Kai and Jinsoo stood at the railing of the Golden Zone booth, watching the ongoing ceremony unfold. Jinsoo casually leaned over, glancing at the Silverlight Guild’s booth in the distance. "Aren’t you going to meet with your parents? I heard they’re sitting with the Silverlight crew," he asked, his voice as nonchalant as ever.
Kai remained silent for a moment,. "Maybe afterward," he finally replied.
Jinsoo gave him a sideways glance. "Is your relationship still awkward with them?" His voice dropped, a hint of curiosity sneaking in. "Is it because of... me?"
Kai’s eyes twitched . "You don’t need to worry about it," he said, brushing off the question. Kai thought of the day his relation with his dad and mom changed after he told them about joining golden zone. Although they still loved him and cared for him.. there was a bit of change in how they saw him after that.
Kai forced himself out of the memory, shaking it off. 'Now’s not the time for this', he thought, refocusing on the event below.
Down at the main arena, after several rounds of bronze and few silvers, the screen lit up with a new name.
Shin Soobin.
The announcer’s voice echoed through the colosseum, “Shin Soobin!”
Taehyun turned to Soobin. "It’s your turn, Soob."
Soobin nodded, "Yeah."
Taehyun’s expression softened, a nostalgic smile tugging at his lips. "You know," he said quietly, "I never thought this day would actually come. Both of us here, at the ceremony, together." His smile was filled with emotion.
"Me neither," Soobin replied, matching Taehyun’s smile. He could feel the weight of the moment. He understood Taehyun’s feelings—and also the feelings of the "previous" Soobin. They had been best friends since childhood, dreaming of this exact moment.
The old Soobin was devastated when even by age 12 he did not form a spirit core, there were cases where spirit core formed even years after birth.. the previous soobin held onto that hope
"Best of luck, Soobin!" Jiho called out, breaking the quiet moment.
Jisoo added, "Same here"
Soobin smiled, nodding toward them. Then, with slow, steady steps, he began walking toward the Tree of Life.
As Soobin moved forward, Taehyun, with his eyes trailing Soobin asked Jisoo. “you told that the main character is already decided.... but arent you forgetting something?”
Jisoo raised an eyebrow, confused. "what do u mean?"
Taehyun’s gaze shifted slightly, he turned to Jisoo. "i mean.. when it comes to pure talent... who do u think is the best of us?.... did u forget the incident"
He looked at Jiho while saying the last line
"What are you talking about?" Jiho asked, slightly confused.
Jisoo, however, understood. Her expression shifted, recalling something she had almost forgotten, something from their past.
Soobin continued to walk toward the Tree of Life, his heart pounding in his chest. While going he looked around once , the sight of the grand colosseum, the thousands of spectators, it all felt surreal. This doesn’t even feel real… 'i bet the original Soobin would’ve loved this.'
As he got closer to the Tree, the steps grew harder. A sharp, familiar pain started to pulse in his head. 'ughhh... its the same as that time" he groaned . But he still moved forward.
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Finally, Soobin reached the Tree of Life and placed his hand on the glowing bark.
For a moment, nothing happened. Ten long seconds passed, and there was no reaction from the Tree.
At that same moment
Up in the Golden Zone booth, Kai muttered, "Tch." He turned slightly, as if ready to walk away, uninterested.
Both Kai and Jinsoo had been watching the scene from the stands.
Back near the arena, Taehyun muttered under his breath, “Soobin…”
Jisoo, Jiho, and Taehyun all watched in tense silence, their nerves building as they waited.
In the Silverlight Guild booth, Soobin’s parents, Seojin and Yuna, held their breath, eyes glued to their son, for a moment... they lost hope.. Hyunmoo and Soyeon, who had been hopeful, lowered their heads, thinking the same .
Seeing this, Eunhee, stepped in front of them with a smug grin. "See, I told y.."
BOOM.
A deafening explosion of light erupted from the Tree of Life, cutting her sentence short. A massive, blinding blue light engulfed the entire colosseum, flooding the air with a shimmering blue aura. The crowd gasped, their voices lost in the overwhelming radiance.
Everyone's heads whipped back toward the Tree, their eyes wide with shock.
The light intensified, and from within the heart of the Tree, a powerful energy burst forth, taking shape high above the arena. The light fused into the form of a massive, majestic blue phoenix.
Its wings looked as if it were made of pure energy, shimmering with electric-blue flames at the edges.
With every beat of its wings, sparks of blue fire scattered through the air, painting the sky in dazzling strokes of light.
"No way..." Jinsoo whispered, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Another spirit manifestation… twice in one day?"
Kai, stood frozen in disbelief "This is unbelievable."
The phoenix let out a mighty screech that echoed through the stadium. It soared around the colosseum in a wide arc, leaving trails of blue fire in its wake, the scene looked like an artwork..it looked like the whole air was a canvas and an artist just scattered strokes of brushes with shiny light blue colour over it... The audience was speechless, mesmerized by the ethereal beauty of the scene.
The phoenix circled the colosseum once more, its massive wings flaring out before diving straight toward Soobin. Soobin stood still, his hands were extended. The bird rushed toward him, its form shifting into pure energy, and then, with a final burst of light, it merged with Soobin’s body.
The impact sent another shockwave of energy exploding outwards, bathing the arena in a brilliant blue glow.
When the light finally faded, there stood Soobin, surrounded by a glowing blue aura. In his hand, a tattoo of a phoenix shimmered, its intricate design glowing bright blue. The jacket that was given by hyunmoo and soyeon glowed with blue colour in certain strips from the spirit energy inside Soobin.
The screen above flashed:
Shin Soobin. Spirit Rank: Platinum. Points: 100,000+.
The stadium erupted in absolute chaos. Two Platinums in one day? This was unprecedented. The crowd roared louder than ever before. The announcer, barely able to contain his excitement, shouted, “This is history in the making! Two Platinum-ranked spirits in one day, one with the highest recorded points in history!! This is going to break news all over the world”
Up in the Silverlight booth, Soobin’s parents, Seojin and Yuna, were shouting and cheering, overwhelmed with joy. Hyunmoo and Soyeon were just as ecstatic, their pride was visible as they embraced. Soyeon turned to Yuna, beaming. “Congratulations!” she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Eunhee and Eunjeong stood frozen in shock. Eunhee’s words stuck in her throat as she stared at the screen. "How... did that guy..." she muttered, her voice trailing off.
From the arena , Jun, their son, looked just as stunned, his mouth hanging open as he gazed at Soobin.
Jisoo stood wide-eyed, stunned by what she had just witnessed. "I can’t believe it," she whispered.
Jiho was equally speechless, and Taehyun, after a brief moment of shock, finally snapped out of it. He threw his fist in the air and shouted, "Hell yeah, Soob!!" His voice was filled with pure joy and excitement.
Soobin, still standing at the center of the arena, remained calm. But suddenly, without warning, he released a massive wave of blue spirit energy, sending another swave of blue energy through the stadium. The shimmering particles of energy spread out, floating through the air, surrounding the entire crowd. Spectators reached out to touch the glowing blue particles, their eyes wide with awe... the spirit energy released by soobin didnt hurt anyone... well....except for one.
In the golden zones booth...Jinsoo was smiling and looking at the boy standing in his side.
There was kai.. standing with his hands in his pockets,.. a red aura of spirit enregy surrounding him like a shield, from the blue spirit energy...
it seemed like the energy was specifically targetting him... while not damaging anything else.
Kai's gaze remained locked on Soobin, who stood far below on the arena floor, their eyes meeting across the distance.
Soobin stared back, in the exact direction.. a smile in his lips.
"You seeing this, brother?"
In the Golden Zone booth, Jinsoo, watching the two, muttered quietly to himself, “Interesting…”
image [https://i.imgur.com/KmzCJ2X.jpeg]