Yuna stood beside Tamashi as he sat upon his throne. Ygdran stood on his other side. Before them were all the other children… there were only thirty left who hadn't come of age to become fully fledged Yin.
Once you turn sixteen, Tamashi forces you to take part in a fight to the death with any other children of your age. The last child, or sometimes children, standing are the ones who get to live on, becoming by demons that serve under Tamashi directly.
And today, her brother, Edric, was one of those kids. His sixteenth birthday was two weeks before, and now, Tamashi was gathering his contestants.
Yuna was still only thirteen years of age, and in the seven years she had been in purgatory, she had seen many die. She had become numb to it, but now that it was her brother who was put on that pedestal, being forced to balance atop it as it rocked to and fro unsteadily, she felt anxiety rise in her chest in a knot. It was a feeling she had all but forgotten.
Yuna's eyes met with her brother's. He gave no hint of fear or worry, he only nodded at her, as if to say "it will be alright, Yuna." As he always did.
Tanner stood beside Edric, staring at his feet. It seemed he didn't want Edric to go into this death match either. Tanner was fourteen years old, one year above Yuna. She tried to imagine the day that he fought in the death match… she couldn't see him coming out on top. He was weak and fearful.. she had the feeling he would be one of the ones who died first.
But her brother, she felt confident that he could be victorious. He was strong, stronger than most of the children his age, although, there was one who she had to worry about.
There was another boy Edric's age who had become an Oni with the ability to control lightning. His speed and power were frightening.. she felt that he'd be the greatest threat to Edric.
"Greetings, and welcome, children. On this day, we have gathered to celebrate! One of you will show your true worth and come out on top, being the strongest among your brethren! So, I expect a good show. Show me what you are worth, and if I deem you strong enough, I will grant you passage whether you are the last survivor or not." Tamashi stood, clapping his hands.
All the younger kids vacated the area and went up the steps to the top of the wall around the arena. Six kids were left, her brother, Vetle, the thunder oni, and four others. Yuna clenched her fists. She wanted to go down there and kill then all herself, to save her dear brother from the pain and keep him safe. But she knew she couldn't.
"Well?" Tamashi said, sitting back down. "Get on with it."
One of the children hunched forward, strings shooting out from her body as spectral puppets formed around her, their limbs taking the form of a plethora of weapons. The girl swung the strings forward, throwing her puppet at Vetle.
Vetle's eyes gave off a golden light as electricity arced around his body and his horns turned gold. He instantly flashed out of sight with a burst of gold light, leaving the ground scorched where he had stood, the sand turning to black glass.
He instantly reappeared behind the girl, his hand swiping across her neck from behind her, her head being completely severed from her neck as her magic faded and she fell dead.
Edric leaned forward, black scales forming across his arms and dragonic wings sprouting from his back. His two scaled horns began to flicker as they became engulfed in black flames and his eyes turned crimson red. Talons grew from his hands and his fangs became larger.
Yuna's brother also had a unique ability. He was a dragon, though, he could not fully transform yet. But the half-dragon state was plenty strong in of its own right.
Edric stomped the earth, chunks of the ground exploding upwards and knocking two children into the air. Edric flew up towards them, reaching the first and tearing out their throat, his talons digging into their flesh before he drenched them out. Blood and flesh burst from the other boy's neck, drenching Edric in red as he jumped over to the other child.
The other boy was helpless against Edric's attack. He attempted using his own powers, flames spraying through the air, but Edric simply bulldozed through them and slammed into the boy, crashing him to the ground and crushing his head beneath his talons, he boy's skull collapsing in on itself.
Edric stood from his kill, blood dripping from his claws as he turned to face the last remaining foes. Only Vetle and one other boy were left. The third boy's body had changed, his back becoming hunched and a snout growing from his mouth. He had become a werewolf, a coat of thick white fur flowing around his body.
Both Edric and Vetle moved at the same time, dashing at the werewolf boy. Edric's talons cut cleanly across the boy's throat, spraying blood through the air, as Vetle's fist exploded into his head, the lightning completely decimating it, blood and bone spraying across the sand.
The werewolf's body dropped to the ground, twitching.
Edric leapt away from Vetle, wary of his last opponent.
"I've gotta say, you are the one I was most uncertain about facing." Vetle spoke, his voice cool and condescending. "That dragon form is quite a force to be reckoned with."
Edric hunched forward, black flames engulfing his arms and horns. He bared his pointed teeth as his crimson eyes bored down on Vetle.
"I can't afford to die here, I'm sorry, Vetle, but I just can't." Edric growled.
Vetle looked over at Yuna.
"I understand. But neither can I." He raised his hand, electricity bursting from his fingers. "Looks like we will just have to go all out, then."
Bolts of lighting flew from Vetle's hands, crashing into Edric, who threw up his arms to block them. He skidded backwards from the force, but for the most part he was unscathed, smoke rolling up from his scales.
Vetle disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing above Edric, bringing his heel down on Yuna's brother. Edric spun, catching Vetle's heel, the force of the low causing Edric's knees to buckle as a depression formed in the ground below his feet.
Edric let out a roar of rage, pushing Vetle back as electricity burst from between them, the black flames and golden lightning clashing in a brilliant show of destruction that ripped the earth apart. Vetle flashed out of sight again, reappearing behind Edric, who quickly spun, blocking a punch that sent lighting flashing through the air. Then Edric clasped onto Vetle's wrist and pulled him to the side before his fist crashed into the oni's face, a shockwave blasting outwards before Vetle was sent crashing into the wall.
Edric stood there, panting as smoke rolled upwards from his body. He now assumed he'd won, but then Vetle got to his feet.