Chapter 1

The clang of those clashing blades rang in his ears, why was he here ? He wasn't going to pretend about it, he was here to win, he was here to be at the top, to be the very best, he was here to be number one. And the irony of it all was, he wasn't even supposed to be here fighting in this arena because, accordingly to his Core Name and Gene he wasn't a Vegan - an astral soldier.

Xenthor spun around sending his blade crashing ferociously upon his opponent's shield with the impact sending it's wielder staggering backwards. His opponent was dazed and Xenthor knew the reason behind this, who would have expected a Revil - a flaretoiler - to possess a blow packed with such amount of power that could make a being with a Vegan core name fall back under the impact. Truth be told, Xenthor knew he wasn't wanted here but he also knew that these arrogant fools were simply underestimating him and he was going to teach these proud skulls of bones a lesson, that pride comes before fall. And here was the perfect target - Vegan Maxis Lor Elan - first son of the lord of the Elcan astral isles. This spoilt brat had a reputation for being so arrogant that he opens underrated the Tortenium tournament as substandard - not befitting a fighter like him aspiring to be an astral warrior. And Xenthor, now the swordsman of retribution was going to show this joker the consequences of his words.

Xenthor threw his shield away and took off his helmet, this was going to be a fight to death for him because of all he had sacrificed to come this far, he had spent years training at the Rage of Confluences while his fellow Revils progressed in their fields, stagnating in the mockery, pain and loneliness, fighting to master the codex of the Vegan being. But years weren't in vain as he had not only mastered the fighting skills of the Vegans, he had also fused all three cores of the Hierarchy, fusing his genes he had become ...

Eyes blazing and being fraying through the distance, slithering like a lashing whip of lightning, Xenthor charged at his opponent, sending his blade tearing through the fabrics of the atmosphere, aiming straight at his vital points, Xenthor's blow was parried by his opponent with a shield.

"Hiding behind a shield." Xenthor grinned, he was really being underestimated. Well, if he wanted to walk victoriously into the semi-final he had to not only defeat this braggart but do it in a grand style.

Closing his eyes, Xenthor felt his energetic core blaze like a sea of condensed flames within him. Channeling it across his entire being, Xenthor set the atmosphere around him ablaze. The energetic surge was intense, resulting in the rise of that cyclone of enflamed lightning. That being of a burning halo tore out of that cyclone's eye, armour on fire and flesh enflamed, he unleashed another assault on his opponent.

Those gasps rose from the crowd who were seated at this arena to witness the tournament any Xenthor knew the reason behind this. They hadn't expected a Revil to even possess an energetic surge not to talk of one as lethal as this. Well, this was what one gets from being looked down upon and Xenthor was enjoying the show of being seen as an underdog.

Slashing like a whirlwind, Xenthor stabbed and jabbed with his blade, sending precise and decisive strikes at his opportunity keeping him in check, even prevent him from attaining a higher phase of combat. But somehow, a thing Xenthor called luck, his opponent managed to step up his gear.

"Helio Vortex Sage !" Xenthor's opponent thundered.

That burning sea of enflamed waves rose from the depths of this arena, this was how this battlefield was designed, large enough to host duels between astral lords, so the energetic surges of normal warriors was nothing for it to handle. That burning being of a cerulean flare rose from this fiery sea of a raging blue. His armour and sword glistened furiously and like Xenthor, he too threw away his shield but kept his helmet in place.

"Peasant, you dare to duel against the heir of the Elcan Isles !" Elan thundered. "Revil, you must be asking for death."

"You are powerful enough to be my executioner but know" Xenthor replied, "I'm already a dead man, and a dead man fears not what the living dread."

Xenthor charged like a bolt of lightning, swinging his sword, he parried Elan's blows. Both swords locking unleashed sparks, the impact throwing both fighters away from themselves and like unlike poles that could never repel, they tore at each other again, their swords locking, they ... Elan couldn't believe his eyes, was he seeing double ? Three forms of his opponent were attacking him from three different sides, but which was the actual threat ? Elan's mind went blank and before he could react he felt the burning fangs of Xenthor's blade slash him at three different points, it meant that none of those forms was an illusion, all were painfully real.

Elan staggered backwards, too shocked to make any move, he just stood staring at his opponent along with the crowd that had now fallen silent. Why wouldn't they, when they had just seen a fighter who had performed a triangle dimensional refraction attack before them.

This Revil had just made history as the first person to have ever used such a skill in the Tortenium tournament, as the arena was specially designed to create an internal blockage, impending the usage of combat skills that might have been possible for fighters to use outside the battlefield, even the low-level skills took an effort to be honed by a fighter in the Tortenium arena, not to talk of a polygon dimensional refraction attack, an attack which this Revil had just effortlessly used on Edan.

It was unbelievable, the only thing fighters ever did was create illusions in the form of refraction attacks and only one of the forms was the real fighter the rest were just doppelgangers. But it couldn't be denied as it had been done before them, the polygon dimensional refraction attack had been honed. Edan swallowed, only heavens knew what skill this Revil opponent of his was going to use next.

That grin stole Xenthor's lips, they hadn't seen anything, this was just the start, he was going to break all the blockages that existed within this arena and show these people that their most prestigious tournament was just a child's play to him.

Charging at his opponent once again, Xenthor's being blazed, then like a whip of lightning his formerly single being refracted into six separate forms and like a whirlpool of fire he feel upon Elan. Xenthor laughed within, they had seen him use a triangular refraction how about a hexagonal attack ? He was going to double it up and show them how easy and effortless it was for him to defeat these Vegans.

*** *** ***

"Lord Kiel," the voice said, "we all know that the Cyclic Void has been fused into configurations and that Ejan Ter Velor is the one behind all this. We have to stop that scoundrel or soon he'll be powerful enough to even run down our astral empire."

"I know general Fer Zan," lord Kiel said from his chair at the head of that massive table, his glass of wine held in the air with his raised hand, he didn't seem bothered by the news which bothered most of the emperors within this astral plain - Xor Van, because he knew that there was nothing they could do but watch.

They were just talkers with no will to act, Kiel wouldn't be surprised if he heard that they had met Ejan Ter Velor begging him for an alliance, such blabbering and backstabbing fools ! But he knew how to handle this so-called Ejan Ter Velor. When had he arrived within these astral plains that his name sent chills running down the spines of even the most feared intergalactic emperors ? When had he arrived ?! Just a few astral seasons ago ! This maniac - Ter Velor - had asked for war and he was going to get it.