The arena held its breath the moment the golden light touched the stone.
It wasn't bright—not like fire, not like energy blasts the fighters were used to. It was soft, warm, like sunrise creeping onto a sleeping world. But that gentleness only made it more terrifying. The stone beneath Danny's feet glowed faintly, expanding outward in a shimmering ring. The air vibrated as though the arena itself were aware—aware of Danny, aware of something ancient inside him.
Danny took a step back, startled.
The glow followed his foot.
The pulse spread.
Platforms across the battlefield tightened, fused, reshaped. Cracks that had threatened to swallow fighters moments before sealed themselves. Entire tiles that had been inches from collapse thickened and stabilized. It wasn't violent; it wasn't chaotic. It was precise. Intentional.
And it made no sense.
Even Wolf King, who had been in mid-combat, paused with a sharp, hungry interest. His eyes narrowed into slits as he studied Danny from across the battlefield.
"What…" Swift whispered, staring at the glowing stone. "Danny… what did you just do…?"
Danny held out his hands, bewildered. "I—I didn't do anything."
But the arena core beneath them pulsed again—
soft gold—
a gentle echo, answering Danny.
Jake clung to Bumble's head as if bracing for the end of the world. "He did a thing, Swift. That was definitely a thing. That's—THAT'S THE THING HE KEEPS DOING!"
Swift looked from Danny to the floor and back. "He's resonating with the arena."
Danny squinted. "I'm not resonating with anything."
The stone glowed brighter as if offended.
Jake slapped a hand over his face. "YES. YOU. ARE."
A sudden roar ripped through the silence as Giga-Ronin spun back toward Wolf King, his mechanical joints sparking from the disruption caused by the golden pulse. His systems recalculated too slowly; the golden interference made his sensors flicker.
Wolf King saw the opening first.
He slammed his claws into Giga-Ronin's forearm joint. Metal tore with a shriek. Sparks erupted like fireworks. Giga staggered, processing the damage.
"ERROR," he stated calmly. "UNEXPECTED VARIABLE. ADJUSTING—"
Wolf King kicked him square in the chest with bone-crushing force.
Giga-Ronin flew backward through a cracked platform, smashing through stone and tumbling toward the abyss. He gripped the ledge with one massive hand, metal fingers digging deep grooves into the tile.
Two desperate fighters saw opportunity. They lunged together, trying to pry his fingers off the stone. Giga's head turned toward them, mechanical eyes dimming.
He grabbed the closer fighter by the ankle.
Both went down.
The teleporter beam flashed—both vanished.
The rubble fell into the darkness.
Swift exhaled shakily.
Jake whimpered.
Shadeclaw growled at the scent of battle.
Wolf King rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.
"That's eighteen," Jade muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. "This is getting stupid now."
Shadeclaw looked ready to tear apart the world itself, his muscles twitching with animal fury.
From another platform, a werewolf challenger—larger, snarling, wearing the ornaments of a royal pretender—thrust a claw toward Shadeclaw.
"You disgrace the bloodlines by fighting beside humans," he barked. "Wolf King does not acknowledge you."
Shadeclaw's lips curled back, revealing fangs.
Jade stepped aside, grinning. "Oh, this'll be fun. Go on, mate. Eat him alive."
Shadeclaw didn't need the encouragement.
Their clash was raw brutality. Blood splattered the stone within seconds. Shadeclaw tore into the pretender relentlessly, claws sinking deep, muscle colliding with muscle, until the enemy let out a choked howl and fell backward—over the edge.
The teleporter beam took him before he vanished into the smoke below.
Jake swallowed. "Note to self… never make Shadeclaw mad."
Swift nodded weakly. "Yes. Write that down."
Wolf Queen, watching from across the arena, cracked her knuckles.
Shadeclaw stood tall, fur stained red, chest heaving.
Seventeen.
Mira staggered across a newly-stabilized platform, clutching her injured arm. She hadn't recovered from the duel chamber—not even close. Blood dripped from her fingertips. Her breathing was ragged. Every movement was forced.
But her eyes…
Those were still sharp.
Wolf Queen moved the moment she caught Mira's scent. She leaped across two tiles, claws slashing arcs through the air. Mira didn't dodge so much as flow—a narrow pivot here, a shift of weight there, turning lethal strikes into near misses.
The Queen's claws grazed Mira's ribs.
Mira countered, jabbing the Queen's shoulder with a nerve strike.
Both women grunted through clenched teeth.
Another platform cracked beneath them.
The arena tilted sharply.
They slid apart as the fight zone shifted, both landing on separate tiles as the arena stabilized just long enough to separate them again.
Mira exhaled sharply, wiping fresh blood from her chin.
"Not yet," she whispered under her breath.
Wolf Queen growled in answer.
On a distant platform, Swift collapsed onto one knee, overwhelmed by exhaustion and the aftershock of Danny's golden pulse. His eyes were glazed. His breath thin.
Jake rushed to him instantly. "Swift? Swift! Are you good? Are you dying? Don't die—Swift, don't die while I'm in charge of you!"
Swift lifted a trembling hand. "I'm… fine. Just exhausted… everything's heavy…"
Jake pulled him upright just in time for a fighter to sprint toward them, blade drawn, eyes wild with desperation. He targeted Swift—weakest on the field.
Jake pushed Swift behind him.
Bumble flew in front of Jake.
The elite fighter kicked Bumble in the torso.
Bumble spun rapidly, screaming in glitching static—and smashed into the attacker like a steel tornado.
The fighter screamed as he flew off the edge.
The teleporter removed him.
Jake stared.
Swift blinked.
Bumble beeped proudly.
"Bumble Saves Friends!! Bumble Strongest Warrior!"
Jake collapsed to his knees. "Please stop saving me like this…"
Swift groaned. "At least you're alive…"
Sixteen fighters remained.
Jimmy and Julian appeared in the commentator booth.
Jimmy stared at the waffle on the table.
It hovered, faintly humming.
Julian didn't look up. "Do not eat it."
Jimmy leaned closer. "But… it's glowing."
"Jimmy."
"It's calling my name."
"Jimmy."
"I'm just going to try one bite—"
"Jimmy, no—"
Jimmy ate the waffle.
The world paused.
Energy crackled across Jimmy's hair.
The air flickered.
Someone in the audience screamed.
Jimmy blinked slowly. "Julian… I can hear colors. I think the waffle unlocked my third—"
He burped gold cosmic smoke.
Julian rubbed his temples. "We will discuss this later."
The camera cut back to the arena.
Instinct surged across the remaining fighters—only one more elimination until the final sixteen were locked in. The last stretch was always the most savage.
Jade clashed with two fighters at once, blasting one off the platform with chi and headbutting the other. Shadeclaw lunged across a collapsing ledge, dragging another enemy off by the leg. Mira sidestepped a lunging attacker and kicked him directly into the path of someone who had been aiming for Swift, eliminating both by accident.
Jake ran in circles screaming as three fighters chased him.
Bumble chased Jake.
Nobody understood the formation.
Danny turned as someone came behind him with a blade.
He stepped aside gently—
not looking—
and the attacker lost his footing.
The stone beneath him crumbled.
He fell.
Danny reached out instinctively.
Not to help or strike—just reacting.
The stone hardened beneath Danny's boot.
The attacker fell.
The teleporter beam snatched him away.
Fifteen.
Only one elimination remained.
Swift clung to consciousness.
Jake clung to Bumble.
Shadeclaw scanned the field for prey.
Jade cracked his knuckles.
Wolf Queen stalked Mira.
Mira prepared her dagger stance.
Wolf King grinned like a god watching ants.
All eyes shifted to anyone who looked weakest.
Swift stumbled again.
A fighter targeted him immediately, sprinting toward him with feral intensity.
Jake lunged to intercept—and tripped on a stone chunk.
He flipped end-over-end—
—and smashed face-first into the attacking fighter.
Both went flying off the edge.
Bumble caught Jake midair.
The teleporter beam removed the attacker.
The arena went silent.
Sixteen fighters remained.
Then the world shifted.
The arena shuddered and began pulling itself inward, platforms collapsing and sliding into a massive circular formation. Bridges folded like paper, walls retreating. Dust rose in swirling clouds.
The center of the arena glowed—from below Danny's feet.
A golden pulse rippled upward.
Not soft this time.
Stronger.
Intentional.
Recognized.
Danny gasped as warmth surged up his spine.
Swift stared at him with awe.
Shadeclaw crouched low, humbling himself instinctively.
Mira narrowed her eyes, assessing this new variable.
Wolf Queen flexed her claws.
Jade took a cautious step back.
Jake fainted.
Bumble screamed.
Jimmy burped cosmic light.
Julian sighed.
Wolf King's grin sharpened into something predatory.
Danny stood in the center of the restructuring arena, golden light flickering like wings behind him—silent, glowing, ancient.
He didn't even notice.
Everyone else did.
Sixteen.