Arthur's palm burned with condensed mana, the air warping around it as fire gathered in a violent storm.
"Ignite and scorch all in your wake."
Sosuke moved instantly. His body surged forward, fist cutting through the air, aiming to cut the incantation short—
A barrier flared up between them. His punch struck, but the force barely rippled across the surface. Arthur had prepared for this.
"Ultimate Fire Cannon."
The arena roared as a spiraling inferno erupted from Arthur's palm. The wave of fire exploded outward, swallowing everything in its path. The sheer force of it sent shockwaves through the ground, heat searing through stone.
Sosuke barely had time to brace before the flames struck. The impact slammed him against the wall, the heat unbearable, his body screaming in protest. His vision blurred, breath shallow, his limbs refusing to move.
Arthur lowered his smoking palm, eyes steady.
Then, something changed.
The flickering firelight reflected off Sosuke's face, catching the glow in his eyes. At first faint—then unmistakable. A deep, luminous purple, star-shaped pupils gleaming bright white.
Arthur remained still, watching.
Sosuke forced himself up, his body sluggish but his mind razor-sharp. His breathing steadied, his fingers twitching as he raised a hand. His eyes, locked onto Arthur, were reading everything. The mana flow. The structure of the spell. The exact points where it condensed before release.
He had seen it. And now he understood.
Arthur moved forward, closing the distance before Sosuke could act—
"From the void of stars, I call the arrows of eternity."
A sigil spun into existence before Sosuke, intricate patterns weaving together, thrumming with raw energy.
"Ultimate, Arcane Arrows."
A barrage of violet mana arrows erupted from the sigil, twisting unnaturally in the air. They tracked Arthur, shifting trajectories mid-flight, faster than before.
Arthur evaded the first volley, stepping between gaps, each movement precise. The second wave came faster, forcing him to adjust, narrowly missing as they tore through the air around him.
The third struck ground. The explosion sent shards of reinforced stone into the air. Arthur's stance shifted, barely regaining footing before another detonated near him, heat washing over his side.
He exhaled sharply, pressing a hand to the ground.
"Foundation unyielding, Adamant Bastion."
A dome of hardened mana surged up around him, the next set of arrows colliding against its surface. Each impact rang out like a hammer against steel, cracks forming under the relentless assault.
Here's the revised version with better pacing, more vivid descriptions, and a natural flow of action.
Inside the shimmering barrier, Arthur's fingers flexed, his breath steady despite the weight pressing down on him. The tide of battle had shifted.
The barrier fractured. A barrage of arrows descended like falling stars, their velocity blinding. One struck the ground just inches from Arthur's feet—then erupted. The explosion sent him sprawling, his back slamming against the arena floor. Blood trickled from his nose as he struggled to push himself up.
Then, the final arrow came.
It cut through the air so fast that only Sosuke's eyes could track its trajectory. Arthur barely had time to register the movement before pain tore through his side. The force of the impact knocked him off balance, sending him to one knee as he clutched the wound.
"Forfeit yet?" Sosuke's voice carried no mockery, only the weight of expectation. Burn marks still lingered on his arms, smoke curling from his fingertips.
Arthur grit his teeth. "No! I will never forfeit to you!"
His arm swung in a blur, and a concentrated blast of lunar energy erupted from his palm.
Sosuke barely had time to react before the force struck him, his body rolling across the ground in a trail of sparks. A sharp exhale left his lips as he steadied himself, eyes narrowing.
"There wasn't supposed to be core techniques used," Sosuke muttered, pushing himself up.
"You never said it was against the rules, did you?" Arthur shot back, already rising to his feet. The wound on his side had stopped bleeding, his aura surging.
Lightning crackled violently around Sosuke, its chaotic tendrils arcing off his body. The temperature in the arena spiked as raw power coiled around him.
"If this gets out of control, so will my lightning," he warned.
"I don't care," Arthur said, stepping forward with unwavering resolve. Moonlight pulsed along his arms, its glow like liquid silver. "I have the power of the moon with me."
Their auras clashed. A thunderous shockwave rippled through the arena as lunar energy and lightning met in violent harmony. The very air trembled at their collision, the ground beneath them vaporizing under the force.
The battle was no longer a spar—it was an all-out clash between wills.
"ENOUGH!"
Kallard's voice cut through the chaos, booming over the loudspeaker with undeniable authority.
"Control yourselves! You're adults!"
The intensity in the air didn't fade immediately. Sparks still crackled at Sosuke's fingertips. Arthur's energy still pulsed around him. But Kallard's words held weight, and neither could ignore them.
"Get out of the sparring arena. Now."
Silence followed. Then, the two lowered their stances, their auras fading.
Arthur's gaze cut through Sosuke like a blade. There was no anger, no disappointment—just an unwavering coldness. It sent a strange chill down Sosuke's spine.
Without another word, Arthur turned and strode past him, exiting the arena without a glance back.
Sosuke exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension still thrumming in his muscles. His hands found his hips as he stared at the ground for a moment, the last remnants of his lightning crackling faintly before fading. Guess I should hit the library now that I've grasped the general concept of executing ultimate-level spells.
He turned and stepped through the double doors, only to be stopped in his tracks.
"What were you thinking?"
Rin stood before him, arms crossed, her brown eyes sharp with something between irritation and concern.
Sosuke frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You learned what you wanted, so why let it get out of control?" Rin asked. "You wouldn't have let that happen before."
His expression hardened. "What are you trying to say?"
Rin sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose before shaking her head. "Never mind. Just… don't do that again. Control yourself—especially with that power."
"I know that," Sosuke muttered, brushing past her.
Rin didn't stop him. She simply watched as he walked away, her lips pressing into a thin line. After a moment, she sighed and turned in the opposite direction, her footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Her mind felt restless. She wasn't sure when it started—when she began noticing the subtle changes in Sosuke. It wasn't anything obvious. He was still him. But there were little things, little shifts in his mannerisms, in the way he carried himself.
She didn't know if she liked it.
By the time she reached the training hall, she had barely noticed how tightly she was twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
Inside, Ren was already there. His silver eyes barely flicked toward her before returning to his training, his blade cutting cleanly through the air as a faint frost trailed behind its edge.
"Hey, Ren," Rin called, leaning against the wall. "Been a while, huh?"
Ren didn't stop his movements. "What do you want?"
Rin exhaled through her nose, tilting her head. "What happened to you?"
Ren didn't answer immediately. His form remained perfect, precise—every strike balanced, every movement calculated. Finally, he spoke.
"I learned that relying on others to measure my strength was a mistake," he said. "Being around you and Sosuke helped me grow stronger, that's all it was. But I used him as a benchmark for too long. Eventually, I realized I was holding myself back."
Rin studied him carefully. "That's all it was?"
Ren's grip on his sword tightened slightly. "Yes."
Rin scoffed. "I don't buy it. I think you're full of shit."
Ren's stance wavered ever so slightly. "Excuse me?"
"What about when I came to your room that night?" Rin asked. "Or when you stole pages from Aleron's book and we all overreacted? You felt something—whether you realize it or not."
Ren's eyes flickered with something unreadable before he turned his back on her completely. "What do you know about me?" he muttered. "I never told you anything."
Rin studied him for a long moment, then shrugged. "Whatever."
She turned and left without another word, but even as she walked away, she couldn't shake the feeling that Ren was lying—to her, but more importantly, to himself.
"I wanna see the sky again," Milo said, leaning back in his chair. "With my own eyes."
Reid glanced at him, then exhaled through his nose. "You know, I didn't realize how much I missed it till you said that."
"You guys are way too loud," Sosuke muttered, barely looking up from the book in front of him. His fingers flipped through the wrinkled, yellowed pages, eyes scanning the text with sharp focus. He found the table of contents and quickly flipped to the basics.
Dark, Light, Arcane, Lightning, Fire, Ice, Water, and Earth—the eight primary spell types.
Milo peeked over Sosuke's shoulder. "What're you reading the basics for?"
Sosuke didn't even flinch at the intrusion. "It's like Kallard said—I've relied too much on my technique. I need to return to zero and start from there." His fingers trailed over the page as he read.
Reid tilted his head. "Do each of the types do different things, or can they all kinda do the same stuff?"
"They generally follow the same principles, with a few exceptions." Sosuke flipped to another page. "Dark magic, for example, is forbidden. It's completely immoral."
"So it's, like, the magic of pure evil?" Milo asked.
"Essentially," Sosuke replied. "Light magic is more about protection and buffs—stuff like strength boosts. Lightning's all about speed, obviously. Fire, water, wind, and earth aren't that different from each other aside from the obvious elements they use."
Milo furrowed his brows. "What about Arcane? I don't see that often."
Sosuke smirked slightly. "It's in the name—it's difficult to understand. It's not impossible to learn, but it takes a ton of practice to get right. Unless you've got something that makes it easier, like I do."
Milo stretched his arms above his head. "I should probably start learning some magic myself, huh?"
"Yeah, you should," Sosuke said flatly, still reading.
Reid scanned the towering shelves around them. "Are all the books in here just spells and magic theory?"
Sosuke blinked, then slowly turned to face him. "Reid."
"What?"
Sosuke pointed to a nearby sign. Library Sections: History, Science, Spellcraft, Summoning, Military Strategy, Literature—
"…There are literally signs," Sosuke deadpanned.
Reid stared at the sign, then back at Sosuke.
Milo grinned. "In his defense, we weren't exactly reading anything."
Sosuke sighed, snapping the book shut. "I'm surrounded by idiots."