The pulsation of echoing and timeless mana rippled through Khonsu's satiny flesh. He sauntered through the eternal path inside the castle, inspecting one of its painting's distorted symbols.

Khonsu stepped towards another, steep, yet still sweltering corridor of the castle. He snapped his echoing, booming gaze at the gates; puzzled. "Someone else is entering..." 

"Suryaa?"

Professor Krwn being a famous - or popular - individual was moderately bewildering. He was a lazy, languid, and facetious person, perhaps his personality was appealing to the Srooa-Kingdom.

Still, the Srooa-Empire was hosting this type of tournament for their mages. It was baffling, for most of the citizens and magical-utilizers carried the belief of not allowing children to study the crafts of magic.

I glanced over to Karasuu: who lifted a bemused, yet still interested eye-brow. He eyed professor Krwn, chuckling to himself; flummoxed. "I never guessed he'd be popular."

Professor Krwn stepped towards the stands - keeping his own visage bland, inscrutable. His mana convulsed into his summoned stick-voice-amplifier. "Okay. I guess I'm gonna be blabbering."

"Queen Scalae concurred for my students to participate in your competition." He dryly murmured; unperturbed. Professor Krwn tapped his soprano-volume-increasing stick, sighing. "And perhaps change your opinion."

"Opinion?" Wukong blithely murmured; perplexed. My cheeky, yet childish companion leaned into his chair, summoning Horuss - as he extended its proportions. "Still, we're fighting?!"

"Perhaps."

My mentor's clip-board flittered through innumerable files. Krwn slid his finger through countless boxes, twirling his ebony, sapphire-striped pen - while dissolving his mana-fueled microphone. "Your opinion on children-"

"Oh, children fighting." Foaler lamely grouched to himself; unbothered. He flicked a lollipop into his mouth, the scales atop his hands sliding onto his neck. The tour-guide chuckled, dispelling his signature rapier. "Hm..."

"Indeed." Krwn wanly rumbled, his soprano casual, blithe. My professor sauntered towards the arena's seats of my class-mates, his ebony gaze scanning our presences itself; unconcerned. "Your ruler desires for children to battle."

I immediately heard the ripples of bewilderment and bafflement groaning through the flood of mages and citizens. I remembered Karasuu's information - the one who stopped the war was allegedly still alive.

"One of my students shall battle your mages. Ruler Scalae desires to compare the strength between Exia's mages and Expony's mages."

"Huh, logical." Our tour-guide lackadaisically mumbled, glancing towards Scalae: who gazed back over to him, her cyanic irises shivering. "Okay! My student fights yours Krwn, sound good?"

"Sounds good." Professor Krwn wanly smirked, dispersing his flinty clip-board and pen. He slipped his hands into his pockets, scanning my pulseless, deceased mana, chuckling. "Come on, Vasura..."

Vasura was being picked to be the one to battle?

This little - and dramatic - brawl of theirs was going to be rather interesting. I heaved my chocolate smoothie's straw into my lips, feeling the liquid percolate through my satiny tongue. "Who's he battling?"

"Some random Screwy-mage." Wukong flippantly grouched, slumping into the arm-rests of his arena's chair. He snapped his crimson, sweltering irises towards Vasura: who bounded onto the concrete. "He's gonna dominate."

"Maybe." I cryptically concurred. Vasura's abilities were being able to control death itself. His skill utilizing a dagger was moderately impressive - and perhaps he could create a strategy for success. "Heh."

Osiris' novel flitted back onto his lap. He flicked one of the pages, his fire-brick gaze eyeing Vasura's pulsing mana, as another individual strolled casually into the arena. 

This individual's complexion was smooth, almost glassy - and his hair was a flittering, uncontrollable sapphire. His irises were an unperturbed and cheeky keppel. He carried a mural-designed axe, wearing a type of ebony tuxedo.

"His mana's good." Wukong pensively vociferated; impressed. He detected the mana drifting through this Skales' axe, an interested contortion decorating his childish, unconcerned visage. "It's getting channelled."

"This is one of my students." Foaler elatedly informed, hefting a taunt and slim arm onto this Skales' shoulder. He disconnected from him, sauntering over to Vasura: who raised a bland eye-brow. "And this is Krwn's!"

"Norano. This is Vasura. Vasura, Norano."

"Enough interruptions." Krwn dryly intervened, brushing a calloused, yet still smooth finger through his own dagger. My professor dissolved it back into its centre, bouncing atop a chair. "Come on, Foaler."

All of this to compare the power of an Exia mage to an Expony's?

If I remembered - children in Exia - or the Srooa-Kingdom - weren't allowed to use magic until they were 17, and learning spells was still a touchy topic to teach. "Heh, who shall win indeed."

"Now, battle ya brats!"

The crowd of Exia citizens and mages were slouched onto their own seats; silent, yet gentle. I glanced back towards Vasura: who slipped his hands into his sapphire slacks' pockets, suspiring. "Why me?"

Norano immediately stepped forward, the scales on his neck converging over to the terrain. He snapped his fingers, creating himself a scaled-glaive. "It's a pleasure to battle you."

"Same...?" Vasura incredulously riposted; his soprano blithe, perturbed. Norano hurled his glaive over to Vasura's visage, the latter flipping over the sailing weapon. "Damn, you wanna kill me or something."

"Foaler informed me of your people's callousness to lives. I'm simply playing yours and the other dimensions' game."

Entertaining, indeed.

I channelled mana into my feet. The clang of lifeless, pulsating mana washed over all of the individuals inside the arena. I walked forward, feeling existence itself convulse in my presence.

Okay. I wouldn't refute this Norano's disgruntlement towards Expony and the realms' lack of care for killing and eliminating lives. Still, my circumstances felt moderately dramatic.

"I wanted a good vacation." I murmured to myself; bothered. Twirling over Norano's dancing axe, I summoned the purple, shivering hands of the perished. [Tendrils-Of-The-Deceased]. "Useful binding spell."

Norano stumbled back, the hands of lifeless mana gashing through his flesh. He toppled onto the terrain, manipulating his scales until they sailed towards my face. "A vacation? This is tradition!"

His axe rippled back over to him. Norano stepped towards me; distorting his body itself. I called for my dagger, until feeling a lack of connection to my centre; huh, puzzling. "You suppressed my centre?"

"Indeed. Suppressive-Type magic." He blithely riposted; unconcerned. Norano heaved a slash onto my neck - as I backtracked, suspiring. "You're my father's customer. You wanted a connector."

"Yep."

Norano swiped his axe towards my legs. I huffed inwards in almost brimming disconcertment, disregarding the pulsing laceration groaning through my flesh. "I suppressed your skill to battle itself."

This was cheating.

Huh, Vasura was losing.

He immediately collapsed onto the concrete - the lacerations gashing his skin throbbing. I inspected Norano's axe - the weapon being aimed for his neck - and blade almost swiping onto his abdomen.

"Oh, what the hell!" Vasura vociferously grouched. He climbed back up to his pitiless, growling stature, gazing over to Krwn: who laughed; unperturbed. "You signed me up for this stupid clobbering!"

Vasura's mana convulsed into his feet - as he flung himself forward. Norano raised his axe, eyeing Vasura's splintered ear. The former growled, snatching the axe from his adversary.

His energy pulsed into the weapon. Vasura twirled it, feeling for the axe's quality and mana-carrying-capacity. He chuckled, lifeless-mana flitting into its metal. "Karasuu! Heal me up!"

"You're cheating?" Norano bemusedly interrogated; puzzled, yet still unbothered by his axe being stolen. He granted Vasura a bland, elated grin, humming. "I shall allow this."

I immediately checked over professor Krwn's pitiless and languid visage. He gave me a dry, entertained smirk, sipping the straw of his own smoothie; humming. "Permission to heal? Good."

I detected the infinitesimal sizzle of energy inside my mana-currents. I snapped my fingers, watching my ebony magic swallow Vasura's leg, his flesh healing. "Okay! Sorry, Mr. Yorano, you're kid's screwed now!"

And the real battle was mine to observe; interesting.

Still, Vasura could utilize an axe?

Norano and Vasura both slouched into their own, perhaps signature, stances. The former summoned another axe - while Vasura slipped a glossy finger through his stolen tool. 

They bounded forward, towards their opponents. Norano and Vasura's axes collided into each-other, as I detected a boom of lifeless and - repressive? - repressive mana. 

Vasura flipped over Norano, hefting an ageless, rippling kick onto the top of his skull. Norano groaned, until my friend detected something. Heaving another slice onto Norano's stomach, Vasura backpedalled.

"You suppressed my abilities, the second I materialized my mana."

"You're observant, and indeed."

The Skaled casually walked towards Vasura: who dissolved the mana inside his new axe. Norano chuckled, his scales sliding onto the terrain - tripping my companion onto the surface.

"Your dimension's mages are inferior."

His axe rippled, swiping towards Vasura's neck.

Vasura immediately rolled back. He bounded over to Norano's chest, slicing the axe onto it. The Skaled's scales writhed onto his upper-skin, scintillating.

The lifeless-controller was in a rather incensing, perturbing battle. He suspired inwards, he was unable to materialize his mana - such as tendrils or mana-channelling. Still, the dead were mere phantoms.

[Electric-Phantom] and [Fire-Phantom] were the spectres who seldom listened to him. Still, if he died, they wouldn't be able to escape the places where their souls were tethered.

He stabbed his axe into the terrain, disregarding Norano's throb of mana. Vasura detected something contorting inside his mana-currents. Norano was suppressing his magical-power itself. 

Vasura instantly backpedalled, utilizing the shrapnel of his un-suppressed mana until summoning his phantoms. The fire one growled, his form warping. He watched as a sweltering, rippling cube stretched onto Norano's face.

The electric one was less concerned of being dissolved. He snapped his fingers, draining more of Vasura's mana. The latter bounding towards Norano - noticing his spectres disperse.

Norano groaned to himself in over-spilling agony. Vasura chuckled, flipping onto Norano's chest's armour. He plunged the axe into his throat, observing the Skaled's protective-outfit crumbling.

"Okay, stop."

Krwn's telekinetic pulse of mana paused Vasura's axe. The professor lifted his student, noting of the bland distortion atop his features. Huffing outwards, Krwn settled Vasura into a chair, sighing. "My student wins!"

The crowd was still in disbelief - or bafflement of the battle. Krwn laughed to himself, a dry, guttural sound of entertainment. The mentor inspected the gash on Norano's neck; unimpressed. "He's healable."

"Your student got pretty desperate to win, huh?" Foaler scornfully chuckled; humoured. He raised Norano's shoulders, helping him back over to the healer-mages. "I wanted Wukong to battle."

"I was testing Vasura." Krwn blandly grouched, sailing over to the flood of his students: who all eyed Vasura, either impressed - or puzzled. "He failed, yet succeeded."

"Damn, you were going for the kill!" Wukong cheekily chuckled, his falsetto unbothered, immature. He glanced towards Norano and Yorano, the latter bandaging his flesh. "You good?"

"Kinda."

Krwn sauntered towards Yorano: who ignored the professor. Suspiring inwards to himself, Krwn ambled over to Yorano, the latter chuckling; entertained.

Keen eyes watched.