A towering coliseum loomed at the edge of town, its weathered stone walls casting long shadows in the morning light. Its massive arches, carved with old runes and symbols of past victors, gave it an almost divine presence—like a monument to battle and glory. Rows upon rows of stone seating encircled the central arena, rising high enough that from the topmost seats, the fighters would appear no larger than chess pieces.
Colorful banners fluttered in the breeze, each one bearing the crest of a local family or sponsor. Horns blared triumphantly from above the main gate, echoing through the air like a call to arms. The crowd was already pouring in, their voices rising in waves—some chanting, some placing bets, some simply here to witness history. Excitement was electric, crackling in the space between breaths.
This year was different. This year, four contestants bore high-affinity charms—items of legend.
As the crowd cheered above, the contestants stood in a far less glorious place—beneath the arena, behind locked iron gates embedded in the coliseum's foundation. The air was damp and heavy, reeking of sweat, stone, and something older. Shadows clung to the corners, broken only by occasional flickers of enchanted light. Behind the 16 gates, a teenager stood, not with pride but with tense silence.
The Mayor and his wife were sitting on the top, observing the arena. The tournament was about to start. And then finally the horn that ordered silence sounded through the coliseum. Everyone's attention was now on the auburn haired "Mi" ranked man, he was going to be the one who was speaking the whole time.
Suddenly the man dropped onto the center of the coliseum. The landing scattered the dust and dirt beneath him with an impactful shake.
"Welcome to the coliseum ladies and gentlemen! It is very good to see you on this beautiful day!" His voice echoed though the coliseum. It was most likely enhanced by a charm, or perhaps FW manipulation. "Today, like every year, we are going to hold the harmonic tournament! However this year is different! We have special guests that have shown a high affinity to four different "Fa" ranked charms!"
Egeria's eyes widened. That pocket watch—the charm he had carelessly tossed onto his desk—was a Fa-rank?
"In each of these 16 corners stands a powerful and a unique warrior! Each of which will become a gladiator on this day! Which will triumph? Which will be the last one standing?"
'A gladiator? Weren't those just pawns thrown into bloodbaths for noble amusement? They were being compared to _that_? What kind of sick tradition was this?'
"In this tournament of four stages, we will wait and see who will win the best prize! Only 8 people will be receiving a relic imbued with frequency waves, the cost of the price will vary on the position they hold on the rankings!"
Suddenly the crowd erupted into chants, standing ovations, and applauds.
The man clapped to silence the crowd. "No need to get excited yet! As we haven't explained the rules! The contestants shall brawl until only one of them is left standing! Killing and mortally wounding is not allowed! The contestants are also unable to take any weapons with them!"
"If you aren't aware, the periods are: Beginnings, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals!
"We will be going in numerical order, which means number one will fight number two, number three will fight number four, and so forth! Is that understood, ladies and gentlemen?"
Claps and mannerisms of understanding exploded from the spectators, and they continued their faithful chant: Harmony!
The Mi ranked man spoke again, but this time directed at the sixteen fighters. "Gladiators, is that understood?"
None of the 'gladiators' responded. However the man was not affected by it seems.
"Now! Without further ado, let's begin round one!"
***
"Lower the gates!"
The announcer's voice thundered across the coliseum, echoing from stone to sky. With a deep rumble, the iron gates groaned and began to lower. Dust scattered. Chains clanked. The crowd leaned forward as two figures emerged into the sunlight. On the left: a tall, broad-shouldered boy, no older than eighteen, his steps heavy with confidence.
On the right...
"The first match will be amongst the youngest child of the Vita family, and the eldest of the famous Virellies family! Lady Nymphia!"
Egeria immediately walked forward and gripped the bars of his gate with a big grin on his face. He was excited to see Nymphia fight!
"One..
"Two..
"Three!"
***
Without waiting for the horn to sound, Nymphia immediately charged at the boy in front of her. The man was rather startled that she was immediately taking on the offensive, but he took his defensive stance, ready to counter her.
Nymphia leaped high, due to the height difference she needed to jump or focus her attacks on the boy's mid-section. However she had chosen the most stupid way and decided to take her balance off the ground.
Her fist was immediately flying towards the young legacy, however it was blocked as the legacy raised his arm to repel her punch. In the same breath, before touching down, Nymphia twisted midair, sending a sharp kick toward his ribs.
However he was ready..
His large hand shot out and caught her leg mid-spin, halting her momentum completely. With a grunt, he swung her like a ragdoll, tossing her across the arena. She tumbled, skidding along the sand-strewn ground, but popped back up like a spring, a wild grin splitting her face. Dirt clung to her skin, and her eyes gleamed with something feral.
The boy hesitated just a beat, surprised by her expression. But he quickly squared up again, focused.
Nymphia charged once again, opening her palms as if they were fangs. Which her nails were cut pretty sharp that resembled fangs. Instead of jumping this time, she immediately leaped forward for a front kick, which the legacy immediately pivoted to his left and took the opportunity to throw a hook straight to Nymphia's face.
But Nymphia was grinning again. She ducked low, the punch sailing past her, and in the same fluid motion, she twisted in close and grabbed his outstretched arm. With a sudden jerk of her hips and a pivot of her shoulder, she dropped low, using his momentum against him.
With a loud grunt, she threw him over her shoulder. His body arced through the air and slammed into the ground with a dull thud, dust kicking up around them. The crowd roared.
However Nymphia was not done, she immediately raised her fist and slammed down with ferocious force. She continued hitting the boy while laughing maniacally, the boys face was covered in blood as he tried getting up but couldn't. The horn sounded in the distance and a guard immediately slid his arms under Nymphias shoulders and started dragging her back to her cell as she kept kicking and screaming.
***
Egeria had watched the fight between the two, and he was glad that Nymphia had won. It was an easy win for her, and Egeria was confident that she would have finished it faster if she went all out.
"That was a rather fast match! It ended before we could savor what was going on! Lady Nymphia has emerged victorious, and has obtained the title 'Feral Maiden' from the crowd. She will be moving to the quarterfinals!"
The young legacy was removed from the coliseum as he was taken away by the medics.
"Now for the round two of this tournament we will have number three battling number four! Lower the gates, so we may uncover the identities of our contestants!"
As the gates lowered the contestants showed themselves. Number three was a man of 18 years old. He had a toned build and had a rather smug expression on his face, clearly confident in his abilities.
As the number four revealed herself to the crowd, they immediately erupted in cheers as a beautiful tall woman in white battle robes revealed herself. She was Aria Lyriou, the daughter of the strongest man and woman in the whole town. Egeria looked at them with contempt, however he would be lying if he was not interested how one would turn out if they were raised by such powerful parents.
As the horn played, the smug looking boy immediately commenced and went for the offensive. From his expression, it was clear he wanted to win against the daughter of the mayor so he would gain a lot of fame for his family and maybe for himself.
However every one of his jabs and kicks were not having any affect Aria. She was blocking the attacks of the legacy perfectly, either absorbing the damage with her strong build, or simply parrying his attacks. As the battle raged on, the legacy was getting frustrated as he had not landed a single hit on the woman, and his opponent was only on the defensive too.
"Are you trying to moc..-"
A very powerful fist connected with his chin and them immediately another one crashed into his chest in the same second, taking the breath away from him. The smug legacy was immediately sent flying to his back, immediately unconscious.
The crowd cheered violently, horns played to celebrate her victory. After bowing respectfully to her opponent, she simply raised her fist into the air, making the crowd cheer even more for her.
'Show-off.' Egeria's eyes went to Nymphia's cell. 'They will be fighting in the quarter finals.'
"Lady Aria has come out on top! And has done it effortlessly! I have never seen a mundane human pull off punches of that kind! By the rules of the coliseum, 'The Queen' will be moving to the quarter finals! I am excited to see her fight against the Feral Maiden!"
***
"Well without any further awaits, lets proceed with the respective rounds! Lower the gates!"
Egeria watched as the gates were lowered before him, his uh.. prison..? It was immediately invaded by the sunlight, making Egeria squint his eyes. Without waiting for anything he walked forward and stepped out from the room. His opponent was another young legacy with a height that was similar to his. He had a smirk on his face, as if looking down on him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Number 5 is from the Gold family that is known for producing powerful harmonics into our ranks! And Number 6 is... uh.. Shi Egeria! He does not come from any family at all!"
The crowd immediately erupted in ridicules for Egeria and cheers for the young legacy.
"Is that the only clothing he has? He wears that everywhere!"
"He won't even stand a second!"
Soon a big part of the crowd were chanting: "Forfeit!" "Forfeit!" "Forfeit!"
'Like hell I will..'
"Let the battle commence!" The mi ranked man said loudly as the horns sounded around the arena.
Egeria took a lazy stance as he observed his opponent, he had a calm expression on his face as he stared at the legacy. The legacy himself did not take any stance, and looked at Egeria with pride and mocking.
Without warning the legacy immediately charged forward, he swung his fist at Egeria with finesse and force behind it. Egeria could immediately tell he was heavily trained and very strong.
However it did not matter.
The moment Egeria pivoted slightly to the left, he almost immediately spun his body and raised his foot in the process. His leg whipped through the air in a perfect arc, his heel slamming into the side of the boy's head like a sledgehammer. The impact echoed through the arena, followed by a collective gasp. The legacy's eyes rolled back before he even hit the ground, crumpling like a puppet with its strings cut.
***
The crowd was in astonishment. Their voiced echoed through the arena. Egeria himself stood still, staring at the unconscious dude in front of him.
"Did he kill him?"
"What just happened?"
And some people had changed their behavior against Egeria a 360 degrees and were now cheering violently and loudly for him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! A one-hit victory! Who could have thought that a nobody could defeat a highly trained legacy??"
'I beg your finest pardon..?'
With that Egeria was returned to his gate, and the legacy he had knocked out was not dead. It was a relief, for the others that is. Egeria himself did not care if his opponent died or not.
The rest of the rounds passed by quickly. Amongst them was Vex, who defeated his opponent rather easily.
Now.. it was time for the quarterfinals.