Syndicate Dust hid around the bedroom, still and quiet, while Ether and Pearl had their fun together. Demon watched, curious about their newfound bond.
He closed his hand, ceasing the contact with his hidden dust.
Demon spectated the thriving city below him.
Variants of all kinds walked through the busy streets. Even the beast masters were out with their tames. Such as Yinmars and Stram.
The creatures followed the Thawed or Zegus to the arena where they would enter through a side entrance located on the back.
"Tell me, beings, what are you up to?" Demon spoke to himself.
A small rift roared to life on his palm, allowing a plethora of memories and thoughts to burst alive once more.
He opened several memories to gain more information about why the Light Legon seemed so lively.
-Memory of Young Vizon, Zegus beast master-
"Now, you all look confused here and it's okay. No one here is disappointed for that, except for me. I am very proud to announce just how disappointed I am. But you will make up for it," a deep voice spoke.
Kas stood between two sleeping Stram. Reinforced plates of metal decorated each beast for an incoming threat. The gold came to life as their bodies gently moved from the breathing.
"As you all may now, our situation in Yarno isn't the best. According to my scout groups, a new Legion came to power. But it's not A Legion, it's multiple," Kas continued.
He stepped forward, getting the attention of every trained warrior, elite, beast master, and tame.
"Not just that, those are Yarno Variants. Vastly different from us. Those Ferals will kick your head off if they wanted to, and those Thawed... if one joined me we would be a powerful force," he thought to himself.
Kas' eyes sprung to life. "We will call out the Infinus Legion and demand a champion versus champion battle. Their armies will march to battle and ours will return home with the spoils."
Everyone fell silent. The air felt still, as if something big was upon us. A feeling of impending war and conflict, something you can't shake off.
"Sir," I blurted out. "Who will represent us?"
Kas grinned. "Verick, the messenger. He brought us the news, so he will go back and finish the fight. I trained that boy and his sister. I trust him to win. He knows if he losses she will lose faith in recovery."
-Back in Demon's perspective-
He slowly closed his hand, ceasing the memory. Demon pondered for a moment, looking down at the statue's grey head.
Thoughts of all sorts began racing through his mind, putting pieces together and dismantling concepts then using the scraps to find new meaning.
His eyes quickly opened, this time with a new idea.
"I need you to get stronger, little Yonie. So you can achieve your goal, and to achieve my own," Demon whispered.
In a swift move, wind kicked up and blew away all the Syndicate Dust off him. Which dragged Demon with them away from the Light Legion's walls.
***
Bright lights highlighted the arena as voices cheered on. They loud crowd made serious noise, enough to deafen the drowsy Ether.
He stumbled up from his cell. This entire space looked weird to him, yet it seemed familiar.
The bars magically disappeared, allowing the challenger to walk into the arena. When Ether stepped in the light, the crowd lost it.
"What the hell?" Ether thought to himself.
Before he could continue on with his thoughts, Kas bursted out laughing.
The Light Legion's leader of defensive and offensive assaults confidently walked to the middle of the arena with an elegant spear in his hand.
A sharp red tip made from Crimsonaity dawned both sides. Already making it look valuable for what it was, but to go with that. The weapon had silver edges going down to the middle where the hand guards were.
Tellendor began to burn Ether's back, shocking him because of how free he felt despite having a weapon on his back... except he didn't have one.
The weapon appeared there out of nowhere.
Before the entire encounter could escalate, everything froze. No more cheering, lights stopped moving, and Kas stood still.
"A fantasy crafted by Kas' mind. Pure and true, this is what he would like to do to you. Yet you get seriously injured from fighting simple warriors?" A random voice asked.
Ether looked around, his eyes tried to find the source of the sudden dialogue. But there was no one there with him.
"Who said that?" He wondered out loud.
"Do not worry about me, little Yonie. It is your future you should be worried about. And I'm afraid you're not too long from experiencing firsthand what Kas could truly do. And even less so until you experience what his champion is capable of."
Ether's eyes narrowed. "What? Champion? I'm not afraid of Kas, he and his two toys decided we needed to die but didn't want to kill us himself. So I am going to give him an opportunity."
"Would it be worth it to nurture a Legion with such potential just to die out in the middle of your biggest fight?" The voice snapped back.
"You... have a good point. Whoever you are, what do I need to do?"
A blinding light engulfed the arena, forcing Ether to cover his eyes. When he opened them again, an empty void sat idle around him.
"You will learn Kas' Code, Code of the Faceless. Use it to ascend your name to the legacy of legends and keep up with those elites and leaders. Trust me when I say their champion can and will murder you."
Ether took a deep breath as he sprung back awake, the sudden dream startled him. He sat up on the bed, allowing his body to run like crazy while he tried recovering.
The sudden movements caught Pearl's attention, she placed her hand over Ether's chest.
"You feel off. Are you okay?"
"I don't know. All I can remember is passing out while you were busy pleasing yourself," Ether closed his eyes. "It was a weird dream."
Pearl slipped out of bed, her naked body stepping on the wet towels on the floor. Her perfect figure caught Ether's attention once again.
He kept his eyes on her back, shamelessly fantasying different ways to please her.
"What do you keep looking at?" She grinned.
"Uh... you- no wait... um..." Ether stuttered. "N - nothing, yeah I was just daydreaming."
Unsatisfied with the response, Pearl turned around. Her eyebrow higher than the other from confusion.
"Bad dream?" Her voice spoke in an almost winter breeze tone.
Ether sighed, lifting his hand up to her. "I had a dream. Kas was there, and the arena you and I fought in. Lights focused all around and a strange voice spoke to me. I need to learn a Code."
Pearl stepped back, shocked at Ether's sudden conclusion. "Which do you have in mind?"
"Code of the Faceless, the same one the Light Legion prides itself with," Ether responded without hesitation.
"Hmph," Pearl lowered her head. "You're not big enough to handle that kind of Code, but learning it is better than nothing. I only know the basics. Asking Decka would make more sense. He seems knowledgeable enough."
Pearl put on her clothes, the mystic blues flew into place around her shoulders and upper stomach. She then put on some oversized grey pants.
After Pearl was done putting on her clothes, she exited the room. Leaving Ether alone with his thoughts.
To a degree, he felt isolated. Despite forming an undying bond with a former enemy, he still felt like he was alone. Distant from the others.
A battle with Kas to decide Imbushko's fate didn't really amaze him, yet he felt like it had to be done. It would represent what a Coros truly is about: keeping everyone in check.
While he dwelled on the random thoughts and emotions, someone watched from far away. Silent and still, they flew across hills like soft snow.
Demon was about to push him into a world where child memories were nothing more but fantasy.