"Welcome all of you." The man spoke, his voice booming through the entire hall. The thousands of awakened there could all hear him, even those that couldn't see him well enough.

"I'll not be delaying you anymore here, as the time for the tournament has begun.

The first stage of the War God Tournament is very simple, yet it is the stage that will wipe away the majority of you. Yes, it is that clear.

The first stage of the tournament takes its reference from the trials. The trials are the best blueprint for a tournament, and it has been decided that they will be used for the tournament.

The first tournament is called the God's Elimination. Every one of you will be thrown into an arena, where you'll be given one week to survive, against yourselves and against monsters.

Those that make it out at the end of the week will move to the second stage of the tournament, and those that fail, well, they have failed.

The arena is the size of a city, and as such can easily carry all of you. It is also modelled after a place known as the Geisha Ruins." The man paused after saying that, waiting to see if anyone there knew what Geisha was, and he indeed saw some faces that knew that name.

He smiled and then continued. "Geisha was a monster in the purest words, a cataclysm-level monster, a dragon. Extremely powerful.

Many years ago, humanity was faced with this monster inside the domain, and it led to a hundred-day war, where monsters that followed Geisha attacked, and Geisha himself attacked.

The War God was forced to battle Geisha for fifty days straight until finally, he won, and the area where Geisha died and lay was called the Geisha Ruins.

The essence of Geisha could not be moved from that land, nor could its body, which is buried there. That essence now creates powerful monsters that roam there.

That is where the elimination will take place. The hosts of the tournament have placed a ton of resources scattered across the Geisha Ruins, and if you find them, it will help you.

Also, you'll all be given a crystal. It can shatter at will, and the very moment it does, you'll be teleported out of the ruins, meaning you have given up. This is our way of ensuring that no one dies, but even then, death happens."

He paused again after that, looking at their faces. He could see a mix of emotion all around. He smiled. "That's the end of the briefing. All you have to do is survive, find resources, and move to the next step."

After saying that, he walked away, leaving through the door that he came through, not telling them what would happen after that.

Everyone looked around in confusion, waiting for what was to come, and then the next moment, the entire hall lit up with a night-blue light under their feet.

Everyone looked around in panic. They had no idea what was happening right now. In an instant, they all vanished from the hall.

[....]

Back in the lounge, Aren sat inside, looking at the screen. He had listened to everything and was very intrigued by the story of the Geisha Ruins. It was the first time he had heard something like that, so it got him curious.

But he was also worried. The group was sent to the ruins now, and Athena was without proper protection. Sure, he trusted the team, but still, it made him worry.

Luka noticed the worry on his face and decided to ask. "Nervous?"

"No, not quite. Something else," Aren replied.

"Well, whatever it is, you better clear it, because once the remaining chosen come here, we'll also be briefed on our task and sent on our way," Luka said.

"There are more of us?" Aren asked.

"Yup, twenty in total." As soon as Luka said that, the door opened and the remaining seven chosen finally arrived, with four ladies and three dudes.

The moment they all walked in, Aren immediately spotted someone he didn't expect to see again for a very long time. Elena.

She looked like she had gone through a lot of changes. Her demeanor was calmer, her eyes were more calm. She looked over and her eyes met with Aren. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Aren looked away.

They knew each other before, but that was the past now. She didn't matter to him. But Elena thought differently. She walked over to Aren and sat right beside him.

"Nice seeing you again," she said. A smile formed on her lips.

"Can't say the feeling is the same," Aren replied.

"I expected that," she said, then looked forward. "How long has it been now?" she asked.

"A few months," Aren replied.

"Yet it feels like years," she said and chuckled.

Luka noticed the two and decided to stand up and leave them to have their discussion.

"I recall when we first met, you were marked out to be the weakest. How much that has changed is fascinating," she said.

"Yeah, you weren't the nicest person," Aren replied.

"Yeah, I'm still not nice, just more plotting," she said with a smile.

"Wow, you've leaned into your true self a lot," Aren teased.

"What can one do? The trials change us. You have changed, I have changed. We all changed," she said.

"Me? Changed, how so?" Aren asked. She looked at him, then smiled. "Back then, your eyes carried bravery and defiance. Now, they carry fear and worry. You have allowed so much to matter to you, and now you fear losing them," she explained.

"When did you get good at reading people?" he asked.

"Using and manipulating people has always been my thing. I just got better.

It's a two-edged sword. It stops me from ever trusting, because I view people as tools to be used, not trusted. At least you were able to find some dear things," she said.

"Yeah, I guess," Aren replied.

At that moment, the door opened again.

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