"48 hours have passed, time for the next stage." The caretaker's voice was full of intrigue.

My arm hurt when I entered the same monotonous hall with hundreds of paintings.

Only now there were quite a few creatures and beasts that had injuries of varying degrees, including the absence of eyes, legs or half of the body.

Everyone was waiting for the beginning of the next stage.

In the middle, namely, the red carpet was full of destructive creatures trying to recover as quickly as possible with the help of elixirs for the upcoming battle with unknown enemies.

Unfortunately, I could only rely on regeneration, and in the worst case, I hoped to turn on berserk mode, which left me with aching muscles and incapacitation for at least half a day.

"According to the New Rules of the Arena, all creatures and animals will be eliminated in three categories."

While the Caretaker was talking, the paintings began to crack at the seams, spreading out in different places, they released sand, grass, soft soil, swamp mud and much more directly onto the carpet.

"First: after all the stages, only the strong will survive, and maybe no one. Category — the strongest."

The shadows were the last to spill out of the canvases into the flooded corridor, like dirty stains from spilled coffee.

Creatures and beasts began to climb up, closer to the ceiling.

"The second concerns the survivors themselves. Remember, it is pointless to kill shadows, higher clones of archaic demons and other creatures that generate your consciousness. The only way out is to unravel the idea of this place. Category — the wisest."

The limbs of the shadows swelled, separating, they floated through the air, taking vague outlines, but they were in no hurry to attack us.

"Third: all the clones killed before that will become weapons in the hands of the fighters. The last category is murderers. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Selection Stage."

As if on command, 76 shadows appeared in front of me, taking on an elven appearance.

"Why aren't they letting us out?" The beast coughed up blood as it watched the hundreds of shadows surrounding it.

"Didn't you hear? There are new rules, and we have to follow them." * Slurp*. The creature chewed off a hand that barely held on to a thin piece of skin. She had many more shadows, and they all turned into giants with incredibly powerful magical abilities.

"Then what should we do?" A pink-cheeked gnome came out into the center, yawning. He was followed by the same small shadows, repeating all the movements of the first.

Among the unfamiliar faces I saw the hem of a white robe, Margot was standing with her back to me, her head bowed.

When I approached her, I noticed that her worried gaze was studying the blue lake. In general, it was the only liquid in the gallery, and was already losing its transparency due to dirt and earth.

Shadows of various sizes swarmed around her, clinging to the hem of her dress like small children.

"They didn't explain the conditions, but they called it the selection stage." She voiced the general idea of what is happening.

"We definitely shouldn't fight each other." The beast intervened, which had colossally fewer shadows than the others, only a couple of three.

"And then what? They explained to us that only the strongest will survive, and in the Arena strength is measured only by fights." The two-headed creature looked at the toothy blade in its sinewy hand and grinned slyly.

"I don't know about you, but I think that by killing one, we get his shadows. Isn't that the point?" The thing with the missing eye was pointing at its shadows with a clear hint of the beginning of a bloodbath.

"Even so. Do not forget that there are much more enemies at the Survival Crossroads than at first glance." The furry creature jabbed its sharp claws at the wall, scratching a bleeding shin, from which a gray bone with uneven edges protruded. He was followed by the same furry creatures, only slightly larger than himself.

And indeed, the paintings appeared one after another, hiding the gloom on the whitewashed walls. But these paintings contained only remnants of the past.

"One moment... Isn't this my homeland?! Durgrimst*... Ha-a." The dwarf incredulously approached the landscape of the forest edge, where the settlements of the Forest Rulers were hidden behind the iron gates. He put his fingers on the painting, trying to control his feelings.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Knurlag*, don't stand too close." The critter with the missing eye stepped forward, but it was already too late.

"LET THE BATTLE AGAINST ENTITIES BEGIN IN UNPRECEDENTED TERRITORIES CREATED WITH THE HELP OF THE MEMORIES OF THE CREATURES AND BEASTS THEMSELVES!" The Caretaker announced, and the dwarf was dragged into the painted world, and his shadows turned into dust. A small pink-cheeked figure with an enthusiastic expression appeared on the canvas, raising her hand as if greeting someone familiar.

"The same shit again!" furry began to destroy the paintings, spitting out red lights from his mouth.

Soon others joined him. One moment of hesitation was enough to remain a lifeless sketch forever.

"Quickly gather in a circle, do not approach the walls!" A creature with giants surrounded himself with a living barrier, closing his bottomless eyes.

"T... This, Brother Azei..."

Several more fighters entered the paintings in the form of soulless mannequins in random poses.

I followed Margot into the ring of creatures, hiding behind the elves, who walked with faint smiles.

Creatures and beasts did not stop looking for death, running into painted canvases.

The circle was narrowing, and I didn't understand why they were so stupidly reaching for the paintings until I felt a cold touch on my shoulder and words full of mystery:

"Don't you wonder who you are?"

I was in no hurry to answer, looking at the various garbage under my feet.

Someone nearby tried to get out.

"Step back. They're waiting for me!" The creatures were not going to release the beast fooled by magic, "Don't you hear me?!" He was the one who had few shadows.

Someone hit him on the back of the head, nervously retelling his arguments:

"I'd rather kill you and take your shadows! Don't be angry, you'll be gone soon anyway!" The armless creature plunged the blade into the weakly resisting carcass and with a deft movement cut off his head.

No one tried to stop the lynching, everyone was busy with their own visions.

But the shadows of the dead man soon turned to dust, the assumption, as it often happens, simply did not work.

Then I saw the ghostly silhouettes of women making their way through the trembling shadows of the giants, surrounding the creature from all sides.

"DAMN IT. THESE ARE DIVAS*"

The ghostly silhouettes looked like beautiful human women, their smiles shone with cold, lulling the fighter with a ringing laugh, they dragged it to the picture of the night wasteland. And the shadows of the giants turned to dust when they came into contact with the ghosts.

Several creatures, trying to escape from high-level ghosts, became victims of their own fear and were imprinted in painted landscapes with distorted expressions.

I've only met divas twice, and both times I was on the verge of death. They cannot be destroyed by magic, fire, or physical force. They are the strongest enemies of the fighters.

Soon there were 7 of us left.

"Em... About the second category... The caretakers talked about the exit, does anyone else remember anything?" Furry clung to the crumbs of clues, trying to find a way out.

Turning on the video hosting and rewinding to the right moment, I spoke:

"It is pointless to kill shadows, higher clones of archaic demons and other creatures generated by your consciousness. Remember, the only way out is to unravel the idea of this place."

"Unravel the idea?" Margot massaged the middle of her forehead with her index finger.

"Do they mean those three phrases that were written before entering the castle?" The creature with the characteristic armor of its own skeleton raised its voice, and to my surprise, I noticed only two shadows standing next to it.

"Do not kill shadows and creatures generated by our consciousness..." Furry tried to collect his thoughts. There was a dead silence that lasted for several minutes, and then he ironically slapped his thigh and shouted, "Oh, I beg you, we are fighters, not fortune tellers on dark clots of poisonous swill."

Is it just me, or are the walls really closing in?

"Hey, I noticed that the floor under us is starting to shake." The huge, lion-like beast raised a black paw and pointed at the mud.

"Perhaps we are being rushed, or the terrain itself is changing," Suggested Cyclops. He had wounds all over his muscular body. Clutching his stomach, he bent down and pressed his ears to the ground. "I hear you... Drum roll."

"What is this mea-aa... " Before the chimera with disproportionate limbs could finish his question, we began to fall.

Deja vu?

During the fall, the edges of the paintings began to appear, and then the painted canvases themselves, but now, instead of nature, evil creatures with ugly outlines of torsos loomed there.

The shadows next to us huddled together and turned into little balls, but they still followed each of us.

I closed my eyes when one of the painted creatures noticed my gaze and did not look at me with bluish remnants of eyelids.

"They're not attacking us." The Cyclops' booming voice rang out from the left.

With a thud, I landed on a smooth surface.

"Ah... Really?" The hoarse voice of the frightened furry one lifted my mood a little.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed that we were standing in the same picture, right on the body of some deity.

Why deities?

Beautiful and radiating an incredible amount of light magic, such simply suffocated with their appearance.

But the system has been talking about strong mercenaries for a long time, I think that's what they are. So powerful that they can cause pain and damage even through a colorful copy of their greatness.

We were surrounded by rocky walls towering above us... Dark. Something like an empty space in space, only instead of a stagnant atmosphere, the "ceiling" breathed danger.

"Who is he?" The creature in bone armor approached the sword that was drawn in the deity's right hand.

"A man." Margot replied, moving closer to the hanging torches on the uneven walls of the cave.

"Looks so strong. The caretakers are weaklings." The furry one stood up, and I noticed that small and thin tentacles began to appear next to the protruding bone. As if gliding across the canvas, the creature slowly moved on slippery appendages.

"That's because they're only watching, not fighting." The chimera studied the man's face, stroking his pale lips with a stiff tail.

"So that's where we should find the idea of this place?" The lion sat on the shoulder of the deity and began to inspect the surroundings.

________

* Durgrimst is a house in the dwarf language.

* Knurlag is a person in the dwarf language.

Divas in Zoroastrianism (one of the oldest religions) mean evil spirits. (They don't look like I described in this chapter, but they are more ferocious and look like giants with horns).