Chapter Two.

Jenna pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She looked around fifteen years old, and possessed dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, her fair skin flawless and only lightly touched by the sun.

She snapped, and a flame jumped out of the tips of her thumb, hovering there for several long seconds before she released the spell.

Letting out a sigh, she made her way out of the studio apartment's bathroom and walked over to the bed, grabbing her red and blue hoodie. She pulled it on, then pulled her ponytail out of it, letting it drop against her back.

Slipping her hands into the hoodie's pockets, Jenna left the apartment and made her way down the street. She wasn't too far from the warehouse district where she was testing the few people who showed up and actually challenged her in the mage arena.

There weren't any she felt were powerful enough. From what she'd heard, there were three exceptionally powerful mages there, but none of them had shown up since she started almost a week prior. She needed strong mages. If someone was taken out in under a minute against her, then they weren't strong enough.

According to what she'd heard, all three of them had faced off against Fairy Lords, Fairy Kings, and it was even rumored that two of them helped kill the Fairy Emperor while the other helped kill the Fairy Empress. No one was completely sure, though, and she was pretty sure it was just hearsay.

The war that ended the fairies' major reign of terror was still fresh in everyone's minds, and stories were embellished often to promote the ideas that someone was strong. One of them was a healer, so she wasn't sure how he could have helped kill the Fairy Emperor.

The other two, on the other hand, were the ones she was hoping would show up. Supposedly, the mind mage among them was kidnapped by the fairies, which is what led to the massive battle the previous week.

A battle that involved gods, angels, nephilim, and demigods and resulted in the destruction of dozens of realms.

Shaking her head, Jenna approached the bouncer at the warehouse, gave the password, and entered. She hoped the strong mages would show up soon and prove themselves to be of decent strength.

She needed strong mages. But the arena wasn't as lively as she'd heard from other arenas. Word was that this one had massive crowds ever since these two mages started showing up, yet there were less than a hundred each night.

Except tonight. Jenna stared at the crowd. There were nearly two hundred mages there. Fridays were the nights that it was said the two powerful mages sparred against each other. Had they both shown up?

But the spatial mage hadn't been there on his usual night for sparring against others.

Mages parted for Jenna as she approached the enchanted ring and watched the werewolves spar. Looking around, she spotted a figure standing on the edge of the ring at what would be two o'clock if she was standing at six. He was dressed in a black hoodie, the hood up over his head, a gray mask covering his face. His hands were in his pocket, and he seemed to be staring at her, though she couldn't tell for sure.

The mask had no eyeholes.

Judging by his height, he was likely around her apparent age. That, or a short adult. As a demigoddess, Jenna aged faster than humans. She was only thirteen and a month, but she was the equivalent of a fifteen-year-old in human age, nearly sixteen.

From his description, he was the spatial mage that she had wanted to fight against. A teleporter who could also distort space in front of him, using a mix of those to move in close to his target, prevent them or their attacks from drawing too close, and to strike at his opponents.

If he was as good as the rumors claimed, then he might be suitable for her needs. Once she fought him, she would know. She only hoped she'd be able to converse with him after to try to recruit him.

Jenna frowned as she realized the mind mage wasn't around. The pair usually showed up together, everyone had said. That was one thing that had been clear to her: they were friends or brothers. One or the other, but both showed up together ever since a month or so prior.

It was the mind mage she really wanted to befriend. He was a demigod too, which meant he was surely powerful.

Before Jenna knew it, the brawling matches were over and it was time for the mages to start. She waited through three fights, then stepped into the arena, realizing only once she was facing the wind mage that Eden's apparent gaze had never left her.

So he'd heard of her reputation and come to watch. It was time to show him what she was made of.

As soon as the referee called the match's start, Jenna dodged to the side, flames bursting from her feet to propel her forward. She jumped back towards the wind mage, striking at him in the side with a flame-covered fist before following it up with a kick to his stomach, her flames increasing the speed.

The wind mage was thrown into the barrier and collapsed. She flicked her hand out, and a whip of flames burst forth, snapping into the wind mage's meager wind shield, piercing through it and striking him against the face.

He was out.

Four more matches went similarly, Jenna not losing one, and then the spatial mage entered the arena. The two of them faced off, and as soon as the match began, Jenna darted to the side, intending to jump up into the air this time to avoid his teleportation.

Instinct alone drove her to raise up her arms and twist in the direction she was moving, and that saved her from the punch that struck at her, throwing her back. As she used her flame strike spell to control her fall and landing, Jenna thrust out her hand, throwing several fireballs as Eden.

Immediately, she knew she'd failed. He simply distorted the space so that her attacks diverted around her. She summoned up several flame whips as she ran to the side, barely avoiding another teleport. Flicking her whips, Jenna found them affected by distorted space as he charged forward, the distorted space allowing him to reach her in half a second.

Jenna summoned her blazing aura, causing flames to whip and flash around her, only to be struck in the head before they could fully form. She stumbled back, raising a hand to block the next strike as she pulled on her aura again, only to find a fist striking into her gut, breaking her focus.

A hand chopped into the back of her neck, and she dropped to the ground, blackness filling her vision.

When Jenna woke, she found herself in the medical section of the warehouse, a section separated by a few dividers with a couple of beds and a blood mage who specialized in healing.

"Ow," she rubbed her stomach. "He didn't hold back."

"You don't, either," the blood mage snorted. "At least you didn't have any injuries that needed treating."

"Is he still here?"

"He's on a match," the mage nodded. "You were only out for a couple of minutes."

Jenna hurried out of the section, rubbing her throbbing forehead as she pushed her way through the crowd so she could watch Eden fight, arriving just in time to witness him throw to the ground an earth mage she'd fought the night before.

Eden fought three more mages, not a single one of whom lasted more than ten seconds against his distorted space. In fact, Jenna was pretty sure all of their fights were shorter than hers, which she was pretty sure only lasted around seven or eight seconds, at most.

He really was as good as he was rumored to be.

When no one else wanted to match against Eden, the referee called the night, and everyone went to collect their winnings. Jenna hurried to reach the counter, collecting her envelope before stepping to the side to watch for Eden.

"You seem to be waiting for Eden," a voice said from beside Jenna, causing her to jump. "Mind telling me why?"

"I don't think I have to answer you," she glanced at the boy, who was probably a year younger than her.

He seemed nerdy to her, with a rather skinny frame, medium-length blond hair, amber eyes, glasses, and an anime tee under his jacket, skinny jeans, and sneakers.

"You can look all you want," the boy said as she turned her gaze back to the crowd, watching for Eden. "But he teleported to the counter to collect his winnings. He's already left for the night. It's pretty normal for him, though he's in particular hurry tonight. I was honestly surprised to see him here."

"I don't believe you," Jenna snorted. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Just a watcher," the boy said. "You look through the crowd every night, and you fight. You've also subtly asked about Eden and Cam every night, though you most talk about the strongest here. Why do you wish to fight with the strongest? And why, after fighting one of them, do you wish to talk with him, as you seem to want?"

"I don't believe that's your business," she said. "What's your name?"

"In the end, what is a name?" He asked. "It is simply something we call ourselves to identify ourselves by. Some people prefer not to be identified, and thus, don't use such things. I happen to know a way to contact Eden. A specific person, the only one I know of who has his number."

"I still don't believe you," she said. "And I'm not going to answer your question."

The nerd shrugged, then waited beside Jenna. She kept her frustration concealed, keeping on the mask of business and authority. She was not beneath anyone there, she was above them. She had to believe that, because it was the only way she could find people to help her.

When it became evident that Eden was not, in fact, there, Jenna realized the nerd had been right about that. He was still waiting, even though it had been half an hour, as if he expected her to answer his questions.

"What do you want?" Jenna asked him.

"Answers," he shrugged. "There are only a couple of people left. Why don't you and I spar?"

"Why would I do that?" She asked. "And I'm pretty sure the owner of the arena wouldn't like that."

"I have full confidence in my ability to fight you," he answered. "And the owner of the warehouse sometimes allows unsanctioned matches after everyone leaves. The runes on the ground won't wear out from that. I've already gotten permission to fight with you."

"And why would I do that?" Jenna asked. "You didn't answer that."

"Me believing I can best you isn't proof enough?"

"Tonight," she said. "Four people believed they could best me. All four fell quickly."

"Did they?" The nerd asked. "In other arenas, you might be right. But this arena? It contains some of the strongest magicians in Tejina. It also contains some of the weakest or bravest. Many who fight against the nigh-unbeatable or the unbeatable are, in fact, doing so just for the experience. They see it as training – or a badge of courage. To have fought against someone they know they have no chance against, yet still did their best against, is something they take pride in.

"Tonight," he continued. "Eden faced off against eight mages. Of them, you were the only one not doing so knowing that they would lose. The other seven all knew they would lose against him, and in only seconds, too. The only person who has bested him in a match so far has been Cam."

Jenna stared at the nerd. She hadn't even considered the possibility that she was fighting people who knew they would lose. At first, she wanted to dismiss him, but his comment about Eden's matches made her realize that people really did do that.

It was the only explanation she could come up with for why people would fight against someone who had a reputation of losing only to a specific magician over several months of fighting. Over more than a thousand matches against hundreds of mages.

"You still haven't answered my question," she folded her arms across her chest. "Why would I fight you?"

"If you defeat me," he said. "I'll let you know how to contact Eden, if the person will put you into contact with him. I'm sure he will, though, depending on your reason. And if I defeat you, you will answer my questions."