THE GRIM END OF AN ERA

The crowd was on their feet. The most awaited match-up that had eluded them thrice in the season was finally before them.

"Majinma, support the captain! I'll buy us some time!" Lidar said. "Madd, entertain their tank for me!"

Madd stopped retreating and turned back to face Cold Oven. Meanwhile, Majinma increased his speed to support their two range units against PEN1.

Lidar dashed back to WisDoom's team. "That Samurai holds the stones. I must stop him!" he said to himself.

Cold Oven read Lidar's intent. He did not mind Madd and rushed to block Lidar's path. "You shall not pass!"

Lidar did not mind Cold Oven. He continued to rush while Osho cast the golden stone. "Titan's Will!" A purple silhouette of a giant with gauntlets and a great sword floated above him.

With a sweep of his greatsword, Lidar sent Cold Oven flying to the sideline. It was then that cannonballs flew past him. Misfortune finally had a free hand with Majinma's help.

"I'm tired of losing to this dwarf!" Red Hot Chili Pepper said. Lidar was just a few steps away from her. She planted her staff on the earth and the three mini-meteorites on it glowed. "Apocalypse!"

The first mini-meteorite increased in size and intensity and shot towards Lidar. And the other two followed suit towards Misfortune's area, swallowing the cannonballs on their wake.

But Lidar was still unmoved. With a downward slash, he sliced the meteorite into two.

"Osho! Quick!" Red Hot Chili Pepper knew her limitation against melees, especially the caliber of Lidar. Meanwhile, two massive explosions bombarded Misfortune's area.

PEN1 reappeared behind Lidar, barely escaping the burst attack from his ally. "Bloodfeast!" The pair of daggers in his hands turned crimson, and his character's arms bulged with strength. But with just one swing of Lidar's greatsword, he too was sent crashing to the side.

"I'll face him! Pepper, Pen, Oven, the three of you focus on the other four." Osho had to cancel the resurrection stone. He then unsheathed his katana from its saya.

"Wrath of the Seven Seas and Storms!" Blue clouds and waves rushed out of Osho's blade and formed a giant figure of a samurai's upper body with a tengu mask.

Pepper moved away from Lidar, who dashed straight to attack Osho. She then coordinated to support Cold Oven against Madd, and PEN1 against Misfortune and MidKing who had just recovered from her sneak attack.

"There's no need to back off anymore. We'll end this here!" Lidar said. His greatsword reverberated while he and Osho fought each other. The apparitions above them also clashed—the Samurai versus the Titan.

"PEN1, coordinate with Osho. He needs to summon Delubio first! Pepper and Oven, hold the other four for now!" Aildrin said through their team chat. Lidar's new skills caught them off guard.

"Fire Golem!" Pepper started the change in strategy. The three mini-meteorites reappeared around her staff. But they immediately shot out towards Cold Oven. They melded and covered Oven's body with magma. No one could get close to him unless they're willing to take true damage per second, which Madd happily complied with just to keep him busy.

Meanwhile, the creeps served as cannon fodders in the middle lane. The exchanges of AOE skills between the two teams quickly eliminated them.

With no one to check on them, Misfortune and MidKing bombarded Red Hot Chili Pepper with their attacks.

Meanwhile, PEN1 entered stealth mode, and so did Majinma.

"Midnight Phantom!" It was PEN1's new skill that lasted for five seconds. The map turned dark, and Titans' visibility was nigh impossible. Osho released his katana to summon Delubio.

Five seconds passed. When Lidar's vision reappeared, his blade was against a giant figure with arms made of magma and ice. Electricity crackled around its golem-like body, and its head was a gathering of thunderclouds—Delubio!

Osho did not dare to waste time. It took the four of them a while to subdue Delubio, so Lidar would surely be occupied, but he did not underestimate him. He immediately started the resurrection of his captain.

Lidar's hands were full. Delubio pushed him back with its every attack despite his Titan's Will.

PEN1 returned to hunt MidKing, Cold Oven and Madd enjoyed pounding at each other's pride, and Red Hot Chili Pepper had the time of her life tormenting Misfortune. It was then that a golden light surrounded Lonestar's body.

"Lonestar is back!" Lark said. "Ladies and gentlemen, the clash we've been all waiting for! A full-blown five versus five! Finally!"

"I'm out of words, Lark. This battle between their team is breathtaking! It would have been a tooth for a tooth if not for Delubio's presence on the other side! Now, the favor is leaning fast towards WisDoom!" Ringo said.

Everyone inside WisDoom's booth was grinning. They have pulled off Aildrin's crazy plan for their Third Championship. Now, all they had to do was to see it through until the end.

Titans respected their enemies by not retreating, despite the looming disadvantage.

They still have a plan. Majinma was just waiting for the opportune time.

Once resurrected using Delubio's Obsidian Heart, the player will only have forty percent of his total health back. But with the map's big boss help, the missing sixty percent was well taken care of by the beast that brought calamity in its wake.

But it was then that the necklace throbbed faster than the thrill within Aildrin's heart. His world stopped, and so did his character.

Osho already rushed out to settle his score against Lidar and to bully him together with Delubio. But Lonestar remained still on the battlefield. And it was then that Majinma rushed into action like a lion about to devour a helpless doe.

"What the—" Osho said in person when Aildrin stood up from his seat. The predicament tore his attention into two—the battle or his best friend? "Where are you going?"

"I need to get out of here. I need to find mom and dad!" Aildrin said. Horror and tears filled his eyes.

However, for security, the booth was locked from the outside. The nearby audience noticed, and so did the casters.

"Oh, no. What's this?" Ringo gasped. The camera zoomed on WisDoom's booth.

Aildrin screamed and pounded on the glass door. "Get me out of here! Now!" By then, the players of WisDoom had already stopped moving in the map to calm their captain, and only Delubio wreaked havoc.

Lidar was the first to notice as Lonestar dropped dead again after a quick combo from Majinma. However, he did not mind the anomaly. He attacked with no mercy. And so did his teammates. Only when he glanced on the other side of their booth did he realize why WisDoom stopped moving, and as respect so did he.

Security personnel rushed towards WisDoom's booth. They had ended the match after three of WisDoom's unmoving characters died.

Murmurs filled the entire stadium.

"Hey, buddy. Calm down. Calm down. I'm here. What happened? Tell me." Osho did not mind the finals anymore. Before him, his best friend was on a breakdown, and it was worse than losing.

"Osho. Get me out of here. I need to find mom and dad. They're not on their seats!" Aildrin said.

"Alright, we'll sort this out. We'll get out of here. We'll find your mom and dad. Let's go," Osho said. The other three members followed when the security personnel ushered them out.

A "boo" passed through from the crowd, but it quickly silenced itself.

"What happened here?" A girl in a green shirt and denim pants came rushing from the left entrance. It was WisDoom's team manager, Sophia Hestias.

Aildrin could not be bothered. He rushed out as soon as the security personnel opened the booth. Osho ran after him while the three remained and talked to Sophia about what happened.

After a few minutes of discussion, Ringo finally spoke out. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great sadness that we announce the death of Aildrin Gentrix's parents. Mister Adil Gentrix and his beloved wife, Misses Irn Gentrix, died in a car accident just awhile ago while on their way here."

The crowd gasped. Phones flashed as their users browsed the web for news.

"As much as we wanted the match to continue, it has to be stopped due to this grim incident. We therefore officially declare Titans as the victor for Battle Arena's Third Annual Championship!" Lark said.

The fans clapped. It was meek and out of respect for the loss of WisDoom.

Mister Yonco whispered to both Lark and Ringo. After a few nods, he then took the microphone.

"We assure everyone that Yoshimitzu Corporation will do its best to take care of the Gentrixes. Mister Adil Gentrix has been an outstanding employee of our company."

The crowd clapped. Some even stood with admiration for Mister Yonco's kind gesture.

Mister Yonco continued. "The purpose why I'm here tonight is to award the victors...and also to personally announce the end of Battle Arena."

The crowd gasped. Murmurs once again filled the stadium.

"Yes, it must end so that a new world could start. Ladies and gentlemen, the first-ever Virtual World!"

Drums rolled, and a preview of Yoshimitzu's new game flashed on the screens.

The promise of a new adventure caught everyone in a trance. And the recent incident suddenly turned bleak—nothing compared to the bright future.

Mister Yonco grinned, satisfied with the crowd's reaction. "The new era of Esports is here! Welcome to the World of Wargrounds!"