-After a few hours-
The brothers were back in their room after having an amazing break time with the others. Now, they were resting on their beds on a full stomach. Asif didn't slack off and as usual was cultivating to further advance his elemental realm. Algo passed out on the bed with his hand on his belly unconsciously muttering something about food.
Bryan was remembering his fight with Garr and thought, 'I wonder how strong Allie Volker is...'
Ash sat in a cross-legged position with his hands joined together and prayed inside, 'Please God, I will do whatever you want. Please lead me to my destined one and I will forever be grateful to you.'
Ray laid down on the bed with a wandering mind. He raised his hand and thought, 'Moon-shaped birthmark...'
'What a playful woman!' Ray smiled but soon he frowned and muttered, "Urza Klagan..."
-The next morning-
"RISE AND SHINE, MOTHERFUCKERS!" Ash stood on his bed and yelled.
*Ugh*
"Somebody castrate him for me, please." Bryan's annoyed voice came out from below the sheets.
"Get up. Round 2 is going to start soon." Asif opened his eyes from his meditation.
*Creak*
The door opened and Ray walked in. The others were surprised to see him up and early. Ray saw them staring at him with curiousity and simply said, "I was training, dumbasses."
"Anyways, we should dress up soon and head out." Ray said and went to change his clothes. They stared at his back meaningfully.
"I guess he's pumped up." Bryan smiled.
"Who wouldn't be when that arrogant prick is interested in someone Ray likes." Ash shrugged.
"It's good that he's being careful. Urza is a 'monstrous' genius after all." Asif got up and went to change as well.
"Hey, wake up Algo." Bryan told Ash.
"Fine..."
-In the Arena-
This time, the participants were supposed to wait in the arena instead of the waiting lobby. And as always, the arena was jam packed making the environment glorious and magnificent.
"Uh, what in the fuck..." Ray and the others were astonished when they entered the arena.
The platforms that were there yesterday were not seen anymore and instead in its place was a 300 feet wide humongous structure that resembled stairs and the end of it couldn't be seen as it went well past the clouds. The stairs were engraved with markings that seemed to have an action when activated.
"Stairway to heaven...?" Bryan mumbled.
"What sort of test is this going to be now?" Ash muttered to himself.
"Aw man, stairs? Really?" Algo pouted.
Suddenly, the audience started to liven up and they looked towards the entrance. Occasional cheers and gasps could be heard as they they saw the Prince and the Princess of the Aeron Empire make their entrance to the arena.
They both wore casual clothes but that did not diminish the regal aura surrounding them both. Especially Kaya, her outfit made her silver hair outshine her appearance. They looked around to find the five brothers and soon saw Ray waving at them from one side.
"You guys are here early." Khai said.
"All because of one person." Bryan stared at Ash.
"Don't blame me! I couldn't help it, I was excited." Ash shrugged.
"Hey." Ray greeted Kaya.
"Hey!" Kaya greeted back.
"You look beautiful." Ray smiled.
"Haha! Thank you, you are not so bad yourself." Kaya chuckled.
"Do you guys know what that is?" Ash asked while pointing at the stairs.
"No idea." Khai shook his head.
*Yawn*
The group turned around and saw Lobian yawning with droopy eyes. Lobian rubbed his eyes and saw the group staring at him.
"Why are you guys here so early?" Lobian asked slowly.
"Forget that, what happened to you?" Bryan asked.
"Oh, I enjoyed the wine to its fullest." Lobian smiled.
"Madman!" Bryan smiled.
""GODSUN!""
""GODSUN!""
""GODSUN!""
The audience suddenly started to chant, making everyone in the city hear the name, 'Godsun'. The crowd frantically shouted the moniker with intense vigor and passion. Many of the individual in the audience were here to witness the Godsun.
"He's here." Kaya frowned. The group turned towards the entrance and saw two individuals making an entrance.
Urza Kallux walked steadily to where the other participants waited for the commencement of Round 2. He wore a simple white shirt and a golden jacket that fit him like a tailored glove. The golden jacket had an intricate but subtle streaks, appearing well dressed while still looking casual. The pants worn by him were a dark shade of grey creating a perfect balance with his shoes.
There were three golden pupils in each eye, more brilliant than ever. White golden locks adorned his head and a wide smile revealed two short canines. He waved at the crowd making them cheer emphatically loud and waves of compliments assaulting the ears of everyone.
"He is treated like a celebrity." Bryan said.
"Well, after all, he is the most gifted genius in the Aeron starfield." Khai said.
"Heh." Ash chuckled.
"Not anymore." Bryan smiled.
The other individual standing next to Urza was Trox, who was embarrassed yesterday having an altercation with Lobian.
"Big brother, they're the ones I told you about yesterday." Trox said while pointing to the group of brothers and the others.
"Oh..." Urza was amused. He was closely observing each brother but then someone else caught his eye. 'Kaya...'
"Let's go." Urza beckoned Trox to follow him and they walked towards the group.
"Here he comes." Ash nonchalantly said. Not before long, Urza and Trox stood right before them.
"Princess Kaya, would you like to accompany me for a small conversation?" Urza smiled and asked.
"No, thank you." Kaya bluntly rejected.
"Don't be like that, Princess." Urza reached out to gently hold her hand but before he could go anywhere near, Ray casually came in between them both prompting Urza to stop his hand midair.
Urza retracted his hand and asked with the same smile, "May I know the name of the person who blocked me?"
"Ray Angelo." Ray answered calmly.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Uzra Kallux or otherwise known as Godsun."
"Do-"
"Let me interrupt you right there. I couldn't give a single fuck about who you are but how about I teach you some basic manners?" Ray smiled provokingly.
Uzra was surprised at being interrupted and wasn't provoked at all by Ray. Still wearing the same smile, he said, "Why should a God care about what a lesser being thinks about him?"
Ray shook his head and said, "Damn, you're something else indeed. Kaya?"
"Hmm?" Kaya was busy staring at Ray's back.
"Would you like to accompany me for a casual talk?" Ray offered his hand out.
Kaya gently smiled and accepted his hand, "I would love to."
Uzra observed all of this and said with a glint in his eyes, "Interesting!"
"Now, I wouldn't be called the Godsun just like that, wouldn't I?" Uzra dropped his smile and a heavy aura exuded from his body, mainly focused on pressuring Ray. This attracted the attention of the other participants and the excited audience.
Suddenly, another equally matched aura erupted, colliding with Urza's aura and negating the pressure. Urza raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at Asif's direction.
"Hoo..." Urza was amused again. "And who are you?"
"A nobody." Asif curtly replied.
"What an interesting bunch of people. And what are you doing here with them, Prince Khai?" Urza stared at Khai.
"They're my friends, naturally I'll be here with them." Khai casually smiled.
Urza saw the band of brothers look at him with no fear whatsoever and observed Ray and Kaya having a pleasant conversation.
"Well then, this tournament is going to be wonderful." Urza chuckled and left the group alone.
Watching the Godsun leave, Khai shook his head and said, "He's definitely going to hold a grudge."
"He looked nice but I guess inside he must be fuming." Algo spoke.
"His facade is what attracts the love and attention from the crowd." Lobian said.
"Oh yeah, where are the other two geniuses, Eris Belron and Allie Volker?" Bryan curiously asked.
"Right there..." Lobian pointed at a direction. Bryan saw a green haired winged humanoid conversing happily with a rather buff yet enticing six-armed brunette woman.
"They know each other?" Ash inquired.
"Yeah, they're childhood friends." Lobian answered.
*Twinkle Twinkle*
A bright light appeared at the base of the structure flashing everyone in the vicinity. In its place, the same middle-aged elvish man appeared with a smile and an addition, a cane.
"Greetings Everyone!"
"Welcome to Round 2 - Phase 1 of the Great Battle Tournament!"
""GODSUN IS GOING TO WIN THE TOURNAMENT!!""
""GODSUN!""
""GODSUN!""
""GODSUN!""
""GODSUN!""
Most of the audience once again cheered for their favourite fighter. There were banners and holographic images of Godsun floating about the crowd.
The elvish man smiled and continued, "What an atmosphere! I hope all the qualified participants had a relaxing break. Now, let me explain the rules for Round 2."
The elvish man directed everyone's attention to the massive structure and explained, "This round will test the driving force of your cultivation, your will. The participants will have to climb the Mystical Stairs and whoever has reached the furthest or the top of the stairs will qualify for the last round. Remember, only 100 of you will be able to move on to the next round."
"No external accessories or artifacts are allowed in this round. No weapons are allowed. Fighting is forbidden. If anyone breaks any of the rules I mentioned, they will be immediately disqualified. I hope everyone understood the rules."
"Oh I forgot to mention that only one person in the history of the Aeron Empire has managed to reach the top of the Mystical Stairs and who else but the Battle King."
"WITH THAT, I BEGIN THE COMMENCEMENT OF ROUND 2!"
Immediately, numerous participants bolted towards the stairs and quickly climbed up. There were some that took their time assessing the stairs.
"Let's go!" Khai said before the group swiftly ran towards the stairs. They took one step and felt a miniscule pressure fall on to them.
"Ohhh, I guess the pressure increases the more steps we take." Lobian spoke.
"It looks like it." Algo nodded.
"Well, I'm speeding up, see ya!" Ash ran up the stairs quickly as he could.
"Not without me, asshole!" Bryan followed him soon after.
"Ah, idiots." Khai shook his head and went after them. Lobian shrugged and was joined by Asif and Algo in chasing them.
"Do you want to chase after them?" Kaya asked Ray.
"I'd rather spend my time with you." Ray cheekily said.
"Haha, you're getting rather confident huh. I like that." Kaya smiled.
"Well, we take it slow?" Ray proposed.
"Sure, why not. We're not in a hurry." Kaya agreed and they went up the stairs one step at a time.
"I wonder who created this." Ray thought aloud.
"Probably one of our ancestors or maybe someone out of our galaxy." Kaya said with gleaming eyes.
"It looks like you're interested in outer space." Ray smiled.
"Well, it's kind of my dream to explore the universe and see what lies out there." Kaya slowly said while casually going up the stairs.
"That is some amazing dream you got there."
"What about you?" Kaya asked Ray.
"To protect my brothers and ensure they live a long life." Ray answered.
"Aww, how cute." Kaya giggled. "Say, have you ever been in a relationship before?"
"Me? No, I haven't." Ray shook his head.
"Me neither." Kaya muttered and the two fell silent for a while.
'Should I ask the question...' Ray was nervous and thinking hard. He could feel his heartbeat almost jumping out of his chest from the intense pumping.
'Believe Ray...' Ray calmed down his heart and carefully asked, "Kaya, wou-"
"YES!" Kaya interrupted Ray and immediately answered.
"W-Wait, you don't even know what I was about to ask." Ray was weirdly stunned.
"Really? You were going to ask me to be your girlfriend, weren't you?" Kaya asked with a smile.
*Cough Cough*
"Y-Yes..." Ray rubbed the back of his head but then he realized something, "Did you just say yes?"
"Yeah, I did." Kaya smiled sweetly.
"WOOOHOOOO!" Ray yelled out with his hands in the air.