Running through the forest, Shoto was ahead leading Wilson and Saruei as the two were getting tired, forcing Shoto to slow down and come to a halt. 

Shoto: "Why are we stopping?"

Wilson: "It's because... we're tired..."

Saruei: "My legs hurt a bit as well..."

Shoto then sighed, realizing that they won't make it to where Calli and Lukas are at this point.

Shoto: "Great. Just fucking great. What the hell are we supposed to do when Misaki is in trouble!?"

Saruei: "I get it... We want to try and get there too... However... We can't exactly keep up right now..."

Wilson: "Yeah man.... If we continue now... We might collapse before we can even see the finale."

Shoto gritted his teeth, knowing that he might have to travel on his own, however with how tired the other two are, he can't risk it. 

Shoto: "Fine. We'll rest for the time being, but I need your little drone thingy to be our eyes in the sky to watch over the current fight alright?"

Wilson: "Got it~"

Wilson then sent his little drone out into the sky as it went invisible. 

Saruei: "With that done now.... What the hell do we do now..?"

???: "Glad to see I found some others."

The three were confused on who just showed up, only to be revealed as Zai who was standing on top of one of the branches.

Wilson: "Oh my god.... It's Kukyona Sonzai!"

Shoto: "I can see that Wilson."

Saruei: "Hey there Zai!"

Zai then leapt down from the branch as he approached them, being rather relaxed. 

Shoto: "What have you been doing when we needed you..?"

Sonzai: "Well to be honest, I was just helping out others I encountered along the way. Helped out a fair amount of 1A, 1B and 1C students while I'm at it. By the way, what do you mean when you needed me?"

Zai was a little confused on what Shoto meant as Saruei answered for the others.

Saruei: "In truth... We ended up in a little scuffle..."

Sonzai: "Scuffle?"

Zai blinked a few times, trying to understand, though at this point Shoto could tell that Zai is being quite dense at the moment.

Shoto: "What she means is that one of your classmates tried to kill us!"

Shoto yelled at Zai, trying to finally get the message across, making Zai realize what Shoto meant.

Sonzai: "Oh~ So you mean Calli?"

Saruei: "Afraid so..."

Sonzai: "Which direction did she head?"

Wilson: "Oh that way."

Wilson then pointed in the direction where Calli went as Zai then picked up on something while looking. He could've sworn that the power he was feeling is rather familiar, but then again, a lot of things have been falling out of place recently. 

Sonzai: "Alright, I'll go investigate and deal with the issue."

Saruei: "Zai."

Before Zai could walk away, Saruei immediately grabbed him by the arm, making him look at Saruei's eyes as he could noticed a glimpse of an emotion he wasn't expecting, fear.

Saruei: "Calliope is after Lukas, possibly trying to kill him. Just bring him back alive alright?"

Zai very much got the idea as he simply nodded, reassuring Saruei that he will do his best to prevent Lukas' death. So when Saruei let go, he began to make a sprint as fast as he could, trying to reach the frozen lake in time.

While with Lukas and Calli, their fight has been going on for some time now as Lukas was somehow gaining an upper hand in this fight. All the time when Calli attempted her attacks against him, he was constantly shifting into flames that somehow seemed reminiscent to from her knowledge, Kiara's kind of style of fighting when Kiara was able to master her Phoenix capabilities. Though he seemed more agile and more composed in comparison to how Kiara would fight, Calli was still keeping up her aggression, sacrificing her defences.

Though as the fight continued, Lukas has shown to improve as he fought. Not only dodging her scythe, but also improving his own fighting style in general as his strikes became more effective over time. Yet the two eventually came to a halt, though while Calli was regenerating her wounds, which began to become slower over the course of the fight, Lukas was panting, breathing in and out slowly as he is trying to recover his breaths. 

Calliope: "Damn you... Why are you so hard to kill!?"

Lukas didn't know how to respond to that properly himself. He is unaware of the things he is doing while he was just focused on the fight over all, not really focusing on himself as his body is doing the simple reactions. At least that is what his mind could come up with since he is unsure on how he is improving so quickly.

Lukas: "Well to be honest... I'm not sure myself... Though one thing I can say however... I am definitely improving...."

Calli gritted her teeth in frustration, seeing some of Kiara in him for a moment, making her charge forward, going in for another strike as Lukas again shifted, dodging the strike as Calli simply slipped on the ice, face planting onto the icy floor of the lake, sliding a little bit until coming to a halt. Lukas just simply stood there, unsure on how to respond in this situation as Veladora couldn't help but laugh at this situation.

Veladora: "HAHAHAHA! Oh by the laws of Lady Omega this is way too funny! HAHAHAHA! I can't believe that the Apprentice of Death himself is becoming quite clumsy! HAHAHAHA!"

Lukas *Thoughts*: "Can you keep it down please...? I'm trying to focus here... And I don't find that funny... I find it more.... Awkward..."

Calli then slowly got up, turning around with more fury as Lukas began to sweat a little, making him realize that he might be screwed here.

Calliope: "Tch... YOU MOCKING ME MISAKI!?"

Lukas then waved his hands in front of himself, shaking his head frantically as he was trying to defend himself.

Lukas: "No no no no! You got it all wrong! I'm not insulting you I-"

Calli then charged again without warning, appearing behind him this time, showing even more speed than before. Lukas managed to shift in time, but when he appeared normal again, he felt slightly different as he fell to one knee, coughing a bit as bits of blood was leaving his mouth onto the icy lake floor. Lukas was confused on what was going on as his mind was trying to come up with a solution.

Veladora: "Wait... I think I know what's happening..."

Lukas: "W-What...?"

Veladora: "Your body is constantly shifting into Fire Essence while also returning to your original form, however it seems to be messing with your internal body. So if you keep doing this, you might end up causing more damage to yourself than Calliope would be doing to you. So I think... You need to figure out a way to end this fight, or you're completely screwed...~"

Lukas then got up, realizing the situation as in truth, he was scared. He was afraid of dying that much is obvious to himself. Yet something inside himself is filling him with determination to continue and win. He does have a gut feeling that it is his darkness that is egging him on to try and win this fight, but yet again, he isn't sure if he is going to trust it as much. Sure it helped him find out a new way of utilizing his Fire Magic, but all it is doing is hurting himself while Calli is still being able to regenerate faster than he can dish out the damage.

Calliope: "You seem to be running out of gas Misaki, if that is how some of the Humans put it. I'm giving you one last chance Misaki, surrender now, and I'll make sure you won't suffer."

Lukas then coughed again, but looked at her with a determined look on his face.

Lukas: "Y-You know.... At the beginning of this year... I think I would've accepted that offer... But as time went on... I learnt that it isn't about myself.... My conflicts stay with me no matter what... It is about caring for others.... I have friends I can trust.... People I could see... like family I guess... So, I won't back down... I'll conquer the darkness within myself.... And learn to master the true power of the Omni Magician!"

Calli's eyes widened for a moment, hallucinating for a second as she saw in Lukas' place, Kiara. Calli was confused, though it changed into anger as he kept reminding her of the one person she always had conflicted emotions about. Her feelings were always jumbled and confusing as she had faced that Phoenix for many generations, ever since they first met. Kiara was always persistent, kind and caring, in comparison to her, Calli is always ruthless, always focusing on her job most of the time. Yet she only joined the Academy because she was asked to by Death-Sensei, who thought that she could need some mortal time to understand one's feelings and emotions. 

Yet Calli grits her teeth, more infuriated than ever.

Calliope: "I don't get it..."

Lukas was confused, trying to understand what Calli was getting at.

Calliope: "How does that blasted Kusotori do it.... Why was she so persistent..? And yet you are equally as much!? How are you even able to stand up to someone like me!? The Apprentice of Death-Sensei himself!? You are way too similar to Kusotori!"

Veladora: "Oh~ I think I get it now~ She must be having conflicted emotions about what makes people have feelings~"

Lukas *Thoughts*: "What..?"

Veladora: "As far back as I can remember, this Kusotori she is referring to, is Takanashi Kiara of course. Yet the first time I saw them together along with other times, Kiara was always clingy, fallen for this Reaper. Yet Calliope couldn't ever return those feelings properly because she was always focused on her job. It would seem that over the years, Calliope has grown more affection towards Kiara, yet she doesn't want to admit it as she doesn't understand her own feelings. Love is a bit of a complicated subject...."

Veladora sighed as Lukas was also pretty much inexperienced when it came to romance, but when Lukas was looking at Calli, he noticed that she was kind of tearing up, though it was subtle. 

Lukas: "You're saying.... That you d-don't understand Human emotions...?"

Calliope: "W-What..?"

Calli was caught off guard from that question as usually no one properly understood how she felt about many situations about her life struggles.

Lukas: "I too tend to struggle with reading the room.... I am a bit slow when it comes to reading others' emotions.... Can we talk about it instead of fighting...?"

Lukas was literally questioning himself mentally on why he would ask such a risky question if she was originally intending on killing him. 

Lukas: "I know I am seen as a t-threat to you but... If you open up about yourself more often... I think you might understand what you're going through...?"

Lukas wasn't really sure if he was making any sense or if he was telling a truth as technically, he is being hypocritical towards himself as he doesn't like opening up to others or revealing much about himself. Yet he would like to see others happy around him sometimes or perhaps even see other people go through a better life than he could ever have.

Calli was honestly confused on why Lukas would want to do such a thing since she was obviously trying to kill him, making her wonder if he hit his head or something. 

Calliope: "If I do this, you believe that I can feel better?"

Lukas: "Y-Yes...?"

Calli then sighed, regretting that she was about to do this as she stabbed her scythe into the ice, moving her hand away as she breathed in slowly, relaxing her body as it was a little tense. Lukas kind of got the idea as he sighed in relief, only for his body to immediately collapse on him as his eyes changed from a bright purple to the normal vibrant purple. He fell to both of his knees, clutching onto his chest as he was coughing, feeling the effects of the sudden surge. 

Calli appeared directly right next to him, helping him back up as she tried to control her urge to kill him right now. 

Calliope: "I'm guessing that power of yours that you used had a toll?"

Lukas: "Y-Yeah... I think I need to s-sit..."

Calli then helped him sit down so he could relax a bit, sitting with his legs crossed as both of his hands rested on his knees. He was breathing in and out slowly as cold sweat was flowing down his face a bit. Calli sat down as well, sitting on top of her legs as she sat in the traditional Japanese fashion.

Calliope: "Alright...."

She takes a deep breath, then releasing it as a heavy sigh as she began to explain everything she feels.

Calliope: "Through the many years that I have been a Reaper, I never wanted to affiliate myself with any Mortal things. I always enjoyed my job, collecting the souls and guiding them to where they needed to be, whether that be the Underworld or the Heavens. Death-Sensei tended to offer me guidance to what I might be doing wrong and I take most of his words seriously as he has existed ever since the beginning of Time as Death is necessary within Life Cycles. Yet suddenly one day, I met her. Kuso- I mean, Takanashi Kiara. She was persistent, making me confused on why she always followed me around. She was curing most peoples' problems by the touch of her feathers alone. Her tears could even cure dangerous wounds, preventing their eventual demise. Yet she was attracted to me for so long that I couldn't help but push her away..."

Lukas: "Why...?"

Even though Calli is talking to Lukas about her issues about understand ones' emotions, Lukas was honestly more glad that he somehow managed to divert her from fighting him and into revealing more about herself.

Calliope: "I can't really explain it as the more she hung around me, the more I wanted to push her away. At first I thought it was due to her being a nuisance, but the last time I fought her... I learnt something.... To care about others..."

Lukas did remember that one of the reasons why Calli was fighting him in the first place was to protect others from harm, which makes him think that this was starting to make more sense.

Calliope: "One time Kiara lost control of her power as she went on a rampage, trying to kill others as it was the first time I never.... wanted to try and kill her... Through the many years of her rebirths, I was determined to take her soul as a prize.... Death-Sensei has told me that a Phoenix's soul is immortal, can't be harmed by any means. So no matter what, the soul will forever remain and the Phoenix shall be reborn. I didn't believe that much at the time, but as the more it happened, the more I believed it. Yet I continued to deny it... Our last full scale battle I vowed to try and become someone better.... Understand Humanity so I can understand why Kiara is so persistent..."

Lukas then sighed, thinking on how to answer this now as he started to understand better on where Calli was coming from.

Lukas: "In all honesty... When I thought to be an ordinary Human.... I was never the social type to begin with... To me, first impressions were the most important... I focused on my work... Wanted to make my family proud, it was all that mattered to me... Yet... One day they turned against me, backstabbed me.... My life turned upside down... Making me more recluse, more quiet.... The only coping mechanism I had was drawing and music... So I am not the best person to discuss about... Human emotions.... However, I can say this... Kiara is very persistent because.... She really, really likes you..."

Calli perked up at this, trying to understand what Lukas is saying.

Lukas: "What I mean is like.... Have you ever heard of love?"

Calliope: "I have."

Lukas: "Well, she loves you to the extent that she sees you as something more... I don't know much about you or her but.... I think she was quite infectious towards you... To a degree that she has opened not only your mind, but your heart. I think the best way to look at this is to just go along with everyday life as you see fit... Go with the flow I believe?"

Calliope: "So I must just be myself?"

Lukas: "Well... yes. That is what I'm saying..."

Lukas did feel rather embarrassed while talking about this as he never really gave advice to others that often and even if he did, it never helped him in the long run. 

Calliope: "I think I get it now. I guess I was wrong about you as well."

Lukas: "Huh..?"

Calliope: "You see, I wanted to protect the people I guess I call my friends from your immature nature. Yet I was the one being immature... I usually follow through with things, which sometimes leads me to regret my actions... You have opened my eyes to a wider perspective. And I thank you for that."

Lukas: "So... You're not going to kill me...?"

Calliope: "For now. Consider yourself lucky Misaki."

Lukas then did a nervous chuckle, though in the end, he could feel that his body just decided to give out as he then passed out onto his back, making Calli get up to check up on him.

Calliope: "Oh shit! He must've passed out from exhaustion... I need to get him back to the others and... Apologize..."

She then suddenly heard someone land beside her as turned her head to see Zai.

Sonzai: "So?"

Calliope: "I didn't kill him if that is what you're wondering. He's out cold."

Sonzai: "I can tell there's more to that."

Calliope: "There isn't! Now if you don't mind, why don't you go and help others out?"

Sonzai: "I came by to check up here. To be honest I literally thought you were going to kill him."

Calliope: "I was."

Sonzai: "Then what changed?"

Calliope: "That isn't of your concern Sonzai!"

Zai then backed off a little, chuckling.

Sonzai: "Okay~ Okay~ I get it. I'll get going now~ Take care miss Tsundere~!"

Zai then left the scene very quickly again as Calli felt her face heat up for a moment, she wanted to shout, but resisted the urge to do so. The one thing she is now more aware of that she needs to control, is her own self control. She looked at the unconscious Lukas as she let out a small but genuine smile, one she hasn't felt in a long time.

Calliope: "Thank you for opening my eyes, Lukas."

A/N:

Hey everyone! Sorry for taking a little while on this chapter, however I had things to deal with and since I am now back again. I am getting really close to finishing the first arc of this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see ya in the next update!