"The duel begins... Now!"
The words had barely left Mr. Stephen's lips when Faith blurred into motion. She didn't hesitate. With a flick of her wrist, a jagged ice spear manifested in her grip, and she lunged. Her speed was predatory; in the blink of an eye, she was standing directly over Aren.
Before Aren could even process her movement, Faith swung the heavy shaft of the spear toward his head.
She's too fast. I can't dodge this! Aren's heart hammered against his ribs. In a desperate instinct for survival, he threw his arms up to shield his face.
The spear slammed into his forearms with the force of a falling tree. The impact sent Aren skidding five paces across the floor until he tumbled onto the cold stone. Faith hadn't used the blade she was striking with the blunt end. She wasn't trying to end the fight; she was playing with her food.
"What's the matter, Null?" Faith taunted, her voice dripping with frost. "Can't control the pain?"
Aren scrambled to his feet, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He noticed something strange despite the heaviness of the blow, his arms weren't broken. A dull throb was all that remained. Is this because of the Vessel? Is my body becoming tougher?
Faith didn't give him time to think. She lunged again.
This time, Aren was ready. He didn't try to fight; he ran. He darted left, ducked behind a training pillar, and pivoted right, staying just out of reach of her icy strikes.
"Look at him go!" a student shouted from the bleachers, followed by a wave of derisive laughter. "He's scurrying around like a pathetic little mouse!"
"Stop running, Aren!" Faith snapped, her patience wearing thin. Seeing that he wouldn't stand still, she slammed her free hand onto the floor. "Freeze!"
A wave of crystalline frost erupted from her palm, coating the entire arena floor in a slick, treacherous layer of ice. Aren't boots lost their grip. He stumbled, his arms flailing as he tried to maintain his balance.
"Nowhere left to run," Faith whispered. She moved in like a hunter closing in on a cornered animal. She thrust the spear forward, aiming for his chest.
Aren twisted his body mid-air, a desperate maneuver that saved his life. The spear's blade hissed past him, but the jagged ice caught his shoulder, slicing through his uniform and skin.
"Aren! Watch out!" Theo screamed, leaping from his seat. He began to sprint toward the arena, but Mr. Stephen shifted his weight, blocking Theo's path with a single, stern look. Theo gritted his teeth, forced to watch his friend bleed.
Next to him, Evy didn't look away. Her pen flew across her notepad, recording every micro-expression on Aren's face.
The pain from the shoulder wound flared white-hot. Before Aren could recover, Faith stepped into his guard and delivered a brutal kick to his stomach. Aren folded, collapsing to his knees while coughing violently.
The crowd laughed harder. To them, the "Null" was finally being put in his place.
"Is this it, sir?" Theo yelled at Mr. Stephen. "Stop the match!"
But Stephen remained silent, his eyes fixed on Aren's hunched form. As Faith stepped closer, her loose laces brushed against his fingers.
Faith walked up to Aren and pressed the tip of her spear against his forehead. "Your 'control' is nothing more than a slow way to die," she said, her voice cold and triumphant.
But beneath his messy hair, Aren's head was lowered for a different reason. His pupils were beginning to glow a dangerous, flickering crimson.
The pain was feeding the beast inside. Varkas's power was roaring, begging to be unleashed, to shatter the girl in front of him into a thousand bloody pieces.
Aren's hands trembled. No... not yet. I can't let it out here. I have to control it, he whispered to himself, his voice a strained hiss.
Faith raised her spear high, preparing for a final, humiliating blow. The students leaned forward, expecting the end. Theo started to run again, ignoring the teacher this time.
Then, the world seemed to tilt.
Faith stepped forward to strike, but her feet suddenly caught. She gasped as her momentum betrayed her. With a pathetic cry, she tripped and slammed face-first into the icy floor. Her spear clattered away, sliding across the frost.
Before she could even process what had happened, Aren moved. He didn't use a sonic boom or a god-tier punch.
He simply scrambled forward, snatched the fallen ice spear, and pointed the tip directly at Faith's throat as she struggled to look up.
The gym fell into a deafening silence. Theo stopped mid-sprint. Evy's pen froze.
"Power decides who wins a fight," Aren said, his voice low and steady, though his shoulder was still bleeding. "Control decides who deserves to survive it."
He held the pose for a second longer before tossing the spear aside. It shattered into harmless shards of ice.
Faith stared at him, her face pale with shock. She looked like she had seen a ghost. But as the shock faded, a hot, humiliated rage took its place. She lunged at him with her bare hands, but Mr. Stephen was suddenly there, his massive hand catching her shoulder.
"Enough, Faith," Stephen's voice boomed. "The match is over. Aren is the winner."
"Winner?!" Faith shrieked, her face turning crimson with shame. "He cheated! Look! Look at what he did!"
She pointed down at her boots. While Aren had been on his knees, coughing and seemingly defeated, he had used the moment of her arrogance to lean forward and tie her shoelaces together in a tight, complex knot.
"He tied my laces! That's why I fell! It was a dirty trick!"
A girl in the stands scoffed. "I knew it. A Null can only win by being a coward."
The mockery started to rise again, but Stephen's voice silenced it like a thunderclap. "You still don't understand the lesson."
The students went quiet. Stephen looked at Faith, then at the rest of the class. "Aren didn't cheat. Faith lost because she lacked control.
She was so blinded by her own power and arrogance that she lost all awareness of her surroundings. She let an 'inferior' opponent get close enough to touch her, and she paid the price."
He looked back at Aren with a glimmer of approval. "A warrior who loses their head is nothing more than a target. Faith lost the moment she stopped respecting her opponent."
The students murmured, the weight of the lesson finally sinking in. "Class is dismissed," Stephen announced.
Faith didn't wait for another word. She turned and stormed out of the hall, her eyes burning with a promise of vengeance. One by one, the other students filed out, whispering about the strange victory they had just witnessed.
Theo and Evy rushed to Aren's side. "Aren! You're bleeding!" Theo said, his eyes full of concern.
Aren offered a weak, tired smile. "I'm okay. Just a scratch."
Evy stepped forward, her usual playful demeanor replaced by a sharp, focused intensity. She grabbed Aren's arm, ignoring his protests. "A scratch? Aren, you're losing a lot of blood."
Before he could say another word, she began dragging him toward the exit. "Come on. We're going to the infirmary right now."
"Hey! Wait! I can walk!" Aren groaned, but Evy didn't let go. Theo watched them leave, shared a quick, respectful nod with Mr. Stephen, and followed close behind.
Mr. Stephen stood alone in the center of the arena, watching the door close. He looked down at the spot where Aren had stood, sensing a lingering, heavy pressure in the air the faint scent of a God.
"Aren Vox," Stephen whispered into the empty hall. "There is something very dangerous hiding inside you."