*Etsuo*

I rushed forth and shot holes into the wooden skulls of the training puppets. They creaked, dropping their heads back before charging at me again.

For the past month or so we had left, I'd locked myself up in one of the two caverns of cultivation and began a strict training regimen. Special bananas and mangos high in prana were all the food I had to keep me going. Not that I minded. I loved them both!

I leaped into the air, pressed my back against the ceiling of the cavern of cultivation, and shot another round at all four puppets, this time on their chests. Their bodies shook but they continued moving like the zombies in the books Roa enjoyed reading.

"Burn, wooden zombies!" I yelled as I charged up more fire prana into the barrel of my gun. While I could use mana, I was more proficient at using prana. Probably as my dad grew up in what was now Mina, while my mom was this country's High Priestess in another lifetime. That's why Kohri became fooled when we first met. As me being Xelerian wasn't a complete lie, given it was my father's childhood home. He'd absorbed the essence of this realm, even gaining immortality from the cultivation cauldron of one of its gods when sealed away in it. While distinct, it felt as I was walking down the path my parents once walked on.

The puppets creaked as I spun around, creating a large dome of crimson flame once all the bullets landed. I smirked and blew out the smoke on the barrel of my gun as nothing but ashes remained. 

I turned toward the entrance as it creaked open. Was it time to go into battle? I fluttered back down to the ground and dashed. I gasped as Kiara and Roa stood in front of me.

"Kiara?" I asked. Or was it Dine?

"Monkey!" she yelled. She rubbed her head against me chest like some kind of kitty.

I laughed. So it was Dine. It'd been ages since we'd last talked. I'd almost began to think that I was never going to interact with her again. But I understood why she'd gone into hibernation. 

"Hmm? You feel studier," Dine said, looking up at me.

I blinked.

Roa put a hand on his hip and smirked. "Well, he's finally gained some muscle."

Dine patted my chest. "Oh, yeah!"

I stepped back. "Dine, you really should learn some manners."

She tilted her head. "Did I do something wrong?"

I sighed. Dine spent too much time with Roa. But even Roa wasn't so lacking.

Roa laughed. "Think you might need to get a haircut before we head out. Your hair's gotten a lot longer."

I touched my hair. It had! Was it because I'd spent the equivalent of a year in that cavern? Kiara's older brother had gone to a realm that worked similar to the cavern too, and he came back taller.

Roa grinned. "You actually look a bit cool with that sweat drenched hair and clothes."

My face reddened. "Y-you're just saying that!"

Dine giggled. "It's true though. You seem to have changed." She snuggled me again. "But you're still the nice monkey boy I've always known!"

I turned away. These two...

Kohri laughed as he made his way toward us.

"Weren't you leaving?" Roa asked, turning around.

"I was, but I wanted to say bye to my teammates who are staying."

Roa crossed his arms. "Teammates? You still consider us such? And here I thought you were a bit smarter than your cousin."

"I heard that!" Rosa said, walking over with my cousin.

Tetsu glared at Roa. "You better watch your mouth, horse breath."

Roa shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you should get going. Unless you want to leave Zionia defenseless. Not that that's my problem."

Kohri and Rosa exchanged glances. "Let's go."

Rosa hugged Tetsu. "Bye, my silly Knight."

He patted the back of her head. "See you soon, Rosa."

Roa turned away. "Get a room, you two!"

Rosa giggled as she let go of our cousin. "See you later too, rude pony, monkey boy! Oh, and of course Ki and Dine too."

Dine waved. "Take care of yourself and the baby!"

The princess patted her tummy and smiled. "I will." She followed after Kohri.

Tetsuya sighed.

"Not going to see them off?" Roa asked.

He shook his head. "It's already hard to say bye as it is. Plus, I'll eventually see them and the others again."

Roa looked down. "So you say. Such talk is usually a bad omen."

He frowned. "True." He ran after them.

Roa sighed.

Dine and I smiled.

He wrinkled his nose at me. "What's with those goofy faces you're making?"

"You do care, don't you?" I asked, grinning.

Roa cross his arms and walked off. "As if! I just don't want him to sulk when the battle starts tomorrow. Anyway, I'm going to take that guy's cavern."

"You don't think he'll use it again?" Dine asked.

"He's used it enough. If he complains, just tell him he needs to rest too."

I laughed. "You sure you don't care for our cousin?"

He grumbled. "It's just an excuse!" He scoffed and slammed the cavern shut.

"As tsun as ever," Dine said, giggling.

I turned to look at the cavern. "Well, I better continue."

Dine grabbed me by the arm. "Hold it! Roa's 'excuse' applies to you too, not just Tetsu! Your clothes are all ragged. You need to get a new set or have them patched up. Also, get a nice bath."

"There's a small waterfall that provides water to the cavern I use," I said, pointing at it.

Dine yanked my arm. "Still! You've trained enough!"

I sighed. "I need to get stronger, though."

"We all do," a voice called out. It was Hyosetsu.

"You aren't saying bye to your brother and mom?" Dine asked.

"Already did," he said before walking into the cavern I was using and closing it.

"Hey!" I snapped. My shoulders slumped. He and Roa were cave thieves! If Tetsu and I were bears, we would've mulled them.

Dine snickered and pulled me away.

I looked up and saw Man-kin training with Mai and Mei. So, Mai had finally decided to show herself.

"Hey, Etsuo!" Man-kin yelled, waving at us. He blinked.

"Is that really Etsuo?" Mei asked, tilting her head.

Mai crossed her arms. "He has the same goofy face as big brother, so I would say so."

"G-goofy face?" I said, touching my face.

Man-kin and Mei chuckled. "Yup, he's our big bro alright!"

I sighed. "You triplets ready for tomorrow?"

Mai rubbed her right arm. "As ready as we'll ever be."

"Hope Mom's doing well," Man-kin mumbled.

"Why wouldn't she be?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"We heard from Con that aunt Selena, Mom, and the rest of our uncles and aunts had taken a trial."

"What kind of trial?"

"Think it's the mirror one," Mei said. "At least that's how Con's description sounded like."

So Mom and her siblings fought against their alter-egos?

"Well, Serrano saw Mas, and Con said Selena was fine, so I think all's well," Man-kin said, grinning.

Mai sighed. "Now you say that after you went ahead and worried the worrywart."

Worrywart? Me? I worried sure, but did I overdo it?

I smiled slightly. "Well, I'm sure Man-kin's right."

"Now, all four of you. Go get some rest! You'll need it."

Mai sighed. "We're abysmals. We don't need sleep."

"Yeah, but you're not full abysmals. You're still partially human. Plus, even we pureblooded abysmals need a break every so often." Her stomach grumbled. "More so a snack."

I laughed and took out a banana from my shoulder pack. "Here you go!"

She took it and blushed. "T-thanks, Monkey! That said, there is something I wanted to share with everyone." She pulled out a phone. "It's about Team Hideo's expedition in Vandavale."

I gasped. "Did your team get wiped out?"

She shook her head. "It's not that. I'll let Ki explain it since she was conscious. But this matter concerns everyone. I asked all our allies present here to gather at the grand ballroom."

"Seems Hyosetsu and Roa are going to be out of the loop then," I said.

"Not exactly. Big brother's weapon relayed the information to him," Kiara said, taking control over her body anew. "And Dine already told Roa."

Oh. Well, guess that's why they could afford to lock themselves up in those caverns at the last minute.

"Wait, did you say bye to your parents?"

She smiled. "I did when I went off to Vandavale with Hide." She looked down. "I didn't want to say goodbye again. Plus, it might make them worry to see me here without big brother."

"Hideo stayed back?"

She nodded. "Yeah, with the others. Only Leva and I returned. To be honest, I came back because she needed to get away from there. We had a run in that spooked her out pretty badly."

A bad run in? What that the information she was going to share with us?

Ki grinned. "Well, it's not like this is the last time I'll see my parents and siblings!"

I furrowed my brow as I recalled Roa's words to Tetsu. While it might've been to get his cave, Roa wasn't exactly wrong either.

"You sure you don't want to? They might still be here," I said.

"Seems Roa stole my cave," a voice called out. It was Tetsu.

Ki smiled faintly. "Well, seems I missed my chance."

Tetsu gasped. "You didn't get to say bye, did you? Well, it wasn't like my aunt and the others were here. Seems they left ahead of the others."

She swung her hands behind her back. "Oh. I see."

Ki... I put an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay. You'll see them again."

Ki blushed and nodded. "Yup!"

I had to keep her safe.

***

I opened my eyes and rubbed my head. The sun shined brightly as if the world wasn't at the risk of ending today. Last night, Kiara and Leva told all of us that there was a demon with vast knowledge and how he and a group of five others were keeping guard over a bulging dome. Levech had sensed a a black tar-like substance underneath it, akin to that he and the others who had gone to Grand Crater had witnessed. That black substance was the form Abyssia's waters took when they entered another world. If the analysis the girls got from Levech was right, then my home realm was encroaching on Xeleria. The force behind it had to be Margaret's abysmal forces. The elite Draconis Legion, a group made up of fourteen members, each as strong as my uncle Takeshi. Even the Four Cardinal Dragons Legion, whom Bylet belonged to, paled in comparison to them.

"Morning," Roa said, waving at me.

I got up from my bed. "Had some nice last minute training?"

"Yup! I also learned that Tetsuya makes a mean salad."

"Salad?" I asked, blinking.

Tetsuya sighed as he snuck up behind Roa. "That was no salad. Those were cultivation herbs."

"Oh. Well, they tasted great regardless! They gave me a nice pick me up! So they must've been high grade cultivation herbs."

Tetsuya sighed. "Well, hope that boost you got from eating them helps us win this war. Anyway, meet me outside by the palace entrance. I'll relay our mission."

"Go ahead Roa, I'll get changed quickly and meet you there," I said, getting up.

"Alright!" Roa said, waving. He closed the door and followed after Tetsu.

I changed into a pair of white pants with matching shirt and rushed to catch up with the others. It was time to end this!

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. The big climatic battle(s) begin next chapter!**