This one is really long.

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Icefall City
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

Icefall City's Fourth Quadrant buildings stood before Areisha. Snow covered the roofs and ledges, while fresh ice coated some parts of its streets. The Fourth Quadrant was the main ground for Crystal Breaker, and was temporarily closed for the event.

Back at Icefall Academy's arena, an enhanced crystal sat waiting for them to shatter it into hundreds of pieces. For most of the game, it was each team's task to find special hammers―the only instruments that could be used to break the large gem. They needed to find at least two out of the three said hammers, and at the same time race against the other teams.

It was the final event that she, Knox, River, and Rei had trained for almost every day for three weeks.

Areisha took a deep breath and exhaled, taking out the slight nervousness that took over her. As she tucked away a stray strand of her hair that escaped her ponytail, she felt eyes on the back of her head. A strange shiver run up her spine. Turning on her heels, she found Alec's baby blues staring right at her.

She approached, and once she stood two feet away, she crossed her arms over her chest. "What?"

A smile pulled at the corners of Alec's lips as he shook his head. It made her narrow her eyes up at him.

"Alec Arden," she said with a warning in her tone. Alec gave a sigh.

"I'm just glad that you're leading this team," he said. "I didn't train for this as much as Knox, so...just this once, I'm going to allow you to use me however you please."

Each participant of the Sky Games was limited to only three participations. Knox had joined Knowledge Hunter, one duel, and took Alec's place in Sky Racer. Because of that, Alec filled in Knox's spot for Crystal Breaker.

"'Use' is such a strong word, just you know," she said. "But as much as I want to order you around, I need your quick-thinking in this."

Alec's smile brightened, and he bent to stroke Midnight's head. The Draeling purred and rubbed against Alec's hand. "She said she needs me, Midnight," he said to the baby. "That's a first."

She felt her face and ears heat. "I said I need your quick-thinking. Not you entirely."

Alec continued to act like she said nothing and gave his Draeling all his attention. She glared. Another minute passed before she dropped it and started another conversation. "Why did you choose Midnight?"

All players were allowed to use their Sentiral Powers. To make it fair for Alec, and the rest of them, the officials decided on letting him bring one Draeling.

When she asked, Alec looked up at her and spoke. "First things first, I want it to be clear that I love all three of them equally." She nodded. "Entiny is not as strong as her brothers―and she's easily distracted. Leyan is as lazy as a certain white fur ball that belongs to you. Midnight is aggressive―a little too much for my liking―but he's the best choice out of all three of them."

Midnight tried to bite Alec's finger off. Areisha on the other hand, gave him a blank stare. "I can really feel your love for them oozing out of you," she said. If Alec detected the sarcasm in her voice, he paid no heed to it.

She sighed and decided to turn her attention to River and Rei. The two sat together on the edge of the roof, talking quietly for the past five minutes since they arrived here. She gave them an inquisitive glance. There was something about them that she couldn't quite put a finger on.

She broke from her thoughts when the sound of a horn blared through the air. It was followed by a perky female voice―that caused her brow to twitch in annoyance―telling them to take their positions. The pair near the roof's edged stood, and went to stand next to her and Alec.

"Please open the boxes that were given to you," the announcer said.

Areisha snatched the small rectangular box from Alec's chest pocket. When she opened it, she found their first clue.

"Players, three, two, one," said Ms. Annoyingly-Perky. "Go. Go. Go."

With a roll of her eyes, Areisha read the clue aloud.

"If I was a person and was not as silent as I am now, you'd be wishing to stitch my lips up. For I want to share my knowledge with everyone, and I do not ever want to stop."

There was a brief silence, before Rei broke it. "I thought it would be much more of a challenge."

"It's only going to get harder from here," Areisha said. She folded the paper and reached up to her ear to press the crystal clinging behind it. "Turn on your earpieces. Let's move."

She jumped and slid down the flat roof of the low building and onto the ground. The other three followed, and fell next to her as she ran. "Rei, go and see what the other teams are up to," she said. "We'll head to the Main Library and look for the hammer. Report in anything significant."

"As you wish, my lady," Rei said. With a grin and a wave, Rei steered himself to a road heading for the opposite direction. He was the one who spent the last three weeks pouring over the maps of Icefall, so he would know his way around.

They ran through the streets, avoiding ice covering parts of the cobblestone road. The silent streets were a big contrast to the roaring crowd they had gotten used to the last few days. Still, she was thankful. The lesser the noise, the calmer she was.

"Looks like everyone at the arena can see us now," River said. They looked up to find a green crystal cube hovering above them. It kept flashing, capturing multiple images per second as it fed information to the giant Cube back at the arena.

She ignored it as their feet tore through the empty streets. It was a few minutes later that she felt it. She slowed her run until she fell into a stop. Raising her hand, she signaled the other two to do the same. "Arden," she said. "I think it's time you and Midnight start looking for what we want."

From the corner of his eye, Alec looked to the direction they came from. A slow smirk appeared on his face, and Areisha knew that he caught on to what she had planned. Once again, she was amazed at how smart and quick he was. And, at the fact that he already knew how her mind worked. The later thought sometimes terrified her.

"Well, I did say that you can order me around so...Midnight," he said. The Draeling perked up as Alec bent on one knee. Reaching in to his shirt, he pulled out the white metal chain holding his Sentiral Stone. Her gift to him. "Little one, can you find me a special hammer. It smells like this."

"Alec, you're an idiot," River said with a frown. "Keep your voice down. We don't want the other players to follow you while Midnight goes sniffing off."

Alec only gave a smile, which seemed to irritate River. Areisha kept hers hidden.

"Be quick," she said.

"As the lady wishes," Alec said with a grin. He nodded at her, before turning his back. Midnight flew off, Alec hot on his tail.

While he ran, Areisha rolled his eyes at his playfulness. He'd been really different since the day they attended the Burning Ceremony of Krizton's father and grandmother. She was starting to like that side of him, while being weirded out by it as well. Mostly weirded out by it.

"I'm going to miss the days, when Alec and Areisha were constantly trying to cut each other's heads off," Rei's voice rang in their ears.

"I'm sure that those days will still come," River said, "so let's just make sure that we'll be there to see it."

"Shut up!" she said. Alec said the same words through the commu-crimas. The two only laughed at their reprimand.

―――

With their backs pressed against a lion statue, Areisha looked towards the open doors of the Icefall City's main library. She looked to River, signaling him to go first with a tilt of her head. He wasted no time, and ran up the steps, entering the building.

"Anything, Rei?" she asked him through their earpiece.

"Two Parythians are looking through another clue―the color of the paper is different from ours. I'm trying to get closer to read it," the redhead said. "I'll tell you once I know where the next hammer will be."

"River?"

"I'm in position," he said. "So far, no one's inside here but―"

Areisha stopped listening, when she heard the sound of running feet―belonging to at least three people. The sounds were coming from opposite directions―running toward one another. As quick as she could be, she moved behind the statue so it blocked her from anyone who would ran past.

When she looked, she spotted Cyanz von Winguard―Icefall player―heading straight for the library doors. A female teammate of his ran just a few feet behind him, keeping a wary eye on the surroundings. A female Parythian student came running from the opposite direction. When Cyanz saw her, he said something to his companion, and they split up. The girl engaged the player in red. Areisha ignored the sound of clashing blades, while her eyes followed Cyanz's figure disappear inside the library. She made a move to follow him.

Two consecutive booms traveled through the air. The clash of blades between the Arktin and the Parythian ceased for a short while. This time, she didn't ignore the explosions. When she looked, two clouds of smoke hovered above Icefall Academy's arena. One was blue, while the other, red. She smiled when she didn't see the color black.

When I said to be quick, he actually took me seriously, she thought.

She ran into the library, going for a shelf of books close to a grand staircase covered by thick blue carpets. Her eyes did a quick scan of the area, only to spot Cyanz running up to the second floor.

"Get ready to look for the hammer," she told River. She followed after Arktis Skyland's heir, making sure her boots made no sound.

When she made it the second level, she only had a few seconds to see a blade mere feet away from her face. She dropped to her knees and bent back. She skidded across the smooth stone floor, as the knife flew inches above her nose. She straightened at once and smirked at Cyanz.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take until you noticed that I was behind you," she said.

"I don't remember you being so talkative, Areisha," Cyanz said. He had a sword pointing directly towards her. "By the way, don't think for one moment, that I've forgotten that you told Solana I was a pervert."

"It was true," she said.

"Was not."

"Was too."

Three groans filled the ear where her mini commu-crima, causing her to almost wince.

"Get on with distracting him. My blood is literally rushing to my head, and I don't know how long I can stand in this position!" River whispered.

Pulling out her saber, she angled the flat side to face the ceiling. She saw River's reflection from the weapon's shiny surface. He stood upside down, his Sentiral Power keeping his feet firm on the library's ceiling. His hand was on the pommel of his sheathed sword.

Without another word, she charged for Cyanz. Before her blade could collide with his, she spun, aiming for his side. The young lord caught on to her movements, and jumped away from her attack. She got into a stance, holding the saber with one hand, while the other held a knife. The knife was so small, that Cyanz raised a brow at the sight of it.

"You're going to try and defeat me with a toothpick?" he said.

Areisha smirked. With a flick of her finger, the knife spun in the air toward Cyanz. She raised her hand.
Calling on to her Sentiral Power, she imagined the blade growing in size.

The young man raised his sword, looking uninterested at the weapon. But, it only took him a second to saw the knife growing more than 10 times its size, and escape with a shallow cut above his arm. The large blade embedded itself on the wall, only a few inches from the shelves of books.

"The books in that library are older than us," Alec's voice rang in her ear. "You better not harm a single leaf on those books, Roselintine, or else you'll never hear the end of it from me."

"That's what you're thinking about right now?" she said. While she allowed him to ramble on about the history of the library, she blocked Cyanz's lunge for her abdomen. She twisted her saber around the man's sword, almost succeeding in flicking it out of his hold. She dropped to the floor and swept his legs from under him. Cyanz rolled over at once, not giving her a second to catch her breath.

Their battle went on. The clang of metal against metal replaced the silence of the building. In her head, she prayed for River to find the hammer already. As if on cue, her River's whisper came to the commu-crima.

"Found it."

With a smile and renewed strength, she met Cyanz's full attack. They exchanged blows, blocking, hacking, swiping at each other, never once relenting their assault.

That was until the stupidest thing happened.

"Areisha, I know the location of the next hammer!" Rei's shout echoed. It startled her from her concentration. She slipped on the smooth floor. Her heart, right in the path of Cyanz's sword.

A curse escaped Cyanz's lips as he turned to change the momentum of the weapon. From the force he used, he fell on his back. Unfortunately for Areisha, his large figure landed on the left side of her body. Hard.

A cry of pain tore through her lips, as searing pain erupted from her left shoulder. It caused her to let go of her saber. Cyanz rolled off of her at the sound of her shout.

"You better keep your mouth shut until I talk to you, Rei," she said.

She had forced herself into a crouch, reaching for the daggers Alec gave her in her boot. She threw them―a little clumsily because her uninjured arm wasn't her dominant one. Only, they hit air. At the sight of Cyanz's running figure, she could guess where he was heading.

From the distance, she heard another explosion, briefly wondering which one of the teams lost a teammate.

"Do not let him have the hammer, River, or I'll take Krizton from your room tonight," she said.

"Don't you dare!" River said, accompanied by the sound of running footsteps.

She clutched her shoulder to her chest, planning on running after the young lord.

A force struck her side, sending her stumbling a couple feet back from the pain. She took the last dagger that she had, and pointed it at her attacker.

It was the Parythian girl from outside the library. She guessed that the boom a minute ago, signaled the defeat of the Cyanz's companion. She had her sword raised, and a look that was telling her to stand down.

From the corner, to the window on her right, she caught sight of a shadow and a small flash of dark blue. She smirked.

"You have terrible timing," Areisha said to the Parythian.

"It's actually the opposite, I believe," the girl said.

A roar tore through the air, before a little creature swooped down and pushed the sword out of the Parythian's hand.

Alec appeared out of nowhere, holding his dagger at the girl's neck from behind. The player stiffened, instictinvely reaching up to grasp the arm wrapped around her neck.

"Roselintine is right," Alec said. "You do have terrible timing."

At the sound of his voice, the girl tried to turn. Areisha rolled her eyes at the seductive smile she put on her lips.

"You wouldn't hurt a girl, would you?" she said.

Areisha just had to laugh at that one. It echoed around the library, causing the girl to look at her like crazy. She ceased her laughter and smiled.

"I just can't believe that you said that to the guy who, by the way, regularly gives me bruises and wounds―plus an occasional broken bone."

Before the Parythian's eyes could widen in disbelief, Alec knocked her out with the butt of his dagger. She crumpled to the floor. Alec made no attempt to ease her fall.

Another bang echoed from outside.

"Seriously, Rose?" Alec said as he walked to check on her. Midnight came out from behind a shelf and dashed for her lap.

"It was funny," she said before her brows scrunched. "Rose?"

"Roselintine is becoming a mouthful."

She was just about to open her mouth again when River contacted her. She heard him groan, before the sound of glass breaking echoed from her commu-crima and the entire library.

"He took the hammer," he said. "And I am not letting you take my turn to look after Krizton." After that, he said no more words. An explosion came from the direction of the arena, and she didn't have to look to know there was a cloud of black smoke in the sky.

She pounded a fist on the floor. "At this rate, we're probably the only team that doesn't have a hammer."

She looked up at Alec when he placed a gentle touched on her injured shoulder. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," he said.

Her eyebrows met in the middle.

Alec inclined his head to his back, and that's when she saw it. The white metal head of the game's hammer stuck out, while the handle lay across his back. "When you sent me on that ambush mission to get rid of those who tailed us, I decided to use my quick-thinking and actually searched for a hammer," he said. He looked down at Midnight whose head lay on her lap. He patted the Draeling's head. "We had enough time to let Midnight do a good job."

"It's official," she said with a grumble. "I grudgingly admit that you're better than me."

Alec gave a light laugh. "Let me pop your shoulder back into place."

She smirked. "And let's give them a game to really talk to about."

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Hi everybody. It's me Krizton.

I would just like to say that please don't be mad at Shan-ana. She was really busy the last few months that she couldn't find the time to spend with Alec-uno and me.

In the last few weeks of her 11th Grade, they did a lot of writing like essays, term papers, short stories, and poems. She decided to stay away from words for at least half a month. When she was ready to write, her mama asked her to make a big book story and make the illustrations for it too. It took her a while to plot the child story because it was not her strong point, and a week and a half to finish the drawings. Then she was called over to school (during summer break) because of her duties in the student council. And now, she just started a new school year and her teachers are relentless.

She says she's thankful for the people who stayed with Alec-uno. And she hopes you can stay until his journey is finished, even though it takes her a long time to write.

She's really really really sorry.

Bye bye