"Popcorn?" Jo asked, nudging Glacia in the shoulder. She kicked her legs up onto the chair before her, ignoring the stares she had gotten from those up front.

Glacia moved over to sit down where the girls were, in the middle row seats of a large stadium where the battle was going to be held. She was swept off by the large crowd that had poured into here. The Dome was towering above them, with the crystal windows above letting in the gleaming of light that lit up the green patches of the arena.

"Jeez, this is not the time, Jo." Rose swatted her. She looked gloomier than usual.

"Why not? I think it's a perfect time." She chuckled, turning over to jab Glacia in the shoulder. "Did you place your bets?"

Glacia shook her head, wishing that she could worry about the little things in these. She didn't know why she was dreading this match as if it were her own.

On her other side, Savannah leaned over and asked Jo innocently. "There's a betting thing?"

"Don't you know? Oh right, you're a goody-two-shoes--" Jo rolled her eyes jokingly.

"No, I know about the bets," Savannah said, nodding her head honestly. "— I mean, isn't the winner obvious? Callum is not too bad in terms of fitness, but Asher is on a whole new level. As Royalliers, it's customary to learn some defense skills against Rogues if you school here before you turn eighteen. Asher was on top of his class all the time, he was born to be good in a lot of things. And we all know his virtus..."

"There's something wrong. Maybe... Asher's been threatened with something." Glacia speculated, her eyes scanning the crowd for Dante. That was the best conclusion she had formulated over her sleepless night. She wished she was wrong, she didn't like the idea of someone harmed unfairly like that, regardless of who it was.

The girls watched Glacia's expression cautiously. Breaking the silence that fell over them, Rose sighed.
"Anyway," She said simply. "That's exactly why I'm not betting for Asher."

Just then, there was a blare that made them turn their attention to the stage. An emcee up front made the crowd quieten down. He wore a grandiose black cloak, not needing to speak into a microphone, he simply used his resounding voice to introduce the battle. Glacia sat on the edge of my seat. Everyone else did that too, her the occasional Royallier appeared bored.

Up above, right in the centre of the dome they were in, sat the officials and members of the royal family. Atlas sat stony-faced next to two empty seats that should have belonged to the King and the Queen. Standing close by were two other females Glacia didn't recognize, dressed to the nines in body-hugging gowns and wearing smirks on their faces. They were pointing to the front, looking smug. These two had stood so close to the royal seat that belonged to the Queen, it made Glacia wonder what were their affiliations to the royal bloodline.

Kai was leaning over in a crouched position, thinking as he always did. Glacia noticed Jo casting a glance briefly over to him, trying to reassure him about something.

"And now, our challengers shall enter the arena." The emcee announced loudly.

Glacia braced herself. She had seen fictional movies about Spartans, but had never expected to watching such a brutal match live, with people she knew. She half-expected the two competitors to stride in with armoury from head to toe.

"And in this corner we have Callum Bayer." First, Callum came in with a grey gear jacket, suited up with some protective gear, his sleeves pulled up to showcase the tattoos all over him. Crowds hooted as he flexed a little and tried to hype them up. He motioned to get people to cheer, face grinning as if he had already seized the win.

"And in the other corner we have the Crown Prince, Asher Conen."

Asher's entrance was entirely different. He didn't pay any attention to the crowds and strode in with an unreadable expression. Still, something about him was always captivating, and everyone else had their eyes fixed on him without him needing to do anything. There were loud cheers for him as well, but Glacia stayed awfully silent.

He was dressed in a black hood and much lesser protective gear as if he didn't even bother to pick out a more suitable fighting outfit. Surely he would be able to afford more armory, but he didn't seem to care very much.

"There are no restrictions here. But you are not allowed to receive help from anyone, nor may you receive any virtus from Energy Royals. You are warned that the punishment for breaking these rules is death, provided that you won't be dead already."

His words hung in the air.

"Alright — and now your weapons." Two others came along and handed each candidate a long spear, sharpened to the tip. It was a glistening silver, shimmering in the sunlight that cast around the kaleidoscopic Dome. It looked both astounding and lethal at once.

Glacia gawked at it, accidentally stating the obvious. "That's sharp."

"What? Were you really expecting them to fight with pillows?" Jo flicked a blackened piece away. They all looked as if they had watched many battles, Glacia thought. She willed herself to get prepared.

The emcee started to break away from the two of them, bellowing. "May the strongest reign. You may began."

The bell sounded.

The crowds roared as Callum charged first, yelling as he did. Asher merely quirked up an eyebrow, his reflexes allowing him to take a smooth step to the side with time to spare. It was as if he was just taking a walk in the park. The momentum threw Callum off and onto the floor, making a fool of himself.

The crowd laughed. Angered, Callum got off immediately and launched straight at Asher. In Callum's defense, he didn't do too badly. He knew where to aim with his spear, which places to nick. However, it was simply that Asher was too quick for him to touch and too strong for him to tackle. He actually ducked with the hand not with the spear in his pockets, clearly treating it as a mere game.

Asher had made no attempts to fight back. Then, Callum yanked Asher close and whispered something to Asher, in his ear. Asher's cocky grin faded a little. A second later, it was back on.

Fine, I know. Glacia saw him mouth, face expressionless.

Callum grabbed him nearer and spat in his face. "Fight back, you little p—"

Callum gave him a hard strike in the eye that whirred Asher back ever so slightly. He whipped around to fetch the spear that Asher had swatted off earlier. With a devious smirk, he let the spear dance around his hands.

"Go on." Asher said simply, his dark eyes unrelenting. Callum brought the spear up and aimed a clear shot to his chest. Asher caved inwards and blood splattered from the wound.

Glacia couldn't help but scream. It would have punctured his heart, surely? Still, Asher couldn't be killed here. But even with his strong virtus, he could get injured from the deep wound that Callum left. Asher dropped the spear, cupping the wound instinctively. Glacia thought it was miraculous how he managed to keep his expression firm and challenging, maintaining his dignity.

The crowd gasped, exchanging heated whispers. "Asher's not even fighting back!" One of them stood up and said with confusion.

Glacia shook her head. He can't. They have some hold over him, she knew it. She glanced up at searched for someone -- just next to the royal podium, she found him: Dante. He was watching this match levelly under his hood, and Glacia knew that she had expected this outcome.

Callum brought up the spear again slashed at his legs. Asher's knees buckled and Callum came over and struck his jaw with his bare fist. Asher stumbled backwards onto the floor and spat out a tooth from the forceful hit.

Glacia crumpled the side of her suede skirt, feeling her body tense and freeze. She knew that Asher would never give up a fight like that unless there was a really bad threat against him. Whatever it was, she hated the sight of blood spilling across the grass, only belonging to Asher. No one deserved hurt like that.

"We have to do something."

Someone screamed at Asher to fight back, but he didn't. Neither did he brace himself as he took a punch right at where his wound was. How was he barely showing pain or emotion? He was like a statue, turned into a punching bag for Callum to play with.

"Be sensible, Glacia. We can't interfere." Rose spoke simply. "It's not like Asher can die from this."

Still, he was hurt. He may not show the pain, but Glacia could feel his virtus. Perhaps it was because she was his socius, she could feel his pain making her tense, sending her chills under her blue tank. It was as if someone was skimming the blade against her skin, too. They were connected in some way that left her shaken.

Owing to Asher's virtus, it was harder for Callum to make hits in his skin. And sometimes, he would stab only for the blade to come out clean. But he was fighting so vigorously that the blood spilled was a huge mess. It had formed a pool for the grass to soak up, staining Asher's shirt completely.

Asher spat blood as Callum dragged him across the floor, lifting him so slightly so they were eye to eye. Despite the damage taken, Asher still kept a blank face. He was withstanding it all remarkably well, which made this match all the more worrying.

Glacia could feel cold air harnessing around her. In her blood, ice bloomed across her organs, running through her blood...

"Glacia, sit down!" Jo spoke louder, watching her worriedly.

Savannah was alarmed when she looked at Glacia too, she leaned over and tried to touch her shoulder, only to withdrew her hand with a gasp immediately.

"Remember when we studied about socius? Sometimes they can feel each other's emotions. Glacia still can't control her virtus very well, I think she's freezing herself like how she did the first day here." Savannah said anxiously.

Those words sounded as if Glacia was underwater. She couldn't tell what she was feeling anymore. She felt infuriated, but at the same time there was a bond tied to each of them and some rage had surged into her, some pain.

This is bullshit. She watched furiously as Callum lifted himself. Savouring every last minute, he slowly strode over to where the two spears lay. Her heartbeat quickened. I can't bear to watch this...

"Listen to me, Glacia." Rose came over and crouched in front of Glacia, her voice gentle but steady. "You're not used to seeing this, I know. This kind of hurt can get you killed in the mortal world. However, this isn't the mortal world. This is the Realm of the Royalliers, Asher's realm. He won't die from this, give it a few weeks and he'll be as good as new..."

Glacia could barely listen to her friend. She stared at the match, watching as Callum stroked the spear.

"All this, and turns out you're nothing." Callum boomed. "Such a pity that you are born with powers you don't deserve..." He held up his spear, positioning it, and brought it down, and...

Glacia braced herself to hear the sound of piercing bone and flesh. It never came.

Instead, all she could hear was cold gusts of wind that caressed her face, whisps around her ear. Something wasn't right. Internally, her blood turned cold. It was as if she had walked into the middle of an avalanche and the ice had morphed into a shell around her. She was freezing up, so cold that it bit at her body and scalded her as flames would...

At this point, everyone had turned to stare at her, and she watched as many gaped one by one. Even Callum, one hand still on the spear, had spun around towards her. Everyone's eyes widened in horror.

And Asher -- he looked over, his face bloodied and bruised. His face was now written with the same shock as everyone else had. His lips were moving to say something to her, words no one could hear...

"Glacia? Glacia!" Again, the sensation of being underwater was there. She saw Asher reach out his hand ever the slightest, struggling to get up. Get out of there. Now.

Glacia shook her head, unable to think straight anymore. It was as if cobwebs of ice had clouded her mind, and she was still and uncertain. Asher was clamouring forward, even if everyone else was backing away and erupting into gasps. A blonde-haired boy got to her first, holding his hands out, looking beyond afraid. It took Glacia a while to realise that it was Luke, looking as if the girl was aflame.

What? She wanted to speak, but she couldn't move a single muscle. What was going on?

Even the two other princes had joined, breaking through the commotion. They couldn't seem to comprehend what was going on, either. She could see a very pale Asher limping forward -- he was still dripping blood, but he could at least move -- albeit very slowly.

What are you doing?

"Can you hear me? Glacia, don't panic." Luke spoke cautiously, inching forward step by step. His voice was drifting off into a deep, dark, icy abyss...

What? Why is everyone looking at me like that? She tried to speak, but no sound came out.

Luke looked delirious. His face was twisted with concern, like how he had when his pet dog had died in the past, Glacia thought, He looked as if she was a goner, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"You... you froze yourself into ice."