Top Shot

Before he was feared as a champion, Ivor Nyle was known across Kalamas as a master archer—a man whose precision was unmatched. With his twin sister, Imara, he survived the chaos of the undead’s first invasion, living day by day on the outskirts of the capital. The two shared an unbreakable bond, relying on each other’s strength when hope was scarce.

But when the Heart of Kalamas was activated, everything changed. The force field was designed to protect, yet in its early activation, countless citizens were vaporized along with the undead—Imara among them. Watching his sister vanish before his eyes broke Ivor in a way no enemy could. His love turned to rage, and his respect for Kalamas’s leaders curdled into hatred. Convinced that the scientists behind the Heart were murderers, he attempted to assassinate the project’s lead scientist. His plot failed, and Ivor was cast into prison, stripped of his bow and his freedom.

Years later, with Kalamas bleeding from repeated Arena Games, the nation offered its prisoners a bargain: fight for Kalamas, and if you win, you walk free. Driven by vengeance and sharpened by years of cold fury, Ivor volunteered. He would not fight for his nation—he would fight for his own freedom, and for a chance to finish what he started.

The Arena he faced was a deadly maze. 10 competitors, weapons in hand, were locked into twisting stone corridors. At the maze’s center lay a single key. The task: claim it, and escape or be the last to survive. Victory required cunning, speed, and above all, survival.

Ivor entered with his bow—his lifeline, his identity. He left subtle trail markers as he advanced, a hunter’s trick to ensure he could retrace his steps. When he reached the key, his pulse quickened; freedom was in reach. But the Ring’s contestants were everywhere. One undead opponent stumbled across Ivor’s trail and began following it, circling ever closer. Fate twisted cruelly: as Ivor sprinted back, key in hand, he nearly collided with the creature. At the last second, the undead veered down another corridor, hunting for a shortcut. Ivor pressed on, every muscle screaming, every breath a prayer.

Moments later, he reached his door, unlocked it, and stepped into daylight as the champion of Kalamas. The crowd roared, but Ivor felt nothing. No wealth awaited him, no honor—only the cold, hard promise of freedom.

Two months later, whispers spread across Kalamas of a shocking crime. The head scientist of the Heart Project had been assassinated, a perfect shot piercing his chest. Ivor Nyle, the Top Shot, had fulfilled his vengeance. Before authorities could capture him, he vanished into the wastelands, slipping through the South Gates and into Pyro City—the very heart of the Ring.

Ivor’s legacy is one of triumph and betrayal. To Kalamas, he was both champion and traitor. To the Ring, he became a weapon forged in hatred. And to the world, he would forever be remembered as the champion who won his freedom only to turn it against those who gave it.