Chapter 113: A Serious Problem

Tyler sat and spoke with his familiars for over 2 hours about the Generac stones and their true purpose. According to Ash, they were ancient stones that only hand-picked Eidolons received from Bahamut or Asura to create beasts. How a random Eidolon had one was simply something they were not sure of but it was becoming increasingly clear that something with great power was ruling this forest.

What bothered Ash, Leviathan and Gaia the most was they couldn’t figure out who betrayed them and when it could have happened. They went through the names of all their brothers and sisters and knew the location of all of them. They thought of the various faction leaders or who could have possibly struck a deal with someone from the VanHorn family thousands of years ago when the planet was young and Ability Academy was just starting.

"What about someone who was exiled? Your mother and father had to have enemies?" Tyler said, mentally exhausted. He was glad Amanda was patient and snuggled up next to him.

"Plenty. That’s what makes this so difficult. Many of his enemies left the Land of Summoned Monsters across different galaxies when summoners existed and we haven’t seen any of them in millions of years." Ash sighed.

"Did he have a rival or someone he really didn’t get along with?" Tyler asked.

Leviathan laughed. "Many people challenged my father for the throne and most of them ended up leaving the realm shortly after. They didn’t care if it killed the host as long as they got a contract and they were free."

Gaia shook her head in disappointment. "My immature little brother, always laughing at the misfortune of the hosts when the young Sanju died from being too kind."

"All of you stop arguing!" Ritsu whined. "Seriously, Vivian, Maximus, Shadow, and Rex have been quietly listening this entire time and none of you are giving Tyler a clear answer or helping him."

"Who do you think it is Ritsu?" Ash asked.

"It’s obvious isn’t it?" She said clearly.

"Please tell me you didn’t know the answer the entire time and we just sat through over two hours of this conversation for you to teach us some lesson," Gaia said sternly to her younger sister.

"Everyone relax. Go to the realm or something. Go eat and sleep. Everyone is getting edgy and it’s making me irritated," Tyler said calmly. He didn’t want to be disrespectful, but he was pretty annoyed with the way everyone was acting.

"No, I just pieced it together now. It has to be Tiamat." She said confidently.

"His sister?!" Ash exclaimed.

"No way she’d be chilling on Vexarra. That doesn’t make any sense. She hasn’t been seen for millions of years."

"Wait, if she hasn’t been seen for millions of years...how could she make a deal with the VanHorns?" Tyler asked, more confused than ever.

"Simple. She’s a goddess just like dad’s a god. She could show up wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. The question is why." Ritsu said calmly.

"Wait, that actually makes sense." Gaia interjected.

"Think about it Seraphim... sorry, Ash. If she knew someone was being reincarnated and Eidolons were already in the forest, they’d automatically fall under her rule."

"Shit." Ash chirped.

"What’s wrong?" Tyler asked, still confused.

"Tiamat and my dad hate each other. If she’s the one controlling the forest, that’s the reason that hive just formed. Apparently she caught wind of your reincarnation and rather than directly interfering as a goddess, she’s having her loyal Eidolon followers do her bidding." Ash said calmly, but Tyler could sense his irritation.

"So, what does that mean? She’s here to kill me?" Tyler asked.

"No idea what she is doing. You need to cleanse that staff so when the girls wake up, you need to rest up and start looking for Armitage right away." Ash said calmly.

"Sounds good. Thank you all. Go rest. This is going to get very ugly, very quickly. Return to the realm and eat, relax and come back when you’re ready to sleep or sleep there like Leviathan does if it suits you." Tyler instructed them.

Tyler smiled as his head was finally clear from everyone. He whispered to Amanda the situation and was surprised how calm she remained. If anything, she looked more determined than ever to ensure they got the mythological heart. It wasn’t about winning to her anymore, it was about ensuring they all remained safe and Tyler’s staff was cleansed. She encouraged him to rest, so he grabbed a sleeping bag and rested his head on her lap.

"I love you Amanda. Are you sure you’re ok by yourself?" Tyler asked with a kind smile.

"Yup. I slept plenty in Esper’s realm after I got all that alone time with you. If anything, I slept too long! I’m wide awake, I promise if I get tired I’ll wake someone up." She said while kissing him on the forehead. "I love you Tyler, sleep good."

******

The command center observed the rest of the tournament and fired off two more sets of fireworks and put up the new scoreboard. Only 7 teams remained and it was down to the final four universities. Ability Academy had two teams left, Armitage had three and Victorian University defeated Drakmore and BloodCrest defeated SilverWing. The scoreboard didn’t change much from the 500 point changes and the fireworks didn’t cause anyone in Tyler’s camp to wake up.

Deep within the forest, the group of Eidolons met up to discuss their plans for the next rotation. Vox expected the leader to be disappointed with him, but no such punishment came. He was the only one aside from the hooded, masked Eidolon invited with the other 7, who sat calmly and listened to their leader’s instructions.

Tim and Blake’s team finally found more resources and set up their own camp to rest. The tournament was temporarily at a standstill as the Victorian and BloodCrest teams came across resource chests and needed rest and recuperation.

Kass, Sophie and Nyx finally woke up and noticed Tyler peacefully sleeping on Amanda’s lap so they approached her quietly. Amanda was able to gently set Tyler’s head on a pillow and she went in back and explained the entire situation to the girls. Despite the news, they remained optimistic.

"Whatever happens, Tyler will be able to get us through it. How long were we out for?" Nyx asked politely.

Sophie removed the Earth wall and covered her mouth.

"Amanda!" She complained.

"What?! I figured you all needed the rest."

4:13:02 Until Next Reset.