CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 294: THE BLACK SUN

The cavernous arena loomed before them, empty now of spectators, but scarred by battle. The stone floor was split with trenches of molten rock, littered with fragments of shattered wards and the lingering glow of burned runes. Every echo of distant thunder still vibrated in the air.

Noel and Selene pushed through a side tunnel and stepped into the open. At the far center, Nicolas clashed with the veiled figure—light and lightning tearing the silence apart. Sparks cascaded against stone, shadows warped as if space itself groaned under the weight of the spells.

For a moment, Noel froze. Then his own shadow stirred beneath his boots.

The darkness rippled, stretching unnaturally. From it rose a hulking form—Noir. The shadow wolf stepped into the arena at last, her frame expanding until she towered at three meters tall. Black fur rippled with violet undertones, her golden eyes gleaming with predatory intent. A low growl built in her chest, vibrating through the hollow coliseum.

Noir didn’t wait for command. With a bound that cracked the stone beneath her paws, she launched straight toward the Pillar.

The pale figure tilted his head, blade dragging behind him with a screech of steel on stone. His veiled face turned toward her, unreadable. Then he spoke, his voice as dry as death.

"Yes... I don’t think we could ever be friends."

Noir collided with him, claws slashing in a flurry. The impact threw up a storm of dust and sparks as the jagged sword intercepted her strikes. Their clash rang across the empty seats, a duel of shadow and light.

Nicolas, seeing the opening, raised his hands, lightning already leaping across his fingers. He moved forward, arcs sizzling as he joined the wolf.

The fight had gained a new front.

The arena floor shook under the pounding rhythm of the fight. Nicolas darted across the fractured ground, teleporting in bursts of light while bolts of electricity screamed from his hands. "Arc Lightning!" Blue forks lashed outward, striking the Pillar from multiple sides.

The pale figure deflected each arc with unnatural speed, his jagged sword carving trails of light that split the darkness. He answered with a sudden stomp. "Terra Shatter!" Spears of stone erupted upward, cratering the field in jagged ridges. Nicolas flickered away in time, reappearing just beyond the reach of the spikes.

A rumble came from the shadows.

Noir melted into the ground, her massive frame collapsing into inky black mist that raced across the broken floor. The shadows twisted unnaturally, weaving beneath the Pillar’s feet. His head tilted slightly, sensing the change.

From his own shadow, Noir emerged. Her colossal jaws opened wide, fangs three times their natural size, dripping with shadowy energy. Darkness coiled along her teeth like liquid night as she lunged upward, aiming to crush him in one devastating bite.

The jagged sword flared. "Solar Cut!"

The blade’s radiant arc swept downward, forcing Noir to snap her head aside. Her fangs slammed into the stone instead, pulverizing it, shadow energy hissing as cracks spiderwebbed across the floor. The shockwave of her strike tore through the arena, shaking dust from the stands.

The Pillar stepped back, cloak whipping around his skeletal frame. "Persistent beast," he muttered, his voice muffled behind the veil.

Noir growled, her fur bristling, shadow smoke swirling around her bulk. Her eyes blazed gold, fixed solely on him.

Nicolas seized the opening. "Storm Cage!" Lightning wrapped around the Pillar in a crackling dome, electricity arcing violently across his frame.

Noir lunged again, jaws glowing black.

From the shadowed archway at the side of the arena, Noel and Selene finally emerged. The battlefield was a ruin—half the stone floor broken into jagged trenches, lightning scars and molten streaks painting the hollow coliseum.

At the center, Nicolas and Noir pressed the attack together, but even their combined strength only forced the Pillar to shift his footing. Sparks cascaded across his pale frame, shadow fangs raked against his veil, yet he advanced unshaken, his jagged sword cleaving apart every strike.

Noel’s gut clenched. Even from here, he could feel the difference—an overwhelming pressure radiating from the figure.

"Don’t engage directly," Noel muttered to Selene, his eyes narrowing. "I’ll prepare it."

He dropped to one knee, drawing mana from his core, his palm extended as a sphere began to form. Flames hissed to life—at first a deep crimson, then condensing, darkening until the fire compressed into black.

"Dark Sun..." he whispered.

The orb pulsed with terrifying weight, space itself warping faintly around it. The mana drain was brutal—every vein in his body burned as though on fire—but he held on, teeth clenched.

Selene stepped past him, wand raised. Her voice was calm, cold as ice. "Glacial Thrust."

A spear of ice streaked forward, only to shatter harmlessly against the Pillar’s stone ward. He didn’t even glance at her.

"Gravition Hold." Selene pressed downward with invisible weight. The Pillar slowed a fraction, cloak dragging across the cracked stone—but only for a heartbeat before he broke through the spell with a sweep of his blade.

The distraction was enough. Nicolas hurled arcs of lightning to force the Pillar’s guard, while Noir lunged from the shadows once more, massive fangs snapping close.

All that mattered was time.

The arena trembled under the weight of the clash. Nicolas hurled another storm of lightning, arcs scattering in a wide net. "Chain Lightning!" Sparks lashed across the empty coliseum, forcing the First Pillar to raise his jagged sword and cleave them apart, light flaring with every swing.

Noir pounced from the shadows, her colossal fangs biting down with shadow energy thick as tar. The Pillar caught her maw mid-strike, skeletal fingers digging into her jaw before hurling her aside. She landed hard, rolling across broken stone before rising again with a guttural snarl, smoke trailing from her fur.

Selene raised her wand, her cyan eyes cold. "Zero Point Burst." A sphere of compressed gravity pulsed outward, dragging debris and shards of stone toward the Pillar. He let the wave wash over him, his pale frame unmoved, his veil fluttering in the pull as though mocking the effort.

Through it all, Noel remained still. His knees pressed into the fractured stone, sweat pouring down his temples as the orb above his palm swelled. What had started as flame was now a black sun, a sphere so dense the air bent toward it, sucking in dust and loose fragments of rubble.

The drain was absolute. Every nerve screamed as mana bled out of him in rivers, his arms trembling under the crushing weight of the spell. Still, he held firm, emerald eyes locked on the advancing figure.

The Pillar finally slowed, his veiled face turning toward Noel. For the first time, his stride faltered, pale hand tightening on his blade. Nicolas shouted, lightning exploding brighter to drag his focus away. Noir and Selene attacked again, desperate to buy seconds more.

Noel’s voice was a ragged whisper. "Dark Sun!"

The black sphere roared forward, warping everything around it—