With hidden intent, Marian turned to Lillian just after Kuro had stopped. She lifted the Kinuon blunt and pointed it at her with a serious yet slightly sour expression. "Duel me, right now," she commanded. "It too cramped in here though. Brycen these suits are rated well enough to handle my mark as it is right?"

"Yes b-" She cut him off.

"Outside," she told with a finality that made Lillian listen and step out with her. The other candidates followed them out and Brycen, who couldn't say no to the Kiyene girl without risking repercussions, shook his head. They found themselves behind the building in an open field that stretched for a few hundred yards before turning into the pine forest. There were the odd shallow craters from previously used candidate power, something that was at least a bit unsettling.

"Why on earth do you want to fight me," Lillian asked.

Marian narrowed her eyes and spoke, "shut up and get ready." Alina let out an apprehensive sigh at what was likely to follow.

"Really, there's no doubt you're going to win so what's the point?"

"I think your ability made the Kiyene princess a bit insecure," Alina jested. Marian stabbed her with a glare. "Oh, I might have hit a nerve, she's just as flat as you there's no need for competition," she called again. There was a flurry of wind as Marian's mark came to life in full.

"Seriously Alina, watch your tongue," Marian muttered. Lillian reactivated her mark as best she could and watched the little violet flame leap out of her hand once more. She could feel the effects all over her body, her movement became easy and quick and she felt light as air. The weight of the dulled blade was nothing at all in this state as she redied it. "Try to keep up as well as you did with Kuro, it'd feel wrong to hurt someone who looks like a child." The jab irritated Lillian a little too much, just to point she needed to take this challenge seriously. Sledge didn't know why but he felt off at all this, he didn't know what or why but something felt like it was or would be off. Kuro on the other hand watched with anticipation regarding how Lillian would react to and deal with this.

"Has Marian gotten passed physical boosting yet?" Kuro asked Brycen.

"Not really," he replied. Kuro raised a brow.

"Not really?"

"Just once she was able to fling an arc of water that managed to slice concrete."

"Hm... So a stage two," he said under his breath, not letting Brycen hear. Marcus noted his comment but said nothing. Marian pushed off without warning dashing towards an almost but not quite ready Lillian, an action that was cheap in truth. Lillian did barely managed to block as Marian swung up at her, but she wasn't ready for the power of the attack which sent her stumbling backward. Marian wasted no time in pressuring her again, this time while once again only barely being able to answer the strike Lillian focused on the feeling of the mark on her hand. To some extent it paid off, not only could she feel more strength in her block but she was able to maintain balance enough to follow up with her own strike at Marian's open left side. It was deflected but Lillian was in the clear now, following it up and leaving little to no opening for Marian to recover.

"That's also unnatural," Kuro noted with a grin. "She's only just started using her power and she's put a stage two on the ropes," he thought out loud. Lillian began feeling more of a boost from the mark and made a conscious effort to draw from it. She began gaining speed and increasing pressure on Marian until she leaped back and out of Lillian's range.

"I don't know what fucked up trick you're playing but no one just walks in as a new candidate and does this," Marian spat bitterly. Lillian stopped realizing for the first time her natural capability. She smiled at the impossibility of it and Marian's soreness.

"You're the one who wanted this, I hope you're not chickening out because this is pretty fun," Lillian responded. Marian clenched her weapon in an unjustified infuriation. She brought it to her side and took a deep breath, Lillian felt the implication but was exited rather than frightened as Marian swung up in blue. A boomerang of water flew forth with absolute accuracy and lighting speed. Lillian could barely see it and acted off of an instinct that couldn't have been her own. With a flick, her blade was in front of her and swinging down just as the water neared her. She sliced through it, mitigating its force and only leaving her a bit wet. The flame on her hand appeared entirely unaffected by the water as it flickered still.

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"How? No one should be able to react that fast," Marian breathed furiously. Even Lillian herself was left in disbelief, completely unsure as to how she had accomplished such a counter.

"Holy," Sledge muttered in awe, even Marcus had a surprised look about him.

"Lillian," called Kuro, "were you drawing any power from the Kinuon in the blade?" He asked. She shook her head, making Marian's mood worse. "I did forget to show you to do that after all. Feel it out and try. Marian looks about ready to kill you so don't hurt her pride too much."

"All of you," Marian whispered in anger, "are fucking insufferable." She dashed towards Lillian again with no restrain. Calling upon every power she could she unleashed a flowing dance, Lillian even noticed the odd droplet of water hit her face. For a moment they were even until Lillian figured out how to use the Kinuon's energy on top of hers. It was strenuous but her pace and power increased and again she had forced Marian to be defensive. After Marian made a fatal stumble Lillian kicked off the ground towards her as she swung up with all her might. While Marian blocked she was sent falling over quite hard and her blade was forced out of her hand. A wake of wind proceeded this blowing through the field and rustling the trees behind.

"Lillian wins," Kuro congratulated with a sly expression. All of her body began to ache as she stopped her marks power. Instantly she found she was severely out of breath and tired.

"Why," muttered Mirian. "Why is someone like you able to have that." Lillian had no patience for her jealousy and contempt. But as she was sort of happy with her newfound ability gave her no more than a foul look. The others walked over to them, Sledge and Brycen both in near awe.

"Now you need to try," Lillian told Sledge. He grinned.

"I guess I do," he turned to Brycen. "May as well do it out here."

"You're going with those?" Brycen asked in response and reference to his weapon of choice. Sledge adjusted the Kinuon knuckles.

"I'm used to hand to hand," he responded. The two redied as the others receded to the field's edge, Mirain still letting out an aura of anger. Sledge and Brycen began in a flurry of strikes. There was a visible crimson around Sledge's primary fist as they matched each other's blows. His speed was near insane passing even Lillian's. It went much the same for a while until Sledge stepped back completely drained but smiling.

"That is fun isn't it."

"Your a special case as well," Brycen complimented. "You're not especially strong but your arms are incredibly fast for, well, I guess you're not a newbie."

"I'm glad I got to see this," said Kuro. "I should-" He stopped as his expression shifted into something much more serious. "Brycen?"

"What is it?" The breeze changed direction towards them.

"How far is the lake?"

"About a mile, Why?"

"Thanks," he took off running in the lake's direction. Alina suddenly became more serious as well and started after him.

"Wait," called Brycen as the other watched in confusion.

"Just stay wait for a minute," Alina yelled, half to Kuro and half to Brycen. They entered the trees and Kuro picked up speed to a sprint.

"You should turn back," Kuro warned as Alina matched his speed.

"It's an animation isn't it," she guessed causing him to stop for a moment and look at her.

"How do you know about them?" he asked as he continued running through the pine branches and underbrush.

"I wasn't born here," she had begun running out of breath as they cleared the trees and stopped on the rocky lakeside.

"You mean you were born in another world."

"Licit, my mother moved here to escape the next game. Compared to that mess she thought this wartorn place was better." Kuro was silent for a moment as he looked out over the water.

"It is," a commotion began almost as if it had detected they were now watching. "A thousand times it is."

"Was the last one that bad, I mean I don't even know what it actually is." Kuro looked at her with a face that lent itself to his words.

"The last one was a war that makes this world's problems look petty. And it ended with a massacre." He told her with a voice barely not shaking. "It wasn't at all what it was supposed to be."

"You sound like you saw it."

"I did." At that exact moment, a leviathan shot out of the lake, much like before the animation was shaped like a massive snake of water. It writhed above them, looking down the same way a predator leers at its prey before killing it. There was a spray that hit the two as Kuro raised his hand. Immediately the whole of it fell away, the water crashing back into the lake. "I'm not as young as I look."

"I wasn't sure when I saw the wood around my house," Alina started.

"Oh, we forgot to clean that up didn't we."

"But this is definitely an animation and wood was the remains of one as well." Kuro nodded. "My mother told me they were concentrations of power that meant a world was participating in the game, something about an imbalance. It was the lack of them that brought her here. Does this mean that the next game will be played here too?" Kuro took a moment to answer.

"I don't know yet. Animations do come from a power imbalance, generally, too much candidate power in an area leads to excess energy having this effect on the environment so it doesn't necessarily mean that the game will be played here as well, only if there are enough candidates that the whole world starts having animations can you say for certain. It's entirely dependant on numbers," he explained.

"That makes me feel a bit better but-"

"You still share the same uneasiness as the rest of us. Make no mistake when the game starts it will still be felt here regardless. And it will start soon."