Chapter.. 4 predictor VSblade
988 Words
Lysar's pov.
Every candidate referred to Central was gathered in a single hall. Floating orbs circled the building, each pulsing with an authoritative radiance that pressed against my skin.
A woman walked up to the podium with elegance and grace, my type of style. She wore the Global Government uniform, her black butterfly-cut swaying with the faintest wind. She was tall, her dark eyes sharp and consuming.
"Good day, everyone." She paused, scanning each of us like a hawk sizing up prey. "You'll undergo a brief exam, after which your purposes in Central will be assigned. It's either you fight until the end, or you find the person in charge of your examination and defeat them. Good luck."
Her again!? The same woman from the Arkstone assessment. The same one who interfered earlier.
"She's probably the head of Central… or some big shot. How infuriating."
The orbs swelled violently, radiating light that swallowed everything. Then—pitch black.
When the darkness cleared, I was knee-deep in a swamp. The water was a sickly green, its stench clinging to my skin. Towering trees loomed above, their trunks bound by thick, suffocating vines. Overhead, the sun was blotted out.
An eclipse.
The world was drenched in shadow, only faint red stars glowing like distant embers.
"Time to ace this dumb test. First step—find the invigilator."
Channeling the flow of air, I shot myself upward toward the tree canopy, searching for a vantage point.
Wheeze.
A sharp whistle split the air. Something sliced past my face, grazing my cheek and spilling hot blood before I could even reach the branch.
Instinct flared. I twisted mid-air, narrowly dodging more incoming missiles. I dropped back to the ground—the same spot I'd just left. That's when I saw it: the vines on the trees were moving. The once smooth bark had grown jagged with thorns.
"How could I be this careless!" I hissed, wiping the blood from my cheek.
The trees groanedas they moved . Vines writhed like serpents coiling around the trees. I knew I was surrounded.
"No matter." I grinned, raising my hand. "I've got someone waiting for me. Let's make this quick."
Wind gathered at my palm, spiraling into a spear.
[Egowill: Do you need any help?]
"Nah. Just watch me. I've got this"
[Egowill: As you wish.]
The vines lunged—thick, brown, each as wide as my arm. I slipped between them, cutting the first tree clean in half with a single sweeping arc of my spear.
The trunk crashed down with a thunderous quake, shaking the swamp.
"One down. Several to go."
I launched into the sky, carving apart the vines that whipped upward. But no matter how many I cut, they grew back—doubling each time.
"Guess I'll just have to cut faster than you can heal," I muttered, gripping the spear tighter.
Another vine surged toward me, this time darker, thicker. My spear met it, but at the last instant, it twisted. In a blink, it pierced my left shoulder.
Pain erupted, white-hot and blinding. My arm throbbed, blood soaking my sleeve.
I clenched my teeth. Pain like this? Just an inconvenience.
Grabbing the vine with my free hand, I carved through it with my spear. Black liquid gushed out, and the severed vine fell limp. This one… didn't regenerate.
"Sound Barrier!"
A translucent wall of compressed air erupted around me just in time to deflect a storm of needle-like projectiles.
"So this is what grazed me earlier," I breathed, raising my bloody arm. My grin widened. "Let's see how you like it. Air Barrage!"
Condensed blasts of wind shot out in rapid succession, in the hundreds, colliding with the storm of spikes. The swamp roared with the clash. Neither side overwhelmed the other— it was a stalemate.
My mind raced. "That dark brown vine didn't regenerate… why?"
I traced it with my eyes, following it down into the tree's roots. Understanding clicked.
"So that's it."
Every tree here was part of one whole. The dark vine, it was the core. Good thing I'd taken to the skies.
"Let's end this. I don't have time to waste on trash."
I lifted my arm. The air shifted violently.
"This is going to hurt." Loosening my collar, I let the wind pour through me.
The sky darkened. Leaves ripped free, spinning in the storm I conjured. Power weaved into shape above me, an immense spear, longer than any tower, huge enough to Pierce the heavens themselves.
"STOP!"
[Egowill: Use of Absolute Command successful. Cooldown—11:57:28]
"Argh!" Blood filled my throat as I coughed. The command strained every nerve in me.
The trees froze. My spear of storm completed, its presence dwarfing the swamp.
With a gesture, I launched it. The spear ripped through the dark vine at the swamp's core. The earth convulsed. Water evaporated, trees withered, the swamp itself erased.
I looked up. The eclipse was halfway over. There was this unnerving feeling I got.
"Something's wrong. My abilities—"
The air shifted. My muscles tightened instinctively. A shadow loomed behind me, heavy enough to silence the wind.
Heat bled against my back, slow, deliberate, predatory. It seeped into my skin like fire claiming dry wood.
I smiled through clenched bloody teeth.
"You'll need more than that to intimidate me… if you can."
Her voice was low, inches from me. "I told you to watch your back. But you didn't listen. Now I'm here to shatter your brittle pride."
I chuckled, even as blood stung my lips. "Beautiful. I was planning on taking you down regardless—"
Agony tore through me. A fresh, burning strike exploded across my back, ripping my strength away. The ground rose up to catch me before I could recover.
My back burned. My throat ached. My arm hung useless at my side. And above me… floated the true obstacle I had to crush.
- Writer
