The Lost Kingdom | Nova Terra Chronicles

Let's show the Universe who we are!

"Round Two Approaches"

The roar of the crowd had quieted. Repairs began.

The cracked divine barrier surrounding the stadium shimmered with pulses of arcane light. Thousands of aerial mages, both divine and mortal, floated above Eagle City Stadium, recasting the protective shell that had held for centuries--until Iria shattered it with one strike.

In the VIP skybox above, Mars stood--alive, healed, and upset.

He stared at the center arena, arms folded, his divine aura dimmed with a mix of anger and confusion. His godly brothers and sisters watched silently beside him.

"They almost had us," muttered Jupiter, brows furrowed.

"Mortals never cease to surprise," Venus added, eyes following the repairs. "I suppose this is what we get for underestimating someone who bore the Bifrost." With Jupiter burrowing his eyebrows at the comment.

Down below, in the recovery chambers, Team GELU rested, their unconscious forms protected by elite medics and enchanters. Their names already chanted by the streets outside.

Meanwhile, in a quieter section of the stadium, another squad waited.

Hoshina, Ceri, Gem, Toku, and Yunoi--the newly forged unit from NTG, prepared for their rematch.

They sat in a semi-circle inside their waiting lounge, tension thick but not unfriendly.

Yunoi stretched her legs up on a bench. "So... this is where things get serious, huh?"

"You're part of the team now," Ceri said with a grin, flexing her lightning-infused gauntlets. "This is more than serious--this is about redemption... from our last... Arena Round"

Toku, seated calmly, held his basic spear in hand, staring at the polished wood.

"You've been quieter than usual," said Gem, her eyes kind and steady. "Nervous?"

Toku looked up, a small smile breaking through. "No. Just... focused. There's something within me waiting. I've felt it since the tower."

Ceri tilted her head. "Some kind of power-up?"

Yunoi smirked, "Just don't die, okay babe??."

They chuckled, and then the door opened slightly--Rikushi peeked in.

"Hey-."

All eyes turned. Hoshina stood up, her fiery lance at her side. "Riku?"

Rikushi stepped in with a slight blush, eyes only on her. "You got this, alright? I know you're gonna tear it up out there."

Hoshina walked up close, her lips curling into a confident smile. "You say that like you're not the scary god now." She tapped his chest softly. "I'll do my best... for you."

He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers for a moment. "Come back safely."

Ceri, Gem, and Yunoi snickered behind them, whispering and making fake kissing noises.

Soon after, their names echoed through the stadium:

"Now entering the field... Team Nova Terra Guard--Hoshina, Gem, Toku, Ceri, and Yunoi!"

They stepped onto the arena floor, now pristine and re-sealed, sand neatly laid over the reinforced concrete.

From the opposite side... Ceres, Apollo, Diana, Venus, and Mercury stepped forward.

The gods stood in radiant formation.

Ceres, adorned in robes of blooming life, staff in hand, eyes warm but cautious.

Apollo, glowing with golden notes floating around him, dual magic-beam orbs orbiting his wrists.

Diana, composed and unreadable, silver glyphs weaving around her fingers.

Venus, dazzling, wrapped in veils of illusion and healing light.

And Mercury, standing barefoot in the sand, smirking--his silver gauntlets clinking as he cracked his knuckles.

He said nothing. But the tension he exuded made the air itself ripple.

Gem gulped. "No pressure, right guys?"

Ceri stepped forward. "I mean... Punching a God is on my bucket list."

Yunoi grinned. "Let's give 'em a show."

And then... it happened.

The sky darkened for a flash as Toku's spear glowed with ethereal light. His eyes widened as a voice--not external, but within--spoke calmly:

"You who move with purity, rise. Ascend, ArchAngel of the Spear, as you are now Freed."

His body was lifted slightly, a ring of radiant wings manifesting around him. Feathers of holy light flared outward as his armor melted into radiant gold and white. His weapon, once basic, now shimmered with divine sigils and a blade of folded light, as it contracted the elements through his Harbinger Spear.

Toku had ascended.

The arena gasped. Even Mercury tilted his head slightly.

Hoshina tapped her lance on the ground and nodded toward the group.

"I'll stay back. I'm waiting for something, so I'll be your anchor. Toku--go."

Gem stood ready behind the group, her healing staff already emitting a feint light. Ceri took the frontline, her Zeikra Gauntlets crackling with Lightning.

The gods watched. Curious.

But none more eager than Mercury, who smiled wildly now.

He took one step forward--

And vanished.

Only a shockwave marked his arrival as he lunged directly at Toku.

A blur of god-speed. Sand erupted in a ripple behind his path.

CLANG!

Toku's spear met the blow. The shaft of his weapon groaned--cracking just slightly--as the pure kinetic force of Mercury's fist met it. Sparks burst outward. Toku gritted his teeth, feeling the pulse of the strike through every bone.

Mercury backstepped, preparing another charge. But this time, Toku whispered something.

A hum followed--"SonicBoom."

A shockwave blasted outward from Toku's stance, launching him forward in a streak of silver and white, tearing through the air with the roar of a storm. His motion left behind a deep crater--an echo of speed too great to comprehend.

Mercury launched forward again--only to strike empty air.

"Behind me?"

Too late.

"Projected Echo."

A spectral spear mirrored the Harbinger. Toku held both now--twirling them.

SCHINGK!

A scissor-like strike slashed through Mercury's torso, clean and swift. The god's body was split for a moment--before golden divine blood misted out, and his form began to fade.

But the arena pulsed.

Ceres and Venus, standing at the back with eyes glowing, lifted their arms--casting Divine Mending. Mercury's form reassembled, flesh woven anew through their radiant grace. He gasped back to life, grinning.

Toku clenched his jaw. "It's always the Healers..."

He turned, calling over his shoulder--

"Ceri. Yunoi. Deal with them. Now."

Without a word, Ceri raised her gauntlets.

A storm pulsed beneath the sands.

"Heaven's Storm!"

The arena darkened for a moment as bolts of lightning crackled across the battlefield like wild veins. With thunder snapping behind each step, Ceri vanished, reappearing in a blur and slamming a punch into Ceres' chest, sending the healer crashing into the arena wall, unmoving.

Yunoi exhaled slowly, eyes closed.

"Serenity Spiral."

Wind and sand coiled upward like a divine drill, launching toward Venus.

But--

BOOM.

Mercury was back, appearing behind Yunoi.

A single punch.

Straight into her gut.

She gasped, eyes widening as the wind died.

"YUNOI!" Toku screamed.

Everything slowed.

Time bent.

His breath caught, vision bleached to white.

And in that space between heartbeats--a voice.

"Toku. You stood when others fell.

You shielded, when others broke.

You have balanced the chaos and the storm.

Now... become the scale that judges all."

His eyes opened, now pure white, like glowing mirrors of justice.

Light spilled from his back in radiant waves as the spear in his hand shattered, replaced with something new:

A crystal-white glaive forged from divine flame and starlight.

Prisms swirled around him, and above his head, a glowing sigil.

Toku ascended--

VEYRUAN, THE PRISMATIC DIVINITY.

As his feet touched the ground again, the entire arena held its breath.