Shattered

"Hello, Levi and Veyrix. It's been some time, but not the full time I allotted to you. So, do you wake me?" His aura was weaker than before, but nonetheless, he was still powerful compared to me. It was also unnerving for him to now look like me.

"Levi, we can win if I can absorb him. It would make this form permanent, but we are not ready for that." Cyrus looked at us. "Still trying to win, I see. But by absorbing me, I will become part of you."

He extended his arms outward. "Go ahead, do it then; I win either way." I tried to move, but Cyrus said, "No, not you." He flung his hands, and I went flying. Veyrix looked back and winked. "It's fine, Levi."

I woke up.

"In a strange turn of events, Levi Crown isn't down; Leon Voltreon hasn't won yet."

I was trying to move, but I was backseated again; Cyrus was winning whatever battle was going on. But it was his instinct that was now fighting. Leon's legs were still trapped with Obsidian Bloom, which disappeared as they shattered under Cyrus's uncontrollable aura. Leon was forced to kneel.

I felt a shift as something changed, and the weight around Leon doubled, then tripled.

They must've absorbed Cyrus. They looked around and saw Leon flat against the ground, but he was still awake.

"Leon, surrender, or your fate will be worse than death," they spoke. They must be on the wheel; they also knew his name.

They took a single step forward.

When Leon weakly said, "I surrender..."

"We will hand it back to you, Levi."

I felt my knees buckle, but I managed to keep standing. In between breaths, I said, "What... did... I do to you, Leon?"

He slowly stood up and walked out of the arena.

I collapsed.

Two people jumped into the stadium: Zayne and Vesper.

Zayne was faster. "You good, man?" I looked up and glanced over at Vesper. "How do you maintain such a strong aura?" She shrugged. "I'm just better, I guess." Zayne extended his arm, and I got up with his help. "Do you know what I did to Leon to piss him off so much?"

They shook their heads. I stopped leaning on Zayne. "So where to now?" Vesper asked. I shrugged. "Let's explore." I slowly felt my heartbeat stabilize and return to normal.

Something felt off; I looked inside and saw my core was cracked. If I tried to use any energy, it would shatter. Then something filled that space: Void Energy.

I walked a little slower than them, but they slowed down and matched my pace.

"So are we just exploring?" I asked. They both nodded, and a few people from the room joined our group.

We didn't speak until Vesper saw a clothes store. "I need some new clothes. Anyone else?" I nodded. "I guess."

We entered, and as it turned out, we had walked into a mall.

"So, what do you think of these?" Vesper asked. I didn't even look. "Get what you want; I'll pay for it."

That last statement was a mistake. She got over $5,000 worth of clothes. Thankfully, they were being delivered to her room because if I had to carry all that, I might crash out.

"Why do you get so many clothes?" she shrugged. "Because it's not my money this time, so I went for the big brands."

I sighed. "Well, I'm hungry, so come on." Selene had joined our group. Anytime I glanced back at her, she flinched. "Why didn't either of you get anything?" they shrugged. "Didn't see anything I wanted," Selene shrugged. "Didn't know the invitation extended to me."

I frowned. "If you're a friend, then it always will, as long as I'm with you." Vesper wrapped her arm around my neck. "Such a good friend," she said while rubbing her knuckles into my scalp, which, spoiler alert, hurt.

We stepped into a burger place. Selene spoke, "I'm vegetarian." I looked back and jokingly said, "So my previous offer doesn't stand?" She shrugged. "Just kidding." Her sense of humor sucked, but that was the path of a darkness user.

We were seated in the VIP section since we were all Group A top 10 students.

"So, what's everyone's favorite color? Actually, let's play 21 Questions." They looked at me, confused. "What's 21 Questions?" Zayne asked. "Sigh You ask 21 questions, and the person you're asking them to has to answer 100% honestly." They nodded. "I'll go first, so start asking."

"What's your affinity?" Zayne asked. "I don't know; I only have my Bloodline ability currently." They nodded, and our waitress came over to get our orders. They ordered some expensive stuff.

Vesper then asked me the second question. "How long have you trained before the exam?" I shrugged. "About a month, probably less." Her mouth fell open. "You're just a prodigy, aren't you?" I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." Zayne shook his head. "I've been perfecting my ability for the last five years, and Mr. One-Month here just moves into the scene and nearly kills me."

I shrugged. "I've got strong weapons—" Zayne interrupted me. "Bullshit; it shattered with one strike from above." I looked over at him. "Continue," he said. "As I was saying, I have strong weapons, and my abilities are pretty strong as is, so I was just blessed with a strong ability. It's highly likely that you guys will surpass me given time, and one of you always has." Vesper shook her head in disagreement. "That aura you showed during battle today was scary. What element did you infuse into it?" I shrugged. "Not a clue what you're talking about."

Selene spoke. "Third question, do you have a crush?" I shook my head. "Nope." The other two looked at her in anger since she had just wasted a question.

"Fourth question: Well, Levi, do you at least know your Bloodline then? I'm guessing demonic, though." I nodded. "And angelic, demonic, and godly." All three squinted. "Okay, nice joke, but actually—" I shrugged. "I tell the truth; it doesn't mean you have to believe it."

They gave up on that one. "Fifth question: What color do you like?" I shrugged. "My favorite is probably green." They all once again stared at Selene. "You keep wasting these very important questions."

Some of our food arrived.

"Sixth question: What is your favorite foo—" she had her mouth covered. "Quit wasting these questions; find them out on your own." She frowned when Zayne removed his hands.

There was random small talk, but for the most part, once they got their food, we ate in silence, and I paid the bill.

"I need to get a new phone and a few other things."

The mall had massive stone pillars, and the floor was shinier than a bald man's head.

We entered a store, and I looked over at my group. "What's the best brand?" Mistake number two of this trip because Zayne said a brand name, SpaceChip, was the best, while Vesper said a brand named Orange was.

They didn't even notice that I had asked one of the store attendants.

And that is how I ended up getting some random brand that actually runs really well. I also got a watch that can monitor my vitals and energy levels.

They didn't have any good-looking earbuds, so I left. Of course, my group was still arguing, so I just left a sticky note that the store attendants had and left my new phone number with them.

I roamed around until I saw Leon.