Cassian's feet pounded against the dirt as he charged forward. Each step sent small clouds of dust into the air. His heart raced in his chest. Adrenaline pumped through his veins.This was it, His first real fight in the Tournament Realm.
But the kid in front of him, Kai, just stood there. Completely still,Not even a hint of movement. His bandaged eyes faced forward, but it was impossible to tell if he was even looking at Cassian. His hands hung loosely at his sides like he didn't have a care in the world.
It made Cassian's blood boil,Was this kid seriously not taking him seriously? Did he think Cassian was weak? A joke?
No, He would show him. He would prove his strength.
Cassian got closer,ten feet, five feet, three feet, It was time.
["Library of The Titan Pulse: Archive 3 - Titan Drive!"]. Cassian roared.
The moment the words left his mouth, everything changed. His body instantly hardened. His skin took on a metallic sheen, shining under the arena lights. His muscles became dense, compact, and strong as diamond. The essence in his body solidified, transforming him into something far beyond human. His weight increased,His power multiplied.
This was one of his technique,His library the ability to turn his body into an unbreakable fortress.He pulled his fist back and launched it forward with everything he had. The punch cut through the air with a whistle. The force behind it was massive, It was enough to shatter stone, And even enough to break bones.
The crowd held their breath, the punch came closer and closer to Kai's face, And then it stopped, Not because Cassian stopped but because something blocked it.
A wall, a solid wall made entirely of paper. It had appeared out of nowhere, materializing between Cassian's fist and Kai's face in the blink of an eye. The paper was condensed, compressed so tightly it looked almost white, it was solid.
Cassian's fist pressed against it. He could feel the resistance it carried. It wasn't soft, It wasn't weak, It was hard and Strong,Like punching a brick wall.
"What the hell" Cassian said.
He quickly changed direction, his feet sliding across the floor. He moved to the other side of Kai, coming at him from the left. He swung again, this time aiming for Kai's ribs.
But again, the same thing happened. Another wall of paper appeared, blocking his punch completely. Meanwhile Kai still hadn't moved, Not a single inch, his expression was blank one would say he was as bored even.
Cassian bite his teeth. "Fine. Let's see how many of those you can make."
He attacked again and again and again. Left side, Right side, From above. From below, every single angle he could think of. But every time, without fail, a wall of paper appeared to block him, It was like fighting a ghost. No matter what Cassian did, he couldn't touch Kai, he was protected without having the need to worry.,
And then, without warning, the walls shattered.Not from Cassian's punches,They just broke apart on their own. The solid paper exploded into hundreds of tiny play card sized paper. They scattered into the air like confetti, swirling around Cassian in a storm.
"What?" Cassian raised his arms to shield his face. But the papers were everywhere. They blocked his vision completely. He couldn't see anything. Not the arena,not the crowd and not Kai.
He stumbled backwards, trying to escape the swarm. But the papers followed him. They moved with him, Surrounded him, it Trapped him.
"Get off me" Cassian shouted, swinging his arms wildly. But it was useless, papers stuck to him like glue.And then he felt it, a hand strong, cold,Wrapping around his throat.
Cassian's eyes widened. He looked to his right.
One of the papers beside him had changed. It was larger now. And from it, a figure was emerging. First a hand and then a head, Then shoulders. It was Kai Or at least, it looked like Kai. He was coming out of the paper like it was a doorway.
The hand that had grabbed Cassian's throat squeezed tighter. Cassian gasped for air struggling to breath,He reached up and tried to pull the hand away. But it was like trying to move steel,The grip was impossibly strong.
"Let… go…" Cassian choked out.
But Kai didn't respond. He just held Cassian there, completely still.Then the rest of the papers began to change. Small circles appeared on each one,They shined faintly with a little light,Kai's essence was flowing through them.
Cassian's heart sank,He knew what was about to happen.
"No. No, no, no"
The explosions came all at once.
Hundreds of them,One after another,Each piece of paper detonated in a burst of fire and force. The sound was deafening, Like a thousand firecrackers going off at the same time. The heat was so much, burning through Cassian's clothes and scorching his skin.
The explosions swallowed both Cassian and the Kai that held him. Fire and smoke erupted across the battlefield, creating a massive cloud that covered half the arena.
Cassian struggled,He tried to break free from Kai's grip. But no matter how hard he tried, the hand around his throat wouldn't free up.
"Dammit" Cassian screamed. "You're going to kill both of us if you do it this way"
But even as he said it, something felt wrong. The Kai holding him didn't react. Didn't flinch,Didn't even seem to care that he was about to die too.
And then Cassian understood,This wasn't the real Kai,This was a clone, A copy made from paper.
The real Kai was still standing in his original spot. He had never moved, not once. He had been there the entire time, watching, controlling everything from a distance.
The clone holding Cassian smiled. It was a cold, empty smile and then it exploded.
The final blast was the largest. It consumed everything in a ball of fire, The shockwave rippled outward, cracking the ground and sending debris flying in every direction. The heat was so intense that people in the front rows of the stands had to shield their faces.
When the smoke began to clear, everyone leaned forward, trying to see what had happened.
The commentator grabbed his mic, his voice shaking with excitement. "INCREDIBLE DID YOU SEE THAT? KAI DIDN'T EVEN MOVE,HIS TECHNIQUE AUTO-PROTECTED HIM THE PAPERS FORMED A DEFENSE ON THEIR OWN AND THEN HE CREATED A CLONE TO DELIVER THAT DEVASTATING ATTACK THIS KID IS A GENIUS AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS"
The crowd erupted, People were screaming, cheering,Jumping up and down. This was exactly the kind of spectacle they came to see. This was entertainment at its finest for them.
Down in the arena, the real Kai finally moved for the first time since the fight started. He tilted his head slightly and said, his voice barely audible over the roaring crowd,
["Library of the Grim Reaper: Heaven's Origami."]
It was the name of his technique. His library, The power to create, control, and weaponize paper in any way he wanted. Defense, Offense, Clones, Explosions, Everything.
The crowd chanted his name. "KAI KAI KAI"
Satisfied, Kai turned around and began walking back toward the tunnel. His footsteps were slow and casual. He didn't even look back at where Cassian had been. In his mind, the fight was over. Done. He had won.
But then he heard it. A sound that made him stop mid step it was cough.Kai paused, His head turned slightly to the side, listening.
The smoke in the center of the crater was beginning to clear. The dust was settling. And through the haze, a figure emerged, Cassian was alive.
He was on one knee, his body trembling. His breathing was heavy and labored. Each breath sounded painful, like his lungs were struggling to work. His clothes were torn and burnt, hanging off his body in shreds. His face was badly burned, the skin blackened and blistered in several places. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, warm and sticky as it rolled down his chin and dripped onto the ground.
But despite all of that, his body was still mostly intact. The rest of him was still solid, hard and Unbroken.
It was a testament to his earlier technique, Titan Drive. The ability to turn his body into diamond. It had saved him but Barely.
Cassian coughed again, spitting blood onto the dirt. He looked up, his eyes meeting Kai's bandaged face.
For the first time since the fight started, Kai smiled. It was a small smile and it was cold but empty,But it was there.
He turned fully around now and began walking back toward Cassian slowly moving and taking his time.
The commentator's voice exploded through the speakers. "THE OPPONENT SURVIVED,CASSIAN SURVIVED THAT DEVASTATING ATTACK,BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT HE TOOK SERIOUS DAMAGE, LET'S CHECK HIS CHRONO GAUGE"
The massive screen above the arena flickered. Then Cassian's information appeared for everyone to see.
[Chrono Gauge: Battle Statistics Cassian]
[Name: Cassian]
[Health Point: 100]
[Damage Recorded: -30]
[Health Point Available: 70]
[Library Type: Enhancement/Power]
[Library Name: Library of The Titan Pulse]
The crowd gasped,Thirty percent of his health gone in a single attack. And the fight had barely started.
Up in the royal stands, Lucian leaned back in his chair, a small smile playing on his lips. His voice was gentle and soft, almost like he was talking to himself. "His library is the rare type, I see."
Silas, sitting to his left, nodded. His hand rested casually on the hilt of his katana. "Yes, I see it. A forbidden type technique,He's dangerous, you know?"
Lucian chuckled quietly. "That's what makes it interesting."
Liora took a drag from her cigarette, the smoke curling upward into the air. She said nothing, but her eyes never left Kai. She was studying him and analyzing him.
King Augustus sat on his throne, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp. He watched the battlefield with the focus of a predator watching its prey. His silver sword rested against the armrest, shining in the light.
Down below, Kai stretched out his hand forward. His fingers spread wide.
Above him, something began to form. Tiny pieces of paper appeared out of thin air, swirling together like a tornado. They came together piece by piece and one after the other,constructing something massive.
A hammer, A giant hammer made entirely of hardened paper. It was at least ten feet long, with a head the size of a boulder.The crowd gasped again,The sheer size of it was terrifying.
Kai's hand moved a simple gesture. A flick of his wrist downwards,The hammer fell,It dropped like a meteor, moving toward Cassian with incredible speed. The air whistled around it,The ground trembled in anticipation.
Cassian looked up, His eyes widened,He had maybe half a second to react.He mustered every ounce of strength he had left. He channeled all the power from his Titan Drive technique into his right arm. His muscles increased,His fist coat with essence energy.
He punched upward towards the hammer and his fist collided in midair.The impact was catastrophic. A massive shockwave erupted from the point of contact, rippling outward in every direction. The ground beneath Cassian's feet cracked and shattered, spider webbing outward for dozens of feet. Dust exploded into the air, creating a thick cloud that covered everything.
The sound was deafening indeed. Like thunder crashing directly overhead of everyone. For a moment, nothing could be seen, The dust was too thick.
But Then it began to clear and cassian was still standing but barely. His fist was raised above his head, trembling. The hammer had shattered. Thousands of pieces of paper scattered through the air, floating down like snow.
He had done it,He had stopped the attack,But his Chrono wristband beeped.
[Chrono Gauge: Damage Update Cassian]
[Additional Damage Recorded: -10]
[Health Point Available: 60]
[Warning: Health Declining Rapidly]
Even though he blocked it, the impact had damaged him. His bones ached. His muscles screamed in pain, His body was reaching its limit.
In the block where the other participants were watching, Kira's eyes narrowed. She had noticed something and it was something important.
"His paper technique," she muttered to herself. "Once it comes in contact with you, it cuts you. Doesn't matter if it's an attack or not. Every single piece of paper is a weapon."
That was Kai's true strength. Every interaction with his paper caused damage. Blocking didn't matter,Dodging was the only option. And Cassian couldn't dodge forever.
Back on the battlefield, Cassian stood up straight. His breathing was heavy. His body was covered in cuts and burns. His health was dropping fast.
He realized the truth. The way he was fighting wasn't going to work. He couldn't win by blocking. He couldn't win by defending. He had to go all out. He had to risk everything.
But before he could finish that thought, he felt it. A presence above him, he looked up.Four spears made of pure hardened paper. They hovered in the air above him, their tips pointed directly at his body.
Kai's voice cut through the silence.
["Library Art: Archive 99 - Origami God's Spear."]
The spears fell, all four of them at once. They shot downward like arrows, faster than the eye could follow.
Cassian's body moved on instinct. His enhanced speed kicked in. He blurred to the left, dodging the first spear. Then to the right, dodging the second. Then forward, dodging the third. Then backward, dodging the fourth.
All four spears slammed into the ground where he had been standing just a fraction of a second ago. They buried themselves deep into the earth, fracturing the ground and creating massive cracks.
Cassian had dodged them all,But he knew he couldn't keep this up. His body was slowing down. His reactions were getting sluggish,His health was getting low.
He needed power,More power, Enough to end this fight in one blow.His body began to coat with Yellow essence energy that radiated from him like flames. It poured out of every part of his body, surrounding him in a blazing aura.
He shouted at the top of his lungs,
["Library Art: Archive 10 - Mad Titan Technique"]
This was his trump card,His final move, An ability that allowed him to accelerate his limits beyond the normal. It increased his speed, his strength his power everything.
But it came at a terrible cost.Every point of essence flow in his body opened at once. His essence surged wildly through his veins, flooding every muscle, every bone, every cell. His muscles bulged and expanded. His veins popped out along his arms and neck. Steam rose from his skin as his body temperature had increased rapidly.
He was burning himself from the inside out. But he didn't care. This was his only chance.Up in the royal stands, Liam shook his head slowly.
"Hmm? Opening all points of your essence flow to multiply your body power, is a death sentence at this level of essence you possess. And with the damage your body has already sustained?" He paused, his expression grim. "Despite how powerful it's going to make you, it's going to cost you your life."
Liora took another drag from her cigarette, the smoke curling upward. "He's desperate. Desperate people make foolish choices."
Silas leaned forward in his seat, his hand gripping his katana tightly. His eyes were locked on Cassian. "Let's see if his desperation pays off huh."
King Augustus said nothing. He simply watched. His golden earrings shined in the light. His expression was unreadable, But his eyes were sharp and focused. He didn't want to miss a single moment of what was about to happen.
Down on the battlefield, Cassian's power surged to new heights. His health was dropping rapidly. But his strength was rising just as fast.
The real fight was about to begin.