Lightning Throne

Smoke filled the air as the Tarkaan Coliseum erupted into chaos. Explosions tore through its upper decks, sending shrapnel raining down onto the battlefield. The once-golden structure, a symbol of Dominion power, was now a war zone—and for the first time in centuries, the fighters weren't battling for survival.

They were fighting for freedom.

Kael moved like a storm given form, his body surging with raw electricity as he tore through the Dominion security forces. Plasma bolts zipped past him, but he barely had to dodge—his control over the electromagnetic field sent most shots off-course, redirecting them into walls and ceilings.

The guards had been trained to suppress Awakened fighters. They weren't trained for this.

Ryven sprinted beside him, knocking an enemy off balance with a well-placed strike before flipping behind another and jamming a shock baton into his back. "We're making a mess," he muttered.

Kael grinned, ducking under a blast and disarming a guard with a burst of kinetic force. "That was the point."

The sound of battle intensified. Fighters, long enslaved by the coliseum's games, had turned on their captors. Kael had expected resistance, hesitation—but the moment that first door opened, the rebellion had spread like wildfire.

And at the center of it all was her.

The scarred woman with lightning flickering between her fingers.

She had taken command of the fighters as if she had always been meant to lead them. Her name was Veyra Korin, and Kael could already tell—she was powerful. Not just in the way she fought, but in the way she moved through the battlefield, rallying the others with an unshakable presence.

Kael sprinted toward her as she ripped a Dominion enforcer's helmet clean off and sent a surge of blue lightning straight into his skull.

Veyra turned just in time to see Kael approaching. She studied him for a second before tilting her head.

"Guessing you're the one who started this mess."

Kael smirked. "Guilty."

She let out a breath, shaking off the residual energy from her last attack. "Can't decide if I want to thank you or punch you."

Ryven slid to a stop beside them, panting. "I vote 'thank him'—we've got bigger problems."

Kael followed his gaze.

Up above, Dominion reinforcements were arriving.

Drop ships cut through the atmosphere, their thrusters burning bright as they descended onto the coliseum. The elite Shock Guard, the Dominion's most heavily augmented enforcers, were already deploying—battle-hardened killers built to crush uprisings before they could even start.

Veyra muttered a curse under her breath. "They're bringing the Shock Guard. That means they want this over fast."

Kael clenched his fists. "Then we don't give them what they want."

Veyra turned toward the fighters behind her. "Push forward! Take the armory! We won't get another chance!"

The fighters roared in response, their momentum unwavering. They were done being prisoners.

Kael turned to Ryven. "We need to cut off reinforcements."

Ryven exhaled sharply. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Kael's eyes flickered with static as he raised a hand toward the warship hovering above the coliseum.

The ship responded instantly.

A surge of electromagnetic force burst outward, short-circuiting Dominion drop ships before they could land. Some crashed into the coliseum's outer walls, sending debris cascading into the lower levels. Others spiraled out of control, their pilots scrambling to recover before their systems failed completely.

The reinforcements were stalled.

For now.

Kael turned back to Veyra. "That should buy us time."

She gave him a sharp nod. "Then let's end this."

Together, they charged toward the heart of the coliseum.

The final battle had begun.

The Dominion fought like hell.

The deeper Kael pushed, the more resistance they met. The Shock Guard were different from the standard enforcers—faster, stronger, their bodies enhanced with cybernetic implants that let them react to attacks in microseconds. They moved like machines, their plasma blades cutting through the air in blinding arcs.

Kael met them head-on.

His fists clashed against energy blades, sparks flying with each collision. He ducked under a horizontal slash, pivoted, and sent a burst of concentrated electricity straight into the soldier's chest. The armor resisted for a moment—then overloaded, frying the circuits inside.

The guard collapsed, his cybernetics flickering uselessly.

Kael exhaled sharply. He could keep this up, but not forever.

Veyra was carving through soldiers nearby, her movements just as brutal as they were efficient. Her lightning was different from his. It didn't just flow—it tore through enemies like a living storm, bending and crackling with each precise strike.

Ryven, for his part, was a blur of kinetic energy, using sheer speed and unpredictability to knock guards off balance, dodging attacks that should have been impossible to avoid.

Despite their skill, the battle was turning into a war of attrition.

The Dominion had endless soldiers. Kael and the others had nothing but their strength and the will to fight.

But then—the tide shifted.

Kael felt it before he saw it.

The warship above them pulsed with power, responding to the sheer volume of electromagnetic energy he and Veyra had been using.

The coliseum shook.

A final warning.

Then—it collapsed.

The entire structure gave way, the force of their combined storm tearing through its foundation, sending the upper decks crumbling downward.

Dominion forces were buried beneath the wreckage, their suppression technology failing as the power of the Awakened raged unchecked.

Kael and the others barely managed to escape into the lower hangars as the last of the coliseum collapsed behind them.

When the dust settled, Kael stood at the center of the wreckage.

And he knew.

The Tarkaan Coliseum was gone.

The prison that had held warriors captive for so long had fallen.

Silence hung over the battlefield. The fighters—**no, the freed soldiers—**looked around, as if they couldn't quite believe what they had done.

Then, Veyra stepped forward.

She turned to Kael, her gaze steady. "What now?"

Kael looked out over the survivors. He saw fighters with potential, warriors who had felt the storm and survived it.

They were more than just an army waiting to rise.

They were the Stormborn.

Kael clenched his fists.

"Now?" His voice carried across the ruins, filled with certainty. "We take the war to the Dominion."

This battle was over.

But the rebellion had just begun.