Martial Arts Worlds

"The ship has arrived!"

An employee came and shouted.

"The hell?"

The producer's veins were about to pop in his forehead as the show got interrupted like that, but then he registered his words.

'The ship has arrived?'

His eyes widened in surprise, and he motioned for the cameraman to bring the large camera with him.

"Where?!"

"East window!"

Everyone jumped to their feet and started running over, while Kiernan just looked at the scene with a frown on his face.

He wondered what the hell was going on.

"Mr. Kiernan, the ship has come to pick you up. Thank you for the interview!"

Aurora shook his hand and then took off her heels before running over to the east wing to look out of the window.

'What's the ship they're talking about?'

Kiernan walked over and saw everyone standing before the windows, just looking outside with looks of amazement.

It was a sight so rare.

It was a sight that only once happened in the history of Irio before—it happened when Azer Karuza was picked up for the championship.

Kiernan was taller than others around him, so he was able to see over them and just look ahead.

'Irio doesn't have a harbor or anything like that. It's not a place where any ships could dock, as it's in the middle of the mainland.'

Kiernan thought to himself, but then his gaze went to the sky, and his eyes widened like they were seeing something incredible.

'A ship… that's indeed a ship.'

…

In the skies above Irio, a large four-masted ship glided through the cotton-white clouds, its billowing sails casting shadows on the land below.

The eight enormous oars, as if they were operated by giants, sliced through the air with powerful strokes.

It was pulling the ship forward.

"Is the ground below secure? Can we lower the anchor just yet?"

A tricorn-hatted man stood at the bow of the ship, peering out into the clouds with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Yes. We're in the skies above Irio's natural forest. A fine place to lower the anchor and pick up the representative!"

"Good! Do it then!"

Through the side of the ship, an anchor, heavy and rusted, dropped all the way to the ground, hanging from a thick chain.

THUMP!

The anchor smashed through the forest floor below, and a cloud of dust and dirt flew into the air. It was like a bomb going off in the peaceful forest.

The wildlife scattered in all directions, fleeing from the sudden disruption.

"The anchor has been lowered!"

…

The ground shook violently, and it was felt all the way in Irio's Sunshine News studio.

"Amazing…"

"That's the Flying Andorian ship. It's one of the few flying ships that still exist in the world, and it has been bringing the representatives to God Island for centuries now."

Kiernan stood blankly, just staring at the amazing sight, and while he had seen many eye-widening things in his life, nothing could compare to the grandeur of the Flying Andorian ship.

At that moment, a few of them noticed that he was still here.

"Mr. Kiernan, what are you waiting for? They've come to pick you up, and you don't want to make them wait!"

"Yeah, they won't wait forever, you know. They might leave you behind if you don't leave soon!"

They all said hurriedly.

"Okay… I'll get going then. Thank you for the interview."

Kiernan said, and headed out, taking off the tie that was choking him out, and rushed out of the door.

…

"…Sigh."

Azer stared out of the window, sipping on a whiskey on the rocks, and just stared at the beautiful Flying Andorian ship.

It was the same ship that came to pick him up many years ago.

"Father…"

Julia peeked from the door, walked next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder, understanding the mix of emotions he was feeling.

"Whew…"

Azer touched tenderly his daughter's hand that was touching him on the shoulder and said.

"I had an opportunity to represent my father's school in the Junior Martial Arts Championship. I was just so stubborn and idiotic that I just chose Xaru High.

"I know I broke his heart."

He said.

"What happened to you in the Junior Martial Arts Championship, father?"

Julia asked gently.

"I witnessed the truth. I barely made it through the first event, which allowed me to partake in the main event.

"I wish I hadn't, honestly. I just saw how far away the others were in terms of skill level, and it made me doubt whether anyone from New Rakuya should even participate in that.

"My final ranking was 314th out of 316 participants. I was third to last. That broke me, and that's when my door closed.

"I was never going to reach Martial King."

Azer sighed, looked at the cup of whiskey in his hand, and said.

"Kiernan is… stronger than I was back then. Way stronger. However, I do fear for what he has to face there."

…

Trekking down the forest, Kiernan arrived at the top of the hill just as the sun reached the highest peak in the sky.

He came across destroyed ground, unrooted trees, and toppled-over boulders—in the middle of it all, a heavy and rusty anchor that was half-buried in the soil.

Kiernan climbed the anchor and reached on top of it—then he wrapped his arm around its thick chain's links.

"This is crazy, though."

He looked up at the flying ship, and at that moment, the chain started shaking like a rattlesnake.

In that moment, the anchor started getting pulled back up by the chain. It made holding onto it even more difficult.

"I wonder if anyone has fallen before and died, which got their country disqualified from the tournament. Oh, how embarrassing that would be!"

Kiernan shouted with a wry smile, and the ground started getting further away as they continued to be lifted higher and higher by the chain.

He started enjoying the sight as he was able to see everything from up here, and the wind rushing through his hair made him feel alive.

"I like this. I might have to get one of these flying ships for myself!"