Realm of the Sun

Chapter 2

The field began to erode. Must be the Hong's, Solarie thought. Or maybe the Song's? They both have got something to do with the land.

The participants began to rise, and with a flick of the prince's wrist, the field went dark. Only the spectators were safe, comfortably seated on the sidelines. Solarie could see the monsters, swirling like black smoke before forming solid masses. There was no way to describe the monsters she was seeing. They were demonic in nature, had sharp features, but no face, no defined shape, and awkward movement. No wonder these were creatures of the night- they were ugly, horribly disfigured, and misshapen.

Jin has to fight those, Solarie thought, utmost concern for her friend. By Aurel's hand, let him be okay.

She could see Jin trembling, frantically flicking his wrists, trying to do something. But there was no ice. Other competitors dodged, but Jin was frozen in some sort of stasis. To the left, another girl had unlocked her powers- House Lai, electricity. Bold purple-tinted bolts and flashes of light illuminated the arena, and she struck the floor, sending waves of shock into the field. She was soon dragged off the field by one of the guards; she had proven herself, and there was no need for her to continue the gruesome battle.

Not far behind, another girl was doing something with her hands, shutting her eyes tightly. The spectators were protected by some sort of reinforced glass, but it was clear participants inside the arena were suffering, covering their ears, dropping to the floor, including the monsters. Only the girl with the shut eyes resisted. House Kim, Solarie recalled. Sound.

Just like the contestant before her, the girl was dragged off the field, and the brawl continued. The monsters began to rise again- Solarie counted 7 other contestants on the field, one of the lowest number of competitors for a Sun Trial in years. Jin was by far the oldest- this was his last chance before being disinherited. Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck with the trial. No matter what he was doing with his hands, nothing happened. The girls before had their eyes glowing when they used their powers. A tell-tale sign of when an Elite used their powers. But Jin? There was nothing. And even from far away, Solarie could tell that Jin was about to give up.

The monsters inched closer to him. Others were moving around, dodging their attacks, but all Jin did was stand still.

They kept coming. Jin didn't move.

"Jin!"

Solarie's eyes glinted.

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Suddenly giant pillars of ice erupted from the ground.

They struck right through the monster's bodies, shielding Jin in a crystalline fortress. Jin was escorted off the field, and Solarie felt like cheering.

At least, she would've, had she not been hauled off too moments later.

They kept something over her head, and had tied a gag over her mouth. The crowd's volume lessened as she was dragged outside. They transported her somewhere outside the arena, but couldn't figure out where.

Eventually, they arrived at the location and the carriage stopped. They forced Solarie outside, and she stumbled. She couldn't even see where she was, thanks to the burlap sack they had shoved over her head. Two people were pushing her towards somewhere, up a few stairs and through what sounded like a few pairs of very loud doors.

"Unmask her."

The two people ripped off the sack, and Solarie had half a mind to tell them to watch it, until she saw who she was standing before.