Even with his higher metabolism and stronger body, there was no way fifteen year old Divyat would have been able to handle drinking from dusk till dawn, it was quite a weird sight as Fang Bin and the escorts of the Ashura returned back to the fortress to find the both of them passed out on the ramparts, numerous bowls and jars of wine and alcohol shattered, overturned or lying about around them, along with an obscene amount of porcelain bowls.
Neve the less the weird sights in front of them aside, they both needed to wake up as all of the other fortresses have had their flags taken and their presence eliminated from the trial, leaving only two clusters and three bandit leaders. Of course the development of this particular trial was pretty much unprecedented. At the very least it would have been three bandit lords from three different clusters, or the very least even if there was more than three left, they would have fought each other before moving on to the next floor, but right now the path to the next floor was already open, and one cluster had two leaders.
Or rather it had a figure head responsible for all the grunt work while the real leader was passed out drunk on the ramparts with a sexy war mongering bloodthirsty devil. But then again even if they were too afraid to wake Divyat up, the pagoda had no such qualms as all of a sudden there was a massive flash of light, and everything in sight seemed to bleed out into the void, then quickly enough everyone felt themselves falling. The fall wasn't too large so it wasn't fatal, however what it did do for Divyat and the Ashura who was passed out drunk was drop them unceremoniously on a jade platform, hard enough that they were jostled out of their drunken stupor.
"Shit!"
The Ashura cursed as she got up bleary eyed before letting lose some more expletives, cursing out so loud it gave everyone around chills. Divyat looked around to notice that he, Fang Bin and the Ashura who had still reused to give her name had been placed on individual jade platforms that were orbiting a larger platform, where the rest of their clusters had already been dropped. From the look of things another battle royal was about to ensue, and Divyat hit the ball right on the mark as soon enough everyone turned on each other as alliances were formed, and friendships broke apart.
All of the platforms they were all currently on was floating listlessly in what looked to be a void of emptiness. To Divyat it was almost as if they were in space, but then again you really couldn't be sure about it. So far he knew or suspected that this trial had moved away from the Ghadovara mountains after the stint with the Shadow Ice beasts. They were in some mystic realm which in layman terms should be a pocket dimension of some sort. And that was saying something, if the demons and demi-humans have access to a mystic realm, then how in the hell was it possible that one of the three empires bordering the Ghadovara mountain range hadn't been turn to rubble and ash yet. Perhaps he was being worried for nothing when he thought about the soon to be commenced invasion by the Rizal fucking empire… a place that used to be home for him.
But then again even at that, they were not united. He could not begin to imagine the amount of people that had died for this trial, hundreds even falling at his own hands. Sure the human empires had trials that were as dangerous as this, but not with this much colossal loos of life and manpower. Divyat in the end just shrugged…. It was not his problem anymore…. At least not until he's finally gotten the chance to get his revenge on the Rizal empire. The platform below shook as someone utilized a sword skill that released massive blast of whirlwind, Divyat paid attention as the person in question was a Demi-human, but it was shocking the amount of power he could bring to bear, and that was because he was a rabbit kin.
"Cute." Divyat muttered as he kept his gaze focused on the Rabbit man who proceeded to dance around his opponents, a rapier in one hand and a hand axe in the other.
"Do you want him?" the Ashura asked as she too sat on the platform, her legs dangling off the edge of the platform.
"I mean sure why not." Divyat answered, terribly trying to act nonchalant and cool in the face of a woman he considered extremely beautiful. It was funny really, but the Ashura had thrown him off his composure from the very moment she started fighting. Even as cold as he had become, Divyat was still a teenager, and right now he had a little crush.
"Well I didn't know you swung that way?" the Ashura asked with a smile, causing Divyat to sputter in indignation and embarrassment.
"That's not what I meant!" he yelled at her, hoping the ground would just open up and swallow him at that very moment. But just as quickly as is embarrassment came, a cool yet somewhat sharp feeling suffused his entire body and he calmed down,
"Don't worry human, I'm just teasing. However I believe we should start deciding who amongst the people down there would be amongst our ten. That way we don't have to step on each other's toes when we make our choice." The Ashura said, to which Divyat nodded his head ay her before he asked.
"Aren't you going to tell me you name? It's getting really an annoying just referring to you as the Ashura." She raised an eyebrow at that, then smiled before saying to him.
"I will give you my name the day you succeed in bedding me." Divyat lost control of his emotions again, he smiled bashfully and asked.
"How would that even be possible…. You don't seem like the kind of person that would jump into bed with a human being."
"Well you are right about that, which is why I am going to give you a chance. In just about a year from now there's going to be a tournament of sorts between the young and eligible bandit leaders of the Ghadovara Mountains. Whoever wins gets to face the guardian of ancient treasure, you wind against said guardian aka me; then you not only get the treasure, you get to possess me too." That was a lot to swallow yet Divyat could not help bust ask again.
"Why are you telling me this?" the Ashura smiled and said something that caused Fang Bin's eyes to widen as she had been listening to their conversation.
"Because you're just like me Divyat of the humans. As you are now the mortal incarnation of a spirit of nature, you are a cut above the rest. In fact just as I am no longer just or even an Asura, so are you no longer a human being. Normally we should be enemies, but I believe it would be poetic is the Lord of Winter is Joined with The Queen of Lava. The water to my fire and my earth to your wind, oh what glorious sons and daughters we will bear. Because in the end Winter Stag of the South, only a demigod can tame another demigod, and ultimately I want your power and your future….. So I will take it. because if you don't come for me by the time the tournament begins, then I will hunt you down and end you and take whatever is left of your power for myself, that way I can still lay claim to a part of you. I've seen you Divyat of the humans, and I have decided I want to possess you….. You don't know it yet…..but you now belong to me!"