Aeris wanted to tag along with Shiro for lunch. The academy was so massive, it had its own indoor mall. Both of them wore their uniforms. Shiro had dark brown curly hair and brown eyes, while Aeris's blue hair seemed almost luminescent, matching her sparkling light-yellow eyes.
They arrived at a small café. The building was painted a soft green, with a white door that had a small window, and two larger windows flanking either side. Above the door, a sign read: Nick's Donuts.
Inside, the café had warm brown flooring, and the rich scent of coffee lingered in the air. Workers worked their ass off behind the counter.
Shiro and Aeris sat across from each other at a wooden table. After ordering coffee, they relaxed. Aeris stared curiously at Shiro's hair.
"When did you dye your hair red?" she asked.
"Red hair?" Shiro looked confused.
Without a word, Aeris pulled out her phone and snapped a picture. She showed him the photo, and he noticed it the tips of his curly hair had turned a faint red.
"I don't know why my hair is red," Shiro said, still staring.
"It fits you. Don't change it," Aeris murmured, her cheeks a little pink.
Shiro was unsettled. Something was happening with him, and he had no clue why. Still, without any proof or explanation, he couldn't do much.
Aeris watched him munch on his food like an animal. "Are you getting ready for the fight tournament?"
Shiro looked up, puzzled. "Fight tournament?"
She sighed. "How do you not know about it? It starts in a few days. Every win earns you points and pushes you up the leaderboard. You're ranked pretty low close to the bottom. You'll need to win if you want to stay in the academy."
Shiro nodded He'd need to prepare.
Elsewhere on a balcony.
Aurelia stood, her golden hair dancing in the wind, white eyes glowing like moonlight. Her expression was sharp, focused.
"Have you found anything on Shiro?" she asked her maid.
The maid bowed. "He has no legacy. His sister, Marigold, is one of the academy teachers. His parents went missing after becoming conduits."
Aurelia raised an eyebrow. "They became conduits? Impressive… any other information?"
The maid continued, "His god-granted ability is the power to manipulate bubbles. He passed his foreseeing past trial, barely and became a accepted. Aside from high combat IQ and decent strength, he's weak overall. If you fought him again using your power, he would die."
Aurelia sighed, disappointed. Despite this, she felt a strange concern for him. He's going to get hurt doing the tournament
But there was no time to dwell. She had to train also.
Changing into her training clothes, she grabbed her rapier and made her way to the combat zone.
There was a massive man stood waiting. He had long light green hair, half tied in a ponytail, and piercing black eyes. His physique was impressive, muscles bulging beneath a compression shirt. He held an enormous black greatsword.
"Ready, Hale?" Aurelia called.
Hale grinned ear to ear Compared to him, she looked small and delicate.
Aurelia gripped her rapier tightly and counted down. "Three… two… one… go."
Neither moved.
Then Aurelia raised her left hand—yellow sparks formed in a chaotic frenzy. Lightning shown from her fingertips, growing intensity. She launched a bolt at Hale.
He reacted in time, his arm growing in size as he raised his massive sword. The blade slammed into the lightning, scattering its energy in a thunderous shockwave.
Aurelia dashed to his side, thrusting her rapier at his body but it bent against his skin. Her eyes widened.
Hale's grin grew larger.
Quickly, she turned into lightning itself and dashed away. Reappearing, she gripped her rapier with both hands. The blade shimmered with electric energy.
Hale noticed she had enchanted her weapon.
He crouched, legs bulging, the ground beneath him cracking. With explosive speed, he launched himself at her, sword raised.
She saw it coming.
Ducking beneath the swing, she drove her rapier into his stomach. Due to his speed he crashed to the ground, blood dripping from the wound.
Hale looked down, stunned. She'd actually pierced him.
Furious, he leapt again, this time aiming for a kill. But Aurelia was calm. As the sword came down, she unleashed another bolt—this one hitting his weapon mid swing, slowing it just enough.
She sidestepped and countered the rapier stabbing into his neck, then his shoulder. Blood sprayed across the floor.
Clutching his neck, Hale dropped his sword and swung his fist. Aurelia deflected it with her rapier, then slashed across his chest.
Panting, Hale stumbled back, blood streaming down his torso. He fell to his knees. When he felt the cold steel of her blade against his neck, he surrendered.
Aurelia smirked. Flicking the blood off her rapier, she sheathed it and turned away.
As she returned to the dorms, she noticed someone running. It was Shiro.
Curious, she ran and caught up with him.
He jumped slightly when he noticed her beside him.
"When did you get here?" he asked, surprised.
"What are you doing?" she replied.
"Training for the tournament," he said between breaths. He was already soaked in sweat.
Aurelia's expression drooped slightly. He's not going to last long.