“Congratulations once again to the four of you for making it this far.”
Master Kirin bowed her head at the lineup of fighters standing before her. “Billy. Ryuna. Hai Tien. Caedo.”
‘Hai Tien’, Ryuna repeated in her mind, glancing at the red-clad ninja girl standing beside her. So that was her name….
“We will have three more bouts in this competition,” Master Kirin continued. “Two matches today, and one final one tomorrow. The winner will leave the monastery with me the day afterwards, and become my disciple in the art of chi mastery.”
As she spoke, the air around her began to distort — or the opposite, perhaps? Rather than bend and blur, the space around her appeared to become clearer in the eyes of those inside the monastery. Those near of sight could see fine details even from across the room, and all could point out details they otherwise would not have been able to — specks of dust, the tips of the tiniest hairs and threads of fabric on Master Kirin’s person, and even the way the air in the room shifted around.
It was a sensation that caught almost all in attendance by surprise, spurring whispers and hushed expressions of excitement. Ryuna counted herself amongst their numbers, blinking her eyes in disbelief. In addition to being a surprise sight to behold, it also instilled a sense of calm and confidence in the soul, which made it apparent to her that she’d evidently been nervous up until this point, even if she hadn’t known it herself.
The only ones to not have visible reactions were Billy and Hai Tien. Both remained calm and composed, statuesque even. A fact which prompted Ryuna to turn her eyes towards Billy, seeking answers. “What’s she doing?”
“Channeling her chi,” he said. “The Master’s is so refined and well-honed that it is completely clear of all negative energies. Absolutely beautiful, is it not?”
Ryuna pursed her lips, not exactly thrilled to hear him describe another woman as “beautiful”, even if he was actually talking about her chi of all things. “It’s neat, I guess. She’s got nothing on mine though.”
Master Kirin’s voice then took over, putting an end to their conversation. “As this competition is all in the name of chi mastery, I would like you four to use your chi in these final bouts, to the best of your abilities. I understand that you all have varying levels of experience using your chi….”
Caedo harshly turned his gaze to Ryuna, who stuck her tongue out at him.
“…and so, in order to help level the playing field, I will be amplifying your chi auras.”
Before she could ask what exactly that meant, Ryuna felt a pulsation of energy wash over her, like a wave of ocean water enveloping her. But rather than feeling as though her lungs were filled with water, she now felt….emptier. Lighter. Throughout her whole body, and even her mind.
She instinctively looked down at her hands. They were surrounded in a glow, a radiant aura of golden light, and this extended to her entire body. It was similar to the clear space that Master Kirin had been exerting, although to a much smaller degree.
This must be my chi aura, she mentally noted, feeling an excitement bubble up at this new development in her abilities.
The aura was beautiful, in her opinion, at least. It was a golden light that danced like a mixture of flames and electricity. However, it didn’t appear to be particularly….stable, perhaps? The gold color regularly shifted from bright and sparkling to a much duller bronze, and every shade in between. It also appeared as though it couldn’t maintain its shape very strongly, as the edges faded in and out of existence at random intervals.
More glowing colors in her peripheral vision then captured her attention. It seemed the other three’s chi auras were also visible. Billy’s was a pale blue, and while it did not shine especially brightly or move in any interesting way, unlike Ryuna’s, it kept itself stable and strong.
Hai Tien’s was a dark purple, and much thinner, serving more as a rough outline of her body than a bubble around herself. It flickered and rippled in a set pattern across her body, like there was a pebble underneath it that slithered along its path, creating a visible bump that moved around her.
And finally there was Caedo’s: neon green, and concentrated mostly around his head, almost like an ethereal cowl before trailing off towards his back and vanishing in the air in four thin tendrils.
“While in my domain, you will have easier access to your chi,” Master Kirin continued. “While all four of you are still untrained in the art, with this, you will have an easier time channeling during your duels, and you can fight at your very best.”
She let her words sink in momentarily, then said, “The first duel shall be between Ryuna and Caedo.”
* * * *
ULTRA DRAGON
* * * *
Bron dragged his arm across his forehead, and a thick layer of sweat, dirt, and blood peeled from his skin and stamped itself into the sleeve of his shirt. His chest was heaving, his lungs clawing for air, but there was hardly any to be found in the forcewells underneath the village of Welca.
Surrounded by thick rock on all sides, the caverns were a claustrophobic series of tunnels the sun’s light could not navigate, although there wasn’t much need for it, as they were lit by the ever-changing gradient of colors released by the forcewells; streaks of bright light bursting out from the deepest reaches of the caves.
These were dense streams of ULTRA Force particles, and while they were beautiful to watch, they were anything but to feel. They flowed through the tunnels with the force of speeding trains, and lashed against the soul like whips, overcharging whatever ULTRA Force particles they came into contact with within the body.
Even experienced wellers like those found in the village of Welca could only stand to be within the deeper parts of the cavern for a few minutes at best before they needed to cycle back towards the exit, and get some eating and resting.
But it was a necessary sacrifice the wellers had to make. Forcewells were dense masses of ULTRA Force particles spewing up from the core of the planet, releasing excess particles outward, but sometimes they existed in places that did not allow free dispersal of those particles. Underground caverns, mountains, the depths of the sea, volcanoes — it was not uncommon for forcewells to become concealed by nature, and have little or no room to “breathe”.
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When this happened, the ULTRA Force particles would build up in one tight space, and the particles would overcharge themselves over and over again. When it became too much, they would detonate. These explosions were often massive enough to reshape the earth itself, felling mountain ranges, evaporating seas, turning lush forests into deserts.
Two wellers working alongside Bron collapsed long before the end of their shift, and panic began to set in for the Welcan chief. While welling was always a dangerous and arduous task, it was nothing the people of the village couldn’t handle; it was a part of their culture and livelihood. They took pride in their ability to weather ungodly ordeals like this, and often competed with one another to see who could last longer.
But today had been different. Everyone seemed to be getting worn out more and more quickly, and even Bron himself, often heralded as the toughest of the tough, was tiring out early.
Not wanting to risk their lives, Bron hoisted one of them up, and directed another nearby to grab the other. “Let’s head back to the entrance! All teams push forward one block!”
They’d devised a system long ago for welling: they would form a long line from the entrance of the cave towards the cavern where the well itself was located (although none would ever actually step foot inside it), and occupy various “blocks” of space within that line. The frontmost team would take the brunt of the welling for a set period of time, and then quickly retreat back to the entrance while the other teams advanced one block forward and so on. It would allow them to maintain a steady rhythm of absorbing the ULTRA Force particles, without ever overwhelming anyone.
The entrance was a moderately-sized cave lined with supplies — food, mainly. Food, water, a few beds, some spare clothes and digging and rescue equipment.
At that moment, it was also quite heavily populated with wellers resting. As soon as he stepped out into the cave, he could tell there were more bodies there than would normally be expected, which meant that the active line was as well. That would tire people out more quickly, exacerbating the issue.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say any of this aloud, to chastise people for stepping away from the line for longer than they were supposed to, especially as he himself made his way to the table and grabbed food much earlier than he would have been scheduled to.
Why were the forcewells so bad lately? In all his years of welling, the streams of ULTRA Force particles he’d waded into this morning were the worst they’d ever been, to the point that genuine anxiety had begun to swell up within him.
And for the first time in years, he was worried that people were going to die down here.
* * * *
ULTRA DRAGON
* * * *
“This tournament has truly been rigged from the beginning,” Caedo hissed as he took position across from Ryuna. “But now we fight on equal footing at last.”
Rolling her eyes, Ryuna said, “Jeez, dude, how long are you gonna keep whining about that? I told you: I’m not trained in chi channeling. I’m just naturally better than you at it, I guess.”
“Bah! I can’t wait to get my claws on you and rip that arrogant smile off of your hideous face while I hear you scream in pain.”
“All you’ll be getting from me is a bitch slap, you creepy psycho.”
Master Kirin held her hand up, apparently unperturbed by Caedo’s rather off putting words. “Begin.”
Before she could even finish uttering that one simple word, Caedo was on the other side of the room, propelled through the air by his buzzing wings. His huge, bulbous black eyes practically displaying his killing intent like a television screen.
Ryuna twisted around and slapped her palm across his face.
Caedo went flying at a crooked angle, his face slamming hard into the floor in a cloud of dust.
Those in attendance went silent, in awe and confusion at what had just transpired. Whispers of Ryuna having hid her power level up until this point, theories that the appearance of her chi aura had amplified her strength that much.
While Billy did not join in on the gossip, he did pay close attention to Ryuna as she placed a hand on her hip and side-eyed the fallen hornet man. Or, rather, he paid close attention to the golden aura crackling around her body.
It’s unstable, he concluded. The way it phases in and out of existence, the way it crackles, flickers, and jerks around, the way its hue was unable to maintain its proper color for longer than a second.
He folded his arms across his chest. Fighting Ryuna would be dangerous, were they to meet with one another in the finals of the tournament, especially now that Master Kirin had awakened their chi auras. Not only was her martial skill undeniable, but the image of their auras clashing with one another was more than enticing to him. He’d always sought out tough opponents to challenge himself and hone his abilities, and Ryuna was shaping up to be more than capable of providing that competition for him.
As Caedo began to push himself off of the floor, Ryuna smirked. It always feels good when your cocky prediction comes true, doesn’t it? “Told ya.”
He spat out a globule of blood onto the floor. Acid had apparently been mixed in, as the floor began to bubble as the top layer melted away. When he turned to face Ryuna, she could see that her strike had opened a wide gash in his face, cracking away at his armor-like skin, and denting other portions of it. “Nothing more than a lucky shot.”
The neon green aura of his chi began to vibrate, causing the four tendrils on the back to snake in all directions. The wounds on his face immediately began to patch themselves up — the cracks resealed themselves, the dents popped back into perfect place, and the blood retreated back into his body. The boon of the enhanced chi auras that Master Kirin had bestowed upon them.
Ryuna stuck her finger in her ear. “Dude, is that all you can do? Say annoying shit and make annoying noises?”
Caedo charged at her once more, although this time he made sure to angle himself away from any second potential bitch slap. He swiped at her with a claw, which she was able to duck beneath.
He had much longer legs than anyone she’d ever fought before, and thus, she hadn’t been quite ready for the reach he was capable of when he threw a weirdly-angled kick at her. It wasn’t a particularly strong attack, and all it struck was the front of her shoulder, but it was enough to create an opening.
Caedo twisted around in midair with extreme precision, slamming his head right into Ryuna’s stomach. The force of the headbutt sent her flying backward, and she hit the ground. All the while, Caedo’s wings carried him along with her, until he was hovering in the air above her.
His mandibles peeled open, and out spurt a stream of acid from deep within him.
Ryuna’s eyes widened in shock, just before she could flip her body around and take the acid to the back of her shoulder. It burned like hell, and she needed to get rid of it fast before it could eat its way through her flesh.
She kicked at Caedo to push him back, then formed a ball shape between her hands.
FIRE!
Red flames appeared on her upper back, consuming the acid before dissipating itself. Once she was back on her feet, she moved her hand over to the spot, poking at it. It had torn through her clothes, and had left a sizable burn mark on her, but thankfully it didn’t appear to have done anything more than that.
“First of all, gross,” Ryuna said, rolling her shoulder around to loosen the joint. All the while, Caedo cackled to himself, making a show of opening and closing his mandibles as creepily as he could. “Second of all, gross.”
Caedo laughed, buzzing his wings around until they carried him off of the floor, high into the air. “There’s more where that came from, Roona! Much, much more!”
To emphasize his point, Caedo began to spit more and more streams of acid down upon her, forcing Ryuna to either toss out red flames to scorch them away, or to hop around and avoid them. “It’s ‘Ryuna’, asshole!”
He didn’t appear to have heard her, as the mixture of his buzzing wings, his vomiting of acid, and his maniacal laugh drowned out her voice. When he realized she wasn’t going to be caught by his rain of acid, however, he changed up his strategy, pressing his fists together.
ECHO!
A purple light surrounded Caedo’s body for a brief moment before peeling away like molted skin, until it formed a hologram-like copy of himself. A holographic copy that mirrored every action he took, but slightly off-center, doubling the production of acid spewing out onto the battlefield, until there was almost nowhere left for Ryuna to run.