You and I

"For the final battle! Sera Vandren versus Lillian Aurora," the overseer's voice boomed throughout the arena.

My stomach twisted at the announcement. Great, I thought bitterly. I'm fighting the one person I genuinely like. This was never supposed to happen—not according to the novel's original plot. I was supposed to end up in sixth place, not second. So how did I manage to get second place?

I inhaled deeply, trying to steady my nerves as I made my way down from the stands. The crowd's cheers and murmurs surged around me, a thunderous backdrop that only amplified my mounting anxiety. But I couldn't let myself get swept up in it. If I let the pressure overwhelm me now, I'd never stand a chance against Lillian.

Suddenly, a familiar figure stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

"Ms. Sinclair," I said, blinking in surprise.

"Evelyn," she corrected gently, her gaze warm.

My cheeks heated up. "Evelyn," I repeated, the name feeling strangely intimate on my tongue.

She offered a small smile, her light-blue eyes glimmering with encouragement. "Good luck in your battle, Sera."

"Thank you," I murmured, bowing my head in gratitude. Despite the chaos around us, there was something calming about her presence, as though she could shield me from the frenzy of the crowd.

Evelyn gently patted the top of my head, her voice dipping low so only I could hear. "Win or lose, I have a reward for you."

I froze, her words sparking a rapid series of thoughts in my mind. "Eh?" I managed, my face growing hotter by the second. A reward? From Evelyn Sinclair?

She chuckled softly, withdrawing her hand. "I won't keep you. Go on now—you don't want to be late for the final."

Her gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, carrying an unspoken reassurance. It was enough to steady my nerves, if only slightly. Mustering a weak smile, I nodded, then hurried off toward the stage.

As I approached the center of the arena, the roar of the spectators crescendoed. There, across the wide expanse, stood Lillian Aurora, her pastel pink hair swaying gently in the breeze. The top-ranked student, the one who had earned a perfect score—and, more importantly, the one I'd unknowingly grown so fond of.

Our eyes met, and she offered me a calm, almost apologetic smile, as if to say Sorry it had to be this way. But beneath that serene exterior, I sensed a current of determination. She intended to give this match her all—just as I had to.

Taking my place opposite her, I swallowed hard, recalling Evelyn's words: "Win or lose, I have a reward for you." A small shiver ran down my spine at the thought. If I needed extra motivation, that was certainly enough to fuel me.

"All set, Sera?" Lillian called, her voice carrying easily across the arena.

I clenched my fists, trying to banish any lingering doubts. "Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, forcing a confident smirk I wasn't sure I felt.

The overseer's magically amplified voice broke in once more. "On my signal: three… two… one… Begin!"

And just like that, the final showdown began. The crowd's cheers thundered in my ears as I summoned my magic, my heart thumping like a war drum. Win or lose, I reminded myself, there's no turning back now.

Recalling the lessons from Evelyn, I shaped a small sphere of fire in my palm. It flickered with a vibrant, red-orange glow—my signal that this fight was truly underway. I hurled the flaming orb toward Lillian, testing how she'd respond.

Sure enough, she reacted in an instant, summoning a shield of light that shimmered with a golden hue. My fireball dissipated against its radiant surface, dissolving into harmless embers that fizzled out midair.

"Sorry, Sera, but you'll have to do better than that," Lillian said, her voice gently apologetic yet tinged with a teasing edge. She regarded me with her usual calm confidence, her pastel-pink hair swaying slightly in the arena's breeze.

I couldn't help but smile back, feeling a surge of excitement flood through me. "This is only the beginning."

With the crowd roaring in approval, I dashed forward, letting fire swirl around my hand in a blazing arc. The heat prickled against my skin, and for the briefest moment, a flicker of disbelief crossed my mind. Who would've thought I'd be wielding fire magic? Not the me from my former life, that's for sure.

Yet here I was, about to clash with the top-ranked student in the academy—someone I genuinely liked, no less. The thought both thrilled and terrified me.

"Do your best, Sera," Lillian called, forming a ball of light in her outstretched hand. It glowed a soft, warm gold, an almost angelic contrast to my fiery aura.

"I plan to," I replied, forcing more confidence into my words than I truly felt. Still, the adrenaline pumping through my veins spurred me on.

As I closed the distance, Lillian launched her orb of light magic with a swift, practiced motion. It streaked through the air like a falling star, aimed right at my torso. Gritting my teeth, I poured more energy into my flames, morphing them into a protective swirl around me. Her light struck the fire barrier in a burst of sparks and heat, but it held long enough for me to slip to the side and avoid a direct hit.

The crowd roared, sensing the clash of opposing forces. My head buzzed with the sheer intensity—both of the battle and the thousands of eyes watching my every move.

"Not bad," Lillian murmured, a note of admiration in her voice as she formed another sphere of light between her fingers. "But can you keep up?"

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, tightening my grip on the scorching flames winding around my arm. "Watch me," I shot back.

And in that charged moment, both of us stood poised for the next exchange, our magic crackling through the air like rolling thunder. The crowd's cheers echoed in my ears, but I forced myself to focus on the woman before me—Lillian Aurora, the top-ranked student in the academy.

I took a step back, fire magic still dancing along my fingertips, when a sudden thought struck me. Why not ice? I'd been so focused on my newfound fire abilities that I'd nearly forgotten that Sera Vandren could wield both fire and ice.

From what I remembered of the original novel, Sera had been a genius in combat, quick on her feet and adept at adapting to any situation. Well, I thought wryly, guess it's time I start living up to that reputation.

I let the fire around my hand fizzle out, taking a brief moment to gather my breath. Across from me, Lillian's soft green gaze flicked down to my fingers, sensing the shift in my magic's aura. She raised an eyebrow as though curious—perhaps even intrigued—by the sudden change.

Closing my eyes for half a beat, I recalled the spectacle from earlier. Camille's commanding use of ice flashed through my mind: the way she'd conjured a frigid shield, the razor-sharp shards she'd flung in fluid arcs, and how she'd enveloped the entire arena floor with frost in one decisive move. If Camille could do it, so could I—right?

I inhaled slowly, concentrating on the energy within me. This time, instead of beckoning flame, I coaxed out a cool current of mana, sending a slow chill coursing down my arms. A faint layer of frost began creeping across my fingertips, and I felt the temperature around me dip ever so slightly.

"Ah," Lillian said softly, realization sparking in her eyes. "So that's how it is."

I offered a quick, tight-lipped grin, the cold nipping at my skin as I fed more mana into the forming ice. Bit by bit, frost coalesced, swirling around my palms until it solidified into crystalline shards. They hovered just off my skin, gleaming with an almost ethereal beauty.

"Adapting on the fly, huh?" she murmured, sounding oddly pleased, as though she admired the effort I was putting in.

My response was to fling one of the shards toward her. It soared in a glittering arc, catching the sunlight in a dozen refracted rays. Lillian reacted with practiced grace, summoning a glimmering barrier of light that caught the ice mid-flight. The shard exploded into frost and shimmering fragments, cascading harmlessly to the arena floor.

She wasted no time in retaliating. Another gleaming sphere of light formed in her hand, crackling with energy. This time, though, I was prepared. I remembered the way Camille had stiffened her stance, how she'd bent her knees slightly before channeling her magic, ensuring a stable position to unleash a concentrated burst of ice.

Mimicking the movement, I braced myself. As Lillian launched her sphere of light, I raised one hand and conjured a thin, frigid barrier—less a solid wall and more a swirling mass of snow and ice crystals. The light magic collided with my makeshift shield, scattering in a dazzling shower of particles.

The onlookers roared their approval, and an excited voice from the stands—Claire, perhaps—shouted something about "Sera's hidden talent." My cheeks heated, though the flush was quickly chased away by the chill coursing through me.

"Not bad," Lillian admitted, her lips curving into a small smile. Her pastel-pink hair fluttered in the wind that my magic had stirred up. "You're learning quickly."

"I have a good teacher," I said, thinking of Camille, Evelyn, and yes, even Lillian herself.

For a moment, Lillian's smile deepened, and I couldn't tell if she was touched by my words or amused by my attempt to flatter her. Either way, the next instant, she moved—fast. The air shimmered around her as she gathered her light magic into a spiraling beam, bright enough that I had to squint against the glare.

"Watch out!" someone in the crowd shouted, and I felt a pang of fear. That light magic was far more concentrated than before.

And then suddenly, I felt an aching headache.