The arena stretched before them—a sprawling gauntlet of shifting terrain, and whirring mechanical hazards.
Sonic Burst hovered above the starting line, his voice booming through the stadium's speakers, "Welcome to the second examination round!" His grin was razor-sharp.
"Three sections: Running, Swimming, and Climbing. Each of you will take one leg—no substitutions, no outside help. And if you're last?" A dramatic pause hung in the air, "You're out. Permanently."
He gestured to three glowing circles that materialized behind the group, pulsing with energy, "Runners, blue! Swimmers, red! Climbers, green! Choose wisely—you've got thirty seconds!"
Arthur's team huddled.
"I'll take the run," Arthur said, rolling his shoulders with a confident flex. "Got a little surprise for anyone who tries to pass me."
Miles shyly fidgeted with his hair, "I can't swim, so climbing is the only option for me."
Gwin licked her lips, her eyes gleaming with mischief, "Guess that leaves me with swimming~ Try not to fall too far behind, boys."
They split up, stepping onto their designated platforms with determined strides.
A flash of light—and they were gone, teleported to their starting positions in a burst of shimmering energy.
Arthur materialized at the runner's line, the ground trembling beneath his boots. To his left stood Joseph with his shield of radiant light, "This will be the first time I'll get to use my Trigger amongst my fellow heroes." As he spoke to Arthur, he kept his eyes shut to prevent his powers from being blocked.
"Heard your Trigger isn't built for mobility," Joseph taunted, "You sure you want to start first?"
Arthur grinned, "Trust me. You're not the only one who wants to test out his skills. But that shield tells me you've got a lot to hide."
"You're right; at the moment I'm not ready to reveal my abilities, but since I'm feeling generous—" Before he could finish, a loud horn blared, shattering the air.
"GO!" Sonic Burst's scream erupted from the amplifier speakers, igniting the race.
The track exploded into chaos as runners unleashed their mobility skills. Joseph tossed his shield forward, leaping with a graceful arc as he reached out, his hand glowing to propel him toward it with supernatural speed, "So long, brother!" he called, gaining the lead with effortless precision.
But then—fire erupted from Arthur's soles, a roaring inferno that scorched the earth beneath him. He launched forward like a comet. This was one of his new skills, unlocked during his grueling training with Hans—his right eye's ability, Shift, now in its Mage form, granting him fiery propulsion.
He blitzed to first place, as he left scorch marks in his path.
Catching up was a speedster from another team, summoning a howling gale at his back to match Arthur's pace.
Arthur's left eye pulsed, the pupil twisting into an infinity symbol, "It's time to call it quits." He turned to face the speedster, his gaze locking onto his target.
The speedster's legs locked mid-stride, a phantom cramp tearing through his thigh like a hot knife. He stumbled, and in an instant, Galahad's blade flashed— decapitating him in a swift strike. The speedster's world faded—sound drained away, light dimmed—until all that remained was silence and his own ragged breathing in a motionless void.
"Am I… dead?" he gasped to himself, but unfortunately for him, he was still alive, trapped in Arthur's new Death Door illusion, a realistic death experience that could only be broken if he realized it was fake or if Arthur chose to release him.
The speedster collapsed, body rigid, eyes wide and unseeing, as Arthur didn't slow, muttering with a smirk, "One down."
Arthur skidded to a stop at the water's edge, the transition marked by a roaring cascade, just as Gwin plunged in. Her blood-surfboard sliced through the churning currents. Turbines churned beneath the surface, their razor-sharp blades glinting menacingly, but Gwin weaved between them with a wild laugh, her board morphing into a serpentine whip that lashed out, shattering one turbine in a spray of sparks and metal.
Behind her, Team 4's swimmer—a hulking man with gill-like implants—snarled, his powerful strokes closing the gap as water frothed around him.
Gwin glanced back, her smirk wicked, and flicked her wrist. A spike of hardened blood erupted from below, impaling his shoulder with a sickening crunch. He roared in pain, flailing as the current dragged him under.
"Oops~" Gwin sang, her voice echoing over the waves as she surged to the next stage.
Gwin tagged Miles with a high five, "You're up!"
Miles stood at the base of the wall, a towering cliff of jagged rock and shifting ledges. His shadow hands extended from his back, each one a writhing tendril that gripped the stone, climbing with frantic speed.
Below him, a girl from Team 5 with web-based abilities scurried up, her sticky threads anchoring her to the rock. She managed to attach her webs to Miles' legs, yanking with intent to pull him down, her eyes glinting with triumph.
But the Wyrm coiled from Miles' shadow, its serpentine form wrapping around her body in a tight stranglehold, "Don't you hurt him!" it hissed, its voice a venomous echo in her mind.
The girl gasped, suffocating as the Wyrm's grip tightened, before she slipped and fell—only to be caught mid-air by Jackie, who set her down safely with a scowl.
Miles exhaled, his breath shaky, as he crested the cliff, the finish line in sight. The Wyrm appeared fully, "Climb," it commanded, and Miles leapt onto its back. With a powerful flap of its shadowy wings, they soared, the wind whipping past as they streaked toward the end.
As Miles crossed the finish line, Sonic Burst's voice thundered, "Team 3 are the first to win the second round! There's still time for the other teams—try not to make it in last place. So give it your all!"