While everyone awaited the start of the second round, Rai, Hanabi, and Alan were chaperoning Yuta, who carried Plu. They each had an ice cream cone.

“Yay! Brother won!” Yuta shouted, however, in doing so he flung his ice cream off his cone. Tears began to well up in the kid’s eyes.

“Plu, why don’t you offer yours,” Hanabi said, kneeling over to it.

“Not like you can eat it anyways,” Rai stated, tasting his own.

Plu, plopping down from Yuta’s grasp, looked up at the boy’s innocent little eyes.

“Plu,” it said, turning and walking away with its ice cream.

Hanabi looked on helplessly.

“Here,” Alan said, handing his over.

“No more jacket rides for you buddy!” Rai shouted. Right after, a strawberry ice cream slapped Rai’s forehead, steadily sliding down until it plopped on the floor. Alan and Hanabi both nervously watched as Rai’s anger reached a boiling point. “That’s it!” Rai said, storming after Plu.

Yuta licked his ice cream happily as everything unfolded.

Back at their seating, Rai had tied Plu’s stuffed arms together, forcing it into the shape of a ball.

“We will now be commencing the second round,” the announcer said.

“Pluuuu,” it complained, wanting to watch the next round.

“Fine,” Rai said, unraveling Plu with his finger.

“Master Briggs, what kind of abilities does Alderai possess?” Hanabi asked, staring at Alderai in the center of the ring.

“I’ve only seen it once. The ability to create, evolve, and control Minus.”

“Create, evolve and control…” Hanabi said. “Sort of sounds like Marco’s ability.”

“In a way,” Mr. Briggs said.

“I hope they’ll be okay,” Alan said.

“It’s Alderai, he’s always been a kind and heroic figure, there’s no way it’ll be anything like last year’s round,” Rai said.

“Which elite conducted your guy’s round for the finals?” Hanabi asked, but Rai’s head fell over the ledge, not wanting to remember the moment.

“Rai and his friends were tasked with taking down the number two elite, Gael,” Alan said.

“What?! T- Takedown?!” Hanabi said in disbelief.

“Well, not literally. The whole design was this intricate tower to which they needed to somehow climb, and awaiting them atop—Gael. They had to remove him from a small circle to pass.”

“Oh, well that doesn’t seem too tough,” Hanabi said, looking around. “Right?”

Rai, exhausted at the thought, didn’t say a word; meanwhile, Alan and Mr. Briggs scratched their heads nervously.

“Hey, check that out,” someone stated.

In the arena, a giant bone-like structure was being carefully carried by a least a hundred people.

“Whoa, that’s a Dragoon Bone Plant, known for its resemblance to dragoons,” Alan said.

“What’re Dragoons?” Rai asked.

“I’m curious to know myself,” Mr. Briggs said.

Gathered around Alan, his friends listened intently.

“O- Okay,” Alan said, nervously flipping through his book, before stopping at the Dragoon. “Legends say these creatures dwell in the deepest reaches of the sea.” His friends leaned in closer, captivated by the descriptions of the Dragoons—creatures two stories tall, with scales that shimmered like precious gemstones beneath the ocean's surface. “And here,” Alan continued, his finger tracing the faded illustration of a Dragoon, “is a depiction of the Dragoon itself—a sight to behold, with its serpentine body and eyes that gleam like stars in the darkness. Natural enemy... Red Diablo,” he spoke. “Anyways, this plant is something that naturally resembles them and is found only within Cronos. I wonder why they brought it all the way over here to Asceria?”

The men hastily left the arena, and soon after, a stone wall slowly opened opposite Alderai. The arena quieted, curious as to what would approach.

A sporadic clicking sound resonated from the shadows of the tunnel, then, a flickering light. Bit by bit, the clicking got louder, and a low eerie screech emitted before a creature came bursting out. Its thin wriggly body, nearly seven feet high, engulfed in flames and roots, charged Alderai.

“Minus!” someone shouted in the stands.

“Flame Scowler,” Alan said.

The Minus raced towards Alderai, closing the long gap between them in a matter of moments. Its long lengthy arms made of vines, dug into the ground, spewing fire from its mouth and eyes as it did.

On Alderai’s back, legacy marks activated—six of them!

In the waiting area, staring through a gap showing the arena, Lily shouted, “Six?! Just like the Elder.”

The flame scowler's burning hands sizzled past Alderai's arm, fringing the tips of his clothing. A burnt smell traveled up his nostrils as he swung around and cracked the palm of his hand into the chest of the flaming Minus made of roots. White tendrils of energy erupted from the impact point, illuminating the arena. Harnessing the power within the creature, Alderai yanked the soul of the Minus out, including the essence of the root's power—what was left of it, crumbled into dust. Placing the palm of his hand onto the Dragoon Bone Plant—the ground trembled as the plant underwent a profound transformation, birthing into a colossal being.

“I’ll call this, Ashen Claw,” Alderai said—behind him—a super-sized creation resembling a dragoon, only, its body was hollow, like that of a skeleton. Inside its rib cage, a cloud of ash floated, occasionally igniting miniature explosions within the ‘Evolved Minus’. Its tail slithered near Alderai, carefully allowing him to step on, where it then carried him over to its head.

“He’s controlling a Minus like that?” Rai said, nervously.

Its head, spun in a full circle, like the arrow would on a clock, showing that portions of its body did not need to be attached to the rest of itself.

Alderai stepped onto the head, plopping down into a crossed-legged position.

With a commanding roar, the Minus erupted with a blast of fire, setting its tail ablaze. With a flick of its tail, it sent ignitable ash and fire all over the arena floor.

“Bit much for a competition,” Eiji said.

“It's an examination…” Lily muttered.

“What does he expect us to do with that exactly?” someone in the waiting area questioned.

“He doesn’t expect us to defeat it does he?” a prism brother said.

“That be absurd,” even the leader of the three admitted.

Alderai, staring at stone doors opening that would soon let the contestants enter, produced an apple from his hand, holding it towards the sky, saying, “Take the apple before the timer ends, and you pass.”

Laughing, Gael shouted, “You outdid yourself this time Alderai! I seriously wasn’t expecting this!”

“A creature like that, even I’m not sure I’d be able to defeat,” Knox said.

Nodding, “The connection between them is shared, making one no weaker than the other,” Reezo added.

“I thought there was no killing,” Alan said, scratching his head.

“I guess no killing and committing suicide are two different things here,” Rai said.

Eiji stood at the foot of the exit towards the arena with many other contestants, all waiting to see who would be the first team to participate, but no one budged.

Alderai’s voice echoed, “Being an elite is a haunting task, not meant for those unwilling to put their lives on the line. If you cannot, go home. You’ve done well to make it this far.”

“Maybe he’s right,” Eiji started, but immediately after, two figures dashed right past him. Lily and Aegis rushed into the arena. Sighing, he said, “Here we go,” running after them.

Eiji, Lily, and Aegis charged into the arena; the crowd's eyes fixated on the trio.

Alderai, comfortably seated, observed their approach, the apple clasped in his outstretched hand. His gaze held a hint of curiosity as they drew closer.

The fiery breath of the Minus swirled around it like a miniature tornado, making certain pathways impossible to take.

Grabbing Yuta’s hand, Hanabi attempted to take him elsewhere, however, Yuta yanked his hand away, saying, “No!” Running down to another seating area to watch his brother.

“Yuta…” Hanabi said, shocked by his refusal.

“Hanabi,” Rai said. “I know you don’t like watching your friends risk their lives, but sometimes, they’re only able to get over that hump because you’re there to support them. Right now, our friends need us.”

Taken back at first by Rai’s point of view, Hanabi nodded in agreement. Walking down to where Yuta was, with a smile, she said, “I’m sorry Yuta. How about we watch them pull this win off together?”

“Okay!” Yuta replied with a joyous expression.

Without exchanging words, Eiji, Lily, and Aegis shared a brief nod. The timer had begun.

Alderai's voice echoed across the arena. “Do you truly understand the gravity of your decision?” he asked.

“We're here to succeed, no matter the obstacles,” Lily declared, jumping back as the Ashen Claw’s tail came slamming into the ground before her.

Aegis, silent but steadfast, jumped atop another crushing miss of the tail, traversing quickly towards Alderai, however, the Minus compiled ash within its tail. “What’s this?!” Beneath Aegis’s feet, the tail rapidly expanded, and like a balloon, it burst. The heat and pressure, propelled him back, smashing into the coliseum wall.

“Aegis!” Eiji said. A layer of hot ash, narrowly hit Eiji.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Minus’s tail reformed, and once again, it reignited it with a fearsome breath of fire. The stage was set almost exactly as it had started when they came in—but with less time!

“They're as good as dead,” a prism brother stated.

Aegis, removing himself from the crater in the arena wall, landed beside Lily.

“Are you okay,” she asked.

“I’ll manage,” Aegis responded, blood trickling down the side of his mouth.

“What’s the plan?” Eiji asked to reappear.

A small smile revealed itself upon Alderai’s face. Even now, they still wish to continue. “Very well,” he said, lowering the apple slightly. “Prove yourselves worthy.”

Seeing this, Eiji, Lily, and Aegis leaped into action, their movements fluid and coordinated as they reached out to seize the prize.

But before they could go on the attack, the Ashen Claw surged forward with startling speed, its jaws snapping shut just inches from them. Its mouth, being as large as it was, tore a chunk of the earth out with its bite, smashing the clump of dirt in its jaw to pieces.

“The anticipation is killing me,” Alan said, hiding behind his hands—fingers spread.

“Careful guys,” Rai responded.

“At this rate, they won’t be passing the second round,” Mr. Briggs stated.

Hearing this, Rai gritted his teeth, but upon noticing Plu, an idea came to him.

The arena quaked as the Ashen Claw launched attack after attack, its massive jaws snapping shut with thunderous force, attempting to consume them.

Eiji darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly bite that left hole after hold in the battlefield, meanwhile Lily leaped into the air, her cat-like reflexes allowing her to evade the creature's snapping jaws.

Aegis vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind the Minus in a blur of movement, his actions swift and precise as he struck with calculated efficiency, severing its tail, however, it grew back—again!

With each passing moment, the intensity of the battle only grew, the arena roaring with the flames.

Lily maneuvered between the legs of the Ashen Claw, smashing away at the Minus’s leg, but to no gain. Looking up, a wave of ash poured from the Minus’s stomach, almost drowning Lily in a wave of fire as it collided with the flames around. The heat seared her arms, causing her to scream. Retreating, she breathed heavily, calculating her next move.

Aegis, ever the elusive presence, danced around the ashen claw, until finally finding an angel it couldn’t see him. Launching from the side, unexpectedly, the Minus pushed its arm into its body, shooting its bone-like structure out the other end at its enemy. “Not this time,” Aegis said, reappearing on the other end of the Minus—moments later—the ashen claw’s entire head slipped from its shoulders.

“Now’s my chance!” Lily said, darting towards the apple in Alderai’s hand. He hadn’t moved an inch, even while the head he sat on dropped to the ground.

The earth beneath the hind legs of the ashen claw, smashed down, creating mini craters under each, and with a powerful swing, the Minus snatched its head up, before it hit the ground, standing upright on two legs. Reattaching the severed head, the ashen claw roared, towering more than twice in height.

Suddenly appearing at the exact eye level of Yuta and Hanabi, they shrieked sight of the Minus, quickly retreating to the group.

“Hey, that’s still a Minus… Is it safe to have it so, close?” someone in the crowd said, nervously. Its body extended like a miniature mountain over the arena, being just tall enough to peer into the stands.

Eiji with a determined war cry, lunged forward, his blade slicing through the air as he aimed for the creature's exposed toe, gouging the dagger right into it. He blinked twice, viewing a little orange bubble swell up—it caused a minor explosion, sending him flying back. “Ouch…” he said, sprawled out against the coliseum walls.

“Psst…” a voice whispered.

A small apple fell over Eiji’s head. “An apple? Hm, I am running near empty,” Eiji said, his stomach growling. Aiming to take a bite, he stopped, muttering, “Wait a sec…”

“Nefarian girl. Why do you seek to become an elite?” Alderai asked, his voice booming down from the giant.

Thinking on it, Lily wasn’t exactly sure why, she just did it to help a friend. “I don’t have a reason! I’m here for my friends. I’ll always be there for them!” she shouted back. “We of Kalumi, as I’m told, always have each other’s back, because we are a family. We protect those we care about!”

Smiling, Alderia said, “Well then, why don’t you show me, just how high you can climb,” in that instance, the evolved Minus's entire body erupted in flames.

Eiji looked in disbelief. Not an inch of its body wasn’t wrapped in an intense heat. Being over a hundred feet tall, how are they planning to approach this thing!?

Aegis furrowed his brows, uncertain of what they had to do.

Staring at the mountain of fire, Lily gulped, recalling the elder’s words, ‘Legacies are the essence of our existence. Each mark represents one of our ancestors who lived and died with honor, passing on their will to the next generation.’ The intensity of the heat waves exerted by the fire made it hard to keep her eyes open. “Lived and died with honor…” a fierce fire burned in her eyes. She charged directly at the super-sized Minus, which in turn burst fire towards the arena floor.

“She’ll get burnt to a crisp!” Tanabe said, standing.

“Don’t underestimate a woman’s resolve,” Eloise said to Tanabe. “Look at her. She is clothed in strength and dignity; her days will shine much brighter now.”

“Lily!” Rai screamed.

“What is she doing?!” Aegis said.

Eiji’s heart sank as Lily charged into the flames.

Lily, drowned out the cries behind her, racing towards the blazing fire. They lived and died with honor, they didn’t cower and hide! Once again recalling the elder’s words, ‘Some lean upon the strength of mighty oaks, while others find solace in the grace of soaring eagles, but we find our anchor in the roots of Yaitweh, placing our trust in the nurturing embrace of our Mother. Her wisdom flows through every leaf and breeze, guiding us. Lily took a deep breath, eyes opening confidently, and legacies began to glow on her back. Jumping into the fire, the crowd gasped.

Hanabi, shocked, looked away, as did Yuta.

“Lily…” Eiji uttered in disbelief.

A smirk spread across Eloise’s face.

“Look!” someone said.

Emerging from the flames, Lily burst out, now quickly scaling the Minus. Her body was clad in the same orange form she wore in the burning house.

“Amazing,” Rai said, watching Lily climb the Minus.

The ashen claw, igniting the ash clouds within its stomach, exploded bits of its body off, causing them to launch at Lily.

One nearly crushed her, but she was able to avoid it and continue on her way up. The flames which normally would have roasted anyone else, did not affect her at all. She smashed through flying chunks of bone plant after bone plant being lunged at her, narrowly dodging the bigger pieces until she reached the top, grasping a part of the huge Minus’s head with both arms. “Try this!” she yelled, ripping its head off from its loosely connected body, and hurdling it towards the ground.

Alderai, still sitting motionless, kept the apple held out the same as before while the Minus’s head dropped.

Using the Minus’s body, Lily pushed off at full speed, directing her attention to snagging the apple. It was nearly in her reach, when Alderai swiftly moved it a bit to the right, causing Lily to miss entirely. “Hey?!” she shouted.

“You didn’t think I’d just hand it over to you?” Alderai stated, her momentum carried her past him.

“Eiji,” Aegis said, gripping Eijis's hand and tossing him at Alderai.

“Charge!” Eiji yelled, soaring through the sky.

Alderai closed his eyes, “You give away your possession too easily,” he stated, moving his arm down just a tad, followed by the brush of wind from Eiji flying right by.

“Hey Alderai! Forgetting something?!” Eiji yelled.

Alderai opened his eyes, only to see Eiji, happily holding an apple. Impossible?! Glancing at his hand, his apple was still there—immediately, it popped out, smack by the apple Eiji threw.

“He feigned having the apple, making Alderai believe, somehow, he held something else,” Reezo said.

“Crafty little fellow,” Knox replied.

“Pathetic,” Gael sneered.

Before Alderai could react in time to grab his apple, Aegis had already appeared, snatching it up and reappearing below.

The crowd roared. They had done it! The timer sounded seconds after.

Alderai, acknowledging their accomplishment, touched the ashen claw, retracting the giant Minus back into him. It absorbed like a swirling flux tornado, all the way down to a little gust of air, until everything even the physical plant was within him.

“Whoa!” Rai said.

Alan, who had been hiding behind his book, looked up, asking, “Where’d the Minus go?”

“Huh?” Hanabi blinked twice, also curious as to where it went.

Yuta, seeing his brother okay, jumped up and down, saying “They did it!”

Plu beside him jumped up and down.

Rai was sure Plu wouldn’t agree to the plan, so he decided he help a little by tossing a second apple into the fray. His quick-witted ways were one of the only things that got him and his sister through back in Nitehood.

Alderai, walking up to Lily asked, “Did you find your answer?”

Lily thought for a moment before saying, “To live honorably, I’m not sure what it means yet. Is it to act justly… Showing mercy, or treating others fairly. There’s just so much to it. But what I do know, whatever I do, I’ll work at it with all my heart, as working for the Mother, not just others.”

“It would seem you’ve come to know a deeper understanding than before. Continue to hone those bonds with Yaitweh, and those around you,” Alderia said, nodding to Aegis and Eiji, “and no one can stand in your guy’s way.”

Lily nodded, thankful for the advice.

Back in the waiting area, other contestants were either dropping out one after the other or somewhat attempting the challenge before forfeiting.

“What the heck,” Eiji said, watching the contestants. “Why didn’t he use that against us?”

Alderai apparently had other stores of Minus, and was currently using a much lesser threat than the one previously – however, they still faired much too powerful for every contestant so far.

“On to the final round!” Rai shouted, appearing with everyone else in the waiting area where the contestants were.

“Guys!” Lily said, running over to her friends.

“Please to meet you,” Mr. Briggs stated, introducing himself.

“Hey everyone, meet Mr. Briggs. He’s one of the teachers here,” Rai said.

“They wouldn’t have let us down here without him,” Alan inputted.

“You guys were great!” Hanabi said. “Especially you Lily.”

“Thanks,” Lily said, blushing.

“So, what brings you down?” Eiji asked.

“We’ve come to help,” Mr. Briggs said. Looking around other Links were arriving to members of their teams, though they were already disqualified. “With the injuries you’ve guys sustained it be best if we got you healed up for the final round.”

“Master Briggs and I are Links,” Hanabi said. “They said there’s no rule against mending damaged cores for those participating, after all, it’s an examination.”

“See?!” Lily said, tossing her hands to her side.

“What do Links do again?” Eiji questioned.

“Come, you’ll see,” Mr. Briggs said.

In another room, Eiji was flexing, doing toe touches, jumping jacks—you name it. “I feel amazing!” he said. “I bet I could fight that ashen claw head-on now!”

While Eiji examined himself, Hanabi was busy working on healing Aegis. Controlling flux within the vicinity, similar to how a Nefarian can weave it around them, she carefully directed into the back of Aegis.

“How does this work?” Lily asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

Flipping through some pages in his book, Alan stated, “Links use flux force to heal a damaged flux core, something every living thing carries. Without a functioning core… you die.”

Mr. Briggs continued, saying, “To heal, we must first purify the negative flux lingering within the air, separating it from the positive. In doing so, we can then pour that positive flux inside your core and work on repairing it. However, the process isn’t easy, and any mishandling of the separating of negative from positive could lead to severe, if not permanent consequences to not only the Link, but the person they are attending to.”

“I thought Nefarian’s core was made of negative flux, given their affinity with Minus and all,” Rai said.

“No,” Eiji said. “Nefarian’s bond with Minus goes much deeper than that, something beyond even the Elder’s knowledge. Nefarian is fueled with positive flux force like everything else.”

“Correct,” Alan stated, looking at another page. “It says, the only living creatures to contain negative flux force within them, are the Minus. Abminus, Nefarian - even the rare-blooded known as the Nephilim. None utilize negative flux. It’s incredibly harmful to all other living things—though Nefarian’s do have a much higher resistance to it.”

“To keep it short, negative flux is just one big pain in our ass,” Rai said.

“On the contrary, just as yin is to yang, one cannot exist without the other,” Mr. Briggs stated. “If you should know, most of our tech, produced under Lulu Tech, comes from the reengineering of negative flux. It’s how most our electricity, including our ports, is powered in fact.”

“Really? I didn’t know that,” Alan said, writing in a journal quickly.

“Hey, you got one of those too?” Lily said.

“Finitypad?” Alan responded. “No, I wish. That’s Rai’s, one of a kind.”

“What’s so different about yours?” Eiji asked. “Are you hiding, I don’t know, a secret love interest in it…” Eiji teased.

Hanabi twitched, causing Aegis to wince from a sharp jolt in his body. “Sorry,” Hanabi said, nervously.

“Not even!” Rai said. Opening the book, he said, “It’s the last thing my parents left me, although I don’t remember much about them.” Concentrating flux into it, words appeared. “By concentrating flux while thinking on a specific memory or time, I can pull up moments I’ve written down.”

“As much as you like?” Lily asked.

“Pretty much. I think it belonged to my father—before they ditched us,” Rai said, shutting the book.

Hanabi, breathing growing louder, prompted Aegis to ask, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, you’re core’s almost as bad as Rai’s.” Hanabi had her eyes closed, and although it looked like she was just pushing flux into Aegis to heal his core, it was a completely different world for her. In her eyes, she was standing within his core, a maze of corridors. Though she was healing it, the purpose was to mend the walls within the core, protecting the many layers that lead to the center.

“She okay?” Eiji asked, seeing Hanabi starting to sweat.

“The deeper the damage, the further she has to travel to repair the damage,” Mr. Briggs stated. “However, the further she goes, the likelihood of damaging her core increases.”

Before long, Hanabi’s breathing started to ease up.

Aegis lifted his head, getting off the table and turning to face Hanabi, saying, “Thank you.”

“I tried to do as much as I could before the next round,” Hanabi said exhausted.

Aegis looked at his hand, curling it into a fist. “This is fine. I hadn’t realized I was that handicapped.”

Hanabi, wiping the sweat from her face said, “I’m glad,” smiling as she did. “Well, I guess that’s that.”

“I’m done here too,” Mr. Briggs said, allowing Lily to prop to her feet.

“I must have been pretty banged up for Hanabi to have finished two others’ before you, huh Mr. Briggs?” Lily said, knowing him to be a master.

“On the contrary, Hanabi is far more advanced than me in the actual art of core repairs. My title of master only lies in the studies of the practice. She truly is a prodigy, just like her grandmother, Master Yui.”

Rai walked up to Hanabi, placing his arm on her shoulder, “You did great.”

She nodded, smiling at Rai’s kind gesture.

Hey guys check it out. From a screen, the Prism brothers. They had a Minus pinned under some weird blanket made of ruins. Alderai was standing beside the three, arms folded as they triumphantly held the apple up.

“It would seem our final opponent has been decided,” Aegis said.

“Let’s win this,” Lily stated.

“Right!”