PENUMBRA | fate the winx saga

1:TWENTYFIVE

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The training area was bustling with both fairies and specialists, all working on different aspects of combat to prepare for their futures. Each fairy was paired up with a specialist in order to combine their strengths: physical combat and magic.

These combined training sessions happened every year, but this year, the stakes were higher, all due to the threat of Burned Ones looming over them.

Vienna was paired up with Adrianne. As much as she hated relying purely on her magic, she had requested to train as a fairy in order to get used to using her magic in battle. Being paired up with someone she considered her closest friend just happened to be a bonus.

The two girls stood at the edge of the hedge maze with Professor Harvey, watching as both Sky and Bloom attempted to kill the magical simulation of the Burned One which was advancing towards them.

"Bloom," Sky called out nervously as the creature ran, his sword raised as he waited for Bloom to use her magic.

"Got it," she spoke after a few moments, sending a wall of fire towards the creature. The magic did nothing to slow it down, and seconds before its claws sunk into the pair, it turned into a cloud of dust which then transformed into a crystal.

Vienna and Adri followed Professor Harvey as he approached the other pair, his hand clutching onto a clipboard as he took notes.

"Can we get a hint?" Sky questioned, handing the crystal over to the man.

"Every failure brings you one step closer to success." Harvey stated.

"Very good lesson, Professor," Bloom spoke with an overly enthusiastic smile. "As usual."

"Just be patient," he continued. "Look, fire magic is very effective if used properly. Inside each Burned One, there's a magical core called a cinder. With time and finesse, you can use your magic to destroy it. The key is mutual trust. You." He pointed at Bloom. "must trust your specialist to hold it back, whilst you channel your controlled magic. And you," he pointed towards Sky. "Must trust your fairy to get the job done."

"Can only magic kill the core?" Vienna questioned as she eyed the man. "What if you stab the core in the right place?"

"That could work too," the man shrugged. "Magic would be easier, but a blade would also do the trick."

"Alright," Adri spoke with a grin, turning to face Vienna. "We got this."

Vienna's gaze found Sky's, and she cheekily winked at him. "Stand back and watch how a real team gets things done."

Both Vienna and Adrianne found themselves in the centre of the maze, Adri with her sword raised, and Vienna braced with her hands raised, the girl having abandoned her weapons for the exercise. The two circled around each other, their ears perked as they listened out for any movements around the maze.

"There!" Vienna exclaimed, her eyes spotting the creature advancing towards them in the distance. She threaded her brows in concentration as she raised her hands, her eyes glowing purple as the shadows around the creature moved.

With a grunt she finally made the shadows materialise out of the ground like pure black vines, and willed them to wrap around the creatures legs. Adri continued to stand by her side with her sword raised, waiting for a signal from her partner.

"Shit!" Vie cursed as the Burned One managed to break through several of the shadow vines, which dissipated into the air like smoke. She threw out her hands again for a second attempt, and at the last second, she managed to trap the creature a few metres away from where they stood. "Now!"

Adri twirled around to gain momentum, and when the timing was right, she let go of the sword. Both girls watched with wide eyes as the blade flew through the air, before striking what Vienna hoped was the magical core.

The shadow fairy cursed as the vines dissipated again from around the creature's legs, but it didn't matter. It had begun to stumble as it tried to move towards the girls, but eventually it fell to the floor with a giant thud.

"Did we do it?" Vienna panted out as she let her arms fall to her side, and felt Adri wrap her arms around her shoulders.

"Congratulations," Harvey praised as he emerged from between the hedges, a large smile on his face. "Good aim Adrianne. And good work with your magic Vienna."

"I almost blew it twice," Vienna groaned. "I hate not using my blades."

"Listen, Farah told me you only recently started practicing materialisation. For a beginner, your display of magic was quite impressive indeed. Holding down a Burned One isn't easy."

"Thank you, sir," she responded with a small smile, spotting Sky and Bloom approaching them from the other side of the maze. "Good luck trying to top that," she bet with a large smile as Sky looked at her.

"It was average at best," Sky shrugged, earning a punch in the arm from Vienna and a scoff from Adri.

"I'd like to see you throw a sword with the same precision that Adrianne here does."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'd like to see that too. I'll admit I can only do damage when I'm actually holding the sword."

Vienna patted him on the shoulder before walking away with Adri and Professor Harvey, her head turned back as she continued to keep eye contact with the boy. "Good luck. You'll need it."

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I don't actually know if you can kill a Burned One without magic, but I really wanted Adri to kill it by yeeting a sword so here we are.

I initially wanted to write this chapter with Vienna paired up with Sky but I thought friendly competition against him with Vie's almost best friend would have been better.

Once again, thank you for reading, and thank you to everyone who leaves nice comments every chapter. You guys are the reason why I have the motivation to update so quickly.

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