Closing Portals

Haruki pressed his back against the cold stone, knees drawn tight to his chest, breath coming in ragged bursts. The fire elemental bore down on him, its molten core pulsing like a furnace, the heat searing his skin even from a distance. He raised his arms in a feeble attempt to shield himself.

And here – he really thought that it was over. That this was where he would perish.

He was wrong in the end.

A spear pierced through the elemental’s chest, the strike so precise and forceful that the monster let out a distorted shriek before its body unraveled into sparks and ash. The heat broke like shattered glass, dissipating into the stale air of the maze. Haruki blinked, his ears ringing, as the towering figure who had delivered the blow stepped into view.

He was a tall red-haired elf, his long hair shining like embers as it flowed with every movement. He towered over Haruki completely, staring down at this human who he viewed as less than dirt – completely indifferent.

There were these antlers that sprouted from his temples, an unusual trait among the elves Haruki had already seen. It made him look part forest spirit, part steel warrior. His sharp green eyes scanned the maze, calculating, cold, and subtly playful. The calculations he did was done with laser focus, and yet seemed effortless.

Above, a booming voice echoed across the labyrinth:

“Kaelos of Hjelkir – four rifts sealed, twenty kills!”

The name hit Haruki’s ears like a drum. But the elf no longer paid any attention toward him, what little he had previously given was barely noticeable anyway.

And when he activated his Echo, the world seemed to bend before him – now his skin was crystallizing into diamond, reflecting its faint green glow toward all directions in the arena. In this state – Haruki witnessed the elemental attacks bounce off him like they were made of paper. Fireballs being launched from the air, alongside blades of lightning, as well as crackles of freezing air.

Every attack failed to even put a scratch on his skin.

A charming smirk played on his face as he twirled the diamond spear with confidence. Even standing from this distance, somehow, someway, his attacks had the range to reach all the elementals that were previously zeroing in on him. It wasn’t long before they were all atomized by his simple spear slashes.

With a simple gesture of his hand, his palm faced up, fingers spread, and the power from within poured out of him like it was second nature. A trail of powerful blue energy was unleashed from his hand, targeting all the portals that lingered behind the monsters.

Within seconds – the portals were gone.

“Kaelos of Hjelkir – six rifts sealed, nine kills!”

Before Haruki could even react, elsewhere, another score was announced.

“Chuwa the Soft Boulder – two rifts sealed, twelve kills!”

Haruki’s eyes widened as he glimpsed the source while rounding a corner: a big fat panda shuffling along cheerfully, one hand clutching a ration of meat he munched on mid-battle. Haruki didn’t even know where he got that huge drumstick from. The Elders for sure were not the ones handing them out. And yet, this Chuwa, the panda, was chowing down without a care in the world.

He seemed almost oblivious to the tension of the arena, chewing deliberately as if he were sitting in a garden rather than a pit of trials. Yet even Haruki could see the panda’s Echo at work: a pair of giant stone hands sprouted and shifted behind him, at least the height of twelve humans stacked on top of each other, moving independently to strike and defend without any apparent effort from him. The Echo pulsed in a steady rhythm, almost like a heartbeat, giving him a passive but formidable presence in the fight. In the end – it made sense why his portal score was currently so low. But Haruki still wondered whether this animal man even realized he was supposed to fight.

Moments later, the announcer’s voice thundered again:

“Thessa Kemisdottir – five rifts sealed, nine kills!”

A blur streaked through the maze ahead of Haruki. Twin blades flashed as a graceful figure of a tree-woman danced between portals, her leafy hair scattering like autumn winds. And Haruki noticed that these detaching leaves were falling off on purpose. Each falling leaf shimmered, shapeshifting into an identical clone of herself that struck in perfect unison with her dual blades, overwhelming the elementals with precise, cutting speed. This was the power of her Echo.

Haruki found this woman most strange. Just like several of the tree folks who did not look anything like a towering monstrous oak. She could one hundred percent pass off as a human if one did not pay close attention. Her skin carried a faint brownish green hue like sunlit moss, and the leaves that crowned her head shimmered like hair in a summer breeze. The steel of her two swords reflected clearly the confident smile she wore while slicing through the fire, ice, lightning, and earth.

High above in the Overseers’ balcony, the sound of conversation rumbled on endlessly as the Elders recorded every movement, feeling every step and every strike the students were executing.

“Kaelos of Hjelkir,” one elder mused, stroking his beard as the elf cleaved through another cluster of flame-beasts down at the arena. “He’s a Hjelkirian elite who holds the privilege of being named after their entire Isle. He’s proven here that he is even more powerful than they say he is.”

Their attention shifted when the panda’s booming laughter echoed faintly up the stone walls. Chuwa waddled through the maze as though it were a stroll through a village market, licking grease from his fingers. Behind him, those massive stone hands pulverized monsters with lazy swipes, scattering them like flies.

“A curious Echo,” murmured another Elder. “It seems to act independent of its user. He seems hardly aware of its strength, yet it works all the same.”

“Indeed,” Elder Oric came up from behind, pointing at the panda while patting on his own huge stomach. “I see I have found myself a kindred spirit. He may make for a fine disciple.”

“Please, Oric. Don’t eat my rations as well.”

And they laughed among themselves.

Moments later, grassy leaves spiraled in the air as Thessa’s clones carved an elegant arc through the storm elementals. Each motion mirrored the next, every blade-stroke weaving into the next without stop.

“Now there,” said another Elder softly, his eyes narrowing. “That girl has artistry. She’s fast and has potential for sure. But does she have any power behind those strikes? It’s hard to tell.”

“We shall see with time.”

Their gazes shifted again, this time toward a girl darting through the labyrinth with silver hair that gleamed under the lights of the stadium’s runes. Her blue eyes burned with fierce focus, even as her movements revealed a lack of formal training.

The Elders were fascinated at how she carried no weapons, and instead relied solely on her ability to summon fire constructs. These flames spilled from her hands, shaping itself mid-motion into whatever she required.

One moment a blazing spear crackled in her grip, stabbing through a lightning elemental before vanishing into sparks. The next, a row of swords materialized above her to defend against the ice monsters raining down from above. Then finally, turning around to see the remaining stragglers, she wound herself up into a kicking position, before a giant construct of a boot was summoned behind her, carrying the elementals off into the distance.

“Mm,” said one elder. “Sloppy. Overreliant on improvisation.”

“Self-taught, I’m sure,” Oric said. “She has no discipline – yet. But constructing magicks are immensely powerful. I wonder where she’s been all this time. Her files only mentioned instances of low-level missions. Not very good record-keeping on this one.”

Then, the announcer echoed Kiera’s score:

“Kiera the Pyromancer – three rifts sealed, seven kills!”

The Elders talked on and on and on.

There were many other strong fighters on the field as well.

But Haruki remained invisible to all in the arena. If any of them had looked closely, they might have seen him – sprinting breathlessly, ducking around corners, pressing himself against walls as monsters thundered past. He had yet to seal a single rift. His sword remained in its sheath, untouched, bouncing awkwardly against his side with each terrified step.

He was nothing to the scrutinizing eyes.