Maxs opened his eyes to a world that felt both eerily familiar and completely alien. The sky above him was the same shade of blue as it had been on Earth—his Earth—but everything else was different. He lay in an alley, the hard cobblestones pressing into his back. The air was cool, tinged with a strange scent he couldn’t place, and the distant hum of a bustling city echoed in his ears. He groaned, rubbing his temple, the remnants of a fragmented dream clinging to the edges of his mind.

Three years. Three long years since he had first woken up here, in Threa.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position and glanced around. The towering buildings of Alcatross, with their sharp spires and arches, stood proudly in the distance. Everything in this dimension seemed sharper, more vivid than Earth—like reality dialed up a notch. But it wasn’t just the architecture that was different. It was the people, the world itself. Some of them had powers, abilities that Maxs had only seen in comic books and movies back on Earth.

Maxs had none.

He remembered that day clearly—the day he had arrived here. One moment he was on Earth, the next he was on Threa, lying in this very alley, confused and alone. The people of Alcatross had paid him little attention, assuming he was just another wanderer. But Maxs had learned quickly that this was no ordinary world. It was a place where monsters roamed the wilderness, and people fought in arenas to gain power.

And power was everything.

Maxs stood and dusted off his worn clothes. Three years in Threa had taught him survival. It wasn’t enough to merely exist in this place—you had to grow stronger, or the world would swallow you whole. He had seen others like him—transported from Earth with no understanding of why they were here. Some had perished quickly, falling to monsters or the chaos of the streets. Others had joined The Spectacle, seeking the same thing Maxs now sought: "Adam’s Wish."

He tightened his fists at the thought. The Spectacle was more than a tournament; it was a way out. The stone was said to grant any desire of the one who claimed it, and Maxs knew exactly what he wanted—to go home.

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But it wasn’t going to be easy.

Maxs knew the rules of The Spectacle well by now. He had watched the matches, seen the carnage firsthand. It was an arena where superpowered fighters clashed, each seeking to prove their worth. Once you entered, there was no turning back. You were bound by a "Soul Bond," created by the Alcatross Royal Family’s most powerful mage, and there was only one way to break that bond: to win.

“Battle On!” they called it. Every match began with those words, a rallying cry from the audience, the fighters, even the announcers. But to Maxs, it felt more like a curse.

A noise from behind startled him. Maxs turned to see a young woman approaching, her eyes bright with energy, the faint shimmer of power radiating off her skin. She couldn’t have been more than twenty, but here in Threa, age meant little. It was power that determined your fate.

“You’re Maxs, right?” she asked, her voice casual, but her posture tense.

Maxs nodded slowly. “Yeah. Who are you?”

“Name’s Ryn,” she said, offering a half-smile. “You’re entering The Spectacle, aren’t you?”

He stared at her, caught off guard by the directness of the question. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen you watching the matches. You’ve got the look of someone desperate for a way out.” She paused, looking him over. “You’re not the only one, you know.”

Maxs narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”

“To help,” Ryn said simply. “If you’re going to survive The Spectacle, you’ll need more than just determination. You’ll need someone who understands the game.”

“And that’s you?”

Ryn chuckled softly. “Let’s just say I’ve been around long enough to know how things work in Alcatross. I can show you the ropes, introduce you to the right people. But you have to trust me.”

Maxs studied her for a long moment. Trust was a rare commodity in Threa, but he didn’t have many options. He needed allies, and Ryn seemed to know her way around the city—and possibly the arena.

“Why help me?” he asked, suspicious.

She shrugged. “Because I’ve been where you are. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll be strong enough to win."

The words lingered in the air, heavy with challenge. Maxs clenched his fists, the weight of the decision pressing down on him. This was it. The beginning of his journey into The Spectacle. Into the battles that could break him—or make him powerful enough to claim Adam’s Wish.

The crowds, the monsters, the other competitors—they were all waiting for him. And deep down, he knew there was no turning back. Not now.

“Alright,” Maxs said, his voice steady. “Battle On.”