Chapter 11 – Weight of Restraint
The dueling platforms rose again, pulsing with mana.
Kael stepped into the ring.
A light breeze brushed across his face—not natural wind. His opponent was already waiting.
Riven Malcor.
Disciple-level. Wind affinity. Fast, technical, and vicious.
A familiar chime echoed through the arena as both systems synced with the dueling formation. Two glowing prompts flickered into the sky above each fighter.
[System – Combat Sync Initiated]
Name: Riven Malcor
Core Stage: Disciple
Elemental Affinity: Wind (Primary)
System Trait: Aero Step – Reduces air resistance on short-range dashes by 45%. Boosts reaction speed in wind zones.
Class: None
—
Name: Kael Caelum
Core Stage: Initiate
Elemental Affinity: Water (Primary)
Secondary Affinity: Hidden
System Trait: Hydrothread – Allows water to retain flow-state control mid-air. Enables fine manipulation for redirection, slicing, and motion-based casting.
Class: None
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Kael has a trait already?" Joran murmured. "At Initiate stage?"
Instructor Harn's eyes narrowed. He said nothing.
"Begin!"
Riven struck first. His Aero Step trait activated instantly—the air shimmered around his ankles as he vanished in a blur. Wind funneled through the ring behind him as he closed the gap in a heartbeat.
Kael's eyes tracked him without panic.
He didn't counter with force. Instead, a stream of water coiled from his open palm, curved like a hook—and met Riven's shoulder mid-dash.
The water didn't block—it deflected.
Riven veered sideways, losing control of the momentum.
Kael didn't follow up.
Instead, he stepped lightly and drew another arc of water into the air. Two floating ribbons spiraled around his wrists like liquid whips.
"Using water to turn movement," Lysa whispered from the stands. "Like soft pressure."
Riven regained balance mid-spin and narrowed his eyes. "Fancy tricks won't save you."
He launched again.
This time Kael used his Hydrothread fully—he flicked his wrist, and the water ribbons tightened, coiling beneath his feet. He pressed down, and the fluid pressure launched him upward—water springboarding his own motion.
He hovered mid-air just long enough to redirect another stream around Riven's chest and blast a sidewave at his ribs.
Riven grunted as it connected—but his Aero Step let him slip out of the follow-up.
Kael landed lightly, the water absorbing his fall.
No wind. No lightning. No storm.
Only water. Only restraint.
Riven snarled. "I don't know what you're hiding, but I'm ending this."
His arms swept outward, drawing wind into a vortex around him.
[Wind Technique – Gale Spiral]
A rush of cutting air spiraled in an outward arc. Sharp, fast, continuous.
Kael crouched and shaped a dome of water—not to block, but to bend. The cutting wind split along the curved sides, redirected away. A few cuts slipped through, slicing across his shirt and drawing a thin red line on his chest.
He didn't flinch.
Riven darted in again—wind trailing behind his steps like ghost lines.
Kael tried to form another ring of water—but the Hydrothread faltered. His control was too precise—too focused on holding back the other element inside.
Riven got through. His elbow slammed into Kael's ribs. Wind-powered.
Kael gasped—spit blood—and staggered.
He could feel it—the lightning under his skin, crackling, begging to be used. He could almost hear it. The pulse of the storm.
But if they see it—if they know—then the Tower…
He held it down.
Too long.
Riven twisted, planted a foot against Kael's thigh, and drove him backward into the ring wall with a final strike.
The barrier flared.
[System Alert – Combat Ended]
Winner: Riven Malcor
Victory Condition: Opponent incapacitated (System-synced impact threshold reached)
Riven stood, panting. "You weren't even trying," he growled. "You're afraid of using your own power to fight?."
Kael didn't answer. Blood ran down his side. Water dripped off his wrist like tears.
From the terraces above, Instructor Harn turned away.
He said nothing.
But his expression was steel.
He's not an Initiate for long, Harn thought. And he knows it.
Joran met Kael outside the ring as the platforms lowered.
"You held back."
Kael sat on the steps, breathing slow.
"I had to."
Joran didn't speak again. He just stood beside him, silent.
A single drop of blood fell from Kael's palm and hit the ground.
It sizzled with hidden thunder and whirlwind
.