The Tournament Rift was no longer a quiet swirl of starlight.
It was a storm.
A bright one—loud, pulsing, alive—its center cracking with beams of cosmic gold, silver, bronze, violet, and deep void-black. Runes older than galaxies spiraled around the ring, rotating faster with each passing minute.
Fighters from across the universe filled the assembly platforms surrounding the Rift: giants clad in solar armor, monks who moved like drifting mist, living crystal warriors, and more hybrid beasts than Jake could count without getting dizzy.
Jake stood at the edge of the main platform, fists clenched, Titan energy buzzing beneath his skin.
Swift stood beside him, silver aura flowing around him so sharply it cut the air without sound.
Sedge Hat hovered above them on his little chair, sipping tea like the universe wasn't about to explode.
"We are early!" Sedge Hat chirped.
"Oh ho! Or perhaps the tournament is late!"
Jake wiped sweat from his forehead. "Is… is the Rift supposed to sound like that?"
The Rift made a deep BOOOM—hooooowwwl noise that rattled the teeth of everyone in a three-mile radius.
Swift answered without looking away from it, voice low.
"No. It's reacting to something."
Jake immediately panicked. "Danny."
Swift didn't blink. "Danny."
The thought hit both of them at the same time:
Danny's Creation Flame had reached the edges of existence.
And the Rift felt it waking.
The Tournament was an ancient machine.
An arena built by cosmic architects.
A system meant to judge power, conflict, and destiny.
And Danny…
Danny was a distortion of destiny itself.
The Rift snapped—a ripple of pure cosmic distortion tearing across the platform. Several lesser fighters fell to one knee.
A crystalline mantis hissed.
A lightning being crackled in protest.
Magic Kid laughed in delight.
"OOH! THE ARENA IS ALIVE! CAN I TOUCH IT!?"
"No," Swift and Jake said in perfect unison.
Magic Kid touched it anyway.
He flew backward thirty feet.
Landed in a cotton candy cloud that he summoned without thinking.
"Totally worth it," he wheezed.
The Wolf King arrived in silence.
No roar.
No fire.
No dramatic entrance.
He simply walked out of a crimson rift, Shadeclaw behind him, their steps bending gravity beneath them.
Every hybrid fighter froze.
Every Buddy soldier tensed.
Every being with instincts looked up.
The Wolf King.
Jake felt sweat form instantly. "Oh great. He's early."
Swift's voice was steady. "He doesn't want to miss Danny."
Sedge Hat waved happily. "Hello furry menace!"
Shadeclaw visibly flinched.
The Wolf King did not.
His gold-burned eyes locked onto Swift and Jake, assessing them calmly—calculating how many breaths, steps, and movements would be required to kill them both.
Swift's grip tightened on his staff.
Jake's bronze aura flared.
The Wolf King nodded once.
"You two grow stronger."
The low rumble of his voice made the air vibrate.
Jake cleared his throat. "Uh… thanks?"
The Wolf King's flames crackled lightly.
"It will make devouring you more enjoyable."
Jake immediately regretted speaking.
Shadeclaw stepped forward with a polite nod. "We… look forward to the contest."
Magic Kid cartwheeled between them.
"HI KING DOGGY!"
Shadeclaw jumped back so hard he nearly fell off the platform.
The Wolf King stared down at Magic Kid, who was still smiling upside down.
"You smell of chaos."
Magic Kid grinned wider. "Thanks! You smell like murder and wet fur!"
Jake slapped his palm over his face.
Swift sighed deeply.
The Wolf King ignored Magic Kid entirely and turned his attention to the Rift.
"Where is the Golden One?"
Jake swallowed.
Swift answered quietly.
"He's stabilizing."
The Wolf King's flames flickered like a heartbeat captured in fire.
"Yes," he murmured.
"I feel it."
Everyone felt it.
The universe felt it.
Something enormous—something made of creation and memory and ancient flame—was approaching from the far reaches of existence.
Danny sat in the blackest void his eyes had ever seen.
Not dark—
darkness was absence.
This place was full.
Full of potential.
Full of unshaped light.
Full of beginnings waiting for hands to guide them.
Creation Flame roared around him like a sun swallowing a solar system.
He wasn't transforming.
Not yet.
He was stabilizing.
Holding the flame together with sheer will.
But Stage II wasn't listening to him.
It was listening to instinct.
His body flickered between shapes—
Golden claws.
Wings of starlight.
Fingers made of light.
Eyes like newborn supernovas.
He forced them back each time.
He gasped for air that didn't exist.
His body shook from the strain.
But he was winning.
Slowly.
Barely.
He felt the Rift calling him—felt the tournament waking.
"I'm coming," Danny whispered, voice echoing through the void like a promise etched in reality.
The Creation Flame surged in answer.
Not resisting.
Supporting.
Danny spread his hands.
Golden fire wrapped around him.
The universe parted.
He flew.
Back at the Tournament Rift, the countdown clock flickered to life in the sky.
3 HOURS, 59 MINUTES UNTIL ACTIVATION.
A hush fell over the fighters.
A solar giant muttered, "The flame of the ancients rises."
A psionic being whispered, "Reality bends. Something approaches."
Magic Kid put on sunglasses.
"SHOWTIME."
Jake elbowed Swift. "Do you think Danny's going to explode when he gets here?"
Swift didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
The Rift pulsed again—harder—runes twisting like serpents of starlight.
Jimmy raced into the arena platform, Builder Bots trailing behind him carrying emergency waffles.
"OKAY EVERYONE LISTEN UP," he shouted.
"I HAVE WAFFLES AND ZERO CONTROL OF THE SITUATION SO PLEASE DON'T PANIC."
A calm Buddy soldier leaned toward him. "Sir, you look pale."
Jimmy grabbed him by the shoulders.
"THE GOLDEN DRAGON IS COMING AND I DIDN'T BRING ENOUGH SYRUP."
The soldier blinked. "Sir, you're spiraling."
"YES. I KNOW. I AM AWARE."
A Builder Bot patted Jimmy's shin.
"Builder."
Jimmy pointed at it emotionally.
"Thank you."
The Wolf King lifted his head slowly.
Shadeclaw froze.
All hybrids tensed.
"Something is coming," the Wolf King growled.
Magic Kid screamed with delight. "HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!"
Swift held his breath.
Jake stumbled backward.
Sedge Hat rose into the air, beard crackling with static.
"Oh ho! The sun child returns!"
The Rift peeled open violently—
lines of golden fire cutting through the dimensional fabric.
But it was not an explosion.
It was not destruction.
It was birth.
Danny stepped out of the tear.
He looked… human.
Almost.
His hair glowed faint gold at the tips.
His eyes flickered between human and draconic.
His markings were stable—but brighter.
His presence bent the air.
The entire platform trembled when he landed.
Swift let out a breath.
Jake whispered, "Dude… you look like a walking sunrise."
Sedge Hat twirled happily. "He did not explode! Success!"
Jimmy sprinted over, tripped, rolled, popped up holding waffles.
"Danny! Eat something! You look like you emptied three suns!"
Danny blinked. "I'm… okay. Mostly."
His voice carried deeper resonance than before—like two versions of him were speaking in harmony.
The Wolf King stepped forward.
Flames rose behind him.
Every hybrid fell silent.
Shadeclaw bowed in terror.
Danny turned to face him.
Their eyes locked.
Creation and Consumption.
Dawn and Eclipse.
Predator and balance point.
The air shook.
The Rift crackled.
Magic Kid screamed, "YESSSSSS!"
Everyone backed away.
Except Danny.
And the Wolf King.
They stared at each other—no hostility, but no peace.
Two fates intertwined.
Two beings chosen by forces older than gods.
The Wolf King spoke first.
"You have grown."
Danny answered quietly.
"So have you."
"No," the Wolf King corrected.
"I have waited.
You have grown."
Danny didn't deny it.
The Wolf King's pupils narrowed.
"At the tournament… we finish what began in the flames."
Danny nodded once.
"Yes."
"Good," the Wolf King rumbled.
"Do not disappoint me."
The Tournament Rift roared.
A booming voice echoed across all worlds:
ALL PARTICIPANTS:
PREPARE FOR TRANSFER TO THE CELESTIAL ARENA.
The platforms shook.
Light exploded upward.
Rifts opened like blossoming stars.
Jake swallowed. "This is it."
Swift exhaled slowly. "We're ready."
Magic Kid cartwheeled into a rift.
Jade Killington quietly notched a chi-shot.
Jimmy shoveled waffles into a pack.
Shadeclaw trembled but stepped forward.
The Wolf King moved like a stalking storm.
Danny took one step toward the Rift—
Creation Flame flaring brilliantly—
and whispered:
"Let's begin."
The Tournament Gates opened.
And the universe held its breath.