Radiant World: The Underworld

Chapter 13: Shadow Game

Sophia woke up, every muscle in her body throbbing, her head pounding, and her face covered in soot. There were no showers in the Silo, and she smelled putrescent. She got off her now smoot-stained bed and grabbed the last peanuts she would be eating. She cracked them open with one hand as she left the room. The open silo smelled like charred coals, and the walls, as well as some other spots were blackened with soot.

Sophia yawned as she headed into the middle of the room to try her new ability for the last time. She stood still for a moment, then smacked her palms together. She casted the spell, "Fircho-," she whipped her body to the side and the finished the cast "-naga!"

Out of the ground whipped up a blazing red flame it encircled her like a cage, then it slashed out like a whip in all directions. She let go of her palms, then began to control the flames. The rippled into her palm and disappeared.

She casted another spell, "Fiswis!" It rippled from her hand like a snake. It clawed out viciously. A whip formed into her hand, and she smashed it against the ground. A spark of molten metal gorged from the ground. It began to shrink. She tried to keep it in, but it returned to her body. She breathed hard, not noticing the black flame that trickled from her hand. It quickly disappeared as she sat down.

The room smelled strongly of charcoal as Ren exited the sleeping area. "You up early huh?" He said. "Today is the last day after all."

Sophia felt the room getting hotter as Ren cracked his knuckles. What? Sophia thought, watching Rens fists heat up. They seemed to spark with, like flint and steel.

"This will be your last training exercise, let's see how far you've come." Sophia stood up quickly, eyeing down her teacher. A blast of hot air flew from Ren as he powered up. Sophia took a step, grounding herself as he had taught her.

"Rensphero!" he yelled, creating a large ball of boiling steel. It bubbled as it plummeted above Sophia.

"Spez." Sophia whispered to herself. She dodged out from underneath it. "Stondar!" She cast a stone wall rupturing from the ground and blocking the splash of metal.

She looked to the side to see Ren casting something into the earth. "Rendar!" he yelled out. Suddenly four metal walls surrounded her, rippling out from the ground. "Renalance!" He cast.

Sophia knew what was coming, so she casted, "Dara!" pushing her up into the air with a burst of hot air. Below her, a massive steel lance punctured through the box with an array of sparks.

Ren looked up at Sophia, surprised. "Setdara!" Sophia bounded off the air, coming down at ren. She landed with a crash next to him. A black dust spewed from the ground, covering the area around them.

"Ilbaren." The metal bat flew through the smoke, smashed Sophia's side, and sent her flying. She crashed into the side of the silo. She fell to the ground, her arm throbbing. She struggled to stand up, leaning on the wall. Her hair was ragged and seemed heavy. Her glasses fell off, the world went blurry, but she knew he was coming.

"Hulfla!" She cast out a flash of light. It blinded her and Ren, who was somewhere near her. "Fircho-," she clasped her hands and pushed herself forward, spinning at the same time, "-naga!" She slammed her hands down on the warm metal and her vision returned to her. The flames expelled forth in all directions.

"Woah!" Ren called out, dodging the flames. Sophia looked up at him quickly. She felt an energy coming from within her, and two voices spoke out, like a command.

"Soleil!" A sudden burst of light and heat formed above Sophia. A sun-like entity floated in the air. Ren watched in amazement, but then fear.

"Rass!" Sophia commanded as many shots came out of the sphere they shot down at incredible speeds, some even hitting Ren.