Nine days had passed since William began his climb in the tower of Babylon. The Kraetor Empire had focused all of its attention in preparation for a Grand Tournament, where several prodigies from all over the Central Continent would come to participate.
Of course, Emperor Leonidas had also sent several invitations to the ruling factions in the Silvermoon Continent, the Demonic Continent, and the Gunnar Federation.
The Gunnar Federation was composed of many kingdoms in the Western Continent. Unlike the relationship between the Hellan Kingdom, Anaesha Dynasty, Zelan Dynasty, and Kingdom of Freesia, the members of the Gunnar Federation were all allied with each other.
They had done this to repel the invaders that had attempted to conquer their lands thousands of years ago, and their alliance had remained strong even through the passing of time.
There was no invitation sent to the Southern Continent because they had just suffered a calamity of unprecedented proportions.
“Just as we expected, the number of participants has exceeded our expectations,” Evexius said.
Emperor Leonidas nodded his head in agreement. “How about the venue? Will we make it in time?”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty. Our Archamages are giving their best to create hundreds of platforms, where the initial battles will be held. The Grand Arena is also undergoing a massive renovation to accommodate the guests coming from all over the world.”
Emperor Leonidas and several rulers of the Central Continent had a meeting earlier, to talk about the prizes that would be given away to the semi-finalists and the champion of the tournament.
Having so many sponsors for the event, the prizes were something that any member of the young generation would gladly get their hands on. According to their discussion, several people from the different empires would serve as referees to facilitate the hundreds of battles that would be happening at the same time.
All the major powers in the continent had unanimously agreed that the Demons were not allowed to become referees and would only send their candidates to participate in the tournament.
The Demon King remained indifferent during the entire meeting, and only listened to the discussion. The Major Powers in the Central Continent weren’t afraid of him because if he did anything funny, they would all launch a crusade and erase him from the face of the world.
Also, the Demons still hadn’t fully recovered from their invasion in the Silvermoon Continent. It would still take them a decade, or two, to regain the power that they once held. However, even if they did, they would not be stupid to challenge the might of the forces in the Central Continent.
“One of the Elven participants has arrived,” Evexius reported. “According to him, there are four of them in total. His colleagues will arrive three weeks from now. For the time being, we allowed him to stay in the special residences we have prepared. He is being given VIP treatment by our men.”
Emperor Leonidas nodded. “For now, tell the generals to increase the security in the capital. I don’t want any mouse to take advantage of this event to dig into the secrets of our Empire.”
“Understood.” Evexius bowed.
Although the preparations were getting hectic, he was sure that everything would be finished a few days before the tournament began. This was the grandest tournament since the founding of their empire, and they wanted to impress the guests that would soon be visiting their lands.
—–
Meanwhile in the world renowned Hestia Academy…
A lady wearing a white academic dress stood in front of the gates as if waiting for someone. Two fairy-like beings sat on her shoulder and kept her company during this vigil.
Five minutes later, a loud shriek was heard in the sky and a Dark Raven descended a few meters away from her.
A sweet smile appeared on the lady’s face as she walked towards it, in order to greet the person whom she had not seen for many years.
Celine dismounted the raven’s back and opened her arms wide.
The lady wearing the white academic dress jumped into Celine’s arms and hugged her tight.
“Silly girl. You’re already this old and you still don’t know how to control yourself,” Celine chastised her little sister, but her gaze was filled with love and affection.
“I missed you, Big Sister,” Celeste said as she continued to hug her twin.
Celine sighed and patted her sister’s head. It had indeed been a long time since they had seen each other, and she missed Celeste dearly as well.
After a few minutes, Celeste reluctantly took a step back before grabbing hold of Celine’s hand.
“Let’s go to my room,” Celeste proposed. “I’m sure you are tired of your journey. I’ll have the staff prepare us something good to eat, while we do some catching up.”
Celine nodded with a smile. She was indeed tired from the journey. But, after seeing that her little sister seemed to be doing well and was very healthy, her exhaustion decreased by a good margin.
Fifteen minutes later, the two beautiful ladies were sipping tea and sharing stories with each other.
“I’ve heard about what happened in the Southern Continent,” Celeste said as she placed her teacup on the table. “Actually, I went there along with an acquaintance in order to check if you were safe and sound.
“Unfortunately, there was a powerful barrier that prevented us from reaching our destination. We tried to break it, but it was of no use. In the end, we decided to return here to the Academy.”
Celine sighed, “It’s good that you didn’t get caught up in that mess. If you were there, things might have become more complicated.”
Celine narrated the things that happened right after the Continental Spell was activated. How the elves treated the citizens of the Zelan Dynasty, and how the battle ended. By the time she finished, the sun was about to set.
Celeste felt saddened about the outcome of the war. She was also an Elf, and hearing the news that millions of them had died in battle, made her sigh in regret.
“Wow! What an interesting Half-Elf,” One of the fairy-like creatures with short blonde hair and blue eyes, said with a smile. “Where is he now? Did you bring him with you?”
“Chloee, don’t be rude to our guest,” the other fairy with short green hair, and gray eyes commented. “I apologize for my sister’s rudeness. She doesn’t think before she acts.”
“Don’t pretend, Claire.” Chloee stared at her twin. “I’m sure that Half-Elf had piqued your interest as well.”
Claire didn’t deny or affirm Chloee’s statement. She just smiled and shifted her attention to Celine. The little fairy’s eyes were giving Celine the, “Is he with you?” stare.
“He’s not with me,” Celine replied with great interest. “William is currently climbing the Tower of Babylon. It seemed that he needed to do something there.”
Chloee’s eyes sparkled as she flew in front of Celine.
“The Tower of Babylon?” Chloee asked. “That tower that goes all the way up to the sky with no end in sight?”
Celine nodded and appraised the little fairy with a critical eye.
“Is she the chatty familiar you’ve told me in your letters?” Celine inquired.
Celeste grabbed the over-excited Chloee and held her in place. “Sorry. Chloee can get over-excited at times.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Celine replied. “This is the first time I’ve seen a familiar like her. She looks exactly like you when you were younger. I guess this is because of your Familiamancer Profession, right?”
Unlike Chloee and Claire who had shoulder length hair that ended up in a curl, Celeste’s hair was long, just like Celine’s.
“Yes.” Celeste nodded. “This is the power of the profession I received in the ancient ruin I talked to you about.”
Celeste then released the pouting Chloee from her grasp before looking back at Celine with a serious expression.
“Big Sister, I already noticed this earlier, but, where is the slave collar that was placed on your neck?” Celeste asked.
Celine smiled as she gazed at the Collar of Wisteria that was still on her little sister’s neck. The collar that held many secrets that were only known to a handful of people back in the Silvermoon Continent.
“I gave it to my Disciple,” Celine replied. She didn’t have any reason to hide the truth from her sister because the collars on their necks played a very important role in their lives. “He wore it until the war ended, but due to circumstances, he placed it on the neck of another.”
Celeste’s eyes widened in surprise. She never thought that her proud sister would pass her collar to anyone. Because of this, she was itching to know more about her sister’s Disciple, whose fate had already been tied with Celine’s.
