The Inner Odyssey

It was a new day.

Which meant a new Tournament.

Alden groaned internally, sitting in his lavish seat, surrounded by the various delegations, who appeared just as bored as he was.

Who knew that being influential came with such a tedious cost?

It was a crime how time had flown so rapidly last night, but now that he was in the private viewing chamber, it slowed to a crawl.

'Just great.'

The Tournament for Champions had already begun, and while the first few bouts were somewhat entertaining, they lacked the thrill and unpredictability of the Guild Tournament.

Usually, it was clear after the first collision who would come out on top.

That was not to say there were no surprises.

But, the Guild Tournament was much more interesting.

...Until Sponsors began getting involved, that was.

Given free license to summon these nebulous beings, the combatants made the most of that rule. Alden watched with interest as a starry light enveloped a particular contestant, the shadow of a large falcon blotting out the sky behind his thin, reedy-like frame.

It screeched, sending blasts of pressurised air slamming into the protective barrier, cracks the size of a large avian egg marring its surface.

In response, the vague silhouette of an enormous serpent raised its head, hissing as its forked, starry tongue flicked at the air. That flick induced a strange dizziness within Alden, and he winced, shifting his gaze.

The shadows of the falcon and the serpent faced off.

Their chaotic auras clashed, forming visible currents of tumultuous pressure.

Similarly, the warriors down below faced each other, now augmented by the power of their Sponsors - which granted them a physical boost, but also made their Magic Class that much more potent… simply because the Asterons had descended to the Lower Realm using their frames as the conduit, which in turn gave them access to a larger resevoir of power.

If only for a brief moment.

The outline of the starry falcon flapped its wings.

In the next moment, it was clawing at the nebulous serpent as its human vessel crashed into his opponent. Devastating shockwaves exploded from the impact, and Alden was a little stunned at the ferocity of it all.

These warriors were only [Adept], like him.

They shouldn't have been able to have such an effect on their surroundings, if any at all. Of course, the descent of their Sponsors changed things, allowing for a much more harrowing spectacle to take place.

The two contestants battled it out, the intense melee the first real fight that had everyone at the edge of their seat. Fists, kicks, elbows, knees, the warriors used everything at their disposal to eliminate their opponent.

Eventually, it came down to a matter of stamina.

In other words, the one able to handle the strain of their Sponsor's power the longest.

Surprisingly, it turned out to be the thin, reedy-like warrior. As if to mirror its human, the shadow of the falcon screeched and evaded the fangs of its starry opponent, before raking its nebulous claws across the serpent's enormous body.

The latter shuddered, as if experiencing great pain.

And a few moments later, their warrior lost consciousness, cutting the connection between realms short. The falcon released a victorious screech, before it also returned inside its summoner in a flourish of starry light.

The crowd leapt to their feet and clapped, thunderous applause washing over the Theatre of War like a great tide. Alden immersed himself in the raucous cheer, his mind conjuring an image of him valiantly participating in the Tournament, felling each opponent without breaking a sweat.

'Yeah, that's not happening.'

He shook his head wryly.

Even if Alden wanted to shake the rust off his bones, he did not desire any more attention than strictly necessary. Besides, while he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he would immediately win the Tournament, he had to admit that it wouldn't really be fair on the other contestants.

His abyssal powers, Morrigan's and Kael's instruction placed him in a class of his own within his Rank.

Very few people could come close to him, if any.

…At least, that was what Alden believed.

In any case, now that the combatants had unleashed their Sponsors, it was as if a veritable flood had opened, each new bout involving the nebulous beings in some form or another - some did not accept the summons completely like the falcon and the serpent.

Instead, a few sent a portion of their strength across the Sponsor Link, allowing the warriors to receive the boon while the Asteron maintained its anonymity.

Alden couldn't help but feel suspicious about that.

His wariness aside, not all the constellations displayed such behaviour. There were numerous manifestations, including the shadow of an imposing rat, a colossal worm capable of swallowing Arkanis whole with its freakish maw, a creature with the body of a horse and the head and wings of an eagle, and a large figure rippling with titanic strength possessing the tail of a bull.

There was also a chimera, and much, much more.

Alden was a little dazed taking in all the various forms of the Asterons.

'These are the beings I will have to fight against.'

Looking at it from that perspective, Alden couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.

How could he overcome these otherworldly beings and their nefarious schemes, let alone survive?

'Breathe.'

Alden took a few moments to compose himself.

'I just need to take things day by day. No use worrying about the future. Especially when there is no guarantee I will survive.'

Nodding to himself, the white-haired young man continued to observe the individual bouts as time passed. There were two pathways in the Tournament for Champions - one exclusively for the [Adept] combatants, and one for the Experts.

Alden focused more on the former, but still appreciated the skill and intensity of the latter.

The reason why he paid more attention to those in the same Rank was self-explanatory. It was also the basis on which he built the belief that he was amongst the strongest of Adepts.

That said, there were a few individuals who caught his eye.

The first was a person whose powers centered around creating a cloud of jagged glass shards. They were able to manipulate it so that the shroud of broken fragments effectively swarmed their opponent, burying them in a cascade of shards.

Another was capable of controlling roots buried in the ground, manipulating them so that they burst up, and restrained their foe.

The last two combatants in particular caused Alden's gaze to turn sharp.

His frame twitched, itching to fight.

The first was a young man who seemed capable of conjuring illusions. His opponents launched themselves in completely different directions, and a few of them ended up crossing the boundary line, resulting in their disqualification.

…All the while, the young man remained where he stood, idly, as if bored.

In addition, Grand Elder Orion seemed interested in the youth, further confirming Alden's suspicion.

The second combatant was someone who possessed incredible speed.

He was among the fastest [Adept]'s Alden had ever seen.

And it was largely thanks to his unique power.

…Purple Lightning.

It appeared to be a special variant of the Lightning Element, much like Alden was with the Darkness Element. In any case, the result was a complete speed blitz. The purple-robed youth won almost all his bouts in the time it took to complete a breath.

And as fate would have it…

The final of the [Adept] pathway involved the illusionist and the speed demon.

'This should be good.'

Alden's sole eye glittered like a ruby gem.