Date - 21st July 2004 (Same Day)
Place - North District, Home
Time - 7:08 pm
(Brax)
What…just happened…
drip drip drip
drip drip drip
Blood is dripping down through my hand which is covering my stomach…grh!
"pant…pant…I wasn't ready yet-"
whirl!
"I'll ask once again, what happened on that day?"
That day…? What is he… (It hurts…! I need to get this wound patched up, I've closed it with my energy for now…)
"What are you talking about…"
"The day you came here! You know something don't you?! About what happened to Master!"
Why is he asking about that again… (Fortunately it seems the energy he fired didn't pierce all the way through, there's no hole on my back and I've sealed the one on the stomach with energy for now but it still hurts…! I have a bad feeling about this…)
"I told you already, I don't know anythi-"
"STOP MESSING AROUND!"
fyoom!
"AARGH?!"
IT HURTS…!! IT HURTS! URGHH…!! HE SHOT AT MY KNEE…(It's good that I made a barrier in time right as he aimed…it didn't form a hole this time but still hurts…not to mention I am already tired…)
"Just…quit lying already! I heard you talking with her at night, you are hiding something!"
"You…you eavesdropped on us?"
"Grh…! ANSWER ME! What happened on that day?!"
whirl!
He's charging up energy again, does he intend to keep doing this until I say it…? I have so many questions on my mind,
(It hurts)
Why did Feirin eavesdrop on us?
(It hurts…)
What will Lucy do if she sees this?
(It hurts...)
When will she be back?
(Scared…)
"pant pant…!"
Will I still be here until she's back…? (I am scared…)
"pant pant pant pant…!"
It hurts…so much, it burns…breathing is getting difficult… Am I…am I going to die here…?
whirl!
"Grh…! Answer me! You are tired and don't want this, right?! Then tell me so that I don't have to do this, ANSWER ME…!!"
(Narration)
"Promise me"
Those words first came like a soft whisper and then reverberated through and through Brax's mind among all the confusion and fear he felt in that instant as Feirin charged energy; but something was going to be very different this time than the other two shots from before.
"I won't tell you…" Brax whispered as he slowly pushed himself up, still trembling.
"Huh…?"
"It hurts…but, I promised my saviour…no, I promised MY SISTER that I won't tell it to ANYONE…!!" Brax exclaimed and grabbed onto a stone that was beside him then threw it at Feirin's face which he dodged by tilting his head.
BOOM!
"GRH?! My eyes…!" Feirin exclaimed, rubbing his eyes as the stone exploded right beside his face and its particles went in his eyes temporarily blinding him, "Such a cheap trick!"
It was indeed a cheap trick and a gamble but one that worked well in the situation that Brax was in, all he did was infuse some energy within the stone he picked up which would be enough to make it explode in the very next moment right as Feirin tilted.
thud!
Taking this opportunity, Brax quickly threw a jab at Feirin's stomach followed by two more hits on the face, then pushed him onto the ground on his back to restrain him.
"You think…THIS IS ENOUGH TO BEAT ME DOWN?!" He exclaimed and kicked Brax as vigorously as he could.
"No, I don't!" Brax yelled as he landed in some distance on his feet and minimised the damage he took from Feirin's stomp by creating a layer of energy which covered his body, "Take THIS!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Picking and throwing a bunch of stones all at once which were filled with sufficient energy was the only efficient strategy that he could think of in this situation. Every stone that blasted to pieces created a small amount of smoke and all of this together managed to create a type of smokescreen.
'Good…!' Brax thought and started flying away from the place, towards the mountain as soon as he could, 'With how tired I already am, it'll be a very one sided fight, I need to hide in the meantime and wait for Lucy to return'
BWAM!!
"Where did he go, WHERE DID HE GO?!" With a burst of his energy, Feirin cleared out the smokescreen seconds after it was made as he stood on his feet while covering his eyes; not being able to see, he switched to the only other sense with which he could reliably search for his target.
"There you are…" He whispered, still blinded as he turned to the direction Brax was flying in by sensing his energy, "Should've run instead of flying then maybe all this effort you put in getting away might've actually worked!"
I
Time - 7:16 pm
(Brax)
"Almost there…!"
I can see the mountains which is very relieving, I don't sense him coming…did he give up? And…oddly, flying despite being tired (and hurt quite a bit) prior isn't as exhausting as I thought, in fact I feel a little less tired now, is it because I've gotten used to my training and flying has become much more natural for me? Maybe so, Lucy did say many times that these things would become as easy as breathing with time…
But why did he eavesdrop on us that night…the scream! He must've heard it and-no…wait, Lucy said that I was just imagining that and she didn't scream then why… No point in thinking about it now but strange, did he really give u-
"Want to hide in the mountains huh?"
?!
(Narration)
As Brax turned to look behind him, he was greeted by the very person he had been fleeing from. In that very instant, Feirin grabbed onto his face firmly.
"Well, have a nice TRIP!!" Exclaiming that, he threw Brax towards the very mountains he was escaping to.
CRASH!
"GRAHH?!" Brax groaned as he crashed into a tree's trunk, "Why…I didn't sense him at all…"
"It's not your fault you couldn't sense it" Said his pursuer as he landed in front of Brax, "It took a great deal of control to hide my energy while also pursuing you. You just haven't trained your senses enough to be able to detect this 'cheap trick' that's all"
SMASH!
Immediately after explaining Brax's shortcoming, Feirin dashed towards him with his fists which passed through the trunk of the tree as Brax leaped to the side and dodged it. Quickly, he landed two hits on Feirin's back with the chance that was granted to him.
"Grh…that's all YOU GOT?!" He yelled and took his hand out of the trunk with great pressure and hit Brax with it on his cheek.
Immediately rebounding, Brax charged a sphere of energy in each of his hands, seeing which Feirin instinctively put his arms in a position to block them only for the energy to be aimed and fired into the ground, creating a smokescreen.
"This again?" Feirin said, standing still in his position, "Not running this time?"
Brax didn't reply and just dashed towards Feirin only for his attack to be dodged despite the smokescreen.
"I can still sense you!" Feirin exclaimed and kneed him in the stomach.
Brax's expression changed for the worse for a moment but he maintained his momentum and quickly blasted an energy ball in Feirin's chest right as he got kneed which knocked both of them in a bit of distance.
'Even if he can sense me, we both naturally rely on seeing more than that of sensing. That's why there'll always be a delay before he realises what I am about to do and cannot react quick enough if I do something at point blank range!' Brax thought as he launched an energy ball in front and ran towards his opponent from the side.
"Grhh…HAHH!!" Feirin screamed in anger, his burst of energy cleared out the smokescreen and deflected the blast which Brax had launched towards him just as it was about to hit.
clasp!
Grabbing the fist that was supposed to connect to his face, Feirin pulled Brax towards himself with one hand and punched him in the face instead with his other hand, at the same time of which Brax launched two more energy balls into the same spot as before i.e. into his opponent's chest which blasted both of them away from one another.
'Strange…why is it that my attacks actually seem to be working on him?' Brax thought as he landed on his toes and sat on them while panting, looking towards Feirin in the distance who too was short on breath, 'Is the gap between our power and experience really that short? No… I can sense it, it's not that he has lesser power, it's the opposite instea-'
"Just…tell me what happened on THAT DAY ALREADY…!!" Feirin screamed and dashed towards Brax who stood still in his position and as soon as his punch was about to land, Brax swiftly pushed his fist aside with one hand and blasted yet another energy ball into Feirin's chest; the impact of the blast should've blown Feirin away in some distance but Brax didn't allow that to happen as he immediately grabbed the fist's wrist he had pushed aside prior, pulled it, flipped him over and smacked Feirin into the ground with force. It was at this moment that it finally became clear what was awry with this entire situation.
'I see…' Brax thought as he panted, 'He definitely is stronger but simply brute forcing won't work just like Lucy said.
He isn't guarding himself with energy and is putting it all into offense instead but even that said offensive is disrupted because he is letting his anger get to him…not to mention that he used up a lot of energy earlier when he was silently on pursuit of me when I was heading towards the mountains which must've drained a lot of his power…and finally, unlike him, I've been constantly attacking him only on one singular spot with energy blasts all this time which probably hurts much more than attacking at random places (He's not guarding himself with any type of barrier either, so taking damage in one spot over and over must hurt a lot…). Being efficient is better than being effective in a fight such as this…maybe…I could actually win…!'
"Heh…hahahah…HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Feirin screamed in laughter as he laid on his back which startled Brax and made him back away a little.
"So you won't tell me…" He said, trembling a little as he stood on his legs to which Brax responded by nodding, "Then, you only have yourself to blame for this"
Taking a deep breath, the surrounding energy slowly welled up inside of Feirin, swelling up his own substantially as a faint blue glow surrounded and flowed around him!
whoooosh
'That's…! I forgot he has that Focusstate thing he can enter in-?!'
WHACK
"GAH?!" Brax groaned out in pain before he even had any time to react to the fact that Feirin was already standing in front of him and punched him in the stomach, inflicting substantial damage despite the energy barrier Brax relied on to minimise pain that he received. Without wasting any time though, he launched a jab at Feirin with his right hand in the very next instant only for his attack to be caught onto tightly.
twist!
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH…!!!" He cried out loud in pain and held onto his right hand whose few bones got dislocated by the pressure that Feirin applied and then let go after.
A state enhances all capabilities (strength, speed, durability, stamina, power) of the person within it by absorbing the soul energy of their surroundings to an extent and using it as a catalyst in battle. It was only natural that even reacting to Feirin had become a much more difficult task than before let alone actually defending or dealing any tangible damage to him anymore.
"You still don't want to say anything?" Feirin asked with a grim cold stare as tears rolled down Brax's eyes.
"pant…pant…pant…" But for this boy even breathing was becoming difficult to perform, forget talking or even battling which should've been 'as easy as breathing'. The only thing his subconscious screamed right now was to run, run faster than he ever had; the gap in power which was supposed to be very close had just become an unfair comparison of a ruthless adult 'playing' with a toddler in a matter of just a few seconds. Ignoring Feirin's question, he did as his subconscious dictated and started to run away,
thud!
But the fear that welled in him didn't allow even that to happen and he fell down.
"Some…one…help…" Crawling away, he tried to scream but voice wouldn't come out of his throat.
"This is the last time I ask" Feirin said as he walked towards Brax, picked him by pulling the back of his t-shirt forcibly then grabbed onto his neck with his other hand.
thud
"WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY?" He asked after bashing Brax into a tree trunk, holding onto his neck which slowly tightened by the second.
Not being able to breathe or think of a way out of this situation; in order to survive, all he has to do is say 'it' and he'll be let go off, this entire situation will come to an end, that's all it takes, just simply uttering of what happened on that day.
crack
The shield of himself which he surrounded and guarded the secret with was now showing cracks steadily.
crack!
And they only continued expanding further.
'All I have to do is say it…right…? I'll say it then…I'LL SAY IT…!!' is the thought which raged on in his mind.
"That…" he whispered and the tightness around his neck diminished.
"That?" Feirin said, his expression now softened a little.
"That…" Brax said, catching his breath and then, "I WON'T TELL YOU!!"
Going against his instincts of survival despite how scared he was, this was the path he chose and screamed it to the world with a wavering grin on his face.
"Kuh…!?" Feirin groaned in annoyance and tightened his grip, choking Brax.
'Am I…about to die…?' Brax thought as he struggled to get out of the hold but his vision became blurry by the second. On one side, he hated himself for choosing to deny a simple request which would have spared his life if he did so which was now showing in the form of tears that were flowing down his eyes; but on the other side,
'I…am sort of proud of myself…' He thought, his struggling now reduced down to almost nothing, 'I could have…chosen the easy way out…but…that would mean breaking the promise I made…one I made with her…the one who saved me…and rescued me from the depths of hell I suffered in…breaking this promise would be akin to a betrayal, it was due to her that I could experience wonderful things for once in my life…that's why…it's fine…although it lasted for a very short while…I am grateful…that I could live to experience this past one month'
'Just say it…' Feirin thought as he reluctantly but continued choking Brax in hopes of getting the answer out, 'At this rate, you really will die…if I do this for a bit more…he'll surely tell me…right…?'
'But…deep down…' Brax thought as his consciousness slipped away, even the wound he had sealed with energy was now coming undone "I wish it didn't end so soon…even though it's such a selfish thing to ask for…I wish…I could still experience all of the past month…for a little longer…"
'I never got a chance to properly say and mean it…still…thank you Lucy…for allowing me to call you my sister…'
Brax stopped moving.
…
It's too early to die just yet Brax.
"Who…"
II
Time - ???
Place - ???
(Brax)
"You…you are that white spirit I saw in my dream…"
Where is this…it's dark everywhere…the only visible thing is that illuminating spirit standing in a bit of distance. (I can't move…my eyes won't open any further either…everything feels hazy…)
"Am I asleep-no…Feirin…he was choking me…so I am…dead?"
"No, not yet"
"Huh? Then-"
"You have fainted but will die if nothing is done" It said, strange…this spirit…
"Are you…really only a dream…?"
"You can't die just yet, you aren't allowed to" it said and is coming closer. (I can't mov-)
TAP…!
The silhouette…it tapped its hand on my head which is making an echoing sound, reverberating in this entire stasis…this…I remember something like this happening before too…
"This should make you be able to enter it" It said, I am deviating away from its hand, towards the ground, falling down very slowly…it's odd but I don't feel scared, I am calm and at peace…
"Your selfish wish is granted"
woosh
thud!
Those were the last words I heard as I fell on my back and the place fell into complete darkness.
III
Time - 7:19 pm
(Narration)
"Oi, B-Brax…you are acting right…? I-it won't work…" Feirin said, his hands shaking.
"Oi-" He exclaimed but was interrupted by something odd around him. The energy in the surrounding area slowly crawled towards the boy he held onto, "What is happening…?"
"GASP!" Brax awakened and started breathing heavily, seeing which Feirin's immediate thought was a confirmation in his head that this was indeed just acting out death and had stopped his act as a result of being out of breath, which is why he's breathing heavily.
"I should have known…you cunning bastar-?!"
BLAST!
As he tightened his grip on Brax's neck again, something unimaginable occurred and that was taking damage from this 'toddler' in front of him. In that instant as he held tighter, Brax charged up an energy ball and blasted it into Feirin's chest; this shouldn't have dealt any damage to him because of the much wider gap in power between the two which existed after he entered Focus (the first form of many different states that a person can enter in) however,
CRASH!
He still indeed took damage from this blast, a significant amount to top it off, to the extent that he lost his grip and went flying, crashing into a tree trunk!
"You…how…!?" He exclaimed in frustration as he looked at Brax who had his hand on his neck after closing the open wound once again. The answer was but a very simple one, in that moment of fear and terror where he was on the verge of death; he entered into what he had been training for all this time, in the instant he needed it the most, his body now surrounded in that same bluish glow as Feirin's, he entered in the state called Focus.
"Why…why won't you just say it…" Feirin said, pushing himself out of the trunk.
"I promised he-"
"She just disappeared for three months without a word, who cares about a stupid promise?!" He said and dashed.
"If you want to know so badly then ask her…Sis directly because," Brax said in a low tone as he stood still in his position.
"Just tell me what happe-?!"
BAM!
As Feirin was about to land a hit, Brax ducked and countered with his fist.
"Because I care about a STUPID PROMISE…!!" He exclaimed in anger and launched Feirin into some distance with the force of the hit.
Although the two of them were in the same state, because of Brax's choice to use his energy in a far efficient fashion since the beginning unlike Feirin who tried to be effective in the wrong method, there was a clear answer of who had the likelier chance of coming out on top of this bout. Even so,
slide!
"GRH!! HAAA…!!" Feirin isn't intent on giving up the pointless struggle it has become and fired a beam of energy from his palm as soon as he landed on the ground.
fyoom!
"This will end it" Brax whispered to himself as he swiftly dodged the beam by leaping to the side and picked up something big from the ground with one hand, kept it behind his back, then dashed towards his foe.
As the distance between the two drew closer, Brax threw what he had picked up towards Feirin which was a stone about as big as a pillow. Seeing this Feirin instinctively closed his eyes, prepared for another 'flashbang' and switched to his other senses of locating Brax's energy to counter.
"It won't wor-?!"
THUD!
But what instead happened was the complete opposite, there was no 'cheap trick' of flashbang this time, instead, this heavy stone was a bluff which crashed into Feirin's face flat. It wasn't that there was no energy infusion in this one, it was still there, not to the extent of it exploding but for being a weapon instead that would cause tangible damage, or was it?
BOOM!
"YOU…!!" Feirin exclaimed as he opened his eyes slightly after the bluff only for the stone to immediately explode right as he did which caused him to be blinded yet again. Right after which, he hastily tried to punch Brax which completely missed, as in the heat of the moment, locating through sensing energy completely escaped his mind.
"With this…" Brax said in a low tone as he grabbed Feirin's wrist when he missed his hit and flipped over him, landed behind and flung him 180 degrees then smashed him into the ground on his front, "IT'S OVER…!!"
THUD!
crack!
"ARGH?!" Feirin cried out in pain and was knocked out cold in the same moment. Brax truly put all his strength in this one attack that the ground itself cracked a bit on impact, the blueish aura around Feirin dissipated.
"pant…I…pant…did it…agh…"
thud
The victor of the bout fell to the ground on his front and the aura around him dissipated as well.
"pant…I must not…pant…lose consciousness…" Brax whispered, laying down, "I'll recover a bit…just need to lie for a while…that's all…"
Unlike Feirin, Brax had a wound that if opened, he would start bleeding which in his current condition could prove to be fatal. Therefore, it became all the more important to ensure that he doesn't lose his consciousnes-
grrr!
"…I am hungry…" Brax whispered, who wouldn't be?
Regardless, perhaps because of improper usage of energy or being led astray by strong emotions, the victor of the first proper fight between Brax and Feirin had been decided!
IV
Place - Central District
Time - 8:06 pm
"Almost there" Lucy whispered as a massive structure painted white came into sight.
"Should I turn back…no…I can't keep running away any longer…they must've been worried as well…" She said to herself with her eyes closed and then proceeded on to her destination, the conference of Lords.