"Who are you really, and why do you have a death wish?" The girl that gave Wu and the rest of the mercenaries asked, rolling back up onto her feet as she watches Wu closely. "I suppose curiosity kills." Wu said, loosening his mask and taking it off, "I know what you want, the big girl told me." "I suppose...she did." The girl said, yawning and putting her clothes back on. Her hair is a beautiful golden blonde, and it looked so shiny even under the dim lighting that it must have been kept in pristine condition with a specially made Casts of sorts, "For now, my curiosity surpasses my killing intent, but the moment my curiosity dwindles, so will your life." "Why?" Wu said, ignoring her threats and marching forward, "Why are you fixing matches? Why are you making some of the fighters lose?" "If I told you why, what will I get in return?" the girl said. "You...get a hug?" "...Pass." "...How about an exchange of information then." Wu said, looking around the room, "Or, you get a new recruit." "We don't want useless recruits." The girl said, her arms crossed. "And who is We?" Wu asked. She glanced towards Wu before unwinding her arms and put a hand forward. As she slowly channeled her Wave, the tips of her fingers started to glow ever so slightly. "Survive this hit, and I will consider you inducting you into our ranks." She said, pointing the finger right at Wu before the tension slowly wound up with the accumulation of the Wave before it was all unleashed. Then suddenly, a dark tint rapidly expanded outwards from Wu and darkened the area all around him as if a light filter had suddenly be applied onto the environment. Like a candle in the windy night, the glowing finger of the girl was blown out, and her jaws dropped before her hands started shaking in place as she tried to struggle physically. She...she couldn't use any of her Wave! It was as if someone had taken her fingers and stuck it underneath a massive bolder or in between the pinching arms of a vice grip, and as she continued to struggle more and more, her body seemed to become heavier and heavier. "What...what have you done?!" She asked, struggling to breathe as a pounding headache rocked inside of her skull as Wu walked forward and leaned in close. "I suppose that counts as me surviving this hit?" Wu smiled, the lines of Cast over his body glowing as he playfully slapped the girl on the shoulder, "Now...are you going to tell me everything?" The girl struggled for more, and Wu simply waited patiently until she eventually gave up. Somehow, in some way, Wu had completely shut down her ability to use the Wave, and...there's nothing she could do. In fact, she has never heard of any Cast like this before, a Cast that shut down the flow of the Wave within one's body. This is drastically different from the Anti-Wave from the Third, as the Third merely cancels out the Wave used by others, but doesn't actually inhibit it like Wu just did. "We...we are PORA, and we are the future..." The girl said, struggling to breathe before she dropped down onto her knees slowly, "We are the Prime Order Revolutionary Army, and we will change the world for good..." "Through what? Inciting wars?" Wu asked, squatting down as his eyes locked onto the gaze of the girl. "Wars are all but a means to an end. It always has been." The girl said, "Compared to what each of the Saviors before had brought along with them, the skirmishes we create are merely to put our pawns in place." "For what?" "For the ultimate control...the ultimate revolution." The girl smiled, her fingers reaching towards the blood-red rose symbol over her gown, "You have no interest in joining us, so I am only going to tell you that whatever you think you can do to stop us, it's already too late. "The revolution had already been underway, and we will return power back to the people of our world. No more Saviors...no more outsider intervention...the fate of the future will be our prime order!" Then, she pressed into symbol as a massive flash of light went off in Wu's face. He spun around rapidly and looked away. As the light subsides, Wu turned around to see a streak of blood rolling down from the corner of the girl's lips before a flames was set to her body, her flesh started to slowly burn away until all that remained are a pile of ash. Wu stood there in silence, and he grunted in frustration before reaching down and tapping the button in his gauntlet to shut off the Cast that forced the girl's hand. He never thought PORA was an organization with suicide pacts to their captured members, and he may have severely underestimated the resolve or ruthlessness of his adversaries. From the bits and pieces of information he could put together, it appeared that the PORA had been, in fact, seeking out recruits within the Infinite Academy, and it is undoubtedly intentionally selective. There are clearly different priorities for the different targets, as those that made it into the final rounds of the Winter Wars would have been their primary targets due to their individual strengths, and if those Wave users were exploited in their moments of weakness after the defeats... There must be a list of targets here somewhere...Wu thought, looking around at the hideouts, but when the girl activated her suicide Cast, every document and sets of evidence connected to her were also destroyed all together. Except for the pieces of instructions that were given to the various Mercenaries. Taking the stacks of papers out from his pockets, Wu then laid it all out in front of him and noted down all of the individuals that they wanted to lose. Of the list of names, Wu immediately noticed Ver and Fatera's. So those two were also the PORA's targets...but what happens now? It seemed like a rather sloppy plan if the girl is the only one behind this recruitment procedure? Now that she's dead, what is PORA going to do? There must be something deeper... Wu thought, standing up slowly and taking the girl's place as he continued watching the rest of the First rounds. That was when Lera stepped up into the battlefield against Yuna. Then, as the fight progressed and Yuna eventually found out Lera's location, she was forced to use her trump card. "Wu's Original: Void Domain..." That was the very first Cast Wu has made in this world, and he developed it back during the months of training with the help of Lera. "Activate!" Wu said, projecting his hands forward before a rapidly expanding opaquely black wave surged forward and swept through the cone-shaped area in front of him. Wherever the Void Domain reaches, the flow of the Wave became completely seized up. During this training exercise, Lera had already set up her Cast Array, yet none of the Casts were respondent to her commands after Wu had projected his Void Domain outwards. "What is this?!" Lera's mouth opened as she ran towards Wu. Then, she stopped right outside the boundary of the Void Domain before poking her fingers into the space. It felt as if she had poked her hand into a bread dough, and there was a strength invisible adhesive force that wanted to keep her stationary, preventing her from moving even as Wu hopped back and forth within the domain, "This seemed far more potent than the Cast of Containment!" "This is a domain in which the Wave will not flow." Wu said, "Since I do not have any Wave in me, it doesn't affect me in the slightest bit. It is far more flexible than the Cast of Containment, because if I just let it loose..." The dark shadow swept around, and now covered a spherical space around Wu's body. "But...how?!" Lera asked, yanking her finger back with great effort, "How is that possible?" "The Cast of Containment worked on the principle that the Wave flows when there is a natural gradient which forces it to flow in a certain direction. For the one-shotter, it contains the Wave within by forcibly creating a gradient which traps all of the waves within." Wu continued, pointing to the gemstone that originated from the One-Shotter, "But if we take this concept further, and apply it outwards onto the environment at infinitesimally small intervals...We can then trap the increments of Waves!" "...What?" "Meaning, I have countless Casts of Containment organized in parallel on my suit, and they are projected outwards which creates countless lines of steep Wave gradients. Those steep Wave gradients are like huge walls that separates each bit of the Wave from one another." Wu said, walking forward towards Lera before the Void Domain slowly covered her entire body and sent a shiver down her spine. He noticed her shift in expressions, and promptly turned it off. "It doesn't mean that all flow of the Wave is halted, but rather there are simply so much resistance to the flow of the Wave, that only the strongest are able to overcome it." Wu said, patting Lera on the head with a prideful smile, "What do you think? How's that for a first Cast?" "Teach me." Lera said, hugging her arms around Wu's waist before pulling him close, "I want to learn every last thing about it." "I didn't want to use it right away, Yuna!" Lera explained, reaching towards the bracelets of Yuna's, "This was taught to me by someone I cared about a lot, and I only wanted to use it only if I have to!" "I...I will not lose here!" Yuna said, forcing the flow of the Wave within her body, but that only stiffened up everything even further, "I cannot afford to look weak to them!" "Neither could I." Lera said, when suddenly, Yuna let out a sigh and started to relax. Strength is not all about struggling. Relaxation is strength. Effortless is strength too. Yuna let out long-held breathes and slowly let go of the Wave instead. She's not an idiot, and she is not going to waste time trying the same thing over and over. Instead, she prides herself on being flexible enough to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. So what if she somehow couldn't use the Wave? Does it mean she can't fight anymore? Didn't the First say that a Fist is all one needs to be strong? If that's the case...then Yuna shouldn't need the Wave. Before she knew how to control the Wave, she already had her fists. Plus, if Lera's using this Cast to stop the flow of the Wave in within the volume covered by the black bubble, that should mean she should lose the access to the Wave too! That's why she had to use her hands and try to destroy the bracelet! A smile crept up Yuna's face, and she dashed forward towards Lera, her body relaxed and springy, though her movements far slower than if she enhanced her movements with the Wave. "You can't use it either, could you?" Yuna said, tackling Lera to the ground before the two of them rolled around in the snow and Yuna quickly got the upperhand, "You can't use the Wave, could you?!" "Tsk!" Lera grunted, cursing that Yuna had figured everything out so quickly. However, her element of surprise is already gone at this point. Lera tried to push Yuna off her, but the latter spun around, contorting her body and looping her legs around Lera's throat before she clenched her fist and shattered the bracelet around Lera's arm. The black bubble of the Void Domain vanished, and the familiar sensation of the flowing Wave returned to Lera and Yuna's body. "Damn it..." Lera cursed as Yuna rolled away from her. "And with that...Yuna Hu takes the victory over Lera Huten!" Principal Khan declared, though his mind was still trying to process what he has just seen. A Cast that nullifies the flow of the Wave is a Cast that is extremely dangerous and never-before-seen, and he is going to find out just how Lera was able to use it.