"THE RANKING SYSTEM"

<<Tuesday, 29th July, 2017, 1:15AM>>

"Urgh… Where am I?”

Kai groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, his surroundings gradually coming into focus. He found himself in a room, and sitting on a stool by his bedside was Chiko.

“Finally awake, huh?” Chiko greeted him with a smile. "Took you long enough."

Kai blinked, trying to shake off his grogginess. "Chiko! You’re here? Where am I?"

"Your room, genius," Chiko replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Looking around, Kai recognized the familiar setting. Kota entered the room with a meal and a glass of water.

"Look who's finally back from dreamland?" Kota said, a playful smile on his face.

"How long was I out?" Kai asked, chuckling.

"Just a few hours," Chiko replied.

"It's the next day, by the way," Kota confirmed.

"Well, at least it's an improvement from last time," Kai murmured.

"It's not the first time?" Chiko questioned, his ability to control sound allowing him to pick up on Kai's mumbled words effortlessly.

"Uhh… Yeah, it's not," Kai replied. "It's actually the second— Oh well… at least my cooldown time has reduced well enough to say that I'm gaining somewhat of a control of my Core Energy."

Gaia approached Kai and handed him her phone, showing him a video clip of his energy surge.

"And you call this gaining control?"

"Woah… Is that really me?" Kai asked in astonishment.

"Yeah," Gaia confirmed. "You were really―”

"Awesome! That's what I was," Kai cut in, excited. "I look like a raging beast right here."

"You're just crazy, man," Kota confirmed.

"No kidding," Chiko added as Kai laughed shortly.

"Hey, at least we got to know that you've got insane potential levels of core energy output," Kota pointed out. "That's pretty wild if you ask me."

“Yeah… I guess so,” he concluded, his smile slowly fading away.

"That reminds me," Kai recalled. "I'm still not clear about the ranking system here."

"Allow us to clear out your confusion," Chiko assured as he began to explain. "By default, Daemons are… protectors, so to say. Transcendent humans who have unlocked the God-like attributes hidden deep within us. Some are stronger… more potent than the other, some too complex to fully grasp and harness its true power, while some are a lot more practical in use than the other.

"As a way of knowing how your technique could serve for the greater good, and as a way of testifying for the fact that one has gained perfect control of one's Core, Daemons are ascribed ranks," Kota continued.

"There are basically four ranks," Kota took over. "But a final rank was created by Daemons of ages past as a way of honoring the two beings who have attained a God-like complex."

"Before Gaia here does us the favor of calling the ranks and their corresponding threat levels...

Gaia exclaimed in the background, confused, "Wait… what?"

"You gotta keep one thing in mind. The technique derivative may be as strong as hell, but due to the Daemon's lack of control of it, it is given rank lower than its worth," Kota concluded, looking towards Gaia. "Over to you."

Gaia sighed disgustedly as she began to call out the ranks. "The ranks in ascending order are: Arkhe..."

"Which is basically the weakest rank a Daemon could ever acquire," Chiko explained. "All Daemons by default are superhuman beings, so they range between building level to multi block level threat."

"While some potential-heavy Arkhes can momentarily squeeze in a mountain level threat," Kota added.

"Then there's the Pro-Arkhe rank…" Gaia continued.

"These are the Daemons who are of course stronger than the Arkhe and have honed their basics to their respective limits," Chiko explained.

"Threat level— Mountains, Islands… Heck small countries for the powerful ones," Kota exaggerated.

"Then there's Bythos," Gaia proceeded. "Daemons who have honed their craft and have surpassed their limits of strength all for the greater good."

"Threat level— Large countries by default, small continents at their peak," Kota stressed.

"Then we have the Aeons…" she continued.

"Those who achieved the status of a true Daemon," Chiko explained. "These Daemons are unrivaled in strength as they are one step closer to becoming a 'god.'"

"Threat level- Continent by default, multi continent, and for those at the pinnacle of strength, small planetary-level," Gaia explained.

"That leaves us with the final rank…" said Kai, who was absorbing all the knowledge as fast as he could.

"The big shots…" Kota began. "Those who have ascended in power far greater than you could ever imagine. The beings who have rightly claimed their status of being 'gods'. The Perfect Aeon- the Monads," he explained.

"Their growth in power as well as their refinements in technique know no bounds as they infinitely grow in power. Thus, their threat level is codenamed, 'Transcendent,'" Chiko concluded.

"I'm stupid for asking, but who exactly are these two? I figured Owari-san's one of them," Kai assumed. 'Please tell me the other one isn't who I'm thinking it is,' he thought.

"Well, you're right! One of them is the big man himself," Kota confirmed.

"While the other is the source of all things bad," Gaia continued. "The Core of Chaos…"

"Cosmos," Kai concluded, disgusted. "Oh C'mon! Are you kidding me? Why would he be part of the ranks?"

"Well power's gotta be acknowledged right?" Gaia suggested.

"Well, I guess that's true," Kai affirmed.

In the brief silence, Kai soon remembered about the contest that had been conducted in their class. "I almost forgot. What were the last two matches like?"

"It was entertaining actually, but no battle could match the intensity you two had in yours," Kota hyped.

"I guess it was great, even though I can't really remember anything that happened," said a pleased Kai.

"That's why I got you covered," assured Kota, who gave Kai his device to stream the whole fight. "It's trending everywhere amongst the Daemons. People still can't believe that you're not ranked by now."

He played the full video of their fight from his phone. Kai watched in amazement while he ate the meal Kota had given him.

'Honestly, I don't either,' Chiko thought. 'You really got me hung up against the wall. You really remind me of him…' he analyzed, remembering the image of Kenji in his head.

"This really is me…" Kai affirmed after watching the whole bout. "It's weird and a little bit scary to be honest."

"Don't worry. If anything were to happen to you, we'll be there to help you out," assured Kota with a convincing smile.

"Yeah… We will," Chiko added.

Chiko soon realized that it's past his bedtime. Thus, he readied himself to leave. "Rest easy. It's still early in the morning. I'll let Sensei know you're alright. Get some sleep after, okay?"

"You bet!" Kai assured.

"See ya," Chiko smiled, seeing himself out.

<<On the other side of the door>>

"You really do seem to care about this kid. Mind telling me the reason?" asked a curious male Daemon.

"Is there really a reason to know the state of a friend who you faced in an intense battle?" Chiko questioned.

"You and I both know there's more to it than just that."

"Not that it matters to you any way," Chiko concluded, walking out on him.

The Daemon expressed more curiosity as he laughed softly.

Chiko left the dorm to the resting place of Shujin. He met him about entering his apartment.

"Chiko," Shujin called. "I assume Kai's alright now?"

"Affirmative."

"That's nice to hear. Let him know that he doesn't need to attend classes for the week. He needs enough rest to be up and doing once again."

Chiko nodded in approval.

"Y'know," Shujin continued. "It didn't take that much time for the two of you to bond so quickly. You two would have a lot to learn from each other…"

"Sensei..." Chiko interrupted. "We need to talk."

"Hmph… Very well then."

Shujin took him inside his home.

<<Later that day>>

••• ∅ •••

Kai really is one of a kind. We Daemons are dying for a day off but he got a whole frickin' week off. Now that's just bias— I'm just kidding around. But seriously though, even with a week off, you still decided to spend it training and honing your core energy control. I wonder if meditating's factor in becoming stronger, 'cause you seem to do it a lot…

••• ∅ •••

"Let me in," Kai requested.

The Figure answered his call.

Kai was taken to the void where he discussed with the Figure.

"I see a noticeable change of flow of energy in you. It seems you're mastering energy manipulation just fine," he believed.

"But it's not enough yet," he expressed. "I can't risk getting out of control anymore. I still feel that sensation within me that makes me switch up to a totally different person. I know well enough to stop it before the spark occurs. But in the event that I do go out of control?"

"It's a step by step process, Kai. I believe once you learn how to completely draw power from all four gates, that feeling would be kept under control."

"But isn't there a way to do it now?"

"Hmm…. It's not worth it but…"

"But what…"

"Forget it— Till we meet…"

"Wait!" he interrupted.

"And what could it be this time?" he asked curiously.

"I'm experiencing a different change every time I grow more and more in power. It has been there, but I didn't notice until moments ago…"

"And that is…" he sought to know, anticipating curiously.

"Nah… I must be thinking too much," he finalized, successfully changing the topic. "See ya!" he concluded, smiling whole fully.

"Hmph…"

The void swallowed them whole and Kai returned back to the real world, blinking her bright light. He was seen at the center of a vast, empty field, where the only sound one could perceive was the rustle of the wind. It was the perfect place to meditate for it was quiet and serene, far from the bustle of the world beyond.

A sense of calm washed over Kai as he emerged from his meditation, his mind clear and focused. But as he opened his eyes, he felt a sudden disturbance in the air behind him. He turned to see his friend, Kota, standing there, munching on chips and looking at him with a mischievous grin.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, still crunching on the chips. "What took you so long?"

"Wasn't expecting a visit," he rightfully replied. "What are you doing here anyways? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Umm… I believe one rule of school is to have periodic breaks," he broke down sarcastically.

"Right," he said, laughing awkwardly. "Say, wanna help me train?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but Shujin-sensei's already a pain in the ass and…"

"Sure! Why not?" Gaia replied to Kai's request, appearing out of nowhere behind Kota.

"Great!"

"Stipulations?"

"None."

"I love the sound of that."

"Okay then," Kota accepted. "But you only got four minutes. Don't wanna be late, right?"

"Right!" Kai and Gaia echoed in unison.

Kota went out of the way and sat by the side of the field to watch the supposed "friendly match."

The two opponents stood across from each other, exchanging a nod of respect and a handshake before taking their positions.

The empty field felt like a neutral arena, a blank canvas for them to paint freely with their skill and technique.

With a friendly smile, they began the match.