2 ;32 Those who believe without knowing will always live in emptiness
Crystal’s sweat peppers the air and glistens in the sunlight while she exchanges heavy sword blows with a calm and collected Ruby, She strikes her sword with all her might at Ruby only to be easily deflected away, “stay focused Crystal, your form is sloppy. Keep your weak points covered, make sure your stance is well balanced”, Ruby says before easily overpowering her with a massive blow to her blade causing her to be blown back several feet. Her sword flies in the air before slicing into the ground next to her head.
“Arrgh it’s not fair, I’ve been at this for hours and I still can’t do anything. I’ll never be able to catch up to you”, Crystal aggravatingly groans out. Ruby glances at Crystal with an outstretched hand, disappointment washes over her face, “Now do you really think I was this good from day one? If I gave up on my first day I wouldn’t have gone anywhere, you’re only as good as you believe you are '', Ruby says before sinking her hand back down to her side.
Ruby eyes Neon’s training with Blue across the other side of the manor lawn, “Just look at Blue, the kid is very inexperienced but he has a drive I haven't seen from someone in ages. So many people are counting on him and he’s putting his heart out as much as he can to prove himself”, Ruby says, reaching her hand back out to Crystal before she reluctantly reaches out to her hand, “Alright, fine. Just don’t hold back on me, AAAAAAGHHHH”, Crystal shouts out while lunging at Ruby who swiftly blocks her blade.
Neon’s ornate blade slices sharply through the air, sparks fly as her blade clashes with Blue’s sword, “ you sure have lots of skills for being a little kid, maybe you will have some hope yet. Although don't start thinking you'll overpower me" Neon says before she lashes out at Blue harder.
The next time their swords clash Blue staggers back while he hangs his head low, “don’t underestimate me!”, he says before shooting his head up while his eyes glow a deep red. His sword is thrown to the side as he manifestes a large ice block around Neon’s arm, he gathers all the strength he can before lunging up to her. With a slight turn of the head her eyes transition into a golden yellow color.
“Time stop”, she says before blue suddenly and completely freezes in time. “I should say the same to you”, Neon camly says while methodically pacing her way behind Blue before throwing her elbow up in the air swiftly striking down on the back of his head causing a massive impact. As she begins to walk away Blue slowly begins to phase back into the normal time flow, her impact still affecting him making him fling forward onto the ground, landing on his face.
Neon looms over Blue who’s digging his fingers into the ground in frustration, “get up kid, you’re impressive but you still have a long way to go”, she says while slowly walking away from Blue as he slowly looks up to her with a gaze of anger, staggering his way back onto his feet as he continues to stare at Neon.
Both Alli and Holly are softly seated in a distant flower field from anyone else, flowers of many dozens of colors and even more different types. Alli’s eyes glow a soft and beautiful teal while a blue orb of energy glimmers in her hands.
“This here is a wonderful power called the Ultima Complex, oh here let me show you how it works”, Alli says before quickly grabbing her sword and slicing a large cut into Holly’s hand, “OW OW OW, whyyyy did you do that?!”, Holly shouts while tears stream from her face as blood drips from her hand. Alli quickly grabs Holly’s cut hand and as soon as the blue light touches her hand the pain starts to fade instantly and before she knew it the cut was completely gone as if it never happened.
“It can heal you, Neon told me that you might house such a great power. I brought you here in order to be closer to nature and it's natural healing powers. Try to focus on your core, if you can feel a warm glow then continue to chase that feeling until you can draw it out", Alli raises her hands up to meet Holly's hands and generates her power through Holly's hands. “There it is, can you feel that? This soft glimmer of energy is all you need to feel in order to control the Complex. Just stay calm and focus”, Alli softly says before removing her hands.
Through intense concentration Holly was able to keep the blue orb glowing, but only for a tiny fraction of a second before it fades away. Alli’s face glows with excitement at the reaction to Holly’s glimmer of power, “That’s it, now we just need to concentrate on that feeling, I feel like you’ll get a hang of this before you know it!” She exclaimed to Holly.
All three of the groups continue to practice into the night, noticing that everyone is getting exhausting Neon calls it for the day, "alright come along, time to go in everyone, Ali and Holly should have everything ready", Neon says while slowly sheathing her sword. While inside Blue and Crystal clean themselves up after the long and arduous sparing practices of the day.
Blue's cleanup is fairly mundane, a quick rinsing and outfit change to get rid of the dirt caked on him. As he exits the bath he spots Crystal exiting out of her room, a blood stained shirt in one hand while the clean outfit rests I'm the other. Her skin is rough, a pummel of bruises spread all over her skin.
Blue's shock carries through his whole body, the effort she would give in order to become stronger. Too afraid to speak a word to her, Blue heads towards the kitchen to meet up with Neon.
As Blue gets closer to the kitchen he can hear the intense clattering of pots and pans, the clinks of plates and the rattle of silverware.
"No no no! This is all wrong!" He can hear Neon furiously shout from inside the room. Breaking the breach of the doorway Blue lays his eyes on the destruction of the kitchen. From floor the ceiling there's food splattered everywhere, a distinct smell of burnt meat and bread fills the room, “I got this doooon’t worry bout it! Just a this and a that and this”, Holly says with a nervous smile.
Neon turns to gaze over at Alli, “Didn’t you teach her how to cook at all, Alli?” Neon says in aggravation. “Well umm no one ever really taught me how to cook, I would always rely on Ruby to make food for us", Alli says nervously.
During most of the day Red has been perched up on top of the roof of the manor. The stunning night sky is lit by millions of brilliant twinkling stars, Red holds up her orb up to the sky, it shines in the moon's pale light.
"Soon I'll get you out, very soon, Arya", Red softly says to her orb. Red leaps off the roof and lands softly on her feet, the three story fall not phasing her at all. Red slowly walks down the main hall the smell of food peaking her curiosity. Holly and Ruby are finishing setting up the table for everyone, "oh hey Red, the food should be ready real soon", Holly says with a cheery smile.
Ruby looks over to Red as she places down the final plates for the meal, "Go ahead and sit down Red, I'll get everyone for dinner" Ruby says before leaving the room. The table is decorated with an expensive royal blue cloth, the plates are as valuable as fine china. All the food looks as if it was made from a world renowned professional chef, when Ruby escorts everyone in they’re all instantly amazed by the overabundance of choices.
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“Whoa Ruby, did you make all this food yourself, it really is amazing “ Crystal excitedly says. Surprised and embarrassed Ruby responds with a blush, “oh please, my cooking is nothing compared to my sister’s” Ruby says. “Oooo! You have a sister?! That’s soooo coooool!!” Holly squeals to Ruby as her feet twiddle in excitement. Crystal quietly and respectfully dines on her food while at the same time Holly digs in ferociously next to her, “mmmmmm this is just sooo good Ruby!!", Holly says to Ruby.
Red only stares at her plate, the glorious, irresistible food almost seeming to stare back at her, “Aren’t you going to touch your food Red? I haven't even seen you eat once you must be starving”, Ruby says to her. “Oh it’s alright, I don’t need any food, never did need any”, Red says while fidgeting with her food and looking at her orb on the other hand.
Later on through the night Crystal lays in her bed, the light of the moon through her bedside window illuminates her as she stares at her hardened hands, scrapes and cuts cover her palms, “How can I keep going on like this every single day, it’s already getting so hard.” Crystal quietly says to herself.
She drifts her gaze to the moonlit window, a sudden feeling of melancholy thrusts through her body as her eyes begin to twinkle in the soft light. “I hope I’m not going to be a waste to everyone, I just hope”, she says before closing her eyes to the night sky.
Outside the soft blue light of the moon illuminates the beautiful varied flower beds of the manor’s grand back yard, Neon and Ruby are seated upon an old bench, it’s built of a fine weathered oak with a frame made from an elegantly shaped iron.
“How do you think everyone is going so far?’, Neon says to Ruby while holding a closed tulip in her hand, spinning it around by the stem with her fingers. Ruby shifts her position on the bench to face slightly away from Neon.
“It seems like it’s still too hard to tell, Crystal has really been pushing herself way further than I thought she would and I wouldn’t want to have her be overworked. Although I don’t think we have time to slow down and stall”, Ruby calmly says to Neon. Neon’s grip tightens on the flower’s stem as her expression flattens, “So you think that the UCU is alone at all, or could this be something much bigger? He’s been a bother in the past but this time the air around him feels far different than before", Neon worrying says to Ruby.
Neon swiftly gets to her feet and throws her flower aside. “We should get some shut eyes though, there’s so much we have to train everyone still” Neon says before walking away.
The next few weeks go by smoothly, Crystal raises up her sword, it's ever steadily been covered in scratches and nicks from the intense training over time. Her eyes emit a strong red glow before she takes off towards Ruby who's on the other side of the main courtyard, their swords make a satisfying clash as they clink together. The glow of Crystal's eyes are feeling different on this day, she manages to wedge the blade out of Ruby's hands flinging it into the air.
"Well you're getting better faster then I expected, let's see if you can keep up with a Complex power" Ruby confidently says while her eyes glow the same red of Crystal's eyes. Ruby’s sword finally comes back down from the sky and spikes into the ground, in the blink of an eye she runs towards her sword and rips it out of the ground, the force alone making a small shockwave.
Again in another instant Ruby appears in front of Crystal and knocks her off her feet. “The Rose Complex, these powers control all the elements of the world. From the lifeforce of the world water and it’s blustery cousin ice, to the powers of the pulls of the ground itself. Some can manipulate the fury and destructiveness of fire and pull the very air we breathe or even control the most rare of them all, the stunningness and brilliance of lightning. Now of course people can learn more than one, hell even you have already done that before”, Ruby says before holding out her hand letting Crystal back up to her feet.
“But there are also ones who have been able to learn them all at once; just a little something between us, Neon is one of the very few but you didn’t hear that from me alright. This complex can also greatly increase your mental and physical abilities with enough training, I’ve seen these powers hidden in you from the first time I saw you, now of course there is still someone here who I still can’t read, she’s so different from anyone I’ve ever seen”, Ruby says while looking over to Red who’s sitting next to a flower bed plucking roses from out from the bed.
She gently twists and twirls the stems around each other and fastens a couple of the roses inside the wide knot, one of which is a large and full red rose and the other is a smaller blooming pink rose. She then pins it all together and sticks it into her hair, the feeling is somehow familiar to her and as soon as she clips it into her hair she feels images and distant memories flash into her mind.
Red, lots of red almost everywhere, is it fire, no it’s blood. Her heart rate suddenly skyrockets as she gets glimpses of the room, a hunched over figure can be seen sitting in the corner but it’s so dark almost nothing can be made out. Another flash happens in her mind, this time she’s outside, the force of intense crashing in the distance overwhelms Red’s ears. There’s another figure in the distance slowly coming towards her. It’s hard to discern much out of it though, all that she can see is the dark hair of a little girl and the beaming of yellow eyes gleaming over to her.
Red feels a tug on her arm as she stays in her almost trancelike state, “Red, RED! Are you alright? Blue says to Red while her eye glows a deep red color. She suddenly snaps out of her daze, unable to make sense of her interaction as a single tear streams down her lit eye, “Yeah, I’m ok, thanks Blue”, Red quietly says before walking off alone into the distant fields deeper into the manor.
Blue makes an advance towards her but feels Ruby’s hand grab his shoulder, “Leave her be, she needs to be alone right now”, Ruby says to blue, “I could feel her power, the power being wrapped up in an immense amount of fear, she was trembling with all her might” Ruby thought to herself while watching Red run into the distance.
In a far off field near the end of the manor grounds Holly is toying with her powers, making a ball of pulsing blue energy in her hands, “I see you’re really getting a hang of that Holly, you kids really do just absorb things like a sponge these days”, Neon says cheerfully to Holly, due to Neon’s sudden appearance Holly’s bubble of magic bursts as she jumps. “Whoa whoa whoa, gimme a warning before you come outta nowhere like that Neon”, Holly yells in an unflattered manner, Neon’s eyes shift to focus on Holly’s sword and doesn’t even notice a scratch on it.
Neon’s eyes drift back to Holly’s gaze, “The Ultima Complex is the most important Complex to me, because of it’s known healing potential. It's also the only one that I have never been able to acquire. I have to admit it makes me a little jealous haha" Neon says with a soft smile. "Ohh don't say that Neon you're gonna make me blush, there's no way I'm gonna be as amazing as you are", Holly says with a soft flush face while replying embarrassingly to Neon's compliments. "Now about that sword of yours, are you ever gonna use it?" Neon remarks back.
Holly quickly shifts her perspective once again, "I'll geeeet to it, I gotta learn this stuff first Neon, hmm" Holly says in a badkoffish way. Neon’s view shifts her view to the fields behind her, “well alright, as long as you perfect that, it’s a complex we need more than ever right now”, Neon says calmly, as she walks away Neon turns back to face Holly, “don’t worry because no matter what I believe in all of you”, Neon says to Holly in a soft comforting smile, Holly sits there confused for a minute. She just brushes it off, it must just be Neon being overwhelmed by teaching so many of us at the same time Holly thinks to herself.
Far off into the distance a mysterious woman stands on a tower of a crumbling castle standing atop a cliff with the roaring seas below, half of which has already fallen into the sea. She is leaning against an old brick railing staring down at the town of which Crystal and the others are at.
She is far different than the other woman who was sneaking around the manor, her cream colored hair sweeps down her back smoothly on one side but is in a loose braid on the other side fading into the loose hair. Her clothes are oddly modern looking compared to anyone else, from a very proper dress suit and a short cut skirt. Her sharp eyes lock onto the castle at the top of the town.
“Soon enough Xenon, I know what you’re hiding in that castle. But alas I am forbidden from meddling with you underlings” the woman says in a soft but stern voice, her eyes have a soft white glow. She can hear the sound of steady footsteps and tumbling of rocks behind her, “What are you doing here Argon, I told you to get the subject, she should be easy for you to capture by now”, she says to the approaching figure behind her without turning around.
“Oh come on are you serious, I'm the UCU now. These powers I've been gifted with have made me feel like a god!", Argon says in a very dramatic tone.
The woman instantly gets annoyed and pushes herself up from the bricks with such force to break the wall apart, "just who do you think you're talking to?!”, She says while manifesting a streamline and smooth looking sword, the pure white blade swings right towards Argon, stopping right before it touches his throat. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, I could destroy you in a second”, she yells to him.
Shocked by the sudden reaction Argon shoots his hands up in a playful kind of way, “oh come on now Nexie, way to be a stick in the mud”, Argon says with a wide smile on his face while leaning back slowly. Nexie quickly whips her sword back to her side, her expression slowly shifts back to a neutral pan, “I’ve been tinkering with a certain gift as of late, so it’s a good thing you came around. I just need you to be a delivery boy for me Argon, now hold out your hand before I force you to”, Nexie says while holding out a brightly glowing hand.
Argon reluctantly holds out his hand to meet Nexie’s, suddenly he feels an intense burning pain on his palm, he gazes at it to find a complicated sigil imprinted into his hand. “Release that when you get near Neon, it should be more than enough to deal with all of them. Now go, before I throw you into town”Nexie says before returning to her place atop the cliff.