Chương 49: Piora
"Amina, it has been two weeks. If Shango was still here, we would have found him already", a bandage-laden Nova protested. After the incident with the blood carven, they returned through alternate routes to search for Lin, who had disappeared after the incident. "As I said before we began looking for him, I am not forcing anyone to look for him with me. If you feel you can not continue, feel free to leave. I am not leaving until I find him", Amina said, walking deeper into the cave. She wore a sleeved shirt with shorts.
"Captain, we found something", Dzifa called out. She appeared from another cave and waved them over. "This way", she said. They followed her into the cave, and she pointed at a small puddle in the middle. "There." Everyone looked where she pointed, and discovered shreds of burnt clothing. The smell of burned flesh still hung in the air.
Amina drew closer and picked one up. "They are his. We must be close. Keep searching…"
"Amina! You smell it too, don't you? I think he is…"
"He is not!" Amina cut in. "Why isn't there any sign of battle here then? We keep looking", she added and walked off. Nova sighed and suggested, "Let us rest briefly, then continue. How about that?"
"You can go ahead. Catch up when you are done", she said, disappearing into another cave.
"What's with her?" Osayo questioned. "She met that guy for barely a day, and yet she is extinguishing party resources just to find him?" They were all just as bewildered as he was and stood staring into space.
"I am going with her", Dzifa said and ran after the captain. The rest exchanged glances and followed as well.
A young curvy woman walked through a market with a man by her. She was none other than Ruby, the lady Lin met when he went to purchase his battle gear for the first time in Gamel.
"Old Dan", she called out. Old Dan turned to look at her. "Do you really think he would come back? He's been gone for almost four months now."
"Hahaha", old Dan laughed and commented, "I assure you, trust this old man's words. He will come back besides; you might see him sooner as the ranking bout prelims will start in a week."
"You think he joined?"
"I have known that kid for a very long time. He never shies away from a challenge."
"I hope so." Unlike Old Dan, Ruby was not very optimistic about Lin returning. It had been months, and nothing had been heard of him. She thought, "That must be a way for old Dan to cope with the current situation."
A loud sound which seemed to have come from an animal horn washed over the entirety of Terasphere, followed by loud cheers from all across Terasphere. "Hahahahaa! There it is, the sound everyone has been desperately waiting for. It is beginning", Old Dan commented.
An enormous screen resembling an ancient scroll appeared and rose into the air above Terasphere. It was sealed and had many exquisite carvings on it. From all parts of Terasphere, everyone could see the scroll. No one knew how they could all see it at once. Beams of light shot out towards the scroll from all the palaces in the various territories. As the light fell on the scroll, the seal melted away, and the scroll began to open up.
The opening of the scroll caused the entire sky to darken as lightning flashed back and forth. Slowly, the scroll opened up and revealed a list of names that just went on and on.
In a large conference room, many people sat around large conference tables and stared at a screen in the middle of the tables. They were adorned with precious jewels and clothes. From a glance, one could tell they were people of high prestige. In the middle of the room was a scroll similar to the one hanging above Terasphere.
"We start with the Quints", a voice called from beyond the conference room door. Everyone turned to look towards the door. A man in a gold suit walked in and stood in the middle of the room. Everyone gathered stood to greet him. "There is no need for such pleasantries", he waved them to sit. "We are all family heads here anyway. I just have the honour of chairing today's meeting."
He was very handsome and had a slim build. He wore a pair of glasses with a similar scroll reflected in it. He was the Chairman of Piora, an association consisting of all the family heads of all territories in Terasphere. He scanned the room and frowned slightly, "Rakshasa is not here again. That man is quite troublesome. What do I even do with him?" He wondered.
"Tsk! There he goes again, gloating as usual." An unhappy family head commented from the back. "It seems losing your position as chairman has affected your brains. If you are unhappy with me being the chairman, you could always challenge me to a Blood Bout to claim the position for yourself. That is if you have the ability", the chairman said, releasing a bit of murderous aura. Everyone in the room's face changed immediately. They became tense. "Tsk!" the agitator hissed and said no more. "It seems he has lost his spine as well", some thought.
"Mr Chairman, please overlook his behaviour this time and let's get on with the meeting. After all, that is why we are all gathered here", another commented from a table in the back.
"Right", the chairman proceeded. "The rules for this year's Ranking Bout have been revised a bit". "Hmm?" The whole room descended into an uproar as everyone began murmuring, quickly discussing what the chairman had just said. "The battles shall no longer take place in enclosed arenas as they used to", the chairman resumed. That caused even more murmuring between those present as they tried to figure out what the chairman was implying.
"Ahem!" One man drew the attention of all present, and they quietened to listen to what he had to say, "Mr Chairman, if enclosed arenas aren't going to be used again, then where would these battles take place?" he asked. Many people agreed with his question and nodded, while others said, "Yeah!".
"I was about to get to that. Your question would have been answered if you had just been a little patient." He mentioned. Everyone became silent after that. He continued, "As I was saying, battles would no longer take place in enclosed arenas as it limits many from showing off their full potential. Be it their skill, strategy, ability to adapt or any others. It is especially deterrent on long-range damage dealers and assassins."
He continued, after a short pause, "That being said, the upcoming ranking bouts would take place in designated hunting territories with no restrictions whatsoever. That means beasts would still be roaming these territories."
"What? That's ridiculous. Are trying to sentence everyone to death?" an angered family head remarked. The entire room went into an uproar once again. Many were in disagreement with what the chairman had said. Putting people of different ranks into hunting territories where potentially powerful beasts exist while fighting their opponents is nothing short of mass murder.
"Akrakus' crucible has been destroyed", the chairman announced. The entire room became quiet at once. It was so quiet you could hear the heartbeat of anyone close to you.
"You all understand what that means don't you?"
"Akrakus' crucible, destroyed? No way"
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