As these things happened in Nannu, in the Duchy, everyone prepared to enter Hwin's clandestine arena. Nightfall was approaching and, while Arphaxad and Aiya departed for the slave warehouse, the others made their way to the indicated location. Upon arriving, they realized it was an underground entrance and many heavily armed guards watched the door. "We must be doubly careful now," Yorin whispered.
Meglin, posing as a slave trader, noticed the guards easily let everyone pass. "They told me this arena was highly restricted, I don't see any impediment here," Aura whispered to Adonis. They continued down a long path adorned with stones. Some torches lit the area, which continued down a long path.
"This is very strange, I don't see people here," Kal whispered to Yorin. They descended down a long path until they reached a large bronze and polished iron door, with guards around it.
"I am Halit, slave trader of Bahamut, and I have come to bring my slaves to participate in the arena. Make way!" said Meglin. Upon hearing the name Halit, the guards immediately opened the large doors so that all could pass.
After everyone passed, the guards outside quickly closed the doors, locking them. "They locked the door, predictable," Adonis whispered.
"Yes, and I can sense magic too," responded Sahara. Inside that hall, they realized it was actually the arena itself, but none of them showed surprise, already imagining this could be a trap.
"Well, we were right. Now we must follow the plan!" Yorin whispered. Then all the lights turned on, revealing a small audience. They were corrupt nobles and slave traders from all over the world who were in Zoarlath that day. They laughed and shouted, this was actually a grotesque show set up.
In the center of the arena, a tall and imposing man dominated the space with his presence. "Welcome, illustrious guests, to the spectacle of this night!" His voice echoed through the hall as the audience applauded and shouted in excitement.
Kal looked around, quickly assessing the environment and possible exits. "We are in a trap," he whispered to Yorin. "We must stay alert and ready for anything."
The man raised his hands, calming the crowd. "Today, we will have a special, different competition! Our new participants will be put to the test in a way they have never seen before. Let the games begin!"
"For many years, we have put slaves against various challenges, but today we will put royal blood. And so, today we will have a very special challenge for all of you!" said the man. Hearing this, they were certain of what they had already suspected: their true identities had already been revealed. Quickly, Adonis, Aura and Sahara broke the fake chains they wore and prepared for battle.
Adonis conjured his magic, "2nd Circle Arcane Magic: Ethereal Bag" which was a magic that opened an ethereal fissure, allowing the conjurer to store a certain amount of items. From his ethereal bag, Adonis withdrew weapons for everyone, and they equipped themselves and took positions. At this moment, the man continued announcing: "Tonight we will have a great feast full of blood and entrails, and all thanks to our benefactor, the master of gold, the lord of artifacts, Hwin the Golden!" he said, turning upward, where presumably all the Fingers were, including Hwin. The audience of nobles, mercenaries and slave traders screamed and howled in a macabre ecstasy.
Suddenly, from above, a voice emerged: "Welcome, Lords and Ladies!" Hearing the voice, everyone in the arena shouted in unison: "Hwin... Hwin!!" making it very clear whose voice it belonged to. Even though he had heard Hwin's voice before, Yorin noticed it was a little different, hoarser and raspier, but he was certain it was Hwin's voice. "Our guests have come from the far reaches of our country to the capital just to meet me, as I also wanted very much to meet them. And what better way to bring this wonderful encounter before the eyes of all of you!" said Hwin, making the audience scream even more enthusiastically.
"They thought they were hidden in Zoarlath, but we have been watching them since the beginning. And for those of you who don't know who they are, they are Seeds of the ancient Kings Arkon!" When Hwin said this, the entire audience fell silent for a few seconds and then began howling, screaming for Hwin to kill them all. Down below, Aura got scared and started trembling. Even having seen all that with Hwin at Hadon's house, this was new to her: seeing all those faces drooling and screaming in a trance of madness and bloodlust.
However, her brother Adonis approached her and held her hand. "I told you, sister, do not fear. We are all together." Aura looked at Adonis, who had a calm smile. For a moment, she felt the warmth of her brother's hand, the same warmth she felt when he touched her when they took her mother away. Then she lifted her face and saw everyone in front of her prepared and brave, with the goal of saving Draka and Ninea and freeing the slaves from the hands of those evil men.
Adonis, still holding Aura's hand, turned to the group. "We trained for this. We knew we would face this battle. No matter what happens, we will fight to the end."
After Hwin said his opening words, the announcer spoke again. "They all expect to meet Master Hwin personally. However, it is not just arrive and talk to the arena master. First, they will have to prove they are worthy, and what better way than for the first part of the show, they face the great Thalarax." After the announcer finished speaking, he quickly left the arena through a small door as a large gate in front opened.
Inside it was dark and a very strong smell of rot came from within. Yorin took the front and said, "You know what to do!" They all merely nodded positively, as if already expecting something. At that moment, the audience screamed and stomped their feet on the ground, calling "Thalarax." From inside the gate, a wyvern emerged with brutality and force. The wyvern writhed as if stretching itself and, flapping its wings, flew all over the arena, clawing at the edges, which were reflected by some type of magic. Adonis deduced it was the same magic he had felt before.
Thalarax was a blue wyvern with the lower belly area a light beige tone. Pudin, who remained on Kal's shoulder, said he felt in that wyvern the same spiritual sensation he had felt in Nia the puppy's iron collar.
"Thalarax is still new in this arena but has already killed several competitors. She is fierce and very dangerous. They say she has a strong connection to the spiritual, so let's see how our guests fare against our little wyvern!" announced the man. The creature seemed enraged and suffering, desperately attacking the magical barrier surrounding the arena and turning to them, descending in a fierce and fast charge.
They all dodged and moved away. However, Sahara was paralyzed, petrified looking at that wyvern. Before the creature could harm Sahara, Markel, using his immense strength, swiftly jumped forward, grabbing Sahara and removing her from Thalarax's claws. Adonis shouted: "What happened, Sahara? We already knew they would send this wyvern, you cannot let your guard down!"
Sahara, still perplexed, began to stammer and, with tears in her eyes, said: "She is..." Before she spoke further, Adonis commanded that everyone gather behind him, as he was going to conjure a powerful magic to bring down the wyvern and finish it once and for all.
Everyone went into position behind Adonis, except Kal, who, realizing Sahara's despair and putting together what Pudin said, lifted Sahara and shouted, "Stop, Adonis!"
Adonis, concentrating his mana, asked, "Have you gone mad, Kal? Why should I stop?"
Sahara, rising from the ground with tears in her eyes, walked towards the wyvern, which seemed to feel a terrible pain that made it so angry. She turned to Adonis and the others while Thalarax charged her again and said, "She is not Thalarax, she is Nia! Our Nia!"
Thalarax strongly hit Sahara who flew far with the powerful blow of the wyvern, raising the audience who continued shouting and stomping their feet on the floor. Adonis shouted, "Damn it, break formation, let's help Sahara before that animal attacks her again." Markel enraged at seeing Sahara attacked that way jumped on the wyvern and hit her throwing her far away. That move intrigued and worried the audience.
"She was by your side, why didn't you help her?" Yorin asked Kal.
Aura gave Sahara a healing potion while Thalarax rose again. Adonis again commands that everyone take positions, but still very hurt, Sahara rose again and again walked toward the wyvern. Markel tried to hold her back, but was prevented by Kal. He tried to remove Kal's hand, but realized he had a serious look. "If she dies, it will be your responsibility!" Markel said.
Sahara approached Thalarax while she was still recovering from Markel's blow, and as she was about to take flight again, Sahara approached with her right hand extended and with her bloodied belly due to the wyvern's claw wounds. This time Kal accompanied her. "Nia!" said Sahara.
The wyvern paused momentarily, rage in her eyes giving way to a flash of recognition. Wounded Sahara continued walking slowly, her voice trembling but determined. "Nia, it's me, Sahara. Do you remember me? Do you remember us?"
Kal firmly held his sword ready to protect Sahara if needed, but trusted there was something deeper they could reach. Pudin on Kal's shoulder began to emit a slight glow, feeling the spiritual connection with the wyvern.
The audience, noticing the change in mood, began to murmur in confusion. Hwin, observing from above, seemed intrigued and slightly irritated by the deviation from the expected blood spectacle.
"Continue, Sahara," encouraged Kal. "She may hear us."
Sahara, now a few steps from the wyvern, hand extended said, "Nia, we are here. We are together again. Remember who you are. Remember us. We are not here to fight you."
Nia, or Thalarax, hesitated. Her eyes softened momentarily, but soon the pain made her roar and writhe again, violently flapping her wings. Sahara, however, maintained her position, her hand still extended, tears running down her face.
"Please, Nia, come back to us" implored Sahara.
Adonis, realizing the connection Sahara was trying to establish, relaxed his concentration on the magic. "If she's really Nia, we need to help free her."
Adonis observed the scene and decided to change their plan, beginning to mutter a chant to soothe the spiritual pain Nia was feeling. Adonis' healing magic enveloped the arena in a soft, comforting light that seemed to calm the wyvern's fury.
Thalarax stopped writhing, her eyes fixed on Sahara. Silence fell over the arena, tension in the air. Sahara took another step forward, her voice now firm. "Nia, we love you. This is not who you are, you are our little dog, return to us. We need you."
Sahara then lifted the iron collar she carried with her and seeing it, the wyvern seemed to recognize the artifact and with light returning to her eyes, she lowered her head. Finally, the wyvern had lowered her head, a sound of lament escaping her throat. Sahara approached and gently touched her head. "It's okay, Nia. We're here."
The audience watched in silence, surprised by the unexpected change. Hwin, from above, watched with narrowed eyes but did not interfere, curious to see how far this connection could go.
With Sahara's touch and Adonis' healing magic, Nia began to transform. The wyvern form slowly dissipated, revealing the small puppy they all knew and loved. Sahara held her in her arms, tears of relief running down her face.
"We saved the first," whispered Kal, observing the scene with a smile.
Adonis, now standing, looked to the audience and then to where Hwin would be. "You thought you could defeat us, but our connection is stronger than any magic or force. We are here to free our friends and end this tyranny."
The audience was divided between cries of rage and murmurs of surprise. From above, Hwin's voice was calm as he said, "You think this changes anything? The battle has only just begun."
But in that moment, the group knew they had taken an important step. They had shown their connection was unbreakable and that they were willing to fight together until the end, no matter the challenges that arose.
With Nia rescued and safe, they prepared for the next step, knowing the true battle against Hwin and the Fingers had only just begun.