The roar of the crowd was a phantom wave, a sonic boom echoing from some unseen, distant arena, a sound that vibrated through Eddie’s chest despite its ethereal nature. He remained unmoved, his gaze fixed on the sleek, glass-encased box perched high above the stadium''s seemingly empty first row. Sunlight glinted off its polished surface. Beside him, Tilda remained silent, her own attention seemingly elsewhere. He knew the smaller, adjacent room; the commentators'' booth, usually buzzing with excited commentary, was eerily still. A knot tightened in his stomach. He raised his can of soda, the aluminum cool against his fingers, the faint hiss of escaping carbonation a counterpoint to the deafening, yet strangely distant, cheers. "Doesn''t it bother you," he murmured, his voice barely audible above the phantom din, "knowing we''re sharing this building with them… those psychopaths?" His gesture, a subtle flick of his wrist, indicated the glass-walled observation box where the founders watched, their faces obscured by the glare of the sun.


    Tilda’s eyes glazed over at Eddie’s words, a faraway look replacing her previous stillness. He was right. She had helped them once, a reluctant accomplice forced by circumstance. Innocent lives had been lost because of her inaction, the memory of those faces – the terror etched on their features as their life force was drained, their bodies reduced to ash – a searing brand on her soul. The panic she’d felt then, the helplessness… she felt no better than those psychopaths. If anything, she deserved… "I''m no different," she muttered, her voice a chilling whisper, snakelike in its coldness, a stark contrast to the sudden surge of excitement erupting from the crowd below. Eddie opened his mouth to reply, but the words died in his throat as a wave of fervent energy washed over them. A voice beside them shouted, cutting through the rising din, "There''s no way… he has to be a unique power-holder, right?"


    Tilda and Eddie’s attention snapped back to the screen, their breath catching in their throats. A colossal explosion, a blinding flash of orange and crimson followed by a searing inferno, ripped through the forest of the other dimension, the tournament’s unseen battleground. The air itself seemed to crackle with the raw energy of the blast. The inferno, clearly originating from Adam, consumed the trees in a chaotic ballet of fire, not a steady burn, but a surging, chaotic wave that tore through the landscape like monstrous ocean waves, each crest a wall of flame. Trees exploded into splinters and ash, the air thick with the smell of burning wood and ozone. The sheer pressure of the blast wasn''t just a push; it was a brutal, warping force that bent and twisted the remaining trees into grotesque shapes, their trunks compressed and blackened, reduced to crumbling ash as the fire swept over them.  The metal power-holder, whose name remains unknown, fought desperately to maintain their footing, their feet skidding back across the scorched earth, leaving trails of melted metal and sparking debris as the force of the explosion relentlessly pushed them back. They were a lone figure battling not just fire, but the very fabric of reality itself, seemingly being pushed back by the raw power of Adam''s blast. Iris, witnessing the approaching wave of fire – a maelstrom of heat and destruction – reacted instantly. Thick, green roots, thicker than a man''s torso, erupted from the ground beneath her feet with explosive force, growing with terrifying speed into a towering tree, its branches reaching out like grasping claws, one of its branches gently cradling the unconscious aqua power-holder, a small island of calm amidst the raging storm.


    With a practiced grace that belied the surrounding chaos, Iris leaped from the newly formed tree.  Reaching out, she extended thinner, more delicate vines towards the unconscious aqua power-holder. These quickly wrapped around the woman, gently pulling her close.  Simultaneously, thick, grass-like roots erupted from Iris''s shoulders, intertwining and expanding above her head. They rapidly knitted together to form a vast, thin, leafy canopy—a makeshift parachute—that caught the wind, its delicate structure surprisingly strong. She hovered above the burning forest, a tiny green island in a sea of fire, the thin canopy rippling like a flag in the wind. "Is he trying to kill us!?" she demanded, her voice sharp with shock and barely controlled fury.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    In the observation room, the founders watched the explosion on a massive screen, the inferno consuming the forest within the tournament dimension. "Isn''t that our last candidate this year?" Rune remarked, her voice casually dismissive. "He is," Mira replied, a note of suspicion coloring her tone. "The report said he was a superior power-holder," Michael stated, his voice calm and even, "but it seems they were mistaken." Marcus, usually unflappable, showed a flicker of surprise. "A mistake? We''ve never had mistakes before." Michael''s calm demeanor didn''t waver. "It''s fine; it will work in our favor. It simply means more for us to absorb. He barely compares to other unique power-holders; as you saw earlier, he was struggling with another unique power-holder. If he were a unique power-holder, they should have been more evenly matched." "Yeah, if anything, he''s an upper-grade superior," Marcus conceded. "Exactly," Michael finished.


    The fire emanating from Adam abruptly ceased. The colossal explosion had drawn the attention of everyone remaining on the battlefield. The forest was a wasteland, a scene of utter devastation. The ground was blackened and scorched, the trees reduced to ash. Only a barren, black landscape remained, smoke rising sluggishly into the air. Adam let out a long sigh, as if expelling air he hadn''t realized he was holding. His surprise was palpable when a red glow emerged from the smoke. It was the metal power-holder, his silver skin now burning a furious red, looking like freshly forged iron pulled from a furnace. Breathing heavily, he began to walk slowly forward. "You bastard," the metal man growled, his voice a low, guttural rumble that surprised Adam, as it was the first time he''d heard him speak. "You could have melted me!" With a roar, he launched himself at Adam, his fist radiating intense heat.


    Adam reacted instantly, crossing his arms to block the blow.  But before the impact could occur, a massive boulder, launched with terrifying speed and precision, slammed into the metal man''s shoulder, sending a deafening clang echoing across the desolate landscape.  The force of the blow sent him sprawling, his body tumbling end over end like a ragdoll before he finally impacted the ground with a heavy thud, lying still and unconscious a considerable distance away.


    Adam, momentarily stunned, turned to see the source of the attack.  An earth power-holder stood there, his hand now a grotesque parody of stone, veins of rock pulsing beneath a hardened, grey surface.  A chilling smile stretched across his face.  "No," he said, his voice low and menacing, "you''re mine."


    Just then, a drone, hovering silently overhead, emitted a synthesized voice: "Congratulations. You have passed the first stage of the tournament. All ten remaining candidates will proceed to the second stage."


    The Earth power-holder, a whirlwind of energy even in the aftermath of the destruction, bounced around playfully. "Oh man, can we still go?" he asked, clearly eager for another fight.


    Adam shook his head. "No," he said, his voice firm despite the exertion. "We''ll face each other in the next stage of the tournament."


    A hush fell over the battlefield, quickly replaced by a strange, unsettling silence. All the people present, not just the remaining contestants, began to vanish, their bodies glowing white before disappearing from the dimension. Adam was left utterly alone in the desolate landscape, the silence broken only by the faint crackling of the still-smoldering earth. He turned, his gaze sweeping across the ravaged forest. Then, he noticed it – the door he had used to enter the dimension, now open, beckoning him back. Standing calmly by the door was the woman he had seen earlier.