Nova and Anna returned to the arena with little fanfare. The excitement in the air was palpable.
People were already on their feet, talking over one another, making bets, shouting predictions.
As they stepped into the massive coliseum, the sound of their names being called echoed across the walls.
"AND NOW, THE FINAL MATCH! Nova versus the unnamed humanoid!"
The announcer bellowed, his voice sharp and charged with energy.
The crowd roared. Some chanted Nova's name, while others called for the strange humanoid who had stunned them all with his reckless power.
It was a strange mix of awe and bloodlust—everyone wanted a show.
Nova stepped into the center of the arena, his face unreadable behind his aether mask. His eyes, however, locked instantly onto his opponent across the field.
The humanoid stood hunched slightly, his shoulders rising and falling as he breathed in short, aggressive bursts.
His black eyes twitched. Aether bled off him like steam off a boiling pot. Violent, erratic, unstable.
Nova's gaze narrowed.
The announcer raised a hand.
"The rules are simple! Surrender if you must. Say the word, and the match ends immediately. This is your final warning. Begin!"
The humanoid let out a twisted noise—half snarl, half cry.
"Prove… self. Prove… worth… Revenge…"
His body lurched forward. There was no warning. He charged like a berserker, all instinct and rage, swinging his aether-forged claws toward Nova's face.
The air cracked around them, pressure shifting as their aether flared.
Nova didn't move. Not right away.
Instead, he waited, watching the rhythm of his opponent's aura. Watching the way the unstable aether pulsed out of sync with the humanoid's body, like something foreign stitched into him.
When the humanoid's claw slashed downward, Nova stepped forward—directly into the attack.
His left hand snapped up and caught the humanoid by the wrist, fingers locking like iron. His right hand jabbed forward, two fingers glowing faintly with precise, needle-thin lines of aether control.
The moment they touched the humanoid's forearm, Nova surged his own aether into the boy's body—not as an attack, but as interference.
And then… it was like someone pulled the power cord out of a machine.
The humanoid's body gave a sharp jolt, like something broke inside him. His eyes rolled back. His limbs went slack.
He dropped.
Face-first, silent, unmoving. Just like that.
The entire coliseum froze.
Seconds passed.
Then more seconds.
Nothing.
No violent surge. No screaming aether tantrum. No shadow claw revival. The boy didn't move. Didn't twitch.
The crowd began murmuring in confusion. A few people laughed nervously. Others shouted at the boy to get up.
Nova stood still, watching him with a sharp look.
Anna, sitting at the edge of the stands, leaned forward.
"He shut it off. He cut off his connection…"
She whispered.
The announcer stumbled over his words.
"Uh… the unnamed competitor is… unresponsive. Unless we see movement in the next ten seconds, the match will be—"
Nothing happened.
Nova took a slow breath and turned away, walking back toward the edge of the arena without a word. His opponent didn't stir.
The announcer let out a nervous breath.
"Then… uh—THE WINNER—NOVA!"
The crowd exploded, not with unanimous cheers, but with a chaotic mix of stunned gasps, outrage, and wild applause.
Some had wanted carnage. Others had wanted spectacle. What they got was surgical. Quiet. Terrifying in its efficiency.
Princess Stelle, watching from her box above, leaned forward with a gleam in her eye.
"Oh… he's better than I thought."
She murmured.
The arena buzzed with confusion. Murmurs rippled across the stadium, the crowd unsure of what they had just witnessed.
The final fight had ended not in glorious combat, but with a strange collapse—an anticlimax that left too many questions and no satisfying answers.
Before the uncertainty could spread too far, Princess Stelle rose from her champion's box, her voice sharp and commanding.
"Guards! Detain the defeated contestant. He broke the rules by launching an unsanctioned attack outside the arena before the match. As such, he is disqualified and will be held in custody for investigation."
She called, and all eyes turned to her.
The crowd gasped. Some cheered, others shouted in protest.
But none dared disobey. The guards, armored in shimmering aether-plates, moved swiftly, picking up the humanoid's unconscious body and carrying him out of the arena as ordered.
The announcer, still pale from earlier, adjusted his mic and cleared his throat.
"Ahem. As per Champion Stelle's announcement, the unnamed contestant is disqualified. Which means—"
He turned dramatically, raising his hand toward the center of the stage.
"—we have our winner. NOVA!"
The crowd roared.
Anna stood, clapping slowly, her expression a mix of pride and worry.
"As per tradition, the champion's reward, a pure shard of high-grade aetherite, will be handed over to our victor within the hour."
The announcer continued.
That was enough. Nova had come here for that. That single shard would fix the ship's damaged systems—possibly more.
But the announcer wasn't finished.
"And! As a rare and special bonus…"
His eyes darted nervously to the Champion's box.
"…our very own Champion Stelle has expressed the desire to fight the winner in a one-on-one exhibition match! Right now!"
The stadium exploded with wild cheers. The crowd wanted blood. They wanted closure. They wanted power to clash with power.
Down below, Anna's eyes widened and she immediately tried to catch Nova's attention. She waved her hand subtly and shook her head, her expression pleading.
He didn't need to do this. He had won. He had the aetherite. They could leave.
Nova looked at her… then turned his gaze upward, to where Princess Stelle now leaned forward over the railing, her sharp golden eyes locked on him like a hawk watching prey.
She wasn't going to let him walk away.
Nova sighed.
Then raised his voice.
"I accept."
The crowd went wild again.
"Come down here, Champion. Let's finish this properly."
He said, locking eyes with her.
Princess Stelle smiled, her spear already forming beside her in a blaze of radiant flame.
______
Meanwhile, deep within the inner corridors of the stadium, guards dragged the humanoid down a long hallway.
His body hung limp between them, his skin pale and clammy, breath shallow.
But suddenly… he twitched.
One guard noticed.
"Did he just—?"
The humanoid's head snapped up, his eyes burning pitch black.
A wave of dark aether pulsed out of him, knocking both guards backward and triggering alarms throughout the prison wing.
"FAILED! AGAIN. WE GAVE YOU POWER. YOU COULDN'T EVEN WIN AGAINST A HALF-AWAKE HOST."
A voice echoed inside the humanoid's mind.
The humanoid gritted his teeth, holding his head as the entity roared in his mind. His limbs convulsed. Aether swirled violently around him.
He screamed.
Then laughed.
"If I die… I'm taking this damn planet with me."
His hands slammed into the metal floor, sending cracks through it.
The lights flickered. Sirens blared.
In the arena above, no one had noticed yet.
But beneath their feet… the countdown to destruction had already begun.
Aether surged uncontrollably through the prison hall as the humanoid's body began to crack under the pressure.
Guards scrambled to evacuate, shouting warnings, but it was too late.
The floor beneath him glowed ominously. Gritting his teeth, the humanoid whispered through a twisted grin.
"If I can't win… then let it all burn."