Sabir and Elektra circled each other, anticipating the slightest twitch of muscle; the tension was thick. The high ceiling pressed down on Sabir, while the walls inched closer with every step he took towards her. His vision tunneled. The only thing on his mind was survival. There was no escape. He had to meet Elektra head on.

Sabir’s heart pounded in his chest, his muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap. He cursed his luck, trust his nosiness to get himself killed. There was no point in regretting following Warren. He was here now; he needed to protect him. They were friends now. This was a test of will.

HIs will to survive.

Elektra smiled with a predatory grin. “You know, I’ve had systematic training. Training neither you nor even my halfling brother have received. What makes you think you can beat me?”

She was right. Sabir didn’t have a chance. The wounds he gained fighting her in The Commons ached every time he saw her. Outmatched and outgunned. How could a dud beat a noble?

It didn’t matter.

There was no point in responding. Sabir’s focus became razor sharp. As he stood on his tiptoes, his fists clenched. He took a deep breath, sharpening his senses as the world slowed around him.

Elektra’s expression darkened as she continued, recalling a memory that irritated her to no end. “I remember the last time we fought,” she said, shivering slightly. “In The Commons. You almost had me. Your eyes were rolled back as if you were some kind of zombie.”

Sabir didn’t quite understand what she was talking about. That time in The Commons, everything was a haze. Everything came back to him as flashes, broken images of different people. The only thing that was undeniable was that he lost control of his body. Something took over. Something primal and dangerous. Sabir had remembered some of it while in that limousine, with Elektra and Noah. But what did it matter now? That strength had long gone. He was still powerless.

Elektra narrowed her eyes, her lips curling into a dangerous smile. “But this time,” she whispered, her voice dripping with menace, “I won’t be holding back.”

“Quit talking and fight me already.”

Before she could make her move, Warren stepped forward, his voice slicing through the tension. “Elektra, stop!” he commanded, his tone urgent. Elektra didn’t even, staring at Sabir with a wintry smile that didn’t falter. There was only a flicker of annoyance in her eyes at the interruption.

“Shut up Warren. If you want to stop me, you’re gonna have to use force. But we all know how that’s gonna go.” Ignoring Warren’s plea, Elektra’s body surged with power. She channeled electricity down to her legs, the energy crackling and sparking along her skin. The temperature rose as her power manifested. Her eyes emitted a strange, unearthly glow that flickered in rhythm with her heartbeat. Sabir’s stomach twisted in horror, but he made himself stand his ground because he knew there was no going back.

With a sudden explosion of speed, Elektra shot forward, her movements too fast for the eye to follow. Sabir’s instincts screamed at him to move, and he barely threw himself to the side as she closed in. Her leg whipped out, the force of her kick slicing through the air where his head had been just moments before. The impact of her missed strike sent a gust of wind across his face, the residual static charge prickling his skin.

Elektra didn’t relent. She spun, her foot a deadly blur as it arced towards his ribs. As the electric hum of her kick passed over him, Sabir ducked. Sabir cursed inwardly. Her kicks contained such ferocity, each one posing a potential knockout blow. He had to twist and dodge. His body moved on pure instinct, every fiber of his being focused on survival.

Sabir was losing hope, as Elektra’s onslaught of kicks continued. The missed kicks filled the air with lingering energy, static sticking to his clothes and making the hair on his arms stand up. Sabir could feel the heat of her power, the danger in every movement she made. Sabir felt as though he was in the heart of a thunderstorm, with Elektra being the lightning hammering again and again.

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“Not bad,” Elektra taunted, her voice cutting through the chaos of their battle. Sabir found himself annoyed by Elektra’s lack of urgency, along with her taunting as they fought, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

“You’ve got the reactions and instincts of a hunter, but it’s a shame, really…because you’re just a dud. Maybe once I kill you, you might be reborn,” Elektra cackled.

Sabir had no time to even consider what she said. He was fighting for his life, his body moving on autopilot as he struggled to avoid her relentless attacks. She calculated her strikes to push him to his limits, to test how far he could be pushed before breaking.

But Sabir could feel himself wearing down.His muscles were screaming with each movement, and his breaths were coming in ragged gasps. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes as he fought to keep up with her. Elektra appeared unfazed, maintaining her sharp and precise movements. She was playing with him, toying with him.

Her kick slid by his defenses in a single second. Sabir attempted to turn aside, but her foot struck him squarely on the chest. The force of the strike, which was like a sledgehammer, lifted him off his feet and sent crashing to the ground. Pain erupted in his ribs, and the force of the strike sucked the breath out of his lungs, causing his vision to darken.

His bones shook as he landed forcefully on the ground. Sabir struggled to breathe, his chest rising and plunging as he fought for air. He felt pain throughout his whole body from the agony in his ribs, and everything spun around him. Elektra was on him before he could even consider clutching his sides. She pushed him to the ground, her face inches from his, her knees pounding into his arms, locking him from escaping.

“Where is it?” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous, her breath hot against his skin. Her eyes bored into his, the glow still pulsing with the remnants of her power. “Where’s that strength you had in The Commons?”

Confusion and pain swirled within Sabir as he looked up at her. “I… I don’t know what it was. I don’t know how I did it.” Elektra narrowed her eyes, checking for any sliver of deceit. All she could see was a scared little man, who mirrored her level of confusion. Frustrated, Elektra tightened her grip on his lapel.

“You’re not a challenge like this,” she muttered. With a sigh, Elektra released him; Sabir lurched back to the ground. Without even glancing back at, she turned to leave. The sparks of electricity that danced across her body ebbed away. The room was quiet. Too quiet, as if the silence was mocking Sabir’s defeat.

Sabir was lying there, his body shaking from the fight. With every successive breath he took, a fresh wave of pain struck him like a tide. She had completely outperformed and outmatched him in every trade. He lamented his inability to even get a single punch in. Worse of all, a gnawing sense of failure ate him whole. He was nothing more than a punching bag. That was the reality.

“Are you okay?” Immediately Warren had rushed to his side, his face etched with concern.

Sabir pushed his torso upright and tilted his head back to see the high ceiling that he once thought was going to fall on top of him. “Yeah… I’ll be fine,” he muttered unconvincingly.

Warren looked towards the door that Elektra left through, he let out a sigh. He didn’t know if they were lucky or not. Sabir could’ve died. They should count their blessings, yet Warren couldn’t help but feel bitter. “Don’t worry about it, Sabir. I just don’t understand- what goes through that girl’s head?”

“One minute, she’s trying to kill me; the next, she’s… what? Interrogating me, giving me a lesson. You have a crazy ass sister.”

Warren helped him to his feet, bearing most of Sabir’s weight as they slowly made their way toward the door. Sabir leaned heavily on his friend, his legs trembling beneath him. He gritted his teeth as he forced his legs to move. He did his best to stifle his scream. That came out more like a grunt.

Sabir’s mind raced with questions as they left the training room. What had happened to him in The Commons? Where had that strength come from, and why had it abandoned him when he needed it most? And why was Elektra so fixated on it?

It made no sense. Elektra had beaten him. Why was she still so interested in it all? Sabir hoped that after this fight, that she’ll drop it and that it would be more comforting knowing she was trying to kill him, at least then he would know where they stood. Whatever was going on, Sabir knew one thing for certain: he was in way over his head.

As they reached the hallway leading back to his room, Sabir glanced at Warren. A question surfaced in his mind that he needed to let out. “Why do you put up with her? You let her walk all over you.”

Warren didn’t answer right away. His brow furrowed in thought, his expression troubled as if he, too, was grappling with the same questions that plagued Sabir’s mind. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. “Because,” he said quietly, “I promised my mother.”