The moment that Saber cracked open the base core, the entire arena shook. Its walls and spires trembled, and I fell to my knees as the ground quaked. An expanding wave of dim, crimson energy rippled out from the broken core. It hit everything around us. It hit our opponents.

  I managed a glance towards Sylvia, who still remained prone and bloodied on the ground. She shuddered only once before disintegrating into glowing, lifeless motes of light. And then Brandon, too, vanished, sparing a pleading gaze to Saber in his last moments. And Reina, as she clutched her head, cowering alone, faded away as well.

  As did everything else. The sky, the trees, and the ground beneath all disappeared, suddenly, and all that remained was an empty, dark void.

  I fell, and that was the last thing I remembered.

  When I regained consciousness, the light was pricking my eyes. It wasn't bright sunlight, but the muted, filtered luminance we received through the thick fog of the suburbs. It was nonetheless much brighter than the darkness of night I had grown so accustomed to.

  We had returned from the arena.

  Saber and Tanin sat on the ground besides me, upon the concrete pavement near our houses.

  There was no one else here.

  “Nice work,” Tanin said. He exhaled a long, tired, shaking sigh.

  Neither Saber nor I responded.

  I guessed this was it. PvP. We beat our opponents. We won, and they died. We killed them. Whether they were guilty, or innocent, we killed them all.

  Something within me felt sick. I wanted to throw up.

  In a flash of light, a trio of items appeared, one in front of each of us. A dagger for Saber, a gun for me, and a strange, metallic stick for Tanin.

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  I suppose this was our loot.

  My gun looked like a sort of steampunk device, constructed from steel and copper.

  It had the rough shape of a rifle, slightly shorter than the length of my arm, perhaps about the size of a submachine gun. Tubes and wires ran along its length, and a sleek, steel barrel was its bore.

  Tanin’s stout metal stick turned out to be a prosthetic of sorts.

  And…Saber’s dagger? It looked plain, except for the blade’s slightly blueish hue.

  Three loot items, all seemingly tailor-made for us. We never received such plentiful rewards after any previous Challenge. Perhaps this was the norm in Gold. Or perhaps this was the prize for our bloodshed. Sylvia, for what it was worth, did mention that PvP matches offered greater rewards for their victors.

  And…I was now level 6, as my permanent level outside the arena. As was Saber, judging by her now-increased HP.

  As I looked to her, Saber yelled. A broken, anguished, guttural noise, more beastlike than human. Bent over and on her knees, she clutched on to the handle of the dagger.

  “Sophia,” she choked out, her words mixed with weeping. “Sophia. Sophia.”

  “I’m here,” I muttered back, softly.

  But Saber only continued to call my name.