The crowd was still murmuring from Eryon's fierce display when the next names echoed across the arena:
"Match two: Alice Dawnmere versus Nyla Ves. Competitors, enter the arena."
The moment Alice stepped into the ring, the noise quieted. Her presence was sharp and regal, like a drawn blade sheathed in ice. Her pale gold hair swayed slightly as she moved, her expression unreadable.
Nyla Ves entered from the opposite side with a far more flamboyant air. Draped in flowing dark silks and a mask of swirling paint across her eyes, she walked like a dancer rather than a warrior. But her aura pulsed with unsettling pressure—eerie, almost spectral.
Kaelen raised his hand. "Begin."
Nyla moved first, vanishing in a blur of motion. Shadows clung unnaturally to her as she appeared behind Alice, daggers flashing.
But Alice was already turning. With elegant precision, her blade—long, slender, and glowing faintly with white light—met the incoming attack.
The clash was like glass cracking in moonlight.
They exchanged a dozen blows in seconds, Nyla flitting like a phantom, Alice pivoting with mechanical grace. Light and shadow danced across the stone floor, each clash a contrast of chaos and control.
Eryon watched from the sidelines, breath held. This was a different kind of fight—faster, colder, surgical.
Nyla hurled a sphere of darkness, engulfing the center of the ring in a swirling veil.
The crowd gasped.
For several seconds, nothing could be seen.
Then, light.
A radiant beam split the shadow from within, and a single cry of pain rang out.
When the darkness dispersed, Nyla lay collapsed at the edge of the arena, unconscious.
Alice stood at the center, her sword lowered, untouched by blood or shadow.
"Victory: Alice Dawnmere," Kaelen announced.
Polite applause followed, subdued by awe.
Alice turned, walking back to the waiting area without a word. But before stepping out, her eyes flicked to Eryon—briefly, unreadably.
Eryon held her gaze for just a moment.
Something about the look chilled him more than the darkness Nyla had conjured.
Alice wasn't just strong. She was precise. Absolute.