Chapter 45: Clash of Equals
Steel sang in the night.
Kael's black fire clashed with Le Wai's newborn flame, sparks raining down like meteors. Each strike shook the ground, the battlefield splitting further beneath their feet.
Kael's speed was overwhelming, his blade a storm of shadows that once would have crushed Le Wai in an instant. But now—now every blow was met, every slash deflected. Le Wai's arms trembled, his body still bleeding, yet the ember drove him onward, guiding his sword like a second heartbeat.
Kael snarled as his assault was turned aside again.
"You dare stand before me as if you're my equal?!"
Le Wai's breath came ragged, but his eyes glowed with fire.
"I don't need to be your equal… I just need to stand."
Their blades collided once more, shockwaves blasting outward. Shards of stone tore free, beasts shrieked in the distance, and even the shadows writhed as if in agony.
Kael twisted, his blade curving like a serpent, black fire coiling to devour Le Wai's defense. But Le Wai stepped forward, golden light bursting from his strike, scattering the darkness like dawn breaking through stormclouds.
The impact sent them both reeling—Kael sliding back, teeth bared in fury, while Le Wai staggered, nearly dropping to one knee before forcing himself upright again.
The mastermind's voice carried across the battlefield, tense with both anger and curiosity.
"Inconceivable… He should have burned out by now. That ember was never meant to endure this long."
Kael spat blood, his eyes burning with pride and rage.
"Then I'll extinguish it myself!"
He lunged again, his swings heavier, faster, driven not only by power but desperation. And still, Le Wai met him blow for blow, sparks scattering as flame and shadow became a rhythm, a deadly dance neither could break.
For the first time since the battle began, the two warriors stood locked—not predator and prey, but rivals.
And in the silence between their clashes, Le Wai felt it: the ember pulsing deeper, whispering that something greater still slept within his flame, waiting for the moment it would finally be unleashed.