Charles stood tall, his posture brimming with confidence, eyes narrowed as he scanned the fractured sky. He remained perfectly still, calm as stone, as if daring the next move to come from.
"When is he going to strike?" he wondered silently, his expression unreadable.
Across from him, Elyon staggered slightly, pain radiating from the wound carved into his back. Blood trickled beneath warm against his skin. His mind raced.
''This is bad, he thought. First the wound… and now this.''
Suddenly, with a sharp crack, the air split like glass again—like glass shattering in slow motion. From the rift, a black, rose-like shape spun out, its petals swirling like smoke. The dark blossom pulsed with energy, unnatural and cold.
Elyon instinctively dodged left, rolling over the scorched ground. Without hesitating, he thrust his hand forward and cast a volley of Light Bolts. The glowing orbs screamed through the air toward Charles, burning with radiant energy.
But Charles didn't move. He didn't even blink. The bolts closed the distance—and just as the first was about to strike, a second crack split open in the air before him. The bolt passed clean through and disappeared into it.
Elyon froze mid-step, his breath caught in his throat. His heart pounded as confusion tightened his chest.
''What was Charles doing? Why wasn't he defending? And more importantly—what were these cracks appearing in the air?''
He stumbled back, eyes wide, scanning the increasingly unstable space.
"What's happening?" he muttered under his breath. "What are these… rifts?"
Charles finally made his move.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished—gone without a sound, without even a flicker of movement to trace. Elyon stood frozen, his eyes darting around the hallway . He turned left, then right, scanning the hallway and the stone under his feet and everything around him. Nothing. Not a sound, not a trace of breath or step. The air hung unnaturally still, thick with tension.
Then, just as Elyon turned back toward the spot where Charles had been standing moments ago, pain exploded in his abdomen.
Charles's hand had struck him with bone-shattering force.
The blow hurled Elyon backward, crashing him into the far wall. Dust burst from the impact as he collapsed onto the cracked floor, coughing and gasping for air. He clutched his stomach, pain radiating through his ribs, but forced himself up before his body could give out.
"Enough," he growled, eyes glowing with energy. With a sweeping gesture, Elyon casted an Arcana Ray, a blinding beam of essence magic that tore through the air toward Charles. The power roared, illuminating the hallway with brilliant gold hue.
But Charles didn't flinch. Instead, he calmly raised his hand—and another rift split open in front of him with a deep, vibrating crack. From the dark rupture, the strange black rose.like energy unfurled again, spiraling out like ink in water.
It collided with the Arcana Ray midair.
The clash lit the corridor with chaotic energy. Waves of raw force rippled out, shaking the walls. Elyon's Arcana Ray flickered under the pressure, its magic starting to unravel as the dark rose slowly pushed it back.
Realizing the beam wouldn't hold, Elyon leapt to the side, flipping out of the blast radius just in time as both energies exploded in a violent pulse behind him.
He hit the ground running, sprinting toward Charles with fury in his eyes. But Charles remained unmoved—his posture relaxed, his face still painted with that same calm, unnerving smirk.
As Elyon closed the gap, Charles waved his hand subtly. Elyon's vision warped.
For a split second, reality twisted.
The air rippled. Elyon staggered—his perception bent as if time itself had slowed. He could see every detail in haunting clarity dust drifting midair, his heartbeat pulsing in his ears, Charles's eyes narrowing ever so slightly. But something deeper disturbed him. He felt it—not just in his body, but in his soul.
What is this? Elyon thought. Why can't I move the same? What's happening to time?
He had no answer. The sensation passed in an instant, but it left him shaken.
Charles stood firm, still smirking. But then—without warning—his expression shifted. His smile faded into a frown. His eyes turned slightly, glancing toward something behind him... something unseen.
Elyon followed his gaze, but there was nothing—only shadows and dust.
Charles looked back, locking eyes with him. Then, as if closing the chapter on a book, he snapped his fingers.
In a single flash of light, he vanished again—leaving nothing behind but silence.
Elyon stood alone, panting, confused, and uncertain if the battle had ended... or only just begun.
Elyon finally caught his breath, slumping against the wall as the pain in his abdomen throbbed with every pulse of his heart. He raised a trembling hand to his head, eyes half-closed as he muttered to himself, "What just happened…?"
His thoughts drifted back to that moment—the strange sensation when time felt... broken. The world around him had warped, not just in speed, but in structure. As if the moment itself had been spliced, like a scene from reality cut and stitched back together wrong. The placement of everything—the dust, the air, Charles's movement—had been off. Surreal. Disjointed.
Shaking his head, Elyon tilted it back and let out a heavy breath. Questions swirled like a storm in his mind, but he pushed them aside.
"I can figure it out later," he told himself. "First… I need to get this wound healed."
Dragging his sore body through the corridors, Elyon returned to the dorm quarters. As he approached his room, he paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Let's hope no one's inside," he thought.
He cracked the door open just enough to peek inside. It was quiet. Empty.
Relieved, Elyon slipped in and locked the door behind him. His eyes went to the corner closet where his extra uniform hung neatly, untouched since the semester started. A small comfort.
Over the next couple of hours, Elyon sat on the floor, applying a basic healing spell over the bruises and deep tissue damage. The magic was slow, barely enough to numb the pain, but it helped. Eventually, he changed into the clean uniform, wincing as he pulled the tunic over his still-tender torso.
Once done, he collapsed onto the lower bunk, staring blankly. But his mind wasn't at ease.
"Where did Shila go…?" he wondered. "Did she run when Charles showed up?"
It didn't sit right with him. She had demonstrated powerful, precise combat skills Whoever Shila is truly powerful.
"Best not to antagonize her right now," he thought, rubbing his temple. "She's trained. Highly."
He sat up slowly on the bed, legs dangling off the side, and exhaled. Then, softly, he said, "Elren."
Nothing happened.
He blinked. "Elren?" he repeated, slightly louder.
Still nothing. No response. No presence. The familiar hum of his bonded spirit's energy—always a faint whisper in the back of his consciousness—was gone.
A chill ran through him.
Maybe he ignoring me? he reasoned, but the unease was already creeping in. "Elren!" he shouted, standing now, frustration boiling to the surface.
But the room remained quiet. Empty. Cold.
No reply. No flicker. No trace.
"Elren…" he whispered again, now more worried than angry.
It wasn't like her to vanish. She had never ignored his call before—not once since their bond had been formed. Elyon's breath grew shallow.
What happened to him? he wondered, heart pounding.
And deep down, he feared the answer had something to do with Charles.