NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87: The Obsidian Reavers (Part II)
Jason stood before the whiteboard, his expression carved from iron. Around him, the team leaned forward, hanging on every word.
"The first half was pressure," he began. "The second half is precision."
Aya nodded, eyes sharp. "They're using stacked resonance. Every time we clash, their aura cycles through their armor. That's why it feels like hitting a wall."
Jason pointed at the schematic hologram. "Right. But that wall has a weak point, Dravik's core link. The Reavers' armor synchronization depends on his output. Disrupt him, and the rest collapse."
Scarlett grinned. "So we break the captain?"
Jason smirked faintly. "Exactly. But you won't be doing it alone."
He turned toward Blaze.
Every eye followed.
Blaze sat near the end of the bench, leg brace unclipped, his fingers flexing slowly. The glow under his skin pulsed, faint orange ripples that mirrored the heartbeat in his chest. He rose to his feet, feeling every gaze press down on him.
Jason's tone softened. "You'll play the first ten minutes in observation mode. No full Aura Flame activation. Sync your telepathy to the team's rhythm, find Dravik's weak link. Once you stabilize your internal flow, then, and only then, you push."
Blaze met his coach's eyes. "Understood."
Anastasia's voice was quiet but firm beside him. "Just… don't overdo it."
He smiled at her, small but genuine. "No promises."
Jason clapped his hands. "Alright, Titans. Time to light up the field.
The second half began under the thunder of the crowd. The energy in the AetherDome was raw, vibrating through every plate of the arena floor. Blaze stood at the sideline, inhaling deeply as the timer flickered down. His body trembled, not with pain this time, but anticipation.
This isn't about surviving, he told himself. It's about controlling.
The whistle blew.
Anastasia led the forward line with Lionel and Scarlett flanking wide. Aya moved like a conductor, orchestrating each movement from midfield. Blaze jogged into position at the back, easing his breathing, letting his senses unfold.
Immediately, he felt it, the pulse of eleven teammates, each aura distinct yet connected by invisible threads. Through Cosmic Telepathy, he let their energies flow into him like overlapping melodies. Lionel's defensive hum was deep and steady, Aya's rhythm sharp and precise, Anastasia's aura fierce and bright as lightning.
Blaze adjusted, syncing his heartbeat to theirs until the chaos of the match started to make sense, a living organism moving with one shared will.
The Reavers hit hard, just as before. Their formations were brutal, efficient. Dravik moved like a hammer, driving through midfield, his aura heavy and oppressive. For the first few minutes, Blaze focused only on reading him, mapping the cadence of his movement through the team's shared link.
"Don't bite," Jason's voice came through his earpiece. "Let them come to you."
Blaze obeyed, intercepting one pass but avoiding unnecessary clashes. His right leg twinged with each burst of speed, but the pain was manageable, like a reminder of his restraint.
Then, something shifted.
Through the telepathic hum, Blaze sensed an anomaly, a discordant rhythm in Dravik's flow. Every time the Reaver captain drew energy from his teammates, a faint lag pulsed through his left arm. It was subtle, buried beneath waves of aggression.
Blaze's eyes narrowed. There.
He pinged the team mentally.
> Blaze: "Dravik's link stutters when he overdraws. Left side. Exploit it."
Aya: "Confirmed. I'll bait him."
Anastasia: "On your signal."
The next play unfolded like clockwork. Aya intentionally left a gap in midfield, inviting Dravik to charge. He took the bait, slamming forward, aura surging. But just before impact, Lionel pivoted, redirecting his own energy into Blaze's open channel.
Time slowed.
Blaze stepped forward, the Elemental Speed kicking in. The world blurred, every heartbeat stretching into eternity. His right foot met the ground, sending a shockwave of pressure through the turf. Blue trails ignited under his boots.
He twisted mid-motion, intercepting Dravik's charge with perfect timing. The energy clash lit the dome like a flash grenade.
For a moment, everything went white.
Then came the sound, a thunderous crack as Dravik's synchronization faltered. His armor flickered, black plates flashing unstable gray for a heartbeat.
Aya shouted, "Now!"
Anastasia was already in motion. She sprinted past Blaze, wings flaring open, caught Lionel's rebound, and with one sweeping arc, launched the ball forward.
Scarlett caught it mid-sprint and scored with a vicious kick that tore through the Reavers' shattered defense.
2–1. Titan's Reach leads.
The crowd roared so loud it rattled the dome's supports.
Jason's grin was sharp. "Textbook, team. Keep the pressure controlled!"
Blaze exhaled, but his pulse wouldn't slow. The Aura Flame inside him had awakened from its slumber, restless and whispering, more, more, more.
He clenched his fists. Not yet.
Minutes passed. The Reavers retaliated with desperation. Their movements grew more erratic, their aura output spiking dangerously. They were unraveling, but they were still deadly.
Aya called out a formation shift. "Scarlett, drop left. Blaze, support defense!"
Blaze pivoted, darting back into the defensive half. His injured leg screamed, but he pushed through, leaning into the flow of energy rather than brute force. He intercepted a cross-field pass with his right arm, redirecting it toward Lionel.
But the Reavers' striker collided with him midair, a body slam that sent both crashing to the turf.
The crowd gasped. Blaze rolled, teeth gritted, aura flaring instinctively. The ground beneath him scorched faintly. Anastasia was there in seconds, helping him up.
"Are you insane?" she hissed. "You're supposed to ease in!"
Blaze grinned weakly. "That was easing."
"Idiot," she muttered, but her hand lingered on his shoulder an extra second before she pulled away.
Jason's voice cut in again. "Blaze, five minutes left. If you're going to use the Aura Flame, do it now. Controlled fusion. Nothing more."
Blaze inhaled slowly, gaze shifting toward the Reavers regrouping on the far side. Dravik was snarling commands, his armor flickering in unstable rhythm.
He closed his eyes.
Elemental Speed. His body shimmered, motion tightening.
Cosmic Telepathy. His senses expanded, feeling the pulse of every teammate, every breath of the crowd.
Aura Flame. The heat rose within, spiraling up his spine, threatening to consume.
He exhaled, and instead of fighting the fire, he guided it.
Flames burst around him in a controlled spiral, golden-orange arcs dancing like ribbons. The stadium lights dimmed as his aura grew brighter, focused, alive. His teammates felt the energy shift, not wild this time, but precise. Balanced.
Aya whispered through the link, awed. "He's… harmonizing all three."
Jason's voice came, quieter now. "Now show them what a Titan really is."
The Reavers charged as one. Dravik roared, leading the attack, aura flaring dark crimson, armor humming with overload.
Blaze stepped forward.
He didn't run, he glided, moving faster than the eye could follow, every motion powered by fused energy. The ball streaked toward him, spinning with lethal speed. He reached it first, sliding into motion with breathtaking grace.
Every sense sharpened. The air bent around him as he kicked, the Aura Flame trailing his foot in a fiery arc that cut through the field like molten glass. The sphere soared, blazing through the Reavers' formation.
Dravik lunged to intercept.
Their auras collided again, fire and shadow, gold and black. The pressure was immense, like two stars colliding. Blaze pushed harder, his flame focusing tighter, whispering not destruction but control.
"Not this time," he growled.
With a final surge, he twisted, redirecting Dravik's energy backward. The Reaver captain stumbled, his armor's synchronization collapsing entirely. The backlash sent shockwaves across the field, knocking two defenders off their feet.
The ball tore through the goal line like a meteor.
3–1.
Silence.
Then, the dome erupted.
The noise was deafening, the crowd chanting Blaze's name. His body trembled, sweat pouring down his face, but his aura burned steady. He hadn't lost control. Not this time.
Anastasia reached him first, breathless and smiling, eyes wide with disbelief. "You did it."
He grinned back, exhausted. "We did it."
Jason's voice cracked over comms, proud and firm. "That's game."
When the final whistle blew, Titan's Reach stood victorious. The Reavers' players limped off the field, their black armor dimmed and silent. Blaze fell to his knees, not from pain, from relief. The fire within him finally quieted.
Anastasia crouched beside him, wings folding inward. "So… still think you weren't ready?"
He chuckled softly. "Maybe just enough."
She shook her head, smiling despite herself. "You really don't know how to take it easy."
"Not in my blood."
They stayed there a moment, the roar of the crowd washing over them, the lights shimmering above like stars. Aya and Lionel approached, Scarlett following, all three laughing, shouting, hugging each other.
Jason watched from the sideline, arms crossed, a proud, tired smile on his face. He's finally learning, he thought. Not just how to burn… but how to endure.
Later that night, as the city lights dimmed and the team celebrated quietly in the training hall, Blaze found himself outside again, standing on the balcony overlooking Veridion's skyline. The fire in his chest was calm now, pulsing like a heartbeat, no longer screaming for release.
Anastasia joined him, silent for a moment before speaking softly. "You scared me again today."
He looked over, guilt flashing briefly. "Sorry."
"Don't be." She met his eyes, her expression softer than he'd ever seen it. "Just… don't make me watch you fall again."
He hesitated, then nodded. "I'll try."
The breeze carried faint traces of ozone and rain. They stood side by side, the world beneath them glittering in gold and blue. For the first time in weeks, Blaze felt at peace, not because he'd won, but because he'd learned.
And far above them, in the distant sky, the next set of tournament lights flickered to life, a silent reminder that this victory was only the beginning.