Martial Arts Worlds

The candle light flickered, slowly stretching the light across a stone basement, where a circle had been formed out of human bodies.

Unconscious, their limbs intertwined and heads lolling to the side—they were all citizens of God Island—and now the sacrifice.

With a gold-rimmed pocket watch in hand, Sacrael looked at the time and saw one of the Bulwarkians place the last sacrifice in the circle.

The circle was finally finished.

"The sacrificial circle has been completed, sir. We're ready for the start of the ceremony to begin."

Bulwarkian said.

"We must wait. When we start the ceremony, the power spike will alert everyone of our location, and we'll get caught before it is completed.

"We must wait for the start of the fourth event in the Junior Martial Arts Championship to begin first. Everyone's attention will be focused on that event, giving us the perfect opportunity to begin our ceremony without being noticed."

Sacrael said, and looked at the time in the pocket time.

"In fourteen hours we shall begin."

The Bulwarkians placed some sleeping candles in the center of the circle—the fumes of the candle reached the noses of the sacrifices, ensuring that they would stay asleep.

"And tomorrow the Death Merchant shall arise and wreak havoc on the world of mortals as we feast on the dead fruits…"

Sacrael trailed off into a sinister whisper, and with a black book in hand that had skulls etched on its cover, he walked around the sacrificial circle.

"The sword of the Death that shall know no mercy—and that is who Death Merchant is, the bringer of darkness and the end of all things.

"He who knows no love, no mercy, no redemption. And that shall be his legacy for all eternity, and the Death shall walk again."

Sacrael slammed the book shut, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes with a smile.

"The world shall change tomorrow. They're not ready for Death Merchant, and with him going on a rampage, we shall break into the vault and take it for ours."

Bulwarkians slammed the sides of their fists against their broad chests and pumped their fists into the air with a cheer.

…

Click! Click! Click!

Imperius opened a fire lighter, closed it again with a click, and opened it yet again. He pushed his thumb down on the igniter, producing a spark that ignited the flame.

The scarlet-red flame appeared before his face.

"The fate of this island seems bleak. Something will happen here soon, and that will put the whole championship into turmoil.

"No one will remember the championship. They'll remember the mayhem that follows it. I am quite curious."

Imperius said and looked down from the chimney, where he was standing, and towards the front of the small house.

With the carriage rolling close to the front door, Kiernan stepped out and entered the residence without further ado.

To them all, Imperius looked invisible with his minimalistic presence that couldn't be felt by those beneath him.

Buzz!

At that moment, his phone buzzed, and he took it out—he received a message from the Martial Order app—and he opened it.

[Old King: I did a divination]

Imperius looked at the machine and slowly typed on the phone.

He was a very slow typer, as he wasn't the most versed in the touchscreen phones.

[Imperio: The fate of this place is looking dark. I think something will happen in the coming days. Do you know what'll happen?]

[Old King: God Island will go up in flames, and in that sea of destruction, Kiernan will die in the hands of a pale figure]

Imperius closed the lighter with a click, and the flame got extinguished.

[Imperio: What do you want me to do?]

[Old King: Do not let him die. We, Martial Order, must protect the new generation as well. Those before us defended the world against great threats, and I have a feeling that another great threat is about to walk the land soon]

[Old King: God Island is a catalyst for darkness, and we must end the danger at its roots—therefore, I will also join you over there with Hero Among Rulers]

Imperius looked at the message and frowned deeply.

'Martial Order has three Grandmasters—me, Hero Among Rulers, and Old King—with all of us deployed here, it means something immensely dangerous is about to happen here.

'I haven't met either one of them before, so I am rather curious—it also sounds like he is in a hurry, so the great threat might awaken tomorrow…'

…

The light of the dawning morning shone over the landscape of the flying landscape, and carriage after carriage rolled towards the stadium.

The representatives, with excited smiles on their faces, went straight to their locker rooms to prepare for the fourth event.

To some, it had been a very successful championship for them—most of them were happy to be in the top hundred—but some felt very disappointed.

In the third event, more people dropped out of the competition because of their injuries—some dropped to the dark pit in the balancing beam part and broke their legs.

"Whew…"

Kiernan put his things inside the locker and took a seat on the bench, waiting for the fourth event to begin.

With his left hand, he was holding a phone and went through the congratulations messages of his classmates, fiancee, and family.

He didn't check them yesterday, as once he returned back to the residence, he just went straight to sleep and woke up an hour before the carriage came to pick him up.

"Hello, representative!"

At that moment, the television turned, and the same old doll appeared on the screen—with same stuff said, he soon spun the lottery wheel, and the next event got chosen.

It landed in the "Talent Road."

"The next event shall be Talent Road—it's a road that determines the extent of your talent, and the further you can walk on the road, the greater talent you are!

"The road is only a hundred meters long—if you reach twenty meters, you're a genius; if you reach forty meters, you're a great genius; if you reach sixty meters, you're a once-in-a-century genius; if you reach eighty meters, you're a genius only seen once in a thousand years; and if you reach the end, you're a legendary genius!"

The white-faced doll, and with that said, the door to the arena opened, and the roaring of the crowd filled the air.

"Whew… Let's go then."

Kiernan stood up and walked through the open door.