**Volume 2: Upper World**
**Chapter 52: Tomorrow's Matches**
January 2nd, 8:42 p.m.
The dorm lights were low — just the faint blue glow from the arena screens mounted high on the wall, replaying highlights from earlier fights in silent loops. Sky and Frosty had slept most of the afternoon — tangled together on the same bunk, her head on his chest, his arm around her shoulders like they were afraid to let go. She’d woken first around six, stiff and sore, but hadn’t moved away. Just lay there listening to his heartbeat until he stirred.
Now they were all in the common area — eight of them crammed onto the beat-up couches and floor. Max sat cross-legged on the table, shadows curling lazy at his feet like restless dogs. Cam leaned against the wall, arms folded, wolves napping in smoky wisps around his ankles. Hiro was on the floor with her knees pulled up, golden mend glow faint on her palms as she absently healed a small cut on Rita’s finger. Mira’s crows perched on the back of the couch, eyes glinting. Aoi sat quiet in the corner, knees hugged, spatial cracks flickering tiny around her fingertips. Kira stood by the window — katana resting against her shoulder — watching snow fall outside the dome.
The screen flickered.
A new announcement rolled across — white text on black, Josh’s voice calm and bored.
“Tomorrow’s matchups. First round continues. No changes. No appeals. Arenas open at 7 a.m. sharp.”
The names appeared one by one — big, bold, red.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
**Arena 3: Cam vs Max**
**Arena 5: Hiro vs Rita**
**Arena 9: Jane vs Mara**
**Arena 11: Ray vs Jay (Brother Match)**
**Arena 17: Jessica vs Jamie**
**Arena 21: Jacob vs Jackson**
The room went dead quiet.
Max stared at the screen — shadows freezing mid-curl. Cam’s wolves stirred, low growls rumbling from their throats.
Sky looked at Max first — then Cam. Neither moved.
Hiro’s hands stopped glowing. She looked at Rita — small, quiet, both of them suddenly looking younger than they ever had.
Jane vs Mara — that one hit like a gut punch. The hunter and the demon king. Reaper vs true form. No one spoke it out loud, but everyone felt it: one of them wasn’t walking out.
Ray vs Jay — brother against brother. Ray’s bored ancient face against Jay’s gravity-crush rage. The kind of fight that could level half the stadium.
Jessica vs Jamie — lightning vs whatever Jamie’s trick was (memory wipe? curse brand?). Sounded small, but everyone knew small fights could end ugly fast.
Jacob vs Jackson — gravity vs gravity. Two titans who’d probably known each other since academy days. No one wanted to see it.
Frosty broke the silence first — voice low.
“Tomorrow.”
Max laughed — short, hollow.
“Cam and me. Great. Just what I needed.”
Cam pushed off the wall — slow — shadows trailing him like smoke.
“We don’t have to go all out,” he said quietly. “We can… stall. Draw it out. Make it look real but not—”
Max cut him off.
“We both know how this works. One of us walks out. The other doesn’t.”
Cam looked at him — really looked.
Max met his eyes — shadows flickering darker.
“I’m not gonna hold back,” Max said. “And neither are you. That’s how we honor the rest of them.”
Cam swallowed hard. Nodded once.
Hiro’s voice was small.
“Hiro vs Rita…”
Rita reached over — took her hand.
“We’ll be okay,” she whispered. “We always are.”
No one believed it, but they nodded anyway.
Sky stayed quiet — still holding Frosty’s hand under the blanket they’d dragged over to the couch. He stared at the screen — Jane vs Mara glowing red at the top.
Frosty squeezed his fingers.
“We’ll make it through tomorrow,” she said. “All of us.”
Sky didn’t answer.
Just stared at the matchups until the screen dimmed.
The room fell quiet again — only the soft hum of the dome’s barriers outside, the distant roar of the crowd still watching replays.
Tomorrow.
They’d get ready.
They’d fight.
And one way or another — someone wasn’t coming back.
The chapter ended.
To be continued…
