20 CHAPTER 20: All Alone

Born to two fairly rich individuals, Schelo Provim was from one of many families whose financial status stood somewhere in between that of the royals and commoners. Such families were dubbed nobles by the citizens for the brave and noble acts they performed for Zodia's protection and prosperity.

The Provim family, like the Vilhorms, excelled in the wind element and were thus closely associated with the Vilhorms. Many suspected a possible blood relation between the two families, but further exploration on the subject was discouraged by the Vilhorms.

Unlike the Vilhorms, who used their resources to better their lives, the Provims put most of their resources into designing more efficient techniques and improving themselves. Both of Schelo's parents worked at the Hunters Division, a place that many Provims would call their second home.

The Hunters Division worked for the citizens of Zodia, not answering to any higher authority other than the King and Queen. They accepted requests from the citizens for the right price. These quests ranged from catching thieves to hunting down large monstrous beasts that harmed the livelihood of the people, the latter usually costing a fortune.

Both of Schelo's parents had passed away when he turned 20, leaving him alone to manage the Provim household. A burden so huge, that he would hand it over to his uncle immediately and then run away, secluding himself from everyone as he traveled the many peaks of Zodia's cold mountains and explored the depths of its serene caves.

There was no doubt that Schelo would have made many enemies on his journey, Ray thought as he recalled Schelo's story while dealing with the continuous slashes of his enemy. "Now wonder he was killed so early."

A bitter taste built up in his mouth as the thought passed his mind once more, giving his opponent a chance to land a shallow cut on Ray's arm. Luckily Ray had dodged away to keep the damage to its lowest.

"Focus!" He shouted at himself, clearing his mind of the useless thoughts that hindered him. His goal was simple: stop the attacker's movements using [Typhoon Barrier] and then, using [Cyclone Fist], an upgraded version of [Burst Fist], disarm the opponent. He assumed that there would be no time to grab the sword and thus decided to follow it up with [Swift Katars].

[Typhoon Barrier] used a concept similar to [Air Crystallization] where the user, instead of hardening all the air at once, hardened it one layer after another in the form of a spiral instead of a rectangular platform. The multiple layers and spiral shape allowed for maximum shock absorption, making [Typhoon Barrier] one of the most effective defensive techniques.

[Cyclone Fist], like [Burst Fist] enveloped the fist in swirling winds, except the air current here was made much stronger by a uniform direction of flow. In [Burst Fist] the user did not spend their energy on controlling the wind's start and end point, therefore in some cases oppositely directed winds would cancel each other out, rendering the attack useless. [Cyclone Fist], therefore, demanded much more concentration and effort from the user, but it also delivered a heavier hit that could easily daze the opponent.

[Swift Katars], one of the simplest techniques in wind magic, was the wind counterpart of the [Flamethrower] technique that Wolfe had learnt. It could be taken to a higher step by forming a tapering, sharper end to slice through the opponent easily.

With a solid plan in place, Ray initiated [Typhoon Barrier]. The sword slipped out of the opponent's hand as it hit the hardened air, flustering them and giving Ray the last chance to end this fight.

Immediately following up with [Cyclone Fist], Ray sent the opponent off their feet and flying into the nearby wall. The impact caused the opponent's ribs to crack, multiple shards of bone lodging themselves into soft, tender flesh.

Long light green katars sprung out of Ray's hands as he jumped forward, directing both of them towards the enemy's heart. The tapering ends made it easy for the sharp air blades to pierce the flesh and puncture the heart.

Ray ceased the technique, the katars vanishing while still lodged in the opponent's heart. Using the sensory technique, he located where the light rod had been flung to and picked it up, all the while checking on the fallen foe just to be safe they were dead.

He injected his magic into the metallic sphere, the room filling up with a comfortable glow once again. But comfort is always fleeting. Ray's curiosity had already tapped his mind and it directed him towards the lifeless body of his opponent.

The warm touch that the light had given him earlier was completely lost at the sight of the body, replaced by a sickly chill that pricked every inch of his body. Suddenly the doubts he had had at the beginning of the fight returned, mocking his naivety and his absurd skill of ignoring the obvious. He shouldn't have let curiosity get the better of him. He should have left the room long before he found the bodies.

He should have never come down here in the first place.

The painful reality shredded his psyche in an instance. An odd sense of tranquility purged his tortured mind as a single tear rolled down the crevice of his nose. He, just like the lonesome tear that fell out of his eye, was all alone in this vast world.

Lying in front of him was the tattered body of someone he was way too familiar with. Someone who had shown him compassion despite how snobby he was.

"How ironic," Ray thought. "I got rid of the only person who could help me get rid of my loneliness. Maybe I'm meant to be alone."

His self-pity escalated quickly into harmful thoughts and he broke into tears. His eyes puffing up as he rubbed the tears away. He screamed in pain as the gravity of his actions pushed him down. He wailed in anguish as a lump formed in his throat. His body refused to breathe and he gasped desperately for air. All he could do once he found it was curse himself and the rest of the world.

The agonising reality made its home in Ray's mind for another 30 minutes, escalating quickly, tainting his happy memories with a grey unsaturated filter that invoked only sorrow.

"All alone." He said to himself once the tears had run out and his eyes were reddened to the point that they looked bloodshot.

"All alone," he repeated softly as he left the side of the man who had taught him a little about compassion. The teacher he wished to make proud with his growth. The teacher whose last breaths he had snatched away.

"All alone." He said angrily as he walked away from Schelo.