"Well, I think you got this."
Before Julian and Cassandra was the entryway to the arena. The finals were today. The thunder axe was resting neatly in Cassandra's hands. A slight hum was radiating off it to her, and Julian didn't comment, in spite of his hatred of that sort of noise. So was the weapon communicating? Did it know something's up?
"You think I should charge up for the start?"
"Set expectations high." Julian said, looking into the arena before returning a soft smile to Cassandra.
The announcer's voice started ringing through the halls as Cassandra stepped into the arena. The rows closest to the stalls were empty, probably a safety precaution on Zach's behalf.
"Well, everybody, We've had a great run here at the tournament, and all of the participants are winners in my eyes. But the higher ups said that wasn't a valid answer. So today is the big question with a big twist! The well known and well studied princess of Vannana against the amnesiac powerhouse from a small scouting ship! Willow Vannana against Cassandra Torres!"
Cassandra built up energy in the axe. It felt ready to burst at the slightest of impacts, and her eyes locked with Willow, her glare cutting through her, with cold vapour dripping off the tip of the spear. It was pretty obvious that the finals today were a battle of wills. Redemption against punishment. Achieving greatness against being born into it.
When they locked eyes, Cassandra's weapon started tingling even more. And before Cassandra could theorize what was happening, the axe began talking again.
"Einer!" Was the single word beamed directly into her head.
Einer? What was that? A name? Was the weapon telling her it's name now?
"Begin!"
Before Cassandra could think about the weapons name, Willow was already running up to her. She stopped dead in her tracks a short while away from her, plunging the spear into the ground. Ice eurpted from the tip to the edge of the arena, and Cassandra was forced to slash forward with all the electricity she had built up, destroying most of the ice that was just created in front of her. When the vapour dissipated, Willow was gone. A shadow stood over Cassandra, and when she looked over, Willow was the source, hanging off an iceberg at the end of her previous pile, leaping down on Cassandra, who was forced to block. Willow quickly jumped off her, stabbing the ground to create another heap of ice. Cassandra charged up energy in the axe while Willow hid amongst the icebergs, all the while it still seemed to be talking.
"Einer, where are we?"
The sounds reverberated through her head. The axe didn't know where it was? But there was an energy to Cassandra's left, hiding between the ice. She swung the electricity at it, cleaving the ice with a mighty swing. Willow's shadow fell to the right, so Cassandra kept up the offensive. She swung at the axe, watching as it fell. Willow was forced out of the shadows, jumping straight at Cassandra. She charged the spear with enough energy to trap her once the tip hit the arena, barely scraping past Cassandra's face. The ice erupted behind her, jutting out between her legs and arms, forcing her to drop the axe. But when the axe hit the floor, a jolt of electricity burst from the axe, shattering the ice once again. The jolt hit Willow's legs, and she tried holding onto the spear as the electricity surged through her body. Cassandra dove for the axe, and began charging a small amount of electricity as soon as she laid hands on it. She heaved her axe upwards with all she had, and the vertical jolt smacked Willow straight in the face.
Willow was pushed back, planting her spear into the ground in a bid to stay upright. She charged once again, spinning her spear into Cassandra's side, who barely managed to block. She swung her weapon as Willow made a second attempt, particles of ice shooting towards her while a second weak jolt flew by Willow's head. Willow pushed further, but that led to both weapons flying out of each others hands.
Their eyes locked for a brief second, before both parties scrambled to get their own weapons. As Cassandra picked the axe up, another message was heard.
"Einer, that was so cool!"
Wait, was Einer the name of the spear? The weapons know each other?
Then she remembered. The axe didn't fight back in Saoloro because it didn't want to hurt the bow. So were these weapons alive? Did they somehow know each other?
Willow charged forward with her spear while she was thinking, and Cassandra moved to her side, hitting her with the side of the axe. Willow flew away, dashing back towards her without a second to recover as soon as she could regain her footing. She flew past Cassandra, who just felt more cold vapour pass by her nose. She snapped back to see what Willow was doing, and she flashed a smile as she stabbed the spear downwards. An iceberg erupted from the ground, and Willow clung to the top of it. The iceberg peaked over the top of the arena, casting a shadow on the box of the announcer, who was sitting in stunned silence. The people below it were moving out of the way, while a couple others began to politely flee the arena. Cassandra charged the axe with electricity, swinging with every ounce of strength she could muster. The weapon released a jolt that quickly melted the ice to water. As the top chunk of the iceberg fell to the stands, Willow jumped down again, spawning a chunk of ice at the tip of her spear, and Cassandra barely managed to block the attack, the ice getting embedded in her eye.
This was it. The ice was melting in the hot sun. If this didn't end now, they'd be covered in water. Water that Cassandra could electrify or that Willow could freeze for the extra advantage. Both exchanged a look from a different side of the arena, waiting for the other to make a move. Cassandra saw the vapours off Willow's weapon, and Willow saw the jolts firing off Cassandra's. Cassandra took a step forward, and Willow did the same, with both eventually running at top speed. Cassandra put everything she had into this final swing, and Willow stretched an arm back for a straight stab.
Both unleashed their strikes at the same time, their weapons clashing in the air. Cassandra shut her eyes as the impact hit her hands and shook to the rest of her body. Willow wasn't letting up, starting to make the air around her colder as the clash lingered. Cassandra tried letting out electricity to end it, creating a stream that shocked both of them. Eventually, a cracking noise was heard.
And Cassandra fell to the ground. Before she could open her eyes, a second thud noise was heard a few steps away from Willow.
When Cassandra opened her eyes, she saw both weapons on the ground, or at least what was left of them. Both had the tops of their weapons snapped off the staffs, and a glowing light was emerging from them. The light eventually dissipated, with two people lying in the middle of the arena. The smaller one looked up at the arena around them, and then to the taller one.
"Einer, where are we?"