The Celestial Arena did not sleep.
It only shifted, quietly, like a giant breathing beneath the stars.
Two hours remained before the first round—
before every fighter stepped into the Tower of Ascension—
and the arena vibrated with gathering energy.
In a patchwork of floating platforms connected by glowing pathways, the Buddies fighters gathered in their designated staging zone. It was a temporary camp of hardlight tents, supply crates, and Builder Bots zipping around with hyperproductive enthusiasm.
Jimmy stood at the center of it all, holding a clipboard.
Not just any clipboard.
The clipboard of doom.
Medical waivers were stacked so high that even Shadeclaw might have respected the threat posed by the paperwork.
Jimmy cleared his throat loudly.
"ALRIGHT LISTEN UP, EVERYONE! BEFORE ANY OF YOU DIE—TEMPORARILY, HOPEFULLY—WE NEED SIGNATURES!"
A groan rolled through the Buddy ranks.
One rookie whispered, "Why do we even need waivers? The Arena promises no permanent deaths."
Jimmy adjusted his glasses with a level of irritation known only to lifelong bureaucrats.
"Yes, well, the Arena also said its structure would never destabilize. And now there's a llama over there that used to be a man."
The llama bleated sadly.
Magic Kid waved from his chaos hammock.
"I'LL FIX HIM LATER!"
Jimmy held up a waiver sheet.
"Line one: acknowledge that your body may be crushed, disassembled, dissolved, inverted, or exposed to unknown cosmic energies. Line two: acknowledge the Buddies are not responsible for emotional trauma, existential dread, or identity crises caused by observing fighters like the Wolf King. Line three—"
A Buddy soldier raised his hand timidly.
"Uh… Director Jimmy? What's line three?"
Jimmy looked him dead in the eyes.
"Line three says we are not responsible if you come back from the Tower with more limbs than you started with."
The entire camp recoiled.
Jimmy continued cheerfully:
"Sign at the bottom! Please use block lettering! OH—and make sure not to get syrup on the forms this time!"
A Builder Bot beeped indignantly.
"Builder."
Jimmy scowled. "You got syrup on them LAST time!"
The bot pointed to itself.
"Builder!"
"Yes, that is not a valid argument."
Another bot waddled up, offering Jimmy a pen.
He sighed.
"Thank you. You're the only one who helps me."
The bot placed a waffle on his clipboard.
"Builder."
Jimmy stared at it.
"…Are you bribing me with a waffle?"
"Builder."
"Fine. It worked."
He stuffed it in his pocket.
A few platforms away, the Waffle Banquet of Courage and Mild Panic was underway.
Tables stretched in curved lines across a floating island of white marble. Glowing heaters kept stacks of waffles warm. Dishes of fruit, syrup, honey, stardust sprinkles, chocolate drizzle, and something labeled "Quantum Maple Essence — do not sniff directly" lined the banquet.
Kai—the Buddies combat medic—raised an eyebrow as he ladled melted butter into a dish.
"This is either a good idea or the last good idea we'll have."
"Both!" Jimmy yelled from across the platform.
Swift and Jake approached the buffet at the same time.
Swift took a plate, calm as always. Jake grabbed four plates stacked together.
"Jake," Swift said gently. "That's… a lot."
Jake piled waffles like he was building a fortress.
"I need fuel," Jake muttered. "Titan Core awakening requires carbs."
Swift blinked. "That's not how it works."
Jake shoveled syrup over the pile anyway. "It is now."
Sedge Hat floated down, snatching a waffle from Jake's plate without looking.
"Wonderful! Breakfast before catastrophic violence!"
Jake stared at him.
"You don't even know what carbohydrates are."
"Oh ho! Neither do you!"
Jake froze.
"…You're right."
Swift sighed.
Danny was still inside his golden chamber, isolated from the chaos—his Creation Flame still stabilizing. He couldn't join them yet. But Swift felt the golden pulse from across the arena, steady now but still hot. Still dangerous.
Jake nudged him.
"He'll be back before the round starts."
Swift nodded. "I know. I'm not worried about Danny."
"Then what—?"
Swift's gaze drifted across the arena.
The Wolf King stood on a distant platform, surrounded by starlight mist. He didn't eat. Didn't sit. Didn't rest.
He watched.
Everything.
Everyone.
The Rift-champion's hunger was a physical thing, pulsing like a beating drum.
Jake swallowed hard. "Oh."
Swift nodded. "Yeah. That."
The Arbiter descended suddenly, scattering stardust like snow.
Magic Kid was the only one who cheered.
"WOOOO! SHOWTIME!"
The Arbiter's wings expanded, casting a blue halo across the arena.
Its voice boomed:
"The Tower stirs.
Three fighters have been selected for the Demonstration Trial."
Swift stiffened.
Jake nearly dropped a waffle.
"Demonstration… what?" Jake whispered.
The Arbiter pointed to the center of the arena.
A light burst upward, forming a massive column of shimmering flame that spiraled into the sky.
The Celestial Tower materialized.
It grew like a living thing—
a skyscraper made of glass, stone, metal, light, and planets—
rising until its peak pierced the sky dome.
Balconies extended outward.
Stairways twisted.
Floating platforms appeared like stepping stones between dimensions.
Magic Kid squealed.
"HOLY TOWER OF DOOM AND CLIMBING—IT'S BEAUTIFUL."
Swift whispered, "This is… bigger than I thought."
Jake said, "NOPE. ABSOLUTELY NOPE."
The Arbiter lifted one hand.
"THE ARENA HAS CHOSEN THREE FIGHTERS TO BEGIN AT ONCE.
THIS IS NOT ROUND ONE.
THIS IS A DEMONSTRATION."
The choice shocked everyone.
Because the tower itself selected not champions—
not high-ranked fighters—
but random ones.
A mercenary insectoid with twin plasma scythes.
A knight made entirely of living stone.
A tiny mushroom-person carrying two daggers and no sense of fear.
They appeared on the tower's starting platform.
Jake whispered, "…Are those the best picks?"
Swift said, "The tower chooses at random."
Sedge Hat added, "Oh ho! It likes surprises!"
The Arbiter gestured.
"DEMONSTRATION BEGINS."
The insectoid sprinted up the first staircase instantly, legs clattering in a blur.
Jake leaned forward. "Whoa—fast!"
The mushroom-person tossed a dagger into a glowing orb—
the orb exploded into a staircase shortcut.
Magic Kid gasped. "SO SMART."
The living stone warrior trudged forward with unstoppable momentum.
Each of the tower's floors lit up as they reached new heights.
Jake's jaw slowly dropped.
"Are they… moving faster than us?"
Swift replied, "They've trained for this. The tower isn't about strength. It's about adaptability."
Then—
A swirling vortex of thunder rolled from Floor 72, blasting the insectoid sideways.
It didn't die—
just got ejected into a safe zone platform, breathing hard but alive.
The mushroom-person crawled into a vent and skipped to Floor 81.
The stone knight waded through a gravity crush chamber, every footstep shaking the tower.
It was mesmerizing.
It was terrifying.
Swift whispered, "We'll be fighting thousands like these."
Jake let out a tiny, terrified laugh.
"Cool. Cool. We're dead."
Sedge Hat patted him.
"Oh ho! Probably!"
Jake whimpered.
After several minutes, the demonstration fighters were safely teleported back to the ground level—unharmed, but exhausted.
The Arbiter addressed the stadium.
"THE DEMONSTRATION IS COMPLETE.
YOU HAVE SEEN THE NATURE OF THE ASCENT.
ROUND ONE BEGINS IN TWO HOURS."
The tower shimmered, resetting its floors to zero.
Fighters slowly dispersed back to their resting areas.
Jimmy clapped loudly.
"Alright Buddies! Team meeting! Anyone who hasn't signed their medical waivers, get over here!"
Builder Bots carried pens.
"Builder."
"Builder builder."
One of the bots stamped a waiver accidentally with a waffle.
Jimmy snatched it away.
"No! Waffles are NOT official stamps!"
The bot hung its head.
"Builder…"
Jimmy sighed and patted it. "It's okay. You tried."
Swift and Jake approached.
"Jimmy," Swift said, "Danny should be ready soon."
Jake added, "And we signed everything except the one about growing extra limbs."
Jimmy frowned. "You sign that or you're out."
Jake shivered. "Fine."
Sedge Hat hovered over. "Where is the golden dragon?"
Swift looked toward Danny's chamber—
still glowing fiercely.
"He'll come when he's ready."
The Wolf King strode toward the tower, claws scraping the floor with authority.
Shadeclaw followed nervously.
"My king… the tower awakens to him."
The Wolf King growled softly.
"It awakens to any who challenge the order of destiny."
He looked directly at Danny's glowing chamber.
"But the Golden Flame disrupts far more than destiny.
It threatens truth."
Shadeclaw swallowed.
"Will you kill him?"
The Wolf King's eyes sharpened.
"No."
Shadeclaw blinked. "No?"
"I will defeat him," the Wolf King said.
"And devour what remains."
Shadeclaw quietly fainted.
Swift stood on the edge of the viewing platform, hands resting on the railing.
Jake joined him, slightly calmer now that he'd eaten twelve waffles.
"You think Danny's okay?"
Swift nodded. "Yes."
"…You sure?"
"Trust me."
Jake breathed out.
"We need him at full power."
Swift nodded. "We do."
Jake looked at him.
"You need to hit Moonform. I need the Titan Core. Danny needs to hit Stage III."
Swift didn't look away from the tower.
"We will."
Jake swallowed hard.
Then something caught Swift's eye.
Danny's chamber pulsed once—
twice—
brighter each time.
Jake's eyes widened.
"Oh."
Swift straightened.
"He's coming."
The chamber cracked open—
not broken, just split
as light poured out.
Golden wings formed behind Danny's silhouette.
And he stepped forward.
The Creation Flame stabilized at last.
Seen.
Controlled.
Hungering silently.
Danny looked at Swift and Jake and smiled.
"Ready?"
Swift exhaled.
Jake cracked his knuckles.
Sedge Hat twirled his beard like a propeller.
"We are ready."
Danny turned toward the tower.
The Wolf King glared from across the arena.
Magic Kid cheered.
Jade Killington set down his tea.
Jimmy fainted.
The Arbiter raised a cosmic hand.
Two hours remained.
Then one.
Then one half.
The universe narrowed to a point.
The tower waited.
The fighters breathed.
Danny's flame burned.
The countdown ticked onward—
and the Tournament of Champions prepared to begin