I leaned forward, fighting against the force, but the current was too strong. I slammed back into the wall with

Allura's body twitched as she tried breaking through the current. She placed her hands and the soles of her shoes against the wall.

Because of the handcuffs, Allura jostled my hand closer to hers. I widened my eyes as we both battled the current.

Allura closed her eyes and yelled, "Get ready!"

I turned my head towards her as far as I could. "OK!"

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it didn't matter.

Allura gritted her teeth, forcing her left hand up in the air. She placed her left palm at the current while her right palm faced against the wall. Allura yelled as she clung to the wall. "Pulse!"

Her right hand released a steady stream of air, propelling us forward. Her left hand shot pulses of wind at the current, somehow causing the current to weaken.

She darted her eyes at me and narrowed them. She yelled as she shifted her gaze to the other participants. "STREAM!" Her feet emitted magic as her wind forced us through the once-powerful current.

Allura's magic dragged me, my arm attached to the handcuffs causing me to lag. The other participants were inches away from the lifelines.

There was no chance of Allura making it...

"WRYN!" Allura yelled, stopping as she twisted her body and launched me forward. The handcuffs snapped, propelling me to a lifeline.

I forced my hand in front of me, reaching for the lifeline. As if time was in slow motion, everything slowed down. I inched nearer every second, but that hope died once one group touched the lifeline, disappearing as they did. The other group was seconds away, and I was still too far... TOO FAR!

An eruption hit my back, propelling me even faster. I could only assume it was Allura, and thanks to her hit, I was closer. But not close enough...

"Ahhh," I yelled, holding my mouth and eyes open as I hit the red liquid. I forced my left hand forward, forming a lightning orb with it. "GO!" My lightning ball launched toward the participants, exploding in their vicinity.

The liquid rippled, but the force wasn't strong enough to cause me to go off course. As I zoomed through the liquid, I remained focused. Forming a fist with my right hand, I punched one participant in her face while I kicked the other in the crotch. The female flew back, and her other teammate zoned out, holding his pain.

"NOW!" I shouted with my mouth wide open, swimming to the lifeline as I touched it. The lifeline caused me to disappear, teleporting me to another area.

Suddenly, I found myself standing in an expansive room made of a marble floor, and in the middle stood a throne.

Next to me were Allura and Ash.

Ash held his hands in the air, examining them.

Allura stood posed, taking deep breaths as she frowned at the throne.

"Ahem," someone said. Jasht sat on the throne. He was seated with one leg on the other, and he grew a smile. "I award you six groups a lifeline! This means you may re-enter the culling game with three and a half points!"

I tried focusing, but I couldn't help but look around. I was basically in a marble box with a throne in the middle. How was it even possible to get in here? There were no entrances...

Everyone was quiet, and if there were crickets in the room, I would bet they would stay silent.

"The next round is a King of the Hill game like the first round, but only one group can win. No group can concede this round." Jasht clapped his hands and stood up. He closed his eyes, smirking as he nodded. "After a redemption event, teams are not allowed such a reward. After all, I have already blessed you with a lifeline." He opened his eyes, showing his teeth. "So concessions would be unfair!"

Six groups were nearby, and one of the six groups had two members.

"You see, this event is like the game King of the Hill, but with two crucial twists," Jasht said, forcing everyone to focus on him. He looked at the gold throne and then at us. "Each group will have two participants, but the crucial element is who plays what role. One participant plays the role of the king while the other is the guard. The second aspect is that participants must line up at a starting point and battle for the throne. After all, only one team can come out with a win."

You'd think people would have questions or concerns. But no, they just listened, not even batting an eye at the man who deceived us.

"The king is the one who must be on the throne. If your king is not on the throne by the end of the match, you will lose points. As for the guard, they can do anything but sit on the throne." Jasht nodded as he flicked his hand in the air.

Six wooden swords fell onto the ground, but the swords' grips radiated a light. The light shined so brightly, forcing me to stop looking at it, but the light soon died off.

"Those who participated in the lifeline event must participate in this round. As per the rules of the culling game." Jasht informed as he rubbed his mohawk into place. He eyed the swords on the floor. "Choose your guard wisely, as they can use a sword, and they may add augmentation magic to the sword and themselves. As for the kings, they are only allowed conjuring magic." Jasht remained silent, waiting for us to pick our positions.

The other groups began discussing, and so did mine. Allura narrowed her eyes and placed her hand on her chin. She rubbed her finger on her chin as she pondered.

"Man," Ash blurted, causing Allura to shake her head and look at us. "There's no need to think about this! Allura, you're the king! Wryn, you're the guard!"

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

Allura stood silent, but she opened her mouth and spoke. "Wryn, how fast are you?"

Ash tilted his head in confusion but said nothing.

"Why?" I asked.

"If you can, you need to get to the throne before I do and fend off individuals." She glanced at her hands. "This area doesn't allow me to use my mana's potential."

Before I could even reply, Jasht interrupted. "All participants line up at the starting point." A red line formed on the floor next to the end of the wall.

I picked up a sword, as did all the other guards as they walked to the red line. All the participants stood on top of the red line, waiting for instructions.

Jasht rubbed his fingers, creating sand rabbits and the sand rabbits ran to all inactive participants, jumping into them. The rabbits launched the inactive participants back to the side of the wall. The sand hardened around the participants and attached them to the wall, preventing them from moving. Jasht walked toward the inactive participants, holding a microphone as he spoke. "On your armbands, five minutes are going to be added. Once I say, you may move!"

I observed my armband, and it was no longer black. My mind raced as I got lost in thought. Only five minutes... Was that a good or bad thing?

"GO!" Jasht yelled.

Everyone ran forward, ignoring each other. Allura remained on the line, pointing her hand at everyone. She released a wave of air, hitting everyone. It wasn't strong enough to knock anyone out, but it caused them to be off balance.

I widened my eyes as I inserted magic through them, but I gripped my sword in frustration because I couldn't see any ambient spheres... While augmenting my legs, I looked back at Allura as I ran forward. "HIT ME!"

Allura pursed her lips, focusing on me. She launched her magic onto my back, propelling me forward.

I forcefully ran forward as Allura's magic pushed me. I used my sword to knock people out of my way, leaving me a wide-open path to the throne. Gripping my sword harder, I sprinted to the throne and stood in front of it.

It seemed as if the entire world stood before me, and I was the obstacle to the throne!

I rotated my shoulder, stretching it. Growing a smile, I widened my eyes, looking at everyone. "Bring it on!" I wasn't sure of Allura's plan, so there was only one thing I could do: defend the damn throne.

Several groups started fighting, but a few ran for the throne. Two groups ignored each other as they ran forward. I was going to have to fend for them both, which wouldn't have been a problem, but Allura was a sitting goose!

Two individuals ran at me, one stopping next to me. The elf swung their blade to the right, towards me.

My sword clashed against the boy's blade.

The Elven boy's king passed me, but his king was forced to stop because of the other group. They engaged in combat as the solo king flung his earthen magic at the other team.

The Elven boy drove his blade multiple times at my chest, but I blocked them all.

I took a step back, adding lightning to my blade. The yellow lightning glowed in the grip.

The boy didn't give me much time as he leaned forward and plunged his blade toward my head.

I ducked my head as the blade grazed my nose, missing me. Narrowing my eyes, I focused on his legs.

The Elven boy, however, had other plans. He jumped to the right and sprinted forward.

Repositioning myself, I turned around and chased after him. The lightning surged throughout my body and sparked off me, creating a crackling sound.

I was the storm!

Several other teams intervened with the elf's king. Not only three individuals fought, but seven.

Still, the Elven Guard didn't care and ran forward.

No one was ahead of me except for the one Elven guard.

The Elven guard was now inches away from me. I extended my sword back to my shoulder and accelerated my blade toward the guard.

He continued running, but he set his feet and stopped. The boy turned around, deflecting my blade. He turned to the right and swung his sword.

He hit my pelvis, pushing me a few feet back. I gritted my teeth and held back a groan.

The boy drove his sword to my face as he rotated his body to the left, slapping me with the side of his blade.

My cheek puffed up as it became red. I snarled, grasping my blade's grip as hard as I could.

Loud crashes and booms echoed the room, but I zoned them out and focused on the elf. In my mind, the other participants were no more, and the only one left was the barrier in front of me — THE ELF!

The boy wrinkled his nose and narrowed his eyes. The boy fired at my chest, putting all his strength behind the attack.

Taking in a deep breath, I brought my sword to my chest. I pivoted to the left as I positioned my blade against the elf's blade. Our blades grazed each other. I forced my sword to the left, causing the elf's blade to move.

A shock knocked the elf off balance, leaning to one side.

I swung the sword at the boy's leg like a baseball bat. The sword hit the boy's leg, making a cracking sound, but that sound wasn't the sword...

The boy sprawled on the floor in pain, but I passed him without batting an eye.

A guard and king passed the other fights and made their way to the throne. A male Khausfallian and a female human.

With his microphone, Jasht said, "Attention!" Though Jasht spoke, battles still ensued. "The round is soon to end. Two minutes left!"

I turned my head to the starting point as I ran to the participants nearing the throne. Allura was still standing there...

I sprinted forward, sweat forming on my forehead. My arms extended outward with every step I took.

The king — a female elf — continued running, but the guard halted, facing me. I was now bound to run into the guard.

The Khausfallian male swung his sword toward me.

My eyes widened as the blade approached my face. The blade touched my eyebrow, but I slid down and through the guard's legs.

The guard's sword hit the ground, missing me.

I pounced up, pounding my feet onto the floor as I ran. My eyes bulged, and every second caused me pain, but I kept running.

Not thinking about the pain, I turned around and hurled my sword. The blade crackled with lightning as it approached the female elf — king.

The female elf turned around, placing her hand in my direction. She formed some type of magic on her hand.

As I soared my blade against the air, a screech formed. My blade struck the female's neck, launching her away from the throne. She fell onto the floor, gripping her neck in pain.

I placed the blade on the ground, using it as a crane for support. Breathing heavy breaths, I shook my head and raised my blade.

The Khausfallian caught up as his dog-like ears bounced up and down. He pounced at me and yelled. "FIRE!" His blade blazed with flames, emitting fierce heat.

His fire blade slashed at my face, seconds from slashing my eyes, but I jumped back and repositioned myself.

I couldn't help but stare at the starting point since I was facing it. Allura was no longer there, but that fact didn't change my predicament.

The Khausfallian slammed all his force downward onto my shoulder.

The force pushed me to the floor, causing me to kneel. I gaped at the Khausfallian, gritting my teeth.

His blade smacked my head, jolting my head and body to the right. I slammed onto the floor, letting go of my sword. The once bright room became dim.

The Khausfallian ran to his teammate — on the floor — as he eyed a clear path to the throne.

'NO,' I thought, using all my power to raise my hand. I reached toward the Khausfallian guard, grabbing his ankle, propelled forward by his strength.

The Khausfallian male broke free, pulling his leg from my grip, but he stopped walking and stared in front of him.

The throne was destroyed, and next to it was a girl emitting deadly magic. A suffocating wave of magic was emanating from the girl's aura.

My facial muscles tightened as I forced myself off the ground.

Everyone stopped fighting and slumped in defeat, looking at the spectacle.

"Why? Why?! WHY!" I yelled, limping toward Allura. "WHY!"

She stood silent as her magic aura faded, returning to normal.

"Um..." Jasht's voice echoed throughout the area. "Round two is done!"

He released all the inactive participants. Ash remained next to the wall with a shocked expression.

Jasht awkwardly smiled, scanning the room. "A redemption event occurs when a round is without a winner... But that rule is exempted when a redemption event has already occurred."

Ignoring Jasht, I neared Allura. My mind was racing. Winning a round gave us a significant advantage, and she ruined it.

"Why..." I looked at Allura as she bore her same old dull expression.

She gripped her fist, looking up at the ceiling. "Something was off about the throne."

"So you ruin my chance at..." I twitched my eyes, clenching my teeth. Placing both my hands in the air, I yelled. "Ruin our chances at winning!?"

It was bigger than just winning. My whole damn life depended on results. I couldn't let Allura ruin my chance because she felt something was off.

Closing my eyes, I opened them and widened them as my face trembled. I grabbed Allura's shoulder, clenching it. "And you dared to question my determination!"

Someone grabbed my wrist.

I looked to my right, and Jasht held my wrist.

"I know you were a lieutenant for a while, but to be competent is surprising." Jasht laughed, shaking his head. A heavy tone emanated from his voice as he shifted his eyes. "It seems your daddy didn't pamper you. But in all sincerity, how did you know?"

"What?" I asked, trying to escape his grip, but I couldn't.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at me as he affirmed. "I'm not talking to a fool like you."

Allura maintained eye contact with Jasht while remaining silent.

"So, how did you know?" He said, letting go of my wrist. "How did you know the throne was a bluff?"

Allura shook her head. "This entire system... Whatever you all are doing. It's all wrong."

"I don't think I quite understand?" Jasht asked.

"I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand," she said, walking away.

Jasht shook his head, gazing down at me. He maintained eye contact and looked at me in disgust. "Move along."

If there was ever a time that I was confused. This moment would have taken the cake...

"If you need medical attention, you have five minutes to attend to it. There are medical kits available, so let me know if you need them," Jasht said, holding the microphone to his mouth. He walked to the middle of the room, glancing around at everyone. "The third round will soon begin."