Chapter 16: Cold Light

(Eve Solaris)

It was an awkward walk with Amelia through the dimly lit stone halls, but I decided I may as well try to start a conversation.

“So…. How was your test?” I asked, still trying to avoid any form of eye contact until the puffiness faded.

“It wasn’t too difficult to be honest. The artifact put me in the middle of some sort of military operation for the Church where I was supposed to help assassinate some random people. The main thing was how I used my mana to get around situations… the specifics are a bit hazy as it was very in the moment and fast paced, but I managed well.”

“Well that’s good to hear. How else would you be able to accompany me if you didn’t pass?”

“I have my ways, I assure you.”

“Uh, huh… some illegal ways I bet.”

“Oh, Eve, you have no faith in me, do you?”

“No I do, that’s how I know.” I said, stifling a laugh.

“Hmmm… fair,” she admitted, somewhat proudly.

We continued to walk, the awkwardness growing as Ameilia made no attempts to hide her gaze on me. It wasn’t until we were nearing the end of the winding corridor that she managed to ask.

“So, do you want to talk about what your test was?”

“Uh...”

“You don’t have to force yourself to-”

“No, it’s not that…”

My mind spun. While the thought of sharing that part of my past wasn’t as unbearable as it had been before, I struggled to find the words.

“Attention all participants of this year's selections! I have a very special announcement for you all that is sure to spark some fire within the hearts of all!”

‘Thank whatever god for that timing.’

“In two days' time, when the sun is at its highest point, in the main event arena, we will be hosting two of the seven paladins for a battle of the century! The exact paladins who shall be participating will be hidden until the event, however one can surely guess just what a performance we will be given!”

“Admission is free to all participants, so please, do come and join us! I wish you all good luck in the remainder of your endeavors and can’t wait to see you all there!”

‘A fight between two of the paladins? Now that I think about it, I’ve never met any of the other paladins, aside from the third, but I wouldn’t really call that meeting them… I wonder what they’re like.’

“Eve! Eve Eve! Can you believe it?!? The Paladins are going to fight!” Amelia said, shaking me from the shoulders.

“Haha, yeah… I did just hear it as well, you know.” I said, slightly taken aback by her sudden change.

“I know! To be honest I’ve only ever heard of them from my brother; I wonder what they’re really like…” she exclaimed, bouncing in excitement causing her platinum blonde ponytail to dance around. I couldn’t help but compare her to a winter rabbit jumping away through the snow, stifling a laugh.

“So I’m guessing you wanna go and watch the fight, huh?”

“Of course! Anyone who wouldn’t would be out of their minds!”

‘E-Eh? Is the existence of the Paladins really that big of a deal?’

“R-right…”

“We have to go!”

“Oh, do we now?”

“Yes!”

“...”

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Eve.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning on saying n-”

“Good! I’ll see you, then!”

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and leaned into me, “You can tell me about it when you’re ready.”

As she said that, she stuck her tongue out at me then sped off towards her room, leaving me behind at the doors to the gathering area.

‘What just happened…?’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We arrived at the main arena relatively early, but from the looks of it, we were the ones that were late.

The arena was… extravagant to say the least. The arena itself was a large, circular area that resembled a coliseum of sorts. Sixteen tall, marbled stone pillars flanked the vast expanse, holding up the dome-like roof, all lined with detailed etches and all sorts of precious gems. The roof was left open in the middle, directly above where the battle platform sat.

In between all the pillars were numerous rows of stands made of some sort of stone, easily enough room to fit eight of group D’s participants. From four sides of the area were entryways that I could only guess connected to hallways leading to the other areas of the selections.

There were also two more hallways on opposite sides connected directly to the middle of the arena, closed off by two large sets of metal gates.

“Hey, I think I see a spot where we can sit.”

“Lead the way,” I said, still taking in the sight in front of me.

As I followed Amelia, more of the arena came into my view.

From what I could tell, the hallways leading towards the middle of the arena were where the contestants would be brought from. Additionally, there was a viewing box hanging above both of those hallways, overlooking the platform, most likely reserved for special guests and the like.

The viewing box was covered with some sort of tinted window that prevented onlookers from viewing inside, adding a bit of mystery for us and privacy for them.

“Eve, over here!”

“Coming, Ame--Mayla!” I said, stopping my words halfway after realizing we were surrounded by countless others.

I continued to where Amelia had taken her seat, steadily making my way up the too-large stairs and towards the row she was in.

“I wonder which two paladins are going to fight…” I heard Amelia ponder out loud.

Before I could respond, however, an artifact engraved into the center of the platform began to light up before projecting the figure of a man floating a couple feet above.

“Welcome, everyone! I am the official announcer of the selections for this year! It is a pleasure to finally meet you all, albeit not in person.” I heard the announcer’s voice boom across the arena as the last bit of people began trickling in.

“First, allow me to formally applaud all of you on making it this far in the selections. I can surely tell the Church of Heaven has a bright future ahead with you all as the core part of its foundation.”

“As a congratulations, we have a special treat for all of you. For the first time in the history of these selections, two of the seven renowned Paladins will be taking the stage and compete in a one on one!” The announcer continued as a triumphant roar of cheers were heard among the crowd.

‘Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kalan use his abilities. He never lets his mana leak when we are together, not even when we are actually training... I wonder how strong Paladins actually are.’ I thought, a smile creeping across my face as my excitement grew.

“Introducing, the fourth ranked Paladin, Sylas “The Berserker” Avadia. This is a man who quickly worked his way up the ranks of the church with his unquestionable strength, speed, and faith!” The announcer finished.

As I looked down at the arena, one of the gates I had seen on my way up began to open and out walked someone who truly fit the nickname of Berserker.

A man with tan skin, large, defined muscles, juggling two large axes that seemed weightless in his hands. He wore a solid white hood that had a beautiful sapphire jewel at the front, with wolf fur that covered his shoulders and a solid white robe that only covered his chest and upper legs.

I felt a trickle of sweat flow down my cheek as he stepped closer, his pressure radiating off of him like a roaring fire, until he reached the middle of the stage.

My breath caught at the realization that there were six others just like him, and he was only ranked fourth. There are three paladins stronger than him? I wonder where Kalan-

Before I could continue my thoughts however, the announcer started to announce his opponent.

“Next is a man who’s a legend among the Church, a hero for the people, and the pinnacle of man. The first ranked Paladin of the Church of Heaven, Kalan “Cold Light” Indarus. The oldest, strongest, and most faithful of all the paladins.” The announcer finished as excitement coursed through my veins.

The cheers of the crowd silenced as the gate opposite of Paladin Sylas began to open. Even before the gates opened, there was a stark difference. Whereas Paladin Sylas was oppressive even before making his appearance, I felt nothing from Kalan’s side. The room took in a collective breath as he casually strode out to meet Sylas in the center.

“Before we begin, allow me to say the rules of this bout. There will be no time limit. The fight ends when either one of you is unable to compete or surrenders. All tricks and schemes are viable and there is no need to worry about our lovely audience as we have prepared a plethora of protection artifacts to shield them from any stray spells or debris."

As he said that, five to six layers of translucent mana barriers began to shine to life around the platform with an extra mana barrier at the foot of each of the stands.

“Aside from that, are there any questions?”

I watched closely, as neither gave an answer, seemingly refusing to take their concentration off one another.

“Seeing as there are no questions, Begin!”

As soon as the words rang out across the arena, I felt as Sylas’s mana exploded as he charged towards Kalan, not wasting a second.

In the blink of an eye, Sylas was in front of Kalan at a speed my eyes could barely keep up with.

In another blink, an explosion of dust and rock shook the coliseum, originating from where Kalan had been. A cold shiver ran up my spine when I noticed that the first layer of the mana barriers had cracked slightly.

As the dust settled, I could only just make out their figures before Sylas jumped back. Kalan stood, undisturbed, a crater in the ground a few inches away.

“Did… did he miss?” I heard Amelia ask from beside me.

‘No,’ I thought, grinning, ‘Kalan was a step off the central mark they had begun on.’

“I thought you said you’d been training, Sylas?” I barely heard Kalan say with a smirk.

“I was going to take it easy on you old man, but if you really want to see the results of my training, then allow me to show you!” Sylas spat back as he let out a roar, letting a fiery aura engulf his body.

This time I didn’t see Sylas move until he was already in front of Kalan, again swinging down with his axes, now imbued with his roaring flames. Kalan brought up his hand, a sword materializing in it, and blocked the strike with almost no effort at all.

Sylas jumped back after the block then continued with a relentless assault. Every strike seemed heavier, faster, and sharper, his hands turning into blurs, however Kalan continued to block each and every one of them, never taking a step from where he stood.

And then it all changed.

I watched as Sylas went in for another strike, but this time Kalan let a beautiful golden light of mana wrap itself around him, producing a heat so hot, it made Sylas’ flames melt away. The pressure of his released mana washed over the stadium, weighing down on every fiber of my being.

His aura was so dense with mana that it became nearly solid and crashed against the barrier, shattering through every layer, one after the other. Right before reaching the stands it flowed up in an arc and formed a golden sphere around the dueling pair.

As Sylas’s blades clashed with Kalan’s, hands of golden light manifested from the mana rich atmosphere and restrained his arms then legs, holding him up before Kalan.

“What is this!” Sylas yelled, as he struggled to free himself.

“To think that you thought you could act however you wanted with only this level of power. To be honest, I’m disappointed. . Allow me to remind you of the difference between us” Kalan replied.

As soon as he said this, he covered his right hand in a glove of golden mana that extended into a burning blade.

White flames licking up Kalan’s blade illuminated the horrified expression on Sylas’ face.

Rather than striking though, he raised his blade to the sky. Obeying his command, the golden sphere and every ounce of mana contained within extended into the sky and coalesced into a miniature sun, the heat of which began to melt the top of the coliseum.

Molten stone and marble dripped down and sizzled against the arena floor as Kalan studied Sylas for a few moments, the casual smile he normally wore replaced by a mask of terrifying apathy.

Kalan whispered something to him, but was too far for me to hear, though I knew it wasn’t good based on the ever sinking expression of his prisoner.

“I surren-” Sylas started, but was cut off by the formation of a golden hand over his mouth.

Kalan swung down.

A massive beam of blinding light followed his sword. The light was so bright, I had to shield my eyes as I heard it crash into Sylas. He let out a loud scream nearly drowned out by the explosion as the entire arena shook.

As I looked up, the dust began to slowly clear away. All I saw was Kalan with his casual smile on his face already walking back to the gates and Sylas’ unconscious body drilled into the ground.

Kalan turned his head toward where I was sitting and our eyes met, his smile widening at my expression. He simply winked at me and walked out of the coliseum.

“T-the Match is over! A flawless victory from Kalan!”