"Pathetic!" A voice suddenly rasped out of nowhere.
Nuel jumped to his feet and he wasn't surprised to see who had called him that— Khaos.
"For how long have you been here?" Nuel asked, brushing off the insult like he had never heard him speak.
Khaos smiled, walking up to Nuel.
"Far longer than you can imagine."
Nuel rolled his eyes, before pointing at the training doll he had made duplicates of. By now, the doll was standing still, a testament of how lifeless it was without mana.
"That training doll can cast spells, does that prove to be normal?"
"The doll is merely a level one doll. You're just weak, Nuel." Khaos replied, his words hitting the nail on the head yet again.
"What makes you think I am weak? I am the best hunter for the Philikio family and you think that's a mere title?" Nuel continued in his defense.
Khaos smiled again and Nuel was a little bit pissed. All Khaos had been doing was smile and that little gesture made it seem he was being looked down on.
"The world you lived in as the best hunter is a thing of the past, Nuel. To survive in the world we live in now, you have to control spells, let mana dominate your entire being and fight like you could die if you take a minute to rest."
The wind howled gently, brushing against the reeds which waved at the infinite wild spread sky above them.
The tail of Khaos' coat danced in the direction of the wind while Nuel's hair tipped across his face, giving leverage to his cold stare at Khaos.
"Nuel, the world you once knew has ended and you have to face this new one because it is your destiny. I'm sorry I am not allowed to bear the exact details as to why all this is happening yet, but…"
Before Khaos could finish, Nuel had interrupted him. With one hand scratching the root of his hair, he let out a lazy yawn.
"Tell me why you have come here, Khaos." Nuel finally asked.
Nuel wasn't going to force those words out of Khaos, maybe not yet as he was sure Khaos was as hard as steel and wouldn't settle for compromise.
"The awakening ceremony is over and soon, you will be invited to a raid party, but with this absurd fighting skill you weave, I don't think you can survive." Khaos replied.
"So what? You want to fight me now?"
"It's called training." Khaos said with a smirk.
Nuel gave in, pulling all his chances to prove Khaos wrong about his own perception of him.
Nuel advanced towards Khaos first. He tried to grab his arm so he could maneuver him to the ground by flipping him off his shoulder.
Khaos understood Nuel's plan at once and before Nuel could reach for his arm, he had grabbed Nuel's arm and flipped him off his shoulder swiftly.
"Argh!" Nuel grunted as his back hit the ground.
'How was he so sure that was my move?' He thought to himself before getting back on his feet.
"It was the right amount of obvious." Khaos smirked, reading Nuel's mind like a book.
The fight began again. Nuel took his steel dash at Khaos who dodged each blow attempt made by Nuel without breaking a sweat.
Nuel was pissed as he couldn't land a single punch on Khaos. Every single move he made seemed to be a plan orchestrated by Khaos himself.
It was as if Khaos was implanting his attack moves into his own mind.
"Is this what you call a fight, Nuel?" Khaos Valtor charged. "I'm still holding back right now."
Nuel with one knee still buried in the ground was panting heavily, his strength wearing out as he failed at each attack he made at Khaos.
"Not even one successful hit?" He said with gritted teeth with his fists hurled up as he gave the ground a punch.
He was embarrassed again, not wanting to admit he was losing to Khaos even though he was already at his limit while Khaos had not tried to unleash a little of his prowess.
"The dolls are better to train with." Nuel said, his gaze turned cold already.
He got up on his feet, his sweat making a sticky mess with his hair. He knew he made the choice for his awakening, but it was overwhelming for him to handle.
"Wouldn't you make a try for it? You have mana now, you have awakened your gift, what are you so afraid of?" Khaos asked, worried Nuel was giving up too soon.
Nuel turned away with his eyes closed to the world without giving Khaos a reply.
Khaos Valtor let out a sigh of disappointment, dissatisfied with Nuel as it seemed he had given up too soon.
His countenance also changed, his eyes blazing a red aura that could burn the world if need be.
The wind pulled to a stop at his aura's command, giving way for a flow towards Nuel.
"What was I expecting anyway?" Khaos spoke softly as Nuel continued to walk away from him.
Nuel didn't let this get to him and he never looked back for once either.
"You are a failure, Nuel and everything that has happened is your fault."
"Your aunt Zixuan is in that state because of you!"
His eyes flicked open, the realization hitting him hard the moment Khaos' words travelled through his ears.
"Enough!"
Nuel made a sharp turn immediately, charging fast at Khaos with great speed. A blue aura sizzled with lightning blazed about him as he charged.
As Khaos saw this change, he smiled, his red aura coating him fully.
"Yes, that's it. Come at me, Nuel." He said to himself, closing up the distance between them.
Their fists collided midway with the ground beneath them buckling at the massive wave of their clash. The energies that shot out of their bodies as their fists collided shot through the reeds, scraping off nearly all their roots.
The force of their clash sent both reeling backwards while the spot they had met was made bald immediately. The spot was cleared up of all that was present there a moment ago.
Both Nuel and Khaos gave each other a death stare, panting heavily as their murderous intent rises to its peak each passing second.
Suddenly, they both broke into a maniac laughter, the reality of what had happened settling in fast.
"Took you long enough." Khaos laughed, walking towards Nuel.
"The dolls are better to train with." Nuel teased with a slight smirk.
Khaos stretched his right hand at Nuel with a little nudge. "Friends?"