Extra's Ascent

"Let's go again, shall we?!"

Hector erupted forward, leaving only a blur in his wake. His fist, wrapped in crushing momentum, bore down upon Eric like a meteor bound to split the earth.

"Frustrating? Absolutely. But don't you dare underestimate me now!" Eric retorted, eyes burning with defiance.

In that fleeting second, the moment Hector materialized before him with his arm cocked back, Eric's instincts screamed opportunity. And he seized it.

He leaned backwards, spine arched in a fluid motion, allowing the incoming punch to barely graze past. In the same motion, Eric lifted his right leg and twisted his body to the side. His foot snapped out, intercepting the trajectory of Hector's strike mid-flight, halting its destructive course.

And then, he retaliated.

Eric's entire body rose off the rooftop as he spun midair. Momentum gathered in a single elegant coil before his left leg extended in a fierce arc. The heel slammed into Hector's jaw with precise ferocity.

The force detonated like a cannon blast.

Hector's body lifted off the ground, limbs flailing. He spiralled through the air in a tumbling blur before smashing into the far side of the roof, cracking the surface beneath him as dust and rubble scattered from the impact.

Eric landed softly, chest heaving, breath jagged. A layer of sweat glistened on his brow. He had pushed his body far in that brief exchange.

"You're fast, I'll give you that. Strong, even," he spoke through heavy breaths, "but there's something you still don't comprehend."

"Oh yeah?" Hector grunted, rising slowly, brushing off shards of tile. "And what would that be?"

As he stood, he wiped the corner of his lip where a crimson streak had begun to trail. With a sharp spit, he expelled the blood pooling in his mouth and watched it splatter across the rooftop.

Then, surprisingly, he grinned.

He had taken damage, actual damage.

And he couldn't help but savour it.

He hadn't expected Eric to land a blow with enough weight behind it to draw blood. But now? Now he was impressed.

This was getting interesting.

"You may bark like a beast, but underneath all that ferocity… you're still human. A mystic, yes, but still bound by the laws of flesh," Eric said, standing tall, confidence surging through every word. "But me? I am something else entirely. I am an Aldamam, one with the power of clairvoyance."

"Clairvoyance?" Hector scoffed, unimpressed. "And I'm supposed to care because of that?"

"But you should, Hector," Eric replied, his gaze sharpening. "These eyes hold the foundation of truths hidden even from the elite mystics. Let me show you what it really means to carry the name Aldaman."

A surge exploded from within Eric as he channelled pure mana through every fibre of his being. Sparks flickered across his skin. Lightning hissed and crackled, dancing wildly around him like a cloak of living electricity. The surrounding air warped with each pulse. Space seemed to hum in response.

That's when Hector saw it.

The change.

Eric's eyes, those peculiar clover-shaped irises had bloomed. What had started as two leaves in each eye had now unfurled into fully formed three-leaf clovers, rotating faintly as they radiated power.

Magnificent, Hector thought with genuine awe.

The transformation elevated Eric to a whole new echelon. The sheer density of mana now rolling off his frame posed a legitimate threat. Hector could feel it in his bones.

"Prepare yourself. You're about to witness the true potential of an Aldaman," Eric declared, lightning now arcing from his arms, flaring in defiance of gravity.

'True potential of an Aldaman?' Hector pondered, confusion knitting his brow.

He'd never heard of such a family boasting this level of innate power. As far as he was aware, only a handful of clans reigned supreme in the mystic world. The Pendragons, the Valthetrans, and the Astravons. Callum Demarium of the rising Demarium clan was another name that had started making waves at the Eldora Institute.

But Aldaman?

A tickle of memory sparked.

"Wait… Dwayne Aldaman?!"

The name thundered in Hector's mind like a gong. The youngest candidate for the title of LORD. A prodigy among prodigies.

"That Aldaman?!" he shouted aloud.

Realization hit like a flood. How could he have overlooked that? How could he have failed to connect the dots?

But before his thoughts could fully catch up, a shift in the atmosphere seized his attention.

The sky just above him began to darken.

Not the entire skyline. Only the heavens above Hector deepened into shadow, tinged with roiling clouds.

Thunder rumbled ominously.

He raised his chin, eyes narrowing at the eerie canvas above.

"Ah…" he whispered, voice trailing off into a stunned breath. "Ah… ah… ahahahahah!"

First came surprise, then bewilderment, and finally uncontained laughter.

He clutched his stomach, letting his laughter echo across the rooftop.

"This is what I live for!" Hector roared, exhilaration radiating from every pore. "This is what a mystic should be! This is what I expected from a bodyguard with bite!"

Anyone else whether mystic or not would have panicked at the sight of the phenomenon unfolding overhead. But Hector?

He welcomed it.

He rejoiced in it.

Above him, lightning swirled in unnatural patterns. It shifted colour, morphing from its natural blue-white to an ominous black. The clouds turned in kind, forming a storm of shadowed destruction. A tempest that obeyed Eric.

Eric stood unwavering, lightning licking his limbs. His energy surged with purpose. The very air trembled with tension, vibrating beneath the burden of divine pressure.

"This ends here, Hector," Eric intoned, voice steady, eyes glowing with tri-clover brilliance.

"Prove it!" Hector challenged, arms spreading wide in anticipation.

"Black Lightning: Black Tiger's Roar!"

The clouds above convulsed, and from within the churning belly of the storm, a roar shattered the air, a deafening cry born of thunder and raw voltage. A colossal head formed, sculpted from jagged lightning. Shaped like a tiger, its fangs dripped with charged menace, eyes burning with hunger for absolute destruction.

The beast growled, sound reverberating through the atmosphere. Each snarl released tremors of energy. Bolts shot downward, exploding upon contact with the roof, tearing craters into the stone.

Yet Hector didn't flinch.

He didn't retreat.

No fear showed in his posture.

Instead, he squared his shoulders and lifted both hands, readying himself for the oncoming storm.

He knew if he didn't face this with everything he had, he wouldn't survive.

Above, the black tiger's gaze locked onto him, fixated with primal rage. The sky trembled. The storm obeyed its call.

The time had come.

"Come on!" Hector roared, voice challenging the heavens themselves.

The tiger lunged, seeking its prey, seeking annihilation.