Escape From The Arena

Aria was dead. So, what were they supposed to do now? One of the three possible escape methods—developing Aria and sending her back in time—was now off the table.

Only two options remained: steal one of the four portable monoliths in the hands of the wendigos, or pass through one of the three zones in the southern Frozen Hollows, traveling through the Undergarden to reach Humanity. These were their only choices now.

It was hard to believe a time traveler had truly died, but they had no option but to accept it.

Null also claimed he'd return someday—but who could really know?

Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't, but for now, what was certain was that he had died.

After crying in her dreams at night, Yuel realized she could cry in real life too. After all, she couldn't speak without her staff, so maybe her emotions could still be expressed without it. And she was right. She should've done this yesterday—damn it.

Over the past two days, Yuel noticed something… Was Onur acting strangely?

He'd cried a lot the night of Aria's battle, but after the duel the next day, he hadn't cried at all. He just sat silently in despair. His clothes were in tatters—Onur always cared about his appearance, but maybe when you're fighting Titans face-to-face, fashion takes a backseat.

Still, something about Onur's behavior felt off to Yuel. They were just one day away from escape—once the arena match ended tomorrow, they could ride the cult's crystallized mammoth and flee.

Why sit there looking so defeated in a time like this? Maybe Yuel was overthinking it, but shouldn't Onur be more hopeful?

Yuel wanted to talk to Onur inside the mindscape. He was already asleep, so once she slept too, they could meet.

Yuel drifted into sleep. When she awoke, she was in the black void of the mindscape.

But in front of her...

It wasn't Onur.

It was Shiro.

"Shiro? What are you doing here? I called Onur, not you. But more importantly—where have you been?"

Shiro stood there with grey hair and grey eyes—something was strange about this, but Yuel didn't immediately notice. His clothes were torn up like Onur's.

Then Shiro stood up, and suddenly lunged at Yuel. He rained fists down on her. After the third punch, Yuel managed to deactivate her trait and escaped the dream realm.

What the hell had just happened? Why did Shiro attack her? And those punches… they were way too strong. It didn't make sense for a boy like him to hit that hard. And more importantly—why was Shiro there? She had summoned Onur!

"Yuel, quickly crouch down and merge yourself with the floor."

'Wait, I'm in the middle of something impo—'

"Just do it!"

Yuel did as Null told her—hiding in a corner, pressing herself against the ground. Why would he ask for this?

'Can you explain now? What's going on?'

"You idiot. We couldn't save your second friend either."

'Wait... you mean Shiro died? I just saw him in the dream world! I think you're mistaken—'

"Not Shiro. Onur died. Didn't you see Shiro's eyes? There was no 'Hex' in them. They weren't glowing purple. That means Shiro reached the fifth stage, but we don't know what his bloodline ability is. And right now, he's your enemy. Think—why would Shiro show up when you summoned Onur? Because that wasn't Onur!"

"I don't know why he's hostile, but since we know he still has the Hex ability, we can't risk being seen by him. He can only Hex things he sees."

'But… he could Hex abstract concepts too, remember?'

"Sure, but that takes a ton of mana. You probably forgot because of the panic, but last time, Shiro used Aria's staff to draw mana when he did that. Right now, he doesn't have a staff like that—so he probably can't."

'But he's in Onur's body—maybe Onur's inventory—'

"We have to hope that he doesn't. He probably planned to Hex you right before you summoned him to the dream realm. That's why his cover was blown. Now, if he sees you again, he'll try it. We can't risk that—who knows what kind of insane Hex he'll use?"

'Null, wait. Forget all that for a second. Are you saying… Onur's really dead?'

"Yes. I told you—he's dead."

Yuel cried again. Her voice made no sound. She remained crouched, pressed into the wooden floor of the cage.

Her cage hung from the ceiling, suspended by a chain. Onur—no, Shiro—was in one of the many cages below. That meant Yuel needed to stay as hidden as possible in the center, out of his line of sight.

"I get that you're sad, Yuel. But we have to plan. We can't escape while Shiro's here. He needs to be gone. Tomorrow, during the arena battle, when he's taken out, that's our chance. We were originally going to flee during the night, but now it's way too risky."

Somehow, Shiro had taken over Onur's body. Yuel didn't know how or why—but she suspected Shiro had gained some kind of body-swapping ability upon reaching the fifth stage.

That night, she thought about it more. The arena was the perfect place to level up. There were only a few competitors left, and sooner or later, she'd have to face Shiro. And now that he saw her as an enemy…

In a one-on-one battle, one of them would die—and it would probably be Yuel, according to Null.

So she couldn't use the arena to ascend. But Shiro could—and he would. He'd keep winning, reaching the next village, then the next. Once the Titans and Dhune of the arena weren't enough, he'd escape.

His plan was predictable. Yuel, on the other hand, would escape before winning—disqualifying herself and vanishing for good. Shiro wouldn't chase her right away; he wouldn't give up the arena's opportunities. But once he was strong enough—he'd come after her.

Why were they fighting, though? Yuel wasn't sure. Maybe Shiro wanted to stay hidden, and if Yuel returned to Humanity, she'd have to reveal the truth—Aria and Onur's deaths, the secrets of the Verdant Requiem, the seventh-level Titan...

Wait. Maybe Shiro wanted to live as Onur again—as the prince. If so, Yuel was the only thing in his way.

Yes. Now it all made sense.

He'd kill Titans with bloodlines similar to his own, climb the ladder, and eventually hunt Yuel down. But even now, he might want to eliminate her—and that's why she had to stay low, hiding in the center of her cage.

That night, Yuel curled up tightly, barely managing to sleep. It was easily the most uncomfortable sleeping position imaginable.

The next morning, the cult finally reached 102 members, and enough money had been gathered. They were probably arranging a deal for a crystallized mammoth by now.

Yuel waited in her cell. A few more hours passed, and finally, it was time for the matches. On the final day, there would be two battles with four participants each—eight total. That meant the day before had 32 people, and the day before that, 128. Today, 32 fights would be held.

As each wendigo entered the building to collect a fighter, Yuel used her Fracture bloodline to peek through their vision and check—was it Shiro they were taking?

Finally, luck was on her side. Shiro was taken before her—and they weren't in the same match. This was her chance.

She summoned nearby cult members with a signal to come rescue her.

Inside her cage, Yuel summoned her spear. White flames surged across it. She plunged the spear into the cage door with all her strength—nothing. Of course not. These cages were made to hold stage 4 Titans. Her spear came from a stage 4 Titan too—it wasn't enough.

But... the cages weren't made to withstand soul fire.

The soul fire flowed from her spear and spread. Yuel dumped all her mana—her own and her staff's—into fanning the flames. Eventually, the cage began to burn. It was magical wood, sure, but it was still wood. The "soul-destroying" property worked on magic too. And fire, naturally, burned wood.

The wood had durability between stage 4 and 5. But Yuel pushed past that limit—barely. She only maintained the fire's strongest form for two seconds. But that was enough.

She kicked the door with all her might—it burst open. Only then did the guards notice the escape. Yuel had fled, but her mana was nearly depleted.

She used her last trick.

A blinding flash burst from her fingertips, dazzling the guards. It only lasted one second—but disoriented them for five.

When she reached the gate, a rescue group was waiting. Four cultists atop a crystalline white bear.

Yuel climbed onto the six-meter beast. It dashed away, heading toward the waiting crystallized mammoth where the rest of the cult was gathered.

Crystallized bears were much cheaper than mammoths, but even those were beyond the cult's budget. So how did they get one?

Some cult members had personal crystallized bears—used by wendigos as wagons. These members donated their bears. So now, they had one mammoth and three bears.

Wendigo architecture was primitive. Most buildings were made with hides, fur, or scales. Roofs were often fur.

Despite its savagery, Yuel liked the design. Maybe one day, if she built a home, she'd hire a wendigo architect.

From now on, the cult would be enemies of all wendigos. They couldn't visit villages anymore.

She wondered... What would it be like to lead a cult?

And that wasn't all. The Undergarden was, as the name suggested, a garden. It housed countless plants—many of which could be brewed into potions or tea. Potions weren't really her thing, but teas and cooking? That she could do. Few had ever traveled to Frozen Hollows, meaning she could sell these plants for a fortune in Verdant Requiem. Wealth could be the first step toward a peaceful life—and that sounded promising.

Then there was the Watcher's book… She hadn't had time to read it in her cell, but she would soon...

"Achoo... ugh."

Had it gotten colder recently? It wasn't this freezing when they first arrived. The Endless Winter was catching up. The wendigos would need to leave soon.

And not just the wendigos—Yuel and her cult were leaving too. Just like at the start of everything, she was alone again. Sure, there was a cult with her—but not a single friend. They were all gone...

A tear fell from Yuel's eye.

She would have her revenge on Shiro too. He had to be the one who killed Onur—and now, he was trying to replace him.

Yuel boarded the crystallized mammoth and began her journey. It was bound to be full of beauty—Undergarden's landscapes had always been breathtaking.