The portals open and the three set foot on the ground almost at the same time. No faceplants this time. The structure of this level is unique. Everything’s dark red, including the ground, instead of the usual white.

“Hello there! Welcome!” says a deep, echoing male voice.

“General CATOTO?” Yu asks.

“No no. I am Catato, a distant relative of CATOTO,” says the cat that resembles CATOTO, except for the two big black spots on the uneven eyes and normal-sized fangs. He’s approaching them.

“All caps?” Yu asks.

“My name? No no. CATOTO is special in his own ways. Do not mind him.”

In front of the trio are what look like twenty black booths – all lined up similarly to tollway booths. Each of them has a hollow helmet shaped like a tabby's head on a chair, with a wire connecting it to the back of the booth.

“So empty,” Wyn remarks, as they seem to be the only ones here at the moment.

“We do not get many visitors down here.”

“So, what do we do here? Where’s my sister?” Mira presses.

“I do not know about your sister or who you are. Here, your lives are about to change forever.”

Before Catato explains any further, he directs the three to one of the booths. He asks them to line up. Wyn is at the front.

A voice from the booth instructs, “Sit down and place the helmet on your head.”

Wyn sits on the chair, holds the helmet in his hands, and starts inspecting it. The helmet reminds Wyn of an enlarged CATOTO’s head that has been detached and the insides scooped out clean. The eyeballs are replaced with black gems, while still retaining the shape of cat’s eyes. The helmet has some weight to it and doesn’t emit a smell.

“Is this real head?” Wyn asks.

“No no. This is a creation by the nerds. The design was inspired by our beloved CATOTO.”

Reluctantly and slowly, Wyn puts on the helmet. The large helmet completely covers Wyn’s head and down to his cervical midline. A few seconds later, the eyes blink rapidly. The helmet begins to adjust its size to fit Wyn’s head. Then a cute ‘meow’ coming from inside the booth is heard. Suddenly, the upper two fangs emerge, snapping tight on Wyn’s forehead.

“Motherf…!” Wyn exclaims.

A constant purr coming from the helmet drowns Wyn out. The eyes blink again a few times before changing colors – the left eye is now gray and pulsating, while the right eye is static earth brown.

“Advanced gray and basic brown,” announces the voice from the booth.

The fangs retract, leaving two holes on his forehead. “That hurt like a bitch! Now I feel numb on my forehead.” He proceeds to wait for the other two behind the booth.

Mira is next in line, but she pushes Yu to the chair. Holding the helmet, debating with himself, he doesn’t want to sit down. Catato then jumps on his chest to force him to fall onto the chair.

“OUCH!” Yu exclaims, after the ‘meow’.

The left eye changes color to static blue and the right eye goes back to black.

“Basic blue,” the voice in the booth announces, again.

Mira gulps before sitting down. She doesn’t exclaim, but instead, she screams our heart out.

“Basic red,” goes another announcement.

“All done. Follow me,” says Catato, guiding them to the place beyond the booths. “I will let my relative, Catito, take care of you in my place. Good luck.”

The squad’s currently standing in front of a classic Japp wooden dojo with an open area in the middle. From where they are, they can’t see what’s out there. At the entrance, Catito makes an appearance. His most distinctive features are the long, thick white fur under his nose and chin, resembling a mustache and a beard, which makes him appear older than CATOTO and Catato. The cat invites the three inside and guides them to the first room to the left of the entrance hall. Inside, they can hear a ruckus coming from the open space. The tabby sits down and gives an explanation of what just happened.

The helmets outside are devices used to determine souls’ innate elements. These elements get carried between lifetimes and never change. They’re called by colors, but they essentially represent the usual fire, water, wind, and earth. However, about a century ago, a new yellow element that represents electricity was discovered. Due to constant evolution of the human race, more elements may arise in the future. A soul can possess up to two elements at most, though that’s uncommon. Each element has two available forms, referred to as the basic and the advanced forms. The advanced forms can feature multiple specializations. If an eye on the helmet is of a static color, then the soul possesses the basic form of that element. If it pulsates, then it’s an advanced form. No one soul can specialize in elements of the same color.

Red element
Basic form: Flaming, Specialization: Fire;
Advanced form: Concentrated, Specialization: Laser, Lava;

Blue element
Basic form: Liquid, Specialization: Water;
Advanced form: Solidified, Specialization: Snow, Ice;

Gray element
Basic form: Breezy, Specialization: Wind;
Advanced form: Destructive, Specialization: Cyclone;

Brown element
Basic form: Fortified, Specialization: Earth;
Advanced form: Thriving, Specialization: Plant;

Yellow element
Basic form: Shocking, Specialization: Electricity;
Advanced form: Discharging, Specialization: Lightning;

“Only the thriving form of the brown element has yet to be discovered in human souls.”

The three take this time to digest the information. They identify their specializations – Wyn, cyclone and earth, Yu, water, Mira, fire.

“If you find these confusing, you can just remember the specialization and call it ‘type’ instead. Fire type, laser type, electric type, cyclone type, and so on.”

“I wish I had gummy power, so I could stretch my body parts!” Yu says.

“Ooh. Stretchy body? I want that too!” Mira says.

“And why are we in a dojo? Do we need to learn how to use our powers? If so, what for?” Wyn asks.

“You are all now part of the Hell Lord’s army! Against whom, you might ask? Against the Heaven King, of course!”

In the earliest of times, a dispute between the Heaven and Hell rulers broke out. Rumors have it that the Hell Lord wished to consolidate Earth, Heaven, and Hell as one. The Heaven King, on the other hand, firmly stood by the original agreement between the two of them – to let the humans strive on their own, abstained from divine intervention. And so began a war. Centuries back, the war didn’t involve souls. But since the two entities were equally matched, the clash between them was endless. Thus, new terms were reached. Neither of them is to invade the other’s realm personally. Instead, send souls and have them work their way until the only final level remains. Only then, can they get involved. Fighting alongside an army of souls strong enough to defeat the level moderators should be ‘the’ defining factor for the victor.

“So we’re put in a war unwillingly? And why would your Lord want to consolidate the realms? To be the sole ruler?” Wyn asks.

“To your first question, in a way, yes. As for the rest, I implore you to learn more from the Lord himself.”

“When and where exactly do we get to meet your beloved ruler?”

“In due time. You have to prove your worth first, which brings me back to where we were.”

“The first ten rooms on the left and the right of the entrance hall are not for training. If unoccupied, feel free to relax or hold a meeting there,” Catito explains.

“To train, find a room with a robot cat master. He will teach you the basics. Make sure you specify what you want to learn. Some of the rooms may be in use, so try not to interrupt them. There are plenty of rooms here.”

“So, this is what’s so special about us. Why can’t we leave this level?” Wyn asks.

“Only a handful possess these elements. You are valued here, but you cannot leave because you could pose a danger to the level moderators, who are vital to our defenses.”

With that, Catito exits the room, leaving the three of them inside to discuss their next steps.

“This feels like the second level. Grind to get good. You’re so done Yu,” Wyn mocks.

“Geez. I’ll become so strong I’ll kick your butt. Anyhow, I’m back to being a trainee somehow.” Yu frowns.

“Seems like we can’t leave until we do our training,” Mira says.

Most of the rooms near the entrance hall are taken. With the slide doors being non-transparent, it’s not easy to find an empty one. The team walks around the square dojo before finding an empty room near a corner. In the middle of it, stands an all-metal robot cat. The robot’s shape and appearance resembles a common demon. On the chest however, is a button.

Upon pressing, the robot comes to life. “Hi there! What would you like to learn?”

Mira commands the metal cat to teach her team the very basics, whatever the basics are.

“The simplest way to unleash an attack is to focus all of your energy on a hand. Look at your hand and concentrate.”

Doesn’t matter how hard they concentrate, they can’t seem to summon an attack.

“It’s not working,” Yu says, after pressing the button on the robot’s chest again.

“Do not give up. The first few times are the hardest. The next thing you know, you will be doing it without having to even look at your hand.”

“YAAA! Come on! Shoot!” Wyn says.

“To help focus, maybe stop making noises,” the robot suggests.

Time flies by and the three are still trying, looking like maniacs staring at their own hands – sometimes shaking them, and sometimes, unintentionally making funny faces. Until there’s an orb of water the size of a tennis ball forming in Yu’s palm.

“Hey! There it is! What do I do now?”

“Throw it in any direction, I guess,” Mira suggests.

Yu turns to Wyn, giving him an evil grin, then without warning, throws the water orb at him. Wyn is hit in the face, but is still standing.

“What a weak hit. Let me try.”

Wyn wants his revenge. He’s giving all he has into his palm. Then, a gray spinning orb is forming in his hand. He doesn’t want his attack to be weak, so he tries harder in hopes it gets bigger – and it does. After reaching the size of a bowling ball, it stops growing and Wyn’s hand is shaking. Without throwing it, the orb breaks, summoning a stream of strong wind – a cyclone – upward around him. The radius is wide enough to catch Yu and Mira, sending them flying. The master is also caught in the attack, but he remains grounded, inactive. As the cyclone dissipates, Mira hits the ceiling then lands hard on the floor. Yu, however, falls on Wyn after being pushed to the ceiling, hitting him in the face with his feet. The master has a built-in mechanism to wake up automatically to safeguard his students from serious injuries. It seems none of them requires his attention, at least for now. The master sighs at the sight of his students passing out on the floor.

“It is always the cyclone users.”