– The night before the ceremony –
"I'm supposed to stay fit for tomorrow, but I have the insatiable urge to go train.
Especially considering what the supreme said." Leo's leg was vibrating from restlessness as he laid on the bed.
It kept on doing so for a while.
–
"A little inhaling can't hurt" Before he knew was running to his place of meditation.
He took long strides,but on getting there he saw someone else there.
!
"That's a person?" His eyes widened.
{Perhaps it was because of the full moon which I loathed, luminated the figure.
Or the fact that it blended so well with the grey halo on her head and the aura around her body as she swung the blade.
But the only descriptor I could give would be…}
"Beautiful…" He uttered unbeknownst to himself.
The girl that was in a focused state finally noticed his presence.
!
"Who might that be." She thought as she looked towards his direction with aether filled eyes.
She saw him clearly, as did he.
"Oh, it's the strange boy…" She said.
She cheated the sword into its scabbard.
"Strange?
I would mind anyone else calling me that but you." Leo replied.
They walked towards each other slowly.
"Don't worry, I'm done the place is yours.
And my name isn't beautiful, it's Fiona." She walked past him.
"And mine isn't strange it's Leo." He smirked a bit.
She waved her hand, as she walked into the distance.
"Phew…that could've gone worse.
I was a little anxious there, since when did she start frequenting here." He thought.
"Care for a spar?" Fiona said from beside Leo.
"?!
That speed, she's fast and silent." Leo was shocked, his heart skipped a few beats.
"In the middle of the night?" He asked.
"Is it normal to be out here by this time in the first place?" She tilted her head a bit while she answered his question with another.
"Well as you can see I didn't bring my weapon so…
Go away let me nourish my bones!" Leo tried to remove the suggestion from her mind.
[The sound of iron and scabbard falling on dry grass.]
"Well, how about now…" She had unarmed herself.
"I'm afraid it's still no...
Instead how about we compete for something else." He looked at the mountain.
-
With the honing of aether they raced towards the mountain.
They took leaps and launched themselves through the uneven land form.
Overtaking each other multiple times throughout the ascent.
It took a while due to its uneven shape.
{I've always wondered what was beyond the mountains, the topic has been documented but I want to see for myself.}
With a final leap he was at the top of the mountain, right behind Fiona.
"You've lost haven't you" She spoke to Leo but her voice didn't seem to reach him.
"Yeah…" He answered as he walked towards the edge of the peak.
His eyes gleamed as he set his eyes upon the marvel that was the scene, there green grass was a contrast to that in the empire.
The soil looked rich, and the unevenness brought to it a kind of uniformity, his heart fluttered.
"It's truly beautiful…" Leo uttered.
"Do you say that about everything…" Fiona asked in a teasing manner.
He was enamoured by the scene, her teasing had little effect on him.
"I wish I did…" Leo replied while he was out of it.
She turned and looked at the landscape.
"Is it truly so…" She looked at it intently, trying to find the beauty he had proclaimed.
"Hmm…" She squinted her eyes.
–
"Huh?
You're awake early today, I could've sworn you were going to miss this." Said Caesar in a mildly surprised tone.
He had finished washing up and was now dressing up.
Leo grunted, turning on his bed.
"They brought us new uniforms today, wake up and get ready.
We'll be out in two hours." Caesar told him.
Leo's eyes shot wide open.
–
The wagons set off, crossing the gate and following the same path they had come from.
"Hmm, strange boy or beautiful boy, whichever shall I call you." Fiona sat opposite him.
"Tch…I regret losing that bet." Leo looked away, a little embarrassed.
"Bet?
What bet?" Caesar sitting beside him asked.
"It's nothing, you're better off trying to avoid the bird poop that always manages to land on your head each day.
Well at least today you're wearing a hat." Leo scoffed.
"Well that's not going to happen today, is it?" Caesar said confidently.
[Splat!] Something landed on his hat, it was a white substance.
Caesar looked up to see a bird passing by.
"Pfft" Leo couldn't hold in his laughter.
–
They had gotten to the main gate, it was opened for them.
They were dropped not too far off the gate and had to walk to the front of the podium by themselves.
The ceremony was already in full flight by the time they got there, drums were beating, the crowd was roaring and celebration.
There was something new; it was a platform in the front of the podium, it was wooden, square and wide and just few inches off the ground.
As they walked in the drums beat even harder, the crowd split, it was like a guiding path to the platform.
Their black uniforms looked premium unlike those of the normal troops, they were greeted with looks of jealousy and scorn.
On the other end of the platform stood thirteen people; they were the lieutenant commanders.
As the special squad lined up in front they were also thirteen.
A commander climbed up the platform, it was an old man with white hair and a singular mark on his cheek, his presence was that of calmness.
He motioned his hand and the crowd spread around the platform with no one blocking the view from the podium.
From the building on the podium the supreme and the other commanders emerged, Heimer gave the man on the platform a nod.
"This will be the first of its kind.
One from this side, and one from the other climb the podium" The old man said.
Without two seconds passing byCaesar was the first to step up, from the lieutenant side one stepped up.
It was a young man visibly in his thirties, with black short hair.
"The rules are simple, no weapons.
Victory conditions are pushing the opponent off the edge, or your opponent admitting defeat.
Do you understand?" His voice calmly rippled through as he looked the the two contestants.
Both of them nodded.
"Alright then…
Fight!!"