The scorched ruins trembled beneath a crimson sky.
Ash drifted downward like dying snow.
At the center of the fractured arena stood Ignivar.
Obsidian armor.
Molten veins glowing faintly beneath it.
A spear resting across his shoulder as though the battlefield were merely a classroom.
Iren stepped forward.
His sword steady in his hand.
His heartbeat loud in his ears.
"I've come for the Fire Ring."
His voice did not shake.
Ignivar's golden eyes settled on him.
A long silence followed.
Then—
A faint exhale of heated air.
> "The Fire Ring is not a child's toy."
The ground beneath Ignivar's feet began to glow faintly.
> "It is power given form. It will either obey you… or consume you."
The temperature rose subtly.
Pressure pressed against Iren's chest.
Iren tightened his grip.
"I've trained for two years," he said firmly.
"I know what I'm walking into."
Ignivar's gaze sharpened.
The molten veins along his armor pulsed brighter.
> "Training tempers the body."
He lowered his spear.
The metal hummed.
> "But fire tests the soul."
A single step forward.
Stone cracked beneath him.
> "Then show me."
The air ignited around his spear.
> "Show me your rage."
The temperature spiked instantly.
Ignivar vanished.
---
Phase One – Overwhelming Pressure
—FWOOOM!
The spear descended from above.
Iren barely rolled aside.
BOOOOOOM!
Stone erupted where he had stood.
Before he could regain balance—
A thrust from the left.
CLANG!
Steel screamed.
The impact tore through his arms.
Another strike.
Lower.
Faster.
CLANG!
Sparks scattered violently.
Ignivar's movements were precise. Economical. Merciless.
Each thrust forced Iren backward.
Each parry sent searing pain through his bones.
Steel clashed against condensed flame.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Iren attempted a low counter—
Ignivar rotated the spear shaft mid-swing, locking the blade.
Then—
THUD!
The blunt end smashed into Iren's ribs.
Air exploded from his lungs.
He flew across the arena.
—CRASH!
Stone shattered beneath him.
Before he could rise—
Another strike crashed beside his head.
BOOM!
Then another.
Ignivar did not rush.
Did not roar.
He simply applied pressure.
Relentless.
Measured.
The heat alone blistered the air.
Iren staggered to his feet, breathing ragged.
Ignivar planted his spear into the ground.
Flames spiraled upward.
—WHOOOOSH!
They encircled Iren completely.
A burning prison.
Yet the fire did not scorch him.
It showed him.
---
The Flashback – Breaking Point
The arena dissolved.
Roofs collapsed.
Smoke choked the sky.
His village burned.
He heard his mother scream.
Saw his father fall.
Flames consumed everything.
The smell.
The helplessness.
Iren dropped to his knees.
His chest tightened.
Ignivar's voice echoed through the inferno.
> "This is your rage."
The flames tightened around him like a cage.
> "Uncontrolled."
They surged higher.
> "Directionless."
His vision blurred.
His heart shattered again.
Why couldn't I save them…?
Then—
Another memory pierced the fire.
A spear slicing through darkness.
A monster beheaded in a single motion.
Aetherion standing between him and death.
> "Do you wish to protect others so no one dies like your family?"
Iren clenched his fists.
"Yes."
The word was quiet.
But absolute.
He stood.
The flames flickered.
They dimmed.
Not extinguished.
Controlled.
The burning village faded.
The arena returned.
Ignivar stood before him.
Iren rushed forward.
---
First Counterattack
Ignivar thrust.
Iren twisted beneath it.
The spear grazed his shoulder.
Pain flared.
But he stepped inside.
Ignivar shifted to evade—
Yet Iren pivoted mid-step and slashed upward.
The blade carved across Ignivar's shoulder.
Molten sparks erupted.
A thin crack glowed faintly across the obsidian armor.
Ignivar stepped back.
His eyes sharpened.
The battlefield trembled.
Then—
Flames exploded outward.
—BOOOOOOM!
Ignivar rose into the air.
Molten wings tore from his back.
His spear elongated, blazing brighter than before.
Armor fractured wider.
Lava poured like veins of a volcano.
The air ignited.
Infernal Ascendant.
The embodiment of disciplined wrath.
Heat distorted the horizon.
The next clash shattered nearby pillars.
Each strike now produced shockwaves that tore stone apart.
Iren fought desperately.
Dodged.
Parried.
Countered.
But Ignivar was faster.
Stronger.
Overwhelming.
Ignivar feinted high—
Then drove the blunt end of his spear violently into Iren's stomach.
THUD!
Air vanished from his lungs.
Ignivar dragged him across fractured stone.
Sparks trailed behind them.
Iren's back scraped against jagged rock.
Ignivar lowered the spear's tip to his throat.
> "Weak."
The word was quiet.
Ignivar leaned closer.
> "Your family burned because you were weak."
Silence.
The words struck deeper than steel.
Something snapped.
---
Loss of Control
Iren roared.
Wild.
Unfocused.
He lunged recklessly.
Swing after swing.
Flames burst chaotically around him.
Ignivar evaded effortlessly.
Each reckless strike widened Iren's openings.
The spear struck him repeatedly.
Shoulder.
Side.
Back.
He was knocked aside like a leaf in a storm.
Ignivar spun the spear calmly.
> "Rage without direction…"
The weapon hummed.
> "Is destruction."
Iren staggered.
Bleeding.
Breathing ragged.
Then—
He stopped.
The world quieted.
The chaotic flames around him flickered violently—
Then slowly—
Steadied.
He closed his eyes.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Pain remained.
Anger remained.
But they no longer ruled him.
Ignivar mistook the stillness.
His wings flared wide.
> "You Give up."
" Now Diee.."
He lunged forward at full speed—
Spear aimed directly at Iren's heart.
The killing blow descended.
---