It's been a while, First Sentinel of Hestia."
Luis smiled.
"It's been a while since anyone called me that..."
"Masked Man."
The man bowed.
"In the flesh."
"What do you think of my hideout?"
Luis began creating another red sphere.
But the Masked Man didn't even flinch.
Kevin watched him.
The man continued:
"You noticed too late."
"But I let you notice."
"All of this was part of the plan."
Luis narrowed his eyes.
"You don't seem like the type to reveal your plans."
The Masked Man laughed.
"I don't."
"But I'll give you a hint."
He coughed.
Blood seeped through his mask.
"I want to create a new era."
"A new world."
"And for that..."
He raised the crystal.
"I need an infinite source of energy."
He looked at Kevin.
Then at Luis.
"And that's where you two come in."
Luis fired the sphere.
Immediately.
The Masked Man threw the crystal.
The sphere was absorbed.
As if it had never existed.
The crystal sliced through the air.
Luis smiled.
"Your crystal will never—"
The crystal tapped his forehead.
The barrier...
Did not react.
Luis froze.
His eyes wide.
"My barrier..."
The tentacles grabbed him.
They bound his arms.
His legs.
His neck.
He repeated:
"My barrier..."
"Failed."
The Masked Man stepped closer.
"Let me explain."
He smiled.
"This is a Moon Crystal."
"It ignores barriers."
"It absorbs energy."
"And it imprisons any being within an isolated dimension."
Luis still looked like he couldn't believe it.
"My barrier failed..."
For the very first time.
Kevin's eyes widened.
"And why use that against us?"
The Masked Man replied:
"Because you are Kevin Dinark."
"The Dark Star."
"The symbol of adaptation."
He looked at Luis.
His voice dropped lower.
"And you..."
"You are the imbalance of our world."
Kevin frowned.
"Imbalance?"
But Luis kept repeating:
"My barrier failed..."
The Masked Man turned his back.
"Goodbye, my friends."
"Perhaps we will meet again."
"In a few years."
Kevin tried to break free.
It was futile.
The tentacles dragged him inside the crystal.
Luis raised his head.
He smiled.
Even while trapped.
Even while defeated.
"My barrier failed once."
"But that doesn't mean..."
"It will fail every time."
He was absorbed.
The instant he disappeared...
Four white wings appeared on the wall.
For just a single second.
And then they vanished.
Silence fell over the room.
The Masked Man coughed.
Blood splattered onto the floor.
He stared at the spot where the wings had been.
"What was that?"
Silence.
He shook his head.
"Doesn't matter."
He looked at the crystals.
"Two are gone."
"Three left."
He tried to pick them up.
But he couldn't.
He frowned.
"Since when did these crystals get so heavy?"
Juan appeared behind him.
"Maybe it's because they are carrying two Dinarks."
"They were never ordinary people."
The Masked Man remained silent.
Then he smiled.
"Maybe that's exactly it."
He handed one of the crystals to Juan.
"Keep it."
He looked toward the dark corridor.
"Another one is coming."
"And I don't have time."
His voice turned cold.
"You already know what to do..."
"In case it's someone important."
Juan smiled.
And the Masked Man vanished before him.
Juan stood still in the dark corridor.
The cyan crystal in his hand had lost almost all of its luster.
Only tiny blue sparks skittered across its surface.
He looked down the corridor.
"Who's there?"
The answer came immediately.
"Where are Kevin and Luis?"
Juan smiled.
"Ah..."
"It's you, Augusto."
He made a gesture with his hand.
"Come."
"Come see your friends."
Augusto jumped through the hole in the wall.
The moment he entered the room...
He stopped.
His eyes widened.
Juan was standing in the center.
And on the ground...
Two crystals.
Pulsing softly.
Light blue.
As if keeping something alive inside them.
Augusto's eyes widened.
"What..."
"What did you do to them?"
Juan shrugged.
"Me?"
He spread his arms.
"I didn't do anything."
"It's all the Masked Man's fault."
Augusto fell silent.
But his mind raced.
*Luis is ten times stronger than I am.*
*How did they manage to defeat him?*
*And Kevin...*
His aura exploded.
From his hands emerged a massive white dragon wrapped in green energy.
The creature roared.
And lunged.
Juan simply caught the crystal.
And threw it.
The crystal passed right through the dragon's body.
Without taking any damage.
It flew straight toward Augusto.
But he caught it in midair.
For an instant...
His heart froze.
"This crystal..."
The color drained from his face.
"It's just like the..."
His eyes widened.
And he threw it away immediately.
The dragon struck Juan.
Smoke covered the room.
Augusto was breathing heavily.
Then...
A voice emerged from the smoke.
Calm.
Monotone.
"Action."
The crystal hit the floor.
And exploded into black tentacles.
They came from the walls.
From the ceiling.
From the ground.
Augusto dodged the first ones.
He leaped.
He spun.
But there were too many.
His dragon returned to protect him.
It opened its mouth.
Preparing a blast.
However...
Juan materialized right in front of him.
And drove his hand clean through his chest.
The dragon dissolved into particles.
Augusto's eyes widened.
"What?!"
The tentacles seized him.
Arms.
Legs.
Neck.
Immobilized.
He thrashed.
"What the hell is this?!"
Juan approached slowly.
His eyes cold.
"Your end."
He raised his hand.
The crystal began to glow.
Augusto felt his body being pulled.
Sucked in.
As if his very existence was being ripped away.
But before disappearing...
He spat out another dragon.
This time...
White and blue.
The creature emerged roaring.
Augusto smiled.
Even as he was being consumed.
"Go."
In the next instant...
He was completely absorbed.
Silence.
The dragon unfolded its wings.
It spat fire.
And charged at Juan.
But...
Juan simply vanished.
His voice echoed through the room:
"Power..."
"Becomes useless in the face of knowledge."
A pause.
Then:
"Now..."
"Only two left."
The dragon smashed through the wall.
Then the ceiling.
And rocketed toward the sky.
Down below...
Three crystals glowed.
Two together.
And one further away.
Like forgotten blue stars at the bottom of the world.
...
Far away from there.
In the middle of the forest.
A greenish owl flew through the rain.
Until it perched on Richard's shoulder.
It carried a letter.
Richard took it.
Read it.
His expression shifted.
The letter slipped and fell to the ground.
He muttered:
"Luis..."
"Augusto..."
"And I have been sealed."
"We don't know if we will return."
Richard's eyes widened.
"Sealed?"
He looked at the owl.
"How did they manage to do that?"
"And where are they?"
The owl didn't answer.
Its body began to dissolve.
It turned into a green light.
Which blanketed Richard entirely.
His left arm...
Began to reappear.
The lost fingers returned.
The flesh reformed itself.
The wounds vanished.
Richard clenched his fist.
Surprised.
Then he smiled.
"So you're still with me, Kevin."
He looked toward the city.
The sky was pitch black.
The rain wouldn't stop.
But there was something worse.
Something wrong.
He started walking.
Each step faster than the last.
"I need to regroup with the others."
His eyes grew intense.
"I don't know why Kevin pulled Augusto into this trap too..."
The forest trembled.
His aura began to surge once more.
Even though he was battered.
Even though he was theoretically doomed.
Richard smiled.
The rain beat against his face.
"But one thing I know for sure."
"Whoever did this..."
"Is going to regret it."
And he vanished into the trees, charging toward the city.