CHAPTER 98: FLAME AND SILVER

Gold rose from the throne, a flicker of annoyance and excitement crossing his face.

He wasn’t sure if he should be pleased that it was finally his turn to fight or irritated that the golems had been defeated so easily today.

They were meant to be the ultimate defense of this chamber, reliable in stalling intruders so he could summon reinforcements. He hadn’t expected such efficient tactics from Kaedros and his team. They’d used their time limit against him.

Gold wasn’t afraid of combat. But it would be a lie to say he wasn’t wary of Kael’s power. If that kind of power was directed at him... he wasn’t certain he wouldn’t melt under the onslaught.

Besides, he had the throne’s power behind him. Its blessing would amplify his strength.

"I guess it’s my turn," Gold said, eyes locked on Kael. His expression was clear: Fight me.

"Let’s see how you’ll do."

A calm, silvery aura surged from the throne and settled over him as he began to descend the stairs.

"I’ll handle this," Kaedros said quietly.

He didn’t know why, but the challenge Gold offered felt personal, and it demanded an answer.

Dragons love challenges.

Taria and Rauk glanced at him, concerned. "Are you sure?"

Kaedros responded by summoning, the blade of heat and it flared to life in his grip. His gaze never left Gold.

Why can’t I feel the throne’s power anymore? Why does it feel like it’s inside him now? Kaedros wondered.

Gold reached the halfway point of the stairs and then blurred. In a heartbeat, he was standing before Kaedros, smirking.

With a gesture, the melted remains of the golems on the floor surged upward, twisting and folding into the shape of a massive battle axe. It still glowed faintly red. Gold lifted it in one hand with casual ease.

So fast! Kaedros thought. The axe was heavy, forged from dense enchanted alloy yet Gold wielded it like a twig. The throne’s power had transferred to him directly.

But Kaedros smiled.

He had saved a spell for exactly this.

It was a blend of his old and new spellcraft, a hybrid of tradition and experimentation. With Nyra’s help, he’d perfected the complex formation.

He visualized it in his mind, then activated it.

A runic formation flared to life above his head.

And then he caught fire.

Kaedros caught fire.

Flames ignited across his entire body, wild and high at first, then they calmed, condensing into a shimmering red cloak around his training robes.

The heat rippled off him like a mirage. He raised his sword and pointed it at Gold. "Ready when you are."

Gold didn’t answer. He lunged forward, axe sweeping in a brutal arc meant to cleave Kaedros in half.

Kaedros dodged backward just in time, the blade split the floor instead with a deafening crack.

He barely avoided it. The only reason he could react so fast was the flame cloak, which boosted his physical speed through thermal bursts. He used that momentum to flash forward and aimed a slash at Gold’s ribs.

His sword hissed toward him like lightningbut Gold twisted with a grin.

"Almost burned me," he said and countered with a sudden kick to Kaedros’s chest.

The impact hurled Kaedros backward, but he twisted mid-air, landed hard, and rolled. He came up with his sword raised, ignoring the sharp pain blooming in his ribs.

"You boosted your speed with that cloak," Gold said, lifting the axe again. "But that’s not true speed."

He smiled cruelly.

"This.." he vanished mid-step ". is speed, granted by the castle!"

Kaedros’s eyes widened.

Gold became a blur.

Every strike from the silver axe was impossibly fast and heavy. Kaedros blocked, dodged, and deflected, but each hit sent shudders through his arms. His grip trembled, his sword began to flicker.

He couldn’t hold out much longer.

His core was nearly empty. His fire was weakening.

If not for the cloak, he’d have already lost.

And Gold... Gold wasn’t slowing down. If anything, he was getting faster. Or was Kaedros simply growing slower?

"This is speed. This is strength!" Gold roared, bringing the axe down in another crushing blow.

Kaedros barely ducked and saw that his blade had shrunk to a mere ember.

No choice. Time to gamble.

Kaedros retreated a step, dropped his sword, and focused everything he had left into the flame cloak.

He poured his entire core into it.

For a single instant, he flared so bright it was blinding.

Then he moved.

A streak of red fire.

Gold met him in a silver blur, axe spinning.

Kaedros didn’t try to parry. He danced, twisted, and dodged.

He couldn’t land a strike, not yet, Gold’s reactions were lightning-quick. But Kaedros stayed on the move. He could feel his arcane draining, burning away second by second.

One shot. One chance.

The axe came down again.

Kaedros stepped in.

He grabbed the handle with both hands. His arms screamed in protest. His bones nearly cracked from the sheer force but he didn’t let go.

Instead, he surged forward.

With a roar, he slammed his palm into Gold’s face and drove him backward.

They crashed to the ground. Kaedros didn’t let go, pinning Gold by the head, forcing him down with a growl.

"Well?" he asked, blue fire burning in his eyes. "Who wins?"

Gold blinked, stunned. Then he exhaled.

"It’s my loss," he said.

He released the axe and raised both hands in surrender. "You win."

Kaedros let go and stood slowly, exhaling hard. His spell shattered. The glow vanished. Pain he had ignored until now came rushing back like a flood.

He staggered.

To him, the battle had felt endless.

But to Rauk and Taria, watching from the edge of the room, it had been a brief, dazzling duel of flashing red and silver.

Kaedros collapsed to one knee, grinning despite the pain.

They had won.

"What was that?" Taria whispered, still catching her breath. She’d thought she was fast but Kael and Gold had just shown her she wasn’t the only one in the group with speed to spare. "And what was that fire that surrounded Kael? Is that a new spell of his?"

"Must be," Rauk said, eyes narrowed as he studied Kael, who was bent over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Rauk had doubted Kael could handle Gold, but he wasn’t surprised the duel ended in Kael’s victory. "Covering himself in thin layers of concentrated flame, almost like a cloak. Clever."

He briefly wondered if he could replicate the technique with his spatial arcane, but dismissed the thought, his magic wasn’t built for that sort of trick.

"Very clever," he continued. "It’s like when I infuse my body with essence. But mine isn’t a cloak, it’s woven directly into my flesh, inside and out."

They started walking toward Kael, Taria raising her spear as they approached. "We won," she said with a grin. "Finally, I can get food and a wash."

Gold grinned from his seat on the floor, unfazed by defeat. "Be like a Metalpeople. We don’t need washing, a quick clean will do."

Taria rolled her eyes. "We don’t have metal bodies, Gold. We have flesh."

Kaedros straightened slowly, a grimace pulling at his face. "I’d like some water from the lake to restore some mana. Then Chef’s fruit. Then a wash."

"No lake water," a voice called with a snort. "But you can have fruit."

They turned to see their instructors descending the stairs. Fruit floated lazily in the air around Chef as she walked toward them.

Gold immediately stood, his grin fading to a respectful, blank mask.

"Thank you, Chef!" Taria said, snatching a fruit from the air and driving her spear into the floor. "You can read minds, can’t you?"

"I can’t. But I can hear your complaints from my garden." Chef’s lips curled in a faint smile.

"You must have incredible hearing, Chef," Nyra added, her black-and-white fur ruffling as she floated in front of them.

The instructors drifted into their own squabble while the group devoured the fruit, savoring the surge of energy it sent through their bodies.

Thalso had been silent until the last of the fruit was gone. Then he cleared his throat. "Congratulations. You’ve earned the Silver Stone. And thank you, Gold, you did well. Your father would be proud."

Gold immediately knelt, carefully hiding the satisfaction in his eyes. "I only did as instructed, Lord Thalso."

Thalso grunted. "Be that as it may, you did well. Stand, boy. Now, let’s get to it."

He gestured, and a silver light detached from Gold, hovering in the air like a slowly spinning star. More light rose from the throne, merging with it until it shone blindingly.

The light from Gold was the power the Castle had lent him through the throne. It condensed, separating into three gleaming oval stones.

"This is the Silver Stone," Thalso said, motioning for Kael, Taria, and Rauk to step forward.

"What does it do?" Taria asked cautiously.