The grand stage stretched out before them, a massive coliseum bathed in artificial sunlight, its towering walls lined with ethereal screens broadcasting the event to the world. The air thrummed with an almost tangible energy—anticipation from those watching, both in the arena and beyond. This was more than a simple test. It was a spectacle, a message.
Three members of the High Council sat in their thrones above the arena, their expressions unreadable. Their presence alone turned this trial into something far greater—an evaluation of the next generation's worth.
Sosuke stepped forward. All eyes were on him.
He rolled his shoulders, adjusting his grip on his katana. The polished steel gleamed under the artificial light, and with a flick of his wrist, arcs of purple lightning crackled along the blade's length. Kallard had already explained the nature of this test—blights captured for this moment, powerful adversaries meant to push them to their limits.
Ryoma's voice rang out from the viewing chamber above. "Go, Sosuke! Beat that thing down!" He practically vibrated with excitement, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "He's totally gonna wreck it!"
Sosuke exhaled through his nose, brushing a hand through his brown hair to slick it back. His violet eyes locked onto the heavy iron cage at the far end of the arena. He expected something monstrous—an abomination twisted by corruption.
The metal bars groaned, then dropped.
The creature that stepped forward wasn't the towering beast he had anticipated. It was humanoid, unnervingly so. Ashen-gray skin stretched taut over lean muscle, its fingers elongated into jagged claws. Its eyes—pitch black with pinpricks of crimson light—bore into Sosuke with a knowing malice.
Then, it spoke.
"By King Julius' rule, you will die today." Its voice was unnatural, layered, as if multiple beings spoke in unison.
Sosuke frowned. "What…?" He tilted his head slightly. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a show. You're just a glorified test dummy."
The blight's lips curled into a sharp, unsettling grin. "You're not ready for what's really happening, boy."
It moved.
Sosuke barely had time to register the shift before the blight sank into a low, animalistic stance, claws scraping against the stone floor.
Fast.
Lightning surged through Sosuke's katana, the familiar hum of raw energy crackling in response. He raised the blade slightly, watching. Calculating.
The blight lunged.
Its speed was unnatural, but Sosuke's reflexes were sharper. He shifted, parrying the claw strike with a flick of his sword. The impact sent a burst of purple sparks flying, the energy coursing through the creature's body, forcing a sharp jerk of its limbs.
The blight clicked its tongue. "Nifty trick. Even if I barely touch your blade, I still feel it." Its crimson eyes narrowed, irritation flickering across its expression. "Annoying."
Sosuke smirked. "Good. Means you'll drop faster."
The blight didn't answer. Instead, it lunged again, this time feinting left before twisting mid-air, claws slashing toward Sosuke's exposed side.
Sosuke reacted on instinct, sidestepping as his blade carved a sharp arc through the air, the tip slicing into the blight's shoulder. A hiss escaped its lips, but something was wrong. The moment the wound was inflicted, Sosuke felt it—a shift in the blight's presence, its mana writhing like a living thing.
Then, its strength surged.
Sosuke's grip tightened. What?
The blight's grin widened as it pushed off the ground, moving faster than before. Its next strike forced Sosuke to block, and this time, the sheer force behind it sent him skidding backward.
The realization hit him instantly.
It grows stronger with every attack it takes.
Sosuke's expression darkened. So that's its ability…
Sosuke shut his eyes, inhaling slowly as his mana coiled inward, no longer wild but honed, precise. When he opened them again, his Star Eyes took effect. The world sharpened—every thread of energy, every flicker of movement laid bare before him. His gaze locked onto the blight. Its mana pulsed erratically, fluctuating in unstable bursts. He tightened his grip on his katana.
The blight lunged, a blur of clawed hands and twisted limbs. Sosuke parried, but the impact sent him sliding back, his boots dragging through the dirt. His arms ached. Another attack, heavier than the last. His eyes traced the blight's energy—its strength wasn't coming from raw power, but from something else entirely. Every attack, every clash fed into it, its aura growing wilder, more volatile. It wasn't just reacting to pain—it was absorbing it, twisting it into something stronger.
He clicked his tongue, stepping back just as the blight struck again. The force of the blow cracked the stone beneath him. If it keeps feeding off my attacks, I'm wasting energy for nothing.
His eyes flicked over the battlefield, calculating. A direct assault was pointless. He needed something else—something that would turn its own ability against it.
Sosuke stomped the ground, the impact sending a web of cracks outward. Dust and shattered stone spiraled into the air as a sudden gust of wind kicked up, creating a thick, swirling smokescreen. The blight's form vanished within the haze.
"Fold, shift, unweave. Mana distortion." His voice was calm, almost quiet, as he raised his arm. A sigil flared to life, tracing itself into existence. With his Star Eyes, he saw what no one else could—veins of violet energy twisting through the air, wrapping around the blight's core, restricting its flow.
A guttural snarl cut through the smoke. "What the hell did you do?!"
Sosuke didn't answer. The sigil would weaken the rate at which it absorbed his mana, buying him time to set up what he really needed. He raised his hands, summoning water from the ground, flooding the battlefield. The shallow pool spread outward, soaking into the cracks and filling the air with the scent of damp earth.
Then, a flick of his wrist—wind magic surged through the air, friction sparking against the water's surface. A reaction began, slow at first, barely noticeable. But his Star Eyes caught it—the shift, the build-up. The energy release.
The blight snarled, its body twitching as its core instinctively drank in the excess energy. But it didn't stop. It couldn't stop. The more it absorbed, the more unstable it became. Its body trembled, mana convulsing violently inside it.
It took a step forward—then stumbled. A sharp, strangled breath left its throat as cracks of raw energy splintered across its form. The reaction reached its peak.
A soundless implosion.
The blight's body collapsed inward, folding into itself before vanishing in a violent rupture of energy. A shockwave rippled outward, kicking up dust and sending water sloshing across the field.
Sosuke exhaled, his Star Eyes fading as his mana settled. He didn't move at first, just stood there, waiting for the air to clear. The battlefield was silent.
Then, slowly, he sheathed his katana.
Silence stretched across the arena, thick and unbroken. There was no roaring applause, no collective cheer—just the distant crackling of dissipating energy and the weight of what had just happened. The only sound that cut through it was Ryoma's ecstatic yelling, his voice echoing through the viewing room.
Sosuke barely acknowledged it. He turned on his heel, walking off the battlefield without a glance back.
Inside the viewing room, the others stared at him like he'd just pulled off something impossible.
"What the hell?" Rin leaned toward him, her brown eyes sharp with curiosity. "How did you even think to do that?"
Sosuke hesitated, his expression tightening. He wasn't sure. The idea hadn't been deliberate—it was like something had just… clicked into place. A thought that wasn't entirely his, yet felt completely natural.
"I don't know," he admitted, furrowing his brow. "It was like—I didn't even think about it. It just came to me."
"I'm not sure how you did it either, but I'm happy for you!" Ryoma grinned, clapping him on the back with enough force to shake him. "Who's next?!"
The impact made Sosuke stumble. His breath hitched. The room around him shifted—tilting, distorting at the edges. His vision blurred, colors bleeding together.
"Sosuke, your nose is bleeding," Rin said.
He barely heard her. His whole body felt like it had been hollowed out, like something had torn through his skull and left nothing but a pulsing ache behind.
"I think I need to sit." His voice was quieter than he meant it to be.
Then, darkness.
"You idiot."
Rin's voice was the first thing he registered when he came to, laced with exasperation but softer than usual. He blinked, disoriented, the sterile scent of the medical ward filling his nose.
"Up next, Lyra Valcrest!" Kallard's voice rang out in the distance, muffled, as if he were underwater.
Sosuke groaned, lifting a hand to his forehead. His body felt heavy, like it had just been dragged through the depths of exhaustion and thrown back into the world. "Ugh, I wish I saw it."
"You mean Lyra's fight?"
He startled. He hadn't noticed Rin sitting next to him, arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
"I'm literally right here. Is your vision okay?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"No, it's not." Sosuke looked around, but everything was smeared at the edges, his sight struggling to focus. "My head is killing me and I can't see."
Rin hummed in thought. "You exerted yourself a lot." Her voice lowered slightly, as if she weren't entirely confident in her own words. "At least… I think you did."
Sosuke exhaled sharply, pushing himself up despite the way his body protested. "I'm fine. This is nothing compared to the pain I've felt before."
Rin raised an eyebrow. She stared at him, not with concern, but with something closer to mild amusement.
"What?" he asked.
"You sound dumb," she said, smiling.
Sosuke scowled—subtle, but unmistakable. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
Rin only smiled again, shifting slightly in her seat. The way she looked at him—it wasn't teasing, not quite, but something softer, lingering in the space between curiosity and something she wasn't saying.
"No, I'm fine right here. I'll just wait for my turn."