The battlefield fell silent—but it was not peace.
It was pressure.
It was reverence.
It was fear.
Snow twisted in the wind as Duchess Lireya advanced across the field alone. Her silver cloak trailed behind her, the edge of it freezing into ice-crystals that shimmered in her aura. Each step echoed like a war drum, and the radiance of her power pulsed with the dignity of her lineage.
Across from her, coiled like a demon enthroned upon the snow, stood Velkran the Hollowback. A beast of corrupted scales and ancient sin, its hollowed eyes glowed with dark hunger. Crimson runes flared across its body, pulsing in rhythm with its ragged breath.
"You carry her flame," Velkran hissed, its voice a sickly blend of echo and venom. "But not her will."
Lireya's eyes narrowed. "I carry the burden she couldn't… and the strength to do what she didn't."
The sky above them split with thunder—not from stormclouds, but from aura.
Then—they moved.
The Duel Begins
Velkran struck first. With a howl, he unleashed a Corrupt Flame Barrage—three beams of violet fire that carved jagged paths across the snowy battlefield.
Lireya raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Rippleguard, a dense dome of swirling water and air, flashed to life. The flames hit—and evaporated.
She was already moving before the steam cleared.
Lireya darted in a spiral, blade drawn, aura flaring. She slashed in a radiant arc, and Velkran jerked his head back—too slow. The blade kissed his cheek, carving a glowing mark into the rune-flesh beneath his eye.
Velkran screamed, swiping his tail in retaliation.
Lireya leapt—her feet barely brushing the tail's surface—then launched herself higher into the air.
Elsewhere on the Field: Chaos
Knight Commander Tharyn let out a defiant roar as Karron the Clawed Wraith and Treshna the Stormmaw assaulted him from both sides.
Sparks flew as Tharyn's greatsword, Stormbind, collided with Karron's bone blades. A bolt of lightning tore through the sky—Treshna's hammer followed, slamming into the shield Tharyn summoned just in time.
"Is that all you've got!?" he barked, driving his sword into the earth and releasing a pulse of golden aura that knocked both monsters back.
His armor was dented. His knuckles bloodied. But he stood firm.
Captain Virel was a blur of frost and fury, dancing between Velsha's flaming whips.
One whip caught her shoulder—burning cloth and flesh—but she didn't stop. She drove her axe into Velsha's side with a sickening crunch, tearing through corrupted ribs.
"Six eyes," she spat. "You only need one to see this coming!"
Her second axe struck Velsha's temple. Flames scattered like ash.
Captain Edran spun his glaive like a fiery wheel against Nulgrim. The brute howled, his cleaver cracking the ground with every strike.
Edran ducked a swing and slashed his glaive across Nulgrim's belly—flames seared into the beast's gut.
"You bleed now, mutt," he said. "You'll burn soon enough."
Mage-Captain Alithra fought like a living glyph, weaving spells mid-movement. Orrik's plagues twisted through the air, but she countered each one—cleansing the field with radiant water and holy light.
"Decay has no place here," she said as she cast Rain of Purity, a shimmering downpour that melted Orrik's summoned spirits.
Orrik hissed, but stumbled under the spell's brilliance.
Back to Lireya vs. Velkran
Lireya landed atop Velkran's back, racing toward his skull.
Velkran twisted, trying to buck her off. She jumped again—spinning in midair—and slashed downward, carving a deep line down his spine.
Velkran screamed and launched a Sonic Rupture, a blast of sound and pressure.
Lireya blocked with a circular spin of her blade, forming a Whirlpool Wall, which absorbed the blast and redirected it into steam.
"You are powerful," Velkran growled. "But you stand alone."
"I am the will of the North," Lireya replied. "And they stand with me."
The Children Join the Fight
In the rear lines, the children fought their own battle.
Alaric, sword in hand, ducked beneath the swipe of a two-headed beast and slammed his blade into its knee.
It barely staggered.
Until Lira launched a twin stream of water and earth—encasing its legs in mud.
Malric followed with a shoulder charge, driving his aura-cloaked fists into the beast's gut. Jorin hurled rocks, distracting it.
Together, the four of them brought it down.
Alaric panted, sweat on his brow. "That's one."
Malric grinned. "Only a hundred more."
🌑 Velkran's Ultimate Spell
Velkran's eyes turned black. The sky dimmed as he raised his head.
"Let me show you despair," he said.
Shadow Maw Annihilation.
A colossal orb of void-dark magic gathered in his mouth, warping the air.
Lireya narrowed her eyes. She pressed her palm to her blade. A crest of her family line appeared along the metal.
She raised it to the sky.
"Veilbreaker Cascade."
She slashed downward—and the air itself split. Water surged from her blade in a spiraling column of silver light, piercing upward.
The two spells met in the sky.
Explosion.
A shockwave rocked the earth. Trees uprooted. Wind screamed.
The battlefield froze as everyone watched.
As the mist cleared, Velkran still stood—blood dripping from his jaws, eyes glowing.
But so did Lireya. Her cloak tattered. Her aura flickering.
But her blade remained raised.
The second round was about to begin.