The Seven Supreme Laws of Humanity.
The Paragon himself forged these seven laws in the aftermath of the Great Collapse, otherwise known as the Great Cataclysm. These laws are absolute and enforced by all major powers of humanity.
They are encoded into both legal systems and global consciousness, their violation is considered a direct offence against the entirety of mankind.
The First Law: The Law of Inheritance.
Knowledge classified as "Forbidden" may not be passed down unless granted clearance by the Paragon Council.
The Second Law: The Law of Freedom.
No individual or faction may dominate the will of the people through mind control, soul tampering, or forced loyalty.
The Third Law: The Law of Equilibrium.
No entity may artificially shift the global balance of power through mass-enhancement, cloning, or timeline disruption.
The Fourth Law: The Law of Judgment.
Only the appointed Judges of the Paragon Council may execute judgment on a planetary, galactic or greater level.
The Fifth Law: The Law of Reflection.
One must not create life that mimics the soul of another.
The Sixth Law: The Law of Duel.
Once an official duel is initiated and accepted, no force—be it man, machine, or god—may interfere until a victor is declared.
The Seventh and Final Law: The Law of Finality.
One may not bring the dead back to life. No Exceptions.
The heretical act of violating any of these laws would immediately spur the wrath of the Judicator Corps upon the offender.
Their punishments span from direct and standard public execution to never-ending torment within Khazan, the Endless Arena—a pocket dimension where one must fight nightmarish opponents without rest, death, or the sweet taste of victory.
Or even the worst punishment of all, complete erasure—removing all traces of their life from memories, records and history altogether.
Naturally, this was reserved for the gravest of offences, such as resurrection.
***
Sasha's spine stiffened, a cold sweat trickling down her back.
She wasn't even fighting Giuseppe, yet his eyes bore into her like a blade pressed against her throat—Angry. She couldn't tell why. After all, she doesn't remember ever offending him in any way.
Not that Giuseppe needed to be offended to be mad at someone.
'It's like a beast is staring right into my soul…'
She clenched her fists, forcing her legs to stop trembling. Her breathing slowed. A few heartbeats later, she managed to pry her attention away from him. Only to meet the calm, unreadable gaze of her actual opponent.
Daniel.
Still as a statue, glasses gone, hair slicked back like he'd been waiting his whole life for this moment. The faintest smirk tugged at his lips.
Only to be shocked by his words as well:
"Wanna make this an official duel?"
Her jaw almost fell out of her skull.
'WHAT. THE. FUCK?!'
Her mind short-circuited.
'First I get stared down by that fucking freak as if I killed his dog! Now this guy wants to legally murder me in front of an audience?! Has everyone here suddenly just gone crazy?!' Sasha cries internally.
She blinked rapidly, trying to reassemble her scrambled thoughts like unorganised puzzle pieces.
Still, she forced a cool breath through her nose and put on her best poker face. If there was one thing she learned while being here, it was how to fake composure when her insides were screaming.
She raised an eyebrow, schooling her expression into mild curiosity.
"And why should I agree to that?" Sasha kept her voice calm, but her stance betrayed a flicker of unease.
Her piercing blue eyes locked onto Daniel, searching for an answer beneath those cold, dark green eyes. But she found nothing.
Daniel said nothing at first. He calmly printed a polished black bo-staff from the V.A.R.I.A.N.T. armoury.
He slowly caressed its smoothness with a smile, before gripping it tightly.
Sasha arched a brow but said nothing. She walked to her own 'weapon rack'. Her fingers danced across digital projections until they solidified into 4 razor-edged chakrams along with a compact longbow, accompanied by a modest quiver of 10 arrows.
They faced each other across the forest floor, bathed in golden artificial sunlight filtering through the leaves.
'She's a long-range type. Light, agile. I'll need to close the distance, quickly,' Daniel's eyes flickered with calculation behind his lenses.
'He picked a staff. Probably specialises in control and counterplay. Short-range? Or mid? Doesn't matter. I just need to keep him the hell away from me,' Sasha's fingers tightened around a chakram, her heartbeat beginning to rise.
Then, softly, Daniel spoke.
"I know what you're trying to do," he said, low enough that only she—and unfortunately for him, Mavena, could hear.
"You want to breeze through the Foundational Script. Play the part just long enough to earn the Graves Family seal. Then disappear into mediocrity. No spotlight. No burdens. Just you… and your own peace."
Sasha's body went rigid. "How—?"
Daniel didn't wait, "I don't blame you. Honestly? I kind of admire it. But you have something in your possession that I need."
He stepped closer.
"I need a specific data chip. The Codex of Withered Veins. A first-edition alchemical text that even Glory Academy's Grand Library doesn't have access to. Your family's name is on its last recorded ledger." Daniel's voice hid something that Sasha couldn't describe.
Sasha blinked. She hadn't expected this. An official duel for some obscure, overwritten tome on medicinal nonsense?
"And what do I get out of this?" She asked, even though she already had an idea.
"If I lose," Daniel said.
"I'll help you with your Script. The whole damn trial. Your family gets their Storywalker. You get your freedom."
'That's impossible. No one can assist in a Foundational Script—it's a solo trial by design. Team-ups aren't even allowed until after the second story. The first two are entirely randomised; one may encounter other Storywalkers in their trial, but the chances of the person knowing them are remarkably slim,' Mavena thought, assessing the interaction.
'However, it looks like that boy is gambling on the fact that someone who wants nothing to do with Warcraft Online wouldn't know that.'
Sasha stayed silent.
'She is considering it, seems I was right,' Daniel hid his internal smirk behind a stone-cold poker face.
Then, she gave a slow, incredulous laugh. "And they say 'that' freak is the insane one. No, you all are a bunch of lunatics."
"…But you're also right."
She stepped forward, her chakrams now glowing faintly in the light.
"You want your little book, I want my quiet life. So let's make this quick."
To the spectators, who heard none of their conversation, all they could see was the two muttering something to each other, Sasha's eyes widening in shock, and Mavena furrowing her brow.
Suddenly, to the shock of the onlookers. Her voice rang out, clear and sharp:
"I accept your challenge, Daniel Gonzales."
Gasps erupted across the arena. Even Giuseppe, who was sitting lazily, raised a brow.
'I expected that coward to bitch out…' he thought, irritated. Her choice didn't impress him—it only served to annoy him further.
"Well, damn... I didn't expect Daniel to even initiate an official duel. Let alone that girl accepting." Marcus couldn't help but comment. To which Arthur and Tandav nodded their heads.
"Hmm... This is certainly a surprise..." Marlow said. Even Reddick had to agree.
Beep. Beep.
With her confirmation, Daniel and Sasha's connectors react.
Immediately. Everyone understood. From now on, this duel was sacred.
One of the Laws of Humanity activated silently: No Interference.
No Exceptions.
***
Once she sees that both fighters are ready, "Begin!" Mavena announces.
Without hesitation, Daniel charges at Sasha, every muscle in his body prepared for the clash. His mind was laser-focused on her vitals.
With a fluid motion, she grips one of her chakrams, hurling it toward him with a fast overhand throw.
Daniel reacts immediately, raising his staff just in time to intercept the whirling disc.
The impact rattles his arms, sending a jolt of pain through his shoulders, but he maintains his stance.
While Daniel is still in his blocking stance, Sasha is already preparing her next move.
With a swift movement, she reaches behind her and knocks three arrows, drawing her bow back in a single, smooth motion.
The arrows are released in perfect synchronisation, they come at him in a deadly arc—each one aimed at his face.
His eyes widen.
'I can't block them all,' Daniel thinks with a grimace.
He drops low, using his staff to sweep the ground beneath him as he rolls to the side. The arrows streak past him, barely missing his face.
Daniel feels the edge of one graze his arm, the other two buried into the tree adjacent to him.
However, before he can recover, he sees another arrow coming directly towards his face, and he rolls out of the way—only to find another chakram right in front of his face.
'Fuck! She predicted where I was going to go!' He cursed inwardly.
Narrowly avoiding the disc of death by turning his head slightly, however, a sharp cut remains on his face.
Daniel gritted his teeth in frustration, throwing all caution out the window, he charged at Sasha with greater speed than before, seemingly drunk on adrenaline.
'Is he stupid? He can't fight like Castellano...'
Keeping her distance, she pulls out her last two chakrams, spinning them before sending them flying at him.
Shortly after, she fires all seven remaining arrows in a flurry.
Each one was designed to slow him down, to buy some extra time.
Daniel swings his staff with precision, deflecting the first chakram and dodging the second with a twist of his body.
The arrows charge at him. He ducks, sidesteps, and pivots, feeling the rush of air as four arrows narrowly miss his head, another slices his shoulder, and a third embeds itself into his leg. Pain shoots through him, but he ignores it, pushing forward relentlessly.
Sasha's expression shifted, no longer as confident, her breath coming in sharp gasps. Sweat trickled down her face—her hands were shaking.
She is running out of options, and Daniel knows it.
'Wait a minute, that was six arrows. So, where is the seventh?' Daniel thinks before noticing Sasha's smile. A dangerous feeling creeps down his neck—
Whoosh.
The final arrow came flying down from above, piercing Daniel's outstretched arm.
Before Daniel realised it, he found himself in a headlock with the string of Sasha's bow around his neck while his own spear's edge pressed against his nape.
"This is over...You can't fight like him..." Sasha whispered into his ear.
Suddenly, she feels a sharp pain in her abdomen. She looks down to see a sharp edge protruding from the elbow area within Daniel's shirt.
During her shocked state, he repositions himself, stealing back his spear.
In one final, decisive move, he thrusts his staff towards her chest with all the strength he can muster.
Squelch!
The tip of the staff pierces her chest with a sickening crack, the sharp wood puncturing through her rips like they were paper.
Daniel feels the cold resistance of bone giving way, blood spurts from the wound, splattering across his hands, face, and the ground beneath them.
The crimson splatter is a grotesque explosion out of her heart—her life leaving her body, the metallic scent filling the air.
Sasha's eyes widen, disbelief flashing in them for a split second before the agony sets in as Daniel mercilessly rips out the staff, shaking off the blood.
Daniel then grabbed her collar and pulled her towards his blood-soaked face as he stared into her eyes.
"From the moment we started this fight, you were already defeated..."
"You never wanted to win. You were never willing to kill me. That is why you lost... And that is why, now, you are going to die," He whispered into her ear, before biting it—and ripping it off.
A choked gasp escapes her lips as blood pours from all of her orifices. She collapses to her knees, her body trembling violently, her vision blurring with overwhelming pain.
"You…You…" Sasha tried to speak, perhaps to insult him, to beg for her life—whatever it was, it didn't matter.
The outcome would not change.
Daniel stares silently, his eyes cold as ice at his dying opponent. He smashes his staff into her skull brutally, killing her.
"Winner! Daniel Gonzales!" Mavena's voice rang out, cutting the silence.
***
Marlow nudged Reddick's shoulder with the back of his hand.
"So... who's cleaning that one up?" he asked, jerking his chin toward the mangled corpse of Sasha, her blood pooling on the Arena stage.
Reddick stared at the body for a long moment, lips pressed into a thin line. Then, without looking at Marlow, he muttered.
"Rock, paper, scissors."
Marlow blinked, then raised a brow. "Seriously? You are garbage at that game, man."
Reddick finally turned. "Dead serious."
The two squared up.
"One," Marlow counted, raising his hand.
"Two," Reddick followed.
"Three—shoot!"
Marlow threw paper.
Reddick threw rock.
Marlow grinned while Reddick sighed like a man who had been asked to mop up a battlefield.
"Best of three?" He tried.
"Nope." Marlow clapped him on the back, already turning to walk away.
"You know the rules. Loser handles the limbs."
Reddick muttered a string of curses under his breath and trudged toward the stage grumpily.
***
Daniel walks back to the spectators' area after cleaning his weapon and accepting his mysterious prize.
He paid no mind to the cheers and praises of the other students, the noise falling on deaf ears.
Rejoining the group, he takes his seat—his expression calm, as if he didn't just kill a fellow classmate.
The others seem equally unfazed, their faces betraying no hint of shock or discomfort. They have seen it all before, this is the brutality that defines their world.
This outcome was inevitable since the moment Giuseppe said she had no fighting spirit.
_____________________________________
Author Note
;)