The alarms and chaos had long settled, but the tension of the meeting still lingered. Noah threw himself into work, pacing near the holo-table with Lucianne.
Lucianne exhaling she still felt the tension from meeting with the president,
"You know you just declared war with the most powerful man alive, right?"
Noah shrugging, he know that the world government will not let him come back alive next time they meet,
"He wanted a pawn. I'm not built for that. At least, he let us live this time but of course it will not end with the same result next time. Now…" he flicked the holo-map to life "…let's talk about the next battlefield."
The map shifted, showing terrains, climate settings, and environment modifiers. Lucianne's eyes glimmered with both caution and excitement.
"We'll need to think smart. Aladdin thrives in chaos, illusions, tricks, sleight of hand. A normal arena won't cut it."
Noah smirking faintly,
"Good. Then we won't give him normal. We'll build something that forces his tricks into the open… and something where Enrique's eyes can catch every detail."
Lucianne leaned closer, already sketching parameters.
Lucianne:
"An arena designed for vision. No shadows to hide in. No infinite space to run. A place where illusion becomes a disadvantage…"
Their fingers darted across controls, schematics flickering. The custom arena began to take shape designed not for brute force, but for clarity. A battleground where truth and deception would collide.
Thursday has already arrived and it is the arena revealed day for the fourth round.
But this time it is Humanity custom arena design.
Every creature and human is watching from everywhere on earth to see what humanity's custom arena looks like.
On the Legend side, Hans Grimm sat tense, Leo stone-faced. Aladdin yawned, twirling a coin in his fingers while the Genie smirked as if the world already belonged to him.
On Humanity's side, Noah stood tall beside Lucianne. Behind them, Enrique, the Eyes of the World. His gaze was calm, sharp, scanning the crowd as though memorizing every heartbeat.
Rumpelstilskin comes out in front of the camera and reveals the stadium that the creature never thought they will be able to see.
"THE NEXT ARENA IS ONE OF THE AMAZING ARENA YOU WILL SEE! THE ARENA IS DESIGNED TO FULL HUMANITY ADVANTAGE!"
A colossal dome of crystal and obsidian, built for ultimate vision. Every fighter inside is exposed from all angles no blind spots, no hidden corners. Both combatants can see one another, as if trapped on a stage beneath a thousand watching eyes.
The ground is a wide deck made of weathered wooden planks, like the surface of an ancient ship. It rests upon a single colossal cylinder beam that runs beneath its center. This makes the entire deck tilt and sway unpredictably, lurching left and right as though caught in a storm at sea. Every step demands balance, awareness, and agility.
Far beneath the swaying floor lies a second layer: a vast pit bristling with iron spikes. The fall is long, the landing certain, anyone who slips from the tilted deck meets instant death.
Suspended at the dome's peak spins a massive golden compass rose. Its needle eternally points toward the "true body" of both sides of the combatants, those who try to rely on tricks or illusions but only the one with the eyes to see can understand its meaning.
The dome gleamed like an endless ocean sky, the tilting deck groaning and shifting beneath the fighters' feet, the spikes below shimmering ominously in the reflected light. The crowd roared, some in awe, some in fear.
Lucianne smiling and steady,
"Perfect. A stage where balance isn't just strategy, it's survival."
Noah grinning,
"And the only man who can read the storm is standing right there."
Hans' expressions fill with anger since he knows that the stadium is built the best for countering Aladdin and Genie since Hans got the information that he has revealed himself to the opponent side before.
"Stupid beggar, this arena is built perfectly to kill your ass! IF YOU DON'T REVEAL YOURSELF BEFORE THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE CASE!
Aladdin with a silly smirk while playing with gold coins then flick it up in the air and catch it right after.
"What are you bitching about, little boy? We will win no matter what. Me and my client, Aladdin would take the third point for Fairytale." said The Genie while sipping on some expensive wines.
Aladdin then continue,
"Don't worry, I can dance on any platform given to me. I'm gonna make the opponent dance like some kind of belly dancer or something HAHAHAHA-!"
Leo watching the arena smiling. "So, those nerds actually have the same intelligence as their looks. My fault is not giving you enough credit."
Hans watching his brother, annoyed with his gentleman, fairness and respect. Hans doesn't believe in that kinda bullshit. So, bite his fingers and in his mind, he already thinks of something to happen for round 4.
The fourth round of the tournament between humanity and fairy tales have arrived.
The score between them is 2 - 1, with the Fairy tale sides having the leads.
The colossal crowd in the coliseum held its breath. Above them, the mirror dome shimmered like a living jewel, the wooden floor tilting and rocking as if the world itself had turned into an unsteady ship floating over a pit of death.
The crowd roared. Rumpelstiltskin rose dramatically from his chair, his little hat bouncing as he flung his arms wide. The announcer's voice boomed across the arena.
Rumpelstiltskin grinning with jagged teeth,
"ROUND FOUR! The arena of humanity's design! A battlefield where lies reflect… and truth may vanish! The duel of destiny begins!"
Rumpelstiltskin gleeful,
"From the side of Legends… a man whose cunning is endless! A thief who's stolen gold, jewels, hearts, and even the fate of kings! He who dances through chaos with a grin and leaves nothing but laughter in his wake-"
From the Legend gate, a sandstorm burst forth, spilling glittering coins and gemstones across the floor like rain. A flying carpet swooped in from above, looping and spiraling before crash-landing upside down. A man popped up from underneath it messy green hair, tank top hanging open, hat tilted crooked, waving sheepishly at the crowd.
Aladdin spun the Genie lamp in one hand and juggled jewels with the other, tossing them into the crowd with a laugh.
Aladdin with a mocking bow,
"Try not to blink, world. Fate's already mine."
Rumpelstiltskin screaming the name of the legends champion,
"THE THIEF OF FATE… ALADDIN!!!"
The Legend side roared with laughter and cheers. Hans smirked faintly, but Leo remained stone cold.
Now, silence fell.
The human VIP box was tense, but Noah raised his hand, signaling for their champion. Lucianne's heart raced.
Rumpelstilskin now announcing the champions from the humanity side,
"And from the side of Humanity… a warrior not known for tricks or illusions, but for piercing through them all! The first Malay to sail the world, servant turned pioneer, witness to lands beyond imagination. His eyes have seen the edge of the horizon and now they will see the edge of victory! Humanity's piercing gaze…"
The Human gate creaked open. At first it was nothing. Then, a ripple shimmered through the mirrored floor. A reflection appeared where none should be, that is Enrique, standing calmly atop the shifting glass. The crowd gasped, it was as if he'd simply appeared out of nowhere.
He stepped forward with measured grace, the mirrored dome amplifying each footstep into echoes like thunder. His kris blade glinted faintly in the thousand lights, but his eyes… his eyes cut sharper than any blade, scanning, dissecting, seeing everything.
Enrique with a calm and steady tones,
"I've seen the world. I've seen men like you. And today, thief… the world sees you for what you are."
Rumpelstilskin scream thundered the entire arena,
"THE EYES OF THE WORLD… ENRIQUE OF MALACCA!!!"
The human side erupted into deafening cheers. For the first time, they screamed not only in hope but with pride.
Enrique didn't raise his sword or roar. He simply looked at Aladdin across the arena. His eyes narrowed, as though stripping away the thief's mask and seeing him for what he truly was.
"If you have any tricks right now, let it out now. I know you have some kind of "friends" inside of the lamp you are holding."
"Tchh… you are so nosy." Aladdin felt annoyed with Enrique.
Aladdin looks at his magic lamp and say,
"Came out now, G. We have been caught."
Suddenly a deep voice coming out from the teapot shaped lamp,
"WE?!? WHO'S WE? AND WHY THE FUCK YOU ADMIT IT?!?"
A blue figure comes out from the lamp. He is The Genie of the Teapot lamp. He actually looks so angry and quickly slaps the hell out of Aladdin.
Aladdin fell to the ground.
Everyone was shocked and started murmuring all across the arena. They are arguing is that can be seen as cheating or not since it's basically 2 versus 1 rather than 1 versus 1.
Suddenly…
Leo Grimm stand up and announced,
"Genie of The Teapot Lamp comes from the lamp that is one of Aladdin's arsenal. So, it will not count as 2 versus 1 since Genie is Aladdin's weapon."
A roar of humanity can be heard from the audience stand ,
"Cheating bastards!", "Of course, y'all change its rule anytime you can!", "I thought the fairy tales were strong but this only shows that they are a bunch of cowards.".
Seeing humanity speak up like that annoyed Hans
"BLASPHEMY! HOW DARE YO-"
Enrique raise his hands to stop all the commotion and says,
"Do not worry, even if 2 versus 1 I can win and I will win. I will see all of his tricks and expose them to the world."
Hans looks at Enrique from the monitor screen since they and the audience are outside the dome,
"Cocky little bastard."
Aladdin finally gets up. Even with the harsh treatment by Genie, he still stays with him since Genie granted all of his wishes.
Except one and that is too released by his wife, Queen Badroulbadour or who he calls Moon.
"Sorry sailor boy, even if you can see all of our tricks. We still have more and more tricks hidden up on our sleeves."
Enrique just smirked.