The blinding light of Sol broke through the door as it lifted, and the cheers of many filled Axel's ears with a deafening roar.

He squinted, the light shining through his helmet.

Across the arena, his opponent swaggered, his silver hair gleaming.

To the audience, the ocean-eyed teen was no more than a slab of meat tossed into the arena for Axel to cut into. To Axel, the boy's existence could mean either victory or death for himself.

"Gentlemen of Rome, today we present to you the Gallus Axel versus the Retiarii Riku!" The announcer bellowed, his voice drowned by the cheering. "Begin!"

The crowd, unknowingly, was divided into two intermingled sections: the section that observed for the embedded symbolic aspect of the fight, and the section that thirsted for the warriors' blood to be spilt across the dirt.

To those who spectate for the symbolic aspect, the battle between these two gladiators would look like Vulcan and Neptune at war. The silver-haired boy's distinctive net and trident of the Retiarii class gladiator dressed him as their visions of the sea god. Though Axel's flame-colored hair was mostly squashed under his helmet, he was meant to represent the fire god. In this battle, Riku was meant to prevail, but Axel would have to make an exception if the audience became too eager for blood.

Axel had a much different body than what sculptors and artists would have depicted Vulcan with, however. Where Vulcan was a god with bulging muscles, Axel was purely human with starved-looking muscles.

His opponent, Riku, appeared much more youthful and supple. He must have been able to keep meat on his muscles, unlike the way Axel appeared to be. He wondered if Riku was stolen from his home as well.

Every battle was a two-way trap for Axel: if Axel failed to fight, he would be executed as a rebellious slave; if Axel did fight but managed to lose, he could die at the hands of his opponents and in the eyes of thousands if they so desired.

Despite the crowd's thirst to see bloodshed, Axel wasn't certain he would be permitted to actually kill Riku. Gladiators were expensive and difficult to come by, though that didn't stop the crowd from chanting for their demise.

By this point in his life, Axel had become one of the favorites of many spectators, which also brought much income to his training school. His death would mean a shattering blow to his master's wealth.

The metal clanging of Axel's sword against Riku's trident was drowned by the roaring of the crowd. Axel's advantage over Riku was the heavy armor going over his arm, and his shield. But this also proved disadvantage, for Riku was much more agile.

Riku was a silver blur as he slipped in front and behind Axel, dazing him. He draped the net over Axel's back, the weights dragging Axel to the ground.

Axel slashed his sword out to the side, cutting into Riku's thigh. Riku stumbled and fell only a meter and a half away from Axel, clutching his bleeding thigh.

Axel shook the weighted net off his back, towering over the boy.

Riku still had his trident, and jabbed at Axel with it. Axel deflected it off his shield and thrusted his sword at him. Riku dodged the blade the best he could, but it grazed his shoulder as he tried to scoot away. Axel thrusted his sword at him again, but Riku pushed it away with his trident.

Axel saw the boy reach for the knife he had equipped behind him, and as Riku drew it he knocked it away with his shield.

Now Riku only had his trident. The audience cheered, though the ones who had expected Riku to win appeared slightly disappointed.

Axel slashed at the trident, which Riku used to block the blows, but one slice cut through Riku's fingers and he let go. Axel pushed the trident from Riku's grasp.

The crowd roared louder, some pointing their thumbs down to demand Riku's death.

Axel removed his helmet and turned to Luxord, a blond man with a short beard and crisp white robes whose job was to oversee and assess the battle to decide if killing one of the gladiators was favorable.

Luxord's eyes scanned the crowd, whose chanting for Riku's death was growing louder.

Luxord nodded to Axel, his eyes sinister and filled with greed just as the crowd's.

"Please, make an exception for me..." Riku begged.

"I'm sorry, but I have no choice." Axel replied, shaking his head.

Riku was forced up on his knees in front of Axel. Axel held his sword above Riku's head.

The audience chanted for death, and Axel plunged his sword into Riku's head. Warm blood spilt onto Axel's sandals, mixing between his toes. The limp body collapsed into the dirt.

Before Axel removed the sword, he whispered a prayer to send Riku's spirit back to his father.

He dropped the sword, and it clattered against the ground.

A trumpet blared and Riku's body was dragged into the darkness underneath the arena, where the bodies would be. Riku would not be so lucky to have a funeral, he would most likely be turned into animal feed or be left to rot in the sun. Only elite gladiators would be given funerals, and Riku and Axel were mere slaves. Axel could only dream of being sent to the Underworld so luxuriously.

Axel felt a meaty hand grab him by his armor straps and drag him into the darkness as well, though opposite to Riku.

Though Axel was not permitted to speak to his master, he did anyway. "Was it necessary to kill him?"

"The crowd demanded it so. Besides, I was told that one was a troublemaker in his school, and often defied rules anyway. He wasn't too popular with the audience, either, so his life wasn't too important. Yours, though I hate to drill the idea that you have any significance into your head, is important. I won't get paid nearly as much as I do now with you alive." His master, a beefy man with copper hair named Lexaeus, replied gruffly. "But if you continue to speak out of turn like that I won't hesitate to punish you myself."

Axel kept his lips shut as Lexaeus bound his hands in front of him and led him back into the light and toward a horse-drawn cart used to escort goods. But this cart was meant to carry enslaved gladiators back to the gladiator school.

"Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Equirria, so you'd best be ready to compete in the chariot race. And make it flashy, you know how much the audience loves a good, bloody chariot race." Lexaeus grinned, lashing the reins.

Translations

- Aut vincere aut mori - Victory or death

- Gallus - A type of gladiator from the region of Gaul

- Retiarii - A type of gladiator distinguishable by fighting with a net

- Equirria - A festival held in March celebrating horses