The screen at Coral Gate was nothing but white.

  Steam.

  Distortion.

  Sound warped by distance and delay.

  For half a second, the entire viewing hall was silent.

  Then—

  “There’s no way she got through that without serious injury.”

  No one else spoke.

  The haze on the screen churned. Thick. Blinding. Unmoving.

  ———

  Back at Prime Arena, the steam towered where Selena had stood.

  Med teams hovered at the edge of Prime Ring, restrained only by the barrier’s ripple.

  In the stands—

  Valor leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, as he watched the cloud. “…Yeah, there’s no getting up from that.”

  Arcline leaned forward from Snapback’s row, eyes wide. “Does that count as intent to kill disqualification?”

  Snapback didn’t answer.

  He just sat there with his usual grin. Although his shades hid his eyes, Arcline could tell his full attention was on the ring..

  Then Ditto’s voice broke from the ring itself.

  “SELENA!”

  She turned and took off toward the smoke.

  Gale, eyes wide, mouth open. “No. Selena.”

  ———

  Lior’s body moved on instinct.

  Ayasha and Cael were already rising with him.

  Titan’s voice stopped them in mid-motion.

  “Stop. This is her fight.”

  His voice was calm.

  Lior turned with fire in his eyes. “She could be really hurt. We have to—“

  Titan didn’t react, his stern look never shifted. “Sit down. Watch.”

  His finger now pointing where Selena stood before the impact.

  All three stiffened as their attention turned back to the fight.

  ———

  In the ring—

  The steam finally began to thin—slow, reluctant.

  As if the ring itself was trying to hold on to the moment.

  A silver silhouette formed inside the haze.

  The crowd drew in a single breath.

  Ditto skidded to a halt.

  The shape became clearer. Not a body on the ground. But something planted.

  Anchored.

  And as if right on time…

  The steam split.

  Selena held her ground behind a massive silver barrier embedded into the obsidian floor like a fallen standard.

  A Roman-style shield. Wide. Dense.

  The entire stadium detonated.

  Team Titan, Vitalis, Snapback, and Pulse, the group that had befriended Selena, erupted. Sound crashed in every direction at once.

  On the field, Selena exhaled shakily from behind the shield. Her right arm trembled—but she was standing.

  She whispered a single word.

  “Stow.”

  The shield folded inward in a flash of light—compressing, condensing—

  —and sealed back into the thick band around her forearm.

  In the distance, Cascade’s shoulders sagged in a sharp, breathless drop.“…Thank God.”

  Selena held her ground at the impact point. The cadets were still roaring, but the sound felt distant now—muted beneath the ringing in her ears.

  The faint aftershock from the hit still throbbed up her arm, like her bones had nearly given way.

  She swallowed. “…Almost didn’t make it in time.”

  For a brief moment, the noise of the arena softened as memory slid into her thoughts.

  ———

  The hallway lights were low and quiet.

  Selena had barely turned the corner when—

  “I’ve been looking for you.”

  She startled and spun.

  D.C., one-half of Veritas’ tech team, stood a few steps back, hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. That same unreadable calm she always carried.

  Selena, still in a bit of shock. “Oh—uh—sorry. Did I… do something wrong?”

  D.C. studied her for half a second. “No.”

  She stepped forward and opened her palm. A thick band of dark metal rested there, matte and unfamiliar. “This is for you.”

  Selena hesitated, eyes dropping to it. “…What is it?”

  D.C. gently took Selena’s forearm before she could pull back. The band locked into place—and then moved on its own. The metal split, folded, and reformed snug around her forearm.

  A soft green pulse. Then a computerized voice.

  [SHIELD CALIBRATED]

  Selena’s breath caught. “…A shield?”

  D.C gave a simple nod. “Deployable. Tournament-legal. Already cleared by Director Xun.”

  Selena stared at her arm. Then back up. “…For me?”

  D.C nodded again.

  Her voice shrank without meaning to. “I—I didn't ask for this.”

  D.C. walked closer to her. “You didn’t have to.”

  She tapped the band once with two fingers.

  “Your voice is already linked. Say ‘Deploy.’”

  Selena lifted her arm uncertainly. “D-Deploy…?”

  The device detonated outward in a snap of red light—

  metal unfolding, locking—

  THUD!

  The shield slammed into the floor so hard it dragged her with it.

  She stood back with a gasp.

  “Ah—!”

  “Oh.” D.C.’s tone didn’t change. “Gravitational anchor. Should’ve told you.”

  Selena stared at the towering silver barrier in front of her, still catching her breath.

  D.C. continued. “It retracts on Stow. Recharge is one minute, so use it sparingly.”

  Selena turned back to her, overwhelmed, words finally finding their way out. “Th-thank you…”

  D.C. didn’t react right away. “Don’t thank me. Thank Lior.”

  Selena froze.

  D.C. turned to walk away. “He asked me to make something that would keep you safe during the Trials.”

  Her breath caught in her throat.

  ———

  Across Titan, Vitalis, and Snapback’s sections, nine cadets erupted—too few voices to fill the stadium, but loud enough to cut through the silence.

  Steam still hissed along the floor.

  Selena exhaled quietly behind her teeth.“…Thanks, Lior.”

  High in the stands, Lior’s gaze flicked instinctively downward.

  Across the seats, D.C. noticed.

  She lifted one thumb.

  Flat. Expressionless.

  He returned it with a slight smile.

  ———

  K’s voice cut sharply across the field. “Cascade. This is a tournament. She’s our friend, but we’re here to win. Don’t let up.”

  Cascade inhaled once, steadying her aim. “Right.”

  SHHHHH—KLOOP!

  Another water bullet ripped forward.

  Selena’s heart lurched.

  I can’t deploy it yet—a minute hasn’t passed—

  The shot closed in.

  Then—

  WHRRR-KSSHH!!—

  A violent burst of wind blasted in front of her, slamming the water bullet off-course and into the barrier with a deep, resonant—

  THWMMMNNG—

  Selena snapped her head up.

  Gale several yards away, wind spiraling off her shoulders in unstable arcs.

  “If you’re going to be a dead weight,” she shouted, “then leave!”

  The words were sharp — cruel to anyone else. But to Selena, there was something buried inside them. Something like concern.

  Before she could respond, she forced her thoughts into place.

  We have to think quickly.

  She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Gale — attack Replica!”

  Gale’s head turned with a mean expression. “Stop telling me what to—”

  “Just LISTEN to her!” Ditto’s voice cracked through the arena like a whip.

  Gale froze mid-sentence.

  Ditto had never raised her voice at her.

  Not once.

  Gale stared at her teammate, stunned… then exhaled sharply through her nose and pivoted toward Replica, wind tightening around her limbs.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  K exploded forward instantly. “NO, you don’t! Your fight is with me!”

  Selena didn’t flinch. “VISORS — NOW!”

  All three Null cadets slapped the nodes at the sides of their headbands.

  Click—SHNK!

  Dark visors dropped down over their eyes in perfect sync.

  K was two steps from Gale when—

  PSSST—FWHAAM!!!

  A flash grenade detonated in front of Team Seraph — blinding white light devouring K, Replica, and Cascade in an instant.

  Their cries erupted at once.

  “Agh—!”

  “Can’t see—!”

  “Replica—!”

  “Gale, Ditto! Regroup!” Selena barked.

  Gale hesitated only a split second — then obeyed.

  Ditto sprinted.

  They huddled. Selena dropped to one knee, leaned in, and spoke, too low for the for anyone outside of Team Null to hear.

  ———

  In the Vitalis row, Thorn leaned forward.

  “Why are they regrouping? Shouldn’t they be pressing the attack by now?”

  Silverline tapped a knuckle against the railing, eyes narrowed at the three Null cadets huddling through the fading flashes. “They’ve been on the defensive the entire match,” she muttered. “This was their shot.”

  Grid didn’t look away from the arena. “You’re thinking about it wrong.”

  Thorn blinked. “Huh?”

  Grid tilted the sucker stick to the other side of his mouth, voice low and steady. “Think about their Niches. Gale’s the only one built for a straight assault. Ditto’s deceptive—never a frontline striker. And Selena…No Niche at all.”

  Silverline’s expression shifted as the logic sank in.

  Grid continued, eyes tracing the formation below. “With that lineup, a full offensive is suicide. Their win condition isn’t pressure… it’s purely strategic.”

  He nodded subtly toward Selena. “And she’s the only one who can create it.”

  Thornexhaled, realization dawning. “So the regroup… is her play.”

  Grid’s gaze sharpened.

  “Exactly. If Selena’s calling them in now, it means she’s about to try something risky enough to turn the whole match.”

  ———

  Twenty seconds had passed before the haze around Team Seraph finally thinned.

  Shapes beginning sharpening. As sight started returning in flickers of light.

  Replica braced against her knee.

  Cascade wiped at her blurred vision.

  K rolled her shoulders once, steel aura faintly ringing as her senses reset.

  They barely had a second.

  FWOOOM—!!

  Gale launched like a fired arrow, wind spiraling behind her. She shot straight toward Cascade — the only long-range threat who could pin Selena from a distance.

  Cascade’s eyes widened.

  She dove right—

  KSSHH!

  A razor gust carved through the space she’d just vacated, clipping a strand of hair as she rolled across the floor.

  Her breath hitched.

  Too close—

  Gale’s second strike came instantly.

  WHRRR-KSSHH!!

  A cutting wind-arc slashed into Cascade’s arm, ripping her off her feet and spinning her across the floor. She hit hard, skidding several meters before stopping, clutching her forearm where the fabric had split open.

  “CASCADE!”

  Replica and K shouted her name at the same time — panic sharp and immediate.

  Both pivoted—

  —and sprinted for her.

  Replica barely took three steps when a cylindrical shape rolled to a stop in front of her boot.

  Her eyes went wide.

  Not again—

  “K! CLOSE YOUR—!”

  Click.

  …nothing.

  A dud.

  Replica blinked—just for a fraction of a second—

  WHAM!!

  Cascade’s fist smashed across her cheek, snapping her head sideways and dropping her flat onto her back.

  Replica hit the ground stunned, a thin spray of blood leaving her lip.

  K froze.

  Cascade stood where Replica had been, stance low, teeth clenched, bruised but blazing with adrenaline.

  K’s vision snapped to motion—

  Selena.

  Standing right in front of her.

  K surged forward on instinct.

  Selena moved to intercept—but K’s speed was beyond anything she’d braced for.

  K’s shoulder shifted—

  Selena’s eyes widened—

  K’s fist drove straight into her shoulder.

  CRACK.

  Pain flashed white-hot as Selena was thrown backward, sliding across the floor. Her arm went numb instantly, letting her know something was not right.

  Five more seconds.

  K turned sharply toward Cascade to help— but before she could get there, Selena jumped in front of her again.

  Shaking. One arm limp. One arm raised.

  K narrowed her eyes. “…K.”

  She pivoted her weight. “You asked for this.”

  Her fist drew back, steel aura condensing around it—

  Selena inhaled sharply.

  “Deploy.”

  FWOOOMPH—!!

  The shield erupted outward from her forearm, slamming into the floor with its gravitational anchor as K’s punch barreled in—

  THOOOM—!!!

  The impact detonated across the arena, steel meeting fortified alloy in a ringing shockwave.

  A deep GRRK—SKNNNCH rolled through the arena as the impact dented the surface inward, nearly folding the shield around her arm.

  K exhaled sharply.

  “Tch—”

  She tried to yank her arm free.

  Nothing.

  Her brows twitched. “I’m stuck.”

  Behind the shield, Selena was grimacing in pain. Still, she steadied her footing, breath shaking.

  Fifteen seconds earlier, she had prayed for time.

  Now time finally belonged to her.

  Selena’s thoughts flicked to Gale’s earlier exchange — the moment Gale’s wind strikes forced K to raise her arms and guard her face, not her body.

  Her face isn’t reinforced the way her body is… please let that be true.

  Selena lowered her voice to a whisper only the shield could hear.

  “…Stow.”

  The band on her wrist pulsed.

  WHNNNNK—KLOOOOP—!!

  The massive shield began to retract—

  folding inward—

  contracting—

  dragging everything connected to it straight toward Selena.

  K’s eyes widened.

  Her trapped arm jerked forward as the gravitational anchor reversed, yanking her entire upper body off balance.

  Selena moved.

  A single step back.

  A single breath forward.

  Her legs coiled.

  Now.

  She sprang upward—

  twisting her hips—

  driving her knee forward.

  THRAKKK—!!

  Her knee smashed straight into K’s unprotected face.

  Blood burst outward in a sharp red arc.

  The shield finished retracting with a final CHNK, locking back around Selena’s wrist.

  K slid backward across the obsidian floor, landing on her back. Blood poured freely from her nose now, streaking down her lips, splattering against the dark surface below as got on all fours.

  The stands went quiet. Even the Captains had a bit of a surprised look on there face.

  The girl with no Niche had just landed the hardest blow of the match.

  Across the ring—

  Ditto’s fight had turned.

  Replica threw a barrage of swings at Ditto. She had barely recovered from her last dodge when Replica surged forward again.

  One strike to the ribs. A second to the shoulder. A third that sent Ditto tumbling end over end across the floor, her body bouncing hard before rolling to a stop.

  Replica didn’t hesitate.

  She turned and sprinted.

  Three images of her tore forward towards Selena — staggered in time, offset by a fraction of a heartbeat. All raising their fists. All closing in.

  Selena pivoted toward the rightmost figure.

  Her hand passed straight through empty light.

  The real impact came from behind.

  WHAM—

  A crushing blow slammed into the back of her head. The world snapped white. Selena’s body pitched forward, helpless, momentum carrying her face-first into the obsidian.

  CRACK.

  Her forehead struck the floor with a sickening sound.

  Blood burst and streaked across the black surface beneath her.

  Replica skidded to a stop a few paces away, chest rising sharply.

  Selena did not move.

  And with Ditto down, only one of Team Null remained fully engaged.

  Gale.

  She was still hurling violent bars of compressed wind toward Cascade — relentless, furious. Muscles aching, but she continued with the onslaught.

  Cascade staggered through near-misses, breath ragged, uniform torn and sliced in multiple places.

  She was barely holding on.

  K rose to her feet. With no time to breath she sprinted towards Cascade with Replica by her side.

  They were almost there.

  “Gale—behind you!” Ditto screamed, struggling to get up

  K had wrenched one of the massive square floor tiles free with raw steel strength and hurled it like a battering ram.

  The slab tore through the air toward Gale.

  Gale snapped sideways at the last instant.

  Replica and K closed on Cascade.

  Gale glided backward — retreating fast toward her team.

  K and Replica reached Cascade at the same time.

  Cascade staggered as they caught her arms.

  “I’m fine,” she breathed, even as her legs shook. “I’m sorry—”

  Replica shook her head sharply. “Don’t be sorry.”

  K tightened her grip. “You’re our sniper. We should’ve been here sooner. We don’t let anyone reach you again.”

  Cascade swallowed and nodded.

  Across the field—

  Selena was being helped up by Ditto as Gale reached them.

  Gale snarled at her fallen teammates. “I can’t depend on you two for anything!”

  She kicked off the obsidian and rocketed forward, wind snapping beneath her feet as she tore straight at Team Seraph.

  Replica’s eyes sharpened instantly.

  “This is our chance, when she gets like this she doesn’t think,” she said fast. “Let’s move into position delta.”

  K and Cascade both nodded once.

  They sprinted.

  K ripped a massive square slab from the obsidian and hurled it skyward.

  The shadow swallowed Gale.

  She twisted hard, wind blasting from her heel as the slab grazed her leg enough, causing her to lose control in the air.

  She corrected herself and screamed towards Selena. “NOW!”

  Selena reached back and threw the concussion grenade across the floor, landing between Gale and K.

  Gale flared her wind instinctively, shaving off some of the shockwave, causing K to take the full impact.

  WHOOOM—!!

  K dropped to one knee, one hand slamming to the ground, the other clutching her head as sound collapsed inward.

  Before Cascade and Replica could react—

  Gale launched herself back into the air.

  And then—

  “GALE PRISON!”

  She drove her arms in rapid cycles—forward, back, forward—until the air collapsed inward.

  A spiraling wall of cutting wind detonated outward—forming a roaring tornado that swallowed Cascade and Replica whole.

  Inside it—

  Fabric tore.

  Pain burst.

  Replica cried out as invisible blades of wind carved across her arms and sides. “UHHH!”

  Cascade screamed as it ripped across her uniform and legs. “AHHH!”

  Outside the storm—

  Ditto stared. “That causes her extreme pain—She can’t hold that for more than twenty seconds. She’ll black out.”

  Selena watched the wind prison twist. “That’s enough, as long as K stays down.”

  Outside the storm—

  K heard them.

  Her eyes snapped up fighting through the disorientation.

  She surged to her feet.

  And ran straight into the cutting wind.

  Steel screamed as the blades struck her.

  Blood sprayed across her face and jaw as the first wave tore into her cheek and brow—

  Then she bent over them.

  Wrapping her arms and body around Replica and Cascade.

  The wind blades shattered against her steel aura, sparks ripping outward as blood continued to spill from the exposed parts of her face before she lowered her head completely over them.

  Selena’s breath hitched. “No… we won’t get anywhere like this.”

  She moved fast, hand diving into her utility belt as she sprinted for the storm and threw her last cylinder.

  A smoke grenade.

  It vanished into the spinning wind.

  For half a second—

  Nothing.

  Then the tornado turned black.

  Smoke and wind fused into a choking cyclone.

  Inside it—

  Coughing erupted.

  Choking.

  Gasping.

  Blind, slicing turbulence and suffocating darkness tangled together as none of them could see, breathe, or escape cleanly.

  And still—

  None of them gave in.

  ———

  Above, Team Pulse row buzzed, then fell into stunned silence as the whirlwind raged on.

  Sunstrike slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God… that’s devastating.”

  Speedy lurched to his feet, one arm reaching dramatically toward the ring. “Oh no, my precious Replica! Somebody has to go save her—call the medical staff, the Directors, anybody—”

  A hand settled on his shoulder.

  Hiroshi sat just behind them, posture relaxed, eyes narrowed on the churning vortex below.

  “You're seeing a real battle,” he said quietly. “On the other side of that ring, there are no friends. If you worry about their pain…” His gaze tracked the faint outline of Cascade inside the storm. “You’ll end up on the floor looking up at them.”

  He let the words hang for a beat.

  “Look at Cascade. Her first shot nearly took Selena out. The second was weaker. After that… she hesitated to shoot another one.” His voice stayed soft, almost teacher-like. “These Trials aren’t only to find the best team for the mission.”

  His eyes glinted.

  “They show us who isn’t ready for one at all.”

  ———

  Below the wind still raged.

  Gale’s scream tore out of her as the vortex expanded.

  The muscles in her arms shuddered violently, tendons pulling tight against bone. A sharp crack-pop shot through her shoulder as one strain pushed past its limit.

  Her breath hitched.

  Pain lanced down her side like lightning.

  Her wind wavered for half a heartbeat — then she forced it back with a loud snarl, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

  Then—

  Above Prime Ring, in the seats made for the leaders of the battling teams, sat Captain Null and Captain Seraph.

  Seraph rose from her seat slowly.

  Her face was composed, but her hand lifted slowly into the air — a gesture every cadet recognized instantly.

  A surrender signal.

  The arena fell silent.

  The announcer’s voice cut sharply through the dome:

  “CAPTAIN SERAPH HAS SURRENDERED THE MATCH.

  “TEAM NULL IS DECLARED THE VICTORS!”

  The horn sounded its long, echoing note — not triumphant, but somber.

  BOOONK!

  Gale’s wind collapsed immediately, the vortex dissolving into drifting smoke.

  The three Seraph cadets dropped to the floor — gasping, coughing, and disoriented.

  Most cadets in the stands stared down in a heavy quiet, shaken by how far the match had gone.

  These were friends, classmates — people they’d eaten with, trained with… and the Trial had pushed them to the edge.

  This wasn’t a game.

  This wasn’t sparring.

  This was—

  — The Apex Trials.

  And it had just shown its teeth.

  End of Chapter 51