The stairs eventually opened up into a balcony, a balcony for the entire castle. There were no walls on any side of the circular room, the wall just hung above the floor magically.
"There isn't any opening like this on the outside."
"How are we seeing through this brick?" Stella asked
"You think we might get executed for this?" I joked.
"Can we?" Stella pulled out the napkin Jace wrote on and looked back up at me. "We're just doing what we were told and getting a free tour out of it, no?"
"I guess if I'm going to die because of this, I'm going to at least see the view."
The tower being the highest place in the city allowed us to see over most buildings if they were visible through the other towers. If there are more open floors like this the view would definitely be better than this. For each surrounding tower, the main one had a small dinky bridge that fell towards a similar opening. Like this opening you couldn't see it from the outside. I looked above us, the eerie way the ceiling just cuts from the rest of the tower sent a shiver down my spine.
"Can it fall?"
"Logically it should, right?"
We both stood there, before returning to the stairs. Though this time once we were on the stairs we could hear things. Loud strong shockwaves that went though the stone slowed our ascent. Stella stopped and turned around on the stairs.
"Maybe we can leave on those bridges?"
"We were allowed in the castle. Not those surrounding towers. I doubt we would have an excuse for using bridges that aren't even visible but to people on this tower."
"But Heo…" Stella grabbed at her pirate outfit and shivered. "Let's say the thing creating those shockwaves doesn't kill us and we somehow make it pass it. We either go higher or get arrested across the bridges."
"Stella, we'll be fine. That's probably the most casually I've ever entered anything, let alone a castle. I don't know how we've been left alone but it might not be that big a deal." Stella didn't respond, instead she just kept staring at me. "Fayha's Queen is known for being cheerful and happy. I doubt anything too bad could be done to us."
We continued our climb up, eventually the ceiling opened and we both stepped out into a closed off circular room. It was filled with dancing stars flying around, and a sun made from flames laughing as if everything around it was the funniest thing it ever saw. It kept the same giggling face continuously. The space was clear except for a piano at the back of the room and two Jaces. Right as our heads popped out of the stairs, a strong pressure I had felt multiple times before, hit us.
Stella shrieked and I caught her falling back. I pushed her back down in the stairway, away from the increased gravity. It was decently strong. I braced and walked out into the room, my feet hitting the floor with thuds. That's some strong gravity magic to be training in. Though not the most you can. I shook my head remembering the mountain option.
One of the two Jaces turned his head. Soon after the other Jace disappeared. While the Jace faded away the pressure also relaxed. I was walking normally now, a little lighter. Was that an illusion or an ability of his to duplicate himself? Whether that was an ability or some item that did that. It's got to be rare and unheard of.
"Whoa, what are you doing here?"
"Umm, didn't you say to come by? Because of the monsters you killed in the forest?"
"By yourself though?"
Stella tried coming back out into the room. When she realized the pressure was gone she walked behind me.
"No, I came. That pressure was too much for me though."
"Oh, my bad. I like to work a little stressed. But no one walked up with you?"
We explained how we got up and what happened when we were left inside.
"Haha! Let me guess Avez was working on the door."
He continued to laugh more, his face matching the flaming sun in the corner of the room.
"Well, let's start with you guys just watching for a second." The second Jace reappeared. "Step back a little."
Following his instructions we stepped back, to us, a fair distance away. When Jace faced the other Jace. The clone had already dashed at him. Its fist meeting the wrist of the real Jace. Jace quickly grabbed the clone and threw it on the floor. Kicking it while pinned down.
Jace randomly let go of the clone and put his arm back up in the way he defended himself earlier. A loud crash echoed back and a shockwave hit us. Jace's feet barely moved back from it but he then moved back towards the now retreating clone. Jace kicked the floor slowing down his run towards the clone. The clone stopped in its place for a second.
"Oh come on, isn't that cheating to make it stop moving?" Right as I said that the same shockwave resounded from the clone.
After the shock wave it continued to run, turning slightly to have Jace to the left of him. But Jace's speed started to double and he easily caught the clone. His fist met the clone a few times. The clone returned a punch. Jace dodged, and wrapped his arm around the clone's. The clone followed up with a kick and since Jace was locking its arm in place he took the full kick.
Sliding away, Jace and the clone both stood still again. A loud explosion resounded and the clone was the first to move. When the clone was about to hit Jace, another explosion went off. The clone was stunned and that's when Jace threw a very nasty punch to the face of the clone.
That whole fight the Jaces were doing the same thing the knights in the courtyard were doing, where they kept the same strength as their opponent. At the end there though, Jace threw a little of everything he had at it. Do they purposely reserve their strengths for an attack to end the fight?
"Did you observe anything in the way I fought?" Jace dusted off his hands, the other Jace disappearing.
"Besides the random times you stopped. You looked like you were trying to even yourself with the other Jace before you actually tried to win the fight."
"Very close." Jace pointed a finger and winked the eye with the scar next to it. "I waited until I knew if I put everything behind it I could win. It's not just that simple though."
"It's not?" Stella asked.
"No. If I just simply waited for an attack or opening, against most monsters it might work, but against smarter ones or humans I won't win the fight from that."
"That didn't seem like just an illusion or something. So how did it work against that Jace?"
"I just had to make an opening myself, while I kept enough strength to actually win the fight. Also if the opponent thinks you're equal to them they could assume you're holding in your strength or that you're trying your best to keep up." Jace stretched and wiped a little amount of sweat off his face. "That's the secret to the Festive Knights of Fayha's fighting style, keeping that small vile little lie."
My face brightened and my eyes grew wide. That's a real fighting style and a specifically notable one!
"Heo we could definitely use this for our fights."
"That sounds super smart to reserve strength for the end but it only works if you're stronger, why would you need to lie. What about someone stronger than you, you can't keep the lie part.."
"That's how our Queen wanted it. Plus, do you think the festive knights are weak enough to worry about an opponent being stronger?"
"No! No! No! I'm just saying there's a real chance you have to fight something like a weather eater and those take multiple people to take down. No normal person has ever single handedly taken one on and won."
"Fair." Jace smiled. "Thats good that weather eaters don't really favor the Festive kingdom that much. Specifically the capital."
"Well..."
He had a point, weather eaters only show up in extreme heat or cold. It's always a nice warm in fayha. It's just incredibly over confident to think you'd never face anyone stronger.
"Now." Jace readied a stance with a fist faced out and the other vertical with his side. "Give me everything you have."