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After waiting for several days, Chancellor Phanes' heirloom was delivered to James' room. After receiving the notification from his amulet, he immediately jumped up and raced over from the stadium, leaving his observation of the current match. He was very excited; before, he had just viewed this as a way to increase his combat potential, but now it held much more weight.

After arriving in his room and closing the door, he investigated the package it was in. It was wrapped very neatly in a hard metal covering with several protective seals located on the top. These he deactivated before careful taking out the sword and assessing it.

The blade was quite impressive. It was very large for a single sword, with a shining steel-like blade and a dark hilt. The crossguard was red and decorated with small gems and, when James looked closely, he could see magical sigils inscribed up and down the flat of the blade. There was even a sigil on the handle, although he didn't know any of their purposes yet. Hefting the sword, James tested its weight, finding that it was much heavier than he had imagined. It was well balanced, but he couldn't give it any real swings in his current location.

Putting the sword on his bed, James also discovered a small piece of paper in the wrappings. It read:

"James, I had this heirloom analyzed before I sent it to you. My historians have informed me that there is an incredibly high probability that this is the sword Ruin, one of the two swords that Lord Alcyrion used, based on the sigils inscribed on the blade. Ruin had the power to slice anything, regardless of size, distance, or material. As a Pure Elementalist, you may be able to reawaken this power if you pour your energy into the blade. I wish you the best of luck."

James fell over from shock. "THIS IS RUIN?!!!! Holy hells, this blade is legendary!" He went back over to the bed and sat beside the sword. "I don't even know what to think. I mean, it's like asking Santa for a plastic toy boat and getting a cruise liner instead. Holy cow!"

James has been determined from the beginning to give the Chancellor a good showing, and now that he knew that the sword was Ruin, that feeling only increased. With such a powerful weapon, however, he knew that he would need a lot of practice first, and his current situation wasn't exactly usable. So, he went to Rioyda's training hall. Although it was small, it was serviceable.

After getting inside, James looked around briefly to confirm his suspicions formed when he had last visited. Unfortunately, he was correct in his assumption that there was no system like the Darkessia's that allowed the user to create any object or enemy they wished.

James leaned Ruin against the wall and walked to the center of the room, tapping the floor as he went. "Hm, it looks like the metal ground isn't too thick. I think I can use this."

Bending down to the ground and concentrating, James made a small flame on the tip of his finger and pushed it into the floor. By increasing the intensity of the fire, he was able to drill a small hole straight through the metal, which exposed the soil of Dorian-5.

"Perfect! Now, let's see..."

He drew the earth up through the hole and piled it in a small heap on the side of the room. Because there were not enough elements in the air, he had to make use of the ones found in the ground, being extra careful to keep the foundation of the building intact as he did so.

"Phew, this is much harder than I originally thought. The ground here isn't exactly perfectly stable."

James left the hole, so he knew where to return the earth once he was finished. Moving to a different spot, he compacted the elements he had gathered into a target dummy shaped vaguely like a human. He nodded in satisfaction after it was fully formed. "That should do it."

The blade hummed when he picked it back up, as though it was sensing the usage of Pure Elementalism in the room.

"Eager or something? Well, let's take you for a test drive."

Taking a stance in front of the dummy, James hefted Ruin. As he had found before, it was just barely light enough to be used with a single hand. "Jesus, how did Alcyrion use this thing? It feels like a boulder." He attached the air a couple of times and then took a swipe at the dummy.

One arm went flying across the training hall as the sword cleaved straight through it. James was very impressed with its performance.

"That was like a hot knife through butter! I'm glad I decided to try this out before I actually used it in a match," he said, already feeling an ache from the weight in his arms. "Looks like I've got a lot more work cut out for me."

He reattached the arm with a wave of his hand, and the sword reacted, flashing brightly.

"So, you like my energy or something, hm? I'll have to test that later after I've finished getting used to your weight."

James went back to attacking his dummy, focusing on the feel and weight of the sword. He experimented with alternate swings, slashing the target about 50 different ways and figuring out which seemed to be the most effective. As he had no formal training, he was mainly trying to find out which strikes would best compliment his Pure Elementalism. However, he also found a couple of attacks that he could use on his own if his opponent was open.

"Alright," he said, finally taking a step back and stopping his relentless assault. He was breathing very heavily, and his arm was very tired, but that didn't stop him from smiling. "You're supposed to be a legendary blade, right? Let's see what you can cut through."

Up until now, James has only been using the dirt, making weak targets that didn't require much effort to dismantle. Now, he held out a hand and controlled the metal that made up the floor of the training hall. He ripped up a solid section of the floor, one that contained no piping similar important things, and molded it into the shape of a small person.

"Man, I can't believe how easy this is," he thought as he worked. "Just a short while ago, I was stressing over how to cast basic spells, and look at me now. Casually shaping metal like clay." He smiled a bit sadly. "I wonder what my friends on Earth would say if they could see me now."

Finished with his new target, James lifted Ruin. Its sigils were glowing quite a bit at this point, most likely from storing some of James' magic. He reared back and took a massive swing.

"CLANG!"

The sword rebounded off the metal, ripping out of James' grasp. His hand was numb from the vibrations racing up his entire arm.

"Ow!" He glared at the sword lying on the ground. "I thought you were supposed to be able to cut through everything. What happened?"

James went to inspect the target and he found that there was a gash in the metal. Looking back at the sword, he noticed that its glow was much dimmer than before.

"You need magic to cut through things? Hm."

He decided to give his theory a test. Shaking out his hand and picking Ruin up once more, he channeled a massive amount of power through his hand. Instantly, the sword reacted, sucking all of it away instantly and leaving him dry. "Let's try this again!"

He swung and this time, Ruin went straight through the target like it was nothing. The sigils still dimmed like before, though, and James stumbled and almost fell.

"I feel absolutely exhausted," he gasped, sweat beading on his forehead. He swallowed hard. "Looks like the more magic I pour into the sigils, the more it can cut. But even holding it makes me feel tired."

James put the blade away, storing inside of his amulet. "I need to train more, otherwise I'll collapse for real during a match. But for now, I need a rest!"

He headed back to the dorms and ate a small meal and then went straight to bed, even though it was only dinner time. The amount of magic he had used up had completely emptied his stores, and as a result, he needed a lot of time and rest to replenish them.

Over the next few days, James continued to train with Ruin, spending almost all of his time in the training hall. He took breaks every once in a while in order to replenish his energy, but for the most part never really stopped training. This had the downside of causing him to constantly miss his friends, but he made sure to at least tell them that he was working on something amazing so they wouldn't get too worried.

Speaking of James' friends, they were doing very well now that they had much more time to train. Algon was consistently spending time in the outskirts of the jungle with Ran, still working on controlling his Alpha powers, but getting better with each passing day. Delta had taken to training with Aurra, who was now fully recovered from her injuries and getting ready for one of her upcoming matches. And finally, Lydia was having a lot of trouble figuring out what had caused Delta's little problem back during his match. Eventually, he convinced her to drop, mainly under the argument that it hadn't happened again even with all of his extensive training.

On the day of Aurra's match, James went to go train in the morning with Ruin. He was getting much better with the sword, his strikes much cleaner and more accurate. In addition, he didn't feel the drain on his magic as much when he held the sword, even though it never actually lessened. As he couldn't turn it off, he just tried as best as he could to ignore it. It was probably the worst part about Ruin, but the rest was all great.

Ruin was completely indestructible and, as long as James kept pouring into it, could cut through anything he put it up against. Even the weight had become a bonus after James noticed it was slowly making his arm stronger.

"Hey, James!" A voice interrupted the stream of endless attacks. Lydia blasted into the room. "Did you hear? Someone's arrived at Rioyda and wants to address all of the competitors before Aurra's match. We have to go or we're going to be late!"

She stopped suddenly, staring at Ruin. "You found a sword!"

James chuckled. "Yeah, I did. Or rather, someone is lending it to me. It's what I've been training with this entire time."

"Amazing! Who was the lender?"

He shook his head. "I'll tell you on the way. Like you said, we don't want to be late."

They left the training hall and headed towards the stadium.

"So, now can you tell me who lent you the sword?"

"It's Chancellor Phanes, the gryphon that leads this whole region of space."

She gasped, obviously impressed. "Did he tell you why?"

"He said that he was going to die soon and wanted to see its full potential, but he also made it sound like I would get more information later."

"That's so sad. I hope I can talk to him too if he's going to be watching the tournament."

They entered the stadium and found Algon and Delta.

"Where's Aurra?" James asked.

"She's getting ready for her match," Delta responded. "Although it's more like a consolidation bracket, it's still important to her."

James nodded. "I get it."

"So, did you find out what he's been hiding from us?" Algon addressed Lydia.

"In fact, I did. Apparently, he's been training with a new sword that he got."

"Cool! What's its name?"

"Swords have names?" Delta asked, confused.

"Most magical weapons have a name. Haven't you given one to your pistols yet?"

No," Delta said, a bit red-faced. "Never thought of that."

"Anyway, so what's your sword's name?"

James was about to answer but was interrupted by the entrance of guards onto the stadium floor. Headmaster Nu followed them out, looking as snakes as ever.

"Students and masters, thank you for coming so early to today's matches. I would like to formally introduce you to a special guest that arrived earlier this week to view the remainder of the tournament. Please welcome Chancellor Phanes, one of the founders of Rioyda!"

Clapping accompanied this announcement as the elderly gryphon emerged onto an upper balcony.

"Hey, that's the same guy that lent you the sword, right?" Lydia said.

"Yeah, but he didn't tell me he was going to make an announcement to the entire school. I wonder what he has to say?"

"Thank you for your warm welcome, students," Phanes said with a warm smile. "I am very glad to be back at this school after such a long time away." He sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, my time in this world is growing short. I have lived a long life, some of it happy, some of it sad."

"Oh no," Lydia whispered. Algon and Delta's eyes also widened as they realized what he meant.

"But," the Chancellor continued. "I did not come here for a time filled with regrets. I wish instead to see you, the brightest of our future generation, inspire me to pass on this universe knowing it will be in good hands. I want to see your determination and inner light shining brightly while I am here! I have accepted my destined passing and did not come here to grieve, but to rejoice and enjoy the presence of such wonderful young minds as yourselves!"

At this point a large portion of the audience had tears in their eyes from his speech, James' friends not excluded.

"I will be sure to enjoy the remaining matches in this fine tournament. In addition, I would like for the opportunity to speak with each and every one of you about anything you wish. If you have the time, I would love to have you visit me either around Rioyda or in the main administration building. Thank you, all, and I look forward to many good showings!"

He sat down on the balcony, accompanied by a wave of applause and cheers. Lydia turned to James, sniffling slightly. "You didn't tell me he was going to die! That's so sweet! I'm absolutely going to talk to him later."

James nodded. "I'd recommend it. He's a very nice and interesting character."

Below them, the matches for the day began. None of them were very interesting, so James decided to ask Algon how progress on his Alpha powers was.

"Pretty good," he answered. "Lydia probably's told you this already, but I've been training in that jungle clearing we found. It's big enough, and I can also make sure that I don't accidentally burn down the forest."

"How's Ran? I haven't had time to see him."

"Oh, the little guy's doing great. He's just as bouncy as always and the other day I discovered that he likes chasing my fireballs."

James laughed. "That must have been pretty funny to watch."

"Yeah, especially when he barreled straight through a huge tree instead of going around it."

The matches continued like normal below them, passing by moderately quickly. Every competitor was giving it their all for the Chancellor, coming off the field completely exhausted. Luckily, there were no injuries like in Delta's match.

Aurra finally walked out onto the stadium. James looked over at Delta to see him smiling.

"So, what have you guys been working on exactly?"

"Quite a lot, actually. She's a perfect match for me; our training's gone very well since we started working together."

Algon nudged Delta. "A perfect match, huh?"

"Nothing like that! We've just been friends. Besides, we go to entirely separate schools!"

"Sure, whatever you say."

"Oh, quit it! She's about to start," Lydia said, bopping their heads.

Aurra was fighting a Water Elementalist who had also lost his own match. Upon starting, she immediately created the same floating sigils as before, but this time there were 4 instead of 3.

"By the way, did you ever find out how her defense worked?"

"Yeah, while we were training she told me. When they trigger, they condense the space around the attack until it stops moving and fizzles out entirely."

"You can do something like that with magic?"

"Celestial magic specifically. She controls space, don't forget."

Aurra decided to open the fight in this match, whipping out her bracelet and immediately blasting barriers at her opponent.

"We also worked on her aggression a bit. She would have beaten me during our match if she had attacked much sooner before I could get a grasp on her abilities."

"I can see that. She's improved a lot," Algon praised.

"Like I said, we worked on a lot of things."

The Elementalist was largely on the defensive, just barely managing to avoid the rapid series of attacks sent flying his way. The one time he managed to create enough of an opening to return fire, one of the sigils activated and blocked the attack. Aurra then sped up her assault, making sure that he didn't get another chance.

"Well, it looks like she's going to win this time around."

"Yeah, she's really strong. In fact, I think it was mostly luck that I managed to beat her the first time."

Lydia furrowed her brow as something caught her eye. "Hey Delta?" she called out suddenly.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Does she always look that tired when you guys train?"

"Huh?"

They all looked down to see that Aurra was breathing heavily, stress visible in her eyes. The sigils behind her weren't glowing brightly anymore and her hand was shaking considerably.

Delta shook his head. "No, that's not normal. What's going o..."

He was cut off as the sigils behind her flickered and then disappeared entirely. The barriers, which had been relentlessly going after the Elementalist, faded away to nothing, the gemstone in her bracelet flashed once before going completely dark, and Aurra collapsed to the ground and didn't move again.