Scene: Astral Academy – Main Arena
The sky had shifted to a moody gold, with clouds floating across the transparent dome above. Excitement thundered through the arena as both pavilions buzzed.
"It's him again!"
"And… wait, he is fighting with Aarya
"This is going to be insane…"
The announcer's voice rang out:
"Next Match: Anay of Wing A… vs Aarya of Wing B!"
From the Wing A Pavilion, Anay stepped forward again, his glaive resting over his back. Calm. Focused. Unreadable.
Across from him, from the opposite tunnel, emerged Aarya—white boots pressing against the frost-glazed floor, her long snow-blue braid trailing like a streak of winter wind behind her.
Her icy aura formed around her automatically, frost blooming beneath her steps.
Aarya (calmly): "I was waiting for this."
Anay offered her a nod, not smiling, but not cold either.
Anay: "Likewise."
They stood ten meters apart, the wind howling between them as the countdown began.
Round Begins – Ice Queen vs Hidden Flame
3… 2… 1…
Aarya struck first.
A flash-freeze encased the entire arena in shimmering ice blades, erupting from the floor in beautiful and deadly spirals.
Anay dashed sideways—barely—before launching forward, his glaive glowing with violet streaks. Aarya pointed two fingers—Crystal Arrow Storm rained from above like falling stars.
CLANG! CLANG!
Anay deflected them mid-air while sprinting in.
Aarya's breath fogged the air. She twisted her fingers—Mirror Flare, a wall of reflective ice formed, creating decoy copies of her through light refraction.
"Let's see how sharp your perception really is."
Anay narrowed his eyes.
"Siddhi: Prakamya."
He activated truth perception—and saw through the real her.
Anay (calmly): "There."
He launched a low-angle strike—blowing the decoy apart and catching her off guard.
But Aarya flipped midair, landed with a slide, and froze his feet with an instant frost snap.
Aarya: "Check."
She unleashed Icicle Burst, and—
"Laghima."
He instantly lightened his body, launched upward—dodging the spikes—and twisted in the air, glaive in a spiral.
"You're fast…" she muttered.
Anay landed behind her, quiet as shadow.
Anay: "You too."
Final Exchange
As the match intensified, their movements blurred across the battlefield—Anay's glaive arcs against Aarya's rising ice sculptures, her Abyssal Glacier Burst clashing against his spatial dodges and spiritual control.
But Anay—still hiding most of his real power—used timing instead of force.
He baited a freeze trap, flipped over it, and struck Aarya's pressure point with a focused palm instead of the glaive.
A soft pulse of energy passed through her. Her body froze—not from ice, but chakra disruption.
She gasped, kneeling slightly, stunned.
Aarya (smiling faintly): "…Tch. Fine. You're good."
Winner: Anay
The crowd roared.
"That was so close—"
"How did he dodge that combo?!"
"He's different…"
Even Aarya looked at him with a glint of acknowledgment.
Aarya: "You're not showing everything. But next time, I'll make you."
Anay: "Then I'll be ready."
The crowd buzzed
His