"This is a tale of humans, beasts and beings from other worlds. This is a tale of sacrifice, strength, hope and love. This is my tale; no this is our tale and our journey to the zenith. A tale of the Flaming Light."
The crowd is amazed as Damian is freely walking towards Teru while everyone else on the stage seems to be still or struggling to make a move. Some are perplexed as to what might have caused such.
At the fighting arena,
Damian, taking gradual steps towards Teru, says, "Intriguing, isn't it? Gravity is such an awesome ability. However, this is nothing compared to that of my brother or father. This is the end, Teru. You really surprised me with how incredible your skills were in this battle."
Damian comes to a halt when he is close to Teru and directs his right palm at him.
Meanwhile, within Teru's consciousness, the mysterious being dwelling there and Teru himself are having a conversation.
"Gravity huh? Seems you're in a pinch, young one," the mysterious being says in his deep calm voice.
"So it seems and I can't get out of it," Teru says with disdain.
"Worry not young one. Let us switch consciousness. Meaning that I won't just be lending you my powers, but you'll be lending me your body. That way I can make use of 15 percent of my powers. That should be enough to win this. Plus, I will be able to make use of my own martial arts," the being suggests.
Teru pauses and looks at the being closely. "Well, I have nothing to lose at this point. Alright, I agree. Let's swap," he says as they begin to fade out of the room of consciousness.
Back at the fighting arena, Damian directs his palm at Teru, smiles and is about to unleash his attack but is shocked when Teru says, "Do you think you have won?"
This time, Teru's voice is deeper and his eyes are fiercer. His canines also seem to have grown a bit longer.
"What can you do in that state?" Damian replies and adds, "Manifest: Quake—." But before he can complete his statement, he notices Teru's right foot reaching for his face about to land a hit on him. Damian takes a step back to avoid the attack but as Teru's foot sweeps down, he quickly switches to a thrust and lands a kick on Damian's stomach, sending him screeching some distance backwards.
Damian holds his stomach as he glares at Teru with anger.
"How can he still move?" Damian questions. "What?" he says with shock as he pauses and looks closely at Teru. "Did his power level just increase? How is that possible?! Come to think of it, even his voice changed."
"You… who are you?!" Damian interrogates.
"Heh," Teru chuckles. "Have you lost your mind now?"
"Tsk! It doesn't matter for now. I'll defeat you here," Damian states. The gravity field is still on and other contestants on the arena are finding it difficult to move. They are also surprised that Teru can move that easily.
"How long will this gravity hold last?" Tesla thinks to herself. "Well no need to worry about that, I'll just use this opportunity and get Kevine out of the way."
Huge sparks of lightning begin emanating from all over Tesla's body as she struggles to open her palm and at the center of it, she forms a small ball of silver lightning. She then proceeds to swallow the ball and immediately there is an upsurge of power within her as her hair begins flowing upwards with sparks of silver lightning enshrouding her.
"This is bad," Kevine says to himself. "I have to figure something out or I'll lose."
However, Tesla, with a powerful dash, instantly appears beside him and snaps her finger at his left ear.
"Manifest: Storm Style: Silver bang."
BOOM!!!!
A mighty sonic boom occurs with a noise so loud, everyone feels the vibrations within them and covers their ears. This immediately knocks out Kevine as his eyes go blank and he falls to the ground. This also disrupts Damian, causing the gravity hold to go off for a bit. This gives Maka a chance to quickly rush at Serena, grab her and send her flying high in the air.
At the Royals viewing room, the kings and queens are amazed at Tesla's move just now. Diana is especially smiling at the silver bang move.
"I see she learned that from you, Luxxi," Diana says to Luxxi Hertz, the queen of Stormville.
"It's too soon to be excited Diana. That isn't the only thing she learned. You're yet to see Tesla's true strength," Luxxi Hertz replies with a smile.
Darius Black, king of Darkville, chuckles and whispers, "Amazing. Seems I can take her for a concubine too or should I eliminate her before she becomes a massive threat?"
Luxxi Hertz turns with a fierce gaze, glaring at him and says, "If you lay a hand on her, I'll kill you." Suddenly, the entire Glory Academy (equivalent to a large city in our own time/world) is covered with thick clouds as thunderous roars echo.
"My bad. I didn't know you heard that," Darius utters.
"Be calm, Luxxi darling. Now is not the time my love," Farads Hertz, king of Stormville, suggests. Sparks of white lightning form around her hand but she takes a deep breath and the thick clouds vanish along with the thunderous roars and lightning sparks.
"Hmm. This peace, how long will it last? I sense a grave danger ahead… an age of war and chaos," Echo Forge states within himself as he silently watches.
Back at the fighting arena,
"Kevine is out!!!" the commentators announce. "An astounding performance from Tesla, showing us the power of a true prodigy!!!"
Teru quickly moves to kick Damian but Damian soon realizes this and unleashes his gravity hold once more thereby slowing down Teru. This enables him to dodge Teru's kick by jumping backwards. He creates multiple large earth pillars to slow Teru's movements but Teru meanders through them swiftly.
"He's just too fast. If not for this gravity hold, I wouldn't have been able to keep up. Then I'll have to end this on a large scale," Damian says and places his hand on the ground.
"Manifest: Earth style: Quicksand."
Once Teru reaches Damian's position, the ground beneath him locks him in and begins to sink him.
"I see. Quicksand eh? You're quite the talented guy I must say," the mysterious being who is now Teru, says with his deep voice.
"That's not all," Damian replies.
"Manifest: Earth Style: Mountain maker."
Within a few seconds, the entire fighting arena, not just the platform, rises with immense speed till it reaches the height of 2000 meters, towering above the entire coliseum. Due to the overwhelming speed and force of the mountain formation, the contestants were unable to move.
This brings about great shock to everyone.
"Just how much energy does he have?" the viewers murmur.
"Interesting, it seems Damian is about to bring this tournament to a close," Hachi, one of the judges, states.
"That high up, everyone will have to rely on the display orbs now except those that can see that far," Deva says.
"I'm going to have a live look," Campione says and immediately appears some distance away from the mountain top, standing on the air with her hands in her pockets.
"What is your plan?" The mysterious being asks as he is amazed at Damian's technique.
"Hmph!!" Damian huffs and directs his left palm to the right and his right palm to the left, crossing each other. "I'm ending this tournament at once," he says.
"Manifestation: Quake style—."
The mysterious being feels a dangerous aura coming from Damian.
"This is bad for real. In that case, let me try that kick," the mysterious being with Teru's body says.
"Manifestation: Quake style: Full Crisi—." Before Damian can complete his sentence, the mysterious being in Teru's body, appears in front of him and unleashes a deadly kick.
"Celestial Martial Arts: Kick of the recoiling dragon."
Simultaneously Damian completes his sentence, "Full Crisis!!!"
BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!
The entire mountain top, which is the fighting arena with the fighting platform within it, is blown to bits and covered in dust with the radius of the boom spanning over 784 square kilometers. However, Campione just stands with the mighty shockwave sweeping across and doing her no harm.
"What a great boom. That kid Damian really does have a lot of potential, nevertheless, that other kid, Teru was it? He was able to free himself from the quicksand and unleash an interesting kick," Campione comments.
At the same time Maka and Serena were higher up in the sky and still battling each other. The force of Damian and Teru's attack had more effect on the horizontal plane so both above and below them were not affected much.
Everyone is amazed, with many standing up at such a display. "Are they really humans?" they whisper among themselves.
"Hmm… quite the talented son you have there. To be able to create such a mountain in a few seconds and then a powerful quake blast. Just how strong will he be in the near future?" Phoenix says to Gray Ignition, King of Earthville, complimenting Damian. "Even so, we can't ignore that Teru guy. Using just martial arts to overwhelm a prodigy is truly a feat deserving of an applause," he adds.
Gray Ignition, King of Earthville and father of Damian remains silent as do Drey Ignition, Damian's elder brother and Karbine, one of Earthville's Commanders.
As the dust settles, Teru is seen standing, seemingly a bit unharmed. Damian is unconscious while standing, looking quite battered and lifeless as he falls to his knees and ultimately, full face to the ground.
"I can't believe… I just lost to… mere martial arts," Damian says as he falls down.
"Huff huff," the mysterious being within Teru, pants. "Had I been a bit late, I would've ended up losing. This guy will definitely become a formidable being if he relents not," he says.
"Thanks to the kick of the recoiling dragon redirecting a lot of the force from that Quake style and sending it back to Damian. That's why most of the effects happened on the horizontal plane. So, he quaked his own quake manifestation at point blank range, a recoil effect," the mysterious being adds.
Echelone takes count and lifts his hand, recognizing Teru as the winner. Everyone is quite shocked as they never expected such an outcome.
"A prodigy lost??" "Not just any prodigy, but Damian himself," the viewers whisper.
At the Royals room…
Drey Ignition sighs and states, "Well… you still have a lot to learn little brother. How disappointing. Nevertheless, to defeat someone as talented as Damian with martial arts, that Teru guy has an interesting potential."
Karbine smiles and says, "True he does. Still, had this been a fight to the death, he might not have lost. Seeing as he couldn't truly unleash the full potential of the quake manifestation since it would obliterate the target."
The commentators shout in shock, "Wow!!! An unexpected turn of events. Damian Ignition, Prince of Earthville and one of the favorites to win this tournament has just lost!!! Teru is the winner of that bout!!!"
Bakuxan, Teru's teacher, watching from a distance, smiles and says, "That's right. Don't underestimate anyone, everyone has the power to surprise anyone at any point in time. Sometimes it's the least expected that comes out on top."
"True, still I can feel the will of a different being within that student of yours, not just the energy change," Kyzen who is standing next to Bakuxan, states.
"Hmm. That would mean he must have swapped with the mysterious celestial within him," Bakuxan replies, touching his chin.
Meanwhile, Tesla, Kris and Dayve are also a bit unharmed.
"Damn that Damian, I had to use a bit of my silver storm manifestation to shield myself. My energy is depleting too much. I have to end things quickly," Tesla says to herself, still cloaked with lightning around her, facing Dayve who thanks to the quake blast, has been separated from Kris.
Kris is now standing some distance from Teru as Teru turns to face him.
"Seems there's no rest for me ehn?" The mysterious being in Teru says with a smile.
"This is bad. To think I have to fight you," Kris says with a serious look as he exhales, holding his blade in a cross-like manner (X) to shield his face.
Tesla and Dayve now face themselves.
"Seems fate has brought us against each other. I'll have to make you pay for humiliating Gerrar. No hard feelings," Tesla says to Dayve, as the warm breeze blows, causing both their long hairs to flow smoothly along with it.
"Among the prodigies, you and Damian are the two I'm most interested in fighting. I respect you a lot, Tesla. You're not just talented in elemental manifestation but your wits are also off the charts. This should be an interesting battle," Dayve says.
"Humph!!! Don't start falling for me now," Tesla replies with a faint smile and a serious glare.
"No need to worry, I think I've fallen for someone else already," Dayve responds, taking his fighting stance.
Simultaneously, high in the sky, Maka and Serena are exchanging blows but suddenly, Serena is knocked down to the fighting platform (now at the mountain top) and an enormous energy quite similar to that of Teru's rumbles throughout the tournament coliseum.
"Another Celestial?" Deva, one of the judges, comments.
"So it seems," Saphix, another of the judges, answers.
A red pillar of energy is seen as Maka descends to the fighting platform and shockingly, the silhouette of a large dragon is seen high up in the sky above her. As Maka lands on the ground, two horns form at her forehead facing her back, with a third tiny one at the center pointing forward. Also, her eyes turn to that of a dragon having the slim Iris with red glow, her nails grow longer and her canines increase in length. There can also be seen a small pair of dragon wings springing out from her back as her long curly red hair sways with the wind.
"Manifestation: Release of the Celestial Dragon Seal!"
When Echo Forge, king of the Central Plains sees the dragon silhouette and feels the energy discharging from Maka, he is surprised and says, "How is it possible that I can sense the power of the Celestial Dragon? Don't tell me that Maka is his descendant?"
Isabelle, queen of Aquaville bursts out in laughter, saying, "What an interesting turn of events. This generation surely has a great future ahead, one that will change the entire history of mankind."
"That Celestial Dragon? hmm. They are sure to arrive at this place. We should be ready," Phoenix thinks to himself.
Elsewhere, at the southern border of the Central Plains, very far from Glory Academy where the tournament is being held, a being approaches the entrance gate. An official observes how he looks suspicious and asks him, "You! What is your name and what brings you here?"
The being who is dressed in black, wearing a long coat with a hood, takes off the hood, and with an impassive face replies, "My name? Of what worth is my name to a dead man?"
Another being dressed in gray instantly appears behind him and this surprises the official. But before the official can move an inch, his head and that of the other officials around, are all severed from their bodies with blood splashing everywhere as the two beings walk past them.
"Quite the fast one you are, Axion," the second being says to the one dressed in black. "Seeing your skills firsthand is always a thrilling experience. This will be quite the warm up for you," he adds.
"Jerrgens, I'd prefer if you don't call my name now. Our mission has already begun. Also, there'll be no need for you to interfere, I'll handle it all by myself," Axion says, in a deep calm voice, keeping his impassive face.
"That'll be nice. I'll let you be then however, don't underestimate the Commanders of the Central Plains. If any of them does show up, I might have to interfere to speed things up. Leonard and Jac De Jac are waiting for us to get the inner key before they join us," Jerrgens, the other being, replies and smiles.
"Let's begin," Axion says with a focused gaze.