Chapter Fifty-Six: Hindo
The air was thick with Hindo, the crackling buzz intensifying as Yozora and Lord Ignarok faced off, their auras colliding in a visible clash that sent shockwaves spiraling outward. Thunderclaps echoed across the courtyard, deep and hollow, as though the sky itself were tearing open. Sparks flew as arcs of white-hot lightning crackled between them, casting a sinister glow across the dim sky, illuminating their faces in brief, sharp flashes.
“Yozora,” Lord Ignarok’s voice rumbled, cutting through the chaos, “how about a duel that doesn’t end with my estate reduced to rubble? I just had the place renovated last month.”
Yozora, barely masking his curiosity, narrowed his eyes. “I’ll agree… but only if you tell me why your Hindo is so much more potent than mine. There’s something off about it.”
Lord Ignarok raised a brow, his lips curling into a faint smile. “Smart lad, he thought. He’s noticed the difference. Maybe he isn’t as reckless as I thought”
“That’s an excellent question,” Ignarok said, sounding more like a patient teacher than the fiery Lord of Ember’s Depths. “Most who come here to fight don’t even bother asking questions. It’s refreshing to meet someone who wants to learn… even if he does have a reckless streak.”
Yozora crossed his arms, watching as Ignarok placed a hand on his chin, adopting an almost thoughtful stance. “See, it’s not that my Hindo is necessarily more potent,” Ignarok began, “but rather that it’s… let’s say, attuned differently.”
Yozora frowned. “So Hindo has other forms?”
“Bingo!” Lord Ignarok snapped his fingers, pleased. “Hindo, in its base form, is what you’re familiar with, but it can be altered and harnessed for all kinds of applications. For example, your Ice Arts, brilliant as they are, aren’t being used to their full potential.”
“Wait,” Yozora interjected, his brows furrowing. “You’re saying my Frozen Tundra Perfected was… weak?”
“Oh, and your Comet,” Ignarok added with a smirk. “Impressive, sure, but hollow in the center. That thing should have changed the entire landscape. A Comet that size? It should have permanently cooled an area in my realm, but I had it checked afterward, the ice is already melting.”
Yozora’s jaw clenched as he processed Ignarok’s words. “So, Frozen Tundra isn’t perfected. Comet… hollow?” He shook his head, muttering under his breath, “What else didn’t they teach us at S.T.A.R.S…”
Ignarok chuckled, his voice resonant with the weight of experience.
“Take your Frozen Tundra, for instance. It will never reach true perfection without the use of Ice Hindo. Right now, you’re just shaping base Hindo to mimic ice. It’s like drawing a picture of fire and wondering why it doesn’t burn.”
The weight of the realization sank in, Yozora’s eyes narrowed, “Iggy,” he said, “how many different types of Hindo are there?”
“Hmm.” Ignarok tapped the hilt of his sword, a gleam of mischief in his eye. “I know of four for certain: Ice, Magma, Fire, and one I stumbled across not long ago. But it could go on forever. There could be as many types of Hindo as there are Tuners. Maybe even more.”
Yozora looked at Lord Ignarok with an impatient expression. "Bruh, what’s the Hindo you’re not mentioning?” he pressed, barely hiding his curiosity.
Lord Ignarok sighed, rolling his shoulders nonchalantly. “Come on, you don’t need to know that right now. But,” he added, pausing for effect, “if you can beat me in a match using only Raimu and Zaichi, meaning, only your skills and techniques with the katana, I might just tell you.”
Yozora's eyes lit up with excitement he tried to suppress. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he forced it into a calm expression. “Deal.”
Lord Ignarok smirked and turned, gesturing for Yozora to follow him. “Then let’s get this over with.”
They made their way through the fortress to a lift, a sleek, obsidian platform resembling an elevator, lined with glowing magma veins that cast a faint orange glow over the dark stone. As the lift ascended, Yozora braced himself, his anticipation growing with each second. When they reached the top, the doors opened, revealing a breathtaking sight.
The rooftop was expansive, nearly the size of a coliseum, with black stone slabs arranged in concentric circles, creating a pattern that looked both intentional and ancient. Towering, jagged obsidian pillars rose along the perimeter, their sharp edges glowing faintly in the magma veins that snaked through them, making the pillars appear alive with a fiery pulse. At each corner of the rooftop stood towering statues of ancient warriors, their stances bold and defiant, each holding weapons made of hardened magma stone.
Above, the sky was a swirling mix of deep red and ashen gray, churning like a storm trapped in time. Occasional flashes of lightning cracked across the clouds, illuminating the landscape below in an eerie, otherworldly glow. A harsh, hot wind swept across the rooftop, carrying with it the scent of sulfur.
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In the center of the arena, a circular, raised platform of pure black obsidian shimmered under the flickering sky. Etched into its surface were intricate runes, ancient and mysterious, faintly pulsing with energy that seemed to resonate with the power of the place.
Lord Ignarok turned to Yozora, crossing his arms. “Welcome to my training ground. This rooftop has seen more battles than any history book could record. The perfect place to test your mettle.”
Yozora smirked, glancing around at the intimidating setting. “Fancy place for a duel. Guess you like a good dramatic backdrop?”
Lord Ignarok chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Let’s just say I have a flair for the theatrical. Now, are you ready, or do you need a moment to soak it all in?”
Yozora drew his katana, the blade gleaming in the flickering light, his gaze sharpening. “Oh, I’m ready. Let’s see if you can keep up, old man.”
Lord Ignarok raised an eyebrow, a grin forming on his face. “Careful what you wish for, boy. This isn’t a training exercise.
Yozora’s katana gleamed in his grip, while Lord Ignarok’s blade, edged in glowing magma, radiated an intense, fiery heat.
With a swift, measured breath, Yozora initiated the duel. He stepped forward, his blade slicing upward in a smooth arc. Ignarok parried, deflecting the blade with a precise, angled block. The force of their clash sent a wave of heat and chill spiraling outward, scattering embers and tiny frost crystals into the air.
Lord Ignarok responded immediately, his movements fluid and precise. “Magma Flow: Seismic Strike!” His blade came down with volcanic force, aiming to split the ground beneath Yozora.
Yozora evaded by a hair’s breadth, countering with a flick of his wrist as he spun, adopting “Reverse Flow”. His katana twisted in a tight, fluid motion, redirecting Ignarok’s momentum. He slashed diagonally, aiming for Ignarok’s exposed side, but Ignarok spun with him, their blades scraping in a flurry of sparks.
Ignarok’s eyes narrowed, admiring Yozora’s quick adaptation. He shifted his stance, his movements embodying the relentless flow of molten rock. “Not bad, kid,” he smirked, pivoting as his blade, “Magma Flow: Eruption Blade,” aiming to trap Yozora in a searing arc of heat. The edge of Ignarok’s blade glowed red-hot, slashing forward in an unpredictable, erratic pattern, each swing leaving trails of ember in the air.
Yozora countered with a deep breath, his grip tightening as he invoked Reverse Flow: Flowing River. He parried each strike with exact precision, mirroring Ignarok’s movements and redirecting the force of the strikes back toward him, like water bending around a rock. Their blades met again in the middle with a resounding clash, the force sending both sliding backward across the rooftop.
Ignoring the heat radiating from Ignarok’s blade, Yozora closed in with a series of rapid, controlled slashes, each one designed to catch Ignarok off-guard. Ignarok matched him, twisting his blade and deflecting Yozora’s strikes, his footwork precise as he countered with explosive, upward swings. Each time Yozora’s blade came near, Ignarok’s would meet it with a fiery counterstrike, creating a dynamic exchange of speed and skill.
Ignarok surged forward, unleashing Magma Flow: Volcanic Torrent, a sequence of fierce, relentless swings designed to overwhelm and disrupt Yozora’s stance. But Yozora’s Reverse Flow was relentless, adapting to each attack with near-surgical precision. He stepped in close, reversing his blade in a swift arc that forced Ignarok to twist and deflect, leaving him momentarily exposed.
In a swift, fluid motion, Yozora drove his katana forward, angling it for a decisive strike. Ignarok anticipated the move, shifting his blade to block, yet the intensity in his eyes revealed a new respect.
Both stepped back, breathing heavily, their blades held steady, gleaming in the ember-lit rooftop.
Ignarok let out a short laugh. “You’ve got skill, kid. Not bad.”
Yozora smirked, flicking the ash off his katana. “Oh, ‘not bad’? In our brief exchange, I learned to attune my Hindo to Ice Hindo. Our little clash told me plenty,” he said, his tone laced with sarcasm.
Lord Ignarok’s eyebrows lifted, clearly intrigued. “Is that so?” he replied, his gaze narrowing as he studied Yozora anew. “It seems there’s more to you than raw talent. Most would have needed months, years even, to understand the shift in Hindo, let alone adapt it.”
Yozora spun his katana in one hand, the blade now radiating a faint, chilling mist as the surrounding air cooled. “Guess I’ve got a talent for picking up on things quickly, huh?” He took a confident step forward, the ice-infused Hindo radiating from him in waves that caused the ground around him to glisten with a thin frost.
Ignarok let out a low, rumbling chuckle, his respect for the young Tuner palpable. “Adaptable, but don’t get cocky, boy. Ice Hindo may be potent, but let’s see how it holds against this.”
With a powerful swipe of his sword, Ignarok unleashed a fiery arc of Magma Flow, aiming straight for Yozora. Reverse Flow: Shade of Ice, with a fluid motion, he swung his katana upward, splitting Ignarok’s magma wave down the middle. The frost on his blade absorbed the heat, leaving droplets of water sizzling on the rooftop floor. “Keep trying, Iggy,”Yozora taunted.
Ignarok grinned, a flicker of excitement in his otherwise steady gaze. “You’re going to regret calling me that.”
Yozora shrugs, with a chuckle “I’ve been calling him Iggy.”
But Yozora was ready. He moved in sync with Ignarok’s attacks, his blade’s chilling Hindo leaving a freezing wake with each counter. Their strikes became a mesmerizing dance of fire and ice, each adapting and countering the other’s flow. As they circled one another, Yozora’s ice began to mix with Ignarok’s magma, crystallizing in midair and scattering glistening shards across the battlefield.
The rooftop had become a tempest of frozen and molten energy, with neither combatant giving an inch.
Lord Ignarok, though impressed, had a hardened look in his eye as he stepped back slightly. “Attuning to Ice Hindo may give you an edge, but true mastery will take more than a few sparring rounds, boy.”
Yozora’s smirk grew wider as he steadied his stance, his blade now fully attuned with the icy energy swirling around him. “Guess I’ll just have to stick around and learn, huh, Iggy?”
Lord Ignarok paused, his eyes narrowing, and his stance settled, a sudden shift in his demeanor. His voice was quiet but laced with gravity. “Yozora… do you feel that?”
Yozora’s smirk faded, his senses instinctively heightening as he scanned the area, the icy energy in his blade vibrating with unease. The air around them had changed, an unfamiliar tension settling into the realm. He looked back at Lord Ignarok, who had gone from sparring opponent to vigilant protector in an instant.
“Iggy?” Yozora’s voice held a trace of concern, mirroring the subtle apprehension in Ignarok’s face.
“Yes, I know, Yozora,” Lord Ignarok replied, his voice carrying the weight of his years of knowledge and authority over Ember’s Depths. “We have company.” He scanned the horizon, his gaze darkening. “It seems my realm has been forcefully breached.”