1 PROLOGUE 1.1: Divergent

[STORY IS UNDER HIATUS. NEEDED A LITTLE ADJUSTMENT FOR WSA 2024] "Our next contender is a woman of two decades and three summers—" The loud roars from the crowd, which were strongly opposed of the new contender's entry, caused a stir for the anchor to make an abrupt pause during his announcement. The contender, however, continued her way in as she stood on a wide round plinth made of marble which was partly elevated from the ground. She felt sickened at the appearance of the round plinth that was covered in blood stains, which was gruesome proof that the previous match that had taken place there had been particularly brutal. The deafening protest conquers the entirety of the whole arena, and it seemed that the masters of the whole bloody competition were enjoying the very scene. That's why they didn't even inch a bit to hinder the contender from proceeding the deadly match. The spectators voiced their disapproval loudly as she continued to engage in combat with the vicious monster that was making its way from the opposite side of the arena. They demanded that she be removed from the arena immediately. A lot of voices echoed across the arena, which kept resounding inside the large oval dome where the match would soon take place. The anticipators from the crowd were beginning to yell so many things that were audible enough for the woman to hear. "Was it just all a big mistake?" "How is it even possible that a woman could compete?" "She wouldn't even make it through a single minute!" "Pull her out there or they'll just nail her; better yet, let us just have a taste of her instead!" Was most of what they've been shouting, but none of it managed to convince the people in charge of the competition waver on the proceeding match. They were more intrigued by the idea of how she had become eligible in the first place, as no woman could enter a competition that was solely intended for men with supernatural abilities. Unbeknownst to everyone else inside the arena, the woman who stood in front of everyone else couldn't even believe why she had to be in such a place and compete in such a battle of life and death—and a seriously deadly one, indeed. The loud noise from her surroundings began to lower, as if it was slowly being muted. However, to her astonishment, another male voice resurged above the rest. 'Do not listen to anyone except my voice while you're inside this arena; otherwise, you'll die.' She wasn't sure what the voice was talking about. And just as she was about to try to communicate with the male voice in her head, a loud noise coming from a horn shell jolted her out of her brief foray into her subconscious, and this startled her back to reality. Little did she know, it was already the cue for the match to begin. She completely had no idea that it was the signal for the match until her opponent with a muscular and metallic physique began its charge towards her which she was luckily able to dodge from. The beast that approached her from the other side was completely encased in thick metal gears, and its ferocious teeth were clenched tightly in front of her. The monster soon began his next charge forth her direction, leaving her with no choice but to flee in terror once more. She quickly reached into her side and pulled out a sharp dagger, which she then threw at the monster. However, it only deflected her attack. After that, she retrieved another blade from her sheath and repeated the process, but it seemed as though the dagger, despite its sharpness, was insufficient to cut through the monster's skin. The outcome she feared the most was the one in which the monster went berserk as a direct result of her actions and charged her instead. She had hoped to avoid this at all costs. The scene induced an immediate feeling of dread within her as she observed the monster while it opened its mouth and displayed its pointed, tarnished teeth with a dark tint. Then, without warning, she was overcome with fear at the monster's approach, and she decided that fleeing was her only option. But as she was getting on her feet to run away from the monster and get off of the arena, she then came to a complete halt when the mysterious male voice speaking from inside her head stopped her from her attempt to escape. 'Stop! Don't run, just dodge his attacks.' the voice suddenly said. He cautioned her to avoid eye contact with the monster and told her to sidestep it instead. And in obedient fashion, she carried out the instruction before the monster had even had a chance to draw his blade to stab her. 'Trying to outrun him is the same as getting ready to run for your grave,' said the male voice within her thoughts, and this time she understood that the man was being completely honest with her. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a terrible idea to put her faith in this mysterious voice that was only there to possibly assist her. "What should I do right now, then?" She uttered the words in a hushed tone, attempting to have a covert conversation with the voice. 'He has a formidable physique, is well protected, and is immune to the effects of any weapon. However, he lacks the necessary level of physical strength.' "How are you able to tell?" 'It was a decoy that was just there to wear off the strength of its enemy so that the real contender will be able to give the final blow,' "I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean." 'When he goes for the next attack, continue evading it until I find it.' "Find exactly what?" But the voice didn't respond to her, and instead, all she heard was him almost laughing to himself. "What the hell! I can't believe I just started following you, and now you're turning your back on me!" 'Found it!' He exclaimed. She mumbled to herself, "Would you care to tell me what you mean?" as she continued to avoid all of the monster's attacks. 'Of course,' "And what should I do now?" The mysterious male voice then instructed her, 'take out the two daggers that are stashed away in your pockets.' It was so straightforward as if he had an incredible amount of knowledge about her and her skills, plus the weapons which she hiddenly possessed. And it seemed as though he had complete faith in the words that he said. As a result of this, she was taken aback when she came to realize the fact that the mysterious voice was aware of the reserved daggers she had been keeping. Simply considering it gave her chills, but she couldn't afford the luxury of dwelling on it at this moment because she needed to focus on her enemy, otherwise, she might end up getting killed right away. She moved quickly after while keeping the daggers behind her back, which was sufficient to keep them out of the monster's line of sight. 'You got that right. You are going to have to remain still as he attacks you once more until I tell you otherwise.' "Are you nuts?!" She made an effort to lower the volume of the whispering though she really was so furious to yell back at the mysterious voice. "If I don't dodge this one, it'll kill me for sure!" she even added. She simply would not want to distract herself any further because doing so could eventually give the monster the time it needed to kill her in a swift moment. 'All you have to do is listen to what I have to say.' However, the monster—as the mysterious voice had predicted—swiftly made another charge towards her. She really found the idea outrageously insane, and she just wanted to run away but for some reason, she once again trusted the mysterious voice inside her head and remained still until his next instructions. Suddenly, the mysterious male voice eventually commanded her, 'Fall backward on the ground now!' and she did as she was told. She followed the voice without much hesitation and as the monster passed above her while she was sliding between his legs, the mysterious voice then followed to tell her, 'Pull out the daggers and cut through between the legs.' She did as the voice instructed without much further hesitation once more. Her eyes widened, but she had no time to waste, so she immediately stretched her arms above her face and sliced through between the monster's legs as she glided across it. She was even more taken aback when she attempted to cut across his belly, but instead ended up slicing through both of his legs. After she successfully cut it in half, there was a splash of foul-smelling black essence that came through it. What she didn't anticipate, however, was the small being that had emerged out from the interior of the monster. It had been trapped inside the monster—no, more like what had the mysterious voice told her, that that thing which had sprung out of the monster was only using it as its warrior vessel instead. It appeared to be an infant, but had a dark skin tone, blood-red eyes, and sharp teeth tinted in black. Its appearance was even more repulsive than the monstrosity that it was using as a vessel. The infant had tiny arms, but each of its fingers had a sharp claw that looked even more dangerous than her daggers.

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