Marie stared at the ceiling. It wasn't especially entertaining, so she sighed. Throwing an arm over her temples, she peeked out one yellow eye and following that, decided to invoke her aura. Ablaze with golden Fate, the young boxer stood from the bed and made her way out of the room—opening the door slow enough for it to creak. She could spot the familiar back of a silver-haired head directly in front of her.
'That looks like Eros Amit. They did take me with them. But why? To mess with Uri? No, that can't be it. I heard them gossip earlier about ceasing the conflict with him so… maybe I shouldn't be hidden away in here. After all, my technique can only trick the Unconquerable for so long. It's detrimental to keep up this ploy. Meaning—'
The door opened wider. Valentina could be seen cooking in the kitchen with Archer helping behind her. Eros, on the other hand, was watching TV on the couch.
She stepped back from the door. 'They're all here. Well, except Ava. Then again, I don't have to worry about her. She's Rank-2. The one I do have to be wary about is…' Marie peeked out the crack again. To her surprise, the most dangerous one, Eros, had all but vanished. Her pupils shrunk into pricks. 'What? Where'd he go?'
"Behind you."
She turned around. Reflexively covering her skull with both arms, the Unconquerable's fist slammed into her, launching her from the room and into the TV behind her. She coughed up blood and seated back against the demolished television. She couldn't help but look at her arm and nervously chuckle.
'I thought… I was dead.'
Archer was startled by the noise, but the same couldn't be said for his mother. She just stared over the island before her at Marie against the wall.
Eros grinned, towering over her. "Looks like you're awake. My thing is though, why'd you invoke your aura? Did you want us to notice or something?" He began trailing off into laughter.
"No duh," Marie expressed while panting.
His chuckling abruptly halted. Squinting down at her, he bent down and leaned closer, thumb over his chin. "For real?"
"Dead. Ass."
Eros snickered. "I like you. Now tell me, why'd you want us to notice anyway?"
"Because she heard us," said Talen, standing over them both with one pocketed hand.
Eros stood up. "Hey, you're back. Where'd ya go?" asked his father.
Talen glared at him. "I left a note. You already know where I went, why're you asking?"
"Oh right."
He shook his head at the old man's stupidity. Turning his attention to Marie, he pushed his dad aside and knelt in front of her.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. For hitting you. But at least we know who wins in a fight, right?" The lawyer flashed a kind grin at the girl.
She scoffed, waving him away as her gaze averted. "Whatever. What'd you come back for anyway?"
"Oh. Right." Talen stood, extending his hand and pulling her upright. "Your brother's been injured. I decided to head back and heal him but under some conditions. Anthony will fight Aella and you. I'll fight Uri and Lily. How's that sound?" he asked.
Marie shrugged. "Is that all? Tony's not even Rank-0, that's not a challenge," she said.
Talen chuckled. "You're arrogant. It's gonna be fun to see get your ass handed to you."
Before she could react, their surroundings spontaneously altered, leaving her with widened eyes that scanned the throne room.
She looked up at the lawyer. "I didn't know you could teleport."
"I can do lotta things I don't tell anyone." He shrugged. "Anyway, I already beat you once. Now it's his turn."
The Unconquerable walked away from beside the boxer and stood on the outskirts of the throne room. After sitting against the wall, he revealed a cigarette from the pack in his pocket, igniting the end with an emerald lighter.
"It's so nice to see you again… Marie."
She turned around, facing the white-haired King towering over her at the end of the throne. Uriel's head tilted, flashing a kind grin at her and chuckling as she threw her face into his chest.
"I missed you too."
Marie's features burrowed into the robe around her brother. She suddenly sniffled and stepped back, averting her gaze.
"Whatever…"
"Excuse me," intruded Aella. She looked at them. "King Uriel. Princess Marie. Let us begin."
The King smirked. He stepped back. "Alright, sissy. Make me proud."
Uriel walked up the steps and sunk back into the throne, looking down at his sister's opponent standing idle in the center. Beneath Anthony's feet was nothing but flat space and the golden lines intersecting across the floor to make a circle beneath where he stood. At Tony's sides towered circular pillars that attached to the ceiling. He smirked.
Raven and Marie started approaching before halting completely, preparing for the right by invoking their auras.
Marie squinted. 'If I remember correctly, Anthony's Power is a distance-type. He can shoot extremely powerful Fate blasts from the tip of his finger. All we have to do to offset that ability is—'
'—close the distance without alarming him. The princess will prepare her technique. I will be the one to advance. If all goes well, we should win without a hitch,' finished Aella beside her.
The women glanced at each other and nodded. Marie stepped back, raising her hand and conjuring her pen. While her technique activation lagged, Raven was quicker as she dashed ahead—leaving a blur in her wake. But the fastest was Anthony, who already deduced what the two girls were scheming and interlocked his fingers, simultaneously parting his lips.
The duo's eyes widened.
"Area Empowerment."
The barrier fully formed around everyone. Anthony's spiky brown hair flowed within the domain's artificial winds, staring through the strands at the entrapped opponents across from him.
"Wound of Sorrow," said Monstrum's vessel with a smirk.
Upon manifesting or receiving Fate markings, any Fate user is legally required to undergo training at the Amit Metropolitan Center. This excludes Family Houses that organize personalized training, like the Amits or Barrons. Most people do well under the pressure of the basics, even the intermediates and sometimes the advanced courses. However, that all changes when arriving at barrier techniques.
Given enough training, Fate-users can naturally conjure items from their aura. The limit caps at barriers. By imbuing an artificial environment with either your unique signature or a Predestined Power, Area Empowerment is completed. But most Fate users can't even summon a single barrier.
The size of an artificial sphere manifested from an individual's life force is astronomical. Most people pass out on the first try or have seizures that lead to comas. At one time, manifesting a domain was impossible even for Talen Amit. Alora Illustrious mastered it in five months.
Yet Anthony had surpassed them both. In a mere two weeks, he shattered the limits of his previous ability and awakened something anew. For one descended from Amit's blood, the realm gradually forming around them was perfect.
Anthony's domain was a simple building's rooftop in the middle of a city while rain endlessly poured from the skies. The false downpour drenched everyone within it—the thunder roaring across the skies only briefly illuminating the fighters' dimmed faces. Idle in the grey clouds above them all was a bulky figure reminiscent of a monster with flowing white hair and blood-red eyes.
'Is that—?' Marie reflexively jumped back.
Aella's breath hitched. '—the Disastrous?'
"Heh." Tony shook his head, reaching for the eyepatch covering his eye. "Unfortunately, that isn't Monstrum. While I don't deny he's probably watching right now, there's no way he would ever agree to help me. It's another thing if we made a pact. Then again, would it be fun watching him beat you two into a bloody pulp? Of course. But that wouldn't be satisfying. Beating two Rank-0s by myself though?"
The wide smirk across his face fell into maniacal laughter. Madly cackling, he raised his head and glared at them, tearing the patch off his eye to reveal its healed state.
"THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN!"
Aella rushed at him. To initiate her technique, she needed to touch him. The Displacement swiped at his face at the end of her sprint. His head weaved out of the way. Anthony twirled around, throwing his leg into the side of her figure and watching as she flew off the edge of the roof.
"Author of Destiny."
The vessel turned back to her. Having finished her technique and now walking toward him, the ex-boxer's sleeves were all rolled up.
He chuckled. "You're doing well for yourself," joked the man.
"Hah," Marie smirked and scribbled her pen on the open air. "Give me Monstrum's power."
Anthony's white highlights faded. He glanced at his strands but briefly, stifling a chuckle while sweat dripped down his face. He looked at her nervously, smiling as her fingers interlocked.
"You serious—?"
But she couldn't hesitate.
"Area Empowerment!"
Trivia: Marie's Power is broken as fuck.