The Final Challenge

Three hours before the final challenge

December 11th, 2050

Shinjuku Skyline

Lucia lounged at the back of the dimly lit restaurant wearing a large trenchcoat, orange-tinted glasses, and a white beanie to hide her blonde hair. It was a poor excuse for a disguise, but she had to put something on lest Reiji and Souichiro took notice of her.

The waiter arrived with her order—steak on a piping hot plate slathered with mushroom sauce and java rice on the side. The steam it produced had a wonderful beefy aroma that quickly dispelled her displeasure, but not soon after her phone vibrated.

“Thomas,” she said. “Speak.”

“Um. Are you alright?”

“No. I was nearly shot at last night and barely had a wink of sleep. What do you want?”

“Well… damn. I didn’t—”

“Say what you want, Thomas.” Lucia was hoping Thomas couldn’t hear her stomach grumble.

“Right. Um, remember the file with the tough-to-crack password? The one with the puzzle.”

“Alter?”

“That’s the one. Alex finally cracked it. He’s too sleep deprived to comb it over properly, but there’s quite a bit information there.”

“Good to know. And?”

“You mentioned something about Daiki-sensei giving you questions for the second challenge, right? I only skimmed the data so far, but there’s a lot of stuff there about possible outcomes involving the ascension.”

“What outcomes?”

“Like how the world could’ve easily ended because of the chromatic clouds. We all take for granted where its sitting outside the earth’s orbit around the sun, but if it was just a bit off, we could all be swimming in it right now.”

“Why do you think I hate flying? Most people focus on the beauty of the ascension, but we’re walking on thin ice as far as the sky is concerned.”

“Right. Well, there’s this part that argues how the chromatic clouds shouldn’t even be considered as part of the ascension.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s saying the ascension circles and the bronze sky are completely separate phenomena. Or rather… one is a reaction to the other.”

“Interesting…”

“Anyway, that’s all I got. This is a lot of data to pour through, so I’ll keep looking. Just thought I’d let you know in case that helps you answer the challenge’s questions.”

I don’t think it will, but—

Reiji suddenly stood from where he sat across the restaurant. For a second Lucia thought the man was about to leave, but it looked like he simply reacted to something. Was he on his phone?

“Thanks, Thomas,” Lucia said. “I’m actually in the middle of lunch, so I gotta go.”

“Isn’t it already way past—”

“Thanks, Thomas. Tell Alex I appreciate him cracking the code. Keep me posted.”

“Oh, uh, okay. Bye—”

She ended the call.

Who the heck was Reiji talking to? It looked rather serious.

She better eat quick. The others might leave before she knew it.

Night of the final challenge

December 11th, 2050

Heaven’s Reach Shrine

Rei was afraid the others could hear the drums banging against his ribcage.

It was like a four-way Mexican standoff. The final participants to the challenge stood facing each other in the middle of the shrine, eyeing each other with bated breath.

The shrine was spacious enough for them to start brawling if they felt like it, but they could easily damage the black box or the tree or even the torii gate if they did. Jirou and Keisuke moved slightly out of the way, but they could also be caught in the crossfire.

“So how are we doing this?” Lucia asked, breaking the silence between them. “Can’t we just talk it out? I don’t think any of us specialize in combat.”

“Nice try, blondie,” Souichiro said. “Say whatever you want, but I know for a fact you can fight. And I’m not falling for pretty boy’s waterworks over there. He might start swinging if I put my guard down.”

All of a sudden, Souichiro summoned light around his fists. “Reiji, buddy, hear me out for a sec. Remember that offer to buy the research from me if I win? What say you we clear these two losers first, then we talk business after?”

“Not fair!” Hidenori yelled. “No team ups!”

“Who asked you?” Souichiro snorted.

“We don’t even have to fight!” Lucia argued. “Even if we can beat the one another in combat, the point of the challenge is to show off our abilities and best everyone else! I think we’re being judged here!”

Lucia had a point. Which was exactly what Rei was worried about. If the competition was compromised like he surmised, then this challenge might have another goal in mind, just like the tasks. The question he simply couldn’t figure out was why. Until he was sure, then maybe—

Souichiro was like a blur. He made a dash for Lucia with a lightning-fast jab.

Lucia summoned ice and made a round shield to block the man’s attack. Her aether felt incredibly dense, Rei’s jaw slackened at the sight of it. The clash of the two caused a shockwave, but the woman’s shield didn’t even crack a little.

Souichiro cackled a laugh. “Can’t fight, huh?”

“This is for defense, you dumbass!” Lucia shouted back. “I can at least defend myself!”

Defense was an understatement. How the heck could she pack so much aether in one spot and hold its shape perfectly? If this really was a competition on who had the best party trick, that might take the cake.

“We can still talk this out…” Hidenori stammered. “I haven’t even honed my abilities as an exalt…”

“Pull off one more lie, why don’t you?” Souichiro spat. “And if it hasn’t dawned on any of you yet, this is exactly why the final participants had to be exalted. We were meant to duke it out right here!”

Lucia swung her shield toward Souichiro, which the man easily dodged, but behind him sprouted another creation made of ice—another shield that boxed Souichiro in. Lucia pushed the shield she’s holding and pinned the man on both sides. “If you’re not going to listen, then I’ll have to make sure you—”

Souichiro’s entire body flashed, covered in light. He pushed the blocks of ice with pure strength, then disappeared as soon as he managed to wiggle himself out. He—

Aether rumbled.

Hidenori suddenly lunged at Rei with a kick. He sensed the man’s aether, so he managed to dodge at the last second, but Hidenori was really good at keeping his aether at bay. The man seriously went from zero to a hundred with the flick of his fingers.

“I’m sorry, Reiji,” Hidenori said, “but this is how it’s going to be.”

A loud shockwave echoed to the right. Souichiro and Lucia clashed a second time. But he couldn’t be bothered by it.

Hidenori lunged at him again, this time with a clean axe kick. It was obvious then that the man knew martial arts.

Rei blocked the kick with an aether shielded arm, but the man was quick to spin around and follow it with a jab coming straight for his face.

*

Souichiro felt the aether course through his entire being. This final challenge might actually be fun for a change. He put all his power into his legs and dashed around Lucia.

The woman summoned a block of ice to bar his path, but he quickly swiveled around it to—

Another block of ice.

Souichiro hopped over it, then launched himself straight at the caster. He channeled power in his right fist and swung at—

Another block of ice.

Shockwave exploded on impact. He dashed away and saw all the ice creations floating in the air between him and his opponent.

Souichiro couldn’t lie to himself. This back and forth between them was starting to get hot. Was the American lady always this pretty?

*

Lucia’s irritation was at an all time high. First this punk had to drag Reiji, and therefore her, all across Tokyo Sky playing video games, drinking and eating drinking and eating and playing more video games, and now he refused to listen to reason!

She summoned ice all across the shrine, one after another, almost making and unmaking a labyrinth in order to catch the damn speedster with his fancy lightshow. Souichiro might think this was a battle of attrition between them, but Lucia’s supply was second to none back in Nevada Sky.

Ironically enough for the competition, it was Daiki-sensei who first saw her talent and gave her the advice of a lifetime.

Unlike most exalts whose aether dispersed in the air after use, Lucia could reabsorb some of it back to her own pool. It was a trick some healers used when using aether to treat others, but in her case, she was using it to heal and regulate the aether in her own body.

She should really thank Souichiro for allowing her to show her abilities off. But the question was… to whom exactly was she showing it off to? Who was watching? The computer? It couldn’t simply be the lawyer, could it? Maybe someone from the security team was actually a scientist in disguise?

Lucia built a tower of ice as she tried to catch Souichiro who kept dodging upwards. It was a brilliant creation like a crystalline castle, carved with intricate details Lucia had practiced making for most of her exalted life.

But why would Souichiro—

The man vanished.

She blinked. Her own creations blocked her view of the shrine.

A sudden gust of wind blew behind her, followed by a powerful, aether-laced kick from her opponent. She barely had any shield around her body so she was sent flying in the air.

*

Jab. Straight. Jab. Right hook.

Rei could withstand the attacks easily at first. It was the pure hand-to-hand combat he was familiar with back in his early days in Earthwall. It was almost nostalgic.

But every blow from Hidenori only grew stronger with each hit. The man gradually increased his aether as if unsure about it at first, until he found a good rhythm and let loose. Every punch Rei blocked sounded like shotguns firing. His aether shield wouldn’t for long.

Rei was wary of every participant to a certain degree, and he never trusted Hidenori. But he was at least certain that the well-dressed man with the pleasant smile was human until an hour ago.

And then of course, there was the fact that Hidenori escaped with Ruby to Asakusa, but disappeared at some point during the attack. Kiyotaka mentioned something about the Anti-Exalt Faction using aether-based weapons and armor, but…

Rei dodged another kick, then countered with a straight punch of his own. The blow connected to Hidenori’s right jaw, causing the man to stagger backwards.

Can he use aether or not? Rei wondered. He could’ve easily shielded his face there.

Hidenori backed away a bit, massaging his jaw. “You’re stronger than you look, Reiji!”

“You’re a lot more surprising yourself,” Rei replied.

Hidenori’s smiling face twitched slightly, as if his mask fell for a quick second. “Maybe it’s time we get serious, don’t you think?”

I’ve been serious the entire time, thank you very much.

Just then, at the corner of his eye, Rei saw Lucia crash into the ground, then tumbled around like rag doll towards them. Rei and Hidenori jumped away from each other. The blocks of ice littering the shrine crumbled one by one, its aether syphoned back to the woman. Fascinating.

When Lucia came to a stop between them, body covered with hastily put aether, she pivoted around, got up on both feet, then summoned a giant ice shield just in time to catch Souichiro lunging at her fist first like a spear of light. This time the shield cracked as bits of ice exploded on impact. The rules said no killing was allowed, but Souichiro really went for a deathblow there.

Rei clicked his tongue. He could see where this was going.

Souichiro’s aether shifted as he retracted his fist, forming a long, curved blade in its stead. The man planned to swing around Lucia’s shield and hit her from the side. He had to intervene.

Rei dashed towards the two and sliced off Souichiro’s blade with his own, causing the aether to disperse right before it could hit Lucia. The look of shock and betrayal on Souichiro’s face was almost comical.

“What. The. Hell, man!” Souichiro screamed. “Et tu, Rei? We had a truce!”

“Since when?” Rei asked. “I never agreed to anything!” He looked at Lucia as she fell on one knee. “I owe her my life.”

Souichiro’s aether bubbled angrily. “You’re going to regret this, Rei Tsukihara!” The man shifted his stance towards him. Great. Just great. Rei knew he couldn’t match Souichiro when it came to speed. This was the worst possible outcome for him.

His best bet now was to team up with Lucia somehow, but the woman was still midway through recovering herself.

Think, think, think!

Rei’s mind was suddenly a rush of different scenarios on how to handle the speedster. But he couldn’t come up with anything. At least not something at the drop of a hat. Maybe if he focused, he could slice the man’s aether supply like he usually did, but—

But that’s when Hidenori appeared out of nowhere, standing behind Souichiro with aether gathering in his hands. Before any of them knew what was going on, an explosive force shot Souichiro in the back.

What the hell was that?

Souichiro looked shocked as he turned around to see his attacker. He then disappeared in a blur, reappearing again five meters away. He crouched on the ground, holding his left side in pain, the light around his body slowly dissipating.

Hidenori shifted his attention on him. Rei anticipated it this time. Aether gathered in the man’s right hand, half hidden in his coat. He held something there. It was—

A blast of aether grazed the side of Rei’s face as he dodged the attack. Was that lightning? Fire? Both? Maybe more.

Ah, crap.

He knew it. He had no direct evidence, so he shelved the idea in his head, but Hidenori was the closest suspect he had to the murder of Daiki’s apprentices.

Ayane Kujo couldn’t have done it. It was easy to fixate on her invisibility, Rei even did so for a different reason, but the guest area of the Tennojima mansion didn’t have any security cameras to begin with. Only the hallways and entryway did. Meaning any of the guests or even Ruby’s personnel could’ve done it. At least somebody who was as tall as Rei. The angle Ringo and Akihiko were shot suggested as much.

Ayane was shorter than she seemed. Rei took note of that when they fought face-to-face. Had she done it, Ringo would’ve been shot straight ahead at her shoulder, while Akihiko’s would’ve been done at an upward angle. Ayane destroyed Carlos’ truck as the man sped out of the palisades, but perhaps all she wanted was his medallion.

That left Lucia and Hidenori as the only ones in the guest area. Only one was exalted. The answer should’ve been obvious. Yet Lucia saved his life. And as Chief Ninomiya often told Rei, obvious was nothing more than a summation of knowledge, and arrogance was the downfall of anybody who claim to have the full scope of it. “We don’t know what we don’t know. That’s why we keep looking.”

Now Rei had found it. His evidence. Hidenori was either exalted or had an aether-based weapon. If it was the latter, then he might also be responsible for what happened in Asakusa.

Rei readied his blade, but Hidenori had shifted his target yet again. The man had his eyes on Lucia.

Shields. Summon shields. Hurry.

Dammit.

Dammit!

“Okay, enough!” Rei shouted, just as Hidenori went for Lucia’s throat. He stopped in surprise. The man probably didn’t care for the rules, but there were people that did. Rei waved his arms around. “I give, I give!”

“Giving up?” Hidenori asked with a slight chuckle. “Like that?”

“No,” Rei replied, “like this.” He turned his attention towards Jirou and Keisuke, waving his arms wider. “I’m ready now! I can answer the fourth question!”

The old men jumped in surprise. But so did the other participants. Heck, not even Chief Ninomiya knew of this little quirk of his.

Rei channeled aether in his eyes and looked towards the sky. The bronze clouds seemingly disappeared and in its stead was the majestic, round moon shining down from heaven. It glowed a pale, golden light.

“The color of the moon!” he proclaimed. “Yesterday it was a bit yellow… but tonight it’s almost like gold!”