Elizabeth stood beside Zane, her head bowed, fists clenched tight at her sides. Her lips quivered, teeth biting down hard to keep the tears from spilling. It was all she could do to stop herself from collapsing under the weight of her own disappointnt.
'I was so close…' The thought haunted her, gnawed at her like an open wound. 'This was the closest I'd ever co to succeeding… And I failed.'
What made it worse—so much worse—was that Zane had watched. He had seen it all. The stumble, the defeat, the final blow. She could feel the sha pressing on her chest like a boulder. It was far worse than anything she felt in a very long ti.
'He trusted … and I let him down.'
Even lifting her head felt unbearable. She didn't want to see the disappointnt in his eyes. She imagined it vividly—his narrowed gaze, his cold disapproval, the silent judgnt. Just the thought of it made her want to curl into herself and disappear.
Then… she felt it.
A light tap on her shoulder.
She blinked, startled, and looked up.
Zane stood beside her, his expression calm. Steady. There was not even a flicker of disappointnt in his eyes. In fact, his gaze was… reassuring.
"You did good," he said quietly. "Using your ability to read his movents and dodge accordingly was smart. If you had more training, you would've beaten him easily."
Elizabeth's mouth parted slightly, but no words ca out.
"You just need to believe in yourself," he continued. "Work your body. Improve. If you do that, you'll be a formidable knight."
"I-I… Huh?" she stamred, completely caught off guard. "Wait… Are you not… disappointed?"
Zane tilted his head slightly, like the idea hadn't even crossed his mind. "Why would I be? You did your best. That's more than enough. Now that you've seen what you're capable of, there's no reason to be harsh on yourself."
His words hit harder than any sword ever could.
'Don't be harsh on myself…?'
The phrase echoed again and again in her mind. All her life, she'd blad herself for her weakness. She had always thought she wasn't ant to be strong—had resigned herself to being the fragile one, the quiet one, the smart one who would never truly belong among warriors.
When she was accepted as a knight, she couldn't believe it. And when others whispered behind her back—called her a mistake, a waste, an undeserving fluke—deep down, she agreed with them. She questioned how the injection accepted her as a knight while other, way more talented individuals were refused.
She even thought it was all so sort of mistake and that she wasn't even chosen. It made more sense to her than actually being a knight herself.
But now, standing beside Zane, hearing him say those words, sothing cracked.
"I lost…" she murmured, her voice trembling.
"Losing is part of life," Zane replied. "What matters is that you learn from it. You get better. So that next ti… you win."
Elizabeth looked up at him again. This ti, her gaze was not filled with sha. Instead, a new fire flickered there—small, but unmistakable. This was her very first fight and she had co so close from actually winning. Perhaps what Zane said was right, if she trained harder and learned how to use her stigma more efficiently in battle, she could succeed. After all, being able to read your opponent's mind was a huge advantage, unmistakibly.
"I want to try harder," she said, her voice steadier now. "I want to get stronger."
Zane gave a small nod. "Then do it. No one's stopping you."
He saw it clearly now—the shift in her eyes, the bitterness turning into resolve. She had caught a glimpse of her potential, and that was all she needed. The rest would co with ti and effort. If she kept pushing forward, she'd get there.
But his mont of reflection was cut short when the teacher's voice echoed through the hall:
"Zane Darkborn. Lune Starpiercer. You're next."
The room fell into silence.
Eyes widened.
Mouths gaped.
Then the reactions began.
"Oh boy… He's so dead."
"Unlucky bastard."
"I feel bad for him."
"Trade places with !"
"Let be the one to get crushed by her…"
Zane didn't respond to any of it. His face remained passive, his gaze cool. But deep inside... He was panicking.
'Lune? Seriously?! Of all people…'
His mind scread as he looked over at the tall, ethereal girl stepping forward with her usual graceful elegance. There was no emotion on her face, no sense of excitent or challenge. She simply walked toward the arena as if this were just another item on her daily to-do list.
'I don't want to fight her. She's a walking storm cloud. Why is my luck so utterly cursed? I hate it!!'
He wanted to throw his head back and laugh—or maybe cry. It really did feel like the universe was playing gas with him just for fun. Yet, as sad as it was, he wasn't even that surprised she was his opponent. He always had the tendency to get the worst outco possible no matter the situation. Even if it was a 1 in 29 chance.
Elizabeth looked at him, concern etched all over her face. "Z-Zane…?"
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Such a pain… but whatever."
With that, he stepped forward, sword in hand, and moved to face Lune in the arena.
They stood across from each other, both silent. Zane took his stance, holding his wooden sword with both hands in front of him. Lune didn't even bother. She held hers loosely at her side, like it weighed nothing.
But Zane wasn't fooled.
'That's not laziness. That's mastery. She's not guarding because she doesn't need to.'
Her posture scread of soone so confident in her skill that she didn't see him as a threat. But Zane's instincts were sharp, and he didn't underestimate her for a second.
'She's dangerous. One wrong move, and I'm done.'
Part of him wanted to just throw the match. Let her win quickly, keep the spotlight off him, and save his strength. But another part—the stubborn, curious part—kept whispering.
'How long could I last against her?'
If Lune was the benchmark of strength here, then this was the perfect chance to asure himself. If he wanted to climb to the top, he had to know what that top looked like.
'Fine. I'm going for it.'
"Begin!" the teacher called.
For a mont, neither of them moved.
The air thickened with tension.
"Why aren't they starting?" soone whispered.
"Shh… just watch."
Then—Zane moved.
He lunged forward, swift and low, swinging his sword down toward Lune.
Clang!
She t the blow effortlessly, deflecting it at an angle. Zane's balance faltered. Before he could regain it, her sword was already swinging toward his chest.
'Shit!'
He pushed off the ground, using his energy to flash backwards just in ti to avoid the hit. His heart thundered in his chest.
'She redirected my entire attack and broke my stance in one move. Unreal…'
And then—she vanished.
'Wait, where—'
He barely sensed her behind him.
'Behind!'
He twisted around just in ti to see her sword descending. With a grunt, he rolled forward, the blade slicing through the air where his head had been monts ago.
Clang!
Another clash. He was still on the ground, Lune looming over him with eerie calm, blade pressed forward with overwhelming strength.
Zane grunted, feeling the weight of her strike push him back.
'I can't overpower her… but maybe…'
Then he saw it.
An opening.
Her stance was slightly overextended.
'Now!'
However, at that mont, he noticed sothing and an idea ford in his head. Quickly, he slid his leg forward, aiming to tackle Lune while she was completely focused on finishing him.
'I got her!'
At the very last second, the girl jumped in the air and landed a few steps back. She stared coldly at Zane and then at his foot. The boy could swear he saw her smirk for a split second before she rushed toward him again.
'Co at ! I won't back down!' He stood up and readied himself. It didn't take Zane long to realize that this was indeed the hardest battle he had faced his entire life. Not that he had many to begin with.
The two clashed again, even more violently this ti. Their weapons moving like flashes of light as they exchanged blows at a rapid pace. The candidates watched in awe, completely taken aback by the sight.
"He's... keeping up?"
"Are my eyes betraying right now? What the hell is going on?!"
"Who's that kid? How is he not defeated yet?"
The questions rained down quickly one after the other. It simply took a turn nobody expected. How can a nobody keep up with Lune? The best talent of their entire world? No, their entire history?
Sothing very wrong was happening.
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