POV: RENATA SILVEIRA.
Face to face with her. The training court was there like a stage ready for a spectacle, one of those that resembled choreography.
Both of us had already trained together many times; I knew her strategy, and she knew mine.
Today, in particular, we had to test something new, and that's what we intended to do.
Professor Miguel observed us from a distance, his critical gaze leaving no room for hesitation; he seemed to analyze the environment.
He was outside the court, with a simple but firm posture. Turning my attention back to Helena, who was a few meters in front of me.
We had agreed to take it seriously, and we knew what that meant.
This was not just a test; it was a demonstration.
We wanted to show the professor, and each other, that we could use this class to improve and that we would take it seriously.
The air vibrated in anticipation. At that moment, nothing else mattered, only the combat that awaited me.
Professor Miguel, realizing we were ready, said:
"Same rules as before, being knocked to the ground or out of the court equals defeat. Ready?"
Helena was the first to confirm. "Yes, sir."
Following her confirmation, I assented soon after.
"Alright, then. Begin!" exclaimed the professor, starting the training.
Helena was the first to activate her marks, with the naturalness of someone who had done it hundreds of times before.
I saw the soft glow of her mark activating, and what appeared to be her Specters emerging behind her, the symbolic element taking form.
I heard her summon: "Chains of Marginal Liberty: Specter Cat and Professor".
That was the signal: she would come with a fast approach. In response, my fingers clenched into a fist, channeling energy into my wrists.
A cyan tone glowed from my left hand.
"Awaken, oh Essence of the Dreamer, and come to my aid!"
A mist enveloped my body, almost like an oneiric whisper. I felt the energy flow smoothly and powerfully.
The mist expanded through the arena, creating a small atmosphere that I could use to manipulate my projectiles.
Helena, knowing this, didn't wait and leaped towards me, already conjuring one of the patterns of Axiomatic Tessellation.
Gauntlets on her hands, and along with them, two specters behind her.
One that offered her a broad vision and another that offered shots that could disrupt me. She intended to close the distance and take advantage of close-quarters combat.
The strategy made sense; after all, my advantage came from distance, from enchantments that required time and space to manifest.
Knowing this, she shaped the battlefield like a chess game, cutting off my angles and forcing me to react, not act.
'Okay, then, here we go…'
Raising my hand, I invoked a dense curtain of undulating darkness.
"Appear, Darkness of Dreams!"
Taking form, the mists intermingled and expanded my reach through the environment, turning it into a veil over perception.
Inside, I could distort directions and slightly disorganize light and shadow; it was an environment that confused the senses, even the most trained ones.
"Shall we dance a bit, dear?" I said, amidst the mist that surrounded the environment.
I couldn't directly distinguish, but from her tone of voice, Helena seemed amused by the situation. I could feel a smile coming from her…
"For sure, m'lady… Let's go, Rê!"
She entered the darkness without hesitation. For a few seconds, all there was was… silence.
I moved around where I felt her energy. I tried to suppress my signature to make it harder to locate her.
However, I already felt Helena's other mark taking effect, Observation of the Shadow, which had just made her vision more precise in this darkness.
And it didn't take long to see the result; I felt the disturbance in the airflow behind me. I rolled to the side instinctively and saw an energy block strike where my head was.
The King's Sword, combined with Axiomatic Tessellation, generated a good offensive combination.
The first was powerful in quick defensive and offensive conjurations. Helena used her mind as a weapon.
I countered with an impulse from Oneiric Reservoir, channeling its unusual energy to conjure illusory spirals around me.
Distorted patterns of light and shadow appeared, beginning to spin, as if we were trapped inside a nightmare kaleidoscope.
Also, using the effect of Darkness of Dreams, I directed the mist to follow her and create an area of imbalance.
"Good try, but it won't stop me"
Her voice came from the front, but a quick blow came to my side. Anticipating, I managed to channel a wave of energy that lessened the impact; I moved away, taking steps back.
She was manipulating the illusions as much as I was. Her Observation of the Shadow eye was already deciphering my pattern. She was trying to read me, as she usually did.
Time to respond, with the Mirror of the Lost Soul. I activated the mark and my thoughts sped up. She, realizing this, advanced towards me. Using Specter Professor to launch a projectile at me:
"Slip!" said the torn voice of the whisper.
Before the projectile took effect, I predicted its direction seconds in advance.
And dodged. The problem? My body wouldn't keep up for long.
Fatigue would come quickly, like a wave breaking over my body. I needed to turn the situation around.
I channeled Essence of the Dreamer with even more energy, and conjured a wave of energy directly at the ground, creating an explosion that separated us.
I used the distraction to slide out of the darkness.
Outside, the field returned to normal. My vision cleared and my breathing, though heavy, calmed.
Helena emerged from the curtain a second later, dust still clinging to her clothes. Her gaze was focused.
Looking directly at me, no more tricks. We both knew what was at stake.
She darted towards me, and launched three energetic cubes with Axiomatic Tessellation, coming at me like lethal mathematical projectiles.
A jump, a spin, a desperate conjuration. The Darkness of Dreams again enveloped the cubes, distorting their paths.
They began to spin around me like moons orbiting a planet. I used that. I directed one of them against her. Helena blocked with precision.
'Of course she blocked…'
Even so, now we had space. We restarted. This time, without so many games. Just objectivity, I advanced towards her, and she returned it.
She struck first with a right hook, I dodged, stepping back.
I spun through her guard, and channeled a quantity of energy to unbalance her.
She grabbed my arm before I could launch, and tried to throw me to the ground to make me lose by one of the rules.
I released the energy, creating space between us.
Standing a few paces away. I stared at her quickly.
No one there was playing.
If we were in a dance, it was a dangerous ballet.