The battlefield narrowed to three figures—Elira, Kael, and Marlic—while the Ashbound and Smokebound fought in chaos around them. Every strike shook the camp, every clash of fire and shadow echoing like thunder.
Marlic's shadow spear lashed forward, slicing through flame. Elira countered, her crown blazing, fire surging into a shield. Sparks rained down, scorching the ground.
"You burn too brightly," Marlic hissed, his ember eyes narrowing. "The crown will consume you."
Elira's wrist mark flared, her voice steady despite the blaze. "Then let it consume shadow first."
She unleashed a torrent of flame, forcing Marlic back. But his shadow coiled tighter, forming armor that absorbed the fire. He lunged again, striking with fury.
Kael intercepted, blade flashing, steel cutting into shadow. The impact reverberated, forcing Marlic to stumble. "You'll not touch her," Kael growled, his stance unyielding.
Marlic's laughter was sharp, cruel. "Brother, you fight for her now? You should have fought for me."
Kael's blade struck again, steel ringing against shadow. "I did. And I failed. But I will not fail her."
The duel spiraled—flame against shadow, steel against smoke. Elira's fire blazed brighter, Kael's blade cut sharper, but Marlic's fury grew heavier, his shadow storm swelling.
The crown pulsed violently, visions flashing—Elira consumed by fire, Kael falling, Marlic triumphant. She clenched her fist, forcing the blaze outward. "No more visions. Only truth."
Together, she and Kael pressed forward—flame and steel united. Their strikes drove Marlic back step by step, his shadow faltering under their combined force.
But Marlic roared, summoning a storm of smoke that swallowed the camp. His form grew larger, darker, ember eyes blazing like fire in the void. "You cannot burn shadow. You cannot kill memory."
Elira's crown blazed brighter than ever, Kael's blade gleaming in the firelight. The duel was no longer just battle—it was reckoning.