《Necromancer: The Angel Of Darkness》


 Prologue.

    Born of blood and yet so disgusted by the sight of it, that was Sephtis, the greatest necromancer the heavens would ever know and also it''s greatest nightmare to come.


    Sephtis, a being who was most surely not human but neither was he a Devil nor a beast, hating the sight of blood yet there exists no greater master in the art of slaughter than He.


    His ever growing army razing down cities, countries, continents, conquering worlds and eventually perhaps everything else. He was the definition of a nightmare, his name alone scaring even shadows away and his presence leaving nothing but death everywhere it touches and a thousand new army made ready to be added onto his power.


    And to the world''s greatest surprise something incredible had happened, the unstoppable force had vanished from the surface of the world one day with no explanation nor answer as to his whereabouts.


    The world finally knew peace, the four empires of the world gave praises to the gods for an entire month straight for answering their prayers, losing themselves in wine, food and carnal desire, the world was finally rid of it''s nightmare and balance was restored.


    But as always peace is never a long-lived thing, Darkness is never really truly gone, only just temporarily withheld. A prophecy was given that the greatest nightmare in history will be returning once more, this time inconceivably greater than ever before and making sure that he completes his mission without fail.


    The four Emperors and the people of the world immediately turned to the gods once more in fright of their lives, getting down on their knees and praying, pleading and begging the gods to come save them as they once had before and much to their plight they received an answer.


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    The gods would be aiding the world once more in getting rid of the threat that would also affect them and so a great gift was given unto the world, the twelve seated main gods came together to create a single seed made with the combination of all their powers and then each would individually create a single seed born solely of their own power.


    Thirteen pillars of light would descend upon the world in different locations and a new prophecy would be declared unto the planet, twelve children would be born into the world as the sons of heaven and each would be individually blessed with the inheritance of the twelve main gods each.


    Each child shall be marked clearly with a sign that would make it clear to anyone who sees them that they are a child of heaven and all twelve shall become the greatest heroes the world would ever know and be fated to defeat the Angel of Darkness with the help of their leader, a thirteenth child whom shall also be born into the world and this child shall be proclaimed as the new King of gods and heroes.


    But another special condition was made for all these to happen, unless the Angel of Darkness''s presence was felt by the world then these seeds will never be activated and with that the gods had layed the foundation, after this final act of theirs the seated gods had all cut off their connection with the world and disappeared to an unknown place leaving all but one remaining.


    The goddess of light, with the other eleven gone she was the only one who remained in contact with their world and with her unending benevolence did all she could within her boundaries to help all creatures in whatever way she could.


    And it would continue on like this for the next three decades, that was when it happened.....the beginning of the end.


    EnD.

 Age, name, origination, personality and abilities of the fated children and some of the main cast..

    [Age]


    As at the moment of when I wrote chapter 4 the main characters are currently aged:


    Hestia- 148 years old.


    Maeve- 144 years old.


    Rachel- 12 years old.


    Leah- 9 years old.


    Emrys- 4 years old.


    Hope- 4 years old.


    Noctis- 4 years old.


    Selene- 4 years old.


    Rozaria- 4 year old.


    Bahu- 4 years old.


    Zirsto- 4 years old.


    Mavion- 4 years old.


    Sarang- 4 years old.


    Shen- 4 years old.


    Modred- 4 years old.


    Avistro- 4 year old.


    Velkos- 4 years old.


    Ishmael- 4 years old.


    [Origination]


    The three from the Irretrean continent under Emperor Peltas.


    - Noctis.


    - Sarang.


    - Shen.


    The four from the Osccian continent under Empress Lagertha.


    - Bahu.


    - Selene


    - Mavion.


    - Zirsto.


    The five from the continent of Eashrah under Emperor Sentis.


    - Mordred.


    - Avistro.


    - Rozaria.


    - Ishmael.


    - Velkos.


    The one from the Earleyan continent under Emperor Timothy.


    - Hope.


    [Personality and abilities]


    -From the Irretrean continent.


    Name- Noctis.


    Race- Wisp.


    Avatar- god of Light.


    Physical characteristics- Snow white hair and silver pupils, fair skin and a beautiful face.


    Character- Mostly the silent type but can be a very talkative person in some cases, loves training till his body drops and is also very vain with a huge appetite for meat and fighting. A protector when he needs to be and has a silent fear of Emrys in his heart, has a hobby of going to operas as a form of relaxation which is an information only few know about and also loves reading romance novels.


    Name- Sarang.


    Race- Winged Lion [Beastman].


    Avatar- god of Strength.


    Physical characteristics- A tall and intimidating anthropomorphic lion with two great big wings at his back, gold bracelets are almost always around his wrists and his fur is black with golden strands of hair interwoven in his black mane.


    Character- Battle maniac, bloodthirsty idiot, can ooze class when he wants to and also surprisingly smart which everyone keeps forgetting for some reason, loves alcohol, meat, arm wrestling, treasure and brothels.


    Name- Shen.


    Race- Elemental.


    Avatar- god of Wind and Lightning.


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    Physical characteristics- Raven black hair and Incredibly pale skin that is cold to the touch, beautiful but intense physical appearance and deep red eyes.


    Character- Walking natural disaster with a venomous tongue and an all-round annoying bastard, cunning and incredibly smart, sadistic battle nature and loves experiments with magic, is thought to be an homosexual sometimes but in truth he''s just generally shy around women and deeply in love with his Queen Rhea.


    -From the Osccian continent.


    Name- Bahu.


    Race- Dark Elf (anomaly).


    Avatar- god of Defense.


    Physical characteristics- A handsome face and beautiful bronze like skin, piercing vertical golden pupils and pitch black silky long hair.


    Character- Exercise and gymnast freak who loves quick but absolute violence, if a battle between he and his opponent goes beyond five minutes without crushing them he sees himself as a weak failure for not being strong enough yet, has a tendency to crush things and never talks much, due to his insanely high defense he has a habit of allowing a lot of what would be dangerous attacks to most hit his body thereby causing his teammates a lot of worry, also has a thing for dwarf women and a one sided rivalry with Emrys after their meet in the tournament.


    Name- Selene.


    Race- Mermaid.


    Avatar- goddess of Water.


    Physical characteristics- Beautiful face with light blue long hair interwoven with some white around it''s edges and crystal clear blue eyes, while in humanoid form blue scales still persist on her body from her neck down her shoulders and to her wrists.


    Character- can be a bit shy at times but is a great bubble of joy around her friends, is always the glue that holds the team together and is quite motherly sometimes. Is a gambling addict and has a strong competitive spirit, left Shen with a deep psychological fear of her when she found out about his experiments, loves going on strolls and the deep is her place of comfort.


    Name- Mavion.


    Race- Human-dwarven hybrid.


    Avatar- god of Metal and Blacksmithing.


    Physical characteristics- Moderately handsome freckled face with blond hair and blue eyes, shortest amongst his peers but taller than average of his human half.


    Character- Mommas boy and a moderate alcoholic, spends a lot of his time learning runes and smithing on a self imposed mission to create the greatest sword of all time, also looks better with a beard. When in battle mode he''s a lose cannon, is urged by his mother to marry and give her grandkids before he turns 25.


    Name- Zirsto.


    Race- Treant halfling.


    Avatar- god of music and sound.


    Physical characteristics- A humanoid tree with a smooth and well sculpted face, emerald eyes and claw like hands with a harmless burning green flame as his hair, his tree parts are like well fitted sleek armor around him and he walks around practically naked for this very reason.


    Character- A peaceful tyrant who spends a lot of his time amongst nature playing with his magic for them, is an abomination in the eyes of most Treants due to his other half but hates them not for it, his burning heart is both a blessing and a curse in many ways and sometimes gets precognitive dreams. Only one who can stand a talkative Selene from beginning till the end and has a strong distaste for Emrys, is also the best ventriloquist in the world.


    -From the Eashrah continent.


    Name- Mordred.


    Race- High Imp.


    Avatar- god of Tricksters and Illusions.


    Physical characteristics- Smooth red skin with two red horns curving upwards from his forehead, black sclera and deep purple vertical pupils. A sleek long tail with a spear like end, clawed hands and silky long black hair, also a bit captivating when smiling normally.


    Character- Has a great collection and love for suits, despises getting blood or anything he deems an impurity get on him and loves cats. He also loves playing the piano and is a great singer, dislikes Noctis a bit due to some personal reasons and loves getting into bar fights for the sole purpose of messing with people. Can be a surprisingly gentle soul and helpful when it comes to serious matters and punishes those who go far out of line in causing chaos, also has a habit of swiping hearts out of people when irritated.


    Name- Avistro.


    Race- Golden Basilisk (evolved)


    Avatar- god of Time and Space.


    Physical characteristics- Long golden hair and horizontal golden pupils, intimidatingly handsome appearance and covered in smooth golden scales that serve as protection for specific points of his body. Poisonous fangs and deep black claws, when in his fully released form he becomes a hundred meter golden snake monster who can still thankfully adjust his size.


    Character- A bit of a watcher and a bit of a guardian, has a strong sense of responsibility and feels that anyone who is gifted and not actively trying to maximize their potential deserves to be stripped of their abilities, he is nigh-impossible to surprise or lie to and like Bahu prefers quick but absolute violence, always on time and spends of lot his time training his abilities, also has a small crush on Selene.


    Name- Rozaria.


    Race- High Witch.


    Avatar- goddess of Curses and Poison.


    Physical characteristics- Fiery green hair and starry green eyes, smooth fair skin and an indescribably gorgeous face with a small round marking accentuated just beneath her eyes, noticeably pointy ears and naturally poisonous but retractable claws.


    Character- Overbearingly curious nature and loves playing with her food, is always on the hunt for more participants to practice her magic on either to heal them of curses or to inflict one upon them. Partners up a lot with Emrys and mistakes her relationship with him as something deeper though that is largely due to his fault a lot of the times, has a strong dislike for Noctis and prefers staying away from him due to his nature being a natural suppressant against hers.


    Name- Ishmael.


    Race- Red Dragon.


    Avatar- god Runes and Fire.


    Physical characteristics- Fiery red hiar and crimson eyes, olive skin a supremely handsome face and two horns extend from both sides of his head, red retractable claws with an innate magma infusion effect, when in a stage one hybrid state his body becomes covered in smooth armor like scales, both his wings and tails are revealed and a red hot aura burns around him. In his fully released state he becomes a hundred and fifty meter red dragon though luckily still able to manipulate his size.


    Character- A pride that reaches the heavens, unmatched bloodthirst and desire for battle, regular sparring partner with Velkos and looks down on Bahu as the god of defense as he thinks no greater defense exists better than the body of a dragon, cares not for collateral damage nor innocents. Terrified of and is kept in check by Hope, loves taking long baths in larva which always leaves him at the risk of hibernation hence why measures were put in place to prevent that from happening, also has great respect for Emrys.


    Name- Velkos.


    Race- Asura.


    Avatar- god of War.


    Physical characteristics- wears a non detailed simple plain mask on his face most of the time but once removed he''s a fiercely good looking spirit, his hair an interwoven mixture of auburn and silver, his eyes nothing but light blue flames burning at the same intensity as a cool breeze, his skin a light tone of red with a partly rough texture and on his hands is a single long retractable bone claw.


    Character- So silent one would mistake that he is a monk and it''s always a freakish event to hear him speak especially as someone blessed with such a soothing voice clashing with his image as the god of war, his unending bloodthirst isn''t visibly overbearing as per it''s usual nature of manifestation but silent, cold and invisible. But for those whose senses are sharp enough to pick up on what sort of monstrosity it is their minds are shattered forever on impact except for a select few who have either been able to barely survive with minimal hope for recovery and those strong enough to survive withstand it in it''s entirety, has taken on the most numerous conquerors quest out of anyone in history surpassing even Emrys and Hope in that category, is also a genius at war though this rarely comes into play as most of his wars consist of him being a one man army.


    -From the Earleyan continent.


    Name- Hope.


    Race- Void Dragon- fairy hybrid.


    Avatar- god of Laws and Oblivion.


    Physical characteristics- starry golden iris with vertical pupils, pitch black sclera and the purest silver white hair, named the most beautiful woman under the heavens which was a title formerly held by Maeve and also has two silver horns curving a bit upwards on both sides of her head. On different parts of her body are markings that take on the appearance of a beautiful floral tattoo courtesy of her fairy half, her first stage hybrid state is similar to that of Ishmael''s but the aura that revolves around her is one with the properties of erasure and heat, on the back of both hands are golden halo rings.


    Character- Sheer focus and will, leader of all twelve seated gods and always constantly looking for ways to become more powerful so as to face the looming threat of Sephtis and his army, mutual strong rivalry with Emrys whom is the only person she calls equal after their first meet at the tournament ended in a draw, always gives off the feeling of being cold and unapproachable but Selene as someone who cares not for boundaries still finds a way to break through and drag Hope into her antics sometimes. She also has a pride that goes beyond the heavens and unlike the red Dragon hers isn''t a loud one, it simply is unmistakably felt in every atom and cell of your existence what sort of pride she possesses.

 Chapter 1: Immediate connection.

    Blood, that was all he could see everywhere all around him from the moment he became aware of his existence, a sea of blood.


    His young and helpless body of a one year old child just seemed to keep sinking deeper and deeper into this seemingly endless sea of blood but he showed no struggle, no panic and absolutely zero curiosity.


    All he had was nothing but an empty look in those purple eyes of his that seemed to have the very stars engraved onto them, and like this time would pass, decades? Centuries? Millennium? Eons? He had no idea, he could not even verify if time itself existed in this place.


    He was just like a lifeless doll and the only thing he could do was to just keep sinking deeper and deeper into this seemingly infinite abyss of blood, after an unknown period of time had passed the boy heard it. A single word that was whispered into his mind;


    ?Sephtis?


    There was no repeat after the first, the voice was gone but the word remained in the boys undeveloped and vegetable like mind, but for some reason those dead eyes of his seemed to have a become just a tiny bit clearer.


    An unknown period of time had passed and another word had been whispered into his mind, but unlike the first this time it whispered two.


    ?Dark? ?Cold?


    And so it would carry on like this, random words would keep being whispered into his mind from time to time the deeper he sunk into the abyss and the more of them that appeared the clearer his eyes got but that wasn''t all. Unlike the past where the boys mind only kept the words but without ever being able to think about them, repeat them or understand them it was a bit different now.


    The boy had gained instinct, he was not sentient yet as his will had not been born but for now he had instinct. More time had passed and once again the boy had something infiltrate his mind just as it had happened many times before.


    But this time it was different, it wasn''t just words being whispered into his mind but actual imagery. And even more different from the other times was the fact that the images weren''t just one or two but hundreds, thousands, millions and much more being inscribed into his mind and each accompanied by an uncountable number of words.


    They both kept on rushing on into his mind for what seemed like forever until it suddenly stopped, the boy blinked. For the first time he had blinked and just like that the spark of will had been born in his body, it was tiny and small, perhaps even lesser than what a fully formed infant in the womb possessed but it was there.


    More time passed and little by the world all the information stuck in his mind began organising themselves and bit by bit the gift of understanding was also gifted unto the boy''s mimd but it was all automatic, he couldn''t formulate any thoughts yet and neither was his imagination present.


    All that was there at the moment was just the fact that he subconsciously knew the things in his mind the more they organised themselves but that was it, he had no real thoughts at all.


    And then that blessed day arrived, the day desire was born. Still looking up straight ahead at the red the had clouded his vision for the longest time he blinked and raised an arm up almost like he was reaching for something, memories flashed in his mind.


    Memories of something blue and vast and full of so many white floating things that come in many shapes in sizes, that thing referred to as the Sky and the bright yellow ball of light that shines down on the world.


    He....wanted it....he wanted.....all.....all of it.....everything.


    ''Out''


    He had formed his first actual thought born out of his desire, he clenched his small fists and out of nowhere he had finally stopped sinking, he was stuck in place.


    ''I....want....out''


    And almost as if the sea of blood was reacting to his desire it began trembling violently all around him, the boy felt the blood rush at his body in a way it had never done before.


    He had only been submerged in it all this time but now it had turned violent, it wrapped around his entire body like a cocoon and drilled into almost every part of him. The boys mouth parted and like a moth to the flame the sea of blood rushed down his throat and it kept on going for minutes, hours and for who knows how long.


    But the more it drained into him the lesser it''s volume became and the higher he rose towards the surface, his body felt hot, like larva was was crawling through each and every atom of his existence.


    Reddish veins visibly popped up from his head down to the sole of his feet, they pulsed time and time again with energy and each second that passed a large wave of red energy was released from his body. The blood around him reached a boiling point and then...it exploded.


    His hands burst out to the surface and moments later his whole body also, the boy crawled to his knees as he felt the sensation of solid ground for the first time. His head was raised high but his eyes were closed and upon the moment of him opening them the first thing he was greeted with was a red sky with a big red blood moon and thirteen pillars of golden light shooting up into the sky.


    The sky and earth trembled as the world trumpets were sound, his heart made a loud thump in his chest as he finally took note of the environment around him. A field dyed red in the blood of hundreds of thousands of bodies clad in heavy armour, a good portion in robes along with multiple thousands of dead creatures.


    The boy stared at the scene for a few good seconds, his eyes held an almost intimate feel to them. Something was tugging at him, it was faint but he could feel it, perhaps if he tried a little he could hold onto it and fully grasp what it was.


    But he was drawn out of his trance by the sound of an thundering explosion, smoke was rising all around and some fairly far distance away there was a blazing pillar of fire and lava shooting up in multiple places and then moving around in some weird manner, huge craters and great divides in the earth. remnants of what seemed to have been caused by a great flood, a huge portion of the environment all around him was frozen and a lot of bodies were either ice statues, crushed in ice or nailed down on giant ice spikes.


    Even now he could still hear and feel that there was still an ongoing battle far away and the shockwaves were reaching all the the way to him but not disturbing nor hurting him. Instead of desiring to get away from such an unstable place the boy grew curious as he felt something familiar coming from that direction, this was a battlefield and he knew that but as he had not the slightest sense of danger he felt nothing by the sight in front of him nor the ongoing heavy battle far away to the east side of him.


    He put his hands down to aid himself at his first attempt to stand on is own two feet and almost fell to the ground but caught himself, his legs were trembling a bit but he tried again and this time he succeeded but his legs were trembling heavily now. Swaying forward and back and to the side as he tried taking a step, spreading his hands out instinctively to balance himself.


    At this moment the earth trembled and split apart some meters away from him as a mighty strong shockwave hit the boy which split his body open and sent him back a few hundred meters away and landing hard on his back, at the site of site of battle a heavy bolt of purple lightning shot down with an unrivalled ferocity.


    Magma shot out of the earth and splashed all around, the boy watched in slight awe as he felt the hot viscous liquid fall down on him and at the moment it touched him his body was instantly ablaze, more larva seeped up from the earth and crawled over to him, embracing him entirely in it''s path onwards.


    A most surprising of events was the fact that until this very moment there had been no screams nor irrational movements from the boy engulfed in lava, instead some moments later he had gotten up and began crawling out of the larva like it was nothing even though his skin had been burned down to the bone which was the only part of him unaffected by the lava.


    There was a strange energy emanating from his bones and it gave it an almost indestructible feel, the larva slid down his bones and for every part of him that was no longer in contact with the larva his body regenerated at a very fast rate with his hands, knees and legs being the only parts left as it was still submerged in lava. The moment he was able to get out of it his body regenerated and the boy looked serenely calm at the ordeal he just went through.


    He looked towards the direction of the battle once more, with a loud thump in his heart a thin and near transparent filed of reddish energy enveloped his entire body but it faded away it in seconds. The boy noticed that the sounds of battle had stopped but his curiosity still remained, he tried getting up on his feet once again and found he could do so much easier than before.


    Even able to take two steps forward before swaying a little though he was able to get a hold of himself very quickly and continued onwards, sometimes crawling over some random bodies when the way was too cramped and his body was too small to attempt stepping over them.


    Unknown to the boy at some point he had begun levitating off the ground, it didn''t take long for him to find out and for him to be awed by this new phenomenon happening to him. He spread his hands out like wings as he glided through the skies, though the boy felt himself not to be in control of it he cared not for it after realising it was still taking him towards his original destination.


    Unbeknownst to the boy whom was still quite green when concerning a lot of things, the speeds he was moving at in the eyes of someone taking note of visual visage would seem most abnormal. In fact when taking into account everything about his existence it would shake the mental fortitude of even the oldest monsters on the planet.


    No one year old, even if be of a beast born with a divine bloodline would even be able to move nor survive the strong spiritual pressure that was washing over this entire battlefield in waves due to the unknown powerful individuals who were battling it out some moments ago. Although the pressure was very controlled, it was it was still not something a child like he should have been able to ignore so easily.


    Though it was very noticeably much lesser as the battle was over now and all that remained were wisps of it but to the boy''s ignorant mind he had felt nothing of the sort, instead mistaking the mountainous pressure as nothing but the cool breeze.


    It took no less than the quarter of a minute for the boy to have crossed a close to 5 mile distance and be gently placed down a hundred meters away from his destination, the boy looked around for a moment wondering why he had been placed here but his thoughts did not linger for long as he continued onwards.


    Before him was a chasm tens of meters wide and deep enough to the point he could not feel the bottom, spanning miles on both ends also was the original divide that had reached his former location and the still molten hot larva. The boy could feel the power of the being he was sensing close by and could already see the figure of whom it was along with the thousand army riding on beasts and forming a partial encirclement.


    The other one whom he was sensing was laid down on the ground and seemed to be in a horrible state, his steps got faster and it was only when he got within 20 meters that the woman squatting beside the mangled body of her opponent turned around almost immediately when she sensed something had triggered her barrier and got up, the beats were also alerted the moment their senses registered the boy but the soldiers held a confused look on their faces.


    They rubbed their eyes to make sure none were seeing things, it was like both their eyes and mind were registering that there was something before then but at the same time denying and erasing it''s imagery from their memories. They panicked and gripped their swords as they readied themselves in a defensive stance, a cold chill ran down their spine in the face of this weird phenomenon.


    This coupled with the fact that of those golden pillars of light that had shot into the skies some minutes ago, their nerves were anything but calm now due to what that meant not just for them but to the entire world itself and an existence like that thing that stood before them was NOT something they needed right now.


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    The boy had stopped his approach and tilted his head a bit looking at the people before him, tho he had no sense of danger it still felt a bit weird how they looked at him.


    "W-what is that thing!" Exclaimed a soldier with pure fear in his voice.


    "It''s like it has no presence at all, how is that even possible".


    "That is not just simple mana suppression nor invisibility spell, not even the advanced ones can trick barriers and high level sensors like myself for anything past a second. But that thing....."


    The one who spoke this time was an above average middle-aged man clad in black armour, his tone visibly less saturated by fear compared to the others but still slightly shook, but this much was to be expected of a second in command.


    "My god, is¨Cis it one of his? Has it begun already, oh god no".


    This statement served as the breaking point for the soldiers nerves as fear and terror got the free reign over their minds, the beasts became unsettled following the rowdiness and palpable fear they were feeling from the soldiers.


    "SILENCE!" A suffocating amount of pressure washed over the area which did it''s just job in silencing the group, the second in command was silent for a few seconds, his grip on his sword tightening unconsciously. No one but he and his much too perceptive leader knew what he had attempted there just a moment ago, he sighed.


    "I have lived for a 156 years and had the unfortunate experience of knowing what a monster from that beings army looks and feels like".


    "So I can say with clarity that what stands before us is not of his army, but I cannot say what it is yet unless we capture it and study it".


    This served to ease their nerves a little which was good news in any case, he turned his gaze to their leader who had been quiet all the while and staring with a focused gaze at the boy before them.


    "Your orders General" he requested.


    Their leader was a most beautiful woman blessed with a bewitching body, she had wavy dark auburn hair that rest just below her shoulder blades in length and crimson red eyes, standing at a height of 6''2 with heels and was the only one dressed not in armour but a luxurious black chic long sleeved sexy v-neck dress with a thigh high leg slit and exuded nothing but elegance.


    She gave no answer to his request and just continued staring at the boy with an undecipherable gaze for an extended period of time, then she stepped stepped forward which alerted her soldiers.


    "General?" The second in command was confused for a moment as were the others but the moment she stepped out of the encirclement they panicked.


    "Wait, no!" He grabbed onto her hand by reflex and instantly felt a shiver run down his spine, he released his grip almost immediately by instinct and took a bow deep bow.


    "Do forgive my impudence, but please understand that I cannot allow you approach that thing without care".


    "At least not until we have confirmed it poses no threat to you".


    "This is the protocol declared by the Emperor in regards to the important pillars of this Empire ".


    He still kept his head down lest he show the visual effects of how much dread he had in his heart right now, though he used the words ?cannot allow? absolutely none of them could stop her if she decided to ignore his words and if by some unfortunate stroke of luck something bad ends up happening to her then he would have to answer to the Emperor which was a most terrifying thought.


    And luckily for him his master was kind enough to take this into consideration and heed his words, she made no attempt to approach like before but neither did she take a step back. This was already more than enough for both he and all soldiers present, he heaved a mental sigh and turned his gaze to the unknown thing before him.


    It was a difficult thing keeping his mind in check lest his memories get rewritten but he could manage just enough, though he could not tell how his master was faring but it surely had to be much better than he was.


    "At the ready" he ordered, the soldiers flared up a small amount of mana and placed a hand on their swords ready to strike at a moment''s notice.


    He took a step forward forward and continued onwards, his body was also coated in mana and his hands were at the ready for a quick draw. The moment he got within a meter of the boy he halted his steps and looked down at the thing standing before him which gazed back at him with those big and bright starry purple eyes that exuded nothing but pure innocent curiosity.


    "What is your name" he questioned.


    Seconds passed and he got no reply from the boy who was still looking at him with that innocent and curious eyes of his.


    "Can you understand me?".


    He got no reply to this also, or so he thought but the boy suddenly gave a soft nod which gave him a small feeling of elation in his heart as the possibility he could get somewhere was open now.


    But just to confirm if wasn''t a fluke he made sure to ask again "are you sure you can understand me" and he received a soft nod again.


    "Alright then, how many fingers am I holding out" he held out his thumb, index and middle fingers but got no response from the boy after a few seconds had passed.


    He curled his fingers back and heaved a sigh already knowing he would be getting nowhere with this so the only choice he had left was the direct method, either by forcefully probing it''s mind or by initiating an attempt to capture it.


    Considering the delicate situation they find themselves in at the moment these two extremes were the best of choices he could afford;


    "Seems you''ll have to come with us for the time being until we figure what you are".


    He clasped his hands together and a two meter wide Magic circle was summoned before him, the boy''s eyes lit up in real awe looking at the interesting thing before him.


    Aaron saw the look in the boys eyes and nearly hesitated for a second but closed his eyes for a moment and calmed himself before commencing with his act.


    "Stop".


    He unclasped his hands almost immediately and reached for his sword, his hands were visibly trembling and his breathing uneven . He turned his gaze back to his master and saw the cold look in her eyes, it sent real shivers down his spine and he could not understand why she would directing some killing intent towards him.


    "General?" He called out with visible confusion in his voice.


    She walked past Aaron who wanted to stop her again but was too frozen in place to move, the aura of death was hanging around him right now and he could not understand why or what he had done to invoke such a fate upon himself.


    The boy also walked forward towards her and panic could be seen on everyone''s faces, she crouched down before him and stared straight into his eyes. Though she had crouched down he was still not at eye level with her and this came as no surprise considering he had the body of a one year old.


    She placed a gentle hand on his cheek and the boy showed her nothing but the brightest smile after, her gaze moved to the side at the little ball of light resting on his shoulders, she knew the rest of her soldiers and Aaron could not see it else he would not have attempted something so idiotic and suicidal.


    It seems the boy also could not see it yet else he would have noticed the little fairy''s attempt at getting his attention, meanwhile Aaron''s heart was almost jumping out of his throat in worry for his general.


    She was too close, far too close to whatever that thing was "g-general, p-please step away from that thing, we have no idea what it-


    "Boy".


    "What?"


    "He''s a boy, not an it".


    Aaron was quiet after and she gently picked the boy up in her arms then walked back into the encirclement, she also did the one of the most rarest thing ever. She smiled, they had never seen their general show a smile to anyone ever outside of her nieces and sometimes her sister but here she was smiling at a random thing they had found in the battlefield.


    "We shall be returning now, ready yourselves".


    The Knights stood at attention and then dispersed to begin collecting the spoils they could salvage and also recollect the bodies of their fallen comrades, as this was a ''take no prisoners'' battle there were no slaves to be gotten from this war except for the opponents general of which their leader had defeated else none of them could have possibly stood against that monster.


    In the meanwhile she had brought her attention back to her mangled opponent laying flat on the ground along with the boy who also looked at the body with interest, she watched his behaviour with a curious gaze. He did nothing but poke the body with his hands and climb atop it but she carried him off the moment he did so.


    Though she had crippled her opponent beyond what most recovery potions could heal it was still not wise to underestimate him, no matter what he was still a general and who knows what desperate card he could still have left.


    So if he tried anything she could seal him at a moment''s notice but if the boy is that close he could become an unnecessary casualty, but then again there was the little fairy that has attached itself to the boy for a reason she knew not.


    He was not awakened and neither did it seem to be the result of a contract, but for a fairy to attach itself so early on onto a person is quite unheard of. The amount of people who had fairies as partners either via extreme affinity with nature or by contract were a most rarest of beings and she knew what a being who had an extreme affinity with nature felt like, the boy gave nothing close to it and this had nothing to do with the fact he was unawakened.


    But this definitely did confirm one thing, this child would prove to be far more special than she had already imagined. It didn''t take too long for her subordinates to finish their task of reclaiming both their fallen comrades and spoils, now it was time for their return to home.


    Six mages got themselves ready as they brought out all the necessary materials, six mid-grade blue mana stones the size of boulders were summoned individually from their rings and placed in a particular fashion. In the midst of the preparations Aaron had walked over to his master''s side and gave a small polite bow.


    "General, would it be right to leave straight for home now without confirming the situation with the other forces".


    His gaze unconsciously went down to the boy in her arms while waiting for her reply, the little thing was looking at the gigantic mana stones with a hungry look it''s eyes and reached his small little hands in a manner as if to grab it.


    Something quite surprising happened as a small piece of the mana stone was cut out and flew towards the boys hands but before he could grab onto it his master had caught and confiscated it, her gaze moved to the side and it was quite an intense look she had, almost like she was reprimanding something but he could not see what so it just made for a strange sight all-round.


    The little thing in her arms began grabbing onto his master''s hands to retrieve what she had taken from him, it''s face tried to frown but the results it produced was something completely opposite to it''s intention as it just looked extremely cute as hell much to Aaron''s admission.


    His master smiled at the little thing once again and began gently rubbing it''s cheeks which seemed to cheer the little monster, Aaron entered a small daze at the beautiful scene before him, especially at how a smile on his master''s face completes her so well.


    But before he could fall any deeper he forcefully pulled himself out and regained his composure, just then his master turned her gaze towards him.


    "Unless given an order by the Emperor or her Majesty, the wars of others are not a concern of mine".


    "My battle is done for now and the prize has been claimed so we shall be returning".


    "The kingdom must be in a state of panic right now following the event that just occurred and so our presence is needed more than ever".


    Aaron gave a bow "as you wish" then he left for his mount and wait for the mages to complete their preparations.


    She summoned a rope from the pocket space in her right and telepathically wrapped it around her opponents neck with the end being firmly gripped in her hands, then she placed the boy atop her ride and mounted the Bicorn soon after.


    The boy was also quite fascinated by the mount, especially it''s horns and he tried to reach for them but his hands were too short and fearing another repeat of the situation moments before she gave him a little push just for him to touch it lest her poor Bicorn gets it''s horn ripped out of it''s head by the young and naive fairy.


    The beautiful stallion breathed out smoke through it''s nostrils and grunted, the Mages finally completed their preparations at this moment and all six flared up their mana at full force and silently chanted a spell in unison.


    The six mana stones lit up and gargantuan blue portal opened up in the midst of it, it spanned a width of at least 40 meters and space was visibly being bent around it but luckily the mages stabilised the distortion making it safe for the army to approach.


    They gave a knowing nod at the general who got the message and saddled her beast to move forward, the soldiers also followed suit and saddled their horses to get in formation. The mages were flying right above the army and would be the last ones to go through, she walked through the portal which brought her right at the two watchtowers stationed 10 meters away from the wall encircling the kingdom''s main palace and it''s most valuable cities.


    As the area around was nothing but acres of pure grasslands there were no obstructions for her remaining soldiers to follow through, the horns sounded notifying the kingdom and it''s majesty of the army''s return.


    The gates were opened and the army rode right in through, the gates which by itself were also a portal designed to recognise certain signatures of specific beings and take them to a predetermined location inside the walls.


    For the army it took them right to a gargantuous round and flat platform with a magic circle inscribed on it, the view around it was of the beautiful and bustling kingdom full of many magnificent creatures that walked side by side with a lot of it''s inhabitants.


    The sight no matter how many times that they had seen it would forever be a beauty to behold though it was just the outskirts, the main palace itself though it was hundreds of thousands of miles away still stood out the greatest from everything else in the entire kingdom.


    The holy and imposing aura it carried was breathtaking, due to a special spell that had been casted the Kingdom gave it the special effect that it so long as it''s citizens were on it''s grounds the palace would never be invisible to them even if they were to become blind.


    All they needed to do was will it and it shall be shown to them even from behind walls, this was made to serve as a sort of representation that and promise that her Majesty is always with them and for them so long as they too are with her and for her always.


    Citizens gathered around to come greet and praise the army on it''s return, most especially their general on another successful war won thereby extending her perfect and unmatched streak of wins with no losses. The magic circle was activated and instantly the army was teleported away to the underground city beneath the palace of which only the general, the Emperor, her Majesty and her court knew about.


    Though it may be called a city it was nothing of the sorts, it would be more accurate if one referred to it as the barracks or camp except with a slightly more homely feel and incredibly spacey.


    Though the army had been transported to this place, the general herself along with the boy, her opponent still being dragged shamefully by the rope and her second in command were taken directly to the throne room itself


    They both got down on one knee with a hand across their chest and took a bow before the one seated on the throne before them.


    "Long live your Majesty".


    EnD.

 Chapter 2: Queen Hestia.

    Her Majesty, a most beautiful and charming woman with long wavy golden hair, donning a silky white dress with golden neck straps and linings at the edges of her arm, wrists and body. It''s extra length enough to cover the entirety of her feet and spray a short distance over the round golden platform beneath her.


    She wore a golden choker necklace embedded with blue diamonds and a spiral gold bracelet on each hand, her throne was made of the purest gold and had a spherical upper body full of different inscriptions and it''s edges edges were crafted to imitate the burning visage of the Sun but the very top sculpted to instead resemble a mountains.


    The golden platform beneath her had a width of about of nearly two meters, two small eastern dragon statues made of pure gold were placed on both sides of her majesty just an inch beyond the platform and the illumination of the light crystals from above gave her Majesty the illusion of an almost divine glow, but with the unmatched elegance and charm she naturally possessed it might have as well also not been fair to attribute it all as an illusion.


    To the sides of her majesty about five meters away was her court whom where seated in floating rows shaped in a semicircular fashion and moderately spaced, each row on both end had 16 lesser thrones made purely of black obsidian except for the seats which were made of a soft and comfortable black material.


    The Queen smiled warmly looking at her subordinates before her "rise" she commanded and they did, her eyes were immediately drawn to the little boy standing beside her general of whom she had currently locked eyes with. Deciding to address it a more comfortable time she moved on to the important matters at hand;


    "Congratulations on winning another war once again Raven, and with the least amount of losses just as always".


    She took a small and curt bow at the acknowledgement "thank you".


    "And Aaron".


    "Yes your majesty?" He answered almost immediately.


    She smiled "your efforts are appreciated also, rewards shall be in order the moment the Emperor has decided on them".


    "Of course, I too shall be giving mine separately".


    "Thank you your majesty" he took a bow, his was lower and a bit longer in comparison to the General''s of earlier.


    She gave a small nod "I''m sure you are aware of the new situation that just revealed itself to the world correct?".


    "Yes your Majesty".


    "Internal chaos is bound to unfold very soon, you''ll be needed in controlling and offering assurance to my citizens".


    "My magic is barely keeping the entire kingdom calm but fear is a much too powerful thing, especially when it concerns the type of threat the world faces now".


    "At least until the time I''m ready to address them all just make sure not to let the fear mongers run loose".


    "Tame their hearts but refrain from force, the last thing they need is that".


    Aaron took a bow again and acknowledged the orders he was given then was unsummoned by the Queen with a slight wave of her hand.


    The Queen also adjourned her discussion with her court and ordered them dismissed for now, the 32 seated members stood up and took a bow then teleported out of the throne room.


    Silence for a few seconds of what seemed to have been an eternity, then out of nowhere the Queen shot out like a rocket towards her First General and hugged her with all her might while giggling like a child.


    Maeve had the most defeated expression on her face watching her elder sister pet her head while squeezing her face in-between her bountiful bossom and the boy could do nothing but watch with vivid curiosity.


    "Ah my sweet little sis, you have no idea how much I''ve missed you" she was nearly breaking down in tears of joy.


    "It''s only been a week".


    "A week of constant and long meetings with those old men, having the fat bastard called the Emperor demand for me more often and without you to accompany me when I go meet him and so much more".


    She gave her a little pat on the back as a small show of comfort to her sister''s woes while fighting the terrible urge to eye roll at such petty laments.


    She sighed and pulled her sister''s face out of her bossom and smiled "Either way, I''m glad you''re back".


    "Lemme see, have you suffered any injuries" she spread her mana sense all over her sister''s body and luckily found nothing wrong with her but still she could not resist giving a small pinch to the cheeks of her irresistibly adorable little sister.


    Maeve was absolutely not a small woman by any metric, she stood at a height of 6''0 naturally and was 6''2 with her heels right now yet before her elder sister she was made to look small, her giantess of a sister who was 6''6 of course took advantage of her stature and Maeve''s unwillingness to resist to tease and bully her with affection.


    "Oh" Hestia realised.


    "I''m sure I saw a....a boy".


    She looked down but for a moment but there was no one but her sister''s mangled opponent, after a bit of focus and looking around she found him sitting in front of the throne and looking up at it. Hestia turned back to her sister and had the most confused expression on her face.


    "I''ll tell you the details later".


    She pulled the boy with her telekinesis which made the kid smile with joy, then the most surprising of events occurred in Hestia''s vision, her sister smiled back at the boy and even pet him? Maeve had never smiled at anyone outside her family and even then it wasn''t too often yet somehow this kid she brought from out of nowhere, she was smiling at him? Could he possibly...


    "Whatever you''re thinking right now drop it, the situation is nothing like that".


    Hestia was silent for a few seconds but what showed up on her face was even more confusion"how in the world is that supposed to make me feel better".


    "Was not supposed to".


    Hestia opened her mouth to offer a retort but caught a hold of herself and kept silent, she followed her sister out of the throne room and onto the platform of ascension which took them directly to her sister''s wing of the palace with Maeve''s mangled opponent was still dragged along with them carelessly.


    "Hm, wait a minute. This guy.... shouldn''t he be taken to the dungeons and not¨C


    "Ahh, I forgot" Maeve stopped dragging him along and then looked around for a moment.


    Hestia sighed and snapped her fingers "house imp".


    A small devilish little creature with red skin and two little horns on it''s head, a naturally wide grin with razor like sharp teeth, a long slender arrowhead tail and an impeccably stylish suit was summoned through a magic circle.


    He took a bow at the Queen "you called?"


    "Yes" she pointed down at the mangled and crippled general before her


    "Take this man to the dungeons, he''s an important captive so make sure he doesn''t die".


    It''s devilish grin grew even wider "as you wish your majesty" a red mana rope bound him from head to toe and the general was lifted up in the air, just when it was about to leave the imp locked eyes with the little boy in Maeve''s arms for a moment.


    His eyes widened as a feeling of pure terror travelled through even inch of it''s body causing to fall on it''s back involuntarily as the feeling of breathlessness overtook him.


    Hestia raised a brow in confusion as did Maeve also, the imp upon seeing their faces grew conscious of his currently disgraceful demeanor and stood up after a few deep breaths.


    "Forgive my embarrassing display your majesty, I know not what came over me".


    Hestia waved it off and smiled "it''s okay, perhaps a bit of rest is in order for even you it seems".


    "Heh, yeah, it would seem so ma''am".


    "I shall be taking my leave now" he took a bow and snapped his fingers, he was gone along with the general and silence ensued for a few seconds.


    "Weird was it not?"


    "Mhm"


    Hestia and Maeve continued their walk in the hall until they reached a particular door, Maeve''s hand was engulfed in a thin film of mana before she held onto the doorknob and turned. Upon stepping inside they were greeted by an incredible spacious but much too moderate living room.


    Having nothing but a rug, a centre table along with a violet blue bioluminescent scented flowers atop it, a completely marble floor, three soft and comfortable black couches, the light crystals illuminating the room and barely anything else.


    "Not hearing it".


    Hestia frowned a bit and sighed.


    "Seriously, just let me touch up on this place a little. It''s too dead even by your standards and I promise not to change much".


    "Like it that way".


    "Tsk, one of these days I might actually challenge you in an all out battle for it".


    Maeve turned around and showed a little smug smile to her sister but Hestia scrunched her brows as she knew quite well what her sister was thinking.


    "No, you won''t force me to break it. I make sure to remain far greater than you are for this reason".


    "Those days are numbered sister, one way or another I''ll break you out of those shackles".


    "Doubtful my sweet Maeve" Hestia traced her fingers down Maeve''s cheek and showed her a smile filled with the most unshakable confidence.


    Maeve scoffed softly "a promise of mine is not one to ever be broken".


    She turned around and walked through a wall leaving both her sister and the little boy all to their lonesome for a bit, the little boy in question had been completely oblivious about the small situation that had just transpired between the sisters as his sole focus was on the flowers atop the table of which he had plucked out a petal and was now looking at it with a focused gaze.


    The sight altogether made for a funny and adorable one in Hestia''s eyes as it reminded her a bit about a particular group of people, she crouched down and gave the boy a little rub on his head, those big beautiful eyes were raised to meet hers and she smiled.


    The boy tilted his head a little bit and raised his small little arms to her face, she helped the distance by bringing herself closer until it was within comfortable distance. He was curious and seemed to be squeezing her cheeks mindlessly with a smile on his face, Hestia couldn''t help but giggle at this as she was reminded of her daughter being fond of doing the very same thing.


    Unbeknownst to Hestia the starry bright spots in the boys eyes had come alive and was spiralling at a steady pace, soon enough she caught onto it and her curiosity was lit. The boys hand on her cheeks suddenly became incredibly cold and by motherly instinct she caught onto both of his hands and took a look at them out of worry while also placing a palm on his forehead.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Then to her surprise she felt something being pulled out of her through the boys hands, her instincts were on high alert for a minute but upon finding the presence of an ill intent to be non-existent she dropped her guard a little and allowed her curiosity to take over in wonder of what the boy was doing.


    And as the seconds went by she got her answer which put her in pure disbelief, Maeve was done with her task inside and was now stepping outside which startled Hestia causing her to withdraw her hands at lightning speed from the boy''s.


    But such an abrupt movement also affected the boy as he was pulled hard towards the floor with no control, both Hestia and Maeve reacted on instinct and caught the boy before he hit the ground.


    "What did you do that for" queried Maeve who was looking at her sister with a slight hint of anger in her eyes as she pulled the boy up and into her arms.


    "I...I was just startled buy your sudden appearance" she confessed.


    But this only served to confuse Maeve a bit, deciding not to pursue the matter any further she let it go and sat down on the couch with the boy seated on her lap. At this moment it hit her a little bit that she might have worried for nothing as the boy''s guardian existed so there was no way it would allow harm befall the boy, now confessing this would do no good so all she could do was sigh mentally and give the boy a little run on his head.


    Hestia was already seated at the couch opposite hers and looking at her sister with expectant eyes "spill it".


    Maeve groaned a little and then began recounting the entire story to her sis which left her flabbergasted but not in the way one would think, it left her flabbergasted because of just how simple this origin story was, simple and damn impulsive.


    "I feel....greatly scammed for some reason right now".


    "Glorious" taunted a deadpan sarcastic Maeve.


    Hestia ''tsked'' in annoyance.


    "Still, such a reckless and impulsive action even from you is quite surprising".


    "Though not as surprising as how quickly you became attached, what are you hiding Maeve".


    Maeve gave no reply other than her silence prompting Hestia to sigh in defeat "fine, I''ll just ask something else".


    "Maeve, do you trust that your decision with this boy is not something you would come to regret".


    The air around Hestia had taken a sharp turn, it was dignified, cold and dangerous, this was a question not being asked by Hestia the sister of Maeve but as Hestia the Queen of Garuda.


    "Though I may trust and love you just as equally as I do my daughters I still have my duty as Queen".


    "The lives and safety of my citizens ultimately fall on me so I must make sure not to do or allow anything that could possibly sabotage my kingdom especially with how delicate the situation just became for all life on this planet hence why I ask you this".


    "Maeve.....do you trust your decision with this boy".


    She looked down at the boy in her arms for a few good seconds then back up at her sister "yes" her tone was sure and definite.


    Hestia heaved a small sigh "Then he shall be entrusted onto you, know now that whatever he does from this point onwards is all on you".


    "If you wish for it then he shall also become part of our family and I will make sure he never lacks and neither shall he be allowed to be looked down upon".


    Maeve bowed her head and thanked Hestia for her graciousness.


    "Sister....."


    Maeve lifted her head to meet hers, Hestia gracefully got up and walked over to her then placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead and then paused to take a final look at the boy before heading towards the exit and back into the palace to prepare for her public presentation before her citizens.


    She went to her dressing room and ordered her maidservants to prepare a suitable attire for her presentation, in the meanwhile she was undressed fully and sat on the bed losing herself in thought.


    "Your highness" a maidservant called to Hestia''s attention and presented her with the chosen attire for her presentation but her mind was drawn shortly to a different matter altogether.


    She thanked the maids and relieved requested they leave the room after, they bowed their heads and complied. Hestia closed her eyes for a moment and controlled her breath, her delicate hands balled into a firm fist as she opened her eyes.


    "You must be incredibly stupid" she spoke with the softest voice.


    Black shadow tendrils began growing out of the wall before her and it formed the shape of a man cloaked in shadows from the neck downwards, the man had a moderately handsome face, jet black hair and brown pupils. On his face was the creepiest smile know to man, he took a small bow.


    "Do pardon my intrusion your highness...kek".


    Even a mute and half blind person could spot the obvious levels of insincerity in his words and body language, those eyes of his which also shamelessly leered at her exposed breasts and body did nothing to lessen the weight of his transgressions either.


    This man was the emperor''s envoy and perhaps the most elusive being on the planet, even without this innate gift his position was also largely untouchable and as such he had a nearly unchecked amount of freedom to do what he wanted to whom he wanted unless it''s either a direct attack on the Emperor''s most important pieces or treason and slaughter.


    How he was able to attain this much freedom from the Emperor is still something no one knows except those two themselves, Absalom was not a good man in the slightest and his reputation amongst the highest and lowest of the world''s hierarchy was not something to sugarcoat.


    Nobody liked cockroaches but what Absalom was not just a cockroach, he was worm, a rat and every other disgusting vermin you could think of combined.


    "Relay your message to me and return swiftly".


    Absalom smiled as he leaned off the wall and walked two steps closer to her "In an hours time the Emperor requests that his empires most important chess pieces be seated at his hall".


    "That includes your sister of course so do not forget to relay his message to her your highness".


    There was no surprise to be found on Hestia''s face as this was something she had been expecting "Then you may inform him of our compliance, leave" a heavy emphasis was placed on that final word.


    Absalom''s grin grew wider "well...so you see your Majesty, before coming to meet you I made sure to meet every last one of the Emperor''s most important chess pieces meaning you''re the last one".


    "Which means right now I am officially done with my order and have the freedom to rest as I please".


    "Do you understand now... Queen Hestia" his grin had grown so wide that it was almost a wonder why his mouth had not been torn from it''s roots.


    Silence ensued in the room for a few good seconds and then in a flash a wave of golden flames rose up from Hestia''s body and in that same instant Absalom had dissolved into shadows and reappeared at another side of the room panting heavily and laughing between breaths.


    "Whoo! Haha. Oh man, that was dangerous *huu*, I almost killed you".


    "Then you are an even greater fool than I had thought, you have not the slightest idea the depth of my powers".


    Absalom showed a mocking smile "neither have you the depth of mine your highness".


    Hestia''s gaze was cold and her body ablaze with fire and her heart heavy with the ever rising rage inside her, but then in the next instant almost like it was an illusion her composure had returned and her gaze turned soft. The golden flames engulfing her body was withdrawn and Absalom now awake from his temporary daze, he groaned and dragged his palm down his face.


    "goddammit woman! Just what were the gods thinking creating something like you" He cursed upon feeling his rising heat and trying his damnedest to suppress it.


    Just then the doors burst open and in came two little golden bundles of joy whom shot straight at their mother while calling for her at the top of their lungs.


    Hestia reacted quickly and embraced her two prides in her arms but still making sure to fall so as to provide more cushion, she laughed and smiled with them in her arms and gave each a kiss on their foreheads with the greedy youngest being given one both sides of her cheek.


    "Did you miss me".


    The nod their heads passionately and Hestia smiled "sorry you two, today is just the busiest mommy''s been in a while".


    "I promise to completely give myself to you when I''m done".


    "No" her youngest retorted which surprised Hestia a bit.


    "Leah...¡ª she sighed "fine, an hour. Just an hour is all I need".


    The little princess jumped up in joy and Hestia smiled.


    "Mother, who is that?"


    Hestia''s attention was drawn to her eldest daughter whom was pointing towards the direction of her uninvited guest of whom she had forgotten was there for just a moment.


    Leah too upon being made aware of the unfamiliar stranger in her mother''s room got up and stood before her mother in a T-pose to shield her nakedness, Hestia smiled as she felt her heart melting seeing her youngest pride behave in such a beautiful and sweet way.


    "Ah, Where are my manners" Absalom interjected and picked himself up off the ground then walked over and knelt down on one knee with a hand over his chest.


    "My name is Absalom, I am....a friend of your mother''s".


    Her eyes visibly squinted at that and Absalom of course noticed that but was only amused as he shamelessly carried on.


    "Might you be the genius princess Rachel I''ve heard so much about".


    Rachel smiled as a small fire of curiosity lit up in her eyes "You''ve heard about me?".


    "Well of course your highness, you''re one of the Empire''s greatest rising prospects and your day of awakening is still something so fresh in the hearts of many".


    "As a future important pillar of both this kingdom and the Empire I''d be a fool not to have heard about you".


    "I see" on her face was a most satisfied of looks and Absalom''s smile grew a bit wider, the girl was really as the informants said she was, this was really a most pleasing turn of events indeed.


    Hestia was no fool and could see straight through his barely hidden thoughts, her eyes burned with the ferocity of the Sun.


    ?Don''t. You. Dare?


    Absalom was taken a little aback at how a mental link could have been established without him knowing and laughed nervously, a whole new re-evaluation would have to be done on this woman.


    ?It''s not my intentions you need to be wary of your highness but that of the Emperor''s, it''s always all up to him what to do with all the information I provide?


    Hestia was silent for a few seconds then cut the mental link, barely half a second had passed in real time. She smiled and looked down at her kids;


    "say your goodbyes little ones, Absalom here was just about to leave".


    He smirked inwardly ''sneaky woman, fine. You win this one''.


    Leah waved her goodbye enthusiastically "bye bye strange uncle".


    ''Eh'' he thought inwardly but still showed a smile on the outside and bowed respectfully "goodbye princess Leah, may the goddess be with you as you grow".


    He turned towards the eldest and bowed "and you too princess Rachel, may your potential bring a great surprise the world itself one day" and with that Absalom was gone from the palace.


    Rachel dropped the smile on her face almost immediately and looked up at her mother "I do not like that man".


    "I too!" Leah raised her hand in agreement with her sister, Hestia smiled and held both her daughters close in her embrace then sighed peacefully.


    "Neither do I my little ones, but he''s someone we''re going to have to bear with" she gently ran her fingers through her daughter''s hair.


    Rachel understood and accepted her mother''s words but Leah being the curious little thing she was could not help but ask "whyyy?".


    "Hmmm" Hestia pondered playfully "welll, because the Emperor favours him quite a bit sweetheart".


    "Whyyyy?".


    She couldn''t help but chuckle and give her daughter a rub on the head "to that I do not know the answer to unfortunately".


    Fortunately it would seem Leah''s questions had come to an end here as there was none further, she just lay silently in her mother''s embrace, but the peaceful situation was short lived as her mother began getting up off the bed.


    "Mommy needs to attend a few urgent matters now, I promise it won''t be long" she gave each a peck and then began dressing up for her presentation.


    Her attire looked quite simple at a casual glance, a silky smooth ankle length dress with straps and seemingly nothing else. But the materials her attire was made out of was to be the selling point of this outfit, one look and it is forever engrained into the hearts and soul of all whom were fortunate enough to lay there eyes on it.


    The unmistakable feeling of divinity, the ultimate power above all others and like this she was set. Hestia walked out of the room and flew straight through the palace walls right to the very top and then transformed, this effect when absorbed into the power of her already near divine transformation would make the effects even more potent.


    [A few moments prior].


    A bottle containing a sizable portion of it''s contents was smashed into Aaron''s head prompting him to close his eyes as the liquid ran down his face, the Knights almost made a move to suppress the crowd but he signaled that they stop in their tracks.


    "DO YOU THINK WE''RE ALL STUPID!?"


    "PROTECT US!?? YOU!?".


    Many insults were hurled towards Aaron but his mind was full of nothing but white noise, he clasped his hands together and whispered.


    ?Recovery?


    The bottles and all other items that had been thrown by the crowd were rebuilt in a way that seemed like time had been reversed, the items were all returned to whomever had thrown then via telekinesis.


    "Please understand that loitering is not allowed in her majesty''s kingdom, continuous disregard of this rule shall be met with the adequate punishment".


    The crowd was silent for a bit due to such unexpected words from Aaron, one from the crowd grit his teeth in anger and stepped forward to hold Aaron by the collar.


    "You bastard, is this how her majesty''s subordinate is to provide reassurance to her subjects!?"


    "By threatening to punish them for being rightfully fearful for their lives and THAT of THEIR LOVED ONES!!?"


    "Where is her majesty even, why is it only her dog that she has sent for us" he pulled Aaron''s collar even tighter and brought his face closer.


    "It seems that''s all her majesty thinks we''re worthy of right? Oh how blind we''ve been, the Queen is a cowa¡ª


    Aaron grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground with a single hand, his eyes were ripe with killing intent and it was taking every last bit of his will not to crush his windpipe and snap the neck of this insect here and now for his blasphemous words against the Queen.


    His mana flared up and the crowd was instantly brought to it''s knees, their voices were taken away from them and terror filled every inch of their souls.


    "Sir!" His Knights yelled out to him and as luck would have it their voices reached Aaron whom had awoken from his murderous daze and dropped the man to the ground, his mana was retracted and the crowd finally regained their ability to speak once more.


    His Knights came forward in worry for him, Aaron''s gaze was filled with a deep sorrowful regret at his shameful actions, he ran his gaze through the entirety of the crowd and saw the eyes which gazed back at him, eyes that showed betrayal and fear.


    "M-m-monster! He''s a monster, everyone saw! We all saw, just how little the Queen and her subordinates think of us".


    "We''re NOTHING to them!" the man screamed out at the top of his lungs.


    The Knights grit their teeth, this was not how this situation was supposed to go, both her majesty''s kingdom and their commanders soul was crumbling before their eyes and there was nothing they could do to stop it.


    And just then it happened, a bright flash of light accompanied by the earth shaking majestic roar of a phoenix that could be heard even far beyond the borders of her majesty''s kingdom.


    Everyone in the kingdom had stopped what they were doing and looked up to the skies to bear witness to the fiery flame bird of rebirth as great as the skies, their mouths grew agape and their knees knew nothing but the ground in this moment, their eyes bearing witness to such divinity could do nothing but shed it''s tears, their hearts beat with the utmost joy and their arms spread wide open at such glorious magnificence.


    The fiery embers from the phoenix fell over the entire kingdom, to each person and creature it touched it enveloped in it''s warm embrace and they all knew, everyone knew. It was a promise, a promise that they shall cherish until the end of their days for generations and generations to come.


    EnD.

 Chapter 3: A welling feeling of pride.

    Nearly four years had passed since that moment, the four emperors ruling each of the four great continents had sought out and discovered the thirteen destined heroes along the one whom was to be king amongst them. Three were found in the Irretrean continent under the rule of Emperor Peltas, five were found in the continent of Eashrah under the rule of Emperor Sentis, four were found in the continent of Osscia under the rule of the Empress Lagertha and the king was found in the continent of Earleya under the rule of Emperor Timothy.


    Politics ensued at this discovery, the two strongest Empires wanted the King of heroes whom had been born to the weakest of the four Emperors for themselves, they put pressure on Timothy to hand the King over but were forced to take a step back at Lagertha choosing to ally with Timothy. Though this new development could have been solved if both of the two strongest chose to ally against them but none were anywhere near willing to based on personal factors and so the Earleyan continent would fortunately not become history although some minor petty acts from both Empires would ensue here and there but never crossing the limit.


    But what almost no one knew was that even without the alliance of Lagertha with Timothy there existed an outside much force greater than all four combined that would not allow the balance between the great continents to be broken.


    Great Mages from each of the four empires worked tirelessly in coming up with new and much better ways to protect themselves, they also asked for help from the goddess herself and she aided them with both blessings and artifacts, a new phenomenon begun happening to the world also.


    Great valleys and tombs begun appearing all over the planet and in them were great unbelievable treasures of wealth and power of which the great empires immediately capitalised on and largely monopolised amongst themselves with barely anyone being able to voice their opinions on such an action, their world also had begun getting larger in size everyday that passed and with every new landmass, sea or ocean that appeared came new incredible creatures also, Magic had also become incomparably much stronger than it ever was and with this the era of interdimensional conquest had been reopened after a fifteen year hiatus following a meeting and agreement between the four Emperors so as not to get in each others way and cause unnecessary losses.


    A pair of generals were chosen from each empire along with an army of ten thousand for each of the eight generals that were chosen, the great Mages opened the gateways after picking which strong worlds from specific realities to send them into and it is there they still remain till this very day.


    One of the generals that had been chosen for this conquest was Maeve under the declaration of Emperor Peltas, it had been nearly two years since her departure but before she had left she made sure the boy had been legalised as her adopted son and therefore a prince of Garuda bearing her family name of Von Schafer.


    Her sister''s court had of coursed protested against this as the prospect of one who is not of a royal bloodline bearing that name was almost blasphemy, they had instead suggested her majesty create a new family name and assign to him the title of a Duke and not a prince, but unfortunately for them Hestia was not on their side and had allowed for the boy to fully become a part of their family thereby keeping to her words.


    The announcement was made public and was received fairly well by the people, but one thing still remained the same for the boy though he had become part of the royal family. He had zero rights to compete for the throne and for this at least the court had found a sense of solace, Maeve had granted unto the boy the name Emrys and had raised him for two years until the time she was called up for her mission of conquest.


    Emrys was handed over to his aunt the Queen to be in her care and Maeve departed, but before she left she made sure to take the little fairy with her as it was too much of a wild card to be left alone with her son and family, though it took a lot of effort she succeeded in taking it along with her. Hestia cared for the boy as she did her daughters, they too were introduced to him and it didn''t take long before the siblings were able to hit it off. Emrys was intriguing to both his aunt and cousins, his intelligence was something monstrous for his age as was his body''s constitution as someone who hadn''t even awoken yet.


    By accident they had discovered about the boys monstrous regeneration abilities that rivaled that of a phoenix, but it was by this accident that a small fear of the boy had arisen. Emrys had gone to watch Rachel''s training process as he had done many times before, but Rachel who was training her control over her flames was having a bad day so her emotions were quite unstable and this too had a direct effect on her flames which were tied to her emotions.


    At some point her frustrations had gotten the better of her and so she spread her flames out in a wave, Emrys being the innocent bystander as always was caught in that wave and lit up from head to toe in nearly an instant, Rachel sensing that her flames had come into contact with life turned around to find a burning skeleton.


    Her scream reverberated throughout the entire palace and Hestia upon hearing it teleported herself to her daughter immediately only to find her on the ground looking ahead in pure horror with tears running down her cheeks, she turned around around to find the burning skeleton also and knew in a second that it was Emrys.


    Terror flowed through every last bit of her body and soul as she exerted her authority over her daughters flames and put them out, thousands of thoughts were running through her head at this moment as she knew not what to do and just froze there, this was like the nightmare of nightmares.


    But then right before her eyes and that of her daughter nerves, muscle, organs, blood and flesh began returning to the skeleton and in six seconds the boy was fully healed, that incident truly served as the most intense both had ever witnessed. Ever since that day too Rachel had become noticeably different when it came to Emrys, her behaviour of behaviour could not be called cold or anything of the sort, she treated him just fine and well but now it seemed like she quite literally had to be there for him all the time or she would die.


    Hestia, Leah and Emrys noticed quite easily when it begun and were worried, Hestia talked to Rachel and tried to convince her that she did not need to feel so guilty about the incident of that day as nothing was her fault and Emrys was fine. But every time Rachel would reply that her behaviour was not as a result of that incident, the same reply would be given to Emrys when he would ask her the same and only Leah as someone who had not been told the original story would believe her. Both knew not what to do as Rachel just didn''t want to budge at all in the slightest and options were running thin, at some point they had stopped questioning her and decided to let her continue with hopes that at some point soon she would feel like she had atoned enough.


    Emrys loved reading, it had become a most favourite hobby of his and so since the past two years he had been the palace library''s most regular visitor, it was a place in which he found a most soothing solace from. Another reason was because it was perhaps the only place he had left which could save him from Rachel''s hounding, if there was something Rachel could not stand it was books. Now Rachel was not dumb, far from it even as she was a genius in both Magic and academics but she just could not bring herself to bear reading a book, being in the presence of them alone always made her feel like a sleeping spell had been cast on her.


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    But Leah on the other hand;


    The doors to the library burst open and right on cue Emrys had sighed as great burst of sir assaulted both and the entire library, luckily he had placed a hand on the page he was reading as precaution lest it flipped over undesirably.


    "RAVENNNNNN!!!!".


    She yelled at the top of her lungs assaulting his poor eardrums, if not for the fact she was a princess the librarian incharge would have banished her long ago from this place but alas there was nothing that could be done to stop Leah. As Emrys had no access to Magic yet he could not fix the chaos around him so the poor librarian had to silently use hers to fix the result of Leah''s chaos from behind the scenes, he looked up to meet the gaze of his older sister who stood before him slightly levitating in the air.


    "Yes" he replied in a flat tone.


    The excitement in Leah''s eyes died a little "tsk, you used to be such a huge ball of joy a year ago".


    "Mhm, and then I grew up".


    Leah''s lips quivered as she tried her hardest to hold in her laugh but she just could not and so the flood gates were opened.


    "to be three" *Ahahahaha...


    Her laughter continued on a little longer and Emrys could not help but feel embarrassed as he puffed his cheeks a little, a three year old claiming himself to be grown up would definitely make anyone laugh no doubt. She pinched both his cheeks and shook em a little "so cute".


    "Speaking of age you just reminded me of my original reason for coming here".


    "Your birthday''s coming up in two days¨C


    He froze for a moment but said nothing and let her continue.


    "And that''ll be the agreed day of your awakeninggg!" she jumped around in the air all giddy and excited at the prospect of seeing just what his awakening would be, she just knew it was going to be epic.


    Though it was already fairly obvious he was not part of the phoenix race like her entire family, Raven was definitely something just as awesome. Why? No reason other than this was just how she felt, in her mind he was already much too awesome now that the possibility of his magical aspect failing to live up to her expectations and be even better just did not exist in the mind of the innocent little ten year old Princess.


    "You''re excited right? Please tell me you''re excited!" She shook him rigourously.


    Emrys smiled and closed his book "yes sister, I am excited".


    "Good good, mother is already preparing a banquet for you on that day" she announced.


    This came as a huge shock to Emrys "aunty? Why".


    "It''s basically tradition, it was done for everyone of us. As our bloodline has only ever been one that birthed geniuses there''s always reason to celebrate the birth of a future important powerhouse".


    "Right now the greatest genius our bloodline ever birthed is the current Queen and it''s greatest anomaly was your mother".


    "Of course, I mean that in a good way and not¨C" she clarified lest he misunderstood her words but Emrys just smiled and assured her he knew what she meant.


    She sighed in relief and then got all giddy again "pray the goddess makes time flow much faster, I can''t wait for you to shut up those foolish old men around mother forever".


    "I can already see the looks on their faces, pricelessssss!" She grinned so idiotically and happily lost in her fantasies, but unknowingly to her with every word Leah uttered and the higher her excitement climbed the heavier his heart got.


    He couldn''t bring himself to tell her that as of right his position was an uncertain one, it was because of this that he still remained confused as to why his aunt the Queen would make such an expensive gamble as there was no way she too did not have the same thoughts he did, was there possibly something else he was missing.


    Normally age four wasn''t a normal age to try awakening, the best bet was usually either from age six & nine, an awakening was a very intense process and if done too early before the body has been properly moulded and tempered by the mana in the air through the years then it could lead to terrible consequences for the individual when an awakening is attempted, in some cases even death. Emrys knew quite well he was incredibly abnormal already for someone who hadn''t awakened yet, according to his aunt he was proving to be an even greater abnormality than his mother so the decision to have his awakening at age was still not quite the problem here, the bigger reason was because of something else entirely.


    The twelve destined heroes and their king to be would be having their awakening at the tower of Magic, by great coincidence he shared the same birthdate with all them and age four was the same agreed date the empires decided they would be having their awakenings and by default the entire focus of that day would have to fall on them, it was a no brainer that neither of the Emperors would take a no for an answer from any of their invited subjects on such a most celebratory of days in all of the world''s history.


    Someone as important as and well known Queen also choosing this same day to host a banquet could be seen as a slap to the extremely petty Emperor''s face if this results in her not going to celebrate at the main palace, since she''s also bound to invite other royals on this day what sane person would choose to attend hers over the Emperor''s in the prospect of being invited to both, perhaps only a few royals would not receive an invitation from the Emperor and if these few royals were to receive only hers instead they would still be able to easily figure out the weirdness of the whole situation and most probably still not attend would they not?


    There had to be something he just wasn''t seeing yet because what exactly could she be planning with this, before he could sink any deeper into the sea of confusion Leah had suddenly grabbed onto his hand and pulled him up "come, I have something to show you".


    Emrys was dragged not of his own will by his older sister to her room and left right at the door as she rushed in to find something, he sighed and walked in through the open door to find her right on the floor and under her bed searching for something.


    Joy flashed on her face the moment she found it and pulled it out from under the bed, what rest in her hands was a small wooden red box with inscriptions. She placed a hand on the box and infused some mana, a magic circle was revealed spinning slowly around the box, with a little twist of her palm accompanied by the sounds of a lock turning the circle burst into millions of tiny pieces and faded away.


    Leah smiled and brought to the box towards Raven, she placed it in his hands and took a step back "open it" she said.


    He complied with her request and opened the box to see a ring, it seemed to be one made of the purest gold with some thin red lines running along it. On it''s crest was a crimson red gem with something in it''s core that seemed to pulse with life, he raised the ring up to his eye level and examined it some more.


    "Ahem"


    Leah''s fake cough achieved it''s purpose of drawing his attention and Emrys felt a chill run down his spine seeing the look in her eyes, almost immediately he set himself on the right course to appease her lest she burns a hole right through him with those eyes of hers.


    "I quite like it a lot sister, it''s beautifully crafted".


    A sigh a relief was expressed in his heart as his compliments seemed to have done the job of getting him out of trouble, Leah began smiling again and this time even wider than before while beaming with incredible pride.


    "Hehe, I''m glad you like it. I made it myself as a gift to you".


    "Huh, you can craft?" Expressed a genuinely flabbergasted Emrys.


    "Yup" she added proudly.


    "Although for the magic inscriptions I had the mages do it for me since I''m not at that level yet".


    Emrys examined the ring again, though he knew not how to craft he had seen more than enough high level crafted objects and weapons to recognise that this ring was definitely one of the same rank, but surprisingly what caught his attention even more than Leah''s surprisingly gifted ability for crafting was what lay in the crest of the ring.


    "You really are a genius sister, you might possibly reach or surpass the level of the Empires number one craftsman at this rate".


    "Thank you for making this". Emrys''s praise this time was spoken directly from heart and with no ulterior motive in mind, there was absolutely no way he would not be joyed by the fact his sister''s path to greatness just got even bigger, very few people in this world get to boast the privilege of having a genius craftsman as a sibling.


    Leah was so over the roof with joy with her brothers words but-- "I have no interest in crafting".


    "Eh?" It was like a bomb had just been dropped on his world with that reveal.


    "I took up crafting two weeks ago while worrying about what sort of gift I wanted to prepare for you and since I did not want to just buy the gift like nearly everyone else would I decided to make it myself".


    "To me it''s value is much greater this way and I''m glad to see that you like it".


    "That is your birthday gift Raven, I just couldn''t wait any longer and decided to give it you now".


    Emrys did not know what to be more shocked by, the fact that it had only been two weeks since she took up crafting and yet reached such a high level in that short of a time or the fact that his sister really could care less for crafting and only did it for his sake of which admittedly was making his heart beat with so much love right now for his sister but that was besides the point.


    In the end all he could do was just sigh and shake his head while smiling, somehow right now she had just become incomparably more awesome in his eyes and this was a win he could live with. Yeah, this was definitely a win he could live with.


    EnD.

 Chapter 4: An eternal companion.

    Two days passed by pretty quickly, on the night before his birthday and awakening Emrys did nothing but stand outside at his balcony gazing at the night sky and the three moons. His eyes held a gaze of longing, though he still held great worries about what would unfold tomorrow there was still one thing that made it a day to look towards. It would be the day army''s of the great Emperors would be returning from their conquest, the order had already been sent about a month ago to prepare for that day, it was much too great of an event for all not to be present and that means after two years he would finally be seeing his mother.


    "What are you doing"


    The sudden voice from above startled him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Rachel flying upside down with her arms crossed and golden hair inherited from her mother swaying wildly in the strong breeze of the night, she set herself to a normal position and placed a hand on his head as she flashed him a warm smile while giving his head a gentle rub.


    "I guess you can''t sleep huh, understandable considering what is to come tomorrow, I was the same also".


    She sighed "but you really should sleep Emrys, awakening is a very exhausting process and could sometimes unfortunately leave one unconscious for days so a full energy bar is quite useful ya know".


    "I know".


    Rachel stared at him for a bit "oh, how about I just put you to sleep myself".


    Before he could object Emrys was taken high up into the sky and flown directly to Rachel''s side of the palace, with her room windows wide open she flew right in with him and placed him down onto her four seater couch. He took a moment to get his bearings right as everything had happened much too quickly for his liking, when staring into Rachel''s eyes and seeing the look of triumph he knew he had been had from the very beginning.


    ''Somebody.... somebody please save me from this crazy person''.


    She sat on the couch and motioned for him to come closer, Emrys accepting that he was fully within her grasp complied and came forward. Rachel rest his head down on her lap and gently begun stroking his head "I know aunt Maeve is to return tomorrow" her voice in this moment was soft but clear and soothing to his ears.


    "I can guess you''re really quite excited huh" she smiled softly seeing him nod his head.


    "I am the same also, though aunty can be quite scary sometimes she somehow shines even brighter than mother when you see her having fun though that too was extremely rare".


    Emrys made no outward gestures but his heart was in silent agreement with her words.


    "That was until you arrived at least" he turned his head a bit to look at her as he was confused as to what she meant.


    "Heh, your earliest experience is way different from ours so that''s probably why you''re confused".


    "Thank you Emrys, for coming into our family and making it feel truly whole".


    He looked on at her for a few seconds and then smiled, his body began entering a state of relaxation and his eyelids grew heavier with the desire to close shut, soon enough he would have no will left to hold on longer and his mind gradually slipped into the land of darkness, he heard his sister whisper something at the end but it was already too late as he was fully gone.


    Rachel kept stroking his head for a few minutes more, her mind lost in a world of it''s own and her eyes seemed to have an expectant look. She suddenly paused her hand movements and smiled, around her brother''s body was a dim crimson field with what seemed to be stars imbued in them.


    "Finally" she whispered.


    This was an effect that occurred to his body whenever he slept and it was discovered by everyone in her family pretty early on, it was always especially stronger at night than in the day time and no one knew what it meant even til this date. But it seemed to be something that wasn''t meant to harm him, her mother guessed it to be some type of protection and there was also the fact whatever this effect was is not something caused by mana but by a seemingly different power.


    Rachel gently tapped the field around him and it rippled, she sighed in satisfaction and rest her head back to rest, though she could stay awake for however long she wanted if she wished sleep was still quite a beautiful thing to experience so she surrendered herself to it''s embrace in no time.


    The blessed day had finally arrived, the moment he awoke Emrys could already feel the mood around the entire kingdom and the palace itself, at some point he had been moved from the couch to her bed and Rachel was no longer present also. For some reason his body was feeling quite different than usual, it was like something had turned his senses up to a 1,000 and every little sound or movement was as loud as an explosion going off directly in his eardrums.


    He closed his eyes tightly shut and hissed in discomfort, fortunately the anomaly only lasted for a few seconds before everything had returned back to being normal, Emrys groaned and opened his eyes then looked around. His attention was drawn to his hands, more specifically his nails. They hand grown to about 3 inches long, pointier and much much sharper.


    ''Claws?''


    When he tried closing his hands the claws retracted and when he released it they returned, he curiously tried to lightly touch the tip of one claw with his hands but retracted it almost immediately when he felt it pierce his flesh and draw blood.


    "How interesting" he whispered.


    But more surprises were to come when the blood that one specific claw had drawn was absorbed directly into it, the claw turned blood red and glowed with a very deadly lustre.


    "Very interesting".


    He spent the next few seconds introducing the remaining nine claws to a drop of his blood and they all achieved the same state as the first and almost like something clicked in his mind he got the idea to will the claws to recede and surprisingly they did, he tried it again and they protruded.


    He climbed off the bed and walked towards the mirror in Rachel''s room then opened his mouth, lo and behold there they were, fangs.


    "Am I a vampire?".


    "That can''t be, I have had no innate craving for blood since birth and neither do I feel threatened by anything divine".


    "With claws and fangs manifesting before my awakening it''s even more improbable that I am a vampire"


    He paced back and forth with all sorts of thoughts swirling around in his head but eventually he put aside this issue for now and walked out of Rachel''s room, he met a few maids and guards along the way and they politely exchanged greetings with him then returned to their tasks though he noticed the former seemed to be in a much greater rush than usual.


    But upon stepping into the hall of memories he saw his aunt alone in there and looking solemnly at one statue in particular, she also took note of his presence shortly after and smiled as she wrapped some mana around him, lifting him up and pulling him towards her.


    She took his hands to examine it "hmm, never knew you were interested in this as a hobby" she mused.


    Emrys was confused for a moment but got it nearly a second later and shook his head "no no, this isn''t me... well, I caused it somehow but i had no idea this would be the result".


    "Hoh? What do you mean" she looked him in the eyes with gaze of gentle curiosity.


    Emrys narrated the events to her with barely any details left out, she didn''t seem to show the slightest surprise at what he just said and instead just continued examining his nails.


    "Can you release them for me"


    He complied and willed his claws to come out, Hestia touched the tip and to her surprise it actually nicked her which was quite something, she watched her golden blood get absorbed into the singular claw and once it was done the tip had turned gold and a thin singular line running from the middle downwards.


    "That''s a nice touch".


    "Mhm".


    He agreed absentmindedly, she repeated the process just like he did with all the other nine and they all showed the same gold tip, once done Hestia smiled "well, I have sone ideas but I''ll confirm it later".


    "Retract them for now and go prepare as we''ll be leaving soon, your day of awakening is here Emrys".


    "Happy birthday".


    She smiled and placed a gentle kiss onto his forehead, a warmth spread over his entire body and reaching the very depths of his soul, a marking appeared on his head and faded away seconds later, she smiled and looked him in the eyes.


    "One day the gift I''ve given unto you shall manifest, until then you''ll have to be a little patient".


    "Ah, I''ll be going now, today is going to be quite a busy one and I have so much to do still".


    She gave his head one last gentle rub then turned around and walked away, as he watched her retreating form he suddenly called ¨C


    "Aunty".


    She halted and turned towards him.


    "Thank you".


    Hestia smiled and then continued on her way, he touched his forehead still feeling a strong burning sensation on it, remembering what his aunt had said Emrys continued his walk until he got to his side of the palace and stepped into his room to prepare.


    Not long after a couple of maidservants were at his door, he allowed them entrance and they did. One held his attire which had been selected by the empress in her hands and the other two were empty-handed, she set his clothes down nicely on the bed and came forward to undress him, two of them led him into the bath while the third one stayed to take his clothes away.


    Everyone in his royal family only used holy water to bathe, it was a golden transparent liquid with an unrivalled level of purification abilities and was also one of the most expensive and sacred things to access as most of it all was in the hands of the church itself which stood as the near untouchable middle ground between all four great empires and other minor ones.


    The purest and most potent form of Holy water was made by a divine artifact called Igram, but the lesser forms of it were a bit easier to make, all that was needed was a body of water and the tossing in of any random divine artifact then it was done. Of course this omits the small step of one having to be really super wealthy, powerful or important enough in order to get a divine artifact in the first place as they were so finite and beyond precious.


    After leaving his body down below in the pool of holy water they stepped out and stood watch at the edge as the process began, while at the bottom he watched the peaceful ripples and strands of divine power curl around his body cleansing every last bit of him, but as always when it got to his bones they somehow couldn''t seep through it like they could with the rest of his body and instead opting to wrap around it.


    The view whenever he stays like this always reminded him of his immeasurably long time spent in that seemingly endless and bottomless sea of blood that was the origin of him. It always seemed to him like if he closed his eyes right now he would fall back into it which always gave him conflicting thoughts, on one hand he would despise being trapped in there once more hence why at some point he developed some sorta dislike for the sight of blood, but the other side is what makes him so confused.


    Somehow he also liked it and it was this side that saw blood in an entirely different way to the point where it was almost reverence even, mixed with some sort of twisted possessiveness of which he could not explain with words no matter how hard he tried. He sighed and raised his hand up as if reaching for something above then suddenly dropped it down again, somehow he knew that someday he would be back there again either way as there were too many missing puzzle pieces in his head and his instincts were telling him his answers lied right in his place of origin.


    "It''s time your highness ".


    Their voices said, a full 30 minutes had passed and the process of purification was complete so he got up and walked over to the stairs at the edge and climbed out the bath. His body was steaming and without the need to dry himself off the Holy water evaporated in seconds, he went into his walk-in closet inside his room and picked out his underwears and once he was done he came out and stood before his two maids who began dressing him up.


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    His clothes took on a gaseous form and was made to be accurately worn on his body before turning fully normal once more, for the jewelleries they put them on manually. The first were the gold cylindrical bracelets which they wore on each of his arms, they were marked by runes and had gems engraved into them both, the second was his gold necklace with with a piece shaped just like an arrowhead, then his earrings and lastly were the thin gold cylinders which they clipped around his singular long braid and at the end his hair got a bit of a touch up in some places and then it was done.


    A perfect water mirror was manifested before him and the maids stood behind on both sides to give him space to admire, one little thing he had discovered coincidentally one day was the fact he was quite a bit vain, it came as no huge shock but it did catch him off guard when he came to that realisation but he also just as quickly accepted it.


    One of the most notable things about his physical appearance other than his supremely attractive face and eyes was his height, he was much taller than those his age on average, already as tall as a 6 year old if not a bit taller than they too were on average. But the one thing he still couldn''t get used to even after a year was his hair, formerly pitch black void as was his eyes and now violet, his eyes were a lighter shade of purple and looked to be full of stars just like the night sky.


    Though thanks to this he had adopted the fashion sense of purple and this is what his current wear was from head to toe while lined with some intricate gold designs in some places, though in actuality they were just beautifully designed royal artifacts doing justice to his status as a prince while also serving their original purpose of protection perfectly well.


    Feeling quite satisfied with his look he asked for the mirror to be dispersed and they complied, then with a final bow they stepped out of the room as their tasks were done. Emrys walked over to his bedside drawer and took out a small black box, he opened it and picked up the ring Leah had crafted for him then wore it on his hands. With all his preparations finally complete he walked out his room and head towards the library but made a stop on the way there for some snacks.


    "Hello Mrs DuBois".


    The middle aged looking woman with auburn hair raised her head up off the table and looked down, she smiled upon seeing whom it was "hello again your highness, what will it be this time".


    "Claws imbued with innate attributes".


    She raised a brow "hoh? Coming right up then".


    The moment she got up the absurdity of her height was made to be in full display, DuBois was a giantess standing at a height of 10 feet and 6 inches, being of the flamingo race though of a minor bloodline she still exuded grace and charm which came naturally in every little thing she did.


    "Here you go".


    He took the book from her hands and thanked her then walked out of the library as he head back towards his room but on the way he met both Leah and Rachel having what seemed to be a small argument, so with immediate haste he chose the best possible course of action to take and tapped his earring one time to activate it''s effect which was invisibility at one of the highest levels.


    Now feeling more safe and confident he chose to march on forward while making the least possible sound with his steps, but something that was said between them caused hin to halt in his steps and listen.


    "You don''t know that!"


    "You''re right Leah, I don''t. I''m just admitting the fact nothing is set in stone and you shouldn''t be too sure".


    "I''ve met and fought against enough people whom were geniuses in mind just like our brother and with a strong body too".


    "But spirit, potential, race, fortune and resources failed to measure up thereby making their growth paths extremely short and limited".


    Leah scoffed and shook her head in disbelief "I can''t believe that out of us both I''m the one with more faith in our brother and not you the one literally obsessed with him".


    Rachel''s eyes narrowed "I am Not obsessed".


    "Haha" she laughed.


    "Sure, I cannot be sure if you act this way because you see ''him'' in our brother and this is your_


    "Don''t. You. Dare".


    "Don''t you dare pervert my intentions into something it''s not, do not allow yourself become a target of my burning hatred towards that person".


    Both said nothing else to each other for nearly a full minute after that, then Rachel sighed and palmed her face "I know full well just how much you''re itching for him to forever shut the mouths of those old fools around mother and most others in the palace as well".


    "It''s just never that simple Leah, believe you me I wish it was but the uncertainty is nearly crippling for me too because I can''t stop thinking about how support for him from our people would drop even further".


    "And I can''t go on a killing spree of our own subjects for the heinous things they''ve said about him, so belive you me I want the positive outcome but the uncertainty is crippling for me".


    "It is the reason why I cannot understand mother''s thought process in planning such an event on this day".


    Leah hugged her and Rachel replicated the gesture as she rest her face down on her sister''s head.


    "Heh, so you''re just a big scaredy cat huh".


    "Hush".


    They both laughed heartily to their hearts content , meanwhile Emrys was already at his room and getting ready to browse through the book in his hands, if one were to ask what he thought about what happened then his answer would be that he was in absolute support of Rachel''s line of reasoning, she was saying exactly what he would have wanted to tell Leah if he was brave enough to.


    "Deary me, it surprises me that I also have such little faith in myself when considering my abnormal origins".


    "Guess I''ve been lying to myself a little huh".


    He scoffed at the irony and turned to the next page of his book, but still after so many flips he couldn''t find claws that were like his and what race it belonged too and there so many types in here. There were poisonous claws with different types of effects and so many other types but none that absorbed blood as that usually typically occurred with either fangs, spells or bloodline effects.


    Emrys sighed and rolled over on his bed with a hand over his face, suddenly the doors to his room burst open and he could feel himself dying a little inside already because he could not for the life of him understand what was with these people and the inability to open a door normally.


    "We''re leaving now, mother is finished with her preparations".


    He sat up on the bed and looked at Leah and Rachel whom were both standing just outside his room, without giving him any more time to formulate a response Leah had rushed into his room and dragged him off the bed and out of his room in an instant. Her face was plastered with a wide grin and he could feel the palpable excitement oozing off her, afraid that she might possibly burst if he waited any longer he complied and went with them to meet his aunt standing outside and giving a set of instructions to some servants with a 15 meter red wyvern resting readily beside her.


    Almost immediately his eyes and heart was drawn to the majestic beast, she waved the servants to return after spotting the kids had come and smiled at him seeing the look of awe in his eyes "It seems you already like her very much".


    He nod absentmindedly and she couldn''t help but laugh "well that''s good then, because she''s yours".


    That statement immediately brought him out of his state of awe and tossed him directly into a state of shock, even Leah and Rachel were the same as neither knew their mother had planned on giving such an outrageous gift like a wyvern to him. Hestia reached her hand out towards him "come, you''ll have to establish a soul link with her now".


    "Wyverns only bond with one rider for life and if you''re born with it you might get to know it''s voice and true name".


    A worried look appeared on Rachel''s face "but a soul link is a very delicate process" .


    "I know, but she''s a gentle soul and with me here to help there''ll be no problems".


    He walked towards her and she led the wyvern to bring her head downwards allowing him to touch it, she smiled looking at him and feeling the beating excitement of his heart.


    "Be calm, you''re about to experience something quite amazing".


    He followed her instructions the best he could, his eyes were drawn to that of the wyvern''s and it was like he could not break off contact or focus on anything else other than them. Then suddenly he felt something being pulled out of his chest area, it was like a thread and it was also being pulled out of the same area of the wyvern''s. It felt warm, a little painful but mostly warm and soothing, then they both touched and he gasped and felt his spirit being pulled somewhere.


    Upon opening his eyes he found himself in an endless space of white with what seemed to be an endless stream of water beneath him.


    "Hello, Emrys".


    He turned around to meet the source of that voice and it was like the moment he laid eyes on her he immediately knew what to call her.


    "Irmir".


    Though there were no visible indications on her face he could somehow feel that right now she was smiling at him, he attributed this to the soul link.


    "You''re a very special boy you know"


    He nod his head and she bellowed "During the process I felt my soul almost getting devoured by something inside yours".


    His eyes widened in surprise "why would I try to devour you, no how would that even be possible considering the difference between us as you''re a Dragon".


    "Wyvern, we barely carry the blood of true dragons".


    "There''s no doubt that if it was a Dragon then by pure instinct it would have burnt your soul out of existence the moment this happened".


    "But I understand what you meant, we just take pride in defending the glory of a true dragon instinctually".


    "Eitherway luckily the laws of a soul link stopped the process and made us both true equals in here".


    "I see.....my apologies".


    She sent him the mental equivalent of a shrug, he began looking around the space a bit more.


    "What is this place".


    "It''s basically a meeting ground for our souls, time here also flows vastly different to the outside".


    "How so".


    "Well years could be spent here and it would only amount to a few minutes on the outside".


    "I see, is this space accessible at anytime".


    "Yes, just will it and you can come in or get out at any moment you wish".


    "A soul link does a lot of amazing things but I''ll tell you another time, for now we should return to the outside".


    Emrys complied and willed himself out of the space, he blinked and looked around him to see the expectant gazes of his family "It is done".


    "That''s not what we want to know"


    "Eh?".


    "Her voice, can you hear it".


    "Ahh" he could feel their growing anticipation , even his aunt was no different and though he could not understand the reason why they all they all desired for it so eagerly he would not hesitate to satisfy their curiosities, but just when he was about to confess he stopped.


    ''Emrys''


    Irmir called mentally, he was pulled into the space once again and he questioned the reason for her call.


    "Be careful when speaking of the fact you''re able to hear the voice of dragons and wyverns, you have no idea how coveted of an ability it is and just how so few little posses it let alone to the level you do now".


    "I see, thank you Irmir".


    The wyvern sent a mental nod and they left the space, back to the outside again he smiled "I did".


    "And how clearly".


    "At the same level of a normal conversation".


    The way their eyes lit up in pure joy especially Hestia''s was an amazing sight to behold, once he returned from this event he would make sure to study why this ability is deemed so special.


    "Okay, we must leave now" Hestia levitated him onto the back of the wyvern and instructed that he sat down, the moment he did so it was like he had become one with her senses and felt an invisible force wrapping around him ever so warmly, instinctively he was getting the feeling of knowing how to fly her.


    Hestia smiled seeing this, it was a state that she had seen before and it was sign of being gifted as a natural rider, they called it <Resonance>.


    "Come on, you''ll have to keep up with us in the direction we fly".


    He nod his head and Hestia''s turned to her daughters, their majestic wings of fire were unleashed and by the goddess did they all look so glorious.


    They began lifting themselves of the ground and Emrys got himself ready at the same time, a rope of mana was suddenly suspended before him and he grabbed onto it then took in a deep breath. With a slight tug Irmir unfurled her wings and began flapping them, then she lifted herself on her two hind legs then with a sonic boom she was high into the skies.


    They moment they got right above the clouds she relaxed herself and they began falling vertically downwards and fast, very fast even yet in all this the pressure felt like nothing but a simple breeze on his body, his face plastered with the most joyous smile possible.


    Once their descent had reached it''s peak he took control again and Irmir flapped her wings then curled them back as she took them both for a spin until they were close to the palace before she stopped and flapped her wings for balance as she perched down right at the very top of it.


    The three of them flew up to meet them and all had big smiles on their faces "How do you like flying Emrys".


    "Oh it''s wonderful aunty, so wonderful and free".


    "Hehe, come on then, the experience isn''t over yet".


    She began levitating higher and higher as did her daughters, then in a boom they were gone. In that instant though unknown to him his pupil had taken on a vertical form and it was like everything around him had slowed down tremendously. With a little tug Irmir logged off the building and with a boom she was gone, appearing right at the heels of the flying three before him who looked back and smiled before suddenly booming in another direction altogether but once again he was right on the tail.


    They dipped in out of the clouds and spiraled but he never failed to keep up with their actions, multiple trails of joyous laughter filled the skies on this day and for the few whom were able to catch it should count themselves blessed. They continued on their path for nearly half an hour until they scaled the entirety of the Irretrean continent and beyond it''s borders, the moment they crossed it Emrys felt like he had just passed through something invisible and had to look back in wonder of what it was.


    "Did you feel it" Hestia asked.


    He faced forward again and nod his head "what is that".


    "A barrier, it goes around the entire continent and it is alive".


    "Alive? How is that possible".


    "I do not know either, it has existed long before me and no mage that is alive today knows how it came to be or had a hand in it''s creation".


    "All four major continents possess this same barrier around them and though it''s a barrier they''ve never stopped nor trapped anything".


    "Then what is it''s real purpose if not to protect or imprison".


    "That too is unknown, whatever or whomever made it should have the answers but¨C


    "Status is unknown".


    "Mhm".


    He looked back again but they had travelled so far away that it could no longer be seen by him, he faced forward and focused on the flight for the next four minutes until he laid his eyes upon it. A tall pitch black tower that was a high as the sky itself and emanated mana so strong and pure that it warped warped space and time around it, the Tower of Magic. Thousands of magic circles were constantly spinning around it from top to bottom and at the very moment they entered it''s vicinity a doorway had opened before them, Hestia led everyone in and it closed behind them.


    They were now fully within the towers boundaries and as protected guests a ring appeared on each of their fingers except for Irmir whom had two rings placed around around her horns, the inner of the towers domain was a beauty to behold.


    "Haizz, It''s already my third time coming here but I haven''t gotten used to it" Rachel looked around the place with excitement and awe, her mana heart had an especially great level of resonance with it.


    "I also, once once I am qualified to I would definitely come and learn here" Leah professed with determination and Rachel nod in agreement, Hestia smiled and rub the heads of both her daughters.


    "I have no doubts you both can do it, and you too someday Emrys".


    He smiled "thank you aunty".


    She led them to the area that was reserved for them, their flight was far slower than it was before but before long they reached their destination. It was something of a mini tower and beside it were three others, something caught his eyes,what seemed to be altar of sorts with stairs leading to it was built about nearly a hundred meters away.


    "Well this is different".


    Leah looked up at her mother hoping for answers..


    "Well, today is quite literally meant to be the biggest publicity stunt of all time to put it nicely".


    "What is to be happen shall be seen by every last being on the planet, the tower can do that much easily".


    "The greatest power struggle is to commence at the end of this day, so many things shall change and¨C


    "And?" Both questioned simultaneously but Hestia just smiled.


    "Well, you''ll see".


    "But I will let you in on a little detail , in the midst of the unholy turbulence of chaos that is to unfold, we will never drown".


    "This I swear to you".


    EnD.

 Chapter 5: The greatest show.

    The inners of their assigned mini tower was but a simple warm, cozy and incredibly spacious living room with six room doors and a single staircase leading right to the top of where five chairs good enough to pass up as thrones were lined up side by side with the middle being noticeably larger than the others beside it. And whatever refreshments or entertainment they wished for an imp was at the ready to provide it in record time, Hestia had advised that they not move to the top yet because the moment they were ready someone would come collect Emrys and that would be their signal to ascend.


    She had no idea when the emperor would arrive and had even expected he would have been here with the three future seated god candidates born in their empire but either way, she had already prepared her daughters to show the necessary respects when they arrive. Emrys was a different matter as someone who had never met the emperor before and knew not the way to behave around someone like him so Hestia had to especially educate him with the limited she had to do so and just as always he learned quick, he originally had no plans on doing anything that would bring unnecessary trouble to his family on this day so he promised to be on his best behavior.


    Irmir was resting just outside the tower on the side and though he did wish she could come in Emrys had already accepted the fact only planned guests may have access to the inners of the tower and had communicated with her on different matters through the soul link, at some point he had wished he brought his book with him so as to occupy himself with his research in the meantime while his sisters tortured the poor imp with outlandish requests and Hestia doing nothing to stop them.


    The roar of a Gryphon was suddenly heard outside and Hestia sensed the mana of the Emperor getting closer along with that of two others "He''s arrived" she announced.


    The demeanors of both Rachel and Leah immediately took a sharp turn, they were still at ease but oozed class meanwhile Hestia was calm as can be with her legs crossed gracefully and her arms resting atop eachother, the expression on her face could only be described as a mild look. The Emperor''s booming laughter could be heard just outside and moments later the entrance door was opened, they stood up as if on cue to be greet him except for Hestia who remained seated as she were.


    Emrys for the first time would come in contact with the ruler of the strongest Empire and all he could feel was just how....underwhelming he was, a bloated belly and frame, red hair and eyes with two horns extending from both sides of his head and he a full beard.


    ''I know full well what you''re thinking''.


    ''Irmir, can you blame me?''.


    ''The eyes deceive Emrys, that man is incredibly dangerous and cunning so be careful around him''.


    A woman stepped in after the Emperor and Emrys couldn''t help but widen his eyes in shock, she looked nearly the same as his aunt except for some minor details and her red hair that was just like that of the Emperor''s, he cast a look at his aunt and then back to her.


    ''It''s an illusion Emrys''.


    Irmir imparted her eyes so as to show him the truth, what he saw now was a woman that looked quite different from his aunt though still nearly every bit as beautiful as she was and two red fox ears and six fluffy tails curled up behind her, but what got to him the most was simply the overwhelming amount of charm and emanating off her.


    ''Amazing, she rivals the feel of aunty when she sits on the throne ''.


    The Emperor''s eyes darted towards the presence in the room and he grinned widely "Hestia, I almost forgot you also had business here on this day".


    "Long live the Emperor" .


    All three greeted while taking a bow towards him, the Emperor shifted his gaze towards them and smiled.


    "Ahh, the two genius princesses and the boy".


    "May you awaken a strong just like your sisters Emrys".


    He showed no surprise at the Emperor learning of his name and simply bowed respectfully "Thank you, I shan''t disappoint".


    The Empress walked past and took a seat right beside Hestia who rolled her eyes "Still with the petty tricks I see" she whispered, Rhea smiled "beautiful boy your nephew, but he''s like a ghost no?" .


    "I''ll explain later".


    Three small beings nearly the same height as Emrys stepped into the room along with a single Knight behind them, all eyes were immediately on them and by the goddess did they feel divine though they weren''t gods yet and still unawakened.


    The Emperor''s smile couldn''t have possibly grown wider than it is now "Tis a shame you had to have met them so late Hestia but I''m sure you can understand why".


    She gave no reply to the Emperor''s words and just kept assessing the three fated gods before her, then a second later she smiled and looked up at Emperor "I am offended you thought I might have cared for something so minor".


    "It''s not like I''m being left out of some type of great war plans in particular is it your Grace".


    The Emperor''s eyes widened for a moment ever so slightly and his smile nearly faded but he caught a hold of himself and laughed a fully bellied laugh "oh what was I thinking, you''re absolutely right Hestia, absolutely so".


    "Children, please pay your respects to the woman who seats before you" he turned to them and ordered.


    They bowed towards her respectfully without saying anything else and walked away to sit together on a couch, the Emperor smiled and sat himself down on the couch to his side with his Knight following right up to stand beside him.


    Hestia couldn''t help but laugh inside at such display of pointless pettiness but what could she do, there was no denying that it was definitely within her limits to respond exactly the same as displayed here but she kept her silence for now.


    The room turned awkwardly silent for next few minutes, well awkwardly silent to anyone but Hestia and Rhea whom were engaged in their own world of conversations without a care in the world. Emrys seemed to be locked in a permanent staredown at the three sitting a distance away before him, assessing them over and over again and they too seemed to be doing the same.


    Dressed in artifacts from head to toe just like he and neither were losing out to each other in terms of quality, looks that rivalled his, the resonance and feeling of familiarity that felt like it went beyond time. Yeah there was no denying it, they definitely had history in some form.


    ''Such terrible luck'' he couldn''t help but drag his palm across his face feeling so defeated.


    "Who were you" the middle one suddenly asked which drew the attention of everyone else.


    He lazily looked him in the eye and sighed "probably your enemy since I''m not getting the kumbaya feeling over here".


    The Emperor squinted his eyes at such a statement ''"what sort of declaration is that".


    "Children, care to explain?".


    Emrys sunk into couch as he felt more of his energy leave his body, this was most definitely not the sort of attention he was looking for, he already accepted his origins were abnormal but never once thought it would be this robust.


    "He feels like us" .


    "WHAT!?" Exclaimed everyone else bar Hestia and Emrys, she was looking calm and he was dying more and more inside.


    The Emperor''s look turned serious, his eyes darted towards Hestia unconsciously for a moment but soon returned back to the kids "are you sure of what you''re saying, everyone in here can tell how you feel and how he does".


    "The feeling of a ghost is not something easily conflicted with divinity".


    "We''re positive, he''s like a negative version but still definitely the same".


    "Our senses do not lie".


    The look on the Emperor''s face had turned extremely ugly in this moment " then maybe for the first time it is".


    "There are only thirteen of you according to what was prophesized, a fourteenth is impossible".


    The kids chose to remain silent after this as did the Emperor, his gaze lingered on the boy for some time and he balled his fists in anger when he set his eyes on Hestia who fanned the flames by simply showing him a knowing smile.


    In the meanwhile Rachel and Leah were not liking this at all in the slightest, they knew how dangerous, paranoid and greedy the Emperor was. If their mother did in fact have something of a future god at her side who cannot be controlled by him then she might have officially become a state of emergency level threat if not much beyond that, this was very bad news for them and for most especially their brother, the awakening ceremony that Leah had been looking so forward to now felt like a countdown towards his death sentence and it was like a cold icy feeling gripping her heart almost rendering her breathless.


    Suddenly a hand was placed gently atop her head, she looked up to meet her sister gaze and saw nothing but confidence and calm on her face, she smiled "Do you remember mother''s promise".


    She nod.


    "Do you remember the last time mother has ever failed to uphold a promise".


    She shook her head and replied in such a weak voice it felt like a whisper "No, mom hasn''t ever failed once".


    "Correct, so once again you''ll have to trust in mother''s words. Our brother will be fine sister, believe that".


    The door opened up and all eyes snapped towards the visitor in an instant, it was a man in a long hooded black cloak and for some reason none of them could sense his mana, even Hestia was not exempt. His face seemed to also be hidden in some form of special darkness that made it hard for anyone present to identify whom he was either, he walked into the tower but stopped after six steps.


    "The preparations are finished, come with me".


    Hestia gave him a little rub on his head and asked "are you nervous".


    He shook his head and smiled "not at all aunty".


    "Heh, good".


    Emrys got up and followed the cloaked man outside as did the other three, the moment the children had stepped out they got up and began heading upstairs right to the top of the tower. Upon reaching outside it was like they had stepped out into a world of storm and gloom, a green pulse of mana was constantly spreading out every few seconds, the altar was lit up with runes and ablaze with green flames, from beyond the planet was a singular eye looking down at everything going on below.


    Two mages in black cloaks with their hood down stood atop the altar amidst the flames but suffered not from it, one had the features of a slightly above average looking middle aged man with short black hair, noticeably pointy ears and four eyes of which all were a light shade of brown. The other looked slightly younger and was perfectly bald, his eyes seemed to have no pupils and was just a clear white, on his head were some black tattoos which extended beyond his neck downwards with the rest not being visible due to his cloak.


    From the other three towers came out the remaining ten whom were led by three other men similar to the one leading him towards the altar, one person in particular caught his eyes. Unlike the rest only one child stepped out of the last tower, she felt...frighteningly normal. There was no literal halo around as he had imagined jokingly in his mind before, she just felt normal, he looked ahead to see so many spirit bodies numbering in thousands floating around the entire area and each watched with expectant eyes in preparation for what was about to occur and their gaze was most especially focused on her.


    His aunt really told no lies when she stated this was all just to be the greatest marketing stunt in the history of the world, he felt like he was on a great big stage and about to be auctioned off as product to the highest bidder. Sighing internally in defeat he continued onwards and walked up the stairs leading to the altar, they were lined up before the two mages who examined them in silence for a few seconds then instructed that all but the four from Lagertha''s empire remain before them.


    They were all led behind the mages and lined up again, the flames rose up and formed what seemed to be a barrier around them.


    "Your names" demanded the bald mage.


    "Bahu" replied the boy with beautiful bronze like skin, piercing vertical golden pupils and pitch black silky long hair.


    "Mavion" replied the blonde haired human-dwarven boy with blue eyes.


    "Zirsto" replied the little Treant halfling.


    "Selene" replied the young mermaid with silvery long hair and crystal clear blue eyes.


    The two mages took some steps back and clasped their hands together, multiple magic circles were summoned around the kids and behind them was the phantom image of a lock bound by two chains crossed over it. Four bowls appeared before each of them and it was a reddish substance, they needed no instructions given as they grabbed it with both hands and drank of it to the last drop. Once finished they let go of the bowls and they disappeared, their bodies felt much lighter and one of the chains binding the lock suddenly snapped.


    The mages finally made their move seeing this, the flames burning around the altar rose much higher than ever before and the runes shone like the morning sun. They began spreading all over the children''s bodies and the flames slowly began seeping into their bodies, instantly they felt pain. Like a thousand red hot needles were being drilled into their bodies and magma was flowing through every blood vessel in their bodies, they longed to scream and collapse but their bodies were no longer their own as the runes had taken over in keeping them in place and silent.


    And then suddenly it was gone, like that hell they just experienced was never there and all they could feel now was a great warmth. The second chain snapped and the lock showed some small cracks, the magic circles surrounding them began revolving at a steady speed at first but was quickly picking up the pace and the faster it spun the greater the cracks on the locks became until at some point it shattered to pieces and the children gasped a deep breath as great pillars of light rose up from their bodies and shot into the stars.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Crazy tremors spread throughout the entirety of the planet and the kids began levitating, they spread out and the pillar of light shot downwards and spread out a pulse that rippled over the four great empires and multiple lesser giants bringing with it a great feeling of bloodline suppression, from behind the kids manifested great avatars that towered over fifteen meters in height and each were unique unto themselves.


    Behind Bahu was the golden avatar of the god of defense giving off the feeling of an immovable and indestructible supreme entity.


    Behind Zirsto was the avatar of the god of music and sound, it bore four arms and in each hand was a musical instrument and dancing around it were little golden music notes that hummed a low but soulful tune that just seemingly couldn''t be overshadowed by all of the chaos going on around it.


    Behind Mavion the avatar of the god of metal and blacksmithing, on it''s body were nine runes and in one was a hammer and in the other was a rough black ore, around it''s neck was a necklace with an anvil hanging as it''s accessory, it''s eyes were blazing orbs of fire and right at the very middle of it''s chest was a core.


    And behind Selene was the goddess of water, bearing four arms just like the music god and each bearing an item. In one arm was a Trident and in the other a spear, in the third was a floating orb and the last was what seemed to be a little baby blue snake floating above her palm asleep, the eyes of the avatar were also closed unlike the rest.


    ''Great job guys, really doing your parts in selling this PR event'' Emrys thought to himself sarcastically.


    The avatars began fading away after nearly a minute and the suppression effects gradually got lifted until it was fully gone and all that remained were the children levitating in mid-air with waves of mana flowing around them, they had undergone some visible changes due to their awakening and the air of divinity around them had gotten much more potent leading to everyone present feeling an urge to kneel in reverence, the strong willed ones could get rid of it but the weaker of the masses watching were fully entrapped by it.


    The children brought themselves down to the altar once again awaiting instructions for what they were to do next, the mages ordered that they bed led directly into the tower of magic and wait, if they desired then they could also wait from a spot where they could watch the rest of the ceremony.


    Once the children had been led inside by one of the cloaked figures the mages ordered that the fated ones from the Irretrean and Eashrah continent come forward, the bowls appeared before all of them and they drank of it to the last drop just as they had seen the first set do. The phantom lock was once again present in the air and much bigger than before, once the bowls were released they vanished and all felt the sensation of their bodies getting lighter as one chain snapped and the flames rose higher like a countdown raging tsunami coming down on them and seeping into their bodies bringing them great undescribable pain, the runes activated once more to keep them in place and silent until the pain vanished and they were hit with a comfortable feeling of warmth as all chains snapped and the lock shattered to pieces.


    Eight pillars of light shot out into the stars as their avatars was made manifest and the power released over the continents was so much more denser than the first, being so great that this time even some of the strong ones were visibly being pushed to their limits in order to resist the urge let their bodies fall to such a glorious display of divinity.


    The god of Light Noctis, the god of Wind Shen and the god of Strength Sarang from the Irretrean continent.


    There was Mordred whom was the god of Tricksters and Illusions, Avistro the god of Time and Space, Rozaria the goddess of Curses and Poison, Ishmael the god of Runes and Fire then finally Velkos whom was to be the god of War all from the continent of Eashrah.


    Meanwhile at the mini tower where Hestia and the rest watched a small object was vibrating uncontrollably in the Knights hands, he turned to the Emperor and announced "Your Grace, they have arrived".


    Beyond the planet and right before the eyeball were four massive portals opening up accompanied by crazy spatial storms and from each one came two ships, but the peculiar thing here was the size of the portals, ships and the cargo they were dragging along behind them out of the portal. Each ship was large enough to qualify as it''s own small celestial body but what they each dragged out where four super sized planets, the most absurd of all this was how insignificantly small these giant celestial bodies were before even the pupil of the giant eyeball before it and the planet Altheros.


    The eyeball was made to show the entire display of the armies arrival after a two year long conquest to the entire world, citizens not of the four main Empires were in awe of the extravagance but most citizens and vassals that were of the main Empires rejoiced at their return, the benefits that were received by all citizens fifteen years ago during the last conquest were made fresh in their minds as their mouths watered in excitement at what the spoils from the new quest held for them.


    Suddenly all light in the world dimmed as a great invisible force began crushing nearly every being on the planet, if felt like they were under the boot of something powerful of which their lives and existence had no right to stay before it. Their breath, their life-force, their memories, their bodies, their souls and their existence, even the entire world itself slowly began fading away....to oblivion. Not even the ships along with their cargoes and the giant eyeball were made exempt from this effect hence why nothing was being fed to the world visually about what could have been causing this but in the last vestiges of cognitive function they had left a solidly good guess was made, a huge powerful pulse spread over the entire world and far beyond displacing many celestial bodies in the cosmos before dying off.


    The tower of magic was activated and it immediately put a stop to the effect on the world then began reversing most of the damage done to both the cosmos and the world, everyone and everything was made whole once more but fell down unconscious due to the devastating effects of such a power on their minds.


    "By the gods, a Dragon! A void Dragon and Fairy hybrid!" Yelled Lagertha whom had wiped the blood running down her lips and sprung out of her seat to the edge of the tower.


    "The only other successful record of such a hybrid existing was-


    "Merlin, creator of the tower of magic and history''s greatest Mage".


    "The demigod of demigods" whispered Peltas under his breath.


    But as amazing as the imposing aura of her bloodline was, even more impressive was the power of the avatar behind her. The goddess of Laws and Oblivion and King of the twelve seated gods, this was the being behind that devastating power capable of affecting even they the rulers of this world, how magnificent it was.


    "Oh well, today''s events are over and the next steps should be commencing soon with no time to waste".


    " One last participant remains Emperor Sentis ".


    " Hm? Who, the boy? Surely you jest Queen Hestia".


    "Not at all your Grace, I plan a little party today do you care to join?".


    He squint his eyes and looked a bit angry right now, if it weren''t for the fact of who Hestia was he would have ordered her head off on the spot right now for such an outrageous and out of place request, but choosing to be the bigger man here he responded with a simple but polite rejection of her request.


    " Oh? A shame then your Grace, such an opportunity is never arriving again" she smiled.


    None present could figure out exactly what was with Hestia at this moment and this was true for her daughters most especially, the four Emperors were thinking she might be on the verge of madness speaking in such a way no matter how how special of a standing she might have, they were quite aware of how she had been laying low and giving them the necessary respect but somehow it seemed that perhaps she was approaching the time of action and this was most certainly a cause for great worry if so, Karma was all too real and no one knew better than this woman how to enforce it in the most destructive ways possible.


    "Hestia, I do hope you do not plan on making any great movements, not while the contract still persists" Peltas asked.


    She simply smiled again "You all have my word".


    "Your word that what" they weren''t fools, such a vague answer was simply too risky to take at face value.


    "That I shall honor the contact for as long as it persists".


    A sigh of relief was simultaneously shared amongst them in their hearts though it did not completely alleviate their worries, this was still good enough as Hestia was not one.to go back on her words.


    Hope looked on amazed at the little multiple tiny orbs of light floating around her with a small smile on her face, the avatar behind her began fading drawing her attention back to the world around her. She cast a look down at the altar, more specifically the boy whom was the last remaining participant of today''s events, having not paid attention to him before she became curious of the fact that he too was allowed to partake of an event like this on the very same day as them.


    The boy seemed to have noticed a pair of piercing eyes gazing down at him and looked up to meet them, upon contact both showed different reactions, Hope''s was one of pure terror and Emrys one of pure surprise at why she suddenly looked so pale.


    Little memories and visions poured into the mind of Hope showing her face to face with a being so incomprehensibly terrifying that even a god would feel small, a being of pure...darkness. The visions ended and she felt a wave of great relief wash over her as she was now rid of that terrible nightmare, her gaze went to the boy once more only to see him collecting a bowl and drinking of it just as she and the rest had done.


    The phantom appeared once again and this time it was a bit different as a pair of pitch black wings seemed to be covering the lock itself and preventing anything from taking place, Emrys could not understand why for the life of him it had be this difficult, the flames were already seeping into his body but then they just suddenly dispersed too and the runes which were to hold him in place just vanished.


    The two mages exchanged surprised looks at each other and then decided to take things directly into their own hands, a bowl appeared again and Emrys drank of it, on the phantom they could see the wings visibly tremble a bit this time, immediately catching on to it more bowls were given to Emrys and he kept drinking of them until he had consumed a total of eight, the wings finally spread apart and the flames which were being repelled by his body suddenly rushed into him like a torrent of waves engulfing him in a cocoon, the runes were about to be put in place once again but the cocoon of flames suddenly burst apart repelled by a red energy coming from his body.


    Then like an invasive parasite it mercilessly attacked the green flames and took over them turning it into pure crimson, the entire altar had changed to a field of blazing red and suddenly the two mages fell down to their knees looking ghastly and weak, their eyes beheld pure terror as their life force and mana along with their cores were entirely drained out of them with no hope of resisting the process, all this was absorbed by the flames and they returned back to his body leaving the entire altar bare with nothing but the two skeletons atop it.


    The lock, the chains and the wings immediately shattered to pieces as a pillar of black shot up into the cosmos, almost immediately as if on instinct each of the fated gods along with Hope unleashed their avatars, their bodies were trembling and not even the presence of their avatars could save them from the feeling of suppression, all except for Hope who was rivaling the same intensity his power was causing.


    Around the entire world little black feathers began falling, even in space and in the ships and in their cargoes did they fall completely unheld by the laws of it all, Maeve could instinctively tell that this was Emrys due to the resonance as could his little fairy whom would have flown down there right this moment if it weren''t for Maeve''s seal on her. The darkness wrapped around every member of his family almost like it was alive, it felt like exactly like him but if he were a puppy of sorts.


    The pillar of darkness dispersed as his figure and avatar were revealed, everyone looked on with wide eyes at what was before their eyes. Two pairs of pitch black ethereal wings emerged from his back and behind him were two avatars, one was a great figure cloaked in ethereal darkness and bearing six arms with two arms holding a great ghastly scythe crossed downwards around Emrys as if to protect him and two others were nearly closing around a dark orb floating in-between them, the last pair above were covered around a ball of deep violet flames with tinge of crimson at it''s core, on it''s back were a pair of great wings made entirely of bones coated in white flames.


    The second avatar was gigantic, it stood at nearly a hundred meters and was covered in black armor with golden lining and inscriptions, it''s skin was a pale gray and on it''s back were six wings each dark as night and it''s face was a most beautiful thing to behold, it''s eyes were pure void and it''s hair whiter than snow with a length that reached it''s waist, it stood tall with both arms folded and a gaze that seemed to look down on everything around it as if they were something even below ants.


    But as imposing as it looked the second avatar had absolutely zero presence, none could sense it and thought it to be an illusion but it was all too real and standing before them, the clash between Hopes avatar and that of the six-armed being were locked in an equal clash of auras that seemed to divide the world into two equal parts but it soon began to fade away leaving only their forms standing face to face with each other. Hope looked a bit tense but steadfast while he just looked curious and a little lost in his thoughts, but all that he was thinking of was only something that could be put in place at a later time.


    He cast a side eye towards the other twelve who were all looking at him like he was a monster as was everyone else in the towers bar his family whom all had joy written all over their faces, then he flew back down towards the altar which still held the deceased bodies of the two mages he had killed by accident, it was quite a weird feeling to say the least but he did not find himself disgusted or scared by the fact he had just taken a life for the first time, now that was the scary part of all this.


    The door to the tower opened and five mages walked out from it towards Emrys, some more came out from four different portals opened up in the air and levitated towards Hope. Both looked on a little confused at the situation they were watching unfold before them until suddenly a pair of magic cuffs were placed on their hands to suppress their magic and causing everyone present in the towers to rise up at the display.


    "What is the meaning of this action from the tower''s people" questioned Timothy.


    A mage bowed respectfully "forgive us Emperor but this matter is simply within the jurisdiction of the tower".


    "Both of these beings are unfathomable threats with magic much too powerful to be left alone in the open".


    "So for the time being they shall be under the care of the tower to be trained and taught until we can be sure that magic such as theirs can be allowed to exist on the outside".


    Both Sentis and Lagertha sat and listened silently as this was a situation that had nothing to do with them and nothing would be gained from interfering or trying to help, though Lagertha was a little sorry at not being able to help but the truth was she had to start coming up with new plans to protect herself. But for Peltas and Timothy it was different, Peltas was conflicted because on one side if Emrys is taken Hestia would be left without her most powerful weapon she could fashion against him, but on the other hand he too would be losing out on the potential most powerful equalizer in his hands against the others if he is able to make use of his authority over Hestia and sink his hooks into the boy''s still malleable mind.


    Now Timothy was different, he only had one unlike the others but his was the equalizer against all the others so would be the one taking the biggest loss here, he was furious and desperate so he yelled out.


    "So you''re taking them prisoners!?"


    "Like hell I would agree to that, this was not part of our deal!"


    "And neither was the ''murder'' of two of our own and the damage to the world".


    That deliberate wording, everyone knew well what the mage was doing framing it in such a way but the truth was it could not be easily walked around especially in relation to two of the mages lives lost, but for the damage to the world part there was still hope, eyes gazed down at Emrys as if he was a lost cause now but for Timothy a new possible chance seemed to have been given to him.


    "The damage to the world at the moment is simply just getting temporarily put to sleep of which is easily fixable".


    "But I want to make a deal".


    The Mages were silent for a few moments before they spoke up once again "our master has decided to entertain your proposal, in two hours the meeting shall be set".


    "Until then the boy and the girl shall be in our care


    Timothy sat down and clasped his hands together in thought, he could not allow himself to be relieved yet, in fact right now he could say he was even more nervous than he was before, the tower master was not an easy person to deal with but as they were friends once a very long time ago who parted ways on good terms then perhaps he might find it a little easier in breaking through to him and coming to a reasonable compromise.


    The mages began leading the kids away but were suddenly held down by an invisible force, the head mage present snapped his head towards Hestia upon feeling her magic and grit his teeth as some level of nervousness appeared on his face.


    "Your Highness, please do not overstep your boundaries, this is simply protocol that even you have to respect".


    Though his tone was straight and without cracking, the rate at which his heart was beating in his chest would have killed a normal person ten thousand times over, he really wished the Master was present because he was the only one capable of stopping this woman.


    "Leave him" she simply commanded and they complied immediately including the head mage.


    "Tell your master to come negotiate with me himself if he wants this to end In a civil manner".


    "Now get those cuffs off my nephew''s hands, oh and hers too".


    "Queen Hestia!!!".


    "Yes? Anything you''d like to say to me?" She asked calmly.


    He grit his teeth and balled his fist in anger, his mana threatening to spike up as he tried his very darndest to keep himself under control "no your Highness, not at all" he showed a polite smile.


    "You may release them both" he ordered.


    Just as they were about to go release the cuffs from their hands they suddenly cracked and dropped to ground shattering like glass and fading away leaving them dumbstruck, what had just occurred had no need for further explanations. The head mage balled his fists a little harder and whispered under his breath "monsters" as he and the other mages walked back inside the tower through portals along with the other twelve to finish what the deal entailed.


    Hestia looked at her daughters whom were showing bright smiles and had looks of relief on their faces then she looked down at Emrys urging him to come closer, Timothy also did the same for Hope and shot a glance at Hestia unable to understand why she had interfered in such a way for him but what he knew now was that his worries had absolutely multiplied by ten tines over as no one could ever really tell what that woman is thinking until it was too late.


    The Emperors sent orders to the great mages of their Empires to begin taking care of the spoils brought back by the army, they took the planets and shrunk then kept them in little red cubes of mana, the ships were teleported to their place of rest along with the army bar the generals of each ship and their right hands who disembarked and walked into portals created by the mages leading them to the current location of their leaders.


    Emrys released his wings and was just about to fly towards her when portals opened up around him, he turned to take a look at whom it was and instantly he felt a familiar resonance once more seeing her step out of the portal.


    "Mother".


    EnD.

 Chapter 6: A deal is made.

    Though the urge to go embrace his mother was nearly overwhelming his will he considered the situation at hand and stuck to his aunt''s instructions instead as he flew to her, his sisters rushed to hug him almost as soon as he was atop the tower. By how their bodies were still trembling a little bit it was obvious the situation of before of which he had found himself in was still affecting them, he smiled and then reminded them of the eyes staring at them but they seemed to care not for it. Feeling a little defeated he took things into his own hands and teleported both his sisters back to their seats, in the eyes of those watching all they had seen was little pillar of dark light appear instantly besides them before they could comprehend.


    Emrys showed an apologizing look to his surprised sisters and then took a respectful bow at the Emperor as he walked away to seat besides his aunt who gave a gentle rub to his head-


    ''Were you scared'' she asked through a mental link she had established moments ago with him.


    ''Not at all aunty''.


    She smiled and said nothing else, her gaze glued to her sister''s form, searching, scrutinizing for just the slightest sign of there being a problem with her somewhere and when she found none her heart felt sated, each pair of generals along with their firsts in command knelt before their respective emperors and gave their greetings.


    Each welcomed their subordinates greetings and asked some trivia questions about their conquest then ordered that they return to where the mages went with the worlds, Maeve cast her son a glance for a split second before walking back into the portal which had underwent a little shift. The four portals closed behind them and wasting no time Hestia got up and told her respectful goodbyes to the four rulers then beckoned her family to return with her, Leah and Rachel gave their goodbyes to the Emperor and walked towards their mother.


    "Already? Are you not taking the boy to complete the final procedures" Rhea questioned.


    "I will do it myself ".


    Rhea smiled "of course".


    She led her family down the tower and out the door to meet Irmir waiting readily, Hestia cast a spell prompting a great magic circle to appear beneath them which teleported everyone back home. Shortly after the tower pulsed with magic and cast a planet wide healing magic waking up the unconscious masses and healing what little damages both physical and mental that was left by Hope''s power on them, a door to the tower was opened and out were led the twelve fated ones alongside four cloaked figures prompting three of the Emperors to fly out to meet them on the ground.


    Each held an egg of different sizes in their hands and on the back of their hands was a single inscribed rune, Hope watched from the sidelines her thoughts at this time known only to herself. The Emperors along with their subordinates whom had escorted them here took each fated one belonging to them and left this space in a huge pillars of light which teleported them back to their continents leaving only Hope and Timothy behind.


    Timothy flew down to meet the cloaked beings "Is she not to undertake the same procedure as the others" he asked.


    The four gave no answer to his question and instead parted ways for him "our master is ready to meet you both".


    Timothy scrunched his brows for a moment and called towards Hope "come child".


    She complied and flew down to meet him as they walked through the tower''s doorway which led them to a fairly wide hallway with a single simple door at the end and no way behind them both, as someone who had been in the tower Timothy knew quite well that this was not what that doorway was supposed to lead them to usually and quickly summarised that this was the work of it''s master.


    He prepared himself mentally and looked down at Hope who was staring intently at the door before them-


    ''Are you alright child'' he asked through a link.


    She nod softly and he cracked a small smile then began walking with her towards the door, he opened the door to be met wtih what seemed to be the inside of a warm moderate cottage with a fireplace and a steaming hot cup of tea on side table. The door gently closed behind them after they had walked in and vanished which slightly alarmed them both, Timothy and Hope sat down on the three seater couch and waited in silence for the next three minutes before they heard the sound of a door opening up on the wall before them.


    A small black cat with four green eyes and two tails walked into the room and jumped on a couch to sit, he looked at the the two guests in the room and seeing the bewildered looks in their eyes he couldn''t help himself and just rolled over as he began laughing out loud which startled them both even further. The transformation was dispelled and what sat before them now was a most gorgeous man, he looked to be in his youthful twenties, his skin was fair and without blemish with an innate dim heavenly glow to it''s feel, he had two eyes which were green and ripe full of life, long straight raven black hair that reached all the way to his waist and ears half as pointy as an elfs.


    His laughter came to an abrupt halt when he saw the look in Hope''s eyes and felt the silliness leaving his body in an instant replaced by a feeling of shame "My first impression, it''s ruined" he covered his face with his hands. A few seconds later in a desperate attempt to salvage what little of his dignity he had left he manifested an air of dignified aura around him and put his charming looks to good use as he began his introductions.


    "Do forgive my childish display of earlier, my name is Japheth Lo, current master of the tower and currently the most powerful known mage in the universe".


    "A pleasure meeting you Hope, I''ve quite a few surprises to present you after I''m done talking with him".


    A doorway opened up right besides him and Hope already understood the hint she was being given and walked right up to it.


    "My mages have been instructed to grant you permission to anywhere you like in the tower, and if you can''t decide where you wish to go or want you want I already made preparations for that too my dear".


    "We''ll come see you when we''re done".


    She gave a small polite bow in thanks and walked into the portal which closed behind her soon after, Japheth turned towards Timothy and for the next few seconds silence ensued between them with either waiting for the other to make the first move, finally Japheth bit the bullet and decided to speak first so as to ease his dearest friend of his palpable tension.


    "How long has it been".


    "Nearly two centuries".


    "Heh, too long then".


    "Mhm".


    Japheth smiled and got up as did Timothy, the embraced each other and laughed heartily "oh how I have missed you Timothy".


    "As have I Japheth".


    They separated and returned to their seats as they began discussing and jesting about a number of different matters from their pasts to their full-time jobs, all the draining and entertaining aspects which caused for a lively atmosphere in the entire cottage.


    "Haha, oh it''s still so funny to see, dearest Tmothy the king of sloth when we were younger taking up this much responsibility and not actually doing a bad job at it".


    Timothy covered his face in slight embarrassment at being reminded of his former self "ugh, don''t remind me, else I fight hard everyday not to abscond and return to my old self"


    Japheth laughed "And I would not blame you if eventually you end up losing that battle".


    "But knowing you Timothy I already know that it is impossible to abandon your people, not even if your death was certain".


    "Amongst the four rulers you are definitely the most kind".


    Timothy smiled "is that a compliment".


    "Heh, in a way it is".


    "Hohh? I''ll take it then, getting complimented by the tower master is definitely not something one gets to receive easily I''d imagine".


    Both laughed a little more and soon after silence graced the cottage once more, nothing other than the flickering sparks from the fireplace could be heard, Timothy watched as a solemn look appeared on Japheth''s face and the smile faded away from his face replaced now by a bit of worry.


    "Why do you look so down all of a sudden, is it something I did?".


    Japheth was quick to refute him"no no, no Timothy, it is nothing you have done. It is rather the other way around".


    "Huh?".


    He looked up and stared straight into Timothy''s eyes "I''m sorry Tim, the day of your coronation, I wanted so terribly to be there on the day my closest friend and brother took up the mantle of Emperor".


    "And for years it has been eating at me, as I too was undergoing the training process of ascending into tower master I could not be allowed to do anything else so I left you there all alone on that day".


    "If only my responsibilities did not restrict me I would have gone back in time ages ago to that day".


    He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back as he heaved a sigh of exasperation "oh man, you probably resented me a little bit for that huh, I''m sure you thought I had abandoned you".


    Timothy looked on silently as Japheth sat there staring at the ceiling and then smiled "you know I hold no resentment towards you for something that minor, that''s never been me".


    "And do you want to know something, on that day more than anything else the greatest source of joy I had was the thought that in that moment you were right there achieving the dream you''ve always wanted".


    "So why would I ever resent you".


    "But oh you should have seen mother on that day, she was full of praises for you about how you were simply acing all your tests and your progress was the fastest out of all tower masters before you bar Merlin of course".


    "She was like¡ª


    "Enough"


    It was soft, almost like a whisper but the power contained in it was chilling to the core, Timothy was stiff with fear when look into the eyes of Japheth which all of a sudden seemed all too distant and indifferent but somehow lost, he closed his eyes and the suffocating feeling faded away.


    "It should have been you" he muttered in a very low tone.


    "From the very beginning it should have been you".


    Timothy just smiled "I do not regret the actions I took that day, I know quite well I wouldn''t have been anywhere near good as you".


    "No¡ª he looked at him -"you would simply have been so much better".


    ''I guess this is fate after all, one way or another neither you or I could run from it Tim'' he thought to himself.


    "Oh no, I much sure of it. I have just barely enough talent for politics let alone the type you have to contend with when considering the beings you interact with".


    Japheth held his chin in thought for a few moments "okay you might be correct on that front I''ll admit, you did suck terribly when it came to such matters".


    "I can''t even be offended though I wish I could, but couldn''t you just have left me with a small praise at least, I mean I don''t remember being THAT bad".


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "Really? Do you remember¡ª


    "No, no no thank you very much I do not remember, don''t you even dare bring that up".


    Japheth laughed and playfully put his arms up in surrender"alright alright, I won''t bring it up".


    Both laughed a bit more and then turned silent once more, Timothy sighed and called to him "Japheth".


    "Hm?".


    "Can you please help me, I do not want that child taken away from me and I''d do anything to keep her".


    Japheth smiled and leaned back into his couch "the girl''s case is a sensitive one but nothing I can''t wave off with a bit of effort unlike that boy".


    "Though do forgive me because I will not be doing so easily".


    Timothy''s heart sank a bit as an ominous feeling began growing in his heart "may I ask why".


    "Because I need you for something, hence why I shall be making a deal instead of just waving off her case".


    He turned his head towards Timothy and smiled "do forgive me again Tim, but I see no other way to have you agree to what it is I desire of you".


    Timothy closed his eyes, the ominous feeling in his heart growing stronger as did his worry but he held steadfast and pushed the feeling aside for now and hung onto that last string of hope that it was not in any way what he was dreading.


    "What is your proposal Japheth".


    "Become the new tower master".


    It struck like lightning in his mind and just as he was about to ask why Japheth raised his hand motioning for him to stop as he had further to say.


    "Let me finish Tim, become tower master in the next 20 years or so, in-between this time frame I shall prepare you in every possible way in order to ascend into this role".


    "In return Hope shall be given unto you and shall also be recognised as the tower master''s student so endless benefits shall be given unto her to aid her growth".


    "And no Tim, there is no room for negotiation as this is final".


    Timothy balled his fist as anger began rising inside of him "why, why are you doing this Japheth, after everything that happened, even hearing me say I hold no grudges towards you and yet you force this choice upon me".


    "Why!? Your guilt possibly could not be that great and I''ve¡ª


    "I''m dying Tim".


    It was like his mind just stopped working for a few moments trying to process the new information it had just collected, "what?" his voice was so soft and his tone so low.


    "I''m dying" Japheth looked him in the eyes and showed a defeated smile.


    "No one else in the tower knows about my condition, you''re the only person I''ve told now".


    Timothy covered his face with both hands, his mind was in complete and utter chaos as nothing right now was making sense to him "you¡ªyou''re the tower master, most powerful mage of the current age with the resources left by Merlin right at your fingertips yet here you are telling me that you''re dying?"


    "How is that¡ªhow is that even possible, as I understand nothing short of a demi-god should be able to oppose and defeat the tower master''s power in the mortal universe right?"


    "Correct".


    "But most of the demi-gods including Merlin have been absent for thousands of years haven''t they? The last time one appeared according to legend was when that monster was on this world right before his disappearance".


    Japheth nod his head in acknowledgment "worry not Tim, the demi-gods are not back yet and they aren''t the cause of my current situation".


    Timothy''s eyes were wide open in flabbergast "how is that supposed to be comforting at all, better yet how is it also possible the tower hasn''t healed you yet, it is the power of Merlin!".


    "Though that may be so it is only a tiny fraction that the wizard left before he disappeared, what I faced is beyond what this tiny fraction could overcome".


    "And besides if it were not the tower drastically slowing down the effects I would actually be in a far worse state than I am now, perhaps dead even so there''s that at least".


    Timothy held a hand to his head "this is simply too much, everything is just going so wrong for me today and i do not know why".


    "I''m sorry Tim".


    Japheth gave him some minutes all to himself to get his thoughts in order and fully allow everything settle in, when Timothy once again regained his composure or some semblance of it at least he felt relief.


    "What did you face Japheth".


    There was no reply for a few seconds, he just sat there with his closed and running the event through his head until he had enough and sighed.


    "I do not know, it seems I can''t even physically recreate or describe whom it was i faced though i know i faced him, it does not even feel like a memory i have though it exists, even if I could project it I get the feeling that no one would be able to see it but me".


    "I have such little information concerning that being, one of them being the fact he called himself a Nephilim and I found it''s point of birth by accident".


    "That thing was but a few seconds year old child, the only thing I know after this was that it was searching for something as per the orders it was given and asked if I knew what it was".


    "A Fallen fragment".


    "Perhaps I should thank the fact he was but a child and that is why I know even up to this extent".


    Timothy seemed a little confused so he asked "from the way you''ve been talking it does not seem like a hostile force so how did you come to get into conflict with it?".


    "Ah that? Well once it found me not be a useful source of information it tried to leave but I did not allow it".


    "As tower master one of my main duties is to filter through and assess whatever may be deemed a potential threat to our universe and if correct in the assessment then I have every right to either obliterate it or detain and reform if possible".


    "That thing was simply too close to our universe that I could not simply allow it free roam so I had to assess it''s full intentions fully and find out if it''s task could pose some problems".


    "And it seemed that for I as someone who was of no interest to it anymore he did not take too kindly to being held back from continuing it''s mission so it lashed out".


    "The power it struck with confirmed my suspicions even further that it could not be allowed free roam this close to our universe so as per my duties I had every right to either obliterate or contain the entity".


    "I pulled us to a sealed world to contain him but things did not go as planned, he proved himself everything as strong as I was even with the towers support in my attempts to contain it which as you''d imagine was shocking for me too".


    "And though I''ve never really liked excuses for failure the burden of keeping the universe unaffected while trying to also contain such a being like that kept me on the defensive and losing front always".


    "At some point I had to bite the bullet and disregard protecting the realms to focus on killing that thing assuring myself that I could fix whatever number of realms that may fall when all was said and done".


    "That too was a mistake on my part in the end, there was definitely something strange about the nature of it''s power and I realised it all too late".


    "Either way I lost".


    "Or to be more accurate, I would have lost if not for my last ditch effort I gambled on, it seems that due to it being a newborn and having never experienced pain it had no concept of it, so when I ended up causing hurt to it for the first time it ran and our battle came to an end".


    "My body was in a terrible state but it was nothing the tower couldn''t fix with some effort, the real problem was when it came to fixing the realms damaged by our battle".


    "The nature of it''s power was unlike any I had ever experienced through my countless travels, so potent with a feeling you could almost mistake for the divine but also corrupted".


    "Most types of reversal and cancellation spells that I know were barely affecting what it had done".


    "Using raw time especially on such a scale as I''d have had to was far too dangerous, taxing and beyond my capabilities even with the tower''s support so I went with something else".


    "Borrowing the nature of another strange beast I am contracted to I was able to devour all traces of it''s power left behind into my own and attain a portion of it''s nature temporarily which I in turn used in casting a better reversal to restore all that was lost".


    "The end, everybody lived happily ever after".


    Timothy frowned "not the mood for this Japheth, what part is supposed to explain why you''re dying now".


    "Fine fine, there are some nuances I left out concerning the steps taken to reverse what was done amongst some other things, the important thing was the power I made my own".


    "Though it did grant me access to it''s nature though temporarily, the power itself was permanent and it made me far greater than I was before but with a price".


    "It was poisoning me and at a very fast rate at first before the tower intervened, it''s not simply just poison but that''s the best way I can describe it''s effects for now".


    "Once it is done spreading to every last bit of me I will be gone from the world, it''s not death simple time magic could fix either as I can tell but one where perhaps I will need an actual demi-god or the goddess herself to save me both of which is very much not happening".


    "A maximum of 20 years at the maximum is what the tower can keep me alive for not counting any more unfortunate events that could potentially occur during this time".


    "And that''s it".


    Thomas was silent and lost in thought for some minutes before sighing "and this being you met, what guarantee do you have that it won''t come back for vengeance or something of the sorts".


    "None" he answered quickly without the slightest bit of hesitation.


    Thomas sighed again "is there really no other choice".


    This time Japheth wasn''t quick to reply as the weight of what he was doing was once again settling in with him but his resolve was already made a long time ago "there is none" he answered softly.


    He balled his fist and stared straight at Japheth "you know there is a possibility that this time I might actually come to hold a great resentment towards you for this".


    "I am aware, I have also accepted this fact" he showed a defeated smile.


    Thomas closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them, his gaze showing nothing but resolve.


    "I accept your offer".


    An inscription was manifested before them which bound Thomas''s words into an unbreakable contract and left it''s mark on the left side of his chest, with this Thomas had now been officially recognised as the next heir of the tower and news of it would soon break to it''s residents which would serve to give them perhaps the biggest and most unexpected shocks of their lives.


    EnD.

 Chapter 7: Too much luck.

    "So what is to happen after this".


    Japheth placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled "fall in love Tim".


    Timothy raised a brow "I¨Ci''m confused".


    "In the next five years what you are to do is fall in love, marry a wife and birth and heir".


    "The love part is not necessary but would be nice, you just have to make sure the woman you wed is someone whom you''re sure would be a good Empress and mother in your absence until your beir is old enough to sit upon the throne".


    "That is what you have to do Tim".


    "You''re nearly three hundred years of age and yet still celibate and unaware of what the love of a woman is, I can''t allow you to continue onwards like this".


    This time Timothy was really confused "aren''t you the same also".


    "Of course not, my travels aren''t all work Tim, pleasure is involved quite a bit".


    "I have many lovers Tim, many heirs too".


    "That...that is disgusting but how does your promiscuity mean that you know of love".


    "Simple, I am in all of children''s lives and in the lives of their mothers, I love them all dearly , will kill or die for them if i have to and so many other things I can''t simply get into".


    "I am able to do this without any issues as I make sure not to have more than one lover in each world or realm I visit".


    "Wow, you are pure scum".


    "I know".


    "So did you leave copies of yourself with them".


    "What? No, that is disgusting".


    "I split my soul into many pieces and left them with each one, the larger whole is what stands before you now which does remind me of another perfectly valid excuse to make up for my loss".


    "Just give it up already, no matter what would have happened were you whole or not it would not change the fight a minute old child is what nearly vanquished you".


    Japheth had no words to refute Tim''s statement so he just silently accepted his defeat, they both walked out of the room and found themselves coming into a room with scrolls filling up multiple shelves which was were Hope currently was.


    "Hope?" Tim called out.


    She seemed to not have heard his call as she was still so engrossed in the scroll she was reading, Japheth took one look at the scroll and immediately knew what it was so he couldn''t help but smile.


    "The little one, she''s got quite a good eye for things".


    "What do you mean".


    "Don''t worry about it, let''s just give her room for now".


    Thomas looked at her a bit longer, seeing as up to this point she still hadn''t sensed or heard them her mind really was much too deeply engrossed in that scroll so he followed Japheth and left the room. Hope looked up from her scroll seconds after they were gone thinking she had felt a small distance but seeing nothing of the sorts she went back to reading the scroll, meanwhile back in the outside world two of the four great continents were in the midst of preparing the festivities to celebrate this most joyous od days, the kings and queens from each kingdom alongside the dukes, duchesses and other smaller titled rulers belonging to important families were all prepared and on their way to the royal palace with gifts to attend the royal ball being hosted.


    The Earleyan continent was quiet in comparison to the others due to both the Emperor and the future ruler of the gods being absent but still kingdoms prepared though at a much slower pace, the Irretrean continent was in the weirdest state out of all four for very good reasons. A division had formed and no one really understood how they were to handle the two paths of progress ahead of them, Hestia had sent her invitations to all the important families and rulers as did the Emperor days ago before today and as expected at first most if not all had laughed and tossed it to the side.


    But now things were different, so much more different than they could have ever possibly imagined even in their wildest of dreams and this left them stuck in between two giants. For one thing the Emperors invitation is something of a royal order that cannot be ignored usually in most cases, on the other hand there was Hestia whom was someone that all the rulers knew very well that she and the Emperor were not on good terms, they did not forget the important fact about her own individual power too which could bring the continent to it''s knees if unleashed.


    Who really could have predicted that she was in possession of a boy capable of rivalling the future ruler of the gods, they understood very well now the confidence she had in sending such an invitation, however she must have did it or known it was unimportant now, just the fact that it was indeed true. On this day previously ordained to have become the most united moment in the history of the Irretrean empire it''s greatest division occurred, in the end after careful consideration a quarter of the invited guests chose to attend Hestia''s celebratory event while the rest attended the Emperor''s.


    Hestia might be someone capable of bringing the empire to it''s knees but something like that can''t happen just yet as she is known for her rationality, the Emperor on the hand was a much scarier case due to the fact he was crazy enough to brand them all with the charge of treason and annihilate most of them while replacing them all in the same week.


    They might be important in their roles but most of them weren''t at the level of importance where the Emperor would have to be forced to rethink retaliating so easily against them and instead bear with the result of their decision, only eighteen families genuinely held such a level of importance and there was also the fact no guarantee was given to them that Hestia would protect them from the Emperor if they chose to side with her, for all they knew she might just view them as disposable pawns that would be sacrificed in order to progress whatever move she''s planning on making in that detestable genius mind of hers.


    In the hall of memories stood a dignified Hestia once again looking upon the same particular statue as before with a feel of softness in her eyes, a few more seconds passed and slowly but surely her range of awareness concerning the outside shrunk more and more until it was firmly restricted to just the hall alone yet not a single change in expression was shown on her face, her eyes still kept the same look watching the statue before her.


    A vertical thin line was cut in the fabric of space which was then pushed apart like it was a curtain as a figure walked out of it and came and quietly stood beside Hestia watching the statue just as she was in silence.


    "He was a truly great man".


    "Mhm".


    "I still regret not being there to intervene on that day it happened".


    "The tower master''s duties are endless, I hold no resentment towards you for it no longer".


    "It is not your fault either your highness".


    Hestia smiled "I wonder if that will ever be true".


    Japheth could offer no further words after that and just sighed in his heart¨C


    "You mask it well".


    "Hm?" He turned to her slightly confused.


    "Your weariness, even rejuvenation magic can''t perfectly erase what it is that ails you nor hide it from my eyes".


    "Haha, your uncanny ability to see through everything so clearly still amazes me your highness".


    "Hm, do please be careful not to overexert yourself lest it eats at you faster".


    Japheth froze like a statue processing what she just said, he had to have heard that wrong and might just be jumping to conclusions so he had to confirm it.


    "What do you¨C


    "Your life force, it''s so weak and dwindling by the second, though I do not know what it is that''s devouring it but you seemingly cannot stop it if it''s left you in such a state".


    Japheth''s look of shock couldn''t not be contained "how...ahh, the innate gift of a phoenix".


    Hestia cracked a small smile at Japheth who simply shook his head in defeat "being laid bare so easily is never a good feeling".


    "By the way he''s not going anywhere".


    Japheth scoffed and just smiled "that is a very bold declaration your highness, his act has fully placed him under my authority".


    "Correct, he''s still not leaving".


    "Is that so".


    "Mhm".


    "And how are you going to prevent that I wonder, I know your words are never empty so i am curious".


    Hestia turned to face him with a serious look on her face as she asked "how would you like the prospects of becoming a demi-god".


    A loud thump resounded in his heart and his eyes widened with a mixture of shock and amazement which he managed to get under control to project a look of seriousness in his body language .


    "I''m listening"...


    Meanwhile at the top of the palace was Emrys with Irmir resting beside him and his sisters and they were all watching over the vast kingdom beneath them, everything looked lively and the sounds of jubilee could be heard from many miles beyond these lands. But surprisingly within the palace there wasn''t a great amount of bustling, preparations for the event had already been completed this morning and only tiny little details remained along with the arrivals of the guests and perhaps some more input from the Queen before it all began so for now it was really relatively quiet in there compared to the outside.


    "All that joy, it''s because of me huh, how unfamiliar".


    Rachel bent down and flicked his head playfully and smiled "Such ego, the three other future gods our empire gained exist you know".


    "True, but the citizens of Garuda care little about the Empire and the outside world".


    Rachel chuckled "mhm, it is most definitely for you"- she rubbed his head gently.


    "I know".


    "There really isn''t a single humble bone in you huh".


    "Ehn, it gets scared straight into me sometimes, someone definitely makes sure of that".


    Rachel grinned "that''s what good older sisters are for, you''re welcome".


    "Bully" Leah whispered.


    "Nope, good sister".


    "Uh-huh".


    Emrys smiled at his sisters little exchange and then heaved a small sigh "It would be a bit problematic if they begin looking at me as some sort of saviour now".


    "Why" Leah questioned.


    "Well, I''m not really part of the fated ones so in the end that being has nothing to do with me".


    Rachel hugged him from behind and rest her head atop his "maybe, but in the end you eventually will whether you like it or not".


    "All of us will and even if we''re not fated to defeat him, doesn''t mean we can''t help a little and ease the burden of the fated ones".


    "That''s good enough at least right?".


    Leah burst out laughing and almost immediately Rachel felt embarrassed as she ''tsked'' in annoyance.


    "You almost were able to convince me you were serious with that fake motivational speech of yours".


    "Raven, our dear eldest could care less if the world went to bits, her real reasons are much more simple".


    "She doesn''t want our home destroyed and of course us getting hurt, but she''s simply just a maniac who fantasizes about fighting his army".


    Rachael looked at Leah sternly but she just smirked while trying to control her laughter "I hate you".


    "And I love you too".


    Both laughed for a while and then settled, Emrys covered his hands in mana which behaved like a torrent of violent flames and took on a hue of violet with some flares of crimson imbued, he moved it around trying to give it shape though that proved a little difficult to accomplish. His sisters watched with interest already impressed with the small but visible progress he was making already, there already was no doubt he was a genius after todays events and he''s simply just proving it even more.


    "Learning to shape mana though in small quantities usually takes about a week on average".


    He looked up and Rachel and asked "how long did yours take".


    "Three days, Leah''s took half an hour as she''s more attuned to shaping compared to I and most others".


    A proud look appeared on her face "so it seems you have my record to beat Raven".


    He smiled and and nod a little in response as he went back to attempting mana shaping once more, mana more commonly had two states depending on the individual possessing it, temperamental and calm. Both were unchangeable no matter how much mastery one may have over mana and Emrys''s mana was at the absolute peak of the temperamental side which clashes with his coolheadedness and making it even more difficult to achieve the task of shaping compared to what it would have been like possessing a calm attribute.


    But yet even with all these disadvantages he would overcome and overcome he did, in less than two minutes Emrys had already began shaping mana, he started with making a small ball and then moved higher into making it take a humanoid shape, he moved further into making it take the shape of a wyvern and brought it back down to the shape of a cat then released it. His sisters could not bother hiding the look of amazement on their faces seeing their brother achieve such fluid mana shaping in such a short time, it was quite a joyous feeling watching his growth before their eyes.


    "Heh, children blessed by mana are really monsters huh".


    "We''re both children blessed by mana".


    "True, every last member of our family is one and Emrys sits at the top of the blessing hierarchy now it seems".


    "I know".


    She playfully flicked his head again and then was reminded of something "I almost forgot".


    "What attribute did you awaken".


    Leah grew interested as did Irmir who finally opened one eye from the rest she had been taking, Emrys began demonstrating as he explained.


    "Well, I awakened three it seems".


    "First attribute is a strange type of ice magic with two sides, the first looks like a crystal blue flame but it freezes instead and the second is something I refer to as black Ice and it is so much more terrible compared to it''s other half".


    His sisters looked at him with blank expressions on their faces with their jaws threatening to just drop "you really need knowledge on magic if you can''t recognise the type of ice magic you''ve been blessed with".


    "Twin ice, known only to have been possessed by the Ice dragon emperor in the past before he disappeared along with the entirety of the dragon race".


    "A record of about twenty beings have awakened the first half of his magic since the time of his disappearance thousands of years ago til this day and no records of anyone possessing the other half have been found yet here you are with both halves".


    Rachel laughed "so many people are going to choke and nearly die of jealousy when they discover this".


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Irmir nod her head in agreement as did Leah, being lucky to inherit or gain anything belonging to dragons is always bound to make one become the very centre of jealousy and envy from everyone around them and Emrys had hit a jackpot of jackpots in regards to this.


    "Hm, lucky me. The second attribute is Lightning magic but mine is naturally violet".


    Both his sisters sighed in small envy "highest tier lighting affinity, that''s why it manifests like that at the start and it''s only going to get stronger, lucky".


    "Oh? Lucky me once again".


    "And what is the third".


    He was hesitant for a little bit and considered if he should in fact keep this magic a secret even from them but he knew some way eventually he would be found out, either by his aunt or someone else so he decided on giving this path up.


    "Necromancy".


    Almost immediately it was like a particular chill blessed the air around them, necromancy was a sensitive type of magic to the world and everyone knew that, throughout the entirety of history those whom were able to awaken it have left multiple deep marks on the world but none like the king himself, the stigma surrounding this type of magic though rightfully earned was not something that would ever be able to go away, it is why the few young budding necromancers that have appeared throughout history have all been hunted down mercilessly to the extent that even oracle magic has been employed to stop them before they even occurred and the participants having earned awards you could not believe for doing so.


    ''Emrys''.


    ''Yeah, I know Irmir''.


    Suddenly both just shrugged "guess there is such a thing as too much luck being bad for you".


    "Maybe".


    He got hugged by both on each side as if to comfort him "If this gets out then you''ll most certainly become public enemy number one".


    "Positive".


    "Heh, all that praise you were getting a moment ago suddenly turning into chants for your head".


    "Mhm-hm".


    "How''s that ego feeling".


    "Absolutely great".


    "Of course it is".


    The sounds of laughter erupted once more from all of them-


    "Us against the world it is then".


    "Agreed" Emrys and Leah said simultaneously.


    Meanwhile some metres away hiding her presence from her family was Hestia whom was smiling brightly listening to the kids and feeling proud of what their final decision came down to in the end, she wished Maeve was here to see this too. Irmir felt a slight disturbance near her and turned to see Hestia who had now made herself visible, she rest her head down again seeing as it was nothing concerning while Emrys and his sisters had noticed the familiar presence and turned around to meet her.


    "Hello aunty"..


    She smiled warmly at him "are you okay".


    "I am" he replied.


    "Do you feel guilty for what happened on that stage".


    He shook his head and she smiled again "come on, let''s go eat and prepare for our guests".


    "Yes mother".


    "You two leave first, I want to spend a little more time with Emrys"- they nod and flew down the palace.


    Hestia turned to him and smiled "so I guess we know what you are now huh" she mused.


    "A future god, yes. Most definitely surprising outcome for me though I prepared myself to turn out special in the end".


    She let out a small laugh "Rachel was definitely right about your ego".


    "Yes, but I have a defence now".


    "Hoh? What".


    "It''s an influence by my god''s nature".


    "That....is actually plausible".


    He grinned a little and Hestia gave his head a gentle rub "Emrys".


    "Yes aunty".


    "Would you like for me to become your teacher".


    "I would love it".


    She smiled "I''m sure your mother took would ask you the same when she returns so do accept her also".


    "I will".


    "Good, I have another present for you though it''s a small one this time"- a blue magic circle was summoned in the air before him and she put her hand into it to pull out a book from her subspace, it was light in pages and looked quite well kept as no signs of erosion could be seen from it''s dark cover.


    He was handed the book and he took a look at what was written on it - {Unguis Vitae} -


    "It has everything you want to know about your claws".


    "Ahh, thank you aunty".


    She smiled "come, we''ve kept your sisters waiting long enough"- he complied and prepared to fly down with his aunt but just as they were about to leave his aunt told him to wait as something was coming. Seconds later a great ripple in space began occuring at the palace grounds below them and moments later it turned into a great portal.


    Hestia flew down at a steady pace and was right beside her maintaining the same pace, the first to step out through the portal was the general accompanied by her right hand and then the entirety of the ten thousand soldiers who went with her on this two year conquest. The moment they caught sight of Hestia descending before them they got on one knee and bowed with a hand across their chest.


    "LONG LIVE YOUR MAJESTY!"


    Hestia landed gracefully before them with a welcoming smile on her face "rise" her voice though low and soft was crystal clear to the ears of her subordinates.


    "Welcome, I plan so greatly to reward you all for the great success achieved on this conquest but that shall be put off for now".


    "Now is the time for you all to return to your friends and families whom have missed you so dearly these past two years of which I know for you felt far longer".


    "Go on, celebrate like you never have before as this day calls so dearly for it".


    "Go".


    "THANK YOU YOUR MAJESTY!".


    They burst out immediately like ten thousand meteors falling across the entire kingdom except controlled as they all suddenly changed paths and directions all so they could reach home, the only ones who remained before Hestia now was Maeve and her right hand Aaron.


    "Aaron".


    "Yes your majesty".


    "You''re off-duty today".


    Almost immediately she could see the light in his eyes dim as hesitation showed on his face, Hestia knew Aaron all too well and about the fact that amongst the few things he hated none could be compared to being taken off-duty, it was like a nightmare for him but as she had her reasons this time her decision would stand.


    Aaron too after taking a few moments to understand the look in Hestia''s eyes came to terms with the fact she would not be budging this time unlike the last and reluctantly took a bow "understood, your majesty".


    A teleportation spell was cast taking him away leaving just Maee, Hestia anf Emrys now, he gracefully came down and stood before her "hello, mother".


    Maeve crouched down and smiled as she hugged him dearly, he reciprocated the hug while smiling uncontrollably, the feeling of resonance in this moment was stronger than it had ever been before and had unconsciously released some bits of darkness which was wafting off him. Emrys sensed something pulling at him and looked up to see a beautiful winged little being about five centimetres in height and dressed in white with ethereal like wings gently flapping behind her, he looked confused at first but soon caught sight of a small dark thread around her ankle and connected to his mother''s wrist.


    "Mother, did you catch a fairy".


    Maeve looked to her side and Hestia seemed a bit confused meanwhile a curious Emrys decided to touch the thread which broke to pieces and at the same time he felt a new bond being established with the young fairy, a white marking appeared on the back of his right hand upon it''s moment of completion and he just blinked.


    ''Interesting''.


    His mother took his hand to observe the mark which was also visible to Hestia unlike the fairy, she snapped her fingers and a great magic circle appeared in the area around them teleporting everyone into the hall of memories.


    "Explain, now".


    Maeve sighed "A little fairy has been following my son from the moment I found him but at the time he could not see her, I took her with me when I left because she was quite young and unpredictable".


    "Now that he can finally see her too it seems she''s established a bond with him after he somehow broke the seal tying her to me".


    Hestia was surprised and confused but not for the reason one might think of "you can see fairies?" That was the greatest surprise from all this, the fact that there existed an aspect about her sister that she knew nothing about let alone one this monumental.


    "Mhm" replied and absentminded Maeve who was busy trying to make contact with the young fairy but failing as her hand kept phasing through as a result of the bond, she heaved a small sigh and looked at her son whom was looking at the young fairy with curios eyes.


    "Since when".


    Maeve showed a small mischievous smile "secret".


    "Now let''s go, I want to meet the little ones" she snapped her fingers and her armour faded away replaced by a wonderful black dress and took her son''s hands, Hestia ''tsked'' but followed alongside them surprising the many staff and guards who saw Maeve on their way to the dining hall. The ones most surprised however were Leah and Rachel both of whom shot out like rockets to meet her but stopped themselves midway upon remembering their aunt''s personality, then to their most pleasant of surprises Maeve herself walked up and hugged them both while showering them with love.


    The beautiful sounds of laughter graced the room and just a bit later all were seated at the table and eating while gleefully recounting events that had occurred in the past two years, Emrys whom was seated between his sisters listened and watched with amazement at the endless energy his sisters seemed to have, soon after he and his sisters finished their meals and sensed a small shift in the air, it seemed that right now was the moment for the grown-ups to have their own talks so he and his sisters excused themselves and left the hall.


    "Were you told the reason by the emperor for why you were sent back so fast".


    "No, but I had no complaints".


    "A shared sentiment, now that things have turned out this way it is much preferred not to have any of my people in the lion''s den".


    Maeve cast a scrutinising eye at her "what...did you do".


    She scoffed playfully "immediately pointing at me huh".


    "I know you well sister, the emperor may have an insatiable greed but he is no fool to try anything that would threaten his empire, especially when even now he still pays so dearly for his past mistakes".


    She sighed in defeat "well you are correct my dear little sister, I did do something*.


    "Reveal your son to the world".


    "He''s a child with the potential rivalling the future ruler of the gods".


    Maeve''s eyes widened in realisation of what she meant "he''s -


    "Yes, Emrys is a fated god, one hidden from us concerning what we know of the seated gods".


    "The original number was twelve yet thirteen pillars of light descended upon the world as prophesied".


    "Most likely a new seat of power was obtained in the heavenly realms by one worthy enough".


    But the existence of Emrys switches things up a bit now, it is now most possible now there was an original thirteen seats but his role was as a shadow to the ruler to the ruler of the gods, perhaps to keep one another in check and the fourteenth seat is the youngest one who is part of the original thirteen pillars that descended upon the world".


    Maeve nod in agreement "that might be it, perhaps his role as a hidden one is part of what causes that ghost-like nature of his".


    "Mhm, it''s gotten even stronger after his awakening too it seems as Aaron wasn''t able to notice him this time".


    "Aaah, why aren''t the little ones having problems then even if they''ve gotten used to the weaker effect".


    "Unclear, there might be a subconscious control he''s not aware of yet or Leah and Rachel might have underwent a subtle evolution granting them some forn of immunity".


    "Wouldn''t be surprising".


    "Mhm, did you know?"


    Hestia turned silent for a few seconds "I....had some theories due to certain events".


    "I see".


    A period of silence passed between them until finally Hestia decided to drop the news "He''s a necromancer".


    Maeve was visibly shook by what she had just heard but like clockwork she was back to normal only dawning a small warm smile "I see, one way or another problems would have arisen huh".


    "A necromancer and a god, he''ll be looked upon as the second coming of that being".


    Maeve''s facade of calm began showing cracks as her heart contracted in pain at the thought of fate awaiting her son "what if-


    "Do not think it Maeve, everything we know of that being suggests he was an outsider and possessed a nature far from divinity and magic as we know it".


    "This is just.....a cruelest of coincidences".


    She got up and walked over to Maeve''s seat then placed her head against hers "and do not worry for him however hypocritical or cold I might sound right now".


    "Emrys is strong, much stronger than you''d imagine and as long as he has us, as long as he you then that boy will forever be okay even if the world were to be against him".


    "This is the true feelings of his heart as I have read it".


    Maeve looked her sister in the eyes and they both smiled "becoming a mother really changes one a lot huh".


    "It does, how long has it been since I saw you in this state".


    "Since we were kids? Heh".


    "Mhm, makes me glad to see you regaining a bit of your original nature".


    "Hm, at what point did we switch roles I wonder, you were the original cold one and I was the merry one who looked up to you".


    "Hohh? Does that mean you stopped looking up to me at some point huh, that hurts a bit".


    "It''s not so different now, you''re just more of a goal I have to surpass rather than an idol I revered".


    "Hm, still never happening by the way".


    Maeve simply smiled and said nothing else, moments later Hestia received a mental signal that the guests had already begun appearing one after the other and in style.


    "Well, it seems they are here now ".


    "Who?".


    "My guests, I am hosting a celebratory event for Emrys after all".


    "Ah, I shall be making my own preparations then".


    "Mhm, I''ll give you some extra details when you''re done".


    Maeve walked out the dining hall and left for her hidden room known only to her, Emrys and her sister. Once she stepped into her place warm memories of her time with her son came flooding into her mind, she smiled and just carried on still somehow coming to terms with the fact that she had really become a mother.


    EnD.

 Chapter 8: The blood of an ancient.

    The event was well underway about an hour in and most of the guests had arrived, entertainments had been made available and the presents they brought with them were either in the care of servants or left with themselves. As almost everyone here were some of the most important and powerful figures of the Irretrean empire some political discussions ensued amongst themselves in the absence of the host and the protagonist of today, few kept mostly to themselves at the less crowded spots uninterested in the ongoing discussions by the others using such a great opportunity of proximity to form stronger bonds and allies.


    Some minutes later the entrance door reserved only for the host opened and the hall turned relatively quiet as they watched the Queen walk into the hall with her family side by side, her near divine presence already filling the air and entwined with the warm icy feeling emanating from the Empire''s greatest general.


    Then there was the protagonist of today in the midst of the queen''s daughters, Hestia had given him a special ring right before coming out and it amplified his presence just enough to override his ghost-like nature instead presenting him to have the feel of a normal person but the ring had taken a bit to do so hence the hour wait. But by further releasing just a tiny bit of mana it bolstered him towards a level where he had just about the right feel of an awakened though his presence was still the smallest compared everyone of his family members, the smallest in the room even.


    Hestia''s presence was announced as she and her family walked up the stairs to the large platform containing two great thrones and three lesser ones beside it to make themselves seated, all except for Maeve who had instead walked towards one of the tables to take a glass of wine.


    The guests in the room took short polite bows towards Hestia and greeted "your majesty".


    Though some of them were royalty and rulers of their own kingdoms but even amongst royalty there exists a hierarchy, the king who is but nothing without his nation shall bow to the king whom is an entire nation unto himself, the king of a thousand shall bow to the king of ten thousand and even he shall bow to the king of a hundred thousand as will he also to the ruler of millions.


    Hestia was the only ruler who sat comfortably at real top of this hierarchy unchallenged, the one greater than he whom is an entire nation himself and those like him.


    She ran her gaze across the entire hall and smiled "I welcome everyone present who accepted my invitation".


    "I shan''t forget you when the time comes".


    "A small gift has already been imparted to all present, it shall reveal itself in due time".


    A chill ran down their spines upon hearing Hestia, such bold wording signified that Hestia was no longer bothering to hide her ambitions anymore in the slightest and the realisation of what their fates and that of their families would have been had they chosen otherwise to be anywhere else other than here on this day terrified them to their core, they sensed no option for peace from her in the slightest.


    "And it is our pleasure you having us here your majesty" said the grand duke Halim who stepped forward amongst the crowd breaking the silent tension in the air.


    "If you would permit it I would like to present the little gift I have prepared for the young lord".


    She smiled "you may".


    "Thank you, your majesty".


    He bowed and looked at Emrys, a smile plastered across his face as he walked up the platform with a hand in his pocket as he pulled out a little gold coin and flicked it in the air, catching it as he came right to a stop before Emrys and knelt on one knee.


    "Happy birthday young lord".


    He reached his hand out in a gesture for Emrys to take it and he did, then in a quick motion he slashed both his and Emrys''s wrists slightly surprising him and everyone present. As their blood poured out onto the ground a crimson magic circle was summoned beneath them, Maeve and his sisters grew worried but Hestia sent a message through the mental link to ease them as she watched on.


    Halim made a short chant and instantly the pressure in the room rose by multiple folds, he let go of the young lord''s hand and stepped back as something began rising up from the circle beneath them, it was at this moment that everyone finally caught up on what was occuring but it just was so unbelievable.


    "There''s no way he''s-


    "The symbol of the Orthaeus family, he really is as crazy as they say".


    A dark rusted spear releasing a steady stream of silver mana now levitated in their midst, it also looked to have eighty percent of it''s body petrified and yet even in such a haggard state the seemingly bottomless sea of power held by this legendary artifact could be felt vividly well by everyone present.


    "Preparations are nearly complete young lord, all that remains is for you to hold it".


    Emrys got up and stared at the object before him a bit longer then gently held onto it with both hands, instantly all the mana it emitted retracted and the spear began terribly vibrating as cracks formed all over it''s petrified body, to his greatest surprise he felt multiple barbed spikes sink deeply into his hands protruding from the back of it, blood ran down the body of the spear marking it and then getting absorbed into it.


    The vibration stopped and a deep violet glow shone through the entire room, it pulsed and then condensed into a pillar which shot up into the skies while leaving the ceiling undamaged. It died down soon after revealing the true form of the object which he held in his hands, a crimson spear with a long slender body and a moderately lengthy angular blade with barbed ridges along it''s base inscribed with a sublime workmanship, then at it''s socket were two smaller pronged blades curved upwards.


    On specific parts of it''s handle were little sharp spines limiting the amount of free movement over it, to his pleasant surprise the spear shrunk down to something more suitable for his size and he looked up to meet the gazes of the room centered on him and the weapon which he bore.


    "That weapon in your hands is a legendary artifact referred to as the G¨¤e bolg, nicknamed the all devouring spear".


    "Though if one were to refer it by it''s most oldest of titles known lojg before it''s true name, that would be¨C ''The Ripper''.


    "Wielded by my great ancestor grand duke Halim the first and since the demise of that great man it had entered a state of slumber".


    "My father was the only man after who was able to partially pull it out from that haggard state and wield a fraction of it''s true capabilities".


    "I fear that at this rate if left with us perhaps a hundred more generations might pass before a person like my ancestor appears once again in my our bloodline".


    "And now it is fully yours, the imprint of the Orthaeus bloodline has been permanently erased".


    Emrys ran his hands gently across the weapon and at the moment he touched the blade he was cut, he smiled and looked up to meet Halim''s gaze.


    "I am thankful for the gift duke Halim" he thanked and gave a short courteous bow towards him.


    Halim smiled and was about to give a reply but in a split second that smile on his face had turned into a defeated one as his entire head was set ablaze burning to ashes in the span of a second right before everyone''s eyes, gasps of surprise were heard across the room as everyone gaze turned towards Maeve whose face was now seemingly laced with horror as she realized a possible consequence of her actions.


    ''Oh my baby boy, how could I show him such a gruesome sight on this day''.


    A laugh was heard in mind coming from her sister ''worry not sister, Emrys looks just fine''.


    She did so and saw her son simply turn around and walk back to his seat unfazed by the events that had just occured, the spear was called into his soul space for storage lest he mistakenly harmed himself.


    ''Besides, your actions are a bit understandable, in my eyes at least which is enough'' Hestia comforted.


    And then to no one''s surprise this time Halims head had begun regenerating and did so in a matter of seconds, he turned around with an apologetic look on his face and bowed respectfully towards her.


    "I apologize for the harm caused to your son so suddenly and unexpectedly general".


    Once he received no reply he smiled again and just walked down the platform, what occurred next was everyone stepping up one at a time to come present their gifts to Emrys. At some point servants had to come in and retrieve most of them to the main palace when it got too crowded for more, each having signatures imprinted onto them so as to know to whom they received it from.


    After nearly an hour and a half the last presentation of gifts was underway, Earl Vecoli De Luca walked onto the platform and stood before Emrys who was looking upon him with curious eyes. He was without doubt the oldest person in this entire hall boasting an age of four hundred and seventy two and seemingly near the end of his life force, by build the old basilisk looked like at any moment he should be falling to pieces yet a strange and vibrant vigor could be felt from him presenting to look even firmer than some of the younger ones in this room.


    The earl smiled at him "the young lord is already a person marked the world''s child huh, that makes things a bit easier".


    Though everyone else had not caught on to tje meaning of his words, Hestia and Maeve gazes had turned a bit dangerous hearing what Vecoli had said but the old Earl simply hummed to himself and put his hand into his pocket space to pull out a small vial containing a deep red viscous liquid inside it.


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    Almost immediately Irmir shouted at Emrys from the soul space which nearly sent his mind into a state of overload from the power that hit it, Hestia and Maeve sprung out to stand before the man leaving the guests deeply confused at this current situation occurring before them, both their gazes held an ocean of killing intent mixed in with a hint of fear.


    Vecoli smiled as he looked up to meet the gazes of the two immensely powerful figures towering before him with their killing intents blasting at full force upon him.


    "Deary me, it seems I''m in trouble huh".


    "Where did you get that, it would be in your interest to answer me hastily and in honest" Hestia coldly warned.


    Vecoli felt like he was dying a thousand deaths for every second he faced underneath their killing intents and it was nearly making him lose his mind yet he still persisted with a smile on his face.


    "Thousands of years ago, given unto my ancestor as thanks for the goodwill he had shown unto a wounded-


    "Enough, hand it over" she ordered.


    He laughed nervously "do forgive me your majesty, but this is a gift I intend to hand over directly to the young lord".


    ''That really is the blood of an actual ancient dragon?''.


    ''Yes Emrys''.


    ''How come I or no one else in this room bar mother and aunty can feel nothing special from it''.


    ''That vial it''s contained in is protected by an exorbitant amount of suppression seals but even then the unmistakable feeling coming from my bloodline cannot be mistaken and that is most possibly how it works for them also''.


    ''I see, but they showed no strong reactions when that girl awakened as did the boy from Eashrah''.


    ''Because their blood isn''t strong enough, they no doubt are dragons and the only ones in the world to have appeared after so many eons but an ancient is an entirely different and threatening matter to the present as a whole''.


    ''Hm, so what would happen if I give it to you''.


    Irmir was flabbergasted ''how are you thinking of me in this situation''.


    He shrugged ''I''m feeling no strong desire for it, but I''m sure it would grant some immense benefits to you correct?''.


    She gave no reply and he smiled ''I seemingly am''.


    Emrys pulled himself out of the soul space to be met with the scene of his aunt demanding the vial and the old earl standing his ground even under such a level of suppression.


    ''Hm''.


    He got up and walked towards them, they both turned around to meet and almost immediately the killing intent clouding their vision vanished replaced by a soft look.


    "Aunty, I wish to honor the earl and receive it directly from him as he wants".


    They exchanged looks with each other and then sighed as both gracefully stepped to the side allowing Emrys to come forward, in truth he cared little about honoring the old earl and had simply just followed this path as it would lead to a faster diffusion of the current and no longer cause his sisters to look more uncomfortable than they already were.


    A faint hint of brightness shone in Vecoli''s eyes as he looked upon Emrys with a smile "for thousands of years generations of my family have tried ways to harness the power in this blood yet always failed so miserably".


    "And now I can finally hand it over to someone with the potential to do what we could not and might never achieve, I couldn''t be happier it was you young lord".


    Emrys looked visibly confused at such a level of trust being shown to him by the old earl, they were perfect strangers to each other in every sense of the word so why was he talking in such a manner, in the end his curiosity got the better of him.


    "May I ask why you show such trust in me".


    Vecolis smile grew wider "you are one favoured by both the world and the heavens, there is none possessing greater honour than thee".


    "The untamed pride engraved within this little thing could only be satisfied by such conditions it seems after being disappointed by us for so long".


    He slightly shook the vial a little as he laughed with a defeated and partly solemn look on his face then held it out towards Emrys-


    "My gift to you young lord".


    Emrys received it in his hands and then gave a curt bow of thanks to the old earl as he turned around and walked back to his seat, his sisters looked at him with curious eyes but he withheld the truth from them for now promising to reveal at a later time.


    Vecoli left the platform leaving Maeve and Hestia facing their incredibly dumbfounded guests who were entirely out of the loop on what had occurred there so suddenly, eyes shifted towards Vecoli as they wondered what exactly he had shown to them but unfortunately answers to that question wasn''t something they would be getting perhaps anytime ever.


    ''Hm, do I wipe their minds and replace it with some false memories'' Maeve mused to Hestia telepathically.


    ''A tantalizing idea I''ll admit, unfortunately it''s not that desperate a situation yet''.


    ''Unfortunately?''


    ''Mhm, let''s go with a little....elevation instead''.


    Hestia called to by the attention of her guests "apologies for the small altercation you have witnessed, it was but a silly misunderstanding on our end".


    As if taken over by an unknown force they rushed to get their words out in assuring that they found no faults and were quite alright


    Hestia smiled warmly "okay then, let us move on".


    She clapped her hands and a second after the doors burst open as rows of waiters walked into the room carrying various new forms of delicacies and precious drinks en masse to place at the grand tables, the performers in the hall received the signal to take things a few notches higher and they complied.


    "Drink and be Merry everyone, you''ll come to be pleasantly surprised by what lay before you now".


    And so they ate and drank, their minds blown to extremes by the overwhelmingly delicious flavors, finally losing themselves entirely when they tasted of the bottle, the night was one of intoxication, music, dancing and meat.


    This gathering of the highest class individuals within the empire whom usually carried themselves with class nearly every day of their lives had devolved into a scenery they had only ever witnessed in large events hosted by the lower class, something they had all deemed unsightly at some point in their lives was what they had fully embraced on this blessed night.


    At some point in-between Emrys and his family had left the hall to the sounds of loud cheers for them as they walked out, about an hour later when it had gotten too late and they were all too tired to continue any longer the aides belonging to each guest were ordered to come assist their lords in returning home but not before each were given a little red cube by the house imp under Hestia''s orders though they knew not what it was for but that was for their masters to figure out later.


    Meanwhile back at the main palace Leah and Rachel were experiencing one of the biggest shocks of their live, Maeve had revealed her secret other space of which apparently Emrys also knew of but had not told them about it this whole time.


    "I thought you already knew about it".


    "WE DIDN''T!" Both exclaimed simultaneously".


    "How surprising".


    Maeve sighed deeply in her heart when she saw the little ones look at her with eyes of betrayal-


    ''You''re not going to help me?''


    ''Oh no, this is most definitely your fight alone, they haven''t realized I too kept it a secret from them so I''d rather let the big shadow you''ve cast over me persist in just this one area''.


    Maeve heaved a small sigh as she accepted her fate and hugged the little ones who turned their faces away from her.


    "I''m sorry I hid this place from you, it was originally meant to be place of meditation for myself but at some point I turned into my new living space and I just forgot".


    ''You are terrible at apologies'' Hestia poked fun at her.


    ''Hush''.


    "Do forgive me little ones, my heart breaks too, I''ll do anything-


    Almost immediately the turned to face her with bright little mischievous smiles on their faces and Maeve realized she had been tricked and not just her but Emrys and Hestia also thought the same.


    "Anything??"


    "Uh-


    "There shall be no take backs aunty"


    Once again accepting her fate she agreed to the little ones demands, a little while later when they were seated in the living room of Maeve''s home whom had already gone to check on her pets Emrys was reminded of his promise by his sisters and he brought out the vial as he explained to them what it was.


    "An ancient dragon''s blood!?".


    "Mhm".


    "So that''s why we felt so uncomfortable".


    "Really? I thought it was the altercation that made you uncomfortable".


    "No, were sure it was this, the feeling is back again now".


    "Ah".


    He put the vial back into his soul space and instantly they were alleviated of the feeling, he looked towards his aunt his asked;


    "When will it be feasible for me to try absorbing it".


    She smiled "with me here the process could begin right now, your body is most certainly not ready to handle the raw power but I could dilute it to a level where you could".


    "That sounds like a waste".


    "Oh it most certainly is which is why there''s a second method".


    "Sealing the entire thing into you as it is and making it so that perhaps every day an incredibly small amount of it would seep into your core".


    "It would now be entirely up to you if you can reign in that power and perfectly fuse it to become yours".


    "With the second method a lot more uncertainty is present and there is zero guarantee of anything at all, with the first everything is guaranteed and sure".


    Emrys''s mind was stuck in a dilemma, this was not for himself but for Irmir, she had just told him about something even worse than the second method which would be take in the entire thing directly, this was for herself and it brought him worry but he had to respect her choice, the only thing that brought him a little solace is when she said it would not be happening anytime soon as she herself needs to undergoe some preparations which could take years.


    "For myself I''ll go with the second method".


    Hestia raised a brow having caught onto his wording "for yourself?".


    "Mhm, I''ll be giving most of it to Irmir who wants to devour it whole".


    ''His wyvern'' all thought simultaneously.


    "Who''s Irmir" he mother suddenly asked as she returned.


    "That is the name of the Wyvern aunty gifted to me for my birthday".


    Just then a thought struck Maeve''s mind but she put it aside for now and looked at her sister "you bonded him to a wyvern?".


    "Now now, she was a gentle soul and I was there to interfere if something went wrong".


    Maeve was about to retort but another thought suddenly struck her mind and her face snapped towards Emrys "wait, you have the gift?"


    "Mhm, we converse clearly with one another".


    "Huh, is that so".


    Hestia whom was looking at Maeve''s face saw something that made her eyes light up with mischief "wait, is that¨C is that a hint of jealousy I''m seeing".


    She rolled her eyes tiredly "Shut up you".


    Emrys and his sisters looked a little confused while Hestia could not bear to contain her laugh any longer, her body was giddy with joy seeing Maeve look like that.


    Maeve sighed and crouched before her son "I realised I haven''t said this and that''s on me, happy birthday Emrys".


    His eyes slightly widened in surprise and then he smiled "thank you mother".


    She got up and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead as she brought out what seemed to be a gold coin and handed it to him "here''s your present".


    He examined the coin in his hands, it had nothing written and both sides and felt normal to his senses but he knew better than to believe it was so.


    "Thank you mother, may I ask what it is".


    She smiled"something I hope you never come to know, but you must me to have it on you at all times".


    Although a bit confused he chose to heed his mother''s words and make the promise to her, the evening passed by relatively fast for them after as they played some family games and Maeve had even decided to show her pets to the kids at some point leaving them in awe of the exotic beasts.


    "Finally, they''ve fallen asleep" Hestia heaved a sigh watching the children sleep peacefully together on the king sized bed.


    She went out of the room closing the door behind her and walked back to the living room but her sister wasn''t there, then she stepped out of the house proper to meet with Maeve drinking a glass of wine with a bottle and a second empty glass beside her.


    "Some late night drinking huh, that''s unlike you".


    She walked over and picked up the second glass to pour some for herself "is something on your mind I wonder".


    Maeve gently shook her head "not at all, believe it or not I have no thoughts right now".


    Hestia smiled "guess we seat here admiring the night then".


    "Mhm".


    They gave each other a cheers and drank in silence.


    EnD..

 Age of characters part -2-

    [Age]


    As at the moment of when I wrote chapter 9 the main characters are currently aged:


    Hestia- 156 years old.


    Maeve- 152 years old.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Rachel- 20 years old.


    Leah- 17 years old.


    Emrys- 12 years old.


    Hope- 12 years old.


    Noctis- 12 years old.


    Selene- 12 years old.


    Rozaria- 12 year old.


    Bahu- 12 years old.


    Zirsto- 12 years old.


    Mavion- 12 years old.


    Sarang- 12 years old.


    Shen- 12 years old.


    Zirsto- 12 years old.


    Modred- 12 years old.


    Avistro- 12 year old.


    Velkos- 12 years old.


    Ishmael- 12 years old.

 Chapter 9: Disappointing.

    [8 years later]


    Floating in space just right above a desolate red planet with a look of boredom in his eyes was Emrys, in these eight years he had grown to be so much taller now standing at a height of six foot and four inches, his face had become much more beautiful and defined losing the baby fat and some of the innocence that persisted through his earlier years.


    He had allowed his hair grow wildly over the years as it now reached a length below his waist and so full it presented almost like a mane of sorts, lazily looking towards his side at the mage probing the planet for compatibility and value he heaved a mental sigh, though this was still his first ever conquest he had come to realize that the most dreadful part was this particular process and it drained him to no end leaving him to sometimes wonder why they call it a conquest when it was more like a research project half for the most part


    ''Well, for the valuable worlds occupied by compatible life forms it does look like they''re conquered from their point of view I''d imagine''.


    Though this particular conquest might not be comparable in scale to the one ten years ago in either mobilized forces or the ship sizes but he was sure it remained every bit as restrictive in this particular aspect.


    The young fairy sensing his weariness began patting his head once again with her tiny hands to comfort him and it worked as he just smiled at her and thinking of how amusing the sight looked though she had grown a lot and was almost half the size of his arm, their bond had also deepened a lot over the years becoming quite an unbreakable one and she even had turned into his teacher of sorts when it came to fine tuning his control of mana, having also asked for a name three years ago he had chosen to bestow upon her the name Aine.


    "It is done your highness, the planet marks a low a score in all criterias, you may proceed with your test" the mage suddenly announced using minor sound magic to bypass the natural restrictions of space.


    It was a beginner skill even the most untalented could learn in a few days but a must have for any whom were to be partaking in conquest alongside transmission and as all whom are under the influence of mana naturally breathe and are protected by it the harshness of space also meant nothing to their bodies, this of course rules out the ones already born as spiritual bodies whom were a category unto themselves such as he.


    Emrys had found this out the hard way when he accidentally destroyed what a particular race referred to as a space station only to watch them die a most gruesome death when fully exposed to the environment of space which also led him to a whole other problem.


    Raising his hand a small purple ball of pure mana condensed before his index, it stayed there for a few seconds with his gaze glued to it and then he released it.


    <Mana bullet>


    Beginner tier magic categorized not as a spell but a skill and something usually accompanied with the word ''weak'' when thought of by most, but now right before his eyes he watched as this very same ''weak'' attack destroyed the planet before him.


    There was no grand explosion to be heard, only what sounded like a low but deep below as the red desolate planet turned a bright shade of purple before it was gone.


    And this was the second problem, outside his realm everything was so.......unrestricted, so fragile. The mana put into that attack was so suppressed and negligible at the very best, normally would provide nowhere near the same level of effects back home, maybe it might crack a random small rock but that was about it yet here it was so exaggerated beyond belief.


    He had been breiefed about this particular situation before he left and had some adequate training but seeing it up close even after all his efforts was really a bizarre feeling, in here he felt that if he just squeezed enough with a little bit of strength he felt he could tear open a hole in space, a clap would be devastating to perhaps multiple galaxies in this realm and a little burst of mana would erase the realm in it''s entirety.


    The false feeling of goodhood realms like these gives to one would be enough to tempt so many many below average knights and mages back home with weak wills and no future, Emrys closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them as he turned towards the mage.


    "Quickly bring me some of the worlds with no value, about five hundred of them".


    The mage looked a little nervous upon hearing his request "but your highness, the main force will begin moving again soon" he tried to reason.


    "Then I''ll just have to achieve a least half of my objective before they do so, go" he ordered.


    The mage reluctantly accepted his orders and went away, a short while later a faint and weak pulse of mana spread all over as the planets began appearing rapidly before him, about a minute later it was all there as he had requested.


    The mage seamlessly walked out through space itself and bowed before his master "i have done as requested your highness".


    "I request you form a barrier around us, this won''t take long".


    The mage felt a small rage building up inside his heart as Emrys making such a declaration, he wasn''t questioning his gift as a genius but this was just very much what overconfidence was and yet even though he held this position in his heart he still was under obligation to comply with the request.


    Soon enough a barrier was formed to separate them as Emrys got down to his objective but before going so he mentally advised the young fairy not to interfere this time, the mage watched from the side as his master began earlier than anyone the real objective for why he along with most of the other fated ones were allowed to tag along on this conquest, the opportunity to train in the hopes of attaining level of refined control and reading sensitivity beyond what most could ever dream possible.


    He as with every other veteran of conquest had been successful in attaining this state, of course theirs took decades and the best of them nearly one. The record held for achieving this state the fastest was the great anomaly general Maeve who only took eight months to achieve it, but this was what made him acknowledge the fact that he too as with every veteran bar the general who came the closest were not blessed with a mana anywhere near as potent as what his master and the other fated ones had to handle thereby making their process much easier in a sense, this along with the heaven sized gap in potential guaranteed that the levels of growth received when they eventually achieved the same state would dwarf theirs by miles on end.


    But that was where the whole point lied, in the eventuality of them achieving this state hence why a period of three months was given to the fated ones before they were to be sent back immediately just in time for the upcoming event which triggered this madness in the first place. This was why his master''s rush and confidence ticked him off greatly, he was an incomparable genius and a fated one but he was no god yet, if that had been the case his faith would have been absolute upon hearing such a declaration.


    The mage calmed himself down after such a long rant in his heart, it would bring nothing but more unnecessary anger to his heart so he just had to let go and keep watching as ordered.


    Meanwhile Emrys was completely lost in his own world of focus as he kept trying to find a way to dilute mana itself, suppression alone was great but it had it''s limits as it was more akin to cloaking though still not quite as quality does in fact get reduced up to a certain point.


    And he could not keep reducing the quantity of mana used in his attacks as that too would reach a limit even with the presenceof quality being there to offset costs greatly without sacrificing power unwillingly as a side effect, at a certain point it would just be too little and fragile to maintain a presence in the world thereby fading away in an instant.


    Feeling no real progress with his thoughts he decided to switch tactics and go for something more practical, he began experimenting with the limits he could take mana suppression to, first he created hundreds of mana bullets around him and closely monitored the mana being supplied to keep the skill going.


    The less mana he supplied the more dependant he had to become on the quality but he was taking great care with the use of suppression to reduce that too, but he wasn''t manipulating them at equal ratios for each bullet. For each one he was taking great care to apply a different ratio of suppression and mana quantity and as one would suspect it was taking quite a bit from him mentally, some of the bullets dispersed when his focus shifted a little too long away from them but that was okay as he had summoned hundreds for this very reason.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    But if this was what he had only been doing and facing this much of a mental drain then he might have to actually be embarrassed with himself, the real test he was pushing himself so hard for was trying to feel and grasp the very fabric of this realm but his own very presence had cast too big a shadow thereby making things so much more difficult for him.


    It was not only just his presence but that of everyone present and the other fated ones, though his presence and that of his peers could not be compared to that of the veterans it still greatly overshadowed that of this realm''s which should have already collapsed long ago if not for the mages keeping it relatively in one piece. But for the presence belonging to the mages and the other veterans he noticed how balanced qnd harmonized it was with what he assumed to be the realms very own but the problem still remained grasping it.


    ''Perhaps I might have to stop searching around me and instead have a look at myself and what is below''.


    In the meantime with his second task Emrys had reached a point or balance for all his summoned bullets and decided to release them after taking note of each measured ratio he applied to each and everyone before reaching a limit of where his mana was no longer sustainable enough to be maintained in the world, three hundred and forty eight times was the maximum limit he reached and the remain excess were dissipated.


    He watched with great care as each made contact with their targets and recorded the aftermath of their effects, many were destroyed though at different paces compared to some. But eight in particular caught his eyes, six worlds were had roughly half or just a little more of it''s whole destroyed but the other two in particular had only roughly a quarter of it''s whole missing.


    He felt a great sense of elation in his heart as this could be called some great progress in comparison to his first try, but it soon died down very quickly as he was now back to square one which was dilution.


    And back to his progress on feeling the fabric of this realm he had found it which would have been great news if there wasn''t such a big problem, he could not grab a hold of it. Without the interference of the mages every attempt he made at trying to connect with it simply tore it, the mage beside him having noticed more frequent tears all of sudden pin pointed the reason back to his master and by the goddess his shock could not be contained, it wasn''t just him alone either as the others of course felt what was going on.


    Emrys had come to a conclusion, right now there were two paths available for him to take and the first was suppressing his presence. But he felt internally that this would be the wrong way to go about it when taking into account how the mages achieved theirs without seemingly any need for sacrifice.


    Balancing a ten ton bar of metal atop a cracker without breaking it, that was the best way he could describe the feat they had achieved. He brought his thoughts back to the very basics of magic at it''s core, learning the rules of the world, acknowledging said rules and then defying them anyways, this was the privilege magic provided to those granted access to it.


    Returning back to his other project a very insane idea had popped up in his head, has one ever thought to destroy their mana using their very own mana. There''s situations for mages whereby one accidentally clashes the mana being circulated for one task into another, this usually occurs at the early stages of learning multi-casting and it is always a very dangerous thing when it occurs as there is a risk of permanent damage to the body, heart or brain which almost always signifies the end of one''s path as a mage if not strong enough or resourceful enough to reverse said damage as the heart or brain are the core of most humanoid races bar the beastly and spiritual ones.


    But now he was talking about doing such a dangerous thing willingly, the pain that usually occurs from this sort of accident is one of the worst things possible to experience and it has broken some before yet right now something was tugging him deep in his conscious that he was on the right path, he was mad no question but he was still correct.


    "Your highness" the mage suddenly called out to him.


    Emrys already understood the situation and simply turned around as they were teleported back to their personal space in the ship, it was no secret that his aunt wasn''t on good terms with the Emperor and their already terrible relationship had soured even more over the years so interaction with any of Peltas''s subjects wasn''t something he had any interest in doing, the only reason why none were trying to antagonize him right now was due to both the fear and respect they had for his mother and aunt.


    ''If only you were here Irmir''.


    He sighed and sunk into his soul space to see Irmir still asleep protected by a red near transparent cocoon, four years ago Irmir had completed her preparations and devoured the ancient dragon''s blood which pulled her into the state of an evolution process that had been going on for four years straight.


    Within this timeframe sometimes he would worry deeply whenever he sensed her condition being unstable while stuck in there but she always managed to pull through in the end and now it had been one year being fully stable yet she still showed no signs of waking up.


    The young fairy flew into the joint soul space when she sensed his consciousness was somewhere else, due to their bond the extreme time dilation effect of the soul space had no effect on her which was also the reason she could invade freely although Emrys still doubted if that would have been a limitation either way having seen the places she has been able to move in and out freely of.


    She flew over the sleeping Irmir with a sad expression on her face, Irmir was almost always her willing partner to play with whenever Emrys denied her his attention most of the time and of course they had grown a strong bond in that time.


    Emrys gave the young fairy a gentle head pat as he pulled them both out of the soul space, the entirety of the ship was once again covered in familiar magic circuits after recovering enough mana as they began their journey through an enormous portal opened before the ship.


    The crossing was a pretty short one for the most part as he found himself in a new realm which he felt almost immediately but this time unlike the first there was a hint of surprise on his face;


    ''Mana? No, there''s something else more present than the influence of mana in this realm''.


    Magic was everywhere, but just like the realm where he had just left it''s direct influence was little to none as seemingly only a few realms seems to have been blessed with an actual relationship with it like his home realm for example and if he were to still compare it''s influence to some of the few realms found to have an active relationship with mana it still would beat the competition by quite a large margin.


    ''How interesting'' he mused to himself.


    A knock was heard at his door and he allowed permission for the guest to step in, the mage came in and took a polite bow.


    "Your highness, the captain is asking for an audience with all the fated ones aboard".


    Emrys raised a brow at that, why would Aaron possibly want with him, he was heavily inclined to decline the summoning however disrespectful that might be to the one in command but in the end something else got to him, his peers whom he hadn''t had a look at since eight years ago.


    "Ashem" he called out.


    A little spatial distortion occurred in the room as a great big lion with snow white fur stepped out and majestically walked towards him, the mage looked every bit of uncomfortable with that monster in the room and it subconsciously triggered his own familiar to react and show itself protectively wrapping around him and hissing warily as a warning though terrified out of it''s wits.


    "Y-your highness, please forgive my baldness but why do you bring that m¡ª your familiar out".


    "Because I''m sure they would be doing the same thing".


    "Huh?"


    Emrys pet his lion on the head and walked out leaving the confused mage to himself although he soon stepped out soon enough and followed right behind his master at a safe distance, one might ask why he was so wary of his master''s familiar although he completely dwarfed his master in power at current and that would be due to the special nature of how familiars worked.


    During the process one''s soul is tossed into the realm of summons and the creature one is contracted with is entirely dependent on how attractive or worthy said creature finds your soul and it''s affinity, personal choice is entirely nonexistent in this process, now this was where things got a bit tricky, there were six categories to familiars in the realm of summons based on their strength.


    ¨CEarth tier.


    ¨CGold tier.


    ¨CSpirit tier.


    ¨CGeneral tier.


    ¨CHeaven tier.


    ¨CSupreme tier.


    Now there were other minor ranking differences in-between but this was the definitive way it looked in general, to most of the world''s knowledge these were the rankings of familiar spirits but in truth there was one final rank left out due to the fact it was thought absolutely impossible by even the those currently standing at the peak of power to be impossible to impress;


    The -Lords-.


    Even the demigod Merlin was recorded to have only been able to attract a Heaven tier familiar in his younger days so none gave much hope to the Supreme tiers let alone the final hidden rank and this is what his master had been able to attract to form an eternal contract with.


    One of the conditions this contract brought was that if the master''s soul and power as at the time of making the contract was much weaker than what the familiar possessed then it would be sealed down to a bearable level only perhaps a stage or two higher than the master''s current strength based on what the soil could handle but with room for flexibility in dire situations if needed.


    If it were in reverse and the master''s soul and strength were higher than the contracted familiar, it''s strength would be significantly heightened to either equal or surpass that of the master''s but things almost never occurred in this direction.


    And this was why the mage was terrified of his master''s familiar, it was the monster of all monsters.


    Emrys felt the young fairy gently tugging at his shirt trying to tell him something and simply smiled ''I know'' he assured her.


    Soon enough just ahead and coming from the second pathway connecting to his and leading to the Captain''s station were his peers who all seemed to be the same height as he save for Sarang who was a towering six foot eight inches tall monster.


    Upon locking eyes with each other he could see the surprise in their eyes but their pace never slowed as they continued onwards, a crimson furred cat with two tails was flying above Shen, beside Sarang was a majestic grey stag with glowing blue markings almost as tall as he was and walking beside Noctis was a great white wolf with golden irises.


    The mage behind felt like he was about to die upon seeing those familiars and right now his familiar wasn''t daring to bare it''s fangs at all in the presence of three Supreme creatures and a Lord which somehow seemed to be the tamest one in terms of feel here.


    ''They''re stronger'' Emrys thought to himself showing a small look of disapproval on his face.


    ''How disappointing''.


    EnD.

 Some useless info with one single non-useless info

    -As you would have noticed the world Emrys resides in is big, insanely so and this is me clarifying the exact size for you on some parts to give you an estimate on how large it is.


    -Each of the four major continents as a baseline are as big as the Sun''s surface area if not more considering the four aren''t the exact same size.


    -The major continents originally could be counted as 3% each of the world''s total mass but due to still ongoing expansion of the planets size they are now approximately worth only 1.5% each of the world''s total mass.


    -The planet won''t get larger forever by the way as the great mages have already noted the expansion has slowed significantly in comparison to the past though this information is not public.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    -If you were wondering also how the mage is able to distinguish the differences in level for the familiars that the fated ones bear despite having never met or seen one then that knowledge comes entirely from his familiar itself, they all come from the same realm after all.


    Though in comparison to when it first met Emrys''s familiar sometime ago he mistook him for a supreme beast as only the Heavenly and Supreme tier creatures have ever come into direct contact with a Lord to know what they feel like instinctively.


    -Supreme tier creatures are also surprisingly easy for most lower tier creatures to access within the realm of summons but difficult to be found by those wanting a familiar.


    -Heaven tiers are harder for lower tier creatures to access in comparison but are the most curious of all when it comes to those wanting a familiar so the vulnerable soul gets passed around and examined a lot before left alone to be contracted by the creatures actually interested in forming a contract with said soul.


    In the case of Emrys it was different this time as none dared touch the soul a Lord had descended for.


    -Final note-: Hestia as she is right now is powerful enough to destroy the entire planet without need for a full release manifestation of her true form and still have some significant power leftover.


    That is why she''s the most feared person on the planet as of current not counting the tower master.

 Chapter 10: Muses.

    Upon reaching the Captain''s quarters the giant wide door before them slid open to reveal Aaron standing in silence with two hands behind his back watching the view of the cosmos before him and the incoming visitors of all types whom were alerted to the ship''s presence.


    Each of them walked inside and stood respectfully side by side with their familiars in silence while they wait for the Captain to turn his attention towards them, that was until Emrys casually spoke out.


    "You called for us Captain?"


    Aaron turned around halfway to meet them and his gaze was specifically stuck on the lion standing beside Emrys for a few seconds, he turned back to the view of space before him and motioned a hand for them to take a seat.


    The children complied and sat down on four seats to the left of them, silence passed in the room for a few more seconds until Aaron finally turned around fully to face them seemingly now ready to explain for what reason they had been called here.


    "Why do all of you have your familiars summoned" he suddenly asked.


    Seeing that none of them were obliging to answer his question he gently nod his head "hm, release them".


    The children complied with the captains request and pulled their familiars back in, none noticed it but Aaron showed a sign of relief after.


    "Well you have not been called for something serious, just a little heads up".


    "This realm is where you and the rest of your peers shall be staying for the there months of time you have left".


    They all seemed a bit surprised but quickly accepting of the announcement.


    "One mage shall be in charge of you three and this realm to make sure no irreparable accidents occur, it will be the same for the rest of your peers following the conclusions reached with my fellow Captains".


    "As preparations have already been made in advance in regards to time you will not be given the fortune of cheating any further than you already are privileged to do compared to the unlucky most so do not think of slacking off".


    "Do you understand?".


    They nod softly in unison and Aaron heaved a small sigh as he got up and returned to watching the vastness before him, his ship and that of the other two captains were already surrounded by the home inhabitants of the realm.


    A little smirk tugged at his lips as he turned to the kids "the ''world'' with the strongest base will be imprinted into your minds, be careful with it as that will be the final verification procedure to know if you succeeded in the end".


    "I bid youfarewelll".


    The kids were given no chance to do anything before they suddenly found themselves teleported outside the ship along with their familiars. It was then that they realized the ship had been surrounded and even more trouble arrived when the ship was once again covered by those familiar mana circuits before performing a jump.


    "Ah" they all realised.


    Looking at the beings surrounding them it was obvious they were on edge, it seems whatever power it was they possessed also allowed them to work around the limitations of space a bit as they could hear their yelling loud and clear but could not understand anything at all, the different tongues they all seemed to be speaking did not help either.


    They all thought of a way to circumvent this but these beings were clearly far too on edge that it might lead to an instant retaliation, but then again the longer they remained silent and unmoving the closer they got to that point so it was decided.


    It all just happened in a flash before their eyes, one second they all were fine and yelling for the invaders to state their purpose and the next a bunch of them all suddenly slumped over with dead eyes bleeding out and their mouths left hanging open.


    It was instant pandemonium, an array of attack came flying towards them and flew a safe distance away to dodge it on instinct except for Sarang who simply stood still and let everything they threw at him connect fair and square leaving his attackers with their eyes wife open when they saw it having no effect on him.


    The space was largely distorted and unstable around him due to the level of power behind the attacks and both Emrys and Shen looked on with a flame of curiosity ablaze in their gazes, the attacks posed no threat to them but neither of them would prefer getting hit by something if they could prevent it as per the natural instinct of a mage.


    Out of nowhere Sarang started laughing, his laugh deep and booming as a roar was like a shockwave and it destroyed everything and everyone all around him leaving only a few barely surving a laugh which had no destructive power infused into it.


    "Noisy" whispered Noctis.


    "That fool" Emrys and Shen spoke simultaneously with annoyance clearly present in their tones at how little control Sarang was displaying already, they could tell the mages were interfering behind the scene else so much more terrible damage would have been caused by the careless beastman.


    Upon opening his eyes after calming himself down Sarang looked surprised at the sight of carnage before him, he had only just found their attacks amusing therefore he laughed but this was not his intention at all.


    The survivors of his devastating laugh now completely out of their minds attacked once again this time with a ferocity so much greater than the last time. It was as if the space had been locked down by something as they found themselves unable to move, followed by a small tiny feeling tugging at their body like it wanted to pull it apart right from their very cells which was also accompanied by a deep violet condensed sphere of power surrounding the entire space slowly eating at everything both space and matter as it all faded away.


    But to their surprise once again the sphere shattered to pieces the moment Emrys snapped his fingers releasing a small mana pulse that was the weakest he could currently manage, the more he experienced their abilities the more intrigued he became.


    With the interference from the mages once again the space was restored although the inhabitants did not know that and assumed it to be a working of theirs.


    But the moments of being unbothered by everything thrown at them came to a quick halt the moment all got sent flying out of nowhere which confused them, it didn''t hurt but it was very much unexpected and it happened again and again.


    The fact neither could sense when and how the person hitting them moved made them think of teleportation first but even with that it would still be too slow for their senses not to catch anything which only brought them to one final conclusion, time.


    ''Annoying'' all thought simultaneously.


    It continued happening for a bit and it seemed the one with the ability over time could also allow their attackers move in it as multiple abilities kept hitting them out of nowhere all of a sudden.


    But something suddenly happened that surprised even the kids, time had been frozen once again but this time their consciousness and eyes was unaffected and they could see clearly the one who had this power as well as the barrage of attacks being thrown at them before suddenly releasing them.


    Their bodies were adapting to time slowly but surely, it might be attributed to the fact the stream of time that flows here is incomparably weaker compared to their home realm which made it so much easier but it gave the kids a new idea, formerly they had been planning of forcefully taking advantage of this realm''s weaker time to break out of this predicament but a much more of a tame solution had presented itself before them.


    But it seemed they weren''t all thinking the same thing, they sensed danger the moment Sarang''s mana began boiling beneath the surface signaling that he was about to do something stupid as just a sliver of that leaking outwards would be devastating beyond belief.


    ''STOP!!'' Noctis and Shen yelled into his mind.


    ''No! Don''t even start with me, I''m blowing these annoying bugs to bits'' he retorted in anger.


    ''And have you destroying our chance to learn along with them? Like hell'' -Shen.


    ''If you release even a sliver of that mana I swear to you that you will die by my hands and I will not care what punishment I am served afterwards by the Emperor'' -Noctis.


    ''Just hold on a little longer, soon enough our bodies will completely adapt to that power and it will be over then''.


    ''Make sure to control yourself still and do not kill them all, they were not wrong to attack us as we are the invaders still''.


    It seemed their words had managed to get through to him, Sarang quelled his boiling mana and opted to wait a little longer for the adaptation process to be completed.


    Lo and behold as their wait was not to be a long one, the moment it happened they just knew and it seemed their senses had been opened to a whole new world they had never experienced before. Almost immediately the retaliation began, Sarang caught the hands of the one with the power over time scaring him out of his wits and causing the rest to be frozen in shock as neither comprehend how they were moving in frozen time without his authority.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Sarang bared his fangs showing a dangerous and terrifying bone chilling smile and every bit of his being was screaming at him to run! Run with everything he''s got and more but it was too late, the beastman put his fist through the poor being''s chest and twisted his hand around the gaping hole then pulling his hand out to punch right through his abdomen this time repeating the same process of twisting it around.


    Sarang''s eyes never left that of his prey, he watched intently with a sadistic grin on his face seeing the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and despair, pain and disbelief.


    Those eyes watched as the beastman opened his mouth and chomped down on his head taking it off in one bit and throwing his body away the side like trash, a wonderful feeling washed through his body and it was electric!


    Sarang closed his eyes, savoring feeling a bit longer as he slowly crushed the head in his jaws and gulped it down. Finally coming to their senses having witnessed the carnivorous sight that had just played out before them they came to one conclusion, they could not win and they could not run, this was their hell and nothing was going to save them from it.


    What carried on after this was just a methodical execution of lobotomized pigs, most got destroyed and the rest were taken by Emrys and Shen, Noctis remained the bystander for most of all this and Sarang simply turned his attention to somewhere else where the rest of his peers could be felt many light years away.


    "I wonder how things are going over there" he asked absentmindedly.


    He decided to fly himself towards them to receive the answers, the flight was a very short one and it was surprising sight that greet him.


    Mordred was focused on trying to contain the red dragon Ishmael sedated in the illusion he had cast upon him without causing any irreparable damage to the realm and it seemed to be no easy feat meanwhile Rozaria, Avistro and Velkos all quietly watched from the sidelines.


    From the heavy disturbance he was feeling from the area and the carnage laid bare before him he could imagine what had happened here leading to Ishmael''s current predicament. Once Mordred had succeeded in sedating him Avistro used his natural command over space without the need for mana to lock Ishmael inside a cube prison, now with their task completed they finally turned their attention towards Sarang.


    "What are you doing here" questioned Mordred.


    Sarang raised a brow at his tone wondering where the hostility was coming from, nevertheless he answered in honest.


    "Was just curious on how you were handling things and if you had experienced the same thing we did".


    Rozaria''s curious nature got the best of her at that last part as she couldn''t help asking what he meant.


    "Did you know we could adapt to gain immunity to something if used enough times against us?".


    "One of the bugs had control over time and-


    "Wait, one had the power of time?" Avistro interrupted.


    "Where is it, the one with the control over time".


    "Ah, I ate him" Sarang confessed.


    Avistro''s heart nearly skipped a beat hearing that as neither he nor his teammates could believe it.


    "Oh".


    Avistro sighed and just sift through space before his eyes, the others shrugged and just left in different directions leaving just Sarang and the sedated Ishmael locked in the box alone there.


    "Hm".


    Then a second later he too was gone, everyone had simply gone their separate ways either to begin their training or for a different purpose ranging from harmless exploration to experimentation for some and just like that a month of their time had passed.


    On a distant planet seated on opposite sides were Avistro and Shen playing a game of chess with one another, their seats were made of earth and the board of wood. The platform it rested on was made of earth and it''s pieces were made of black obsidian and marble.


    A little distance away was an active volcano which Ishmael currently was taking a bath in under the watchful eye of a golem made to jolt him back awake the moment he shows signs of slipping into hibernation once again.


    And there was Velkos standing alone atop a mountain peak overlooking the horizon, Sarang and Bahu were off again for one of their little spars while Mordred and Mavion hung upside down from a tree chatting away.


    To a different side was Selene resting on the legs of Zirsto while he played a gentle tune which reached every part of the planet and then there was a bored Rozaria casting some curses repeatedly on a tired and defeated Noctis but it all just kept breaking apart not even by his own will but as a by-effect of his own nature.


    "I hate you" she uttered in a low tone full of spite.


    "I hate you too, if only you could die".


    Another amazing discovery they had come across on this trip was the fact every last one of them were undoubtedly immortal and frustratingly so for some people, if one were to ask what all of them were doing here on this planet instead of training then the answer would be because they had achieved what they wanted.


    Avistro and Noctis to everyone''s knowledge at the moment finished theirs the fastest only taking a full day, Rozaria took two, Shen took three tying with Selene, Velkos and Mordred four, Zirsto six, Ishmael took eight days, Mavion took nine, Bahu and Sarang took twleve days.


    The mages themselves could not believe it when it happened, everything seemed so pointless and stupid all of a sudden because it seemed that they had severly underestimated the potential of what it meant to be one destined to become gods, three months was the peak to be the absolute peak of absurdity to them given what they were to achieve and how they thought it would play out within that timeframe but what was the point now.


    They could not return any earlier, the time was three months with no room for reconsideration at the end and yet just a bit more than a week was all it took at the end, it was a complete and utter defeat.


    At some point during the second week they all crossed paths and by the third they all come to know one another very well, by the fourth this was the result of it all when they had realized they had two more months of waiting before they were to return home.


    But then there was the case of Emrys who was still currently missing, in fact no one had seen or felt him since they all decided to split up a month ago, not even Avistro who''s senses were currently the most advanced of everyone present. But they didn''t care much, none here could call themselves friends with him nor claim to know him so life simply just moved on.


    "Checkmate".


    Shen clicked his tongue "what''s the tally now".


    "Hm, mine would be 11 wins, 17 draws and 8 losses".


    "That would of course make yours be 8 wins, 17 draws and 11 games lost".


    Both reached out shook hands with each other-


    "Good game"


    "Mhm".


    Both then leaned back into their seats and sighed, the feeling of having nothing better to do was a most draining one mentally, all of a sudden Sarang came flying in like a meteor into their midst and causing a big ruckus which startled Selene awake.


    The beastman groaned and looked up at the annoyed gazes pouring down on him from all sides, he chuckled and flew out of the crater coming face to face with Bahu.


    "What was that thing you used".


    "A new skill I''m developing, a more advanced version of basic reflection"


    "But I won''t tell you all the details yet, if we meet in the tournament then you''ll get to experience it''s complete form".


    Sarang shrugged "I hope so, destroying that thing would be fun".


    A ball of water was suddenly summoned over their heads which splashed all over them, they both sighed and apologized to Selene for the disturbance caused of which she simply just smiled and went back to sleep.


    Rozaria got tired of pestering Noctis to his great relief and flew up into space to attend some other matters as did Shen just a bit later and Avistro simply returned to doing some more mental training.


    And like that it became their new routine for the next month with little changes here and there, but the final month was the period most discovered their muses to obsess over.


    Noctis found his love for training and romance novels during a casual visit to one of the civilized worlds of which he then ''borrowed'' in stock to be kept inside his spatial ring, Bahu found gymnastics true to his elven instincts even if a dark anomaly.


    Selene''s muse was the most surprising as she found gambling which quickly became an addiction and a cause for worry of which everyone tried their best to wean her off it and successfully managing to do so though not completely, her new hobby for going on long strolls and the deep added a much needed helping hand in bringing a healthy balance.


    Mavion found his love for blacksmithing courtesy of his dwarven half, Bahu and Sarang remained regular sparring partners like the brutes they were and Zirsto just kept playing all day everyday for nature and his friends.


    Mordred found his love for suits and playing the piano while also taking up singing sometimes though not quite the best in that area relatively speaking, Avistro already loved training but he had come to love it a whole lot more.


    Ishmael almost never left his larva bath and would be far into the process of hibernation if it were not for the golem still doing it''s job of keeping him awake, Velkos remained the silent brooding one most of the time and kept going up to watch the horizon at random times.


    "Is no one really curious now where the last guy went?" announced Sarang out of nowhere.


    "I mean it''s been nearly three months and none of us have been able to feel or see him, this realm is a pretty small one and it should not be possible to leave as i have tried and the mages won''t allow it".


    "You tried leaving?" Selene asked and he nod.


    "In the earliest stages of our stay, the feeling of living in a glass house was a bit too suffocating but that''s beside the point".


    He pointed towards Avistro and asked "does it not bother you a bit that he''s been able to ignore even your senses for this long?".


    "You brag enough about how pretty much nothing is able to hide from or surprise you and yet that guy has been doing it for three months without fail".


    Avistro raised a brow "so is that how you want to play it".


    "Okay then, I will find the guy though I have no idea why you worry so much about him".


    "It''s not worry" Sarang retorted.


    "It''s just....something too glaring to ignore like you guys pretend it is".


    "Mhm-hm, and what happens when I find him them, what good will this information do for us".


    Sarang shrugged "I don''t know, just satisfaction we''ve found one of our own I guess?".


    Avistro''s look turned a bit serious "He is not one of ''us'', he''s a perfect stranger just like we all were to each other at the beginning".


    Sarang sighed "I don''t know why you seem so aggressive when speaking of him".


    "Wait I''m-I''m the one who''s being aggressive about him? Seriously is no one going to back me up here".


    "I agree with you..."


    Everyone''s eyes and mouth were wide open in shock-


    "By the goddess it speaks!" Exclaimed Rozaria.


    Almost immediately it was like they could feel him shrinking back into his shell of silence and panicked.


    "No no no no we didn''t mean that in a wrong way".


    "We?" -Mordred


    "Shut up. Ahh you see, he''s gone back now" she sighed.


    "What a pleasant voice he has, the complete opposite of Noctis".


    He raised his head up from his book and looked around wondering what he had done to warrant the sudden stray bullet.


    "Do you....like me or something?" He asked utterly confused.


    Rozaria froze for a moment then her face morphed into a look of pure pity "those romance novels are turning you delusional".


    "And I pray dearly that i am being delusional just this one time, also leave the book out of it".


    Sighs were heard from everyone around them-


    "Geez, either way are you going to try finding him now" Sarang returned his attention back to Avistro who gave him a stern look before resigning himself to do what he asked.


    He heightened the limits of his senses from it''s passive state and the further he went the more worried he became, soon enough he reached the limits of what he could do for now and yet had picked up not the slightest hint on where Emrys could be.


    But then the strangest thing happened, his senses were telling him that right now he was being watched very intently by something but could not pinpoint it''s location at all, then to his amazement a gigantic eye opened up right before him.


    Sarang noticed the surprised and uneasy look in his eyes and asked "what is it? Did you find him".


    Avistro looked to and fro between Sarang and the eye opened before him, it seemed not even the others could see it too.


    "There''s something-


    Before he could finish the eye closed and a small ball of darkness was summoned in their midst of which all immediately sensed this time, the ball grew and slowly took on a humanoid form before fading away to reveal the form of Emrys in the flesh.


    "Hm".


    EnD.

 Chapter 11: A god?

    Subconsciously they all tensed up seeing him standing before them, the overwhelming feeling from eight years ago made fresh in their minds and for the first time in this month Ishmael had stepped out of the volcano as he too had sensed his presence and the ones who seemed least affected were Noctis, Shen and Sarang.


    To no one''s surprise Sarang walked up to him and tapped Emrys on the shoulder-


    "Can you spar with me".


    "Before we return home and begin the tournament I would like to have some understanding of the distance between us".


    Emrys tilted his head a little giving no reply to him before staring out into a different direction, particularly towards the place he could feel a different gaze unlike the rest.


    "I accept" he replied.


    Beneath his feet from his shadow a wave of darkness rushed out in all directions startling everyone and sending them into battle ready mode thinking he was launching an attack on them-


    "Are you insane, what are you doing!?" Mordred exclaimed.


    "Be calm" he whispered and instantly the tension left their bodies as all gained the presence of a calm mind, the spell was released moments later.


    "I am simply preparing the stage" he explained motioning for them to take a look around them.


    The darkness Emrys released had spread over the entire planet cloaking it and then became translucent enough for everyone to see clearly, he gave the go ahead to Sarang that he could begin at any moment he desired.


    "And worry not about accidents, neither this planet or realm will be broken".


    Sarang requested that their location be moved and then jumped forward landing three miles away with Emrys flying over to him a second later, everyone could still make out their forms with no problems and watched as the beastman took a stance while releasing the restraints placed upon himself thereby disrupting his state of harmony and unleashing upon the world a crazy violent storm of mana


    Emrys raised a brow ''interesting, so that''s how he went about his''.


    "A dragged out fight would be pointless so I can only do this".


    <<Atomic fist>>


    Sarang''s right arm took was encapsulated in a silvery fluid mana which began vibrating at a high speed and then in an instant his hand vanished, there was no deafening sound or extravagant display of a light show, just a tiny flash accompanied by a silent whisper and suddenly Emrys was but a golden skeleton, like his flesh and clothes had simply just vanished entirely into thin air which made for a bizarre and confusing sight.


    But then just like it never left all were once again present on his body, more surprising scenes were revealed as Sarang fell down on both knees slumped forward with a huge hole in his chest releasing some dark mana.


    Almost immediately they were already standing before him again looking very worried and angry at the same time, he heaved a small sigh and then turned around to leave but had his arm held onto by Bahu.


    "What did you do to him, why isn''t he healing".


    "Slowed down his regeneration so you can ease up now, I couldn''t kill him even if I wanted"


    "He should recover in an hour without any interference".


    Bahu let go and turned to Sarang, Emrys was about to attempt leaving once again but the young fairy suddenly came out and flew towards Rozaria pointing towards something, specifically her eyes and Emrys being curious about what could have possibly grabbed the fairy''s attention about her came forward staring into her eyes intently.


    Rozaria took a step back suddenly wondering what was going on, Emrys having found exactly what it was the fairy had detected smiled which took her by surprise causing her heart to skip a beat.


    Emrys realizing how he might have been too close for comfort eased up-


    "Ah, do forgive me, your eyes just drew my attention so unexpectedly".


    "I like them, they''re more special than you know".


    He absorbed the cloak of darkness casted upon the planet and turned around as he flew up into the space having learned a new piece of information on his peers, neither of them could see the young fairy, for now at least.


    There were still far too many mysteries concerning the bodies of one fated to become gods so them gaining the same affinity he had somewhere down the line wasn''t out the realm of possibilities, even he himself did not seem to have it until the day of his awakening following his mother''s recounting of events.


    "What''s the deal with that guy" Rozaria whispered under her breath unconsciously bringing a hand right under her eyes, shaking herself out of it she turned to the unconscious Sarang with a huge gaping hole in his chest.


    The others were gathered around him trying to analyze the wound for solutions on how to neutralize the effect of whatever Emrys had done to him, even Ismael had come close in worry.


    She felt a gaze on her and looked up to meet Mordred''s eyes staring at her with a mischievous and knowing look.


    "What" she asked.


    He shrugged "nothing, just be careful is all".


    She raised a brow "what is that supposed to mean" her tone was one of confusion.


    Mordred simply just smiled, "forget about it, our friend needs some tending to now".


    "Are you done analyzing what it is" he asked Noctis who nod his head.


    "It''s dark mana" he replied.


    "That guy has dark mana!?" Exclaimed Bahu in surprise.


    "Yeah, he should be the only other person to have it as of current alongside General Maeve".


    "But how come we couldn''t sense it, as per what has been documented dark mana is the most destructive and dangerous affinity which makes it''s nature impossible to hide no matter how much you suppress it".


    Shen snapped his fingers as he recalled a memory "do you remember the first feeling we got when we met him on that day eight years ago, before we fully discovered he was like us".


    Noctis nod his head "like a ghost".


    "So are you suggesting he might have found a way to fuse his ghost-like nature into his dark mana attribute?" Selene hypothesized.


    "I can''t say for sure, it might have been his doing or it might have been that way with him already from the start but-


    "Can you neutralize it with yours" Mavion interjected.


    "I don''t know, my attribute does have divine properties but that''s not the same when it comes to dark mana".


    "It''s not of an ''evil'' nature like everyone says it to be, it is much more like a force of nature".


    "The stigma around dark mana has made it really hard to find honest information detailing the true nature of what it is but they''re not completely nonexistent and thankfully so".


    "One of the main reasons it can''t be stated to be of an ''evil'' nature is due to the fact it has no real properties of corruption, it is more....overwhelm".


    "What I am about to say might sound a little unbelievable but I am sure that dark mana is of a divine nature just like mine".


    "If mine could be called the healing and judging side of the divine, dark mana is it''s pure wrath and executioner".


    Everyone was silent for a little while and Noctis felt so awkward he just put his head down and sighed.


    "You really can talk a lot sometimes huh" Ishmael teased and he just chuckled.


    "Yeah, was just a bit too enthusiastic in wanting a share some rare knowledge that I''ve kept to myself for so long".


    "Everyone else is just far too set in their ways to entertain even half of what I said here"


    Mordred smirked and gave him a light smack on the head "that''s why we''re your friends you idiot".


    "Who else but us will bear with your rants whenever the mood arrives".


    Noctis smiled and then sighed looking down at Sarang''s body "I guess I have to try something either way".


    He closed his eyes and put both hands together as he whispered-


    <<Light of healing>>


    A bright golden pillar of light descendent softly upon Sarangs body embracing him in a divine warmth, eyes watched attentively waiting for a hint of hope that it was working and to their joy it did.


    The gaping wound began closing at visible speeds but their happiness was to be a short lived one as a problem had occurred, the wound stopped healing and began growing even wider than it was before, immediately they yelled for Noctis to stop the spell.


    Noctis stopped just as they had asked and opened his eyes to meet with the sight almost losing his composure at the new much bigger wound that showed on Sarang''s body, he could not understand why healing magic could backfire so terribly and cause something like this.


    "It fed on it" Rozaria suddenly spoke up.


    Their attention was turned to her "what do you mean" Ishmael asked.


    "That Noctis was correct" Avistro replied as he squat down to examine the wound himself this time.


    "Dark mana is not of an ''evil'' nature".


    Noctis scoffed looking at Sarang with a solemn gaze "who knew I could hate being correct".


    "It is no fault of yours, we were the ones who pushed for this".


    Avistro looked up at his peers "I think it would be best if we just choose to wait an hour like he had said".


    "Any further experiments on what could work or not isn''t worth the risk, we might have even extended the original time limit just by doing this".


    They all silently agreed and took Sarang''s body back with them in a transparent sphere of mana, they all sat around in awkward silence for a bit until Shen suddenly chuckled.


    "It''s a bit amusing when you think about it, just a little while ago we had discovered that we were absolutely immortal and "some" abused this to annoy the hell out of someone".


    Rozaria rolled her eyes sarcastically knowing full well he was referring to her-


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "And then here comes that guy to scare back into us a little feeling of mortality, absolutely amusing" he laughed for a bit with the others unable to help the feeling of rolling their eyes also.


    "I wasn''t scared" Ishmael raised his hand and spoke.


    "I believe you" Shen replied in a lazy tone which prompted Ishmael to believe he was being sarcastic but Shen feeling too unmotivated to clarify just allowed him to think whatever suited him.


    "But I suppose something like this isn''t out of realm for someone born with the same potential rivaling the future ruler of the gods" Selene conceded.


    Bahu suddenly sprung up "I can''t stand it anymore, why are all of you accepting such a humiliation so easily".


    "It doesn''t matter his potential rivals that of our future ruler, at this stage such a large gap between us should be unacceptable to everyone here".


    "He has yet to reach the peak of power whereby the strength of his potential should truly begin to show and yet we have such a large gap already".


    "When we arrived here at the start and I sensed him he felt far weaker than any of us were, this gap is our fault".


    "For two months we barely did any real training or honing of our skills after completing our given task and I blame myself for not wondering why neither of us had sensed him during the entirety of this period".


    "The tournament will begin very soon, just four more days left and if we arrive there with such a gap existing between us what sort of image would we be projecting".


    "Either one of us should be capable of putting up a good fight against him and not just become useless spectators when he and our ruler inevitably have a meet up in the tournament".


    "I know you''re all thinking it, we all know what the people back home are expecting to be the highlight of this tournament and look at us foolishly presenting them their wish on a golden platter".


    Another round of awkward silence followed after Bahu was done with his rant, he simply shook his head disappointedly and turned around to leave.


    "I''ll be back when Sarang has recovered" then he flew out into space.


    "Geez, anybody else have a rant you want to get off your chest" Shen looked around at his peers.


    Selene frowned a little seeing his attitude "you can''t be like that Shen, you know in the end that he was right".


    He rolled his eyes "he''s just angry at his own realized weakness and only dragged us into his preachy rant to make himself feel better".


    "The future god of defense here is simply just a weak hearted person, nothing more and nothing less".


    "Sure I might currently be weaker than that guy, it''s possible but his assumption of the gap he''s perceived between himself and that guy, the fact he applied that gap to every one of us individually under the assumption that we were all equal in the first place is what annoys me the most".


    Selene''s frown grew deeper but she was starting to understand a bit of where he was coming from "even so that''s no reason to talk this way when approaching it".


    "I didn''t say anything wrong, you''re just too soft spoken".


    Seeing that nothing productive would come out of bickering with him she chose to give up on the subject and continue watching over Sarangs body, they all just chose to remain silent for the rest of the while they waited, emotions were too disturbed at the moment to risk it.


    An hour eventually passed and new worries grew, a second hour passed and Bahu had returned to see Sarang''s body still retained the hole in his chest. Avistro''s hypothesis was becoming more and more of a reality the longer time passed and with it also grew the guilt of Noctis.


    But soon enough their ray of hope arrived, a soft groan escaped Sarangs vocals and all immediately reacted, having seen their friend lay completely still and unmoving like a corpse for two hours straight it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off their shoulders.


    Selene covered her mouth with both hands as tears of joy began streaming down her face with each drop that fell crystallizing into small round blue gemstones containing one of the highest quality of water mana possible in the world.


    Avistro acted fast as he caught the tear drops lest they touched the earth causing an accident, his face was riddled with worry because he could feel just how potent the mana contained within these stones were even while contained within their crystal prison.


    Selene realised what had occured and reached out to take back the gemstones from his hands easing his worry, she brought them to her chest and closed her eyes. A whirlpool of water began forming taking form right in the center and she gently let go of the stones which surprised Avistro for a moment but he realized they weren''t falling but instead steadily getting sucked into the whirlpool to become engraved onto her heart like a marking.


    "The first tears of a mermaid are her most precious and belong with her".


    She smiled looking down at Sarangs body, the wound had already began visibly closing and a minute it was fully healed when the dark mana had fully faded away, his eyes trembled as the beastman turned to prop himself up of the ground while holding onto his head feeling groggy.


    His eyes suddenly sprung wide open as all feelings of clarity rushed back to him and he turned around to meet with eleven pair of eyes staring at him intently, he froze for a moment as he knew not what to do or say in this situation.


    His eyes looked around instinctively for Emrys but just as expected he was gone, he tensed up a bit when Selene got up and walked towards him but his worries were for naught as she simply just hugged him dearly.


    He hesitated for a bit in choosing what to do but finally decided to reciprocate the gesture and hugged her back as well.


    "You bastard, do you know how worried we were".


    Sarang''s eyes hung wide open in surprise and not just him but everyone were the same, he just smiled bitterly and hugged her a little closer to himself.


    "I''m sorry".


    She pulled away from him a little and gently rubbed his luscious mane with a warm smile on her face "You have nothing to apologize for, none of us knew that he would be so cruel".


    Sarang''s head tilted as he looked to be a little confused "cruel?".


    "Yes, he left you with a huge hole in your chest which you could not heal from and we could not risk interfering because it had already backfired once".


    "We were forced to watch your motionless body for two hours, forced to doubt our very own immortality, if that''s not cruel then I don''t know what is".


    It was then that Sarang realized and a visible rage could be felt building beneath the surface but Selene placed a gentle hand on his face to calm him down, he looked into her crystal blue eyes and felt his rage go down in a matter of seconds then he heaved a sigh.


    "Tsk, though I dislike what that guy put you through I''m forced to admit things aren''t as simple as they seem on the surface".


    He sat down and then began narrating-


    "After I lost the clash between us he took my mind to a different space and asked that I show him the skill I had used on him once again".


    "Though i thought it a bit out of place I saw no reason to refuse and used it again".


    "He asked where I got it from and I told him it was a bloodline skill belonging solely to the -Hands of extinction- Knights family whom I took it from a year ago and forgetting that I had it until just recently".


    "I guess that guy really has an obsession with collecting strong skills or magic so he copied it to the same level of mastery as I a minute later".


    "Of course it was very surprising for me when he did that as it took me a number of five days to reach ten percent mastery and he somehow also figured out the skill was very incomplete, I had only learned ten percent of it after all".


    "Before my eyes he began figuring out the formula to it''s complete form and managed to reach fifty percent of it''s true manifestation before suddenly claiming to have lost interest and wanted to send me back".


    "Aaaaand.....of course I didn''t want to go back just like that and begged him to teach me rest of what he learned, I thought he had left seeing as he was suddenly gone from the space for a moment but he came back a second later and agreed".


    "Surprisingly he was a willing teacher and a really good one too, with his guidance I managed to reach thirty percent mastery before he told me my time was up".


    "Thought he made a throwaway comment about how more time was spent than he had intended but thought nothing of it".


    "I guess this was what he meant, didn''t know he would leave you with such a sight as I had imagined from your perspective it would appear like i was in a deep slumber."


    After Sarang was done with his story they all seemed to look at him with an unreadable expression, then they shook their heads disappointedly.


    "Unbelievable, all that worry and dread for nothing" - Mavion.


    "I feel scammed of my emotions" said Bahu sounding a little lost.


    But of them all only Selene suddenly burst out in laughter "guess we really have found the true designated troublemaker of our group then".


    He laughed nervously along with her "I''m really sorry for making all of you worry" his head was bowed proving himself that he really was being sincere.


    "Worry not about it, in the end things turned out okay and you managed to leave with something good at the very least" -Avistro.


    "Just don''t ever do that again".


    "I won''t" he agreed and they all had a hearty round of laughs for the next few minutes teasing one another with the ordeal they had just experienced.


    The rest of the four days of time they had left in this realm they absorbed themselves entirely in training except for Velkos who still retained the same position as always atop the mountain peak, on the second day they had managed to enlist the help of Emrys with some convincing from Sarang and one that took hours but in the end Avistro caved in to his demands amd searched for Emrys once again knowing he would catch on to it just as before and make an appearance which he did.


    He cast a darkness over the world again to properly contain their power and allow them to truly train themselves to the limit while watching from the side, on the third day Sarang had come to him once again asking for him to finish imparting to him the rest of his knowledge on the <<Atomic fist>> to which he complied and in a couple of hours he had taught the rest of it to him.


    He even went further in teaching him better refined control over mana as a bonus, it was a pretty surprising sight for the rest to see how easygoing he seemingly was which lessened their negative opinion of him though not by much at all.


    And now the fourth day had arrived, they all just lay side by side looking up at the sky in wait for when their ride home would be returning, Emrys had left at the end of the third day though he left the cloak around the planet still.


    "It just hit me, during the time we were still exploring this realm did any of you ever try a black hole" Mordred asked.


    "No" they replied


    "Never crossed my mind surprisingly" -Sarang.


    "Some worlds here believe them to be portals of sorts and who knows, it might just work that way here".


    Mordred grinned "wouldn''t hurt to try then would it".


    They all seemed to share the same sentiment and in moments they had flown far beyond the galaxy they resided in, thanks to Avistro they managed to find the strongest available one in this realm and in a matter of seconds they were right at it''s location.


    "Whoa, that looks....unusual" Sarang commented.


    The blackhole before them looked to be at least eight times larger than the galaxy bearing their base world and all around it were red storms of lightning converging right in the centre of it striking with an overbearing aura, one that gave them a small sense of discomfort.


    Avistro looked a little conflicted "something tells me that shouldn''t be here, it feels very off".


    "You''re worried?" Mordred was quite surprised at his tone.


    "Ah, there''s something coming out of there" Selene pointed right it''s centre where a figure was taking form and walking out to meet them.


    It''s body seemed to be humanoid and made out of an ancient tree with the cosmos embedded in different parts of it, on it''s head a golden flame burning pure and almost serene, right in the centre of it''s chest was deep spiral of an abyss and all around it''s body the red lightning ran rampant but controlled.


    It''s face had no discernable features to make of other than a simple vertical line and the longer they looked at it the more uncomfortable they felt because it felt almost familiar yet not at all, the most they could describe it to be was like a half completed imitation corrupted by something.


    ¡ÖHm, so you''re the invaders responsible for the slaughter of my creations¡Ö


    It suddenly spoke, it''s tone seemingly commanding but also one of pure nonchalance and though they could make out no discernible eyes they could feel it''s gaze upon them was similar to the look given to ants.


    It could be said to have been quite a new experience for them the feeling of being looked down on, from the very moment they were born all they had gotten were looks of praise, adoration, of awe, envy, jealousy and hatred even but never once had they ever been looked down upon till this moment, it was quite the new experience indeed.


    The being turned it''s head around seemingly in search for something-


    ¡ÖWhere is he, the other one responsible for my current state¡Ö


    They looked a little confused when it said that, the first person that came to mind was Emrys but then they heard it laugh.


    ¡ÖThat''s not the one, the kid you call Velkos, where is he¡Ö it demanded.


    With this they understood it could also read their thoughts which was interesting, in the first place they had made no effort or strong defenses to protect against a possibility for something like this in this realm but it was still impressive nonetheless.


    Ishmael suddenly moved closer to it much to his peers surprise, he looked to be extremely curious and amused at the same time- "If I''m not wrong you are to be what passes as a god in this realm correct?".


    ¡ÖA god huh, my creations did refer to me as such so I guess you may refer to me as such if you wish¡Ö


    "Hoh? If you do not comfortably proclaim yourself as one are you just the guard dog of this realm then"


    "How boring".


    They could sense a hint of amusement coming from the being-


    ¡ÖI should go find him now¡Ö


    It ignored Ishmael''s attempt at provocation and began flying away causing a small disruption in space as it tried to teleport but couldn''t, it''s invisible gaze fell upon Avistro who seemed to be holding it hostage.


    "For someone entirely out of his depth you project a confidence that is the complete opposite and that annoys me a bit".


    "I am relived you do not proclaim yourself a god, how insulting that would be if you were is not something you could possiblyimaginee".


    The being gave no reply and in am instant they found themselves in what seemed to be a body of water with no surface and seemingly no end to it''s depth.


    ¡ÖI have no interest in fighting any of you, I just need to find the one you call Velkos and so for the timebeing you shall remain here¡Ö


    It''s body suddenly broke into multiple pieces and faded away, on the outside the being looked at the blue spherical object containing the invaders in the palm of his hands and then left it to drift away while it pushed it''s senses in search of his target whom was all too adept at evading him.


    ¡ÖThis time you shall be the one who falls¡Ö


    Out of nowhere a fist suddenly struck at it''s head causing it to turn a little to the side but causing no damage to it, Sarang bared his fangs in a wild smile feeling it''s gaze upon him.


    "Hey" he called.


    "Imposing a sealed dimension around the space we resided in and then meticulously weaving and melding a looped space around so as to give the illusion of it being endless".


    "What an amateur, though i will give you the credit of finding a way out of my hold through a disposable puppet body".


    Avistro appeared seated atop it''s head with his size being much smaller than before and kicking his legs carelessly with a bored expression on his face "go on then, show me the reason you showed such confidence".


    .............¡ÖAs you wish, persistent one¡Ö


    EnD.

 Chapter 12: It was not a good day.

    "Forgive my interference".


    A familiar blob of darkness began manifesting before them taking the shape of Emrys who suddenly grabbed the being by it''s neck with such strength a visible crack was made on it''s form, he made eye contact with Avistro sitting atop the beings head and then looked at the beings face.


    "I''ll be taking this thing with me for a bit, you can go in there to find more like it though not quite as strong" he pointed towards the abnormal blackhole behind them.


    Sarang frowned "that won''t be fair, we already have this one so why not go for the one''s in there if you''re already aware of them".


    Emrys looked to be contemplating something for a bit before suggesting something surprising "rock paper scissors for it then?".


    Sarang looked around at his peers to see what they thought of his suggestion, based on their body language they seemed to be either fine or indifferent towards it but no signs of aversion. But then there was Avistro who was the most interested in that thing out of everyone present and it felt only right to ask him what he thought of it, he unexpectedly agreed to it.


    "It is decided then, but who will be the representative on your side" he asked.


    The decision was quick and unanimous, Avistro would be the one playing. They both brought their hands forward, one big and one small, just as they were about to begin a huge wave of energy began seeping out of the beings body and it''s body vibrated intensely, everyone was suddenly blown away and had their faces twisted in discomfort as a loud piercing shriek echoed through the entire realm ripping it apart bit by bit soon followed by a huge red pillar of light shooting high into the cosmos.


    After taking a hold of their bearings once more they looked at the being whose form was undergoing some changes twisting and turning into something hideous, from it''s back sprung out multiple black tentacles, rows of teeth were manifested all over it''s body and it''s formerly plain face now had a terrible makeshift mouth hanging wide open still releasing that terrible shriek.


    "It would seem we have made it furious, quite livid even" Mordred commented with a chuckle at the end.


    "But, if nothing else I must compliment it''s vocal range and intensity, might even be putting you to shame Zirsto"


    He rolled his eyes at Mordreds words but couldn''t stop the little smile tugging at the edge of his mouth.


    Avistro readjusted himself back to his normal size and smiled as he began levitating towards it again "so you''ve finally dropped the pretentious act".


    "About time".


    "But I apologize, you''ll have to wait a bit".


    Emrys appeared right at his side with his arm outstretched and ready to continue where they left off- "if we do this our way then none of us are going to win".


    "I know that".


    They both blinded themselves temporarily with a mana overload to their eyes and diverted their senses to themselves, after confirming both were ready they began the game.


    "Interesting, I shall stand aside then" Emrys conceded.


    Avistro suddenly shifted to the side dodging the tentacle that had reached out for him piercing into the abdomen of Emrys instead, he grabbed onto it and pulled it out of his body flinging it away accidentally throwing the guardian away with it.


    "That won''t count as a breach of agreement would it?" He asked.


    "No".


    "Do you have any plans with it''s corpse after you''re done".


    "No".


    "I see".


    Avistro clamped his hands tightly together then released it as he appeared before the guardian still shrieking so wildly like it had lost it''s mind and once it caught sight of him an unstable ball of energy began taking form in it''s make shit mouth of which it shot out at him like a widespread beam destroying half the galaxy, he smirked and took control of the beam turning it back into a little concentrated ball of energy which he flicked into it''s makeshift mouth to shut it up.


    "Noisy".


    The little ball of mana detonated like a miniature bomb inside it''s throat causing it an immense level of pain which brought to a level of clarity like he had hoped for, Avistro smiled seeing the look of sudden calm on it after looking so rabid just moments ago.


    "There he is, the pretentious one".


    "To lose control like that, you must be some kind of defect".


    It''s makeshit mouth merged back into it''s face leaving it as it once was, the tentacles on it''s back looked to be shedding it''s outer layer which broke into multiple pieces revealing what seemed to be vines of pure concentrated power and the red lightning surrounding it''s body became wheels beneath it''s feet and around it''s wrists while the golden flames burning pure on it''s head remained unchanged.


    ¡ÖBefore you die, I shall thank you persistent one for allowing me regain my clarity¡Ö


    It''s hand spread wide open as a great tear in space opened up with a golden light shooting out of it like a meteor towards it and he grabbed onto revealing it''s true form as a chakram which he wielded individually on both hands.


    The blades were engulfed by a dark viscous aura that gave Avistro a sense of discomfort, like a thousand little bugs were crawling and biting all over his skin, it felt....wrong.....corrupted and defiled.


    It was then he realised something "yeah, I should have seen it so much earlier".


    "You''re probably no guardian, everything about you just feels wrong".


    "I have no idea what you are but as of this moment my curiosity of you ends here".


    "Everything I do now shall be for the sole purpose of eliminating a disgusting and diseased rabid swine".


    The being laughed, it laughed from the very bottom of it''s soul and for what reason that would forever remain unclear, but it''s feel underwent a massive change all of a sudden as it raised a chakram towards Avistro.


    ¡ÖI will acknowledge that most of my ''tricks'' won''t work on you, I see it clearly now too, you''re almost as strong as him¡Ö


    Avistro offered no words, he just simply and slowly raised his left hand to perform the motion of an horizontal downwards slash at a seemingly snails pace. The being sent out it''s tentacles towards him but they were all cut in half midway and continued onwards as it regenerated in a flash. An invisible wall seemed to have appeared as the tentacles couldn''t move closer anymore and they kept cutting over and over again as fast as they regenerated.


    Avistros hand had completed about five percent of it''s full motion and the being felt a little strange, knowing full well it could not use the power of space against him effectively it tried something different.


    It looked a bit further into the future to see what he was planning but saw nothing at all which confused it, the boy''s nature was nowhere near transcendent enough like ''The Maker'' to achieve an effect like this so somethng else was at play here and this triggered an entirely new sense of danger in it.


    Letting go of one chakram in it''s hand it mentally manipulated it to attack Avistro but was stopped also by the invisible force and with the other it drew a line along it''s blade which lit up patterns that manifested on the thrown chakram releasing what seemed to be a formation around Avistro.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The invisible force that had been holding the blade in place was suddenly overpowered as the blade tore towards him cutting clean through his chest and hand then returning back to it''s hands which strangely showed no signs of regeneration.


    The being watched intently, right now it should be relieved it''s attack was successful but the feeling of unease was growing stronger by the second and so taking no chances the formation around Avistro released multiple hooked lines which sunk deep into his flesh from all sides and began pulling him down into a doorway that had opened right beneath him while also steadily petrifying him as it progressed.


    Still even as this progressed something felt horribly wrong, so so horribly wrong and in it''s haste it made the worst move of it''s life, used the power of time. The flow was reversed to the point before Avistro had made the movement that began all this but just as it was about to go forward and stop him he felt a small shift returning him back to the original present with a petrified Avistro still being pulled down into the doorway beneath him.


    It could not believe or understand what was happening but it knew that he was behind it and as if to confirm his thoughts Avistro''s petrified body suddenly began cracking, the hooks sunk into his flesh snapped and the formation holding him began trembling as it shattered to pieces closing the doorway along with it.


    He regenerated his wounds and smiled "It seems I have to thank you also, for showing me how to use time".


    "For some reason I could not feel my affinity with it in the slightest until you triggered it".


    "Now I can complete it".


    A foreboding sense of doom blared like an alarm in it''s mind, *¡Öno no, he''s dangerous, too dangerous¡Ö* something bad was coming and it had to stop it all costs even if at the cost of everything including his personal revenge. The chakrams in it''s hands were fused back together and placed in the spiral abyss on it''s chest, a surge of power like never power rushed out of it''s body like a tsunami and created three specific pulses. The first pulse destablized all of space to a point seemingly even beyond Avistro''s control, the second put time in jeopardy and the third pulse was the most powerful incomparable to the first two.


    With a loud clap it whispered <<f?i?n?a?l? c?o?l?l?a?p?s?e?>>


    And finally the third pulse was released, it spread throughout the entire realm seemingly doing nothing at first. Then it was like a single great crack had occurred on the very fabric of reality, it became more prominent and kept spreading until it stopped, then it began healing back to it''s original state.


    <<Divine divide>>


    A single thin line was manifested on the healed fabric which faded away a second later, both and the being stood face to face in silence.


    ¡ÖHow¡Ö


    Avistro smiled "I can see it all, from the very moment I began that movement you were already dead but not completely".


    "My inability to perceive or access time made the move incomplete, so I tricked you into showing me how you do it".


    "Of course i had no direct proof you could but from the very moment you called yourself the creator of those beings who attacked us at first I had a thought".


    "I remember being told about one of them having power over time and unfortunately I did not have the pleasure of meeting him".


    "It just made sense to me that as the creator who granted him such abilities in the first place then you had to have the same power but so much greater".


    "Everything was so easy, just apply enough psychological pressure and some mental ''guidance'' then at some point you would be forced to show me the power of time seemingly of your own will".


    "And now my senses have improved so much further beyond what I expected".


    "The very core of what you are down to every last detail, the connection between you and this realm, the minute structural workings of what your power is and where it comes from, all your traces in time".


    "I could feel it all".


    "And all I had to do was simply just.....cut".


    A few moments of silence passed between them both, then a soft chuckle could be heard from it.


    ¡ÖI see now, perhaps you might just be as powerful as ''The Maker''¡Ö


    ¡ÖHow blind I was not to have seen that¡Ö


    In a matter of moments it''s body faded away to nothing as Avistro released his hold over it, gone from time and gone from space, the only thing left of it was a memory in his mind and that of his peers, it was a practical erasure.


    "This was not what I pictured in mind when you said it''s corpse was of no interest to you".


    Avistro turned around to face Emrys giving him a slight shrug "things happened".


    "Mhm".


    Avistro returned back to his peers and Emrys just floated there in silence staring straight ahead, "hm".


    "Aine" he called out.


    The young fairy flew out and circled joyfully around him coming to a stop at his facw staring him with bright expectant eyes, Emrys barely ever called her for anything himself so her excitement couldn''t be contained


    He heaved a small sigh "can you help me find the one that thing referred to as ''Maker'', in terms of concealment I might be the best but searching is where I fall short of that guy".


    Aine flew around in joy some more before complying with his request and began searching for it, in moments it was found and she spread her hands wide as a golden doorway was opened before them.


    She turned back looking at him with expectant eyes, he smiled and gave her a gentle headpat "thank you Aine, you''ve done well".


    He stepped forward into it and felt himself walking through a veil as he now found himself summoned in a space of white, all around were multiple golden orbs just floating around aimlessly.


    Emrys flew up to one of them and held it in his hands raising a brow when he saw what they were "realms?". He let got and reached for another one and it was the same as the first, each and every one of them were realms contained inside these golden orbs.


    "I see, so it''s a standalone realm that''s a part of a limited other collective ones, affecting one does nothing but others, cannot be called a fully realised multiverse but the next best imitation a limited being could make".


    "Each should also have their own assigned guardians just like that thing I''d imagine, how fraudulent".


    He let go of the orbs and began looking around fo something "This place, I guess it qualifies as the master control room or should it be somewhere else" he thought outloud to himself.


    Just then a heavy disturbance shook the entire space and cracks began occurring everywhere, the formerly white space began getting corroded by a crimson force which ate everything in it''s path, the golden orbs were all stained with it and devoured whole leaving nothing until it everything was dyed in it.


    The space finally unable to withstand the ravenous force devouring it was destroyed bringing Emrys to a whole new space, it looked to be incredibly damaged but still holding strong and also had what felt to a had surface this time, some distance away from his was a throne sitting high up on a platform with a lengthy stairway leading up to it.


    From the platform blood flowed down on all sides even reaching the place where he stood, the stairs were long covered in it and sitting atop the throne was a slumped body impaled in multiple places by black spears, Emrys walked up the bloody stairs and stood before him wondering how he was able to find this place first.


    "For how long are you going to pretend".


    Velkos raised his head up to meet the gaze of Emrys, though he wore a faceless plain mask with no features it was still too obvious to Emrys that it was him. He observed the change in his aura, the mana inside him seemed like have underwent a great change recently and that mask was no ordinary thing by what he could feel, it was meant to hide something deep underneath and Emrys could already tell what it is.


    "The nature of an Asura finally manifested huh, seems you were already prepared".


    Velkos verbally said nothing but Emrys could read the emotions being sent through his mana which amused him a bit when he deciphered it.


    "I''m already quite mad and my will is greater than you can imagine, this only serves to amuse".


    He walked towards the edge of the platform and looked down "how did you find this place".


    Velkos conveyed the answer through his mana prompting Emrys to raise a brow "called you here? Interesting, where is he now".


    Upon receiving his answer Emrys called for Aine once more, it was quite interesting to him how petty ''The Maker'' was, leaving his realm just because it got a little dirty and setting a self destruct sequence to it all to move on onto creating a new one.


    But what bugged him a little bit was why Velkos chose to let himself get in that state, the best he could chuck it up to was boredom or perhaps the Asura spirit might have strange tastes.


    Aine found him pretty quickly once again and summoned the large doorway before him, this time instead of calmly walking through it he flew through it like a meteor bursting with excitement internally at the prospect of what he was about to attain but what he saw dashed his hopes a little.


    Sitting helplessly on his throne with body riddled with injuries and a foreign blood that seemed to be destroying him from the inside out, missing an arm and his radiant body now seemed like a flame on it''s last breath, Velkos had inflicted a damage far worse than he expected seeing as he wasn''t healing from any of it in the slightest, the Asuras nature was truly the greatest poison.


    The realm it had just created also looked very incomplete and shaky relative to to the damaged one he just left, the Maker''s eyes met with his and was instantly ablaze with rage interwoven with weariness.


    "Y-you, you''re one o-of them a-aren''t you" his voice sounded so strange and cracked,, the pitiful state he was in right now couldn''t have been something a being like he who should be the god of this world would ever imagine possible.


    Emrys heaved a weary sigh and just looked up into empty space, today had been such a terrible day for him. He permanently lost the guardian he wanted to have, ''The Maker'' whom had revived the possibility of getting something even better than he originally wanted while getting a good exercise out of it was broken and even the spare guardians along with their realms he had lucked out on in that space was devoured by the blood of Velkos, nothing had gone according to the way he wanted in the slightest, he even lost a game too just to top it all off.


    "Let''s just get this over with".


    Emrys covered his hand in darkness and grabbed onto the Maker''s face, he tried to muster up an attack to defend himself but because of that slight distraction the blood he had been barely holding back from devouring him whole attacked with even more ferocity and Emrys simply just swallowed him into his world of darkness devouring and killing him in there.


    It really....really was a bad day.


    EnD.

 Chapter 13: Going home.

    Emrys shattered the unstable realm and called for Aine to take him back, once returned he went into his world of darkness to rest while contemplating some things. He could feel ''The Maker''s'' soul trapped in there without any way of returning or dissipating to nothing, this was the reason why he had made sure to kill him inside this world and not on the outside.


    Beings who are pure spiritual body manifestations were tricky to kill, the physical body presented was just a small manifestation of the soul and greatly damaging that shell beyond repair by extension could hurt the true soul as a whole thereby leading to a shattered soul occurring which then fades away to nothing meaning an absolute death, one that Necromancy at his current level could not overcome.


    But the world of darkness negates this variable from occurring, whatever it contains or destroy it claims, refines and enslaves permanently unto itself be it living or an object and when used in tandem with his Necromancy which he discovered to have a high affinity with his power over darkness he has the opportunity to create something far better than what Necromancy on it''s own could achieve when returning back a soul to his command.


    With an idea like this in mind he also realised something else, once he was fully ready to embark on his path of building an army he had the opportunity to create two versions, not every soul collected deserves to be given unto the world of darkness, it was too special to be used like such.


    Though this was just a very rough draft of an idea in his head he planned on creating something like a main army and special reserve, the names were a bit uncreative right now but he had time to truly plan the future of his army going forward, this was the first test run he had attempted with it in eight years on something other than rats, insects and other insignificant creatures, the true results of this test would only be revealed once he was back home for the tournament.


    He manifested a bit of lightning mana around his fingertips and played around with it, though he had said Darkness had a strong affinity with Necromancy that wasn''t the whole truth. In fact it seemingly had affinity with everything he had tested it on, it was like the most neutral and accepting element in it''s natural state without interference.


    It had no real ties with his Dark mana which was an entirely different thing, if his Darkness in a natural state was neutral then Dark mana was wholly violent. But one thing he learned when using Dark mana was that it seemingly manifested as a form of darkness that''s supercharged only charged with destruction of the highest order, he hadn''t been able to study the nuances yet but soon enough he would.


    Emrys snapped his fingers and the lightning around his fingers struck like a thunderbolt inside the world of darkness brightening up the place a bit before getting absorbed by the darkness and fading away, he placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes to feel his pulsing twin cores.


    This was one of the greatest surprises for him when he discovered himself developing a second core four years ago, it was unheard of for one to develop a second core which was an entirely different thing from a creature crafting itself a secondary heart known as a mana heart after reaching a certain point.


    Though in the end he had no complaints, if by accident he managed to lose a core he wouldn''t be a complete cripple and though he had a feeling he could regenerate his core unlike most creatures the feeling of utter weakness he would have to experience in that timeframe of waiting until he was healed was not something he looked forward to.


    But there was one especially unfair thing about having a second actual core and not a simple manufactured heart, it had opened a door to something previously never imagined to have ever been possible when it comes to the limits of a Mage''s capabilities.


    He sunk deep into his shared soul space to check on Irmir once again out of habit, Aine still sat close by watching the cocoon with a patient gaze and feeling nothing different he returned to let himself fall into a slumber, it mattered not how deep he slept because he would be aware of when the moment to go home arrives and that was all that mattered.


    "Heh, they must be missing me quite a lot" he mused to himself right as he slowly drifted off to sleep.


    Meanwhile on the outside back on their planet of rest Rozaria and the others were experiencing something entirely new-


    "Velkos?" She asked, her tone sounding quite unsure.


    The mask was abnormal, it was like a new shell atop the shell he already occupied and it was messing with their senses in a strange way but they knew it had to be him.


    Rozaria looked to be a bit discouraged and hurt "Was what I said really that bad enough for you to take such drastic measures".


    Velkos stood in silence seemingly giving her no answers but in truth he was, neither Rozaria nor even Avistro were paying attention to what he was trying to communicate to them through his mana fluctuations.


    "No, he said it''s not something you caused".


    Most surprisingly Sarang had been the one to read his intentions through the mana fluctuations, they looked at him with confused gazes which in turn also confused him.


    "What, you''re not reading it?"


    "Reading what" she asked.


    "His mana, it''s pretty easy".


    Avistro caught on pretty quickly to what was going on here, even for beasts unable to harness the power of mana they had a strong affinity towards reading emotions like they were pure thoughts by instinct through a variation of small sounds or movements. He called it telepathic instinct and blessed creatures had this gift ramped up to insanity, it came easy as breathing and required no focus which was a quality even most did not possess with the gift of mana and so to Sarang right now it seemed the most natural thing in the world.


    Soon enough he managed to explain the whole thing to the rest and this calmed Rozaria''s mood although one question still remained, why Velkos was wearing a mask like that in the first place.


    "Asura" Zirsto spoke up.


    "His nature has awakened, that mask is meant to suppress it".


    They looked to Sarang who confirmed through Velkos that Zirsto was indeed correct-


    "How did you know that" Mavion asked.


    "I share a partial relation with him, due to some personal matters I had to learn alot about many dark spirits".


    "Ahh".


    With all their questions answered they all just lay around in boredom, at some point Sarang suddenly jumped up and roared at the skies as he threw a few punches all just to fall flat on his back once more while having a few confused gazes thrown his way. Now that their day of return was here everyone was more impatient and giddy than usual, neither could understand why the ships hadn''t arrived yet, the wait continued for another two hours and yet they sensed nothing.


    Ishmael already returned to his larva bath an hour ago as did Velkos to his original spot atop the mountain peak and minutes later some were already beginning to feel extremely annoyed, that suppressed longing for home that had been bubbling up inside them since the second month of their stay was threatening to spill over to the surface in the form of rage.


    They managed to suppress that feeling one more time and simply closed their eyes to sleep or at least try to but were alerted by a new movement, the mages whom had kept themselves hidden the whole time had revealed themselves before the children.


    "We''re going home".


    Ishmael and Velkos returned almost immediately and the mages took the children belonging to each of their respective Emperors except for Emrys who was missing in this moment but a few seconds later when the great rift had appeared as the ships passed through once again he was present before they knew it.


    In moments they were teleported to the ships, Emrys along with Sarang, Noctis and Shen were summoned before Captain Aaron whom they showed the necessary polite greetings towards him.


    "Let us delay no longer, set course" Aaron ordered.


    The ship was lit up with the familiar patterns once more as a great rift opened up before them of which they passed through in a matter of moments with the others following close by, almost immediately after they were through Emrys felt his body come alive with joy as it welcomed the all too familiar mana everywhere around him.


    It was a genuine breath of fresh air, the feeling that he was no longer living in a glass house where every step, every movement he made had to be very carefully controlled so as not to shatter everything. All restrictions placed upon himself vanished as he returned to his normal state, Aaron walked over to his panel to get a view of their homeworld below them a small smile showing on his face unbeknownst to him.


    He looked towards the mages around "take them home, there''s half an hour of time left before it starts".


    They complied and called for the kids to come with them, Emrys went with his assigned mage who took him straight to where he had already confirmed the rest of his family to be at.


    After teleporting him there the mage bowed and left, Emrys looked around at where he was which was a floating manor and he could see the prepared arena far down below, the familiar presence all around him confirmed that they were indeed here.


    "Raven?"


    He turned around to meet the voice and smiled "Hi".


    Leah rushed forward and hugged him tight, Emrys looked at her with warmth in his eyes as he too replicated the hug. It had been three years since he officially became the second tallest one in the family as his dear sister remained a good four inches shorter than him, but the feeling of having to look downwards when seeing her or anyone in his family bar Hestia still remained something he couldn''t get used to no matter what and sometimes he would still look up on accident.


    "I missed you".


    "I know" he chuckled and flinched when he received a pinch at his sides.


    "Fine fine, I missed you too Leah".


    A little knock was heard "it seems the rest of us are largely irrelevant to you two huh" Rachel announced.


    He looked up with a mischievous gaze to meet Rachel''s eyes but soon cleared that thought out of his mind knowing it was he who would suffer in the end trying what he was thinking.


    "Yup, and I missed you too sister".


    Emrys broke the hug with Leah and politely bowed his head towards Hestia.


    "Hello aunty".


    Hestia smiled warmly at him "welcome home Emrys, I see it went well".


    "Mhm, it did".


    "Well, were quite short on time as I would have liked to know what interesting things you encountered".


    "Ah".


    Emrys suddenly remembered"aunty, where is mother".


    "She''s meeting with the church for something".


    "Oh, I see".


    Huge wails of excitement was heard from down below as the announcer began the process bringing this tournament to life which was followed by a series of exploding fireworks and magic along with heavy drums-


    "It''s almost time now, we should go down".


    Hestia teleported them to their reserved spot in the VIP area and soon a guard came for Emrys but before he left Rachel held onto his hand-


    "Promise me you''ll win" she requested.


    He hesitated for a moment, there was one greatly large uncertainty that existed for him in this tournament "I can only promise that the final stage would be an extremely close one".


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    This was the best answer he could give her but he then added "but know that I shall not lose, a draw will be the worst gotten out of me in the end".


    He was taken and lead towards the gathering area for all the other contestants where he received a tracking spell placed on him.


    In the VIP area an eyeball creature with wings project a perfect image around them making it seem like they themselves were right there with the contestants while also maintaining a birds-eyeview of the whole thing.


    Hestia sent a mental command to the eye for it to focus specifically on the area Emrys occupied, this change would only be applied to her of course unless her daughters willed for the same also.


    The young contestants partaking from all over the world and even from other worlds in this realm were led out onto the two kilometre wide arena where they stood patiently in wait for the special guest of this tournament to appear and soon enough he did.


    Coming forward to the balcony was the Pope himself, the only figure with an authority directly equal to that of the four great Emperors combined if not above them still. Direct representative of the goddess and the strongest weilder of light in history, that was the 36th Pope ¨¤ngel Di Beorthric.


    A man who looked to be almost middle-aged yet looked so vigorous and vibrant, his vertical pupils burned golden like the stars themselves, his hair and beard white as snow, the feeling of divinity radiated off him just by naturally existing.


    The crowd went wild with screams, it had been three decades since the last time anyone had ever seen the Pope out in the open and normally what he was about to do is something undertaken by the priests but yet for the first time in history the Pope himself had decided to come declare blessings on this tournament.


    With a raised hand the Pope commanded silence as he ran his gaze through the crowd below as if searching for something, he looked up and stretched both hands wide as he whispered something.


    For a moment it was like the world turned a bit dim as a little golden orb of light floated down from the skies above and gently scattered all over the arena like snow, each of the contestants along with the crowd seated in the arena were enveloped by a faint divine glow. It was then that they saw it, the faint visage of the goddesse''s motherly embrace around them and the gentle smile shown to all her children.


    From the very depths of their souls the tears poured as they bowed their heads, their hearts beating a tune to the praise of her. In a few seconds the visage was gone but her presence lingered around like a phantom for a bit longer before they too could no longer feel it.


    There was a few seconds of peace after as the Pope walked back to remain seated with the four Emperors, the glow around everyone''s body steadily got absorbed into their hearts and fizzled out.


    "AND LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!!!!"


    The announcer yelled out at the top of his lungs corroborated by the crowds almost deafening roar as the stage lit up and the contestants were teleported to the location for the first round, the crowd were immediately immersed in the live projection of the battlefield while able to keep track of every last contestant with the help of a protection spell cast on their minds to prevent it from experience a great strain or overload.


    A score of 1 was shown above the head of every contestant in the virtual projection and three great boards were shown mid-air in the arena with the numbered names of every contestant ranging three thousand in total.


    A mini announcer appeared in the battlefield and to every contestant clearing his throat before he began-


    "ALRIGHT THE FIRST ROUND! Let''s set the rules straight".


    "Around each of your hands or....body??....neck??" one mini announcer spoke looking at one of the contestants who was of an odd race from another world.


    "Ah forget it, around each and every one of your hands is a bracelet and you can already guess where I''m going with this righhht?".


    "And then blah blah blah, the contestants with the least points at the end of this round get expelled and the likes".


    "Oh well, may the better thief win, or is it may the best thief win" the mini announcers rubbed their chins looking deep in thought at this dilemma.


    "By the way no killing in this round, incapacitation is acceptable though".


    "In the eventuality that you do kill a contestant you shall be given a penalty of forty minutes where you would be unable to engage in the round but others can engage with and steal from you as they like".


    "You have a time limit of two hours before the round ends".


    "Ah, one more thing, you''re allowed to form teams with a maximum member of four!"


    "If a member is lost their individual points is shared mostly equal with the rest of the members".


    "Beware still, if only one or no members were to remain from a team then you lose all points automatically which goes without saying for the latter".


    "If two or more people were to join hands in killing- he coughed and then corrected himself.


    "Apologies, I meant incapacitating a contestant. The point''s shared if they are of the same team and if not then points shall be given wholly unto the one who contributed the most to the ambush"


    "Andddd that''s it! Bona fortuna"


    And with that the announcer smiled as he faded away giving way for the tournament to begin, a huge dome of mana appeared high above locking down the entire battlefield and a countdown was shown in the air soon after which could be seen by everyone in the dome no matter where you were.


    As the countdown began what ensued was not a hunt but a scene of most of the contestants standing relatively still as they pondered the right move to make in this situation, as the announcer had stated this round focused on thieving and so neither drawn out battles nor revealing of cards would be favorable to them for one reason.


    Two hours was a lot of time to them in normal situations but the moment they slip up and let themselves get engrossed in a drawn out conflict it would end up hurting them more than anyone else.


    Emrys for example had the perfect tools to deal with this problem but doing that would cause a lot of problems that he just wasn''t in the mood to deal with yet.


    At about five minutes into the countdown most had already made up their minds and began making their move, those lucky enough to have the means of reaching out to other contestants whom they were acquainted with did just that while the rest faced the music with their options.


    First they had to try their best in avoiding the strong ones this early into the round and make sure not to even think of going anywhere near the monsters.


    "Sleep".


    Whispered Emrys from out of the shadows grabbing onto one isolated contestants and shutting him down, he picked up the unconscious contestant''s hand and removed the bracelet which he held inside a little ball of darkness. With a small leap Emrys was high up in the air looking around the field, he could sense the locations of his peers clearly, most especially her and it seemed they had all reached a silent agreement of not teaming up with one another even if most were friends.


    Emrys felt a strong urge to test out something he had learned during his stay in that realm but held back on showing off just yet and returned to the earth. He discreetly spread his darkness over a nine hunred meter radius and raised his hand displaying a magic circle.


    <<Target>>


    <<Set>>


    <<Cloak>>


    After confirming the spell had locked in on everyone within his radius he whispered-


    <


    >


    <<Weaken>>


    Five magic circles appeared before him and faded away as the spells took hold and everyone in contact with his darkness was immediately paralyzed, Emrys began his harvest with haste before the spells wore off, the spell of weakness wasn''t intended for his targets but for the first four spells he prepared


    With every contestant he swiped a bracelet from he knocked unconscious and once he was done he flew back to his original spot to count them but he looked a bit disappointed after.


    "48, combined with the first one I swiped plus mine that''s 50, what a poor harvest".


    He heaved a small sigh and lay down on the grass "as expected, waiting for others to do the work is the best approach".


    "But first, a little search and tag".


    For the next few minutes Emrys used the shadows to scout and mark targets he deemed to have potential, of course he didn''t do that one by one but using area wide targeted spells to mark whomever he sensed to have potential, he wasn''t interested in taking first place so he made sure not to overdo it, the top 10 or top 15 in this round would be good enough for him.


    Once he was done he returned back to his original spot and lay back down, with the tracking spells he had discreetly casted on them he would be able to locate everyone of them when the time comes.


    "An hour and thirty forty two minutes left, an hour and twenty minutes more should be enough time".


    Emrys sat up with crossed legs in a lotus position and closed his eyes, his two cores lit up and at the back of his right hand was a single star with a thin ring floating around his wrist like stardust. Emrys absorbed mana from his surroundings and used it to repeatedly strike at his own heart, each strike producing a thundering boom and a pulse of mana that spread for three meters before dying out, this process was repeated over and over again.


    In his subconscious Emrys found himself standing atop a turbulent sea with a single lone mountain before him, the waters continuously beat against it with enough force that it shook this space yet the mountain never seemed to budge one bit.


    Taking in a deep breath Emrys unfurled his four majestic pitch black and almost ethereal wings, he steadily ascended into the skies with a gaze locked on to the lone mountain, the thundering clouds above got exceedingly more erratic as a huge wave of mana poured out of his body.


    With a raised hand the lightning above gathered to one focused point as he uttered - "Fall".


    The world turned white for a moment as a thundering roar like that of a dragon descended upon this space, the mountain was struck as was the sea around it. The torment of lightning was a continuous one transforming the waters below into a sea of utterly charged storms, with a thundering sound the mountain was finally shattered.


    Emrys opened his eyes and contained the new ocean of power that was about to overflow in his body, it took every last but of will he had to contain it because he felt it wasn''t the time yet, there was something he wanted to test that no other mage has ever had the thought of doing while either in their right or insane minds.


    He felt heavy, so heavy beyond words, just by slightly moving his hands it felt like he was pulling the weight of the world, every last bit of him was holding in that overly dense ocean of power from rushing out and completing his ascension.


    "Yeah, this should be more than enough as a handicap".


    He got up and did a light skip but as soon as he stopped he was down on one knee, stamina wasn''t the issue here even with the extreme weight but the movement, it was like trying jump around with a bloated body and in case an ocean of power was trapped inside his body trying to find ways to be released at every moment, the moment he lost focus or got riled up by something it was over.


    "I might be overdoing the handicap a little" he chuckled to himself.


    Just then he felt something and turned around to meet with one of the contestants, by instinct he could tell that he wasn''t part of the weaker ones though still a non threat to him.....but that would be if his situation was indeed normal.


    ''Right, still forget that I''m in the middle of my one terribly unlucky day, perfect'' he thought to himself with a sigh.


    ''And my senses must have taken a big hit if I could not feel him until he got so near, that spells bad news''.


    Neither of them made any sudden movements, Emrys knew not of whom the human was but the same could not be said for the contestant who remembered quite well who he was though Emrys rarely made a public appearance.


    Emrys could sense his nervousness and that gave him an idea of how to send, with his body so jumbled up and overly bloated right now with mana if he tries using a spell there was a 100% chance it ends up backfiring which would escalate the situation even further.


    "You can leave now" he commanded, his tone soft but firm.


    The human flinched at first but complied and began walking away, Emrys felt relieved and turned back around to continue his thoughts but suddenly to his surprise he felt a fist connect with him square in the jaw sending him flying through trees like a cannonball. He lay atop the broken tree bark staring at the sky with a look of boredom on his face, there was a very miniscule amount of power put into that punch and he suffered no pain or damage in the slightest to his body but great damage had been for sure inflicted now.


    His gaze fell down to the human who was looking at him with a pleasantly surprised face while sweating buckets, Emrys had to give it to him that he was a fearless one.


    "Ha- hahaha" he laughed nervously still in disbelief at what he just did.


    "I knew it, there''s something terribly off with you".


    "It was incredibly risky but I just had to confirm it, my eyes and guts are never wrong".


    "I just knew it but I still can''t believe it".


    He walked up to Emrys and stood before him, his heart beating so strongly with excitement, fear and disbelief, all that combined to create the greatest rush of emotions one could ever experience.


    "You''re weakened, for some reason you''re greatly weakened and I don''t know why but this...I won''t let this opportunity slip from my hands".


    "With so many people watching, my name would be known for decades when they see what I achieve here today".


    "I might even draw the emperor''s attention and receive some benefits".


    Emrys watched those eyes, watched as they got clouded with madness and simply closed his in disappointment. Though he himself might be vain, blunt, admittedly narcissistic and quite mad there never was a time where he could imagine losing himself to such a poor dream, he could not comprehend that train of thought as it felt so foreign and tasteless.


    The put both hands before him and gathered up quite a bit of mana, a red magic circle manifested as he called out <<Fireball>>


    A sense ball of flames that grew stronger by the second was summoned turning the surrounding area into a puddle of boiling magma prompting him to jump far back and control the heat some more focusing it only around the spell itself.


    Then he released it and covered himself in a barrier almost immediately, the flames trailed like a comet striking him square on his chest and exploding in a huge dome of flames which turned all the surrounding trees in a hundred meter radius to ash in an instant and the earth had become a deep crater of magma.


    Although unscathed, feeling himself in the surrounding larva Emrys recalled some memories from his first day of true sentience ''how nostalgic indeed''.


    The human slowly levitated towards him and down the crater this time visibly irritated "why aren''t you fighting back!".


    "I know you''re weakened for some reason but why aren''t you at least fighting back!".


    Upon staring into the eyes of Emrys his rage grew, looking at him with disappointment and boredom, that was enough to send him over the edge.


    <<Sleep>>


    Caught off-guard by Emrys the spell took effect as his body slumped forward and fell down into the larva pit scalding off his flesh unprotected by mana and not strong enough to withstand it without, from the very beginning Emrys had been trying his hardest to control mana well enough to shoot off one basic spell and finally he was able to achieve it.


    ''Did not expect it to take so long still, I really have overdone it this time''.


    Emrys forced himself to get up and dragged the human by neck out of the crater in a matter of minutes, once safely outside the area damaged by the spell he crouched down to retrieve the bracelet and called the ball of darkness over which thankfully was a self sufficient thing he needed not the aid of mana to maintain else things would be a lot more troublesome than they were now.


    Eleven minutes, that was how long this little encounter had dragged out to. But now knowing the possibility of using mana wasn''t an impossible task he could carry on with his original plan, Emrys left the area for another isolated spot and sat there to rest.


    ''I wonder if my adaptation is helping a bit, I no longer feel as heavy but it''s still not viable enough for me to fight without problems''.


    Though Emrys wasn''t a brawler in the natural sense of it as field control suited him best, he still was quite adept in the aspect of close combat thanks to his sparring sessions with Rachel, his aunt and also his mother.


    ''But I still have time, can get used to it enough while supplementing with as little mana as possible when needed''.


    ''Alright, let''s begin''.


    EnD.

 Chapter 14: A single breath.

    The true fruits of his training in that realm were showing itself now in this extreme situation he had put himself in, the ability to manipulate and micromanage mana to a point beyond belief, having learnt this Emrys was able to solve half of his problems in a matter of minutes. Though now able to cast spells as before two issues remained, upper tier spells were out of bounds amd even basic spells were weakened a lot more than usual.


    It wasn''t all bad as this also served as a learning opportunity for him to break some more limits, he had more than enough time before he was forced to face someone he couldn''t deal with through minimization.


    ''My adaptation still hasn''t fully kicked in it seems, what a picky thing''.


    The weight was definitely getting easier to bear but compared to even some of the weakest participant''s here he would be the equivalent of a statue physically if he attempted to engage with them, the only thing still able to keep up far beyond his limits was his mental capabilities even with the great hit it had taken.


    A sudden thought popped up into his head and he could only stare in silence flabbergasted at his own audacity ''my immortality is going to be the end of me someday''.


    With a made up mind brought by upon by his Emrys stood up and looked up at the time, there was still an hour and twelve minutes left before he was to begin reaping his rewards meaning still more than enough time.


    The ground beneath him trembled heavily as did the trees, it seemed some of the contestants weren''t able to resist using some of their best cards after all which was simply expected. He began leaping around using the trees and shadows to his advantage and stopping multiple times in-between to restore balance to himself when the weight pressed down on him even more.


    ''One of my targets should make do, it would be a much too early of an harvest but the rest will make up for it''.


    He made a beeline for the target closest to him and upon reaching there he stayed high up on a tree watching the scene unfolding before him, right now his target was currently surrounded by three other contestants whom he immediately recognized to be a team and one with adequate members at that still his target whom was an orc hybrid looked incredibly calm and collected.


    Emrys took a look at the leather pouch each member had around their waists and how bloated it seemed, their harvest was most surely a great one and there was denying that but the one held by his target seemed two times bigger than theirs combined which served as a great surprise to even Emrys.


    It hadn''t been long at all since this round began and he was a loner so how strong was he to have collected so many in such little time, he only chose him because he felt adequate before but now that he focused a little more it seemed that he was more than that.


    ''Sometimes being weak helps with knowing just how strong someone is huh, interesting'' he thought to himself.


    He jumped down from the tree as his patience reached the limit, they immediately looked to see who it was and almost immediately you could see the color drain from the faces of the members who recognized him on the spot.


    "Forgive my interruption but I need a favor from you all".


    "Can you be my training dummies for a little while".


    Though feeling nervous what Emrys said managed to strike their pride greatly, the member on the left who looked to be the leader stepped forward a bit hiding his nervousness and putting up a brave front.


    "Hey, that''s a bit too much don''t you think".


    "Even considering the difference between us we''re not so low that you may talk to us in this manner".


    His teammates looked up at their leader, their respect for him growing though they remained largely strangers to each other.


    Emrys tilted his head a little to the side "I see".


    They looked to be a little relieved thinking he was an understanding person but that thought changed when all of a sudden multiple mana bullets came flying at them prompting their leader to put up mana shield around his teammates bringing it down a second later and looking quite enraged at Emrys.


    "As I thought, words weren''t enough, you can attack me now" he said to them nonchalantly.


    "You bastard!" The leader exclaimed and looked towards his teammates.


    "It seems we have no choice, that monster isn''t letting us be".


    They nod in understanding and prepared themselves to engage with him.


    Emrys raised a brow at being called a monster wondering a little what he had done to gain that perception in their minds but he cared little for the answers now, he could feel very well that his adaptation was slowly picking up the pace just by how tense of a situation he had found himself in.


    They considered their opponent and the fact they couldn''t afford to go at with him with anything that wasn''t their best, even more tension arrived from the person standing behind them whom they originally intended to subdue but seeing him standing still as he is looking to be without any intention to interfere it eased their worries a little.


    <<Bind>>


    The mage on the right suddenly yelled and suddenly thick vines burst through the earth and bind him with great strength, the leader who took the role as a warrior rushed forward the instant the spells took hold and sent a slash of aura towards Emrys who countered with a mana bullet aimed at a specific point changing the direction of the slash but the leader didn''t look moved at this as he sent three more towards him in but a split second and jumped high into the air making way for the fireball tearing it''s way through to Emrys.


    He shaped a thin strand of mana and used it to cut the vines for the split second of release which he used in getting out of it''s hold before it regenerated but the moment he got out the warrior came down like a meteor with his heavy greatsword forcing him to jump high into the air and with the move the trap was complete as the fireball which he failed to notice it''s lack of impact returned to meet him mid-air and exploded like a mini-sun shaking up the area for miles and turning everything to ash bar the members and his target whom were protected by mana shields.


    But suddenly the surrounding mana turned unstable and began rushing at the explosion eating at it until there was nothing left and from it Emrys fell to the ground looking midly burned, though they had faith that the explosion would not be enough to kill him it still seeing him coming out largely unscathed though right in the very center of if left deep imprint which got even more terrifying when they saw him regenerate so quickly without the aid of mana or healing magic.


    ''Hm, so that''s how you do it''.


    He raised his hand and immediately they were on high alert as the warrior threw his greatsword at Emrys with a speed like that of a bullet and just as Emrys dodged to the side the warrior was already there catching the still traveling sword mid-air and swung it at Emrys with a much greater speed than his body would currently allow him to avoid prompting him to manipulate the surrounding mana to form a partial shield stopping the blade and giving him just enough time to counterattack or so he thought but the warrior''s teammates weren''t sitting around idly as the mage once again restricted his movements with the spell <<Bind>> and the third member who had done nothing all this while finally made a move and clasped her hands together and whispered¨C


    <<Confusion>>


    <<Mental shock>>


    But to everyone''s surprise the spells she cast backfired the moment she completed her casting causing her to fall down to her knees unconscious while bleeding out of her eyes and ears.


    The shocking scene unfolding before their eyes disrupted their synchronization and Emrys wasted no time in taking advantage of that to grab the greatsword from the warrior''s hands and cut off both legs in a single slash then rushing forward at the still shocked mage to cut off one arm and break the other all in one go.


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    They both screamed in great pain at the top of their lungs and the warrior yelled curses between breaths at Emrys who simply looked around nonchalantly, he dropped the greatsword and walked towards the one who had tried to subdue him with mental spells.


    "Stay away from her you bastard!!" Yelled the warrior.


    Emrys looked up from her unconscious body towards the warrior "hm, according to what I''ve learned you should be healed once the round is over, that''s good".


    He ignored him again and went right back to inspecting the unconscious one, to be honest he had no idea what made that spell backfire, she was a double caster although one who needed a fair bit of time it seemed but there was no way those spells failed because she messed up with directing mana.


    ''Did I make my mental defenses too strong?''.


    ''That shouldn''t be, I was very lax in this area or is my point of view just terribly skewered compared to what''s seen as normal''.


    And he hit the nail right on the head with that thought, Emrys along with his peers had a terribly skewered point of view on what was considered normal or impressive compared to the rest of the populace and even most geniuses so most of what they achieve barely registers in their minds as a feat.


    Putting aside those thoughts for now Emrys picked up the pouch around her waist and the one around her wrist then walked over to her dismembered teammates still struggling on the ground in great pain and took theirs also, he called the little ball of darkness over and tossed them in there.


    With that taken care of Emrys took the time to fully allow himself settle into the new freedom he had just gained from this battle, his adaptation had sped things up as he expected. Strenuous amd extreme situations are what it needed to really take hold but this wasn''t enough yet, they were splendid helps but they could have done much more, gone all out if only the lady''s spell didn''t backfire causing a crack in their synchronization.


    "Why didn''t you join in" he asked.


    His target who had been standing still in the same position the whole time finally moved, he leaked out a decent portion of mana and spread it around like a fog.


    "Because I do not prefer teaming up".


    Emrys was silent for a moment and then showed a small smile "you should have, there was a great possibility that the current me would lose if you were involved".


    "Yeah, I can see that you are weakened by something and are forced to fight as you are now".


    "Possessing not the sharpness, skills or body of a warrior yet you fight like one although quite clumsy and unprepared".


    Emrys raised a brow "admirable senses you have".


    "I accept the compliment, though I am quite relieved that the heavens are on my side and I get to face you as you are now".


    He couldn''t help but smile at his words "interesting, I would have thought you a different type considering your first proclamation".


    The target shook his head a little "I am not honorable, just selfish".


    "I see".


    Emrys took a step forward but suddenly felt himself unable to move, he looked up for a moment before the crushing invisible weight came pressing down on him and the earth.


    ''Gravity magic, how amusing''.


    Using his shaky over the surrounding mana he haphazardly caused a great disturbance in the flow of mana inside a certain area which in turn made the effect on him weaker and unstable but the hybrid wasn''t sitting idly either as he silently reinforced the spell while preparing a second.


    "Commanding mana that isn''t your own, how monstrous".


    "But it seems you''re not proficient enough yet in using it to cast spells, good for me then".


    In a moment the air turned boiling hot, trees from miles away dried up of moisture in but a second and by the next everything was ablaze. The hybrid was leaving a heavy amount of crimson red mana which roared wildly as a spiral of flames began forming in front of him, at that moment the already terrible heat rose even higher as the earth bar the spot where he stood melted into a giant puddle of larva but even that too burned to nothing in a matter of seconds.


    The flames grew bigger and denser until finally taking the shape of a giant arrow, once it had been completed the heat had gotten so bad it burned the surrounding mana itself and destabilized his first spell, the mana he had dispersed at the very beginning reformed to take the form of a dome around Emrys.


    <<Flame arrow ¨C(stage 2)¨C>>


    "Release" he whispered.


    It cracked and whistled through the air hitting Emrys fair and square, the dome of mana turned bright for a moment and settled as an inferno of flames raged on around like a dragon tyring to break through the void.


    The hybrid began sweating profusely as he put all his effort into containing the arrows power from breaking through the barrier and harming even himself in it''s path of destruction, through continuous reinforcement he was barely holding out but the worries about his mana depleting before the spell fizzles out was weighing on his mind prompting him to stop supplying mana to the gravity spell keeping Emrys in place.


    A crack occurred on the dome but he healed it up just as fast as it appeared of at least he tried to, some tiny wisps of flames slipped through and just that alone was enough to turn the environment into something more terrible that it already was.


    ''Dammit, I couldn''t have reached my limit could I?'' the hybrid thought to himself in a panic.


    But to his great luck the inferno began dying down at a visibly fast rate leaving a deep hole that gave the illusion of it being endless.


    The hybrid sat on the ground exhausted and closed his eyes waiting patiently for what was to come after killing a contestant but seconds passed and yet the penalty was not enforced, his eyes sprung wide open at the instant realization of what that meant.


    "Impossible".


    From the deep hole emerged Emrys floating high up with not a single bit of damage on his body, he looked quite amused and pleased for a reason the hybrid could not figure out.


    "What are you, an immortal?".


    The smile on his face grew wider "correct, I am indeed truly an immortal one".


    He walked over to his exhausted target and stood before him "get up, I have no interest in having another unsatisfactory battle".


    "Release your circles, now".


    The hybrid closed his eyes and gave no reply but with this Emrys had his answer, he took the bloated pouch away from him and put it inside the ball of darkness same with the others. With his original objective now completed Emrys had finally achieved a good enough mobility for his standards so he would not be leaving completely empty handed at the very least, in a matter of seconds he was back to his new isolated spot not bothering to count the loot knowing without a doubt that it was enough.


    ''Maybe I could hunt a little more later''.


    Emrys had used up quite a bit of the time meant for resting on confrontations which he found a bit wasteful though he initiated the second, eighteenth minutes had gone by this time in total adding on to the original eleven taken by the first making almost half an hour of time gone.


    ''Noisy''.


    He wished he could use sound isolation right now to drown out the raging sounds of battle but his the available mana within his control was too scarce to carry out that basic spell and he still wasn''t able to cast spells with mana that wasn''t his, commanding movement was relatively easy though not without it''s problems but the mana refused to listen anytime he tried casting a spell with it.


    ''I''ll get the hang of it soon anyway'' he shrugged and allowed himself drift off to sleep after requesting that the young fairy wake him up when an hour had passed.


    Meanwhile somewhere on the other side Ishmael was standing over a contestants body and holding onto another by his head while he screamed as it crushed ever so slowly, on his face was an wide smirk displaying one of his fangs.


    "There you are".


    Standing a short distance away was Hope looking at him with curious eyes but moments later she turned around to leave, Ishmael panicked a bit and rushed to block her path.


    "Don''t just walk away from me, all I want is-


    Ishmael did not get to complete his sentence as Hope had simply walked around him, seeing this he sighed and blocked her path again.


    "We''re the last of our family yet you can''t grant me a little audience, even if not as family but as our supposed leader".


    Hope said nothing and simply stood staring at him for a full minute until Ishmael felt like he should stop here for today, shaking his head in disappointment at not being able to have gotten anything today he jumped far away to the other side. With her unwanted guest gone Hope continued walking but stopped, she went over to the defeated contestants and dutifully picked up the bracelets around their wrists along with their pouches to be kept alongside the others in the sealing scroll hanging around her waist.


    She got up and continued her walk to the other side to find the last two of her marked contestants, the top spot wasn''t part of her goals for this round but she could not allow herself to fall too behind in the rankings at the end so the decided place to stay would be somewhere within the top twenty and this is why she had picked out three prime targets capable of getting her this spot in the end, the first had already fallen and now what remained were the final two.


    In a few minutes she had managed to walk over to her target at a pace that seemed normal but achieving a total distance that shouldn''t be possible for how it seemed to the naked eyes, her target now only standing a few meters away from her looked to be incredibly nervous, coming face to face with a being of legend said to be the strongest race of divine creatures in the realms wasn''t something he''d ever hoped for or had in mind.


    His instincts were screaming at him from the depths of his soul to run away or just surrender from the insurmountable danger standing before him yet he stood firm for one simple reason, his dream of becoming a knight, a most noblest of ranks that could not be stained by cowardice, no matter how outmatched he was he could never forgive himself the humiliation of running away with his tail tucked between his legs without at least putting up a fight.


    Hope read him like an open book, those eyes lacked the ability to hide anything in the slightest, his burning determination oozed heavily through his mana and it bothered her blood a bit seeing another presence trying impose itself so blatantly before hers when it was largely unworthy of such display.


    A crushing weight fell atop her target bringing him firmly to his knees with his head bowed down unable to move in the slightest, he roared at the top of his lungs blared his mana at full force and used every bit of strengthening skills in his arsenal and yet all amounting to abject failure as not even in the slightest did the ground tremble nor did the grass billow, in the end all it took was but a simple breath to blow out his mana like a candle and disarm him entirely of all skills casted upon himself.


    And just then it broke, shattered to a million pieces as reality set upon him crushing every bit of will he had left. Her blood feeling satisfied at the rightful position it had forced him into released the pressure as Hope nonchantly walked up to him and took his storage box then continued on her way, his head never once coming up the whole time, it was a complete and utter defeat.


    EnD.

 Chapter 15: A new gift.

    The young fairy flew out of his unconscious body at a time earlier than what he had asked, she turned her head west of her as if searching for something and then back at Emrys, her gaze turned apologetic for a second as she steeled herself and flew towards that direction. It didn''t take long, just a blink and she was already right before Hope who was wide eyed looking at her.


    "A fairy" she spoke, her voice almost a whisper.


    Aine smiled as she put her hand forward as if waiting for something, Hope recognizing the gesture hurriedly placed her hands against that of young fairy''s. She looked excited and amazed, almost like a child and seeing this elicited a giggle out of Aine who began pushing a bit of her mana into Hope''s body which startled her for a bit but sensing no danger she closed her eyes and allowed the young fairy to do as she pleased. Aine made preparations to control every bit of the process lest they cause an extraordinary disturbance to the world like on that day, once settled she continued pushing her mana through Hope.


    As the Mana flowed through her body began responding to the familiar presence, the young fairy went far as even sending the mana through the very depths of her soul and blood then finally her core. Hope''s body turned boiling hot as the floral patterns around her body from the neck down gained a faint luminescent glow of blue as did her starry golden eyes, she felt a new world of power open itself to her and a mana so playful, divine and serene. A was a sharp contrast to the effect of her other half which could only depended described as stubborn and divine violence. Her core underwent a great change to accustom the new flow of mana and her pathways got rewritten down to her very soul all just to create a beautiful and controlled chaos.


    Upon opening her eyes she found the young fairy gone, her presence couldn''t be felt anywhere around her either which saddened her a bit but something told her it wasn''t anywhere near close to being the last time she''d meet her, with that thought in mind Hope smiled and continued on her way to rest after having dealt with her last target.


    Meanwhile Aine had returned to meet Emrys awake and waiting patiently for her, she wasted no time in surrendering herself to the incoming scolding from him but to her surprise all he did was give her a little pat on the head.


    She looked up to meet his eyes surprised at the treatment and he just smiled understanding full well her confusion-


    "I understand why you did it".


    "Would have asked the same of you had I discovered her condition later on".


    "It''s a tasteless thing battling anyone not at their best".


    She smiled and began jumping around all jolly and he could not help in enjoying the childish display while lamenting a bit in his head-


    ''Oh deary me, I only planned on having a draw with her before but now that''s going to be so much more difficult''.


    ''Ah well, it''ll end the same''.


    Aine came down to rest on his legs and he smiled as he sunk back into unconsciousness to continue his wait while trying for a new angle with the raging power inside him. As he had expected the longer he suppressed it the stronger and more denser it became which in turn had managed to drive his adaptation on a continuous but steady rise of easing the burden, but this was in the end a double edged sword because it would soon reach a point whereby the raging mana had entirely surpassed his current abilities and therefore break through his defenses.


    Luckily this was what he currently hoped for, with the help of his adaptation his body''s physical capabilities had become many times greater than before and could be somewhat compared to the boost given by basic mana infusion, not anywhere near close enough to rival what he could achieve with higher stages of infusion let alone strengthening but this was more than enough, now he could truly rest.


    Time passed and the young fairy kept watch staring at his sleeping face as she waited for the moment to arrive, Aine was quite aware of everyone''s eyes watching through the projection of those little one eyed rats as she called them but even those things couldn''t see nor her so it was safe.


    Aine heaved a small sigh and began gently pulling on the cheeks of her master out of boredom but a sudden slight disturbance caught her attention, she sunk herself into his soul space to find out what it was.


    Irmir''s cocoon which had remained unmoving and silent for years had begun shaking a bit and shown a crack after one year of being stable, potent wisps of dense mana from her soul was leaking out every few seconds. A joy like never before was displayed on Aine''s face, she flew round and round all giddy at the prospect of Irmir awakening very soon, her excitement almost made it impossible for her to resist waking up Emrys to share the news but she to her own great surprise managed to hold back from doing so.


    She flew out of his body again to watch the time and see just how much longer she would have to wait and to her good fortune it would not be for much longer. A familiar phenomenon began occurring during his sleep as a crimson aura seemingly imbued with stars enveloped his body, Aine looked unfazed by the occurrence and simply continued flying around in wait while sometimes coming down to tap the crimson aura just to see it ripple.


    Finally it arrived, Aine flew straight into his mind and caused the biggest commotion position which worked effectively well in waking Emrys up from his sleep. He looked around slightly dazed for a moment but soon got his bearings and was now faced with the young fairy who dumped the news on him without hesitation, he immediately sunk into his soul space to find what Aine had told him to be the truth.


    The cocoon surrounding her soul had a small crack on it, his heart thumped in excitement as he got closer and nearly placed a hand onto the cocoon before getting a hold of himself, words could not describe how joyed he was at this moment, Irmir''s awakening might be closer than he thought.


    He turned towards the jolly young fairy with a smile and gave her a gentle headpat as they returned to the outside, Emrys got up and did a small routine jump to get used to the new lightness he had achieved while deep in his conscious.


    The weight had gotten much easier and harder to bear simultaneously, he could feel himself approaching his limit in terms in containing the ever growing raging power inside him purely with his ''normal'' mana alone and he was quite apprehensive on using raw dark mana to contain it. But for now he would not have worry about it yet as there was still one more thing he had, his mental energy in the form of pure bleeding will.


    With that out of the way Emrys vanished crossing miles worth of distance in the fraction of a second to catch one of his closest targets by the head and slamming him face down into the ground with great force, in that split second of pure confusion he broke the limbs of his target while confiscating their loot and moving on to the next to repeat the process all in the span of nearly half a second.


    The second target he reached this time was one with a team and he wasted no time in trying the same tactic on him but unfortunately his target wasn''t so slow and managed to dodge his grasp by a hairs breath, no time of recovery was given to both he and his surprised teammates as the moment Emrys touched down he launched back towards his target with his claws released and sliced his arm off then catching said arm to wack his teammate in the back of the head with it hard into the ground knocking him unconscious.


    In the same breath he pushed his target''s body into the other teammate surprising him even further and wasting no time he used slashed both his eyes out eliciting an ear piercing scream out of him which was cut short with the final surgical slash at his vocals, Emrys wasted no time and took their loot as he moved on to the next.


    He could sense the last teammate was a healer so he would naturally recover the fastest from his injuries and help the rest which was fortunate for them though it would not be a bother even if that were not to be the case, his third target was like the first and got put down pretty quick while he took his loot and moved on to the next.


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    Emrys continued in this fashion for the next ten seconds crossing hundreds of miles and bringing down his targets along with their teammates if they had one, some were stronger than the rest and couldn''t be caught on the first attempt but by the time he was done with him hunt Emrys had defeated a total of sixty-eight contestants and returned back to his original spot with the little ball of darkness holding all his harvest.


    -468-.


    That was the sum total of his harvest after counting them, he felt it to be a little too much considering his goal was only to be in the top 20, only about eight thousand contestants participated in this round and with his peers here based on whichever one got greedy they could just as easily hoard fifty percent of it all or more to themselves, one way or another it was going to be incredibly unbalanced.


    He sighed and resigned himself to accepting things as they were, though there were no rules concerning the prospect or gifting part of your harvest to others he wasn''t willing to find out what would occur when he tried based on the announcer''s fiendish nature.


    "What happened to you".


    Sarang''s voice spoke from behind Emrys genuinely surprising him as his senses couldn''t feel him in the slightest, he turned around to meet the towering beastman looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.


    "You feel so much weaker all of a sudden and your mana is in such chaos, I could crush you with a flick as you are now".


    Emrys raised a brow at his words "I''m experimenting with an idea" he replied.


    "Ah, I see".


    "Would have been disappointing if we met this way in the tournament".


    "Mhm".


    Sarang smirked and walked a few feet away as he leaped back to the other side, Emrys was now by his lonesome once again as he lay down and sunk into his soul space. He playfully chided the young fairy for not warning him of Sarang''s approaching presence before taking his time to check on Irmirs state and once satisfied he left the soul space to begin his preparations.


    His mana was nearly getting overwhelmed by the raging power inside him that had grown exponentially stronger than it was at first leaving him with no choice but to go for the second option, though he had carelessly proposed the idea of bleeding pure will even Emrys himself recognized that as a whole it was a far more drastic measure than using dark mana itself to contain the raging mana.


    In the end he went for the less drastic measure and began slowly steadily introducing dark mana to the raging mana, Emrys was already far too deep in unexplored territory doing what he attempted in the first place and now here he was was introducing dark mana into the question, a power still far too unexplored in and of itself also even for him, one could not even begin to call what he was doing taking a risk.


    ''Wait a second, what if I don''t introduce dark mana as raw as it is but fuse it with my normal mana instead''.


    ''The fusion benefits only one side greatly but should be far less aggressive''.


    ''When my darkness element awakened it achieved the impossible and changed the original state of my mana from temperamental to calm though I retain the freedom to shift between states''.


    Now decided on the path to take onwards Emrys began steadily introducing dark mana into his basic one, in minutes the fusion was completed and immediately it was like the raging power had gone still facing the new mana suppressing it, this was no longer a mutual struggle but the equivalent of a giant holding a child to the ground with but a finger. Emrys knew something was wrong, the ominous feeling grew by the second and in moments he had his worries confirmed.


    The now dormant power burst out an overbearing aura so much greater than it ever was and clashed madly against his mana with a ferocity that made even he nervous, if the first clash between his normal mana and it could be called a tug of war mostly even on both ends then this could be called an actual bloody war. The area around his physical form sunk into the earth crushed by an invisible force, what Emrys had done seemed to have angered it greatly and now there stood two great giants each mighty and ferocious battling it out in his body at a level that would have killed almost anyone else a thousand times over.


    To his great fortune this was exactly what would feed his adaptation many times better as it kick-started into a craze and did something Emrys did not expect in the slightest, it was like something just clicked in his mind and a cool breeze washed over his body, everything felt.....okay. He levitated off the ground and stood upright, a smile on his face as he reviewed the new gift he had been given. And just then the timer stopped, everyone last contestant on the battlefield was immediately teleported back to the arena with most looking baffled at the sudden occurrence and surprised even further when the crowd got in an uproar following the announcers words, he waited for calm before continuing-


    "Well then ladies and gentlemen, the first round is officially over!".


    "And now comes harsh judgment.....from ME!".


    A wide terrifying grin was shown on his face which was soon replaced by a charming smile then followed by an apologetic one.


    "Haizz, I owe you an apology people. Or to be more accurate, THEY owe you an apology".


    Thirteen mini-announcers appeared before the fated ones and Emrys pointing their fingers at them, the crowd roared in agreement prompting small looks of confusion on their faces.


    "You greedy hoarders almost took the fun out of the actual true purpose of this round".


    "Pure?Unadulterated?Anarchy".


    "Couldn''t even at least make up for it by making your battles long or drawn out and interesting, everything you did was so robotic, lazy and calculated, where''s the fun in all that".


    "Even the red dragon did nothing to promote anarchy though being the most suited for it, your ancestors roll I tell you".


    "Bringing a poor look to the legends".


    Ishmael looked visibly ticked at the announcers words and the crowds booing but in the end remained composed.


    "See, a direct insult to his face and bloodline yet he remains calm, a pride that reaches the heavens my foot".


    Rows of laughter was heard from everyone, even some of the contestants whom were relishing in this little victory over the fated ones, especially those who were direct victims of their hunts. But even this too was short-lived when they felt a strong pressure from the announcer glaring at them with an intense gaze, their laughs got stifled almost immediately.


    "Make no mistake you losers, I am not the slightest bit on your side".


    "Or do you forget a sizeable portion of you will not be progressing past this round".


    "Ah well, let''s see the results now shall we".


    "If most of you had been paying attention to the numbers I''m sure you already know the highest ranking ones".


    "This is more so for the contestants than you the crowd at this point, a horrible little design flaw".


    The announcers voice got giddy as he snapped his fingers to reveal the rankings on the screens, only the top 50 visibly left the screen and presented themselves in the air before everyone present, the others appeared in much smaller forms before each and everyone of the contestants bar the top 50


    "Hm, guess we have our winner then".


    Amongst the crowd stood Velkos with a mini crown floating above his head and a number up high that read:


    -713-


    Meanwhile Emrys could only sign, though knowing himself to have overshot past his original intention he still had no idea it would be this bad.


    "Now then, the losers.....".


    The announcer had a wide smile on his face seeing the looks on their faces, some of them had already begun breaking down in tears knowing that for a test which selected only the absolute best of the younger generation (aged 14-20) they would be returning with such a shameful evaluation, a shame more than tripled for those coming as representatives of their own worlds.


    The passing grade for getting into the next was ''5'', out of nearly eight thousand participants more than half of them had been eliminated and a nearly half of that number was contributed to solely by the fated ones.


    Their rankings went as such:-


    ¡ªVelkos [713] <1st place>


    ¡ªAvistro [658] <2nd place>


    ¡ªEmrys [468] <3rd place>


    ¡ªIshmael [326] <4th place>


    ¡ªHope [192] <6th place>


    ¡ªSarang [142] <7th place>


    ¡ªBahu [121] <8th place>


    ¡ªMordred [113] <9th place>


    ¡ªShen [102] <11th place>


    ¡ªNoctis [100] <12th place>


    ¡ªRozaria [98] <13th place>


    ¡ªMavion [82] <14th place>


    ¡ªZirsto [66] <15th place>


    ¡ªSelene [52] <19th place>


    In the end only a total of 788 contestants would remain with a lot barely scraping past the passing grade, the announcer looked a bit unsatisfied.


    "Would have been a lot less if it were not for the team factor saving some of you leeches".


    "Ah what can you do, there''s one final thing i want to do but.....even I find it a little too harsh".


    He snapped his fingers and teleported the disqualified contestants out of the arena into the waiting area from which they would be met the choice of either returning home or watching the rest of the tournament as a non-participant.


    "Now then, onto the second round".


    "Gear up everybody, were going fishing".


    EnD.

 Chapter 16: The Sea Of Life.

    The announcer pulled out a little blue stone from his pocket space and crushed it, instantly the arena began splitting apart into equal halves terrifying most of the crowd and both halves slowly levitated into the air as the visual world around them was breaking to pieces and falling off like flakes to reveal that they were now somewhere deep in the cosmos floating an immense distance above an endless sea of honey gold adorned by beautiful bright colors shining from underneath to bring forth a breathtaking hue that reflected on the cosmos like an Aurora.


    Swimming inside this beautiful sea were a multitude of gargantuous and ethereal creatures with one of a particular kind coming up ever so often to the surface in groups for a graceful dive pushing up an uncountable number of bubble like substances with a colorful core that drfited around atop the sea an around the cosmos like little lights.


    "Gentlemen, I welcome you to the greatest wonder of our realm".


    "The Sea Of Life".


    Rising out of the depths of the sea was an astral avatar of a man standing so tall all seemed insignificant before him, he walked along the surface of the sea and cupped his hands together breathing into life a lotus of many colors and petals with a multitude of ethereal roots that sunk into the sea and generating a golden pulse of mana that spread throughout the cosmos.


    Even with how slightly obscure his features were in this form of an astral avatar everyone present could still recognize at a glance who he was, portraits of him were abundant all over the world though he had remained unseen to the masses for over a decade.


    "And how lucky you remain still, welcome tower master".


    The announcers head was bowed in courtesy to him under the awed gazes of the crowd who felt their hearts skip a beat seeing the avatar turning his head towards them showing a gentle smile as he slowly faded away leaving the singular lotus behind.


    Emrys had his eyes completely locked on the petal, while most might not know it''s purpose he did. But it wasn''t just him but seemingly Avistro and Hope caught on to what the tower master''s true purpose here was, this in the end all served to confuse them still when taking into consideration why a person like the tower master would prepare such a thing as this.


    The announcers voice broke them out of their thoughts serving as a reminder that as of right now they were still in the middle of a tournament-


    "Well then, let''s get down to business".


    "I will be very blunt, in this round you are to catch a world eater".


    "To be more precise, you are to catch a world eater''s infant".


    "You will be doing so without agitating the infant nor will the use of seals and teamwork be allowed".


    "If the infant were to not take kindly to you and either gets agitated or tries to kill you then the penalty shall be an instant disqualification".


    With every word spoken by the announcer the contestants and even the spectators themselves could feel their hearts sinking further and further into the abyss of terror, world eaters were a species with a name that did to them not the slightest bit of justice as to what they truly were.


    Creatures on average whom were large enough to lay in a bed made out of trillions of universes and still have it not be enough to match their monstrous size, the only world eaters known to consume worlds were infants which were the first type encountered from their species and accidentally given the name which had stuck already before the mages of the past had their eyes opened to what their true capabilities were upon discovering the juveniles and adults.


    What they fed on were whole realms which is why it was most important and fortunate that their home and that of other great creatures resided in the ''Sea Of Life'', a birthplace of realms with an endless body so no matter how big they grow or how much they devour it would all simply just amount to the total value of zero.


    Many would have pondered and doubted the dragons place as the pinnacle of all creatures if it were not for the fact the ancients nearly wiped out their entire race thousands of years ago due to a breach of domains caused by history''s biggest fool as he came to be termed after.


    The announcer smirked looking at their faces and wiggled his index finger while clicking his tongue "wait a minute, there''s more".


    "To your great fortune the tower master has helped to make this round a bit easier".


    "Originally you were to search for them yourselves in the Sea Of Life but taking into account that you would have been obliterated in an instant touching that great of a power it was scrapped".


    "After some......peaceful negotiations with an adult world eater some infants have been generously donated to us temporarily".


    The announcer summoned a second blue stone from his pocket space and placed it onto the empty space to reveal a giant doorway.


    "Now you only have to step into the little portal here to meet them, easy right?".


    With a will that would have been capable of moving of mountains they managed to hold themselves back from cursing at him.


    "Oh, it almost slipped my mind. Worry not about registering on their radars due to how tiny you are in comparison".


    "Once through the doorway your sizes would be instantly adjusted to an adequate level".


    "Time limit for this round is twenty minutes, wish you good luck".


    Having said everything he had to the angry and terrified contestants began walking through the doorway in droves, the sensation of getting their sizes adjusted so quickly felt a bit electric. Most took a bit in adjusting to the new feeling of piloting a gigantic body while the special few got used to it a fraction of a second later.


    Before them were thousands of infant world eaters spaced adequately well floating around in this space seemingly asleep and unaware of their presence, world eaters at the stage of infancy had a body mildly similar to that of a manta ray with six slender tails and a head almost like that of an orca''s.


    Infants were on average 2-3 larger than a normal celestial satellite and right now they looked to be a little over half their size in comparison, the contestants whom were quite short on time began hurriedly thinking of ways to win the favour of the little infants, the big ticking clock counting down in all red far above wasn''t helping matters but they had no choice here.


    One obvious thought they all had was to bribe them with worlds but absolutely none of them here could do that, nobody keeps a random world on them for no reason and even if there were worlds around in this empty space none had the confidence to capture one at their current level.


    With time running out on them a few made peace w)ith the fact that this was to be the end of their journey in this tournament and bit the bullet as they approached the infants, once they had crossed within a certain range of them it was like their presence had registered to the infants. The sensation of multiple thousands of eyes of giants all staring down at you could not be put into words, everything suddenly felt so heavy and it was like they were laid bare before the eyes of these monsters.


    The infants approached them steadily looking at them with curious gazes, one in particular circled around them getting a feel of what they were with it''s fins and nearly almost biting onto the head of one contestant who reacted on instinct and flared his mana up in defense ready to attack.


    The infant shrank a bit following the sudden movement and show of hostility, no words needed to be said as the contestant realized what he had done, his heart sunk to the bottom as he looked up at the infant which nearly began leaking out some mana before be got teleported out of the space surprising everyone present.


    Those who had stayed back analysed the whole thing from start to finish, for one it seemed like there a second space separating they and the infants and unless you cross a certain threshold the infants would remain completely oblivious to them, a second point was that only the contestants could cross that threshold and not the infants due to the fact that they were so close to it yet even with their movements they seem to not have crossed it in the slightest.


    The third was the fact that even within the threshold there remained another final one, only one contestant seemed to be in contact with a single infant each though they might look clustered on the outside there was an orderly placement to their positions that not even the contestants seemed to be aware of.


    The fourth point confirmed the announcers blunt words, at a hint of annoyance or irritation from the infants they face instant disqualification, with that being said one oddity stood out to Emrys. Particularly concerning Ishmael and Hope, they were dragons and even without mentioning the fact that their nature was anything but calming especially to other beastly creatures even if suppressed to the absolute limit the possibility of one other little thing occurring could make this round possibly the only one with a real chance of elimination for them both most especially.


    A blood feud, sometimes in it''s natural most occurring state enough resentment and hatred could be imprinted deep into the physical body or mana and this could be passed down to future generations with even more freshened hatred and despite like the very day and moment your ancestor experienced that great emotion for the first time.


    With more than a quarter of the available time spent already the rest hurriedly pushed themselves to go face the challenge head-on, Emrys along with the rest of his peers still hung back for a little longer. The longer they watched how the others tackled this round the grimmer things got, a good portion just stood there looking all prim and pretty like an auction item hoping to catch the attention of a bidder in the crowds, the very same strategy used for when gaining a familiar but there was a fatal difference.


    Other than the fact that their objective was to capture and gain their favour they forgot the most very basic thing, these were infants. And just as they had expected most of the infants began moving away after seeing nothing of interest being displayed by the little beings who piqued their curiosity, some even got a bit fussy leading to the instant disqualifications of more contestants. But in the midst of all this a little miracle occurred, a few brave souls got the bright idea to try petting the infants and though they looked a little confused at first after a little bit they gave themselves into the gesture enjoying so much that some even rolled over on their backs.


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    Portals opened up right beside the contestants who managed to achieve the feat of gaining the world eaters favours, the infants even looked a bit saddened when they saw their favoured ones leaving and tried to leave along with them but sadly could not as they also were being called back to their original home and guardian.


    Emrys and his peers felt numb for quite a bit, normally one would be happy to having discovered the answer to clearing a troubling challenge but this time they just felt so.......defeated. Having no choice but proceed with completing this round now that they had their answers they went forward and crossed the threshold, same as the others the infants immediately became alerted to their presence and came forward.


    But unlike the others something different happened this time, when the infants approached they nudged themselves playfully against the fated ones even Ishmael and Hope, it was most surprising no doubt but soon they responded in kind with a gentle rub along their smooth bodies.


    Soon after as expected the portals to return back opened up and the call back home for the infants began, they seemed saddened but unable to resist the process their bodies faded away from this space and with that they left through the portals also. Now back to the original space with just barely four minutes left on the clock they waited around in an odd sense of silence, somehow announcer saying nothing at all was more unnerving than not, the crowds silence further served to amplify this unease.


    Time suddenly seemed much slower and dragged out than usual to the senses of most contestants here as they began silently wishing for this round to end faster so they could move on, counting every damning second that went down they waited with bated breaths until the moment of great relief. All contestants bar the disqualified ones were returned to this space looking down and defeated, time ran out and they could not complete the challenge so they knew what awaited them or so they thought.


    "Congratulations, you have all passed".


    The announcers words struck like a bolt causing great confusion amongst the contestants, even the fated ones showed a visibly strong reaction this time.


    With a smile on his lips seeing their reactions he continued-


    "I lied about a few things of which I will come to explain soon enough".


    "The purpose of this round was not to cull you some more".


    "But for those of you unfortunate to have achieved true disqualification within this round they might be already on their way home".


    He shrugged nonchalantly-


    "Oh well, I''d hope at this point a few of you should have gotten a rough idea about the purpose of this round".


    "Most of you are geniuses, the uncontested best of your generations chosen from all around".


    "But there is one thing that universally plagues everyone named a genius".


    "The inability to physically and mentally familiarize yourselves with simplicity the further you grow".


    "Take this round for example".


    "Yes, it''s big, it''s scary and it can exterminate you all with a single breath".


    "An all-round seemingly hopeless situation that we put you in setting everyone up for failure correct?"


    "Yet in the end most of you failed to consider the simple idea that it was just a bigger, dumber, puppy".


    "An infant".


    "Millions of scenarios ran through your heads yet almost none of them were in consideration of something simple and basic".


    "The more you look the less you see, forever an immortal phrase".


    "Sometimes the answer to a most complicated problem is a very simple one".


    He sighed "it''s not fun being serious for once, better learn this lesson now else I might actually be mad you wasted this moment for nothing".


    "Do you understand me?".


    The eerie feeling in his gaze shook their souls to the core as they nod their heads eagerly, the announcer satisfied with their responses smiled as his happy spirit seemed to have returned once more.


    "Good, now that we are done with the pleasantries¨C


    "Fall".


    Upon his command everyone exception found themselves unable to resist as they fell right through the arena and down into the ''Sea Of Life'', but the body of water they found themselves in looked wildly different as was their position, in no time again they found themselves uncontrollably falling through that body of water and down from the skies like a meteor crashing down to the earth and it wasn''t until the very last moment that control was restored to their bodies leaving them crashing hard to the floor except for a select few.


    Upon regaining their bearings the contestants looked around to find themselves back in the arena of the host world now whole instead of two halves, the announcer popped up a moment later with a devilishly wide grin on his face.


    "Ladies and gentlemen.....the hour has arrived".


    "Now we commence the final round".


    "ARE YOU REAAAAAADY!!!"


    The crowd erupted in an uproar of earth shaking excitement, now was no longer the time for hiding and stalling, for team-ups and pointless time wasting, it was the time for true life and death hanging in the balance as each contestant puts their all on the line using every possible unfair advantages they had just to survive.


    His blood crazed gaze was cast upon the contestants, there was madness in the air and it infected the eyes of everyone present, he could not help but break out in laughter feeling all the excitement rush up his veins.


    "Only 652 contestants left now, perfect".


    All contestants were immediately teleported to ocean''s surface, to be more precise they were teleported to the different stages created atop the ocean with barriers created around each one, two contestants for every stage and each being a little over half the size of the arena. A moment later mini versions of the announcer appeared to the three hundred and twenty six stages bearing the contestants to make the rules clear, his face seemed to be completely serious and his eyes clear bearing nothing of the blood curling madness that had shone in then just moments ago.


    "If you fall out of the barrier, you might die to whichever creature lays in wait".


    "Though most of you will find it very difficult to break, it''s not impossible".


    "You are allowed to incapacitate or kill your opponents".


    "Surrender shall only be allowed if shown to be completely unable to recover or fight".


    "If you defeat an opponent you are allowed the option to try going for another so long as they too have defeated theirs and agree to your challenge".


    "If both of these conditions are not present then you shall be teleported back to the arena".


    "If also unable to receive an acceptance to your challenge after eight minutes then automatically you shall be returned".


    "You are only allowed to challenge another contestant a number of two times".


    "An hour is the limit of this round but it is also allowed to end in less".


    "You may begin".


    Having said all he had to the mini announcers all vanished as each contestant began sizing up their opponents, this time once again it was like a silent agreement had passed between the fated ones on how to approach this round.


    ''Savour it''.


    Emrys studied his opponent in silence, the fear was palpable as was his resignation to what was to come.


    "Red orcs have never been known for their fear, why tarnish that" he questioned.


    His opponents grip on his war axe grew tighter but said nothing, a little smile found a way to his lips as Emrys felt himself amused and got a little idea.


    "Allow me let you in on a little secret".


    "Right now amongst the rest of my peers I am by far the weakest".


    Emrys could see his will waver and a hint of hope taking root in those eyes as he absorbed the weight of his words, but as a final attempt to drive it in further leaving no room for escape-


    "For this battle I shall use no magic against you, I swear it on my core".


    Almost immediately a little inscription was written on the air before him marking the fact mana had sealed his promise and if he were to dare break it then the consequences could be fatal in ways he could not imagine, that was the power of a Mages vow.


    As he has hoped that seemed to have sealed the deal, the red orc wield a battle axe in each hand and changed them against eachother three times activating a hidden rune which lit up and covered both axes in a blaze of blue flames.


    He burst forward in a blue streak crouching low at the last moment to deliver a heavy chop at legs of Emrys or so he thought, having been too late to see it coming it hit him square in the face pushing him tens of meters backwards and had into the stage unable to move under the heavy stream of power blasting onto his face.


    By the time Emrys had stopped a minute later more than half of his fleshhad been burnt off to the bone and and one eye a complete mess, yet to no one''s surprise the red orc began regenerating everything in a matter of seconds thanks to the overwhelmingly robust vitality of his race on par with that of an ogre if not surpassing it.


    His eyes held surprise at what he had just experienced, very nearly he had been on the cusp of cussing out Emrys for breaking his vow not to use magic but he felt it very clearly that the attack used on him contained not the slightest hint of mana.


    "A little gift I obtained from my travel, it is incredibly weak on it''s own but has quite the entertainment factor for annoyance".


    "Though this surprises me as I expected no injuries granted to you by it, seems my body made some adjustments I wasn''t aware of".


    Emrys felt that he hadn''t used that concentrated beam of pure heat to it''s full potential yet which should make zero sense when considering he was back in his home realm which led him to the conclusion his body had truly mutated it into something entirely different breaking the original limit ceiling of this power.


    ''Interesting, will make sure to study this extensively after''.


    A flash of blue shone in his eyes as he looked up at the last moment as the red orc swung his axe upwards aiming to lop his face clean off from underneath and Emrys levitated backwards at extreme speeds just in time to avoid the axe accompanied by a large arc of blue flames and a great burst of wind at the extreme force exerted by those powerful arms.


    The orc gave no breathing space to him as he rushed forward once more this time stopping just a meter of him to stomp his feet hard onto the stage using the skill <<Tremor>> to cause a heavy rain of terrible vibrations that affected not just the platform but everything in range of it be they in the air or not.


    Emrys felt his body get assaulted by these terrible vibrations in the air which threatened to shatter his innardsand for a moment it almost made him lose control of the ongoing war in his body but he held steady and retaliated with another round of the concentrated beam but the orc raised an axe to block it entirely budging not the slightest bit this time.


    With swift and nimble movements he stepped to the side of the beam and launched himself towards Emrys with a thundering roar but Emrys simply turned his head a bit to send the beam into his sides launching the orc away but he recovered quickly and threw an axe into the beam cutting straight through it without any resistance and Emrys levitated to the side to dodge the axe responding in kind with a stream of lightning that covered one half of the entire stage but it did nothing to the orc and just then Emrys noticed movement from behind.


    He levitated higher to dodge the returning axe or so he thought but with a flick of the orcs index the axe followed his movements and impaled him straight in the chest. The orc noticed something was wrong as he felt the axe unable to move forward, a large gash was present showing his skin had been cut but his bones didn''t budge in the slightest.


    Emrys pushed the blade out easily and tossed it back towards the orc to took a look at his palm which was visibly burnt, the gash on his chest was healing as was his hand but the natural regeneration of his body was much slower this time. The axe was as he had expected infused with many things to counter specific situations and one of them included anti-regeneration magic, those flames had even attempted to burn the very mana out of his core and eat at his soul though failing terribly in the end.


    The orc seemed to have come to an understanding that this level of power would not be anywhere near enough to defeat Emrys, he unleashed a wave of crimson mana blazing around him, the air shifted with the new intensity and danced wildly around him, the stage shook with an amazing intensity rivaling that of the <<Tremor>> skill even without being cast.


    The blazing mana seemed to settle bit by bit around the orcs body almost like a thin shield of mana specially crafted around his body, it extended to his battle axes and with a single clang a particular resonance was created strengthening and reinforcing the orc''s physical parameters by six times what it was even with what such skillful control over mana already grants.


    ''Strong''.


    That was the only word that had come to his mind feeling the current state of the orc, a strength which entirely dwarfed that of his in a normal state without doubt. Emrys felt no whistle, no disturbance, no blur and no flash, right beside him now was the orc swinging his axe right down towards his head with a force seemingly threatening to pull down the very heavens itself.


    EnD.

 Chapter 17: It was fun.

    Standing there the red orc simply could not believe it, in his hands he had the remnants of his axe, it''s blade had been diced cleanly into five pieces scattered around leaving only the handle in his hand. The other had been dropped to the ground in his moment of pure shock at how this could have happened, he raised his head up to look at Emrys who simply stood there looking at the claws of his right hand.


    Even he was amazed at the sharpness displayed by this claws, measuring a length of four inches when fully released and now bearing a complexion of dark gold with a blood red tip different to what it was eight years ago. The flesh of his arm which had been completely eviscerated by the impact he had beared just for a moment only revealing his bones of pure gold was slowly regenerating, at the rate it currently healed at Emrys judged it could take two minutes to become whole even if his regeneration was no longer slowed as before thanks to his body.


    He retracted his claws and returned his attention back to his opponent who still looked to be strongly shaken by the event, wasting no further time Emrys levitated forward appearing before the shaken orc slapping him hard into the stage with enough force that he bounced off it. The slap seemed to have accomplished it''s purpose as clarity and a heavy hint of rage returned to his eyes, Emrys smiled as he gestured towards the axe lying on the stage with his index.


    "Pick it up, this time truly come at me with everything you have lest I grant you a shameful death".


    "Do not ruin my fight".


    The red orc got up and picked the blade up off the stage, upon gripping it the axe was once again engulfed with a torrent of blue flames. His mana flared once more but this time it was of a different hue, the tribal tattoos on his body lit up turning his mana red and causing a great pressure to descend upon the stage, on the back of his hand was the inscription of a star.


    He put a hand to his chest and pulled off the fang necklace crafted for him whispering a word into it to reveal it''s true form, a blood red battle axe inscribed with three runes at it''s handle and another on it''s blade. The mana emanating off the blade was uncomfortably eerie giving of the feeling of millions of ants crawling all over one''s skin and eating at it from the inside out, If one were to listen closely the silenced wails of agonized souls could be heard from the red gem embedded at the base of the blade.


    Strengthening his grip on both blades in his hands the orc''s mana rose again once more in intensity, Emrys had paid no attention to it before but upon appraising those weapons closely he knew that it was some even a good number of nobles would be unable to possess with the entirety of their wealth, the orc was definitely of a high status within his race if he were to bear such magnificent weapons.


    The orc raised his hand bearing the first battle axe and swung in an horizontal motion, Emrys flew high into the air to avoid the torrent of flames he no doubt knew to be poison for him right now yet even this far up he could still free the pressure from the power of such a casual swing. His opponent looked at him high up in the air and smiled, a first which took Emrys by surprise and then came the haunting words.


    <<Flight>>


    The bracelet worn on his right hand lit up as the inscription of a wing was revealed on it casting the spell for him, in a moment the orc was right above him sending a downwards arc kick towards his head of which Emrys put his hand up to block but found himself easily overpowered and sent down towards the stage like a meteor.


    The impact was explosive sending earth shaking tremors throughout the entire stage and still causing a great disturbance to the waters around even with the barriers preventing most of anything from getting out, Emrys looked up just in time to notice the red orc descending upon him in a streak of red and flew away to escape the impact.


    For the first time a mark had been left on the stage by the axe indicating the absurdity of his opponents strength, the orc banged both axes against one another and gave the red one a little twirl before sprinting forward once more at blinding speeds. Emrys made an effort to get out of the way again but this time found himself unable to move as if stopped in time and just the the orc arrived and swung down at his neck, an invisible force hit his arm square off course and pushed him away.


    Emrys found himself able to move once more as the immobilization spell being cast by one of the runes wore off due to disruption of his opponents focus, he instantly created a good distance to get his thoughts in order while his opponent also thought about the new variable that had just appeared.


    The orc was dangerous and there was doubt about it, an enchanted bracelet granting him flight and then there were the buff magic skills he wasn''t stacking yet as a warrior. But the red axe most especially was tricky, three runes were inscribed on it and though he knew of what one was now the other two remained a mystery.


    Even if his claws could surely destroy the axe he had no desire to this time, a foolish decision sure but one he would be sticking by for now. Making his opponent an entirely toothless predator wasn''t the outcome he desired of this fight, he would much rather break the body itself than the weapon.


    His body was covered from head to toe with divine artifacts that he had worn since he was a toddler, nearly every single one of them bearing the capability to solve his dilemma in a flash but once again he could not. Having to use something that great on someone so small would be embarrassing, his opponent seemed to have finished organising his thoughts as he went on the attack once more, raising his hand bearing the first axe up high the blue flames burned with a higher intensity than ever and then he swung downwards.


    The entire stage was engulfed in a tsunami of blue flames rising high into the sky, the red orc burst out of them a moment later hunting Emrys with no rest but was met with a surprise. The moment he had burst out Emrys went down and grabbed him by his legs then swung around in a cartwheel motion until he threw him down to the stage, he followed suit in the same breath to put both knees on his back while grabbing onto his arm twisting them backwards and using the power of his flight to send them downwards much faster.


    But moments before impact the immobilization rune activated once more and in that instant the orc gained enough time to overpower the grip of Emrys on his hands and turn around to grab him by the face slamming him hard into stage or so he thought, only his empty palm was what impacted the stage sending another strong tremor through it. Looking up he saw Emrys floating a short distance above and witnessed the most surprising thing, Emrys was making movements though quite small and restrained they were present which should not be possible under an immobilization spell unless being countered by an equal or stronger magic of which Emrys was currently in no position to use.


    ''Monster''


    He uttered in a whisper to himself as his eyes held pure disbelief, acknowledging the fact things could not continue this way lest he lose the upper hand to whatever method the fated one wss using to counter his magic the orc double cast a buff skill and a spell followed by another skill buff and a spell.


    <Acceleration>


    <<Delay>>


    <Burst>


    <<Lesser Clairvoyance>>


    Emrys for the very first time in this match dawned a genuine look of surprise at the level of his opponent in this match, in a much shorter time than ever the orc was level with him once more and with the <<Immobilization>> spell still in place he had no easy room for movement. But it was here that the real purpose of <<Delay>> shone as the <Burst> skill was activated releasing a whole new level of explosive force that surged through his entire body enhancing the blow of his axe by magnitudes higher.


    Dodging couldn''t completely save Emrys this time as even the force of the blow came pressing down on him from all areas sending him tumbling downwards but he regained himself just soon enough to escape the bull rush attempt from the orc, twisting himself skillfully just over his head he grabbed his opponent by the collar and attempted to throw him away but was countered by the orc grabbing onto his arm from behind.


    Staring at the smug look on his face Emrys realised then that he had been played the fool as the orc had read every single one of his intentions and acted none the wiser


    ''Clairvoyance''


    He thought to himself in annoyance having also realised now that his movements had become much freer allowing him that skillful maneuver he had applied, with a stronger grip his flesh burst and ripped apart as the orc threw him forward still not letting go as he swung the red axe down at his neck hacking into it with ease yet this time he found himself unable to separate the head off his body.


    "Do you want to know a trade secret"


    Emrys suddenly spoke up, the orc''s gaze met his eyes and he smiled.


    "Even if you could have lopped the head off my neck.....I am immortal".


    His eyes widened and with that Emrys released his claws cleanly severing both his eyes and the bridge of his nose, a soul crushing anguish assaulted the orc as he began rolling around wailing in pain. With his concentration entirely broken he began falling to the stage but that was the least of his worries right now. He wasn''t regenerating in the slightest, seconds after seconds passed and yet nothing, not one feeling that he would be getting better, in fact the longer time passed the greater his pain became.


    True panic set in for the orc as he began cursing at Emrys from below demanding to know what he had to him, his tone was a mixture of pure unadulterated anger and terror as his agony continued on the rise.


    Emrys sighed to himself internally watching the helpless orc roll around in pain and swinging his axe like a madman laying curses at him, looking at his bloody claws which had absorbed the blood on it that odd feeling rose again but he pushed it away. He disliked close quarters, there was no doubt about this in his heart but he needed to learn it well.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    For the past eight years he had sparred with his family in this area he had lost which wasn''t a surprising outcome but how bad he was at understanding it was another thing. It could not be said he picked nothing up from those spars but more so the fact his mind actively rejected absorbing way more than it could so easily for someone like him due to his prejudice, in every way possible he himself saw this style as inferior and troublesome.


    He was a mage at heart, setting up chains of spells, planning far ahead and keeping his opponents indefinitely trapped in place while he rained down hell on earth upon them, the style that inflicted maximum frustration, pain and terror altogether against your opponents, he loved it all yet both his mother and aunt pushed for him to learn the intricacies of close quarters and become the perfect adaptable hybrid lest he one day be punished for it by those who revelled in punishing his style.


    Of course he had objected putting forward the position that no matter what he would always be in a position of overwhelmingly power against his opponents bar his only true equals in this world and yet even then he wouldn''t be at a real disadvantage, that position had failed spectacularly and now here he was trying to gain some experience with close quarters that wasn''t harmless sparring sessions with his sisters.


    Sighing to himself again he flew down to his opponent who was still wailing around and grabbed him by the throat, he struggled of course and tried to hurt him but the invisible force just kept pushing his attempts away. An idea had popped up in his head and he wanted to try it out, he cut open a wound on his wrist using his claws and dripped the blood onto the orc''s eyes then dropped him as he stood back waiting to see the results.


    A few seconds later the disfigured flesh squirmed around as his eyes began regenerating and the severed nasal bridge recovered, sight was returned once more to the orc who looked up, down and around. Tears welled up in his eyes for moment but was soon replaced with a burning rage upon seeing Emrys clearly, he picked up his axe and roared like a beast.


    "YOU BASTARD!!!"


    He yelled and banged both axes against eachother creating a resonance that propped up a three meter tall second barrier around the stage.


    "The fear of permanently losing your sight is that scary huh".


    Emrys mused to himself, the Immobilization effect was cast once more and the orc cast every buff he had in his arsenal upon himself and then hacked away like a madman at the body of Emrys who still looked to be amused as his flesh was torn and ripped away under each swing, thundering sounds were created with every swing and every impact he made yet nothing seemed to get through even with the stage now marked with multiple deep gashes all over.


    The orc stepped back and gathered a great quantity of his mana into the red axe activating the last two runes simultaneously, the second rune turned the entire area inside the barrier into a world of grey and slowly everything began disintegrating to ashes. The final rune drew on a great amount of his life force to summon a first circle sealing magic that would capable of sealing his target away in stasis while feeding their minds into the abyss of madness for two centuries-


    <<Embers of Sorrow>>


    His barrier shattered to pieces as a new ceiling made out of purple viscous substance was formed above covering the entire stage, it dripped down onto the stage like raindrops and those little drops converged to devour Emrys whole wrapping around his bare bones like a piece of cloth. The substance squirmed around like it was in agony and the sounds of multiple thousand voices whispering over one another could be heard along with a wailing distorted voice, an anchor from the ceiling above reached down to pull the encased bones of Emrys into it''s domain.


    The orc''s eyes looked ripe with madness, everything was going smoothly, the sensation of his victory felt ever so close at hand so why wasn''t it going up. A moment ago the anchor simply refused to continue pulling Emrys into its domain and just simply hung there, the orc wondered if he had made a mistake when activating the rune, was the life force he had to give up not enough?.


    A deep seated fear struck his heart, if this spell fails then he would truly be out of options, he had no idea how he could possibly harm Emrys, this was his only winning card. Suddenly it seemed like movement resumed once more lighting a spark of hope in the orc''s heart and was soon ready to burn into a full blaze but it all got wiped out when the viscous substance began petrifying itself solid, with every crack that occurred he too could hear the sound of his heart breaking until everything was turned into stone and burst to pieces.


    Floating there was the golden skeleton of Emrys, in the pitch darkness of his eye sockets two purple embers of light burning with the intensity of a cool breeze, though possessing not the capability to make an expression the orc could read it well, that look of absolute supremacy.


    His head dropped down as he fell to his knees, he felt so tired, from the very beginning this had been like a game of cat and mouse, no matter how fast he made himself he still couldn''t overwhelm him. His great strength that had given him the illusion that he was in control and the immobilization rune that had worked to great effects all seemed to be for naught, how was anyone supposed to win against this.


    "Why".


    "How could one person be so unfair, why won''t you just die"


    He asked, his voice filled with lamentation but Emrys just seemed utterly confused, there had to be something he was missing.


    "Unfair?".


    "I handed you every possible handicap i could gift you".


    "I most specifically swore that I would not use magic against you, the very thing that defines my abilities as a mage and yet you call me unfair?".


    "What a sad fool".


    "Blame your lack of ability to detain me well enough or force my surrender".


    Though his words seemed angry and sharp, his voice never rose, simply remaining low and calm as he uttered those words. With the focus of the orc entirely broken now the disintegration effect keeping him from regenerating wore off, making use of his powers Emrys set himself strongly ablaze flames which thankfully to his much too sluggish regeneration at current was able to work wonderfully well in keeping him as he were.


    The orc said nothing only closing his eyes for a few seconds in a final attempt to calm himself while feeling the warmth surrounding him, once settled he picked up his axe and got on his feet barely forcing out his best attempt at a smile in this situation. He got himself in a battle ready stance, more than half his mana had been depleted due to forcefully casting spells beyond his level but for as long as they remained he would fight until the very last drop left him.


    From where he stood now Emrys could see the second bracelet on his other arm light up a bit with the inscription of an enchantment as the orc cast the same spells on himself once more, Emrys felt a bit disappointed and it showed on his face without his knowing


    "So it was an enchantment for focus huh".


    "A shame, I had genuinely thought you one worthy of being a genius".


    "My apologies".


    This orc couldn''t help this time but laugh a little self-depreciatingly to himself, this was practically no different from being called a fraud all for an image he himself did not willingly project but yet here he was anyways. Further choosing to sacrifice a tenth of his mana the orc called to his familiar-


    "Zeshu".


    A large spiral of flames was summoned and from it walked a large grey wolf with two tails and bright red eyes, it''s limbs were covered in flames as were it''s tails and between it''s two eyes was a third one hidden behind a partially closed vertical slit.


    Emrys could sense a strength approaching that of a two-star warrior from the familiar and smiled, it growled and crouched waiting for the command to pounce. With a look the orc ordered his familiar to attack as they launched themselves towards Emrys who acted fast in throwing off their attempt at synergy by continuously pushing the orc away using his ability while flying to the side in a blink to avoid the claws of the wolf swiping at him.


    It recovered itself relatively quickly and turned around to roar releasing a wave of flames that melted a portion of the stage with relative ease, Emrys focused his ability to create a path through the flames and flew through it striking the familiar square in the jaw with a kick sending it flying and turning around to catch the axe thrown at him with ease as blue flames engulfed his being but caused no harm.


    He threw the axe back towards the orc who caught it mid sprint and jumped high into the air applying the immobilization rune once more but it''s effects only lasted for a moment before breaking, Emrys attempted flying up to catch the orc mid descent but found his legs held firmly around the jaws of the familiar with it''s mouth aglow with a fast rising intensity of heat.


    The axe struck down engulfing him in a spiral of blue and red flames ascending high into the sky, the orc and his familiar found themselves unharmed by the attacks of one another despite standing right in the centre of it which was another welcome effect of having a familiar, unless intended to neither would ever be able to hurt the other with their attacks.


    The flames down to reveal an unarmed Emrys blocking the axe with one hand, the area around him was molten and with his free arm he grabbed onto the orc''s face then tossed him away as he turned his attention to the wolf. It''s instincts reacted pretty strongly forcing the familiar to retreat a safe distance away but Emrys was right there a moment later grabbing it by the throat and slamming it down to stage causing a great dent on it.


    Still with his grip firmly around it''s throat he picked the familiar up and tossed it towards the orc who instinctively tried catching his familiar but got punched square in the chest sending him flying like a rocket into the barrier and bouncing off it as great pain racked his senses but Emrys wasn''t done as just a moment later he grabbed the orc by the face and flew high into the sky to throw him down with great force.


    The orc hit the stage so hard he bounced off it again sending another round of pain assaulting his senses and just like before Emrys wasted no time and kicked him square in the guts into the barrier then rushed to raise him up and deliver a flurry of punches all over his body, he dragged the orc by the face and ran his body along the barrier to dodge the wolf. It chased him and Emrys continued dragging the orc by the face along the four corners of the barrier while his familiar chased at him yet failing to catch up which only prolonged his summoner''s suffering.


    In less than half a second Emrys had the orc and had been chased by the wolf around the barrier multiple thousands of times, feeling like he had had his fun Emrys let go of the orc and flew straight at the wolf who''s eyes had widened with terror at what possibly awaited it. The familiar ducked down barely avoiding the grasp of doom and scurried away to it''s summoners side who was barely getting up with a stagger, Emrys watched as the orc got his bearings and stood with his familiar.


    The red axe was put forward, very soon his mana would run out and he would have to let his familiar fight alone which would disastrous so this would be the final attack. With a mental command to his familiar it''s third eye opened wide and instantly the intensity of heat rose by multiple levels than it ever had even vaporizing the flames around Emrys, the orc lunged forward gathering every last bit of mana into the red axe sending a strong slash of mana many meters tall tearing through the stage like paper as it traveled to Emrys in a flash.


    Just then it''s preparations were complete and the familiar shot a dense spiral of flames towards Emrys reaching him at the same time the slash did and both collided creating a thundering sound, the stage was entirely gone or so it should have but it remained. They had thought it to be a platform atop the ocean but now they knew it to be more of a pillar, all they had destroyed was the very top. The orc fell to his knees exhausted on the rough, partially molten and uneven surface beneath him, they had failed.


    Emrys stood there in the flames perfectly unharmed despite their very best efforts to do so, with his mana exhausted the orc was now truly done and left with nothing else, his familiar looked at it''s summoner and then back at Emrys then turned back to walk away into the torrent of flames.


    "You sent it back".


    The orc raised his head to meet the eyes of Emrys "leaving him to get hurt while his summoner stands by useless to help is not my way".


    Emrys would smile if he could, his opponent was indeed an amusing one no doubt but that was not to say that in this particular area he found his sentiment a foreign one.


    "I see".


    The orc closed his eyes and raised his head to skies heaving a sigh, on his face was a look of acceptance almost as if he had found peace with it all. The act was smooth and quick with no prolonged suffering, his cleanly decapitated head rolled to the floor drawing a path of blood and a second later his body fell forward with a thud.


    Floating right behind the orc was Emrys with the index claw of his left hand extended, he retracted his claw and turned to take one last look at his opponent with those flickering calm embers of his eyes.


    "I cannot say that I will remember you well as an opponent".


    "But for all it is worth, I found some enjoyment in our little spar".


    And with that Emrys had his fight come to an end.


    EnD.

 Chapter 18: The accuser.

    Emrys planned on leaving immediately as he doubted any of the other contestants bar his peers would be open to the idea of fighting him but decided to test his luck a bit. The mini announcer popped up and asked if he wished to return or issue a second challenge of which he answered with the latter, looking up at the remaining time Emrys raised a brow.


    Nineteen minutes, that was much shorter than what he had thought which was twenty-five, he looked down at the headless body of his opponent then to the red axe laying beside him. Emrys walked over and picked it up, though pointless he still couldn''t help comparing it to his own weapon of which the difference in power remained astronomical.


    Tossing aside the weapon he was prepared to begin his search for a new opponent but the mini announcer said something surprising.


    "Interesting, someone''s challenged you".


    "Do you accept".


    It really was interesting no doubt, who was confident enough to do so bar his peers of which a silent agreement still remained for neither to cross the other''s path yet. He truly wanted to find out and that was sure, with his body and divine artifacts which were bond to him as his clothes and jewelleries fully recovered he looked fully presentable for a new meet.


    "I accept".


    The mini announcer snapped his fingers and grinned "alright then, sending you there now".


    In a blink he was on another stage standing right before his challenger, she was a beautiful woman belonging to the race of Jor¨­gumo, though currently in a transformed state she still bore six eyes and stood nearly at the same height as he. Emrys tilt his head a little to the side looking at her, the lady was undoubtedly a Jor¨­gumo no doubt but she felt......different, sharper, more......simply just more.


    "Emrys Von Schafer".


    She called out to him using his full name, now his interest had turned into a sudden surprise and not simply because his full name was called out for the first time ever by anyone bar his mother upon his day of naming but more so because of her tone.


    Hatred, it carried a heavy amount of it and also a strong hint of pain, he stared straight into the eyes of his opponent for a few seconds wondering exactly why she could possibly such an emotion for him when they were complete strangers to one another.


    "Do I know you" he straightforwardly asked.


    She raised a hand pointing it towards him and with a voice barely containing it''s tremble she spoke "No, not yet. But you will, of that I can promise you".


    A small gust of wind blew past him and Emrys felt a slight burning sensation on his cheek, he raised a hand to it feeling a cut and his blood flowing down. Bringing his blood stained fingers to his face he hummed, the cut was healed barely a second later and he gently licked the blood off his tips returning his gaze back to the woman that stood before him.


    "It is quite foolish for one to make promises they cannot keep".


    "Will cause nothing but unnecessary hurt".


    At his words her body began trembling a bit as she laughed as if having heard the most ironic statement of her life, a tear streamed down her cheeks as her gaze turned hardened. With every second she spent in his presence she felt her hatred ever rising and as of this moment it had achieved new peak, it visibly began impacting the area around her in small little bursts which made for an interesting sight to Emrys witnessing for the first time ever what it means taking the first step into the domain of true hatred.


    "That a child like you could contain so much evil and yet feel not the slightest bit of guilt".


    "If someone like you is to be our savior then what separates you from that monster".


    He raised a brow feeling a bit slighted "you''ve imposed a title on me all of your own bias and now are angry at me for not fitting it?".


    "But other than this, I still have no idea what I have done to you".


    She closed her eyes and heaved a breath to calm herself¨C


    "Three years ago you came to a¨C


    "That is false" he uttered calmly with a finality in his tone.


    She looked to be genuinely flabbergasted "what?".


    That was the only word capable of leaving her mouth at such a situation.


    "Three years ago I couldn''t leave the palace, not once did I ever bother to do so either".


    "However I cannot say whatever happened to you is false, that level of hatred cannot be faked after all".


    "Whomever you mistake me for I urge you to find him".


    She blinked a few times and stood rigid as if processing still what was happening right now, when she recovered her senses she looked so lost.


    "Do you.....genuinely not remember what you did".


    Emrys shook his head in response "I can have no memory of an act which I have not committed".


    She covered her mouth with both hands, the tears threatening to overflow but yet barely so did she keep them from falling.


    "Why, how can you be so cruel as to try manipulating and dismissing my pain so blatantly in this situation" she accused.


    A weariness was starting to creep in on his mind and he did not like it in the slightest.


    "I have no interest in manipulating you, but I''ll humor you".


    "Describe whom you saw, what did I do exactly".


    Seconds passed and yet she remained silent, Emrys knew then she had no further intention of engaging with him verbally. With nothing else to be said between them the air shifted, a continuous stream of wind began blowing inside the stage.


    One would mistake it as simply just a normal occurrence if it were not for the fact his senses were seeing very clearly just how charged they were with mana, he was being blinded by a fog made specifically to inhibit his senses from peering through making it impossible to see even one feet in front of him.


    In short this was in some ways a method much better than a simple <<Blindness>> spell, those were almost always quite easy to circumvent or prepare against but with this method her rate of success would be nearly forty percent because there were only three ways to go around this. One would have to be capable of taking control of someone else''s mana directly and that is a gift only a very select few possessed, the second method was to simply just surpass or overwhelm her in mana quantity and quality of which for most near her level or even a bit above would be near impossible considering the fact she was exceptionally strong in both areas.


    Simply reaching out to take control of the natural mana around and using that to cast spells or shape as it you like was already something rare enough, this went a step beyond that as natural surrounding mana in most cases had no real imprint unlike that born out of a creatures body.


    The third was to simply escape the fog but he was sure she was smart enough to have considered that and made plans against it hence her confidence in using this little trick in such a closed and limited space like the barrier whil


    Emrys knew it clearly from the start, she was much greater than the red orc, if he had to fight her under the same conditions as he fought him then there was no doubt he would be at a stalemate, but thankfully his vow which had been fulfilled was no longer in place giving him the freedom to do as he wished with mana.


    <<Homing>>


    <<Thunderbolt>>


    In a moment Emrys had flown upwards just as fast as the thunderbolt was descending, he twisted his body away to the side as it passed him by a hairs breath but as he had expected that wasn''t the end of it. The thunderbolt had struck down on the arena causing incredible damage to it''s surface but instead of fading away the spell took root deep into it and in moments extended a branch lightning bolt from it''s body which struck at Emrys who flew away to the side in order to avoid it yet from that very same branch another extended pursuing him once again.


    The Jor¨­gumo wondered exactly how Emrys was able to feel or distinguish the bolts through the hazy storm of mana overloading senses, no matter how high he flew he could not escape the wind which was the medium of which her little trick worked, that was unless he tried leaving the world itself which could not be allowed considering the barrier also had a ceiling high above.


    But for now nothing was occurring outside the expectations with him yet, even the fact he hadn''t begun using mana meant little, in the end all her preparations would prevail in bringing his mortal life to a permanent end.


    Nearly a million branches had been created in the short time her thoughts wandered and Emrys no longer had the freedom to dodge as he pleased, dodging another bolt one last time he weaved through the gaps of the other branches in a flash and went back down to the stage. With little time to rest he dodged the bolt that struck down in pursuit and flew right in front of her but only just for a moment as he backed away and flew right up again.


    The Jor¨­gumo knowing full well what he had done acted fast barely forming an incomplete mana shield around herself just in the knick of time before the bolt struck her, but contrary to his expectations when it struck the entire damage of it was transferred directly to Emrys who groaned in annoyance experiencing the constant stream of destructive lightning assaulting him.


    A realisation seemed to have crossed her eyes upon this happening, remembering she had a damage transfer artifact on her after having acted out of instinct to protect herself she felt relief, this was her first slip up but thankfully it ended up working out in her favor. But she knew this had to be the first and last of this mistake, though she trusted full well in her preparations she still would never undersell just how dangerous her opponent was.


    <<Dissonance>>


    She whispered, the spell was cast but unexpectedly it backfired and was repelled directly onto her causing a complete loss of harmony to her physical and mental state which affected both the fog and lightning spell she had cast.


    Emrys now relieved of the assault and also now with clear senses looked at his opponent who was struggling on the floor barely able to get up or think or process anything at all, a weird feeling arose in his chest thinking of her performance. Is she so smart that she was dumb, or is this just due to terribly bad luck. Eitherway this was the second time now he would have to save his opponent from themselves, he flew down and called upon the natural mana around to help him as his own mana was still off-limits for now.


    Looking at the mana dancing around his fingers Emrys sighed, it had only been like an hour ago he learned to control the world''s mana and now he had to crash course himself through the much harder path of using mana not belonging to you to cast a spell, perhaps he should thank her clumsiness for forcing his growth faster than he intended.


    ''Hm, thoughts versus imagination. No, thought and imagination''


    ''The mana in my control responds clearly to my thoughts but only in the form of simple and short commands''.


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    Suddenly his thoughts wandered to a different matter altogether¨C


    ''I wonder why it''s so much easier to absorb part of the world''s natural mana that it is to control and direct it as you wish''.


    Pulling his thoughts back to the relevant matter at hand, using his thoughts in the form of short, quick and simple commands it was easy to shape and direct the flow of mana. Of course when he says easy he meant it as relative only to himself and a few others alone, but the real problem now was it not registering or accepting his imagination also. Mana is thought to be sentient in a way naturally but also not, only a few rare phenomenons occur where full sentience could not be argued as anything other than a fact and those were it''s own thing.


    ''Wait a minute, I am one of manas most favoured child, why would it reject me so vehemently all of a sudden in this area''.


    ''Knew something didn''t make sense, did something happen between now and eight years ago?''.


    He pondered for a bit but very little came to mind except for one thing¨C


    "Dark mana".


    Dark mana was the most powerful state of mana but it''s nature was also rebellious and went against everything in the world, perhaps unknowingly it''s presence in his body was interfering with status as a most favoured child, if it weren''t for the fact he possessed two cores he suspected it might have also caused great problems for him had he awoken it before the change occurred.


    His mother unlike him was born with only the single nature of Dark mana unlike he possessing two types so Emrys was sure she faced no problems though he was unable to confirm that thought, he sighed to himself feeling slightly annoyed at his current predicament.


    ''What a doubled edged sword this is''.


    With a hypothesis he felt to be sure in mind Emrys began trying a different approach, glancing at the mana dancing around his hands he smiled. Forcing out a measly strand of his own mana he gave it unto the world''s mana then dispersed it, instantly a large wave of mana descended upon the stage.


    He had no time to deal with feuds between the natural order, so long as it left him out of it then he too then everything would be fine. His thoughts was laid bare to the world''s mana as was his emotions, bit by bit he could feel a new level of acceptance being granted unto him but there was one final bargaining chip he had. At his command Aine stopped concealing herself and their relationship to the world''s mana, instantly it was his favour had shot right back through the roof going even higher than it was eight years ago.


    The large mana he had gathered dispersed but Emrys now could feel clearly how much closer he had become to the world and not just to the world but also to his own self, eight years he paid little attention to and took it for granted which might have cost him a lot more growth than he had achieved in the past eight years if he had noticed his slightly soured status with the world in time.


    "What a blunder" he chided himself.


    The weight in his body gotten even lighter to carry, suppressing the raging power inside of him no longer was as forceful and violent as it was, even without having formed a new circle and at the end of his growth with the First he felt his limit expand which had inturn caused a weird situation.


    The raging power inside him was no longer recognized by the Arcane as the primary limit breaker into forming his Second circle and achieving a whole new league of power but simply power that which should have been introduced into that level now getting consolidated into the first which meant evolution without having to ascend. But this came with a little loss of his bonus, now that such a strong mana wasn''t recognised anymore as the limit breaker it meant that it would no longer be growing stronger until it completely overpowered his own entirely.


    Though if he were to consider just how strong it had become, already surpassing his ''normal'' mana entirely and approaching that of the Dark mana in his body then he cannot really claim to have suffered a true loss especially as this meant when taking his growth into consideration he would be getting a second chance to extort the Arcane once more for a true chance at ascension into the Second circle.


    <<Dispel>>


    A moment later clarity and order was returned to her, she got up up from the stage and simply said nothing but stare at Emrys with an undecipherable look.


    "A warning, refrain from using mental attacks against me".


    "Though I thought myself to be quite lax in fortifying that area i found out recently that this only rings true relatively when compared to someone like me".


    A second after he launched himself forward taking her by surprise but she silently chanted a <<Mana arrow>> and sent it his way to slow him down but Emrys simply flew around it and stopped right before her.


    "You are much slower than I both physically and mentally, because careful lest I use that against you also".


    "Now, please fight me seriously, your life depends on it".


    He flew back and stood there unmoving, it was clear what his intentions were now. Allowing her time to recover and organise her thoughts, she had plans laid out and he knew that but if he were to engage her as she were now it would be too easy to cause panic and affect her decision making leading to more unnecessary illogical moves than he intended to cause.


    Emrys could sense it when the change occurred, the air was extremely charged but yet not with the intention to disrupt his senses like the fog, as if set up for something else entirely. But now there was also a new feeling established to him, her mana, it felt so malleable. Like he could take control of it at anytime he wished, this was the true boon he received by going a step beyond in his favour with the world. It wasn''t just her mana too but even the surroundings felt malleable to him, her very being felt malleable to him.


    ''I''m still nowhere near as favoured as the young fairy, but I understand a bit now that I''ve barely scratched the surface''.


    For now Emrys decided to refrain from revealing part of his ability to her, not because of he was worried nor was it due to a sentimental reason but simply because a card this big would almost certainly ruin everything she had planned and Emrys had no intention of letting this end so easily.


    For now he would go with the simple stuff, clasping he gathered some of the world''s mana and shaped it into a ghastly double-edged scythe made entirely of mana, as she was no favoured one he had no worries on if she would he able to pick up on what he had just done.


    Pulling the chain bracelet from her hands she tossed them to the ground, a moment later they began vibrating and each lock gigantified and turned molten grouping together to form three metal golems that stood at a height of nearly four feet.


    ''Smart'' he remarked to himself.


    Normal golems were already incredibly resistant to magic attacks and their physical stats bar speed were devastating, having metal golems took things to a whole new level as unlike the normal earth golems lacking in speed as a weakness this type sacrificed nothing at all.


    Spinning his scythe around he flew straight towards her but it course he got stopped by a golem who punched straight at him but he dodged around the fist and kneed it straight in the face but to his expectations it didn''t budge.


    It attempted grabbing onto him but he flew back to avoid it, the other two which had been standing began walking towards him and in an instant they vanished appearing on both sides of him delivering a punch but he formed a mana shield around himself. The impact of their punches was so strong it demolished the entire surface of the stage bar the area of which she stood, his mana barrier was riddled with cracks but those were easily fixed with a thought.


    The golem on his right became encased with flames and the one on his left buzzed with lightning encasing it like an armour. Emrys reshaped the shield in a split second to form two separate tentacles which he wrapped around the golemns to thrown them a distance away from him. The stage was now in a constant molten state and would remain as such for as long as the fire golem maintained it''s form.


    It''s flames would have affected his flesh if not for the thin film of mana he coated himself with, the fire golem commanded the molten material shaping into great spikes which it launched towards Emrys in the air who easily dodged them


    He left the scythe floating in the air and flew down to strike a punch at the fire golem who blocked it with a punch of it''s own, the area around it sunk a meter deep from the force of their clash. The lightning armoured golem tried grabbing at him but Emrys backed away to gain some distance but both were right on his heels giving him not time to rest, the fire golem struck a front kick at his body but Emrys swiftly dodged around it and responded with a punch to it''s face which the lightning armoured golem caught lifting him up by the arm to a comfortable level.


    In a split second it had thrown a thousand punches at Emrys all of which he responded to with a thousand of his own at each fist thrown. He forcefully pulled his hand out of the golemns grasp and formed a partial mana shield at his side blocking the flame golems attack while in the same breath catching the lightning armoured golem by the face and pulling it''s head down for a strong knee kick followed by a push kick just before forming a complete mana shield around himself to protect against the pillar of flames striking at him from all sides.


    Wasting no time he flew back up and aimed his index down at the stage-


    <<Lightning arrow>>


    Fifteen arrows were summoned in the air, each at least a two meters in length and they descended upon the stage. A hailstorm of lightning attacks reaching more than twenty meters in length and covering the stage entirely rampaged on with immersive destructive force taking a good chunk off it in the end.


    The golem at the back standing closest to it''s master had molded a shield around her from it''s own body and the other two stood as they were completely unaffected by his attack of earlier.


    "Too weak huh".


    He dispersed the scythe then flew straight down and for the first time she could feel an actual shift in his demeanor, Emrys had no plans of going as easy as he did and that was her que to hasten her preparations while the golemn bought time.


    Both golems dashed forward at him with fire golem spat out a tsunami of flames from a makeshift poor imitation of a mouth but to it''s shock Emrys was standing atop it''s head, with a light kick the golem was down on it''s knees.


    ''As I thought, the one at the back is truly the strongest one''.


    The lightning armoured golem shot five bolts of lightning at him which Emrys blocked with a mana shield before flying right Infront of it.


    The golem was fast as he had expected, definitely the fastest of the three as it had caught him the very moment he was within range. He forced open it''s hand with his strength and struck a kick at it''s neck but it dodged that easily, Emrys flew to the side to avoid the large ball of fire searing a path straight to him hitting it''s companion instead while in the same breath rocketing himself towards the fire golem only to be met with a perfectly timed <<Thunderbolt>> striking him down mid-flight.


    The momentary distraction was enough for the two golems to pounce or so they thought but Emrys had put up a mana barrier in time and in a split second disperse it to reform the scythe adding to it a torrent of lightning then performing an upwards slash. A pillar of lightning reaching nearly a hundred meters in length flashed for a moment before dying down, on the fire golems arm was a deep cut marking his first real damage against the constructs.


    "Resistance, not perfect immunity".


    The flame golem healed the mark and punched down at Emrys once more but he parried it''s arm to the side and grabbed it by it''s makeshift mouth high into the air faster than the lightning armoured one could prevent and threw it high into the air while shaping the mana around to form two giant hands closing in on crushing it from both sides. The flame golem roared as it burned with a much greater intensity almost like a supernova causing a blinding light that could be seen for miles on end, the constructs were destabilised but reformed around the burning golem like a pool of water crushing it under an immense level of force.


    The lightning golem acted fast as it leaped high into the air and shaped a part of the armour around it into a footing to jump even higher until it reached a comfortable level and shot out a giant lightning construct shaped in the form of a snake striking through the ball of mana to push the fire golemn out while sending down a great bolt at Emrys who casually put up a mana shield only to be surprised at it breaking to pieces and devouring him in it''s torment without mercy.


    Both golems fell back to the stage with no damage bar the fire golem who was still reforming from almost being crushed to a pulp, both looked up to see Emrys looking to be with barely any damage which even he seemed to be slightly amazed by.


    ''That confirms it, my affinity grants me a bit of a resistance''.


    "Useful" he mused and looked down at the golems below¨C


    <<Lightning prison>>


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Torment>>


    A six meter cubic structure made entirely of lightning mana was manifested around the golems restricting their movements and imprisoning them within a field of constant torment, she watched as the strikes tore at her golems piece by piece down to their very cores until nothing was left.


    But making one final struggle in a desperate attempt to survive the lightning armoured golem forcefully began absorbing the attack into it''s own core as it''s body tore and recovered itself over and over again. Emrys seeing this simply smiled as he even began helping it, the golem kept absorbing but yet the mana wasn''t depleting, in fact it was growing even more and soon enough it''s core could contain no more and cracked.


    With it''s core destabilised the power contained within went wild and rampaged against the torment of lightning, the prison began shaking and Emrys knowing what was about to happen levitated the prison high into the air and cast a fourth spell


    <<Fortify>>


    It''s core shattered to pieces killing the golem and unleashing a great explosion within the prison, Emrys began compressing the prison as it the power inside struggled to expand, from within he fed it''s rampage giving it no chance to die out unless he wished it to be so.


    The prison was compressed until it could fit in the palm of his hands and then he left it in the air to float while he began walking towards her.


    "Are you not done preparing yet, my patience''s running a little thin".


    She displayed no reaction to his words, only sending a command at the last golemn to step forward as she placed a hand atop it''s own, an enchantment revealed itself for a momentt before fading away. The golems body turned red hot as a pulse similar to that of a heartbeat began beating in it''s chest, lot''s of steam rose off it as it''s form began dissolving into a cocoon and shrinking down to a height that towered only slightly above that of Emrys.


    The cocoon broke shattered to pieces revealing a whole new advanced form of the golem, from it''s back were two great metallic wings that seemed to be in an almost liquid state of flow and in it''s chest were there crystal-like objects


    One red, one blue and the other black. On it''s face was a single red eye and it''s head seemed to be on set ablaze by flames, a pressure incomparable to the opponents he had faced upon returning home was felt from it. If the other two golems of before stood at the peak of a First star warrior in strength this one was almost certainly comparable to that of a Second star in it''s fifth tier, capable of killing the other two with little effort.


    "Fine, I''ll play a little longer".


    Emrys knew full well that unless he actually enhanced himself with his own mana rather than externally shaping some bits of the world''s mana to deceive his opponent then he would be absolutely slaughtered by that golem in terms of physical strength and maybe for the first time get outmatched in speed, yet he had no plans to do so even until this fight came to an end.


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Fortification>>


    The stage glowed with a dim light which died down quickly, with his preparations completed Emrys released his claws and smiled.


    EnD.

 Chapter 19: The wraith.

    ''Hm, I''ve absorbed a lot of natures over the years through my claws haven''t I''.


    ''Wonder which I should use other than it''s basic unnatural sharpness''


    ''The red orc I fought before had the beserkers blood, should I use that?''.


    ''I also absorbed a little of aunties blood....no that would be too unfair''.


    A day after his birthday eight years ago, Emrys took his time to study the book which his aunt gave to him covering the description of what his claws were. Granted the name {Unguis Vitae}, they were once manifested by the greatest and oldest progenitor of the Vampire race, these claws unfairly allowed him the ability to absorb natures or attributes through blood and use them even if he were to be completely out of mana. Emrys had come to realise once again how unfair he was, his fangs in the end were basically just normal fangs which was alright.


    ''Perhaps she is right, I might be cruel''.


    ''Ah well''.


    ''Berserker it is''.


    A red mist began steadily rising off his body which turned into a full blown rush of aura surrounding him, his eyes took on an hazy red and he grew another two inch taller than he already was. She looked to be very surprised by his transformation as she recognized the look very well though his was much more controlled but couldn''t understand why he had it or why he would use it rather than the same magic he had used three years ago, did he think it wasn''t worth it yet?


    The thought struck a thorn at her heart which caused her anger to rise even more, her determination to crush his pride becoming even more solidified as she sent a mental command to her golem. It roared and burst forward raising it''s mana to extreme levels as it cast the spell of¨C


    <<Torment>>


    From the four corners of the stage and reaching nearly a hundred meters high a rain of lightning descended down on the stage locking it down with little to no space left, in a split second Emrys pulled the prison he had compressed and released it until it contained the golems spell forcefully taking control of it and absorbing it all into the prison which levitated a hundred meters above.


    Shaping a gauntlet of mana around his fists just in the time to meet the still rushing golem they clashed, visible ripples spread throughout the stage and the barrier but no damage was caused to neither. Emrys got pushed back a few meters while the golem only slid back half of one.


    ''Still much slower than I am but a little stronger than what I applied''.


    ''Interesting''.


    From the back Emrys could see clearly that she herself hadn''t fully caught on to how the spell had disappeared so quickly, having no time to savour the reaction he flew up as the golem came smashing down with both hands onto his spot sending another strong wave of ripples throughout the stage. It roared and spread it wings flying straight into the sky in pursuit of him but in that small instance of delay Emrys had returned back down grabbing onto it by the face and throwing it hard into the barrier.


    It recovered fast and flew towards Emrys who dodged to the side and gave a hard elbow to it''s back which bounced it off the stage and he followed by a final stomp to it''s head. The golem tried grabbing onto his foot but he moved it fast and flew back a short distance, it was right on his tail once again as it chased him around the stage on all fours like a crazed animal. Emrys stood still allowing it to pounce on him but he grabbed underneath both arms and twisted them downwards as he delivered a strong knee kick to it''s jaw deforming it but still not letting go as he delivered a second and a third followed by a succession of two quick jabs to it''s face which deformed it.


    Emrys let go of the golems arm but it immediately retaliated by grabbing onto his shoulders and delivering a headbutt to his skull with all it''s might, his skin burst as blood flowed but the golem wasn''t finished as it also delivered a second and a third not caring about it''s own furtherly deformed face then finishing off by opening it''s mouth to spew a tsunami of flames aimed at his head which spread all over turning the entire stage into a hellish landscape.


    The downpour was continuous but Emrys reached a hand forward to cover it''s mouth stifling the flames and forcing it''s spread between the tiny gaps, with his second hand raised he gathered a ton of lightning mana and smacked it down on it''s head bringing the golem to it''s knees.


    Still with his hand gripping on strong over it''s face, he gathered up a great amount of mana and forced it into it''s mouth containing the flames and making them go out control as they exploded within it''s body causing it to heat up and tremble violently under his grasp.


    Wasting no further effort he tossed the golem back into the barrier and it dropped to it''s knees, in a matter of seconds the damage it had suffered both on the outside and inside were recovered as it released a deafening roar.


    The black crystal in it''s chest shone with a deadly lustre as a familiar invisible force of gravity came pressing down on Emrys greatly restricting his movements and golem rushing forward towards it''s contained target punched down at him but to it''s surprise got hit hard by an invisible force which repelled it into the barrier once again.


    That same invisible force came crashing down on it also, both stood firmly in place greatly restricted by one another. The force holding it down felt entirely different from magic, more so like Emrys himself was physically holding it down and it tried to resist by overpowering it but that force multiplied twice what it was bringing it down hard on it''s knees.


    The red crystal lit up as did the blue, a spiral mix of blue and green began forming high above them, it took the shape of a flame-lightning arrow reaching nearly two hundred meters in height and even though not in contact with the stage or barrier both rippled with an intensity like never before.


    The air cracked, whipped and boomed with miniature explosions, though so far away from it Emrys could still clearly feel just how intense those flames were, even stronger than what that familiar had used though not by much.


    ''Perhaps the wolf was more impressive than I thought''.


    ''It''s master could not summon it all full strength after all''.


    Deciding to put a stop to the incoming attack Emrys forcefully pulled himself up higher into the sky, his ascension was slow and weighed but he persisted and stretched both hands outwards gathering a portion of the world''s mana just as the arrow had begun making it''s fast descent and at it''s moment of blinding impact he whispered¨C


    <<Winters call>>


    It was like the world had come to a halt as the single ring of a bell resonated through the air, the great explosion of fire and lightning expanded at a snails pace and the wind turned deathly cold as seconds later snow began falling accompanied by a few drops of flakes and whatever they perched on began getting encapsulated in frost.


    Upon a few of them perching on the ongoing explosion it steadily got encapsulated in ice which spread all over preserving it so perfectly well like a piece of amber, even the raging lightning and all it''s wild branches were encased beautifully well. By the time winter was over five minutes later the entire stage and more than half of the barrier had been coated in a layer of ice, right there in the middle of the stage now all that remained was the preserved frozen piece of an explosion and the golem hunched over wrapping it''s master in a cocoon made of it''s own body.


    Seconds later the golems body began falling apart into little fine pieces of snow drifting away with the cold wind leaving just the three crystals which fell down to the frozen stage and her slightly frostbitten form standing there looking on with distant eyes.


    Emrys gently made his decent to the stage standing just two meters away from her and taking in the scenery before him, a little feeling of underwhelm streaked across his face. The world''s mana could not be used to replicate the type of ice magic he possessed by nature and so to him this being the end product achieved with such a spell looked incredibly subpar.


    His lightning affinity wasn''t that special, it was simply just the highest affinity possible within the natural order and had no special nature to it so he could replicate it with some amount of effort if he wished with the world''s mana. She crouched down to take the crystals in her hands, holding them there for a few seconds before whispering something to the crystals and swallowing them whole.


    A dense wave of mana so violent it completely shattered the remnants of frost erupted out of her body, her mouth opened wide in a banshee-like scream, a black miasma enveloped her form entirely and the stage slightly cracked beneath her feet as she began levitating a meter above. The viscous black aura surrounding her wiggled and morphed around creating new shapes until it began fading away to reveal her new form underneath, there was only one way Emrys could describe how she felt right now to him.


    ''Unnatural''.


    Her palpable hatred had mixed in with the original mess of mana churning around in her body and twisted it''s very nature to create what stood before him now, from her tearducts a continuous trail of blood flowed and her two normal limbs had grown a second pair underneath and they looked to be covered in an armour of hardened flesh bathed in hot tar. From behind were two more pairs of limbs hairy like that of a spider but at the very last joint it took a form more similar to that of a crabs with a metallic lustre.


    Right in the centre of her chest was a black core about three inches in width, from her neck down to her abdomen and thighs a thin reddish black armour covered them. From her knees down veins of pure larva flowed, her feet was scorched black and her hair had taken on the form of a dark ashy cloud which sparked occasionally with red lightning.


    Two great magic rings spinning with a steady hum around her feet were manifested showing her status as a two circle mage, near the rings edges were five smaller circles stationed at specific points and forming the faint outline of a pentagon. She pulled the bracelet around her second arm unsealing it to reveal a short wooden staff with a bulbous head and upon grabbing onto it her power shot up by almost half a level higher, she already was a middle stage second circle mage with a prowess comparable to one at the peak but now she was easily comparable to a newly ascended third circle mage.


    It was then that Emrys had remembered an important detail, the charged winds. They had never left even through all the chaos it had persisted and now it was even more charged than before which shouldn''t be as so, she raised the staff and it glowed with a brightness so strong it forced Emrys to squint his eyes a bit. The light died down a second later and he felt the change in the instant it occured, a sky that looked to by dyed red, the stage turning into a land of sand that stretched for miles and then there was the shifting unstable space all around them.


    "Domain?".


    Recognized as the birthmark of the very strongest destined to stand heads and shoulders above most others, out of the trillions of lifeforms in this world perhaps a hundred or so existed right now bearing a domain barring the few confirmed ones he knew.


    A domain in the simplest of words was godlike, allowing you the power to slaughter or instantly defeat almost anyone in the same realm of strength as the caster, could even be multiple opponents within the same realm depending on how much mana one had. One of it''s special properties was that it also allowed a near absolute suppression to be imposed at a certain level on all within it except for a few, if the opponent is only a whole level stronger than the caster then the domain brings them two or three levels lower and if two levels greater the suppression effect weakens by half and is vulnerable to the possibility of being resisted.


    Domains also brought the casters own personal strength by either one or two levels higher so even if one is to be two levels greater they remain still at a slight disadvantage due to one other special property of a domain. The freedom to attack from all angles and manipulate the terrain as the caster wished, some stronger ones were even known to grant one the freedom of teleporting themselves or their opponents as well as their attacks or that of their opponents as they wished within the domain.


    A number of absurd things were granted to one within a domain, a domain also grew with it''s caster and the stronger one became the more access they had to the domain''s properties. Another thing was that not all domains were the same, a hierarchy existed even between those possessing one and the very top level ones could manifest an innate special nature or two unto itself. There were no two ways around getting a domain, you were either born with it or not.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Well, that was how the saying usually went. Something miraculous had happened here, he turned his attention to the wooden staff in her hands understanding what was going on here. Whatever that thing was it had allowed her the freedom to create an imitation using the charged winds of earlier as the base to paint this shaky canvas onto the world. This was something that Emrys could only applaud as impressive no matter how fraudulent it might be compared to a real one in retrospect, there was no doubt in his mind that it had to be on the level of either a Legendary or Divine artifact to achieve this insanity.


    Emrys smiled and shook his head as he began a slow clap for her, never had he ever been as amused as he were now since returning home and this truly was amazing.


    "I knew you made preparations but this truly goes beyond my expectations".


    "I congratulate you".


    "State your name Jor¨­gumo".


    She stated straight into his eyes parting her lips to utter the words- "Isla Hor¨¢k".


    "I see, you will remain in my memories for a bit".


    "The promise wasn''t quite an empty one after all".


    "You''ve shown me a bit of what heights perfect hatred and determination can push one to reach".


    "I thank you".


    For the first time in years Emrys unfurled his wings, a pair of pitch black ethereal wings spread out and with it came a great change in pressure that seemed to infect the artificial domain with a tinge of darkness, countless little black feathers slowly fell from the skies all over the entire domain and seemed to fade away into shadows upon reaching the ground but the rain never seemed like it would stop.


    Though Emrys knew the domain to be a false imitation of one, he still had no knowledge just how much of a true domain''s properties it was able to imitate and as she was also not the caster of an original domain how long would hers last.


    Domains were known to be one of it not the most taxing thing possible on a caster''s mana pool and people born with one were also given copious amounts of mana by nature, she might be above average in terms of mana pool but nowhere near enough for what''s needed to maintain a domain past one or two minutes at most which led him to the conclusion that she was supplementing with an outside source.


    Perhaps multiple mana stones or at least one high grade stone, he wasn''t sure yet but he was ready to find out if need be. For one thing he had already confirmed one aspect which had failed the moment it hit him, she noticed this too and though having a faint idea in her heart she still put forth the question.


    "Why is the suppression effect not working on you".


    His lips curved in a smile "Blood".


    Having her suspicions confirmed a cold chill ran up her spine, though already preparing herself long before this tournament in the midst of her plans she still held on to a chance. It may have been called the birthmark of the very strongest but that did not necessitate a hundred percent chance you would be born with it even if being born as part of the strongest else there would not be so little of them present in just this world but the realm itself.


    Accordingly if things were to have turned out he did not possess one then her plan had a near seventy percent chance of working, but now that it had been confirmed to her she was betting everything on a twenty percent chance. Isla wasn''t afraid, not really as she knew failure wasn''t an option even with such low odds. She had accepted the possibility of her dying here today but not without his life safely in tow with hers if things ever came to that point, no true reason was left for her to live after all was said and done. No home to return to, whatever would remain for her would be nothing but pure emptiness after all this burning hatred and revenge had been satiated.


    This would be her last hurrah, the coupe de grace.


    With her determination even firmer now than it had ever been she proceeded with her opening, she put the staff forward summoning two successful magic circle in front of the other.


    <<Ghostly webs>>


    Hundreds of super thin nearly translucent silks of web poured out fluttering in the wind before chasing down their target, Emrys manipulated his ethereal wings to wrap around himself like a cloak as the webs reached him. Upon contact multiple small ripple like effects were created as the webs got negated. As per it''s name most physical attacks would have been useless against them and so were some magic attacks as well, but his wings bearing something of the same nature but far superior to theirs made for an easy counter.


    The entire terrain began moving upwards, like as if to swallow him whole but projecting the invisible force to a wide enough area he was able to hold it in place while launching an attack of his own. He burst forward with his wings spread wide aiming at her stopped in place for a moment before curving his wings around him as he twisted to the side avoiding the large wind blade.


    His senses alerted him this time to an attack coming in all directions at him and for the first time Emrys would be forced to use a bit of his own mana, the domain trembled a bit and her eyes widened upon feeling it.


    <<Mana arrow>>


    Thousands of arrows made of mana were summoned which continuously shot off in every direction meeting with the incoming elemental attacks and obliterating them on the spot.


    Isla put the staff forward to create a mana shield to protect herself from the onslaught and even though the shield endured every hit felt heavy without question, at the end the shield had begun cracking but to her luck the spell had come to an end. If even after now possessing a mana nearly the same as that of fourth circle however still falling short and beginner level spell like that could cause such damage then what possibly was that mana of before he had been using.


    The form and mana she had seen him use in the past was nothing like it, his mana had felt so plain in the past and that was what she had thought him to use upon using it on the stage though a stronger now than back then though that was to be expected.


    A realisation hit her that she had to stall for longer, that mana was too dangerous and as the suppression effect of the domain could not be counted on she had bring an outside influence. With not the slightest bit of hesitation she bit hard into her own flesh ripping it off as a huge amounts of blood spilled in the air, with both hands around the staff she whispered a chant summoning a grand magic circle in the air circle of two smaller ones stacked before the other.


    Summoning magic-: <<The Count''s March>>


    The blood pouring from her wound began ascending upwards and gathering around into a ball which then spread out into a great red portal, more blood was forcefully pulled out of her until it had become stable enough. Through the portal a knight on a horse both made of blood walked out in the air, another followed and so did another until eight knights and sixteen flag bearers now stood in formation.


    Isla wasn''t done yet, from the crystal embedded in her chest she summoned a spiral mixture of red, blue and black which grew to about nearly four hundred meters in size taking the form of a gigantic spear


    Emrys looked to be cornered now, surrounded from all directions with a small Cavalry in front and from up high with a much too destructive weapon blocking the path of his escape anywhere within this domain. With a loud cry the spearbears all simultaneously struck their poles down three times in succession which sent three pulses of mana through the entire domain, everything trembled and Emrys felt a strong lock being imposed on his power. His blood brurned like lava and chains of blood summoned from four smaller portals wrapped around his limbs holding him in place with another sealing effect, the knights straddled their horses and brandished their blades as they charged forward all activating a single skill.


    <<Thunderous Charge>>


    Their blades were oversaturated with mana and the excess wafted off them in waves, from their horses hooves the red lightning grew enveloping them in a great torrent in but a fraction of a second as they struck down at Emrys from all sides with all their might.


    In that moment his pupils turned vertical as everything in his perception slowed down to crawl, violet colored lightning ran rampant around his body and then burst out into a dome-like field around him sending the knights flying back and partially damaging them. The chains holding his body began vibrating and moments later they shattered to pieces as his mana burst forth in waves.


    With a hand raised to the sky a great magic circle was summoned in the clouds above and one smaller one before it.


    <<Heavens Wrath>>


    It was instant, the premonition of what was about to occur sent alarms ringing aloud in her mind, a bone chilling danger like what she had felt three years ago, that same feeling of helplessness as she watched her people get slaughtered like cattle and her home wiped off the world''s surface.


    Nothing was allowed the freedom of movement under it''s tyrannical presence, the bolt tore through it all. The spells and everything contained within the domain along with the very domain itself, everything was wiped out in but an instant and it''s reign of destruction continued on the fortified stage which was obliterated to nearly a quarter of what it once was in the oceans depths.


    The barrier was riddled with cracks and looked to be barely holding on, still floating before him was the bloodied form of Isla. One eye was gone, her right arm and leg had been completely obliterated and a great portion of her flesh had been burnt to a crisp, the whites of her bones could be seen all over her body and the staff she held in her hands turned to ashes drifting away with the winds. Even after casting deflection magic and sacrificing it''s strength along with most of her mana for greater protection this had been the outcome still, yet even though in this haggard state she had the brightest smile and a look in her eyes that just screamed one thing¨C


    I. Have. Won.


    Out of nowhere an ear piercing and soul wounding ghastly screech assaulted his entire being sending a great pain racking through his body, he knew that scream, had read on it extensively well and had a small look of disbelief present in his eyes facing the creature as it tore it''s way through this world breaking the very space apart.


    A ghastly appearance like that of a glitching phantom, a presence colder than nearly anything he knew, eyes like that of void, a mouth with razor sharp teeth, a voice like that of nails on a chalkboard except far worse, in it''s chest was an empty hole, it''s nails were of pure black measuring nearly five inches and sharp beyond words.


    That was a wraith, a most taboo and corrupted creature of pure chaos hailing from the dark continent or as it''s been come to be known as these days, the underworld.


    The process of summoning a wraith was a long one and it''s price was always the same, half of your soul would be fed to it in return for completing it''s task. That payment was already insane enough as it was but now there was the fact that the contract with a wraith was not absolute, at any given moment if impulsive enough the wraith could kill both it''s caster and the target then go on a rampage causing devastating amounts of damage.


    The fact that Isla had summoned that creature into this world despite knowing all this meant she truly had accepted her demise and cared not for what comes after. It was a known fact, the weakest possible wraith you could summon was on the level of a fourth circle, no one knew what the strongest was because nobody had been as insane as to test it and due to their very special nature and affinity they were a most dreadful existence for even a fifth circle not possessing the correct tools to subdue them.


    A dominion over souls, it was like no matter what defense you had set up around your soul they were like a sheet of paper in the face of a wraiths onslaught. The wraith turned to look at it''s summoner and then suddenly impaled it''s hand into her chest, a deep ghastly gasp escaped her vocals as she felt her soul being literally ripped in half. It began pulling it''s hand out and her mutilated soul along with it of which the wraith then proceeded to devour whole in it''s jaws making for a most gruesome scene hearing the heart wrenching wails of her soul.


    With it''s payment completed Isla''s unconscious form began falling to the depths having been placed into a state of limbo, dancing somewhere in-between life and death and soon enough if nothing is done to halt the process of her slowly evaporating wounded soul she would cease to exist. The wraith turned it''s attention back to Emrys and growled as it approached him, he could feel it staring into his eyes and he also gazed into it''s emptiness. Once close enough it raised a hand and struck it''s claws into his chest, he raised no struggle as it grabbed a hold of his soul and it was there that everything went wrong.


    In the little borderless world of empty surrounding the wraith there two stood great beings towering above it, one was a skeletal figure cloaked in ethereal darkness with eyes a burning white and bearing six arms. The lower pair of arms each held a ghastly scythe crossed downwards, the middle paif were each nearly closing around on a dark orb floating in-between and the final pair above were covered around a ball of deep violet flames with a tinge of crimson at it''s core, from it''s back sprung a pair of great wings made entirely of bones and coated in white flames burning with a comforting warmth.


    But upon laying on the second avatar even though bearing no presence the wraith trembled a fear beyond comprehension as if having committed a great taboo, it was a fear so great it went mad with it and hastily tried to escape from this word but Emrys would not be allowing for such a thing.


    Before it could escape through the crack it had created upon it''s entry Emrys surrounded them in a dome of darkness, the wraith tried phasing through it but it''s nature got perfectly negated preventing it''s escape, the wraith turned around in a mad mixture of fear and anger roaring at him as it attacked but found itself unable to move. The darkness encroached over it''s entire being completely devouring it until the wraith was completely gone, now permanently stuck in the world of darkness all he to do now was wait until it had been rewritten for his use.


    Emrys released the dome of darkness which faded away to nothing and began his descent towards the bare remains left of the stage where her body lay deformed. There was a sadness in his eyes as he looked at her, not out of pity or anything like it no, it was simply a sadness that came from the fact he could not make her a part of his undead.


    Her soul was nearly gone and therefore not viable, he could pull the little piece there was into the world of darkness to rewrite it but he doubted it could make her whole once more, maybe it actually could but on the off-chance it couldn''t then he would be stuck with the rewritten small piece.


    His mastery over the arcane arts and necromancy hadn''t yet reached the point where soul healing on this level would be feasible, the only silver lining he could find in this situation was that he would make sure not to be unprepared if a second time such as this were to occur.


    A sudden thought occured to him, the young fairy, she most surely should have the power to undo this but a preexisting problem had become clear to him with this revelation, taking her soul with him would surely not be allowed when considering what was to occur after this tournament was over, which also led him to another realisation.


    ''I worried for nothing''.


    If the ones organizing this tournament hadn''t made an effort to retrieve or fix her even at this point that meant they obviously had sure methods to undo her death bar the blessings of the goddess upon every participant which was only ever to undo conventional deaths in this tournament.


    "Congratulations, you''ll live to die another day".


    He crouched down and grabbed onto her head then sunk into the depths of her mind but gave up moments later, her memories were all too fragmented to get anything out of her in this state, though he could partially fix it with some effort his motivation was far too low to make an attempt.


    A mini-announcer popped up right next to him and stared at her before shaking his head.


    "Such a foolish one, but lucky in the end".


    He snapped his fingers and teleported them both back to the arena along with most of the others in wait thereby bringing an end to his participation in this round.


    EnD.

 Chapter 20: Avistros gauntlet and pettiness.

    Minutes after his battle was done the final contestants also finished theirs and the round came to an abrupt early end with still twenty three minutes left on the clock, the announcer laughed to himself a little seeing the state of most contestants after the round. In this state they would not be able to operate at full capacity if the next round were to begin now, apart from their grievous injuries which were easily fixable there was also their mana pools which were almost depleted bar for the select few monsters present.


    With an outstretched hand the arena lit up as a grand magic circle revealed itself, in seconds the contestants could feel both their injuries and mana pool recovering to their optimal states. The announcer began speaking, riling up the crowd and as he did the mind of Emrys couldn''t help but wander, what would have happened if he had allowed the wraith take his soul and destroy it, would he have regenerated from even that too confirming his status as an immortal soul or would that have been one of the only few ways to kill him for now.


    If he ever had the chance to experience something like that again Emrys wasn''t sure he could control himself enough not to try something that risky, but for now even if he wanted he couldn''t have allowed the wraith take his soul which would have led to his elimination from this tournament and therefore hypocritical of him when remembering his principles about promises.


    "Welcome to the Quarterfinals people, the stakes are now truly real".


    "This shall be the round where monsters fall one by one".


    "They have been untouchable this tournament for the most part".


    "Now they finally get the chance to pick on someone their own size".


    "Betting shall be resumed as of this moment, choose your contestants wisely".


    With a snap of his fingers, golden scrolls and the necessary writing tools appeared before specific members of the audience including those in the VIP section who had already registered themselves before the tournament began. The announcer looked at the number of contestants left, barely two hundred and with more to be lost very soon, the thought brought a smile to his face.


    Once the registered members were done with the scrolls they vanished and with that the announcer clapped his hands a single time-


    "Alright then, shall we begin"


    He summoned a big cubic box with many little thin slats of wood inside and then sent it down to the contestants.


    "This time you shall be drawing a rigged ballot, don''t ask why, I just made this up on the spot".


    "But still if you''d like to try and see if you could pick something different than what''s preset for you then be my guest".


    He showed a mischievously wide grin as he moved the box row by row amongst the contestants with them grabbing onto one piece until it was empty, then he retracted the box into his space as each contestant had a look at the names written down on the pieces they held.


    For some neither were familiar with the names drawn but for most and especially a few of the most the names were all too recognised, little doorways were summoned beside each contestant of which they already knew what the next step was.


    "You have a time limit of an hour which can be adjusted for less".


    "And are allowed a maximum of two battles".


    "Now go, the stage has already been set".


    The contestants stepped through the doorways one after the other to find themselves at the new area set as the stage for this round, clouds. His feet only reaching an inch into them with every step he took and looking around he found that they were in a great open space created inside the clouds.


    Once done with his little site-seeing Avistro glanced towards Zirsto who sat pretty comfortably in the air with one leg hanging downwards and the other crossed inside, his hands preoccupied with playing a calming melody using the air as his instrument.


    Upon raising his gaze to meet his opponent a great wave of green mana emanated off his body as he sent a strong tune whistling forward with devastating might behind it''s intent of which Avistro shattered to pieces with but a thought sending little broken shards of mana falling all around them.


    No words need be exchanged between them, on this stage friendship held no weight, you simply just enemies and obstacles to be cleared on eachothers path to victory. These were two individuals who rarely had the heart to drag out a battle, there shall be no further testing of waters between them after this.


    <<Sirens wrath>>


    <<Amplify>>


    The faint outline of a three meter tall siren was made visible behind Zirsto and it sung a melody so hauntingly beautiful yet filled with such volcanic rage it nearly tore down every last of his mental barriers and threatened to shatter his very being, not even a space devoid of sound would be able to stop her but Avistro would not find himself out of options still.


    Mind''s mirror -: <<Reflection>


    The melody found itself getting reflected back onto both the caster and the Siren destroying her and causing a backlash upon Zirstos body, the treant took it well and ounce again tried to counter with another spell but his opponent would not sit idly as he launched a second counterattack.


    Mind''s mirror -: <<Imprison>>


    Zirsto found himself immobilized and trapped inside a crystal prison looking like fractures of many glass mirrors put together, but unfortunately what had been caught was merely a puppet body which Avistro had been aware of since the beginning and used this spell with that knowledge in mind for this one thing.


    <<Splinter>>


    The crystal prison broke apart into thousands of needle-like shards firing off in all directions, he needed but one shard to make contact with Zirstos true form and it''s effect would take hold still. But Zirsto had acted fast in his preparation and rigged the field with a timed spell-


    <<Sirens call>>


    The spell took hold almost immediately, a melody with hypnotic powers beyond compare had hijacked his own spell and very nearly his own body, the shards were turned around and shot at Avistro after just being a millimeter away from piercing Zirsto.


    <<Sloth>>


    He changed, the shards immediately slowed down to a crawl as he took a step forward and doublecast another.


    <<Dispel>>


    Mind''s mirror -: <<Shatter>>


    The shards fade away to nothing and simultaneously both Zirsto and the Siren avatar behind him shattered into a hundred mirror fragments but the next instant he was back to being whole after an auto cast of <<Recovery>>


    <<Nature''s guard>>


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Song of destruction>>


    The faint outline of gigantic green cocoon was manifested around him and around each of his ten fingers little circles of magic steadily rotated, his mana spiked to high ends as he then pressed hard into air, it was like for a moment the space rippled and deformed accompanied by a simple constant static noise as everything within a hundred mile radius turned white, almost as if a portion of the world had been painted over.


    But in the next instant it all began fading away revealing a world tainted by a greyish hue-


    <<Field of Negation>>


    <<Kneel>>


    Zirsto was down on his knees slumped forward and unable to move, in his mind he was experiencing a great surprise at what spell currently held him prisoner. Negation, a most powerful spell with the power of commands which can stack for a continuous effect and something that shouldn''t be possible to learn unless one is of the affinity of either Anti-magic or <Null>.


    Checking his body Zirsto found that his great mana pool was now practically non-existent, if Avistro so wished right now so too could his lifeforce be snuffed out thereby temporarily killing Zirsto but that would prove impossible for himself at current, one cannot negate something infinite unless possessing infinite power in return, that was one of the rules of this spell.


    This was why the best option was to go for his mana pool, it mattered not even if Zirsto possessed a mana pool larger than his because he would end still negating most if not all as he wished, though as of current Avistro knew only three of his peers who could boast to possess a mana pool greater than his but if he were to exclude them then it was without a doubt that he possessed the largest pool by far out of the rest of his monstrous peers.


    Yet even though he boasted of such a great pool this spell had halved that in an instant, commands also had varying levels and just casting one of the lowest one had made it drop even further and this too without accounting for the cost of keeping it going, he would have only three minutes left at this rate but that would be more than enough.


    <<Dissonance>>


    <<Sleep>>


    And with that the battle was over, Zirsto fell on his back unconscious, with the field of negation in effect he had no protection against a low level spell like this which would have backfired against his opponent had he attempted it at any given moment outside of this particular situation. Avistro released the spell and stood there in silence, neither had unleashed their domains, their familiars and neither had unleashed their avatars, it seemed no matter what, these would only ever be unleashed against absolute enemies destined for permanent death and oblivion.


    "You did well Zirsto".


    The little announcer popped up and questioned if he was ready for a second opponent of which he immediately agreed, a list of free candidates who had ended their battle just as fast as he were shown and it was quite short, numbering a total of five but in that number were two he recognized.


    "I challenge him".


    He pointed to his choice and the mini announcer smiled as he sent word of his challenge through his second self staying with the opponent and after getting his answer-


    "Your challenge has been accepted".


    In moments he was standing face to face with his opponent, Velkos. During their time back in that other realm something which shouldn''t have come anywhere close to irking him did so after all, it was a first time feeling so underestimated and dismissed though he made that being eat it''s words in the end this still did not quell the little thought that had taken root in his heart.


    Who was the greater between them both, Avistro found it to be a most interesting thought to wonder as Velkos was indeed a most unique of his peers. Even with Ishmael''s presence the reason he had made no such speculations concerning them was due to the simple fact that with him there was a particular level of certainty which would come as no surprise if the red dragon were to end up being greater than he after all, he was already sure of it to be the case.


    Avistro could not really explain why being considered weaker than Velkos peeved him so, he wasn''t exactly the type to be in a terrible mood because one of his peers were greater than him, in fact he was already accepting of the fact he knew of two to be greater and with a third who possessed a certainty about him. This did not mean he would be so easily contented with being the weakest, that would never be whether he liked it or not.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Both stood there in silence, in truth they were simply biding time for their mana pools to return to optimal capacity, Avistro could sense some of Mavion''s mana lingering in the air which confirmed to him that he was the opponent Velkos had fought and defeated. Though not once spoke aloud it was still pretty much a consensus amongst them that he was the weakest of his peers, their spars in that realm had confirmed at least this much though they mean it with no malice and not to take away either from just how annoying and dangerous he was to battle.


    One of the only reasons his gift failed was due to their immortality, but one thing was for sure, facing Mavion it would be quite difficult coming out without suffering at least thousand impalements and a thousand cuts, and lots and absolute lots of headaches, the splashes of blood around Velkos served as further proof of that. A small smile graced Avistro''s lips remembering the little bits of hell experienced at the hands of Mavion, it was no wonder he and Mordred got along so well the best out of the groups.


    In a couple of minutes he was done, Velkos had finished earlier due to not having spent as much mana as he had to but with both back to their optimal peaks the battle could begin. Without saying a word both unleashed their mana like a dam bursting, Avistro clad in a golden yellow and Velkos a crimson red.


    The clash divided the area into two equal parts, one entirely gold and other of crimson but the latter was eating into the formers half at a frightening pace but got overwhelmed again bringing them back to equilibrium.


    In Avistro''s golden irises a strange inscription almost resembling that of a clock fused with a magic circle was manifested and the rings spun at a steady pace, his body grew taller becoming encased in golden scales reaching up to his neck and forming a vicious mask with two horns that revealed only his golden eyes, his poisonous fangs grew a centimeter longer and his three inch retractable black claws got incomparably sharper.


    Velkos not falling behind pushed his form into a hybrid state, on his faceless mask an opening for his eyes formed and a secong pair of eyes grew under the first as his hair turned ghastly white and now reached a length below his waist looking almost ethereal like an illusion. His body grew taller and his light red skin gained a much more saturated tone, in the centre of his chest was a black circular pattern with one long stem going downwards and from his shoulders down to his fingers a fitting gauntlet made entirely of blood was manifested.


    Their presence jumped to a whole new level of power as space visibly warped and distorted at the area of contact between the clash of two overbearing manas.


    Steadily raising their hands each drew a slanted line on the air with their index leaving a trail of gold and red, upon completion the marks grew twenty times larger and shot forward clashing mid air causing a large explosion of intertwined colors leading to mighty strong shockwaves that could be felt for hundreds of miles on end in the sky.


    <<Spatial distortion>>


    <<Target>>


    Right before Velkos the fabric of space began twisting around in a spiral and in moments it became meters wide but in the strangest turn of events the attack did not harm him as intended, in fact the distortion got infected with a blood red hue.


    <<Overtake>>


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Return>>


    In moments the distortion covered an area of twenty meters and was immediately set upon Avistro destroying and twisting his body in the most horrific of ways but in the end all it took was the hour hand in his eyes to spin a little anti-clockwise and it was back to being like nothing ever happened, the distortion wasn''t present and both still stood in the midst of the dying explosion of before occurring around them.


    <<Reversal>>


    ''How troublesome''.


    The nature of Velkos was to Overtake, Corrupt and Impose. It automatically shut down nearly everything one could throw at him, even mental attacks too. But there was at least the small boon of it depending on the depth of his perception rather than a passive thing so he could not affect time yet, though Avistro acknowledged the nature of his opponent as a troublesome one it didn''t change the fact that his very own acted as a great counter towards it sufficing he applies it correctly.


    But he also was aware of an underlying threat which was something they all shared, the power of adaptation. In extreme situations it could kickstart an extremely fast evolution, that extreme situation here would be the fact of Velkos current powerlessness against his authority over time if used enough against him. He had no doubt the perception of Velkos would be forced to undergo a great jump in levels until he was able to perceive time magic also which would give him the ability to overtake that too.


    Of course, he was speaking from the standpoint of someone not possessing the nature of <Null>, still he wasn''t looking to give Velkos a free evolution in this fight, he was simply just that petty.


    Velkos raised his hand summoning a giant red magic circle before him as he inaudibly cast¨C


    <<Blood rain>>


    Immediately the clouds were dyed in a world of red and beneath them was a pool of blood reaching as little drops of blood began falling all over like a rain, Avistro took a look at his body as the rain fell on him. Little golden ripples of mana spread all over his body at each drop but even the elite class protection of his body as a golden basilisk couldn''t hold out for long, he estimated a total of perhaps five minutes before it would begin failing. The blood rain, a spell more like a barrier technique than anything else due to there not being an option of flying or easily teleporting out of it due to it''s nature as a locked space.


    While within it''s barrier everything was made to be 2x weaker while it''s caster became stronger overtime, it''s normal limit at the beginner level was a 3x increase in power but taking the nature of Velkos into account Avistro surmised it could easily become an extra 2 to perhaps 3 times greater which would be even far more devastating if also paired with his domain. The rain also steadily dissolved almost everything be it mana, organic or inorganic and even ghosts or spirits and also impeded upon the ability to regenerate. In the simplest of terms, this was a spell almost certainly tailor-made for an existence like Velkos.


    He clapped his hands together and with a light tap of his feet the pool of blood beneath them rippled as hundreds of spirals began forming which rose up higher and higher becoming multiple tornadoes of blood accompanied by streams of red lightning which struck at every turn, Avistro instinctively flew high in the air reinforcing his defence as the pool of blood beneath him turned into giant spikes reaching many meters high but he flattened them with a thought and yet the blood persisted turning into four large eastern dragons spanning twenty meters in length with a spinning red ball in their mouths which shot at him like a powerful beam.


    <<Redirection>>


    Four little spirals in space occurred around him which took the brunt of the attack and sent it back at the constructs destroying it a second time yet they still reformed and this time joined together to form a much bigger body reaching a size of eighty meters and flew upwards disappearing into the clouds circling around, but then a most amazing thing happened as the giant tornadoes of blood and lightning also fused and split into eight more eighty meter dragon constructs flying into the skies above circling above and around each other


    Deep low spine chilling primal growls could be heard from above and their large bodies were visible at times with each strike of lightning and finally their heads reared downwards each releasing an earth shaking roar as their mouths opened wide forming a large flaming crimson ball which they then compressed releasing a mountainous crushing pressure and then shot downwards.


    <<Amplify>>


    Mind''s mirror -: <<Imprison>> & <<Reflect>>


    Suddenly it was like a portion of the sky had become encased in a world of many uneven glass shards ever-shifting in size and shape, the power contained within that ball hit the crystal prison and the explosion was contained within in a frozen state after destroying the constructs themselves.


    Avistro frowned a bit, though he had contained it for now due to the rain the prison would certainly weaken over time and using the power of nullifcation on that would take an unnecessary hit to his mana pool so he needed to use it on what truly mattered. Velkos had far less mana than he but due to the effects of this rain he could afford to spend more than usual even with his reserves tanking by the minute, soon enough they both would be at low reserves and he needed to reserve just enough and find an opening before then.


    There was only one option and he could sense that Velkos knew it too as he had unclasped his hands and Avistro flew back down to the pool, they both began walking forward and in a moment both vanished. A thundering boom was heard as their fists clashed and separated for a moment as Avistro threw a quick jab to his face but Velkos dodged to the side and crouched to perform a leg sweep which Avistro dodged by jumping a little high and in moments Velkos transitioned from the leg sweep into a spin making use of his bodily rotation to perform a backheel kick to the temple of his head.


    Avistro blocked with his arm but was still forcefully brought down to the ground making a huge impact and Velkos with his arm now covered a blaze of mana punched down at him but he grabbed on to his wrist using both arms and pulled Velkos down to wrap his legs around his neck and outstretched arm which he then completed by making a fast spin attempting to send him to the ground but Velkos did not budge further.


    Then in a surprising turn of events Avistro felt something sharp pierce him and looked down to it, the backhand of velkos was a single long bone spike lodged into his chest, he let go of his arm and neck the moment he felt something dangerous about to occur and flew a distance away dislodging himself from the weapon.


    The very fact it could bypass his defence though partially weakened at current by the rain was praiseworthy, he was no Bahu or even Ishmael by the body of a basilica especially one such as he was an elite temple of defence. The spike retracted into the hands of velkos who then rushed forward clamping his hands together to quickly shape a lengthy mana chain with a spear-like head attached to it''s end which he then threw straight at Avistro who tried to grab onto it but found himself tricked as the chain snaked around his arm wrapping it as Velkos pulled Avistro towards him at blinding speed.


    He stopped himself mid-air just before reaching him but Velkos was already upon him having predicted that and tried grabbing onto his head but Avistro dodged and twist his body around attempting to give a back elbow to his jaw only to be spun back around just as quickly disrupting him entirely as Velkos punched him square in the face and just before he went down was pulled up again for a second and third to the gut with the bone spikes released sending him flying upwards only to have his body used as a step for Velkos to get above him and deliver a kick to the back of his head and then still pulled up once again for a straight punch to his masked face sending him flying backwards like a bullet.


    Fusion magic -: <<Spirit arrow>> <


    >


    <<Aura of confusion>>


    In moments thousands of near transparent red arrows were created in the domain and each were launched towards the flying Avistro from all sides and paired with the aura of confusion to impair his senses which were nearly put in disarray for a moment and would have been all the time needed for the extremely fast intangible arrows to bypass his defence and impale him continuously petrifying his body and soul but he was even quicker with his counterattack.


    <<Sloth>>


    The arrows slowed down to a crawl and with a little flick of his hands they dispersed to nothing as he rushed forward in a flash seemingly passing through Velkos but only to be met with a mirage and with Velkos now right above him with his palms open and a magic circle spinning


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Explosion>>


    A little spark flew and nearly a moment later turned to a bright ball of an expanding explosion which Avistro could see occurring in slow motion and in one swift moment of pure ingenious madness he ate the ball and teleported higher only to open his mouth with expanding ball of explosion turning a dark grey as he shot it downwards at Velkos like a silent beam of energy rippling through space gaining instantaneous speed and splitting into five smaller widespread beams as it connected with him.


    The entire space tremble as five great silent domes of grey explosions erupted reaching multiple kilometres high and wide tearing at the structure and breaking the spell entirely, upon it''s collapse a mighty roar was heard as a hundred meter tall golden serpent with long curved horns at the sides of it''s head bared it''s vicious fangs at his opponent before him who stood at a height of eighty meters and his hair was like a beautiful mixture between fire and blood, his near featureless face bearing only four eyes burning a deep red as was it''s skin and protruding from it''s elbows were two long bone spikes, his feet black as tar and with nails so sharp, floating behind him were two massive red rings with the smaller rotating a spaced distance inside the larger and orbiting around his wrists were rings of blood.


    In the skies and using the clouds as their footstool these two titans stared down one another, their presence crushing and devastating as one could imagine and terribly distorting the space around them even with how little mana they currently bore in their bodies. Lightning crashed all around them as the giant basilisk roared and lunged forward but the asura caught his fangs with both hands stopping it in it''s tracks but the basilisks jaws was proving to be extremely difficult to restrain as a powerful venom began dripping from it''s fangs onto the asuras hand who let go of it and flew back to create some distance.


    His arms were being devoured by the venom bit by bit and it was slowly spreading through his spiritual body which should have been impossible, making the decision to self immolate, the asura burned in a blaze of flames and the lunged forward at blinding speeds unbefitting for a body his size. The golden basilisk spun to the side dodging the attack and latched onto him just as quickly to wrap itself around the asura constricting his movements as it prepared to sink it''s fangs into him but was met with a problem as it''s jaws were shut down forcefully.


    From the rings floating behind the asura were two more giant hands in the form of a construct, this new development gave the asura just enough time to forcefully exert his strength and loosen the coil of the basilisk around him which he then grabbed onto by it''s tail end and spun it around like a great tornado releasing it a few seconds later and going after the basilisk only to grab it by the throat and engulf him in a blaze or flames which burned in it''s wide open jaws.


    It roared in a frenzy of madness and then to the asuras surprise it began growing even bigger and stronger, his hands were forcefully repelled from it''s throat and he tried creating a distance again but in one swift motion the basilisk wrapped around his waist holding him firmly in place and opened it''s jaws wide gathering up a large burning green ball of venomous mana which it fired off like a tsunami of flames.


    The attack connected fair and square with the asuras body and continued downwards for about a hundred miles before finally dying out and in it''s aftermath the near whole of the asuras top half was gone and the basilisk panted with heavy breaths as a dizziness overtook him and soon enough his hold on the asura was released as they both fell down to the clouds


    Their bodies were reverted back to it''s humanoid form and both near absolutely devoid of mana, Avistro forced himself to sit up but couldn''t help slumping forward still exhausted beyond words. With some willpower he managed to raise his head just enough to get a good look at Velkos, he lay there unmoving and missing nearly half of his upper torso but he was alive, the venom just wasn''t letting him heal so he was stuck in a sort of unconscious state for the moment but once the venom was gone or his mana recovers well enough then he would be better.


    But for now, the round was over and he needed rest, even after a mini announcer came over and teleported him back to Arena with those who had finished early he just lay comfortably in the air unbothered by the world around him.


    EnD.

 Chapter 21: A crafty little witch can only go so far.

    Soon enough the rest completed theirs and were teleported back to the arena, the spell engraved into the floor was activated once again healing the contestants and bringing their mana pool back to it''s full reserves.


    The announcer ran his gaze along the crowd looking mildly serious, then he cracked a smile.


    "If any one of you have ever dreamed of seeing the day gods fall.....congratulations, this is the closest you will ever have to seeing that dream fulfilled".


    "Four down, ten more to go".


    "And out of the one hundred and six contestants that participated in this round only twenty two remain as most others suffered a mutual loss".


    "A first in the history of this tournament, oh yes".


    "Now this is where things get a little interesting".


    "The semi finals will allow you the freedom to continuously challenge others if you so wish it until either you lose or we''re down to the finalists".


    "Once down to the last four of you the contestants beaten by the finalists will each have a chance to compete for third and fourth place".


    "But in the meantime, a round of applause for you monsters".


    "Finally bringing the most life to this tournament after nearly destroying it all in the first place".


    "You are redeemed".


    The crowd clapped and cheered for nearly a quarter of a minute before the announcer asked for calm, he smiled and snapped his fingers reopening the doorways for them to enter the new stage.


    "Now then, you''re all prim and proper for the new round".


    "Let us continue then shall we?".


    The contestants walked through the doorway to be met with a sea of seemingly endless lava with some superheated rock formations ranging from mountainous to hill-like spread around for miles on end, the sky was full of darkened reddish clouds and there was no escape from the heat as even the winds that blew were charged with it.


    Walking upon the sea of lava Rozaria came face to face with her decided opponent, she rolled her eyes tiredly at him and heaved a small sigh.


    "Of course I got the mindless brute".


    Sarang grinned showing his fangs "A brute I am, though mindless I am not".


    "But perhaps you were hoping for Noctis?"


    He teased and almost immediately he could see the look of disgust in her eyes-


    "By the goddess no, his nature is too annoying to fight without preparations I haven''t yet completed".


    He raised a brow "hoh? So I guess you do expect him them, though later than now".


    She shrugged and he burst out with a deep hearty laugh bearing an animalistic presence as his majestic mane swayed in the wind, the beastman calmed from his amusement and stared at her with focused golden pupils.


    "Then ill apologize Rose, you might not get the chance to meet your love this tournament".


    A deadly light flashed in her starry green eyes upon hearing a particular word in that last sentence-


    "Careful young pup, lest you permanently become a lion with no mane".


    "Wonder how attractive you''ll look to every potential mate of yours then".


    She flashed him a sweet smile and Sarang could his spine grow a bit colder at her words, the pride a lion beared in it''s mane could never be understated and Rozaria was not one for empty threats.


    "Touch¨¨".


    The beastman leaned forward and burst out with explosive speed but all of a sudden found himself getting repelled just as fast into a mountainous rock formation in the far distance shattering it entirely and laying down amongst the rubbles in the sea of lava.


    He blinked a few times and then grinned as he got up and flew back, Rozaria gently shook her head and heaved a sigh.


    "Geez, just because I''m a mage doesn''t mean you can just simply overwhelm me with speed you know".


    Sarang shrugged "my mistake sure, it''s never a wise thing engaging in verbal exchange with a witch".


    "And yet you learn nothing from it still".


    Suddenly she felt a chill run down her spine and gasped as his massive clawed hands pierced through her back, he brought his head down to her ears grinned.


    "I already have".


    His hands closed around her spine as he ripped it out of her back snapping it at the neck which hung in her opened up body, his golden eyes shone with madness feeling her blood sprayed all over his body and watching as she fell down looking lifeless, her blood pooling on the sea of lava unable to be harmed even as it burned.


    "No, you really have not".


    The sound of her voice echoed from everywhere around him sending his senses on high alert as he looked around but neither saw nor sensed anything, his gaze snapped back to her body which had begun fading away leaving a small broken wooden doll in it''s place which sunk into the sea of lava.


    An annoyed low growl escaped his vocals "a substitute, of course".


    "Yup, I may be immortal but that doesn''t mean I don''t feel pain".


    His gaze snapped to the sky where her form slowly revealed itself in the air, a smile danced around the edges of her lips watching his clearly annoyed gaze.


    "That will most surely come back around to being used against you later on".


    She shrugged "perhaps, but I''ll deal with it still later on when it arrives".


    "You just won''t be the lucky one who gets to exploit this weakness of mine".


    He growled and opened his jaws releasing a devastating roar that flattened everything within a three hundred mile radius of him but upon coming into contact with her form it simply just wobbled like a reflection in a slightly disturbed body of water.


    <<Mirage>>


    "You have already lost Sarang, I''m your worst possible match up".


    "But, I''ll humour you for a bit".


    Her hands became encased in a green flame which she used to draw an arc of fire in the air completed by pressing in a small burning dot right in the middle.


    The flames grew and took the form of an eye and the small dot moved around as if having gained sentience, upon locking onto Sarang''s form his body was instantly set ablaze in a haze of green flames and seemingly was not being harmed in any way as it burned yet his heart was not still as he knew they were most definitely doing something, it was just not known to him at the moment but he did not want to wait long to discover just what it was.


    He was no mage but that did not mean he was completely clueless about spells, he clasped his hands together and released a great burst of mana.


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Dispel>>


    A dim light shone on his body but shattered in a matter of seconds as the flames persisted, Sarang''s heart sunk seeing the spell backfire prompting him to snap his head back to her.


    "What did you do!"


    He demanded, his face angrier than ever and yet all Rozaria could do was smile seeing the young cub give her such a cute look, she brought her index to her lips.


    "Shhh, it''s a secret".


    His golden eyes turned an intense burning white as a pillar of grey mana shot out of his body reaching up high, a tinge of hair on his dark mane turned white intertwining with the streaks of gold and on the back of his hands was a gold star accompanied by two rings orbiting around his wrists.


    For a moment it was the like the very world itself threatened to break under the presence of his majesty but it was just for a moment, he spread out his massive wings and took to the skies in a powerful burst of speed much greater than anything he had ever shown before.


    ''Jeez, what a scary guy''.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Rozaria felt herself getting a bit suppressed under the power being displayed, even with measures already in place a pang of worry still tugged at her heart.


    Sarang opened his palm towards her and condensed a white ball of mana which quickly gained a tinge of spiraling black as it''s core.


    Killing arts - [First form] <<Annihilation>>


    Everything turned pitch black for a few seconds but slowly began getting dyed in a world of white, in that rise a second hue rose to push back against the waves of power threatening to destroy everything in it''s path. From the top half was a world of white and from the lower half was a world of bright lemon green, a trail of blood flowed from her eyes and ran down Rozaria''s cheeks as she battled against the overwhelmingly violent wave of power and she knew that at this rate it would come out the winner unless she did something but right now she was stuck in a situation where she could not comfortably access most of her cards that could have possibly helped.


    Her starry green eyes gained a tinge of violet and immediately a new strength like she had never felt before washed through her body, in moments her consciousness blacked out to be replaced with something different, something so....ancient.


    <<Wormhole>>


    Right in the middle of this great struggle a large ripple in space occurred and it drew every last bit of the overwhelmingly violent power into it until there was nothing left before closing in on itself like it was never there. Rozaria''s consciousness now returned left her looking almost stunned at what had just occurred, she had felt it overtake her but she knew not what it was.


    Unfortunately still time was not on her side to even ponder what it was a second longer as Sarang had begun moving again, looking so unfazed by what had just occurred moments earlier as if it meant nothing for her seemingly sealed fate.


    He reached his hand towards the void and gently grasped at it, her eyes widened upon seeing a crack appear mid-air, steadily it grew and grew until it spread everywhere like wildfire even reaching her form.


    <<Overlord''s--


    At that moment Sarang felt a sudden wave of weakness wash over him, his power, his mana, his mental consciousness and even his physical form, all of it was leaving his body and shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye.


    The pillar of mana surrounding his body was receding and in it''s place the green flame grew in intensity until everything was gone and his body had reverted back to the form of a young cub, unconscious and with nothing to stay in the air he began falling to the sea of lava beneath but just moments before he reached it his body hung mid-air and steadily moved over to Rozaria who held him in her arms.


    "What a troublesome thing you are truly".


    "Tsk, still so adorable so I can''t even stay mad at you".


    She pet his head gently, the flames weren''t withdrawn, not yet anyways as it still acted as her insurance against him. The mini-announcer popped up some seconds later asking if she was ready to move on to the next challenge and she positively complied but first had pulled out a floating pillow for Sarang to rest on before looking at her choices.


    "Ah".


    He wasn''t there, Noctis was still currently engaged in battle with another opponent, her disappointment at this moment could not be understated. Perhaps she should have dragged the fight with Sarang a little longer, but then thinking back to that moment where she almost feared her certain loss dispelled that idea from her head.


    Having no choice but to come to terms with this new development she tried selecting another as her patience was limited, the options were greatly limited when recounting the fact only twenty five contestants participated in this round and only nine of them were free at the moment. Four of which were Selene, Hope, Emrys and Avistro. The latter three she wanted to avoid at all cost, especially the first two which left her with Selene as her best option and not one she could complain about at all.


    "Oh, Bahu just got added".


    Still her choice remained the same and she relayed her answer to the announcer-


    "Your challenge has been accepted".


    The mini-announcer revealed after and sent her to Selenes location with a snap of his fingers, now standing before her Rozaria smiled and Selene could not help but roll her eyes a little.


    "We were each other''s best options and you know it".


    Selene shook her head a little "no, I would have been fine had anyone of them chosen me also".


    "I may not be the strongest, but I''ll always do my best to win eitherway no matter my opponent".


    Rozaria was silent for a few seconds before heaving a sigh-


    "Tsk, now I feel both bad and like a coward".


    Selene smiled and walked over to give her friend a hug-


    "Wouldn''t call it that exactly, you just.....know your limits well is more like it".


    Rozaria chuckled and laughed a little though trying her very best not to while Selenes smile grew wider, some moments later they separated.


    "Ah, isn''t this place terrible for you most especially"


    Rozaria suddenly remembered as she looked around them, Selene shrugged a bit.


    "Not really, royal blood comes with a lot of very interesting perks".


    She smiled hearing that and soon both returned to being a good distance away from each other, Rozaria flicked her hands in a tricky way and revealed a small green card between her fingers which she rotated between them over and over again.


    Selene smiled and simply summoned a small water orb with a crystal-like core, her scales shimmered with an ethereal glow for a moment as she got encased in a thin film of blue mana.


    <<Burst>>


    To the great surprise of Rozaria her right arm suddenly exploded into a pool of blood followed by half of her torso, Selene looked to her side and then flicked at the empty space before her only to be met with a thin invisible barrier that rippled. She condensed a ball of mana to a pinpoint on her index and pressed it onto the surface, it got absorbed into it causing a wave of strong ripples as it broke apart to pieces.


    Now back in reality she was now face to face with the real Rozaria who was seemingly stuck in a little bubble floating above-


    "Quite prepared aren''t you" she complimented.


    "And I even went through the trouble of projecting the illusion around you instead of onto you so it''ll be far less noticeable".


    Selene smiled watching as Rozaria dispelled the bubble containing her and flew back down to the sea of lava, she flicked the card in her hands and it burnt away to nothing in the air. Suddenly everything felt so dry and hot beyond words, Selene could even feel her magic actually weaken significantly by what she had done.


    Curse magic -: <<drought>>


    "I''m sure you can feel it, if I can''t take your magic away completely I can at least weaken it enough".


    Hearing what Rozaria had said Selene only seemed to be slightly amused as she looked up to the skies and whispered a little chant of which it''s effects was revealed seconds later.


    The reddish skies turned dark with grey clouds, in those clouds were the sounds of thunder rising ever so often and striking down as a heavy downpour of rain began falling, the dryness still persisted but it was up against a being incomparable to most and was practically useless in stopping her authority.


    The battlefield had now become one entirely conducive to Selene, the orb before her transformed into a twenty meter tall eastern dragon with the orb as it''s core and streams of blue mana flowed along it''s body as it manoeuvred around in the rain disappearing between drops and appearing once again from another making for such a strange visually disturbing and mind boggling sight as the action was not visibly fast but almost sluggish yet somehow the tiny raindrops that fell visibly fast in comparison seemed slowed and yet visibly not at the same time as it''s massive body passed through the drops.


    Rozaria almost believed herself to be trapped in an illusion but knew what she was experiencing to be quite real and this was a threat, at any moment with that freaking movement she could be devoured entirely by that construct so the only reason she hadn''t been already was due to Selene choosing not to.


    She almost laughed at herself of before when making the choice of whom to challenge, Selene was going to be much more troublesome than she thought and the possibility of her losing this round was once again all too real.


    "Boy, I''m in trouble".


    Selene''s smile grew a little as she raised her index to Rozaria who''s senses went into immediate overdrive as she pulled out a new card and burnt it which erected a green near transparent barrier engraved with an orbiting ring of writings around herself.


    <<Burst>>


    The spell was cast but the magic circle broke to pieces upon being neutralized.


    "Smart" she complimented.


    Rozaria did not look to be the least joyed by the compliment in the slightest, the air around her had undergone a 180¡ã change and she was now ready to face her opponent wholeheartedly.


    Drawing the arc of flames once more she clasped her hands together-


    <<Range>>


    <<Focus>>


    <<Barrier of isolation>>


    Fusion -: <<Acidic wave>> <


    >


    <<Loop>>


    The area around them in a ten mile radius was suddenly lit up in a small field of seemingly harmless flames as a tall near transparent dark barrier was erected around the first barrier surrounding Rozaria and at the very edges where the flames stopped. A thick poisonous fog suddenly arose clouding the whole place accompanied by a small continuous rain of acid which were strong enough to actually compete against Selenes magic as it overtook a portion of her domain.


    The acidic rain tried eating it''s way into her protective field but simply just wasn''t strong enough to do so and the poisons effect were constantly being neutralized by her natural gift of purification, the dragon flew up and around then roared thunderously causing the rain to pause as if frozen even affecting the acid itself


    <<The great divide>>


    A thin blue vertical line was created on the barrier surrounding Rozaria, slowly it formed on her also and in moments it was like a portion of the world had been divided into two halves of a sea which was suddenly revealed to have been around them. The barrier was split in half as was the body of Rozaria and each half was held by the split sea, but Selene was not to be fooled to think that she had won just yet, her opponent was the craftiest of beings and the flames still burning all around her unaffected by her spell was proof of that.


    Curse magic -: <<Gluttony>>


    The flames surrounding her suddenly grew so large and so fast that it simply vanished from her sight for a moment but it was there, it was burning in each and every bit of this entire space. And in a new shift it was like the world had been changed once more, beneath her was now a seemingly bottomless void of nothing and from all sides were gigantic razor sharp teeth enclosing in on the entire space wanting to seal her permanently inside the belly of the beast.


    "Hm, though the current me can only call upon a poor imitation of a fraction of it''s true strength, it should suffice".


    She closed her eyes and put both hands together whispering a chant then suddenly her eyes glowed a bright blue as her mana rose to high extremes.


    "Cleansing the world of evil once more, I call upon you¨C


    Summoning magic -: <<Great flood>>


    Space itself trembled and warped violently before the might of a power so great and unending in it''s wrath as the flood washed over everything erasing it all from the world''s memory.


    The world''s perspective returned to normal and she now stood atop the sea of lava, the rain falling still falling as it was and a distance away was the steadily regenerating body of Rozaria with barely any mana left in her. Their ''world'' altering battle was over, victory was hers. She felt wobbly and nearly fell to her knees but managed to keep herself steady, suddenly a little light shot from Rozaria''s body prompting her to look up immediately and feeling her heart sink a little at the belief it wasn''t over yet but in a moment all her worries turned into a moment which left her speechless as the light burst into little fireworks and something of a holographic projection popped up.


    "Yayyy!"


    "Congratulations on beating me, it was quite a great fight Selene".


    "Happy for you".


    "Though in my defence i will note that I did not reveal nearly half of my cards in the literal and figurative sense of the word".


    "But that''s just a self comfort, you won fair and square".


    Rozaria''s projection suddenly heaved a sigh but smiled at her friend once again.


    "A crafty little witch can only go so far you know, but I had fun".


    "Bye Selene, good luck on your next fight".


    And with that the protection came to an end, Selene could only hang her head down and laugh, there was no doubt her friend was quite the character.


    Soon enough the mini-announcer popped up and asked if she was ready for her next challenge of which he answer was positive, the list was shown to her and she tried to scroll but couldn''t. There was simply one person available as of this moment and he was simply a being of pure terror, Ishmael.


    It was then that Selene would remember a simple little trick about witches when it came to wishing one good luck and how the Arcane reacted to such a thing from them.


    "Oh you crafty little B-


    EnD.

 Chapter 22: In the end they remain friends.

    "Huh? Selene?".


    "Hm, quite unexpected but oh well".


    Ishmael accepted the challange and in moments she was standing before him, the first thing he noticed was the complete exhaustion plaguing her reserves.


    "Ah, you should probably recover".


    Selene smiled and closed her eyes as she got to meditating, minutes passed and soon enough she was restored to her peak condition.


    "I''m not what you expected huh".


    His eyes flashed with a look of worrry but he gently shook his head and replied¨C


    "But i have no qualms, you can still be dangerous in some form".


    She laughed softly at his honest attempt of acknowledging her, though sounding malicious at the bare surface level to a listener''s ears she knew it to be without, the red dragon''s inborn natural pride if not being greatly suppressed as it were now would have kept his words honest to a most destructive level.


    "For a red dragon you''re quite a big softie" she teased.


    "I''m not fragile you know, don''t hold back for my sake".


    "That would actually hurt more than anything else".


    Ishmael still had a look of hesitation on his face but in the end closed his eyes for a moment and opened them determined to respect her wishes, his crimson red iris shone with a bone chilling light as his vertical pupils expanded just ever so slightly.


    "I''ll try to end this fast".


    Selene smiled hearing his declaration and put her hand through her chest and into her heart to pull out a little multicoloured crystal in the shape of a drop and ate it, the air grew heavy and vibrated with such a great intensity it caused small visible tears in the space around them as her mana rose to unprescedented levels with a potency incomparable to what it once was.


    Yet standing before this violent and mountanous pressure was Ishmael looking like he was experiencing nothing but a cool breeze, a pillar of mana shot out of Selene''s body and around her the faint silhouette of a beautiful mermaid woman looking down with gentle eyes and arms wrapped around her condensed, her hair flowed like a violent sea of storms and right on her glabella a blue marking taking the shape of a trident formed.


    Violent and stormy cloudds formed high above with harsh streaks of lightning striking wildly down bringing a downpour of rain and with outstretched hands she reached high above, streaks lightning gathered in one spot and struck down at her as a great bolt carrying violent destrcutive power beyond compare yet in that small moment she caught it with her bare hands and struck it down with great force into the sea of lava causing a momentarily bright flash of light as a gaint dome of condensed electrical energy spread out for miles eviscerating everything in it''s path.


    Standing before him now she bore a blue trident in her hands, it''s great power mountanous and suffocating. He closed his eyes as she raised it high summoning two great magic circles sending the mana around them into a great uproar as she whispered¨C


    <<Sorrowful embrace>>


    In moments he found himself standing in a sea of water, a thundering pulse thumped once out of nowhere followed by another seconds later and another. In the end everything turned perfectly still for a few moments, then in one loud bang forcefully compressed and shrunk, it shrunk again a second time and a third as little by little everything including sound itself faded away leaving nothing but a void of black in it''s trail as it continued devouring with no remorse and in moments there was nothing left but a pitch black still darkness.


    From that darkness there was spark, it died pretty quickly but soon it was followed by a new spark and after multiple sparks had died out finally a flame was born. It burned so weakly looking like it would go out at any time to the devouring darkness but yet it persisted, not just that it actually grew. Bit by bit the flames grew pushing back that bottomless pit of black until the very moment it snapped, and just that a powerful tsunami of flames uncontrollable in it''s violent rage expanded and burned it all leaving behind a blazing trail in it''s wake as the world returned to normal.


    He stood now in the same space as her looking perfectly unharmed, a tall endless sea of flames burning around them unmoved by the rain yet also not eviscerating it. Ishmael opened his hands and condensed a little ball of flames then spun it around a very high intensity with the heat rising the longer it spun until it reached a point and then shrunk to the size of a rice grain.


    "Begone".


    And then he flicked it, for a moment it was like the sun itself had descended upon the world followed by a thundering sound as a pure beam of concentrated heat fired off in Selene''s direction travelling for many miles and lasting for a few seconds before suddenly a blue flash of light passed dividing it in two halves.


    She swung the trident a second time releasing a powerful slash of blue Mana mixed with lightning and reaching many meters high travelling towards him but he simply flicked it to pieces. His pupils contracted a little seeing her utilising some strange movement to suddenly vanish from his sight almost as if teleporting and appearing behind him with the trident poised and ready to skewer him from behind.


    "Hm?"


    Selena looked on in shock finding him suddenly facing her and stopping her trident with one finger, in a slight panic she utilised the same movement once more to attack him from high above but once again he stopped it. She continued utilising the movement and even implementing fakeouts all just for a chance of getting in that one single attempt on him and in but a fraction of a second she utilised nearly one hundred movements yet he stopped her at every turn.


    This made no sense to her, Ishmael wasn''t anything like Avistro in terms of sensory and her movement was damn near the closest thing to teleportation but yet he was tracking her. Was her movement really that slowed down in the moments after appearing or was he genuinely just that much faster than she was.


    Suddenly hecaught her hand at the last movement and stared straight into her eyes¨C


    "Enough".


    She tried utilising the same movement once more but found that she couldn''t, she only kept partially blinking in place but couldn''t move away from him. Selene looked into his eyes and surprise as she felt a most powerful heat rising all around her, suddenly he let go and immediately she backed away to a safe distance then raised her trident high.


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Eye of the storm>>


    <<The great divide>>


    Summoning magic -: <<Great flood>>


    <<Graceful rage>>


    The whole space looked like it had fallen into total chaos facing the bombardment of great spells, everything was completely enveloped by water and the very centre of it splitting into two equal halves as a disastrous and violent storm raged all around flowing endlessly with powerful bolts of lightning


    Yet in but one moment, this seemingly endless and powerful tormenting which was tearing at the world simply just vanished. There was nothing left, not even steam nor tiny droplets as proof it once existed, it was simply gone. Ishmael''s body regenerated from it''s wounds and his halves reformed as he took one step forward¨C


    <<The great suppression>>


    Instantly a mountainous pressure descended upon Selene nearly forcing her to into the sea of lava but she persisted, then he took another and it doubled yet she still persisted. The faint silhouette of the gentle mermaid protecting her cracked at the third step and with that little bit of exposure she felt flesh tear and her eyes bleed, her regeneration wasn''t kicking in to help her and at the fourth step it was completely shattered forcing her to take the full brunt of it but only for a moment as the spell was suddenly released.


    That small moment was enough, her bones had cracked and were shattered in some places, her face was covered with blood and yet even then with every last bit of will left in her she forced her body to stand tall before him. Ishmael took in the form of her under his gaze, her eyes looked glazed yet had never shone brighter than it had now, her hand still holding on firmly to the trident and on her lips was a smile.


    "Go on then, finish it" she requested.


    Her voice was weak but the determination in it was unmistakable, he gently placed a hand to her cheek, flames rising off them moments later yet they did not seem to harm her as it enveloped her entirely in a blaze. She closed her eyes in complete satisfaction as the flames reached all the way into her core burning away at her still rising Mana faster than it could generate and to the point of exhaustion. Her consciousness left her as she slowly lost her balance but Ishmael caught her and gently let her float comfortably in the air as her bed, his eyes held a myriad of mixed emotions looking at her but at the end all he could do was smile.


    "What a stubborn girl you are Selene".


    He wiped the small trail of blood from his lips and waited a few seconds as the mini-announcer popped up, the options were presented to him as always and he glanced through the list.


    [A little while ago].


    Noctis felt his annoyance growing with every new fake that popped up after he slaughtered the last, at some point he just sighed and stood still.


    "You''re quite a pain you know".


    Mordred grinned as he dispelled his multitude of fakes and vanished in a puff of red smoke appearing before Noctis¨C


    "I know, that''s why I''ll keep at it".


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    He sighed again "at some point you''ll run out of mana".


    "Sure, but I''ll outlast you".


    Noctis raised a brow "I posses much more Mana than you".


    Mordred agreed with a nod "sure, but this little trick of mine costs so little and your attacks are very much less cost effective in comparison".


    He clicked his tongue in annoyance but could say nothing in retort to that but Mordred continued¨C


    "And besides, you''re not the only one who gets the right to complain here".


    "My power of illusions is completely useless against you, I''ve been cleaved of over half of my winning cards here".


    "I mean I could trap Ishmael in a loop, though admittedly he was casual and defenseless and took nearly everything I had but it''s still a feat I''m very much proud of".


    "To be honest, I''m starting to understand Rozaria''s dislike of you a little more now".


    After a period of silence both of them came to one perfect conclusion¨C


    "We shouldn''t have met at all" - Noctis.


    "Oh most definitely" - Mordred.


    With another sigh both got back to settling themselves into a battle ready mode with resolve to end this drawn out fight, Mordred knew from this point henceforth he could no longer depend on that little trick to save himself.


    Though great against most attacks be they AOE or concentrated, ignoring his little bluff of before, the real strength of Noctis lied in something far worse than he had the confidence to deal with and with half his arsenal permanently out of commission for this fight his chances truly were abysmal but that did not mean he was completely hopeless.


    "It''s best we end this fast".


    Mordred proclaimed, from beneath him a giant black magic circle spread out on the sea of lava.


    <<Shadow hunt>>


    Noctis flew away in a flash leaving a gentle golden trail of mana as multiple giant spikes made of shadows and reaching tens of meters high shot up from beneath, his senses got alerted to something behind him and he flew out of the way again as another round of giant shadow spikes missed their target but it wasn''t over yet.


    Wherever he went a new magic circle would be quickly summoned releasing the same spikes and as it continued Noctis could feel that the spell was actually getting faster and more cunning to the point it felt like it was predicting him almost like a great hunter learning and adapting to it''s prey''s patterns to better corner and finally catch it.


    Knowing that his plan of dodging couldn''t go on anymore Noctis finally decided to retaliate, the sky was already full of multiple golden trails and to end his pursuit he simply flew down like a meteor shattering the spikes below causing them to lose form.


    <<Dispel>>


    An effect like never before was produced by this simple spell, a golden wave of mana washed over the entirety of this place breaking the spell and even Mordred felt mildly threatened by a spell never designed to cause harm in the first place, like something of him could be undone. The nature of Noctis along with his power worked so unbelievably well that it took it well over it''s limits, far beyond what any of his peers with no exceptions could hope to achieve at current even if they were to amplify beyond it''s basic state unlike Noctis who had intended for the spell to be weak and controlled yet still producing such an exaggerated effect.


    In short, this was simply another spell that would never work the same it did with another being like it could with Noctis who hadn''t even begun to understand the limits and boundaries he could push with this in time to come.


    ''Ishmael is terrifying and all but Noctis is....dangerous''.


    Mordred thought to himself with a slight shiver, his gaze turned focuse as he clamped his hands together and whispered-


    <<Root>>


    "Huh?".


    Noctis looked down in suprise as a void-like crack was formed on his chest and in a scene of pure horror he watched as a shadow in the form of a hand pushed it''s fingers through, in an instant a second pushed through grabbing onto the edges of the crack and widening it as a multitude of hands varying in size suddenly rushed out grabbing at him from head to toe.


    Smaller hands pushed out the sides of his eyes and covering them, another covered his ears, a multitude spilled from his mouth and slithered down his body like a snake to cover and restrain every bit of him until there was nothing left.


    From beneath a pool of shadows formed springing forth five giant hands, two grabbed at his legs holding them firmly down while the other two pulled down at his wrists and the final grabbed onto his head from above pressing it down.


    "Devour and grow" he commanded.


    From the pool of shadows beneath a mouth like that of a beast arose, giant tooth like that of a blade sunk into his torso draining him of his power and as it devoured, thorny branches made of shadow began growing all over his body bearing reddish ethereal leaves. The branches kept growing and growing bearing the same leaves until it started looking like a gigantic tree with the body of Noctis serving as the trunk of it, this was the true nature of this spell.


    Bearing a vampiric nature that would never allow it to stop feeding and growing until it drains you of everything you have down to your soul and only when there was truly nothing left of it''s target would it fall apart and end.


    It''s natural sealing and disruption effect, which grew in power as it devoured also serving to greatly reduce the possibility it''s target be they organic or inanimate breaking out of it''s hold, with the added boon of the caster also strengthening it on the outside by supplying the spell with even more mana the reinforcement was double.


    In short it was a true nightmare of a spell with almost no weaknesses to exploit, but the true endgame of this spell was for one final thing, a most special fruit it would bear after devouring all it can from it''s target and unfortunately for Mordred he would not be getting to see that happen today.


    Suddenly the air started vibrating intensely and a crack formed on the cluster of shadows, Mordred''s eye widened a bit but he acted fast in increasing the supply of mana to constantly reinforce it.


    The crack healed but just moments later it reopened again and this time even bigger, it spread quickly all over forming a web of cracks constantly healing and reopening until finally rays of light burst out tearing the shadows to pieces as the form of Noctis clad in a bright light was revealed along with a strong burst of golden mana which pushed a portrait of the seemingly immovable and indestructible sea of lava upwards like a world ending tsunami eviscerating the rocky formations for miles on end.


    Mordred in a desperate attempt to save himself from the overwhelming power he sensed building up just before it''s release hurriedly took on a less material form and summoned millions of fakes to work together in weakening it while also putting up more than five defense spells yet even with all his preparations upon release that overwhelming power tore through it all like a hot knife through butter even burning him greatly through his immaterial form forcing an involuntary release as he fell to his knees atop the turbulent sea of lava.


    Fortunately his preparations weren''t entirely in vain, the portion of the power that had hit him was indeed greatly lessened leading to these minor injuries he had sustained now at the end of it all, his right arm had turned to ashes and one-third of his body was black as charcoal along with the fact Noctis''s mana was currently was running amok in his body destroying his pathways, preventing his regeneration and had severed his core in half which would take some hours to heal later.


    He smiled and looked up at Noctis heading towards him, his eyes were a burning gold and the light around his body still persisted though having died down a lot.


    "You don''t hold back huh".


    Noctis tit his head to the side "don''t try anything stupid, it''s over".


    Mordred''s smile grew to a terrifying grin "Sorry, unfortunately I still have a lot more in me".


    <<Shadow possession>> <<¡ª[Reversal]¡ª>>


    In an instant everything that had been inflicted upon Mordred''s body was perfectly reversed onto Noctis who now stood with a near destroyed and crippled body while Mordred was back to what he once was.


    "Phew, how lucky I am".


    "If I had ''died'' from that attack this spell wouldn''t have been triggered in the end".


    "My mastery isn''t at the level where I can reverse such a thing yet".


    He laughed for a few seconds before finally turning his attention back to Noctis, a smug grin on his face.


    "How is it".


    "Not feeling so good I''m betting, yeah your power hurts like no other".


    He raised his hand to cast another spell but caught a smile on the face of Noctis.


    "Tell me, what am I?"


    Mordred raised a brow not understanding the question but Noctis repeated the question again.


    "What am I, do you remember".


    He looked to be lost in thought but caught sight of something peculiar from Noctis, bit by bit his form began losing bits of definition and little flares of mana began rising off his body like an extension until he was fully transformed into a being made up of finely shaped energy resembling a humanoid form.


    His eyes snapped wide as the answer finally hit him- "dammit".


    He cursed under his breath and flew a distance back, Noctis was a wisp, not just any but one that stood above the pinnacle of the highest possible grade. A spiritual being made of the purest mana accumulated over a period of time undisturbed from the world itself and therefore nearly indestructible, of course losing his form or core meant nothing. Even before they had discovered themselves to have possessed the gift of immortality, Noctis already was by virtue of what he is.


    The reversal by all accounts was made useless on him, his arm reformed and everything else just vanished to the wind. He stared straight into Mordred''s eyes, his gaze piercing as he increased the pressure around them.


    "It would be much better if you surrender, i can overhwhelm you in every possible way".


    His warning seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as Mordred simply laughed, his eyes carrying a hint of mischief.


    "I do not deny that, but you see.....the word surrender doesn''t exist in my vocabulary".


    Silence reigned between them for a bit and in the end Noctis simply just smiled-


    "We learn every day don''t we, no worries then".


    "I''ll teach it to you, listen closely".


    He took a step forward sending a massive pillar of pressure down upon Mordred who grit his teeth as he fought back against it, his eyes and senses were focused to extremes looking at Noctis who stood there burning like the sun.


    "There shall be not extravagant attacks, no spells or nothing of the sort".


    "I will simply. Beat. It. Down. Into you".


    It felt instant, just one moment Noctis was standing before him and the next he was already in the air above, the imprint of his image still haven''t left his eyes fast enough to recognize the new one and his senses not fast enough to have detected the movement still only registering his old position in it''s radar.


    He never knew when it hit him, all he could understand was that his view was suddenly turned upside down and his body was bouncing off the sea of lava, he couldn''t even recognize when the fists hit him in the face, chest and abdomen. The impact and pain only registered moments later and he could do nothing but keel over in agony, all three points of impact inwardly deformed and his breath uneven as his eyes dashed from side to side, up down and center trying to figure out what had just happened to him.


    "Get up"


    The voice of Noctis rang in his ears prompting him to look ahead as if on instinct-


    "I''m not done yet so get up".


    "You will come to understand just how annoying this immunity of mine truly is".


    His heart shook and his eyes shone with understanding that what had just occurred to him was the doing of Noctis, a well of anger was building inside him causing his mana to flare to high extremes like a volcanic eruption.


    "You bastard".


    <<Absolute corruption>>


    Four giant black magic circles were summoned in the air around him and another which dwarfed the first four combined was summoned right above, his eyes burned with mana and the space around him was distorted terribly. Shadows began imposing themselves over the ''world'' and a black liquid tar-like substance began rising up from beneath turning the very sea of lava into something of an abomination, the liquid tar-like substance rose higher and fused together forming a multitude of endless creatures from beyond the grave wailing in absolute agony, it moved like the turbulent sea and moved as if fused with the very space itself causing it to shape, deform and reform in uncanny ways.


    Even the very essence of Noctis began getting corroded, it steadily creeped into every part of his being changing and twisting it into something else, the light around him was dying and Mordred smiled feeling the hour of his victory at hand but in an instant that look turned to one of distraught.


    His spell suddenly paused, the moving sea of black frozen and he looked around bewildered at the occurrence. Then suddenly without warning the magic circles cracked and burst to pieces ending his spell with immediate effect as it fade away almost like it never was in the first place.


    Mordred stood there watching in silence, his face nothing but a blank look as he slowly took in the entire ordeal. Corruption was one of the greatest ways to overcome pure spirits, it was like a true weakness and his spell took that power to new heights in consideration of what Noctis was and yet seeing it simply fall apart like this....


    "I lost".


    He sighed and got down to lay on his back atop the sea of lava, Noctis returned to his former state and levitated over to him then sat down. Silence reigned between them for a few seconds until out of nowhere Mordred chuckled and then broke out into a small laugh, Noctis just smiled.


    EnD.

 Chapter 23: A new understanding.

    "Ishmael huh, it would be suicide if you pick him".


    Mordred warned as Noctis scrolled through the list and stopping on Ishmael, he glanced towards him for a moment and scoffed.


    "Unlike you, I''m not terrified of him, I have my cards".


    Mordred tilt his head a little not feeling slighted by the statement at all "you can''t blame me for being terrified of him, I''m in my right mind here you know".


    New contestants became available as he finished speaking and Noctis took a look at them as did Mordred, both their eyes widened a bit seeing one person in particular, Mordred looked up at Noctis seeing his eyes linger on her for so long causing him to raise a brow.


    "Tell me you''re not thinking it".


    His words caused him to snap out of his little trance and he scrolled back to Ishmael, Avistro was part of the new available contestants but he had no interest in fighting him like he did Ishmael.


    "No, it just occurred to me that she''s practically a stranger to us".


    "Based on how this goes she is to be the one who leads us in the future and we''ve practically never spoken to her once".


    "It''s just a little observation".


    He looked towards the mini-announcer and told him of his choice then turned his attention back towards Mordred while waiting for the response to his challenge.


    "Maybe once this tournament is over I''ll try establishing contact, not like there''s any animosity on both sides so why not go for it".


    Mordred pondered his words for a moment and then shrugged "ehn, I see no problem, guess I''ll do the same".


    Noctis smiled and turned towards the mini-announcer who had returned with the reply-


    "Rejected!".


    His eyes widened as he exclaimed "Huh!??"


    "Reasons, annoying and also too flashy".


    At that he could not help but roll his eyes and cast a stern look towards Mordred who was snickering on the side and soon broke into a full belly laughter.


    "Oh you have no idea how vindicated I feel if even Ishmael finds you annoying".


    "Bless the gods".


    "Rozaria would be delighted to know this, I have to see her".


    He requested for the announcer to take him away from the battlefield while still laughing uncontrollably, Noctis shook his head and sighed to himself seeing Mordred teleported away as he turned back to the scrolling through the having decided to go for Avistro this time but he was unfortunately too late as the announcer of his choice to challenge Hope which she accepted.


    "Tsk".


    Noctis clicked his tongue in annoyance but then raised a brow seeing a new contestant was available, his gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before sighing to himself as he made his choice.


    [A little while ago].


    "An elf who prefers being a sponge, you break every logic known to both man and beast".


    "The symbol of your race comes from being one of the natural fastest, most nimble and also blessed with godlike accuracy in all that you do plus being one of mana''s top 10 favourite children in the world".


    "You''re quite the incredible mutant even for a dark elf known for being much tougher than the lighter half of your species".


    Emrys lauded Bahu with praise as they stood opposite one another, violent streaks of lightning still running all around fresh from the monstrous attack he had unleashed yet his opponent remained unscathed and he wasn''t even putting up a natural mana cloak yet, his body was simply that strong.


    "Mhm, you''re most definitely an incredible one".


    "However¨C


    Suddenly Bahu had a premonition, like his head and half his torso were simply blown away to and immediately reacted by coating himself in mana. Emrys seeing this put his hands down and smiled, a muses expression on his face.


    "Hoh? Your senses aren''t dull also it seems".


    "Sponges always seem to lack that instinct, impressive".


    Bahu squint his eyes a little and then raised a hand to draw a perfect circle in the air with mana, once completed he gave a gentle push to it''s center causing the circle to spin and form more concentric lines around which spread out like a wave stirring the air only to soon fade away but doing nothing in the end that''s Emrys could discern at a casual glance.


    To run a little test he circled a bolt of lightning around his finger tips and struck it forward at him only to be met with a thin honey colored barrier that spread a second wave of ripples over the entire place, but what surprised him was the fact he now had a huge hole at the side of his torso.


    Within moments he figured it out as his wound regenerated, Bahu had casted a barrier than reflects and amplifies attacks far beyond their original capability back at the aggressor.


    "I see, with a barrier like this one would be discouraged in simply thinking of attacking you let alone with powerful spells if something so harmless can do this to me".


    "Does It reflect spiritual and mental attacks too, lets find out".


    He sent a mental shock at him and groaned in annoyance as it was instead returned to his mind multiple folds causing blood to flow from his eyes and lips.


    "That''s confirmed now I guess".


    "How about internally".


    <<Target>>


    <<Burst>>


    As he had half expected, it didn''t work. His own heart exploded in his chest which still stung quite a bit even if his body wasn''t really flesh, it regenerated seconds later and he smiled.


    "It''s definitely the far better version to what you used against Sarang in that realm".


    "Guess this is what you meant to show him".


    For the first time Bahu had a visible reaction to his words.


    "Oh don''t look so surprised, even if I did not want to it was impossible to miss".


    "Both of you were always flaring your mana even if suppressed as it were".


    "It was like a universal beacon of light in a realm where everything is so much weaker and irrelevant".


    He sighed and flexed his fingers a little "with that being said, there''s so many ways around this little thing".


    "But I''ll just overpower it, you''re not at the level where you can force me into being truly cautious".


    At this point a random thought suddenly popped into his head, Emrys had always felt something off about his ''normal'' mana, he had the same feeling about his lightning affinity which was simply just that. It gave him the highest possible affinity with the lightning element but had no real nature or effect to it, something of a bloodline inheritance.


    Could not even be called simply possessing lightning magic, he felt like he possessed something more akin to a container. This was the same feeling he had with his ''normal'' mana, like it was a container because if he were to compare it to the top 5 amongst his peers it would pale so terribly in comparison to the point calling it garbage would be an honour yet something like that could exist alongside the ice dragon emperors element in it''s true essence.


    As his sisters had said, there were a few blessed with this element but they only had access to one half and even that half was but a tiny fraction but it was true, yet the full essence of it existed in his body with a mana like that to bear the weight of it, something just wasn''t right.


    His dark mana was absolute and he could even feel it wasn''t fully awakened yet it put him above everyone with his equal being only Hope in the aspect of how potent their mana was and if this was the only mana he awakened or possessed first then he would have no qualms or question his power but it wasn''t, this simply just stuck out like a sore thumb and he could not ignore it any longer.


    ''Hm, a container huh''.


    A new idea struck him prompting him to look down at his nails, he curled his fingers and released his claws which brought a dangerous feeling so great it unerved Bahu even under the protection of his barrier. But Emrys wasn''t intending to use his claws for anything concerning his opponent, in fact he did something surprising as Bahu saw him stab into his own chest causing a frown to crease his brows as he looked on in confusion.


    "Excuse me for a moment, there''s something I''m testing out".


    Emrys dug deeper into his body and caused slight ripple to occur as he phased through to reach the separate space where his cores reside, once at his destination he paused for a moment and then pierced his own cores.


    Instantly he felt the damage, his mana was going haywire but he pushed through in his quest to test his theory, calling forth the phoenix nature he had absorbed from his aunt he steadily injected it''s power directly into his fist core containing the ''normal'' mana.


    He sunk his consciousness into the core to directly monitor and guide the process, the nature of the phoenix blend well into his first core changing it from the inside out and transforming the very nature of his mana into something entirely different. His violet colored mana now bore an extra hue of reddish gold streaks and a warped mixture of both at it''s very epicenter, he took in a deep breath feeling the wave of fresh new overwhelming power flowing through his body overwriting every trace of what once was.


    His presence rose by a multitude of degrees higher even while suppressed, now his mana wasn''t just some empty container anymore, it bore a true affinity and quality unto itself, with this he was satisfied.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ''I''ve grown stronger again huh''.


    Though he wanted to introduce the ancient dragon''s blood into his dark mana he had a strong feeling it would be a most terrible idea trying that now so he set it aside for later, right now he had to get back to his opponent whom he had kept waiting more than long enough.


    "My apologies, I''ll end this quickly now".


    He walked forward and placed his hand onto the barrier surrounding Bahu then coat his hand in his newly improved mana which caused ripples to occur on the barrier but he made no motion for attack yet, his hand was still and then an instant later it shattered as did every piece of flesh, muscle and organ in his body but it all returned back to being whole in moments.


    He stared straight into the eyes of Bahu who did not back down from his gaze, he looked unmoved by what had just occurred and Emrys could not help but wonder.


    "What were you thinking using this, I''m immortal, you''re immortal".


    "We can recover from almost anything with ease, you may be a sponge but you''ve proven yourself not to be a slow one".


    Bahu looked to the side for a moment and then back at him, he smiled "because it''s enjoyable doing this".


    <<Replay>>


    Instantly and without warning his body burst to pieces once again along with his clothes but recovered to it''s normal state only to burst again, with each new round it''s power grew stronger but yet could not shake his bones in the slightest.


    Emrys watched him with curious eyes as he continuously burst to pieces over and over again, he felt he had to be missing something. Admittedly the barrier''s effect staying active even after it''s destruction in this form made it truly one of a kind, this was easy to admit but still it was too little, he had to be missing something.


    Lo and behold he would turn out to be correct, he felt something off and looked down at his arm. The flesh had reformed but it was different, it looked and felt like the barrier he had just destroyed minutes ago. The rest of his body still kept bursting to pieces only to reform again but the barrier kept growing every time it occurred and he could tell that at some point his whole body would become the very barrier itself.


    "A barrier puppet is the endgame huh, what a weird spell this is".


    "But I can see the possibilities of having such a thing on your side, especially if they retain their abilities also".


    Bahu smiled "normally it shouldn''t take anywhere near this long".


    "This is just a testament to your strength".


    Emrys hummed, his eyes still carrying a look of curiosity.


    "But is it not too risky, you''re defenseless.....relatively speaking I guess".


    "What happens if I simply just defeat you before it''s completion".


    Bahu clasped his hands together "then it continues unfetered".


    Emrys raised a brow "I see, truly a great spell".


    "But something bugs me, no one without a recovery rate like ours is surviving the first destruction".


    "Doesn''t that render the endgame of this spell practically useless in most situations".


    "Looks too situational to be productive".


    Bahu shook his head "accounted for, the target will be forcefully reconstructed by the barrier for as long as I can supply mana to it untill it''s completion".


    A realisation shone in his eyes "ah.....how unfair of a spell it is".


    "Yes, a most proud creation of mine".


    Emrys scrunched his brows together for a moment "why make something like this".


    "Our enemies already bear of massive disadvantage by virtue of what we are and how absurdingly potent our manas are".


    "Normal spells are already taken to enough absurdities, or do you aim for true invincibility".


    "Yes" Bahu answered without hesitation, a flame of desire lit up in his eyes.


    "I aim to be the very strongest!".


    Emrys remained silent for a few moments upon hearing his declaration, then he smiled-


    "That will never happen".


    "And it is not that I disregard your dream so disrespectfully, there are some things that just cannot and will never be done".


    "The game was rigged from the start ambitious one".


    Bahu''s gaze turned hardened "then you shall watch me".


    "No need, I already know how this ends".


    "But I am intrigued by something, from your desire I sense a strong rejection against authority, or more specifically the authority of she, whom is destined to lead you".


    He gave no verbal reply but that wasn''t needed, his eyes already told everything as it were.


    "I see".


    "Only absolute violence shall convince you then, her burden to bear".


    Bahu scoffed "and what about you, where do you fit in this equation as the odd one out".


    Emrys smiled "I even the numbers actually, but who knows".


    "I could end up as the one who sits above it".


    He scoffed again hearing his response "what a lofty option you''ve given yourself".


    "Lofty? Doubtful, I''m simply realistic".


    Bahus gaze shifted and turned piercing "or you could end up as the one who stands against the throne".


    Emrys felt the very obvious meaning in his words but remained unmoved by it and calmly replied-


    "Also doubtful, it is more likely that it will be against I".


    Bahu raised a brow "what do you mean by that" he questioned.


    "You''ll find out eventually, our little talk ends here".


    With that his body burst once more along the barrier which had nearly taken over half of him, the pieces of flesh, clothing, muscle, organs and barrier shards hung in the air refusing the reform back onto him. Bahu felt a cold chill go down his spine staring into the bright flaming violet eyes of a golden skeleton until suddenly his body and clothes reformed but that shards remained in the air, a mountainous pressure like no other descended upon Bahu with so much force it hurt him internally causing his organs to rupture even with his mana defence active.


    Emrys slowly raised his index towards him and with one word commanded-


    <<Kneel>>


    As of this moment the eyes of Bahu who had fallen to his knees atop the sea of lava were wide open in shock, his mind flashed back to a certain similar event and he looked up to meet the gaze of Emrys.


    "Word magic, so you do indeed have it, that''s what you used that time wasn''t it".


    Emrys raised a brow and gently shook his head "No".


    "That was simply suggestion magic, far easier and less complicated".


    "Word magic operates entirely on one word commands, at least for the level of which I can use it at now".


    ".........I see" he replied.


    Closing his eyes for a few moments he breathed in deeply then exhaled, his eyes sprang wide open burning a strong gold as a tsunami of silver white mana shot out of his body repelling Emrys far back. A giant mana circle was summoned behind him and the moment it appeared his mana seemed almost alive but then paused it''s turbulent movements to break of into a sphere of hexagonal shapes varying in size surrounding Bahu which suddenly clung to his body melding together to form a great armor around him and finally a helmet leaving only room for his burning golden eyes dead set on Emrys.


    Every ounce of pressure vanished from his almost like it was never there, his presence down to near zero and it seemed almost like one was staring at a ghost. All that was lost the moment he took the first step, instantly a pressure like never before descended upon this very space causing a slight tremor to occur in the sea of lava below. Then he took another and it tripled, with each step it continuously multiplied until his walk turned into a small jog and then a full on run with an overbearing presence warping and tearing at the space all around.


    <<godly charge>>


    And with that he vanished, appearing before Emrys and ramming into him with such force that he was sent for nearly a hundred miles crushing a multitude of rock formations into dust. Once Emrys stabilized himself his senses alerted him and he flew up high to dodge the incoming charge but his eyes widened feeling the same attack coming from above and put up a mana shield to block but it got torn to pieces like a piece of paper and once again his body was sent flying off like a rocket with so much force than the first.


    He stabilized himself in a fraction of a second just before smashing into the sea of lava and looked to the side to just barely catch a glimpse of a small ripple in space occurring before suddenly being sent flying once more for hundreds of miles.


    ''I see now, physically moving himself through space akin to teleportation''.


    ''And even if I can track him the continuously increasing mountainous pressure he brings with him causes an instance of small delay just enough for him to exploit as he also continuously increases in speed while my time of delay also further increases''.


    ''I''m sure his form is also to adapt to situations where intangibility could be present, but how about teleportation''.


    ''......No, I''m sure he has a lock on that too''.


    ''Anti-teleportation magic is quite easy to implement, all he needs is a small inconspicuous artifact on him if he can''t cast the spell himself''.


    ''Still, how unfortunate''.


    Bahu''s eyes widened seeing a little pillar of dark light all of a sudden in place of where Emrys once was and his charge hitting nothing only for Emrys to suddenly reappear before him once more and kick him away sending him flying for hundreds of meters before he stabilized himself by coming to a stop.


    He looked straight ahead at Emrys who was smiling and then got himself ready for a charge once more, the power he had built within him wasn''t gone yet but in a minute it could begin to dwindle. Though he could not understand why Emrys had been able to teleport he was not to be discouraged, all he to do was become faster than he could think.


    "It''s because natures differ".


    He paused for a moment and looked up as the calm voice of Emrys reached him-


    "Teleportation, not everyone''s nature is the same especially if it reigns as a personal innate skill rather than a spell with an often common signature".


    "Mine is far different from the norm and opposes the lockdown effect".


    "I''m sure it would have been the same for that guy also".


    ''Avistro''.


    That was the one word that came to his mind, anti-teleportation artifacts or spells had no effect on him, he knew this well from the one time they sparred.


    "But worry not, I''m not too fond of using this little thing".


    "Come, I''ll end this with something you''re quite familiar with".


    Using supremely delicate control an influx of mana flowed to his eyes making the starry violet shine even brighter as the fist of his right hand became encapsulated in a silvery fluid mana which began vibrating at a high frequency and Bahu''s eyes widened as he recognized that very same technique but unlike what Sarang had manifested at the time his went further than that.


    The silver mana hardened around his fist forming a scale-like armor and five silver rings spun in an orbit round his arm each shining like little stars which gave off a multitude of rising flares. Space visibly warped and contorted in an almost agonizing manner as the power he had gathered settled waiting to be released, Bahu seeing this got ready to execute his charge once more.


    He gathered every ounce of mana in his body and pushed the spell to high extremes achieving a power and speed nearly a thousand times greater, a smile formed on the face of Emrys as he wait in anticipation.


    "There''s this little age old riddle, it usually goes like this".


    "What happens when an unstoppable force meets the immovable object".


    "This situation flips that riddle on it''s head to propose a new one".


    "What happens when two unstoppable forces meet".


    His right arm vanished as did Bahu and at the point of impact a translucent wave of power spread for miles accompanied by a dome of explosion which grew thousands of kilometres high and spread for more than five hundred miles causing strong shockwaves heavily disrupting the sea of lava like a turbulent wave.


    "You lose".


    A crack appeared on his armor and it kept spreading until it suddenly splintered into a thousand pieces as did his body which burst into a cloud of red mist only to begin slowly reforming seconds later, Emrys watched as the unconscious form of Bahu fell atop the sea of lava unconscious and utterly devoid of mana with his heart which served as his core still missing.


    Though Bahu may be immortal and can regenerate from almost anything it still did not mean there wasn''t a way to keep him sedated, the heart was the core of most humanoid races and removing that meant an instant death for most.


    Taking this into account Emrys had injected some mana into Bahu''s body as it reformed to keep his heart from regenerating and the mana would disperse in a few hours but in this way Bahu would be forced into a state of limbo, a practical coma if you will.


    It was a method similar to the one he had used before, it worked quite well as one of the few ways to incapacitate an immortal without the use of mind spells, sealing spells or anti-regeneration spells. Of course Bahu''s physique as a humanoid race also played an important role in this method working even if he was immortal, it would gave failed had he tried this on anyone with a spiritual body for instance.


    He looked away from the body and stood in wait for the announcer who popped up seconds later, while he browsed the list looking for his next challenge and seeing two very good ones but unfortunately he would have to make a choice so he was about choosing until something surprising happened


    He was challenged, not simply just challenged but by two people at the same time, Noctis and Ishmael. Emrys furrowed his brow in thought of how to go about this, for one thing the greed in his heart was refusing to let him think of leaving anyone out anymore.


    Just then an idea came up in his mind and he turned to the announcer "is it possible to accept a challenge but put it on hold so long as both parties agree".


    The mini-announcers eyes shone with a mysterious light as he smiled "quite the greedy one aren''t you".


    "Hmm, let''s see. There is nothing against or for such a situation in the rules. But-


    "As I possess an absolute authority over this tournament, I can bend the limits one more time".


    "Count yourself fortunate young one, you have permission to proceed just this once".


    His heart thumped in joy, nothing was settled yet as he had to get the other party''s agreement but this chance alone was already more than enough.


    "I accept the challenges of both Noctis and Ishmael and would like to request the latter if he could please wait for me".


    "By my core I swear it that my battle with Noctis shall be a quick one if he accepts".


    A violet magic circle was summoned before his chest, it''s process half complete and only needing now the word of the other party to determine if the oath would take effect or not.


    The min-announcer''s smile grew wider as he relayed everything directly as stated to Ishmael and now only the wait remained, the circle steadily spun before his chest and then suddenly his heart thumped as a crossed chain was manifested before the circle.


    Even without hearing it he already knew-


    "Your request, has been accepted".


    EnD.

 Chapter 24: Dark and Light, Majesty and Dominion.

    From the very moment he was teleported to the battlefield his senses went wild prompting him to raise a palm to his face blocking the fist of Noctis, a thunderous boom echoed through the air accompanied by a strong shockwave which spread for miles on end.


    He grabbed onto the fist and moved it away to stare into the calm silver eyes of Noctis which released a steady stream of gold making for a beautiful contrast, Emrys smiled and let go of his fist then in an instant both vanished. Moments later a trail of gold and one of purple painted the air intertwining over millions of times over in a fraction of a second only to be broken when Emrys was suddenly sent flying downwards but he stilled himself just in time to catch Noctis by his wrists and throw him across the sea of lava watching as he rolled and bounced again and again until he came to a stop.


    His eyes held amusement as he wiped the blood from his mouth and began walking towards Noctis who had already gotten up to release his form into it''s true state, he burned like a star releasing flares of golden mana and a giant magic was summoned behind him, with a casual wave of his hand thousands of bright little lights sparkled everywhere across the battlefield.


    <<Lockdown>> <<¡ªFormation-:[Net]¡ª>>


    In moments thousands of concentrated light beams shot up in all directions forming an inescapable net, their piercing power so great it could sink deep into the sea of lava and continuously digging deeper into it for as long as it persisted, Emrys had flown up in the air to remain in the only area in the net free enough to contain him.


    ''Quite fast those things are, barely made it in time''.


    ''If I hadn''t grown so much just before this battle remaining in this state definitely wouldn''t be enough''.


    ''Now-


    Just as he was about to launch his counterattack Emrys caught sight of the beams slowly moving in all directions and reducing his available space, he forced his senses to their utmost limit just as the beams moved in a flash dicing with no restriction and riddling the fabric of space with thousands of tears in all places as a side effect of its prowess.


    <<Lightning Dance>>


    As the beams came to a standstill once more right there in the gaps was a tiny purple bolt of lightning, it snaked around through the gaps in a zigzag moving up, down and sideways. Noctis smiled watching the little dance but recognized something to be off, normally that spell was supposed to create branches numbering in the thousands to millions and more could be created as they were destroyed, it was quite an effective ''life saving'' technique that could also be turned around to cause utmost destruction in a heartbeat.


    The fact Emrys was sticking to one branch meant two things, one he was a crazy daredevil which he could attribute to the benefits of being immortal and two he was confident in surviving the net, wanting to test that confidence he controlled the beams of light to move around once again in all directions multiple times over but no matter how much he moved them the little bolt of lightning kept finding the gaps to escape through.


    ''Hm, not unfounded it seems''.


    Realizing very quickly that no matter how many times he changed formation he could never get rid of the gaps cause in the end the baseline foundation remained a net he decided to start all over.


    Formation:- <<Cubic>>


    In the blink of an eye a cubic construct made entirely of pure light spanning tens of thousands of miles in length and reaching just as high was formed on the battlefield, a large chunk of the sea of lava below instantly vanished and inside the construct was the body of Noctis whom could still feel, see and move unrestricted within the solid construct.


    ''There it is''.


    He smiled, within the construct was a large spiral of pure darkness, though not visible from the outside he saw it clear as day. The darkness twisted and turned to take the shape of a humanoid figure closely resembling Emrys though made of pure darkness, his eyes were a burning shade of violet and little flares of darkness continuously escaped his form.


    Noctis having seen a little of what his darkness element could do in the other realm knew well that attacking that form as it were now meant feeding a bottomless pit and he himself was going to be at a huge risk of suppression if it retaliates so he had to take things up a notch.


    He stopped the spell causing the construct to disperse and flew high up into the air, three giant golden circles were summoned behind him in a stacked formation.


    <<The hour of Judgement>>


    A single bell toll echoed through the air and in moments Emrys found himself standing in a realm of pitch black with an endless spiral sea of gold beneath his feet, he tried feeling his power but it was like nearly absolutely everything had been stripped from him and in moments he could make no further movements also as he remained spread eagle in the air, his limbs and neck bound by golden chains coming from deep within the dark.


    Looking up at Noctis high above he radiated a power many times greater than what he had ever felt from him and orbiting around his body were seven tablets of gold each with a different written word that he could not discern but when looking at them Emrys found himself feeling for the first time in this tournament a true threat that he could actually lose.


    The tablets stopped their orbit and one broke free of the encirclement to come before him as it shattered to pieces, grabbing onto a part of those pieces his eyes burned with a greater intensity


    "Verdict confirmed".


    <<Condemn>>


    From up high a pillar of light descended upon Emrys lighting up the dark and in that small infinitesimal second before impact his eyes turned a starry crimson. There was no loud bangs, no extravagant effects or bursts, just a simple silent descent only broken by the small ripple of the golden sea below upon contact and at that moment the light froze, then it began turning crystallized displaying the body of Emrys perfectly sealed within it.


    ''Hm, since it could not destroy him it opted to seal him instead huh''.


    Noctis analyzed with a smile but soon caught hold of something, the eyes of Emrys which had turned a different hue contrary to what it was before.


    ''Ah''.


    That was all he could say as suddenly the crystallized light cracked and shattered to pieces in the matter of a few moments, the very realm trembled as for the very first time in this tournament he would be forced to release his Dark mana.


    His violet hair turned black as night and grew so long it reached his heels, from his body radiated an aura so overwhelmingly violent yet so divine and beautiful it could bring one''s very soul to tears in adoration. His skin turned a pale grey and his claws darkened, though not brought out directly into the world yet just the presence of it bubbling underneath from his very core was already threatening to undo this very realm and would have succeeded if it were not for the presence of Noctis whose power had risen multiple folds more just to counteract it''s effects.


    But rather than fear what he felt right now in the presence of such overwhelming strength was joy, the very divine in him rejoiced for something many in the world wrongly thought to be the very epitome of evil.


    "I was right, dark mana is indeed of a divine nature".


    "The incarnation of it''s unending wrath and unrivalled destruction, it''s greatest executioner unbound by it all".


    He rotated the tablets around him once more and this time pulled five of them into the last sixth, knowing full well that he could not afford to underestimate just how overwhelming that power was he had decided to go all out.


    The final tablet was transformed into a little butterfly made of pure light and it perched atop his hands, his power rose to it''s absolute peak by many hundred folds.


    "The Final Judgement".


    <<Erasure>>


    The butterfly took off and flew straight ahead only to disappear in a ripple through the darkness, moments later Emrys felt the very core of his existence slowly being erased from the world.


    <<Freeze>>


    Just like that everything froze in place, the process of erasure was halted and if one were to look closely they would find that even Noctis seemed all too still but his consciousness was all too free and he knew full well what was happening to him yet even then it was still not any less unbelievable.


    Word magic, a most notoriously difficult branch of magic to learn let alone master and yet Emrys had mastered it to such a level where it could affect the nature of an obscure power like erasure, even he did not think it an achievable feat at their level yet.


    <<Shatter>>


    The realm burst to a million pieces instantly ending the spell and returning them to the battlefield, Emrys conjured up a small ball of lightning of which due to the influence of dark mana had turned a deep shade of black with streaks of silvery white and a violet. The pressure emanating from it alone instantly shattered the space around them and sunk the sea of lava below into a crater nearly half a mile deep with a width spanning many thousand miles.


    From the broken space around them new rifts formed and with this came storms of lightning which seemed to be made from the very essence of space itself thereby looking almost ethereal and embedded with what seemed to be little stars, quite violent yet so peaceful and seemingly attracted to both Emrys and the ball of lightning within his hands.


    They rushed forward into the ball of lightning like a group of starving hyenas seeing the fresh carcass of a bison and bit into it with ferocious vigor then the spatial storm seeped into the body of Emrys wreaking havoc everywhere they went, destroying, reconstructing and destroying once again until they dug so far beyond going into the very essence of his lightning affinity changing it from the inside out and imprinting upon it their very nature.


    Noctis watched him undergo this revolution, watched as he repeatedly got torn apart and rebuilt from the inside out and watched very clearly as the very essence of his element was changed from the inside out, watched as it came to manifest a new nature entirely different to what it once was.


    The ball of dark lightning with streaks of silvery white and violet had now gained an almost ghostly ethereal form in the way it moved so freely in and out of states, the flow of lightning so hypnotic yet never has it ever looked as violent and beyond dangerous, deeply imprinted within that darkness and in those streaks were obscure visions of the cosmos, each violent strike from a lightning branch seemingly travelled through the emptiness vanishing for a moment only to reappear once more in the world.


    Emrys seemed to be trapped in a daze from the moment this phenomenon began occurring, his eyes glazed over by a thin film of pure white and then he blinked. The white slowly receded rippling along his pitch black sclera, he gently closed his fist dispersing the gathered ball of lightning and looked up to meet the gaze of Noctis.


    He released his command over him and sighed as he undid the influence of dark mana which returned him to his normal state but there was something different, in his long violet hair which reached a length just below his waist was a new streak of white.


    "Do you want to know something interesting" Emrys asked.


    Noctis tilt his head a little to the side and steadily flew back down to the sea of lava below.


    "I really have no desire to be invincible, yet every step I take forces me towards it".


    "I''ve left some intentional gaps in my armor for my opponents to exploit, I allow a lot of things".


    "Looking at how abnormal we are I''m sure we all had the same idea in a way also, else how is it possible we''re all still one or two circle mages after eight years".


    "But in doing so we''ve made ourselves far more dangerous, there exists no first or second circle mage with the power comparable to a sixth, seventh and eight".


    "Even by maximization it''s just not possible, there''s a hard limit to maximization but we and most especially I, have forgotten an important part, our limits cannot in any way be compared to theirs".


    "The rest of you may be under pressure to achieve or break every limit of power you can because of what you are to face but I don''t like it for myself".Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "Still, I know I can''t stop now. My greed has already taken permanent root, I cannot come back from this path".


    "So this shall be the last time I ever complain about it".


    "In the end I do not fear my own power, I simply do not wish to grow bored of it so quickly".


    Noctis smiled after "in those last words, we are the same".


    "But unlike you I find myself in a better position, with you, Hope, Ishmael and Avistro, even Velkos".


    "I will always have a goal to chase, someone to compare to and competition to keep me on my toes lest I fall so far behind".


    "In this way I am indeed blessed".


    Emrys smiled and gently shook his head "yeah, it would seem so".


    "I shall accept my defeat here" declared Noctis.


    The mini-announcer popped up within moments of his declaration and asked Emrys if he was ready to undertake the second challenge but he replied instead with a question for him.


    "How long did it take".


    The announcer "nearly eight minutes, most of it dedicated to your evolution and verbal exchange".


    "I see, i kept my promise then".


    Noctis looked between them both "so i''m guessing there was a bet you would end this fight quickly".


    "No, a promise" replied Emrys with a smile.


    He scoffed and requested for the announcer to return him back to the waiting area of which he did with a snap of his fingers, Emrys seeing his opponent leave finally accepted to continue on with his challenge and was immediately teleported into the battlefield.


    The first thing he met with was the sight of Ishmael laying in a fetal position atop the sea of lava, from his breathing Emrys could tell he was genuinely asleep and though he should have been surprised at such an out of place thing to do, in the end he wasn''t having witnessed him sleeping in a volcano once before.


    "Hmm..........Ishmael".


    Almost immediately his eyes sprung open displaying those ferocious crimson red irises with vertical pupils, he got up in a lazy manner and stretched his body a bit.


    "You''re finally here".


    "No need for formalities then".


    His body began getting covered in smooth armor-like crimson scales and a draconic tail and wings each measuring 1.9 meters and 4 meters respectively sprung from his body along with a red hot aura so intense it near instantly vaporised the sea of lava and everything else within a hundred thousand mile radius as the very space itself surrounding them burned away and the horns on the sides of his head grew longer.


    Emrys wasting no time matched Ishmael''s hybrid transformation immediately upon it''s release and let his form fall under the influence of dark mana once more, though leaving his body unprotected by the mana yet even still impressive was how the heat managed to cause him some burns which only got visibly worse by the second even with his quick natural regeneration.


    His mouth slightly parted as he breathed out a chilly breath, almost immediately everything was cooled to a point where just a comfortable warmth could be felt and Ishmael''s pupils contracted upon feeling clearly a hint of what was imbued within that breath.


    "You-


    "Yes, the true essence of the ice dragon emperor".


    "That, is my magic".


    "Just as you possess that of the flame emperor''s".


    His eyes turned a bright crystal blue as a wave of icy blue mana spread outwards clashing with the crimson red hot of Ishmael dividing the world into halves of extreme cold and extreme hot but if one were to look closely they would find the cold slowly but surely encroaching upon the territory of Ishmael.


    "In the past, the ice dragon emperor lost to and tied with the flame dragon emperor, no records about a win".


    "Hm, perhaps we make history today".


    Ishmael smiled "no, I''d rather a second victory".


    <<Eruption field>>


    A pillar of flames rose up from beneath Emrys engulfing him and reaching thousands of miles high but then in moments everything was frozen to bits and shattered away into multiple crystallized blue particles of light to reveal the form of an unharmed Emrys.


    "It''s best you use it, no matter how many spells you cast with your ''basic'' dragon fire it''s pointless".


    "All I need is a breath always".


    Silence reigned for a few seconds between them both and suddenly the aura of extreme heat around Ishmael died leaving the aura of extreme cold to dominate the space in it''s place, his blood red eyes burned with power as he opened his mouth to whisper the word-


    "Crimson"


    Without warning Emrys found himself suddenly pulled into a different realm once again but unlike the last this was was not a realm of darkness but of sunset yellow skies going on endlessly with nothing below or above bar the golden clouds.


    A reddish-black flame steadily envolped the claws of his right hand and upon it''s manifestation Emrys felt like the very core of his existence could be permanently burned away to nothing even under the protection of his immortality.


    Even if just an illusion, the very fact he felt that much of a threat signified truly just how powerful those flames were and he could not help but smile as he made a show to reciprocate the sincerity of it''s power in kind.


    He opened the palm of his right hand to summon a small piece, It''s appearance wasn''t much, simply looked like a crystal blue candle flame with a white essence to it''s core and it gave the feeling it could be extinguished at any moment by just the slightest breeze.


    But by the heavens it''s power, the very fabric of this realm was infected by a thin layer of crystallized frost from the inside out and superimposed itself over the divine scorching heat imprinted upon this space. The clash between the supreme sides of two opposite extremes was destructive beyond imagination and if it were not for this realm being especially durable enough to barely just handle it, everything would have already collapsed a long time ago.


    <<Ring of extermination>>


    A spiral ring of reddish-black flames was summoned in their midst bearing a power far greater as it instantly overpowered the influence of cold on this realm and grew to cover hundreds of thousands of miles in but an instant. Emrys initially protected himself from the expansion of the flames by forming a cocoon of ice around himself but found the true terror of this spell lied in being caught within it''s space.


    It was a double-trigger spell with a tracking nature designed to impose a dimensional lock effect and trap it''s target within if the first expansion of flames failed to achieve complete destruction of it''s target and with this second effect triggered the property of compression and amplification comes into play to pressure it''s trapped target who can do nothing but watch as the ring continously shrinks bringing with it a power that jumps to new heights with every compression and only stopping the moments it''s target has been noted to have been truly destroyed.


    Right now this was what Emrys was facing trapped within that ring of hell, the growing pressure and power of those flames already near destorying his cocoon of ice even with continuous reinforcements to it but with the power jumps being non-linear and mountanuous with every compression left him playing catch up of which he was now falling considerably behind as reinforcement by nature followed a defined and limited process.


    In moments the cocoon would be destroyed and then he would be at it''s complete mercy so for the second time in this tournament Emrys would be forced into interrupting the development of a spell before it reached it''s complete peak.


    <<Cold winds>>


    The air turned eerily chilly at a visible rate and Ishmael looked down at his own body in surprise as He, bearing the supreme manifestation of flames and also being a dragon himself was trembling under the effects of the cold. This, somehow, felt far more insulting than simply being frozen outwards. In seconds the piercing cold reached his bones, every bit of his mana pathways and core, he tried fighting back against it but only felt like all he had done was slow down the inevitable.


    His body turned paler and colder at a visible rate, his breath frosty and looking ahead he would see the approaching ring of fire had been frozen in a special way, almost as if it''s very nature had been changed rather than brutally overpowered and encased in ice. The reddish-black flames were now a crystallized blue and looked just as ethereal as the flames were, only if one were to touch them they would find themselves sharing the same fate and also unable to move them in the slightest, as if frozen in time.


    The dimensional lock, by nature an obscure and invisible effect had found itself also under the mercy of the cold. On the very fabric of space were little glints of crystals that shone intermittently, soon enough the cold shattered it''s effects on this realm thereby releasing Emrys from his prison.


    At this moment the cold reached his core and upon contact it stopeed for a moment and simply vanished, it''s traces all over his body were gone just the same, almost like the effects of reversal had just been implemented and if one were to look closely they would find that the air around Ishmael was greatly distorted, like an invisible wall of steam was enveloping his entire being.


    Without warning the influence of the cold over this realm vanished as did the frozen ring of fire which was burned to nothing in an instant and yet the heat never seemed to reach Emrys, that was how controlled they were and it''s temprature kept on rising and rising until it burned to a point where a hint of color was restored to it''s hue once more and just then he vanished.


    Reappearing before Emrys his palm was spread out and a ball of reddish-black gathered before it as he smacked it into Emrys who responded by constructing a wall of reinforced ice before him just before impact.


    It was catastrophic, like he was suffering the onslaught of a blazing meteor, the flames exploded bringing with a large trail that went on for miles on end as the wall shattered to pieces but right as it broke Emrys had also gathered a flame of ice around his palm of which he used in meeting the palm of Ishmael.


    Both attacks immediately canceled each other out leaving nothing but cooled steam wafting off their hands, a second activation was initiated and the impact pushed them apart before they rushed in again with Ishmaels mouth wide open in a roar as a tsunami of reddish-black flames poured out endlessly with such ferocity it covered the entire sky only to be horizontally split in half and matched by a wave of crystal blue ice-flames.


    Their clash split the realm into halves of red and blue with both sides at a stalemate and the longer it went on the further this realm became unstable as it trembled under the might of two supreme existences, with a final boost Ishmael finally began pushing the ice emperor''s magic back slowly but surely and just when he had thought his victory to be at hand his flames were suddenly pushed back returning them to a stalemate.


    A deep feeling of annoyance welled inside of him as he made the final decision to end this once and for all, a deep and primal growl escaped his lungs as suddenly a presence so terrifying it nearly ripped apart his very being descended upon this realm instantly neutralizing both their magics and Emrys watched as a tornado of reddish-black flames began encircling Ishmael who was visibly growing larger at a visible rate untill suddenly it burst wide open bringing with it a pulse of crimson red mana which spread for miles on end.


    Right before his eyes a 150 meter tall majestic red dragon with four horns reared it''s head up into the skies and released a soul shaking deep primal roar which near shattered this very realm, a single flap of his wings was like a natural disaster capable of flattening entire countries with just the wind pressure alone.


    A copious amount of blood red mana emanated off his body warping the realm to high extremes, it''s deep crimson eyes locked on to the figure of Emrys who looked like a complete bloody mess but still on his lips was a smile as he raised his gaze to meet that of the dragon''s.


    ¨C<Dark spirit manifestation>¨C


    Darkness poured out of his body in waves near drowning the entire sky as his body coated in a blob of darkness began expanding until it all receded back into a needlepoint and expanded once more taking shape into the form of a 150 meter tall lion born entirely of darkness and coated in an aura of it, it''s eyes a deep shade of starry crimson and it''s mane full and majestic with streaks of silvery-white.


    On it''s body were a pair of wings spread wide and with a majestic stomp of it''s front paws atop the fabric of this realm it''s head up into the skies and released an earth shattering roar.


    The two behemoths stood facing off against once another, their eyes unyeilding and their bodies slightly crouched, deep spine chilling growls escaping their vocals as they finally pounced.


    Claws were brandished as their forelimbs clashed with such force it near instantly annihilated the realm returning them back to the original battlefield and destroying everything around them in a near ten million mile radius with simply the much weakened residual force left of their clash.


    In the aftermath Emrys was sent back for many miles before flapping his wings and coming to a stop, he growled and looked upon the form of Ishmael a distance away then flew back at a speed almost akin to teleportation to ram his paws into the dragon''s chest and send them both crashing deep into the sea of lava causing destruction like never before.


    Thunderous booms could be heard from beneath causing turbulent movements to the surface above, like multiple nuclear weapons were being detonated in multiple places all at once and seconds they burst out of the lava releasing devastating roars that instantly shattered thr fabric of space sending them deep into an almost void-like space.


    Emrys dodged a dangerous claw swipe from Ishmael with an all too agile movement nowhere near compatible with his size and then bit down onto the dragon''s neck causing it to roar in pain which quickly turned into anger but Emrys had already let go and flown a distance away before it could launch a counterattack.


    He looked at the wound inflicted upon his opponent and found it far too shallow, the dragon''s scales were tough beyond compare even after making sure to strike at an optimal timeframe where it''s body was unguarded by mana.


    Realizing very quickly that he could no longer opt for a frontal assault against the dragon he perched down onto the fabric of this void-like space as did Ishmael who had accepted he could not deal with the lion''s speed.


    Their claws sunk deep and their jaws partially parted, from inside a power incomparable to anything else began boiling, reddish-black flames with prominent streaks of gold steadily spilled from the gaps of his mouth and it sent tremors through this space, distorting it''s structure with the power contained within those flames.


    From the jaws of Emrys a frosty aura brewed partially off-setting the influence of the flames on this space and once their jaws were opened wide the elements condensed to a point drawing in a heavy amount of power until it was unleashed.


    A concentrated stream of crystal blue and reddish-black with gold clashed instantly turning the very structure of this space into one of shattered glass violently being juggled against one another within a box until it was all suddenly separated, breaking out of the box and drifting around in space.


    The collapse of this space took very little time and now the were stuck in a realm of pure white with their clash still ongoing, as if the changes occuring around them mattered very little. The two behemoths were laser focused on one thing only, absolute victory.


    Hundreds of grand magic circles were summoned by both individually and it surrounded them, the circles of red and black were activated releasing smaller versions of their breath attacks and at this moment both their manas were flared to high extremes pouring out of their body in waves and darkening the realm itself as they made the final push for a tie-breaker.


    The intensity of their atacks rose by hundreds of magnitudes higher until slowly but surely the stream of blue began pushing back against the stream of red. As the seconds went by the pushback continued, Ishmael fought his very hardest in trying to stop it but yet it kept on growing closer and closer it overcame him entirely. The red dragon was frozen from head to toe, inside out and so was his magic, even down to his very soul all was frozen.


    The summoned magic circles were deactivated and Emrys stopped his attack, he stared into the eyes of Ishmael which looked unyeilding even in defeat and then turned his head to look at the space around them which was already being restored, in minutes they were back to the battlefield standing atop the sea of lava and only then did he remove his transformation.


    He laid down and closed his eyes, right now he was nearly exhausted though not in the physical sense as that was endless, just mentally and of his mana. Even if possesing two cores and the largest pool of mana amongst his peers they all still possesed a more than monstrous amount of it and Ishmael was one out of the three "closest" to him in both quantity and quality.


    Without a doubt if he were to face her in his current state he would lose oh-so terribly, within mimutes the min-announcer popped up with the widest of grins on his face and a portal summoned at his side.


    "And now the finals are set, congratulations on your victory".


    Emrys lazily turned his head towards the announcer, then his gaze shifted to the portal and he sighed but still got up nonetheless.


    "Thank you".


    He replied and walked through it to find himself back in the arena and lauded with a booming audience welcoming him and her who had walked out seconds before he did. Nearly fifteen seconds later so did Ishmael and Avistro, now all four stood on stage and just then the announcer''s true body was made visible still with that wide grin of excitement plastered on his face as his eyes roamed over the four finalists.


    EnD.

 Chapter 25: The battle for third place.

    The announcer raised a hand to signal the crowd dial down on it''s cheers and once it got to a comfortable level he smiled.


    "Bravo, you all have played your parts well in creating perhaps the most entertaining tournament in the history of this world".


    "Now, Ishmael and Avistro, step forward".


    They broke from the line and complied with his request, their faces seemed a little hardened but neutral, neither angry, happy nor sad, it could be called something more akin to acceptance mixed with a hint of boredom.


    The announcer broke into a small laugh having analyzed them "seems I don''t need to say much".


    "You only get a maximum of fifteen minutes rest before the battle for third place begins".


    A portal was created on the side of them both and with a gesture the announcer asked "do you want to rest here or at your set battlefield".


    Both said nothing and simply walked into the portals with a turn, the announcers smile grew a bit wider as his gaze returned to the final round''s contestants.


    "You two may return to your people, the final round begins immediately after theirs comes to an end".


    Both immediately teleported themselves back to where their people were while the announcer worked the crowd in the fifteen minutes of timeout they had before the next fight began, Emrys was rushed at by Leah once again of which he responded to by hugging and smiling warmly looking down at her.


    "Hey".


    She raised her head from his chest and responded just the same "hey".


    His smile grew a little more as he raised his gaze to meet with the rest of his family, specifically they went towards Rachel.


    "Well, i''m in the finals now".


    "Halfway there to completing my promise right sister?"


    He spoke while walking towards the empty seat of Leah and sat down with her on his lap.


    She rolled her eyes sarcastically but the smile tugging at her lips were impossible to hide however hard she tried to.


    "Only speak of it when you''ve achieved the full thing".


    He smiled, shaking his head a little and turned his gaze towards his aunt who had been watching their little bicker with warmth in her eyes.


    "Did you like my perfomance aunty".


    She ''hummed'' and tilt her head a little to the side pretending to be lost in thought only to smile.


    "There''s some improvements to be made, but it''s acceptable".


    Emrys broke our into a small laugh and sighed in defeat as he rest his face atop Leah''s head "jeez, what harsh critics you both are".


    Leah raised a hand to pat his head "I think you fought amazing Raven" she complimented.


    Hearing this Emrys faked a wounded expression while looking at his aunt and showing a look of appreciation at Leah instead.


    "Thank you sister, in times like these I can depend on only you".


    She giggled at his words and soon added "but¨C much to the dismay of Emrys who lift his arms up in false protest.


    "Oh come onnn, really??".


    Leah laughed and he sighed once more but when seeing the contagious smiles on each member of his family''s faces, he couldn''t help it and simply smiled along with them while internally wishing his mother was present.


    Still, Emrys did not allow it dampen his mood as he freely engaged in discussions with his sisters and sometimes his aunt who looked to be lost in her own thoughts most of the time, they knew quite well that it most certainly had to with her duties and made sure not to distract her too much.


    Sometimes in-between he would catch a temporary look of worry in Leah''s eyes, as if she wanted to tell him something but was dismissing and rethinking over and over again in intervals if she should.


    Seeing this he smiled, already having a good idea what it was that bothered her but still made sure to ask considering he could not actually read her mind therefore the possibility he was wrong existed so he took a straightforward approach.


    "Something''s troubling you I see".


    His aunt and Rachel''s gazes were immediately drawn towards Leah who seemed to be engrossed drawing randomly across his palm with her fingers but then stopped.


    "Her power is of a really terrible nature".


    Emrys smiled and playfully pulled at her cheeks "I know".


    She frowned a bit hearing the tone of his voice, Leah understood quite well the personality of Raven and was all too fond of it but this time she disliked it''s presence in such a situation but made no vocal disagreemts about it still.


    "Go all out from the start against her, truly go all out and don''t think of testing the waters against her".


    "Be fiercely agressive from the beginning to the end".


    At this Emrys couldn''t help but laugh a bit and playfully tug at her cheeks once again "that is terrible advice you know".


    "A battle between beings all too close in power depends on the little mistakes you make".


    "To be so aggressive without rest would be to play directly into her hands sister".


    Leah ''hummed'' to herself but said nothing in response to his words as it was something her sister had advised to her once before and turned out to be correct, both were deemed batlle geniuses earlier on with their own specialised areas but unlike Rachel who was all too experienced with her gift, Leah had somewhat repressed hers all too early due to myriad of reasons.


    But seeing the little adorable look Leah had when silently admitting to her being incorrect the smile on his face grew a bit wider.


    "Still, i''m glad you worry for me".


    "It''s something new in a way, you only show absolute faith in me, haha".


    She smiled "yeah, Rachel might be rubbing off on me more than I thought".


    Rachel rolled her eyes sarcasticly at that comment but then showed her sister a cheeky grin "a good thing i''ll say".


    Emrys chuckled at her remark and then pulled at Leah''s cheeks again, his gaze subconsciously going towards the timer.


    "Ah, it''s about to start".


    [Back at the battlefield]


    The two contestants sitting across each other atop the sea of lava opened their eyes breaking free from their meditation, both of their mana reserves had recovered to it''s full stregth and now were ready to begin their battle.


    There was an air of silence amongst them for a while, seemingly carefully sizing the other up and once done they got up from their sitting positions. Avistro smiled and was the first to break the silence, with a hand under his chin in thought he posed a question.


    "If i were to lose here twice in one day before everyone watching, do you think that makes me look a bit fradulent".


    "I''d imagine my image will take a strong hit, failures do tend to carry a bigger weight in the mind of the masses no matter the context".


    Ishmael raised a brow, a slight confusion marring his face "if that were to happen you would have been losing to two dragons".


    "There is nothing shameful in that, we are at the pinaccle of power above all creatures".


    "I do not care for the opinions of the masses, the only reason I have here for myself not wanting to suffer a second defeat boils down to one thing".


    "I would dislike it greatly".


    Avistro smiled upon hearing his simple-minded answer "yeah, sometimes that''s the way it should be".


    "I really would dislike it greatly too, thank you for that".


    Both smiled at the other and then a moment later the air turned heavy as they both transformed into their hybrid states with Avistro''s body growing taller turning into armor-like golden scales which reached all the way to his neck and on his face a three horned golden faceless mask was formed leaving just the space for his burning eyes of gold.


    On each of his arms were two new bright yellow rings of mana steadily orbiting around like a slightly oversized bracelet and taking the transformation even further, nine greyish-black orbs with a tinge of gold floating at his back in a circular formation.


    Both draconian scaled individuals contested in a battle of auras which divided the world in two parts of yellow and crimson with the dragon''s heat near instantly vaporising eveything within a hundred thousand mile radius leaving a seemingly endless pit of black beneath them as the sea of lava poured in endlessly from the edges like a waterfall as if wanting to fill that hole yet never amounting to anything of substance.


    Yet in the face of such overhwelming power the very fabric of space remained almost entirely as steady as the still waters, barely even a hint of distortion was found bar the four controlled spirals surrounding him on both sides, a phenonemon Ishmael caught on to all too quickly and attributed to Avistro''s authority.


    Ishmael spread his 4 meter wings wide bringing with it a strong burst of wind as he burst forward with such speed and force even the newly reinforced fabric of space distorted around him but in a blink he found himself back in the same place as before.


    "Hm, you weren''t this strong before" he commented.


    Avistro shook his head lightly "oh no I was, but when you''ve fought the same person I did even you will be forced to evolve even further".


    "Let me show you the fruits of my growth".


    Without warning Ishmael suddenly found himself missing an arm, he looked to his right with a lightly scrunched brow seeing his amputated arm slowly drifting off along with the pool of blood as if they were in space again.


    Even his body began turning weightless as did everything else including the sea of lava within a million mile radius showing to him quite well this sort of weightlessness was far from normal, even when trying to use his flight to move it felt like a struggle. Almost like he was simultaneously trying to run as freely as he would on land while in the ocean''s depths and then still somehow gliding through the clouds all the same, the uplifted body of lava surrounding them was steadily breaking off into little pieces of itself numbering in the millions thereby producing an almost breathtaking scene in light of how horrifying it actually was.


    "It was always there yet I did not see it".The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Always used it in some form yet I never realised it".


    "My focus at the time was entirely too tunnel visioned on grasping time".


    "But it''s connected".


    "Space, time and gravity".


    "All too interconnected, all capable of bending the other in enough quantities".


    "With that simple realisation I have awakened to it".


    "My newest magic".


    Gravity Magic -: <<Black hole>>


    A gentle humm could be heard as a dense spiralling ball of black the size of a bead was summoned above the fingertip of his right index and from the moment it appeared everything changed. First, it was like the weight of a million tonnes was pressing down on everything around them, but the worst of it was the pull. The weight barely registered as a problem to Ishmael as his body breezed through it, but the pull was far more devasting and crushing in comparison.


    A pull so violent it not just terribly distorted the space but mauled at it, tearing, ripping, crushing and twisting everything from the skies to the sea of lava below and the rocky formations contained within and then to Ishmael himself


    Everything indiscriminately got pulled into this violent mixture of where there was seemingly no escape, Ishmael''s monstrously durable body suffering the longest as each tear, snap and twist that he would experience occured at a frightenely sluggish pace making it feel all too personal.


    "Crimson"


    And then in a near instant it was all gone, burned to nothing, from the increasingly denser blackhole to the fabric of this space down the layer of void-like space of which they now currently resided in along with the magic preventing the regeneration of his arm. Ishmael scrunched his brows seeing Avistro looking a little shaken but largely unharmed, just seconds later a smirk graced his lips upon catching on to why this was.


    His eyes could see it, from a visual standpoint everything looked normal and his body looked present but the fact his senses could not register him meant it was a lie. Right now Avistro''s real body was likely hidden inside another small world which he had connected to this space and that connection was what his eyes could percieve all too well after enhancing it''s perception to the limit.


    Still, if that was all then the link should have been burned long ago still, only reason he surmise for why it hadn''t already was because Avistro had likely harnessed the nature of this space as some sort of ''protective'' covering considering it was indeed more than strong enought to withstand his flames in this form.


    "Did you break into this space with her before during your fight".


    Avistro''s lips curved into a smile "yeah, even for her it wasn''t so easy to destabilize and destroy this place with her absurd powers".


    "It was a gamble, I needed something big and destructive enough to draw your attention and not see what was going on underneath".


    A realisation hit Ishmeal "the black hole huh".


    "Correct, there is nothing dubious about an attack like that which can give one the impression of it being a ruse".


    "It''s just that impactful and honest of a phenomenon".


    "I can''t ever underestimate the senses of a dragon after having both learned about and fought with one".


    "Still, it was by a hairs breath I managed to escape those oppresive flames else there would be nothing left of me now".


    "Which is why I apologize in advance for this".


    Ishmaels eyes widened as a pool of his own blood got caught up in his throat threatening to spill out but was suppressed, one second his heart was beating soundly in his chest and in the next it was gone, simply just teleported out of his body and now beating in the hands of Avistro standing before him.


    It regenerated a second later and his look turned to one of annoyance.


    "Sorry, it''s difficult for my magic to freely operate within the domain of those flames so I need to resort to this".


    The heart was one of the most important parts of a dragon and could be used for a myriad of mindblowingly incredible things both known and unknown, knowing this he took the bloody beating heart in his hand and forcefully drew out the remnants of Ishmael''s domineering mana contained within of which he carefully guided into his own heart to serve as it''s new container, the pain was as excruciating as one would imagine but he bore with it until the heart was ripped entirely of it''s mana and had now stopped beating.


    Minds mirror -: <<Reflect>>


    Standing right before Ishmael now was a near perfect copy of himself both physically and in terms of mana signature or strength, if he were to make an estimation in how it compares to himself perhaps something closer to 80%.


    But still weirdly enough it wasn''t that Avistro had transformed into him truly, if he were to put it in words it would be something closer to standing before two mirrors but casting two different reflection on each individually and right now what Avistro was doing falls more in-line with projecting that second reflection onto himself except one that also affects his insides too.


    It can look real and in a way is real, it can feel real and in a way that would be accurate, but in the end at the very core it was but a projection in the simplest of terms.


    But at the heart of that projection still was a real piece of his own mana which was now freely circulating through his body along with the near perfect copy, it had been integrated into a false core and now steadily self replicating as if it were in his own body.


    "The only way for me to survive those flames long enough was simply.....to become you".


    "And now with your mana and mine combined powering my magic-


    The veil between worlds trembled as tiny cracks spread all over until it burst to pieces and his body was once again present in this space bringing with it a new and invigorated wave of power like never before perfectly capable of rivalling that of the dragon''s.


    "There''s a good chance I can defeat you now".


    Ishmael smiled but said nothing else which surprised Avistro quite a bit, for one he would have thought Ishmael to be angry at having stolen from a dragon and also imitating it''s image which they hold to be sacred as divine creatures at the pinnacle of power but when reading his emotions clearly there was nothing of the sort.


    In fact, dare he say Ishmael instead looked sort of....proud, like a parent seeing their child grow up into a most wonderful being "Hm, not quite th-


    "I think I understand it now".


    Avistro raised a brow in confusion "hm?"


    "That feeling of amazement you feel when you see what a weaker existence trying it''s very hardest to cling onto life when in the face of overwhelming power achieves".


    "It uses every resource it can find and if it can''t find one then it makes one, it''s cunning trascends and eventually when you see it".


    "That spark of hope when it finally breaks it''s limits, closes the gap and now stands tall once again brimming with confidence before that entity formerly it''s nightmare".


    "It''s amazing, i''m proud of you".


    And his hands were suddenly atop the head of Avistro''s, gently patting it and just this simple action shook him to his very core sending his instincts running wild with danger signals causing a reflexive action of fight of flight and in this moment the latter won over.


    He teleported a distance away and instinctively placed a hand to his chest feeling just how fast his heart was beating, on his face was a smile, one of madness pure madness, fear and excitement.


    "How did you do that, what is that movement even".


    "I know it''s not teleportation and neither was it achieved by your physical speed".


    "It''s like.....you still haven''t or ever even moved even though I see cleary that you have".


    "What is this".


    Ishmael gently brought his index to his lips in a hush motion and with a graceful smile tugging at the edges.


    "Worry not about that for now, I shall face you properly".


    "Ready yourself".


    Those crimson flames were ablaze once more around his arm as were the nine prominent greyish-black spheres circling behind Avistro and three of which he called forward.


    <<Nullification>>


    In an instant the three orbs were fused into one larger whole and a greyish-black sphere of power spread out like an omni-directional wall but just before it reached Ishmael a little spark hit the wall stopping it in it''s tracks.


    <<The great extinction>>


    The crimson flames roared with such ferocity the entirety of this space trembled under it''s might as it condensed to a needle point only to burn so brightly like a star lighting up the entire space and burning straight through his power of nullification with such ease it shook Avistro to his core but he recovered quickly before it was too late.


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Barrier of negation>>


    A near transparent shield of greyish-black formed around him making use of four spheres and upon impact the flames vanished, almost it never existed but the searing hot line imprinted across the very fabric of this space told of a different story.


    Minds mirror -: <<Duplicate>>


    A large mirror was summoned beside Avistro and from it walked a perfect duplicate of himself bearing a more than half of his power and reserves causing Ishmael''s brow to narrow a bit but contrary to his expectations the duplicate simply just levitated there doing nothing.


    ''Hm, what a dangerous guy''.


    ''Even if I don''t want to worry about my mind automatically will split it''s attention between he and the duplicate''.


    ''If I also give in to my worry of it''s threat and try going after it then that leaves me open for whatever he''s prepared''.


    ''But the longer it stays without doing anything the more I worry when it will strike''.


    He clicked his tongue in annoyance, it would be so much easier and better if both were to attack at the same time but now he was already caught in his mindgames whether he liked it or not and he for sure did not like it.


    Between Avistro and Noctis it was unknown who was the fastest of the two but this also meant that physically, he could not simply just overwhelm him with pure speed like he would want to.


    <<Retcon shift>>


    The movement of before was a viable option to sever the lingering threat, it basically rewrote his position in the world but a spell like that was too taxing on his reserves even with how monstrous they were and he needed more than enough of it else he could be forced into unleashing his true form.


    ''Cunning opponents with annoying gimmicks really are a pain''.


    ''Should have studied a bit of cloning magic''


    The crimson flames burning around his arm blazed with an even higher intensity as a giant red magic circle was summoned from above behind him.


    Still there remained an eternal rule of the universe, in the face of overwhelming power everything else was meaningless.


    <<Shattering stars>>


    From it''s centre convereged a mass of crimson flames taking the shape of an gigantic arrow more than 30 meters tall, the external heat alone penetrating deep into the fabric of this realm causing streaks of searing hot lines spreading like spiderweb cracks with multiple bits of contained explosions occuring randomly within this beautiful web.


    From the moment Avistro had sensed the power in those flames he immediately utilized the link and sent his duplicate into another though he knew quite well that not even that would be enough to save it should he fail in stopping this.


    The heat was so overwhelming Avistro felt like the very blood and mana in his own body was boiling him to death, his protection was doing so little to quell it and he knew that in a matter of seconds if he did not take drastic measures then he was sure to be vaporized long before that thing even releases which he could not allow.


    Stirring every last bit of mana in his body he gave up on protection entirely for that one split second he would need to complete this spell.


    <<Amplify>>


    <<Field of Negation>>


    Minds mirror -: <<Imprison>> & <<Reflect>>


    <<Loss>>


    An endless wall of uneven glass shards ever-shifting in size and shape was summoned between them as if separating this space into two different worlds, one side had been painted over into a world of a greyish hue behind a wall of shards and the other dark as night rid of the influence of those flames.


    But even still in that world of grey the hues of crimson still persisted, slowly but surely trying to reclaim it''s suppressed influence upon this realm, the greatly diminished arrow of flames still so overwhelming even in such a state.


    And then the final spell took hold, there was a sudeen feeling of all-round emptiness, like nothing held meaning anymore. From his memories to his body and mana, to his soul and then to the arrow of flames, everything just grew lesser and lesser. This was not a feeling of suppression or one of sealing, no, Ishmael''s power was actually leaving him, fading away to nothing as was his body and soul.


    In such a weakened state the full effects of negation took hold entirely, his body turned entirely mortal and powerless, movement was not a viable option for him and even his mind and it''s thoughts were restricted.


    But there were three things that still persisted in the face of all this, that endless ocean of brimming lifeforce and his soul, no matter how much of it''s essence was lost it never seemed to grow smaller. And then the final thing, will.


    There was one little thing Avistro did not know about, in fact that barely anyone knew about bar the other divine creatures. All dragons shared one universal nature different from whichever second or third nature they were to awaken later on, it was the symbol of their absolute strength as the pinnacle of all creatures great and small, of the divine and of the dark-


    ¨CDominion¨C


    In moments everything began steadily recovering back to what they were, it looked like time itself was being reversed but this wasn''t that. Similar to Emrys''s gift of hijacking the world''s mana or the power of someone else''s, this was one of the aspects of dominion but on an entirely new scale that broke all logic.


    Reversal of effects without affecting the natural order or laws of the universe, this was one of the authorities granted to all dragons.


    And now with the entirety of his spells just silently dismantled and the brewing arrow of flames reignited to it''s diminished state Avistro just stood there umoving, a heavy look of weariness and some acceptance swirling around in his eyes.


    Now he was beginning to truly understand it, everything he experienced about them only served to reinforce the truth of their mythology, their standing. And it did so in the most aggressive, violent, terrifying and most beautiful way all just to leave you with no doubts of who and what they were.


    He looked up, staring deep into the nothing and then closed his eyes, the heat from those flames hadn''t instantly vaporized him long ago of which he attributed to Ishmael himself granting him this final courtesy for a last stand.


    Avistro scoffed to himself in amusement at this thought as he opened his eyes, if that was the case then he had to make sure he didn''t disappoint.


    At a thought he let go of his restrictions and transformed into his true form of an hundred meter tall golden serpent with long curved horns protruding from the sides of it''s head, even with barely an ounce of mana left in his body the overbearing power emanating from it''s pure physical mass still held such a strong presence.


    His duplicate returned itself to this space and now levitated before his gigantic head with an outstretched hand placed onto it, almost immediately massive streams of golden mana surrounded them both but the interesting thing was the fact all of it was being directly absorbed into Avistro''s core and the more he took the weaker of a presence his duplicate held until all of it was gone.


    With a good portion of his mana restored Avistro roared with satisfaction as he stirred every last bit of it, utilizing the special venomous flames of his race, the power of negation, the power of gravity and the power of space he created four very thin lines each nearly as tall as he was.


    Then he launched them just as Ishmael released the arrow, it''s blazing path leaving a searing hot line imprinted upon the fabric of this space as they clashed. The very space seemed to warp around inside of itself for a moment and then came a brightness like no other which burned for a few seconds before dying out like it was never there in the first place.


    In the aftermath of this clash lay the unconscious forms of both contestants, both terribly wounded and unable to regenerate for now.


    The battle between them had finally come to an end, it''s conclusion........a draw.


    EnD.

 Chapter 26: Ultimate Darkness against Ultimate Void -(Part I)-

    "Oh, well this is a first".


    The announcer looked to be in a dilemma after having summoned the two unconscious contestants back to the arena, though his words seemed not to have reached the crowds ears as they were still cheering loudly.


    But with a raised hand it died down in a matter of seconds, his gaze was fixed on them both before raising it to the crowds as he spoke.


    "Never in the history of this tournament has such a result occured in this round".


    "Never in the semi-finals either".


    He breathed out in exasperation "but, after thinking about it".


    "When taking into conisderation how brilliant these two individuals have been".


    "I chose to abuse my authority once more as host of this tournament and propose a compromise".


    "Two, actually".


    "One, i either declare both as losers or declare both as winners".


    He produced a coin from his pocket, on one side was written the world ''Loser'' and on the other ''Winner''.


    "Now, let us see what lady luck has in store for these two".


    And with that he flicked it, the coin went high but surprisingly could no longer be read by everyone present who could track it thereby adding to the tension they felt as they watched it fall back to the ground. A bounce and a second followed by a short roll and finally the last fall, there was a moment of silence as all eyes were laser focused on the coin laid down on the floor of the arena.


    Then finally an outburst of a cheerful roar, the announcer himself smiling at it all as he went down to pick it up and run his gaze along the crowd.


    "Lady luck has chosen, both shall be declared as winners".


    His voice was clear as day to everyone even through the noise and anew round of cheerful roars reverberated through the air for a few more seconds more before the announcer motioned for calm to be steadily brought back into place, once regained he levitated towards the two unconscoius contestants and a placed an index to each of their foreheads individually before sending them away to the waiting area then and turning around to meet the crowd with the widest of grins on his face as he began floating higher and higher into the air.


    "And now people, it is time".


    ""May our finalists please step forward into the arena".


    In moments both appeared on stage and with a snap of his fingers, a near transparent barrier arose from all sides of the two kilometre wide arena cutting off the crowd and it''s voice from the stage entirely yet still looking so close. Right now the arena was floating at a fixed position in space, both contestants easily counteracting the weightlessness with their slight levitation.


    "From the very beginning this is where it was meant to end".


    "Now, you can battle to your hearts content".


    "May the better of you come out victorious


    At that he vanished from the arena leaving both standing face to face a distance from each other, silently gauging, probing and then finally acknowledging.


    Hope had changed a little from how she were eight years ago wen he last got a good look at her, something he hadn''t done this whole tournament even though had stood on the same stage together multiple times now.


    She was shorter than he was, unlike he who stood at a height of 6 ft 4 and nearly approaching ''5, Hope was 6 ft 2.


    Dressed in a comfortable white long sleeved dress and still possesing those starry golden irises with a black sclera just like his and vertical pupils, her silver white hair had gained a few touches of warm colors at it''s ends thanks to her fairy half he''d imagine and from the sides of her head grew two silver horns curving upwards.


    Her skin so fair and yet a bit pale, not a sickly pale or even like that of a vampire as he knew them but one more akin to warmth, but the greatest most recognizable change was to her face. He heard it all the time how his mother was commonly referred to as the most beautiful woman under the heavens and she still was, always will be to him when taking into account his bias but right now admittedly, she looked the closest, even more than his aunt to matching her.


    "On that day eight years ago, I did not recognise it then but now I do".


    "When you looked at me, something happened".


    "I remember that look in your eyes, what did you see".


    He questioned, seconds passed and yet he recieved no reply mental or otherwise, but he had his answer now even if not one he was looking for. Only one thing was left to do now, battle.


    Both floated back down to the arena and began walking, then in a flash they were gone only to reappear at the very centre with their fists clashing against one another with all their might. The power was earth shaking and Emrys was forced a few meters back but steadied himself quickly, Hope was definitely physically greater than he was but quantifiably below Ishmael by quite a bit.


    It seemed physical strength wasn''t exactly one of a void dragon''s greatest stats relatively when compared to their red counterparts, with this little greeting of theirs finished it was time to up the stakes a little.


    A deep violet mana with hues of reddish gold momentarily burst from his body as did a golden mixture of black from hers, around his body streaks of his newly enhanced ethereal dark lightning with streaks of silvery white and violet circled widly yet in an almost hypnotic fashion.


    With a speed like never before, he vanished in a thunderclap leaving streams of lightning across the stage as they clashed their fists once more only to be sent back but this time he manipulated the lightning around his body to wrap around her arms like a whip and pull her to him but the void mana around her destroyed it immediately upon contact.


    Instead an almost irresistable force pulled him to her instead in a flash but he unleashed his claws and nearly dug into her outstretched hand instead only for her to step away at the last moment having sensed something off with those golden claws.


    He retracted them and took a step forward to throw a straight jab at her but she stepped back just enough to be out of his reach by a hairs breath, he threw a second and a third followed by a double kick to her shins and sides but still she repeated the same process. With each time he took a step forward she glides a little back, jus enough, his starry violet never leaving her starry gold and vice versa.


    Finally she retaliated, using the smallest of movements she moved slightly into his centre and with a quick motion grabbed onto his outstretched lightning covered arm instantly assaulting it with a skin bursting crushing force and pulling him slightly forward while her other reached for his face which he instinctively blocked by raising a hand to it as she had predicted and at the last moment she faked out to place a gentle palm onto his chest.


    <<Internal destruction>>


    In moments every last bit of his insides had been turned into an uncountable number of powerful explosions going off simultaneously yet unable to break through the flesh, his eyes burst from it''s sockets in a puff of blood leaving nothing but those empty dark sockets staring down at her.


    And then a glow was born in them, deep, violet and blazing. Before she could even realise it he gad grabbed onto her face with both hands, not minding the fact that the entire flesh and muscle of his left arm had been ripped off to free it from her grasp leaving just his bloodied golden skeleton.


    With an air of craziness about him, he pushed his mana covered thumbs deep into her eyes popping them like a water balloon, in response a strong force from her palm sent him a distance away like a cannonball but he regained himself with ease.


    Both stood motionless in silence for a few seconds, focusing their attention on removing each others mana slowing down their regeneration lest it continued running amok within them.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Just from this small little clash alone Emrys had felt the phoenix nature integrate with his ''normal'' mana more than the whole time he had been under the influence of dark mana, the better the integration the stronger his base became and he would not be missing a chance to achieve at least 50% completetion


    The streaks of dark lightning circulating around his body grew wilder and around his index he condensed a super compressed ball of it, so much so that the weight of it could be felt crushing down on the entire arena.


    "Bang".


    It shot off like a meteor at blinding speeds and upon impact a compact dome of dark lightning spread out for thousands of miles beyond the arena with thousands of electrical arcs spreading for far more than that. And then came a spiral of black eating through the dome with absolute ease, it overtook the entire thing in moments until there was nothing left, like it was never even there in the first place.


    Emrys did not look surprised at this, disregarding the fact already that her affinity was of a greater nature there was also her mana which even at the base level without taking into account the fact she was a hybrid, each half was much stronger individually when compared to his.


    There were two reasons why he could dare to only use his ''normal'' mana against hers, the first being his already much too absurd normal body and blessed nature made up for some of the gap between them when they compete physically and the second being because he had to.


    Upon complete integration the nature of a phoenix''s mana but improved could compete quite well with that of a dragon''s, even one like her. They stood at the pinnacle without a doubt but the phoenix remained in the top 5 of all divine creatures for a reason, depending on dark mana so much to bridge and overcome any gap wasn''t something he was in favour of doing no matter how abnormal it was by even the most abnormal of standards.


    No, he needed to have a supreme grade base because this too will kickstart an evolution that would send his dark mana to a most unbelievable height far more than before, right now he was holding back his own power because of his own base crippling it''s potential and he had to fix it.


    ''Tsk, but in the end I still need to draw a little bit''


    From his second core he drew a small portion of dark mana, suppressed it and mixed it into his pool of ''normal'' mana, it would slow down the process of integration but the further process of dilution of his dark mana from being mixed into this pool would help reduce the penalty of his slowed integration.


    Under the partial influence of dark mana his hair gained a few more streaks of white and his starry violet irises gained a hint of crimson around it''s edges, the air around him turned much more oppressive and Hope could instantly make out the change.


    <<Heavens blade>>


    A long double edged greatsword construct made entirely of his dark lightning essence smelted and detailed to perfection and with a steadily spinning small magic circle as it''s guard was summoned in his right hand, one look at the blade and one could feel it right in their very soul that it was dangerous.


    The steady electircal hum and arcs of lightning occasionally streaking around it carrying an oppressive feeling of near unrivalled destructive power was unmistakable, at just one casual swing of it an arc of lightning miles high in length shot forward in a flash with the roars of a thundering thousands.


    In moments it had crossed a near million miles worth of space and continued on for hundreds more as the seconds went by before breaking down to nothing upon losing steam, but this surprised Emrys a bit.


    It''s power came as no real surprise to him considering he was the one who made it after all under the aid of dark mana, but it''s range was quite something for something so casually done.


    His gaze lingered on the blade for a moment before shifting towards Hope who had moved to the other side upon the blade''s descent and now in a spherical cocoon of void mana which had already begun fading away to reveal her unharmed form.


    Hope released her massive dragon wings and with that her mana sudddenly turned so much colder and dangerous as she raised a hand to condense a golden black viscous liquid right below her index in the form of a drop. Upon it''s formation as a side effect, a new and far more sinister space was imposed around them separating it from the original and eveything within this space bar it''s caster was put on an immediate lockdown.


    <<Abyssal drop>>


    Not even mana nor any form of magic was allowed to flow, everything was practically made a perfect statue as if time itself bad been momentarily frozen, the streaks of lightning around Emrys and he himself were no exceptions to this effect.


    But if one were to look closely, they would find the rings of crimson around the edges of his iris steadily encroaching towards the pupil only to stop when nearly halfway there. Then he burst free of his restrictions just as the condensed drop fell down below and causing a ripple of voidal black threatening to overtake and erase everything within it''s domain.


    <<Materialize>>


    The horrible power of this spell hadn''t come to an end yet, in spite of such a devastating and oppressive effect it could further create a horde of void-like creatures from the sea of black below each bearing a different type of weapon and nearly half as strong or a little more than half of what she was in her current state.


    If it were just this alone he would say it was difficult but manageable, but the fact Hope stood at the forefront of this horde signified that she had no intention of allowing him breathe in the slightest.


    His eyes turned cold and hardened as he readied himself to the fullest, his senses pushed to it''s limits as he spun the blade in his hand and squeezed it to reveal eight magic circles spinning around the blade, each representing a seal.


    First level ? [Release] -: <<Storm field>>


    The first circle broke to pieces and with it came a substantial jump in his power as he raised the blade up high and swung with it all his might. For a moment it was like nothing had occured until suddenly there a small spark in the void which bloomed into an endless sea of gargantuous dark lightning streaming around them in a circular fashion leaving no escape, it moved like waves of the ocean crashing against one another and gave a feeling almost akin to it being alive.


    From high above in this void-like space a sea of dark lightning roared, covering everything almost like it had become the very sky itself and with a gentle squueze of his fist he commanded-


    "Converge".


    And it all came rushing down, with a ferocity like no other and a destructive force near unparralled. It was madness unbridled, an endless play of being destroyed or devoured, torn apart at your very being or simply resist and overcome, her horde continuously recovering just as much as it was destroyed while she the very centre of it all stood tall, utterly unfazed by the chaos unfolding all around her, staring deep in his eyes just as he too did to her.


    <<Loss>>


    A spell she had only just learnt moments ago from her last opponent during their battle upon seeing him use it just once, that is what she had casted oh so casually. And it''s effects were beyond devastating, it was instant even, leaving no hope of resistance through ascension, it just ripped him of it entirely.


    The storm, his power, his consciousness, his body. It was gone, all that remained was his undying immortal soul and just a huskless golden skeleton laying adrift in the void, persisting against it''s harsh nature of erasure and yet the light of it''s eyes gone just the same.


    But it was this very particular thing, this very abnormal skeleton that would cause it. From it''s head and around every joint, it''s ribs, the sternum, the femur and on every other part of it''s form, thin white lines resembling mana circuits were drawn on him and upon completetion a wave of crimson red energy engraved with the very stars in them poured out of his body and shooting up like a pillar into the void.


    Her eyes slightly widened as she recognized this very energy from eight years ago during that blessed day of awakening, it was that same power that had rushed out and easily reaped the lives of two grand mages, a being whom even someone like her at current and Emrys combined along with every last one of her peers wouldn''t be able to defeat just one of them let alone two as this power had.


    Then suddenly to her surprise it all receeded back into his skeleton almost like it was never there and seemingly without having done anything at all, but those lines told her quite well that it was not over yet.


    And she was correct, from those lines came a mana so pure and so ethereal, so dangerously potent beyond compare, as white as snow and engraved with the very stars bearing a hint of crimson-gold within. It flowed over the golden skeleton and right before her eyes she watched as it steadily began constructing his body once again.


    His artifacts which he wore in the form of royal attire were reformed, his golden necklace with a piece shaped just like an arrowhead, golden ear piercings and golden cylindrical bracelets worn around his arms, all artifact jewelleries meant to suppress his ghost-like nature of obscurity to the fullest were all recovered onto his body by themselves.


    It returned the power that she had ruthlessly stripped away from him, his consciousness was reborn, right now he was undergoing a complete and total rebirth. He would bear a false body no longer but a true spiritual flesh crafted from his very own soul and mana, power will become his blood and that shall be all he bleeds for as long as his core produces it.


    Under the influence of his new mana his violet coloured hair had undergone a second full transformation from it''s last one nine years ago, from raven black to violet and now a winter white with remnant streaks of violet within.


    When he opened his eyes they were back to it''s starry violet and unchanged by his rebirth bar one small detail, his pupils now vertical and like a cross with even ends.


    The nature of the phoenix had now fully integrated into his first mana and mutating to create something truly powerful, crystal white flames burned around his body with the intensity of the cold.


    And for the newly awakened mana which had now become his third core, he had no idea what it was and whichever race he could be to bear such a most devastating mana, but there was only way he knew to describe it as-


    ''Divine''.


    Now more than ever before he felt the most complete, It was like the missing piece that should have been there when he awakened his dark mana four years ago. Overly powerful and yet alone, just like his formerly normal mana with no affinity but this time in reverse, dark mana was pure affinity but it did not mesh well with his normal mana.


    It was not a natural thing for a fusion to lead to either getting entirely devoured or diluted if suppressed, it was supposed to cause an ascension of the highest level. That is why succesful hybrids exists, that is why someone like his mother exists.


    A permanent fusion of her nature and mana as a phoenix bearing the innate nature of dark mana leading to the abnormality of what she was, it was something that occured upon her birth.


    Her dark mana bore the soul imprint of her essence entirely and yet without losing itself still as the most destructive and powerful affinity in the universe, both worked together to birth the first and known dark phoenix to exist in this realm and beyond.


    This was what he lacked and now had found, even now in their completely separated states which was abnormal he felt a closeness like never before between both, like they were one, just from this phenomenon alone he could already feel himself growing stronger by the second even more than he already was at present.


    Instinctively he felt it quite well that any manner of fusion between both would lead to a most trusest of ascensions and on the day he is ready to permantly fuse both into the other as one it shall become the most devastating force that could ever possibly exist. But that day was not today, something just told him that instinctively


    EnD.

 Chapter 27: Ultimate Darkness against Ultimate Void -(Part II)-

    "What are you".


    She asked, speaking to him for the first time since they had met eight years ago and in her soothing voice Emrys could definitely feel quite well the influence of her fairy half, years of being with one had made him all too sensitive to this aspect.


    "I have no idea really".


    "Since there are no records of a race with my characteristics existing beforehand I figured i''m a newborn".


    "My inherited memories practically only told me the sky is blue and the grass was green".


    "I had no other enrgaved instincts bar a desire for growth".


    "Mhm, I am most likely a newborn".


    He smiled warmly at the end of that sentence and for a moment Hope could have sworn that her eyes had caught a hint of.....loss, not loneliness but loss within those eyes but it vanished almost as soon as it had arrived.


    "I see".


    And with that the air of battle had returned, choosing not to use the power of his third core but the first which become the power of a phoenix entirely but improved as he had expected. The white flames burning around him were in fact not what they looked to be, instead he had been granted a third affinity of ice with a crystal white hue and even his dark lightning had been changed to a near silvery white with some retainment of it''s dark nature.


    The horde of creatures crafted from this void-like space began moving towards him, their power rising continously as they formed a special link to one another causing Emrys to furrow his brows a bit as he watched the entire horde fuse together in a most ghoulish of ways to form five branches which further split themselves apart to begin morphing into a more slender humanoid construct bearing no other discernable features.


    But from their auras he felt it quite well, each of these five were nearly three to four times stronger than Hope in her current state with the one in the middle bearing thorn like features all over it''s body being possibly six times greater or a little less.


    A pillar of purplish-gold mana rushed out of his body in waves as he unleashed the full strenth of his improved base and spread both hands wide with open palms, on one side he gathered the white ice flames into a ball and on the other his lightning element.


    In tandem with his preparation Hope furthered her partial hybrid transformation, half of both arms were covered in smooth black scales like obsidian and the claws of her feet became more pronounced. Almost immediately after the aura around her recieved a more than twenty times increase in power.


    The five creatures surrounding her sunk themselves into the fabric of this space, moving through it as if it but an open field and this ability near brought their presence to a zero. Their incredibly fast and unconventional movements made tracking the already difficult to sense creatures almost impossible for Emrys who was barely holding on, then in a split second they attacked him from all sides through the fabric of this realm.


    Hands grabbed at his head, arms, body and legs rendering him perfectly immobile as they slowly dug into him with their newly morphed claws, their power seeking to destroy him absolutely.


    Individually each were either close to the same level as he or a little above when taking into account the strongest but with their power combined he had no hope of defeating them in this current state. But this made the solution to his problems an easy one, since their strength lied in their numbers then all he had to do was apply an age old tried and tested strategy of divide and conquer.


    A ball of darkness was manifested before him which shot a tendril at one of the creatures to forcefully separate it from this realm and pull it into it''s very own space alongside Emrys who teleported right into it leaving a small pillar of darkness in place of his former position.


    Inside the ball of darkness the lone creature stood utterly confused but right as Emrys appeared before it the creature''s command from it''s creator was triggered causing it to launch itself towards him at blinding speeds.


    Still with the ball of silvery white lightning floating above his palm and the crystal white ice flames around his arms, he countered the assault almost immediately as it occured. Multiple bolts of silvery white lightning shot off from the gathered ball which struck the creature square in it''s chest with such force a large hole was put right through it.


    This surprised Emrys by quite a bit as he hadn''t expected such potency from his newly evolved element, his idea was to trap it in a cage using the augmentation of his darkness element and not to damage it, he didn''t even think it possible for his element to interact with this void-like creature in that way on it''s own unless imbued with dark mana alternatively too if not darkness.


    Once the tournament was over he would make sure to study himself thoroughly well, he had to know what special property his lightning element contained and every other great change he wasn''t aware of yet that came with his rebirth and his evolution before that too.


    But with this new discovery the plan was to be changed, he stopped the flow of ice magic and flew towards the creature in a blink, grabbing it by the throat with his hands covered in silvery white lightning which rampaged all around the creature inside and outside until it was destroyed with no hope of reform.


    Wasting no further time, he teleported out of the ball of darkness surprising the creatures whom had been attacking with their best efforts in an attempt to get inside or destroy the ball but to no avail.


    And taking advantage of this surprise Emrys coat himself in a thin near transparent layer of darkness which he also integrated into his element and sunk his hands into the fabric of this realm to forcefully pull out another two by their necks and raise them high as whispered.


    <<Thunderbolt>>


    A single giant powerful bolt of silvery white lightning descended upon them, engulfing both Emrys and the creatures enrirely but causing no harm while the creatures faced an instant obliteration upon it''s descent leaving no hope of resistance nor recovery.


    Now only two creatures were left including the very strongest of them, Emrys felt himself relax and watched as they willingly unfused themselves from the realm to stand before him. But his attention wasn''t on them now but Hope, she had done nothing but watch the whole while and it nagged it him consdering she opted to join in the first time and nearly took him out of the tournament.


    <<Heavens blade>>


    He casted the spell once more but greater this time just as the creatures morphed their hands into blade constructs and heavy amounts of power poured out of their bodies, one thing he had taken note of was the fact these creatures couldn''t cast spells.


    They had an incredible amount of power which they could likely focus or disperse but they had no spells, this was sure. But based on the fact the nature of their being automatically made most spells useless along with the fact that just like this space they posses an attribute of erasure which he was constantly battling against, their lack of spells by all accounts could not be counted as an automatic weakness.


    ''Still, exceptions nearly always, exist''.


    Brandishing the blade in his hands he swung in an horizontal arc unleashing a torrent of silvery white lightning that spread out in the blink of an eye but just as it reached them the strongest one formed a barrier of sorts around them which negated the attack perfectly well leaving no trace of it.


    Emrys tilt his head playfully to the side looking mildly amused but unsurprised at this, then to his actual surprise the strongest creature suddey attacked the weaker one, it''s hand going straight through it''s chest as it began absorbing the entirety of it into itself and undergoing a full evolution right before his very eyes.


    The spiky features all over it''s body grew less but the remaining four at it''s back grew longer and more curved like a hook while it''s body grew a bit bulkier, almost covered in what seemed to be armour and it''s featureless face gained a single vertical line running straigh across at the middle.


    Seeing and feeling quite well just how strong this creature had become from absorbing only just one out of five he was feeling a little thankful that he had destroyed three already beforehand because without a doubt if it could absorb all of them then he would surely be needing the help of dark mana to defeat it.


    But right now, he still had a way to defeat it.


    <<Amplify>>


    <Acceleration>


    <<Fortification>>


    <Burst>


    A whole new layer of explosive power surged through his power as he rushed out at a speed nearly eight times greater than his base, however just before reaching his target he stopped mid-air and turned his body to the side to avoid the creature''s claw as it passed right by him.


    In that same split second of all this action occuring he swung his sword at the creature''s back causing a deep gash to appear as his element ate at it from the inside out but a large burst of power from it negated both his element and sent him flying a distance back.


    He steadied himself with ease and watched as the creature repaired it''s body and opened it''s palm wide facing him, before he could even process what it was trying to do Emrys felt his body pulled by an invisible force towards it at breakneck speeds and just as he got close enough the four hooked spikes extended and dug into his body impaling him.


    Or so it should have been but the moment those hooks pierced a millimeter into his body they broke off into nothing amd Emrys responded by giving a straight punch with his hands coated in lightning to the creature''s face sending it flying far back like a cannonball.


    Things were greatly different now, he bore a true spiritual flesh and his body circulated power, was power and bled raw, untamed, overwhelming power born from his very own soul and mana. It would take a lot more than this to comfortably harm him and handle the consequence of any bit of power he bleeds out, the five of this creature''s powers combined was the only thing that came close at that moment when they attacked him.


    The creature seemed to have some sort of instinct as it no longer tried coming close to him again, even if it did not know why it knew that close combat would be bad for it, the hooked spikes on it''s back which refused to reform made as a good reminder.


    But things do not always work out the way you may want it to, Emrys had no interest in letting that creature keep it''s distance regardless as he rushed at it again with his stacked buffs still in effect and the creature reacting just as fast sent out a powerful wave of void mana stacked with it''s invisible force which it used as an insurance to repel him far away.


    The combination worked as Emrys was forcefully sent back while the wave of void mana ravaged his body only to be destroyed by an outburst of lightning from him, but this little distraction had bought the creature enough time it needed to complete it''s attack.


    A palm sized super dense ball of void mana, upon it''s completion even this very realm showed cracks all over it which was spreading by the second and it''s nature of erasure was like never before to the point he was feeling the threat of it even in it''s unreleased state.


    The creature was showing signs of fading away bit by bit showing that it had sacrificed it''s all, including it''s very being and the essence of this realm just to make this in hopes of ending it''s target once and for all.


    Emrys called to the ball of darkness which had been left on it''s own the whole while and fused the entirety of it into his weapon, the darkness became it''s new core and it''s influence was displayed all over the blade and it''s circles orbiting around it.


    With his preparations complete Emrys raised the blade high and swung down diagonally in a gentle arc just as the power contained within that ball was released outwards.


    Fourth level ? [Release] -: <<Execution>>


    For the next few seconds there existed nothing but a still silence with no hint of eithers attacks present in this space even though it had just been there one second ago, as if it had just been a mutual fake out between both powers. But if one were to look closely, they wound find a thin white line drawn across the very fabric of this realm and though it looked to be just one line it''s presence was marked upon everything but it''s caster.


    No single atom of this space in actuality nor the beings within were outside of it''s effect, the line was all-encompassing. And so the destruction was instant, no room for shattered pieces nor to comprehend what was occuring, in one moment it was there and in the next Emrys was now back in space levitating above the arena just as before.


    And moments later Hope was reformed fully unharmed but forced back into her base, the attack however strong had no effect of permanance nor could it temporarily override the strength of her regenerative abilities even with some darkness augmenting it''s nature. Without a doubt he knew her nature tied into her regenerative ability made it the hardest to overcome amongst his peers, even beyond his quite possibly. Her power was just far too great to be overcome by fractions, to gain the upperhand he needed the full thing.Stolen novel; please report.


    It seemed both had the same thought as they simultaneously unleashed their powers, the blade was unsummoned as Emrys lost himself under the full influence of dark mana turning his irises a deep shade of starry crimson and his winter white hair grew so long it touched his heels with the lower half becoming somewhat darkened at it''s tips.


    Hope meanwhile had unleashed her full hybrid transformation, the silver horns on the sides of her head grew longer as her body began getting covered in armor-like scales so dark it near absorbed every bit of light reflected onto it and from her body sprung her tail and wings each measuring a length of 1.9 meters and 4.6 meters respectively along with an hybrid golden-black aura bearing the natures of a most extreme erasure and heat.


    It was a heat so potent it near rivalled that of Ishmael''s crimson flames and floating on the back of her clawed hands were small golden halo rings, Emrys sensed that he had to take things a step further.


    Countless little black feathers slowly began fallimg all around them as he unleashed the first pair of his pitch black ethereal wings measuring nearly five meters in length just as on that day eight years ago their ''world'' was divided into two equal parts, one side of absolute darkness and the other bearing a mixture of honey gold.


    Then in an instant it all receded back into their bodies.


    <<Damnation>>


    She made the first move, an automatic lockdown effect was triggered and space itself began trembling violently as did every bit of Emrys''s existence down to his soul and from behind him came a giant crack spreading in multiple directions and branching out to create four other smaller cracks on all sides of him all forming a specific pattern based in forbidden magic.


    <<Veil of Darkness>>


    Just as the true power of this spell was about to reveal itself Emrys cut it short, suddenly it was like the perspective of the world had changed as Hope now found herself standing atop an endless sea of crystal black clear water looking at her own reflection and surrounded by stormy clouds of darkness serving as the skies and high above was her spell and Emrys at it''s core all of which looked to be frozen in time.


    But then he moved, his actions causing a visible ripple across the fabric of this realm like a slightly disturbed body of water and she watched as he separated himself from the hold of her spell and gracefully and silently, like an owl, flew himself downwards stopping just inches above the sea of black but his actions nonetheless eliciting a gentle ripple beneath the spot he stayed and his wings spread outwards now partially closed.


    "Welcome, to my world".


    "In here my word is law".


    "It is nigh-inescapable, nigh-indestructable".


    "The only way to leave it is to defeat me entirely".


    And then he smiled "so the ball is in my court now you see".


    "Unless you prove to me you''re worth using every advantage this realm brings me.....I won''t use it".


    "In essence, starting from this moment onwards until the end of our fight".


    "I. Will. Hold. Back. On. You".


    Upon hearing those last words there was en eerie amount of coldness that passed through this realm, it was for a moment and the next a massive wave of power burst out of her body like no other, it felt almost overwhelming even to him but yet the smile on his face could only grow wider as he knew it, she was mad.


    "You say that your word is law" she spoke, her tone so calm, so calm and yet so cold".


    "Who decided that".


    At that moment the realm glitched.


    "Me".


    And then a second glitch occured, on the surface to any and all watching it seemed like both entities just stood perfectly still in silence but underneath it all was a battle of great proportions raging on violently. Right now Hope was trying to rewrite his authority over this space but it just kept negating her will over and over again, so in a change of tactic she chose to seize over a small portion of it rather than the whole and use that as the foundation for a complete hostile takeover yet even that failed


    Choosing to take things to the next level she summoned a giant dark magic circle interlinked with eight smaller others in arcs beneath her, instantly even without having done anything there was a great shift in the air.


    The faint avatar of a dark obelisk standing nearly ten meters tall and four meters wide was summoned behind her and on it was written her decree.


    ?[Monarch''s law]?


    ?Blessed under- Dragon''s authority of Dominion.


    ?Decree of ¨COwnership¨C


    <<Authority of this realm from this day onwards shall be relinquinshed unto me>>


    <<For any time you may want to open it without my permission may it never be succesful>>


    And it happened just as she had decreed, but the very moment she recieved full authority over this realm she saw it all, the limits unspoken, the boundaries she could push and break, the level of augmentation possible with this realm and for the first time in this tournament she would come to feel slightly......overwhelmed.


    She looked Emrys straight in the eye and saw just how calm he was even after having lost what even she would deem as one of the most precious trump cards to have in her possession, he smiled seeing the slight look of confusion reflected in her eyes.


    "Do you know what the nature of my authorities are"- he questioned all of a sudden.


    "I understand yours quite well, all four of them imcluding the one that comes naturally with your birthright as a dragon and a fairy".


    "But do you know what mine are".


    Her eyes narrowed a bit in suspicion but he had her attention and that was what he wanted, the smile on his face grew a bit.


    "I''ll enlighten you of the first one".


    ?[The Death Of All Things]?


    ?[The Death Of Nothing]?


    ?[And The Death Beyond]?


    And at that Hope found her decreed law removed and the obelisk recording it''s history shattering to pieces but what surprised her even more than this was the fact it did not return to his control either, it stood in a middle point of neutrality not bound to one or the other like a free realm but in this way it was also at it''s most vulnerable because either could reclaim it just as before in a heartbeat.


    Hope''s gaze was raised to Emrys in wonder of what he was planning that would structure things like this but upon seeing the look in his eyes she caught on to it immediately.


    It was basically a provocative gesture and somewhat of a declaration ¨C {If you''re that desperate to take it then try it} and {If i can reject your authority once then i can do it again or multiple times over if i have to}.


    She remained expressionless for a few moments, but in the end she could not help but smile and this little act of hers caught Emrys far offguard more than anything she''d ever thrown at him.


    Both stood at a stalemate in this area, she could make laws to either restrict his authority like a no violence within a certain area for example or outright banish it by declaring death had no place in this realm but then he''d work around them just the same, for one it is a permanent constant which she was not powerful enough to change yet, at least in this realm and secondly Emrys was powerful enough to simply kill her authority just the same.


    The laws could be imposed directly upon Emrys without targeting his authority but it would act out just the same for as long as it has been activated and is in use, it was akin to a defensive mechanism and it was the same just for her in this aspect. Emrys could not kill her, this one was sure and he could kill off a part of her or her power but her laws would return them just the same and therein lied the problem, neither had the effect of permanence over the other.


    And then there was the last point, not all cards were to be revealed, at least not today no matter how tempting it was for both. Not out of fear of their enemies whomever they may be either in the now or in the future having data on them no, that was a welcome situation in fact because no one likes to be underestimated, especially not beings with such pride as they. It simply because at the end of the day, both contestants were feeling quite petty with each other and not truly enemies in light of it all.


    In a situation like this there was only available solution left, just go against the other with pure overwhelming power until there was nothing left to draw from.


    Their wings were spread wide and in moments both contestants had crossed a near billon miles in but a fraction of a millisecond and had crossed tens more with each passing second yet neither had exchanged a single move yet until they suddenly stopped mid-air and threw a fist at one another. Emrys with his body coated in a thin layer of darkness and Hope amplified by a field of her own void mana alongside that terribly potent heat.


    The collision was earth-shattering and most surprisingly was the fact Emrys wasn''t being physically surpressed unlike the last time even though right now it should be far worse considering not even his dark transformation could make him rival the strength of someone like her.


    And this where the true purpose of him coating his entire body in darkness came into play, it was a theory that had come to him on a whim after taking into account one of his element''s properties which made it serve as the greatest sponge ever concieved.


    The property to absorb, doesn''t matter if it''s physical force, mental, spiritual or anything at all it could always be absorbed. And although this partial coating was nothing like his fully manifested dark space with no limits to it''s borders, it could still serve well enough as sponge to neutralize a good portion of her physical force as well as weaken the effects of her troublesome nature.


    Now with a confirmed success on his little experiement Emrys got a bit bolder, with quick movements he grabbed onto her wrist and went for a powerful kick at her sides which connected fair and square but it couldn''t even make her flinch.


    ''That''s a little disheartening''.


    Emrys couldn''t help but sigh in his heart at how unfair the body of a dragon like her was even if quite hypocritical of him and moments later Hope grabbed him by the face, applied enough force that the coating around him shattered thereby leaving it open to the onslaught of her nature and threw him millions of miles away only to catch up near instantly aiming a kick at his face but he dodged and flew behind to grab her by the wings attempting to rip them from their roots but a burst of power sent him tumbling backwards.


    Hope immediately took advantage of this opening and dashed for him but Emrys did something that completely caught her offguard, from his regenerated eyes a strong beam of concentrated heat shot out and on instinct she dodged but it was just a moment she realized it was something that could pose absolutely no threat at all even to an average third circle mage let alone someone like her.


    Still, just this little moment was more than enough for Emrys to gain the upperhand in this bout. With his body greatly amplified by his lightning element incomparably more dangerous under the influence of dark mana he responded with a piercing kick to her sides sending Hope flying straight down like a bullet into the endless sea of crystal clear black causing a massive commotion as if millions of nuclear weapons had been detonated in one spot leading to a continuously raging tidal wave reaching many hundreds of meters high and a seemingly bottomless crater spanning millions of miles in width.


    At this moment the regeneration of his face was complete and just as he was about to descend down into that seemingly bottomless pit she was already levitating above it, the lightning had pierced a great hole into her sides and streaks of it were burned into her body as cauterized scars but it was all healing seconds later. In the next moment, she was already before him moving with a speed much greater than before and punching with a force so great it seemed like it could tear down the heavens itself.


    And just before it reached him he manifested a giant wall of darkness to take the wrath of her attack but, it never came. Sensing something was wrong he immediately turned around in expectance that she would be there but found nothing, his senses tried to find where she might be but nothing was registering on his radar.


    He dismissed the wall of darkness for a more clearer view and the very moment he did so that overwhelming power descended upon him, the impact was catastrophic. Even from how high up they were it had torn a deep gash into the skies above and the seas below spanning hundreds of millions of miles.


    And Emrys stood there, his head missing as was nearly the whole of his upper torso and soon he began falling down into the bottomless pit below still unfilled by the endless galons of water that had been pouring into it from the sides.


    Hope''s gaze narrowed seeing him fall and feeling something was off, a second later her suspicions were confirmed as the body began dissipating into wisps of darkness revealing to her it was but a clone she had hit and in the next moment a giant spike made entirely of darkness impaled her body.


    "You are not the only one who can erase your presence".


    His voice came from behind her, low but laden with smug confidence. She teleported herself out of the impalement and grabbed him by the neck but he did the same leaving nothing but a small pillar of dark light and pulled her by the wings once again in an attempt to rip them from their roots but failing just the same as her power repelled him.


    Emrys sighed in exasperation feeling that engaging her physically was getting him nowhere, her battle instincts far surpassed his and he was running out of tricks to surprise her with.


    He gently pressed his index and middle finger to his thumb as if catching something delicate and invisible out of the air.


    <<Dark Rose>>


    An immediate lockdown effect was introduced as a well crafted rose made entirely of darkness with little wisps of it escaping off it''s delicate petals was formed between his hands, but that beautifully crafted creation from the very moment that it was formed one could already feel the very vitality and power in the air drop to dangerously low levels, now a spiral bed of darkness lay below them spanning for millions of miles and spreading terribly fast by the second.


    From this spiral came millions of evergrowing thorny branches spreading in all directions and reaching tens of thousands of meters high looking dark as night as they sunk deep into the skies above, it''s thorns were crowned with a crimson hue at it''s tip and grew to gigantic proportions yet remaining sleek as it spread in all directions and if one were to take a look at the skies above and the spiral below they would only see it completely overun by these thorns which were nearly touching in both directions completing the look of a perfect cage of thorns.


    Suddenly, it stopped growing but Hope at current was trapped in this encirclement of thorns which all seemed to just narrowly avoid piercing her body yet leaving not an inch worth of space for free movement and from the crimson stained hues of those thorny tips she felt an immense level of danger.


    But there was a second thing she noticed, the power contained within them was growing at an extraordinary pace, she would have almost believed that just existing was enough for it to continue growing stronger but the alarming rate at which everything else including her power became the weaker told of a different story.


    The spell was killing this realm but when considering it''s near endless structure it would take years before it drains a good portion of it''s power but way before that point is even reached, right now this spell was en route to drain and surpass her powers entirely and she could not teleport easily as the lockdown effect seemed designed to restrict her, nor could she take the gamble that it would reach a possible limit before that even happens.


    <<Begone>>


    With just a word from her mouth it was done, it all faded away into nothing including the rose caught between his hands. Yet there was no reaction from him at all concerning this, he seemed to be stuck in somewhat of a daze and this confused Hope as to why, this state lasted a few seconds longer before clarity was returned to those eyes and he breathed out a small air of frost.


    At this very moment a primordial cold was felt across this realm and it shook her to the very core of her being, all signs of danger were ringing off in her head telling her she had to stop what he was doing even though she had no idea what it was and in act of desperation she went for the strongest spell in her arsenal.


    <<Oblivion>>


    Just as the spell was cast, a shard of crystal black ice was summoned before him and then everything just turned deathly silent. In moments the realm itself began fading away into fine pieces returning them to the arena and the current state of Emrys could only be described as dire.


    His body was gone as was the power contained within and his golden skeleton had one half of it destroyed, the shattered half were in finer and larger pieces each barely attached to the whole of him and just barely held in place by an invisible force but the light of his eyes were extinguished.


    And then there was Hope who looked to be completely fine on the surface, except for the fact that right now she was unmoving and without a presence, frozen to an almost unbelievable level by his power yet none could see nor feel the effects or presence of it to judge how it was even possible.


    The only thing that gave them confirmation something was wrong in the first place was her lack of movement and presence in the world.


    This was the power of his spell cast at the last minute same tine as hers-


    <


    >


    Imbued with the terrible nature of his body which forces him into the realm of abject obscurity and the absolute nature of his ''black ice''. It was untouchable, could not be seen nor felt and it freezes absolutely, down to the point whatever it touches might just be truly dead and lost forever be it flesh, inorganic, antimatter, energy, spiritual, intangible such as gravity or time, borderline conceptual or even the soul and lifeforce itself.


    This was the current state of both Hope and Emrys in this moment, a state of being truly dead even if alive yet nearly not existing and lost with both their times either frozen or in pieces.


    And now the tournament had come to an end, their battle having reached it''s final and it''s result most surprising for the history books-


    A draw.


    EnD.