Sora Brontarion
The fog thickened, dimming the world around us. The white clouds that hovered above our campsite turned to charcoal.
Glowing blue eyes flowed through the clouds like a phantom.
"Entering my base was your first mistake." A soothing voice said, as electric blue eyes shifted from one cloud to another.
A flash of light illuminated the dark clouds as a bolt of lightning lashed out at the Titan, forcing it to one knee.
"Laying hands on my sister will be your last mistake."
All the clouds in the campsite condensed to one spot, swirling around the titan.
Disorientation leaked from the Titan's psyche. Its body began to hover as the swirling clouds birthed the eye of a hurricane.
Relief washed over me, but so did a sharp sting of jealousy as the reality that I wasn't good enough to succeed became clear.
I could only watch in awe as my brother tore through the clouds like a lance of lightning, his Cloud Dancer technique ripping Stravos's War Titan apart.
At times like these, I could see his potential. If he had asserted himself more, our struggles would have been few and far between.
But I understand why.
There were things we both wanted to change in our clan, and together we were going to accomplish them.
Jace's voice snapped me out of my trance. "Sora, where did Nerena put the totems?"
"They should still be in her storage. Why?"
"Because I don't think we're out of the fire."
"What do you mean the Titan is defeated?"
"That's not it. I felt the electrical currents of multiple bodies close by once the titan entered."
My senses were dulled, but I trusted my brother's observations. He commanded me to get closer to the shore. I did as he instructed.
"Stop hiding, and come out," Jace said, his voice projecting throughout our camp.
A squad of ten students emerged from the brush, looking like frenzied hyenas, desperate to clean up scraps.
My brother's body faded into his cloud.
I watched as my brother's cloud moved with the intensity of a raging storm toward the charging squad.
He manifested in the center of their battle formation.
"Please make this interesting for me," Jace said, yawning as he stood on top of his cloud.
Two students attacked him from varying positions, each launching beautiful feathers of flames like daggers. I looked away, because I knew all too well what type of damage feathers of the Pyrallis Clan can do.
But as I looked back, my brother stood firm as the flame feathers phased through him and pierced the ground.
The ground loosened as the flame continued to burn, converting the hard rock to ash.
I was shocked. Whatever Jace had done, I'd never seen before. The Pyrallis members shared my astonishment, which soon turned to anger.
An intense heat washed over our camp. The pores on my skin opened, forcing pools of sweat to drench my tattered clothes. As I whipped the sweat from my eyes, I saw every member of the Pyrallis clan, along with their branch members, summon balls of fire.
I knew the situation was bad, sensing the squad's intent. I ran to my brother. I wasn't going to allow him to face that by himself.
But as I moved, I felt something wet grab hold of me and sweep me off my feet. Looking underneath me, it was a cloud.
"Sora, I told you to stay put," he said, gesturing for the cloud to set me down by Nerena, who was still unconscious.
The fireballs were launched at him.
All ten of them collided, creating a massive plume of fire and ash. The air tasted dusty and metallic as flaming cinders fell from the sky. The dry crackling noise of singed leaves irritated me, because all I wanted was to hear my brother's voice.
Clouds began to surge, engulfing the ash and fire, dousing them and calming the ashen inferno.
As the environment settled, I saw my brother standing, maintaining a semi-intangible state. His hand covered his mouth while his off-arm stretched out wide like an animal waking from slumber.
"You guys didn't make it interesting," Jace said.
Clouds darkened, and my brother's eyes sparked with lightning as he drifted into the swirling nimbus.
Inside the raging storm, frightened screams started to sound like an instrument of anguish. Each echoing a different tune.
As I watched my brother dance in a torrent of clouds, I felt a new sensation. A sensation that made my skin crawl.
Hunger, desperation, and anger, the characteristics of a wild beast.
"Jace, something else is here!" Then an explosion of cosmic energy engulfed our base.
The energy was oppressive.
It screamed for destruction.
I felt like I couldn't catch a break.
Despite my brother's immense cosmic reserves, I could feel hesitation emanating from him.
Then the aggressive energy disappeared, and a low voice filled the void.
"You did the hard part for me."
Then a sudden force brought me to my hands and feet.