Chapter 50: Heart of the Dusk Dragon
"Heart of the Dusk Dragon?"
It was the first time Ravi had ever heard that term. His body ached, and his breath ragged—he and Waker had nothing left for another fight. They were barely standing as their every muscle screamed in pain.
Waker's golden aura flickered weakly before fading into nothing. He let out a sigh as he felt his shoulders heavy.
"There's a good chance we die here … unless someone swoops in and saves us, right?"
Ravi's gaze locked onto the black-hooded figure standing at the far end of the stadium. An emblem of crimson, twin-sting scorpion glistened on her back. "I guess so … Are you feeling desperate?"
Waker smirked weakly. "Not even a little bit."
Ravi chuckled, then raised his voice to the hooded figure, loudly. "I don't know what you're talking about!?"
The answer came in the form of power—blue lightning crackled across the figure's body, surging outward in violent arcs. A crushing aura flooded the black stadium, shaking the very foundations. The obsidian ground split with cracks, the black walls groaned, and the sheer force sent Ravi and Waker skidding backward, barely keeping their footing.
" … Yeah," Waker whispered, "We're about to die."
Suddenly, the white and shadowy threads on the burst-eye mark on Ravi's neck lit up. The threads glowed, and a burning sensation spread through his body.
Then—a voice rang in his mind.
[Ahem … testing, testing … Ravi, this is Reydon, your awesome great-grandfather. If you're hearing this, it means you've met someone you can't possibly beat right now.]
[I've left a part of my Essence Will inside your essence core. It'll suppress the Dark Sigil's effects, but the pain's still yours to bear. How well you use it is up to you. Oh, I probably didn't say it, but Ravi—you have the potential to become an Ultimate Arcane. A level above the Great Arcane. So, try not to waste yourself. Bye-bye.]
A small grin tugged at Ravi's lips as he let go of the bony blade in his hand.
"Waker," he said, "You'd better become a Great Arcane too … because I'm about to show you what a Legendary Essence Wielder can do and how much capable the one above all of us had made me and you."
White and black light erupted from Ravi's body, swallowing the arena in a dazzling storm. The runes on his neck blazed, flowing like molten fire down his arms and chest. Behind him, twin wings of light and shadow unfurled with a sound like tearing reality, each feather radiating with raw power.
All his injuries were healed at an instant, and his grey cloak turned black as if formed from black fire itself. His eyes glowing violet with blazing dot of white fire shining at centre.
The hood of the figure blew back, revealing their enemy. She was a breathtaking woman—blue-eyed, long blond hair flowing like molten gold—but her gaze was void of life. Blue lightning crawled over her body, her cloak trailing like a living shadow behind her.
Black shadow swirled around his hand, pierced by threads of faint white light. Sparks—half dark, half bright—gathered in his palms before forming into two great swords: one wreathed in living fire, the other cloaked in illusory purple darkness.
Two curved sickles slid from the enemy sleeves, her arms twitching with anticipation. The woman vanished in a flash of blue lightning. Ravi disappeared an instant later, reappearing mid-air with twin greatswords.
The clash was instant—
A thunderous BOOM ripped through the air as their blades collided with a deafening shockwave. The shockwave leveled the debris around them, sending Waker tumbling back. Sparks of light and darkness intertwined with crackling bolts of blue. Blue lightning clashed with fire and darkness, sending streams of energy slicing into the stadium walls.
She spun in mid-air, sickles slashing in a cross, lightning screeching like deafing roars. Ravi met her with a storm of strikes—blindingly fast, each swing tearing through space.
KRAK-THOOM! The ground below shattered into a spiderweb of destruction as they descended.
She blink-stepped in front of him, a sickle grazing his neck—only to be caught by his darkness-coated blade. He countered with the fire sword, a wave of searing light forcing her back.
The woman appeared behind Ravi in a blink, sickles spinning in a deadly arc. Ravi blocked with the flaming blade, countering with a sweep from the shadow sword. Her body bent unnaturally, lightning twisting her form as she dodged and drove a knee toward his ribs.
He caught her leg, spun, and hurled her through the stadium wall. The explosion lit up the darkness in white and blue. But before the dust settled, she reappeared above him, sickles crossing into an X-shape, aiming for his neck.
Ravi's wings snapped upward—light and shadow feathers shooting like blades, forcing her to retreat in a blur.
They vanished and reappeared across the arena, each exchange louder and faster. Every strike tore through the air like a cannon blast. Every dodge left afterimages that shattered into sparks.
Blue lightning surged into a dome around her. The next instant, she was everywhere at once—flickering like a phantom, sickles aiming for his heart, throat, and spine in the same breath.
Ravi's wings flared. Black and white feathers exploded outward like blades, piercing the lightning dome. He thrust both swords forward—one a lance of burning dawn, the other a spear of collapsing night.
The woman suddenly leapt high, her lightning condensing into a single point above her head. "Sky's Execution."
Ravi crossed his swords, dark and light swirling into a roaring cyclone. "Dusk–Dawn Breaker!"
The two powers collided in the center of the stadium—lightning against dusk and dawn—ripping open the ground and swallowing the world in blinding light.