[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]
Word Count: 2259 (+3 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 273/80 
[sub][i]Wednesday Morning.[/i][/sub]
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka, Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
Having been teleported quite a few times by a variety of means, Pit could tell that despite the new surroundings he hadn't actually gone anywhere. He and his opponent, the warrior goddess called Athena, must still be within the dojo, even if it seemed like the area was now a wide stone platform with matching carved pillars circling the edge, forming an amphitheatre in which only the two combatants squared off against each other. 

Athena twirled her spear in hand and then slammed the butt of it down onto the stone floor. Pit summoned his bow to his hand at the same time that Athena thrust her shielded arm out towards the angel to declare the start of the battle. "Prepare yourself, servant of light!"

A self assured smile was on Pit's face as he separated the weapon into halves and kicked things off with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/PbZx51I.gif]flourish[/url]. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Let's go!"[/color]

Pit dashed towards Athena, and she let him come. Utilizing the longer reach of her own weapon she struck out as soon as he was within her range, looking to catch the angel with a series of powerful forward jabs. It was easy to see coming, though the first attempt at dodging made it clear to Pit that this arena, illusory or not, was narrower than it appeared. That was fine, though - he could fight like this just fine! Avoiding the spear, Pit leapt up and over a sweep aimed at his legs and brought his swords down in an overhead chop. Athena's shield was there to block the blow almost instantly, and the clash ended in a stand off before the two went at it once more.

Not long at all after the trial began, Pit felt a much more preferable divine power reach out to him as Palutena's remote viewing fell over the dojo as a whole. She looked in on both of the Seekers' matches with keen interest, but unsurprisingly her attention was more focused on her ward's battle. 

[color=lightgreen][i]It's been a while since you've done a divine trial, hasn't it, Pit?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Yeah, besides the work you give me![/i][/color] He responded, ducking under a high, quick jab from his opponent's spear. Of course he was just joking around, as he was happy to do anything his own goddess asked of him. Palutena chuckled.

[color=lightgreen][i]Looks like this time you're facing Athena. She's a famous and powerful figure in her home land. Most often she takes a guiding role, but it looks like this one's decided to fight.[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]If she's more of a backseat driver I should try and overwhelm her with my battle experience![/i][/color] 

He'd already been on the offensive, but at that revelation Pit ramped up his attacks. He threw himself at Athena again and again, a flurry of blue and gold blades that glanced off of the goddess' shield or armor, eventually breaking through little by little and cutting into the woman herself. At least until she began to get a feel for the angel's patterns, and with a grunt shifted her stance and caught the next swipe in a perfectly timed block. Her body flashed for just a moment, less than a second, and she suffered no damage whatsoever even to her equipment. Then she did it again. And again, until even Pit realized that strategy wasn't working. He parried her next strike and took the opportunity to hop backward and rethink his plan.

[color=lightgreen][i]Not so easy it seems. Her godly guarding -which I think is more often called 'perfect guarding' around here- will be a challenge to get through. Speaking of that face on her shield looks awfully familiar doesn't it?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Uh, yeah! It's Medusa! I was wondering about that! Do you think she found her way into different worlds, or that there's more than one of her? I don't know which is worse![/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Either way is a bit concerning. Let me check my encyclopedia...[/i][/color]

While Palutena's attention faded slightly, Pit's was increasingly focused, especially when Athena launched her shield right at him. His eyes widened and he raised his swords to block, and though the shield crashed into them without touching Pit himself he could feel the sting of the impact. What was that called? Chip damage, or something like that? The shield bounced back onto Athena's arm and she rushed forward with her spear leading her charge.

[color=lightgreen][i]Ooh, here it is. Some trivia won't distract you, will it Pit?[/i][/color]

She'd returned when the two combatants were in the midst of trading blows, locked in an awkward melee. Athena's apparent strategy was a traditional, straight forward battle - whittle down her opponent's health until they simply could no longer stand. Pit fended off the spear as best he could while trying to get in closer. He just needed to down Athena for three seconds, so if he could get in one good knock down...!

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Maybe-[/i][/color] he started thinking back to Palutena, catching the tip of Athena's spear on the flat of one of his swords and swiping the other up to knock the weapon away. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]-but I feel like-[/i][/color] As he moved in the face of Medusa came right for him, a shield bash that he took to the chest and forced him back to square one, contending with the spear again. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]-you'll tell me anyway![/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Only because I know you're curious! Athena and her Medusa's stories are tightly woven. In her world, Athena sponsors a young hero to slay Medusa, a monster of her own creation. During his journey the hero obtains divine treasures and, with Athena's guidance, ultimately triumphs over Medusa. At least it's good to know she's thwarted in every world.[/i][/color]

Pit managed to catch Athena off guard with a well timed quick summon of his own shields, the orbitars producing a vibrantly colored barrier that completely deflected the goddess' spear. The angel sprang forward, twisting his blades into a Spiral Sword technique and cutting into Athena's exposed form. It was a decent strike, enough to make the goddess stumble back, but she recovered quickly.

"Not good enough," she told Pit, swiftly backing up and sweeping her spear in a wide arc strong enough to send a wave of energy sailing towards her opponent. Undeterred, Pit gave chase. He slid beneath the spear wave and was back on his feet, and in Athena's space, right after.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]I dunno why, but I kinda think I've heard that story somewhere before.[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Really? Doesn't ring a bell for me.[/i][/color]

It seemed that the internal conversation with Palutena really was distracting Pit, as he failed to notice that he'd been baited into his current position. He didn't have the benefit of any kind of meter, but Athena did - and with her Divine Power Gauge full she used her Warrior's Faith. Energy swirled around her limbs and body, increasing her strength. She knelt down and then swiftly brought her shield arm up into Pit, breaking through his hasty guard and launching him up. From there she flipped the grip on her spear, holding it like she was going to throw it like a javelin, and stabbed out at the angel in order to bring him forcibly back down to the ground. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Ugh! I forgot how strong those meter moves can be! Lady Palutena, can you give me a super meter too?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]It [/i]would[i] be pretty fitting while you're in the city of fighting. Hmmm, I'll think about it.[/i][/color]

For the most part Athena's plan worked, but Pit was determined not to let his back hit the floor even once during this trial. He splayed his wings out, and just before impact he twisted, pressing his palm to the ground and flipping up onto his feet once more. Athena narrowed her eyes at Pit, appraising the maneuver, while he shot a cheeky grin at her.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I've got my own techniques I've learned! That one's a tech!"[/color] he said. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"And this one's...!"[/color] He slammed the hilts of his swords together, reassembling the bow once more and leaping straight at Athena. He spun the bladed bow in a sharp windmill in front of him, making Athena hesitate momentarily as she thought on whether to block, attempt to dodge, or strike out to interrupt his attack. She decided on blocked, and as the bow sliced into the gilded image of Medusa Pit used his momentum to push himself up and sail over her head, landing right behind Athena. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"A cross up!"[/color]

Athena spun around, under the assumption that Pit would try and put at least a little space between them to begin his next attack and hoping to use the reach of her spear to whack Pit with the either the shaft or head as he moved. She was still working with the very last of her divine power up, so any successful hit from her was sure to hurt. However, Pit did not move. Instead he instantly summoned his orbitars again, and spear and shield collided. In the short moment that Athena recovered, Pit's free hand shot out and took hold of her arm. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"And a shield grab!"[/color]

He yanked the goddess forward and then slammed her into the ground. Her chin collided painfully with the stone and her breath was very nearly knocked from her body. [i]She's down! Now I have to keep her down for three seconds![/i]

It was easier said than done, as in the heat of battle three seconds could almost feel like three minutes or longer. There was no way Pit was going to fail this trial though. He slashed at the goddess' back to complete his throw, keeping the pressure on while Athena attempted to get to her feet. She managed to roll over onto her back, putting her shield between her and Pit's blade. She could probably overpower him and rise at any time - she was a goddess after all. But she was in a low ranked dojo, with surprisingly mundane power showed off so far. She could be holding back, or... she could actually be pinned down by Pit's sword. A memory started to bubble up in Pit's mind, causing him to hastily disengage and hop backward once, twice, three times, away from Athena. 

She rose, elegantly despite the situation she'd been in. Pit lifted his weapon in preparation to continue the fight, but Athena shook her head at him. "Enough."

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Oh."[/color] He blinked and lowered the bow, confused for just a moment. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Oh! Was that three seconds? Did I pass?"[/color]

He hadn't had a doubt that he would succeed, but it was nice to hear the confirmation from Athena as she let out an amused sigh. "You did. You fought well."

The arena shifted around them, fading back into the dojo's interior. All of the spectators reappeared too, and both Amaterasus were there, notably not battling each other. "Your companion has passed her trial as well."

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I knew she would!"[/color] Pit said, extending the same confidence he had in himself to his friends, of which he now counted Amaterasu among. 

Pit smiled brightly at the wolf goddess, and at Sakura who'd stuck around to watch the whole thing. With the trials over with, they'd joined a dojo! Now all that was left was to sign up for a tournament and meet back up with everyone else! Sensing the boy's eagerness to get going, Zeus strolled over to give Pit a hearty slap on the back while Cupid made the rounds a second time to heal up the fighters. "Flying colors indeed, lad! We're happy to have both you and Amatera-two as part of Fight of Gods!"

Zeus then peered over at Sakura just in case the rousing matches actually did happen to make her consider swapping dojos. For Pit's part, after recovering from the good-natured smack and snorting a laugh at Amaterasu's new nickname he was already making his way back toward the door. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Thanks! Glad to be part of it, I guess!"[/color] His gaze flicked to Athena, giving her a nod. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Now we've gotta go get registered!"[/color]

Sakura would probably be able to lead them towards the registration area, but even if she didn't know (the high tier probably had their own registration area after all) a call happened to come through from someone who was already there. So Zenkichi was the first to sign up then? Not surprising, he did kind of seem like a responsible guy. Once the trio of Seekers were all set at the Fight of Gods dojo and were ready to leave it behind for now, Pit pressed a hand to his ear and called out on the linkpearl in return.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Pit here! Good going Zenkichi! Me, Sakura, and Amaterasu are on our way there now!"[/color] He could have left it at that, but after a moment he called the group again. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Which tournament did you sign up for? I think if we're trying to make it to the top it'd be better if we didn't all join the same one. That way there's more chances for one of us to win in all of them, right?"[/color]

It would also mean less fighting each other, since being part of the same tournament in different dojos must mean they'd be competing against one another. Normally Pit wouldn't mind, and even found the idea to be fun, but if they wanted to face the Heavenly Kings at the top of each tournament to get information on the Forbidden Kingdom's Guardian, it made more sense to him if at least one person was part of each tournament. They could chase down four leads at once that way. If everyone else agreed, they could split up what tourneys they all registered for to ensure they didn't all coincidentally join just one or two.