Chương 32: Prism Sovereign vs Flame Heart

The warm rain kept falling softly around the oasis, each gentle drop shimmering like warm liquid silver as it kissed the cacti and rippled across the surface of the pond. The air was thick with the scent of wet earth, blooming desert flowers, and the faint smoke from our campfire. It was a peaceful night, yet the tension between us crackled like lightning waiting to strike on each other. Before the duel could begin, both of us drew our weapons.

I gripped my longsword tightly, slowly bringing the blade into position as my Heart Flame began to pump. Excitement built inside my mind, memories of our shared battles, our laughter in the cabin, the pain of losing Husher, and the long years of training together flashed through me like fire. Galer raised both of his knives near his neck in that signature style of his, light already faintly gathering around the edges and casting a soft golden glow that reflected in the falling raindrops.

We stood facing each other for a long moment, neither of us moving yet. Galer's single visible eye burned with the same fierce excitement I felt. For a brief second, he was swept up in it too... his knives rising instinctively, light gathering brighter around the blades as his body leaned forward. Then he caught himself, forcing a slow breath and lowering his stance slightly.

"You really want me to go all out from the start?" he asked, his voice low and heavy with both challenge and genuine concern.

"Even after everything we've been through… the losses, the training, the years apart… you know I won't hold back if you ask for it. This isn't just a light spar anymore, Erumes. One of us could get seriously hurt." I met his gaze without flinching, my grip tightening on the hilt until the leather creaked. My Heart Flame roared inside my chest, eager and alive.

"I didn't come all this way to spar with half of you, Galer. I want the real you. The one who survived everything with me. The one who lost an eye and still kept fighting. Show me how far you've come. I need to know if I'm still behind… or if I can finally stand beside you, as an shared equal." Galer's single visible eye narrowed slightly, a small, dangerous smirk tugging at his lips. The rain traced lines down his face as he raised both knives near his neck in that signature stance of his."

Fine," he said, voice steady but laced with quiet intensity.

"Your funeral then." I charged first. I ran low from the ground with a big diagonal slash, putting all my current strength into the swing. Galer dodged it with an effortless spin. His light legs had improved dramatically, they no longer shone so brightly like they used to and now reacted with near-instant speed, almost passive-like. In the split second I realized how much faster he had become, he spun again and delivered a powerful kick.

I blocked it with crossed arms, absorbing the impact into my body to minimize damage. The force still pushed me back several steps. He followed up immediately with a lightning-fast combo with his lighted knives. Forty-two cuts made contact out of fifty. Each slice burned across my arms, shoulders, and torso. I stepped back, breathing hard, then activated my Heart Flame. The flames inside me surged and started to pump.

My veins lit up from within as dim golden-red light flowed from my heart down into my arms and legs. The air around me grew hotter. Galer's trained reading eyes widened as he gauged my rising Animo level.

"1, 900… 2, 000… 2, 300… 2, 500… 2, 800… Are you crazy?! That's not fair! That's nearly my level… and you're so young!" I grinned through the strain.

"I won't let myself be outshined again, especially not today." Galer raged loudly.

"Fine then! Let's do this properly!" Galer called out his Vestuto.

"Vestuto: Prism Sovereign!" In an instant, his body was engulfed in shifting, translucent crystal plates. The armor was elegant and regal, consisting of living prism crystal that constantly refracted turquoise light. Sharp geometric lines ran across the white-silver plates, with iridescent edges that shimmered in every color of the spectrum. Six translucent, blade-like wings of pure light unfolded from his back, forming part of his very body.

The grey eye patch fused into the armor, becoming a crystalline lens that glowed with focused power, allowing for constant Animo reading. A glowing core pulsed brightly on his chest. His Animo surged.

"3, 292!" he announced.

"Let's continue our battle, ERUMESSSS!" The armor lit up with a short red color burst, pushing his Animo to 3, 400. He sped toward me faster than I could track. I was completely outsped again, before i could show him my new found strength. He came in with arms transformed into crystalline makeshift stabbing blades that could grow and shrink at will. While I was still mid-air trying to spin away from the barrage, he stabbed with terrifying intensity.

Even though his attacks hurt heavily, I managed to free myself by using the spin to deliver a heavy cut with my sword. He dodged it somewhat easily, though the difference in Animo was obvious between us. The ground beneath us exploded into a huge crater, creating a small quake that shook the oasis. I spat blood from my mouth.

"That's not fair… you went overboard." Galer realized what he had done. He immediately de-transformed from Vestuto, sat down in anger, and punched his own face twice. Then he smiled sadly.

"Sorry, friend. I am just jealous. I mean… I finally achieved something after so much blood, sweat, and pain, and then my friend and now rival nearly outpaces me before I can even enjoy my achievement and be arrogant with it. That rustled my feathers the wrong way. My emotions got the better of me. I told you I was born in a family that judges strength and brawn above all else. I finally achieved something… and then you almost surpassed my current Animo state. That made me angry beyond reason.

On one hand I am happy you made it so far while being so young. On the other… I don't like it. Sorry. That's on my character. I will try to improve." I spat blood again and laughed weakly, the sound raw and pained but genuine.

"I literally don't care. I know that's not really you. And to be honest… if you had met Siegfried before and seen his full power released, that's like a thousand of me against you at once. He was that strong of a mighty monster…" I looked at him seriously.

"Yes… he is my goal. My revenge. My target. My destination. My obsession. My nightmare…" Galer then nodded.

"Well then… let's continue, rival." He stood up.

"Okay. Let me show you my Vestuto again." We fought a new round. My moves clashed against his Prism Sovereign for twelve intense minutes. It was 85% in his favor and only 15% of exchanges where I could push back. I was constantly on the defensive, blocking, dodging, and burning through the pain with my fire attribute. Galer moved like a living prism of light, his crystalline armor refracting every drop of rain into rainbows as he danced around me with terrifying grace.

His six translucent wings allowed him to change direction mid-air with impossible speed. I refused to fall easily. My Heart Flame surged wildly from my chest, pumping raw power down my restored dominant arm. The veins in my right hand and forearm lit up with a blazing red-yellow glow, the heat so intense that a bit of steam rose from my skin where raindrops touched it. Every swing of my longsword exploded with force far beyond what I had shown before...

each strike sending shockwaves that cracked the wet ground and forced Galer to dodge seriously. He noticed. His single visible eye widened behind the crystalline lens.

"You've improved so much… that flame of yours is no joke anymore." But ultimately, it wasn't enough for someone like him. Galer's light knives flashed in a deadly storm, cutting precise lines across my guard. Then he spun low and delivered a loaded light kick straight to my leg with devastating precision. The impact exploded against my thigh like a hammer of pure radiance, buckling my knee and sending me staggering. Before I could recover, he closed in. His left hand transformed into a sharp crystalline claw.

He struck my face twice in rapid succession, the first blow snapping my head back, the second lifting me clean off my feet. I flew backward and crashed hard onto my stomach, arms and legs stretched out across the wet grass, chest heaving as blood mixed with rainwater pooled beneath me. Galer's voice echoed gently in my mind through telepathy, laced with concern.

"Sorry... are you fine, Erumes?" Lying on the ground, I answered his worried question with a joyful grin in my voice.

"That fight… was the best one I have ever had. So much fun." Galer sat on the ground, taking small breaths. He could have easily continued, but he chose to stop. For a moment he just looked at me, a wide, proud smile spreading across his face. He couldn't stop smiling. Both of us had used these seven months apart the best we could, improving drastically in our own ways. He reached out, took my hand, and pulled me up so we stood tall together.

"Yes… this one was a lot of fun, rival," he said warmly. Then Galer asked, "What's next?" I guess he wanted to hear my opinion because of what he had done to me before.

"Let's go back to Tabraca. From there we will see." I grinned, though my chest ached with a strange mix of joy and exhaustion.

"Good idea," he chuckled with a "Hahaha!", having already had the exact same idea of returning to Tabraca. Both of us started laughing not just at the absurdity of it all, but at the sheer relief of still being here, still breathing, still together after everything. The area around us looked like a natural disaster had struck... broken cacti, shattered ground, sand and water splashed everywhere from the pond.

The lukewarm rain continued to fall gently, washing the blood and sweat from our skin as we rested side by side. In that quiet moment, under the soft warm rain, I felt it deeply: we were no longer the same boys who had once trained together in the Abandonment Zone. We were two friends, one a mentor, another a junior, but now official rivals who had grown far stronger than we once were. The road ahead was still long and uncertain, but for the first time in years, the flame in my chest burned with genuine hope.