We didn’t have to wait long before a loud clap boomed through the grand hall, and everyone turned toward the source of the noise. Upon the second-floor terrace of the grand hall stood the seven emperors. Chizaki Orizaki of the Baobab Empire, Scara Orthan of the Niflhiem Empire, Gandi of the Buddha Religiosa Empire, Urial of the Eden Empire, Guru Shival Shinra of the Shcorenath Empire, Emperor Huangjin Wong Shi Tong of the Wong Empire, and finally Guru Shi’en of the Fusang Empire.

I squinted at them and saw Guru Shi’en looking rather sickly, to my surprise. Emperor Wong grabbed my attention, however, as he raised his glass of Yggdrasil Mead, “Attention, everyone!” his voice boomed over the crowd like a gust of wind, silencing everyone who dared to speak over him, “I would like to start this speech off by saying congratulations to the young cultivators who have made it as far as they have in The Hollow Throne Tournament,” He then raised his glass slightly higher and said, “Cheers to them and may their next fights be worthy of song in the coming months.”

Everyone in the grand hall roared, “CHEERS!!” a few even turned to me to raise their glasses of not Mead. I guess these people around me weren’t important enough for Yggdrasil Mead.

“Furthermore,” the emperor continued, “I will be announcing the rules of the finals that will take place in two months and the upcoming events. We shall start the free-for-all battle royals for the teams, doubles, and singles competitors in two months. The top fighters in each bracket will move on to the finals, whereas the losers will be removed from the tournament and lose their chances to receive rewards.

“The rules will be changed as with every year. The finalist will have the opportunity to fight using all their cores, displaying their full power if they are capable, and the fights will no longer have a time limit and will not end until one fighter is defeated. So, to all those participating in the tournament, use these two months wisely and train hard and well. Drink!” Emperor Wong said, raising his glass to his lips.

I did the same and brought my lips to my wine glass, figuring I could take a sip and stop afterward. Just as my lips were about to touch the wine glass all the hair on my tail and head stood on end as my danger sense activated. I dropped the wine glass and jumped up to slap the glass out of Orrin’s hands as well.

“What are you—” Orrin began but was cut off as a scream broke out from the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention to the source, and just as I turned to see where the commotion came from, I saw three people fall on the second terrace out of the corner of my eyes. Guru Shi’en collapsed to the ground, and my heart stopped.

Next to me, another dull thud sounded as Lily collapsed to the ground, her wine glass shattering on the ground. In a panic, I turned to the twins and saw they did as they were told and never drank the Mead. Orrin knelt beside his sister and said, “Quickly attend to Guru Shi’en.”

I nodded and cycled my Speed chakra as I dashed through the crowds of people and jumped up to the terrace. Emperor Wong, Guru Shival Shinra, and Guru Shi’en had all collapsed to the floor as foam began to form in their mouths in slow motion. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. What am I supposed to do at a time like this? I looked around in a panic and turned to survey the crowd of people far below, searching for Granny Sheji’s bamboo staff.

“There,” I said as I spotted her going towards the stairs to the second floor. I jumped back down from the terrace and ran through the crowd to Granny Sheji. I picked her up as I ran up the stairs and back to Guru Shi’en. “Granny Sheji! Do you know what’s— OW!” I began to ask but was cut off as she hit my head with her bamboo staff.

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“Pick me up like a sack of rice! Hmmm! A good way to kill Granny with fright!! HMMM!!” she grumbled and smacked me with her staff again before turning back to assess Guru Shi’en.

“Sorry, Granny. I don’t know what else to do. So I grabbed you,” I said, rubbing the goose egg now forming on my head.

Granny Sheji ignored me and began examining Guru Shi’en. She sniffed a bit of the foam from Guru Shi’en’s mouth on her index finger. Then, she wiped her finger clean on my Yukata before placing both hands on his chest, feeling his breathing. Then she hurriedly turned to me and said, “Highest level spell you can cast, what is it? Hmmm?!”

“Uhh, umm, level six!” I answered as quickly as I could.

“Cast level eight spell, can you? Hmmm?!”

I steeled my expression and said, “Yes.”

“Good. Instructions you follow now and quickly…” I nodded as Granny Sheji began listing off where each rune goes in each circle of the one-hundred-and-twenty-eight circles needed for the spell. Each spell circle had five runes. Not a single rune combination repeated itself as Granny Sheji listed rune after rune at lightning speed, and I quickly created each one by one.

Halfway through crafting the spell, Haze ran up next to Granny Sheji and I. We ignored her as we continued working on the spell and, within two minutes, completed it. “Used to collapsing into one spell, Yes?” Granny Sheji asked and continued talking without waiting for an answer, “Collapse into one spell this time, you will not. Have too many to heal, we have. Sense eighteen poisoned, I do. Hazaizil, you and the emperors—” Granny Sheji stopped herself as she looked around to find the remaining emperors who hadn’t gotten poisoned had gone. Granny Sheji cursed under her breath before continuing, “Mind them not. Provide chakra for the spell, Hazaizil will. Copy spell eighteen times, you must, Zeana.”

“I will try,” I said, and Granny Sheji stamped her staff on the ground.

“No try. Do or do not. There is no try. Now do,” Granny Sheji barked, and I had to stifle the laugh welling up in my chest at the resemblance to the little green Master she reminded me of.

“Okay, guys, it’s all on us now,” I said in my mind. I quickly got a response from Apollo, Crucible, and Fangbao as they all cycled their chakras through my body simultaneously. I added to it as I cycled the rest of my cores through me, feeling my body pulse with power as I quickly copied the level eight spell seventeen more times.

Once I copied everything, which only took me a second, Grandmaster Haze placed her hands upon me, and I felt an additional surge of power course through me, and I activated the spell. All my built-up power was released at once in a wave of rainbow light permeating everything in the palace.

Exhaustion struck me like a freight train, and I collapsed, unable to feel my body. Haze caught me before I hit the ground and lowered me gently to the ground, and Yuki moved from my shoulders to my chest. I heaved large gasps of air as I asked, “Did that … save them?”

“No,” Granny Sheji said simply, and panic shot through me again. Before I could say anything, Granny Sheji continued, “To buy time, that spell was. Need special ingredients I need. Make cure, I can.”

“What poisoned was it, and what do you need?” Master Haze asked in a hurry.

“Poison called Soul Burn, it is,” Granny Sheji answered grimly, “Burns chakra paths and cores it does. Very rare, very deadly. Only one cure there is. Need Gorgan head to make the cure.”

“Why do you need the Gorgan’s head?” I asked, finally catching my breath and still feeling weak.

“Poison is part of the body, not of the soul. Uses the body to attack the soul. Need to kill the body without killing the body or soul. Gorgan will petrify with its gaze, keeping prey alive and soul undamaged it will. In the Shcorenath Empire, you will find Gorgan monster. In volcanos, it lives,” Granny Sheji answered quickly, “Have one week to find the head. Wear off the spell will. Now go. Waste time no more we will.”

“Yes, Lady Sheji,” Haze said with a bow, picking me up with Yuki still on my chest as she jumped from the terrace. As she fell, she yelled, “TEAM FIERY HEART, WE MOVE TO MAKE THE CURE FOR THE FALLEN! WE LEAVE TONIGHT!”