Ace whipped around at the unfamiliar voice, except he found nothing there. Briefly, he felt a gush of air behind him along with a strange buzzing sensation. Alarmed, he turned back towards the Bone Blade but all that remained of him was the impression of his body left on the rock.

'Huh?'

At a loss, Ace jumped down from the rock and walked around awkwardly before finding himself face to face with four people. The Matriarch of Steel was among them. The others were a blonde haired woman in a leather jacket, an old man in a suit, and a dark skinned man wearing a gi underneath a cloak.

The energy leaking off the group was stifling, making Ace want to take a knee to catch his breath. Despite, their murderous intent, they only stared at Ace in silence.

The tense situation persisted until the announcers voice interrupted it.

"WOW! That was a great match! It looks like House Steel is our winner for this year's Selection Tournament! And what's this? I can't believe it! The House Leaders have elected to congratulate our winner in person this year! He's the only one left standing after all! Make sure to give him a round of applause!"

After his words, the crowd erupted into a furious cacophony of clapping and cheers.

Ace heard it, but the noise seemed distant, especially now that he knew who was confronting him.

He took a step back but a single shake of the head from the Matriarch of Steel told him to stay put.

Suddenly, the man in the gi started clapping his hands. The rhythm was slow, almost as if he was mocking Ace.

"Congratulations uhh... What was his name Joan, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's Ace..."The Matriarch whispered. The blonde woman twitched.

"Ah! Well then, Congratulations Ace! You've done what many considered impossible. Now I only have one question for you."

He disappeared from Ace's sight and reappeared only a foot in front of him, hand resting on his shoulder. Now that he was up close, Ace got a better look at the man who he assumed to be the Lightning Monarch. He had an angular face and serious face, with dreads tied up in a ponytail. His eyes were a striking yellow, similar to the one's Icarus possessed. He leaned in close, posing a question.

"You wouldn't happen to be a Savant right? If so, that would pose many problems, for everyone here. Mainly you of course."

Talos echoed in his years, practically shaking Ace's brain with his voice.

[Attack him now! It doesn't matter what you say, trust me!]

Ignoring the warning, Ace dodged the Lightning Monarch's question and instead posed a question of his own.

"Why does it matter?"

The Lightning Monarch scoffed.

"Look at this kid, such a cheeky brat. I should just kill him now and be done with this nonsense."

At his words, the other House Leaders' tensed up.

The blonde woman spoke first.

"That's not what we agreed upon. Behave yourself Jabari. Joan is giving you this much. We're here to make sure you don't take things too far... I have questions of my own after all."

The old man nodded his head in agreement while the Matriarch only looked off to the side, as if she was ashamed.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Ace couldn't help but express his concern.

"What do you mean take things too far? Matriarch? What's happening?"

Instead of answering the Matriarch remained silent. Smiling maniacally the Lightning Monarch blocked off Ace's view to the Matriarch.

"We're gonna do a little test, you and me."

"What kind of test?" Ace asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"A very simple one. I need to determine if you're really a Savant... or if this energy you're giving off is the property of your Notch. If you are a Savant, we will not only have to run the tournament once more, but we will also have to... deal with you. We can't have someone who can't control themselves be a Savant. The consequences would be... catastrophic."

Ace rolled his eyes.

"Wow. So you're gonna kill me because you feel threatened? You city folk make me sick... not that I'm surprised. Just tell me about this test."

Stunned at his words, the Lightning Monarch looked back at the other House Leaders. They all looked off to the side. Turning back to Ace, the Monarch tightened his grip on Ace's shoulder.

"Fine then." The Lightning Monarch said before continuing. "The test is simple. Receive one attack from me. That's it. Your condition after the attack will determine whether or not further action needs to be taken."

Ace looked back at the man with a nasty expression. Thankfully, his cloak prevented it from being seen.

"You think I'm just going to let you hit me for free? No... that won't be happening, Lightning Monarch or not."

At his words, Jabari laughed out loud.

"Wow... Joan, this kid is a real handful! I'm sure my son and him would get along. Maybe they can meet... if he survives this that is."

He paused to turn to the old man.

"George... can you put up an illusion please? Unless of course you want everyone to see this. I'm going to attack either w-"

Before he could finish, Ace had already broken off a large part of his heart shell, sending a hook at the Lightning Monarch. It was the fastest he could move. And with the Monarch's proximity, his fist didn't have to travel very far. Combined with the element of surprise, Ace was sure his attack would connect.

In the next few seconds, time seemed to slow down. As his fist approached Jabari's chiseled face, Ace could see the man raise an eyebrow at his strike. Only, he wasn't moving in slow motion like Ace. He was still moving at regular speed.

'What the?'

Practically frozen in space, Ace watched as the Lightning Monarch leaned out of the way of his punch and raised a glowing hand to his chest. After that, the world went blank.

***

Ace opened his eyes only to see a plain white ceiling above him. He looked around the room.

It was fairly empty, save for a small night stand next to the bed he was in and the window on the far wall. Outside it was the main metropolis of GQC-1, flush with activity.

"Finally awake I see."

Recognizing the voice of the Matriarch, Ace turned to look at her.

She sat on a chair next to the bed, arms crossed.

"Would you mind taking that hood off for me? The doctor's couldn't get it off like your armor and I would like to see your face."

Body sore, Ace reached up to his head only to feel the soft cloth of the cloak. It was undamaged and just as smooth as the day he created it. With a simple flick of the wrist, he took off the hood.

When he did so, the Matriarch stared at his face, as if looking for something. Eventually, she broke the awkward silence.

"I came to to tell you what has happened in the past couple of days."

"Days?! How long was I unconscious?"

"Only three days. And before you ask, yes. The Lightning Monarch and the other House Leaders were satisfied with the the outcome of his attack. I'm honestly surprised you're alive. You have a pretty impressive constitution... That's why it only took you a few days to recover from being both charred to a crisp and having your insides liquified. To be honest, you're pretty lucky you weren't instantly turned to dust."

Ace scoffed.

"Pretty lucky?! You just stood there while I almost got blown to pieces! Where was the backup? Aren't you supposed to be a Savant t-"

He was cut short as the Matriarch backhanded him with an offended expression.

"You foolish child! The three of them wanted to verify your grade and make sure that I hadn't upset the balance of power in the city, especially with a loose cannon such as yourself. If I didn't respect their wishes then, a bloody battle would have broken out right then and there. I couldn't afford to let such a thing happen. Especially since I had to keep my promise to you and Silas."

Rubbing his cheek, Ace raised an eyebrow at her. She smirked.

"Just like I promised, The Wall has been opened in all four quadrants and people have already begun migrating into the city. Thing is... 50 million is quite a large amount of people. Seeing as how the 4th wave was just a week ago, our experts predict that it will take at least until the 10th one before everyone can be brought outside inside the wall."

Hearing those words, Ace slumped into his bed's headboard, shocked but incredibly happy. Seeing his expression, the Matriarch continued.

"Unfortunately, there has been... pushback."

"Pushback? What do you mean? I thought when you win the Selection Tournament, the other Houses have to listen to you."

The Matriarch smiled wistfully while shaking her head.

"Oh they are... but our rules never said anything about fights... outside the walls."