Airi's voice cut through Xerxes' mind: "Xerxes, XERXES!" But to him, sound and sensation felt distant, fading further with each ragged breath.
"How was I caught off guard so easily?" His thoughts swam in a haze of pain. Blood bubbled past his lips, yet his fingers remained locked around the blade embedded in his gut.
"All this time, just because I survived Yves, I thought... that meant something. That it made me stronger than those around me, but that's exactly it, I merely survived. But where has that 'survival' brought me? Here I am—bleeding, broken. Just another fool who mistook luck for strength."
His gaze dropped to the wound, crimson pooling beneath his trembling hands. The truth was undeniable: in this world, in the real world, there was no shield. None of Aemon's cunning mana and wisdom, none of Conrad's steel or selflessness, no room to hide in. Only himself.
"But I no longer have those luxuries. No more running. My life's been a parade of tragedies, and I'm done watching from the sidelines. I'm done being a spectator. I'm done letting 'destiny' muzzle me, I want to have my chance at writing it, even for a moment!"
Airi's voice began to sharpen in his mind as fury ignited, anger at his weakness, his naivety, a cauldron of self-loathing boiling over.
"I know what you'll say, Airi. 'Use my power. Now's the time.' But if I only rely on you when I'm cornered… what does that make me? Where's my strength? My worth?" He gritted his teeth. "I won't let you solely carry me to the future I want. I'll fight until I'm shattered, until my mana runs thin, because I need to prove I deserve it. To myself. To you."
Airi faltered. Their bond had been transactional: power exchanged for survival. But Xerxes craved more. A phoenix didn't just rise from ashes; it chose to, and there was a purpose behind every step it took.
"Is this… for me?" she wondered. "This recklessness, to prove you're worth my faith?"
Xerxes' eyelids, heavy with exhaustion, snapped open. The earth, trapping him, melted. Heat radiated from his body, causing the air itself to tremble.
"Something like that," he murmured aloud, "But you know I'm shit with words."
Nicolas staggered back. "H-how are you moving, speaking?! That blade, it's one of the Order's Seven! Artefacts wielded by legends!"
Xerxes chuckled, raising a hand. Flames coiled around his fingers. "A sword's only as strong as the one who swings it, Nicolas, and trust me, I've been hit harder. I won't deny that you entertained me, that you pushed me a bit, but it still wasn't enough."
Nicolas staggered, "You spoke as if you've won, but you're the one who's stuck in my blade, so what nonsense are you spouting, what words are coming from your mouth!?"
A pause. "Yeah, still bad at this."
Suddenly, tier five fire mana detonated from his palm. The blast rivalled Nicolas' own strike, a cataclysm of heat and light that exploded in one wave of unrelenting devastation.
The blast hurled Nicolas back into the wall, as his consciousness was long gone.
Daryul's voice boomed across the arena, uncharacteristically shaken. "D-did—DID XERXES DRAEDON JUST USE INCANTATIONLESS MANA?! Victory was in Nicolas's grasp, AND IT WAS SNATCHED WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT! BY THE EMBERED FLAMES' LEADER! I STAND CORRECTED, XERXES DRAEDON WINS!"
Xerxes stabbed Morningstar in the floor, leaning onto it for support, refusing to fall to his knees.
Iris lowered her bow, arms raised. "I concede. No point dying for a lost cause."
Thornfum kicked a rock, scowling. "Ere' I was, thirstin' for glory! This tourney's pissed me off!"
Claudia's smile was blade-sharp. "Unbelievable. Standing with a sword in his gut and still refusing to kneel…Members of Dawn's, I hope you're watching, and though my dream of trying to bring you all back was foolish at first, I think I've found my party, the party willing to go to those lengths."
Leiya sprinted to Xerxes, slinging his arm over her shoulders. "Xerx' we won..."
Xerxes slowly turned his head towards Leiya, "I-I'm glad." his lips curled upwards, weakly raising his hand in the sky to show that the Embered flames prevailed.
Daryul roared, "And your winners are THE EMBERED FLAMES!". Lifting from their chairs, the crowd began cheering. Not only was the battle exciting, but it kept everyone on edge, with multiple challenges, near-defeat scenarios, yet they had succeeded.
Bertha and Gundrik began shaking those around each other, "That's m'barkeep, THAT'S M'BARKEEP! LEIYA, XERXES!!"
Orpheus crossed his arms, placing a hand on his chin, "You keep surprising me Embered flames, though it does upset a man that not everyone puts on a show comparable to you and Leiya, a man has gained enough information, but instincts tell me something other than what I am seeing."
Orpheus' grin began to grow, carving wrinkles into his slender face, "Though a man would bet that you have more power beyond what you have displayed, do you not?"
Orpheus slipped his pencil back into his breast pocket. As he turned away from the crowd, he finally closed his book and began walking away to wherever he was meant to go. "I expect great things from you, Xerxes."
Airi then spoke to Xerxes, "You have played your part, Xerxes, now rest and let me play mine, after all your speech made me feel inclined to help you without the charge of you maintaining my feathers, for today only."
Xerxes smiled as he started resting his eyes. Despite the rest he needed, he still had slight frustration knowing that he would have to wait and sit out of the tournament and that in itself was as vital as fighting because people would know how he fights, but he wouldn't know how they'd fight.
"With how I'm feeling, I don't think I have any room to care.." Xerxes mumbled as his body slumped over Leiya's.
Putting a hand over his head, Leiya smiled and rested her head on his, "You did well, Xerxes, you did well."
Medical mages began swarming the battlefield, taking away each one of the members and out of the entire parties that fought, Iris, Claudia, and Thornfum didn't need to seek medical attention, but for the ones that did, they were rushed to individual tents, outside of the arena, where they were to be treated.
***
The medics moved with practised efficiency inside the dimly lit tent, grinding rare herbs and mixing viscous elixirs that shimmered under the glow of mana-lit lanterns. The air smelled of crushed petals and sterile magic, a scent unique to healing wards.
Leiya remained conscious, propped up on a bed, but Xerxes rested motionless, his breathing shallow.
She mused, watching his furrowed brow. He's probably reliving the fight in that stubborn head of his. A small grin tugged at her lips. "Dreaming of glory, you fool."
As the medics worked, Leiya observed their techniques and their precision that was honed at Indonya Magic Academy, where healing was not just a skill but an art. They were all seasoned graduates, and from watching Leiya only discovered more.
Healing mana wasn't along the ordinary mana types of wind, earth, fire and water; instead they were home to a seperate group called 'acquisition magic' and hence the name, she uncovered that to acquire this form of mana, one had to absorb a particular soul shard, however it wasn't impossible to be naturally born with it.
But the true revelation was the Rose Orkalia. A plant that grew on the mythic Great Tree of Eros—and housed soul shards within its petals. All her life, Leiya had believed that only beasts and men bore such soul shards, but it seemed that in the outside world, there was more than met the eye.
Leiya leaned forward, her voice tight. "Will he fight in the next round?" The words tasted bitter. Xerxes would rather bleed out than miss a battle, but the gash in his stomach was no trivial wound.
The head medic, a gaunt man with fingers stained violet from years of herb-crafting, crushed a Rose Orkalia petal into a mortar. "This isn't a simple fix," he admitted. "The rose's magic mends minor injuries first. Only after will it address… this." He gestured to Xerxes' torso, where blood still seeped through bandages. "It could take hours. Days, even."
Then, almost to himself, he added, "Strange, though. His lesser wounds are healing unnaturally fast. Without aid." His eyes flicked to Leiya. "I've trained at Indonya. Seen mages with impressive recovery, but this? It's… different."
Leiya said nothing. Airi's influence? Or something deeper? Her mother had once remarked on Xerxes' uncanny resilience when he first stumbled into the Fallen Kingdom. She discussed with the family how he'd survived injuries that should have killed him as if his body refused to accept death.
She nodded stiffly, "I'll leave him to you." Xerxes was in capable hands, and from everything they've been through, this was nothing. There was no point in worrying when she still needed to be tended to.
The mages continued to work till nightfall. In this time, Thornfum entertained himself by watching the battles with Claudia and when they returned to the tent, the news he had was equally as shocking as the news the medics had.