The moment the instructor's hand fell, light exploded from Lucia's staff—searing beams lanced toward Zane like divine spears. The crowd gasped at the speed of her opening strike.
A ripple in space, a flicker of movement—then silence.
Lucia narrowed her eyes, spinning in place, her aura blazing bright. She muttered."Figures."
She raised her staff and sent out a pulse of light—an area flare meant to reveal anything hiding in shadow. The beams flooded the arena with radiance, momentarily forcing even the audience to shield their eyes.
A shape materialized behind her. Lucia turned fast—too fast for Zane to strike—but just enough for his boot to connect with her staff, sending it sliding a few meters away.
"You're fast," she said calmly, extending her hand. The staff quivered, then flew back to her grip like a loyal dog. "But I've danced with shadows before."
Zane didn't answer. He exhaled and focused. The End Blade hummed at his side—not overpowering, but pulsing with potential.
Lucia didn't wait. She surged forward, and her light bent like blades—constructs forming mid-air into radiant weapons. Swords, daggers, and a spiraling whip of pure light lashed out toward him.
Zane ducked and weaved, warping short distances with Voidwalk. Each time he appeared, a blade would chase him, singeing his jacket or grazing his cheek.
"She's reading my patterns," he muttered.
"She's using precognition light magic," Nyx's voice chimed. "Unusual but deadly. It reads heat and light distortions to predict movement. A pain to deal with."
"Stop being predictable."
Zane's eyes gleamed. He reversed direction mid-warp and slid low, narrowly missing a radiant slash aimed for his head. Then he vanished again, reappearing above Lucia in a spiral spin. He brought the End Blade down—not with brute force, but with a precise strike aimed at her shoulder.
Lucia gasped and parried just in time, but the force of the clash knocked her back a step.
The crowd was silent now, watching the tide shift.
Zane landed and rolled, readying another warp—but Lucia's eyes suddenly gleamed golden.
"I see it now," she whispered. "The pattern in your chaos."
She raised her staff high, and the entire arena lit up like a miniature sun.
A ring of searing light erupted around her, expanding outward in all directions. Zane's eyes widened—there was no escape through Voidwalk. Every path glared too bright to bend through.
And then—Lucia's voice rang out again, calm and cold:
Even the instructor stiffened.
That name... It was infamous. A forbidden technique from the House of Caeloria. The last time it had been spoken in a trial, the opponent had nearly died before the magic formation barely saved them.
"Now's your chance. Nullify."
Zane grit his teeth and slammed his palm into the stone floor. A black ripple erupted from him, devouring the light in a radius.
The Radiant Bloom dimmed. Final Judgement—vanished.
Light shattered like broken glass.
Lucia's eyes widened in disbelief. "What...?"
Zane appeared right in front of her, eyes glowing faintly with swirling Void energy. His blade stopped just at her throat.
The silence stretched.
Then the instructor's voice rang out.