Chapter 43: Dawn Spar
[TRAINING DUMMY 4 DESTROYED]
[REMAINING TARGETS: 0]
[MANA EFFICIENCY: 62.4% — MARGINAL IMPROVEMENT]
The final hard-light dummy blew up into a bunch of useless blue pixels, but Asher didn’t even get a second to catch his breath.
His knees just gave out. With a loud, miserable groan, Asher dropped flat onto his back right in the middle of the scorched dirt, staring up at the dark morning sky.
Sweat was soaking right through his shirt, sticking to his skin like glue, and his throat felt like he’d been swallowing hot ash.
His right palm was throbbing like crazy, pulsing heat straight up his arm, reminding him just how close he always hovered near the edge of burning out completely.
Kaito let out a deep, grumpy rumble that shook the ground right under them. The seven-foot beast lowered his massive head, resting his dark, basalt-plated snout right next to Asher’s face.
His solar horns were still glowing, waving off leftover heat that smelled like sulfur and burnt dust.
"You’re dropping again," Nova said, her voice completely deadpan as she drifted down, hovering a few inches off the dirt next to him.
"Your stamina is still garbage, Asher. Kaito’s core can handle stringing these moves together all day, but your human body is barely holding on to the mana draw."
"Shut up, Nova," Asher gasped, throwing an arm over his eyes to block her glowing blue system screen. "I’ve been chaining commands for two hours straight... Give me ten seconds to live..."
"You look like roadkill."
Asher froze, yanking his arm back down.
Leaning against a stone pillar near the edge of the ring was Rowan.
He had a wooden skewer with three half-eaten chunks of smoked meat on it, chewing slow and lazy like he had nowhere else to be.
Asher blinked, pushing himself up onto his elbows, wiping grime off his cheek. "Rowan? How long have you been standing there watching me suffer?"
"Long enough to watch your lizard melt four of Nova’s targets," Rowan mumbled, taking another bite. He pointed the greasy stick vaguely at Kaito, then his eyes flickered over to Nova, just floating there in mid-air.
A slow, annoying smirk spread across Rowan’s face. He looked back down at Asher, his eyes full of pure mischief.
"So," Rowan said, pointing the tip of the skewer straight at Nova. "Is this the new girlfriend everyone’s talking about? Gotta say, Asher... she’s a bit pale. And high-maintenance. Does she always float three inches off the ground, or is that just for special occasions?"
Asher’s face flared hot red. He scrambled up off the dirt so fast he nearly tripped over his own boots.
"She is NOT my girlfriend!" Asher yelled, his voice cracking a little. "She’s a system guide! She literally doesn’t have a body, Rowan!"
"Right, right. Whatever you say, little brother," Rowan chuckled, finishing off the meat with a grin. "Just saying, you two spend an awful lot of time alone before the sun’s even up."
Asher threw his hands up, ready to lose his mind. "I am trying to prep for a Sovereign Challenge that might get me expelled or killed, and you’re cracking jokes about—"
He cut himself off, looking over at Nova, hoping she’d back him up.
Nova didn’t even blink. Her golden eyes stayed totally blank.
"Assessing statement," Nova stated in her flat tone. "The designation ’girlfriend’ implies a romantic human relationship. As an ethereal system interface bound to the Primordial Core, I lack romantic parameters, reproductive functions, and emotional attachments to freshman hosts."
Rowan burst out laughing, nearly choking on his food. "See? Practical. I like her."
"I hate both of you," Asher muttered, dragging his hands down his face in defeat.
Rowan tossed the empty wooden skewer into a nearby brazier, his laughter dying down as his face turned serious.
He looked out over the wrecked arena—taking in the melted slag from Kaito’s Solar Prominence and the deep cracks from his Solar Quake.
"All jokes aside," Rowan said, dropping the casual act completely. "Hitting holographic dummies is fine for learning names. But real targets don’t stand still. They flank you, and they throw high-tier crowd control until you’re locked down hard."
Asher wiped sweat off his forehead, narrowing his eyes. "What are you getting at?"
Rowan didn’t answer. He just raised his right hand. A thick wave of black shadow suddenly manifesting beneath is feet.
"Erebus." Rowan said calmly.
The temperature dropped instantly. Erebus manifested into the light, standing behind Rowan. His dark grey fur shifting like liquid smoke while his nine thick, whip-like shadow tails thrashed behind him.
His glowing purple-black eyes locked straight onto Kaito, suddenly recognizing the Chimera from the finals.
Kaito dropped low with a vicious growl, his dark volcanic scales flaring white-hot as he stepped right between Asher and the wolf.
"You need a real sparring partner to survive the challenge," Rowan said, dropping into a stance.
"Let’s see if you can actually string those moves together against an Auric tier."
Asher looked at Rowan, then up at Kaito’s towering frame. A surge of pure adrenaline wiped out his exhaustion.
"Seems like you recovered quickly if you’re challenging me like this for the second time. However don’t hold back, big brother," Asher smirked, raising his hand as his soul-mark flared bright orange.
"Erebus—Fatal Claw! Shadow Step!" Rowan ordered.
Erebus melted straight into the dirt, turning into a flat streak of black liquid. A split second later, the shadow wolf shot across the ground and exploded upward right behind Kaito.
His nine shadow tails whipped through the air like steel cables while his dark claws slashed down at Kaito’s side.
"Not happening!" Asher yelled. "Kaito—Sol Mirage: Flare Prism!"
Kaito’s crystal solar horns ignited with a blinding flash of white light.
BOOM!
A fierce thermal shockwave blasted outward in a dome of light. Erebus roared as the intense glare scorched him, blowing away his dark cover and forcing Rowan to throw his arm over his eyes to block the burn.
"Erebus, sink low! Nine-Tail Shadow Bind!" Rowan commanded through gritting teeth
Shaking off the flash, Erebus slammed his paws down. His nine shadow tails shot across the dirt like live wires, expanding into thick ropes that wrapped tight around Kaito’s legs and chest, pinning him fast.
[WARNING: MOBILITY IMPAIRED]
[SEAL INSTABILITY: 11.72% ↑]
"Kaito—Solar Molt: Thermal Purge!" Asher yelled without taking his eyes off Rowan.
Kaito detonated a compressed layer of solar heat off his hide. The sudden explosive heat wave snapped Erebus’s shadow tails like dry twigs, blasting the smoke away and freeing Kaito instantly.
"Direct strike—Erebus, Shadow Pelt Strike!" Rowan pressed, capitalizing on the opening.
Erebus vaulted through the air right over Kaito, jaws wide while all nine shadow tails fused into a heavy dark hammer coming down toward Kaito’s neck.
"Kaito—Basalt Plating: Forge Shell!" Asher shouted.
The gaps between Kaito’s volcanic scales slammed shut, turning his hide into solid dark iron and cooling magma.
Erebus’s claws and whipping tails slammed against Kaito’s shoulder with a loud CLANG, bouncing off harmlessly and sending orange sparks flying in every direction.
"Now! Tame it!" Asher smirked, pushing his mana through the mark. "Kaito—Solar Mirage: Heat Haze into Sol Flash: Ruin Blitz!"
Kaito blasted out a wave of heat, warping the air into a shimmering desert mirage. Erebus lunged to bite down, but his jaws clamped through empty hot air as Kaito’s body flashed with light.
Kaito blurred across the arena in a zigzag, hitting Erebus with a heavy, lava-infused claw strike before Rowan could even track him.
The massive shadow wolf skidded back ten feet across the dirt, his nine tails thrashing as Rowan caught his balance.
The heavy chime of the central tower bell rang three times, cutting through the morning air.
The sky over the arena had shifted from dark violet to a pale, misty blue, with the first morning rays breaking over the stone walls.
Both brothers stood in the center of a wrecked battlefield. Craters, smoking slag, and wisps of shadow smoke littered the dirt.
Asher panted hard, resting a hand against Kaito’s leg for support, while Rowan wiped a smudge of soot off his cheek.
[NOVA VESTA NOTICE]
[COMBAT STABILITY: 94.2%]
[SEAL INSTABILITY: 11.68% ↓]
Erebus’s tails pulled back as the wolf dissolved back into Rowan’s shadow, and Kaito broke into a warm stream of embers that flowed smoothly back into Asher’s palm.
"To be honest, you might be really betterthanI am." Rowan grinned through his sweat, dusting off his coat. "You’re actually chaining those commands without choking up."
"Told you... wasn’t letting you win easy," Asher panted, flashing a tired smirk.
Rowan tossed a small potion vial at him, which Asher caught.
"Drink that. Restores baseline mana. Assembly starts in twenty minutes, and trust me—you don’t want to look like trash when Malovik drops the rules for the challenge."
"Come on. You’re keep treating me like a three-year old" Asher grinned, opening the bottle.
"Yeah, and I enjoy it quite a lot"
Nova stood there, analyzing the conversation between them.