Mist clung to the outskirts of the port city like something alive.
Beyond the warehouses and rusted cargo cranes stood a forgotten structure of cracked stone and fractured steel — an abandoned arena long erased from official maps. Its walls were split by age, its gates barely hanging from their hinges.
Yet inside, life roared.
Illegal Peonza battles.
The kind where reputations were forged…
or shattered.
The crowd pressed tightly around the cracked battlefield, voices rising in a frenzy as two spinning cores clashed in a storm of sparks.
At the center stood a wild-eyed boy with crimson hair.
Ren.
“Crimson Tornado—full assault!”
His Peonza ignited in a spiral of red energy, transforming into a blazing vortex. It tore across the arena floor like a living inferno, smashing into its opponent again and again with relentless force.
The opposing Peonza shattered against the wall, metal fragments scattering across the ground.
The crowd erupted.
Ren smirked.
Power. Speed. No hesitation.
That was how battles were won here.
At the entrance of the ruined arena, a boy paused.
Kael.
The roar of the crowd reached him before the sight did.
In his hand, he held his Peonza tightly.
Axiom.
Unlike the others, its core pulsed with a faint crimson glow — steady, controlled… almost breathing.
Kael smiled.
“So this is the place…”
He stepped inside.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The energy in the air felt different. Heavy. Charged.
His eyes locked onto the battlefield.
Ren’s strength was undeniable.
But instead of intimidation, Kael felt excitement.
“I wonder how strong the fighters here really are.”
He wasn’t afraid.
He was drawn in.
Another match was about to begin.
Ren launched Crimson Tornado once more.
The collision shook the arena floor—
And then—
The air changed.
It didn’t explode.
It didn’t roar.
It froze.
A cold stillness spread across the battlefield, swallowing the noise of the crowd. Conversations died mid-sentence. Even the spinning Peonzás seemed to falter.
A crack of dark energy split across the arena ceiling like black lightning.
From the center of the battlefield, shadows twisted unnaturally.
And something stepped forward.
A tall figure cloaked in dark attire. Calm. Controlled.
His eyes scanned the arena without emotion.
Virex.
Without a word, he released his Peonza.
Nova Strike.
The moment it hit the arena floor, the temperature dropped further.
Nova Strike moved differently.
Not wild.
Not reckless.
Every collision was precise — calculated — devastating.
It struck Ren’s Crimson Tornado once.
Twice.
Each impact released a pulse of dark energy that rippled through the arena.
But something was wrong.
Nova Strike didn’t lose speed.
It grew stronger.
The red vortex faltered.
On the third collision, Crimson Tornado shattered.
Silence.
Ren stumbled back in disbelief.
Virex recalled Nova Strike calmly.
“This level of strength is disappointing.”
He turned as if to leave—
And then, without warning, he launched Nova Strike again.
This time not at a challenger.
But at the arena itself.
Stone exploded.
The ground cracked.
Screams filled the air as fragments of the ruined structure collapsed inward.
He wasn’t battling.
He was demonstrating.
Kael stepped forward.
“Stop.”
The word cut through the chaos.
Virex’s gaze shifted toward him.
“You enjoy destroying everything?” Kael asked, his grip tightening around Axiom.
Virex’s expression remained unreadable.
“Destruction is not enjoyment,” he replied evenly. “It is necessity. The strong reshape the world. The weak cling to stability.”
Nova Strike spun slowly at his side, radiating a growing pressure.
“I will rule this world,” Virex continued. “And anyone who stands in my way… will be erased.”
Kael’s eyes hardened.
“Then I’ll stand in your way.”
He launched Axiom.
The two Peonzás collided.
The shockwave rattled the cracked walls of the arena.
At first, Axiom held firm.
Balanced. Controlled.
But with every collision, Nova Strike absorbed the impact.
Dark energy spiraled tighter around it.
Stronger.
Denser.
More violent.
The crowd backed away as the battlefield fractured beneath the pressure.
Kael felt it.
That suffocating weight.
Nova Strike wasn’t just attacking—
It was accumulating.
“If this keeps up…” someone whispered.
A final collision erupted in a blast of sparks.
Nova Strike surged with overwhelming power, its aura expanding outward like a collapsing star.
For a brief moment—
Everyone believed it was over.
Kael closed his eyes.
Not in fear.
In focus.
A warmth pulsed from Axiom’s core.
Not burning.
Not wild.
Measured.
Balanced.
He didn’t hear a voice.
He didn’t see a vision.
But he felt something align.
“Axiom…”
The dark storm lunged forward.
“Absolute Judgment!”
Axiom’s core erupted in radiant energy.
Not explosive.
Not chaotic.
It was precise.
A blade of light cut through the spiraling darkness.
Nova Strike’s accumulated power fractured.
Cracks of energy splintered across its surface as the violent aura collapsed inward.
The pressure vanished.
The storm died.
Nova Strike fell back into its base state.
The entire arena stood frozen.
For the first time—
Virex’s eyes narrowed.
Not anger.
Recognition.
He recalled Nova Strike slowly.
“This changes nothing,” he said quietly.
Before stepping into the shadows of the ruined structure, he left one final sentence behind.
“This is only the beginning.”
The mist swallowed him.
Silence returned.
Kael exhaled slowly.
The crowd stared at him in stunned disbelief.
They had never seen a technique like that.
Never felt energy collapse so completely.
Kael looked down at Axiom.
Its core still glowed faintly.
He smiled slightly.
“Guess this place isn’t so boring after all.”
But far beneath the cracked foundation of the ruined arena—
Something stirred.
