Cypher's legion gathered at the forest line, each prepared for what was to come. They march through the dense flora growths, searching for a suitable place to begin; the search took almost an entire hour to find an opening large enough. Cypher broke everyone up into their standings in the legion, "I'd guess that roles are needed if we're to function properly." As Cypher spoke, everyone nodded and paid attention to his words, with Cain interjecting before Cypher could continue.
"You do understand how and why legions function correctly? I only ask because you've proven that you don't know much when it comes to the obvious." Cypher watched Cain as he spoke, with everyone else taking note of his words. Cain was indeed correct that Cypher didn't know much, but that was hardly his fault, but even still, he knew that there are known that he didn't know about, so regardless of the situation, he should have done better.
The group stood waiting for Cain to continue. The morning sun shined brightly, but the cold winds stole its warmth. Cypher's new wound was exposed to the cold, and the arm proved much more sensitive than the rest of his body, so much so that the sensation he felt could be described as winds so cold they burned. "The academy exists to form military legions that are hopefully composed of highly specialized individuals with a natural connection, whether by blood or friendship. That is why they don't take too much of a progressive role in our development initially, but that all stops if the legion proves useless. That deadline is the third year; if you haven't proven yourself by then, you're broken up and sent to a military camp to be reinstated."
Cypher nodded; thankfully, all of that information was not new to Cypher, but he knew that the way that legions were structured was lost on him. And Cain proved that assumption right by explaining that the way the legions are set up usually relies on six people for success. One healer, one leader, a sudo leader, two front-line fighters, and a nullifier. This was the most effective setup a legion could employ to guarantee the highest chance of success. Cypher thought for a second and pointed everyone out, giving them their roles, "Anna is the healer, Gallow and you, Cain, are the front line, and I guess I'm the leader."
Cypher pondered on the two missing components for his legion. He knew a nullifier, at least by name, and he had no one he could place as a sudo leader and have them be useful. While he was beginning to get lost in thought, he noticed that Cain's facial expression changed to show a more disappointed look at Cypher, "What do you mean you guess?" Cain spoke with heavy malice, and Cypher quickly fixed his words.
Cypher first spoke out his apology, "Excuse my words." Then after a small pause continues, lifting his hand to his chest; he speaks more clearly. "We have our front line fighters, we have our healer, and we have our leader. We're missing only one more important piece, our nullifier," Anna opened her mouth as if to speak. Still, Cypher cuts her off before she could already know what she was going to say, "I have no plans on falling, nor do I have plans on leading a legion in which need one person, let alone two, to decide their actions for them. If you can only handle yourself when you're told to, I don't want you in my legion, but while I am here, I will be provided as a figurehead to follow."
Cain smiled, and Gallow broke into a small grin; Anna just seemed halfway lost at why Cypher broke into a speech. Regardless Cypher pointed towards Cain, "I've already seen and fought with Gallow, let's see what you can do." Cain just smiled and nodded in agreement. Everyone else moved towards the edge of the opening, with Cypher and Cain standing thirty feet apart. Both took a second to affirm that both parties were ready, and once everything was confirmed, Cypher was the first to start.
His left arm shot up, that blood rushing through it, feeling as if it had been disturbed so greatly that it would tear and pour out from his veins. Cypher hissed in pain as he continued his actions and manifested a single mana orb, not willing to risk the destruction of multiple by Cain. He quickly fluid the sphere with lighting and mimicked the nature of Mana, then added a surge of necromancy. He'd been stopped the last time he did this, so now he was eager to see if it could kill. Cypher shot his tensed arm as the veins began to spasm, and in less than half a second, the light bolt shot out with incredible speed, almost twice as fast if he would have done something similar with his right arm.
The bolt ripped through the air, screaming towards Cain, and yet he didn't move. Didn't even flinch and let the blot hit him directly; Cypher didn't doubt that Cain was OK, but the burst of noise coming from Anna telling Cain to do something worried him. And yet Gallow didn't say a word; when the light bolt touched the hairs on Cains Skin, it seemed to melt. The lighting bolt froze as its form dissolved into a waxy-looking plasma, then fell to the ground in a hissing puddle. Cypher's eyes widened, and Cain just smiled. The plasma sparked with necrotic lighting jumping from its surface, threatening to burn into the flesh of anyone who'd dare touch it, and Cain just walked into the puddle.
"I guess it's my turn," Cain spoke as his eyes widened with excitement; he raised his hand as a mana orb slowly formed behind him. "I've never played with necromancy before; thanks for the opportunity." At that point, the puddle underneath Cain flowed upwards towards the mana orb he had generated and filled the blanket slate with CYpher configuration. Cypher watched in awe as the veins in Cain's arms began to spasm, and as Cain twitched his pointer finger towards Cypher, he finally regained his senses and threw his body into a flow squat just in time before the strike of lightning jettisoned past his head. Cypher thought quickly and launched forward at the motionless Cain and shot a simple bolt of lightning at him. And when it met Cain's frame, he cursed to himself, "Lighting melter."
Cain watched as Cypher rushed towards him, letting the bolt hit him. As soon as he melted the lighting, he didn't even let it hit the ground before forcing it to take form in a new mana orb he had created. Cain quickly shifted his hand towards Cypher's face, ready to blow it off if he didn't dodge. But as Cypher got close, he generated another mana orb, but this one shined a bright vibrant red, he'd changed his attack advancement to fire, and he wasn't waiting to see if he could do the same thing with it as he could with lighting.
Cypher rushed forward, watching as Cain formed a mana orb and absorbed the plasma; at that point, Cypher remembered the only showing of fire he'd ever seen and decided to borrow a move. Point blank in Cain's face Cypher up his left area and left the necromancy flames flowing through him; the feeling was completely different than lighting. It felt as if the blood in his arm had lost all of its viscosity and sloshed around like water. As the jet of flames spat out of Cypher, a strike of enchanted lighting ripped through the fire and tore across Cypher's cheek but only as a side effect for Cain's true target, Cypher mana orb.
The lightning struck the mana orb a split second after the flames completely covered an unguarded Cain, and once it was destroyed, the flames stopped immediately. The action was a complete gamble, and whether or not the light would reach before the orb became useless when I came to the activation of the attack, and it had paid off. Cypher's flames had died out, and Cain was safe, or at least that's what he thought until he felt his legs taken out from under him.
Cypher felt his mana orb's destruction; he felt the surge of energy flowing through him disappear in a jarring manner, and yet he did not let that stop his moment. Cypher, already in his low running position, ran past Cain, then spun on his heels and, in a slight jump, bashed his right leg into Cain's. Cain's body weight did contest the power behind Cypher's strike, but his attack overthrew Cain's feet from under him.
As Cain hit the ground, Cypher didn't hesitate and generated a mana orb, and out of instinct alone, filled it with his lighting advancement. He swung his fist into Cain's stomach, letting the lighting act as a secondary attack that activated a split second after his initial hit, Cain's whose at Cypher fist compressing his diaphragm, but the lighting just melted after it burned through his clothing and turned to liquid plasma.
The wind was knocked out of Cain, yet he refused to panic and be placed in an even worse position than he was already in. He didn't bother trying to breathe even when his lungs begged for release; instead, he spent his energy quickly generating a mana orb to absorb the plasma that was burning at his clothing. Even in its plasma state, his skin had a natural barrier that refused to let the plasma come into contact with his flesh, but it wouldn't last forever.
Cypher reared back for another strike but noticed the plasma swarming a mana orb, and in less than a split second, Cypher would be dead if he didn't do something. He thought quickly and generated a mana orb already Cain's completed one. Cypher had already missed his window to destroy the sphere; now, all he could count on was a guess that held no basis. He had to hope that placing a mana orb around another would disrupt its creation process. Cain's veins began to spasm, and a bolt of lightning struck out at Cypher; the bolt seemed to arc strangely, missing his chest entirely but managed to burn through his shoulder in its entirety.
Cypher was thrown back, and Cain was left still wheezing on the ground. The searing pain through Cypher brought tears to his eye and drew silent screams from him. Cypher quickly used the little bit of healing he knew to numb the pain, which cost him another mana orb. Thanks to magic use of naturally high adrenaline and higher than average pain thresholds, along with the healing, Cypher could pick himself you, but even then, the strain on his body caused him to hurt his teeth. Cypher raised his head as he watched spit fly from his mouth, only to be met with the sight of a smiling Cain with his hands raised.
Cypher watched, helplessly, as a mana orb was formed behind Cain. Cypher mind raced, trying to think of something he could do; he knew he only had a few he could go through before it was too late. He prayed, hoping his luck and memory wouldn't fail him in his decision. Cain may be out of pure excitement, hopefully out of pure excitement, wheezed out a phrase that let Cypher know he was in trouble, "DIE!"
Cypher quickly burned through five mana orbs to generate multiple internal barriers around his frame, and just as three of them were complete, the lighting strike was already trying to drill itself into his stomach. The blast was ripping through the weak barriers as if they didn't exist, but as the last one was set to be destroyed, right as it was torn away, the other barrier that wasn't able to generate repaired the broken barrier. And for some reason, this barrier managed to reduce the power of the strike, but by no means could it stop. The blast spun Cypher so violently that it threw him into a corkscrew before he hit the ground, but the blast wasn't able to burn itself away through him. The burning flesh pained Cypher so much his body went into a similar state of shock and, he could no longer feel the pain, just a noticeable sign of discomfort.
Cypher, now in a worse and better state than before, could only think of survival at that point. He quickly raised his hand, his eyes already locked on Cain who, already had another mana orb ready to send out a strike. Cypher didn't have to think of what he'd do; he generated a mana orb next to Cain's ear, and just as it was halfway complete, he placed another mana orb inside of it, causing it to explode in a loud cacophonous boom.
Just as the shock was hit Cain, his plasma bolt was seen flying out of his hand. Cypher stared into Cain's eyes as he watched them dull, the plasma arc was sent soaring above his head, and Cain began to bend at the knees, slightly curling in on himself. Blood began to pour from both of his ears as he slowly began sinking to the ground. Cypher started to pick himself up as he watched Cain try his best to keep him up but continued to sink in on itself. Cypher exhaled a large breath, feeling his body begin to calm down, and the pain returns. Cypher was about to turn to Anna and tell her to heal them both, that was until he heard a guttural cry come from Cain.
Cypher watched as Cain sprung up; his eyes regained their clarity and his body its strength. Cain rushed forward in a mad dash with three mana orbs forming in such rapid succession and had their configurations written on them that Cypher didn't even register the three bolts of plasma ripping through his body. The last thing Cypher heard as he unknowingly blacked out was Anna screaming and Cain's yelling of the word, "Plasma Arcus!"
Anna watched in horror as Cain regained consciousness, she'd hoped the fight was over three moves ago, and it seemed Cypher was in denial himself, he was still looking at Cypher, but his eyes were nowhere near what you'd call alive and focused. Then as Anna watched a scene play out that she could barely see, she was already breaking into a run towards Cypher. Not even the sound of her screams was faster than what seemed to be Cain at his best; she didn't know what you'd call the attack Cain used.
She didn't even know that plasma users could automatically turn lightning into the plasma; she knew that they had to use a mana orb to do so. How could he do it without this condition in place? Training can only get you so far; it had to be something else. Both he and Cypher were beyond weird. Cypher's recoil should have utterly destroyed his arm, yet he's out here swinging that thing around, claiming it better than before it was damaged, and now Cain is immune to all lighting. A step into her sprint, she watched as the mana orbs Cain had formed to use the attack seemed to blow up in a condensed cloud of hyper-charged plasma, and whatever happened after that, like how the strike was sent out or how it looked as it traveled she didn't know. All she knew was that Cypher had lost this fight, and badly so.