This is getting out of hand! Now, there are two of them! Or perhaps it was more accurate to say one and a half destruction wielders. Yes, Aejaz could steal and use fundamental pillar affiliations but only at 70% effectiveness. These arts were hit the hardest with limitations, for obvious reasons, but the fact that he could even use them was unbelievable. Aejaz had joked about stealing Ares'' pillar back when they first met but it had been nothing more than an unserious off-handed comment and a pipe dream at best... And yet, here he was, blowing up his brother, not Ares, in a way that couldn''t have been more satisfying. He''d practiced with the art before but actually using it on a person was an experience and then some. Actually, Aejaz had used a fair few destruction pillar arts already. There was that one time Ares caught him out, Voidwalking around the house because he was too lazy to walk normally, and promptly smacked some sense into the idiot. Aejaz had also used disintegration magic earlier this match after stealing the rune from the Training Field. He yoinked the rune preventing him from interfering with the crowd, or vice versa, out and disintegrated it in his palm without making a big fuss about it so he could take his opponents by surprise. As for the rune that was stolen from the barrier, normally it would have just returned on its own. Julio had a failsafe that effectively roped in errant or wayward runes and dragged them back but Aejaz had crushed the thing into dust so that wasn''t possible. It was no surprise Julio would recognise some disintegration handywork as he''d seen how devastating the aspect was to his own runemancy many times before... Too many times before, in fact...


    So yes, Aejaz could use fundamental magic. If Mako were present, he too would be a valid target to have his magic stolen. Now, was Aejaz guaranteed it like he was everyone else''s magic? No, fundamentals were very much capable of denying him if they paid attention. Ares'' disintegration would stop Appropriate Skillset in its tracks if he wanted to. Aejaz would have to work hard in order to steal the pillar affiliation without alerting the fundamental in question if he wanted to use it but they didn''t want him to. He had the Concealed Serpent, and his invisibility, so it''s not like he didn''t have the tools to facilitate stealing the pillar, it''s just that it could go either way really. Ares had Omniscience so he could spy Aejaz from a mile away, invisible or not, and put his brother in a tough situation. Some of the fundamentals might be more susceptible to this than others but it was all pretty irrelevant speculation because why would any of them deny Aejaz? The reason for their existence was to destroy Xhilihx, having a pseudo 7th fundamental, one that could combine their powers in a way that even they themselves couldn''t, was a boon and not a curse. Unless Aejaz pissed one of them off for whatever reason, they were all supposed to be on the same side and so holding him back was pointless. At the very least, Ares didn''t have a reason to prevent his brother from using his magic. It''s not like he siphoned Ares'' physical attributes along with it, he was really just borrowing the magic. It also didn''t prevent Ares from using his own pillar so why should he care? Unless it was like the inner court exam from a while back, where he was actually fighting against the guy, he saw no reason to stifle him. The best argument Ares could come up with was that Aejaz might become reliant on powerful magic, leaving him high and dry whenever a fundamental wasn''t around to bail him out... But Aejaz was no longer the over-reliant type, that personality trait had been sanded down and removed almost completely.


    As for the ensuing golden onslaught, it definitely wasn''t as spectacular as anything Ares could create. It was less a Grand annihilation and more a ''good'' annihilation. Still, destruction pillar magic was destruction pillar magic no matter how you worded it and Aejaz'' mock Grand annihilation wound up being stronger than any art most people at his cultivation level could cast anyway. At the very least, nobody in this tournament other than Ares, Mako, or Enyo were capable of matching Aejaz if he was copying one of the fundamentals. The matchup with Enyo was the one that could go either way because disintegration would win him the fight... Provided Ares let him... Would Ares let Aejaz beat his wife in a fight? Yeah, no, he really wouldn''t... Or maybe he''d be curious enough to see who would win at their respective peak strengths? It was hard to tell with that happy go lucky revenant sometimes. Either way, the point was that without fundamental magic there was no shot Aejaz would beat Enyo. Her pressure imbued barriers were too unique to copy as Aejaz just got standard barriers whenever he stole her arts. Throw in Ares'' disintegration mutation and Aejaz stood no chance whatsoever. Aejaz could try stealing someone else''s magic to deal with Enyo but what was he supposed to aim for, exactly?


    Enyo''s defences were practically impenetrable to most magic to begin with, throw in the efficiency reduction that came with stolen arts and Aejaz wasn''t busting through those barriers any time soon. The holy pillar made it hard to land mental arts too so the fight was pretty one-sided depending on who Ares favoured. That being said, it''s not like Enyo would be able to kill Aejaz either, he could just stealth his way out of the fight and be done with it whenever he wanted, blocking off Enyo even if she chased him with her own barriers. Basically, a completely enforceable stalemate. Overall Aejaz probably had better odds but access to fundamental pillars was imperative to his success... And Ares wasn''t the only person with one! If Ares didn''t let him use it... Maybe Mako would? Then again, would that even matter? Was creation capable of beating Enyo? The whole point of destruction was to, well, destroy and so it had the tools to slice through Enyo''s barriers but what about creation? It still wouldn''t even be an easy fight, due to not having the means to outright beat the barriers, which was a crazy thing to think about. The fact that, even with the fundamental pillar access, it was still so close that an outcome couldn''t be predicted accurately was seriously mind boggling. Enyo was a real cultivation freak of nature. She had her pleasure affinity, which was off the charts, but for combat, at least currently, she relied on her holy pillar... Which was just completely normal... How she was able to whip out that much firepower and iron defences with a standard aspect, not even unique, was incomprehensible. If she learnt how to use the pleasure pillar offensively one day she would somehow become an even bigger problem. Honestly? Enyo just wasn''t normal. Not in the slightest. Trailing on the heels of the fundamentals, and even being on the same level as someone else capable of using the fundamental pillars, with no real advantages to speak of... Enyo might even be the only person out there capable of such a feat. Regardless, getting back on topic...


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMBANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGBANNNGGGBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM


    Aejaz'' rippling explosions cascaded over Scowl''s body and it didn''t take an expert to analyse the outcome of this match as it should have been obvious to anyone with a functioning pair of eyes. Before the explosions had even finally died down for good, people sitting in the right seats could already just about spy Scowl sitting on the respawn platform with his dazed head spinning and rolling in circles. The match was done, and one for the history books due its significance much like many of the other matches during this tournament, but a number of questions remained about what exactly it was that had just been witnessed here today. The main questions on everyone''s minds were as follows: is there any other way to copy the fundamentals with magic instead of Aejaz'' unique aspect? Did there exist any treasures capable of pulling of such a feat if arts were a no go? Could anyone steal their fundamental pillar affinity for good? Could someone else become a fundamental, expanding their little in-group?!


    N.O.


    It needed to be said again for those in the back and those scheming untoward plans (not that reason or logic would stop them anyway).


    N.O.


    The answer was a resounding no, two resounding noes in fact. Aejaz was an incredibly unique cultivator and he was truly one of a kind. There would be no replicating his feat here today and, besides, even if there was a method for any of the things listed above, it would almost definitely require the consent of both the champion and the respective pillar. You couldn''t forcibly take the affinity because the pillar would just return it immediately. Even if you killed the champion the pillar would just pick a different one although really that shouldn''t be happening. Unless someone four or five whole realms above a champion was explicitly targeting them the fundamental champions had no business losing so bad they were winding up on death''s doorstep. Even when losing they usually had tools to get the heck out of dodge and leave on demand so things would have to go horribly wrong for any of them to die. Also, though it was costly, it wouldn''t be impossible to revive them with rare treasures but that was where the fundamental organisation came in. Ares wouldn''t be surprised if they were stock piling revival resources specifically for them... Not that Ares needed it being a revenant. Learning that must have taken a massive weight of the organisation''s shoulders as that was one less person they needed to worry about having sufficient death defying resources available for.


    Speaking of the ''fundamental organisation'', it was honestly a pre-tty lame name. Completely off topic, perhaps, but it was around this time they, the organisation, came to the same conclusion and started brainstorming ideas for a permanent name going forward. They wanted confirmation of all the fundamentals joining them before committing to anything so now was as good a time as any to start worrying about their public image and reputation regarding their brand. The name wouldn''t be decided on fully until later but it was still worth mentioning that it was going to change at some point. ''Fundamental organisation'' was far too plain, and almost robotic, so it had to go! Thankfully for the fundamental organisation, they would go on to choose a name BEFORE Ares arrived as, after meeting the guy in the pagoda, they figured it would be for the best if he was kept as far away from any decision making process as possible! Put simply, he was kind of annoying! There was no doubt in anyone''s mind he would come up with a dumb joke instead of a useful suggestion which was a large part of why Mako and Ares would have no say in the naming process. Mako was an innocent bystander hit by Ares'' collateral damage but it was a price worth paying if it kept Ares away from the board meetings on the subject!


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    Anyway, that wasn''t really relevant right now. The match was over and the first person to leave was Aejaz, much to Job''s dismay as it seemed he was going to hold true on his words from earlier. Aejaz had Voidwalked out of the coliseum and was going to liberally use the remaining duration of his destruction pillar affiliation to cover ground before Job could start running. Aejaz had one minute of time before he either had to give up on the pillar or have Ares come over to re-enable it and the latter likely wasn''t going to happen as Ares probably felt that Aejaz should do this all without his pillar and aid. Aejaz still needed to practice dealing with hard situations and, although this wasn''t the most difficult assassination target ever, it was still going to be a bit complicated thanks to his parents. This could be a good trial for him so Ares decided not to intervene and let him do his own thing solo. When Aejaz came back later, regardless of success or failure, he could tell Ares how things went.


    Admittedly Ares wanted to go and spectate the attempt on Job''s life but he knew he needed to stop babying Aejaz at some point. He would be fine!... Maybe... Hopefully. Aejaz was an idiot sometimes but his deeply rooted cowardice would keep him out of extremely dangerous situations. If something looked off about the assassination attempt then Aejaz wouldn''t hesitate to bail and he had the tools to do so. If nothing else, the Prowler was more than capable of getting him out of a tough pinch so Ares put any and all negative thoughts to the back of his head and waited for Enyo to get off of him so he could stand up and leave. She seemed particularly happy to just keep sitting on him, squashing him like a rhino however, so he had to politely ask her to get off. When she stubbornly shook her head in response, Ares sighed and promised to spend some time with her back home. He was done pressurising his stuff, for the most part, and could afford to take a day or two off to hang about with Appa, Enyo, and Bellona. This seemed to be good enough for Enyo as she got up and extended a hand towards Ares. As she helped him up and started walking out of the arena, she couldn''t help but ask about Appropriate Skillset.


    "Did you have anything to do with that art? It seems like the kind of thing that has ''you'' written all over it..."


    "Ha, that obvious? It''s true, I gave him that suggestion. I remembered him joking about it way back when but I never took it as a joke. I kept the idea in the back of my mind and watched Aejaz as he grew to try and figure out if he would ever be capable of it. The more I saw him steal, the more convinced I became it was a possibility so I made the suggestion and oversaw his training. I went a bit spartan with him but it paid off in a big way so I think it was the correct decision to train him on my pillar first. Start with the hard stuff and the easy stuff will come naturally. After he got a hang of stealing and using my pillar inside the void, I had him try stealing literally anyone else''s magic in the sect and he got it first try. From then on he''s been giving it a go whenever he was completing Hans'' missions and so he''s become quite proficient with it. Really the issue is that he''s not an expert with every art in the world so he needs to practice his quick thinking and adaptability. He needs to be able to use whatever Skillset he steals in the moment and think / plan ahead. I actually don''t envy him as he''s going to have a tough time with it, I think. Aejaz isn''t Eagerton or Mako, he doesn''t have experience with creativity on the fly and so an art like this is actually a bit complicated to use in the moment. He needs to adapt to a wide range of weapons, fighting styles, magics, and so on so forth. Thankfully he has his normal stuff to fall back on in case of an emergency but performing optimally with his stolen magic is a proportionately difficult task equal to the reward he can potentially gain from over-performing in a fight. It''s not high-risk, high-reward, it''s high-effort, high-accomplishments. He''s got his work cut out for him and, really, the only way to get better with it is to just use it 24/7 and experiment with as many types of pillars as he possibly can...


    And yet, you wanna know the scary thing about all of this? This isn''t quite his limit just yet. He has one more art up his sleeve that maybe, depending on the way you look at it, trumps this one. It was a completely unexpected discovery related to him learning Appropriate Skillset. He came up with it on his own and I''m genuinely impressed. That one won''t see the light of day for a LONG time though. It''s got limited uses, three to be precise, and each use of it is of utmost importance. He needs to be extremely smart with when he uses it but, if he finds the perfect opportunity three times in a row, his potential as a cultivator will permanently sky-rocket and he''ll become a worldwide threat with one hell of a name for himself."


    "Go on, spill the beans! You can''t leave me hanging after telling me all that."


    Sigh


    What Ares was about to tell Enyo wasn''t really easy to explain... But still he did it anyway as she had every right to know what he was planning ahead of time. He''d been holding off on having this conversation because he wasn''t sure how to tell her any of this but push had come to shove and so he''d do it instead of being a coward. As they were still within earshot of the crowds in the spectator seats, potentially at least if anyone was using a strong divine sense, Ares sent her a mental message instead of saying it aloud. At first, Enyo was intrigued about the art but when she realised what Ares was implying with its pre-requisites to being used she wasn''t quite so happy anymore... It wasn''t atrocious but it wasn''t great knowing Ares was actively gunning for a situation like the one he was after... "I get it and I won''t give you trouble for it... But are you sure about this? Are you really ready and willing to throw your life away just for this? I know it''s important... But this seems a bit excessive no?"


    Ares shook his head. "Excessive? No, it''s the bare minimum needed to help Aejaz along in life. It only needs to happen once and death isn''t particularly cumbersome anyway. If I just choose a convenient time for it all to happen then I won''t need to concern myself with the time period after in which I''m growing again as everyone will be safe and sound. Revenants can catch up decently quickly anyway so it''ll be like I never even left!... Although you are going to have to wait a few years before I get back... But you''ll have Blo Blo to bully instead! So there is that at least... Sorry. I should have told you this as soon as I decided to commit myself to it, I just knew you wouldn''t be happy with it. I think this is different though, it''s a planned death so it really shouldn''t be a problem if everything is sorted out before I do it."


    "I know that and it''s why I''m not raising a fuss. I''m not the only one you should tell about this but I don''t need to remind you about that do I?"


    "No, no I''ll tell Bellona as soon as she comes down from the top floor."


    "Good..." Enyo sighed to herself and flicked Ares on the back of his head. " Part of me knew you would die at some point. You''re overconfident to a degree nobody else is even if you''re not as outwardly aggressive about it... I just never expected it to be so soon or to be a willing event for that matter."


    "Well it''s not exactly ''soon''. I still want to deal with everything in Vraizon first and, hey, you never know. I might die before then so all of this could wind up being irrelevant!"


    "Don''t bring that evil onto us with your cursed words! Don''t raise any red flags! You''re the kind of idiot that could apply the force of your will to bring about tragedy into existence merely by opening your mouth, so quit it! I''m ok if you die naturally or commit suicide, that''s tolerable. If someone else kills you, though, I''ll seriously get annoyed you know?! And Blo Blo too, maybe even more than me. She''s honest but I wouldn''t describe her as level headed. Whereas I''d silently channel my rage she''d just explode and go a little mad with power. I don''t know how I''d keep her in check so, seriously, don''t go dying to anyone or she''ll go crazy. And the worst part is that there really isn''t anyone currently gunning for you other than the Legions. If one of them does you in then Bellona will no longer hesitate to raise her hand against our clan and that will be a really difficult problem to overcome for a number of reasons."


    "Can''t I just, like, boop her on the nose and tell her to be a good girl while I''m gone? Maybe put a muzzle on her?"


    "She will chew through it. Also, she''s not a hydra deer! Just because bopping their nose worked with them does not mean it will work with Bellona! She will actually bite your hand off! You''ve seen me mad but I don''t think you''ve seen her mad, at least not to the extent that I have anyway. Even Pele and I used to stay well away from her whenever she had a temper tantrum as a kid. She doesn''t indiscriminately lash out but she won''t hold back if you say anything that even slightly bothers her. For instance, if the weather''s a little too hot for her liking and you say ''nice weather we''re having today'' to try and make some light conversation she will deck you and it will hurt. This was back when she didn''t even really have much power to her name and her magic was still in its relative infancy. If we reach Vraizon before you die, and she gets her apotheosis form on top of her legacy treasures... If you die I don''t think I could stop her even if I went all out. I could chase her around and ask her to stop, and she wouldn''t be able to shake me or get rid of me, but if she wants people dead they''re just going to die and that''s the end of the story. Only you can prevent that by having a long, long conversation with her about not going overboard. She''ll probably forget all of it if you die anyway but it''s still better to try than to just let her go on a rampage akin to the kind that Calla used to go on."


    "She is a bit of a hot-headed headbutter... I mean I can try but she is a very wilful woman when she wants to be. My main concern is just that nobody other than me dies whenever it happens and, to that end, I would rather she not go vigilante mode if there''s any risk of her also losing her life. I mean I trust you to keep her alive but I don''t trust her not to rush head-first into a situation that could be easily avoided."


    "Speak louder, why don''t you?" Bellona walked around the corner and lightly punched Ares in the arm. "Look, no promises. If it happens, it happens and I''ll see how I feel about your death in the moment. There''s no point repeatedly telling me to behave myself. Don''t forget what kind of person I am. If there''s something I want to do, no amount of telling me not to is going to stop me! If anything, it just makes me want to do it more."


    Now it was Ares turn to sigh as he knew she was telling the truth even without his bloodline lie detector. "Alright alright, I''ll drop it... But keep this conversation in mind, at least?"


    "Meh." Bellona shrugged. "We''ll see. We''ll see."


    Ares didn''t like that ominous-sounding ending to the conversation. Red flags aplenty aside, didn''t it almost sound like she was looking forward to it!? Of course she wasn''t actually but the knuckle cracking and small but dangerous grin suggested otherwise!