Sands of Fate: The Wrong Side of History

Chapter 1: The Arena

The first thing Alex felt was the blood in his mouth. It tasted like metal. The sun was way too bright, burning his skin like a heat lamp. He felt weak, and his head was spinning.

He blinked a few times. This wasn’t his bedroom. He was on his knees in some red dirt. Around him, a massive crowd was screaming from stone seats that went up forever.

"Kill! Kill!"

They were all yelling for blood.

’The fuck kinda dream is this?’ Alex thought, as he tried to crawl back, but his hand landed on something wet. He looked down and almost threw up. There was a dead guy right next to him, his stomach ripped open and his guts spilled all over the sand.

"What the fuck!" He yelled, startled.

Then, a huge shadow covered him.

Alex looked up, and saw a giant standing there. He was at least seven feet tall, covered in scars and oil. He held a massive axe that was dripping with blood. The guy looked like a wall of muscle. He looked down at Alex and grinned with yellow, rotten teeth.

"I’ll enjoy tearing you limb from limb, little rat," the giant growled. His voice was deep enough to make Alex’s chest shake. "I’ll wear your skin to keep the sun off mine."

The giant lunged. He swung the axe in a huge circle, aiming straight for Alex’s head.

Alex’s heart stopped. Suddenly, a sharp ’ping!’ sounded in his brain.

’Sands of Fate System Initialized

Current Skill: Temporal Dilatation (Level 1)

Effect: 5 seconds of slowed time.

Uses: 3/3 per 24 hours.’

’What the hell?’

Everything went quiet. The screaming crowd turned into a low hum. The axe, which was about to kill him, was now moving super slow. Alex could see every little scratch on the metal.

He didn’t think twice. He rolled to the left. His body felt heavy, like he was moving through water, but he got out of the way.

4... 3... 2... 1...

Time snapped back to normal.

Swoosh.

The axe flew past his head, missing him by an inch. It hit the stone wall behind him with a loud ’thud.’

"You’re fast for a rat," the giant said. He didn’t even bother pulling the axe out yet. He just stepped forward and punched Alex right in the stomach.

It felt like getting hit by a truck. Alex’s ribs cracked. He flew backward and slid through the dirt and blood. He coughed hard, spitting out a mouthful of dark blood that covered his chin. He couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt like hell.

The giant laughed, and the crowd joined in.

"Stay away!" Alex wheezed. He scrambled back on his hands and knees. He grabbed a broken piece of wood and threw it. It did nothing. He threw rocks and handfuls of sand, desperately trying to keep the giant back.

The giant didn’t care. He walked to the wall, grabbed his axe, and ripped it out of the stone.

Alex forced himself to stand up. The pain was bad, but the fear was worse. He turned and ran as fast as he could. His white hair was a mess, soaked in sweat. Behind him, he heard the heavy footsteps of the giant chasing him down.

The giant stopped and threw the axe.

It spun through the air like a blade. Alex looked back, saw it coming, and panicked.

’Ping!’

Everything froze again.

5... 4...

The axe was right there, hanging in the air. Alex stepped to the side, breathing hard. He walked past the floating weapon, his feet burning on the hot sand.

1...

The axe flew past and buried itself in the dirt.

The giant roared in rage. He grabbed a long leather whip from the ground and snapped it. The leather wrapped around Alex’s legs and yanked him down.

Alex hit the ground face-first. As he tried to get back up, his hand hit something cold. It was a short sword sticking out of the sand.

The giant was sprinting now. He dropped the whip and reached out with his huge hands. He wanted to squeeze Alex’s neck until it snapped.

As the giant dove at him, Alex used his last charge.

’Ping!’

The giant was stuck in the air above him. Alex grabbed the sword and stood up. The world was gray and quiet. He aimed right for the giant’s thick neck.

"Aarrrgh!"

He swung the sword with everything he had left.

The blade sank deep into the throat. It cut through the skin and muscle, but it got stuck in the bone. Right then, time returned to normal.

The giant’s weight slammed into Alex, throwing him back against the stone wall. Alex slumped down, his head spinning. He watched the giant.

The big man stood there, perfectly still. He put his hands to his throat, but blood was already spraying out between his fingers. He took a few shaky steps, looking at Alex like he couldn’t believe what just happened.

Then, his knees hit the sand. He fell forward and didn’t move again.

Silence.

The whole stadium went quiet. Fifty thousand people were just staring at the pale, bloody kid who had just killed their champion.

Alex was panting, "I just killed a man." His voice shook. "I just–" he hurled everything he had left in his stomach.

Then, one person started clapping. Then another. Soon, the whole place was exploding with noise.

In the front rows, the rich women went crazy. One woman in a purple dress stood up and ripped the front of her top open, baring her tits to Alex while she screamed in excitement. A few other women did the same, pulling down their dresses and showing off their bodies, their skin glowing in the sun as they cheered for him.

Guards in heavy armor marched out onto the sand. They grabbed Alex by the arms and dragged him up. He was too weak to even walk. As they led him toward the dark tunnel under the seats, he saw some glowing text in the corner of his eye.

[Cooldown Active: 23:59:59]

’What the hell is happening’ Alex thought, as the darkness swallowed him up.