Irene Pendragon POV:
I looked at Valier with a smile on my face, we were both getting serious now.
However the smile on my face slowly morphed into shock as I felt a pressure that seemed to weigh down on my very existence. It was then that I understood what he meant when he said he'd be getting serious. Without thinking I released a wave of Frost Attribute Mana around the arena, freezing everything around me. However as the Frost approached Valier, it melted, due to the amount of Mana I was pouring into this Valier didn't seem to be able to thaw away all the ice but I still couldn't get close to him.
I materialised several swords of ice, and sent them flying at him at speeds which were inconceivable for people our age. However, Valier dissapeared from my sight, there was no trace of him. He hadn't made a sound when he moved, it was as if he had dissapeared. Then I felt a pain in my liver, I looked down and saw that Valier was beside me. His fist was connected to my body, I quickly turned and grabbed onto his arm and threw him away from me.
I them vaguely saw a black flash, and soon after I felt a sword being pressed against my throat. I looked around and saw sparks of black lightning around me. I also noticed that all the ice around me had been thawed, that shouldn't have been possible... The ice around me was the coldest as it was where my Mana was the most concentrated. But Valier had managed to thaw it away. But that wasn't what shocked me most.
It was the fact that in terms of raw physical power, he's in a league of his own. I couldn't even see him move when he used his lightning attribute. I felt blood rush to my head as I raised my hands in defeat.
"I've lost. I didn't expect you to be so physically gifted, those last few moves were impossible for me to perceive. You're stronger than me right now, but you better believe that I'll beat you one day. I'll make sure I'm someone you can rely on."
I extended my fist towards him and made contact with where his heart would be. This was my way of making a promise to him and I think he understood that as he smiled at me.
***
A few hours later, Valier POV:
I was sat down on my bed, exhausted. That fight had used up a large portion of my Mana. But the fight was a good way to use Flash Step and my Fusion Magic in real combat. My Black Lightning allows me to go at speeds which aren't as fast as my Flash Step but it's less taxing so I can use it continuously for far longer. Flash Step can only be used a few times before I'm exhausted. And of course there's Demon's Breath but that's more of a last ditch effort type thing.
"Oh right, I promised to go out and play with Iris at some point didn't I? Well I suppose now's a good as any."
I walked outside and headed over to the garden where I saw Iris laying down the grass and staring off into space. She had a plain white dress, her blonde hair was a mess and her jade green eyes seemed to care for nothing but the present. She was what most would call adorable.
I walked over to her and sat beside her.
"Brother, I'm not as close to you as big sister but is it alright if I rant about my life to you for a little bit?"
I nodded my head, I didn't know what a child her age would have to complain about. But it'd probably let me get closer to her.
"I'll hear you out, I'm your older brother after all."
"Well... In terms of academics, although I'm supposedly ahead of you I'm not even close to someone like Irene. I'm just above average, but that's it, Irene is exemplary and I just can't keep up with her. As a mage, I'm also just above average, nothing special. Compared to Irene I'm weak, but even so, I could keep my head up as I thought that I was at least above you. Knowing that I was better than at least someone helped with my confidence, but after your bout with Irene, I realised something... It's that you're also superior to me, I'm guessing you're pretending to be average in your studies as well. Everywhere I look, people are getting better and better, smarter and smarter. I just can't keep up in this world full of geniuses. I feel as if I'm not my own person, it's as if I'll always just be in the shadows of you and, more so, Irene. Someone who's only value is in their family name."
Tears started to stream of her soft jade green eyes.
"I have high hopes, I act as if I can do anything. People who I used to look down on turn out to be stronger than me. I act like I'm on top of the world when in actuality I'm barely better than the commoners who I look down on. I have all these dreams of becoming the strongest, of becoming someone fit to inherit the Pendragon family name. But, deep down, I know that I'm worthless. I just talk a big game to boost my fragile ego. I- I absolutely hate myself... I- I wish that I was never born!"
I pulled Iris into my embrace and tried to comfort her, honestly I didn't give a shit about her. Whether she was dead or alive wouldn't affect me in all honesty.
'Pathetic, you're absolutely pathetic. You don't even try to better yourself, you think the world revolves around you. The world would be better without someone as pathetic as you.'
For a dark moment that seemed to last an eternity, I considered killing her.