Trial by Ability: Continuation Part 2

Valentina stands up with confidence and points her fist at Luna, her hand beginning to turn a light shade of blue. 

Magnolia, now awake, says, "Her too?"

Valentina rushes toward Luna and connects with a body shot, causing Luna to cough up blood. Luna retaliates by headbutting Valentina and then slamming her head into the ground.

"Look away..." Luna says as she summons a small orb and throws it at Valentina's head, ending the fight.

"Since Valentina is unable to continue, Luna is the winner!" 

Luna is taken to the infirmary with Kibo, and Saijew begins to speak. 

"Next will be Matthew versus Abraham."

Both walk toward each other and bow, then step back before turning around to face one another.

"Begin!"

Both circle each other, observing their movements and waiting for the right moment to strike.

"I do wonder what his power is. Well, it isn't too important considering what he's up against," Abraham says quietly, still circling Matthew and waiting for him to make the first move. If only he knew...

Matthew suddenly runs toward Abraham, spawning a hole in the floor and throwing a white beam of energy that knocks Abraham into the hole.

"Sire, did you see this?" one observer asks.

"Yes, it seems like this boy can already control his contract. Impressive, considering how young he is, but it will inevitably do him no good if he can't master it in time..."

Magnolia puts the pieces together and realizes that the "contract" the Pharaoh mentioned refers to the power Matthew possesses. But he's confused about what the Pharaoh means by "if he can't master it in time." He then speaks up.

"In time? In time for what?"

"Oh, Magnolia... You all will learn very soon."

"Where did this fool take me?" Abraham mutters as he finds himself in an empty void that feels eerily familiar—the black and white spots all over the area and the unsettling atmosphere bring back memories.

…

Three years ago...

"Do you wish to know about the eternity spot?"

"Yes, Mother!" the three children scream in unison. Abraham sits on his mother's lap while Mosiah and Violet sit around them.

Isis gathers all her children close as she begins to tell the tale...

"Long ago, there was a deity who gave gifts to those who did their job when told to. Most of the time, they obeyed, but there was always a bad batch of people," she begins. "The deity didn't tolerate this bad behavior. Instead of punishing them in the traditional way, the deity had a different plan... In response to the rebellion, the god gave them a gift—a box with black and white spots all over it, cold to the touch."

"When the people opened the box, they were transported to a place—a dimension where time flows differently for each individual soul. In this dimension, people don't need to eat or sleep to survive. It's infinite in size and impossible to reach the end. When you're transported to this dimension, if someone else arrives with you, you will be unable to see them. This dimension is called the eternity spot. A soul present here will live an eternity in this spot. The black and white spots all around represent the number of souls in the dimension... an infinite number of them."

The children are all frightened by the tale, except for Abraham, who is intrigued.

"Now, can any of you tell me why this tale is important?" Isis asks.

Abraham looks up at his mother with confidence and speaks.

"It's important so we know what will happen if we disobey a deity?" 

"Yes, my son, that is correct."

…

"So, this is the eternity spot, huh? Mother never said there was a way out, did she? Guess I'll have to find one myself..." Abraham muses as he looks around.

… 

The children are all in disbelief about what Matthew did to Abraham.

"I-Is he still alive?"

"How did he do that... Where did he take him?"

…

While trapped in the eternity spot, Abraham begins to walk around, studying the world. He starts experimenting, using his power to figure out what the white spots are for and realizes they are souls.

"Wait a second... These are souls. Mother did say that... That means..." Abraham touches a white spot and opens it using his power, shrinking himself so he can fit through the hole and fall through.

…

"That might be it for young Abraham unless he can find a way out of the eternity spot..." someone observes.

Matthew walks around, setting up traps across the arena, then opens a hole in the ground.

"What? Why isn't he back?" he says aloud.

Suddenly, something falls from the sky. Everyone hears the sound but frantically looks around to no avail. Then Abraham enlarges himself and appears before everyone.

"Honestly, this fool almost got me. Too bad I'm too smart for his simple-minded self."

"It seems young Abraham has found a way out. How surprising," someone notes.

Everyone is stunned to see that Abraham is back.

"How did you—"

"We can talk about that later. Now, let's finish this."

Abraham starts circling Matthew, who watches him warily. Suddenly, Abraham rushes toward Matthew and delivers a blow to his chin, sending Matthew flying back. Not giving Matthew a chance to recover, Abraham continues to deliver blow after blow to Matthew's gut, face, and back. 

Matthew catches Abraham's punch, but Abraham's fist begins turning a blackish color. While holding Abraham's hand with one of his own, Matthew uses his other hand to punch Abraham repeatedly until he stops moving.

"Abraham is unable to fight. Matthew is the—"

But Abraham starts moving again. He quickly kicks under Matthew's legs, knocking him to the ground. Before Matthew can touch the floor, Abraham catches him by his shirt with his right hand and begins punching him profusely until he is unconscious.

"Matthew is unable to fight. Abraham is the winner."

Matthew is taken to the infirmary while Abraham returns to the stands.

"My lord, Abraham is..."

"Special, yes... Perhaps he might be more ready than we've previously predicted. With correct and wise training, he could become one of the eight."