Phoenix Flight

The body of Ashley faded and vanished in a flickering light. Enough time had passed, and she hadn't woken up quickly enough, which meant she was now out of the simulation.

The only two people who remained in the cornfield were Rowan and Davi. Both men paced back and forth slowly, each keeping their eyes locked onto the other. Rowan's were full of hate, while Davi's were mainly blank.

"Ashley better not fail the exams because of you." Rowan hissed. "She and Sera are going to become Knights with me!"

Davi hummed and shrugged his shoulders. "She attacked me. I just defended myself. What was I supposed to do, just let her kill me?"

"Yes!"

"Well, that's stupid," Davi said flatly.

"You're stupid! Row Water Slicer!" Rowan stepped forward and sliced his sword out. The air around him grew colder, and water formed along the blade before it launched out in a thin and slashing motion that went side to side. The slice expanded and grew in speed as it fired out, tearing through what was left of the cornfield and flying toward Davi. Davi was forced to drop to a crouch in order to avoid the slash, and as it went over him, he felt a wave of pain as Rowan charged and swung his sword down, stabbing it into Davi's shoulder. "Row Water Bullet!" Rowan tore his blade out and pointed the tip at Davi, a compressed ball of water forming and blasting out, ramming into Davi's damaged shoulder.

Davi fought through the pain and swung his fishing rod out, but Rowan blocked it with his sword. Their mana clashed, blue meeting blue. Rowan's was more like a deep sea blue, though, while Davi's crackled out like blue flames. Davi got back up to his full height and forced his arms out, shoving Rowan back. As Rowan backed away, Davi slammed his foot down into the ground so hard he kicked up a wave of dust, trying to blind the noble, but Rowan countered with another spell.

"Row Water Skin!" Water formed over Rowan's flesh and armor, layering him in a skin-tight suit of armor that upped his defense. The dust bounced off of it, not getting into his eyes, and he charged once more toward Davi. "Row Water Bullet!" Again, Rowan stabbed his sword out and launched the bullet, but he kept thrusting his sword out as well, so that if Davi blocked it, he would still be stabbed by the sword.

Davi realized this and took the bullet to the shoulder, twisting his body, and then he swung his rod out and deflected Rowan's thrust. As both their weapons bounced off of each other, Davi punched out with his other arm and slammed it into Rowan's face, but the mage's water armor absorbed most of the blow, rippling it out, keeping Rowan safe.

"Row Water Slash!" Rowan turned and sliced his sword out again, point-blank at Davi, barely giving the man time to dodge, but even still, Davi was able to react to it.

"Row Shadow Vault." Davi opened his vault and vanished, sinking into his shadow as the slice flew out. The vault opened further and tried to pull Rowan in, but the noble jumped away and got out of its range. 

"Row Water Flood!" This time Rowan lifted his sword up and pointed it to the sky. A big ball of water flowed into existence at the tip of his sword, and he slammed it down. The water exploded and crashed into the vault's opening, flooding it rapidly. "Row Water Tendril!"

Inside of the vault, Davi saw the wave of water invade his realm, and it began to twist and change, becoming a long tentacle that wrapped around his waist. It squeezed down hard enough to crack some of his ribs and yanked him out of his vault and back to the real world.

"Did you really think that would work?" Rowan sneered. "Do you have any clue how many spells I've bought? I have dozens! Literal dozens! I have a counter for anything a peasant like you could throw at me! Row Water Cloak!" Rowan held his palm out, and the water tendril popped. The water sprayed out and flew toward Davi, who began to drop. Just like how Rowan covered himself in a skin-tight layer of water, Davi, too, became cloaked in it. His eyes went wide as he realized he couldn't breathe. Rowan brought his arm down, and the water around Davi moved to obey, ramming Davi into the ground. "This is my favorite spell." Rowan laughed and slapped his hand to the right, and the water followed the direction, dragging Davi across the ground. "Isn't it neat!"

Rowan moved his hand up and down, left and right, and again and again. Davi would be jerked along, flying through the field of corn, and slamming into the ground hard enough to bruise his skin. He wasn't protected like Rowan was, and he could barely move his body since the suit of water was compressed tightly around him.

'Should I bring my armor out? It'd be easy to break out if I did. What will the captains think, though? Davi felt his back slam down into the floor, and he began to get pressed into it. 'Man, why did I have to create it in a way that looked like the Ebony Knight guy? I could change and tweak the armor, but that would take me a while to figure out and picture. If I cast it now, that suit is the only one that will come to my mind, and I'll be seen in it. Will I be kicked out instantly? If the test really is about popularity, all the captains will learn that I'm the fake Knight running around. I doubt any of them would want me in their guild after that. What a pain… In that case, I'll use my other method to win.'

"It's time to end this," Rowan announced. The man covered his blade in mana and pulled the arm holding the sword back. He then slammed his other arm in his direction. Davi was dragged across the field and sent flying toward him, and Rowan stabbed his sword out as hard as he could. "Die!"

"Row Shadow Vault."

Davi used his spell at the last second, but it seemingly didn't matter. The water around him vanished, but it was too late. Rowan's sword rammed directly into his chest right where his heart would be, and Rowan forced the blade in all the way down to the hilt.

***

Orion Hawker was not a good man. He wasn't even a semi-decent person.

Orion Hawker was rude, arrogant, selfish, greedy, and full of wrath. Orion Hawker cheated on his first wife, cheated on his second wife, cheated on his third wife, stole from over ten different banks, committed blackmail against his superior officer, abandoned his country when they needed him, stole from his country when they needed him, ran away from his country when they needed him, lied, cheated, stole, and so much more.

At one point he could have become a world-famous swordsman, he could have been the hero that his people needed, and he could have lived the life that he wanted to live, but instead Orion threw his fame, his fortune, and his self-respect away, being kicked out of his country's military and forced to live on a trashy, remote island with his fourth wife, raising two bastard sons that weren't even related to his current wife, working as a mediocre blacksmith, since that was the only job he was even semi-good at.

Orion Hawker was a terrible human being. But he was at least a good father. The kind of father who would stop at nothing to ensure his sons succeed. 

"Davi, have you even been paying attention to a word I said?" Orion huffed out. The blonde man had his hands on his hips and frowned as he watched his youngest son play with his fishing rod.

Davi turned to look back at his dad and cocked his head to the side. "I'm fishing the way you taught me."

"I didn't take you out here to fish, though." Orion's look changed as the man gave a smile. For once, he wasn't in his typical blacksmith uniform and instead wore long black robes, which were the exact same clothes he had forced his son to wear. A wooden training sword rested at his side, and Davi had one as well, but the boy didn't have it drawn and instead gripped his fishing pole. Orion had his own fishing rod, and he had it casually placed over his shoulder. "The fishing rod was just to show you the basics; you're supposed to put it down and draw your sword. Don't you want to learn my cool sword technique?"

Davi shrugged. "I'd rather just keep fishing."

"Well, too bad!" Orion's eye twitched, and he walked up to his son and stared out at the lake. "Sieg's mom made me promise not to teach him the way of the sky-cutting sword, but your mom never said anything about teaching you. As a parent, it is my duty to make sure that my son knows his family's signature sword style."

Davi made a face, and the eleven-year-old's nose twitched in mild anger. "I don't want to use a sword, though. They're heavy and clunky. Can't I use a spear? You can use spears to fish."

"No! Spears are for sissies!"

"Sieg uses a spear, though."

"Well, Sieg is lame and boring!" Orion huffed. "His mom's already corrupted his mind and sunk her claws into him. He's too far gone to teach the epic ways of the sword, but you're not, Davi! Unlike Sieg's mom, your mom is based, and she appreciates the beauty of a sword. With my genes and her genes pumping through you, you're bound to become a world-famous swordsman. You just need to put the work in, okay?"

Davi pouted harder. "I don't wanna be famous, though."

"Yes, you do! Trust me, you get bitches and money if you're famous!"

"What are bitches?"

"Don't worry about it…" Orion rubbed the back of his neck and hummed. "Look, let me show you one more time, okay?" Orion took a deep breath, and he raised his fishing rod up. He lifted it up into the sky and gripped it with both hands. "Mordheim is a nation of swordsmen. We all take pride in how well we can use our weapons. Our family, the Hawker clan, is one that is old and nearly wiped out. Do you know why that is?"

Davi set his fishing pole down and shook his head. Something about his father's look changed. Orion's golden eyes were narrowed and focused.

"It's because they weren't good enough," Orion said in a simple tone. "Mordheim only respects those who are good with a sword, and so the only things of worth are swords or sword techniques. Our family had a cherished sword, but I gambled it away before you were born, so the only thing I can teach you is our sword style, or in this case, sword technique, for unlike other fancy ways, the way of the sky-cutting sword has only a single move. Just one single swing. A downward swing." Orion's body faintly glowed the slightest traces of mana forming over his flesh before it began to run along the blade. "This is the way of the sky-cutting sword. A lone attack that will split the sky itself!"

Orion slammed his arms down as hard as he could. The fishing rod came down hard, and the line blasted out with tremendous speed from how hard he brought his arms down. The line sliced through the water, and a ripple-like effect flew out, going up and down in a single straight line, ripping through the air and tearing the lake before him in two, causing the water to part.

It was a single, powerful swing. 

The water only stayed parted for a moment before it closed back and gushed together. Orion let go of a breath he held and reeled the line back in.

"In fishing, you raise your rod up and bring it down to throw the lure out as far as you can. The movement is sort of similar to the downward swing you need to perform, which is why I took you out here. It isn't just about swinging the sword or the rod as hard as you can. You need to perfectly cock your wrist up and out right as your arms come down while also forming enough mana along the blade's edge and then rapidly causing it to twist and expand out. If you do this right, then you'll perform the correct attack and unleash a powerful shockwave that will extend in a line. If you go above and beyond, you'll even split the skies themselves in two." Orion announced. "Well? What do you think?"

Davi lifted his arms, raising his pole up, and then he brought it down, throwing the lure out, but he didn't use any mana, and he didn't do it anywhere near as hard as his father had. In fact, he didn't even attempt the downward slash and just got back to fishing, calmly waiting for his lure to dip below the water's surface.

"It was kind of cool how you split the water, but it's not very useful for fishing," Davi said flatly.

"It's not for fishing!" Orion yelled out, and he waved his arms up in anger. "It's to slice the sky in two! That's the meaning of the sword style!"

"You didn't cut the sky, though."

"What?" Orion stopped and frowned.

Davi glanced back at his dad. "The sky didn't budge. It's so far away; you didn't do anything to it. Is it actually possible to split the skies? Can mana even travel that far?"

Orion snorted. "Of course it's not possible." The man looked down at the fishing rod he held. "No one could actually slash the skies themselves in two. That's a silly idea."

"So why the name then?" Davi asked curiously. "If it's actually impossible to cut the sky, why is it called a 'sky-cutting' sword?"

Orion folded his arms and let out a hum. "See, now that's a good question. The reason my great-great-great-grandpa picked the name was simple. It's something for us to strive for. Sure, it might not actually be possible to unleash a single strike that can reach the heavens themselves and tear through them, but because that is what we are striving for, that is what each of us trains to do. Just now, I was able to split an entire lake with just a fishing rod. Pretty cool, right? Imagine unleashing a strike like that on the battlefield. This naming method is the same reason things like 'Dragon Hunting Blade' or 'Demonic Mountain Cutter' have the names they do. People strive to do what they can't, and for many people, they use this as a way to push them to grow and do better."

"So, I should set a goal for myself if I want to grow? One that is hard to reach and impossible?"

"Well…" Orion awkwardly rubbed his chin. "Geez, I suck at talking. I mean, yeah, you can set a big goal, but you're still a kid, you know! Pick something you think is doable first and go for that."

Davi nodded his head, and his grip grew tighter around his fishing pole. "In that case, I've decided."

"Oh?"

"I'm going to be the best fisherman."

"Davi, you're killing me! Please pick up a sword! I'm begging you!"

***

Davi wasn't sure why that memory came to his mind, but it did. Perhaps it was because he was using his fishing rod as a weapon, or maybe it was just dumb luck, but it gave him an idea.

Rowan's sword impaled Davi's chest, but it was Rowan who screamed in pain. The nobleman's eyes went wide, and he stared down at the ground in shock. Davi's shadow had changed, and something was stabbing out of it. A sword. Rowan's sword. The blade impaled Rowan's foot, slicing off half his toes, since he was standing on Davi's shadow.

"W-What the hell?" Rowan's eyes were wide in both shock and pain. "What happened?" Rowan tried to stab his sword in deeper, but instead of going further into Davi's body, the sword in the shadow raised up and cut off more of his foot.

Davi grimaced slightly and pulled at his shirt, which was torn open. Beneath his flesh, a bluish light blazed. Inside of his flesh, directly in front of his heart, he had opened his vault up. He could open it up anywhere that there were shadows, and since the inside of his body was dark, it had been easy enough. He also switched the entrance of his vault and made it his shadow, so when one thing entered the vault from the entrance in his chest, it would then stab out of the shadow beneath him, which Rowan was standing on.

Davi reached out and grabbed Rowan's wrist. His fingers curled around it tightly. He still couldn't hurt Rowan thanks to his armor, but Rowan was able to hurt himself since his mana could bypass his shield, which was how he stabbed himself in the first place. Davi began to violently shake Rowan's arm, which caused the sword to go up and down, making it saw into Rowan's leg.

Rowan screamed louder, and he yanked his arm back and ripped the sword out of Davi. He stumbled back, his water skin rapidly turning red as his blood mixed with the liquid. It was no longer see-through, making it hard for the mage to see properly, but he didn't have to worry about that for long.

Calmly, Davi lifted his fishing rod into the air. His mana coated the edge of it, and as it reached the sky, he took a single step forward and slammed his arms down as hard as he could. The reel launched forward, the line glowing from how much mana was wrapped around it. A thin shockwave launched up and down and flew forward along with the rod's line, and Rowan felt a horrible ripple effect course through him as his water skin was split perfectly in two and parted. 

His mouth opened, and he went to scream out a spell, but Davi was faster. His rod finished its slash, and he pulled his arms back. The line bounced off of the ground and deflected up, wrapping around Rowan's neck. Rowan's eyes met Davi's, and he knew what was about to happen, but there was nothing he could do.

"Row Water Bubble!" 

Davi pulled his arms up further, and the line grew tighter. A line of blood ran along Rowan's throat before the line fully sliced through, and in a single tug, Davi decapitated the other man.

Rowan's severed head hit the ground, and his body crashed to the floor, spraying out a wave of blood. "So much for not killing." Davi sighed. Rowan's water skin would have reformed if another second would have passed, which would have made it next to impossible to harm the man, and Rowan was also extremely tough and sturdy, so Davi knew he wouldn't have been able to knock him out. His only solution in the moment was to go for a single strike that would instantly kill the man. He just hoped the part about killing being allowed wasn't a secret test. Besides, this was a simulation, so technically Rowan wasn't dead. "Hang on, where are my points?"

Davi frowned when he noticed the blue box hadn't appeared. He wondered if he had messed up after all, but then he heard a voice.

"You bastard!"

Davi blinked, totally caught off guard, and he looked down, finding Rowan's head was glaring up at him. The noble was in a small bubble of water, which was sucking in oxygen, keeping his brain running for a bit longer.

"Oh, a talking head… Neat." Davi nudged the bubble with his foot, which caused Rowan to growl louder. "I feel a little less bad now."

"How dare you! Do you know who I am?" Rowan yelled. "I am a member of the Zyne family! I will have you serving as my dog by the time I'm done with you! You had to cheat and play dirty to beat me! I am better than you! My gear is better! I have more spells! My stats are higher as well! I know they are! You cheated! You're pathetic!"

Davi stared down at the head and hummed. "You're rich, right?"

"Richer than you'll ever be!"

"Cool." Davi crouched down and began to go through Rowan's pockets, searching the corpse.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" Rowan demanded, but Davi ignored him.

Davi pulled out an expensive phone from Rowan's pocket, and he tossed it away. Next, he pulled out some random candies, which he pocketed for himself, and then he finally found what he was looking for. He produced a black wallet and opened it up. He dumped most of it out until a thin black card dropped into his hand. "Bingo."

"Let go of that!" Rowan demanded. "That's mine!"

Davi pulled his own phone out. He opened his Grimoire app and went straight to the market. It was in the top right corner and was a shopping cart icon. As soon as he clicked on it, he was taken to a web page filled with various items, along with a search bar located at the top.

Sword of fire, axe of frost, thunder underwear, mittens of iron, flame sword spell, helmet of future sight, minor healing potion, potion of superior lovemaking, potion of gender swap, coat of warmth, gun of infinite bullets, time watch, spacial bag, gravity boots, fire car spell, lightning plu spell, earth shower spell, axe of fire, sword of fire, thunder underwear mark two, card of pranks, sword of light, sword of dark, dark sword spell, light gun spell, holy panties, hat of truth, glasses of lie, and so many other options that were all listed out. The shop had spells and magic items, as well as potions and anything else that held a hint of arcane that could be sold.

Davi tapped on the search bar, and he typed in the word 'shadow'. Instantly, a bunch of new items appeared.

Potion of shadows, shadow sword, shadow axe, shadow helm, glasses to see through shadows, shadow panties, shadow scarf, shadow remover potion, shadow cloak, shadow sword spell, shadow scythe spell, shadow tiger spell, shadow recover spell, shadow growth spell, shadow shrink spell, shadow cutter spell, shadow absorption spell, and the one that caught his attention. Shadow robes spell.

Everything that had the word shadow appeared, some being items and some being spells. Ultimately, he clicked on the shadow robes spell.

"Stop it!" Rowan yelled. "Whatever you're doing, I command you to stop!" He couldn't cast any spells since it was taking all his mana just to keep himself alive. "Stop!"

Davi kept ignoring the head, and as he clicked the spell, he was taken to a new page. 'Row Shadow Robes, a spell made to create what I hope is a fashionable and protective outfit that will make you look stunning and powerful. Unfortunately, this spell isn't suited for me, so I decided to put it on the market. Feel free to send me any pictures of you in the outfit. Here's my number; call me.' There was a phone number listed, as well as the name of the spell creator. Alvin Black.

At the bottom of the page was a buy button, which Davi pushed, but he then received an error message since his account lacked sufficient funding. Luckily for him, it also provided a way to add funding. If he had a card with money on it, he just needed to put the information into it.

"Man, look at all the zeros." Davi whistled as he read how expensive the spell was. "One, two, three, four, five—"

"I'll kill you!" Rowan screamed.

Davi finished typing in the information, and he clicked Buy. This time, he was given the success message. "Oh, I guess you had enough money on your card, cool-"

In a flash of black, Davi found himself in a familiar place. He was floating in a bright, colorful void, and in front of him, a massive orb of light resided. The Core that connected everyone together. The thing he had seen when he first opened the app. Its tendrils rapidly grew and wrapped around him, and Davi felt a sharp pain in his head. Words and images began to flood his mind.

He saw a life, one that wasn't his, and he saw a spell, one being forged that he had never made. Row Shadow Robes. It dug in deep into his mind, and he gained an understanding of it as if he had always been able to do it. The next thing Davi knew, three spells came to his thoughts. Row Shadow Armor, Row Shadow Vault, and Row Shadow Robes. These were all three of his spells.

Row Shadow Robes was now one of his spells.

Davi shook his head and gasped as the vision faded, and he found himself standing in the destroyed field once more. He rubbed his head and groaned slightly. Did that always happen when someone tried to learn a new spell? The memories, emotions, and intent of the spell had been literally slammed into his mind. It was worth it, though. He now had a third spell.

Rowan was still yelling at him, so he casually kicked the head and sent it flying away. With one last grunt, Davi turned back to the phone. He searched for another spell. Something offensive that had range, so he could launch an attack at the dragon next time he found it, but whatever spell he tried to buy failed.

'Due to suspicious activity, you have been temporarily locked out of the card you provided.'

"Ah, darn, they caught me." Davi threw the card, along with the rest of the wallet, into his vault. Then he grabbed the sword from Rowan's corpse, along with the sheath, and placed it at his side. There was only one thing left to do after that. Davi took a calming breath and focused himself. Then, he spoke his new spell. "Row Shadow Robes."

Darkness exploded around him, and a new outfit began to form.