The arena hung in a tense, trembling silence, though silence did not mean peace. The last twenty-eight fighters stood in scattered clusters across platforms that had narrowed to almost nothing, suspended over an endless void. Every tile quivered under someone's weight. Every stone carried cracks glowing faintly from pressure. Somewhere deep beneath it all, the sealed duel chamber pulsed like a wounded heart.
Danny stood on one of the more battered platforms, arms relaxed at his sides, watching the red glow rippling from the chamber. Each time the light flashed, a tremor rolled through the arena. The stone beneath his feet steadied itself every time he shifted his balance. He didn't notice. He was too focused on the growing sense of wrongness radiating from within that sealed structure.
"Something isn't right," he murmured quietly.
Swift landed on a nearby platform, nearly stumbling as frost flickered from his wings. His breathing was uneven, each inhale shaky and thin. The silver aura around him sputtered like a candle gasping for air. Jake arrived a moment later—though "arrived" meant that he ricocheted off a railing, spun through empty space yelling, and was caught by Bumble in a frantic whir of metal and errors.
"THANK YOU BUMBLE—PLEASE DON'T DROP ME—" Jake shouted, clinging to the bot's chassis like a lifeline.
"JAKE SAFE!!" Bumble declared proudly. "THIS UNIT PROTECTS JAKE!!"
Swift pressed a hand to his forehead. "Please… stop yelling… both of you…"
Danny stepped closer, eyeing both of them. "You two holding up?"
Jake pointed at Bumble with wild eyes. "He's holding up. I am trillions of emotional damages."
Swift nodded, still breathing hard. "That seems accurate."
Danny laughed under his breath, though it barely carried.
Across the arena, a column of fire erupted skyward. Ember Claw twisted through it in a spiraling leap, swiping his claws in a burning arc as three elite fighters converged on him. Tundra Lynx shot past beneath him, ice forming beneath her as she launched frost darts with pinpoint precision. Fire and frost weaved around each other in explosive harmony. One fighter plunged screaming into the abyss. Another staggered as Ember Claw's fire scorched through his armor, and a teleporter beam yanked him away. The last one tried to retreat, only to slip on ice and nearly fall through a platform that had been half-melted by Ember's earlier flame burst.
"That's two more down," Danny noted quietly.
Swift watched with envy and fatigue. "Wish… I had that much left…"
"Don't push yourself," Danny said without looking away from the chaos.
Swift managed a tired smile. "I'll… try…"
A sudden crack tore through the air as Jade Killington's laughter echoed across the platforms.
"TOP TWENTY-EIGHT, BABY!" he roared, smashing his fists together. Chi burst outward like twin shockwaves from his arms, flattening anyone nearby. Three fighters tried to encircle him. Jade grabbed the first by the shoulder, slammed him backward, and blasted him across five platforms. The teleporter caught the man mid-flight. Shadeclaw barreled into the second fighter with a vicious roar, sending him tumbling headfirst into the void. The third fighter turned to flee, but Shadeclaw was faster, his claws hooking the man's ankle and yanking him over the edge before the teleporter removed him.
Jade threw his arms up as if on a victory podium. "THAT'S HOW WE DO IT!"
Shadeclaw snarled proudly, tail lashing behind him, the blood of his enemies still wet on his claws.
Nearby, the stone cracked violently under the weight of three dragon-hunters landing near Swift. They moved quickly and efficiently, circling him with viper-like footwork.
"He's tired," one whispered.
"Finish him," another growled.
"He can't maintain his transformation."
Swift narrowed his eyes. "Again? Seriously?"
They attacked in perfect sync—one from above, one from behind, one sliding low across the tile. Swift's silver aura flickered desperately. Danny felt a faint twinge of instinct inside him—not fear, but something like a warning pulse in the air.
Swift twisted between the first two strikes, wings materializing just long enough to deflect a blade. He slid across a layer of ice he summoned beneath his own feet, dodging the low sweep. A palm strike to the first attacker's ribs sent him flying into a beam of teleportation. The second came again, only to slip on an ice patch Swift created mid-motion. Swift's knee collided with his chest—gone. The third clamped onto Swift's wing stub.
Swift's scream tore across the arena.
Danny's eyes sharpened. He nearly moved.
Bumble shrieked, "SILVER FRIEND IN DANGER!!"
But Swift surged with a burst of silver radiance, frost spiraling outward in a violent pulse. The third hunter flew upward, teleporter beam catching him midair.
Swift fell to one knee, panting.
Jake rushed over. "SWIFT!! YOU'RE—"
Swift lifted a shaking hand to stop him. "I'm…fine. Just… need a minute…"
Danny nodded to him, voice gentle. "You're doing better than anyone else here."
Swift met his gaze. Somehow, that meant something.
A rumble passed through the arena. Everyone froze.
The sealed duel chamber at the center flared red again. Cracks split across its outer shell. Inside, the muffled sounds of claws, daggers, and furious roars painted a picture of carnage that no one outside could see.
Wolf Queen and Mira—still locked in their lethal dance.
Wolf King crouched atop the chamber, listening with anticipation, claws drumming idly on the stone. His grin widened with each impact.
Danny took a step toward the chamber. The arena steadied around him, cracks fusing together just before they could widen. Wolf King's ears twitched—he sensed something, though he couldn't identify what.
A sudden pivot cut the tension—the camera snapped to Jimmy and Julian in the commentators' booth.
Jimmy shook his coffee cup violently. "JULIAN, LOOK AT THIS! LOOK AT IT!!"
Julian sighed. "Jimmy, for the last time—your caffeine issues are not—"
"It's the SAME WAFFLE! THE SAME ONE! It just SPAWNED! IN MY CUP! IT'S FLOATING!"
Julian, ready to dismiss him, turned—and froze.
The waffle floated serenely above the coffee. It rotated slowly, glowing faintly.
Julian stared, eyebrows drawing together. "…Interesting."
Jimmy scrambled backward in his chair. "INTERESTING?! IT'S HAUNTED OR MAGIC OR BOTH!"
Julian calmly pushed the cup off-screen with a single finger. "If it starts speaking, then we panic. Until then, back to the battlefield."
The feed snapped away.
Two fighters suddenly lunged at Danny during the cutaway. Danny didn't look at them—yet he moved as though he had. The first swung a punch; Danny shifted an inch, and the man lost his balance, tumbling off the edge. The teleporter took him before he disappeared into the void. The second kicked toward Danny's head. Danny leaned backward ever so slightly, tapped the man's forearm, and the fighter spun out of control into a nearby wall where a teleporter beam removed him instantly.
Swift blinked. "Danny… you didn't even look."
Danny frowned a little. "Didn't I?"
Jake whispered, "He's doing the thing again…!"
Swift nodded. "Definitely doing the thing."
A werewolf howl thundered across the arena as Shadeclaw confronted a new pack of challengers. Three non-royal werewolves charged him at once. Shadeclaw met them head-on. He slammed the first into the stone so hard he didn't get up. He ripped across the second's chest with raw brutality, sending him backward into the abyss. The third turned to flee—you could always tell which werewolves didn't have royal blood—and Shadeclaw chased him with a feral roar. A moment later, the teleporter's beam fired once more.
Jade pumped his fist. "YES, SHADECLAW! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"
He wasn't done celebrating when the arena let out a groaning rumble. A massive platform detached from its anchors and began to fall—taking three fighters with it. A roar of machinery echoed as Giga-Ronin stepped underneath the falling slab and caught it like a man catching a heavy backpack. The impact cracked the tiles beneath his feet, but he held steady.
Those on top scrambled across him to safety. As they caught their breath, Giga-Ronin set the slab down gently—then immediately eliminated two of the very same fighters with brutal, efficient strikes.
The crowd roared, both horrified and thrilled.
Swift blasted one weakened opponent off his platform moments later, while Jade kicked another straight into the abyss. Teleporter beams flashed twice in rapid succession.
Twenty-six left.
The duel chamber pulsed again.
This time, the crack snaked across the surface in a jagged line. The glow deepened from red to a violent, bloodlike crimson. Wolf King rose to a half-crouch atop the chamber, eyes glowing, grin stretching wider.
Danny felt something raw and ancient inside him pulse in answer. His heart beat once—and every loose stone in the arena seemed to pause mid-vibration.
"Everyone," he said softly, "brace yourselves."
The duel chamber split.
Not a small crack—
Not a controlled fracture—
A violent, explosive rupture.
A shockwave blasted outward, flattening entire sections of platforms. Fighters screamed as tiles shattered beneath their feet. Swift dug claws into the stone to stay stable. Jake clung to Bumble with all four limbs. Shadeclaw crouched low, snarling. Jade braced on one knee. Giga-Ronin anchored himself like a pillar of steel.
And at the center of it all, Wolf King stood tall on the chamber's surface, illuminated by the crimson explosion as if it were a sunrise crafted for him alone.
Danny stepped forward.
And the battlefield shifted.