The day of the tournament arrived faster than Max wanted. Now he would fight in the arena that started it all again.
The academy's grand arena usually reserved for final exams and terrifying faculty demonstrations or duels between students buzzed with energy. Hundreds of students filled the tiered stone seats, voices rising in excited chaos. Banners fluttered with sigils, the morning sun gleaming off polished weapons and enchanted armor.
Professors monitored from platforms above, enchantments woven around them like invisible barriers. The Head Council - Aka Professor Spark and two other higher ups and the headmaster watched from their high balcony, expressionless and unreadable.
A booming voice echoed across the arena:
"Welcome, students, to the Tournament of Ascension. Combat will be regulated, overseen, and recorded. Victory requires incapacitation, surrender, or forced ring exit."
The gate symbols flared.
"First round—begin."
Pairs of fighters stepped forward. Sparks flew, spells collided, weapons clashed. Flames erupted in one corner, ice hissed in another. One student was flung out of the ring in the first ten seconds, landing in a heap and swearing loudly before healers dragged him away.
Another match ended in a draw when both opponents knocked each other unconscious with simultaneous spells earning loud applause and a professor facepalming.
Max barely watched.
The weapon at his hip pulsed. Slow. Interested.
Hungry.
[This is entertainment at its finest,] Raven purred. [But your turn will be better.]
Please don't enjoy this, Max thought.
[Too late.]
"Match twenty-four," the announcer called. "Max Dazeyrd vs. Alex Kwan."
Alex, already stretching on the opposite side of the arena, shot Max a grin.
"Try not to die this time," Alex called.
Max snorted. "You say that like you won't eat dirt in thirty seconds."
"Oh please. I'm about to fold you like laundry."
They walked to the center.
Alex rolled his shoulders, mana rippling through his muscles—strength enhancement, speed amplification, reflex augmentation. His skin shimmered with a faint metallic sheen.
Max inhaled, letting water gather not from air alone, but from the wells beneath the arena stones. Moisture condensed, swirling around his hands in deep sapphire threads.
A hush fell over the arena.
The signal bell chimed.
Alex moved first—fast.
He sprinted forward, closing the distance in a blur. Max sidestepped, water spiraling into a shield that bent around Alex's strike instead of blocking it redirecting the force.
Alex staggered but recovered instantly, pivoting with a boosted punch aimed at Max's ribs.
Max flicked two fingers. Water snapped upward like a whip.
Crack.
Alex grinned. "Ow. Okay. You're new and improved. Noted."
He dashed forward again faster this time.
Max raised a hand.
Water formed on the ground all around Alex, Alex's foot slid, balance shifting.
Max sent a wave of water straight for Alex, dense and pressurized.
It slammed into Alex's chest.
He flew backward, skidding across the arena floor.
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
Alex pushed himself up, coughing, then laughed.
"You're actually scary now," he said, wiping his mouth. "I hate it. Let's go again."
He vanished using a movement spell his aura blazing.
Max turned not with eyes, but instinct and well. A little bit of cheating.
Raven whispered
[Behind you.]
Max spun, water forming along his blade he drew it and blocked.
Steel met enhanced muscle.
Clash.
Alex forced Max back with raw power—but Max didn't break his stance. Water reinforced his footing, anchoring him like he stood in a river rather than on stone.
Alex swung again.
Max moved with the strike not against it redirecting the force downward. The ground cracked under Alex's redirected punch.
Max's water around his blade dissolved as he sheathed it again, reforming into chains—thin, fluid, shifting. They wrapped around Alex's arms, spiraling tight.
Alex growled and flexed—breaking the first set.
Not the second.
Max pulled.
Alex stumbled forward and Max struck, palm out, water compressing into a focused burst at the last second.
Impact.
Alex hit the ground hard.
Silence stretched.
Alex raised a hand weakly.
"Okay. I surrender," he groaned. "That was rude. Very rude. And I'm proud of you. But mostly offended."
The arena exploded into cheers.
The announcer lifted a hand:
"Winner: Max Dazeyrd. Advancement approved."
Max exhaled, water dissolving into mist.
Alex sat up and pointed at him.
"You owe me lunch for that."
Max grinned and offered a hand. "Deal."
Alex took it, letting Max pull him up.
As they walked off the field, Raven whispered:
[The others will fear you now.]
Good, Max thought—but he didn't know if he meant it.