The Trials of Fear and Fury

The cold night wind ruffled Lily's long, orange hair and tugged her cloak. She was in an unfamiliar place. The sky was dark, but she saw no stars. Countless lights and unfamiliar cars streamed below her. She stood on a bridge over a highway, separated from a fatal fall by only a handrail. She swallowed hard and recoiled. She guessed she couldn't die in this form, but she didn't want to test it.

The wet stone tapped softly under her steps as she tried to leave the bridge, but an invisible wall stopped her. She struck the air in front of her with her fist, and a dull thud let her know that the space wouldn't let her leave. Turning around, she saw a figure on the bridge looking down, who hadn't been there before.

It was a teenage girl. She had headphones in her ears and was shaking her head to the beat of the music. Her short blonde curls were pulled into a ponytail. Her raincoat clung tightly to her clothes, and raindrops rolled off it. As if something had hit her, she pulled the cord from her ears and, wrapping it around her phone, placed it on the ground. She drew in a shaking, deep breath and then let it out. She was afraid. She hoisted herself onto the rail and swung her leg over. On the outside of the rail, she pressed her back tightly against it, gripping it behind her. She let go of the rail, and her legs trembled as she tried to balance on the small ledge. She stretched her hands straight out to the sides and stepped forward into the air.

Lily lunged for her but grabbed only air. She rushed to the rail and looked down into the depths. The girl's body began to fall, but before it could hit the ground, the girl's image dissolved. Lily slid to the ground, her heart pounding loudly and quickly, desperately gasping for air. She had watched someone die and couldn't do anything to stop it. She felt déja vu.

The girl walked from one side of the bridge back to the same spot from which she had just jumped, but now she was alive.

Lily cautiously reached out to tap her shoulder, but her hand passed right through the girl's body. Lily didn't exist in this world.

When the girl placed her phone on the ground again, Lily knelt beside it. She had never seen that gadget and had no idea how it worked. After what felt like hours of trying, she still didn't understand what to do. She was fed up with having to relive the girl's death in the unending loop she was stuck in. Each time the girl stepped off, Lily's heart constricted, and a lump formed in her throat.

Lily jumped up nervously and threw the phone to the ground, smashing it to pieces. A strangely pleasant satisfaction filled her, but as the loop began again, the phone vanished, returning to the arriving girl's pocket.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Fuck it!" she hissed through her teeth and took a step back from the railing. She waited for the girl to climb over to the other side, then, just before she stepped off, Lily concentrated her power into her hands and held the girl back from falling.

The girl raised her eyebrows and pushed herself forward even harder, confused, as if a wall was in front of her.

With a tremendous thrust into the air, Lily pushed the girl with magic back over the railing, into the safe zone. The girl fell to the ground with a dull thud. She tried to get up, but Lily threw herself onto her. Lily's body still passed through the girl, but the girl didn't move. She didn't know if the girl truly felt the warmth of her body because her magic had momentarily allowed the girl to feel connection, but it was enough for her to pin the girl to the ground, protecting her from the world that sought to claim her. The girl smiled and stood up, then, without a word, she cast herself into the depths.

Lily shook her head, confused. She thought she had solved it, but the girl had still killed herself. Lily patiently waited for the girl to reappear, but she never did.

She had departed happily. Lily had given her something that calmed her and stopped her from tormenting herself. Lily had solved the puzzle, but she didn't feel good about it. She was afraid to get close to others because she didn't want to lose them. It was simpler to live without pain and fear. She wanted to believe in Ren and Haku; she tried to open up to them completely, but she was afraid. She was worried that if she gave in to her feelings, her bad luck would catch up to them, too. But still, she wanted to love.

Zel found himself in a room full of people, surrounded by loud applause. The air in the room was thick with the humid blend of sweat and the raw adrenaline coursing through it. On the mat, two teenagers faced each other, breathing through their mouths, exhausted, their chests moving deeply. They wore karate gis with brown belts tied around their waists. To Zel, however, the uniforms just looked like strange bathrobes.

The scoreboard flashed: 2−2.

The short, black-haired, white skinned boy on the left shifted his weight constantly, his gaze fixed on the opponent in front of him. The taller, dark brown skinned and haired boy on the right bounced lightly on the balls of his feet.

The referee's sharp cry of "Hajime!" snapped the stillness.

The black-haired boy moved first. Using his shorter body, he exploded forward with a deceptive lunge, aiming a fast punch toward the other boy's ribs. It was a feint. The brown boy, seeing the punch fall short, reacted instantly, dropping his guard for a half-second to prepare his counter. That was all the black-haired boy needed. He slammed his lead foot down and spun violently, converting his momentum into a whirling kick aimed at the other's unprotected flank.

Instead of blocking, the tall brown-haired boy leaned back, twisting his torso away from the impact just enough. The kick grazed his gi with a whisper of displaced air, but failing to connect solidly, was not sufficient for a point.

The crowd roared with frustration and excitement. The tension was suffocating.

Then, the brown-haired one made his final choice: a clean, decisive move that defied the chaos of the exchange. He stomped down with his rear foot and pivoted his body, launching a low, snapping kick directly into the center of the black-haired boy's chest. The air expelled from his lungs as the kick landed. He stumbled back three paces, clutching his chest, winded but not injured. The crowd was dead silent, waiting.

The referee strode forward and pointed decisively toward the tall boy.

"Ippon!"

The silence fractured into pandemonium. The brown-haired boy's chest was rising and falling rapidly as he finally allowed himself to breathe.

The winner's celebration continued on the mat, but the defeated boy walked away alone. Zel followed him out the door and into another room full of lockers.

"I don't believe this!" the defeated boy growled, kicking one of the lockers. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. "I'm the one who trains for hours every day! And why? To lose to that nobody! It's all his fault!"

He struck the locker repeatedly with his fist until the door dented and blood dripped from his knuckles.

Then he vanished. Zel looked around, confused, but didn't understand what had happened. He went back to where he started, and everything was the same. The two boys tensed against each other, and the outcome was the same. Zel tried to step between them and fight, but he passed through their bodies. He tried to talk to them, but they couldn't hear him. He knew he should do something to stop the outburst, but he didn't want to. He felt that the boy's anger was right. You're only good enough for people if you're perfect. If you slip up even a little, they don't want you anymore. Anger is what keeps you alive and pushes you to be better, to show others what you can do.

The fire of anger had been burning in Zel for a long time. He couldn't even remember what it was like not to be angry. But this anger was his strength and the only reason that had brought him this far. He was furious at his father, his mother, his people, the workers in the castle, Ren, Haku, Lily, and most of all, Ezekiel.

Zel clenched his fist. Today was not the day he would admit that rage wasn't good. He stormed out of the changing room and straight onto the battleground. He shoved the short, black-haired boy aside—which, to his surprise, he succeeded in doing—and before the referee could start the match, Zel attacked the opponent. He took him to the ground and sat on him, beating him until everything vanished before his eyes.