New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

The afternoon breezed by, and by dinnertime, both Alex and Kary were ready to log back in. They ate a quick dinner and headed to the room, ready to step into the pods.

"I hope whatever it is you made a deal out of, you don't alienate any of them," Kary said, before lying down in her pod.

"Have a little faith. Everything is going to be fine," he responded, imitating her.

As both of them closed their pods, the display inside humming to life, they commanded together.

"Log in."

Multi-coloured lights flashed past their vision as their bodies sank into weightlessness. Closing their eyes, to limit the strobing effect consciousness transfer, they waited for gravity to re-assert itself.

Once it did, they opened their eyes again, looking up at the baldaquin bedposts of their room in the palace of Bastion City.

Turning his head toward Phoenix, Astaroth smiled.

"Alright, see you later."

He got on his elbows to kiss her and then bolted out of the room.

Astaroth ran past the guards at the door and up the stairs that led to the training room. He had a few floors to climb, but he helped himself with some Wind Walking and Sky Steps, to ascend the stairs like a rocket.

Reaching the sixth floor in no time flat, he stepped inside the room where the old gnome was waiting for him. But the gnome wasn't alone.

With him, inside this minuscule, cramped room, three disgruntled commanders who all stared daggers at each other.

"The king told me to meet him here. You shouldn't be here. Leave before he arrives," Alena growled at the other two.

"Strange that you would say that, Sentinel. The king promised a fight to me and my riders this morning. It is you who shouldn't be here," Mary Kadmus replied, her eyes locked on her counterpart.

"Ladies. Let's calm ourselves, shall we? You are blowing this out of proportion. There must be a reason the king would call all of us here."

Astaroth laughed as he entered the room.

"Hahaha! I see you are all in good spirits. Perfect. Commander Levine is right. There is a reason I asked all of you here without telling you the others would be present. It wouldn't be much of a competition if you all knew what to expect."

"A competition?" Alena asked, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"I thought this would be a chance for me to secure our passage to the next five years of Military Exercises. What is the meaning of this, Your Highness?"

Astaroth raised his hands to calm them down.

The two other commanders felt their blood boil at the words she said.

"Commander Alena. I believe my words were, 'If you can beat me.' Now. I know you exalt yourself and your troops, but that is just not going to happen," he said, a smile creeping up his lips.

"As for the two of you," he added.

"You are here for the same reason. Anyone who can beat me gains an assured position for the next five years of military exercises. And if more than one of you wins, then you can compete between the two of you, on a battlefield of my choosing, to get the privilege.

"But I want to add this. You might as well set your aim lower. Because I have no intention of letting you win. Matter of fact, none of you will survive ten minutes in there, alone with me.

"Now, sir mage. If you would open the portals, please, as we discussed yesterday."

The old gnome watched the scene with excitement. The demands the king had made the day before had riled him up so much that he hadn't slept last night, getting all three battlefields ready.

"Everything is ready, as you demanded, my king. I wish you all good luck."

Three portals opened in the room, making the already cramped room even tighter. One blue, one grey, and one dark green.

Astaroth smiled as he looked at the portals.

"Alright, line up, the three of you."

The commanders grumbled as they did as ordered.

"This isn't—" Alena started complaining.

But Astaroth raised his hand, glaring at her. She shut her mouth, even though she wanted to stomp his face so much.

"This is how things will go this morning. Let's start with you, Commander Kadmus."

"Sir!"

"You said your regiment needed the perfect scenario to prove its might, and that such a situation hadn't happened yet. Well, I made sure today would be just that."

"How so, Your Highness?" the commander asked.

"Simple. You will have your aerial combat. A veritable one. With no land targets. Your opponents will be my two aerial companions and a copy of myself from during the siege. I had to share some recorded footage with the mage yesterday just to set this up."

Commander Kadmus smiled. She had wanted to take a swing at that dragon the day before, and her Griffon had already passed over his visceral fear of the beast.

Letting the other beasts, as well as their riders, face that same thing, would let them feel what a true sky predator felt like. But she wondered one thing.

"What is your other aerial companion, sir?"

Astaroth smiled devilishly.

"You will find out when the fight begins."

He then turned to Rodney Levine.

"Your fight requires something more complex than simple might. Your simulation will be an escort mission. You will escort a copy of me and Queen Phoenix to safety through a forest field with traps and enemies. The enemies, well, you will find on your own what they are during the simulation."

Rodney shook his head, feeling his heart pump faster.

His Royal Guards' ability to complete their duty was being tested through this simulation.

Turning to face Alena, Astaroth's smile turned into a grin.

"As for you, Commander Alena. Your challenge will be the hardest one since you are so confident in your strength."

She tilted her head, curious about what he had cooked up for her.

"I had the entire territory of this kingdom simulated just for you and your men. You will fight the most dangerous thing in this kingdom."

Alena looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Leon accepted to fight with us?"

Astaroth burst into laughter.

"Hah! Leon. He wishes he was the strongest one here. No. You will fight me. At full power. Your time limit is five minutes. If even one of your men is still alive at the end of the five minutes, I will consider this a win for you."

Alena almost laughed at his statement.

"I accept that challenge, Your Highness!" she blurted, her mouth stretching into a grin.

'Just surviving? He is overestimating himself. I finally get to stomp him into the ground and show him we aren't to be messed with.'