A wave of murmurs rippled through the banquet hall the mont the golden scoreboard materialized, floating above us like an otherworldly relic.
Nas shimred across the screen in a language that seed ancient yet perfectly legible—an arcane tongue I sohow understood. There were a hundred nas in total, each paired with a nurical counter sitting at zero.
My na sat humbly in the 63rd spot: Einar Sanguis - 00
A few people glanced my way when they noticed it. Nothing too overt. So squints of confusion, a few smirks of dismissal. I could practically hear the silent assumptions: Oh, that’s the ’useless’ Sanguis kid.
I was getting real tired of people underestimating .
Then the golden-haired man raised his hand again, and the murmurs died down like soone had pressed a mute button. His violet eyes scanned the crowd like he was choosing who’d live and who’d die next.
"Welco," he said, his voice infused with strange power. "To the Sovereign’s Trial—the yearly proving ground for the next generation of rulers."
So it really is a competition.
The man continued. "You have been chosen, not simply for your bloodline, but for your potential. The top ten will be elevated to a place of true power. The bottom ten... will be exiled."
The room fell into stunned silence. Even the nobles, who had once held wine with elegance and pride, were frozen in place.
"Exiled?" soone muttered.
"May the Aether be in your favor," the man finished. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the scoreboard shimred and disappeared.
At that very mont, a door on the far end of the hall swung open with a loud creak.
And in walked her.
Silvery white hair like woven moonlight. Crimson eyes, unblinking and glacial. Regal steps, confident posture, and a flowing dress that shimred like the edge of a blade.
A girl of seemingly my age but emitting imnse pressure.
She didn’t walk like a contestant. She walked like soone already crowned. People instinctively moved out of her way. Even Kallias beside straightened his posture, his lips twitching into a forced smile.
"That’s her," he whispered, voice reverent. "Seren Album. The Ice Sovereign. From the Album family, one of the five lords of Aetherion."
Her eyes casually swept across the room—and paused.
On .
I didn’t look away.
Sothing flickered in her gaze. Recognition? Contempt? Interest? I couldn’t tell.
She made her way to the circular platform in the center of the room, standing still as golden lights cascaded down onto her.
"I accept the invitation to the Sovereign’s Trail," she declared. Her voice was cool and beautiful, like a gentle snowfall over a battlefield.
The golden-haired announcer bowed slightly. "Then your na shall remain on the board."
"I would also like to issue my first challenge as a starting ceremony for the trials," she added.
The golden haired man smiled. "Choose your opponent."
The hall went dead silent again.
My gut tightened.
Please don’t say my na. Please don’t say my—
"Einar Sanguis," she called.
My eyes twitched.
Kallias beside nearly spit his drink. "What the fu—"
He regained his footing the next mont. "I wanted to beat you to a pulp and impress her."
Then he turned on , looking at with pity in his eyes. "I will definitely co to see your corpse."
’This bastard!!!’ I scread inwardly but maintained my poker face in front.
I got up slowly, keeping my calm despite the heat crawling up my spine. Everyone stared. Judged. Whispered.
I made my way to the center platform, standing across from Seren, whose expression remained blank.
"Why ?" I asked calmly.
She blinked once, then tilted her head slightly. "Because I want to see if my supposed groom is as useless as the rumours make him."
’What!!! I’m her groom, so that’s what that bastard Kallias ant.’
I wanted to annul the supposed marriage right here and now, but the place and ti wasn’t the best. As such I kept my calm, let the situation go with the flow.
’That’s why Varek hid it probably, maybe the original Einar was a marriage hater like .’
The announcer raised both hands. "This will be a ceremonial bout. No killing permitted. The goal is to force the opponent off the platform."
I took a breath, my fingers twitching. The Symbiote inside coiled and hissed with anticipation. Perhaps it was also as angry as .
Seren raised a single hand. Ice crystals blood along her fingertips.
"Ready," the announcer said.
"Begin."
The mont the announcer’s voice echoed, the entire atmosphere shifted.
A shockwave of cold burst from Seren the instant the word "Begin" was spoken.
The ground beneath her shimred with ice, spreading outward in jagged patterns. Frost blood like vines across the obsidian-black marble.
I took a step back—not from fear, but instinct. The ice was fast, hungry, and razor-sharp.
She didn’t even move her feet.
My own breath misted in front of . My skin tingled.
’This isn’t so minor display... she’s using real aether output.’
Unlike who was raw dogging Chaos and getting his ass kicked in the process.
I could tell. Her control over elental affinity was absurd. The way the ice danced around her, never cutting her dress or touching her skin—was masterful.
Still, I wasn’t defenseless.
My Nascent Rift Core pulsed within , a slow rhythmic thrum like a heartbeat within the void. Dark tendrils of shadow with stripes of red surged beneath my feet, eting the incoming ice with a silent clash.
Steam hissed violently as chaos and frost t.
The audience leaned in, captivated. Even the announcer’s eyes glead with curiosity.
Seren finally moved—only her fingers.
Tiny arcs of frozen aether shimred around her hand, and the next mont, dozens of jagged ice spears shot out from behind her in a tight arc.
They howled through the air like spectral arrows.
I snapped my hand upward.
From beneath my feet, darkness erupted, morphing into a shield of interwoven crimson strands. The spears hit—CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!—each impact causing a ripple of resistance, but none pierced through.
The last spear hit, and my shield buckled.
The mont it shattered, I lunged forward.
Seren’s eyes widened—just barely—as I appeared in front of her in a single blink.
My fist was coated in rippling crimson energy, aiming straight for her shoulder—not lethal, just to push her back.
But instead of moving, her form shattered.
Like breaking a mirror.
’An afterimage?’
Before I could process it, ice surged from beneath —exploding upward in a massive pillar.
I leapt back just in ti, flipping mid-air and landing smoothly at the edge of the platform.
She was now hovering slightly above the ground, standing on a thin layer of ice floating in mid-air. Crimson eyes locked onto with a glint of intrigue.
"You’re faster than I thought," she said, her voice still cool, but carrying a tinge of... amusent?
I shrugged. "And you’re holding back."
She raised a brow. "Perhaps. But I’ve seen enough."
She lifted her hand again, slowly, deliberately.
And just like that, all the ice on the platform lted. Gone in seconds. No lingering water. Not even a chill.
Silence took over the hall.
"I retract my challenge," Seren said aloud. "This much should be enough...the audiences are entertained."
’She what?’
The announcer nodded. "Challenge retracted. Duel concluded."
Just like that, it was over.
The crowd didn’t cheer. They were too stunned. Whispering filled the silence. A few astonished gasps.
I walked off the platform, passing Seren as I did.
For just a second, she leaned slightly closer, her voice low enough only I could hear.
"That was interesting... Einar."
Then she turned and walked away, like nothing had happened.
Kallias rushed to the second I sat down. "What the hell was that?! You just survived the Ice Sovereign’s opening attack and made her smile?! She’s never done that! Not even once!"
I ignored his outburst, staring ahead as my heart began to settle.
’She wanted to test . And now she’s watching.’
A new na had entered the playing field.
.
And I had the attention of one of the most powerful figures of my generation.
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