Chapter 28 - Part 2

Haiden was frozen in place as the sky darkened with the rain of energy swords ripping through the sky in a whistling cry as they slashed through every mote they touched. Bright red blades flashed around him, plunging into the stone and ground like butter.

Haiden!! Scratch yelled throughout his mind but the young wielder didn't budge. Leaving the poor creature without any choice. He took advantage of trust Haiden had placed with him and funneled his energy within himself. It took a great deal of effort and overtaxing Haiden to suck as much energy as he could as fast as he could and extended Haiden's energy outward. Screech could feel the charges of the blades, the plasma contained within was of more positive than negative. Taking charge of the energy, Screech covered Haiden within a wide dense dome and maintained a positive charge all around. The vast energy that channeled through him from Haiden hurt his small Fios body, feeling the same pain as that terrible first night.

With a mental scream Screech focused on the charge.

Blades zipped past Haiden, as soon as they touched the dome created by Screech they changed direction in an instant following the curve and plunging into the stone creating a circle of untouched arena within.

Haiden grabbed at his arm, still feeling the cute although the skin had repaired and there was no more blood loss. His amber eyes lit by the shower of red widened as he saw that not even one blade touched his pale skin.

Haiden! Screech called again, his pain apparent in his mid, bringing him back to the present. Can't. Hold. Long.

Thank you, Screech. You saved my life. Haiden immediately understood what the creature had done and stopped his supply of energy taking full charge of it. He felt Screech relax with relief and Haiden took it upon himself to maintain the charge until the sky and arena were visible again around him.

"You dirty Yeva'Ah!" Bras called in anger, stomping his foot down in a tantrum, spewing curses. "I will have you head!" He squealed.

Haiden took a deep breath, composing himself taking a moment to breath in relief. If it had not been from Screech he would have met his demise and both of them would have been on the other side. He tried to ignore what Bras was saying but it was becoming harder and harder.

"I bet your boyfriend Tasgal bends you over every night. Yeva'Ah! You love taking it from a brainless whore! Too bad he's already used. More worthless than a dirty rag." Bras spat and began to laugh maniacally.

He didn't know what Bras had meant by that but this was the last straw for Haiden. His mouth had ran for too long and someone needed to put him in his place.

"Come one, Nobody, what are you waiting for? Your boyfriend's cock can't reach you here. Maybe after I beat you to the brink of death you'll finally realize how beneath me you really are, you filthy low bloo-" Bras cut of, his eyes bulged out of their sockets as he grabbed fro air.

Haiden's golden eyes were darkened by his furrowed brows and his hair fell on his face, sticking to his sweaty forehead. "You little man!" Haiden said between his grinding teeth, his jaw tightened in anger. "You treat everyone like you are above them. But look at you, small man that seeks daddy's validation. Pathetic!" He shouted. "What's even worse is that you think you'll get it." Haiden chuckled grimly. "He'll probably disown you after you lose to someone like me, a nobody. Oh! I just remembered, you don't have anything left to inherit anyways?" Haiden threw a jab and it landed straight in Bras' ego. Haiden's opponent's eyes burned with rage, he could tell that all he had in his mind was murder. He knew from Camila that his family was depending on the money borrowed from her father. This left Bras open to social death if the other high ranking elites of the Empire caught wind of it. "I will never let someone as petty and evil as you get the best of me!" Haiden maintained his grip on his Fios, strengthening the barrier he placed around his opponent within which he had sucked all the air within creating a vacuum. Luckily for him, Bras had only formed a partial barrier focusing on his front. Although powerful, it left him vulnerable to sneak attacks.

Haiden felt a sudden build-up of energy within Bras as he fell on his knees, trying to gasp for air in vain. He braced himself for another attack but Bras had focused his energy within the stone arena pushing inward tunnels around him that opened outside of the dome. Air rushed in allowing Bras to finally take a deep breath.

"Curse you! Dirty Yeva'Ah!" Bras screamed, his voice coarse and dry.

Haiden was ready for his opponent's retaliation which came sooner than expected. Bras was still trying to catch his breath on the ground when the stone around him liquefied into a water like substance, gurgling upwards around his barrier. He was quickly encapsulated by the fluid, hardening back into the thick stone. "Always with the same tricks!" Haiden called as he knew that Bras was trying to obstruct his vision to prepare his attack. A simple force blast was enough to crumble the stone, but it was already too late as red blades poured again on the arena.

Haiden was already prepared for this and his zone of positively charged motes repelled the blades around him. Bras screamed as he began as he extended both of his arms to his sides releasing as much Fios as he could. Haiden's skin was filled with goosebumps as sparks danced around him from the static. At the same time as the energy swords fell around him, sharp spikes tried to penetrate his barrier and failed miserably, shattering in an explosion of shards from Haiden's vortex barrier. But that was not the end of Bras' assault.

The moment the blades stopped, the air dried up making it insufferable to breath. Water surrounded Haiden's barrier. Bras reached with a hand and squeezed, his knuckles turned white from the force as the resistance from his opponent's barrier pushed back.

Haiden could feel the pressure that the water was placing on his barrier but he held tight.

"Is that all you got?" Haiden's laugh fell short as the water began to seep into his barrier. Drop by drop, it pooled inside. The droplets that manage to break through the barrier zipped at Haiden at incredible speeds, breaking through the skin with ease.

He screamed in pain while droplets bombarded him from all around, his clothes beginning the rip and shred. Wounds and scrapes littered his exposed skin, his face was bloodies from the scratches above his eyes.

Haiden, force blast! Screech ordered and Haiden followed without a second's thought. He sent a powerful force blast around him, pushing everything away. This gave Bras the opportunity to send another wave of spikes directly towards Haiden.

He felt the spell incoming as static washed over the right side, signaling the incoming attack; each scrape or cut enhanced the sensation as if he had poured salt on them. It was too fast to raise another vortex barrier to counter it so he focused on his torso with all of his might within those few moments before impact. The spikes hit his lower abdomen, plunging into his robes.

Bras smiled and laughed. "This is the end for you, Yeva'Ah. That will teach you not to badmouth your superiors." His chest puffed erratically as he tried to catch his breath. Haiden's hands curled around the spikes as he grunted trying to wedge himself away from it. "What're ye..." he took a step back. "You idiot, the moment you take that out your guts will pour all over. I won!" he continued his laugh.

Haiden finally pulled away and fell on his ass. As he slowly found his footing, Bras waited eagerly to see the bright red blood of his opponent but nothing came. Confused, his nostrils flared in anger.

Haiden pulled away his green tunic revealing a husk of armor that surrounded his right lower abdomen, it was a few inches thick with a puncture hole in the middle. He ripped the tunic away from his torso along with his cloak revealing his defined pale body. The starkness of the red cuts contrasted his milky white skin. The husk fell leaving a red mark, but no hole in his body.

"What the fuck!?" Bras screamed. "I will murder you, you cheating trash!"

Haiden was surprised to see his opponent's reserves of Fios still going. An ordinary Wielder would have long ran out of energy by now. This showed how much more powerful and skilled Bras was than his other classmates. But luckily for Haiden, he too was not an ordinary Wielder. He still had a vast reserve to pull from and quickly shielded from a couple barrages of force blasts. Trying to catch him off guard.

Haiden watched his opponent closely, he knew his attacks was just mere distractions. He felt his energy pouring into the ground, encompassing the arena fully.

He's going to do something big, Screech. Be ready to levitate us the moment he tries anything! Take as much as you need! He instructed mentally as he focused on deflecting Bras' attacks. He threw an array of spells from plasma balls, to icicles, even powerful lighting bolts that turned the stone to dust as they hit. Neither phasing Haiden. I need to stop him before he releases the spell. It was almost impossible to focus on two spells simultaneously, it took incredible finesse and skill and Bras did with as much ease as breathing. While defending against the attacks he began pooling the water, that Bras had used against him moments ago in a painful spray of droplets, into thin lenses as tall as he was.

"What're you going to do, Yeva'Ah, magnify me to death? Are you that desperate?" Bras taunted as his assault did not stop. Haiden had to hurry, but he could barely concentrate to build and maintain the lenses. He couldn't ask Screech to do it, he was his only contingency in case the massive spell hit. The earth around Bras began to crack and ripple causing small earthquakes and destabilizing the stands around them. People screamed and cried in panic as they ran every which way trying to move out of the spell's range. Haiden glanced where Camila and Maree were watching, they were protected by an incredibly powerful barrier. He had never seen such powerful, impenetrable force before. It was like a tidal wave, watching down at two small insects rippling the water.

Rocks began to fly and hit his barrier forcing his attention back to Bras. He had to do it now. He couldn't wait any longer, it was too risky to let the spell release, while his friends were safe a few hundred innocent lives would be in danger. Taking away concentration from his defense, spells landed closer than he would have liked; a plasma ball singing his boots. He placed his focus on the lenses and they built and widened and changed in front of Haiden as he made sure their angles and shapes were perfect. He was running out of time and quickly tried to maneuver it into position, aiming at his opponent. He targeted his right arm first.

Moments before Bras could complete his spell, Haiden conjured the most powerful light he could for a mere second. The lenses concentrated the light into an infinitely small point. Bras felt the attack instantly.

"What the fuck!!?" He cried from the searing pain, his concentration dropping for a moment. His right arm went limp and he tried to grab at his wound. The smell of burnt meat permeated the arena, which now stopped shaking. "What did you do!?"

Haiden didn't reply. He was ready for another attack any time. He relaxed as Bras' assault had stopped. He tried to place a barrier and continue the spell, but the pain was making it very difficult. The second that Haiden felt his opponent's Fios go into the ground again he conjured another light.

Bras' other arm fell by his side as he screamed again, his throat sore and dry; his vocal cords felt like they'd break. A stream of tears flowed on his cheeks and with gritting teeth he let out an animal-like squeal.

"You will pay for this!" The words barely register as speech.Taking every ounce of energy he had and pouring it in his spell only earning him another flare of pain as Haiden shot his thigh. He fell to the ground, kicking with one foot, his other members were like lifeless weights.

Before Haiden could send another shot, the ground began to crumble beneath his own feet. It was already too late, Bras had finished his spell.

Within seconds Haiden had found himself in mid air, the Training pit arena was no more. Everything around him asides for a small patch of stone that held Bras was gone.

He had created a gasm filled with extremely sharp spikes that flew like arrows towards every direction. The stands that were not protected by the massive barrier fell in heavy chunks taking some of the people that ran away with them. Masters along with Headmistress Helena protected them by raising barriers, sending people out of harm's way and stopping entire stands from falling down while not interfering with the battle.

While in the air, Haiden pulled himself towards the small patch of arena, he tried to blast a few spikes but the constant barrage did not allow him to raise a barrier. A few crazed his sides, tearing at his flesh as he landed right next to a Bras that struggled to maintain his upright position with only one functional leg. His breath was heavily heartened, his spit flew and sprayed as he cursed and screamed, while trying to keep his balance at the same time.

Haiden limped closer to his opponent, holding the gash in his right side that mirrored an old wound on his left from a terrible night in the Avlan forest. Bras tried to send a force blast but it was weak and Haiden simply took it full on. It took his breath away but he continued to push through until he reached Bras, their eyes locking. Fear widened his opponent's green eyes. He held his shoulder with one hand, and the other, taking it away from his wound, reeled in into a fist. He released his cocked arm, his knuckles making contact straight with bras' cheekbone sending him backward close to the ledge. Knocking his lights out completely.

With the last shred of will, Hidden took Bras' unconscious body, and sent it gently towards the untouched zone of those of higher standing. The barrier allowed him to place his body down, people rushing quickly to the young wielder. Soon he was surrounded by a crowd.

Haiden took a moment to look around him, everything was destroyed, people were screaming and crying all over. He saw Master Coner and Rwoy tending to people while the others kept the integrity of the training pit.

He had won. The realization came shortly after he registered Camila's and Maree's cries. "I... I did it!" He said to himself. Even speaking was hard as the pressure of pain pulsated in his right side. His knees were weak and buckled as fell to the ground. He reached over to the gash, it was hot and wet from the blood. The shock sent a ripple of panic through his body as it slowly relaxed.

Haiden! Don't let it open! Those were the last words he heard from Screech as his consciousness faded along with the pain, only to be met by the smell of fresh field flowers and something warm.