The Heavens Shall Fall

Floating Arena IX was just as crowded as Nokoh's, but also way louder, because the brothers had not even reached the chain leading toward the platform when the first shout reached their ears.

“KAL!”

“KAL TORRENT!”

Then another dozen voices joined in, accompanied by drums, as if a storm had arrived from nowhere.

“BURN HIM!”

“SHOW HIM WHY WATER DOESN'T MATTER!”

“BURNING BANNER!”

Ruben stopped walking, feeling his lips slightly twitching, along with his left eye. Holding back his laugh, Joren stopped beside him as both brothers stared toward the crowd that gathered around the floating arena.

“Charming people...”

"Yeah," Joren snorted, trying to push down his laugh, “You would fit right in.”

“That's more of your style, not mine.”

“I'll give them that, though...” Joren shrugged, scanning the loudest group. "They are a lively group. If you win, hopefully, they will also understand it and not get us into an association war right from the get-go."

“That will be Siu's problem,” Ruben answered right when another roar exploded from the opposite bridge.

“BOIL HIM, KAL!”

"Haah," Ruben's eyebrows rose a little, hearing the shouts. “I will settle this as fast as possible, because it's already annoying.”

"I hope you will be able to, Joren stared at him for a moment, but his brother only smiled back at him, walking forward once again.

As for Floating Arena IX, it was already surrounded on almost every available side. Like the seventeenth that Nokoh had fought on, this one was suspended between massive stone bridges by chains thicker than tree trunks. Just as there, here too, spectators covered the chains and crowded both bridges. However, there was a clear red pattern on one side of the arena, where dozens of disciples wore some variation of crimson, rust, orange, or dark scarlet on their bodies. Some had red cloth tied around their arms, dyed their hair, or painted their faces, while banners depicting flames were held up at multiple points and waved around like a candle's flame.

Apparently Kal's Burning Banner had arrived in force to support their Paragon in his battle, constantly yelling and beating on war drums.

“Apparently subtlety isn't one of their traditions,” Ruben muttered as the noise became even worse the closer they got.

However, they weren't the only ones yelling; the matchup alone made people opinionated, talking about it and trying to hear each other over the shouts and drums.

“He picked Kal because he's a water user.” Someone said, getting a simple response.

“Obviously... It is a cheap matchup.”

“Cheap? He still has to win, and Kal's flames aren't normal.”

“No affinity is normal at their level.”

“I heard that the water-guy uses an umbrella. Is that true?”

“He does.”

“And what does it do?”

“Blocks rain?”

Several people laughed, while Joren just threw a look at Ruben.

"You aren't popular, huh?"

"Not amongst the simple ones." Ruben glanced toward his brother, looking nonchalant, but his eyes did flash dangerously. “I already dislike them.”

“You don't know which one said it.” Joren chuckled, looking around as they cut through the crowd, but it was hard to pinpoint who was saying what.

“Don't worry, I can hate all of them; my heart is generous like that.”

It was just then that one of the Burning Banner members saw him, pointing a finger at them.

“THERE HE IS! BOOOO!”

Dozens of heads turned at once, as the other Burning Banner members began booing at him, too. Doing their best to ignore the provocation, the brothers reached the nearest chain and hopped onto it. Seeing the people, Ruben just raised his umbrella, using it to part the disciples, and nobody was stupid enough to block a Paragon who was here to fight.

“This is where I stop,” Joren said when they reached the edge, and Ruben glanced toward the barrier that was already active.

“Right.”

“Don't get stupid.” He added, patting his half-brother's shoulder. "You got this."

"Hm?" Ruben raised an eyebrow. “That's your advice? No emotional speeches to your dear, loving brother?”

“No, I don't want to make myself puke.”

“You hurt me... At least something about Mother and familial love?”

“No.”

“Brotherly love?”

“I came with you, didn't I?”

"True," Ruben laughed, and then jumped forward, landing on the platform elegantly, opening his umbrella, gently twirling it in his hands.

All that remained was Kal, and Ruben did not have to wait long because the moment he landed, the Burning Banner erupted in the same yells coming in tandem.

“KAALLLL!”

Joren looked toward the opposite bridge, and it was impossible to miss his opponent. He walked over the chains at the head of a cluster of Burning Banner disciples, already laughing at something one of them had shouted. His dark-red braids were swinging behind him, several ends already smoking despite the fact that he had not yet begun fighting. It wasn't hard to tell he was in a superb mood.

“UMBRELLA BOY!” He roared while jumping onto the arena, “YOU READY TO GET COOKED?!”

"..." Ruben said nothing; he simply kept smiling, twirling his umbrella.

“SMUG FUCKER!” He snorted as flames rolled across his shoulders, yet he still lowered his voice. “I'm going to fucking boil you.”

However, Ruben still said nothing, only smiling a bit more, listening to the announcement.

[PARAGON CHALLENGE INITIATED]

[RANK DEFENDER: KAL TORRENT — RANK 95]

[RANK CHALLENGER: RUBEN KOLTO — RANK 99]

[VICTORY BY CONCESSION, INCAPACITATION, OR FORMATION INTERVENTION]

As it happened, in Ruben's ear, all the noise from outside vanished, his sole focus locking directly onto Kal, even missing the announcer:

[BEGIN]

Yet the moment it echoed out, Kal did exactly what Ruben had expected. There was no testing strike, because he just thrust both hands forward and a sea of fire crashed onto the battlefield from his palms. It was a burning wall; an exponentially expanding wave of orange-red flame that rushed across the arena so quickly that Ruben barely had time to react.

But that was why he opened his umbrella early, and water exploded from beneath its rim as an actual wave appeared before him like a shield. When the fire hit it, the arena vanished behind white steam that was hissing louder than any of the Burning Banner members. When it happened, Joren leaned forward, crossing his arms, holding them tucked in, trying not to show any worry that he was feeling, but he could barely see anything that was happening now.

When the first attempt failed, Kal attacked again as a second burst struck from the sides, using the first and the mist to stay hidden, curve around the arena, and try to hit Ruben from both sides. Already sensing it, Ruben swung the umbrella in his hand once, and thick, blue water spiraled around him, once again protecting him when the flame-made tsunami crashed into it.

HISSSSSSS!

Once again, more and more vapor exploded outward, thick columns of steam rising into the air. Kal laughed when it happened, missing the fact that when they reached the protective formation's dome, they didn't really disappear, just kept gathering and rolling around like weird clouds.

Soon, a third attack followed, then a fourth, fifth, as Kal barely allowed Ruben to breathe. Every time Ruben tried stepping anywhere, to gain distance or get close to Kal, another burst cut off his route, as Kal kept laughing, acting as a living flamethrower. Which he was.

For those who were watching, it seemed like Ruben was in deep trouble. Whenever he formed a wall, Kal just burned through it. Or if he tried to create a stream or spread water across the floor, Kal turned it all into steam. He was so ferocious that he managed to heat up the entire arena until the stone itself began glowing. Naturally, the Burning Banner went insane, and their cheering became way too annoying.

Joren's expression stiffened when they began singing about barbecue and roasted meat... but he held back, trusting in his brother's powers and plan. From the outside, it looked bad, really bad... However, Ruben said it would be like that. Watching the fight, Joren had to agree that Kal's fighting style was exactly as described in Toban's reports. Huge attacks, totally wasteful spells just so he could show himself as an overwhelming force of nature. It also showed that Kal actually had an incredible amount of essence in him, probably more than anyone else in the Wardens, but... His control was anything but fine.

And if one thing Ruben liked, that was controlling his own powers down to their most pleasing and finest details, making himself elegant while fighting. As Joren came to that thought, another wave of fire rolled across the platform in broad curtains, as Ruben kept raising defensive layer after another layer as they kept vanishing into vapor.

“Come on,” Joren muttered, just so someone next to him would look at him, smirking.

“You bet on Ruben?”

"I'm not a betting man," Joren didn't look away from the fight while speaking. "But if I were, I would have; he's my brother.”

“Oh.” The disciple paused after hearing that, trying to sound sympathetic. “Sorry.”

"Huh?" Joren flinched, sparing him one quick look, and noted that he wasn't a Burning Banner member. “For what?”

"That." The man pointed toward the arena, just as Kal raised both arms.

A huge ring of fire erupted around Ruben, appearing from the already summoned waves of fire, before it collapsed inward, swallowing Ruben as a whole, umbrella and all. When it happened, Joren's stomach tightened, even if water burst upward around his brother at the last moment. With a horrible, ear-piercing hiss, steam obscured everything, bursting out from below and above the ring of fire, like some inverted kettle, whistling without end.

“Well... that should be it.” The man next to Joren said with a shrug; however, there was no announcement, and the protective formations were still in place.

"..." Joren said nothing and just kept looking, without blinking, afraid to miss something.

As Kal ended his spell, trying to catch his breath, sensing that something may be off, the fog shifted around them. Without warning, the white steam parted, and Ruben emerged with damp hair, his breathing heavier than ever before. Part of his clothes had been scorched, but his skin was unharmed, even if his hair was no longer perfectly neat.

“IS THAT IT?!” Kal roared, angered that Ruben was still silent and, apparently, unharmed. “YOU CHALLENGE ME BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU COUNTER ME?!” Another blast shot out from his hand, but it was visibly smaller and weaker by now. “COME ON! SHOW ME!”

"..." Ruben just kept looking, water rising around him, blocking once again, taking a step backward.

“THAT'S WHAT I FUCKING THOUGHT!”

From the outside, everyone could see that Ruben was breathing heavily, and he looked tired because he actually was. That wasn't an act. Kal's attacks were not weak, and defending against them with his water had required an enormous amount of control over his own essence so that he wouldn't actually waste too much of it. Not to mention... he was making sure all that steam and vapor didn't dissipate. By now, his whole body hurt... but it was probably good enough.

“Water beats fire, huh?!” Kal yelled again, but his voice betrayed his own exhaustion.

"..." One more time, Ruben looked around, and for the first time... he finally spoke. “Yes.”

Kal's expression twisted upon hearing it, but then Ruben's umbrella closed with a snap, making him frown. The steam rolling inside the battlefield stopped instantly as every drifting cloud across the arena froze in place. Then... with a flick of his umbrella, all that vapor rushed directly towards and stuck onto Kal's body. In just a flash, all the white vapor that had been hanging over the battlefield rushed inward as if someone with a wind affinity was creating a vacuum attack.

In just a flash, all that steam condensed around Kal, sticking to him, giving him no chance to escape. Even when he tried to summon more fire and burn it away, it just canceled out, creating more steam that Ruben took control of, increasing the pressure on him once again. Kal's eyes widened as it happened, but he was already caught in Ruben's trap... and he could do nothing but scream.

“AAAAAAAGH!”

For the first time that morning, Kal's voice did not sound angry, but agonizing as all that hot water burned his body and face, evaporating his hair and eyebrows, burning away his braids like candles. He had never felt himself be burned before, but now, it was happening, and it hurt more than anything.

“GET OFF!” He tried punching and kicking, but everything was futile, as his attacks only went through the vapor before more began clinging to him, entering his lungs as he inhaled them, burning him from the inside. “Oh, fuck—”

But it was, once again, too late, as Ruben closed his fist, and the steam around Kal collapsed a second time. When it happened, the fire cultivator screamed even louder as blisters appeared almost immediately across his body, and his clothes fell off him, turning to ash. It was over.

"Heh..." Joren could not stop smiling when he realized it too. “That bastard.”

"..." The disciple beside him looked horrified, just like everyone else, as even the Burning Banner stopped cheering, falling silent. “You knew this would happen?”

“He's my brother,” Joren answered simply, smiling even more, while inside, the formation suddenly came to life.

[INTERVENTION]

[KAL TORRENT UNABLE TO SAFELY CONTINUE]

[WINNER: RUBEN KOLTO]

As the golden light whisked Kal away and the barrier dropped, letting Ruben's steam escape and whistle up around everyone's head, nobody seemed to understand what they had seen. What just happened? Kal was... about to win. Yet right now, Ruben stood alone in the middle of the arena, inspecting his umbrella, slapping it with a satisfied smile, and shaking off excess water from its tip.

“Oh, you arrogant bastard.” Joren chuckled, appearing next to him, looking over him, seeing that he was unhurt but looking like an abused wet dog.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”

Someone from the Burning Banner yelled, and more and more yells now repeated, not all of them sounding shocked or friendly... Quite... angry shouts were coming now, in fact. However, nobody moved towards Ruben and Joren.

"I say," Ruben muttered, glancing around at the people, "We should be going."

"Yeah, Joren nodded, agreeing, "Best to get back to HQ and see how everyone reacts to the news..."

As he said it, the announcement was also echoing around the arena, just as the brothers began hurrying over one of the chains, opposite the Burning Banner members.

[95 — RUBEN KOLTO]

[99 — KAL TORRENT]