As the dust settled.
Silence fell.
Then, like a dam breaking, an eruption of cheers thundered across the Arena. People stood to their feet, screaming, clapping, roaring in disbelief. Even the merchant who had brought Akin to this territory stood wide-eyed, whispering, "I knew there was something different about him… but not to this extent."
High above, from the balcony adorned in gold, the king raised his hand with a slow, deliberate motion. The crowd quieted as he nodded once in approval—solid, sharp. A public acknowledgment: Akin was the victor.
But with that nod came an unexpected decree.
"Take him," the king's voice echoed, "to the underground. Let him choose."
The guards bowed and led Akin beneath the palace—into the cold belly of the earth. There, behind iron doors and thick silence, he found them.
Five figures stood in a dimly lit chamber. A dwarf. A human. An elf. A beastkin. And a demon. All female. All shackled.
But Akin's eyes locked onto one.
Pale skin. White hair. Weak, barely breathing. A soul clinging to existence.
Before he could speak, Elan's voice whispered in his mind:
"Look closely… That's no ordinary human. That's a mythical creature—one that shouldn't exist. She's leaking a strange energy. Ancient. Lost."
Akin kept his gaze neutral, pretending to scan the group.
"Do they exist here too?" he asked mentally.
"They did," Elan replied, grimly. "But most were turned into corrupted beasts."
Akin stepped forward and pointed. "Her."
The king raised a brow from the shadows. "Are you sure? She looks half-dead."
"I just feel like picking her," Akin said calmly.
A small silence followed. Then the king waved his hand.
"Return the others. Give him what he wants."
Moments later, Akin was offered a room in the palace. Modest, but clean. The girl was placed on the bed like a forgotten doll, her breaths shallow, her presence dim.
He sat beside her.
"Elan," he asked softly, "how do I bring her back?"
"Try injecting your energy into her. But carefully. Yours is… different. Too much might shatter her."
Akin placed his hand gently on her chest. Closed his eyes. Focused.
A soft green glow began to shimmer from his palm.
Then—whoom.
A pulse of dense green energy filled the room, pushing against the walls like a heartbeat. The girl's body lifted into the air, surrounded by spirals of light. Her wounds closed, color returned to her face, and cracks of ancient symbols flashed briefly across her skin before fading.
Slowly, her feet touched the ground.
She opened her eyes—glowing faintly. She looked at her hands, then at him.
A step forward. Then another. Her lips parted, a whisper caught between breath and memory.
She recognized him. Or rather, what lived inside him.
And Akin?
He simply watched. Calm. Curious. And unknowingly, standing at the edge of something far greater than fate.