I remember in my dreams, once on the battlefield. There was a boy, as young as my son, fighting for the glory of our race. He was scared of the magic shot by the enemy but awed upon seeing my power. I gave him a random sword and a word of encouragement. Who would have thought that boy would end up being my best general?
Just as he saw it in his mind, the sword split the arrow in two, the separated parts slashing right past his face, leaving two marks on his fox mask and holes in his hood. Léandro’s eyes widened and his mouth flew open upon seeing his arrow get sliced horizontally in two.
Much like him, the crowd watching this unfold fell into a never-before-seen silence. Even the organizer, who lounged without a care on a chair he pulled from somewhere stood up, his expression frozen.
Kai took advantage of the situation and jumped at Léandro before he had time to react. His sword slashed in the shape of a crescent moon as it descended on the boy. Although he quickly recovered upon sensing danger, he only had enough time to react by pulling out a dagger.
He defended the heavy blow with the measly dagger by twisting it and using Kai’s momentum to drive the strike into the ground. Léandro then punched Kai’s stomach as a furious grunt escaped his lips.
With swift movement, Kai grabbed Léandro’s hand and squeezed, stopping the fist altogether, and retaliated by sending a kick toward his opponent’s side. Léandro crashed against the people on the ground as he took the hit head-on. He got to his feet about as quickly as Kai dashed toward him with a powerful slash.
Léandro tried to block the strike and deflect it once again. Yet Kai’s attack proved to be faint as he swung low yet hit high as Léandro’s dagger descended to defend. A mischievous smirk creased Kai’s lips, though none except himself knew it. He was curious to see how Léandro would react to such a blow.
Though his smile faded as Léandro left and shone with a bright light that protected him from the sharpness of the sword as he grabbed it and opened up Kai’s defenses. In that small window, a powerful kick sent Kai flying backward. He stopped himself before colliding with anyone and at the same time decided to drop all pretense.
His wand materialized in his hand and he immediately cast a spell that summoned fireballs around him. In less than a second, a dozen or so of them waited for him to command them. The crowd immediately dispersed after seeing the conjured flames, gasps of shock and awe ringing amongst their midst.
Léandro’s expression immediately fell as he cast a barrier spell around himself. Yet he could have never expected that Kai, who had just revealed his identity as a mage, would dash toward him with a sword. Yet, he did just that, and the barrier shattered as soon as it met the sharp blade.
However, Léandro didn’t give up so easily and drew his bow as swiftly as the arrow he would shoot from it. Kai stood less than two meters away from the boy. He gulped, sweat dripping down his forehead.
Léandro let loose of the arrow and Kai, wand in hand, immediately created a barrier that shattered immediately. However he created another, and then another, and another. The sound of shattering glass resounded throughout the quiet plaza over and over again in the span of a single breath. It overwhelmed all other senses and dizzied anyone unlucky enough to hear it. Yet it proved effective in stopping Léandro’s arrow, or at least slowing it down enough to not be fatal.
Kai dodged, but he wasn’t fast enough and hit him in the shoulder instead of the chest like it originally would have. He grunted in pain and glared at Léandro, his eyes shining with a faint light.
“Fine, let’s play then!” His angry shout sent an unwilling shiver down Léandro’s spine. The crystals on the wand shimmered as the ground beneath the blonde-haired young man caved before he could even react. He jumped as soon as he touched the bottom, yet it did nothing to stop the rapidly enclosing walls that surrounded him.
Just like that, in a matter of a moment, he was both incapacitated and suffocating from the extreme pressure put on his lungs. Kai pointed his sword at him, the twelve fireballs still revolving around him. “Say you give up or I toast you.”
Léandro’s expression turned to an ugly glare of resentment, but he knew he lost. “I give up.” He said unwillingly, gritting his teeth as he did so.
Kai waved his wand and undid the spell, brought Léandro up, and covered up the hole he made. “An experienced warrior would know how to not get caught by such a simple spell,” Kai remarked, happy to get payback.
Léandro coughed lightly but didn’t say anything. He brushed past Kai and walked into the arena, looking for his sword. At the same time, the organizer jumped up and said with a slightly emotional tone. “And our winner today… is Ichor! What an amazing display of skill!”
Everyone looked at Kai, whose black cloak was covered in dust and blood, and whose mask suffered the slightest amount of damage. He put away his weapons and walked toward the organizer, his clothes fluttering in the wind. “The plant.” He said simply, holding out his hand.
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“Ahem,” The man cleared his throat and walked down toward the still-intact ticket house and inscription center. After carefully fishing through the mountains of boxes and random items, he scooped out the wooden container and threw it toward Kai. Catching it mid-air, he opened it and verified its contents.
Yep, it seems to be it… He made his way toward the exit, the organizer’s voice echoing behind him. “Alright then, tomorrow we will have another set of fights at the same time right here. Please don’t forget to come and bet on our contestants!”
Kai, on the other hand, completely disappeared into the city as the sunset. Darkness took over the land, warded off by the light of lamps and crystals lit by the residents. Onyx, are you alright? He called out to his own mind and got a reply as soon as he did.
Yes, brower. I ate well… Onyx replied, sending Kai a feeling of contentment.
Join me.
I haf yur smhell.
And the conversation ended there. No more words were needed to be spoken. Kai knew Onyx would join him soon regardless of his pace, so he walked as fast as he could without arousing suspicion. Damn it, where is Yasa and the others. She never told me where to meet… or did she? Did she expect me to stand in the middle of the street? Did she leave already? No, she has a promise to keep, at the very least.
Kai stopped without warning, the twang of a drawn arrow interrupting his thoughts. “Get down if you have the guts.” He said in as threatening a manner as he could.
“Give me the plant.” A familliar voice said from high up on a building.
“I-”
“Don’t move. You can’t pull out your sword and slash the arrow in time, and neither can you use your wand that fast. I suggest you be smart and do as I say.”
Kai scoffed inwardly at the threat but knew that it was as real as it could be.
“Why do you need it?”
“Hand it over.”
“I’m afraid I can’t.”
Hearing that, the string on the bow almost whistled as it vibrated in the assailant’s hand.
“I won’t ask again.”
“I’m afraid you won’t get the chance,” Kai said with a smirk creasing his lips.
“Wha-” The unknown figure’s words got cut mid-way as the arrow broke loose from his bow. However it didn’t land anywhere near close to Kai, and it etched onto a nearby building instead.
The angry growls of an animal resounded from the rooftop, followed by a thud near Kai’s feet. Onyx appeared from the shadow, holding the attacker by the leg, and refused to let go.
Kai gave him a simple nod of approval, after which the Obborik let go. Dragging the unknown figure into the light revealed it to be Léandro, who still clutched his bow. “You’re still as trigger-happy as always,” Kai said playfully as he crouched. Léandro’s pupils widened as he took a closer look at the Obborik. Kai also pulled out his purple sword to help jog his memory.
“You- Kai?! How-” He stuttered, his expression filled with incredulity.
“Ah, you do remember me then, asshole.” Kai sat up and patted Onyx’s fur, then Léandro. He didn’t accept it and rose by himself instead.
“I thought you couldn’t do magic.” He said, patting the dust off his clothes.
“And I thought you’d always wear that flashy armor, how times change.”
Léandro stood a safe distance away, his torso bent back and all his weight put into the foot farthest from Kai. His stiff neck was encircled by his hand, his gaze pointed downward. Noticing that Kai took a few steps backward and grabbed Onyx with him.
An awkward silence descended between the two, neither of them looking very sure of what to do next. In the end, Kai sighed and turned to Léandro, then said in a serious tone. “So are you going to tell me why you need this plant, or not?”
The boy’s eyes switched from Kai’s mask to the Obborik, then to the sword. His feet brushed against the paved road as he moved backward, wanting to step back. But then, he sighed and turned to Kai. “I have a friend… she… she is. Look I’ll pay you for it, just give me the plant, alright?”
“Is she sick?” Kai asked directly, taking a few steps forward. “Hurt?”Léandro stepped back, his hair swaying forward from the momentum as Kai got uncomfortably close.
“What do you care so much about it?” He asked with an angry gaze, clenching his fists.
Kai stopped for a second and considered the question, Truly, why do I care so much? It’s just a mana plant, it wouldn’t hurt for me to give it to him. But Kai knew the answer to that question much earlier than Léandro posed it. He wanted companionship, at least a form of it. Traveling with Yasa made him feel miserable about himself and who he was. Yet, no matter how much he wanted to, he could never show his true self to anyone. Not anymore, not after what happened.
So then do I have any right to demand such things?
Regardless, he bit down on his tongue, and said with a breaking voice, “I… might be able to diagnose her. I studied medicine under the elves for a bit… so maybe.”
“What? You think you can heal her?” Léandro’s tone deepened by a few octaves as he looked at Kai with trembling pupils. “Do you know how many doctors we’ve seen? Humans, Muhen, Elves. None-” he took a moment to recover his broken voice. “None of them could do anything but lessen the pain and describe medicines to prolong the suffering!” Léandro’s pain-filled voice echoed through the alley, his rising voice open for anyone to hear.
Kai lowered his head, unable to say anything to refute his claims. Indeed, he was no more than a quack with some memories from a scientist who was only mildly interested in medicine. Flicking his wrist, the wooden box appeared out of his spatial ring, yet he hesitated. “What if I can do something?” He asked, his tone less confident than a landman going to sea.
Léandro looked at him with his ocean blue eyes, the water within which reflected the orange hue of the lamposts. He sighed and shook his head, he got ready to walk away and give up hopes of grabbing the plant from Kai.
“I really couldn’t do magic before.” Léandro’s hesitation disappeared as he stared at Kai with widened pupils. “I had an accident and couldn’t use my core, my mana veins were broken and I could barely cast any magic.” He flicked his wrist and pulled out a fire crystal, and it burst into a ball of flames that replied to Kai’s will. “Now I can be called a Mage. I did this. I healed myself with the help of the Leader of the South Gate.”
“The Leader of the South Gate?” Léandro repeated, his lips moving slowly as he processed Kai’s words.
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Give him the plant?
