Aether Beasts

The moment the count hit one, I burst forward, my aether surging through my body, and my first step cracking the stone beneath my feet. My eyes were locked onto Pate as he moved to meet me in the center of the ring, his own aether ready and waiting.

It seemed we both had the same idea, and our fists met as we clashed in the center. Fists flew as we began to send strike after strike at one another. I blocked a kick to my side while dodging a right hook and then returning with a strike to his right side

He let out a grunt but then raised a knee to try and strike my stomach as I had moved forward when I struck.

I was fast enough to move out of the way, but that was a mistake as his right hand shot out in an uppercut which just caught me on the chin. I winced slightly and jumped back before rubbing the spot. It stung a bit, but not even to be a problem or hurt my ability to fight.

Pate didn't follow me and instead just stood there, his eyes locked on me. "You fight well."

"I could say the same thing about you," I replied. "But enough of that now. I think we've tested each other far enough."

That first exchange had just been the two of us sizing each other up in a way, and seeing how big of a gap there was in physical ability. I was glad that I seemed like I was just ahead of him in that regard and most definitely more durable it seemed, though he wasn't far behind.

I felt my layered bark armor form around my body as I prepared to re-engage, and in response, Pate began to form a technique that seemed very odd at first not that I just stood around and watched.

I dashed forward, two impact seeds flying towards him as I did, but without looking at either, he dodged and leapt back.

His hand struck the ground the moment he landed, and dozens of lines of shadow surged out from the point of contact, covering the ground, and overlapping in a way that almost made it seem like a spiderweb.

They seemed to meld into the ground rather than simply be lines of darkness atop the earth. It was hard to tell what they were for but I could at the least tell they were connected to him. Besides that, I imagined they could be used for multiple different things and the size of the area they had spread over was large allowing him control over a large amount of the arena, or so he probably thought.

I smiled and decided to answer in turn. If he wanted to use something like this then I would too. In truth, I wasn't afraid of what was going to happen and was full of excitement and adrenaline. I hadn't had a chance to use much of what I had developed or to fight to my fullest, but it seemed like I had that chance now, and I wasn't going to waste it.

He moved a hand and two of the lines began to vibrate before two thin spikes of shadow shot out from them and towards me. I dodged the initial strike and the second attack which came when they curved to hit my back. I simply turned my body and after forming sharp nails on the fingers of my bark gauntlet, I cut both into pieces.

Meanwhile, I had been preparing my own technique.

I tapped a foot against the ground and aether flooded the area around me. For a long moment nothing happened, but then I saw Pate's eyes widen slightly, the first true reaction he had shown. He jumped and landed on one of the strings of shadow just before roots burst from the ground all over the arena.

This technique was still technically incomplete, but it would be enough for what I had in mind. The roots grew until over half a dozen fully grown trees stood across the battlefield. They were simple oaks for now, but in the future, I had plans to use them as weapons, not that I couldn't now, but I wasn't going to create techniques on the fly, not in battle like this one.

"Now, enough holding back."

I pulled my glaive from my ring and spun it around myself before settling into a basic fighting stance.

Thin strings of shadow formed around Pate, starting from his feet and lengthening until they swirled around him. He plucked two into his fingers and pulled. In response, the rest of the strings spun around his hand, so tightly, that when all was said and done it looked like he was wearing pitch black gloves.

"I agree," Pate said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I shall end this now."

I snorted. "You'll try."

_____

Zirani held back her nerves as Aiden and Pate shed their hesitation and testing of each other and readied themselves for a proper fight. It had been obvious that the first few minutes had simply been the two testing each other, and getting a gauge. Seeing if there were any large gaps in physical strength.

Zirani knew that Aiden probably had Pate beat in that regard, mainly because of just how much Zirnai had put him and the others through. Her sisters and mother would berate her if they ever found out just how hard she had pushed their bodies. She had never told them, but in truth, taking that many baths was a risk, and usually never worked out, but the three of them had wills of iron and had pushed through it.

She had been ready after the first few days to change things and accept that they didn't have to do it every day, but none had come to her about stopping or refusing. They had complained, but that was all. Even Sandra had continued on. It had made her proud, and thankful that she had been given such students.

Talent was good, but sometimes it was a person's ability to persevere through hardship that truly made or broke them. In this case, none of them had broken, and Sandra and Misty had proven themselves to everyone watching.

Now all that was left was Aiden. Despite her nerves, there was part of her that was utterly confident that he could win, and it was that which she let flow through their bond. She wasn't going to cheat and tell him what to do or communicate through their bond but letting him know her emotions was something natural at this point, and apart from boosting his confidence which already seemed high, wouldn't do anything else.

'You've got this Aiden.'

_____

Kai kept his hands still as best he could, not wanting to show that he was nervous. The members of calm around him including Ashala were watching with bated breath, even more so now since it was clear the true fight was about to start.

They were done testing each other and Kai could see it in their eyes, well at least in Aiden's he could. For Pate, it was a minute frown that showed he was serious. He doubted anyone else noticed it, but as he was his older brother, Kai knew it.

'This is it.'

He wasnt fighting and yet it felt like his heart was going to explode and his body was coursing with adrenaline. He guessed he shouldn't have been too shocked since the fate of his family, and their future lay on what was about to happen.

If all went well then not only would their family raise to new heights, but he would potentially get to wed Ashala. He didn't look or even glance at her, but her presence was both comforting and making him more nervous because after this their relationship would either deepen or she would never see him as a potential lover ever again.

It was so odd and surprising how things had come to this. When he had accepted to come along for the expedition, to represent the clan, he hadn't expected anything to benefit, especially not this, but then he'd met Sandra and after thinking his hopes were dashed with her, this bet came along.

The gods were either blessing him or simply messing with his life. If they existed at all.

_____

From within Umbrin can section Max sat with folded arms, gazing down as the two finally prepared to fight. He had been getting bored as they traded, clearly holding back. Now it seemed like they were ready to end things. Everyone around him was watching intently and Max tried to look like he was doing so as well, though he managed it was not coming off as well as he hoped.

Not that it mattered. He doubted anyone was paying attention to him, and from what he'd been told about Max before he become him, he was a pretty laid-back person, not one to show much enthusiasm.

'At least he picked someone good for me.'

Max would have been in hell if Puppetmaster had brought him a woman's body or someone who was more lively. He could act very well, but that didn't mean liked to.

Focusing back on the fight, he moved his gaze to Pate, watching as strings began to swirl around him.

'Let's see how well you fight you damn parasite.'