It was 6:30 in the morning when everyone would wake to receive what they had suffered many trials and tests to achieve; the knights awoke and prepared to meet King David and Queen Tailzy. Taski and Drake awoke after a spectacular slumber through the night; Ariah and the other girls with her awoke dressed and applied to themselves a trendy perfume. Sharaletta and her team members made their way to the bottom floor, where they then enjoyed some delicious breakfast before they set off for their awards. "Well, everyone, today is the day. Let's get our A game on now!" Sharaletta spoke, saying to her members confidently. Taski and Darcie then appeared on the bottom floor to satisfy their hunger for the morning; everyone ate their food and discussed how they didn't want to be up so early, and many other topics were discussed. "(I wonder if David has any children, if so, I bet they would be extreme royalty.)" Akaio thought to herself.
After 20 minutes had passed, both teams then walked out to the Treesape Castle, and their travel there was much easier due to the low work volume of the city. They traversed through the streets quickly without anyone in their way, arriving at Treesape Castle after 10 minutes. Many guards stood outside the doors as security; the guards instructed that the knights stand in front of the main gate while King David finished preparing for their awards. The knights stood and waited for a little while, and then some new knights appeared: a male with spiky black hair, a female with spiky dark pink hair, and many more. The male made Taski feel intimidated, just from his visual appearance, and the female was a beautiful and majestic one to the others. "You must be the Prince of the land, huh? Then, my name is Killian Whrite, or you can just call me Kill." The male said to Taski. "You look powerful there, Kill. What kind of ability do you possess?" Taski responded while curious about his powers.
Killian possessed Magma Lava's ability, similar to Taski's fire ability, but only with a liquid aspect to Killian. Then, Vennath Elibalar spoke with some women around the gate, saying, "Why, it is a pleasure to work with all of you here today. I'm proud of everyone here; I wish we could get inside the castle already. I'm bored just standing out here." While everyone outside waited, King David put together guards through each hall to act as security for any unauthorized personnel outside in the streets and the air; the security level was to be lockdown level due to the importance of any award event that would be held. Queen Tailzy ordered her daughter Amber Kinac to go downstairs to the first floor and open the gates when instructed. Queen Tailzy spoke in a very calm and exciting accent; she and Amber were the only ones who spoke in this accent within David's family. "Go, and when I give you the order, open up the gates to the front entrance to let our newest knights into the castle, and please just be patient with everything. I know you're tired, but this marks the start of a new age upon us." Tailzy ordered Amber. Tailzy asked David about the security status, asking him," David darling, how is everything forming together? Have you filled each hall with guards, and how are the awards?"
David groaned and yawned as she asked him. Tailzy was also a very patient woman and understood his drowsiness; she walked over to him, rubbed his back, and uplifted him, saying to him, "Sweetie, I understand you're tired; just know that this will be over quicker the faster we finish preparing everything. I'm sure these young knights are ready to go to work and get this over with. Just keep that in mind, David dear." David looked at himself in the mirror and saw her beautiful and charming eyes as she gave him a cute and captivating look. "Every hall and floor is secured and locked down, honey; there shouldn't be any issues today, at least in my eyes," David assures her. Tailzy then makes her way down to the first floor to order Amber to the front door opening, saying, "Amber, go ahead, dear, and open up the gates to the knights. Then let them know they all must wait here on the first floor."
After this, Amber opened the gates slowly, and the doors caught the knight's attention. They finished opening up; the guards stood firm and opened the front gates leading toward the castle gate. Amber then approached them and announced, "Attention, knights. I am Amber, the daughter of King David and Queen Tailzy. I will guide you all into the castle to award you all. Do not talk and follow me; orders from the king and queen is that you all show respect and patience until the two have spoken toward their thankful gratitude for your hard work." After announcing this to them, she guided them to the castle entrance. As the knights entered inside, they noticed the beautiful paintings of the history of the Asalikians and their battles and accomplishments. Tolem was standing tall upstairs, staring down at all of them, almost like a king would look, according to Taski's eyes. "(Tolem? I knew Emerald did say that he would take her spot from here on out, I didn't think he'd be here already here. He almost looks like a king without a robe.)" Taski thought to himself. Everyone stood at attention. David and Tailzy approached the floor with their awards; the excitement of their achievement filled Taski and Darcie.
"(Today is the day babe, I will be your partner until the very end, no matter what.)" Mikado said to herself while looking over at her knight in shining armor. "(Mother, I'm going to bring protection to you and sis. I may not be blessed with an ability, but I don't need one to prove my worth.)" Drake said to himself. "(I may have lost respect from you mom, but I will fight to protect even you, and Sesakayla, I will stay by your side at all times.)" Akaio said to herself. "(Kelly, my love. I'm going to stay alive for you. For my brothers, for you Panya, and for you to mother. For the Okonkwo family.)" Toronto thought to himself. As everyone waited eagerly for the king and queen to appear before them, everyone was anxious about the work they had coming for them; the thoughts of potentially dying or becoming unstable filled their minds. Taski remained brave and determined to accomplish his dream of serving the people, protecting the family he loved dearly, and fulfilling his promise to Ariah. "(No matter what, I'm not backing down from this. There's no turning back now, I'm in this to serve.)" Taski said to himself.
After this, Amber returns to the room to announce the king and queen's arrival, "Attention everyone, make way for the king and queen. Your name shall be called forward to receive your award, and you will return to your spot." After this was said, a door opened on the right of the center stage, which only led to one thought in everyone's mind. Then, King David and Queen Tailzy walked out of the door, and amazement took everyone's surprise. "Wow. David is a tall and strong man; Tailzy looks small but very mysterious, also with a powerful ability force that I'm sensing. They both look outstanding and powerful." Taski said to himself while struck by their appearance. David and Tailzy stood shoulder-width apart at the center stage and looked down on everyone.
"Greetings, everyone. Seeing that you all appeared here today is an absolute pleasure, and no one changed their mind this year. Today, here and now, you all shall be awarded for your hard work and accomplishments that got you here." David announced to them, loud and proud. Queen Tailzy then moved forward to the award tray in front, where she uncovered the award and official Knight Badges. "Everyone, right here is your award for being chosen to fight and to protect the country; we will acknowledge your hard work today and will commend you for what you all accomplished to be enlisted here today," Tailzy spoke to them loudly. The guards behind stood at the door to observe their ceremony, and no one was allowed to open the main doors while the award ceremony was active; this was a mandatory order to prevent any disruption from the outside.
"Now, I will call up the names of the group of Sharaletta's members. Please come now and receive your awards." David announced to her team. Tailzy and Amber rotated, announcing the names of Sharaletta's members; each received an official Knight Badge and a pin of their position and ranking. Then a photo of them was taken to be hung on the wall of the Knight hall. After they accepted their awards, they then returned to their spots. David then announced the names of Darcie's team members and called them forward; Taski and Darice were given theirs first, then Drake, Mikado, and Ariah's awards. "Congratulations, Taski and Darice. We are thrilled to have you join us on our call. We are grateful for your hard work and can't wait to see you two in action." Amber thanked both of them. After this, they then returned to their spots to await further orders; all of them could feel accomplished and proud of themselves. David then called every other team to the front to accept their awards. It was then 15 minutes later, everyone had received their rewards and were given a speech from David, "You all have put yourselves through hell and pressure to make it here, the fact that you're even standing here in my castle tells me that you are worthy and have purpose. I am truly proud of your hard work and look forward to working with you from here on out. We are officially proud to call you all Knights of Asalikith."
Tears filled the eyes of some standing; Mikado teared up, as did Sharaletta; the guards clapped and cheered on the newest Knights. After this, David said to them, "Well, everyone, I am now going to...." Then suddenly, the doors behind them all exploded and blew open wide, like someone crashed into the castle, leaving a giant hole open and exposing the outside world. This threw everyone present on the first floor into panic and fear; far into the smoke was a noticeable figure; then one man and woman who weren't expected to show up were none other than Yegor and Mandy, along with some of Yegor's other crew members. "Good to see you all again; I'm back to pay you all a welcoming visit and to take something that rightfully should be mine," Yegor spoke menacingly to everyone around him. "Hmm... look, Yegor. It's the two royal children over there. We still have unfinished business with you two." Mandy mentioned to Yegor. The King and Queen stared down at them with no fear in their hearts, and Amanda even summoned her weapon, ready to take them head-on. "Well, I don't recall sending your group invitations to the ceremony. Anyway, your actions are regrettable, and you will be arrested."
David calmly and jokingly said to Yegor and his crew. Yegor looked up at David, he stared deeply into him while sensing a powerful force boiling; Yegor began walking forward and passing up the knights without any hesitation to approach David. "I've only come here for one reason: I demand you hand over the Heartlin Staff. You Asalikians wouldn't know how to control its overwhelming power. Knowing you people, you would probably abuse its power and destroy your kingdoms." Yegor demanded and stated to David. As this went on, Taski summoned his sword and cried out, "Yegor, it seems you never learned your lesson. Whatever you're planning will not work out in your favor, so you might as well give up and surrender." Mandy then stepped up and pulled her kunai knife up to his neck; with her tongue slipping and extending out, she warned him, saying,
"You better keep your mouth shut, cutie. You and I have something we never settled, and I also have some beef with your tall and annoying sister over there. For your sake, I suggest you stay out of my way, tall Missy." Darcie then sparked her lightning and shouted, "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!" However, Mikado pulled her away from him before she could even touch his skin with her kunai. "If you ever get close to him again like that, I won't hesitate to make you float upward until you freeze in the deep and cold space above." David then announced to Yegor, "Hey, it's this you want, right?" Then David summoned the Heartlin Staff and threw it down to Yegor's grip. After David did this, everyone there gasped in total confusion and at a loss for words, "David?! What Are You Doing?!" Taski shouted. Yegor examined the staff with confusion as, like the rest of everyone around was feeling, "Hmm, strange, he easily just handed it over to me without even second-guessing himself. What is he up to? Nobody has ever done something like this before with me."
Yegor thought to himself, being dumbfounded. Mandy then walked forward to Yegor to examine the staff for herself, she couldn't understand why he gave up his treasure like this, and said to Yegor. "It doesn't look suspicious; let's just take it and leave. David screwed up this time, I'd say." Mandy tempted him while walking out. "(This is crazy; I've only heard about the Heartlin Stones and the Heartlin Staff in the stories they'd always tell us in school. Never in my days of living did I ever expect the king of Treesape to hand over the staff to someone like that. David has lost his mind.)" Taski thought to himself, his heart sinking. Taski then looked up at David, but then he noticed David's face was different; his face was like the best joke had been told to him. "(Does David seriously take this as some joke or something. What has this man done?)"
Taski thought to himself as he struggled to understand who David truly was. Yegor doubted David's gift to him wasn't genuine, but he looked up at him and noticed his face was unusual. "What are you laughing about over there? You had better explain yourself to me now." Yegor commanded him aggressively. David could no longer contain himself with the thought he had in mind; Tailzy even knew what David was up to and showed no emotion or concern about the situation. "(Oh dear, I sometimes question even my marriage with him, he's such a clown or a complete dipstick.)" Tailzy thought in her head while forming a smirk. Amber stayed silent during his outburst; her feelings about the situation were likewise what her mother felt toward him. "I can't believe you seriously felt for that one, and you're that stupid to fall for such a trick. Like I'd hand it over so easily to you people." David outburst with pure laughter and joy. Taski then felt a slight relief off his back and breathed easily, as did everyone around him; some knights even joined David in his time of joy. While everyone giggled, this only enraged Yegor and filled his beast form. "You see this as some game, huh? I understand. If you persist in this nonsense, I will kill your new knights individually. I'll rip them from the inside out." Yegor threatened David and clenched his teeth together.
After this, David stepped down, approached him slowly, and courageously asked, "Well, now you have a half example of how I can be. Unless you'd rather me show you my other half side. I usually don't often show this side to anyone. What will it be then, Yegor?" David asked him confidently. Yegor stared him in the eyes with a grin, and with his fangs revealed, Yegor then stated to him, "You don't seem to understand who you are talking to; I've had many kings and men with incredible power bow and beg for mercy. I believe you're just full of yourself, and that's that; I hope you realize what you've done here today, King David." Then instantly, David shoots a jab directly to Yegor's chest with an incredible punch force, like a bullet penetrating the chest; Yegor is then sent flying straight into a mountain that watches all over Treesape at high speed. David wasted no time and sprinted toward the mountain to pursue him; all the young knights there were shocked at how powerful David was. "Now, everyone, no need to panic over this because King David only gives out his warning shot. While he's out fighting him, I shall give you a show and an example of how you begin your fights, he-he... now observe."
Tailzy states to everyone on the floor very lightheartedly and cheerfully. Mandy then charged up to strike Darcie in the chest with her tongue flying out, ready to strangle her; before Mandy could land her attack, she was interrupted, and Tailzy's earth-stone sword sliced off her tongue. Mandy loses and spills out blood while grasping onto her mouth in agony; Tailzy walks up to her very savagely and puts her foot down on her back to assert dominance over Mandy and says to her, "You need to think before you just charge in like that, darling. Rule number one is always to have a battle plan before barging in like a bulldozer. Maybe next time, you won't be so unlucky against me." As she giggles over her, Mandy grumbles her teeth aggressively. Mandy then attempts to flip over Tailzy with her hand; however, she fails to realize how intelligent Tailzy is in her combat skills. Mandy rolls over to recover from being dominated and quickly throws out a kunai knife. In the blink of an eye, Tailzy catches the knife thrown at her with only her middle and ring fingers. This stomps Mandy as she witnesses a queen embarrassing her in front of everyone. "How? She..., only caught it with her middle and ring finger? She's... a lot better than I predicted."
Mandy thought in her mind as sweat fell down her face. "Go, Queen of Treesape! Tailzy!" Mikado shouts before them all in total excitement. Further out from the castle, King David landed in an area known to him due to the national walkway signs everywhere. "Well shoot, Tailzy will be upset at this mess. Oh well, not my problem." David explains to himself without caring about the damage. Out in the distance lay many fallen tree trunks and branches scattered everywhere, and then Yegor came out of the tree branches. He then jumped out and landed only inches away from David; his anger and wrath began spilling over and steaming out of him; his eyes were like laser red, glowing out of his pure rage. "Well, don't stop there now, your highness. Don't let your strength slip from you now. I'm only warming up."
Yegor threatens David antagonistically. The two then faced off amid the damaged forest; Yegor shot off toward David to tackle him; however, the speed David unleashed was unpredictable, unlike any other. David jumps and latches onto a tree from behind that still stands strong; Yegor unleashes long and thick slashes toward him. David swiftly dodges them while jumping from tree to tree; Yegor persists in his attempt to cut down the king and devour away his blood. Then, a tree branch broke off as David stepped off each branch, measuring around 4.5ft (1.37 m). Yegor charges forward and strikes his head on a tree; his intentions are brutal and gruesome. Yegor urged to crush David's skull while mutilating him. Yegor's rage only continued to rise higher above his limit, David however, was miles quicker and more agile toward his movement and dodged every attack Yegor could salvage out. David becomes cornered behind tall piles of thick branches and limbs; with all the power boiling out of him, Yegor strikes David in the head. Then suddenly, David disappears into thin air, as if he was never there.
"What?! Hey, Where Did You Go!?" Yegor yells loudly as his mind is at a loss for words. "Over Here." A voice whispers into his ears. Yegor then stands out in the open, looking around him for answers; all around him is an empty arena full of dead trees and limbs. Then, out of nowhere, David reappears in a phantom-like form behind him and strikes Yegor to the hip, nearly dislocating the bones near his rib cage. Yegor is flung toward a tall tree and collides with it at a fast speed, with his ribs being the central area of collision. David reappears in his physical form and touches the ground again; Yegor lies on the ground almost lifeless, but then his blood level spills past his wrath limit. Yegor then stood up instantly and screamed incredibly loud, a screech that can be heard even past the Treesape border, across the large and broad Chrome bridge connecting to the outer parts and the city of Treesape. The scream was so loud that even the young knights in the castle heard it from miles away; it even began to burden their ears. "Now, there will be bloodshed over this whole city. You're all dead meat now." Mandy warns everyone in the castle. David continuously approaches the terrible and terrifying Yegor with complete courage, "I don't fear you. That's right, keep on roaring. You have yet to trample me."
David provoked him savagely. The loud and horrifying scream ceased from filling the skies with terror; Yegor's body expanded in his muscles and strength; his beast form grew hungry and desired blood immediately. He then charged forward toward David at full throttle. Likewise, David charged forward in his phantom hemn form, and his ability and power were charged to the max. The clash between the two was impactful enough to shatter glass within the city, push many trees down in the forest upon the mountain they stood on, and cause the hairs on Yegor's body to rise. However, the impact didn't stagger Yegor in the slightest; David then vanished and reappeared to the side of Yegor and delivered a powerful kick to his scapula, nearly shattering it. Yegor still struggled to land a full strike on him; the anger inside Yegor only kept steaming to an unbearable temperature. "I WILL RIP YOUR LIMBS OFF WHOLE! I WILL SAVER EVERY BITE! I WILL KILL YOU, DAVID!" Yegor roars out of anger and frustration. David flawlessly strikes Yegor in the face, like a baseball bat that just collided with him. Then, he slashed Yegor's chest with his phantom sword; the sword was made from the ability force that possesses phantom powers. The sword was physical, but David's body was covered in phantom energy. Yegor was fighting a losing battle as he attempted to strike the king repeatedly. "FIGHT ME FOR REAL, And Quite HIDING LIKE A COWARD!"
Yegor demanded David in heated aggression. Then, David became physical again and struck Yegor in the chest with power that sent him flying straight back into the Treesape castle; David then reappeared in the center of the first floor and landed. "Well, how was that for a battle? You did a terrible job trying to attack me." David stated the obvious to Yegor out loud. Taski and Darcie stood in awe and amazement at David's performance in battle, but then suddenly, Yegor shook while removing the rubble off his back and said to them, "You... all will... face... the chaos that comes... for you." Taski looks at him with discomfort due to the condition he is feeling; then, completely out of nowhere, a bullet pierces David's chest. Blood sprouts out from him like water that flowed through a small crack of a wall, David then falls to the ground in unfortunate defeat. Tailzy looked up and gasped deeply, "DAVID! MY LOVE!" Tailzy screams in fear as her eyes melt heavily. Taski and Darcie are stoned at this terrible sight, "This can't be happening here. No, not here. Not Now." The two think to themselves while shocked. "Now, I demand the Heartlin Staff, Your Highness. I played your little game and fell for your stupid prank. Now, give up the staff, along with the stones. Trade with me, and I'll let your new knights live; refuse, and I'll kill them all, along with the queen."
Yegor demands from David. "David, we'll take it from here. We can take him down." Taski announces to David to save him. However, David refuses and says to him, "NO, Do not... engage young knights. He is... far past your skills... and battle strength." Taski refuses his words and dashes forward but is then caught by Mikado's gravitational grab. "Baby, no. Listen to him." Mikado says to him calmly. After this, David summoned the Heartlin Staff before them; the Heartlin Staff glowed a very bright and beautiful light blue glow, and the stones sat in the holes that contained and held their power. He then hands the staff to Yegor to protect the knights, "Now this is more believing this time. Thank you for your generous donation now." Yegor says to him viciously. After he had received the staff, Mandy, his team, and his team rushed out of the castle and got into their chopper; the chopper then started and powers to the max. Yegor and his team then retreat out of Treesape and accomplish their mission, thus leaving David defeated and nearly dead. Every healer at the castle immediately rushed over to David and began their healing process on him; Ariah, Akaio, and many other healers gathered; this healing version didn't cause any damage to their bodies since multiple healers worked together all at once.
The womb then slowly sealed up and healed from the bullet that priced his chest; after some time had passed, David arose again and made an emergency announcement to everyone. "Attention all knights, we have just been attacked and threatened by an enemy unlike any other. The Heartlin Stones have been stolen from us, and now we must set out on a world mission to take back what we have sworn to protect with our lives. Before we move on them, I will disperse the stones from the staff and relocate them away from Yegor." David then raises his hands and releases the energy holding the stones together, thus causing the rocks to scatter over the entire Earth. As YEarthand his team continued their route home, the Heartlin Staff began to glow a bright blue light all around. Thus, the stones then rushed out from Yegor's hands. However, Yegor does not notice this and is left with a bit of surprise from David. After the stones had dispersed over the whole Earth, DaviEarthered the knights to have a moment of intervention while he took time to develop a plan that wouldn't fail them. Darcie, her team, and team Sharaletta went out for a discussion.
Darcie took everyone with her and went near a medium cliff that stared off into the vast and massive ocean surrounding them; there, they had discussions regarding their recent experience and information about themselves and their abilities. "Everyone, I didn't think something like this would happen today. We have experienced our first attack and are now on a recovery mission. I will be your team lead, and my younger brother will be vice-captain over you all. You will do anything the two of us tell you to do." Darcie announced to everyone. Killian described more about himself to them, "I'll be honest with you five, I take things to the extreme 99% of the time. Another thing, don't get in my way if you intend to live; I will end up killing you if you get too close to me. As my body radiates lava magma, in other words, you will be melted to death." This startled Darcie and the others to his words; Taski had seen the aggression within him presenting itself to the group.
"Killian, I understand where you're coming from, but you can't just say that like it wouldn't fall into your hands. You must keep your distance when in battle; at the same cost, we all need to stick together." Darcie instructed him with care. Killian's past was harsh and terrible to explain, as he believed it was too descriptive and dark to expose to their minds. The six discussed their goal and plans for their first mission. Mikado explained her abilities, advantages, and disadvantages. Mikado explained to them how her ability to power can only be used based on her muscle strength, such as when carrying objects or grabbing opponents. Taski then explained to them his fire ability and its pros and cons, "I can summon my fire at any time I choose; however, I cannot summon it if my body temperature gets too cold." Darcie then explained her ability and its pros and cons as well, Drake explained about his inability to use abilities and his excellent skills in movement, agility, and his martial art fighting skills. Now further out away from Darcie's team was Sharaletta and her team members outside under a tall and thick tree, there Sharaletta and her team members discussed and explained more about themselves just as Darcie did. Sharaletta was pleased to have another male on their team and welcomed Aaron pleasantly to her team.