A sleek, neon-lit cyberpunk cityscape flashed into view, rain glistening against towering glass skyscrapers. A lone figure dashed through the shadows, sprinting up the side of a building before flipping mid-air, landing with a pulse of electrified energy beneath their feet.
COMMERCIAL NARRATOR (Voice Chat):
"Do you crave power? Do you demand speed? Do you need the raw edge to push past your limits? Then it’s time to LEVEL UP!"
The camera zoomed in as the figure ripped open a glowing, high-tech can of Nanite Edge Energy?, the liquid inside swirling like liquid electricity.
COMMERCIAL NARRATOR (Voice Chat):
"Crafted with patented Nano-Charge Technology?, every drop fuels your reflexes, enhances endurance, and brings your A-game to the NEXT LEVEL! Whether you're in a brawl, a battle, or the fight of your life—"
The figure chugged the energy drink, eyes flashing with cybernetic enhancement before vaulting off a rooftop, fist-first into an oncoming mech.
COMMERCIAL NARRATOR (Voice Chat):
"Nanite Edge Energy? – BECAUSE IF YOU CAN’T DODGE, YOU MIGHT AS WELL TASTE LIGHTNING!"
The screen cracked with a digital glitch effect before transitioning back to the tournament.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS IT! WELCOME BACK TO THE QUARTER-FINALS, AND HOLY PIXELS—THINGS ARE GETTING OUT OF CONTROL! WE GOT ASSASSINS BREAKDANCING IN THE SHADOWS, CYBORG FISTICUFFS ON PLATFORM THREE, AND ON PLATFORM TWO… WELL, LET’S JUST SAY THE FIRE MARSHAL HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!”
Above the battlefield, holographic banners flickered, bearing the emblems of the tournament sponsors:
- Auracron Prime – The sleek, silver insignia of the galaxy’s top VR technology company.
- Health United – A neon-blue cross, pulsing like a heartbeat monitor.
- The Be Healthy Corporation – A shimmering green logo, reminding players to hydrate (which they rarely did).
- Synthwave Cyberwear – Their logo, an electric pink visor, rotated slowly midair.
- Nanite Edge Energy – A stylized nanite swarm formed into a lightning bolt.
- Quantum Tactics? – The strategic masterminds behind AI-driven combat simulations.
Each sponsor’s name gleamed across the sky, projected on the arena’s energy-dome, a protective barrier that kept the spectators safe from the cataclysmic battles below.
Inside the packed stands, the audience avatars shimmered in every imaginable shape and form. Some appeared as futuristic warriors, others as mythical beasts, AI-generated cyber-humans, or full-fledged space mercenaries—all of them reacting in real time, their expressions shifting as they absorbed every twist and turn of the tournament.
At the highest point of the coliseum, suspended in midair on a levitating caster-desk, sat the Announcer’s Booth. It was a floating broadcast platform, surrounded by a ring of flashing monitors, projecting the announcer’s every expression across the stadium.
The crowd roared, avatars standing, fists pumping, betting channels exploding with wagers and wild predictions. Holographic drones swooped across the battlefield, capturing every moment from impossible angles, feeding the data back to the massive overhead screens.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "IF YOU'RE JUST TUNING IN—FIRST OFF, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! YOU’RE MISSING THE HOTTEST SLASH-AND-DASH SHOWDOWN IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY! OVER ON PLATFORM ONE, WE’VE GOT Sickblade DAWSON VERSUS REI NIGHTFALL, IN A DEADLY DANCE OF DAGGERS AND DECEPTION! THESE TWO ARE MOVING SO FAST, I SWEAR I JUST SAW THEM IN THREE PLACES AT ONCE! SOMEONE CALL TECH SUPPORT, BECAUSE MY SCREEN IS GLITCHING! WHO WILL STRIKE THE FINAL BLOW?! WHO WILL FADE INTO THE SHADOWS FOREVER?! STAY LOCKED IN!"
The two assassins vanished and reappeared in rapid succession, their forms flickering like shadows cast from broken light. Every step was a feint, every move a deception, their daggers colliding in a mesmerizing, metallic chime of steel.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "AND OVER ON PLATFORM TWO, IT’S A FREAKING NATURAL DISASTER SIMULATOR! AERIS VOSS AND DANI SHAW HAVE TURNED THEIR BATTLEFIELD INTO A LITERAL FIRE VS. WATER APOCALYPSE! SCORCHED EARTH, BOILING WAVES, AND ENOUGH HEAT TO MAKE YOUR GRAPHICS CARD MELT! AERIS JUST PULLED OFF A FULL ELEMENTAL SHIFT MID-BATTLE, AND I DON’T THINK EVEN SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE’S GONNA DO NEXT! WILL DANI SURVIVE THE STORM, OR WILL SHE GET WASHED AWAY?! IF YOU’RE NOT WATCHING THIS, YOU’RE MISSING GAMING HISTORY!"
Lightning arced between Kaine’s knuckles as he lunged forward, fist crackling with raw energy. Drevan barely dodged, his cybernetic HUD flickering, recalibrating for counterattack.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST—ON PLATFORM THREE, IT’S KAINE VEGA VS. DREVAN COLE IN A HIGH-VOLTAGE CLASH OF FISTS AND METAL! SPARKS ARE FLYING—LITERALLY! KAINE’S DROPPING LIGHTNING BOLTS LIKE HE’S TRYING TO POWER AN ENTIRE CITY, AND DREVAN’S TRYING TO TANK IT ALL WITH SHEER DETERMINATION AND WAY TOO MUCH METAL IN HIS BODY! IT’S SPEED VS. ENDURANCE! LIGHTNING VS. STEEL! WHO’S GONNA BREAK FIRST?! DON’T BLINK—ACTUALLY, SCRATCH THAT, SOME OF Y’ALL HAVE TAKEN THAT TOO SERIOUSLY! JUST STAY TUNED!"
A wall of fire and destruction separated them. The ground beneath their feet cracked and burned, glowing with molten fissures. The moment the battle inflated, the stadium erupted. The crowd roared. Digital avatars stood in their seats, their emotions flooding the live chat.
On Platform Two, Dani stood her ground, flames curling around her hands, her breath steady despite the exhaustion creeping in. Aeris Voss stood across from her, a smirk still resting on her lips, but something had shifted. Her eyes gleamed with dangerous intent.
Aeris (World Chat):
"I tried to fight fire with fire. But let’s see how you handle this. ARCANE SHIFT!"
She raised her arms, her tome flaring with pulsating glyphs. The entire sky darkened. The battlefield shuddered. The sky glitched—switching from day to night to day again in rapid succession for five seconds. A loud TICKING! sound echoed like the sound of a grandfather clock housed in the middle of a large cathedral. TICK! The world seemed to pause, TICK every combatant across the tournament momentarily frozen in place. TICK! Even the crowd fell silent. TICK! Then—CHIME! The cycle stabilized, and a new power radiated from Aeris.
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ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "WAIT—WAIT—WAIT, WHAT IS THIS?! DID SHE JUST SHIFT ELEMENTS MID-FIGHT?!"
The entire stadium exploded with shock.
Hexa (Private Chat): "Tell me I didn’t just see that."
Byte (Private Chat): "Oh, you saw it. And we’re ALL about to see what the hell comes next."
Shiro (Private Chat): "That’s…that’s not fair. Right? We agree that’s not fair?"
Vessa (Private Chat): "Fair? No. Terrifying? Absolutely."
Aeris exhaled slowly, her body now surrounded by flowing, translucent energy—a swirling mist of blue.
Vessa (Private Chat): "She’s switching…to water."
Aeris threw her arms forward. A wall of water— a literal tsunami— erupted from the battlefield, crashing forward with the force of a natural disaster.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "OH, SHE DID NOT. SOMEONE GET A BOAT—DANI’S ABOUT TO DROWN."
Dani’s heart pounded. The wave rushed toward her, faster than she could react. She dug her heels in, her mind racing for a way to counter. She had seconds.
HUD ALERT: ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT DETECTED
Massive Water Collision Incoming
Fire Resistance Reduced by 70%
Recommended Action: Immediate Evade
Dani’s fingers tightened around her whips. She couldn’t dodge. There was nowhere to go. She had one chance. Thinking fast.
WTH! Did she just? Can’t dodge… No time… But what if—
Dani (World Chat): "FLAME STEP!"
Her entire body ignited, flames surging beneath her feet as she launched straight into the tsunami. FWOOSH! She blazed through the water, splitting the tidal wave apart, her flames carving a burning tunnel right through the heart of the attack. The crowd gasped.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "HOLY PIXELS! DANI SHAW JUST BURNED A HOLE THROUGH A TSUNAMI! I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF THAT’S LEGAL!"
The water collapsed behind her. Aeris staggered, eyes wide. Dani didn’t stop. Dani’s arms crossed. Her flaming whips lashed out—coiling around Aeris before she could react.
IMPOSSIBLE! SHE BROKE THROUGH.
SHE COULDN’T HAVE LEARNED THAT OVERNIGHT?
NO! I MUST…
Her thoughts screamed.
Aeris (World Chat): “EXECUTE CASCADE SLA—”
Before she could finish her cast, Dani pulled. FWOOOSH! Aeris disintegrated into pixels. The crowd lost their minds. The announcer was screaming. And the stadium shook as Dani Shaw stood victorious.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "I HAVE NO WORDS. I HAVE LITERALLY NO WORDS! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—THIS FIGHT WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SYNTHWAVE CYBERWEAR! BECAUSE WHEN LIFE HITS YOU LIKE A TSUNAMI, YOU BETTER LOOK COOL AS HELL WHILE FIGHTING BACK!"
Dani exhaled, the fight finally over. And then—the next battle called. The arena was alive. The crowd had barely recovered from Dani’s insane Flame Step counter against Aeris Voss before the tournament's other battles pulled them right back into pure chaos. The screens shifted, the massive jumbotron overhead dividing into multiple angles. Platforms One and Three were still raging, their combatants refusing to fall.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "IF YOU THOUGHT THAT LAST FIGHT WAS WILD—HOLD ONTO YOUR HEADSETS, FOLKS, BECAUSE THESE FINAL TWO BATTLES ARE ABOUT TO TEAR THIS PLACE APART!"
The screens zoomed in on Platform One, where Sickblade Dawson and Rei Nightfall were locked in a deadly ballet of shadows and steel. And then—Sickblade whispered two chilling words.
Sickblade Dawson (World Chat): "Serpent Nightmare."
Rei’s form froze mid-air, his short sword mere inches from Sickblade’s throat. But something else had wrapped around him first. A shadowy snake slithered from Sickblade’s dagger, coiling around Rei’s arm, his chest, his throat. It shifted and twisted, flickering between digital illusion and terrifying reality. Rei’s vision blurred. His HUD flashed red. The crowd collectively held their breath.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "UH-OH! REI NIGHTFALL HAS JUST ENTERED A LIVING NIGHTMARE, AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR TYPICAL MONDAY MORNING!"
Rei’s eyes darted left to right, but everything around him was wrong. The arena warped. The platform twisted. Sickblade was everywhere. Every shadow, every flicker of darkness held his grin, his voice, his daggers.
Sickblade Dawson (World Chat): "Oh, what’s wrong, Nightfall? Can’t tell what’s real? Maybe you should’ve STABBED FASTER!"
His HUD was flashing red. His movements were slowing. He was drowning in the illusion. And Sickblade was already behind him. Rei lashed out wildly, his short sword carving the air, hitting nothing.
His breath quickened. His HUD flickered, warning of status corruption. Sickblade stepped out of the illusion, his dagger raised. And then—SCHLICK! The dagger buried deep into Rei’s gut. His HUD SCREAMED CRITICAL DAMAGE.
Rei Nightfall (World Chat):
"Damn... you..."
SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: WINNER – Sickblade DAWSON!
The crowd exploded. The Knitting Knight, a well-known fan seated near the front, let out a frustrated shriek and hurled their carefully knitted Rei Nightfall doll into the crowd.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "OH NO, THE KNITTING KNIGHT HAS HAD ENOUGH! REI NIGHTFALL JUST GOT DELETED, AND APPARENTLY SO DID HIS FAN MERCH!"
The camera zoomed in on the doll, where it was now being fought over by two virtual avatars in the stands. Then the screens snapped to Platform Three—where Kaine Vega was dominating Drevan Cole.
Drevan was on his knees, one arm sparking, his cybernetic systems glitching from the constant onslaught of electricity. Kaine stood above him, cracking his knuckles, each fist humming with charged plasma.
Kaine Vega (World Chat):
"C’mon, Cole, just stay down. I’d hate to mess up that pretty little HUD of yours even more."
Drevan wiped blood-like pixels from his mouth. His health bar was dangerously low. The crowd was tense. Was this it? And then—his HUD flickered. A red notification flashed.
HUD ALERT: LAST STAND MODE ACTIVATED
System Override Engaged
Combat Mode: CRITICAL FOCUS
All stats temporarily boosted by 25%
Drevan’s eyes snapped up. His systems recalibrated. His hands slammed into the platform. And then—the metal beneath Kaine’s feet shattered.A blade of sharpened steel shot up from below, PIERCING straight through Kaine’s chest.
SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: WINNER – DREVAN COLE!
For a moment, nothing moved. No sound. No reaction. Just the flickering red HUD of Kaine Vega’s final seconds.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?! KAINE VEGA WENT FROM KING TO CORPSE IN A MATTER OF SECONDS! SOMEONE CHECK HIS CPU BECAUSE HE JUST BLUE-SCREENED!"
The crowd ERUPTED! The announcer lost his mind.
Drevan staggered, breathing heavily. The battle was over. And just like that—this first round of the quarter-finals had ended.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF YOU NEED TO BREATHE, NOW IS THE TIME! WE’RE TAKING A ONE-HOUR STAND-UP STRETCH BREAK! REMEMBER TO HYDRATE, REFUEL, AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODIES—DIGITAL OR OTHERWISE!"
The camera panned across the stands, catching various reactions from the audience. People stood, stretched, laughed, some just staring blankly after the adrenaline-fueled chaos. And then—the camera found him. The Non-Blinking Elf. Standing in the aisle, a bag of popcorn clutched in his hands. Still. Not. Blinking.
ANNOUNCER (Voice Chat): "NO. WAY. HE’S STILL HERE! HE’S STILL NOT BLINKING! AND NOW HE HAS POPCORN?! SIR, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU NEED TO BLINK! WE HAVE A MEDICAL TEAM ON STANDBY JUST IN CASE!"
This is part of a series of stories that have lived solely in my head for many years, and I’ve finally started writing them as serialized fiction books. If you think the story sucks, feel free to tell me—it’s all part of the process. That said, I’m also looking for constructive criticism, so any suggestions are welcome and will be considered as I work to improve the series.