Inside a large prison cell in an unknown location, two identical teens were circling each other. They were supposed to fight, but that was easier said than done. Instead of throwing fists, the two Alrics thought intimidation tactics might spare them some pain.

“You’re going down,” said one of them.

“I’ll punch out your teeth.”

Unfortunately, no matter how much smack talk they spit at each other, it did not work, since 1. They were identical humans with virtually the same thoughts, and 2. An awkward bespectacled teen in pink pajamas and a pony tail was not particularly threatening.

“How about we roshambo instead?” asked Alric one.

“Ok.”

Ironically, Alric two won the first round. The other wasn’t happy, so they tried two out of three, then three out of five, and finally, six out of ten, until the red circle surrounding them had shrunk once again.

Now, they were within touching distance of each other. One of the Alrics tried to grab his opponent’s wrist, but the other dodged and countered with a slap.

“Ouch, seriously?”

“I panicked,” complained Alric one. “Let’s just sumo wrestle.”

Unwilling to take punches, the two teens grabbed each other’s shoulders and started pushing with all of their might. Unfortunately, since they were identical in both thoughts and bodies, neither one seemed to gain the advantage.

They went for the legs at the same time only to bump heads. They tried to grab one arm and push the other only to exchange positions. They even tried to grab each other’s hair but quickly gave up due to pain.

“What do we do?” asked Alric one seeing how they’d soon run out of room.

“Let’s go one more time. We give it our all and end it.”

Both of them nodded and prepared to charge. However, this time, the Alrics began planning ahead.

They knew the opponent would likely duck into a ball making the other roll out of the ring due to his own momentum. But, if one Alric could think of this, then so could the other.

Therefore, instead of rolling into a ball, they decided to go for a low grab instead. And, if the opponent also went low, then they would grab his head and roll him to the side.

On and on their thoughts jumbled inside their minds in a desperate attempt to outsmart the other. Finally, feeling their time was running out, the two Alrics engaged in battle.

Both of them went for the legs. Seeing this, Alric one lifted a palm above the other’s head. Then, Alric two pushed his whole body into the first only for his opponent to dodge.

However, just as he was passing, the running teen grabbed the other and tried to throw him to the side. The response was mutual, and they both began spinning faster and faster.

‘We’ll both fly out of the ring at this rate,’ the Alrics thought at exactly the same time. The circle would shrink again soon, or they’d throw each other out before that happened. If nothing changed, they would both lose.

‘If that is so…’

In the middle of their spin, the two Alrics looked straight into the other’s eyes and smiled. Then, one of them stopped pulling and let himself get thrown out of the ring.

“Thank you,” said the winner.

“It’s only fair.” To avoid mutual defeat, the Alrics decided to accept the results of the roshambo. Not the three out of five or the six out of 10 one, but the initial game they had both agreed on.

“What now?” asked the Alric from outside the circle.

“Try the door.”

The youth got up and turned towards the steel prison-like door on one end of the room. He walked over and pulled, tapped, and did whatever he could think of to open it.

“It’s no use,” he muttered. The other Alric didn’t respond. When the youth turned back towards him, the winner was gone.

For more than a minute, the remaining 17 year old teen simply stared into space. Then, with slightly trembling movements, he slowly sat on the cold concrete ground. While huddled into a ball with his arms grabbing his knees, the boy was wondering about his fate.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

- Noise -

There was so much noise the winning Alric felt like he was sent to a concert. Finally, upon opening his eyes, a seemingly never-ending crowd of people invaded his sight.

There was a purple stone platform beneath his feet, and a sea of people for as far as he could see. However, weirdly enough, none of them seemed properly dressed for the occasion.

Some wore winter gear while others sported T-shirts. Some had professional business attires while others dressed in medieval garments as if they had just returned from a cosplay convention.

“Excuse me, but where are we?” Alric asked an old man in his underwear who happened to stand near him.

“I, I don’t know. Where are we?” echoed the obviously disturbed grandpa.

“Yea, where are we!?” more voices joined in until the entire crowd was chanting his words as if they were the lyrics of a song.

‘Everyone’s like me,’ Alric realized as his jaw slacked open. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people had received the invitation.

‘So, are they my competition?’ he wondered before something small and fast flew above his head. Looking up, he noticed numerous such creatures going back and forth in a frantic attempt to reach nowhere in particular.

‘Are those fairies?’ the boy wondered half convinced they were illusions. Out of curiosity, when the next one zoomed by, he lifted a hand and stopped him in his tracks.

“Hey, what are you doing? Watch it!” the angry critter screamed within his palm. It had black crow-like wings and strange garments made out of a fur-like material.

“You’re real!” exclaimed a wide eyed Alric. “A real fairy…”

“I’m a pixie, you moron. And, if you don’t let me go, I’ll slice you like a twig.”

Suddenly, Alric’s hand was pushed open by what seemed to be a burst of wind.

“Do that again and you’re dead,” warned the tiny bald pixie before flying away. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of such creatures rushing above everyone’s heads.

‘Why was just that one bald?’ wondered Alric upon noticing the short pony tails most pixies displayed. All of them were wearing thick fur coats which made them look like fur balls due to their tiny bodies.

“Attention please!”

Unfortunately, the boy did not have time to admire the show since someone was quick to rain on his parade. Above the humans and the pixies, some 100 feet into the sky, a skinny red person wearing a purple suit was making an announcement.

“Is that a demon?” a horrified voice was heard among the crowd. Surely enough, upon squinting his eyes, Alric noticed two large goat horns protruding from the man’s forehead. Combined with his skin color and the fact that he was literally flying, it wasn’t hard to see how that assumption was made.

“I need you to be quiet,” said the demon man in a normal tone of voice that still somehow reached every contestant. “Otherwise, we cannot start the broadcast.”

“Screw your broadcast!”

“By Moradin, what is going on?” A short stuffy man asked just a few feet away from Alric.

“If you mess with us, we’ll cut you!” yelled the pixies while flying towards the announcer. However, there was an invisible shield that prevented them from going more than 12 feet above ground.

“Now, now. Calm down everyone,” said the demon host while getting more and more annoyed. Eventually, his eyebrows twitched a bit too hard, and he yelled in earnest.

“Quiet!!” the shout was so powerful that everyone grabbed hold of their ears. “Dear Lord Beelzebub, every single time… If anyone says one more word, I swear in Vagalan's name I’ll kick you right off this stage.”

His threat worked wonders as no one dared to even whisper anymore. After wiping the newly gathered sweat off his forehead, the demon host descended just above the invisible barrier. Then, as if doing a twirl, he turned around and spun one of his fingers.

“Roll cameras!”

Suddenly, four giant spheres appeared in the sky each of them reflecting a scene on the ground. Alric tried to find himself in there, but he soon gave up. More than likely, there were hundreds of thousands of participants on the platform.

“Matriarchs and Overlords, Enchantresses and Warriors, welcome all to this century’s Species Tournament!”

A bunch of unintelligible texts and images appeared behind the demon. In Alric’s eyes, they looked like advertisements for weird, unheard-of products.

“This place is run by monsters,” muttered a wide eyed bald pixie before settling on his shoulder.

‘Ignore it,’ thought the youth. There were bigger things to worry about.

One of the images showed a volcano in the background and a pink lady with antlers holding what seemed to be a cup of lava.

Another promoted a large spiky sword. A burly red demon was holding it in the foreground while a giant black tower was sliced in half behind him. There seemed to be rooms within the tower and even a lady holding on to her bath towel.

“Many thanks to our sponsors: Lava Spring International, Diablo’s Metal Works, The Lovely Inn Corporation, …” On and one he went until 12 unfamiliar names were mentioned.

“My name’s Tim, short for Timofey” the pixie whispered. It was the same one Alric had caught a few minutes ago. “If it comes to a fight, use your body as a shield, and I’ll back you up from behind.”

“Why the hell are you back?” asked the boy while keeping his eyes on the demon.

“Matriarchs and Overlords, I am Amon Grigori, your host, and these are our contestants!”

The demon flew up at the same time as the giant balls descended. After stopping just above the invisible shield, they began moving around seemingly showing the crowd to whoever was watching.

“From the far left corner of the universe, we have a species of fire and technology. Matriarchs and Overlords, Enchantresses and Warriors, let’s give it up for the ingenious Humanity!”

‘Is this a pixies vs. humans thing?’ thought Alric.

“So, that’s what you are,” said the one on his shoulder. “Human, let us exchange information.”

“From our neighboring IC 1101 galaxy, we have a species of craftsmanship, steam, and strength. Let’s give it up for the Dwarves!”

The giant balls moved towards areas where groups of muscular short people were huddled together. Alric remembered the stuffy man who yelled earlier, and sure enough, he fit the description.

‘So, there are more than two species.’ Even weirder, though these beings were supposedly from different planets, they all seemed to understand the demon’s speech. ‘How’s everything being translated?’ he wondered to no avail.

“From the giant planet of Pharth 1, we have a premier in our tournament. For the first time in the Entertainment Channel’s history, we’re joined by a species blessed by magic. Let’s give it up for the masters of wind, Pixies!”

Hearing this, Timofey pushed forward his chest and posed for the cameras.

“You can use magic?” Alric remembered how the pixie opened his palm.

“So, now you’re interested. Tsk Tsk.”

“And finally, from the lush forests of Yanerth, we have a harmonious species of love, peace, and brutally high combat prowess. Let’s give it up for the Elves!”

As the balls moved towards a certain part on the platform, Alric started noticing anomalies amongst the crowd. Unusually tall individuals, some eight feet tall, were staring at the screen. They had sharp ears and even sharper eyes. These humanoids were thin yet clearly muscular in a way which resembled professional basketball players.

But, most worrisome of all was their expressions. On the large spherical cameras, the humans looked confused while the pixies were clearly excited. The dwarves seemed fascinated with these developments, but the elves… All one could see on their unearthly faces was grim determination.