A Game of Chess VI

"Are you sure you can bear the weight of your own ignorance, Nightingale?" Jack's voice held a casual menace as he took a step forward, the flames around him intensifying with each word, white-hot tendrils curling out from him as if alive with intent.

'This can't be real,' Luna murmured, her disbelief clear in my mind. 'How... how can a person embody such pure power in fire magic?'

Seol-ah Moyong was a girl forged for the blade, every instinct in her aligning with the art of the sword. Likewise, Jack Blazespout was nothing less than a vessel of fire, as if the element itself had chosen him to bear its fullest, most ferocious potential.

The flames around him blazed brighter, and with a sharp clarity, I understood. He was weaving in the barest hint of his Abyssal Flames with the Nirvana Flames, each ember deceptively subtle, cunningly interlaced—just enough to heighten his power, yet not enough to alert the Ascendant-rank professors, who would dismiss it as the natural strength of his only known Gift, Nirvana Flames.

He was fire incarnate, this boy. Purification and destruction personified, distilled down into Integration-rank yet fierce enough to challenge anything within its reach.

In that moment, Jack was no mere wielder of fire—he was its relentless will, the embodiment of flame's pure, merciless fury.

'Calm yourself,' I thought, forcing a rhythm into my breath, centering myself against the inferno of power in front of me.

Emotions had their place in battle only when they sharpened the blade. Anything that dulled focus, that snagged thought in hesitation, was worse than useless—it was dangerous.

I directed every shred of useful energy into my blade. The mana surrounding me stilled, responding to my focus as I brought Lucent Harmony to its limit. Mythic Body, Soul Vision, Lucent Harmony—all pushing my Integration-rank power into a single, honed point.

This would be my strongest strike.

God Flash: Absolute.

Jack's eyes narrowed, surprise flickering in his gaze for just a heartbeat. But then his mouth twisted into a smile, dark with thrill and challenge. His arms opened wide, as though he were welcoming the strike, even as the flames surrounding him intensified and began to compress, swirling and coalescing into a single, blazing disc of white-hot fire in front of him.

My heart sank. I knew this technique well enough—it was one of his signatures, a spell as feared as the highest-grade arts: the Twin Chakras of Destruction. The spell in its true form was the deadly fusion of his two Gifts, the pinnacle of both white mana and the forbidden black mana that he wielded.

But here, now, he was limited. He couldn't risk revealing his second Gift. And so, only one chakra spun into existence.

The Nirvana Chakra.

Even alone, this single chakra was more than enough to devastate. I had read about its destructive force, envisioned it countless times on the page. But now, facing it head-on, knowing it was aimed at me, was something else altogether.

In years to come, this attack would be the very force that tore apart Marcus Viserion, the legendary King of the South, reducing him to embers and ash.

Jack wasn't yet at that level—nowhere near, in fact. But the power he wielded here, in its raw, budding form, was still fearsome enough to tear through nearly anything in its path. The sheer potential behind his chakra technique was terrifying, promising a future where, once he reached the Wall, Jack could crush an Ascendant-ranker without even needing to ascend.

'Focus.' I steadied my stance, feeling the pulse of mana thrumming through my blade. 

'I can do this.'

No, I had to do this.

With one decisive motion, I brought God Flash down, the blade searing through the air with a blinding brilliance of light aura. The chakra and my attack met, force colliding with force, and for a single, blazing moment, it felt as though the world itself held its breath. Then, the Nirvana Chakra shattered, splitting into fragments of fire and light that spiraled outward, each ember burning with Jack's signature, relentless heat.

A wave of blistering energy surged over me even as I broke through the chakra, searing my skin beneath the protective aura, and for a heartbeat, the pain was fierce, demanding. I staggered, feeling the sting of raw heat cling to me like a vice.

But Jack was relentless. He closed the distance, his movements sharp, a master unfazed by my counterattack. Before I could fully regain my footing, he struck. His hand ignited, burning white-hot, and he delivered a swift, punishing blow to my side. Pain shot through me as I was forced back, every breath now edged with the fiery scorch of his mana.

"You're good, Nightingale," he mocked, his voice a taunt laced with anticipation. "But not good enough."

Jack pressed forward, relentless, his every step a calculated explosion as he shot towards me, fire aura wrapping around his arms like living flames. In an instant, a wall of searing heat rose up around me, nearly overwhelming my defenses; only my Mythic Body stood between me and the activation of my artifact, shielding me against the full force of the flames.

He raised his left hand, flames curling within his grasp, preparing to unleash them in a devastating strike. I gritted my teeth, spinning my sword to intercept him, meeting his fire with the chill of my water aura. With a swift upward motion, I knocked his hand aside, the two elements clashing, sizzling in defiance.

I seized the moment, calling upon my gravity magic to levitate and create a narrow gap between us. My blade flickered in all directions, multiplying as I activated illusion sword, each thrust coated with biting ice and crackling lightning. But Jack responded with an effortless wall of flame, each of my strikes deflecting harmlessly against the fiery shield.

Still, the maneuver bought me a heartbeat of time to channel my mana, allowing me to cast a teleportation spell to withdraw a few paces and catch my breath.

The thick air was another relentless obstacle, stifling and depleted of oxygen. Fighting a fire mage of Jack's caliber wasn't simply a matter of enduring heat—it was survival in an environment robbed of air itself. I focused, calling upon my wind magic to summon a fresh stream of air to steady my lungs, my mind sharply aware that even the most straightforward spells demanded concentration here.

'Arthur…' Luna's voice drifted through my mind, wary, as though sensing my resolve.

'I know,' I responded, keeping my tone even, though the strain was beginning to claw at me.

Lucent Harmony and Soul Resonance were draining my reserves rapidly, yet it wasn't enough. Jack's sheer power left no openings, no breaks in his relentless assault. His mastery was too overwhelming; even with Soul Vision sharpening my perception, every attempt to launch God Flash had been thwarted—last time, with that formidable Nirvana Chakra.

'Luna,' I asked, almost calmly. 'There has to be a way to win this, right?'

A ripple of surprise came from her, and in that moment, I knew she understood. I was prepared for the ultimate risk.

Jack, of course, offered no space for further contemplation. His onslaught continued, closing in with the ferocity of his flames and unyielding force. I braced myself, my focus narrowing to a single objective: find the window, the smallest chance to turn the tide.

This would be the last gamble.

I had to use Astral Manifestation to win.