Elira raised her torch, crown blazing with fire and smoke entwined. Her body trembled, but her voice rang clear. "Grief belongs to all who endure. You cannot claim it alone."
Marlic laughed, bitter and cruel. "Endure? You call this endurance? I am betrayal itself. I am the wound that never heals."
Their clash shook the valley. Marlic's spear hissed with shadow, Elira's crown flared with memory. Fire struck against smoke, grief against endurance.
The Ashbound and Emberkin fought desperately around them, holding back the storm's champions, but all eyes turned to the duel.
Kael shouted, "Stand firm! She carries us all!"
Elira's crown pulsed brighter, visions tearing through her mind—faces of the fallen, voices of the living, the alliance standing together. She cried out, "Then let memory burn! Let grief become flame!"
The crown erupted, fire and smoke entwining into a torrent of light. For a moment, Marlic staggered, his storm faltering.
But his ember eyes blazed brighter, fury unbroken. "You dare? Then I will end you myself."