In the room of mirrors, the incoming ice projectile had just narrowly missed Sorn’s face. He turned around and caught only fleeting glimpses of his assailant. The shadowy figure crept behind a mirror. Sorn wasn’t sure, but he was confident that he saw a glimpse of blue.

Adrenaline now coursing through his veins, Sorn raised his arms defensively. Green wisps faintly emerged from his forearms. He couldn’t waste his energy. This had to be done quickly and efficiently. From behind, the assailant suddenly struck again. Sorn saw the reflection of a strange sharp tail of ice protruding from the rear of his assailant as they targeted him in midair.

He shifted his body to the side, raising his hand to intercept. As his hand made contact with the side of the tail, his hand was suddenly ripped through, the pain causing him to jerk away instinctively. He launched a kick before even processing the situation, but the assailant was gone again behind the mirrors. He gripped his hand, biting his lip as he ignored the chilly pain inflicted from the wound.

He looked at his own reflection spiraling around him, only disorienting him further. Oden had told him about a person with a tail while they were going over the other participants. It was the Scorpion, the blind man without a name or history. The only known trait was he had inherited the scorpion anima. If he was blind however, it made this area his prime hunting ground, as he had a significant advantage. This gave Sorn an idea.

Sorn: “Hey, Scorpion! Let’s talk.”

No reply.

Sorn: “You can’t see right? I’ve seen your key. It’s blue, just like mine. You can try to steal from me, but you’ll just get yourself eliminated.”

He heard a sudden thud, and the Scorpion was right in front of him. His frosty hair swept down in front of Scorpion’s face. Besides that and his odd tail, he looked just like any other Ice Elemental.

Scorpion: “I had my suspicions but taking into account the odd ability you used, as well as strong accent, I have confirmed you are the outsider.”

Sorn: “Um, yes that’s me. We should form-”

Scorpion: “You’re lying.”

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Sorn: “Huh?”

Scorpion: “Stop talking and listen to your key.”

Sorn obliged. To his surprise, there was a faint hum coming from both keys. It was so discrete in the wind that he had previously not noticed. But the hum from his own key was a different note. It was subtle, but notable if one paid enough attention. He wondered how long Scorpion had stalked him to confirm the color of his key.

Sorn: “If you noticed, why didn’t you just finish me off.”

Scorpion: “You seem to understand reason, so I thought I’d offer you an accord of my own. It is clear that these moving ice walls hinder your fighting ability. You also have no way to counter my own abilities. I dislike fighting so I propose you give your key and you can find two of your own.”

Sorn weighed his options as blood continued to drip from his hand onto the surrounding floor. He could take this offer, but this was also a race. If he didn’t make it to the next floor soon, he could be eliminated.

Sorn: “Is there really no other option?”

Scorpion: “No.”

Sorn: “Very well.”

Truthfully, he’d like to fight Scorpion, beat him, and get this maze over with. However, he had spent far too long in this room. He was on the verge of throwing up. He began to walk towards Scorpion, charging his wisps up in his legs with every step. Luckily, his ability was soundless, and by the time he was within three arms lengths of Scorpion the wisps had turned into solid spirals. They acted almost like compacted springs, and Sorn was finding it difficult to stand normally. His steps began to bounce, and even Scorpion could tell something was amiss.

Scorpion: “If you try anything funny, you’ll die where you stand.”

Sorn: “Something-”

He shifted his weight to his side, facing to his left.

Sorn: “-like this?”

He released the springs, shooting through the ice mirrors. Wisps were arranged at the top of his head as he effortlessly broke through the ice mirror until he was out of the room.

He continued to fly through a long corridor for a few seconds until he shifted his body weight to spin around in the air, planting his feet on the corridor’s end, letting himself drop to the labyrinth's floor.

Back in the mirror room, Scorpion stood still with his tail extended in front of him. He had narrowly missed the boy. He must have either been smart or extremely lucky to not charge directly at him, otherwise he would have ended the tournament with a large hole in his body. He suddenly heard distant footsteps entering the room, and he slipped back into the shadows behind a mirror.

Sorn was panting as he leaned against the wall. All the pain from his hand had gone tenfold now the situation had calmed. Gripping it tightly, he got up. He had to find another individual of the blue key, and fast. He had contemplated charging Scorpion, but he had been unsure about his ability, and the wound he had received earlier was a clear sign to him that it was better not to find out through trial and error.

He got up to move, but a hand suddenly broke through the wall of ice behind and clutched his throat, cutting off his breath and lifting him up.

End.