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Chapter 5 - Chapter 4 – The Rival Reader

The fireball split the darkness.

Aiden dove aside, lightning bursting across his skin. The sphere of flame roared past, exploding against the bridge. Stone shattered, the edges crumbling away into the abyss.

He scrambled up, chest heaving, sparks flickering wildly. His eyes locked on the figure standing before him.

The stranger's cloak rippled in the heated wind, crimson patterns shifting like living flames. His dark hair fell across his forehead, and his smile was sharp — the kind of smile that belonged to a predator who had already decided you were prey.

"Reflexes aren't bad," the man said, lowering his hand. Fire still curled lazily around his fingers. "For someone who's just been branded."

Aiden narrowed his eyes. "Who… are you?"

The man tilted his head. "That's the first question you ask? Not 'what is this place,' not 'what did they do to us.' Interesting."

"Answer me," Aiden growled. His body screamed with every spark, but he forced the lightning to coil at his fingertips.

The stranger's grin widened. "Elias. That's the name I've chosen to keep. You may as well remember it — though I doubt you'll live long enough to use it again."

The curse in Aiden's chest throbbed. He felt it recoil, as though it recognized Elias… or feared him.

"Another Reader," Aiden muttered.

Elias' eyes glowed hotter. "So you've heard the whisper too. The Archive doesn't hand out its pages easily. That you survived this long means you're not completely worthless."

He stepped closer, each footfall cracking the stone beneath him. The heat of his aura pressed against Aiden like a furnace.

"But you're weak. I can smell it. The curse burns through you, doesn't it? Every breath, every step — agony."

Aiden clenched his fists. He hated how right Elias sounded. His muscles trembled with exhaustion. His ribs screamed. His vision swam.

Elias stopped a few paces away, tilting his head as if studying a specimen in a jar. "You won your first fight, I assume. Some shadow beast, perhaps? You probably felt proud of yourself." His smirk sharpened. "Cute. But those things are scraps. The Archive is infinite. The trials only get worse. And Readers like us…" His hand ignited again, fire crawling up his arm. "…are destined to collide."

The heat intensified until the bridge began to glow.

Aiden gritted his teeth. "So what? You're here to kill me?"

"Kill?" Elias chuckled softly, the sound echoing. "No. I'm here to test you."

He raised his arm, flames twisting into the shape of a sword. "Because if you can't withstand me… you'll never survive what's waiting deeper inside."

The curse inside Aiden stirred violently, runes flaring across his chest in defiance. Lightning crackled up his arms.

He swallowed hard. This wasn't just another trial. This was a war against someone who carried the same curse — but wielded it like it was his birthright.

Still, Aiden forced himself to meet Elias' blazing gaze. "Then test me."

Elias' grin widened into something feral. "Good."

The fire around him roared higher, turning the void into a furnace. The bridge trembled, crumbling at the edges.

"Your trial begins now."

Aiden's lightning burst forth in reply, crackling chains dancing in the air.

The Archive itself seemed to lean in, as though the infinite library hungered for the clash.

And then—

Flame and lightning collided.

The abyss shook. The bridge split. Power screamed into the void.

And the chapter ended.

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Author's Note:

⚔️ And here it is — the first real clash of Readers! Elias makes his entrance, showing us that Aiden isn't the only cursed one… but he might be the weakest. Who's excited to see their duel in the next chapter? Drop your power stones and comments to cheer Aiden on! ⚡🔥

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