Infinity Worlds

"Amazing. You two are amazing."

"Yeah, we've improved a lot. Jacob is more powerful than me in a direct confrontation, but I'm better at controlling the battlefield." Derek brags. "Jacob has a knack for finding his opponent now after our numerous battles. I'm sure that he was able to surprise his opponent with his detection abilities."

"Seriously you guys are amazing. I have to read these strategy books now." Jakron says while still trying to grasp the intricacies of Jacob and Derek's battles.

The more he thinks about these things the more ideas that pop into his head. So far Jakron feels like he has used his powers like a toddler. Smashing a square peg into a round hole. With these frustrating thoughts, Jakron is determined to read more about the strategies of fighting battles. Also, he needs to revisit the Technique Hall and see if they have anything that will help him control the battlefield. While he doesn't know if there is a technique available, he should be able to use in control over space to detect movements in the area around him.

As Jakron sinks into thought the rest of the freshmen fights end. None of the freshmen will have to fight again today. Instead, they will get to rest and have the chance to watch their senior brothers and sister fight. For the seniors though, they will have at least two fights a day and is they are unlucky three.

Watching the fights rage down below Jakron is barely able to pay attention. Soon Jacob returns. He tells Jakron and Derek that Hale is doing fine. Lily is watching him like a mother bird and Hale is loving every blissful yet painful minute of it.

Quickly Derek and Jacob become engrossed in the senior fights. In particular, they like to try and find seniors that have also read some of the strategies that Master Bain recommends. This is helping deepen their knowledge of how to apply their understandings of the battle strategies they have learned.

Hearing their commentary Jakron will occasionally pay attention and watch a fight, but mostly he just fantasizes about his own powers and how to better utilizes them.

"Jakron, Ella is about to fight," Derek calls out breaking Jakron from his stupor.

Excitement and fear fill Jakron's mind as he looks at the stadium floor for the arena that Ella will be battling in. The stadium floor is filled with different stages. Most of them currently have students battling across them with different elemental powers raging. Tornadoes rip apart the ground, explosions blast the earth, and water floods across arenas raging toward students. As these powers rampage and destroy the various platforms, others have instructors using their own powers to raise and flatten the arenas anew.

After searching around Jakron is able to find Ella mounting an arena. After getting on the stage Ella just smiles as she watches to see who her opponent is in curiosity.

As soon as the fight begins Jakron sees that Ella's opponent immediately forfeit. Jakron is confused, he hasn't been paying a lot of attention to what is happening during the senior students' fights. Surprised with the quick forfeit, Jakron looks around the other fighting stages and finally notices that about one-tenth of the fights are currently ending immediately with forfeits.

"Why are they immediately giving up without fighting? I don't get it," Jakron asks while looking at Derek and Jacob.

"Because why should they waste their time recovering from injuries when they could be spending their time increasing their strength or taking on missions," Jakron hears a voice answer from behind him.

Turning to look Jakron is surprised to see Oliver, from the entrance exam, smiling at him.

"When did you get here?" Jakron asks.

"I just finished my own first match. She forfeited as well," Oliver says while giving Jakron a proud smile.

"Haha! So you are strong? You must be pretty good right. If I remember correctly you are only in your second year right?" Jakron laughs as he asks. While he doesn't know what to think about Oliver, he has been rather friendly to Jakron so far.

"Well, I've been lucky. I'm not as strong as Ella or Sophia. They are both second years as well. I'm not interested in being the number one in the academy anyways. I just want to do well enough so that I can train without having to take too many missions," Oliver says with a smile while running his hand through his black hair.

"Anyways I've got to go. My next fight should be soon. Hopefully, I get lucky again," Oliver says while winking at Jakron.

As Oliver leaves Jacob and Derek look at Jakron.

"How do you know him Jakron?" Jacob asks.

"We talked a little bit during the entrance exam," Jakron answers.

"Oh, I remember. He was manning the bone age test," Derek says.

"Yeah, that's right," Jakron responses.

"I know of him," says Jacob while continuing to watch the direction that Oliver left in. "He is from the powerful family in Taal, the Sterringer Family. They run over half of the city. Only the Mayor of the city has more direct power. I even heard that his family's master has friendly ties to the Headmaster. It's good that you are already friends with him." Jacob says while looking back at Jakron.

"Interesting," Jakron mutters as he turns his attention to the ongoing fights, while also trying to analyze how to best use his powers. Currently, he can think of a few interesting ideas for his space powers, but his time powers while powerful are harder for Jakron to visualize.

After a while, Jakron spots Oliver walking towards an arena. Oliver seems to have a quiet confidence in everything. Shortly his opponent reaches the fighting stage after Oliver. Bowing slightly he announces his forfeit in a very dignified and respectful manner. Jakron is even more surprised. He really needs to get to know Oliver better. He is currently an enigma to Jakron.

After puzzling over how powerful Oliver must be, Jakron catches a glimpse of Ella making her way to another arena. After mounting the stage, Ella finally sees her opponent mount the stage. A frown immediately forms on her face. Jakron leaps from his seat as fear mounts in his heart. Ella's opponent this time is Drego Mital. Rage slowly filters into Jakron's heart as he clenches his fist until they are white-knuckled.

"Jakron what is wrong?" Derek immediately notices Jakron's unhinged state as he stares at Jakron with worry.

"Shit! Ella is fighting Drego," Jacob announces as he traces Jakron's vision. "Hopefully she just forfeits as well."

"She isn't," Jakron answers.

"How do you know? I can't imagine her being as strong as Drego. I've heard Drego is one of the strongest people in the academy," Derek questions while watching Ella in worry as well.

While Jacob and Derek don't really know Ella, they are friends with Lily and Ella is Lily's sister. Hurting Ella is like hurting Lily and they don't want their friend to be hurt.

"I just know," Jakron says as he feels an impending danger approach.

At that moment the fight starts, Drego just grins as he points his finger at Ella and jerks it down. Once Drego's finger lowers all the ground in front of him collapses into a hole. As Drego's finger finishes moving a sinkhole has formed in the ring dropping Ella into it. Still smiling Drego waves his hand and vines and small trees quickly grow to form a canopy over the top of the hole.

Fire quickly blast through the hole as Ella charges out of the hole like a phoenix. Hovering in the air with constant fire spouting from her feet she looks like an idol in Jakron's eyes. Waving her hands, fireballs fly out screaming towards Drego.

Still, with a small smile on his face, Drego reaches out and clasps his hand. An earthen hand erupts from beside Drego enlarging as it heads towards Ella. When it makes contact with the fireballs the hand doesn't even stop. It smashes through them like they are made of dust as it encircles Ella and grips down.

Screaming in agony as the earthen hand grips her, Ella uses all of her power to form a space crack that slices the earthen hand weakening the grip. As the earthen hand crumbles, Ella explodes with fire knocking the rest of the hand away from her.

Gasping in pain Ella falls to the ground. Unfortunately, she is immediately caught and surrounded by the foliage that covered the sinkhole.

"Ella, don't make things difficult. I don't care if I hurt you, but Sophia might get mad at me if I do it," Drego says with a sinister grin on his face. "Of course if you push me then I can't control what happens," Drego says while slowly using his energy to force the foliage covering Ella to tighten and being stabbing into her.

Jakron can see blood seeping in-between the vines and trees that cover Ella. Breathing heavily Jakron tries to control his emotions. He can slowly feel them going out of control. This hasn't happened in a while, but just like Jakron's soul has become more powerful, his chaotic emotions have increased and always feel that they can explode without proper control. Jakron has guessed that until his soul reaches a certain level and is refined further this will continue to happen.

"Jakron calm down. Those are just superficial injuries," Derek places his hand on Jakron's shoulder trying to calm him down.

As Derek and Jacob are worried about Jakron, the battle below continues. By this point, Ella knows that Drego is just toying with her. She doesn't even feel like he has used half of his powers. Determined to hurt Drego, Ella gathers her powers and her body burst out with flames again, burning the plants that are entwining her. Continuing to fuel the fire, Ella burns everything around her dropping into the sinkhole below.

As she drops below, Ella concentrates the fire around her into blood red spear of fire. The destructive might that the spear contains is impressive.

"Ella what do you think you are going to be able to do with that? While I am impressed by your fighting spirit that is it. Don't. Anger. Me." Drego tells Ella as his smile disappears and anger forms as his eyebrows crinkle and his mouth forms a frown.

"I don't give up, not for anyone," Ella mutters between ragged breathes and sweat pouring down her brow as she concentrates at the space in front of her while grasping the burning spear.

Just then Ella's brow tightens further as she thrust the fire spear forward. Like magic, the spear disappears as Ella drops to the ground from exhaustion.

"Shit," Drego mutters as metal forms along his skin starting from his back. The metal armor has barely formed before Drego feels an explosion slam into him from behind sending him flying forward and dropping into the pit.

"Fantastic!" Jakron shouts as he leaps in the air with excitement and hoping the Ella has finished Drego.

"Bitch!" A roar echoes out of the sinkhole as Drego rises from the sinkhole standing on a pillar of earth. Rage and anger spread across Drego's face as he stares down into the sinkhole at Ella's weakly kneeling body.

Drego's back has a hole in it that shows bone underneath ravaged bleeding and burnt flesh. Ripped skin with pieces of metal mixed in and blood drip down Drego's back in a gruesome scene.

"I will kill you," Drego says as a murderous calm takes over.

Suddenly a metal spear pierces from beneath Ella stabbing into her abdomen raising up her screaming body until she is level with Drego. Blood drips down the metal spike as Ella weakly tries to keep herself from further sliding down the spike.

Jakron's world freezes. He can't explain the strong feelings that he has for Ella into words, but that doesn't stop how he feels. Without knowing how a pulse of time echoes out from Jakron covering a tremendous radius that includes the whole stadium. As time stills, Jakron can feel a deeper connection to space. With but a thought Jakron finally utilizes Space Warp and appears beside Ella. Standing in the middle of air utilizing the powers of spacetime, Jakron waves his hand slicing the spike that is sticking through Ella from both ends. With another warp, Jakron warps himself and Ella to some flat ground in the arena. After that warp, Jakron can feel the massive expenditure of energy and exhaustion spreads across his body. As the energy fades from Jakron, time speeding back up for everyone else.

For Drego, it feels like he blinked his eyes and Ella was gone from in front of him. His anger swells as he realizes that she has escaped his grasp. Looking around Drego spots Ella laying on the ground unconscious and unknown young man weakly kneeling beside her. From his student uniform, Drego rage further explodes as he realizes that his fight was interrupted by some random student and not just that, but that he was able to seize Ella right from under his nose. This is an embarrassment for Drego.

Drego lifts one hand up and a metal ball begins to form on the tip of the metal spike in front of him. Raising up his other hand a giant hammer forms from small trees as they intertwine and grow larger.

"I will smash you to oblivion," Drego says with an ice cold voice filled with hatred.

Swinging his hand that is controlling the wooden hammer, the hammer smacks into the metal ball that is delicately suspending on the tip of the metal spike. Shooting forward like a bullet the giant metal ball careens toward Ella and Jakron.

The audience watching this fight is collectively holding their breath. Most of the audience is watching the fight because of Drego's currently amazingly powerful deeds, especially the latest act with this giant hammer.

Only a very few powerful individuals actually know what has happened in Drego's fight with Ella. Those few perceived the pulse of time and were able to see Jakron's amazing movements and deeds surprising them that such an individual exists in the academy.

Jakron watches the incoming metal ball approach at frightening speeds. Unfortunately, he spent the almost all of his energy performing his early actions. Now exhausted he watches with bitterness as death approaches. Kneeling over, Jakron covers Ella's body with his own as he forces the last bit of power to create a barrier of time that radiates out from his body. Jakron can only hope that this will slow down the ball of death enough that it won't kill Ella along with him.

Jakron feels the pressure of the ball as its shadow engulfs Ella and him. Depressed by his imminent death and exhausted by his massive energy expenditure, Jakron waits for his death.

"Well done kid," Jakron hears a voice beside him filled with power and authority. "I'm impressed with your spacetime manipulation. I haven't seen anything like that in a while."

Looking up Jakron can just make out a figure standing above him holding the giant metal ball like he is holding an apple. Mentally and physically exhausted Jakron passes out.