NOVPUB"Ten! Nine! Eight!" The crowd's unified countdown reverberated through the Nexus Arena, fifty thousand voices merging into a thunderous roar that seemed to shake the very foundation of the building.
Noah stood perfectly still at his designated starting position, his gaze alternating between his opponents. Lila—or whoever this was wearing her face—maintained an unnerving stare, her newly darkened hair framing features that seemed somehow sharper, more predatory than he remembered. There was no recognition in her eyes, no acknowledgment of their shared history or academy. It was as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
'Something's definitely wrong with her,' Noah thought, cataloging the discrepancies. 'That's Lila's face, but everything else feels... off.'
Across the triangular formation, Kaiden Vex balanced on the balls of his feet, muscles coiled like springs. His eyes never left Noah, ignoring Lila completely.
"Seven! Six! Five!"
The technicians at the ring's edge completed their final checks on the energy barrier, nodules glowing with increasing intensity as power surged through the containment system. This wasn't just any barrier—it was designed to withstand forces that had shattered three previous versions... hopefully.
"Four! Three!"
In the stands, Kelvin leaned forward, his enhanced lenses zooming in on the combatants. "Come on, Noah," he muttered, fingers tapping nervously against his knee. "Remember what we talked about—Kaiden's got that weird vibration thing going on. Don't let him get his hands on you."
"Two! ONE!"
Energy surged upward from the barrier nodes, weaving together into a shimmering dome that enclosed the three fighters. The ambient noise from the crowd immediately dampened, creating an almost sacred silence within the combat zone.
"BEGIN!" bellowed the announcer, his voice cutting through the momentary hush before the crowd erupted again.
Kaiden moved first, launching toward Noah with startling speed. "ECLIPSE!" he roared, his right arm pulling back for a devastating punch.
Noah shifted his weight, channeling white chi through his limbs. The familiar energy flowed like liquid light beneath his skin, strengthening muscles and sharpening reflexes. He sidestepped Kaiden's charge with precise timing, allowing the attacker's momentum to carry him past.
But Kaiden wasn't so easily evaded. His body seemed to ripple, becoming oddly fluid as he twisted in mid-air, redirecting his attack without losing speed.
'Interesting,' Noah thought, 'He can alter his body's physical properties somehow.'
Noah raised his forearm in a defensive block, channeling chi to reinforce the point of impact. When Kaiden's fist connected, the force dispersed through Noah's frame rather than concentrating on a single point. Still, the raw power behind the strike pushed Noah back several meters, his feet sliding across the arena floor.
[Health Points: 980/1000]
'Stronger than he looks,' Noah noted, recovering his stance.
Before either could re-engage, Lila entered the fray. Her approach was unlike anything Noah had seen from the real Lila Rowe—no calculated grace or precise movements or even that cold approach. Instead, she extended both hands, and the air around her warped violently.
The floor beneath Noah and Kaiden buckled and twisted. Invisible force slammed into them from multiple directions, like being caught in a telekinetic storm. Noah channeled chi into his legs, anchoring himself against the onslaught, but Kaiden was hurled backward, crashing into the energy barrier with a flash of light.
"That's not Lila's fighting style," Kelvin muttered in the stands, eyes widening behind his lenses. "Lila's telekinesis is like a scalpel—this is a sledgehammer."
Noah didn't waste the moment. He pushed off, closing the distance to Lila in three rapid strides. White chi gathered around his fist as he launched a calculated strike toward her midsection—powerful enough to disable but not to cause permanent damage.
The air between them suddenly folded, creating a distortion that bent his attack trajectory. Noah's fist slid sideways through empty space, throwing him off balance. The false Lila smiled coldly, twisting her hand in a sharp gesture. The space around Noah constricted like invisible bands, crushing inward.
[Health Points: 940/1000]
With a sharp exhale, Noah pulsed his chi outward in all directions, creating a momentary buffer zone that disrupted the telekinetic pressure. It bought him just enough space to execute a backward handspring, putting distance between them.
Before he could fully recover, Kaiden was on him again.
"You're mine, Eclipse!" Kaiden snarled, his body vibrating at an increasingly rapid frequency. The air around his fists seemed to warp and shimmer.
Noah met the assault with precision, blocking and redirecting strikes rather than matching power with power. Each impact sent shockwaves up his arms—Kaiden's blows carried strange vibrational energy that penetrated deeper than normal force.
[Health Points: 910/1000]
"Look at that!" someone in the crowd shouted. "The kid's just using basic chi techniques against two Awakened talents!"
In the VIP section, Commander Owen of Academy 12 watched with an inscrutable expression, though the slight upward curve of his lips betrayed his pride. His two first-year students were holding their own—and Eclipse, despite his seemingly basic skill set, was displaying combat instincts that couldn't be taught.
Back in the ring, Noah spotted an opening as Kaiden overextended slightly. He ducked under a wild swing and drove his chi-enhanced palm into Kaiden's sternum, then pivoted immediately to face the oncoming attack from "Lila."
Her telekinetic blast hit like a battering ram, sending Noah sliding backward. He dug his heels in, chi flooding his lower body for stability. The pressure intensified, air beginning to distort around his entire body.
'She's trying to crush me,' Noah realized, feeling the increasing constriction. 'Time to try something new.'
Noah had been practicing a technique he hadn't quite mastered yet—channeling chi through external mediums. With a sharp gesture, he directed a focused stream of white energy into the floor beneath him. The chi traveled through the arena surface, erupting upward beneath Lila in a pillar of force that broke her concentration and sent her stumbling.
"Holy crap!" Kelvin shouted, pumping his fist. "That's chi transmission! When did he figure that out?"
In the teachers' section, Miss Brooks found herself surrounded by instructors from all twelve academies.
"Two of your students in the finals against each other," Academy 3's senior instructor remarked. "Who are you rooting for, Brooks?"
Miss Brooks merely crossed her arms, her expression giving nothing away as she watched the battle unfold.
Noah didn't pause to celebrate his successful technique. He immediately launched toward "Lila," but Kaiden intercepted, his body seeming to densify mid-movement. When Noah's chi-enhanced kick connected with Kaiden's forearm, it felt like striking solid steel.
Kaiden grinned, grabbing Noah's ankle. "Got you," he growled, his hand beginning to pulse with vibration.
The sensation was immediate and disorienting—Kaiden's ability traveled up Noah's leg, making his muscles spasm and his balance falter. It felt like his very cells were being shaken apart.
[Health Points: 870/1000]
With a grimace of concentration, Noah channeled chi directly to the affected area, using the energy to stabilize his body's natural frequency against Kaiden's intrusion. He twisted sharply, breaking the hold, then dropped low and swept Kaiden's legs from under him.
As Kaiden fell, Noah followed with a powerful chi-enhanced kick to the chest that sent his opponent skidding across the arena floor.
The moment of triumph was short-lived. Lila had recovered, and her response was devastating. The space around Noah seemed to fracture into a dozen overlapping pockets of distorted physics. He tried to dodge a telekinetic blast, only for his movement to curve back into its path. When he attempted to block, his arm moved slower than it should have, as if passing through invisible resistance.
The audience gasped as Noah was caught in what appeared to be a web of warped space, his movements becoming increasingly erratic and ineffective.
[Health Points: 820/1000]
'This isn't anything like Lila's abilities,' Noah thought as another telekinetic pulse slammed into him. 'Whoever this is, she's not just using telekinesis—she's manipulating space itself somehow.'
"Come on, Noah!" Kelvin shouted from the stands, though his voice couldn't penetrate the energy barrier. "Figure it out! There's a pattern to her distortions!"
Indeed, Noah was beginning to see it—slight fluctuations in the air that preceded each spatial twist. Drawing on his training with Master Anng, he emptied his mind and focused on the flow rather than fighting against it.
When Lila sent another crushing wave of force, Noah didn't resist. Instead, he moved with it, channeling chi to his feet and using the momentum to launch himself toward Kaiden, who was rushing back into the fray.
The unexpected maneuver caught Kaiden off-guard. Noah's chi-infused palm connected with his shoulder, disrupting whatever resonance technique he was preparing. Noah followed with three precisely targeted strikes to pressure points along Kaiden's torso—not devastating blows, but perfectly placed to temporarily disrupt his opponent's energy flow.
Kaiden staggered, his vibration field flickering unstably. "How did you—"
Noah didn't let him finish. With one fluid motion, he gathered chi into both palms and slammed them together in front of Kaiden's chest—not touching him, but creating a concentrated shockwave that lifted Kaiden off his feet and hurled him directly toward Lila.
The false Lila's eyes widened in surprise as her supposed ally came hurtling toward her. She raised her hands reflexively, creating a telekinetic buffer that slowed Kaiden's trajectory but couldn't stop it completely. They collided, both sprawling across the arena floor in an ungraceful heap.
The crowd roared their approval at Noah's cleverness—forcing his opponents to deal with each other rather than focusing solely on him.
"That's my boy!" Kelvin whooped, slapping his knee in delight. "Classic Eclipse problem-solving!"
Noah didn't waste the opportunity. He centered himself, gathering chi throughout his body while his opponents disentangled themselves. White energy began to pulse visibly around his hands, growing brighter with each heartbeat.
Lila was first to recover, her face contorted with fury that looked alien on Lila Rowe's features. She thrust both hands forward, creating a massive telekinetic shockwave that tore across the arena floor toward Noah.
Instead of dodging, Noah met the attack head-on. He thrust his palms forward, releasing the gathered chi in a concentrated burst that collided with the telekinetic wave. The energies clashed violently at the midpoint between them, creating a spectacular display as white light battled against warping space.
For a moment, they seemed evenly matched—and then Noah shifted his stance, angling his chi emission to create a wedge that split "Lila's" attack down the middle, diverting the force around him instead of against him.
The crowd fell silent in awe, then erupted in thunderous applause.
"Did you see that?" Mr. Rourke of Class 1C turned to Mr. Vain of Class 1A. "That's chi manipulation at a level most third-years haven't mastered!"
In the teachers' section, Miss Brooks remained impassive, though a colleague caught the slight upward turn at the corner of her mouth as she watched Noah advance across the arena.
Kaiden re-entered the fight with renewed fury, his entire body now vibrating so intensely that the floor beneath his feet cracked with each step. "ECLIPSE!" he roared again, charging forward with both fists glowing with condensed energy.
Noah shifted into a defensive stance, chi flowing through his body in preparation for the impact. But Kaiden suddenly changed direction, diving toward Lila instead.
"What are you doing?" she hissed as Kaiden grabbed her arm.
"Finishing this," Kaiden replied, his vibration ability flowing into her. Rather than attacking her, he seemed to be synchronizing their powers somehow.
Noah's eyes narrowed as he witnessed the unexpected cooperation. 'This was their plan all along,' he realized. 'They're working together.'
The combined assault came with barely a second's warning—Kaiden's vibration energy channeled through "Lila's" telekinetic field, creating a tsunami of destabilizing force that consumed the entire arena floor. There was nowhere to dodge, no way to block.
Noah had only one option. He jumped straight up, channeling chi to achieve impossible height, nearly touching the top of the energy barrier. For a moment, he seemed to hover above the chaos below.
The audience gasped collectively—and then Noah descended, his body wrapped in brilliant white chi that formed a perfect spear of energy. He aimed directly for the point where Kaiden and Lila stood together, their combined powers still rippling outward.
The impact was spectacular. Noah's chi spear struck the nexus of their combined abilities, creating a feedback loop that exploded outward in a blinding flash. All three combatants were thrown in different directions, each crashing into the energy barrier with enough force to make the entire structure flicker and strain.
[Health Points: 750/1000]
For several seconds, no one moved. The crowd held its breath. Then, slowly, all three fighters rose to their feet, battered but determined. Noah's gear was torn in several places, blood trickling from a cut above his eye. Kaiden's resonance field flickered unstably around him, his breathing labored. Lila looked perhaps the worst of all, her perfect composure shattered, dark hair in disarray, and fury evident in every line of her body.
They faced each other in a triangle once more, just as they had at the start—but now the pretense of academy loyalty was gone. This was every fighter for themselves, raw talent and determination on display for all to see.
In the stands, Kelvin analyzed the situation with laser focus. "They're all at about sixty to seventy percent capacity now," he murmured to Sophie. "But Noah hasn't even touched his system abilities yet. He's still just using chi."
As if hearing his friend's observation, Noah allowed himself the smallest smile. The real fight was only just beginning.
