The arena had only just begun to settle after Cassian's defeat.
Dust still lingered in the air. Healers moved swiftly. Nobles whispered. The formation barrier flickered faintly as it stabilized from the strain of the previous clash.
Then—
The wind stopped.
It did not slow.
It stopped.
A suffocating pressure descended from above, subtle at first, then undeniable. The sky dimmed as though a veil had been drawn across the sun. Crimson bled into the clouds, staining them a deep, ominous red.
The crowd fell silent.
Even the elders stiffened.
Keil Voss lifted his gaze toward the heavens.
"As expected," he said calmly.
His tone carried no surprise. No alarm.
Only recognition.
"And now," he murmured, a faint smile forming, "the true opponent arrives."
A silhouette stood suspended high above the arena.
Behind him hovered several figures—guards clad in dark crimson armor, bearing the crest of a conquering dynasty.
Only one descended.
He stepped forward from the sky as though walking upon invisible stairs, aura flaring in controlled dominance.
Azrin.
Or rather—
Evlien Hart.
The first and most cunning son of King Judias Hart, ruler of three of the six regions of the Mailes Continent. A monarch forged in conquest. A dynasty built on iron and strategy.
Evlien landed lightly within the arena.
The ground beneath his boots fractured.
His aura expanded—refined, oppressive, unmistakably superior in rank.
He was sixteen.
And already at Fourth Rank, Middle Stage.
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
"At his age?"
"Impossible…"
"And Keil Voss is only fifteen…"
"Rank Third, Peak Stage…"
"Who is more talented?"
Whispers spread like wildfire.
Evlien ignored them.
His gaze locked directly onto Keil.
"So," Evlien said, voice cold and sharp, "you are the winner here."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I suppose that makes you my opponent."
Keil's expression remained blank.
Then—
He provoked him.
"Are you that eager to die?" Keil asked softly. "If so, I'll grant your wish."
The words were gentle.
But the intent behind them was not.
The crowd gasped.
Evlien's eyes darkened.
Before the tension could dissolve—
Keil began to laugh.
It started low.
Controlled.
"Ha…"
It rose gradually.
"Ha… hah…"
Then it fractured into something unhinged.
"Hahahahaha—"
The sound echoed across the arena like a blade scraping against bone.
Even seasoned cultivators felt a chill.
It was not arrogance.
It was not mockery.
It was the laugh of someone who had already seen the end.
"You will kill me?" Keil said through fading laughter, voice turning cold, warped, almost inhuman. "Then let's see… who gets trampled."
Evlien's lips curled.
"You dare insult me?" he hissed. "You will learn what Eternal Death feels like."
The referee opened his mouth—
But it was too late.
They moved.
Boom.
Their fists collided mid-air.
The shockwave erupted outward, slamming against the formation barrier with enough force to make it flicker violently. Spectators were pushed back in their seats.
Though Evlien's cultivation rank was higher—
Their physical strength matched.
Exactly.
Evlien's eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
He attacked again, faster.
Keil met him head-on.
Palm against fist.
Elbow against knee.
Each impact thundered like war drums.
Evlien felt it clearly now.
This shouldn't be possible.
Rank difference should create overwhelming suppression.
But Keil's foundation—
It was monstrous.
Evlien's irritation flared into excitement.
"I admit it," he said mid-clash, parrying a strike and retaliating instantly. "Your talent may surpass mine."
He leapt backward.
"But talent without superiority—means nothing."
From within his storage ring, he withdrew a small object.
It looked unassuming.
A dull, sand-colored stone that pulsed faintly.
Gasps rippled through the elder stands.
"The Solitary Sand Stone…"
A Fourth Rank treasure.
Forbidden in many territories.
Anything it touched—
Gradually turned to stone.
Flesh hardened.
Meridians calcified.
Spiritual flow froze.
Even the user was not immune. Mishandling meant death.
Evlien held it carefully between two fingers.
"You forced me to use this," he said coldly.
Keil's gaze sharpened.
He knew that stone.
In his previous life—
He had nearly died to it.
He also knew its flaw.
He smiled faintly.
"This is becoming interesting."
Evlien hurled the stone forward.
The moment it left his hand, its surface ignited with gray spiritual currents. The air it passed through began to crystallize.
Keil sidestepped effortlessly.
The stone struck the arena floor—
Instantly, a circular patch of rock hardened unnaturally smooth and lifeless.
Evlien dashed forward, manipulating the stone remotely with threads of spiritual force.
It ricocheted off the ground and shot toward Keil again.
Keil leapt backward.
The stone grazed his sleeve—
The fabric stiffened immediately, turning brittle.
He tore the sleeve off without hesitation.
No panic.
No wasted movement.
Evlien narrowed his eyes.
He's too calm.
They resumed close combat, Evlien coordinating attacks with the floating death-stone, forcing Keil into increasingly narrow evasions.
A fragment of dust from the stone brushed Keil's forearm—
Gray spread instantly across his skin.
The crowd gasped.
But before it could advance—
Keil channeled spiritual force violently into the affected area, isolating and expelling the petrification through sheer control.
He landed and smirked faintly.
"You lack experience."
Evlien's expression darkened.
"Then teach me."
He lunged.
Their clash intensified.
Minutes passed in a blur of force and tactics. Keil manipulated positioning masterfully, gradually drawing Evlien toward the arena's center.
Toward the fractured stone patch created earlier.
Evlien didn't notice.
Not yet.
He pushed forward aggressively, sending the Solitary Sand Stone in a direct thrust toward Keil's chest.
Keil dodged sideways at the last second—
And struck the ground with his heel.
The cracked arena plate flipped upward.
The stone ricocheted—
Back toward Evlien.
For one fatal moment—
His control wavered.
The stone grazed his own shoulder.
Gray spread instantly across his armor.
Evlien's eyes widened.
He severed the affected cloth instantly, discarding it before petrification advanced further.
But the brief panic cost him rhythm.
Keil appeared before him.
Palm strike to the sternum.
The impact sent Evlien skidding backward.
The Solitary Sand Stone fell to the ground.
Keil kicked it away.
It embedded harmlessly into the barrier.
Evlien steadied himself.
Breathing harder now.
Anger rising.
"You think that was enough?"
His aura surged violently.
The red sky darkened further.
Black lightning cracked through crimson clouds.
Evlien's spiritual pressure exploded outward, reaching full Fourth Rank dominance.
The formation groaned.
Keil felt it.
The gap in rank was real.
And for the first time—
He stopped smiling.
Evlien charged like a falling meteor.
Their collision shattered the arena's center entirely.
Keil was driven backward.
His heel carved trenches across stone.
Evlien struck again.
And again.
Each blow heavier than the last.
The higher realm advantage was now evident.
Blood trickled from Keil's mouth.
His internal organs trembled under sustained impact.
The crowd watched in breathless silence.
Evlien grabbed Keil by the collar and drove him into the ground.
Stone exploded outward.
"You overestimated yourself," Evlien said coldly.
He raised his fist for the finishing strike.
Then—
Something changed.
Heat.
Not external.
Internal.
From Keil's core.
A pulse.
Once.
Twice.
His heartbeat echoed unnaturally loud.
Evlien hesitated.
Keil's forehead began to glow.
A faint crimson line traced across his skin.
Then another.
And another.
The demonic Phoenix mark emerged fully—
Wings spread across his body in blazing patterns of living fire.
The temperature in the arena spiked instantly.
The air warped.
Flames erupted without fuel.
The crowd screamed.
Even the elders rose to their feet.
Evlien stepped back involuntarily.
What is that—
Keil's eyes opened.
They were no longer calm.
They burned.
Ancient.
Merciless.
The Phoenix mark ignited completely.
Flames of deep scarlet and black surged around him—not chaotic, but sovereign.
The pressure reversed.
Now—
Evlien felt suppressed.
Keil rose slowly from the crater.
Crimson fire spiraled around him like wings unfurling.
"You wanted to see Eternal Death?" Keil said quietly.
His voice no longer echoed as a boy's.
It resonated like something older than dynasties.
"Then witness rebirth through annihilation."
The arena trembled.
And the true battle—
Was about to begin.