Chapter 1 " The Trail "

The holo-screen in Soya’s palm pulsed like a dying star. “Reblian Club: one Assassin slot. Trial begins in ninety minutes. Death match. Last one standing joins.”

He killed the feed. The alley behind the noodle stall went quiet except for the drip of condensation off a rusted pipe.

Ninety minutes.

His entire life, funneled into ninety minutes. Soya slid the screen into his pocket and drew the short, black-washed blade from his back.

The edge caught the neon sign across the street OPEN 24H and threw a red slash across his cheekbone.

One last warm-up.

He stepped beneath the old rail bridge. River water churned thirty feet below, 

carrying the city’s stink of algae and battery acid. Graffiti bled down the concrete pillars: KILL OR BE CODED.

“Ultimate,” he whispered.

The world folded. Five silver arcs detonated from empty air shnk-shnk-shnk-shnk-shnk!

An ironwood practice post the city left for street kids exploded into six perfect chunks. They hit the water with dull, wet thuds and were gone.

Soya reappeared in the same crouch, lungs burning. A grin started, then froze. The blade trembled in his grip, just once.

“Two spells,” he whispered to the dark. “That’s all the world gave me.”

Reblian Grounds – 88 minutes later

The trial field was a cratered parade square ringed by floodlights and chain-link.

Three hundred bodies pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, heat and mana thick enough to chew.

Every role was here: Strikers cracking knuckles the size of oranges, Mages juggling violet fire between their fingers, a Keeper with a sniper rifle longer than he was tall.

Soya kept to the back row, hood low. The kid in front of him silver hair, twin daggers spun the blades like batons.

“Name’s Kael,” the kid said without turning. “Four spells. Already beaten two ranked players in the underground circuit. You?”

Soya’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Kael glanced over his shoulder. One eye was cybernetic, iris cycling red.

“Didn’t think so.”

A girl to Soya’s left snorted. She wore a Defender’s half-plate painted matte black, shield slung across her back like a coffin lid.

“Ignore the peacock, newbie. I’m Rhea. Three spells, all tank-busters. Try not to die in the first thirty seconds; I hate cleaning blood off my greaves.”

The floodlights cut to white. A man in Reblian black armor strode onto the central platform. The insignia on his chestplate a broken crown glowed cold blue.

“Rules,” he said, voice rolling like artillery. “No restrictions except your ultimate: three uses max. 

When the horn sounds, the barrier drops. Last one breathing walks with me.”

No one clapped. No one needed to. The air itself vibrated with bloodlust. Kael flicked a dagger into a reverse grip.

“Hope you at least know how to bleed pretty.” Rhea cracked her neck.

“Hope you brought a coffin, pretty boy.” Soya’s pulse hammered behind his eyes. 

He looked across the sea of bodies and saw every single one of them radiating at least three spell sigils on their wrists. 

Some had four. A Mage near the front flexed and six glyphs ignited like miniature suns.

His own wrist: two dim runes."Shadow Break."

And the second one he hadn’t even named yet. The horn screamed. The barrier shattered into pixels. Chaos.

A Striker’s hammer pulped a Keeper’s skull three meters away, gray matter painted the concrete.

Kael vanished in a flicker of silver, reappearing behind a Mage. Twin daggers crossed; throat opened like a red smile.

Rhea’s shield unfolded into a wall of black iron; a fireball shattered against it and rolled over her like a harmless wave.

Soya stood frozen.

A blade of wind screamed past his ear, carving a furrow in the ground. Someone laughed, high and manic. Another scream cut short.

“Move, idiot!” Rhea roared, slamming her shield into a charging Defender. Bone cracked.

Soya’s legs finally obeyed. He darted left, blade up, heart trying to punch through his ribs.

Kael flickered into existence ahead of him, wiping blood from his cheek with a thumb. “Still breathing? Cute.”

He spun, daggers singing. “Let’s fix that.” Soya parried on instinct; steel rang, sparks showered. Kael’s cyber-eye whirred, locking onto Soya’s wrist.

“Two spells,” Kael said, grinning like a shark. “This’ll be quick.” Soya’s stomach dropped through the soles of his boots.

The field was already a slaughterhouse: bodies, smoke, the copper reek of blood.

And every second, the circle of survivors shrank. He tightened his grip until the hilt creaked.

“This is gonna be hard…” His voice cracked, barely audible over the screams. “…but I’m not backing down.”

Kael lunged. Steel met steel, and the death match swallowed them both. Then...

"Ultimate," Kael whispered.

Mist started to engulf land and air. "Everyone who got touched by my move will explode in five seconds; this is a guaranteed kill," Kael laughed.

"This is bad," Soya started to think, searching for an escape. "1...2..." Kael started to count. "What should I do?" Soya was desperate.

"Ultimate!" Soya used his ultimate skill. He blended into shadows and made five clean strikes on Kael. 

Kael’s ultimate didn’t affect Soya because his ultimate spell made him immune to everything.

"Now I have two uses," Soya said. Every single other player was knocked out by Kael’s ultimate spell.

"They weren’t no match for him."

"Interesting," Kael said, barely standing. "So you weren’t weak after all?" Kael was surprised.

"You outplayed me? Fine, then I shouldn’t hold back too." Kael and Soya were standing tall on the ground now; it was just the two of them, but only one would be selected.

"Only two uses," Soya reminded himself. "One strike and he is dead," Kael whispered to himself.

Every defeated player was healed by the scouts and watched the battle between Kael and Soya between arrogance and ignorance.

To be continued...