Titan's Clash

Chapter 25: Titan's Clash

The arena was silent.

Not the kind of silence that came with boredom, but the kind that came with sheer anticipation.

Caden stepped forward, rolling his shoulders, a smirk tugging at his lips. Across from him, Kieran stood still, arms crossed, silver-white hair barely moving even as the wind picked up. His expression was unreadable calm, detached.

But he was overwhelming.

The instant his name was called, the temperature in the arena had plummeted. Ice crystals had started to form along the floor, crawling outward like veins of frost.

Callen raised a hand.

"Final match. Begin!"

BOOM!

Kieran moved first.

A wave of cold exploded from his body, an absolute zero storm that surged forward like a tidal wave of frost. The whole battlefield turned white in the twinkling of a moment, the ground cracking with rapid freeze.

Caden's grin widened.

Then he vanished.

FWOOOSH!

With a sonic boom, he blitzed his way through the wave of ice, leaving only a trail of molten footprints where he had landed. His body flared to life with green ripples emanating from within, heat cascading off him in waves.

The radiation within the atmosphere, the light, the energy that he took into himself. It all coalesced there. This was the first time Caden used his energy absorption ability since he got to Tier 10

And then he felt it.

His eyes flickered as some sort of acknowledgment before

BAM!

Caden was in front of him. A fist, wreathed in pure force tore through the air toward Kieran's face.

Kieran barely tilted his head.

CRACK!

A pillar of ice shot from the ground, intercepting the blow at the last second. The sheer force of the impact sent cracks running through the entire battlefield.

But Caden didn't stop.

BOOM!

He tore through the ice, spinning mid-air, his knee rocketing toward Kieran's ribs.

Kieran raised an arm.

A wall of permafrost erupted thicker than steel.

Caden's knee smashed into it—

KRA-KOOM!

The whole barrier shattered like glass, a shockwave exploding in all directions; the force sent Kieran skating backward, boots carving furrows into the icy ground.

His breath was visible now, the temperature plummeting every second he stood still.

Caden cracked his neck, steam rising from his skin. His energy was burning through the cold, keeping him at peak efficiency.

"You're strong," Kieran said, his voice almost indifferent.

Caden grinned. "And you're cold. Let's see which one lasts longer."

WHOOSH!

They clashed again.

Caden blurred, suddenly behind Kieran, his fist aglow with condensed energy

BANG!

Kieran spun, a spear of ice materializing in his grip in less than a second. He parried the punch, and the force sent a blast of wind through the stadium.

The

CRACK!

The ground beneath them shattered as both of them unleashed their power.

Kieran's hand swept around, and frost surged in a dome, freezing everything in its path.

Caden raised his own, and radiation flared, bursting with heat and energy outward.

The two forces met—

And the arena exploded.

BOOOOOOM!

A blinding shockwave erupted as fire and ice warred against each other, sending debris flying in all directions. The audience gasped, some shielding their eyes from the sheer intensity.

When the dust cleared, the battlefield was unrecognizable.

One half was frozen solid-jagged ice spikes stretching skyward.

The other was molten-the ground glowing red, steam rising into the air.

And amidst that, the two fighters were standing, the heaving of their chests concurrent with each other, neither one yielding. 

Caden huffed, his glow surging upwards. His body had soaked in an irrational quantity of radiation from the unadulterated destruction. He could feel the raw energy seething within him, urging for an outlet. 

And Kieran, lifting his head back. 

Lifting one hand high.

The air grew colder.

FWOOSH!

The air itself cracked as absolute cold expanded in all directions from the point the crystal had shattered on, frosting instantly over Caden's arms in an attempt to suck the life out of his body.

For the first time, Caden's grin faltered.

This wasn't ice.

This was the kind of cold that didn't just freeze, it devoured the heat itself.

Kieran's eyes gleamed. "I wonder…

He closed his fist a little tighter.

BOOM.

A storm blew in.

An arctic hurricane swept into the arena, gobbling everything up.

In the middle of it was Caden, entangled.

Chill bit at him, digging deep inside, trying to eat the life in him.

For most people of this world, that would have been it.

To Caden?

It was fuel.

A deep chuckle boomed from the heart of the storm.

The next moment—

A pillar of golden aura erupted into the sky.

BOOOOOOOM

The ice shattered, the storm dispersed, and Caden stepped forward, his body glowing like a miniature green sun.

Kieran's eyes finally widened, just slightly.

Caden flexed his fingers.

"Not bad, Frosty." He grinned. "But let's turn up the heat, I don't want to catch a cold."

Then he was gone.

KRA-KOOM!

He was everywhere, a blur of motion, racing across the battlefield like a comet. Every footstep left behind a crater of molten earth.

Kieran had just no time to react.

A fist planted itself in his ribs.

BOOM!

He was flying, smashing through his own ice constructs. The whole arena shook from the impact.

Caden didn't stop.

FWOOOSH!

He appeared above Kieran before he could recover, both hands shining with concentrated energy.

"Let's see you freeze this!"

He brought his fists down.

The moment they connected—

The entire battlefield exploded in light and heat.

The audience screamed as the pure force of the impact sent ripples through the stadium.

For a long moment, nothing moved.

Then—

As the dust settled—

Kieran lay on the ground, hard of breath, his ice armor in pieces.

Caden was standing above him, his body still crackling with energy.

Callen stepped forward. His face unreadable.

Then finally he raised his hand.

"Winner Caden Arden!"

The arena erupted into cheers.

Caden slowly exhaled as his glow slowly dimmed, his body achy, his rush of the battle still fluttering inside of him.

He turned into his team flashing a cocky grin.

Ryan smirked. "Took you long enough."

Selena just shook her head. "Honestly? That was terrifying."

Darius laughed. "Glad I wasn't in there."

Mira merely crossed her arms over her chest, a small smile dancing in the curves of her lips.

Caden stretched, turning his head back toward Kieran, who was sitting up.

"I haven't lost yet" Kieran said as he stood up and a blue diamond appeared on his forehead and a huge axe was formed above him. Gripping the axe he made a huge slash downwards and Caden instantly formed a huge katana with his stored energy but before their attacks could clash, Callum disappeared.

His cold voice rang through the whole combat evaluation hall, "Learn to accept defeat, it's your fault for holding back against your enemy." He said and he flicked Kieran's forehead and instantly he was sent flying and the huge axe disappeared. He flew out of the arena and didn't stop until he crashed into the wall of the hall.

The whole new students were surprised including Caden and his team. "What a terrifying strength, he couldn't even resist" Ryan said as he looked at Kieren who was stuck in the wall with the gem in his head shattered

"Now you all are to go to your dorms, I'm sure you can find the way to your room using the watch you all have on your wrist" Callum said before he then disappeared

Combat evaluation was over.

The hall was in a different kind of mode, buzzing with the aftermath rather than tense anticipation of combat. The rankings had just been displayed across the giant holo-screen for everyone to see.

Freshman Rankings:

1. Caden Arden

2. Kieran Frost

3. Ryan Bolts

4. Selena Raine

5. Ava Sinclair

6. Darius Kane

7. Mira Holts

8. Jace Corbin

9. Leon Wolfe

10. Erik Vale

Caden beamed as he glanced at his name at the top. "Number one, eh? Has a nice ring to it."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, enjoy it while it lasts."

Selena sighed. "I don't even know why they bothered ranking us. The real fight was just between you and Kieran."

Kieran, who had just pulled himself out of the wall after Callen's flick of doom, said nothing. He dusted himself off, his expression neutral, though his shattered forehead gem and torn uniform told a different story.

Darius nudged Caden. "Man, I can't believe I'm sixth. I thought I'd at least crack top five!"

Ava smirked. "Should've punched harder."

Mira crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. She hadn't cared much about her placement, but seventh was lower than expected. Not that she was about to say anything.

"Relax, there will be a chance for you to get a better rank" Caden whispered into Mira's ear and she jumped surprised by how close Caden was to her ear "Learn to keep some distance" Mira said as she covered up her embarrassment with anger

Before any more conversations could break out, their watches beeped in unison.

A message flashed across the screen.

[Dormitory Assignments Uploaded. Navigate Using Your Wristwatch.]

Caden raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Guess it's time to find our rooms."

Ryan checked his watch. "Looks like I'm with… you, Caden." He sighed. "Great."

Darius laughed. "Me too."

A shadow loomed over them.

Kieran, standing silently with his arms crossed. "Same room."

Caden blinked, then grinned. "Well, isn't this gonna be fun?"

Ryan rubbed his temples. "We are not gonna survive this year."

The rest of their team glanced at each other and went off to their separate dorms as Caden, Ryan, Darius, and Kieran followed the path on their watches.

Dormitory 101

The guys stopped in front of their appointed room and turned around.

It was massive.

A sleek, modern living space, complete with four separate sleeping quarters, a communal lounge, personal training space, and a view of the entire academy grounds.

Darius whistled. "Damn. Guess that's what it means to be the top freshmen."

Caden walked in first, tossing himself onto the couch. "I could get used to this."

Ryan was already examining the training space, muttering calculations under his breath about routines and efficiency.

Kieran walked straight to his room without a word.

Darius took a seat beside Caden, stretching his legs. "Alright, ground rules. Who's cooking?"

Ryan scoffed. "We have automated meal dispensers."

"Yeah, but I'm not eating bland academy protein blocks every day. Someone's gotta step up."

Caden smirked. "Not me."

Darius turned to Ryan.

Ryan glared. "Don't even think about it."

They both looked at Kieran.

Kieran shut his door.

Darius sighed. "Great. We're gonna starve."

Caden laughed, stretching out on the couch. For the first time since arriving at Helios Vanguard Academy, they weren't fighting, running, or proving themselves.

They were just settling in.

And for the moment, it was enough.

Morning had come way too fast.

Caden's watch was buzzing aggressively, tugging him from sleep. Groaning, he slapped the device on his wrist, but it didn't stop.

"Wake up, cadets," a robotic voice droned, "Your first official day at Helios Vanguard Academy begins now.

Across the room, Ryan was already up, fully dressed and stretching. Darius was still face-down in his pillow, grumbling something about five more minutes. Kieran's door remained shut, no sound from inside.

Caden sat up, rubbing his eyes. The dorm's large windows had already adjusted to let in artificial sunlight, bathing the room in a golden glow.

Ugh," Darius groaned. "We just got here and they're already torturing us."

Ryan shot him a look. "You expected to sleep in at a military academy?"

Darius flipped over onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "I was hoping.

Caden cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. Still sore from the battle yesterday, he couldn't spend any more time sleeping today. Today would mark the day when serious training began.

A notification flickered onto the surface of his watch.

[Daily Schedule Downloaded.]

Out popped a rather dense program listing morning drills through hand-to-hand combat training, ending with tactical classes.

Caden whistled low, saying, "Damn. Wasn't boasting, they really said intense.

Ryan read off his own watch. "Physical training, combat sparring, then tactical theory right after. And that's just the morning block."

Darius sighed dramatically. "They're really trying to kill us."

Finally, Kieran's door slid open, and he stepped out, in his academy uniform, composed as ever. He merely strode past them, out toward the exit.

Caden raised an eyebrow. "No breakfast?"

Kieran didn't even falter. "I don't need it."

Darius glared after him. "What is he, a machine?"

Ryan simply shrugged it off and moved to the door. "We should move. We don't want to be late."

Caden stood, cracking his knuckles. "Yeah, yeah."

The four of them left their dorm, joining the flood of students moving through the halls. The academy was alive now: freshmen scrambling to make it to their classes, upperclassmen walking with an air of confidence, instructors standing at key points and scanning the crowd with sharp eyes.

As they entered the training grounds, a familiar voice called out.

"Well, look who finally dragged themselves out of bed."

Caden turned, grinning as he spotted Mira, Selena, and Ava waiting near the entrance.

Selena crossed her arms. "Thought you'd oversleep after your little victory yesterday."

Caden smirked. "Please. I'm built different."

Mira rolled her eyes but smirked slightly. "Built different, huh? We'll see about that."

Before Caden could respond, a sharp voice cut the air.

"Form up, students!"

A tall instructor, with a military-grade exosuit on, stood at the head of the field, his arms crossed, his gaze keen enough to cut steel.

Welcome to your first day at Helios Vanguard Academy," he said. "Forget everything you think you know about combat. You are not soldiers yet. You are not warriors. You are recruits raw material that we will forge into something useful."

His eyes scanned the crowd.

"Some of you believe yourselves strong; some of you, skilled. I assure you, that none of that means anything here. You will learn, you will fight, and if you aren't good enough…" He flashed a cruel grin." You're going to fall behind."

Caden felt a change in air. Now things were about to get really intense.

And Caden was good to go for it.