It was an early morning on the 15th of September. On this day, the first elimination round of the 33rd League of Elementals would take place. Hundreds upon thousands of youths and adults signed up for the opportunity of taking part in the most prestigious event of the Kingdom of Shiho, celebrated every five years. Glory. Fame. Unimaginable riches. Whoever prevailed over the rest would no longer have worries in their lives and their names would be engraved permanently in the annals of the Kingdom's history.
Reaching the finals would be no easy task. As the name of the tournament suggested, every single one of the participants were elementals, humans adept in using a specific element for different given situations. Any element or matter could, theoretically, be the element of a specific person: fire, water, earth and air were the four main elements, although there were others like light, shadow, plant, lightning, ice or metal. Likewise, elements that resulted from the combination of other two existed; such is the case of magma, an element derived from the union between fire and earth. There were even documented cases of elementals specializing in hair, bubblegum and proteins.
The Azure Dragon Forest was the place chosen for this first elimination round to take place. The area was one of the many forests in the Seiryu region, in the eastern quadrant of Shiho, known for being its agricultural backbone; therefore, it was no surprise that most of its inhabitants are plant and wood elementals. Opposite to this region, the industrialized region of Byakko, found in the western quadrant, was known for its high numbers of elementals adept in metal and virus techniques. The two remaining regions, Genbu and Suzaku, were respectively located in the northern and southern quadrants, and polar opposites regarding their weather: while Genbu is a cold and mountainous region, Suzaku was famous for its temperatures exceeding thirty degrees Celsius and its crystalline beaches.
A 17-year-old Espika Blumenthal was one of the thousands of plant elementals taking part in this first round. Luckily, the group she was sorted into opened the eliminatory rounds in the region she was born in, specifically a forest several kilometers away from the region's capital, where she lived: Cherry Blossom City. Since she was recognized as one of the strongest elementals of her school, she was offered the chance of signing in as a participant in the kingdom-wide tournament instead of going to school for her final year of compulsory education.
Sitting on a stump, Espika observed her future rivals. It was fascinating the way clothes and certain physical traits helped predict the element of a few contestants guided by sight alone. Espika's lime-colored eyes and her dark green hair put in a half ponytail indicated her affinity to plants, and so did her height, of five-foot-seven. Adding to her looks were clothes that seemed made of grass, including a mid-thigh skirt and a cropped short-sleeve shirt. Other additional garments included shorts beneath her skirt and boots that reached her knees.
"Is something the matter?"
Resting her head in her right hand, Espika glanced sideways towards Finster, her brother. Finster's black wavy hair, black irises and pale complexion were clear indicators that he was a shadow elemental. His choice of clothing matched the dark nature of his element, judging by his signature black hoodie, which included a symbol in an ancient language whose meaning was unknown to Espika, but was reasonably sure it meant something he would define in his own words as something "super totally ironic." As expected, both his jeans and sneakers were likewise black.
"No, nothing's wrong. I'm just feeling sleepy. I was so excited last night that I wasn't able to sleep," she answered lazily, staring at Finster inquisitively. "I don't know how you can be so calm, though."
"I'm not calm at all, I've just got a good poker face, that's all," Finster replied and stuck his tongue out. Contrary to the stereotype of someone who wields darkness as a weapon, Finster had a jolly and joking demeanor, to the point of irking several classmates of his without his knowledge. His facial expressions, rife with expression and drama, were his secret weapon to add that extra 'something' to his interactions with other people. "We have to find our two totems, but we gotta think of something beforehand, right?" After asking, he tilted his head sideways, in an apparent attempt at imitating a puppy.
For this phase, the organizers had hidden a limited number of golden statues, known as 'totems', in the depths of the Azure Dragon Forest. Those who had one of the totems would move on to the next round. However, the situation for the Blumenthal siblings was different: most shadow elementals, at a very early age, forged a bond with a person they had a special connection with. This relationship wherein a shadow elemental is connected to a so-called 'body elemental' fused the shadows of both elementals and required the shadow elemental to be within a hundred-meter radius from their body elemental, risking death if the distance between both increased. Because of the symbiotic nature of this connection, both shadow and body elementals were required to get a totem each to classify for the next round.
Despite this apparent dependency, said bond could prove beneficial for body-shadow pairs. As years went by, shadow elementals became capable of feeling what their body counterparts felt, to the point of developing an emotional and psychic link. This made it possible for these pairs to synchronize their movements and become unpredictable in combat. Such was the case of Finster and Espika, whose teamwork was such that both of them received the distinction of being the strongest elementals of their school and consequently were offered the opportunity to take part in this massive event.
"Yes, that's the plan. We have to be careful, however, who knows what kind of traps were set in the forest to make this harder for us," Espika replied, staring around to gauge their potential rivals. "Besides, the others seem to be willing to do anything to get to the finals."
"Oh, come on now. You know this place like the back of your hand," Finster pointed out. Both he and Espika were raised close to the area, so both had a slight advantage over the competition. "Want me to check things out and tell you what I see?"
"Aside from the fact that what you're proposing would be cheating… Look." Espika pointed at the direction of the security guards watching over the forest's perimeter, to prevent any unwanted eavesdroppers. "What do you think will happen if they catch you snooping around?"
"Wait, it is?" Finster opened his eyes wide open in what seemed to be a surprised look, this information was new to him and it did not take long for Espika to notice that. She smacked her forehead with her palm in slight frustration. It was perplexing how they had known each other for so long and yet some things about him still confused her. She turned to stare at him:
"Yes, it is. What were you even thinking about while they were explaining the rules?"
"Well, I was thinking of everything," Finster laughed in a very nervous and awkward manner, scratching his head. "And anything, I guess. Could you please repeat what they said? I do listen to you."
Espika could not believe what she heard. Both of them had been chosen to take part in a very important event and yet Finster seemed to act in a non-caring manner.
"Alright, just so you don't mess things up for not paying attention," Espika sighed, remembering the instructions that were given several minutes earlier. "In twenty minutes they will give us the signal to enter the forest. Until then, they have placed guards and barriers to keep anyone from getting in before the round starts. Once we're in, all exits will be closed for two hours. In that timeframe, we have to get a totem each and keep them until we're out. There are no restrictions when battling, either with other elementals or the beasts they let loose in the forest."
"Ooh, I get it," Finster nodded. "It doesn't sound very hard, we can beat this without breaking a sweat, Espi. I think we just have to hide really well near two of those totems, keep an eye on them and try not to have some shmuck take them from us. Once the time runs out, we'll just have to return to the exit. Piece of cake!" Finster showed his characteristic grin, closing his eyes. Espika couldn't help but shake her head at the confidence of her brother and smiled sideways, joking along:
"Well, if you're willing to spend the two most boring hours of your life, I'm not stopping you."
"Don't worry about a thing, 'Patience' is my middle name after all." Finster laughed again, earning him a subtle skeptical look from Espika, who rolled her eyes and smiled at him in amusement, since she knew well that her shadow-bound brother was not exactly a genius in the art of waiting. "I'm curious though, what kind of opponents will we face?"
A few meters away from the siblings, two young women were waiting for the round to start. One of them had shoulder-length black hair with red dyed tips and bangs covering her right eye; clothing-wise, she wore a short-sleeved shirt that exposed her shoulders, mid-thigh shorts and boots that, much like Espika's, reached her knees. Her dark red eyes glanced around the area with a hint of boredom, observing her prospective rivals while resting an arm over her friend. The black-haired girl's friend had purple hair put in long pigtails and had blue eyes; she wore a white short-sleeved blouse with black ruffles, a plaid red skirt with shorts underneath, long white stockings and black shoes with flat soles.
"What a bore this is, I can't wait until this finally gets started." The girl with the pigtails sighed, right after a long yawn.
"I don't understand why you are in such a hurry, it's not like we are gonna have a hard time winning this." Her partner spoke, earning a friendly laugh from her friend.
"Now that's the spirit, but don't pretend you're not itching for this to start," she smirked in a very confident manner, yet with a certain hint of malice in her smile. "I can sense your boredom."
The girl with black and red hair couldn't help chuckling a bit. She knew how extremely competitive her friend could be, but it was precisely her open nature that made her trust her. It had been years since that fateful night where they had met, and both could state they were the closest of friends.
"Okay, Esper, I'll admit it." She offered a sideways smile. "I want to see what lies in store for us."
Esperanza Molniya, known as 'Esper' by her acquaintances, kept her confident stare on her friend. This tournament would bring opportunities for Esper to reach the glory she so coveted. It was barely a surprise to her that, being 16 years old, she was one of the youngest candidates chosen for the eliminatory rounds, after all, the world was a place corrupted by mediocrity and she was, in the words of a couple of teachers, a true beacon of hope. Her motive was simple: winnining, and she knew the odds were on her side when it came to making it far into the competition. Unlike her, though, her friend had wildly different motivations:
"So, you think this tournament will help you find what you're looking for?"
Those few words were enough for the black-haired girl to quiet down and change her expression to that of seriousness.
"Honestly, I hope so. This tournament could be the perfect excuse to investigate in different places without raising suspicions."
"Well, certainly leaving the capital every now and then won't hurt anyone." Esper noticed that it was the first time in a long while that she had set foot out of her birthplace, Qilin City, the sprawling metropolis that occupied the central area of the Kingdom. Her friend, despite having been born in the southern Suzaku region, had lived most of her life in the same city as Esper.
Esper moved her stare from her friend to the rest of contestants. It was a scene that made Esper felt encouraged, yet simultaneously depressed her: how could it be so ridiculously easy? Most of the people she saw would have no chances in a fight against her or her friend, she surmised. It was clear to her that both of them would get to the next round.
"I wonder what the others even want." Esper muttered.
"Who knows… Most of them probably just want glory for themselves or something like that." Her friend shrugged and, taking notice of the glare Esper directed to the other contestants, stared at her friend sideways. "You should not underestimate them. As good as you are, it is possible that some of them could pose a challenge."
This comment prompted Esper to direct her gaze towards her:
"Kerket, please, the only one underestimating anybody here is you. Remember, we were born lucky." As she said that, two of Esper's fingers started projecting a crackling, indigo-colored beam between them, as if she were trying to remind her friend of something.
For most of her lifetime, Kerket Makher felt lonely due to an incident that would mark a turning point in her life. Her existence was considered to be a threat by certain people, and thus she was forced to live in the shadows, hiding her true self to avoid rejection or something worse. Nevertheless, everything changed when she met Esper. Since the day both of their paths crossed, Kerket no longer felt misunderstood and found her best friend. This reminder was enough for Kerket to smile in a self-confident manner, while gently playing with the black pendant of her scarlet-colored bracelet, a subtle reminder for her to never forget who she was and where she came from.
"Yes, I guess you're right," Kerket crossed her arms. "But it would be wise to know the enemy." It was at that moment where she noticed Esper had fixated her gaze in two other contestants. One of them was a girl with dark green hair and lime green eyes, while her partner, a boy, had black hair and clothes. It was plain to see for Kerket that these two were plant and shadow elementals, respectively. She raised an eyebrow, not understanding why Esper set her gaze on them so suddenly. "What are you looking at those two for?"
"Just look at them. Doesn't it seem unfair that there is a duo and one of them is surrounded by her element? Although, on the other hand…" Esper exhibited a wide grin, disconcerting Kerket further. "This will make our victory all the sweeter."
Poor them, they caught the attention of the wrong person, Kerket thought, unable to mutter a single word in response to Esper's observation.
"What are you thinking about?" Esper lightly elbowed Kerket and winked at her. "Are you thinking about how easy we'll have it to win this round?"
"You could say so, I almost feel sorry for the others."
Esper, feeling confident to an extreme, kept moving her gaze from one contestant to another. She stared at a person with sky blue hair put into a high ponytail and muttered again:
"Bunch of losers…"
Souji Vuoret observed the other participants from a corner in the waiting area, feeling as nervous as ever, since there was a lot at stake. After all, a major step was taken by signing up for the tournament and leaving behind the northern, snowy region of Genbu and those there who counted on Souji to become the winner of the tournament.
The temperature was admittedly much warmer than that of the Genbu region. For this reason, Souji had decided to wear lighter clothes, including a cropped black bodysuit, long gloves that covered Souji's arms from elbows to hands and left all fingers free, black form-fitting trousers with cuffs at knee level, and a couple of sandals. Lastly, the young elemental's sky-blue hair was put in a high ponytail.
Piece of cake. 80% of them shouldn't even be here.
As much as the idea of underestimating anybody was improper, Souji did not have the impression that any particularly dangerous opponents were around. Hopefully, nobody would attempt to battle, at least not in the very first round.
It is best to think of a strategy to deal with the remaining 20%. Remember, don't trust anybody.
Sighing deeply, Souji started preparing psychologically for what was to come. Being cautious was of the essence, as any wrong decision could result in an early elimination. A specific phrase echoed in the recesses of Souji's mind:
I'm the only one you can trust.
A few minutes later, the man responsible for the trial of the Azure Dragon Forest organized the elementals waiting for the round to begin, all in all there were around a hundred of them. The blond man, wearing a metal mask covering his mouth, stood at the side of the main entrance to the forest, while the participants were placed in their positions.
"The first qualifying round for the 33rd League of Elementals is about to begin, everybody please stand in your positions…"
Finster, from his place beside Espika, couldn't help feeling nervous, in sharp contrast to his joking demeanor from earlier, and looked at his sister to calm his nerves a bit. Espika, breathing out, smiled confidently as she stared at the entrance in determination. She trusted she and her brother would pass to the next phase. It was the best chance she had of getting to know new places and travelling, and she was going to fight for her dream.
"Ready…"
Kerket kept her eyes trained on the entrance while keeping a serious face, she was focused on getting her totem to go to the next round, failure was not an option. Meanwhile, Esper cracked her neck and knuckles as she grinned confidently, the party was about to get started.
"Set…"
Souji nodded, keeping a face halfway between nervousness and determination. Much like Espika and Kerket, there was something worth fighting for and making it far into the tournament was the goal. There were people who counted on it, and Souji was not going to let them down.
"Go! May the trial begin!"
The many elementals ran into the looming forest, one by one. Five of them didn't know it yet, but this would be the day in which they would see their paths cross and their lives would change forever, for better or for worse.