"Duck!"
I didn't ask why. I dropped to my knees, the flames on my back roaring.
Vikram vaulted over me, using my shoulder as a stepping stone. He spun in the air, his dress shoe connecting with the jaw of a hovering Wraith.
CRACK.
The Wraith smashed into the floorboards. I followed up instantly.
"Pyro-Burst!"
I slammed my fist into the ground. A geyser of fire erupted, consuming the Wraith before it could regenerate.
"You're slow," Vikram critiqued, landing gracefully and adjusting his tie. "And you're overheating the room. My hair product is melting."
"I'm literally on fire, Vikram! Cut me some slack!" I yelled, blasting a skeleton that tried to grab his leg.
We were back-to-back in the center of the auditorium. The students had fled to the exits, but the purple barrier was sealed tight. Riya was somewhere in the rafters, sniping ghouls with throwing knives she apparently kept in her maid apron.
The Necromancer hovered above the stage, looking annoyed.
"Impressive," he droned. "A raw Elemental and a genetically enhanced soldier. But you are merely delaying the inevitable."
He raised both hands. The purple mist swirling around the room darkened. It began to condense, forming spears of solid shadow. Hundreds of them.
"Death Rain," the Necromancer whispered.
"Barrier!" Vikram shouted. He pulled a small metal disc from his pocket and threw it on the ground. Astra-Tech.
A blue hexagon shield expanded around us.
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD.
The shadow spears hammered against the shield. The blue light flickered and cracked.
"It won't hold!" Vikram gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his face. "He's targeting the support pillars! If the roof collapses, everyone still trapped inside dies."
I looked up. He was right. The spears weren't just aiming at us; they were shredding the auditorium's structure. A massive concrete beam directly above the exit—where a group of terrified first-years were huddled—gave a groan.
It cracked.
"The kids!" I screamed.
I moved to run, but Agni was heavy. My feet sank into the melted floor. I was a tank, not a jet.
"I'll get them," Vikram said.
He didn't wait. He sprinted out of the safety of the shield.
"Vikram, wait!"
He was fast. Inhumanly fast. He reached the students just as the multi-ton concrete beam broke free.
He didn't try to catch it. He shoved the students out of the way with a violent push.
CRASH.
The beam slammed into the ground. Dust billowed up.
"Vikram!" I roared.
The dust cleared.
Vikram was alive. Barely.
He had managed to roll, but not far enough.
The concrete beam had pinned his right leg.
He screamed—a raw, jagged sound I had never heard from the "Perfect Prince."
The Necromancer laughed. "A noble sacrifice. How boring."
He pointed a finger at the trapped Vikram.
A massive spear of purple energy began to form in the air. A finishing move.
"No..." I scrambled forward, but the distance was too great. The Agni form was powerful, but it was heavy. Every step felt like moving through molasses. I could burn the spear, but I couldn't reach him in time.
I'm too slow. I'm too angry. I'm just burning energy.
I looked at Vikram. He looked at me. His eyes weren't arrogant anymore. They were afraid.
"Freedom," Riya's voice echoed in my memory. "You can't be the Wind while you're anchored."
I was anchored by my anger at the Necromancer. I was anchored by the fear of death.
I needed to let go.
I didn't need to destroy the enemy. I just needed to be there.
I closed my eyes.
I stopped feeding the fire.
WHOOSH.
The flames around me died instantly. The heat vanished.
The sudden cold was shocking.
< WARNING: AGNI DISENGAGED. >
< USER HEART RATE DROPPING. >
< MENTAL STATE: DETACHED. >
I opened my eyes. I didn't look at the Necromancer. I looked at the empty space between me and Vikram.
It wasn't distance. It was just air. And air flows.
"System," I whispered. "Vayu."
The bracelet didn't resist this time. It spun smoothly, the dial turning green.
< ACCESS GRANTED. >
< AVATAR: VAYU. >
The sensation wasn't heat. It was Weightlessness.
Gravity seemed to lose its grip on me. My feet lifted off the ground. The sounds of the battle—the screaming, the crumbling rocks—faded into a distant hum.
The Necromancer fired the purple spear. It moved like a bullet toward Vikram's chest.
To me, it looked like it was moving through water.
I took a step.
There was no friction. I didn't push off the ground; I pushed off the air itself.
ZOOM.
A sonic boom shattered the remaining windows.
One millisecond, I was in the center of the room.
The next millisecond, I was standing in front of Vikram.
I didn't block the spear. I didn't need to.
I grabbed Vikram by his collar.
"Hold on," I said. My voice sounded like a whispering breeze.
I moved.
The world blurred into streaks of color.
The purple spear struck the concrete where Vikram had been a split second ago, exploding harmlessly.
We were already on the other side of the auditorium, perched on the high balcony.
I set Vikram down. He gasped, clutching his crushed leg. He looked around, disoriented.
"What... just happened? Did you... teleport?"
I looked at myself.
My skin was translucent, shimmering like a mirage. My hair was gone—replaced by a trailing mist of white wind that flowed behind me. My feet weren't touching the floor.
"No," I said, feeling lighter than I ever had in my life. "I just walked."
I looked down at the Necromancer.
He was looking at the empty spot where Vikram used to be, confused. He spun around, searching.
"Where did you go, rat?" the Necromancer hissed.
I stepped off the balcony. I didn't fall. I walked on the air, descending slowly toward the stage.
"Hey, Mist-Face," I called out.
The Necromancer looked up. His eyes widened as he saw the green aura pulsing around me.
"You were fast enough to hit a tank," I said, vanishing and reappearing right behind him.
I tapped him on the shoulder.
He spun around, slashing with his claws, but he only sliced through my afterimage.
"But can you hit the wind?"