Everyone was on the edge of their seats as they watched the flames rise. Tayo had his eyes glued to the screen as he watched the fight. His hands gripped his knees so hard that they began to dig into his skin.
Two figures flew out of the flames. One of them left a smoky trail as he drew an arc, while the other regained his balance in moments. His distinct red hair confirmed that he had won the confrontation. The crowd's thunderous roars echoed across the arena.
Tayo had no affiliation with any of them, so he and many people in the crowd were not swept away by the intensity of the roars just yet. He looked at the figure whose appearance had been blackened. The camera had panned away from the smoking Ikenna and was showing Kira celebrating with his arms raised.
The earplugs did their job well, because they cut out the noise, focusing Tayo's attention. He couldn't pull his gaze away from Ikenna's figure.
His mind was going through ridiculous conclusions as he examined the situation.
'Did he lose because I supported him?'
'Why did you have to infect someone else with your bad luck?'
'Stand up! Come on, standup!!'
His lips quivered as he mumbled his thoughts. Daniel turned to look at Tayo and was surprised by the look in his eyes. He paused for a moment before he suddenly shouted:
"Stand up!!!"
His singular voice was like a drop in the ocean, but it caused eyes to turn in their direction.
"You can't give up now… Standup!!!" he shouted again.
This time, his voice reached more of the arena. By this point, Tayo was looking at Daniel. He was surprised to find Daniel staring straight at him as the words turned into a chant.
"Standup! Standup!! Standup…"
It had started as one person supporting the chant, but it quickly turned into a rhythm that reverberated through the arena.
Looking at Daniel who continued to chant, Tayo felt like he was the target of the chant. Something deep inside him was screaming. He felt like freedom was just at the end of the tunnel. He could the words rising to his throat and as he opened his mouth to speak, the crowd went wild.
The two were startled by the sudden noise. They turned to see what caused it, and there, Ikenna stood, blackened from the flames, but his eyes seemed to be glowing. Kira's smirk had finally turned into a frown and his eyes showed his anger.
The scream he was about to make was caught in his throat. His shoulders unintentionally slumped as he glanced at Daniel. He found Daniel looking at him. The gaze felt like a weight he could not bear, so he turned back to the stage where Kira was attacking.
Kira thrust his hands outward, causing flames to ignite along his arms before spiraling upward and merging into a massive sphere of roaring flames above his head. The crowd gasped at the sight as some began to shout for Ikenna to evade or counterattack.
"This ends now!" Kira roared. With a guttural scream, he hurled the fireball toward Ikenna.
To the dismay of the crowd, Ikenna didn't run. Instead, he crouched, his muscles coiling like spring. He exhaled, releasing a puff of black smoke from his nostrils, then moved—no, exploded into motion. His body blurred as he charged directly toward the fireball, his fist glowing faintly and leaving a trail of light and smoke in his wake.
Then the speed blur, split into hundreds of mirages, smearing the stage with an eerie look. Around each mirage, the air shimmered with pockets of displaced air.
The fireball collided with the shadows and fractured like a glass ball. The pockets of displaced air acted like vacuums that sucked energy out of the flames, leaving its destructive force scattering into harmless embers.
This took barely a moment and Ikenna was on a mission. Kira's eyes widened as hundreds of mirages surrounded him. He would not be competing on this stage if a single failure was enough to break his spirit, so it wasn't surprising when the mirages backed off as flames poured out of a portal once more.
This time, however, the mirages only backed away from the initial tide. The first tide had bought enough time for Kira to turn his sword into a fiery instrument which he wielded once the mirages broke through the sea of flames.
Unlike the first encounter, Kira quickly turned into a ragdoll as hit after hit landed. The geysers of flames that made up his defense found no target and died off quickly.
The crowd had been cheering when they saw the fight return in full force, but the overpowering Ikenna made the arena fall silent as they watched the one-sided beatdown. The highspeed camera could not capture Ikenna's image, leaving Kira who was continually manhandled as the only reference they had for the fight's progress.
The sound of punches filled the arena in the silence as Kira became bloody. His nose had been broken, and blood covered half of his face, making it look like he let his hair fall over half of his face.
Then it ended. Kira knelt, his face and body broken from the attacks. Ikenna appeared out of thin air, his hand pulling Kira up by his hair as he looked up at a corner of the arena. The camera finally focused on Ikenna.
"This is why using void abilities in public is prohibited," Daniel muttered.
Tayo heard him and his mind went over the fight he just witnessed. From the sea of flames to the ludicrous speed that made a man vanish, these abilities were beyond the realm of humans and his expression darkened.
The arena's announcer bellowed through the speakers.
"And the winner is… Ikenna, the Striker!"
The crowd that had fallen into an eerie silence remembered their voices and the arena shook. The energy barriers dissipated, and medics rushed to the stage, tending to Kira first. Ikenna waved to the crowd, his movements stiff, showing the toll the fight had taken on him.
…
…
Later That Evening…
Back in his small apartment, Tayo sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes were glued to the wall but they were glazed over. It took him a moment to snap out of his reverie.
He clenched his fists, frustration bubbling to the surface. Why? Why had he wasted his chance to be a fighter?
He had come close to opening his mind. He had wanted to shout, to cheer himself when Daniel confronted him at the arena, but he had taken too long and lost the chance. The thought that he was stuck in this broken state forever made his heartache.
As he stared at the walls, a memory surfaced—faint and fragmented but unmistakable. He remembered the points of light, the overwhelming sense of insignificance he had felt that night, and amidst it all, a voice—deep and ancient, whispering words he couldn't understand.
The memory hit him like a bullet, sending a shiver down his spine. The room felt colder and shadows cast by the moonlight seemed to distort.
'Go to sleep'
The thought came out of nowhere, but it was compelling. What else was he meant to do? He had gotten his wish. The tickets had been expensive, but Daniel managed to get two anyway. Tomorrow, he promised himself, I'll start packing.
As he drifted into an uneasy sleep, the rays of moonlight appeared to wriggle, causing the shadows to distort even more.
Sound asleep, he did not see the points of light that appeared. They were like stars twinkling in the sky as they faded in and out of view. Outside, the city bustled with life.
…
…
Federal Republic of Nigeria, Grand Arena Headquarters…
Within the labyrinthine corridors of the Grand Arena Headquarters, a group of sharply dressed figures sat around a crescent-shaped table. The room's dim lighting accentuated the glow of the holographic projections above the table, where the aftermath of the recent fight replayed in slow motion. Ikenna's devastating final strike and Kira's crumpled form flickered repeatedly, magnified for analysis.
"Ikenna is now under evaluation," a woman in a sleek white uniform remarked. She swiped at the hologram, pulling up Ikenna's stats—combat performance, energy output, and physiological strain—overlaying them on the screen. "His void abilities exceed our predictive models. He was operating at nearly 180% of his estimated threshold during that final sequence."
A silver-haired man appeared as a holographic avatar at the head of the table. He was the only Caucasian present, his sharply tailored suit lending an air of authority. His image flickered as he spoke. "And Kira?"
"Kira's flames nearly compromised the barriers," another man chimed in. His uniform bore the insignia of the arena's technical division. "We had to raise the energy dampeners to 150% just to contain the fallout."
Another figure, an older man with silver streaks in his dark hair, leaned back in his chair. His expression was somewhere between amusement and admiration. "Unacceptable, yes. But spectacular. Audience engagement hit record highs. We've already seen a 40% increase in ticket sales for the next match. The people love chaos." He smirked, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the table.
"Chaos is a dangerous commodity," the silver-haired man interrupted. His voice, deep and resonant, demanded the room's attention. "And chaos without oversight can become uncontrollable. Ensure this remains an isolated event."
"Understood," the woman said, nodding curtly.
Another holographic image appeared beside the silver-haired man, this time displaying profiles of fighters—Kira, Ikenna, and several others queued for upcoming matches. Red markers highlighted anomalies in their data.
The room fell silent, save for the faint hum of the holograms as they waited for the silver-haired man to go through the data.
After a moment, the silver-haired man broke the tension. "For now, let the audience revel in their victory." He gestured at Ikenna's victorious image frozen mid-strike, fists glowing with residual energy. "Don't forget we are in this to make money," his tone alluding to more that remained unsaid.
His holographic form vanished with a faint hum, signaling the end of his directive. The remaining members exchanged glances, tension lingering in the air.