The Timeless Arena Saga

By Riley Blazek

Jason Evans is a mercenary who is looking for a challenge. He decides to try a mythological arena challenge, but when he arrives, he gets a lot more than he was prepared for. His life changes after challenging the arena and he must constantly fight for his friends and his own survival. Dive into this world full of action and real-life inspired characters, led by a stoic main character. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riley Blazek
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215263976

Riley Blazek

Riley Blazek is an aspiring author, based out of Missouri. He enjoys writing thriller content and short-form content, as well as adding a mature twist to his stories to throw his readers for a loop. 

Book preview

The Gauntlet Across Time

There is a place in the world, where the greatest fighters of all time have all traveled to test their strength. Across all time, there is a place directly off the coast of Bangladesh, where the greatest fighters, mercenaries, assassins, MMA fighters, and soldiers trek to at some point. This story is the story of my journey into this compound, and the story of what lay inside.

The boat ride to the dock was rough, as the choppy waters broke my spirits while at sea. Afraid that the dock may not even be there anymore, I told the captain to slow down and enter the docking bay carefully. This was undiscovered land, and we had no idea what lay behind the fog inches from our noses. Eventually, by way of the spotlight, we found the dock and steered the ship that way.

Docking was easy, and I finished by tying the boat up to the rotting wood of the dock, hoping it wouldn’t break and the ship, subsequently, would float away. The fog made my milk chocolate skin glow in the sunlight, appearing almost golden. Fitting. In the distance, I found my target. A large stone door.

Captain! I yell to the ship, as the captain pokes his head out the door. Stay here until I get back! I’ll be gone a while, ration out food and shit!

Then I turn and begin my walk to the stone door. The old stone stairs were cracked and moss-ridden. Every step up the stairs was a struggle, the stone was polished a long time ago, and it still had some slip to it. I end up just turning on the spikes in my shoes, meant for combat, but good for climbing up slippery surfaces. The walk was long and difficult, but it was worth it. The architecture of something so ancient is so interesting, and that took up a majority of my time as I walked up the seemingly infinite stairs.

Arriving at the precipice of the stairs, the light in my eyes fire up to their maximum capacity. The fire in my eyes shines like a thousand suns as I look upon the huge stone door, set on massive stone hinges. How they do not erode over time, I do not know. I start setting up my campsite, quickly assembling my small one-person tent and a small campfire. I check my gear, and it goes as follows.

●  One sword, shaped like an ancient gladiator's sword. It contains a small canister of gasoline, so it is capable of emitting a small flame from the edge, making the blade heat up.

●  One pair of combat boots, which when put on and armed, by a button implanted in my finger, spikes release from the boots, mainly used for climbing.

●  One rifle, meant for high-range combat. The rifle is zeroed with sight options at fifty, one hundred, two hundred fifty, and five hundred meters, about as far a shot as I’ve ever had to make. 

●  One sidearm, a basic Glock-19, there is a magazine holding twenty rounds, with a red dot sight on the top. It has a threaded barrel, so I can screw on a silencer if I need to be quiet.

●  Modded Combat Armor, made out of kevlar and steel, interwoven to be bullet-proof by any pistol round or smaller, throughout the chest, back, arms, and legs. The only part of my body that is vulnerable is my head down to my throat. It has all the protection that plates have that the military uses, but fits tight to my body like a diving suit, allowing for enhancements to be made so that it has bags for supplies.

●  A basic assortment of combat supplies, including flashbang and fragmentary grenades, oxygenated water and hunger-quenching crackers, and lastly, a small canteen of smooth Okinawan Awamori. 

These things will determine whether or not I leave this place alive. The Awamori is either to celebrate my win or to use before I go to sleep, to calm my raging nerves. Everything else is probably necessary for survival. I began readying myself for sleep and lie down, trying to calm both my excitement and my fear. Realizing that sleep will not come easily tonight, I pour a shot of Awamori or so into my mouth, straight from the flask. I close my eyes, expecting a night of restless sleep, but catching myself with the dark enclosing me faster than I assumed.

Waking sucked, my back was twisted at an awkward angle for a long time, and I have to spend some time stretching my lower back before I get going. Even though I am only 27, when you do what I do, you accrue a multitude of aches and pains over the years. Not only have I been a professional assassin/mercenary for the last eight years, but I also lift, so that I have the strength to both fight and survive on my own.

I decide to leave my campsite intact and venture the short distance to the door. I only have my combat supplies at this point, readying myself for a fight as soon as I enter the large structure. I take a deep breath and push my way through the doors. The doors are heavy and rough, but I make it work. I push the door open enough to slip through and squeeze past, into the dark space ahead. I wait for my eyes to adjust, as the only light inside is coming through the ceiling, as inside the mountain is hollowed out.

I take a few steps inside, keeping my hand on my pistol, and cautiously inch forward into the cavern. The cavern is massive, the walls are smooth rock and the floor is polished stone. All of which, are in pristine cleanliness, like they are dusted every day, even though it seems to be hundreds of thousands of years old at this point.

As I walk through the cave, I begin walking faster, as I now have my bearings about me. I see a hole in the wall ahead of me, so I begin walking faster and faster, continuing my trek through the cavity.

Finally, I reach the back wall, so I start feeling around, noticing a hand-sized hole in the wall. Though it is scary, I put my hand in the hole and begin feeling around. I notice a small button and press it. Like a light switch, the cracks in the stone begin glowing and giving off massive amounts of light. They glow an eerie orange as if LED lights are in place between the stones.

I look to my right, finding myself looking at a large pillar, with a computer jutting out from the side of the stone. Confused, I check out the computer, finding that there are no wires connecting the computer to anything. I try to power it on, only to find that once I lay a finger on the computer, I am shot back into the center of the room, and lifted off my feet.

It’s as if I’m levitating when I find myself around ten feet above the ground. Shocked and dazed, I gather my wits, realizing I’m levitating. The orange light coming from all around me begins a crescendo, rising in intensity until it is so blindingly bright that I have to close my eyes and put my hands in front of them.

Then, as quickly as it began, I was dropped from my spot in the sky, landing on my feet and catching my breath. Then, out of nowhere, I hear a voice.

Challenger. a distorted voice says from all around me as if they were talking through a running fan.

Yes? I ask, angry and shaking the shock out of my body.

You are here to test your mettle, Challenger? To face the greatest warriors time has to offer? the distorted voice says once again, now a little more feminine sounding.

Yes, I’m here to fight people, not disembodied fucking voices. Who are you? I speak with a calm, measured tone, with just a hint of malice in my words. I’m tired of being confused, I want answers.

Who I am doesn’t matter, what matters is that you are here, ready for my challenge. If you listen to what I say and defeat all your enemies, you get one wish granted to you, with no restrictions. My goal in this realm is to find the greatest fighter humanity has to offer. Time will tell if someone comes along later to take your place. the distorted voice says lastly, and with that, the floor begins to shake. The lights on the floor begin rising in intensity again, and I close my eyes. When I open them, I find myself in a massive arena, white marble everything. Fans litter the stands, from all sorts of times, in just a glance, I see Ancient Romans, Americans, Chinese, Anglo-Saxon, Mongolian, and all sorts of men and women, dressed in all sorts of attire.

The voice comes again, still not coming from any single direction. Now, ladies and gentlemen of the Timeless Arena, welcome our newest competitor, Jason Evans!

Crowds erupt around me, screaming, forcing their lungs to their fullest extent. The adrenaline is exhilarating. I’ve never fought with a crowd, it worries me.

Now, the time has arrived! People of the Timeless Arena, listen closely. You may miss her if you don’t! Welcome, Confucia Ahdema, The Nyx of Rome. the distorted voice says, whispering at the end. Confucia’s chosen method? Stealth. Just like that, a bright light encompasses me, and I close my eyes to avoid being blinded once more.

When I open my eyes, I find myself in a jungle of tiny proportions, with few places to hide among the brush. Just enough to hide from the woman, who is apparently my competitor. In the glance I got at her, I noticed all she carried was a small dagger, to maximize her stealth ability. I decided to just go with the pistol, as it would be the least cumbersome, so I shed my other weapons, and start stalking through the bush.

I start inching my way through the bush, crouched down, and alert. I take my steps carefully, watching where I step, making sure no sticks were in my path. Suddenly, I hear a sound from above me, but when my head snaps up, there is nothing there. Nobody is in the trees above me. Back to it, but I change my path.

I decided to try and get a vantage point instead. I start my way to a tree in the corner, but again, I hear a sound behind me. My head snaps back behind me, expecting to see a knife-wielding woman barreling toward me. Nothing. Nobody there. I continue my walk, as I continue my way to the tree. Finally, I find myself with my back against the tree, and I begin settling down. At least I was until I heard speaking from behind me.

You think you’ve won? I’ve predicted every step you would take from the beginning. a feminine voice behind me says. Then, there is a knife beneath my chin, and my breath catches in my throat. A small bead of blood begins pooling at the tip of the blade.

Interesting, you speak English. I thought Romans spoke Latin? I ask, attempting to sound intimidating and scary, also trying to distract my killer.

You are a fool, American. This place changes your speech, everyone speaks the same, she says, spitting when she speaks. It works for me, I’m able to unholster my pistol and hold it in my opposite hand, where Confucia is unable to see.

That’s so cool, I wonder how they do that? How did they kidnap you into this game? I ask, legitimately curious about this, but also transferring my pistol to my good hand, where I could get a good shot.

I was a former champion, I’m the greatest stealth artist of all time. They didn’t kidnap me, I offered my consciousness to them so I could compete every time there is a new Challenger. This body is not human, it is a construct of the voice. she says, with finality. This has been a great chat, but it’s been so long since I drew blood, so I’m sorry Jason, but your time has come. Thanks for pla-. Her speech is cut off when I pull the trigger of my sidearm, twisted in my hand so that a bullet would travel up through her throat and destroy her brain stem.

I had been slowly calculating where I would have to shoot my pistol, based on the trajectory of where her voice was. It paid off, as I stopped her before she slit my throat. I looked behind me, looking to where the bloody mess of a woman would be laying on the ground but only found a robotic body with glowing orange eyes. Then, the voice came back from overhead.

Congratulations to our Challenger, Jason Evans! You have defeated Confucia Ahdema, The Nyx of Rome. You are one step closer to the championship fight, against the greatest fighter that this arena has ever seen. Now, on to the next challenge. But first, some explanations. What question would you like to ask? the voice asks, seemingly trustworthy.

How could she speak to me? How do you make everybody understand everyone? I yell, screaming at the ghost in the sky.

Interesting question, Challenger. Everybody speaks the same here, as all languages spoke the same language at one point. The air around you translates your speech into that language, then that language is what is spoken. That is your answer, Challenger. the voice proclaims, explaining what I have been wondering since the fight with Confucia. It makes sense.

And now, ladies and gentlemen of the Timeless Arena, the next fight on the docket! Our new challenger, versus The Shadow Samurai, Hiroshi Makato. Hiroshi’s chosen method? A sword duel.

The man that I am about to face flashes in front of me, a small compact man with a long katana and samurai-like armor. Long blue and red steel plates, woven together with leather to form a lightweight armor good enough to stop any sword attack. He would be tough, but I knew I would have to face him with my sword as well. The bright light encompassed me once again, and I closed my eyes, awaiting my duel.

When I open my eyes, I open a small room with nothing in it, just a dirt floor and a light overhead so that we both could see. Then, Hiroshi teleports in across the room from me, starting with just an inanimate body, then eyes that glow bright orange, then he comes to life with a fire for combat in his eyes.

You will not win! I could best Bishamonten with my sword skills, I can cut steel apart at the atoms! How do you expect to beat me, shithead! Hiroshi yells across the small room, venom dripping from every word.

Listen fuckface, I don’t know who you think you are, but you and your bullshit god don’t scare me. You want to know how I’ll beat you? I’m going to cut every inch of that armor off before I cut your stupid fucking head off! I scream across the room, intending to make him mad and get off his game. Of course, it doesn’t work, but it was worth a try.

You have no honor. You have no courage, you have only stupidity and recklessness. You will die with your blood spilling across this floor, with no family to come get your body! Hiroshi yells as he begins running across the room, hand on his sword, still in the sheathe.

"You may have been the best swordsman in your day old man, but times have changed. The swords of today are so much better, I could cut