The hall exhaled.
Stone walls, once trembling fell into silence.
Riven's breathing slowed, his blade dripping in a steady rhythm.
Crouched opposite him was Jacob.
The emperor of before had been weakened.
Forced into a state of flaw in front of his spirit of grandeur.
The scene was symbolic.
Jacob wasn't smiling anymore.
Who knows what his expression relayed....
The only recognisable movement was the minuscule shake of his shoulders.
His head, was out of view, faced down.
The music may have left a void in the air with its disappearance...but the tension remained.
Huff huff
Riven stared at Jacob, eyes slightly glazed, as his body was pushed past its maximum.
For a few moments, there was nothing but the rise and fall of his breaths.
The crowned spirit watched, expression unreadable from its glamorous throne, slight scratches visible on its hand-rest.
The orchestral spirits around stood rooted, arms tied to their sides, eyes gazing to the sky as if waiting for the sun.
huff... huff...
The world was distant.
Muffled.
Jacob could feel his heartbeat in his teeth.
In his skull.
In every inch of his flesh.
'So... this is what it's like?'
That feeling of pain.
The cut burning down his back.
But the sting of humiliation burned deeper than any pain.
He slowly raised his head.
Those golden eyes burning furiously.
Riven matched it measurably.
The air cracked as their visions connected.
Low grunts escaped through Jacob's clenched jaw, "That look in your eyes...like you'd already decided I'd fall." he murmured.
The air fluttered slightly, as the spirits around twitched under his voice.
Riven's voice from moments ago rang in his ears; 'That's for Kalen.'
'For Kalen?'
Jacob's breath trembled slightly. 'You think you get to decide who I fall for? Who gets to take from me?'
Something in his chest coiled tighter.
Hotter...until his vision tunnelled.
That dream bounced across his mind.
Was it real?
If so, how could he let this happen?
'...I won't.'
Those golden eyes clouded.
The crowned spirit slightly stiffened in its chair.
Watching with a glint in it's eyes.
Tap.... tap... tap...
It lightly tapped the hand rest of the throne.
Riven felt it before he saw it; a ripple in the floor beneath his feet, as if the marble wanted to burst.
His instincts flared. The spirits that had been watching, scattered and idle, now stood at attention.
Something was happening.
Riven raised Mael's Fang higher, as it hummed in the tension.
The blood on his face and hair mostly dried up, however his vision still blurred as the grip on his sword was loose.
The temperature dropped a degree.
No.
It wasn't the cold, it was the weight.
It was pure silence.
But then...
The faint sound of cracking rang softly, before it grew...
crack CRACK!
The walls of the hall slowly unravelled, replacing its collective brilliance with an ominous taste in the atmosphere.
The domain had fell.
But why?
The answer rested in Jacob's breath. The previous composure of an orchestrator, replaced with heavy breaths and the look of a predator.
His spirit, now taller stood behind him; its crown leaned on its head, the message it emitted was... dread....
Previously, most of the crowd couldn't see what was occurring inside Jacob's space, but now they were greeted with both students worn expressions.
It was then they heard it.
A sound they'd heard as the domain appeared.
This time... it was louder, more pressing.
More clear.
It was the banging of drums.
The previous melodies of: dum...dum... replaced with franticity;
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
It came from the spirit behind. Each beat landed like a hammer on bone, rattling into everyone's chest.
The rhythm wasn't a guide; it was a war cry. The spirit's eyes flared, as Jacob inched forward slightly.....before he moved faster, heavier.
Each step syncing to that frantic percussion.
It was as if the drums were pushing him forward.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
The truth was apparent.
The domain hadn't collapsed because of weakness.
It had been shed.
Like a snake shedding old skin.
Like a warrior discarding armour before the final blow.
Jacob let it fall away.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
The false marble.
The orchestrated perfection.
It all fell.
The essence of everything remained only.
Fuel.
Anger.
Menace.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
Raw, pounding drums, stripped of any harmony; aiming to destroy its opposition.
The sound cut through the air, causing hairs to stand on the back of Riven's neck. His grip on Mael's Fang slightly tightened as he awaited his opposites arrival.
The march forward was long in sound, but quick in view:
WHOOSH!
A blur sparked on the broadcast, and in person as the floor vibrated loudly...prompting the crowd and those at home to lean in.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
His person was surrounded in a blood curdling aura, one that clashed with his ocean-blue hair; overshadowing its jovial colour.
The blur jolted a response from Riven...
RIPPLE!
Instead of waiting, he charged towards his contemporary....
SHHAAH!!! BOOM!
Jacob seemed possessed. The only thing driving him forward was his pride:
His thoughts?
Unknown.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
This truth was unknown to the crowd.
They sat, rooted, as the scenes of flashing steel and blurring movement stole their attention.
WHOOSH!
In the clash these two had so been used to...their feelings hadn't changed.
'...I'll crush you!'
'You'll need more than that!'
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
BOOOM!
The arena was deathly hollow. The sounds of violence ran.
Charged.
Plowed through with no chants of encouragement, despite their coliseum environment.
Drip drip
The scent of blood penetrated the air.
It wasn't from an attack.
It was a nosebleed.
One that meant Riven couldn't keep it much longer.
The price of Null Edge being strained mental fatigue.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
RIPPLE!
But even as two shifted, and parried their own attacks.
He couldn't slow down.
The sizzling in the air, powered by that banging of a war drum would eat him if he did.
WHOOSH!
Twisting his body, Riven struck Mael's Fang, lashing with a deathly focus.
SHAAHH!
The blade screamed in the air.
Before it could reach contact, it disappeared....
A trick Jacob seemed used to.
One he even ignored.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
WHOOSH!
Charging forward, he disregarded the attack, the vision in his head wouldn't allow him to dodge.
SLASH!
A cut ran across his midsection, the ripping of fabric vibrating in everyone's ears...but instead of caring...
Jacob appeared in-front of Riven.
There was no time to react.
THUD! CRACK!
Slamming his fist into Riven's chest, he catapulted him backwards.
The crowd shrunk back as they stared at the Ki-filled attack, springing Riven into the air.
The wind choked out before the pain could register.
"Oof!"
BOOM!
He was launched up before falling to the ground; barrel rolling a few moments before stopping.
Dust scattered through the air, masking his appearance momentarily, before Jacob slowly strode forward.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
He laid there for a few seconds...
Blood had trickled down his lip by this point.
Not from the attack, but the nosebleed.
It didn't take long before it came.
Thump thump
Riven's vision swam.
His mind orchestrated a rhythm of itself...
In that arena, his mind was in a war itself.
Was it his Mind, or the beat of the Drum?
He couldn't tell at this point.
Every breath scorched his lungs.
Every muscle screamed to rest.
But his fingers never left Mael's Fang.
-----
The drums didn't stop.
They matched Jacob's steps.
One beat.
One breath.
One closer.
"You can't even hear the beat...can you?" Jacob's voice was low, almost swallowed by the noise in the air.
Every ear in the arena caught it however.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
Thump thump!
How long had they been fighting for?
Why was he even fightin-
No.
He knew why.
He couldn't let the pain make him forget.
How could he fall here?
Jacob's deathly stare never left Riven, his spirit glued to his behind, like a symbol of prestige.
Riven slowly stood up.
A slight twitch formed on Jacob's face; the emotion was unclear.
The air was ripe with anticipation as the crowd was glued to the arena.
'...A silent....this long....'
The Elite Class didn't know what was happening since the domain.
'How had he survived all along?'
'Who is this guy....?'
The Headmaster watched with an unreadable expression; staring at Jacob and Riven, for equal amounts of time.
In comparison, the nobles above stared with incredulous expressions.
Whether it was for Jacob's display of power...or Riven's will, that remained to be seen.
It was clear, this fight was everything.
It meant more to others for different reasons.
-----------
DOOM-DOOM-DO-
Thump th-
Riven's chest rose quickly.
Under the rumbling of drums and his mind, his sword whistled softly in his grip.
It knew.
He didn't have much more.
Looking over at Jacob: his expression ghastly, eyes venomous as his spirit roamed overhead. Magic circling him like stars around a planet; Riven couldn't best him in endurance.
Huff huff
He had to give it his all.
One last time.
All out.
'One more....'
Somewhere in the distance - no everywhere - they were watching.
Lying on that bed, Kalen watched, clutching the remote in his hands as he stared at Riven....hoping.
Elsewhere; two men sat in a bar. A bar that was surprisingly quiet. Filling every nook and cranny of the room, this bar in Sector 5 was witnesses to this moment. A moment that'd change everything.
It wasn't just them; all over in multiple sectors, multiple places. Every screen, every crystal feed, every shadowed den where it was being watched; they saw it.
In a smoke-choked tavern in Sector 7, drunk mercenaries froze mid brawl.
In the rain-slick alleys of Sector 4, a boy with bare feet and hungry eyes pressed closer to a flickering holo-window.
In the villages to the south; a group of kids stood glued to the projection of a holo-screen staring at a boy facing all odds.
On a gilded balcony in Sector 3, nobles leaned, their wine forgotten as the previous laughter died in their throats.
Even the sealed frost-bitten monasteries of the Frostveil Plains, where outsider voices rarely reached, felt the weight of the moment through whispered transmission.
They didn't know his name yet.
But they would.
And years from now, when the quiet before his strike weighed heavier than war, they would remember the first time he stood.
--------
The weight of a thousand unseen eyes pressed in.
DOOM-DOOM-DO-
Thump th-
He had no idea of course.... but it was time.
Time to end this.
Click!
The steel of Mael's Fang slid home into its scabbard.
Surprise rippled through the crowd. Even Jacob's brow twitched.
It wasn't surrender. You could see it in Riven's eyes.
It was clear he wasn't giving up.
DOOM-DOOM-DO-
Thump th-
Jacob tilted his head.
"Giving up...?" his voice carried like frost. A rhetorical jab.
His fingers twitched as the temperature dropped further.
Looking at Riven's eyes was all the answer he needed.
He took a breath, almost a chuckle.
"Figure's you-"
"...You must love the sound of your own voice."
The words cut in clean, slicing in the air before the last syllable could leave Jacob.
The crowd froze.
DOOM-D-
Th-
Even the drums paused momentarily, alongside the beat in Riven's head-
-before slamming back twice as hard.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
Thump thump!
Riven's right foot slid back.
He lowered his body, crouching almost.
He closed his eyes.
Hand resting on Mael's Fang on his right hip, still in its sheath.
Huff
His breath slowed.
Once.
Huff
Twice.
Only one person had seen this movement before.
That was Kalen in the training grounds.
'I wonder if he's watching...'
The word to describe this move?
Stillness.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
The air quaked.
'He's coming...'
He was.
Oh he was.
Face enraged, he charged like thunder.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!
It was time.
Riven opened his eyes.
His blade moved.
The drums stopped....
And for a heartbeat.....
the world forgot to breathe.