Elemental [2]

It was the final round and all of us were nervous. Lila and Nali had continued collecting victories. They were the top two in our school, after all; the first spot sometimes went to Lila and at others went to the younger sibling. We knew then that our victory was secured since Xes would beat his opponent –

Until he didn’t. In a sick twist of events, the opponent, someone who was much shorter and thinner than Xes, beat him in the span of five minutes. Easily and casually.

I realized by then the opposing school knew the nature of this tournament more than mine. They put their weakest in the first and second rounds to avoid any uncertainty of victory and let the rest dominate the other rounds. It was a risky move since each team should’ve at least three powerhouse members to secure the group battles and Xes would likely fight someone at his caliber. Awen fought as much as he could, but he was beaten too.

I looked at the last opponent, a blond boy named Vael standing confident and intimidating. He looked straight at me with an undecipherable smile. I was sure he would be terrifying in battle. I could envision him as the personification of my nightmare, telling me being an Elemental wasn’t enough.

‘You can do it, Arka,’ Xes said, squeezing my shoulder. There were bruises on his body and face, but he smiled at me despite of it all.

The twins at his sides nodded, Lila making a fist.

‘Show them what you’ve trained, son,’ Es Rana said, nodding.

As I passed Awen, he grabbed my arm. When I looked at him, there was determination in his eyes. ‘Win this for us, Elemental.’

I gulped but nodded. Then, I stepped into the sand-floored sparring field.

*

The audience that surrounded the round field cheered and clapped, effectively sending butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I didn’t look at them. I didn’t look at my opponent either; the floor received my undivided attention. Being in the field for real made me realize I wasn’t ready for this. When I sparred with Xes, I didn’t have anything to lose. This time, I had my school on the stake, and my reputation too. I didn’t want to humiliate myself.

‘Eyes on me, Elemental,’ Vael said, and of course I had to look at him, jolted by the sudden words. Lean and tall, he smiled at me like a predator smiling to his prey. ‘What a fancy word – Elemental. I wonder if you can live up to your name.’

He launched at me with a blink and slammed me to the ground with his arm hitting my chest. He retreated just as fast. I coughed, trying to squeeze out the pain from my back and my chest. I didn’t know what to do. He didn’t really move in a blink, but he was fast enough that I couldn’t see the air enveloping him. He had to stand still for me to do that and I could tell he would avoid being passive as much as possible. The thing was, my disruption relied on his movement. He had to move slow enough for me to direct the developing air into making him miss.

I stood up. He ran to me again, but this time, I was ready. When his arm reached my chest, I held up mine to block it. I slipped under him quickly, and as his arm moved again but slower, I willed the air to direct it to the ground. As a result, Vael fell following his arm.

I did it, I thought. It was a small accomplishment, but it seemed important to me given how strong Vael seem to be.

My manipulation didn’t last long as Vael was on his feet in an instant. He scowled at me, the sadistic façade he put on earlier fading.

‘You think you’re better than me?’ he said. ‘Just because you’re an Elemental? Unlike you, I work hard to be here.’

I blinked, not expecting those words. He quickly came to me again and this time, he lowered himself to kick my feet, throwing me to the ground. I got up quickly, but Vael managed to punch me from behind, pushing me to the front. I needed to see him.

I turned back only to see him right in front of my face, performing an uppercut to my jaw. Again, I fell to the ground. This time, I didn’t rush to stand up and he didn’t make a move. I just laid there on the floor, my sweat plastering sand on my face.

‘Are you giving up?’ Vael said. ‘Is this the attitude of an Elemental? Giving up when he realizes his magic is useless?’

I didn’t want anymore pain. If I learned physical combat as fast as an average student, I could at least bear with some of the damage Vael gave me. But I relied on my magic when it came to fighting someone. Es Rana did tell me his concern about my dependence on it, but what else could I do? I just didn’t cut to be a fighter. I shouldn’t be chosen to represent the school.

Vael didn’t let my wallow on my sadness as he kicked my side, turning my back to the ground. I looked at the sky with half-opened eyes, unable to look at him. I was pathetic. I shouldn’t be here. Vael continued to kick me.

‘Surrender,’ he hissed.

Maybe I should do that. It was better than to let others see how the representative of the school was humiliated badly. There was no hope for me to even be a decent fighter, after all. I raised up my hand and –

‘DO IT FOR THE ELEMENTALS!’ Awen shouted, stopping me. ‘Do it for others out there! Show them the true power of an Elemental! Don’t let them believe what they have is useless! Don’t let them believe they are failures!’

Funny, I thought. I expected Awen to be the last person to shout words of courage to me, not with how reserved they are. But following his words, Lila, Nali, Xes, and Es Rana yelled for me even louder, repeating parts of his statement.

This wasn’t just about me, I realized. I couldn’t be so selfish as to think being an Elemental was useless. That wasn’t true. The negativity that had been following me had grabbed so much of my attention that it was all I saw. I gritted my teeth. I shouldn’t be this weak when I was needed the most. So what if I couldn’t win this battle? At least I gave my all.

Slowly, I pushed myself up and faced Vael. He raised an eyebrow and said nothing else. ‘Do you really believe you can stand a chance against me?’

Pain still occupied a large portion of my mind, but I forced myself to focus on him. ‘I believe my Elemental magic isn’t useless. I know that, though our ways are different, I put as much effort into perfecting it as you do yours. I refuse to let you from telling otherwise. My ability is an artifact of the past when magic reached its golden glory. I’m determined to show you how that was possible.’

As soon as I finished the words, I felt something different. Not only could I see the air surrounding Vael, but I could also feel a connection to the air in general. I felt it was a part of me, waiting for my instruction. I held my breath. Was this what I had to do, accepting the magic given to me? Elementals – no, the Blessed – used to practice this magic to be a fighter. Many of them incorporated it with physical attacks to make it more lethal. I shouldn’t – I shouldn’t see it as what it seemed; I should expect more.

‘I want more,’ I whispered to the air. ‘I want to see more of you. Show me your true potential!’

The air suddenly turned chaotic, forming a whirlwind around me. I could hear it and felt the inner wind caressing my face. I imagined two spheres of air enveloping my hands. The whirlwind shrunk in an instant, concentrated to become my mental picture. The crowd was silent.

I stared at Vael. ‘The battle has just begun.’

A/N: Here’s the second part of the story! Supposedly, this is the last one, but it turns out longer than what I expected. Enjoy!