Aqua's grip tightened on her Tidal Scepter as she studied Skuld's stance.
The younger girl stood poised, her weight shifted slightly forward, her eyes locked on Aqua's movements. There was no hesitation. No uncertainty.
Aqua knew the girl could fight because they fought together in the Realm of Darkness. However, her keyblade had just transformed into the two razor-sharp wind-imbued claws she called Zephyr Talons. It would take time for anyone to get used to such a drastically different weapon than what they're used to but this girl Skuld only needed a few minutes to adjust and was now acting like she had done this before.
Aqua didn't wait.
With a quick step, she launched forward.
Shooting Blizzara ice shards through the air, angling for a calculated opening in Skuld's guard—
But Skuld was already moving.
She leaned to the side, her footwork fluid, avoiding the strikes by a breath before twisting into a sharp counterattack.
Aqua's eyes narrowed and readied to summon her ice shield.
She barely parried in time.
Skuld's claws flashed, striking out with a speed that forced Aqua onto the defensive. 'She's getting faster no, she's adapting.'
Skuld's movements were pure instinct.
She didn't hesitate. She didn't second-guess. She just reacted.
Her Zephyr Talons sliced in rapid succession, forcing Aqua to block and weave between each strike after she broke through the ice shield.
Aqua tried to create distance and launched Blizzara shard to slow her down, but Skuld wouldn't let her.
Each time Aqua attempted to step back, Skuld closed the gap immediately, lunging with relentless momentum.
Aqua barely twisted away from a claw strike, but the moment she did a gust of wind followed.
Aqua's breath hitched. That wasn't normal.
Skuld wasn't casting magic but it seemed the air shifted around her.
Her claws were naturally producing wind trails—like the very air itself was bending to her attacks. This was most likely what allowed Skuld to move so fast. The fact that the very air was to going around her which allowed her to face little to no air resistance.
Aqua barely had time to process before Skuld struck again.
This time her claws slashed forward, which Aqua found strange and prepared to defend. Soon arcing blades of wind shot outward, flying directly at Aqua as if Skuld had ordered the very air to attack her.
Aqua barely had time to react. Her body moved instinctively, her Tidal Scepter twirling midair drawing in magic from the very air as she lifted her free hand—
A pulse of magic rippled outward.
A single orb of shimmering water formed just beside her, and before she even thought about it, it moved to intercept the wind slash.
The two forces collided midair, canceling each other out but causing a torrent of water to cover the floor forcing Helios who was lying down watching the fight to stand.
Aqua's eyes widened.
That… wasn't a normal spell. She didn't cast that deliberately. It was more like her magic traveled into the Tidal Scepter and it used it to create that ball of water which she could control.
But before she could process any further, Skuld was already moving.
Skuld twisted through the air, her movements becoming even faster as her attacks grew more aggressive.
Aqua blocked one, two, three of her rapid slashes, but each time, Skuld's next strike came even faster.
Then—she vanished.
A sudden burst of wind erupted from where she stood, and before Aqua could react—
Skuld reappeared behind her.
Aqua barely dodged, feeling the sharp wind pressure graze against her cheek.
Aqua spun around, swinging her Tidal Scepter to force Skuld back but Skuld simply twisted midair, flipping effortlessly as if the wind itself was carrying her.
The movement was unnatural.
Too fluid. Too perfect.
Aqua's heartbeat pounded. 'Who is this girl? She's twice as strong as she was in the Realm of Darkness."
Aqua exhaled, forcing herself to refocus.
If Skuld's movements were unpredictable—
Then she needed to create control.
Aqua flicked her hand again, channeling her magic into the Tidal Scepter to summon three floating orbs of water.
This time, she didn't just let them hover, she commanded them.
The orbs moved with her, weaving in and out of her strikes.
When Skuld dodged one attack, Aqua redirected an orb behind her.
When Skuld tried to lunge, Aqua curved the orbs into her path.
This was a first she just casting magic, she was controlling it.
Skuld, realizing the shift, pressed forward.
Aqua's floating orbs shot outward, forcing Skuld to jump back—
But even midair, Skuld moved unnaturally, using the wind to adjust her trajectory.
Aqua was frustrated but she quickly calmed her mind.
Skuld wasn't slowing down, but she couldn't attack either so this was essentially a stalemate.
Skuld landed, and for the first time she grinned, "You're very strong, fighting with you I feel like I'm so close to remembering it all."
Aqua caught the flicker of excitement in her expression.
And she realized Skuld was enjoying this.
Aqua smiled back.
"Not bad," she said. "But let's see how you handle this."
Skuld tilted her head.
Aqua thrust her Tidal Scepter forward—and the orbs surrounding her shot outward.
But this time they didn't follow a linear path.
They weaved unpredictably, striking from angles that would have been impossible in a normal spell.
Skuld dodged one and two, but the third came from her blindspot
Then, she spun midair, deflecting the third with a perfectly timed claw strike.
Aqua's breath caught. That was not something she should have been able to do on instinct. 'Could she be sensing changes in the air allowing her see behind her?'
Skuld landed, eyes gleaming.
Aqua's grip on her Tidal Scepter tightened.
It seemed this sparring session was far from over.
Aqua exhaled slowly.
Her floating magic orbs pulsed softly, waiting for her next command.
Skuld shifted her stance, the wind stirring around her.
Neither moved.
Then—
Skuld lunged at Aqua who at the same time launched her water orbs as she took a step back.