Huang Shou sat next to Hong Li on the beach. The soft sound of waves expending themselves on the sandy shore sent a tinkling resonance through Hong Li’s chest. The other man seemed nervous, unwilling to sit and admire the wonder of the new day. “How would you estimate your chances to win the challenge tomorrow?”

Hong Li simply smiled. The sky was a dark blue, bruised and recovering before the light of dawn came through and cleansed the world. He would sit here and watch its rebirth, finding his peace in the constant movement of the natural world. “If there is one thing that I know, it is that life is filled with surprises. Even in the most unexpected places and unlikely of times.”

Huang Shou nodded, but that horrid expression of greed flashed in his eyes. “The gambling odds offer- should you even manage to seriously injure the Ghosthound-”

“Only participate if you have money you do not value,” Hong Li harrumphed. “Now please leave me, I have to tend my daily meditations.”

After apologizing profusely and bowing several times, the other man left. Hong Li sucked in a breath for five minutes, held it for five minutes, then released it for the same amount of time. By the time the sun peaked over the horizon, he had forgotten he was anything but one more shifting aspect of nature.

And nature held no fear toward itself.

*****

Derek Moss leaned back on the sofa, looking at the figures talking animatedly on the television terminal. Next to him, his son frowned at the screen as the announcer listed the known abilities of the eight people who would be challenging the Ghosthound. They had even begun to speculate how to challenge Randidly, based on his known habits.

“Can he win?” Tim asked. “There are gonna be so many of them.”

Derek Moss rubbed his jaw. He wondered if it was too early to drink a beer. “Well, I definitely don’t think he could lose. He’s the strongest man in the whole of the Alpha Cosmos. He’s the best of millions.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Dad, there are more than millions of people in the Alpha Cosmos.”

“Tim’s right,” Gertrude walked back into the living room from the kitchen, carrying two plates of homemade mac and cheese. She placed one on the edge of the coffee table by NAME and then curled up against Derek. She flashed him a smile while offering him a fork to share with her. “Kharon Academy is actually attempting to do a census. Part of the problem is getting an accurate count of the population in the Nemesai worlds, but you wouldn’t believe how obnoxious the Zones are about releasing accurate population information-”

“Not everyone shares your love of statistics,” Derek laughed and kissed Gertrude’s cheek. “But no more census talk- they are about to reveal the stage for the challenge.”

“Where are they fighting?” Tim asked, his attention suddenly riveted to the screen.

Derek scratched his cheek. “From what I hear, up. In the sky. Way, way up.”

*****

Missy Carp stood against the bars of her jail cell, her eyes intent on the terminal down the hallway, so all the inmates could watch the challenge. The metal of the long cylinders was cool on her hands and forehead. Despite how many people complained about how drawn out the tournament was and how pointless and retrogressive it was to compete using only fighting ability, Missy suspected there would be very few people who knew about this challenge that wouldn’t try and watch.

Part of it was the spectacle; it was the biggest and most impactful event in the history of the Alpha Cosmos, a geographic and political tableau that was just now being uneasily recognized by the various established populations. In a way, the tournament was a method to let them recognize each other.

The other part of it was the mystery of the Ghosthound: he had wanted this tournament, specifically to demonstrate to the world the power of its warriors. And now he stepped up before them to strike them all down and prove the dangers of the wider Nexus.

The amount of self-assurance, hubris, and certainty that were wrapped up together in the Ghosthound to hatch such a plan were exactly why Missy had tried so hard to harm him, to prove how dangerous he was to the world. Yet at this point, everyone was being swept up in his pace.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“And now,” The announcer sat at her desk and flashed a winning smile toward the camera. Despite her professionalism, her face oozed excitement; her eyes were bright and slightly twitchy. “Without further adieu, I am very proud to broadcast the very first images of the ‘Little Moon’ that will serve as the location for the challenge. This astrological body has been assembled by the Order Ducis over the last week to host the challenge and prevent any damage to Expira.”

The tiny screen down the hall showed a massive stone and metal asteroid, tumbling in the air. Missy squinted, trying to figure out how large it was.

She sincerely hoped that in the chaos of fighting, that massive bit of rock would fall to Expira and destroy a continent, perhaps finally waking the world up to Randidly’s foolishness. Yet somehow, even she couldn’t believe he would fail.

That was just how unshakable the Legend of Randidly Ghosthound had become in the hearts of people.

*****

Alana Donal woke up on the day of the challenge and went through her usual morning rituals. She ate breakfast. She jogged in the interior of a gravity training facility at twenty-five times Expira’s gravity, just to work up a light sweat and loosen her muscles. Then she dove into the ocean, kicking her feet to follow the drop off of the continental shelf to the deep pressure of the bottom of the sea.

There, floating in near darkness, she released her tight reins on the anticipation she felt. The water around her began to bubble and boil under the force of her power. Orange and golden radiance yawned open around her, shining on algae-crusted stones that might never have been exposed to light before. Alana grinned; for all that she felt disappointed that she hadn’t been able to win the tournament and get her ticket to ‘challenge’ the Ghosthound officially stamped and approved, watching the finals was a valuable experience.

She witnessed both utilizing Aether and Nether in different ways. She saw two demonstrations of successful emotional affects, multiplying the destructive power of attacks in exponential degrees.

It whetted her appetite for her own chance to be on that stage, in her most powerful incarnation.

In a way, she suspected that was exactly what Randidly had wanted. And Alana wanted to make him pay for that generosity.

After swimming to the surface, she returned to her room to wash the salt out of her hair. She polished her spear and oiled her leather armor. Then she proceeded to the agreed-upon meeting spot so the group could approach the challenge together.

Tournament Island was curiously silent around them. Aside from Order Ducis members and Kharon civil servants, everyone else had been evacuated. A bus waited in the ruins of the destroyed arena, to carry them up to the Little Moon.

Hong Li, Hank, and Beatrice were already present when Alana arrived. The group had settled along the wall between the arena and the stands. They exchanged small greetings and settled down to wait. Although there was still a half-hour before the challenge would begin, they didn’t have to wait long. Paolo arrived next, his squat and powerful body already slick with sweat. Based on the slight wildness in his eyes, he hadn’t slept last night.

Even now, the demanding song of his image wafted off him like heat.

Next came Illdan and Kimpap, walking together and carrying their spears with sharp intent. Alana noticed the way that Beatrice offered Illdan a halfhearted wave and the attractive young man ignored the gesture. He seemed much more interested in his own feet than the pretty blonde girl who obviously had a crush on him.

Kimpap also seemed to notice and shrugged at Alana, as though to say, ‘Such foolish youth, but what can you do?’

Alana wondered if Kimpap would be scandalized if Illdan decided to couple up with someone not from Tellus. She hoped it would happen, just because she suspected the answer might be yes.

The last arrival was the man who had gone the furthest in the tournament: Drake. He maintained his casual exterior, just wearing loose pants and a t-shirt with his bastard sword slung across his back, but his disposition had changed. He stood straighter, the light in his eyes was brighter.

And after waving, he spoke in a voice still croaky from disuse. “Let’s do this thing.”

“The runner up himself, here to lead us to a flawless victory.” Paolo laughed and slapped Drake on the shoulder. His expression was one of genuine cheer as he squeezed the slighter man’s arms. “That sword of yours was mighty fine, better than Kayle’s, for sure. Are you ready for this? Fully recovered?”

Drake nodded seriously. “I’ve had to reshape my image heavily, but yes. With the addition of my Chimeric Fate, I can accomplish a lot of different tasks-” Drake took a short break to cough several times before continuing. “Excuse me. Plus, I inherited… something from the tournament that has boosted my capability across the board. The Ghosthound told me it is Nether ‘Weight’.”

Alana nodded, reflecting on that little extra ‘oomph’ she had felt in the past few days. “The rest of us in the top four also received a small boost. Charlotte likely received the most; it’s unfortunate that she won’t be joining us. Her help would have been invaluable.”

“Ah, that explains my excellent meditations the last few days. I truly feel one with the environment.” Hong Li hummed to himself. “The world speaks and I am its voice.

“The time approaches,” Kimpap observed. “Perhaps we can wait to share our private personal outlooks until later.”

“Honestly, he’s growin’ on me,” Hank drawled. “But can you feel it in the air? The spear woman is right, the moment is coming.”

Alana looked straight upward. The sky just looked clear and blue. But she knew that out there, floating in the sky, was the location of the challenge. She clenched her fists and felt the heat building in her veins.

Soon.