The War God tournament was set inside the black castle, the most prestigious location inside the city. It wasn't a castle though, but rather a massive black tower that reached high into the sky. It was surrounded by several floating cubes the size of massive buildings as well.

The cubes numbered in the hundreds, floating on a fixed orbit around the tower. Each one had its specific use. On the ground below were even more buildings. Heavy military bases were built there, houses made of black marble and gold, extremely sturdy. The only people that stayed there were the trained warriors that defended the black castle.

It was basically impossible to enter the castle area without being spotted. Every action was watched by the council that sat at the very top of the tower.

There was only one entrance that allowed people to enter the castle, and everyone that was participating had to follow that entrance.

Aren arrived there as well, joining the massive crowd that were entering. When it got to his turn to enter through the gates, one of the guards, a man in full body armour and helmet so that their face was not seen, spotted Aren.

Immediately, he grabbed Aren by the shoulder. "Step aside, this line isn't for you."

Aren was confused, but decided to listen and stepped out. He walked to the side of the guard.

"You are a Chosen. We can't allow you to follow the normal entrance," he stated, and then another guard walked to his side.

"You'll come with me," the second guard stated.

Aren was surprised that they spotted him and pulled him out of there. How did they even recognize his face, and did this mean they knew every single person that was a Chosen?

The second guard led the way and Aren followed behind. They used a path through the castle and arrived at a large building. The guard pushed the door and walked in.

Inside was a very empty space with only two guards standing at opposite sides of the room, as if they were defending something very special.

There was a trap door at the center of the room. The guard walked up, then took off his glove. Using his own finger, he tore it, and a drop of blood fell on the trap door. A magical formation lit up around it, glowing bright blue.

After that, the guards grabbed the door and opened it. Then finally, he descended into the trap door while Aren followed behind. The ladder led to an underground tunnel made of black marble and lit up by crystals.

"This path will take us to the tower and then to your right place to be," the guard said, then started walking. Aren followed behind him. He looked around the tunnel. It gave off a soft scent of dirt and musk. There was no wind at all. The air was heavy.

They walked for a few minutes and finally came to a large metal door. The man pulled out a key and inserted it into the door. He unlocked it and continued their walk inside.

Aren realized that they were now inside the tower, but the room had a magical formation engraved on the ground.

"Please be calm as we teleport," the guard said.

"Teleport?" Aren asked in shock. The formation on the ground lit up, and he, along with the guard, was instantly teleported away from that room.

[...]

Inside a massive hall, hundreds, if not thousands, of young Awakened stood waiting. Even then, more people were still trooping in. Every single person present had registered for the tournament, and once registration was complete, they were sent here to receive further details.

Kira paced back and forth restlessly.

Aiden and Raze leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Athena sat on the floor with Zero in a corner of the hall.

"Calm down," Aiden said. "I'm sure Aren is fine."

"How can you be sure?" Kira snapped. "We left him there. What if something happened to him?"

"You worry too much," Zero said calmly. She leaned forward, running her fingers across the floor as if drawing invisible patterns. "Aren isn't easy to kill. You saw him fight that giant. If there was ever a moment he should've died, it was then, but he didn't. So stop worrying so much."

Kira opened her mouth to argue, to say it wasn't the same thing, but she stopped.

They weren't wrong.

Aren was absurdly strong, and he always seemed to find a way out of even the worst situations. Worrying like this wouldn't change anything. There was nothing she could do right now.

Exhausted, she squatted down and buried her face in her hands.

"I just wish I could help somehow."

"You are helping," Raze said. "By not interfering with whatever he has to do."

Kira took a deep breath and stood back up. The worry was still there, heavy in her chest, but she refused to let it consume her.

She looked around the hall, at the sheer number of people gathered.

"I wonder how the tournament's going to be," she said.

"Yeah," Aiden agreed. "There are a lot of people here, and even more still coming. How do they plan to run this?"

"However they do it," Raze said with a grin, "we just need to make sure we come out on top."

He was clearly excited. The tournament was the perfect place for him to sharpen his skills and push himself further.

Aiden glanced at Raze briefly, then looked away.

Ever since Aren had told him to keep an eye on Raze, he'd been doing exactly that. But so far, Raze hadn't done anything strange.

Still, Aiden couldn't shake the question.

Why would Aren tell him to watch Raze?

Raze felt Aren's gaze, but since it didn't linger for long, he didn't worry about it.

After a few more minutes, the hall was filled to the brim, and the doors were all shut for this hall.

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