“This is Tina Weathers, your daily supply of positive news and sunshine.” came a woman’s voice. The source of it was the television in the living room, which had been left on by Anita before taking her morning shower. “I’m, per usual, here to update you on the happenings of Olirian. To start with, the academy will be spending the next week holding its Team Games. It’s one of the few events held at the school that is solely for the first-year students. To speak more about it, I have the headmaster himself, Guji Hakamura. Headmaster, if you would be so kind.” she said.
A tall man in a black suit came out, his dark hair swept back, and the white streak in it showing prominently in the studio’s lighting. He took a seat in an available chair beside the young blond woman and smiled as he waved at the camera. He crossed one leg over the other and put his hands in his lap as he looked at the host.
“Good morning, Ms. Weathers, it’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to catch up, hasn’t it?” he asked.
“Four years now, Professor.” she replied, grinning stupidly and faintly blushing. “But, we’re not here to talk about my time as a student, are we? No, I believe you wanted to share the details about your Team Games and what it means for the school, yes?”
“Of course.” Guji said. “For the first-year students, this is a big deal. It is the first real event of the year to test how much they’ve learned in the month they’ve been here. For those that don’t know, we will be closing the school grounds to all but the participants and supervisors. I won’t be going into too much detail about the event itself, but I wanted to notify everyone that we will be broadcasting the event on the academy’s channel each and every day this week. The school has cameras set up all across the premises so nothing will be missed.”
“I’m actually quite excited to watch it.” said Tina, gleefully. “Do you have your eyes on any teams in particular, sir?”
“There are a couple standouts, of course.”
“The scholarship students?” asked Tina.
“I can’t divulge that information, Ms. Weathers. To play favorites among my students so openly, it would be wrong for me to do so.” he said, with a wide smile.
“Fair enough, Professor. Is there anything else you would like to say before you leave us?”
“Only this. To each student out there, best of luck. And remember, it’s only a game.”
The host and headmaster shook hands and Guji waved as he rose and left the stage. Tina had a respectful look in her eyes as she watched him go but quickly shook it off as she turned to face the camera again.
“Now, onto the weather for the rest of the week. We’re going to be getting a bit of rain this morning, a few spring showers here and there, and perhaps a bit of a bigger storm near the end of the we–”
“I’m already nervous as it is. I don’t need the TV reminding me of it too.” Fera groaned, turning the television off with a click of the remote. “She needs to stop leaving that on.” Fera muttered, before looking towards the windows to the left of the entertainment center.
It was an open blue sky, but there were clouds hanging off in the distance that were slowly making their way towards the ship. A month of living here, a month of looking out that window almost every morning, and she still wasn’t tired of the view. Her spiky hair was tied into a ponytail by a red ribbon, and she was already wearing her school uniform, large coat included. She was buzzing with something other than her powers. It was anticipation that was causing a slight trembling under her flesh. She was nervous, excited, scared, and determined. She wanted to do this, to do well in it. Today was hers and Anita’s day. They would be one of the first teams of the whole event. She didn’t know about it being broadcast to the entire city, which certainly didn’t ease her anxiety, but there was no helping it, as Anita would probably say. She sighed and clenched her fists, releasing a small bit of crackling power that caused the lights around her to dim and flicker.
“Oops.” she muttered, reeling back in the energy, to the best of her ability.
In that month, she was doing constant training with Anita, in both combat and control. She still wasn’t great at either, but she was getting better and that would have to be enough.
“Fera, you need to stop playing with the lights.” Anita said jokingly as she rounded the corner of the hallway. She was drying her silver lengths of hair with a pink towel and had a pleased expression on her pretty face.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Anita laughed and shook her head. “Always so quick to apologize. I don’t know if I like or hate that about you. You’re also a bit too serious sometimes. I was just joking around.”
“You’re always joking around.” Fera pointed out.
“Exactly, so stop taking everything I say so seriously.” Anita then looked towards the dining table and sighed. “And you couldn’t have even made breakfast while I was in the shower?”
“Sorry, I’ll get right on it.”
“Fera!” Anita said. “Joking.” she quickly added, when Fera gave her an abashed glance.
“Sorry.”
“Gah! I’ll start some toast. And no! I won’t burn down the kitchen.” Anita said, noticing Fera opening her mouth to interject. “I swear, you’ll never let me live that down.”
“To be fair, it was just toast.” Fera managed to slip in.
Anita did not respond, but gave another rattling shake of her head as she tossed the towel on the sofa and walked towards the kitchen. Fera laughed quietly to herself after Anita was out of sight. She liked playing these games with her, especially in the mornings. Just as she was returning her gaze to the windows, a sudden knock on the door caused her to shift back in the direction of the entryway.
“I got it.” Fera said, before Anita had the chance to leave the kitchen.
“I'm closer.” Anita stated.
“I wouldn't want to distract you from your toast making.”
“Oh, so now you have jokes.” Anita groaned, and she returned to putting bread in the toaster.
The person waiting on the other side of the door was a surprise to Ferain. In the doorway stood Mana, her black hair falling around her ears and cheeks in a spiky mess. She had her trademarked happy look, and the odd personality was soon present as well.
“Ayo, Fera. How you doing?” Mana questioned.
“Ayo?” asked Fera, giving her a concerned look, thinking that maybe she hit her head on the way here or something and rattled her brain.
“Does it not suit Mana?” the girl asked, returning to her usual way of speaking, which in and of itself was already inconsistent. Sometimes she talked in the third person, and at other times, she talked perfectly normal. When Fera asked her why she did this, Mana replied with such a simple answer, it took Fera by surprise. “It’s because it’s cute, and Mana likes cute things.” she had said.
“Not exactly. I like you better this way.” replied Ferain.
“So does Mana.”
There was a brief silence shared between them before Fera felt the need to break it. “So, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, right. I came to check on you.” said Mana. “You are one of Mana’s good friends, and you seemed nervous yesterday.”
“I… I didn’t see you yesterday, Mana.” Ferain said, cautiously.
“Hmm, did you not? Well, were you nervous?”
“Sort of.”
“Then Mana was not wrong. Anywho, I came to wish you luck on your fight today. Mana knows you’ve been trying hard to get better, and she’s anxious to see how you do.”
“You and me both.” Fera said. “Well, thanks for the well wishes, Mana, but I’m about to eat soon… so, uhhh, goodbye.”
Fera started closing the door but Mana quickly put a hand against it to stop it from shutting. “Ferain.” she said, now sounding serious. “Be careful today, okay?”
“Do I need to be? I’m probably more of a danger to myself than anything.”
“Mana hopes so.” she said, before ceasing her blocking of the door.
Fera slowly closed it, and she heard Anita whistle behind her as she set the plate of toast down on the table. “I’ve always said that girl had a few bolts loose in her head.”
“Don’t talk that way about her.” Fera said, turning to see Anita knifing some butter on the four slices of browned bread. “She’s just a little–”
“Crazy?” Anita chimed.
“Different.” Fera corrected. “She’s actually pretty smart.”
“What makes you say that?”
“She’s a scholarship student, right? They have to be smart or they’d be turned down, isn’t that right?”
Anita grimaced as she smeared butter on the final piece of toast. “You talk like you aren’t one of them.” she murmured. “I’d still like to know how you made it here on a scholarship, Fera. Are you ever going to tell me the truth?”
“I’ve never lied about it. I don't know how I got accepted.”
“I think you do, but we’ll save that for another time. Hurry up and eat before we have to leave. They wanted us to get to the school a little earlier than usual.” As Ferain was walking towards the table, Anita suddenly jabbed the knife in her direction, almost poking her nose with the rounded end. “Just so you know, Ferain Hirigaya, this will not be the last time I bring that up. I will get the truth out of you one of these days.” she said, scowling angrily.
“You’d be a good actor, you know that?”
Anita flipped the knife in her hand and laughed, looking pleased with herself. “Think so? I’ve always dreamed of being a movie star.”
“Since when?” Fera questioned.
“Since now.” Anita replied.
The walk to school after breakfast was easier than it had ever been, seeing as most of the student body had the week off. With the event going on, only the necessary people had to show up, and they would have the entire grounds to themselves. Fera didn’t know much about the event besides that, and that Anita and her would be going up against another team of two. She didn’t know what the objective would be, or what the rules were, but she was sure she would be finding that out soon enough. Despite it being the most empty jaunt to the academy, it was also the most nerve-wracking. It was even worse than the first time she did this, with all of the other students around her. Anita put a calming hand on her shoulder and gave a warm grin.
“You need to relax a bit. You’re too stiff.”
“I’m a bit scared.” Fera admitted. “What if I hurt somebody? What if I get knocked out right at the start? What if I can’t help at all and you have to do everything? What if–”
“Enough of the what-ifs, okay? We’ll wing it. You’ve gotten much better in the last month, and I have faith that you’ll at least last a few minutes. You might even be able to land a punch on them.”
“Thanks for t–”
“I mean, they would have to be blind, and deaf, and dazed, and–”
“Thanks, Anita.” Fera interrupted, feeling frustrated and not at all better.
“See, you’re too wound up. You got this, trust me.” Anita said, now sounding much more loving and almost motherly. She was always supportive, but this morning, it felt like it helped a lot more than it ever did before.
“I hope so.” Fera said, still sounding gloomy.
“Forever a pessimist. We’ll fix that in time.”
When they finally got to the school, it was almost an eerie sight. For a moment, she felt as if they walked right into a campy horror movie, or one of those ghost shows where people investigated for paranormal activity. The campus was abandoned, and she even saw somebody move in one of the windows of the main building. She knew it was a staff member, probably setting up things for the event, but it still made her feel uneasy. It also didn’t help that some of the clouds that were over the ocean had started hovering over the city. She could feel the static in the air throughout her body. It was something that happened in every storm back home. Her powers reacted to it for some reason. She even felt more powerful, or more unstable, whenever lightning was around.
The overcast and the rising vibrations in her body did not help in any way to make this trek easier. She heard Anita giggle beside her and reach out to take her hand, but then her partner gasped as she quickly pulled it away.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Sorry, Anita.” Fera said. “It’s the storm, it’s messing with me.”
“You never told me about that before.”
“It was never this bad before… not since coming here anyway.”
“Do you think it will bother you too much? I mean, we can call it off if you don’t thin–”
“I’ll be fine.” Fera assured her. “Just… don’t touch me for a bit, okay? There were times back home where I fried out the entire circuit board for the house. I can usually keep my powers confined to me, but when a big storm rolls in, I get a bit more dangerous. Thanks to you helping me, I might be able to keep them from killing anybody, but I would still hate to accidentally hurt you.”
“Yeah, no problem. Are you sure you’re good though? Your eyes are glowing and everything.”
“They do that when we’re using our powers, Anita. My lack of control is no exception. They’ll flicker a bit until the storm gets here, it’s normal.”
“Normal for you, maybe, but not every lightning user. Have you always struggled with this?”
“I never had a teacher so yeah, always. I’m used to it. Plus you taught me a bit so I think I can handle it better now.”
“Are you two coming or what?” shouted Sara Yakuma, one of Ferain’s teachers.
Ferain looked and saw the woman hurrying towards them across the courtyard of the academy, where Ferain and Anita had stopped.
“Is that the one that hates you?” whispered Anita.
“Yep, that’s her.” answered Ferain.
“Hmm, maybe you should give her a handshake.”
“As much as I like the idea, she might expel me if I do that.”
“Better not, then.” Anita muttered.
“You two. I have been waiting for you to arrive for fifteen minutes. I should have expected it out of you, Hirigaya. No commitment, no punctuality, no drive to do anything other than coast along. Get to the school so we can get started. Headmaster Guji is waiting for you and he has a busy schedule to keep up. Get going.”
Anita looked as if she was about to argue but Sara was suddenly gone. She used her abilities to teleport back to the academy, leaving them two alone in the courtyard once again.
“She could have at least taken us with her.” Anita complained, taking the next step towards the main building.
Fera followed and they were soon standing in the entrance hall of the school, surrounded by rows of metal lockers. In there, Fera felt a little too unsafe. It wasn’t her own safety she was concerned with, but if she lost control while in here, she might wind up filling the entire room with lightning. As if to simply make the concern more real, her brain produced an image of lightning stringing like webs from one locker to the next, catching everyone nearby in it. She shivered as her golden eyes flickered with light and dimmed again. They walked past the lockers and stepped into the main hall, where she felt a bit less like a ticking bomb waiting for the most inopportune time to go off. Inside, they saw two other students, and Guji Hakamura, the headmaster. How he made it from the newsroom in District-C to the academy before they were able to get there made no sense to Fera, at first.
She then assumed that Sara used her power to get him back and forth, which also felt wrong for him to use his teachers that way. Still, seeing as it was Professor Yakuma, perhaps it was okay on this occasion. The two other students were people Ferain had never seen before. Both were boys and both were clearly wearing their school uniforms, like Fera and Anita. One was taller than the other by three or so inches and had dark skin. His hair was styled as short dreadlocks that were tied back into a ponytail, and he had a youthful, handsome face. His eyes were thin and dark amber, and he had a lean build. His partner was shorter and stouter. He had pale skin, a short shaved head that left him some of his black hair, and a pair of grassy green eyes. They did not look as pleasing as Guji did, and Fera felt a bit intimidated by her first real challenge since coming here. She could already tell that these two would not be easy. The two teams glared at each other but Guji’s clearing of his throat brought all of their attention back to him.
“Okay, students. I will now explain the rules of the game to you, and we will begin shortly after. This is a game of capture the flag… with some changes. There will be seven flags in total. You will each be given one to hold onto, and you may put it anywhere on your body as long as it is easily accessible.” Guji then looked at the boys. “So don't put it down your pants, got it? Every year we have people that try to do that, and it’s rude to the competition.”
“Do they ever win?” asked Anita.
“No, Ms. Caswell, they normally lose, in fact. And the pain of defeat is usually followed up by months of embarrassment. A girl last year even took off the boy’s underwear as well, putting everything in full view for all of the residents of Olirian. Now, we don’t want any of that, do we?”
“Speak for yourself, headmaster.” said one of the boys, eyeing Anita with a level of interest that aggravated Fera.
“Pervert.” Anita snapped, covering her chest.
Guji sighed and pressed a finger to his forehead. “Moving on. Besides your own flags, there will be three present elsewhere on the school grounds. I will not give you any hints besides this; they are not exclusive to this building. The flags can be anywhere on the campus so it would be best to strategize on how you want to move about. The team that holds the majority of the flags by the end of the match is the winner. Are there any questions so far?”
“Are we able to steal the other team’s flags?” asked the stouter kid.
“I thought that would be clear, pervert.” Anita said, putting a hand on her hip.
“Quit calling me that.”
“Then quit looking at me with your perverted eyes, pervert.”
Inside, Ferain was silently laughing. She knew the only reason Anita was acting like this was because she thought it would be fun to do so, and she was right. It was nice getting that kind of rise out of them, but Ferain really didn’t have the confidence to play along. Besides, she was too focused on keeping her powers from acting up. Even now, it was hard to not let anything loose.
“Yes, you may steal any and all of their flags.” Guji answered. “Any they gather and any they already possess. All flags are open game. Now, the way the match ends is if the other team is unable to fight any longer, if we call the match for any reason, or if an hour passes. If a team manages to collect all of the flags, there will be a five minute grace period where the other team can try to get them back. If they manage to get even one back, the game continues as normal, if they fail, the flag bearers win. Pretty simple rules, I imagine.”
Sara suddenly came out of nowhere and stepped up to the headmaster. She whispered something in his ears and then stepped back.
“Ms. Yakuma has just informed me that the flags have all been hidden. You will be given a three minute period to find a starting position and to work out your strategies. Best of luck, and let the games begin.” Guji said, and in a second, he and Sara were gone.
Their bands all beeped and when Fera looked at it, she saw that a timer with three minutes appeared and was counting down. She looked over and saw the boys staring at their bands as well, but then they looked up with hungry expressions gleaming in their eyes.
“We could just beat you both now and take your flags.”
“We don’t have them yet, perverts.” Anita said, glowering at the two of them. Anita then looked at Fera with a curious expression. “Do you think he forgot to give them to us?”
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to start playing and we'll see if he remembers.” Fera said, before leering at the boys.
“Prodigy. I call dibs on you, girl.” the dark skinned boy said.
“Come on, Ferain, let’s go find a place to wait. We only have a couple of minutes left.” said Anita.
Fera’s eyes glowed brightly in the room and a crash of thunder came from outside. Her whole body sparked with blue and white static, which seemed to scare everyone around her, including Anita. She took a quick step back and then took her hand away from Fera’s shoulder, which she was undoubtedly about to touch. After following Anita around, they found themselves in the science lab on the top floor of the school. Anita shut the door and put a desk in front of it, though Fera didn’t see how much good that would do when the doors slid instead of pushed or pulled. Fera sat at one of the desks while Anita sat on top of it, her finger pressed against her cheek as she thought out a plan. This was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from their bands and when Fera stole a glance, she saw a new timer there. One that had sixty minutes on the clock, counting down. Just then, Sara was there and she was holding two red ribbons.
“Your flags. Put them somewhere accessible, and no cheating. As the headmaster undoubtedly told you, no stuffing them in your clothes. The last thing we need is some sexual harassment among children.”
“We’re teenagers, actually.” Anita pointed out, stubbornly.
“Children.” Sara argued back. “Anyway, you have your damned flags, now get started.” Before either of them had the chance to speak, Sara was gone again, most likely going to hand out the other team’s flags.
“You know, if somebody could multiply items, do you think they could just do that and win?” Anita suddenly asked, tying the red band around her right wrist.
“What?” asked Fera, stunned by the random question. She started untying the ribbon that held her ponytail in place and replaced it with the long red ribbon-esque flag she had just been given. While tying her old ribbon around her right wrist, she saw Anita shrug.
“Nothing, just a spur of the moment inquiry. So, what do you want to do?”
“Weren’t you thinking of a strategy?”
“Can’t you help a bit? I can’t have all of the good ideas.”
“I think… we should split up.”
“Are you sure, Ferain?”
“We have an entire campus to explore. Besides, I don’t have to fight them. If I bump into one, I can just run. There’s enough flags that if we find the spares and manage to keep our own, we’ll win once time’s up.”
“Oooh, so the old wait it out strategy. It will take a bit of patience, and quite a bit of luck if we’re going to find the other flags first, but it’s not a bad idea. It will help with your little problem too.” said Anita, noticing Fera’s flickering eyes again.
The sky outside had gotten dark now, and a light rain was already starting to fall against the room’s windows. Ferain felt a bit more… uncontained at the moment. Her body was buzzing and she felt her power trying to escape. Luckily, she was having an easier time containing it thanks to Anita’s lessons.
“Yeah, I would like to avoid touching them if I can. I don’t think I’ll hurt them too badly now, but if the storm gets worse or I lose concentration for too long…”
“I know. We’ll go with your strategy. If I was them, I would have started in one of the other buildings. Headmaster Hakamura said that the flags weren’t exclusive to here. If they spread out already, they will have a better shot at finding most of the spares. I would like to imagine that one of them is here, however.” Anita put another finger to her cheek again. “I’ll go to the cafeteria and start there. You can stay here and start working your way down.”
“Why here?” asked Ferain.
“You’re already here, and I can keep an eye on you. A lot of the main building is made of windows. If you start using your powers, I’ll most likely be able to see the flashes from anywhere else. It’ll give you away to the enemy, but it will let me get to you sooner to help if needed. Of course, if you have another idea, I’m all for it.”
“No, that’ll work. You’re right that I’ll be pretty visible. I’ll feel better knowing that you’ll be watching out for me.”
“Good. With that settled, it’s time to get moving. High five.” Anita said, raising her hand. After Fera failed to reciprocate, Anita then realized why and scratched her head. “Riiight, the whole… zapping thing. Well, good luck, Fera, I’ll see you in a bit.”
Anita walked towards the door, gave a wave of her hand to slide it open with her wind, and slid over the table she moved in the way. The door shut behind her and Fera almost instantly regretted her idea of splitting up. A bright flash of lightning struck outside her window and she felt it light up her body. Her eyes flared up and she was engulfed in a cloak of static. She shook the feeling off and reeled her powers back in. After a light slap on her cheeks, she scowled and clenched her fists.
“You can do this, Ferain, you can do this.”
She stood and left the room in order to start her search. She wasn’t sure how extensive she would have to be in order to find the flags, not knowing how challenging Sara made the hiding places, but she had to do it either way. She started in the classrooms on the top floor, searched them briefly, and continued onto the restrooms. She blushed while she was in the boy’s bathroom, but she had to look everywhere, despite her embarrassment. As she was descending the steps to the next level down, she heard something that made the hair on her neck stand up.
“I know everything.” a voice whispered in her ear. Ferain turned at once and held up her static-imbued hand, but nothing was there. “I know it all.” the voice came again. It was a hissing tone, something that sounded like it came from a snake. “Liar. Cheater. Murderer. Never to be forgiven, Ferain Hirigaya. Never. Forgiven. I see your past, your present, and your future.” Ferain spun again, only to be met with darkness and empty air. “Prodigy.” the voice came once more, now more clearer than before. Ferain spun and as she did, she was met with a wispy “Boo.”
She let a blast of power leave her hand from the surprise and it threw her off her feet. She fell down the stairs and rolled to a stop at the bottom, groaning as she struggled up onto her hands and knees.
“You lied to get here.” the voice came, and this time, she recognized it as the dark skinned boy, who was now walking down the stairs as casually as ever.
“I never lied.” she argued, looking up at him through her bristled and hanging bangs.
“I just barely passed.” the boy said in her voice, and her eyes widened. “Your test score intrigues me, Ms. Hirigaya. Can you tell me why that is?” he now said in the headmaster’s voice. “No, sir.” he answered, using her voice one more time. “Well, Prodigy, you might not want to answer honestly, but I know the truth. You’re really quite the little genius, aren't you? You made it to where you would have the perfect amount. The exact score you needed in order to pass the test. You purposely got questions wrong, purposely waited out the clock until the last minute, and purposely failed the power test. And I know why that is too. You knew that it would catch the eye of somebody on the board. You knew what you were doing the entire time. And to say that you have no control over your powers disgusts me to no end.” the boy said, now reaching the bottom step.
Ferain’s eye flashed brightly and she shot a bolt of lightning from her hand. The boy turned to mist and seemed to shift around the lightning. The blue and white blast struck the stairs behind him and exploded, leaving the smell of something burning in the air. The boy reformed and solidified again.
“I don’t have control.” she protested. “I never lied!”
“Not once?” asked the boy. “She passed away ten years ago. My dad was… sick, and it spread to my mom. I’ve been living alone ever since.” he said, in Fera’s voice. “You lied.” he said, crouching down in front of her. “You killed her. You nearly killed him. I know of the others too. The little neighbor-boy. It was an accident, of course. Or, so you say. Do you remember the context of that? I do. I saw it. You argued that day. He was scared of you and didn’t want to play with you anymore, but you grabbed him, knowing full well what it would do. You’re the reason he can’t use his arm anymore.”
“How do you…” Fera gasped.
“I told you. I know everything. You really sicken me, girl. All of the damage you caused and here you are, playing it up for everyone like you’re some sort of pity case. Well, I’m going to break you down until you’re nothing, Prodigy.”
Fera’s eyes brightened and she lunged as she threw a punch his way. He became mist again and she fell past him, her lightning-imbued fist striking the steps. A blinding flash erupted in the room and there was a deafening bang from the impact. When the smoke cleared, there was a massive crater where her fist struck.
“All of the power of a lighting strike in one fist, and that’s all you can do with it? You really don’t belong here.” the boy said softly, and she dove at him again.
This time, he did not change, he stayed solid. He avoided her inaccurate punch and kicked her in the side as she passed. Ferain fell from the impact and clutched her ribs as the boy laughed.
“I would just take your flag, but I’m having a bit too much fun. It’s unfortunate that Grav isn’t here to join in. I decided I’d let him get the attractive one. He seemed pretty infatuated with her.”
“You’re sick.” Fera snarled, rising to all fours again.
“Like you’re not. Come on, Prodigy, give me some of that juice you’ve got building up inside you. Let it out. Kill me if you can. Or have you just been sitting on your ass this last month, soaking up the attention?”
Fera howled in anger as she lunged again. This time, when he changed and she passed through him, she caught herself with her hands and then kicked back at him as he was turning solid. There was a flash of lightning and the boy was sent flying forwards. The impact also sent Fera rolling but she dug her static-covered nails into the ground and caught herself. Her hair was standing on end, worse than it usually did, and she had a cloak of blue and white coursing around her, snapping and crackling with each arc that burst from her body. Her buzzing was getting too loud, and her power was growing too unstable. She was losing control of it, and as the rain started coming down heavier and the lightning outside grew more powerful, her abilities were getting further and further away from her grasp.
The boy was lying on his side, smoking from his back, but he laughed while he forced himself up. When he was back on his feet, he looked over his shoulder and his amber eyes, which were once too dark to distinguish the color, were glowing brightly in the darkness of the room.
“That will be the only hit you land on me, Prodigy.”