It’s been a little while, and the race will finally be starting! I even managed to convince Demistar! She’ll be joining! “Hey, turns out I can’t participate after all. I’ll see you guys off though.” She suddenly says, pulling up her goggles. She’s wearing a short open jacket and baggy jeans. She left her hair messy, and she’s wearing goggles. I wish I could have pulled off that look...

Demi - “But why?!”

“Jeez, kid.” She says, looking up as I increase my size. “Listen, it’s fine. I’m just busy, and you don’t need me there anyways.” She says, smiling as I sit here and stew in my disappointment.

Demi - “I’m going, you can be there if you want.”

I teleport to the center of the island, finding everyone who’s joining the race for me, only for Demistar to appear next to me again. “Jeez, you gotta’ tell me when you do that, Tallis.” She says, as I decide to calm down.

“Hey.” Lex says, first person to greet me. “Everyone ready?” He asks, as everyone nods, except Vilstrous, who’s preoccupied with what I’m going to assume is this world’s equivalent to a phone. I mean, you’d assume I’d have found out about and gotten one for myself, right?

But when I ask about it, I don’t get much. Turns out these people are so out of touch with their form of social media, almost none of them spend any time on it.

Demi - “Apparently not, since DEMISTAR here has to be a stick in the mud.”

“Dude, I told you I’m busy. I said I’ll at least see you off.” She says, as the others just stare at me, all unimpressed…

Demi - “FINE. I’ll drop it.”

I GUESS this is what I get for wanting a bit of a lazier adventure. Geez, look at me, I let my mood ruin too quickly. “Demi, are you alright?” Vexalan sweetly says- “Aside from the passive aggression, I’m feelin’ pretty good.” Demistar says, answering her in my place…

Demi - “Alright, I’m also fine, now. I’ve decided to not be upset. Since you can’t be there, Demistar, you may erect a statue in my honor. Come on, guys.”

Everyone, Demistar included, walked up to me, as I pulled out the letter from my mass, and opened it. The seal broke off earlier this morning, so I’m assuming that’s the clue. The letter floats into the air, and disappears into bright yellow sparkles, with a portal opening up beneath it.

“Demitallis!” Ling says, stepping through! “Is this everyone you wanted to invite? I haven’t started the stream JUST yet, so you still have time to get your costumes on.” He says, gesturing towards everyone and then at the portal.

Demi - “You got that right, let’s move quickly everyone.”

“Come on, I’ve got masks and cloaks for all of you, I was actually expecting more.” He says, as he guides us through the portal. “Sadly, you’re a little late, Demitallis, but I’m sure you can handle that.” He says, surprising me.

“Now, to begin with, you’ll be constructing a vehicle of your very own, to participate in. Don’t worry, if you don’t know how to make one, you can always join up with another team, or race on foot. Or whatever you have.” He says, as we look around at large piles of raw materials to construct with.

“This is a competition, you’re free to mess with and fight the other racers, but maiming of any kind is strictly prohibited.” He says, wagging his finger.

Demi - “Really? Well, as long as everyone else is cool, I shouldn’t have to fight anyways.”

“That’s good to hear, the costumes are right here, feel free to use whatever you like. Now I need to go check on your competition.” He says, pointing before running off.

Demi - “Hey Demistar… You know, I’m REALLY glad you’re here right now…”

“Oh, I can’t imagine why. Could it be because of my ludicrously expansive knowledge and ability to construct you the perfect vehicle to win this race?” She asks, as the others stare at me with further disappointment…

“ALRIGHT, I’ll build your vehicle, some people seem to be late anyways.” Demistar says, first making me thankful, then summarily confusing me-

Demi - “Who’s late?”

She stops- “Right. The summit is today, you see. Liyoxis told me every world power would be there, for the first time in centuries, really.” She says, surprising me.

Demi - “Damn… I had no idea. No wonder you’re swamped… Sorry, Demistar…”

“It’s cool. I’ll get your vehicle constructed, then I really have to get going. Anything could go wrong, they’re the most powerful people in the world, you know how it is.” She says, as the others finish up putting on their costumes.

Sadly though, Ling seems to have just given us white cloaks with very simple concave masks and a simple drawing of some sort of smile on each one…

I drape myself in the vastly larger cloak, and fill it out until it’s hovering just above the ground.

-√G-

“Fullbrim!” I call out, as he oversees the construction of his team’s vehicle. “Ling… Come to check on our vehicle?” He asks, as I reactivate the cameras. “Yeah, I’m just going to introduce our viewers to the competitors. It’s rising fast, so I figured I’d offer some half time entertainment.” I say, as his eyes widen in surprise-

“O-Oh! THAT’S GOOD.” He says, nervous as always. “I hope it’s not too much of a bother…” I say, as he continues to nervously smile at me… “I can see you’re constructing quite the carriage.” I say, as I take a glance at my feedback panel-

I look away from it, and almost consider breaking it. “Is it safe to go in, yet? Or…” I hold, as I wait for an answer… “Sure! Why not?! We’ve got nothing to hide!” He shouts, making suspicious as to whether he DOES have nothing to hide or not.

“Thanks…” I say, as I make my way over and into the vehicle. This thing’s huge, a mobile fortress. I made sure to gather supportive mechanics to help with construction. “Anyone in here?!” I call out, as I walk deeper into the construction zones.

Altonfield crawls down and over to me, using the scaffolding to get around. “Ling! How’s it going!” He shouts, jumping down and his large body landing with a slap, as I notice a frog inside of him… “Did you seriously eat a frog?” I ask, as I stare at it.

The feedback for some reason, is loving it. “Pretty cool, right?! Now I’ve got a frog in me!” He shouts, pumping his arms quickly… “Alton, that’s not…” I look at the feed again, but they seem to REALLY like it, for whatever reason…

The feedback is a large chatting box with rows of messages left by people watching. They’re all just saying frog. Literally just frog. “Or, I guess you… Can KEEP it?” I ask, as the chat box lights up with a surprising amount of cheers...

Alton grabs a bug, and eats it too, feeding the frog- “Oh my goodness- Alton, please, that’s gross…” I say, as he looks around and at my panel, saying: “Nah, I think they like it! You guys think I should keep it? Any names?” He asks, as we watch it fill with agreements and names…

“Alton, WHY?” I ask, making a sizable portion of the viewers criticize me on ruining Alton’s fun… “Alright, fine. Keep it. Like it’ll matter anyways...” I mutter, as I manage the livestream a little… “Alright, well it’s nice meeting everyone!” Alton says, before crawling away-

“Oh, you’ll be recorded the whole time starting from now!” I call out, as he gives me a thumbs up. “Privacy included of course!” I also call out to, as he raises his other thumb. Everyone’s taking surprisingly well to all the mutants.

I walk around a little, and find Horonva, who was watching over Tory, who’s been swinging a scaffolding bar around while screaming… “Tory, Horonva! Came to check on-!” I say, as he swings it around, and strikes my core, batting me out of my body…

“L-Ling! Tory, what have-” Horonva suddenly screams at him, as she grabs my damaged core- Tory’s frightened, it makes sense, he’s just a child. “I-I’m sorry- I didn’t-” He says, staring at me, as Horonva tries to place me back into my slime…

“Ling… Are you…” She says, as she stares at me, while I consume as much of my mana as possible to start rebuilding. “He’s not dead… Is he?” Tory asks, as she stares at me… “I don’t think so… But you’ve cracked his core, we’ll just have to wait until he starts reforming…” She says, as I finally get some mass to push out.

“H-Hey, look!...” Tory screams in relief. “He’s okay!” He says, pointing at me… “Oh. Yeah, this is a good sign...” Horonva says, placing me gently on a small metal plate, as I further try to force out body mass.

A few moments later, and I’ve finally got enough body mass to start talking. “I’m… Fine…” I try to say, it seems the crack in my core is worse than I thought… “I didn’t… Think you could… Strike so hard, Tory…” I say, as they stare at me…

“Are you sure, Ling? Can we do anything for you?” Horonva asks, as I wait for her to just shut up… “Sustenance… I can’t... Build fast enough… Like this…” I say, as I try to create legs to lift myself, but fail… “R-Right, I’ll see what I can find…” She says, standing up.

“Tory, you watch him, I’ll be right back.” She says, before running off…

-√C-

Demistar is scary… We got here last, and I took a glance at her schematics… She has plans posted up against the wall, she said they’re there for aesthetics, so nobody questions her… She’s doing everything herself, with the one body, and she’s gotten so much done already…

“What’s with the cloak?” Some random idiot suddenly asks me, making me turn around. It’s a little girl, with a stuffed toy, sucking on a lollipop, and a big blank stare on her face. “I’m sorry… But I don’t think I’ve gotten your name…” I say, as I sit on my knees to go down to her height.

“I asked you a question, dummy.” She says, insulting me, yet SHE has the blank stare on her face... “My friends and I have to hide our appearances… Now… Your name?” I ask, trying to keep myself from melting her alive.

“You didn’t tell me YOUR name.” She says, pointing that lollipop at me again- I stop myself mere MOMENTS before upsetting my cloak! I calm myself, sigh, shoot a bolt of lightning from my forehead, destroying the nearby microphones.

“Vexalan. You must NOT say my name in public. Do you understand?” I ask, as she nods. “Alright, thanks Vexalan. I’m Stussy. You want a Lolly?” She asks, pulling a large one just like hers out of her bag…

“Sure… Thanks…” I say, as I look at it… “There’s nothing weird in it, right?...” I ask, as she stares at me. “I wouldn’t have called you a dummy, if I thought you were that dumb.” She says, surprising me. “Fair enough… Who are you?” I ask, as I fold my arm, and she continues to stare…

She just stares, looks away, then walks up, and whispers into my ear- “My dad’s a very powerful man, he thinks he’s the best. But I know better…” She says, surprising me. “What do you mean?” I ask, as she shakes her head.

“Hey, kids.” Demistar suddenly says, walking up to me. “Stussy, right? You should probably get back to your team.” She says, after having altered her disguise a little… “I mean it.” She says, suddenly appearing in front of her, staring into her eyes…

“R-Right…” Stussy says, a moment of fear- I was starting to think she had no nerves. “Bye, Vexalan.” She says, before running off. “I’m going to repair the cameras, don’t want anyone to get suspicious.” Demistar says, begrudgingly right.

“If you’re wondering… That was Stussy. Daughter to Serif himself, the world power who governs the element of life itself.” She says, surprising me. “Seriously?” I ask, following her back to the vehicle. “Yeah, she only got in thanks to her connection. She doesn’t even have a psychic power.” Demistar says, as I place a hand on my hip.

“Daddy’s gettin’ her pretty far, huh?” I ask, making Demistar laugh. “Yeah, alright, you go have fun, kid. I’m gonna’ get back to work, see ya’.” She says, before leaving, as I watch the cameras reform.

Later, I look around and spot a small pig boy, he must be a contestant. “Hey-” I say, as he swings his sword and points it at me at blinding speed- “Who sent you?” He asks just as fast, his sword inches from my mask…

“I’m a contestant, just like you, I assume.” I say, as he sheathed his sword. “Right… Masks… I’m actually an administrator.” He says, surprising me. “Slade, by the way. You?” He adds, gesturing with an exhausted look on his face.

“Vexalan…” I didn’t think I would find him so quickly, but it looks like I got lucky. “Cat Demihuman, right?” He asks, surprising me again. “How do you-” I ask, as he sits down. “Furthermore, I bet you’re a genillion, or what’s left of them.” He says, as I just stare…

“Do NOT try and sneak up on me again, or you’re going in the pit.” He says, as I step back… “But how?...” I ask, as he just stares at me… “I’m not stupid, Vexalan. Now walk away, don’t run.” He says, as I decide to heed the bastard’s words for now…

Later, after THAT travesty, I find a spot behind a tree to call Skall- I hear rustling, making me decide against it for now. I walk away and continue looking around, I can’t risk him figuring me out. I make my way out of here, and into the main area again.

After that, I met one of the smaller teams. “So what’s with the cloak?” One of them asks, as I sit down on a box. “I have to keep my appearance hidden, so does the rest of my team.” I say, and they nod. “Fair enough. I’m Archy.” The pink girl with horns says, reaching her hand to shake mine.

Archy is a large fluffy pink monster with horns sticking out of her head like a crown. I’ve never seen anything like her, in all honesty. Her team includes four other- THINGS. I shake her hand, and one of the others tries to lift my cloak-

“Don’t you dare!” I shout, charging lightning and having to stop myself- “I’m sorry.” I say, as I glide backwards, and land on my feet. It’s a smaller monster, large in size with claws and a large mouth. They snicker, their voice is silly and scratchy.

“Yeah! Yeah! I’m Bowler.” He says, surprising me… “Bowler?” I ask, as he nods quickly. “Yeah! Yeah! Just Bowler!” He says, as I fold my arms. “Alright. And you three?” I ask, as they stare at me… “I’m Tennie.” The tall skinny one says.

She’s got spikes sticking out of her back, and her arms and legs are massive at the ends. Honestly… Tennie’s the prettiest of them all… “Zumo…” A gargantuan dark beast of a man says, tipping his hat… He’s obscured, and his eyes glow with a soft yet bright yellow…

He reaches his arm out slowly, and I grab it, his hand is so massive, it’s bigger than my entire body… “Nice to meet you…” I say, as I pull my arm back, and he does the same, just slowly.

The last one, he’s pretty well built, muscles very well defined, so he must do a lot of physical work out, like Kass. “I’m Karohty.” He says, holding his hand out like Archy and Zumo did. I shake his hand, and we proceed.

“Right, it’s nice to meet you. I guess since you’re so kind… You can call me… Nova.” I say, surprising them. “Nova, huh? That a code name?” Tinnie asks, as she folds her arms, her fingers wrapping around her upper arms easily.

“Yeah, I’ll use Nova. What do you think?” I ask, as they look amongst each other. “Lacks... Inspiration...” Jackass Zumo pipes in, and the damn peanut gallery over here can’t seem to help but agree. “Well, I’ll consider it…” I politely say…

“So what’s your power?” Archy asks, as they sit down again. “I don’t have one, my sister does, though.” I say, surprising them. “And you got in through her? Must be pretty strong…” Tinnie says, as she leans forward on her massive arms…

“Yeah, I guess it is… What about you guys? Anything special?” I ask, as they look among each other… “You tell us her’s, and we’ll tell you ours.” Archy says, smiling at me. “Recovery. She can recover lost or dead abilities.” I say, deciding it’s worth it.

Besides, it’s no real skin off my bones. “That IS strong…” Zumo says, his eyes narrowing, as he yawns that out. “I’ll start, then. I can create little fluffy creatures.” Archy says, grabbing her fur, and pulling out a large ball of it, leaving no visual sign of fatigue or wear on herself.

She places it on the ground, and it grows a single horn, then arms and legs, a face, and hugging her. “Friendship…” She says, hugging it back… She’s even more gross than I thought… “Mend. My power can repair and heal others. Whether they be robots, or living creatures, I can heal anything.” She says, placing her arm on my head, and showing it off.

“Please take your hand off my head.” I say, as she further shows it off, then does as asked. “Yeah! Yeah! I’m next! I can turn into a ball! That’s why I’m Bowler!” Bowler says, kicking off the ground, and turning into a spiky ball that wrecks trees…

“Is that it?” I ask, as they kind of shrug. “We think he can turn into any shape he likes, actually. A weaker form of shapeshift, if you will.” Archy says, as she watches him play. “And he doesn’t know?” I ask, as they shrug.

“Not sure.” she says, as I look around… “Mine is… An… Enigma…” Zumo says, as he suddenly collapses, crushing multiple trees- “Is he okay?” I ask, standing up- “He’s just sleepy. His power takes a lot out of him.” Archy says, as she walks over to check on him.

“And you?” I ask, as I look at Karohty, grabbing his attention again. “Center. I can manipulate my gravity, and pull myself around with it, including other things.” He says, pulling and catching a stick, then floating into the air.

“You must have the most powerful ability in your team.” I say, as he lands in front of me. “Yeah, nobody knows Zumo’s ability yet, so I wouldn’t be so sure…” He says, as Zumo continues to sleep there, as Archy’s creatures crawl on top of him, creating a blanket.

“She cares a lot… Doesn’t she?” I ask, pointing at her, making Karohty laugh. “Yeah, that’s why we put her in charge.” He says, surprising me again, as I consider it… Maybe Veloura would make a better leader than Demitallis…

“It’s been nice, but I want to go see the other teams. Come say hello sometime, I’ll introduce you guys.” I say, making him nod and give me a thumbs up. “I’ll tell the other four how you feel, thanks Nova.” He says, as I burn a dented line into my mask, and give him a simple nod, before heading off.

-√D-

Finished! Everything is set up, and the twelve powers will be here any moment! That’s right, the summit is today! I activate the ring, and open eight portals. Now I just have to wait…

The first one through, of course, is Luna, a young nine tailed fox, who wears black, and the only person who rivals my beauty. “Luna!” I call out, grabbing her attention! “Demistar!!!” She calls out, whipping out a void tendril and clutching around me in an instant-

I’m torn apart, and I reform next to her, as a scary amount of my body is destroyed… “The wielder of Void, impossibly strong…” I say, as I wait for more material to gather… “You’re so tiny now!” She exclaims, as she hugs me…

“I’m happy to see you too, Luna.” I say, as she lets me go, and Liyoxis arrives. “Luna. How’s it going?” He asks, as his chair floats around. “Did you forget what I said about your health~?” Luna asks, as she crawls onto his chair with void tendrils.

The tendrils flicker quickly in and out of existence, as Luna articulates them. Void is the most unknown of the twelve elements. Luna crawls down, making Liyoxis smile for once. “It’s quite literally impossible for me to forget, Luna.” He says, making her giggle.

“Sure, old man…” She says, as the owl arrives. Nobody actually knows his name, sadly. “Come on now, Itsya.” He softly says, as Itsyavanaga, one of the professors of his college walks out. “Ah, Luna. It’s good to see you.” He says, as she waves at him.

It makes sense, they’re very close… “Yeah! I’m so glad everyone’ll be here for once!” She says, as she runs up and hugs him… “Yes, what a joyous occasion, my friend.” He says, as Itsya folds her arms and stares… “Good to see you, Luna.” She simply says.

Luna’s tail, just the one… She should have nine, but she has one… Luna gives Itsya a hug too, and Martial arrives, along with Baoth. “Greetings!” Baoth says, as Luna runs over to give out more hugs, but Martial pushes her away-

“Come on Martial, you’re always so mean~!” She says, as everyone watches them… “Just this once, Martial?” Baoth asks, but he begins to grow angry, and I detect his mana rising- I grab Luna, and pull her away!

“M-Maybe leave him alone for now, Luna…” I say, as Baoth calms him down… “Alright… But only ‘cause I love you SO MUCH~!” She says, hugging me again- “Yep, love you too, just please don’t make Martial go nuclear...” I say, as she continues to rub her cheek against mine…

The glass is suddenly crushed, and the hard light shield activates… “Rejoice…” He himself suddenly sings… “For Serif, the wielder of life~! Has arrived!” He sings, as Icarus floats behind him, holding him in the air…

He literally never stops singing. Anyways, Icarus is a huge mana star, able to hold him in the air indefinitely, and psychically linked with him. It also produces music for him to sing to, and can tune his voice to make him sound good.

“You wanna come down and be with the rest of us, or at least turn down that music?!” I scream! I swear, my ears would start hurting if I was human… He laughs. “I’ll stay high, I’m never coming down!” He sings on, as he rests himself in the air, while Icarus bumps into The Owl-

“Serif, I would appreciate it if you controlled your mana star…” He says, as he shoves it away. “I never said I gave a shi-hi-hit!” He says, as The Owl stares at him…

The Owl, he’s the largest among us, aside from Martial and Arigold, sometimes. But otherwise, his size is incredible, his talons being the size of a car- Luna appears in front of Serif, only to be smacked to the floor by Icarus…

She stands up, and reaches towards him. “Come on Serif, you never want a hug…” She says, as he narrows his eyes, and scoffs. “Please, like I~ could ever hug you~… You dumb little bi-” I smack him across the face, making him clutch it with his hand, and waste more life mana on it, than he’d ever give ANYONE…

“Do NOT, Serif.” I say, as Icarus opens up again- “You’re peeled out and headed for the sun… Once more, I will make you bow!” He says, as magic missiles fly from Icarus- “Serif.” Arigold suddenly says, having arrived out of nowhere, while Luna consumed the attacks with her magic.

“You may get away just this once, but you WILL pay for that, child...!” He says, pointing at me, as he rests in the air again, while I fold my arms. “You shouldn’t have done that, Demistar… Now I have to protect you!” She says, hugging me again with a big smile…

“Thanks, Luna. Come on.” I say, as Helvetica arrives, spots Serif, and tries to leave- I teleport in front of her! “Hey~! Welcome!” I say, as I slide her forward. “Great, Serif is already here…” The poor girl says…

Helvetica is a Lich, making her halfway unkillable, she’s also the wielder of Doom itself. “Oh, and Luna too.” She says, lightening up a little, as Luna runs up to hug her. “You’re such a sweet kid, Luna, so much nicer than your brother.” She says, as she rubs her head…

“Alright, that’s quite a few already.” Liyoxis suddenly says, as everyone looks over to see him and Arigold have already sat down. “Now we’re just waiting for Liberty, Sarah, Demitrivanexislov, -fuck that- and Solar.” He says, as Solar arrives…

Solar, the only person worse than Arigold… “My brother!” Luna shouts, as everyone watches her run up to him, only to then get slapped away… AGAIN… “What did I tell you about touching me?” He asks, as he looks down on her, all ten of his snow white tails gently moving in the wind…

“Solar, I’m sure if you would just-” Baoth tries to say, walking up to him, and Martial has to stop Solar from smacking her too- “Martial…” He growls, as Martial growls back, like two unstoppable and immature beasts about to fight-

“Martial, would you perhaps take this outside? Liyoxis worked really hard to prepare this nice party for everyone.” Baoth says, trying to calm him down. He lets go of Solar’s arm, and Solar quickly wipes it off with a sterile rag. “Disgusting animal, you should keep this thing on a leach, Baoth.” He says, making her place a hand on her lips-

“Well, I doubt that would really work…” She says, surprising him, Martial, and everyone else- Martial stares at her with the angriest, funniest look I’ve ever seen on his face, forcing everyone to hold back laughter, as Martial, Rage ITSELF holds down his anger…

“See? Even SHE-” Solar says, but Luna covers his mouth, making him slam his fist into her head- “Luna! You stupid- I told you not to touch my FACE!!!” He screams, as he wipes off his face too, further sterilizing it…

“Sorry, Solar… You almost-” He smacks her again- “You do not SPEAK, you LISTEN!” He says, as she falls to the floor and crawls back, holding her face... The Owl picks her up with a swipe of his wing- “Luna, come with me. You’ve done enough.” He says, glaring at Solar.

“Do not judge me, owl.” he says, as I consider the ramifications of what he might have said to Martial… In all honesty, most people aren’t even allowed NEAR Martial, anything could set him off… One wrong word, and he’ll destroy Orion…

“Come, we’ll battle outside, Martial.” He says, as Martial folds his arms, his mana surges again, while Arigold teleports them away. “I sent them to a different system, I’m sure a few planets will let Martial blow off at least a little steam.” He says, as everyone stares at him…

“Is Luna okay?” Helvetica asks, as The Owl sits in the corner. “Ah- Yes. She’s alright, please, just a moment.” He says…

She’s crying again. She’s very young, and her only brother hates her, so I understand... But I was hoping she’d have gotten over this by now. “Sorry, Luna. I know you were excited.” Liyoxis says, as Demitrivan arrives.

“Hey guys!” She calls out, smiling. “Where’s Luna? She should- Oh.” She says, just now noticing The Owl. “Forgot about that one, I’ll just come back later…” She says, a nervous look on her face, before disappearing again…

Itsya walks up to me. “Hey.” I say, and she nods. “Hello, Demistar.” She replies. “Are you enjoying space?” I ask, as she looks up. “It’s nice.” She says, looking at the stars. “Well, Demitivan is technically here now.” Liyoxis says, as Robin, Sebastian, Max, and Alice finally arrive.

We have hundreds of combat mechs clinging under the dome, in case someone tries something on Liyoxis, each is equipped with our best technology, but I doubt that’ll work for long. I’ll just have to hope Liyoxis is right… Like usual… Even if it seems impossible…

Through Baoth’s portal arrives Angelos, the templar captain, who’s legion was established to protect Baoth directly. “Greetings, most honorable powers, please forgive my impertinence, I am late…” he says, the fourteen foot man kneeling.

He’s a little more powerful than I am, so it’s kind of jarring to watch him bow, like that… “Nobody minds, just stand up.” Liyoxis says, making Angelos thank him. “Although, if Solar was still here, he’d probably laugh at you.” He says, as Angelos looks down.

“Yes, I imagine he would…” He says, before walking over and behind Baoth, to protect her. “Thank you, Angelos. Could you get me a drink?” She asks, and he quickly runs over, only to crush one of my nice cups between his massive fingers…

I teleport over, shove him out of the way, and prepare a cup for him. “Thank you.” He says, as I place the cup gently on his excessively armored hand, while he tries to gently walk, as though his footsteps would cause level six earthquakes with each step.

“Sorry about your glass cup, Demistar.” Liyoxis says, as he waits for everyone to stop interrupting him, but instead of saying anything, he waits just a moment longer for Sarah Unity to finally arrive.

“I have arrived, thank you for waiting.” Liberty says, speaking through the wind itself. Liberty, he’s one of the Gods, outside of the pantheon that Baoth promotes. Arigold opens another portal, and Martial drags Solar through, beaten and broken, dry heaving purple flames…

Martial throws him in front of the table, and limps over to Baoth… “You okay, buddy?” She asks, kneeling down next to him, as I have a drone carry another glass to him. He eats the glass, and I now decide to simply MAKE him glasses, since he wants to be such a little prick.

“Serif, if you would?” Liyoxis asks, gesturing to the two boys who nearly killed each other, as Luna returns. “What’s in it for me~?” He asks, singing as usual. “What do you want?” Liyoxis asks, as he thinks about it.

“I would like…” He looks at me and grins- “Nope! Busy! Not happening! Never ever-ever-ever!” I say, quickly, making him frown. I am NEVER doing that again! “Anything ELSE?” Liyoxis asks, as the others begin to laugh at me- “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!” I scream, while Luna and Martial are left confused.

He hums to himself for a moment… “Nothing. Sorry Martial~...” He sings, making Martial look at me- “Martial, please, this isn’t something you want to ask of her.” Baoth says, looking away. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Serif.” Baoth says, glaring at him.

“Fine, convinced-” He says, rolling his eyes, healing both of them. “That was a new low, Serif.” Baoth says, as he looks away, while Luna and Martial just grow more confused… “Don’t worry Martial, I’ll tell you when you get older, buddy.” Baoth says, hugging him.

Demitrivan returns, and that’s everyone. “Demitrivan, I need you for something.” Sarah suddenly says, another surprise. “Sure, what’s up?” She asks. “Take me back by seven thousand years.” She says, and so she does, only for them to return an instant.

“Sorry it didn’t work out.” Demitrivan says, placing her next to Helvetica. “What’d you do?” Helvetica asks, placing her arm on her. “Just shut up.” She replies. She must have fought someone, and lost… Or something else happened-

“Demitrivan!” Luna says, hugging her- “Hey Kid, you okay?” She asks, wrapping her four arms around Luna. “Yeah. Wanna’ hang out later?” She asks, and Demitrivan nods. “Yeah, I just hope I don’t forget.” She says, her eyes widening- “Don’t.” Liyoxis says-

“Don’t risk it, please. You don’t have to deal with everything the moment you spot it, Demitrivan.” He says, as she lets go of Luna, and folds her arms. “And how would you know? You don’t even wield Time.” She says… Yeah, even Demitrivan’ll get pissed when Liyoxis tries this…

“Please, you’ll forget about the summit, then everyone will call me a liar again, and I’ll have to deal with that for another three hundred years, and I’m so stressed, Demitrivan PLEASE…” He says, as he rests his forehead in his hands, and Alice performs medical checks.

“He’s fine.” She says to our team, as everyone just stares at him… “Alright, I guess you’re right…” Demitrivan says, as everyone but Solar finally sits down. Martial and him have healed up at least, Serif’s magic works fast if there’s anything good you COULD say about him.

I glide over to Sarah, just before she sits down, to whisper in her ear- “Hey, would you be willing to-” I ask, and she sits down, ignoring me… “No.” She says, as I wait, and teleport next to Liyoxis. “I told you.” He says, making me grimace.

“Shall we begin, or will we wait for anyone else?” Arigold asks, as Solar wakes up. “I’ve got a few people.” Sarah says. “My representative.” Liberty adds. “I also-” Solar says, but… “No you don’t, nobody likes you.” Sarah says, her resting witch face really kicking in.

He folds his arms and looks away. “I don’t care.” He says, nursing his scorched pride, hopefully that’ll be enough for today… “Um… I like-” Luna tries to say, but no, The Owl stops her, and shakes his head. Solar would just hurt anyone who DID like him anyways.

“That’s just cold, I forget how cold you are, Sarah.” Demitrivan, who’s been temporarily banned from all time shenanigans, says. “You got that right. Undead for the win! Right, Sarah?” Helvetica asks, raising her skeletal hand for a high five, that just won’t come.

“You can either high five me, or ,mama’ll have to take you around back behind the fucking shed, Sarah.” She says, making Sarah lightly pat her hand, and fold her own arms, her own hardass pride now wounded. Helvetica on the other hand, cheers, knocking her chair over, making anyone who’s even capable of laughter at this point…

Laugh.

-√A-

I find myself surrounded by contestants, stares galore at what could possibly be underneath my huge cloak. Steriya had to enchant it for me, so it’ll grow along with me. “Anyone know what this is?” One of them asks, as they look around. She’s a small girl made of fire…

Demi - “I’m a person too.”

They look around each other surprised, as I start trying to crawl away- Gaining further muttering, such as: “Hey, it’s moving-” “What is it-” “Is that thing alive-” “Ordin?” “What does it do?” “Let’s try and tear the tarp off-” The person who grabs my tarp gets blasted by a well timed bearing shot!

Demi - “Right here! Now stop messing with me!”

“You talk?!” Another asks, as everyone steps back. It’s a boy, he’s got a monkey tail, and he’s wielding a staff.

Demi - “That’s right! I’m Demitallis!”

“Sorry!” One of them says, inciting more and more to apologize too… Oh, they literally just didn’t know…

Demi - “Alright, fine. What do you guys want?”

“We’re sorry, we were really just curious. Maybe we can share our powers around?” The fire girl asks, trying to fix the already fixed situation…

Demi - “Well… I GUESS I could tell you mine… I can recover lost powers! From dead to stored, I can recover and improve any power! Pretty cool! Right?!”

Everyone cheers! “Wow, I wish mine was that strong!” One of them, a fish boy calls out! “I can just change the color of my skin…” He says, showing off his camouflage. “Is that it?” One of them asks. “Well, I can change the colors of other things, too, actually.” He says, showing it off!

Demi - “That’s actually pretty cool.”

He recolors the grass, as everyone watches, until the fire girl shows off her’s… She can grow in size like me! The next one to share is a turtle girl with the power to create force fields wherever she likes- Then a boy with wings who can shoot out his feathers and control them in the air!

Demi - “There’s so many of you… All with so many incredible powers… How come, though?”

“It’s pretty natural, actually. Predisposition to psychic powers comes with the territory of being a mutant.” A man with an awesome afro says, surprising everyone else. “Oh, you’re a mutant?” The fish boy asks, inciting Afro guy to show off his gills!

“Fish bros!” They cheer, as everyone joins in! “Zephyr!” Afro-bro says, introducing himself. “Pincer!” Fish-bro says! “I’m Smorska!” The fire girl says, as the joy just keeps on comin’!

Lexi - “Hey, Demi, we got a problem over here.”

Demi - “Can it wait?”

Lexi - “No, come at your earliest convenience.”

Lex cuts off, and I’m forced to depart, saying bye to everyone as they form a sharing circle, waving as I flow away.

Since Lex didn’t really tell me WHERE to go, it takes me a few minutes to figure it out. “Demi, over here!” Vascula says, in front of our unfinished vehicle…

So I find out that it’s nothing wrong with Demistar and the vehicle, though she HAS slowed down a little.

Demi - “What’s wrong?”

“Well..” She begins… “Vilstrous got himself disqualified…” She says, pointing at the moron of the hour today.

Demi - “Vilstrous, you idiot! I’ll go talk to ling.”

I quickly run off, after surprising him with that. I get him a place in this competition he didn’t even want to be in, and this is how he acts? I swear… After about an hour of searching, I found Ling, he’s about a tenth of his original size, and eating TONS of food.

“Hey, Demi.” He says, slowly recovering his mass…

Demi - “Hi Ling. Um… My friend Vilstrous kind of got disqualified…”

“Oh, must be one of the admins. I’ll get it looked at, don’t worry.” He says, as I sigh.

Demi - “Thanks, Ling. Do you need any mana, by chance?”

He nods. “Yes, that would be appreciated, I’m glad I can count on you, at least.” He says, as I place an orb of mana in front of him. He looks at a holographic panel, his eye focusing on it. “Well, the viewers seem relieved that I’m alive, so that’s nice to see.” He says, before shoving it away, only to let it gently hover like a rectangular ghost.

Demi - “You got it, man. Anytime. So you’ve started streaming already, huh?”

“Yeah, the chat wants to know what you’re saying… They also want to know what’s under your cloak.” He says, looking at me. “Listen guys, I don’t know about the speaking thing, but she can’t take off the cloak.” He says, as a camera floats in front of him.

Demi - “I can’t really, I’ve been working on making sound waves directly from mana, but speaking through that is hard. Not that I CAN’T talk, but it’s dangerous, since my involuntary developmental reflex will kill me if I do it for too long.”

“I’m sorry, ‘involuntary developmental reflex’ can you explain?” He asks, taking another glance at his chat box.

Demi - “Some people call it ‘HDR’ from what I’ve heard.”

He stares at me for a moment, until the sheep girl speaks up- “What happened to you?...” She asks… “Are you okay? Who did that to you?” She asks, approaching, reaching to me… Her movement is gentle and measured, as though she’s in front of a lion with a thorn in its foot…

She nearly touches me- Jetspikes rupture the fabric, and in the next moment she’s unconscious, blood spilling onto the slime-snake boy thing, after he caught her- “Horonva!” He screams, before using his powerful tail to leap away.

I hurt another person, just like I did a while back, when I first came to Orion… Why did I do that? She wants to help me, doesn’t she? Where did she go wrong? Is she going to die? Is there something wrong with me?...

Am I a bad person?... “Demitallis, what have you done?!” Ling screams, as I watch her bleed out-

Demi - “I’m sorry, I panicked, it’s not my fault- I can heal her- Or well, my brother can, he’s one of the participants.”

“Well, where is he?! I need her alive, you idiot! Stop wasting time and go get him!!!” He exclaims, as I sit here and connect to Glantinazor-

Demi - “Glant, the large vehicle, get over here quick- Wait, tell Veyta to get here quick, then switch places with you.”

“Medics, get here quick, we’ve got a girl bleeding out!” Ling shouts, as the honey slime boy continues to cradle his friend, her blood further mixing with his honey… Veytatasm bursts through a wall, and lands in front of us, replacing herself with Glantinazor!

“Alright, here! Where-” He looks around, and spots the sheep girl, only to run up to her and charge life magic into her… “She’ll be okay, my magic can heal almost anything.” He says, as Honey-Snake places her against a pillar…

“How did this happen? It’s like she’s been impaled all over her body…” He says, as he stares at her… “It was her, Horonva was just trying to talk to her, and she attacked her…” Honey-Snake says, as he points directly at me…

“Demitallis…” He says, as he stares at me… “Why do you do this to people?” He asks, as Ling and Honey-Snake look at him… “She’s done this more than once?” Ling asks… “Yeah, she hurt our sister in the same way-”

Demi - “Just shut up!!! Why do you have to tell them everything?!”

“Demi, calm down, I’m sorry-” He says, taking a step back. “I just-” Ling looks at Glant, then at me, then at Glant again. “I don’t need to know, you can stop there.” He says, as he stands up, finally able to walk on two feet again, and grabbing one of his cloths to wrap himself up in.

Horonva wakes up, a little pale, but at least she’s alive… “Alton, were you holding me?...” She asks, as he stares at her, and gives her a hug. “Yeah, man, I’m just glad you’re okay. Almost thought I’d lost you there…” He says, before helping her onto her feet.

“Hey.” Glant says, surprising her. “H-Hey. I’m Horonva. Nice cloak.” She says, reminding everyone that Glantinazor is indeed wearing a cloak. “I’m- Actually, I shouldn’t mention that.” He says, as Ling walks up. “It would ruin the point of the mask.” He says, as Glant looks around.

“Well, I guess I’ll get going, then. Convenient healing powers away!” He shouts, switching with Veyta, who then jumps out of the Vehicle the way she came in, because I guess Glant can’t do that.

Ling takes a look at the chatbox, while Alton and Horonva stare at me… Ling sighs. “It wasn’t against the rules, and I really doubt you would have died anyways, Horonva. But still, as stated by the rules, anything permanent is strictly prohibited, which of course includes death.” He says, as I heave a sigh of relief…

Demi - “I guess I’ll leave too, thanks for having me.”

Ling stares at the chatbox for an extended period of time, until he looks at me. “Yeah, you should probably go… Have fun, Demitallis, I’ll talk to Horonva and Alton here, for you.” He says, as I feel a sense of calm wash over me…

Demi - “Thank you.”

-√G-

After repairing her cloak, she leaves, passing through doors, her massive cloak barely managing to fit. Everyone in my chat box has been discussing stuff about mental health, what they’ve dealt with. I don’t know much about it, but they’re telling me not to press Demitallis.

At least whatever was messing with her has stopped, and with their help, I was able to calm her down… General consensus among chatters here seems to be in agreement that I leave her alone and focus on the competition. “Thank you, everyone…”I say, as I sigh…

“I’ll keep an eye on her, and I’ll disqualify her if it looks like someone might actually get hurt.” I say, as the chat box lights up with PRIMARILY agreement. I look at Horonva and Altonfield, they sent Tory off to get more food, of course, and I’m glad they did, I’d rather he didn’t see that.

“Horonva, I’m sorry.” I say, as she stares at me, while Alton holds her up. “No, I’m not angry.” She says, rubbing her arm. “She didn’t mean it, she’s just confused, that’s all.” She says, letting go of Alton, and steadying herself.

“You good?” He asks. “Yeah, I can walk.” She says. I’ve never understood blood, and I doubt Alton does either. They don’t actually need their blood as much as you would think, loss of it more or less disorientates fleshies for a moment, until they tap into their mana and start surviving off that, until their bodies can produce more.

I guess having to use mana just to survive is a good debuff though. “What’cha thinkin’bout?” Alton asks, as he slithers up next to me. “Oh, nothing.” I say, as the blood continues to mix with his honey… “You should get yourself cleaned up, Alton, and I swear, that frog…” I say, as I press my hand against my head.

“I’m made of honey and blood now!” He says, as he pumps his arms in the air… “PLEASE, clean yourself.” I say, as the chat enjoys his energy. “Alright, fine, you win.” He says, before leaving, thankfully.

“Will you still be participating?” I ask, as Horonva looks at the floor that was shredded by Demitallis, and the hole in the wall that was made by her brother. “Yeah, I’m good. It really wasn’t as bad as you thought.” She says, as I stare at her…

“Well, I better get started. Someone’s gotta’ fix this stuff up.” She says, walking up to the floor, and pulling some planks of wood up. “Right, I’ll introduce the rest of your team, and then I’ll move on.” I say, as I grab the rest of my clothing, and she waves me off.

Just a moment after delving deeper into the massive vehicle, I ran into Tory. “Hey. Where were you?” I ask, as he stares at me, a plate of food in his hand. “It took me a while to find the kitchen. Also I might have been eating.” He says, rubbing the back of his head.

“Right, this is for you-” He says, handing it to me so I can dump it into my body. “Here, take these, it’s a little hard for me to carry everything like this.” I say, placing the plate on the ground, and handing him the clothes I was wearing.

“Sure. Man, you’re not such a big dude anymore- Wait a minute!” He suddenly grabs me and places me under his arm- “Put me down this instant, young man!” I shout, squirming in his arms! “Haha! I’m the biggin’ now!” He cheers, running around with me…

I separate from the bit of cloth I was wearing and pull it from under his arm, so I can wear it again- “That is enough, Tory. Now come on, I have more people to introduce to my viewers.” I say, surprising him. “Alright then.” He says.

“Thank you.” I reply, and we move on. “So does Horonva have a beard?” He asks, making me sputter for a moment- “Technically- Why are you asking this?” He stares at me, then shrugs. “I dunno’. Why not?” He asks, as the viewers express amusement in many different ways.

We meet up with the next member, another person I and Fullrim know. I guess Fullrim wanted to stick close to his heart, which makes me wonder why he brought Tory in. Anyways, this guy is a Fox Mutant. His name is Foozy, just Foozy. It’s pretty common that us mutants get weird names like this. I mean, what kind of name is “Ling”

“Hey Foozy.” Tory says, first to speak. “Oh, Tory. New guy. Hey man- AHHH!!!” He screams, falling from the beam he was standing on, only for his voice to cut out as he hits the bottom… “Are you okay, Foozy?” I ask, as he stands up, lifting the debris right off of himself.

“All good! Just startled me.” He says, giving me a thumbs up… Yeah, he’s got quite the lungs on him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could shatter glass. “Well, Foozy, say hello to our Audience.” I say, showing him the chatbox.

“Oh. Hi guys! So you’re streaming this? What numbers are we looking at?” He asks, as I pull up another window for the number- “We’re currently at a little over one million. I’ve been hyping this thing up for a while now.” I say, surprising him.

“Damn… That’s a lot for just an introduction. How many are you expecting?” He asks, as I shut the window again. “A few more million, once the competition REALLY gets started. Then we should peak at the end, when the winner makes their wish.” I say, surprising him again, somehow.

“Wait, WINNER? As in… One?” He asks. “Oh, don’t worry, whichever team is in last place will be disqualified, so teams will be able to rearrange inbetween.” I say, making him sigh. “Yeah, ‘sucks that it has to be that way, but that’s probably for the best.” He says, as I nod.

“Hey, why don’t you show them your power?” I ask, as he looks up. “Yeah, alright. Show’em’my’moves!” He says, picking up the debris, and placing runes on each piece. “Rune magic. I can manipulate objects to do whatever I want.” He says, as they begin to build on top of each other, and climb back into place.

Once done, they repair the damages, and the runes disappear. “Pretty impressive, eh?” He asks, gesturing triumphantly. “Mhm. Tory, you tried your nullification magic on it, yet?” I ask, and he nods. “Yeah, it works.” He says, as I place my hand on my hip.

“Man, you’re so tiny. What happened?” Foozy asks, chuckling. “Tory happened, now he has to carry my clothes.” I say, as Tory shifts in motion to show them off. “Right, yeah, you wear a lot. Now you’ve just got the one rag. I bet YOU feel embarrassed.” He adds, as his chuckle turns into a laugh.

“Please, shut up.” I say, fighting back a chuckle of my own. His laugh is surprisingly contagious. “Well, I’ll be seeing ya’ then. You should go find Bill.” He says, as I consider it. “Yeah, sure.” I say. I don’t really like Bill, he’s kind of off. Also he laughs at me, and HIS laugh is annoying.

Still though, I ultimately have to either way. He’s another human mutated with the genetics of a duck. Most mutants start from human bodies, so Alton is pretty rare even amongst us Mutants.

It takes us a hot minute, but thanks to Tory’s help, we find him relatively quickly too. “Ling!” He calls out, chuckling like Foozy was, but I can hear the annoying part kicking in… “Kahackahaha- How’s it goin’ little guy?” He says, coughing up blood into his hand, and wiping it off.

I’m also not allowed to complain, because he’s got physical disabilities. One of them bursts veins in his throat… Doesn’t stop it from being grating and annoying, sadly. “I came to introduce you to our audience.” I say, as I show him the holoboard, just as he coughs-

The blood shoots past it, and now he’s laughing at my audience… “I’m fine, guys. It’s just a little blood loss. My doctor told me I just needed to enhance my mana regen. Knocked that one out in a couple months.” He says, rolling his large shoulder.

I guess if I had to say I found anything impressive about him, it would be his well built figure. Aside from his duck bill and wings, he’s actually the most human looking of everyone here, all that and he’s physically buff.

“Should I show’em my ability?” He asks, stifling a laugh. “Sure.” I say, as he draws a picture on a wall, and brings it to life, letting it dance across the floor until he claps his hands, and it falls into the floor. “What’cha guys think?” He asks, as he leans against the wall, checking the chatbox.

He screams in laughter, bursting my nonexistent eardrums- I stop myself from screaming at him… “Bill, please.” I say- “What’s wrong?” He asks, as I realize what I did- “It’s nothing, you have a good time, Bill. We gotta’ go.” I say, walking away quickly as he chuckles and he too waves me off.

So nice and friendly… Anyways, that’s everyone in team one, I’ll have to see if they come up with a name. “So am I done carrying your gross stuff around?” Tory asks. “No.” I say. “Keeping me from helping out my team is Sabotage.” He says, making me check chat, and they agree.

“Fine. Hand it over.” I say, as I make a metal plate, and tie it to a rope. “Put it here.” I say, and so he does, and then I leave, the chat cheering on something about a training arc the whole damn time. “Yes, thank you, I’m sure dragging around my clothing will make me very strong.” I say, as they cheer me on.

I introduce the smaller third team lead by Archy, the pink monster thing. I’m not really sure what’s going on with those five. I mean, I understand wings and humanoid shapes, but those guys take the cake when it comes to being weird.

Fourth team it is. This is by far the largest team, and their vehicle is almost as big as the second team’s. Yes, I’m making Demitallis’s the first team, because I find it funny that they got here last, and they’re still getting some sort of first place.

Besides, chances aren’t in their favor anyways, I’m just pitying them, I guess. Anyways, team four is kind of last minute, their leader is Zephyr. “Hello Zephyr.” I say, surprising him and his awesome afro. I absolutely must have that too.

“Would you mind sharing with the audience?” I ask, as he puts away his clipboard. “Sure. I’m forty eight, I was born on a ship and raised in Inccity, cultivating a deep love for sports and science.” He says, surprising me.

“On my sixteenth birthday, my parents took me to the inc temple for a run at one of its practice tunnels. I was kind of going through an Adventurer’s phase. It lasted until I was twenty six. After that I delved into learning science, and got a doctorate at Nightwalk Collage.” He just keeps going…

“And roughly twenty years later, I met Ling here, and a few months ago from today he invited me to his competition. I think that’s roughly it.” He says, as I stare at him… “I… I just wanted you to show the audience your power…” I say, surprising him instead…

“Why, Afro-Man, why?” I ask, as he bursts into laughter- “Man, I’m sorry! Didn’t know, Ling! Here guys, check this out.” He says, before showing off his power. Anyways, his can enhance other abilities, making it all but useless to him, and the opposing ability to Tory’s nullification.

That explains the large team, though. They were pretty last minute too, like Demitallis. In that he was gathering people, and got them signed up a little after she arrived. So yeah, they’ve had little time to construct their vehicle.

Funny enough, the third team and the fifth team aren’t actually building vehicles. Team three think they can move fast enough without it, and ditto for the sole member of team five, who I’ll be getting to in a little bit, after I introduce Zephyr’s team.

Finally, team five, the one and only Mistral. “Alright, everyone, give a deep bow to Mistral, a follower of Liberty himself.” I say, bowing in respect. I’ve also grown three times in size! Team four was so big…

“Anyways, he refuses to speak by choice. He can create shockwaves wherever he is looking.” I say, as I show him the chat. Everyone’s just telling us in some different way that they indeed DID bow, even though we can’t see them.

Either way, Mistral seems pleased. “Thank you Mistral. So you’re sure you don’t need a vehicle?” I ask, as I point at the piles of materials to work with, and the construction teams ready to build the vehicle of his dreams- He shakes his head, and I lower my head.

“Of course, I’m sure you can handle it on your own.” I say, before leaving, only to arrive at the sixth team’s area. “Greetings, friend Ling!” The tall, charcoal skinned man says, picking me up- “H-Hey.” I say, as he holds me in his massive hands…

He’s armored from head to toe in powerfully enchanted stone power armor. “How are you, friend Ling?!” He says, still holding me… “I’m quite alright, thank you. A little on the small end, as you can see.” I say, as he places me on his shoulder.

“Alright, now you can let me down, Solstice.” I say, a little annoyed. “Anyways, I’m introducing my audience here to all of my contestants, and you’re up next.” I say, as I rest my back against his giant head. “Please, demonstrate for the audience.” I say, rolling my hand.

“Of course, friend! Now watch, friends of friend Ling!” He says, as he places his hand on the floor, knocking me off his shoulder, and causing a golem to knock me into the air- Solstice catches me, and places me on his shoulder again, as the golem constructs itself.

“Behold friends, another friend!” Solstice says, as he gestures towards the aforementioned friend. “Would you mind creating me a smaller golem, by the way? See, being small like this, I have to drag my clothes everywhere.” I say, pointing at them.

“Of course, friend Ling!” He smiles then creates another, and orders it to carry around my metal plate. “Thank you.” I say, as he places me on the floor. “I’ll be heading to the seventh team now, Solstice.” I say, before heading off.

Yeah, Solstice is another team of one, technically. He’s been using his legion of golems to replace what would have been a larger team. I’ve got high hopes for his team, those golems can be VERY powerful. Anyways, thanks to the golem, I was able to arrive at the seventh team much quicker!

The seventh team is lead by Vultrym. She’s one of the world’s last pure humans, which makes her a rare find. On top of that, she’s got by far the most powerful psychic ability here. “Ling.” She says, adjusting her glasses. “Vultrym.” I say, looking up at her.

“Seems like someone finally cut YOU down to size.” She said, about my height, as she folded her arms… “How ironic it is for YOU of all people to comment on my body shape.” I say, as I in turn fold my arms. “Sure, pint sized. What do you need, kid?” She asks.

“I’m just fairly introducing my audience to every team, and all their members.” I say, as I show her the chat. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d ask you to please demonstrate your ability.” I say, as she folds her arms.

“Oh. I would have been surprised if you could keep a seminar awake, let alone an audience.” She says, as she reads through the messages. “Funny. Just hurry up.” I say, considering just walking away. “Look everyone, his patience has been cut short too.” She says, about to give me a twitch-

“I wield the power I call warp, allowing me to warp reality itself.” She suddenly says, pulling small objects from her pocket, releasing them into the air and with a wave of her hand they soar through the sky, splitting and colliding with a tall mountain, blowing it up...

“Vultrim, what are you doing?!” I ask, as the sound of the shockwave reaches us, only to then leave a dead silence in the air… Even the chat for a brief moment ceased all communication… “I don’t even need the wish, but it will be mine anyways.” She says, folding her arms.

“Now hurry along, boy. Go introduce the rest of my team. I’m busy directing your work monkeys.” She says, as I back away slowly and do just that. I quickly finish with that and move onto the last team.

The eighth team is led by the one person I expect to win all of this, Sunstone. “Hey.” I say, walking up to the tall lanky thing I call Sunstone. His head is a giant orb with triangles around it representing the sun, while his body is made of a pure black substance that reflects no light.

He continues his constant yet slow chuckle for a moment until his eyes slowly look at me… “Ling… What did you bring me today?...” He asks, silencing the entire area… “No. I’m here to introduce my audience to you.” I say, as I look at the chat.

The feedback is MOSTLY messages of displeasure even seeing Sunstone. “I need you to demonstrate your power, Sunstone.” I say, as he begins chuckling again, only to then stop once more… “Alright… Ling, if you can guess correctly, I will tell you my power…” He says, as he walks around me, and points up…

“Watch closely…” He says, as I watch the sun come into view… He raises his hand, obscuring it and all its light… He lowers his hand and it’s gone, only now do I realize that the area, if not the world, has gone dark… The only thing I can see anymore is the stars… The sun is gone...

“What did you do?...” I ask, as I look around… “Have a guess…” He says, as I stare at the sun… “You couldn’t have removed it, could you?...” I ask, as I stare at it, and then at him- He bursts out laughing, only to return it to its place, before frowning.

“No.” He says, staring at me. “It’s ready, by the way. Now leave me, it was a good guess, but a wrong one.” He says, before walking away, leaving me in my disbelief… The only person here who’s ability I cannot learn, Sunstone… Vultrym might be the most powerful, but Sunstone’s is the most dangerous…

-√D-

“No, Arigold, it’s nothing. You don’t have to check on it.” Liyoxis says, as the sun returns to our view… “May I know why that is?” Arigold asks. “Sorry, no. It would take too long to explain “ He answers, as I sit here at attention, ready to stop anything at a moment’s notice.

“Alright.” Arigold says, all compliant like. “Hey, since we’re talking about this guy.” Baoth surprisingly says. “I’ve been meaning to ask... Hasn’t your memory been deteriorating?” She asks. “That’s because he’s old, if we’re lucky, he’ll die any moment now.” Solar says, as he kicks up his legs, as though he hadn’t just gotten his ass beat a little while ago.

“Yes, it has. I am many years old now.” Arigold answers. “See? How soon are we expecting, Liyoxis?” Solar asks, drinking from a cup. “You won’t be alive to see it, Solar.” Liyoxis says, making him spit it out-

“Wait what?!” Luna shouts- “Can we prevent it?!” She asks, slamming her hands into the table… “Only Demitrivan can change the future, Luna.” He says, making her look at Demitrivan, who slides her seat away…

“Listen, I CAN… But I’m not allowed to... Alright?” She says, as Luna sits back down… “Solar…” She says, as the boy in question sits there and stares at Liyoxis in disbelief. “It’s your fault for asking, Solar.” He says, as he looks away.

“For mother’s sake, Liyoxis. You’re not dying, Solar.” Demitrivan says, placing her palm on her forehead. “So he lied?” Luna asks, as she stares at Liyoxis. “Yes. I lied, and I apologize for that.” He says, as she looks away. “A-Alright. Thank goodness.” She says, as he stares at her.

“That’s not funny, Liyoxis.” Sarah says, deciding to take a moment out of her busy schedule, that I assume primarily consists of brooding. “I know.” He says, taking a moment away from his busy schedule, that I know mostly consists of letting his body atrophy.

“Thank you, Sarah.” Luna says, holding her hands together, making the older girl look away. “Anyways, back to politics. Arigold, I’m going to need you to make Locky go home.” Liyoxis says, as everyone stares at Arigold, waiting for his answer…

“No.” Simply said. “Alright, moving on.” Liyoxis says, as Splice finally arrives through the portal. “You’re late, Splice.” Sarah says, as the young girl runs up and bows. “Sorry, ma’am!” She says, standing next to her, as the more judgemental types do as they do, and judge her for being so late.

“You really should punish her for that, Unity. And she’s a mess… Does she have no respect?” Solar of all people asks, as Splice takes a step back. “I-I’m sorry…” She says, as Angelos too pipes up. “Pathetic. YOU’RE Splice? I and my templar should be ashamed…” He says, as she looks away…

Splice, she’s a shorter girl, a little over a meter and a half. Her hair is messy, and she wears glasses. Certainly not the LOOK of someone who would lead such a prestigious organization. She’s cute though, certainly my type. But that’s only on a surface layer, her teachers have cultivated a brutal warrior that she’s just waiting to unleash on Angelos.

“You know her, Angelos?” Baoth asks, surprising him. “Of course, ma’am. Her organization was built to take down the templar. Calling themselves the oh-so original name of: Dread Templar.” He says, answering her question. “A pathetic order of heretics, if you ask me.” He says, as everyone stares at him…

“You listen here...” Splice suddenly says, pointing at him- “Those drugged up monsters you call ‘honorable warriors’ are raised like drones and taught only kill, murder, and extremination. If we don’t get rid of them, who will?!” She says, as he stares at her.

“Maybe I should put you in your place…” He says, lifting his sword, as splice pulls out her scicles… “Enough, I’ll deal with my people as I see fit, call him off, Baoth.” Sarah says, as Baoth stares at her for an extended period of time…

“I believe this is between them, Sarah. If she hurts my Templar, then I think the best defense is a good offense… Is it not?” She asks, that selfish part of her kicking in again, as Splice prepares to defend herself…

Splice was still in training before she got promoted to her leading role in the Dread Templar, the old man left BIG boots to fill. Angelos lifts his sword over her head, and I have to stop myself from getting in between before Liyoxis gives me the go-ahead-

They suddenly stop, and everyone looks at Liyoxis. “There will be no conflict within these walls, Baoth.” Liyoxis says, as the two float away from each other, and instead next to their respectful leaders. “Fair enough. Please, Angelos, another time.” Baoth says, as Sarah glares at her…

“Well, let’s get back on track everyone. A border dispute, Helvetica?” Liyoxis asks, getting us back on track. “Yes, actually. Serif, fuck you and your city! I want a turn at the top of Pangaia!” She shouts, surprising him.

“Please, it is thematic…” He says, making her slam her fist into the table again- “I don’t give a damn!”

-√A-

I can’t believe Vilstrous made me go through that, it’s definitely his fault. He better be grateful.

Demi - “Vilstrous, I got you back in the race, you better be grateful.”

I approach him, and wait for an answer. “Whatever. Why do I have to wear this cloak? I’m not even one of you.” He says, as I silently wish I could slap him. “Because then you’ll get us figured out, stupid.” Lex says, his cat ears pushing the cloak up, and the face replaced with a cartoon cat face.

Demi - “Hey Lex, did you decorate your mask?”

“Oh yeah, I’m glad you noticed.” He says, pointing at it. “Now I’ve got my whiskers back! Pretty cool, huh?” He asks, as everyone stares at his bog standard mask. “Lacks inspiration.” Vascula says, walking up in a cloak made from gemstone shingles…

Demi - “Man, yours is so pretty, Vascula. You make it with magic?”

“Yeah, it’s made from my crystals. Watch, I can even use it to fight.” She says, swinging it around, and flinging multiple crystals from it that cut into a tree and explode with an electric pulse, burning it.

Demi - “Yeah, you said you were an Adventurer, right? Got any neat stories?”

“Yeah, I’ve even been through a few dungeons. But… I guess for a story…” She says, standing there, as I begin to understand what it's like for them to talk to me… “I think my favorite one was when I snuck on the Purifier’s Dreadnought.” She says, as she sits down on a crystal slab.

“Deep inside of one of the world’s deadliest ships, but mother and I were on a mission-” She says, taking everyone aback- “Wait, mom was there?” Lex says, as he steps up. “Of course. We were collecting DNA samples from another creature.” She says, before continuing.

“Anyways, as we delved further into the ship, we were met with many adversaries, mother and I barely made it out alive, actually.” She says, chuckling to herself. “Now you see, they just so happened to have a unicorn on board.” She says…

“We snuck around, things lead to another, we beat up a horse and we took its genes! And that’s the short of it.” She says, as everyone stares at her, no noticeable emotions to tell me what they’re possibly feeling… “So you beat up a unicorn?...” Glant asks, as she looks at him.

“Yeah, now they don’t like me anymore, but that’s cool. I outgrew that stuff a while back.” She says. “You really just beat it up. Couldn’t just sneak up on it? Nick off a bit of hair?” Lex asks, taking a single step forward. “Of course, they spotted us the moment we got too close, they’re still a unicorn.” She answers…

“Had to disable the alarm, I told you we barely made it out of there.” She says, reminding us. “Huh…” Lex says, as he sits down. “So you really just beat up a unicorn… Even I’m not that evil…” Vilstrous says, as he lies back, surprising me.

“Ha, whatever nerd. Hey Vascula, you should be pretty strong, right? Fight me!” Veyta suddenly says, pointing her sword at her, her arms sticking out of two holes she made in her cloak. “Did you seriously pop two holes in your cloak, Veyta?” Vascula asks, as I find amusement from it.

“Don’t know how to make the material, and how I look doesn’t really matter.” Veyta says, as she places her hand on her hip, as Glant walks over and starts constructing her some sleeves. “There you go.” He says, as she looks at him.

“Thanks Glant.” She says, before looking at Vascula again. “I've got a sleeve! Ain’t gettin’ out of this now!” She says, taking another step forward… “I don’t know, I’ve got real world experience, Veyta. Are you sure about this?” She says, leaning over a little.

“Then whatcha waitin’ for?! Come on, fight me!” Veyta shouts, suddenly glowing, before launching at blinding speed!

End of Chapter: 44√ACGD “Locking eyes.”

Thank you for reading.

“Nah, I don’t feel like it. Go away, weirdo.”

“Heehee! Thank you~!”

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Thank you!”

“MmmMMMmmm… Thank you…”

“Thank you, sincerely.”

“Oh! Thank you so much!”

“How on Orion did you get in here, young man?

“A story, huh? Sure, thanks. Liyoxis, you just letting people in?”

“Oh, what’s it about? As long as it’s not heretical to our gods, I’d love to read it!”

“Don’t care… About your book!”

“Liyoxis, seriously? SERIOUSLY? Wow… Well I guess that’s okay… Thank you.”

“Liyoxis, if it comes any closer, I might throw up.”

“Sadly, I cannot as easily condone your work as easily as Baoth, without proper research.”

“As it is my freedom to decide my fate, I thank everyone for reading your story.”

“Go away.”

“Cool- AHHH- I’m good! Thanks everyone!”

“KahahahahahahaHACK! THAAAANKS EVERYONE!”

“Thank you!”

“Hey, thanks! Don’t forget to vote for this cool team!”

“That’s right, we’ll win it for sure!”

“Friends of yours? Of course! Give’em a big’ol thank ya’ from yer’ pal Solstice!”

“Don’t you see I’m busy? Are you TRYING to sabotage me?!”

“Hehehe… Cute… Really cute… I like you… Thanks…”

“Well, I guess I can, then. Thank you!”