The weeks leading up to the national passed with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Enyo had done her duty and properly leashed her manic husband, preventing him from blowing anything up without her permission. Ares did visit the city a few times, during which he was able to enjoy some of the new stalls and services available at this time of year. There was a minor incident in which he tried squabbling with Jeremy for the right to return to the auction house at a later date if he wanted to, but he was met with instant and uncompromising rejection no matter how he tried to swing it. Ares was banned for life, which was technically a much harsher punishment than it sounded because his life would never end. As for training during this period, Sadie placed a greater emphasis on co-ordinating as a team, thus leading to the creation of various combination arts amongst the five man group. This took a while longer than it should have, though, as Aejaz wasn't present for the entirety of the first week of training. Ares was lenient up until this point, after which he threatened to unleash a Grand Annihilation on the room his brother was hiding away in. Aejaz came out of the room with a scowl but he ended up begrudgingly submitting to the powers that be... Namely Ares using Stamp Out to kick him in the nuts. Yes, it did hurt as much as you think it would. Probably even more. Aejaz couldn't use his soldier again for a while even if he wanted to. As for Allie, well she'd definitely matured, if you ignored her walking around with her hands perpetually covering her face for over a week straight anyway. Bellona and Enyo had much ribbing to do in order to satisfy their jealousy and thus they hounded Allie relentlessly. When Allie had finally returned to normal, she also returned to alchemy and finally created the 'core enhancement' pill for Leo. As Ares had predicted, Leo gained the ability to change size. He could now grow to the size of a normal tiger which gave Charity quite the scare when he jumped and roared at her from behind a fence one day. As for the violence that came after, let's just say no one came out of the bloodbath unscathed. This wasn't all for the Leo upgrades though, as the ever-shifting core had been refunded during its use. As an aside, Aejaz was thanked for this in a way that incentivised him to redouble his efforts in finding rare ingredients. Actually, his efforts hadn't doubled, they'd practically quintupled. He was like a changed man, energetic and eager. Well, he was still a coward, that was just ingrained behaviour and could never be removed. Regarding Leo's other upgrade, technically it wasn't him that got stronger directly, but rather Allie created a Mini-Pillie using the core that benefitted him greatly. Mini-Pillie 'commander' could boost the overall strength of non-human combatants by rallying their spirits and raising their morale. Funnily enough, this did in fact work on Ares too. The Mini-Pillie was easily distinguishable thanks to the black and gold general hat it wore and the bravery with which it stood tall atop Leo's back. Leo, when transformed, with the Mini-Pillie on his back, and the necklace of various pills he wielded, was actually an incredibly dangerous creature. He'd long since become something way more than just your average treetop tiger, much to the dismay of Charity who felt nothing but chagrin at having been outpaced as a cultivator by a dopey monster that ridiculed her endlessly. Ares had given up on trying to mediate between these two as it seemed their feud would just never end. As long as they didn't fight on his turf and break stuff, he didn't really care. He was too busy singlehandedly raising the reputation of the sect as though he were Atlas holding up the world on his back. His weapons, armour, and Beads had become more than just talk of the town, they were talk of the country. Over-geared outer court disciples from Heaven's Path with explosive treasures were all the rage amongst all the gossipers. The rumours led to a drastic increase in cultivators applying to get into the sect. Of course they had to wait until after the international which was when the sect had cleverly set the date for the next entrance test. Despite being run ragged by the various demands thrust upon him, and the training he had to attend daily, he was able to recharge in peace at home when he cuddled with Appa. Of course that was all for naught when Enyo showed up and demanded more than just cuddles, draining him of every drop of energy he possessed. Enyo was tempted multiple times to just unleash everything and show off all of her pillar of pleasure tricks and really blow Ares mind, but she remained patient and saved it all for the big day. If Ares wanted it to be a day worth remembering, she would make it a day he couldn't forget even if he wanted to. What was going to happen to the poor man would forever be imprinted onto his body and soul to the point that even death wouldn't wash away Enyo's mark. Ares was curious as to what exactly Enyo was training so hard for, spending all her spare time in the cultivation rooms, but he decided not to follow up on his curiosity as he assumed she was likely just exploring the holy pillar... Ares did, however, mercilessly beat his brother when he discovered him using the art Ares had been trying to get him to learn as a means of teleporting around the house. His stupid brother was using arguably the most versatile art in existence to be lazy! Ares made sure Aejaz got plenty of training in with the art by chucking Shock Beads at him. The art was still in the early stages and wouldn't be usable until the international, but it would definitely leave its mark there when it was unveiled. Last but not least, Dirk had been arguing with his father in order to secure aid for the sake of recovering his heart. In the end, he still wasn't able to come to an agreement as his father's demand was for him to undergo an arranged marriage with someone of his choosing and Dirk refused. He would have to try again at a later date, but he could tell his father wasn't going to move even an inch on this. Dirk's last ditch option was to bring Ares and Li Li here and see if either of them could convince him, but that would happen some other time.

And just like that, everyone passed the time in their own ways. A few people had gained stages of cultivation, and the list of all their current cultivations is as follows: Ares was at mental accumulation, 3rd stage. Dirk was at mental accumulation, 8th stage. Li Li was at mental accumulation, 9th stage. Aejaz had shot up to the peak of mental accumulation thanks to Allie's 'encouragement' which gave him all the reasons he needed to try harder. Appa's cultivation was also at the peak of mental accumulation and her cuteness was still immeasurable. The Lighter Duo were at mental accumulation 5th stage. Onno was at mental accumulation, 4th stage. Allie had rocketed past Ares thanks to the new cultivation technique and was at mental accumulation, 6th stage. Esme was at mental accumulation, 9th stage. Bellona had gone up one stage to mental accumulation, 5th stage. Last but not least, Enyo... Hadn't moved... She was still at mental accumulation, 7th stage. She'd made it clear she was going to swap to dedication cultivation the day before the international started and make up for lost time somehow, but Ares couldn't wrap his head around her reasoning. How she was going to ring out any gains from her holy pillar he didn't know, but he took her word at face value. Besides, Enyo was still above and beyond any normal cultivator by a wide margin. Not having improved her cultivation for the nationals was mostly irrelevant.

---------------------------------

Yawn

At the crack of dawn, on the day the nationals started, Ares woke up and rolled to the side. He shuffled over and close to Enyo and briefly enjoyed watching her sleep peacefully. The sun came creeping in and illuminated her innocent sleeping face. Her hair drooped down over her bare shoulders and her soft lips were slightly parted. Compressed between her biceps, her chest heaved slowly as she lay atop the pillow with her clasped hands in front of her. Ares enjoyed beholding the serenity of Enyo's resting form and her beautiful features as he twirled the lavender end of one of her strands of hair.

"mm."

With a cute little murmur that barely escaped Enyo's lips and a few small blinks of her heavy eyelids that fluttered her eyelashes, Enyo's deep purple eyes were half revealed to the world as she sleepily squinted at Ares.

Ares gently swept her hair back and leant in for a kiss. Enyo's eyes shut again as she craned her neck up slightly, offering Ares her pink lips. Ares placed his lips on Enyo's and savoured the moment. Enyo drifted between sweet dreams and wonderful reality as her man's kiss turned passionate. Enyo's bottom lip was tickled by Ares' warm breath as he tenderly placed it between his teeth. They both let out quiet moans as Ares ran his tongue along Enyo's trapped lip before setting it free as his kisses roamed south and onto her neck. Enyo rested her face to the side, letting out deep sighs as Ares lovingly kissed her nape and firmly held her hand in his. Ares's warm breath in Enyo's ear made her squirm as he spoke in hushed tones, "I love you."

Enyo barely opened her eyes, turned to face Ares, and gave him a deep kiss. When she was done, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and brought his head down to rest on her chest where he could feel her beating heart. As she was still half-asleep, she mumbled "I love you." in a small voice as she ran her fingers through his hair. Enyo wrapped her leg around Ares' and pulled him in closer before resting her head atop his and hugging him tight with an angelic smile on her face.

The two lay there happily for a long while as per usual. This had become somewhat of a daily ritual that the first to wake up would initiate and neither of them had any complaints as they both were satisfied with expressing their love and simply idling in silence for a while. Lazing in each other's arms as they cuddled intimately was their preferred way of starting the day. Of course a good majority of the time Enyo would start to get frisky, but today she was reserved and didn't push any further. Either she was still tired, she wasn't in the mood which was extremely rare but did happen, or she was patiently waiting for whatever today entailed as it was the end of the two week countdown. Well, two and a half weeks, but who other than Enyo was counting? Ares, knowing his future wife like the back of his hand, correctly ascertained it was the third option. She'd been bugging him all throughout the day prior, asking him for hints like a kid on Christmas eve trying to figure out their present. She'd even almost resorted to grabbing and shaking him. Still, today was the start of the nationals, so that had to be dealt with first. That being said, Ares had an idea for how to make the time pass quicker. He'd been informed by Zhang a few days ago that there were seven teams total competing and that there would be three fights on day one, two on day two, and one on the final day. Depending on the circumstances, if Ares was lucky enough, he could manipulate things to have today off by getting a free pass on the first round. Logically it should be something he has no control over, but depending on how things went, he could raise that chance significantly, if not outright to 100%. It required a specific condition, but Ares believed in the power of luck. It didn't make much of a difference either way, but he really wanted to spend the whole day with Enyo and fulfil his promise to at last partially satisfy her cravings. If it didn't work, she would just have to wait until the fighting was finished.

Knock Knock

Ares went to lift his head up and call out but Enyo held him close and shushed him with her finger as she did it instead. "Who is it?"

"It's me!"

From the voice, Enyo could tell it was Bellona so she decided to play a small 'prank' on her and welcome her in. "Come in."

Bellona entered the room and did a double take when she saw Enyo and Ares sprawled on top of each other. She got an eyeful of both their bare upper chests and just sighed at her sister who was petting a confused Ares. Ares himself didn't mind this situation because it was just his chest at the end of the day. It wasn't really that big a deal for him, but did Enyo not mind showing off hers like this? It wasn't exactly inappropriate because they were both women, but it wasn't really normal behaviour either considering how easy it would have been to cover up. Of course Ares didn't know that Enyo was just enabling her sister to get an eyeful. It wouldn't even end here as Enyo was aware that the sect, and more specifically Lizzy as the head of the gadgetry department, had plenty of cameras. She had every intention of bargaining for one and sharing a fair bit more than this with her sister. This was partly because she wanted to give her sister something to make the long wait easier, but also because Enyo being Enyo got off on the thought of recording and sharing. Not that she'd give it to anyone other than Bellona though, she was an exception because of her situation. Rather, Enyo was glad because Bellona gave her a reason and an excuse to do it. Even just luring her sister into the room like this was getting her in the mood. She would have jumped on Ares by now if she could, making Bellona watch. This would do for now, though, and it also served another purpose, getting Ares to be subconsciously more comfortable around Bellona in situations like this. It was a long term project, but Enyo's chicanery was hard at work.

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"Well? What do you want? Him? Me? Both of us?" Enyo took charge of the conversation and queried her sister why she was here in the first place. It also served its secondary purpose as a double entendre with Ares being blissfully unaware. It's not like Ares was oblivious or anything, but Enyo was just rather good at circumnavigating the topic while brushing up on it in a way that was subtle so as to no invoke suspicion.

Bellona shook her head and troopered on even in the face of Enyo's coy invitations. "It's getting a little late and you've got to get to the nationals on time or you automatically forfeit, remember?"

"We've still got enough time. Let me guess; you, Allie, Aejaz, Appa, and Leo would like some homemade breakfast, right?"

With Enyo having sleuthed her sister's true intent, Bellona could do nothing but scrunch her face and stick her tongue out. "I want more popping candy! It hits all the right spots as a pick-me-up in the morning. Mellow flavours with a hidden kick to get the day started."

"Hmph, so you came barging in here to steal my man away from me?" Enyo hugged Ares tighter.

"I didn't come barging in, I knocked and you let me in. Also, yes, I am stealing him! At least he won't have to suffocate in those balloons on your chest." Bellona used her magic to wrest Ares from her sister, pick him up in a princess carry with one hand on his bare back and the other under his thigh and over his shorts, and take him out of the room. As she was leaving, she snickered to herself as she intentionally knocked Ares' head against the doorway.

"Ouch! Oi, watch were you're carrying me! Also, can I put a shirt on? it's a little cold..."

"That didn't seem to bother you earlier."

"That's because Enyo is warm, like a hilly desert. You're like a frozen tundra. Icy cold and flat." Ares chuckled to himself but stopped mid laugh as he looked up and saw Bellona glaring down at him.

"Cold, huh? Ok." Bellona carried a nervous Ares in to the living room and walked over to the cutest house member. Bellona held out Ares in Appa's direction and gave the order Ares was dreading. "Appa, your dad has been naughty, freeze him!"

"Appa! Sweetie! Ignore this flat chested gorilla!" Ares begged.

Appa looked between Ares and Bellona before recalling something its mother had told it a while ago. "Mum said to freeze you if you called Bellona's chest flat. She also said to listen to Bellona instead of you if you two were arguing. Also, I've been cuddling with Bellona lots at night and she's nice. Sorry dad, but you've probably been a bad person again! I'm going to freeze you now!"

"Appa nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

CRACKLE

"Hehehehe." Appa joyfully bobbed its way over to the table and sat next to Leo as it awaited its Snappas while playing with Huggles.

Ares, the popsicle not the person, was pushed along the ground by Bellona's foot and he slid into the kitchen. Until he dethawed from his ice encasing, he was going to just lie there at the foot of the kitchen sink. Like this, he had time to think over his earlier comments and learn his lesson. Of course Ares was incapable of learning this particular lesson, but that just meant he was going to get frozen a lot more in the future. Also, since when did Bellona have more sway over his own daughter than he did?! And why was Enyo encouraging it?! Bellona and Appa had been cuddling at night, but surely this was too much?! Ares used to be the favourite, now he was third!

Eventually Ares was free from his icy imprisonment and went about cooking something for everyone. There was a chance for a fight today, depending on the drawings for the preliminary round, so Ares cooked up a hearty breakfast for anyone participating in the tournament. After, everyone got ready and headed outside the sect to go to the Scorched Grounds. Ares was vaguely familiar with its location as he'd hung around the outskirts with Aejaz when they were younger and stole from passing-by fat sheep. Anyone who looked particularly wealthy but not strong enough to detect their antics had been fair game. Well, the word 'had' is used loosely as Aejaz would still absolutely keep doing it even now when there wasn't even a need for it. Or rather, the way he defined the word 'need' was different from everyone else. Aejaz 'needed' to steal rare ingredients for Allie because he 'needed' the reward. Although the means were completely opposite to one another, both Aejaz and Onno would do good work during the national and international. Just as Enyo kept a tight leash on Ares, Ares also kept one on Aejaz too, though. Ares understood that Aejaz was more than capable of being a liability in combat if he was allowed to act at his own discretion as he would just focus on stealing things of value, from both the combatants and the spectators alike, and not actually kill his opponents.

They arrived in good time and Ares, despite having lived in Red Sun for all of his life, finally got a good look at the Scorching Grounds for once. The house of harm. The architecture of abuse. Everything about the coliseum oozed violence and showmanship. Tall and imposing, the Scorched Grounds came fully equipped to deal with large audiences thanks to its seven different floors, each of which came with a different aesthetic that indicated at a glance who was at the top of society, and who nothing more than a bottom feeder.

The bottom level was aged and the pillars were cracked. The stone arches weren't smooth nor were they shaped properly with most being bent slightly to one side or another. This layer was referred to as the 'commons area' and anyone and everyone was welcome here provided there was any space left. The second layer, also known simply as 'moderate', sported a cleaner look with blue brick being the predominant feature that defined the floor. Anyone who earned a decent wage, or could be considered middle class, would be able to afford a seat here for their family if they saved up for a few months. The price of admission to the third layer was one high-grade per audience member but it was worth it for those who wanted an experience that wasn't present on any of the other floors. Floor three was effectively an igloo as it had been constructed using ice magic. The iced floors were easy to walk on and and an aurora borealis snaked underneath the ice. Those who wanted to remain cool on a sunny day, those who enjoyed the thematic, and those who simply wanted the experience of sitting on benches of snow under warm quilts with hot cocoa by their side would choose the 'frozen observatory'. Next up, literally, was the 'nobleman's quarters'. Reserved for the rich and the regal, seats in this open-plan mansion residing on the fourth floor weren't cheap; coming in at around 250 high-grade for a room. A red carpet around the exterior welcomed VIP guests who could glance outside the glass panes and watch the peasantry enter from below. They would enter their rooms and have a service not dissimilar to that of the the Myriad Masks with comfy seating and a lavish banquet readily available. Each room had a butler on standby outside, ready to take orders and be of general service. Each guest could watch the matches comfortably from their own rooms in private, or they could open up the front section and put themselves on display if they wanted the attention. Although these rooms didn't inherently imply the people within had high statuses, as that was reserved for those on the higher floors, the people here were guaranteed to have immeasurable stardust to their name. Most business owners and members of large organisations would typically be found in this layer connecting with one another and expanding their reach and connections. Some cultivators with higher status would make an effort to come down to this layer in search of funding and/or the selling of their services, shady or above board made no difference as all sorts could be found here. Fifth was where the recognition factor started to become relevant. If you were from a distinguished clan or sect and had the necessary renown, the 'golden gallery' was the place to be. The layer consisted primarily of black marble with gold streaks throughout and offered larger rooms / seating areas to accommodate a greater number of individuals from said clans or sects. Notable families across the globe would happily stay on this floor as they were one above the businessmen they so frequently interacted with, making it easy to pay them a visit. Furthermore, this floor allowed its customers to display banners and other such objects like flags and emblems to represent themselves in front of a global audience and grab the attention of those that wished to work under them. Simply appearing on this floor was a boon in and of itself that would lead to others seeking you out of their own accord as a degree of prestige was required to even be here. If anyone hadn't heard of a group on this floor, it wasn't because they were unheard of, but because the individual hadn't done their research. The last benefit of this floor was that, when showing up for the international, anyone who stayed here was given a gift of gratitude for attending. It raised the overall quality of attendees by a large margin and improved the reputation of the city and the event itself, so a rare treasure of some kind was usually handed out to the leaders of each gathered group as thanks. Second to last was where bona-fide bigshots begun appearing. 'The garden of Eden' was a floor decorated by lush and vibrant plant life, and each archway was decorated in an array of beautiful flowers. Roses, magnolia, cherry blossoms, and lilies. Any and all plants, including some exceptionally rare, region specific variants dotted the floor and the entrance to each section was custom tailored to the requests of the individual who stayed there. In order to even step foot on this floor, the bare minimum requirement was being in the transition realm, so only the elite of Sheryashka could explore Eden. Of course any cultivators from Vraizon who met the requirements were also permitted here. This place was most commonly used by lone cultivators without backing as the floor above facilitated that group of clientele. As for this floor, each section utilised magic to grow natural grass and create a garden of wonders. Arboreal, gentle creatures danced about and small lakes housed graceful swans. Tea and cake were served in three tier curates after being crafted by only the finest pâtissiers across the entire domain who had come here to further their own careers. The relaxing atmosphere was perfect for lone wolves to take a breather from the harsh world of cultivation and destress in safety. Finally, the peak of the coliseum, revered by all as the 'pantheon', was where those at the very top of society could be found. Only the clans and families that dominated the Vraizon domain with unfathomable cultivations could roam these halls. Similar to the previous floor for groups, the area was marbled, but white instead of black this time. The golden streaks were also present. In many ways, this floor was a combination of all the others. Only the finest foods from top chefs across every accessible domain was served here. The view from the top was spectacular and personal screens were also given for those who wanted a closer view. Anyone here could opt for indoor or outdoor seating and both were expansive enough to fit upwards of fifty people per group. There were only a handful of people who had the right to bring their disciples and families here and that select group of people had remained near enough unchanged throughout history. Very rarely did anyone ascend to this rank or replace those present as they were truly monstrous people. The Legion, Willow, Starlight, and Umbra Wolf clans were all examples of the kind of names that graced this layer of the coliseum. If you could make it to this floor by working for a family or joining a sect with the right to be there, you had made it in life. As the way to the next domain up from Vraizon was severed, there were no higher existences than these groups so they received preferential treatment on every conceivable level. Cultivators would burn the existence of anyone who appeared on this floor into their retinas and memory so as to remain polite and subservient should they ever run into them outside the coliseum. Even showing off your face for a split second on this floor put you well and truly above everyone else. Every seat on this layer was a throne, and every cultivator sat on it a king or queen in their own right.

This coliseum was the most famous building across all domains, bar none. It was the result of an organisation Ares wasn't yet familiar with, the same one that funded and ran the international, spending countless resources to erect. Red Sun being the most central location in an easily accessible domain for those both below and above Sheryashka made it the optimal location for its existence. Scorching Grounds and Myriad Masks alone kept Red Sun afloat even in the roughest times. These two sacred buildings were all that remained after the Vargaraad incident as the defences in place were resilient against the tide of lunar fire that devoured everything else, and thus they became symbols of the city. The coliseum in particular was an astounding feat of architecture and design. Naturally, as per his first instinct in situations like this, Ares wanted to blow it up.