The Arena

The three month training session had gone by grudgingly slow. Soban's black hair grew a bit longer and his body was slightly more muscular. He stood with Poseidon, Achilles and Ares who recently returned after his battle with Odin and his hidden army. They were walking to the coliseum of Ares and the noise of the crowd grew louder and louder.

"So, Hybrid, I heard you have grown quite powerful since I have been gone," Ares cheerfully.

"I'm not even in the same realm of power that I was before," Soban said arrogantly.

"Is that so?" Ares said with a laugh.

"Ares, you toughened me up, Achilles taught me how to fight and Poseidon taught me his advanced light magic spells and conjuration magic. I'm not sure any younger god or demigod can contend with that," Soban said with a chuckle.

Poseidon swatted Soban in the back of the head gently.

"We taught you confidence, not overconfidence," Poseidon said softly.

"I know, I know. I just need to psych myself up a bit before I get in the arena against Cerberus," Soban said.

They made their way to the arena and Ares split up from them and went into the main entrance. The crowd roared as he walked in and greeted them. Soban, Achilles and Poseidon went into the locker rooms and walked past the other combatants. Achilles turned to Soban and Soban looked up at him.

"There are twenty-eight other gods, demi-gods and god blooded beings in this tournament. Ares pulled some strings and got you and Cerberus in opposite brackets, we expect you to meet in the finals," Achilles said.

"Where is Tesalee placed?" Soban asked.

"On the same side as Cerberus," Tesalee said, approaching the group from behind.

"Tesalee!" Soban said happily.

"Don't be excited to see me just yet, the fact that I'm here means you will lose the tournament," Tesalee said.

Another voice was heard coming from the side.

"Don't be so sure, Tesalee, my brother will win this tournament," Aella said.

"Aella! What are you doing here?" Soban asked while hugging his sister.

"I'm fighting in this tournament," Aella said, a small smile formed on her face.

"You are a Hero class already?" Soban asked in shock.

"I was, before we came to the Mars city," Aella replied with a smile on her face.

Achilles stepped forward and set his large hand on Soban's shoulder.

"It's time to go out," Achilles said to everyone.

The combatants in the room all stood and left their trainers and went into the main arena where Ares was.

"Here are the rest of the contestants!" Ares yelled.

The crowd roared in excitement as they walked out. Ares started speaking about the rules of the tournament. Soban looked around at the crowd and noticed a few things. Hades was already in the ring with Cerberus. Up in the corner Soban saw a special seat but he couldn't tell who was there. One thing he did know was that whoever sat there had power he had only sensed once before.

"In our first match, we shall have the mighty Diad face the great Kallikrates," Ares said.

"Everyone, come back to the locker rooms to await your match," a guide said.

While Soban walked back he noticed a gap in the crowd. Two men were sitting there and everyone was avoiding getting close. Soban recognized them, Hercules and Aeneas. Aeneas was nearly as big as Hercules, but not attractive at all, in fact he was very ugly, but Hercules hung out with him on a daily basis. Hercules watched Soban as he walked into the locker room, his eyes judging the older Soban as he walked but he still looked uninterested in him. Soban finally got into the locker room but was quickly slammed into a wall. Soban scoffed and looked into the eyes of Cerberus.

"If you try to get in the way of anything I do this time, you're dead in a hundred different ways," Cerberus whispered.

Soban smiled and remained silent. Cerberus let him go and walked away. He brushed past the guide and she didn't say a word.

"Soban, don't worry, I'll take him out for you," Tesalee said from behind Soban.

Soban shrugged and heard the crowd go wild. He quickly poked his head out and saw Diad pummeling his opponent. He should have known, no one on their level was as fast as Diad.

"Next combatants on the list, enter the ring," Ares ordered.

Two people walked out and the fight was longer than an hour. Another fight went by quickly and then Soban's turn came up. Soban looked over at his opponent and it was a boy at least four years older than him. Together they walked out into the battle arena and were greeted by the cheers of the crowd. Ares was the referee and was smiling widely. Soban and the other boy stood face to face. Soban looked extremely uninterested.

"Fight!" Ares yelled.

Soban swung his arms together but stopped before activating his armor.

"Nah, I'll save that," Soban said.

"You better use 'that' now, you'll need it," the boy said.

Soban flicked in his direction and a wave of blue energy splashed into his opponent. It didn't hurt him, but it knocked him back onto his butt. He looked stunned and quickly got to his feet. Soban flicked again and the boy fell again. He repeated this for five minutes and his opponent started to scream, but that scream quickly turned into a frustrated cry. Ares was sitting on the ground, highly unamused by Soban's antics.

"Finish him," Ares whispered.

Achilles struggled not to laugh and looked away from the fight. Soban quickly shot forward and knocked out the helpless boy with a vicious punch to the stomach. Soban shrugged and the crowd cheered loudly. Half the crowd was laughing. Poseidon quickly signaled Soban to knock off the jokes.

A few fights later and it was his turn to fight again. This fight he ended in record time, a half second. As he walked out of the ring Cerberus laughed.

"I'll beat that, and I'll do it against your sister, too," Cerberus said.

Soban clashed his bracelets together and his armor formed. He slammed Cerberus into the wall and it cracked severely. This made Cerberus smile so hard, you could see the inside of his cheeks.

"If you dare hurt her I will go against orders and kill you," Soban yelled.

A loud thump was heard and then a booming voice.

"Enough, runts. Save it for the finals," he said.

Soban turned and quickly backed away once he saw who it was.

"Hercules…" Soban said with fear.

"Runt?" Cerberus said with a growl.

Hercules nodded with confidence. Soban never truly realized how big Hercules was until now. At nearly seven feet tall and made of pure muscle he was a beast of a demi-god. Cerberus attacked in a rage but Hercules smiled and with a properly timed flex of his muscles deflected the attacks and sent Cerberus to the ground. Cerberus stopped and retreated a few steps back to where Soban was.

"Quite picking on them, Hercules," Achilles said from behind Hercules.

Hercules turned slowly to face the interruption.

"Ah, young Achilles, didn't I teach you last time not to order me around?" Hercules said.

"It won't be like last time," Achilles said as he reached up to grab his spear.

"Now for the finals of the first bracket, Soban versus Diad," Ares was heard saying.

Diad was already out in the ring and waiting for Soban. Hercules stepped to the side and smiled as Soban walked past. Soban smiled after he got away from the situation and realized his friend was going to fight him for the tiebreaker in their little rivalry.

"This is the final fight," Soban said.

"Win or lose we will always fight one another," Diad said and chuckled.

"Good, let's make this clean," Soban said and prepared himself.

He pulled out his crook and flail and waited for Ares' command. Diad crouched down and put both hands on the ground in a runner's pose. Ares looked at both of them and smiled wide.

"Fight," Ares yelled.

Diad shot off so fast that Soban couldn't see him. He quickly countered by flicking and sending a wave. It slowed Diad down enough for Soban to catch a glimpse of him. With a quick flick of his crook and flail he created a tornado around his body that slowly grew. Diad started to run on the air in the direction of the flowing wind. He quickly rose to the top of the tornado and ran into the funnel. Soban shot a separate funnel of fire and simultaneously closed the top of the tornado and made a sphere of rotating wind. Diad casually dodged the blast and started running around the sphere.

"Gotta do better than that," Diad said.

He got close to Soban and jabbed at him with a dagger. Soban barely dodged and was cut slightly on his chest. He reacted by sending a massive blue wave all around his body. It launched Diad far up into the air and blew away the sphere of air. Diad was unconscious and falling.

"Recover!" Hermes yelled to him.

Diad didn't respond. He was inches away from hitting the ground but spun instantly and landed on his feet. He took off in a blur and separated into nine different copies. Soban was baffled by this new technique. Each one plunged a blade into Soban's chest. It was too late, Soban had already summoned his new weapon, Erephos. It absorbed the knives but quickly spat them out. All nine of the Diad's split up quickly.

"So that's your new weapon, these shoes are mine," Diad said through multiple bodies.

"It makes clones, interesting, but I'm afraid that you've lost," Soban said.

Soban cocked his arm back and threw a punch towards one of the Diad clones. The armor diverted him to a different body instantly. Diad flinched in fear and began to run.

"Gotcha," Soban said.

Soban closed in on Diad as he sped up. The punch connected and Diad was sent tumbling into the stands.

"Sorry," Soban said.

"We have a winner," Ares said after inspecting Diad's unconscious body.

Soban walked out and saw that Achilles was still there but Hercules and Cerberus were gone.

"Great match, kid, I'm proud of you," Achilles said and patted Soban on the head.

Soban grinned and deactivated his armor. He walked into the locker room with Achilles and prepped for the match against Cerberus.

"Next bracket match, Cerberus versus Medon," Ares called out.

Cerberus stood up as did his opponent. They walked out together into the roaring crowd.

"Fight….fights over!" Ares said with surprise.

Cerberus walked back into the room and sat back down. Soban glared at him then at his sister who was preparing with her trainer.

"Tesalee and Mulius," Ares said.

Soban chose not to watch her fight but it was quick and gruesome. She walked back into the room and walked up to Cerberus.

"You're next, big boy," Tesalee said before turning her back on him.

"If you turn your back on me in the match, you'll die. You're lucky I don't kill you now," Cerberus said.

"Let's fight now then, I don't care," Tesalee yelled.

"I can't, this collar forbids me from fighting unless ordered," Cerberus said and pointed to his neck.

"That's high level dark magic, not from our lands. Who put this on you?" Tesalee asked with curiosity.

"A dark mage from the Egyptian lands, his name was Set or something," Cerberus answered.

Soban's head turned instantly. His father worked with Hades? He didn't believe it.

"Aella versus Ops!" Ares yelled.

Soban chose not to watch again. The fight was quick anyway, Aella won handily. She ran to Soban after the match to hug him. He pushed her away and stared into her eyes.

"Lose your next match," Soban said.

"No," Aella replied.

"Cerberus will kill you."

"Don't worry about me, they have great doctors here. I wanna see what I'm made of."

"I don't care about the doctors!" Soban yelled and stood.

"I know what I'm doing!" Aella yelled back.

"That's why moms dead, right?" Soban roared.

Aella's eyes welled up and she walked away. Soban sat down and slammed his fist into the ground. He sat alone for a few minutes until he heard the next match being called.

"Cerberus versus Tesalee!" Ares yelled.

Soban didn't want to watch, he knew the result. Within seconds of the match starting there was a sickly scream. A minute later Cerberus walked into the room. Tesalee was carried in on a stretcher and was badly injured. Cerberus laughed as they carried her past him.

"…versus Aella!" Soban heard.

Soban hoped that she would lose. Cerberus was far too dangerous for her to fight. But to his dismay, Aella advanced.

"Aella versus Cerberus!" Ares announced.

Cerberus laughed crazily as he exited. Soban refused to look as Cerberus exited to the arena. The crowd roared and Cerberus slowly walked in. Soban wondered where Ares had hidden Anubis and if he was watching.

"Ready?" Ares yelled.

The crowd roared back and Ares looked at both fighters. Cerberus was in attack mode, ready to strike the instant the fight started.

"Fight!" Ares yelled.

Immediately after, the crowd screamed in horror. Soban knew what happened but he refused to acknowledge it. Cerberus walked back into the room unharmed. Aella did not; she wasn't brought into the room at all. A few minutes of silence went by without a sound.

"Next fight, the finals!" Ares yelled to get the crowd going again.

Soban stood and activated his armor before he left to the arena. The crowd howled as Soban entered first. The cheers died a bit when Cerberus entered. Soban noticed his sister being carried out and a rage brewed inside of him.

"Ready?" Ares called out loudly.

Soban took off instantly, not waiting for the signal to fight. Ares laughed and stood back. Soban swung his armored arm forward and it impacted Cerberus in the chest and he was sent backwards. Cerberus quickly regained footing and ran forward. His black boots and gauntlets were starting to glow red. He jumped in the air and threw a kick at Soban's face. The kick was dodged but a trail of flames was left in its wake. The flames didn't disappear, they remained and burned very violently.

"This is my new weapon, Pirosa," Cerberus said with a growl.

He kicked and punched randomly in the air and flame trails remained. With great speed, Cerberus rushed around Soban leaving flame trails wherever he attacked. Soban pulled out his crook and flail and slowly merged them with his armor. Erephos grew a bit longer and Soban raised one arm. A huge sphere of water was formed and Soban dropped it on himself. The water splashed everywhere and impacted the fire of Cerberus' weapon.

"That won't work," Cerberus said.

The flames didn't die out and Cerberus continued to create a barrier of flames all around Soban. Cerberus walked through the wall of flames and stared at a terrified Soban. With a quick flick of both of his wrists, Soban shot a large stone cube at Cerberus. He easily dodged and the cube instantly disintegrated against the wall of flames. Soban raised his right arm and attempted to control the flames with no result.

"These flames are beyond your level, Soban the Hybrid," Cerberus said.

Soban panicked and took a nervous step back. How did Cerberus know his name?

"An Egyptian who migrated here using an ability that hasn't been seen for twelve thousand years," Cerberus said.

"How did you know that name?" Soban asked, hoping the cheers of the crowd prevented people from hearing Cerberus.

"Your sister, when I destroyed her I got access to her mind. I dabbled a bit into mind reading with some training from Hades but never liked it. I thought it would be fun to torture you so I read her mind for details," Cerberus explained.

"How dare you. I can't let you leave here with that knowledge," Soban said.

"I have no interest in telling anyone, I just need you to fight me, forever, that's all that matters to me," Cerberus said calmly.

"Why do you want to fight me so badly?" Soban said.

"Because, like you, I am something that hasn't been seen for twelve thousand years, a hybrid, but not the same kind you are," Cerberus said, slowly pacing around the inside of the fire dome.

"Not possible," Soban said, his eyes following Cerberus' every step.

"I am the product of Zeus' and Hades' experiments, not a born hybrid but a manufactured one," Cerberus continued.

"Why would they do that?" Soban asked.

"A war is coming. Zeus plans to end Ra's empire and rule over this realm for good," Cerberus said.

"I won't let that happen, I'll destroy you before you get enough power to be used," Soban yelled.

"That should be fun, try it," Cerberus said.

Soban blasted forward and exchanged punches with Cerberus. The gap in power was covered by Soban's new armor. Cerberus' smile widened more and more with every punch Soban hit him with.

"Repel!" Soban said and blasted Cerberus back.

"Negate!" Cerberus yelled back.

It canceled the effects of Soban's spell and they continued to fight hand to hand. Every spell Soban tried was canceled by Cerberus and he started to lose the fight. After an hour of nonstop fighting, Soban was nearly out of power. On the other side, Cerberus wasn't even breathing hard. Soban knew he had to do something quickly.

"This has been fun, but it's time to end our first match," Cerberus said and walked out of the fire dome.

He raised his gauntlets and brought both hands to his chest. The fire dome collapsed onto Soban and a massive light erupted from the explosion. All that remained was a charred Soban. Cerberus walked over and grabbed Soban's body by the hair and lifted him up. The crowd cheered loudly and Achilles growled in anger.

"Gotcha," Soban said.

Soban pushed Cerberus away and kicked out one of his knees, knocking him off balance. He twisted his body and pumped out all his Greek power, the Erephos went wild and it buzzed loudly. The moment Cerberus stood up Soban threw a punch with all his remaining power. Cerberus jumped up slightly and the punch impacted his collar and shattered it. Cerberus was launched into the stands. He was blown through the seats then through the stadium wall. The crowd erupted in cheers. Soban dropped to his knees and began to black out. A pat on the back by Ares pushed away the darkness and Soban stood up.

"Great job, kid. How did you survive?" Ares asked.

"No fire attack can hurt me, so I used the light as a distraction to create some soot and rubbed it on me to fool him," Soban replied.

A loud roar was heard outside of the stadium. A massive three headed dog crashed into the stadium and pinned Soban to the ground. The beast quickly reverted into his human form and Cerberus was standing over Soban's unconscious body. He began kicking the unconscious Soban until Ares pulled him off.

"Let me go, my fight isn't over!" Cerberus yelled.

"He can't fight anymore, it's over," Ares said.

"He is about to use the other power."

"Other power?"

"Look."

Soban's body began changing color. Wind swirled and he floated into the air. His injuries disappeared and a large cloud floated above him. Even the higher gods were nervous. The power that came off of him was evil and vicious. His Egyptian power was awakening.

"What did Anubis do to you?" Ares said in awe.

In a flash, Soban was slammed into the ground. The man above him was Hercules. The stands emptied quickly as Hercules laughed maniacally.

"I knew something was odd about you!" Hercules yelled.

"Soban!" Achilles yelled.

Achilles jumped out of his seat and ran towards Hercules.

"That will be enough," a horrifying voice yelled.

Everyone but Cerberus froze in their spot. The man from the special seat high up slowly descended and landed on the ground next to Ares. He was an old man with a long beard. Lightning was emanating from his body.

"Lord Zeus, let me explain," Ares said.

"Silence," Zeus said.

He walked over to Hercules and reached down at Soban. Hercules jerked him away and stood up. Soban was struggling to get free, but he wasn't conscious.

"Hand him over, Hercules," Zeus ordered firmly.

Hercules stared at Zeus for half a minute before complying. He grunted in anger and left the coliseum in a rage.

"Zeus, what will you do?" Ares asked nervously.

"Ares, did you know about this?" Zeus asked back.

"Yes."

"You do know that I could kill you for your crimes, right?"

"Do what you must."

Zeus thought for a few seconds. During that time Poseidon walked up to them. Soban regained consciousness in Zeus' arms. He felt the power of Zeus and quickly reverted to his Greek form.

"Ares, what is going on?" Soban asked desperately.

Ares didn't respond. Soban tried to get free but the grip of Zeus was too strong. He looked at Cerberus who was intensely angry at the interference. Next in his vision was Achilles.

"Achilles, help me," Soban pleaded.

Achilles lifted his arm but was cut off by Poseidon's yell.

"You are an Egyptian?" Poseidon asked.

"No, I'm a hybrid but I want to live here, there isn't as much fighting," Soban said.

"You are mistaken. Once you rank up in the combat trials you are sent out on missions," Poseidon said.

"I don't care, I want to stay here with Achilles and Ares. And I want to continue to have fun with my friends Diad and Tesalee, and even Cerberus," Soban said, the fear becoming more and more real to him.

"Death," Zeus said, interrupting Soban's conversation.

"No!" Soban yelled.

"You will be executed, by Ares, that shall punish you both," Zeus said.

Tesalee and Diad were staring at the event from the locker room. Tesalee was healed by Poseidon but still had wounds on her face. Diad was angered by Zeus' verdict but fear held him from speaking up.

"The execution shall be in one week, the killing of the first hybrid since Shuno the Nature Lord," Zeus said.

Poseidon remained silent as Zeus took Soban away. Cerberus began growling and his eyes became red.

"I want my fight!" Cerberus yelled.

Hades came down and held him by the shoulders and calmed his power down. Cerberus calmed down and walked away towards the locker room. Diad and Tesalee quickly hid themselves. Cerberus ran into the room and began punching a wall, destroying it easily.

"Cerberus," Tesalee called out.

Cerberus shot her a look and she struggled to remain near his power.

"He won't die," she said.

"I don't believe you," Cerberus growled.

"He'll get away, he is the next greatest trickster of our generation," Diad said.

Cerberus stepped forward and calmed himself. He stared into the eyes of Tesalee then Diad.

"He told me if he was to ever get arrested to use a certain spell in a certain area. I had no idea what he meant but now I know," Tesalee said.

"Let's go then," Cerberus said.