The Brutality

 There were dozens of stares at me not just students even the faculty were staring at me. They were murmuring.

"The Orb couldn't tell his element has that ever happened before."

"Does he even have a element"

"The Ord didn't even mention his core rank"

"Is he one of those mana less Dregs"

"Impossible how would he enter the academy if that were the case"

It didn't bother me. Their opinions didn't matter. They'd find something to whisper about anyway.

The proctor announced "Mortis, step forward."

"Rael Cryst," the proctor announced.

He was one of the stronger students. But a little too arrogant.

My opponent stood waiting a tall, broad-shouldered student with crystalline spikes protruding from his forearms. His skin shimmered faintly, covered in a translucent layer of hardened mana.

Rael cracked his knuckles, shards of crystal breaking off and reforming as he smirked.

Let's make this quick," he said, his voice laced with arrogance.

I ignored him, stepping onto the dueling platform.

"Begin!"

Rael moved first, his body surging forward as crystal spikes erupted from his arms, aiming straight for me.

I sidestepped with ease, the attack missing me by a wide margin.

Rael's expression faltered, but he recovered quickly, swinging again, this time faster.

It didn't matter.

I already knew his movements before he made them.

He relied too heavily on his crystalline armor to protect him.

I ducked under a sharp spike, stepping closer. My hand darted out, landing a precise strike on the exposed joint of his elbow.

Rael staggered, wincing as the impact forced him back.

"What the ?" he muttered, his confident smirk fading.

The crowd gasped, and I could feel their attention sharpening.

I stayed silent, my expression blank. Words weren't necessary.

Rael roared in frustration, his crystal armor thickening as he launched another attack. Shards of mana-infused crystal shot toward me, their sharp edges glinting dangerously.

Again, I dodged.

To them, it must have looked like instinct, like I was simply fast. But it wasn't.

I saw every move before it happened.

The mirrors in my eyes showed me every parallel Timeline.

Rael swung again, and I danced around him, landing another hit on his exposed thigh. He stumbled, his footing shaky as the crowd murmured louder.

"What are you doing?!" he snarled, frustration bleeding into his voice. "Fight me!"

I didn't answer. Instead, I stepped forward, landing a quick strike on his unprotected ribs.

It didn't quite have enough force to break them.

But it wasn't like I was trying to this is just a duel.

The look in his eyes changed.

It wasn't just anger anymore it was fear.

Rael lunged again, his strikes wild and reckless. Each movement grew more desperate, his crystalline armor cracking under his own pressure.

I remained calm, dodging effortlessly as though it were a dance I had practiced a thousand times. His movements were sluggish to me. Every possible outcome played in my mind through the mirrors of my eyes.

He's finished, I thought, stepping closer. I prepared to land another calculated strike to his exposed shoulder.

Then it hit me.

Not Rael, but something else entirely.

A ripple of force, invisible but undeniable, crashed against my senses. It wasn't an attack from Rael. This was something far greater, far more precise.

My vision blurred for the briefest moment. The mirrored futures scattered, their clarity shattering like glass.

"What?" I staggered, my focus slipping for the first time.

And then my element surged.

Nihility responded to the invisible force. Cold and unrelenting, it roared to life within me, a power that consumed everything without question.

I wasn't controlling it. It was acting on its own. Or maybe something else was controlling it

My arm moved, the air around my hand warping as Nihility coalesced into a blade of pure void energy. Its surface absorbed all light, leaving behind nothing but the impression of a jagged, living shadow.

Rael swung again, his desperate attack aimed at my chest.

But before his strike could land, my blade moved.

It wasn't a conscious decision .Something or Someone was controlling me.

The blade of Nihility sliced through his arm as though it wasn't even there.

The crowd erupted in gasps and screams as Rael's severed arm fell to the ground, the crystal shards clattering against the platform.

For a moment, there was silence.

Rael stared at the stump where his arm had been, his face frozen in shock. Blood sprayed in arcs as he fell to his knees, his scream piercing through the chaos.

"A-AAAGH!"

I looked at my hand, the blade still pulsing faintly before dissipating into nothingness.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Hmmm I wonder who caused it.

My mirrored eyes scanned everyone and finally my eyes landed on him.

The headmaster.

He stood at the edge of the arena, his black eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made the air feel heavier.

Of course.

It was him.

He had done something to force me to use my element.

The headmaster's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

Quite annoying I was planning to hiding my element. But now every student and faculty member in the hall had witnessed it.

I turned my attention back to Rael. He was being carried off the platform by the proctors.

The crowd's murmurs grew louder, fear and confusion rippling through them.

"What kind of element was that?"

"It wasn't even mana it was like… nothingness."

They knew but it didn't really matter just a minor nuisance.

But the headmaster?

He'll pay for this.