Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

The coliseum shimmered once again as Adam stepped forward, stretching his shoulders with a grin.

”Alright, I’ve had enough watching. Time to smash some sense into that smug face.”

With deliberate precision, Adam began creating his avatar. The system scanned him, then rendered his form—a towering knight clad in rugged iron armor, broad shoulders glinting beneath the coliseum’s artificial sunlight. His brown hair was swept back, his eyes sharp, and in his hands materialized a massive, rune-carved warhammer. The weapon pulsed with a golden-brown glow, the embodiment of the Law of Earth.

”Perfect.” Adam swung the hammer experimentally, the sound of heavy steel slicing the air echoing ominously.

Blake snickered, twirling his crooked staff like it was weightless. ”Oho? Using A hammer here as well? That’s cute. But you’ll never touch me, my dear rock-head. Mobility beats brawn.”

Adam slammed the hammer down once, the ground beneath him cracking. ”Let’s see if you still laugh when I flatten you.”

Lux leaned forward on the sidelines, his purple eyes sparkling. ”This is going to be good. Adam’s brute force against Blake’s tricks...”

Nero crossed his arms. ”I’ll admit... I want to see the hammer hit just once.”

The countdown blared across the sky.

3... 2... 1... Start!

The crowd roared as the two avatars dashed into action.

Blake opened first, raising his staff high.

”Dark Spears!”

From above, jagged black projectiles rained down, streaking through the sky like thunderbolts. Adam didn’t flinch. His hammer glowed as he slammed it against the ground.

”Stone Wall!”

A colossal wall of solid earth erupted in front of him, the dark spears shattering harmlessly against its surface. Dust and sparks scattered, but Adam walked forward steadily, his wall moving with him like a shield.

Blake’s grin faltered. ”Tch. So you’re going to turtle, huh? Fine.”

He raised both hands, purple flames whirling into being before exploding outward.

Fireballs rained across the coliseum floor, forcing Adam to maneuver. The knight sidestepped, dodging the blasts, before leaping high—his warhammer raised overhead.

”Earth Breaker!”

He came crashing down like a meteor. The hammer smashed into the ground, and a shockwave of golden-brown energy ripped through the arena, forcing Blake to stumble. The mage barely dodged, shadows wrapping around his body as he blinked to the other side of the coliseum.

Blake chuckled breathlessly. ”Heh... You almost had me there. Almost.”

”Almost is all I need to start.” Adam cracked his neck and surged forward again, swinging his hammer in wide arcs that tore through the air like thunderclaps.

Blake countered with a wave of skeleton summons. They surged forward, clawing and slashing, but Adam smashed them aside effortlessly, each swing obliterating them in bursts of data.

The audience roared, caught up in the clash of brute force and sorcery.

But Blake’s eyes gleamed wickedly. ”Not bad, not bad. But you forgot rule number one, my dear hammer boy: distance.”

He slammed his staff down. ”Shadow Chains!”

The ground beneath Adam cracked open, black tendrils shooting upward and locking around his legs and arms. The hammer froze mid-swing, his body immobilized.

”Checkmate.” Blake’s grin widened as he formed a massive orb of pure darkness, swirling with destructive energy. ”Dark Collapse!”

The orb fired like a cannon, striking Adam square in the chest. The explosion consumed him, his health bar plummeting straight to zero.

[Player 2, Blake: Winner.]

The crowd erupted into cheers again as Blake raised his staff in triumph, striking a victory pose.

Adam shook his head, chuckling as he reappeared at the spawn point. ”Heh... Alright. You got me that time.”

Lux smirked. ”One to Blake. But Adam wasn’t serious yet. Even though he didn’t like playing games often he pretty good at them. After all he is a dwarf, one of the designers of those games.”

Nero nodded, eyes narrowing. ”I see. No wonder I could tell he was holding back.”

Adam grinned, resting his hammer against his shoulder. ”You’re right. Round two—no holding back.”

Blake wiggled his eyebrows, trying to mask his nerves. ”Bring it on, rock-head.”

The countdown began again.

3... 2... 1... Start!

This time Adam wasted no time. He slammed his hammer down the instant the match began. ”Stone Pillars!”

From the ground, jagged spires of earth erupted beneath Blake’s feet. The mage yelped, leaping backward just in time as the stone pillars tried to skewer him.

Adam followed immediately, charging like a juggernaut, hammer swinging in devastating arcs. Every blow shook the coliseum, the sheer weight of his strikes forcing Blake to dodge frantically.

”Damn it, he’s faster this round!” Blake hissed, using his chains and shadow bursts to buy distance.

But Adam was relentless. Each time Blake tried to summon skeletons, Adam crushed them instantly. Each time Blake launched a volley of dark spears, Adam countered with earth walls or shattered them midair with a hammer swing.

Lux leaned forward, eyes sharp. ”Adam’s reading his patterns. Blake’s in trouble.”

Blake clicked his tongue, sweat beading on his virtual forehead. ”Not yet... I still have one trick!”

He blinked across the arena again, raising his staff for another Dark Collapse. The massive orb of shadows began to form, swirling with chaotic energy.

But Adam was already there.

”What—?!”

The earth itself had carried him forward, a surge of stone erupting beneath his boots, propelling him across the coliseum like a rocket. His hammer glowed golden-brown as he swung it in a full arc.

”EARTH SHATTER!”

The warhammer collided with Blake’s chest in an earth-shaking blow. The impact shattered the mage’s defenses instantly, his health bar exploding downward to zero in one crushing strike.

The coliseum shook, the virtual ground cracking from the sheer force.

[Player 1, Adam: Winner.]

The audience’s roar was deafening, the cheers shaking the arena as Adam lifted his hammer overhead, triumphant.

On the sidelines, Nero smirked faintly. ”He did it.”

Lux grinned, sipping his drink like a commentator. ”Oh, Blake’s going to hate this.”

Blake’s avatar reappeared at the spawn point, coughing as if the wind had been knocked out of him. His purple eyes twitched in disbelief. ”Wha—what the hell was that?!”

Adam grinned, pointing his hammer like a spear. ”That was me stopping your smug streak. One win each.”

The system chimed, asking if they wanted a tiebreaker.

Blake’s grin returned, though much shakier this time. ”Heh... Fine. One last round, hammer boy. Winner takes glory.”

Adam smirked. ”You’re on.”