The first rays of sun filtered through the curtain of the window, illuminating the closed eyes of Jhun. He repressed the instinct to open them, turning his face away from the light and deciding that he could sleep another thirty minutes that day. What days was it? 

The realization slowly sunk in his head: his eyes opened with a single movement, full of energy, the flame of determination burning behind his pupils. Jhun rapidly reached the thin sheet covering his legs, jumping out of bed with strength and stretching his body. He trained himself for years just for that day: how could he think of sleeping more? 

The cold feeling on his feet sent shivers along the legs, shaking the last remnants of slumber from his body and mind. He looked around: 'This is going to be the last night in this house of stone' he thought. But what if he wasn't suited for the task? No, he shouldn't think about that: he couldn't let the negativity invades his mind. He was ready. He would have defenetely won the prelimenaries and he would have used the money to buy a new, big house for his family.

"Jhun, are you awake? I'm going to beat you if you don't leave that bed!"

He turned his head towards the door of the room: the voice of his sister was calling him. That's right, even his sister was going to compete: they would have the double amount of chances to win. The access to the Pantheon would have been theirs. 

Jhun looked around in the chaos of the room, in search of his clothes and equipment; he found the green shirt on the chair, with the long and white trousers just under it. The equipment included two vambraces made of thick leather, a chest piece big enough to cover the heart and part of the thorax and a pair of greaves for the legs. His only weapon was an apparently insignificant black cylinder, not longer than one arm, but if one would be taking it into his hand, he would have felt his heaviness and toughness. It was certainly a curious weapon but Jhun was resoluted not to use it unless necessary: he trained hard not to depend from any sort of weapon but his body. 'Besides, using it would be like cheating, wouldn't it?'

With everything in place, he reached the door, opening it only to find his sister right in front of him. Ehrin was taller and slimmer than him — more beautiful too, with her long bronze hair and green eyes — and while he fought with strenght and quickness, she relied on her agility. They used to different kind of combact arts but there was no doubt: both of them were strong. Probably the strongest in Solus, their native village. She gave a good look to him, analyzing his clothes, concentrating on the small staff dangling from his side. A little smile appeared on her face: "You definetely want to win" said with a smirk. "Why, you don't?" replied the boy. They've always lived like that, teasing each other, pushing theirself to the respective limits and overstepping them. And now, they would both be competing for the right to ascend. Jhun didn't know what would happen to their link if only one of them would have won, but he set aside that thought, focusing on what he had waited for his entire life. 

After eating a small breakfast, with a little cup of energizing infusion and some sweet and succulent berries, they both approached the front door, their backpacks on the shoulders. Blocking their way, there was a man: tall, massive and muscular, Jonah was the blacksmith of Solus, as well as their uncle. After the death of their parents, he took them in his house, caring for them as if they were their own children. Even though he was the only smith of the village, the work wasn't very lucrative, since they were a small community of farmers. The food never lacked on the table, but both Jhun and Ehrin felt the moral need to repay him — as well as the village —. "You two!" started Jonah with imperative voice: they weren't expecting that tone after all the discussions they had. "Don't you even try-" he waited a second, his face relaxing and a small, reassuring smile appearing, "not to come back in one piece. I don't care if you don't win, as long as your safe. Am i clear?" Both of them nodded with determination, just to close in a warm hug the big and emotional man. 

The small town was still sleeping, the morning breeze passing through its corridors and street. Settled in a valley between two hills, Solus was, as the name implied, a solitary community: not many travellers used to pass through it and even less were the ones that did it on purpose. Life was always calm and peaceful, even boring at some point. But both Jhun and Ehrin were really fond of the place that welcomed them: that's why — thought Jhun — he felt some kind of melancoly in leaving the place. 

They took the eastern road, the sun starting to leave the horizon and rising in the sky. Soon, the temperature would rise and the crisp air of the morning would be substitued by a warm embrace. There wasn't really anything characteristic or exciting about that shire, not a big, vibrant city, nor any place of interest. There was only one place noteworthy: the Forest of Silence, a cluster of tall and massive evergreen trees. It was said that inside it every sound, every noise disappeared, as it was embedded by something. Of course, that particular characteristic caused the rise of different myths, such as the existence of monsters, ghosts and witches. Nobody believed those, but nobody would ever enter the forest too. 

They travelled for an entire day, stopping only for resting their feet, drinking at some well or eating the small rations prepared by Jonah. They wanted to reach the Pantheon in the fastest way possible; by the end of the day, with the sun already set behind their back, the luminous aura spreading through the limits of the forthcoming hill was welcomed as the most precious gift. Jhun and Ehrin turned their look at each other, a big smile on both faces as they started to run towards and up the grassy slope, competing to reach first at the top. The view that unfolded in front of their pupils was mesmerizing and breath-taking: surrounded by a multitude of houses, palaces and buildings, the Pantheon rose from the ground, its massive roots spreading through the city of Olympia. They arrived, at last.