UNIFIED W

Chapter 5: Phase one, Conclusion

Although Kai appeared brave in front of his opponent and the crowd in the arena, he was actually terrified and uncertain about how things would unfold.

Kai's grip on the sword caused his hand to bleed, and he was sweating heavily.

The opponent Kai defeated didn't have crystal powers, but his comrades did.

They surrounded him, intent on taking him down together. One of them wielded a water attribute combined with steel ropes.

He swung his weapon and caught Kai's hands, causing Kai to drop his sword and become defenseless.

The remaining opponents wielded fire and earth attributes, merging their powers with gauntlet gloves made of iron and stone.

They circled Kai, attacking him relentlessly, with each blow heavier than the last.

Buff.... Buff!!

Pfft!

Kai was coughing up a significant amount of blood and panting heavily.

The only thing Kai was focused on was how to avoid losing consciousness and failing the entire test.

'This doesn't look good. I can feel my consciousness slipping away, and I'm not sure how many more attacks I can withstand.'

The sound of the punches was now overshadowed by the commentator's voice coming through the arena speakers.

"Is everyone in the arena seeing this? The poor boy is going to die if they don't stop the attacks."

The one holding Kai's arms suddenly let go, and before Kai could hit the ground, the other two delivered the final blow to his face.

"Is this the end for Kai? Is this the end for the Future Flames team?"

Everything fell completely silent, and the last thing Kai heard was the commentator's voice before everything slipped into darkness.

***

Kai woke up, gasping for air.

Gasp..... Gasp!

Kai got to his feet and looked around.

"Where... where am I?"

Kai wasn't in the arena anymore. Instead, he found himself in a place that seemed endless.

The fog made it difficult to see, but Kai could tell he was standing on a mountain peak, and it terrified him.

Kai had no idea where he was or how he had ended up on top of a mountain.

Suddenly, Kai heard a voice echoing through the endless void.

"So, you're awake, Chosen One."

A chill ran down Kai's spine when he heard that voice.

'I recognize that voice.'

Kai looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

Kai suddenly froze when he locked eyes with the thing that was speaking to him.

Through the dense fog, all Kai could see were black-silver eyes glaring at him from the shadows.

"Who... who are you?"

The thing remained in the shadows, standing still and glaring at Kai, and then it suddenly began to speak.

"All you need to know right now is that I am one of the four guardians of this world."

'Did I die from my injuries and end up here? Nothing makes sense.'

"You are not dead, Kai. Your body is simply unconscious. I called your spirit to this part of your mind so we could finally talk."

"What? How could you hear my thoughts?"

"You and I are connected. Right now, we are inside your mind."

This left Kai confused and unsure how to respond.

"This is all a lot to take in at once."

"Tell me one thing, Kai. What do you desire in life?"

The question echoed in Kai's mind for a few seconds as thousands of answers flashed through his thoughts.

But only one answer stood out above the rest.

"What I desire in life is to see this world united as one."

"Is this your answer?"

"YES, THIS IS MY ANSWER."

The thing moved toward Kai, and that's when he saw a pair of enormous feathered wings, as big as a house.

"I grant you my powers, Chosen One."

"As Kai tried to move away, he fell from the mountain he was on."

The next thing he knew, Kai was back in the arena and could hear the commentator's voice.

***

"Kai cannot continue to fight, which means Team Zeru is dis...."

"HEY... who said I would give up so easily?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, I can hardly believe this. Kai is back on his feet. I repeat, Kai is standing."

Although the crowd had been booing him earlier, they were now on their feet, cheering him on.

"You can do it!"

"Let's go!"

Kai immediately searched for his teammates and tried to regroup with them, as the test was about to end any minute now.

"Kai, over here!"

"May!"

"You did an excellent job, Kai."

"We'll talk later, but right now we need to find Zeru."

Kai looked around, searching for Zeru.

"He's over there."

As Kai and May ran toward Zeru, they noticed he had reached his limit and was surrounded by opponents.

They were about to strike him simultaneously, and the only person who could help was May.

But she had already reached her limit and was relying solely on her martial arts.

Kai's thoughts were scattered, and he didn't know what to do.

'If they hit Zeru, it's over for all of us. I have to do something.'

Driven by his determination and the need to help his closest friend, Kai swung his sword.

A powerful gust of wind erupted from the blade, striking the opponents around Zeru and cracking the entire arena.

WHOOSH!!

The commentator was at a loss for words and didn't know how to describe what he had just witnessed.

"What is happening here? The boy, who was supposed to be powerless, is using the wind attribute."

No one has ever seen the wind attribute used in the previous test because the Wind Clan is an exception and does not participate in the test.

The world had just witnessed something impossible. An outcast wielding the wind attribute.

"Zeru, are you okay?"

Zeru was in disbelief.

"What did you do, Kai?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself."

While Kai and Zeru were talking, the commentator was about to announce the end of the first part of the test.

"There you have it, folks. The winners, who will move on to the next phase in two days."

Kai helped Zeru up and tried to look away from the audience, but the entire arena had witnessed what happened and couldn't stop shouting his name.

"Kai... Kai... Kai..."

But one person showed no reaction and instead glared at Kai viciously.