“Is it over?” Zorya asked herself as she stared at her Summon.

The Siren lay flat on its back, silently facing the dark clouds above. Its gray skin appeared even more pale than it had before and a large hole had been seared in the dead center of the creature’s torso. All considered, the Siren was so damaged that it was a miracle that it hadn’t disintegrated yet.

In its diminished state Zorya’s Summon could no longer maintain its tempest and the stormy weather was quick to clear up, revealing the sheer destruction brought about by the action. Most water had been flushed from the battlefield, leaving only small puddles and a few displaced boulders. Even the ground itself had been damaged. Through the stage’s center ran a large fissure from which smaller cracks unevenly spread to each of its borders.

Zorya felt sick.

Did she really lose to some beginning duelist, in front of her entire village? The very people who were supposed to look up to her? How could she ever expect to be respected by her community after such a disgraceful showing? She tried not to think about it.

In the heat of the battle, Zorya had taken a few steps in the ocean and as she looked down to disguise her tears, she was confronted by her own reflection in the seawater.

She no longer looked anything like the confident master she wanted the world to see her as. Her hair was a mess, her makeup had smirched across her face, and her lips trembled like those of a crying child. However, it was her eyes that bothered her most. Her beautiful blue eyes were drenched with fear. A fear that she recognized like no other. It was an old tormenter. The exact same dread that had taken hold of her when she had just inherited the family school; fear of failure, worthlessness and shame. It had been inside her all this time, budding and festering, only to crawl out now. For everyone else to see.

The challenger’s Kappa stepped away from the Siren and let out a triumphant hiss, raising its arms in the air like a victorious warrior. The crowd roared, obviously entertained by the Elem’s determination and talent.

But Zorya could only see his arrogance. Did the Kappa walk away because they longer saw her as a threat?

“What a bastard,” she cursed. How was Elem able to go on for so long? He barely had any experience with controlling two Summons. How was he not depleted? He should have been unconscious by now! That was the point of him gaining his second Summon.

She sighed, deciding that Elem should have just drowned in that cave. There was no way she could allow him to win. Not like this. This match wasn’t over yet.

Filled with spite, she turned to the fissure and noticed a round, clay item hidden inside. So It was still here. The secret she had buried there so long ago. It had never been her intention to use the thing but this audacious challenger was simply leaving her no choice. She had to win, for her people and for her school.

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At her Zorya command, the Siren slowly dragged its body to the fissure, leaving a trail of slimy blood from its twitching tail. Once there, it reached into the crack and recovered a medium-size gourd.

“You’re forcing my hand,” Zorya shouted, her hoarse voice a far cry from its usually confident and serene self.

Her Siren the gourd’s seal and began to drink its contents; an age-old essence infused concoction. Zorya’s late grandfather, once a master of the Unagi Master, had carefully crafted the supplement with one of his Summons and had intended it solely for emergency situations of life and death.

Gasps and indignant shouts rose from the audience but Zorya paid them no mind. She was smiling, feeling the Essence scattering through her body like pure electricity. Elem Eldyck would regret not finishing her when he had the chance.

The challenger’s eyes widened with disbelief as he watched the Siren’s wounds heal themselves in seconds after a single gulp. Little did he know, Zorya smirked. This was only the beginning.

Although the energy from the gourd was almost too much for Zorya’s Essence Nodes to process, she managed to take another mouthful.

The Water Summon’s physique began to morph into an entirely different shape. Its head distorted into something far more animalistic with a long snout and rows of long, sharp teeth. The Siren’s neck stretched out, its finned claws expanded and its tail grew into a serpentine shape.

The monstrous Siren stared at the Kappa with the emotionless glare of some otherworldly deep sea creature, slowly opening and closing its mouth. It was ready to have its revenge and so was Zorya.

With a single swipe of its tail, the Summon slammed its adversary to the ground. The turtle was quick to get back to its feet but was immediately swiped down again. Drunk of power and malice, the monstrous Siren went on a rampage. It slapped the Kappa around the entire battlefield; unleashing a relentless barrage of bites, slashes and slams. The Kappa tried to resist the offense but was too slow to block or evade many of the attacks. It could only endure until the Siren decided it had inflicted enough pain.

Zorya felt great. In fact, she had never experienced a feeling this good before. Essence pumped through her veins with an unnatural, exhilarating intensity. How much stronger could she get? She wondered. Was there even a limit? Regardless, another sip would surely be enough to break the Kappa with a single strike.

She prompted her Siren to seize its attacks and had it take another gulp from its gourd. The Essence reached her nodes like a waterfall, a sensation that made her body tremble with might.

The Kappa used the brief intermission to get back up and initiate a move of its own. It placed its palms against its temples as a stream of bubbles squirted from the dish atop its head.

Big and shiny, the bubbles quickly spread across the battlefield, bouncing through the air like liquid balloons.

“What is this?” Zorya scoffed. Did that idiot really think he stood a chance against her Siren by blowing bubbles like some foolish child? Bubbles?

Since taking her last sip, the Siren had grown even more grotesque. It had increased in size, its claws were now the size of swords and its hair had fully transformed into fishy barbels. In fact, the Siren now fully resembled a sea monster rather than the mermaid it had been moments ago.

“Are you that desperate Elem Eldyck?” The Unagi Master asked before letting out a manic cackle. “It’s time to drown you!”