Liv sped through the roads, Whispering to the wind at every intersection. She passed quite a few people, all of them barely glancing at her before she was past them. Eventually, the wind gave her a location. The Arcanum, huh?

  The wind also gave her a direction to go, and Liv abruptly stopped before speeding in another direction, a nearby student staring at her in awe before she vanished. Liv sped up faster. If anyone is attacking Luna, I'll kill them.

  Liv stopped directly in front of the Arcanum, opening the doors and walking inside. The inside of the building was pitch-black, with a ring of light closer to the center. Liv created lenses of Dream once again to see through the gloom, noticing various tables set around the room, most of them empty, though some had things on them. Liv noted multiple variations of puzzle cubes, multiple books, and a few glass vials filled with unidentifiable solutions. There was a bigger problem, however. There was a cauldron in the center of the room, one of the professors watching without emotion as Luna was repeatedly dunked into its contents by a group of boys. The light was coming from a floating orb above the cauldron.

  "Why don't you drop out of school?," One of them asked her.

  The professor clicked their tongue. "You're really too good at this for your own sake. You should drop out and then things like this will stop happening to you."

  They raised Luna out of the cauldron, dripping, and she was... laughing? "You've just signed your own death sentences, you know that?"

  The professor gave her a small smile in return. "I've been doing this for decades. The kids who are too good at what they do get kicked out of the school. You're not going to be the one to avoid this."

  Luna continued. "I have a mom who's going to kill all of you up tomorrow, after I tell her about this."

  "Who says I can't kill you or kick you out of the school today?"

  The boys rotated Luna towards the professor. "You can't kill me. If you could, you would have already threatened me with death. If you kick me out, she'll just kill all of you, and then get me back in."

  "Did you really have such low expectations?," Liv asked, walking into the circle of light. "Tomorrow? Really? Not today?"

  Luna smiled at Liv. "I thought you would assume I just didn't go to lunch today."

  Liv shook her head. "As I said, low expectations. Now, am I allowed to kill these people?"

  Luna nodded. "From the people I've asked, if you attempt to kill someone, everyone gets locked in place while one of the higher gemstones comes in. Then everyone gets a truth spell cast on them and gives their accounts of what happened. Afterwards, you can either request a duel or be put in court. Duels are to the death, by the way." Luna winked. "And these people aren't very strong."

  Liv nodded. She didn't bother to summon Vivian's sword, simply throwing a Lightning-powered punch at one of the boys' heads. Abruptly they all stopped moving, the air weakly locked around them. With a Whisper to the wind, Liv extracted herself, taking a few steps back from the entrapped group. She turned to Luna. "This is a learning opportunity. Whisper to the wind and ask it to let you out."

  Luna seemed to concentrate fiercely, Voice flowing out of her. Liv felt a good amount manifest before taking the form of a Whisper to the wind around her. Instantly, she could move her right arm. "I don't have enough to connect with the rest," Luna said, looking exhausted from the attempt.

  Liv shrugged. "Pretty good for the time you've spent on this." She ignored the horrified looks the boys were giving her and the absolutely calm expression the professor had, sitting down and waiting.

  Luckily, she didn't have to wait long. If it had been much longer, Liv felt she would've just asked the wind to stay out of their fight and just killed the professor and his thugs. Liv watched someone step into the building, carefully navigating around the tables to their location. He noted the scene before his eyes landed on Liv. "Why are you here if you aren't part of this event?"

  Liv shrugged. "I just broke myself out of the enchantment. I'm the one who attempted to kill 'em after I saw them harassing Luna and telling her they would get her kicked out of the school. The professor over there," Liv indicated him with her shoulder. "Said he'd been doing it for decades."

  The man in front of her rubbed his temples. "Well, everything you're saying is true. And it's your entire knowledge of the event. Good."

  He pulled a gemstone out of the air, speaking into it. "Sea Prism here. Yeah, I interrogated them. We found the person who's been causing dropouts. Yeah. This is..." he peered at the professor. "Navy. Yeah. Sure. Cool. Okay. I'll do that."

  He turned to Luna. "Is this girl here someone you know or just a random passerby."

  Luna piped up with a smile. "Mom!"

  Prism looked at her relatively young age and Liv, who was quite a bit older, but still quite young. "Adoptive." Liv added.

  Prism nodded. "Always warms my heart to see familial love."

  He didn't bother to question the goons or the professor, asking Liv another question. "Do you wish for a duel to settle this, or will you go to court?"

  Liv didn't bother to dally. "Duel."

  "Who's fighting on your side, and which of them do you wish to fight?"

  Liv shrugged. "I'm fighting and I would like to fight all of them."

  He turned to the professor. "You don't get a say in who she sends in, since you're the aggressor. Who do you wish to send in?"

  The professor didn't hesitate either, his expression remaining perfectly calm. "We would like to send everyone in."

  Prism stopped, seeming slightly surprised by the statement. "Really? If you send everyone in, you'll be devoid of honor. If she wins, you'll be buried in a mass grave, an unrecognizable body amongst the others. If you win, you'll be cast out and looked down upon."

  He shrugged. "She wanted to fight all of us."

  Prism turned to Liv. "Do you want to fight all of them at once, or do you want to do one-on-one battles, one at a time?"

  "All at once."

  Prism sighed. "All I can say is that this isn't on me."

  He turned to Luna. "Can you talk sense into your mother?"

  Luna looked back with a confused expression. "She's talking sense already. What do I need to talk into her?"

  Prism kneaded his forehead. "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything but go through with this death warrant you've created for yourself."

  Luna piped up. "When does the duel happen?"

  Prism smiled. "As soon as Onyx arrives."

  Liv stood on sand, the Colosseum's floor having been changed to suit their deathmatch. Opposing her was the professor, with his thugs arrayed behind him. Liv hadn't bothered to count before, but there were sixteen of them. She looked up at the place where Onyx was supposed to sit, currently vacant. Then someone shuddered into being on top, making absolutely no sound before he spoke.

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  "Hey!," Eternity said, waving at Liv. "How're you doing? Vivian's fine right now."

  Liv blinked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

  Eternity shrugged. "I'm Onyx, so I have to preside over these things. Also, since I know you, I have to infuse myself with Honor..." he sighed. "Just kinda a pain."

  Liv felt a higher energy gather before concentrating itself within his body. She assumed it was Honor and watched as it exploded within him, infusing every cell in his body with its essence. "So. The two of you are going to fight to the death yada yada yada. Just duke it out. If someone wants to take vengeance for a dead party, feel free to jump in, though the person who did the killing must agree for it to happen. No other rules. Kill each other already."

  The fight lasted barely a moment after Eternity finished speaking, Liv speeding forward to rip through the thugs, not even using a sword. The professor stood alone, fear finally marking his face, as Liv stood, silent, staring up into the raining blood. She smiled, pulling her head down to look at the professor again, the thugs' corpses arrayed behind her.

  He never knew what hit him.

  Liv stood as it rained blood for a few more seconds before the deluge stopped, leaving her garishly painted red. "Any challengers?," she asked the crowd, which looked entirely horrified, except for Eternity. A group of people jumped into the arena, wielding weapons instead of fists. They rushed her before Liv got to ask their relation to the corpses, abruptly dying before they got to use their weapons. More blood rained down, completely coating Liv. Her hair dripped the red liquid onto the ground, the droplets making ripples in the forming pool.

  A group of people wearing full plate mail armor jumped in, landing with splashes as they unsheathed various weapons. "We, the Paladins of Illustria, must rid the world of heathens! Onyx, just try to stop us from doing this!"

  Onyx raised a hand, looking at Liv. "Are you okay with them being here, or do you want me to add to your pool of blood? Pretty cool, by the way."

  Liv smiled, white teeth among a red face. "Thanks! I'll add them to it myself."

  Onyx nodded, sitting back in his chair as the paladins approached. Liv finally activated her Water, Lightning having been active this entire fight. She Called a Tornado spirit, absorbing its Voice into herself. This was a good chance to integrate more elements into her body. The Wind aspect of the Tornado fused with her body and she immediately activated it, feeling her movements immediately... sharpen somehow, as if everything she did had the potential to cut someone. The spirit regressed to a spirit of Fire, which she also absorbed, feeling her body suddenly grow more powerful.

  The paladins slowly approached her, striding towards her with unsheathed weapons. One carried a mace, another a greatsword, and the third a flail. Liv turned to face them, smiling at them. The one with the flail acted first, sending the ball end of the flail at her without any warning or build up, the massive iron ball moving from a standstill to the speed it was currently at.

  Liv watched the speed it was traveling at, calculated her new strength, and nodded to herself.

  She caught the ball, stopping it instantly with her arm. The crowd gasped, watching the display as she tossed it back, faster than when it flew at her. Unimpressed, the weapon's wielder used the ball's momentum to swing the flail in an arc around her head, the chain abruptly shortening before lengthening again, sending it flying at Liv. This time, she simply avoided it, stepping to the side once, then twice to avoid the return stroke. She was still waiting for the paladins to get closer.

  As they walked within charging distance, Liv conjured Vivian's sword, which the crowd was immediately surprised by. They probably thought she was some kind of pugilist. The greatsword-wielding paladin approached to striking range, launching a test stroke at Liv. She jumped over it before immediately Whispering a hardened sand spike directly at the paladin's eye slit. It barely missed, the paladin turning their head at the last moment. Liv snorted, Whispering an incredibly sharp edge onto Vivian's sword before attempting to simply cut through the paladins' armor.

  To her surprise, it worked, the sword shearing clean through the solid plate and halfway through the paladin. Liv stepped back, watching the paladin slowly fall over. Absentmindedly, she caught the flail again, tossing it back before attacking the mace wielder, who swung and completely missed her, getting a sword through his spine for the trouble. The flail paladin didn't prove much of a problem. Liv swiftly killed them, with a slight admiration for their willingness to fight till the end.

  Afterwards, even more blood was present, soaking Liv to the bone. Some of it was starting to dry, and Liv Whispered to the water within the drying blood, asking it not to evaporate. The process abruptly stopped, letting her keep her blood-soaked look. Eternity looked down at the arena. "Any further challengers?"

  No one rose to the challenge. Eternity nodded. "As expected. Liv. Any challenges?"

  Liv nodded. She pointed her sword at Eternity, who didn't seem very surprised, but simply smiled. "What brings this on?"

  Liv stood, ready to fight once more. "I would like to fight the best to see how far I am from the top."

  Eternity nodded, jumping into the arena. The blood avoided him, not going anywhere near his shoes. Eternity saw where she was looking and gave her an answer. "It's your blood, after all. I'm not one to trespass. I'll limit myself to about half your power. Use anything you would like. All's fair in love and war. I won't kill you, so go all out."

  Liv nodded before Eternity raised a finger. "Oh yeah." He returned to his 'announcer' voice. "The duel is over. This isn't to the death anymore."

  Silver liquid flowed down Eternity's arm into a simple, straight sword. Liv looked at Vivian's sword and poured a tiny bit of power into it, instinctively altering its shape. She ended up with a leaf-bladed broadsword. She kept a link to the blade, making it part of her, at least for the time being. Eternity looked into her eyes, not looking the least bit concerned as the power she felt emanating from him dropped until it was half the power she had. "Begin."

  Liv leaped forward, bringing a sword strike across while sending a flurry of stone spikes and wind blades at Eternity from all around him. She knew he would get out of this somehow-he had millennia of experience-but she didn't know how. He watched the attacks. Then Eternity moved.

  The only way Liv could describe Eternity's movements was... perfect. Every step was in the right place, everything he did was correct... Eternity made no mistakes. His sword flicked aside hers before deflecting a wind blade, creating a small opening he stepped into while contorting himself around the spikes. After they emerged and the wind blades missed, he extracted himself in a moment, instantly going on the offense. Every move he made was a piece of a grander design, everything a path towards his goal. Liv desperately defended as Eternity switched Elemental Forms every single strike, each and every blow something new that put her on the back foot.

  Liv had all of her elements activated, but everything she did missed, being perfectly anticipated by Eternity. Her strength did nothing either, her blade getting flicked away all the same. He even met a few of her strikes head-on, and each and every time, Liv saw him create the maximum amount of momentum he could before meeting her blade in a position where he would have more leverage and power.

  She soon lost, Eternity getting his sword to her neck. "That was a learning opportunity for you. If you want to see me actually try to win with that amount of power, we can go again."

  Liv nodded. She'd like to see that. Both of them took up their places again. He spoke once more. "Actually, I'll use a fourth of your power."

  Liv shrugged. She knew he'd win anyways. "Begin."

  This time, he ran directly at her, looking painfully slow, with numerous openings, all of which she knew were fake but didn't look fake, over his body. He approached her and struck, forcing her to block the first blow before somehow batting aside her strike with sheer power, resting his sword at the side of her neck. "I built momentum perfectly and contained it until it was needed. I can teach you sometime."

  Liv nodded. "I'd like that."

  Eternity stepped back, his power increasing once again, before he jumped back into his seat. Then he waved to the crowd. "That's the duel done. Bye."

  Eternity flickered out of existence leaving Liv in the arena, which blood was somehow still raining down on. She looked up, cracking a smile. Then she heard a voice from the stands. "Don't look too happy or they'll force you to go to a counselor!," Luna called from the stands.

  "But this is the blood of my enemies! Why can't I enjoy this?," Liv called back.

  Luna swiftly replied. "People here have weird notions of insanity!"

  Liv gave a telegraphed shrug for Luna to see. "Fine. I'll look less excited."

  The crowd did no seem reassured, parting for Liv as she jumped into it, walking to Luna. They hugged, Luna not minding any of the blood before Liv left the Colosseum with her in tow.

  No one bothered them on the way back as they walked as they had when they had first met. Both of them covered in blood, holding hands, looking for all the world as a mother and daughter pair, except for the blood.

  At that moment, they knew either of them would die for the other.

  Jay watched Liv and Luna walk back to their dorms. He didn't usually have much of a presence at the Gemstone Council's school, other than for duels. Liv was... interesting. She had absorbed part of a spirit she had created and used it to enhance herself. By the looks of it, she'd done it before as well. Liv was currently on track to get to... an interesting Core stage, to say the least. Quite like his, in fact.

  Jay looked back in his memories to when he'd created his core, a long time ago. A single phrase stuck out to him."Ten drops of the base energies, to balance the core. Then five drops of the higher energies, to strengthen the core. Then three drops of the Constants, to bind the core. Then two drops of the Spirit energies, to make the core... more. Finally, one drop of the Soul energies, to give the core power."

  He paused for a moment. "This will generate the ultimate core."

  After that, there was a note. A note he'd followed. "However, if one wants a core perfectly tailored to themselves-one that will be the best possible match-follow this last step. This incredibly dangerous step."

  Jay sighed. "Add one drop of Pure Memory."