Elidi sat on a tree stump near the house. Occasionally, she kicked her legs up as she stared at the setting sun. Soleil sat at the doorstep, sharpening his sword. "I don't understand why you don't want me to go to Elmaris Soleil." Elidi huffs. "You don't need to understand. It's for your own interest as well as Atlas's." Soleil stared at his reflection in his sword. "What does Atlas even have to do with this? I want to go to school. Why can't I do that?" Elidi stood up, rushing over to Soleil. "You are simply not ready, not strong enough." Soleil sighs. "Me not strong enough? Are you saying Atlas is? You cannot be serious, I mean, I'm strong. You and I both know I'm strong." Elidi summons pure electric energy in her hand. Small lightning bolts dance around her arm, fluctuating in power. "I'm fast, I have good control over my attribute, they would absolutely love to have me in that school, and I know it." She states with confidence oozing out of her cocky grin.

Soleil stood, furrowing his brows. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Elidi," he spoke, his voice firm. "But-" Elidi's words were interrupted as she fell face-first into the ground. That same overwhelming feeling she felt in town had returned. "T-That, This power, was you?" She coughed violently as she struggled to keep her body from seemingly morphing into the floor. "Atlas withstood this easily. This is just a fraction of the amount of power they expect you to have. You'd be competing with nobles who have trained since they could walk. They will twist you, break you, destroy you, and turn you into a slave of the empire. I don't want that for you." Soleil's hand clenched into a fist, his mind wandering on old memories. "I don't want that for either of you." 

Soleil flinched as he felt hands wrap around his waist. Atlas, appearing from out of nowhere, squeezed tightly, causing Soleil to lose concentration on his gravity magic. "Stop it, please!" He begged. Soleil stood for a moment, confused as to why he didn't sense Atlas approach behind him. In fact, that was the first time in years he had been unable to detect someone, especially at such a close distance. "Why are you doing this to her?" Atlas spoke breathlessly. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, his once soft hands now dirtied and red. He quickly ran to Elidi's side, grabbing onto her arm, trying to pull her to her feet. But to his surprise, he was pushed away. "Don't you dare," she snarled. "Do you think you're better than me? Are you trying to shove it in my face or something?" She stood wiping dirt from her face. 

Soleil, still trying to figure out why his senses failed him, did not notice the altercation between the two. Atlas stepped back in confusion, his body still aching from the climb. "I don't know what you're talking about..." he said, wincing. Elidi pushed him to the ground. "Since you're so strong, how come you let me do things like this to you? Why do you hide it from me?" Elidi yelled angrily. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not hiding anything from you?" Atlas spoke. He had no time to react to the constant shoving every time he attempted to stand. "It's not fair, everyone says you have some great power, but you deny it every time," Elidi spoke. "Elidi, please, I'm not hiding anything from you jus-" Atlas was unable to get another word in as he was punched in the stomach. He coughed out, pain shooting throughout his entire being. 

"You don't even fight back, I could run laps around you, yet you're stronger than me? Prove it. Get up and fight me!" Elidi angled her fist, ready to punch Atlas again, only this time, small bolts of lightning emanated from her hand, her eyes glowing a yellow hue. "I-I don't want to fight you, I-" Atlas's words were interrupted as a fist hit his cheek, sending his body a few feet away. "Please don't," He cried out. His pleas fell on deaf ears as Elidi kicked him in his stomach. He held himself, tears pouring down his face as his body shook in pain. Elidi kicked him once more, failing to see that his body struggled to withstand this beating. "Stop it..." He stated weakly as he attempted to rise to his feet. His legs failed to find their balance, and he leaned to the side, his face puffy and red. Elidi tilted her head and smiled. "Good, are you ready to finally fight back?" She asked, walking towards him. "Stop it," Atlas stated again, but this time with a little more authority. "I won't stop until one of us wins. That's how we'll decide who's stronger." Elidi summoned lightning in her hands, ready to unleash her full force. 

She dashed in front of Atlas, positioned to land another punch. This would be the one to knock him out, proof enough to Soleil that she is strong and prepared to learn more about her powers and how to use them properly, and it would've been if Atlas hadn't stopped her. Elidi struggled to breathe as Atlas's hand squeezed her throat tightly. She didn't notice when he moved or how he even ended up grabbing her, but she couldn't think about any of that at the moment. Her lungs began to burn, a sensation she despised. She clawed at his face, not wanting to give up the fight. His expression lay blank, the reflection of the now risen moon in his eyes. 

As her last bit of oxygen escaped her, she realised this was a losing battle. For whatever reason, no matter how much strength she used, she could not remove his hand from her neck. "Y-you win." She blurted out, relaxing against his squeezing hand. She lifted her arms, surrendering. However, the grip on her neck tightened more. "P-Please," she choked, realizing that he didn't seem like he was going to let go. His face lay blank, his eyes worlds away. "Atlas, you have to-," She tried grabbing his hand again, but he only squeezed harder, causing her to gasp for air. Her face turned a shade of blue as she fought against his tight squeeze, her mind raced, and for the first time in her life, she had genuine fear that she was going to die. 

"Both of you cut it out now," Soleil spoke as he pushed Elidi and Atlas away from each other. Atlas's grip released, and he stepped back in confusion. "I turn away for one second, and you two are about to kill each other? What is going on?" Soleil scoffs. Elidi fell to the ground, coughing as air returned to her lungs. Atlas looked around, trying to assess the situation. Soleil stood expecting an explanation from either of them. Atlas, bewildered by what he was looking at, stumbled back. Elidi struggled to get on her feet, lifting her hand to point at Atlas. 

"Monster"