Two swords clashed, illuminating sparkles in a pair of golden eyes.
''I don't think you have the luxury to not use your magic,'' a red-haired guy was pressing down his opponent, the smirk showing no superiority, rather a feeling of satisfaction.
''No need to use my magic. I gave my word, so even if you wish to kill me, I won't resort to it.'' With a swift movement of his wrist, the golden-haired opponent unlocked the two swords from their heated embrace. ''Besides, …'' His sentence was cut off by a spinning hook, thrown at his face by the red-haired, who spun using the swords' slipping momentum.
''No luxury to talk either,'' the red-haired guy added, his foot still poised from the kick, eyes calm.
The golden-haired was pushed back, sliding downward on the hard black floor. As he finally came to a halt, he lowered his bruised arms, which had been used as a shield, and raised his face again. ''Besides, you are also limiting your strength. My unbroken arms are proof of that.'' He calmly massaged where his forearms were hit.
The red-haired rested his sword on his shoulder. ''I don't think we can have a balanced fight otherwise. I am not a magic user to begin with.''
''A fair fight? You can say I am basically crippled without my magic.''
''Duh, you can use it if you want, but the goal isn't to win, it's practice. And I ain't breaking an arm of mine to make it fair.''
''Hahahe.'' The golden-haired glanced at the upright sword. ''Tch, you already did. Using that sword and we're still on par! ridiculous!''
The red-haired pointed the tip of his sword at the opponent with a slash. ''Well, it's a nice tool to limit my strength, so there's that.''
The golden-haired chuckled nervously. ''Anyway, here I come.''
The two opponents dashed toward each other. The swords collided loudly; the impact's wind tapped the walls, scattering dust and sweat everywhere. They repeatedly smote one another in various movements. The noise echoed as many sparks flew by, coming from different corners as the opponents ventured through the arena in their heated fight.
The full moon cast its dim light on the arena's marble surface, its beams filtering through the collapsed ceiling, stretching shadows from the broken pillars and the plant branches. Its light flickered on the walls as the two stepped in and out, reflecting the gleam. As a clandestine spectator, he watched those two teens carving new scars deep in the ground and walls, scribbling a new tale in this forgotten corner. Each clang, each screech of feet on marble, and each hand bump were reminders of past glory birthed in those ruins.
The fight, radiating heat and the stench of flowers swished by the movements, chased out fireflies to also spectate. They swayed peacefully, unbothered by the droplets of sweat and the slashes cutting some and extinguishing their little light. Maybe the fight was too beautiful for them to care about their insect lives.
The red-haired guy arched his back as a sword's slash cut the tips of his fluttering bangs. He grabbed the slashing hand, tightened his grip on his wrist, and pulled it toward him. He stood up, yanking his opponent closer, and drove the sword deep into his left chest, avoiding any fatal strikes.
However, no blood gushed out. The golden-haired was quick to sway sideways and entrap the sword between his armpit. A smile curved on his pretty face and -Tshwak-. It was whipped out by a headbutt. He felt the impact heavily, his sight whirled, but his feet quickly stood their ground. Before even blood dripping from his nose reached the floor, he locked the red-haired guy down and -Bam- retaliated with a knee kick to his gut.
The two freed each other and backed away, panting, feet apart. The golden-haired snotted his bloody nose onto the ground as the red-haired massaged his stomach.
''Did I ruin your face, pretty princess?''
''Tsk. And did I ruin any pregnancy chances, princess?''
They dashed again towards each other after a mutual smile. With a grunt, the golden-haired swung his sword down, gripping it tightly with both hands. The red-haired spun 90 degrees, slipping his left foot behind his right one, a minute but calculated step. The sword swished centimeters away from his face, his hair fluttered as his cyan eyes gleamed in the reflected sword's light.
A muffled plak-plak rose from the ground, as two blood droplets fractured the stillness of their stance. ''It's my loss ''. The golden-haired declared, his neck tilted away from a blade pressed on it. A shallow cut was etched on his skin, crimson and losing blood. The red liquid travelled the black blade, tracing a shining trail. It lingered midway, quivered on the edge, hesitant, before falling, splattering crimson blooming petals on the ground.
The red-haired didn't even glance at his sword's destination. His gaze was fixed on the golden handle of his opponent's weapon, lost in thought. A feeling of discontent rose from his chest and spoke from his mouth. "Let's fight again. This time, no holding back, use your magic."
He removed his blade from his opponent's neck, and by a violent downward flick, cleansed it of its blood.
"Hah! I know you are brilliant but, against my magic, not even a bruise will land!" The golden-haired smirked, wiping his bloodied neck. Pressing down on his wound, a green light shone from his palm. The injury sealed itself without a trace.
The red-haired drove his thumb deep into the pulps of his index and middle finger, drawing blood. He took a fighting stance, and with his two fingers, he traced a bloody line on his blade's flat, from the ricasso all the way to the point. His hand jerked upward as it was relieved from the previous crushing weight of the sword. Eyes fixated on his opponent, breathing calm like a predatorial beast.
Across from him, the golden-haired was wrapped in a thin coat of light. His magic burned bright, engulfing man and blade. His grin was wide.
''I've already cast a barrier around us, so don't worry about the ruins. Come at me!'' He slashed the air beside him, magic flaring.
The red-haired gritted his teeth and forcibly exhaled. The ground crushed beneath his feet, and with a dash he vanished.
A sharp swish whispered past the golden-haired's ear as he tilted his head to the side. The air was torn; a gush of wind roared back in the attack's wake.
Spears of ice materialized behind the red-haired's back. The golden hair swung his sword from the left while he wrapped his right punch on flames. Surrounded from each direction, and hugged by danger; it seemed the fight has come to an end...
..Until rubble burst upward, the red-haired disappeared above the dust. The golden-haired blocked his spears by a fire veil and snapped his eyes up.
There he was, inches away from landing on the ceiling.
''Monster!'' the golden-hair's eyes gleamed; the mouth curled, baffled. ''But all the way predictable''. Amusement was drawn on his face.
The red-haired glimpsed to his footing, a magic circle burned alive beneath him.
Baaaaaaf!
An explosion shattered his shadowy figure into the dust.
''I can't even imagine how you escaped that'' the golden-haired muttered, eyes gazing into the clearing dusty cloud.
His opponent's hair sparked under the moonlight before his silhouette was formed. Knees bent, not from the pain or the bruises, but to fight. His face looked calm, masking the turmoil beneath.
An exhale escaped the red-haired's lungs and he yet disappeared by a dash. Trap after trap was triggered as he marched forward. The flames licked his clothes, its numerous hands grasped in vain. Eyes blazing, he charged to shatter this world itself. The creeping heat was no match to the fire within.
The launch muffled as the blade halted mid-air, inches from his opponent's open palm. Nor fire nor air dared to advance further.
The red-haired's feet drifted off the ground, fully lifted into the air.
''You are lucky I am yet to master gravitation''
''Heh, if I am lucky then you are fortunate''
The golden-haired slammed his hand to the side, flinging him into a nearby wall.
He stretched out his right leg, breath ragged and body aching. Eyes fixed on his burned hand, flesh slowly knitting together. He glanced across the arena, his foe was preparing another attack. 'Golden Sun, I see...'. He dug his blade into the ground and pushed himself up. The wall carried his shadow, weary and stretching long by the blazing light.
'I can do that'. He clenched the handle with both hands, lifting it slowly above his head.
''As we practiced a thousand of times''.
The Golden Sun was advancing towards him, melting breath and ground, enormous and merciless to her path.
''Hup'', he slashed with all his might.
It flowed powerful, but no wind gushed and no deafening sound was heard. It flashed into the air, raging calmly. Nothing happened for a moment, the breeze was still and his stance was fixated. It was like a moment between heartbeats.
Then... the hot sphere rippled.
And split cleanly into two perfect halves.
The shockwave burst outward unannounced, flaring light and heat, forcing the golden-haired to deploy a shield. Even then, he was slowly pushed back, step by step. Rubble, fire and rays of light merged in a roaring scream.
The shield splintered with a crack. A violent fist smashed into his face, hurling him across the arena and into the wall.
The barrier woven into the ruins rippled with light from the collision.
He hung there, lodged in a body-sized hole in the upper half of the wall. Shaking his head, he stretched his battered frame and let a green healing glow seep across his skin. He stood up and stretched his limbs. All visible damage was healed.
He adjusted his jaw. He smirked, brushing the last of the dust from his shoulder.
''It would've been a shame if you couldn't manage at least that much...as my rival''.
He stared down. His rival was rolling his shoulder and cracking his right knuckle. The red-haired slid his sword on his back sheath, interlocked his fingers and raised them up with a groan.
''mmnugh. That Golden Sun was quite the challenge. Thank you for being serious about this.'' His grin sharpened as he locked eyes with the man above. ''But it's time for you to give your all. A perfect opportunity to try your finishing move, isn't it?''
The golden-haired scoffed.
''Are you saying I need a finishing move to take you down! What confidence you have''
The red-haired kept stretching his limbs from side to side, to make exhaustion seep away. ''Nah, I admit it was my loss. Few more spells and I'll be torn apart''. He cracked his neck and exhaled slowly.''My stamina is nearly depleted''.
He unsheathed his sword again, rested it across both palms and admired his black blade. Eyes narrowed, intent. ''But I want to experience it. The first time I've seen you practice that spell, chills ran down my body. And to think.. our foes beyond the fracture are told to be stronger!'.'His voice hardened. ''It fills me with rage, and..''. He shifted his left to the handle, tightened his grip. Gaze locked upward, face down.
The golden-haired frowned.
''What are you referring to?''
''Dark inferno''
He froze, his brows climbed high. ''Are you nuts! Do you have a death wish? Did the heat melt your common sense?''
The red-haired stood firm.''I am asking you... as my friend. Do this for me''
''You know it's not like the Golden Sun, one hit and not even ash remains. If something went wrong...''
''Please''. His eyes burned with determination, yet pleaded all the same. He was poised and calm, eager to know but worthy to witness. ''I need to see it. And I trust you. You can negate your own magic. Harm won't get me killed''
The golden-haired gaze stayed fixated on him, brow furrowed. The two stared silently into each other, soft glares mirroring an unspoken conversation. The silence stretched briefly as the weight of trust bridged the distance between them.
''Tch! Fine. But it will need a long casting''
''The ceremony is till tomorrow''
The golden hair chuckled softly. ''Alright then...here we start''.
Golden aura coated his frame. He levitated to the sky, palm up obscuring the moon. A bright orange magic circle was born from his palm, etched itself into the night and stretched steadily. Glyphs traced its contour in each whisper chant, blazing brighter as the lines spun. Then the circle fractured into four rings that began to rotate within one another. From wide to narrow, they split into layered bands of fire; orange, yellow, red, and green.
Curves and runes ignited across each ring, forming sigils unfamiliar to mortal eyes, a fusion of the hellish and the divine. The heat flared with each rotation, existence itself trembled from the strain.
Deep breath after another, the redhead stood beneath the looming spell, focus narrowing to the tip of his sword. Eyes shut, closed from the outer world, gazing within to search for an answer.
(why so desperate to see, what am I trying to accomplish?).
Emotions clashed in the dark. The inferno burning outside dwarfed in front of the fire raging inside. From the beginning of this fight to this moment, the flames didn't cease to stretch their might to his spirit.
His eyelids parted slowly. Eyes traveled not in anxiety but in admiration to his opponent.
Yes, admiration.
In front of the scorching heat and the blazing spell, this level of power was commendable. His mouth curved into a smile. This is excitement. The despair he once suppressed was gone.
The 'unchosen', nothing but a construct. A word to ridicule all hard work outside this set power. Part true yes, but it shouldn't be absolute. No one should decide such fate without consultation.
But he needed to witness it, the said WALL, and the wanted BLESSING.
Eyes wide open, he tried to really see... what magic really is, what it is capable of. Is it only present in flashy sparks, circles and totems! Something he was denied should be more than a spectacle.
He'd noticed it. He could distinguish it. It was blurred, but more apparent than it did in the Golden Sun. He doesn't know what it is, but it was always there.
''I understand it now. Show me the heights beyond and I'll climb up to them just you wait''
The golden-haired's chants shifted, his whispers rising into audible speech.
''O goddess, the warmth of life, the heat in hells, ...''.
Four blue spheres ignited around the circles, burning like miniature suns as they orbited the formation. Air screamed as if getting cremated. It swayed as though lamenting, then froze still, as if it had died.
''Color and light, burning to dust and gray,.. but rekindled in black...''.
The rings dimmed, their colors fading, and from the dimness two parallel circles emerged, spinning in opposite directions under the guidance of the four blue suns.
From their edges, black fire bled out. The flames coiled inward, whirling together at the center, until they crushed into a compact ball of fire. It pulsed, swelling as it devoured existence.
The atmosphere was heavy, the scenery was splattered gray. Drawing breath was a taxing chore. The redhead tightened his calves, ready. One wrong twitch and it'll be over.
''Eternal is the punishment''. The golden-haired voice thundered as he finished the casting, ready to let loose his inferno.
A silhouette stepped out the door. A girl's frame, faint through the haze of the arena. Brown hair like silk trailed behind the dust, her white robes gleaming under the black and gray. Dwarfed by the door frame, she slipped inside, unaware of what she walked into.
The golden-haired's concentration snapped for a heartbeat, but it was enough. A sigil twisted, lines breaking out of pattern. The seal fractured and the circle broke from the pressure.
''No''. Eyes widened open as the disturbance struck him. ''This is bad''.
The inferno ball tore loose as no constraints remained, and surged straight towards the red hair guided by the remnants path directing circle.
''Deril move, it's dangerous, I can't control it anymore'' He shouted, diving toward him.
The red-hair was in a trance, sword ready to strike. His ears heard only the roar of scorching flames, his eyes saw only the black wiggle, his mind clung to one thought 'Slash'.
The golden hair snapped his head toward the girl and shouted ''Elena! No time, bless Deril with every protective prayer you have. I can't reach him''
She froze, taken aback, puzzled. But through the haze of heat she finally distinguished it; the black inferno, with Deril standing in its path.
''Are you two insane?!''
''Now'' the golden-haired roared, halting mid air.
Elena braced, raising her palms toward Deril. Determination flared in her eyes.
''May the gods save you'', she whispered, then began praying as fast as her lips could form words.
The golden-haired did the same, mixing his divine buffing in anti-own magic. A trial to negate the out of hand spell.
The ball was creeping on Deril. More than advancing it seemed to burn a hole into the arena's sheet. It was colossal, but he was determined.
Sword up, knee bent before him, he slashed.
The inferno howled, whirled, engulfed his sword in rage.
Another slash, and another slash, and another.
He could see it, 'disturbance' as he called it. He can cut it, he can alter it, but 'How?'. So close but a rift away. He knows but can't yet understand.
That was magic. That's it. It was that. And that was that. No verbal thought to express it. Meaning melting and reason fragmenting.
As such he kept cleaving the unceasing flame, clashing his blaze with it. He roared as he launched consecutive decisive strikes; one hundred, two hundred, three hundred. His stamina was depleting but his spirit was igniting with each clash. Thus his strikes got faster and faster.
Muscles getting shredded, blood gushed from nose and eyes. He kept his struggle. He was fierce but aimless. He fought and lost until the black engulfed him whole.
---