Xerxes hastened forward as soon as he saw Leiya and Thornfum, dragging his tired feet across the floor.
"Leiya! Thornfum!" Xerxes beckoned through the passing crowd. Leiya's head turned, whilst Thornfum was still jumping with glee.
Immediately putting her thumbs up, Leiya signalled success. Xerxes knew she had calmed the bullish dwarf—a profound relief in his eyes. All he needed to do now was follow Airi's advice. His next words surprised even Leiya.
"Thornfum, I won't lie: your earthen magic is strong. I've no doubt it's a useful asset. So, how about next match we see it in all its glory? I want you to go all out and use everything you have. As a dwarf would."
Deep down, once he felt rational, Xerxes knew that simply ordering Thornfum about based on his own preferences wouldn't work. He needed to entice the dwarf to cooperate. If cooperation meant building the party's strategy around Thornfum's destructiveness, then Xerxes would have to accept that.
Before, he'd felt wrong dictating Thornfum's fighting style; he could admit that. It was like ripping away everything the dwarf had known. Who was he to say how another should fight?
A true leader had to do something different: let each member express their power in their own way. They had to be limbs of the same body, and Xerxes was ready to embrace that.
Thornfum stopped jumping, his wicked smile still plastered on his face. "Thought you'd never ask, ya' see? I'm a simple chap. The two ways to get me to listen is by having a beauty tell me to do somethin', or by tellin' me to do what I'm good at. The stars 'ave aligned perfectly, so sure, Thornfum the Strong is willin' to spare a hand."
Wiping sweat from her forehead, Leiya clapped her hands in relief. "So, I assume we're all ready to return to the tent? And Thornfum, you can share what you learned, can't you?"
Thornfum began storming towards the tent. "Of course I can! But first, I need to give Claudia her medication."
As he darted off in a straight line, Xerxes and Leiya were left alone.
Noticing him struggle, Leiya grabbed Xerxes' hand and placed it over her shoulder. The act was so assertive that it made Xerxes' heart rate increase slightly. 'Is this how Leiya feels when I do something like this…?'
His cheeks flushed. He looked towards Leiya, slightly at a loss for words. An awkward silence hung for a moment as Leiya looked right, Xerxes looked left.
She gazed into the distance, a simple smile forming across her face. She felt pleased to help the person who always seemed invulnerable be that bit vulnerable. It was something she enjoyed.
Ever since leaving the Fallen Kingdom, he was always tense, always on guard. 'So, even if it were for a few moments, I'd like for him to relax,' she thought.
Breaking the silence, Xerxes asked with a slight stutter, "S-so how did you get Thornfum to listen?"
Leiya chuckled, though the embarrassment of what actually made him cooperate resurfaced. Scratching her cheek, she sheepishly said, "Don't kill me, but I said I'd consider a certain request that he made?"
Xerxes felt intrigued to know what the request was; 'what could a pervert dwarf want from Leiya?' he wondered. Unpleasant thoughts immediately rose as Xerxes said aloud.
"You didn't sell your dignity, did you?!"
A hard backhand met the back of Xerxes' head, almost making him fall, as Leiya furiously scolded him, "Of course not, you buffoon, is that how low you think of me!? All I agreed to was to consider going on a date with him..."
Xerxes sighed, "Ah, so the same thing." He chuckled and immediately tried to escape Leiya's fury, as he tried to rush back to the tent, with Leiya charging at him like a beast from the fallen kingdom.
After returning to the tent, time bled away. Gathered within their tent, the Embered Flames huddled, sharing various tales, and one of those gave Xerxes insight into who Thornfum's mother was.
Everyone knew her; who didn't? She was the forger of Bloodrein. It wasn't merely a wall; it was a scar across the land, a grim barrier of iron and memory that severed the Eros Kingdom from the borders of the Fallen Kingdom.
It was forged a little under a decade ago from the hundreds of thousands of weapons—swords that had once been used to slay the monsters of the fallen kingdom, axes that went dull and shields that shattered—in the great war of man and beast.
Reinwald Furdia used her immense proficiency in the earthen and fire elements to forge the instruments of war into a reminder, into a bulwark rendering the structure nigh indestructible, and making it serve as an outpost that is used for the army today.
Thornfum relayed the tale in a gruff, monotone way, with the reason for her departure remaining more of a mystery even to Thornfum, but one key detail was lodged in all the party's minds.
There was a growing obsession she had within her final days; she had become consumed by the once great clan that was revered as gods amongst men, the Aurora Clan.
Their names were now little more than echoes in the present world, but the god that captivated her interest was Beast God Sitva, the Wielder of the Four Swords—Dragon, Basilisk, Griffin and Kraken.
It was a striking resemblance to the practices taught in Fedradia; they were all taught one of the four sword styles, and that made Xerxes question someone who he had known all of his life.
Dorian.
Dorian denied ever being Fedradian, yet he was a wielder of a dragon blade—the mineral was said to only be found in Fedradia alongside the teachings of it, so how did he acquire it?
The question rang in Xerxes' mind for a while; however, once again, the same sinking feeling overwhelmed the entire party.
They were all dragged through the floor, and similar to last time, hundreds of people were gathered around, as Daryul sat smugly on his floating boulder.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you can never expect the hour when another battle may start, where different abilities will be tested, but after a short break, I hope you are all ready."
He extended his hand as hundreds of spheres of earth gathered around him, "Originally, there were ninety-eight teams; however, that has now dwindled to a mere thirty-six, whether it be people being eliminated, whether it be people not having the will to go on; those who remain here are ones who had persevered past that."
Smiling, his voice became quieter, "And now I shall see whose perseverance is beyond that limit."
Clapping his hands, the spherical earthen balls shattered into dust as they began to display a visualisation of what the next games involved.
Xerxes' jaw clenched as he was eager to figure out what the game entailed. It wasn't only Xerxes; most people who were standing here were only standing because they needed to seek victory.
"I call it the Archaic Triac. It involves three teams that will be on the battlefield at a time, constantly moving throughout the battlefield. There is a sphere of mana that glows, and all teams will be racing to have it in their possession."
He formulated this on the earthen display, making it clear for everyone, and it sounded easy enough. Too easy; there had to be more, Xerxes thought.
Indeed, there was, "The ball will convulse with blue energy every minute, and also give your team three points if you are in possession. Alongside the convulsion of energy, your team will be buffed with strength and speed for ten seconds."
Wagging his finger, he gave the twist, "Though if no one is in possession and the ball convulses with energy, then everyone will be weakened for ten seconds as well; those closest to it will receive the most damaging effects."
It was already way more complex than the first battle, Xerxes affirmed, and the use of the ball could be advantageous or disadvantageous.
"However, that is not the only way to score points; by eliminating a member of a party, you can gain a point as well. The goal of the game is to be the first to reach thirteen points, and the two parties that don't reach it will be eliminated!"
A huge gasp collectively rose through the crowd, as they understood that with each game, there was a growing risk and more advanced competition. Xerxes could only wonder how they would approach this.
As he turned to look at the party though, everyone sunk into the ground once again, as they were already placed in the arena, alongside two other parties.
The landscape was vast; it was almost as if the arena had once again shaped itself to accommodate a different battle. Seventy-five metres from Xerxes' party, there was a party that Xerxes had known from the talk of the town, called the Brotherhood, led by brothers Axel and Abel.
The second party wasn't too well known, but Xerxes had soon heard from the local guild; she was Learna Lovett, a kind soul, but as for her magic, he didn't know. She pulled her staff forward, and looked left and right assessing the situation.
Xerxes raised his sword, Leiya readied her fist, Thornfum gave Claudia a vial containing the liquid to awaken her and then formed a great axe once again. All of them were now ready.
"Three, two, one, GO!"