The Challenger

by Harlon Banks

  "Let's just get this over with, I got better things to do." Blade sighed.

  Right as he finished that sentence he found himself rushed by the Yelkath again. Same old same old tactic...

  "Active Mode is when you may use the full scope of your unlocked visual potential in and outside of combat. This requires conscious activation and is fueled by the aura in your body. Usually the glow intensifies in the eyes, the limbal rings thicken and blacken from the swell of energy, and the pupils thin out into vertical slits akin to a predators... This mode can still be suppressed or sealed away with the right, and powerful enough spells or technology preventing you from using your conscious powers offensively or defensively..."

  His blade moving to attack her with a fast, precise cut downwards aiming to cleave her in two. Already anticipating her to dodge and get close again, Blade released his left hand from the blade to defend. Pivoting around in a fluid singular movement to the outer side of the right-handed swing, Liariana's ninjato arced to cut across Blade' throat. Blade about to yank his sword a bit closer to him, attempting to block with the base before reaching out to grab her...

  Their eyes meeting for the briefest moments... Two predatory gazes fixated on the other.

  "The Standby Mode upon first time activation becomes the 'default' setting for your bodies natural ability to perceive. The enhancements brought upon by this mode such as augmented perception, accuracy, visual reflexes and the similar can only be rendered inert by blindness or death. Spells and technology usually need a high enough frequency of aura to set off their effects on the target as to avoid wasting energy; the standby mode of your Veralen requires little to no aura to stay in that mode, thus your visual prowess would still be superior to those without eyes like yours. Remember this well, child... Few outsiders know this secret."

  "Sever!" Liariana whispered.

  A sharp, clean whistle as steel cut through air echoed in the night...

  "That..."

  Liariana's eyes widened and a breath caught in her throat, what the hell was this...

  "That was perfect timing to attack, I should be dead right now and missing a couple of fingers if not my whole hand right?" Blade spoke rather impressed in a nonchalant way, his left hand gripping the ninjato blades edge with his bare skin completely undamaged. Gloved fingers even squeezing the blade tighter as if to boast as he looked at her quietly shocked response. The tip of the Eastern sword centimeters from his Adam's apple. The blade fracturing from his strength next.

  "His body is reinforced all over!?" Liariana mentally tried to comprehend what just happened; Blade yanking the woman's blade (with her still holding it) and throwing her several feet in the air. Sucking her teeth as she twisted herself into a recovery mid fall back to the ground, her sword smacking against the giant cleaver coming her way. Sparks brightening the air, the tip of Blade' blade slashing Liariana's face (horizontal) across the bridge of her nose as she parried it away. Landing in a last second recovery roll back to her feet, her right hand holding the bleeding wound on her face and a pained glare about the injury. Her sword having broken in two from the earlier punishment finally taking its toll. The upper half of the blade in pieces across the stone.

  "Tch!" She growled irritated. She had expected him to block with his hand all the same, and assumed his skin had the same resistance as his neck (thus she had put a bit more force behind her swing than usual), but she didn't expect him to just outright catch her sword. It was clear to her now, she was outmatched without the rest of her powers. At the same time though, she was beginning to figure out what parts of Blade were more susceptible to slashing than others. She glanced down at her broken blade, nothing but a hilt and some length of jagged metal now.

  None of that mattered anymore, however.

  "I stand corrected... Your Veralen must be still active, if only barely somehow, right?" Blade asked, blood running from over his left brow into his eye. It was a shallow cut, but a cut nonetheless that bled rather profusely given the location. His eye shutting momentarily, the wound sealing itself over soon after good as new. "No way in hell could someone with no sensory enhancement parry that attack and counter at the same time moments afterwards while falling..." He paused stabbing the edge of his sword clean into the hard stone by his feet, the blade upright on its own now.

  "I never really knew how those towers deciphered what to nullify and what to leave be honestly. I assumed there was a threshold to their activation; didn't think of the possibility that eye powers being ignored like other physical attributes. At least the basic ones anyway. Maybe it neutralizes consciously activated abilities? Would explain why you can't do anything offensively with them?" He scratched at his brow where the wound once was in thought. Liariana quickly taking this moment to bite off some of the bandages that wrapped her left arm and tie it around her face across the nose as a makeshift wrapping. That cut was pretty close, a little deeper and he would have taken a chunk of her face out with that swing.

  "Regardless, seems we both have underestimated each other multiple times here. Those eyes of yours are pretty neat, your swordsmanship is clearly superior to mine, and your agility and speed is on point too. If it wasn't for my vitality and durability you would have shredded me ages ago." He couldn't help but admire the girls grit, she was beginning to make him take back his words earlier. Cronos meanwhile indeed was watching the battle calmly from the shadow of the doorway behind Blade. He looked to be staying out of it for now, probably in regards to Blade' earlier words.

  "Let's continue." Blade insisted, grabbing the hilt of his weapon for round three.

  Liariana stood up, head lowered and eyes closed as she sheathed her sword in the scabbard across the small of her back. The mercenary raising a brow in quiet confusion. Was she giving up already? When she began walking towards him, Blade was momentarily perplexed, opening his mouth to say something when her words struck a nerve in him.

  "I cut you again, I win." She said calm and straightforward. Her eyes never meeting his gaze as she just walked past the taller male and back towards her room to rest.

  Blade was stunned, Cronos chuckling quietly to himself in the background. Liariana compromised, she knew she couldn't beat Blade at this point in time head on. So she only aimed to cut him again and 'win' her way out of pursuit. A clever way to keep her pride in tact, even if it came at the cost of a wound. Blade couldn't believe this, scoffing now annoyed as he pulled his blade from the stone and clipped it back to the magnet on his back. He couldn't believe this...

  "Haha!" Cronos chuckled in amusement, willingly stepping aside so Liariana could pass him unhindered as he looked at Blade. "Your own confidence backfires on you. Good thing we got paid before Draven's demise otherwise you'd be in quite the predicament!"

  "Shut up." Blade groaned annoyed, begrudgingly gesturing Cronos to come as they were leaving. He was a man of his word, unfortunately; just when he was starting to have fun for real too. Turning one last time back to Liariana though. He felt the need to give her one last parting gift in the form of a verbal offer.

  "Yo, Yelkath."

  Liariana paused, turning to look over her shoulder at him. Their gazes meeting as Blade had a dark, anticipating smile.

  "If you really think you can kill me at full power, every day I head out the main gates around noon just to stroll around and relax. Feel free to search for me and we can fight to the death and test just how we stack up. That is if I don't find you first. Later."

  With that said, Blade and Cronos took their leave. Liariana standing in the darkness of the lobby watching the grey-haired man disappear into the slums. Upon their disappearance, the homeless slowly emerged back on the scene, whispering and chattering about what they saw. A faint scoff, and Liariana dismissed the offer and headed up to her room again to rest. She contemplated it, she really did. A direct challenge to her confidence and pride yet again, this one more profound than the first.

  The memory of Liariana attacking Jonath with her flames flashed thr
ough her mind suddenly; any consideration for Blade' offer promptly vanishing from her thoughts. A scowl, more so at herself, and she continued on her way to her room.

  "You'll be waiting for eternity." She muttered quietly.

  Draven's gruesome mental death induced by her eyes replayed in her mind...

  She'll never use those powers again...

  Pack Hierarchy

  The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Six: Pack Hierarchy

  Later that same day, back at the forest facility...

  "There we go."

  Jonath put his hands on his hips satisfied with his room at last. Each of the trainees had been given their own personal 'dorm' so to speak in the barracks; girls in one and boys in the other. Each room was rather spacious and lightly furnished already with the necessities. A small single person bed with uniform white sheets and feather pillows, a desk with a lamp and a medium sized flat-screen television mounted over it on the wall, a dining table, wardrobe, mini-fridge, etcetera etcetera. It resembled a studio apartment for the most part, although the lack of a window in his room was a bit annoying. Whatever, it wasn't that big of a deal either way.

  With his belongings already stashed away in the wardrobe and the like Jonath walked over to crash out on the bed. His thoughts wandering as pale eyes closed, a content exhale leaving his throat that morphed into a yawn of some sorts. Arms raising to cradle the back of his head, he raised his left knee up and took the next few minutes to relax. For the moment, the Nightborn were told to just get situated with their new homes for the time being after the sparring matches. Last he recalled there was another test they were supposed to take as well to determine their placement on the mission incentives, but that wasn't for today. Good, he needed some time to rest.

  As time passed Jonath began to wonder about his ranking label, the thought of getting the lowest label (white) tugged at his mind much harder than the knowing he wasn't going to be in the same ranking as Lee, Kelgard or Melissa. They were the ones who won their fights. He didn't think he failed or did too bad on the written part, but his loss to Kelgard stung him more than he cared to admit. A loss decided by a knockout, the only blow Kelgard ever managed to hit him with being the winning blow.

  "That... was the right way to dodge."

  "Doubting your own skills that much?"

  "If you've got something up your sleeve I'll cross that bridge when I come to it; right now I'm just humoring you."

  Kelgard's reserved, detached baritone rang out in the amnesic's mind. An annoyed scowl etching across his features while his eyes remained casually closed. Everything about that guy rubbed him the wrong way. His nonchalant, cocky demeanor that implied there was nothing that could phase him. That indifferent, commanding gaze in his blood red eyes that gave off a subtle sense of intimidation at the same time it portrayed power and strength. His combat abilities, despite the small bit he showed in his fight with Jonath was enough to instill fear in the latter. Fear to the point Jonath never dared risk getting tagged by one of his attacks till the last moment. No wonder he lost then, he let his own inferiority complex get the better of him in that fight.

  Was Jonath that envious of Kelgard?

  A heavy huff, followed by him sitting up and running his hands through platinum silver bangs. His soft pale eyes opening narrowly and his voice quiet and low as he continued to mess with his hair. For some reason while he thought about all this, the image of that Yelkath flashed across his mind again. Her cold, apathetic stare coupled with the superiority she also exuded when he and her interacted. The similar aesthetic between her and Kelgard, though nothing more than superficial seemed to only drive the nail deeper.

  He raised up his injured arm, the numbness from Liariana's Dark Fire still lingering with every flexion and contraction. It seemed to be healing though all the same thankfully. He could only imagine how bad it would have been had her attack directly hit him. Still...

  People like Liariana Yelkath and Kelgard Crimson... Ones who showcased through and through they had power and were superior to himself...

  Did Jonath envy them? Was he jealous? Frustrated? All of the above? If only he knew more about what he could do, could he be the same as them? Stronger than them even? He lowered his arm down with a deep inhale, and exhale.

  Know thy name, and remember.

  That strange phrase repeating over and over now, his thoughts recalling his awakening in that crystal forest and the injuries he had sustained. Right hand tracing over spiky bangs, moving right to where that large gash he had near his scalp had healed over. That blow had to be the cause of his amnesia, who would have done such a thing though? Why leave him alive out in the forest over just killing him outright after inflicting that wound? Why was he now thinking about this all over again now!?

  "Aaaahhhhh!" He exclaimed irritated and throwing himself back across the bed in frustration. His pale hands gripping clumps of his disheveled, spiky hair and a loud groan leaving his lips. So many questions, not nearly enough answers; his mind felt as if it were going to go mad at this rate with all the uncertainty.

  "Who the hell am I? Who is Jonath?" He spoke in a lower, more wary tone to himself now. His eyes looking at the cream colored ceiling in uncertainty. Hopefully this was the right choice, coming here. Hopefully he would get at least some answers sooner than later... Maybe Wren would be onto something and seek him out again, maybe.

  Knock knock knock!

  Jonath glanced over at the ivory colored door with a furrowed brow, who was that? He raised up and got off the bed, boots tapping against the stone floor as he made his way to the door and reached for the knob. Eyes widening a bit when the shocking sight of Lee came about, the amnesic blinking a bit stunned. This was the guy Kayda said beat her almost instantly, was he in the same league as Kelgard and Liariana? Ghostly pale hues meeting lonesome fuchsia as the two near equal height (Jonath was a slight bit taller) young men matched gazes.

  "Jonath, right?" Lee's voice was shockingly mellow and relaxed despite the depressing, loner vibe he gave off ever since Jonath first saw him. His pale skin and short spiky white hair being drawn out by the all black get up he wore, a polar contrast even more profound than Jonath's own. Hands idled in his jean pockets as he awaited a response.

  "Yeah, that's me?" Jonath's response was laced with wariness, what did this guy want? He doubted it was something official considering earlier Jonath noticed intercom devices in the hallways. If Min or Dast wanted him they could have just pinged it over that. Lee stared for what felt like a minute, but was actually only about a few seconds. Fuchsia eyes looking Jonath up and down momentarily as if analyzing everything about him before he shrugged and craned his neck slightly to the left. The longer bit of layered spiky bangs that framed the right of his face sweeping momentarily over his right eye and brow as he closed said eye and exhaled.

  "Just checking on you to see if you're alright. Figured I'd do my good deed for the day and show some sense of compassion for others." He trailed off, turning his gaze away downwards to mutter something in a lower tone in exasperation. "Even if it's barely genuine..."

  Jonath's expression turned into a comically irritated glare. Lee was aware he could hear him, right? Did he come here just to be a joker? Whatever, Jonath wasn't about to let this guy get to him.

  "It's the thought that counts anyway." Jonath responded with his own dry sarcasm as he looked off in the other direction with a sigh. Lee glancing back towards him, a nonchalant shrug following as he chuckled rather vaguely amused by the amnesic's reaction.

  "That's a good way to look at it I suppose, anyway I came here to offer a bit of insight for the future. It's about that little display of yours you put out right before you and that guy clashed. I feel I should inform you of it just in case you didn't know yourself. Don't know much about you but during your fight I could easily tell you had a lot of self doubts." His words sharpened into something akin to laid back curiosity, which shocked Jonath. The amnesic blinking as he went silent, a lump in his th
roat going down while pondering what Lee could possibly be getting at? A few passing seconds of silence, and Lee spoke.

  "I'm unaware if Dast or anybody else managed to notice, but me and my sister caught on pretty quickly thanks to our extreme sensitivity to aura signatures. To put it bluntly, your aether is rather ominous and empty; it felt like death was breathing on the back of my neck when you started releasing it all like a broken fire hydrant. You probably want to learn how to control your output too by the way; you wasted a lot of power just throwing it around like that. A flashy display but a waste in the end."

  Jonath's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened momentarily. What did he say... ? Despite his rather unsettling words, Lee didn't look all that concerned about the discovery. The two still standing in the door way conversing, nobody else out in the halls at the moment to interrupt them. Lee's tone relaxing again after the brief criticism.