In the locker room, Leo sat on the bench while Mia stood in front of him, holding a small flashlight. She gently tilted his head and flashed the light into his eyes.
"Follow the light," she said calmly.
Leo blinked twice, squinting a little.
"Good," Mia muttered.
She straightened up, clicked the flashlight off, and began packing her tools back into her medical case. "You're fine," she said. "But if you feel any pain or soreness later, take painkillers. And don't be stupid."
Leo smirked. "I'm always stupid."
Mia rolled her eyes but couldn't help a faint smile.
Before she could say anything else, the locker room door burst open.
Toney stormed in, voice already raised. "Hey, kid!"
Everyone turned.
Toney pointed directly at Youri. "I've got a guy without an opponent. You down for another match?"
Youri blinked, surprised. He tilted his head slightly, thinking it over. His body felt fine—better than fine, actually—but he still remembered Mia's warning from earlier.
"Who's the guy?" Youri asked.
Toney's grin widened. "We call him Zeus."
As Toney spoke, a massive silhouette filled the doorway behind him.
The man stepped inside slowly, his presence immediately shifting the energy of the room. He was tall—very tall—and lean, his frame packed with dense muscle rather than bulk. He wore a dark windbreaker with the hood pulled up and a pair of worn jeans. His short brown hair stuck out messily beneath the hood, and his eyes were dark, sharp, and unreadable.
"This," Toney said, raising a hand toward him, "is Zeus."
Zeus walked past without acknowledging anyone, moving toward an open locker. As he passed, Mia glanced at him and frowned.
"You should slow down," she said firmly. "Your body might feel tough now, but it will fail you one day if you keep this up."
Zeus didn't respond. He didn't even look at her. He simply opened his locker and began his routine.
Mia sighed, shaking her head. "This guy…". "This is his fourth fight this week."
Youri frowned. "So… he likes fighting?"
Mia snapped her case shut and slung it over her shoulder. "No," she said quietly. "He doesn't."
She paused at the door, glancing back at Zeus. "He just has to."
With that, she left.
Youri stood there for a moment, confusion lingering. Has to? The words echoed in his mind, but there was no time to dwell on them.
As Youri began wrapping his hands, Toney stepped closer. "Hey, kid," he said. "What do we call you?"
Youri looked up. "What?"
"We can't keep calling you 'the newbie,'" Toney continued. "Crowd needs a name."
Youri hesitated. "You got any ideas?"
Toney scratched his head. "Not really."
At that moment, Zeus closed his locker and glanced at Youri. His gaze lingered, sharp and assessing.
"Do you know who Zeus is?" he asked calmly.
Youri blinked. "An ancient religious figure?"
A faint smile crossed Zeus's lips. He turned and walked out without another word.
Youri closed his locker slowly. As he did, a memory surfaced—an old book he had once read, filled with myths and forgotten gods. Stories of power, betrayal, and time itself.
Olympia.
A faint smile formed on Youri's face.
He turned to Toney. "I think I've got an idea."
Moments later, Toney stood in the octagon once again, microphone in hand. The crowd was still buzzing from Leo's fight, voices overlapping, money still changing hands at the betting stations.
"Gentlemen!" Toney shouted. "Are you ready for the second fight of the night?"
The crowd roared in response.
Toney paused for dramatic effect, then continued. "I hope you placed your bets wisely this time, because for the fourth time this week—make some noise for Zeus!"
The cavern erupted.
Zeus emerged from the tunnel, now stripped down to black shorts and fighting shoes. His hood was gone, revealing his sharp features and intense eyes. He walked calmly, unhurried, like a man stepping into something routine rather than dangerous.
He climbed into the octagon and took his corner, resting his arms on the fence, eyes locked on the opposite tunnel.
Toney raised the mic again. "And for his opponent…"
The crowd quieted slightly, curious.
"Making his second debut—make some noise for Kronos!"
Youri stepped out from the locker room entrance.
Eyes turned immediately.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"That's the kid from last time.""Didn't Boris wreck him?""What the hell is he doing back?"
Youri walked steadily toward the octagon, his expression calm, almost detached. The lights overhead reflected off his eyes as he climbed inside and moved to his corner.
Zeus studied him closely now.
Toney stepped between them. "Rules are the same. No weapons. No interference. Fight until someone drops."
He stepped back.
The bell rang.
Zeus moved first—but not fast.
He stepped forward deliberately, circling to his left, eyes never leaving Youri's center mass. Youri mirrored him, feet light, remembering Leo's words: Don't rush. Don't freeze.
Zeus tested him with a low kick aimed at the thigh.
Youri checked it instinctively, shin meeting shin with a dull crack that sent a jolt up his leg. Pain flared—but he didn't falter. The crowd murmured, surprised.
Zeus followed with a jab. Youri slipped it. Another jab—Youri leaned back just enough to let it pass inches from his nose. He countered with a quick straight to Zeus's chest.
It landed.
Not hard—but clean.
Zeus raised an eyebrow, faintly impressed.
Then he stepped in.
A heavy right hand tore through the air. Youri ducked too late—his shoulder caught the edge of the blow and he staggered sideways. Zeus pressed immediately, throwing a combination: hook, uppercut, knee.
Youri absorbed the hook on his forearm, twisted away from the uppercut, but the knee slammed into his ribs, driving the breath from his lungs. He stumbled back into the cage, metal rattling behind him.
Zeus didn't rush.
He waited half a second.
Then smashed a punch into Youri's guard hard enough to split his lip.
Blood filled Youri's mouth. He tasted iron.
The crowd erupted.
"KILL HIM!""ZEUUS!"
Youri pushed off the cage and surged forward unexpectedly, catching Zeus with a sharp elbow to the jaw. Zeus's head snapped to the side. The crowd gasped.
Youri followed with a punch to the body, then another, then a kick to the knee. Zeus grunted as his leg buckled slightly. He backed up two steps, reassessing.
Now the crowd was split.
"KRO-NOS!""ZEUUS!"
Zeus wiped blood from his mouth with his thumb and smiled—not mocking, but serious.
"You're learning," he said.
Zeus lunged.
This time faster.
He feinted high, then drove a brutal hook into Youri's side. Something cracked— a rib that hadn't fully healed. Youri cried out despite himself, but he didn't drop. Instead, he grabbed Zeus's arm and twisted, trying to off-balance him.
They clinched.
Chest to chest.
Zeus smelled like sweat and metal and smoke.
Youri drove a knee upward. Zeus blocked it with his thigh and answered with a headbutt that smashed into Youri's forehead. Stars exploded behind Youri's eyes. He reeled—but stayed upright.
Zeus threw him.
Youri hit the mat hard, shoulder slamming first, pain radiating down his arm. Zeus followed him to the ground, mounting him and raining down punches.
One broke through.
Then another.
Youri raised his arms, blocking, counting the rhythm. Now.
He bucked his hips, twisting, rolling them sideways. Zeus lost balance for half a second—just enough.
Youri slipped out, scrambled to his feet, and launched himself forward with everything he had left.
His fist connected with Zeus's jaw.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
Zeus staggered, nearly falling. He caught the cage to steady himself. The crowd was screaming now, half in disbelief.
Leo was shouting from somewhere beyond the cage."KEEP GOING! DON'T STOP!"
Youri didn't stop.
He copied Boris's punch—the exact angle, the exact timing. He rotated his hips and drove the strike forward.
It landed flush.
Zeus crashed to one knee.
The hall went dead silent.
Youri stood over him, swaying, vision blurred, lungs burning. For a heartbeat, it looked like Zeus might not get up.
Then Zeus rose.
Slowly.
Angrily.
He grabbed Youri by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"You should've stayed down," Zeus growled.
He slammed Youri against the cage once.
Twice.
Then hurled him across the ring.
Youri hit the mat and didn't move.
The referee rushed forward—but Youri twitched. His fingers curled. He tried to push himself up.
Zeus stepped in and delivered one final, devastating punch to the side of Youri's head.
Everything went black.
Toney shouted into the mic."IT'S OVER! WE'VE GOT A WINNER!"
The crowd exploded.
Zeus stood over Youri, chest heaving, face bruised, blood dripping from his nose. This hadn't been easy. Not even close.
Leo was in the cage immediately, kneeling beside Youri, gripping his shoulder.
"You almost had him," Leo whispered. "You almost had him."
Zeus approached, looming over them, then extended a hand.
Youri took it weakly as he was helped up.
Zeus leaned close."Next time," he said quietly, "we finish this."
As Youri was carried from the ring, the crowd didn't boo.
They cheered.
Because they hadn't just watched a fight.
They had witnessed the birth of something dangerous.
Kronos had lost.
But Zeus had barely survived.