"I am leaving," the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp suddenly stated and turned to walk towards the edge of the platform, to the place where the light had delivered him when he first arrived. Although there was a vast distance between the two points – the centre where they fought and the edge he sought to reach – it wouldn't be difficult for an Ascender like him to reach it in mere seconds.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" the White Fox had a scowl on her face as she spoke. Not only did they not know what this place was, they had no idea how they got here, what that strange light that had brought them here was, or how to leave. They had no information whatsoever.
"I don't know. But I will figure something out soon enough." The Heavenly Pistol Shrimp replied as he left. He looked like he wasn't going to change his decision. This place was surrounded by several planets and countless stars. It was surely within the confines of the Dreamscape Universe. Although there was a barrier around the platform, he was eager to try his luck at evading that than touching the child before him.
"Do you fear the boy? He may be strong, but he is nothing but a child. You are a coward!" the Mini Giant gritted his teeth in anger at the current situation. Not only was he prevented from pursuing the boy, now he had to watch someone supposed to help out taking his leave. From the way the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp spoke, even one as unintelligent as himself understood that the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp had no intention of being involved in this fight. Even if he didn't know his way out, he would stay out of the way.
"Yes, I am a coward," the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp shrugged coolly and said. There was a small smile on his face as he spoke, for he cared little of the opinion of one whom he had just met, much less a person from the Mini Giant Race, a race famed for their lack of intellect and their decision to resort to using their fists in every single situation.
"I have lived so long because I am a coward. I carefully analyse each situation and pick out those who I know I can afford to offend, no matter how weak they are. And this child that you speak of, may very well be the son of a god and goddess pair. His talent is so outrageous that it makes me wonder if we were the first to have been brought here to kill him. After all, all seven of us were sent at once."
The words of the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp brought a large frown to the faces of the others. They hadn't even thought of that, but the shrewd shrimp had considered that. And his words made a lot of sense. For it was true that seven Ascenders had been sent to take care of one boy. Why didn't they send two or three, or even four? Why did they have to send out 7 Ascenders? Surely there was something here they didn't know. And that could be the boy's record. It was highly likely that they weren't the first Ascenders to have been sent and that those before had failed. And that was why seven had been sent this time; to make sure of the odds.
"Even if we do succeed, gods have a way of tracking the killers of their races. If the godling alone is this powerful, I have no intention to find out how strong those who bred such a freak are, much less meet them knowing that the blood of their child is on my head." The Heavenly Pistol Shrimp waved as he moved speedily towards the edge of the platform.
The others had large frowns on their faces. Well, almost all of them. The Mini Giant cared very little for the consequences of his decision. Right now what he wanted to do was to rip the boy in half, and no amount of future trouble could change that. As for the others, they did understand everything the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp was concerned about. They really did. After all, no one wanted to be in a situation where they were hunted down, especially since they were Ascenders. They didn't grow this powerful just to be used in the schemes of another.
"Have you thought of those who brought us here?" the Slender Cat asked. Without waiting for a reply from the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp he continued, "These beings powerful enough to forcefully take Ascenders from their worlds and dump them here like refuse; such beings are those who locked us up here, surrounded by a barrier so strong that all of us together couldn't hope to dent it."
Indeed, the aura of the barrier was a huge factor in the decision of the others to make no hasty movements. It was slight, yet they could barely make out its aura. As for the Human Spiritualist, she could see the attributes of the barrier fully. So she understood just how impossible it was for them to be able to break it. For based on her scan, it would take several hundreds of Ascenders as strong as them to dent the barrier, and several thousands to break it!
"I have thought of those folks," the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp admitted. He was almost at the edge of the platform now. "And I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to be embroiled in the conflicts of such strong beings," he added as he reached out to touch the barrier.
"As expected, my words were of use," Mane mumbled as he watched the division taking place. He hadn't spoken merely to expose his prideful heart. He hoped that his words would place some doubt in theirs. And that was why he used some of his strongest moves from the start; to grow that seed of doubt into a large, powerful tree. And though the results were disappointing – with only one of them choosing to stand back – Mane was content. It was better than nothing. Besides, he was expecting that man to lose his life. And that was because he was expecting the Watchers to intervene. And that they did.
"You disobey the orders of the Watchers"
"You disregard our ways"
"You insult our authority"
"And you spit on our laws"
"You shall be an example to the others, False Ascender"
"Huh?" was all the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp was able to squeeze out before a red pillar descended upon him, just like the red pillar that brought him here. However, this pillar was different. If the first pillar smelt greatly of the space laws, this pillar gave off a great stench of destruction. And that was exactly what it did.
"Argh!!!!" the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp screamed in agony as his body was burnt in its entirety. His soul and mind weren't spared either. His screams continued for an entire minute; his torture a lesson to the others who remained.
Each and every one of them felt a chill consuming their hearts. Although they couldn't see the frame of their former colleague as he was forced through a minute of eternal damnation, his screams were enough to tell them that whatever he was going through was no light punishment. For whatever could make an Ascender scream so, was not a mere punishment.
Soon the red light faded, and the completely charred body of the Heavenly Pistol Shrimp appeared before them. There was no life in him. He was dead! His body collapsed onto the ground and scattered into dust. And the others were greatly dismayed.
"Do any others want to leave?"
"Are any of you discontent?"
"Do you still seek an escape?"
"Do you disregard our decisions?"
The remaining four shook their heads in great fear. Even the giant understood just how frail he was to such powerful beings. And he too was afraid.
"Good, then continue and finish the task you were given."
"Finish up, mortals"
"Finish up, False Ascenders"
"And as for you Mane…"
"Well played, young Supreme"
With that last statement, the presence of the Watchers disappeared, and the Ascenders were left to ruminate their last statement.
"Did they say, 'Young Supreme'?" the Human Spiritualist asked with a face full of fear.
"His background is even more extraordinary," the White Fox had retrieved the disdain in her heart. Now when she stared at Mane there was nothing but awe in her eyes. She had no right to look down on one with such a stature.
"Is he from this universe?" the White Fox wondered.
"That is unlikely," the Slender Cat shook his head in denial. As Ascenders they knew a lot more than the average man. And unlike the closed up world of the Three Great Races, their worlds engaged in trade with other worlds and held quite the amount of prestige. And because of that they knew a few things. Like the fact that there was more than one universe, and that their universe was merely part of the Allverse. They also knew who a Supreme was. For the Supreme of their universe was full and mature, and her power was not to be contended with.
"If he is from another universe, this makes things less complicated," the Mini Giant hoisted his large axe over his shoulder and said. The others nodded their heads in agreement. It wasn't easy to travel between universes. The fact that this young Supreme had done so was rare and admirable, but that also meant that they could get away with killing him.
"Killing a Supreme…how glorious a fate it is!" the Mini Giant exclaimed as his aura exploded from within his large form and wreaked havoc across the platform that was mending itself.
"So they are False Ascenders. That explains why they are much weaker than my estimate." Mane rubbed his clean shaven chin in understanding. He was wondering why these Ascenders were so weak that he could face so many at once. But now it made sense. For the Winged Serpent had been much harder to kill than those he had killed so far, yet according to Spirit Scan the Serpent was weaker. It was possible that the serpent was a True Ascender, having been a kin of dragons.
"It seems my Spirit Scan hasn't fully caught up with my new strength," Mane thought to himself, before casting his vision towards the pumped up Mini Giant and the others. Now that they knew of his identity, they had to die – all of them! Well, it wasn't like he planned to spare them in the first place.
"Takeover; Brimstone; True Flames; Lightning Clad"
Mane activated a variety of Glows and Breaths as his eyes flashed with torrents of lightning. Night Mare and Night's Kiss glowed brightly with darkness elements as Mane prepared to charge.
"Now!" Mane exclaimed and dashed towards his opponents. The huge chasm was now mended, and the battlefield was ready was to be exploited to its full.
But Mane wasn't the only eager warrior here. The Mini Giant was a second slower, but he did charge at Mane as well. And soon, both clashed mid charge.
*Boom*