Anaar peered at the large man in the distance, his enhanced vision zooming like binoculars for a better look. The damage was heavy, but if treated right away, he would be fit to fight by morning. He was truly impressed by the resilience the man showed. He not only remained standing during his own attack, but was able to withstand Holden’s quite well under those conditions.
Most people watching had no idea what had transpired, thus they attributed the win to Holden, as his attack was the only thing they could see through a screen. Collective sighs of relief spanned the campus since Anaar had delivered as expected. Though most people still ended in a net loss with their betting, it was not the earth-shattering sums they had expected after their crushing string of earlier losses.
The first round of the School Rankings Tournament had concluded, with Anaar ranking first in the points with Holden being a close second. To everyone’s surprise, Codi and Helen were ranked higher than the losing team in the finals. It was later discovered that their seeding truly was a double-edged sword, as their inability to even attack in their final match left them with no additional points gained.
In an unexpected turn, Holden sheepishly asked Anaar if he wanted to be friends. Even though it had already been announced the second half of the tournament would be the traditional battle royale style, he had seen how well Anaar got along with others he had competed against, and hoped he would do the same for him. Even without the rumors, it was clear he had something about him that brought out the potential in others. If he could benefit from such a valuable resource, he wanted to do everything possible to ensure it came to pass.
Anaar leisurely walked back to his room alongside Codi, who had stayed to watch the final match. Most of the other contestants were either hospitalized, or had long since retired to their rooms to rest in preparation for the next leg of the tournament. Anaar’s first order of business was to strip out of the combat attire he had been wearing all day. He sensed Phavian in the bathroom, his slumped, seated position indicating he was in the jacuzzi. Removing the rest of his clothing, he slipped quietly into the bathroom, lowering himself into the scorching water behind Phavian.
Upon seeing him, it was obvious he was in poor spirits, so Anaar positioned himself so that they were like spoons, wrapping one arm around him and pulling him close as he leaned against the back of the tub, whilst stroking his hair with the other hand. He continued this for a few silent minutes, feeling the tension slowly release from Phavian’s body.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Why? You wouldn’t understand. You won your matches no problem.”
Anaar had a feeling the conversation would head in this direction, but had not expected it would start with it. “Don’t do that. Don’t project whatever anger and self-loathing you feel onto me. I’m only here to help. You lost. It isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. You get like this every time.”
“I went out like a little bitch though! I bet the whole school was laughing at me!”
“No, the whole school was pissed at you for losing them tons of money. The only reason you got a pass was because everyone else was losing as well. As much as you won’t want to hear it, hear it you must. This is your own fault for underestimating your opponents. When you do that, you are asking to lose eventually.”
“What did you want me to do? Freeze them solid the moment the match starts?!”
“Yep. If you’ve got it, use it. Giving people an opportunity will never end well. You act as if you are some obscure person. Everyone knows who you are. You think people aren’t coming up with ways to counter you?”
“You toy with people all the time! Practice what you preach!”
Anaar tightens his grip on Phavian. “Yeah, you and I are not the same.”
Phavian turns slightly so he can look Anaar in the face. “Oh really? How are we so different?”
“Well for starters, I can’t die. Even if I could, I’m invulnerable, and immune to practically everything. Also, my powers far exceed anyone else’s, so if need be, I could always brute force it later. Finally, I can see nearly everything about a person without the need to physically see them. Hard to deal with someone who knows you better than you know yourself.”
“I don’t even know what happened. Out of nowhere it felt like I hadn’t drank any water in like days. I was so thirsty, and I could feel my skin starting to crack. My eyes burned like hell, and my body just gave up.”
Anaar kisses Phavian sweetly on the forehead and pulls him back to their original position. “That is what you get when you deal with a Splinter.”
“Splinter? What kind of power is that?”
“It isn’t specifically a power, more like a category of person. It is something I have been working on with Gramps to classify people who can do things greatly exceeding the typical parameters of their abilities. This is almost always associated with people with fairly specific and benign abilities, or those that have been adapted to perform in nonstandard manners.”
“So like Ripp and the way she uses her portals?”
“Wow, I’m impressed. Exactly like that. Ripp would barely qualify, but she is a Splinter nonetheless. The guy you were up against takes it to the extreme. He has the manifestation, Desiccation. Pretty rare, but there are no accounts of it amounting to much. He has managed to unlock a much more powerful variant that not only allows him to manipulate fluids in the body, but also large stretches of the environment. I’m not surprised people lose against him.”
“Then he is some kind of moisture vampire?”
“More or less. He does not hesitate like you though. That is because he knows he is inherently weak. His strength is completely reliant on getting the initiative. I suspect he won’t do well tomorrow.”
“Bet your ass he isn’t. I’m fucking him up on sight.”
“Cause that’s your business.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You plan on making me feel like a loser again this year?”
“Pfft. And deal with you whining and moping again? No sir. Your cute little ass is mine.”
Phavian grins and stands from the water, looking back at Anaar. “Well, I guess there is no use trying to resist…”
Anaar sprang from the water, grabbing Phavian and carrying him from the bathroom. At the moment, the only thing on his mind was making sure Phavian was brought completely out of his funk. Throwing him onto the bed, disregarding his wet sheets, he dove atop him to diligently set about his work.
The second half of the School Rankings Tournament began lacking the preamble of the first. Without specific matchups, the gamblers on campus had established a fantasy league of sorts in which to place their bets. Most of the contestants were back to full health, with those who were not, still willing to make the best of their remaining injuries. Almost everyone stood poised, their muscles coiled like a snake ready to strike. When the signal began, the vast space erupted into chaos.
True to his promise, Phavian had identified his new nemesis, and was madly sprinting to make quick work of him. Just before he reached his target, the man went shooting off into the distance, crashing into a rock and falling unconscious immediately. Angry he had let his chance slip away again, he absently punched a rushing Titan in the face as he sought the source of the attack that stole his prey.
Meanwhile, Dan and Maggie had been engaged in an all-out fight with Pryshka. Over the months, Pryshka and Maggie had come to learn much about one another and their fighting styles. Thanks to Pryshka’s ability, she had a significant advantage over Maggie that had only been growing, despite Maggie’s efforts to keep up. As penance for defeating her, Maggie had drawn Dan into her fight.
Maggie had proven to be one of the most difficult opponents for her to handle. Very few people managed to find success in all fighting ranges, but Maggie was the exception, and her ability made her all the more unpredictable. Even then, she was still predictable enough for Pryshka to best in a solo fight. W
ith Dan at her back however, Pryshka recognized it was a fight she could not win.
Maggie’s greatest weakness was her vulnerability. Though she was tougher than most people, she was no Titan, which made her cautious of taking damage. With Dan’s assistance, try as she might, Pryshka could find no openings on Maggie. Dan was not just a Defender that enabled Maggie to use her full potential, he could also sneak in crafty attacks that could end her by themselves. Choosing to waste no more time, she retreated into the mayhem while she could, accepting her defeat.
Anaar had chosen to be content in standing unbothered amidst the carnage. Though he sidestepped an errant projectile here and there for appearances, he for the most part stood still, watching the battles. With Ripp’s class gone, there was a significant drop in the number of high-powered blasts to worry about. Trying a similar plan from last year’s tournament, all the Senior Titans charged Anaar at once, understanding he would not be able to fend off all their attacks at once as his Fire attunement made him extremely fragile.
Their synchronization was impressive, showing they not only had extensive experience fighting together, but had also practiced their maneuver. If their assault had come in their previous year’s event, Anaar might have been concerned, but as he was now, he may as well have been involved in their practices, their movements appearing slow and telegraphed to him.
The woman leapt into the air, crashing down in a weighty dropkick. The third and smallest Titan used his speed to dash in for an attack from the ground. Finally, the hulking second Titan had turned his body into a massive battering ram for maximum damage. One by one Anaar countered each of their assaults, though to the average person, it appeared as if it all happened simultaneously.
Lena was the first victim, which was unfortunate since they had put all their hopes on her. The two others were primarily there to provide her an opening. They figured she would have the best shot since she was the toughest out of all of them. It even took Phavian an extended period of time to wear her down to submission. With one swift chop to the legs, both her femurs were shattered. The resulting blow also sent her crashing into the ground to the side of Anaar.
The small Titan that had been sliding in for his attack was kicked like a football, the lift and distance he flew truly resembling a masterful field goal. The largest Titan of them all was the last to receive his punishment as Anaar contorted in a sickening twist, his foot extending directly upward with perfection the most seasoned ballet dancer would envy. His foot caught the man’s chin, the force crushing his jaw and knocking out most of his teeth. Being one of the few people on campus larger than he was, Anaar found the man’s size worked to his advantage.
With everything happening so quickly, Anaar was embarrassed he misgauged his strength again. He was finding his power increases to be more and more tedious in situations where he had to be concerned for the wellbeing of others. He had mastered normal functions as his strength grew, but he still struggled with combat situations. While everyone else saw the Titans repelled in spectacular fashion, he realized he had done much more damage than he anticipated. With small bursts of healing, he stabilized his three unfortunate victims to ensure they would not slip into a critical state as the battles raged on.
Hunter and Shonte were locked in a stalemate against Holden, whose vicious attacks proved difficult for Shonte to evade. If Shonte had left Hunter to handle Holden alone, the battle would have been decided quickly, as there was no way for Holden to keep up with Hunter’s speed. In his attempt to protect Shonte, and Holden’s stubborn refusal to retreat, they all managed to fall victim to a wide scale attack from Codi, eliminating them promptly.
Maggie’s eye had spotted the Freshman with Kinetic Bursts, who had been surviving just by virtue of repelling most attacks that came their way. With Maggie preoccupied, it left Dan vulnerable to a sneak attack by Helen. Under normal circumstances, Dan would have never lost to someone such as she, but by wielding one of the two things that was anathema to him, her advantage skyrocketed.
Helen had not forgotten, but had given up on her vengeance against Anaar. He consistently humiliated her over and over, and in her eyes, there was no way she could possibly win against him. With all her pride in her control of flames and the speed in which she could work them, it was useless against a person like Anaar. He was not only immune to all her attacks, but he could also turn them back against her since he was so much stronger. To add insult to injury, his strength exceeded hers so much, it bypassed her own immunity. Even if she decided to not fight fire with fire, he still outclassed her in every way imaginable.
Fighting against his friend and utterly dominating him gave her some semblance of peace in the raging sea that was her emotions. She had been so battered physically, emotionally, and psychologically, that she almost believed her fight against Dan to be a nightmare in which she would be doing well, only to have it suddenly turn out to be Anaar, playing with her all along.
With barely any power, she was able to dispel both Dan’s attacks, and defenses. Compared to her, his ability as an Elemental was nothing. With such a huge advantage over him, it was unnecessary to use much force to win, but all the spite and resentment in her heart poured out to Dan as a proxy. She threw every lighter on her person at Dan, igniting them all in a flaming vortex that left him in a state worse than Anaar had left her. Finally she had her vengeance, even if only through an extension of Anaar. Her victory was unable to be savored however, as the small number of people remaining caused Phavian to act.
With a stomp, he pushed with all his might, creating the largest cold snap zone he had ever managed. Codi, Helen, Pryshka, and Maggie all stiffened, crumpling to the ground as their minds and bodies literally went numb. He knew he may have overdone it somewhat, but Maggie might have managed to withstand his attack to some degree if he had not gone so far. This meant the others were in much worse shape as a result.
Anaar slowly strolled toward Phavian, admiring the light fog that had been created as frozen water particles in the area were suspended, slowly beginning their freefall to the earth. He had been watching the battle closely, and would have made a move against Helen if not for Phavian beating him to it. He was not ignorant to the reasoning behind what she had done to Dan, which made him feel responsible for his friend’s state. His Flame Form shot from his clothing, leaving them behind and only his bodysuit covering him. He caught them midair and then used them to cover Dan, his naked and charred body destroying what dignity he would have had left. Leaving him with a powerful regenerative effect which would have him fully recovered in a few days, he stood, continuing his walk toward Phavian.
“You have no idea how happy this makes me. Now you get to be the bad guy instead of me.”
Phavian looks at Anaar with complete confusion written across his face. “What are you talking about?”
“You just took out a lot of powerful women with whom you have a close relationship. Did you think there wouldn’t be consequences?”
Phavian’s mouth falls open as he realizes the gravity of his mistake. “FUCK! Why didn’t you say something earlier?!”
“Exactly when was I supposed to tell you something so obvious?! Between the Titans throwing themselves at me in concert?”
Phavian growls as he thinks about the painful weeks to come. Brandishing Haymana, he drops into a stance indicating he was ready to fight. With a sly grin, he sticks out his tongue.
“Too bad you don’t have a weapon! This reach is going to destroy you!”
“I don’t need a weapon, but if you insist…”
Anaar reaches into two portals, one with each hand, and brings forth his tonfas, which causes Phavian to pout. “That shit is seriously not even fair!”
Knowing Anaar would expect him to complain more before starting, he lunged in, swinging wildly, but to the trained eye, each strike was perfectly coordinated for maximum effect. Despite the attempt to catch him off guard, Anaar easily parried each swing, the crushing force Phavian was putting behind
the blows not affecting him in the slightest.
For a minute straight, Phavian assaulted, while Anaar defended. He never made any attempt at counterattacking, only absorbing the blows. Phavian stops with a huff, slinging Haymana over his shoulder.
“I thought you weren’t going to go easy on me?”
“Who said I am? If I were any other person except maybe that top Titan in your class, I would have been reduced to putty by now. I thought we were having fun. Did you want it to be over so soon? I have already been criticized for ending things too quickly.”
“Since when did you care about your image?”
“Somewhere around the time the spirit of my dead twin hijacked my body and had a field day. Still haven’t finished cleaning up that mess. I won’t keep you waiting then since it is what you want.”
In a flash, Anaar crosses the gap, Phavian lagging in his reflexes to get his guard up. Expecting a heavy blow from Anaar’s newfound strength, he instead feels Anaar’s lips touch his. By pure reflex, he instantly kisses Anaar back, whose eyes blaze with tendrils of fire. Phavian’s knees buckle ,and he slumps in Anaar’s arms. The Medics had already begun treating the other contestants once they realized Phavian and Anaar had no intention of creating a warzone.
He immediately healed the damage he had done to Phavian, and crowds everywhere cheered at the result, despite them fully expecting it. Anaar had now officially become the king of the school rather than being unofficial, yet recognized. He later found his plan to protect Phavian’s image had worked even better than he had expected. By defeating Phavian with a kiss, everyone still gave Phavian the benefit of the doubt that he could have won, but like most people he was blinded by love and let his guard down. The campus felt at ease with the transition of the title since Phavian was leaving anyway. Now everyone could rest easy that school still had a proper monarch, worthy of their title.
32
Some small part of Stefani desperately wanted to take part in the School Rankings Tournament so that she could justify her place within her group of friends. After seeing all her friends be beaten, within an inch of their lives in some cases, she counted herself lucky she had been spared. She and Zenia had decided to watch the event together in solidarity as people deemed not good enough to participate, despite their rankings.
Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4) Page 58