Arch-Angel Ascension

The Arena lights dimmed as the Gates rumbled open once again.

Team 1 of NTG--Rikushi, Blaidd, Valentine, and Glonk--stepped into the sand once more, gear scuffed but spirits burning.

Across from them, a team cloaked in shadow and golden trim emerged.

One of them--a tall, radiant man with flowing white hair and golden tattoos--walked forward with an unsettling grace.

Rikushi's eyes widened.

"...That's Latro. One of the World Leaders."

Blaidd's eyes narrowed. "That sword... That's no regular blade."

Before they could speculate further, the horn screamed across the arena, and Latro moved like a phantom.

His sword gleamed like the sun and screamed like it was hungry.

Rikushi raised his newly-equipped shield, only to watch in horror as it melted under the touch of the blade. A near-miss--centimeters from his heart.

Latro smiled, lips dripping with disdain.

"Not bad. Most people die before they see it move."

He raised the weapon, pointing it at Rikushi. "This is Sunbearer, one of the Five Divine Artifacts from Vetus Terra, crafted in the fires of the gods, lost for a thousand years."

Blaidd's breath caught.

"That's... That's the blade our kingdom's last king wielded..."

Rikushi gritted his teeth. "Then... this won't be easy."

Blaidd's eyes sharpened. "I need time. Stall them."

He broke into a sprint, pulling parchment from his side. As he slid behind a fallen column, he unsheathed his dagger--not to fight, but to scribe.

Back in the arena, Valentine and Glonk moved forward.

Valentine's knuckles flared, delivering sharp, brutal punches that cracked armor.
Glonk, silent and immovable, caught blades with bare fists, blood dripping from his forearms--but still standing.

Yet the enemy team was relentless.

A lance slashed across Glonk's chest. A spear rammed into Valentine's ribs. Blow after blow.

Still, they didn't move back.
They stood. They tanked. They endured.

Until finally, Glonk dropped to one knee.

Latro raised Sunbearer, light flaring from the blade.

"Fall, brute."

Then the sky cracked--.

A pillar of white light descended from the heavens, crashing down onto Blaidd's position.

The arena held its breath.

The column vanished... and Blaidd was gone.

"...Where is--"

A shadow fell over Latro.

He looked up--

And saw a figure descending with wings made of runes and radiance. His cloak now threads of light. His eyes blazing with old power.

Blaidd had ascended.

His voice echoed, layered and thunderous.

"I call upon the lost rights of the Celestials...
I walk beyond the gate of magic...
I am the Broken ArchAngel."

Rikushi, stunned, stepped back.

Blaidd raised one glowing hand--an intricate seal hovering above it--and aimed at Latro's team.

"Ray of Dissolution."

A beam of pure arcane fury erupted from the sky, striking down on Latro and his allies like divine judgment.

The screams were swallowed by light.

When it faded, blackened armor and scorched robes were all that remained. Their bodies were swiftly teleported to the infirmary by Arena's medics--barely alive.

Team 1 stood victorious.

As they walked back through the gates, Rikushi turned to Blaidd, still hovering just inches above the ground, his wings fading into light.

"...What the hell was that?"

Blaidd smirked, his tone calm but distant. "Touching the Arcane."

Back in the holding area, the rest of NTG and the watching crowd sat in silence. What they had just seen... wasn't a technique.

It was a glimpse of something greater.

Something ancient.

Something that could flip this world's principles on its head.