"Good work today, everyone. Make sure you study your creature classifications for next week's quiz," Dr. Blackwood added, giving us one of her sharp nods before turning to leave the room.
I gathered my things, glancing over Lyra, who was already halfway through the door and lumi who seemed lost on thought. I sensed the tension of course, since we were only two days away from the duel. Despite training hard every day, I still felt like I had a weight over my shoulders.
As the class filtered out, I caught up with Lyra at the door. "Ready for one more spar?" I asked.
"Of course," she replied with a smile. "You better not drag me down though shadow boy" she punched my shoulder softly. Nothing seemed to phase her most of the time which I was glad about.
"So are we gonna focus on our skills individually or as a team this time?" Lumi asked as she caught up to us.
"I asked Julian to help us with today's training," I replied "hopefully he thought of something good"
"It'll be a huge disappointment if it's a let down" lumi mumbled
As we made our way to the training arena, the halls buzzed with the usual chatter, but my mind kept circling back to Lumi's words. She hadn't been openly negative before, but the pressure of the upcoming duel was getting to all of us.
"Don't worry, Lumi," Lyra said with a grin. "Even if it's not the most exciting training, you'll still get to see me in action, and that's never a letdown."
Lumi shot her a side glance but didn't say anything. Instead, she brushed a stray strand of her silvery hair behind her ear and kept walking in silence. I couldn't blame her. Each of us had our own burdens to carry, and in Lumi's case, she wasn't used to relying on others.
We arrived at the arena, the door sliding open with a soft hiss. The space was empty except for Julian, who stood with his arms crossed near a panel that controlled the arena's environmental settings. His sharp eyes met mine, and a slight smirk tugged at his lips.
"You're late," he said, though there was no bite in his tone. "I've got something... different planned for today."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Different how? We're not going to be punching each other in some new simulation, are we?"
"Although that's not a bad idea" Lyra smirked, looking at Lumi.
Lumi gave her a death stare. "That a challenge sparkles?"
Julian chuckled, shaking his head. "Not quite, but close. We're focusing on adaptability today. You've trained in plenty of simulations, but the real challenge is handling the unexpected."
Julian led us deeper into the arena, the dim twilight fading into an unsettling haze as the landscape shifted. "I asked Cyrus Volt, descendant of the God of Technology, to adjust the arena for this session," he said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Cyrus? The guy who accidentally fried the library's entire lighting system last week?"
Julian shot her a quick glare. "He's talented. His inventions can be... unpredictable, sure, but that just means you'll have to stay on your toes."
Lumi folded her arms, her voice dripping with skepticism. "Unpredictable how, exactly?"
Before Julian could answer, the ground beneath us shifted, sending a ripple through the mist-covered field. A loud hum resonated from the arena walls, followed by a sharp crackle of electricity overhead. The sky flickered between twilight and bright daylight in rapid succession, and strange, mechanical whirring sounds echoed through the arena.
"Uh... like that," Julian muttered, his confident smirk faltering slightly.
A loud clang sounded in the distance, followed by a series of disorienting flashes of light. The terrain started shifting under our feet, the ground morphing from solid rock to slick glass, then to what felt like shifting sand. Every step became a struggle to maintain balance.
"Is this supposed to happen?" I asked, trying to steady myself as the arena's environment continued to glitch and change.
Julian grimaced. "Cyrus mentioned something about pushing the boundaries of the arena's system. I thought he had it under control…"
Lumi shot me an exasperated look. "Great. We're stuck in an arena designed by a guy who doesn't know how to control his own creations."
Suddenly, a metallic creature sprang from the mist—its body an unsettling hybrid of wires, gears, and animalistic features. It lunged at us with unsettling speed, only to vanish in a puff of smoke before it could make contact.
"Okay, definitely not supposed to happen," Julian admitted, his voice tense now.
Lyra, ever the optimist, grinned. "Well, at least it's not boring."
More creatures began to emerge, glitching in and out of sight as the environment continued to distort around us. The mist thickened, making it hard to see more than a few feet ahead. It felt like the entire arena was trying to sabotage us.
"Cyrus is going to owe us big for this," I muttered, summoning shadows to steady my footing on the shifting terrain.
Lumi's eyes glowed faintly as she readied herself for an attack. "Let's just focus on surviving this mess first."
Julian stepped forward, his hand hovering over the control panel. "I can try to stabilize the arena, but it's going to take a minute. You three are going to have to manage until then."
"Great," Lyra said, cracking her knuckles. "More practice dodging things that want to kill us."
I shadow-stepped a few feet ahead, testing the terrain as it shifted beneath me. The mist was disorienting, but my senses adjusted quickly, allowing me to pick out the creatures that flickered in and out of existence. "We'll take them as they come. Keep moving, don't let them surround us."
Lyra shot a bolt of lightning into the mist, striking a creature that had just materialized in front of her. The jolt illuminated the arena briefly, showing several more metallic beasts waiting just beyond the fog. "Got it. Lumi, you ready?"
Lumi gave a sharp nod, her posture tense but focused. A chill swept over the field as she extended her hands, summoning a gust of icy wind that blasted one of the creatures back. "Stay close. I'll try to clear the mist when I can."
As the terrain shifted beneath us, we moved in sync, our training kicking in despite the chaos. Julian's voice called out from the edge of the arena, his fingers flying over the control panel. "Hang in there! Cyrus said the system might reboot itself if the pressure gets too high—whatever that means."
"Comforting," I muttered, dodging another metallic creature that lunged out of the mist. This time, I summoned a shadow blade, slicing through its flickering form before it could glitch out of reach. The blade dissolved back into the darkness as I focused on the next threat.
Lyra unleashed another wave of lightning, her strikes precise as ever. But even she looked winded as more creatures emerged. "These things aren't stopping!"
"Then we don't either!" I shouted, shifting the shadows around me to form a barrier as a creature lunged at Lumi.
She took the opening, unleashing a sharp gust of icy wind that froze the creature mid-leap. It shattered into pieces on impact, but before she could celebrate, another metallic form appeared right behind it, glitching in and out of visibility.
"Watch out!" I warned, but she was already moving, her instincts sharp.
Lumi side-stepped the creature, but it managed to swipe her arm before glitching away. She winced, clutching the small gash left by the metallic claws. "We need a plan, and fast."
Julian's voice rang out from the controls. "Almost there! Just hold them off for a little longer!"
The arena was becoming more unpredictable by the second, with the mist thickening and the ground shifting from solid to unstable every few seconds. A disfigured wolf attempted to strike me but I quickly dived out of the way.
Lyra grinned, despite the madness. "This is exactly what we needed. You can't prepare for a fight if you always know what's coming."
Lumi didn't look convinced, but she nodded in agreement. "Let's just hope we live long enough to get to the duel."
I shadow-stepped beside them, bracing for the next wave. "We will. But first, we survive this arena. Together."
With the chaos swirling around us, we stood ready for whatever came next. What happened after was not what we expected.