The Celestial Tower trembled as its runes unlocked one by one, each symbol spinning outward and rising around the structure like rings of firefly light. Spectators filled the cosmic balconies—spirits of starlight, giants made of stormclouds, dragons in humanoid guise, beings who existed halfway between thought and mass. All of them leaned forward as the tower released a resonant hum.
A shimmering ring of stardust formed above the arena, swirling until it took the shape of a man with a too-large grin and a suit made from animated patchwork cloth that changed colors every second. He wore a top hat that periodically sprouted wings, a bowtie that glowed neon blue, and a voice loud enough to vibrate the tower's outer shell.
"LADIES! GENTLEMEN! COSMIC ENTITIES THAT DEFY LABELS!"
He threw both arms wide. "WELCOME to the FIRST ROUND of the Tournament of Champions!"
Spectators roared—some with applause, some with actual roars, some with telepathic static that rattled the foundations.
Julian Breadstone—the Celestial Arena's beloved, ridiculous, and spectacularly unhelpful announcer—hovered above the crowd.
"That's right, everyone! I'm your announcer, JULIAN BREADSTONE! Professional shouter of things! Obsessed collector of shiny rocks! Very afraid of stairs! And THRILLED to present ROUND ONE: THE TOWER CLIMB!"
The arena exploded in cheers.
Julian spun in a circle three times—once accidentally upside down, once through his own hat, once turning briefly into a rubber duck before snapping back.
He cupped a hand to his mouth.
"For those new to the tournament, the Tower is simple! You climb it. It tries to kill you. It fails. You keep climbing until you can't! EASY!"
The audience cheered again.
Julian slapped his palm dramatically against the pillar beside him.
"And fighters! Always remember IMPORTANT SAFETY RULE NUMBER ONE:
The Tower cannot kill you permanently… but it will try VERY hard to make you regret waking up this morning!"
Magic Kid waved from the competitor's platform. "I REGRET EVERY MORNING ALREADY!"
Julian gasped. "Oh my stars, a fan!"
Magic Kid blew him a kiss of exploding glitter.
Jake whispered to Swift, "I don't know if I love this guy or fear him."
Swift nodded. "Both seems appropriate."
Julian fluttered downward in a spiral.
"And NOW! The moment we've ALL been waiting for! The tower is assembled! The runes calibrated! The fighters trembling in fear—uh—excitement! YES! DEFINITELY excitement!"
Jake muttered, "Yep. Fear."
Julian snapped his fingers.
A thunderous chime echoed across the arena as the massive doors at the base of the tower opened.
"ROUND ONE: BEGIN!"
A flash of light shot upward.
The fighters surged forward.
Jake and Swift ran as soon as the signal hit.
Swift was nimble, moving like flowing silver water. The moonlit calm inside him guided his steps effortlessly. There were no wasted motions. No stumbles. His staff tapped the ground lightly, sending tiny pulses of silver chi that stabilized each leap.
Jake was… less elegant.
"OUGHHHH—MOVE YOU GIANT BLOCK OF—OH THAT WAS ME—"
He barreled forward with the unstoppable force of a baby mountain learning to walk. His Titan aura jolted through his veins. Each stomp cracked the floor. The tower groaned beneath him in fear or protest—it wasn't clear.
Julian descended gleefully, floating just above the main climbing group.
"And look at THIS, folks! We have a beautiful mix of grace and chaos in the opening dash! That silver one moves like poetry! And that bronze one moves like someone threw a very determined boulder down a hill!"
Jake shouted up, "HEY!"
Julian waved. "Don't worry, you're the MOST impressive boulder here!"
Swift whispered, "Focus."
Jake huffed. "Fine."
Ahead of them, dozens of fighters flooded into the tower interior. The first floor burst into existence—wide open and filled with floating platforms that flickered in and out of reality.
As soon as someone landed on a platform, it became solid. When they left, it shimmered again and teleported to a new location.
A fluid puzzle, endless combinations, constantly changing.
Swift leapt first—landing lightly on a platform that shimmered silver under his feet.
Jake roared and jumped—landing with such force that the platform dropped six inches lower.
Swift grabbed a handhold and steadied himself.
Jake blinked. "Uh—sorry."
Swift shook his head. "Use it."
Jake raised an eyebrow.
Swift pointed upward. "Catapult yourself."
Jake grinned.
Julian shrieked gleefully from overhead.
"AND THE BRONZE DRAGON IS READY TO DO SOMETHING PROFOUNDLY IRRESPONSIBLE!"
Jake bent his legs.
Bronze energy swirled.
His body tensed like a compressed spring.
He launched himself upward—
straight through three disappearing platforms,
bounced off a wall of stardust,
and slammed onto the second floor.
"YESSSSS!" Jake roared.
Swift followed more elegantly, stepping lightly off the platforms, spinning through empty air like moonlight turned into muscle.
Julian clapped like an overexcited toddler.
"OH HO! Look at them go!! Silver elegance—bronze brute force! Truly a classic combination!"
Over on another entry ramp, Jade Killington made his own start.
He rolled his shoulders, racked his arms—
kachink
—and a spiral of chi blasted him upward like a bullet shot from a cannon.
Julian squealed.
"YES! YES! THE SHOTGUN ARMS MAN IS BACK AND HE IS AN ABSOLUTE JOY! LOOK AT HIM IGNORE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS!"
Jade was already three floors up.
He paused only to sip tea before punching a hole into a gravity tunnel that hurled him farther upward.
Competitors stared in disbelief.
The mushroom-person fighter from the demonstration zipped past him on a glowing trampoline mushroom.
Julian yelled, "A SPEED DEMON AND A MUSHROOM! I LOVE THIS SPORT!"
On another ramp entirely, the Wolf King entered the tower without hurry.
He didn't run.
He didn't leap.
He simply walked.
Each step bent gravity like a beast refusing the rules of reality itself.
Platforms shook as he touched them.
Others dissolved under his gaze alone.
Fighters scrambled away, clearing his path instinctively.
Julian nearly dropped his hat.
"OHHHHH—LOOK WHO DECIDED TO JOIN US! THE WOLF KING, EVERYONE! SUCH PRESENCE! SUCH POWER! SUCH… COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR EVERYONE ELSE'S EFFORTS!"
The Wolf King stepped onto a shimmering staircase and exhaled.
The whole staircase turned to molten magma under his heat.
He leapt through the air, landing on Floor 10 in a single bound.
Shadeclaw followed, screaming quietly.
Far above the tower entrance, Danny watched from the balcony of his chamber.
His flame was stable now.
Contained.
But eager.
He could feel the tower resonating with him—
challenging him—
welcoming him.
Kael'ar hovered beside him.
"You could start now," they said softly.
"The Arena calls to you."
Danny stared upward at the infinite height of the tower.
"I know."
He breathed deeply.
"I'll join when it's time."
Below him, Jake smashed through an ice barrier.
Swift danced across four floating blades.
Jade blasted a tunnel open using chi.
Magic Kid turned a staircase into a rainbow slide.
Julian shrieked gleefully.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RAINBOW SLIDE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO BUT I LOVE IT."
Magic Kid slid upside down, waving. "HI JULIAN!"
Fighters dove out of his path as he rocketed upward through a small wormhole he definitely shouldn't have opened.
Julian clapped.
"IMAGINATION! RULE BREAKING! POSSIBLE DISQUALIFICATION! THE WHOLE PACKAGE!"
Danny almost laughed—but then felt another pulse of energy.
Not from the tower.
Not from a fighter.
From underneath.
Deep under the arena.
Something was moving beneath the foundation.
Danny frowned. "Bones…?"
Kael'ar's feathers pricked. "Yes. His influence stirs."
Danny watched the fighters climb, every instinct telling him to join them now, right this moment—
But no.
He would enter correctly.
Honorably.
With Swift and Jake.
When the Arbiter called.
He stepped back.
The golden chamber hummed.
The flame inside quieted, for now.
"I'll wait."
Kael'ar nodded approvingly.
"Patience is the first victory."
Back inside the tower, the floors became more chaotic.
Swift and Jake reached Floor 15—
a swirling desert of stardust where gravity changed directions every ten seconds.
Jake flipped upside down suddenly.
"AAAAAAAA— SWIFT HELP—"
Swift grabbed his collar with one hand, planting his staff like an anchor.
"Jake. Calm down."
"I AM CALMING DOWN VERY LOUDLY—"
Gravity shifted.
Both spun sideways.
Swift used the shift to launch into a roll, pulling Jake with him.
They landed upright—sort of.
Jake wheezed. "Okay…okay… maybe I need to breathe."
Swift nodded. "Good plan."
Julian zoomed overhead.
"THE DRAGON DUO IS DOING INCREDIBLY WELL! BY WHICH I MEAN THEY HAVEN'T BEEN EJECTED YET!"
Jake looked up. "We can HEAR YOU."
Julian beamed. "EXCELLENT! I WAS WORRIED!"
Jake groaned.
Swift hid a smile.
Higher up, Jade Killington punched a door into existence.
Floors reassembled around him in waves.
A crystalline guardian attacked.
Jade racked his arms—
kachink
—and blasted the guardian through a ceiling panel.
Julian cackled.
"HE KNOCKED A DOOR INTO THE NEXT FLOOR! INCREDIBLE INNOVATION!"
Jade bowed politely to the floating cameras and kept climbing.
Even higher, the Wolf King stood at the center of a gravity storm on Floor 28.
He extended one hand.
The storm recoiled.
It bent around him like a frightened animal.
Gravity stabilized.
Platforms realigned.
Julian's voice cracked.
"THE WOLF KING HAS… TOLD THE TOWER NO."
Spectators gasped.
Some hybrids howled in triumph.
Shadeclaw fainted again.
The Wolf King leapt upward, tearing through a wind corridor.
His rate of ascent was staggering.
Swift and Jake saw him flash by on a side platform.
Jake squeaked. "WHY IS HE SO FAST—?!"
Swift kept moving. "Don't look at him. Look at the floor ahead."
"HE'S ON FLOOR TWENTY-EIGHT."
"Focus."
Jake groaned. "I am focusing! On the fact that he is going to EAT US!"
Swift said calmly, "Then we climb faster."
Jake took a deep breath.
"…Okay."
And they did.
Outside the tower, Julian Breadstone turned toward the roaring spectators.
"WHAT A START, EVERYONE! WE HAVE CHI BLASTS! GRAVITY STORMS! SHAMELESS RULE BREAKING! AND I'M PRETTY SURE SOMEONE ON FLOOR TEN ACCIDENTALLY OPENED A PORTAL TO A SALAD DIMENSION! CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM!"
Magic Kid yelled from inside the tower:
"THAT WAS ME!"
Julian wiped a tear from under one eye.
"I love this job."
He spun back toward the tower.
"And remember, dear spectators and cosmic viewing audiences—THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. With fewer than two hours left in Round One, the fighters must give EVERYTHING THEY HAVE! WHO WILL REACH THE HIGHEST FLOORS? WHO WILL BE EJECTED FIRST? WHO WILL ACCIDENTALLY TURN INTO A CLOUD?! ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"
He threw his arms wide.
"THE TOWER EATS COURAGE.
THE TOWER EATS FEAR.
THE TOWER EATS EVERYTHING."
A blast of golden light flickered from Danny's chamber.
Julian gasped.
"AND SOMETHING BIG IS COMING."
He grinned.
"Ohhhhhh, I DO love drama."
The tower flashed again.
The climb continued.
And the tournament was only just beginning…