Three weeks later…
The arena bell rang.
DAN.
Two seconds later, it rang again.
DAN.
The crowd blinked. Those who leaned down to grab their drinks completely missed the fight.
At the center of the arena, the massive Steelback Gorilla, famous for its impenetrable skin, lay face down on the sand. It was not dead. But its arms were dislocated, its body completely paralyzed. Standing up was impossible.
The one standing over it was Hope. As always, he summoned his scythe and drove it into the Steelback Gorilla's chest. When he finished, he turned around but did not wave to the crowd, did not smile at the sun. He simply turned toward the stands, searched for Lypin’s usual seat, and quietly sighed.
“She didn’t come today either…” he murmured. “So it’s that bad.”
He looked at his hands. They were calloused from holding the scythe.
“Too slow,” he whispered. “This arena business has to end soon. I don’t know how much longer Lypin can endure.”
“THE WINNER! HOPE!”
The announcer’s voice was tired. Not because the fight was bad. But because the result was predictable now. There were no bets left to place. If one of the sides was Hope, then the winner of that fight was already known.
Hope walked toward the exit. He no longer walked like a prisoner. He walked as if this place belonged to him. As he passed, the guards stepped back. Even the other gladiators in the tunnel pressed themselves against the walls to make space for him. Deniz was waiting with a seawater flask.
“New record,” he said, checking the watch in his pocket. “Four seconds. You didn’t even use the scythe.”
“That was the fourth Gorilla,” Hope said while taking the water. “After watching the first one, its weak points were obvious. A top-heavy species. Victims of natural engineering. I said the same about the two-headed Ogre. How flawed the beings of the outside world are. It must be pitiful to live like that.”
“You do realize you’re terrifying, right? You’re even scarier than you were on the first day. I guess gaining fame in the arena has increased your ego. You’ve started looking down on those weaker than you,” Deniz said with a grin. But there was concern in his eyes. “By the way, just so you know, the barons are going crazy. You’ve ruined all the betting operations. The gambling economy is collapsing because of you.”
“Good,” said Hope. “If I stop being profitable, maybe they’ll release me.”
“Or…” Deniz lowered his voice, “they’ll eliminate you.”
Baron Vexor’s Private Chamber
Baron Vexor slammed his fist onto the mahogany table. Wine spilled over the kingdom’s most expensive map.
“He must die!” he roared. “Do you know how much gold I lost today? My new monster, Steelback, was neutralized within seconds! They’re no longer betting on whether he’ll win, but how many seconds it’ll take! It’s tarnishing my name!”
The other three Barons at the table sat in the shadows.
“We can’t kill him openly,” one hissed. “The people love him. ‘The Romantic Rebel.’ If we execute him, there will be a riot. And I don’t think the King would approve. The boy is an Architect. The King will want to play with him.”
“If we all unite, the King cannot raise his voice against us. And if you do not wish to stand against the King, then a small accident will occur,” Vexor said with a mocking smile. “Arenas are dangerous. Traps are plentiful. Weapons break. Floors… collapse. The Architect is inexperienced. He could fall victim to an accident at any moment.”
He pulled a small vial from his robe. Inside, a sickly green liquid glowed.
“A new poison. Extracted from Swamp Wyverns. A single drop locks the muscles. There is no escape from this toxin. No analysis for an Architect either. If exposed to this poison, you simply stand there and wait to be killed.”
“The opponent?” asked one of the Barons.
Vexor’s smile sharpened.
“Razor Mantis. One of my new products. Fast, hungry, and best of all—immune to poison.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The Next Day
The atmosphere of the arena was different. Heavier than usual. The crowd could feel it. Applause mixed with uneasy whispers. The sand had been renewed. But the pattern… was wrong.
Hope felt it the moment he stepped onto the field. The instant his boots touched the sand, vibrations climbed up his legs. Pressure plates beneath the sand. B-4, C-7, D-2.
Hope looked across. The gate opened. Razor Mantis slithered out. A biological nightmare of blades and chitin. Its jaws clicked, saliva dripping from its mouth.
“BEGIN!”
The Mantis attacked. It was a blur of green and steel. Hope did not move. He stood completely still on what appeared to be an ordinary mound of sand.
“What are you waiting for? Move!” Deniz shouted from the tunnel.
The Mantis leaped. Its scythe-like arms were ready to tear off Hope’s head. At that exact moment, Hope stomped his foot on the ground. Not onto a pressure plate, but onto the hidden hinge of the trapdoor beneath the sand.
[Structural Dismantling]
CLICK.
The hatch did not open. The overstretched spring mechanism snapped. The metal plate shot upward like a catapult.
BOOM!
It struck the airborne Mantis in its soft underside. The creature screamed as it was thrown aside. But Hope was not finished. He walked toward the area beneath the VIP lodge where the poison dispersers were located. He looked up. Vexor was watching with a grin. Hope smiled as well.
“Trying to cheat against me… is truly a big mistake.”
He placed his hands down and, accompanied by green lights, bent the poison sprayer inward. The gas did not spread into the arena. It was directed straight into the ventilation beneath the VIP boxes. A pale green mist began seeping from the grates in Vexor’s lodge.
Below, the Mantis was trying to stand. Hope walked to it. He did not use the scythe. He placed his hand on its armored shell.
“Your little bug plates,” he said calmly, “don’t look very sturdy. Let me fix them for you.”
CRACK.
He tore off the main armor plate like a lid. The Mantis curled in fear and retreated to the corner. Hope turned to the announcer.
“It retreated. Next.”
Above, Vexor clutched his throat. His face turned purple. Paralyzed by his own poison, he fell from his chair. Hope watched the chaos with cold eyes.
“Toxin successfully redirected. Efficiency: one hundred percent.”
That Night – The Cells
“You tried to kill a Baron,” Deniz whispered.
“No, I didn’t kill anyone today… I think,” Hope said, playing with a stone. “The Baron tried to poison me, and I redirected it back to him. What’s my fault here? It’s called self-defense.”
Deniz paused.
“Do you even know what self-defense means?”
“Yes, I do. Protecting oneself or another against an attack. I read it in a book.”
“You’re terrifying… but you’re right.”
“You don’t understand me, Deniz. Lypin is waiting,” Hope said seriously. “I promised her. Even though I don’t know her very well, there’s a strange bond between us. Like something magical. That’s why I need to help her.”
From the neighboring cell, NO9 spoke.
“Our escape plan ran into problems again. After Negra, security doubled. No matter how much we try, we can’t find a new solution.”
“Maybe the ground needs to shake like last time. Maybe then we can do something,” said Field.
“It will shake,” said Deniz. “Trust me.”
The Final Day
The sun did not rise. Storm clouds covered the sky. The arena was packed. The King was on the balcony. This time he would watch the match standing. The announcer’s voice trembled.
“CITIZENS! FOR WEEKS, ONE MAN HAS TURNED EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN! HE HAS DESTROYED ALL WHO STAND BEFORE HIM! AND TODAY—HE FACES TWO LEGENDS!”
The eastern gate opened. Not steam, but scorching heat spread out.
“THE HELL WORM! SCORCH!”
A giant man with coal-black skin stepped out. Magma flowed from the cracks in his body.
“AND FROM THE FROZEN PEAK OF THE NORTH! ZERO!”
The western gate opened. This time, the temperature dropped. A pale blue-skinned woman gliding on an ice disk.
“FIRE AND ICE! A DOUBLE LEGEND!”
The central gate creaked.
“AND AGAINST THEM… THE DUNGEON BOY! THE ROMANTIC REBEL! THE ONLY LIVING ARCHITECT… HOPE!”
Hope stepped out. On one side of him, a source of flame reaching thousands of degrees. On the other, a cold that brought glaciers here. Hope closed his eyes.
[Architect’s Sight: Active]
“Thermal variance detected.”
He smiled.
“Thermal Shock.”
Lava came from the left and ice from the right. Hope stood in the middle. He slammed his hands onto the ground.
[Ability: Structural Manipulation – Earth Wall]
Two ramps rose beneath his hands. The lava and ice attacks shot upward and collided above.
TISSSSS.
Slowly, after the rising steam, an explosion occurred.
BOOOOM!
Hope lunged forward. Through the steam, two green lights flashed… Hope’s determined eyes. He ran forward from the forming crater.
Scorch and Zero were trying to stand, injured from the explosion.
“Bad synergy! Lava and ice shouldn’t be side by side,” said Hope. “Did no one teach you thermodynamics?”
Hope raised his scythe. Scorch and Zero activated their abilities. Zero rapidly covered her body in ice. Scorch engulfed his hands in flames and prepared to attack Hope—
BOOM!
A crimson lightning bolt struck the arena. From the smoke, a being emerged—but it was not human. Nor was it a monster.
“Well, well, well… an Architect,” said the being. Its voice echoed throughout the arena.
Hope’s instincts screamed.
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY. LEVEL: ???. THREAT: ???.]
The moment Hope understood the magnitude of the danger, he looked toward the stands. Lypin was there, frightened. He quickly moved to Lypin’s side. The being laughed.
“An Architect trying to protect a Starfallen… What an entertaining sight.”
The King shouted, “Who are you?!”
“I am no one, Father Killer. And do not dare raise your voice at me again. I merely came to greet the Little Architect.”
The being scattered lightning around and looked at Hope.
“You’ve caught my interest, Architect. Grow stronger! The System will soon come for you… And do not forget the name Scorchbearer. One day, you may find me there.”
The being ignited itself and turned into a cloud of dust. It mixed with the wind and vanished.
Crimson flames had devastated the entire arena. Everyone in the kingdom was horrified. People were trying to flee in panic.
Hope turned to Lypin. She was trembling.
“Hope… What did he call me?”
Hope looked at her slowly.
“He called you Starfallen… But what does Starfallen mean?”
