Eclipse of the Chronicles

Chapter 4: Declaration of War

The scene opens with the team stepping out of the portal home.

The team and I stepped out of the portal, returning to the Starbucks café near my house where we had departed for the dojo house. We waved goodbye and goodnight to one another as we each headed home. Daisuke decided to accompany me, given that one of the Destined Chronicles turned out to be my sister.

"Hey, Dai?" I asked, drawing his attention. "If we lose, do our opponents remain under Lilith's mental pollution? I'm just wondering if there might be another way to save Jake since Spike lost, and we likely only have the chance to face each member of their team once."

"I am not certain. My battle with Lilith took place years ago, and I have yet to learn the full extent of her powers. But if my hunch is correct, Lilith might have baited the Destined Chronicles into entering her tournament with the promise of greater powers, corrupting their minds to do anything to achieve it," replied Daisuke.

I began to grasp the horror that might be happening to Amy and Charlie. "Right now, you should focus on winning your match. Leave the job of finding out more about Lilith's endgame to me," Daisuke said before vanishing in a ray of light, just as I approached home.

When I got home, I saw Amy's shoes near the shoe rack. Relieved that she was home, I rushed to her room. "Amy?" I called, standing outside her door.

"What is it, bro?" she responded, and I asked if she was okay. She reassured me that she was, and I sighed in relief. I then asked about her intentions in participating in the tournament and what powers she had that allowed her to enter.

"You already know the answer to that, don't you, bro? When that version of me from the future came to the Fated Chronicle clash. As for my intention to participate, why would you want to know? Would you lose for me when we fight? If not, then why would you participate?" Amy's questions took me aback. Lilith must have told her that a version of herself entered the Fated Chronicle clash to stop the accident that originally happened.

I began responding, "Of course I'm participating to save you from—"

"NO, not because of me! A reason for yourself, bro. Don't you want to become stronger with your power too? This tournament can do just that." Amy's words left me wondering about her motives. Before I could reply, she was already heading off to bed. I thought to myself, Things are gonna be awkward between us now, aren't they?

Scene transitions to the next morning at Simon's internship venue.

There was a knock on Simon's office door. "Come in," Simon called, and Howard walked in, heading straight to him.

"What's up, Howard?" Simon asked as Howard handed him a document.

"The report we were supposed to work on together, but you forgot. Here it is so you have an idea of what we're dealing with," Howard replied. Simon had been so busy lately that he had forgotten the report he was supposed to complete with Howard.

"Oh, scrap, I totally forgot. Sorry for troubling you. It won't happen again," Simon apologized.

Howard, looking displeased, said, "You know what my problem with you is, Simon? You seem to be a hard worker here, getting all the praise from our superiors and their attention. You even got a place offered by Mark after graduation. But it wasn't thanks to hard work, was it? Lilith told me all about your powers and how you've been using them on the projects we've been assigned."

Simon looked down, guilty. It did seem dishonest to hide his gift, which gave him an advantage over the other interns. Howard's grudge was understandable. He had always been the top scorer and a big help to Simon, but Simon's powers suddenly made him seem miles ahead of Howard.

"So... you gonna tell Mark about my powers then?" Simon asked calmly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Simon. For a smart guy, you don't see the big picture. If Mark finds out about your power, no one else would ever have to work here anymore... people would lose their jobs, and I won't let the people I work with suffer that," Howard replied, his thoughts clear.

"I'm here before you to formally declare war," Howard said as flames magically ignited in his palm, revealing his pyrokinesis.

"Then I guess this makes you my Destined Chronicle showdown rival..." Simon said after a pause. "Well... I guess there's no one else more suitable I can think of that would be perfect for that."

The Fated and Destined Chronicle cards in Simon and Howard's pockets buzzed, revealing a message:

"Fated Chronicle of Ingenuity VS Destined Chronicle of Leadership"

Simon looked up at Howard, who revealed his card to be the Destined Chronicle of Leadership. He then left Simon's office.

Simon leaned back in his chair, recalling memories of working with Howard during their college days—how Howard had constantly assisted him in quickly completing homework by compiling all the necessary notes and research.

Simon thought to himself, Lilith must have hand-picked individuals who had a grudge against us Fated Chronicles. If that's the case, then... have you been suppressing your hate for me all this time?

Scene transitions to Sean's polytechnic.

I was swinging in the roof garden, thinking about Amy's question. Don't I want to be stronger? Is more power all that Amy wants from this tournament? She's never been power-hungry before... Could that be Lilith's influence over her?

Before I could answer, a familiar voice spoke from behind me. "Hi, Sean. You seem troubled," said Jake as he joined me on the swing.

"Jake? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Just here to enjoy the view too, I guess. But I can leave if you like; you must be wary of me since we're enemies in the showdown," Jake replied.

"It may seem like we're enemies, but you helped Spike after your match with him that night. Why?" I asked.

"I suppose I've always valued sportsmanship. I also don't want others to hold grudges against me, so I do what I can to ensure no hard feelings," Jake said with a smile.

Just then, Jessica, Queenie, and Spike joined us at the garden after spotting me with Jake.

"Hey, what do you want with Sean, huh?" Spike asked protectively.

"We were just talking, Spike. Chill..." I said as Jake confirmed it was true and left, saying he'd see us in the next showdown match.

The girls warned me to avoid Jake since we didn't know what kind of person he was. He seemed suspicious, possibly spying on us to gain insight into our strategy.

Scene transitions to the night of the second showdown match at the dojo house.

Jessica, Queenie, Stephanie, Spike, and I arrived at the venue before Simon. There, we found the members of the Destined Chronicle team gathered, seemingly having a strategy meeting.

"How's your condition tonight, Howard?" Jake asked, concerned for Howard's well-being before his match.

"I'm great, and you don't have to act like we're all friends here... don't you guys feel the same way?" Howard replied, looking over at the rest of his team.

"Yeah, that's true," Charlie said.

"We just happen to be on the same team after all..." Emily added.

"All I want is to battle against Jessica," continued Catherine.

"I'm just here to have a proper word with my brother," said Amy.

"So, it seems we all have our own individual goals in defeating one of the Fated Chronicles. All we need to do is stick to our role and take them out one by one," Howard concluded, his tone asserting his role as the true leader of their team. He then headed to the fighting stage, while the rest of his team moved to the spectator area.

Simon finally arrived through the portal, apologizing for being late due to work. We brushed it off and said it was fine. As he headed to the fighting stage, we wished him the best of luck.

Simon and Howard faced each other, preparing for battle. Both had looks of seriousness in their eyes, like blades forged for the greatest sword fight in history.

"Simon Bolt... Howard Rivets... raise your cards and let out your battle cry... to commence the beginning of the battle," announced Lilith, initiating the match as always.

"Let's settle..." Howard said, raising his glowing card.

"...old scores," Simon continued, mirroring the gesture.

Both cards levitated into the air as they yelled, "DESTINY!" The cards transformed into their respective flags. Howard's flag featured a dragon in the center, a ball of fire below it, and smaller dragons flying around the central dragon.

"The time has come for the second match of the Destined Chronicle showdown to begin..." Lilith announced.

"Let's do this, Howard," Simon said to his friend.

"I shall burn away all obstacles in my way and destroy you, Simon," Howard replied as the match was about to begin.

Scene cuts to black.