Clash of Spirits

And then—he disappeared again.

He stepped into my blind spot with perfect timing, no wasted motion. Just clean, decisive footwork.

I barely blocked the blow aimed at my shoulder.

"That’s your mistake," he said, voice even. "You rely only on your power to overwhelm. Believe in your instincts."

He swept low, faster than my eyes could follow; and knocked my feet from under me.

I hit the ground hard, Hellframe flying from my hand.

Before I could even groan—

The cold edge of his Amberocule rested at my throat.

"...And you leave too many openings."

His eyes were sharp. But not cruel.
Just... honest.

I stared up at him, chest heaving.
I’d grown stronger. I’d worked hard.
But it still wasn’t enough.

He pulled his sword back and stepped away.

"Strength alone isn’t power, Basil," he said. "It's a tool. And tools are useless without skill to guide them."

That’s the truth. I’d been relying on my raw strength since it started awakening.
But what I need now... is a battle-style of my own.

He turned away.

"Train your instincts. Sharpen your technique. And one day..."
He sheathed his blade.
"...you won’t fall in a dozen moves."

I stayed on the ground, still breathing heavily.

I looked at Lady Temina, who had been watching all along. Her eyes cold and distant, gazed on me. With disappointment, maybe.

She glanced at brother, and nodded. I didn’t understand why.

Then brother added, calm as ever, "But now... you need to fall."

He turned back.

Amberocule was unsheathed in a flash of steel.
A horizontal arc aiming my throat.

Huh! Something's wrong.
The blade... it isn't stopping.
But why?

My heart pounded from fear, from confusion.
I tried shouting for him, but no voice came through my throat, not a single sound.

Suddenly, the world stopped before my eyes.
No—not stopped. Just... slower. Like time itself was holding its breath.
I watched the blade approaching at a leisurely pace, bit by bit. Steady.

Then I heard a voice. From within.

"What are you gonna do without me...!" It sighed, as if I had let it down somehow.

At that very moment,
Something inside me snapped.
My body tensed.
Time started running again. And,

BOOM!

Flames erupted from my core.
Red. Gold.

His sword was repelled.
He stumbled, sent backward with a blast of heat. His expressions... finally flickering. Something like surprise, or caution.

And there it was.
Standing behind me.
Not in body.
But in presence.

Vulcan.
Not answering my call...
...but reacting to my fear.

I could feel my body surging again. The same as before.

I grabbed Hellframe from the ground and fixed my stance.
My blade shone red-hot, trembling in my hands.
Before me stood him.

Brother straightened, sword back in hand, gaze narrowed.

He wasn’t surprised.

It was more like,

He was expecting this.

The heat around me pulsed.
Vulcan's fire roared louder with every breath I took.

The embers beneath my skin began to burn, and I could feel the pull of instinct. The feral, untamed urge to devour everything that stood in front of me.

And yet…
Brother stood tall.
Unflinching.
Watching.

Then he exhaled slowly, gripping his sword with both hands.

"This power," he muttered. "It’s still unstable."

He closed his eyes.
And whispered a single word.
"Terris!"

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

The warmth in the air vanished, replaced by a biting chill that swept across the training ground like a storm front.

The earth cracked beneath his feet.

A rumble followed, deep and old.

The Spirit of Earth had entered the field.

My eyes widened. “So, this is... Terris!”

A flare surged through me. My feet slid into position on instinct. My back arched. Flames coiled along my arms.

Brother pointed his sword at me again.

"This time... try to keep up."

He rushed forward, far faster than before.

I swung an arc of flame crashing toward him, but his blade cut through the fire, dispersing it like smoke.

He twisted in the air, spinning low, and drove a kick into my stomach that felt like being hit by a mountain.

I stumbled back, coughing smoke.

Before I could recover, the ground erupted beneath me—stone spires rising to entrap my legs.

Terris was shaping the field itself.

I leapt just in time, fire surging from my heels, barely avoiding the trap. I twisted midair and hurled a column of flame down at him.

He raised his blade.

A dome of hardened earth bloomed in an instant, shielding him from the inferno.

Inside that flame,
I saw it.

The silhouette of brother stepping through, unburnt.
His eyes locked on me.

"You may have the strength, Basil," he said, raising his glowing blade.
“But you still don’t understand what it means... to wield a spirit.”

Then he dashed again.

I braced myself.

Vulcan roared.

And for the first time...

We both clashed with our spirits.

The shockwave of our blow cracked the air. Flames surged up my arm like a second skin, and I roared. Vulcan’s heat flooded through me. For a moment, it felt like I could match him.

But then…
I felt it.

A shift!
What is this sudden, chilling weight pressed against my chest?

Brother's stance hadn’t changed, but his aura—Terris’s energy deepened. Roots of unshakable will buried into the ground beneath him.

"Try again!" he said calmly, as his Amberocule slid along my Hellframe.

I poured more fire into my blade, trying to push him back.

But he didn’t move. Didn’t even flinch.
His feet rooted deep, the ground itself holding him firm.

I lunged back making some distance. But...

The earth rose behind me.
A stone pillar slammed into my back, launching me forward, straight into his waiting strike.

He didn’t swing hard. He didn’t need to.

The flat of his blade met my ribs with a perfectly timed arc, sending me tumbling across the courtyard like a leaf in a storm.

Dust filled my lungs. My vision blurred. I coughed some blood.

But I got up again.
I had to.

With a grunt, I lunged, fire bursting behind my steps like jets. Vulcan screamed inside me.

I unleashed a downward slash.

But he moved.

Effortless. As always, like water flowing around a stone.

And in a blink, his foot swept my leg out.

I hit the ground hard... again, staring up at him.

He stood over me, sword resting on his shoulder.
No more killing intent. Just disappointment.

He turned away slowly.

"All that I can say," he conveyed, "Is you're faster and stronger than last time."

No, not again.
I have Vulcan now, and still...

I gritted my teeth, pushing myself up again.
"Don't turn your back on me!"

Flames exploded beneath my feet; I shot forward like a comet.

And in that instant, he moved.

One palm on my chest.
A pulse of Terris’s energy flowed through him—

BOOM.

The shockwave launched me backward, an invisible hammer of pressure that blasted the air from my lungs. My feet skidded back across the ground, then lifted entirely off the land.

I flew.

My body slammed against the thick outer wall of the training ground. The entire structure shuddered with the impact, and fractures split across the surface like spiderwebs. Rubble crumbled from the top. A thick dust cloud rose and spread around.

Then... silence.