The walk to the palace was brisk. Yi Qiang ignored everyone's astonished gazes, which had, surprisingly, not toned down over time. Shenyu did the same, or tried to.

Regardless, they walked at a quick clip, reaching the palace in ten minutes or so. It was clear to Yi Qiang that the Second Prince had told the guards to expect a man with a golden dragon on his shoulder, evident from the expediency with which they opened the doors.

"Do you know the way to the Second Prince's chambers?"

The shortest guard asked. Yi Qiang could feel Shenyu's amusement when the dragon noticed that the only way the archer was able to distinguish the guards by appearance was through height.

"Yes, I do."

The same guard nodded and returned to his previous position. Yi Qiang returned the gesture and walked into the palace, making his way to the same room in which he met the Second Prince.

He found his way quickly, and two crisp knocks on the intricately-decorated door announced the marksman's arrival to the prince.

He opened the door with a bright smile on his face, beaming at Yi Qiang.

"Ah, Yi Qiang! Just in time for the competition! Sorry, but there's little time for pleasantries; please follow me to... well, I'll let you figure out where we're going and why. I can't wait to see the look on your face!"

Without any further hesitation, the Second Prince nodded to Yi Qiang, beckoning him to follow as he started to jog down the hall.

Effortlessly, Yi Qiang matched his pace and raised a question that the marksman had been mulling over since he got back.

"Excluding myself, are there any Chosen you have seen or heard of that are a cut above the rest? If you hadn't come across me by chance, who would you have found in my stead?"

The Second Prince's expression at this was pensive. It was clear from the man's eyes that Yi Qiang's inquiry had sparked the same question in his mind.

"Hmmmm... Well, I'm not quite sure. I've never really thought about it before, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely expecting to come across an adequate Chosen. I did have some rough ideas formed in my head concerning what I would do if I couldn't find a Chosen with enough strength, some of them more lawful than others. So, to answer your second question, in your absence, I would be a little more involved with the criminal underground than I usually like to be and one rising talent the less.

  "As for your first question, that's easier to answer than the second. The short answer is no; I have not received any news about formidable Chosen rubbing elbows with the royalty, or any particularly powerful Chosen in general. I would take that information with a grain of salt, though- I'm pretty unimportant right now. While my information network is head-and-shoulders above that of my siblings(not big fans of huge, shadowy intelligence organizations, those two), it can't compare to the knowledge the royalty of more affluent cities have at their disposal. Long story short, I don't know of any particularly scary Chosen, but that is far from definitively saying you have no competition. You seem pretty outstanding, though, so I wouldn't - look, we've arrived!"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The Second Prince stopped himself right in front of a stable marble door. The pair had gone down several hallways, though they remained on the third floor, and if Yi Qiang's instincts were correct, they should already be near the back of the palace.

  The Second Prince took out a glowing blue orb. It was small enough to fit in his palm easily, around the size of a bottle cap in circumference.

  Without a word, he pressed it against the door, his eyes blazing with anticipation.

Nothing happened for an instant, the Second Prince taking the opportunity to turn to Yi Qiang.

  "The tournament you just experienced will be nothing compared to this. Are you ready? Wipe that solemn look off your face, you're about to fight the best of the kingdom! That would definitely make me shiver, but doesn't it excite you!?"

 Yi Qiang wasn't given a chance to reply as the blue orb still pressed against the door started to shine. A bright blue light was born in the depths of the sphere, expanding rapidly until the luminescence was blinding - Shenyu's sensitive eyes, especially, couldn't stand it as the hatchling jerked his head away.

  Thankfully, the light died down as soon as it had appeared, leaving Yi Qiang blinking calmly and Shenyu still gently clawing at his eyes.

  It seemed Yi Qiang was the first to regain functional eyesight after the unexpected outburst, bringing him the upsetting sight of the Second Prince hunched over, his hands on his eyes.

  It took a few seconds for the usually-jovial man to regain his dignity. Shenyu was still confusedly blinking away, but Yi Qiang only felt annoyance and puzzlement from the Empyrean dragon.

 "... I did not know the key would be that bright. They... should have warned me. Someone is going to pay for this," the Second Prince was the angriest Yi Qiang had seen him, the last phrase coming out more like a growl than anything else. "But before that, let's get to Rian."

  The Second Prince assumed his usual composure, straightening his back. He raised his arm, placing it on a handprint that had appeared on the marble door at some point when Yi Qiang was preoccupied with his companions' reactions to the light.

   In response, the sound of stone grinding against stone sounded out. The marble slab began to retract into the wall at a painfully slow pace. 

  Meanwhile, Shenyu had finally had enough time to recover enough to form a coherent thought instead of a stream of raw emotion.

  "What was that!?"

 Yi Qiang couldn't help but smirk slightly. Are you alright? You seemed pretty affected by that bit of light...

  "That was far from a bit!"

  Agree to disagree. Anyway, I believe that was the key. And trust me, the Second Prince is just as unhappy about that as you are. If I didn't horribly misjudge him, someone is going to have a really bad day when we arrive.

  "Good." Shenyu snorted disdainfully and curled up on Yi Qiang's shoulder.

  It took a few moments for the marble door to finally open, at which moment the Second Prince entered the room.

  Yi Qiang followed, looking around.

    It was a barren room, completely empty except for one thing.

  In the center of the chamber, there was a violet... magic circle. Yi Qiang really couldn't assign a name to it, as he had never seen anything like it before, but one thing was clear - it was made for some sort of magic.

  The Second Prince chuckled at Yi Qiang's confused expression.

  "That is a teleportation circle. It's both very expensive and extremely convenient. I could talk hours about how it works and such, but all that matters is that because I pulled a few strings, we got a key," the Second Prince held up a purple sphere, matching the first blue ball in size and shape, "and we can teleport to where the tournament takes place.

  "So," he smirked and bent over in a joking bow, "shall I go first?"