"Look at our boy… oh, I wish you would let us be there."
Trillions of lightyears away, in a godly pharaoh's palace, a woman of the purest and most celestial beauty gazed fondly at the image projected in front of her. She was radiant with her two-meter tall figure, curvy physique, and an 80% resemblance to the tenth prince and 40% resemblance to Sylvester.
Behind her was a seven-meter-tall wolf with ink-black fur and bizarre yet colorful symbols etched in its fur and eyes.
"He must become Sephiroth after my death, Kai. We cannot coddle him. He must become a ruthless killer and wise leader. This is only the first step of his long trial," the wolf spoke in the same language as the woman. "He is the prophesied child. This is the path he was destined to take."
"Must we really stick to that old prophecy? Won't that mean he will soon suffer disaster?" the woman pleaded with dewy eyes as she leaned against the wolf's foreleg and stared up into its vast eyes.
"The arrogant prince faces disaster. A trial of servitude propels him. The dawn of the new Sephiroth shall rewrite the world." The giant wolf suddenly transformed into a nearly three-meter-tall hunky man, and the woman fell on her rear, making her immediately turn away from something that turned her face scarlet. As she looked away, the man took a knee and turned her chin back toward him, saying, "If we do not complete his prophecy…"
"I know…" the woman closed her eyes. "Only the Infinite Sephiroth's master can avert the Golden Disaster…"
No one understood these words better than she did… and she barely understood them.
"They will be okay," the man consoled his wife gently. "Your blood protects them. You are the glue, the reason I built this dynasty. I should have perished with my brother long ago. The laws of destiny will guide them forward, as they have guided me. For us, it will be as simple as living day by day."
"Yes…"
🐉
"It's today! What is today? Today is the day you've all been waiting for!" The announcer danced and cheered, hyping the crowd like never before.
He had been ranting and raving for at least ten minutes.
Sylvester had long since grown impatient.
Sensing a soul-trembling killing intent, the announcer swiftly curbed his enthusiasm and called the crowd's attention. "Let the final match of the 52nd Tri-decade Wild Wolf Tournament BEGIN!"
"Today your life ends, abomination!"
Luerong felt her rage burn within her chest, and she swung her arm wildly to summon thirteen jagged circles of purple light that shone like a thousand stars. With an echoing cry of rage, she commanded the void, and purple ice particles congealed into a massive glaive with powerful runes of energy snaking around it. Her body was suddenly encased in shimmering winged battle armor that blazed brighter than a thousand suns.
At the same time, the magic circles activated.
Fifty thirty-meter-tall serenity ice giants covered most of the battle stage. Each skated forward at insane speeds to impale Sylvester with ice spikes and covered the battle stage in purple-gold ice. At the same time, Luerong shot forward like a missile, navigating the familiar terrain like a fish in open water, a golden ice palace manifesting in her atmosphere.
Everywhere she looked, enormous, serene ice giants loomed above the stage, skidding across the ground on their broken ice spikes, ready to skewer Sylvester. Luerong flew ahead like a rocket, crashing through the void as if it were paper, and a golden palace roared to life in her wake.
Meanwhile, the ninth prince casually stepped forward and entered the void effortlessly. It looked as if he stepped into a puddle of space. None of the various attacks landed on him as he suddenly appeared behind Luerong in the void.
However, despite her having sent such a mighty spell out, Sylvester could do nothing to Luerong without first breaking through her force field. Even then, the sage could retreat into the golden palace in her atmosphere, rendering his attack ineffective.
Such was the versatility of sages.
Luckily, the ninth prince had a plan to counter this.
As soon as he reappeared, Sylvester's eyes shined with green and black flames.
"Aaoooo!" an ancient howl sounded out as cascading emerald flames burst from Sylvester's body. The flames took on the silhouette of a giant wolf of fire. There wasn't one area of the stage that remained unaffected.
"Incinerate!" Sylvester called out furiously.
The emerald flames surged forward like a roaring inferno, obliterating everything in their path. The serenity ice giants were reduced to ash, and the purple-gold ice shattered like glass, raining down on the stage.
Luerong's eyes widened in horror as she saw her carefully crafted plan crumble. She quickly retreated into her golden ice palace, but even that was no match for the power of Sylvester's flame. The castle melted, leaving Luerong exposed and defenseless.
Sylvester didn't waste a single moment. He launched towards Luerong, his body still engulfed in the fiery wolf form. Luerong summoned all her strength and fired a barrage of ice spikes at him, but the flames quickly incinerated them.
Finally, Sylvester reached Luerong and delivered a devastating blow, sending her flying across the stage. She crashed into the ground, leaving a sizable crater in her wake.
The crowd was stunned into silence.
The tiny vibrating space between realms was nearly torn apart. Waves of energy rushed into the fractured void, filling it to overflowing and spilling over. Luerong had desperately thrown up her defensive spells, but she couldn't withstand the force of Prince Tricko's power.
Those flames were as infinite as the sun!
The surging light flooded Luerong's body with warmth, fueled by a cold so intense it could freeze one's bones to dust. The raging green flames invigorated everything without reserve while the chilly black flames swiftly devoured the surging energy to strengthen itself. The blazing heat reached duality on the level of the fabled Infinite Fire! This power was beyond Luerong's Twilight Ice, even if it was the ultimate Extreme Ice power. Infinity powers existed at the very limit of the neon principle.
Thirteen twofold magic circles expanded and radiated devastating power before they shattered. Immediately after, the black flames swallowed them. The fire immediately tripled in strength and intensity, Luerong's serenity power seemingly bolstering it to a new level. The young lady's eyes finally showed a trace of emotion. Her third eye burned like a green moon while her chest blazed like an icy blue star.
Such a scenario was not just unexpected. It was downright terrifying. Luerong felt her life force burning uncontrollably as her skin cracked and she spat a mouthful of blood. She immediately re-summoned and rapidly retreated into her golden ice palace, a protective energy domain she could use as a fortress.
Sylvester watched as Luerong retreated into her golden ice palace, his body still engulfed in the fiery wolf form. He could sense the fear emanating from Lulu, but he didn't let up. He launched towards the golden palace, his emerald flames burning bright.
As Sylvester approached the palace, a bright light emanated from within. The golden palace began to shake and crack, unable to withstand the force of Sylvester's flames. But just as it seemed that Sylvester could break through, the palace exploded outward, revealing Luerong hovering in the air, surrounded by a ring of glowing runes.
Sylvester faltered momentarily, but it was enough for Luerong to launch her counterattack. She summoned a barrage of ice shards, each crackling with energy, and sent them hurtling toward Sylvester.
Sylvester quickly dodged the ice shards, his fiery wolf form exploding with majesty, allowing him to conquer the serenity ice shards and convert their energy into menacingly giant fireballs. He rapidly slashed out with his two fingers as a sword five times, and a flaming sword aura instantly dominated the stage.
It was as if Sylvester disdained to use his actual sword.
As the young girl rapidly retreated, the ice world had already become a land of fire. Golden ice missiles shot out from her recklessly, slightly subduing the raging flames. Sylvester stood with one hand behind his back as he slashed out waves of black fire with two fingers. Every giant golden ice missile piercing toward him was easily sliced down the center, leaving space for Sylvester to narrowly dodge the attack without stepping. At the same time, his flames would devour the ice missile energy allowing Sylvester's assault to continue unabated.
Luerong suddenly shot out like a missile herself. She brandished her glaive and slashed out seven glacial spikes. Sylvester sneered, placing his hand on the longsword that rested at his back and lowering into a stance. The blade was without a sheath, five feet long, and surprisingly thin. Yet and still, its sharpness was clear for all to see. Luerong suddenly felt a chilling threat of death the moment Sylvester's hand touched his sword's hilt.
The latter's atmosphere had become so icy that it burned.
"STOP!!" A panicked stocky voice boomed throughout the stadium, and everyone felt a terrifying pressure descend.
Someone wanted to interfere in the match!
"YOU DARE?!" After another angry bellow, the two pressures collided and canceled each other out.