Chapter 19: The Duel of Flames
The sun blazed high over the Ember Academy, casting a crimson glow on the obsidian towers that rose like imposing sentinels, their silhouettes etched against a sky boiling in shades of blood.
I stood at the heart of the training courtyard—a circle of hardened dirt surrounded by granite pillars etched with glowing glyphs.
The air was thick with the scent of soot and static electricity.
Pain throbbed through my body—dull ache in my ribs from past blows, a searing gash on my thigh pulsing under worn cloth, and the dark veins of Aether coiling beneath my skin like an underground river.
Lirien's amulet hung cold at my neck, like a shard of eternal ice—a faint thread to a past dissolving into fog.
Dren's reliquary, tucked into my robes, pulsed with a violet glow that resonated with the carved symbols around me. A riddle waiting to be solved.
Nyra stood at the perimeter, her blade spinning between her fingers with unsettling precision.
Her gaze was distant—still affected by our last clash over the power that lurked in my soul.
The Threshold whispered in my mind, its voice a blade of frost:
"Combat tempers you, Echo. Win, or the throne will consume you."
Lysara stood at the edge of the circle.
Her robe was wreathed in white flames dancing like ethereal spirits.
Her presence silenced the murmurs of the gathered apprentices.
"Today, we put your skills through a singular trial," she declared.
Her voice echoed like distant thunder, making the runes vibrate.
"Vaelis, you will face Kaelith. Let fire decide who reigns."
Her eyes—eternal embers—locked onto mine.
A silent challenge.
My pulse quickened.
Kaelith stepped forward.
His flame-forged sword gleamed in his grip.
Scars marked his battered armor—reminders of our last encounter.
His crimson eyes burned with a grudge that demanded vengeance.
"Prepare to kneel, Echo," he growled, his voice laced with contempt.
Suddenly, a powerful aura burst around him.
A mantle of fire rose like a living banner, flooding the courtyard with suffocating heat.
The spectators backed away.
A moment of aura.
A raw manifestation of his might.
The glyphs trembled.
The air vibrated with challenge.
I stood firm, weapon in hand.
My heart pounded.
"I won't fall so easily," I replied.
My own essence surged.
A violet glow intertwined with golden flames erupted from my palms.
The Aether strained beneath fragile control.
The ground quaked beneath me.
The runes flared brighter.
A silence fell.
My aura matched his—declaring resistance.
Kaelith lunged.
His blade carved through the air like lightning.
The heat distorted everything.
I dashed aside.
Flames seared my tunic, branding my skin.
I sprinted forward—my blade aimed at his side.
He parried with a smooth spin, the impact sending me staggering.
He unleashed a wave of fire.
I rolled across the dirt to avoid it.
On my feet again.
I summoned a burst of flame—one of Lysara's teachings.
Orange tongues clashed against his weapon in a flurry of sparks.
The perimeter lit up.
"Prove your worth!" Kaelith roared.
His aura swelled—flames spreading like wildfire.
Another moment of aura.
Dancing shadows flickered across the pillars.
He charged.
His sword smashed the ground.
Stone cracked.
Dust clouded everything.
I leapt, climbing a pillar.
From the top—I dived, blade aimed for his shoulder.
He blocked.
The clash unbalanced him.
I punched him in the chest, flames bursting from my fist.
He roared—the sound echoing across the courtyard.
The glyphs flared brighter.
A violet rift opened beneath us.
A trial within the trial.
Lysara's doing—no doubt.
A servant of the Threshold emerged.
Ethereal form, red eyes, claws like daggers.
Kaelith laughed.
His aura exploded into a fiery vortex.
"Annihilate that creature!" he barked.
His dragon of fire—a magical construct—roared.
It charged the servant, claws flashing.
I rushed in.
My blade sliced its arm, forcing it back with a hiss.
The dragon slammed it with a claw.
It crumbled.
But another emerged.
Its talons aimed for my back.
"Arion!" Nyra shouted from the edge.
Her dagger whipped up a whirlwind—earth and wind shielding me.
Her aura surged.
A vortex of wind tore through the field.
A moment of aura that rivaled Kaelith's.
I ran to her, but Kaelith intercepted.
His sword swung—a deadly arc.
I blocked.
Sparks flew.
We struggled—his strength pushing me back.
The servant lunged again.
I met it head-on.
Our weapons clashed in a flash of light.
Nyra struck it down with another gale.
I pierced it clean—its body dissolved into violet dust.
Kaelith bellowed.
His dragon released a wave of fire.
I dove, rolled—barely dodged.
I summoned a fire barrier.
It shattered under the blast.
My arm burned.
I screamed—falling back.
The reliquary pulsed violently.
Envy emerged from a new rift.
She floated in a realm of mirrors.
Her eyes reflected my twisted face.
"Your flame forges you, Echo," she whispered.
A mirror shattered—glass shards rained like a storm.
I barely dodged.
One sliced my shoulder—I cried out.
I countered with fire—fragments burst into sizzling sparks.
Kaelith attacked again.
Our weapons clashed—his aura crushing, oppressive.
Breath left my lungs.
Nyra unleashed a vortex.
The glass veered off—chaotic winds tearing through.
She rushed toward me.
"You can't carry this alone!" she shouted.
Her aura flared—wind howled.
Together, we faced the third servant.
My flames and her breeze wove together—smashing it into a pillar.
Ash scattered.
Kaelith roared.
His dragon spewed another firestorm.
We jumped apart, desperate.
I summoned a new barrier—too weak.
It cracked.
My face burned.
Dizziness surged.
Aether howled inside me.
A raging storm demanding release.
I let it burst.
My eyes flared violet.
Energy erupted in all directions.
Kaelith and his dragon flew backward—crashing into a pillar.
The runes trembled.
Envy vanished in a blink.
The rift sealed with a hiss.
I dropped to my knees.
Blood spilled from my lips.
Dark veins slithered across my skin—tightening around my soul.
Nyra caught me.
Anger and worry hardened her face.
"The Aether again," she said, voice trembling.
Half warning, half plea.
Kaelith rose—gasping.
His aura flickered.
Armor cracked.
Frustration twisted his face.
"This isn't over, Vaelis," he growled.
He staggered away—swallowed by the shadows.
Lysara stepped forward.
Her white-flame aura silenced everything.
"Your power grows... but it corrodes you," she warned.
"Master it—or be consumed."
Then came a vision—violent and vivid.
The obsidian throne.
Blood dripping like silent tears.
Nyra motionless at its foot.
Lirien fading into ether.
Envy whispered from a broken mirror:
"Your flame will consume them all."
More Sins emerged from the gloom:
—The shadow king, crowned in darkness.
—The ice queen, wielding a frozen scepter.
—The chained beast, dragging endless weight.
—The golden specter, eyes blazing.
—The misted figure, offering poisoned promises.
—The winged warrior, with a broken blade.
—The crystal-eyed shadow, watching coldly.
—The dust-shrouded colossus, roaring with buried rage.
"The Threshold rises," it thundered.
"Choose your path, Echo… or be prey."
Nyra helped me stand.
Her hand trembled on my shoulder.
Her eyes held pain—and resolve.
"If you keep relying on that power... I won't be able to follow you," she whispered.
A broken vow sharper than any blade.
Silence fell.
The runes dimmed like dying coals.
But I knew—
This duel had sparked something that would change my fate at the Academy forever.