The door to the Avatar Skybox was just a prop. When opened by ordinary hands, it revealed nothing but open air beyond the Colosseum's highest tier and a sheer drop to the ground far below. But when opened by an Avatar gifted in spatial travel, the doorway became a portal to a chamber beyond the mortal world—a vast, serene space bound by divine geometries that obeyed different laws of matter and space than those of the physical realm.
At its center was a miniature of the Colosseum—more than just a model, but a living diorama. Everything that happened in the full-sized Colosseum, including all the sights, sounds, and both physical and spiritual sensory inputs, was reflected here.
This was their Skybox, where they would watch the tournament from a vantage point unmatched by that of the mortals and Templars below. Here, the Avatars could surround the replica and view the unfolding events from any angle. They could slow time to a trickle, reverse its stream, or hasten its passage to return to the present moment. Though such manipulations bore no consequence on the physical world outside, they allowed for clarity, study, and—on occasion—mild amusement. Some bouts, after all, were best appreciated when the motion slowed enough to admire the precision of a blade or the poetry of a well-placed strike.
Okomikeruko was particularly proud of this feat of divine engineering, as patting himself on the back was a favored pastime of his. He stood outside the door as he awaited the Hogaran girls ascending the many stairs to this topmost tower.
"Are all present and accounted for?" He asked as the gaggle of girls approached, with Allisyn in the lead. She turned to her self-proclaimed lieutenants, who in turn performed a headcount and noted the absence of two girls.
"Momo and Tari aren't here," came the first report.
"Momo went looking for Tari," this from a voice in the crowd shortly thereafter.
Unbeknownst to the others, Tari struggled to catch up after her encounter with Sumitsu on the ground floor. She finally reached the top floor, exhausted, deeply embarrassed, with Momo beside her to support her. They both shrank at the imperious weight of Allisyn's gaze, knowing no explanation would be tolerated at this point.
Some of the girls who were most grateful for Tari's domestic skills in restoring their dresses were quick to help her catch her breath and regain her appearance from her windswept hair and sweat-dampened brow.
Okomikeruko smiled at their unity and quiet devotion to one another, a quality he found most admirable. He gave Allisyn an approving nod, and she returned a deep, precise bow, perfectly acknowledging the difference in their stations in the Hogaran tradition.
With the girls properly queued and ready, Okomikeruko added a theatrical flourish to the simple act of opening the door to the Avatars' Skybox. Allysin led the girls two by two across the threshold.
As Tari and Momo were about to cross over, Sumitsu ran into the room, panting after ascending so many stairs. "Wait!" she cried out in distress. Tari immediately tensed up and tried to find someone or something to hide behind. Okomikeruko seized the girl's shoulder and shooed Momo into the room before closing the portal.
"What is this all about?" Okomikeruko demanded, noticing the anxiety in Tari's posture, which seemed to be confessing wrongdoing on her part.
Sumitsu had never experienced having to catch her breath like this before. It was a new experience she wanted to savor, but time was crucial, so she was annoyed that her body wouldn't let her speak until she had recovered.
While Sumitsu struggled, Okomikeruko turned to Tari and asked, "Why did you cower when she approached?"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me! It was an accident!" Tari ugly-cried openly, her distress evident.
"What was an accident?" Oko's voice was softer, trying to soothe the panicking child.
"She copied me," Sumitsu uttered between gasps for air.
"Copied?" Okomikeruko was at a complete loss.
A few moments later and Sumitsu could complete her sentences. "I was curious about these girls. As she was heading up, I decided to take a peek at her spirit rings."
"Okay…" Okomikeruko still wasn't getting it.
"Then she looked at mine," Sumitsu said. "Except her eyes weren't indigo as a Hogaran should be. Her eyes were yellow, like mine. She precisely copied my powers, down to the origin!"
Tari buried her head in shame, still shaking, still apologizing, still panicking. Okomikeruko knelt beside her and gave her the biggest hug she had ever received, which was saying something, considering she had grown up with six brothers who adored her. Her panicking stopped, and she felt something warm inside her heart. She felt a peace she had never experienced before. Her tears dried.
"You don't know it yet, but you have just given me more hope than I have felt in a long time." Okomikeruko whispered. "You did nothing wrong. What you did was amazing."
"But there's more," Sumitsu said, worry still in her voice. "She didn't just look at me. She looked at-" she paused, uncertain of whether to utter their names directly, "she looked at my boys."
"That does change things," Okomikeruko turned to Tari with grim determination. "You have to promise us you will not tell a soul what you saw when you looked at those boys. You must keep their secret. Do you understand?"
Tari nodded, the seriousness of the situation finally making sense.
"Good," Okomikeruko stated with a warm smile. He turned to Sumitsu and said, "I'll keep an eye on her."
Sumitsu nodded and left, this time descending the stairs.
"I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Tari," Okomikeruko whispered. "Time passes differently between here and there. I'm going to send us ever so slightly into the past so we will walk in at the same time as the others. That way, it'll seem like no time has passed at all."
True to his word, Okomikeruko reopened the portal a few minutes into the past, and she walked in beside Momo with Okomikeruko's hand on her shoulder. She watched in amazement as he casually mingled with the rest of the crowd as if he hadn't just performed a little miracle for her.
The girls gathered before Tokimi's throne and bowed in respect.
"Rise, my children," Tokimi spoke with grace and authority. "Welcome to the Skybox of the Avarars. You are here to serve us and be observed. In your infancy, each of you consumed a sunberry. Normally, this would kill a mortal. But you all consumed one shortly after Kamoshami was killed, during a time when your magical connection was emptied, so the magic inside the sunberries refilled it. We want to ensure that you are now and may continue to be safe and healthy. Please forgive us for staring, we promise that we are looking out for you."
"What are spirit rings?" One of the girls asks, immediately blushing as her peers hush her for speaking out of turn.
"That is a wonderful question and one you have every right to know the answer to." Tokimi smiled. "Minori, would you be so kind as to educate these girls?"
An Avatar with an aquamarine aura perked up at the mention of her name. The girls looked over at her. Her hair matched her aura, as did one of her eyes. The other was a different shade of blue and more closely matched the color of the fur on her cat ears, which poked out from the top of her head. She was beaming with pride at getting to help however she could.
"Young ones, this is Minori. She is the Avatar of Truth for Megumi, the Goddess of Love. So you know you can trust everything she says."
Minori blushed at Tokimi's praise. "T- Thank you, your Grace." Minori stuttered.
She sat down on the floor in front of the girls and had them gather around her. She used her own spirit rings to explain them to her audience.
"Spirit rings, or magic rings, are a type of visual representation of who you are as a person." Minori's blue spirit rings appeared just above the floor, centered in the circle. The girls looked at it in awe; some had never seen one before, while others had a dawning realization, having seen one but not knowing what it was.
"The center is your soul. It is you, your core. It's the part of you that harmonized with your God and chose to submit yourself to their stewardship." The circle in the center contained an ornate symbol containing dozens of strokes and swirls that seemed to shift and shimmer.
"The second layer, the first ring around the center, is your spirit ring. Between the time you submitted to your God and the time you were born, who you are and what you did is written on this ring. Some of you may have been twilight pixies, forest spirits, or river sprites. Each of you would have a story as unique as you.
"The third layer is your mortal ring. Everything you say and do affects this ring. Your thoughts and feelings and beliefs. Your talents, your focus, your experiences. That is your life."
"Yours is empty?"
"I haven't been a mortal yet. But each of you has rings like this."
"And the fourth layer?"
"That is what we call the Templar Layer. Templars are ordained with this ring, which will be filled with special gifts from their God through us, the Avatars. Everyone who is fighting at this tournament is an ordained Templar of one of the Gods."
"Would one of you like to volunteer to see your rings?"
The girls looked at one another nervously. Tari felt extremely timid and tried to hide. Allisyn rose to her feet with trained, graceful elegance and stepped forward. She didn't utter a word but bowed her head in humble supplication. Minori was quick to make sure she saw Tokimi's ascent before replacing her spirit rings with those of Allisyn.
Unlike Minori's steady, stable blue hue, Allisyn's spirit rings were a kaleidoscope of shifting, rainbow-colored hues. Even some Avatars were taken aback by this revelation.
"It's so colorful," Momo remarked. "Why?"
Tokimi stood and gently caressed the edge of Allisyn's spirit rings. "Sixteen years ago, an unspeakable evil invaded the Celestium and killed our God, my husband, Kamoshami. When that happened, many of our most devoted Templars died, and the vibrant indigo of every single one of our spirit rings drained to almost nothing. The Gods are the source of our light.
"Your spirit rings were emptied before you could walk. Then, moments later, you consumed a single sunberry. Each and every one of you has had your spirit rings filled with a divine power that even the Gods must filter through a prism to use. It's a miracle any of you are alive today."
"All of us are like this?" Momo seemed awestruck.
"Did you think Allisyn is the only one with spirit rings this vibrant?" Tokimi asked like an amused mother.
"Kinda? Yeah?"
"Allisyn is a blessed daughter and a beacon of light and hope. But do you know what she is not?" Tokimi let the question hang, her eyes scanning the group gently. "She is not any more beloved or blessed than each of you."
Momo's heart swelled at the praise and love Tokimi poured out upon her and everyone around her.
"Do you want to see yours?" Minori offered.
One by one, each of the girls got to see their spirit rings. Sure enough, each one was a vibrant rainbow of colors, but unique in its glyphs, symbols, and network of connective hubs within each ring. True to the words they were told, the soul and spirit levels were static, but the mortal ring was dynamic and growing with every passing moment.
Tari took this all in and began to relax. She was among peers. She was among people who shared her powers and would share her experiences. She knew she could rely on Allisyn to lead them. She would help the way she knew best. Things were looking up.
Okomikeruko turned to Shiratakemaru and nudged his shoulder. The two Prime Avatars shared a meaningful glance. These girls were special. There was a good chance they would be able to help Tokimi ascend and restore Indigo to the Divine Spectrum.
"I'll keep an eye on them as best I can," Shiratakemaru promised. "As much as I can for mortals on someone else's world."
"I know you will. They can already copy Avatar powers directly from the source. One of them copied one of Sumitsu's abilities by accident. Can you believe it?"
"Then they are the hope we've been looking for." It was more a statement than a question.