The walk back to the locker room was the longest walk of Eren's life. Confetti rained down from the stands onto his back. All over his suit. Some pieces of glitter and paper got into his hair. Like the tournaments, this too was a long standing tradition. They celebrated the opening contest almost as much as the final bout. The beginning and the end side by side.Despite the throbbing in his head and the pain at his side, a part of Eren still could not believe he had opened the games, that he had won, too. Maybe I am dreaming, He thought. Maybe Drake hit me so hard that I am still in a coma.He feared that he would wake up any time from then, swaddled in a hospital gown, gasping for air with oxygen starved lungs. But he trudged all the way to the locker rooms and nothing happened. No awakening. No drawing on the air for breath.The announcer's voice kept booming over the intercom and Eren dragged his unwilling body, wondering where the exhaustion had emerged from. The doors clo

Tiana learnt early how to wear a mask. How to be a mask.It was quite simple actually. Force a bright smile onto her face. Sprinkle false confidence into her step. If sitting, place one leg on top of the other—it was easier to conceal knee jerking that way. Find something to keep your hands occupied so the trembling is not visible. Do not fidget.It was easy to look composed. To be composed was a harder task. Her heart pounded in her chest. Anxiety ate at her."See?" Sid was saying to Eren, "I'd make a good friend.""Shut up, man." Eren said coolly. But he shoved him with his shoulder, as if to say, you are alright.More than anything else Tiana envied their freedom. Their groundedness. Especially Eren's. Unlike her, he was not tied to a Clan name. He did not bear the weight of nobility. Little was asked of him if any.Only that morning, before being driven to the arena, she had sat with her mother at their table, and even though it was only the two of them, she felt that weight p

For Sid, fighting was not just an art form - it was clarity.Most children were taught violence only because their parents knew they would need it to contest in the tournaments when they were of age. But Sid's mother had never been in the picture. She left when he was young and now she was like a figure in the rearview mirror. The older he grew, the more distant his memories of her grew, the less he remembered. His father was a scientist, the wealthy kind, who solved problems by throwing money at them. He parented Sid from a distance, too, drawing him close only when he needed something from him.Young and surrounded on all sides by wealth and little humanity, he was always acutely aware of how different he was from others, how alone. His peers loved him. How could they not? He inherited his father's charm and his mother's beauty, the kind that made you heady, that made people act like he was a fleeting experience, like he would vanish if they did not turn and try to grasp at hi

‘Pray they stop me in time’, Eren had told Daniel. As he stepped into the arena, he realized he knew nothing of the extent of Daniel's powers. Daniel's ability was the ability to shape shift, like Drake. But he had barely used his abilities in the previous fights because his opponents were easier to beat. What would he do now that he knew Eren was a real threat? Eren dismissed the thought and tried to remain unruffled. The crowd welcomed him with cheering. Flower petals floated down from above. He gazed above in awe, momentarily distracted. The arena had been scrubbed clean of the blood and grime from the last few fights. The third stage had begun and just the same way he had started the tournament, his fight was beginning the third stage. Eren took his position at the other side of the circle and watched as Daniel emerged. His arrival was celebrated with cheering, too. The announcer announced his name and he raised a hand grinning as if he was some kind of prince.

Sid Nivron watched the fight in the terse quiet of the locker room. They all did. The Awakened stood around in their combat suits, watching the match in earnest. The pairings were random, so it was best to learn everything one could about any one that seemed even remotely like a threat. And after that contest, Sid could see it on all their faces - the silver haired boy was high up in the rankings. The contest had ended as Sid had hoped, granted, with Eren as the undisputed victor. It had, however, not gone quite as he had expected. The rage, he foresaw. The brutality with which Eren handled his opponent was a surprise; one he could not have dreamed up in two lifetimes. Gaine grinned at the screen when the medics entered the arena to take Daniel away. "And that, my friends," He said to no one in particular, "was what you call a proper contest." The ripple of unease that passed over the spectators did not seem to have any effect on him. Drake Khan preten