The Stone Hand and the Digital Painter
Elana pulled her fist back. Slowly, her hand hardened, resembling the mineral layers that make up the planet's crust, and turned into grey stone. As Rowan approached, Elana swung her hand. At the same time, Rowan took out a stylus pen from the socket on his tablet and quickly scratched the nib on the screen of his tablet. As Elana's fist approached Rowan, a giant hand suddenly appeared from the arena floor, blocking Elana's attack. Without having time to withdraw her fist, Elana's fist collided with the giant hand, producing a blast of energy that sent her crashing to the ground.
Rowan didn't waste the opportunity. He quickly scribbled with his stylus pen again, conjuring up a large net that floated down towards Elana. Elana looked up and in a flash, somersaulted backward, narrowly avoiding the net's onslaught. However, another attack came from behind Elana. This time, the giant hand swiftly moved towards Elana, and ready to grab her. Unable to dodge, Elana faced the attack head-on. Determined not to be overpowered as before, Elana clenched her fingers together, swung both hands at the giant hand, and instantly dispersed it.
After the failed attack, Elana and Rowan were silent for a moment, looking at each other. From their gazes, Lex saw the mutual admiration between them after the short but gruelling battle. Neither made a move to continue the fight, they waited, each looking for an opening in the other's defence.
Their intense battle had once again captivated the audience. Lex, unfamiliar with Rowan and Elana's identities, overheard murmurs from the crowd referring to Rowan as the Digital Painter and Elana as the Stone Hand. Apparently, these two fighters were already renowned for their abilities, and Lex was the only one lacking knowledge about the Xenova fighters.
Lex turned his attention back to the arena. He watched as Elana stood, facing Rowan, and initiated a conversation with her examiner.
"Why are you so quiet, Row?" Elana asked, "Is a prospective student like me causing doubts for the third best student in Archos?"
Rowan smirked and glanced at a red-haired young man on the sidelines. He was Miro, Rowan's best friend and Elana's older brother. Rowan and Miro exchanged eye contact for a few seconds, as if a long conversation had taken place between them. Before long, Miro nodded, and Rowan responded with a nod. Then, Rowan turned around and walked to the boundary line of the arena.
"I lose." Rowan stepped out of the boundary line, surprising everyone, Elana included.
Elana hadn't anticipated that Rowan, who moments ago was determined to give his all in the fight, would suddenly change his mind. No one knew what had led him to this decision, except that Miro must have been behind Rowan's decision.
"That's weird," Elana approached Lex and took a seat beside him.
"Who's the red-haired guy over there?" Lex asked.
Elana glanced briefly and then looked away. "My annoying brother."
"It seems Rowan followed your brother's wishes," Lex said.
Elana shrugged. "Miro is always hard to predict."
Their attention shifted back to the arena, where an examiner and a candidate entered. Another match commenced, with participants discovering their fates one by one. Among them, one participant stood out, the robot man from Planet Legarus, who is currently being tested in the arena.
The tall, stout robot man rolled like a wheel toward his examiner. The examiner attempted to block the attack with rubber rockets from the front, but suddenly the robot man bounced upward, then swiftly dove, knocking out the examiner in an instant.
The robot man stood up with his arms raised, to the cheers of a thunderous crowd. The incredible prowess displayed by him, who was able to immobilise his opponent in a matter of seconds, left the audience in awe.
"Dom, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Legarus. They say he inherited his father's abilities," Elana said.
Lex looked at Elana in admiration. "You're like a walking library."
"Well, ever since we were little, my father has always filled me and Miro with knowledge. Sometimes it was boring, but most of the time, it was fun to learn about things," Elana replied, then turned her gaze to the front. "Look at that."
Lex followed her gaze. Liz had donned an elastic metal suit and was walking into the arena. Instantly, his heart raced. Anxiety and fear mixed in his mind. He glanced at his grandmother, who looked at him full of hope. Lex knew he couldn't back down, no matter what. Lex wasn't afraid of losing, but what he was afraid of was disappointing his grandmother.
After putting on the suit for the entrance exam, Lex stepped into the arena. He was determined to pass this test, even though he knew that he would face a tough challenge.
"Hey!"
Lex halted and turned around.
"What's your weapon?" Elana asked.
"Just scrap metal my grandma found on Sombrero, my home planet," Lex replied, briefly.
Elana was slightly taken aback. Everyone knew Sombrero was an uninhabitable planet, a dumping ground for trash and recycling. Finding a weapon on Sombrero? It was probably just a broken piece of junk. However, was Lex really using a piece of scrap metal as his weapon? It was hard to believe.
Despite the doubt in her eyes, Elana tried to smile, giving support to her new friend. "You will make it, Lex."
Lex nodded, wordlessly turning back and heading to the arena. Once there, the match supervisor scanned the surroundings.
"Show us your weapons," the match supervisor requested.
Lex extended his arm, his fingers stretched out before him. Almost magically, a tiny pinprick of light materialized right at the center of his palm. Slowly, but surely, that minuscule point began to expand, its radiance intensifying as it elongated, forming a luminescent strand that reached a remarkable length of 2.5 meters. The ever-expanding light seemed to wrap something within its luminous embrace, a secret held within its glow. As the light faded, it revealed something that surprised everyone.