Estella made a break for it, the flag clutched tightly in her arms like it was her own heart. The floating landscape twisted around her. The stairs flipped again—the one she had just stepped off rotated up into the sky, while another descended from above like a falling ribbon.
Doors hovered in midair, flickering in and out of existence, each one humming with strange energy. Her breath was tight in her chest as she pushed her legs faster, dodging between warped pathways and portals.
She didn't dare look back.
They're chasing me.
She could feel it.
Panic crawled up her spine, but she kept running. She didn't want to fight—not now. Not like this. Her powers… they were too weak. Just a flicker of light here and there. Meanwhile, the others had full elemental force, command over nature, rocks, crystals, gravity itself.
So instead, she did what she could.
She ran.
Back to the meeting point. The one Aurelia mentioned before she dismissed me like a little side task. If I wait there… maybe my team can do what I can't.
Suddenly, her instincts screamed—jump.
She didn't question it.
Estella leapt, flipping mid-air just as a zap of green energy blasted through the space she'd just left. It crackled and fizzled against a floating doorframe, leaving a scorched trail of smoke.
She glanced back mid-air—and saw him.
Eric.
His golden eyes locked onto her. His expression was focused, unreadable. His usually smooth olive green hair whipped around his face from the wind tunnel the chase had created.
A part of her, one that had absolutely no shame surfacing right now buzzed.
Eric's chsaing me? Her cheeks burned. Oh my gosh, best day ever!
Another blast shot forward—crystals this time. Jagged, gleaming, sharp.
Estella ducked and rolled, the crystal spikes smashing into a mirrored stairway beside her, making it crack into glittering shards.
"You can't run forever, Estella!" Celestine's voice rang out from behind, laced with fury.
Estella panted and ran harder.
She tore past a trio of students who gasped as she bolted by.
"Wait, was that?"
"Shes got the flag!"
"Estella?!"
"Get her!!"
More footsteps joined in. Now it wasn't just Celestine and Eric—it was everyone. A herd of competitive, power-hungry students, all eyes on the fluttering cloth in Estella's hand.
She zigzagged around a spiked platform, ducked behind a levitating door, narrowly avoiding a blue flame. Someone made the ground quake. A boom cracked the earth, and a glowing hole split wide open just ahead.
Her heart thudded.
You can't stop. Trust your gut.
She jumped again.
Mid-air, the universe twisted. Stairs rotated around her like a kaleidoscope spinning. She did a full flip, her body arching through the air like a comet. She landed—feet first—on the ceiling stairs, and used their momentum to leap back down.
She soared across the glowing chasm.
Don't fall. Please land—
Her feet slammed onto the other side, her knees buckling slightly. But she held on. Held the flag high. Her breath caught.
Everyone gasped.
Their expressions—pure, open-mouthed shock.
"I… did it!" Estella yelled, holding up the flag in triumph. Her whole body buzzed with disbelief and exhilaration. "I actually did—"
But she celebrated too soon.
A green, slimy tentacle-like hand slithered along the flagpole. It yanked the flag clean out of Estella's grip.
Her hand was suddenly empty.
She stared at it, stunned.
"Wha?"
She turned.
The green hand coiled back to its owner—Tyllen, a boy with mossy-green skin and short tendrils in place of hair. His arms looked normal until he morphed them, pulling tentacles from his wrists like thick, writhing ropes. He grinned lazily.
"Sorry," he said, tossing the flag with casual disrespect.
Straight to Celestine.
Celestine caught it with one hand, her crystal colored eyes sparkling with ego.
"And this, darling," she said, twirling the flag between her fingers, "is why you leave things to the pros."
She gave Estella a condescending smile.
But before she could even take a step, something whipped through the air.
A razor-sharp shard of ice shot across the field—so fast it hissed.
It sliced clean through the flag's edge, sending the cloth free-falling through the air.
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
Everyone's eyes followed it.
The flag tumbled, fluttering—
Right into the air above the training field's crackling hole.
And then—someone moved.
A dark shadow dove in a graceful arc, catching the flag mid-air and flipping effortlessly before landing with the fluidity of a trained warrior.
Estella blinked, still crouched, bruised, stunned.
The figure stood up, flag in hand.
Long indigo hair swept up in a high ponytail.
A dark blue bodysuit, nearly shimmering from the cold confidence it held.
Aurelia.
She tossed her ponytail back with elegant irritation.
Her gaze was ice.
Behind her, Solara landed in a glowing fiery-streak of energy, her orange and black suit flickering like flame. She popped her bubblegum mid-landing.
Even that was cool.
Reika landed next, her bodysuit flickering with blue tech lines like neon lightning.
Team 10 had arrived.
Estella just crouched there, blinking up at them, dazed.
Celestine's smug grin cracked. She snarled.
More teams shifted into fighting positions. Magic flared across the field. Ice, wind, crystal, shadows—all building in power.
It was about to be war.
Estella struggled to rise, light fizzing weakly at her palms.
Aurelia narrowed her eyes. Solara dropped into a stance. Reika just stood there. Her hand frizzling with Electricity.
Everyone launched at once—
But suddenly froze in mid-air.
Literally.
Hands stretched mid-punch. Magic swirling in paused spirals.
Even Celestine was frozen in a gorgeous rage-pose, her mouth open in mid-insult.
The air turned dead silent.
A figure stepped calmly into the chaos like he'd just walked out of lunch break.
Mr. Flamefoot.
His eyes scanned the frozen scene. His hand remained raised.
"Students," he said, voice smooth, loud. "That will be all."
He snapped.
The illusion broke.
The entire training terrain fizzled out, the doors and floating stairs dissolving into pixels of starlight.
Everyone dropped gently back to the soft grass, blinking.
The field had returned to its original form—lush, green, suspended in mid-air. A few birds chirped like nothing had happened.
"Team 10," Mr. Flamefoot announced calmly, "has won this activity. Come with me."
Murmurs broke out across the field.
Celestine folded her arms in dramatic disbelief. Her face twisted, but she didn't argue.
Eric looked toward Estella for a moment. His expression—still unreadable.
Estella stood slowly. Her joints ached, but something in her felt… brighter. Stronger. Even if she wasn't the one holding the flag anymore, she had played a part.
She took a breath, straightened her back, and walked toward her team.
They stood in formation, quiet but solid. Aurelia didn't speak.
Solara winked at Estella. "Nice dodge back there, sparkles."
Reika offered a smile.
Estella smiled back and joined them as they followed Mr. Flamefoot toward the edge of the field.