"Who's next?" I asked. Three down, two to go.
"It would be me," Arby called. "Just don't mind my imprudence, alright?"
"Don't sweat it," I answer. "I've got my own bad days."
"Start!"
"I've got to admit," he chatted, "You've got quite the hand for beating three of the five."
"Guess, Break didn't waste much time with me being his only pupil," I joked.
"They've trained you well," he said as his body suddenly turned to water. "Perhaps not that well." I turned and hit hearing his voice just behind me. But when my fist hit his body It just went through as if it were-
"Water!" I call drawing my fist back and touching the vicosity. It's too thick.
"It's water," he said. "Don't be fooled by the science behind it. It comes from my body. It's thicker than normal water, you see. Which is how I can do this as well!" He called as he launched on the ground disappearing again.
Water.
How the hell do I fight something like that? He came from nowhere and hit me with his bare fists. I drew back and stood there watching as he did. "You see it isn't much about how much but of how good. The substance in my body is thicker yet it is still water. Got any ideas yet?"
It's water. I get that. But I have no elemenal prowess. I can't use electricity to hurt him and I don't even have fire to try evaporating him. What am I suppose to do freeze the guy? "Huh?" Freeze?
"That it's!" I hissed as he came again at me. On the last hit I avoided it and moved behind him. "If water is too light then," I made the whole arena cooler. This won'te break the limiter! "Then I'll simply have to freeze your movements!" He came at me but inches away his body became immobile. His fist landed right on the inch of my nose. He'd stopped. It'd worked. The barrier broke. One left... Slowly, Arby began to move again.
"How'd you do that?" he asked moving again.
"I turned the space around us as cold as the space in the moon," I explained. "I read once that on the lunar night it can get as cold as -153°C. If your body was water then at that temperature it'd freeze instantly. At least I hope it did and well it worked and I didn't die on the process. I guess sometimes knowledge is good for a battle."
"Nice thinking!" he called high fiving me. I like this guy's attitude.
"Last but not least," I turned to Angele. "The old geezer."
Angele walked over to me as the barrier was up again. "The last of us is I," he said. "Defeat me and you will have passed the test."
"The dark isn't what scares me," I say nonchalantly. "It's what hides in it."
"I see your logic," he says. He snaps his fingers as all around us the arena becomes pitch black even though it's brigt daylight. "But nonetheless there are things that love the dark."
~X~
"I can't see a thing!" Oz called surprised how Angele chagned the whole courtyard into night. As his eyes adjusted to it he finally saw them standing there, motionless. "I hope she's okay."
"She's gonna be fine," Alice called. "After hours of kicking your butt I doubt she'll go down that easy."
"Don't refer to him like that, you stupid rabbit!" Gil retorted at her.
"You've taken a liking to her, haven't you Alice?" Oz asked smiling.
"She's strong and confident of herself," Alice smirked. "I like that."
~X~
It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Not only did the shadows come but the ground itself changed with the atmosphere. It was dry; a wasteland. The Lords are strong. Each one was stronger than the last. And Angele is the last of them. Wouldn't expect more from him. After a second I found his figure in front of me.
"Claire," he called as he raised his hand in front of him. "Do you know what is the absolute enemy of any person?"
"Um, global warming?" I guessed.
"Our own inner demons," he answered ignoring my clearly wrong answer. A darker form than the shadows began forming in front of him from the ground. "The fears and sorrows we deny." The figure began to take form. "That is what every single person has against themselves and that is the main obstacle for anybody." Was that...me? It was a shadow. My shadow. "This will be your final opponent Clarice Florence. Can you defeat your own demons?" He sank back into the shadows. "Will you get out of this living abyss alive?"
"Great," I hissed as I took the saber out of its sheath. The shadow did the same. Huh? Does it copy me? I took two steps closer and so did the shadow. "Mimicry, huh?" Then if it follows my moves it'll be easy. I stood in stance and so did it. It charged. "What?" I didn't even move! It took me off guard throwing me halfway across the corutyard. "Not a puppet after all."
"I have my own soul that keeps me alive and moving," the Shadow said it's voice a deeper tone than mine. "Your fears. Your sorrows. Your weaknesses. All keep me alive."
"Screw that," I said going at it again.
~X~
Oz and the others saw as she fought at it with her shadow. "Is that really possible?" he asked. "To defeat the demons inside of ourselves."
"Of course it is," Angele answered. The five had moved where the three witnesses where. "It is all a matter of will."
"Say..." they heard the voice of the Shadow ring throughout the courtyard's darkness.
~X~
This is getting tiring. I was aleady out of breath and it inflicted injuries on me. But as I look at it now it's injury free. Not a scratch on it. It also had stopped attacking me. Why?
"Say, do you know why it is difficult to beat your own self?" it asked.
"It'd like killing myself?" I said still having a joking side after the ass kicking I'm getting.
"No, it is because people cannot accept their faults. It is not in their nature to accept their weaknesses," it said. "You are no different."
"Well, I'm pretty much an open book so hit me," I mocked.
"Oh really," it started changing and it ended being one of the things I least wanted to see. "How about the death of your little brother?"
"You're a low piece of shit," I call going beyond breaking point.
"You blame yourself for his death. You were too weak to help yourself and he died helping you. It was your fault," it said.
"Shut up!" I call charging at it with all I had. It blocked it and hit me instead. Damn, I can't let this anger take over me. I'll lose this way for sure! "Yeah, I get Cloude's death was my fault but I took responsability for it."
"Oh yeah, how?" it asked taking a shadow figure of Christ out.
"I'm living for him," I answer sincerely. "He gave me his life in order to keep living. I won't waste a second chance." I back stepped diasappearing from it's sight. With Radiant Dawn's new form I slashed part of its cheek. It cracked with a bit of some white light shimmering from it. What is that? It frowned and changed form a it spoke again.
"Then what about your mother?" it was her. "She gave up her own life protecting both of you. She was a traitor and that's why she died. Because she had you. Do feel responsible for that too?"
"Of course I do!" I yell not giving in to it's little game.
"Then are you going to take her place as the new Sage?" it asked smirking.
"No," I answered. "Never will I be able to replace her stead in the hearts of the many she protected and them who loved her. I will never be worthy of that place no matter how much I try."
~X~
"Got that right," Envier said scoffing. "Even if she manages to defeat all of us. I'll never admit her as our leader."
"Why?" Oz asked not getting it. "Why're you being this biased?"
"Edea-sama's place," she scorned. "No one will ever take the place of my mentor."
"However," Claire's voice resonanted getting their attention.
~X~
"However," I say in a smile. "I want to make a new place for myself. A place in their hearts where I belong. A place I got myself, not because of who I am, my name, or my status. A place I rightfully deserve. That is how I'll take responsibility for what she gave me." I suddenly saw the crack that I had made before crack even more along its body. Huh?
"F-Fine then what about him?" it started changing again. What it's plan no-... no...
~X~
'It can't be' Oz thought. Her stood up raging at Angele. "Make that thing stop!" he called.
"I apologize Oz-kun," he said eyes of sorrow knowing the pain she's be feeling. "The Shadow acts as a reflection of the heart. It lurks into the deepest depths and brings out the utmost fears and sorrows of the one. I have no control of it or what form it takes. This is what I meant by if she would be able to escape alive. Her body may be alive, it is her heart that I was heeding the warning for."
"What can we do?" he asked.
"Wait," he said sadly. "And hope she can defeat her fears."
~X~
Elliot. I was fearing the worst. This is far beyond worst.
"How tragic," it mocked. "After years of having him around only hours before he is to die you realize how you felt. It's like Romeo and Juliet. Well-" it chuckled, "-except that this Juliet lives to carry the burden of Romeo's death."
"Shut up," I hissed.
"What? Can't bare to see him like this?"
"I said shut the fuck up!" I yell as I make the gravity greater. I want to kill it. I want to bury that thought alive so it can suffer. I thought I'd left this remorse behind. Why's is it that I still feel this way?
You're strong...I believe in you...
I smile lightly. Thank you. For kind words at this moment of despair. Thank you, Elly. "I won't take the bait, Shadow. Not anymore. You're trying to use deciet on me." I shook my head still smiling, "It won't work. I won't back down anymore." I say as I start walking forth towards it. "I won't surrender. Ever."
"You can't defeat me," it turned back to my spitting image. "I am you."
"And I am you," I say smiling. I understood now. The purpose of this whole test. "Which is how I know you will hurt me not if I have no ill omen over my past errors." I stretched my hand out as I touched the crack on its cheek. It cracked further and it opened to show the white light inside. "I have accepted all you had to give. You made me remember something I had forgotten. I'm strong. Stronger than you will ever be. And I thank you for that." That's when the tears fell from the shadow and it broke. As if nothing dust became the body as the light inside it shone over the courtyard. The barrier broke and the place was illuminated by the purest of lights as tiny sprites flew around and landed on the wasteland. Grass, flowers, even trees began to grow again. It was a paradise. It reminded me of Radiant Garden. It was the place my brother created by his own heart. I'd done it.
"Claire?" I turned to see Oz standing there behind me with Gil and Alice.
I could feel the tears of joy feeling my eyes as I grinned, "I did!" I jumped up and went over to them clinging to all three as I hugged them. They all cheered.
~X~
"How?" Envier called in shock. "How was she able to pass the hardest of tests?"
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Angele, "She's strong, Envier. Wouldn't you mind making a place for her too?"
"She's going to make a heck of a Sage," Derek called.
"About that," Claire called hearing their converstaion. "I kinda resigned my post as Sage."
"You what?" the four called shocked and surprised.
"I didn't want to have the place just because I was my mother's daughter. I want it because I deserve it," she said honestly. "I don't intend to take her place either. I want a place where I belong. Which is why I want to become the sixth lord, the Lord of Light and call for a vote."
"A vote?" Derek asked.
"To see who we choose amongst us to be the next leader," she explains.
"It's true that Edea was our beloved White Sage and for that no one will be able to ever take her place," Arby says. "But perhaps we can make a new post, in the Sage's stead we'll name a King."
"A king?" she asked confused.
"The King of the Canus," Angele said. Then he stopped in thought, "Although now that we're changing traditions it'd be better it we changed the name too."
"The Court of Miracles sound just fine," Claire agreed.
"Then we'll have a vote~" Arby called. "I choose," his hand motioned to me, "Clarice Luna Florence."
"What?" she called confused. "But wouldn't a better choice be-"
"Clarice Luna Florence. Yay, go Claire Ou-sama!" Talis chanted jumping up and down.
"Angele. I don't think the best choice is-"
"Clarice Luna Florence," Derek says winking.
"Me. Would you let me finish a single-"
"Miss Clarice Luna Florence," Angele agrees.
"Sentence," she trailed off in a sigh. That was four out of five. One left. She turned to Envier who was blushing.
"Well," she said mumbling. "I-I guess, you're not half bad. Y-You wouldn't be that bad of a King..." she said. "C-Clarice-sama." She stared at Envier and suddenly bursted laughing. "What's so damn funny?"
"N-Nothing," she said wipping the tears in her eyes. "It's kinda of amusin and cute of you but there's no need to place the honorifics. And none of you have to call me by my full name. You're my comrades, my friends. Call me Claire."
"Then so be it," Angele said. "Claire Florence is, as of now, the new King of the Court of Miracles." They slightly bowed to her; the four and the attendants.
She scratched the back of her head, embarassed, "There's no need to do that." They all stood back up.
"Congratulations," Oz called. "It seems it's not only I who grew up huh?"
"Don't get cocky boy. Daylight is still out and we have training to do," she said getting Radiant Dawn out.
"Ah," he sighed. "I thought you would forget."
"Forget?" she stood in stance. "Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"
"Mind if I join?" Envier called.
"Not at all," she said. "The shorty will need as much as he can."
"I'm 5cm taller than you!" he called. "Who's short!"
"A little sparring won't hurt," Derek said.
"Hey! Four-vs-one is not fair!" he called.
"Don't worry, it'll be today's special training," she called as they began and the others watched. Angele, however, went to meet someone else.
"Was that a good show?" Angele asked the three who had been watching from the sidelines.
"It was amusing," Oscar said glad about the outcome.
"Very fun~" Cheryl agreed.
"Entertaining to say the least," Rufus said. "It surprised me that you would be under another leader and on the leash again."
"She's going to be a great leader, of that I'm sure," he ruffled through his pockets. "My King gave me this, beforehand, and told me if she were able to pass the test and be recognized that I should deliver it to the Four Dukes of Pandora." He passed it on to Cheryl. "It is adressed to Duke Rufus Barma, Duke Oscar Vessalius, and Duchess Cheryl Rainsworth. I will excuse myself now." He left on to her room with the company of his two little attendants.
"What might that me Lady Rainsworth?" Oscar asked as Cheryl read the letter to herself. Her eyes 'widened' as she finished and passed it on to Rufus. He read it fast and past it on the Oscar whose eyes, after reading it, also widened. "Is this-"
"A request," Cheryl said watching the girl who'd sent it spar.
Rufus glared at the girl, "To meet with the Four Dukes for a matter of alliance with the Court of Miracles."