We reached the Awakened District by late afternoon.
The city was gradually changing. Vendors were packing up their stalls, the blacksmiths were working more quietly, and the streets were becoming less crowded. Only the central district still went about its unhurried business.
Scarlett walked beside me, her hands clasped behind her head.
"So, a team."
"Uh-huh."
"Makes sense."
"Lone wolves don't last long, do they…?" I said uncertainly.
She smiled.
"Well, we're still alive."
"For now. Our experience should speak for itself-we survived, but we were absolutely monstrously lucky, so finding strong allies would be a good idea."
We walked in silence for a few minutes.
Then Scarlett said,
"To put together a decent squad, you have to get to know people first."
"True."
"And the best way to get to know them is to show that you're not useless."
I looked at her.
"You want to start a fight."
"Sparring."
"Of course."
She smiled.
"Just like the good old days."
I couldn't help but smile.
"Only now we have 'magic.'"
"Exactly."
We turned into a wide open space surrounded by stone columns. Several Awakened ones were already there. Some were training, others were watching.
In the center stood several circular arenas, each surrounded by strange metal pillars.
A man in a gray uniform-the groundskeeper-was sitting nearby.
He lazily looked up as we approached.
"Sparring?"
"Yes," Scarlett replied.
He nodded toward one of the arenas.
"The fifth one is free."
Then he took out a small metal cylinder and placed it on a stone panel.
"Pour some mana into it."
"Why?"
"To activate the barrier."
I touched the device.
A thin stream of mana flowed into the mechanism.
In the next second, thin blue lines flashed around the arena, merging into a transparent dome.
Scarlett whistled.
- Handy.
We climbed onto the platform.
Training swords lay along the edges-heavy, but blunt.
I picked one up.
Scarlett did the same.
For a few seconds, we just stood facing each other.
Just like before.
Then she said:
"Well then."
"Shall we begin?"
I took a slow breath.
And manifested my Essence.
The world seemed to tremble slightly.
A warm wave of mana coursed through my body.
Light, dark armor appeared on my shoulders and chest, as if woven from ash and metal. My face was covered by the familiar mask of the Ashen Wanderer.
The world immediately became… clearer.
Scarlett activated her Essence as well.
Silver armor appeared on her body almost instantly.
Smooth plates of armor fit snugly over her shoulders and arms. And then an armet helmet appeared-elegant, yet menacing.
She lowered the visor.
And released her aura.
The world around us changed instantly.
The temperature on the field dropped sharply.
The air turned cold.
And heavy.
I took a step forward.
And immediately felt the pressure.
As if space itself were trying to slow my movements.
"So right off the bat, you won't even give me a head start?" I said.
Scarlett raised her sword.
"You'll have to make do."
She lunged forward.
I barely had time to raise my blade.
The blow landed squarely on my sword.
The blow was harder than I expected.
She pressed forward.
I took a step back.
Scarlett spun around and struck again.
I dodged, and at that moment, I thrust my arm forward.
A powerful gust of wind surged forward.
It sent her flying several meters away.
She landed softly.
"That's better."
I smiled beneath my mask.
"I'm trying."
She raised her hand.
Ice instantly gathered around her palm.
And in the next second, sharp icicles sprouted from the ground in front of me.
I jumped back.
One of them still grazed my armor.
A chill ran through the armor.
I swung my arm.
Fire flared around the blade.
I lunged forward.
We clashed again.
The swords clanged.
A strike.
A parry.
Counterattack.
Scarlett was moving faster than before. Her gravitational aura constantly weighed me down, slowing my movements.
I could feel how every movement required more effort.
But at the same time…
My Essence seemed to be guiding me.
I sidestepped.
Scarlett struck down sharply.
I raised my arm.
A burst of flame shot forward.
She stepped back, and in that very moment struck again with gravity.
The floor beneath me cracked.
I lost my balance.
She was already close.
Her sword came down.
And at that moment, ash swirled around me.
I didn't fully understand what I had done.
But my body moved on its own.
The world dissolved into a gray whirlwind for a second.
I took a step.
And found myself behind her.
The ash dispersed.
Scarlett spun around sharply.
"What the-"
I was breathing heavily myself.
An ashen step.
The sensation was strange.
As if I had vanished from the world for a second, moving inside a warm cloud of ash.
No air resistance.
No body weight.
Just a brief moment of emptiness.
And then-the return.
Scarlett smirked beneath her helmet.
"Your combat ability."
"Looks like it."
She raised her hand again.
Ice and gravity struck the arena simultaneously.
I responded with fire and wind.
Flames flared up around us.
The ice cracked.
We clashed again.
A blow.
Her sword passed just a few centimeters from my neck.
My blade stopped at her throat.
We froze.
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.
Then Scarlett slowly raised her visor.
"A draw."
I lowered my sword.
"Looks like it."
She smiled.
"If this were a real fight…"
"You'd be dead."
She raised an eyebrow.
"And you?"
I looked at her.
"I think I could have dodged your attack by turning back into ash. But still, we'd probably both be dead."
Outside the barrier, a few people were watching us.
And I noticed a couple of curious glances.
Scarlett saw it too.
She said quietly:
"Introductions happen on their own."
I took off my mask.
And he smiled.
"Yeah."
When the barrier faded, the blue lines slowly dissolved into thin air.
We stepped off the platform, both slightly out of breath. My body still tingled from the mana I'd expended, and a strange sensation lingered in my head after the Ash Step-as if part of me still remembered that brief moment when the world turned into a gray whirlwind.
Scarlett withdrew her helmet. The silver armor slowly dissipated, turning into thin streaks of light that vanished into the air.
She ran a hand through her hair.
"We'll have to do that again."
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"A little."
I grinned.
"The feeling's mutual."
We were just about to leave the arena when applause rang out behind us.
Lazy. Unhurried.
"Bravo."
I turned around.
At the edge of the training area, leaning his shoulder against a stone column, stood Orpheus.
He continued to applaud with a slight smile.
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting such a show."
Scarlett narrowed her eyes.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Ever since you unleashed your gravity on him."
He pointed at me.
"Very dramatic."
I sighed.
"It's rude to eavesdrop."
"I wasn't eavesdropping."
He spread his arms.
"You two started a fight right in the middle of the training area."
"Fair enough." I nodded.
Orpheus pushed himself away from the column and stepped closer.
His gaze lingered for a second on the spot where we'd just been fighting.
"Seriously… impressive."
He looked at Scarlett first.
"Gravity and ice."
Then at me.
"Wind, fire… and that weird trick with the ashes."
I shrugged.
"I only recently realized I could do that."
Orpheus smiled quietly.
"Looks like you'll have fun in Spire."
We were silent for a few seconds.
Then I asked:
"Do you have a team?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"A team?"
"Yeah."
"No," Orpheus replied confidently.
He shrugged.
"I usually work alone."
Scarlett snorted.
"Bad idea."
"Maybe. But I'm quite successful."
He clearly didn't look worried.
I exchanged a glance with Scarlett.
Then he looked at Orpheus again.
"Then join us."
He blinked.
"Just like that?"
"Why not?"
I nodded toward the clearing.
"We're just about to assemble a squad."
Scarlett added:
"And you've already seen what we're capable of."
Orpheus fell silent.
A familiar sly smile appeared on his face.
"Hmm."
He scratched his chin.
"Sounds tempting."
I was about to say something, but he raised a finger.
"But."
Scarlett rolled her eyes.
"Of course."
Orpheus nodded.
"I'll think about it… if you find one more person."
"Why?"
"Because a three-person squad is a bad idea."
He began counting on his fingers.
"You need someone who fights from a distance."
"Ideally, a healer too."
Scarlett chuckled softly.
"A healer?"
"Yes."
"How could people like that not have been recruited?" Scarlett asked in surprise. "The ability to heal sounds too useful to go to waste."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"That's why I said-ideal."
I nodded.
"But is it realistic?"
"To find someone who fights from a distance."
He pointed at the arena.
"You two are in close combat."
"And pretty aggressive, too."
Scarlett smirked.
"Thanks."
Orpheus continued:
"An archer."
"A ranged mage."
"Or someone with a ranged Essence."
He folded his arms.
"Then we'll have a pretty good team."
I looked at him.
"And then you'll join us?"
Orpheus thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Then I'll seriously consider the offer."
Scarlett sighed.
"So we need to find a sniper in Spire."
"More or less."
He turned and started to walk away.
"Good luck."
I called after him:
"Aren't you even going to tell us where to look?"
Orpheus stopped.
And said over his shoulder:
"At this arena."
He gestured around.
"People come here to show off their strength."
He smirked.
"If you need a long-range fighter… sooner or later, he'll show up here."
With that, he walked further down the street.
Scarlett and I stayed standing at the edge of the arena.
She looked at me.
"Well."
"What?"
"Looks like we're going to have to be the ones to make the first move after all."
I looked at the training arenas.
At the people.
At the flashes of magic.
"Looks like it."
And somewhere on the neighboring arena, a bright flash of energy just erupted, followed by the sound of a powerful distant impact.
The sound rolled across the arena, causing several people to turn around.
Scarlett stopped.
"That doesn't sound like magic."
I listened too.
Another loud bang.
And then a burst of energy.
"Let's go check it out," I said.
We headed toward the neighboring arena.
A small crowd had already gathered there.
The barrier above the arena was activated; a blue dome glowed softly in the evening air.
Inside stood two Awakened ones.
One of them was a tall girl with long, light hair. In her hands was an elegant, long bow, and thin arrows of magical energy hovered around her.
A classic long-range combat essence.
But the other one…
I frowned.
"What is that…"
Scarlett squinted.
On the other side of the arena stood a girl of about seventeen.
She had purple hair, cut short and slightly tousled. Her eyes were hidden behind strange, narrow glasses with dark lenses, more like high-tech safety goggles than anything from the world of Spire.
A green cloak hung over her shoulders, and beneath it was light leather armor.
But most importantly…
She was holding a weapon.
Not a staff.
Not a magic trinket.
A gun.
Not huge, but clearly heavy, made of dark metal with several strange rings around the barrel.
I said quietly:
"It looks like…"
"A weapon from Earth," Scarlett finished.
But even for Earth, it looked too strange.
While we were watching, the duel had already begun.
The archer made the first move.
Her hand flashed with light.
Three energy arrows instantly formed in the air and shot forward with a hiss.
The purple-haired girl didn't even try to dodge.
Instead, lightning flashed around her.
Her body dissolved for a second in a blinding flash.
And the arrows flew past her.
She reappeared a few meters away.
Scarlett said quietly:
"Is she accelerating herself with electricity?"
At that very moment, the girl raised her weapon.
And pulled the trigger.
BOOM.
A burst of pure energy shot out of the barrel.
Not a flame.
Not magic.
It was a dense beam of light that pierced the air like a projectile.
The archer barely had time to roll out of the way.
The beam of energy struck the barrier and exploded in a blinding flash.
The crowd around the arena erupted in a murmur.
I tried to get a better look at the girl with the gun.
But then something strange happened.
My gaze seemed to slip away.
I was looking at her-and a second later, I caught myself looking off to the side.
"Do you feel that?" I asked quietly.
Scarlett frowned.
"Yes."
"It's hard to focus on her."
She looked back at the arena.
"Very strange."
Meanwhile, the fight continued.
The archer already realized she couldn't stay put.
She fired five arrows at once, which fanned out like a fan.
The girl's purple hair flared with electricity.
A bolt of lightning ran through her body.
She vanished from the spot.
That speed…
She literally slipped between the arrows, leaving thin sparks in her wake.
I blinked.
And lost sight of her again.
"What's wrong with her…" I muttered.
The next second, she was already standing on the other side of the arena.
The cannon rose again.
BOOM.
Another energy blast.
The archer fired an arrow sharply.
The arrow collided with the energy beam right in midair.
There was an explosion of light.
The crowd gasped.
I tried again to focus on the girl with the cannon.
But my attention kept slipping away.
It was as if my brain refused to hold onto her image.
Scarlett said quietly:
"It's part of her Essence."
"Looks like it."
"It's just impossible to focus on her for long."
Meanwhile, the battle was coming to an end.
The archer fired a final volley of arrows.
But this time, the girl with the gun didn't even bother to shoot.
Lightning flashed around her.
She lunged forward.
Too fast.
And a second later, she was standing just a few steps away from her opponent.
The barrel of her weapon pressed right against the archer's chest.
Silence hung in the air for a moment.
The archer slowly raised her hands.
"I surrender."
The barrier faded.
The crowd applauded.
The girl with purple hair lowered her weapon.
The electricity around her vanished.
I tried to look at her again.
And once more, I caught myself looking away.
"This is starting to get annoying," I said.
Scarlett chuckled softly.
"But she's strong."
"Very."
We watched as the girl headed for the arena exit.
One of the guards said something to her.
She gave a brief nod.
And only when she came closer did we finally hear his voice:
"Great fight, Rilay."
She just waved her hand lazily.
"It was boring."
I looked at Scarlett.
She smiled.
"It seems…"
She looked back at the purple-haired girl.
"We've found our long-range fighter."