EQUINOX || The Catalysts Series, #3

XXX

The first student takes the field, and Azalea wastes no time zipping past the starting line and onto the first course.

It's a narrow corridor, but as Azalea steps onto the random neon lighted tiled floors, the cameras zoom in on the activated traps. Every time her shoe hits a certain booby trapped tile, various scenarios occur from deadly weapons to destruction of the entire platform, all to stop her from getting to the end of the corridor. A minute or so later, the next student, Nova, is permitted to enter, and he challenges the field himself.

The dim lighting does not help the students. Only neon lights from the touched tiles glow in the dark, and the colours seem to be at random—but perhaps the colour do signify the impending threat. Azalea seems to have figured this out, because instead of slowing down, she pushes on and steps on the tiles without worry. She avoids all traps and flies through them as if it's a dance, graceful yet deadly. One second she's taken aback by the attacks, the next she seems to have figured it out.

No, Lena thinks, watching a closeup of Azalea. The colours are a sort of pattern in which you can anticipate the threat, but you either slow down and weave through it but letting other students pass through you, or fight it as it comes and as is. Arcane Academy's third ranker is obviously doing the second, getting through every obstacle thrown her way. And yet, she does so without pause as if she knows what to anticipate. She's just skilled enough to be able to balance both strategies.

Lena isn't the only one awed by Azalea's performance. While other camera angles are taking in Nova and later Astor as they both enter the corridor, the video feed is spotlighting Azalea at full, following her movements. Grandmaster Alizeh herself is impressed, huffing out unexpected praises.

Only as Azalea clears the corridor and moves on to the next stage does the cameras seem to remember the rest of the candidates. The corridor is filling up now with students entering at consistent intervals, and besides the first feed that highlights Azalea's smirking face as she runs to the next course, the others are filling up with other students struggling in the narrow corridor that Azalea had seemed to pass through too easily.

The two who are able to make it halfway across the walkway are still struggling, and they come at a clash in the middle.

An impressed whistle comes from Azrael, and he comments, "There we go. They are already starting to brawl."

Fighting against each other, Nova and Astor are going neck to neck in the centre of the corridor, their previous bad blood now fully put on the table. It seems personal, the way they glare at each other to the way they throw their abilities at one another without worry about how they might damage the surroundings and the other students who are much further behind but still susceptible to their ability range.

Their exchange is yet another obstacle for those behind to clear if they want to get pass the two.

And yet, no one is making further progress. Soon, the corridor is packed with at least ten or so students, fighting the traps and amongst themselves. Lena notices that some of the traps however do not light up and attack as intensely as when the first three students flipped the switches. It's as if the traps are wearing down—and that's exactly the advantage of entering the field late, if the students know how to utilise this as an upper hand. But as no one is able to progress, the students are in fact the ones stopping each other from proceeding.

There are no developments for a while except the fights breaking out along the corridor. Meanwhile, Azalea is without a competitor in the second obstacle, where she is plunged into a cityscape, having to scale any building at all to get to the next stage but each building has its own surprises.

A sudden zipping flash of light is dominating the narrow corridor, skipping past all students and obstacles. Soon, it reaches Nova and Astor and past them. Celeste materialises at the end of the hallway, her face full of mischief. Even the brawling duo has stopped to gape at her, their eyes widening.