Aster locked his arcana blade together with Etoile’s own arcana blade—a heavy thud ringing in the air and a burst of wind flying around them as the momentum of their charge against one another halted at contact, the bright blue light of their arcana blades flickering ever so slightly as they struggled against one another.

  The blades they had formed were simple arcana constructs without any particular distinguishing feature, composed of raw Arcana energy. They were simple, long, pointed blades with crossguards and hilts.

  They broke contact with one another as they put force into their blades, pushing off of each other, causing them to leap back.

  Aster quickly formed a bright blue arcana shield in his empty hand as Etoile formed another arcana blade in his own empty hand. He parried a dual strike from Etoile with both his sword and shield, quickly thrusting forward his own blade in several counterstrikes that were deftly parried by Etoile’s own blades.

  Then Aster channeled arcana into his own body, reinforcing it, as he leapt forward in a sudden and fast charge, cracking the ground as he blurred forward, leading with his own large shield, and crashed into Etoile, who was knocked back and sent flying across the ground.

  Aster exhaled as he steadied himself, keeping a steady gaze around his surroundings. Flashes of arcana were happening all over as the fighting continued to spill outward. Some had taken to the sky to settle their fights, moving at high and ferocious speed. Others ambushed others from below, diving and popping out from underground in quick and sudden strikes from within the Earth. Still others clashed, fist against fist, claw against claw, blade against blade, with whatever they had or with whatever they could make do with, even if it was a rock or wooden twig.

  The entire area around them was slowly and steadily being ground up and destroyed as the clashes broke the ground, trees, and the environment around.

  Etoile recovered quickly as he suddenly charged in again, the bright blue of arcana also oozing out of him as he dived low, his speed as fast as Aster’s own, then swung both of his blades into Aster’s shield, sending Aster flying up into the sky from the force of his strike.

  Aster blocked a passing swipe of talons from an opposing harpy from Axis, then quickly rotated himself out of the way of someone falling from above. He kept his eyes on Etoile, who had leapt after him, and deflected several quick strikes from him.

  Aster found himself tied up with Etoile again in the sky.

  Etoile growled. “It’s because of you that Rita is the way she is. Even now, she still believes all that drivel you fed her about heroes!”

  “What does that have to do with me?” Aster retorted. “It’s her choice if she wants to believe it or not!”

  “It’s because it’s you that she believes it! Even though it’s because of you that she shouldn’t at all!” Etoiled roared as he braced himself against the air using arcana, then thrust his swords downward, sending Aster thundering down into the ground below, causing it to crater from impact and sending dirt into the air.

  Aster groaned as he shook his head, rising from the ground. Even with arcana reinforcing the body—all his muscles, organs, and bones—he could still feel the creaking impact on his body, especially the pain.

  Aster narrowed his eyes from the brown dirt that clouded his vision and bit into his eyes. He couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him, and he brought up his blade and shield in front of him in a defensive posture.

  Then Aster felt the flickering of anger and hate coming from behind as he quickly dodged a strike aimed at his chest. Then in one smooth motion, he turned and launched a counterstrike that caught Etoile off guard.

  Etoile awkwardly blocked Aster’s return strike aimed for his chest, but it unbalanced him severely. Aster took advantage and followed up with further thrusts and slashes, moving past Etoile’s guard and getting in close with his shield, which put Etoile in a different spot to respond. Aster then gathered up arcana within his legs, then pushed off the ground, cracking it as he sent a heavy kick into Etoile’s gut, which sent him flying backward through the cloud of dirt and through a tree, which broke at contact. The force of his kick had blown away the cloud of dirt, and he rest of it dissipated as it settled on the ground.

  Aster stood, breathing deeply as he contented himself with watching Etoile recover himself some ways away.

  They stared at one another amidst the clearing that they had found themselves in, among a forested area of Alsium Two.

  They were practically evenly matched.

  The Gaia Sphere Federation had made the study of arcana into something of a systematic process. Even if one knew it or not, the potential to utilize arcana lay within a person. But whether some of that potential could be brought out and used depended on the person. And one of the Federation’s goals had been to pass on its knowledge of arcana to all, to ensure that all those who could wield arcana could do so to reach their fullest potential.

  The Despar Dominion, a founding member of the Gaia Sphere Federation, believed no different.

  From a young age, learning, studying, and utilizing arcana was a systemic part of its education system within its academies. But much like the Gaia Sphere Federation itself, aside from its lofty ideal of systemic education for all, it had another purpose of identifying those talented for its military forces.

  It wasn’t anything surprising. In Gaia’s long history, there was no shortage of historical record or legend about those who had used arcana to make their mark in the world—to raise mountains, part the seas, and sink land, among other things.

  Aster narrowed his eyes as he saw the dark waves of hate and anger radiating from Etoile grow.

  Even if they disliked the other… hated each other even at times…

  Aster could still have a begrudging respect for Etoile.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Etoile was from a prominent military family, much like many within the Despar Dominion. Just like him. It was always hard to determine where the dividing line between military and civilian was. It wasn’t wrong to say that they were more a military with a nation, than a nation with a military. And in this militarized culture, Etoile was someone who had been at the top of their class, much like him and Arnis. Much like a lot of their friends, really.

  The proof of which was their ability to manipulate pure arcana at will. Rather than simply reinforcing a structure with it, they bypassed it altogether and formed constructs as needed. It was a taxing ability, for it required not just skilled talent with arcana but also a large capacity to manipulate it from within oneself.

  Even if they disagreed with each other, he could at least respect that Etoile had the willingness to follow through on his beliefs. In his conviction of those beliefs.

  Aster glanced around himself. He could see and hear fighting far off in the distance. In the corner of his eye, he saw Selenia some ways away, a worried look on her face as she hid behind trees and some foliage, making herself small and scarce among the environment around her.

  Aster and Etoile eyed each other.

  Then, both of them breathed deeply, then exhaled, as arcana flowed through them again, greater than before, as they channeled it through their bodies. It came as a bright bluish energy, which was the hallmark of Acrana in its rawest and purest form.

  The energy that filled the world, Mother Gaia, and the universe itself.

  Arcana flickered and emanated from them like flames as they both continued to strengthen their bodies, and they focused their minds. Aster settled himself in a simple stance with a blade in one hand, a shield in the other. Etoile took his own stance with a blade in both of his hands. Both of them had been fast enough to blur and crack the ground earlier with their strong, fast movements. But now…

  They both move so quickly that if an untrained observer were watching them, it would be as if they vanished and blinked from one place to the next.

  Their thrusts and slices against one another were quickly parried by the other as they moved against one another, trying to gain the slightest advantage against each other.

  Etoile kicked the air and sent a wind blade infused with arcana at Aster, who quickly smashed it aside with his own Arcana shield.

  Aster responded by sending several shots of raw arcana shaped like bullets from his arcana shield at high speed at Etoile, who hacked and dissipated them easily.

  Etoile believed people couldn’t change. But he was wrong.

  People could change! It was a power they all had. A power that could move the world. And you didn’t need to be strong or fast or skilled with arcana to have that power. You didn’t need to be born special. You didn’t need to be born with some special fate and destiny. You didn’t need to be someone considered talented, a genius, or anything else.

  All it took to have that incredible power was the willingness of someone to want to change.

  Aster charged in, and as he did so, Etoile threw one of his arcana blades at him. He dodged but had his own arcana blade knocked out of his hand.

  Aster didn’t stop. He closed in with Etoile, who struck at him with his remaining arcana blade, but Aster bashed aside Etoile’s blade arm, which knocked his remaining arcana blade out of his hand.

  Aster attempted another follow-up bash, but Etoile slipped within his guard and locked up his shield arm as they grappled with one another, their other arcana constructs lying on the ground around them and slowly dissipating.

  They grit their teeth at one another as they tried to outmaneuver the other, their arms and legs tangled up, positioning and repositioning against one another. Up close, Aster could see the annoying scowl that Etoile always seemed to wear.

  “You know, I never did like that ignorant little scowl on your face. It’s like you're always looking down on others,” Aster said as he attempted another shield bash.

  “And I never did like that ignorant lackadaisical smile on yours as if you're always living without a care in the world,” Etoile said as he dodged it, slipping under it. “When will you realize that worthless people are simply worthless?”

  Aster slipped back his head and dodged an uppercut from Etoile. “And when will you see that they aren’t worthless?” Aster kicked in response against Etoile, who blocked it with an arm. “People can change!”

  Aster wanted Etoile to be wrong. So very wrong. Yet even he couldn’t help but think that Etoile had a point, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

  It was the worst sort of world outside the Lethea Labyrinth. Where did one begin? The endless crushing poverty that destroyed the dreams of the hopeful? The endless violence that ruined any attempts at progress? The attitudes of those who believed it was better to roll around and drag each other down into the mud and the filth rather than give each other a helping hand out of it? The never-ending cycles of hatred and anger that simply caused more hatred and anger?

  The world had enough problems as it was. And that didn’t even go into the endless problems with the world itself.

  The Starblight. The endless distortions and aberrations that had come up in the aftermath of the End War and the Astral Nova.

  Even so… Even so! He refused to accept it!

  “You know what I hate most?” Etoile replied as he continued to swing at Aster, who dodged and weaved around. “People who want to play the hero for those worthless people. People who simply will get spat on by those ungrateful people they try and save.”

  “Why, because of personal experience?” Aster snorted as he sent reply kicks, using his shield to mask his kicks.

  “Of course it’s because of personal experience,” Etoile spat at Aster. “How else would I know!?”

  Aster paused at Etoile’s response. What did he—

  Then, Aster sensed a presence, like a flash of lightning going off through his mind and body. A shiver went down his spine as an immense feeling of unease welled up through him.

  And then he felt it.

  That hate and anger that was like a blackhole that he had felt earlier.

  Danger was coming to his side!

  Now!

  Aster's eyes widened as he barely managed to turn himself as he saw the black face veil of the one he had seen earlier, staring right into his eyes. He barely managed to turn his shield around in time to block a deadly strike from wicked claws aimed at him from his side.

  The force of the strike sent him flying backward in the air.

  Aster landed on the ground, skidding as he came to a stop. He raised his shield in front of him as the new interloper casually walked towards him, then stopped some ways away from him. He felt his body shake from the force of that strike despite the arcana reinforcement of his body.

  Aster tightened his grip on his shield as he stared into the hatred and anger coming off of the interloper who had cut into his fight with Etoile. It was that black-hole vortex of hatred and anger that he had seen earlier. It was the same AXIS captain he had seen earlier.

  The AXIS captain laughed. Her voice was melodious and mocking. “You sure said some funny stuff today, boy. How about you repeat what you said again to me?”