Jean pulled her sword back and winds blanketed the arena once again. Aether simply smiled and walked forward. Golden light flickered around his feet, stopping the winds from bothering him. As he stalked forward, he saw fear prominent in Jean's eyes. Regardless, with a loud cry, Jean stabbed at him again, releasing all the built up winds. The only difference is that Aether didn't move anywhere. He moved to the side and slashed downward. Jean, not expecting this, reacted too slow. She tried moving backward, but received a cut to her leg. Aether moved forward, eyes glinting.
"You rely on the winds to keep your distance," Aether said. "But let's see how you fight in close combat."
He dashed forward again and slashed upward. Jean parried, and stabbed back. Aether slipped to the side, and struck again. It glanced off of the tip of Jean's sword and bit into her side. Jean yelled in pain, and moved backward. Aether stalked forward, confident. Jean bit her lip, and used her skill a third time. As expected, Aether wasn't affected, but there it was. That one last particle of Anemo energy Jean needed. It hit her, and she felt the power of the winds surging throughout her body. She raised her sword, and it glowed bright green. She raised it to her face and twisted it. Again, like before, winds blew all throughout the arena, and her wounds healed themselves. She raised her sword against Aether's and pushed him back.
"Now we can truly begin," Aether said.
His sword ignited with a strange golden energy. He dashed forward and struck multiple times in quick succession. Jean, however, with the aid of her Elemental Burst, was able to parry accurately. The constant clashing of blade on blade drew gasps and cheers from the crows. However, all too soon, her Burst began to fade.
As Aether's sword descended in a flash of gold, Jean brought her sword up to meet it. The impact lasted less than a second. Aether then struck again multiple times, and Jean was barely able to parry. Her Burst ended completely, and Aether slashed and struck, driving Jean back inch by inch, yard by yard, until, with an explosive bang, Jean's sword shattered into hundreds of shards of metal, flying all over the arena. The Anemo power that was imbued in it swirled in the air, and it exploded with the force of a bomb. Jean flew to the other side of the arena and skidded across the ground, while Aether's clothes blew freely in the wind.
The golden energy that surrounded Aether's sword dissipated, and Varka ran to help Jean. Aether stood at the side slightly awkwardly, waiting for Varka's verdict. Varka took a shaky breath and called out, "Aether wins! Please go to the healer," he muttered to Jean. Jean nodded and walked off. Aether returned to the wall, where Keqing was waiting.
"What was that?" Keqing asked. Aether, for his part, looked nonplussed. "What was… what?" he asked.
Keqing waved her hands around. "You know… that. That golden energy. The power you use. What is it?"
Aether looked to the side, seemingly embarrassed. "It's… Well, I'm not sure how to explain it, really. My father doesn't have this power, and I don't think my mother did either. Only my sister and I can use it in our family, as far as we can tell." he explained.
Keqing nodded. Aether sat down and waited for Keqing's match to come up. A dangerous look came over Varka's face. "Keqing and Ajax!" he called out. Keqing grumbled and slapped the wall.
"I hate you," she muttered. Aether looked taken aback.
"What for?" he asked, surprised.
"Not you. I don't hate you. Well, yet. Varka hates you. You'll have a really hard time getting to the top. You'll have to go through Ajax, who's very hard to beat. The only students known to beat him so far are Diluc and Xiao. I can't. I can only hope to injure him enough so that he doesn't go to the healer, but will impact his abilities." she said.
"Wait. Is this the Ajax that was, uh… hitting on my sister?" Keqing's eyebrows raised.
"Yes, he is," she giggled. Aether's expression darkened. Keqing stopped laughing, and lowered her voice. "Don't get too overconfident, though. He's still very strong."
"Hmm. I think I can beat him, but… I'm not sure about anyone here yet. Best of luck to you, however." Aether said. Keqing nodded.
As Keqing walked up to the stage, Aether sat back and decided to analyze the fight. When Ajax drew out a bow, that caught his attention. Didn't Keqing say that Ajax was really hard to beat? As far as he could tell, people who used a bow were usually a lot weaker. But, he was a special case. He could close distances extremely easily. For others who couldn't it'd be a lot harder.
As Varka blew his whistle, Ajax launched three arrows imbued with Hydro instantly. Keqing evaded, and ran forward, sword flashing.
When Keqing was just about to hit him, Ajax dodged, and his bow split into dual Hydro blades. He struck back, and Keqing parried. While Keqing was fast and agile, Ajax was more so. For every hit Keqing managed to land on Ajax, he would score double the amount. Eventually, Ajax managed to land a lucky hit, and Keqing's sword clattered onto the arena ground. Varka's whistle blew, and Keqing headed to the healer, while Ajax simply walked off the stage. When Keqing returned, Aether patted her on the back.
"You fought well. Most people wouldn't stand a chance against you. You're fast, strong, and stable. He only has an age and experience advantage," he said.
"That doesn't change the fact that I lost," Keqing muttered. "But thank you for your kind words."
Aether simply shrugged. "Least I could do," he said.
The pair sat in a somewhat awkward silence until Varka came up to the stage.
"Well fought to everyone! Now we have two final contestants, one of which will walk away the victor! Now, on one side, we have Ajax, one of the best fighters and the number one swimmer in the school! On the other side, we have Aether, a newcomer with surprisingly sharp skills. Not much is known about him, but make sure to watch your back! Aether and Ajax, please report to the ring!"
Aether stood up, and Keqing tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey," she said. She looked like she was holding something back. "Good luck. Try not to die."
Aether rubbed his hands in anticipation. "This is gonna be fun. See you soon," he said.
As Aether walked away, Keqing felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't told him about Ajax's REAL weapon: his Delusion. Gifted to him by the Fatui, all good fighters from Snezhnaya could join the Fatui after graduating from high school. And for some absurd reason, Varka let him use it. Ajax didn't use it often, but when he did… Well, it wasn't good for the health of his enemy. Only very strong fighters could withstand his Delusion. Xiao's Elemental Burst gave him an equal status, and only Varka and Mr. Zhongli could fight him down. Otherwise… Ajax always won.
As Aether walked up to the ring, Ajax entered from the other side. "Aether, Ajax, shake hands!" Varka called. Aether and Ajax walked to the center and shook hands.
"Hey, you." Aether said.
"Hm?" Ajax asked.
"Lay off my twin sister, won't you? If she says no, just accept no," he said. Ajax looked nonplussed.
"Which one's your twin sister? The new kid? Lumi… Lumine?" he asked. Aether nodded.
"That's her."
Ajax shrugged his shoulders. "She's cute. I like her. We'll see," he said, and walked to the opposite side of the ring. Aether mirrored him.
Varka, once again, was playing referee.
"You are ready?" he shouted. Ajax and Aether nodded. "Good! Begin!"
Ajax loosed two arrows towards Aether, who quickly slashed them down. Aether dashed forward, intending to get to close range, but Ajax surprised him. When Aether got close, his bow glowed blue, and Ajax split it into two separate swords with an explosion of Hydro energy, blinding Aether. Ajax slashed, and Aether jumped back immediately. Aether kept his distance from Ajax, analyzing the technique.
Aether had never faced an opponent with two different fighting styles before, able to be cycled through so smoothly. Ajax rushed forward, not giving him much time to think. Aether slashed and parried, clashing against the dual Hydro blades with skill. Aether kicked low and slashed high, causing Ajax to stumble. Ajax rushed away in a flash of water, and analyzed Aether. He was clearly stronger than he let on. For two minutes straight, the two opponents glared at each other across the arena, both analyzing each other. Eventually, Aether nodded to himself, like coming to a decision. Ajax rushed forward in a wave of water, and Aether rushed right back in a flash of gold. The two combatants were once again locked in combat, slashing and swinging. Aether dropped a little golden ball behind him, and pressed forward against Ajax. Ajax slammed his two swords into a lance, and jabbed at Aether who moved back. Ajax forced Aether back, until he stepped over the golden ball.
Aether smirked, and clenched his free hand into a fist. The golden ball glowed, then exploded in a pillar of golden energy, throwing Ajax into the air. Aether leaped up, and his foot surrounded itself with golden energy as well. He brought his foot down in an axe kick, sending Ajax crashing into the ground. Aether landed with a plunging attack, knocking Ajax back again. Aether smirked, and stepped forward. However, Ajax wasn't done.
"Hey, you're pretty good. But this is the end of the line." He slipped a mask on, and Electro energy started gathering around him. With a roar of thunder and water, the cage of energy broke open, revealing Ajax. His appearance had changed, instead of the ghostly grey and red scarf he had worn before, it had changed into a black jacket with a scarf crackling with Electro. His watery swords had been changed into ones of crackling Electro.
Aether's brow creased. "What is this?" Ajax grinned like a madman.
"This, my friend, is a Delusion! Gifted to me by the Fatui, allows me to control two elements at once. It boosts both my speed and my strength. And it will spell your doom."
"We'll see about that." Aether levelled his sword in challenge. "Come at me."
Ajax charged, leaving trails of Electro in his wake. He clashed against Aether again, but Aether held his ground. Again and again the Electro blades clashed against the golden one. Soon, however, Ajax began to take the upper hand. Ajax slammed the two Electro blades together, forming a larger dual-bladed weapon. He raised it above his head, and a circle of Electro surrounded Aether. Seeing as the circle of Electro followed him wherever he went, Aether had no choice but to block as best he could.
Ajax leaped high into the air, and brought his weapon crashing down. The explosion rocked the arena in an explosion of Electro. Once the smoke cleared, Ajax stood there, looking very surprised. Aether was still standing, although his clothes had been singed.
"Well, that's quite a surprise. You survived that. But you're too tired to go on, and I can see that." Ajax said. Aether smirked.
"Not so fast, buddy. I, too, have a Delusion of sorts. Although it does not give me mastery over multiple elements, it does boost my power by a significant amount," A faint golden glow was emanating from underneath his shirt. Aether reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a little necklace. On it was a little ball of light, pulsing gold. Aether gripped it, and golden light shot out between his fingers. Through the light, he looked Ajax in the eyes, which were wide with surprise.
"Would you like to see it?"
haHA other story updates go brrr. Can't wait to see what Aether has in store for Childe...
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