In one of the thousand arenas, a continent-sized biome of dense jungle, a living mountain sat in quiet contemplation.

Atlas, the leader of the Titans, rested at the foot of the tallest tree, his colossal form so immense that the small, shimmering token at his waist was completely lost in the folds of his stone-like skin.

Unlike the other champions, who were locked in a frantic, desperate scramble for survival, Atlas was an island of absolute, unassailable calm.

His sheer size, visible from miles away, was a silent and terrifying deterrent. No sane lifeform dared to approach him.

They remembered the spectacle of the first round, the image of the reinforced Pillar of Might exploding into dust from a single, casual punch.

They gave him a wide, respectful berth.

For an hour, Atlas enjoyed the best time of his life, a quiet, peaceful nap in the heart of a warzone. But his rest was interrupted by the faint whisper of wings.

He opened one of his massive, rock-like eyelids and saw a tiny figure, no larger than a fly in his perception, floating before his face.

"Vel," Atlas's voice was a low, sleepy rumble, a sound like the shifting of tectonic plates. "Finish this round quickly. I am bored. No one is coming to attack me."

"The arena is too big," Vel, the elven king, replied, his voice a calm, melodic counterpoint to the titan's deep growl. "It took me an hour just to find you. There are five more of our kin from Veridia in this arena. I believe we should form a team."

"A team?" Atlas snorted, a gust of wind that rustled the leaves of the trees. "Do we need one? If you can finish this hunt in another hour, then all is well. Otherwise, I may have to start crushing some of these trees for my own amusement."

He knew Vel's cautious nature, but he also knew the immense, almost unfair, gap in power between the champions of Veridia and the lifeforms of the other worlds.

"Then help me find them," Vel pressed. "Your hearing is the best among all the lifeforms of Veridia. You can hear a leaf fall from a continent away."

Atlas let out a long, theatrical sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment, his massive head tilting as he listened to the silent symphony of the jungle. "Fly one hundred thousand kilometers to the southeast," he finally grumbled. "You will find a… teammate… there."

Vel nodded, thanked the titan for his help, and shot off in the indicated direction.

As he watched the elf's retreating form, a slow, wicked grin spread across Atlas's stony face. "Hmph. Let's see what you do now."

Vel traveled for another hour, the dense jungle canopy a blur of green beneath him. Finally, his keen elven senses picked up a presence.

Trusting Atlas's guidance, he descended, landing softly in a small, sun-dappled clearing. In the center of the clearing stood a human, his back to him.

"Who are you?" Vel's voice was sharp, carrying the innate authority of a king who had ruled for centuries.

The human turned, a calm, almost amused smile on his face. "It is rude to ask for a name without first giving your own," he said, his voice surprisingly relaxed. "But I suppose it is alright. After all, I already know who you are, Vel, the King of the Elves."

Vel's eyes narrowed. He felt no immediate threat from this human, but his cautious nature, a trait honed by a centuries of political maneuvering and warfare, screamed at him to be wary. He took a few steps back, creating a safe distance.

The human just laughed, a sound that grated on Vel's nerves. "You are as cautious as they say."

That was the final straw. Annoyed by Atlas's prank and now by this arrogant, unknown human, Vel's patience snapped.

He raised a hand, and a massive, swirling ball of pure fire, a spell powerful enough to incinerate an entire city, materialized above his palm.

He held it in check, his immense control ensuring its destructive power wouldn't accidentally kill his opponent before he could offer a healing spell.

The fireball then coalesced, taking on the form of a roaring, sentient fire spirit, and lunged at the still-smiling human.

But the human didn't flinch. He didn't raise a shield or prepare a counter-spell. He simply stood there, an expression of calm curiosity on his face.

Just as the fireball was about to engulf him, a strange, beautiful, and terrifying thing happened. The fireball, a destructive magic, simply… unraveled. The flames dissolved, the heat dissipated, and the magical energy that formed its core was reduced to its original, harmless state, a gentle mist of pure mana that was then calmly absorbed by the human.

"How? What was that?" Vel gasped, a genuine, profound shock on his face. He knew of a talent like this, a power that could convert any incoming attack into nothingness.

It was the signature ability of the demigod Mammon. But this… this felt different.

"Just a minor trick," the human replied.

The live chat, which had been filled with a hundred different battles, suddenly focused on this single, unbelievable moment.

Lifeform1636: "What was that?! Did he just EAT that spell?! Is that even possible?!"

Lifeform63728: "Hehe. That is our leader. The leader of the Kshara planet, Lux. And this is his signature skill. No lifeform below the demigod realm has ever been able to land a single blow on him."

Atlas, in his bodedom, had sent the master of all magic in Veridia to face the one being in the arena who was completely immune to magic.

But Vel was no fool. He bombarded Lux with a relentless storm of spells—fire, ice, lightning, earth—not to harm him, but to study him.

For half an hour, he watched, his mind a whirlwind of analysis, until he finally saw it. "So, you convert my magic attacks back into their original form, mana, and use it to nourish yourself," Vel said, a slow, appreciative smile forming on his face. "What a truly frightening technique."

But knowing the trick and countering it were two different things. Vel was optimistic. He had all the time in the world.

As Lux couldn't harm him either; the hundreds of contracted spirits that swirled around Vel, invisible to the naked eye, formed a perfect, impenetrable shield.

Since the spirits were living beings, Lux's talent could not convert them. They were at a perfect, absolute deadlock.

"Oh… I need to be fast," Vel suddenly said, a new idea, a brilliant and unorthodox solution, flashing in his mind. He had found a way.

But before he could unleash his new strategy, a familiar chime echoed in both their minds, and a new panel materialized before them.

[You are one of the one thousand lifeforms left in this arena. Congratulations on passing the second round.]

Vel looked at Lux, his earlier frustration gone, replaced by the pure, competitive fire of a true warrior. "I hope we are matched in the final round," he said.

Lux just nodded, a respectful smile on his face. In the next instant, both of them dissolved in a shower of light, teleported back to their respective stands, their epic, unresolved duel now the stuff of legends in the God Chat.

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