Day 4 (2)

The structure was massive. The area it occupied was bigger than many cities, and it rose from the planet's surface to the atmosphere, where it linked with the space ports up there. It would be impressive if it was the only one, but this particular planet had so many of these littered all over the various continents.

Another odd thing about this planet was that only gods were allowed to be residents. Anyone inferior could only pass through, and that too was under invite. The structures were the home for the gods, and they also marked as the cities or domains these gods commanded.

Unknown to many, on the planet's surface were where the gods actually lived. They had abodes. There was no need to make them big or grandeur as everyone who lived here had proven their strength. This was more like a suburbs for gods, and it was on this suburb that Kedan's spaceship pulled in.

Built to accommodate thousands of ships, Kedan's Ace 123 Stealth easily found a spot in one of the elite garages. As he made his approach, the shipyard maintenance crew that was watching couldn't help but gawk at the beauty.

She was built small, entire size no bigger than a bus. With her capabilities, she could transverse across a galaxy in one jump. They were known as the crown jewel of the Ace industries. It could be piloted by just one individual, and the seats could be modified and had templates that could fit any known galactic species. A simple press of the button and the seat would modify to the species of the user.

The default was always human, and to be honest, most of the features were best suited for humans. Its like buying a machine built for a different language, though it might have a translator, it works best with the original.

For Kedan, it was his luxury ride when he needed and also his weapon on demand. Its versatility was so renown that only the very elite could buy, much less use. For leisure, there was a spatial dimension that was again, suited to the template chosen. As human, Kedan had chosen a mansion where he would go to and could even control the ride from if need be. On lonely journeys one could even bring company here, as it was like a personal mobile home.

After parking his ship and clearing with immigration, he finally made his way to his employer's villa. In a planet that was known as a suburb for gods, even Kedan, however powerful, had to two the line. As gods, they wielded untold power in the universe, and not just personal power. They had influence in almost all undertaking, they stood as nobles of the universe.

It was also rude to teleport or scan, and anyone detected doing it would be instantly killed. The rule was there because of an incident where a god was killed by one who could teleport. No matter how hard they looked, they were unable to find the perpetrator. Since then, any teleport skills were banned.

However, there were teleport stations to facilitate moving around. All one had to do was pay a pound. To a god, that was cheap, but to many others, they could only look on and find alternate methods of moving around. Kedan had some cash on him, and so he paid for his destination.

It took him a while to move across the vast planet, but finally, he was seated waiting to meet his employer.

There really were very few people who could keep a Faction Protector waiting. These individuals were adept in battle and they had experience in every kind of combat there was. Even those more powerful than them would give them face, as there was difference in just having power, and commanding that kind of strength.

However, here, Kedan found himself seated in a reception area as he waited for the god to come see him. He didn't wait long, as the doors finally opened and the majestic being called him forth.

Most gods rarely met with anyone less that they. Usually, they'd just conjure a clone or doppelganger that would go in their place, yet on this occasion, Kedan was sure he was standing in front of the real god.

"Welcome friend," A booming voice sounded as Kedan made his way through the hall. "Your performance has been most impressive."

He found in a large hall where there were individuals gathered on either side. He was walking in between, like a boxer going to the ring. Everyone's eyes were on the one who had walked in. This was no strange situation for Kedan, as he had been in such throne rooms before.

"Thank you, your words are most kind." Confidently, he marched forth and bowed at his employer.

"For your efforts, I invite you to stay in my villa, relax and enjoy life." With an afterthought and a knowing smile, he said, "My daughter shall take you to your reward. Do consider the hospitality."

One of the most stunning women Kedan had ever seen materialized out of nowhere and knelt at the throne, saying, "Father, you summoned me?"

Being that powerful certainly came with obvious advantages. For one, powerful beings could reshape their appearance to suit their needs. Even changes that did not alter major things in one's body, such as facial and body appearance, could be made almost permanent. One just needed to think of what shape to adopt and they could. The plus side of this was after taking on a specific look for too long, one would actually begin to believe that that was the real them.

Seeing the beautiful maiden, Kedan wondered if that was her natural appearance or was it simulated. The truly powerful could actually modify appearance from birth, dictating how their child would be, maybe such beauty was defined like that. She really was too beautiful to have been natural, he thought, although a thought lingered. One could never know.

The maiden, upon receiving her father's instructions, turned to look at Kedan. She took a moment to eye him, as though she was measuring him. With her look she seemed to be able to see through him, but Kedan wasn't so easy either. He faced her down, causing her to let out an amused smile before floating away. Kedan had to catch up with her.

"So, you the one he sent?" She asked so nonchalantly, causing even Kedan to be momentarily shocked.

"Who?"

"I know, I know, you still have to verify who he is, and he still have to verify you. I for one think all that is pointless, I've been keeping a close eye on you since I learned of his plans, as his back up, in case you were compromised."

"Who are you?" A very stunned Kedan asked. She had just iterated all his plans as though she could read minds, and in the off chance that she wasn't who she claimed to be... He feared thinking of the consequences.

"Relax, just know that your big bro and I, we go way back, and no, he wouldn't have mentioned me." An evil smile came across her face, as she studied Kedan's face. She loved putting this powerful beings in such situations, one could say she actually got off on it. "Listen carefully, once you verify who he is, make sure he knows I was the one who helped you, now follow me!"

***

As the dust cloud came at him, Khalia wouldn't dare meet it head on, but instead he formed a defensive whirlwind around him, deflecting the dust and keeping him protected as he was in the eye of the whirlwind he'd created.

This he had been able to do after suffering continuous attacks from the dust clouds. Lisha's move was so vicious. He would engulf the other party with a cloud of dust and then have his team mates attack. The defenseless enemy would be caught off guard before he knew what happened.

One of Khalia's teammate had already fallen, and only he and Darrin remained. He had made instance judgement to seen a gush of wind to counter the dust clouds. Sadly, by the time the wind was reaching his partner's they were already pinned down. He shot an arrow at Darrin's opponent, but before he could do the same for the other, he was already out, and the opponent had ran off to hide in the dust clouds.

Whenever Lishe fought, the crowd would struggle to see what was happening. Many even wondered where he got all that dust from, as clearing they were fighting at was still in the forest. Due to this, few had been able to pin down Lisha, let alone win.

The problem now was that they were totally unaware of where each other was, or saw Khalia thought. How could he have guessed that his opponent could be able to feel his way around the dust particles, and use them as homing beacon to tell him where his opponents were. It was a way of seeing that didn't involve actually using eyes, but using the elements as an extra sensory organ.

Now was the time to use a skill he had been hiding for so long, one that he had actually learned from his opponent.

Like Khalia, Lisha had thought that his victory in the Festival was assured, this was long before they watched Bamboo and Hasilo's fight. Seeing that fight had opened his eyes, that the changes in him were happening in everyone.

Next, he tried to find an advantage over his strength. He didn't know what his skill was anyway, but sometimes, he could feel as though he had a connection with everything all around him. At his current strength, he could only move particles that were loose, such as dusts. He didn't know that he had control over the carbon ability, one of the most prevalent elements in the universe.

While his awakening had been amazing, that was not the most spectacular thing that had happened to him. It had been a dark night when his elder brother was rushed in their shelter by his friends. They had gone hunting, and by some weird encounter, they had fought a monster, and lost.

While lavels were the absolute top of the food chain, this was because they were the most dominant predators. There were other kind of beasts in the planet, but such, they were never allowed to hunt, as they were much bigger than they were. It was kind of like a jungle that had both lion and elephant. The lions were at the top of the food chain, but they didn't dare mess with elephants that easily.

As young stupid lavels, Lisha's brother and his friends had dared attack the Migos, a mammoth bird that actually ate tree leaves.

Lavels wouldn't touch it, and the birds avoided any predators, but should they be provoked, for these mighty creatures, all bets were off.

The lavels felt the bird's power, but Lisha's brother took a full blown attack by the bird's beak, breaking several ribs and tearing a gushing hole in the abdomen. The injury was supposed to be fatal, and by the time his brother was arriving at the villa, he was at death's door.

With full concentration, Lisha held on to his brother's side and eyed the wound. The friends and the family around didn't move, thinking that the boy was overcome with grief. It was well known that the two were very close. Their guess was off, as something else drove Lisha.

He had convinced himself that he could do something, that he wouldn't let his brother just die. Though at that moment only his brother knew of his secret, he knew that the brother would be hoping that Lisha could do something. In fact, it was out of tradition to bring a dying body into the settlement, usually they just buried them out there. The brother had demanded of his friends to take him to Lisha.

Seeing the boy move, the weak elder lavel didn't say a thing, just eyed his brother. Suddenly, it started to get really itchy. He tried to resist but was unable, as the itch was increasing in intensity so much that he was now in pain. The dull pain continued to increase, like turning up the volume. He started screaming at some point, and he even had to be held down.

Then, silence. The brother went quiet. Everyone thought he'd passed out, but they were too stunned to care about him, for they had witnessed what was causing the lavel to scream. His wound had been sealing itself. Lisha's excellent control over carbon matter had caused the body to reconstruct.

Word quickly went round, and Lisha became the first publicly acknowledged lavel healer in the settlement. They had prospered quite a bit, but that was beside the issue. Lisha thought he would be leader next, and that the festival would be just a formality, you can imagine the rude shock he'd be in for.

Thinking about all these, he decided he had hidden his strength for too long. His opponent was already at an end, and while he too had awesome control over wind, air was not Lisha's element, his was denser.

In a dust cloud, 2 powerful rocks the side of bucket finished forming, and in a swift motion, they were sent hurtling towards the 2 enemies. They stood no chance, they didn't even see the rocks coming, just that, in one fell swoop, they were out of the arena!