The first point was his.
Jake Evernight, son of Aetheria, had burst in like a tempest. Applause. Whispers. Eyes lit with awe. His energy surged with raw instinct, striking like lightning. Everyone felt it. Some even believed Reiss might be forced to retreat.
But that was before calm entered the arena.
Before Reiss Vauren began to dance.
Now, the score stood at 2 to 1.
And Jake was staggering.
It wasn't power. It wasn't even speed. It was control.Jake could feel it—every motion he made lagged by a second. As if his own body was beginning to betray him. As if the air itself thickened around him.And Reiss… was entirely unfazed.
"Your aura is intense," Reiss said, his voice devoid of mockery. "The way you answered in the first round... not many could've done that."
Jake said nothing. He could barely breathe.Sweat streamed down more than he cared to admit, and a thin red line burned across his right arm from a poorly deflected strike.
Reiss didn't close in. He simply watched.There was something uncanny in his stillness—not arrogance, but focus. Like someone studying the wind before throwing a spear.
"But there's a difference between having potential and knowing how to wield it," Reiss added, calmly. "Don't take it as criticism. You're learning."
The words hit harder than any blow.Jake clenched his teeth, forced himself to charge again. His fists ignited in brilliant, chaotic white light.He leapt, spun, brought down a sharp, descending strike.
Reiss blocked it.With one hand.
The impact echoed—but Reiss only took a single step back.
Jake landed on one knee, trembling.His aura sputtered—spent, unstable.
And in that moment, he understood.
Reiss wasn't underestimating him. He wasn't looking down on him.He was taking him seriously.And that… was the most terrifying thing of all.
Jake swallowed hard. His breath came in harsh gasps.Sweat trickled from his nape down his spine.His shirt—already torn—clung to him like wet parchment.
I can't keep this up… If I rush in again without thinking, he'll crush me.
He looked up. Reiss stood unmoved, posture steady, absent of pride—only that piercing silence that forced Jake to listen to himself.
Jake took two steps back.For the first time, he chose not to attack.
Reiss tilted his head slightly. He wasn't underestimating. He was analyzing.
"You're thinking," he said gently. "That's good."
Jake gave no reply. He simply raised his hands again—this time with fingers spread, shoulders loose, knees softly bent.His breath slowed. He drew in deeply.
He's not beating me because he's faster… He's beating me because I'm fighting him—and myself.
Jake narrowed his eyes.Every time I throw star energy straight at him, he redirects it. He doesn't block. How the hell does he do that so easily?
Then he remembered something Hiroshi had told him weeks ago, during training among the ruins:
"Don't try to knock down a door you can open just by turning the handle."
"What if I don't focus the energy on a single point?" he murmured. "What if I don't strike… but surround?"
Jake extended both arms—not forward, but outward.His star energy began to flow—not as a blast, but as delicate strands, coiling in slow, spiraling streams.
Reiss stood firm, but his gaze flicked briefly downward. He was watching the currents.
Jake tightened his stance, lowered his center of gravity, and launched diagonally—pushing off with his left leg, torso twisting with precision.
His right elbow came first, tracing a curve that forced Reiss to lift his guard—But in that split second, Jake pivoted on his back leg, rotating his hips fully, his opposite leg snapping like a whip toward Reiss's ribs.
Reiss managed to block with his forearm—But from Jake's ankle, a sharp thread of star energy flared out like a blade of wind.
The strike didn't knock him down. But it pushed him back.
Jake didn't stop. He kept moving, lowering his steps, weaving his energy not like a hammer—but like a net.
His left leg swept low on an angle. His right arm followed in a mirrored arc.A quick, angled strike—not head-on.A newly-born technique, still unnamed—but it felt like a river fork: not clashing… but slipping through.
The edge grazed Reiss's shoulder.For the first time—it left a mark. A faint burn. No blood, but visible.
Jake dropped to one knee again, breath ragged—But his eyes… burned bright.
"See that?" he spat between ragged breaths. "I don't need to shout for you to hear me."
Reiss touched the mark. The residual energy still hummed against his skin.
"You don't need a fancy name for what you just did, either," he said with a half-smile. "That was precision."
Jake pushed himself up slowly, shaking out his arms.
"Call it… Cross Slash. Because it doesn't come head-on. It hits where you're not looking."
Reiss rolled his shoulders. His stride had lost its fluid ease. Now, every step was measured. The ground beneath them still crackled with stellar energy.
"Jake Evernight…" he said, voice deeper now. "I didn't underestimate your strength. But I admit… I hadn't seen your cunning."
"And I'd never met someone so hard to bring down," Jake replied. "Not the body... but the will."
Both were breathing hard. And for the first time... the scale seemed to tip.
The silence in the arena was so deep, the sparks could be heard. Their stellar auras stirred like banners in a storm.
Jake had a cut over his brow, his breathing uneven—but his eyes were alive. Centered. No longer wavering.
Reiss licked the corner of his lips, wiping away a bead of sweat with the back of his hand.
"Third point. Winner advances to the next round. Ready?"
"More than that. I'm awake," Jake grinned, baring his teeth. "Finally."
And then—everything shattered.
Reiss moved first, but not forward. He vanished left, touched the ground with his palm, and launched upward like an inverted shadow, spinning into a downward kick aimed at Jake's throat.
Jake crossed his arms, blocked the impact—but his legs buckled, sliding back as his heels carved trenches in the floor.
His jump technique anchors on the reverse arm!
Jake pushed sideways. No time to strike. Only to dodge.
Reiss was already there again. Every motion part of an orchestrated sequence—a lethal dance. No waste. No pause.
A kick, a spin, a feint, a sweep. All chained in one fluid combo.
Jake gasped, chest burning.
He's not stronger than me… but he never stops reading me. He studies me while he strikes. Like he knows what I'm thinking… before I do.
Jake clenched his teeth. He leapt backward. But while airborne, he crossed his hands over his chest and unleashed a circular burst of stellar energy—aimed not at Reiss, but at the ground below.
¡BOOM!
The explosion wasn't offensive. It was tactical. Smoke billowed up, veiling his descent. Jake didn't need to see. He had already memorized Reiss's rhythm.
He twisted midair. Extended his left arm. Opened his palm.
And when Reiss came slicing through the flank—straight into the heart of the cloud—the palm was waiting.
Now!
"Deflection!" Jake shouted.
A rotating current surged around him, redirecting Reiss's force against him, altering his trajectory at the last instant. Reiss hit the ground on one knee, eyes wide in surprise.
Jake didn't waste it. He lunged with his shoulder—not to strike, but to slam into Reiss's center of gravity.
Reiss stumbled. For the first time, his balance faltered.
Jake rolled, rose in a single fluid motion, bent his arm, and fired a compressed orb of stellar energy straight at Reiss's torso.
Clean hit.
The explosion was contained, but sharp. Reiss was thrown several meters back, shirt scorched at the center.
Jake dropped to his knees, gasping like he'd sprinted three kilometers without pause.
The smoke slowly cleared.
Reiss stood, touching his chest. Burned. And bleeding.
But he was smiling. A small, quiet smile.
"I expected no less," he said. "You turned every mistake into adaptation. Every stumble into a step forward."
Jake, still breathless, looked up at him from the floor.
"It wasn't for you," he answered. "It was for me. I had to learn to hear myself through the noise."
The referee raised his hand.
"Final point goes to Jake Evernight! Final score: 3 to 2!"
There was a second of silence. A second where no one breathed.
And then—eruption.
The crowd roared, whistled, leapt to their feet. Some couldn't believe it. Others had secretly hoped for it. But all of them felt it: Jake Evernight had just carved his name into legend—with fire.
Reiss stood tall, his chest still marked by the last blast. He lowered his gaze—not in defeat. But in respect.
Jake, breath hitching, eyes clouded with fatigue and emotion, could barely stay on his feet. But he stood. Like a tree refusing to fall after the storm.
Reiss stepped forward. He offered his hand.
"Never underestimate what has yet to bloom," he said. "Today, you won—not because of your name, but because you chose to."
Jake took it, his hand trembling.
"Thank you for not holding back," he replied. "I needed you to push me to the edge."
"That's what warriors do when they respect each other," Reiss said, inclining his head.
As their hands parted, the stadium still roared Jake's name. But he didn't hear it. In his mind, there was only one thought:
I'm not the best. But I'm on the path. And this time… I'm writing it in my own blood.
The torches around the coliseum flared with pale fire as the crowd leaned toward the abyss of the platforms, eyes alight with hunger. The battle between Jake Evernight and Reiss Vauren still burned on their retinas, but the systems were already recalibrating. The upper-left quadrant of the arena sank three levels, revealing three circular platforms divided by shimmering energy fields: one red, one green, one blue. The roar was thunderous.
"Welcome to the next round of the Astral Tournament."The referee's voice rang out like refined thunder.
"Three battles. Six fighters. Three keys on the line. Watch closely… for one of these names will echo through eras."
[RED PLATFORM] – Lyra Vex vs Bran Volk
Lyra appeared in a violet flash, strands of silver hair bound tightly into a high ponytail, mirroring her focus. Spiraling runes glowed on her gloves—etched with a razor-sharp energy, as if her very aura sought to slice through reality itself. In front of her, Bran Volk tightened the straps across his bare chest. Towering. Intimidating. His storm-weathered skin looked like polished stone.
Bran (voice gravelly, eyes locked on hers):"I don't underestimate what I see. But I won't yield, even if you cut me down with all that shine."
Lyra (unblinking):"That's what I want. Someone who can take it."
TING!
The gong rang—and the duel began. Bran charged like an avalanche, each step shaking the platform. Lyra spun gracefully, palm slicing forward—an invisible arc of blades shimmered through the air. Bran's arm was grazed—a thin line of blood appeared without contact.
Lyra (thinking):"The Twenty-Three Cutting Threads are active… Still not blocking. Just enduring. His tolerance is insane."
Bran roared, ripping a chunk of reinforced stone from the floor and hurling it like a cannonball. Lyra leapt backward, her boot skimming the edge—activating a rune sequence in her heel. Her figure blinked from sight, reappearing behind Bran with a single finger pointed.
"Second Cut."
A line split across Bran's back like a fracture in marble. But the giant only grinned.
Bran:"That… that one stung."
And then, for the first time, Bran ignited his energy. His veins pulsed red-orange, glowing like a volcano about to erupt.
Bran:"Ignis Frame."Lyra (eyes widening):"Oh… You didn't come here to play."
[GREEN PLATFORM] – Kael Riven vs Nia Skell
Kael walked to the center like an exiled prince. His trident spun in his palm with effortless grace. Nia, by contrast, kept her head down, as if the coliseum lights were too much. Her fingers trembled… until they touched stone.
Then, she changed.
Kael (in disbelief):"...You're the one who summoned the spectral cubes yesterday. I thought it was a system glitch."
Nia (quietly):"I'm not a glitch. I'm the experiment that lived."
The ground beneath her split into a puzzle of floating blocks. Crystal cubes hovered around her, each projecting future paths—calculations floated midair.
Kael hurled his trident.
Two cubes instantly shifted, intercepting the weapon's trajectory and dissolving it into pure data.
Kael (smiling):"Interesting."Nia (still not looking at him):"Strategy: mid-range suppression. Initiating motor destabilization protocol."
Kael wasn't foolish. He knew she was scanning him, decoding, dismantling.
Kael (thinking):"What kind of mind can analyze a battle in real time… and rewrite it?"
He activated his own protocol. The ground darkened beneath him, and he propelled forward with a centrifugal blast. "Astra Lance!" he cried.
Nia raised a single finger. The cubes spiraled into a chaotic dome—defensive, precise.
The impact shattered the platform into a rain of crystal, but through the smoke… Nia still stood. Unharmed. Smiling.
Nia:"New pattern detected. Adapting countermeasure."
[BLUE PLATFORM] – Vahn Elric vs Drayk Halden
This didn't feel like a duel… it felt like a funeral.
Vahn walked like a monk—slow, almost gliding. His robes were dark, laced with arcane symbols. His gaze… vacant.Drayk, on the other hand, had his hands in his pockets. No weapon. No bow.
Drayk (muttering):"Kill me quick, witch-boy. I've got better things to do than listen to your prayers."
Vahn raised his eyes for the first time.
Vahn:"Stellar energy doesn't kill. It absorbs. Dissolves. Transforms."
Immediately, the sky above the blue platform dimmed. A dome of constellations rose from the field.Drayk scoffed, finally pulling his hands out—revealing two short blades.
Drayk:"Perfect. Starshine. I hate it."
He shot forward like a serpent. His speed was feral. Vahn moved just two fingers—summoning a ring of energy.Drayk plowed through it with brutal force… and his blade grazed Vahn's cheek. A single cut.
Drayk (laughing):—Didn't see that coming, did you?
Vahn (unshaken):—I didn't need to.
A rune flared beneath Drayk's foot.BOOM!A shockwave hurled him backwards like a missile. The arena trembled.
Vahn:—I recorded your movement the moment you crossed the barrier.This body no longer belongs to me... only to calculation.
Drayk spat blood. He laughed.
—That was good...But I promise you, you don't have enough runes left to stop me again.
He launched forward again, this time zigzagging—a shadow streaking toward a mage barely breathing.
[IN THE STANDS]
Jake Evernight watched the three battles unfold.Beside him, other recently qualified fighters exchanged tense glances.
Jake (thinking):"Each one... is a storm barely contained.This tournament... is no mere game."
The coliseum roared, and the energy fields pulsed with the soul of each fighter.The entire arena was wrapped in unstable energy bursts.Each platform burned with its own demons.The crowd didn't know where to look.There was no rest.No time to blink.
[RED PLATFORM] – Lyra Vex vs Bran Volk
Bran was engulfed in flame—not ordinary fire, but a volcanic aura that warped the air around him.The ground melted beneath each of his steps.Ignis Frame: Level 2.
Lyra panted.Several of her runes were disabled.Blood trickled from her right arm.
Lyra (thinking):"He's already disabled fifteen threads...He's learning... and his endurance... is monstrous."
Bran grinned.—You've got me cornered…But I'm still standing. And that must really piss you off.
Lyra closed her eyes. She whispered:
—Cut 24. Gravity point.
A single line. Almost invisible.But the ground beneath Bran collapsed—not from force,but because Lyra had altered its mass in a microsecond.He fell with five times his own weight.
CRACK!Bran dropped to one knee—his leg shattered beneath him.
Bran (screaming):—NO... NOT YET!
With one last breath, he hurled a magma-wrapped fist.
Lyra didn't dodge.She took it head-on.
The blow sent her spinning through the air.
The referee raised his hand, shouting alongside the roaring crowd:—VICTORY TO... LYRA VEX!
Lyra stood slowly, lip split, a crooked smile on her face.
[GREEN PLATFORM] – Kael Riven vs Nia Skell
Kael had lost his spear.His left arm dangled, dislocated.Nia floated between the cubes like a puppet of pure calculations.
Kael (mentally):"Every time I attack... she's already seen it.But there's one thing she can't predict—Instinct. Chaos."
Kael stepped forward. Then again.
Nia raised an eyebrow.—Surrender?
Kael smiled.—Reverse ricochet.
He lunged at one of the cubes at full speed.Right before impact, he triggered an old technique—redirecting his energy to rebound diagonally,slipping under Nia's prediction arc.
For the first time... Nia frowned.
Kael emerged at her blind spot,and using his own armor as a projectile,he slammed into her with his bare shoulder.
The cubes collapsed like a broken web.
Kael (groaning):—Instinct, kid.
Nia dropped to her knees.Spent.Disconnected.
Referee:—Kael Riven ADVANCES TO THE SEMIFINALS!
Kael raised his arm with effort.—That was... fucking beautiful.
[BLUE PLATFORM] – Vahn Elric vs Drayk Halden
The quietest duel... yet the deadliest.
Drayk panted, half his body veiled in black energy.Vahn no longer moved—only his eyes remained open,floating inches above the ground.
Drayk:—You pushed me to the edge, warlock......and yet, you never bled.
Vahn:—I bled inside.Where your blade can't reach.
Drayk made one last move—a thrust straight for the heart.
But when his blade touched him—
Drayk (panicked):—What the hell...?!
Vahn (calm):—I reflected you.Every blow, every intent.Now you're trapped inside yourself.
Drayk collapsed backwards,his mind caught in an illusory loop.
Referee:—Vahn Elric, by psycho-astral suppression, is the victor.
[QUALIFIED ZONE – Match Draw Announcement]
The air turned heavy.Four combatants stood beneath the lights:
Jake EvernightLyra VexKael RivenVahn Elric
A floating sphere descended.The random pairing system began to spin.Digits flickered, lights danced—and the tension could've shattered glass.
"Pairings confirmed."
The referee's voice rang with solemnity.
SEMIFINAL 1: Jake Evernight vs Vahn ElricSEMIFINAL 2: Lyra Vex vs Kael Riven
The coliseum erupted.
Jake narrowed his eyes.
Jake (thinking):"Vahn... Elric.That guy doesn't fight.He dismantles souls."
Vahn stared back—expressionless.As if he already knew how the match would end.