Birds were chirping, the wind was breezing, and trees were flowing as their leaves were falling. We went farther and farther from our cities boundaries, more than when we faced the creature before. As I felt uneasy from this situation, my body felt chilly, my mind went silent. I kept walking, but a sudden shadow engulfed me from behind. It was my sister's, the pressure felt intense.
Entranced by the feeling, my thoughts went deep. Suddenly it felt like I was being sucked into the bottom of the earth, while darkness pulled me from the ground. Walking in an endless nightmare, but after every thought of that, I snapped back to reality after my sister talked to me with a concerned look.
"Hey bro, you ok? We're almost there."
"Huh, oh yeah sorry. I was just- thinking."
As the exchange happened, I walked closer to my sister's side. Thinking back, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all some twisted nightmare. The fear that gripped me was so overwhelming, it twisted my thoughts. Every fiber of my body was trembling, despite everything I've done, fear still lingers behind me.
We arrived at the place, it was huge! The area was like a huge circle, many rocks and trees were scattered around. Some were broken and chipped, and craters were found from the ground. It felt like a used arena.
"Woah, what is this place? It looks ruined, and huge. What happened here?"
While Ao walked past me, she described what happened. "This used to be a place where I trained with Olivia. My awakening started here, and I was the one that made this huge mess." As she sighed heavily, "I took you here for the final step of your training, it's the perfect place for a fight."
As I scratched my head, thinking of what she meant, "Um sis, what do you mean by that?" She turned her back to me, grinned and said. "This is your last training session. You'll be-" anticipation overwhelmed me, thinking of the next words that were going to come out of her mouth. "You'll be fighting me." I froze up as soon as her last sentence dropped.
"F- fight you!? Sis, are you being serious?"
Her face went grim, and I watched as she started walking towards me. I stepped back, my heart racing, unsure of what's happening as fear settled in. She dashed at me, her hand reaching out like a claw for my neck. I was stunned for a split second, shocked by the sudden movement. But instinct kicked in just in time, I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding her grip.
She formed two throwing knives, and threw one of them. I avoided it in the nick of time, as it dissipated, almost piercing my head, as the second throwing knife pierced my shoulder, "Ack! That hurt. Sis what are you doing!!!" As she shouted through my soul "FIGHT BACK KIIRO!"
I gritted my teeth and yanked the knife out of my shoulder, it hurts like hell, the pain shooting through me like lightning. I've never been pierced before. I staggered back, trying to stay on my feet, but then I saw Ao charging toward me, her eyes burning with intensity. Before I could react, she formed a hammer out of thin air, it took me by surprise. She slammed the ground with a primal scream, as the area was obliterated, I leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast force.
My heart pounded, I felt the weight of how close I came to being crushed. She rapidly changed her direction, looking at me with a menacing sight. She formed another weapon that had claws on her hands, they looked really sharp, as it would be able to slice through me.
"Sis this isn't funny! I never expected this!" As she shouted back with a fierce tone "Show me what you're made of, or you'll be dead!" I was scared from that sentence, If this was one of her stunts again, I don't think I'm going to last!? She sends barrages of attacks with her claws, as I tried dodging every single one, until one narrowly scratched me in the arm, blood spilled from me, spreading a little on the ground.
"This is bad, if I don't do something quick- I'll be killed!" Is what I thought, as she leaped into the air, forming a great sword from her claws. She sliced the ground as it created a slice of shockwave, where I sidestepped in time.
I only got a little control over my power, it's not fully developed yet and she wants me to fight her. The only choice I have is to adapt as I fight, and she thinks that it'll work that way. If this is the only course of action, then I have no choice.
I tried fighting back, lifting my hands to target her. With concentration and my energy flowing through me, I sent an energy blast like the previous one from yesterday. As it sped through the sound barrier, the blast directly hit her. "A well aimed shot!" Is what I thought in my mind.
Out of the smoke, a fully armored Ao was in sight, with a fiery cape that soared through the sky, a crown befitting that of a queen. And finally her sword that looked like what a knight would use.
My eyes couldn't believe it, she would go this serious against me. I was in shock, not knowing what to do next, I realized that I was outmatched. Then out of nowhere, someone grabbed me from the shoulder behind me. It was me.
As I saw myself, it was the last time I saw him, the brighter version of me. He spoke to me with softness, yet his words carried a weight that resonated deep within. "Let's show her what we're made of, Kiiro!" As my eyes glistened, and my arms gripped. I nodded, the words coming easily, "Right! Let's do this!" Without a moment's hesitation, we formed a handshake—two hands coming together in perfect synchrony. A beam of light struck down from above us.
A massive shockwave erupted, the force of it shaking everything around me, all of my surroundings were bright, as my body felt different. And then, before I could even process what was happening, I felt a strange sensation in my back. It formed wings out of nowhere, like that of an angel, a halo from above my head forming as well. As everything stopped, the blinding light and smoke started to clear, as little rocks and debris from the ground began to fall like rain.
"Heh~ just what I wanted to see." My sister said with a menacing smile on her face, as she was just getting prepared. "Now Kiiro, give me everything you've got!" I was flying off the ground, checking my hands as I clenched them. "So this is my power. This will take time to get used to." As I steadied my breath, I looked at her. She was already in her fighting stance, the hunger for the battle she had been waiting for.
As we locked eyes, the tension grew harder. We were armed and ready, while I formed a fighting stance. I didn't have a weapon yet, but I should be able to deal with this. My wings seemed to be durable, that is what I felt from my body. But I still have yet to figure out what the halo does.
As the last leaf falls, softly landing in the middle of our battle. We charged with full force, no hesitation, and a bright explosion came off. Being inside, we were fighting, I dodged the blade that was reaching for my right shoulder. I see that she's irritated "Tsk!" as I clenched my fist and punched her face with a direct hit.
As we staggered, backing off farther from each other. I took deep breaths, "That was close. Could've been deep in my shoulder" as I was flying, remaining still. She shouted at me, "that was a cheap shot Kiiro, can't you do better than that!?" I was frustrated, and I realized what she's doing, trying to anger me, causing me to lose focus.
"I won't fall for it! You taught me something valuable!" as she laughed and replied "And what would that be?" That's right, I remember those words from back then. Olivia, and even you Ao. "Focus your mind when going on a path," I thought to myself.
My halo started acting up, I didn't know what I was doing, but my instincts told me to grab it. After doing so, the halo started forming a bright blade that looked to be a sword made out of light. It was shocking to me, "my halo was a weapon!?" as I shouted to myself.
My sister saw what I was doing, "Heh, this will be interesting." As she's ready for another round, we formed our stances, ready to pounce at any moment. Ao leaped to my direction, as I was getting ready for the next attack. She tried stabbing me through the chest, as I blocked the blade with mine, we shared a glare, until we backed off and started rushing each other.
We shared strike after strike, each missing and blocking at the same time. Locking our blades on the next strike, Ao started talking "Is this all you've got? I expected more!" as for me "No, I'm just getting used to this. Behold my power!" I roared as my eyes were glistening, and the shockwave from them pushed her back.
I watched as she fell back to the ground, as I was looking at her from below. She lifted her hand, and I could feel the shift in the air, a strange hum vibrating as energy swirled around her. and in that instant, arrows of raw power began to form around her, crackling with intensity. Thrusting her hand forward, the arrows came at me with full speed. but I wasn't going to let her have the upper hand. I raised my own hand, summoning the energy from within. The familiar surge of power rushed through my veins as I conjured my own barrage of arrows.
We smiled in synchrony, the intensity in this battle, the beauty and fiery lights between us. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. There was a connection in this chaos, something more than just the battle. It felt... alive. As the barrage stopped, smokes were clearing and the energies dissipated. Tired from the energy spent between us, I started falling slowly. "If this keeps up, I won't be able to win" I thought to myself, as I looked at her, she seemed all fired up still.
As I was losing consciousness, I fell slowly as I was reaching my limit. But then a sudden burst of words came at me "Is this it Kiiro, The end for you, Cmon Kiiro! I and Olivia entrusted everything, our training, our hard work, dreams and goals that you wanted to pursue! I won't tolerate failure, Trespass into the domain of your own limits, and use that might to conquer me, DO IT KIIROOO!!!"
As those words shook me, a strength of defiance sparked within me, I wasn't done yet. flipping my body, standing up as I regained my flight. I roared with immense force, as my body was filled with energy around me. The shock and force pushing everything back. Trees and leaves,rocks, even the sky were moving from my power, as if I had reached so far that even the heavens had no choice but to tremble.
My sister looked at me with pure excitement, I knew that this was it. As I took deep breaths, closing my eyes, I felt the energy deep within me, sparking with intensity. I straightened my back, raising my arms, fists clenched. "RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" as I ignite with immeasurable energy.
It was finally time to end this. "This next one will be the finale!" As my sister prepared herself, I did the same. We both readied our stances, "GO!" As we both charged each other for the final showdown.