"You can't handle fighting me if you can't coordinate your rhythm as well as your thoughts. I know my presence brings memories you might even cherish."
Shyva was annoyed, and her face lost colour as if she had seen a ghost.
How can you do that, like talk through my head?
"I know your thoughts, for you may not speak through your mind yet."
You come here, insult me, and think you have mastered my emotions because I haven't seen you, then you must be delusional. How dare you!
They circled each other.
"Bad news, I know your thoughts about me or seeing me again are genuine."
"What!" She paused, and he threw her a punch again.
Shyva was new to the mind game, which gave him a higher advantage, for she was distracted.
"That's a nice medallion there; you must have fought hard to earn it." He referred to the emblem of Sivatus she wore around her neck.
"Don't block me," he instructed as she tried building a defensive wall around her mind while avoiding every one of his throws. They had been warned to use nothing else aside from their body parts.
"Why do they fight like this, especially my girl? Shyva is so restless compared to other days where preparation has always been a priority." Nyla was furious and disappointed. Vermeen watched her with delight.
"What do you watch?" Nyla asked, feeling vulnerable before him.
"You, my dear."
She rolled her eyes, pacing her office; Shyva's ineptitude was a disgrace to her world.
"Don't fret over her; she's nothing compared to what I have created myself. My men, my boys. Watch her fail and accept defeat. I know how you dislike being overpowered. It's the reason you still have a place in my heart." He sipped the drink he served himself from her cabinet.
"Your silence is the best solution to my thoughts." Nyla snapped.
"Suit yourself."
Shyva hit her opponent the first time after her mind blockage, and he fell, not anticipating the blow.
"One move I never envisioned." He commented.
He glided on the smooth floor, intertwining her legs with his and knocking her down. She moved over him as fast as she could to pull off his mask. This made him furious, and he overpowered her by strangling her while watching her. Shyva stretched her hand, trying to reach his face as she fought for air. His strangling intensified, and she choked, not ready to surrender. Her hands stretched with instinct, giving him a blow to the side of his head, which knocked him off balance. The fight was called to a tie.
"Did you see how she fought, I could fight better than that." A sister whispered amid the others.
"Such a disgrace to us from another world." Another spoke with pent-up jealousy.
"I could out best her if she wasn't the overseer's best."
"overseer's best?" Sula questioned.
"Yes, I heard they are two-a-two."
"That man over there is cloaked, unlike the others. I wonder what lies beneath his mask," another sister announced, entrapped by his gracious moves.
The male opponent was quick to his feet. He shook his head, smirking in his mask. He let her believe she could win, not showing off what he was really capable of.
How can he be this fast? I know he let me win because he is too strong and quick, and I cannot beat him yet.
"Shyva." He called her name for the first time through telepathy, "You shouldn't uncover the identity of people who want their identities hidden. It may cause grave consequences."
He knows my name, but I don't know his.
Shyva noticed his tone was cold, even cruel, and his words registered in her memory.
He left, quick in his moves with no noise.
Gulping in the air and biting her upper lips, revealing the ten teeth of her lower jaw. Nyla hadn't failed to relieve her mind of details of the fight between Shyva and one of the Red Lords by taking solace in her vintage beverage.
Shyva hadn't expected her subtle approach to the matter and her manner of encouragement. Nyla was a woman of substance Shyva would love to emulate. Nyla introduced Shyva to her first mission days after three weeks since her lack of competence left details out. She stated that the only mission was to retrieve a weapon. Rumoured to power, destroy, and recreate.
She was on one of the five warplanes conveying soldiers far from the Dome past realms until a captain cried from his microphone.
"Ninety yards away, concentric lines will be formed when we reach our deployment area. All eyes onward."
Exactly ninety yards away, large green concentric lines illuminated a spot set for deployment.
"Ready Shyva?"
"Cologir Sir."
"Very well, be ready for deployment."
When they got to the very spot, Shyva descended a thrown out ladder. While she descended to the very bottom, she noticed she was alone, and all warplanes had deserted.
What! Shyva heaved, fearing for her life and the reputation of the Dome. Being alone on her first mission questioned her abilities.
This is so scary. Other sisters have always been accompanied, but they decided to make me special at the cost of my life. I had the notion that I would be accompanied. This is brutal. I must have a word with Nyla if I am to succeed in this.
Swallowing hard, she was confident it would be an efficient outcome even when, in the pit of her stomach, she doubted.
In the passing of weeks before the mission…
"I do have doubts, Nyla?"
Nyla brushed her mane with her fingers while she lay her head on her lap.
"My dear, doubts are natural for you to have, but you shouldn't succumb to them, for they can be delimiting."
"What do you have me do?" She asked Nyla.
"You question them, which I do a lot, and push further till your will decides itself without the intervention of your mind and heart."
"That's convincing." Shyva nodded.
Nyla placed her lips on her hair without making noise or misplacing hair strands.
Shyva was asleep, smiling.
My dear, you have a long way to go. Your future is in your hands, and I will do whatever within my power to guide you in the right path.
The fallen realm was chilly to her spine. She gripped her drawn-out firearm. Her eyes darted here and there for any inhabitant or foe. Shya moved forward, moving her head from side to side in anticipation of attack because she was in the open. The soles of her boots crushed little rocks shaped by years of aridity and harsh weather conditions, giving away her position. The eerie cry of a creature echoed, almost startling her to run.