The sound of drums echoed through the massive arena, their thunderous rhythm reverberating off the stone walls. Thousands of voices roared in unison, chanting, laughing, and cheering as the energy of the crowd surged like a living beast. At the center of it all stood a raised platform—a pit carved from the ground, its edges lined with jagged spikes. The air was thick with tension and the scent of sweat and dirt.
Atop a wooden stage overlooking the pit, a man clad in flamboyant red robes held a horn-like device to his lips. His voice boomed across the arena, silencing the restless crowd.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" he bellowed, his voice dripping with theatrics. "Are you ready for the next match?"
The crowd erupted, fists pumping into the air, their chants growing louder.
"I give you the terror of the pit, the legend of this blood-soaked arena… FACEEEEELESS!"
The ground seemed to tremble as a towering figure emerged from the shadows of a tunnel. Faceless was a hulking man, his face obscured by a crude iron mask with slits for eyes and a wide, toothy grin painted in red across its surface. His bare chest was covered in scars, his muscles rippling as he raised a massive spiked club high above his head. The crowd roared in approval, chanting his name like a battle hymn:
"FACELESS! FACELESS! FACELESS!"
Faceless sauntered into the pit, the spikes of his club dragging across the stone floor with a piercing screech. Despite the chaos around him, he wore an air of calm arrogance, nodding to the crowd as if basking in their adoration.
The flamboyant narrator looked down at the paper in his hand, squinting at the unfamiliar name written there. He raised an eyebrow, then let out a laugh. "And his opponent…" he said, his tone dripping with mockery. "Well, it seems we have a newcomer! A nobody!"
The crowd erupted into laughter, jeering as they waited for the name.
"From who-knows-where, we have… JIIIIIIIN!"
The jeers turned to faint murmurs as Jin stepped out from the opposite tunnel, his footsteps steady but unhurried. The dim light caught the edge of his blade, which hung at his side, and his expression was calm and focused.
Behind him, Seiji leaned against the wall of the tunnel entrance, his arms crossed. "Good luck," he said simply.
Rebekah, standing beside him, grabbed Jin's arm as he passed. "If it gets too much, surrender," she said urgently. "There's no shame in it. Just don't—"
Jin cut her off with a small, confident smile. "I'm not here to surrender," he said. "I'm here to win."
Rebekah sighed, watching helplessly as Jin walked into the pit, the noise of the crowd swallowing him whole.
Jin stepped into the pit, the dirt crunching beneath his boots. Across from him, Faceless grinned behind his mask, twirling his massive club like it weighed nothing. The narrator raised his horn again, his voice cutting through the noise.
"The rules are simple!" he declared, his voice full of exaggerated cheer. "There are no rules!"
The crowd roared in approval, stomping their feet as the tension thickened.
Faceless pointed his club at Jin, his voice low and gravelly as it echoed through the slits in his mask. "I'll make this quick, boy," he said. "You're not worth my time."
Jin didn't respond. He simply drew his blade, the faint metallic ring cutting through the noise. His stance was steady, his eyes locked onto his opponent as the crowd chanted for blood.
The narrator stepped back, his voice booming one last time: "BEGIN!"
The Fight Begins________
The moment the word "BEGIN!" echoed through the arena, the ground beneath Jin's feet cracked with a deafening rumble. Sand began to seep out, swirling and thickening unnaturally as if it were alive. The grains merged together, forming massive tendrils that hurled toward Jin like crushing waves.
Jin's eyes widened for a split second before his instincts took over. He slid back once, twice, thrice, his boots skidding against the dirt as he narrowly avoided the first wave of sand. The crowd roared in anticipation as Faceless raised his arms, controlling the sand with terrifying precision.
"Run, little rat," Faceless taunted, his voice gravelly and distorted through the iron mask. "You'll only make this more fun."
Jin leaped upward, using the momentum of his slide to launch himself high into the air. He twisted midair, gripping his blade tightly as he aimed to strike Faceless from above. The crowd gasped, their cheers turning to hushed anticipation.
But before Jin could descend, a storm of sand erupted like a geyser, surging toward him with blinding speed. The sand coiled around him midair, twisting like a massive serpent before slamming him into the ground with brutal force.
The pit fell silent for a moment as Jin's body lay crumpled in the dirt, blood pooling beneath him. The crowd erupted into cheers, chanting Faceless's name with feverish glee.
"FACELESS! FACELESS! FACELESS!"
Faceless stood tall, his arms outstretched in victory as the sand receded back into the ground. "Pathetic," he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
But something was wrong.
Faceless's smile faltered as he looked down at the blood-soaked ground. The cheers of the crowd seemed to grow distant, their voices muffled like a fading echo. He blinked, confusion flickering in his eyes.
Then it hit him—this wasn't real.
The Illusion Shatters
The vision of victory shattered like glass, and reality came rushing back. Jin was alive, rushing toward Faceless with lightning speed, his blade already in motion. Faceless barely had time to react, jerking his head back just as Jin's blade slashed through the iron mask.
A thin line of blood appeared on Faceless's face, just below his left eye. His expression twisted in a mix of shock and fury as he stumbled back, raising a hand to touch the cut.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, stunned by the sudden turn of events. Then, like a spark igniting a fire, they erupted into deafening cheers.
"JIN! JIN! JIN!"
Jin stood a few paces away, his blade steady and his breathing controlled. His eyes locked onto Faceless with a quiet intensity, showing no sign of fear. The faint glimmer of his psychic ability faded from his gaze as he prepared for the next attack.
Faceless lowered his hand, his teeth grinding audibly behind the mask. The calm arrogance he'd exuded earlier was gone, replaced by pure, unfiltered rage.
"This is going to be fun," Jin said quietly, his lips curving into a faint smirk.