Edmund's stunt has garnered him quite a lot of attention.
"It seems we have two monsters this year." Norvax grinned as he engaged Darius in conversation.
" I think you're wrong," Darius said. " We're yet to assess some of the other kids fully. They may also still be full of surprises, like that Anthony kid."
Darius turned and faced Norvax.
" Speaking of which, why didn't you stop that Anthony kid sooner?"
" I thought you'd ask about the match with that Edmund kid. Technically, his opponent hadn't yielded. My hands were tied."
Darius shook his head. " Let's prepare for the next match.
" Right, wait, the next match, it's that monstrous kid, Warren Frost, this should be interesting. I wonder how he'll do in the fight. What do you think, oh high and mighty indifferent one? Do you think Warren will beat Cassius, or will we have another upset?" Norvax said with a mock bow.
" Now is not the time for jokes," Darius said indifferently.
" In any case, the outcome of this particular match has already been decided. I saw Warren fight earlier. That Cassius kid doesn't stand a chance."
Norvax stared at Darius as though he were a stranger.
"Huh, what happened to waiting for the outcome of the match first? Cassius may surprise all of us."
" That's highly doubtful. There's something about Warren that the rest of the kids don't have. At first, I couldn't put my finger on it, but then I realized it was his eyes. They lack warmth. The warmth that makes the rest of us human."
Norvax stared at Darius in surprise.
" That's surprisingly astute of you, man," He said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.
" I didn't know you had a philosophical streak in you."
" Touch me again and I'll kill you," Darius said, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.
" Oooh, scary, easy man, it's alright," Norvax said with a lighthearted laugh.
" Anyway," Darius continued, " I've seen that look before, in the eyes of grown men, veterans. Men who stared too long at the abyss, and eventually the abyss stared back. I think he has lost himself in it."
"Alright, man, enough with all that ominous stuff," Norvax said with a shrug.
" Listen to me, Norvax," Darius said seriously, " Earlier during the Chrono evaluation, I think Warren held back; he didn't show us what he's fully capable of, just like Edmund."
Norvax nodded, focusing intently on what Darius was saying.
" In this next match, if you suspect that the match is getting out of hand, stop it. Do not hesitate to stop the match otherwise, one of the kids may die, and it probably won't be Warren."
Norvax grinned.
"Alright, I hear you, man. I'll stay on my toes, literally."
"The next match-up is Warren Frost versus Cassius Wulfric."
Loud cheers erupted as Cassius athletically sprang onto the stage.
"Damn, he has a lot of supporters. Too bad he's going up against Warren." Edmund muttered.
"Why are most of them rooting for Cassius?" Samantha asked.
" Well, it seems that some sort of clique formed after Anthony's passionate tirade. I guess this is their way of showing their solidarity for those whose abilities aren't as... powerful." Edmund replied.
Warren slowly made his way to the stage with a few books resounding through the auditorium. He simply ignored them, walking steadily until he was standing a short distance away from Cassius on the stage.
"Hey Warren, I saw your little stunt with Samantha. You really are something, man. So, let's have fun. " Cassius said with something akin to reverence.
"And I'm sure I don't need to tell you not to hold out on me. You just might regret it."
Cassius grinned; his eyes glowed with a bright orange light.
" Let's get this over with," Warren said quietly.
Cassius smiled wolfishly as his mouth elongated into a snout and his ears widened.
His teeth lengthened and became fangs coming from his mouth. Black and white fur quickly covered his skin in a matter of seconds, and his nails lengthened and turned into wickedly curved claws.
His eyes glowed murderously as he circled Warren, observing him for even the tiniest of openings.
" What's with this guy? He's not even getting into a stance. He's just standing there." Cassius growled impatiently.
" In that case, I'll take the fight to him."
Cassius snarled as he ran forward, zigzagging from side to side.
His figure blurred as he approached Warren, darting swiftly from side to side. He suddenly shifted to running on all fours to throw Warren off balance as he got within striking distance.
" I've got him." He thought triumphantly.
He swiped upward, closing the remaining distance with lightning-fast speed.
His eyes widened when he noticed that Warren wasn't even looking at him.
He stopped mid-swipe.
"What's he looking at?" He quickly leapt back, his eyes narrowing as he warily observed Warren.
" Why did he suddenly stop?" Samantha asked in confusion.
" I have no idea," Emily said nonchalantly, turning to look at Edmund.
Edmund's face was wrinkled in a frown. He cast a questioning glance at the two girls before shifting his attention back to the stage.
" I think it's because he realized something after that last attack. Usually, when a person is attacked and they don't move, two scenarios usually play out. The first and which is usually the case, is that they're shocked and probably frightened, so their body freezes in place."
" What's the second scenario?"
Edmund's frown grew darker, and his voice took on a grimmer tone.
" In the second and rarer scenario, the person being attacked is so confident in their ability to win no matter the odds that they simply see no need to react."
On the stage, Cassius was stalking around Warren, calmly observing him for any openings.
" Shit, this guy, there's seriously something wrong with him."
After what felt like an eternity, Warren finally looked up and casually glanced at Cassius.
" What's wrong? Why aren't you making a move? Don't disappoint me, after all that talk about not holding back."
Cassius snarled. " Don't let him bait you. You've got this, you can do this."
A smile slowly formed on Warren's face. The eerie blank look in his eyes only made the smile more terrifying.
"Don't let him bait you," Warren whispered. " You've got this, you can do this. That's what you're thinking, right?"
Cassius' eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
" What the hell is going on? Can this guy read my mind? "
Warren's grin grew eerily wider.
" And now you're thinking, What the hell is going on? Can this guy read my mind?" Warren chuckled slightly, palming his face in amusement.
" Who knows, man?" Warren locked eyes with Cassius.
" Do you think I'm reading your mind? Are you sure that's what it is?"
The whole auditorium was in uproar.
" Did you hear that? He's actually reading Cassius' mind?"
" Dude, that's insane."
" Hey, Edmund," Emily asked, " Do you think that's why he was able to beat Amanda?"
Edmund shook his head.
" I'm not sure, he could simply be messing with Cassius, making him doubt himself. Right now, we can't tell for sure if Warren can read thoughts."
On the stage, several conflicting emotions flickered across Cassius' face: fear, disbelief, uncertainty.
"Hey, Cassius, snap out of it. You can do it!"
" Yeah, don't fall for it, you can still beat him."
Cassius growled nervously.
" That's easy for you lot to say, you ain't the one up here facing the music."
Warren's smile slowly faded as he stared at Cassius.
The atmosphere abruptly, as a palpable killing intent, suddenly flared up.
Cassius felt his skin crawl. He felt his blood run cold.
" Let's end this charade." Warren's eyes suddenly glowed, emitting a strange dark light.
Dark lightning surged around him as he stood in the center of the stage.
Cassius roared in challenge, running on all fours towards Warren.
" Shit, I've got to do this. I can do this."
Cassius feinted from side to side as he ran, then, with a burst of speed, he ran past Warren and lunged at him from his blind spot.
Warren's eyes opened in disbelief as Cassius's claws slammed into him. " Yes, I managed to get to him," Cassius thought with a wolfish grin.
Darius frantically ran towards the stage. As he burst into the auditorium, he shouted. "Norvax!!"
Norvax's eyes narrowed, and his eyes lit up as he burst forward. The floor violently cracked from the force of his abrupt acceleration.
" Shit, he won't make it in time."
On the stage, Cassius' eyes widened in disbelief, and he realized he hadn't made contact with Warren.
A sickening feeling spread through his body as he understood what had happened. He quickly spun around with a roar, leaping forward.
As he moved, it felt like time had slowed down.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Cassius glanced down and noticed too late as a jagged icicle barreled towards him, sinking into his chest.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he looked up and stared into Warren's cold, unyielding eyes.
" An executioner, this is probably what an executioner looks like," He belatedly thought. " It feels like time has stopped."
He could see instructor Norvax reaching out for him, his eyes blazing in desperation.
" I'm probably already dying, " His eyes flickered back to Warren.
"What a monster."
Unbeknownst to Cassius, time had come to a complete standstill, and he was unbelievably frozen in time.
A muscular man in a dark nano shroud and cold blue eyes calmly walked forward through the sea of frozen kids and climbed up onto the stage.
Norvax was frozen mid-lunge.
He slowly walked past Norvax's frozen figure and came to a stop in front of Cassius and Warren.
His blue eyes glowed eerily, emitting an ethereal light.
He silently observed the sight before him, then pinched his nose in frustration, slowly shaking his head.
" Ah, what a mess."