The Stellate Vortex

"Kieth hasn't come back..."

"Just eat your food, Akane."

Akane set down her spoon. "Sorry... it was my fault. If I hadn't asked them for help, maybe—"

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"It is... if only I could fight."

"Don't think too hard over it," Rita snapped.

"Kieth is going. What makes you think he can win? You heard the others! There was no way Kieth would have won had he faced Haliberd head-on. He won because of a sneak attack. He will die next, all because—"

"AKANE!" Rita snapped. "What are you talking about? I told you, even Kieth and Vasil told you it isn't your fau—"

"IT IS MY FAULT, RITA!" Akane slammed the table. "EACH TIME, I AM THE ONE WHO CAUSED TROUBLE! I SAW HIM! I SAW VASIL! HE WAS IN PAIN! AND NOW KIETH WILL ALSO BE IN THE SAME SITUATION, MAYBE EVEN DIE!" Akane exclaimed, panting while crying.

Rita looked surprised at her outburst.

"Yeah... you're right. He can die—most likely. But why do you think he is fighting? It's to help us. Kieth didn't need to interrupt Vasil's fight, yet he did.

"And let's be real, Akane. The strongest among us here is him."

Rita hugged the weeping Akane, embracing her.

...

Kieth was sitting in the coliseum, observing every single opponent that came out. It had been half a day, yet not a single ability user had appeared.

"Haaaahhhh," he sighed. "I'll just go get some food. This is tiresome."

He got up and went to the medical ward, sitting next to Vasil, who was still asleep. Taking an apple, he began to cut it.

"This is annoying. You know I have to fight an ability user, but I can't tell who," Kieth muttered, looking at Vasil and hoping he'd wake up. But Vasil remained motionless.

Kieth ate alone in silence.

In the distance, he could hear cheering—it was his turn to fight. As he walked into the ring, he noticed the ground was muddy, with water pooling across the arena.

"Hm? What's this?" He looked around, confused, until he heard the announcer.

"HEY, HEY, HEY! IT'S ME, YOUR HOST YET AGAIN, JERMAA!"

"Shitty bastard," Kieth muttered. "Did he have to yell like that?"

"TODAY'S MATCH WAS PERSONALLY DECIDED BY THE LORDS, SO EXPECT SOMETHING GOOD! OUR FIGHTER HERE KILLED HALIBERD—EVEN IF IT WAS A SNEAK ATTACK!"

Kieth clenched his jaw. Did he have to add the last part?

"AND THE ONE FACING HIM IS NONE OTHER THAN LADY USHIII CHANGGGG!

"FOLKS, GET READY! WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE HOW A MAN DEFENDS AGAINST ABILITIES THAT GO AGAINST THE WORLD!"

A slender lady entered the arena. She looked quite fashionable, even though normal clothes were hard to come by. She didn't seem to remove her spectacles either.

Kieth blinked, his frustration momentarily faltering.

"Wow... cute."

She gave him a hateful look, her piercing gaze cutting through him like a knife.

Her eyes hurt me But whatever.

He took out a metal rod, tossing it on the ground. The rod instantly morphed into a lance, popping back into his hands as he pointed it at her.

"Hey, just so you know, you can surrender. Wouldn't wanna fight a cute girl," he smirked, his voice dripping with mockery.

Her expression twisted into irritation, her features sharp with disdain. She reminded him of Rita.

"Yes, of course," she said, smiling faintly. Her annoyance seeped into her tone. "But I can't say the same for you."

Her eyes flicked up and down his face. "You look quite ugly, actually. Matter of fact, you look as if a caveman drew your face."

Kieth's smirk vanished.

...Nevermind. I'll beat this bitch to death

He dashed forward with incredible speed but slipped, falling face-first into the muddy ground. The crowd erupted into laughter.

"Stupid fucking ground," he grumbled, pushing himself up. "Why is it wet, anyway?"

He stood and noticed her smirking, her gaze full of condescension.

"I guess I'll stop wasting my time, boy," she said casually, walking toward him.

Kieth narrowed his eyes. He planted the lance in the ground and flung a chunk of mud at her.

She caught it effortlessly, but the moment it touched her hand, the mud solidified and fell to the ground like a rock.

What...? Kieth stared at the solidified mud, confusion etched on his face. It was wet when I threw it. Now it looks rock solid.

To confirm, he threw another handful. The same thing happened.

"Hey, lady," he asked, warily. "Mind telling me your ability?"

"No."

"Well..." He grabbed the lance and hurled it at her with all his strength, like a javelin.

But it never reached her. The lance fell sideways before it could even connect.

"You never really learned how to use it, did you?" she mocked, her voice laced with amusement.

"Nope," Kieth admitted. "They gave it to me to equalize the fact you're an ability user."

"Too bad." She crouched down and touched the ground.

The water splashed against her hand first, spreading under her touch.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kieth said, stepping forward—only to find he couldn't move.

Looking down, he saw that the water had solidified around his shoes, trapping him in place.

Freezing? he thought, confused. But the ground wasn't cold or slippery. What the hell...

Suddenly, she lunged at him. Kieth fell back, trying to dodge, but his legs were stuck.

Cursing under his breath, he quickly removed his shoes and darted to retrieve the lance.

His feet hit the solidified ground. It's not ice, but what is it?

He twisted his body, swinging the lance with all his strength at her. She closed the distance quickly, but avoided the strike with ease.

"You sure are struggling," she taunted.

"Of course," he grumbled. If she touches me, I'm done for.

"Look," he said, desperation creeping into his voice. "I really don't want to fight, but I need to get out of here. So please, just let me win."

"No can do. I want to become the Lord."

"Well... can't you just kill a Lord to prove you're strong?"

Her eyes narrowed sharply, her irritation flaring into rage. "Are you mocking me?"

"What? No, I'm n—"

"You fucking bitch! I'll kill you!" she screamed, lunging at him with renewed fury.

"Wait, no—!" Kieth raised his lance just in time to block her attack.

Woman... fucking unreasonable, he threw her off balance and striking her on the head with the lance.

But she grabbed it with her bare hand, her grip like steel. In one swift motion, she snatched it from him and swung it back, striking his head with the blunt end.

Kieth staggered back, his vision swimming. He touched his temple and saw blood on his fingers.

Lucky... he whispered, shaking off the dizziness.

She smirked at the sight of his blood. With a twisted grin, she touched the bloodstained lance, solidifying it completely. Before Kieth could react, she hurled it at him with incredible force.

The lance tore through his leg, sending him crashing to his knees. Blood soaked his pants as he panted heavily, clutching his thigh.

"You're weak," she said, towering over him. Her sadistic smile widened as she leaned closer. "It excites me..."

Her voice turned low and dangerous. "I'll be killing you—for mocking me."

She yanked the lance from his thigh, eliciting a scream of pure agony from Kieth. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he doubled over, clutching his leg.

Without hesitation, she raised the lance high above her head, aiming to end it. But as the weapon descended, Kieth jerked his head aside. The lance pierced his left shoulder instead.

The pain barely registered before he delivered a fierce uppercut with his right hand, striking her square on the jaw. Her body went limp as she collapsed to the ground. Kieth stumbled backward and fell, gasping for air.

"Fuck... that was close," he muttered, his voice weak but steady. "It isn't hurting that much... for some reason."

"AND LADY USHIII CHANG HAS FAINTED! KIETH VITUS IS THE FIRST TO WIN A ROUND AGAINST AN ABILITY USER!"

The crowd erupted in wild cheers as medics rushed in. They carried Ushi away and carefully pulled the lance from Kieth's shoulder before placing him on a stretcher.

As they carried him through the corridors, he noticed Sen standing nearby, smiling faintly.

"Leave Kieth," Sen instructed the medics. "Just go get Oman."

The medics hesitated before setting Kieth down and hurrying off. Despite the blood and exhaustion, Kieth stood up, wobbling slightly.

"Make it fast," Kieth grumbled, glaring at Sen.

"Well, no thanks?" Sen said, raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell do you mean?"

"I made the ground wet for you," Sen replied with a sly grin.

"Is that your help?"

"Isn't it? It helped you figure out her ability."

Kieth groaned. Sly bastard."Yeah, I guess it did. But still—an ability user? Seriously? Why?"

"It was the other lords' way of penalizing you, i mean you did kill haliberd when it wasn't your match" Sen said simply.

A tall man entered the room, his arms spread wide as he greeted them "What's up?"

"Oman, treat him," Sen instructed.

The man crouched beside Kieth and tapped his body seven times in quick succession.

Kieth stared at his wounds in disbelief. The bleeding stopped, and the gashes began to close up.

"Wow, that's... better," Kieth admitted, flexing his arm cautiously.

Oman smiled. "It is. But I suggest you rest after this—you're running on adrenaline. The pain will hit later."

"Will do," Kieth said with a faint nod.

"Oman, you can leave," Sen said.

Oman hesitated for a moment, glancing nervously at Sen, before bowing slightly and leaving the room.

Sen turned to Kieth with a casual grin. "Well then, as you won, I'll send you to Makar if you win the next match, too."

Kieth narrowed his eyes. "Hey... tell me. What is this place?"

Sen raised an eyebrow. "I told you—it's the colle—"

"Not that, dammit," Kieth interrupted, his voice sharp. "I mean this world. Where the fuck are we? You came here before most of us. At least do some explaining."

Sen smirked, leaning against the wall. "Sure, why not? I'm free anyway.

"As you've probably heard, everyone here is dead. This cave system stretches as far as you can walk. I don't know how it originated, but there are a lot of places like this—and like Makar."

"How do you know about Makar anyways?" Kieth asked, his curiosity piqued.

Sen chuckled lightly. "Oh... Sofia. She used to be a lord here."

Kieth's eyes widened slightly. He had expected something like that.

"A close friend of mine," Sen continued, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "I was quite sad when she left."

"Why did she leave?"

"She didn't like all this fighting. She wanted to build a safe haven. And guess what happened to it?"

"It's gone? Run by thugs?" Kieth guessed.

Sen sighed, nodding. "Exactly."

"Then how do we get out now?"

"Oh, you wanted to leave through Makar?" Sen said, raising an eyebrow. "You can leave through here, too."

"And will you let me?" Kieth's voice was tense, his eyes locked on Sen.

"Not yet," Sen replied with a sly smile.

"Don't worry, Kieth. You're a good person, trying to help others. Of course, you'll be safe outside."

Kieth scowled. "How do you know? Everyone who goes out never returns."

Sen laughed, his tone light but unnerving. "Ah, of course they don't return. There isn't any monster or anything outside. It's a normal world."

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Of course, no one wants to come back to this wretched place."

Kieth felt a chill run down his spine. "Except some, huh?" he said, glaring at Sen.

Sen's smile widened, unsettling Kieth further.

"Of course... it's a lot more fun down here. Watching people fight—some kill, some don't—it's funny, actually."

His voice turned darker. "Even the most cold-hearted people can spare a life, and the kindest ones can kill.

It's all perspective. They all think what they're doing is right.

And you're no different, Kieth. You've killed, and you've spared."

Kieth clenched his fists, his stomach turning.

"That's why I like it here," Sen continued, his tone unnervingly casual. "I spent my whole life isolated from the rest of the world. No human interaction except for my parents."

"Why?" Kieth asked, his voice quieter now.

Sen shrugged. "I don't know. I died at 17 and have been here for about ten years now. Most likely because I rebelled for the first time. Tried to leave... and my parents killed me."

The room fell silent, Sen's words hanging in the air.

"But of course, none of that matters now," Sen said with a dismissive wave. "You can head to the medical ward for some rest. I'll give you the details about your last fight later. Rest until then."

Without waiting for a response, Sen turned on his heel and began walking away, his steps echoing faintly.

Kieth stood there for a moment, staring after him. Sadistic bastard... I'll go rest I think the pain is catching up.

He made his way to the medical ward in silence, his footsteps heavy and his mind racing.

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