Chapter 35: Shadows in the Arena
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The Feeling of Being Hunted
Axel leaned against the cold stone wall of the Helix Coliseum’s underground corridors, his mind a storm of thoughts.
The cheers from the last match still echoed above, but down here?
Silence.
The air was thick, charged with something unseen.
He could feel it.
Something was wrong.
Tempo sat on a nearby bench, absently tuning his guitar-axe, his tail flicking. “You’ve got that look again.”
Axel didn’t answer.
Because for the last few hours, he’d felt it.
Not just the usual tournament nerves.
Not just the weight of his upcoming battle.
But something else.
Something watching.
Waiting.
The kind of feeling that burrowed under your skin, coiling tight around your spine like a whispered warning from the abyss.
Tempo’s golden eyes flickered up. He could sense it too.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Something’s off.”
Axel exhaled. "And I don''t think it''s just the tournament."
Because when he glanced toward the end of the dimly lit corridor—
He wasn’t alone.
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A Presence in the Dark
A figure leaned against the far wall, half-hidden in the shadows.
Tall. Still.
Draped in a black and crimson cloak, the emblem of an unknown academy stitched into the fabric.
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Axel’s instincts flared.
Whoever this was…
They weren’t a regular fighter.
Tempo shifted, fingers resting lightly on his strings. “Friend of yours?”
Axel didn’t answer.
The figure moved.
Slow. Measured.
Then—a voice.
Low. Unnaturally smooth.
“Axel Mercer.”
Axel tensed.
Because that voice wasn’t just saying his name.
It was testing it.
Like it was being weighed. Evaluated. Judged.
Axel narrowed his eyes. “Who’s asking?”
A pause.
Then—a smile.
The figure stepped forward, their face finally catching the dim blue glow of the corridor lights.
Sharp features. Piercing silver eyes.
And beneath their hood, something was off—a presence too calm, too knowing.
“I am someone,” the stranger said, “who has been waiting for you.”
<hr>
The Weight of the Unknown
Axel didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
His pulse was steady—but forced.
Because this wasn’t just some tournament rival.
This was something else.
Tempo muttered, “This guy gives me the creeps.”
Axel agreed.
The stranger tilted their head. “You’ve been evolving faster than expected.”
Axel’s jaw tightened.
There it was again.
That word.
Evolving.
First Jace. Then Valeria. Then the files in the archives.
And now—this.
Axel forced a smirk. “Yeah? Well, I drink my protein shakes.”
The stranger didn’t laugh.
Didn’t react at all.
They just… watched.
Then—
A soft chuckle.
“You don’t know, do you?”
Axel’s fingers curled into fists. “Know what?”
The stranger’s silver eyes gleamed.
“That you were never supposed to exist.”
<hr>
A Warning from the Past
The air froze.
Axel didn’t even feel Tempo shift beside him. Didn’t hear the distant cheers from the arena above.
Because in that moment—everything narrowed.
“You’re messing with the wrong guy,” Axel said, voice steady.
The stranger smirked. “Am I?”
Their cloak shifted, revealing something underneath.
A symbol.
The same crimson mark Axel had seen in the glitched files.
The one that O.R.I.O.N. had hesitated to explain.
The one tied to the fighters who had disappeared before him.
Axel’s breath slowed.
“Who are you?” he asked again, his voice quieter this time.
The stranger stepped back into the shadows.
And with an almost amused smile, they whispered—
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Then—they were gone.
Vanished into the dark, like they had never been there.
But the air?
Still tainted.
The weight of their presence lingering.
Tempo let out a slow exhale. “Alright. So that was terrifying.”
Axel didn’t respond.
Because he was still staring at the empty hallway.
At the place where the stranger had stood.
At the mark that shouldn’t have existed.
And in his mind?
A single thought pulsed, deep and dark.
Who the hell am I really fighting for?