The transition from the triumphant energy of the first two matches to the grim reality of the elimination bracket was swift. While the 10th Division was riding high on Elias and Nyx's victories, the weight of the tournament was about to come crashing down.
Match 4
Sloane (10th) vs. Tessa Sol (3rd)
Sloane stepped onto the Reign alone. Her team was gone—Elias had already caught the scent of Kaelen's distress and led the others into the bowels of the stadium. She stood there, a combat medic with a surgical kit and a reinforced baton, facing Tessa Sol, the Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division.
Tessa didn't move. She simply raised her fingers, and nearly invisible monofilament wires shimmered in the stadium lights. Thread Manipulation. "You're a medic," Tessa said, her voice devoid of malice. "Step off the Reign. There is no shame in preserving a life."
"I'm a Xenocide," Sloane replied, her voice steady. "And the 10th doesn't quit."
The match was a brutal display of defensive genius. Sloane knew she couldn't match Tessa's reach, so she fought like a ghost. She used her knowledge of anatomy to predict where the threads would strike, twisting her body in mid-air with acrobatic precision. When a thread sliced her arm, she didn't flinch; she used a specialized numbing spray on herself mid-roll and kept moving.
The crowd was stunned. Usually, medics were the first to be shoved out, but Sloane was a technician. She managed to get inside Tessa's guard, striking at nerve clusters with her baton. For a moment, it looked like the 10th would pull off a third miracle.
But Tessa was a Vice-Captain for a reason. She didn't just use threads to bind; she used them to control the environment. With a sharp tug, she turned the entire surface of the Reign into a web. Sloane's foot caught a tripwire, and in a heartbeat, she was hoisted into the air, bound tightly. Tessa didn't hurt her—she simply swung the "cocoon" of threads over the edge and lowered Sloane gently to the arena floor.
WINNER: TESSA SOL
"Respect," Tessa whispered as she retracted her wires. Sloane sat in the dirt, bruised and defeated, but the applause she received was louder than most winners. She had bought the team the time they needed.
Deep beneath the stadium, in a cramped, flickering restroom, the 10th Division finally found him. Kaelen was curled in the corner, his forehead pressed against the cold tiles, sobbing with a sound that tore at the heart.
"I'm nothing... I'm a mistake... I can't win..." he whimpered.
Jaxen and rook reached out, but the raw terror coming off Kaelen stopped them.
Jaxen turned to the group, his voice trembling as he finally revealed the truth. He told them about the Flare Family. He told them about the dog bowl, the beatings, and how Valerius—the man now sitting in the 1st Division's VIP booth—had treated his own brother like a stray animal before disowning him.
The 10th stood in a heavy, suffocating silence. The rage in the room was palpable. Mikasa gripped her hilt so hard her knuckles turned white. Vela actually stopped eating, her eyes wide with a rare, dark seriousness.
Then, Elias moved.
He didn't offer a hand. He stepped forward and delivered a sharp, bracing punch directly into Kaelen's stomach. Kaelen wheezed, the air leaving his lungs as he slumped forward, he was about to pass out
"Elias! What are you doing?!" Jaxen shouted, stepping forward. Nyx put a hand on Jaxen's chest, her eyes fixed on Elias. "Wait," she said.
Elias grabbed Kaelen by the hair, forcing the boy to look him in the eye. Elias's silver eyes weren't cold—they were burning with a fierce, protective fire.
"And you accept it?" Elias hissed. "You accept that they decided who you are? You are a fool, Kaelen. No one decides your destiny. No one tells you what you can be or do. You control your life. You control every breath you take."
Kaelen tried to look away, but Elias held him firm.
"People are going to look down on you. They are going to tell you that you can't do it. But those are just words, Kaelen. Words don't have blood. Words that are empty.
I know you're scared to take a step, but you have to. Even if you fail, even if you fall , you get back up. No matter how many times you hit the dirt, you get back on your feet.
The word 'impossible' isn't real. It's just a lie told by people who gave up."
Kaelen's crying slowed. He looked at the faces of his team—everyone looked at him with hope, they controlled their own life, even when the world pushes them down, they didn't care.
"I..." Kaelen wiped his face with a shaking hand. He stood up, his legs wobbling but holding. "You're right. Elias... thank you. I'm going to fight. I'm going to prove I am Kaelen of the 10th. The Fallen Flare."
For the first time, a spark of true, white-hot embers flickered in Kaelen's eyes. He wasn't shaking anymore. He was ready to burn.
Match13:
Kahn (9th) vs. Vance (1st)
The 10th Division made it back to the stands just as the next heavy-hitters stepped onto the Reign. Sloane was already there, her arm in a sling, watching the ring.
Vance, the 1st Division's "Wall," stood like a mountain. His power was absolute: Indestructible wall . He didn't move, didn't dodge. He just waited.
Kahn, from the 9th, grinned. He began to stretch his arms, wrapping them around his own torso like a coiled spring. Elasticity.
"You can't break me, rubber boy," Vance grunted, his skin turning a dull, metallic gray.
Kahn didn't answer. He launched himself. He didn't punch; he turned his entire body into a human slingshot. He bounced off the energy barrier surrounding the Reign, gaining speed. He hit the floor, the ceiling, the pillars—moving so fast he became a blur of tan and green.
Vance stood in the center, his feet planted. He braced for a frontal impact. But Kahn was smarter. He didn't hit Vance's chest. He stretched his legs out and wrapped them around Vance's ankles, then used his arms to wrap around Vance's neck.
"What is this?" Vance growled, trying to pull the "rubber" off him.
"It's physics!" Kahn shouted. He didn't try to overpower Vance's durability. He used his elasticity to create a vacuum seal. He constricted, tighter and tighter. Vance's indestructible wall protected him from cuts, but it couldn't protect him from the loss of leverage.
Kahn began to spin. He used his body as a literal bungee cord, building up massive torque. With a sudden, explosive release of his stored kinetic energy, Kahn "snapped" back to his original shape. The force of the rebound acted like a catapult.
Vance, who had no grip on the smooth stone of the Reign, was launched horizontally. He looked like a cannonball, flying across the arena. He tried to dig his heels in, but the momentum was too great.
CRASH.
Vance slammed into the far wall of the Coliseum, cracking the stone. He was unhurt—
But wasn't out, just a few inches away from the reign
Then Kahn stretched and catapulted himself to finish it, but Vance Dodge and Kahn was eliminated
The entire stadium erupted with Cheers and noise,
"I'm better don't forget" Vance told Kahn