September 21, 4021 12:20 [Jade Temple- Heavenly Stage]

The world turned dark. Kaluza stood in the shallows of an endless black sea. Above him, a pale red sky extended past the visible horizon, broken only by the burning glow of a crimson moon. He turned around in confusion, sending ripples of water outward. The gentle ebb and flow of the waves did nothing to put his mind at ease as he jumped back in alarm.

A pair of glowing eyes stared at him just beneath the murky depths. They rose slowly, breaking the surface tension. Water fell back into the sea as a shadow took form. A terrifying grin spread across its face as it emerged, causing Kaluza's blood pressure to spike. He felt faint, an overwhelming sense of nausea setting in.

The shadow opened its mouth, a tone like gravel carrying the words it spoke. “You should be grateful, for I was told not to kill you. Oh, how I would have savored every morsel of your flesh, ripping you apart piece by piece. I would have peeled the layers of your skin back slowly, carefully scooping out your entrails once they were exposed. Then, I would have gnawed on your bones till they cracked, revealing the fatty marrow inside. It would have been a succulent meal, but alas, it was not meant to be. Do not test us again, mortal. Or you will end up here once more. I cannot guarantee you will escape with your life the next time,” it finished, growling.

Kaluza quaked in his boots, his knees knocking together. Fear gripped his heart, rooting him to the spot; he could not run. The act would have proven useless; this world was the shadow’s. It grinned once more. A titanic fist slammed into Kaluza, reducing his bones to dust. He flew towards the horizon as the sky turned blue once more, and the world of darkness disappeared.

Kaluza’s body broke through multiple scaffolds and pillars as he traversed the length of the Heavenly Stage. His flight path abruptly ended as he crashed into a jade slab that rose in front of Kǔ Shén. The wall crumbled from the impact. Kǔ Shén stood up to leave, seemingly disappointed. The Crow bent over Kaluza, who lay on fragments of jade, his back broken. A team of Vultures and more Crows rushed to the scene, quickly removing Kaluza from the stands.

It took a moment for Grisha to realize that she had yet to announce a winner, after becoming so engrossed in the fight. “T-the match is over folks! Indra is our winner! He’s clawed his way through the brackets and proven himself as the strongest contender for the rank of Hyena amongst our candidates. Please give him a round of applause!”

There was a healthy amount of cheering coming from the announcer’s booth, though Indra could tell the audience’s applause was clearly half-hearted. They had placed their hopes in Kaluza’s victory. Seeing how he had emboldened their spirits, Indra could understand why his own victory came as a blow to their aspirations. Their reaction didn’t bother him. He expected it. What did infuriate him, however, was the standing ovation he received from the nobles. Indra scowled in disgust as if he had swallowed something rotten.

He expressed his displeasure, flipping them off as he descended to the center stage where the Crows had placed a podium. Prasanna waited for him at the bottom, standing on the lowest pedestal.

“I was worried there for a second,” she said, punching his arm. “If you had lost to him after beating me? I would’ve never let you live it down.”

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Indra rubbed his arm tenderly, popping a pill in his mouth to heal himself. “I’d like to see you fight him. Bet you wouldn’t last a minute with that flimsy Domain” he teased.

“Hey! I’m working on it! It’s almost complete. You just got lucky,” she pouted.

Indra laughed. Relief washed over him. He could relax for a moment, savoring the victory. The Crows wheeled in a furious-looking Kaluza, already fitted with a cast. He chewed on a few pills angrily, huffing and puffing as they lifted his wheelchair onto the second-place pedestal.

“You put up a good—”

“Save it,” Kaluza grumbled, interrupting Indra. “My convictions aren’t nearly as strong as I thought they were. You won because your will was greater. I concede the victory to you. Congrats.”

Indra was unsure of what to say, opting to accept Kaluza’s praise with a brief nod. He took his place on the highest pedestal and the center stage began to rise. The three newest Hyenas were presented for all to see. This time, an appropriate level of applause came from around the arena. Grisha announced Indra as the Fourth Division Commander, Kaluza as the Fifth Division Commander, and Prasanna as the Sixth Division Commander. A surge of applause erupted from the stands as Kaluza’s title was announced. The newly inducted Fifth Division Commander scoffed and attempted to cross his arms, foiled by his casts, much to Indra’s amusement.

The ceremony lasted a few hours as they were led back down the mountain to a procession awaiting their arrival. Kǔ Shén and the Crow joined them as they were paraded around town on a palanquin. Grisha, Tengri, and Jin sat behind them, appearing slightly bored. They had been through the motions too many times to count, Grisha explained when asked by Prasanna. For them, this was nothing more than a display to maintain public relations. Given Kaluza’s outburst, it may have also served as a way to smooth over the public’s perception of the Homunculi program. Indra saw no reason as to why it was imperative to maintain this image for the public when the citizens had no say in how the country was run.

“It’s better to keep people moderately satisfied and docile. If we were to start quelling domestic uprisings as we do along the border, we would eat through resources that would be better served for expanding territory,” Tengri explained.

He had said it so casually that Indra had almost brushed past the statement entirely. Expanding territory. There it was. The real reason they had declared war. It had long been a suspicion of Indra’s and though he could more or less surmise the reason behind the conquest for new territory, it still surprised him at how openly it had been admitted to. The Hyenas had been tight-lipped for the most part, circumventing or ignoring questions entirely regarding the true nature of Yuèliàng’s war on Levante. So, why the sudden change?

Tengri admired his nails, raising an eyebrow when he caught a glimpse of Indra’s blank stare. “Shocked? Don’t be. You’re one of us now. There’s no need for secrecy anymore.” He stared at the Crow when he spoke. That was true, Indra was an elite amongst Homunculi now. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea.

He stared out into the crowd, the excitement from the tournament starting to wear off. The smiles directed at him began to anger Indra. Who was he trying to please with this act? His entire life he had been subjected to the ire of the public. Their anger towards the government could not be quenched without repercussions, so they turned to the Homunculi as an outlet for their frustrations. Discriminated against, treated as if they were beneath those they were tasked to protect, and chastised for their existence as an ‘affront to God’, Homunculi had been made into pariahs. Indra grew disillusioned with the prospect of serving these people any longer. Thin tendrils of black smoke began to escape his fingertips.

“That reminds me,” Tengri stated, interrupting Indra's thoughts. “You need to meet your troops soon.”

“Oh…right.” The smoke dissipated. Indra would now be in charge of a squadron of soldiers. Their lives were in his hands now. They were his responsibility.

“After this parade, what do you say, Indra? Interested in a little reunion?”