Chapter 171

The Second District of Traverse Town was still and quiet in the early morning.

Shadows clung to the corners of the alleyways, the flickering lamplights barely keeping the lingering perpetual darkness at bay.

Helios stretched his arms, glancing around. No one was here yet.

Perfect.

Aqua stepped forward, raising a hand.

The air shimmered, and suddenly, a barrier spread outward, encasing the entire district.

Helios watched as the buildings and streets became blurred, distorted, the edges flickering with faint magic.

"Interesting," he mused. "Illusion magic woven into the barrier?"

Aqua nodded. "It ensures we won't be disturbed."

Helios' smirk widened. "I like it. You gonna teach me?"

"No."

Helios let out a short laugh. "So stingy."

Aqua didn't respond. She simply summoned her Keyblade, and in a flash of blue light, it shifted—

The Tidal Scepter.

The air immediately grew colder.

Helios' smirk didn't fade as he summoned Equilibrium, resting it casually on his shoulder. "Looks like you're also using this as a way to test some things. Alright, let's see what you've got."

Aqua moved first.

With a flick of her wrist, 10 mini floating water orbs surrounded her like miniature moons.

Then—

They shot forward all at once.

Helios barely had time to dodge, twisting to the side as the first orb smashed into the ground where he stood.

The moment it hit—ice erupted from the point of impact, freezing the stone solid.

Helios' eyes narrowed.

So that's how she was playing it.

He fired a Thundaga, sending a crackling bolt of lightning toward her—

But Aqua simply twirled her scepter, summoning a spiraling shield of water, dispersing the attack effortlessly. The electrified water shield then turned into hundreds of small water droplets and she fired back at him but luckily he managed to defend by summoning an earth shield.

"Come on, Helios," she called, a playful edge to her voice. "You can do better than that."

Helios clicked his tongue. With a flick of his keyblade, the earth shield shattered into sharp jagged rock that floated in the air, spun, and launched at Aqua.

Aqua stepped forward, and with a sharp motion, tendrils of water surged from her scepter, lashing out and deflecting the rock, before moving toward him.

Helios jumped backward, dodging the first, the second—

The third tendril curved midair, grabbing his leg before he could escape.

"Damn it—"

The tendril whipped him sideways, slamming him into the ground.

The moment he hit, Aqua froze the tendril, trapping his leg in ice.

Helios winced. That hurt.

Before he could react, Aqua was already casting again.

With another flick of her staff, the remaining water orbs rained down toward him, each one freezing the moment it made contact.

Helios gritted his teeth. He cast a Firaga spell but it was dowsed instantly by the orbs raining down.

If he didn't act now—

He was about to be encased in solid ice.

Aqua's tendrils tightened around his trapped leg.

Helios exhaled."Alright," he muttered. "I guess it's time to see what this thing can really do. Time to put it to the test."

In one swift motion, he poured all of the light he could muster into Equilibrium.

A blinding glow erupted from the keyblade as the black portions of the blade faded, and the silver half elongated, shifting into a radiant spear. Its shaft was slender and elegant, shimmering with an ethereal glow. The spearhead gleamed, its bright silver crescent moons reflecting the light like mirrors.

Aqua stiffened. She hadn't seen him do that before. She guessed this was what his keyblade transformation was but it was too beautiful and pure to be something that used darkness.

Helios grinned. "Time to see how strong this thing really is."

He threw the spear.

Aqua moved to dodge but the spear suddenly pulsed, releasing a burst of blinding light.

For a split second, her vision went white.

She dodged instinctively, barely avoiding the weapon but when she turned to attack Helios, he had vanished and he had no idea where he had gone.

Her eyes widened.

What—?

A sudden force slammed into her side.

The moment Helios had thrown the spear, he had let his body become Light itself, latching onto the weapon.

As the spear passed by Aqua, he reappeared beside it, catching it mid-motion.

Before she could react, he had spun with the momentum, swinging the spear in a brutal arc—

And slammed it into her side.

Aqua crashed backward, tumbling across the stone pavement.

Helios landed smoothly, twirling the spear gracefully in his grip.

"Alright," he said, smirking. "That worked better than I expected."

Aqua rose slowly, her expression unreadable.

She touched her side where he had struck.

That hurt quite a bit because her guard was completely down.

But more importantly, that move was dangerous.

Not just because it was powerful but because it was quite tricky and smart.

She had never seen anything like it. Mainly because her master Eraqus disapproved of such attacks so in turn Terra, Ventus, and her avoid using tricks and face their opponent head-on.

And Helios? It seemed he favored such a fighting style that relied on tricks. She would have to make a note of that a keep an eye out.

He had figured out her fighting style from that sparring match and would exploit such flaws if she wasn't careful.

She clenched her jaw, steadying herself.

Fine.

If he was stepping up his game then she was about to do the same. Aqua's Tidal Scepter liquefied into water in her hands. The water then changed shape and it froze over, reshaping into an elegant, ice-forged recurve bow. Aqua instantly pulled back the string of the bow and an ice arrow formed which she let loose and it instantly flew off shattering into hundreds of icicle shards.