Glant and I arrive to meet Archy’s team- “A white coat! You must be one of Nova’s friends!” The big pink creature says, running on all fours as I run normally. Glant on the other hand, is gliding on the bridge. “What?! I just came to fight!” I say, smiling as I shrug, as I rush in front of her-

She’s surprised as I throw a knife at her, but her teammate Karohty kicks it out of the way, and the hard-light bridge forms into a large arena around us, as Glant blasts Bowler away from me. “You’re betraying us?!” She asks, and I pull out my spear.

“Since when did you become a white coat?” I ask, and she raises an eyebrow. “No, we made a deal with Nova-” She says, and I block Bowler’s next attack with my spear, feeling the hearty force drill into it-

“Bowler, hold!” She says, and after another minute, he finally stops, running up to her, and glaring at me. “Yeah, no idea who that is. So I can’t exactly trust you.” Is say, but Glant stops me, “No, they’re not lying. We ARE in a temporary truce.” He says, but I decidedly ignore him.

“Tough, ‘cause I don’t work for your white-coat buddies!” I say, swinging the spear up in a large haymaker to stop Karohty, as Glant boosts my power further- I use the moment to shove the butt of the spear into Archy’s stomach-

She grabs it, but I activate the side handle, and kick it to get the rest of the reach to slam it into her torso! “Gotcha!” I shout, as a large fist is slammed on my head… I feel disorientated, as the arena cracks below me…

“Oh jeez, ya’ got me good.” I say, pointing at the one who did it, as Glant shoots them away with a magic blast… “Hey! You’re the one who wanted this! I can’t keep them off you forever!” Glant says, and I slam my knee into Bowler again, shooting him into the sky.

My senses kick in again, and I shove my elbow into Karohty, before swinging multiple knifes with threads- “What the-” He says, and I throw my arms around, pulling them toward him, as I equip my sword- He deflects them on at a time, while I form the whip and swing it at Archy-

She barely manages to dodge, while Bowler and Tinnie are kept off of me with Glant’s magic- Karohty slams his palm into my back, and I feel lightning magic burst from it- “Mythical lightning magic!” I shout, and throw a wide-arc of my blades at him!

I swing many of my blades around my body, juggling them like a torrent of knives… “I’ve fought against martial arts…” I say, but he appears behind me, cut by one of the blades as I extend my tendrils… “What the hell are you?!” He asks, and I grab his arm with two of them!

I pull my blades back and, and throw him over my head, using my tentacles to slam him onto the other side of me! “That’s not it though.” I say, as he stands up, and I pull the sword I named ‘snake’ back into its primary function.

I wrap my tendrils around my body, and watch as he charges his lightning, while I charge my lightdrive… “Hey! Don’t kill him! You’ll get us disqualified…” Glant says, as I roll my one eye, before Karohty and I launch at each other-

We land, and I lose my stance, shoving a scorpion-blade into the floor as my cloak burns… A wave of water washes over me, and I stand up, as Karohty falls over… “Hey, Kartohy! You okay?!” Bowler asks, rolling up to him…

Karohty stands, visible exhaustion on both of us… “You’re a practiced fighter, kid.” He begins. “And your powers are incredible. I’ll give you that.” He says, as I extend more of my tendrils. “Let’s go!” I say, and switch with Glant! “Wait, WHAT?!” He asks, as Karohty rushes at him-

He activates his bishop-counter spell, stunning the poor guy for a moment before charging his own attack as I rush over and ram into bowler, barely managing to knock him off course! Glant shoves his tendrils into Karohty’s body, and unleashes a lightning blast into the poor guy, knocking him out finally.

“You got him! Now for the other four!” I shout, giving him a thumbs up, as Tinnie suddenly shoots up from under the Arena, and slams both her fists like a hammer into Glant’s head, knocking him out… “Now that was cheap!” I shout, pointing at her.

“Oh please.” she says, rolling her eyes, as I giggle. “But I’m cheaper!” I say, switching places with glant, and sweeping her feet to knock her over! “Dammit!” She screams, landing on her hands and bounding away, dodging as I equip my bow and fire multiple shots.

Archy throws her fist at me, slamming them into the ground as I dodge blow after blow, while firing more shots- I roll forward, barely dodging Bowler again. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Work stupid! Work!” He says, punching himself in the head.

“Ya’ can’t rely on one skill, buddy!” I say, rushing at him, and wrapping my tentacles around my arms as he looks up at me. “Huh?” He involuntarily says, as I clap my hands into his ears, knocking him out…

“Are you happy?” Archy asks, as I turn around to look at her… “Don’t be too upset.” I say, as I use my tentacles to fire more arrows at Tinnie, keeping her away, as I approach with my spear. “You’ve certainly given ME quite the workout.” I say, swinging it into a combat stance!

She runs at me, painfully slower than Karohty, and I pull back my tendrils- She suddenly speeds up, slamming her fist into my face, surprising me… I begin charging my lightdrive, but hundreds of little creatures start climbing onto me-

“I’ll teach YOU to beat up my boys…” She mutters, cracking her knuckles as I laugh. “Aw…” I say, and she slams her fist into my chest like a freight-train, throwing me backwards. I raise my hands. “Alright! I’m good! You better return to the race!” I shout, surprising her.

“What?!” He asks, as I point at the League’s vehicle speeding past us. “See? They’ll beat you at this rate.” I tell her, and she looks at me again for some reason. “Zumo’s already probably made it to the finish line.” She says, and I drop my arms.

“Oh.” I say, realizing I may have messed up. “Listen, don’t make me defend myself.” I say, wrapping all my tentacles around my arms, the bulk forming like giant bulging muscles under my cloak… “How?!” She asks, remembering what just a few of them did to the rest of her team…

“You know, you guys really are holding Karohty back.” I say, as I walk forward. “No fighting skills, if he didn’t have to keep me off of you, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.” I continue, as I pull out my sword, and she holds up her arms.

“Alright, alright, you win. Can we go now?” She asks, surprising me. “You’re giving up?” I ask, and she nods. “Yeah, you win.” She says, doing MY thing- “That’s MY thing-” I tell her- “Why do you CARE?!” She asks, and I pull away my tentacles.

“I’m not going to beat you up.” I say, stretching as I walk over to Glant. “Good luck with the rest of the race, Archy!” I shout, lifting him to my chest, jumping off my foot, and throwing her a two-finger salute as I teleport back to the Blue walrus!

-√G-

I open a portal and walk through. Fullbrim, the team leader of the Brown Boar converses with our newest member, Stussy, daughter of Serif. “Vivan! Hey buddy!” He says, and the girl looks at me. “He’s Vivan, right? The boy that can teleport?” She asks, as I walk up and nod.

“You’re cute.” She tells me, surprising me- “Oh.” I say, and Fullbrim beckons me to sit down. “What are you up to, Vivan?” He asks, as I sit down. “More work for Slade, that's all.” I answer. I like working for Slade, it gives me a weird sense of adventure… Is that what you would call it?

“How come? Does he even pay you?” Fullbrim asks, surprising me. “No. I’m not entirely sure why… But I do enjoy it.” I say, nodding as I close my eyes. “Well, fair enough… What’s he got you doing now?” Fullbrim asks, as I sit down.

“Just keeping ah-an eye… on… things… Slade told me to g-give him an hourly report, you see.” I say, my stutter kicking in again. “That makes sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already figured everything out.” Fullbrim says, as Stussy and I stare at each other.

“Who even is that guy?” Stussy asks, looking at him. “Slade’s not all that special, honestly. He’s just really good at what he does. Believe it or not, he can’t even use magic. Still… I can’t imagine what he’s been through…” Fullbrim says, as he spins around and rests his back against the counter.

“My dad is his closest friend, and even he struggles to explain what makes Slade who he is.” Fullbrim tells us, as he makes small gestures with hand without moving his elbows from the table. “I should g-get back to it.” I say after standing up.

I open a portal on the floor- “Why so soon? I was just about to discuss Stussy’s presence as a seeker.” He says, and I decide to jump in without a word, quickly closing the portal behind me. I land in the middle of the air and use my vector-arrows to fly forward as I bounce off of them with levitation.

I catch up with Mistral and look at him- He looks at me and his eyes narrow. They’re two golden glowing slits, meaning he’s already attuned himself with Yang. Yang being the yellow moon at night. He turns around, kicks off the air and sings a loud melody-

The wind screams like a hurricane as a gathering of it suddenly collides with some sort of invisible force… He stops singing and unleashes a shockwave in the epicenter of the invisible force, disrupting the atmosphere and revealing Sunstone to have been chasing us…

Mistral looks at me, then gestures to Sunstone as the weird-sun-man-thing just grins and laughs at us… I nod at him, and the atmosphere begins to converge behind Sunstone until it forms into what I can only describe as a giant humanoid figure…

Larger than even the colossal, it brings its giant palm down on us, and so I teleport next to Mistral and move us out of the way. “I’ll protect you.” I say, as Sunstone lands on the Giant’s hand, allowing it to lift him on its shoulder…

“Nature is subject to my whims!!!” He announces as the giant suddenly swings its fist at us, and I teleport again to dodge, while Mistral begins singing, until he forms his own titan… “Hahaha! Bravo! Then we clash with Atmospheric Titans of unrivaled power!” He shouts at us, as I teleport Mistral’s, surprising both of them, only for Mistral to take this opportunity to land a clean strike on Sunstone’s!

Its left arm destabilized, it’s forced to slam its shoulder in our titan, then its elbow, as its arm reforms and it catches an Atmospheric Hammer from Mistral’s. “Clever!!!...” He says, as his titan’s leg lifts from the ocean, and grabs our titan to pull it down-

I’m forced to teleport us off the titan and into mid air again, as to allow Mistral time to concentrate on his singing. Sunstone’s titan grows larger, as it forms a giant partizan and runs our titan through… I open a portal, deciding this is too much for Mistral or I to handle…

“You’ve lost! Therefore your powers are forfeit!!!” He announces as Slade rushes through the portal and collides fists with the titan, completely disrupting and destroying it, leaving Sunstone dumbfounded as he falls into the ocean…

“Vivan! You okay?!” He asks, as I form a portal under him and he falls onto my platform… “Yeah, Mistral and I were attacked. If it wasn’t for him, I might have been taken…” I say, and he nods, looking at Mistral… “Good job. You okay too?” Slade asks, and Mistral nods, bowing his head.

“You go ahead, Mistral. I’ll keep whatever that thing was off your back.” Slade says, and Mistral flies away, as Slade looks down at my ‘platform.’ “So what is this thing?” He asks, as he taps it with his foot. “It’s one of my portals, I’m just holding it over a layer of stone.” I say, and he folds his arm.

“You know anything about what that was?” Slade asks, and I look over where the titan was. “Yeah. It was Sunstone. He said he can manipulate nature itself. I’m glad you were able to destroy that thing. I still…” I begin to say, as he stares at me…

“Find it so h-hard to believe how physically strong you are… I mean, you struck it once, and it just fell apart…” I say and he rolls his eyes… “It’s not that impressive, dude. Anyone here could have destabilized it just as easily.” He says, surprising me-

“E-Even me?” I ask, and he nods. “Yeah. All things considered, keeping it that way is so many times harder.” Slade says, pointing his thumb at what was its general direction. “Anyways…” He begins.

“Get us back to the brown boar. I really doubt it;s Sunstone behind this, too contradictory.” He says, and I open another portal, guiding him through into the room where Fullbrim and Stussy was. Except they’re gone… I guess they must have left to do more important things…

-√F-

I stare at her, she’s just been sitting there in that thing she calls her nest… “You… OKAY?...” I ask, unsure of how to console her… “Do I look okay?” She asks, and I shrug. “How the hell am I supposed to tell?” I ask, and the awkward silence continues…

“Hey. I’m like, the last person who would have an answer to that question, considering, so this is kind of on you.” I say, and she fires a metal-orb at my head, knocking me back a little- “Hey-” I say, rubbing my forehead.

“It’s not my fault!” She yells, and I flinch a little, my brittle bones reacting to that all too familiar scene… “I’m not good at this, alright?!” I shout, as I pull my arms and legs on to the chair, making it swivel from the force- “Whatever.” She says, surprising me…

I thought she was more understanding than this… “Hey, you seriously need to calm down.” Vascula says, as she walks up. “You’re being mean.” She says, as Demitallis continues to sit there…

We wait a full minute for a response… “I’m sorry. Is that what you want? Can’t you see I’m upset?” She asks. “Yeah. And it’s making you a little shit. You need to calm down and talk to us.” Vascula says- “I’m heading up. Leave me alone.” She says, before jumping out of her nest and shrinking down to size…

She enters the elevator, and it shuts behind her- “Sorry about her, Vilstrous. I’ve never seen her like this.” Vexalan says, and I just stare at her again… “Um, it’s… Fine…” I say, as I sit here, unsure of how to talk around her- “What? She’s never been this angry before?” Vascula asks, surprising me.

“Yeah. ‘Far as I’m aware, at least. Whatever’s going on has seriously upset her.” Vexalan answers, as she takes her hands off the console. “Well… I don’t know what she wants.” I say, as I fold my arms. “I don’t think she wanted anything from you guys, you kind of just made it worse.” Vexalan says, her voice suddenly monotone.

“She’s like, four months old! We shouldn’t even be having to deal with this!” Vascula shouts as she throws her arms into the air- “Your point? She’s still our little sister. You should be more understanding.” She says, her voice becoming soft again…

“Yeah, she’s right.” Lex says, pointing at Vexalan. “De- Um- Big-Coat might be a bit of an idiot, and she’s a little bull-headed… But she’s also one of the most understanding, caring, and passionate people I know.” He says, as Vascula leans against my console.

“So what should we do?” I ask. “Leave her alone.” Lex answers. “If we manage to figure it out for her, she won’t feel so frustrated, at least.” Vexalan says, and we all share in agreement. “Don’t know how WE’LL achieve that, though… I mean, nobody ELSE has figured it out yet.” I say, and THEY all share in agreement this time.

“I’ll do it.” I say, leaving them surprised. “What?” Vascula asks. “I’ll do it. I can teleport.” I stand up. “But you’ll be disqualified.” Lex says, and I nod. “Of course. I didn’t want to win either way, I just can’t participate now.” I lie, shrugging as I fire a shade-tendril at the light button, destroying it.

“Are you sure?” Vascula asks, and I nod, shrouding myself as the room absorbs the rest of the light. I find myself a great distance above the race, standing on a weak platform made from my shadow magic.

I can see the drones that have been recording the race from up here, and there’s Ling. The bridges are huge, and I can see Fosyde from here. The track is three times the size of the original… Ling’s moon shoots upwards, heading towards me.

“There you are!” He calls out, as he rises. “Hey.” I say, as the cameras follow us. “What are you doing, man?! You just lost!” He says, as I tear off my cloak. “Vilstrous-” He says, standing up. “That’s right. I’ve decided to give up the prize. To anyone still unsure, this is my resignation!” I tell them all.

I watch as the drones circle me, glancing at them one at a time. “The prize means nothing to me, not compared to what I gain from this sacrifice!” I announce, to the world. “I’ve done terrible things… I will never right my wrongs…” I say, as Ling leans against his moon.

“And so I’ll do it. I’ll root out the monsters. I’ll become the hero I can be for HER.” I say, in hopes she will hear me. “I need you to share this in the recap, Ling. Just tell me-” I say, but he interrupts me. “Yeah, no, totally dude. This is gold.” He says, making me chuckle before thanking him.

I compose myself, standing tall- “I am Vilstrous, seventy-eighth son of the Stroos.” I say, as I focus on the drones. “I resign myself from the medium council of Capital City, and I renounce and disown you, Serif, and my father, and all he has built.” I say, remembering it all, knowing the enemies I will come to make…

“My father, if you’re watching, I’ve abandoned your design, and I’ll be the one to tear it down!!!” I exclaim, my voice roaring and disorientating the drones- “So wait for me! And watch as I tear down the cycle you thought you could perpetuate!” I continue, a calling I hope to reach to the world for Demitallis herself.

I sigh, and place my hands behind my back. “I hurt people, I threw them away when they needed me most. It’s no-one's fault but my own. Allowing myself to be hurt, and therefore hurt just as my father.” I say, as I look to the sky…

“I wish to empower the world, much in the same way they wished and have empowered me. You are never set in your ways, it’s up to you to decide to be the hero we need you to be. It’s our right to be free, to share in the hope of generation after generation who have chosen the mantle of HERO.” I finally say, and Ling’s grip on his moon cracks it-

“Spare me… You think people change, Vilstrous?” He asks, surprising me- “People fight and hurt each other. There stands no sanctum for the weak, Vilstrous, your ‘father’ obviously wants to perpetuate a cycle that protects you.” He says, as I feel a drop of sweat form…

“You’ve just thrown away everything he has GIVEN to you, and the chance I MYSELF have given to you. You let yourself grow weak, and that is why you will change NOTHING.” He says, as I can’t help but stare-

“It’s our right to crush the weak who judge and attempt to hurt us. That is what you’ve thrown away.” He says, and I shake my head and fold my arms in protest of his beliefs. “No. Ling. It’s entirely your choice to be who you are and you know it.” I say, as his Moon begins to bleed, unsettling me a little…

He opens his mouth, but I envelop myself again and teleport away.

-√G2-

He’s gone… Not only that, but I allowed my anger and frustration to make myself look like a fool live on my own stream for a second time… Still… I’ll prove him wrong in due time. I should go check on Sunstone, check and see if he’s captured Mistral yet.

I won’t lie, I like Mistral, but I also really like his shockwave power. Imagine what I could do with that! Besides, he doesn’t deserve it, his powers are borrowed from a higher being, of whom will not be unlike myself, in due time.

Once I have all the powers I desire, I too will be a world power, Slade and Skall will fear ME! I wave away the cameras as Origami cries… “Shut up.” I say, giving it a light kick as it bleeds, making it carry me back down to where the race is taking place.

Placement-wise… Archy’s team won a little while ago, of course, so they’re technically in first place. Otherwise, you might say they’re in third. In first is the Brown Boar, second of course being the Blue Walrus, then the rest of Zumo’s Team, then Mistral, and way in the back, is the League’s vehicle.

A sad effort… With Zephyr’s boosting ability, they can’t super-charge the propulsor, not to mention the majority of its team having up and LEFT. You see, they gave up on the League, then soon realized that there’s no other teams willing to take them in, and carry them to victor.

This track is huge, if they stuck together, they might have beaten out Mistral, who’ll seriously be struggling… It’s just bad decision after bad decision I guess… But still, it’s their fault for not investigating, for not realizing that they still had a chance, and not seizing it.

…

I’ve got people trying to criticize me again in the chat box. As though they somehow think they can just tell me what my beliefs are. Mostly criticism on how I’m treating Origami, how I talk to people, my beliefs. They’re probably also weak too…

I’m going to ignore them for now, because they obviously can’t possibly know any better than I do. I close out the panel and wait for Origami to soar to the front, as I look back at the race. I pull out a holographic panel and activate one of the new terrain modifiers.

Bridges alter and split, giving options and enhancing their difficulty within the limits of the participants. Some rise higher while others sink into the ocean, the Blue Walrus’s going particularly deep, in anticipation of testing its environmental seal and integrity.

Archy’s team was given three options that will lead into five parkour gauntlets to perform and test them with. While the League’s is a series of group and team challenges. These are just a few examples, they’re arriving now.

A giant gap appears before the Brown Boar, and Slade throws the largest vehicle in the race right over the gap, and onto the next bridge leading to a rune-puzzle for Foozy.

The Blue Walrus has just descended into the depths and, since I didn’t know what powers of theirs to test, I couldn’t actually set up some proper challenges… So I figured I would just challenge them with ocean kings.

Mistral on the other hand, soars through holographic rings, each giving a boost to his speed. He was beginning to have trouble keeping up with the vehicles, the participants were boosting them with magic. He would have to push them back with his windpower, in turn exhausting him while he struggles to hold back even one.

It must be amazing to have as much power as Liberty. He spreads fractions of his focus and will to empower his followers who sing for his attention. Of the world powers, he is truly the most benevolent… Nobody knows how many of his kind exist on Orion to this day, but their rarity must make them extremely few in number.

That little brat- I look at myself again… I guess I’m not much of one to speak right now, being short and all thanks to Solstice… Anyways- Thanks to him trying to fight me, people will undoubtedly get more suspicious…

I guess I’m going to need more damage control… Things are getting worse and worse as is, and Sunstone failed like a fool. Slade’ll definitely be looking for him, for questioning, and I can’t have that before I’m stronger than both of them…

You know, if he’s beaten, I COULD head down there and try to capture him… I’m just so unsure of his power… I had to turn off the cameras for him, so I couldn’t really get a good look at what he was doing. The giants were kinda’ cool, though. Not that I get it, mind you, but it was neat.

“Ling-” Slade suddenly says, having come out of nowhere- “Who in the-” I sputter as I grab Origami… “Where’d you come from?!” I ask, as I look up to see him sitting on top of Origami… “You’ve got some explaining to do. Shouldn’t Sunstone have been disqualified?” He asks, surprising me with his honesty…

“Uh, yeah. That’s standard procedure. He’s nowhere near here.” I say, feigning ignorance with a false fact. “No… I think if anyone would know, it would be you. I understand that you’ve got your own machinations… I’ve killed for less than you have, and I won’t judge you… But Ling, do NOT assault my teammates.” He says, surprising me.

I stand up and look at him as he hands from the upper crescent of Origami. “What are you implying?” I ask him, while he supports himself with his foot. “Drop the act, I know you’re behind everything. You’re not exactly the most subtle of individuals, Ling.” He says, as I fold my arms.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I say, as I lean against Origami. “My teammates are under MY protection, Ling. You’ll leave them alone, or I’ll break your core.” He says, surprising me again- “You know it’s more than just an eye?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yeah. You’re part dungeon core, right?” He asks, and I suddenly realize I’m part dungeon core. “Oh.” I say as an involuntary response. “I didn’t know.” I continue, chuckling to myself as he slaps his forehead. “Seriously dude? Have you NOT been in a dungeon, at least once?” He asks, and I shrug.

“No. I’m not allowed to.” I say, and he raises an eyebrow. “Well, I mean I could, but only if I need to. But it’s still against the rules.” I explain, and he climbs down to sit next to me. “What rules? Who decided that?” He asks, and I begin drawing a blank…

“I don’t know. I just thought it was against the rules, I guess.” I say, and he folds his arms. “Without ever having known you’re a dungeon core?” He asks, and I begin to realize what’s wrong… “Oh… I guess I just… Never thought about it? I’m not kidding, man. I had no idea.” I say, making him laugh.

He sighs, resting his forehead on his palm… “Ling, you idiot… You can learn Pact Magic, and set up this whole thing, try and trick the world… But you can’t even figure out what you were made from…” he says, as I rest against Origami’s inner curve.

“I best get back to the race, Ling. You better not make me regret helping you.” He says before jumping off and making me protect Origami with warp. I can use it to negate the backlash-wave from Slade’s kick…

So you really know, Slade?... Fine. I’ve made a decision. I’m going to defeat slade. I’ll need Recovery and Archy’s entire team. Demitallis shouldn’t be too tough, but thanks to the twins, I’ll be able to take Archy’s team pretty quickly, next I’ll personally capture Sunstone, since he decided to be useless.

After that, Demitallis’ll be easy. I rest on my hands, as I watch the race come to the first third of the distance…

-√C-

“So you find anything?” Vascula asks, specifically towards Vilstrous, about a minute after having asked me to destroy the cameras… “Yeah. I talked to Calbdin, and he brought me to this room he and Demitallis found.” He says, surprising me as I fold my arm.

“After that, I had him call up your sister Steriya. The room was entirely walled off, you see. And the wall they broke down to get in was over eight hundred years old. So it’s obvious there must have been spacial-tampering in the area to some extent.” He says, on and on, as I grow bored yet weirdly shocked.

“So yeah, that’s my current report. As for advice, I suspect he’s got some sort of illusion spell, and a POWERFUL one. And he’s hiding stuff. I’ve lied enough in my own time, I can kind of tell.” He adds, hopefully finally finished…

“Thanks, Vilstrous. I’ll tell Demitallis when she returns. Do you really think it’s Ling?” She asks, and he nods. “Yeah, definitely. He’s preparing to pay one of his employees to take the fall for him as we speak.” He quickly answers, so sure of himself.

“I mean, I’ve seen and done stuff similar to this, actually.” He says… “Right…” Vascula says, rubbing her head… “So we’re all done? Glant and I can't wait to get to the next fight.” I say, pointing my finger at him, reminding Vilstrous that Glant and I are here.

“Did you two seriously have to take down Archy’s team like that?” Vexalan asks, reminding me she is here. “Yeah? They’re not on our team.” I say, shrugging as she folds her arms. “But they’re my friends…” She says, making me feel a little bad.

“Well, you know... They recovered anyway.” I say, and she looks away, as Vilstrous disappears, and the lights turn back on. “Come on, Glant. Let’s go fight some Ocean Kings!” I say, and he folds his arms. “Jeez.” He says, as I open the front door

-√G3-

[Red Warning. If you don't like reading this darker stuff, then I'll advise you skip until you see another red message.]

“Then he PUNCHED it! I couldn’t believe it! He just punched the titan, and Sunstone fell into the ocean.” He says, as I sit here and listen, silently nodding as he spills ALL the beans. “Hey Stussy!” Altonfield says, the other cute boy on the team.

“Seekers are supposed to find people, right? I’m looking for Tory! Can you help me out?” He asks, with lots of energy as Vivan and I stare at him. I rub my chin for a bit, and look down, considering every and all angles, all that came before and what will come after, until I come to a conclusion…

“Head to bar b-4 and head down the south hallway, then take a left and a right after that, you should find him.” I say, surprising him. “How?” He asks, genuinely befuddled. “It’s my job to know. I memorized the maps.” I say, hiding the specifics of seeker magic from him.

It’s not as powerful as pact magic, but it can be just as if not more lucrative. Plus the influential power is something to consider. “Thanks, Stussy.” He says, him and his frog waving their hands, as he shuts the door behind him.

“Do you think it’s Ling?” Vivan asks, and I decide to lie. “No. What would he have to gain from it?” I ask, and he folds his arms. “F-Fair enough…” He says, as I stand up on the stool, and grab the table- Vivan teleports around the room, and prepares me a glass of juice…

He flips bottles and cartons, using falling-loop portals to shake ingredients and his levitation with crazy precision… “Are you a bartender?” I ask, surprising him. “Side-gig, p-people love to share stories.” He says, rubbing the back of his head, as he drops and slides the drink with a backhand.

He teleports and appears back on his seat, sipping a drink. “Thank you.” I say, sipping from my own, as I begin to hear steps from the hallway- “Vivan.” Slade says, opening the door, making me a little nervous, while Vivan on the other hand stands up.

“Slade. Do you need me?” He asks, and Slade nods. “Yeah. Stussy, Fullbrim’s looking for you too. Send her to the war-room, Vivan. Then come with me.” He says so quickly, and Vivan is quick to comply, so fast that I don’t even have a chance to respond…

I just kind of sit here, looking around as my four year old brain begins to catch up… “You okay-” Fullbrim asks, and I raise my palm, shushing him. “Okay. Begin.” I say, as I stare at him. “Right… Tonight we’ll be performing, and I wanted to know if you would like to participate.” He says, surprising me for once.

“Oh- And what do you think you could add? I need to know where to put you.” He adds, as I think to myself about what I could possibly add to a performance like that… “No.” I shake my head. “‘Shame. Thanks anyways, Stussy.” He says, as I stand up and jump down from the chair.

“Anything else?” I ask, and he tears himself from his clip-board for a moment to consider my question. “Go find Tory for me, I couldn’t find him all day.” He says, and I consider where Tory should be now- “Yeah, I’ll go find him. He should be with Alton.” I tell him, and he gives me a thumbs up.

I walked around for about an hour, wrong about where Alton and Tory were supposed to be… I take a step back and recontextualize myself… Something Clicks, and taking Ling into the equation, I finally realize where they must be…

I bolt through doors and down ladders, mere minutes before I slam open a door and finally find them- I was wrong again, it’s just Tory, he was alone, and his leg is missing… “H-Hey… Help me…” He says, as my nerves kick in…

“What happened?” I ask, as I notice his face ablaze with fear and despair… “It was Ling… I thought he was my friend…” He says, as I look around and notice the cameras are off- My head begins to hurt, I look around and the Brown Boar falls apart around me, a giant crystal fist striking it and us with it, sending us onto the beach…

“Tory- Where- Where are we?” I ask, as I feel the sand sting and cut my feet through my shoes- “You can’t…” He says, his breath slowing as the sky grows dark at alarming speed- I turn around to see a giant, single, bright moon…

“Help me…” He says, and I look at him- “You should have left well enough alone…” He says, as his body falls apart… His eyes falling out and his body going further and further slack… “Be… Hind… You…” He grumbles and groans, as I step back, his voice a cacophony of squelched homunculi noises that rocks me to my core…

The rest of his body deforms to what I can only call a fleshy pulp as his head splits open from the top, and a large spider-like creature crawls out of it, as the world spins until I fall down- It grabs me… It has me… Not like this…

I feel my neck bend in a way it shouldn’t, but I’m still alive… I feel the world orient itself around and I land on the ground, my eyes focused on the moon itself, only now noticing the giant eye… It’s Ling’s eye, the stone eye he watches us all with…

The eye bleeds, and I fall back as the blood forms into a mass and pulls the moon down with it… The mass of blood grows arms, and I can’t help but watch as limbs snap and break, forming thin mechanical limbs as it clamors and clambers towards me-

I stand up and run, I soon find to be a wasted effort as I fall to the sky and over the creature before it latches hooks into my body, finally ending- I awaken in the depths of a dark cave, vomiting blood and whatever I last ate onto the floor of the cave, before falling onto my side…

“Looks like it was too hard on a kid, especially for that long…” Ling says, as I turn to look at him… “Keep still, Stussy… I don’t need your powers, but I’ll still drain you, for whatever boost that may give me.” He says, his single eye creepily focused on me…

He stands up, and I look at the chrysalis, childlike screams erupting from two of them… “Tory, Alton…” I say, and he in turn looks at them. “It’s a shame. They were horrified, Alton couldn’t believe it.” He chuckles, as I feel my strength return little by little…

“What was… What was that?...” I ask, as I stand up- “Illusion magic. My own brand, it attacks the brain directly, and completely disorientates your every sense… Tory… He would have wasted nullification…” Ling says, as their screams grow quieter and quieter…

“Alton’s on the other hand, quite the boon if you ask me. Next I’ll go hunt down Zumo, and become unstoppable.” He tells me, as my body begins to float off the ground- “Warp, got it from Vultrym. She’s over there… By now… The chrysalis should be about breaking through her outer-most layer of skin, and she should have run out of oxygen.” He says, as I stare at it…

“Do you have any idea how hard this is? Moving psychic powers? You have to do it slowly and methodically. Once you’re trapped within, it’ll instantly siphon all of your mana. You’ll have no control whatsoever. After that, it’ll force feed and keep you alive for about a month as it breaks you down. Days before it finished sending the ability to me entirely.” He says, as he begins growing the aforementioned chrysalis around me…

“Sorry about the scare, by the way. I guess I could have given you a more pleasant dream… BUT… I also kinda’ enjoy watching people writhe like that. It’s oddly entertaining. You know what I’m talking about?” He asks, as it grows quickly to my neck…

“I admit, I do feel bad that I have to do this to Alton. But I need his ability to defeat Slade and then Skall. He did a lot for me, you know. Hell, I might not even be here if it wasn’t for him… Oh well. I guess he should have waited before awakening his psychic power.” Ling says, as I silently weep until the chrysalis snaps shut around me.

[End of the dark bit, feel free to continue right here. Otherwise, ignore these messages.]

-√F-

“You’re right, Vilstrous!” Steriya says, tearing open a thin portal, and we walk through into an open cave to find Ling on the other side… The room’s covered in green fleshy growths, with shiny crystal ones actively pulsating…

“How did you…” Ling says, as his eye focuses on us and I feel something I hadn’t felt since I was seven hit me… Fear. Steriya grabs us and teleports us back to Neo Genesis Haven. “What the hell was that?” Steriya asks, as we stand up and I feel a horrendous headache hit me…

“Ling… His name is Ling… He’s been taking people… I can only assume that’s where he was putting them… I can now say for certain it’s him, though.” I say, and she looks at me with surprise.

“Thanks for your help, guys. I’ll go find Demitallis.” I say, shrouding myself before teleporting to the end of the race, arriving at Fosyde, and spotting Zumo…

End of Chapter: 9√CFG3 “The rising star, and the last light.”

Thank you for reading.