Runfree took a single step towards Paui as their Issi blazed like the sun, three perfectly separate sources spinning together in segregated harmony. Sechen looked over to make sure that wasn’t the real Runfree stepping into the clearing, and was both relieved and worried to find that the real one was still standing right next to her. If the fake had that much power, then how much would the real one have? It seemed implausible, but he seemed stronger than Prisoner. But Prisoner had scared Hoalt, the emperor of this place. And there was no way Runfree was stronger than Hoalt. So what was she missing here?

Paui seemed to relax just a little at what she saw, which just served to make Sechen more confused. “How much stronger are you than your clone?” She asked.

Runfree considered for a moment. “I think I would be… six to eight times as powerful as that figment? Is that close to the truth, Thana?”

A nod from Thana confirmed Runfree’s estimate. “Last I checked, this specific duplicate is set to be one eighth of your total strength. Normally we would set it upon two dozen hopefuls, but Paui will have to face it alone today. Do you expect her to emerge unscathed, Runfree?”

“Oh, definitely not.” Runfree laughed. “The last trial I oversaw this figment sent a quarter of the hopefuls down to the infirmary. Lucky for us we built that place for situations just like this, so we didn’t have to deal with a mob of angry parents of crippled children.”

“Maybe, and I’m not really sure about this, but maybe don’t cripple kids in the first place?” Sechen suggested.

“It isn’t my fault if they overuse their Issi and attempt to seriously fight someone far more powerful than they are.” Runfree said defensively. “Look at what Paui’s doing; she hasn’t moved, and she’s ready to react to whatever the figment throws at her.”

“It would be far more impressive if she hadn’t already gone through this.” Thana said. “Even doing this alone will be easier since there won’t be other hopefuls antagonizing your duplicate. Stray techniques end far more trials than direct attacks.”

“I don’t think a stray technique will be ending this one.” Runfree said. “There is a… safety on this, right? It won’t permanently harm Paui?”

“Of course. We aren’t monsters.”

Runfree nodded. “Very good.”

Sechen rolled her eyes. The same person who talked about crippling children was worried that their clone might hurt Paui just a little too much. It seemed like Runfree was playing favorites.

A pounding reverberation made Sechen focus back in on the trial, watching as Paui sprung away from a spot next to her that glimmered silvery green with her eyes locked on Runfree’s clone. The clone nodded as if to recognize that Paui had dodged, then blurred into dull yellow Issi for a split second before appearing behind Paui. She was already swiveling as the Issi came out, but she just couldn’t keep up with speed Issi on her own. Fluidity wasn’t enough, and a hand came down hard on her shoulder.

She fell with the blow and splayed out like a spider, backing up a good ten feet in one stride and coming up with a hand on her shoulder and pain on her face. She tried to roll it once, twice, then grimaced and set her hand in her armpit and shoved upwards. A flash of electric blue Issi accompanied the deepening of her grimace, but her shoulder rolled just fine after setting it. The Runfree clone laughed at that, as if Paui had done something that caught them so off guard that he couldn’t help but laugh, and clapped his hands while Paui looked puzzled.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Runfree asked, pointing at his duplicate with confusion. “I don’t feel like that’s supposed to happen.”

“It’s happened twice before, but you were never there. Once for Delia, and the other for Yarre.” Thana said. Runfree crossed his arms and nodded as if that explained everything, and that was the end of that conversation.

“I’m guessing Delia and Yarre are two of your more powerful apprentices?” Sechen said as her curiosity got the better of her.

“Behind Wix, Jovie, and myself, they are the two most powerful apprentices in Runfree’s employ.” Thana confirmed. “They completely overtook the trials they were a part of, but not in such a way that they degraded the other hopefuls of their time. True leaders, both of them.”

The clone’s praise must have ended, as it closed the distance between itself and Paui in an intricate step that left it perfectly wound up for a blow that sparkled with electric blue Issi. Paui didn’t parry so much as push the clone’s fist off to the side, and if it were anyone but Runfree, that would have been enough to knock them off balance and throw off any follow-ups. But fluidity and speed Issi negated any sort of advantage Paui generated, and she knew it. She blocked the knee that came at her side with her own shin and pushed upwards, sending Runfree into an awkward spiral that the real Runfree made an excited gasp at.

Sechen saw excitement in the real Runfree’s eyes as he leaned closer to the fight. They seemed overjoyed that Paui had gotten one over on their clone, even if the advantage only lasted a split second and Paui did nothing to push it. An awkward pose transitioned into an elbow that would have shredded another practitioner’s muscles to perform, which itself transitioned into a heel drop from a leg that had lifted high into the air with a groin-tearing spread. It was like watching a puppet fight, joints bending this way and that as the idea of flexibility was redefined in Sechen’s mind. If Runfree wanted to bend a certain way, or if they needed their body to swap direction mid movement, it did so without fail. And with minimal bursts of Issi, which meant most of this was a result of their own body adapting to their Issi. A true manifestation, whose body was quite literally built for their Issi.

Yet Paui fought on. Blows were met with parries, blocks, and thin air as Paui deftly sidestepped blows that were just the slightest bit telegraphed. A sweep at the knees was blocked by her shin, a jab at her shoulder turned away by a gentle movement of an open palm, a kick to the chest turned away as Runfree’s foot grazed nothing but the cloth of Paui’s fluttering shirt. The kick turned as Runfree spun on his planted heel, and Paui was sent skidding away from the force, but she’d managed to get her forearms up in time to avoid damage to her ribs. Runfree obviously had the upper hand, but they couldn’t get a clean hit in where they wanted to. And they were ecstatic about it.

A wide smile preceded Runfree’s clone puffing out their chest and spreading their arms, saying something unheard that made Paui tilt her head to the side and scrunch her face up in confusion. Something was off, but Sechen couldn’t pinpoint what it was. She checked if Thana or the real Runfree were giving off anything she could go from, but they were just as they had been. Runfree’s clone continued speaking for a good thirty seconds before Paui recoiled and turned beet red, dropping down into a lower stance as her mouth pinched into a tight line. Runfree grinned like a predator, all three Issi types bursting to life around them as the air shimmered and became thick with silvery green Issi.

Three Issi anomalies came to life around Paui, flaring bright green for the shortest moment before detonating with a shockwave that smashed the ground beneath them to smithereens. Paui was thrown to the middle of the clearing as she dodged out of the way of two explosions and carried along by the third, sliding in the grass for a few feet before she rolled and came up on her feet. Her breaths came quickly and shakily, her left arm hanging limply at her side, and her eyes made quick movements like a cornered animal as she searched for the next technique Runfree’s clone would throw at her. More force Issi anomalies surrounded her, but they were dull silver unlike the first volley, and didn’t detonate right away. Runfree’s clone appeared behind Paui and shoved her into the ring of anomalies, pushing off after her for a follow-up on whatever happened.

Paui pivoted on one heel as she tumbled forward, looking into Runfree’s eyes as she fell towards one of the Issi mines they’d laid out. She reached behind her with a hand gleaming with Issi, gently cupping the mine and swiveling around so she avoided it altogether. Runfree’s clone didn’t care at all, blowing through the mine and the resulting explosion to grab Paui’s wrist as she recoiled in pain. She twisted in their grip to lash out with a kick aimed at their chin, and seemed surprised as Runfree’s head jerked upwards along with her foot. They let go of her wrist and she pushed off the ground with one hand to correct her fall, holding her bad arm as she backed away from the motionless Runfree.

“She moves wonderfully.” Runfree said with pride in their voice, their nose now pressed up against the whitestone’s projected barrier. “If I didn’t know she’d struggled with movement before, I would have said she’s a high-level fluidity practitioner I wasn’t aware of. Clumsiness be damned.”

Sechen watched as Paui slowly circled the immoble clone carefully, her bad arm twitching every now and again as her Issi worked to repair it. “If she’s using the Issi field, what happened to her bond? Did you sever it?”

“No, that’s far too much work and hassle on both of our sides. I simply stymied the flow of Issi from her container and cut her off from her headspace. It functions exactly as if I’d severed our bond, but won’t require Paui to reshape her container and headspace should she pass my trials.” Runfree explained. “Don’t tell her that, though. She thinks I severed our bond.”

“Because she’d still feel guilty if you didn’t.” Sechen said with a nod. “I gotcha.”

“If she knew the field was only providing fluidity Issi, and that she somehow has access to a small amount of speed Issi, she would know immediately.” Thana said, stepping up next to Runfree and gesturing at the trials Paui left behind. “That is something we have yet to see among your apprentices, and may prove to be something incredibly difficult for her to handle.”

Silence fell over the watchers as Paui continued to circle Runfree’s clone, confusion slowly overtaking fear as her posture shifted from hunched over and ready to bolt at a moment's notice to standing straight up with a hand on her hip and her head cocked to the side. She looked around before sidestepping through the Issi mines, walking up to Runfree’s clone and poking them in the shoulder. When that didn’t elicit a reaction, she tried pushing them away and found them stuck fast to the ground, even when she put her shoulder to their stomach and used her whole body to try and move them.

“Oh, I seem to have forgotten something.” Thana said, tapping the bottom of her fist to her palm. “When one of the hopefuls manages to land a clean, non-sacrificial blow on your duplicate they are considered to have passed this portion of the trial. Would you like me to override that command, or should I conclude this portion of the trial?”