Transcendence?

***Sphere of Sous***

***Jazira***

“~For the tournament!~”

I let go of my bags with the clothes and dresses, which drop to the ground, as I grab the little idiot. “How can you register us to a tournament which starts tomorrow! I thought we could go to a party!”

There is no doubt that Lidith meant -that- tournament. I heard several people speaking about it during my shopping tour. It seemed to be something big! And bloody! “I won't fight like some gladiator inside an arena!”

“Yeah. I am not too fond of that either.” Ascathon isn't happy either. Though he is absent-mindedly massaging his wife's butt.

I snap at him. “Could you stop doing that in public! Do that in private!” There are already some women throwing strange glares at our group.

He realizes what he is doing and places his hand in the pocket of the long black coat he is wearing. “But I have to use the chance. It's not like she is unconscious very often.”

“Just what kind of relationship do you guys have? Why shouldn't she allow her husband to touch her?” Lidith wriggles in my grasp.

“It's not like she doesn't allow it. But there are no complaints from her side like this.” His hand wanders back to her ass.

I give up. This guy doesn't care for his wife's dignity. “Don't try to change the subject. What's up with this tournament.” I shake Lidith once more.

“Awawawa! Don't be mad about it! There is no party during the tournament anyway! The party will be held afterwards to celebrate the winner.” Lidith frees herself from my grasp and takes a step back. “Honestly. You are a party maniac.”

She snaps her fingers and three sheets of paper appear in her hand. “You should ask what you can gain from this tournament instead.”

“Fine. What do we gain by being beaten up by the other gods? They are older than us and according to you about three to five times as powerful. ” Ascathon asks with a bored voice.

“Firstly, you gain fighting experience even if you lose. Secondly, Those who manage to win a few rounds gain fame and reputation. Something you newcomers can benefit from. Thirdly, there are prizes!” Lidith nods while smiling at us.

“We’re unlikely to win. They are probably all stronger than us.” I won't walk into an arena to get my dress ruined.

Lidith takes a grand pose in front of us and smiles. “Don't say that! You were trained by the fifth placed goddess of the last tournament! If it comes to pure fighting power, you guys should be able to compete with most other gods.” She speaks proudly and without a hint of a lie.

“Who?” Ascathon ask dumbfounded.

“~ME!~” Lidith puffs up her cheeks. “If I say that you'll manage, then you will. You are much stronger than the average participant. Of course there is always the possibility of being beaten up by someone who belongs to the upper ranks. But I expect you to win most of the fights.”

“If you are such a strong fighter, then why do we have to be that careful about Charon and Wynne!?” I burst out.

Lidith nods. “Wynne may not be a problem, her fighting power in duels isn't that great. Though her spells are very nasty if she has enough time to cast them. Charon was ranked 4th the last time. In a fight we would be on par. Aneth was third.”

She tilts her head. “The second place went to Gemesh. And the first place went to the panty flasher. I swear that I'll beat her this time!”

“Wait? Panty flasher?” Ascathon arches an eyebrow.

“Yeah, right? It's totally unfair! That stupid Cassandra showed her bare skin and panties to my Gemesh to distract him! She wouldn't have won if Gemesh had fought with all his power.” Lidith huffs and shakes her fists.

“Your Gemesh?” I look with new eyes at the child in front of me.

“I have a one sided crush on him. But he rebuffed me, saying that lolis aren't his type. And that I should stay away from his planet, so I settled down close by. ” Lidith hisses out between her teeth.

“So that's why you stayed with those idiots on the same planet! Then why not change your body? We have a witch right here.” I point at the unconscious person who has her butt fondled by her husband. She changed my tanned skin back to normal without any problem.

“Because that wouldn't be me. I like my body. And I don't want Gemesh to like me because of my appearance. I wouldn't be better than the panty flasher.” Lidith rejects my solution.

She sighs and hits her fists together. “Anyway. We'll give our best. And this time I won't be thrown out of the tournament because I have to fight the guy whom I have a crush on! I made up my mind, this time I'll crush him!”

“I have just one question.” Ascathon interrupts her. “How the hell are we supposed to fight another god for real? Has this tournament some special rules? Like not using any mana? And how is the winner determined?”

Lidith nods and smiles. “Ah, good that you remind me...”

She had to be reminded about something like that!? She forgot the registration, the divinities and to tell us that any trading group takes valuables for trading points, which can be used like money!

“... there are no rules. A group of several judges will cast a dimensional spell on the participants. This will seal you inside a small pocket universe, so you can go all out. When the fight is decided the judges will release the spell and your bodies will be returned to their former state.” Lidith ends her explanation.

“They have to use some kind of time loop to accomplish that.” Ascathon mumbles to himself. “Was there ever a participant who died for real?”

Lidith shakes her head. “Not that I remember. The spell returns everything to its former state. You just get to keep your memories. Though that's bad enough in some cases.”

She thinks for another few seconds. “Although it would be nice if you guys get to fight Charon or Wynne. If you don't lose too badly, they may think twice before they fight us for real.”

I nod. There is some logic behind that. “Though they'll learn about us too.”

Lidith states her point of view. “It's better to prove that you can hurt them. The last time they got intimidated by Ascathon's sword. It's better to let them know your strength than to let them believe that you are just some weak newbies without battle capabilities. They might still think that it may be easy if they catch you without your weapons.”

“~Hnnngh.~”

The dead lump of meat on Ascathon's shoulder awakens with a cute sound. He immediately removes his hand from her butt. “Good morning sugar!”

Celestial returns to the world of the living and smoothly escapes his hands by sliding down his back and rolling off on the ground. There she remains in a kneeling position.

“Something wrong sugar cat?” Ascathon bends over her with a concerned face.

“My butt feels sore!” She pulls a grimace.

Lidith and I freeze. How should we interpret that statement.

“Let me heal you.” Ascathon reaches for Celestial's back end. His hand is already glowing with the light of a healing spell.

Then Celestial blurs and Ascathon flips in the air, landing with his back flat on the ground. Celestial is immediately on top in one smooth motion, choking him with both hands.

“That went too far!”

He turns red and claws at her hands.

“...”

“You could have been gentler!”

He turns blue and tries to scratch her face.

“...”

“It was my first time!”

His eyes turn upwards until just the white in them is visible.

His hands start to flail in random directions.

“...”

“I lost my honour!”

His hands drop to the ground, then he twitches a little and lies still.

Several people stopped to watch the spectacle and a small crowd is forming around us. Celestial looks up for the first time and freezes.

I hear the whispers from the crowd.

“Her first time?”

“A lovers quarrel?”

“Are all three off them affiliated to him?”

“To become a god without ever...”

“Harem fight?”

“What a rude guy...”

“She is a fury...”

Celestial draws her breath.

“SHUT UP! THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE!”

The crowd disperses within seconds and Celestial checks Ascathon's pulse. Her fist impacts his chest, which makes his whole body twitch. Celestial checks again and nods. She throws her husband over her shoulder and rummages through his bag. The content is judged after a single glance and the bag wanders into a nearby trash bin.

She turns to us and stops. Then she turns around and recovers the bag. “I'll use it on him!”

Finally she turns to Lidith and me. Her expression changes from pure fury to her normal self. “~Did I miss something?~”

Lidith is the first to react.“They switched places!” She points at Celestial and Ascathon with a grin.

I nod at Lidith. “And they surely earned us a reputation. Do we still need to join the tournament?”

Celestial's eyes light up.

“~Tournament?~”

.