The Dawn of the New World

The Abysswalker was the first one to react. Before Hao Xuan and Ceni had even completely gone through the gateway an ethereal claw reached out and stabbed that section of the space.

It followed him into the gateway as both Ceni and Hao Xuan were warped into nothingness before being thrown out thousands of kilometers underground, right next to his camp behind the city of Argham.

Princess Ceni was frozen stiff because of Dai Zhi's ability so it all fell on Hao Xuan. He threw her across the forest the moment both of their bodies stabilized on this side but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the claw.

It ripped through his lower abdomen before finally dissipating into smoke.

Hao Xuan fell to the ground coughing up blood and even some small chunks of internal organs.

"BARACUS! THE WOUND, CLOSE IT NOW!" he barked in agony prompting all the nanites to jump into action.

The blood stopped but the gash remained the same, showing no signs of healing whatsoever.

*Beep*

'The blood supply to the affected areas has been temporarily suspended but the lacerations are infused with an unknown energy and show no sign of dissipating. Unless and until the energy can be removed the wound will remain open.'

He stopped leaking blood over the ground which was a great thing but the waves of pain did not stop even for a moment. Still, he forced himself to get back on his feet and inspect the surroundings.

The lights from the City of Argham were bright enough to illuminate most of the surrounding forest, including where Hao Xuan currently was. He wasn't too far away from the camp, just a minute's walk, if he could walk.

He was just glad that the coordinates weren't too far from his intended destination. If he was sent somewhere out in the wild then he would be in for some serious trouble. Thankfully this forest didn't have any dangerous beasts thanks to the demihumans.

"Haha, I can't believe that worked," he mumbled to himself chuckling. Despite having a gaping hole in his stomach it wasn't too bad of an outcome considering the alternatives.

The only issue was that he didn't stay for whatever they had planned afterward. But they couldn't hurt him anymore so it wasn't too big a deal.

He was about to call out the Scorpion King to help him carry to safety but was stopped by the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the side. Princess Ceni appeared from behind a tree.

She took one look at him and with all the blood pooling at his feet became more worried than Hao Xuan had ever been for another human being.

"Are you okay?! Does it hurt?"

She ran up to him but didn't know what to do other than just ask how he was doing. But all Hao Xuan could focus on were the dried tear marks on her face and the tightened clamps around her neck and wrists that had stopped her movements earlier.

Her haggard appearance which seemed to have aged a decade in a handful of hours didn't help either, nor did her emaciated figure. It looked like she hadn't eaten in days.

He couldn't help but recall all the nasty things he had said to her while she cried her heart out right in front of him. But what was worse was that she was truly worried about him right now, completely disregarding her own circumstances.

'Do you not realize what we have just done? They are all our enemies now,' he thought inwardly but that's not what he said.

"Yeah, I'm...okay. Sorry..."

He didn't know what that sorry was for. For worrying her so much or making her cry again and again.

She didn't even hear what he was saying. All she could see was the bloody gash. And standing so close to him she could also feel a portion of his pain, just like how he could feel her concern.

She took one of his arms and put it around her shoulders.

"I can walk just fine-" he tried to tell her but...

"No, you can't, stop lying. Shut up and let me help you!" she growled fiercely in response, starling Hao Xuan.

This was the first time he had seen her look so...scary.

"O-Oh, thanks..." he weakly mumbled back, unsure of what else to say. They limped through the woods in silence until several voices could be heard coming from nearby. Picking up the pace and they came upon one of the camps around where Hao Xuan's was.

Several familiar figures sat there all looking at something in their laps.

"Yo!" Hao Xuan called out.

Henrik looked up and saw Hao Xuan, his expression changing to one of joy before quickly changing back to a deep frown.

"You're here?! Then..." he looked back at his lap.

"What the hell is going on?"

They came forward and saw numerous small screens projecting from each of their identity tokens.. All of them were showing the same thing, the colosseum.