"Hear thee, hear thee! I come bringing wondrous news." The ace reporter of the school press spoke as he approached John and Blyke, who were talking near John's locker.
"What are you going on about now?" Blyke said.
"Tsk, tsk. I would've kept my mouth shut if it was anyone else." Isen hung his arm around Blyke's shoulder. "But I'll let it slide since it's you." He then nodded his head at John. "And I guess you can know too since you're his roommate."
"Thanks?" John replied, confused.
Isen dropped his voice, ensuring it didn't go beyond a whisper. "From what I've heard, they'll be serving the Triple Chocolate Cake for Lunch today!"
Blyke and John's eyes lit up hearing the news.
"You serious? Hell yeah! Where do you always get this info from?" Blyke asked.
"We ain't gotta talk about it."
Choco...Chocolate Cake?! Chocolate Cake! John's tastebuds salivated at the thought.
"I know, I know, I'm amazing. No need for your thanks. Better hurry though, I'm sure there's going to be a mad dash right about..."
The bell rang, signaling lunch. Sure enough, it appeared everyone had quickened their walking pace just a bit, in hopes of it being there, even if they had no confirmation.
"Now."
Blyke looked at John, then at Isen.
Isen looked at Blyke, then John.
John looked at Isen, then Blyke.
"First come first serve!" Blyke and Isen shouted almost in unison as they ran, activating their abilities.
Isen's ability gave him, among other things, increased physicality, making him faster. While Blyke was using bursts of energy beams to propel himself toward his destination.
"You sons of— That's cheating!" John shouted.
Before they got too far out of his range, John read Blyke and Isen's aura. He had no chance of making it there before them if he didn't use his ability.
And goddamn it if that Triple Chocolate Cake wasn't worth it, nothing was!
But neither of their abilities focused on Speed—Blyke's focus was on Power while Isen had an even split between Power and Defense—so regular amplification wouldn't give him the capability to outspeed them.
He smiled, it was a good thing he could do more than just that now.
Blyke grumbled. With other people in the way, it was a pain trying to propel himself toward the cafeteria's location, allowing Isen to have gotten just a bit ahead, the slippery bastard.
His curiosity led him to look back, wondering where John had gotten.
He wouldn't have to wonder for much longer, as he found him dashing past him in moments.
...
Wait a minute!
John weaved his way through the other students at a speed that was hard to register for them, even from Blyke himself, and interestingly, a trail of black and orange energy was left behind in his action.
So he has an ability similar to mine? Something to do with energy? He's definitely faster from the looks of it.
Isen caught onto what was going on behind him, seeing John was catching up quickly. Actually, he had caught up to him almost instantaneously.
"Oh fuck!" It scared Isen a little how sudden it was.
"That chocolate cake is mine."
The words John uttered had sent a shiver down Isen's spine, whether it was meant to or not before John continued his dash bursts, easily getting ahead of him.
Alright, I think I've gotten the hang of it.
Having used Adrion's ability for a bit of practice—At his friend's own request, wanting to help John come to better terms with his ability as well—John had reacquainted himself with his amplifying technique and took it further through the months he spent training his friend. As a result, he's learned to amplify to a higher degree.
The way it felt to John, it was like he would amplify one stat of the ability before, but now...he could do so for two.
VICTORY! John gloated as he scooped up one of the first plates that held the glorious slice of Triple Chocolate Cake.
"Damn it." Blyke and Isen spoke in defeat, grabbing two of the other slices. The first slice was always the best.
"Whatever, cake is cake!" Isen spoke, pulling off the wrapper from his spoon.
"...Why are you using a spoon to eat cake?" Blyke spoke in helpless confusion.
"Are you seriously asking me that? Do you not remember the incident back in first year with you-know-who?!" Isen spoke in a loud whisper, quickly looking back over his shoulders to make sure a certain blonde pretty boy didn't come fading into existence.
Blyke remembered but preferred not to, cringing at the thought. "Oh, yeah. So what? Now you can't use a fork for the rest of your life?"
Isen nodded. "It'll require much time to heal the trauma that was inflicted on me."
Blyke rolled his eyes. "Give me a break."
"Cake, Cake, Cake is Great~ The greatest bake that a baker makes~" John hummed the little rhyme to himself as he tore the wrapper off the fork.
John found his eyes wandering the cafeteria, trying to find a good spot for the three of them before he suddenly landed on a familiar face sitting at one of the tables, chatting with a boy with indigo hair. That's that girl from yesterday...Evie! Maybe I should—
"You." A girl's voice called out.
John turned and...
Damn it, not you again.
Seraphina stood with her arms crossed, an icy glare directed at John.
"What do you want now, majesty?" John asked.
Her glare grew deadlier by the second. "I want that cake of yours, give it to me."
"...Heh."
Blyke smacked his partner's head. "Get your mind out the gutter, Isen."
The two were off to the side, watching the scene between John and Seraphina. Quite frankly, Blyke didn't have a good feeling for what might happen.
Please don't be a dumbass, John. He thought.
"No way!" John declared.
Goddamn it!
"You're the Queen, so what? You ain't a good one anyways." John pointed at his slice with his fork. "You haven't done a thing to deserve this, so back off and get your own!"
His backtalk had caused some commotion between the on-lookers, surprised at how the new transfer student had so blatantly disrespected their Rank 1 and wondering how she would handle it.
"Blyke, what the hell is your roommate doing?" Isen whispered, with a bit of franticness in his voice.
"I don't know! Trying to get himself killed?!" Blyke responded, frantic as well.
"Well, shit." Isen pulled out his phone, putting it into camera mode. "If nothing else, it'll make for a funny article." He could imagine it now, 'Dumbass transfer student gets REKT by Queen over Cake!'
Seraphina's eyes narrowed and her fists tightened.
Deserve? What the hell do you know about deserving something? I've worked hard to achieve everything I have. To become the best. Deserving a slice of cake is the least of my problems...you are such an annoyance.
She uncrossed her arms, holding one of her hands out.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
John's expression grew wary and he could even feel a shiver go through his body as he felt the activation of Seraphina's ability, seeing her glowing blue eyes. It felt as if there was an incredibly intense pressure resonating from her now.
This was...by far...the strongest aura he's felt in his life, outclassing anyone else he's faced by a wide margin. Without realizing it, he'd begun to analyze her ability, out of instinctual habit.
Her Power and Speed are ridiculous, not to mention such a high Recovery as well. Her only glaring weakness is a lack of Defense...There's no doubt she's a God-Tier.
John calmed himself, closing his eyes for a moment, before meeting Seraphina's gaze with his own, glowing amber.
"...He cannot seriously be doing this." Isen mumbled, snapping some pics. John was definitely fast, but Seraphina was in a whole league of it. Meanwhile, Blyke was grumbling, face in his hands from what he was witnessing.
I fucking told him not to—Why am I stuck around dumbasses?!
Seraphina's glare was momentarily replaced with disbelief, before it shifted into displeasure.
"Don't. Be. Stupid." She ordered.
John raised a hand up to his head and held the plate forward as he slowly walked towards her. "Taking precaution is all."
He tried to narrow down her ability while he sampled and copied her aura.
With what Blyke said before and the read I'm getting on her aura, she at least has some form of advanced speed augmentation. Does that translate to how hard she hits? Because she can move so fast? How does that explain the Recovery, though?
John then realized how he seemed to pick up on minor actions more from the people moving around him. It's not as if they were slow but he could process it more thoroughly and more quickly. Some sort of enhanced perception? Reflexes maybe? Is that her passive?
This idiot better not try anything... Seraphina bitterly thought, growing more and more tired of this nonsense.
A question lay in both their minds.
What the hell is your ability?
John brought his hand further, appearing just about to give her the slice of cake. If he really wanted to not draw attention to himself, he should just give the cake to her and be done with it.
However...
"Whoops." The plate slipped from John's fingers and the cake fell through the air. It would land on the floor.
Well...It would've landed on the floor, had John not caught it in mid-air and brought it back to himself.
Quickened reflexes...and I can accelerate my body's movement.
He was aware of the multiple ways abilities would act in order to be used, so with that little test, he quickly understood that this acceleration was done through the charging of aura. It was a rather common method for speed-based abilities, performing it wasn't difficult.
"That was a close one, no way I could deal with sacrificing my cake like that." John spoke calmly, taking a bite of the gooey chocolate goodness that was the TCC. I would've been an idiot to waste this! It's so fucking good!
The attention this situation will bring him will be annoying, but he isn't going to back down.
"Did...Did that just happen?" Isen mumbled, snapping some pics.
"...He's definitely dead now." Blyke said, peaking between his fingers
"Oh yeah, definitely."
Seraphina's eyes widened, she could feel her breathing becoming more shallow and erratic.
What...What had he just done?
"Hey, what's going on over there?"
"Looks like a standoff between Seraphina and the new kid."
"Did she just get outplayed by him?"
"No way! She's supposed to be our perfect goddess!"
The whispering...Why is it always there?
"Could he actually be stronger than her?"
"That would be crazy though!"
Why won't they ever just stop?!
"I guess she isn't so perfect anymore..."
"She can finally get knocked off her high horse."
Shut up...Just shut up!
John momentarily stopped eating his cake, seeing what was happening to Seraphina, the expression on her face leaving him...worried. But that worry changed to himself as her eyes shot to him, anger enveloping them.
She practically became a blur to everyone else as she charged forward, aiming to knock John into the next year. But to her utter confusion, she didn't feel her fist connect to his body and she didn't hear the sound of him colliding into the wall. She instead felt the air her fist move through and a large burst of force erupt from the power behind her attack.
Where...Where did he go?!
"That was close."
She snapped her head behind her, facing John to see him standing off to the side, taking another bite of his cake while wiping a drop of sweat from his cheek.
This passive of hers had aided his own, letting him analyze her aura quicker, so seeing how she charged up her aura before she accelerated, he had the time needed to mimic her action and move to safety.
"Attacking someone when they're eating? Pretty damn rude." John remarked. He kept a cool demeanor but he had to admit, the burning sensation in his legs was new.
Moving at such high speeds, it makes sense for there to be a backlash. Even having gone through recoil training, something this strong would definitely have an effect.
The sight caused a commotion within the crowds of the lunch room.
"There's no way he just dodged Seraphina's attack!" Blyke said.
"That's like...supposed to be impossible!" Isen said, having dropped his phone in shock.
This made no sense, he was supposed to be weaker than her, she had already reasoned that to herself. So how...
"How...Why didn't I hit you?!" Seraphina's disbelief was turning into exasperation.
John looked at her, then at his cake, and took another bite before answering.
"Because I'm faster than you, obviously."
The bystanders lost their minds.
Isen and Blyke were losing their minds.
Seraphina was losing her mind.
"HOW DARE YOU!?"
A shout erupted from Seraphina's mouth that silenced the entire cafeteria for a few moments.
John held in a smirk. A royal realizing they're weaker than someone is a sight to behold.
She accelerated herself and tried to hit John again, but he was able to dodge it, just barely. Again and again, she attempted to hit him but his amplification had given him the edge, and the more he got used to the speed this ability gave him, the easier it was for John to avoid her attacks.
"Why...won't you...fight back!" She spoke in between her failed attempts to hit him.
"I'm trying...to...eat my cake!" John became increasingly irritated over the close calls he was having with spilling his cake on the floor because of her.
"IS EVERYTHING JUST A JOKE TO YOU?!"
"That's not what I said!"
John moved back, trying to set some distance between them while setting his chocolate cake on one of the vacant lunch tables, left behind by students who didn't want to get caught in the crossfire of Seraphina's outrage.
"What the hell is your problem? All of this over a damn slice of cake? Seriously?"
"Shut up! SHUT THE HELL UP!" Seraphina yelled.
In that instant, John felt something changed. It felt like in an instant, there was an output of aura dispersed throughout the area. Then, everything just...stopped. His vision turned...grey. He couldn't move. But he also realized neither could anyone else. Except...Seraphina.
In that instance, everything about her ability clicked.
Her ability...she can control time!
"Every day of my life is spent working myself to the bone to be the best. To be perfect! To stand above everyone else! You think you can just waltz in and act like none of that matters?! Like you don't give a damn about anything?! Like you can just humiliate me like this?!"
Though John was frozen, his mind was still conscious and he could sense Seraphina's aura began to charge up.
She's going to accelerate herself again. That's gonna pack a hard punch if I'm stuck like this!
"I'll beat you down as many times it takes to make you see how far below you are to me!"
Is there more than just outputting aura? A command?!
John wouldn't have much more time to think through the possibilities as Seraphina went through with her charge, appearing before John in an instant, and in a last-ditch effort, John focused on outputting his aura as well, just as Seraphina did.
STOP!
...
What the hell is this?
Seraphina was...frozen? Not able to budge an inch? No, that—that didn't make sense. She's not supposed to be affected by her ability, so how is this—
John let out a breath as he let his body slump, welcoming the freedom of movement again. He looked around, seeing that it was practically the same as when she had done it, except now, she was the one frozen in place.
How is he...? Is...Is this his doing? How?! No one outside my family has this ability! And it's strong enough to stop me?!
Seraphina tried to take control, to place time under her whim, but the strength of this Time Stop, his Time Stop...she didn't have the capability to override it.
He's...He's actually stronger than me?
Her subconscious flinched as his eyes landed on her, staring pensively. A growing anxiety consumes her seeing him raise his arm and clench it into a fist.
For so long, the idea of defeat had been nothing but a laughable impossibility, something that could never become true. But, faced with the possibility that it could actually happen...it sent a Seraphina into a panic.
What would everyone think? About how she's fallen so far, only playing second fiddle to someone like him? The whispers would only become worse, having failed the expectations of everyone around her.
What would her parents think? What would they do to her?
...
John contemplated. She has no defense and with this ability's Power, I could take her down in one hit, and have that be the end of it.
He pulls his fist back, beginning to accept this as the necessary outcome.
But...just before he follows through, his eyes meet the Time Goddess' frozen gaze and he wonders how he didn't realize it till now.
A gaze filled with anger...frustration...and underneath the mask of it all, the deep, suffocating depths of hopelessness.
Then, he recalls the words whispered among the commotion, behind Seraphina's back, and for the briefest of moments, John felt like he was looking into a mirror.
He heaved a sigh before dropping his fist, estimating the spot that her fist would land on him from the angle her arm was at. He placed his arms up and tensed his body, readying himself for what would happen.
Alright, here goes nothing...fuck, this is gonna suck.
The instant John released his Time Stop, he collided with the wall behind him and left a dent in it, having been sent a couple of dozen feet back. He could feel some of his bones breaking from the impact, having been enough to force him to cough up blood.
He dropped to the ground, coughing again. The guard he put up and the basic increase in his durability from having his ability active had been enough to just barely keep him awake, though he's not sure whether that's a good thing or not.
"What just happened?!"
"One second he was dodging effortlessly, and the next he got sent flying into the wall!"
"Did anyone see how she did it?"
"It was in the blink of an eye!"
"So I guess Seraphina's stronger after all?"
"I should've expected that."
"What a disappointment."
"He got what was coming to him in my opinion."
John groaned, people can just fuck off, honestly.
...
Seraphina's mind went blank as she realized her action had gone through.
I...I hit him. H-He let me hit him? W-Why didn't he...?
She couldn't understand it. By all accounts, he should've defeated her. It's what is supposed to happen, what's supposed to make sense. But he didn't. Her walk towards the figure of John on the ground was almost aimless.
When John looked up, he wasn't sure what sort of expression he was expecting Seraphina to have. But if he was being honest, seeing the welling up of tears in her eyes was definitely at the bottom of his list.
"What...What is wrong with you?!" She screamed out, her voice cracking halfway through.
John groaned. Don't even get me started—
Seraphina knelt, gripping him by his vest, slamming him once into the wall in anger before pulling him back.
"You...Why...Why did you let me...?"
John was surprised. "Oh, so you were still aware...Guess I should've figured, still don't know the inner workings of everything after all." John clutched his ribs, hitching a breath as he grimaced.
"The judging whispers that you can never escape from and all that bottled-up frustration you take out on others when you can't take it anymore...you've gone through it too."
Seraphina's eyes widened. How...How could he..?
John painfully chuckled. "I got to know how it feels to be on the receiving end, one way to make up for it I suppose." He looked back at her. "Did you let it all out? Besides, I'm sure it's easier on both of us if you stay as Rank 1."
Tears were falling from the Queen's face and it seemed she didn't even recognize it.
John could barely keep his eyes open, that hit of hers took a lot out of him. "I...gotta take a nap." He leaned back and let himself fall unconscious.
Seraphina's arms felt stiff as she brought one up to her face, feeling the almost unfamiliar wet touch on her skin. W-Why am I...
Before she could allow herself to register it, she ran out of the cafeteria as fast as she could, to find somewhere she could hide away somewhere from it all for just a few moments, where no one would hear the cries of the goddess.
"Arlo, you up here?!" A tall, third-year student with spiky blue hair called out, slamming open the door to the rooftop. "There you are, I should've figured!"
Arlo barely moved, only turning his head to gaze at his friend. "Holden, what's all this about?"
"Man, shit got crazy in the cafeteria today! Some guy got into a fight with Seraphina! Fricken Seraphina!"
Arlo pondered but didn't find it all that surprising. It had been rather common for others to try and fight her, especially back in her first year when the hierarchy was still in repair and fights were rampant. Though it was much less common now, it still happened every now and then.
"And? Are you going to tell me Seraphina lost a fight?"
"Well, no..."
"Then why bother telling me?"
"Because it wasn't a straight wash! For the majority of the fight, Seraphina couldn't even touch him!"
Arlo momentarily froze. Now that...that wasn't normal.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Arlo turned and gave Holden his full attention.
"Give me all the details."
Notes
Name: Blyke
Ability: Energy Beam
Level: 4.1
[Power: 7 Speed: 3 Trick: 3 Recovery: 2 Defense: 2]
Name: John
Ability: Aura Manipulation
Level: 7.7
Abilities Copied: Energy Beam
[Power: 10.5 Speed: 4.5 Trick: 17 Recovery: 2 Defense: 2]
*New Trait - Improved Amplification: John's fine-tuned control over his amplification and his extended training in it has allowed him to increase the capabilities of amplifying the abilities he mirrors, allowing him to amplify another stat as well if he so chooses.
Name: Seraphina
Ability: Time Manipulation
Level: 7.5
[Power: 10 Speed: 12 Trick: 9 Recovery: 7 Defense: 2]
Name: John
Ability: Aura Manipulation
Level: 7.7
Abilities Copied: Time Manipulation
[Power: 10 Speed: 18 Trick: 17 Recovery: 7 Defense: 2]
A/N: Feedback is always appreciated