The roar of the crowd was deafening, a pulsing wave of excitement that filled the massive Grand Arena. Thousands of spectators sat on the edges of their seats, waiting for the final battle—the one that would determine the champion of the Grand Novice Tournament.
And for the first time since the competition began, I felt uneasy.
My opponent—Kieran Valen—stood across the battlefield, his expression unreadable. His golden eyes watched me with an eerie calmness, his body completely relaxed, as if this wasn't a high-stakes match but a mere formality.
Darian had been a challenge, yes. But Kieran?
He was something else entirely.
This fight won't be like the others.
I clenched my fists, banishing my doubts.
It doesn't matter who he is. I'm going to win.
The Last Match Begins
The proctor stepped forward, raising his hand for silence.
"This is the Grand Final of the Novice Tournament! Sylas of Aldermist vs. Kieran Valen!"
The crowd exploded with cheers, their voices shaking the very stone beneath us.
I rolled my shoulders, adjusting my grip on my dagger. Kieran wasn't holding a weapon.
That alone bothered me.
I had watched his matches. He never used a weapon, never even raised his fists. Yet, somehow, he had won every fight in an instant.
And I had no idea how.
The proctor's voice cut through the air.
"Final match—BEGIN!"
An Opponent Unlike Any Other
I moved first, closing the distance between us in a blink.
If he wasn't going to draw a weapon, then I wouldn't give him the chance to react.
I slashed at his torso, aiming to end the fight before he could reveal whatever trick he was hiding.
But the moment my blade should have cut into him—
He wasn't there.
In less than a heartbeat, Kieran shifted sideways, dodging without so much as blinking.
I twisted, adjusting for a follow-up strike—
And his hand tapped my wrist.
A shockwave of pure forceerupted from his fingertips, sending me flying backward across the arena.
I hit the stone ground hard, skidding nearly twenty feet before rolling back to my feet. My entire arm was numb.
What the hell had just happened?
The crowd was silent, just as shocked as I was.
Kieran tilted his head slightly. "Hmm. You actually took that better than I expected."
I exhaled sharply, shaking feeling back into my fingers. "What… was that?"
He smiled faintly. "You'll see soon enough."
I don't like this.
I shifted my stance, adjusting my strategy. My normal approach wouldn't work here.
I needed to understand what he was doing first—then find a way to counter it.
A Mysterious Power
Kieran didn't move.
He just… stood there, hands at his sides, watching me with those golden eyes.
He was waiting.
Testing me.
Fine.
I circled him slowly, then lunged again, this time feinting left before twisting at the last second, aiming a high-speed mana-infused kick to his ribs.
Again, his body shifted at an unnatural angle, barely avoiding the strike. But this time, I caught something—
A faint distortion in the air around him.
Like… a ripple in reality itself.
Before I could process it, he reached toward me again, aiming for my shoulder.
I threw myself backward, narrowly avoiding another devastating shockwave.
A few strands of my hair floated midair for half a second before gravity took them, severed cleanly despite him never making a cutting motion.
What the hell was this ability?
Understanding the Technique
He wasn't moving with pure speed.
He wasn't using raw strength.
There was something… off about the way he dodged. It was as if he wasn't moving through normal space at all.
And that power—it didn't feel like normal mana.
It felt wrong.
A memory from my visions flashed in my mind.
The battlefield. The ruined city. The clash of mana and something else—a force I hadn't understood at the time.
Could Kieran be connected to that?
If so, then this wasn't just a tournament anymore.
It was something bigger.
A Counterattack
I exhaled sharply, closing my eyes for a second, feeling the flow of mana around Kieran instead of focusing on his movements.
If I couldn't predict where he'd move…
I'd force him to react to me instead.
I charged forward again, but this time, I didn't aim for him directly.
Instead, I slammed my dagger into the ground, sending a shockwave of mana-infused force outward.
Kieran's eyes widened slightly.
For the first time, he was forced to react instead of evade.
The instant he stepped backward, I was already there, using the explosion's momentum to propel myself forward at inhuman speed.
His golden eyes met mine just as I brought my dagger up—
And for the first time in this tournament—
I landed a clean hit.
The blade cut across his side, tearing into his tunic and drawing a thin line of crimson.
The crowd erupted.
Kieran blinked, his golden eyes flicking downward to the cut.
Then, to my utter disbelief—
He smiled.
"Ah," he murmured, touching his wound. "That's interesting."
He… doesn't care that I hit him?
Before I could question it further, he finally moved with intent.
And that's when I felt true danger.
The Final Exchange
Kieran's body shimmered, the air around him distorting violently.
This wasn't just speed.
This was something else entirely.
Before I could move, he closed the gap in an instant, his hand pressing lightly against my chest.
Then, he whispered—
"Disappear."
A pulse of raw force exploded from his palm, sending me flying backward at insane speed.
For a split second, I felt weightless—like I had been knocked out of existence itself.
I hit the ground hard, my body rolling across the stone.
Pain shot through my ribs, my entire torso aching from the impact.
I gasped for breath, vision blurry.
Kieran stood over me, calm, relaxed.
"You're strong," he admitted, tilting his head. "But this match is over."
I tried to stand.
My body wouldn't move.
The proctor raised his hand.
"Sylas is unable to continue! Winner—Kieran Valen!"
The crowd exploded in cheers, but I could barely hear them.
Because as Kieran extended a hand toward me, helping me up, he whispered something only I could hear.
"I know what you are," he murmured. "And I know what's coming."
His golden eyes locked onto mine, filled with meaning.
"You're not ready, Sylas. But soon… you'll have to be."
My blood ran cold.
He knew.
Kieran Valen wasn't just another student.
And this tournament had been just the beginning.