On that day, there were three signs I overlooked and one final mistake I made.

The first sign was a sudden change in schedule.

Ringleaders never hosted championships and other big events on the same day as the upper city’s. Many people who came to the underground were from the cities above, after all—they were the ones with money. For that reason, we always paid closer attention to the dates of all official and unofficial events.

But one day before our race, Ergos—one of the biggest and greatest dragon academies in the kingdom—announced a surprise race with three of the ten highest ranked riders confirmed to participate. Tickets were completely sold out in a matter of hours.

I saw it as rotten luck.

A twisted irony.

I gave one of my most esteemed treasures to Ergos, yet they still wanted more. I doubted Emrys would participate in the race, considering he still had to take the entrance exam.

Yet the second sign was how many leaders had to drop out of the Championship.

The Championship was the underground’s biggest celebration; a multi-race event involving all leaders ranked in the top ten. Yet many leaders started dropping out only a few hours before the races took place.

<A magic leak was found in our Blocks. We have to drop out>

<Eight of my riders got caught up in a fight last night; three are still out cold. Can’t participate like this>

<Some jackass forgot to clean my main Block from yesterday’s race. It will take forever to remove all the wreckage. I have to delay my runs>

<There is a personal emergency I must attend to. Forgive me>

The last message sent was from Nikke. It was the message that made me hesitate, made my fingers hover over the black crystal in my wrist.

<Should we postpone the Championship, then? Host it tomorrow, or later today>

Rain asked, a proposal that was not at all frivolous. To host such a big event, an illegal one at that, was no joke. A lot of care and resources were put into the Championship every year. To change it or postpone it…it was not only troublesome—it was risky.

As I thought it over for a moment, I received a message. Not one sent to the ringleaders group, but Jackal exclusively.

It was from the seventh rank, Fredo.

<Since we have a smaller number now, do you want to do a collaboration with me? Our Blocks are quite close to each other>

I leaned against my chair. At the time, the idea seemed interesting.

<What kind of collaboration you had in mind?>

Fredo would never climb too high in the ranks. Seventh was the highest Fredo had ever gotten, and it was not for lack of effort.

After discussing with Fredo, I agreed to the collaboration. We would basically use both our Blocks for longer runs and open some special bets for viewers.

Just like that, we went on with the Championship as planned.

It was not unusual for some setbacks with underground races to happen. Our resources were limited, and our operations had to be done on the sly. Riders getting sick or injuring themselves, problems with construction companies—they were all quite common issues leaders had to face. The most serious, however, were mana leaks.

Mana was, most times, a reliable energy source to power up field forces and equipment. Yet mana leaks could not only be hazardous for humans if exposed for long periods of time, but they could also cause serious explosions.

So the only thing I checked when four of the leaders dropped from the competition was if the mana leak was anywhere near mine and Fredo’s Blocks.

And it wasn’t.

“Boss, how can we proceed here?”

“Just join Fredo’s crew and make sure everything is set on both sides. The riders were already notified.”

“Got it, Boss.”

The radio’s firefly turned red, but I quickly adjusted the alchemical frequency until it started blinking blue again.

“When you all get to your new post, notify me and send me your coordinates so I can adjust the orbs.”

One by one, my riders started confirming either by radio or by sending me a message. I shifted the orbs, coordinating with my crew on the Blocks so I would have the least blind spots possible. Fredo was also sharing his frequencies with me, so it would be easier for us to survey each other’s Blocks.

In no time, all my orbs were set, the right side of my chamber showing the Blocks owned by Jackal while the left showed Fredo’s.

“King, how is Ranger’s condition?”

“He could set an entire forest aflame and still mock your ridiculous mask,” she replied in a heartbeat.

I smiled. “Good. Win today, and you become Jackal’s new ace. I’m placing my bet on you, so you both better do well.”

I didn’t wait for her reply before turning off the communication. That amount of pressure was minimal. If King wanted to succeed as a rider, she had to prepare for worse.

Leaning in my chair, I put my arms behind my head, watching the orbs. Soon enough, the Championship would officially start.

All of a sudden, a crackling noise started to escape from the wooden radio. I furrowed my brows, checking the firefly twice—it was still red.

Which meant someone was trying to invade my frequency. The connection was quite bad, the crackling noise overlapping the stranger’s voice almost completely.

“…to…us…ay…”

At first, I was hardly amused. From time to time there would be some smart ass trying to connect with Jackal to talk shit about me.

“…going…fall…”  The voice became clearer, a certain melody to it.

Already bored, I was about to turn off the radio completely in order to enjoy some peace and silence before the first run started.

Then the connection stabilized, the noise almost gone. And through the wooden radio, spoken in a singing tone, I heard the sadistic and egocentric voice of the stranger on the other side.

“Today will be the day you will finally pay…” There was this childish mockery in their singing, something one would expect from immature and snotty children.

I was just going to track their frequency and have someone from my crew deal with them.

But then I heard that name.

 “You flew high and higher than all…but today, the great Ikarus will fall…”

As I stood up in one go, the chair dropped to the ground. I clenched my fists and jaw so tight, I could almost hear them crack.

In less than a second, I was already pressing the radio between my hands, the whisper crawling its way out of my mouth filled with thorns and flames.

“Who is this?”

Amidst laughs and chuckles, the voice kept singing in a grim tune, their giddy joy and arrogance overflowing as if they couldn’t contain it themselves.

“You can change your name to Jackal, and wear a dog’s mask…but you can’t escape Ikarus’ fate. Not when you fall that fast…”

My blood began to boil within my veins, my body getting so hot I could almost burn someone with my bare hands.

“Who is this?! You fucking bastard, come find me and tell this to my face!”

Their laughter grew, its sound more chaotic—more maniacal.

As if they had completely lost their mind.

“Fall, fall, fall. Ikarus will fly and fall.”

I threw the radio against the wall, the wooden piece breaking into dozens of pieces with a loud bang.

My breathing was erratic, uneven. It took me minutes to finally catch my breath, even more to stop shaking as I stood still, glaring at the broken radio as if the object was a person I could kill over and over, enough so I could paint the entire chamber with blood.

A few minutes later, someone brought me a new radio per my request. And that was my final mistake.

Instead of trying to track down their frequency and find out who that bastard was, I focused on the Championship. I focused on trying to prove them wrong.

And this decision cost me dearly.

Two minutes into the second run, and I could still hear that bastard’s singing in my head.

If my nails were longer, I would be drawing blood from how hard I was clenching my fists.

I would show them. There existed only one Ikarus, and that one had been long dead.

“King, one of Fredo’s riders is trying to close in on you. Six seconds, three o’clock. Get them.”

When the rider and their dragon broke out from one of the buildings, Ranger already had his claws on them. The alloy and copper dragon bit the other on the neck, digging his claws into his competitor’s scales. The other dragon roared in pain, venom gas pouring out of their mouth as it tried to free themselves from Ranger’s grasp.

On another street, Beru, Pachu and three of Fredo’s riders were flying neck to neck. Pachu was flying below them all, while Beru was in the middle of two others, the third being right on top of him.

“Pachu, drag the left one by their tail and pull yourself closer to Beru. Their dragons all have warm cores, so shoot ice right in their throats when I give you the signal.”

As Pachu followed my instructions, I watched the rider above them for a couple of seconds before switching the communication to Beru.

“Pachu will use ice. Do a 180º spin when I give you the signal, as fast as you can. When you find the chance, fly higher and do your best to pass them all.”

I waited for Fredo’s top rider to get a few inches ahead, and switched to both Beru and Pachu.

“Do it now.”

Pachu’s dragon opened her mouth, ice shards shooting like rapid arrows from her throat alongside a chilling blizzard. As Beru’s dragon spun, covering his body and Beru’s with his wings, some shards ricocheted and hit Fredo’s rider right on the animal’s right wing.

Beru did not waste one second, the four-legged dragon using the opportunity to hit his opponent above right in the stomach while throwing both dragon and rider to the side.

On another end, King and Ranger were in the lead, with only two competitors trying to get closer.

Things were going well.

Ranger was using his claws to jump and pull himself forward from building to building, giving bursts of speed from time to time with his wings. Soon enough, they would get to the finish line.

Then it happened.

I first heard a low rumble, taking a few more moments to feel the ground and walls reverberating.

All dragons, however, noticed way before. Because they all shrieked and roared and stopped, diving in all directions as if they had no idea where to go. And before I could ask what the heck was happening, I saw from all kinds of different angles and positions the city’s ceiling from my Blocks blow up.

And as pieces of rock fell crushing the buildings below, winged figures appeared from the new entrances.

Even with dust in the air, I could clearly distinguish the center figure. How could I not, after all? She was in every newspaper, every article, every rumor and senseless gossip. 

Long silver hair and red locks blending here and there, perfectly highlighting the long, black coat she wore. As if she were not even trying to hide the fact she belonged to a prestigious, noble family.

The new rising star, a rookie rider who had the potential of becoming a Diamond Wing once she graduated—Alantra Harris.

And she had an entire squad from the authorities behind her.