"1 hit!"
Shato raises the index finger of his right hand, wrapped in a white bandage.
"If you land one hit, you win. I'll only defend. And we'll do this until you can't go on anymore."
I stretch my legs, then my arms, then my back, and throw Shato a grin.
"A little too easy, isn't it?" I ask cockily and let my hands circle.
"Oho, someone had confidence for breakfast?" Shato replies and lets his hand drop.
At the same time his eyes glow matte white and deep black.
"I just had a terrible teacher!" I counter, inhale, close my eyes, exhale and open my shining violet pupils.
"Ouch. That actually hurt," Shato says and scratches his head.
"Heh. That's going to hurt a lot more!" I roar and wind up with my right hand.
Immediately my lilac veil flares, forming a denser violet around my arm that charges for the first strike. As if charging my attack, it gets denser and firmer, thicker and compact, brighter and stronger.
Until the bundled light becomes a blade. A massive blade that extends beyond my fist and lets no speck of light through.
Then I inhale again, bend my knees, exhale every last bit of oxygen from my lungs and push off.
I'm fast — it takes barely a second to close the training-hall floor and I stand right in front of Shato, blade drawn and a beacon of drive in my eyes. Before my pupils flash and I roar with all my might. Roar and strike.
Only to see Shato's veil densify, forming a barrier, and my concentrated blade slam into it. A shockwave follows the impact, a bang the whirling dust, while the violet light flashes but the black barrier does not budge. Still I press on, lower my gaze, close my eyes and push, brace, try to overpower it. The blade's light burns brighter, sparks turn into a crackling glow that leaks at the edges and paints the whole room violet. Until the lack of oxygen becomes noticeable. Until my calves glow with lilac light. Until my blade falters, wavers and finally dies. Abruptly I lose my footing, inhale, stagger forward and smash my face against Shato's black barrier.
"Lesson number one," he begins while I, smiling, push off the black veil and wipe the blood from my nose into my sleeve.
"If you condense your energy enough, it becomes physical. Whether barrier or attack."
Shato's words echo through the room as I let my veil flare again and inhale deeply once more.
"And when two physical attacks collide, the stronger one wins. Either the one who has more energy left or the one who can concentrate more of it."
Shato raises a finger in a lecturing manner, but I don't care — my focus is on the next strike as the violet light gathers at both my arms and I push off again.
This time with two blades: I strike right, then left, then right again and finally both at once. Shato's barrier only thickens before each impact and catches every one of my attacks with ease.
"Lesson number two!" he calls at the same moment I finish my flurry of blows and step back again. "Offense is the better defense!"
The violet blades vanish in an instant as I close my eyelids, concentrate, and the blazing veil around my body swells.
"Because a physical aura consumes more energy the bigger it is. And a barrier is usually larger than a single blade. So it uses more energy with every impact."
Shato holds up a second finger while I open my eyes and four small spheres form inside my huge veil.
"And that's why physical barriers are very vulnerable."
No sooner has he finished speaking than four almost translucent blades form from the four spheres, each as long as my forearm. My veil expands again and even encloses Shato, and I lift my right hand toward him, commanding it.
On cue the hovering blades fly off while Shato just smiles and waits. He waits until the first blade flies over him, the second and third shatter against his dense barrier like glass hitting the floor, and the last blade stops.
Abruptly, as if from nowhere — but entirely logical, because until now I only wanted to demonstrate: to apply what I learned like the excellent student I am.
"Lesson number three!" Shato calls and raises a third finger. "Non-physical attacks are the mortal enemy of a physical barrier! They will shatter on the barrier, true, but you lose far less energy than the barrier user. That's exactly why you should never keep a barrier up permanently."
I inhale again, form spheres again and fashion blades once more, as if to confirm his theory — or to saw off his raised third finger. It's hard to tell, while the first beads of sweat fall from my brow, my breathing and heartbeat quicken, and I send the blades into the attack again.
With one difference: this time Shato drops the barrier, leaving only the black-and-white veil visible.
A non-physical veil, and yet my non-physical blades still shatter on it. If in fewer pieces, they do break — confirming the third lesson.
"And your veil is enough to repel a non-physical attack."
I breathe faster, clench my fists and close my eyes.
"You should give up, Vio."
I smile.
"Apparently you did put a lot of thought into it. But it still isn't enough. So far you've used up most of your energy. If you keep going like this, you'll probably collapse in two to three minutes. I, on the other hand, didn't even have to take a single step."
My grin widens, my breathing gets heavier, my heartbeat noticeable.
In my ears, in my veins, in my thoughts.
A first stabbing pain shoots through my body and I nearly vomit. A feeling I know all too well — I've felt it often enough over the last five days. How it feels to hit your limit.
"That said, I have to say I found your idea somewhat disappointing."
Shato continues, scratching his chin and avoiding my gaze, as if he's already won. But my will is tougher than ever.
"Because if you hadn't put everything into that first strike, you'd probably still be standing like a one now."
He's right, and yet I don't care. The pounding in my ears gets louder and his words blur. They're drowned out partly by my heart and partly by the drive flaring in my shining pupils.
"But apparently you don't care."
Shato looks at me, smiling and sighing. Satisfied and disappointed. None of that matters to me, because my hand slips into the pocket of my sweatpants. Ready for battle and sure of victory. My violet veil pulls back around me and I take a small gray pouch from the pocket.
"Aha… so you do have something left up your sleeve?" Shato asks, but I don't answer.
How could I, when my thoughts only revolve around winning. Winning at all costs.
Clutching the pouch in a balled fist, I draw back, wrap my arm in another violet shimmer, throw with all my strength, push off the floor and barrel toward him.
"Lesson four!" Shato calls at the same time as his veil becomes a barrier, the pouch smashes against it, shatters, and a cloud of flour bursts out.
It instantly clouds the view — at least a little — while I form my two blades and go in with a final thrust. As frontal as possible. Confident of victory as Shato focuses completely on me. My blades are only the disguise; barely has another violet blade appeared behind him. Not just any blade — the one I placed at the start. The one I placed there when it flew over him. When I supposedly missed him.
When he taught me the second lesson.
Now or never — that hits me in an instant. Now is the moment to show him what I've learned. That was my first thought.
Why Shato suddenly smiles, my second.
"Perception is your greatest ally. Whoever gathers the most information will be victorious in the end."
I still hear his calm words before the black barrier vanishes, the black-and-white veil dies out, and he jumps — directly over my blades. Over me, my attack, my surprise. As if he had anticipated it.
No — as if he had known. As if my plan had been so obvious in the first place.
Staggering, I come to a stop — behind me, victorious, Shato lands, while even my last surprise, that final floating blade, dissolves into thin air.
My vision blurs, my veil flickers and shrinks until it barely clings weakly to my body, and my breath catches.
"A clever trick. With the flour, you wanted me to form a barrier. With your frontal attack, you wanted to draw my attention. But I hadn't forgotten the blade. Next time, you should probably hide it."
Without turning around, Shato explains my mistakes, while I stand frozen — almost completely still.
Without resistance, or any stray thoughts.
Maybe even without a single heartbeat left.
"So… what now?"
Shato turns to look at me, apparently surprised that I didn't make it.
"Now, I guess I'll have to listen to her…"
I don't respond, but I still wonder. My silent body twitches slightly as the last flicker of violet fades away.
"Ah, to fill you in — after a little argument with the others, the president gave me an ultimatum. She said that if you failed my training, I'd have to give in to their wishes and smuggle you out of the city. In the outer bases of the Great Wunder Coalitions, you could live your life in peace, and I could focus more on the APH. And when you're ready someday… well…"
Shato pauses; I twitch again but don't move an inch.
"But that you'd really fail…?"
There's a hint of arrogance in his voice. Yet I don't care.
Because a spark of life flows through my body as a tear hits the floor.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. I can't refuse the ultimatum, so we'll just have to stick to it. Sorry, kid. But starting tomorrow, we'll pack our—"
"Bull…" I suddenly interrupt.
"Bull… shit," I rasp hoarsely, as another twitch runs through my body and Shato looks at me in confusion.
"Don't… bullshit me," I finish with a sob, more tears dripping down to the ground.
"I really am sorry, but you'll have to accept it. You… just aren't ready yet. Ah, but that doesn't mean you never will be. I'll come visit regularly, and we'll keep training. And then one day, you'll come back, I pro—"
"DON'T BULLSHIT ME!"
I roar — with the last of my strength, my last doubts, my last hope — fists clenched and tears streaming down my face.
"Well, whether you accept it or not, it's sti—"
"As if," I interrupt again, as a new heartbeat races through my veins.
"you could," I continue, the pounding in my ears joined by a sharp, burning pain.
"Decide that," I add, as another tear splashes into the growing puddle below.
I try to say more, but instead, I spit.
Blood fills my throat, my back arches, and I almost collapse — almost — as a faint flicker of violet flashes once more in my pupils.
"I'm not going!" I shout, forcing every last ounce of strength into my voice.
"You don't have a choice. In the end, you can't stand against us — no matter what you do."
Shato speaks the truth. And yet… I couldn't care less.
"I'm not leaving without him… I'm not leaving without him!"
I know who him means. So does Shato.
Even so, he crouches down and places a hand on my shoulder.
"Vio… Lesson Five," he begins softly.
"Sometimes, you have to know when to give up."
My eyes shoot open. The tears dry.
The faint spark inside me flares up into a surge of determination.
And I open my mouth.
"I will… never… give up… on my brother."
Warmth rushes through my veins, my breath quickens, and the pounding in my ears grows louder.
"Then I guess I'll just have to make you—"
"I," my voice echoes off the walls.
"Won't," my eyes ignite.
"Give," my fists tighten.
"Him," the veil returns.
"UP!"
I stagger forward, spin around, and let the violet light blaze up to the ceiling.
Instantly, Shato rises to his feet — his eyes flaring as he summons his own aura.
"It's useless," he breathes, just as I complete my turn and our gazes lock.
His — blank, almost disappointed.
Mine — tear-streaked, yet burning with resolve.
Because I still haven't given up.
As the violet light sharpens into a barely visible blade around my hand.
As I launch forward.
As Shato only shakes his head.
As I draw closer.
And closer.
And closer still — until I'm mere millimeters from his barrier.
And then — in an instant — my aura vanishes. Completely. As if erased.
But what doesn't disappear… is my fist.
Which suddenly passes through his veil.
"Wha—?" Shato barely manages to ask, startled, as instinct drives him to reinforce his barrier.
But he stops — because my arm is already halfway inside.
Close enough to touch him.
Close enough to push forward — to drive the last of my willpower into the strike that lands squarely against his cheek.
"You don't—" I shout like a battle cry, my voice breaking as Shato's head jerks to the side.
"—get to decide!!"
Not even a second passes before Shato steadies his footing.
Not even a blink before his arm swings back.
Not even a breath before he returns the blow — pure instinct, like a reflex born of shock.
His punch hits with full force.
In an instant, I'm sent flying across the entire room until my body crashes into the far wall.
A deafening crack echoes through the hall; debris rains down, blood spurts from my pores, even a tooth flies from my mouth before I drop limp to the floor.
"Vio!!" Shato shouts, panic in his voice, sprinting toward me the moment he sees my broken form.
"Damn it! I overdid it!" he curses, flipping me onto my back and lifting my upper body.
But against all expectation… I smile.
Even half-dead, even as blood pools beneath me — I grin as best I can.
And with the last flicker of strength, I move my lips.
"I… I… Won…"
My head tilts to the side. My eyes close. My breathing steadies.
While Shato, touching the cheek I struck, can only let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
"Wha— Wahahaha… You're such a hopeless case."
He exhales, then hoists my limp body over his back and heads toward the exit.
"But that's exactly why I love you, you little winner."