"The boy's name?"
"December."
"No last name?"
"We still don't know."
"Is that so?
Why are you taking so much care for him...
Lye?"
"Because, he is someone that will cause the universe to rumble, with every step he takes.
He is also someone, that we cannot control, once he knows the truth.
The boy will live with the Oris Family.
He will grow, and will be chosen to fight him.
And when the time comes.
He will conquer both Realms.
That's what the Aleph says."
"The Aleph? Who's that?"
"There is a reason why Venus Wilheim, stole Atlas from Kela.
There is a reason why she wasn't on her right mind.
She wasn't always a bloodthirsty woman.
It's all because the crack is breaking.
Slowly but surely.
'His' influence is already spreading.
Why else would Venus kill the Aleph?
Her own daughter?"
>>>
December snapped back to reality from the unprecedented bead of sweat, rolling down his nape. He couldn't explain what had just happened. He felt as if he got dragged by space and time from the gymnasium to this place of nothingness, from a slight tug in an unanimous direction. All he could sense was two people having a conversation.
Why was Lye there? Was he talking about me?
Isn't Venus Wilheim, the Savant, who died from the infamous building collapse? What's her connection with Atlas?
...
Savant.
That's also the title of Aunt Oris...
This world works on the principles of honor and titles very religiously. Only through utter defeat, would one gain someone else's title.
That, and death.
More vibrant dots floated around December's world of thought.
That building collapse, what if it wasn't a collapse? If anyone would've done anything against her, she would..
Aunt Oris must've killed her.
'Dad' told me his family had very good connections. Aunt Oris's side of the family could be the "Wilheim" Family. If that's the case....
She was the daughter of Venus Wilheim.
That means...
This "Aleph" they spoke of, was Kela's sister.
My mother.
The complex structure of dots, Decey erected in his head had completely collapsed. New ones that were greater in weight had spawned.
They lied to him. Both Uncle and Aunt Oris told him that his parents died because they were Normal. Decey thought that they had proper reason why they lied to him. He wished that there existed such reason.
By the time Decey stopped thinking about it, he noticed his world was frozen. Event Horizon activated autonomously. He couldn't control anything now.
He had to sit and wait, trapped in his own mind.
It was torturous, lasting longer than before. He didn't know why it wouldn't stop. Decey hated the feeling of not being able to move. He was conscious, but useless.
"Kid, you good?"
Decey felt cold hands on his shoulder. It was one of Ash's teaching assistants. He had spiky dark red hair, and a smile that felt like he wasn't taking his job seriously.
"Yeah. I was spacing out. I'm fine though." Decey said as he was relieved it ended. Tears had almost escaped his ever-so-slightly glowing eyes.
"Look sharp. It's always these moments of the class that'll teach the most."
"Yeah, I'll say." He couldn't afford to hold a conversation after what he had experienced. The TA looked at him once and didn't bother, but rather sat next to Decey.
"Everyone! I already explained the rules, so if there were any sleepy bastards out there...
It's simple. Make the other person tap out, same concept used in the Battle House. Domain Manipulation and Boost are allowed. No theorems, god forbid you learnt them a year in advance.
The purpose of this mock battle is to see how proficient you are in using Domain. And remember.
Don't take it seriously. If you lose, it's simply a skill issue. Work on it. Not everyone starts out being the greatest.
We will be taking lots, numbered 1-20. Surely you can see where this is going? The matching numbers fight against each other. Got it?"
Decey searched left and right for Heet, but instead, found his SO, Dean. Dean waved at Decey, holding up his number 14 engraved marble. A second hand was raised, holding the number 14 too. It was Heet.
He couldn't wait to see the battle between two of the best students of the class face off against each other. The TA sitting next to him noticed his leg shaking up and down.
"Do you usually do that?" He asked.
"I never saw two Defined fight. It's like a whole other world for me. A world I really want to enjoy right now."
"That's a blatant lie. I heard rumors you started something with that rich kid in the bathrooms." He smirked.
Decey realized that nothing stays a secret within Zahl. He didn't like what he did back then, yet liked it at the same time.
Like aunt, like nephew.
"That kid there, Dean? He's pretty good, but definitely not the strongest in the first year."
Decey looked at the TA.
"What do you mean? He's incredibly fast. His build itself is ridiculous. He never told me his Function, but I bet he still doesn't need that to be the strongest."
He laughed.
"Kid, what do you think strength is? Your sense of power scaling is very biased, in my opinion. How did you even become one of the Primes?"
Decey held his head down. He knew nothing about how combat worked in this world. Whatever he achieved back then, was only because of Heet's constant teaching, and the fact that he caught the two in the bathroom off guard. They could've easily defeated him in a drawn out battle.
All he had was his head, his Function, and a couple of parlor tricks. He knew he had to work way harder than everyone else in this room, while still acting as a "Prime".
"I'm new to this."
"That's such a shocker." The TA said blandly.
"You started with everyone. Everyone here is around the same age as you, kid. Everyone got Defined at 15. The only difference people have within each other, is intelligence, talent, and straight up luck. That other Prime, the girl? I can sense that she's been training day and night.
The Domain inside her seems to be very stable yet like an ocean.
It seems like if she was blessed by the gods."
Decey smiled.
He has a point. Right, it's stupid of me to think just because of everything that happened to me, doesn't make me the best, or at the least, experienced.
Everyone has experience of using their Domain, be it Manipulation or Boosting.
Decey recalled the Primes Meeting. The words that Lye said, about him and every one of the Primes needing to be as strong as the Faculty as soon as possible. He hasn't even started the journey.
I should just erase every thought of "I'm strong." inside my head and watch.
As of right now, I am nothing.
"Alrighty. The people who got 1, step up."
A girl with brown hair and a boy with really wavy hair walk towards the marked area.
"I'm Jessi." The girl said, while bowing.
"I'm Krys." The boy returned the bow.
Ash instructed everyone to take a few steps back and stepped in the middle of the ring.
"3, 2, 1, Start!" He shouted as he instantly stepped outside the ring without a trace.
Jessi lunged forward, with her hand coated in a very sharp layer of Domain. Decey noted how she flooded more Domain into her toes in every step when needed. As she sprinted towards Krys, he shot orb like projectiles on the ground, with his hands extended. Jessi jumped over it, attempting to make a final blow, but it was all a ruse. Krys had already loaded his next expression, and shot an even larger orb towards her torso. She swiped her arm across and landed opposite to the direction she swiped. She landed to her initial point.
"Good one." Krys told her.
"Focus on the battle." Jessi said as she began to infuse even more Domain in her feet. Krys scoffed and leaped towards her.
"Are you an idiot?" She exclaimed while getting the hair out of her mouth.
"Focus on the battle." Krys told her as he wrapped several orbs around his right hand. They suddenly multiplied in size.
The orbs molded into a sort of wall, as Krys and Jessi collide, her hand causing sparks against the wall.
"You like it? These orbs paired with my Multiplication affinity can be anything you want." Krys shouted over the grinding of blows.
Jessi suddenly teleported behind Krys. She stamped on his knee from behind, causing Krys to fall down. She got him in a choke hold as she fell on top of her.
"Yield?"
Krys slapped his one free hand on the ground repeatedly, tapping out. Everyone began applauding.
Ash offered Krys a hand. Krys accepted it and got up.
"Krys Roff right? You didn't set up any precautions. You blindly ran in, counting on your very versatile Function to do your work, paired with your mediocre Manipulation. You didn't stop and think about what her Function was.
The takeaway here is to jump in the fire, with some prep."
Krys nodded humbly.
"Jessi. Good job on using your Function as an element of surprise. I'm assuming it involves phasing?"
"Yes sir. Whatever direction I swipe with my hands, I go to the opposite direction within a random distance. The phasing is a by-product."
Ash clapped his hands together and smiled.
"A very good Function indeed. But, you seem to only use that as a way of evasion. Try to broaden your horizons. Implement your phasing during parrying, since you're going for that route of Domain Boosting. Your literal approach seems very linear too. Use the phasing to mix up your running too."
"Got it!" Jessi says gleefully.
Decey's jaw was underground at this point. He didn't expect the two to be as fast as they were. He had never thought Functions could be used in this way. It was too innovative.
Sure, the functions themselves were good, but they made it even more powerful.
I developed severe tunnel vision. This is incredible. I wonder what I can achieve with my Function too. The way Jessi used her Function as a trump card, used her attack as a sort of smokescreen was impeccable. Even Krys had good ideas on how to use his 'orbs'.
Decey grinned a bit too much. Jessi noticed and smiled back.
He slapped his forehead. Worst of all, Heet noticed this, and laughed.
At least she knows that I wasn't...
Leave it..
"How was it?" The TA asked.
"It was amazing."
"Watching people duel or battle or whatever, really helps one develop ideas when it matters. Always know that there will always be a solution to whatever you face. You just have to go through enough training to get that intuition.
That's how the Defined fight.
With intuition."
Decey soaked every detail of what he saw in his sponge like brain, as he began to flex that muscle in his head. He needed to get rid of the lag between making the mold and pouring in the Domain.
However, he forgot where he was.
"My name is Albert, my constipated buddy!" The TA said.
Decey chuckled.
"I'm December. Nice to meet you."
They shook hands and focused on the next duels.
The second duel was between two twins, Adin and Mason. Both had the same type of Function, i.e a simple addition function that boosted their muscles. It went hand in hand with their combat style.
"Ah, the Keeper Twins. This will be fun."
The match ended in a draw, as everyone expected. Even when both Adin and Mason were down, they still tried to fight, shouting profanities at each other.
"Um.
Both of you, have the same set of problems. Big shocker." Ash said, after pushing away both of the brothers away from each other. He tried to calm the two down but..
"Yeah, he keeps bragging about how he's always one minute ahead of me. But it's his shoulder that's broken!" Adin screamed, while clutching his own shoulder.
"Look at your leg and talk to me, slowpoke!" Mason jabbed back.
"At least I can still throw punches. You'd be throwing your collarbone in the process, Mr. Elder Twin!"
The whole class busted in laughter. Ash gagged both of the brothers with a cloth and as they were getting dragged out, he shouted in the distance.
"Both of you are good individually. I've nothing to complain on your technique. But it'll be better if you improve your co-ordination for the future!
...
All right. Enough laughing, you bastards. Number 3's, it's your time to shine."
The next couple of matches were nothing much to note. It opened the door to a fascinated Decey, who watched every second of the duels. He noted everything down in his small pocket diary. He noted down different expressions that would work in different scenarios, such as Area of Effect. He already had his own original expression-esque method that he cheekily coined "Ringularity". It was that space shifting attack that he could store and hide in his ethereal ring around his person. After watching many of the duels, he had devised many ideas on how to use that ability. Apart from that, he took note of how to take advantages of the opponent's weaknesses, and his own weaknesses. Kyrs in the first duel had done something similar. Those orbs of his were only thought to be useful long range but, he used that to confuse the opponent, Jessi. He rushed in and almost won, thanks to the versatility of his orbs.
Next up was the match everyone was waiting for: Dean vs Heet.
The crowd grew quieter and quieter, as two of the strongest people of the first years approached each other. The fire in Heet's eyes matched with the resilience and the same intensity of fire in Dean's eyes shot sparks, making the entire ambience slightly suffocating to witness. At this point, the two separated groups had instead been standing behind who they think would win.
"You got this Dean! I got 10 Bills on you!" One kid shouted. The others followed by screaming whatever they wanted, trying to hype up the battle. Dean turned back and gave the crowd a thumbs up. Heet had realized that as a Prime, she had to make her stand. Her and Decey had so far not made an impression to their peers. Now was the chance to do it.
"The odds are 2 to 1. I'm betting on you Heet! Make me filthy rich!" One of her dormmates yelled out. She smiled and pointed at Dean.
"If you do want perpetual debt, by all means, root for him." This invited some "Whoaaaa's" from the crowd.
She readied herself, as she readily stomped the ground hard, causing the dust and small pebbles to clear away a path that lead straight to Dean.
"Good luck. You'll need it, you freaking noble." Heet smirked.
Dean simply crossed his arms, and tilted his chin up slightly.
"Alrighty Ms. Prime. Let's see what you're made of."
Ash himself was excited for the match. He thought this might be the inspiration he needed for a breakthrough.
"3,
2,
1,
Fight!"
Heet let out all the flood gates, letting an enormous amount of Domain throughout her body. The crowd slowly backed away. as the intensity of her Domain was able to be almost materialized. It slightly resembled waves of a stormy ocean.
Ash covered his mouth, trying to hide his intense smile.
This is a first year? She's already at the stage of Domain Manifest....
In a blink of an eye, Heet was face close to Dean, who hadn't budged. His forearm blocked the unseeable punch Heet had thrown.
"I almost lost right there. No wonder you're a Prime..." Dean said, struggling to budge.
Heet laughed as she backflipped out of the block. Dean grinned, happy that he found someone that was as strong as him physically.
Heet released a flurry of punches in a very unorthodox pattern. Dean had managed to block all of them by slipping through those lighting fast punches, pushing them aside with his palm. The punches weren't connecting, as Heet noticed. She understood that Dean had been trained in physical combat more than anything. She had to do something different.
She began to throw kicks at Dean as well as throwing feints with her fists. It threw Dean off of his game. She took advantage of the change in flow and pressed harder, targeting his weak points. Dean took blows to his throat and liver. He still stood strong, pushing her off with his huge build.
He coughed out blood, and nonchalantly wiped it off, his smile still standing strong.
"You're incredible. I can see you taught Decey your moves."
Heet, on the other hand, was slightly ticked.
"I did. The poor kid didn't know how to fight. That's not the point.
You haven't been using your Domain Boost at all." She gritted her teeth.
Dean shrugged, a move that made him wince.
"Should I?"
"I'll be getting serious now. So, if you want your 'fans' to have false hope they'd be getting their money back? Sure."
Dean punched his fists together, his entire body now radiating a heat that everyone in the room felt. He dashed towards Heet, who had her block ready. Dean threw one punch that emitted shockwaves that reverberated throughout the gymnasium. Heet's eyes grew wide, shocked and welcomed the pain, as her forearms were decorated with bruises.
Dean pushed it. He constantly threw barrages of punches at Heet, as she was forced to dodge, to preserve her arms. Each of the punches that gently graze her face and arms, felt like they would instantly break her bones.
"You've got sledgehammers for fists. That's not fair!" Heet said with a frown.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Dean found a breakthrough and caught her torso off guard. Heet was sent flying, but she slammed her elbow onto the ground, just saving her from being sent off bounds.
"My bad, Heet. I don't know how to hold ba-"
Heet cut him off by a massive wave of Domain, that knocked him back. Her both arms, shivering from the impact Dean dealt on her.
"Is that so? I don't know how to hold back either.."
The entire ground has been embedded with Heet's Domain. Dean shivered at the sight of this. His feet felt slightly heavier than usual. Heet got into a sprinter's stance.
Watch me, Decey. This is how I catch up to you.
The crowd sat down at the edges of the gym, trying not to end up as collateral.
"Is this really a duel between our classmates...?" One of them said.
"One of them's a Prime. Another is part of the Lann Family. This is expected, if anything."
"Yeah, I don't even care about the money anymore."
Ash was baffled. He understood why Lye had talked about Heet's potential beforehand. He also must have taught her that technique. It could only be possible if one has a full understanding of their Function, as well as a factor that cannot be achieved by hard work:
Talent.
Dean entered a completely defensive stance.
"Come at me with all you got." He said under his breath.
The clash of earthy and oceanic Domain waves clutched the hearts of the class watching.
There was this eerie silence that wafted throughout the area. The anticipation of what Heet would do, the response that Dean would give. It was all done in a second, as Heet launched herself in a speed that couldn't be accomplished by humankind. Dean flinched, but didn't lower his guard. Or so he thought.
Dean could see himself, cemented in the walls of the gymnasium, completely battered, his eyes struggling to stay awake. The one left standing on the boundaries was none other than Heet.
"Sledgehammer for hands you say...?
Look who's talking...." Dean slowly said, as he fell unconscious.
She stood strong, held up her fist, and turned towards the people who betted on Dean.
"Don't gamble, kids."