That voice sounded...strange. It was far more visceral, far more alive than any possible replay of the memories that Fatera had long buried.
Why did it come back now?! WHY?!
Fatera opened her eyes with such a haunting intensity that it even made Lily stumble backward. Her eyeballs were completely englobed by black, and as she stumbled forward, reaching for the answer to the question from within, a surge of power stormed out from her body.
Why is he here...why he is talking to me...
Fatera wondered. The volume of her thoughts was so intense that it started tearing into her own head. Then, the voice returned.
"Now go out there, and show them your dominance."
"AHHHHH!" Fatera screamed, her arms clawing down to the ground around them before a dark wavefront exploded from within her body, pushing back the ocean of flames created by Lily even as she hurried to surround her and suppress whatever last-ditch effort the crimson-eyeed girl tried to muster up.
"Go down already!" Lily cursed, crossing her arms in front and slamming massive columns of fire into Fatera. The furious flames initially pushed back the dark bubble forming around Fatera, compressing it inwards. But soon, its intensity started overcoming even that of Lily's very own Manifestation at the level of Perfect Synchrony.
"I will show my dominance to the world." Fatera said, letting the seemingly endless amount of power flow out from within her body, expanding her sphere of influence outward as the Wave in the air flowed to her command, and the ocean of fire created by Lily's Manifest turned tails and submitted to her instead, "But not for you."
The voice seemingly became silent, and for the first time in a long time, Fatera was surrounded by a chilling serenity. The warmth that bathed her skin, originated from the burn scars dealt to her by Lily's attacks, had gone cold. Instead, she felt as if she's swimming in the actual ocean, her body being carried by the water.
It felt as if the ocean had fallen under her command too. Her every intention was able to wield the waves and guide the currents with utter ease, so effortless that it felt as if she's trapped in a dream.
She guided the Wave in the air around her through her burnt-up arms, a refreshing coolness slowly regenerating her flesh before coating it with a fresh layer of skin. A regenerative ability far surpassing her own inherent physical capabilities...
Fatera's eyes widened, and she smiled. She's never one to care for beauty, but a fresh layer of skin means she can get right back on training after this. Looking forward at Lily as Fatera stood relaxed, her opponents' fire appeared to have fainted in this light.
"Are you a demon for real...Where the hell did all this come from?!" Lily murmured, her eyes widening and her facial expressions twisting. A hint of fear appeared for a brief moment before she purged it from her own mind with violent shaking of her head, "No! It's not possible!"
"I like it...I like this..." Fatera said with a smile, her hands reaching forward as the dark waves expanded outward and a pair of red glowing horns grew out over her bold head, "Dominance mode...Dominance of the Demon!"
"You...you are bluffing!" Lily said, her body dissolving in the flames once more before the intensity of her heat was built up once again, forming a wall in front of Fatera. So far, even though Fatera was somehow able to push back against her fire, Lily's still the one that has the majority of the Colosseum's internal space under control...
Yeah. That's right. This battle is under her control! Lily ground her teeth together, pouring more and more of her intention into her Manifest when suddenly, she felt the floor collapsing under her feet before everything that was once supporting her ocean of flames were snatched away.
No...Lily looked down, and she found herself surrounded by the darkness of the abyss. She's alone, trapped in the middle of it all as more and more of her Manifest was swallowed up, converted, and repurposed to fall under Fatera's dominance.
It was said that the ultimate modes of power for the three categories of Wave users are all supposed to be around the same power level. Dominance mode of Channelers, Perfect Synchrony of Manifesters, and Flow Zone of Casters all represent the apex of power in this world. However, in reality, as Lily Watts had learnt just now...the ability to wield those ultimate modes was merely an entrance into the discussions of being the world's strongest Wave users.
Even among those at the apex, there is a hierarchy. And now, much as the names of the powerup suggest, Fatera is asserting her complete and utter dominance.
"How is this possible..." Lily asked under her breathe, scorching the entire inside of the arena with her last resort before Fatera threw herself forward, clearing away the flames as she went. Then, she cocked her fist back and sent a massive blast of the Wave in Lily's direction.
"Dominant Punchy Punch!" Fatera said, following through with her attacks as she brought both fists overhead, conjuring a pair of massive hands with her Wave and splitting apart the walls of flames and revealing Lily's body floating within.
There's the target!
"Dominant Finger flick!" Fatera said, cocking her wrist back and flicking a finger towards Lily as a jet of highly concentrated Wave nailed Lily right in the forehead and knocked her out instantly. The sound of the shockwave came only after the impact and it sounded like thunder. A gust of air swept through the Colosseum, sweeping away Lily's flames as her body dropped down onto the ground that's been charred black by her flames.
"That's right..." The voice returned, sounding pleased as Fatera swung her hands around, trying to swat it away. That was when the dark aura retracted all the way back into her body, the pair of horns exploding into strands of the Wave and her mind becoming dull and slow as everything started tingling all over.
Fatera landed with great difficulty, and she tried to recapture the magical feeling of entering the dominance mode, but there was absolutely nothing.
In fact, she had got absolutely nothing left in the tank. Despite how good she felt in the moment, being in Dominance mode had completely burnt out any ounce of Wave reserve inside her.
It does not matter for now, because the victory is hers. Undoubtedly and unquestionably hers. But what if she faces someone far stronger in the future? What if her Dominance mode went away before she was able to deliver the final blow? Will she be able to preservere? Or will she need the aid of the strange voice again?
Lily's eyes were rolled up, and her tongues were flopped out to the side as the internal structures of the Colosseum started breaking apart with the Guild of Medics rushing into the scene for the last time.
Countless Scouting Eyes dropped down and hovered around her, and Principal Khan undid the heat shielding Casts before the image of Fatera was finally cleared up and shown on the Projection Casts for all to see. She pumped a fist into the air before poking herself in the chest with her thumbs.
"That's right...I am the One who Wins!" Fatera declared, "And I have arrived!"
"With that...Fatera is your winner of the Winter Wars Tournament in the year 4023!" Principal Khan declared.
"Well done!" John said, smiling and holding up a voice transmission Cast in his hand towards Fatera, "Now that you are recognized as a winner of the Winter Wars, you will be officially invited to join the Boarded, and your ranking will be decided after internal assessments. Do you have anything you would like to say to the world?"
"I...I already said it." Fatera said, scratching her head as John lowered his voice and whispered back.
"...The audio wasn't caught just now..."
"Ri...right! I am Fatera, I am the One who Wins, and I have arrived!" Fatera said, rushing through the phrases that came in her moment of passion as her face became red, "I am not doing that again!"
"Haha...that's okay..." John said, spinning around and started talking with Principal Khan to round up the tournament as Fatera made a run for it away.
Now, she's absolutely famished. There'd better be plenty of meat dishes set up in the Winter Wars resort, or she is going to destroy that place with a single punch!
In the meanwhile, Lily was also taken back to the resort for treatment after the conclusion of the battle. The Guild of Medics insisted on checking up on Fatera, but after threats on their lives for interfering with Fatera's eating, the medics had to back away, assuming that she's completely fine.
Though she didn't look remotely close to being fine in the midst of battle. However, it appeared that her Dominance mode allowed her to regenerate parts of her injured body.
"Crazy, right?" Lily said, her voice slightly trembling as she stumbled into the restaurant with her body bandaged up. There's a massive bruise and bump over her forehead, and it looked like it's going to stay there for a while, "You really were...dominant back there."
"I wouldn't have gone that far if you hadn't pushed me like that," Fatera said, pointing her fork with pork attached to it at Lily. She smiled and nodded before joining her at the table with a plate of vegetable stews and some fish.
"That final move was...way too fast." Lily said after stuffing her face with food, "I was already struggling to track your movements in your third mode, and when you pulled out the Dominance mode...there is no way I could catch up."
Fatera listened quietly before she finished chewing. Then, she turned and looked at Lily with a serious expression, "I...don't think I can enter into that mode willy-nilly...My body right now felt exactly the same as it did the past few days...But when I reached that level of power..."
"Everything felt so effortless and quiet, right?" Lily smiled, "Yeah, that's what the other Boarded members said too...I am sure you will do great as part of us."
"Does that mean I get to fight more strong people?" Fatera asked.
"There will be nothing but strong people there." John's voice came from the door of the restaurant, and he waved a hand with an innocent smile on his face, "Fatera, I am sure you will settle in great. Obviously, you will have to settle in your new house first! And before even that...let's get the pleasantries out of the way."
Hm? Both Lily and Fatera raised their heads and turned their attention towards John as he snapped his finger before lines of Casts started lighting up from all around them. Then, an impending orange glow bathed over Fatera and Lily's table as all of the furniture started disintegrating around them.
"NO! MY MEAT!" Fatera screamed, hurrying to stuff her face up as Lily stood up in alert and tried to call out to her Manifest. However, there had been no response. It wasn't due to the fatigue from the battle, this...this is something different.
The floor of the room started rolling inward like a carpet being folded away, sealing any paths of escape and sniffing out hints of light before the two were locked down and knocked out.
Tired and caught off guard, neither really put up a fight. Though, Fatera at least got to finish her plate of food.