The crowd buzzed with excitement. Students lined the perimeter of the open coliseum, eyes trained on the two figures standing at opposite ends of the stone field. Kael stood tall, confident, his uniform drifting behind him in the breeze. He had glass armor donned on him. His hands glowed faintly—his control over the Glass and Sound elements already activating.
The other figure? Me. I exhaled, slow and deliberate. My gloves creaked as I flexed my fingers. I kept my blades sheathed—for now. I felt myself surge from the excitement building in my body. I needed to remind myself how this match works. Both opponents were to fight till one of them collapses. Anything goes.
A referee stood between us, raising a glimmering hand. "Preliminary Match Three—Begin!"
A flash of light. Kael didn't hesitate. He threw out both arms. From shimmering sigils floating mid-air, glass swords formed—seven in total—floating around him like an orbiting constellation. They refracted the sunlight with beautiful lethality. Then, he snapped his fingers.
The blades launched toward me like heat-seeking arrows. Gasps rippled through the crowd. My eyes sharpened as I slid back my left foot. Now. I vanished—not literally, but with such precise timing that the blades struck only empty space. In one motion, I twisted mid-dodge, flipping over a low-gliding shard.
I reached my back and unclasped the fabric as I landed, keeping my twin blades hidden. The blades unsheathed with a metallic ring. The crowd's surprise became roars.
"Wait—he's using swords?!"
"And two of them no less!"
"Wasn't he a fire brawler?!"
"When did he get swords?!"
My stance was unlike before. It was centered, grounded. My left blade angles behind me for defense, the right cocked forward for quick strikes. Each was slim, fast, and elegant. Regalia's training was written into every line of my movement. Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? So you have been holding out," he said, raising both arms. More Glass shimmered into being—this time they curved like scimitars, twinned at each side. A sound pulse echoes from his boots, amplifying his next dash. I met him head-on.
Steel rang. Flame hissed. The crowd leaned in, enthralled as two styles collided: Kael's floating blades and rhythm-based attacks versus my measured form, forged from months of relentless one-on-one combat with a master. I parried a mid-air sword with one hand and twisted my stance, slicing through another floating shard with the second.
My foot swept wide, controlling space. Fire licked across my arms but never flared. I wasn't losing control. I was commanding it.
"Let's see what you've really got," I muttered.
Kael smirked. "Oh, I plan to show you."
Or blades met again—Glass and fire, motion and pressure. Then, just as suddenly, a sigil flared under me. I couldn't help but be reminded of the terrible day. My eyes widened, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. The sigil pulsed beneath my boot, and an invisible trap activated when I committed to attack.
A ripple of sound surged upward, disrupting my balance. I stumbled—only for a second. But in that second, Kael moved like lightning. The floating swords repositioned mid-air with a high-pitched hum, flanking me on both sides. Kael spun once, snapping his fingers again. Clink-clink-clink—SHHHHRRRING
All three swords launched at once. My eyes focused in again. I dropped low, my left blade sweeping wide in a controlled parry. Sparks flew. The second sword came in from behind—I twisted, letting my fire surge enough to shift momentum, the steel singing as it caught the strike. The third sword? I grabbed it between both blades—locking it, then shattering it in a burst of flame. The crowd exploded.
"He broke it?"
"That wasn't a defensive parry—he countered the Sound pattern!"
"Since when does Reyes fight like this?!"
I kept a straight face, but deep down, I couldn't help but smirk. I didn't want to reveal much more of myself now, but I needed to keep the pressure on. I deliberately stayed in my usual stance. I held off on using the Twilight Blade Art for now. The battle kept going back and forth. I landed a strike, next, Kael landed one.
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Up in the west-side bleachers, Adrien leaned forward, hands braced against the stone railing. He said nothing, but his smirk was there.
"That's right," he muttered. "You practiced for this."
Beside him, Amber whistled low. "Damn. He's not just fighting back—he's dancing in there."
A few students nearby exchange nervous glances. "Kael's never had anyone push him like this in the opening minutes."
Further up, under a shaded column, Sera Lionheart watched in silence. Her arms were crossed, posture composed, but her fingers tapped lightly against her sleeve. Her eyes never left Daniel. He hasn't noticed himself, but Sera could tell. His form has changed.
She recognized the footwork. The guard position. All it needs now is the subtle drag of the back foot before committing to an arc. She whispered to herself, barely audible. "...Regalia." Her voice carried a mix of emotions: pride, envy, worry. She knew that Daniel wasn't playing it safe. He was testing himself, pushing forward. In doing so, he was showing everyone what he had been hiding.
Meanwhile, across the crowd, a new figure was observed. Cloaked in dark gray, she had a loose posture and leaned against the outer barrier wall. She was the same girl whom Daniel rescued. She said nothing. She didn't cheer, but her eyes were sharp and curious. She followed every movement Daniel made. She blinked twice when he caught Kael's blade and turned it aside with a flick of his own.
Her lips parted. "...Beautiful," she whispered. But no one heard.
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"You're mimicking a style," Kael scowled mid-duel. "That flow—it's not yours, I just know it!"
I breathed slowly and steadily. Trying to temper myself as my flames curled faintly from my shoulders.
"It is now."
Kael snapped his fingers again, and a high-pitched chime rang out. Another set of swords erupted behind him, larger this time. Each was shaped like shards of crystalline spears. He raised one hand, and a Sound shockwave surged behind him to amplify their velocity.
"Let's see how long you last, Reyes."
I grinned and automatically stepped into my stance before I knew it. My back foot was dragging slightly, and my right blade was forward. The Dawn arrived. The crowd stood. Kael hurled the spears, and I lunged into them. The arena went white. The clash ignited—flame and Glass collided, steel screaming. The next moment hadn't even finished arriving.
The light cleared. Dust swirled across the field, glowing with fractured embers and glints of shattered Glass. I crouched low, one knee dug into the stone, both blades crossed over my chest. My breathing came hard, and my shoulders rose and fell. A thin cut was traced across my cheek, another along my right arm.
The cuts were clean and precise. The kind of Kael's constructed blades was known for. I blocked most of them, but not all of them. Kael landed softly a few paces away, cloak fluttering behind me. I wasn't winded, but I felt something of the sort creep up.
"You're bleeding," he said.
I rose, one blade dragging low across the ground, the other lifted just slightly. "I've bled before."
I spat to the side and adjusted my stance.
Kael lifted his hand again—sound magic flaring to life in shimmering ripples around his fingers. New shards floated from the ground, reconstructing into curved edges and polished spikes. With his other hand, he summoned an oscillating ring behind himself—a sound barrier that amplified every movement and every strike.
The tempo changed, and Kael rushed in. I met him head-on. Clash—parry—cut—step—block—slice—burn—deflect—pivot—cut—repeat. Our blades became a storm of motion. My body moved like it remembered every grueling hour spent under Regalia's shadow: every correction, every bruise. Every whispered again. I wasn't trying to match Kael's speed; I was trying to interrupt his rhythm.
Kael's flow stuttered—his angle overextended. I turned a parry into a spinning sweep, sparks flying from our blades. I was going all in, but the price showed. A cut along my thigh from a redirected shard, blood trailing down into my boot. Still, I kept moving. I couldn't falter. I couldn't afford to hesitate.
Kael grimaced. "You're out of your league."
I struck him as a response. Kael barely deflected.
"I really dislike monologuers." I retorted through gritted teeth.
My next swing came from a low—left blade striking while the right moved to catch a hidden glass dagger from above. The move cost me another scrape across the ribs, but I stayed inside Kael's guard. I was now close enough to see myself reflected in Kael's mirrored eyes. His rhythm broke again, and the crowd gasped.
"He's pushing through!"
"That hit actually shook Kael!"
"He's bleeding but not backing down—"
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In the stands, Adrien stood up. Amber pumped a fist. Sera remained stone-faced, but her eyes flickered. They were sharper now. The girl gazed onward at Daniel with heart-throbbing excitement.
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I stepped back, shoulders heaving. Blood trailed from my arm, leg, and ribs. But my blades were still in hand. I twisted them once more, then shifted. I entered the Dawn stances once more. "Again," I whispered to myself. Kael wiped some blood from his mouth.
"You're persistent," he admitted.
I locked eyes with him. "No," I said. "I'm prepared."
With another exchange of words, we repeat. Charging against each other. Glass met fire once more, speed met will. The match surged toward its peak. Steel rang loud as I forced Kael back again, with a low spinning slash that cut through the last of the floating swords. The glass blades shattered mid-air, spraying harmless shards across the arena.
Kael skidded, boots grinding over stone—his formation—his rhythm-had been broken. The crowd went wild, all rising to their feet.
"He disarmed him!"
"Kael's pattern is down!"
I didn't waste time. I advanced, blades raised, my entire stance radiating forward momentum. Kael's eyes narrowed. He muttered something under his breath. I picked up the following words: "...no choice." Kael slammed both hands together—palms sparking with a tonal shockwave.
Unlike anything heard before, a low, humming pulse spread through the air. It wasn't loud, but it was precise. It was a sustained frequency, barely perceptible, but I felt it—in my chest, in my joints, in my blades. My balance wavered for half a second, and Kael stepped forward. He looked composed and calm.
"Do you know what happens when you push a resonance beyond what normal air can carry?" he asked softly.
I said nothing as my eyes sharpened. I adjusted my stance once more. Kael raised one hand toward the sky. Behind him, a mirror of Glass and sound erupted upward—a massive arc-shaped glyph, glowing with layered sigils and rotating rings. From it, dozens of sonic-glass spears emerged, floating in symmetrical rows. Each one was long, shimmering, and vibrating with internal frequency.
"This technique," Kael said, "was meant for the top eight."
The air snapped. "Symphonic Execution."
The arena dimmed, and the crowd fell silent in awe. I tensed, and then the first spear launched. It didn't fly—it warped space around it, folding in and out like a flicker of broken light. I dodged left, barely clearing it before it punched into the earth, leaving a spiral of shredded stone in its wake. Three more followed. I ran.
I zigzagged across the arena, letting fire burst from my heels to accelerate my dodges. Still, one grazes my shoulder, carving a deep groove across my jacket and drawing blood. Kael controlled them like a conductor. Each spear is in sync, and each movement is precise. There was no randomness, no brute force. It was artillery in tempo.
I rolled behind a broken pillar. My chest rose and fell, sweat mixed with blood across my temple. I gritted my teeth, gripping both blades tightly. I'm not done, I'm not losing now. I heard Regalia's voice in my head. "You move first. You decide the pace." I closed my eyes and stepped back into the Dawn stance. Even as the spears shireked overhead and Glass warped through the sky, I let the rhythm of the attack feed my timing. The next time I moved, it was into the spears. The crowd gasped.
"What's he doing?"
"Is he insane?"
I had to hand it to myself. My footwork was flawless. I parried one with the flat of my right blade, spun under the next, using the edge of a ruined wall to vault over the third. I was moving not to dodge, but to invade. Kael blinked—his timing disrupted. I closed the gap once more.
Flame ignited along both blades. They were contained and coiled. They were not wild like they used to be. I wasn't letting Wrath take control. These were my dark flames. With a flash step, I cut through two of the spears mid-air and launched off the remaining soundwave Kael had summoned as defense. Our blades met again—finally—steel and fire, not sound and Glass. Kael grunted.
I snarled, low. "You should've saved it." And with one final twist of my body... I broke through.
For a moment, time stilled. Kael staggered back, boots skidding through the cracked arena floor. One of his mirrored shoulder plates shattered from my last strike. His breathing was ragged, though his face still held a flicker of defiance. I stood across from him. I crouched low, both blades trailing smoke. Blood leaked from my ribs, and my right leg trembled slightly, but my eyes burned. The crowd was on edge. Frozen.
"He got through..."
"Daniel broke him—he broke Kael!"
"Is it over?!"
Kael exhaled. And then, quietly, raised both hands again, almost surrendering. The referee's eyebrow rose. My eyes narrowed. Then, Kael's lips moved. "...One more." He snapped his fingers. The air vibrated again, not as loud, but deeper. Hidden, subtle. It was another Symphonic Execution, but it wasn't dozens of spears this time—just one.
I recognized the charge-up a split second too late. Kael whispered. "Let's fall together." The spear was launched. I didn't have time to think. Instinct flared. Power coiled through me, not just fire, but the curse I try to bury stirred. For a moment, my palms glowed faintly, and Wrath pulsed. It wasn't enough to take control, but it was enough to push.
I felt it surge through my bones, into my core. Not now... Not like this. I forced it down—not into suppression, but into motion. My flame condensed and pulled into the edges of my blades. Heat-sharpened, it wasn't wild, but clean. I was focusing on it. Channeling.
I stood tall, both swords crossed behind my back, elemental resonance pulsing off me like a growing heartbeat. I exhaled. Then roared. "Cleave—!" I moved like lightning. It wasn't like teleporting; it was striking. One blade swept upward, curving with flame and kinetic force. The other arced behind it, slashing diagonally across the spar mid-flight.
Steel met energy. The glass-spear shattered mid-air, vaporized instantly by the roaring fire cleave. I wasn't done. Momentum carried me forward, flames trailing my every step. My next slash came in low—a flaming crescent that ripped the ground beneath Kael's feet, erupting behind him like a wave of molten wings.
The second blade followed—a vertical arc that cut through Kael's fading guard and cracked his resonance shield with a brilliant flash of impact. Kael's body lifted off the ground, then hit the dirt hard, sliding to a stop near the arena's far edge. Silence. Then the last shards of his broken construct rained to the floor like falling Glass.
I stood alone. Both blades are steaming. Chest rising. Shoulders burned. Wrath was quiet, but the fire was still mine. The referee stepped forward, raising a glowing hand.
"Victor: Daniel Reyes!"
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The crowd erupted. Amber screamed. Adrien fist-pumped. Sera exhaled slowly, closing her eyes, somewhere between awe and deep relief.
In the far distance, hidden in the upper shadows of the arena wall, the girl watched silently. Her lips parted. "He did it," she whispered. Something stirred inside her, but it wasn't curiosity. It was something far more dangerous.
——————————————————
The crowd was still roaring as I stepped out of the ring. My shoulders ached, and my arms felt like iron, but I was walking and standing whole. Behind me, the broken remains of Kael's final construct still smoldered in the arena pit. As I moved through the tunnel archway, waves of student voices followed me.
"Reyes actually won?"
"That's insane—he beat Kael with fire?"
"That wasn't just instinct. He trained for that. But with whom?"
"I've never seen anyone move like that. Not even upper-level students."
"He's gotta have a private instructor."
"Wait—isn't he just a 'B-rank' student? Did he really beat a high 'A-rank' student?!"
"You saw it happen, dude, it's real!"
Some students clapped when they passed me, and a few offered fist bumps. Most just looked—curious, surprised, and even reverent. I guess the bandwagon had begun. But with admiration comes speculation, and I had barely heard them. My focus returned when I saw my friends waiting at the far end of the corridor.
Amber was pacing like she'd been holding fireworks. Adrien stood still, calm as ever, but his grin was unmistakable. Sera stood with arms crossed, but her expression flickered. Something caught between restrained pride and cautious thought. The moment I approached, Amber threw her arms around my shoulders.
"Holy hell, Reyes! That was insane!"
I winced at the impact. "Oof—still bleeding."
"Worth it," she laughed, pulling back. "I've never seen Kael look that rattled. You broke him."
Adrien stepped forward and bumped fists with me. "You didn't just win. You arrived."
I let out a shaky breath. "I didn't plan that last move. It just... happened."
Amber raised a brow. "That blade wave thing? Blazetooth—Flarebite—whatever it was? You'd better remember how you did it."
I smiled faintly. "I think I'll call it, Blazefang Cleave."
Adrien nodded. "Add that one to the record."
Sera said nothing. She stood beside us quietly, her gaze fixed on me. Eventually, she stepped a little closer. Her voice was soft. "That form you used... the movement—it wasn't something you made up, was it?"
I paused. "I've been training."
"Can I ask, who?" she said gently.
I held her gaze. "It's complicated."
Sera hesitated. It was there in her eyes—She knows. Or at least... she suspects. She opened her mouth to say something more. Maybe ask directly, but then she stopped. Her gaze drifted away, and her voice dropped.
"Well... whoever it is, they've shaped you."
I blinked. I was unsure how to respond.
She nodded, then turned away before the moment could stretch too far. Amber broke the silence. "You'll have to face another winner in the next round. Think it'll be Asakai? Or Hyun?"
I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. I'm not done."
Adrien grinned. "We know."
I then winced from the pain in my ribs. "But maybe I should seek some medical attention."
Everyone laughed. Sera chuckled
We continued to walk off together, into the next phase of the tournament, into more rumors, questions, and praise—I glanced back once at the arena. The flames had gone out, but the heat remained.