Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4)

by E. I. McAllistair

  “We have to kill that evil bitch. Anyone who injures someone so badly they may never recover deserves to go to hell.”

  Peter found himself in the center of a storm cell. He was doing his best at being a dutiful partner, consoling Genny the best he could, but Wu had not been making his job easy. Because of his relationship with Codi, Wu had been trying to force Peter to choose a side. If he defended Codi, their friendship was over. He did care about Shonte’s wellbeing, but if he had learned anything from his exposure to upperclassmen, was that try as they might, it was impossible for Sophangence to constantly retain the neat veneer of perfection and safety.

  “Jeonwoo, I don’t think Peter would be much help in your vengeance against Codi, nor does he bear any blame for this situation. We all knew what we signed up for when we came to this school. Even more than that, each one of us who are competing in this tournament are doing it with complete understanding of what it means to fight for the title of the best in the school.”

  “Just like you seedy upperclassmen to hide behind rules and technicalities. This why it is better for us to stay separate.”

  “I think I’m technically still considered an underclassman too… That is not the point though. From what I can tell, Codi and Shonte hurt one another equally. The only reason Shonte is in worse shape is because neural damage is much harder to fix than normal trauma. Though Shonte’s manifestation can cause serious damage, it would still bear little difference to blunt force trauma.”

  “There! You just admitted it! Shonte is probably going to be handicapped for the rest of her life! How are their injuries equivalent?!”

  “I never said they were. I said they both hit each other hard. Shonte is tough, but if I am being honest, her chances of a full recovery are very low. There are simply too few Medics with the skill and power to pull it off.”

  “Even more reason to make her pay.”

  “How about this. Let me take responsibility. No more blaming Peter. No more planning Codi’s murder. I give you my word Shonte will be just fine. Nothing would be wrong with her if she were not able bodied, but I could make some good guesses how devastating that type of change could be. If everything doesn’t work out, I’ll accept any punishment you can give.”

  Wu seemed unconvinced, but there was little else he could do at the time. Anaar gave a gentle pat on the shoulder as he was leaving, doing his best to offer what meager comfort he could. As he suspected, Codi’s condition had already stabilized, while both Shonte and Hunter remained critical. With only bullet wounds, Codi’s partner was already restored back to full health.

  Anaar waited until Shonte was released from the operating room to visit her and assess her injuries for himself. At a distance, the situation did not compare to what he could now see. Codi had overloaded Shonte’s body like a circuit. With no breaker to prevent extensive damage, the severity of her injuries might have left her in a vegetative state. Limiting his powers to their lowest level, he restored the function of all her nerves, which would take her out of danger, but her body would still require time to reset itself. From there he decided to spend his next few hours alone as he awaited his next match.

  The icy peak of Mt. Everest had truly become his place of peace. He worked tirelessly to dampen the chatter that had become his existence. His acquisition of the Life element along with the soaring power spike, had made his already overtuned senses a death sentence. Every day he became better and better at keeping the noise down, but it was only enough to remain static. Though it was expected to grow in one’s abilities with use, the strides he made daily would seem like transformations to others.

  Because his power had increased to such a degree, relative to his level, the increases were the most minute increments imaginable. Anaar had come to realize however, abilities themselves do not scale their growth alongside their host’s. This revelation explained how on Monday, the largest portal he could open spanned just over half the size of the contiguous United States. On Friday however, it had already expanded to the entirety of the United States and a portion of the oceans. To him, his creeping power was insignificant. To his powers, they were world shifting occurrences.

  It was this phenomenon that created the need for him to retreat to the frozen expanse to bask in the silence. Little could survive in the altitude and the temperature, which meant the overflowing information about any living thing was absent. Though no one questioned him about it, his power increases were also why he still sometimes misjudged his own strength.

  He was interrupted by a notification which told him that his next match would begin in ten minutes. The time had flown by, but it was still an hour early which must have meant one team was prepared to fight even before their window for recovery had closed. He made his way back to campus to Holden’s location to find he was already in a holding area.

  “Where have you been?! Do you know who we are fighting? What if things go horribly wrong?!”

  Anaar’s eyes slowly opened as he leaned back against the wall. “We are definitely fighting Codi. Shonte and her partner are still down, though it is likely they will recover by tomorrow’s event. The better question is where did all that confidence and swagger from before go?”

  “That was before I realized just how rough this would be. Against my own class, I stand at the top easily. Against other of my caliber or better, I realize just how weak I really am. Especially against an electric fence that can chase you.”

  In his contemplation on the mountain, Anaar had begun to wonder if he could continue assuming responsibility for only his power mishaps. Freezing Ivory Tower, maiming many innocent students in his class, these were easy to assign fault. They were no different than the broken doors or fixtures when he did not carefully modulate his strength. Should he be concerning himself with messes he did not directly cause, but surely helped create?

  The earliest example he could think of was when Dan went on his first rampage. Though he was not even present, Anaar could not help but wonder if it could have been prevented by never training Dan on the use of his abilities. He had always dismissed it, citing Dan’s unstable repression of his abilities could have made disruptions even without his help. Codi’s situation was entirely different and seemed much more closely related to his influence.

  His life had been defined by the measure of his control. Holding back had become as organic to him as breathing. Even when fighting Yefferson, he could not say he had truly cut loose, most likely because he wanted it to end amicably. Codi had never caused what should have been catastrophic damage to another person before Anaar worked with her on unlocking her potential. He also noted that her most difficult opponents had also been Titans, which begged the question if it was isolated to the nature of the School Rankings Tournament. His thoughts continued until he was face to face with the other team.

  In their previous conversations, Holden had expressed how he wanted a more balanced cooperation, but since he offered nothing in the way of support, that made their options limited. He had been calm and logical through it all, admitting he would only slow Anaar down, so he would follow whatever lead he was given. The pressure had been building in the interim however, and the moment the match started, he began charging the biggest attack he could muster. He then unceremoniously stiffened, falling like a board to the ground.

  Anaar gave Codi a deadpan look. “Really? His larynx too? What if he chokes because he can’t breathe?”

  Pointing angrily, “I’ve learned my lesson! Some of these Freshies are actually good! I’m not going to give that little fucker a chance to do anything! You are already enough to deal with!”

  Codi appeared to be having problems of her own with her partner, because she was shocked when the woman shrieked like a banshee and gouts of flame began firing rapidly. Igniting every lighter she had and throwing them, the area around Anaar became an ocean of flame in an instant. For a split second Codi had a pang of worry, until she saw all the fire coalesce rather than dissipate. The once large, billowing
cloud had been condensed into a floating orb the size of a pea.

  “See Codi, this is what you were doing all that time. Quantity over quality. Look what all that fire turned into. It could be even smaller, but I needed you to be able to see it for instructional purposes.”

  The sight of her best attack being consumed and then belittled for the purpose of instruction removed the last shred of reason from the snarling Pyrokinetic. She drew her gun, an addition since they had extra time to prepare, and fired with deadly aim at Anaar’s head. Codi shivered, her body feeling as if she had been plunged into the depths of the arctic. It was for only the briefest of moments, but Anaar shot a murderous glare at her partner.

  “We’re talking.”

  No one expected the bullets to hit Anaar, despite only recently learning of his prolific ability as a Defender. What they received instead of a shield blocking the bullets that were meant to kill, was a portal that swallowed all the bullets, opening into many other portals that spit the bullets back out into their source. Though nothing vital was struck, the desperate Pyrokinetic’s mind could not handle the pain of having an entire clip unloaded into her. She immediately fell limp, blood pooling beneath her.

  “Helen!”

  Anaar claps his hands and points to Codi. “Helen! It was Helen. I could not remember her name for the life of me.”

  Codi turns back to him, stomping her foot angrily. “You are a real son of a bitch you know!”

  Anaar shrugs lazily. “How is that my fault? I apologized to her already for what happened between us. I was about to come offer her advice as a sign of goodwill. She is the one who attacked me. Technically she shot herself.”

  “Because you opened a portal that redirected them at her!”

  “I stand my ground. But for her shooting, she would not have been shot. It is not my fault she did not account for spatial distortions when she aimed.”

  “What happened to you? You had this super annoying code of chivalry. Now you just demolish people without a thought.”

  Anaar simply shrugged in response, fully aware that Yefferson’s influence on him had not all been some state of blackout where he had no awareness of his actions. Try as he might, his brother’s experiences and internalized trauma had been etched into him. Either he was not strong enough, or did not have the desire to wipe it away. A nagging thought from the back of his mind had finally broken through to the forefront and he remembered Holden. Though he was more than capable of restoring Holden on his own, there were too many people watching and there would surely be questions. He also did not want to let Codi know he had even more ways to counter her.

  Pointing a thumb behind him at Holden, “Can you please fix him already?”

  “You have to be-”

  The swiftness in which Anaar moved behind her, grabbed her neck and her arm and took her down to the ground left Codi broken. After how definitively he took down Helen, she knew there was no chance of her winning. Even if he could not manipulate her attacks as he did Helen’s, she knew they somehow did not affect him. She could not even complete her posturing before he had her face down in the dirt. What she noticed however was how gentle he was. He did not slam her into the ground, it was more like he fell with her and cushioned the blow. Pinning her was simply his way to exhibit his conquest of her to everyone so there would be no question of who had won.

  The administration took the scene as the completion of the match, rushing to Helen for treatment. Anaar picked Codi from the ground, dusting her off with a smile. With an expectant glare, he extended his finger toward Holden’s still limp body. Even the medical staff were not sure what to do with him as he exhibited no outward signs of trauma. Both Codi and Anaar had similar thoughts as they watched the two women look from one another to Holden.

  “They must be new.”

  “Definitely have to be new. I was pretty sure they knew how to deal with this after four Melees.”

  Codi released the inhibitors that prevented Holden from moving. Though he would have regained his faculties over time, it was obvious Anaar had no intention of allowing her to leave without undoing the paralysis. Because he had been paralyzed for an extended period of time and it was his first time experiencing it, Holden began flopping around like a fish when he first regained control of his body. After a minute of trying, he was able to stand on his feet again. The two Medics looked at him with satisfaction and took their leave once he was upright.

  After looking around for a moment, he saw Codi and immediately fired a shot at her. Though it was his weakest, he knew it would be enough for someone as frail as she. The pellet flew through a portal just before making contact and disappeared. Codi’s fists clenched and electricity began to crackle around her.

  “Hey shitstain! You are lucky he got rid of that shit for you! If that would have hit me I would have lit your ass up for real this time!”

  “Holden, the match is already over.”

  Codi pauses for a moment as she makes sense of something that had just occurred. “Wait a minute. Why did it seem like I could feel him using whatever the fuck it is he does?”

  Though Holden was going to return a spicy comment to Codi, his eyes grew wide with shock and curiosity. Anaar nodded in the manner that his friends recognized preceded a lecture.

  “Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. Railguns use extremely potent electromagnetic force to propel metal at high velocities. Given you consume and control electricity, it isn’t surprising you can feel a massive surge of electrical energy like that. Though it is an Earth attuned ability, likely because it focuses more on magnetism, Railgun is one of those manifestations that call into question how manifestations decided their sorting since it has so many similarities to abilities in the Air attunement. Furthermore-”

  “Nope. I’ve lost interest. The moment you hit that ‘furthermore’ I knew this shit was going to last for another twenty minutes. I get the point.”

  Codi walks away as she notices someone beckoning to her. Anaar shrugs, making his way toward Holden. Though Holden knew he had no reason to expect Anaar to be loyal to him over Codi, he still felt hurt when he saw them together smiling and talking as if she had not almost killed him. It took everything in him to calm his panicking and focus on breathing, as it had become very difficult.

  “You left me to die!”

  “And yet you still live… I would hate to see what you would do if your life was actually in danger.”

  “Couldn’t you have done something about that sooner?!”

  “What did you want from me? Knock her out? That would only leave you in that state longer since she does not need to actively block your nerves. It was better to end it amicably.”

  Holden was prepared to respond, but he was finding it difficult to breathe again. Though Anaar had felt them arrive, he had not expected their opponents to begin their attack before the match officially began. In some ways he could see it being within the scope of the rules as it could be considered preparation, but he still did not like it.

  His first order of business to restore Holden back to health. His fatigue was evident as the dehydration was setting in. The signal to begin resounded, and before Holden knew it, his parched throat and burning muscles disappeared. He knew that feeling all too well, but he was not sure why it had suddenly disappeared. He matched Anaar’s steps forward, emboldened by his partner’s advance.

  The smaller man opposite them bore an expression the was an impeccable blend of bewilderment and fury. Holden could see the man who had almost defeated him in their Melee was ready to explode from frustration. Though he was seething with anger, he had not moved, and it seemed his partner was awaiting something to indicate a call to action.

  The two teams stood there at a standoff, spectators everywhere unable to see the battle of wills at place. Holden realized the two men had begun to pant and sweat profusely. The pressure that had been building gripped audiences everywhere when they saw the smaller man fall to one knee.

  “Not so fun whe
n it is turned against you is it? A tricky ability you have. Under most circumstances it would never even be acknowledged as a proper manifestation given its limited use. When it is wielded by someone particularly talented like yourself however… I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with others like you. Your only advantage is the obscurity of your ability. If it is known, well it is pretty easy to counter.” Anaar reaches into one of the large cargo pockets on his leg, forming a large metal ball. He hands it to Holden with a smile. “The big one is yours.”

  Holden’s eyes bulge as he takes the object the that is the size of a baseball. “You want me to use this?! Where did you even get this from?! He will die if I hit him with this!”

  “No he won’t. Probably…”

  Winning the first round so soundly had been a blessing and a curse for the large man. Unlike his diminutive partner, he was thoroughly looking forward to the coming fights. When he found out he would be sitting them out to the end, he was none too pleased. He only took solace in the fact that whomever he would be facing off against in the finals would be a fun matchup.

  Now he was feeling more humiliated than he did in the last match. He hated that his first win over Phavian had nothing to do with him. It was over before he could move. It was happening to him again, except this time he was on the receiving end. It began with feeling as if he was in an oven, his body beginning to pour sweat. That sweat suddenly disappeared, and it felt as if he had been drained of all his fluids. It was utilizing every ounce of energy he had to remain upright. He could see his partner had already collapsed and in his distracted state he just did notice the faint shimmer of a barrier dropping before his body was hit with an insane force, his ribcage shattering from the impact.

  “You see that! I knew it! I killed him!”