The sun burned high above the gilded towers of the capital, casting light over a crowd of nobles gathered in anticipation. Their cars lined the marble roads outside the newly constructed Colosseum, a massive arena shaped like a coiled serpent. Inside, the circular stage gleamed with polished stone, surrounded by curved rings of steel, and laced underneath with a deadly secret: under and around the arena floor was rimmed with high-speed, invisible blades—spinning so fast they appeared still, waiting silently for blood.
At the center of the noble stands, beneath an awning of red silk, sat Third Prince Ryvaris with Prince Rin Solas beside him. Nobles whispered among themselves, casting glances at the young dragon-blooded prince who had been making waves in the court. Rin wore dark ceremonial armor, trimmed with silver, his white eyes cold and unreadable. While Ryvaris ate food and laughed freely, Rin observed,measuring, remembering, planning.
An announcer stepped forward onto a raised platform, his voice echoing across the arena through an amplifying crystal.
"Ladies and gentlemen of noble birth,welcome to the first grand event of the Crimson Trials! Eleven days of battle, one victor per month! Today, one hundred and fifty prisoners shall enter this sacred stage! Only one shall walk out!"
Applause thundered through the air. Cheers erupted. The nobility, dressed in silks and gems, toasted each other, eager for the carnage to begin.
Ryvaris leaned in with a grin. "Let's see if our beasts behave."
Rin nodded silently, scanning the arena below.
The gates opened. Shackled prisoners stumbled into the sunlight,men and women alike. Dirty, emaciated, eyes hollow with fear. Some were killers. Some were thieves. Some swore innocence to the end. But now, they were all the same,fodder for the games.
And then, the beasts emerged.
Ryvaris had spent weeks preparing monstrous creatures,mutated wolves, stitched abominations, half-mad warbeasts,each trained to toss enemies from the arena rather than kill outright. But the monsters didn't care for rules. The moment they saw flesh, they lunged.
Screams broke the silence.
A man tried to run but was tackled by a beast, his leg ripped clean off. Blood sprayed across the stones. A woman dropped to her knees, weeping, only to be thrown through the air,her body sliced cleanly in half as it hit the outer ring.
The nobles roared with laughter.
"Begging? How pitiful."
"Kill that ugly fuck over there.!"
But not all the cries were cowardly.
"I did nothing wrong!" shouted a young man, blood pouring from his mouth. "You bastards, I was innocent!"
Another prisoner hurled a rock toward the stands. "Rot in hell, you devils! All of you!"
He never saw the beast behind him.
Rin remained silent, unmoved. He watched as bodies tumbled into the hidden ring of death. The moment a prisoner touched the edge, the blades below roared into motion,grinding bone and flesh into crimson mist. The nobles gasped in awe. One of them even clapped at the "smoothness" of the cut.
Beneath the arena, in a dimly lit room where few were allowed, stood twenty masked individuals cloaked in black. Orien and Aiven among them, faces hidden.
"There's one," a voice said.
The shredded remains of a prisoner were pulled in through a chute. The team moved quickly. Blood lake water was poured over the body, and from it rose a dense, glowing red essence,the prisoner's condensed life and power. They collected it carefully into glass vials, labeled, and stored.
When the first day ended, Rin descended into the depths of the arena.
The masked group stood waiting, their armor blood-stained, their hands sore from labor. Orien said nothing. Aiven stepped forward, panting but smiling, holding up a vial.
"Your Highness. The results... they're really good."
Rin took the vial, examined the glow, and nodded. "Excellent."
He turned to the group, his voice carrying quiet power. "You've done well. All of you. But this is only the beginning. You are my people now,and my people cannot be weak."
They straightened.
"I will share this power with you. I want you to be stronger. Stronger than anyone. That's why from today onwards... we train."
He turned, cape billowing behind him. "Follow me. I've prepared a place."
The masked group followed without hesitation,into the shadows, toward strength, toward something far greater than they had ever dreamed.
And the arena above was washed again.
In blood.