The next morning, after a night of restless sleep and a quick meal, I stood once again in the sparring circle. Except this time, I gripped my sword tightly, ready to fight. Stella, however, didn't have any weapon equipped. She still had her armor, which mirrored mine in design, except it was glowing magenta.
'Is she gonna use it mid-battle? Or will she use her fists only?'
Just like last time, Stark raised his arm.
"Three... two... one... go!"
A yellow light zipped above him and exploded like fireworks.
Purple Ki surged from her forearms, engulfing them completely. The gauntlets clung to her skin in vein-like ridges, pulsing as if alive. It looked predatory. The jagged edges around the forearm flared outward like serrated spikes. Each finger was sharp enough to cut through my skin easily.
"A gauntlet? I kinda expected that."
"Oh yeah?"
She lunged at me, her face hardening with sudden focus. She threw a punch at me, and I deflected it, causing our weapons to meet for the first time, dodging the attack she was making with her other hand.
'I feel really light and I think I might have a chance of winning. The only problem is I never spared with anyone who used this type of weapon.'
I drove forward, batting her strikes aside with quick, desperate movements. She aimed a blow at my chest, then snapped upward with an uppercut. The punch skimmed past my hair as I countered. She twisted just in time to avoid the worst of it, but not fast enough—my blade kissed her cheek, leaving a thin cut.
Her hand rose slowly. Two fingers pressed to the wound came away red. Without breaking eye contact, she smeared the blood across her lips and licked it clean.
"Looks like you got me. That won't happen again." Stella said in a dark tone.
She leapt forward, bringing both gauntlets down together in an attempt to crush my skull. I held up my sword, and a clash rang out like metal grinding on stone. Red and purple sparks scattered where the weapons met.
I shifted right, trying to guide her momentum downward. She caught the blade with her gauntlets and hit me directly on the chest as she fell onto the floor. I was dazed and staggered, swaying a little. She caught herself on the floor.
'Damn—I can't breathe. My chest feels like it's caving in.'
I was trying to breathe, but couldn't. I could already see her trying to recover from the fall to attack me. I inhaled, catching my breath. Before she could hit my face, I swung my sword directly up, making the weapons spark as they met. While she was distracted, I anticipated her next move as she tried to attack. I slashed my sword back down where she was attacking at the time, and I used it to my advantage.
"Got you where I want!"
After deflecting her attack, I used my momentum to kick her legs, causing her to trip. As she was falling, I tried to strike her back, so even if she somehow got up, I could still knock her back down. However, it was futile.
She deflected the blow with one arm, and her other arm was used to repulse off the ground, causing more sparks to lash out while she sprang into the air. And landed in front of me.
I have to win this next attack. I was sweating and tired, and soon I wouldn't be able to continue.
'Looks like she isn't doing so hot either.'
I tightened my grip on the crimson blade. The air between us trembled, heavy with Ki, as Stella slowly raised her fists. The veins carved into her gauntlets pulsed faintly, as though they were alive.
The stone cracked under her boot as she launched forward. I barely swung my sword up in time—metal screamed against metal as sparks burst, the clash echoing through the training yard like thunder. The force rattled through my arms, numbing my wrist.
'She's faster—stronger—!'
Stella pressed the assault, her gauntleted fists hammering down with the weight of a beast. Every blow was a shockwave, jolting my bones, each impact threatening to rip the sword out of my hands. The air itself seemed to shatter with every strike, the pressure crushing down on me.
'What the hell is happening!'
I tried to strike back, but she slipped past, her body moving with untamed precision, like a wild predator circling prey. Her foot slammed into the earth, sending stone and dust into the air as she spun and smashed her gauntlet against my guard. The impact sent me sliding across the stone floor, boots carving lines into the ground.
My lungs burned. My arms screamed. The sword grew heavier with every second.
She didn't let up. Her eyes had changed—sharp, wild, almost feral. Her fists blurred, each strike faster than the last. My vision shook with every clash, the air thick with the metallic tang of Ki essence, everywhere.
Her gauntlet came down, a brutal arc that would've split me in two—
I dismissed the blade.
I had an idea. After dismissing my blade, I ducked inside her guard, grabbing her arm with both hands. Her momentum nearly tore my shoulder from its socket, but I twisted, pulling her down with me. Stone cracked beneath us, the impact ringing out as metal scraped against the floor. My weight, pressing her down.
Her eyes widened, sweat running down her temple. Her breath was ragged, hot, brushing against my cheek. For a single heartbeat, silence.
Then her body tensed.
"I'm going to kill you!" she shouted, her voice raw, primal.
Her Ki flared violently, magenta cracks of energy ripping across her gauntlets. I felt the surge tear at my skin, heat searing my forearm as if fire had licked me.
"Stella!" I yelled, but my voice barely reached her. Her strength is monstrous—too much to hold down.
And then—
Sparks of yellow flashed between us, longer than any blade I'd ever seen. Stark's odachi bit into the stone, stopping her gauntlet dead against its edge. Sparks exploded, the clash shaking the ground with a metallic roar.
Stella froze, her wild eyes widening, sweat flying from her brow. The pressure of her Ki slammed against Stark, but he didn't budge. His hands were steady, his posture unshaken, the massive blade held as though it weighed nothing.
"Enough."
His voice was calm, but it carried like a command carved into stone. The raw energy lashing out from Stella sputtered, recoiling as if even her Ki obeyed.
I collapsed onto my back, chest heaving. My arms throbbed where her Ki had scorched me, thin wisps of smoke rising from the glowing lines that etched themselves into my skin.
Stark knelt beside me, placing a steady hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. That's just Ki armor healing itself. Painful, but it means you're alive."
'Alive. Somehow.'
Without another word, Stark turned and climbed back into the crab, as if the clash hadn't even fazed him.
I glanced over where Stella sat. She stared down at her trembling hands, as though afraid of what they had just done.
As I got up, a sharp pain in my forearm felt like it was still burning.
"Argh, that still hurts."
Stella sat, rubbing her arm, still trembling. She kept glancing over to the scorching marks on my skin. When she finally looked back at me, her lips twisted into a smile—but it was a fragile thing, like she had to force it through clenched teeth.
I got up and walked over to her and sat in front of her.
"Don't get too cocky, just because you got me on the floor."
I let her words slide past me, more concerned with the look in her eyes.
"Are you ok?"
"Yes, I mean no. I don't know. What was that? I could have hurt you, I did hurt you!"
"I'm still here, aren't I? We all make mistakes. Are you sure you've never done that before? I said, smiling with a soft tone."
"Not anything like that, I haven't. I usually would get really excited when sparing or fighting. But I'd never lose control of myself; I can't even remember the full thing." Her voice dropped, weighed down by guilt.
"I'll know you'll figure it out. Just remind me to never get on your bad side."
Stella raised a brow, her mouth curled into a soft, warm smile.
"Thanks."
"No problem, but I won, right? I did get you on the floor."
Her voice cracked slightly, and she turned away, cheeks puffing in quiet defiance.
No, you didn't, it doesn't count. Why would it count?"
'Is she pouting?'
Stark had jumped down from the trapdoor.
"Listen, it appears Stella has awakened her affinity. Which means we have to get on the island for you two to start the first trial."
"Affinity? The first trial?"