Part Two – The Duel Begins
Location: Ashenwell Academy – Duel Pit Alpha
The crowd was thunder.
Students lined every level of the combat stands. Teachers observed silently from their raised platform. A few third years stood with arms folded—watching with sharp eyes.
In the center of the pit stood Kael, armored in silveretched crimson leather, gauntlets humming with compressed kinetic charge. The insignia of Blackspire Arsenal gleamed across his shoulder.
He was Oruin's Forge Prince.
He looked ready to kill.
"Where's your storm now, Solace?" Kael muttered under his breath.
Entrance – Solace
The opposite gate opened.
Grim stepped out—cloak rippling slightly in the wind. No theatrics. No special armor.
Just a sleeveless shirt, worn gloves, and gold fire curling lazily around his fists.
One blue eye. One embergold.
He said nothing as he walked to the center.
The Headmaster's voice echoed from the overhead dome.
"This duel is sanctioned under Academy trial rules. Nonlethal. No interference. Victory by incapacitation or surrender."
"Begin."
Phase One – Measured Flame
Kael struck first—a blazing lunge with a reinforced shoulder, followed by a spinning roundhouse laced with shockwave bursts. His strikes were fast. Precise. Ruthless.
Grim dodged—barely.
His aura pulsed once—and his flames ignited.
Golden fire surged around his body as he launched a low sweep, then a jet of flame that curved upward. Kael blocked with a kinetic barrier—but flinched from the heat.
They clashed again.
Kael's strength was overwhelming, but Grim didn't falter. He wasn't trying to win yet.
He was testing himself.
"Your flames feel wrong," Kael muttered as he parried a burning palm. "They're holding something back."
Grim didn't answer.
But Sparks' voice pinged in his mind:
"Careful. Your left leg's aura is flaring too high. Dial it back unless you want to barbecue the field."
"Also, can I just say… you look sexy when you're on fire."
Grim grunted. Whether in pain or annoyance, no one could tell.
Phase Two – The Strain
Sweat rolled down Grim's temple.
He dodged a hammering blow that cratered the ground beside him. His flame lashed out again—searing hot but restrained. The aura around his body flared with each movement—but never lost control.
Still—it was clear:
He was holding back. And it was costing him.
From the stands, Hadi bit her lip.
"He's not using even half of what I felt during training."
Ayesha nodded. "He's not here to destroy Kael. He's learning to wield what he's become."
Lys, watching in silence, clenched the edge of her seat hard enough to crack the railing.
End of Part Two – Tension Mounts
Kael slammed Grim into the dirt with a double palm shockwave.
Grim rolled, coughed—and stood again.
His flames flickered around his shoulders, weak but focused. Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Is that all you've got?"
Grim exhaled.
Then smiled faintly.
"Not yet."