The silence that followed the double impact was broken only by the muffled sound of the twins' bodies nearly meeting the sandy ground of the arena, along with their heavy breathing. Luna's jaw throbbed with agonizing pain at that moment, mixed with a metallic taste sliding down her throat as her blood began to stain the lower flesh of her lips. On the other side, the ringing in Luan's ears was like the sharp chorus of a thousand cicadas screaming all at once inside his head.
Both had their senses impaired for a brief fraction of a second before getting back up.
When they stood, the expressions on their faces had changed. It was as if they weren't thinking about anything anymore, or simply didn't want to think at all in that moment, just act, obeying their bodies' desire for a fight that would push them beyond their limits.
Luan and Luna returned to their fighting stances, still slightly dizzy.
Even so, they both managed to attack at the same time.
In that moment, during that long exchange of blows, the idea of holding back against techniques that were evolving right before everyone's eyes became irresistible. It didn't even cross their minds.
Luna attacked as well, executing a move, after having perfectly performed another.
There in the arena, the siblings were so focused it felt as if their concentration itself had taken on a presence of its own. And that presence kept growing stronger with every impact between their strikes. It was almost as if three people were fighting there.
At times, the sand itself would rise with their sweeps. At others, it clung to their bodies, sticking to sweat and blood.
It was as if, driven by them, the sand also wanted to strike, joining their bodies to become a weapon through their skin.
Because they were used to falling, neither of them stayed down when knocked over. They rolled and got back up as quickly as they fell.
To them, the world around had vanished.
Now they were fighting on the tatami where they had grown up, but their master wasn't there. The walls had disappeared from their sight. Only the mat and the strikes remained.
Their feet, touching the ground, supported them, urging them to stay standing.
Luna dodged her brother's strike, seizing the opening she found, and after spinning her body to gain momentum, delivered a blow straight to the center of Luan's chest.
Luan rolled across the ground to minimize the impact of hitting the sand.
He closed the distance to his sister with a cartwheel, and as his hands touched the ground, he swung his left leg in an arc, then brought his right leg down toward her.
He followed with repeated attacks, knees and elbows, shifting between offense and defense as needed.
Each time he blocked her strikes with his elbow, he countered with rapid sequences of backfist blows.
Two of the hits she took to the face forced her to retreat, creating space to recover from the barrage.
In the few seconds she had to regain herself, she already saw her brother rushing in with a kick aimed at her waist.
With barely any time to react, her reflexes made her drop low, sweeping with a much lower-than-usual motion aimed at Luan's supporting foot, making him lose balance and fall.
When Luan's back hit the sand, his sister was already attacking with a spinning kick from the outside in, forming an arc to strike him from above.
Realizing this, he twisted his back against the ground, scraping and tearing his skin beneath his clothes, using the motion to launch multiple kicks while rising and blocking Luna's attack.
Driven by adrenaline, he used the momentum to propel himself upward, pushing off the ground with both hands like a spring. He launched himself higher than usual and performed a spinning high kick, turning three times in the air before striking his sister's neck.
At the moment Luna was hit, it was as if her feet left the ground completely, as she was thrown across the arena.
A few seconds later, when Luan finally came to his senses, the instructor had already raised his hand and declared the fight over, naming young Luan the winner.
"What…?" — Luan
"L-Luna?" — Luan
Luan ran to his sister's unconscious body, crying, shouting, calling her name over and over.
When the medical team entered to provide assistance, Luan began struggling against them, refusing to let anyone touch her.
The lead doctor looked at the instructor for guidance and received permission. He signaled the rest of the team, and they all covered their bodies with Justa Ira in the White Stage.
The doctor who had asked for permission enveloped his entire body in Justa Ira at the Dark-White Stage.
"Hold him." — Doctor
"Let me go, I need to stay with my sister!" — Luan shouted as two medics restrained him.
The rest of the team was already carrying Luna away to the room for defeated combatants, where she would receive treatment.
"This won't hurt, but it might cause some nausea." — Doctor
The doctor in the Dark-White Stage moved so fast that Luan couldn't even see it, let alone dodge.
As the doctor's fingers touched the center of Luan's forehead, he guided a small amount of Justa Ira into Luan's brain, making him lose consciousness instantly.
"Turn Off." — Doctor
"Take him to the winners' treatment room. When he wakes up, move him to the waiting room until the final stage begins." — Doctor
Once everything was settled, the instructor raised his voice again:
"Winner: Luan!" — Instructor
"Team Twelve must choose the next competitors. You have thirty seconds, starting now." — Instructor
Turn Off:
A technique used exclusively by those with great control over Justa Ira, usually medical practitioners. It consists of directing a specific amount of energy into a targeted area of the body. If the target has little or no Justa Ira, the technique is easy to apply, though it still requires precision and control. If the target possesses more Justa Ira than the user, the applied energy must exceed the target's to break through. Once penetration occurs, the speed must increase and remain constant until the higher energy affects the intended area.