"How pitiful."

A voice that sounded suspiciously like my own sneered mockingly in my head.

"So high-and-mighty on the outside… but deep down, you are nothing but a frail little girl, traumatized by being called a few names."

I gasped and panted heavily in the eternal darkness all around me, clutching my head in pain.

"Tell me, Obsidia. How does it feel, getting abandoned? Thrown away by your own tribe and seen as an abomination, a monster? Does it hurt, living through those memories again? Of course it does. After all… that's your biggest fear, isn't it? Getting excluded and treated like a pile of trash that needs to be thrown out."

N-No… this is fine… I am okay… I'm not alo-

"You're not alone anymore, huh?" the voice laughed. "You think that you've found someone else like you to bond with? Another who was abandoned by everyone, neglected by the world?"

Yes… that human…

"But is that really true? Look around you, fool."

The blackness around me faded away to reveal the front gates of a school — Shenzhen Magic High, where I had studied at for a short period of time. I had returned to my normal size, my normal age.

Standing in front of me was Xuan Kai, surrounded by the other girls. They laughed and giggled together happily, like a large circle of close friends. They looked so content…

Before I knew it, I reached my hand out, wanting to join in. How much I longed for companions… how much I sought for that special someone I could rely on, no matter what…

But then, they stopped laughing and turned to me all at once, a look of disgust on their faces.

"Who are you…?" they asked collectively, voice filled with disdain.

I froze, hand still outreached.

"Hey, you're blocking our way," Xuan Kai said with a contempt look on his face.

But I wasn't listening. A single tear streaked down my face subconsciously, my body beginning to tremble slightly.

"I said… you're in our way!" he suddenly shouted, shoving me in the shoulder and causing me to fall onto the hard pavement.

"Ngh…" I groaned in pain as they haughtily walked by me, purposely stepped on my hand in the process.

"… Monster," Xuan Kai spat as the girls brushed past behind him, before turning away and preparing to leave as well.

But suddenly, I reached out and grabbed the hem of his jeans tightly, not letting him go.

"W-Woah, hey, what are you-!"

"… You hypocrite." I gritted my teeth.

His words had woken me up. I no longer felt sadness or shock, only anger. Pure, dark hatred, directed towards his betrayal.

Slowly, I turned my head up, staring into his eyes. They were bright and full of life, nothing like the Xuan Kai I knew.

"Do you really think you deserve to be living a happy life like this…?" I growled, pulling myself to my feet and grabbing his collar instead.

"W-What…?" he stuttered nervously, frightful of my sudden violent actions.

"Hey! Let go of him!" Feng Mian shouted, rushing over with the other girls to help their precious boyfriend out.

But at that moment, I was so blinded by rage and indignation that I simply didn't care about the consequences of my actions anymore.

I turned my head slightly and glared threateningly at Feng Mian, stopping her and the other girls in their tracks.

"Do not come any closer!"

Venom dripped from every word I spat, my eyes filled with the dark flames of pure hatred. Before I knew it, I had used my dragonfire to form a ring of flames around Xuan Kai and I, preventing anyone else from getting inside. Then, I turned back to my initial target, tightening my grip on his collar as his arms fell limply at his sides.

"You call me a monster… but you are one too. In fact… you are a monster far worse than me."

"H-Huh?! What are you talking about, you crazy bitch?! Let me go, damn pest!"

He finally acknowledged the situation and tried prying my hand off of his collar, but I used my other hand to grab his throat instead, tightening it and choking him.

"K-Kah…" he gasped for air, trying to claw at my hands, but to no avail.

"What are you so panicked about? Scared I'll kill you?" I scoffed darkly. "Well… you've done the same thing to others countless times. You've murdered hundreds, slaughtered entire families, and washed a city clean with a river of crimson blood. You, just like me, were ABANDONED by your family! You, just like me, were BULLIED, EXCLUDED by everyone you knew! That's why…"

I growled deeply and threw him down to the ground, straddling his body while never once letting go of his throat.

"How DARE you, enjoy life like this in here as if you're a normal person?!"

I violently shook his head, smashing it against the hard, cold pavement.

"How DARE you, call me a monster, when you are a far worse one?!"

"N-Ngh…" he groaned as his consciousness began fading away, a pool of blood forming on the ground beneath his head.

"How DARE YOU, ABANDON ME AS WELL, AND BECOME THE VERY THING YOU SWORE TO DESTROY?!"

I lifted my right hand, shaking and bloodstained.

"He would never… Xuan Kai would NEVER do something like this…"

His eyes were eternally empty, not full of life. His emotions were always neutral, never laughing out loud.

And most importantly… he would NEVER be so easily beaten by me.

All of this was fake. Nothing more than a bad dream, formulated to break my mind.

Unfortunately… they chose the wrong memory to turn into a nightmare.

Opening my palm, I materialized a dark black flame of burning anger, and smashed it into this imposter's face.

"DIE, ILLUSION!"

As the fake Xuan Kai screamed in agony, the ring of fire all around me expanded as well, burning higher and spreading wider… until all was consumed by it.

The scene around me slowly split up, shattering into pieces as it melt away. My memories of the battle, of the challenge, of everything — all returned.

"W-Wha… how is this possible…" Xiao Zhan whispered to himself, voice quivering as he hurriedly stood up and began to try and flee the battle.

For once, his calm and condescending expression was contorted in fear.

I stood up from the ground and closed my eyes Two dark wings of fire shot out on my back, a thick and pressuring black-red energy surrounding me. I didn't know how, I didn't know why, but at that moment, I knew exactly what to do. My left hand shone a bright yellow while my right pulsed with demonic black energy.

And with that, I chanted, clasping both hands, both powers, together.

"I stand in the light of the heavens, tower before the gates of hell! Come forth, Chaosborn Fire — THIS ENDS NOW!"

My eyes snapped open, a deadly red gleam filling them.

"Forbidden Dragon Magic — INDIGNATION!"

An enormous burning beam of pure black and red fire shot out of my hands, vaporizing anything that came into contact with it or even near it.

Xiao Zhan exited the stage, the glass doors sliding shut behind him as he turned around and laughed.

"Ha… HAHA! CAN'T HIT ME FROM THER-huh?"

My ray of death tore directly through the frail glass, making it seem like nothing but a thin piece of paper, and swallowed Xiao Zhan whole.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

His screams of agony echoed across the entire arena as he was melted away into nothingness at an atomic level, not a single bit of his remains being left behind.

I canceled my spell right before it caused any more destruction, and the energy around me dissipated. I collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and worn out.

"Alllright! That was a close one, but uh…" the announcer cleared his throat. "The winner of this match is without a doubt, Lady Obsidia!"

*****

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

The IMF staff members responsible for our District had to go and pick Obsidia up manually from the stage, carrying her on a stretcher and bringing her to our room. She was unconscious, but I had many questions for her.

1. What did she see in her 'nightmares' and how did she break out?

2. What the hell was that ultimate attack she unleashed just now that was about half as powerful as the Chaos Nova I used earlier?

Still, as much as I wanted to get answers right now, I would have to wait until she was awake. Or, alternatively, I could ask Mei Gu-

"Miss Mei Gui. You are fighting next," the IMF staff said suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.

"Master…" she turned to me, as if wanting to say something.

I nodded and grinned slightly. "Mm. Good luck. You can tell me once you win, yeah?"

She smiled happily and hugged me for a short while before setting off for her match.

I sighed. "Damn… she's the only one who can tell me more about the power of Chaos… and it's not like I can get any answers from Obsidia right now either…"

"What was that spell she used at the end though…" Yu An Yan murmured in thought. "I'm a bit jealous."

"Mhm, I'm curious too," Xiang Peng chuckled. "Too bad I couldn't witness the spell directly, otherwise I could've used my Manameter to check how powerful it exactly was…"

I blinked. "Manameter?"