Hours passed by slowly. The survivors grouped up together in the bowels of the pirate ships and waited. They heard the echo of an explosion now and then, and the small vessels shook terribly.

The pirates let out a loud cheer, and the terrified crewmates sighed with relief. 

The legions tapped their feet impatiently and folded their arms. They exchanged frustrated scowls, clenched their fists and ground their teeth.

*

The Candidates dashed through the jungles and rocketed through the skies. They carved a path to the mountain, while millions of Demons congregated on their location.

The hordes surrounded the masked men and women. They formed domes of monstrous bodies around them, and the Candidates scanned the island. However, it was too dark to see further than a few kilometres. They closed their eyes, but the swarms of bright, white silhouettes obscured the battlefields to the northwest and northeast.

Jane’s and Hugo’s legions were bogged down on the northwestern and northeastern feet of the central mountain, while Jabu led his legion through the mountains along the eastern coast. 

A few Candidates sneered at the three siblings and their predicament.

“Serves them right.” “That’s what they get for rushing ahead on their-“the bitter masked men and women were silenced, when the domes of densely packed energy signatures moved. 

The Yokai tightened their circles, to no avail. Jane and her brothers continued their march towards the northern mountain.

*

“Control yourself, brother! Do you see what your anger and jealousy have wrought?” Kenpachi asked as he tried to still Clyde’s rage. “This was not…she is false. I only wished to warn him of that.” Mdu rumbled regretfully.

“There is nothing false about her. Both her dream and her request are born from love. You either misinterpreted her words or focused solely on your desires. You forget that she is carrying my child as well, brother. Forgive her and let her go. Jane was never ours to begin with.” The imposing one-horned man replied, and an image of Kagiso flashed into their minds.

Kenpachi and the stocky one-horned man chased an enraged Clyde through the jungle. He barged through the trees, swiped at the Yokai and roared madly. The slender one-horned man’s eyes pulsed, and his Mana poured out of his body violently.

The invisible energy pushed against the air, and powerful shockwaves obliterated everything within hundreds of metres. Clyde rampaged towards the east and Mdu groaned.

“He’s leading us further away from our destination. We will be isolating ourselves if we do not hurry.” The stocky one-horned man advised. 

“I know, but this is our fault. We suggested that he come. Now what we had hoped has happened, but he is still not ready to become a Berserker.” The imposing on-horned man replied in astonishment.

“Clyde still suffers from an external locus of control. He will never fully reach his potential as a War Dragon so long as he still looks outwards whenever he makes a mistake or struggles to overcome an obstacle.” Mdu replied, and he threw his axe at the Demon clinging to his younger brother’s back.

“Where does his doubt, desperation and fear come from?” Kenpachi wondered, and he wrapped his arms around Clyde’s waist. The stocky one-horned man landed in front of his younger brother and sighed.

“We chose poorly. We wanted a younger sibling too badly. Someone who would look up to two one-horned failures. We both know it takes years of training to control the Berserk Spirit. Years of dedicated self-improvement.” Mdu replied honestly and the imposing one horned man gripped his younger brother tightly.

“He must grow frustrated with himself to unlock the deep rage that grants us strength. This is nothing more than a tantrum. Clyde’s desperation, recklessness and deceit-”“-I know! He is my brother. I will not abandon him. Calm his spirit. We have wasted enough time here.” Kenpachi replied, and the slender one-horned man barely budged in his grip.

Mdu pushed through the many dense layers of violent Mana. He placed his fingertips on Clyde’s forehead and forced his nano-portals to reverse the flow of inter-dimensional energy.

“How long have you been standing there?” Kenpachi asked, when he noticed Kagiso’s presence above their heads. 

“Long enough to know that wasn’t the Berserker Spirit. I have mastered the first few steps, and my brother mastered the Silent Rage, so I know that could not have been it either. What is Clyde? How was he conceived?” the two-horned man rumbled curiously.

“And what would you do with that information?” Mdu asked threateningly, but the imposing one-horned man raised a single arm to settle him down. He draped the Mana fatigued Clyde over his shoulder like a towel.

“I will tell you, in exchange for free passage to the northern mountain. My youngest brother needs a safe place to rest. I assure you, what you saw was the Berserker Spirit. Even if it was a prematurely awoken iteration. As for his lineage, well, that is something only he can tell you and I am certain he will be more than happy to oblige…if you would be so gracious as to let us aboard one of your ships for an hour.” Kenpachi replied diplomatically and Kagiso laughed hysterically.

“I have always been fond of the Eastern Dragons. Yes, we are forever bound to the family we have chosen.” The two-horned man rumbled, and the imposing one-horned man let out a booming laugh. Marauder’s ship appeared above their heads and the three Candidates flew up to meet it, with an unconscious Clyde.

*

The Candidates separated into two groups. One headed northeast with Raymond and Duke, while the rest marched northwest with Laurence and Gloria. Jane and her legion were in the centre of the two groups. Hugo was on the far eastern side of the island and Jabu was still battling through the mountain range.

“How is Jabu going to catch up, while leading a legion of mortals?” Mei asked with a hint of concern. 

“That is something he will have to figure out himself. The only thing that should be on your mind is getting to that mountain alive. We are only a few hours away now.” Laurence replied, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

The Candidates’ eyes shone like bright floodlights, and they illuminated the shadowy bushes. Monsters burst out of the darkness, and they reacted quickly. 

The masked men and women wielded their weapons expertly. They cut the Yokai down, burned the corpses and sprinted after their comrades.

The pirates appeared randomly and fired a quick barrage of cannon balls. They cleared two paths to the mountain and the sickly foliage grew back rapidly. 

Gigantic carnivorous plants, barricades of thorned bushes and rows of poisonous trees barred the way to the north.

The Demons overran the southern half of the island. Their overzealous charge flattened the blackened landscape and left crushed flora and corpses behind. 

Raymond counted the seconds as they drew nearer to the island wide barricade.

The Candidates coughed and wheezed. The inexperienced masked men and women had abused their Mana and their bodies. The stress from fighting at their maximum energy output for hours had worn its toll on their cells.

The Candidates felt unbearable surges of pain coursing through their bodies. Many had short-circuited their nervous systems, overheated the sophisticated buildings and exhausted their Mana wells. 

The desperate Candidates sent their Astral bodies through the doors, and they nearly gave up at the sight of the dry ocean beds.

Suddenly, a large energy signature ballooned in the sky and Kagiso’s Mana flowed freely from every cell. The inter-dimensional waters sparkled, before it coated his body in a nano-thin membrane.

The two-horned man’s eyes glowed blue. He leaned forward and a marble of Mana clumped up in front of his mask. Kagiso exhaled and an explosion of glittery blue flames erupted from the translucent orb. 

The Candidates were shocked by the flame. They turned to face Raymond and Duke. The two brothers were just as surprised as they were.

The two-horned man spewed a gigantic ball of brilliant blue flames at the wall of Demonic plants. The ball of Dragon fire singed the eerie flora long before it even reached it. 

The star-like sphere drew nearer and everything around its target burned.

Kagiso’s fireball detonate on impact and a tsunami of fire rolled towards the mountain. The flames fanned out and incinerated a large swath of the jungle.

“Do not hold back! Search deep within yourselves! Surpass your limits! Or die! Strengthen your minds, bodies and souls! Devastate these lands!” the two-horned man rumbled maliciously, and the Candidates inhaled deeply. They grimaced and ignored the pain and the stench.

The masked men and women filled their lungs with as much toxic fumes as they could heave in. 

The Candidates threw caution to the wind. They inhaled deeply repeatedly until the medical centres in their organs had learned how to neutralize the toxins. 

The masked men and women remembered what they were and what they strived to be.

Glittery puddles formed in the dry ocean bed and a few droplets landed on the Candidates’ heads. They looked up and took in the strange sights. 

Colours swirled like oil spills, before they formed kaleidoscopic patterns and hardened. The mosaic paintings depicted their development and their respective journeys through the Ascension Trials.

The masked men and women smiled proudly at their auras. They watched as the paintings faded away and colossal cities rose from the ground beneath their feet. 

The Candidates rushed through the Astral doors and returned to their mind palaces. They watched as the same city rose from the ground on the other side of the door as well.

Barriers formed around the cities, and the masked men and women’s Mana wells were protected from any malicious influences. 

The Demons stopped in their tracks. The Candidates inhaled deeply a few more times and glittery clouds formed in the skies. It rained heavily and the glittery vapour leaked through the Astral doors.

The masked men and women refilled their Mana wells, and the inter-dimensional energy soothed their aches and pains. The glittery waters transported their Astral bodies to the sophisticated buildings where they repaired the damages rapidly.

The Candidates waved the error reports away. They stared at the orange and red silhouettes in the bottom left corner of their fields of view and it turned grass green. 

The blue rings around the damage indicators turned a darker shade of blue and the three white rings around their shields filled up slowly.

The masked men and women waited until their stamina bars had filled up completely, before they charged at the field of flames. They tightened their grip on their Dragon bone weapons and projected their auras.

The Yokai closed their eyes and the dozens of bright lights lit up the darkness. 

The Candidates’ energy signatures hummed, and the glow emitted rainbows of kaleidoscopic colours. The gigantic paintings came to life. 

Colossal serpents covered in fur, scales, feathers, armour and the elements themselves spread their enormous wings and the deafening hum stunned the monstrous bodies.