Chapter 2 - Chapter 3: The Golden Gilded Cage

Kaito didn't wake up in a dungeon. He woke up in a room that smelled of jasmine and ozone.The ceiling was a single, massive sapphire that projected a live feed of the Imperial Capital's skyline. Outside, thousands of flying chariots buzzed between the Jade Pillars like angry hornets. Kaito sat up. He was no longer in his tattered laborer's clothes. He wore a sleek, high-collared black silk tunic with reinforced charcoal-grey plating—the uniform of a Royal Gladiator. His crimson scarf, cleaned and pressed, sat on a nearby obsidian table."You're finally awake," a voice drawled from the balcony. Kaito didn't reach for his sword. He didn't have one. Instead, he shifted his weight to his toes, ready to launch a Zero-Pulse through the floorboards. Standing on the balcony was a woman with hair like spun silver and eyes that glowed with a faint, electrical blue. She wore the white-and-gold armor of the Cloud-Walker Clan. This was Lady Vex, the 2nd Champion of the Universal Tournament." Don't bother," Vex said, sensing Kaito's tension. "The floor is made of Spirit-Suppressing Jade. Even a god couldn't throw a spark in here.""I don't use sparks," Kaito said, his voice raspy but cold. Vex turned, her eyes narrowing. She walked toward him, her movements light, as if she were barely touching the ground. "I saw the recording of your fight in the slums. You broke Ryuji's arm without a single drop of Spirit-Ink. The High Priests are calling you a demon. The Emperor calls you a 'Curiosity'. And what do you call me?" Vex stopped an inch from him. She was taller than him, smelling of ozone and expensive perfume. I call you a Sacrifice. Do you know what happens to the winner of the Universal Tournament? They get a wish," Kaito replied, recalling the propaganda.Vex laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. They get their blood drained. The 'Sun-King' hasn't had a natural heartbeat in three hundred years. He survives on the refined spirit-essence of the Champions. Every fifty years, he holds this circus to find the purest 'Ink' to drink."Kaito looked at her. He didn't see a champion; he saw a prisoner in a gold-plated cage. Her left shoulder is stiff, he noted. Too much air-density training. She's suffocating her own muscle tissue."He wants my 'Zero-Soul'," Kaito said. "But there's no essence to drink. I'm empty.""That's why you're dangerous," Vex whispered. "An empty vessel can be used to hold the God-Virus. He doesn't want to drink you, Kaito. He wants to wear you."Before Kaito could respond, the sapphire ceiling turned blood-red. A horn blast echoed through the room, vibrating Kaito's very marrow. The floor beneath Kaito suddenly vanished. He didn't scream. He didn't flail. He entered the Absolute Zero state, slowing his perception of time. As he plummeted toward the dark, obsidian maze miles below the palace, he saw four other streaks of light falling with him. The other Champions."Rin," Kaito whispered into the wind, hoping his Echo-friend could hear his resonance. "Stay hidden. I'm going to break the harvest."The Labyrinth Floor Kaito landed with a silent thud in a corridor of black glass. The walls were forty feet high and hummed with a low, predatory energy. He wasn't alone. Emerging from the shadows of the first turn was a creature that shouldn't exist. It had the torso of a man, but its arms were massive, serrated bone-blades, and its skin flickered in and out of transparency. The Chimera roared, its voice a discordant mash of two different vocal cords. It lunged, its ghost-half allowing it to phase through a solid obsidian pillar to strike Kaito from behind. Kaito didn't turn around.Three... two... one. He ducked. The bone-blade passed through the space where his head had been. Kaito reached back, grabbing the Chimera's "ghost" arm.[Technique: Kinetic Anchor]By vibrating his own cells at the exact frequency of the Ghost Ninja's phase-shift, Kaito made the "untouchable" arm solid. He twisted. SNAP. The Chimera shrieked as its own physical weight tore its shoulder apart. Kaito didn't stop. He delivered a Zero-Pulse palm strike directly into the creature's chest. The vibration bypassed the bone-armor, liquefying the Chimera's internal organs instantly.As the creature dissolved into grey ash, a small, glowing purple crystal remained on the floor. Kaito picked it up. Kaito looked at the crystal. He could feel the raw, chaotic power inside. If he destroyed it, he stayed "Pure." If he assimilated it... he could use the enemy's power against them.