Elias pushed the door to the café open. The bell, which was over his head, tinkled faintly, mixing with the low hum of voices. His hoodie clung to him, stained and damped from sweat, blood, and remnants of his fight. His body ached in every place, but he forced himself upright, scanning the room.
She was, as expected, sitting in a corner booth. The moment he entered, Celestia's eyes snapped to him. Her face tried to hide her true feelings, but he managed to catch the faint coming to life of tense.
He walked across the room with a smile on his face and reached the table.
"You're hurt," she said matter-of-factly, her voice cutting through the quiet hum of the café.
Elias dropped into the seat opposite her, his veins still humming with adrenaline. "Yeah, just ran into a little problem," he replied, keeping his voice low.
Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward. "Void Syndicate?"
He froze. How does she know?
The silence stretched for a moment before he answered, his voice taut. "Yeah."
Celestia's face hardened, her eyes darting to the faint bruise, which was slightly exposed under his hoodie. "Tell me. What happened?"
"They jumped me on the way here," Elias said, keeping his tone even. "Dark robes, weird symbols, all kinds of shadow tricks. Void Chains, beasts, darkness manipulation… You name it. Two of them…Strong… I barely got away." He summarized in a flash.
Celestia's jaw clamped, her fingers tapping the edge of the table. "The Void Syndicate doesn't waste time on small threats, Elias. If they've come for you, it means they have decided you are either a danger to their plans or a tool they can exploit."
Elias frowned. "Exploit? For what?"
She didn't immediately answer but scanned the café instead, her eyes lingering on the windows as if expecting another attack.
"They're tied to the Twelve Realms," she said finally, her voice sharp but measured. "A group that thrives in the chaos between them. If they've noticed you, it means your connection to the realms is deepening faster than I expected."
" And the sigil on your hand…"
" Yeah? What's the deal with it?"
" It's the one-of-a-kind sigil of the first Beast Lord in the universe!"
" So why does that matter to them?"
" Well… I'm not entirely sure, but I've heard that this sigil is one of the most sought-after treasures in the universe. Some realms even go to war over it. I don't know all the details, but I can tell you this… it's what makes you significant to them!" Celestia mused as her expressions shifted while uttering this.
At first, she was curious; but then 'some realms go to war over it,' a look crossed her face-a mysterious one which made Elias intrigued. Toward the end, a proud grin was there as to say, 'Look at this you bitches! He's with me!'
Looks like she has got some history of her own with this, Elias thought, heaving a sigh as he traced the sigil on his hand.
And in a surge of emotion, Elias's fists had clenched under the table. "So what am I supposed to do, then? Just wait for them to show up again and hope that next time I'll be strong enough?"
Celestia turned toward him, her voice cold. "Waiting isn't an option. If they've decided to kill you, they'll keep coming. Next time, they won't send just two."
"Great," Elias muttered. " So I have one more enemy!"
Celestia leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "This can't be done. Come on, let's go and train! You need to strengthen your connection to your sigil and push your limits. If you can't defend yourself, you'll end up dead-or worse."
Elias swallowed hard. The weight of her words settled on him heavier than the exhaustion already dragging him down.
Elias blinked in surprise. "Right now?"
"Yep, right now!" She nodded, her expression serious. "You can't afford to waste a single second of your free time! Train hard!" She kept mumbling.
Elias sat at the small cafe, sipping his coffee and looking out of the window as the hustle bustle went about around him: children in uniforms running down the street, professionals in suits hurrying by, cars honking in the busy traffic. He felt the calmness of it all wash over him.
'Will I ever be like them?' he wondered.
After a moment, he locked eyes with Celestia, his determination shining through. "Alright! Let's do this."
He slammed his coffee cup down on the table.
Celestia flashed him a brief smile, clearly impressed by his resolve, her eyes sparkling with motivation.
Elias knew that out of all the things Celestia could be into, training was her true passion.
"Shit!" That was all he managed to say before they were swept away into a whirlwind of darkness.
—
Before them glittered the Astral Plane, alive like a star-studded canvas around them, swirling in great cycles of eternal protection. And there, Elias saw Astral Snake swim between the tides of stars, casting light across the entire firmament with its great, shining headlamp eyes. Elias braced himself, regulating his breathing but his heartbeat galloping. Celestia stood before him now, serene and luminous, her aura a seemingly natural command that hummed in the air around her.
"You've improved, I saw that in your last trial," she said, her voice a blend of praise and challenge. "Show me how much you have become stronger"
Elias powered up his fists with Starpower Infusion, feeling the energy course through him and strengthening his muscles. He heard the familiar melodic beep from the system, signaling that he had just spent 1000 Beastial Qi. A red timer popped up in his peripheral vision, counting down from 5 minutes….
He lunged forward, firing a stream of cosmic fire beams. Thin tendrils of light flickered to life in the air, following him as he moved-faster and sharper. The streaks of silver light shot at Celestia and lit up the whole realm. She raised her hand, and a shining shield of the celestial guard materialized before her, absorbing the impact with ease. As it dissipated, she launched herself into her beast form– the giant white snake form– as her Nova Cannons charged up, building energy in that instant.
A deafening blast erupted as a focused beam shot from her cannons attached on the sides of her massive body. Elias barely dodged, the heat scorching his side as he somersaulted backward. Another blast followed, and then another—each one faster, more precise. He skidded to a halt, his infused speed allowing him to narrowly evade the destruction.
He looked at the timer indicated by the system.
[ Remaining time: 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
Starpower infusion usable times: 1 time per day]
Elias replied with a wide arc of cosmic fire that sent Celestia back a few steps. For an instant, he saw his chance: he leaped into the air, and energy began concentrating in his open palms as he readied one powerful, concentrated beam.
Celestia shrunk onto her humanoid form to evade the incoming attack while performing a flick of her wrist that conjured a huge and long, celestial sword bathed in starlight shining its edge. She parried Elias's beam in mid-air and created a shockwave due to their clash that rolled and rippled through the dimensions of space itself. And all this she could have done in less than a second. It left him gazing dumbfounded in awe.
He had never seen her doing that!
' Huh? So this is the power of a realm lord? No wonder, they are considered the rulers of the universe!'
"Your way of fighting… It's easy to predict," she said, vanishing in a blur.
Elias barely had time to react before she reappeared behind him, firing a quick Astral Barrage from the Nova Cannons. Yeah, now she had once again changed into her beast form. Several tens of energy bolts streamed to him. He spun and raised an energy shield, charged by Starpower Infusion. However, the barrage shattered it like glass. The last hit him right at the chest, hurling him in space.
Pain surged through him, but he forced himself to his feet. He gritted his teeth, refusing to yield. Summoning every ounce of power, he infused energy in his legs and arms, launching himself at Celestia with incredible speed. His strikes now came faster, more relentless—a flurry of punches and energy beams.
Once again, she had turned back to human form, exchanging blows with Elias up high in the air. It looked like two shooting stars crashing into each other in a brilliant spectacle across the heavens.
With a couple of more passes, Celestia managed to land her punch squarely in Elias's belly; he was sent flying up to the heavens like a stuffed animal. Blood gushed out of his mouth, indicating that internal parts were severely damaged.
He came down with a loud thud, leaving a huge dent in the ground. He rolled over, coughing up another mouthful of blood. Pain shot through his entire body, and he weakly looked up at Celestia floating above him.
"Did I hit you too hard? Sorry about that! I thought it was just a light punch. I didn't realize you were this weak!" She teased, a smirk plastered on her face.
[ Remaining time: 30 seconds
Remaining Beastial Qi balance: 200/5000]
"I'm not finished yet!" he shouted, gathering every ounce of strength he had left, a strange grin spreading across his face.
Celestia's expression changed slightly as she noticed his wild smile. It was just a momentary lapse before her usual cold expression returned, the one she wore during training. "Oh really? Then why are you just lying there? Is that all you've got?" Her taunting voice ignited a spark of determination in him.