The mountain air tasted different the morning after Jimmy delivered the tournament invitation. It wasn't just the scent of pine or the crisp cold that rolled in from the peaks. It was the atmosphere — electric, charged with anticipation. The kind of tension that settles in before a thunderstorm… or before a legend begins.
Danny, Swift, and Jake stood side by side at the cliff's edge. The golden dome shimmered above them, casting shifting reflections across the valley. Below, the forest rustled softly, unaware it was currently enclosed in one of the most powerful protective barriers in the multiverse.
Danny exhaled. "Six months until the tournament."
Jake flexed his arms. "Six months to not die on live cosmic broadcasting."
Swift cracked his neck. "Six months to beat fighters who probably train by punching quasars before breakfast."
Danny nodded. "We can do this."
Behind them, a cane tapped.
"Oh ho… optimism. Delightful. Dangerous. Let's ruin it."
Sedge Hat strolled forward with his typical mix of elderly wobble and cosmic swagger. He poked Danny's foot with his cane.
"Training starts—now."
Danny braced for a lecture.
Instead—
Sedge Hat snapped his fingers.
The ground exploded.
Danny, Swift, and Jake were launched skyward like startled pigeons.
Jake screamed. Swift yelled. Danny spun mid-air like a golden ragdoll.
They crashed a hundred feet away onto a new plateau that absolutely hadn't existed the day before.
Jake groaned into the dirt. "Sedge Hat, are you trying to murder us?"
"Not today," Sedge Hat replied cheerfully. "Today I intend to improve you."
He pointed dramatically at the sky.
"BEHOLD—THE TRAINING GROUNDS OF 17 TORTURES."
Danny sat up, coughing. "The what—?"
Swift raised a hand. "Question: why is it called that?"
Sedge Hat smiled with all his teeth.
"It used to be the Training Grounds of 18 Tortures."
Jake grimaced. "What happened to the 18th?"
Sedge Hat paused. "Nobody survived it."
Danny's heart stopped for a moment.
Jake whispered, "Great. Wonderful. Love that for us."
Swift groaned. "What are the seventeen tortures?"
Sedge Hat swung his cane toward the landscape.
And reality shifted.
The plateau expanded, morphing into a sprawling, surreal terrain:
Razor-thin stone pillars
Floating boulders orbiting each other
Waterfalls flowing upward
Gravity pockets twisting the air
Mirror tunnels that reflected weaknesses
Shadow zones where illusions attacked thoughts
Dragon glyphs burning runes into the earth
It looked like a martial artist's paradise and nightmare rolled into one.
Danny stared in awe. "This… this is incredible."
"Oh ho, yes," Sedge Hat said. "This is where the Silver Dragons trained while the Golden Dragons meditated. Now it is your playground of pain."
Jake pointed nervously at a hole in reality itself. "Is that… safe?"
"No," Swift said. "Absolutely not."
Sedge Hat slammed his cane into the ground.
A gong sounded — but not from any instrument nearby. It echoed from the mountain itself, from the clouds, from the earth's bones.
"BEGIN."
And they did.
Training, Month One: Pain and ProgressThe first month was brutal.
Danny sparred daily against illusions of himself — illusions that could tap into his fears. Every time he hesitated, they struck him down. He learned quickly that fear wasn't something he could suppress; he had to acknowledge it, then cut through it.
Swift fought in gravity fields that shifted unpredictably, forcing him to blend calculation with instinct. The green star inside him pulsed dangerously, threatening to overload, but each time he stabilized it more swiftly.
Jake… well, Jake punched things.
A lot of things.
Many of which exploded.
One such explosion shook half the valley and caused Sedge Hat to shout, "THE WEST SIDE, JAKE! I PROTECT THE WEST SIDE!"
By the end of the month, all three had doubled in strength — not just in chi, but in technique.
But then, month two arrived…
And so did their mentor.
Arrival of the Buddy MentorIt happened one morning when Danny was practicing dragon stances on a floating boulder. The air shifted — not dangerously like Bones, not bureaucratically like Jimmy — but with a kind of calm, collected authority.
A shimmering portal opened.
Out stepped a tall figure wearing a blue and white jacket with the Buddies Organization crest. His hair was silver and tied back in a warrior's knot. His eyes glowed faintly — not with magic, but with experience.
He carried no weapon.
Because he was one.
"I am Master Oro," the man said, bowing slightly. "Buddy mentor, representative of Universal Combat Division. I have been assigned to train you."
Jake whispered, "This guy looks like he could glare someone into dust."
Swift whispered back, "That's probably level one of his abilities."
Danny stepped forward respectfully. "Master Oro… we're honored."
Master Oro nodded. "I have watched your progress from afar. You have potential. Raw. Suspiciously chaotic. But potential."
Sedge Hat popped out of a bush. "He means you're predictable yet dangerously unpredictable. Like a toddler with a bomb."
Master Oro continued calmly. "The multiverse is watching you. Bones is watching as well. Even now… you are being evaluated."
Danny got chills. "By who?"
Master Oro raised a hand to the sky.
The clouds shimmered — revealing three faint silhouettes:
A massive armored warrior with burning red eyes
A graceful woman surrounded by blue fire
A hooded figure with six wings, each a different color of starlight
Master Oro spoke softly.
"Your tournament rivals."
Jake gulped. "They're spying on us?!"
"Observing," Master Oro corrected. "They assess threats. You are a rising one."
Swift's eyes narrowed. "Then we're doing the same. Watching them."
"You will," Oro said. "But only after you master the next phase."
He gestured to the ground.
Dragon glyphs ignited.
Golden. Silver. Bronze.
Danny, Swift, and Jake each stepped onto their glyph.
Master Oro's aura flared — a swirling mix of all three dragon energies, impossibly controlled.
"Now begins the true training," he said.
"Dragon Synchronization."
Beyond the Mountain… Eyes of the MultiverseFar beyond the golden dome protecting Earth…
Inside a floating fortress made of crystal and stardust…
Three tournament fighters watched the trio through a holographic screen.
The armored warrior grunted. "They're improving. Faster than expected."
The blue-flame woman smirked. "Good. A boring tournament is worse than losing."
The winged figure tilted their head. "The Golden One… Danny Chan. His aura flickers with something ancient. Something dangerous."
Their six wings pulsed.
"A Dragon Emperor's spark."
The warrior scoffed. "So he's our biggest obstacle?"
"No," the winged figure corrected.
"Our biggest opportunity."
They leaned closer to the hologram, eyes sharp.
"A shame he may not survive the opening round."
Back on Earth: The OathTraining intensity surged for the next three months.
Master Oro exposed them to cross-universal techniques:
Phase Shifting Step — allowing momentary intangibility.
Draconic Pulse — releasing aura in controlled blasts.
Universal Rhythm — aligning one's movements with cosmic patterns.
Star-Breathing Meditation — expanding chi beyond the body.
Danny's power skyrocketed — though so did the pressure.
Jake began manipulating his bronze aura into shapes — shields, gauntlets, even shockwaves.
Swift nearly mastered channeling the green star without destabilizing his body.
At the end of a grueling session, Master Oro addressed them.
"In six months, you will enter the Omega Arena," he said. "But strength alone will not carry you."
He placed a hand over his heart.
"You must also carry an oath."
Danny, Swift, and Jake mirrored him.
Master Oro spoke:
"We fight not for victory.
Not for ego.
Not for power.
We fight to protect.
To grow.
To become more than fate intended.
This is the Buddy Way."
Danny repeated it firmly.
Swift followed.
Jake stumbled through the last line but finished with spirit.
Master Oro smiled — the faintest curve of his lips.
"You are ready for the next phase."
Danny raised an eyebrow. "Which is…?"
Sedge Hat appeared behind Oro.
"It is time…" he said dramatically.
"For you three to learn something terrifying."
Jake gulped. "What's terrifying?"
Sedge Hat grinned.
"Teamwork."
Danny blinked. "That's terrifying?"
Swift pinched the bridge of his nose. "With Jake? Yes."
Jake gasped. "Hey!"
Master Oro extended a hand.
"From this day on… your training is no longer individual.
For the tournament… you three need to learn to fight as one."
Danny nodded slowly.
"Dragon Team Formation?"
"A crude term," Master Oro said. "But accurate."
He gestured toward the sky.
"Your rivals already work in perfect synchronization. If you don't match them…"
He held up three fingers.
"Then three warriors will fall in six different universes."
Danny swallowed hard. "Then we won't fail."
Jake nodded. "We'll train."
Swift smirked. "Until teamwork becomes our weapon."
Master Oro nodded in approval.
"Very well. Tomorrow, we begin Dragon Fusion Techniques."
Danny's breath hitched.
"Fusion… as in—?"
Sedge Hat clapped his hands excitedly.
"Oh ho… this is going to be glorious or catastrophic. I love both."
Jake grinned nervously. "Well… here goes nothing."
Danny looked toward the mountains.
"Six months until the tournament."
Swift closed his eyes. "Six months until the multiverse sees us."
Jake pumped a fist. "Six months until we win."
Master Oro smiled faintly.
"That," he said, "is the spirit of a Buddy."
The golden dome shimmered.
Training continued.
And far across the multiverse…
The Omega Arena pulsed in anticipation, preparing for the arrival of three dragons who had no idea just how legendary their journey would become