8.Awakening

After finishing his training, Wael left the area and headed to his usual spot. He lay down on the grass, silently watching the sky.

He closed his eyes for a few moments... then suddenly opened them.

Without turning around, he said confidently, “You took long enough this time...”

Silence followed behind him.

Then came a familiar voice.

“So... you didn’t listen to me. I suppose I’ll have to use force to stop you, then.”

Wael stood up and turned around with a smile.

“That’s going to be troublesome, and I’ll have to deal with Yassin afterward... but I’ll return that punch. Get ready!”

Elias looked at him.

“So you chose to fight... You don’t deserve the power inside you, so I’ll put an end to this urge of yours to fight.”

Wael replied with a confident smile, “Let’s move somewhere else. I don’t want to destroy my favorite place.”

Elias shook his head.

“You’re not in a position to make demands.”

Wael vanished from his spot and appeared in front of him in an instant, his hand already gripping Elias by the neck.

Elias’s eyes widened before he felt his body being hurled through the air at tremendous speed.

Wael kept hold of him until they reached an abandoned quarry, then slammed him into the ground.

Surprise appeared on Elias’s face, but it lasted only a moment. He quickly regained his composure, vanished in a flash, and appeared behind Wael, sending a kick toward his head.

Wael ducked beneath the kick, then grabbed Elias’s leg, attempting to throw him to the ground.

But Elias struck first, landing a powerful punch to Wael’s face.

At the same moment, Wael spun and delivered a side kick. The two attacks collided, sending both fighters flying backward.

Their auras erupted simultaneously.

Wael charged first, lightning covering his right arm. Elias narrowly dodged the attack, then moved around him at incredible speed and threw three consecutive punches.

Wael blocked two of them, but the third forced him backward.

Wael struck the ground with his palm, sending arcs of lightning racing between the rocks toward Elias.

Elias leaped over them and extended his hand downward, releasing a burst of energy. Gravel scattered through the air, forcing Wael to shield his face.

Elias appeared directly in front of him and drove his elbow into Wael’s chest.

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Wael slid backward, but he smiled.

The lightning around his body disappeared for a moment, then erupted again as he surged forward at even greater speed.

The two began exchanging blows without pause.

Elias vanished and reappeared around Wael, while Wael relied on his reaction speed to block the attacks.

Eventually, Wael managed to grab Elias’s arm and unleashed a bolt of lightning directly in front of him.

Elias pulled away with difficulty, smoke rising from his sleeve.

Wael gave him no chance to catch his breath.

He raised both hands and began firing electric energy spheres one after another.

Elias responded by firing bursts of energy from his palms. The attacks collided halfway between them, and the resulting explosions filled the battlefield with dust.

The two emerged from the smoke at the same time, their fists colliding with enough force to shake the ground beneath them.

From the top of one of the cliffs, Bahaa stood with Mark and their third companion, silently watching the fight.

Bahaa smiled as he followed the battle.

The two fighters finally separated, both breathing heavily.

Wael said, “Haven’t I convinced you to use your Golden Transformation yet?”

Elias answered, “Then I’ll tell you about it... I think using it now would make it look as though I couldn’t defeat you without it.”

Wael smiled.

“Then I’ll force you to use it.”

He closed his eyes and began gathering energy inside his body.

His aura gradually grew stronger before suddenly exploding outward, turning red.

Elias stared at him in confusion.

“What is this energy?”

Wael opened his eyes and shouted, “Power Pulse!”

He vanished.

He appeared in front of Elias, his punch reaching him before Elias could even see him move.

Elias was sent flying dozens of meters, but quickly regained his balance.

He tried to counterattack, but Wael had already reached him again.

A punch passed beside Wael’s face, while his own fist buried itself in Elias’s stomach.

Then another...

And another...

And another...

The attacks became a continuous barrage, until Elias could no longer keep up.

Wael kept pressing him without giving him a moment to recover.

Anger burned in Elias’s eyes.

Golden energy erupted from his body, and his hair began turning golden.

Wael smiled.

“Finally.”

Elias cracked his neck and wiped the blood from his mouth before charging toward him.

He raised his hand, forming a massive sphere of golden energy, and hurled it directly at Wael.

Wael raised both arms, lightning gathering around his palms before he released a colossal bolt.

The bolt collided with the golden sphere.

The air trembled before the collision erupted violently, sending rocks flying in every direction.

Elias emerged from the smoke and extended his hand forward.

A straight golden beam tore through the air.

Wael met it with a beam of blue lightning.

The two beams collided halfway between them, each pushing against the other.

The ground cracked beneath their feet as lightning sparks and flashes of light scattered across the sky.

Elias gradually increased the pressure.

His beam began piercing through Wael’s lightning little by little.

Wael jumped away just before it reached him. The beam struck the cliff behind him, tearing apart a large section of it.

Elias resumed his assault.

This time, he was much faster.

Blows rained down on Wael from every direction as his red aura began to fade.

His muscles tightened, and his arms trembled.

He gritted his teeth.

“So... these are the effects Yassin warned me about... Damn it... using this is hurting me, but stopping means losing. I have no other choice...”

He tried to gather enough energy to use Power Pulse again.

At that moment...

“Stoppp!”

Both of them turned.

Amira was running toward them.

She was breathing heavily, and the exhaustion was clearly visible on her face.

Ever since Elias had left his house that morning, she had been unable to forget his strange behavior. She decided to follow him from a distance.

When she saw him flying away with Wael, she followed them until she finally reached the quarry with great difficulty.

She shouted, “Why are you doing this?! Are you both Elemental Users?!”

Up on the cliff, Bahaa stepped forward.

“I’ll intervene.”

But Mark put a hand in front of him.

“Not yet... Don’t let her ruin the plan.”

Bahaa exhaled in frustration before returning his attention to the fight.

Amira tried to stand between them.

“Enough! Stop this!”

But neither of them responded.

Elias resumed his attack.

This time, the battle was completely one-sided.

Wael took blow after blow until he could no longer defend himself.

Elias grabbed him by the head and began punching him repeatedly in the stomach.

Amira rushed toward him, trying to stop him.

She shouted his name and grabbed his arm.

But Elias did not stop.

When she persisted in trying to restrain him...

He struck her.

She was sent flying several meters before crashing to the ground.

Silence fell.

Wael looked at her.

Her arm lay stretched across the dirt... blood running down it.

Wael’s eyes widened.

And in an instant...

He saw the image of a blood-covered hand emerging from beneath the rubble.

His body trembled.

Then...

His blue aura erupted.

Elias instinctively backed away.

Bahaa, Mark, and their third companion froze in place.

Far away...

Yassin opened his eyes.

He had sensed the same energy.

He wanted to intervene, but then he noticed something and stopped...

The blue aura rose higher, cracking the ground beneath Wael’s feet.

Then golden threads began to intertwine with it.

The golden color gradually spread into his hair.

Elias tried to approach and stop him.

But the energy pouring from Wael’s body pushed him backward.

The aura grew denser...

Until the transformation was complete.

Wael stood silently.

Tears streamed from his right eye, while rage filled his gaze.

Bahaa stared at the scene, his eyes widening in shock.

But the shock did not last long.

A sinister smile spread across his face.

“Excellent... The time has come!...