The arena roared with unrelenting thunder.
Each round of the Celestial Combat Crown had pushed the fighters closer to their limits. One-on-one battles tested more than power—they revealed willpower, tactics, control. There were no teams. No second chances.
Only one could stand at the end.
Renzo stepped into his first match with no hesitation. His opponent was older, faster, a master of pyrokinetic lashes—but Renzo ducked, redirected, and countered with pinpoint strikes. He didn't waste energy. He didn't boast.
He just won.
Match after match, his opponents grew stronger. One manipulated time flickers. Another wielded liquid shadow. One even wielded explosive sound pulses. But Renzo adapted, read patterns, disrupted flow. He fought like Kael had taught him—efficient, sharp, and precise. Each victory was earned, never easy.
In another bracket, Reika Mizuno carved her way up with poise beyond her age. Her style was elegant, ice and wind merging like a dance. She froze momentum, then struck with sudden bursts of force. Her final semifinal was against a towering brute with earth armor—she used his weight against him, dodging, weaving, then detonating wind pressure from beneath to launch him out of the arena.
From the stands, Kael's children watched in awe.
"She's really good," Maiya whispered, eyes wide.
"She's smart," Jinsei added, leaning forward.
Ayato clapped whenever Renzo appeared on screen. "Renzo's gonna win!"
Kael said nothing—but inside, he was proud of both. Reika, the daughter of his oldest friend. Renzo, the boy he had raised as family.
Finally, it came down to the final match.
The last two.
Renzo Kurai. Reika Mizuno.
The announcer's voice echoed through the air.
"The final battle of the Celestial Combat Crown begins now!"
The arena shifted into a dynamic battlefield: floating stone platforms, water below, shifting winds. A perfect arena for unpredictability.
Renzo stood tall, his eyes calm.
Reika narrowed hers, her stance low.
No hatred. No rivalry. Only mutual respect.
They bowed to each other.
And the match began.