I never really liked arenas. Too many lights, too much cheering and pretending that this is sport and not an excuse for sanctioned carnage. But here I was anyway at center stage, under blinding white spotlights, surrounded by what felt like half of Nairobi's population screaming my borrowed name.
The Lone Nomad.
It sounded cool, sure. But if only they knew that under the mask was Phasnovterich Vecria Argemenes.
Radellei was standing beside me, looking criminally confident in her obsidian combat suit trimmed in gold. She had that Rameses look with her chin up. Her curly dark brown hair was tied back with a band. I on the other hand, looked like a completely different person.
My crimson hair was gone, replaced by black so dark it almost looked blue under the arena lights. The Faceless Identity mask fit my face perfectly with the Egyptian patterns across its surface glowing faintly gold. There were no eye holes no no strings, nothing that made sense, and yet I saw perfectly fine. It was unsettling, but also perfect.
The mask provided 99.99% concealment.
My body, my voice and Xana were altered to something unrecognizable. I didn't look like a fighter. My build was too lean and weak, exactly how I wanted it. No one would think I was Argemenes blood. No one would think I was anyone at all.
The announcer's voice boomed across the arena.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE CATF DUO RING! FOR TODAY'S OPENING DUEL, THE NEON NOMADS!"
The crowd erupted. Neon floodlights burst to life, tracing our silhouettes across the stage like we were rockstars stepping out of legend.
"The ROYAL NOMAD, Lady Hinesia Rameses!"
The ground shook from cheers. Someone threw a handful of golden dust into the air and it shimmered under the lights like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.
"And her partner, THE LONE NOMAD!"
I raised a hand lazily, giving a half-wave. The crowd screamed louder.
If they only knew how hard I was trying not to laugh.
"Facing them tonight, representing the hosting continent of AFRICA, THE JUA DUO!"
Two figures emerged from the opposite gate, their presence almost as sharp as their reputation. The first was a tall man, his skin like obsidian glass, his muscles sculpted like the ruins of gods. His dreadlocks were tied with strips of gold cloth, his eyes glowing faintly amber. He carried no visible weapon, which meant he was the weapon.
Beside him walked a woman who looked like she had been carved out of pure focus. She had short platinum hair, dark eyes lined with makeup and a blue wrap skirt paired with a tactical chest piece. Her hands were wrapped in bandages that glowed faintly red. Radellei leaned toward me and whispered.
"Don't underestimate them. The Jua duo are one of the top-ranking Kenyan duo combatants this season. I heard the woman uses Gravity from Alteration Flux."
"Gravity? Perfect. I love getting flattened into paste before lunch. And the man?"
"Flamed from the Elemental Flux. Be careful unless you enjoy being cooked alive."
"So basically, they're fire and pressure incarnate. Great. Fantastic."
She gave a small laugh. "Relax, Lone Nomad. You've got me. Try not to ruin my debut."
I didn't answer, but inside, I was already calculating.
Let's rewind a bit.
The Faceless Identity is a five star Relic pulled from the weapon (or Relic) banner that had no mercy. I spent ten thousand Pearlesia just to get here.
One gacha pull spent a hundred Pearlesia and had a pity system of fifty. I earned it easily enough. The system rewarded us just by existing. I earned five thousand Pearlesia just for leaving the Reversa Fluve Field alive. Apparently, that alone was some legendary feat. I got another five thousand from the training sessions in Egypt.
Then I hit the banner.
I was gunning for the mask sure, but the system loves to mess with the players. I lost the first draw and got a five-star flask. Don't get me wrong, it's actually a god-tier item. Infinite storage, limitless volume, can hold liquid, solid, even energy if I want. But tell me how I go in hoping for something like "Faceless Identity" and end up with a cosmic thermos.
I still use it, though. But the mask… now that's different. The mask was worth every failure. Right now, it was the reason I could walk beside a Rameses without painting a target on my head.
The Argemenes were not the type of family that stepped into spotlights. We lived in the shadows of politics and mechanics. If word got out that Phasnovterich was out here brawling for sport, the Houses would lose their collective minds.
So yeah. My disguise was on, my voice modulated and my Xanw signature is rewritten. Phaser was gone. The Lone Nomad was born.
Back to the arena...
The crowd roared as the announcer raised a hand.
"NEON NOMADS, JUA DUO, ARE YOU READY!?"
Radellei smirked. "Always."
The man rolled his shoulders. "I, Owino, am ready."
The woman cracked her neck. "I, Amina, am ready. Please try not to disappoint us, desert princess."
Radellei's smile didn't even twitch.
"You'll be disappointed long before I am, darling."
The referee dropped his arm.
"BEGIN!"
The arena floor erupted.
Owino launched first. His skin blazed with sunlight, his fists crackling with radiant energy that made the air ripple. He moved like a bullet, the ground beneath him scorching with every step. Amina followed, raising her hand. An invisible force pressed down on the field, the crushing pressure making the arena sink and my knees lock for a split second. In an instant, I vanished and reappeared behind Owino, swinging a clean roundhouse kick to his ribs. He blocked with one glowing arm but the shockwave sent him sliding across the floor.
Not bad.
Radellei clapped her hands and the sand she had been gathering exploded upward, with hundreds of razor-sharp shards forming a wall around us. Amina tried to compress it and crush it with her gravitational field but Radellei snapped her fingers and turned the sand back to normal.
Owino grinned. "Not bad, Lone Nomad!"
My voice modulated into a metallic distortion.
"Thanks. You're pretty bright for someone about to be punched into the next time zone."
"Big talk for someone hiding behind a mask!"
"Hey, some of us are ugly. What's your excuse?"
The crowd lost it. Even Radellei snorted mid-fight. Amin growled and slammed her hands into the ground. The gravity field expanded and my feet suddenly felt like they were chained to the planet's core.
"You'll break your spine if you move."
"You sure about that?"
I clenched my fist, activating the little fragment of Xana I've been testing since I got it. Suddenly, her field didn't affect me. Her eyes widened.
"Impossible."
Actually it wasn't. This was all about Xana output. Being an Ennèa and having a lot of Xana gains an advantage. And, I have a lot to resist her own output. I vanished again, reappearing right in front of her, my fist stopping just short of her cheek.
"Your trick doesn't work on me."
She barely had time to gasp before Hinesia's sand lashed out, wrapping her in a cyclone.