"Group three wins."
Ardlan turned to meet the glare of Domitia,
"Oh fuck."
"What was that about?" Mickvus swooped by, his arm about Ardlan's shoulder.
"Does cosmic energy do that or was that some trick you made?"
I have no idea myself.
He looked at the aged rings on his fingers, and up to Mickvus. Mickvus too had his eyes on it, and once he met Ardlan's eyes, he chuckled and left.
Domitia stormed forward, her long gold hair swaying with each step.
She stopped, and then placed a finger on his chest.
"You… blew it."
"I know, I know. I was not expecting that to happen, I have no idea why that did."
"Tch!" She turned her attention to the rings. "Those rings are unflattering, you need not wear them at school, they would draw unnecessary attention too."
"It does not matter. Besides, I think it's working. I have nothing to prove this aside how I feel, but I am optimistic about these rings. Not only are they rare, they are also very ancient, even dating back to when earth was not globalized."
"Whatever. You will make it to us by reaching the semi-finals, you hear?"
Ardlan rolled his eyes, he hated when she was pissed and bossy, everyone did, but this time, giggles accompanied her classmates' reactions.
Aelius pulled her away from her colleague's midst and the two left to elsewhere.
"Where is that Thelian Human giant?" Ardlan questioned. He had questions to ask, Domitia was observant in realizing that he had become even more proficient with cosmic energy. He had responded to ease her worries, but he too was curious about his friend's new level of mastery.
He zoomed through the hallways, checking through the classes they had been to today, and then he stormed to the D-tube. Typically, Mickvus would not leave for his home without saying a word but Ardlan could not be so sure now.
"Mickvus." He cried upon seeing him by the D-tube.
Mickvus merely spared a glance, his face was distant, stoic and indifferent. Before Ardlan could get to him however, the D-tube activated and sent him away. To where? Ardlan was not sure, but Theli was his first guess.
A part of Ardlan wanted to go after him, to see what his friend was up to, but he thought against it. The Thelians were not particularly hospitable people.
Instead, he decided to leave for his home and continue his study instead.
"Cosmic Energy is a force ubiquitous in all of the known universe, it is a force that predates even the Celest Empire." Ardlan read aloud before looking at his rings.
What had gone wrong in the gymnasium? He had not thought much about it while at the academy but in his quiet room, curiosity dawned.
The idea of the ball being changed or hay wired for sabotage seemed slim. Mickvus was not one to do that, besides he wanted to challenge the twins fairly.
Ardlan had noticed the flicker of green light on the rings, and he knew it was connected, the rings had something to do with it.
"Ada, bring up everything you know on Jade Energy Rings."
"Jade Energy Rings." Ada repeated bringing multiple results of the rings, and otherwise close items.
The multitudes of search results either had what he had no use for or that which he already knew. He groaned, and swiped away the holograph tab that displayed the search results.
Mickvus, how did you get so good at cosmic energy? Ardlan thought. He had always been good, both at Cosmic Energy manipulation and curveball, but today was a little different with him.
He is different, somehow. Maybe I can ask him how he got better.
[Two hours earlier, Ecke, Thelia]
The B-tube transported Mickvus to the blue planet of Thelia. The blue planet was scanty, its substrate a dull and glassy blue. The B-tube had teleported to the capital city of Ecke and despite it being the largest city in the planet, very few Thelians moved about, the few of them soaring with anti-gravity boots and flying vehicles.
Ecke was where the best of Thelians gathered, from academics to scientists, to Raves. It boasted of some of the best academies in its solar system but under this brilliance was a rot festering.
Crystalline buildings of varying colors, coiling upwards were almost omnipresent, yet vastly spaced.
Though he was halfbreed, his human traits were largely masked by his Thelians. His human genes expressed themselves as making him less vicious looking than most Thelians which he was grateful for, making alien friends as a halfbreed was hard enough, looking like a monstrous beast was sure to be harder.
He balled his hands into fists, and his body flared with his blue cosmic aura, and he jetted himself, soaring into the sky.
After soaring past a couple of equally eccentric people, he spotted what he was looking for, his home.
[Mickvus Therod, access granted.]
His home AI announced. The Thelians were fond of keeping things spaced and scanty, their planet was so after all, and though inside of Mickvus's home was beautiful with its glowy crystalline shelves and furniture, it mirrored the planet and was ultimately boring.
He walked into the largest room to meet his eldest brother awaiting his arrival.
Mickvus instinctively looked below, he knew better than to meet his brother's wicked gaze.
"Let's leave." He said throatily, grabbing a teleporter box, and conjuring a blinding portal.
The two's environment changed instantly from their home to a rather dark place. The lights about came on revealing an army of Thelians ready for instructions. Mickvus and his brother managed to hide an army underground, they may have failed to kill their father, but that would not stop them from usurping the throne, for Thelia's sake.
"Awero," Mickvus muttered as his brother stepped forward to address his soldiers clad in crystalline armour.
"The Celest Empire may think they have subjugated us, our king may wag his tail to them, but we do not. The Empire has eaten our dignity for too long, the Thelians vision is control and pride not subjugation."
" For Thelia!" he ultimately roared.
"For Thelia." His Army roared with him.
The reaction brought a smile on Mickvus's face, they were going to change history, he felt certain of that