53 The Competition Begins (1/2)

Shura stood with his back against the see-through wall. He was far away from the other people. They were all competitors, enemies. This wasn't an isolated occurrence, everyone was also keeping their distance from each other. Shura had thought they would begin talking and leave him out as he really was out of place, but he soon realized that the scene was just right.

They were all competitors, enemies. There was no need for words. There was only one prize, and only one could win.

Shura was immersed in simulating combat in his mind on one hand, while on the other he was also attentively listening to the announcement being made.

The form of the competition would be a massive free-for-all. No one would die from the fight. As soon as they were about to receive a lethal blow they would be forcibly teleported out of the battlefield by overseers who will be monitoring the battlefield. As soon as only one combatant remained, the path to the object that would grant them the Supreme Power to transform their Truesoul into a Supreme Truesoul would appear.

Just as half of Shura's attention was directed at himself, and the other at listening to the announcement, a random thought suddenly popped into his mind.

It was a thought, but it was also a feeling. He saw a mental image in his mind. It was a mental image, yet he couldn't quite see it clearly. He was absolutely certain that it was from his memory, a childhood memory, but he didn't remember or recognize it at all.

The feeling accompanying the mental image was familiar, yet strange. It was from childhood that he never remembered havingIt was a feeling of a want of care, companionship. Had it all started from such a long time ago?

The childhood referred to the childhood in his first and only true lifetime of course.

This thought, this feeling, this memory elicited a feeling in him: longing for family and companionship. Did he have them then?

The feelings didn't last long and it soon was gone.

'So that's who I am, deep down.' Shura thought. 'Since I couldn't get it by myself all my life, my hope rests on having Ultimate Power grant it to me instead.'

At least Shura knew what he was doing all of this for. Although feelings change, at least it was something he could grasp onto at the moment. It was something he felt he wanted to do, and so it shall be.

If he won, that elusive feeling of the past that had continued to define him to the present, that sense of lacking, it would be fulfilled.

It was at that moment that Shura's sharpened senses noticed someone staring at him. He looked around and quickly found it.

It was a woman, a young woman with vibrant hair the color of fire. She too was standing against the wall. She was looking at him intently.

Shura didn't know why she would. He was a stranger to everyone here.

Shura closed his eyes. Anyone could look at him, it doesn't mean he had to look back at them.

He didn't know how long he had waited. Every moment was fully used to train himself mentally. He was simulating combat in his mind. It was the newest benefit he had found from his now strengthened soul.

Before too long though, he felt the familiar feeling of something covering him, and the vibration surrounding him, and soon the feeling around him was entirely different.

Shura opened his eyes and as he expected, he was now someplace different.

Something immediately caught Shura's attention as he looked around. It was something floating in the sky, immobile. It looked like a city.. a castle, or a palace. It was a grand building that floated in the sky.

For it to be there, there must be something special about it. Was it related to the competition?

The sky was a pale blue color, while the ground was an endless sea of red sands. He could see pillars of white light all over the sky in every direction, appearing and disappearing. These must be where the others were teleported to.

He couldn't see anyone around him at all. Everyone must've been set up to appear far from one another at the beginning.

Shura decided that he wouldn't actively go out to find people and eliminate them. He'd wait for them to fight themselves and tire themselves out. When most were eliminated, that would be the time for him to go in. There was no need to tire himself out right away.

He'd conserve his strength. As long as he won in the end, that's all that mattered.

A pillar of red light shot into the sky in the corner of Shura's vision. When he turned to look at it, more such pillars appeared at the edge of his vision.

”Anyone not present near the designated location within three hours will be eliminated,” a manly voice came from the sky.

Shura was at first speechless, but then he laughed afterward.

”When have I become so non-confrontational? Since this was a competition, let's compete. What's the worst that could happen!?” Shura said aloud as he looked up the sky.

Gripping his blade tightly, Shura sprinted toward one of the red pillars.

On his way there he came across a well-built man in metal armor who was also moving toward the pillar.