Aurin walked through the streets of Hazelton with Luna clinging to his arm, her face mostly concealed by a thick scarf. With the two planning to spend Christmas Day with Luna’s family, they had chosen to enjoy some time for just the two of them.

  “I regret this already,” said Luna, her voice muffled.

  “It’s not that cold,” said Aurin, chuckling.

  “It’s the coldest day of the year! You’re just so used to training in the snow that you’ve gotten used to it.”

  “Maybe,” shrugged Aurin, realising there was probably some truth to that.

  There was rarely a day that he wasn’t training, and it wasn’t solely Ethruki who was his focus. His other less-experienced monsters had received their fair share of care. Flowl’s efforts were redoubled in order to avoid close calls like the battle with Rick and Holly. The continued humbling of the rambunctious and obstinate Litehorn was a constant at his house. And Gittup, who was already proving himself formidable, was at the stage of being able to go toe-to-toe with some of Aurin’s best; at least he could until he got tired and faltered, leaving himself open for an abrupt walloping.

  Luna herself spent half her time with Aurin, training her own Minakai. Her oldest team members were regularly sparring with Aurin’s, but her Beetabolt shadowed Aurin’s Gittup trying to pick up several techniques from his fellow lightning elemental. The blue beetle was itching to see some real action after spending so long training, and Luna had promised her most recent addition the chance to battle with the Underground Dojo tamers in the new year when Aurin brought Ethruki there for training.

  After some effort, Luna convinced Aurin to stop somewhere so she could warm up. The two retreated into a quiet café, where only three other customers sat. Most of the town was closed for the night, but the cafés and several restaurants would remain open for another couple of hours.

  “So, what did you get me for Christmas?” asked Luna, after putting in her hot chocolate order.

  “I’m going to tell you what I told you the last dozen times you asked,” said Aurin, looking her dead in the eyes. “You have to wait until tomorrow to find out.”

  Clothes. He had gotten her clothes at Emily’s recommendation.

  Luna looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. “If you tell me, I’ll tell you.”

  “Nope.”

  “Please? Pretty please? Pretty, pretty please?”

  “You’ve got about twelve hours to wait,” said Aurin. “Dial it down, woman!”

  Luna frowned. “Fine, don’t tell me.”

  “I won’t,” guffawed Aurin. “Honestly, the best present I could ask for this Christmas is a year without bandits, thieves, and psychopaths causing trouble for me.”

  “Agh!” gasped Luna, reaching forward and putting a hand over Aurin’s mouth. “You just jinxed it, Aurin. What are you thinking saying that aloud?”

  Aurin moved Luna’s hand aside. “Relax,” he said. “I think some nutcase attacking me or my team is inevitable unless I keep a low profile for the rest of my life.”

  “Which you won’t.”

  “Which I won’t. I still haven’t fully made my mark yet. That only comes when I take down Tobias.”

  “Which you will,” said Luna, smiling brightly.

  “Which I will,” said Aurin, always glad to have her in his corner. “If I can get stronger at even half the rate I could before, I know I can do it. I’ve got full elemental coverage now, which I fell short of before. Gittup and Litehorn add lightning to my arsenal, and Ethruki is… well, he’s Ethruki. The best way to stand up to a cosmic elemental is another cosmic elemental.”

  “Dolissile did a great job last time.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “He did, but he can do an even better one if he has a cosmic elemental to train with regularly. Ethruki doesn’t have to fight Tobias’s Mindadam himself to help conquer that particular hurdle.”

  “I wonder if that girl with the Ethruki will be at the National Championships this year?” asked Luna, cocking her head to the side. “She had virtually no control over it last time, so much so that it almost hurt her.”

  “Moon? If she’s since gained control, then she could be a force to be reckoned with,” said Aurin. “Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t come up against more cosmics in the National Championships. Between her, Frederick, and Tobias, there were only three of them.”

  “Nope,” said Luna. “Some guy had an Abysarex, but he was taken out in the first round before he got to use it. He thought he would save it for the second round.”

  “Wait, what? How did I not hear about this?”

  “Gardner mentioned it at Hunter’s barbeque,” said Luna before furrowing her brow. “Although, come to think of it, that might have been when you and Hunter were inside.”

  “Hunter’s another threat to be wary of,” said Aurin. “You know that he’s not been resting on his laurels. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got a complete set of Microbot evolutions at this point.”

  “Do you really think he’ll have found a cosmic shard to evolve one into an Etherbot?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s a determined man, and he came within arm’s reach of battling Tobias. He’s going to be back with a vengeance, I reckon.”

  Luna nodded. “Yep, probably. But at least he’ll not fight dirty. Who knows about the others you’ve crossed?”

  “Hey, they crossed me!”

  The drinks arrived shortly after and the two enjoyed them while talking about all of their plans for the year. Aurin spoke more about getting Ethruki in shape while bolstering the rest of his team. Luna talked about adding more monsters to her team, having felt like she was falling more and more behind Aurin. She knew her coverage was more limited, lacking both a metal elemental and the obvious cosmic elemental spot that the majority of tamers lacked. What bothered her more, however, was that she only had a single fire, air, lightning, nature, and neutral elemental. If she fought an opponent who predominantly used elementals weak to those, she lost an easy advantage. Of course, if she was up against an earth-focused tamer, her trio of water elementals would lay waste to his or her team.

  As the town went from quiet to silent, Aurin and Luna made their way back onto the streets. Aurin walked Luna home and kissed her goodnight before returning to the ranch. As soon as he woke up, he would give his team a special breakfast consisting of double helping of their favourite foods before beginning his own Christmas celebrations. Despite all the trials and tribulations, it had been a year Aurin could look back at with few regrets. He hoped next year would be even better.

  *

  A man with flowing black hair walked along a dusty road, raising his hands to give orders to his teams of monsters. Some trees grew taller while others withered away. Patches of grass were filled up with wildflowers, and stinging nettles were severed in an instant. Even sheer cliff faces were torn open and new caves were created that would last for centuries without needing tended to, so perfectly sculpted were they.

  The man smiled with satisfaction as he roamed his domain, watching as the terraforming took place. He had waited some time to host such an event and the success of one on the mainland not too long ago had given him the inspiration and the connections he needed.

  Slinging his cloak over his shoulder, he proceeded to a clearer area and ascended a set of stone stairs. He looked up at the castle looming over him and felt a sense of peace. It was from the comfort of his home that he would watch everything unfold, aided by cameras, speakers, and a dash of magic. Three days. The ritual would take three days, if all went according to plan. All he had to do was be patient.

  Upon reaching the towering wooden doors of the pristine castle, two black-suited guards saluted him, while the doors opened of their own accord.

  The man smiled at his subordinates. “Why don’t you take the night off, gentlemen,” he said, his cold voice permeating the air. “The Minakai are had at work, but they remain at my beck and call. It is Christmas Eve, after all, and you must be freezing standing out here.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said one of the men, maintaining his salute.

  “That is very kind of you, sir,” said the other.

  The man let out a sharp laugh. “I am nothing if not generous,” he said, before marching inside.

  He worked his way up the staircases and through the corridors, soon emerging onto a balcony that gave him a view of the southern half of his kingdom, and the ocean which stretched out before him. The soft waves were highlighted by the moonlight on this crystal-clear night.

  The man clasped his hands together, chanted a few soft words, and then drew his palms apart. The air in between rippled and swirled before him, and he stared straight into it.

  “I’m here, sir,” came a voice from within the small vortex.

  “The reshaping is going well and should be completed by the end of tomorrow,” said the man with the dark hair. “We will wait a few more days before issuing the invitations. Tell our friend that he can send them at the beginning of the new year.”

  “So soon?”

  “We want the candidates to have adequate preparation time, do we not? They need to be good and strong before we begin.”

  “I will pass on the message, sir.”

  “Good.”

  “Will that be all, Master Light?”

  “That will be all,” said Light.

  He pressed his palms together, crushing the vortex. When he next pulled it apart, the air had returned to normal. He stood in the cold, calmly watching the small figures below him continuing to shape the island into the perfect battlefield.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: