We find ourselves in front of an old house where the Leviathan Axe was lodged in the ground when suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew the battle axe out of the ground through a glowing door.
Through the door we find ourselves in the Boiling Isles as the Leviathan Axe flew into Ardyn's hand and the Owl House Title logo appeared.
Iki wo sutte haitara kurushii koto
Kizu ga hitotsu fueru tabi ikiteiru koto
Looking around Ardyn sees the Owl House with Hooty and King watching Eda teaching Luz magic.
Tsukaifurusareta sonna kanshou mo itsuka kitto
Yoru ni tokete kieru
We then find ourselves at Hexide as Willow and Gus wave at them while Amity merely looks away with a small blush on her face.
"No enough" yugandatte
"No escape" machigattatte
"No fear" koroge mawatte
Susumeba iin deshou
As Eda struggles to fight off the curse she briefly fights off the feathers before we see Romani chained up against the wall before a large shadow grows.
Looking up they saw Emperor Belos glaring down at them with staff at the ready and all his coven ready to attack. Standing behind him is a shadowed figure with a demented grin on his face.
Sore wa marude shinwa no you na
Iro, katachi no jubunairu
Spinning her staff Eda creates a powerful blast blowing the guards away before Lilith leaps in and the two sisters clash making magic explode all around them. From the smoke Ardyn, Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus ran towards the top.
Summoning an ice glyph Luz makes a bridge of ice allowing Amity's abomination to charge forward ramming them away as Willow made a road of vines for Ardyn to run ahead.
Ibitsu na mama hibiwareteiru
Kono sekai de hitotsu kagayaku
Kirei na tsuki
Running to the top, Ardyn and Emperor Belos clashes axe and staff before the shadowed figure fires a powerful blast knocking Ardyn back.
Holding out his hand a gilded sword forms in Ardyn's hand before he thrusts his weapon clashing with Belos and the shadowed figured creating a bright light.
FATE/BOILING ISLES
Book 1
Chapter 5: Covention of Fate.
Another day on the Boiling Isle means another day for Ardyn and Luz to work at Eda's stand, trying to sell human junk to the people. It's been a few days since the incident with Eda's curse. Since then, the Owl House was repaired from the damage that the Owl Lady caused, but that was it.
As they waited for potential customers, Eda was dusting off some of the items, Romani was doing a while Ardyn set up more items for sale. On the other hand, Luz was reading to King one of her Azura and Ordan's books. While Musashi wanted to come with them, she decided to stay at the Owl House for today to keep Hooty company. When they asked why, she said that he was a real 'hoot', which caused the group to groan from the pun and caused Hooty to laugh at the joke.
"'Emboldened by the dishonor Hecate had shown, Ordan and Azura lifted their arms to the cotton-candy skies and shouted, 'I challenge you to a Magic Duel!''" Luz read the page to the little demon.
"Isn't that the page I made that little drawing?" Ardyn asked.
"Yup!" Luz looked at the bottom right corner of the page. There was Ardyn's small drawing of Ordan, Azura and Hecate. She flipped the corner of the page back and forth, showing a miniature battle happening. "Pew, pew, pew!"
"Show me the picture," King said, wanting to see.
"What?"
"Show me the picture!" Luz turned the book around to show the little demon the page. "Hah! I can draw better than that. You know, they once called me the King of Artists."
"King, are you just making up all these titles because they make you feel more important than you really are," Ardyn said with a smirk.
"Burn~," Luz said as the two fist-bumped.
"No, I don't!" King shouted, before calming down. "Doesn't matter. What's important is that my followers would leave me offerings in fear of me!"
"Hehe. I'm sure they do." Romani said as he pets the little demon's head. King swat the hand away, even though he liked it.
"Yeah, 'fear of you.'" Ardyn rolled his eyes.
"Well, I can offer you more of this tantalizing book," Luz offered.
Eda groaned out loud in annoyance. "Ugh! Please stop reading that crap! Its flowery language is an insult to witches and wizards alike. And driving away all of our serious customers!" She complained while lightly swatting the two best friends with the feather duster.
"Um, Eda? What customers?" Romani asked his housemate, gesturing to the sheet. Show that it was completely empty and devoid of life. No people or even the other stands. "We've been here for hours, and we haven't seen a single person!"
"There aren't even any other stands around. What's going on?" Luz asked the Owl Lady.
"This is a bad omen," Eda said in a serious tone. "There must be something horrible happening today."
"Luz! Ardyn!" shouted a familiar voice. Ardyn and Luz turned and were pleasantly surprised to see Willow and Gus, their new friends from Hexside, running over to them.
"Gus, Willow! Hey!" Luz greeted her friends.
"Something amazing is happening today!" Gus said with excitement.
"Really? What's going on?" Ardyn asked.
"It's the annual covention!" Willow said, holding up a flier to show the friends. "Student witches get to see all the types of covens before they're placed in one. There's even a mystery guest this year!" She pointed to the bottom of the flier, where the two words were brightly shown.
"A job fair for witches! Eda, can we go?" Luz asked her mentor with excitement.
"Absolutely not." Eda quickly shot down. This just caused Luz to groan and slid onto the ground but was stopped when Ardyn held her up from under her arms.
"But why not? Sounds like it could be fun," said Ardyn, struggling to hold up Luz. "Okay, Luz, please get up."
"It is most certainly not. Romani and I never joined a coven for a reason. Sure it's like a fun club for witches, but you're also giving up your magical independence to be part of a crooked system," Eda said, slamming her fist on the table.
"Yeah, they're still here, by the way," Ardyn said, pointing his thumb back at Willow and Gus.
"Eh, but, you know, no judgment. In any case, I haven't been to one since we were girls," Eda said, looking away.
"'We,'" Ardyn said, as Luz popped back up with equal interest. "Who's we?"
"I- the- I mean-" Eda sputtered, trying to come up with a response, but was interrupted by Luz pointing her finger at the witch.
"You have a mysterious past! Now we got to go!" She exclaimed.
"No."
Ardyn and Luz frowned at the old woman. They then looked at one another and gave each other a mischievous smirk. Turning back to Eda, they crossed their arms. "Okay, Auntie. Let the record show we tried to reason with you," Ardyn said.
"Now it's time for the nuclear opinion," Luz said, handing King her Azura and the Dark One book.
"You wouldn't," Eda said, glaring.
"Oh dear, here we go again." Romani as he covered his ears from the terror that awaited them.
Luz snapped her fingers, and King opened the book. "' You shan't not doeth no more harm,' Ordan and Azura called out…" King read the age out long as he walked up to Eda, who could only stare into nothingness in horror.
"So flowery, so awful," Eda said, trying to walk away. But King followed her.
As one final act to get away from the awful tween novel, Eda brought out the trans-dimensional portal to the human world. She threw it up, and the door unfolded and opened to the human world. Eda walked through it, only for Ardyn to pick up King and throw him through the portal after her before it closed.
"3, 2, 1," Ardyn counted with his fingers.
The portal opened again, and Eda came back with King on top of her head. Still torturing her with reading.
"Stop it! Stop it! I will literally do anything. Just stop this!" Eda begged her two students.
"Anything?" Ardyn asked with a smirk.
"Yes! Anything!"
"Will you come with us to the covention?"
"Yes! Yes! I'll go! Just make him stop!"
"Down boy," Ardyn said. King closed the book and jumped over to the hybrid's shoulder. Giving Luz back her book. Eda sighed in relief, before realizing that she had just played into their hands. Again.
And just like that, they were all standing in front of the large building housing the covention minutes later. While the kids were excited, Eda let out a loud groan as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Romani pats her shoulder in comfort to show that he's on the same boat.
"I don't know why I put up with you two," she complained.
"Because we own you," Ardyn said, smirking mischievously.
"Because you love us," Luz said, smiling innocently.
"Yeah, yeah. Now help me out with this." Eda tried to put her cowl on, but her big hair made it difficult for the woman. Ardyn and Luz worked together to push her hair into the cowl, while King got on her head to get it over her head with Romani helping him. "Got to keep a low profile," she grunted.
"Is this cowl really necessary?" Luz grunted, still pushing the hair.
"Do you think all my wanted posters are for petty theft?" Eda asked, finally managing to push the hair into the cowl. At that moment, multiple stolen items fell out of her cowl onto the ground. Causing a moment of silence.
"Really?" Ardyn deadpanned.
"You should see what else she keeps in there." Romani said as Ardyn looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...partly. But the big whammy is that Romani and I disobeyed the law and refused to join a coven," Eda said, gathering all the stolen items and stuffing them back into her cowl.
"Wait, that's a thing?" Ardyn asked, raising an eyebrow. "This that why you're on the run?"
"That's right. If I'm seen, I could go to jail. Again," Eda said.
"Again?" The kids asked as Romani puts on his own cowl and cloak.
"Trust me kids, you don't want to know want to know what happened. I've seen things." Romani said, which raises more questions from Luz and Ardyn.
"Maybe this informative event will inspire you to join a coven," Willow said, with one of Eda's wanted posters. This annoyed Eda, and she made a small spell circle. The spell pulled Willow's hood over her face.
"Eda!" Ardyn said, helping his friend get the cloak off.
"You know Eda. You didn't need to do that." Romani said as Eda sighed.
"Let's just get this over with," Eda groaned like a whiny teenager as the group walked towards the door.
When they entered the building, Ardyn and Luz were left in shock and awe. The large room building was filled with magical wonders. Creatures of all shapes and sizes walked around or flew above the crowd on broomsticks. Nine large multicolored tapestries hung from what roof, with different booths all over the place under them.
"Whoa...Was I even alive before now?" Luz said with wide eyes.
Ardyn looked at the tapestries and pointed at them. "What do those represent?"
"Those are the main nine covens, but there are hundreds of other ones you can join," Gus explained as they started walking past the booths.
Willow began listing off the ones that she knew about. "There's Flower Coven, Artist Coven, Big Dog Coven, Small Cat Coven, Tiniest Cat Coven-" She was interrupted by Eda's groan of annoyance.
"Is there a coven for grumpy," Ardyn asked with a smirk.
"Actually, yes there is." Romani said as he pointed to a stand that has the banner for "Grumpy Coven".
"What was that?" Eda glared at him. But the kids, and King ran off with Romani following them at his own pace as Eda watched them go with a huff, but then flinched as a bald, wrinkly, Warlock dressed in a black robe walked over to her.
"Uh, excuse me, ma'am, but you look rather familiar." The Warlock says while looking between Eda's wanted posters and her as said Witch sweated nervously and looked around as she coughed awkwardly.
"Uh...no, I don't."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Distraction spell!" Eda screamed while rearing back her leg as she proceeds to deliver a mighty kick to the male Witch's lower region, causing him to kneel into the floor as the Witch held his privates in pain while tearing up as Eda uses this to her advantage and runs away as she caught up to the kids and Romani.
As they continued walking and glancing at the stands, Luz stopped and pointed at something. "Ooh, what's that?"
She was pointing at a muscular wizard that was wearing a hard hat. Behind him were two large stacks of wood and bricks. Standing near him was a familiar face. Or rather a nose.
"Hey, that conspiracy theorist from the Conformitorium?" Ardyn asked, pointing at Tiny Nose.
"That's the Construction Coven," Willow said. The friends watched as the man took the two pallets the stacks were on and threw them into the air. Ardyn gasped and was about to shield himself and Luz when the building material came back down, assembling and forming a fully functioning house.
"Oh, hell! That's awesome!" Ardyn exclaimed at the amazing feat of strength and skill he had just witnessed.
"It's one of the main nine covens. They use power glyphs to increase their strength." Willow explained as the wizard took off his hard hat, revealing a small stack of papers. They turned out to be stickers when the man peeled off one side.
Luz saw the glyph and saw it was a fist with a thunderbolt in it. "Oh! Ardyn, maybe we can use that glyph," she said, pointing at the glyphs.
"But how will I get my hands on it?" Ardyn asked.
Turned out, luck would be on his side when the construction wizard slapped the glyph on Tina. She suddenly screamed and looked like she was going Super Saiyan. So much power exploded from the little creature's body. At first, the wizard nodded, but that was before Tina grabbed him and threw him into the air.
"I'm the destroyer of worlds!" She then went on a total rampage as the other wizards and witches tried to stop her.
Just then, the construction wizard that was thrown landed in front of them. The hat came off, and stickers flew everywhere.
"Yoink!" Ardyn snatched two of the stickers from the air. Tearing off the plastic piece of one of them, he placed his hand on the glyph and watched as his magic circle copied the glyph on his hand.
"Yowza-wowza!" Luz said, still shocked by Tina's rampage. Suddenly a blue copy of Luz appeared behind her.
"Yowza-wowza!" It said, startling her.
"Yowza-wha-a-a?" Luz and Ardyn watched as the copy walked over to another one of the covens. It waved at her and winked at Ardyn before disappearing, revealing it was being controlled by two other students with the same colors as Gus. The sign of their coven was a handheld mirror.
"Ah! You've been taken in by the allure of the Illusionist Coven. We like magic with a hint…" Gus said, stepping forth and making his own magic circle before poofing into smoke. He then reappeared again a few feet away from where he originally was. "...of showmanship."
His fellow members poofed in behind him, and then they bowed together.
"Wow! Acceptance? Comradery? A sense of belonging? Covens sound incredible!" Luz said with a big grin.
"I'll say," said Ardyn before looking at his aunt. "How come you never joined one, Aunt Eda, Romani?"
"Watch closely, you two," Eda said, turning the best friends towards the Illusionist Coven. Having them watch as a new member was initiated with a magic branding. "When you join a coven, all your other magic is sealed away. From now on, that kid will only be able to make illusions. Since I never joined a coven, I can do every kind of magic." She showed this by conjuring a fireball in one hand and an orb of water in the other before dispelling them. "That's why I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles." She walked away, leaving the kids in awe before running to catch up with her.
"And yet you still are on the run, all the while having a serious addiction to Apple Blood." Romani said with a smirk, causing Eda to blow a raspberry towards him.
As they walked along, Ardyn pulled Eda and Romani back away from Willow and Gus. While they didn't notice, Luz did and walked over to join her friends and her master.
"Hey, Aunt Eda. About what you said. What would happen if I joined a coven? Would all my magic be turned one magic," he asked his mentor. Eda thought for a moment with her hand under her chin.
"Nope, you'd most definitely explode," she said.
"WAIT, WHAT?!" Ardyn and Luz yelled in total shock, with Luz hugging her best friend.
"What do you mean I'll explode?!" Ardyn asked.
"Ardyn, you're asking to contain an ocean inside a glass jar! It's why your mother never joined one either," Eda said as they walked together.
"Ardyn's mom never joined one?" Luz asked, finally letting go of Ardyn.
"Yep. For her, it wouldn't have been as bad as you, Ardyn. But she didn't like the coven system for its rigidness and its refusal to adapt to other magic. Knowing that it wouldn't have done her any good." Romani said, looking away from them and frowned. "Especially if Emperor Belos knew about her."
"Wait, who now?" Ardyn asked, not quite hearing him completely.
"Guys! Look!" Gus called to the four, getting their attention. Gus and Willow were standing at the entrance of a section that had guards standing at attention. Each guard wore a white cape and cowl with a raven-looking mask. Above the entrance was a coven bander that was of a sword with wings and a circle in the middle.
"That panel looks popular," Luz commented,
"It's the Emperor's Coven!" Gus exclaimed with excitement. "Do you think they'll sign my forehead?"
"Only one way to find out!" Willow said as they started heading towards the entrance. Ardyn and Luz were going to join them but were stopped when they realized that Eda and Romani weren't.
"Aren't you coming, Aunt Eda, Romani?" Ardyn asked.
"No way. Of all the covens, they're the worst. We'll wait out here," Eda said with a huff.
"Look, Eda, I get it. Covens: bad. Individualism: good. But Ardyn and I are still trying to find our way in this world, so we're going to go in there and make up our own mind, okay?" Luz said, before walking in with Ardyn.
In the end, Eda and Romani was forced to join them when they feared that one of the attending covens might have recognized them from their wanted posters. Ardyn and Luz were quite surprised to see that the Emperor's Coven had its own large, domed theater with rings of seats that overlooked the arena. There was a stage underneath a banner with the coven's symbol on it.
"All right, let's see this mess," Eda said, sitting down next to the two friends with Romani sitting to her right. The lights started to dim down, signaling the beginning of the show.
Music started to play as Principal Bump of Hexside appeared from a green pillar of energy. The spotlight shone on him as the crowd started applauding and cheering. He then made a small magic circle that conjured a microphone with bat wings.
"Hello, Bonesborough! Students ask me all the time, 'Principal Bump, what's the height of magical achievement?'" Bump said to the crowd.
"Is it this?!" said one of the students, before doing his own spell that grew his head to freakishly large proportions. However, his neck couldn't support the weight of it and tilted over. Crushing another student.
"Oof. That's got to hurt." Ardyn said as Luz nodded in agreement.
"Wow. I failed you as a principal," Bump said, wincing at that. He then grabbed the mic. "It's being selected to join the best of the best. And there are none better than the jewel of the coven system and the enforcers of His will, the Emperor's Coven."
As he said this, three soldiers of the Emperor's Coven emerged from the floor in front of Bump. The crowd cheered and clapped for them. Ardyn and Luz were amazed by their entrance before Willow and Gus caught their attention. The two friends were pointing at Gus's head, which was signed by the coven. Ardyn gave them a thumbs up.
"Feast your eyes on this elite force; each member handpicked to help usher in a new age of controlled magic," Bump said. The crowd watched as the three coven members held up their fingers and drew their own spell circle. Shooting their separate types of magic like water, fire, and lightning in the air, combining into a large firework.
While her apprentices were in awe, Eda was less than impressed. Leaning over to a random monster, she asked, "When does that elite force get here?" The Owl Lady started laughing at her own joke after slapping her knee as Romani gave of a soft chuckle. The monster scooted away from her.
"Members of the Emperor's Coven have access to all- yes, all forms of magic. Ooh. Aah." Bump said, as the crowd copied his 'ooh' and 'aah' for some reason. "But... only the best can ascend these ranks. Some day that could be one of you!"
He pointed at someone in the crowd. Ardyn followed his finger and saw it was none other than the Wicked Bitch of the West herself, Amity Blight. However, she didn't seem all that bitchy today. When Bump pointed at her, she squealed cutely in excitement at his words.
Ardyn and Luz were a little surprised to see Amity again but chose not to think too much about her.
The three coven soldiers then grabbed the corners of their capes and, in unison, raised them up. Causing them to magically disappear as Bump continued with the introductions. "And now, I'm pleased to introduce the esteemed leader of this coven and this year's mystery guest. You know her, you love her! Lilith Clawthorne!"
While everyone else gasped in shock and excitement, Eda and Romani had a different reaction. She stopped laughing and looked shocked at the mention of the name, while Romani soon adapted a sad look on his face.
Up above, they all watched as a flash of light conjured a large raven perched on a branch, made of glowing blue energy. The raven dove off the branch and flew down towards the stage. Landing in front of Bump and dispersing a large magic wave of energy that washed over the crowd.
Ardyn shielded his eyes from the energy, but when it was over, he looked at the raven and saw a figure standing inside of it. The person was wearing a white raven mask and a white cape and cowl. The person then raised her arms into the air, causing the raven to screech, before disappearing into orbs of light. Revealing the individual.
Lilith appeared as a tall, slender middle-aged woman that looked to be in her mid-to-late forties. She had ivory skin, pointy ears, dark blue lips, dark gray claw-like nails, long, dark blue hair, and cyan eyes. Just like Eda with her jewel, Lilith had an inverted kite-shaped sky-blue gem on her sternum. She wore a long-sleeved two-tone dark gray dress and dark gray laced boots.
While Luz and Ardyn clapped and the crowd cheered, Eda was still in shock seeing Lilith. Noticing their teacher's expression, Ardyn asked her, "You know her?"
"You could say that," Eda said.
Luz gasped. "Mysterious past."
"Not everything has to be a mysterious past, Luz" Ardyn said as Luz looked at him with a stink-eye.
"Speak for yourself." She said as Ardyn gave a playful raspberry.
"Thank you, all," Lilith said with a small smile, using her magic to take off her cloak and mask. Handing them over to Bump. "It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top. I also started from humble beginnings. Now I have the highest honor of enforcing the Emperor's will. So be more! The Emperor's Coven awaits you!"
With a twirl, Lilith made another, much larger raven appear that expanded and then exploded into many orbs of light. Amazing everyone in the crowd as they cheered for her.
Everyone but Eda, who glared at Lilith, while Romani only looked away from this woman.
After they exited the arena, Ardyn and Luz were about to explore more of the covention when they noticed Eda and Romani turning to the right and about to walk off. "Eda! Romani! Where are you going?" Luz asked.
"I'm going to head home and wash the con funk off my skin," Eda told her.
"Same here." Romani said as he places his hood over his head.
"Does it have something to do with that Lilith woman? How do you know her?" Ardyn asked.
"That's not something I want to talk about, Ardyn. Now if you'll excuse me," said Eda and started walking away again. But was stopped when Luz grabbed her arm.
"But we haven't even taken the quiz to determine our coven type!" Luz said, raising up a book. Eda responded by using her magic to blast a hole into the page. As she and Romani walked away, Ardyn and Luz looked at the book. "Ooh, a punky potionist."
"Wait, where's King?" Ardyn asked, now realizing that the little demon was gone.
"I thought he was with you," said Luz
"I was with you!"
Realizing this, Luz started to panic and looked around for their friend. "King! King! Baby precious!"
"We'll split up and find him," Ardyn said. Luz nodded and ran off to go find King. The boy does the same, but Ardyn accidentally bumps into someone when he's about to walk away.
"Oh, hey, sorry about that." Ardyn said as he looked at the person he bumped into.
The person in question is a humanoid male witch around his age but a bit older with a tan complexion, pointed ears, crimson eyes, thick eyebrows, and dark red hair. He has mole on his left cheek that was underneath his left eye. His outfit consists of a dark gray long-sleeved shirt with brown gloves & a brown belt with a gold buckle, followed by black pants and brown boots. He has also appeared wearing a leather jacket with crimson cuffs over his shirt.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Happens from time to time." The young man said as he held a hand up to the downed Ardyn who took it as he was lifted to his feet. "So, your new around here? Haven't seen you before in Bonesborough."
"You could say that. The names Ardyn Pierce." Ardyn said as he saw the young man had a look of questions on his face as he scratches his chin. "What's wrong?"
"Ardyn Pierce. Ardyn Pierce… Oh yeah!" The young man said as he snapped his fingers as if he figured out something. "You're one of those kids that caused trouble at Hexside! Heard you blown a hole in the side of the main entrance."
"Yeah… Not my finest moment. Sorry if that caused trouble." Ardyn said as the young man simply laughed at what he said, which caused the Hybrid look at him in confusion.
"Are you kidding?! That was incredible! How you were able to do those fancy moves in that armor, that was something that looked like it came out of legends." The young man said as he pointed himself with a wink. "Sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name is Ryker Goldmark! Nice to meet you!"
The young man, now known as Ryker Goldmark, offered his hand for a handshake which Ardyn smiled as he shakes his hand. "Likewise."
"Master." A soft voice spoke out causing Ryker and Ardyn to look over to where the voice was, and the hybrid was stunned at what he saw. Walking towards them is a gracious and eloquent woman in appearance, curvaceous with her large chest as the most prominent feature. From the little exposed skin, she appears to be pale. Her eyes are deep green. Her brown hair reached her neck with a side ponytail on the left side of her face. Her outfit is a beautiful dress, the colors consisting mainly of white with black roses adorning the skirt of the dress, black boots, and a black hat with a crimson rose on the side.
"I found a very interesting book of us to read. Would you-" The woman stopped as she noticed the young man next to Ryker. "Oh, who is this, Master?"
"A new friend!" Ryker said as he places an arm over Ardyn's shoulder with a friendly grin. "Remember what I told you a few days ago about what happened at Hexside? Well, this was the guy who caused it."
"Let's be clear, I was trying to leave but they made it very difficult." The hybrid said as the woman now had a look of realization on her face.
"Oh! I see. You're the one Master Ryker was talking about." The woman said as she got a good look at Ardyn, who looked a little confused at what the woman was doing but he didn't judge her for it. After a few moments the woman steps back with a smile and does a curtsy for him. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Charlotte Corday! A humble servant to Master Ryker."
"Um… Pleasure to meet you." Ardyn said as he removes Ryker's arm before a question pops up from his mind. "Hey, I got a quick question. Did you two happened to see a canine-like creature that somewhat resembles a wolf or a fox. He has mostly dark gray fur, although his belly and the tip of his tail are covered in purplish-gray fur. He also has a dog-like skull with white horns on his head, one of which is broken?"
Ryker and Charlotte looked at each other for a moment before they shook their heads, causing Ardyn to sigh. "Well, it was worth a shot. Well thanks anyway and have a good time at the Covention!" The hybrid said as he headed back into the crowd to find King. What he didn't know is that Ryker was looking at his leaving form with interest.
"Something on your mind Master?" Charlotte asked as Ryker looked at her with a small smile on his face.
"Charlotte. Things are about to get interesting."
"King?! King!?" Luz called as she was looking around the whole covention for the little demon goofball. As she made a turn around the next stands, she accidentally ran into someone, however that person turned out to be Amity Blight.
"Watch where you- Oh, it's you. Willow's... abomination thing." Amity said with a stink eye, as Luz began to get nervous.
"Uh... Hey, Amity. So, funny story. Not an abomination. Sorry for the confusion last week. I-I'm Luz. The human. Hi!" Luz said with a friendly smile as she offers her hand, but it dropped as Amity smacks her hand away.
"Ugh. Put that away. You're the one that got me in trouble with Principal Bump and I never get in trouble" Amity said as she begins to walk away with Luz following her.
"Well, to be fair, you were okay with him trying to dissect me, so-" Luz started as Amity stops and turns around to look at her with a strict glare.
"You can't be here! This covention is for-" Amity stopped talking for a moment before her eyes narrowed which confused Luz as she was about to aske her why she stopped talking until they head footsteps as they turned to see Ardyn coming up to them.
"Hey Luz, did you have any luck finding-" Ardyn stopped as he notices the aqua haired girl. "Oh, crap it's you again."
"Oh great, you hear too." Amity said as she turned towards Luz again. "Like I said, this covention is for witches only." She finished which caused Ardyn and Luz to scowl at her.
"Well, we're learning how to be a witch. We're receiving magic lessons from powerful witches and a ferocious demon." Luz said with conviction as Amity blankly looked at her before looking over Luz's shoulder.
"Is that your ferocious demon there?" she asked as Luz and Ardyn turned around and sweat dropped as they see King, decked out in merch, walking towards them while carrying a cupcake. Two bakers are walking behind him.
"Unfortunately." Ardyn muttered as King was enjoying the smell of the cupcake
"Cupcakes in my tummy-tum makes the King say yummy-yum!"
"So, you'll join the Bakers Coven?" One of the bakers asked King, who eats a cupcake in one bite.
"Hmm... Nope!" King said as he steals a cupcake off the other baker's tray and runs towards Luz and Ardyn. "Oh, hey guys! Look at all those offerings-"
However, he didn't get to finish his sentence as his scarf unraveled, causing him to trip and fall with a yelp, his cupcake landing on the ground. Luz goes to help him up while Ardyn reaches out for Kings dropped cupcake, failing to reach it before Amity steps on it. King gasps at what just happened to his treat.
"Oops. That was an accident." Amity said in a faux apologetic tone as Ardyn glared at her for this action.
"What the hell is your problem, Blight?" Ardyn said with gritted teeth as Amity looked away from the group with a haughty attitude.
"Because you, the human and your pet are giving witches in training a bad name." Amity said in a holier-than-thou attitude. King, while scratching his face with his hind leg, did not take that well.
"I'm not a pet!" He said in defense, but it didn't help as Luz hugged the little demon.
"He's a very good boy and the King of Demons! I'll tell you what, Amity." Luz started as she got up to stare down Amity who wasn't affected by it. "It's one thing to say I can't be a witch-"
"Because you can't." Amity snidely commented.
"Luz? What are you-" Ardyn started before he was interrupted from his friend.
"...but it's another thing to bully my friends. Just like The Good Witch Azura said when facing down her rival Hecate at the Bog of Immediate Regret... I challenge you to a Witch's Duel!" Luz said dramatically as everyone gasps as Ardyn does a facepalm as he realizes that things were about to get ugly. Amity takes several steps forward into Luz's face with a smirk on her face.
"I accept. Let's set the terms for this duel, shall we?" Amity said as she took a few steps back so that Luz can say her terms first.
"So how about this for our terms? One, if I win, you apologize to King for squashing his cupcake." Luz said as she pointed to King who was picking up the ruined cupcake with crocodile tears.
"Good night, sweet child."
"And two, you admit that humans and hybrids can be witches too. Sounds good?" Luz said as Amity simply nodded.
"Fine by me. But when I win, not only do you have to tell the whole covention you two are not witches, you and your friend will have to stop training…forever." Amity said as Luz had a look of concern on her face.
"Do it, Luz! For my honor!" King shouted as he crushed the remnants of his cupcake.
"Luz. Think about this real hard before you agree to this." Ardyn said as Luz does begin to think about this. After a few moments, she made her choice.
"Fine. Let's shake on it". Luz said as she held out her hand to Amity to shake on their deal for this dual. Amity, however, made a spell circle around his hand before grabbing it.
"The everlasting oath is sealed," Amity said smugly as she let go of Luz's hand.
Luz pulled his hand back and stared at the magic circle. Watching as the glowing circle faded before clenching her first. "That's probably fine. When and where?" Luz asked as she glared at Amity.
"Meet back inside the theater in one hour," Amity said. With that, she turned and walked off with a flick of her hair. "Let's see what kind of witch you are, human."
"I got this," Luz said, turning to her best friend. "I got this, right?"
"If you play it smart, I'm sure things will work out. What do you think King… King?" Ardyn asked as the two turned to King and saw him munching on what he could of the cupcake. When he turned his head to them, he stopped.
"Mmm? Oh, yeah. No," he said, not sounding any sort of concern for the two. "There's no way you'll win. No chance in hell"
"WHAT THE HELL, KING!? YOU TOLD LUZ TO DO IT FOR YOUR HONOR!" Ardyn yelled angrily, grabbing the demon by his one remaining horn and shook him for a moment as Luz begins to panic.
"I was being dramatic!" King argued back. "Amity is a full-fledged witch studying at one of the best magic schools. You guys only know one spell. And it's a LIGHT SPELL!"
Ardyn's eyes widened at the sudden realization at what Luz had gotten themselves into. He lets go of King and turned to Luz who was now as white as a sheet. "Luz…You are my friend and I care for you, but I got to say this right now so don't be angry or upset with me, ok?"
Luz only nodded as Ardyn takes a deep breath before saying what he had to say.
"YOU FREAKING DUMBASS!" That made the whole of the Covention to look towards where that sound came from before they return to whatever they were doing earlier.
Meanwhile, Eda and Romani were trying to sneak their way out of the covention. This was not how they wanted to spend their afternoon and just wanted to leave and go home. Away from wanted posters, from the corrupt coven system conforming young witches into their ranks. And most of all, to get away before she saw them.
"Sister? Romani?"
Too late.
Eda gasped while Romani sighed when they heard that voice. Stopping in their tracks, the two turned around and what was meant with the sight of her older sister, Lilith.
Lilith noticed her sister as she was doing some autographs for a few kids. "It's been so long since I've seen you last!" She said, finishing up another autograph before walking towards Eda. The kids following close behind. "What are you wearing, Edalyn? You look like some sort of trash collector. Oh, right. You are. And I see your still hanging around her Romani."
"Still as charming ever, Lilith." Romani said in a dull tone.
"Oh, Lily. I just had to see the leader of the Emperor's Coven in action," Eda said, before kneeling to the children around Lilith. "You know, when we were kids, Lilith was so excited to see the Emperor's Coven, she nearly pissed herself."
This made the kids giggle and laugh, while making Lilith blush in embarrassment. "That-That's all for today," she said, herding them along and having them be sent on their way with a wave. She then turned around, dropping the pleasantries.
"You two shouldn't even be here. You're both wanted criminal! Unless…" Lilith's eyes widened, and she gasped. "I don't believe it! You two are here to join the Emperor's Coven!" She exclaimed, grasping her little sister's hands.
It took Eda a second to chortle at that statement, before she took her hands away and broke out into fits of laughter. "In your dreams." She continued to laugh as Lilith narrowed her eyes into a frown.
"Sorry Lilith, but until things get better, I won't join the Emperor's coven." Romani said in a firm tone, causing Lilith to sigh from his answer.
"You think being covenless makes you so much smarter than everyone else. But while you run from the law like a degenerate, I'm mentoring the next generation of powerful witch students into the world." Lilith bragged causing Eda to stop laughing.
"Well, I have my own students too. And I bet they could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little blue-bloods."
Lilith walked up to her face. "Is that a challenge?"
"Oh, it's a promise."
"And where are your students?"
"Eda, we need your help!" Ardyn and Luz yelled as they ran up to Eda. Both were freaking out.
"We met Amity, and we got into a fight!" Ardyn said.
"And I accidentally challenged Amity to a witch's duel," Luz said.
"And because Luz only knows the light spell, there's no way she's going to win!" Ardyn stopped and calmly pointed at Lilith. "And… aren't you that witch from the Emperor's Coven presentation?"
Lilith looked at the human and hybrid, but focused mainly on Ardyn, noticing how oddly familiar he looked.
"And I supposed these are your students, sister?" Lilith raised an eyebrow at Eda.
"Wait a moment, 'sister'?" Luz asked, looking at her master. Eda groaned and face palmed.
"Kids, this is Lilith, my older sister," Eda said, gesturing to Lilith. She then pointed to the two kids. "Lilith, these are my students, Luz the human and Ardyn the hybrid…" she then smirked at Lilith. "...Ardyn Pierce. Doesn't he look familiar to you, Lily?"
When Lilith heard that and took another look at the boy, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped slightly. "You mean…"
"That's right. He's Anna's son." Romani said with a small smile on his face. This information absolutely shocked the leader of the Emperor's Coven that it made her look at the young boy again. Ardyn was a male image of her former friend she would call a sister.
"That's...not possible," she said, looking a little troubled.
"You knew mom?" Ardyn asked.
"Ha! Knew her? You kidding me?" Eda snorted as she placed a hand on Ardyn's shoulder. "She always looked up to your mom back in school like a big sister. One time, Lily asked her for dating tips about a boy she liked-"
"Will you stop teasing me about that!" Lilith hissed. Her face turning bright red.
"Why? You mad that Anna clearly likes me more than you?" Eda teased her sister.
"You know as well as I do that, she cared for us both," Lilith said. She turned back to Ardyn and recomposing herself before smiling. "So, tell me, Ardyn, where is your mother?"
Ardyn's curiosity turned to sadness as he looked down with an upset expression. Luz walked over and placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but she's no longer with us," he said, knowing that it would be devastating for Lilith to hear.
Lilith was silent for a moment as her smile disappeared as a look of shock adorned her face before it turned to a more somber one, trying not to show any more emotions like before, before she said, "I see. I'm sorry to hear that. It's a shame, really."
Ardyn's eyes widened before he looked up at her with a frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your mother was a great witch. Had she stayed, she would have made an excellent member of the Emperor's Coven. I can only imagine the good she could have done for the island."
That made Ardyn scowl at her. The way she was talking about his mom really didn't rub Ardyn the right way.
Looking back up at Eda, who was also not happy about how she was talking about her former 'Sister', Lilith smirked. "But it seems your students have met my strongest protégé. I mean, look at them! A human and a hybrid?" Luz flinched as she covered her ears. "Where did you even find one of them?"
"Maybe so, but Luz can still kick your student's ass," Eda said proudly.
"Okay, Edalyn," Lilith said, lifting a finger and drew a spell circle. All around the covention, Eda and Romani's wanted posters were burnt to ashes. "For one day, you both won't have to hide from the law, because I want to see how good a teacher you really are."
Lilith then turned and walked off to find Amity to prepare the young witch for the duel.
"Come on, kids. Time to prepare for bloodshed." Eda said, putting a hand on Ardyn and Luz's shoulder.
"But- whose blood?" Luz asked, nervous.
"Anyone's guess!"
"Oh my God, we're screwed" Ardyn groaned as he and Romani facepalms.
Taking the kids to a corner of the building, Eda gets ready to prepare Ardyn to fight Amity. Putting on a workout headband on her head, she turned to her female student. Ardyn and Romani were sitting on a box to the side, watching and supporting the young woman. "All right, Luz. Let's start your training. Now, I'm coming at you with a blast of fire. What do you do?"
"I dodge the attack as quick as I can." Luz said, rubbing herchin.
"Alright. A little basic, but still good. But let me see what kind of magic you'd use to counter me," Eda asked her student. Ardyn glanced at Luz with a 'is she for real' look. With a sigh, she uses a piece of paper with the light glyph drawn on it and formed a light spell.
"Oh, that's right. I haven't taught you many spells, huh?"
"No, no, you didn't," Ardyn said with a frown as Luz shook her head.
"Boy, I hope you didn't make an everlasting oath to stop learning magic or anything. You'd be toast," Eda said with a smirk.
That made Luz and Ardyn glance nervously at one another. The girl turned back to the witch. "I-Is there a glowy hand thing that happens, or, uh-"
"Abomination. Rise."
Hearing Amity's voice, the trio looked to see her summoning an abomination. This one was smaller than what she created that day in school and the ones that attack Ardyn, Luz, and Willow. The creature took off its head and threw it at a wizard from the bakers' coven. Hitting him in the head and knocking him out. Standing nearby, Tiny Nose grabbed him and threw him to the side, before screaming and powering up.
"Ooh, boy," Eda said.
"Oh, Dios mío. I can't believe that we're going to have to stop learning magic, and it's all my fault! I should never have challenge Amity."
Romani noticed how badly Luz was freaking out about this, so he got up and heads up to Eda. "Eda. Didn't you have a gift for Luz?"
"I do?" Eda asked as she rubbed her chin before a thought came to her, making her hit her head. "I totally forgot! Romani and I were working on something special for you after you learned your first spell."
"You have?" Luz asked, surprised and a little happy that Eda remembered that. Ardyn now curious as he stood up and stood next to her.
"Uh huh. We were going to save them for your next lesson, but I think you need them now." Eda said as she reached into her head, ruffling around before pulling out a small box. "The material wasn't easy to find but I managed to get enough for two."
"Two what?" Luz asked as she took the box in her hands.
"Open it and find out." Romani said to Luz, smiling at her.
Luz with Ardyn looking over her shoulder opened the top of the box slowly and saw what was inside, a pair of elbow length grayish black gloves. They didn't look like anything special, but they felt somewhat like a mix of paper and leather, smooth yet tough.
"Gloves?" Ardyn said as Luz took them out of the box and began putting them on. "Why gloves? They look snazzy but what's so special about them."
"These gloves are special, kid, and they're to ensure what you did with that light glyph doesn't happen again." Eda said as she pulled out the diamond pen from her hair. "Go on, draw your glyph on an area of the glove's palms."
"Okay." Luz said, unsure of why but did so anyway and drew a small light glyph in the area below the middle and ring finger on both gloves. "Now what?"
"Activate it and trust me, it'll turn out differently than before." Romani said as Eda crossed her arms, still smiling.
Luz grew curious to why but just shrugged as she used her thumbs to press both glyphs, causing them to glow on the palm and the back of the glove. She then gasped as a ball of light forms from her hands, not crumbling the gloves up like before.
"What? But how?" Luz questioned.
"I made them from a special material that can have magic imprinted on it, rare stuff but not impossible to find. I figured since you can't use paper forever, you can use those gloves with your glyphs when you need to in a pinch. And the upside is the glyph is now permanently imprinted on the glove, so you can always use it, along with any other glyphs you find." Eda said as she pointed to the palm. "If another glyph can fit in anywhere on the glove, you can them whenever you want."
"Eda." Luz said as tears began to fill her eyes, so happy for this as it was the nicest think Eda had ever done for her, literally. She then got up and hugged her teacher, letting her tears flow on her chest.
"Thank you." she mumbled.
"You're...welcome, kid." Eda said, still uncomfortable with her hugs but still hugged back. "And, if you need a new spell to add to the gloves, I can show you that fire spell I mentioned earlier."
"That'd (sniff) be great." Luz said as she pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes, and pulling out her phone with the needed app open. "Ready!"
Eda nodded and slowly drew a spell circle, letting Luz record it before a fire ball appeared from it.
"Now do your magic, kid." Eda said as she snuffed out the fire ball.
"Got it." Luz said as she edited the video like the last one when she learned the light spell.
Invert the colors, bold any lines, slow down the video, go frame by frame, and zoom in on the circle. Luz played the video again, watching closely before stopping at two frames before the end and finding a new spell glyph for fire. It was a large circle at the bottom of the spell circle with a dot in the center and a curved triangle on top of it with a smaller circle and curved triangle on top and touching the top of the spell circle. Ardyn was quick to memorizes the patten as the magic seal appears over his hand again to add it to his growing magic arsenal as Luz quickly saved the separate frame and drew the spell circle on her new "glyph gloves," right on the area before the thumb.
"Now to test it." Luz said as she used her pointer fingers to touch the glyphs, making them glow orange before fire balls formed in Luz's hands. "Sweet!"
"Good job Luz!" Ardyn said with a grin as Luz did the same. The hybrid thought about something and pulled out two spare Power Glyphs that he got from the Construction Coven. "Here see if this works."
Luz nodded and applied both to the top area of the gloves and the results were the same as she poked the symbols and felt a huge power boost from it. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it worked. "Awesome!" Luz said as she and Ardyn high five each other.
"And now you have some proper long-range attacks and power boost to boot! That kid won't know what hit her!" Eda said as she pumped her fist at Luz taking a few steps back before crouching a bit. "Now, show me your aim! We've only got time before your duel!"
Luz nodded to Eda before crushing the fireballs in her hands, making her fists on fire.
"You got it, Eda." Luz said with a smirk.
Later in the arena theater, after both sets of teacher and students prepared themselves, everyone in the covention was assembled to watch the apprentices of two powerful witches face. Lilith and Amity stood on stage looking confident and smug while Eda and Luz stood on the other side watching them, the latter of which was bouncing in place to get herself ready for the duel. Ardyn, Willow and Gus sit next to the edge of the arena to get a closer look at the fight. He felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Ryker and Charlotte as they took a seat next them. Romani decided to keep himself hidden incase someone where to recognize him.
'You got this; you can beat her.' Luz thought as she gazed at Amity, somehow hating that smug gaze, and was waiting to wipe that look on her face.
"Citizens of Bonesborough, it is with great honor that the Emperor's Coven shall present an example of the kind of witch or wizard we recruit ever year." Lilith said as she guided Amity forward, presenting her to the crowd. "Allow me to introduce one of my pupils, Amity Blight."
Amity gave a smug look as the crowd and all the magic school students that knew her cheered at her introduction.
"Yeah, Amity!" one said while holding up a foam finger with Amity's name on it.
"And today, she will be facing, some human." Lilith said as she gestured to Luz, seeing her know wearing elbow length glove and bouncing on her feet with a determined look.
This caused the crowd to murmur among themselves, thinking Luz stood no chance against Amity.
"A human?"
"What's a human doing here?"
"Humans can't do magic?"
"She can't win, she's not Amity."
That is what the audience was saying as Gus and Willow looked worried, but Ardyn assured them that she will be fine.
'Wait, that's a human? It appears Amity was right, she wasn't an abomination. And if she's here then...' Principal Bump thought as looked around the stands and saw Ardyn sitting with some of Hexside students and someone else that looked familiar. 'And there is Mr. Pierce and… Wait. WHY IS HE HERE?!'
"Alright, you ready kid?" Eda asked Luz as she stopped bouncing on her feet.
"Yeah, I'm ready. This feels no different than when I'm against an opponent with more experience than me. I could win before, and I can win now." Luz said as she took a deep breath, comparing this feeling to her kickboxing matches.
"Then get out there and show them what you can do!" Eda said as she pushed Luz forward as Amity jumped off the stage.
Both girls walked to the center as a bell rung, exactly like the school bells in Hexside as they stopped before each other.
"Hope you're ready." Amity said as she cracked her knuckles but eyed the gloves with inner curiosity.
"Bring it on." Luz said as she got in a stance, fists in front of her face and right foot back with her left foot forward.
'Let's see what this human can do.' Lilith thought as she paid close attention to her and Amity.
Amity draws a large spell circle on the ground in front of her, hovering her hands over it.
"Abomination, rise!" Amity shouted as she raised her hands and summoned an abomination larger than any she summoned before, at least 4 times her size. "Whoa! Hahaha, show me what you got against this, human!"
"I will! Doesn't matter how big it is!" Luz shouted as she reeled her right arm back, opening her hand and pushing her new fire glyph before closing it to get a flaming fist. "It's going to become mush all the same!"
Luz threw a fireball at the abomination's face, making it stumble and groaned as everyone was shocked by this. They thought humans couldn't do magic and yet, here a human was, creating a flaming fist before them.
"What the heck?! How!?" Amity demanded from her, looking at her gloves before figuring it out. "The gloves, you're using magic with those!"
"Yeah, I know!" Luz said as she charges at Amity, ignoring the abomination regrowing its head. "I also know to ignore a puppet and go for the master!"
Luz closed the distance as fast as she could as she reeled her left arm back, pressing the light glyph and making a ball of light and throwing it to Amity, who instinctively put her arms up to block the blinding light. When the light died down, Amity opened her eyes to see Luz right below her, reeling her right fist back for an uppercut.
'She's faster than before!' Amity thought as she prepared her arms, feeling the heavy impact of Luz's punch. 'And her punch is even stronger than I thought!'
Luz didn't stop as she kept through punches at Amity's defense, a bit surprised she could defend like this but didn't think about it long. Her defense was lazy and had so many openings, she threw a kick to Amity's right leg and caused her to stumble.
'Go for the jaw!' Luz thought as she threw a punch to Amity's jawline.
'NO! I won't go down like this!' Amity thought as she takes a step back. 'I am not going to lose to YOU!'
Amity fell with the stumble, making Luz miss by inches before throwing a punch of her own and hitting Luz's cheek. This surprised everyone who were watching the fight.
'She punched her?!' Eda, Willow, and Gus thought in shock.
'She punched me?' Luz thought as she quickly got back, seeing the abomination almost stomp on her. 'That punch actually surprised me, I didn't think she was one to get her hands dirty.'
"Looks like Blight isn't afraid to swing her fist." Ardyn said as Ryker nodded as what he said.
"Indeed."
"Don't give her room to breathe!" Amity commanded as her Abomination pulled out its head, throwing it at Luz to try and crush her. Luz quickly dived out of the way, hearing it crash behind her, before quickly tapping her fire glyphs and threw fireballs at Amity. Well, around her since Luz didn't want to do permanent damage to her. Amity covered her face as the fireball crashed around her.
"Like I said, I'm going for you and not your mush monster!" Luz shouted before she held a hand behind her, using the fire spell to boost her towards Amity. "You surprised me before, but that won't happen again!"
Luz stopped in front of Amity and delivered a hard punch to her stomach, making her keel over and gasp before she grits her teeth.
"That's what you think!" Amity shouted as she grabbed Luz's arm, throwing a sluggish knee to try and break it but Luz countering it with her own. "I will win this!"
Luz gave a straight kick the get Amity off her arm, causing her to stumble back as she got back into her stance.
"Sorry to say, but you'll need a miracle to beat me now!" Luz shouted to her.
"Well, lucky for me, I do have a miracle." Amity said, smiling deviously before looking to her abomination. "Abomination! Cower, merge, and armor!"
With the triple order given, the abomination began to fall to a puddle before moving towards Amity and slide up her body. Amity was soon covered in her abomination before it began to mold into something different, it began to mold and harden into a sort of armor around Amity's body with six tendrils popping out of her back.
Everyone, even Lilith herself, gasp at the sight of the armor and the level of effort it must've took to mold it.
"HOLY TITAN!" Willow, Gus, and King, who was covered in even more swag, shouted in unison at the sight of Amity in abomination armor!
"Is that even possible?" Ardyn asked to himself as Ryker nodded.
"Only very skilled witches can do something like this." Ryker said as Ardyn looked at him in confusion. "What I'm saying is that you friend better be ready for what's about to happen next."
"What the heck are you teaching her, Lily?!" Eda shouted as her sister, who stood still before she shook off her surprise and smiled at Amity.
"Something I could never be prouder of! She's even more talented than I thought before!" Lilith shouted before looking to Luz, who was still in shock of the armor. "I'd suggest you give up now, human! You put on a good show, but I think Amity is done playing around!"
Luz quickly shook her head to get back in the right mindset before firming her face.
"Not chance! Armor or not, I'm not backing down!" Luz said as she activated both her light and fire glyph at the same time, causing her fists to become golden flames. "So, bring it on, Amity!"
"Consider it brought, human!" Amity shouted as they charged at each other.
Amity mentally commanded the tendril to form fists at the end and launch at Luz, forcing her to dodge before throwing fire ball at the rest her path to Amity was clear as Luz reeled her fist back, right at the same time as Amity. Their fists met in the middle before they before Luz broke the clash with her superior strength, pushing Amity back before they engaged in the very first match on the Boiling Isles. The crowd watched in awe and roared with cheers, watching as Luz had the superior skill in close combat while Amity was slowly improving, using her armor and tendrils to attack and defend but Luz was able to keep up.
"This is insane!" Gus said in shock as he grabbed his hair, watching as Luz did a roundhouse kick against two tendrils, ducking and firing a fireball at Amity, right into the chest.
"I know! I didn't think this would happen!" Willow said as Ardyn shouted as loud as he could.
"COME ON, LUZ! KICK HER IN THE ARMORED ASS!" he cheered as Luz had some supporters in the crowd. Some on the crowd who didn't think much of her begin to cheer for her as well.
"I got to say, for a human, she's able to handle herself pretty well." Ryker said as Charlotte nodded at what her Master said.
Back with the fight, Luz dodged two more tendrils before blocking a knee kick from Amity and closing the distance to give her a left hook, but she blocked it as well.
'She's getting better as we fight! I've read about this online, but I've never seen it before.' Luz thought as she jumped away from all tendrils trying to pummel her into the ground, looking at the armor and noticing cracks slowly closing. 'Her armor is cracking! It's probably taking a lot of her magic to keep it strong and control those tendrils but if I can break it, I can win!'
With a new plan in mind, Luz rushed towards Amity as the armored girls sent all her tendril fists at Luz and combined them into a large right fist! That didn't stop Luz as she kept running, coming within inches of the fist before sliding under and to the left. She quickly got back on her feet and rushed to Amity, readying both hands with golden flames.
"Got you!" Luz shouted as she used her left hand to chop through the tendril, making the first fall to muck on the ground before she rushed Amity, who put up her arms to block again. "It's over!"
Using all the strength she could muster in each punch, Luz punched all over Amity's guard and her upper body. With every flaming punch, Luz could see the cracks getting bigger and bigger without fixing themselves. Amity was too busy defending Luz's rush to notice, big mistake on her part as she left the punches hurt more and more before realizing her mistake.
'My abomination armor is breaking!' she thought in panic before it was too late, feeling the arm parts break as they were both knocked away from her face. 'No!'
"Game over!" Luz said as she reeled her right arm back, making a golden fire fist shine brightly before hitting Amity as hard as she could in her stomach.
"UUH!" Amity let out as the fire fist exploded, knocking them both back as her armor broke apart and fell to the ground returning to muck.
Luz managed to roll from her back to her feet and stumbled into a steady stance while Amity flipped and landed on her stomach. The remainder of Amity's armor was a shoulder guard for her left arm, a bit for her chest, and some covering both her thighs; it looked like it was struggling to form again or even stay solid as Amity tried to get up from the ground, but she remained on her knees.
"Th-This isn't over!" Amity said, refusing to admit defeat as she uses her magic to conjure up smaller abomination from below Luz at the creature delivered a powerful uppercut which caused Luz to fall on her back with a loud thud.
"LUZ!" Adryn, Eda, King, Willow, and Gus shouted in concern as Charlotte gasped as Ryker and Romani eyes narrow at the situation that was happening. Luz was able to get up, but she was going to tap out if she keeps going, so she fell to her knees.
"Don't worry, human. You'll only be knocked out for a while." Amity said as she was about to land another blow to Luz to knock her out when she felt something on her nose. She holds the attack on her Abomination magic, to pick up what landed on her nose. " A flower petal?" asked Amity.
Suddenly everyone in the battle arena could see a golden pillar of light sky rocking into the sky just in front of Luz. Inside of that golden pillar of light was a human shape figure. When the light ended, it slowly revealed the being that was forming there. Luz gasp in a shocked way.
"No way... Nero?" asked Luz. Indeed. It was Nero who appeared before her very eyes. Seeing this human being appeared out of nowhere made the entire crowd of Boiling Isle mutter in confusion with each other on who that strange woman is.
"That's Nero Claudius? She's…a lot shorter than I thought." Ardyn said to himself as the group he was with looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Ryker asked as Ardyn elaborates.
"That woman there is a powerful figure from our world's history. Thought she would be a little taller, but what I want to know is how is she here?" The hybrid said as he scratches his chin as Ryker looked on with curiosity.
"Sorry for appearing so suddenly Praetor. I felt like I am need in this fight. To show everyone here something what true beauty is." Said Nero as she looks at Luz with a warm smile on her lips.
"Who the heck are you!? And why are you suddenly interfering in this match with me and the human over there!?" asked Amity as she points at Nero.
"My name is Nero Claudius. The Fifth Emperor of Roman and The Emperor of Roses. I came here to take my Praetor place in this fight. You need to be taught a lesson. Picking on other with you magic. That magic truly reflects your actions. An abomination indeed." Said Nero with a slightly glare on her face.
Amity entire face turns red in anger. She didn't like being compared like that by this unknown girl. "What do you know!? You don't know me at all!" Said Amity as Nero nodded.
"True... but it is time you need to see from your own eyes what beautiful really means. In fact, everyone here, would you like to see something wonderful and the true definition of beautiful!? I shall prove my word as I take down this girl creation!" asked Nero as she turns around in a circle to talk out loud to the entire crowd. Her mere words encourage to cheer for the girl to show them.
"Don't get a big head just from mere words. A mere sword won't damage my Abomination." Said Amity as she had her magic controlling her monster again as it growls a bit.
"True... if I was a normal human. But you are going to learn this lesson the hard way." Said Nero. She summons a red rose in her left hand and holds it close to her chest.
(Play: Nero Claudius - Everything Is in Her Hands)
There was silence in the room. "Behold my glory... Hear the thunderous applause..." said Nero as she begins to do a chant as she tosses her red rose into the air. The red rose brightens and makes everyone cover their eyes. And the area become black. Nero holds her sword with both hands and does some sword slashes in the air. "Sit down and praise... My Golden Theater!" Said Nero as she stabs her sword into the ground. And then something beautiful happens. The entire area begins to be remade, reconstructed into something new. A huge golden theater with tons of platforms for the crowd to be in. And with Nero being in the middle of the theater in a circle with four red carpets near it in a large red plus formation and red pedals scattered in the wind that blows all around the theater
"Kingdom of Heaven and Hell... My heaven, reconstructed! This is where the limelight shines! Aestus Domus Aurea!"
Everyone is amazed and fascinated of seeing this. They never seeing something so beautiful and amazing at the same time. Amity is in total awe. She never got to see something like this before. And for the first time in her life, she did. "Beautiful."
Her Abomination creation suddenly falls to its knees as it suddenly felt its defenses begin to weaken greatly. Nero flares at the creature as she raises her sword above her. "Let the Pavilion fall!" Said Nero as her sword becomes ignited with powerful flames.
"Rosa Ictus!" Said Nero as she charges at the creature at super-fast speed. She reaches close to the monster and slash downward in the middle of the creature. The monster lets out one small groan before it spits apart in half and then burns into ashes.
(Stop Playing: Nero Claudius - Everything Is in Her Hands)
Nero swings her sword to make the flame disappear as the arena begins to return to how it was before she unleashed her Noble Phantasm.
"As much I would like to see how this end, but I'm afraid my time is coming to a close." Nero said as her body begins to glow. She turned towards Luz with a smile on her face. "My Praetor, I hope that you enjoyed the show. We'll see each other soon."
With that said Nero dissipates into a shower of light as they returned to Luz as she and Amity are the only two remained in the arena. As the two got up and got back into their respective stances, Luz noticed something on Amity's neck, something...familiar.
"Huh?" Luz wondered as she lowered her fists and walked to Amity, confusing the crowd as they stopped cheering for a moment.
Luz helped Amity to her feet, looking at the think on her neck and gasping as Amity pushed her away.
"Get off me." she said as the rest of her armor fell to the ground.
"Amity, you have something on the nap of your neck." Luz said as she gestured to her neck.
"On my neck? What are pulling?" Amity asked as she reached for her neck. "There's nothing on m-"
Amity froze mid-sentence as she pulled something off her neck and brought it to her front to see it, it was a power glyph from the Construction Coven.
"Wha-how?" Amity asked as everyone gasped at the sight of the glyph, mumbling about Amity cheating. "I-I-I didn't know! I would never use something like this to win!"
From what Luz saw on her face, the pure shock and fear at the glyph, she had to be telling the truth and if Amity didn't put the glyph on her neck, only one other person could've done it.
"It was Lilith!" Luz shouted as she pointed an accusing finger at her, making everyone stop and listen as she walked up to Amity from behind. "She placed a power glyph on your neck before the duel started!"
Everyone gasped once again at the news, shocked that the head of Emperor's Coven would stoop to cheating using her star student! Though Eda had a different reaction.
"Cheated?! You cheated!" Eda said with a smile, rushing her face and mocking her. "You cheated, miss perfect isn't so perfect after all! Hot dog, today is a great day!"
"I only cheated because I knew you would cheat!" Lilith said as she pointed to Luz as Eda began to dance around her, more specifically her gloves. "Magic manipulating gloves?! The human wouldn't stand a chance if you didn't give her those!"
"You still cheated! Welcome to my level, sister!" Eda mocked as Amity look around the crowd, seeing their shock, sadness, and... disappointment at her.
"Bu-But I didn't know." she said as she looked to Luz, beginning to cry from her own teacher making her cheat without even knowing. The green haired girl ran out of the theater with a look of sadness, anger, humiliation, and betrayed. She might not know betrayal but the other feelings where nothing new to Luz since she had felt before whenever she and Ardyn were humiliated. Speaking of which, the hybrid came behind her and she saw that he had the same look as her, thinking of the same thing.
"Let's go find Amity." Luz said to Ardyn who silently nodded as they ran after her, leaving Eda and Lilith to argue and escalate into a fight.
After making their way out of the theater, Ardyn and Luz looked around for Amity. "Where'd she go?" Luz asked before spotting her in a dark space right near the bathrooms. She was squatting down on the ground. Knees to her chest and her head burrowed in them.
Turning to his friend, Ardyn said, "Luz, you've got to talk to her."
"But…"
"You have to be the one to talk to her first, I'll follow." Ardyn said, pointing at his friend.
Ardyn frowned and looked down at the ground for a moment, knowing that she was right. Even if Amity was a bit of a jerk. Turning to Amity, Luz started walking over to her with Ardyn behind her.
"Amity…" She said, standing over her.
"What do you want?" Amity said, turning her head away from Ardyn and Luz.
"We just want to talk, that's all." Ardyn said.
"Ugh, seriously? Just leave me alone." The green haired girl said as she buried her head deeper into her knees.
"Amity, I'm so sorry," Luz said with sincerity. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
Amity whipped her head towards them to glare at the duo. "That's all you two ever do!"
"What?" Ardyn asked, confused just as much as Luz is.
"You two embarrassed me!" Amity snapped, standing up to look at them in the eyes. Taking Ardyn and Luz aback. "Ever since I've met you and Ardyn, all you two ever do to me! First at school, and now this! You made me look like a fool in front of the Emperor's Coven. My future! You think it's so easy to be a witch. I have been working my whole life to get to the top! And then suddenly come into my life and screw up everything! You two are not witches! You both don't belong here! Say it! Say you don't belong here!"
Ardyn and Luz remained quiet and stared at her.
"SAY IT!"
"...You're right, Amity." Ardyn admitted. This surprised both Amity and Luz as they turned towards him who had a sad look on his face. "I'm not a witch, and I don't belong here. I honestly don't know if I really belong anywhere."
He then brought up his hands, confusing Amity as she watched. Focusing his magic, Amity's eyes widened as she saw the magic sign appear on his hands. Ardyn concentrates as he produces a light spell.
"But I'm not going to stop trying," Ardyn said with a smile.
"How did you…" Amity whispered, still amazed by the way that Ardyn made the spell. She quickly scoffed and turned away. "That's nothing. A child could cast that," she said, stepping away from Ardyn.
"Yup." Ardyn flicked the light at her, and it lightly touched her shoulder.
Amity turned her head and looked at it, before holding it herself. She notices how it felt… warm. Like that of a comforting blanket that keeps her from the cold of winter.
"But...I've never seen it cast like that," Amity said, turning to face Ardyn. "Does it have to do with what Principal Bump called you? A Bronwyn."
"Yeah. It's why I have these magical abilities. For Luz, it doesn't come naturally," Ardyn said, tapping the light spell and making it pop.
"Ardyn's right," Luz said with a small smile. She knelt, confusing Amity, but she kneeled with her to see what she was going to do. Luz brought out her notepad and drew a light glyph and tapped it. The paper crumpled up and turned into a ball of light.
She picked it up and said, "Even though I'm not a witch, I'm training hard to be one. All I have to do is improvise."
"But I honestly think she has a better handle on her magic than I do." Ardyn said as Amity looked at him with a surprised expression. "Remember this Amity, life isn't a one-way journey. There are multiple paths you can take towards your future. You just have to take the one that leads to where you want to go."
Amity looked at him with wide eyes, as a moment of silence hung in the air.
"We'll leave you alone," Ardyn said, with Luz standing up. The two friends were about to leave when Amity stopped them.
"Wait," Amity said. Ardyn and Luz stopped as Amity stood up and used her magic to make a spell circle. Gently grabbing Luz's hand with her left hand, she put her right hand through the ring and then grabbed his hand. Pulling it into the ring caused both hands to glow for a moment.
"The oath is unbound," Amity said, before walking away from the duo.
"Did it work? Can we still learn magic?" Luz asked.
"Humans have no magical ability. But I doubt that'll stop your friend," Amity said, looking over her shoulder at the girl. Then she gazed over at Ardyn. "And... Ardyn, was it? I... I wish you the best in learning that power of yours..."
And with that, she walked off.
"So, you think she's a friend now." Luz asked, rubbing her wrist.
"No, but I think we're now at an understanding," Ardyn said with a small smile on his face.
"Luz! Ardyn!" They both turned to see King running up to them. Luz knelt to him. "You left me!
"Yeah, sorry," Luz apologized. "Your legs are just so tiny."
"Wow, King, don't you think you've got enough swag?" Ardyn asked with an amused smirk.
"Maybe. But I have something for you two!" King said. "And it's the best thing, because it's free, comes from my heart, and I always have more than I need."
Luz gasped at this. "Is it love?"
King made a disgusted expression. "Ugh! No!" He then pulled out a covention bag. "Tote bags!"
"Wow, how generous of you," Ardyn said sarcastically as he took the bag, and King climbed on his arm.
"And they have so many uses!" King then jumped into the bag and pointed at the exit. "Away, fair chariot! Away!" Ardyn and Luz laughed, with the Latina girl petting the dog-like demon's head.
Then Eda came up behind them in a rush. "We got to go."
"Wait, what about your sister?" Ardyn asked.
"Let's just say she had a real 'snack attack.' Hah!" She laughed and snorted at her own joke. "Wait, I got a better one."
Please Eda, just stop." Romani said with a groan as the two begin to head out first.
Ardyn followed her but stopped when he realized that Luz wasn't with him. Turning back around, he saw her standing with her head down.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ardyn asked.
"Eda…" Luz said, making Eda and Romani stop to look at her with a look of confusion on their face. "Do you think Ardyn and I'll ever be a true witch?
"What? I don't know. And who's a true witch? These suckers? According to them, that means being in a coven, but I never joined one, and I'm better than all of them combined. You got to be your own witches," Eda said to the kids.
"Our own witch," Luz said with a growing smile. Liking the sound of that.
"Now, let's go before my sister realizes I tied her pointy shoes together," Eda told the kids. They then heard Lilith screaming in the background. "And that's our cue!"
"So, you have a sister now?" Ardyn asked as they walked out of the covention.
"Yes! Now that's a mysterious past payoff!" Luz cheered.
"Oh, you think that's all the mystery I got. Wait until you hear about my parents," Eda said.
"What?! You've got parents?! I need to know more!"
"You very much don't!" King and Romani said at the same time.
As they walked together, Luz's happy smile dropped before she turned to Ardyn. "Hey, Ardyn, I'm so sorry for picking a fight with Amity," she said, looking down at her hands clasped together with an expression of shame. "It was stupid of me to do, and I shouldn't have done it."
"It's alright, Luz," Ardyn said, but Luz looked at him in disbelief.
"But why aren't you angry with me?" she asked, placing a hand on her chest. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have worry about stop using magic."
"Yeah, but then you brought me out of it. If it wasn't for you, who knows what would have happened. So, thanks, Luz."
Luz looked at him with a surprised look before she smiled and blushed. She then grabbed his hand and interlocked his fingers with her. The Latina girl honestly didn't know why she was doing this, but it felt so right, and it made her smile. When the whole group began to leave the Covention, a certain duo watched the leaving group without them knowing.
"What do you think of them, Master Ryker?" Charlotte Corday, The Angel of Assassination asked as little golden eggshell with wings and halo floated next to her, but the one thing that stood out from it was the unnatural smile that was on it. Ryker looked at her with a big grin on his face as his eyes shined with ambition.
"Charlotte. I believe we found ourselves future allies."
However, in the theater's backstage dressing room, the door opened, and Lilith struggled to walk in with her shoes still tied together. She tripped over, before pulling herself up by a dresser. "You make it so hard to want to help you, Edalyn," she said. "But now that boy…"
She was interrupted when a magical device in the form of a pendant with the Emperor Coven's symbol activated. It popped open, making the witch gasp in surprise. The glass showing another person on the other side.
That person was Kikimora, the emperor's assistant. She's a demon of diminutive stature and childish proportions. Standing several heads shorter than her subordinates, with red skin and pupils, yellow sclera, and three-pronged, taloned appendages like those of a fowl. Her most defining feature, though, was the conjoined hands that make up her hair. With one hand forming a fringe that hid one of her eyes from view, the other was clenched behind her head to form a bun.
Being a high-ranking affiliate of the Emperor's Coven, Kikimora wore robes reminiscent. A white tunic over a black ensemble and a high-collared veil that shrouds her face's lower regions. A triangular accessory fastened this veil.
"Lilith, I see you let The Owl Lady get the best of your temper. Just remember what Emperor Belos has promised to you," Kikimora told the woman.
"I will capture her, ma'am. But right now, I have to speak with the Emperor," Lilith said to the assistant.
The little demon scoffed. "You think that you can just demand to know the whereabouts of our fare Emperor Belos?"
"It's important. I've found a child of the Bronwyn line."
This made Kikimora gasp in shock. "B-But, how's that possible? We assumed that they were-"
"Kikimora," said a male voice off-screen. One that made her flinch. "Who are you talking to?
"I-It's Lilith, my lord," she said to the person off-screen. "She said that she had found a-"
"I'll take it from here."
Lilith watched as the screen pulled away from Kikimora. And then showed another person that made her eyes widen. A man who wore a mask with two long, upward-facing horns. The eyes were hollow through the mask, creating the appearance of having no eyeballs. And the man that dawned a large cape with white and brown, as well as gold trim.
This was the Emperor of the Boiling Isles, Emperor Belos.
"Lilith," the emperor said.
The witch quickly knelt before her ruler. "Emperor Belos, I'm honored to be speaking to you. I've encountered a child that I know will be please you-"
"I'm growing impatient, Lilith. Speak what you have to tell me, now."
Lilith nervously gulped the lump in her throat before telling him her news. "I've encountered a hybrid today, in the company of my sister. He is the son of Anna Bronwyn."
After those sentences left her mouth, there was perhaps the longest and most tense moment of silence she's ever received from Belos. Sweat started to build upon her face as she tried to maintain a professional face to hide her anxiousness.
"Are you certain of this Lilith?" Belos said with curiosity.
"I'm certain, Emperor," Lilith said, bowing her head. "He is indeed a child of the Bronwyn bloodline."
Again, there was a moment of silence, but then he turned his head to the right. "This is an opportunity we can't leave unchecked." he said. Belos then turned back to Lilith. "You are to find this child and bring him to me."
"And if I capture him, will you still uphold your promise?" Lilith asked with a look of hope.
"Bring me the Bronwyn child and your sister, and I shall," Belos said. "Am I clear, Lilith?"
Lilith bowed her head slightly. "Crystal, my lord."
"Excellent." Emperor Belos said, before the screen turned back into a mirror. Lilith looked up and stared at her own reflection. She then turned to a picture she had on the deck. Showing her when she was a teenager with Eda and Anna. It was a reminder of happier times. A time before everything changes.
Walking over to the picture, Lilith looked at it sadly, then frowning.
"I'm sorry, Anna, but your son and Edalyn's days are numbered."
Back to where the call was made, Emperor Belos leans back into his throne. "At long last, the Legacy of the Bronwyn have returned to the Boiling Isles. And a new child of that bloodline is here as well." He said as Kikimora walked towards him.
"If it's possible my liege, I can assemble a taskforce to assist Lilith and-"
"That will not be necessary, Kikimora. Allow Lilith to handle this. Take the rest of the day off." Emperor Belos said rose from his throne and began walking out of the throne room, leaving a confused Kikimora standing there. Belos walked down a dead-end hallway. At the end of the hall was a large pedestal with a statue of a bearded king, wielding a giant axe. The Emperor of the Boiling Isles stood before the statue and pulled on a nearby torch that was positioned to his right. Upon doing this, the front of the pedestal slid open, revealing a dark staircase that led downwards. Belos took hold of another torch that was in the statue to his right and began his descent into the unknown lower levels of castle.
Along the way, Belos spotted dark humanoid monsters that has long arms with three claws that are sharp like knives. However, he did not fear them. As he continued his walk, the shadow creatures moved aside for him, as if they were afraid of him. Belos eventually made it down to the lower levels and placed the torch into a holder off to his left. Most of the chamber he was in was covered in shadows, apart from some glowing red nodes, and mechanical devices that were all around the room. There was a clear area out in front of him that had several glowing nodes, and it was here that the emperor removed his mask and got down on both of his knees.
"It as you said, my old friend. The Soul-Box of Heroes has returned."
All was quiet before a dark chuckle erupted from the darkness as the room begins to brighten. Sitting in a throne of ivory is a man with white hair and tan skin, wearing clothing and robe that are like that of royalty. However, the one thing that stood out was his razor-sharp teeth, red-eyes with black sclera, and black markings on his face.
"Perfect."