5 The mist

The sun has risen and the dark sky was soon painted a lighter shade of blue, signaling another day as people came and gathered at the coliseum once more to witness a clash between two teams.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Twilight Ragnarok! Where the strongest remain at the top and teamwork is the key," Gord enthusiastically says, eyeing the growing crowd as he continued, "I can see that the audience is excited today and so without further ado, I present today's participants for the battle between Team A and Team D!"

A loud scream erupted from the crowd, cheers and yells filling the venue, "From team D we have Alice, Selena, Thamuz, Moscov and," A sudden pause caught everybody's attention as they eyed Gord from where he was standing from. His posture was from as his eyes seemed glued to a particular name that refused to leave his lips. His apprentice. His apprentice that defeated him years ago. And here he was. But then again it wasn't the right time to revisit the past. Gord shook his head and continued on like nothing happened, "Last but not the least, Valir! and from team A we have Alpha, Guinevere, Roger, Lancelot and Hayabusa!"

The excitement in the coliseum continued to rise as the said contenders entered the battleground, each equipped with their own armor and skills. Everybody proceeded to take their stance, waiting for the go signal to fire.

"Well this is going to be fun," Roger muttered to his fellow teammates, eyeing the opposing side with a smirk on his face.

"Do you think we'll win?" Guinevere inquired, looking passive but her voice was tight and firm.

Hayabusa hummed in return, trying to ease the tension,"Judging from their skills and ours... We have a shot at winning," he answered, receiving nods from his allies.

"I can't wait for this to start," Lancelot quipped.

As team A conversed and discussed amongst themselves, team D was also not far behind.

"Tough competition?" Selena asked, glancing at the other team, taking note of their skills.

Valir scoffed, "Not really. Plus we have, Alice."

Alice shook her head in response and smirked, "I'm flattered but we still have to win this tournament whatever it takes. Afterall, our mission here is not only to win the orb but also to reach the end of the tournament and kill our target. Don't forget."

"Understood," Thamuz replied as the others nodded.

But before both teams could futher discuss, Gord's booming voice rang all throughout the coliseum, cutting them off, "The battle between team A and team D will now commence in a few seconds! Teams get into position in 3...2... 1!"

A loud gunshot followed, cutting through the cheers of the audience as the participants jumped into action, "Let the Twighlight Ragnarok begin!"

...

Sounds of clashing with metal and powers colliding with each other echoed throughout the tournament. The battle between two groups was heated, leaving the audience at the edge of theor seats, cheering their hearts out to who ever they favored. However, despite the begin being neck in neck, it was getting clearer in the middle that team A was at the upper hand having more number of turrets standing.

With new found confidence, team A charged strategically while D defended with everything they had. But as they reached the last inhibitor turret, the clear sky suddenly began to dim as darkness seeped from every corner. Slowly, it engulfed the entire arena, terrified shrieks and confusion resonating about. Fortunately, the darkness lasted for about a few minutes before it started to disappear.

When the arena had finally cleared, the audience focused their eyes on the battlefield, earning gasps here in there.

"U-unbelievable! Who ever casted that spell a minute ago seems to know what they were doing! The entire team A is clearly knocked down. This is a chance for team D!"

Team D seemed to be caught in a trance as well, not knowing what really happened but after Gord's comment, they seemed to snap out of it and continued to push despite the questions heavily hanging about.

"And the winner for this tournament is... Team D!!!!"

.....

"That was..... unexpected," Lesley mumbled from where she was as she stared at the outcome of the event, having witnessed what had happened.

Harley, who stood beside her huffed, "Yeah.. and I was rooting for team A as well. What do you think happened?"

"I don't even know. Who ever summoned that dark cloud literally came out of nowhere."

Harley eyed his sister, a knowing look on his face, "And you're going to find out who did it, won't you?"

Lesley smirked in return, "I'm just curious, Harley. That's all."

"Sure you are." Her little brother replied, rolling his eyes.

...

"Hey." Gusion called out as silently walked towards Lesley who was at her usual spot in the Cosmos Garden.

"Well fancy seeing you here again, Mr. Paxley. And to what do I owe the pleasure to?"

"Haha. Funny. Anyway drop the formalities, Lesley. It's making me cringe." Gusion said.

Lesley shook her head in amusement as she scooted to the right, patting the seat next to her, "Whatever you say Mr. Paxley- I mean Gusion."

The said boy gave her a glare to which she just laughed at.

"Ok. Ok I get it. So what brings you here, Gusion?"

Lesley asked as Gusion sat next to her.

"Ah... I came to give you this." He muttered, rummaging his pocket before reaching out something.

"What is it?"

"See for yourself."

Lesley glanced at Gusion apprehensively before taking the object from his hand. When she had finally taken a look at it, her eyes widened.

"Th-This is...."

"I knew you were familiar even during the first day we met. But I wasn't sure if it was really you since my memory was a bit foggy. So I decided to take a risk and show it to you and it seemed like my gut feel was right." Gusion explained, a small smile gracing his lips as he looked at the night sky.

Lesley looked between the necklace and Gusion, memories of their childhood slowly coming back as she tried to open her mouth to speak.

"I know it's a bit overwhelming. Trust me I know how it feels and you don't have to force yourself if you don't want to... I understand."

"B-but."

"And whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to fight with all you have, okay?"

"Is that why you gave this to me?" Lesley asked, clutching the necklace close to her as she stared at the latter, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"It became my lucky charm and protected me when I was young and now I'm giving it back to you hoping that it'll do the same."

"Isn't that a bit unfair for you?"

Gusion shrugged, "I don't mind if it's you."

Lesley blinked at the statement before looking at the necklace once more. And with a small tug on her heart and smile on her face, she looked at the boy sitting beside her and smiled.

"Thank you."