SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES

Sylvia burst forward, slashing her ice sword at the ground.

An arc of white swept across the arena, frost racing toward Mozrael's feet. The ground hissed as it froze solid around her boots. Sylvia swung her fire sword at Mozrael's head.

CRRSHHH!

Mozrael raised her blade, sparks hissing where sapphire flame met burning ice. A dull rumble vibrated through the arena floor. With her free hand, she fired a burst of fire at the ice binding her feet.

WHUMPH!

Steam erupted, blinding half the audience, and she slipped free just as Sylvia's blade carved down through the space she'd stood in.

"She broke free—already?!" someone shouted.

The girl was relentless. Sylvia pressed forward, twin swords flashing.

Mozrael met her head-on, blocking a crossed slash. KRRRANG! The impact rattled teeth in the front row, and both girls were swallowed in the fog of boiling mist.

"I can't see!""What's going on in there?!"

CLANG!

Blue and orange sparks flared within the haze, silhouettes clashing in quick, brutal bursts.

CLANG—SHRRK! Another collision, but sharper and more powerful.

Then another.

WHOOOSH!

A circle of blue flame exploded outward from the center. The fog peeled back to reveal Mozrael, scanning for Sylvia as she stood in the circle of fire.

Students held their breath when Sylvia shot forward from behind like a thief.

HISSSSS!

Mozrael whirled, her sword shrieking as it locked against Sylvia's crackling ice blade. Sparks hissed into fire.

Sylvia's other sword shifted—flame melting into glittering ice mid-swing.

She spun it in a tight arc, scattering the fog like an open gate.

"She switched—fire to ice?!"

The mist coiled back around her, then hardened into a storm of jagged icicles.

"No way!""How is she doing that?!"

She quickly distanced herself from Mozrael. They fired all at once, hundreds of glittering bolts screaming toward Mozrael.

SHHHRRRRKK!

But Mozrael didn't flinch. Fire burst from her body in a blinding wave.

The blast engulfed the arena, evaporating the frozen barrage in a heartbeat. The air warped with heat.

Sylvia's frown deepened. Not a single strike had landed.

"What's this girl's true strength…?"

At the arena's edge, Sylvia hurled her ice blade skyward. It shattered with a KRRSSHHH! and rained down as dozens of smaller swords, each one hanging like a needle poised to pierce.

Gasps echoed.

"They're moving—by themselves?!"

Sylvia snapped her hand down, and the blades screamed toward Mozrael.

Mozrael raised her sword and swept a torrent of fire forward. WOOOSH! The stream devoured the ice, melting it into mist, and for the first time, she moved to strike back.

Her weapon dissolved into flame, and with a wave of her hand, a thousand tiny embers shimmered into existence. They weren't sparks—each one hardened into scales, glowing with an inner heat.

Keeping her distance, Mozrael rained them down.

SHHHHHHT—BOOM! SHHHHHHT—BOOM!

They hissed and detonated on impact, forcing Sylvia onto the defensive. Frost spread across her skin, scales of ice armoring her frame as fire churned beneath.

"She… she's not even scratched?" Mozrael thought, eyes narrowing.

Still, Sylvia's skin blistered where flames touched, healed instantly by the cold coursing under her flesh.

"Her bloodline…" Mozrael muttered. She wanted to know more about this dragon bloodline.

Spectators were on their feet now.

"If Sylvia's at Gold Gate and Mozrael can match her—does that mean… she's Gold too?""Impossible. Two Golds, this age?"

From within the storm of explosions, a piercing cry split the air.

"RAAAHHH!"

Mozrael's instincts screamed. She halted her barrage, eyes narrowing. Her body moved on its own just as the ground beneath her detonated.

BOOOOM!

The shockwave tore through the arena, dust and grit billowing outward. Students shielded their faces.

When it cleared, a massive crater yawned in the floor where Mozrael had stood. At its center, a single ice spear thrummed with power, humming like a struck bell. The ground itself was splattered with thick ice.

Sylvia strode forward, boots crunching over shattered stone, and pulled the weapon free with a sharp CRACK.

She raised her eyes, frowning at Mozrael.

High above, blue, burning wings held Mozrael's form.

"She's flying…?!"

"No… those aren't normal wings—what is she?!"

Sylvia's grip tightened on her spear. "You!" she shouted, fury burning in her voice. "What is your bloodline?!" Was she from a rival clan?

Mozrael's only answer was silence. She didn't know herself.

"Fine." Sylvia's voice dropped cold as frost. "Then I'll force it out of you."

The spear vanished into mist. Power surged in her hands, fire and ice spiraling together, twining tighter and tighter.

They grew, shaping into writhing forms—dragons of flame and frost, their eyes blazing.

WHOOOOOOOSH!

The beasts roared as she hurled them skyward.

Mozrael slashed arcs of fire, detonating explosions in their path, but the dragons carved through, unfazed, snapping their jaws in pursuit.

"They're… unstoppable!" a student cried.

Mozrael twisted midair, wings beating hard, dodging the strikes as the dragons gave chase.

The twin dragons tore after hee, jaws snapping, fire and frost colliding in violent swirls as they tried to devour her midair.

Mozrael darted between them, wings slicing through the air. Each dive, each roll came within a hair's breadth of disaster.

She could not afford to go all out—not here, not now. If the tattoos surfaced, there would be no hiding the truth.

But Sylvia's eyes burned hotter than her flames.

"Hhh—hah!" She staggered slightly as she chased Mozrael's movements, a line of crimson dripping from her nose. Her breath was ragged, body trembling from the weight of her own technique.

"She's bleeding…" a student whispered.

"Even so, those dragons—she's still forcing them to move!"

"So is Mozrael stronger than her?"

Sylvia's snarl deepened. She lashed out with both hands, and the dragons surged faster, their pace quickening with unnatural violence. From their mouths spat storms of ice shards and fireballs that streaked after Mozrael like a meteor shower.

CRRSHHH!

WHOOOSH!

KRRSSHHHH!

Each strike exploded in her wake, smoke and steam following wherever she fled. Still, Mozrael slipped past them all, her reflexes honed razor-sharp.

"Too fast…" Sylvia hissed, furious. "TOO FAST!"

Her scream ripped across the arena as she thrust both hands forward. Frost and fire spiraled, locking into a single motion.

Her fingers bent, twisting into the shape of a jaw.

The twin dragons roared upward, colliding headfirst. Their bodies expanded, melding together into a monstrous head that blotted out the sky—half flame, half ice, its maw yawning wide enough to swallow the arena whole.

Gasps shook the stands.

"It's… it's enormous!"

Mozrael's eyes widened. The raw pressure radiating from the colossal jaw crushed down on her like a mountain. Even without the tattoos, she felt her instincts screaming—this was no ordinary strike.

Sylvia, however, was nearly at her breaking point. Her entire frame shook, veins straining against her skin as she forced her power to obey.

Then something else stirred.

Above them, the heavens shifted. The sky, once clear, darkened with rolling clouds. Thunder rumbled across the expanse, and veins of lightning crawled through the storm.

Students gasped and clutched each other.

"She's… she's changing the skies?"

"No way… She's only at Gold Gate—this shouldn't even be possible!"

But Sylvia didn't notice. Her gaze was locked only on Mozrael, blind to the blackening heavens.

Mozrael's view was cut off too, the monstrous jaws eclipsing her sightline.

Only Father Prince's eyes narrowed, a deep frown pulling at his features.

"This is wrong," he muttered.

And Aramith—watching from below—felt it like an itch beneath his skin, a pulse in the back of his skull. His chest tightened as his eyes shot to the swirling clouds.

"Something's not right…" he whispered.

The storm split. Lightning surged, blinding-white, flooding the arena with its merciless light.

"MOVE!" Father Prince bellowed.

Sylvia screamed, stumbling backward out of instinct, her technique shattering as she threw herself clear.

But Mozrael was still midair, dead center beneath the jaws. She barely had time to look up before the world cracked open.

SKKRRRRAAA-THOOOOM!

The bolt speared downward through the dragon's gaping maw, hurtling straight for her.

And in that instant—

"Mozrael!"

The voice was too close. Too familiar.

She felt the push before she understood.

Aramith was in her place.

CRRRAAASHHHH!

The lightning slammed into him, a pillar of white fire. His scream ripped through the arena, high and raw, shattering every heart in earshot.

"Aramith!!!" Mozrael's shriek cut the sky.

The bolt didn't stop. It thickened, deepened, and more tendrils broke from the storm to strike him again and again.

His body convulsed violently, arcs tearing through flesh and bone.

"Aaaaaghhhhhh!" His cry turned guttural, inhuman, echoing until the very stone quivered.

Students froze, faces pale and wet with sweat.

"No… no, no…" one whispered, hands trembling.

Fear.

Pure, raw fear locked them in place. Not a soul could look away.

Never had they seen power like this. Never had they heard screams like his.

The air stank of ozone and burning flesh.

Then, three blurs cut the sky.

The other Fathers materialized, landing with thunderous force, but even they faltered, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.

"Impossible…" one murmured. "What is this?"

Mozrael dove, claws bared, her throat raw with screams. She tried to force her way back to him, her wings thrashing desperately.

But Father Prince was faster. He seized her around the waist, dragging her back as she thrashed, clawing at his arms, hissing like a cornered beast.

"LET ME GO! ARAMITH!"

His head snapped, trying to keep her from the blinding storm. His grip only tightened as she kicked and writhed.

On the ground, Aramith's voice broke one last time.

The last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed him was Mozrael's face—twisted in anguish, her mouth wide in a silent scream.

And then, nothing.