Everyone stood frozen.
No one spoke. They had just witnessed something that shouldn't have been possible. An unawakened student defeating a gravity user.
Even the instructors nearby looked shocked.
The sight of Saren, a level 3 gravity awakening user, lying unconscious below while Raze stood above, battered but standing, left the entire group in stunned silence.
Saren lay unconscious on the ground far below the floating platform, while Raze stood above, his chest rising and falling, knuckles still trembling. The moment his eyes cleared, realization struck him.
He quickly looked down at his own hands. They were shaking. Not from exhaustion, but from fear of what he had just done.
Whispers began to ripple through the crowd.
"Did you see that?"
"He just grabbed him by the neck!"
"How… how is he even still standing?"
Ray, however, didn't speak. His eyes were fixed on Raze. He had seen the way the boy's body had changed for that brief instant. The dark pulse of his veins, the unnatural strength behind each strike. It was something that shouldn't exist in a human.
'That wasn't just adrenaline,' Ray thought, his jaw tightening. 'That was something else. Something not human.'
He finally spoke, his tone calm but firm.
"That's enough, this match is over."
Ray slowly walked toward the platform as soldiers rushed over to secure the scene.
Raze, still dazed, stood motionless, only snapping out of it when Ray called out to him.
"Raze," Ray said firmly. "That was quite a match. You handled yourself well." His tone was calm, but there was a weight behind it. One that made Raze uneasy.
"Thanks," Raze replied, still trying to steady his breathing.
Ray's gaze lingered for a moment longer. "Tell me something. How did you recover from those hits so quickly? I could've sworn you were on the brink of collapse."
Raze hesitated. He remembered his regeneration, the system's hunger warnings, and his half-ling instincts taking over. "I… I'm not sure," he lied. "Maybe adrenaline?"
Ray hummed softly, not buying it but choosing not to push further. "Hmm… I see."
A medic arrived, interrupting the tense silence. "Both of them need to be checked. The gravity field's side effects can be dangerous for someone without proper resistance."
Ray nodded. "Take them to the nurse room."
Raze didn't protest. He followed quietly as the soldiers lifted Saren onto a stretcher and escorted them both out of the training grounds.
The remaining students whispered among themselves, trying to make sense of what they'd seen.
"Did you see that punch?"
"There's no way that was just physical strength."
"Maybe he's been hiding his awakening."
Ray crossed his arms, watching Raze's back as he disappeared from sight. 'I know you're not normal, Raze. It's only a matter of time till I find out.'
Meanwhile, in another area of the training grounds, a crack of lightning ripped across another section of the training field. Felix and Thomas' fists collided again, red and blue lightning sparking wildly on impact.
Everyone in Felix's arena turned their heads toward the sound. Even Aria paused for a moment, eyes narrowing.
Felix's eyes darted briefly toward the distant crash site where Raze's battle had ended. He saw the smoke, the broken platform, and soldiers rushing in. For a split second, his focus faltered.
"What the hell just happened over there?" he muttered under his breath, dodging another strike.
Thomas smirked. "Losing focus already?"
Felix clenched his jaw, red lightning flaring hotter around his arms. "Tch, don't get cocky."
He launched himself forward again, fists crackling with power, he threw a feint, throwing Thomas off guard before slamming a fist right into his chest.
The strike forced Thomas back several steps, but before he could recover Felix quickly followed up with a kick towards his chest, sending him tumbling and rolling across the platform.
Before Felix could burst forward, the entire platform trembled, as the air pressure around them spiked, causing their lightning to flicker under the increasing air pressure, making it harder to focus it.
'Damn it, so this is what she meant by adapting.' Felix thought, grit flashing in his eyes. 'I can already feel myself losing control of my lightning.'
Thomas struggled to his feet, letting out a low grunt as the thicker air pressed against him.
"Now things just got harder… oh, great," he muttered under his breath, shaking his shoulders to readjust.
Felix clenched his fists, feeling the red sparks sputter and crackle unevenly around his arms. The normally smooth flow of energy stuttered with each movement, forcing him to slow slightly. 'Damn… it's like the air itself is fighting me,' he thought, adjusting his stance.
Thomas, meanwhile, struggled to gather his own lightning. Every strike he tried to unleash bent awkwardly, fizzing out before reaching Felix. He leapt back, fists raised. "This… isn't normal," he muttered, frustration creeping into his voice.
The platform beneath them creaked, tilting slightly as gusts of wind twisted unpredictably. Felix's footwork became less precise; he had to compensate for the unstable footing.
Still, he saw an opening. Thomas lunged forward with a bolt aimed at his chest but Felix anticipated it, rolling to the side and letting the attack dissipate harmlessly against a gap in the air.
Red lightning flared again, sharper this time. Felix smirked, thinking, 'Adaptation isn't easy, but I've trained for worse.'
He surged forward, fists sparking, feinting left before delivering a powerful right punch to Thomas' side.
The impact staggered Thomas, making him stumble against the edge of the platform.
"Not bad… but I'm not done!" Thomas growled, recovering quickly.
He extended both hands, attempting to send a volley of lightning bolts at Felix simultaneously. The energy wavered in the distorted air, some bolts fizzling, others clumping into uneven arcs.
Felix took advantage of the chaos. He dashed forward, weaving between the imperfect strikes, and landed a clean kick to Thomas' chest, sending him sprawling backward.
The platform tilted again, nearly throwing Felix off balance, but he managed to recover mid-roll.
From the sidelines, the other students leaned forward, whispers running through the crowd.
"Did you see that? His lightning… it's different!"
"Yeah, it's like he's controlling it even under insane conditions!"
Felix grinned. 'The air can try to fight me, but I'll force it to play by my rules,' he thought, preparing for the next move.
Thomas rose from the ground, his chest heaving. "You think a few tricks will save you?" he spat, sparks of blue lightning crackling erratically around his fists.
Felix smirked. 'Unpredictable… just like me.' He surged forward, throwing a rapid combo of jabs and hooks, each infused with red lightning. Some hits fizzled against Thomas' defenses, others connected, staggering him backward.
The air pressure shifted again, thickening, tugging at Felix's movements. His lightning sputtered for a split second, flickering like a candle in the wind. 'Focus… adapt!' he thought, adjusting his footing, throwing a sweeping low kick. Thomas barely dodged, stumbling slightly as he landed.
"You're… stronger than I expected," Thomas muttered, frustration creeping into his voice. He drew a deep breath, sending a concentrated blast of blue lightning aimed at Felix. The energy twisted in the pressurized air, scattering unpredictably.
Felix rolled to the side, letting the attack miss, sparks grazing his shoulder. "Not bad… but I'm not letting this get to me," he muttered, leaping forward with a spinning punch that slammed into Thomas' chest. Thomas stumbled backward but managed to recover quickly, gritting his teeth.
"You're… adapting?" Thomas growled, irritation in his voice.
He launched another attack, faster this time, throwing jagged arcs of lightning meant to catch Felix off-guard.
Felix's eyes gleamed. "Gotta keep up." He dodged, weaved, and countered with precision, each punch and kick enhanced with red lightning, keeping Thomas on the defensive.
From the sidelines, students whispered in awe.
"Look at him! Even under these conditions, he's keeping his lightning steady!"
"He's… controlling it! I've never seen anyone adapt this fast!"
Felix's grin widened. He could feel Thomas tiring, his attacks losing power and precision.
Felix surged forward one last time, launching a spinning punch into Thomas' torso. The impact sent him staggering, unbalanced, and Felix followed with a precise kick, forcing him to land on his knees.
Aria Veyne raised her hand, tablet in hand, her expression calm but approving. "Enough. Felix Blaze wins."
The other students stared in disbelief. Even though they were lightning users themselves, the intensity and precision of Felix's lightning felt completely unknown to them.
Felix powered down, his red lightning fading into small flickers before disappearing entirely. He exhaled softly, brushing his hair back.
As he stepped off the platform, the crash from earlier was still on his mind.
He glanced toward the direction where the noise came from. "That explosion… was that Raze?" he muttered.
Aria heard him. "If I had to guess, yes. I'll have to check on that once everyone here finishes. You did well, Felix."
Felix nodded, though his attention was elsewhere.