Besides some light training that involved far too many slaps to the face, Dario spent most of his time with his mother and the orphans. Andrea took to the Belt quickly, bonding with his mother, while Enzo and Elio put up a bit more resistance, complaining about the smell and the state of the houses and shops.
“Boys, I’ve seen where you lived. It wasn’t exactly a palace either.”
“At least it didn’t smell!”
“I mean, it kinda did.”
“...Okay, maybe it smelled a bit. But not like garbage!”
“Alright, I’ll tell you what,” Dario said in a low voice as he bent closer to the boys, looking around to make sure no one would overhear. “If you promise not to tell Aria, I’ll take you out on a trashdi- err, I mean, treasure hunt. Once you see the hidden riches of the Belt, you’ll learn to love the trash.”
The boys acted cool, but he could see the spark of excitement in their eyes. So he found them some overalls, they all got changed and then he began teaching them the tips and tricks he’d learned from years of navigating the ever-shifting piles of trash.
“No, you definitely don’t want to go there. It’s too low down, see? That’s where the trash-juice collects. If you look closely, you can see the wetness down between the trash. I once got a splash of some particularly concentrated trash-juice on me and it ate straight through my overall.”
He taught them to look out for risky piles with unsteady foundations that were likely to result in a trashvalanche, and showed them where the most of the newer refuse was likely to land.
“Those piles over here have been picked clean of treasure over the years. You’ll want to be on this side of the central tower, but watch out for trash-goats. Tenjin’s beard, this is making me feel old.”
The boys gasped as Dario dodged an angry trashgoat’s blasts of Ki and wrestled it down until it realized he was much stronger and decided to give up and leave. He guided them to a pile that - from the denser spots of aura - had at least a few artefacts. After a bit of digging, they danced and cheered when they found their first treasure, a small trinket that sent out a constant but weak flow of warm air.
“Carla might give you something for that, could help to dry her cloth.”
When they got back, Aria gave him a look that told him she knew what they’d gotten up to, but she smiled when she saw how excited the boys were.
“Come now. Don’t forget to wash up before class, Elio! I’ll know if you don’t! Everybody will.”
She was an expert hand at wrangling stubborn children and it wasn’t long before she had the three orphans well under control. Occasionally, they would complain about promises of training and then he’d lead them through some basic fighting moves, creating an illusion of himself that moved along and play-fought with them.
With much greater control of light Ki, he could now create an image of himself that was so close to the real thing, even down to the shadows, that most people couldn’t tell it was an illusion at all. But that took a whole lot of fine control, needing all of his focus and giving him a sharp headache after ten minutes or so.
A warmth grew in Dario’s chest as he watched his mother smiling and laughing so much more than she used to. It pushed away all the fears and worries he’d had before, to the point where he could hardly understand how they’d grown so strong in the first place.
That sense of obligation had been hanging over his head like a dark cloud the last year, heavy enough that it had shaped how he saw his future. But him staying here wouldn’t have solved his mother’s problems. Not really. Only his mother herself could truly deal with them, though she'd have some help now after he was gone.
Still, he’d made another promise, and this one he wouldn’t fail to keep. He would write and visit, but more than that, he was going to find Matteo and pull him down by his hairs if he had to. His brother was long overdue a visit back home.
He enjoyed those days spent in the Belt, feeling like they went by too quickly, but still he would occasionally find himself climbing up on the roof when others were sleeping and look up at the ceiling with a spark in his eyes, feeling a longing for what was soon to come. In the past year he’d always smothered that desire, the weight of obligation pushing it down, but now he could finally embrace it in full.
On the fifth day, after a lot of lengthy goodbyes and repeated promises, it was with a full pack and a wide grin that he set out to Endanshi. Even if he hadn’t known where to go, it was easy to tell from the crowds, large groups of people huddled together around the huge, open space that contained the famous platforms.
Once a year, during the Ascension ceremony, all the platforms were lowered at the same time. Despite the name, it wasn’t much of a ceremony, really, but more of a way for the nobles to show off. The latest generation that had hunted and integrated a Koto could now proudly rise up as Ambers, ready to conquer the next floor. It was tradition for the nobles to show off some flashy techniques as they rose, leaving the common people to gasp and applaud.
Dario pushed through the crowd, heading for the dozen or so platforms where he hoped to find Nika.
“Pardon me, coming through. Make some room please, sir. Amber, coming through!”
When a few stubborn men gave him a dismissive look, refusing to let him through, he made his skin glow with golden light, after which a path quickly opened in front of him.
“That’s right! Make way for the mighty Amber!” he called out, grinning as he walked out into the open space.
He looked around, trying to spot Nika through the mix of bright Ki signatures from all the Ambers and their artefacts as they waited near platforms. But instead of Nika, he spotted someone else he recognized. The silved-haired young man with the matching Ki was smiling again as he marched up to Dario.
He looked behind and to the sides, hoping that he was headed for someone else, but there were no other cultivators nearby.
“Interesting staff you’ve got there,” the man said, pale eyes never leaving Dario’s. “How about I fight you for it?” He had his hand on the haft of a strange weapon by his side, a slender two-sided axe with a long blade that stretched down along both sides the wooden haft, nearly to the end.
He looked again to the left and right, then pointed a finger to his chest. “Are you talking to me?”
The man didn’t answer, but his grin widened slightly.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you sir, but this is my staff and I don’t intend to give it away. Not planning on fighting anyone today, either.”
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“If you want to mingle with the nobles, you’ll have to learn how to play our games. Prize duels are my personal favorite. It’s simple: we fight until one of us yields. If you win, you’ll be allowed to claim a prize from me, if I win, I claim the staff.”
Dario’s gut was telling him that that was not at all a good idea. He scratched his head. “Look, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot here. Why don’t we start with an introduction? My name’s Dario.”
He held out a hand, lifting his eyebrows and smiling disarmingly. The silver-haired noble’s gaze hardened.
“Is that what I look like to you? Someone who might be your friend?”
No, Dario thought, you look like a predator. As he was considering to just walk away from this, Nika’s familiar voice cut through the silence, bringing a flash of relief.
“Houjo greets Takeda.”
The silver-haired man let out a tired sigh, the sharpness leaving his eyes to leave him looking disappointed and bored.
“Yes, yes, Takeda greets Houjo. It seems you have a talent for spoiling my fun, Nika.”
Nika went to stand by Dario’s side, hands held stiffly behind her back as she looked the silver-haired man over with a neutral expression. “It’s been a while, Kire. You look well. Did you have any business with my attendant?”
“Attendant, is it?” Kire scoffed and turned away. “Not anymore. But you won’t always be around.”
Before Nika could react to that, he was off, heading for a distant platform.
“Friend of yours?” Dario asked.
She sighed. “There are no true friends among the Great Clans, only allies, or so they say. But I have known Kire a long time. We used to be friends, but we lost contact over the years. The Takeda are another of the Great Clans. Some call them the woodcutters; they own many groves and are expert woodworkers. Though a large part of their business is about extracting metal from the trees. There are certain trees with veins of metal that come close to rivaling boron in durability and hardness, but unlike us, they use the materials only for manufacturing weaponry. Where the Houjo are known for their shields and fortresses, the Takeda are known for their axes and spears. The complementary nature of our business has made it so that our two clans have grown closely allied over the years.”
“Right. So they make weapons and, uh, cut trees? That guy smells like bad news, though. He was looking at me like I look at meat pies.”
Nika nodded. “Their clan culture is somewhat… peculiar. Many of the Takeda are known to have a single-minded focus on battle and Kire is an exception even among his clansmen. He is said to be a genius that comes along only once every few generations. I’ve had to decline some of his requests for spars myself, lately.”
“Wait, he challenged you too? Why didn’t you just kick his ass?”
She looked him over a moment, then let out a sigh. “I don’t know if I could, but I suppose I will need to give you a crash course on clan politics. Image is important. The Houjo are seen as stable and reliable, never ostentatious. Unlike the Takeda, we tend not to display our strength in public.”
She paused, looking around. “But now is not the time to explain, the ceremony is about to start. Follow me.”
They made their way onto one of the large disks, where a few men and women were already waiting. From their obsidian Ki, Dario assumed they were members of the Houjo clan. He waved and smiled at them. “Hi guys, nice to meet you! Name’s Dario.” Some ignored him, while others gave only polite nods in reply. He noticed Nika’s lips curving up into a smile as she watched.
He just shrugged and looked on with excitement as each of the platforms filled up, followed eventually by some kind of horn being blown. A mix of the white Ki of force, combined with air and what he thought might be earth swirled into a complex pattern, before the platform shuddered, then slowly lifted off the ground, beginning to rise up towards the ceiling.
A few platforms over, a young noble cheered as she sent out a bright wave of fire Ki, throwing some kind of powder into the air that flashed bright pink and yellow as it burned. Others soon followed, creating a whirlwind of air that carried some kind of blue leaves in a mesmerising pattern, while another platform just sent blade arts whistling through the air.
The crowd oohed and aahed, applauding for one particularly bright explosion from the fire user. Dario looked expectantly at Nika and the other Houjos, but they just stood unmoving, both hands clasped behind their straight backs. She noticed his frown and gave a short shake of the head. “Like I said, the Houjo are never ostentatious.”
Dario looked down at the crowd below, slowly growing smaller as they rose, then at the other nobles showing off. Some people from the Belt might be down there, watching for him. This just wouldn’t do.
He sent his light Ki streaming out around their rising platform, keeping it hidden while he gathered it, until it became visible with a sudden, bright flash of light. Swirls of gold and black danced through the air in an intricate pattern, until they combined into two massive, brown and grey shapes. The crowd gasped.
The Houjo clansmen on the platform broke their stiff posture to turn to Dario, giving him wide-eyed looks. Nika’s eyes bulged.
“What are you doing? Stop that!” she hissed, but Dario just laughed, spreading his hands to send out even more light Ki.
Two huge bullbelisks appeared in the air, the massive creatures of stone that Nika had defeated to harvest her Koto. The larger-than-life images began to move, running through the air with heavy steps, just like how he remembered them moving. They picked up speed, rushing down right over the heads of the crowd, which got people to duck and cry out.
Then the stone bulls moved up again, circling once before they came right at each other, meeting head to head right above the floating Houjo platform. Their heads touched and a bright explosion of grey, auburn and gold consumed them, swirling in a beautiful pattern until the bright colors finally settled into four tilted squares, the small gaps in between where the sides touched forming an X.
The Houjo crest lingered in the air above them as the crowd roared.
He could see the fire cultivator from a few platforms over glaring at him. He gave her a wave.
“You’ve been trained in just about every area,” Dario said as he grinned at Nika. “Except for showmanship. Good thing you brought me along for the ride, eh? A bit of a show can go a long way.”
Nika just shook her head with a defeated look on her face. “You’re going to give me an ulcer before we get through this next floor.”
They took in the cheers and chants from the crowd as the platform lifted ever closer to the Mon above. Dario was chuckling and rubbing his hands as he gazed up at the light-blue crystal. It was far larger than the small Mon they’d fallen through.
“Oh man, I just can’t wait to see what this next floor has in store for us. Another mystery to solve! Hey, we could even do a race? First to reach Coral. You beat me to it last time, but this time I’m giving it my all.”
Nika turned to him with a frown. “Hold on, are you saying your mentor never told you the requirement?”
Dario blinked at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“The requirement for Coral is considered general knowledge; it’s as well known as that for Amber. It’s an extremely specific one. I’m surprised your teacher never mentioned it.”
“Wait, are you serious? Everybody knows about it?”
As Nika nodded at him, there was a glint in her eye and a cruel curve to her smile that he didn’t like one bit.
“Oh yes. Like I said, it’s extremely specific. There is no mystery. The requirement is one of body composition. One must simply reach fifty-two percent muscle mass and eight percent body fat.”
Dario's mouth was wide open as he gaped at her, eyes slowly widening with horrified realization.
“No,” he breathed, putting his hands on his head, giving her a look that begged for her to say that it was all a joke. “No!” he said again, louder this time. His illusions of light all fell away and he could no longer hear the cheers, only a faint ringing in his ears.
Nika’s eyes flicked down to his belly, then back to his face. Her cruel smile grew even wider.
“Oh, but yes, my dear Dario. Yes, indeed. This next one is all about training.”
Then came the finishing blow.
“Colloquially, it is known as the Floor of Sweat and Suffering.”
He dropped down to his knees, raising his arms as he craned his head up to the ceiling.
“NOOO!”
He could have sworn that through the faint cheers and his own cries, he could hear an old man laughing.
*** END OF BOOK 1 ***
