Midnight Discussion

Unable to sleep thinking about Glynn Belkarn's words, Shun got out of bed at midnight and arrived at the balcony. His eyes stared at the full moon, which seemed brighter than ever. There were simply too many questions to be asked about this mysterious grand head.

"What does he know..." Shun whispered to himself, his voice trembling with anxiety.

Glynn Belkarn knew something about his uniqueness, probably even more than he did himself. Shun hadn't unleashed the ability to steal other people's ethereal arms for almost three months. But the more significant question was, is this ability the only reason for Glynn's respect and loyalty?

Shun knew more than anybody that if his ability were discovered, his existence would be wiped out immediately to prevent any sort of threat in the future. The Belkarn Clan possessed at least five ethereal warriors, but the accurate number was never revealed to the world. If Glynn truly understood his potential, why wouldn't he simply kill him?

There was something more horrifying within him, something horrifying enough to make the entire kingdom, at least the clan, bend their knees.

"Sirius Xshasi..." Shun wondered, his mind drifting to this mysterious ancestor of his. But some gentle footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

Shun turned around and discovered Cloudy Adaire behind him. In contrast to her usual self, her eyes were filled with sorrow and endless thoughts.

He sighed. "You should get some sleep. The grand finals are tomorrow." Though he never expected this to persuade Cloudy back.

Cloudy ignored him. "Is something troubling your mind too?" Her voice was cold and soft.

"Nothing, don't worry about me." Shun turned back to the moon again.

But Cloudy continued, "Shun, you know, you confuse me at times."

"No matter what happens, you are always the pillar holding up the group, the trustworthy companion silently supporting our backs, both in battle and everyday life."

"But I always feel like there is a barrier between us, as if you had put tens and hundreds of masks on your face, scared to reveal your true self."

Shun stood in silence. He had never paid much attention to this girl; she was far too ordinary, so ordinary that it made him disregard anything special about her.

"Shun, who are you?" she asked after receiving no reply from the person standing in front of her.

"I don't know..." Shun finally spoke. "Who am I..."

Cloudy smiled gently. "Doesn't matter, as long as you are still my friend who cares about me, it doesn't matter who you actually are." She walked towards the fence of the balcony and stared into the same bright moon Shun had been staring at earlier.

"That's a lie, isn't it?" Shun said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Cloudy turned to face him, her eyes reflecting the moonlight, "No."

"When it comes to friends, its never about who they are, its about what they do."

Shun nodded slightly, realising that this sentence is not specifically directed to him.

He slowly stated, "The person truly troubling you is not me, am I right?"

Cloudy simply stared back at him, her eyes reflecting the moonlight, her smile conveying millions of sentences on her face, so much that Shun failed to decipher any of them.

"You will be a great princess," Shun continued, his voice soft and clear.

"Do you think so?" Cloudy replied in doubt. "I beg to differ."

"No one knows me more than myself, a luxurious and powerful life is not one I strive for."

Shun looked at the moon again and yawned. He stepped back into the inner hall slowly.

"I used to think no one knew me more than myself too, but I just learned that that might not be the case."

"Who knows? Maybe one day you will find yourself wrong as well."

"But that would be in the future. Instead of worrying about the infinite possibilities of the future, I find it more meaningful to get some rest for the definite upcoming tournament match." Shun was grateful for the conversation they had. Sometimes educating somebody else enlightens yourself too.

But Cloudy stood there silently, a position resembling a few moments ago, but this time, the roles had changed.

"You are a complicated person..." she uttered, but the figure behind her had already vanished back into the darkness.

Back in his room, Shun got back onto his bed. Too exhausted to think further, he soon fell into a slumber.

Tomorrow would be a new day, and you never know what will happen.

Fortune, hardship, discovery, death...The past is definite, but the future is infinite.

That's what kept so many people sane as they endured their hardest years.

You can't change the past, but you can always hope for a better future, hope for an incident that changes your life forever.

Shun found it once, but that would be too dull of a life for someone like him.

...

"All welcomed guests and prestigious students, welcome to the Interacademy Ethereal Combat Tournament once more." The host's voice was replaced by King Eldran for this particular day.

"Today will be the ultimate clash between the two strongest teams within this glorious generation. From the very first match to this decisive moment, these ethereal warriors have demonstrated ethereal combat and the art of collaboration at their perfection."

"In order to make up for the previous incident yesterday, the format of the final fight will be slightly altered to display a clearer and more exhilarating battleground."

"The two opposing teams will engage in five fights."

"The first two fights will be three versus three teamfights, consisting of exactly two pawns and one major piece."

"The next two fights will be four versus four, also consisting of exactly two pawns, but with two major pieces permitted."

"The final fight will be the ultimate showdown between the kings and queens of both teams, a two versus two demonstrating the skirmish of the four most formidable stars of the generation."

Leon Ermy looked extremely upset. His master plan became useless under this sudden change in format. Furthermore, this format heavily favored the Haven Royal Academy team with two complete and fourteen ascended ethereal warriors. Principal Lorthus also tightened his eyebrows, but considering that they had already secured second place, his smile returned.

On the other side, Ray Scarlet and Shaden Gawn smirked in satisfaction, clearly also catching this significant detail.

The audience yelled in excitement. Five fights were more exciting than one; that's all some of these simple minds could possibly process.

Glynn Belkarn started laughing again. His mood had been extremely positive since his conversation with Shun.

King Eldran's voice arose again, silencing the noise in the crowd once more.

"There will be ten minutes of discussion time to plan your strategies and team composition. Use this time well."

"Under this format, these aspects are far more significant than personal exellence."