The instant water met black fire...
The forest disappeared behind a wall of steam.
BOOM!
The shockwave bent the surrounding trees.
Neither mage remained where they'd started.
Iris was already above.
One foot touched a ribbon of water no wider than a finger.
It held.
For exactly one heartbeat.
Then another ribbon formed ahead of it.
Step.
Step.
Step.
She sprinted through the air as though climbing an invisible staircase.
Marie laughed.
"Oh, we're doing this?"
Black flames erupted beneath her feet.
BOOM!
She shot upward, flipping over Iris as burning feathers of fire scattered across the battlefield.
Their spells collided again.
Water.
Fire.
Steam.
Neither side gained an advantage.
Marie twisted midair.
Five black fireballs spiraled around her.
"Burn."
They shot toward Iris from different angles.
Iris didn't even look.
Her fingers flicked.
The stream beneath her feet burst apart.
Hundreds of marble-sized droplets surrounded her.
The fireballs entered the cloud—
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Each droplet detonated into steam as it intercepted a projectile.
By the time the smoke cleared...
The fireballs were gone.
Marie's grin widened.
"So that's your answer?"
"No."
Iris calmly adjusted her glasses.
"This is."
Every surviving droplet stopped moving.
There were hundreds.
Then...
Thousands.
Each one split again.
The air itself became filled with glittering spheres of water.
Marie blinked.
"...You're kidding."
"No."
The droplets compressed.
Smaller.
Denser.
Until each became no larger than a pebble.
Water bullets.
"Fire."
Marie answered instinctively.
A wall of black flames engulfed the battlefield.
The bullets entered it.
Steam exploded everywhere.
But there were too many.
Thousands vanished.
Thousands more emerged.
Tat.
Tat.
Tat.
Tat.
The bullets punched through gaps in the flames, striking Marie's barriers from every direction.
She crossed her arms.
Black fire wrapped around her body.
Each impact burst into harmless mist.
"Hah!"
"You think quantity beats quality?"
She spread both hands.
The black flames changed.
They stopped behaving like ordinary fire.
They didn't consume fuel.
They consumed space.
Every tree they touched continued burning.
The rocks glowed red.
The ground blackened.
Even the steam caught fire.
The battlefield slowly transformed into a sea of eternal black flames.
The black flames weren't jumping from object to object.
They simply existed.
Everywhere they'd been created...
They remained.
Forever.
Marie's bloodline.
The Never-Ending Flame.
She smiled triumphantly.
"What now?"
"Your little water tricks are evaporating."
Iris looked around.
The battlefield had become an inferno.
No footing.
No water.
No escape.
"..."
She sighed.
"I expected this."
Marie frowned.
"...You did?"
"You've always relied on overwhelming destruction."
Her fingers lightly touched one remaining droplet floating beside her.
"Which means..."
The droplet froze.
Marie blinked.
"...What?"
It wasn't ordinary ice.
It shimmered with a pale blue translucence unlike natural frost.
The temperature of the entire battlefield dropped.
One droplet became two.
Two became ten.
Ten became hundreds.
Every trace of remaining moisture in the burning forest answered Iris's call.
Steam condensed.
Mist crystallized.
Even the humidity hanging in the air became ammunition.
Marie felt it immediately.
Her smile widen.
"You've..."
Iris raised one hand.
The floating crystals vibrated.
"...You've reached Tier Two, how nice, your the same rank as me now.."
Iris nodded.
"I finally understood."
Marie took an involuntary step backward.
"Interaction..."
Fire didn't merely melt ice.
Temperature changed pressure.
Pressure changed movement.
Water expanded.
Contracted.
Froze.
Boiled.
She wasn't simply creating ice.
She was manipulating the heat or rather th lack of it.
The battlefield belonged to both of them now.
Marie burned everything.
Iris claimed everything that wasn't burning.
Countless ice platforms bloomed through the air.
Without hesitation
She ran.
Across floating shards of ice that shattered the instant her feet left them.
Marie answered immediately.
Explosions of black fire launched her from burning tree to burning tree.
The two became blurs.
Blue.
Black.
Crossing the battlefield dozens of meters above the forest floor.
Every collision produced another explosion of steam.
Every landing destroyed the platform beneath them.
BOOM!
CRACK!
BOOM!
Neither stayed still for longer than a heartbeat.
Another explosion erupted overhead.
Marie swung downward with burning claws.
Iris stepped sideways onto a floating shard.
The shard melted.
She'd already left it.
A dozen frozen needles appeared behind Marie.
She twisted.
Half melted.
Half missed.
One grazed her cheek.
A tiny line of blood appeared.
Marie touched it.
"You."
She smiled.
"Finally made me bleed."
She clapped
"Yay~."
Iris looked at her quietly.
"I should've said this years ago."
Marie tilted her head.
"Oh?"
"You told Balin..."
"that I laughed at him because I thought he'd never amount to anything."
Silence.
Marie didn't deny it.
"I did, didn't i."
"You knew that wasn't true."
"I did."
"Why?"
Marie looked toward the sky.
Then laughed.
"Because it was funny."
Silence.
"I wanted to see what would happen."
"I wanted to see how it would escalate, I wanted to see how both of you would react."
"It was just way to bad, I forgot teens don't know how to communicate."
She shrugged.
"But don't blame me, I said one sentence, you both did the rest yourselves."
Iris clenched her fist.
"For years... I thought he hated me, and he thought I'd looked down on him."
Marie smiled lazily.
"You should've talked."
"Your right..."
"Huh?."
Iris closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"When I was younger..."
"I blamed you, but you're right we could've communicated, but we didn't, that was our fault."
She opened them again.
"Ive thought about it, if you didn't do it it'll probably happen in the near future..."
"The only difference is you didn't start it."
Blue mana rippled around her like an ocean.
"However you are still partially at fault.."
The temperature plummeted.
Frost spread across every untouched surface.
Ice no longer formed only from water.
It formed from the heat Marie herself displaced.
Marie's expression finally became serious.
"I thought we we're getting somewhere, but no you were still pissy about it.."
The black flames roared higher.
Iris raised her hand.
Thousands of crystalline projectiles rotated behind her like a frozen constellation.
"It's only payback." Iris smiled.
The forest erupted into a collision of black fire and pale blue ice that shook the mountain.
I adjusted Balin over my shoulder.
He'd somehow become heavier.
"I swear... You're gaining emotional weight."
"Put me down."
"No."
A few birds scattered overhead.
Missy circled lazily before landing on my head.
"Caw."
She puffed out her tiny chest proudly.
Further ahead...
BOOM!
A pillar of black fire erupted through the trees.
Immediately followed by an enormous spear of ice that punched straight through it.
"..."
"I think they're still arguing."
"Family issue?"
"Communication issue."
We rounded another bend.
The battlefield finally came into view.
Half the clearing was burning with black flames that refused to die.
The other half had become a frozen sculpture garden.
Several trees were simultaneously on fire and covered in ice.
I decided not to question the physics.
In the middle of it all—
WHOOM!
Marie flipped backward, black flames bursting beneath her feet.
Iris stepped across floating platforms of ice, each one forming just long enough for a single step before shattering behind her.
"They're both insane."
Balin nodded weakly.
"I don't think you have the right to say that."
...
"That's kinda racist man, is it beacuse I'm from the north?."
"Wha- No, what are you talking about!."
"I'm just kidding."
Marie spotted us first.
"Balin?"
She hesitated.
"Did you lose?"
I answered for him.
"He lost."
Marie looked at Balin.
Then at me.
Then back at Balin.
"You lost?"
"Yes."
A smile slowly spread across her face.
Then she started laughing.
Loudly.
"You were so confident two, you dragged us so far and you didn't even win.. I cant-"
Unfortunately for Marie...
She laughed just a little too long.
CRACK.
A fist-sized chunk of ice struck the side of her head.
"OW!"
She spun around.
"Iris?!"
Iris lowered her hand.
"I wasn't finished."
Another ice shard appeared.
"So kindly... stop talking."
Marie rubbed her head.
"That actually hurt."
"It was meant to."
I finally set Balin back onto his feet.
He swayed once.
Then managed to stay upright.
I gave him a small push toward Iris.
"There."
"Delivery complete."
He looked at me.
"Delivery?"
"I charged extra for express shipping."
"You charged me nothing."
"I'm considering sending you the invoice."
Iris walked over slowly.
For a moment...
Neither of them spoke.
The forest suddenly felt much quieter.
Even Marie stayed silent.
I quietly took three steps backward.
Then another three.
Finn would've been proud.
Iris took a slow breath.
"Balin."
"Yeah?"
"I owe you an apology."
Balin blinked.
"For what?"
"For years."
She lowered her eyes.
"For every stupid thing I said, i kept telling myself you were being unrealistic, that someone with your talent..."
She immediately corrected herself.
"No, that's exactly the problem, I judged you by your talent, I never looked at..."
She looked back into his eyes.
"how hard you worked."
Her voice trembled.
"I watched you train until your hands bled."
"I watched you lose."
"Again."
"And again."
"And again."
"And instead of standing beside you..."
"I laughed."
She clenched her fists.
"I convinced myself I was helping, if I made you give up..."
I'm starting to think we should've given them their privacy.
I looked at Finn, he was already looking at me, probably with the same thought.
'Im not doing it.'
'Neither I'm I.'
"...then you wouldn't keep getting hurt."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"I was arrogant, i thought I knew what was best for you, i never once asked what you wanted."
Balin quietly listened.
She continued.
"And then, Marie."
Her expression darkened.
"I asked her... if you really liked me."
A pause.
"She laughed, and said, 'He's only being nice because he pities you'."
Iris closed her eyes.
"I believed her, i stopped talking to you."
A broken sound.
"But every time I saw you training..."
"I wanted to apologize."
"I just..."
"...couldn't."
Her voice finally cracked.
"So I kept waiting."
"For tomorrow."
"Then next week."
"Then next year."
"And eventually..."
"It had been years."
"I didn't know how to cross a distance I'd created myself."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm so..."
"So incredibly sorry."
Silence.
Only the wind answered.
Balin looked at her for a very long time.
Then...
"You're an idiot."
She flinched.
"I know."
"You really believed Marie?"
"Yeah."
Balin sighed so deeply it sounded painful.
"She's been a menace since we were children."
"I know."
"I once caught her convincing an eight-year-old that eating charcoal made your fire affinity stronger."
...
"The kid actually tried it."
Iris couldn't help it.
A tiny laugh escaped between her tears.
"That does sound like her."
"It was."
Balin scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"You know... I was angry, for a while, I kept wondering what I'd done wrong."
He smiled weakly.
"Eventually I figured... you probably had your reasons."
"I didn't, I was just stupid."
"Yeah, you were."
Another silence.
This one...
Somehow lighter.
"I still hurt you."
"You did."
"I don't expect you to forgive me."
"I know."
"I don't even think I deserve-"
"I forgive you."
Balin looked at her like the answer was obvious.
"I forgave you a long time ago."
...
"Why?"
He tilted his head.
"Because holding onto it would've taken energy."
"I needed that energy for training."
For several seconds...
Iris simply stared at him.
Then laughed.
Half crying.
Half laughing.
"You... You're unbelievable."
"I get that a lot."
She wiped her eyes.
"You really are an idiot."
"Takes one to know one."
She stepped closer.
"So..."
"So?"
"Friends?"
Balin looked at her hand.
Instead of shaking it...
He gently pushed it aside.
Then...
He pulled her into an awkward hug.
Iris completely froze.
Then...
Very slowly...
She wrapped her arms around him.
"...I'm sorry."
She whispered again.
This time...
Balin simply rested his chin lightly on top of her head.
"I know."
Another pause.
"You know..."
"Hm?"
"I never stopped liking you."
...
...
...
Iris's brain stopped functioning.
"What?"
Balin blinked.
"Was I not supposed to say that?"
Her face turned scarlet.
"You-"
"You picked now?!"
"It seemed relevant."
"It wasn't relevant!"
"I thought it was."
She buried her burning face against his shoulder.
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
"...No, i don't."
A long...
Painful silence.
Crunched.
!
They looked at the sound that interrupted them only to see the sight of.
Both their team eating popcorn.
"10/10."
"So when is the wedding"
"So you guys will be making pups now?."
And so on.
And oh boy I have never thought someone could look that red.
"Poor iris" said finn.
From several meters away...
Marie raised a hand.
"So..."
"...Am I forgiven?"
Both of them slowly turned toward her.
"..."
"..."
Marie lowered her hand.
"I'll come back later."
She immediately turned and started walking away.
"Retreat is also a tactical decision."
Before she made it three steps.
I pointed at her.
"You."
She stopped.
"Me?"
I smiled politely.
"You owe them an apology too."
Marie sighed dramatically.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes."
"You guys were just bad at communication, how is this my fault?."
She looked at Balin.
Then at Iris.
Her usual teasing smile softened.
"Fine, I was young, i thought it was funny watching you two misunderstand each other."
She looked away.
"I honestly thought it'd blow over after a week, It... clearly didn't."
A sigh.
"I was an idiot."
A pause.
"I'm sorry."
Silence.
Iris adjusted her glasses.
"...You're still awful."
Marie nodded.
"I know."
"But at least this time... you admitted it, that gotta account to something I guess."
"That has to count for something, I guess."
The clearing slowly settled into silence.
Marie had stopped trying to escape.
Iris had stopped trying to freeze her.
Balin looked like he'd finally remembered he was standing in front of several dozen witnesses.
I clapped once.
"Well."
"That wrapped itself up nicely."
Finn stretched.
"So..."
"What now?"
"Do we uh, get eliminated now" balin asked
"Nope."
I glanced toward the sky.
"Remember the thing I told you about Hjördis?"
Finn frowned.
"...Yeah, I think I do?"
He paused.
"No I dont."
I chuckled.
Iris raised her hand.
"You mean the one where you said Hjördis will end the trial early?."
"Yep."
A forum post.
If you want to understand why everyone calls her a monster...
Watch from the eastern cliffs.
It's the only place where you can truly see it.
That was the entire reason I'd dragged everyone here.
Eventually, the trees opened.
Beyond them lay a sheer cliff overlooking the heart of the examination grounds.
Far below...
The vast battlefield stretched to the horizon.
Ruined forts.
Scorched forests.
Smoke rising from dozens of distant battles.
I walked toward the edge before sitting down, letting my legs dangle over the cliff.
"This is the best place to see it."
The others exchanged puzzled looks.
Nevertheless...
They sat beside me.
Even Marie.
No one spoke.
The wind carried the distant sounds of battle.
Then...
A low hum echoed across the valley.
"..."
The air itself trembled.
Far below, at the very center of the examination grounds...
A single point of golden light appeared.
Tiny.
No larger than a hand.
It grew.
Brighter.
Brighter still.
Until.
SHHHHK!
A pillar of radiant light erupted into the heavens.
The barrier surrounding the battlefield shook violently.
Cracks spread across its surface like shattered glass.
One.
Then a thousand.
The entire dome fractured.
For a heartbeat...
It looked as though the sky itself had broken.
Then the shattered barrier dissolved into countless fragments of light.
They drifted through the air like multicolored snow.
Gold.
Blue.
Crimson.
Emerald.
Violet.
Millions of glittering pieces reflected the setting sun as they slowly rained over the mountains.
No one said a word.
Even Rhea.
Even Finn.
Even Marie.
The entire world seemed to stop just to watch.
"...It's beautiful."
I wasn't sure who said it.
Maybe Iris.
Maybe Balin.
Maybe it was me.
It didn't really matter.
For just a moment...
The battlefield no longer looked like a place where thousand of applicants had been fighting.
It looked...
Sacred.
Then, through the fading curtain of light, a lone figure slowly descended from the heavens.
Long silver hair danced in the wind.
She hadn't made a grand entrance.
The world had done it for her.