Chapter 348: Preparations

The system screen materialized in front of Aiden with a soft chime.

[You have gained Master Control Access to the System]

Nolan folded his arms and nodded. “This is irreversible. I no longer bear master control over the system.”

“Hm…” Aiden muttered, staring at the notification for a moment before looking back at Nolan suspiciously. “Why did you do that?”

Nolan shrugged. “I get a feeling you’ll need it. And moreover, it became your property anyway.”

Aiden said nothing more.

Then Nolan suddenly raised a finger up excitedly. “Oh yes, yes! Sorry, I have another thing.”

He turned and walked back toward his desk, rummaging through one of the drawers before pulling out another key, identical in appearance to the first one Aiden had used.

He handed it over.

Aiden narrowed his eyes as he took it, turning it over in his palm. “I guess the first key was one-time use?”

Nolan nodded. “This too is one-time use.” His grin widened slightly as he added, “I’m curious to see just how far you’ll go, Aiden.”

He paused for effect before continuing.

“Although right after you leave, I’ll probably start watching for myself. But when it’s all over, and if you win of course… come back and tell me all of it.”

Aiden smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. Then he turned away from Nolan as a portal began forming in front of him, which he stepped into right after.

The Key to the Architect was the only way to reach this place; portals were denied entry but not exit.

Nolan stood by his desk and watched as Aiden disappeared through the gateway.

When it closed behind him and silence returned to the room once more, Nolan smiled to himself and turned back toward his papers on the desk.

———

Uriel was just about to walk out of the throne room when she suddenly stopped and turned to see Aiden resurface through his portal.

“That was… not very long,” Uriel said as she moved closer to him.

Aiden smiled. “Well, that person is anything but hostile or a Herrscher.”

Uriel’s eyes widened in surprise. “What is he then?”

“He’s human,” Aiden said, then laughed.

Uriel blinked in surprise. “Human?”

“I kid you not,” Aiden laughed again, shaking his head at the absurdity of it. Then his expression grew slightly more serious. “Well, I don’t know what that man truly is. But I know this for sure; if he has a bad side, I never want to be there.”

Uriel’s eyes widened further at that statement

——

Back in Eden

Kayden’s eyes fluttered open as he stared up at the sky above Orion’s temple. His body was aching but his breathing was steady now.

He turned his head slightly and saw Thera and Orion talking a short distance away.

Thera noticed the movement and nudged Orion forward toward Kayden, gesturing to show him that the young prince was awake.

“I’m going to return to check on my ward now,” Thera said, giving Orion a small nod before turning to leave.

Orion nodded in acknowledgment and walked over to where Kayden was slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position.

“How did I do?” Kayden asked, his voice was still rough from exertion. Then he added quickly, “And what was that yellow lightning?”

Orion let out a hearty laugh. “I’m surprised myself. I didn’t think you’d be able to unleash the power of my blessing so soon.”

Kayden’s eyes widened. “What?”

Orion nodded, crossing his arms over his chest with satisfaction on his face. “You had to be able to push yourself to the right extent to utilize it.”

He paused, then added, “It was my parting gift to you, young Kayden. Because our training has come to an end.”

Kayden’s expression suddenly looked emotional for a moment. Almost every day for the past seven months, without fail, he’d arrived at this temple to train with Orion.

The Archon had pushed him harder than anyone ever had before, harder than he thought was even possible.

And now it was over.

Orion squatted down a bit and placed a hand on Kayden’s shoulder. “All that is left is for you to keep practicing what you’ve learned. But this I can say for sure, if you were to face a demon lord now, you would give them a fright.”

Kayden felt a swell of pride rise in his chest. He smiled, then stood and bowed deeply to Orion.

And the Archon bowed back.

——

Three days before the start of the Holy Grail War…

The landscape just outside Dragonhold had been transformed into something resembling a military encampment. Rows of tents spread across the field in organized sections.

Makeshift training grounds had been established throughout the camp. And for a good part, it looked like preparation for war.

Mages in robes of various colors gathered in clusters, discussing or reviewing spellwork.

But this was not war they prepared for.

Not in the traditional sense, at least. This was preparation for the Battle Of Holy Grail.

The mages were here to practice and refine their techniques, especially those who had been drafted as champions.

The structure of the Holy Grail War had already been distributed to every participating kingdom across all eight continents.

There would be three stages.

STAGE ONE: Continents Against Themselves

Each continent would field a total of 40 champions.

To avoid disputes, the gods had already determined how many champions each kingdom within a continent would contribute. The numbers were stated in the instruction scrolls sent to every ruler.

For Valaross, Dragonhold had been allocated 6 champions out of the 40.

The remaining 34 slots were distributed among the other kingdoms;

Zahka(4)

Xathia (4)

Yul’thera (4)

Drakensport (4)

Jogunmount (3)

Orathia (4)

Belforte (3)

Skallgard(4)

Elandria (4)

The gods considered Dragonhold the strongest kingdom on the continent. Or perhaps they simply favored it more. It was hard to tell which.

Either way, no one had protested.

The objective of Stage One was simple: eliminate all champions from the other seven continents. The last continent standing would advance to Stage Two.

——

STAGE TWO: Kingdom vs Kingdom

Once a continent emerged victorious from Stage One, it became a battle between the kingdoms of that continent alone. Former allies would turn into rivals as they fought for dominance and the right to claim the Holy Grail’s wish.

At this stage, the numbers increased significantly.

Each kingdom could field 10 champions.

The objective: eliminate all other kingdoms until only two remained.

——

STAGE THREE: The Final Duel

The last two kingdoms standing would each select one champion.

A single warrior or A single mage. One representative to carry their kingdom’s hopes and dreams into the final battle.

It would be a 1 vs 1 duel to determine the winner of the Holy Grail.

This was the structure that had been laid out before them all. And now, with only three days remaining before the war began, Dragonhold’s mages prepared themselves accordingly.

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