Confronted with seemingly impossible odds I'd never would have been able to comprehend beforehand, I push myself further.
Perhaps it's the guilt I feel from betraying and discarding my past relationships. Or maybe the strange urge to change myself, all I know is that I don't want things to end the way they are.
I looked at Xander and then the strange manual that was in my hands. I had summoned it in order to master my grace ability for it was apparent that every grace candidate used it. Though, me being different from the most of them only made things worse. I wanted to brush past that so I could just focus on where I was now.
We flipped through my manual and Xander looked at it a bit surprised.
"Well Ari, you've got quite the asset added to you now. You might not see it now but your grace is probably one of the more confusing but powerful abilities to appear in ages." He mentioned to me casually.
I just looked at him, I had no idea if it really mattered all to much since I had gotten by pretty fine with sacred arts, chordatta and magic. But looking at how he handled himself with his grace ability it might end up being pretty helpful.
"Well, how so—" before I could finishing uttering my sentence I got cut off by him grabbing me and dragging me off the monastery.
He made us head back to the marketplace without properly elaborating. He had this weird look on his face. Concern and worry ran through my body.
"I just realized the perfect method for training Ari, and know this..– when we're done you'll know all there is to know about your grace and everyone else's." Profoundly spoken by Xander as his wing flapped throughout the sky.
We sped up to the marketplace as I felt his excitement grow even more by every moment passing us. I was a bit confused on what he meant, especially by the last part of his statement. Why the hell would I know about other graces? What does he have in store for me. I can only assume it's going to involve me going through some arduous and terrible crap at the expense of my own sanity.
Nothing new so I just shut up and held onto Xander tightly as he carried me throughout Yuzuriana.
"Actually wait, where the hell are we going Xander?" Screamed by me as we traveled through the sky at an alarming speed.
He grinned slightly before replying to me.
"The Arsena Tormenta! It's a vicious inter dimensional fighting tournament that happens around 3 times in the span of 360 days! The festival itself last for a week and on the last four days a giant tournament takes place. It started yesterday or so and completely crossed my mind since it's the second one so far. If we use our time properly I'll have you fashioned into a proper grace candidate by the end of the tournament!"
I thought calmly about what he just proposed to me. Essentially I'd be getting a quick tutorial on how to get back into fighting shape. I grinned a bit before reluctantly agreeing with Xander.
Some time would pass before we made it back to the marketplace. We'd go to a different area which centered around transportation throughout Yuzuriana since only the natives had the ability to travel freely with no worries.
We'd make our way to a depot where dragons and many other creatures had been.
The creature we were approaching seemed to have been domesticated to hold several passengers at a time. It was a dragon with four wings and a saddle on its back fashioned like bus seats. Xander guided me to it after paying a fee.
I later noticed the person he paid a fee to was screaming at the top of their lungs to sign up for the tournament arsena.
Xander would've did a little gesture to me before trying to inform me about something.
"Creatures like dragons and other beast are deeply connected with the seeds of creation. Essentially they're created without any boundaries as far as limits go allowing them for a variety of different purposes and abilities. One being, inter-dimensional travel."
He said this as a dragon who was boarding passengers next to us took off slowly before zooming off into the sky. It was only a brief moment but I can only describe it as a object hitting against space itself and crashing through it. It was basically a moment later before space corrected itself and reverberated with some sort of super sonic boom.
"So wait.. where did—.. what the hell just happened to them."
I said this surprised and with awe as I had no idea what I had just witnessed. It was superb and almost kind of scary to witness. It actually just hit me that we'd be doing the same thing. I'd look around and realize everyone who had boarded was going to be competition or people we'd be seeing at the tournament.
I guess they need the ride just as much as us.
Though, compared to a lot of the people riding we both look extremely out of place.
It was only then some generic looking swordsmen in a n64 game would approach us. Mildly enough he was respectable looking especially with the huge slab of metal on his back which you could consider to be respectable.
"So, are you two new to the Tournament Arsena? I don't I've seen your faces around here before."
I'd chime in promptly before being stopped by Xander abruptly.
"Yeah, it's my first ti—.."
"Actually no.. we're regulars you could say. We just don't get very far in the initial star collection you see..—"
The swordsmen looked at Xander a bit before making a keen observation.
"Wait a minute, now that I see it.. I've seen you before. But where.."
Xander would make it a priority to clarify his clouded perception.
"Yeah.. I was MVP a few years back."
After making a few astute observations the swordsmen would then fall to his knees before Xander.
"Please.. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOUR NAME IS!.."
Xander would scoff confidently with a conceited look on his face.
"Xander Astrea."
The swordsmen before us went ballistic, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. I was looking at him with a monotonous expression. I physically couldn't understand what was so great about Xander other than him being a grace candidate. Maybe I was just out of the loop for this little snippet of his lore.
"You see. I was just a kid back then, I probably just hit puberty when I got MVP.. really takes me back when I think about it."
Xander would just laugh it off half-heartedly as if he knew he was some great dude but tried to play it off as him being humble. In a sense, it was comedic to watch purely because I had no sense of value for whatever was happening or about to happen.
"THERE'S NO WAY, YOU SINGEHANDEDLY BEAT ALL THE COMPETITION THAT YEAR, EVERYONE SUSPECTED YOU'D END THE TOURNAMENT FOR GOOD AND ASCEND TO THE TOP. YOU'RE A GENUINE LEGEND AMONG US RIGHT NOW..!"
The swordsmen geeked and fangirled for a solid minute before gaining composure. They'd figure now was as good as time as any to introduce themselves.
"The name is Dyna, I'm a dark arts swordsman who hopes to be an MVP just like you. I'm pretty confident in my own abilities."
Xander would smirk at the comment.
"That's good but my protege here will be your biggest challenge at the tournament. I'll be there too but purely just for fun."
Xander gestured towards me when he said protege, I was looking off into the distance at the time and didn't know what was going on until the last moment. Dyna didn't really take it seriously and just shrugged it off like a joke.
Shortly after we'd be interrupted by a screeching bell which rang repeatedly without fault. We'd see the sound originate from the side of the dragon where the boarding guard was. They'd be seen screaming at the top of their lungs while shunning off anyone who'd try to hop on the dragon at this point.
"BOARDING TIME IS UP, GATHER YOUR BELONGINGS AND STRAP IN. BOARDING TIME IS UP, NEXT STOP TOURNAMENT ARSENA."
I didn't notice it before but the boarding guard was some goblin-looking freak who had gone from super small to super buff. It caught me off guard initially as he'd jump onto the dragon In a single leap to begin our ascent. At this sight, we'd all sit down and prepare for our flight. The conversations that had just been occurring had just stopped.
The goblin whipped the reigns at the front of the dragon violently causing the dragon to roar out. Mere moments afterwards its four wings began to flap impetuously. We'd slowly gain some height with each interval of the dragon flapping its wings. Higher and higher we'd go into the sky, our speed increasing with each time the dragon flapped its wings. The entire caravan of adventurers and passengers was silent from the anticipation. Most were new to this experience while some of us: Xander, didn't pay too much mind to the whole flight and merely relaxed the entire time.
We'd rise above the skies of Yuzuriana and view the grand realm with awe before swan-diving at an alarming speed. Anyone who wasn't paying attention would've flown off the dragon. Me being one of them. Xander however caught my arm before I could get too far all while staying relaxed at the situation. I'd struggle to get back onto my seat as we'd continue to gain a violent amount of speed. The dragon would then begin to rotate at an accelerated rate. To anyone who was outside the dragon at the marketplace, it'd appear a giant drill was heading towards the ground.
The goblin at the front would've laughed repeatedly before alarming us to brace for impact.
The vast majority of us would look in terror as we approach the ground at a genuinely pant-shitting rate of speed. It'd only take a mere moment in time for us to collide with the ground. It was then sparks would appear around the dragon as what can only be described as a sonic boom occurred. The scale of it was enough to be heard for miles. The boom wasn't from the speed we were traveling at but from the fact we crashed right through space-time.
Initially, all we saw was black before being presented with a myriad of colors and mirroring reflections. Fragments of different timelines, worlds, possibilities, and knowledge. We were traveling through the roots of something much greater than we could ever fathom. Our flight was short-lived as we'd speed up momentarily towards a bright light among this collection of colors and views. Xander had a nostalgic look on his face during all of this. All the way up until we reached the bright light where it was like we were in a vacuum. There was no light, sound, or shape to interpret. This all cleared away as we'd cause one more sonic boom.
Before us would've been a grand sight unlike any other. The collision of several giant skulls coming together to form a giant island or country of some sort. In the center of this collision would've been a skull that had been pierced through the socket of their eyes. What could've been seen however was that among the sword were faces etched into it. You could see them clearly from almost any distance. Among the collection of faces, I saw Xanders, though it seemed to be a younger version of him.
Then it hit me, the smell, the environment, it was blaring as music and screaming could be heard from every angle of this place. Buildings and tents had been erected over these skulls casually as a society of some sort was centered here. As we flew around I saw that inside the sword-pierced skull was a giant coliseum. It hit me that this entire place was built from these skulls.
We'd soon make our landing before flying around the entire place.
"This whole floating country curated of skulls is the tournament, Ari, The skulls are fallen deities from the first war involving the dragon god Ryuzu Van Astra. I'll tell you more about her soon."
I just nodded as this was the first time I heard about her. I just realized he said first war only meaning there were others involving her.
"So wait, where did the sword come from, or rather who's sword is it. It's kinda strange that we've got these astronomically large skulls and weapons just randomly out here in the middle of buttfuck nowhere."
I had exclaimed this rather nonchalantly given my own standpoint and perspective of life.
"Sword..? Oh you mean the talon. That's one of Ryuzu's talons. Every tournament winner gets their face etched onto it while exchanging power with it. It's a ritual as old as the realms."
Commented Xander with a rather dull expression on his face trying to answer my my response.
As we got off the dragon we'd wave our goodbyes with Dyna and hoped for the best while walking around the giant tournament. Note that it was more of a huge festival as it reeked of booze, boobs, and naked men going around and sticking their dicks in whatever they could fit it. On top of all of that, there was food and fighting. Honestly, it was really entertaining from my perspective but Xander just regarded it as a brief distraction.
I saw stalls and booths of many different varieties selling things that I couldn't comprehend at the time. Races of different origins and planes of existence walked around us as if it was some everyday scene. Xander would've tapped my shoulder while I was enamored in everything.
"Wanna stop by here for some food real quick?.."
I nodded promptly before replying.
"As long as you're paying, I don't really care honestly."
He chuckled at the statement before buying us kebabs from some strange tentacle creature who smelled like dish soap. As we ate our kebabs Xander would begin a rant on how the tournament worked.
"Okay, so as far as things go you've gotta build credibility here. Right now we're in what people like to call the "Outer Rim." Essentially it's where most of the festivities take place and people have fun to their hearts' content. What you can also do is fight here, taking part of bouts in order to get stars. Small events like these are hosted so people can gradually build up enough to move on to the actual grand tournament. My intention here is that you'll slowly build up enough experience solely using your grace so you can basically get a jump start on how to use it."
For the most part it made sense to me, It's basically a win-win situation. I'd call for my manual before looking over some abilities I could try out. We had been walking the entire time Xander was talking but I was honestly just zoning out since it was a lot of information to take in. I didn't notice that when I tried to tug Xander's shoulder for a move I wanted to try out that I was already rung up in a bout.
"The actual hell xander? Where are you.. and who the hell is this?"
Standing before me was some super muscular Jimbo with a fighting aura much more prominent than mine. I'd step back out of instinct since I couldn't take him on in a fight fairly. Without a doubt in this moment in time he could kill me easily without my Magic or Chordatta. Hell, I didn't even have the Vice Xander hyped up so much.
I was starting to freak out as he got a bit closer to me but my prior experience calmed me down. I needed to evaluate what was going on before I did anything rash.
Luckily I did that then as he'd charge towards me without a second thought for an attack seemingly fused with lightning. His entire arm projected a greater version of itself shrouded in some lightning aura.
I narrowly dodged it while slightly being nicked by it. The shock burned part of my clothes but there was no substantial injury. I held onto my manual tightly as I didn't know what to do in this situation. He'd proceed to start some childish taunt straight from a grade schoolers playground interaction.
"Look at this little runt over here clinging to her book, you really must not know what you got yourself into ya little book worm. Better read that book now since it'll be your last HRHAHAHAHAHaaaa.."
I didn't pay him much mind before he sent another attack towards me. I'd actually pay heed and read the book a tiny bit more as we'd repeat this exchange for a minute or two and I'd start to run out of breath. right as the fatigue started to hit me an attack much faster than the last came toward me. Usually, I'd cower and try to dodge but the situation changed in my favor.
I'd smirk slightly as he went in for his attack. He'd smile as well as he went in for another, and another, another one on top of that. He'd soon look distressed as none of them made any contact with me.
I'd look at him casually as each of his attacks went through me. It was comparable to pushing your hand through fog.
Divergent worked a bit differently from how her other abilities worked. From what I know, grace abilities work outside of conventional means and natural order. This little skill im using allows me to separate my physical body from the current plane we're on to my own plane of existence. Quite literally divergent from everything else.
though I can freely interact with anything else with enough fine tuning.
He'd attack me once again with no real avail of making any contact. He desperately reached out towards me only failing to realize we were quite literally worlds apart. I'd chuckle as I approached him calmly. I'd reel my fist in while he was bent on making his on attack on me. While I didn't have chordata or magic to boost my attack, all I needed was this single punch.
As he made his he'd make his attack I'd send a sucker punch towards his face using everything I could muster. He'd chuckle as it wasn't much to him compared to if his attacks made contact with me.
"You really think such a puny punch will take out the likes of me!! You're lucky that your cheap trick is keeping me from putting my hands on you..—" rambling on I got annoyed at his pointless banter. It wouldn't take much for him to realize that punch was the end of the battle.
"just.. wait one more second." I uttered this impatiently after hearing him talk for a few more seconds.
He'd look at me confused as a shockwave hit him randomly, he'd be put towards the ground gradually as he didn't know what just hit him. Anyone passing by would be confused as I didn't even move a muscle. He'd try to get up from the initial wave but got hit again by something even stronger. Slowly you could see the fustration build on his face as he was beet red now.
I wasn't even doing anything and that ticked him off even more but that was actually the skill I just performed. You could visibly see the massive shockwave hitting him repeatedly. This continues over and over again until you could see bodily fluids flying from his body violently. The shockwave got bigger and bigger until people from some distance away could hear the flesh pounding.
He'd forfeit promptly as his face and body became quite disfigured from the force applied to him. It was then I decided to tell him what happened.
"That first punch I sent diverged from itself and multiple on its target, going from 1.. 2, 4, 8, 64.. and so on. I think at some point before you gave up it was at 65,536.. it's quite taxing to use honestly."
we'd both chuckle at the comment before I was given a star for winning the bout. I was actually kind of proud of myself for handling it as well as I did. I genuinely got some decent experience with my own grace in that battle.