"Snap."
A sound that took Marie out of her memories and back into reality.
She looked at Roy, who was standing in front of her with his hand raised in the air after snapping his fingers. Marie was confused for a moment, then remembered why she had come. Her hands shook, and her pupils widened as she focused on Roy's every move. She took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.
Roy lowered his hand and began scratching the back of his head.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
"Wha... why do you want to see me?"
Marie asked, her voice trembling. She didn't know why she was so scared of him.
"I just want to clear up a misunderstanding," Roy said in his calm voice.
"A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? And what did I see? And why, even though I just met you today, do I feel like I..."
Marie said loudly before Roy interrupted her.
"I will answer all your questions, but first answer me: do you know what the space stones actually do to give you different powers?"
Marie shook her head.
"No...?"
Roy sighed.
Seeing the state Marie was in, he continued.
"Before anything, let's deal with that. Attack me."
Marie raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Attack you?"
Roy began jumping lightly, warming up his body.
"Yes, attack me. Your body is hyperfocused, and your fear is turning into anger. Attack me, tire yourself out so you can understand the information I'll tell you. There's also something you need to experience yourself."
The moment Roy finished talking, he quickly added,
"And don't worry, you won't be able to cause me any serious injury. That is, of course, if you can hit me in the first place."
Hearing that, Marie got angry. The normal, unemotional look on his face made her angrier than if he had a smug expression.
"Don't be so sure," Marie said, getting into an attacking position.
Roy just stood there, waiting, stretching his neck. Marie, without thinking too much, charged forward with a clear punch aimed at his chest.
The strike came fast, but Roy was faster. His body swayed aside, the blow cutting through nothing but air.
Marie opened her hand toward him, firing an ice bullet. Right before it hit, Roy disappeared.
Confused, Marie turned around, expecting him to be behind her.
"Looking in the wrong place," said Roy.
Upon hearing that, she spun back to find the boy exactly where he had vanished.
"What the..."
Before she could finish, she struck again.
The strike came fast, but Roy was faster. Again. His body swayed aside, the blow missing him entirely.
"You need to find a new way to attack me. Repeating the same thing won't work," he said calmly.
Marie, getting annoyed by him constantly dodging, took a step back.
"You have a point. Let's see you dodge this."
Standing there without any movement, she closed her hands and eyes. A small smile appeared on Roy's face as he waited for the attack.
Roy's clothes began to flutter from the wind. The breeze grew stronger, cooler. Something was happening. The smile on Roy's face widened as his clothes stopped moving. The wind ceased.
Then, the air around Marie became freezing cold.
At that moment, Marie opened her eyes and her hand.
A powerful wind burst from her, freezing everything it touched.
Roy ran toward the edge of the roof. The sun was behind him. He jumped and disappeared into the shadow of the school. He reappeared from Marie's shadow, keeping his momentum, and flew into the air, landing on Marie's head.
Marie was shocked by what had just happened.
'Did he just... stand on my HEAD?'
Roy jumped down from her head to the ground and looked at her, his expression now smug.
"Too bad I'm just that good. You better stop holding back."
He shook his head.
Marie grew furious. She formed a sword of ice and began slashing at Roy, who continued to dodge as usual.
Then a female voice began echoing in her ear.
'Kill him.'
As the voice grew stronger, she started slashing faster.
'Kill him.'
Marie's grip tightened.
'Kill him.'
Her breathing quickened.
'Kill him.'
Roy, realizing it would be hard to just keep dodging, decided to use his power. He sank into his own shadow and disappeared.
Clones of Roy appeared from every shadow on the ground.
Marie, beginning to lose her mind, didn't think about finding the real one. She jumped at the closest clone and attacked, only for her slash to cut through him like smoke. It was just a clone.
'I won't lose again against that monster.'
The voice grew louder. Marie's vision started to blur. Her attacks became faster and more erratic.
Roy and his clones, finding it difficult to move around and dodge on the ground, jumped into the air, using one another to get higher.
Marie used her ice powers to create platforms of ice, leaping from one to the next to reach them.
Her vision became even blurrier. In flashes, she began seeing Roy with the same strange look he had when she saw the memories earlier.
'He isn't taking us seriously. We have a chance.'
In Marie's eyes, her ice sword transformed into a real steel blade. Her vision became consumed by the memories.
She destroyed every clone in her path and set her sights on the last one: the one farthest from the ground.
Roy stood in midair without moving, the smile from earlier gone from his face.
Then...
"SHUT IT!"
A massive shockwave burst from his voice, knocking Marie back across the rooftop.
As she fell, her vision flickered between the strange memories and reality.
Roy hovered above her in the air, looking down.
Right before she hit the ground, she saw fire bursting from Roy, growing larger until it consumed her entire sight.
Then, everything went black.
Marie lost consciousness.