Chapter 52 – The Escape

  The scent of charred grass lingered in the air, mixing with the damp earth and the distant tang of pine. Leaves rustled in the trees above, whispering warnings Kaelin didn't need to hear. She already knew, this wouldn’t be easy.

  She and Kana stood side by side, breaths even, eyes locked onto the two opponents in front of them. The girl, a nature wielder, exuded a quiet confidence, her stance solid and unshaken. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, but a few loose strands framed her sharp features. She had the look of someone who knew she was in control. Someone who had never lost a fight she didn’t plan on losing.

  The boy, a mind mage, stood slightly behind her, his expression unreadable. His presence was almost lazy, hands tucked into the folds of his uniform as if he wasn’t concerned about the fight at all. But Kaelin wasn’t fooled. He was already trying to worm his way into their heads, she could feel it, the faintest buzz at the edge of her thoughts, like fingers tapping against glass, looking for cracks.

  "Should we end this quickly?" the girl asked, rolling her shoulders as the vines at her feet slithered forward, curling in anticipation.

  "Why rush?" the boy replied, his voice smooth, detached. "Let them tire themselves out first."

  Kaelin let out a slow breath, rolling her own shoulders in response. "They talk a lot, don’t they?" she muttered.

  Kana hummed, shifting her weight slightly. "Must be compensating."

  Kaelin smirked. "Agreed."

  That was all the warning they had before the girl struck.

  A vine shot forward with a sharp crack, snapping toward Kana’s legs like a whip.

  Kana dodged, twisting to the side, but she wasn’t fast enough. The second vine came out of nowhere, wrapping around her ankle in a tight coil.

  The girl yanked.

  Kana was ripped off her feet, the sudden motion throwing her toward the ground. But before she could crash, Kaelin was already moving.

  She caught Kana’s arm, twisting her weight to counter the force.

  Instead of falling, Kana used the momentum to her advantage, letting Kaelin guide her. She shifted mid-air, angling herself just right, then snapped her leg out, catching the nature wielder in the ribs.

  The girl gasped, stumbling back. The vines slackened for a moment.

  Kana didn’t hesitate. She ripped herself free, landing lightly on the ground beside Kaelin again.

  Kaelin grinned. "Nice recovery."

  Kana tossed her hair back. "I don’t need saving."

  "Didn’t say you did," Kaelin replied, her grin widening. "I just didn’t want you eating dirt before we’ve even started."

  The mind mage sighed, rubbing his temple as if their conversation annoyed him. "Are you two always this irritating?"

  Kana tilted her head. "Are you always this boring?"

  Kaelin barked out a laugh, but it was cut short by the sudden pressure building in her skull.

  It wasn’t painful, not yet. But it was there, the push of foreign magic against her mind, testing for weaknesses.

  She clenched her jaw, shoving back against it. The pressure wavered slightly, but the boy didn’t relent. He wasn’t trying to control her outright, just throw her off, make her hesitate.

  It almost worked.

  Almost.

  A vine lashed out toward her neck.

  Kaelin’s Futuresight flared.

  The world slowed.

  She saw the attack before it happened, watched the way it would curve, how it would snap back if she dodged too early.

  She ducked at the perfect moment, pivoting on her heel to slip behind the nature wielder before the next strike could come.

  Kana took the cue immediately.

  She lunged forward, forcing the mind mage to shift his focus. His control over Kaelin faltered for a split second.

  It was enough.

  Kaelin moved like a shadow, weaving between the vines as if they were nothing more than shifting branches in the forest canopy.

  The girl snarled in frustration, her hands jerking as she sent more vines after Kaelin, but she was too slow.

  Kaelin caught one mid-air, twisting it in her grip and pulling.

  The girl stumbled forward, off-balance.

  Kana was already moving.

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  She spun low, sweeping the girl’s legs out from under her with a sharp kick.

  The nature wielder hit the ground hard, a sharp gasp escaping her lips.

  Kaelin immediately jumped back, expecting retaliation, but the girl stayed down, groaning.

  Kana smirked. "That’s one."

  The mind mage remained standing, but his expression was different now, more alert, more careful. His gaze flickered between the two of them, assessing.

  Kaelin narrowed her eyes.

  He wasn’t done.

  Kana must’ve sensed it too because she exhaled sharply. "Alright, then. Round two?"

  The mind mage smiled, slow and deliberate. "Let’s see how long you last this time."

  And just like that, the pressure in Kaelin’s head doubled.

  She barely had time to prepare before the world around her shifted, twisting.

  Kana staggered, pressing a hand to her temple. "What the hell—?"

  Kaelin’s Time Sight flared instinctively, trying to adjust, trying to see through whatever illusion was settling over them.

  But this wasn’t an illusion.

  It was a warping of thought, a shift in perception.

  The ground tilted.

  No, not the ground, her sense of the ground.

  Her footing felt unsteady, her movements slowed, sluggish.

  Kana was struggling too, her stance wobbling slightly.

  The mind mage sighed. "You two are quick, I’ll give you that. But you’re relying too much on instinct."

  Kaelin gritted her teeth, forcing herself to focus.

  Time magic worked differently than mind magic. It was about shifting moments, adjusting paths, not controlling perception.

  But that didn’t mean she was helpless.

  Her mind pushed back, harder, stronger.

  She’d felt this before, the haze of exhaustion, the blur of dizziness. She knew how to fight through it.

  Kana, however, was still struggling.

  Kaelin clicked her tongue. "Kana, keep moving!"

  Kana snarled. "Easy for you to say!"

  The mind mage smirked. "You’re already losing."

  Kaelin shook her head. "No. We’re just getting started."

  She pressed forward, ignoring the sluggish weight pulling at her thoughts.

  The mind mage’s eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn’t expected her to move so quickly.

  Good.

  Kaelin closed the distance in a blink, Time Sight guiding her steps.

  She saw his reaction before it happened, the shift of his stance, the way his magic pulsed in preparation.

  She moved before he could.

  A sharp jab to his side.

  He gasped, staggering.

  The haze lifted, just a fraction.

  Kana recovered instantly.

  She lunged, her fist connecting with his jaw in a solid, satisfying hit.

  He stumbled back, blinking rapidly, shaken, but still standing.

  The nature wielder groaned from the ground.

  The fight wasn’t over yet.

  Kaelin smirked.

  Good.

  The forest pulsed with the remnants of their battle. The distant rustle of leaves, the heavy breathing of four exhausted fighters, the faint crackling of disturbed undergrowth, it all seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness that followed their exchange.

  Kaelin's heart slammed against her ribs, her muscles burning with exertion. Her boots dug into the soft earth as she steadied herself, glancing at Kana out of the corner of her eye. Kana was still on her feet, but only barely, her chest rising and falling in uneven gasps. Sweat clung to her brow, strands of hair sticking to her skin.

  Across from them, their opponents had regrouped. The mind mage rolled his jaw as if testing it, his expression a mix of irritation and renewed focus. The smug amusement that had danced in his eyes earlier had faded, replaced with something sharper, colder.

  "Not bad," he admitted, absently flexing his fingers. "You're stronger than I expected."

  The nature wielder exhaled sharply, brushing dirt from her arm where Kana had managed to land a hit earlier. Her vines coiled restlessly at her feet, twitching with anticipation. "We underestimated them," she muttered, casting a sidelong glance at her partner. "That won't happen again."

  Kaelin swallowed back the unease creeping into her chest. She wasn’t sure how much longer they could keep this up. Kana was fast, but she was running out of steam. Kaelin herself could barely keep up the evasive movements, her body slowing fractionally with each passing second.

  They had to end this.

  Before she could act, the nature wielder struck.

  The vines lashed out with renewed speed, twisting through the air like living whips. Kaelin threw herself backward, narrowly avoiding one that snapped just inches from her face. Another shot toward her ankle, forcing her to twist mid-air and land awkwardly, her knee barely absorbing the impact.

  She had no time to recover.

  Kana grunted sharply, yanked forward by a thick vine that had wrapped itself around her wrist. Her feet barely had time to skid against the dirt before she was dragged off balance.

  "Kana!" Kaelin lunged toward her, but the mind mage was already moving.

  His magic struck like an unseen force slamming into her skull.

  A dizzying pressure clamped down on her thoughts, warping the edges of her perception. The forest twisted, her vision bending as if the world itself had been tilted off its axis. Voices whispered at the back of her mind, faint but insistent, pulling her into something deeper.

  No.

  Kaelin gritted her teeth, pushing back with everything she had. The resistance slowed her down, her limbs feeling heavy, disconnected. She staggered, her knees nearly giving out beneath her.

  Kana struggled against the vines, her breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts. The nature wielder pulled her closer, her expression unreadable.

  "You're fast," she admitted. "But you rely too much on dodging."

  "Which," the mind mage added smoothly, stepping forward, "only works if you can actually move."

  Kaelin forced her body to respond, clenching her fists.

  Think. There's always a way out.

  Then Kana’s voice cut through the haze.

  "Kaelin. Move."

  A sudden, unnatural pulse filled the air.

  Before Kaelin could process it, her legs obeyed. There was no thought behind it, just action. Her feet pushed off the ground, muscles tensing as if this had always been the plan. Kana moved at the exact same moment, their jumps perfectly synchronized.

  They launched backward. Off the cliff’s edge.

  The wind roared past them, the forest stretching below like a vast sea of green. Leaves and branches blurred in their vision as they plummeted toward the ground. The world spun for a moment, gravity seizing control, the weightlessness almost surreal.

  The fall lasted seconds but felt longer, the rush of air sharp against Kaelin’s skin.

  Then, impact.

  They crashed through the thick undergrowth, the dense tangle of bushes and vines catching their fall. Leaves exploded around them, branches snapping under their weight. They tumbled, rolling through the foliage before finally coming to a jarring stop.

  Above them, voices carried over the edge.

  "Did they just—?"

  "What the fuck!?"

  There was a pause, then a scoff. "Idiots. There's no way they survived that."

  Another moment of hesitation, then the crunch of retreating footsteps. "Not worth checking. Let's go."

  Silence.

  Kaelin groaned, shoving a branch out of her face. Every muscle in her body protested, bruises already forming from the landing. "What. The. Hell."

  Kana, sprawled beside her, exhaled sharply. "You're welcome."

  Kaelin sat up slowly, rubbing at her arms where scratches stung against her skin. "You made me jump off a damn cliff."

  Kana lifted her head just enough to shoot her a look. "And? We're alive, aren't we?"

  Kaelin opened her mouth to argue, then shut it. She let out a long breath, flopping onto her back. "I hate you a little bit right now."

  Kana smirked, brushing twigs from her hair. "No, you don’t."

  Kaelin groaned, covering her face with her hands. "You owe me."

  Kana chuckled, stretching her arms. "I'll buy you lunch. If we ever get out of here."

  Kaelin sighed. "Fine. But I’m getting extra dessert."

  Kana rolled her eyes, but the faint smile on her face didn’t fade.

  They had escaped. They were safe.