The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

"Mari! Are you good?" I ask, as Master Celine heals her injuries.

"Ugh, that definitely hurt." Mari says as she holds her head in pain.

"You'll be okay, us Frodians heal very quickly anyway, but this should speed things up." Master Celine says as all of Mari's injuries disappear.

"Thank you, Master Celine!" Mari says, her voice full of gratefulness.

"Little word of advice, hone in on your spontaneous spells. You have a gift, don't be afraid to use it." Master Celine says as she walks away.

Mari and I walk back to our friends.

"Sorry guys, I was hoping to get us one on the board, but her experience ending up biting me in the butt." Mari says as she smiles reluctantly.

"No need to apologize, you've done the best so far out of all of us." Jack says.

"That's true, Verrona didn't expect you to be so quick thinking." Sachi says supportively.

"Had you trained before this battle you might've had a chance." Layla says bluntly.

"I know, I definitely should've been more productive last week." Mari replies.

"The past is the past, you all can only improve from here!" Layla says, her voice full of encouragement.

All of a sudden Kira stands up and is clearly about to say something.

"Okay, who is going next? Master Elyon is about to leave so if you're coming up, I'd be ready to give your all!" Kira says.

"I'll be fighting next, Kira!" I say as I grab the new dagger that Master Vokgar made for me.

"Alright kiddo, who's your opponent?" Kira asks.

"That will be me!" Urmac says as he walks eagerly to the middle of the arena.

"I won't be out there to help you this time Crow. Urmac is one of the most skilled Scavians in our Academy, he's even stronger than I am. He's a prodigy of a very prestigious family in Umbra, he was trained by some of the most powerful fighters in all of Goliath. I'd be lying to you if I said I thought you have a chance but don't let that discourage you. Use the skills you already have from your past life and make them one with your new blood." Kira says.

"Whew, okay that's a lot of pressure." I say as I try to calm myself down.

"Don't look at this battle like a simple sparring match, Urmac is going to want to tear you apart because you're a Chosen Child. Keep in mind that he's a lefty, his attacks might throw you off a little." Layla says.

"Got it! I'll give'em a run for his money no matter what!" I say, as I give all of my friends a final smile and thumbs up.

"I don't care what Layla says, you have a chance in my eyes Crow!" Mari says, her words full of encouragement.

"You got this man, we'll all be waiting for you at the end!" Jack says.

"Do your best, stick it to that arrogant rich boy!" Sachi says.

I walk into the middle of the arena and notice that Kira is keeping a close eye on me. I'm sure she was watching everyone else's battles closely too. Besides her I see my older brother Elyon waiting in anticipation as if he's expecting me to win this.

I've had to fight my entire life. Whether it was fighting off the cops, fighting back against the bullies in my orphanage, or protecting myself in the streets, I've always found a way to fight back. In reality, I probably shouldn't be too nervous. I'm used to this but things are different now.

Goliath is a cruel land, where I'm going to have to fight even harder to survive. Sure, I have all of my friends, but at the end of the day, I can't be a burden and just rely on them. I have to show them that they can rely on me too!

"I heard you took down a couple of Colossi last week. Not bad for a toddler who can't even read our language yet! Do you want to take a guess how many Colossi I cut down?" Urmac asks.

"I don't care… I don't care that you're stronger than me because when it comes down to it, you're weak in the mind and I know it." I say as everyone in the crowd starts chattering.

"Who the? Who do you think you are talking to me like that?" Urmac asks as he seems very offended.

"Yeah that's right, I'm talking to you! You aren't cool just because you grew up with money in your pockets, you aren't better than me just because you are from some famous family, all of that is irrelevant!" I say, as I clearly triggered him.

"Ha! You must've been some peasant in your past life, it figures you speak with no grace! Enough chit-chat Chosen Child! I'll prove to Master Elyon that Adora made a mistake picking you!" Urmac says as Taqa starts emanating from his body.

His Taqa is so strong that the whole arena is starting to shake. So this is the true power of Frodian?

"Crow stand tall!" Layla says.

"Of course!" I say as I summon my Taqa.

"Alright, if all the bantering is over! Let the battle begin!" Kira yells.

Huh? Where did he go? I can't even sense his Taqa anymore?

"You should watch your shadow Half-Blood!" Urmac says, as he pops out from under me ascending from my shadow.

Urmac attempts to swing at me with his dagger but only manages to cut a lock of my hair as I kick him back.

That was close… I see now, his power is teleporting through shadows. This could be a problem because there are shadows of objects all around the arena, which means it's going to be hard to track where he's attacking from.

"Your reflexes are quick, I better pick it up!" Urmac says as he disappears into another shadow.

I have no choice! I gotta keep him guessing my moves!

I enter into an all-out sprint across the arena trying be unpredictable by changing the directions every couple of seconds or so.

"Haha! You idiot, your working in my favor! Scavian Art: Dark Spears!" Urmac says, as he jumps out of a shadow behind me and summons a countless amount of dark spears.

"Damn, Scavian Art: Sonic Shadow Step!" I say, as I start moving at blinding speeds narrowly ducking and dodging the quick attacks.

"Gotcha! Scavian Art: Shadow Sphere!" Urmac says as he punches me directly in the face.

I get flung back across the arena as it seems Urmac is continuing his attack.

"Crap! He's fast!" I say as I notice him bulleting towards me.

"YAH! Take this!" Urmac says as he reaches me before I hit the ground.

Urmac kicks me on the ground and then grabs both of my legs chucking me into a wall in the arena.

"AGH! I can't keep up, he just keeps attacking!" I say as he disappears again.

"Is the reality starting to hit you?" Urmac says as he continues to punch me and kick me going in and out of his shadows.

I catch him going out of a shadow for once and try to swing my dagger at him, but he dodges the attack and disappears again.

"Ugh, almost had him that time!" I say, as I keep scanning the arena.

"The reality is Child of Adora, you don't have what it takes to survive in this world. From the day I was born, my parents already decided I would be the heir of the family! Through their hard work and tutelage, they've shaped me into a well-rounded person and a strong warrior worthy of my family name! Peasants like you don't understand how to become a well-rounded person because you're too busy focusing on surviving! To hell with that, I'll become so strong that one day I'll defeat all of the Colossi and free this land of poverty!" Urmac says passionately.

Wow, I'm starting to wonder, if I had followed the path my parents put before me, would I have ended up like this guy? I can tell he has his own convictions and truly believes what he's saying, but even still his way of viewing the world is twisted!

"Now, surrender!" Urmac says, as he teleports right behind me and puts his dagger towards my neck.

"Crow!" Mari yells, her voice full of concern.

"Hahaha! Unbelievable!" I say as I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation.

"What are you laughing about?" Urmac asks as he grips his dagger angrily.

All of my life, I've regretted running away from my parents because I basically robbed myself of an easier life. I could've had it all, a good education, money, status, and even a legacy that would outlive me! But, that isn't the way I wanted to live.

Three years ago, I was unsure of my decision. I thought I might not be able to make it for too long and I'd eventually run back to them, but I didn't. I somehow survived for three whole years on my own and while some days were really hard, it didn't matter to me because I valued the little things in life so much more.

"You wouldn't get it! You clearly don't know the pain of being alone!" I say as I can start feeling my Taqa growing larger and notice that my tattoo is lighting up.

"Surrender or I will really hurt you Half-Blood!" Urmac says as he's clearly intimidated now.

"I'm sure that would work on other people, but not me! Scavian Art: Flight of the Crow!" I yell as all of a sudden two black wings appear on my back allowing me to fly.

"What? This can't be, those almost look like the wings of Adora!" Urmac says, his voice full of fear.

"Playtime is over! I'm going all out!" I say as I fly towards him at blinding speeds.

Urmac jumps into another shadow, but now I'm actually able to sense where he's moving to. He goes towards the left of me and jumps out of the shadow, but this time I block his attack.

"No way! That's impossible!" Urmac says, his voice full of frustration.

"Nowhere for you to hide anymore!" I yell as I lunge towards him.

"Fine, if you want a head-on fight you'll get it!" Urmac yells as he lunges towards me.

We both enter an all-out blade struggle as we swing our blades at each other aggressively. None of us can land a solid hit on each other, but it's clear my pressure is bothering him now.

"Scavian Art: Shadow Shurikens!" I say as I launch a bunch of black magical shurikens.

"Weak! Scavian Art: Shadow Shield!" Urmac says as he pushes out a black magical shield that blocks all of my attacks.

He really is strong… I'm already running out of steam too. I can literally feel my Taqa slowly withering!

"I can't believe it, you've held out for this long. But even a blind man could see you're getting tired!" Urmac says, as he smirks at me.

"So what! That doesn't mean you've won!" I say, as I unleash the last of my Taqa and prepare a big attack.

"It's over Crow! Scavian Art: Dagger of Dread!" Urmac says, as his dagger grows over 3 times its original size.

"I won't lose! Scavian Art: Winged Attack!" I say, as my whole body becomes enveloped in Taqa shaped like a crow.

I put my whole body on the line as I sprint towards him for a final attack!

"Urmac! That attack is dangerous, watch out!" Verrona yells.

I get within a couple of feet to Urmac but right as I almost attack him, he disappears again.

"You almost had me half-blood! But you forgot about my signature technique!" Urmac says, as he gets behind me and hits me so hard I can't even react.

"Ugh! I messed up… " I say, as I fall to the ground in pain.

"That's game! The winner of this battle is Urmac!" Kira says, as I slowly fade out of consciousness.