The gate clanged shut behind Rynn, and the air changed.
Colder. Thicker. The sound of the crowd above vanished as if a curtain had dropped.
A tunnel of rusted pipes sloped downward until it opened into a circular cavern glowing with red lamps.
Dozens of fighters waited there, the air humming with different frequencies of fear.
At the center, crude bleachers surrounded a pit of cracked concrete and faint blue mist — raw Mirra residue leaking from the walls.
Every few seconds the mist pulsed like breath.
Rynn swallowed. It's alive down here.
---
The Rules
Margo stood on a metal balcony, coat shining faintly under the red light.
> "No refs, no shields, no refunds.
First to stay down for ten seconds loses — or longer, depending on how generous the crowd feels."
The crowd laughed.
> "Beginners show it," Margo continued. "Masters hide it. Keep yours under control, or the Subring will eat it out of you."
Rynn blinked. "Eat it out?"
Eren, standing behind him, murmured, "When Mirra leaks, this place drinks it. The walls are full of leftover fights."
"Cool," Rynn said weakly. "I hate everything about that sentence."
---
First Match
His opponent, a woman with a red line tattoo around her neck, stretched her arms; faint crimson light leaked from her skin, twisting like smoke.
> Visible Mirra, Rynn realized. Beginner level. I can see it.
When the buzzer screamed, she moved first — too fast.
The air cracked where her fist passed; red light exploded like paint across the floor.
Rynn ducked, rolled, felt the heat singe his sleeve.
He countered with a punch that grazed her ribs. Blue sparks flickered from his fingers — faint, barely there.
The crowd howled. "The Flicker's back!"
She swung again, her Mirra forming claws of condensed light.
He dodged by instinct; his blue glow flared brighter, catching the claws mid-air and reflecting them back for an instant.
They vanished before touching her.
Both froze.
She stared. "What was that?"
Rynn had no idea. "A lucky accident?"
He lunged forward, tackling her. The shock threw them apart, her light extinguished.
Ten seconds later she wasn't moving.
> "Winner — Flicker Kid!"
The roar shook the cavern.
---
Between Fights
Margo met him at the gate with a slow clap.
"Not bad. You leak less than most."
Rynn wiped sweat from his forehead. "You mean bleed?"
"Same thing, eventually." Margo's mechanical eye glowed once. "You see those fighters?"
Across the pit, two men faced off. One burned red and gold — obvious, furious. The other looked empty, still.
When they clashed, the glowing fighter's light snuffed out as if swallowed.
Only the dull thud of impact echoed.
"Why can't I see his?" Rynn asked.
"Because you're new," Margo said. "He's at Pulse Stage — hides it from normal eyes. Most people think he's using tricks."
She smiled. "When you get there, you'll wish you hadn't."
---
Second Match: The Ghost and the Spark
Later that night, Rynn fought again. His opponent was small, wrapped in rags, eyes black with exhaustion.
No glow, no aura. Nothing.
"Is he even—" Rynn started.
Then the boy moved, and Rynn's world blurred.
A kick slammed into his ribs before he saw it.
Another blow to his shoulder, his jaw — invisible waves of pressure.
He stumbled back, tasting blood.
The crowd saw nothing. To them, Rynn just convulsed and fell.
> "Hidden-flow Mirra," Eren whispered from the sidelines. "Pulse Stage. You can't see it yet. Feel it."
Rynn closed his eyes, breathing shallow. The hum of the cavern pressed against his skin.
A flicker — like electricity in his chest.
He felt where the next strike would land. He moved before seeing it, elbow snapping forward.
The hit connected. Blue light flashed, bright as lightning, before vanishing again.
The boy crumpled, unconscious.
Silence. Then cheers.
Rynn exhaled, trembling. The faint blue still shimmered under his skin, invisible to most — except Eren, who watched carefully.
---
Aftermath
Back in the locker room, Rynn collapsed onto a bench.
His reflection in a broken mirror stared back, a faint outline of blue tracing its eyes.
Eren tossed him a bottle of water.
"You just punched a Pulse user unconscious. Either you're talented, or suicidal."
"Fifty-fifty chance," Rynn said, grinning weakly.
Eren didn't smile. "Hide that glow, Rynn. The more they see it, the more they'll want it."
"Hide it how?"
"Learn control," Eren said. "Beginners light up the room. Masters make it go dark."
Rynn looked at his hands again.
The blue was fading — but deep inside, he could still feel it humming, waiting.
---
End of Chapter 10
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