Chapter 28: A Clash on the Edge
The final day of the Emberlight Grand Tournament's main bracket had arrived.
Spectators filled the stands in a frenzy of excitement and anticipation. Rumors and betting pools ran wild. Two undefeated titans remained, and only one path to the finals remained unwalked.
In the upper right bracket, Lysa Thorn had claimed her position in the finals with ruthless precision. Her match against the brute from the Black Flame Temple lasted barely longer than a blink.
Thorns had bloomed across the arena — not physical vines, but whips of pressure and ki that danced like petals in a storm. Her opponent's strikes were intercepted mid-motion, redirected, and punished. Her own counterattacks were impossibly fast, like threading needles through narrow gaps in time.
The boy didn't even know he had lost until his feet refused to move and his vision blurred.
The crowd roared. But Lysa only stepped off the platform and dusted her sleeve.
She didn't celebrate. Her eyes were already drifting to the next platform — the one where he would fight.
Where Kai would face Auron Veyron.
⸻
In the waiting chamber beneath the arena, Auron leaned against a pillar, arms folded. The black pill remained tucked deep in a hidden pocket within his robes. His gaze was fixed forward, unmoving.
He could feel the tension in the air.
All around him, others tried to hide their glances. Officials, stewards, even his own sect-mates — they all waited to see if the blood heir of the Veyron name would rise to meet the anomaly that was Kai.
Across the chamber, Kai stood alone, silent as ever.
Auron didn't speak. He didn't posture.
But inwardly, his ki surged. The pressure around him sharpened like a spear, full of jagged intent.
If he makes me use that pill… then he doesn't leave this tournament standing.
⸻
The sun reached its peak.
The arena's platform began to glow faintly with layered inscription patterns, preparing for the power these two would unleash.
"—The second of the final three matches!" the announcer called, voice high with energy. "On the left, a name whispered across the stands with every clash, undefeated and untouchable—Kai of the Emberlight Path!"
Cheers rang out like a wave.
"—And on the right! Heir to the Veyron line, bearer of the Black Rift Flowing Spear—Auron Veyron!"
A roar. Loud, furious, loyal.
Two prodigies. Two philosophies. Two storms.
The judge raised a hand.
"Begin."
⸻
Auron didn't move immediately. He stood, left foot forward, right foot back, spear held at an angle. His ki didn't explode — it compressed. Layered into tight coils beneath his flesh, unseen but present. His presence bent the light around him, ripples warping the air.
Kai stepped forward calmly.
Then vanished.
Crack—
Auron's spear swung in an arc, intercepting nothing.
Kai appeared behind him, a blur of motion, and jabbed with a palm. Auron twisted his body unnaturally mid-spin and deflected with the butt of his spear. The clash created a sound like two stones grinding.
He's fast, Auron thought. But not faster than me.
Kai disappeared again — no trail, no flicker. His movement was tighter now. Compressed into something not even shadow left behind.
Auron focused. He spun his spear once, channeling ki into the shaft.
"Black Rift Spiral!"
Dark tendrils of ki erupted from the ground like jagged spirals. One of them slashed through where Kai appeared mid-motion—cutting a faint line along his outer tunic.
The crowd gasped. It was the first time Kai had been touched all tournament.
Kai's eyes narrowed. Then…
He took a single step forward.
And the arena bent.
Dozens of movement echoes exploded across the battlefield—Veilstep: Echo Slip activated.
Auron's instincts screamed as strikes came from every direction. Visuals, sound, even ki perception betrayed him. He deflected a blow from the right—only for the real Kai to appear from the left, delivering a heavy elbow into Auron's ribs.
Crack.
Auron stumbled. Kai was gone again.
The audience had no idea what they were watching. Screams and silence intermingled in chaos.
Auron gritted his teeth. Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.
No. Not yet. I won't fall like this!
His hand twitched toward his hidden pocket.
But Kai's voice rang out softly:
"Too slow."
The next strike came from the front. A single, rising palm, delivered with no technique — just overwhelming precision.
It hit Auron's chest.
The Black Rift armor shattered.
Auron flew backwards, skidding across the floor as his spear clattered beside him.
The judge rushed in.
"—That's enough! Winner: Kai of Emberlight!"
⸻
Silence.
Then an eruption of cheers. Gasps. Disbelief.
In the upper arena, Lysa Thorn watched quietly, fingers curled at her side.
"He didn't even use his full tempo," she whispered to herself.
The final match had been decided.
Kai vs Lysa.