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HEAVENS FEEL
52. IN THEIR ELEMENTS; BENEATH THE SURFACE OF STRENGTH

52. IN THEIR ELEMENTS; BENEATH THE SURFACE OF STRENGTH

My breathing was steady, as I awaited the slightest disruption in the grey domain. It felt like we were locked in a battle of anticipation, waiting for each other to make a move. I’d already initiated the first attack, so it was natural I awaited their retaliation. After what felt like a standstill, I felt a disturbance in the calm of the grey domain around them.

“Finally,” I said inwardly.

I had no knowledge of what abilities they possessed but I was unfazed nevertheless. A deep confidence in my abilities surged within me, as I slowly came to the realization that I was handed keys to the doorway of unparalleled power.

In one of my many conversations with Darya, she told me that I already had the fundamentals of her abilities, so it was left for me to get creative with them. She even taunted me a few times saying that I was a spoilt brat waiting to be spoon-fed all the time. I tried to make an argument for myself, stating that they weren’t my abilities to begin with, but she dismissed my excuses, insisting it made no difference.

During my numerous training sessions with Darya, I’d made only one improvement. Calling it an improvement was a stretch, though; rather, I would say I put in a lot of effort studying the grey domain and its intricacies.

Although I had always known that switching my perception to the grey domain was an ability of its own, I didn’t pay much heed to it. I just saw it as a means to keep up with speed of movement and spells during duels or battles. While it served that purpose perfectly, I had fundamentally misunderstood its nature.

Darya also contributed to my misinterpretation of the grey domain, since she had originally told me that it was a form of perception—a piece of information I blindly stuck with. The grey domain was a lot more than a perceptive ability, it was everything about spatial manipulation; coalescing space into a somewhat tangible form, one which could be easily manipulated. I got to understand that Attraction, Negation, Repulsion, Realm Slip, and Hollow Shield, were all possible because I was able to perceive the grey domain.

One of the knights created a cackling distortion around him as he approached me. I could easily tell he was using a full-body lightning reinforcement on himself, like he was wearing an amour of lightning. It was my first time experiencing one, although Yukina had once told me that Mom could do the same. I didn’t know how elemental mana manipulation came off as, but I had always believed that mana reinforcement was reserved to stillbringers. While a part of me argued that it was a different form of reinforcement from that of stillbringers, the other insisted that reinforcement was reinforcement regardless of what form it took. I was impressed nonetheless, they were called knights of the Order of Death for good reason.

“Too slow,” I said as I moved to meet him.

Although I didn’t pay much attention to my mana manipulation except for the grey domain, it seemed like my body knew what to do. Just as I moved to meet him, I felt my stillbring reinforcing on its own.

“So, this is what it feels like to be an Arcane, huh?” I thought.

Before the knight could reach me, he sent lightning tendrils streaking my way. I didn’t respond by evading, rather I redirected its course, sending it in another direction. I had learnt how to do that too, thanks to training, and I was excited knowing I was able to pull it off when it mattered.

I met his sword with mine, as the clash sent ripples through the grey domain. In a swift motion defined by blur even in the grey domain, I let my sword drop, grabbing my dagger from its sheath and plunging it into his chest before he could even react. I smiled. The outcome of this encounter was an indicator of how strong and efficient I had gotten.

A spear came flying towards me, and without putting any thought about what to do with it, I triggered Hollow Shield just before it could strike my face as it disappeared in an instant. Instead of utilizing the original effects of Hollow shield, I created an exit for the spells with the understanding that its trapping effect was what consumed mana.

The exit point I created for the spear, was right on the torso of the knight I had stabbed, watching expectantly as the spear ran through him. I couldn’t see what expression he was wearing on his face, but I could tell that he didn’t believe what had just happened to him. I couldn’t tell how fast my movements were in the grey domain compared to normal perception, but given that the knight could not react at all to counter my dagger, I would say I was able to pull that move off at near impossible speed.

I felt vibrations from beneath me. It wasn’t localized to where I stood; instead, they spread in a ripple-like manner. I couldn’t tell what spell the second knight was about to conjure, confident that the first knight was incapacitated at that moment. While it would have been easy to evade if the vibrations were localized, the entire area was affected, so I waited.

Suddenly, the ground beneath me broke apart and I lost my footing, feeling a sinking sensation. Though slow, I knew I was falling below. For a brief moment, I didn’t know what to do, and came to the realization that it was impossible to account for multiple variables during combat.

I saw the silhouette of the second knight move, as the debris around him created a path for him. He grabbed his fellow knight, taking him to safety. I triggered Realm Slip to the path created by the knight, but it disintegrated into debris once again.

Earlier, I felt invincible, but at that moment, my limitations began to tell. My vision could only perceive the grey domain in a hundred-meter radius, therefore anything beyond that was out of my reach. I could initiate Realm Slip to go any distance, but to do that, I had to switch my perception out of the grey domain.

Still falling, calculating my next course of action, the second knight appeared within range, as the debris came together once again, creating a path for him mid-air. From directly above me, he launched a barrage of conjured spears in my direction, but I easily altered their trajectory. He was relentless with it, knowing I was in a position of disadvantage. In response, I switched, triggering Hollow Shield, letting him taste his own medicine.

I engaged Realm Slip upwards, before switching out of the grey domain. Mid-air, I triggered Realm Slip once again, bringing myself to the top of a building unaffected by the wreck and havoc.

I quickly understood why the top-tier class of casters were given the title of “Chaos”. The harbor was a shadow of its former self, and the destruction began encroaching the city. The earth was upturned like the area was struck by an earthquake, and the whole place looked like it was ravaged by a mana storm, with massive iron spears around ten feet long scattered all over.

I scoffed. Even though I was unscathed, I couldn’t believe the level of destructive force I was up against. The battle was far from over and I was thrown back into combat once again as the building I stood on exploded from an impact of a fireball.

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I spent the next moments trying to place my feet on a solid surface. I never knew that there would come a moment in my life where that would become an incredibly difficult task. Every building I landed on, exploded, and the ground was unwelcoming as they broke apart once my feet touched them.

“Give me a break,” I groaned.

I needed a solution, and I needed one fast. I was done running, feeling the urgency to take control of the situation as fast as I could, but it was a bit difficult fighting two incredibly powerful enemies with a clear objective.

The first knight was fully recovered and back in the mix. I knew that the spear and dagger weren’t enough to kill him since his comrade didn’t allow me to get the job done. If only Negation wouldn’t consume all the mana left in me, the whole fight would have been done in an instant. I had to do without it. It was a challenge I was determined to overcome.

I took the fight to them, realizing that distance put me at a disadvantage. The only way I could place my feet on the ground was to stay as close to them as possible. Engaging Realm Slip, I materialized right in front of the second knight. He seemed to sense my mana right before I appeared before him, readying his sinister-looking spear to thrust through me. I laughed inwardly; It was the same move Mom used on me that almost killed me, and there was no way I was falling for the same trick twice. I was faster and better now.

I was able to parry his thrust before it made contact, and in a swift maneuver, I slashed, aiming for his neck. He was quick to adapt; learning from what happened to his fellow knight, he readied himself against unprecedented attacks. I wasn’t surprised when my sword struck something hard—his head intact.

Frustration began to brew inside me as I searched for a way to take care of them without the use of Negation. I was even more annoyed, knowing I was so close to killing one of them, had the other not intervened. Now, my element of surprise was gone. Certain that their Feel was a lot stronger than mine, I knew I would be at a massive disadvantage if the fight dragged on, as exhaustion would catch up to me much quicker.

I pressed again, engaging both of them in a sword fight, just to keep them occupied, while I tried to come up with a solution. Their skills didn’t matter, everything they did was slow and predictable, thanks to the grey domain, and thanks to my stillbring, my body could easily keep up. I was able to land lethal strikes on them a few times, but their amour-like spell reinforcements made sure they were unscathed.

Battle instincts kicked in. Although they conjured amour that kept them unharmed, I thought to myself that maybe if I applied just enough force, I could break their amour. The first knight conjured an amour made of ice, and the second knights’, iron. My sword couldn’t get past them, but I didn’t think they were impregnable.

I used Repulsion on both of them, sending them crashing. They were still within my range in the grey domain, so I quickly grabbed one of the conjured spears around me, launching it in the direction of the first knight. I could tell them apart because he was a bit taller than the second. Just as the spear left my hand, I triggered Repulsion in the direction of the spear with the strongest output I could muster. My stillbring, coupled with my perception of the grey domain was enough to generate a tremendous amount of force, but I wanted more. I needed certainty.

Even within the constraints of the grey domain, the spear shot at an incredible speed, as I watched in excitement as it struck true. The impact sent shock waves throughout the grey domain, as the spear went through the knight. The force of impact was so great that it launched him off the ground, crashing him through several buildings before coming to a rest, impaling him. I wasn’t going to let another opportunity slip. I followed up immediately, using Realm Slip to close the distance between us. Just as I materialized before him I swung my sword, decapitating him.

I switched out of the grey domain, and exhaled. I was overwhelmed with the feeling of accomplishment, but I didn’t feel any rush of excitement. It felt almost like what I just did was routine, even though it was far from it.

The knight I just killed condensed the reality of my situation. I was strong—perhaps too strong to be exact. In the past I would have gotten excited, but now, for some reason, I wasn’t. Instead of excitement, I felt a deep, unsettling emptiness. It was as if the thrill of victory was siphoned away, replaced by an insatiable thirst for something more—something I couldn’t quite grasp.

I walked slowly towards the second knight, unsure of what to do with him. There was a tinge of arrogance that seeped into my subconscious, an unwelcome companion I couldn’t shake off. It seemed to be one of the burdens of possessing such strength—a heavy crown that came with its own set of consequences. Perhaps, I had no choice but to live with it, suppress it if I could, but that would wait for later.

I didn’t shift my perception to the grey domain as I approached, opting to envelop myself with Hollow Shield just as a precaution. Though the knights face was concealed by his mask, I was curious to know what expression hid beneath it. He didn’t move, and the stance he assumed wasn’t that of someone who was about to make a move.

There was a lot of carnage unfolding in the background as Sophia clashed with her opponents, but I paid it no heed. I didn’t know what the knight in front of me was up to, so it was best not to get distracted.

To my surprise, he took off his mask. Behind the fearsome facade, was the face of a young man, around my age. I’d just turned fifteen—an adult by the laws of the Imperium—but I still believed it was too young an age to be exposed to the horrors of war. Yet, on a second thought, who was I to judge? I was here too, in a war I chose to join voluntarily.

The psychological effects of war didn’t overwhelm me. Maybe it was because I was an Arcane, and has somehow developed an innate mental fortitude. If that were true for me, it would likely hold for him as well.

“You should have dedicated your Feel to the service of the Imperium. You are the same as us, and unique abilities like yours would have gotten you a place among the Templars.”

His voice was steady, with no hint of fear. It resonated an underlying conviction as if he believed wholeheartedly in the path he had chosen. There was depth in his words, an invitation for reflection that made me consider the choices that had led us to this moment—two young men, standing on opposite sides of a war neither of us had asked for.

“It’s an honor to die by your hands,” he said, handing his sword to me.

I was stunned, surprised. I knew he still had a lot of fight left in him, so I couldn’t understand why he chose to give up. Annoyed, I was forced to speak.

“Does the Order have a habit of giving up, without giving their best?”

“You wouldn’t understand; maybe you will in time,” he replied.

Everything he said sounded like gibberish, and his actions didn’t make any sense to me. But I didn’t ask any more questions. We were at war, and he was my enemy. I slowly took his sword, as he knelt before me, face down. I swung, and his head dropped.

I stood over his body, unsure of what to think. I looked in the direction of the knight who stood atop a spire, and she just watched without intervening.

Sophia was still engaged in battle at a distance. I couldn’t see her or the knights she was fighting; all I could make out was rumble of debris and flashes conjured spells. For a moment, I thought of giving her a hand, but quickly thought better of it. She would most likely prefer to the job on her own. If she needed my help, she would let me know one way or another, so I waited.

After what felt like an eternity, the rumbling stopped and the fight ended. I watched with bated breath, anxious to see who would emerge alive. Through the mist, a figure appeared, holding two heads on her hands. I sighed in relief. It was an outcome I had expected, yet I found myself on the edge as I waited for the fight to conclude.

Sophia was bloodied, her clothes torn, but she was fine. I walked towards her, and I could feel her exhaustion defined by her laboured breaths. I didn’t know what to say to her without feeling awkward. The knight who watched us still did nothing, and when I looked up in her direction, she was gone.

I struggled to make sense of their actions, but I knew they weren’t stupid. Sophia let the heads fall from her hands, as she looked at me,

“Mission accomplished,” she said, dropping her head on my chest. I looked around, the port, unrecognizable, with the damage extending far into the city.

“Yes, mission accomplished,”I replied.

“This was easy for you right? You are literally spotless,” she said.

“Maybe I had weaker opponents.”

She scoffed,

“You are terrible at lying.”

She paused for a moment, before speaking again,

“Thanks for letting me finish the fight alone; I needed that.”

“I figured you wouldn’t want me to interfere, you are stubborn like that,” I replied.

She tried to laugh, but was too exhausted to manage it. Her speech slowed, sounding like someone on the verge of sleep.

“Do you think our meeting was fateful? Like it was bound to happen eventually?”

“Fate? Only time will tell,” I replied.