Two Faces, One Shadow

Sacres and I made our way down the main avenue toward the coliseum. The hubbub of vendors and mercenaries mingled with the distant sound of bells.

The slabs beneath my boots vibrated slightly with every roar that escaped from the arena.

— Not far now,— said Sacres, without taking his eyes off the road. I just nodded. The closer we got, the more I felt that pressure in my chest... as if the air were getting thicker.

Before arriving, Sacres took a detour to a small shop selling weapons and provisions. The place smelled of old leather, metal, and dust. We went inside.

While he examined some runes engraved on a dusty tome, I wandered down the narrow aisle between shelves laden with jars, knives, and small cloth bags. The murmur from outside began to fade little by little... and then I felt it.

The gaze.

It was not one of curiosity, much less hostility, but rather a cold weight, like a dagger of frost on the back of my neck. My breathing slowed without my realizing it. I turned my head slightly, pretending to examine some rusty daggers, and that's when I realized.

There it was.

A figure, motionless, a few meters from the entrance.

Dark robe, hood pulled down covering its face. No insignia, nothing to reveal who it was. It didn't move forward. It didn't move backward. It just stood there, leaning against a mossy wall, as if it had been there for hours... or days.

A knot formed in my stomach. I looked away and pretended I hadn't seen him.

My imagination... surely. After all, neither Sacres nor the shopkeeper had noticed his presence.

Sacres came out of the hallway with the tome in his hand.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes... ready,” I lied. We left the tent. The coliseum stood before us, enormous, devouring the sky with its shadow. With every step, the roar of the crowd grew louder, deeper.

And then I saw her.

To Noelia. A few meters from the entrance. My heart raced. For a moment, I thought she was waiting for me. I was about to call out to her... until the hooded figure moved.

He approached her. Too close. It wasn't a kiss, but the hug he gave her... wasn't friendly. My heartbeat echoed in my ears. Was this the same Noelia I had met a few hours ago... or not? Something was different. Her eyes, her smile... they didn't have the same warmth. It was as if an invisible shadow had crept under her skin.

—That's it,— Sacres voice interrupted my train of thought. — You're registered. I'll be watching you from the stands. —

—Thanks... — I muttered, looking away for a moment.

But when I looked back... Noelia and the hooded man were gone. And I don't know what was worse: not knowing where they went... or the feeling that, in reality, they never stopped watching me.

Sacres closed the book and motioned for me to keep walking, freeing me from my thoughts. The coliseum was so close now that I could hear the clanging of weapons inside.

We stopped right in front of the main entrance, where two guards in polished armor controlled the passage. The air smelled of iron, sweat, and virtual blood.

— Aren't you coming in too? — I asked, trying to sound casual, although my voice betrayed a slight nervousness. Well, it was obvious, after all, it was my first event considering that I am a casual player rather than a competitive one, or well, I was, because after this, who knows what could happen.

Sacres smiled wryly. — I'm better at shaping steel than crossing swords. The years have taught me that brute force rusts... but ingenuity and patience last longer. —

— What an excuse, — I replied.

— Call it what you want, kid. — He patted me on the shoulder. — The question is: are you sure about this? —

I swallowed hard. — Yes... I think so. — Sacres held my gaze for a moment longer, assessing me.

— I'll be in the stands, watching every move.

— That reassures me... I think.

Sacres let out a deep laugh. — Just try not to pee yourself with fear in there, okay? I don't want the audience to think I brought a scared puppy. —

I rolled my eyes. — I'll keep that in mind. —

We took a step toward the entrance, and just before crossing the threshold, I looked around one last time... but Noelia and the hooded man were gone.

Once inside the coliseum, I felt the crowd roar like a hungry beast. The air smelled of sweat, iron, and old dust. The floor vibrated beneath the shouts and the pounding of boots and armor.

I was really surprised by the number of people there, but my attention was drawn to the center of the coliseum; it seemed like everyone was heading there.

A hundred competitors gathered in the center: humans, orcs, elves, dwarves... all armed to the teeth, with shiny armor and weapons that looked like relics of kings. I, on the other hand...

— Damn... — I muttered, more to myself than to anyone else. I felt the stares piercing my back like arrows. “He must be a veteran pretending to be a rookie.” “He's crazy if he goes in like that.” “He'll die in the first few minutes.”

I didn't care. Or so I tried to convince myself. The calmness I showed was just a mask; inside, my heart was beating like a war drum.

It was clear that no one would shout my name, but even so, I started looking for Sacres in the stands. For a moment, I couldn't find him, which discouraged me a little, but in the end, I saw him. He was sitting quietly, not shouting. It was just Sacres.

And then, among the crowd, I saw her. Noelia. Alone, watching me from a distance. Her expression was unreadable, as if she were evaluating something she didn't understand. Part of me wanted to go over, ask her what was going on, demand an explanation. Another part... didn't know if I could trust her.

— Welcome, everyone, to the Pit of Survival, — his voice boomed like thunder wrapped in honey.  —The abyss where there are no second chances. — His presence dominated the room with a mixture of charisma and authority. His eyes, sharp as a predator's, scanned everyone present, from the seasoned veterans to the trembling novices like me.

— Listen to me carefully, —he began in a firm, resonant voice. — This is not a game for amateurs or for those seeking comfortable and easy adventures. The Pit of Survival is a testing ground, a true fight to the death designed for the strongest, the most cunning, the bravest... or at least for those willing to pretend to be — Here, there is no room for error, — he continued, as tension filled the air.
— One hundred players will be transported to a vast and dangerous area: wild terrain, forgotten ruins, deadly traps, and creatures that would not appear even in your worst nightmares—

He paused, and his gaze fixed on the crowd, as if challenging them to doubt him.

— You can form alliances... if it suits you, — he said with a smile, — but remember this: only one of you will make it out alive. The goal is to survive everything and everyone and reach the top. This place is not for fairy-tale heroes or weaklings who dream of glory, — he assured them. — It's a battle royale where deception, betrayal, and brute force rule. —

Then, lowering his voice as if sharing a forbidden secret, he added. — And to make things even more interesting, eye prisms will be allowed up to level two. —

A wave of whispers rippled through the crowd. For those who knew the term, it was a warning that the battle would be even more brutal. For those who didn't, it was a terrifying mystery.

I didn't understand what an ocular prism was, but a low, deep voice slipped into my ear like a shadow, and I felt my body freeze with fear.

— Not everyone is born with them,—  I whisper deadly.  —Some get them by accident, others by tragedy. They call them eye prisms: circles of light that appear in the iris and that only other carriers can recognize. Each prism opens a different door, — he continued.  — Sometimes it's strength, the ability to strike harder and faster than a trained warrior. Other times, it's knowledge: the ability to decipher secrets, see the hidden, or manipulate information. But there are those who awaken something that shouldn't exist: abilities that border on the forbidden, the supernatural —

I thought about all that and couldn't help feeling overwhelmed. How could anyone attain such power? And what would be the price? I wanted to say something, to ask, but my voice faded away.

I turned slowly. The hooded figure was there, so close that it seemed to blend into the shadows. But when I tried to look at its face, there was nothing there. No mouth, no eyes, no nose. Just absolute darkness.

I blinked, and the hooded figure had vanished, leaving only a chill running down my spine and leaving me in deadly silence.

Suddenly, a horn blared loudly throughout the coliseum. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt the air around me become heavy and dense, as if death itself were lurking among us. The roar of the crowd turned into a deafening din.

And then everything vanished.