Ravyn woke to silence, his breath trembling. The last thing he remembered was the wind screaming through his ears and the black water waiting below.
And now… he was lying in his bed.He rose up slowly and then he felt something wrong with his body. It was light, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting still for a moment as his thoughts tried to make sense of it
He lifted his hands, checking his knuckles. And the blood was gone, there wasn't even a scratch on him. Then he saw a mark burned into the back of his left hand... a sigil of intersecting rings.
He traced it with a finger and it didn't hurt.
"What… is this?" he whispered.
Ravyn shook his head, stood up and began to get ready for school. When he was done, he pulled his hood over his head and walked. Whatever happened last night didn't matter right now. He still had to show up at school.
The moment Ravyn stepped into the hallway and whispers coiled around him. He could feel every stare before seeing it. He walked through them with his head low and hands buried in his pockets.
No one dared speak to him. Not even the teachers looked him in the eye.
He moved through the day unbothered though.
When the last bell finally rang, he didn't rush home. He walked home slower than usual.
As he turned down an empty street toward the park, something shifted. It brushed against his senses.
He stopped.
Ahead, standing under the afternoon sun, was a figure. Ravyn squinted, raising his hand to block the glare.
When his vision adjusted, he saw her the girl from school who never talked to anyone.
Luna didn't speak. Her eyes were locked on him. She raised her hand.
Spheres of burning fire spiraled into existence beside her.
Before Ravyn could take another step...
whoomph!
One shot at him.
Ravyn's body moved before his mind did. His feet slid back and the first fireball screamed past him, exploding against the wall behind him.
"What the...!"
Several more followed. Ravyn's eyes widened. He kicked off the ground, springing high into the air.
The barrage chased him upward. He twisted midair, spinning between the streams of fire. A flare shot beneath him, he planted a foot on the streetlight beside him, used the pole as leverage and flipped again. The explosion followed, engulfing the pole in a wave of heat as he landed.
"What is her deal?!" he thought, sprinting sideways as another fireball ripped through the ground beside him. "Those flames are fast." his eyes locked on her through the haze. "But if I can close the distance..."
He lunged with unnatural speed, grabbing her wrist mid-charge, twisting her arm and pinning her to the nearest fence.
"What's your problem?" he shouted, eyes locked on hers.
Up close, the heat from her skin felt unreal as if fire itself lived beneath it.
She looked surprised looked surprised for a split second. Then her lips curved into something between a smirk and a snarl.
"You're faster than I thought." she said.
Then her body moved in a blur of motion.
She twisted her arm and broke his grip. Ravyn jumped back.
Luna lunged and spun, sweeping him with a kick that he blocked. But it threw him out balance a little bit.
She swung a fist and he caught her wrist but she was already a step ahead. Her leg ignited mid-spin and her heel slammed into his gut.
The force threw him backward, Ravyn hit the ground hard, sliding across the gravel until his back smashed into a metal fence. His hand hit the sign on it.
Smoke curled around the crater where he'd landed.
She walked toward him, slow, deliberate. Her palm glowed again, fire gathering in her hand.
Ravyn tried to push himself up but his body was trembling.
Luna stopped a few feet away and raised her hand.
Suddenly, an energy hit them both, pressure that clawed and sent a single, animal warning through every nerve.
Luna lowered her hand slightly, confusion flashing in her eyes. Ravyn froze as a man stumbled into view, walking on barefoot. His clothes torn and soaked in dirt. His hair hung long and tangled, covering most of his face.
"Aaarrgghh... a couple of kids?" The voice sounded bored. He raised his head slowly.
"Sorry, but you knew what you were getting into when you accepted the Game's request." he muttered.
Ravyn's heartbeat faltered.
"The Game?"
He barely had time to think before the man vanished. And was right in front of Luna, his fist already pulled back, the air around it bending from sheer force.
Ravyn didn't think. His body moved before reason could form. His hand flinched upward, reaching out to save her.
And the sign he'd hit when he crashed earlier, shot off the fence like a missile. The man's eyes widened and he barely had time to cross his arms before the sign collided with him. His body was launched back, smashing right through the wall of an abandoned building.
Ravyn didn't wait to understand what happened. He grabbed Luna's wrist and ran, dragging her hard through a nearby alley.
Far behind them, the man climbed out of the rubble. His arms hung limp at his sides and blood dripped from his head covering some parts of his face.
"Damn..." he muttered, coughing up a streak of red. "That kid really got me."
He cracked his neck and looked toward the direction Ravyn and Luna had run. His grin widened.
"Until we meet again."