Ding Ding Ding

She was only five years old at the time, walking through the flower auditorium within Celestria with her grandmother. “Grandma, what’re we doing?” Hanabi said, ringing a small golden bell she held.

Tossing powdered fragrance into the air, “Giving thanks Hanabi,” Lady Yui said, as it dispersed into thin air.

“Thanks to what?”

“Flux force of course. It is a gift we must cherish and respect. Whether it comes from the world tree, or from a place far beyond, it allows us to breathe and fight for a brighter future. Before the Shattering, there were only Links and Nephilim, and of course Nefarians, but after it when Minus swarmed Asceria, threatening to overtake us all, somehow, the miracle that is Abminus also came about. We must be appreciative of these gifts.”

Hanabi, gazing at her grandmother, returned to ringing the bell, when suddenly a small blue fairy-like creature appeared out of thin air, startling her. “Gra-Grandma!”

The little fairy placed its hands over its mouth, giggling, before vanishing.

“You’re quite the lucky one aren’t you,” Lady Yui said.

“What was that?” Hanabi said.

“Those are what we refer to as Plus. In the same way Minus, before fusing with a root, carry the essence of negative flux, Plus are the embodiment of positive flux force, however, they almost never show themselves to others.”

“Never?” Hanabi said.

“Mhm,” she said. “It’s considered extremely good luck when one appears before you.”

Hanabi, thinking it over, rang the bell once again. Ding Ding Ding. “Come back fairy,” she said. They both giggled as a result, much like the Plus earlier.

Ding Ding Ding

“Sheesh,” Lily said, gazing at her badge, the notification was rapidly firing off. She was in the Library of Excalibur studying up on Kenji’s root for the upcoming match tomorrow.

“Something up?” Hanabi said.

“Ayame helped me make a social media account,” she said, holding up the badge.

“Whoa, that’s a lot,” Hanabi said.

“Right? It’s only been a couple of hours,” Lily said

Ding Ding Ding

“Shhhhh,” the librarian said, appearing around the corner.

“Sorry…” Lily said, making sure to silence her badge. “You ever thought of making one Rai?”

“Not my thing,” Rai said, his nose was crammed into a notebook, however it wasn’t his finitypad. “Hm... Hmmm… Dammit I can’t think of a single thing!” Rai said, ruffling his hair aggressively.

“What’re you working on?” Hanabi said, gazing over.

“I don’t know, just trying to get my mind off the match… Figured I write a short story or something in the meantime. I’ve been posting them online under a pseudo name. I just can’t come up with a name for this one…”

Looking over, Hanabi read… “Goblins and Grandpa’s?”

“Yeah, dumb I know,” Rai said.

“I don’t think so,” Hanabi said with a smile. “How many followers do you have?”

“Meh, only eight, with six favorites,” Rai said.

“Do you want me to give you a shout out?” Lily said.

“Nah, I’m fine. Six or eight, that’s all I need,” Rai said, continuing to write. Gazing over he noticed Alan also heavily invested in a large tattered book. I’ve never seen Alan in a book longer than a couple of minutes…

Hours before meeting up with Lily and Hanabi, Alan and Rai were discussing what they had found.

“Check this out,” Alan said, handing Rai a book.

“Books seen better days…” Rai said, opening it. Inside there were sketching’s of all sorts, though none were familiar. “What language is this even written in?”

“Not sure,” Alan said. “I’ve went through every language book using my root ability, and I haven’t found a single one that matches it.”

“Strange… Well at least you can store it for later.”

“That’s the other thing,” Alan said. “You see, with my root ability, normally I can only absorb information instantaneously and store it for later, however whenever I gather too much information, it pushes out the last thing I stored from my mental archives.”

“So, get rid of a few cook books, what’s the big deal?”

“This book is infused with flux. Even if I store just a couple of pages, my memory bank gets completely wiped. In other words, my picture memory ability is useless reading this. What’s more…” Alan flipped the page, revealing a drawing of a shadow creature sucking the soul of a human out.

Shocked, Rai said, “It looks just like the drawings Neptus and I found.”

“Mhm. It took me a few days to decipher the name, however, I believe it’s called Mammon.”

“Mammon… Have you shown this to any of the elites?”

“No, I was afraid they might confiscate it. And I know how important it is for you to find out more about whatever’s going on with your sister and the coma’s people have been falling in…” Alan said, leaving the book in Rai’s hand, however Rai denied the book, pushing it back to Alan.

“You hold onto it. If anyone can decipher the secrets in this book, it’s definitely you. But let’s keep it on the down low for now, agreed?”

Alan nodded, sitting down to study it further.

“Uh, I’m totally burnt,” Lily said, leaning back in her chair. “I don’t think I can study anymore…” Noticing Rai and Alan working on their separate projects, she glanced at Hanabi. “Do you want to get something to eat?”

“Okay,” she said. “Hey guys, we’re going to get something to eat. See you tomorrow? Ri Ri?”

Rai waved her away, “Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time.”

“Hm, whatever,” Hanabi said, turning to leave. “Jerk…”

Using the ports the girls made their way back to Celestria where they stopped by Crumbly Cattaneo.

“Oh my, look at the line…” Hanabi said. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“Mm, we could, or,” Lily took out her badge, “we could just cut to the front. Apprentices within Celestria are given a fast past, so we only have to wait behind a few people.”

After waiting for a short while, they made it inside.

“Did they remodel the place?” Hanabi said.

“Yeup,” Lily said. “Not long after I moved here, they imported that hollowed fire tree from Cronos and restructured the entire place around it.”

In the center of the restaurant was the giant fire tree, though it no longer emitted fire like it once had, instead acting as a super-sized steamer. It had many holes, with thick branches that also had decent sized holes, allowing for the steam emitting from the bottom to escape. Within the largest hollowed portion being the center, meat slowly cooked, meanwhile, the branches extending to the sides held vegetables. Up high, exiting the ends of the branches were many strings leading to the many tables where the customers were sitting. The veggies would take this route when the strings were pulled until they reached the table; a chief waited for those whose food was going to arrive next.

“Hey look, Tamarri’s working today,” Hanabi said. He was stirring a large pot of sauce.

“What’s taking so long!” a customer shouted. “I ordered my food hours ago!”

“Wasn’t he a few people ahead of us?” Hanabi said.

Rolling her eyes at the impatient customer, Lily said, “Probably from out of town. Since Cattaneo’s is so popular, the place often get tourist stopping by.”

“Tamma,” Tamarri’s dad said, snapping his fingers at him rapidly.

Nodding, Tamarri placed his hands near one of the protruding holes at the bottom, sending a surge of steam up, quickly cooking the food. Gripping a thick vine, he pulled hand over hand, and slowly the meat descended until it was lying right in front of him. Tossing it into the air, with a few swings of a knife, the meat landed perfectly on a wooden board. “Order up!” Tamarri hollered, placing a small portion of the meat on some plates as a food runner swooped it up and brought it over to the customer.

“Where are the vegetables? We ordered veg—!” one by one the vegetables arrived from above. “Oh…” The chief slit the vegetables from the string as they passed by, gracefully laying them before the guests.

“Hm, let’s see what this place is all about,” the customer said. “Taking a bite of the steak, his mouth dropped to the floor, and his eyes revealed stars.

“Was it to your liking?” one of the chiefs said.

Shaking his head, he glanced at him, “It’s okay… I guess… Could use a little butter.”

Tamarri, pulling on another vine, caused a string of vegetables to exit the hollowed branches, passing through a buttered water fall. There were many small stations hovering above, including a glass casing that stretched the entire restaurant to catch any spillage. Be it spices, lemon pepper, gooey sweet sauce, whatever flavor the customer wanted, it would pass through it high above, before finding its way to one of many exit holes which were positioned right above the table of the customers.

Taking another bite, the customer melted into his seat, almost slipping to the floor beneath the table.

“How about now sir?”

“…Its…ok… I guess…” he said drooling.

“Hey Tamarri!” Lily said.

“Hey!” he said waving at them. “Papa, is it okay if I take a break?”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Filio, we’re on the clock, don’t you know the work never stops in the kitchen. How’re we to be the world’s greatest food service if you’re taking breaks. Grace’s Lumi Lumi passed us in sales last month,” he said.

“But Papa,” Tamarri said.

Gazing at the two girls approaching, “Ah, ti vedo, figlio mio. Trying to trade a hot stove for a couple of hot dates, eh?

“Papa…” Tamarri said slightly embarrassed.

“Go on, but remember, the sauce won't stir itself.”

“Thank you,” Tamarri said, giving a slight bow.

Approaching their table, “Hey guys, it’s good to see you two, how’s it going?”

“It’s good. We just got back from the library in Excalibur.” Hanabi said.

“Those stairs can really work up an appetite,” Lily said.

“Getting ready for the match tomorrow?” Tamarri said.

“As much as I could, but I don’t think any amount of studying is really going to help. All the things in the books on Kenji’s roots carry nothing but the basics. I’m sure he’s way beyond it,” Lily said.

“Aren’t you Kenji’s cousin?” Tamarri said. “Do you have any pointers?”

“I am, but we don’t really talk as much since he’s joined the apprenticeship.”

“Be careful, these matches aren’t that different from the placement exam,” Tamarri said, placing his hand on the wound. “I know Haruki wasn’t planning on actually delivering fatal blow, but one wrong slip and you never know…”

“I don’t think Kenji would go that far,” Hanabi said. “He may be… well he’s Kenji, but he would never senselessly kill someone,” Hanabi said. “That much I’m sure of.”

“That’s a relief,” Lily said with a sigh. “So, how’ve you’ve been?”

“I got back from a small mission a few days ago. Went to see Tofi earlier, and now I’m helping my dad. We’re ramping up our services in preparation for the Lumi Festival.” A fire burned in his eyes. “This year we’re going to be the one to garner the most sales. Lumi Lumi is going down! You guys are going to support us, right?”

Lily and Hanabi didn’t know how to respond. Recalling Grace, she had that same fiery competitiveness when it came to Crumbly Cattaneos.

“Lily, have you tried this?” Hanabi quickly said, gazing at the menu.

“No, but it’s looks amazing,” Lily said.

Tamarri, disappointedly slouching over… Didn’t she order that last time? Standing upright, “So, what can I help you with?” Tamarri said. “Care to try our infamous Crumbly Lu-Pasta?”

“I think I’ll go for something a bit lighter,” Hanabi said. “Got any salads?”

“One salad coming right up,” Tamarri said. “What about you?”

“Hmm… I’ll take a triple stack burger, pepper-jack cheese with steak fries on the side,” Lily said. “Oh, can you throw in a side of broccoli passed through the sweet and sour sauce.” Hanabi gazed at Lily in minor disbelief. “What, girls gotta eat,” Lily said.

“Fair enough,” Hanabi said.

“Tamma!” his father shouted across the restaurant.

“Some break that was…” Tamarri said. “Looks like I have to get back to work guys. Good luck tomorrow, and I hope you enjoy the food.”

“Thanks Tamarri,” they said.

As they waited for their food, Hanabi issued Lily a word of caution, “Lily, tomorrow. Be careful. Kenji’s still not one to go easy on his opponents. If you’re not careful, you may still end up hurt. I would hate to see that.”

“Don’t worry,” Lily said. “Like Rai, I’ve been training. I’ll be ready when the time comes.”

***

“Well, guess that’s it for today,” Rai said, leaving the library; it was starting to get dark outside. “How much did you get in?”

Alan, slumped over with tears in his eyes, “Not even a page… I have no idea what to do with that book.”

“No more… training… Please…” Daichi said, lying on the stairs neaby.

“Come on Daichi, we’re almost there!” Jack said. “Make it back down and we’re done.”

“I’ll be dead… before Gaius gets the chance…” Diachi said, breathing heavily.

“Daichi, Jack, what’s up guys,” Rai said.

“Daichi quick, it’s your competition,” Jack said, lifting Daichi up and wrapping his arm around his own, though Daichi was slightly taller than him.

“Hey guys…” Daichi said, slumped over Jack.

Jack whispered in Daichi’s ear, “Stand firm, you can’t show’em weakness.”

“Show me a cheeseburger…” Daichi said, whimpering.

“Chocolate?” Rai said, passing over the candy bar; Daichi immediately snatched it, swallowing it in an instant.

“Much better,” he said with a look of pure joy.

“So, you ready for your match tomorrow?” Rai said.

“I’m really nervous actually…” Daichi said.

“Nonsense, we haven’t even seen his ability yet?” Jack said. “For all we know he’s made it this far on luck.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Alan said. “You see I ran into Duke a few days ago…” Alan remembered the conversation he had with Duke in the empire.

“The competitions arriving soon,” Duke said.

“Are you going?” Alan said.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be there to see it in person, but you can bet I’ll be watching it from afar. Since I’ve joined the military, they’ve decided to station me in Castle Black, east of Aurahelm.”

“That was rather quick,” Alan said. Gazing at the pamphlet promoting the fights. “The match ups look amazing, though I do worry for the emperor’s son,” Alan said.

“Why’s that?” Duke said.

“He hasn’t shown much of anything from what I can tell. Part of me worries he’s got a root similar to mine, making combat difficult for him. Meanwhile, Daichi has a pretty amazing root, bending earth and all.”

“It’s not Daichi you have to worry about,” Duke said.

“What do you mean?” Alan said.

“Back during the placement exam, when I forfeited the match to him. Admittedly, he called my bluff, but something tells me he was ready for my sun blade. The last words he whispered to me, ‘Can you hear it?’” Duke clenched his fists. “Not long after I heard the lightest sound of something passing by my ear, yet nothing was visible. It was the first time since challenging my father that I actually felt a sense of dread…”

Daichi, hearing Alan’s story, starting to rapidly bite his finger nails…

“All I’m saying is be careful,” Alan said. “Being the emperor’s son, theirs close to nothing about him that’s been released to the public…”

“All the same, my guy Daichi is going to take him down! Right Daichi?” Jack gazing over noticed Daichi hyperventilating, before passing out.

“Oh man,” Jack said. Lifting Daichi on his back. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow. Good luck in your match Rai.”

“Thanks,” Rai said, giving a thumbs up.

“Maximum effort!” Jack said, rushing down the stairs.

“So, what’re you going to do?” Alan said.

“I’m going to pay my sister a visit,” Rai said. “What about you?”

Smiling Alan said, “I’m heading home, but I’ll be there tomorrow.”

***

“I’m actually not sure how we managed to beat it, but in the end, everyone made it out the cave,” Rai said, sighing, gazing at his sister in the medical pod. “And let’s not get started with this years Skyward Finales. It’s going to be interesting with the Furies there, but the empire’s only allowing a portion of people at their own risk should they end up trying anything funny, however, with all the elites around I doubt they would.” Rai placed his hand on his sister’s pod. “I really wish you’d wake up, Taka…”

“Plu…” Plu said, lying on the glass gazing at Takara.

“She’s hanging in there,” Rai said to Plu. There were other families also visiting their loved ones nearby. Rai traced the outline of her sister’s face. “She’s getting so big…” A tear fell from his eye. “I’m sorry… I’m trying to find a way to wake you, all of you. I really am…” his hand started to tremble. “I promise, I’ll never stop. I’m going to help you all.” Rai wiped the tear falling from his face. “Tomorrow, I get the chance to take another big step towards my dream, and I know it’ll bring me that much closer to solving this mystery.”

Suddenly, one of the machines started to go off, beeping loud, alarming many doctors outside the rooms who rushed in. The person within the pod started to shake uncontrollably, foaming from the mouth.

“What’s happening?!” the wife of the husband said. “Help! Someone! Please! Someone help, please!” she panicked looking left and right, tears streaming down her face as she was taken from the pod.

Rai looked in shock at the scene unfolding.

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave,” one of the people in the white coats stated, guiding him and Plu away from Takara.

The monitor’s beeping grew frantic. Then, the beeping emitted a long, piercing tone. The screen showed a single, unbroken line.

The scientist stopped pulling the woman away for a moment, noticing the outcome…

“No! Please God no!” the woman ran back, before falling down beside the pod, crying uncontrollably. “Why, wh-why,” her cries echoed throughout the entire place as families were escorted out.

The entrance to the door slid closed, cutting Rai off...

***

“We’re here coming to you live from the heart of the Illuminus Empire!” The crowd surrounding the stadium erupted with cheers. “Welcome, one and all, to this grand event! I am your special host, Otto, and it is my utmost honor to guide you through the exhilarating festivities we have in store. Today, we witness the might, skill, and glory of our empire’s finest apprentices. Prepare yourselves for a spectacle unlike any other!”

Lucam’s, small spherical camera’s, floated around the arena, making sure to catch every angle of the coliseum. Otto was in charge of the media tower located in LuluTech HQ, and as such, would be hosting most major events like today.

“Brings back memories,” Lily said, standing in an underground waiting area along with the other apprentices.

Rai noticing her jittery leg, said, “Hey, don’t even sweat it. We’re both making it to the finals,” he held out his fist.

“Right,” Lily said with a confident smile, tapping her own against his.

“Mochi mochi,” Mochi said leaning over, looking down at the two.

“Can I help you?” Rai said.

“Mochi mochi mochi!” Mochi said, bending backwards and slapping his head against the ground.

“If you think I’m losing to some punny Nefarian, you’ve got another thing coming,” Kenji said, appearing beside the lot. “It’s not too late to turn tail and get out before you embarrass yourself.”

“As if I’d quit,” Lily said.

“Wait, quitting’s an option?” Daichi said, gazing over in the corner at Gaius who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

Haruki was standing at the other end, sharpening his arrows.

“Haruki…” Lily said, remembering an earlier conversation.

Hours before the tournament, Haruki had approached Lily. “Lily,” Haruki said.

“Hey Haruki, what’s up?” Lily said.

“I hope you know, when the competition begins, we will be adversaries. I intend to win my match. If you win yours, its likely we may end up facing each other in the next round. I will not be holding back.”

“I don’t expect you to,” Lily said. “Cuz neither will I.”

Smiling, Haruki turned around and departed. “Good luck in your match.”

Under the arena stands, Inari arrived as well. Seeing Rai, she furrowed her brows, before moving ahead.

“I’m convinced you did something…” Lily muttered.

“I’m starting to think I did too…” Rai said.

Above, among the many viewers, Alan, Hanabi and other apprentices gathered, waiting for the fights to begin.

“Alan, you always find get the best seats,” Hanabi said.

“By the time I woke up to get in line, it was still dark,” Alan said, yawning.

“Popcorn, get your popcorn,” Eiji said.

“Eiji, over here!” Hanabi said.

“Guys!,” Eiji said, heading over to the group.

“What’re you up too?” Alan said. “You didn’t lose another job did you?”

“Psh, no. Though my luck with jobs hasn’t been the best,” he sighed. “Figured after heating up enough bags I could sell them off and earn a little extra cash on the side.”

“Hey, my popcorns cold!” someone shouted.

“Mine too!”

“Hide me,” Eiji said, ducking in between Hanabi and Alan.

“Who’s this?” Ayame said.

“What?!” Eiji said. “Aw come on, I’ve seen you plenty of times…”

“Hm, nope, doesn’t ring a bell,” Ayame said.

“Hey Eiji,” Neptus said.

“Neptus! Back from vacation eh,” Eiji said.

“I wouldn’t really call it vacation… If anything, I’d rather have been out on another mission.”

“I wouldn’t stress on it too much. As a wise man once said, it is better to enjoy a little rest, than to toil endlessly,” Eiji said.

“Who said that?” Rina said.

“Hm, not sure exactly, I read it in a book,” Eiji said.

Everyone gazed at Alan.

“Why does everyone assume I’ve got every book in the world stored in my head?” Alan said.

The crowds began to cheer as Illuminus Elite arrived in their special seating, however, the emperor and the general were not present.

The elites included, Reezo, Knox, Marco, Alderai, Aegis and Mu.

“Where’s Emperor Adonis?” Seppe asked.

“Yeah, you’d think he’d want to see his son compete,” Jack said.

“Normally the Emperor only appears in the finals. It’s so the people present, and the world watching, can focus on the apprentices, rather than him,” Alan said.

“Yeah, but then you got elites like Alderai here. Kinda defeats the purpose, no?” Ayame said.

“Makes sense to me... These festivities can be draining…” Peon said.

In the seating area where the elites were, Reezo leaned over to Marco, saying, “How do you believe Rai will fair against Inari,” he said.

“I’m not sure…” Marco said. “He’s gotten a lot stronger, however, Inari may even be in the range of the elites by now. I guess will have to wait and see.”

Suddenly the lights turned off, and it was pitch black. Before long however, beams directed themselves at center stage where Otto stood.

“Ladies and gentleman, the time as finally arrived,” Otto announced, his voice reverberating throughout the entire place. “Today’s placement exam consists of thrilling back-to-back fights, where the winners of the first two rounds will face each other in the finals in a week from now.” Pointing at a large screen that held a tournament board shaped like a tree, the tournament brackets appeared.

The first half of the bracket revealed Rai vs Inari, followed by Kenji vs Lily. The second half was Gaius vs Daichi, followed by Mochi vs Haruki.

Lily gazing at the bracket appearing on the screen, glanced over at Rai, “So much for both of us making it to the finals.”

“Yeah, well, at least you’ll make it to the semi’s,” Rai said.

“Hey! I’m taking you down, think again,” Lily said.

After a sec, they both shared a laugh.

“Will the first two contestants please make their way into the arena,” Otto’s voice rang from the speakers nearby.

“Here we go,” Rai said, moving forward. Inari had already left. Stopping short of the exit, Rai, “Hey buddy, you mind coming out,” and Plu’s head popped out from under his hood, before plopping to the floor. Kneeling over, Rai said, “You ready?”

“Plu,” Plu said.

“Alright, that’s what I like to hear.” After biting the apple, Rai tossed what was left onto the floor where it withered away into nothing.

Within the center of the coliseum, Rai and Inari faced one another with Otto in between.

“As per the rules of the placement exam, anything goes. The victor is decided when your opponent is unable to battle or forfeits, whichever comes first,” Otto said, and both Inari and Rai nodded.

“I don’t know what I did to piss you off, but maybe after this we can have a little chat and sort things out,” Rai said.

“That’s if there’s an after, for you that is,” Inari said, turning to leave to her corner.

“Can’t say I didn’t try…” Rai muttered walking over to his corner.

As the fight was set to commence, the dome ahead suddenly split open, slowly retracting, revealing the bright outdoors.

Otto, stepping on a platform attached to the hundred-foot walls encompassing the arena, slowly ascended until he reached the very top.

“Let the first match of the placement exam, BEGIN!”