Rin didn't remember closing his eyes.
He only remembered the silence that felt like drowning.
And the cold. A deep, marrow-chilling cold that slithered through his veins and coiled around his heart like an iron chain.
When he finally woke, it wasn't the way a man wakes from sleep. It was like dragging himself out of a pit of ice. The world swam into focus one bleeding fragment at a time.
Above him, the sky was a darker shade of crimson than ever, almost black at the edges, swirling like a storm caught between worlds. Red light spilled over the arena's jagged walls, staining every stone as though soaked in blood.
A low hum filled the silence, vibrating the ground beneath him. It was like the arena itself was whispering secrets in a tongue only ghosts could understand.
Rin blinked several times, feeling disoriented. His body felt twice as heavy as it should have been, every muscle trembling from exhaustion and the strain of his hidden power.
How long… was I out?
He tried to move but a sharp pain exploded in his leg. He gasped and fell back, breath coming in ragged bursts. His makeshift shelter felt suddenly too small, the cracked concrete pressing in around him. Each breath tasted of rust and fear.
He stared at his bandaged wound. Dark blotches of dried blood marred the fabric. The pain throbbed like a second heartbeat.
It's getting worse…
Outside, shadows moved across the arena floor like silent predators. Figures crept through the darkness, sometimes glancing around as if to check for hidden watchers. Every so often a metallic gleam caught the dim light—the glint of a blade, or the shimmer of some unnatural power.
Player Count: 12.
Twelve left. I can't keep hiding. Not anymore.
A surge of nausea rolled through Rin's gut as he thought about the moment the number would tick down again. The moment someone else screamed.
Suddenly, the stone beneath him shivered violently. A sound like glass shattering rang out across the arena. From the far edge, a searing burst of silver light shot into the sky.
Rin forced himself forward, crawling to the opening of his hiding spot. He peered out through a crack in the stone. His eyes widened.
Two figures were locked in battle.
One was a slender figure clad in swirling bands of reflective silver light. Every step she took sent shards of brilliance scattering into the shadows, dazzling and disorienting. She carried no weapon Rin could see—yet her very presence radiated cutting edges, like a thousand blades turned toward the world.
"Is that all the power you've claimed? Show me the depths of your soul!"
Her voice rang out clear and high, echoing off the arena walls with almost musical resonance.
The Knight of a Thousand Mirrors.
A name drifted into Rin's mind as if whispered from somewhere ancient and far away. The knowledge was not his own—but it rooted in his thoughts all the same.
Facing her was a giant woman draped in thick white fur, eyes narrowed to icy slits. She moved with impossible silence, her massive figure somehow leaving barely a ripple in the air. Each of her lunges was invisible except for the booming shockwaves that tore into stone walls behind her.
The Silent Huntress.
The two collided in a flash of steel and wind. Sparks and shards of rock exploded outward. The Huntress's claws struck empty space, only for the Knight to vanish and appear behind her, hands slicing the air in silver arcs.
Every movement felt impossibly fast. Rin's eyes struggled to follow them, but they blurred in and out of existence, crashing through walls and sending echoes through the cavernous arena.
Rin's heart raced in his chest. He felt an almost magnetic pull toward their power—a primal desire to stand among giants.
Is this the true scale of the North Gate?
But then something stranger happened.
Amidst the storm of combat, another presence slipped into the arena so quietly that even the fighters didn't notice at first.
A tall man appeared, his cloak shimmering as though woven from countless tiny lights. Constellations seemed to drift across its surface, each star flickering like a heartbeat. His face was calm, almost serene, with eyes that shimmered silver and blue.
The Architect of Falling Stars.
He raised a single finger. Space itself folded inward. The two battling knights slammed to opposite ends of the arena, separated by a wall of shimmering starlight.
"Enough."
His voice was soft and melodic, carrying a resonance that made the air itself shudder. His words felt like a gentle tide washing away fury.
Both knights paused, glaring at him but frozen as though bound by unseen chains.
Rin felt sweat trickle down his temple. A shiver rippled through his chest. His eyes flickered silver, then black, as something in him responded to the Architect's presence.
Who… are these people?
Images burst into Rin's head—flashes of cities in flames, towers collapsing, skies raining blood. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the visions kept pouring in.
Stop… STOP…!
He dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. It felt like an entire ocean was pressing down on his skull.
Then it ended. The visions vanished as suddenly as they'd come.
Above, high among the arena walls cloaked in crimson gloom, two shadowy figures observed silently.
Lord Umbra Voss, shrouded in an aura of deep violet and shadows that seemed to drink in the light, stood beside the Red Advocate. Their forms looked sculpted from darkness and embers.
Umbra Voss's voice was deep and quiet, vibrating like thunder echoing from beneath the earth.
"So be it. If the Soul Requiem emerges ahead of time… we shall accelerate the games."
The Red Advocate's lips curved into a slender, almost hungry smile.
"It will be beautiful, my lord."
Lord Umbra Voss's eyes glowed faintly, like coals smoldering in a dying hearth.
Below, the Architect turned his eyes toward Rin, studying him as though examining an unfinished puzzle.
Rin, oblivious to the eyes upon him, pulled himself upright, trembling. He stared out into the arena where the immortal warriors were gathering.
No more hiding, he told himself, voice shaking. If I keep running… I'll never know why I'm here. Or who I really am.
A breeze rolled through the arena, carrying whispers that seemed to call his name.
Behind him, the Architect of Falling Stars lowered his gaze, murmuring almost to himself:
"The threads fray faster than expected. May the stars forgive us all."
And above it all, the stars seemed to tremble, as though waiting for a signal only the gods could hear.
The Arena's sky went back to crimson Red and the fog around the Tower went away, though Rin was still confused who those people were but he quickly straightened himself up and got up, ready to go out there and face people as he realised that in this world its either you kill people for survival or you die like last human scum.