Chapter 19: Flames Unbound
The arena lay shattered in the dim evening light, the last echoes of the Death Round clinging to the walls like smoke. Blood soaked the sands, and the crowd once a roaring beast had fallen into an uneasy murmur, as if unsure whether what they had witnessed was triumph or tragedy.
Orgar stood motionless, his chest heaving. Beside him, Gorgar wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand, leaving streaks of crimson across his jawline. Their opponents lay strewn across the field, broken and battered. Victory should have tasted sweet.
It didn't.
Somewhere deep inside, a different fire had been lit one that no simple victory could quench.
The Zone
Zone. Flow. Abyss.
Athletes across history had spoken of it in hushed tones: that moment when time slowed, the body acted faster than thought, the mind expanded beyond its normal limits.
Sports psychologists had long tried to measure it.
Experiments showed athletes, when pushed past limits under extreme stress, entered a state of hyper-efficiency, where even cognitive functions accelerated up to 120% output of regular brain capacity.
Reaction times shortened. Awareness heightened. Fear dissolved.
The players called it different things.
In Skullball, the name had evolved naturally:
The Abyss.
It wasn't taught.
It wasn't trained.
It awoke only in those who truly needed it.
And for the twins, that moment had finally come.
Awakening of the Flames
Orgar's knees nearly buckled, but he refused to fall. His entire body ached from exhaustion, his lungs clawing at the air like drowning men. Yet somewhere behind the fatigue, behind the trembling, a new sensation flickered to life.
Not strength.
Not adrenaline.
Flame.
It started small, a spark in the depths of his soul, whispering promises he barely understood.
"Fight not for survival, but for supremacy."
"Conquer not your enemies, but your own weakness."
Beside him, Gorgar's breathing deepened, his battered body beginning to straighten as if lifted by some unseen hand. The air around him shimmered with heat.
Their eyes met and for the first time, they saw it.
The same fire.
Twins in blood. Twins in war. Twins in flame.
"Winning is everything."
The words echoed in their minds.
But now they felt the true meaning. Winning wasn't just the goal.
It was the proof.
Proof that they existed.
Proof that they mattered.
[Psychological Term: Self-Actualization]
In human psychology, it is the pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy: the fulfillment of one's true potential.
Athletes who reached this state weren't just playing the game.
They became the game.
The twins had unknowingly climbed the ladder.
Now, they stood at its peak staring into the Abyss, unafraid.
Their Flames exploded outward, invisible but tangible, a violent aura of pure will.
The crowd gasped not because they understood, but because they felt it.
Evolution had happened before their eyes.
The Birth of Ego
As the twins burned brighter, another phenomenon took shape inside them.
Not teamwork.
Not brotherhood.
Ego.
In the world of Skullball, there was no mercy for the weak.
To carve your name into legend, you needed more than skill.
You needed selfishness.
Will.
Malice.
Ego.
"If the world burns to ashes, so be it as long as I remain standing."
Ego was the crystallization of all desires, ambitions, rage, and dreams into a single unstoppable force.
It was not evil.
It was pure.
[Psychological Concept: "Ego Inflation"]
In Jungian psychology, an "inflated ego" is when a person's self importance and selfreliance expand beyond normal bounds. Dangerous but necessary for greatness.
The twins didn't fear inflation.
They embraced it.
Gorgar bared his teeth in a feral grin.
Orgar's eyes sharpened into points of light.
The Flames around them compressed, became sharper, until it seemed they might slice the very air.
Twin Flames. Twin Egos.
Formation of the Seven Aby Players
From the ruins of the Death Round, new figures emerged.
Seven champions each carrying the embodiment of one of the ancient vices:
Pride: The one who believed he was untouchable.
Envy: The one who thirsted for what others had.
Wrath: The one who fought not to win, but to destroy.
Sloth: The one who moved slow but struck with devastating certainty.
Greed: The one who desired victory at any cost.
Gluttony: The one who consumed every opponent's spirit.
Lust: The one who craved the thrill of competition itself.
Each had survived the Death Round by awakening their own perverse Flames and now, they stood as rivals, kings in their own right.
The true battle had yet to begin.
Scientific Note: Brain Acceleration under Stress
Modern sports science had long recorded that under extreme physical duress, an athlete's brain could temporarily "unlock" unused synapses, allowing for faster reaction speeds, greater memory recall, and even enhanced spatial perception.
This "hyperstate" was rare, dangerous, and unsustainable.
In Skullball, it was the Abyss.
In Skullball, it was the price of immortality.
And the twins had just bought their tickets.
The Flames Within
As twilight deepened over the arena, Orgar and Gorgar didn't exchange words.
Words were unnecessary.
Their Flames roared inside their chests, blending thought, instinct, and emotion into one seamless, raging storm.
They weren't afraid of the Seven Deadly Players.
They weren't afraid of death.
In this moment, there was only one truth:
Win. Or burn trying.
MVP Segment
MVP: Orgar
"When you stare into the Abyss long enough… you realize the Abyss doesn't stare back. It bows.
This world doesn't hand victory to those who deserve it. It gives it to those who take it.
Fear, pain, weakness they are real. But they are nothing against a will set on fire.
I do not fight for others to acknowledge me. I fight because my soul demands it.
Winning is not everything.
Winning is the only thing."