Sprawled on the floor with bruises galore, a black and blue Ares had been beaten through and through. Only the occasional twitching signified the existence of life. Sadie kicked his leg. "Oi, get up or I''ll really start getting violent."


    Ares practically sprung to his feet as that threat was not to be taken lightly if what he''d seen of Sadie so far was anything to go by. "How may I help you?"


    "Explain."


    Ares scratched his head, "What can I say? Talent is an anagram of latent, you know? Maybe I was born with it? Maybe it''s Maybelline?"


    Thwack


    Sadie turned to Enyo. "Is there something wrong with us? Why did we fall in love with revenants?"


    Enyo shrugged. "Life insurance is cheap, they''ll never have a mid life crisis, and you can be rough with them, I guess? There''s not really any other reasons worth mentioning."


    Ahem


    Ares decided to be honest about the whole Dominus thing as the cat was already basically half out of the bag a this point. "I let Dominus come out to play for a bit. He seemed really bored and I felt kinda bad for him, plus I''m getting a lot out of this situation so I figured this would at least somewhat repay him."


    "Excuse me?" Sadie was not expecting to hear the name ''Dominus'' pop up in this conversation.


    Ares gave Sadie the lowdown about his own personal parasite hiding away in his blood, for whatever reason, and Sadie was understandably flabbergasted.


    "Why the hell is Dominus inside you? Wasn''t he dead for tens of thousands of years? I mean, that explains a lot about everything that just happened to me, but it also leaves me with way more questions than I had originally. Can you get him out, like for good?"


    "I don''t really know, I would assume not right now at least. I would ask, but it seems like he''s completely spent and has gone incommunicado for the foreseeable future. If I want more information out of him, I''ll have to wait, I guess." Little did Ares know, he was about to have a run in with a certain omnipotent being that was going to answer a lot of his questions very soon. Right now though, he was very sore from all his training. "Uh, anyway, I''m aching all over and really quite tired due to a lack of sleep. I''m going to take my leave..."


    Sadie snorted in response. "Nuh uh, chump. You''re staying for one more round. Even if you''re body is tired, you''ve only really fought one proper round at the start. Toughen up and do some proper training even if you have to suffer some injuries. What doesn''t kill you makes you stronger, and you''re a revenant, so its a long list!"


    Ares mustered a tired groan before skulking back over to the Training Field as he could tell he didn''t really have a choice in the matter. Even if he shifted away Sadie would just go and drag him out of his house and who could realistically stop her? No-one in this domain, anyway. Ares was able to manage mustering a petty reply half-heartedly... "Yeah, well, it''s a shame the person who said ''what doesn''t kill you makes you stronger'' never met the person who said ''too much of anything can kill you''. What a riot that would have been." … but that was the extent of his verbal rebellion.


    Before Sadie came over to the Field as well, she briefly gave advice to the others who''s done their own training while Sadie had been brutalising Ares after their first fight. Enyo and Esme were doing fine so their talks were quick. Li Li had lost the one on one vs Aejaz but Sadie opted not to punish her as Li Li''s handicap was arguably far worse than Aejaz'' but, still, she gave Li Li a hard time by going in depth about all of her mistakes. Surprisingly, she complimented Aejaz even though his performance wasn''t necessarily altogether too impressive. Mostly because it was clear to Sadie that he had a lot of potential if he could be trained properly. "I see why Ares keeps you around."


    Aejaz'' eye twitched. "I''m not a pet..."


    A snicker came from the side followed by Ares chiming in with, "It''s true, he''s more like a stray I found. Might have rabies for all I know."


    "Tsk, see if I don''t steal your clothes again in the middle of the tournament. Sadie, hit him hard."


    Ares was surprised to see Aejaz being mouthy and combative for once, but that was fine. He''d meant what he''d said about not wanting Aejaz to be a mini Ares and it seemed like that was gradually happening thanks to Allie and his training. He would still always be the same cowardly shmuck for the rest of his life, though, Ares knew that for certain. Some parts of a person just couldn''t be erased and that was just who Aejaz was at his core.


    When Sadie was done, she went back over to the Field and trained with Ares for a while longer. When they were finished, Eagerton was the first to leave the building as he''d gotten what he came for. Although there hadn''t been much in the way of magic up until the very end when Ares let loose (he was tired but had a lot of mana so that was his gameplan for the last stretch), the technique and skill displayed by Dominus had tided him over and been satisfactory. Although Sadie had objectively gotten the most out of the training session, Eagerton wouldn''t hesitate to claim the same as he truly believed, even now, that he was the most desperate person in the room. It wasn''t arrogance or delusion, his priorities were just warped compared to everyone else. Speaking of priorities, there was something he needed to go and do so, after leaving the training building, he took off to go to a music club located within the sect. Although the outer and inner court disciples had already been decided for the upcoming tournament, the core disciple selection was coming up soon and there was someone who, alongside Eagerton himself, could probably guarantee the sect a win during the international at the core level if he actually took part. Who was that person exactly? Well... It was also the person Margaret had asked him to check up on... His brother...


    After a decently lengthy walk, Eagerton arrived outside ''Musicians Wanted''. The place in question was a music bar... Kind of. Really, it depended on which day it was and who was performing. Sometimes it was a jazz bar serving cocktails, sometimes it was a small-scale opera house serving champaign. Sometimes a pop concert, sometimes a rave. Long story short, if you had any preference for music at all, given enough time, you would eventually have a reason to visit this place. As for what was on offer today... Well, it was fairly obvious at a glance considering all the gothic and emo types entering, let alone the muted rock music leaking out from behind a spiked, steel door.


    Eagerton took a deep breath and followed it up with an equally deep sigh before rapping his knuckles against the door, impatiently tapping his foot as he waited for it to open. It was safe to say Eagerton really didn''t want to be here, this was most definitely not ''his vibe'', as his brother would say. The door whined as it opened and, from within the dimly lit corridor behind it, a bright pink mohawk popped out. "Password?"


    "I''m here to see my brother, not play around with some silly play-pretend riddle master."


    "Boss says no Eagertons allowed."


    "I think you''ll find your boss is sect master Yulo, not my dimwit brother. Catch ostrich." Eagerton took out a white medallion shaped like a crystal ball and threw it at the hairdo. A hand with green-painted nails and adorned with a spiked wrist band deftly swooped in and caught the medallion, quickly bringing it back behind the door for inspection.


    "... Fine, but don''t come crying to me if boss doesn''t wanna speak to you."


    Eagerton caught the medallion that was thrown back at him and put it back in his space ring. "Why would I cry about it? It''s not like it would be any different from usual. Open up, peacock."


    "Will you stop callin'' me bird names?!" The door opened and a gruff fellow with nose and eye piercings snarled at Eagerton.


    "No. This is a music establishment and, as far as I''m aware, the bird is the word, so step aside bird brain."


    The bouncer pulled a knife and snarled, "You lookin'' for a fight, ya cuckoo bastard?"


    Eagerton sighed and whipped out his notebook, flipping it open to an empty page somewhere near the end. "You, my flamboyant friend, are at the bottom of the pecking order. Allow me to demonstrate." Eagerton''s hand turned into a blur as it pulled out a pen and scribbled something down on the notebook. With a puff smoke, a horde of angry chickens with narrowed eyes appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "Get him, chaps!"


    CLUCK


    CLUCK CLUCK


    CLUCKCLUCKCLUCK


    CLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCKCLUCK


    The cluster of chickens tangled with the bouncer, leaping on his head and dragging him out of the doorway and onto the floor where he was unceremoniously pecked into submission. As Eagerton slid into the building, a couple of clueless disciples accidentally got embroiled in the fiasco as they tried to help the punk bouncer who was buried under a mountain of feathered fiends. As the new disciples also slowly became overrun, one yelled ''STAMPEDE!" at the top of lungs in an effort to draw in more of the surrounding disciples for aid. His plan was successful as any who heard the call were curious enough to take a peak which then led to their involvement, whether they wanted to or not, as the chickens were truly bloodthirsty little beasts. Slowly but surely, despite the increased number of human combatants, the chickens were overwhelming their non-feathered foes as they hunted them down in the streets in a scene reminiscent of the running of the bulls. Although those who were fleeing for their life would eventually go on to recount their tale with grim countenance, none who heard it would ever have any response for the survivors other than a hearty laugh. These brave fellows would become laughingstock; so much so, in fact, that ''chicken running'' would become an official event in the sect at a later date, one held every couple of years.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Meanwhile, Eagerton was walking down the hallway with the lights flickering above him, drawing ever closer to the origin of the screaming that those who frequented the place would deem music. Reaching one final door before he would arrive in his own personal hell, Eagerton readjusted his monocle and opened the door, bravely stepping into a swamp of murky black depression and face paint. The room was dark with a single dim spotlight emphasising the glum mood present in all the customers who were drinking anything and everything that came inside of a black can regardless of whether or not it tasted any good. A few of said customers turned their pale faces to eye up the new intruder, all the while raising their thick eyelashes at the sight of someone who very clearly did not belong. Eagerton ignored the creatures from the black lagoon and marched his way over to the side of the stage, heading towards a skinny, frail teen who was preparing to go up on stage when his turn arrived.


    Despite his languid appearance, the person in question was good looking. Whether it was because the emo look with black lipstick suited him or if it was because he was just inherently a pretty boy was debatable. Either way he was being crowded around by numerous people, both male and female, that were looking to get a taste of the cigarette flavour that was ever present on his lips. Noticing the change in the room, he looked up from the neck he was kissing, not that he even knew who it belonged to to begin with. When he saw his noble brother strolling past the riff raff, he felt a rising urge to puke. Instead he opted to roll his eyes as far up as he could while throwing his head back and groaning in misery. When his brother was finally stood in front of him, tutting with his arms folded in front of his chest and his fingers tapping against his ribs, he ''greeted'' him in a tired voice that compiled all the misery he was capable of feeling at any given moment into a single utterance, "Eagerton."


    Eagerton''s eyes did a barrel roll before landing with their sights squarely locked on his natural enemy. Eagerton responded to the ''pleasant'' greeting in kind by imbuing a loftiness into his voice as he spoke that made clear his disdain for everything within a fifty foot radius of his current location. "Edgerton.''


    Eagerton''s unsufferable cadence was enough to make Edgerton search for a way out of the ensuing conversation. As he looked around, much to his joy, not that he ever really felt that particular emotion, the previous singer was leaving the stage. He turned his head to the organiser and gestured to the empty stage with his head. "Angelical Ok?"


    The manager checked his schedule before giving the go ahead. "Sure, but that''s all you''ll have time for..."


    AHEM


    Eagerton barged his way into the conversation. "No, Angelical is not ok, brother. I''m well aware that stupid song of yours is over 18 minutes long and there is not a chance in hell I''m going to stand around waiting for your mockery of an epic to finish. If I wanted an 18 minute long diatribe I would ask one of my critics for their opinion."


    Edgerton scratched his cheek before replying sarcastically, "You have critics? Must be nice..."


    "Oh shut up you fool. Who on earth would be jealous of such a thing?! You can have all of mine any day of the week."


    Pah


    Edgerton spat on the ground. "You think those up-their-own ass types would throw someone like me a bone? Look my way? Our home planet is a pit of mediocrity parading itself as some kind of creative paradise. It''s not a passionate man''s daydream, it''s a niche man''s nightmare. You hate your fame, but at least you exist to those people. How many of them do you think even remember my name, and how many that do remember it with anything other than scorn? That stupid look in their eye... You know the one, the one you''ve also got."


    "So what if I have a superiority complex you blithering moron? Don''t you as well? Are you not putting yourself above those you deem to be nothing more than elitist filth? Is that not the height of elitism? Anyone who has ever created anything in their life has truly understood pride, and anyone who understands pride will naturally have their own. Don''t mistake my pride and self-assured superiority for disdain in you and a view of you as an inferior, they are not the same."


    "We are not the same. Whatever, I don''t have time for this roundabout conversation we always have. I''ve got a song to perform, so give up and go like you always do."


    "No. This time I''m not here for my own sake so I shall not be leaving any time soon. If you still wish to be difficult then I have no qualms with picking a fight and dragging you away from this place."


    "Petty threats you could never deliver on aside, if you aren''t here for your own reasons, then who are you here on behalf of?"


    "Hm, if I were to math it out, I''d say it''s 5% Yulo, 15% me, and 80% mother Margaret. You aren''t going to disrespect mother otherwise you best pray that when I drag you out of here you aren''t a lifeless corpse."


    "Of course not, idiot. You don''t have to tell me that..." Edgerton sighed and turned around to the groupies. "Alright, get lost for now." Next he faced the organiser and did the ''cut'' gesture by waving the tips of fingers near his neck. Finally, he turned to his brother. "Come. Don''t get lost ''cos I''m not stopping for you." Edgerton walked off down another hallway as Eagerton followed behind him. Eventually, after passing through countless doors and going up and down a fair few flights of stairs, Edgerton opened the door to his own personal room. Some cultivators in the sect actually lived inside Musicians Wanted as the underground section was fairly expansive and it was where they spent most of their time anyway.


    Eagerton entered and was surprised to see a room not dissimilar to his own. Bookshelves lined with classic literature, a piano taking up a decent chunk of the corner, a wine cupboard etc... It''s not that Edgerton had never lived like this, Eagerton just assumed he would stop doing as such after he ran away from home. "Old habits die hard? Or does a part of you actually miss the hustle and bustle?"


    Edgerton slumped onto a beige sofa. "Neither, I just never hated this way of living as much as you all presumptuously thought I did. It was the people and their attitudes I disliked, not their lifestyle. If anything, it just made me more annoyed that they were too snobby to realise what a good thing they had going... Or maybe it''s because they realised that they acted that way. Regardless, I''m not blaming the high life for the mistakes of the lowlifes. Well whatever, I''m getting side-tracked. Pour yourself some wine if you want, don''t touch the good stuff though or I''ll blow out your ear drums and kick you out."


    "I think I''ll pass...." Eagerton glanced dismissively at the wine. "...Your idea of ''good stuff'' is most certainly not in alignment with mine, or anyone else''s with good taste for that matter..."


    "Yeah, yeah. If it''s not my opinion, it''s not worth listening too, blah blah blah. Can we hurry this conversation up? The more I speak to you, the more I''m reminded of that stupid planet."


    "Yes, well, stupid planet aside, the reason I''m here is because I want you to take part in the upcoming tournament."


    "What does that have to do with Margaret?"


    "She wants to see you?"


    "I''ll say hello to her at the party."


    "Not that it isn''t impressive your willing to even go to a place like that, but then what? You crawl back here into this little hidey hole and disappear for however many years again? Even if she doesn''t get more chances to speak to you, she still wants to see you and makes sure you''re doing well with her own two eyes. Yulo wants you to take part as there''s a good chance we can win the international this year not just at the core level, but also the outer court level, and I think you participating is the best way to simultaneously achieve all of those goals. Mother can watch you and cure her boredom, maybe even her stagnant imagination, and the sect can flourish."


    "... It''s a..."


    "Hassle? Yes, I''m well aware everything is a hassle to you, but most things in life are. I''m asking you to put up with the hassle just once every now and then for mother''s sake. Besides, if you really want some fame to your name, then isn''t this the grandest stage on offer?"


    "Yeah, if we win. I''m not exactly inspired by this sect''s win-loss record."


    "That''s because this sect didn''t have the powerhouses it does today. You and I have only joined recently and the same can be said for two particular outer court disciples who are absolutely going to achieve victory. Not only is this sect going to win, it''s going to win twice after never having come close previously. What better opportunity is there to go down in the history books than this? If anything, I''m the one who shouldn''t be happy with this situation. But it''s not about whether I''m happy or not, I''m doing all of this because I know it would make mother happy and that''s, sadly, a rarity these days. You ran away, yes, but you don''t seem to appreciate how lucky you were to escape father..."


    Edgerton''s voice was sharp and laced with hostility. "Don''t call him that. He doesn''t deserve the respect, you know it as well as I do."


    "I''m not using it as a term of endearment, I only said it because it''s objectively correct. I hate him just as much as you do, it''s just that having put up with him this long all I feel is apathy and indifference. I''ve gone beyond hate because there''s just no point, he doesn''t care about the way we feel about him."


    "I will always detest that fucker, you can''t convince me otherwise. It speaks volumes that I''d rather have the Legion patriarch, Major, be my father, and he''s pretty fucking bad too. At least that one knows what an emotion is and is driven by something other than selfishness."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure, Edgerton. There are some rather unsavoury rumours going around about him... He may not be the saint people think he is. That robot secret weapon they have? It might be more than just a weapon."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Major''s grudge against the revenants runs deep. If the rumours are to be believed, he may have really gone of the deep end in an attempt to enact revenge." Eagerton took out a piece of paper and wrote something down on it before passing it over to Edgerton.


    Edgerton read the contents written on the paper before looking up at Eagerton with a deadly serious expression. "Is this accurate?"


    "Unfortunately, almost definitely."


    "What an insane bastard. This... it''s going way too far. I get there''s a ''war'' going on, but it''s never gotten this serious. The revenants have never really gone all out because they feel sorry for us because we''re mortal, they definitely aren''t evil enough to deserve this. What Major has done is a serious escalation and might reignite the war... What on earth is that moron thinking?! Why hasn''t Rhea done anything about this?"


    "I would assume she isn''t aware. This information was hard to come by. Most people who see the Legion''s secret weapon tend not to live to tell the tale, even the person who got this information isn''t with us any longer."


    "Shouldn''t you go public with this? Surely everyone would just band together and kill the idiot?"


    "It''s not that simple. The Legion''s military is tied to Major''s hip and our military would also side with him. Even if everyone else worked together, it would still be a monumental bloodbath. I hate to say it, but what''s a revenant or two compared to however many millions of lives?"


    "Tsk, this is still wrong. I don''t care how demented the freak is, this goes beyond the pale."


    "Of course, but the problem will likely solve itself eventually. Major has accidentally made a very powerful enemy. There''s an outer court disciple running around who, when he learns about this, is not going to be so quick to forgive, I would imagine."


    "Outer court?"


    "I''m not saying it won''t take a while for him to raise his cultivation but, when he does, things are going to change in Vraizon; Major''s grip over the domain included."


    "I still don''t feel great just sitting here knowing about, and ignoring, his behaviour... Whatever, I guess there''s no reason to fret if you say it''s going to be dealt with. Still, why did you write it on the paper? Why not just tell me? What''s with the secrecy?"


    "Isn''t that obvious? It''s because there''s a revenant listening in on our ''private'' conversation; and it''s one of calla''s children no less!" Eagerton chuckled as he looked at the closed door. "Isn''t that right, Fate?"