Chapter 258: Now you see me

Words : 2384 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

Lila recovered quickly, rolling away from the energy beams. Blood now soaked the left side of her gear where Adrian's attack had burned through fabric and skin. Her eyes narrowed in a combination of pain and determination. As Adrian disappeared below the platform level, Lila extended her hand toward the gap, telekinetic energy surging outward. Instead of targeting Adrian directly, she focused on the air around him. Adrian felt his descent suddenly slow, as if he'd plunged into invisible molasses. Another slow zone, but more concentrated than before, completely encasing him in temporal distortion. Within the zone, Adrian could barely move. His continuing attack slowed to a crawl, the energy beams becoming weak, unfocused streams that Lila easily avoided. From above, Lila approached the edge of the gap, looking down at Adrian suspended in her slow zone. Blood still ran from her nose and the wound on her shoulder, but her expression showed no pain—only intense focus. "You never understood what I could really do," she called down to him, her voice echoing strangely through the distorted air. "Always thinking in straight lines. Explosions. Destruction." With a twist of her wrist, she compressed the slow zone further, increasing the temporal distortion around Adrian. His struggles became even more sluggish, his explosive energy dampened to nearly nothing. "But control—that's the real power," Lila continued, raising her other hand. The remaining debris around the platform began to move again, gathering above the gap where Adrian hung suspended. Piece by piece, the fragments aligned, forming a swirling vortex of compressed matter directly over his position. Adrian watched helplessly as the deadly funnel cloud took shape above him. Within the slow zone, he couldn't generate enough force quickly enough to break free. But he wasn't finished yet. Instead of fighting against the temporal distortion, he began to work with it. If time was moving slower for him, that meant his energy had more time to accumulate. While Lila focused on gathering her ammunition, Adrian concentrated on building his power—not for an immediate explosion, but for something more sustained. The glow beneath his skin intensified, no longer flaring outward but condensing inward, becoming denser, more focused. Lila sensed the change. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the unusual energy signature emanating from Adrian within her slow zone. "Nice try," she murmured, "but too late." With a downward thrust of her hand, she sent the vortex of debris plunging into the gap, directly toward Adrian's suspended form. Each piece accelerated to devastating speed, guided by telekinetic precision. At that exact moment, Adrian released his accumulated energy—not in an explosion, but in a continuous wave that spread outward in all directions. Within the slow zone, the energy expanded at a crawl, creating a bubble of pure force that gradually pushed against the temporal distortion. The first pieces of debris struck the energy bubble, their momentum partially absorbed by Adrian's defensive field. But there were too many, coming too fast. The bubble began to crack under the barrage, fracture lines spreading across its surface like ice breaking under pressure. Lila intensified her assault, compressing the temporal field even further while accelerating the remaining debris. The combination was devastating—Adrian's energy bubble collapsed under the dual assault, shards of force dissipating into the distorted air. The debris struck him directly, a brutal onslaught that battered his already exhausted body. Even slowed by the temporal field, the impacts were enough to break bones. Adrian's cry of pain seemed stretched, distorted by the altered time around him. Lila watched dispassionately as her attack connected. Blood stained her teeth as she smiled—not with cruelty, but with the satisfaction of strategy executed perfectly. "It's over, Adrian," she called down to him. "Surrender." Adrian, suspended in the slow zone and battered by debris, looked up at her through the distorted air. Despite the pain, despite the overwhelming odds, his expression remained defiant. "Not... yet..." he managed, his words barely audible through the temporal distortion. With supreme effort, he brought his hands together in front of his chest. Between his palms, a sphere of pure energy began to form—not explosive, but compressed, condensed to its most essential form. Lila frowned, sensing the danger. She intensified the slow zone further, putting tremendous strain on her already overtaxed abilities. The blood flow from her nose increased, joined now by a thin trickle from her ears. But it was too late. Adrian had poured everything he had left into this attack—not an explosion, but its opposite. A singularity of energy so densely packed that even Lila's temporal distortion couldn't fully contain it. With the last of his strength, he released the singularity directly upward. The effect was immediate and catastrophic. The compressed energy sphere shot through the slow zone like it didn't exist, the density of its power cutting through the temporal distortion as if it were paper. Lila had a split second to react as the energy sphere emerged from the gap directly beneath her. She threw herself backward, erecting the strongest telekinetic barrier she could manage— But the singularity wasn't aimed at her. Instead, it struck the underside of the platform where she stood, detonating with focused intensity. The already damaged structure couldn't withstand the precisely targeted force. The section collapsed completely, plunging Lila into the same space where Adrian hung suspended. As she fell, her concentration broke. The slow zone fluctuated wildly before dissipating entirely, returning Adrian to normal temporal flow just as Lila entered the same area. For a brief moment, they faced each other in free fall, surrounded by the debris of their battle. Adrian, battered and nearly spent, managed a tired grin. "Match point." Lila's eyes widened as she realized his strategy. Without the slow zone to protect him or the platform to support her, they were now in a purely physical contest—and Adrian still had one card left to play. With his remaining strength, Adrian triggered his final detonation—not outward, but upward, accelerating his descent while simultaneously creating a shockwave that caught Lila from below. The force sent her tumbling upward, disorienting her and preventing her from reestablishing telekinetic control. Before she could recover, Adrian collided with the arena floor below, the impact brutal despite emergency cushioning systems activating at the last second. Lila followed a moment later, her attempt to slow her fall only partially successful. She hit the ground hard, rolling several times before coming to rest near the arena's edge. For several seconds, neither fighter moved. The crowd held its collective breath. Adrian lay face down, unmoving, his gear in tatters. Blood pooled beneath him from multiple impacts and broken bones. Lila was on her back, one arm bent at an unnatural angle. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, ragged breaths. The referee approached cautiously, medical teams already rushing in from all sides. He looked between the two fighters, assessing their conditions. Just as he raised his hand to call the match— Lila's eyes snapped open. With excruciating effort, she rolled onto her side, then pushed herself up with her good arm. Blood covered half her face, her broken arm hung uselessly, but her eyes remained clear, focused. She staggered to her feet, swaying dangerously but refusing to fall. The referee looked at her in astonishment, then turned to where Adrian still lay unmoving. After a moment's hesitation, he raised his hand. "Winner by knockout: Lila Rowe!" The announcement was met with stunned silence, then scattered applause that gradually built into a roar of appreciation. Whatever their allegiances, the crowd recognized the sheer determination it had taken for Lila to rise after such a battle. Her eyes searched through the crowd but she couldn't find him. She couldn't find, Noah. And right then and there, a strange feeling of emptiness swept through her like none of what she did truly mattered. For the briefest moment though, her eyes had locked on the screen showing her parents reaction which was nothing more than a few claps for the camera. Right then and there, clarity returned to her gaze. Her lips moved, forming words only he could read: "Now you see me." As medical teams swarmed both fighters, Lila stood for a moment longer, looking down at Adrian's unconscious form. There was no triumph in her expression, no celebration—only exhaustion and a strange, distant sadness. "Next time," she whispered, though Adrian couldn't hear her, "don't hold back." Then her legs finally gave out, and she collapsed into the waiting arms of the medical team. In the VIP section, Commander Owen leaned back in his seat, his expression thoughtful. "Remarkable," he murmured. "Both of them." Miss Brooks nodded, making notes on her tablet. "Rowe pushed beyond her previous limits. The telekinetic compression technique was unexpected." "And Albright's energy singularity," Owen added. "That's new." "Should we be concerned?" Brooks asked quietly. "The level of power they displayed..." Owen's gaze followed as both fighters were carried from the arena on stretchers. "Not concerned," he replied after a moment. "Intrigued." In the medical bay, Adrian and Lila would be placed in adjacent recovery pods, both unconscious, both pushed beyond what anyone thought possible. And in the tournament brackets, Lila's name advanced to the finals, her opponent yet to be determined. The second semifinal match was over, but its implications were just beginning to unfold. ----- Location : ELSEWHERE Time: ?? Darkness. Complete and absolute. Kelvin couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed. It didn't matter—the result was the same either way. The only sensations that confirmed he was still alive were the rope burns on his wrists, the cold metal chair beneath him, and the persistent throb at the back of his head where someone had struck him. How long had he been here? Hours? Days? Without light, time lost all meaning. The air was stale, carrying the faint metallic scent of an abandoned room. No windows, he'd determined that much. Probably soundproofed too, given the absolute silence that surrounded him. He flexed his fingers, testing the bindings again. Professional work—tight enough to prevent escape without cutting off circulation. Whoever had taken him knew what they were doing. Then—a sound. The soft hiss of pressurized air as a door slid open somewhere to his left. A sliver of light cut through the darkness, just enough to make out vague shapes but not details. The silhouette of someone entering, carrying something. The smell hit him before he could see it clearly—food. His stomach growled in response, reminding him how long it had been since he'd eaten. Metal scraped against metal as a tray was set down nearby. "I'm beginning to believe it's true," Kelvin said into the darkness, his voice hoarse from disuse but maintaining its casual cadence. "The rumors really must be true." A pause. Then a voice responded—distorted, mechanized, like listening to someone speak through a broken radio with heavy interference: "What rumors?" Kelvin smiled, though he knew his captor probably couldn't see it in the darkness. "That you have two functional brain cells." He shifted in his restraints, the ropes creaking. "And honestly, I'm scared that one of them is going to die of loneliness soon." He nodded toward where he thought the food tray was. "Because how exactly am I supposed to eat while tied up? Did brain cell number one not consult with brain cell number two on that particular logistical challenge?" Another pause, longer this time. Then the sound of footsteps approaching. Kelvin felt hands working at the ropes binding his wrists—not removing them completely, but loosening them enough to allow limited movement. "When I get out of here," Kelvin said conversationally, as if discussing the weather, "and make no mistake, I will get out of here—I'm going to return with some really angry friends." He rubbed his wrists as the blood flow improved. "Really, extraordinarily angry friends." A mechanical chuckle echoed through the darkness, the distortion making it sound more like static than amusement. "Was that supposed to scare me?" the voice asked. "Is it Noah Eclipse you're threatening me with? Or maybe Sophie Reign?" The voice paused dramatically. "Ooouuu, or perhaps the almighty number one, Lucas Grey himself?!" The figure moved closer, just a shadow against deeper shadows. "No one knows where you are, Kelvin . No one is looking for you. No one will ever find you." The mechanized voice dropped lower, almost to a whisper. "You're going to die here." Kelvin reached for the tray, feeling his way to what seemed to be a sandwich. He took a bite, chewing thoughtfully before responding. "You know what I can't wait for?" he asked, his tone still infuriatingly casual. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when I introduce you to my friend's friends." He took another bite. "They're two. And if there's one thing my friend hates more than anything else in this world—it's idiots and cowards. And surprisingly, his other two friends tend to hate what he hates and likes what he likes as well, catch my drift? No? Okay...wasn't expecting you to," he bit down on the sandwich. A slight shift in the darkness suggested his captor had tensed. "Who else could possibly save you?" the distorted voice demanded, a new edge of curiosity—or perhaps concern—breaking through the electronic interference. Kelvin's teeth gleamed in the darkness as he smiled. "Nyx," he said simply. "And Storm." The silence that followed felt different. Without another word, his captor moved back toward the door. The hiss of pressurized air announced their departure, the sliver of light narrowing as the door began to close. Just before it sealed completely, Kelvin called out: "Not even ketchup? What kind of kidnapper doesn't provide condiments? That's just uncivilized!" The door closed with a final pneumatic hiss, plunging him back into absolute darkness. Kelvin leaned back in his chair, the ropes loose enough now that he could move his arms slightly. He smiled to himself in the darkness. They'd made their first mistake. And Kelvin had never needed more than one.

Chapter 258: Now you see me

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