Chase stood at the center of it all, with a quick gaze toward the scoreboard that towered above him... He spotted the time left.
'five minutes...'
That was all he needed.
With Thane pushing his burnt body off of the ground, on the other side of the crater that Chase had created with a single explosion... Which ended up being nearly the entire arena.
Dead ahead he could see the goal, and on the other side of the arena, he seen Equan carrying the ball being drowned in a tide of the remaining Frostfang players.
Chase knew that he had to do something, he couldn't let this terrible battle end in vain.
He wondered just how hot he could possibly burn, but then something terrible happened.
His flames short circuited, and his body gave out.
He had not only reached his limit, but completely shattered it.
He had spent the entire match fighting on the level of someone six output stars ahead of him.
As he tried his hardest to get up and off of his broken knees, he let out screams, and tried to summon his flames again, but it was of no use.
Then before he knew it, Thane shot toward him and was already upon him before he could react.
Feeling the mighty force of the rival heir, he faltered and felt his life force stutter.
His body had been crushed into the ground, and was now feeling impact after impact as the enraged Thane powered down on him from above.
He could not move, could not even speak, and yet his eyes remained as open as ever.
He let out a terrible growl, and tried to summon his father's flames once more, but that would not work.
And of course he knew that...
The flames did nothing but hurt him, as if he wasn't compatible to wield his father's divine lineage, but he did not know who his mother truly was, but he knew that she was strong, who else could have fallen for someone as powerful as his father.
She was the one who had sealed off his true power at birth, and now he knew why.
If his father's lineage was strong enough to nearly cause his catalyst to implode, then what horrors would his mother's lineage cause his fragile body.
"No!"
He screamed, as he grabbed the incoming fist, that was about to once again plummet his skull inward.
"I won't lose..."
Then he felt it before he heard it...
In the stands, a single yell seemed to be enough power to radiate his body to life.
Even though his armor had already been destroyed, and could not gain the essence of belief from the pulse of the crowd...
A single white flame covered his body like a shield, and then exploded outward.
Thane was shot backward like a comet, and soared into the distance of the vast crater.
Chase pushed his ragged body up, feeling the single ivory flame begin to die out...
'Thank you Poppy...'
Then he sprinted toward the direction that he had seen Equan.
Without his sword on him, and no more flames left to ignite, he threw himself into the dog pile of Frostfang warriors with as much force as he could muster.
Sending a few of them rolling into the dirt, he stood on top of a terrible looking Equan, as his own blood dripped around the poor boy.
"Give me."
He said, with nothing anger in his tone.
Equan looked like he wanted to let out sob after sob, but handed the aetherball to him nonetheless.
Then as the clock his one minute left, he looked down at his friend.
"Thank you for everything. All of you have shown me what it is like to have a true family... I am grateful, but I haven't given back nearly enough of what you have given me... So know this... I am going to strive, not for myself, or for the revenge that I will one day take, but I will strive for all of you, as a thank you..."
Equan grinned, showing the blood on his teeth.
"Give them hell."
Chase used the remaining axis in his body, shooting himself into the sky, but before he could even reach his climax, Thane grabbed onto his ankle, freezing it from the very touch.
Screaming in pain, Chase had one last gaze at the crowd around him.
So many people standing, so much pressure, so many yells and chants.
And at the top of it all in the spectator's box, he finally found joy.
Rhysara and Sazir were standing up, watching with nothing but anxiety, as the queen must have finally realized who he was.
Nearly two years ago, that woman and that man had taken his father's life, his friends, and his home.
"WATCH ME PREVAIL!"
He screamed with pure joy, as he launched the ball with a flurry of flames in the direction of the goal, but the game was not over yet.
He was going to embarrass this entire team one last time before he went to war.
Reaching down with one hand, he grabbed Thane's face, and reached back with his other hand.
He didn't care how much energy he had to use, he was going to pull off one hell of a stunt.
As the final buzzer rang, with the sound of the goal directly after, he summoned thousands of flames behind his body, and directly into the sky.
Shooting down like a meteor, he gripped Thane's face even harder, pushing him down with all of his might, as the scenery of the crater below grew closer and closer.
"Eat dirt."
He growled, as the impact echoed throughout the arena, like an explosion of energy strong enough to shatter entire cities.
Below him, he let go of the face of Thane who had absorbed all of the contact, but luckily enough he wasn't dead.
Standing at the center of it all, Chase was the last one standing, and he stood proud.
As for the first time today, the crowd was silent, and for the fist time in decades, Phoenix had won the championship game.
There was no way to describe the feelings that he felt in that moment.
Other than victory that was.
'It's only the start...'
"But see me now world, and bare witness to the one who will one day reign supreme."
He said, just loud enough for the best of ears to hear him.
It was his warning, his statement, and his declaration of war.
He was no boy anymore.
and on that very day, a warrior was born.
End of Volume 2 - The Prodigies Of Phoenix Academy...