Kael stood motionless for a moment, as if only now allowing himself to breathe. The blue aura around his sword slowly faded, leaving only warmth in his hands.
— Hey.
He turned his head away.
Arwen approached him calmly, hiding her daggers.
—You're still alive. — she said dryly.
Kael smiled crookedly.
— It's an increasingly significant achievement.
Arwen looked at the trace of blood on his shoulder.
— You're stupid. You could have finished it faster.
— I could have — he admitted. — But then I wouldn't have been sure.
They were silent for a moment.
— You fought well — she said finally. — There... when you got up.
Kael nodded.
— Thanks.
***
Kostur Yli hit the ground.
Vines grew out of the stone, fast, aggressive, alive.
— The magic of nature is not meant for killing. — Yla said calmly. — But it can take everything away.
Mayuri raised her hand.
The crystal on her wrist glowed with a cool light.
— Magic has no intentions. — she replied. — Only the user does.
The vines have started growing.
Mayuri took a step back, and then... disappeared.
The illusion shattered when the real Mayuri appeared behind Yla.
— Too slow.
Yla turned around instinctively.
Kostur blocked the energy pulse, but the strike was only a decoy.
The crystal cracked.
Not with an explosion — with silence.
The magic of nature trembled, lost its rhythm.
The vines have fallen.
Yla stepped back, surprised.
— What did you do...?
Mayuri lowered her hand.
— I disturbed the source. Nature needs balance.
One precise burst of energy.
Yla fell to her knees.
Commentator:
— YLA IS OUT! MAYURI SCORES ANOTHER POINT FOR THE DRAGON'S PURSUIT!
***
Noah was breathing heavily.
There were several cuts on his arm.
Kaen circled around him with a smile.
—The fire is going out. — replied Kaen.
Noah spat blood.
— Shit...
But inside... he felt cold, he narrowed his eyes.
**
That was thirteen years ago.
He was a child when they came for them at night.
They didn't yell.
They didn't shout.
Shouting meant selection.
And selection meant the end.
The stone hall was cold and sterile, lit by pale crystals.
The children were lined up in neat rows, as if they were objects.
Some cried quietly.
Others no longer had the strength.
Noah stood in the back.
He always tried to be invisible.
They talked about fire.
About an element that can be forced into the body.
On creating the perfect tools for an empire.
The experiments began quickly.
The fire did not burn the skin.
It burned the soul.
One child after another stopped moving.
They took them away without a word.
One night, the older children decided to run away.
There was no plan.
There was only desperation.
Someone distracted the guard.
Someone else opened the door.
The rest ran.
Outside, it was winter.
Real winter.
Merciless winter.
The snow was ankle-deep.
The frost cut into our lungs with every breath.
Not all the children could keep up.
The guards quickly noticed that one was missing.
Then several.
Then all of them.
Noah ran until he fell.
He didn't have the strength to get up.
He squeezed himself under the root of an old tree, shivering with cold and fear.
He heard screams.
He heard the chase.
He heard the others stop running.
He didn't move.
Not because he was brave.
But because he was terrified.
When silence fell, he did not leave immediately.
He stayed there, feeling the weight of being the only one who had survived.
Then warmth appeared.
Small sparks.
Not burning.
As if someone was nearby.
Since that night, Noah knew one thing.
These sparks are not just fire.
They are traces of those who did not escape.
Those who sacrificed themselves.
**
— NOAH!
Valdor's voice brought him back to the present.
Kaen launched his attack.
And then... sparks appeared
Small.
Silent.
Hundreds.
They were circulating around Noah like stars.
Noah raised his head.
His eyes were burning.
—Those sparks — he said quietly, —are the souls who sacrificed themselves for the Empire.
Kaen hesitated.
— What...?
The fire exploded.
Not chaotically.
Consciously.
Kaen didn't have time to scream.
He was thrown to the ground.
Commentator:
— KAEN ELIMINATED!
NOAH WINS!
The stands went wild.
—They are... different. — whispered one of the advisors.
The emperor did not take his eyes off the arena.
— No. They are what the Empire was meant to be.
Mira raised her sword.
His blade cut through the air — and magic.
— Your aura is strong. — she said. — But my sword will cut through it.
Valdor nodded.
— Try it.
The dragon's blood pulsed.
Valdor's sword burst into blue flames.
Mira hit.
The magic has been severed.
Valdor did not back down.
— What...?
—You're not cutting magic. — he said calmly.— You're cutting what you do with it.
The dragon's aura exploded not outward, but inward.
Miry's sword trembled.
SHATTERED.
Valdor stopped the blade at her neck.
— That's enough.
Mira left the sword hilt
— I lost.
Commentator:
— VICTORY FOR THE DRAGON'S PURSUIT!
DRAGON'S PURSUIT IS IN THE FINALS!
Valdor lowered his sword.
He looked at the team.
— Well done.
The arena erupted with applause.