The air in the sparring pit was thick with anticipation, heavy from the energy crackling between Kaela and the twins. Kaela adjusted her gauntlets, feeling the weight of her plasma sword in her hand, the cold hum of it familiar. She could only channel a tiny fraction of her Qi these days, so this would have to be a fight of precision—her body, her weapons, and the raw instincts she had honed through years of battle. There was no room for error.
Boro and Zii stood across from her, their liquid bodies shimmering in the dim light. The Xerathian twins were a strange pair—where one was fluid, like water, the other was icy, crystalline in form. They shared the same silent confidence, though. They had fought together countless times, their powers complementing one another with deadly efficiency.
"Ready?" Kaela growled, her voice low, almost feral.
Boro, in his humanoid shape, raised his arm and flicked a finger toward her. "We don't need words. Just fight."
Kaela's grip tightened on her plasma sword. With a subtle shift in stance, she planted her feet firmly, eyes narrowing as she tracked their movements. The twins didn't wait for any signal; they attacked in sync.
Boro moved first, surging forward like a tidal wave, his water manipulation wrapping around his limbs in liquid streams. Zii followed with a sharp, ice-encrusted strike that cracked the air like thunder. They were fast—faster than she'd anticipated.
She swung her plasma sword in an arc, a violent hum tearing through the air. Boro met her with a sweeping wave of water, pushing her back with the force of a riptide. The momentum was almost too much; she had to brace her legs, her muscles screaming under the strain. But instinct kicked in, and she ducked low, slashing upward with her claws. The water recoiled just in time.
Zii used the opening to strike, an icy blade of compressed air forming in his hand as he lunged forward, aiming for her throat. She parried with the edge of her plasma sword, the heat searing through the frost. The sheer contrast of the heat against ice made the air crackle, but she pushed through the stinging cold, feeling the heat of the sword's blade against Zii's strike.
Kaela let out a growl, the fight simmering under her skin, her pulse quickening. The twins were relentless, their ice and water swirling like a storm around her. She was on the defensive, always dodging their strikes, parrying, countering. But that's when her instincts took over.
Without thinking, Kaela leapt into the air, landing with a perfect roll on the floor to evade another water-formed strike from Boro. She felt the shift in the air, heard the faint whistle of ice cutting through it. Instinctively, she shifted her weight, spinning her body mid-air and thrusting the plasma sword in an upward arc toward Zii. The strike didn't hit—Zii twisted his body, melting into a watery form, dodging just in time.
He reformed beside her, freezing the floor beneath her feet in a slick, crystal-like sheen. She could feel her footing give way, and in that split second, Boro was on her again. His water-based strike was swift, cutting through the air as it aimed to slam into her. Kaela barely blocked it, her claws scraping against the liquid whip, but the pressure from his attack sent her skidding across the slick surface.
Her plasma sword was out of reach, slipping out of her grasp as she was knocked back. With a low growl, she slid into a crouch, her eyes glinting in the dim light as her claws flashed out from her gauntlets. She could feel the sharp edge of the claws extend, the sleek metallic fingers brimming with power.
Boro advanced again, and Kaela didn't hesitate. She surged forward, faster than she had intended, striking like a wild animal. Claws tore through the air, narrowly missing him as he dodged, but the sheer force of her attack knocked Zii off balance. He staggered back, momentarily vulnerable.
In that instant, Kaela took a calculated risk—she darted in, her claws catching him across the chest with a vicious swipe. Ice splintered, cracking into shards under the impact. He hissed, but instead of retreating, he responded with a retaliatory strike, sending a wave of freezing mist into her face.
Kaela's vision blurred, but the fire in her blood didn't cool. Instinct, pure and primal, guided her hand as she whipped around, slashing in a wide arc. The mist turned to steam as her claws shredded through the cold, but the temperature didn't faze her. Her mind was elsewhere now, a blur of instinct and adrenaline as she fought for dominance.
But even Kaela could only fight for so long. She was exhausted—her Qi was barely enough to keep her moving, and the intense fight had drained her.
Zii, once again fluid, rushed her from behind, his hand forming into a massive ice gauntlet that struck her hard across the back. She flew forward, collapsing onto the ground in a heap.
The fight ended.
Kaela pushed herself up, her breaths ragged, her body sore, but there was a flicker of something in her—the ferocity of a fighter who wouldn't give up, no matter how the odds stacked against her. She had landed a hit on Zii. That was enough for now.
She wiped the sweat from her brow and stood slowly, her muscles protesting.
"Not bad," Zii said, his form shifting back into liquid.
Boro nodded, a rare, approving glance shared between the twins. "You've got fire in you. It's what makes you dangerous."
Kaela didn't respond right away. She was still trying to catch her breath, her body still tingling from the fight.
"Well, you sure as hell keep things interesting," she said, her voice hoarse but steady.
She wasn't going to say more. They didn't need to hear about the terror that still gripped her heart.
"I need to be alone," she murmured, before turning away and heading back toward their quarters.
The others didn't ask why. They knew better.
But as Kaela closed the door to her bunk, something strange caught her eye.
A flicker.
For a moment, she thought she was seeing things, but there it was again—a humanoid shape, shifting in and out of focus, flickering like a broken hologram. Its features were impossible to define, blank and empty, like it didn't belong.
Kaela's heart skipped a beat.
Her hand, trembling slightly, reached up to her face, fingers brushing against her eyepatch.
"What the hell?," she muttered to herself.
The flickering image remained, hazy and indistinct, hovering in the corner of the room. Kaela ripped off her eyepatch, her eyes widening as she stared into the empty space where the figure had been.
The image flickered one last time.
Then it was gone.
Kaela stood there, breathless and furious.
"Those ghosts," she spat, her voice low and guttural. "They really are following me."