Second Genesis

"Melix is my mother," Elowen said.

Grey’s lips pursed. "Your mother?"

He looked back at the notification as though it might suddenly make more sense if he stared hard enough. So he had been fighting on behalf of the Holy Empire just now? Why? For what purpose?

Why would an Instance meant to bring the Empires together and have their youth fight on their behalf appear in the exact place that could have sunk the Empire otherwise?

Was that the point? Were they trying to hold some sort of culling to shrink the radius of protection against the Dark Kin or something?

"Can you let us down now?" Mauve asked.

Grey looked at her, then at Elowen, and for once decided not to make the obvious joke. He shifted Brad more securely over his shoulder, set the two women down, then finally took a proper look around.

His eyes narrowed. Everyone was here.

Legan and Modric stood not far away, Xerchen was there as well, apparently recovered enough to stand, and Lloron had arrived with the two groups from the Valdi and Enphro Dukedoms. Grey clicked his tongue, looking between all of them.

"Where the hell were you assholes when I was fighting for my life?"

Legan smiled brightly. "You went ahead without us, handsome. How were we supposed to help you?"

Grey looked at him, then slowly turned toward Mauve with a grin. "See that? Even the gays think I’m handsome, you’re missing out."

Legan froze. Then he burst into laughter.

Mauve gave Grey a flat stare.

"Modric," Legan said, leaning toward his companion again, "you should be more like him when I’m complimenting you."

Modric’s face darkened. "Don’t."

Legan gave Grey a wink that probably would have made most straight men reconsider several life choices.

Grey just nodded. "Feel free to keep complimenting me, it feeds my ego."

Then his attention shifted away.

The place they had teleported into was vast, almost too vast to call an arena at all. Several dozen circles of light were spread across the distant stone, each wide enough to hold entire groups, and theirs was only one among them.

Many were still empty, but from time to time one would flicker to life and another set of people would appear, humans mixed among alien races Grey had never seen before.

But there was one circle Grey couldn’t stop looking at.

A man sat alone on a rock. Black armor covered him from head to toe, so completely sealed that Grey couldn’t see a single inch of skin beneath it. Or, rather, there didn’t seem to be skin at all.

Dense red-gold fire burned behind the narrow opening of his helmet, and the flames that made up his fingers and hands didn’t flicker wildly like normal fire. They held shape, compressed so tightly they almost looked solid.

Those were the only parts of his body that he could see at all, and not a single part of them reflected anything he would call flesh.

’Elemental.’

The man looked up and their gazes met across the distance.

There was no hostility in his eyes, no curiosity either. Just bland indifference, the look of someone who had noticed Grey only because Grey happened to be staring first.

Grey’s expression slowly hardened. He highly doubted that was the case.

Even odder, the Elemental was alone. If he had entered with a group like Grey had, they should have been teleported over after the first round ended. That was what had happened with everyone from the Holy City. Even some of the other circles had what looked like NPCs or escorts mixed in among their talents.

This guy had nobody.

’How the fuck did he get into his city’s Instance alone?’

Had the Holy Knights, monks, nuns, or whatever equivalent his people had just let him walk in without anyone else? Or had he killed all of them already?

Grey kept staring.

The Elemental stared back.

For a moment, Grey could have sworn the heat inside his body rose.

That shouldn’t have been possible. They were far too distant from one another for even real heat to reach him, let alone some vague pressure from a stare.

"What’s wrong?" Mauve asked beside him.

"Nothing."

Grey looked away, but his thoughts didn’t stop.

The longer he looked around, the less this place felt like anything Muse Incorporated had created. There was still a chance the Producers had manipulated things enough to funnel everyone here and throw another pile of enemies at him, because apparently that was their favorite hobby, but this seemed too large for that.

It was too organized and connected. Human empires, alien territories, all being dragged into the same place.

Whatever this was, Grey was starting to think it had less to do with the end of the first Arc and a lot more to do with whatever came next.

BOOM.

The ground shook.

"HUMAN!"

Grey blinked. Somehow, before he even turned, he already knew they were talking to him.

A Dormaji stood in another circle, easily twice Duko’s size, with thick black diamond armor covering almost every inch of his body. Sharp rubies accented his shoulders, knees, eyes, fingertips and toenails.

For a few seconds Grey had to roll his lips inward to stop himself from laughing.

"I WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"

Grey cleared his throat.

"Not to judge or anything," he said, "but where’d you get your mani and pedi done? My wife here might want her nails painted red too."

He wrapped an arm around Elowen’s shoulders.

Elowen frowned. "I don’t like red."

Grey looked down at her.

"Too bold," she continued, "and kind of slutty."

Grey nodded seriously, then looked back toward the Dormaji. "Never mind. You heard her. My wife thinks you’re too slutty."

The Dormaji roared.

Grey’s grin widened, already preparing another comment when something descended from the skies.

A halo.

There was no angel beneath it, no body or wings, just a perfect ring of gold slowly lowering until it hovered above the center of the arena.

Then it spoke.

"Welcome."

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