Exodius's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Exodius had crossed three cities in Ethervale, and not one fighter had made him try. He wanted the opponent who could finally show him his own limit. But he could not find that opponent. He stood in a crowded market square, masked and still, watching strong men lift carts and bend iron. None of them mattered. Strength here was a trick for coins. He had no name, no lead, no door to knock on. He was just drifting, and drifting felt worse than losing. A small four-legged creature scampered onto his boot. It had a monkey's shape and sharp, alert eyes. It tugged his glove, then pointed down an alley, chattering. Exodius crouched. "You want me to follow you," he said. The creature darted ahead and stopped, waiting. He followed. The alley opened onto a wide stone door carved with old marks. The creature slipped through a crack. Exodius pushed the door and stepped inside. The space swallowed him. A colossal arena of black, broken stone stretched below a sky of storms and shattered moons. Lava glowed in the cracks of the floor. Carved words sat above the gate: Enter unknown. Leave legendary. On the stands, fighters from many worlds watched. This was the place that only took the deadliest. Three figures stood at the arena's edge, and the crowd watched them, not him. A man in red armor crackled with lightning along his gauntlets. Marcus Thunderstrike turned first. "Another masked one," he said. "They always think the mask makes them special." Beside him stood a man in blue and red, arms folded, calm as stone. Clark Kent studied Exodius the way a judge studies a stranger. "Let him speak," Clark said. "Everyone who walks through that door wants the same thing." The third figure jumped down from the stands and landed close. A woman with red hair and burning eyes grinned. Akira Crimson cracked her knuckles. "I'm bored," she said. "New blood. Good." Exodius felt the glow behind his mask brighten. His pulse did not change, but something in his chest finally woke. Here were three who did not shrink from him. Here, maybe, was the test he had crossed cities to find. "I came to be tested," Exodius said quietly. "Which of you is the strongest?" The three traded looks. Akira laughed. Marcus raised a crackling fist. But Clark lifted a hand and stopped them both. "None of us decides that here," Clark said. "The arena decides. You fight your way up. You want the strongest? You have to climb to him. And no one climbs out alive unless they win every match." The gate behind Exodius sealed shut with a heavy boom. The little creature watched from the wall. Exodius looked at the three fighters, then at the long climb they named. He had wanted a lead. Now he had one. It had locked the only way out behind him.