The sun had barely started to peek over the horizon when the door to our bedroom flew open with a bang that sounded like a small explosion. I was still deep in a dream about a giant sandwich when the blankets were ripped off me.
"Elphyete! I'm just going to borrow my best friend for a bit!" a loud, booming voice shouted.
Before I could even blink or rub the sleep from my eyes, two massive hands grabbed me by the back of my shirt. It was Euphyne. He didn't wait for an answer or give me a chance to complain. He hauled me out of bed like I was a sack of potatoes and ran down the hallway. I saw a quick glimpse of Elphyete sitting up in bed, looking confused and rubbing her eyes, but then we were already outside.
Euphyne didn't stop until we reached the large, grassy backyard of our mini-mansion. He dropped me on the grass and stepped back, his face splitting into a huge, excited grin. He started bouncing on the balls of his feet, his muscles rippling under his training shirt.
"I wanna spar with you, Sogha!" he declared, slamming his fists together. "No more books, no more lectures. Just pure combat!"
"Wait, wha—" I started to say, still trying to wake up.
But Euphyne didn't let me finish. He burst forward like a cannonball. He was surprisingly fast for a guy who was built like a brick wall. He threw a heavy right hook that whistled through the air. Instinctively, my body moved. I leaned back just as his fist brushed past my nose. If that had hit me, I probably would have been sent back into the house through the wall.
He didn't slow down. He tried to follow up with a backflip, using the momentum to swing his leg down in a powerful kick toward my head. I dropped to the ground, the wind from his kick ruffling my hair. I rolled away and scrambled to my feet.
"Hey! At least let me get some coffee first!" I yelled.
Euphyne just laughed. He reached down and grabbed a rock about the size of a basketball. With a grunt, he threw it at me. I stepped to the left, letting the rock fly past. But he wasn't done. He turned toward the side of the backyard where some large landscaping boulders were sitting. He grabbed a massive one—it must have weighed at least half a ton—and tossed it at me like it was a beach ball.
I moved to dodge it, but then I realized something. If I let that boulder go past me, it was going to smash directly into the side of our mini-mansion. I couldn't let him destroy our home.
"Are you crazy?!" I shouted.
I stopped my dodge and ran toward the flying boulder. I planted my feet and reached out my hands. The impact was brutal. It felt like a mountain had decided to sit on me. The force pushed me back, and I felt my back hit the stone wall of the mansion with a loud thud. I was basically squashed between the rock and the house. Luckily, I had braced myself well enough that the wall didn't crack, and the house stayed in one piece.
With a loud groan, I pushed the boulder off me and let it drop into the grass. I didn't wait for him to throw something else. I dashed forward, moving as fast as I could. Euphyne threw a punch, but I dipped under it and started hitting him with a barrage of strikes from different angles. I hit his ribs, his shoulders, and his stomach, but he was like a statue. He just stood there, blocking most of my attacks with his massive forearms.
Suddenly, he saw an opening. He lunged forward and landed a sharp punch right on my chin. The world spun for a second. I felt my feet leave the ground, and I flew backward through the air. I swear I was airborne for five seconds, watching the clouds go by, before I finally started to fall. As I came down, I used the momentum to flip my body and land a heavy kick right against the side of Euphyne's head.
The force of the kick sent him stumbling, and he fell hard into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I landed on my feet, panting and wiping a bit of dirt from my face. I laughed, feeling the adrenaline pumping through me. "How's that for a wake-up call?"
Euphyne stood up, brushing the grass off his pants. He started laughing even louder than I was. "You're too weak for me! Ahahahaha!!!!"
His voice was full of joy. I didn't say anything; I just smirked and dashed forward again. I hit him as hard as I could with a straight punch to the chest. But the moment my fist connected, it felt like I had punched a solid block of enchanted steel. His body was surprisingly harder than it had been just a minute ago. A sharp pain shot up my arm, all the way to my shoulder.
"AAAGH! MY HAND HURTS, MAN!" I screamed, shaking my hand and jumping back.
Euphyne just stood there, grinning. "Maybe try harder next time," he teased.
He didn't give me time to recover. He instantly dashed forward, his movements a blur. He grabbed me by the shoulders, lifted me up, and threw me with incredible strength. I flew across the yard and slammed into the boulder I had stopped earlier. The impact was so strong that the boulder actually shattered into pieces. I fell to the ground, and I could feel something warm dripping down my face. I reached up and touched my forehead; I was bleeding.
"You're cheating!" I yelled, standing back up. "You're using your unique stat EGO"
Euphyne laughed and crossed his arms. "And you can use your spirit, Sogha! Go ahead, bring it out!"
I wiped the blood from my eye and smirked. "I won't use it. I don't need it to beat you."
I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. I decided to rely only on my body's natural instincts. I could feel the wind, the sound of the birds, and the vibration of Euphyne's feet on the grass. When he dashed forward again, I didn't even have to think. My body just moved on its own. He threw a flurry of punches, and I kept dodging and dodging, weaving through his attacks like I was made of water.
He was getting frustrated, his swings getting wider. Finally, I saw the perfect moment. As he threw a massive haymaker, I stepped inside his guard and landed a powerful right hook at the exact same time he tried to punch me.
The recoil of our powers colliding was too much for the air to handle. It made a small explosion between us, a "boom" that shook the windows of the mansion. The force sent both of us flying in opposite directions. I tumbled across the grass, and Euphyne rolled until he hit the fence.
For a moment, we both just laid there in the dirt, staring at the sky. Then, we both started laughing. It was a good fight.
"You guys are a mess," a calm voice said from the back porch.
We both looked up. Elphyete was standing there, dressed and ready for the day. She had her arms crossed, but there was a small smile on her face. "Sogha, Euphyne, go inside and clean yourselves up. The food is ready."
I went in first and took a quick shower to wash off the dirt and blood. Euphyne went in second, singing some loud warrior song in the shower. Once we were both clean, we sat down at the table. Elphyete had made a huge breakfast—eggs, toast, fruit, and plenty of juice.
After we finished eating, Elphyete reached into a small pouch on her belt. She used her Creation magic, and a small glow appeared in her palms. A second later, she was holding a jar of thick, green cream.
"Hold still," she said.
She started rubbing the cream on my forehead and on Euphyne's bruises. The cream felt cool and tingly, and I could actually feel the skin knitting back together. The pain vanished almost instantly.
"If you two are going to spar," she said, looking at both of us seriously, "don't make a big mess. I don't want to have to fix the mansion because you two were playing tag with boulders."
We both nodded quickly, like kids getting scolded by their mom. She smiled and patted my cheek. "Good."
The rest of the morning and afternoon were spent the same way. We went back out to the yard and continued sparring. I spent most of the time focusing on my speed, dodging everything Euphyne threw at me, while he focused on his defense, tanking my attacks like they were nothing. It was a cycle of me hitting him, him laughing, and me dodging his counter-attacks.
Every few hours, Elphyete would bring us snacks or some water. We'd take a break, eat, and then get right back to it. By the time the sun started to set, we were both completely exhausted. Our muscles were sore, and we were covered in grass stains again.
We went back inside, took turns showering again, and sat down for a massive dinner that Elphyete had prepared. It was a quiet meal because we were both too tired to talk much. Euphyne basically fell asleep at the table after his last bite of meat.
When it was finally time for bed, I felt like my body was made of lead. I crawled under the covers and groaned as I stretched out my aching back.
Elphyete came into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked at me and then at my shoulders, which were clearly tense.
"Sogha," she said softly. "Can I massage your back?"
I thought about it for a second. My first thought was that I was too tired to even move, but then I realized how much my muscles were screaming. "Why not," I muttered.
I rolled over onto my stomach, burying my face into the pillow. I felt the bed dip as she moved closer. Then, I felt her hands on my shoulders.
She started massaging my back and shoulders with surprising strength. Her hands were warm, and she knew exactly where the knots were. It felt incredible. The tension that had built up from hours of fighting Euphyne started to melt away. The room was quiet, the only sound being the soft rustle of the sheets and the distant sound of the wind outside.
"You worked hard today," she whispered.
I wanted to say something back, to thank her, but the feeling was so relaxing that my brain started to go fuzzy. The warmth of her hands and the comfort of the bed were too much to resist. Before I knew it, I accidentally fell asleep right there, drifting off into a deep, peaceful slumber.