There was a silence that didn't belong to the Breaker Clan.
It wasn't the calm before a fight, or the stillness of respect. It was the quiet held by titans just before they test the ground for cracks. The kind of stillness that warns the world it's about to tilt.
Ronan Break stood, and the silence bowed.
Behind him sat the six remaining elders of the clan, each clad in ceremonial robes layered with thin armor plating—not for protection, but for legacy. Not one of them looked at Zach. They looked at each other, as if daring the others to speak first.
I leaned forward slightly, arms resting on my knees. To my right, Deya fidgeted with a loose thread on her sleeve. Nel watched the arena without blinking. Amir whispered something under his breath. Probably math. Zach stood alone at the center, surrounded by history and expectation.
Ronan raised a single hand.
"Begin."
The first elder stood. "My nomination is Kira Sen-Breaker."
The girl who stepped forward was all arrogance wrapped in grace. Her hair was bound in gold threads, her stride sharpened by training. She smirked at Zach before even bowing.
"I look forward to your surrender," she said sweetly.
Zach didn't blink. Kira was already trying to get in his head. Classic opener.
The second elder named a boy—Makai Jin—quiet, clean-cut, and built like someone who trained in stone temples instead of essence-rich arenas. His presence tugged gravity just slightly. That's when I knew—he was the rival.
The third elder hesitated, but then stood. "Lina Ro."
A quiet girl. No theatrics. She bowed so deeply her forehead nearly touched the stone. The moment she stood, her aura bloomed gently, like heat rising off a calm sea. She was precise, patient. And dangerous.
Three names. No overlap. That meant the domino-style duel was on.
Zach would face each of them one by one.
A small roar went through the crowd, not of excitement—but of tradition being honored.
I caught a glance of Zena—my mother—standing behind the judges' platform. She'd been seated next to our team until a Breaker messenger approached and informed her she'd been selected as a guest judge. She nodded once and vanished. Now, she stood beside three others.
To her left was Suri, the Cancer Zodiac. She leaned on her sheathed sword like it was a bar stool, beaming. She waved at Amir when she saw him.
To Zena's right were the two from the Glasswind Pact. Elarin Vale—calm and sharp-eyed. And Juno Glasswind, dressed in flowing silver that shifted with her movements like mist. Together, the four made a terrifying table.
"First match," the head elder announced. "Zach Break… vs. Kira Sen."
The girl strode forward again, circling him like a dancer preparing a solo. Zach didn't move.
Her essence flared—bright red, tight around her like a cloak. It pulsed with sharp edges, like she'd layered it with strikes, not flow. Breaker-style light suppression, but tuned to explode outward instead of crush down.
"I want to see what all the fuss is about," she said, flicking her fingers. "Don't hold back."
"You first," Zach said plainly.
She did.
Her opening strike shattered the arena floor. Her domain bloomed behind her like broken glass in zero gravity—essence compressed into jagged, explosive threads. She zipped forward, her footwork blurring, slashing with palm-edge strikes and essence bursts aimed to throw Zach off balance.
He met her mid-step with a sudden shift—his gravity domain rippled, and her foot missed the floor.
The crowd gasped. She twisted midair and tried to blast away with raw force, but Zach was already there, behind her, foot pressed into her back as he kicked her to the stone.
She hit the ground hard enough to cough essence.
He didn't even bother to press.
She stood, essence crackling around her. "You think you're better than us?"
"No," Zach said. "I am."
He moved again. Not flashy. Not brutal. Just… efficient.
A short-range suppression pulse dropped her weight. She tried to counter with a sharp uppercut. He blocked it with his knee, slammed her down again, and held her there.
Silence returned.
"Yield," he said.
Kira spat to the side. "…Yield."
She didn't look angry. She looked scared. Not of Zach—of how fast it had happened.
The elders didn't cheer. They nodded. Respectful. Cold.
Zach stepped back, breathing slow. He didn't glance at anyone. Didn't show off. He just waited.
I could see it in the judges' faces—this wasn't going to be ceremonial for long.
"Next match," the head elder said. "Zach Break… vs. Lina Ro."
Zach didn't flinch.
And neither did the quiet girl walking toward him, flames of calm swirling at her feet.