Suddenly, Trent grunted.
"Urgh..."
He clutched his head as an intense pressure surged through his skull, pounding like war drums echoing through his brain.
The tentacle wrapped around Bonny’s limp body loosened, and the unconscious Elentalist dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, the dirt beneath his broken fra puffing outward in a cloud of dust.
Trent’s knees buckled, and he slowly lowered himself to the ground, one palm pressed against the hard floor as he grit his teeth.
His breathing was shallow, and each breath felt like a chore.
The water tentacles around him slowly started to waver, drops of water falling from them as their size rapidly reduced.
Then... they started to dissolve.
One by one, they vanished, evaporating into faint streams of water and mist that scattered into the air like ghostly whispers.
And when they were gone, a crushing exhaustion slamd into him like a mountain dropped on his back.
He collapsed. His face hit the ground. Every muscle ached. His arms trembled, unable to even push himself up. His body felt like it was filled with lead, and his lungs burned with every shallow breath.
’What... what happened...?’ he thought.
He barely managed to turn his head, his gaze drifting toward the two bodies lying not far from him—Bonny and Sonny.
Both of them were sprawled out, motionless. And Bonny’s body was in particularly bad shape—his limbs twisted in odd angles, his armor broken, blood staining the ground in a wide, red pool.
Trent’s eyes widened, and his heart sank a little. ’Did I... do that...?’
He recognized them now. Bonny and Sonny. The two Elentalists who had attacked him earlier in this strange test. They were aggressive. rciless. But even so...
A terrifying emptiness stretched across his mory, like a vast black hole that had swallowed the last few minutes of his life.
All he could rember was a roar—an echoing fury that didn’t even feel like his own—then flashes of chaos.
Tentacles lashing. Screams piercing the air. Walls shattering into pieces. And then... silence.
That was all.
Suddenly, a voice echoed within his mind.
[You’re welco.]
Trent’s eyes widened. His blood ran cold.
He jolted slightly despite his exhaustion, heart racing as the unfamiliar voice coiled through his thoughts like smoke.
[You looked surprised. Don’t tell you didn’t enjoy that.]
’W-what?’ he thought.
His voice ca out barely above a whisper. "You... you did this?"
[Of course I did. I told you I’d lend you my power. And I did. You should be grateful, you know.]
[Didn’t it feel good? That power? That strength? Crushing your enemies like they were insects?]
Trent’s stomach churned. His hands clenched into weak fists against the ground.
A whirlpool of emotions twisted in his chest—rage, confusion, guilt, and sothing else he didn’t want to na.
’I didn’t... I didn’t want this...’ he thought bitterly. ’I didn’t want to win like this...’
Sure, he’d won. Bonny was down. Sonny too. He was the last one standing. But at what cost?
He didn’t rember the fight. Not really. Not beyond flashes.
Not beyond the horrifying image of his own tentacles slamming into his opponent again and again. Of walls breaking. Of screams.
"I never needed your help..." he muttered.
The voice chuckled darkly.
[But you did need my help. You were going to lose, rember? They had you on the ropes. You were injured. Weakened. Outnumbered.]
[You said you didn’t want to lose. And all I did... was make sure you won.]
"No," Trent hissed. "That wasn’t winning."
[Spare the morality speech. Winning is winning. You’re alive, aren’t you? And they’re not.]
Trent grit his teeth. His face twisted as a bitter taste filled his mouth.
’This doesn’t feel like victory...’ he thought. ’It feels like I cheated. Like... I lost sothing else.’
[What you felt was power. True, unrestrained power. You should embrace it.]
’No... I—’
His thoughts were interrupted by the weak, raspy sound of coughing.
Trent turned his head again, forcing his blurred vision to focus on Bonny. The Elentalist was still alive—barely—but moving.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he twitched slightly. His face was pale. His chest barely moved with each breath.
Trent’s heart skipped.
’He’s... alive...’ He thought.
To think the Elentalist would still be alive even with how battered he was, it was rather surprising.
’His spirit sure it strong.’ Trent thought, clicking his tongue.
He let out a quiet breath, relief flooding through him. But that relief was quickly buried under the weight of sha.
Bonny had been fighting for sothing. Trent rembered his words—how he swore not to lose, how he scread in anger, how he pushed forward no matter how hopeless it looked.
And he rembered how it felt when his tentacles slamd into Bonny’s ribs. How they crushed his walls.
’This isn’t how I want to win...’ Trent thought bitterly. ’Not with soone else’s power. Not without even knowing what I did. Not like a monster...’
The voice in his head scoffed.
[Your pride will get you killed one day.]
Trent didn’t respond. He didn’t care what that voice thought. He’d made up his mind.
"I’ll get stronger..." he whispered hoarsely. "On my own. Without you."
Silence followed.
The voice didn’t reply this ti, and for a mont, the ntal fog lifted just a little.
Trent laid there, listening to the wind rustle across the broken battlefield. Listening to his own ragged breathing. His entire body still hurt—his limbs numb, his back drenched in sweat.
But he was in control now. Not that... thing. Not that voice.
Just him.
He looked up at the sky above. It was tinted orange now. Sunset?
How long had the battle lasted?
He had only racked up a few points before he was attacked by Sonny and Bonny, and even though they were now defeated, he wondered how much ti had passed?
How could he be sure the competition hadn’t co to an end during the ti he was lost in the fight.
Though he technically wasn’t the one fighting them, but the strange being within his mind.
’I said I was going to surpass Harry and beco the first, but look at now... too pathetic to even move...’ He mumbled inwardly, letting out a wry chuckle.
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