Jaiden gets blasted by the wind off the table as he digs his feet into the ground to slow down the motion. “SONIC CANON!!!” Rex screams launching his sonic wave of Air at Jaiden. This seems to be one of Rex’s special moves, as Jaiden can’t seem to feel a BIT of his mana while being blasted by this attack. “The fuck?” He thinks to himself, and directly behind him, he instantly recognizes what they’re trying to do. He turns, charing soul energy into his hand as he goes for a karate chop on Dulse. Whos behind him, gauntlet in hand, and screaming, as the rings on his gauntlet glow a raging red color. “100 TONS!!!!!!!!” Directly as Jaiden and Dulse are about to connect with their attacks, Jaidens Karate chop is blocked by 2 fingers, while Dulse’s Punch is blocked by the bottom half of a scythe. The blade of the scythe glows a red color, as Rex feels his wind dissipate instantly. Rexs body plummets to the ground as all the air surrounding him completely vanishes, leaving nothing holding him into the air.
“Yo.” Dohjo says, interrupting the battle at hand with his interjection. Dohjo yawns a bit, seemingly tired but he clearly wants to get this over with. “Relax, Jaiden.” Jaiden scoffs, pulling his hand away and dusting himself off. “I made an action out of anger.” “That's not the mindset of a captain, Jaiden.” Dohjo says, pulling Dulse up to his feet. “You’re one to talk about being a captain…” Jaiden snarky remarks, starting to walk away from the crater he caused. “You’re not GOING anywhere, Jaiden. All 3 of you are heading to a place YOU know very well.” Jaidens heart drops at these words “Who do YOU think you’re commanding Dohjo? Stay in the place that a third in command like you belongs.” Dohjo sighs, looking down at Dulse who seems to be embarrassed and stunned “Pointless insults don't bother me anymore.” Dohjo looks over at Jaiden, one of his eyes glows a bright green from under his brown hair “But you don't deserve your spot. If I let you get hit by this dude's attack you would have DIED Jaiden.”
Dulse is shocked to hear this, but doesn’t want to interject before he gets into more trouble, but from what he knows, what's coming for him and Rex won’t be good at all. Jaiden charges Mana into his fists, walking toward Dohjo, clearly angry and wanting to fight, not taking into account all the people surrounding them and watching, but Dohjo quickly takes notice of this, and slams his Scythe onto the ground. The Scythe glows a red color and the mana around Jaidens fists dissipate. Before Jaiden can react, Dohjo slams the backside of his scythe into his neck, knocking him out. “I might get in trouble for this…” Dohjo sighs “Eh. Zed will get me out of it.” Dohjo grabs Jaiden by his shirt, and as he moves he drags him, as he goes to grab Rex’s knocked out body. Dohjo grabs Rex by his shirt, and his eyes kind of narrow around looking at everybody watching. “Nothing to see here folks, keep living life till the next challenge.” Right as he finishes this sentence, Riley and Shidou arrive at the scene. Dulse takes notice of the 2 and as he tries to head toward them, Dohjo appears back next to him in a split second.
“You either follow me or get knocked out like the other 2, pick your poison.” Dulse doesn’t say a word, deciding not to say a word and simply follows Dohjo. His eyes look toward his friends one last time, but he looks away in shame without saying anything else. The 2 walk through the forest, with Dohjo dragging the other 2 men by their collars behind him, seemingly bored. “I wanna go home…” Dohjo thinks to himself, cursing his luck. Dulse awkwardly follows Dohjo, waiting for the fate of him and his friend. Dohjo says, “You’re strong. You fought a captain and didn’t die immediately. Shows you’re probably stronger than you think you are, so keep up the good work alright?”
Dulse can’t help but smile a little bit and nod, “I’ll get stronger…” “Now don’t think I'm letting you guys go. I can see that thought running through your dome. You and your little friend have to face the consequences, Jaiden as well. You don’t get off scot free with royal knight privileges, just remember that.” This remark gets the boy thinking, even with a status like captain you can still face punishments for specific actions… “What are those actions… what is so criminal to people with the captain class that they get punished… they can commit murder but a scuffle like this crosses the line..?”
Azra gets up from the food booth, and turns to Chloe. Both girls are seemingly stunned with what just happened, but Riley walking in catches her attention. Chloe recognizes Shidou as well, so something clearly must have happened. Her expression turns to one of panic, as Chloe runs toward Shidou and Riley. “Shidou!!!” She calls out, which catches the man's attention. “Chloe. I was planning on coming to find you about the Rex situation, but I guess it found its way to you.” “What happened…? I thought Rex and Dulse were fighting each other and now they’re against… Jaiden?! What is going on..” “In all honesty, we don’t know either” Riley says in response to Chloe. “Shidou told me the story of Dulse and Rex, So I think they got into some argument with Jaiden.” “That's… Terrible…” Chloe’s expression turns to one of sadness as Riley continues to speak, asking her “What's your relation to those 2?”
“I’m Shidou’s little sister. We used to go to middletown a lot to hang out with those two, and eventually He told me about the situation with the 2 boys…” Riley seems surprised but doesn’t say anything, simply thinking “Reckless enough to bring your little sister into the battlefield..? Well that's a little hypocritical coming from me.” Riley turns to Azra, who seems to be pretty confused, not knowing what anyone is talking about. “Can I get filled in..?” “Nah.” Riley says, deciding to be petty to his adopted sister. Azras face turns to one of annoyance, but decides to just not push any further. “Whatever. I gotta talk to Nora anyways, I’ll be back.” Azra heads back in the direction Zerx and Shidou came from, back to her cabin.
As she walks through the destruction that was caused by Dulse, Rex and Jaidens fight, Azra takes notice of how much damage was caused around the island. It seems almost inhuman, the ground is torn, dirt scattered everywhere, with water flowing from the rivers onto the ground, making a decent amount of mud. She can’t help but notice one of the Cabins completely tossed over on the boys side of the island, The top half of the cabin is completely implanted in the dirt.
Our POV switches to inside that upside down Cabin. Zerx wakes up, and he can't help but realize something's off. As his eyes gradually open, he takes notice of things in his room. First, he notices that his head isn’t on a pillow, its on something hard that feels like a floorboard, he then notices his blanket is covering his chest instead of his whole body, finally, he notices that his body is curved, with his legs up in the air while the rest of his body is also on a hard surface. Then it clicks. “I'm on the floor.” Zerx jumps open, tossing the bed off of his body and throwing his blanket off of him as well. Then he realizes his ceiling is where his door is supposed to be and his door is where his ceiling is supposed to be.
“What typa freaky friday shit is this?” He stretches his body, then uses his soul energy to propel himself toward the door. He grabs it and swings it open, hardly managing to crawl into the door. Zerx drops down to the ceiling after getting out of the room door, and he takes notice of something instantly. The area where he stands is pitch black, making it hard for him to even see himself, but in his In his peripheral version, he sees a light on in the living room. He notices Arba, Ardabak, and Mazakala all sitting in the living room having tea like this is normal. The couch hangs upside down and they sit there like theres no issues. “What flavor boys?” Mazakala asks, he gets no response from either of his brothers, but he laughs to himself. “Oh you’re such a jokester Arba!” He once again in silence, he stands up, walking across the floor, without dropping down, and makes some tea. His 2 brothers sit somewhat lifeless, Mazakala once again replies to nobody. “That's not nice Ardabak! Show some respect for your brother.”
Zerx continues to watch, his face turning to one of absolute confusion. The cabin is dead silent, virtually pitch black besides a dim light in the living room, and everything is flipped on its head, as if he's in an alternate reality or something. Nothing but the sounds of the ceiling creaking as Mazakala talks like everything is normal. “Hey! Boys! No fighting!” Mazakala says, screaming at both Arba and Ardabak. The 2 boys move a little bit, so they’re not lifeless, but they don't seem to be speaking. “Good! Now enjoy your tea!” Mazakala says, placing the tea on the flipped over table as if he was a little girl playing with barbies and having a tea party. Arba and Ardabak move, grabbing the tea cups and taking a drink out of the drink. “Good! Good!”
“Do you want some Tea, Zerx?” Zerx heart drops, without even turning in his direction, he sensed him. Zerx walks out into the living room dropping to the ceiling while Mazakala stands idly on the floor. The 2 stand in silence, on opposite sides. “Are you…. Ok Maza?” Zerx breaks the silence, “Better than ever. Are you going to answer my question? Do you want some tea, Zerx?” “I’ll pass.” Zerx says, as the room gets eerily quiet again. The 2 stand in perpetual silence, as they wait for the other to say something. “Oh silly Arba.” Mazakala says in response to his brother, Zerx gets visibly confused at Mazakalas random inference into this. “Freaky…” Zerx thinks to himself, and right after Zerx makes this thought, he notices Mazakala staring him down. “Say that louder.” “I didn’t say anyt-'' before Zerx can finish his sentence, Mazakala jumps down toward Zerx, Zerx quickly dodges as Mazakala slashes his sword into the ground. “What the-” “Say it louder.” Mazakala swings his sword at Zerx, full force bringing it around with Zerx narrowly dodging it and then jabbing Mazakala in his stomach. Mazakala gets launched into the wall, putting a dent in it from the force, but stands up like he took no damage.
“I have no idea what I was thinking of trying to beat YOU, in a fight of physicality.” Zerx can't help but take this compliment with a grain of salt. The dude was just trying to kill him. “You’re weird.” All Zerx can manage to say with a confused face. Mazakala just laughs, sounding pretty maniacal while laughing. This creeps out Zerx, as he takes notice to the eyes of Arba and Ardabak looking down at him. The 2 were unmoving before this confrontation, so this puts him even more on edge. “Ardabak. No. Let's keep him alive right now ok~ We’ll deal with him later.” Once he says this, Mazakala jumps back to the floor. Once again he goes idle, sitting on the couch with the rest of his brothers. All staring down Zerx.
“What the fuck…?” Before Zerx even bothers to worry about what's going on, he decides to get out of this cabin first. But for some reason, it doesn’t feel safe for him to go back to his room and get his stuff. An eerie feeling floods Zerx, as staying in this house any longer begins to feel more like a nightmare. Like a kid running in the hallway after turning off the light, Zerx propels himself up using his soul energy, Grabbing the door and jumping out the cabin in a total of 3 seconds flat.”
Azra makes it back to her cabin, and opening the door, she sees Adora sitting on the couch reading a book. “Adora! Have you seen Nora? I'm looking for her.” “Haven’t seen her. She left roughly 30 minutes ago to grab her new Axe, is she at the blacksmith station?” Azra slaps herself for not checking that first, as she rushes out the door quickly to head back outside. But right as Azra heads out the door, the sirens blare around the island. Calling in everybody to head to the main grounds for the final section of the royal knight exams. As the sirens erupt around the massive island, all the contestants make their way toward the central station. “Maybe I’ll find Nora during the event..”
Azra makes her way to the central station and slowly, more and more people begin to come, besides Nora. Azra is visibly confused, “Did she get hurt…?” But before she has any more time to worry about this, the rest of the group arrives. Adora, Riley, Shidou, and Chloe. “Have any of you seen Nora recently..?” The others look at each other confused, Adora beginning to speak “She isn’t in the blacksmith station..?” “If she WAS there, I would’ve assumed she came back here when the sirens went off..?” “Weird.” Adora says, but Azra cant help but feel a weird sense of bloodlust coming from Adora. “I gotta keep my eye on her. She's a weird one..” “Well do you guys know where Zerx is?” “He should be coming an-” Before Riley could respond, Zerx runs for dear LIFE into the central station, clearly spooked by something. “NEVER Leave me alone with those freaks again.”
“I told you they were interesting characters.” Riley says, looking over to Zerxs scared face with a smug expression. “Can that dude read minds or something?” The group all dawn confused looks as Zerx explains “I didn’t even speak and the dude was replying to what I was thinking..? And his brothers weren’t talking either! He was just… talking to himself. Shit is so weird…” As Zerx finishes his tangent, Mazakala, and his 2 brothers following, walk into the central station, as they continue to stare down Zerx, this time Mazakalas eyes also dart toward Azra, making him chuckle a bit as he walks past. “Yeah they give me the creeps…” Chloe says, with Azra nodding. “Why are we even talking about them, we should be focusing on Finding Dulse, Rex, and Nora.” Shidou interjects. Before anyone can respond, Dohjo and Ezekiel arrive. All the contestants begin to surround them in a circle, and our main group follows them. Zerx unfortunately has to stand next to Mazakala. He has a creepy sadistic smile on his face, and while this is happening, Zerx is forcing himself to think of nothing but cats and dogs. Knowing that Mazakala could likely be reading what he's thinking. “I can smell your fear~” Mazakala whispers in Zerxs ear, which shakes him to his core.
“Hello remaining contestants.” Dohjo says “This will be your final test for the Royal Knight exams. As stated before, we genuinely killed too many people in the first round, so this round will be more similar, but 90% of you have a chance of getting eliminated.” The chance of elimination catches everyone's attention. Though Riley expected something like this after reading his fathers old logs of the previous magic knight exams, “Whenever too many people die, They typically have an elimination round to see the strongest survivors. Nothing too unexpected.” Ezekiel interjects, “In this round, You’ll be allowed to pick 1 partner. You and this partner will get a flag, spend the rest of the time in the remainder of the island that we previously blocked you all from entering. Once it hits exactly 10pm, a siren will go off, and you and your partner will have to fend off against the other teams. You must survive 2 hours.”
“With the remaining amount of players, they will all be teams of 2 and 1 team of 3, with this in mind, that's 25 teams. Each team will be obligated to get around 5 of these flags to pass this portion of the exams. With that being said, that leaves 5 teams passing, with 10 out of the 51 of you passing the exams.” The main group looks at each other as Dohjo finishes that sentiment, all clearly thinking the same thing. “We’ll let you pick your teammates now. You have 3 minutes.” “Well…. We all have to pass.” Chloe says, but Riley whispers in response to her “Well. We also have to find the others…” “Why dont we split up with different objectives?” Azra says, “Two groups can worry about getting the Flags, and another group can worry about finding the other 3. If you think about, they never said the LIMIT was 5. We can keep going till we have maybe 10, then split the remaining 3.” The others are surprised with Azras idea, “Thats actually a pretty good plan..” Riley says, thinking with his hand on his chin. “The other team could also get 5 flags so that the other 3 could also pass the exam. That actually works out… It just depends on well, if they let the others actually pass.”
“What could Nora have done to get taken away anyways? Where could she be?” Adora says, questioning the possible intentions or reasons why Nora is around. This makes Azra wince, which Zerx notices. “It's always possible she was killed.” Shidou says. “Royal Knights are known for that kind of thing, Killing isn’t about their pay grade.” “Let's not speak that into existence yet, She might have wandered into the forbidden areas of the island… Let's just hope she's still alive.” Zerx says, trying to lift the spirits of the group. “Let's focus on actually picking who goes with who.”
“I vouch to go with Shidou. We’ve known each other longer… I think we’ll work together better.” Chloe says, with Shidou nodding in agreement. “That's fine. If it comes to teamwork, Me and Azra will be unmatched!” Zerx says, giving his sister a fist bump. “I mean…” Riley replies “I feel like her with Adora might be better for the overall group. Everyone gets someone they’ve worked with before. No offense to Adora, but we haven’t talked much at all.” “Just say you wanna be on my team Riley” Zerx laughs at his brother “Come on, We didn't get to work together in the first round so you wanna be on my team again~!” He mocks him, This makes Rileys face turn to one in disdain. “Fuck it. Let's go, Adora.” Riley turns around, as he sounds kinda mad. “Working with you should be more interesting than working with that barbarian.”
“Ouchhh. That hurt.” Zerx mocks him again, but his attention is caught when he hears the voice of Mazakala talking to Ezekiel. “May me and my 2 brothers work together? With the odd number of players, it makes the most sense if we’re the group of 3. Along with the fact we have the best coordination! And the conditions of my brothers hinder them on their own.” “Yeah sure that works. You’re the first to ask.” Zerx winces but tries to ignore it, but he can't help but feel Mazakalas eyes looking at him again. “So which team is doing what?” He says, trying to hide his fear. “You 4 can find flags. Me and Chloe can look for the others. My magic accels at this kind of thing.” Shidou says, Chloe nodding in agreement. “That works. We’ll focus on getting flags for Shidou and Chloe, You guys got the flags for the other 3.” Zerx says, claiming the easier option out of the two. Before Riley can object, The sirens blare to indicate the start of the challenge.
As the sirens blare, signaling the commencement of the challenge, the chosen teams disperse with their goals all assigned. Riley is a little more reluctant due to not really WANTING to do that much work again, but still follows Adora. The groups all split, Adora and Riley going to the left, Zerx and Azra going forward, and Shidou and Chloe going right. As the competitors scatter across the landscape, the island becomes a battleground for both strategy and camaraderie. Each step forward echoes the weight of the exam, with flags to be captured and teammates to be located. The air is charged with a mix of anticipation and uncertainty, blending seamlessly with the enigma that shrouds Nora's disappearance. Zerx, though focused on the task at hand, can't shake the feeling of Mazakala's gaze lingering on him. The unspoken tension hangs like a ghost in the air, an ominous presence that threatens to disrupt the delicate balance of the challenge.
August 31st 4070 - 9:55PM
For the past 3 hours, the competitors have been setting up for their inevitable battle. Adora and Riley came up with a strategy to quickly capture and defeat 5 teams. Shidou and Chloe have been covering ground, searching for where Nora and the others could be located with no real possible locations coming to mind in this vast forest. Zerx and Azra have been doing quick spars, traveling and covering the most ground out of any other team while also just talking to each other about stupid stuff.
“Shidou!” Chloe says to him, stopping the older man in his tracks. “What is it? Did you find something..?” “No… Im just… tired.” Chloe slumps onto the floor, with her head banging onto a tree behind her. Her hands slide into the grass as she looks up into the night sky, with the moon gleaming down exactly where she's sitting ,the only source of light for everyone in this challenge. Chloe sighs, her shoulders heavy with the weight of the ongoing conflict. She turns to Shidou, her expression a mixture of exhaustion and frustration. "Shidou, I just can't handle this stress. It's like everyone I care about is kinda just… leaving me. Drifting away. I'm just stuck in the middle left to watch….”
Shidou, with his usual calm demeanor, places a reassuring hand on Chloe’s shoulder, sitting beside her with his sword in hand. "I understand, Chloe. Conflicts like these can take a toll on everyone. It's okay to feel tired." “It's not just that… I feel like I'm being left behind… By Rex, Dulse, even you. We used to all kinda be one big group and now I'm just left here, being the one coddled and protected by everyone else.” “We’re knights, Chloe. There's always gonna be someone you’re weaker then. You just need to put in the work to reach that level instead of wallowing in sorrow. Look at Dulse.. Look at how he's grown.”
She thinks for a second. Remembering one day back when they were younger… around a year before the middletown execution.
Me and my big brother Shidou used to go to Middletown all the time. We used to deliver flowers for mom. She ran a business around that part of town, we weren’t the richest, but we were happy. One day, I delivered flowers to this one house, and a smaller boy opened the door. He was cute. He introduced himself and Dulse, he said his parents weren’t home, but he took the flowers anyway and gave me a thank you. After that, that house ordered flowers every day, we’d talk then I’d leave. Soon I’d say we were friends. Me and Shidou started to hang out with him and his friend, and it's like we became a little group. It felt like I finally had a friend…
One day, after my final delivery for the day, I heard some noises that sounded like someone was getting beat up. I saw Dulse, he stood there defending Rex. Both his hands out, while he was getting beat up by some older dude. “Where's my money you punk! You two can't do SHIT!!!” As he swung the final punch that was about to connect, I stepped. I used my magic and quickly took care of the guy, he ran away.
“Sheesh. You two always get yourselves into some problems huh?”
“Im sorry… Chloe.”
“Sorry for what Dulse?”
“You’re a girl! You shouldn’t be protecting me… That's my job!”
“No seriously, it's nothing bad, trust me. I can fight for myself.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“You shouldn’t have to! One day, I’ll be the one protecting you.. I’ll be strong enough to protect all of you..”
Chloe looks into Shidou's eyes, finding a sense of understanding that brought comfort. “He's grown a lot… I just thought this would be a team effort, you know? Even if we were forced into it, I thought… you know… we would still be 1 big family. But it feels more like a battlefield. I'm tired of trying to keep everyone together." Shidou nods sagely, his gaze fixates on the moon. "Leadership isn't always easy. You're doing your best, and that's commendable. But remember, it's crucial to take care of yourself as well. You can't pour anything from an empty cup."
A hint of gratitude softens Chloe’s features as she comes to an understanding of Shidou's words. "I just wish they could see beyond their egos. I get Rex's anger… and I understand Dulse's urge to find peace… but maybe if they could just… I don't know.. See the other person's side..? Try to come to neutral ground instead of being so firm with what THEY want?” Shidou offers a gentle smile. "People often lose sight of the bigger picture when emotions run high. It's our job as the 2 bystanders to guide them back. Talk to them, Chloe. Share your perspective and remind them of the common goal. Sometimes, all it takes is a moment of understanding." Chloe takes a deep breath, feeling a sense of strength in Shidou's guidance. "You're right. I need to address this and find a way to bring us all back together! So we can all be friends again.”
Shidou pats her back reassuringly. "You have the strength to navigate through this, Chloe. Remember, a leader's greatest skill is not just managing conflicts but resolving them with empathy." With a new wave of courage by Shidou's wise words, Chloe felt a renewed sense of purpose. Right as the 2 stand up, they hear some rustling in the bushes beside them…
Adora and Riley sit quietly. Waiting for the time to run out so they can initiate their plan finally. They sit behind a rock, just waiting for the indication they can begin. “How do we even know when the challenge has started..?” Riley says to Adora, who gives him a pretty face response. “They set up polls around the island and spoke on it, I assume it's gonna be some announcement. Zeek has had spirits around this whole time, Haven’t you sensed them?”
Rileys is confused but once Adora points them out, he has no clue how he missed them. Spirits flood the air, reporting information to each other like playing a game of telephone. Riley instantly assumes most of that info probably goes back to Zeek, But there might be a time delay since the island is pretty vast and there's no humanly possible way he's watching all of those at once. “How did you even see those…? I have a lot of Soul Energy myself but even my subconscious didn’t register that.” “When you have experience like me, It isn’t hard to see things like this. This island has a lot of wonders on it. Like that Dundread cavern you seem so interested in.” Riley’s heart drops, and begins to wonder how she knew that, but before he can ask, Adora asks him a question.
“Riley. Do you fear death?”
Riley is taken aback by this question, taking time to think. “What type of weird ass question is that..? What could’ve caused her to ask me this…? How does she know about the Cavern..? How doe- Nevermind… Best option here is probably to answer honestly to see where this goes”, so despite his suspicions, he decides to answer honestly. “No. The concept of death itself no, I think it might be one of the most blissful things ever if you’re under the right circumstances. But I do fear dying with regrets.” This catches her interest “Continue.” “Well, there's things I don't want to die without completing or gaining closure for. Facing the prospect of my own mortality, leaving the world with the heavy burden of regrets is my biggest fear honestly. The realization that time is an irreversible force amplifies the anxiety, urging me to reconcile with the choices that shaped my life. Is this where I wanted to go? What if. What if. What if. All questions that kind of.. Echo through my brain from time to time.”
“Interesting. The way you think reminds me of-” Before Adora could finish her sentence, the 2 hear a massive thud dropping from the sky, as they jump from behind their rock. Adora can't help but dawn a sinister smile however, knowing EXACTLY what's about to come. Riley notices this from his peripheral vision.
Zerx stands up from his Nap as Azra continues to eat an apple she plucked from a tree. “Challenge started yet?” He asks his sister, “Nah. No siren.” “BORINGGGG” Zerx slaps his hands on his face. “Honestly. I'm tired of doing all this waiting. Lets cover more ground, Maybe we’ll find Nora and the others.” The 2 siblings begin walking around the forest, the surroundings being nothing but bugs and other rodents. “What even happened with Dulse and Rex..? You told me about the Nora stuff but what's up with those 2? Who even IS Rex???” “Wish I had answers for you, But Riley didn’t tell me anything. I'm just as blind as you. I saw them fighting Jaiden but that's about it.”
“Jaiden is a pretty strong opponent. Dulse is such a little guy, Was he REALLY able to keep with Jaiden like that? A captain?” “Honestly I couldn’t tell you. I don't know much about Dulse, but I know he was kinda important to you, so I wanted to help him out, but I didn't get the opportunity to do much.. Well.. ANYTHING. I wish I could have helped… I'm just not strong enough. I gotta push myself even further if I wanna be on the level of a captain like that.” “Trust me Az, You’re plenty strong right now. Don’t downplay yourself just cuz you saw a stronger opponent. Confidence is the key.”
“I mean your confidence is almost inhuman. You can get your ass kicked and still proclaim that you can win. It's admirable even if sometimes it looks delusional.” “If you want me to be honest, Azra, It's a character. I don’t have that much confidence, but it's how I carry myself. That dude Riley is stronger than me and you combined, but my goal is to eventually master my control over my soul energy to one day reach that guy's level. He's like a prodigy. Normal people like us have to work to catch up to prodigies. That's why one day, I hope I can defeat Riley. One on One.” “I get that feeling” Azra smiles, connecting more with her brother is something she can’t get enough of.
“During the magic knight exams. I let Dulse and Riley go on ahead of me. Not because I thought I was strong enough to survive on my own, I was prepared to die. I just didn’t want Dulse getting hurt and I thought Riley was a better protector than me. Dulse reminds me of you a lot. Well at least you when you were younger, thought I can’t remember that fully.” “Don’t worry Zerx.” Azra says patting her brother on his back, “You’ll be strong enough to stand as equals with Riley! We all will. Just keep your head up.” Zerx laughs “Wasn’t I supposed to be comforting you?” He punches Azra in her arm. But before the 2 can keep talking, Zerx hears a familiar laugh coming from in front of them.
From the darkness, comes Mazakala. He has a wicked smile on his face. In his hand, are 4 flags. “Zerx. I missed you.” At the same time, Arba comes out in front of Adora and Riley, and Arbarak appears before Shidou and Chloe. Zerx's expression dawns one of absolute terror, as Mazakala pulls out a sword. He charges fire magic into his curved blade, with 10 jagged points protruding from its side. Before he can even move, Zerx is stabbed directly through his gut, As Fire Erupts through the blade, it blasts Zerx into a tree, causing him to pass out instantly.
Azra charges toward Mazakala, pulling her sword out of its sheath. Swinging at him but he quickly dodges. “That speed! He's the fastest person I’ve ever seen… even faster then…” The memory of Jaidens fight with Dulse flashes in her mind, bruising her confidence. “If I can't even perceive that… How am I gonna fight this guy and protect Zerx?!” “What's your problem?! What do you have against my brother?!” “Nothing. I'm simply eliminating any possible threats. You’re the next one I'm taking out.” “Possible threats for what?” “Our Monarch of Vanity. Or as you know them as, Adora.” Azras attention is drawn more to the title rather than the name, she knew something was up with Adora but its all starting to click. The possibility of Nora's death swings through her mind once more, making more sense than ever. For once, Azra sees nothing but red. She spins her sword around her body, and instantly goes on. “So Alive. SCARLET NOVA!”
Mazakala swings at Azra blocking her attack, the 2 swords clash for a second, but Maz manages to overpower Azra in almost an instant. The girl instantly gets back up, charging back at Mazakala quite recklessly. “For a second, That Scarlet Nova attack matched my speed. I won't let her do that again…” Mazakla predicted Azra's relentless onslaught with ease. The clash of their blades echoes through the forest, the steel-on-steel symphony narrating the intensity of their clashes.. Azra hardly keeps up, using her fire magic as a way to propel and boost her own speed, learning how to do it on the spot, but burning her shoes and socks off as she flies around at blaring speeds.
As Azra charges forward once more, determination etched across her face, Mazakala anticipates her every move. He uses his speed to quickly dodged her attack, he grabs her arm, slams her down to the ground and swings his sword down toward her skull, going for a killing blow. Azra, fueled by the desire to protect her brother and driven by the revelation about Adora's true nature, along with the possible death of her friend, swings her sword with a ferocity that hinted at the depth of her bloodlust. Completely blocked the hit from her skull. Then she engulfs her sword with flames to blast Mazakala back. “She still has yet to land a clean strike on me. Just have to keep up the pushback.”
Riley immediately dashes toward Arbadak, punching him in his face instantly with a fist covered in mana. He hears a clink, as Arbadak eats this attack and swings his leg into Rileys side. It feels like he was hit by a TON of metal, as he gets blasted backward into one of the traps Adora set up. He hits the lever, which pulls the rope up underneath him. It wraps around his waist and hoists him upward. At that second, Arbadak jumps up to crush Rileys skull with 1 swift punch, but Riley knows how this trap works, So he snaps his fingers, as 2 of the pebbles placed on the branches extend from behind him. This attack was going to hit the captured person and knock them out, but Riley ducks his head, as the 2 pillars immediately crash into Arbadaks face. Arbadak flies back into some leaves, as Riley manipulates the rock pillars above his head, and manipulates the material into a sharp point to cut right through the rope. As he falls, he notices Adora standing there with a pretty evil smile on her face, enjoying watching the battle.
Mazakala's eyes glinted with a predatory intensity, his movements becoming a mesmerizing dance of evasions and counters. Azra begins to recognize this, its something that her grandma wrote down in her book about common techniques used by fire users, this one in particular could help out Azras technique. She makes an attempt to counter, bringing down her blade with a Scarlet Nova, but In a flash, Maz exploits an opening in Azra's assault, disarming her with a precise strike with his blade. He slashes in her side, as Azra falls forward toward the ground.
Undeterred, Azra blasts herself forward before hitting the ground, buttinga feral glint in her eyes, as she charges into Mazakalas Legs. He falls, as she rises, her bloodlust intensified, and she swings her blade down at his neck with another Scarlet Nova, this time with an even more aggressive approach. The air crackled with tension as their swords clashed anew. Mazakala, now not in control,blasts a wave of fire from his BACK, which engulfs Azras blade, dwindling out her fire and burning her hands a bit. “You can DO that?!” Azra thinks, as Maz’s fire powers augmented his combat prowess, allowing him to manipulate the flames in a way dancing around Azra, making her attack seem futile.
Amidst the struggle, Mazakala continued to taunt, his words cutting through the heated battle. "You fight for your brother, but do you truly know the depth of the game being played? You don't MATTER in this story, and I’ll be the one to let you realize that~” The taunting works, fueled Azra's anger further, her attacks becoming increasingly desperate. Yet, despite her relentless determination, Mazakala maintains his dominance, his movements becoming a mesmerizing display of skill and control. Its like his fighting style mocks what she's trying to be.In the fiery crucible of combat, Mazakala's prowess overshadowed Azra's bloodlust. “I wont let you take away… my BROTHER!!” Azra swings, amped with more rage then ever, blasting Mazakala into a tree, his back collides with the tree sending a shockwave from around the forest. Mazakala quickly stands up and as he rushes toward Azra, charging fire into his sword till its BLACK with flames….
The boy coughed. He fell down to the ground, clearly out of energy. His clothes covered in blood, sister in his arms. “Please… Don't leave me” He says. Muttering to himself. At this, he passes out. Not knowing what else to do. The boy woke up in a tiny cabin, its cosey, family photos on the wall of people he doesn’t recognize. “W- Where..” The boy said, sitting up, realizing his wounds were wrapped up. The smell of Hot Chocolate flew through the room as he looked around “Ahh you’re awake” A woman said, in front of a pot with boiling water, and 2 cups of Hot Chocolate in her hands. “What's your name, young man?” “Z- Zerx… W- Wait! Where's my-” Zerx quickly turned in a panic, finding his little sister Azra sleeping in a bed next to her.
“Don’t be scared, I'm not here to harm you. You two have been asleep for around 12 hours now.., I was starting to get worried.” “W- Who are you…?” “My name doesn’t matter. What were you two doing in that forest on the floor like that?! Covered in blood too?” “I- I…. I dont wanna talk about it… Mom… Dad… They’re…” Before Zerx could finish, the woman stood up and wrapped her arms around Zerx. “Shhh…. You don’t have to finish… Just… let it out…” Zerx began to cry, not saying anything, just weeping. “I- I t-ried to fight… but I was weak… I left my sister alone… and now look… I wont let that happen again..!” The woman smiles “That's a good mindset Young man… Just stay strong ok? How old are you two?” “Im 10… my little sister was 8… I don't know what she saw but I know it probably scared her… scared her a whole lot! She was crying and screaming and stuff..”
“Lord… I healed both of your wounds with some potions, it’ll still hurt but you two should be ok. No worries.” “Ma’am…. Can I ask you something… If its possible with one of your potions..” “Sure. Ask me anything” “Is it possible for you to.. Change my sister's memories? I don't want her to remember that stuff.” “Well… I'm a skilled witch, so Its very possible, but are you sure you don’t want her to know the truth?” “Please! I just want her to be happy.. I dont wanna see Azra sad…” “I’ll see what I can do”
That day. I called that woman grandma for the first time. Azras memories getting altered was my idea, I didn’t want her to deal with the trauma of what she saw that day. Was it wrong? Yes. But I did it for her own good, I wouldn’t change it If I had the chance to go back. I’d stay firm on my choice. I don't want her to suffer anymore. I won't let her suffer anymore.
The old oak tree behind our childhood home served as the perfect refuge for the 2. Its sturdy branches, like nature's own playground, became the backdrop for countless adventures and secret conversations. Azra, her fiery red hair in contrast to the green leaves, swung her legs from a branch while Zerx balanced precariously on another. Laughter echoed through the air as they exchanged tales of imaginary creatures and fantastical adventures.
"You know, Zerx, if I had magical powers, I'd make the tree grow chocolate branches," Azra declared with a mischievous grin. Zerx chuckled, his eyes reflecting the pure joy of youth. "And I'd make it rain gummy bears! Imagine that, a candy kingdom!." They both burst into laughter, the carefree sound echoing through the branches. Azra leaned back, her hands clasped behind her head. "Do you ever think about weird stuff, like, what if our toys come alive when we're not looking, and they have their own adventures at night?”
As their imaginations ran wild, the tree became a haven for their dreams and silly ideas. They spoke of grand plans and lofty ambitions, blissfully unaware of the challenges adulthood would bring. Azra turned serious for a moment, looking at Zerx with a twinkle in her eye. "You know, Zerx, no matter what happens, we'll always be adventurers together, right? Like the best team ever."
Zerx grinned, reaching over to high-five her. "Absolutely, Az. Partners in crime, forever and always."
And so, beneath the rustling leaves of their favorite tree, Azra and Zerx continued to weave the tapestry of their childhood, savoring the simple joy of being young, carefree, and lost in a world of imagination. Most importantly, they were happy.
We lived with her for 2 years. Eventually, Grandma got sick. We didn’t know how much longer she had left, so she gave us a few bags to carry food and stuff to live off of, and we left our home. I wish I still knew the location of that old place, but nah. It's lost forever. I wish though. We lived in that forest for 3 days. Eventually we ran out of food, and all we had was Grandma's old book with Magic Spells, Phoenix Magic, and formulas to make potions. We stumbled across a pretty castle that day. That day was the day that everything changed.
September 10th 4061
“Azra! Look at the pretty castle!” “C- Castle..?” The girl responds, devoid of any energy. “Lets try to sneak inside… maybe they have food or something…” Zerx grabbed his sister, hoisting her up onto his back, as her arms went around him, holding on tight. He ran behind the Castle, it seems to be strangely empty behind a castle for something that seems empty. No guards or protection..? Strange. Zerx uses his soul energy to blast them up to one of the open windows, he quickly climbs in with his sister on his back, but right as he does, he turns and sees a woman and a younger boy. “COMMONERS?! THIEVES?!” She screamed, as she launched a massive wind fist into his gut. He crashed into the wall, dawning a massive headache and making his memory all blurry.
“My eyes are so heavy…. I can barely stand…. How…. How did we get here….” Zerxthought to himself. He turned, he saw a younger girl with scarlet red hair, and green eyes laying on the ground with tears in her eyes, in rags and dirty clothes, clenching otno her backpack with deer life. He took notice of his surroundings, they were standing next to a window, in a room with a lot of books, potions, gems and things of that nature around them. He looked up in front of him, and saw a woman with long gray hair with a tiny boy beside her, shorter gray hair and green eyes. Its like his memories all came back to him at that moment, the woman seems to be holding a blade, sword in hand with her son behind her. “W- Wait! Lady We don't mean any-” Before the boy could finish his sentence, the woman dashed towards the 2 young children. *SLASH* The woman swings down. The young boy jumps in the way to protect the girl with scarlet red hair. The blade cut straight through the young boy's eye, as it begins to bleed down, the younger girl stares in shock as her brother.. Just jumped in the way to protect her from this attack that definitely would have killed her. The blood. The Blood. The Blood. It drips in front of the young girl, something she had never seen in person. “Disgusting THIEVES!” The woman yelled, and begins to stomp on the young boys head, it slams onto the ground with a loud thud and she continues to stomp him out. “Not even a month after the death of the king and yet you VERMIN crawl into my castle as if I have no strength of my own!” The young girl watched in shock as the woman stomped out her older brother. “Please..” The boy pleaded, barely managing to get his sentence out. “I- I don't care… what you do to me…” The woman continued to stomp on the boy, but chose to listen to his words. “PLEASE DON'T KILL MY LITTLE SISTER!”
“I won't let anybody hurt my little sister.”
Zerx stands between Mazakala and Azra. His head his down, and the wound in his stomach has closed. He charges energy into his fist, and imminently beams Mazakala with a full for max energy punch.
“DREAD IMPACT”
This punch blasts Mazakala back, he crashes into the floor and begins to bleed from his mouth slaming up and down on the floor from that one attack. “WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH HIM?! THAT ATTACK HIT MY SOUL?!” As Mazakala gets hit with Dread impact, Arba and Arbadak ERRUPT with Zerx’s Berserker Soul Energy. A massive hole forms in the middle of the other 2s bodies. As Chloe, Shidou, Riley and even Adora get confused at this random burst.
Arbadak begins trying to stand again after falling from the tree. Riley immediately takes advantage of this random attack, recognizing the soul energy is from Zerx, he claps his hands together “BEARTRAP!” It immediately snaps around his body, crushing Arbadak.
“Hmmm~?” Adora says, with a voice that hints of genuine confusion and interest. “You.” Riley says, looking at Adora. “What's your deal? How do you know about the Dundred Cavern…? What ARE you…?”
“A Calamity~” Adora says, as she pulls out her sword. “I’ll answer all your questions, if you manage to push me to the limits~ My reinforcements shall arrive on this island in the next 15 minutes. If you can survive 15 minutes against me in a fight, I’ll tell you Everything you want to know.”
Rileys face becomes one of interest, as he covers his hands with rocks to make gauntlets, taking a fighting stance.
“Let's make a soul pact.”