The Scream of A Thousand Libraries Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Power of Dreams (I).

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POV: RENATA SILVEIRA. Face to face with her. The training court was there like a stage ready for a spectacle, one of those that resembled choreography. Both of us had already trained together many times; I knew her strategy, and she knew mine. Today, in particular, we had to test something new, and that's what we intended to do. Professor Miguel observed us from a distance, his critical gaze leaving no room for hesitation; he seemed to analyze the environment. He was outside the court, with a simple but firm posture. Turning my attention back to Helena, who was a few meters in front of me. We had agreed to take it seriously, and we knew what that meant. This was not just a test; it was a demonstration. We wanted to show the professor, and each other, that we could use this class to improve and that we would take it seriously. The air vibrated in anticipation. At that moment, nothing else mattered, only the combat that awaited me. Professor Miguel, realizing we were ready, said: “Same rules as before, being knocked to the ground or out of the court equals defeat. Ready?” Helena was the first to confirm. “Yes, sir.” Following her confirmation, I assented soon after. “Alright, then. Begin!” exclaimed the professor, starting the training. Helena was the first to activate her marks, with the naturalness of someone who had done it hundreds of times before. I saw the soft glow of her mark activating, and what appeared to be her Specters emerging behind her, the symbolic element taking form. I heard her summon: “Chains of Marginal Liberty: Specter Cat and Professor”. That was the signal: she would come with a fast approach. In response, my fingers clenched into a fist, channeling energy into my wrists. A cyan tone glowed from my left hand. “Awaken, oh Essence of the Dreamer, and come to my aid!” A mist enveloped my body, almost like an oneiric whisper. I felt the energy flow smoothly and powerfully. The mist expanded through the arena, creating a small atmosphere that I could use to manipulate my projectiles. Helena, knowing this, didn’t wait and leaped towards me, already conjuring one of the patterns of Axiomatic Tessellation. Gauntlets on her hands, and along with them, two specters behind her. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. One that offered her a broad vision and another that offered shots that could disrupt me. She intended to close the distance and take advantage of close-quarters combat. The strategy made sense; after all, my advantage came from distance, from enchantments that required time and space to manifest. Knowing this, she shaped the battlefield like a chess game, cutting off my angles and forcing me to react, not act. ‘Okay, then, here we go…’ Raising my hand, I invoked a dense curtain of undulating darkness. “Appear, Darkness of Dreams!” Taking form, the mists intermingled and expanded my reach through the environment, turning it into a veil over perception. Inside, I could distort directions and slightly disorganize light and shadow; it was an environment that confused the senses, even the most trained ones. “Shall we dance a bit, dear?” I said, amidst the mist that surrounded the environment. I couldn’t directly distinguish, but from her tone of voice, Helena seemed amused by the situation. I could feel a smile coming from her… “For sure, m’lady… Let’s go, Rê!” She entered the darkness without hesitation. For a few seconds, all there was was… silence. I moved around where I felt her energy. I tried to suppress my signature to make it harder to locate her. However, I already felt Helena's other mark taking effect, Observation of the Shadow, which had just made her vision more precise in this darkness. And it didn't take long to see the result; I felt the disturbance in the airflow behind me. I rolled to the side instinctively and saw an energy block strike where my head was. The King’s Sword, combined with Axiomatic Tessellation, generated a good offensive combination. The fir