Chapter 8: The Storm and the Beat
<hr>
The Arena
Word spread fast.
By the time Axel and Jace stepped onto the sparring platform, a crowd had already gathered. First-years, upperclassmen, even a few instructors—all eager to watch the underdog get crushed.
The training arena was a sleek, open-air combat space—steel floors, hardlight barriers shimmering along the edges to prevent any… unfortunate accidents. The academy didn’t mind students fighting, but they didn’t like collateral damage.
Jace stood across from Axel, rolling his shoulders like this was just another warm-up session. Stratos, his Storm Wyvern, curled beside him—lightning flickering across its scales, sharp golden eyes locked onto Tempo.
Axel exhaled. "We doing this by the book?"
Jace smirked. "First one to force the other’s Cipher Beast into submission wins."
Axel cracked his knuckles. "Alright. Let’s dance."
Rook, watching from the sideline, grinned like a kid on Christmas. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”
The countdown timer appeared in the air.
3…
Tempo perched on Axel’s shoulder, tail twitching, muscles tensing.
2…
Stratos lowered its body, sparks crackling along its wings.
1…
BEGIN.
<hr>
The First Exchange
Jace didn’t waste time.
“Stratos—Thunder Step!”
The wyvern vanished.
A blur of blue lightning streaked across the arena, moving too fast to track. Axel barely had time to react before—
CRACK!
Stratos reappeared in front of him, tail coated in raw electricity, swinging in a brutal arc.
Axel jerked back, but he wasn’t fast enough—
BAM!
The shockwave hit like a freight train, sending Axel skidding backward. Tempo leaped off his shoulder at the last second, avoiding the hit, but the force alone made Axel’s arms go numb.
The crowd whooped.
“Damn! Mercer’s getting rolled already!”
“Did he really think he had a chance?”
Jace sighed. “This is embarrassing.”
Axel gritted his teeth.
He knew Jace had speed, but seeing it firsthand was different.
Still—if Stratos was fast, they just had to be faster.
Axel exhaled.
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"Tempo—Flow State!"
Tempo’s eyes flashed.
The little monkey shifted his weight, bouncing on his feet—and suddenly, he was moving differently.
Not just running—predicting.
Stratos lunged again.
Tempo sidestepped at the last second, rolling under the wyvern’s strike, his tail whipping forward—
CRACK!
His tiny fist slammed into Stratos’s jaw with a sharp, clean hit.
It barely did damage.
But the arena went silent.
Because Tempo had just outmaneuvered one of the fastest Cipher Beasts in the academy.
Axel grinned.
Jace’s expression twitched.
<hr>
Tempo’s Rhythm
Jace narrowed his eyes. "Lucky shot. Stratos—hit them again."
Stratos whipped its tail, another bolt of lightning exploding toward Tempo.
Tempo dodged.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Axel could feel it—the rhythm of the fight shifting. Tempo wasn’t just dodging randomly. He was syncing to Stratos’s movement patterns, reading the pulse of the battle like a song.
Jace clicked his tongue. "Enough. Stratos—Storm Cage!"
The wyvern screeched—
And the entire arena lit up with lightning.
<hr>
The Wall Hits Hard
Axel saw the problem immediately.
Lightning arced across the battlefield in random bursts, filling the space with chaotic energy surges. There was no pattern—no rhythm to follow.
Stratos had changed the beat.
Tempo flinched, his body jerking as the field became unpredictable.
Axel swore. “Tempo, get out of there—”
Too late.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning slammed into Tempo, sending the little monkey flying.
Axel’s heart dropped.
Tempo hit the ground, rolling to a stop. His body twitched, static still dancing across his fur.
Axel’s fists clenched. “Get up, buddy.”
Tempo stirred.
But Jace wasn’t waiting.
"Stratos—finish it."
The wyvern’s claws glowed, lightning building into a concentrated spear of energy.
Axel’s brain screamed at him. MOVE. DO SOMETHING.
But what?
The storm had thrown off their rhythm. Tempo was struggling to find the beat again.
Axel’s mind raced—
And then, something clicked.
Maybe they didn’t need to find the old rhythm.
Maybe they had to make a new one.
Axel exhaled.
"Tempo."
Tempo looked up.
Axel tapped his foot.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A slow, steady beat.
Tempo’s ears twitched. His body straightened.
And then—
His tail started tapping.
<hr>
The New Beat
The storm was still raging, but Tempo wasn’t panicking anymore.
He was counting.
Measuring the timing of each lightning burst.
Listening for the hidden pattern beneath the chaos.
Stratos lunged—
Tempo sidestepped, barely avoiding the bolt.
Another surge—
Tempo ducked under it, pivoting mid-motion.
The storm had a beat.
And Tempo was leading the dance.
Axel grinned. "Alright, buddy. Let’s drop the bass."
Tempo’s entire body pulsed.
And then—
BOOM.
A shockwave erupted from his tiny form, rippling through the air like a sonic explosion.
Jace’s eyes widened.
The pulse slammed into Stratos—not hard enough to take him down, but enough to make the wyvern recoil.
Jace’s stance shifted slightly.
It wasn’t much.
But it was the first sign of actual resistance.
<hr>
The End of the Match
Axel and Tempo had finally started turning the tide.
But Jace was still ahead.
And he wasn’t playing anymore.
“Stratos. Storm Fang.”
The wyvern blurred forward.
Tempo reacted fast—but not fast enough.
CRACK!
Stratos’s tail slammed into Tempo’s chest.
The little monkey hit the ground, hard.
Axel’s breath caught.
Tempo twitched… but didn’t get up.
The system timer flashed.
<blockquote>
Match Over. Winner: Jace Stroud.
</blockquote>
The arena erupted into cheers.
Axel barely heard it.
He rushed forward, scooping Tempo up. “Hey—hey, you okay?”
Tempo groaned. Then, weakly—
“Heh. Heh.”
Axel let out a breath. "You crazy little bastard."
Jace approached, arms crossed. “You actually lasted longer than I thought.”
Axel grunted. “Gee. Thanks.”
Jace smirked. “Next time, try to actually win.”
Then he turned and left, Stratos curling beside him.
Axel exhaled. His body ached, but…
He couldn’t stop grinning.
Because for the first time—
He wasn’t just a joke anymore.
He was a threat.
And this was just the beginning.