The arena no longer felt like a stadium.
It felt like a battlefield.
Cracked stone. Broken barriers. Screaming echoes still hanging in the air. Spectators had been evacuated in panic, leaving only fighters, officials… and the shadows of the Core Dominion.
Riku stood at the center of it all.
Blue and violet lightning wrapped around his body like living veins.
The dragon-shaped spirit hovered behind him, partly transparent, eyes glowing with ancient authority.
Bolt stood in front of Riku, fur bristling with electricity.
The six members of the organization spread out slowly.
The silver-haired leader stepped forward again, calm—but no longer careless.
"Subject-09… you are defying a system that was built to shape you."
Riku's voice shook, but it was firm.
"I'm not your project anymore."
[Scene 1 – The First True Clash]
Two members moved at once.
One vanished into shadows.
The other launched forward wrapped in compressed wind.
Bolt reacted instantly. "LEFT!!"
Riku twisted, punching forward—
⚡ BOOOOM!!
Blue lightning collided with wind pressure, blasting both attacks apart. The shockwave shattered nearby walls.
The shadow user appeared behind Riku, chains forming from darkness.
The leader's voice echoed: "Binding unit—restrain him."
The chains wrapped around Riku's arms and chest.
He gasped as gravity increased tenfold.
Bolt jumped to cut the chains—
But a third member slammed Bolt mid-air with a gravity pulse, smashing him into the ground.
"BOLT!!"
[Scene 2 – The Breaking Point]
Riku fell to one knee under the pressure.
The dragon spirit roared in his mind:
> "Your body is still rejecting full evolution." "You must choose—resist… or awaken."
Riku clenched his teeth.
Memories flashed—
The lab. The sealed chamber. His mother crying. Being called "Subject."
"I won't be controlled again…"
Purple lightning burst from his eyes.
The markings on his arm spread further up his shoulder.
The shadow chains began to crack.
The leader's mechanical eye flickered.
"Evolution surge detected… Probability of loss increasing."
For the first time—
She showed urgency.
[Scene 3 – Bolt's Fury]
Bolt pulled himself up, one eye half-closed, sparks bursting wildly.
"You… hurt my partner."
His lightning shifted in color—deeper, louder.
He vanished.
Not ran.
Vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared above the gravity user and slammed down—
⚡ CRRAACK!!
The enemy crashed unconscious into the floor.
Toma, watching from behind a broken barrier, whispered in shock:
"Bolt is evolving too…?"
[Scene 4 – Riku Breaks the Chains]
Riku roared as the dragon spirit merged partially into his back.
A massive spectral wing of lightning formed behind him.
"GET OFF ME!!"
⚡⚡⚡
The shadow chains shattered completely.
The pressure collapsed.
Riku shot forward and struck the wind user straight in the chest with a compressed lightning blow.
BOOM!!
The enemy flew across the arena and didn't get back up.
Silence fell for half a second.
Three of the six were already down.
[Scene 5 – Strategic Retreat]
The remaining members regrouped instantly around the leader.
Her mechanical eye scanned Riku.
"Current state exceeds safe retrieval parameters."
One of the members hissed: "So we just leave him?!"
The leader raised her hand.
"Yes. We confirm the trigger. Core Evolution has begun. Full containment will require Phase-2 units."
She looked directly at Riku.
"Run while you can, Subject-09. Your storm will only grow… and so will the hunt."
A distortion field opened behind them.
The organization vanished into black light.
[Scene 6 – Aftermath]
The dragon spirit slowly faded from behind Riku.
The lightning around his body weakened.
Riku collapsed to his knees.
Bolt rushed to him and pressed his head against Riku's chest.
"You idiot… you scared me."
Riku laughed weakly. "…You saved me again."
Toma ran toward them from the broken stands.
"Riku… that wasn't a tournament fight anymore. That was war."
Riku looked at his trembling hand, still faintly glowing violet.
"This was just the beginning."
High above the arena, hidden in clouds, something massive shifted.
And somewhere deep inside Riku's core—
Something ancient had finally awakened.