//4 chapters a day if we reach the goal. We aren't too far away from it anyways.
2 more chaps today
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Chion thought back to the moment when he had first utilized magic, back when he was being chased down by a flock of pigeons. From the ongoings of his own environment to his inner thoughts and feelings before, during, and after the attack, the youth tried to remember as much as possible.
If he could recollect his own memories and then deduce the probable cause, he could attempt to try to reignite the ice within him and halt the battle before it got too serious.
He was going with the third option.
Tap!
Chion parried a spear jab that was meant for his head, a strike that almost interrupted his thought process. Luckily, due to the plenty of practice he had had in the last day and a half, the white-haired teen was more than capable of maintaining two different thought processes at once. One for analyzing and another for keeping himself from eating the blunted end of a wooden spear. Dancing around the ring, Chion remained on the defensive, keeping the angry Ares descendant at bay as best he could. Slowly but surely, however, the white-haired youth was losing his ground. He had to speed things up.
The most prominent thing that Chion could remember from the ordeal was the fact that he was almost certain he was going to die the birds having completely swarmed his escape routes.
Within that certainty came a sort of defiance, a feeling of desperation that stemmed from his own will to live. That feeling had been so strong that his chest had tightened subconsciously, his heart slowing instead of beating faster, a rather odd reaction given the perilous situation. In other words, the catalyst for dragging out his own latent magic and perhaps controlling it was through his own emotions, at least until Chion could find some other way of harnessing it. It made sense for the most part. All the youth had to do was use intense turmoil like fear, desperation, or anger to draw upon an internal power source. Obviously, it was easier said than done but it was worth a shot.
WHAM!! WHAM!!
Chion was caught off guard as a sword came swinging out of nowhere, hitting him in the gut, followed by the side of his head. Forced to the floor, he tried to get his barings, the world briefly spinning in every direction except the one he needed. He could hear laughter, the two assailants enjoying themselves.
A flash of anger ran through him. Normally, Chion would repress it. Emotion had no place on the battlefield. It was a hindrance.
This time was different. He needed it.
Instead of letting the feeling pass, he chose to foster it. He thought back to the various situations he had been in during his short time. Hunted down like a dog by a rampaging bull, attacked by demonic crows with a taste for flesh, chased by a pack of overly large mutts from hell. All the fear, the anxiety, the frustration, the anger, the hatred. Everything he had kept bottled up bubbled to the surface, rearing its ugly head to the world like some sort of demented hydra that desired destruction. A sort of calm washed over him, a cool feeling similar to the one Chion had felt during the pigeon attack, his heartbeat slowing down drastically.
The temperature took a plunge. The two Ares campers seemed to feel it as they immediately stopped laughing, tensing up as the white-haired youth slowly pried himself from the floor.
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Frost began to spread from Chions' feet, creeping outwards. The wind picked up, a freezing gale that one would only feel during a winter blizzard. Snow mixed with shards of ice swirled around the individual as he rose to his feet, neon blue eyes slightly glowing as the youth fixed his gaze onto the two combatants, of whom weren't entirely sure what was going on. One of them took that chance to lash out, stabbing towards Chions head with his spear, but it was easily caught. The moment his hand wrapped around the weapon, enormous shards of ice erupted into existence, moving down the length and onto the wielders very hands and arms. Latched to the instrument, the Spearman found himself unable to get away.
"I'm sorry." Chion let out a breath, a blast of visible oxygen escaping his lips. "But I'm gonna be taking my emotions out on you guys."
Without waiting for any of them to respond, the youth yanked the spear wielder forward before spinning on a foot. Chion slammed the tip of his shoe into the stumbling demigods temple, sending him sliding across the now ice covered floor.
The Aries swordsman saw this and immediately turned around to run, but Chion was having none of that.
As if by instinct, the white-haired youth slammed a foot onto the floor. From the ground, frozen chunks of liquid wrapped themselves around the fleeing individual, sending him into a tumble. Chion wasn't even sure how he had done it, or really any of it. It was like having an extra arm that he could use without even thinking, already knowing how to utilize it as if it had always been a part of him.
And maybe it had. He wasn't exactly in a position to recall it.
The power was immense. Chion could feel how much of it was still left even after he was finished venting his emotions, the magic within still bubbling beneath the surface, ready to be released. Being half god though, it made sense that he possessed such power. He didn't know who his parents were, but he thanked them nonetheless. It was because of the power that he managed to save himself twice now though it was also because of who he was that he was being targeted and attacked in the first place. So it kind of evened out at the end of the day.
Chion wasn't exactly sure when the onlookers had arrived, but he definitely saw them when he was finished. Around twenty or so individuals were gathered around the dueling grounds, which included Clarisse, Annabeth, Luke, Chiron, and Milenia.
Morphing the snow and ice around his body into water, the white-haired youth moved in Annabeth and Clarisse's direction. Giving the Ares assailant a side eyed glare, he stopped just by the side of the grey eyed blonde, barely eyeing her.
"You asked why I'm so calm. If I'm afraid." Chion glanced back slightly. "Those are my emotions. Why don't you ask those two what they think about it?"
Without another word to anyone else, the youth walked away, heading in the direction of the Hermes Cabin. He didn't feel exhausted or anything, but he was in desperate need of a bath and a change of clothes. He wasn't sure how the camp worked in terms of hygiene or showers, but he was gonna find out after getting some lunch. Mentally, he was pretty much over that day, but it wasn't like he could just sign out and go to sleep. So, he was hoping that a nice relaxing shower and some rest would help him out a bit.but.
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It was hard to believe what she had seen, even though she had been around from the beginning of the act to the end.
Initially, when Annabeth had stepped onto the scene, she had wanted to step into the battle immediately, having seen Chion collapse onto the ground with his two assailants standing over him, laughing. Even for a newbie and with a firm belief that everyone should be able to hold their own, they were close to taking their hazing of the new guy a bit too far. Granted, the white-haired idiot had struck out first, causing the trio to deviate from their usual rough housing antics and head dunking rituals, but there was still a limit. Especially after Chion had just gotten into the camp without fully settling in.
However, just when she was about to end the beat down, the air got freezing, as if she had suddenly stepped into a freezer, only five times worse. It was so cold, she could see her own breath and breathing in felt like inhaling shards of ice.
Flecks of snow appeared around Chion, spiraling outwards as far as she and Clarisse were standing, some 20 feet away. The snow thickened as the seconds ticked by, the area now so chilly that Amnabeth couldn't stop her own teeth from chattering. As the white-haired individual rose back onto his feet, she couldn't help but notice how different he looked, a look of controlled rage, one that made the developing blizzard seem like a warm fire. She watched as the youth completely decimated the spear wielder and locked down the fleeing swordsman within seconds of each other.
As effortlessly as squashing a bug. It was like watching an adult scold a toddler. There was nothing they could have done.
When Chion walked by and said the things he said, she didn't say anything, merely taking note. What she had thought to be a calm and collected newcomer actually has a dangerous side to him.
If anything, her assumption that he was indeed the one was now at an all-time high. The hidden strength behind him. The intelligence to survive without memories. The adaptability. The collected demeanor not ruled by emotions.
Even if he wasn't from one of the Big three, he was definitely important in some way.
"Who the hell is he?" Clarisse asked as the youth walked away. "Just another demigod?"
Annabeth let out a breath, the temperature starting to return to normal, though she was still shivering rather heavily. Before she could say anything to Clarisse though, an article of clothing hit her on the side of the face. Taking it off, she saw that it was a blue hoodie, freshly cleaned and free of any mud or debris. Looking towards the retreating Chion, she saw that he no longer had his on.
(("He saw me shivering?")) Annabeth looked the hoodie over, having swore she saw dirt on it when they were in front of the Big House. (("Just who are you, Chion Pagos?"))
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