Cyrus opened his eyes to see that he was no longer in the bright room and was now stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Panicking, he runs around frantically, looking for a way back before falling to his knees.

"Why me?" He cries hopelessly.

Feeling defeated, he lays down on the grassy plains.

A few moments later he decides to get up. "Well, I might as well try and make the best of it." He reasons.

Walking over to one of the nearby tree's, he climbs to the top before sitting on one of the branches.

Looking out, he sees several figures walking through the forest heading towards the same place. They look different than normal humans, each having unique features that set them apart from everyone else. Some wore animal skins, others dressed in robes whilst some appeared to wear armor. There was no doubt that most of these creatures weren't human.

Even further out, was a noticeably large city. Buildings rose high into the sky reaching hundreds if not thousands of meters. A massive wall encircled the entire area surrounding the buildings. In fact, the walls stretched so far beyond its limits that they disappeared behind the horizon.

"Wow..." Cyrus whispers in awe.

With no other ideas he decides to follow everyone else and makes his way over to the city. As he approaches, he notices a group of men standing outside the walls talking amongst themselves. From afar, they appear to be arguing.

"No, we can't let them in. This isn't our problem. If they're willing to kill just to get in, then it means that they must be dangerous." One man argues.

"But we can't afford to turn anyone away right now. Especially after everything that happened last time." Another responds.

They continue to argue for a short while before Cyrus steps up to the gate.

One of the guards looks up and raises an eyebrow upon seeing him approach. "Who are you?" He asks suspiciously.

Cyrus clears his throat nervously. "i- I’m Cyrus. I saw the city from afar and figured I could find a place to sleep here. Is that okay?" He answers quickly.

The guard frowns slightly annoyed at the interruption before gesturing for someone to come speak with them.

Soon enough, another person comes forward carrying a wooden staff. He has long white hair tied back in a ponytail which hangs down past his shoulders. His skin is pale blue with black markings covering his arms and legs. He wears strange clothes consisting of leather trousers, boots and a shirt with metal plates sewn onto it. He has sharp eyes, thin lips and pointed ears.

"Check this kid for us will ya," The guard says to the man while pointing his thumb at Cyrus.

The stranger walks over to Cyrus inspecting him closely. After a moment he nods approvingly.

"You got yourself a pass kid." He tells him kindly. "Now run along." He instructs him.

Relieved, Cyrus hurries away following the path leading into the city as the guards continue to argue behind him.

Inside, he finds himself in a wide plaza filled with shops selling various goods. People walk around aimlessly going about their business unaware of the danger lurking among them.

Cyrus heads straight for the nearest shop hoping to buy food. When he enters however, he realizes that he doesn't even have a cent to his name. Cursing his luck ,he wanders around searching for anything useful until he spots two women fighting.

It seems as though they've been arguing since before he arrived. Both of them have red hair and green eyes. The taller woman is tall and muscular whereas the shorter one is slim and petite. Their outfits differ greatly with the larger girl wearing tight fitting jeans and a loose tank top whilst her smaller counterpart dresses in a revealing outfit.

Hiding around a corner, Cyrus watches the event unfold.

"how many times do I have to tell you that I don't care what happens. You can't join the tournament. It's not safe." The bigger girl scolds her companion sternly.

"but I can help too. How can you expect me to stand by while you fight for the both of us?" The smaller one protests angrily.

"because you're not strong enough." the bigger one explains patiently. "if you joined in, you'd only end up getting hurt." She continues.

"What does that matter? I'm already hurting." Her partner retorts bitterly. "This is our only shot at returning to a normal life and I refuse to not take part in it." She insists stubbornly.

"no, you shouldn't." The big one states firmly. "it's better that you stay here and stay safe instead of risking your lives for nothing. If I am incapable of winning, there is no way that you would even stand a chance" She pleads desperately trying to convince her companion.

Her words seem to work somewhat as the smaller one almost relents. However, she still refuses to give up on joining the competition.

"Fine, but you'll regret this." The bigger one says before leaving her companion behind.

Seeing the bigger lady walk away leaving the small girl to herself ,Cyrus decides to check up on her. Making his way over he waves and greets her nervously.

When she notices him approaching she immediately becomes wary.

"Who are you?" She demands cautiously.

Realizing that she may be hostile he holds his hands up defensively. "I'm sorry. I just heard you guys fighting and wanted to see if you needed any help. Are you alright?" He asks, concerned.

The smaller girl stares at him suspiciously. "Yes, thank you very much." She replies curtly.

"I'm sorry if I sound nosy, but can you tell me what you were fighting about? Were you arguing over something important?" He asks politely.

The smaller girl sighs tiredly. "We always fight like this. But this time it's important. This may be our final chance to free ourselves from all of this madness." She explains sadly. "If we don't win, then we'll never be able to return to normality again." She adds quietly.

Cyrus listens intently. "Do you mean that tournament that you guys were talking about earlier? What's so important about it?" He questions carefully.

She looks at him in disbelief. "What do you mean? Of course it's important. Everyone in this town is taking part in it. Do you mean to tell me that you don't know?" She asks surprised.

Shaking his head. "Sorry, I just recently arrived here so I'm not familiar with any of this." He apologizes.

"Wait, you just got here!? But everyone was summoned here a year ago!" She exclaims, confused.

Cyrus senses something wrong. "What do you mean summoned?" He asks warily.

The smaller girl looks at him worriedly. "don't play dumb! We were sent here by the gods themselves. All of us were chosen to participate in the tournament and become champions. With the condition that when we win we will have the opportunity to return to our original world. That's why everyone had been training so hard for this last year." She explains solemnly.

Confused by what she said, Cyrus shakes his head. "That sounds impossible. Why would the Gods send you here just to fight each other?" He wonders aloud.

The girl pauses briefly before answering. "The tournament was created by the gods themselves to decide who should rule the land once the current king dies. Whoever wins will gain control over the kingdom and the power to create whatever laws they wish. Along with gaining the power to reign over this world, we would also have enough power to cross between realms. Meaning that whoever won could theoretically return to their home worlds." She explains excitedly.

Cyrus furrows his brows. "So why was I brought in so late?"

"I'm not sure but now that you're here, I doubt you will be able to return by yourself." She tells him seriously.

"Why not!?" He asks, shocked.

"You are a part of the gods game now which means you too must take part in the tournament. Otherwise you risk being stuck here forever." She informs him grimly.

Looking to the sky, Cyrus thinks back on everything he has learned since talking with the girl.

"So that's how it works huh?" He mutters under his breath.

Seeing as he has no other options, He slaps his cheeks before turning to face the girl.

"Well, I guess I better start preparing myself. Right?" he announces before thanking her for the information and rushing out from the alley.

[Grumble]

Only making it a couple of steps, he stops to face the girl once more. "Umm you wouldn't happen to have something to eat would you." he says with a red tinted expression on his face.

The girl laughs before inviting him to join her for dinner.