—Hi everyone! —She went on as the cheers kept coming— Happy to see you all at this celebration of ours. Our exciting and intense tournament repeats itself for the thirty-seventh time in a row, and finally, we are back here to celebrate the occasion!

I turned my head to look at Kai. Unaware of the situation, as expected, he kept his eyes slightly open to catch at least a glimpse of any interesting event that might take place. Syl on the other hand was more pending, her attention fully focussed on the stage. She clapped along with the rest of the spectators, but unlike them, there was no sign of a smile on her face. Rather her expression remained expectant, awaiting any details of the actual competition.

—I’m so glad so many of you were interested in participating this year. The number of attendees skyrocketed since the last edition. I wonder why? —She said, feigning ignorance— So, welcome to any newcomers, and please, treat them well on my behalf! But before we start with any introduction to this year’s Challenger’s Path, you guys have probably been waiting for a while for this moment. So let me introduce you to our special guests for this occasion. Give a warm welcome to Captains Max Sterling, Olivia Reynolds, and Emma Carter!

I hadn’t noticed the three individuals standing to the right of the platform, waiting to be called on stage. I inspected their appearance as they climbed the side stairs up into the platform. Each of them wore a different uniform but all maintained the distinguished white and blue colour combination.

The cheering was loud. It was to be expected in a situation like this with a bunch of fanatics having their long-awaited idols finally showing their face in real life. They had only been seen in a limited number of situations. Their feats had been clearly explained and collected in a great number of media resources, such as TV and magazines, but it was the first time I had seen them in a social gathering of this nature. It was indeed something to be excited about. They waved as they got closer to the other woman, ready to join the introductory speech.

—Now that they have finally reached out to us, let us finally start with the celebration —The clapping faded out as she made a small pause—. As you may all know, the Challenger’s Path was created as a celebration of the diverse and multicultural society that takes place in the current era of images. We intend to let go of the well-established rules that currently keep the streets in order and embrace our innermost nature. The root of everything lays in our images —She declared, as she delicately began pouring water bubbles out of her free hand—. Such benevolent representations of our inner self need reverenced respect, but we must also show our appreciation for them. Independently of its characteristics.

»We want to allow everyone to show off their inner strength. That power is usually hidden in our day-to-day lives, but it accompanies us everywhere we go. This sensation of being chained to the ground must now be released and let go. Let your images face off and combine as you free yourselves from these mundane rules of ours.

The claps intensified. Many identified with her words. It was hard for some to completely hide their images. My brother was an example. Such a useful and versatile ability was the kind to be completely abandoned due to its inherent danger. As you grew older, in some cases, it might start feeling like a new limb, the long-earned familiarity to be completely hidden by daily norms. The frustration and anguish end up leading to violent acts, that the Challenger’s Path and other events of a similar root meant to redirect into more purposeful acts. And of course, this lead to the Guard’s ability to cherry-pick the strongest of them for their own advantage.

—With so many of you this year, let us introduce you to each other —A big screen lit up over their head. Words appearing and organising to fit inside the limited space—. These are all of you. All your names have been thoroughly assessed and recognised as worthy of participating in this occasion. In total, there have been over five hundred of you! —She exclaimed as a big number 562 appeared on the screen—. All over from more than sixty organisations! This is more than any other year. So, on this occasion, we decided to spice things up a little bit.

The names of the participants completely disappeared from the display, in turn, dividing it into two sections: phase one and phase two, each colour-coded differently.

—The initial plan for the tournament was to have two main stages, each with appropriate measures to facilitate the assessment of each participant’s skills while letting the strongest of you put on a show of your own —She explained, walking from one side to the other— There were so many applications though, that we had to make a change of plans. But do not fret, since this is only good news for you —The image on the screen moved, as a new section appeared right in front of the first one—. We will be holding a different initial stage to maintain the number’s balance. More chances for you to show off! —She paused, to let us grasp the situation— The two stages that had been initially planned have been maintained, but instead, they have been moved into the latter stages of the tournament. Becoming phase two and phase three.

This had its advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, it would mean we would have more space to strengthen our alliances. Our teams would be maintained not only through one phase but through two, increasing our chances of advancing further. On the other hand, this meant there were more challenges to surpass, and therefore more battles to win. But there was still a trump card that might change everything we had planned until that moment. My attention shifted to the three of them still waiting for their turn. I still had to figure out their role in all this. So I decided to wait until the host clarified my worries. It wasn’t long until I found my answer though, as Captain Sterling walked to the front.

—And now, to everyone’s attention, I would like to give the turn to the renowned, Captain Sterling!

He looked calm, maybe used to being the focus of attention. And indeed, his popularity preceded him. The rank of Captain came with a fame that you didn’t have with any other lower rank. The exposure increases drastically as you move from team-based activity to a more flexible approach, often addressing issues on your own. It becomes then like the work of a public figure, serving as a representative of the law enforcement body, the strongest between the strongest. Some took advantage of their position, exposing themselves to the public while maintaining the mystery of a charismatic hero. And Sterling was one of the more popular ones. Especially with women.

—Thank you. Thank you… —he gestured with his hands to quiet down—. I am glad to have been invited to the tournament. It’s been a while ever since I first wished to get involved in the more social aspect of my job, and when the organising team presented this opportunity to me, I decided to eagerly seize the chance. So here I am.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Everyone clapped, his mature voice sounding exactly like I had expected it to.

—I participated some years ago in this same competition. By now it must have become the tenth year since my last appearance in the Path. It’d be fun to give you some advice later, for the ones of you that wish so —He paused, giving dramatism to his words—. But before that, we have some stuff to discuss.

»I am glad to be able to confirm you that the engagement of the Guard, and therefore myself, with the tournament, has been extensive. This edition was meant to become a turning point for the Challenger’s Path… And I can confirm that we’ve achieved it. I will participate myself, together with my companions here, in the latter stages of the tournament. Hopefully, I will face off against some of you during my time here on the Path. But there are probably some still wondering where the missing one is…

I looked around, observing the reaction of the others as the imminent mention of the most relevant individual in the celebration finally came closer.

—Guardian Haze is currently busy with some issues. Nothing to worry about, but he will not be able to attend the opening ceremony here with us, unfortunately. But he personally tasked me with wishing you all the luck with the obstacles to come. You can be assured that you will see him later, as an opponent of yours, together with the three of us present here. The latter stages will strongly revolve around him and battling him could mark the difference between victory and defeat. So do not let him down!

The clapping resumed.

—There is not much more I wanted to say though. I am not a showman; I like to say that I speak better with my fists than with my mouth. Probably as many of you do —the crowd laughed, as he smiled, enjoying his joke— So as a closing for my discourse, I would like to give some general advice…

We all listened, expectant.

—Out here we are all friends since we still hold back from hurting each other. But once the more dangerous stages begin, some of you will start wishing to have been eliminated in the starting phases. Images are dangerous, and some of you will reach their limit as they not only battle for victory, but for survival. I have seen many cry to exhaustion as their companions laid on the ground, waiting for the ambulance to pick them up. This is not a game. This is your rite of passage into adulthood. Many of you will grow out of your shells to become the next Captains, or maybe Guardians. The risk of getting hurt is dangerously high. Our job here is not only to give you a challenge but to guarantee as much as possible that you will not hurt yourselves in this stairway to glory. But destiny often brings us despair in the wildest of manners —After a pause, he suddenly changed his face, smiling, as if he hadn’t said anything before that— So I hope you guys will let your powers go and clean the floor with the face of your foes!

Everyone cheered. It was interesting how such a scary choice of words, had done nothing to calm these raging beasts down. Quite the opposite in fact: the fire was as lit as it had ever been. To my surprise, Kai had completely opened his eyes, his full attention focused on the Captain, not excited but interested instead. Probably the tension, together with the confidence of the young, had led to a mix of emotions that was now hard to control. It was impressive this man could do something like that.

I inspected him, as he gave the mic back to the hostess. I now understood some of his popularity. I had learned about him some years ago. He started ranking up in the guard fighting crime for the organisation. His lead role in all the teams he had worked with made nothing but boost the Guard’s reliance on him. His was a fast ascension. He reached the rank of Captain some years ago, getting stuck there though. Some expected him to rank up to Guardian, and I had thought everyone was just exaggerating, and that he did not have the strength to do that. But I now wondered if the confidence of this man really belonged to someone who had forcefully been stuck in his rank for that long.

He walked back to his two associates, and I took a glance at them too. Olivia Reynolds was of the serious kind. She did look like a soldier in all of her being. Standing straight, without moving her face, just occasionally glancing somewhere nearby, in this case to her fellow Captain. She didn’t fit under the spotlight as much as Starling, and it didn’t look like she liked it at all. I had heard of some of her feats, more than once eliminating menaces without civil casualties. I didn’t know about her image, but it was probably of the silent kind. While Sterling was famous for his spectacular apparitions, Reynolds usually appeared and disappeared before anyone could take notice.

Emma Carter was the most interesting of them all though. She was short, almost like a teenager. She stood in place, but, unlike Reynolds, her slack posture made her look uninterested, almost bored. She wore some thick metal protection on her arms, probably around sixty pounds each from the looks of it. But they were armoured and tightly tied to her arms, almost as if they were protecting us from her instead of the other way around. She hadn’t appeared much in the streets herself, so I didn’t recognise her at first. Until they mentioned her name, I hadn’t known who she was. I wondered why.

I paid attention back to the hostess, realising she had been speaking as I was zoning out, staring into nothingness.

—…But I imagine all of you are still wondering what this is about. Well, let me then introduce you to the first of the three challenges you will be going through in the Path.

The screen at the top showed an aerial view of a building. A cubic-shaped structure, which looked almost armoured, surrounded by an area filled with training grounds. Different rectangles to delimit the area of an individual field. I recognised it easily since it was where I had often accompanied my brother to train with his teammates.

It was called the Stronghold. The surrounding area gave place to several public fields, easily accessible through the fenced gates, nothing to live up to its name. But the building itself was just the entrance to a larger extensive set of underground floors with more secure and private sections for image practice. The interior ones were more technologically apt for the purpose. Many used them to practice without the risk of harming anyone or breaking anything important.

—It will be held at the Stronghold one day from now, in the morning. Hope you will all be present to start off the tournament with us. It will mainly consist of a competition to see who can win the most one vs one battle out of all of you. It is not a difficult stage per se, but considering there are only a limited number of places available for the second stage, you guys will need to beat at least five out of six people you face. In other words, only a hundred of you will move to the following stage, so get ready for a whole day of battling opponents and showing your worth.

»The details of the challenge will be given in a presentation before its start. There are certain rules you will need to follow for your victories to be accounted for, so pay attention to them, they will determine your success.

»Now let us enjoy the food and the music for the celebration!

She closed her speech like that, giving a start to the party as it had been previously announced. I was hungry, and expecting Kai to be too, I gestured to him if he wanted to let go of his hunger and come eat with me from the abundant snacks they were serving at the tables.

—Are you guys going to eat? —Asked Syl.

I nodded.

—All right. I’m going to catch you later then; I have stuff to do.

Probably more training. Kai had left for the food already, running away towards the inviting trays of nibbles. Wanting to catch up to him quickly I spoke to her, still caring for her wellbeing.

—Do not overextend yourself then. The tournament starts tomorrow, it’ll be bad if you get too tired.

—Don’t worry —She said lifting her fist.

I bumped mine into hers, and we gestured our confidence in each other as we parted ways.