Within a room covered in colorful drapes, a coalition of forces were gathered. It was a normal gathering, an exchange of information that happened regularly. Some of the participating forces had long outgrown the need for such a gathering but they respected and feared the ties that were created with every interaction.

  Every person and group present had a relation to fate. They wished to manipulate it for their own gains, and for the detriment of others. Shamans, witches, fortunetellers, cultivators and karma practitioners. All sorts of people gathered.

  The witches who weave destiny, the Weavers. The seers who were born with the gift of sight, the Circle. And finally, the Buddhists. These three were already strong enough to ignore such gatherings, but they were also well aware of the power of connections and relations. These tedious meetings might allow them to gain something greater in exchange, even if not directly.

  And on this specific occasion, they did in fact gain something greater in exchange for simply being present at this gathering.

  In the middle of the room was a giant formless cloud in the form of a galaxy. Normally, everyone present would take the opportunity to peek into the tower trials, especially one as important as this one who had three major representatives in the running: Kralva, Neris and Mercer. Each of them came from a powerful faction, so powerful that they could each shake the balance that had been peacefully maintained.

  Yet, just like the Old Blade, they were incapable of peering into the tower. But unlike the Old Blade, they were able to interpret the movements of fate and the heavens with far more accuracy.

  “The loose strand of one of the containers seeks connection,” said one voice.

  “We must destroy it. It has no connections to fate, it cannot be guided, look at how the strand struggles” said another voice, with many more following in agreement.

  The strand they spoke about was more of an abstract concept that in reality, each of them saw differently, yet they all knew they were speaking of the exact same thing.

  As words of doubt and unease began to spread amongst those gathered, one proposed an idea, a simple one.

  “Let us test it,” a witch said. “Let us see its power and growth. If it fails, than the problem is solved, if it succeeds than we have an even greater understanding of the container.”

  The witch’s words were met with quiet disapproval from the big factions, but even they were curious as to what would happen if they did as she suggested. Soon, approval was received by almost everyone.

  Above the galaxy map, strands of power began to coalesce. It was clear and formless, almost invisible until the light hit it. They were taking their time, stripping everything that wasn’t pure power from that which gathered.

  Soon, floating above the galaxy map, a single mass of pure power. It lacked any sort of intent, desire or even fate that would link it to its creators. If someone were to be struck with such an attack, they wouldn’t know how, why, and at times, even when it hit them.

  When they were finished the power sank into the map. It appeared exactly where it needed to, at the exact speed that it needed to. As they watched how it travelled steadily toward its target, they all noticed a strand of fate shifting, a powerful one. Before they could even question what it was, their coalesced power was severed from reality, disappearing as if it never was to begin with.

  “Interesting development,” said a cultivator.

  “The Old Blade protects it. We must be vigilant if we wish to rid the multiverse of it,” said a karmic practitioner, stating what they had all noticed.

  As the others debated what to do with the new knowledge they had gained, the representatives of the Weavers, the Circle and the Buddhists, had gazes that conveyed a different meaning. They could already see ways of forming a thread, binding the container or at least guiding it to do what they wanted.

  Almost simultaneously, they all nodded, having formed the basis of an idea on how to proceed. But it wasn’t an agreement, it was an acknowledgement of intentions. They were now rivals for the prize that was the container.

  ----------

  As soon as the portal’s countdown was finished, it began to light up. It was similar to how the incursion portals did their activation process, the magical symbols began to shine and expanded until they covered the entire circular archway and the significantly smaller platform, except it was significantly faster. The structure was metallic and looked more like an electronic device than it did a magical one.

  “See you on the other side,” Alex said with a mock salute, seriousness plastered all over his face.

  “Just get in there,” Anna said, pushing him in with her foot, failing to nudge him. “I’ve seen them function before. They’re not that dangerous.” Exerting more force on her leg, she managed to push the seemingly immovable Alex into the portal. “There we go,” she said with a satisfied expression. Her face quickly morphed into a worried one when she realized that unlike the portal she had seen, this one obscured the other side completely. “Oops…?”

  “He’s fine,” Stella said, looking at a window only she could see. “He still appears on the citizens list.”

  Throughout the year some citizens had died. The curious thing about that was that their status as citizens didn’t really change, they were still listed. It gave Stella ideas as to what that might mean, but there was one change.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Their role simply showed as “unavailable,” as if death was something that could be changed or even ignored. Though considering that people had literally risen from the dead, that wasn’t a far-off notion.

  “Ok!” Stella said with a powerful mana imbued clap. “In a short while we will begin entering the portal behind me!” she said calmly, though her voice was amplified by mana and sounded loud enough for everyone to hear. “You have until you reach the portal to change your minds! Any questions?!” She paused, waiting for anyone to ask something or leave before they began with those in front. “Then let’s begin!”

  ----------

  Alex appeared on the other side of the portal stumbling to even find his footing. In terms of pure stats, he outclassed Anna by a factor in physical stats, but there was something about everything she did that made all her moves and attacks just as powerful, regardless of whether she wielded a sword or not.

  Massaging the location where he had a boot print, Alex turned to glance at his surroundings. “Ahh. Where am I?” he asked, his expression puzzled.

  He appeared inside of a large room, made entirely out of wood. “Looks like an old eastern building,” he muttered, examining the room thoroughly. He took his role of ensuring the safety of all those that followed pretty seriously. “Everything seems to be alright.”

  A knock was heard from the sliding doors.

  Turning to face the doors immediately, Alex heightened his senses and stone began to appear on parts of his body.

  “Excuse me,” a female attendant said, bowing as she entered. “Do you wish to wait for your companions, or would you like to accompany me?”

  Alex examined the female attendant, only to realize that she wasn’t a she at all, nor a he for that matter. Their facial features were both too fine and rough. But that wasn’t enough for him to arrive at the conclusion that he did, it was something else. He felt a natural distance from the attendant in front of him, like he wasn’t looking at another living being at all. Using Inspect, a skill that he had purchased from the skill hub, he realized the reality of what he was seeing.

  Nameless

  Kazehwa Homunculus: Entity created for the unique purpose of tending to tournament participants. Their ability to form a soul, memories, connections and grow has been permanently severed. They, like all created entities, lack a connection to the heavens. So, even if they wished to grow beyond their limits, they would find themselves struggling to do so.

  Alex winced with discomfort as he read the information that Inspect provided. It made a core aspect of him repulsed at the very idea of something so humanlike to exist and not really be allowed to be free.

  Born in a cage, he thought. Is this really Anna’s family? To be capable of something like this—and it seems like their potential was severed afterwords. A deep breath escaped him.

  Trying to compose himself, Alex answered the attendant. “Can I get a tour? Or is that too much to ask?” he asked politely, a kind but sorrowful smile appearing on his face.

  “There is no problem with your request,” the attendant answered, their face expressionless. “Follow me.” The attendant bowed and extended their arm, signaling for Alex to exit the room. “We will return to this room momentarily.”

  Once outside the room, Alex followed behind the attendant. They first passed through some hallways, passing other rooms that resembled the one that he had just exited. He began to count them, quickly realizing something. Either there are more safe places on Earth than we thought, he began, or this was not designed just for Earth.

  Through the use of simple mathematical formulas, Alex and some people from labs had come to the conclusion that Earth, if it could still be called that, was at least ten times bigger than it was before. They never gave a concrete answer or accepted any of those that were proposed merely because of the existence of mana. They still didn’t know how mana affected physical space or their perception of it.

  But that wasn’t the only reason that they refused to give a concrete answer. The real and most important reason was that one of the points of reference they had used during their initial testing, a hill beyond the lake, one day simply appeared a bit further than before. It was only a few centimeters, but it was still movement.

  So, until they could determine whether the planet was still “growing,” or if it was simply some kind of tectonic shift, they refrained from exact numbers and stuck to the facts: At the time of measurement, the planet was at least ten times greater than before.

  Alex dispelled his thoughts, either way, he would get his answer soon enough. Eventually he saw a door that led outside and saw an attendant leading another person outside. From where he stood, he could clearly make out that they were human, and they were just as marveled as Alex felt.

  Making their way outside, Alex saw where he was, a traditional wuxia setting. Buildings reminiscent of wuxia pagodas formed a visible square, but it was incredibly large. A total of four pagodas marked what he assumed was the border of the tournament area. All at least twenty stories high. Towards the center, smaller and smaller buildings could be seen, until eventually, there were no more buildings.

  “Good thing the portal was on the ground floor,” Alex muttered under his breath.

  “All portals are on the ground floor,” the attendant answered, their tone conveying zero emotion. “Would you like to continue, or do you perhaps have something else in mind?”

  “Those buildings,” Alex pointed at the various buildings between him and what he assumed was the arena where they would fight. “What are they?”

  Turning to the buildings that Alex pointed out, specifically the ones he had pointed at, the attendant answered. “An assortment of various restaurants, shops and services that might be useful for the participants. They might not be as extensive or as powerful as those present in the Frontier, but they are better than what should be currently available on a newly integrated planet.”

  Alex nodded at the lengthy explanation, satisfied with its contents. “Do you also pay with credits?” he asked, sure that that couldn’t be the case.

  Normally, in fiction, places like these had their own currency, a way to achieve a sort of balance with the wider outside world.

  “No, credits are not accepted as payment here,” the attendant answered, confirming Alex’s thoughts. “While what is available here isn’t as powerful as it could be, it is still powerful enough to shift the balance of power that currently exists on this planet. So, to ensure fairness, purchases are limited, and you are restricted to what you can purchase.”

  “Limited by what?”

  “Limited by your placement,” the attendant began explaining. “If you do not achieve a single victory, you will not be allowed to purchase any physical goods. Being limited to food or services.”

  “Ok,” Alex said with a nod. “I can sort of see how everything comes together. The grand prize, the portal, is the only real concrete prize, right? Everything else is determined by the contestants.”

  “Indeed.”

  “And that is the arena in the center, right? I didn’t just come to the wrong the conclusion, did I?” Alex asked, pointing toward the center of everything.

  “Yes, you are correct. That is the arena,” the attendant said, confirming Alex’s thoughts. “Anything more, or can we continue with the tour?”

  “No, let’s head back to the room I came from,” Alex answered, turning to the sky. “Not everyone will be as calm as me.” Narrowing his eyes, he confirmed one last thing before he entered the building once again.

  Those are the moons. We’re still on Earth, he thought to himself. With a swift motion he brought the device that Marcus had given him out of his storage ring and caught up to the attendant who had already advanced a bit.

  Tournament of the Strong: 9:42:04