Chasing Sya

Arnessa

The crowd had cheered and screamed so loudly when Sya and Janu stepped onto the empty arena. The blood of the losers have already been washed clean as if they never existed. The loud cheers and curses created a white noise in Sya's ear and she closed her senses against the distractions.

She could only hear her heartbeat and the slow and steady breathing of her lungs. She centerized her qi into her fists and waited for Janu to make her move. Sya could see Janu's mouth open and close as if she was speaking to Sya. But Sya did not hear a single word.

"Do not blame Janu for this. Blame yourself for coming back. You should have stayed where ever you crawled out from! Janu will make sure that you regret coming back. Janu will kill you, Princess Sya, and Janu will enjoy it!" Janu bragged. "Janu will stand over your corpse and send your soul to the Gods. You will look down and regret that you ever went against me! Demon Father will only have Janu in Demon Father's heart! Prepare to die!"

Janu pulled out her sword that hung on her side. The sword lit up red with red fire qi as she waved the sword a couple of times before she took her killing stance. Her elegant swings caused everyone to ohh and ahh at her technique. They clapped to encourage her to continue, however the red shining sword whipped up, above her head as she leaned back with one leg in front of the other. Her back leg bent down slightly, giving her a stable center, so when she first attacks Sya, it would be strong and fast as she launches herself at Sya.

Janu waited to see if Sya would change into her fighting stance, but to everyone's surprise. Sya stood still in her white fighting robes with her hands clasped together behind her back as if she was going out for a stroll in a park.

Everyone jeered at her for her arrogance, but there was also something very frightening about her as well. Her stillness was unnerving. It was as if she was a God among men. A entity among the living. An other worldliness that caused her to be unbothered by the noise, by the wind, by the sun, by the threat in front of her.

Suddenly all the cheers and shouting stopped as they watched the pair of sisters begin their fight. No one could tell which one would win in the end, but they knew it will be a good fight.

"Come at me if you dare." Janu taunted, but to everyone's surprise. Sya stood still as if she didn't hear Janu's taunt. "If you do not want to come, then Janu will come to you!"

Janu flicked her red sword in a figure eight and sent the red fire qi towards Sya. At the same time she launched herself at Sya, planning to kill Sya head on and in close combat. But to everyone's surprise, the red fire qi only hit a forcefield.

Never has anyone seen this before. An invisible shield! Even though Janu could have stopped her launch towards Sya, she didn't. Once she saw her first attack fail, she was still confident she would be able to kill Sya with her skills.

"Die!" Janu shouted as she stabbed her sword towards Sya.

Janu swung her sword with all her might. She infused her sword with red fire qi to enhance the strength so the impact of the hit would be greater. The moment her sword hit the invisible shield, there was a bright light of white and red qi. A centralized qi wind burst out of the impact causing everyone to close their eyes as dust flew at them. Everyone could feel the powerful impact as the energy vibrated towards the audience.

To everyone's surprise, when the dust settled and they could open their eyes again, they couldn't belive that the impact of the hit caused Janu to take ten steps back. Sya stood still, in the exact same spot and the exact same pose as if nothing happened to her.

"Cheater! Coward! Come fight me like a real martial fighter and stop hiding behind your shield." Janu shouted as she gathered her qi inside of her again.

When there was no response, Janu attacked once again. Over and over, each swing she swung at Sya was blocked by the shield. With each hit against the shield, the wind blew harder and the light of the impact grew brighter. Each swing Janu made, she cried out in frustration. Each taunt was unanswered. Each strike was unsuccessful. No matter how hard she fought, or how strong the impact. No matter what fighting technique she used, the invisible shield would not break. And there were no signs of it weakening.

She attacked Sya from the front, from behind, from above and below, but there was nothing she could do to break the impenetrable shield. There was nothing she could do to get close to Sya. Her frustrations began showing as she began to just strike the shield as if it was a piece of practice wood. And yet, Sya stood still and unmoving. With her hands clasped behind her back, in a free and relax stance. Her unchanging mask of a face never moved nor changed. It made everyone shiver in fear.

Who is this monster that they call Princess? Why is she so strong and unmoving? Why is she so cold and unfeeling? Why is she not attacking back? Why has she not made her move yet? Why is she still standing in the Arena as if she was standing in the middle of a park? Why? Questions upon questions ran through everyone's heads and hearts. But no one answered those questions and no one will.

Finally up to her wits, Janu had to pull out her trump card. The ace up her sleeve that no one knew about. But once she pulled this move out, there would be no turning back. Everyone would know. And once they did. Everyone would tremble before her in fear. Everyone would praise her strength. Everyone would worship her beauty. Everyone would kowtow towards her in respect and beg her for mercy.

This time she would end this fight, once and for all. this time she will summon the sleeping demon inside of her. The demon spirit, Arnessa. The collector of souls. The Queen of the Underworld.