Chapter 4 : Lost Time
"Blazing Rain."
"Babylon Shield."
A large explosion sends waves through the base. I stand among the crowd of recruits cheering on the ongoing sparring session. The match is between the top two students of our class, Aman List and Farrow Lock. Farrow has been dominating with several attacks but Aman has been keeping things at bay, his defense is known to be the best in our class. I watch as they both go through not just a battle of strength but wits. They are amazing. I see why they are the top recruits .
"That is enough." The instructor lets out an order that stops both recruits in their tracks. "Since no one lost or left the ring, I will count this session as a draw. Return back to the crowd."
"Next on the list, Kairos Valorin and Gladus Will." I hear my name announced. I was not expecting this.
"Kairos Valorin." I hear my name called again and immediately hurry to the sparring ring.
"Remember boys, no dirty tactics. You are free to use both spells and any other abilities you have. The match is over when I stop it or when one of you leaves the ring. This sparring session will test your adaptability against an opponent you are not familiar with ." The instructor says to us. "You may begin."
His command causes camp to go quiet. Everyone is waiting for the first move, whatever I do now will set the tone for this matchup. Gladus Will,I have never heard of him. I have no information about my opponent, I can only act on experience . I decide to take a different approach from my previous fights and decide to defend while trying to read and counter. I am not the only one with that idea as he stands too not moving an inch. We both stand, observing each other for a few seconds.
"Start already." A voice comes from the crowd.
This voice seems to have triggered Gladus as his stance finally changes. He crouches low, his hands almost touching the floor. He looks feral and wild. What is his ability? I cannot figure that out without any information, my only hope is to fight and figure it out on the way. I decide to get into a better defensive stance but my hesitation from earlier costs me as a sharp pain travels up my body. What is that pain in my midsection? Why do I smell blood? My eyes widen as ahead of me the image of Gladus disappears. A mirage? I look down to see his fist has rammed into my stomach forcing me to cough up blood. He jumps back not attacking any further as I go to my knees holding my midsection. What the hell was that? It was not a regular punch. It was not enhanced either. My internal organs were hit directly. I feel dread creeping over me as I stare up to see him with a twisted smile on his face. His aura has completely changed.
My instincts kick in and I jump back on my feet and away from him despite the pain. Just then, with my feet still in the air , I see his image disappear again. Where is he? Just then another pain travels up my arm. I let out a scream as I fall to the ground. What is this pain? I have been beaten until I blacked out but even that felt nothing like this. I lay on the ground holding my arm, writhing in pain. Through all this I see him standing few feet from me making no movement. Has he moved again? Why does he keep stopping? I try to figure out a plan through the pain but my mind keeps drawing blanks.
I try a desperate tactic, "Surge!!" I yell, electrocuting the ground around me but he jumps away evading it. The moment his feet hit the ground, his image disappears again. Immediately I begin to panic, I have never felt this way, not even against my father. I am genuinely terrified of Gladus. Just then I begin to see it again. Mana fluctuating. The world around me seems to slow down for a moment. I can see him, not clearly but I can make out an image of him just few feet from me. There is no magic behind his attack but something is weird. His arm is being enveloped by my own mana. My mana is being drawn from my body, swirling around his hand. Is he using my mana against me somehow?
I see the world gradually begin to speed up and I step out of the way of his attack before it is back to normal. He misses and I can see the surprise on not just his face, but also those around. I sense his surprise turn gradually turned to rage as his eyes narrowed and fist balled up. His mana also raised violently. Without saying a word he launches at me, this time no vanishing attacks, no tricks, just a straight punch fast enough that I am unable to evade. I block with my arm out of instinct or at least I think I did. I feel a sharp pain travel through my face all of a sudden as I am sent out of the sparring ring.
"Enough." The commander puts our battle to a stop, with this i stand up in pain and dust myself off. I look up to see Gladus staring me down, rage in his eyes. It looks like he is about to attack me again. I enter a defensive stance but he does not respond. He turns and just walks away. Despite this , my body remains in a defensive stance as his mana still feels violent . I don't know anything about him but i can tell he is dangerous.
"Kairos!" I hear my name called, pulling me out of my thoughts, "your match is over. Head back."
"Yes sir." I reply leaving my defensive stance.
As i walk away, i cannot help but wonder just what Gladus' ability is and why he seemed to snap after i dodged.
"Kairos…." still in thought I hear Drefan's voice. "You ok?" He asks as he throws his arm over my shoulders. I let out a wince as the weight of his arm causes me to slouch.
"Yh man." I say trying to sound positive but he sees through this.
"Do not beat yourself up brother, you went against the third most promising member of our class, of course you would lose." He says.
" I know you are trying to cheer me up but you are bad at it."
He lets out a smile before patting me on the back causing me to wince in pain.
"Ooooooh Sorry brother."
I give him a friendly glare and he steps back playfully. Third most promising recruit? They explains his strength, nothing else about him. I decide to stay and watch the rest of the matches, after all these guys will be my teammates someday so i have to understand them. During this time I also watch Drefan. His match goes just as I thought it will . Drefan might not look it but he is tactically sound and his control of mana is top tier. After our training for the day I return back to my camp weak and tired. As i lay on my bed I remember the announcement the commander gave.
"Recruits, today you all have paired against each other. You now understand opponents vary and each opponent is unique no matter how similar their style may seem... Tomorrow you will be translating that into the battlefield as you all will join in your first battle as auxiliary units under the Blue dawn unit."
I can't believe it. I am going to be in an actual battle and on top of that it would be under my father's unit. I am elated and worried at the same time. Am i really ready to enter a battlefield ? As I think of the upcoming battle and the several scenarios that can take place, I slowly drift into the sweet embrace of sleep.
Dream Sequence
It's cold. I open my eyes to find myself in the empty room with nothing but a throne and a crown on it. Again? Why am I here again?
"Come." I hear that strange voice that calls from the crown again. The voice sounds different, it sounds like a ladies voice.
"Come to me Kairos." I hear it say and immediately get on my guard.
"Who are you? Where am I? What is this?" I ask several questions as my mana begins overflowing. I see mana flowing across this entire room, that means this is no dream. It is more a domain. Someone brought me here and their voice is what I am likely hearing. Just as I reasoned this a dark silhouette rises from behind the throne and steps out. The same silhouette that has been watching me. I recognize this from the similar fluctuations of its mana.
"Who are you?" I ask again this time charging up an attack.
The dark silhouette seems to split gradually turning into a dress before falling, revealing a lady with long white hair and silk skin which radiated an abnormal amount of mana. The mana coming from her skin overpowers me causing me to drop to my knees. Her aura is not of this world. Who is she? How does she possess such mana? I think to myself as she gradually and majestically walks towards me, each step sending ripples through the ground.
"You are not ready yet." She says as she stands above me. She leans towards me, seeming to observe me. Her eyes glowed as she stared at me. "In time you will be." She says before waving her hand which sends me flying across the room. I wake up drenched in sweat,letting out a scream, my hand shaking and my body sore.I turn to take a drink of water from my bedside when i notice several recruits gathered at the entrance of my camp. Why are they all staring at me?
"What is going on?" I ask.
Just then i hear Drefan's voice come through the crowd.
"Clear the way." He shouts as he makes his way through.
"Kairos.." he says "you are awake, thank the gods."
"Yes I am, why is everyone here?" I ask him my eyes scanning the room.
"We all felt your mana go berserk and rushed over here. It felt like you were in an intense battle."
Hearing this, my eyes widen and I feel myself sink in shame. "I am sorry for causing trouble for you all." I say still sat on my bed. They all seem to acknowledge my apology and the crowd disperses. Drefan stays not convinced I am ok. He is the only one in the camp who has seen me this way before so I don't expect him to believe me. I sit up in my bed thinking of what I saw. Who was she? What did she mean by I am not ready? It is like every day of my life a new mystery shows itself. I let out a sigh which catches Drefans's attention however I wave him off, signaling that I am ok. Drefan decides to stay in my camp for a while before finally leaving when he is sure I am not going berserk. The rest of the day passes uneventful and i somehow manage to fall asleep again.
The Next Day
Why is everyone staring at me? What is that look in their eyes? Are they scared? Why do I reek of blood and metal? Drefan? Why do you look terrified? I wonder to myself as i see my unit frozen in fear staring at me. I try to take a step forward and that is when I feel it. The thick scales of a grel. I look down to see the monster under my feet, its throat slit. On its back its driver sat shaking in terror as he stared at me muttering one word.
"M..m…m..mon….monster"