Nova's fingers brushed against the blue flag, its nylon fabric cool against his skin. He gripped it tightly, and for a brief moment, relief spread across his face. He had fought his way through the opposing team's defenses, endured more pain than he cared to count, and finally reached the one thing he had been chasing.
'That should be it,' he thought. 'We actually did it.'
He began lifting the flag, but before he could enjoy that small victory, a sharp rumble passed beneath his feet. The ground trembled once, then again, strong enough to disturb the loose stones scattered around him. Nova's smile disappeared. He knew that sound, and he certainly didn't like what usually came after it.
He tried to step back. He was already too late.
Stone walls erupted around him, rising so quickly that dust burst into his face. One appeared to his left, another to his right, and two more sealed the space before and behind him. Within seconds, the open area had become a narrow enclosure, with walls tall enough to prevent an ordinary person from climbing out. The scraping of rock against rock echoed through the little arena. The flag slipped from his fingers as he threw an arm across his eyes.
Nova shielded his eyes with his forearm and waited for the dust to thin. Through the haze, he noticed a familiar figure standing a short distance away, both arms raised and an arrogant smile spread across his face.
It was the same boy who had caused trouble at the American Guild. The earth manipulator Nova had fought before the tournament, back when he had stepped in to help Adam.
'Oh, you've got to be kidding me.'
"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," the boy said, his voice bouncing off the stone walls. "You greedy fuck. Saw the flag and thought you could waltz over here and take it, huh?"
Nova looked from the boy to the surrounding walls. The flag was within reach, but claiming it meant little if he ended up trapped or seriously injured before returning to his team. He lowered his aching hands into a fighting stance, trying to ignore the sting in his torn knuckles.
"You again," he muttered. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
"I've been hoping we'd run into each other." The boy's smile widened. "You embarrassed me at the Guild. I'm not letting you do it a second time."
"Last I checked, our fight ended in a tie. If that counts as embarrassing, you must have had a rough day."
The boy's expression hardened. "Keep talking."
He slammed his fists toward the ground. Jagged stone spikes shot upward in a rapid sequence, beginning where Nova stood and racing across the floor. Nova leapt back, planted a foot against the side of the nearest spike, and pushed away as another erupted beneath him. He landed in a crouch, his boots scraping against the rough stone.
A third spike tore past his shoulder. Its sharp edge grazed his skin, leaving a thin cut that began to sting almost immediately.
Nova glanced at the wound, then turned his eyes toward his opponent. The boy was attacking faster than he remembered. At the Guild, there had been small gaps between his movements, moments when Nova had been able to close the distance and strike. Those openings were much harder to find now.
'He's faster than before,' Nova realized. 'Did he train this much, or did he use something from a dungeon? Maybe he found a way to strengthen his pillar.'
He had no way of knowing, and stopping to wonder would only make him an easier target.
Nova sprinted forward, aiming a straight punch at the boy's jaw. Just as his fist approached, a section of the ground rose between them. His knuckles slammed into the stone instead. The impact sent pain through his hand, reopening cuts left by his earlier fights, while the rising slab forced him to pull back before it struck his face.
"You've got guts, I'll give you that," the boy said. "But guts alone won't stop me."
He stamped his foot. The enclosure shook, and the walls moved inward by a small but unmistakable distance. Nova glanced behind him and realized the space available for dodging was shrinking.
"Seriously?" Nova asked. "You're going to crush us both in here?"
"I know exactly where the walls are going. You don't."
"How reassuring."
The boy spread his fingers. Chunks of stone broke away from the floor and hovered in the air around him, their rough ends sharpening as he concentrated. They hung for a brief moment, then shot toward Nova from different angles.
Nova dropped low, allowing the first fragment to pass over his shoulder. He sidestepped the second and knocked a smaller piece aside with his forearm, but a third clipped him near the ribs. The blow was enough to disturb his balance, forcing him into a hurried roll across the floor.
The problem wasn't any single attack. It was the constant pressure. Every time he found an opening, another wall or spike appeared where he needed to move. He had to consider the boy's position, the surrounding stone, and the worsening pain in his own body, all within fractions of a second.
Still, he refused to remain on the defensive.
Nova changed direction, approaching from the left before darting toward the boy's right side. He drove a jab forward, hoping to force the earth manipulator to retreat, but the boy caught his wrist and twisted sharply. Nova tried to turn with the motion, yet the boy used the momentum to throw him into the wall behind them.
His back struck hard stone. Dust fell across his hair and shoulders, and for a moment, the impact drove the air from his lungs.
'Fuck. That one hurt.'
Nova pushed away before another spike emerged beneath him. His breathing had become uneven, and the old pain in his ribs returned with every deeper breath. The boy was already advancing, leaving cracked stone wherever his feet pressed into the floor.
Nova stepped inside the next attack and punched him in the ribs. He felt the strike connect, followed by a sharp grunt, but the boy barely gave him time to withdraw. A backhanded blow caught Nova at the temple, turning his head and scattering bright spots across his vision.
He stumbled sideways and steadied himself against the wall. He didn't feel invincible or particularly graceful. His head throbbed, his hands were bleeding, and his breathing sounded unpleasantly loud inside the enclosure.
'I'm beginning to understand why mortals don't enjoy getting punched in the head.'
But the thought brought the faintest smile to his face. He had wanted to experience a genuine struggle, and his opponent was giving him one. Unfortunately, wanting a challenge didn't make the consequences any less painful.
"What's wrong?" the boy asked, noticing his expression. "Still think this is funny?"
"A little," Nova replied, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "Though I'd appreciate it if you stopped aiming for my face."
"Then stop putting it in the way."
The boy drove his palms downward, and a cluster of massive spikes erupted around Nova. He jumped, twisted his body between two rising points, and kicked against a third to change direction while airborne. For an instant, he almost felt like a martial arts master from one of the action films he had seen on Earth.
Then another spike caught his leg.
The sharp edge tore through his pants and opened a deep cut along the outside of his thigh. Nova landed awkwardly, nearly falling when he tried to put weight on the injured leg. A hot, unpleasant sensation spread through the muscle, and blood began soaking into the fabric.
"Ah, shit!"
He clenched his teeth, shifted his weight, and forced himself upright. The wound hurt enough to make him reconsider his footing, but he didn't have the luxury of stopping. The boy was already preparing another attack.
A narrow spike rose directly in front of Nova. He punched its thinner upper section before it reached his chest, breaking it into fragments. The strike sent another burst of pain through his knuckles. He pulled his hand back and flexed his fingers, making sure they still responded.
'Now that hurts. Damn it.'
The boy laughed. "You keep breaking my rocks, but look at your hands. How long do you think you'll last?"
"Long enough to shut you up, hopefully."
Nova feinted left, then sprinted to the right as a wide slab of stone slammed down where he had been standing. The moving edge caught his shoulder, scraping through his clothes, but he managed to slide beneath it and roll forward. He rose behind the boy and threw a hard right hook toward the side of his head.
The boy ducked at the last moment.
Nova's fist struck the wall instead, chipping the surface and sending pain racing up his arm. Before he could recover, the earth manipulator spun around, a faint glow gathering around his hand. Several pointed rocks lifted from the floor and began circling in an uneven spiral.
'Great. More of them.'
The fragments shot toward him. Nova knocked the nearest one out of the air, then shifted his shoulders to avoid the next. He struck another piece where it was thinnest, breaking it apart, but smaller chips grazed his forearm. He was forced to retreat from the last two, almost stumbling over the rubble beneath his feet.
Sweat ran into his eyes, mixing with the blood on his face. His arms were growing heavier, and his injured leg protested whenever he changed direction too abruptly. Even the simple act of opening and closing his fists had started to hurt.
He was getting tired, and unlike his opponent, he couldn't produce another obstacle with a movement of his hands. If he wanted to win, he would have to close the distance, but doing so recklessly had already cost him more than enough.
Nova steadied his breathing and watched the boy prepare his next attack. He noticed how the earth shifted before each spike emerged and how the boy's attention moved toward the point where he wanted it to appear. The signs were small, but they were present.
'My body is aching so much, but I can't stop here,' Nova thought, his jaw tightening. 'I can't back down now. I have to see the attacks coming earlier. I need to calculate his movements more precisely.'
The stone beneath his boots trembled again. Nova lowered his stance, ignoring the pain running through his leg as he concentrated on the slight change in the ground.
'Damn this guy. If I keep reacting after he attacks, he'll wear me down before I ever reach him.'
For the first time since the walls had risen, Nova stopped thinking about breaking through everything in his path. He watched his opponent's arms, the dust at his feet, and the spaces between the moving stone, searching for an opening he could exploit.
The next attack was already beginning.