Dominic pushed himself up from the rubble, water and blood dripping from his hair.
Dirt and concrete clung to his clothes and skin.
They’re not trying to kill me…
A drop sliced across his cheek.
Deeper this time.
He ignored it.
No…
that’s not it.
Another cut.
Then another.
Random.
Unpredictable.
Then a shift.
Unfortunately, he reacted too slowly.
A torpedo slammed into his side, sending him skidding across the ground.
Air tore from his lungs.
He coughed, forcing himself to stand again, teeth clenched against the pain.
Think…
The rain wasn’t the main attack.
Not anymore.
It felt more like noise.
A smokescreen overloaded his senses, drowning everything out.
Dominic steadied his breathing, forcing it slower.
Controlled, measured.
The drops that struck his skin hissed into steam.
There are too many signals.
Too much interference.
He had to filter it out.
Focus on the slightest change.
He stepped to the right.
Nothing.
“…Okay,” he whispered.
Another step forward.
A flicker, a distortion.
Too slight to be noticed.
He stepped back instantly.
A torpedo tore past him, slamming into the wall where he’d been standing.
Concrete cracked on impact.
Dominic swallowed hard, then exhaled slowly.
Got it.
He moved again.
Step.
Pause.
Another shift, another slight distortion.
He slipped past it.
Then another, closer this time.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.
I’m getting it…
More torpedoes came.
Fast.
Relentless.
He dodged, barely.
Each movement was sharper than the last.
Then, another shift.
From below.
Water surged beneath his feet.
Before he could react, it lifted him three feet into the air.
He dropped hard.
Asphalt tore into his palm as he hit the ground.
“Shit–” he groaned, rolling onto his side before forcing himself up again.
His body screamed in protest.
His vision blurred from blood loss.
I don’t know how much I can take…
He let out a shaky breath.
…Or how I’m still standing.
He felt another pressure again; he dodged again, barely.
I can’t keep this up for long.
Alright, Dominic…
Think…”
He jumps out of the way again, dodging another water torpedo.
“Water and fire and natural enemies…
How do I counter?”
Think, Dominic, think…
“Water and heat,” he says as he continuously dodges water being shot at him from different directions.
Come on, what can you remember about water and heat…
Water boils at a hundred degrees…
but that isn’t enough.
Droplets evaporate more easily into steam because they’re small.
Predictable.
But this…
Water hit his side again.
“It’s too much.”
These torpedoes aren’t just droplets; they are copious amounts of water being held together, compressed into a spinning missile.
If a surface is far too hot…
hotter than a hundred degrees…
then a layer of steam forms, which blocks the water from direct contact with the surface.
Another pressure.
He moved.
Too slow.
He was hit on his shoulder, and he felt his arm snap.
He hissed in pain, clutching his arm.
Concentrate…
If I can heat my body to a hundred degrees, surely, I can heat up to temperatures higher than that…
He began to concentrate.
This is not the time for him to gain control; control isn’t going to save him now.
Tiny sparks of white and yellow flames formed around him.
Dominic felt the air around him heat up slowly.
The pressure returned.
He didn’t move; he focused on increasing the temperature of his body.
The water hit him hard.
Steam erupted from its surface, squealing as it touched him.
Unfortunately, he was pushed back, hitting a wall.
Right, I’m not a brick wall…
He groaned as he stood up.
“Newton’s laws of motion still apply to me,” he said, chuckling.
Water had to hit a surface before it turned to steam…
Plus, it didn’t lose its shape.
The water has enough force to throw me in the air, plus…
“Argh..!” He yelled out in frustration.
“What I would give to be able to control something else…”
He felt another pressure and began jumping, cracking his neck and punching his arms, forgetting it was broken.
“Ow, I shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered.
He saw the water coming and quickly jumped out of the way.
“I don’t think I’ve tried heating the air?” he said.
“Would I be able to transfer my resonance to air…
Air isn’t exactly a solid…
Unless the air…”
That’s it.
Steam.
As more rain touched his skin, the more it turned to steam.
He stretched out his arms, transferring his resonance to the steam.
The veins beneath his skin began to glow brightly orange as he did this.
Bright golden runes began to form as the steam became hotter.
His body also became hotter.
It felt like his blood was boiling.
He felt that familiar drop in pressure.
Please work…
The water torpedo hit again.
Then a burst of white steam formed, almost immediately followed by the deafening roar of water evaporating.
“…It worked.”
Dominic was beyond surprised.
It actually worked.
But how long would they be able to keep this up?
You see, despite finding a solution to not being tossed around by torpedoes of water.
He’s still bleeding out very quickly.
And steam isn’t the best source of oxygen.
He’s suffocating slowly.
I need to move…
He felt that familiar pressure again, and he was hit from the side; more steam surrounded him.
His breathing quickened both from the intense heat and suffocation.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
The steam around him collapsed, pulled away as if it had never been there.
Cold air rushed back in, and Dominic could breathe properly.
He turned around, hurried, ready to strike, and froze.
Adrian stood behind him.
Smiling.
“You…”
Words caught in Dominic’s throat; he had so much to say.
What happened?
Where did you go?
I thought you were dead–
“You look rough,” Adrian said, calm as ever.
There was a hint of something else.
Approval, maybe.
Dominic’s eyes twitched.
“Is that all you have to say?” he snapped, anger breaking through as he slapped Adrian’s hand from his shoulder.
“I thought–I thought you–”
“Shh,” Adrian lifted a finger to his lips.
Dominic stiffened, looked at the finger on his lips, then back at Adrian.
What on earth are you doing?
A pause.
Long enough to feel deliberate.
“Glad to see you alive.”
Adrian spoke in a quiet tone.
Not in the casual, careless way he usually did.
Dominic blinked.
“…You too,” he muttered; the tension in his shoulders didn’t ease.
Adrian gave a small nod, like that was enough.
Then, Dominic felt it.
A shift, not like before.
It wasn’t chaotic or overwhelming.
This was something sharper and heavier.
His breath hitched
The resonance was different.
It carried intent, killing intent.
Adrian looked past him, his expression flattening just slightly.
“It seems I have underestimated you,” he said lightly.
A pause.
“Whatever shall I do with you?”
Dominic turned.
A woman stood there, bloodied, eyes filled with hatred.
“You killed them!” she screamed.
“Killed?” Adrian scoffed.
“No, I merely incapacitated them.”
A slight tilt of his head.
“It was…
admittedly messy.”
“You bastard!
Die!”
Shadows surged from all directions, forming into sharp spikes, shooting towards them in all directions.
Then a sharp crack split through the air.
The shadows collapsed instantly, breaking apart before they could reach their target.
The woman dropped to her knees, blood spilling from her lips.
Dominic’s eyes widened at the sight.
What–?
He looked at Adrian.
He hadn’t moved.
There was no surge in resonance or any indication that he had attacked.
Nothing–
Just a slight shift.
That’s all.
Like an insect passing by his ear.