Chapter 15
The intercollegiate tournament finally arrives, and the air around the arena feels heavier than anything at the Academy. Every hallway holds scouts in nice clothes pretending they are just spectators. Every conversation sounds like a calculation. The round of thirty two is about to begin. Seedings are posted screens throughout the grounds. One through sixteen on each side of the bracket, and students hover around screens to find their names.
Sonny is a fifteen seed. Ellie is a nine seed. Bull lands as the ten seed on Ellie’s side. Sonny is on opposite sides of the bracket, which means he won’t face either unless reach the finals.
Ellie reads Sonny’s seed twice, then looks at his first opponent. A two seed named James from Bronzeland University. She exhales through her nose. Of course. She knows he is strong but she can’t help herself from being nervous for him.
After the opening ceremony, the contestants file into the stadium as their names are announced. The crowd cheers louder for the top seeds, but the underdogs still get their share of noise.
Sonny’s match is one of the first scheduled. Him and his opponent prepare for their match.
Ellie sits with her family in anticipation for Sonny’s match. Jon leans back with his arms crossed. He is keen yet skeptical on watching Sonny fight.
"That guy has no chance," Jon says. "That Bronzeland University kid is serious. James is the real deal. If he keeps growing, he has a shot at Top Fifteen someday."
Ellie keeps her eyes on the ring. "That guy’s name is Sonny. Let’s make a bet."
Jon turns, amused. "You serious?"
"If Sonny wins," Ellie says, "you pay for all my meals while we’re here. If James wins, I will pay for yours."
Jon raised an eyebrow. “That is too good to pass up. Why are you so confident?"
Ellie shakes her head slightly. "Because people keep making the same mistake. They underestimate him once, and then they never do it again. I know firsthand."
Jon snorts. "Ether is for healers. You can’t fight with it."
Ellie keeps her voice low. "I don’t understand it either. That’s the point."
In the ring, the two fighters face each other. James from BU looks composed. He is an earth user with powerful energy control, and he carries himself like someone who is used to winning.
He lifts a hand, and rock spreads across his body, forming a layered suit of stone armor, similar to Bull’s tactic.
The announcer’s voice booms. "Begin."
James charges first, using energy to close distance fast.
His armored fist swings in a heavy arc meant to end the fight early. Sonny steps to the side by a breath. James follows with a second strike, then a third, mixing raw energy speed with the weight of stone. The blows would crush a normal body. Sonny does not let a single one land clean.
He pivots, parries with his forearm, slips inside James’s reach, then exits before the counter comes. His movement is efficient, like he is walking through a route only he can see.
Jon’s eyes are locked in on the match. "Okay. He has nice agility."
James grunts in frustration and shifts tactics. He reinforces his armor and drives forward again, trying to box Sonny in with pressure. Sonny lets him.
At the edge of the ring, Sonny plants his feet and raises an open palm. James braces. Sonny strikes. The palm lands on stone. The impact is controlled, not flashy, but the armor cracks like a plate under a hammer. Lines race across James’s chest and shoulder, and the sound echoes through the arena. The crowd reacts with a burst of noise. James stumbles back, stunned, then snarls and repairs the cracked armor with a quick surge of earth.
He breathes hard, eyes locked on Sonny. "Fine." James ramps his energy, pushing into a higher output. His speed jumps. His strikes come faster. His armor becomes a weapon.
For a moment, the two are evenly matched in raw speed and physicality. The difference is not power. It is experience.
James swings, and Sonny is already out of line. James kicks, and Sonny is already outside the space where the kick can’t reach. James tries to grab, and Sonny shifts his shoulder just enough to slip away. James still cannot land a hit. Sonny watches, waiting.
Then James overcommits. It is small. A fraction of a second where his weight shifts too far forward. Sonny takes it. He steps in and deploys Ether Jab. Condensed ether envelopes Sonny’s forearm, so sharp, yet dense. It looks like heat shimmering off metal.
In one swift motion, he drives the strike through the cracked point in James’s armor and into James’s torso, careful and precise, then recoils his arm. The ether sears the wound as it enters, leaving little blood.
James’s eyes widen. His legs give out. He collapses to the floor, breath knocked loose, body refusing to cooperate.
The referee raises a hand. "Match over."
The arena goes silent, like the crowd forgets how to react. Then Sonny kneels beside James.
Jon’s mouth opens. "What is he doing?"
Sonny places his palm near the open stab wound caused from his jab and channels ether with controlled precision. The bleeding stops, the damage stabilizes, and the wound begins to heal. Medics rush in and take over.
Sonny stands and walks away without celebrating. The silence in the crowd finally breaks into a wave of shocked noise.
Ellie turns her head slightly toward Jon. "You’re buying my meals."
Jon stares at the ring like it betrays him. "That was… unbelievable. You’re telling me that quick jab was condensed ether?"
Ellie’s parents look between Ellie and the empty space where Sonny leaves. They are confused, impressed, and unsettled all at once.
After the match, Ellie and her family track Sonny down in the hallway outside the arena.
Ellie’s father speaks first. "Sonny, that was incredible and terrifying. Congratulations."
Sonny bows politely. "Thank you for your kind words."
Jon steps closer, still trying to make sense of it. "How do you move like that? And that jab. How?"
Sonny answers simply. "Years of hard training and battle experience."
Jon looks like he wants to argue, but he can’t find the words.
Ellie touches Sonny’s sleeve. "Can we talk tomorrow morning before my match?"
Sonny gives a short nod. "Sure."
He looks at Ellie’s family again. "Thank you for attending my match." Then he adds, like it is a normal errand. "I must leave you to go train."
Ellie’s father blinks. "Right after that big upset win?”
Sonny gives him a soft smile. "I want to keep winning."
He walks away. Jon watches him leave, and something shifts in his expression. Curiosity replaces ridicule.
Later, Sonny returns briefly to the dorm. Bull is there, sitting on his bed, still in disbelief. "I watched you on TV," Bull says. "That was the first time I’ve actually seen you manifest ether like that."
Sonny begins packing a few items for training. "Ether is versatile."
Bull leans forward. "Teach me."
Sonny stops and looks at him. "No."
Bull’s brows lift. "Why not?"
Sonny’s voice stays calm. "Because it’s not a path anyone should go down. You wouldn’t be able to handle it."
Bull opens his mouth to argue, but Sonny is already at the door. Sonny leaves, and Bull is left staring at the empty space, still hearing the crack of stone and the silence that follows.
The tournament continues, with Ellie’s and Bull’s respective matches waiting for tomorrow.
