Chapter Title: Echoes of Proving Flame
The cave corridor narrowed as the path deepened, swallowing the last traces of light from the surface. Stalactites hung like jagged teeth, dripping moisture into shallow pools. The deeper the explorers moved, the more the ancient air weighed upon them—dense, stale, almost breathing.
Nick, Asher, and Ethan walked ahead, quiet now, the earlier clash still simmering under their skin. The tension had been sliced only briefly by the Dragon-Born trio's show of power—wind that danced with blades, lightning that cracked across shadows, and fire that nearly set the cave itself aflame.
Behind them, the human mages hadn't said much, but their silence was far from surrender. No, it was brewing—like a storm waiting for its moment.
"Don't let them think we're just scared," one of the human boys finally muttered under his breath. "This is our chance."
The speaker was Darius, a mage with ash-blond hair and storm-gray eyes, his mana already beginning to ripple like heat off stone. His knuckles were pale where they gripped the hilt of a short staff, one etched with runes that faintly shimmered with residual energy.
Beside him walked Serah, the girl who had spat venom at Ethan earlier. Her hands glowed faintly with the essence of silver-blue light, threading between her fingers like silk. Magic of a different nature.
The last was Aven—a lanky boy with bronze skin and a quiet face that masked a calculating edge. He hadn't spoken much, but he watched everything. Not just the path, but the Dragon-Born too.
The group rounded a bend—and froze.
From the dark ahead came a deep, rumbling growl.
The explorers halted. "Stay behind us," the elder mage said, raising a trembling lantern.
The ground shuddered.
And then it burst.
Stone cracked. A massive creature surged up from beneath the cave floor, spraying rubble into the air. It was reptilian, massive, scaled in gray-brown armor that glinted like crystal. It had no eyes—only three slitted nostrils and a jaw full of jagged fangs.
"Burrowfang!" Serah hissed. "A subterra apex beast!"
Asher immediately stepped forward, Blaze Fang flaring to life in his grip.
"No," Darius said coldly, stepping past him. "You've had your fun. Let real mages show you how it's done."
Asher blinked. "Okay, buddy, now you're just asking to die dramatically."
But the human trio didn't hesitate.
Serah's hands flew into motion, her magic flaring outward in intricate arcs. With a burst of pressure, threads of energy coiled around her arms—Mystweave, her signature magic. She launched them forward, weaving a tapestry of illusionary duplicates of herself that scattered around the beast, distracting its sonar-based senses.
Darius slammed his staff into the ground. "Magestone Bind!" he roared. Purple runes flared underfoot, and sharp, crystalline chains erupted from the earth, trying to entangle the Burrowfang's limbs.
The beast roared, bucking against the bind, but the hold held long enough for Aven to step up, sliding both palms into a fluid motion.
From thin air, geometric sigils blinked into existence. "Phase Construct," Aven whispered.
Suddenly, three glowing blades—pure energy shaped by thought—hovered in the air. With a flick of his fingers, Aven sent them flying, carving glowing lines along the beast's exposed underbelly.
"Woah," Ethan muttered, surprised despite himself.
"They're actually working together," Nick added.
Serah leapt between the shifting illusions, her threads now tightening into piercing javelins of condensed energy. She hurled them, and one slammed into the beast's neck joint, forcing a pained shriek that shook the cavern.
The Burrowfang retaliated—hard. It slammed its tail into the cave wall, triggering a partial collapse. Stone and dust cascaded around the two groups, separating the explorers from the path ahead.
"Focus it down now!" Darius shouted. His eyes were glowing with raw will. From his staff, twin arcs of vibrating magic surged forward and struck the ground—where they detonated into jagged crystal formations, piercing into the creature's legs.
The Burrowfang bellowed, breaking free of the chains. It lunged.
For a second, it looked like it would reach them.
Then Aven snapped his fingers.
The phase constructs he'd planted earlier converged on one glowing rune beneath the beast—and detonated.
A silent flash. A wave of force.
And the monster dropped with a groan, its body twitching before falling still, pinned beneath the rubble it had created.
Silence followed.
Even Asher was speechless for a moment. Then he exhaled. "Okay. Credit where it's due... that was actually cool."
Serah turned, her Mystweave fading. "Not everything can be solved with brute fire and cocky smirks."
Asher smirked wider. "Oh, you like my smirk. Don't lie."
Ethan, arms folded, nodded slowly. "Alright. You're not just talk. That was sharp coordination."
Nick kept his expression neutral, though his mind was already breaking down the techniques—illusion redirection, rune-based binding, construct manipulation. All clean. All dangerous and new . Nick already knew about the existence of the light element and even duo it was rare but the rune and construction magic was new to him maybe a branch of magic which made nick uncomfortable knowing his enemies had abilities far from there's, looks like the humans were determined to show off power . Nick has heard about arcane magic but hasn't seen it but now he has. The boy Aven possessed a branch of magic that was believed to be so rare that only few possess it.
The explorers behind them slowly emerged, shaken but alive. The elder mage gave both groups a wary nod.
"That was... impressive. All of you."
The boys didn't forget to store away each of the creatures killed.
But the humans didn't look at the trio like comrades.
No, their eyes still burned with challenge.
They hadn't worked together to bond.
They'd done it to prove something.
That they could match the Dragon-Born.
And for a moment, maybe they had.
But the cave went deeper still.
And darker dangers waited below—where power wouldn't be enough, and truth might finally surface.