Step, step, step. Steps could be heard bouncing off the light golden walls that surrounded the man in the empty hallway. Under him, a red carpet stretched towards a large brown round topped door. The man was quite tall. About six feet two inches tall in height. Along with his physique, he flaunted a great, white and purple cloak, and under that, he wore a dark grey armor suit. The man had a thick brown beard that was connected with a mustache. It would appear that the man was in his mid to late twenties, although the battles that he fought to be able to advance upon this hallway would have felt like an eternity to any normal person. Upon first examination, the man looked like any normal warrior. But once you caught a glimpse of the sword that he grasped so tightly in his hands, you'd realize that he was nothing short of a monster. The sword was twice as tall as he was, and about three times as wide. The sword was fully white, except for the dark blade that was the color of a man's shadow. The handle that he grasped was bright yellow, and there were three thin ribbon-like lines that ran to the tip of the sword that were yellow as well. There was also some red on it, but it wasn't originally designed that way. That color came from the blood of the dozens of enemies that he had fought just minutes prior to his steps along the golden hallway.

The man was very close to the door now. He stopped for a moment and stared directly at the door, as if he had seen something grim on it. His blank expression suddenly turned into anger, and at that moment he took the tip of the sword, aimed it at the door, and lightly tapped it with the force of a feather. As soon as the sword made contact with the door, it burst off its hinges and flew across the room that the man was soon to enter. It hit the opposite side of the room, which, coincidentally, sat a great golden throne. Apart from this throne being completely gold, it was massive, and it had a sword at least 10 times the size of the man's that was stabbing straight into the ground behind the throne. It would appear as though this sword held the throne in place as some sort of foundation. In the great seat sat King Ren, the current King of All.

King Ren was similar in height to the man. However, his physical appearance was way different. The man was quite bulky, even without his thick cloak, and was covered in muscle, while King Ren's physique was a bit more scrawny and thin. However, he still packed a great deal of muscle in the upper body, but lacked a lot of leg muscle. Also, his hair was curly and flat instead of wavy and about like the man that had entered the room.

The man took a few steps forward. His expression of anger remained as he stared into the eyes of the King. He tightly grasped his sword.

This day was special to the man. It was known throughout the kingdom, and to the world, as Throne Day. Every five years, there is a duel in the central square of the Kingdom of Mace for all of the participants who wish to take lead in the world and become the King of All. Each participant fights to the death, and the last one standing gets full admission to the Kingdom and is allowed to advance into the throne room, where the King of All sits.

From there, they are able to fight the King in a one-on-one duel for the Throne. For you to go from a civilian to the King of All, you must do the unthinkable; which is to kill the King.

"Oh?" King Ren questioned. "Has it really been five years already? I could have sworn that just last week that warrior from Karm had taken his last breath in the battle room."

The man had no reaction. He still stared angrily into the King's eyes.

"No response, huh?" King Ren asked with a half-smile. "Oh well. I can't please all the lost causes that come in here. That last guy...he at least smiled before me. He had stunning confidence, and you know what? We had a decent talk before his demise. He seemed like a pretty nice guy, but you know, things don't usually turn out well once you challenge the King."

King Ren was confused as to why the man that appeared before him had such a serious tone compared to the others that he had previously dueled with on Throne Day. This made the King feel a bit uneasy, however, on the outside, he embraced a full smile with his teeth.

"So...are you gonna fix that door?" King Ren asked. It's valuable you know. It hasn't been damaged for...god...two hundred years?" he started to chuckle.

The man didn't budge. He stared at the laughing king, and then a few seconds later, he finally spoke.

"I'll repair it once I sit upon that throne." The man's expression did not change one bit.

King Ren then busted out into full blown laughter.

"Ha! When you sit upon the throne? Well damn! I guess we'll have a walk-in throne room for the next forty years or so."

King Ren kept chuckling. He laughed for a good twenty more seconds, before returning to a half smile. Well, I guess he's no fun, he thought. After this, he stood up from the golden throne. He looked straight into the man's gaze.

Then, his expression turned serious.

"You're Jonah, aren't you?" he asked.

The man's expression remained the same.

"Yes, I am. And what about my name concerns you?" The man questioned.

"I've heard of you. They call you 'Brisk Warrior Jonah.' It's a pretty odd name considering how sluggish you were on the trail to this room. I heard your loud ass footsteps in the hallway for like thirty seconds before you entered. Were you taking a stroll, or is that label just misleading?" Ren was now smirking.

"Well," Jonah started, "I think they gave it to me because of the way I fight...and luckily for you, you've yet to see me fight."

King Ren smirk grew even wider. "Oh yeah?" Ren eyed Jonah's massive sword. "I could very well be lucky. You seem powerful...especially with that sword. If you put it in the hands of the weakest civilian in the town, he could probably kill a damn Warlord."

Jonah broke his stare and looked at the sword that he had been grasping so tightly through the halls and even before then. It's true, he thought. And that's why it's gonna be the sword that kills you and ultimately takes the throne.

King Ren noticed that Jonah's eyes shifted. He took this as a sign of impatience.

"Alright then." King Ren advanced down the stairs of the throne. Jonah directed his focus back to the King. Each step that he observed felt like an eternity to him as he anticipated the King's arrival to the ground floor. Once he had two feet on the same ground that Jonah stood on, he stared into his eyes with an expression that Jonah had been anticipating since the moment that he stepped foot into the room. An expression that resembled a fighting spirit. An expression that said "I'm ready to fight."

And then the words came out of the King's mouth.

"Let's get this over with."

King Ren turned his head towards the door to the battle room which resided on his left. He led the way, taking the first steps in the direction of it. Behind him, Jonah followed. Jonah's sword scraped the ground as he walked, leaving a trail of blood from the entrance of the throne room to the entrance of the battle room where the King and the warrior would have their duel.

There's something off about this man, King Ren thought. He serves under one of the Warlords. I supplied his master with a rank that would give him power, a city, and wealth. I would only expect good things to come out of his master's mouth about me...so what is the grudge that this man, Jonah, holds against me?

At last, they both stood in front of the battle room. King Ren lifted his hands from his side and laid it on the knob of the door. He grasped it, and began to twist it to the right. Then, he started to pull it towards him. The door let out a loud and continuous creak as he opened it. Finally, once there was enough space for both of them to enter, he let go.

King Ren then turned his head and said to Jonah, with a half smile, "I guess it really has been five years. That door hasn't creaked like in all the years I've been King!"

Jonah did not react.

King Ren turned his face back around and removed the smile in an instant. "Let's go." He took a step into the room, and Jonah followed. Once he had one foot in, butterflies started to fill his stomach. King Ren hadn't felt this uneasy since he fought the ten foot warrior in this same room forty five years ago. Why is this man so unphased by everything I say or do? He wondered.

They were now standing in the middle of the battle room. It was a very large room, with nothing in it except for the floor, walls, and roof. It was made out of only one thing: pure, shiny metal. There was decade old bloodshed that sat in puddles on the floor from the previous battles for the throne. King Ren turned his body completely around to face Jonah.

They stared at each other.

"Are you ready?" King Ren asked.

Jonah closed both of his eyes and lifted his sword. He took four long breaths and then opened his eyes. They were now bloodshot, and his expression seemed as if he had experienced loads of pain, or like he had been stabbed somewhere on his body.

"YES!" He shouted.

"Alright then." King Ren spoke softly. Every step that he took leading into this room, he became increasingly more scared. Jonah is out for the throne after all, he reminded himself. He respects me as his King, but he will do anything, including this grim intimidation tactic, to take that position.

King Ren deeply inhaled.

"Let's fight."

King Ren quickly lifted his hand. Brisk Warrior, huh? He questioned. If he truly is fast for a brute, then I've got to not only be quick, but also effective in regards to strength.

King Ren's power was then activated. He put down his middle and ring finger, and in that moment the air around Jonah shifted. King Ren thrusted his hand forward, and then the air solidified. He then punched the ground with full force, and there was a loud BOOM sound that echoed through the room. But it did not come from the ground. It came from the air that enveloped Jonah, and it sent a powerful sort of punch, seemingly from nowhere, right into Jonah's chest. This punch knocked him back a good nine feet, and it caused him to lean forward and catch himself by putting his hands to his knees. His sharp foot dug into the ground as he looked up.

They both traded stares once more.

"So that's the famous air manipulation I've heard about." said Jonah.

Ren's power was air manipulation. He could freely manipulate, or control, the air in our atmosphere. He could solidify it, create great winds, change the temperature from extremely hot to extremely cold, and even remove oxygen from the air to suffocate his opponents.

"Do you like it?" Ren asked with a smirk.

"It's neat." Jonah said monotonously. "But I've seen better."

Ren's smirk widened. He's cocky, he thought. After a bit, he took on a serious expression.

"Why didn't you move at all?" Ren asked. "I was expecting you to charge straight at me as soon as the battle commenced. I was fully preparing to dodge your attacks."

"I was just getting a feel for your power." Jonah said.

Ren's tone was now serious. The opponent that he was dealing with was not one that he could just take lightly. He realized that he would have to go all out with his power.

Ren threw his hand back up in the air, and this time, pointed all five of his fingers towards Jonah. He then clenched his fist, and in an instant, a mound of solidified air flew straight from the tips of his fingers towards Jonah. Jonah stared at this attack as it approached him like a bullet. It got closer and closer, from the middle of the room, to the back, and all the way to where it was right in front of Jonah's face. It was right about to hit Jonah, and then suddenly...

Ren saw Jonah disappear before his eyes.

Ren expected this however. This is where the 'Brisk' title comes in, doesn't it? He thought. He's unusually fast. I was sure that it would hit him, but it would have almost killed him if it did, so obviously I expected this.

Ren's first instict was that Jonah would appear behind him and strike him with his almighty blade. So, Ren made the air that surrounded his back extremely hot, enough to melt the blade in it's entirety and burn Jonah alive. This gave Ren the ability to dash forward and move from his current spot and not worry about a surprise attack from behind.

Ren was now running around the room, jumping, and occasionally shifting to the side in order to dodge any attack that would catch him off guard. He constantly placed his eyes in every corner of the room, surveying it for the tiniest glimpse of Jonah.

Either this guy disappeared from the room completely, or he is just so fast that I can't see him, Ren thought to himself.

As soon as he finished this thought, Ren felt a sharp pain on his left arm. He thought it was just a prick at first from some debris that had flown across the room from his fast footing, but it grew increasingly more intense.

So intense that Ren was now on the ground screaming.

Blood splattered and spilled all over the floor in great quantities. At first, Ren didn't realize what was going on. The pain had put him in shock. He quickly realized the severity of the situation when he saw his left arm ten feet away from him.

It had been completely severed.

Jonah had appeared from above and struck Ren in a motion so quick that Ren didn't even see it.

He now lay on the ground, screaming, holding pressure with his right arm upon the open wound. His mind was blank, he had gone in alert mode, and all that he thought of now was what he could do to survive. Ren realized that this was no time to be screaming in agony and that if he wanted to keep living on as the King of All, he couldn't let a student of a Warlord be the one that takes the title from him.

Ren leaped up and surveyed the room once again, but now, he was dashing faster than ever. Once he saw no sign of Jonah, he got to a stopping point. He put his right arm up again and clenched his fist. He closed his eyes and delivered a piercing scream which bounced on all the walls in the room.

In that same instant, Jonah had dashed behind him and prepared to deliver a great strike which would slash down the middle of Ren's body. But before Jonah could reach Ren with his blade, Jonah was taken back by wind. He was thrown so far that he hit the metal wall and a huge dent was formed. Jonah remained sitting in the place he was thrown to and proceeded to observe the attack that Ren had cast.

Ren had manipulated the air to be that of a powerful hurricane, except, the winds were three times as strong. Ren opened his eyes and stared at Jonah. However, the stare that Jonah received wasn't of intimidation, it was of trauma.

Ren was genuinely terrified of the monster that had come into this room.

The wind that circled around the room was pushing Jonah further back into the wall. Jonah tried to move his body forward, straining every ounce of muscle that he had, but it was no use. Ren took the wind from areas around the room and kept putting it into the wind force that was pressuring Jonah.

"THIS TIME..." Ren started to yell. "THIS TIME IT WILL BE YOU WHO LOSES AN ARM!"

Ren focused the hurricane wind on Jonah's arm. Jonah started grunting, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. The pain was becoming unbearable to him, and he thought of a way that he could escape.

Ren clenched his fist even harder, putting more pressure on Jonah's arm. Ren then opened his mouth to deliver a message to the struggling warrior.

"WITH ONE FINAL BLOW," Ren started, "YOU WILL NOT ONLY LOSE AN ARM, BUT YOU'LL ALSO LOSE YOUR LIFE!"

Jonah was astonished by the newfound aggressiveness of the King that, just a few minutes ago, was joking with him about repairing a door to his throne room that he had broke.

Ren prepared the final blow by shifting his arm with a clenched fist to a point behind his body, like he was charging up a punch. Ren's furious expression resembled that of a demon. This final blow would be payback for the arm that he had lost, so Ren was outputting all of his strength into it.

"GOODBYE, JONAH!" He shouted. At that moment, he started throwing his fist in the direction of Jonah at full force. It kept flying through the air, and Ren cracked a wide smile. After this is thrown, he thought, all my problems will be over for another five years. He then started to laugh like a maniac, thinking about how the impact of this punch would completely obliterate Jonah's body. He didn't want anything else in this moment other than to see his opponent suffer a brutal, bloody death. He wanted him to pay for what he did to him.

Ren unleashed all of his power towards Jonah with an astonishing scream to follow along with it. It kept going and going, whirling and whirling. The wind that was being unleashed with this attack broke the sound barrier.

Finally, the attack had stopped. Ren was now looking at the ground sweating, dripping blood from his wound, and panting heavily. In the aftermath, one would notice that the entire back side of the battle room where Jonah sat was completely destroyed. You could see the great blue horizon, and the square of the Kingdom of Mace.

Ren smiled. He knew that his opponent had been completely destroyed, and that gave him great satisfaction. He wanted to see what kind of damage had been done to his opponent, so he looked up with a grin the size of a continent on his face.

But after looking up, that grin quickly became an expression of horror.

Jonah was nowhere to be found.

And in that instant, Ren felt another sharp pain. This time, it was in his back. The tip of Jonah's great sword pierced all the way through his weak body.

Ren stared off into the hole that he had made. He saw the city of a kingdom that he had ruled for forty five years. A single tear fell from his face. How? He thought to himself. How did he escape from there?

The sword then jerked out of his body and he fell to the ground, face first. He sat there for a few seconds, and then turned to his back only to see Jonah looking down on him with a smile.

"You're smiling now, you bastard?" Ren asked with a shaky voice.

"Only because I'm King." Jonah replied with a great grin. "I'm happy. I achieved what I wanted."

Jonah drew his sword from the ground. He lifted it up to deliver one final blow to Ren. Jonah inhaled deeply, and then titled his hands back. He was ready to deliver the attack, but then Ren started to speak again.

"I finally figured out what was off about you." He spoke softly. "You have no scars on your face. Or your arms. You walk like you haven't been injured. Others in the past, they came in here all sluggish. They were drained of their energy, weak, and had no will to fight although the most grand opportunity in the world stood right in front of them."

Jonah's smile faded. "That's because they were weak." He drew his sword back behind him once again and prepared to deliver the final blow.

Ren closed his eyes. He took into consideration what Jonah said, and then asked himself; Were those people I fought back then truly weak? Was I never really that strong? Of course, these were silly questions for someone who held the title of King of All. For him to have achieved that title, he had to fight some of the world's strongest contenders in the square and then kill the current King. No weak man could ever amount to that. It wasn't that the men that Ren fought in the past were weak at all, no, it was quite the opposite.

It was just that Jonah was too damn strong.

Jonah unleashed the blade from behind his body and struck Ren one last time. His eyes remained closed as the blade hit his torso, and the tears that he had shed fell to the cold, hard ground, which was his deathbed.

Jonah pulled the blade out from his body and looked at the door that he had entered from the throne room. Inside of it, he saw the throne. He saw the place that he would sit on for decades and rule the world.

Jonah then looked down at Ren's body. It had one arm and a huge hole in the middle of his chest, both from the power of Jonah's great sword.

"You fought well." Jonah muttered to his corpse.

Jonah then looked back at the door and sluggishly walked towards it. He thought about all the hardships that he had endured, all the battles that he had fought, and especially all that he could do now that he was the King of All.

He passed through the door, and the throne was now just a few dozen feet away. His sword dragged behind him, and he was unknowingly doubling the size of the blood trail that he created when he first entered the battle room.

Jonah was now at the start of the throne. There were eight steps that led up to the seat, and he was ready to climb them all.

But then he realized that there was no point. He was already King.

And in that same moment, he removed all of his articles of clothing. He took off his cloak, his suit of armor, and anything that he had on.

Ren had said that Jonah seemed like he had not been injured. But now, with Jonah completely unmasked, you could see that it was quite the opposite.

Jonah had massive open wounds on his chest, back, legs, and everywhere else you could think of, except for his face and arms. You could even see some of his organs through the holes that he had in his body.

Once Jonah had removed all of his clothing, he let out a great exhale. He then closed his eyes and fell to the ground. This resulted in a BOOM sounding throughout the walls of the throne room. Medical guards came rushing down the hallway and the open door at the sound of this, since it was in the throne room instead of the battle room, and saw a bleeding Jonah on the brink of death. They rushed to attend to him.

It turns out that Jonah had used very minimal strength in the fights outside. He used just enough power to beat his opponent, and in each battle he suffered nearly fatal wounds because of his lack of power exertion. He was saving up all his power on the King. He did not care to unleash it upon the small fry that he had to fight in the square, because, they were not the supreme leader of the land. He knew that if he prioritized it all on the King that he would be able to defeat him with ease.

And King Jonah did just that.