Ego

"Am I just seeing things, or is that some sort of barrier in front of us?" 

The Golden Six, or rather, the Golden Four, stood in an empty hallway before one of the many exits to the coliseum, only for a thin layer blocking them.

-TAP TAP TAP

"Nope, I see it too. What do you think it is?" Cain added, tapping the barrier a few times with his forefinger.

"I can't feel any P.S. from it, so it's most likely an Artifact and a strong one at that," Lucy added, placing her hand in the barrier.

Just from a touch, they knew that even their joint effort wouldn't be enough to break the barrier.

Not that they wanted to do it. They didn't know what it was. They might get in trouble with the Hales if this was part of the event.

"I wonder what's going on. It's too quiet…" 

Before Ava could finish her words, she was cut short as she paused. 

The others seemed to notice her abrupt halt in words as if something forced the air lungs to stop.

"Ava, what's…" 

Amara was the first to say something, turning her head as if she were a worried mother, only for her and the others to join in the sudden silence upon noticing the figure standing in the same hallway.

The figure was tall and thin. If it had white skin and a suit, Lucy would think it was one of those mythical creatures she read about.

And although its long arms and legs did support that theory, its dark and deformed skin as if it had been burned, and the absence of eyes or their sockets.

Perhaps the most normal thing about it was the peculiar cane it carried.

Instantly, the four students put off their guard, unconsciously falling into a sort of formation with Cain and Lucy taking the lead as Amara kept Ava behind her.

[Terror: Blind Boogeyman]

[Inherited Character: Fujitora]

[Verse: One Piece]

"Is that…" 

"A Terror, yes."

Lucy finished Cain's sentence. He was not sure whether it was, seeing as he'd never seen one.

"You were right, Ava. Something wrong. What's a Terror doing in the Coliseum?" Amara commented, the others nodding in agreement.

First the barrier and now the Terror. It was too many coincidences happening at once.

"We should find…" 

Before Cain could finish, they witnessed the Terror raise its cane and point it at them.

-ZRMM

A slight hum buzzed in the air.

-BANG

Simultaneously, all four students dropped to the ground with a BANG, a sudden pressure falling onto them as it felt as though their weight was multiplied by a thousand.

Cain, being the only person who could slightly resist the pressure, dropped to a single knee rather than his stomach like the others.

The four students let out strained groans as Amara was the only person who seemed to be putting in an effort to get up.

All the while, Ava's innocent demeanour disappeared, replaced by a poorly resisted grin that slowly crept up on her face.

"A-Ava…" 

This sudden hoarse voice snapped Ava back to her right mind as she turned her eyes to see Amara trying her best to crawl toward her.

"Hang…on…" 

Amara had long activated her Ren, but it was proving to be insufficient as she was only barely able to move.

Meanwhile, a vein bulged on the side of Cain's head as he finally made it to his feet, placing both the back of his hands on his forehead.

"M-Mase…" 

-ZRMMM

-BOOM

However, before he could finish, the pressure over them suddenly increased tenfold, smashing them all deeper into the ground as they all lay in their own craters.

Amara tried her best to increase her Ren output to get not only Ava but all of them out of this situation. However, she was having trouble simply breathing, let alone moving.

Meanwhile, Ava didn't need to put on a fake pained expression as she, too, was starting to have trouble breathing.

But this did nothing but increase her already high heartbeat.

Cain had trained in gravity rooms but this was far beyond anything he could manage at the moment.

Though he didn't seem to be struggling as much as the others, even pushing himself a few centimetres off the ground, he ultimately failed.

However, his eyes caught movement beside him as he turned his head, only to notice Lucy…standing on both feet, seeming as though the pressure wasn't affecting her.

"Lucy Vanheart…" 

A faint hum could be heard as Lucy summoned her sleek white sword into her hand, unsheathing it and raising it in the air.

Cain barely knew what to think.

All he could see was Lucy mumbling a few words, raising her sword leisurely as her eyes stared at the Terror like a catch glaring at a mouse.

And breathing out, Lucy brought down her sword.

-SHING

-BOOM

At first, a single cut traced across the roof and seemed as though it cut the entire coliseum in half, soon coming down as it bore down on the Terror, cutting through it as if it were butter.

After that, it was as if a meteor…no, the very air collapsed in on itself, destroying everything before the group as an explosion rang out, everything crumbling.

At least, that was what Cain understood from the scene.

He, Amara and Ava watched in awe as they hadn't even realised the pressure had returned to normal and everything would soon come down on them.

"Grab onto each other!"

Lucy yelled in an urgent tone, snapping the others out of their trance as they stood to their feet, watching Lucy grab Ava's hand and do the same despite their confusion.

Once again, Lucy mumbled, and as she did, the scenery changed.

In an instant, the crumbling hallway they were in disappeared, replaced with a fairly sized locker room.

The three students looked around, noticing Lucy's unsteady breathing and the seemingly closed room they were in.

But most surprisingly…

"Jett?" Cain looked at the boy, who shot up from his seat upon noticing the figure who seemingly appeared from thin air.

Beside him stood a tall and handsome boy with luscious flowing hair.

"Cain where did…where did you all come from?" He asked, looking around to check if there wasn't an entrance he didn't know about.

"What's going on outside?" Eli added.

"I'm not really too sure myself…" 

"No time to explain. Everyone grab onto each other like before." Lucy cut off Cain as she went back to hold Ava's hand again.

Her unnatural willingness for physical contact was overshadowed by her urgent tone as Cain grabbed onto the confused Jett's hand.

"Wait, what's…" 

Before Eli and Jett could ask, barely a second had passed before the scenery changed once again.

Only this time, they were outside the coliseum. Standing outside the exit they'd tried to leave earlier before being stopped by the barrier and confronted by the Terror.

"...going on?" 

Jett completed his sentence, his sense of curiosity for everything that was suddenly happening disappearing for a second as he noticed the change in scenery.

"Where are we?" He asked in a confused tone that was emphasised by his high-pitched tone.

"I'll ask again, what's going on?" Eli was starting to become wary as he eyed everyone present.

"This is the outside of the Coliseum. We were just behind that door not too long ago." Lucy explained in between breaths.

She didn't seem extremely out of breath. No, rather seemed as though she went on a light jog.

"I'm surprised to see it looks intact after the carnage you caused," Amara commented, slowly switching her gaze between the building and Lucy.

"Speaking of which, I can no longer track everyone." 

Upon Lucy saying this, the others turned their heads. Jett, finally seeming as though he understood something, spoke first.

"Can't you just…do whatever to get it going again?" He asked, realising he knew nothing about how her ability worked.

"No. I was only able to do it before because I was prepared and had everyone in a single location." Lucy revealed, the others sighing in defeat.

"Well, what now? What do we do?" Ava asked.

-BOOM

Before they could say anymore, an ear-piercing BOOM rang out in all of Ashton, a shockwave that was no weaker than a large bomb exploding from an unknown location.

After a few seconds, the students regained their composure as they looked around.

"W-What…" Stammered Eli, his jaw dropped.

"That came from the forest." Amara looked to the others, then to the forest.

"That's where I last sensed Isaac," Lucy added.

'Him…' Eli's ears perked toward where the name came from like a curious cat as his previous suspicion disappeared.

"Isaac? Is he in the forest? Is that why he didn't show?" Jett asked, to which the others nodded.

"Okay, we stick to our original plan. We were right. Something is happening in Ashton City and it looks like a big part of it has to do with that explosion. That's where we'll go." Cain looked to the others as they agreed.

Except for a Jett.

"That's not true. Look at the Coliseum. Some people have taken everyone inside hostage. My Grandpa." He stated, pointing back to the Coliseum.

The others paused for a second. They had left the seating area before everything happened, therefore they didn't know.

"While we were inside, we came across a Terror. A pretty strong one at that. We almost died." Cain revealed as Jett widened his eyes.

He'd never heard of a Terror seemingly wandering around inside Spawn, let alone one of the most guarded events.

"If Lucy can even get us back inside, we'll be nothing more than fodder, getting in the way of Grandmaster Hale and Vice Principal Harrison. We won't be of any help in there." 

"I hate to admit it, but I don't think my last attack put down that Terror. Or even posed much trouble. It's nothing short of terrifying, considering I watched its head become sliced in two." 

A cold silence enveloped the area as they all looked at each other.

Jett wanted to retort, but no words came out of his mouth. The truth was, even his Grandfather seemed threatened and on edge.

What could he do other than worry the old man?

"Fine. Let's go." Jett nodded, finally making up his mind and Cain nodded back at him.

"I'm in too," Eli commented, all eyes turning to him as he'd stayed quiet and listened all this time.

'I want to meet him again.'

The others nodded as he said this. They'd already brought him along. They didn't have much of a choice.

"Great. I'll contact Daniel. We'll need him." 

As Cain said this, Ava could be seen falling into deep thought once again.

'Damnit! Just how deep of a hole are you burying for yourself?' 

Despite her thinking this, Ava couldn't help but also want to find out what was happening in the forest.

Meanwhile, in an empty locker room, the door swung open as a middle-aged man in a black and white suit stepped in.

"Master Jett…" 

Edwards started in an urgent tone, only to come to an abrupt stop as he looked around to find no one.

"M-Master Jett? Eli?" 

***

~A Few Minutes Prior~

A being that seemed as though its skin was made out of endless voids stood with its arms dangling, standing before a different figure not too far away.

With a face that was difficult to deduce whether it was real or not due to the Dark fog exuding off the figure, he stood with three sleek black tails pointing toward the void man.

Despite the figure's uniform looking torn and filthy, his face drew most of the attention. 

Without saying a word, the void man raised his arm, a ball of void appearing in his hand.

-VUAM

-BOOM

A massive beam of void shot toward the figure, the beam pulling in everything around it and swallowing them.

Even the very ground saw itself disappearing without being able to put up a fight.

Despite this, the figure didn't move.

"Draw."

[You've unlocked the Perk "Complete Gravitational Control" Lvl. MAX]

[Gauge: 100% -> 50%]

The figure said no words, the contents on how to use his new Perk flooding into his mind.

By simply raising his arm, he spread out his fingers as the beam reached closer.

-VUAM

In an instant, the beam's course changed as the Figure's arm shot backwards as if he was experiencing recoil from a gun.

The beam instantly switched its angle as it shot up into the sky, travelling at rapid speeds.

-BOOM

Soon, a deafening BOOM rang out throughout the forest…no, throughout all of Ashton as the beam seemingly collapsed in on itself.

"Interesting…" 

For once, the figure spoke while staring at his hand, his voice hoarse yet hushed, like a ghost whispering in your ear.

Looking back, he took one step forward.

-VUAM

-BANG

Another beam shot toward him. Only this time, he waved his arm and the beam completely snapped away, a small CLAP being heard as the beam seemed as though it was twisted out of existence.

Despite this, the voidman didn't stop. He rapidly swung his arms as countless beams shot toward the figure, the very landscape being changed, and the trees for miles were sucked in, creating a vast clearing where the battle ensued.

-SNAP

-SNAP

-SNAP

Yet not a single beam touched the figure as he continued to walk forward, waving his arm and each being twisting like the last.

One minute had passed.

[Gauge: 50% -> 49%]

It wasn't long until the figure made it toward the voidman.

The voidman had long since paused in its assault. Perhaps it had tired itself out, or perhaps it realised it was no match for its opponent.

Nevertheless, the former was immediately proven true as the voidman raised both hands in the air, a void appearing and rapidly growing in size.

-SNAP

However, with another snap, this time, the very coating of the void man disappeared as it revealed a naked bald man with his eyes rolled back into his skull, still standing in the same stance with his arms raised.

One of the figure's tails wrapped around the man as he brought it closer.

And for a second, he stared.

"Better…" 

The figure, or rather Isaac, muttered in his ghostly voice as he continued to stare.

Something about this sight…pleased him.

The sight of someone who was thought to be an elite of both Aurelius and Onyx, pathetically defeated before him.

Though he felt this when beating the Juggernaut and winning against Katlynn, it was stronger now.

And unlike then, he had a better idea of what it was. What he was feeling.

"I am superior."

Xavier seemed to slowly be coming back to his senses as his eyes showed some colour, his pupils rolling to the figure before him.

Despite the mask, he knew who this was.

And the words Isaac spoke irked him to no end.

"I am stronger." 

He didn't care.

Isaac didn't care that he'd alerted all of Ashton with his explosion.

He didn't care that he might be seen as the "villain" responsible for all this.

He didn't care that he had a mission to stay focused on.

Because for once…

For once, Isaac's dream of peace, his dream to be strong enough so that no one would bother him again, didn't seem so…unrealistic.

With every sentence, Isaac brought Xavier closer, squeezing tighter as he did, finally pausing for a second before his cold and ghostly voice spoke one more time.

"I am better." 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Next chapter title: Superiority

NNext chapter title: Come after me

NNNext chapter title: Unlikely Encounter

Alright, gimme dem powerstones. You seem to think you have a choice in the matter. I want it, now.

Sorry, I meant I want the...

POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

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