The air tightened.
The pressure around us became suffocating, like the arena itself was closing in.
"Trial nearing conclusion."
The voice echoed again.
Cold. Absolute.
Final.
The boy stepped forward.
"So this is it."
His stance changed—lower, sharper, more serious than before.
No hesitation now.
Only intent.
I steadied myself.
My body hurt. My breathing was uneven. But something inside me had aligned.
Focused.
Ready.
He moved first.
Fast.
Faster than before.
I reacted—
Barely.
Our movements clashed. His strike came from the side—I blocked, but the impact still pushed me back.
I countered.
He dodged.
We moved again.
Faster.
Cleaner.
More instinct than thought now.
The arena trembled beneath us.
Cracks spread across the ground.
The darkness around the edges pulsed.
Something wasn't right.
Even he noticed.
"This… isn't normal."
Before I could respond—
The voice returned.
But this time—
It was different.
Distorted.
Breaking.
"Tri… al… dis… rupt… ed…"
My heart skipped.
"What…?"
The boy stepped back.
The air shifted violently.
The ground split open beneath us—
A deep crack tearing across the arena floor.
Darkness leaked out from it.
Not the same darkness as before.
This one felt… alive.
Hungry.
The voice tried again—
"Un… aut… hori… zed… pre… sence…"
Then—
Silence.
Total.
The system… stopped.
The boy looked at me.
"This has never happened before."
A low sound rose from the crack.
Familiar.
My chest tightened.
"No…" I whispered.
Not again.
The darkness inside the crack twisted—
And something began to rise.
Slowly.
Piece by piece.
A shape formed.
Broken.
Distorted.
Wrong.
The same creature.
But not the same.
Bigger.
More unstable.
Its body flickered between forms, like it couldn't decide what it was supposed to be.
The hollow crack on its face stretched wider.
Deeper.
It wasn't just hunting anymore.
It was… evolving.
"An… om… a… ly…"
Its voice was clearer now.
Stronger.
Focused.
On me.
The boy's expression changed instantly.
"This isn't part of the trial."
The creature stepped forward.
The arena didn't react.
Didn't stop it.
Didn't control it.
That meant one thing.
"It's outside the system…" he said quietly.
A chill ran down my spine.
The creature tilted its head.
Then—
It lunged.
Not at him.
At me.
Too fast.
I couldn't react in time.
But—
Before it reached me—
Something stopped it.
The space between us distorted.
Like reality itself bent.
The creature froze mid-motion.
Struggling.
A familiar presence filled the arena.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"…so it found you again."
That voice.
Him.
The man from before.
He stepped out of the distortion.
Not appearing.
Not forming.
But entering.
Like he broke into the arena.
The boy beside me took a step back.
"You…" he muttered.
The man didn't look at him.
His eyes were fixed on the creature.
"This thing shouldn't exist here."
The creature twitched violently.
"Anomaly… mine…"
The man sighed.
"No."
The air around him shifted.
He raised his hand slightly.
And the pressure in the arena multiplied instantly.
The creature screamed.
Not like before.
This time—
It sounded real.
Painful.
Unstable.
The man stepped forward.
Calm.
Unhurried.
"You're breaking rules you don't understand."
In the next moment—
He moved.
Too fast to see.
The creature's body collapsed inward, like it was being crushed by invisible force.
It struggled.
Twisted.
Tried to escape.
But couldn't.
The darkness around it shattered.
Piece by piece.
Until—
It was gone.
Completely.
Silence fell.
But this silence felt different.
Heavier.
The arena slowly stabilized.
The cracks stopped spreading.
The voice returned—
This time, clear again.
"Trial… terminated."
My heart pounded.
Terminated?
The boy looked around.
"…this has never happened."
The man turned slightly.
His gaze landed on me.
Sharp.
Knowing.
"You attract problems," he said.
I swallowed.
"I didn't do anything."
"That's exactly the problem."
He stepped closer.
The pressure around him returned.
Controlled.
But overwhelming.
"You're not just inside the Arena, Anshu."
My chest tightened.
"Then what am I?"
For a moment—
He didn't answer.
Then—
"You're interfering with it."
The words felt heavier than anything before.
Before I could respond—
The space around him began to distort again.
Like he couldn't stay long.
He looked at me one last time.
"Next time," he said,
"I might not be there to stop it."
And just like before—
He disappeared.
Gone.
No trace.
The arena fell silent.
The boy exhaled slowly.
Then looked at me.
"This changes everything."
My mind was still racing.
"What… just happened?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then his gaze hardened.
"But I do know one thing."
I looked at him.
He said—
"You're not just trying to survive anymore."
A pause.
Then—
"You're becoming the center of something much bigger."
The voice echoed one last time.
"Trial incomplete."
"Result: Undetermined."
The arena faded.
And once again—
I was pulled into the unknown.