As Darius tried to gather what was even happening, he was also falling. And in the confusion, he made no move to break his fall, and crashed to the grass upon his back, all the air knocked out of his lungs.
Alabaun let himself fall from the window, smiling as his hand were stuffed into his pockets and he landed just a few yards away.
"What the hell?!" Darius wheezed as he sat up and scrambled to his feet. "What was that for?"
"Oh? I thought you knew? We are presently training!" Alabaun announced.
Darius's eyes widened. "Training? Against you?!"
"Ah, about that."
The sky went black then, and a bolt of lightning crahed through the air as the shadow of a figure appeared before Darius, a searing blade of electricity crossing past his face as he ducked away and skid to a stop in the grass.
It was the girl from before, still in that white dress. Now that he got a clearer look at her, he could see lichtenberg marks across her skin pulsing with white arcana. In her hand, she held a blade of pure electricity, and she was glaring at him with those cold silver eyes.
"Darius, this is Nila, my daughter. Greet and meet, yes, yes, now I suggest you should adorn your veil, you see, she is in a rather unruly teen phase and I will not be responsible for what she may do to you." Alabaun spoke, plopping down in the grass as he smiled and waved.
"You want me… to fight your daughter?" Darius asked, confused.
"Is that an issue?" Nila asked. Her voice was soft yet firm.
"Well, no I just… would rather not hurt a girl." He said.
Alabaun let out a tremendous laugh then as though this were the best joke made in all of time.
"You can tell that to queen Lyra when she banished you to the Abyss, kid." He spoke through his chuckles, "See how that goes for you then."
Darius grit his teeth. He didn't much enjoy being laughed at. He turned his eyes to the girl. "Fine, but you asked for it." He said.
Darius's body flashed with light as crystals formed across his body and his glass veil took form. He held out his hand, snapping his fingers as blades of glass flew at Nila, who simply stood as static electricity arced from her body, obliterating anything that came near her.
Alabaun's laughter was reignited then to Darius's annoyance.
"That's your opening spell? Do you always use that? It's pretty predictable kid."
"Damnit!" Darius cursed, "Then how about this!?" He crashed his knuckles together, massive spikes of glass exploding up from the earth, lifting him into the air as the enormous blades folded down, rushing upon Nira. A flash of electricity blasted through the glass, sending shard flying as the remaining blades tore through the soil. Nira, now a blur of light flew at Darius, her blade raking through his pillar, splitting it down the middle as he lost his height. She was face to face with him then, and as he fell, she spun, her heel colliding with his side as the glass upon his arm shattered. Electricity blasted out from the impact, the bolts flashing across his body and ripping apart the glass as he blasted through the air and slammed to the earth, tearing through the soil.
"You seem to like the high ground, but it isn't always the best thing to have. Some enemies will use this against you. Take your battle with Etto for example. It went well for a time, but it quickly grew stale and he learned your tricks. Try something new."
"Something new.." Darius growled, standing from the dirt as glass flowed around his body as it reformed. "It's not enough huh..." memories of his past came into his head. He felt anger and frustration fuming inside him. "Guess it never was."
"Oh god, please, don't trauma dump." Nira teased, but in contrast, Alabaun was now quiet, watching with interest.
Particles of iridescent glass flowed around Darius, solidifying into blades that, while they were not fully formed, made up for their brittleness in sheer number. A hail storm of glass that would rip anything apart.
A resounding snap came as he looked up, and a gust of wind rushed from him then as glass blades ruptured through the soil, coming at Nira from behind, forcing her to leap away as Darius cut off her escape, grabbing a blade from the air. Nira met his blade with her own, bolts of lightning flying as his sword shattered. Nira twisted in the air, her feet swinging as they rushed for Darius, but they were met with an invisible barrier. Darius raised his hands, lurching forward as the barrier shattered outwards, sending the girl flying to the ground where she landed in a crouch.
Darius held out one of his blades, the other swords converging into it as a huge sword of glass formed and he slammed to the earth, the ground quaking as it gave way beneath the sheer force of the sword as it crashed down where Nira had stood. A bolt of lightning flew down from the sky, hitting behind Darius as his ears rang and he was knocked forward, his sword shattering as Nira formed a spear of lightning which she swung in a wide arc, he bolts crashing into Darius sending him spiraling as he crashed across the dirt.
Nira flashed again, this time above Darius, a flame glowing in her eyes as her spear came down on him. Blades of glass folded up from the earth around them, twisting and changing shape as they folded inwards like a snare trap, collapsing down on Nira as her spear fell upon his chest.
"Enough!" Alabaun shouted just before mayhem. He sighed, standing from his place. The electricity around Nira faded as the sky cleared and she backed away. But Darius didn't move, his glass trap still in form, frozen, but still in place.
"Darius. It's over."
Darius grunted, the glass shattering as his veil disappeared.
"You depend too much on your range. All your attacks may be varied in size and form, but ultimately, they are all the same move again and again." Alabaun spoke. "Manifested objects can only move so fast. It is one thing to bring forth pure energy in the form of elements or chaotic force, but when you manifest physical objects to utilize as your weapons, you must use them with a clever mind. They are only an aid to your own prowess." He continued. "Your skill with sword is left wanting. Your physical speed is lacking, your response time is too slow. You let yourself become frustrated in the heat of the moment. The only thing of note that you did was the counter with that barrier. But you struggle to match your opponent when they are faster than you, and you have no way of countering it. But what's stranger, is you performed far better against Etto's shadow. I'm disappointed. It would seem you don't take this very seriously at all."
"I was caught off guard.." Darius returned. "What do you expect? I woke up practically less than an hour ago."
"All the same. You lack in variety. While it is true, a focus and mastery in a certain skill can be powerful, take Nira for example, she has mastered her control of her arcana form, but despite that, she'd be rather weak without physical prowess."
Nira looked down blankly at Darius, which only seemed to make him mad.
"Don't take it as an insult, Darius. Take the words I am saying and absorb them. You need to expand your skills. You need to practice in another skill. Whether that be hand to hand combat, or mastery with a blade, or even both. You need at least that. Your spells are strong, but they are only extensions of your own body, and if that body is not trained, no matter how great they are, your spells are powerless."
"Another thing." Nira said. "You have glass manipulation, right? Why just blades? You can make anything you want. The limit it your own head. So you either lack creativity, or don't have the determination to grow. Or maybe, you've been static so long that you seriously think you are strong enough as is. Is that it? Is this training going to be a pointless endeavor?"
Darius grit his teeth, setting aside his frustration. "No. I get it." He looked down at his own hand in frustration. Was he really that flawed? How did he ever manage to make it this far? At this rate..
Alabaun knelt down in front of Darius, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get yourself down, kid. Too early for that. Just imagine how I felt next to the Nameless." He smiled. "We will try again. Later. I just wanted to get a good idea of where we are at and how far we had to go. Now I know. So, let's go get some chow!"