Freya’s voice still hung in the air.
Desperate. Confused. Completely ignored.
I watched Ashen carefully. Waiting for his response. Curious about whatever history connected him to Alia.
From what I had witnessed in those dreams, their only encounters should have been on the battlefield where they tried to kill her. I had seen him standing among her executioners. Blade raised alongside hundreds of others.
But there was sothing deeper here. Sothing I couldn’t quite grasp.
Why was this knight bound to the Astrea bloodline? Why did he act like an outcast even among his own masters? Why the constant isolation?
Ashen heard Freya’s desperate plea.
And said nothing.
He simply turned away from her. His full attention fixed on Alia.
’Beautiful.’
I couldn’t contain my satisfaction. Freya just received the most brutal slap to her face without a single hand being raised.
Her expression twisted. That permanent cold mask she wore like armor finally cracked. Genuine anger seeped through the fractures.
’This is the best entertainnt I’ve had all day.’
Then Ashen spoke. His voice flat. Emotionless.
"Master was right."
Alia blinked. "Huh?"
He didn’t elaborate. Simply bent down and retrieved his helt from the ground. The golden tal slid back over his features, concealing that striking face once more.
"I don’t know if you’re hiding things or if you’ve lost your mories." His voice echoed slightly within the helm. "But either way, it’s better for you."
He raised his legendary blade. The tip pointed directly at Alia’s heart.
"Leaving the past aside, today I finally have the chance for my revenge."
His stance shifted. Combat ready.
"Prepare yourself. I won’t go easy on you."
Alia stared at him for a long mont.
Then burst out laughing.
"Look, mister." Her tone dripped with mockery. "I think you might have so serious brain issues."
She held up one finger.
"You just said leave the past aside."
A second finger joined the first.
"And then imdiately brought up settling the score."
She tilted her head with exaggerated confusion.
"Pick a lane, psycho."
Her smile turned smug.
"And let’s not forget the fact that you admitted our record is 2-0. Do you really think you have any chance?"
Ashen’s grip tightened on his sword.
"Many things changed after you were gone." His voice carried an edge now. "And looking at you now, you don’t even possess a fraction of the power I witnessed before."
Alia shrugged casually.
"But it would still be enough to beat your ass."
A soft laugh escaped from behind the golden helt. Unexpected. Almost warm.
"You seem to have changed a lot."
Alia glanced back at . Her playful expression seeking guidance.
"What should I do with this psycho?"
I pretended to think for exactly one second.
"Show him his place."
She turned back toward Ashen with that mischievous grin I had co to know so well.
anwhile, Freya had reached her breaking point.
"At least hear out!"
Her shout echoed across the arena.
Ashen didn’t even acknowledge her existence.
He charged.
FWOOOOSH!
His blade carved through the air with terrifying speed. A direct assault aid at ending this before it began.
CRRRACK!
A tower of pure black tal erupted from the ground. Rising between them like a wall forged from nightmares. Blocking his path completely.
SLASH!
Ashen cut through it with a single strike. The dark tal split apart and crumbled.
But when the debris cleared, Alia was gone.
In her place stood a massive tower. So tall that its peak seed to pierce the heavens themselves. The shadow it cast swallowed nearly half the arena in darkness.
And there she was.
High above. Standing atop her creation like a queen surveying her domain.
The ground beneath my feet shifted.
RUMBLE.
A platform of black tal materialized. Lifting gently. Carrying toward safer ground at the arena’s edge.
’She made sure to protect before anything else.’
The platform hovered just inches above the surface. Close enough to feel connected. Far enough to stay clear of the chaos.
Alia had thought of everything.
Ashen wasted no ti. He sprinted toward the tower. His feet finding purchase on the elevated black surface as he began his ascent. Running vertically like gravity ant nothing to him.
WHOOOOSH!
From above, death rained down.
Dozens of black spears materialized in the air around Alia. They launched downward in a relentless barrage. Each one aid with lethal precision.
Ashen dodged. Weaved. Deflected.
His blade beca a blur as he continued climbing. Body tilting at impossible angles to avoid the projectiles that scread past his armor.
But avoiding one wave only earned him another.
More spears. Faster. Denser.
He was so focused on the assault from above that he forgot the most basic rule of combat.
Always watch your back.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Behind him, spikes erupted from the tower’s surface. Thick pillars of black tal with edges sharp enough to shred flesh from bone.
They grew fast. Too fast.
One wrong move would an unimaginable agony.
Ashen sensed the danger too late.
SCHWICK!
He slashed an incoming spear, splitting it cleanly in two.
And in that mont of distraction, a spike pierced through his back.
"ARGH!"
Before it could impale him completely, he reacted on instinct. Planted his foot against the tower. Launched himself backward in a desperate backflip.
Bad decision.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
He found himself surrounded. Trapped in a forest of razor-sharp spikes. His sword swung wildly, cutting the tops off several pillars. But his montum was already lost.
THUD! CRASH! THUD!
His body slamd against spike after spike as he plumted. Each impact drawing blood. Each collision adding another bruise to the collection.
He hit the ground chest-first.
THOOM!
Blood leaked from his back where the spike had pierced him. More trickled from his mouth as the impact forced the air from his lungs.
For a mont, he didn’t move.
Then his hand found his sword.
He pushed himself upright. Using the blade as a crutch. Rising despite the damage. Despite the pain.
And I could feel it.
Rage.
SHING!
One wide swing. Fueled by pure fury.
Five spikes shattered simultaneously. Their remains scattering like broken glass.
He didn’t bother trying to climb anymore.
He charged directly at the tower’s base.
BOOM!
His first strike created a crack that spiderwebbed across the dark tal surface. The pressure wave rippled outward. The sound alone made spectators cover their ears.
CRRRASH!
His second swing tore through the roots entirely.
The tower groaned. Tilted. Began its descent.
A structure that size falling toward the crowd should have caused mass panic. And so spectators did scramble. Their faces twisted with horror as that massive shadow lood over them.
But others remained transfixed. Eyes locked on the battle. Trusting in the arena’s protective chanisms.
Their faith was rewarded.
The mont the falling tower crossed the boundary of the combat zone, it began dissolving. Breaking apart into particles that vanished into an invisible void. The arena’s enchantnts working exactly as designed.
Amidst all this chaos, Alia remained perfectly calm.
She floated in the air as if gravity had simply forgotten she existed. Elegant stairs materialized beneath her feet, one step at a ti. She descended with the grace of royalty attending a ball.
"ALIA!" I shouted across the arena. My voice cutting through the rumbling aftermath.
"Go all in! Beat him! Use everything you’ve got!"
She turned to look at with visible confusion.
"Destroy the whole damn arena if you have to! It doesn’t matter!"
My grin stretched wide.
"Just make sure you look cool and scary while doing it!"
Her head tilted. "Huh?"
But Ashen was already advancing. Bloody. Battered. Still dangerous.
Alia saw him coming.
And sothing shifted in her expression. That playful confusion transford into sothing else entirely.
A vicious smile.
FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH!
The sky above the arena tore open. Dozens of void portals materialized simultaneously. Swirling circles of absolute darkness hovering like the eyes of an angry god.
And from each one erged a tower.
Massive. Imposing. Devastating.
They fell from the heavens like divine judgnt made manifest. Like the sky itself had decided to crush everything beneath it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The impacts were catastrophic.
Ashen abandoned his charge instantly. There was no path forward. Only survival. He dodged left. Right. Backward. Every direction offered nothing but another falling nightmare.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Multiple towers slamd down around him. Barely missing. The shockwaves alone sent him stumbling. Dust and debris exploded in all directions.
He survived.
Barely.
But the tremors that followed shook the entire arena. The magically reinforced ground cracked beneath the assault. Ancient enchantnts groaned under pressure they were never designed to withstand.
The crowd had finally gone silent. Every face painted with the sa expression.
Fear.
"ALIA!"
I called out again. My voice filled with manic excitent.
"MORE! I NEED MORE!"
I spread my arms wide.
"Put everything in your arsenal out there! Scare every single person watching!"
And as chaos reigned supre, as towers continued falling from torn skies, as the legendary Sword Saint struggled just to stay alive...
I raised my right hand high above my head.
The signal.
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