Zegrath was already waiting for me in the arena, a crimson glaive resting in her hands.

“Are you ready, Pyaera?” she asked, shifting to a familiar stance.

“I think so,” I responded, swallowing the doubts flashing through my mind.

As troublesome as fighting Zegrath was, I was actually excited to test the limits of my strength. The Katrak the day before had forced me to release a great deal of power to defeat the Caldera on the verge of breaking through to the Expert Rank, but that was nothing compared to Zegrath’s prowess.

I hadn’t seen her go all out before, though that was hardly necessary with the immense pressure she released during sparring sessions; she was a monstrosity.

But so are you.

Aureus commented, bringing a smile to my lips.

Kill!

I was about to brush Nox’s words and bloodlust aside when an idea formed.

I might as well do something crazy.

Every advantage against an opponent a full Rank higher than oneself was greatly welcomed. So was a little bit of crazy.

The Spiritcaller’s voice rang through the arena, and the battle started. Zegrath propelled toward me without hesitation, her physique even greater than I remembered.

I called upon the Earthen Aspect and transformed the floor between us. A hole appeared in the ground where Zegrath’s foot was about to land, yet she didn’t falter. Sparks materialized around her feet, flames flared, and an explosion erupted underfoot, providing the same hold as the stone floor would have. She accelerated, reaching even greater speed as she conjured more explosions beneath her feet.

Shifting on the ground, I shot to the side, sword lifted to block the glaive when it came crashing down. Brutal blows descended upon me in quick succession as I entered Zegrath’s melee range, and I failed to evade them all. I altered the glaive’s trajectory with my sword, though the impact numbed my hands. They went completely numb after a few strikes.

It was only a matter of time before I would fail to block Zegrath’s slashes and cleaves.

Focus! I told myself, reaching out for Nox’s bond to fuse with the Ferronox Mantis.

A black exoskeleton grew from my skin, but the tight, knight-like armor was the least of my concerns. The soulshare flared up and grew more potent as the Soulfusion settled, enhancing my physical strength a little. Predator and Nullblade grew more potent too, even if Predator was the only important trait at this moment.

My eyes burned as dozens of needles pierced them, enhancing my vision and the ability to detect my opponent’s weak points. Zegrath didn’t have many tells, but the few she had were all I needed. I ducked, escaping a sweeping strike, and shifted my weight to step aside as the Caldera woman used her momentum to spin around, executing a quick roundhouse kick.

Both attacks missed me, releasing a few more weak points–tells I would have exploited if I didn’t know Zegrath better.

I hinted at a sudden attack, feinting that I’d strike one of her weak points, only to come to a screeching halt when searing hot flames erupted from her upper body. Her chest looked like a molten core as flames burst outward, some stretching far enough to lick me.

I reached toward the flames to test whether the mysterious flame had abandoned me and was relieved to see it hadn’t. The flame in my World was still active, greedily absorbing the fire licking my fingers. Once pulled in, the ether-conjured flames were split apart and dragged through the weave, empowering me rather than inflicting harm.

It was hot–painfully so–but no damage was done thanks to the mysteries of my World’s flame.

Since it worked even better than anticipated, I leaped into Zegrath’s flames. Sure, my skin burned and the hair stubble turned to cinder long before it could regrow into the lush hair I’d nurtured for years before becoming a Blessed, but the searing hot fire provided greater boons the hotter it burned.

The World’s flame flared up. It worked rapidly, absorbing as much of Zegrath’s fire as possible, but there was simply too much. Instead of devouring it all at once, the flame consumed only enough to ensure my survival–to suppress it forcefully and circulate it through my weave.

My ether recovery improved significantly, power pumped through my muscles, and I felt like I was in full control of every trace of ether running through my body.

Sensing the opportunity at hand, I doubled down and unleashed Soulfusion on Aureus as well. Nullblade triggered at my behest, and more pain welled up in my eyes as golden slits formed within them.

A brilliant golden light shone through Zegrath’s flames as I bottomed out my core to trigger Paralyze. To my greatest surprise, Zegrath actually froze. My World’s flame devoured the surrounding fire, trying to fuel my core once more, but I zoned in on my opponent.

Paralyze lasted only for a moment, but that was all it took. A hiss rang throughout the arena as I flashed past her, and the crimson glaive, together with her weapon arm, clattered to the ground.

Zegrath’s eyes widened as she stared at the stump, a fountain of blood spurting from it. She stood frozen even as Paralyze wore off–and so did I, staring at the severed arm in disbelief.

That actually worked? Did I catch her off guard? Maybe. But if that was the case, it was a mistake on her part.

Feeling the empowerment of the World’s flame fade, I lunged at Zegrath once more, erupting with the might of twenty massive Ether Gates and her flames pulsing through my weave. I attacked.

Regaining her senses, Zegrath erupted with power. Her right foot shot toward the crimson glaive, striking its underside and lobbing it back into the air in an instant. She snatched the glaive with her unscathed arm and blocked my first strikes. Yet, as Zegrath blocked the attacks, it grew increasingly obvious who was at an advantage. Zegrath was forced to retreat, my strength closing in on hers.

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Earthen walls blocked her retreat. When I found a weak spot to exploit, I noticed a shift in Zegrath’s expression. My blade, coated in Nullblade, nicked her neck even after she evaded the worst of the impact.

I was about to strike again when an eerie sensation enveloped me. It was like death loomed above me, as if it stared into the depths of my soul to reap me at any moment.

The temperature in the room increased suddenly, sending countless alarm bells through my entire being. Replicating Aureus’ ability to send vibrations through the ground to sense his surroundings, I noticed something amiss and barely leaped to the side in time. A fountain of lava burst through the ground where I stood a moment ago. It sizzled and burned hotter than the lava in the ponds.

I kept my distance from the fountain as it continued to sputter more lava, only to overlook the Ring of Pyrosh. One moment, everything was alright, and in the next, something pierced my back. A glob of lava jutted from my abdomen in the same instant, piercing through and through so fast I barely caught it.

Looking down, I had a hole in my stomach. It was cauterized, and both Nox and Aureus’ Soulfusion triggered, manifesting parts of their bodies to replace the organs that had been damaged or destroyed by the glob of lava. It was no more than a temporary measure that’d fail the moment I released the Soulfusion with my Soulkins, but it was all I needed to stay rooted.

Yet, it did not lessen the pain or the shock that tore through me.

“You–...” I stared at Zegrath towering beside the fountain of lava. Her arm stump dipped into the fountain, and she pulled back with a fully regrown arm.

No, that’s just an ether structure. She’s manipulating lava, shaping it, to replace her arm temporarily.

I squinted, taking in the situation. The fountain ceased, yet the arena was covered in puddles of terrifyingly hot lava. The Ring of Pyrosh surrounding the arena was just as deadly. It was not only a border but could be used by Zegrath to form more high-velocity lava globs. I was wounded, quite severely at that, and my core was still empty even after the World’s flame recovered a little.

Zegrath didn’t look much better. She’d lost her strong arm and desperately replaced it with concentrated ether and lava. As efficient as that could have been, exhaustion caught up with the Caldera woman. Beads of sweat trickled down her temples before they evaporated like they had never been there. But I saw them. I captured the details – her chest heaving up and down, the tightly pressed lips that tried to conceal her pain, and the slightly dimmed molten veins swirling beneath her skin. Neither was obvious, but together they told a tale that resonated with grim satisfaction in my ears.

“A life-and-death battle.” I reminded myself.

Exactly what you needed. Defeat her and you will be the strongest.

I was almost on par with Zegrath when it came to physical might. But almost was not enough. Not when Zegrath could use her strong arm to clash with me. Her combat experience was vast, her weapon mastery greater than mine.

She had several tricks I had never seen up her sleeve. I, on the other hand, had nothing. Zegrath had seen and experienced Paralyze, the Earthen Aspect, Nullblade, as well as Predator. At this point, she’d adjusted to my speed and strength as well. The advantage of my second 3-Star Gate was no more.

Is that really all you have?

Aureus asked, his voice a mix of mockery and disappointment.

Yes?

The Earthheart did not explain anything. Instead, a memory flashed through my inner eye, depicting a day long past. It felt like years had passed since that day when it was only a little less than a year ago that a young Soilback and a foolish youth faced an Awakened beast – a Shadowing.

“Oh. Oh!” I blurted out, eyes wide.

Honestly, I’d totally forgotten about that. As advantageous as that had been, it carried a great burden – and a lot of trouble for the days that followed.

But… the corners of my lips tugged upward, and I readied myself for the worst.

Then I emptied my first 1-Star Ether Gate into the weave. It bulged at the sudden influx of pure ether and spread it all through my body. My muscles contracted, and my skin stretched thin.

“Not enough.” I clicked my tongue and drained the second Gate.

Zegrath’s eyes narrowed. She sensed something had changed, but she could not possibly know what I was doing. For one, Caldera did not have Ether Gates. Secondly, it was not possible to use the ether of a sealed Gate. My Gates were not sealed, though.

Zegrath clutched her crimson glaive and charged ahead, small fiery explosions propelling her forward at a blinding speed. But as fast as she was, the tsunami of earthen spikes erupting around me was faster. They formed instantaneously and rocketed across the arena, tearing through lava puddles and the Ring of Pyrosh indiscriminately.

The tsunami shot toward Zegrath, towering several meters above her, flooding her. She was forced to a screeching halt, her glaive erupting in flames as she struck the spikes, shattering them one after another. She tore through the tsunami with raw strength and terrifying efficiency and barged through the earthen spikes unscathed. Yet, as she reached me, I was ready, the 1-Star Gates and several 2-Star Gates sucked dry.

My skin burst and blood oozed from all orifices. The weave was filled to the brim and more. Ether ravaged through the thick network, uncaring of the damage it caused.

The pressure on the weave was so great, several dozen spots tore. I responded fast and guided as much ether as possible toward the bonds and traits. First, I flooded the Earthen Aspect, then Paralyze. The Nullblade erupted around my sword and surpassed the blade as it elongated. Predator unraveled a world I didn’t even know existed. I saw things I never deemed possible, my focus shifting to the depths of the Caldera’s home for a quarter of a second.

At last, I flooded the World’s flame with ether. Nothing happened in the first moment. Then, the flame erupted filling my inner World momentarily. The heat in the arena disappeared as fire-attuned ether flowed toward me in rapid tides. Zegrath lunged at me, but her movements looked so slow all of a sudden.

Paralyze flared up, triggered by Aureus and I in unison, using the ether of two 1-Star Gates. I leaped forward, immense power circulating through my veins as I attacked. My blade turned into a blur as Nullblade carved through the air. Zegrath froze and failed to block the incoming attack in time. She regained control of her body but only managed to raise the crimson glaive. But even that was not enough.

Nullblade split the glaive’s pole in two. Predator picked up dozens of weak spots and a lot more as stone pillar erupted from all over the arena, smashing into Zegrath, crushing her with raw force.

I was upon Zegrath once more a moment later. Her lava-ether arm construct faltered and collapsed as heat and ether was forcefully deprived, revealing more weaknesses to exploit, which I did as uncontrollable power filled me. I accelerated once more, flashing before Zegrath, engraving her body with dozens of bloody gashes as her body’s strength faded.

I coughed up blood, my vision blurted, and it did not take long before my muscles resisted me as well. They blocked me out with several cramps, but I continued to move until they tore – until Zegrath collapsed before.

Blood gushed out of me even as the Caldera woman lost conscious, yet it was not before my weave devoured the remaining ether like an insatiable beast that I couldn’t take it any more. Adrenaline kept the pain away until the end of the battle, but my body was a mess. Unleashing so much ether into my weave filled me with immense strength, but there was a great risk to fueling the weave.

It was a gluttonous engine. It provided me with power when needed, but it was insatiable. It never stopped consuming. And now that so many Ether Gates were dry and unable to feed the beast, it reached out for me. Toward the other Gates to provide the ether it needed to work. For my body to work.

That was stupid.

Was it? You are still standing, while your enemy is unconscious. You could have killed her a dozen times in the fight. You are strong.

We. We are strong.

I corrected Aureus even as the world around me turned dark. The last thing I remembered was my body folding, collapsing on the ground beside Zegrath. Then there was nothing. Darkness…and the flame burning inside me, filling me with warmth.