After a few hours of meditating, and comprehending the laws of Chaos, a surge of Energy burst out of Tony's body.
' what is this power? ' he asked himself. But behind him, it was a different story.
"WHAT?!! He directly broke through to General?!" White shrieked. He himself was born as a General, and it took him a few decades to breakthrough to King. But this boy had only broken through after a few hours and what's even more unbelievable was the fact that he didn't use his edge. The advantage he had, which was to absorb the souls of mortals.
But Black was all smiles. This kid definitely wasn't simple.
Tony stood up. His blood was boiling and the Chaos energy within him was swirling like crazy. He tried to suppress it and therefore his aura receded back to his body.
"How was that?"
"How was that? You're seriously asking that now? That was unbelievable! Who the fuck are you? Why....."
Black just smacked his head and continued."Although I'm not sure if it's enough to wield Chaos effectively, but breaking directly to General rank is very impressive" Black encouraged. He was now prepared to mentor this child, no matter what!
But, while meditating, Tony suddenly had an idea. There was a girl he had a crush on in school. Her ability was to manipulate earth. But she wasn't quite strong in using that ability yet, so she usually carried a staff made of earth around. This staff was special, and she could manipulate it to any degree. She could turn it to a shield, a sword, anything! But it would still be the same mass of the staff. Now that he thought about it, he did confess his feelings to her, but she said she'd think about it and meet him after school closes. But unfortunately for him, it was that day that Troy and his cohorts chose to chase him, and he ended up in MHF. Clare....
' if I could do that.... ' Tony thought as he began to pour out the Chaos out of his body and into his palm. Although it still hurt, it wasn't as unbearable as before. Soon there was a ball of black energy hovering inches away from his palm and covered in a strange black mist. He then poured his mind into it and it morphed into a sword. A big sword, with arcs of lightning flashing across it. Wind also was howling around it and it radiated a strong heat.
"This...." White was speechless.
Even Black was at a loss for words.
"OH YEAH!" Tony screamed as he swung his sword. Every where he swung, wind furiously howled, and heat followed. This was Chaos.
He slowly absorbed back the sword. It was a good thing that Chaos wasn't like ordinary energy that would not be usable after used. It could only be rendered useless if it was completely destroyed.
"Looks like breaking through came with some perks!" Black said as he approached Tony. He was talking about his overall appearance.
White walked over too and waved his hand. A small pillar rose from the ground. It was like a mirror.
"OH?" Tony's hair now had strands of purple and his eyes were laced with faint purple glow. It was barely noticeable, even if you looked closely. His skin was smother and somewhat pale even though it was dark, or chocolate in complexion. ' wow....I'm pretty good looking ' he said as he eyed his reflection.
Even White had to admit. This kid's talent and potential were unimaginable.
"How long have I been here?" Tony asked.
"About two days...?" Black said.
"TWO DAYS?!" Tony roared.
"Relax, time moves differently here...." White said. Tony calmed down a bit. "Although I'm not sure how..." White said.
"I gotta go!" Tony said as he closed his eyes.
"WAIT!" White called out. Tony opened his eyes."Battle is the only way to improve one's self. The next time we meet, we battle" White said.
"I can't wait..." Tony said as he vanished from their sight.
"He knows something about the sealing of All Mighty and Lord Lucifer" White said.
"MN!" Black nodded. "I smelt the scent of a white knight on him...." Black said.
There were twelve great knights in history. The six white knights and the six dark knights all powerful existences just below the three Highborns and all loyal to their respective masters. But all of a sudden, they vanished without a trace. It was rumored that their powers were extracted and used as sealing mechanisms. But by whom, nobody knew. Even an idiot would assume that it was related to All Mighty and Lord Lucifer disappearing, but nobody had a concrete evidence.
"The twelve knights..." White shivered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iris was staying close to the window, staring at the beautiful boundless space.
After a round of playing cards, Iris had gone off to meditate, like Tony, and Drake...oh Drake. Drake was sleeping and snoring like a wounded hog. But Felix was in the cockpit, surrounded by countless hologram screens. But she did notice that he had changed course, but she was too lazy to ask...
"Hello.." a voice sounded behind her.
She yelped in surprise and immediately turned around. Tony was right behind her, and too close for comfort. Not that she was complaining though. His hair had strands of deep purple. He was delicately handsome. It was so delicate that Iris thought a single wrinkle would ruin it. He radiated a dark and wicked aura that made her shiver, but feel safe at the same time.
"H-hi" she replied.
He smiled. A beautiful charming smile. He really like the flustered look on her face.
"YO! Felix" Tony called out and proceeded to the cockpit. Iris went ahead to wake Drake and Natasha.
"Hey!" Felix called out and he had a nice surprise for them.
"Woah...!"
"How?"
"Cool!"
All sorts of comments of surprise rang out, and he basked in them.
His face was no longer half robot and half human, it was now a full human face, with hair and all.
"Its actually a hologram" he explained. "I've been working on it for a while now, but the array at MHF was getting in the way." it might have been a hologram, but it looked very real. It even portrayed the unsettling smug look on his face.
"So...?"Tony began. And Felix knew exactly what he was talking about.
All the hologram screens around him vanished, and he brought up a single one for them to look at. It was an old staff with an orb at the top. It looked like something a wizard would use. The orb however was identical to the one they had in their possession in every way.
"Pure wand" Felix began as information about the orb emerged from a hologram beside the picture. "It has the ability to negate all abilities" he concluded.
' its definitely it! ' Tony said as he narrowed his eyes. Apparently, the staff was an ancient relic that had the ability to draw out power from crystals and use it for anything the owner wishes. It came from the era of the great wizards and witches. But it wasn't quite easy to get.....
"Its going to be auctioned in about a 168 hours" Felix began.
"Auctioned?" Drake asked, with his half closed eyes. He obviously wasn't fully awake.
"MN!" Felix nodded. "The Golden Crow auction house had its hand on it and finally want to auction it out"
"How much do you think it'll be sold?" Natasha asked.
"I'm not sure how much it would be sold, but I'm 75% certain that the starting price would be around 20 million dollars" Felix announced. The official currency of the whole universe after it was explored was now dollars. No other currency was accepted.
Everybody drew in cold breaths and Tony scowled.
"B-but guys? This seems like something the Immaculate would want" Iris said.
Tony's scowl deepened. The Immaculate were the population of the world that had no ability. They believed that abilities were a curse, a disease to the human race, and found every way possible to get rid of them. They ran illegal experiments and created all sorts of weapons. Although they didn't have abilities, with their weapons, armor and advanced technologies, they were a force to be reckoned with. So far it seemed impossible for them to get their hands on the orb.
"I take it you have a plan?" Natasha asked, looking at him with her dark green eyes. Felix didn't know why, but that sight made him shiver.
"Stop looking at me like that. A-and yes I do have a plan" Felix said, and everyone payed rapt attention. "22 hours from now, the stadium in the planet Nobar would be holding a festival.This festival happens every ten years, and we are quite lucky. It'll be an avenue to make money"
"Go on...." It had definitely gotten Tony's attention.
"New tournaments that hadn't been held before would be held today. Like the 100 man challenge and the beast challenge" Felix said, grinning with excitement. "The 100 man challenge requires a single person to be challenged by a 100 people, one by one, and come out victorious. This is where you come in Tony" Felix said as his eyes settled on Tony.
"EH?" Tony was mildly surprised. "You mean a 100 people would challenge me and I have to beat each and every one of them?"
Felix nodded."It is said that nobody has been able to win in a hundred years. That's how difficult it is" he said as he let his words sink in. But he still waited for Tony's response.
Tony was beyond excited. Battle was the only way he could hone and improve himself. He was more than happy to accept. He nodded with determination shining in his eyes.
"That settles it then. Tony will enroll in the hundred man challenge!" Felix was clearly having a field day as he giggled like a child. "Now...." his gaze settled on Drake. The latter flinched in surprise. "Drake, as the second strongest, you deserve a special tournament too" Felix said.
Drake's face darkened. ' second strongest? '
Tony sensed the change in emotions, but he ignored it.
"The beast challenge!" Felix said. "You'll have to battle beasts and magical beasts of different tiers"
Drake instantly perked up at this. This was indeed an interesting tournament. It was easy to understand and filled with thrilling battle. It fit him perfectly.
"Now...." Felix solemnly began. "The rest of us would be registering for the most common tournament. The three man army" Felix said. The three man army was a tournament that required a team of three to battle all the other teams of three that had been registered. They all had to admit it was a good way to make money. They were all very strong and confident in their ability. And Felix even had a back up plan.
"Natasha, set up a mind link. And when any of you are reaching your limit, inform me immediately." he said, referring to Tony and Drake.
"Why?" Drake asked, and they all waited for his answer.
"I'll set up a betting system and I'll also bet using the official betting platform of the stadium. That way, we can get money from those who bet and we can also get money from our bet. For example, if Drake would be defeated at the Legendary tier, he'll have to inform me, and I'll place a bet using our prize money, predicting that he'll be defeated at the Legendary tier, and if Tony can't go further than....let's say the 90th challenger, he'll inform me and I'll place the bet. At the same time, I'll put some pretty attractive odds in the places I know that you guys would win, causing people to put in money, and losing it" Felix said rubbing his hands. It was a genius plan, no doubt. Felix was so smart and crafty that it was scary. Even for Natasha.
"What's a mind link?" Tony asked.
"This!" Natasha said as she sent a stream of telepathic energy to their heads. Tony at first resisted, but he later let it in.
[You get it now?] it was Felix's voice that sounded in their minds.
Tony could only nod in awe as Natasha disconnected the mind link. Tony couldn't help but look at Natasha. She definitely wasn't simple. She was demon alright, but not completely. The fact that she couldn't sense he was a demon was proof of that fact. Maybe she was a half demon? But he saved that for another day. After all, he too didn't want anyone to know he was a Highborn who could wield Chaos. According to Black, every one would want to kill him. Especially the Celestials.
"Hehe....wait no longer. We're here!" Felix announced. They all turned and looked outside. Indeed, they were in some sort of park where everyone parked all sorts of vehicles. Felix followed suit and landed amidst others.
They all came out, and Felix set the automatic lock of the jet.
"C'mon guys, act like you know what you're doing" Felix murmured just loud enough for them to hear. Indeed, they were acting like lost children. Looking around in awe and occasionally bumping into people.
"Easy for you to say" Drake said as he eyed Felix who was acting all natural with his hands in his pockets. All of his body was covered, apart from his face.
"Excuse me!" Felix said to a person who looked like a receptionist.
"How can I help you?" She replied, smiling brightly. Today was her busiest day. It turned out Felix was lucky that she had just come back from a restroom break. Her two other colleagues had long ques in front of their desks. Talk about luck!
"Uh...I and my friends would like to register for tournaments" Felix said. Iris couldn't help but look at Felix. He was like a completely different person. More mature and friendly. Like a business man.
The lady smiled. It looked like she could sneak another break. "Right this way sirs..." She looked at Iris and Natasha. "...and madams" She escorted them towards another separate entrance. Apparently, the other ques were for purchasing tickets. They entered a small hall, filled with nasty looking people. Immediately they entered, countless pairs of eyes were on them. And they clearly had one thing in common. What the fuck are shrimps like this doing here? The lady finally led them to a table. Behind the table was a man wearing an eye patch and smoking a cigarette.
"Rubel I have more participants" the lady said. Before the man could even examine each of them, she was gone.
"Hello. Mr. Rubel" Felix said as he came forward. By now, the whole gang was eyeing him, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. If they didn't know any better, they would have thought there was a fault in his system.
The said man just grunted. He brought out a hologram screen, and it split into five which proceeded to fly towards each of them. "Fill it up!" he said and closed his eyes as he savored his cigaratte.
"Remember the plan guys!" Felix furiously whispered as he began to type on the hovering keyboard, filling the form.
It required them to put their name, age, and what tournament they wanted to participate in. After Felix, Iris and Natasha filled in their forms, it was automatically paired, signifying they were on the same team participating in the Three Man Army tournament.
While they put in their first names, Drake put in Ancient Knight. He put his real age, ticked the option of Beast Challenge. The screen automatically took his picture too. Tony on the other hand put his name as Blackhart. But due to the system's automatic correction it changed to Black Heart. He wanted to try his luck, to see if maybe his father would be watching. After all, Blackhart was his father's last name. He ticked the option for 100 man challenge. The screen also snapped his picture.
Felix collected all the forms and gave them to Rubel.
"Her you go, good sir." Felix said, beaming. Luckily for them, it was a festival, so no entrance or participating fees were required.
The said man just went through the forms nonchalantly. But when his eyes landed on Drake's from, he eyed the latter. Then he just shrugged. However, when he read Tony's file his one good eye expanded. Firstly, this boy was too young, he just became an adult, as the adult age was now 16. As if that wasn't enough, this 17 year old had enrolled for the 100 man challenge. The hardest challenge of all. And nobody had even registered for it. Apart from this oy. But he soon chuckled and shrugged it off.
"You just came in time. Registration just closed a few seconds ago" the one eyed man said. These guys were just too lucky.
"ALL RIGHT THE TOURNAMENT WOULD START ANY MOMENT NOW!" Rubel stood up and announced. "FOLLOW ME!" He said once more and stood up. He headed towards another door, and every one followed suite. The passage way was dimly lit, but at the end, one could see light.
Immediately they emerged from the passage way, they were instantly greeted by loud cheering.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. YOUR CONTESTANTS, FOR THE GLADIATOR GLORY!" The commentator's voice boomed.