The Dread Knight's Rage

Everett continued pacing back and forth within the misty domain.

He was growing impatient. More than that, he was feeling incredibly frustrated with himself.

Everett looked toward the source of his dilemma. A full-body mirror sporting numerous cracks along the surface.

"...Fracture, huh..? Never expected that term to be so literal."

The mirror did not develop another crack from his poor attempt at humor. He would honestly call that a bit of a relief.

"...Look, what do you want me to say?? I’m a fuck up, I admit it. I’m lazy, and flighty, and I’ll fuck just about anything with a slim waist and white teeth. So what?? But I want to be better, okay! That has to be enough! Why isn’t that enough!?"

Everett reached out with his misty hand and touched the mirror once more.

*Crack!*

Another long line appeared on the already broken glass. Everett pulled his hand away before it had even finished forming.

"Fuck... Fuck this, man..."

Everett fell back onto his bottom, his head in his hands. He released a tortured scream from the very depths of his soul, with none around to hear it but the mirror in front of him.

-

Solomon lingered over his brother’s bedside with a bitter air.

For two days now, Everett had not woken up. He remained in a death-like state, barely breathing and as pale as a ghost.

His siblings crowded around him like he was a wounded fawn. Solomon most of all.

So far, he had come to visit his brother three times a day. Sometimes four if Yari was napping or in another fight with her sister. Coincidentally, the two often ended up taking naps together after fighting.

Perhaps for others, their dynamic would seem more than a little difficult to explain, but for Solomon, who also had a brother of the same age, he understood it completely.

"It does my heart good to see my boy so loved."

Solomon glanced over his shoulder, finding Lioraeth entering the room with a small tray of incense.

She smiled at him before approaching the nightstand to place her tray down and light it.

"...You know... You’re not like the girls. Those two come in here, and even if they don’t say anything, I know their faces all too well. They fear he won’t awaken."

Solomon could see that. "...The girls are avid worriers despite how they may seem."

"...And you?"

Solomon glanced at his brother’s sleeping face before he answered.

"...I would worry if it were a lesser man undertaking this trial. But Everett is no such individual. He might take his sweet time... but he will wake up. Of that I have no doubt."

There were no words that could have made Lioraeth happier. She showed her gratitude with a beautiful little smile.

"...I have many gripes with Eir’Vael’s plan to bring you all together. But if the bond you all share is the end result... I feel I can lay all of my grievances to rest."

As strange as it sounded, Solomon was beginning to feel the same.

-

Upstairs, Dakota and Nila were standing amidst the orichalcum slabs.

Their eyes were shut tightly as they listened to the quiet stillness of the room around them. Both of their breaths were in perfect sync, but it was more than just that.

The girls mirrored each other perfectly. Once Dakota’s fingers twitched, Nila’s did the same.

Their reflexes were extraordinary. But they had yet to truly showcase them to their full potential.

Suddenly, there came a sound. A piece of string fluttered to the ground, making a noise that could scarcely be described as audible.

But that was all the girls needed to begin.

Without opening their eyes, Nila shot to her left while Dakota darted to her right.

The sisters weaved through the stone slabs at a speed they had never displayed before. Even the upper echelon of Green cores would have struggled to keep up with them as they were now.

Their footsteps were quick, soundless, and light.

Once they reached the halfway mark, they changed the name of the game altogether.

Just before the girls could run into a particularly large slab of obsidian, they jumped more than thirty feet in the air and flipped over it.

They twisted their bodies in the air gracefully like swans. Rather than hitting the ground, they landed atop another stone slab, their footing as sure as the next morning’s sunrise.

The sisters jumped from stone to stone, still keeping perfect pace with each other and not showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.

Nearing the end, the girls flipped off the stone with gravity-defying backflips.

Before they could hit the ground, two jets of water raced toward both of their faces.

As if the girls were expecting this, they added another flip to their movements, dodging the blasts without issue.

They landed on their feet at the same time and opened their eyes with triumphant smiles.

""We did ittt!!!"

The girls squealed loudly as they wrapped their arms around each other, their embrace a thing of joy.

"Urk... W-Wait.."

Nila suddenly released her sister and lowered her body onto the ground gingerly.

"A-Are you okay??"

"I am fine, dear sister..!" Nila grinned through the pain, holding up her thumb. "A simple cramp in my butt cheeks, but it is of no concern! At least it is not my calves this time! My warrior’s dignity stands strong!"

Undine flew through the air toward Nila.

...And gave her an unnecessarily hard smack on the butt.

Tears flooded Nila’s eyes as she beat the floor with her fists. Meanwhile, the greater being laughed soundlessly at her misfortune.

"Back in the stone with you."

In the middle of the room, Yari and Giselle were sitting side by side on a blanket, sharing a plate of cut pears.

Yari held up the blue stone that acted as Undine’s home, and sucked her back inside despite her protest.

Solomon was standing in the doorway, completely unsure of what he’d just missed.

"Just once... I’d like to walk into a room and have something normal be going on."

Yari visibly perked up at the sound of his voice. However, just this once, her excitement was bested by someone else’s.

Nila crawled across the room at a speed that would make most people uncomfortable, her cheeks wet with tears but sparkling with pride.

"Brother! I did it! I have mastered the ninja way!"

Solomon tilted his head. "I believe I need a bit more of an explanation than that."

Giselle came to her daughter’s side, gradually helping her get to her feet. "Your sisters have been exploring the use of the first stage of Will. With Clarity, they treated the grounds as an obstacle course."

If Solomon raised his brow any higher, it would touch the ceiling. "Nila... ran an obstacle course...?"

"There is too much suspicion in your voice for my liking, you big bitch!"

Solomon grinned at her fire, finding it immensely amusing. "Take no offense, sister. You are simply not the kind os person who runs obstacle courses... You run through them."

Nila looked as if she were touched to be understood so well, even though her brother had politely just called her a meathead.

"...I apologize for my outburst."

Giselle patted her daughter on top of her head to console her. "As I was saying, since your sister is a bit... Challenged when it comes to being light on her feet, she used her new senses to copy Dakota’s talent for the art."

Solomon’s eyes widened in surprise.

The senses the first stage of Will provided to the trio were great. So great in fact, Solomon could point out every pebble and every hole in this entire room, even with his eyes shut.

These senses also applied to people. When Nila watched her sister run through the room, it was like she was observing her in slow motion.

She noted the lightness of her footsteps. The way she drew in her breath. Even the exact moments when she twisted her body.

Because she had observed her sister so closely, after three times, the image was firmly implanted in her mind.

So implanted, in fact, that Nila could command her body to copy everything she had just seen.

It took a couple of tries for the girls to get perfectly in sync. Nila was twenty pounds heavier than her sister, so she had to adequately adjust her weight distribution and the force of her jumps so as not to fall behind.

However, after the fourth try, the girls were moving perfectly as one. And Nila had managed to attain a level of footwork and agility that assassins trained for years to acquire.

With Clarity heightening their endurance and stamina, the girls weren’t even tired. However, Nila was a bit sore from making sudden, drastic movements her body wasn’t used to. Hence the butt cramps.

"Amazing... I believe I might like to try as we-"

"No." Nila held up her hand. "Let someone be good at things that you aren’t for a change. I enjoy feeling superior over y-"

"I’ll show you if you show me how to grapple better!" Dakota said cheerfully.

Solomon smiled as he ruffled her hair. "It is a deal."

"I said noooo!!!"

As Nila turned her head to the ceiling and roared obscenities, Solomon and his sister moved into place.

As he peeled off his shirt and cracked his shoulders, Solomon gave Dakota a nod to begin her initial run.

Dakota only took one step forward before she stopped.

Solomon and even Nila lifted their heads suddenly. Yari frowned at them with pears stuffed in her cheeks.

"What..? Why are you all looking like that?"

Solomon’s smile was so bright that she knew it could only be one thing.

"It seems she came to meet us after all."