Soon after, Blake and the twins followed Jason and Ariel to the training grounds.
The moment they arrived, the atmosphere shifted. Soldiers who were practicing quickly stepped aside, making way with puzzled expressions and hushed whispers. Everyone knew something was about to happen.
Jason stepped into the center of the open field, rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles. His eyes locked onto Ariel's with a sharp focus.
"Ariel, listen carefully," he spoke with a firm voice. "We're going to have a spar. I want you to show me everything you can do. Don't hold back."
Ariel blinked, confused. "Spar? Are you… going to hurt me, big brother? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, her voice soft, almost afraid.
Jason sighed. He knew she wasn't ready—not mentally. If he didn't push her, she'd never awaken her true potential.
"Quit acting like a spoiled child," Jason snapped, his voice louder now, echoing off the training walls. "It doesn't matter that you're eleven years old. You're not just anyone anymore. You're a Primordial—one of the strongest recorded Awakeners. You have a duty to protect this world."
Ariel flinched, her lips trembling. "But… I don't know how to fight. No. I don't want to fight." she cried, running to her father.
Jason clenched his fists. Tch… if soft words won't work, 'I'll just have to push her harder. I'll have to use that idiot.' He thought.
He narrowed his eyes and took a step closer. "Don't you want to see Zane?" he asked sharply.
That name hit like a punch. Ariel stopped in her tracks. All the while, everyone watched in silence.
"You saw the reports, didn't you? He wasn't in the list of the Alphas nor Primordials. Let's say he's concealing his rank for personal reasons. But what if that isn't the case. What if he is Omega ranked, the same rank as every unawakened person." Ariel looked at her older brother with new found curiosity.
"I can say with certainty that you've tried to reach him at least once. Seeing as he still hasn't shown up means you weren't able to connect with him. Who knows where he might be right now? Maybe dead. Maybe suffering, or maybe waiting for help. If you can't prove yourself capable, Father, no, I will never let you leave these walls," Jason said coldly.
"But if you can beat me—right here, right now—I'll convince him to let you go. I'll even go with you to look for him. I promise."
Blake said nothing. He stood at the edge of the field, arms folded, watching with unreadable eyes.
'I can't believe all it took was his name. Just what did Zane to to her?'
Soldiers nearby whispered among themselves.
"Hey, what's going on?" one asked, stepping closer.
"It looks like there's going to be a showdown between members of the Walker family," another replied.
"Wait—isn't that Jason Walker? One of the eight Alphas in the country?"
"Yeah, that's him. Did you see how many Geminis he took down in the first wave?"
"I did. He's a monster in battle," another added.
"But he's facing a Primordial… one of the five on the whole planet."
"Primordial or not, she's just a little kid. Doesn't seem like a fair fight."
The crowd kept growing. Whispers turned into murmurs. Everyone's eyes were glued to the center of the training grounds.
Meanwhile, Ariel's fear began to shift into something else. Her hands clenched at her sides. Her breathing slowed. The scared, hesitant girl from moments ago was nowhere to be found.
Jason noticed the change and smiled.
"Are you ready now?" he asked.
Ariel nodded, her voice clear and steady.
"What do I need to do, big brother."
Every person who awakened had a physical boost; their senses became several times sharper, the higher their rank, the more evident it became. Ariel may not know how to throw a punch like a trained fighter would, but that was the case before her awakening. With her enhanced physical strength and sharp senses, she was far stronger than any unawakened professional fighter on the planet. Though she wasn't aware of this fact herself. The situation wasn't entirely hopeless, whenever she played with Zane, she was the hero and Zane was the villain, so she knew a thing or two about fighting.
"Nothing that serious, just think of the times you played with Zane." Jason advised.
"A time when I played with big brother Zane." Ariel whispered as a thought crawled into her head.
At that time, Ariel had forced Zane to play with her.
It didn't go well for him.
She had accidentally punched the future generations out of him—right in the family jewels.
Zane had dropped to the ground instantly, his face pale and his body frozen like a statue carved from pain.
"Are you okay, brother?" Ariel had asked, tilting her head, clueless.
Zane curled up, clutching himself as if his whole existence depended on it. His voice came out weak and trembling,
"Listen to me, Ariel… never… ever hit a guy there—unless it's life or death."
He forced himself up, legs wobbling like jelly, his eyes half dead.
Ariel never forgot that moment.
'So that's the weak spot…' she thought, narrowing her eyes as she stared down at Jason across the training field.
'If I hit him there, I might actually win. I'll give it everything I've got!'
'Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?'
Jason was oblivious to what he had bargained for.
Jason raised a hand, signaling the start. "I'll begin now."
In a flash, he dashed. One moment he was standing there, the next he was gone, like smoke in the wind. Only Blake, the Primordial Supreme, could keep track of him.
But Ariel tilted her head in confusion.
'Why is big brother moving so slowly?'
To her, Jason wasn't moving fast at all. In her eyes, it was like he was jogging through water.
She was completely unaware of her own heightened perception.
Jason's right leg cut through the air, aiming to decapitate his little sister.
Ariel dodged by taking quick steps back.
Almost as soon as his right leg touched the ground, his left leg was already in motion towards her chest.
Ariel lept backwards but Jason was already dashing towards her. He threw three successive punch which Ariel dodged by weaving her tiny body through his arm.
'Damn it, why can't I hit her? It wasn't this difficult to make contact while I was fighting the Geminis.' Jason thought in frustration.
'Hmm.' Blake watched in silence and so was everyone present.
"Looks like we underestimated the girl." Said one soldier.
"I doubt it. I bet Jason is just going easy on her. They are siblings after all." Another added.
'How do I use my skills? Let's see.' She looked around while dodging until her gaze settled on Blake. Then she subconsciously whispered the words "Copy." A voice boomed in her head soon after.
{Warning, target has a higher rank than the host. Access Denied.}
'I see, so I can't copy from those stronger than me. In that case...' She leapt a great distance back, fixing her sight on Jason.
"Copy." She whispered again.
{Unable to Access full skill of target due to low Rank of the hosts' skill.
Available skills:
-Tai Chi
-Wing Chung
-Karate
You may only choose one of the above.}
Her brother's relentless attacks gave her little time to think.
"Tai Chi." She picked the first one on impulse and with her permission, the skill was registered in her system status.
Jason leapt and planted his left hand down, in a way that made his body parallel to the ground. He then threw a double kick, one meant for her head and the other her ribs.
This time, Ariel didn't move away, it's was as if she knew what to do.
She slapped the first kick away and grabbed the second, throwing Jason across the field like the older boy weighed nothing.
Jason hit the floor and rolled a few paces before flipping to stand.
"Wow, how did she do that?" One of the twins asked.
'Just what are her abilities? When I asked, she said it wasn't that great. One moment she was scouring around, the next, she's a trained fighter. I won't force her if she does not want to share. As long as she stays by me, I'll find out eventually. But since when did she start being secretive? Did Zane teach that to her?' Blake thought as he watched.
'What was that? Up until now, she was just running around, what changed?' Jason thought as he prepared for another strike.
He charged in again, but this time, not straight ahead, he circled her and spun once in the air, aiming for the spot between her neck and shoulder.
Ariel took a side step and brushed the kick down with her wrist. This action exposed Jason's family jewels.
With no time to react, Jason gulped.
Not a second wasted, she smashed hard.
A sharp cracking sound tore through the air as her fist connected.
"Ouch." The twins said in unison, almost shielding their own jewels. Even Blake shifted uncomfortable.
Jason let out a breathless grunt and collapsed, his eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.
Ariel stood over him, calm and innocent.
She blinked, staring down at Jason's crumpled form.
"Wait… that was it?" she whispered, a flicker of doubt in her voice. "Did… did big brother go easy on me?"
She took a cautious step back with furrowed brows. For a second, her determination wavered. She hadn't expected it to end so fast. So easily.
But then she noticed how Jason lay groaning, curled up with a pale face and a trembling hand still clutching his jewels.
Her lips parted in surprise—then curled into a sheepish, almost guilty smile.
"I guess… hitting boys down there really is a killer move. I knew I made the right choice to listen to big brother Zane." she added softly.
The soldiers staggered with stunned expressions.
"What the hell just happened?" one of them muttered.
"Did… did that little girl just drop Jason with one hit?!" They couldn't believe their eyes, they had all seen how Jason dominated the battlefield during the first Gemini wave. To take out such a person in one hit was absurd.
Jason was knocked out cold, groaning softly as he clutched his lower half.
Ariel turned away like nothing happened and started walking toward the exit, her footsteps light, almost cheerful.
'Now I can finally go see big brother Zane.' she thought with a soft smile.
She walked right past her stunned father and speechless brothers, leaving behind silence, and a memory none of them would ever forget.