BEYOND THE BEYSTADIUM

Chapter 14: Let Daybreak Shine

"Hikaru, Hikaru, wake up!"

What was supposed to be a peaceful night at Suria Castle was disrupted by an unexpected ruckus. Hikaru Asahi was just in the middle of a nice dream when he was suddenly woken up by someone calling his name. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw his little brother with a look of distress on his face.

A surprising scenario, given that it would usually be the other way around.

"Hyuga? Why are you up this late?" the blunette asked.

"Everyone's at the main balcony! Come quick!" Hyuga was desperately pulling at his brother's hand, wanting him to get out of bed as soon as possible.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Hikaru followed Hyuga to the main balcony. As they were running through the hallway, a group of Celestials rushed past them in the opposite direction, clad in full armour and wielding their weapons, as if heeding the call of battle. The sight of this planted a seed of worry in the Helios blader.

"Hey, what exactly happened?" Hikaru questioned Hyuga.

"You'll see when we get there." the spiky redhead simply answered.

They finally reached the balcony, where they saw Valt, Aiga, Drum and Valkyrie standing near the railing, overlooking something that was happening in front of them. The older bladers and bey spirit did not seem to notice the brothers' presence, and when they got closer to them, Hikaru knew the reason.

A giant wall of fire had surrounded the entirety of The Heart, but this fire was no ordinary one, it was blue in colour. If it weren't for the brightness it gave off, he would certainly have mistaken it for the sky. At the sight of the azure blaze, Hikaru instantly knew the only person that had such a power.

"He-Helios?" he muttered.

The others had just noticed the two brothers, with Valt immediately going towards them.

"Hikaru, you're here." the older bluenette said with a tone of relief.

"V-Valt, what's going on? What's with that firewall?" the Asahi asked in a fit of confusion.

"We're not sure ourselves, but the Celestials told us that Helios went outside the castle. According to them, the only thing he told them was to stay on guard. Next thing we knew, this fire suddenly appeared." Valkyrie said. "I'm not sure what happened, but I'm certain that he sensed something that we did not. It most certainly has something to do with devils."

"Where are the others?" he questioned as he noticed the absence of Hyperion, Achilles, Dragon, Selene, Eos and of course, Helios.

"The fire caused quite the commotion in the city, so their trying to control the situation while I am tasked with protecting all of you. As for Helios, well, we weren't able to find him anywhere when all of this occurred, so I could only assume that he's somewhere on the other side of the fire. For now, you need to stay with me until all of this is resolved."

At the moment, the bladers could only watch from the balcony above as the inhabitants of The Heart gathered in the cobblestone streets below to witness the commotion.

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"Where did that fire come from?!"

"These blue flames. Don't they belong to Prince Helios?!"

"Has His Highness finally snapped?!"

"He's going to burn us all!"

The citizens of The Heart were understandably confused and frightened by the sudden appearance of the great firewall that had stripped them of their peaceful night. They crowded near the main entrance of the city, where their beloved king, Hyperion was standing with his back turned, accompanied by some Celestials, his daughters and Achilles.