The sun hung low in the sky, casting a sickly orange hue over the blood-soaked arena. Dust rose in slow spirals from the earth as twenty pairs of contestants stood side by side, tense and alert. The murmur of the crowd had long since died down; silence reigned like a sharpened blade. No one dared to speak. No one dared to move.
Ethan stood shoulder to shoulder with Alessia Krell, his breath slow and steady. He had learned to quiet his heartbeat, to focus on the rhythm of his thoughts. Ever since unlocking his healing ability—Divinacea—he felt a subtle difference in his body. His muscles moved smoother. His wounds closed faster. But it didn't make him immortal. He was still very much human.
And now, that humanity would be tested.
Across the sandy field, a massive screen flared to life. The billionaire's voice echoed through hidden speakers, smug and theatrical.
"Welcome to the first Awakened Trial! Each of you has been paired at random. Your job is simple: survive. Only the winning team moves on. If one of you dies, and the other lives, the survivor still proceeds. But if both teams perish? No second chances. No revives."
The camera zoomed in on the billionaire's crooked smile. "Let the Trial of Twos... BEGIN!"
A blaring horn split the air, and chaos erupted.
Ethan and Alessia didn't wait. They had agreed on their strategy during the brief waiting period before the trial. Alessia would go on the offensive—her reflexes and instincts gave her the edge in close combat. Ethan would stay just behind, acting as support, a stabilizing force. If she was injured, he could heal her. But he wouldn't be a burden. He was faster now, more focused. Divinacea thrummed inside him like a pulse of warm light.
Their first opponents surged forward—a lean, sharp-eyed man wielding twin daggers, and a stocky woman who cracked her knuckles with the sound of breaking stone.
"Move!" Alessia barked.
Ethan sidestepped a thrown dagger and ducked under a swinging fist. Alessia launched into motion, a blur of movement. Her foot caught the man's leg mid-stride, spinning him to the ground. She landed atop him, elbow driving into his throat.
The woman roared and lunged at Ethan. For a second, he panicked. He could feel the raw strength emanating from her—something about her made him think of an unchained bull. But Ethan focused, drawing on the calm that came with his awakening. The woman grabbed him by the shirt, yanking him forward.
He let her. Then, with both hands, he channeled healing energy not into himself—but into her.
She froze.
Her grip slackened.
A wave of warmth washed through her veins, confusing her senses. Old scars mended. Pain vanished. Her eyes went wide in shock.
That pause was all Alessia needed. With a grunt, she flung the man's broken body aside and spun, kicking the woman square in the back of the head. She dropped to the sand like a sack of meat.
Ethan exhaled. "One team down."
All around them, death bloomed like a savage flower. Screams echoed across the arena as other pairs clashed. Some were already dead, bleeding into the sand. Others clung to life, crawling, gasping.
In the far corner, a hulking man with a sledgehammer crushed an opponent's skull like fruit. A team of twins fought with eerie synchronization, blades slicing in perfect rhythm. And one team—a pair of girls barely older than sixteen—huddled in the corner, trembling.
Ethan looked at them, troubled.
"Don't. We can't save everyone," Alessia said, firm but not unkind.
He nodded reluctantly.
Then another team approached. A tall man with glowing eyes, his body covered in runes, and his partner—a pale woman who didn't seem to blink. Something about them felt wrong.
"Get ready," Alessia murmured.
The rune-covered man raised his hand, and the ground shook beneath them. Alessia leapt aside, pulling Ethan with her.
"He's already beyond Awakened," she hissed.
"But he's still here. Maybe he hasn't fully transitioned," Ethan guessed.
"Doesn't matter. We take them down or we die."
The pale woman moved with inhuman grace. One moment she stood thirty feet away, the next, she was inches from Ethan, fingers extended like claws. He threw up his hands, bracing for impact.
Nothing.
She halted an inch from his face, frozen, trembling. Her expression cracked.
"...healed me...?" she whispered.
Ethan had reacted on instinct. His power surged. He didn't intend to, but he'd connected with her through touch.
"What... did you do to me?"
The rune-covered man snarled. "You hesitated."
He drove his fist forward, a flaming punch meant for Ethan's heart.
Alessia took the hit.
It sent her flying. She landed hard, groaning, blood pooling under her.
"NO!" Ethan roared.
He ran to her side, hands glowing.
The woman who had hesitated—his accidental target—watched in silence. Her eyes shifted to the rune-man. Then, slowly, she walked over and slit his throat.
He gurgled, eyes wide in betrayal.
"She lives," the woman said softly. "You're not like the others."
She walked off, disappearing into the dust.
Ethan blinked, stunned. Alessia stirred.
"Told you... you'd need to patch me up."
He laughed, shakily. "Don't scare me like that."
"Two teams down," she said.
Only twelve remained.
The blood hadn't finished drying.
And the trial had only begun.
But more danger was still to come. As Ethan finished healing Alessia, his senses suddenly flared—something was off. The air had grown too still.
A shadow fell across the sand.
From the gate at the far side of the arena, another team entered. They hadn't been in the initial roll call. No announcement. No warning.
They wore cloaks of black silk and carried strange weapons that shimmered with a dull, otherworldly glow.
"Who are they?" Alessia asked, rising.
Ethan clenched his fists, the light of Divinacea burning softly in his palms.
"I don't know," he said. "But I don't think they're part of the original twenty."
And with that, the Trial of Twos took a darker turn.