Song: Ignite Alan Walker
This song fills me with optimism and strength.

I had a dreamless sleep that night.

By the time I reached the stadium for the finals match, there was a definite change in the atmosphere.

The entire stadium was jampacked with the audience. I could see even our staff members. I recognized principal Beckett among the stands; her stern expression betraying the definitive nervousness that she felt.

I walked into the locker room and gazed at the other end of the stadium. To my surprise, I saw that it was sparsely populated. About two dozen people were lounging leisurely. I wondered if our opponent academy hadn't brought audience with them. I made my way into the changing room, and my stomach clenched uncomfortably at sight in front of me.

The rest of the team had already reached, sitting quietly in different places, in solitude. Justin had his eyes closed as if in prayer. Benedict and Hector stood on opposite sides of the locker, gazing at the floor. Maddison was resting her head against the locker, her eyes closed. Aris, Elijah, and Hector sat on the benches, unmoving.

They looked up as I entered but didn't say anything. I was terrified of what could go down on the ground today. I was horrified by the idea that some strangers would be able to make me envision my deepest fears and finally asked the question I had been willing for long.

"Will they be able...to see our fears too?"

I asked the room at large. It was Hector who answered, "Nope," I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding as he continued. "They aren't able to see your fears, but they are able to show them to you."

From what I had read about illusionists, they were scarce. Especially among Nuvues. The ones that had been more frequent were humans endowed with the ability.

For most Nuvues, illusion did remain a secondary ability, although it was too weak to actually be of any use.

After a quarter of an hour, Elijah rose from his spot and took a deep breath. "Victoreefchi," he said simply before nodding and taking his mallet as he walked out.

The lack of his usual speech seemed to rattle the team's nerves even worse. I gulped, my fear mounting higher. I closed my eyes, picturing Geoffrey on the field. I pictured throwing the orbs of light on him. I imagined his skin burning to reveal his ghastly insides.

We walked onto the field after a few minutes, the cacophony of noises doing nothing to ease my nervousness. I looked over curiously at the opponent's stand and was surprised to see that they still had the same number of people cheering. We stood in a formation as the opposing team approached as.

"Those bastards are trying to undermine us by sending fewer students to the audience from their school," Elijah said, gritting his teeth. "They are trying to intimidate us by acting overly confident. Let's let them know that it won't work."

The team nodded as their captain, a tall guy with sharp black eyes moved over to us. He smiled at Elijah, giving him a little two-fingered salute, which Elijah returned reluctantly. I took a deep breath, my heart thudding in my chest. I could feel the illusionists' eyeing me, and I suddenly felt vulnerable. Naked.

"Three...two..."

The referee started the game with the now-familiar short whistle blasts. Maddison took hold of the ball and started towards the opponent's side. For a while it looked like she was doing well. Justin and Aris ran off after her for support while Hector and I took our position in the defense.

I was stunned to see that none of the illusionists were moving. Just when Maddison was about to cross over to her side although, she shrieked and covered her face with her hands. The mallet dropping onto the ground as the whistle rang sharply, indicating a foul.

I looked over at the dark-haired girl who was staring at Maddison with an intensity that made my blood crawl. Justin moved over to her, talking to her in low voices. Her face was ashen, her shoulders shaking, her usually sparkling eyes devoid of any joy.

I shuddered to think about what she had seen.

The illusionists had too much power.

They took their free-hit, making their way towards the middle of our field. Benedict, who was supporting Elijah suddenly became stock still, gaping as he was left alone to tackle the incoming offender. The red-haired guy who had the ball moved towards Elijah, raising a hand as Elijah suddenly became still.

For a while, I thought that the guy would pass by him, but at the last moment, Elijah seemed to come to his senses and cut off his attack. The red-haired guy cursed but looked mildly impressed.

The game went on in a deadlock for a long while. Frequent shrieks and screams from our side were slowly reducing the team's spirits. Silence had fallen over our side of the school as everyone watched the deathly quiet game.

The sharp whistles screeched into the air as the first third came to an end. My heart fell as I saw everyone's slumped shoulders and pale faces. We hadn't conceded yet, but the spirit of our team was spiraling downwards. Their mind games were preying heavily on our offenders.

The second third of the game began. Each time that Maddison, Justin, or Isaiah tried to attack, they stopped in their tracks, horrified. None of their fears were visible to us, but their trembling bodies made it impossible for them to concentrate.

It felt like the illusionists were in no hurry to score a goal anytime soon. However, they were clearly enjoying toying with everyone's minds. The second third ended in a deadlock, and we huddled in the corner of the ground. Maddison broke down, tears falling down her face as Justin embraced her, trying to calm her down even as her shoulders trembled.

He was pale, his eyes glassy. Isaiah looked in a better state than either of them, but it seemed like fighting the illusions was taking a lot out of him.

"This is not going to work," Elijah said. He sighed in frustration, his face pale. "They are waiting until the last moment to strike. They are draining us all mentally."

Benedict shuddered, "This seems like an impossible game."

"No," Aris said, straightening up. He had remained in the middle ground, which meant that it was harder for the illusionists to reach him. "We change positions. Beer on keeper duty. Maddison, Justin, and Benedict on defense. Elijah, Hunt and I on the offensive. We are in a much better state than them."

They protested for a while, but seeing their state; it was clear that Aris' idea was the only way to go. I wasn't too keen on going on the offense, my mind seizing up as I pictured the all too familiar bloodshot eyes and receding hairline.

"If everyone is okay with it-" Elijah said, addressing me indirectly. "That seems to be the course of action."

There were murmurs of assent. We still had another fifteen minutes to go, but the end of the championship seemed to be too far away.

We switched positions with Aris at the center with Elijah and me on his left and right side, respectively. The game began, the ball with the Illusionists. The red-haired guy who had attacked Elijah before sped forward with a cocky smirk, however, Benedict intercepted him with a shrewd maneuver and sent the ball to me. I passed it to Elijah as we charged forwards, the stadium turning into a rush of colours around me. Three of their defenders were blocking the way.

I could feel some stranger's gaze on me and realized that the illusionists were targeting me directly. And then, I saw him.

I pulled my horse's leash hard, making him rear wildly. I stopped, staring at the familiar devil. He wasn't smiling, nor glaring. His face was empty. Expressionless. His eyes were the only exception. A pool of malice. Everything around me disappeared. I was alone on the ground in the clutches of the devil.

Rationality left my brain as bone-chilling terror penetrated my senses. My heart hammered wildly in my chest, my brain refusing to function.

I just want to play.

My breath came out rattled when I heard his voice as if from beside me. My whole body was trembling. Shuddering. I couldn't go on. I couldn't breath. Fear paralyzed me.

I could feel my eyes tearing up as I buried my face into the horse's mane, trying to block out the visions. The noises. The memories.

And then there was darkness.

I don't know how long I remained hidden. My vision darkened as I fell to the earth with a crash and realized that the entire stadium had been plunged into darkness. I could hear whispers that told me that this was one illusion that was visible to everyone. My blood was ice as I stood stranded in the dark. The darkness was absolute- suffocating. Shrouding. It was terrifying, nightmarish darkness. And suddenly, my comprehension returned to me.

Aris.

I remembered his reaction back at my home. The darkness there hadn't been nearly as absolute as the one that we were experiencing now. I glanced around, trying like a fool to see in the dark. It was then that I felt a cold, clammy, claw-like hand on my forearm in a vice-like grip. A touch I knew horrifyingly well.

Something unhinged inside me as screamed out, "NO!"

I wasn't sure if I had shouted, or merely thought.

And then there was light.

All the fear left my brain as I felt the warmth of the light inside my very core. Growing stronger. Stronger.

I gazed at my arms in wonder and saw silver vein-like structures encasing me in a web. The light seemed to glow around me, from me. I felt a surge of infinite powers. I felt invincible. Like I could do anything. I gazed upwards and closed my eyes as the light proliferated. I willed for the darkness to be dispelled. I needed it to be banished. And the stars listened to me.

All of a sudden, the darkness disappeared as the illusion fell away to reveal blinding daylight.

And I was the light.

There were terrified gasps, yells, shouts. But I was immune to everything. I looked in front of me, where one of the illusionists was staring at me with a horrified expression.

I smirked.

I knew I had won.

Inpite of all my fear, I still held the mallet in my hands, perhaps my body had simply been too paralyzed to react in any way. I shot through the grounds, feeling the power surge through me in a spinning tornado. I knew there was no force on earth that could stop me at that instance. I shot the ball cleanly into the net. Facing no resistance from the feeble universe.

My score was registering neatly as the scoreboard read one to zero in our favour.

There were still three minutes of play left, but to my surprise, the captain of the illusionists shook his head, dismounting his horse as they symbolically declared the match.

A deafening roar rang throughout the stadiums that seemed to shake the very sky itself. Euphoria coursed through me as I gazed at the spot where I had seen Geoffrey a while ago. But he couldn't touch me now.
Not when the stars were on my side.

The rest of the team dismounted their horses as did I, walking towards me with awed expressions. Aris walked over to me, and I heaved a sigh of relief to see that he seemed okay. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, his body trembling, and his chest falling and rising rapidly. He looked shaken but otherwise, alright. I stared at him, unsure of what to do. He walked over to me, and before I knew it, I felt him wrap me in a warm embrace.

"Thanks for coming through, Sunshine." He said, his voice thick with emotion.

Euphoria. Sadness. Relief. A conundrum of feeling coursed through me as I relaxed into his warm embrace. I stood still for a while, feeling strangely comforted by the unfamiliar gesture, and slowly hugged him back. And suddenly, all those days of animosity between us was forgotten.

I breathed his scent, gripping onto him tightly. My heart raced, as if electrified by the feel of another so near it. I could feel his warm breath near my ear. I stroked his back, trying to calm his trembling figure. It struck me that he smelled like the earth. Like freshly cut grass. Like comfort.

Like home.

Like I hadn't realized how much I had missed him till I finally had him back. The flood of emotions in my chest a catastrophic storm.

I had always had trouble with physical gestures. I seemed to crave them, but at the same time was terrified of them. But how could I be terrified of Aureus Greenwood? It was him. The cocky, infuriating guy who had broken my walls.

Nothing was terrifying when the entire team rushed forward to join our embrace. A tangle of arms, a gaggle if laughter and a sea of emotions flooded around me, and I went overboard, but reveled every second of it.

People shook me, slapped my back, congratulated me. It slowly sunk into me that we had won the tournament. Days, weeks, months of ups and downs, and we had finally won it.

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to drown in the jubilance of the moment, the rising euphoria that seemed to penetrate my very bones and fill me with warmth. I felt powerful. Strong. Accomplished. Victorious. Happy.

Alive.

And at that moment, the image of the devil dissolved into insignificant shreds of ash.