Chapter 9: Awakening

  AEON

  The arena was ancient—weathered stone walls loomed around us, their surfaces scarred by battles long past. A faint scent of dust and blood lingered in the air. From an elevated platform, Lanet watched, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

  Artou and I stood in the center, our footsteps echoing in the vast emptiness. Across from us, a hulking figure stepped forward. Beri.

  He wasn’t just massive—he was monstrous. His body, swollen with unnatural muscle, was almost gorilla-like. His knuckles cracked like thunder as he flexed.

  Lanet's voice rang through the arena. "Aeon! You will face Beri. He is one of the strongest among the pure muscle elves. His magic shaped him from birth, altering his very being. If you possess the power to free the goddess, this fight should be no problem for you. You might not even need to unlock your true potential."

  It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command.

  "I don’t usually refuse a fight," I muttered, keeping my eyes locked on Beri. "But I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

  Artou smirked, his hand resting on his gun. "If this ‘true potential’ is real, maybe it's worth testing. It could change everything."

  I frowned. "What happened to not trusting the elves?"

  He hesitated for a second—long enough to tell me his hunger for power was speaking, not him.

  Before I could press him, Ziyong entered the arena, his face tight with discomfort.

  "Let’s just get this over with." He barely glanced at me before locking eyes with Artou. "You look more intresting. Why not give your true potential a try as well?"

  Artou walked toward his side of the battlefield. I turned back to Beri.

  The moment stretched thin.

  Beri’s gaze held no malice, no excitement—just the silent confidence of someone who had done this a hundred times before.

  Then he moved.

  The ground shook beneath his charge. My instincts screamed at me, but a different part of me—something twisted—thrilled at the challenge.

  I met his punch head-on. My Burner flared, colliding with his fist.

  A shockwave exploded from the impact. My bones rattled. My Burner’s flames flickered.

  Too strong.

  Beri barely flinched. His lips curled in irritation, his skin singed but his strength untouched.

  Then he slammed his fist into my stomach.

  Air left my lungs in a violent gasp. I felt weightless for a moment—then the arena wall stopped me with a sickening crack. Pain exploded in my ribs.

  Fuck…

  Dizzy, I forced my eyes open. Across the battlefield, Artou and Ziyong were locked in combat, but I couldn’t focus on them.

  "Hey! Don’t kill him too fast." Lanet’s voice rang out. "Just push him to his limit."

  Beri didn't need the encouragement. He was already charging again.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the fire in my ribs. Cracked—maybe broken. But I wasn’t about to just lie down and die.

  His fist hurtled toward me. I jumped, landing on his shoulder before flipping over him. The second I touched the ground, I drove my foot into the back of his knee.

  He stumbled, falling forward.

  My Burner ignited. I slammed it into his back.

  For a moment, I thought I had him. But Beri grabbed me by my collar and hurled me across the arena.

  I twisted mid-air, landing on my feet—but he was already in front of me.

  Both fists crashed down.

  I hit the dirt, hard. My lungs screamed for air.

  My body’s begging me to run... but my mind? It still thinks I can take him.

  Then—I felt it.

  A surge of raw energy, my true potential.

  It wasn’t magic, but it was something deeper. Primal. Time itself seemed to stretch. My heartbeat slowed. My vision sharpened. Every movement—Beri’s, mine, even the dust in the air—became clear as glass.

  This is it.

  I pushed forward, blurring through the air. My fist connected with Beri’s face.

  A shockwave erupted from the impact. The arena trembled.

  Beri staggered back.

  I can see his attacks.

  His fists swung. Slow. Predictable.

  I dodged. Countered. Again. Again. My Burner’s flames seared his skin, driving him back.

  I could feel it—his frustration, his disbelief.

  A grin spread across my face. I charged.

  Beri’s wild swings tried to keep me away, but I weaved through them like water. My final strike buried into his stomach.

  Silence.

  Blood dribbled from his lips. He collapsed.

  I stood over his fallen body, breathing hard. I turned to Lanet, a triumphant smirk curling my lips. "Is this what you were looking for?"

  But she didn’t look impressed.

  Her voice was flat. "You are not the one. You are of no use to us. Beri—finish it. The other one has more potential."

  What?

  A sinking dread filled my stomach. Beneath me, Beri moved.

  I leapt back as a deep, inhuman growl rumbled from his throat.

  His hands planted against the ground. A magic aura exploded from his body.

  I hadn’t realized until now—he had been fighting me without magic.

  His arms bulged, muscles doubling in size. The ground beneath him cracked.

  "I don’t have to hold back anymore." His voice was slow. Confident.

  My thrill turned to horror.

  Beri vanished.

  I barely saw him move before his punch caved into my ribs.

  I was airborne before I even registered the pain. A hand caught my Burner.

  Then—he slammed me into the ground.

  Again.

  And again.

  My vision blurred. My skull rang. My body screamed.

  Then the punches came. Relentless. Crushing. Blood filled my mouth.

  Bone cracked.

  My thoughts—fading.

  Even with my true potential… I’m still nothing.

  I had been undefeated in the ring, on the streets—always the one standing in the end. But here, in this world?

  I was nothing.

  My life had been a constant torment, but it wasn’t death that I feared. It was the thought of facing my mother in whatever lay beyond this life. How could I? I had become everything she fought to keep me from becoming. I wanted to live—not just to survive, but to change. To be more than this. But I wasn’t strong enough. Not to resist my urges, not to fight for the future she dreamed for me.

  I shut my eyes and braced for the final blow.

  But it never came.

  Silence.

  Something was wrong.

  I hesitated, then forced my heavy eyelids open. The gorilla’s fist was frozen. Dust hung in the air, motionless. The world itself had stopped.

  I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t obey. Through the haze of exhaustion and blood loss, I saw them.

  The god from my dreams.

  He lounged in a chair—though I was certain it hadn’t been there before—legs crossed, flipping through a book with complete indifference. Another figure paced beside him, restless, his gaze sharp with focus.

  The pacing figure spoke first. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before that power activated. Emotional outbursts tend to cause time glitches. You’ll need to get it under control."

  My lips weren’t frozen. "Who are you? Are you… the Dragon God? What the hell is happening?"

  The seated figure lifted a hand lazily. "I am the Dragon God, but this time stop? Ask him." He said gesturing at the pacing one.

  Before I could process that, the other figure’s tone darkened. "Consider this a gift from me. I’m the Time God, by the way."

  He cast a glance at the Dragon God. "The others will sense something suspicious. Handle it."

  "Fine," the Dragon God sighed, snapping his book shut. "Just don’t forget your part of the deal. So far, this is boring."

  My mind reeled. "What the fuck is going on?"

  The Time God turned his gaze back to me. "That’s not a question you’ll find answers to—at least not yet. But take this as a warning: the next time you cause a time glitch, you won’t get out of it so easily."

  I tried to speak, but before the words could form, my body lurched forward. They vanished.

  The world snapped back into motion.

  The gorilla’s fist was still mid-air, frozen in the moment before impact. But now, I could move. I scrambled back, my limbs heavy, my breath ragged. My entire body screamed in protest, but I forced myself to my feet.

  As I stepped forward, I noticed something—whenever I got close to anything, it unfroze.

  I eyed the gorilla warily. If I touched him, would he resume his attack?

  Or… could I use this?