Cecil stood up in shock, her finger trembling as she pointed to the stage.
Wh-wh-why is Kai the opponent?
Wh-wh-wh-what is happening?
"Oh, it's Kai and Xue!" Hana exclaimed happily.
The crowd was noisy, their eyes particularly fixated upon two people among them.
Cecil Lan and Hana Katae.
"A lover's spat?"
"A love square!"
"Or a love triangle?"
Cecil recalled the day where Xue unexpectedly tried to absorb Kai's soul. She immediately paled, lifting up her robes as she dashed down the steps. Hana followed her without a second thought.
"Begi--"
"Hold on for a moment!" Cecil exclaimed, panicking, her haughty mien completely gone.
The announcer paused, stepping aside and Cecil neared Kai, panting slightly.
"Why...why are you here?" Cecil questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Hi Kai!" Hana chirped.
"Hi Hana!" Kai grinned, before turning to Cecil with a sheepish look scratching the back of his head. "Well, I uh...tried to get what you wanted, and my master found out."
Cecil widened her eyes. "Why did you...I didn't ask you to do it immediately..." she pressed her palm against her forehead. "This is all my fault, I am so sorry, Kai."
"No, no no no! I was careless!" Kai shook his head vigorously. "It wasn't your fault, Cecil."
"I shouldn't have mentioned that favour."
"What favour?" Xue asked suddenly, and the both of them jerked back in alarm.
Hana fiddled with her shawl, growing bored when she realised she couldn't understand the conversation. Thus, she perked up when Xue approached them.
"Hi Xue!" Hana chirped yet again.
"Hi Hana." Xue smiled tenderly at her, switching back to his indifferent expression as he turned to the other two. "What favour? Spit it out."
Cecil hesitated and Xue lowered his voice, narrowing his eyes at her. "A vision?"
His words were only for him and Cecil to hear.
Cecil immediately shook her head, and decided to speak honestly. "I asked Kai to take something from his master..."
"And I failed, so my master said he'll let me go if I fought you in this tournament..."
"To see who is stronger!" Hana stepped in, smiling innocently.
Kai shrugged. "Yeah, that's it."
"Begin the match!" Someone from above shouted impatiently.
Kai winced, knowing that voice.
Cecil was frantically glancing between Kai and Xue as she and Hana were guided away by the announcer. Xue began to leap back to this original position, before noticing Cecil's expression and he paused.
"Cecil."
She recognised Xue's voice calling for her, and it surprised her.
"I won't do it now."
She visibly relaxed upon hearing his words. Hana looked back and forth between the two of them, and Kai only frowned.
"Begin!" the announcer finally exclaimed after guiding the two women away to a safe area.
Xue unsheathed his spear and Kai did the same for his sword. There was a pause before the two charged at one another, their weapons colliding with a piercing clang.
They continued striking each other, either dodging or colliding their weapons again and again.
They were equally matched.
Still fighting, Kai made a roundhouse kick and Xue blocked it with his spear. There was a sizzling sound and Xue noticed his spear heating up at that point of contact, the blue glow on his spear dimming slightly.
Kai began to throw out spinning kicks and punches that were shooting out fire constantly. His sword continued to contribute to the fight.
Xue was on the losing end, his elemental powers were non-existent right now.
Xue narrowed his eyes, focusing on Kai's sword and he dodged adeptly, being forced back but he focused his attacks on Kai's hand holding onto his sword. Eventually, Xue managed to disarm him and Xue took opportunity of that single moment, jabbing his spear at Kai.
Kai recovered easily, throwing out his flames as he leaped back. Xue stopped his jabbing motion, slashing at the flames swiftly.
Kai reached out to call for his sword and Xue swung his spear, hurling it at Kai who was forced to dodge. The two of them stared at one another, recalling their weapons at the same time.
"They really look like twins like that." Hana muttered out.
Majority of the audience agreed with Hana. Meanwhile, Cecil was watching the fight in rapt attention.
Kai clutched onto his sword, tightening his grip as he inhaled deeply. His sword began to heat up, the silverish-white blade changing into an ominous orange-red blade.
"It's the second form!"
"He has evolved up till this stage? Damn."
Cecil tapped her fingers on her chin, in the novel, Kai had already evolved to the second stage of the fire element, and he was in the late stage. The swords in Hantulsennem were devised by the author to cater to the evolution of the elements for every individual.
If one applied normal logic, the sword wouldn't make any sense, and neither should it be able to withstand the elements.
Fire users, in their second stage, would be able to change their form into magma and lava.
Xue remained impassive, he knew his alters were capable.
Kai was swift in his attacks, but Xue avoided them all with ease. Not a single inch of his lava sword touched Xue no matter what he did, and that irked him.
Suddenly, Kai's body was coated entirely in a brilliant garnet aura and the aura directed downward towards his feet.
Xue watched the ground below Kai's shoes turning into magma. They were going straight for him and Xue leaped back into the air, and that moment, the aura around Kai's feet bounced to his right hand.
He used the same hand, making a flipping motion up into the air.
Xue, who was still in the air, saw the magma on the ground converging, and a wall of magma emerged from the ground. Xue frowned, placing his spear in front of him and the wall struck him fiercely.
Xue soared into the air, his grey eyes becoming a shade darker. Kai didn't let him catch a breath, making the wall chase after Xue. At the same time, he positioned himself, preparing to strike with his sword.
The wall hit Xue higher into the air again, and Xue made a graceful flip while in mid-air, using the wall and his spear to angle himself properly. Kai noticed his fluid movements, and hurriedly stopped his wall.
By the time Kai reacted, he was too late as Xue made a diving motion, pointing his spear at the ground. Xue landed in an instant, causing a strong gust of wind and Kai who was the closest to it, received it's full impact.
"Damn!" Kai hissed out, and his body was carried away by the powerful wind.
Without any support, the magma wall collapsed and splattered onto the ground, disappearing into the ground as the master no longer needed it.
Kai switched back to his flames, and aimed his hand steadily at Xue who did a somersault, dislodging his spear from the ground.
There were visible cracks surrounding the point of impact.
Three fireball shot out, advancing towards Xue at a rapid speed. Unfortunately for Xue, he landed in a bad spot, which was only a few steps away from the edge of the stage.
The fireball did its work as Xue couldn't slash them quickly enough. It only succeeded for the first two, and he had to block the last one with his spear and arms. The impact caused his sleeves to burn and he skidded back, stumbling off the stage.
At the same time, Kai landed on the ground, stabilising himself, alas, he was out of bounds as well.
"Draw!"
Everyone rose up to their feet, clapping loudly. Cecil heaved a sigh of relief, seeing that Xue kept to his promise not to do anything for now.
The result was what she had expected, a draw.
After all, it was Xue fighting against himself after all.
Thus, the practice match was brought to an end. It wasn't a match for the tournament, hence, Xue still needed to fight with his original opponent. His original opponent, after seeing the overwhelming might of Xue and Kai, forfeited.
Xue still took the first place of the tournament.
***
Five days later, Cecil knew she was ready to crash through the third gate. After which, she'll be ready for the sword mound expedition.
The expedition was only allowed for those who broke through their third gates, ready to evolve to the next stage of their element. Cecil knew she could not afford to lose out on this, or she would never be able to complete the secret mission safely.
There was no possible way she would allow the academy to go on a manhunt for Xue.
It was in the wee hours, and Cecil sat on the grass in the courtyard, her eyes closed. Within a second, she was inside her inner realm once again. She stood up, seeing the earth insignia below her.
The first gate took seventy steps.
The second gate took fifty steps.
The third gate is probably...lesser.
Cecil breathed in, exhaling gradually. Though, the second gate couldn't be compared to the first gate, it was still an arduous task to open the gate.
"For the sake of the herb." Cecil whispered to herself, taking her first step.
***
Pt. 1
《 start 》
Fighting him now, I understand more than ever.
This guy, Xue, is essentially me.
Somehow, that doesn't surprise me, as if I knew it all along. There has been something inside me, as if my very soul, wanting to fuse with him.
The more I see him, the more my soul calls out.
I don't like this.
《 stop 》
***
Pt. 2
《 start 》
Was she concerned for my alter, or for me and Hana?
Both answers vex me.
She said she desired for me to be happy.
Does that apply to all the other "me"?
《 stop 》