Unexpected Outcome

Quickly zipping on his wave of water being erected underneath his feet, Elijah made his way all the way around the arena to find not a single soul. Knowing the shape the tornadic waterspout had created—a circle, he prepared for his trump card, a movement pattern no one would expect.

The dirt and rock floor underneath Elijah was instantly indented with the force of the water that came from Elijah's now torn shoes. The ref, Maeve, and even contestants who were mid-battle froze at the sight of something they had never seen before. Twenty feet, thirty feet, forty feet, fifty feet. The momentum had stopped, but before Elijah began falling, a thick ball of water had been created that Elijah had physically punched with a miniscule portion of live mana exploding within the cells of his arm. The water that allowed the ball of water to be controlled by Elijah quickly disappeared, and due to the speed of the ball, its form only slightly shifted before crashing down on its target's head with the force of a stone ball.

BAM!

Currents of wind and water splashed across the arena creating overflowing waves of aerated water. The ref had reacted quickly after staring into the sky where Elijah fell from by creating a pedestal of stone.

No attempt was made by the ref to save Elijah. Even with the water that caught his body, it was not thick enough to completely blunt the fall.

Elijah had his hands out in front of him facing the ground. Without looking around, he began to shoot water out of his hands during his shortfall, and even though he was not quick enough, the moment his fingertips touched the water, his body practically stopped in mid air with his organs being squished against his front fascia.

Standing in the slanted stone stands was Maeve Suarswift, and after her shout of anguish, "ABOVE YOU!!", she went silent while watching the ending unfold. 

Water forced its way up the nostrils and into the sinuses while a dirty smile appeared on his face. Nearby, dulled shouts could be heard from other contestants who weren't in pain, but were flabbergasted at the idea of their duel being ruined.

A cough of blood was forced out of his mouth followed by a groan of pain. There were consequences to his actions, and maybe consequences worse than what could have happened. Elijah's first train of thought was to stop the bleeding internally with water magic, but before he could act, Elijah's eyes went dark.

Within the transition room, chatter between posies of both Novius and Emery's party were going off on each other.

"Did you see it!! Elijah won!" Raylen said while pointing into the arena with water that slowly dissipated into the dirt and stone ground.

"Then why are they both being carried by medics?" Jared asked while he walked away with Emery.

Emery had not said anything besides letting out a small smile. He was amused by the arguments of something that was fueled by blind hatred. Blind hatred stemming from his own friends…

…

What would it take to flip the natural laws of the kingdom upside down? Unfathomable power, or simply ideas that challenged the minds of everything person living within. Elijah had long since woke up but did not make a sound and even kept his eyes closed. So many children, adults, and even elders are being clouded by the normalcy of now, and the judgement of the past. These thoughts came to Elijah's mind not randomly, but rather came about from him being above the heads of everyone moments before he passed out. In the moment these thoughts did not come to him, but only after reminiscing in the past.

Boredom, stillness, and a predetermined fate.

Everyone within this kingdom is on the exact same path as the people before them. The only 'innovation' happening are from the magitech guild as they create new ways to use the already existing runes that are recorded in the scriptures only given to anyone with a career in magitech, and also in limited amounts. Being a newlywed magitech apprentice won't get you access to every possible rune immediately. The reasons to just 'disappear', just keep on piling up.

A bland wooden door within the walls of the arena creaks open, and a voice of a young and familiar woman resounds in the ears of Elijah. "Hello again Elijah, I can tell you are awake…"

"F-Freya? What are you doing here?" Clad in a simplistic grey and white dress, her curvy figure made Elijah stutter his words. The waist to hip ratio was just too magnetic to not look at, and seemed wildly unrealistic and different from the last time he saw her. 

"I came here after Amaris begged and begged me to. He wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to you, after all, noble children can be quite the nuisance. Also, I was quite impressed with that final attack of yours, just make sure to be careful when using that ability of yours. We are after all just human, if you stop your momentum like that, there will be negative effects."

"I know… I forgot about that. I think I am returning to thinking this is a vi–... Do you think the ability was noticeable?" Elijah cut his sentence short after realizing what he was about to say, and instead asked a question he was fearful of.

"No, not even I noticed it, but only realized after the fact from your damaged organs the medic said you have. The match was considered a draw by the way. It doesn't matter either way, you still move on to the next round." 

"Oh well… I bet Bell knows what happened, but knowing him, he will just tell his friends it really was a draw."

The conversation ended with Freya expressing her hopes for Elijah's future, and since Elijah himself felt fully capable of moving around, which was most likely due to Freya's extraordinary healing light magic, he walked straight outside the door. Surprise was on his face as not a single soul was seen.

'How long was I out?'

The halls of the arena were eerily simple and long. One long hallway stretched all the way around the arena with four common areas meant for food stands and simply congregating. The walls were made of patterned stone, which seemed to be waning, and wooden beams supported the angled roof where above was the seating that looked into the arena.

Elijah decided to take this golden opportunity of having energy during the night to observe and walk. The sky patterned with a transparent tan glow was his focus, and every few minutes he would see a faint shadow zipping across the sky. Since Elijah had a break for a week, his priorities would be training with Amaris, and also seeing what Novius has been up to. The desire for a suit of invisibility was growing exponentially. Transportation would not be a problem for him if he could simply stash it into his spatial storage, and take it out when necessary.