Haos, here with another story. This one is based on the mobile game Brave Frontier. The story revolves around two knights of the Agni Empire, Lava and Vargas, who met for the first time in a sparring competition. Initially, this was just a contest entry, but I decided I liked how the story flowed, so I'll add to it. FWI, this story will be MUCH shorter than my other ones. If it surpasses 6k words, that'll be a miracle. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

"You may begin," stated the referee as the two knights stared each other down. On the right stood Vargas, young man that became a Knight of Agni, following in the footsteps of his late father. On the left stood Lava, a young woman trained from birth to become the ultimate weapon of the Agni Empire at the cost of being distanced from others until her training was complete. Over the years, both had acquired some fame due to their skill in battle and ability to lead others so, when they met for the first time, a rivalry of sorts was born.

Vargas looked at his opponent and smirked, his training over the last few years had prepared him many things. When he saw Lava, he decided to hold back, not much, but enough not to hurt the young woman in front of him as a formality. Vargas did not think that she was weak, he thought that she nearly as strong as him or equal in strength, but she definitely didn't have the trump card he had acquired.

Vargas entered his stance, one that his father had taught him before his untimely passing. He turned to the side and hefted his long sword across his shoulders with his right arm, facing his opponent. A few gasps escaped the audience, many of the people recognizing Vargas' stance as his father, Anrhi's. Vargas ignored the audience and focused on Lava, who held her sword at her side, gesturing for her to make the first move. When she did not, he made the first move.

Vargas rushed Lava, appearing to be gliding toward her. Lava reflexively jumped back, missing the smirk that formed on his face the moment she took to the air. Switching his grip on his long sword to reverse and pivoting, Vargas sprung after Lava and swung his blade upwards, catching her in the midst of her attempted dodge due to the length of his weapon. Vargas' blade struck the female knight twice, once with the edge, which dragged her higher into the air, then with tip, which pushed Lava back, before he released a burst of flame that sent her skidding backwards. He quickly returned to his stance and beckoned for Lava to make a move with his free hand. This time, Lava obliged.

Faster than Vargas could react, Lava was upon him and delivered a swift, but heavy, slash that he could barely avoid, leaving him open to her follow up attack. Lava sheathed her blade and jumped away from the knight, confusing him until a series of three small explosions sent him to his knees. Lava did not wait for Vargas to recover, she capitalized on his broken stance by jumping and thrusting her blade at him. Vargas clumsily blocked the attack with his weapon and managed to push Lava back with a well timed swipe, now realizing his error in judgment. Getting back into stance, Vargas waited a moment then charged, Lava doing the same...

Vargas laid on the ground, defeated. Lava nursed one her knees as she kneeled from Vargas' last attack, a firestorm and swordplay combination. The battle had been close, if Vargas had timed his last few attacks better he could've defeated her, staining Lava's record of zero defeats. Unknown to Lava, her heart was not beating faster from adrenaline or exhaustion, but from the pleasure she had felt fighting against someone that had the potential to best her. When the knights under her command came to aid her, she graced them with a smile that made many of them wonder if Lava had been changed by the battle.

"Captain, are you alright," asked one of the knights, genuinely concerned for his captain's well being. Immediately, Lava's smile became the scowl that most had become accustomed to seeing.

"Yes," she snapped, "Is it not alright for me to smile every once and awhile?" When the knight could not respond, her scowl deepened. "Fetch me my night wear, I am going retire for the night." The knight nodded hastily, running to get Lava's gown. Once he returned, Lava ordered all of the knights under her command to have the night off, free from drills and combat exercises, before going to her room. Once there, the knight changed out of her armor and into her night gown, then fell asleep and dreamt of Vargas...

Vargas awoke inside the infirmary of Castle Agni with a headache. He was confused by his location until he remembered that Lava defeated him. Seeing his own weakness, Vargas got up and left the infirmary to hone his skills. When the medic tending to him asked where he was going upon seeing Vargas leaving, he received a simple answer.

"Training until I can best her." Without another word, Vargas left the castle with his equipment and belongings, keen on training until he could surpass the knight that defeated him. Unbeknownst to him, his face had reddened from the thought of crossing blades with lava for a second time.

"Lava, I'll defeat you someday," he vowed before vanishing into the wilderness.
"Vargas, let's meet in battle once more..." Lava whispered as she dreamt.

A/N: So yeah, this story will be... interesting to write. It'll definitely help me with emotional expression if I write this well, which I may or may not, it depends on your opinion. Later, I'll add the more detailed version of this chapter, which can be compared to this version for differences.

For anyone waiting for the FFI:AotSL chapters: They are in progress. I'm working on the first one as you read this. I did not forget about that at all, nor will I.

On another note, soon, My Laptop will be fixed, meaning no more upload issues and faster updates the moment I get reacclimated to using it.

With that said, thanks for reading,

-Haos.