"Amaterasu will be the one in control and the punisher if any of us want to cheat, do you hear me, Leviathan?"
Lucifer started to announce the names, one after another, each echoing through the grand coliseum. "Anubis, Apollo, Loki..." The roll call of the gods went on until all twenty-two were named.
Each god found their card handed over by Lucifer himself, each image depicting a champion of their own choosing.
The cards shimmered in their palms, every line and curve of the champions brought to life with an ethereal glow.
"And so, the game will start in the year 2024," Lucifer declared, his voice reverberating against the coliseum's stone walls.
"With these words spoken, let us return to our respective realms and prepare for the epic performance that awaits us."
His commanding presence towered over the ethereal background of the coliseum as he vanished through a shimmering portal, leaving behind a palpable tension.
The gods followed suit, dissipating one by one.
Their forms flickered like mirages before disappearing entirely, leaving an eerie emptiness in their wake.
On Earth, the sun began to rise. People went about their mundane lives, blissfully unaware of the celestial stakes at play.
In London, an alarm clock pierced the silence of a modest apartment. With a groan, Anoris emerged from beneath a tangle of sheets.
His unremarkable appearance belied his extraordinary destiny – a guy with no muscles, just black hair and black circles around his eyes.
As he caught a glimpse of his disheveled reflection in the mirror, Anoris couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle.
"It... it was all a dream, just a silly nightmare," he muttered under his breath while running a hand through his hair.
Anoris sat at his small kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee as he scrolled through his news feed on his phone.
He had woken up early, still feeling the effects of the strange dream that had haunted him all night.
"It was ridiculous," he told himself. "I shouldn't play too many video games and drink at the same time."
But still, images from the dream lingered in his mind – bodies, pain, massacre, and regret.
Anoris shook his head and tried to focus on the mundane news headlines instead.
But his thoughts kept drifting back to the dream.
What if it wasn't just a dream? What if it was some kind of premonition?
Shaking off these thoughts, Anoris finished his coffee and got ready for university.
Navigating through the bustling streets of London, he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching him or following him.
He kept turning around, but there was never anyone there. Suddenly, a small hand grabbed his own.
"You didn't answer my call yesterday," a voice chimed in.
Anoris turned in surprise at the unexpected contact, and his eyes were met by a radiant smile that made his heart skip a beat.
Lara was standing there, her green eyes sparkling with life, her fiery red hair cascading around her shoulders like an unruly waterfall.
She starkly contrasted the morose and drab aura he had been carrying around all morning.
Anoris hesitated for a moment, both comforted and disoriented by her sudden appearance.
"You surprised me, Lara. I didn't know you were here," he said, trying to maintain his composure.
Lara giggled, her eyes dancing playfully.
"Well, it's not every day I get to surprise my beloved," she replied, wrapping her arms around him.
Anoris let out a deep sigh, feeling the weight of his dreams slowly dissipate.
"Are you going to leave for Norway this year, Lara?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry.
Lara's expression softened, and she pulled back from their embrace, her green eyes meeting his own.
"I have to, Anoris. My family is moving there, and I can't stay behind," she explained sadly.
Anoris felt a pang in his heart at the thought of losing her.
They had been together for three years, and he couldn't imagine his life without her by his side.
But he also knew that he couldn't hold her back from following her dreams and being with her family.
"I understand," he said quietly, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.
Lara reached up and cupped his cheek tenderly.
"I promise I'll call you every day, and we'll make it work. Our love is strong enough to survive long-distance," she reassured him with a smile.
Anoris nodded, trying to push away the doubts that crept into his mind about their future together.
He wanted to focus on making the most of their time now instead of worrying about what might happen in the future.
Together, they walked hand in hand towards campus, chatting animatedly about their classes and plans for the week.
As they reached Lara's classroom, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing behind its doors.
Anoris watched her go with a heavy heart before turning to head towards his own class.
But as he walked towards the building, something caught his eye – a figure standing in the shadows across from him.
It was just for a split second before disappearing completely, but Anoris could have sworn it was someone he recognized from his dream last night.
Shaken by this encounter, Anoris hurried away towards class as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
Entering his lecture hall, Anoris took his usual seat near the back, away from the instructor's scrutinizing gaze and the unending questions of eager front-row students.
The drowsy hum of the heater provided a comforting backdrop to the professor's monotone voice droning on about complex algorithms and numeric codes.
Anoris was typically a keen student, but today his mind was elsewhere, unfocused. Lara's departure, the shadowy figure, the eeriness of the encounter; it was all too much.
Suddenly he jolted awake from his spiraling thoughts.
The professor had asked him a question.
Caught off guard, he stumbled over his words and mumbled something incoherent, earning a few snickers from the classmates who usually paid him no mind. With a stern frown, the professor continued, leaving Anoris red-faced and more anxious than before.
His day passed in a blur as Anoris pushed himself to go through the motions.
The uneasiness from earlier continued to linger in the back of his mind, but he tried his best to push it away and focus on his studies.
When the last class ended, Anoris made his way back to his dorm room.
He was grateful for the solitude and silence within its walls, a stark contrast from the chaos and constant noise of campus life.
He collapsed onto his bed, letting out a deep sigh. It had only been one day since Lara left, and already he missed her terribly.
He reached for his phone, wanting to hear her voice just one more time before going to bed.
But as he scrolled through his contacts, he hesitated on one name: Aerowind.