Familiar Synchro? A general-based Art where a user and their familiar synchronise their abilities to match one another's scale and eventually merge them into a single force. In most instances, this fusion involves blending the user's elemental affinity with that of their familiar to form a hybrid manifestation.
At first glance, it resembles the formation of secondary elements. However, unlike the strict requirements of secondary elemental formation, Familiar Synchro imposes far fewer limitations. Specifically, the user doesn't need to possess the primary element involved in the fusion to harmonise it with their familiars.
It's a rare convergence. Imagine a watered-down version of secondary elemental Art, yet one that removes the demanding necessity of elemental ownership. But where it relaxes one rule, it tightens another.
What it asks for in return is something far more intimate.
It demands affinity. But not just any affinity, a profound, soul-level bond between the user and familiar. The kind of connection that transcends contracts and reaches into the realm of the unbreakable. Without such a powerful link, the Art simply won't work.
Saldrich knew this well. And in knowing, she found herself doubting.
Aldrich... with Malakaih? The notion that her brother could have forged such a connection seemed far-fetched. Between his relentless schedule and a lack of meaningful time spent nurturing that bond, how could he possibly attain the synchrony required?
No one could blame her for being sceptical. In her shoes, anyone would've come to the same conclusion: Aldrich couldn't possibly pull off Familiar Synchro. Not now. Not with that familiar.
And yet, she cared. Cared too much to just watch him fall victim to reckless ambition.
Saldrich wasn't one to let her brother destroy himself just to win a match. Not like this.
She would sooner fail the trial herself, hell, she'd even hand him the victory if it meant keeping him from harm. She'd rather endure the sting of defeat than watch him crumble under the weight of an ill-fated gamble.
Fueled by that concern, Saldrich sprinted forward, desperation propelling her steps.
"Aldrich, stop!" she cried in her mind, hoping she could still make it in time.
But before she could reach him—
"Sal! Get back NOW!"
Fiona's voice rang out like a gunshot. She chased after Saldrich and managed to catch up, intercepting her just before she breached the battlefield's heart.
"Earth Art: Earth Wall!"
The ground responded immediately, rising into a solid barrier between them and the danger ahead. A basic defensive spell, but enough to provide momentary shelter.
To Saldrich, Aldrich was on the cusp of making a fatal mistake. But to Fiona... to Fiona, this was something else entirely.
Her natural trait, a heightened intuition for danger, buzzed like a hornet's nest. Combined with her knowledge of who Aldrich really was beneath the surface, she saw a different picture forming.
Not recklessness.
Control.
"Good choice," Aldrich's voice echoed. "Familiar Synchro; Burst Mirage!"
"What are you doing?!" Saldrich struggled against Fiona's grip. "Let me go! He's about to—"
But her words were drowned in the explosion that followed.
Aldrich and Malakaih's synchro unleashed a roaring burst, a violent collision of fire and water, creating a tempest of steam and vapour that blanketed the entire area.
It wasn't just a display of power, it was a statement made.
The very air thickened, visibility reduced to zero. Even behind the protective wall, the dense vapour seeped through, obscuring their surroundings.
"He... he did it?" Saldrich whispered, wide-eyed.
Shock overcame her. More than the blinding mist or the sensory disruption, what stunned her most was the realisation that Aldrich had succeeded in the one thing she believed impossible.
He had pulled it off. The forbidden synchro, the impossible blend. Aldrich managed to succeed.
"You underestimate your brother far too much, Sal," Fiona murmured, her tone a mix of admiration and chiding. "He doesn't always look the part... but that man carries secrets deeper than the ocean. Now, pull yourself together. We don't know what he's planning next."
It became clear in that moment? Fiona knew Aldrich in ways even his sister didn't. Where she held doubts, she believed. That realisation stung more than Saldrich cared to admit.
"Enough talk," Fiona said firmly. "Be ready."
The vapour showed no signs of fading anytime soon. Three minutes, maybe more, before it would clear. Until then, Aldrich had the perfect cover to do whatever he wished. But that also raised a troubling question.
If the mist impaired visibility for them... wouldn't it hinder him as well?
What was he planning?
"Sal, can you see anything?" Fiona asked quickly.
Saldrich nodded, eyes narrowing. "With both my Clovers active? Yes. I can see clearly. But without them? I'd be just as blind as you."
That was it.
Fiona's deduction crystallised.
He wasn't planning a free-for-all. He was crafting a duel, a personal showdown between him and Saldrich alone. The thick vapour wasn't just for effect; it was strategic isolation.
To lean down the two v one odds stacked against him and make it a 1 v 1.
By stealing Fiona's sight, he was taking her out of the game.
"Sal... I think he's—
"I know." Saldrich interrupted. "He's trying to force a one-on-one. By blinding you, he's removing you from the field."
The siblings were about to settle this alone.
"What do we do?" Fiona asked, tension lining her voice.
She could still sense danger using her innate trait. It had saved her many times before. But that ability had limitations where in it only activated when harm was directly aimed at her.
And therein lay the problem.
If Aldrich ignored her, truly treated her as non-existent, her danger sense wouldn't kick in. That was the loophole, the one flaw in her otherwise reliable talent.
Which meant...
If she tried to interfere, she'd be walking in blind.
"Then I'll give him what he wants," Saldrich said, voice steeled with resolve.
A challenge had been issued, cloaked in steam and layered with intent.
Aldrich wanted a 1 v 1 duel with his sister?
Then a duel he would get.