Yassin stood impassively, his silver eyes scanning for any sign of his invisible adversary. A knife shimmered into existence, hurtling toward him from the right. Yassin didn’t move; he simply allowed his body to become intangible, and the blade passed through him as if he were made of air.
More knives appeared, suspended in the air, but Yassin avoided them with effortless grace. He raised a hand toward one of the flying blades and unleashed a powerful wave of air. The blast struck Nadir, who had been hiding nearby, and sent him flying until he crashed hard against a tree, his form flickering back into view. He struggled to his feet, his body aching.
"So simple tricks won’t work on you?" he snarled, his face contorted with rage. "I’ll make you regret this!"
Nadir vanished once more, slipping between the trees and using them for cover. He opened fire, bullets ripping through the air where Yassin stood. Yassin evaded the shots and sent powerful currents of wind toward the trees, slicing them into pieces with air pressure as sharp as a sword. The gunfire continued, now from another direction.
Yassin stood with his senses heightened, waiting. He was caught completely by surprise when a powerful punch slammed into the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. The world spun. Nadir appeared over him, gun aimed at his head.
"Surrender," he said with cold determination, "or I’ll blow your head off."
Without warning, a violent gust of wind erupted from Yassin’s body, hurling Nadir away and slamming him brutally to the ground. Nadir scrambled back to his feet, pain shooting through him, only to see Yassin already standing again. Nadir disappeared, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to defeat him.
He charged again, throwing a flurry of punches, but they all passed harmlessly through Yassin’s gaseous form. Yassin seemed disoriented, unable to pinpoint where the invisible attacks were coming from. Nadir kept up the relentless assault, feeling he was making no progress. Then, Yassin released a gust of wind with his hand—but in the wrong direction. In that split second, Nadir’s punch connected solidly.
He can’t attack while he’s like that, Nadir realized. To attack, he has to become solid again.
He pressed the attack, but Yassin retreated until he was standing before the weapon crates. Using his power, he lifted more than twenty swords and knives into the air. A storm of steel. Nadir’s eyes widened in terror, and he ran as Yassin hurled the blades randomly across the arena. Nadir barely avoided being impaled, the blades thudding into the trees and ground all around him. He stood panting, his body trembling, scarcely believing he had survived.
Yassin walked to the small stream near the crates and placed his hand close to the water. The stream began to vibrate, and then, with a great groan, the water rose into the air, forming a massive, churning ball above Yassin’s head. The strain was visible on his face, but he quickly directed the water forward. It surged across the arena, flooding the entire field. Nadir, surprised by the attack, ran for the trees, but the water was faster, crashing against him. He realized it was shallow, barely reaching his knees, and laughed to himself at the ridiculous, useless attack.
"I didn’t know he could control water, too!" Jean said, bewildered.
"I don’t think he can," Noor replied, watching intently. "He must have lifted it with the wind. I don’t know if that’s even possible. Maybe he controls more than one element."
Yassin collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his energy seemingly spent. Nadir saw his chance. He rushed forward to finish him off. Yassin heard the heavy splashes of Nadir’s footsteps approaching and knew his trap had been sprung. He waited until the sound was right on top of him, then sprang to his feet. Seeing the footprints disturbing the water’s surface, he pinpointed Nadir’s exact location and thrust his hand forward. A concentrated blast of wind struck Nadir’s invisible body, sending him flying through the air before he crashed back into the water.
Yassin’s body seemed to dissolve into a small, swirling storm, moving rapidly toward where Nadir had fallen. He saw Nadir struggling to stand, water dripping from his invisible form, revealing his transparent outline to everyone watching. Yassin appeared before him and delivered a solid punch to his face, knocking him down again. Nadir stood, only to be hit by a slap of pure wind that sent him flying. He got up again, protecting his head, only to receive another punch that drove him back, followed by another wind blast that knocked him to the ground.
When he stood this time, he saw Yassin raising his hand. The water around Nadir’s own body began to churn, rising up and surrounding him.
He’s going to drown me! Nadir thought, a wave of pure terror washing over him.
He struggled, but the water constricted around him, holding him in place. It rose over his head. Nadir took one last, desperate breath and held it as the water completely enveloped him. He thrashed violently, but his opponent, who possessed not an ounce of emotion, paid no attention. His lungs burned, begging for oxygen. He felt the intense pressure of the water on his body like an iron cage. The world began to darken around him. He knew this was the end. Suddenly, everything went black.