Large fireworks filled the open sky above the arena, brilliant colors and impossible shapes. A row of rockets were shot off, each forming a letter in the sky as they exploded in perfect synchronicity, reading: Welcome.

The competitions will now begin. Please enjoy the festivities of Agona!

The sounds and flashes had startled her in their abruptness, but Lyssa was even more unprepared for what happened next. Two massive bodies appeared in the air above the pit. She braced herself, panic running through her body.

A man and a woman, floating in the air as though by magic. Her breathing was caught. She thought to run, to flee all the way back to the house with Theodore and never look back, and by the looks of those around her, she wasn’t alone.

But then word started to pass through the crowds.

“They’re in the pits!”

“Those aren’t real!”

When her gaze was turned down to the pits, sure enough, there were two small figures. She was quite a distance away, but she saw that when the man raised his large sword up, the same happened to the giant figure hovering in the air.

Holograms? She wondered. Lyssa had never heard of holograms standing five times as tall as her, but she had also told herself to stop questioning Agona. It doesn’t matter what they are. It’s easier to watch them, and that’s all that matters.

The first match of the festival will now commence. Competitors, ready yourselves!

They tried. The man charged forward. The woman’s large face formed into a look of shock and she surrendered. She found herself chuckling along with those around her.

Then her laughing stopped when two more men found themselves standing across from one another on the sands, their large bodies floating before the entire arena. One of them was impossibly tall, his head nearly peaking up enough to peer over the top of the arena. Zeal. And across from him, Abel.

What is he doing? Why would he fight? She felt the blood draining from her face. Where is Sarah? She wouldn’t fight, would she? No, she wouldn’t.

Her eyes scanned the crowds, searching for familiarity, but Abel’s words, or rather his single word, brought her attention back to the holograms.

“Shit.”

The crowds laughed. Lyssa did not, too focused on the axe Zeal was holding, imagining Abel was about to be cleaved in half before the entire city. Images of Zeal and what he had done to Ted the night they had arrived, as well as the pure terror of those first hours, came back to her and she desperately thought about what she could do to help. A fruitless train of thought. She could only watch.

Watch as Zeal dropped his axe to the sands.

Competitors who lose their weapons will be disqualified. Grab your weapon or be disqualified.

“I refuse to participate in this.”

And then they were gone.

Lyssa was confused. Relieved, but confused. Had Zeal’s forfeiture given Abel the victory?

She didn’t have more time to think, as the next moment, she found her own feet on the sands below.

“What?” She said aloud, hearing similar cries around her.

Her heart nearly stopped. Had this been the city’s plan all along, to force those in the stands to fight? She truly should have stayed with Theodore.

Our first competition for the spectators will be a tug of war. The victors will receive a bonus reward. Please do your best to win for your team!

Lyssa took in her surroundings, her panic beginning to settle. Tug of war? There was a single rope a single white stone half-buried in the sands. She was in a group of five, and, at the other end of the rope, was another group of five.

This is actually happening? She asked herself as the opposite team began to reach and grab for the rope.

“Don’t just stand there!” someone beside her said. The others around her were reaching down as well, quickly trying to find purchase on the sands.

This is really happening. She squeezed herself between two others, using both hands to find a grip on the rope. It was rough, the threads sticking into her hands, but she squeezed and pulled, trying her best to pull it back.

“This is ridiculous!” someone on the other side called out, getting raucous laughter from the stands.

She found herself smiling as well. It was ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous how much she wanted to win, for seemingly no reason.

“Pull!” a man said, “Pull damn you!”

They were just barely to hinder the advancement of the other team, but now they were losing ground, inch by inch. Lyssa dug her heels into the sand, determined to halt the rope, but found herself sliding forward, feet creating lines in the ground.

The rope suddenly tugged their way. She glanced and saw that someone had slipped on the opposite team.

“Pull!” the same man said.

Inch by inch, they regained ground, but then the sides were evened out again and there was a standstill.

“All at once, heave, ho!”

Lyssa pulled with all her strength, taking a necessary step back as the rope came towards her.

“One more time! Ho!”

They pulled again, the other team only a step away from the white block. Demoralized, one of them let go, then the others followed suit moments after. Lyssa and the others on her team fell back onto the sands. Her heart was pounding. She lifted her red hands up, laughing from her chest.

“We did it,” the man said. He looked familiar.

“All thanks to you.”

“Yeah, we couldn’t have done it without that last bit of coordination.”

Lyssa recognized him when their eyes met. It was the man who had denied her because of her Bara rating. The one who had taken in Sarah, Annie, Abel and Bernard. His eyes squinted towards her, but before she could speak, she found herself sitting once again within the stands.

Congratulations to the victors! Now, on to the next fight!

Above their heads, as Lyssa still caught her breath, two more giants appeared in the air, readying themselves to fight.

She instead looked around the crowds, this time for Daryl, the man who she had just seen in the pits. He had to be in the stands somewhere. He could tell her if Sarah was alright. And hopefully where she was as well.

Lyssa’s panel popped up, along with words: Bara Gained. A moment later, the panel vanished.

“CheckSelf,” she whispered.

The panel didn’t reappear. Commands really were disabled, even the simplest. There was no way to know how much she had gained, or how close she was to unlocking a second Command, but she was inclined to believe the Karma being given was low, as the current system’s balance could be shaken if too much was given without any Karma related activities being completed.

She watched the two combatants trying to swing their swords until one casually dropped his and surrendered. Then the voice called out its congratulations and two more giants appeared to replace them.

Then again, Lyssa thought grimly, that unbalancing of Karma could be exactly the point of this festival.