1 Chapter 1

The Solstice Tournament. On June 21 and December 22, fighters from all around the world gather in the massive arena to test their skills and find out who is the greatest of them all. But even though the tournament is a place where warriors test their might, it is also where great heroes are born.

In the country of Escaria, tens of thousands of creatures, from humans to humanoid dragons to even gnomes, were walking towards a massive colosseum, which was about twenty stories tall and stretched out about two hundred meters in circumference. Inside the colosseum was an arena that you would probably see in a popular anime. It was a few inches off the ground but was fourth meters in length and width. It was also made of a crystalline substance that shined like a diamond.

People of many different races were walking towards the stands sitting down and waiting for the announcements to start. As soon as everyone in the stands was seated, someone suddenly appeared in the middle of the arena. It was a tall man with white hair and silver eyes, wearing a black, formal suit with a red tie. The man clears his throat before cracking a smile at the audience as he raised a microphone towards his mouth.

"Welcome, one and all, to the 100th Solstice Tournament!", The man proudly exclaimed. The crowd roared in excitement and anticipation. "I hope you all are ready for a great time, because today, 100 of the greatest fighters in the world will face off against each other to find out who's truly the best of them all!" The announcer exclaimed again, as the crowd cheered once more.

"My name is Vushan, and I shall be your announcer and commentator for this legendary event. Now let's introduce the fighters!", he shouted to the audience proudly. Suddenly, a massive gate slowly opened on the right side of the arena, where the fighters began to walk out of it. Humans, elves, giants, zombies, and many other races were participants in the tournament, each with a number on their right hand.

"We have a lot of special surprises for you all this tournament! Legends from previous tournaments and new combatants never seen until now!", Vushan happily cried. The crowd was full of excitement and anticipation. Meanwhile, in the crowd of fighters, a young boy among them was as excited as the entire crowd combined. He had blue eyes, black hair, tall and pointed ears covered in fur, and a long and equally shaggy tail.

"This is gonna be so cool!", The boy exclaimed.

Vushan begins to speak up once more. "Fighters, you all should know these simple rules today. Rule number one: No killing. That shall result in immediate disqualification. Rule number two: Any method that's used to gain an advantage over a specific opponent is not allowed either unless it is a natural technique or Genshi ability you have."

Vushan continues his speech. "Rule three: You win by removing your opponent from the ring. Forcing them to forfeit or beating them to the point that they are unable to fight is also considered a win."

"And finally rule number four: Do not attack a contestant outside of the tournament ring. That is also an immediate disqualification." Vushan finished. "Now that we have the rules out of the way. I should explain the new improvements we have made to the tournament."

Suddenly, a pair of glasses were summoned in the laps of every audience member.

"These are our HS-Glasses. Just in case you cannot see the fights, these glasses allow you to see things down to the very last zeptosecond. There is also a barrier in front of the tournament stands to protect your viewers from any harm. Lastly, the tournament ring is now made of Xyzium, a crystalline material found in our asteroid belt. It's a million times tougher than diamond, so it should be able to withstand some of the strongest attacks!"

"Now fighters, get prepared because the preliminary rounds shall start in one hour!" Vushan shouted. The fighters returned to the gate, where the waiting room for the fighters was.

The boy walked in and noticed that nearly everyone was either sharpening their blades, loading their ranged weapons, or training by themselves. He wandered around the waiting room, looking around at everyone, until he suddenly bumped into something, causing him to immediately look down.

There the boy saw another boy his age, laying on the ground as if he was sleeping. However, he had rounded ears on the top of his head, as well as a furry, green tail with black stripes. He also had green hair and eyes and was wearing something similar to medieval monk clothing. The green haired boy looked up in slight confusion.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there", he apologized.

"It's alright. You should pay attention more often.", the green haired boy stated nonchalantly.

"Yeah... Anyways, my name is Damus Adapin! Who are you?"

"Zephyr Tomoyuki. I'm a Yokai. Specifically a Tanuki.", the Yokai replied. "What about you? Never seen someone like you before."

"Oh. I'm A werewolf." Damus replied. This causes practically every fighter in the waiting room to turn their attention toward Damus, causing the wolf boy to hop back in surprise.

"Did I say something wrong?", he said to them. The combatants didn't reply. There was simply complete and utter silence, which made Damus become a little nervous.

A few minutes later, some of the fighters began to move away from the wolf boy as if they were being cautious.

".What was that about?", he asked. Zephyr starts to scratch his head.

"Well, it's not every day you see a terrifying beast of legend.," Zephyr replied.

"Terrifying? Legend?" Damus tilts his head. Zephyr raised his eyebrow in response.

"You sure you're a werewolf? How do you not know your own race's history?", Zephyr asked.

"I know some of it.", Damus states with a shrug. Zephyr sighs.

"Well, I guess I can give you an explanation. Werewolves were said to be primal, unrelenting animals with a thirst for bloodshed and the ability to evolve to many situations overtime. There used to be a lot of werewolves a few thousand years ago. They suddenly disappeared one day after a war against the humans. Some say that they were all wiped out. Others say that they isolated themselves from the rest of civilization. Nobody knows for sure."

"Oh.", Damus said, surprised and a little disheartened that he may not see another werewolf around here. "Oh, well. There's still plenty of fun to have around here."

"So you're in this tournament to have fun, huh?", Zephyr asked. "Well, I guess I am too, in a way."

"Well then, do you wanna be friends?", Damus queried.

"Hmm... Friends with a boy who I just met who's also probably one of the most powerful and dangerous beings on the planet... Sure.", Zephyr replied. Damus smiles happily from hearing this.

"Well, wanna spend the next twenty-five minutes talking about stuff?", Zephyr asked.

"Sure."