Volume 02 - Prologue

https://open.spotify.com/track/1fd3XY9w5SzDPT40K92Bch?si=MnImFXxWSoCw6S0NoVQ4AQ&utm_source=copy-link

[ Play this while reading... I am serious (-_____-) ]

*********** 4 years later **************

Tension lingered in the air like a static mist.

The lingering veil of tension was suffocating, like an acidic miasma, making everyone stand on their tiptoes.

The lofty trees extended upwards and then bent inwards, forming a semi-canopy letting a meagre amount of sunlight illuminate the ground below in a sphere shape without any interruptions. Multiple other streaks of sunlight made their way towards the field, passing through the narrow passageways between the interlinked branches.

Standing across Arthur (kiyotaka) were three individuals.

Virion stood in a battle stance, the grip over his wooden sword tightening. Aya was already fading away in a translucent mist. A wary look was plastered over her perfectly sculpted face, her black hair tied back in a high pony while her obsidian eyes kept track of every twitch in his muscle.

In a far corner, Alea stood looking at Arthur with concern.

"Is it really okay for all of us to compete against him? I get he's strong but isn't this too much?" Alea spoke, directing Virion.

"Don't get deceived by his cute face. He's a demon incarnate", Aya spoke as her figure completely disappeared from the battlefield.

Alea looked at Virion and then at Arthur who was just standing with his hands tucked inside his pants pockets. Slowly drawing them out he let out a tired sigh, "I am just an ordinary human."

A scoff escaped Virion's mouth as he directed the tip of his wooden sword towards Arthur, "If normal humans were like you, Elenoir would've fallen 100 times over", Virion said and coated himself in a thick layer of mana. Mana clung to him like a second skin, hardening his defenses.

Alea was still standing in the far corner, unperturbed by the warnings given by Virion and Aya.

Virion kept his eyes on Arthur as his left foot dig inside the ground, his back bending forward.

Lightning crackled all around him. Fire mana turned into its deviant form. The particles in the air thrummed, producing an eerie beat. Like air itself was foreshadowing something. Something ominous.

Virion's eyes were fixed on Arthur. He merely blinked and he disappeared. Despite his senses knowing where he was, his body remained fixed in its position. Then Arthur's image from his eyes began to vanish. His perception being countered by his incomprehensible speed.

Dashing past Virion, Arthur arrived in front of Alea. His sapphire eyes met Teal ones which widened in disbelief.

"You're first", his hushed whisper was like sonic boom upon her ears. Vines shot up like a series of programmed explosions from the ground, acting like a natural defense for her. Just as she thought the attack stopped, a hand clad in ice with sweltering blue flames bypassed her plant magic defenses. Cutting through it like butter his hand reached for her face.

*Clangggg*

A loud sound echoed, followed by a crack in the ground. Virion's sword blocked Arthur's augmented claw, a frustrated look over his face. He looked back, over his shoulders, "Get yourself together, Alea", Virion barked at her. Snapping out of her daze, she jumped back, creating a huge distance between herself and Arthur. Arthur's grip over the bladed end of Virion's sword tightened as it broke under the force of phenomenal amounts of mana clashing from opposite sides.

Spinning his torso, Arthur spun and kicked Virion's midsection. The blow landed square as his whole body recoiled from the impact of lightning infused kick. Tendrils of lightning latched onto him, as his left half started convulsing and spasming violently.

Arthur's form disappeared just before Aya's dagger slashed down at him.

"TSK", Aya grunted as her silhouette faded away in the translucent mist once again.

"Alea. Sabotage his mobility. The rest will be easy", Aya's voice echoed from everywhere. Alea nodded in affirmation as vines shot up from every direction. The ground splintered from the impact of spell. The vines started spreading, covering the entirety of the battlefield.

Arthur looked around him, analyzing every shift in mana fluctuation. Every spell- both in process and already conjured. His eyes landed on Alea and then on Virion. They were working in tandem.

The ground was shifting and turning, influenced by Alea's plant magic. Virion was moving towards Arthur, wispy black aura already engulfing him. His speed increased and the green surroundings around blurred past him. His claw clad in a black aura of his beast will neared Arthur's face while new vines sprouted from behind.

"What a pain", Arthur sighed.

The ground beneath the churning vines exploded as a mountainous block of ice with a spearhead emerged. The trees fell as the temperature around them dropped visibly. Flakes of ice dropped on the ground, followed by the near instant cast of spikes made of ice.

A spike grazed Alea's cheek, drawing a streak of blood. Just as he dashed towards her, Virion intercepted him while Aya fired sound attacks at him.

Aya grunted once again. None of her illusion were working on him. His mind was too strong and had many defenses built around it, not allowing her a moment of sabotage.

Virion and Arthur engaged in a flurry of strikes, exchanging a blow for a blow- a punch for a punch, a kick for kick. Torrents of air formed and mana trembled as both of them exchanged hundreds of strikes in a matter of few seconds.

Aya tried to dash in using her dagger.

The moisture in the air condensed around Arthur once again. Coalescing the moisture around his back, 6 swords manifested in the shape of a lotus. A greatsword formed in his hand as he got into a defensive stance, blocking Aya's dagger.

Taking advantage of his position, Virion dashed once again towards Arthur. Ice blades that revolved around him perked. their sharp ends pointing at Virion. Like a missile the hurtled towards him at astronomical speeds.

Alea was about to move, trying to manipulate the vines stuck beneath the titanic weight of the iceberg conjured by Arthur.

The wispy aura around Virion started to dissipate, his second phase fading away.

Without speaking anything, Arthur's palm touched Virion's abdomen. A gust of wind formed in it, twisting violently as it turned into a vortex. His body seemed to bend inside it before the vortex exploding as he was sent tumbling into a nearby wall just beside Alea.

Alea's teal eyes looked at Virion's incapacitated form, an unbridled disbelief in her eyes.

"Don't take your eye off of your opponent", Arthur's whisper fell on her ears as arms made of stones sprouted and grabbed her.

Arthur's ice-sword was stopped mid-way as a dagger pressed against his nape, "Its over", Aya exclaimed. Arthur looked back at her, from the corner of his eye as his whole form vanished in a translucent mist.

Their roles switched as Arthur's sword touched Aya's nape. He remained quiet, his eyes shining in a deep shade of sapphire. No words exchanged as they both remained static.

Virion out of breath, Aya incapacitated while Alea's vines had Arthur surrounded from everywhere, ready to stab and disarm him. Arthur's raised his hands up in a placating manner.

"I lost", he declared.

"Lost my ass. You didn't even use your strongest deviant, let alone your will", Virion spoke, groaning as he stood up, dusting the dirt off his robes.

Aya and Alea's eyes shifted from Virion to Arthur who just looked the other way.

"It's almost time", he mumbled under his breath.

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-- UNKNOWN LOCATION --

"No..."

"I don't deserve this..."

"If anything, it should've been him..."

"Then why!???" A figure exclaimed, looking at its reflection.

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(A/n Wassup, peeps. I am back, with da prologue. [ Volume 02 ] has begun. Won't be answering who this is.

The only hint I can give is that there are a total of 4 reincarnates from COTE verse. That's it. Thank you very much. Hope you enjoy the chapter. See ya all later)