Amid the thunderous roar of the crowd — boots stomping against steel-laid stands, chants of "Kyle! Kyle!" echoing like rolling avalanches — Kyle staggered forward, every step uneven and trembling, yet his grin wide enough to hold the entire battlefield's pride. His chest rose and fell in ragged, wheezing breaths, fresh blood trickling down the slope of his jaw and dripping from his split knuckles, but even so he squared his shoulders and forced himself to stand tall in front of Luca.

The smirk he wore was stubborn, defiant — a victorious flame refusing to be dimmed.

"I… am not weaker than you… or Aiden… or anyone…" he declared, voice hoarse yet unwavering, as though his determination alone could keep him upright.

A heartbeat later his knees finally gave out.

Luca moved instantly, catching Kyle before his battered body hit the ground. Kyle's weight sagged heavily into his arms — exhausted muscles twitching, breath stuttering — yet Luca could only smile, soft and full of fierce pride, the kind that made his chest tighten.

"You are definitely not," Luca murmured, his gaze warm with unspoken loyalty, while deep inside his thoughts echoed with a truth he had always known, I never doubted you for even a moment.

Aurelia rushed up next to them, her expression tight with worry, black brows drawn together as she scanned Kyle's wounds with her elder sister's instinct kicking in. Luca gave her a reassuring nod, shifting Kyle carefully into a more comfortable position.

"He's injured… badly," Luca acknowledged, but there was confidence in the way his eyes remained steady. "But this trial… it'll only forge him stronger. This is a victory he'll carry for life."

Aurelia inhaled slowly, her relief settling into a firm spark of resolve. Her fingers curled around the smooth shaft of her spear, gripping it with renewed purpose as she straightened her back.

"Then…" she declared, violet eyes igniting like starlight shattering the dark, "I will go next."

Selena's icy gaze flickered with both concern and intrigue. Lilliane clutched the edges of her robes nervously yet gave a supportive nod. Syltharia looked on with calm approval, arms folded as her robe swayed lightly behind her. And Luca — he simply smiled, a silent reminder that he'd be right there, watching, believing.

Before Aurelia could descend fully into the arena, a group of dwarven guards approached with reverent haste — armored boots clanking against stone, beards braided with runic metal that glowed faintly.

"We will handle Sir Kyle from here," one declared, voice firm yet respectful as they carefully eased Kyle from Luca's hold.

The others visibly blinked in surprise — Kyle being addressed as Sir? But Luca only nodded knowingly, observing the honor in their eyes as they carried Kyle like a cherished war hero.

Dwarves truly respect strength and warriors… they admire those who fight with heart, Luca thought, watching them with a faint, proud smirk.

A towering dwarf strode in next — the announcer, his cloak swirling dramatically as he raised his voice to the crowd with booming authority.

"What we witnessed just now… was breathtaking courage! A young warrior challenging fate itself — and triumphing!" he bellowed, the crowd erupting once more. "By the sacred pact of the Forgeheart Crucible — Elder Gromm Stoneback shall form an unbreakable bond with Kyle Drayden!"

The arena might as well have exploded — cheers shaking the ground itself, dwarves roaring their approval, fists pounding over armored chests.

Then the announcer's gaze slid back toward Luca's group, a sharp, almost arrogant smirk tugging at his lips.

"Well then," he taunted, voice dripping with challenge,

"Is there anyone else among you who dares face the trial?"

Aurelia looked once toward Luca — just once — and that single nod he gave, so gentle yet filled with absolute confidence, was all she needed.

Without hesitation, Aurelia leaped — her silhouette like a descending comet — landing in the center of the arena as the cheering swelled to welcome the next challenger.

A hush rippled through the roaring stands when Aurelia planted her spear into the ember-lit stone and raised her chin with regal confidence, the strands of her crimson hair swaying like threads of embers caught in the wind.

Her voice rang clear and bold across the vast arena,

"I, Aurelia Drayden, challenge — Elder Gilda Flamehair, Mother of Embers!"

For a moment, silence — stunned, suspended — as though the entire Crucible forgot how to breathe.

Then the reaction hit like a volcanic blast.

Gasps.

Shocked murmurs.

Dwarves splitting into awed whispers and disbelieving curses.

"Is she out of her mind!?"

"She challenged Flamehair herself—!"

"Another elder… these human brats are insane!"

"Huh, wait! Wasn't Kyle's surname drayden as well?!"

The stone platform trembled as a presence stirred — from a throne adorned with molten steel, runes pulsing like beating hearts. Elder Gilda Flamehair lifted her head, fiery red beard braided with glowing charcoal beads, her mane of hair shimmering like living fire.

Her amber eyes narrowed with intrigue rather than offense.

Another elder had been challenged — so soon.

"Well now…" she rumbled, her voice like coal cracking under heat. "I did not expect to be summoned so quickly, lass."

Aurelia bowed slightly, but her gaze remained sharp and unflinching — pride and determination burning in equal measure.

"I have heard tales," she began, her spear hand tightening with excitement that buzzed beneath her skin, "from my grandfather — the Iron Duke himself — that among all living wielders of fire, none can match your supreme control."

The crowd reacted again — louder this time.

The name Iron Duke sparked immediate recognition.

Elder Gilda raised a fiery brow, the corner of her lips quirking into something between amusement and challenge.

"Your grandfather speaks too kindly of this old flame," she replied with a low laugh. "But if you are his blood… then your fire must burn fiercely indeed."

Aurelia's violet eyes flared — not with arrogance, but with passionate conviction.

"That is why I wish to be tested by you — and no one else."

Beside Luca, Selena's expression — usually cool as winter's breath — faltered into rare surprise. She crossed her arms, biting her lip in contemplation.

"Elder Gilda…" she whispered under her breath, "I've heard of her too. Even the Iron Duke himself… is a step behind her when it comes to the mastery of flame."

Lilliane gulped, clutching her hands nervously.

Syltharia's tail flicked, intrigued.

And Luca — Luca simply smiled, knowing exactly what kind of inferno Aurelia was ready to unleash.

With a proud, resonating stomp of her molten-plated boots, Elder Gilda stood, flames blooming around her like the wings of a phoenix.

"Very well, young flame," she declared, voice booming like a firestorm breaking free —

"I accept your challenge!"

The arena erupted in blazing cheers once more.

And in the midst of that inferno of noise and anticipation — Aurelia's own fire began to rise.

The runes beneath the arena blazed alive, igniting a circle of crimson light that rippled outward like liquid magma. Heat surged — suffocating, invasive — pushing the audience to draw back instinctively.

The transition wasn't gentle.

One moment, the arena was stone.

The next — a furnace birthed from a god's lungs.

A thunderous roar of magic split the air as runes — ancient, jagged, hateful — ignited beneath Aurelia's boots. Lava surged like veins of molten blood, consuming the ground until only isolated platforms of black, glassy obsidian remained floating over a churning sea of flame.

Heat didn't just scorch — it invaded. It crawled under skin, slithered into lungs, licked the soul.

Elder Gilda Flamehair raised her ember-carved scepter, fire whipping around her like a mane of living hell.

"🔥 The Crucible of Sovereign Flame!

Where fire kneels for the worthy…

and feasts on the foolish."

She struck the ground — and the fire obeyed instantly.

Flames contorted into serpents, their maws lined with teeth of white-hot plasma. Each movement radiated hunger. A constant hiss. A promise of annihilation.

Aurelia's heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Her spear barely shield against the infernal gale.

Breathe. Focus. Fire is not the enemy… unless you fear it.

She leapt as a serpent lunged — its jaws snapping shut where she stood, the molten rock melting under its bite. Aurelia rolled, sweat — or blood — streaking down her cheek as she regained footing.

A new terror emerged.

The air around her twisted — then ignited.

The flames began to think.

Hunt.

Learn.

Evolve.

They cornered her like wolves circling a lone hunter.

From the stands, panic rippled:

Selena grabbed the railing, horror widening her eyes.

"That's… primeval fire. That level of control—"

Sylthara's claws dug into the stone.

"Fire that instinctively adapts cannot be dodged forever…"

Lilliane whispered a trembling prayer, voice cracking.

"Please… please let her be okay…"

Luca remained silent — but his silence screamed.

His nails carved crescents into his palms.

A single bead of sweat rolled down his jaw — not from heat, but fear.

"She isn't just fighting fire…"

His voice was low, strained.

"She's battling its will."

Aurelia's lungs begged for relief — but the air entering them felt like swallowing razors. Her skin blistered — armor glowing red where fire licked metal.

A geyser of flame erupted beneath her feet.

She launched herself into the air—

Only to meet a flaming phoenix diving from above.

Time slowed.

The phoenix — colossal, wingspan stretching across the entire arena — screeched a sound that shook skulls. Not a cry. A judgment.

Its feathers were razors. Its core — a furnace.

Aurelia's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Then—

She roared back.

Her spear slammed into molten platform mid-air — a pulse of violet and gold mana detonating outward.

If you won't obey…

Then I will force you to acknowledge me!

Her magic spiraled upward — a column of heat so violent that even dwarves flinched.

Fire and fire collided.

LIGHT FELL

SOUND DIED

THE WORLD WENT WHITE

The shockwave annihilated the platform beneath her.

Obsidian shards impaled the air.

The arena's boundary shields flickered like dying stars.

Aurelia was consumed — swallowed by a solar eruption.

A ball of fire where she once stood burst like a dying star — birthing a cyclone of molten devastation that clawed at the heavens.

When vision returned…

There was no Aurelia.

Only fire.

Still raging.

Still hungry.

Selena's voice broke first — raw, terrified:

"Where— AURELIA!!"

The world blurred for Luca.

His heart stopped obeying rhythm.

His breath lost meaning.

And then he screamed — primal, desperate — louder than any dwarf, louder than the fire:

"AURELIAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

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