The two still stood across from each other inside the octagon ring, their eyes locked without hesitation.
Solarynth's eyes glowed faintly, the celestial rings within them shifting slowly as they tracked every movement of Asura made, air between them tightened for a brief second.
then Asura changes his fist back to normal when both moved.
Asura stepped in first with overwhelming pressure, his fists wrapped in burning dark violent energy as he threw a fast jab toward Solarynth's face, immediately chaining it into a brutal hook aimed at the body.
Solarynth pivoted sharply.
The jab barely grazed past his cheek while he slid sideways from the hook, his feet moving with smooth, unnatural precision blue magical energy flickered beneath every step he took.
He spun instantly, a high roundhouse kick tore toward Asura's head, trailing a crescent of glowing blue light behind it.
Asura raised his forearm to block the impact exploded outward violently, the shockwave rattling the octagon floor beneath them before Solarynth could follow with another kick, Asura closed the distance aggressively.
A knee shot upward toward Solarynth's stomach.
Solarynth twisted his body mid-motion, narrowly avoiding the strike before springing backward with impossible flexibility.
Asura rushed him again, his combinations flowed relentlessly jab, cross, low kick, elbow each strike compact, violent, and enhanced by bursts of heated energy detonating near the point of impact.
Solarynth avoided most of them through precise movement alone, slipping past punches by inches before planting one foot against the cage wall.
Blue energy surged beneath him, he launched himself forward, a spinning hook kick crashed downward toward Asura's temple with crushing force.
Asura ducked under it at the last possible second, the kick releasing a sharp arc of pressure that split the floor behind him.
He countered instantly.
An uppercut wrapped in blazing violently, shot upward and slammed into Solarynth's guard, launching him backward several meters across the ring.
Solarynth landed hard but recovered quickly, sliding across the ground before resetting his stance.
For a moment both stared at each other again.
Then Solarynth vanished forward.
A barrage of kicks erupted from every angle high, middle, spinning, reverse each attack flowing seamlessly into the next while streaks of blue energy flooded the ring like lightning.
Asura planted his feet firmly, he endured the storm, blocking and slipping through the attacks while waiting patiently.
Timing.
The instant Solarynth spun into another high kick, Asura stepped inside the strike instead of retreating.
His fist drove forward like a cannon.
The punch slammed into Solarynth's ribs with explosive force, crimson mixed with violent energy bursting outward violently on impact.
Solarynth staggered but he didn't fall.
He exhaled sharply, his glowing eyes brightening further as blue energy crackled around his legs once again.
Across from him, Asura rolled his shoulders slowly, flames rising from both fists.
Neither of them backed down.
Blue energy still crackled around Solarynth's legs while crimson mixed with violent form flames burned around Asura's fists, two stared at each other with the same intensity as before, both preparing to move again despite the damage already covering the ring.
Then...
Seraphine appeared between them, before either of them could react.
THUD.
THUD.
The sound echoed across the octagon as both Solarynth and Asura instantly dropped to the ground, each with a large bump forming on their heads.
Seraphine stood in the center with her arms crossed, veins slightly visible on her forehead as pure teacher-level anger radiated from her.
"Are you two actually insane?" she snapped sharply. "This is sparring, not a death battle."
Solarynth slowly lifted his head from the floor, clearly dazed.
"But he started—"
"I don't care who started it," Seraphine cut him off immediately.
Asura groaned while rubbing the top of his head.
"You hit surprisingly hard…"
"That wasn't even a real hit," Seraphine replied coldly.
The two immediately went silent.
Ten minutes later...
both of them were sitting outside the octagon ring on a wooden bench, shoulders lowered while Seraphine continued lecturing them like children who had broken every rule possible.
"You're supposed to improve on your control," she continued firmly. "Not destroy the entire training ground every single session."
Solarynth looked down quietly while holding an ice pack against his head.
Asura sat beside him in the same condition, unusually obedient for once.
Near Seraphine stood her younger brother Henry, watching the scene unfold with visible amusement he tried holding back his laughter, but the sight of the two powerful fighters being scolded like little kids was too much.
A small giggle escaped him.
Solarynth glanced over with narrowed eyes.
"…You think this is funny?"
The younger boy nodded immediately, barely containing another laugh.
Asura sighed heavily and leaned back against the bench.
"We almost killed each other…"
"And lost to her in one hit," Solarynth muttered.
Seraphine heard that.
"Do you want another one?"
"…No, ma'am," both answered instantly.
As the two took a short break from training, it was obvious how much stronger they had become.
Honestly, it wasn't even surprising anymore.
They trained day and night under Seraphine's guidance, there were no true "rest days" with her, even while sleeping, they had learned to stay alert because their strict master had a habit of launching surprise attacks without warning.
Pain had practically become part of the training.
Solarynth and Asura remained seated on the wooden bench outside the octagon ring, still recovering from their spar earlier.
Bruises and scratches covered parts of their bodies, but compared to before, neither of them seemed bothered by it anymore.
Not far from them, Seraphine was kneeling beside her little brother Henry on the training grounds.
The difference in how she treated him was almost unbelievable.
Instead of yelling or throwing them into another near-death exercise, Seraphine patiently guided Henry while showing him simple beginner spells like small glowing symbols floated above her palm as Henry watched with sparkling eyes, trying his best to imitate her movements.
For once—
Seraphine actually looked gentle.
Solarynth stared at the scene quietly before glancing sideways at Asura.
"She never acts like that when she trains us," he muttered.
Asura snorted lightly.
"That's because he's her little brother, Solarynth," he replied. "Of course she treats him differently thats, his sibling "
Solarynth leaned back slightly, still watching Seraphine and Henry.
"A sibling, huh…"
There was genuine curiosity in his voice.
"I wonder what that feels like."
The words came out quieter than expected, solarynth had no siblings.
No bloodline.
No real family tree to trace back to.
For most of his life, he had only known survival, training, and movement when watching Seraphine interact with Henry felt strangely distant to him, like looking at something normal that he himself had never experienced.
Asura noticed the look on his face but didn't say anything.
The mountain wind drifted through the training grounds once again, carrying the peaceful silence for a brief moment.
until heavy footsteps echoed near the entrance gate.
Both of them looked up.
A large figure was walking through the gates of Seraphine's mountain domain, carrying the familiar weight and presence of a seasoned dwarf warrior.
Massive beard.
Heavy armor.
Gruff expression.
Steelbeard.
The dwarf stopped once he spotted Solarynth sitting on the bench.
"So this is where you've been, Solarynth," Steelbeard said as he crossed his arms.