The arena was silent.The crowd held its breath.
"It's time...! Ryan Valeborn vs Annie Halloway!"the announcer declared, his voice echoing between the colossal pillars of the Primordial Colosseum.
Up in the VIP stands, Inavy adjusted Saddie on his lap and stood.
— "Come on, Ryan… show them what you're made of."
Beside him, Ryan's mother could barely hold back her tears.
— "Go, my son… fly."
On the Arena Floor
Annie walked forward with steady steps, though her heart raced.
"Yan… I'm sorry, but I'm going all out."
Ryan entered shortly after — serious, focused, his black and shimmering blue outfit glowing under the arena lights.
When their eyes met, time seemed to stop.
— "Are you ready, Annie?"
She nodded with a soft smile.
— "Promise you'll give it your all, Yan?"
— "I promise."
"FIGHT!"
Annie wasted no time.She activated her Acceleration Fields, moving like a beam of golden light.Her energy blasts ricocheted across the arena — every strike a golden slash in the air.
Ryan dodged, concentrated.He activated nothing… but felt everything.
— "She's too fast… just like—"
And then it happened.
Instinctively, Ryan stomped, and...
A field expanded around him — invisible.
Annie slowed.Very slowly.
— "What... what is this…?" she thought, struggling to move.
Ryan was stunned too.
— "This isn't aura... but it feels... like it's mine?"
He moved forward.Every step calculated, steady — his eyes, however, full of conflict.
Even as her movement dulled, Annie smiled.
— "You found… your way of fighting."
Ryan raised his hand.Victory was just one strike away.
But he whispered:
— "Forgive me, Annie."
With a single blow — gentle, restrained — to her shoulder, the match ended.
Annie dropped to her knees. Exhausted... but smiling.
Emotional Explosion
The arena erupted.
Inavy jumped up like a child:
— "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Ryan's mother broke into tears, hugging Saddie tight.
Lorien glanced at Kelvin.
— "He won… without visible aura. Just instinct and strategy. This is… beyond."
Kelvin said nothing.He just smiled — deeply impressed.
The Reunion
Ryan walked up to Annie and knelt beside her.
— "Are you okay… Annie?"
She smiled, breathless, eyes shimmering.
— "Yeah… but there was no way I could beat you, Yan."
He gently took her hand.
— "Don't say that. You're amazing."
She squeezed back, voice trembling.
— "I hope… we end up in the same guild, Yan…"
They embraced, under the roar of a crowd that had fallen in love with them both.
The Rival's Shadow
And then…A new presence stepped onto the field.
Kane Jayson.
He walked toward Ryan, his aura cold and heavy.
— "Ryan…" he said with a crooked smile. "Now… it's just us."
Ryan rose slowly.
— "Kane…"
— "Get ready. Because I'm not holding back, man."
They stared at each other in the glowing center of the arena.Above them, the sky was painted violet — a prelude to the climax.
[End of Chapter 20]