Bathroom Brawlers

Cypher's form abruptly launched through the air, slamming into the white tiled wall before it crumbled.

He passed through the first wall, then the second…

Finally, he landed under the rubble at the furthest stall from his original.

The prince jumped down from his position, the hood on his gambison fluttering weightlessly around him as his feet touched the floor with a light touch.

"Well… that was disappointing." His voice, low and incredibly dull. "I really couldn't hold back, from fighting you that is. Father tried to stop me, but how could I resist?"

Each of his steps cracked the broken white tiles beneath his feet as he stepped forward, ducking beneath the destroyed walls and passing through each stall.

Each moment, he drew closer and closer to Cypher.

"Can you blame me? I'm sick of always fighting weaklings! Their pathetic arrogance before I break their bones is always so disgusting, like maggots who think they're worth my attention."

Alexander arrived in front of a pile of rubble-the one Cypher had landed under. Beneath, the rubble curled as if a person was underneath.

"I thought you would be different." The prince flicked his hand, and the rubble rose without a touch.

But, as all obstructions disappeared, Alexander caught sight of the body beneath.

More specifically, he saw a statue disintegrating into sand.

"I hope you're different as well." A voice rang out from above him.

Alexander's body failed to react, but his eyes immediately caught sight of something - a shoe, flying straight at him. All he could do was let out a thin smile.

Thud!

His form barreled out of the stalls, crashing into the nearby sinks, breaking some of them as the piping inside burst open.

Alexander simply picked himself up, wiping his forehead as his breath let out warm steam, his face stretched in a manic grin as he heaved. Blood dripped down from a cut on his forehead, but he didn't care. He grasped the sink counter and steadied himself.

Almost immediately, Cypher also stepped out from the stall, a cut slicing across his left eye.

For a single second, they both stood still, excitement on their faces.

Only when the prince clenched his hand did they both act.

Behind Alexander, the mirror cracked and shattered. Each shard of glass tore off the wall and violently shot through the air, a storm of jagged reflections aiming straight for Cypher.

He didn't stay still. Instead, he raised his hand up, allowing a white wall to tear through the expensive floor.

As soon as it formed, it was repeatedly struck and embedded with shards of mirror that threatened to tear through.

Only, Cypher didn't care.

He raised his foot and kicked the wall.

It instantly shattered forward, sending knife-like grains and glass directly at Alexander.

The entire bathroom turned into a deathtrap as the prince held out his palm, struggling to shield himself.

Each of the flying projectiles almost struck him, only to shift trajectories mid-motion, curving around him and striking the wall behind him.

Alexander smirked. His fingers curled as he twisted his body, dodging a second volley of sharp grains. In the same motion, he kicked off the floor, twisting midair and landing gracefully atop a shattered stall wall.

Cypher immediately followed, dashing forward with a burst of speed, the grains of sand beneath his feet surging to push him faster.

The prince reacted just in time. He bent backward, dodging Cypher's incoming palm strike by mere centimeters.

His hood barely brushed against Cypher's fingers before Alexander flipped backward, landing smoothly on the cracked floor.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he struck.

Grasping a sink behind him and tearing it off the counter, he waited for Cypher's next move.

And it seemed that next move would arrive sooner than later when he saw Cypher tearing out a bathroom stall door!

"Haha," the prince rushed forward, sink in hand, "this is so exhilarating."

Cypher smirked, with his makeshift weapon, he also sprinted ahead.

Each and every second hummed with the sound of violent clashing as both fighters felt a strange feeling well up in their chests.

Competitive spirit.

The desire to beat an equal opponent.

A stall door swung through the air like a massive club. The wind howled from the sheer force of the strike.

Alexander ducked just in time, the heavy wood barely missing his face as he twisted his entire body to avoid the impact. In that same moment, he retaliated.

With the sink still in hand, he brought it crashing toward Cypher's ribs.

Cypher twisted, but not fast enough. The porcelain shattered against his side, sending shards embedding into his uniform.

"Haha, you should see your face."

Alexander bent over and started laughing, only to abruptly stop when a sand bullet narrowly missed him.

He looked back at its form embedded into the wall firmly. "You missed… at this range?"

"It wasn't meant to hit. Just distract you." Cypher's voice challenged abruptly.

"Huh?"

The prince didn't even get a chance to look back before a stall door hit him square on.

Crash!

Splinters dug into his body while some spread out into the surroundings.

Alexander took a step back, dazed. Only, not for a single second did he care about the pain.

He spat out the built-up blood and finally raised his hands.

Both of them.

"Well, be honored, 'cause you get to see something I've been working on for a while."

Alexander tried to hold his laughter back, failing miserably as he began floating slightly into the air.

Cypher felt something was off. To him, Alexander had that look in his eyes as if he was about to do something stupid.

And so… he decided to do something stupid as well.

He held his hands out in front of him, connecting each finger until each digit combined together in a triangular symbol like that of a pyramid.

The air around the entire bathroom warped and twisted as if the rules of the world started gasping for air.

Cypher was the first to speak as he brought his pyramid sigil towards his eye, allowing only the pupil to be visible beneath his fingers.

Each moment he shaped his soul power, bending it and channelling it's energy through his hands.

And then, he spoke, voice echoing as if directly from his soul itself.

"§harenae Terra∆"

Like a spreading virus, everything crumbled into those tiny white grains.

The walls became dry, the floor became unstable, and the entire room… simply became an extension of Cypher's technique.

The walls and floor rumbled, and the room shook as if something was building up.

And then, the small confines of the bathroom became a deathtrap.

Not a single inch of the room was free as massive white stakes erupted from every angle, every crevice, and every dark corner.

To an outsider, it looked like the space had become nothing but a spiked coffin for anyone inside.

Of course… the prince had his own plans.

Still floating, watching those spikes come towards him without mercy, he knew he would be impaled in every limb of his body if he did not do something.

And something he did.

He pressed his thumbs and index fingers together, each and every second building up his soul power as his fingers positioned themselves in a diamond-like symbol.

Then, he spoke in that same soul-echoing voice as Cypher.

"|Magna 'Repellat∆"

As a white spike threatened to penetrate into his eye, a wave of energy spread out from him.

Everything nearby was pushed back in a wave of pure psychic soul power. Not a single atom was spared as the sandy walls struggled against the repellent force.

Each and every spike surrounding him suddenly cracked before crumbling and flying back into dust from the repellent force.

Slowly, Alexander drifted down, cautiously landing on the now-grained floor.

He stepped forward as graceful as a lion about to make one final move against a tiger.

Cypher also moved forward, a sandy layer drifting away from his skin after shielding himself from the energy of Alexander's attack.

Until, finally, they were at the center of the unrecognizable lavatory, and they both raised a clenched and trembling fist.

But before they could even land a single punch, they felt their knees weaken.

Thud!

Thud!

Both boys collapsed against the sand, completely and utterly exhausted.