I walked into my place, an apartment I took over after its owners left... I simply got the keys.

The curses Izel threw at me were still echoing in my head... I mean why was she pointing the finger of accusation at me when I didn’t do anything.

And because of her Emeris left me while pretending she was only examining my face, so I came back home and here I am jumping onto the bed... it’s true it was morning, but I really needed to sleep.

On my pillow I couldn’t help but remember that moment and the warmth I felt near her face.

"I don’t know." A muffled mutter escaped because of the pillow, and I quickly closed my eyes, welcoming sleep.

...

On the marble floor of an empty room Elliot sat with his blond hair sticking to his forehead, drops of sweat falling from it and gathering on the smooth ground, while he caught his fast breathing.

’I hope this is enough as a final push.’ He looked at the small vial in his hands, inside it was a shining blue liquid.

Holding it in one hand, he opened it and threw the cap away, the light of its contents reflecting in his shining eyes. ’It won’t hurt too much, right?... they said it’s not that bad.’

With obvious hesitation, and some trembling in his hand, he brought the vial close to his mouth as he drank its contents in one gulp.

He felt the burning in his mouth then it spread down his throat all the way to his stomach, at the same time he threw that empty vial away... and got ready for the effect that was coming.

"Aghhh.." A groan escaped his mouth.

Like fire burning inside him, an unbearable heat spread from his stomach to every inch of his body... he closed his eyes as his essence scattered, following that painful heat.

His breathing got faster and the sweat poured down his face, breaths of pain started coming out of his lips. ’This is really... painful’

With every moment that passed, his body started trembling, not his limbs, but the flesh itself.

He opened his eyes to see the veins on his arm swelling like they were about to burst while his skin turned bright red. "Ughhh..."

Even though he tried to hold it back, the pain kept increasing with every moment, until Elliot finally lost his calm, his hands hit the ground, and his breathing went out of control.

Without meaning to he raised his hand and almost punched the ground... as if that would ease the pain... but he stopped at the last moment, his vision got blurry and the sound of the sweat drops hitting the ground mixed with his ragged breathing.

His skin trembled and the muscles twisted underneath it, he felt like his flesh and his bones, and everything was being born again in that moment.

’Breathe... just breathe, it’ll be over quickly.’ Even though he tried to calm himself down, it wasn’t anywhere near the end.

"Aghhhhh." Another scream escaped as he tried to hold it back while the seconds turned into minutes, he felt like he was about to lose consciousness.

But as time passed the pain slowly started receding, and he finally relaxed on the ground panting to catch his breath... slowly the pain and the exhaustion were replaced by strength.

It wasn’t like breaking through the other ranks, where he feels the new essence reserve, or the noticeable physical improvement.

This time was different, like he’d been born again.

He looked at his hands as he clenched his fist, that’s when his exhausted voice echoed in the place.

"Fusion."

...

Time was passing for every person in their own way.

While Caius sat day after day with Mary’s hands on him, enduring the slow torture the old doctor provided, every other person was making their own progress...

At this time the whole group that got lost in Ancient Earth was inside the Axis again, all of them here for the Game of Kings, plus dozens of people from the other classes and academies for a total of 100 people.

While some worked on their personal strength, Ellen worked on uniting everyone... as expected from her.

Running group training to break the invisible walls between the academies and the social classes... she saw the chance of them winning this time as high, but not guaranteed.

And while Ellen sat on one of the seats in the stands of the large arena watching a friendly fight from a distance, she caught Leona and Izel coming closer out of the corner of her eye, and with a smile full of happiness Leona sat beside her with a box in her hand giving off the smell of sugar and chocolate.

"How are things going?" She said that casually as she opened the box, revealing the chocolate-covered sweets inside it, and using the spoon she took a bite as she closed her eyes and let out a relaxed sound. "Mmm."

Izel eyed her as she stayed standing instead of sitting. "Come on Leona!... this is box number what today... a hundred?"

With the spoon in her mouth, she tilted her head innocently. "No... it’s only the seventh."

Izel opened her mouth to talk about health and fitness, but she closed it the next moment as she glanced at Ellen. "So, why do you look tense right now, is it because of this tournament, Your Highness the Princess?"

Ellen frowned at the sarcastic tone in Your Highness the Princess.

"No, I’m just thinking about some things... anyway has anyone seen Caius recently, he seemed strange last time."

With a full mouth Leona waved her spoon in denial. "Mm... mm no... but yeah, he was very rough in training." She remembered the feeling of his kick, but she didn’t take it seriously.

But unlike the two of them, Izel felt her face getting hotter, and a faint redness spreading over her cheeks from embarrassment, as she remembered what she saw yesterday on the side of the road. "No... I haven’t seen him."

But her reaction got a stare from her two friends as they blinked at her in unison.

"Why is your face red?"

...

In the other Empires the preparations and the training of the other participants were in full swing.

And inside a fancy room in Luminar, an eighteen-year-old young man was sitting on a chair with a tablet in his hand, swiping his finger, his voice echoing off the walls. "It looks like this year is going to be busy, why don’t you come here and study our opponents a little instead of messing around."

In front of him was a beautiful girl with short blue hair that barely reached her shoulders, her black eyes focused on the clothes hanging in her big closet as she put her hand under her sharp chin in deep thought. "What should I pick?"

The two of them looked like each other... like twins, well, they were.

The brother sighed quietly. "It doesn’t matter, just keep doing whatever it is you’re doing... and let me take Dad’s cursing when we lose."

She looked at him over her shoulder with a smile forming on her lips. "You mean... when you lose."

...

Under the orange sky from a sandstorm, and between the barren land and the sand dunes of the Auerlion Empire, a tall, heavily built young man walked toward the city on the horizon, sitting on the borders of this Empire.

His dark robe was torn everywhere, revealing dozens of wounds and scars on his brown skin, and there behind his back was a long pole wrapped in dirty cloth.

He raised his head against the wind full of sand, his short brown hair blowing back, and only then did the necklace on his neck light up, and before it made any sound he spoke, his deep voice cutting through the storm.

"I’m there."

...

And somewhere else that looked like a fancy resort, a short girl held a phone as she pointed the camera at the young man relaxing on the chair beside the swimming pool.

With his clear blue eyes and his platinum blond hair, he could be considered very handsome by every standard, and the confident smile on his face didn’t take away from that.

With a look at the camera from under his sunglasses, he asked, "So what’s the next question the fans are asking?"

The girl stared at the screen with boredom before she spoke. "It says: what are the chances of you winning the Game of Kings?"

With an agreeable look at the camera, he winked one of his eyes at the lens. "Let’s leave that question for the future... you know, I have to be a little humble."