The atmosphere was thick with tension.
Kaelen stood in the middle of the arena, his breathing even, his eyes calm. Across from him, Selene radiated anger like a blazing inferno. The crowd around them was restless, whispering and murmuring, eyes darting between the two.
"I told you," Kaelen spoke, his voice firm but not aggressive, "this was all a misunderstanding."
Selene's glare could have burned holes through stone. She pointed her sword at him, the blade gleaming under the sun. "A misunderstanding?" she scoffed, her voice sharp. D-Don't you have any shame?! Spying on me while I was bathing, you disgusting pervert!
Kaelen didn't move. His hands remained loose at his sides, his posture relaxed. "I never intended to Spying at you," he said, tone steady. "What you see — what you think happened — it wasn't true. It's Just misunderstanding."
Selene's hands tightened on the hilt of her weapon. Her white hair fluttered in the breeze, matching the intensity in her cold blue eyes. "Enough talk!" she shouted. "If you have any shred of dignity left, draw your weapon!"
Around them, the audience stirred.
Many of Kaelen's peers smirked, expecting him to grovel or be crushed. After all, Kaelen was the weak one. The loser. The one barely clinging to his place in the sect.
No one believed he could stand against Selene — one of the prodigies of the younger generation.
A faint sigh escaped Kaelen's lips.
For a moment, sadness flickered in his gaze. Then, slowly, it faded — replaced by something else.
A deep calm.
The kind of calm that settles before a devastating storm.
Kaelen's expression shifted. His eyes, once filled with hesitation and uncertainty, became pools of cold, unwavering focus.
Selene's instincts flared.
She felt it — a subtle shift in the air — like a beast awakening.
Still, pride and anger blinded her.
"Prepare yourself!" she cried and lunged forward, sword flashing like a bolt of lightning.
The world seemed to slow.
Kaelen moved.
He didn't draw a sword.
He didn't chant a technique.
He simply stepped forward — one foot sliding almost lazily — his body weaving through Selene's attack like smoke.
Gasps echoed around the arena as Selene's blade cut nothing but air.
"What?!"
Before she could even register her miss, Kaelen was already within her guard.
His hand rose, fingers open, and struck — a gentle tap against Selene's wrist.
The sword flew from her grasp as if ripped away by an invisible force.
Selene's eyes widened in shock.
But it wasn't over.
Kaelen's left foot swept forward, catching her ankle.
Off-balance, Selene stumbled backward — and Kaelen's palm struck her chest lightly.
It wasn't a heavy blow.
No bright lights. No explosive force.
Yet Selene was thrown backward like a broken kite, crashing onto the hard ground with a heavy thud.
The arena fell silent.
No one spoke.
No one even breathed.
It had taken less than ten seconds.
Ten seconds to dismantle Selene.
Ten seconds to humiliate one of the sect's shining stars.
Ten seconds for Kaelen — the weak, the forgotten — to show his might.
Selene groaned, clutching her chest, staring up at Kaelen with disbelief.
Her pride shattered, her strength meaningless.
Kaelen didn't move to gloat.
He didn't even smile.
He simply stood there — calm, composed — as if this entire event had been nothing more than a minor disturbance.
The Priest William, standing on the raised platform overlooking the arena, was visibly shaken.
Elder Garath, a stern man known for his unshakable demeanor, leaned forward, eyes narrowing.
"That movement... that precision..." he muttered.
Elder Mei, the youngest of the elders, covered her mouth with her hand. "Was that really Kaelen? The same Kaelen who could barely pass the entry trials?"
Even Elder Veris, the usually sleepy old master who cared little for the sect's internal matters, opened one eye fully and stared with keen interest.
Whispers raced through the crowd.
"How is this possible?"
"Did he hide his strength all this time?"
"Was Kaelen... pretending to be weak?"
Jealousy, awe, confusion — a chaotic storm of emotions brewed among the spectators.
In the arena, Selene struggled to sit up, her face twisted in anger and humiliation.
"You... you cheated!" she spat.
Kaelen tilted his head slightly, regarding her as one might a petulant child.
"I gave you a chance to walk away," he said quietly. "You chose pride over reason."
Selene opened her mouth to retort, but words failed her.
Deep inside, she knew.
There had been no tricks.
No cheating.
Kaelen's movements had been pure, his technique flawless.
He had simply surpassed her.
Selene's hands trembled — not from pain, but from rage at her own helplessness.
Kaelen turned his back to her without fear, walking toward the center of the arena.
It was an action filled with contempt — or perhaps mercy.
The elders exchanged looks.
Elder Garath rose from his seat. His powerful voice echoed across the arena.
"Kaelen. Step forward."
Kaelen stopped and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Elder."
"Explain yourself," the elder demanded, his sharp gaze piercing. "How long have you hidden this strength? Why?"
Kaelen raised his head slowly, his eyes calm but carrying a depth that hadn't been there before.
"I did not hide my strength," he said. "I haven't had chance to show yet."
The sect elders frowned, sensing layers beneath his words.
"And now you are ready?" Elder Cedric asked, her voice soft but serious.
Kaelen nodded.
"Yes."
A simple answer.
Yet it carried a weight that pressed upon everyone listening.
Selene, still kneeling, bit her lip so hard that blood trickled down her chin.
Her humiliation was complete.
No one would remember her strength.
Only her defeat at Kaelen's hands.
Kaelen looked around, meeting the eyes of the crowd — not with arrogance, but with silent challenge.
Many lowered their gazes.
In that moment, Kaelen was no longer the weakling they once mocked.
He was a force.
A storm that had only begun to rise.
The elders whispered among themselves.
"What should we do?" Elder Garath asked.
Elder Cedric chuckled, a low rumbling sound. "What else? We watch. We wait. And we prepare."
Elder Garath expression hardened. "Kaelen... has become an unknown."
Unknowns were dangerous.
Unknowns changed destinies.
Kaelen, unaware of their deliberations, stood in the middle of the arena, his gaze distant.
He wasn't satisfied.
Defeating Selene was nothing.
A small step.
A necessary step.
There were greater challenges ahead.
Greater battles to fight.
The path he had chosen... demanded it.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the arena, Kaelen's figure stood alone, yet towering.
An omen.
A promise.
A beginning.
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for reading and supporting the story!
Your encouragement means more than words can express. Every view, comment, and collection gives me the strength to keep writing and bringing Kaelen's journey to life.
If you're enjoying the story, please consider adding it to your collection, leaving a review, or simply dropping a comment — even a small one!
It motivates me to write even more exciting chapters for you.
This is just the beginning — Kaelen's rise has only started!
Stay tuned for more battles, mysteries, and growth!
Let's walk this path together.
– KaelenDusk😁