Chapter 7: Ultimate Illusion
The Mirage Arena, a rather small world nestled away from the others. According to the information that Master Xehanort provided, it works by drawing upon the contestant's subconscious memories to create illusions of enemies that have been previously faced. I guess that this arena uses a passive telepathy to give the contestants the challenge they are seeking while also tailoring the illusions to their skill levels.
Master Xehanort is right. Terra, Aqua, even Ven, they are all stronger than I am. I have let these skills slip up. If I had spent as much time honing my skills rather than sneaking into the library, maybe the Evil Queen wouldn't have died. What if the next time one of my barely tested spells destabilizes, one of the others are hurt? I can't afford to let something like that happen. The Mirage Arena is my best chance at breaking through this celling I have hit. Vanitas is still out there, and I cannot beat him as I am now.
Terra, Aqua, Ventus, that is a whole other can of worms at the moment. I do not think Ven will go home. I will have to find him as well and keep him safe. Aqua is…rigid. She wants what is best for us, but in her mind Master Eraqus' word is a definitive law. After what happened in Dwarf Woodlands, I do not know if Eraqus' training is what is best for the worlds. Terra…I don't have a clue what to do here. He is stubborn, we all can be, but he is probably the most stubborn out of all of us. But his actions…he is throwing himself deeper into the darkness rather than fighting it. When all of this over, we are all going to have to sit down and have a long talk about all of this. From the reports of Caelum, Apprentice to Eraqus
Caelum stepped out onto one of the floating platforms. A large shadow passed over him. He looked up to see a series of floating rings rotating around the arena. "This is definitely…a unique world." He walked up to a computer terminal. "So how does this work?" No sooner than the words had left his mouth, the computer turned on and a beam of light scanned Caelum.
"Scanning contestant…Scanning complete. Multiple simulations available." Caelum walked up to the screen and was greeted with a list of challenges.
"Flawless Aerial Combat, Defeat the Horde, Survive Toxic Clouds, Elemental Control…" Caelum scrolled through the list. "This is perfect. I will be certainly be challenged, but each of these are doable." He tapped on the Elemental Control challenge. "Never again." Caelum muttered to himself, looking over the challenges requirements.
"Challenge selected. Please use to teleporter to reach the arena." Caelum turned around and saw the center of the platform glowing.
"Let's get this show on the road."
Stepping out into the arena, Caelum took in the sight. He could see the cosmos past the floating rings. An Unversed appeared in front of him. This Unversed resembled a totem pole with three separate multicolor pieces switching places with each other. A voice spoke in his head, "Claim 70 points within 1 minute 30 seconds. Strike the pieces with the corresponding magic."
Caelum summoned his Keyblade and watched as the red portion of the Elemental Cluster settled in the middle. He leapt into action launching fireballs at the center portion. Swapping between various elemental magics, he prioritized accuracy over all else. The seconds ticked as Caelum paced himself.
"Time is up." The Unversed vanished into thin air. "Total Points: 54. Goal not met. Challenge failed. Would you like to try again?"
"Yes." Caelum said confidently. The Unversed reappeared and Caelum resumed his deadly dance.
A few more rounds passed with Caelum's magic increasing. His fireballs burned brighter and he could control the speed in which they left his Keyblade. His blizzard spells were able to home in, curving around in the air to launch towards their targets. His thunder spells grew more intense and he was able to direct them efficiently. His score climbed higher and higher.
"Time is up. Total Points: 92. Challenge completed. Would you like to select a new challenge?"
Caelum was drenched in sweat as he closed a fist over an Ether. "Yes." A bright light surrounded him and he found himself at the platform he started on. He opened his hand and summoned a small flame. He looked at the fire spell floating above his palm. He closed his fist and the fire extinguished. "This place is truly amazing. I will have to share this with the others…"
A pang of guilt shot through him at the thought of his friends and how he treated them. He pulled out his Wayfinder and ran a finger over the small cracks. "Maybe once all of this is over, I will be able to apologize." Placing the Wayfinder back in his pocket he walked up to the computer screen. He scrolled through the list and selected another challenge.
Caelum jumped up, destroying the last flaming meteor that was racing towards the ground. The Flame Box vanished behind him. "Challenge completed. 30 Meteors have been destroyed."
Caelum collapsed on the ground. This challenge was simple, but he was exhausted from doing all of the challenges. From racing through a maze filled with poisonous clouds, juggling three Floating Flora, to taking on a horde of Jellyshades, even a sort of gladiator match against a Gluttonous Goo where he had to collect orbs that dropped every time he hit it.
He found himself teleported back to the starting platform. The terminal pinged. Groaning, Caelum picked himself up from the ground. "All Challenges have been completed." He let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally. It wasn't kidding when it said it would be challenging."
"A new challenge is available."
"Now what? It can't be much worse than these last few."
"Clash on the Big Bridge is now available."
"Defeat the mysterious enemy…" Caelum said looking over the challenge. "The name of the challenge sounds intriguing. Not to mention it is likely a final challenge to test everything I have learned here. So why not? I accept this final challenge." Caelum was teleported down to the arena.
Once he regained his vision, he looked around. The arena had changed to resemble a grand bridge of wood and stone that looped around on itself. Cherry blossoms blew in from the surrounding trees and the arena was awash in moonlight. "Well, this certainly fits the theme of the challenge, but where is my opponent?"
A portal emerged in front of him and an armored warrior in red tumbled out. Caelum summoned his Keyblade as the warrior got up. "Who are you?" Caelum questioned.
"My, that is a unique weapon…Relinquish it to me!" The warrior spoke, his white and red face paint visible.
"Now why would I do that?" Caelum asked, gripping his Keyblade tighter and narrowing his eyes.
"Then I shall take it by force! Know that your opponent is the Legendary Bladesman…Gilgamesh!" Gilgamesh summoned a naginata to his hand. "Now we fight!"
Gilgamesh rushed towards Caelum with the tip of the naginata pointed directly at him. Caellum jumped past him and turned around as Gilgamesh stumbled. "Hah! I should have expected this from a cur such as yourself. Know that I will not be felled easily!"
Caelum only looked in bewilderment at the scene. "Is he serious?" He thought. He shook his head and deflected one of Gilgamesh's strikes. Sparks flew as their weapons met.
"Whirlwind slash!" Gilgamesh shouted twirling his naginata above him. He brought it down and a blade of wind left it. The wind raced towards Caelum who sidestepped the attack. "Triple slash!" Caelum dodged the three slices of the naginata.
Caelum rushed forward with a thunder surge, the lightning connecting with Gilgamesh. "Hah! Tis but a scratch!" He kicked Caelum away. Caelum got back up and launched several fireballs at Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh blocked a few, but more impacted him engulfing in smoke.
"Hah!" Gilgamesh shouted. "You are indeed a worthy opponent. Our battle shall be legendary!" Gilgamesh pumped his fist into the air. "For Gilgamesh…it's MORPHIN' TIME!" Gilgamesh began to glow and four more arms formed behind his back. He stomped his foot on the ground and several weapons fell from the sky landing next to him. He picked up a large axe, a jagged sword, a katana, a scimitar, and a sword that appeared to be made of gold.
"Now the true contest begins! For I posses the Blade of Legend!" He lifted the golden sword. "Behold Excalibur!"
Caelum gritted his teeth as Gilgamesh transformed and pulled out several weapons. He kept his eye on Gilgamesh as he jumped forward swinging the Rune Axe. Caelum backpedaled. The shockwave from the axe slamming to the ground sent Caelum back, but he was otherwise unharmed. Gilgamesh rushed forward Excalibur glinting in the moonlight. Caelum moved but could not avoid the blade. His eyes widened in shock.
The so called "Blade of Legend" had barely left a bruise on him. Gilgamesh likewise was also frozen. His head darted between Caelum's injury and the sword. "This is not Excalibur!" He shouted, "It is but Excalipoor!" Caelum only looked at Gilgamesh blankly as he remained staring at the blade.
"No matter…" Gilgamesh said, tossing the sword over his shoulder. "I shall still claim your weapon. En Garde!" Gilgamesh resumed his attack. The sound of steel rang out across the arena. Caelum brought his Keyblade down on the Rune Axe, shattering it. Gilgamesh stumbled backwards. Caelum followed up with disarming Gilgamesh of the scimitar, the blade flying over the side of the bridge.
Caelum shrouded his Keyblade with fire magic and rushed forward, slicing down at Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh caught the Keyblade between his remaining two swords, but he buckled under Caelum and the swords shattered, leaving Gilgamesh with only his naginata. "You…you must be…shaking in your boots." Gilgamesh panted.
Even with only one weapon left Gilgamesh continued to fight, but Caelum eventually managed a blow that sent him stumbling back. "Do you give up yet?" Caelum asked Gilgamesh, blood leaking from various cuts on his body.
"For now…" Gilgamesh panted getting up. "I do. You are indeed a powerful warrior. But mark my words…One day we shall meet again… and I will claim your Keyblade for myself!" A portal opened behind Gilgamesh. "So, until that day arrives, fare thee well." The portal closed leaving the arena empty.
"I look forward to it." Caelum said. He picked up one of the broken swords handles Gilgamesh abandoned. "Why did these break so easily?" He teleported back to the platform he arrived on and noticed a moogle.
"Hey can you tell me anything about this?" Caelum asked holding out the broken sword.
"Hmmm. Looks to be a counterfeit kupo. It looks convincing, but this sword would never hold up for long in a proper fight."
"Thank you." Caelum said walking away. "So, all of that guy's weapons…they were just fakes?" He placed a hand on his chin. "Even so, he was still a difficult opponent. But where did he even come from?" He thought about it for a bit before shaking his head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. This place has certainly helped me tremendously, but it is about time I left for more worlds. Vanitas and the Unversed are still out there." Caelum summoned his glider and left the Mirage Arena behind.
The stars twinkled around him as he moved through the Lanes Between. He pulled out his Wayfinder and looked at it. "Terra, Aqua, Ven, wherever you guys are, please stay safe."
AN: Seven chapters down, seven to go. We have reached the technical halfway point. I hope that I was able to do the character of Gilgamesh justice. I used his appearance in the FF7 Remake as the basis for him here with his design coming from his FF11 one. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and I ask that you do leave a comment letting if you enjoyed this story so far. Chapter 8: Hero's Journey will be up sometime next Sunday EST.
Akira25: Thanks for the heads up. I do try to upload these chapters every Sunday EST, but I have no specific time I upload them. Just depends when I do finish them, but I will try to upload them every Sunday. To answer your questions, none of the friends hate each other nor do any of them have mental illnesses. It is simply a bunch of tension that boiled over and exploded over clashing ideals, Aqua's devotion to Eraqus' teachings and Terra continuing to struggle with darkness. If this was rated like a movie I would say PG-PG13. I rated this story T simply to be on the safer side when I do write some of the more violent scenes that are upcoming.