[Skell]
A colossus of ice shook the stage with each echoing footfall.
High over a bug-eyed Niles she rose, and even higher than that? A frozen halberd longer than I was tall and bearing a pointed axe-head sharper than steel. Like a frozen guillotine it came down.
Unstoppable.
In that moment, I'd never been happier to stand on the sidelines.
A localized quake erupted where ice shattered stone. Niles dove aside just a moment before and rolled onto a safe tile. Just as he scrambled to his feet, Ryzza yanked hard on her weapon - unearthing it from the stage's grip and bringing with it an upheaval of rock and dust.
She turned and looked down at Niles through the thinnest slit in her armor's icy visor.
Seeing those eyes, Niles' alarm faded. "So it is you in there!" he found a competitive smile. "Alright then! Me against your oversized popsicle! Let's tango, Ryzza!"
Whatever the spectacled woman felt in response, it was masked by her helmet. Though there must've been some level of surprise behind it when Niles rushed her with reckless abandon. Though uncharacteristically, Ryzza didn't hesitate.
Her halberd ripped through the air for the swordsman's side. Niles didn't jump over. Or Abyss, try to clash with it head on.
He dropped.
Legs extended, Niles slid along the stage - and underneath Ryzza's sluggish sweep. Passing the weapon and the woman wielding it, he burst back up to his feet. Right behind Ryzza.
I'd never seen a clearer opening. Niles raised his blade in reverse-grip and hacked at the armor's ankle. The sword dug into the ice…
About a centimeter deep.
Surprise quickly slapped Niles across the face. Literally so when Ryzza swung around an icy backhand. Niles hurtled airborne before slamming back against the stage.
Slowly, Ryzza lumbered to swivel toward the fallen swordsman. His ward shimmered yellow. But as he rose again, I noticed his expression wasn't one of desperation.
"Gotta say, that's some serious protection," he cracked his neck. "But if I can notch it, I can break it! And if you're ice - I'm your worst nightmare!"
Jutting his blade horizontally, Niles shut his eyes. "Searing Sword!"
Grey iron superheated to the red-hot glow of a weapon taken straight from the forge. Black clouds trailed behind the bold flourishes Niles cut - bundling high above the stage. Like in the Hardlight Arena, heat licked at my face. And if I could feel it from here…
How intense is a direct hit?
An explosive stomp and Niles threw himself back at the titan of ice - fumes tracing his path. Ryzza gradually reared back a robust arm. Right as Niles entered her vast range, she stabbed forth.
He flipped easily over the weapon. Touching down beside it, Niles readied to swing.
Before almost eating a blurred boot to the face.
Niles stumbled aside but an icy gauntlet dawned over him before he'd recovered. Knuckles launched at him like a coiled spring, faster than I expected - the swordsman's backflip saving him by mere moments. Ryzza pressed the attack while he still tumbled mid-air. She drew an arm close and tackled him in his exposed back.
I jumped to the railing. What the- where'd that come from!?
Niles spun and hit the stage chin-first - ward closer to orange than yellow.
Ryzza was all clunky and sluggish just a moment ago. Now she's weaving between moves like her armor doesn't slow her down at all! What changed? Can't be that Niles is slow - he's one of the quickest applicants here.
Soleil cocked an impressed brow. "Clever. Who woulda thunk such an innocent girl could play such a devilish actress?"
"What do you…"
Wait. Maybe she didn't get any faster. If she was always that quick… then, she's been pretending to be ungainly this whole time?
Recognition in my widened eyes prompted Soleil to speak. "Surprised? Shouldn't be. Bookworm wants to win like everyone else. Just 'cause a girl's all quiet and nervous, doesn't mean ya underestimate what she's capable of."
Heavy footfalls pulled my gaze back onstage; Ryzza wouldn't give Niles time to rise and recuperate. A swifter halberd swing drove for his body.
Niles pushed off the ground first, thrusting himself just over the slash. But his position - floating helplessly mid-air - was begging to be exploited. Anyone would be screwed in that predicament.
Except him.
"Vine Cling!"
From his fluttering sleeve flew a thorny vine that lunged for Ryzza. Quickly it snapped around her frozen thigh and latched tight. She looked confused. Niles looked cocky. With a mighty tug he launched himself at her like an arrow - sword bared.
We never saw the attack connect. Only the aftermath.
Dark hair masked Niles' downturned face. Crimson blade pointing forward, Niles extended his other arm as the vine snapped back, coiling tight around it. Black fumes cleared behind him, and in their wake, a deep laceration maimed the side of the ice colossus. Droplets of sizzling water leaked from the melted wound. It wasn't deep enough to reach Ryzza's ward. But it carved close enough to terrorize what little of the girl peered from behind her visor.
And Niles was just getting started.
He shot back to reveal a smile. One that almost distracted from his speeding vine - snapping around Ryzza's waist. The vine retracted at staggering speed. She moved to intercept him with a halberd swipe.
Too late. Niles was already behind her.
And behind him? A massive frozen arm thudded against the stage - severed at the elbow.
Eyes widened all around the railing. Including mine.
Panic froze Ryzza's eyes. She seemed stuck. Vulnerable. 'Til her gaze finally thawed and glided across her Glacial Armor. She might've lost half an arm, but the halberd-carrying one still remained, and the rest of the damage was relatively superficial.
A fact Niles intended to fix as his own gaze shot for the woman's helmet.
Again his vine loosened its grip on his arm and sprung for Ryzza. She went to cleave it in two. But just like with Carlyle - the escort - it swerved at the last moment, bending around her slash and wrapping fast around her visor.
Ryzza's head jerked forward as Niles flung himself at the armor. Fuming blade soared for her helmet. Just to go crashing into the ground.
With her vision obscured, she reached for the one thing she could see. Quickly she grabbed the vine and threw it off course. Niles hurtled past her and skidded against the tiles. She pulled on the vine again… dragging Niles closer.
With her frozen stump she struck Niles across the face. Then yanked him back. Then struck him again. Over and over like a dizzied punching bag.
Niles' ward flashed bright red. Ryzza reared back for one final hit. By then Niles regained enough of his wits to think to cut through his vine. Momentum still drew him toward the strike but he bent back just enough to whiz underneath. She quickly turned to swing her halberd where he was. He'd already backed off - just in time to steal some distance.
But his situation was undeniably dire.
"Welp," Soleil rubbed a thumb and two fingers together, "looks like I'll be takin' those rounds."
I didn't turn to look at her. "The fight's not over."
"Touché. He's gotten some good licks in, for sure. But she's adapting to everything he pulls. Girl's ward ain't even touched. All I'm sayin' is, I know who I'd bet on."
I didn't reply. If it was anyone else, I'd have given up on winning awhile ago. But this was different.
…Come on Niles, you scumbag. You're not the type to lose like this, are you? Do something!
Well, he did do something.
Niles dropped onto his butt, legs crossed, and rested a chin on his fist. "…Hmmm."
"…What is he doing now?" an applicant cocked their head.
Another chuckled. "Playing at a sitting duck, clearly."
Ryzza wasn't phased. Instead, the eyes behind her visor seemed to soften. "Niles," her voice boomed through her armor with unrecognizable bravery. "Please. With your ward the way it is, there's a chance it won't hold up against my next attack. I don't want to hurt yo-"
"Shh," Niles raised a vine-coiled finger. "I'm thinking."
Her armor creaked in stiff surprise.
"Now, where was I?" he muttered, not the slightest bit discouraged. "Oh, yeah. How many cuts have I made? Two. And how many would I need to hack Ryzza out of that ice cube? Eleven, minimum - factoring in that her oversized popsicle won't stand still for four ninety-degree cuts."
"Niles, I can't just stand here as you brainstorm," said Ryzza.
He glanced at his enervated ward, evidently tuning out her voice. "Numbers don't look good at all. Need less finesse. More brute force."
A bleak, frosty sigh spilled from Ryzza's visor. She raised up her halberd and loomed tall over Niles. "Thank you for helping me. And sorry, I did you the opposite."
A spark seemed to light in Niles' eyes as her armor brought down the massive polearm. His arm shot skyward and the vine loosed in the same direction.
Right towards me.
I nearly jumped before seeing that it stopped just short, latching onto the railing I stood behind. Immediately it retracted and yanked Niles narrowly out of harm's way. Tiles ruptured below as Niles soared high over-stage at a height between us and Ryzza. His vine loosed again at another section of railing.
Then he started swinging.
Momentum thrust him forward as he vined further along the circular railing. He released. Then latched onto the next section to swing again. Over and over. Spinning circuits around the stage below.
"What in the Abyss!?" cursed a startled applicant. "Is this allowed!?"
Karthwyn didn't react. Well, that's not exactly right. He didn't react negatively.
If anything, he almost looked impressed.
Ryzza shifted quickly to keep eyes on him - forced to wait and watch.
His vine shot across from one side of the railing to the other. He swung himself partway between and released - letting himself soar in the lights of the hanging chandeliers.
Inside the visor, Ryzza's eyes winced and narrowed. She could barely see him within the overwhelming glare.
Him, or his sword.
The halberd snapped in two before she'd even realized what happened - upper half clanging to the floor. Dots only connected when she looked down at her broken weapon to find dark fumes engulfing her face.
Coughs and sputters echoed from the armor as she stumbled away. Though while you'd expect her not to have eyes on Niles, oddly, I didn't spot him either. No one did. The geyser of fumes from the planted sword concealed him completely.
Thankfully for me - I mean, the audience, the smog cleared quickly. And it turned out he'd already landed.
First into view was Niles' right hand - having taken back up his Searing Sword. Snaked around the other? Vine Cling. But that wasn't all. Vines laced around his arm and slithered along the floor.
Wrapping itself around the upper half of Ryzza's ice halberd - essentially reduced to the size of a top-heavy, still-lethal axe.
Fire. Bio. Water. Niles wielded all three elements simultaneously.
And laughed while doing it.
"Good thing I remembered to hold my breath this time!" he chuckled to himself.
Yet his smiley expression quickly ignited into something as serious as an unbridled flame. "But now's not the time to think back. Now I pull ahead!"
Ryzza recovered from the face-full of smog, just to find Niles wielding her stolen weapon. Still, she had the security of her armor. So she didn't hesitate throw aside the useless rod of ice and charge for Niles.
Though oddly, Niles didn't match her charge. Instead he backed off - letting the vine extend between him and the frozen axe lying on the stage. It was only when Ryzza neared the weapon that I clocked his intent.
Suddenly he spun around his whole body - fighting against the weight tied to the end of his arm. The axe lifted off the ground and whipped around Niles.
Revolving straight into Ryzza's torso.
Shards of ice burst outward as the weapon buried itself in the Glacial Armor's heart. Ryzza's momentum came to an instant stop. A yank through the vine and the axe was unearthed - revealing a deep gash across her cracked chest. Her ward went narrowly unscathed.
But green light shined within the fissure.
"Haaah!" Niles rushed forward, emboldened. As Ryzza reeled, he drove into a brutal series of frost and flame.
Spinning axe shattered a leg and dropped Ryzza on the other. She threw a quick punch. Searing Sword was quicker and melted through a severed arm that quickly hit the ground. Axe whipped into her side and sent deeper cracks through her chest as sword cleaved through the other leg.
Chunks and shards and droplets flew and fell like hail and rain. Niles didn't stop.
He flipped and cut an upwards gash into the left of Ryzza's helmet - revealing a world of terror in the woman's frozen eye and strung-up brow.
Niles' boots hit the ground, standing across from the now dismantled armor. It had no arms or legs; the frozen shell barely propped upright. He approached what remained of the icy torso and helmet - axe grinding behind him. Fuming blade extended to lay its tip atop her scarred chest.
"How's this?" Smoke surrounded his dark eyes, an unnerving sight underscored by the violent sizzling of ice. "You come out of that armor yourself. Or… I melt you out. Break you out. Or swing you around and around until you hurtle offstage. Your call."
Second by second more of her armor melted away from the heat. I couldn't tell if it was thawed ice or nervous sweat running down her face, then. But what she said next was unmistakable.
"I… I forfeit!"
Smog lightened around Niles; his sword lost its red luster in an instant. "You… what!?"
"Ryzza forfeits the victory to Niles!" announced Karthwyn.
The swordsman's wide eyes jumped from the Commandant back to Ryzza. "What? Why? I didn't break your ward - just your armor; you were still in the game!"
What was left of Ryzza's armor deactivated, falling to chunks around her feet before reducing into dissipating sparks of blue magic. Only then did Ryzza start to shiver. "W-well…" her eyes rose nervously.
Niles glanced up at us. Then he lowered his voice to a near-silence. "It's that armor of yours. Am I right?"
Another shiver ran through the woman.
"Helps you feel brave, don't it?" he asked. "Protected and safe?"
"H-how could you tell?" her voice dropped too.
"I might be stupid. But I'm not dumb," he shot a thumb at his own grin. "And you? You shouldn't be such a scaredy-cat. That big popsicle art is no joke, but you're not small potatoes either. You used your bare hands on the Tower of Stone, and not just any average Joe can climb that."
"The tower? But you helped me there?"
"I stopped you from falling. Once. You're the gal who made it to the top."
Ryzza looked aside, nervousness fading into a small smile. "…But, shouldn't you be glad? You won."
"I am," he shrugged. "But we've all got our reasons for wanting in on the Order. None of us oughta throw away our one chance before sudden death; we should all brawl until the bitter end. You too, Ryzza.
As he continued, I glanced over to Karthwyn.
Shouldn't he have booted them offstage by now? Wait…
Shrewdness and wisdom were traits I could admit the Commandant held. But if an ugly sibling was squeezed between the two, it was pride.
That look… he's looking at Niles the same way he does Yamui. Like Niles has potential.
…Potential to be a tool.
Rosy cheeks lit Ryzza's otherwise pale face. "Wow, I… I never thought someone would care so much about their opponent. Especially when so much is on the line."
He smiled. "Maybe it isn't smart. But it's what I feel. So next time, if worse comes to worst, keep fighting. Then you'll be a Templar right along with me."
She chuckled, and lost herself in Niles' clueless eyes. I would've rolled my own eyes, if not for the unease Karthwyn gave me.
"…Although," she snapped out of it, looking a tad more relaxed, "if you're willing to be so open, perhaps I should too. Losing my armor… it wasn't the only reason I forfeited. When you stood over me, half your face covered in all that smog… it reminded me of you on top of the Tower of Stone. When you flew into a rage at that boy."
"Boy? You mean Ske- the dark mage?" He scratched awkwardly at his hair, as if mid-realization. "Was… was I scary, then?"
Ryzza looked away, and nodded. "I know you're a good person. But… have you, um… ever stopped to consider, that he…" She shook her head. "…Nevermind."
"What? What is it?"
"I… I shouldn't get involved. I-I don't know what I'm talking about…"
"Ryzza?" The last fumes faded from the air above. "You can't start on me and then skip the part where you finish! What is it you're trying to sa-"
"I believe that is more than enough fraternization," interjected Karthwyn. "Both of you, rise to the upper floor."
You son of a- shade! What was she gonna say about me? I pulled back from leaning over the rail. It almost sounded like it'd be… positive?
"Tried real hard to hear, didn't ya?" commented Soleil.
"…Not tried. Did. Didn't you?"
"From this far away? Quiet as they were?" she scoffed. "I've got good ears. Even I wouldn't entertain eavesdropping on those two. Not that I care what they say half as much as you do."
Good ears, my tailbone. Is everyone here deaf or something? She… wait.
"You're not gonna distract me, Soleil." I snapped fingers into an open palm. "This hand'll be expecting some rounds to weigh it down."
"Lucky you, that Niles guy happened to be one of those real unpredictable types. But a bet's a bet." Soleil spit into a hand and suddenly shook mine. "You'll get it all after I get that first juicy Templar stipend."
I frowned at my moist palm. "…You could've just said 'deal'".
From the corner of my eye came Ryzza and Niles, rising to the same ground as us. As they approached the others, Karthwyn's voice rose again. "With that match, the first round has come to a close. Belonging to each of you is either a single victory or a single loss."
His exacting gaze targeted all of us a moment before moving onto the next applicant - of course - skipping over me. "As we progress into the second round, I expect you all to be conscious of where you stand: on the verge, or merely a step away from it."
…Right. Our very small group's gonna shrink further, real soon.
Those on thin ice showed it on their faces, and even those with a win didn't look a whole lot less tense. No one was safe or screwed just yet. In one sense, a blessing. In another, a bane.
Beads of sweat crawled along my forehead. This next match of mine mattered more than anything. No matter who stood across from me, I had to defeat them. There was no other way.
These thoughts boiled under the surface of the seemingly calm conversation Soleil and I shared as the round's first match was called - between two applicants I didn't know. That one ended and a second was called. Then a third. Maybe I should've been glad to have my final judgement postponed for a time.
But Abyss, I just wanna get this over with…
A flash of lightning magic decimated an applicant's ward below. Unlike the two that were defeated before, this applicants already held a previous loss.
She was a blue-haired woman. One who fought hard, but just wasn't up to snuff compared to Cirian. Her air of confidence shattered when Karthwyn announced the match's results. Tears and knees dropped to the stage, and the Commandant had to threaten to come get her himself before she budged to the escalift.
Most of us watched on grimly when the applicant bawled and begged in front of him to let her stay. She tried to tell a tale of poverty and necessity that Karthwyn shut down before I could even gauge its truthfulness.
Merriline was commanded to take her away, and the short Templar did her duty without a shred of joy. Soon the door to the commons closed quietly.
And then we were nineteen.
But as for me? I barely batted an eye throughout.
She was one of the applicants who banded together to take me out after the preliminaries. One who threatened to beat me down and throw me out if I didn't carry myself out of the Ordeals. A week ago, I might've felt a sliver of pity for her, even then.
Now? I felt nothing.
Yet somehow, that "nothing" was still more than the minstrel's stifled laughter.
"How pathetic can ya get?" Soleil whispered, flicking a tear from the edge of her eye. "A sob story? Really? Imagine bein' so naive you think for a second that'll save ya - here."
I nodded. "Yeah."
I saw it in her eye. She expected me to vengeful - after all, she must've been in the commons when the mob formed to hunt me down. Soleil knew that woman was an enemy.
"Getting tossed out is exactly what she deserves," I added smoothly, like I'd always meant to say it. "I hope those tears we saw are just the start."
Soleil seemed to like the sentiment. I hoped she would.
And yet… something felt off.
"As for the rest of you," Karthwyn turned back to us, "any further tantrums will not be treated with such merciful hands. But enough delay. Next to take to the stage," his gaze turned eastward, "Ra'Kol."
An eager grin flashed over Soleil's face. "Ooh! Wonder who he's up against?"
"Your opponent," the Commandant continued," shall be Soleil."
Somehow, that smirk doubled. In both size.
And hunger…