Adventure of Astral Part 49: Rematch

Astral stood alone in here for what felt like hours. He was destined to be something that he currently wasn't. He was at the extreme lack of care and discipline which fueled his past. The teacher, the mentor, and the warrior falling to failure of ethics. He shrugged it off as he had no worry. To become back to what he was and what he needs to be. All it will take is one small step and motion.

Astral laughed as he turned around himself in the field of stars. A soft thud was heard as he looked at all the new equipment before his eyes. High density weights to lift and speed trackers to test his run speeds. He loosened his body as he tested all of it over the matter of a few more hours. He looked at the log history of his peak speeds. Being nowhere close. His strength was on par to what it was from before however. He felt conflicted and confused as he opened the pocket dimension back up. Looking into the throne room and jumping back to reality.

He landed back on the hardwood floor as nothing had stirred in the room. Not a single candle melted, the curtains not shifting, and the small coo's of the owls outside hovered. He opened the curtains as it was the peak of night. He looked at the moon and smiled. 'That's right, it doesn't pass time in there. It was one of the very first things I learned.' Astral scoffed as he fell into his bed. The moonlight shimmered inwards. He rested easy as tomorrow was going to be a new day.

The sun slowly peeked through the window and the curtains as Astral popped out of his bed and opened the doors. He sat on the throne as he played his own game of chess versus himself. He was bored and entertaining himself with something different. Then there was a knock on the door as Sora stood in the empty space. "Why hello there. How has the world treated you and your rise to fame?"

"Well, for the most part, everyone is on the same page, the dictation of the senate and the representation of everyone for random people works. It's a system for the people by the people." Sora sat down in a chair that Astral pulled over from the corner of the room. "Other than that, resources are slowly declining due to the changing of the seasons. Crop harvests are up and quality is through the roof."

"That's good to hear. That means our goals are working with our plans and the cycle will work far into the future." Astral moved one of the pieces on the chess board as Sora motions with his hand to move for the other color. Astral gave a slight nod as Sora made a bad move. "This means the infrastructure is holding up well, self repairing and on the mend?" Sora bobbed his head up and down as Astral waited to make his move.

"James and Angel have started to drastically increase the quality of living for all involved. Not just the hybrids." Astral moved his rook over to the open file as he waited for Sora's response. He stared at the board and made a second bad move in a row. This wasn't him playing bad, this was trying to bait him. "On top of that Tina has been going around the planet and curing several ailments and diseases. She truly is a special talent."

Astral looked at the board as he now looked at it in a different light. Down his queen and a rook. He still had the other pieces on hand. He shrugged. "Rook to C eight. Checkmate." Astral paused as Sora nodded.

"Well, if you ever want another duel, I would happily have one. A clash of minds isn't fair for either of us." Sora stood up and began to walk away as Astral examined the chess board. Sora had all of his pieces remaining and still lost.

"Now wait, when are you proposing this duel to happen?" Astral saw how he was still in a spot to learn why he wanted this sudden duel. 'You and I both know there is no reason to challenge me unless you have an alternate reason.' Astral stood up as Sora turned around.

"Well, I want to see how far I have grown as a person and as a combatant in the last few years, comparing myself to the one who defeated the Queen's probably will be able to do the trick." Sora stood still. "Same rules as last time?" Astral gave a gentle nod as he walked out the door. Astral sat down on his throne. Much more is happening than even he knows. He grabbed a piece of paper and started to sketch on it his ideas as hours passed. James and Angel walked in silently as they awaited for him to do something.

"Where is Tina at the moment, if either of you two know? Yes it's a random question but today has been full of random events." Astral looked at the paper as he finally had a solution. He wants the duel to cause a chain reaction of sorts.

The twins looked at each other then back to Astral. "She actually is in the castle. She came back, saying something about a letter being sent to her by Sora." James struggled to get through it as he was remembering it, Astral dropped his pencil as both of them watched.

"Go get her. Be swift and quick, tell her to bring the letter if possible." Astral asked as he looked past the twins. She was standing in the doorway. "Tina, you can shut the door if you like to." Tina grabbed the door handles and gently shut them. Setting her lock on them as she walked up to the rest of them.

"You want to turn the planet into a dictatorship and under the rule of yourself by yourself? Sora said in this letter that he was going to have to stop you at all costs and wanted me back to help defeat you, claiming it will save the balance of the universe." Tina held the letter up as Astral shook his head. The twins jumped up prepared for a fight as Astral jumped down from his throne right next to her and gave Tina a hug.

"You poor child. The body of an adult and the mind still of the young teen." Astral held her tight as James and Angel let their guard down. "No, there isn't a thought of that on my mind." Astral lifted her head to look into her eyes. "This goes past none of us. Tina I will tell you something that I assume to be true. And you guys must promise me to agree."