Zora stood at the top of a hill, wind tugging gently at her clothes, looking down at the rest of the team gathered below.
"So... who do you think's going first?" she asked the stars orbiting her shoulders.
"I want that nasty bitch to go first," Nexus growled, clearly referring to Tori.
Zora sighed. Her history with Tori was... complicated. But not unforgivable. "Don't talk like that," Aegis scolded, floating beside her. "What are you teaching Spark when you do that?"
"BITCH! BITCH! BITCH!" Spark zipped past them gleefully.
Ricochet groaned, already giving chase. "I swear to the sky, you little gremlin—"
Zora chuckled, but inside, nerves coiled in her chest.
What if I lose?
She pictured Tori's smug face standing over her in victory, and her blood boiled.
Jason's voice buzzed through the radio clipped to her collar.
"Alright, first up is Paul. After that, it's Tori, Lena, then Ivory. First match begins when both of you are ready."
Zora looked down just in time to see Paul sprinting to the hill across from her. He skidded to a stop and waved, signaling he was ready.
"Ricochet. Spark. You're up."
They immediately abandoned their game of chase and zipped into her chest.
"Oh come on!" Nexus groaned, floating in front of her face.
"Don't pout," Zora smirked. "I'm saving you for Tori."
That seemed to satisfy her. Nexus huffed and floated upward, glowing a little brighter.
Aegis hovered closer, voice stern. "You can use two of us at once now, but only for short bursts. There are limits, Zora. Stay focused. Stay in control."
She nodded. Siri and Aegis drifted up into the air, ready to enter when needed.
Zora gave a thumbs-up toward the field.
Jason's voice rang out through the comm.
"3... 2... 1... Start!"
Zora reached out, and the cane materialized in her hand. Grabbing it, she slammed it into the ground just as a massive rock came hurtling from the sky—
BOOM —it crashed down right on top of her.
Well, that was close! Ricochet quipped.
Zora raised her right hand, increasing gravity around her. The dust and dirt suspended in the air slammed to the ground like dead weight.
"Shit... I think I know what his Eidolon does," she muttered, scanning the area.
No sign of Paul.
Suddenly, the ground beneath her trembled. Her eyes flicked down—
CRACK!
The earth split open beneath her feet.
Grabbing her cane, she launched upward, reducing her gravity to float to safety.
Paul emerged from the crevice below, stretching. "Aww, man. Thought for sure I had you."
"Earth control," she grumbled. "Hell of an Eidolon you got."
Tossing the cane aside, it vanished into light.
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Paul grinned.
The ground quaked. Stones rushed to his body, encasing him in thick armor. It molded around him, building higher and broader until Zora had to crane her neck just to look him in the eye. He had to be at least sixty stories high!
His voice boomed through the field.
"Give it your best shot."
Zora smirked. She loved a challenge.
"Siri and Aegis, you're up. Ricochet and Spark, you're out."
The stars zipped in and out of her chest, swapping places. Zora imagined herself clad in black knights armor.
Oh, that's a good one, Aegis said warmly.
The armor rapidly formed over her body.
Paul swung. His massive stone fist crashed down.
Zora didn't dodge—she vanished.
She had stepped into a new point in space, reappearing high above the battlefield. For a heartbeat, she was falling.
DONE, Aegis shouted as the final piece of armor snapped into place.
Zora flipped midair, scanning for Paul. He was searching for her.
She extended her hand and imagined a sword.
In a flash, it appeared—sleek, black, and lethal.
Standard enchantments loading, Aegis called. Her armor pulsing a multitude of colors
"Add explosive and acid enchantments to the sword," she commanded.
The sword pulsed a fiery red and then a sickly green.
Done.
Paul finally spotted her. "There you are!" Spikes shot out from his armor, homing toward her.
Zora locked her gaze on a spot high above his head.
Blink.
Now she was directly above him, upside down, sword raised.
"Siri out. Spark, come back," she ordered. The stars switched.
Zora increased gravity fivefold.
She rocketed down, slicing through the air like a missile.
"Above you!" Ivory yelled.
Paul looked up—
Too late.
Zora drove her sword straight into his crown.
KRA-KOOM!
A massive explosion sent shockwaves through the field. Shards of rock flew in every direction.
But she didn't stop.
She pushed deeper, gravity-enhanced momentum carrying her straight through the giant. Every contact of her sword triggered another detonation—acid eating through stone, explosions ripping it apart.
She burst out the bottom, crashing into the ground. A massive crater bloomed beneath her.
She stood, breathing heavy, staring up.
The stone body trembled... then froze.
With a mighty groan, the golem collapsed—
BOOM —the entire mass falling apart.
Paul came tumbling out, screaming, "God, it burns! THE ACID—AAAHH!"
He flailed on the ground, rolling in the dirt as laughter erupted from the others.
Jason's voice crackled over the radio:
"The winner is... Zora."
Zora collapsed backward onto the grass, her chest heaving. The armor dissolved off her body in shimmering fragments as the adrenaline gave way to something else—
A sharp, intoxicating high.
Spark and Aegis floated out of her chest, their lights pulsing with concern.
"Focus, focus," Aegis said sternly. "Swapping too many of us out like that—your system can't handle it yet. You're flooding your body with too many kinds of mana."
Spark chimed in with a blink. "We're each a cluster of mana, remember? It gets… kinda addicting when you cycle us too fast."
Zora groaned as the euphoria started to dull. "Yeah, yeah… I got it."
Jason jogged over with the others behind him. Paul trailed at the back, wearing the universal expression of "that didn't go as planned."
Jason grinned. "Damn, if it isn't our favorite starchild!"
Paul approached and extended a hand to help Zora up. She took it, standing with a grunt.
Jason clapped his hands. "Now, for her prize: Paul, please reveal your Eidolon and share an embarrassing memory with the class!"
Paul's head snapped toward him. "That… that wasn't part of the deal."
Jason raised his hands innocently. "Sorry, I don't make the rules."
"You literally do," Paul muttered.
Still, he stood straight and cleared his throat. "Paul Marx. My Eidolon is what I call the Terra-Bound Titan. I can manipulate earth—construct or deconstruct it at will."
He paused, glaring at Jason, then added under his breath:
"…And once in high school I slipped in dog shit and didn't have a change of clothes, so I wore them all day."
Everyone burst out laughing—except Paul, whose entire face had turned the color of sunburned clay.
Jason wiped a tear from his eye. "A proud warrior, ladies and gentlemen!"
The laughter died down—just in time for Jason to shout,
"Next up—Zora versus Tori!"
Nexus zipped down from above, glowing brighter than usual.
"Oho… I've been waiting for this one," she said, voice sharp with anticipation.