"CLYDE!!!" Shiro yelled at the top of his lungs as he pushed forward using Soul energy.
"SHIRO!!!" Clyde shouted ferociously as he used wind magic to blast towards his adversary.
Both met head on and and engaged in a power struggle. Neither one willing to back down. Clyde had thought ahead and decided to slowly heat up the palm of his hands. Shiro took note of this and slammed his forehead into Clyde's, causing him to let go and stagger back. Shiro took advantage of this and hit him with a powered up kick to the gut. Clyde held his stomach and glared at Shiro.
"Ward of Binding: Chains of Retribution!" Clyde shouted as thick glowing chains shout forward and at Shiro. Said person was jumping around and sliding all over the place in order to avoid them.
Shiro stopped for a moment and jumped up straight into the air and drove down to smashed his fist into stage floor. This created a few minor tremors that caused Clyde to lose balance. Clyde held his ground and and slammed both of his hands on the ground.
"Hmph...Another stupid spell, huh?" Shiro scoffed.
"Ward of Earth: Crushing Spires!" Large spikes of rock shot from ground towards Shiro.
"If that's all you've got then this fight is pretty much over." Shiro scoffed before using a series of flips to narrowly avoid the rocks.
Clyde had prepa for this and lifted up both of his hands. "Ward of Wind: Hurricane Force!"
Monstrously large blasts of wind pushed Shiro back. Shiro crashed through a few of the rocks causing further injury.
When he climbed back up to his feet, Clyde was looking down on him with a dark expression. He lifted Shiro up by his shirt and placed a hand on his chest.
"...Shit... " Shiro muttered before receiving a full on charge of electricity from Clyde's palm.
Shiro let out a pained shout before he punched he charged up more of his Soul energy and punched Clyde square in his face. Clyde's head whipped back and he dropped Shiro to the floor.
Clyde had glared down at Shiro and Shiro sent him a smirk. Using a burst of raw power, Shiro lunged off of the ground and threw a fist at Clyde. In the blink of an eye, Clyde had managed to put up a wall of stone to block the punch. Shiro's fist lost its momentum but did still manage to punch clean through the rock which caught Clyde off guard.
Clyde jumped back and held a hand out. He blasted a wave of light at Shiro who just slapped it away and sprinted forward. Clyde glared as he clenched both fists. "Ward of Lightning: Amped Up Discharge!"
"Amped up what?" Shiro asked as he continued to run. He ended heading straight into an explosive wave of electricity. Shiro's body shook due to the intense electrocution. He was temporarily paralyzed. This gave Clyde enough time to charge up his next attack.
He placed one hand on the ground and narrowed his eyes as he forced out more mana. "Summoning Spell: Sea Emperor, Megalodon!" A large body of water formed in the center of the stage. That wasn't the strange thing though. What was really weird was the hundred foot shark that came out of it. The shark was able to levitate in the air which made the whole encounter more unsettling.
The shark looked back with and intense glare. "Human mortal! What have you awakened me?!" He asked Clyde harshly.
Clyde returned the glare and sighed. "I need a quick assist for this fight."
"I am an all powerful sea spirit! I do not plan to interject in the petty squabbles of human filth." The shark said assertively.
"I was able to summon you so you must know that I'm worthy of you power!" Clyde retorted.
"You are a child! I refuse to be used for meaningless games!"
"Just help me out! I only really need one attack anyway." Clyde said.
"...Very well. You shall receive ONE of my attacks." The shark said.
Shiro was practically sweating at this point as he continued to struggle out of the paralysis.
"Ward of Waves: Towering Tsunami!" Clyde shouted. The shark's head rose as an enormous tidal wave came rushing towards Shiro.
Shiro's eyes widened as he grit his teeth. "B...body...don't got quitting on me yet!" He surrounded himself in purple static. Before the wave could hit him, he slammed himself underground. As the large wave crashed against the floor, Clyde dropped to one knee. He gasped with exhaustion as due to his constant use of mana.
The shark looked back and Clyde with a grim look. "That attack was not enough to finish your opponent."
"What?!" Clyde asked with irritation.
"That other child...He is quite resourceful. You'd best be on your guard." The sea spirit began to descend into the glowing body of water. This caused Clyde to glare. He looked around but couldn't find Shiro.
"Damn him!" Clyde growled. He kept scanning the area until he heard a rumbling noise from below him. Before he could even react, a quick fist flew up from the ground and clocked Clyde in his chin. Clyde flew back and landed on his back. He looked up and growled at Shiro.
"What's up with you dude? Something just ain't right about this. I don't know, but I feel like you're holding back…" Shiro said.
"Tch...I don't know what you're talking about you idiot." Clyde replied as he climbed to his feet.
Shiro continued to ponder his thoughts. "That's it! You're not using your fire! Isn't that like your best magic? Why not go all out?!"
"Don't get so full of yourself Shiro. I don't need my fire to beat you! You don't even have any mana! The fact that you came this far was a damn fluke! You're nothing without that damn Soul energy!" Clyde hissed.
"..." Shiro stayed silent, letting Clyde ramble on.
"I'd of beaten you easily. Even back at Necro Fall I would've killed you had it not been for that stupid little trump card ability that you have! It's nothing but a cop out! Meanwhile I train to strengthen my mana. All you have to do is get upset and throw a goddamn hissy fit!" Clyde glared.
I sighed. "You have no idea what it's like having to use a power like this because you can't use what essentially everyone else can! I grew up disappointing my father, my sister, my entire kingdom, and at times even those that I call my...friends." Shiro directed that last part at Gabby. "You don't know what it's like to be reminded of how much of a failure you are every single day."
Clyde's eye twitched. "I don't know? You stupid son of a bitch! I've known it all my life! Don't you dare try and compare your life to mine! I never got the chance to succeed! I had to leave my home because I was shunned for my actions. Actions that I thought were the right thing to do! Your screw ups are selfish and don't help any fucking body!"
Shiro glared hell and Clyde. Purple static surrounded him. "What could I have possibly wanted to gain from watching everyone I care about DIE?!"
~WHAM~
A loud, booming sound could be heard after Shiro slammed his fist into Clyde's chest, causing him to gasp. Clyde slid across the floor. He slowly got back up and glared when he noticed Shiro standing directly in front of him.
"..." Clyde went wide eyed when he saw Shiro's wet face.
"I LOST EVERYTHING!" Shiro yelled.
~WHAM~
Clyde's head bounced off the stage floor after Shiro decked him in the face. His lips were bleeding at a constant rate. Shiro didn't even give Clyde the chance to get up. He grabbed him by his mage robe and narrowed his eyes.
"You know the worst part about it. I end up losing everything all over again…" He said as cocked his fist back.
Clyde's hands shot forward and he force palmed Shiro off of him. "Your problems are your own. I have my own goals that I have to accomplish. You just another obstacle that I have to overcome no matter what it takes!"
"I knew you were an arrogant dick but damn you starting to piss me off."
"Enough talking Shiro! I plan on ending this fight. I never got to finish you off last time."
Shiro rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Ain't shit left to say anyway…"
-Up in the Judgment Booth-
"Such interesting boys. I had no idea they'd be this powerful." Xeto said with a small smirk.
"Well Clyde did train with me. Just you wait till he uses his pyromancy!" Xeno spoke.
"That Shiro boy...I feel as if I sensed not just his presence, but also another one similar in the world. I can't explain it but it's like there's two of him." Dex said.
"That would probably be me." Tatsu suddenly said, shocking everyone in the booth.
"Who the hell is that?!" Xeno shouted with panic.
"Tatsu? I didn't expect you to actually still come." Xena said.
"Yeah, sorry I'm late. He to do a thing. So what'd I miss?" He asked before staring down at the center stage and watching watching his younger self fighting Clyde. "Wow, those two are really going at it!"
"Might I ask who exactly you are?" Dex spoke.
"You mean the resemblance isn't clear? I'm Shiro Tatsugami!" He said.
"But I thought that the kid was Shiro." Zero spoke. He was leaning on a nearby wall with his arms crossed.
"I'm from the future. I had to come back in time with a little chronomancy." Tatsu said.
"Chronomancy?! But that's not possible. Only one chronomancer exists!" Xeto said.
"While that is technically true, the one still alive in this timeline will end up training me...well the younger me…" Tatsu explained.
"So how strong are you?" Zero asked.
"Well think of it like this. In my timeline and my other half destroys everything and everyone. He erased humanity from existence, he slayed the Greek and Hindu gods, he murdered the God of Heaven, then destroyed Heaven anyway, he took over Hell after killing the Devil Kings and then blew it all up and now there's no life or afterlife. Every soul is now forever apart of him and is trapped in Limbo. To compare me to him, I'd say that I'm just as strong with less destructive powers…" Tatsu said causing everyone to stare at him.
"T...that strong...So is that kid gonna turn out like you?" Zero asked, slightly shaken up.
"Hmm...If my plan goes accordingly, then no. He should never have to get to this level of strength. Then again, history has a weird way of repeating itself. Even though this timeline's Shiro and Clyde are already much more different than in my timeline, they are both steadily closing the power gap."
"So they'll be worthy of a fight…" Zero spoke with an excited grin.
"Well, I'm gonna head out. I just thought that I'd stop by and see what was happening." Tatsu said before teleporting away.
"Such a strange guy…" Xeno said before returning to the fight.
"...Clyde was able to summon a high rank water element BattleBeast. That feat alone deserves praise." Xeto said.
"He was also able to use mid to high tier electrical spells with ease. His utility spells aren't exactly flawed either." Dex said.
"I did teach him the solid foundation of magic. He knows his basics and he has a good grasp on lightning based attacks and defense." Xena said.
"How interesting. With a little work, he'll be able to grasp cryomancy in no time." Xeto said. This caused Zero to narrow his eyes a bit.
"He is a true prodigy indeed. I may actually be inclined to keep tabs on this boy. Him and and Shiro." Dex said.
Zero continued to look at both fighters. "I just might get a good fight sooner than I expected…"
-Back on the tournament stage-
Shiro zipped around Clyde with enhanced speed. During his movements, he was able to land about seventy three punches within the span of five seconds. This left Clyde annoyed. As Shiro tries to go in for another quick set of punches, Clyde slammed him down to the floor. Shiro, while still on the ground did a windmill and tripped Clyde to the floor.
Shiro did a few backhandsprings to gain distance from Clyde. His hands glowed purple and his aura flared up.
"This better work!" Shiro shouted as he ran forward at breakneck speeds. As Clyde got back up, he noticed Shiro standing directly behind him. Before he could move he noticed that he was wrapped up thin, glowing, purple strings.
"What the hell is this?" He asked Shiro.
"This is phase one. My Soul Strands." He said before shoving his heel up into Clyde's chin, pushing him into the air! Shiro vanished from sight and reappeared directly into front of the wrapped up Clyde. "This is phase two." Shiro axe handled Clyde downward and into the ground. "Here's the finale!" Shiro took a deep inhale. "This is my first time trying this out so bare with me." Before anyone could process the current events, Shiro spewed out a large stream of bright purple flames down on Clyde. The flames engulfed the entire stage.
Everyone thought it was all over for the mage, but they'd only end up surprised to see him standing there without a hint of damage from the strange fire.
"You call that fire? You just keep letting people down Tatsugami…" Clyde shrugged.
"What did you just say, ashole?!" Shiro shouted as he land back down.
"That didn't even tickle…" Clyde smirked.
"Oh shut up that was my first time trying out that Elemental Dracomancy…" Shiro scoffed.
"Pretty pathetic if you ask me." Clyde said.
"Well I DIDN'T ask you so piss off." Shiro said. "Speaking of fire, when are you gonna use yours? You want beat me the way you are now. You're just blowing through your mana and it's not even doing anything significant. Quit holding back!"
"No...I don't need it to beat you!" Clyde said.
That's when Shiro punched him across his face. "You piece of shit! You call yourself MY rival? You won't even take me seriously when I'm kicking you ass!"
"Tch...Like I said before, don't get so confident." Clyde hissed back.
"Why shouldn't I be? I mean, you let me do stuff like this." Without any sort of warning, Shiro kicked Clyde in his chest and made him smash into one of the still standing rock spires. Within seconds he had Clyde tied firmly against it. "Now, you're gonna take me seriously…" Shiro started before pouring a huge amount of energy into his right hand. "...Or you're going night night you prick!" Shiro sprinted forward with his fist balled up and glowing brightly. "MAKE YOUR MOVE CLYDE!!!"
Clyde's heart race as Shiro was quickly closing the distance. His body continued to struggle but it was no use. He sighed and narrowed his eyes. "You want my flames so badly...Then fine. Just remember that you asked for this Shiro…" Clyde's body began to heat up at and incredible rate. The entire stadium engulfed in a heat wave. His body glowed bright orange as if he were a miniature sun. Clyde looked forward. His eyes were now a sunrise orange just like how Xeno's would be when he got serious.
"Holy shit… " Shiro said as he stopped and stared at the glowing Clyde.
"HHHRRRRRRAAAAAAAAA!!!" Clyde shouted as he finally let loose his true power. He burned the soul strands away with the intense flames that surrounded him. Clyde smirked at him.
"Talk about hot headed." Shiro joked with a grin. "It's about time that you got serious!"
"Still as dimwitted as ever. You're cracking jokes while I'm at full power. You are the dumbest of idiots, you know that." Clyde said.
"Whatever...It's time I get active too!" Shiro smirked. He began to charge up his energy tenfold. The static surrounding him whipped around my violently. His eye were purple and his hair swayed wildly. His tattered shirt ripped clean off. His muscles bulging as strange markings appeared on his skin. They glowed a bright purple as he breathed.
"So this is it, huh…" Clyde spoke.
"Sure is…" Shiro said back.
-At ringside-
Gabby and Isabel stared at the two with looks of awe. Both looked intense and seemed more powerful than ever.
"You willing to place any bets?" Gabby asked her friend.
"I'm gonna go with Shiro on this one. I've never seen him look like that before."Isabel said.
"Really? I gotta go with Clyde. Fire is his best element. Plus, I can tell by the amount of mana that he's giving off that he's serious now." Gabby explained.
"I guess we'll have to see." Isabel stated.
-In the stadium seats-
"Those two really know how to put on a show…" Eliza said as she rubbed her temples.
"They are quite strong for their age. Clyde was expected to get this far, but Shiro has very little mana. His abilities are most unusual." Amora said as she scratched behind Vizeron's ears.
"That kid is a bit of a mystery…" Eliza spoke.
"KICK HIS ASS BETA MALE!!!" Viz howled.
-In the Judgment Booth-
"YES!!! My student has finally shown off his incredible flames! This match is as good as over now!" Xeno shouted with pride.
"Such intensity. I can't believe that they are both just teenagers! This fight is truly heating up!" Xeto said.
"It's all or nothing now. I can tell that they are both at their limits. Neither one can maintain that much raw power for extended periods of time." Xena spoke.
"The boy with little mana has been able to stand against a prodigious genius like Clyde. Just how powerful must that Soul energy be in order to match pure mana?" Dex spoke.
Zero continued to stare at the to with an engaged look on his face. He couldn't help but find the two of them fascinating.
-Back on the stage-
Neither dared to say a singular word. They only stared and watch the other's movements intently. After moments of staring, both disappeared from the eyes of those watching. A second later, a thunderous shockwave was heard. Up in the sky, both fighters could be seen trading blows. Every hit could be felt by the audience.
Clyde smacked Shiro down to the ground. He landed down easily and smirked. Shiro landed on his feet and glared at Clyde as the mage unleashed a barrage of small fireballs.
"Tch...That all you got?" Shiro said as he walked forward. The blasts seemed to barely affect him. The flames seemed to bounce off of him as he continued to move closer to Clyde.
As Clyde realized that his attack wasn't working, he quickly dropped his blasts and launched a huge blast at Shiro. Shiro held out his hand and fired off a small blast of Soul energy. When the two blasts collided, a large explosion formed and smoke covered the area and hid both fighters.
The smoke soon cleared showing Shiro holding Clyde in his grasp. He punched Clyde away. Clyde twisted away and landed on his feet. The minute Clyde looked up he was met with a heavy drop kicked to the face. Clyde skidded back and upped his flames to near deadly levels. His fire spread around the stage and he grinned.
"That's it! It's over for you Shiro!" Clyde yelled as he clasped his hands together. "You lose!"
"You really think that?" Shiro asked as his purple static once again surged.
"Ward of Flames…" Clyde started as a bright little sun formed into his hand. The heat in the area went up to near unbearable temperatures.
"So that's your plan, huh?" Shiro said. As he grabbed his right forearm. The purple static shifted to his right arm. Purple aura surrounded him and powered him up.
Clyde stomped his foot on the ground creating a narrow pathway for his attack to travel by using earth magic.. "Time's up Tatsugami! BLAZING INFERNO!!!" Clyde forward his insanely large amount of solar energy at Shiro.
"I WON'T LOSE TO YOU CLYDE!!!" Shiro yelled as he pushed forward. The large blast hit him but he continued to run head on. He charged through it regardless of the burning sensation on his skin. He closed the distance and reeled his fist back. Right before he could thrust his punch, Clyde unleashed the rest of his mana and exploded right in his face.
Clyde's blast erupted and the entire stage exploded leaving nothing but rubble. The crowd looked up and saw the destruction with wide eyes. When the smoke cleared, both Clyde and Shiro were standing right in front of each other. Clyde had a look of shock as Shiro's fist was less than a centimeter in front of his face. Shiro's head was down and his body had steam rising from it.
"..." Clyde was speechless.
"Y...you...still...suck…" Shiro muttered before collapsing to the floor, unconscious. The crowd went wild and let out screams of praise to Clyde. Meanwhile Clyde was still in shock at how close he was to getting beaten.
"SHIRO TATSUGAMI IS OUT COLD! THE WINNER IS CLYDE YUKIO!!!" The pixie shouted.
-In the Judgment Booth-
"Did you see that Xeto?! He used MY signature attack to finish the fight! I knew that this world be the outcome." Xeno said.
Zero stared hard at Clyde. His light blue aura flared and the wall he was leaning on began to freeze over. "Hmph...So it's decided. Master Xeto, you will train the mage, correct?"
"Of course. He had promise indeed." Xeto said to his first student.
Zero grinned. "Then it's a known fact that he will the one that I face." He looked back at Clyde and his eyes flashed light blue for a brief moment. "Clyde Yukio...You'll be my first rival."
-At Ringside-
"Aw man! Shiro lost…" Isabel muttered.
"Yep. Just like I thought. Shiro's Shiro's strong but Clyde's too much of a mage to lose a competition like this." Gabby said.
-In the ring-
Dex, Xena, Xeno, Xeto and Zero had levitated to the center stage next to Clyde.
"Congratulations Clyde." Xena said with a proud smile.
"You fought most admirably young Yukio! I'm proud to call you my first student!" Xeno praised.
"Yes. My brother is correct. You took down your opponent with much skill. I'd be honored to have you under my wing and teach you about cryomancy." Xeto spoke.
Zero walked up to Clyde with a wide grin. "I will finally have a worthy challenger. Listen to me Clyde. I want you to train hard with Xeto. Once your training is completed, you and I will fight to see which of us is stronger."
"Ok…" Clyde said, slightly
"Clyde Yukio...Step forward and claim you prize!" Dex said sternly.
"...Yes sir!" Clyde walked over to Dex.
Dex lifted up his hand. A bright little star formed and he handed it to Clyde. "To you, I bestow the Mana Star."
The moment I hit Clyde's hand, it was absorbed into his skin. Clyde glowed brightly and his mana not only recovered, but also increased in power. His mana flame also had a drastic increased in potency.
"...No...I needed that...I...I'm not...done…" Said a shaky voice.
Clyde looked down and saw the burnt and bloody hand of Shiro. The boy was a complete mess. He looked as if he were on the verge of death.
"How the hell are you still...wait…" Clyde's eyes widened and his blood ran cold.
The whole arena went silent as they stared at Shiro. His eyes held little life in them. He legitimately almost died and yet he still tried to fight against him.
"W...why? Why are you…" Clyde was genuinely confused. Shiro's head slammed down onto the floor.
"We need a medic out here!" The pixie shouted.
Isabel jumped up and pushed past everyone. She quickly kneeled down in order to work her magic. Eliza and Amora ran down to inspect the damage.
"Goddamn!" Eliza gasped.
"Stand aside Isabel. I shall assist you." Amora said as she too began to heal the boy.
-The Next Day-
(SHIRO'S POV)
It was dark...I was so cold...I couldn't move. I just felt...empty…"Shiro...You need to wake up…" Said a soothing woman's voice."Who said that?" I asked"Shh...Not now Shiro...We can't meet yet but we will soon. Very very soon…" The voice said."What? Why?!" I asked."I'll see you later Shiro. Now wake up." She said.
I snapped my eyes open and looked at my surroundings. I was laying down on a soft bed in a familiar room. Next to me was Vizeron who was sleeping soundly. I slowly cut up and saw that I was sleeping in Clyde's bed. I sighed to myself and lifted the sheets off.
"...Guess he's not a complete asshole…" I muttered. I climbed out of the bed and headed out of the room.
I continued walking until I bumped into Tatsu who was com from Eliza's room. I stared at him and he grinned.
"Uh...What's up?" He asked me.
"Well...What the hell happen after the tournament? Did I win?!" I asked.
"Heheh...heheeheh...hahaa...HAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Tatsu began cracking up. He was practically crying.
"Wow...It's that funny?" I asked.
"Ah...Ahem! No...No you didn't win." He said.
"Damn!" I hissed. Where's Clyde at? He wasn't in the room when I woke up." I asked.
"Oh right…He went to with Xeto to train at Frost Park. Izzy, Xena and Amora tagged along to help him along the way. Gabby...well she went to go hang out with Zero so…"
"WHAT?!" I shouted.
"What did I tell you. It was only a matter of time." He said.
"When did they leave?!" I asked with haste.
"Three days ago."
"THREE DAYS?! How long have I been out?" I asked.
"Five days…"
I dropped to the floor and held my head with frustration. "No no no! I can't lose Gabby! I need her...but maybe this is for the best. I still can't fully control my Soul energy. " I said.
"Oh yeah…that reminds me. You're gonna resume your training with me and Eliza. This time with no form of distractions. You'll need to be prepared for your next fight." Future me spoke.
"Next fight? Who's ass do I gotta kick?" I asked.
"You need to be ready to fight Zero." He said.
I clenched my fist. "...I won't let you down Tatsu. I'll give it my all!" I said with motivation. "If I fuck him up, Gabby will see how cool I am and love me again!"
"...Yeah uh...Don't get your hopes up kid…" Tatsu said but I ignored him.
"Let's do this!" I shouted.