It was short, but I enjoyed our duel," said Arnold, standing before Ace with his sword gripped tightly in his hands.
With a sigh, "Before giving me the fatal blow, do me a favor and answer my question," he said looking intently at Arnold with an expressionless face. "Why did you want to fight me?"
Arnold pondered for a bit, studying Ace's expression and the sensation he got from him. A weird and hollow pulse that seemed to attach to Ace like a veil, engulfing him without leaving a single piece of him untouched. That was the sensation Arnold got from Ace… more precisely, by crossing swords with him.
There was no drive behind his movements, just something akin to a kin instinct that stirred nothing in his heart except a rage and hatred Arnold couldn't accurately pinpoint as it fluctuated continuously with a weird sloppy and nonchalant air around Ace.
That contradictory sensation he had picked up made Arnold curious about who Ace is. And so, Arnold finally gave Ace an answer.
"I stand atop the Academy as its Strongest, but at some point, it was boring," Arnold started explaining. "The burden of being strong is that there's no one to push you past your limits when you've reached the peak. Especially considering my status and age group."
"I have a responsibility to be an unshakeable pillar to protect what needs to be protected, and hence, I seek strength. The strength needed for it. But as noble as it may sound, at the same time I'm only human. I find it exhilarating to improve myself and aim higher than where I currently stand."
"That's just stupid," muttered Ace, his head held down as he felt a creeping feeling rising in his heart. "Fighting is just a means of survival. Nothing more, nothing else. What's so fun or noble about it?"
"I just find it meaningless. Absurd" said Ace, looking up towards a surprised Arnold with a dark and distant gaze which made him ponder on his statements. "The strong survive while the weak die. Winning means living, losing means dying. No matter how you sugarcoat it, that's the reality. Anything else is just human hypocrisy."
'His eyes…' Arnold thought, Ace's expression deepening the concern and curiosity that started flaring up in his heart.
"I'm not sure what you mean by those words, but I don't think battle must always be a matter of life and death," Arnold said, exuding a certain noble air that completely contrasted with Ace's darker and heavier one. "Some fight to protect people. Others do it to defend their convictions. Every person has something that drives them to fight and it's different from person to person."
"After all, humans aren't such black-and-white beings," added Arnold, his softened expression capable of putting anyone in trust and at ease. "We all have a path we chose in life, and we simply follow that path no matter where it may lead us. That's simply one such process in this thing we call life."
'What the hell is he talking about?' Ace absorbed those words, the feeling creeping up in his heart raging more and more as a surprised and distraught expression appeared on his face. 'Convictions? Protect? Life? He makes it sound so deep as if it were a universal truth.'
'Aaah… Now I get it,' Ace's eyes drifted towards the ground. 'This emotion I'm feeling right now. This man. All these people who follow behind a fictional ideal of peace like mindless buffoons. Their very existences…'
'It repulses me,' Ace's eyes grew darker than ever before. 'What's so good about life anyway? It irritates me. To me… it's just a curse.'
As that last line crossed Ace's mind, the glitching memories of a rocky cave filled with the scent of blood, wounds that flared up the most excruciating type of pain and monster corpses that gave any sound mind the most traumatizing experience flashed before his very eyes.
Memories he had no clear recollection of but still haunted him like a ghost from the past. Arnold's words were enough to bring back those memories that were the only thing that could trigger the one single emotion that truly existed within Ace's heart.
Arnold, feeling a sudden pressure and bloodlust coming from Ace, wasted no time raising his sword before swinging it down, leaving only a few centimeters before the strike connected.
And at that moment, a holographic system window popped out of nowhere in front of Ace, causing the world's time to freeze in place.
"What the…?" muttered Ace, unable to comprehend what was happening.
[Notice: Next scenario has been triggered.]
[System Standby Mode deactivated.]
'What hell is this?' wondered Ace, glitches appearing in his mind causing him headaches. 'What the hell's happening?'
Memories rose up, he knew what this screen in front of him was.
'The… system? Why now?' questioned Ace. 'Next scenario has been triggered? System Standby?'
He held his head in pain, feeling a jolt piercing his skull as other screens appeared.
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[Name: Ace Blakelord]
[Age: 14 (physically)]
[Class: Spellblade]
[Unique Trait: Spriggan]
[HP: 1500/1500]
[Skills]
[Skill: Blade Battle Arts]
[Skill: Overdrive]
[Skill: Shadow Arcane]
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[You have summoned a Nameless Sword.]
[Notice: Presence of a nameless sword spirit has been detected.]
[Requirement: Name the spirit to finalize contract.]
[Name:__________]
Ace's reaction, though still carrying the darkness that showered his face, was that of surprise as he didn't expect this kind of development. His gaze lingered on the sword that had appeared suddenly from the shadows and whose glint reminded him of the moonlit sky.
The sword was one-handed short sword similar to a katana. The ones with wooden helms similar those that have to be properly completed by their swordsmiths.
As his dark and distant gaze lingered on the blade, slowly reaching out his hand to grab it, he thoughts evolved.
'I don't know what's going on, and I don't care at this point. But…' his eyes had a determined dark glint full of rage that could no longer be considered cold or human. 'This world. These people. That bastard that doesn't know when to shut up. If they get in my way, I won't hesitate to destroy any of them if that's what it takes! I'll win! I'll accomplish my goal, no matter the cost!'
The moment he grabbed the sword, confirmation and a single truth glitched in his mind.
Like the moonlight being reflected on the surface of a serene stream of water blurs in the tides of a waterfall, a flowing stream of power flowing through the blade can be felt just by holding it.Calm yet powerful. Enchanting yet deadly. A force strong enough to topple everything in its quake no matter the illusions and obstacles that block its path. That's what I seek.
"Ryuugetsu", Ace muttered, the name rolling off his tongue with a sense of finality, drawn in by the feeling he got from the sword he held in his hand.
[Name: Ryuugetsu]